Joke police

[standupsitdown]

It's all down to the nature of football clubs and their fans.

By the nature of (most) of our fans and numbers (we can't fill the ground even for relegation decider), Plainmoor is the sort of ground where away fans from a bigger club will 'take liberties'.

It was the same at (the old) Wimbledon in the Premier League - away fans singing in most areas of the ground and club / police accepted it.

Rover's have a more intimidating support and away fans wouldn't go on their terrace unless they were either looking for trouble or intended to keep quiet.

When I (and others) couldn't get tickets for the Colchester relegation game we bought them for home area - but chose an area where we would be accepted if reasonably (but not totally) quiet rather than where their vocal fans stand.

Ideally the fixture computer wouldn't have Rovers at Plainmoor for the last game of the season but if all that was hurt by away fans in home areas was pride then it's hardly the end of the world.

[Gullscorer]

Ok friendly think you've exhausted the point now like most have said time to move on.

Funny that. I was going to say the same thing to certain Torquay posters on here, but thought better of it.. =D

[Kernowgull]

The atmosphere was rubbish from us. The singers did a good job leading up to kick off but wore themselves out as the game started, then some went down near the away end and killed whatever little atmosphere there was. One of the reasons why I enjoy the away games more than the home games.

Spot on, I was going to write this earlier but was a kittle too hungover!.

The singing sounded good up to kick off, but then stopped as soon as the game started. Theres no point in singing when the musics on, so that was a wasted effort.

Also, the mentality of these lads is ridiculous, you either want Plainmoor to be rocking, or you dont care, but everytime you go down by the away fans, it ruins the atmosphere. I was looking forward to a rocking atmosphere, and it didnt happen due to that.

[Lloyder5]

The atmosphere wasn't as good as the Barnet game, but it was o.k. We saw the way to shut the Rovers fans up, scoring the 3rd. Shame we couldn't hold the lead.

[Gullscorer]

A nice quiet atmosphere is best, tranquil and genteel.. :sleep:

[chunkygull]

some very good points made by all.

as earlier post said though, how would rovers fans have reacted if yesterdays situation was in reverse?

as a rovers fan said he does not know of many clubs where away fans have gone in the home end. that says a lot for our rep as a good family club. but also says oh well its only little old torquay they wont mind. " w'ere bristol rovers, we' ll sit/stand where we want". says it all.

i appreciate supporters saying we should all be able to sit together and mingle watching games etc. it can be fun, a good laugh and interesting. but i do feel it is much better just watching it with your own fans and would rather just be able to sit with them.

i love the banter that comes with football and it should never, ever stop. but it is only really appropriate if they have their end and we have ours. it has too much potential to get out of hand if we are all mingled together.

e.g - the rovers fans singing "going down" in the away end i had no problem with, its to be expected. in the home end though, we should not be putting up with that.

i agree with the point if there is a high number of away supporters expected and it is thought the torquay fans wont take up the seats etc, then yes give them more allocation.

but, they should not be so arrogant to want to take our home spaces once their allocation has gone. i could not care less if it is more money for the club, it is a matter of principle. it gives away home advantage and sends out the message that we dont care about our home supporters and leaves us wide open to being took the p!ss out of.(like yesterday).

no wonder any neutrals or first timers were put off. away supporters of most clubs are generally noisier than they are at home, so if the home fans arent being vocal enough on a day like yesterday then letting in a high number of away support is bound to make the home support seem even quieter thus giving up home advantage.

i think if there were ejections of rovers fans yesterday then it would have caused a big kick off and more potential flashpoints. so kicking them out once they were in was not really an option. however moving them into the blank spaces by the away fans should have been the best action.

one of the rovers posters said earlier many of their supporters chose not to come because their allocation had sold out. well sorry, but thats the way it should be. to come anyway when there is no space for away supporters left is just sheer bloody arrogance.

and it must also be acknowledged that all clubs have their bad elements and some tossers that spoil it for everyone. i didnt actually see or hear of much trouble yesterday from anyone so well done to almost all, it could quite easily have been much worse.

[divingbboy]

To be fair, there were a couple of Rovers fans sat in front of us and while they did celebrate their goals, etc, they were good-natured, clapped our goals, too, and we had some fun banter with them. The only real problem was the big section of fans who completely took the piss and were being abusive and antagonistic.

[Gullscorer]

To be fair, there were a couple of Rovers fans sat in front of us and while they did celebrate their goals, etc, they were good-natured, clapped our goals, too, and we had some fun banter with them. The only real problem was the big section of fans who completely took the piss and were being abusive and antagonistic.

That's a good point. If opposing fans are to be allowed in the same section of ground, they should be completely inter-mingled, rather than gathered into groups, where a yobbo mob mentality might take over.

[Dave]

Seems this thread has made onto the Rovers fans forum, I have an account on there, but they put me in moderation during Bucklegate and stopped me from posting, otherwise I would have gone over for some banter, see we welcome our vistors to this forum.

Tom, they are going to set an anti stern stare police for you..

http://www.brfcforum.co.uk/index.php?/t ... rds/page-3

[Gullscorer]

Forever, our own forum is very civilised, tolerant and democratic compared to many. I've been banned on the Football Forum, for example, for posting comments presumably regarded as politically incorrect. Censorship, totalitarianism and intolerance is rife in many places.

[Rach]

Do you not feel that you are going way over the top on this? How many disorderly fans were actually in your ground today? How many disorderly fans did you have in the ground today. For the sake of the fan who said on this thread that he told me not to go in the Home side. I do not understand this.I was in the AWAY end and was always going to be in the away end but if our fans had not been there today you would have had a gate in the region of 4000. How much money has your club made from over 2000 of our fans? Will this not help you to sign new players or Loan players.
There is no way that our fans deserve the drivel some of you are spouting on here. We created the atmosphere today at your ground and it was a fantastic match. Do you honestly expect our fans whatever part of the ground they were end to sit in silence for 90 minutes? How much trouble was there actually in the ground or around the ground?
To spout on about our "Big Club" attitude couldn't be further from the truth although surely you have to agree that compared to yourselves we are a big club. We sold out our allocation in just two days and even many of our season ticket holders could not get tickets in the away allocation. Remember many of our fans had booked accommodation for a good weekend out and do you really think that many of our fans didn't miss out? Many fans will not attend if they cant get tickets in the Away end. I am sure that had there been 4000 tickets available for this game they would have been sold.
We have had plenty of games in our stadium where away fans have been in our part of the ground.
The worst thing is that many on this thread are tarring our fans with the same brush. Most of our fans at the match today did not want your team to go down, the majority were well behaved and totally outsung your supporters and left the stadium in an orderly fashion. Yes there was banter, why not?
Perhaps if you turned up in bigger numbers then your Board would not want so many away supporters in the ground and then you would be a "bigger" club. IMO you are a nice friendly club with a high percentage of well behaved fans but in proportion to numbers you probably have your trouble makers so please don't tar us all with this brush as if you are holier than holy.

yes, we made money on it but it was not fair on our fans. also there were a lot of Rovers fans in my block who were very rude and deliberately trying to wind us up, which is completely unfair.

[friendlygas]

I do understand why you were upset. Unfortunately there are always going to be some who ruin it for everyone else and give the club a bad name. It is the same for all clubs, they all have their idiots. Have to say if I did go into a Home clubs end I would respect them and if I knew I was going to be in a home end I would not wear my club colours. At least your club is a club where we can wear our colours which can't be said for a lot of clubs in this division and in truth I wouldn't recommend an opposing fan to wear colours to our ground unless they were parked in the club carpark, on a supporters club coach or female. It is a sad state of affairs but a lot better than I remember in the 70s and 80s. I can only comment how I found yesterdays game and saw no trouble on my way to the ground or on my way back to the station and no one I have spoken to saw any trouble. Obviously I was in the away terracing so cannot comment on the stand at the far end or in any other part of the ground. I found the stewards/Police very pleasant.

[Rach]

Sorry, but I feel many people have missed the point. If this had been a routine game, with only three points at stake then feelings would not have run so high. I can take gloating, it is part of the banter. What I cannot take, however, is chants from some very unfriendly gasheads seated very close to me in the HOME seats that included "You're going down!" in a game that could have seen us lose our League status.

I accept that the club is partly to blame, and the police must accept some share of the blame too (happy to pick up the overtime, not willing to earn it). But I feel that a (relatively small, 40 or 50) number of Rovers fans share the lion's share of the blame for behaving in a nasty, big billy bollox way. Arrogant, swaggering and partly pi**ed, they should have been ejected.

Some of the excuses given on here by FriendlyGas and BritishGas just aren't acceptable, and I am very surprised that regulars on this forum think that what they say is OK. So what if gasheads had booked hotels in Torquay? They should have got their Away End tickets first. So we are a club with a small fan base, that doesn't excuse muscling in to home seats and standing areas in such a loudmouth, nasty, gobby way. And I was VERY offended by BritishGas's comment that "we're Rovers fans, we stand where we want", I didn't take it as a joke, any more that he would take a similar comment from a Bristol City fan.

At the end of the day I agree that a draw was a fair result. I have nothing against Rovers at all, I know a few very well and I always have good banter with them. I met some gasheads in the pub yesterday, and all were friendly and concerned not to see Torquay go down. The t*ats in the home part of Bristow's Bench were not like this though, they were gobby and confrontational.

I too was in the bench and witnessed the gobby rovers fans. Although obviously most rovers fans were well behaved, but the ones in the bench should have been removed.

[Rach]

Yawn Yawn... rise above it - Rovers fans on the whole were good natured and respectful. We sat next to some in the Family Stand - yes they cheered when their team scored - so what? If we can't get along together as human beings with mutal respect it's actually sad.

I brought my wife and daughter and her boyfriend (all first time) and all 3 were amazed at the lack of atmosphere generated by TUFC fans for such a crucial game. They will not be coming again. They were however impressed by the passion and atmosphere the Rovers fans created. They did not feel threatened at all by them. Although a different story when some middle age meat head BR fans kicked off at some TUFC fans outside Wetherspoons later! Which the police handled effectively and swiftly i might add.

BTW i think the police & stewards were spot on not to intervene at the ground - would have provoked a bad reaction from some.

Recently we have had a good atmosphere, I think the lack of this was down to nerves. I find it sad that your wife, daughter and boyfriend are not returning because of the atmosphere. Did they miss how good the game was?

[Dave]

This is it, shouldn't tar all with the same brush not Rovers not Torquay not any fans group seen a picture on facebook which shows quite a few of our fans goading Rovers fans down in the corner of the popside, as said there were quite a few gas in the home ends last season different timing.

Oh I was quite rude to deadman during the game, maybe I should be Rovers fan.. :Oops: