Frankie 8,552 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Firstly the game itself. I thought we played reasonably well. First half we sat a bit too deep as usual and Zenit struggled to break us down. As such, they seemed to sit back a wee bit in the second half, allowed us more space and possession which then enabled them to play their effective attacking game. Essentially the match came down to two mistakes. Our dreadful throw in which the Russians capitalised from. And Nacho Novo/Lee McCulloch getting in each other's way and missing the game's best chance. Who knows what would have happened if we'd taken that? It wasn't to be though but we can hold our heads high and be proud that we managed to get so far and were just a ba' hair away from getting a result. Now onto the rest of the day: 1. There is no excuse for the behaviour of whatever fans caused the trouble at Piccadilly Gdns. I seen Rangers fans and Russian fans involved and these people should disgust any reasonable human being. 2. Quite clearly the local authorities could not cope with the incredible numbers of fans who travelled. Not sure what the final numbers were (it's impossible to say IMO) but there were too many fans in too few areas. I spent most of my pre-match time in Portland Street and next to the Piccadilly fanzone. It was all good natured fun but I was worried that hours and hours of drinking, coupled with the sun and minimal police presence could result in issues later. Trouble was inevitable IMO. 3. I was down with 4 mates - 3 of us who went to the game and one without a ticket who stayed behind to try and get into the fanzone to watch. He couldn't get in and quickly saw the screens were buggered. Unfortunately this seemed to cause problems with people throwing objects. My mate tried to tell a copper but the police sergeant was more interested in chatting up his female colleague. My mate then watched the game in Yates Bar and didn't see any trouble there - a hundred yards or so from the Gardens. 4. After the game we walked back towards the Gardens to meet my mate. On the way, around 5 or 6 police vans sped past us (they were based in a retail park - 60 second drive from the Gardens) so we knew there was a possibility of trouble. We kept walking though as we couldn't get through on the phone to our friend (the networks were problematic all day - still getting texts now!). Around 100 yards from the Gardens (CoM side) we could see the police vans halted but nothing seemed to be happening. We got a bit closer and then we could see around 100 fans challenging the police vehicles. We seen a few bottles being thrown by people with Rangers tops on and by people with Zenit flags. But the trouble was NOT that bad. 5. At this point one of the van doors opened and around 10-15 riot police got out. I thought thank goodness, they'll challenge these idiots and stop the problem. Bizarrely (and was actually very funny watching from the side of the street) they ran from one of the vans, across to another and got in. The vans then reversed, put their lights on and drove away - reappearing seconds later from another side street. It was surreal. Best way to describe the police response would be to compare it with a faulty GTA game engine. No organisation, little aims and crazy driving. 6. As this was happening, obviously we were a bit worried for our own safety so we doubled back 20 yards and walked round the block. By the time we got back round to the place where the trouble had been (2-3mins later) the trouble had ended (or moved). We found our mate and moved on to try and get the train back to Widnes (or elsewhere) since the city centre was still heaving and some pubs had closed. 7. We walked down to the Edwards train station to find all the trains had been cancelled. Replacement buses were to be used instead. Unfortunately, this was not suitable given the numbers of people still needing transport. Thousands of people were at the station but only 4 buses were put on in the 2 hours we stood there waiting for transport. One to Blackpool, one to Warrington, one to Liverpool and one which the fella said 'would go everywhere but take hours'. We decided to start walking out the city centre - still packed full of people trying to get transport home - and get a taxi asap. Eventually (and luckily) we managed to get one around 2 miles out and were over-charged by around �£30 for the privilege. 8. All in all, we still had a great, great time. Our hosts were very hospitable and the craic between the Russians, Rangers and Mancunians generally excellent. Unfortunately, there was just far too many people and trouble was inevitable. I honestly think it would have happened with any club if they took this sheer number of fans to such a game. Law of averages suggests neds, yobs, hooligans and whatever would have had their small time of day and I'm just gutted it's the huge majority of decent, law-abiding Rangers fans (and Scottish people) who have their name tarnished by a small number of mindless idiots. Fortunately, these idiots were minimal and hopefully everyone concerned can learn then lessons for future events. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,720 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/05/16/uefa-cup-final-riot-the-police-lost-control-86908-20418966/ 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ascender 352 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Just got up and was surprised to read the two lead articles on it in the Record today. Very surprised tbh. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_momo1 0 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Very suprised, hopefully brings back some creditability to our club, didn't expect anything close to this siding with rangers. Seems like the police had alot to fault with the trouble. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza_8 233 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Interesting and surprising to say the least. Very unusual for anyone media company to defend Rangers and their fans. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,720 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Aye,but the cretin is loving this http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle3939176.ece 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza_8 233 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Aye,but the cretin is loving this http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle3939176.ece Error on the page Ian. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,720 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Error on the page Ian. This blight on RangersGraham Spiers The chaotic post-match scenes at the Uefa Cup final in Manchester must be utterly galling for those thousands of Rangers fans who follow their team with pride and distinction, yet who must wonder how on earth their club is to be rid of the social poison at its core. These recurring incidents of delinquent behaviour with Rangers fans on the road are becoming tedious as well as depressing for those of us who chronicle this football club's fortunes. It doesn't seem to matter what Rangers as a club try to do - and the Ibrox board have explored every conceivable road recently - they simply cannot gouge out the primitive element among their followers. By sheer chance a colleague and I stumbled upon the clashes between Rangers fans and the riot-police around midnight in the centre of Manchester on Wednesday night. Earlier, in the media centre, we had received reports of a Zenit fan being stabbed, and of a number of Rangers supporters being apprehended over that incident, but what we found in the centre of town was something else entirely. Three of us had gone back to a hotel to pick up some luggage and, one block away, the clashes between fans and the police were in full spate. We drove into a grid of wailing sirens. One Rangers supporter said to me: "It's like a war-zone down there. Some windows have been kicked in and there's fighting with the police." One colleague went off to pick up his bag and returned 10 minutes later, slightly shaken after having to pick his way around the chaos. Related Links Riot forces big screen TV U-turn Riot forces big screen TV U-turn Gallant Rangers fall at the final hurdle The experience earlier in the day in Manchester on Wednesday was also depressing. The blight of bigotry has haunted Rangers FC and, while the club has pleaded and pleaded with fans to stop singing their sectarian dirges, the evidence of Manchester city centre over that period suggested they have made little progress in winning this battle. A range of songs which bellow about "****** bastards" and "F*** the Pope" remain the routine chant of too many Rangers supporters. You couldn't walk 50 yards in Manchester city centre without being assaulted by one such chorus. This is a sensitive subject for Rangers. The club has begged Scottish reporters and editors to play it all down, because it "harms the image" of Glasgow and Scotland. Rangers themselves have hired a PR agency over the last two years, asked to perform what is euphemistically called "damage limitation" when it comes to these repeated embarrassments for the club. The PR boys have a tough job. As a club Rangers are very familiar now with having to issue declamatory statements in the aftermath of such scenes as Manchester. A recurring phrase - and it was used again by Rangers yesterday - is that it is "a small minority" which ruins it for the rest. The problem for Rangers is, this isn't a small minority of fans at all, but a large minority of them which indulges in such drunken, or aggressive, or bigoted behaviour. It is an on-going blight upon a very proud and distinguished Scottish institution 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Yeah, "error on the page" is correct, and normal for anything by Spiers. You can see all the comments by the Tims who, not surprisingly love the guy. I think it shows what kind of reporter you are when one side of the OF love you while the other side hate you. Glen Gibbons is very negative too but at least he is disliked by both sets of fans. However, it is quite funny when the Tims are commenting how impartial he is one day (when slagging off Rangers) and then calling him a biased Hun the next (when slagging off Celtic)... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wija 0 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 The Retard reporters were actually caught up in it and clearly have a fans eye view. Seems all the "facts" from the Police Chief witch are a little "blurry". Unlike Spiers who was no where near anything but seems to be able to tell all what happened. Again focusing in on the songs of discontent that Uefa said we were not to sing. Spiers is ensuring that Uefa hear this and that we will be hammered. Clever back stabbing bitter reporting, nothing than we would expect from him. A waste of oxygen and rations. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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