'Gers

[Dancing Girl]

Caught extra time and pens on the box last night. Well done Rangers.

There's a fucking army heading this way!!!

[Major Dude]

Vieri's pen was a joke wasn't it? Balloon'd it.

I'm almost glad Fiorentina knocked us out, i was gutted then but would have been sick last night.

Looking forward to the final.

[Dancing Girl]

Vieri's pen was a joke wasn't it? Balloon'd it.

I'm almost glad Fiorentina knocked us out, i was gutted then but would have been sick last night.

Looking forward to the final.

Proper Balloon - that just about describes Vieri ( from what I saw ) last night.

No Rangers fans on here? Maelstrom??

[sundayjam]

i'm still speechless - i thought after the first 60 mins they would really turn it up and boy did they! We were pumped for nearly 90 mins plus extra time! Can't wait to get myself to Manchester for the final! I feel the ruskies are for the taking......Follow on....as they say.....1 down - 2 more finals and a league to win!

[Mr Z]

League - should do
Uefa cup - hope so
Scottish cup - not a chance, Mon the queens

[fabiofal]

I'm a Fiorentina fan; Rangers did nothing to win but packed their defence all the time, with sporadic incursions by Darcheville (1st half) and Novo (2nd half); if we would have scored a gol in the 1st round match, things had been different, ha ha! Anyway, well done Rangers, indeed.
And yes, Vieri is a balloon, and I hope they'll eventually sell him to a corned beef factory as a dignified end of career.

[Major Dude]

And yes, Vieri is a balloon, and I hope they'll eventually sell him to a corned beef factory as a dignified end of career.

Ha Ha

[Leo Slayer]

Mercedes minibus down mates driving and found out got a hotel sorted all for 70 quid and now all I need is a ticket !

[Lilac Camel]

60,000 expected in Manchester.

Moan tae fuck ye wee radge kents!

[Maelstrom]

No Rangers fans on here? Maelstrom??

Aye, great result. Not exactly sexy football but you can't argue about getting into the final.

Looks like the SPL are going to make a U-turn today and extend the season by a week to give this weekend off in the run up too.

[sundayjam]

I'm a Fiorentina fan; Rangers did nothing to win but packed their defence all the time, with sporadic incursions by Darcheville (1st half) and Novo (2nd half); if we would have scored a gol in the 1st round match, things had been different, ha ha! Anyway, well done Rangers, indeed.
And yes, Vieri is a balloon, and I hope they'll eventually sell him to a corned beef factory as a dignified end of career.


I don't think you could even call it football! Darcheville is a har working player - not much control though - celtic fans sing 'your just a fat eddie murphy' which is mildly amusing from those of the other persuasion. :rolleyes:

[I Robot]

Aye, great result. Not exactly sexy football but you can't argue about getting into the final.

Looks like the SPL are going to make a U-turn today and extend the season by a week to give this weekend off in the run up too.

That in their wisdom has been denied cue loads of Celtic and Rangers on Talk Sport

[Count Cookula]

How much did the ref and linesmen cost you today then?

[sundayjam]

How much did the ref and linesmen cost you today then?

a new tin whistle! :oops:

[Mr Z]

unbelievable decisions

[Dancing Girl]

Quite a few fans knocking about the city centre today...just the tip of the iceberg I reckon

[fatneck]

Quite a few fans knocking about the city centre today...just the tip of the iceberg I reckon

saw a load in the airport thisaft, already on the pop

tell manc council to put some soap powder in the city centre fountains, it'll be the only wash they get for a few days :-D

[Dancing Girl]

saw a load in the airport thisaft, already on the pop

tell manc council to put some soap powder in the city centre fountains, it'll be the only wash they get for a few days :-D

I used to live right up near city's ground a few years back. Thankfully not anymore :)

[Weekender]

Work at Manchester Town Hall - its gonna be Bedlam tomorrow. Would take a day off but have a meeting...

[fatneck]

even at the celtic game at OT in the champions league (4500 tickets for away fans) I have never seen as many drunken scotsmen in my entire life, apart from a hogmanay in aberdeen when i was a kid.

so god knows what it'll be like tomorrow. before the afore mentioned game the celtic fans took out tables and chairs from Moon Under the Water on deansgate and plonked them in the middle of deansgate causing chaos in the rush hour, looked kinda funny though :)

maybe a ger/celt can put me straight, my aberdonian cousins used to tell me that the reason both teams tend to overun any city they visit is when, for example, there are 52 people on a coach there are only 25 tickets, which are then given to the lucky half by drawing lots. the rest go on the piss and watch it on the telly/lay waste to peaceful town.....

[Lilac Camel]

even at the celtic game at OT in the champions league (4500 tickets for away fans) I have never seen as many drunken scotsmen in my entire life, apart from a hogmanay in aberdeen when i was a kid.

so god knows what it'll be like tomorrow. before the afore mentioned game the celtic fans took out tables and chairs from Moon Under the Water on deansgate and plonked them in the middle of deansgate causing chaos in the rush hour, looked kinda funny though :)

maybe a ger/celt can put me straight, my aberdonian cousins used to tell me that the reason both teams tend to overun any city they visit is when, for example, there are 52 people on a couch there are only 25 tickets, which are then given to the lucky half by drawing lots. the rest go on the piss and watch it on the telly/lay waste to peaceful town.....

Ryan Giggs' testimonial was unbelievable. I remember one fella staggering into the traffic on Deansgate, cock out and pissing everywhere. At about 2.00 p.m.:-D

Already seen loads of Weedgie's kicking about. Gonna be mental.

[Dancing Girl]

8 AM, on my way into town this morning and they're out in force...literally everywhere. Go on Lads :-D

[Odyssey Promotions]

Good luck I say. Walter Smith is a top manager.

[fatneck]

just drove back from mancs on the A62 through ashton/uppermill, 20 miles away in uppermill the farrar's arms is covered in union jacks with a load boozing outside at 9.15 am. then saw at least three mini coaches heading towards manc..

huns indeed, even the hotels in leeds were choca with gers.

by all accounts there's loads camping on a golf course on the outskirts too....

[RD]

i fuckin hate rangers ever since they invaded the midlands one saturday in the 70's.

villa had a free saturday so arranged a friendly with em. arrived at villa park to see aprox 15,000 scots men in the holte end (another 5,000 or so in the sides). villa fans were escorted up to the witton end. i was a teenager at the time with my dad & 6-7 year old brother.

villa went 1 nil up- cue atempted pitch invasion & scotsmen trying to get the few villa fans who bothered to hang around (5,000?).

villa then scored a second & all hell broke out- full scale pitch invasion with the scots charging towards the villa fans - players scattered ran for their lives. my kid brother was in tears he was so scared.

40 or so mounted police saved the villa fans from assault as they cut the hools off as they approached the witton end.

game abandoned after 20 minutes.

birmingham & coventry city centres were trashed that evening total mayhem... so fck the gers & their boring football.

i don't give a fuck who wins-the sectarian ( i meant not secular) scots or the racist russians - just as bad as one another.

[Niles]

Absolute awesome atmosphere in town.
The fans are pissed up and singing. Not particularly ominous or aggressive though and they seem cool at the mo.

[Weekender]

You can literally smell the lager in the air outside the Town Hall!

[Little Beaver]

No Rangers fans on here?
I could never stick Rangers:
1. Because the most loathsome element of Chelsea fans supported Rangers
2. Because Rangers remained a deeply sectarian club long after everyone else had grown up
and 3. One of the formative experiences of my youth was seeing Celtic beat Inter on my parents b/w TV when I was 11. I became a fan instantly, loving players like Jimmy Johnstone (for me the archetypal Scottish winger) and I also loved their old strip: green hoops with no number on the back, but a big number on the shorts. Later, this kind of merged with my Republican sympathies. My dad's family (from Glasgow) were Rangers supporters.

[Dancing Girl]

You can literally smell the lager in the air outside the Town Hall!

and....


There is place in Devon that's a favourite place of mine,
It's name is Buckfast Abbey where they make a special wine,
The wine is made with love and pride by Benedictine monks,
Who dance on grapes with dirty feet then strain it through their trunks.

:-D

[Mr Z]

Genius

[Lilac Camel]

Fair play to them for bringing down pretty much the whole of Glasgow. Amazing atmosphere in town this afternoon and all pretty good-natured.

Can't get past the 'Rule Britannia' shite though...

[Count Cookula]

That's fucked it

[Vic20]

doesn' t look good...

[Count Cookula]

Too bad they waited til the 75th minute to start playing football

[Lilac Camel]

Too bad they waited til the 75th minute to start playing football

that's just what I was thinking.

[Count Cookula]

What was that awful music that they played at the start and again at the end about...?

Sounded like Blink 182 or summat

[ladyboygrimsby]

Communists 2 (Dodgy) Unionists 0 :-D

[hambo]

Crap match. Walter Smith bottled it.

[Count Cookula]

Crap match. Walter Smith bottled it.

True, a terrible advertisment for Scottish football.

On that evidence, forget the Premier League, Rangers would be hard pressed to stay up in the Championship.

[hambo]

Make you right, man. The Zenit side looked rather useful. That Arshavin kiddie would be worth a punt in the Prem.

[Count Cookula]

Great now it's all kicked off in town :confused: :rolleyes:

After the screens the ticketless fans stopped working part way in to the game... oh dear

[jungle slut]

thats 90 minutes i'll never get back

[RD]

Make you right, man. The Zenit side looked rather useful. That Arshavin kiddie would be worth a punt in the Prem.

he was great against england & he's the national team captain- would love to see him at villa!

just looked at his profile on wikipedia & its already updated with tonights victory!- those russians are on it -amazing

[soul rhebel]

Cheers Zenit!

Everything going alright in Manchester still this evening?

[Count Cookula]

Ah a Celtic fan speaks

[the mighty asok]

That was pretty terrible. My girlfriends dads a big rangers fan so I wanted them to win for her / his sake - but rangers had nothing. At all. Even when Zenit scored all they mustered in the last 15 minutes was one half chance, while Zenit scored again and hit the post. They had no attacking clue. Shame.

I bet a few of those players part company this year with Zenit. That arshavin bloke has been russian player of the year a couple of years (I think), and he looks really good. Was it him who put the pass through for the first goal?

Some Rangers fan on the radio before the match had paid £1200 for a ticket and it cost him over £2000 to get flights sorted from Canada - and he didnt have a hotel room. So if we all lost 90 minutes, at least we didnt lose that.

[Count Cookula]

For me the highlight of the night was that Keith Harris & Orville Post Office ad at the end

[Little Beaver]

thats 90 minutes i'll never get back
Hahahaha. Just as well I missed it. Too busy playing shoddy blues and country piano in Depford. Two vile clubs in contention for the Worthington Cup of Europe.

[the mighty asok]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsjF5Wcdbf4&eurl=http://www.redcafe.net/f7/zenit-fan-stabbed-202528/

a mate just sent me that.

seems like its all going off big time.

im glad im not out for a quiet evening stroll in manchester right now.

[the mighty asok]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7401188.stm

[greg wilson]

From a football forum:

Just been in town...

Manchester is a fucking mess..

Riot police getting pelted with bottles, people bleeding everywhere, shop windows smashed, bus stations smashed, and there is broken glass everywhere....

One guy had been run over, we stayed to see if he was okay for about 20 minutes, but moved on further into town, got back a further half hour later he was still there surrounded by riot police, still no sign of an ambulance when we left a further 20 minutes on...

Never seen anything like it

[Count Cookula]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsjF5Wcdbf4&eurl=http://www.redcafe.net/f7/zenit-fan-stabbed-202528/

a mate just sent me that.

seems like its all going off big time.

im glad im not out for a quiet evening stroll in manchester right now.

That fella gets sucker punched big time about 20 secs in

[Count Cookula]

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/2884/cpn1pmju7lhcinwqzgbe5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[mikuni]

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/2884/cpn1pmju7lhcinwqzgbe5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

:)

Hope everyone from DJH Manc got home okay tonight, heathens the lot of them...

[Maelstrom]

Ah well...it was always a dream. After Zenit pumped Bayern I kind of knew we'd get beaten but never mind, we're still on course for the domestic trouble.

Also, Tommy Burns died of cancer at the age of 51 this morning. Not a very good day for Scottish football.

[mikuni]

But let's focus on Manchester for a minute, seems like there's a lot of winging on the TV being directed at the wrong people...

According to R5 Live this morning:

- the estimated income from the 2 day invasion of Manchester by Rangers fans = £20 million..

- the estimated cost of cleaning up and repairing the damage = £1 million.

Therefore, the reason why Manchester encouraged Rangers fans to travel down, booze all day, deep fry Russians and ultimately wreck their fair city = £19 million.

Plain and simple :)

[slept in]

But let's focus on Manchester for a minute, seems like there's a lot of winging on the TV being directed at the wrong people...

According to R5 Live this morning:

- the estimated income from the 2 day invasion of Manchester by Rangers fans = £20 million..

- the estimated cost of cleaning up and repairing the damage = £1 million.

Therefore, the reason why Manchester encouraged Rangers fans to travel down, booze all day, deep fry Russians and ultimately wreck their fair city = £19 million.

Plain and simple :)

of course. that was always the plan. the councillors have been virtually pissing themselves with excitement at this windfall. the media have been going on with their faux-surprise all this morning. but the council has made it's money and the media has it's good copy so really they are both chuffed to bits. i'm just glad i don't live in the city centre - then again, why would i - it's shit.

[Little Beaver]

This "fan's" quote from the BBC news piece: "Some people are really angry. They've spent a lot of money - maybe £4,000 to £5,000 - to come down here for this."

How the fuck do you spend £4-5,000 to get to Manc to see a game, free, on the big screen?

[RD]

same old scum who i mentioned in previous post.
not suprised in the slightest

like that photo shop piece cc -wkd!

[Cantopop Sensation]

From a football forum:

Just been in town...

Manchester is a fucking mess..

Riot police getting pelted with bottles, people bleeding everywhere, shop windows smashed, bus stations smashed, and there is broken glass everywhere....

One guy had been run over, we stayed to see if he was okay for about 20 minutes, but moved on further into town, got back a further half hour later he was still there surrounded by riot police, still no sign of an ambulance when we left a further 20 minutes on...

Never seen anything like it

Mate's just e-mailed me telling me they had his gran's birthday dinner in city centre last night - talk about bad timing . .

Rangers away in UK - you could have guessed, couldn't ya. And f*ck off - Walter Smith is a terrible manager. Clueless negativity. I'm still getting over how bad he was at Everton. Ibrahim Bakayoko, anyone?

[Count Cookula]

Mate's just e-mailed me telling me they had his gran's birthday dinner in city centre last night - talk about bad timing . .


Oof

[Maelstrom]

How the fuck do you spend £4-5,000 to get to Manc to see a game, free, on the big screen?

He's obviously referring to those that flew in from Australia, Canada, the US...

[Lilac Camel]

It's all Manchester's fault now, apparently.

The irony being that we're now hearing the same tired old shite justification that England fans have used for the last 30 years after they'd laid waste to some Swiss town - 'bad organisation', 'heavy-handed policing' etc.

Conjures up memories of sunburnt nob-ends on the continent upturning tables and throwing plastic furniture at the police, then getting their plastic St George hats (courtesy of The Sun) blasted off by a water-cannon. Fuckers :-D

Truth is Manchester stunk of piss this morning.

[Count Cookula]

And plans to show United v Chelsea have been shelved.

Scots cocks.

[slept in]

It's all Manchester's fault now, apparently.

The irony being that we're now hearing the same tired old shite justification that England fans have used for the last 30 years after they'd laid waste to some Swiss town - 'bad organisation', 'heavy-handed policing' etc.

Conjures up memories of sunburnt nob-ends on the continent upturning tables and throwing plastic furniture at the police, then getting their plastic St George hats (courtesy of The Sun) blasted off by a water-cannon. Fuckers :-D

Truth is Manchester stunk of piss this morning.

smelt okay at lunchtime. and people were sitting in piccadilly gardens having their lunch, it had been completely tidied up. aside from lots of tiny bits of glass on the roads, it didn't look much worse than after any Friday night in town. as for police over reaction, bad organisation - i don't think they could have done much more. the fans were going to come, you have to cater for them by showing the match on a big screen to keep them in one place as much as possible. to be honest there wasn't that much inconvenience unless you lived in town. i thought they did okay...

[Dancing Girl]

Truth is Manchester stunk of piss this morning.

Stinks of piss most mornings

[slept in]

yeah, sorry about that.

[Cantopop Sensation]

Truth is Manchester stunk of piss this morning.

I urinate on Manchester every chance I get :p

[Count Cookula]

Stinks of piss most mornings

It's the Scousers on shopping trips

[Lilac Camel]

It's the Scousers on shopping trips

Never out of Harvey Nick Nacks eh?

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/12_01/coleenMOS0812_468x787.jpg

[Count Cookula]

I urinate on Manchester every chance I get :p

There you go bigging yourself up again ;)

[Little Beaver]

He's obviously referring to those that flew in from Australia, Canada, the US...
If you were going to spend 4-5k going to Manc for the match you should at least have a ticket rather than slumming it with the proles in Piccadilly Gardens.

[Contador]

Up at the ground the tickets were going for between face value and about 150 pounds near to kick off.

[I Robot]

It's the Scousers on shopping trips

We wouldn't have bothered fightin plod We'd just have looted the jewellers like we did in 84 :-D

[Danny long legs]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7402702.stm

fuck me!

[Contador]

We wouldn't have bothered fightin plod We'd just have looted the jewellers like we did in 84 :-D


That was 85 in Brussels, 84 we were fighting for our lives agaisnt Roma after escaping with the cup from their own back yard.

[Count Cookula]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7402702.stm

fuck me!

Yeah nice.

[Little Beaver]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7402702.stm

fuck me!
Un-fucking-believable. It's been years since I've seen fans in the UK kick off like that.

[slept in]

Normally, we have the decency to do it on someone elses backyard.

What is the world coming to...

[Little Beaver]

Quite so. After all, Johnny Foreigner doesn't like it up 'im, does he?

[Mr Hanson]

all pretty nasty stuff

first the IRA trashed Manchester city centre, now the other side have done it... :confused:

but these pix made me laugh

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/05_04/rangerstroubleGETTY_468x292.jpg

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44658000/jpg/_44658035_fan_bitten_ap226.jpg

[fatneck]

walking round sing "U-U-UVF" always sounds good :rolleyes:

almost as embarrasing as "no-surrender"

ALL tossers

[fatneck]

Un-fucking-believable. It's been years since I've seen fans in the UK kick off like that.

Leeds v Utd in the dirty's last season in the prem, a very tiring day, chasing all those leeds fans back into their own city centre :)

[Count Cookula]

Quite so. After all, Johnny Foreigner doesn't like it up 'im, does he?

Actually I think he rather does

[Count Cookula]

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44658000/jpg/_44658035_fan_bitten_ap226.jpg

Best be gettin' yir sel doon the clanac fer a wee TB jab, th'noo

[fatneck]

what, the dog's sayin that ?

[Count Cookula]

what, the dog's sayin that ?

Yup in a comedy Scottish accent... follow by "Jimmy!"

[Count Cookula]

He's a bit of a.... wait for it...


























wag that one

[fatneck]

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/fatneck72/RussAbbott.jpg

[Count Cookula]

http://football.guardian.co.uk/fiver/0,,415657,00.html

[I Robot]

That was 85 in Brussels, 84 we were fighting for our lives agaisnt Roma after escaping with the cup from their own back yard.

I was on about the Milk Cup final replay held in Manc


All the phone ins have had Celtic fans rubbin their hands sayin it wouldn't have happened if it was them and none of the Rangers lot disagreed.

Best bit I saw on TV had all these Rangers fans saying how disgusting and terrible it was,one came on absolutely choked and crying about how the screen went down - unbelievable

[Contador]

I was on about the Milk Cup final replay held in Manc



I do apologise squire, I thought you were on about the European final in 84.

It was part of the course around that time that the tom shop's got raided on away trips. My mate (who's with me know - sat down enjoying a cup of tea) has just told me about a time he took a stamped adrressed jiffy envelope down to Chelsea in 85, when the shops on the Edgeware Rd got done and a nice bit of gold landed on his doorstep a day or two later:-D

[I Robot]

Yeah there used to be quite a few lads on the dole rockin Rolexes back in the mid 80's

[soul rhebel]

all pretty nasty stuff

first the IRA trashed Manchester city centre, now the other side have done it... :confused:

but these pix made me laugh

http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/05_04/rangerstroubleGETTY_468x292.jpg

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44658000/jpg/_44658035_fan_bitten_ap226.jpg


I don't remember 'the IRA' playing a football game in Manchester never mind a minor European final.

What I do know is that a multitude of superannuated north west superstars pretty much by course when it comes to choosing a willing bunch of mugs to fill their coffers tend to call upon Celtic. I've yet to hear of to many complaints about 'tic fans conduct in any of these affairs.

Can I ask that folk cease and desist from talk of the 'old firm' as any Celtic fan I know wants to remove themselves entirely from this tag which consistently sees us viewed as the flip side of something which we would rather not be associated with.

[Contador]

I don't remember 'the IRA' playing a football game in Manchester never mind a minor European final.

What I do know is that a multitude of superannuated north west superstars pretty much by course when it comes to choosing a willing bunch of mugs to fill their coffers tend to call upon Celtic. I've yet to hear of to many complaints about 'tic fans conduct in any of these affairs.

Can I ask that folk cease and desist from talk of the 'old firm' as any Celtic fan I know wants to remove themselves entirely from this tag which consistently sees us viewed as the flip side of something which we would rather not be associated with.

Ian Rush's testamonial, the Celtic fans were outstanding. Pissed as farts all day. They sang, danced and never caused any trouble.

Same with Ronnie Morans testamonial - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju1KQyw94l8 - outstanding. YNWA sang together makes me get goose bumps...

After Hillsborough when every man , journalist and Police Chief were taking a swipe at Liverpool FC and their fans, Celtic welcomed us with open arms.

[soul rhebel]

Ian Rush's testamonial, the Celtic fans were outstanding. Pissed as farts all day.

I wouldn't have wanted to watch that hiding sober to be fair!

[Contador]

I wouldn't have wanted to watch that hiding sober to be fair!

5 or 6 nil?.....That Ronnie Moran one I remember Stan Boardman coming on as a sub and scoring.

[mikuni]

Up at the ground the tickets were going for between face value and about 150 pounds near to kick off.

Make a few bob, did yer? :)

[mikuni]

Un-fucking-believable. It's been years since I've seen fans in the UK kick off like that.

Used to be like that every Friday outside the Hac in 1989 :)

[mikuni]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=F965rbxetrw :)

Fully deserved if you ask me...

http://usera.imagecave.com/lothianblue/gmp1.bmp.jpg

Know what I mean?

[Count Cookula]

I like the Right Behind You sign in pic 2.

I doubt these images are likely to make the BBC news followed by an interview with the victim

[Count Cookula]

Go on Motherwell... 1 - 1 game on!

[Weekender]

After Hillsborough when every man , journalist and Police Chief were taking a swipe at Liverpool FC and their fans, Celtic welcomed us with open arms.Every man? That's not right.

[mikuni]

Noticed how the police left their colleague to get ripped to pieces in that video? Cowards the lot of them..

[I Robot]

Every man? That's not right.

Not everyone but a large majority of the country held the view it was down to Liverpool hooligans,thanks largely to police reports and the media coverage - the S&&n's sales have never recovered in Liverpool.Even now there are still idiots claiming the fans were to blame for the tragedy

[Contador]

Not everyone but a large majority of the country held the view it was down to Liverpool hooligans,thanks largely to police reports and the media coverage - the S&&n's sales have never recovered in Liverpool.Even now there are still idiots claiming the fans were to blame for the tragedy

What he said^^^^^

[Little Beaver]

Scouse paranoia. A lot of people thought it for about 10 minutes, until the cause became clear (which it pretty much had done by the end of Saturday evening). Don't fall into the trap of thinking that The Sun represented the rest of the country's views. And if there was some scepticism in certain quarters, maybe the word Heysel will go some way to explain it.

[I Robot]

As usual you amaze with your ignorance,both on hillsborough itself and bringing Heysel up.

[ladyboygrimsby]

As usual you amaze with your ignorance,both on hillsborough itself and bringing Heysel up.

I'm with LB on this one. I was working for When Saturday Comes when Hillsborough happened so I think I was in a good position to get a strong idea of countrywide opinion of this. By Saturday evening the impression I got from other people was one of mounting anger at what had happened and that was solidified as the news of how it had happened seeped out. What happened at Hillsborough was indicative of how football fans were perceived generally but I think it was the tipping point of when things began to change, and it says a lot about how bad things were that it took all of those deaths for the press and the wider public to start viewing football supporters as fellow human beings and customers rather than some neanderthal sub-species.

And while you can make lots of valid points about the Heysel Stadium disaster (it should never have been played there for a start) the fact is it was started by hoolies wanting a scrap.

[I Robot]

Whilst most right minded football fans acknowledged that Hillsborough was a tragedy waiting to happen there was the view around the country that it was down to drunken scousers tryin to get in the match. Unfortunately there are still idiots who propagate that view.

LB whilst arguing that people realised Hillsborough did not involve scousers robbing from and pissing on the dead.as the Sun claimed.then brings up Heysel to explain why those views are acceptable.

The circumstances surrounding Heysel were far more complex than a few hoolies wanting a scrap - the stabbings in Rome the year before being only one factor.Maybe someone on the board who was there could shed a little light and would be more informed than I.Reports suggested the Italians had been up to their old tricks prior to the match,they were certainly carrying flags with Red Animals on in the ground and one fan was pictured with a starting pistol.

Hillsborough was a tragedy that could have happened to any team's supporters,ironically many of the problems that led to the tragedy were apparent at the semi final held there the year before. Unfortunately it took the tragedy before improvements were called for to football grounds.

[Weekender]

I remember it as LB & Bill...
And if there was some scepticism in certain quarters, maybe the word Heysel will go some way to explain it.I don't think LB was saying the views held in some quarters and by The Sun were "acceptable" at all.

[sundayjam]

My mate went along with some of our friends. He's a Celtic fan btw so could easily have an anti Rangers opinion. He is adamant that those who kicked off were predominately English (80's casuals he reckoned). He says that the atmosphere was fantastic until the screen was turned of. Yup, turned off. I’ve also heard this from a mate who works at Rangers and a friend who went down as part of a Scottish police contingent. The authorities thought that there were too many people there and started issuing instructions to view the match at other screens. When this happen a small group kicked off, apparently at the start there was very little police presence and the in-fighting that we all witnessed started as the 'genuine' fans tried to stop the idiots throwing bottles at the screen and ruining the atmosphere. As they were ushered away he says there were numerous fights between English and Irish groups of supporters.

For what it’s worth. Not every Rangers fan, or Glaswegian for that matter, is a soap dodging scum bag.

[mikuni]

I watched the video of the riot policeman tripping over and being LEFT behind by his colleagues and wondered if this was anew tactic they were teaching them down at Hendon? They just ran away and left him and they've got clubs and shields. Would never have happened in my day, they'd have been trunchons and horse-snot everywhere.. :)

By the way, I think we can dispell any notion that this is an 'English decease', it turns out that Osaka v Urawa ended up in running battles this weekend, both on and off the pitch. The police just sat back with open mouths, as it's probably the first time they've seen such antics in Japan..

http://www.japantoday.com/images/size/200x/2008/05/reds.jpg

[Mr Hanson]

there's still widescale denial in this country about why thousands upon thousands of men choose to go abroad, get drunk, piss on local historic buildings, leer at local women, and treat the towns they visit with total disrespect - NOBODY comes to the UK to do that from overseas - why is this?

the Rangers fans who went to Barcelona this season were some of the worst they've ever received and it's tiring always having to explain why so many of my compatriots are abject morons....

of course, there are a fair few nasties in the spanish and italian supports too, but that seems to me to reflect a cultural ignorance of racism and a less developed experience of immigration in the post-war era... in our case, though, it seems more a violent working class nihilism aggravated but not explained away by the booze - I'm sure academics have spent years analysing it but the mass-media seem to me still to be totally in denial... "it was only a tiny minority" "carnival atmosphere" etc when really, everyone in power is too cowardly to address the real social issues causing this...