[Football] Time For The "Bubble"?

[patchamalbion]

Exactly what happens for a Pompey mate based in North Hampshire. Drive past Southampton to get on the bus to get the ticket. Dropped back off in Portsmouth afterwards to return home, past Southampton. however they don’t have anything like last night because of it.

same when i was at Uni in Bristol. Cardiff supporting mate went from Bristol to Cardiff, to then be bussed into Bristol to attend the game.

 

[Napper]

Didn't really see many Palace fans last night so if it gives us the opportunity to stand and jeer the coaches and greet them with w* k signs then why not. Much more fun than last night.

On what I witnessed. A half hearted punch up around the station and Brighton on Brighton with both assuming the other was Palace. Apart from that it wasn't exactly enjoyable so bubble it or make it more of a free for all. Both more fun than last night

 

[studio150]

Excellent idea, while we may have to stay behind for some time, it will mean no forced march to the station, and everyone being rammed onto the first Brighton train with less room that a battery hen.

If the coaches could have tinted windows so we are spared the war zone that is Croydon even better

 

[el punal]

Absolutely stupid idea that makes the assumption that all Brighton fans (in this case) live in Brighton. Imagine if you were London based. You’d have to travel down to Brighton to then go back up to London and do it in reverse afterwards.

Of course it's stupid if you're not resident in Brighton - in fact it's a bloody nightmare. The unfortunate point is that someone in "authority" will deem this as the only practical way to minimise future trouble at Albion/Palace games. Up to now all Albion home games against Palace have been played in the evening (to avoid Saturday all day carnage) or 12.00 on a Sunday. Even the ticket allocation has been reduced to ensure tighter controls. So with numerous measures in place last night there were still problems. You can bet your bottom dollar that someone in charge will come up with a still more restrictive policy, and as for us loyal, law abiding fans that will be inconvenienced it will be a case of tough titty.

 

[theboybilly]

Hmm... from personal experience, and also judging from the BBS comments, not all CPFC fans are knuckle-draggers, most of them are decent folk just like most of us. .

I agree with this. I saw or heard nothing untoward after the match as I headed back to the coach park from WSL. Walking past the East Stand I saw the queue was sent behind the railings two-abreast but as I got closer the police allowed fans to pass on both sides of the railings which meant the gap between fans was reduced to just a line of coppers. Apart from a rather muted rendition of 'Did you cry when Zaha scored?' to a group largely of elderly, infirm supporters who probably didn't. I would imagine most proper Palace fans are angry at what the Ultras got up to last night inside the ground,

 

[trueblue]

We had a very trouble free night, getting there from and to the uni car park. Quite surprised to see all the scenes now online from outside the away end and pleased that a lot of Palace fans seem equally annoyed by it. Absolutely no sympathy with anyone complaining about the policing or stewards. Don't seem to have mass complaints about them normally. Unfortunately a small minority of Palace fans brought this down on the majority of the support. It's a problem for their club to sort out - not ours.

 

[Giraffe]

As others have said I would much rather this than the normal nonsense of being kettled around the shittier parts of South London. Its a yes from me.*

*Provided the police can be trusted to do it properly, otherwise we are sitting ducks for an ambush on the way or when we get there.

 

[Dougie]

Unfortunately I can see this happening now .

 

[Weststander]

Well THAT was fun last night, and no, not the football. With all the shenanigans going on off pitch, outside the ground, at the station and in town leads me to believe more draconian measures might be introduced for future Albion/Palace fixtures.

As with other tense derby matches I'm just wondering if a Bubble procedure will come into being. For those of you unaware of this operation it works like this :

(Based on past Saints/Pompey games) Away fans have to assemble at their own ground. All herded on to coaches/buses at pre-arranged time. Leave their ground in convoy under police escort to the away ground. Fans, whilst in transit, then allocated their match tickets. Escorted into the away section and then out at the end of the game. Repeat process for return trip back to home ground.

Fun isn't it? Oh, and the kick off time will probably be 12.00 on a Sunday.

Works perfectly for Burnley/Blackburn derbies (they do play each other occasionally).

But Sunday's is a crap idea. Being a lovely resort with nightlife, vermin without tickets would make a weekend of it. Going back 40 plus years, games such as this and with Millwall (bullies of CP), are more often than not made midweek for this very reason.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Why not use the riding stable parking at Pycombe that was used when trains weren't running. Only CPFC fans, and collect ticjets there, bus to ground and back, simplez?

Palace fans didn’t need tickets to get into the game last night.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Yep. Spot on when an influential minority are known to behave like first grade twats.

Do you apply this logic to other law and order issues or just to football fans ?

 

[Weststander]

Yep. Likely. & good riddance. Did anyone actually see anything bad happening other than a bit of posturing? I saw & heard:

Smoke & bangers

& 1 fight / punch outside brighton station which left a man on the ground - no idea if this was football related though

It was football related. Covered on BBC SE news thie evening. A CP was knocked unconcious by a Brighton fan.

 

[el punal]

Works perfectly for Burnley/Blackburn derbies (they do play each other occasionally).

But Sunday's is a crap idea. Being a lovely resort with nightlife, vermin without tickets would make a weekend of it. Going back 40 plus years, games such as this and with Millwall (bullies of CP), are more often than not made midweek for this very reason.

I agree, but it seems that with any dodgy derby match (i.e. Potential trouble) the powers that be insist on an early Sunday kick off because the pubs would not be open until late morning, anyone pissed from Saturday night would have sobered up and that a midday start to a game is so damn inconvenient to everyone.

 

[Bry Nylon]

Let's be clear here. The issues last night were caused solely by a few hundred ticket-less Palace supporters who gained access to the stadium via a fire exit that was opened from the inside as well as climbing over the turnstiles, having let off smoke bombs outside the stadium. Once inside further pyrotechnics were let off with impunity. In the history of the Amex this hasn't happened before.

So it isn't an 'away' supporters problem, or a Brighton and Hove Albion problem or police problem. It is specifically and uniquely a Crystal Palace problem. They attract these morons because the club hierarchy chooses to court them and pander to them and so as a club and a fan base they are now reaping what they have sown.

For me, the best solution to nip this in the bud is simply to ban all Palace away supporters for their next 3 matches and then see where we go from there and if the decent Palace supporters can 'self-police' the 15-year old cretinous ones.

 

[mothy]

It was football related. Covered on BBC SE news thie evening. A CP was knocked unconcious by a Brighton fan.

I was walking by as a group of about 5 men old enough to know better were shouting at 3 or 4 blokes who were giving it back.

I looked back to see 1 of them on the floor. This was at the entrance to station with the pedestrian crossing. About 30 police were blocking the top of
Trafalgar street - so that was clever!

 

[Gwylan]

*Provided the police can be trusted to do it properly, otherwise we are sitting ducks for an ambush on the way or when we get there.

I remember the 4-0 abandoned game at Swindon when the police escorted us past a building site that, helpfully, had a few bricks lying around. Fortunately, no-one was hurt, although were luzzed at the train.

Regardless of how the police manage it, this is a bonkers idea. So, if a match kicks off at 12.00 on a Sunday, supporters (no matter where they live) have to make it Brighton by about 9.30 in the morning to get to the game. There was a stat on here a few weeks ago that pointed out that only half of supporters lived in B&H so that's a large number of supporters to inconvenience.

 

[Beach Hut]

A customer as was is a Wolves STH and when they played Cardiff away, the bubble was adopted all away fans bused in only etc.

Common sense did prevail so he did not need to travel to Wolves to get a coach to Cardiff and back then back again.

 

[The Large One]

No. it's not time for a bubble match.

The single most ludicrous abandonment of civil liberties, and an equally ludicrous over-reaction to a handful of single-celled morons. The vast majority of Palace fans were well behaved. Brighton fans weren't part of this.

So what's to be gained from punishing the majority when it's only the known minority behave like this? An enormous retrogressive step, and one which will alienate supporters from the authorities and the clubs in the future.

 

[dangull]

People take this stuff too seriously. Has anyone seen the film Quadrophenia ?
These games are a bit different to other games- a special occasion to either stay away or get involved with the hype.

 

[smudge]

I think someone's having a bubble!