why don't they just.....

[R1Geezer]

machine gun a couple of dozen and be done with it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/ 7402858.stm
they'd soon calm down. Bl00dy sweaties why can't they behave themselves like the English fans!

[anotheoldgit]

As I have said in the previous post, why don't they use the water cannon?

[WaldoMcFroog]

Presumably they have to start small and gradually work themselves up to behaving like the English did in Marseille in 1998, Charleroi in 2000, Slovakia in 2002, Albufeira in 2004, Stuttgart and Cologne in 2006 and Rome in 1997 and 2007...

[bubba28]

Just one word somes it up. SCUM!!

[daffy654]

I hope they catch the thugs who beat up that poor police officer,he was just doing his job and didn't deserve to be attacked that way.

[34years]

Tetjam the people (scum ) who kicked that policeman want locking up for 10 years. when you need help who comes, the police come, don't forget that, one day you may need there help

[New Judge]

Their behaviour was inexcusable. However

What on earth was Manchester City Council doing in erecting giant screens in the city centre? Football matches cause enough mayhem in the areas surrounding the grounds. To provide facilities for �supporters� to watch the match in the street in the city centre (especially where alcohol was available all day long) was the height of irresponsibility.

At football grounds many measures are taken to control the crowd and separate the rival factions. Specific laws are in place to punish bad behaviour in the grounds and these laws make offences of behaviour which are not specifically illegal elsewhere.

But here we have a City council encouraging fans to watch a match in a totally unrestricted inappropriate location.

Pity on the poor people of Manchester who might have wanted a quiet drink or meal in their city that evening. Utter shame on the council for providing the facilities for such a debacle to take place.

[34years]

Manchester City Council were not going to do it they were forced into it because so many fans were coming without tickets.the stabbed russian fan was at the ground , there was fighting all over the city centre not just because one of the tv screens failed ,the last time rangers came to manchester there was a lot of trouble. bolton wanted to play them in a friendly match and gmp got that match stopped because of the fear of trouble.celtic come and play in manchester plenty of drinking and plenty of fun and that was after getting beat no trouble from there fans

[34years]

ps i have been in a pub when united played celtic both sets of fans in the same pub no problem before or after the match.i was going to leave the pub while the match was being played the landlord said there would be no problem i was a bit worried but decided to stay after the match no problem . had a great night

[anotheoldgit]

34years

Perhaps the Police came when Tetjam didn't need them.

Could this be his problem.

[tigerlily11]

Tetjam your a prawn.
I find it hard to believe they stood by and did nothing when you were being attacked.

[New Judge]

I don�t quite understand your reasoning, 34years.

So the council were concerned at the prospect of large numbers of ticketless people turning up in the city. So to combat that concern they erect the big screens. How, exactly was this going to deter those people from travelling to Manchester? How was it going to discourage them from hanging about in the city? How was it going to ensure that if they did stay they would behave themselves?

God knows why they did it but they were not �forced into it� by any means (councils rarely are forced into doing anything they do not want to do).

Watching football should be confined to football grounds. It should not be available on TV in any public place (including pubs). I (and, I imagine, most of the people of Manchester) are pleased to see the city council has come to its senses and abandoned plans to provide big screens for the Manchester United-Chelsea match next week.

[nedflanders]

2006 World Cup - Bigscreens erected around major cities in England, England lose, widespread disorder breaks out. It is our unfortunate social problem with alcohol that is to blame. Manchester city council realised that they could make a bob or 3 for the local economy so they are partially to blame. Hopefully the current campaign to name and shame the knuckle draggers will be a success.

[Parsfan]

The reason the council did what they did was simple- money. Newspaper reports suggested that the macth would bring tens of millions into the local economy. For weeks all non-Rangers fans up here have been shaking our heads at the lunacy of it. Inviting tens of thousands of these nutters to descend on a city, let them get tanked up on Buckfast for two days, knowing that Rangers were odds-on to get beat - what did they think would happen? A basic understanding of history would have told the council that this was not a good idea. You only have to look at what happened the last time Rangers made it to a European final. They are not renowned for taking defeat stoically.

[brionon]

WaldoMcFroog
Can't you EVER talk about the Scots without going on and on and on about the English ? Can't you lot exist without them ?

[nedflanders]

Brionon He's trying to make a point that people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones......or bricks, bottles etc.

[34years]

new judge do you live in manchester ? i do , a week before the match the police advised people with no tickets not to come to the city. when the police and council realized that a lot of people were going to turn up for the day. plans were put in place to accommodate supporters with no tickets.
are you aware that when the screen in piccadilly failed the people ( technicians) came under attack from flying bottles and cans and refused to go near the screen to fix it.if you read any of my posts on that day i warned that there would be trouble and i was slagged off for being cynical, maybe the people slagging me are young ,i remember the last time rangers came to manchester and all the trouble we had then. do you ?
as for the united game not being shown on tv that does not come as a surprise.sir richard leese (head of manchester council) is a very big city fan.when was the last time united fans caused trouble in manchester ?

[New Judge]

No, 34years I don't live in or come from Manchester. Yes, I am aware of most of the things you say, including the attack on the technicians.

I simply do not understand why the city council sought to accommodate the ticketless fans by providing big screens. If they did not want them in the city it might have been better to encourage them to remain at home by stating quite clearly (and well in advance) that they would not be able to see the match if they travelled. This action could have been reinforced by the temporary closure of pubs and bars in the city centre on the day (which could and should have been done on police advice). At least if the Scottish idiots did still turn up they would have had nowhere to watch the match (if indeed that was their intention), nowhere to get drunk and less reasons (though doubtless they'd still have found some) to fight people.

The sooner the authorities realise that the watching of football should only take place in football grounds where proper facilities for containment exist, the better it will be for all concerned (and for many not so concerned).

As for the city council's latest decision, I am not at all interested in football and have no idea which Manchester councillors support which, if any, team. I would be extremely surprised if the council's decision was in anyway partisan. It seems to be a sensible reaction to prevent a recurrence of a problem which should not have occurred in the first place.