The Albion Roar - 11 Sep - WITH GUESTS RICHARD HEBBERD & PC DARREN BALKHAM

[Art Vs Science]

I cannot find a 'Legal reason' for this. I would suggest maybe someone spend several games with a proper HD video camera and film them and THEIR actions throughout a game and also then covertly record some of the stewards being rude in response to a few reasonable requests and use that as evidence towards them. Somebody at the right level at the club has to listen if you have a loud enough voice. Ultimately, NSC is still a minority of fans so we would need to make this a bigger issue for the masses, if enough people stand against some of the ridiculous stewarding the club simply have to listen. Just some thoughts.

 

[Ned]

So, was it business as usual regarding the response stewards in H/J block?

I counted 8 ( 5 response and 3 'ordinary stewards') for the majority of the first half which then dwindled to 5 as the game went on. There were no problems in these blocks yesterday so no need for the overkill as normal.

 

[Richy_Seagull]

Had to turn off after 20 mins due to Richard just talking absolute shite, which comes as no surprise. Nothings going to change, time to accept that, so I'll be staying away from Withdean.

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

No surprise Hebberd manage to come across as a tool.

J block still surrounded by stewards yesterday for no reason whatsoever.

If they can't get it right at Withdean, f*** knows how bad it'll be at Falmer.

 

[Working class pride]

Had to turn off after 20 mins due to Richard just talking absolute shite, which comes as no surprise. Nothings going to change, time to accept that, so I'll be staying away from Withdean.

Shame that but understood. Saturdays are precious and understood that you dont want to waste it by going to a game to just have a sanitised boring experience with jumped up club stewards trying to hinder rather than help the atmosphere. Team and Chairman are great tho, just a shame about the fella that wants to tell The Kop to sit down at football. Id love to see him try that at Anfield, i expect his P45 would be in the post after the first game! Still they did say they would listen so why not give them a month and see if they have amended their ways?

 

[KneeOn]

J block is always f***ing empty though!

Thast the most baffling thing. H block has a lot of people standing. Having stewards (not those f***ing para-response stewards mnd) watch us a little bit more intently to make sure the standing doesn't get out of hand i can accept. Having pointing and filming in block E. E! And a almost deserted block that is right on the edge of the shittest stand in League One?



Hebberd baffles me.

 

[Black Dalek]

Build A Bonfire......The stewarding policy is the one dispiontment, to our club. Withdean is family friendly, but "come on" Kids love the atmosphere of jumping up and down thrown in with a few swear words. Dont Kid yourself the've never heard them before. And as for that Darren Balkham...well. Top of the bonfire will do.

 

[Sheebo]

They don't really understand anything do they.

My son (STH) attended the match today, with his 7 year old son (my grandson). It is the first time my grandson has his own season ticket. Unfortunately, my grandson had toothache, and despite putting a brave face on it during the first-half.........the pain was too much for him and his dad had to pop him home at the end of the first half.

My son asked if he could be re-admitted after taking my grandson home to his mum....................'NO' was the answer.

Wankers.

Richard Hebbard........you can shove your pontificating views up your arse as far as you can get them.................and if it's anything like your mouth, that will be a considerable distance.

I've had something similar to that before. They just follow stupid rules and show no commen sense whatsoever. Stories like that show exactly why the stewards don't have a bloody clue.

 

[Sheebo]

Don't patronise me you fucktard.

The game I grew up with and fell in love as a child is a different game to the game that is about today. Why? Because it's full of cuntiods such as yourself moaning about people swearing.

You get some f***ing perspective, else we'll become as sanistised as yank sports and it'll be more about Pepsi Cola than a nuclear bovril and pissing through a rolled up programme!

****!

Class rant And very true!

Don't swear? Whatever. It is indeed part of passin which is part of football. We need to segregate the fans at Falmer clearly

 

[HampshireSeagulls]

What did you expect Hebbard to say? He has to trot out the party line about following FA rules and guidelines, but can't admit that actually, his stormtroopers are not going to try and tell 250 Millwall fans to sit down so they manage the rest of the ground where they meet less resistance. He is not going to admit that his little paramilitaries are dressed to provoke, but hopefully he will take that onboard and tell them to sort their shit out before someone seriously challenges them - and kicks them into next week. He might want to make them aware of the concept of pre-emptive self defence - if I thought some fat failed bouncer was going to grab me in a manner which was going to hurt, he would be trying to get a testicle out of each leg pocket in his combats - and it would be legal because I would make damn sure it was witnessed and videoed. Let's face it, the numpties do tend to telegraph the fact they are going after someone! I would of course respond in a much more compliant manner if I felt that said steward was not trying to come across as a combat ninja.

I do have an issue with swearing inasmuch as I don't think it is necessary. Just a personal thing and I have made a point of this in pubs and clubs when it appears that some neanderthal cannot express himself without using language that I don't expect to be subjected to. I have a mouth like a sewer but I know when to use it and not to use it - generally out of self-respect and respect for those around me, not when there are women and children in earshot. However, if swearing makes you feel better, then fine.

Remember that football is a business these days and customers are what bring in the money. Ultimately, the customer is only right to a certain point - throwing out people that others don't want to tolerate may well be the option for keeping the money flowing. It's a fact these days, and Falmer is going to be driven by Amex and the money men - if you don't fit in, then no amount of throwing tantrums will change their mind, there will always be a corporate group that they can use to fill your seats.

 

[Acker79]

What did you expect Hebbard to say? He has to trot out the party line about following FA rules and guidelines,

To be honest, I was only half listening, and didn't really distinguish between the two voices, but from what I did hear, it sounded like he was the sort of person who actually agrees with the guidelines.

if I thought some fat failed bouncer was going to grab me in a manner which was going to hurt, he would be trying to get a testicle out of each leg pocket in his combats - and it would be legal because I would make damn sure it was witnessed and videoed.

I don't think videoing it makes it legal. I don't think anything makes it legal put peoples' testicles in their pockets. It would be a shining example of excessive force.

 

[HampshireSeagulls]

To be honest, I was only half listening, and didn't really distinguish between the two voices, but from what I did hear, it sounded like he was the sort of person who actually agrees with the guidelines.



I don't think videoing it makes it legal. I don't think anything makes it legal put peoples' testicles in their pockets. It would be a shining example of excessive force.

Nah - if he was dressed like a member of Delta Force then I am sure that the video would show that I used justifiable and reasonable force in protecting myself by hitting him first.

And it would be fun watching him trying to work out how many testicles he should have - counting past "1" could prove his biggest problem...

 

[Spun Cuppa]

When RH was asked a direct question about homophobic chanting, he mentioned the stamping out of racism in football was 'a long process', and has taken many years, and the same process is being used in tackling homophobic chanting...

Using this mindset, I'm worried the same 'process' is being followed to stamp out anything that will create an atmosphere at games, i.e. standing to applaud/singing/chanting/shows of spontaneous delight etc., in the name of safety...

We are gradually being edged towards a sanitised, delivered 'experience', rather than a traditional, boisterous Saturday afternoon's footie shout-up, and I don't think this is desirable or a good thing tbh...

 

[Barrel of Fun]

...and pissing through a rolled up programme!

****!

Oh dear. That is going to upset Hiney.

 

[HampshireSeagulls]

When RH was asked a direct question about homophobic chanting, he mentioned the stamping out of racism in football was 'a long process', and has taken many years, and the same process is being used in tackling homophobic chanting...

Using this mindset, I'm worried the same 'process' is being followed to stamp out anything that will create an atmosphere at games, i.e. standing to applaud/singing/chanting/shows of spontaneous delight etc., in the name of safety...

We are gradually being edged towards a sanitised, delivered 'experience', rather than a traditional, boisterous Saturday afternoon's footie shout-up, and I don't think this is desirable or a good thing tbh...

It's only a long process if they bottle it. If they used the stewards to gather evidence, then the FA could act against the club concerned. If they got in quickly and removed a couple of people who were chanting, then it might get the message over. By being "the gay club" and not taking action, he is failing in his duties - and taking the cowards way out.

The rules relating to Football Grounds are unfortunately very clear, but common sense can be applied. However, it has to be applied consistently and the people who work under the rules need to be of a decent quality. It's achievable, but people need to understand what is happening and why it is happening, not just being subject to some kind of apparently arbitrary application of policy which seems to focus on those who present no threat or challenge to those applying it. If they really mean to make the rules stick, then they need to go after those that flout the rules, not those that just break them by standing up to go for a piss.

 

[Spun Cuppa]

My point was more about long-term processes being formulated and applied, rather than homophobia specifically...

Initially they were about hooliganism, racism, and now homophobia, but I would argue there is a new long-term process being formulated/applied, and that is to marginalise the 'stand up and have a shout' type fan, with the more docile, sit-in-the-seat and mutter-under-the-breath type fan being the target 'audience' in a RH 'ideal world'...

All this talk of 'zero tolerance' at Falmer ffs! What does that mean I wonder? You are only allowed to stand before and after the halves of football, and not during play? It'll end up like being at a tennis match or the like!

We've got Falmer, but have we?

 

[cjd]

I thought the answer to the question re; homophobic chanting was typical of how out of touch Hebberd was.

The pompous reply was that more supporters had been ejected at Withdean, due to homphobic chanting, than any other club.

Which other games did Mr. Dick HEDderd expect to exceed the ejections at Withdean...........a local derby between Shefield United and Sheffield Wednesday....?

 

[Richy_Seagull]

After listening to the whole thing, I am massively concerned about how they are going to act at Falmer. I just don't understand how the club can be getting everything else right at the moment EXCEPT having this clueless, jobsworth, stuck up his own arse fool in charge of matchday staff.

 

[HampshireSeagulls]

I thought the answer to the question re; homophobic chanting was typical of how out of touch Hebberd was.

The pompous reply was that more supporters had been ejected at Withdean, due to homphobic chanting, than any other club.

Which other games did Mr. Dick HEDderd expect to exceed the ejections at Withdean...........a local derby between Shefield United and Sheffield Wednesday....?

So, it's not actually changed anything, which means he is doing it wrong! Do visiting fans know that they are being watched for homophobic chanting? Are they leafleted on arrival and warned about their behaviour? How many of the ejections are people that actually pose little challenge to his stewards and staff? How do they use visiting team stewards (because most clubs that have their shit together send their own stewards to away matches these days) to monitor it? Are there banning orders put in place afterwards? Are there obvious signs relating to it? It's no use expecting fans to read the Terms and Conditions on their tickets, or the list of rules and regulations around the ground - choose a couple of rules to focus on, post them up, bang on about them pre-match and in the breaks, and enforce them until people understand it. If fans were making monkey noises and lobbing bananas on the pitch I am pretty sure he would not be blathering on about it being a "long journey"!

 

[Sheebo]

I believe they said 4 people at Withdean had been ejected. Hardly a big number is it? And wasn;t there a fair few Spurs fans done last season for the Sol Campbell abuse therefore making Hebbards stat wrong?