| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement 18:08 - Oct 13 with 26255 views | R17ALE |
Did anyone else witness scenes from the 1980's?
These weren't giddy teenagers, but Donny fans offering out virtually any Dale fan in sight. From what I could see a few skirmishes broke out which led to four coppers hot-footing it down Willbutts to interject.
Sadly, it was partly down to our stewards/safety people/police.
For those who don't know, there are 2 exits from the Sandy - one by the Willbutts corner which everybody who lives Norden way uses. Whenever there's a visiting element or larger away following, they refuse to open this exit on the grounds that rival fans could clash outside the ground. In reality the home fans are always gone before the away fans have left the stadium.
Today, they wouldn't open it. And so, we all had to turn round and leave at the pub exit and then turn right out of the car park and into the oncoming away fans under the trees just behind the net. I guessed it might kick off, so crossed the road immediately, but many Dale fans seemed to get caught up in the fracas.
So avoidable as well. |  |
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| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 20:17 - Oct 14 with 5295 views | 442Dale |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 19:35 - Oct 14 by soulboy |
Yes, put one foot on a bit of yellow paint in the main stand and the stewards cant wait to point it out. They have a record of standing there watching away fans do more or less what they want, such the Sheff Weds fans pulling down several advertising boards a few seasons ago. Does anyone know what the stewards are paid for? Is this an area that falls under the remit of the new CEO? |
Everything will be under scrutiny from him now as literally any issue could affect his aims. There is little doubt everyone will be fully aware of this, which should see improvements made across the entire club - not that there shouldn’t be a wish to continuously improve anyway.
Supporters have played their part and so are the Trust, the next move is the club’s. There’s no reason why we can’t get a positive outcome from this and future issues following similar processes, especially as the new CEO has made it clear how important it is to listen to fans. |  |
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| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 08:24 - Oct 15 with 4965 views | rod_leach |
There was a fight just behind me after the Wallsall game when their fans were walking from Wilbutt Lane along Sandy Lane after the game, mixing with us home fans coming out. Punches being thrown etc. That's twice in a few weeks now. This really should be addressed by the club. |  | | |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 00:15 - Oct 17 with 4547 views | rochdale_ranger |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 18:02 - Oct 14 by Dalenet |
I think we need some perspective here. I hate nobheads has much as the next, and our stewarding has been ineffective for at least 10 years, but anybody reading this thread would think we had witnessed the Toxteth riots.
Claiming that it is a disgrace that the Sandy Lane left hand gate hadn't been opened and an 82yo had to walk another 30 yards is a bit strange a complaint. If an 82 year old can stand for 105 minutes then I cant see why a walk of 30 yards is a problem.
It takes a good 10 minutes to clear the main stand nowadays after a game. We are all funnelled out to the Sandy Lane main entrance and I didn't see any fighting. So what ever happened it didn't last long. But agree it is unacceptable. I did see some Asian lads in kit with their mother walking up Sandy Lane towards Edenfield Road and they seemed to enjoy their day. I hope they come back.
We have seen flares at Spotland a few times in recent years including some from our own fans at a certain cup game last year I recall. I don't know why stewards cant find them but anybody using one should get a banning order from their own club as well as ours. That might stop it over time. An email from the club to the Doncaster Free Press telling them that we intend to seek banning orders for their fans for that behaviour might just create publicity in Doncaster that encourages their club to take action. We will have photographs of the offending bunch
If we happen to play them again next season we should refuse on the day cash sales and insist that names and addresses by collected with every ticket sold by their club. Normal fans would probably be fine with that |
Very much this. A few spotty kids throwing pepped out smoke bombs (not flares) and generally being obnoxious after the game with the sole intent of getting the obligatory police escort back in to town does not mean we are harking back to the days of mass brawls at the football.
I got the impression that it was a bunch of little attention seekers rather then a mob of hardcore hooligans to be totally honest. Let’s hope they go to some of the rougher teams in the division and get a good hiding. |  | | |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 10:49 - Oct 17 with 4389 views | ChaffRAFC |
I got a very comprehensive and detailed response to my email to the club and Trust from our new CEO James Mason regarding this.
I don't agree with a lot of it but the fact I got such a thorough explanation and detailed response shows tremendous customer service and as someone who's worked in customer service for the past 15 years, I was massively appreciative of the response, if not the answers.
While I'm not going post the whole email, the three key points for me were:
* Not everyone can be searched and we can't search minors or intimate parts of the body obviously. The idiots on Saturday could have been classed as minors and if they've stuffed them down their pants we wouldn't be able to search there anyway. As frustrating as it is, it makes sense as to how pyro gets in to gigs and stuff that I've been to.
* The gate locking decision was a decision made by the safety officer but any decision to keep fans behind cannot come from the club, it has to come from the Police and the closing of the gate was deemed the safer option.
* The putting fans in a different section of the stand requires a heavier steward presence which obviously incurs more costs and due to historical events, the Sandy Lane end is chosen for where away supporters are housed if there's not a big away following. So basically, because we have our own idiots in the Pearl Street thinking they're in Green Street, the club put the away fans down the opposite end.
Not exactly the answers I wanted, but I appreciated the response back as I didn't expect one. |  |
| If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor |
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| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 12:21 - Oct 17 with 4310 views | RooleyMoorBlue |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 18:02 - Oct 14 by Dalenet |
I think we need some perspective here. I hate nobheads has much as the next, and our stewarding has been ineffective for at least 10 years, but anybody reading this thread would think we had witnessed the Toxteth riots.
Claiming that it is a disgrace that the Sandy Lane left hand gate hadn't been opened and an 82yo had to walk another 30 yards is a bit strange a complaint. If an 82 year old can stand for 105 minutes then I cant see why a walk of 30 yards is a problem.
It takes a good 10 minutes to clear the main stand nowadays after a game. We are all funnelled out to the Sandy Lane main entrance and I didn't see any fighting. So what ever happened it didn't last long. But agree it is unacceptable. I did see some Asian lads in kit with their mother walking up Sandy Lane towards Edenfield Road and they seemed to enjoy their day. I hope they come back.
We have seen flares at Spotland a few times in recent years including some from our own fans at a certain cup game last year I recall. I don't know why stewards cant find them but anybody using one should get a banning order from their own club as well as ours. That might stop it over time. An email from the club to the Doncaster Free Press telling them that we intend to seek banning orders for their fans for that behaviour might just create publicity in Doncaster that encourages their club to take action. We will have photographs of the offending bunch
If we happen to play them again next season we should refuse on the day cash sales and insist that names and addresses by collected with every ticket sold by their club. Normal fans would probably be fine with that |
You seem to be an expert it the condition of this 82 y/o fella. I`m not 82 and after standing for 90+ minutes I struggle to walk at all due to spinal compression. Walking another 200+ yards, not 30yds, makes a damn big difference to the both of us. I shouldn`t need to explain why to you but feel I had better give you a slightly more detailed insight, as you clearly can`t see anything except from your own stand point. |  | | |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 12:38 - Oct 17 with 4279 views | Ancoats_Blue |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 12:21 - Oct 17 by RooleyMoorBlue |
You seem to be an expert it the condition of this 82 y/o fella. I`m not 82 and after standing for 90+ minutes I struggle to walk at all due to spinal compression. Walking another 200+ yards, not 30yds, makes a damn big difference to the both of us. I shouldn`t need to explain why to you but feel I had better give you a slightly more detailed insight, as you clearly can`t see anything except from your own stand point. |
Genuine question but if it affects you so badly have you considered using a seated stand? |  | | |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 12:39 - Oct 17 with 4277 views | chalky_ncfc |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 12:21 - Oct 17 by RooleyMoorBlue |
You seem to be an expert it the condition of this 82 y/o fella. I`m not 82 and after standing for 90+ minutes I struggle to walk at all due to spinal compression. Walking another 200+ yards, not 30yds, makes a damn big difference to the both of us. I shouldn`t need to explain why to you but feel I had better give you a slightly more detailed insight, as you clearly can`t see anything except from your own stand point. |
Hasn't Spotland got seating? Why stand for 90 minutes if it causes you pain when you could take it nice n easy during the game and feel healthier to walk out of the ground,your choice of watching the game doesn't make sense to me
Edit
AB beat me to it [Post edited 17 Oct 2018 12:42]
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| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 12:52 - Oct 17 with 4255 views | RooleyMoorBlue |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 12:39 - Oct 17 by chalky_ncfc |
Hasn't Spotland got seating? Why stand for 90 minutes if it causes you pain when you could take it nice n easy during the game and feel healthier to walk out of the ground,your choice of watching the game doesn't make sense to me
Edit
AB beat me to it [Post edited 17 Oct 2018 12:42]
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I hadn`t thought of that! I won`t go into detail but sitting is as bad if not worse for my condition. My father prefers to stand as he has trouble getting to his feet after sitting for a long time. It won`t make sense to anyone unless the have a similar condition. [Post edited 17 Oct 2018 12:58]
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| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 19:55 - Oct 28 with 3888 views | tony_roch975 |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 10:49 - Oct 17 by ChaffRAFC |
I got a very comprehensive and detailed response to my email to the club and Trust from our new CEO James Mason regarding this.
I don't agree with a lot of it but the fact I got such a thorough explanation and detailed response shows tremendous customer service and as someone who's worked in customer service for the past 15 years, I was massively appreciative of the response, if not the answers.
While I'm not going post the whole email, the three key points for me were:
* Not everyone can be searched and we can't search minors or intimate parts of the body obviously. The idiots on Saturday could have been classed as minors and if they've stuffed them down their pants we wouldn't be able to search there anyway. As frustrating as it is, it makes sense as to how pyro gets in to gigs and stuff that I've been to.
* The gate locking decision was a decision made by the safety officer but any decision to keep fans behind cannot come from the club, it has to come from the Police and the closing of the gate was deemed the safer option.
* The putting fans in a different section of the stand requires a heavier steward presence which obviously incurs more costs and due to historical events, the Sandy Lane end is chosen for where away supporters are housed if there's not a big away following. So basically, because we have our own idiots in the Pearl Street thinking they're in Green Street, the club put the away fans down the opposite end.
Not exactly the answers I wanted, but I appreciated the response back as I didn't expect one. |
Detailed club response now on Trust website https://www.daletrust.co.uk/ | |
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| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 00:37 - Oct 29 with 3603 views | rochdale_ranger |
I just hope we don’t get labelled as holier than thou and get the stewards of other clubs coming down on our away support for minor things as a result of this. | | | |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 07:52 - Oct 29 with 3492 views | rod_leach |
I just hope that people don't get put off bringing their kids to our home games because they feel it's not worth the risk. We all know it's not like the 70s but any threat of violence will put folk off. | | | |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 09:34 - Oct 29 with 3374 views | chalky_ncfc |
I've been reading this with interest as the last time that I visited Spotland I was threatened outside the ground by Dale fans and witnessed a punch up further along the road so it's not only away fans that cause trouble,I wasn't wearing colours nor looking for trouble but it obviously didn't stop some seeing me as a soft target | |
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| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 10:18 - Oct 29 with 3320 views | ChaffRAFC |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 09:34 - Oct 29 by chalky_ncfc |
I've been reading this with interest as the last time that I visited Spotland I was threatened outside the ground by Dale fans and witnessed a punch up further along the road so it's not only away fans that cause trouble,I wasn't wearing colours nor looking for trouble but it obviously didn't stop some seeing me as a soft target |
Might have been 442Dale! | |
| If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor |
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| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 10:22 - Oct 29 with 3308 views | DaleiLama |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 10:18 - Oct 29 by ChaffRAFC |
Might have been 442Dale! |
Chalky was prolly wearing white socks with black jeans so he invited 442's ire. |  |
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| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 11:04 - Oct 29 with 3259 views | aleanddale |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 10:49 - Oct 17 by ChaffRAFC |
I got a very comprehensive and detailed response to my email to the club and Trust from our new CEO James Mason regarding this.
I don't agree with a lot of it but the fact I got such a thorough explanation and detailed response shows tremendous customer service and as someone who's worked in customer service for the past 15 years, I was massively appreciative of the response, if not the answers.
While I'm not going post the whole email, the three key points for me were:
* Not everyone can be searched and we can't search minors or intimate parts of the body obviously. The idiots on Saturday could have been classed as minors and if they've stuffed them down their pants we wouldn't be able to search there anyway. As frustrating as it is, it makes sense as to how pyro gets in to gigs and stuff that I've been to.
* The gate locking decision was a decision made by the safety officer but any decision to keep fans behind cannot come from the club, it has to come from the Police and the closing of the gate was deemed the safer option.
* The putting fans in a different section of the stand requires a heavier steward presence which obviously incurs more costs and due to historical events, the Sandy Lane end is chosen for where away supporters are housed if there's not a big away following. So basically, because we have our own idiots in the Pearl Street thinking they're in Green Street, the club put the away fans down the opposite end.
Not exactly the answers I wanted, but I appreciated the response back as I didn't expect one. |
Agree the response is welcome and a touch surprising to get one!.
It says quite a bit without ever really addressing the main issue.
Simple matter that we will always have knob heads coming to the games and how best to manage them.
Not sitting and / or seen throwing a flare must be an instant removal from the ground ideally into the back of a police van.
Any shenanigans at all from the away support keep them behind for a good 10 minutes whilst the home fans depart - the away section would become self policing very quickly if this was made clear to all fans entering the stadium.
Two short statements would go a long way in resolving - these statements could be made very clear to all fans attending Spotland on display boards as they enter.
its a shame because the vast majority are superb and then you get some 17 year old who has just watched Green Street for the first time. | | | |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 11:20 - Oct 29 with 3227 views | ChaffRAFC |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 11:04 - Oct 29 by aleanddale |
Agree the response is welcome and a touch surprising to get one!.
It says quite a bit without ever really addressing the main issue.
Simple matter that we will always have knob heads coming to the games and how best to manage them.
Not sitting and / or seen throwing a flare must be an instant removal from the ground ideally into the back of a police van.
Any shenanigans at all from the away support keep them behind for a good 10 minutes whilst the home fans depart - the away section would become self policing very quickly if this was made clear to all fans entering the stadium.
Two short statements would go a long way in resolving - these statements could be made very clear to all fans attending Spotland on display boards as they enter.
its a shame because the vast majority are superb and then you get some 17 year old who has just watched Green Street for the first time. |
Well what I noticed on Saturday was that despite the email saying that they were unlikely to move away fans from the end block next to the Sandy, they moved the Charlton fans over a couple of blocks so that even Jeff Capes couldn't throw a flare from the stand into the Sandy.
A very welcome move. | |
| If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor |
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| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 13:20 - Oct 29 with 3079 views | aleanddale |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 11:20 - Oct 29 by ChaffRAFC |
Well what I noticed on Saturday was that despite the email saying that they were unlikely to move away fans from the end block next to the Sandy, they moved the Charlton fans over a couple of blocks so that even Jeff Capes couldn't throw a flare from the stand into the Sandy.
A very welcome move. |
I noticed a small improvement on the stewards body language. Not perfect but a slight improvement.
The smoking and chewing gum had stopped ( I think ) but the posturing remained. This is a difficult one to sort but it is possible. Better training must be available for this role? I would encourage the club to take this further with Taurus if they are to remain a long term partner.
99% of away fans are great, they need to get much better at identifying who is likely to be trouble.
The good fans need more respect for sure - the problematic ones need less time and scope to carry on if they start with any antics.
No fan in that away stand should be allowed to stand at the front for any length of time whilst the game is in progress. | | | |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 22:20 - Oct 31 with 2667 views | Ninco |
Where does the club's obligation to protect us end? I would have thought that while they are responsible for our safety inside the ground, once we leave, it is no longer the club's responsibility to protect us. | | | |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 23:45 - Oct 31 with 2585 views | Sandyman |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 22:20 - Oct 31 by Ninco |
Where does the club's obligation to protect us end? I would have thought that while they are responsible for our safety inside the ground, once we leave, it is no longer the club's responsibility to protect us. |
There was a Police presence at the Doncaster game. They knew what was going on in the away end amongst a section of Doncaster, "fans". One would surmise these louts, having been allowed to misbehave during the game weren't likely to be angelic afterwards?
I'm far from being an expert on these issues, but I would guess that outside the ground, after the game, it is a Police matter to ensure law and order is maintained? |  | | |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 23:56 - Oct 31 with 2575 views | rochdale_ranger |
The police couldn’t stop Oldham fans socking women in the WMG a few years ago aswell as attacking other Dale fans. They chose instead to pursue, charge and issue banning orders to Dale fans for sticking up for themselves. Putting your faith in GMP at the match or in general is a bit of a fools folly these days my dear Ninco. | | | |
| Fighting on the Sandy Lane pavement on 02:22 - Nov 1 with 2545 views | joecooke |
Makes me wanna get my Adidas all blacks on,ski hat/bally and give these pricks a proper good hiding,
then i remembered when i was a bit of a lad in the late 70s and 80s,fighting with port vale,wrexham,halifax and blackpool et al.
Big blokes ,full of ale and aggression ,throwing punches and kicks
Rochdale casuals,leg warmers off the market,y cardigans and tie up coats from c&a,
Thank goodness we grew up,but dont blame us for being being young.
up the dale [Post edited 1 Nov 2018 3:02]
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