Put off by away days

pallyparker

pallyparker

Active member
The game in Bristol was the first for me and my son for over a year. We live not far from Bristol so it was a good opportunity to go and see a game. We'd been looking forward to it for weeks. On the whole the atmosphere in the away end was fantastic but I couldn't believe just how many 'fans' were absolutely off their faces. A little scuffle broke out in front of us in the first half when some bloke in his 40s swung for a kid probably in his teens. It was awful to witness especially for my 10 year old boy. We moved away for the second half, which we shouldn't really have to do. It's just so disappointing that these people, clearly high on coke, feel that a football game is the place to take out their anger etc. It's really put us off going again. I've followed Boro for over 30 years but I'm just feeling a little deflated about things now after Saturday's experience. Anyway, up the Boro. Fingers crossed for 3 points tonight, we'll be cheering on watching it on TV.
 
pallyparker said:
The game in Bristol was the first for me and my son for over a year. We live not far from Bristol so it was a good opportunity to go and see a game. We'd been looking forward to it for weeks. On the whole the atmosphere in the away end was fantastic but I couldn't believe just how many 'fans' were absolutely off their faces. A little scuffle broke out in front of us in the first half when some bloke in his 40s swung for a kid probably in his teens. It was awful to witness especially for my 10 year old boy. We moved away for the second half, which we shouldn't really have to do. It's just so disappointing that these people, clearly high on coke, feel that a football game is the place to take out their anger etc. It's really put us off going again. I've followed Boro for over 30 years but I'm just feeling a little deflated about things now after Saturday's experience. Anyway, up the Boro. Fingers crossed for 3 points tonight, we'll be cheering on watching it on TV.
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The following reflects what's going on in society, unfortunately.

We took the wrong path 40 years ago and we're now living with the consequences.
 
pallyparker said:
The game in Bristol was the first for me and my son for over a year. We live not far from Bristol so it was a good opportunity to go and see a game. We'd been looking forward to it for weeks. On the whole the atmosphere in the away end was fantastic but I couldn't believe just how many 'fans' were absolutely off their faces. A little scuffle broke out in front of us in the first half when some bloke in his 40s swung for a kid probably in his teens. It was awful to witness especially for my 10 year old boy. We moved away for the second half, which we shouldn't really have to do. It's just so disappointing that these people, clearly high on coke, feel that a football game is the place to take out their anger etc. It's really put us off going again. I've followed Boro for over 30 years but I'm just feeling a little deflated about things now after Saturday's experience. Anyway, up the Boro. Fingers crossed for 3 points tonight, we'll be cheering on watching it on TV.
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That's a real shame if it puts you off, but I can understand.
 
Of course. All good points. Thanks for the feedback. It almost feels 'safer' to go to a home Boro game when we can sit in a family area. We were thinking about going to the Swansea away game, but the boy isn't so keen now. We'll see.
 
indeedido said:
Don’t be out off my the minority.
Best if kids see aspects of real world stuff too I think, if protected by parent or guardian.
Awful what you see sometimes, but focus on your team and most of the good folk like you around you.
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Of course. Great points. Cheers.
 
Remember my first away game was with my then missus as she had bought me tickets as a gift. I was wary about going as I half-expected some stick for going to a match with a female, but didn't expect to be sat on a coach with bunch of fully grown men giving abuse for almost 3 hours there and back.

Haven't done a coach since and will never do it even for big trips like Wembley. Had no issues during a match though.
 
Sadly it's a becoming a bigger and bigger problem within football.

Always find it incredible whether at a home or away ground how many seemilingly young, health lads are queuing up to use the traps.

Either Teesside has a serious IBS issue, or the more obvious answer is they're waiting to get off the heads on coke.

Not sure what the answer is, you could put sniffer dogs on the turnstiles which would help stop it in the ground, but they'd find some way of getting it in or just do it before they got there.

Tough one to answer.
 
pallyparker said:
The game in Bristol was the first for me and my son for over a year. We live not far from Bristol so it was a good opportunity to go and see a game. We'd been looking forward to it for weeks. On the whole the atmosphere in the away end was fantastic but I couldn't believe just how many 'fans' were absolutely off their faces. A little scuffle broke out in front of us in the first half when some bloke in his 40s swung for a kid probably in his teens. It was awful to witness especially for my 10 year old boy. We moved away for the second half, which we shouldn't really have to do. It's just so disappointing that these people, clearly high on coke, feel that a football game is the place to take out their anger etc. It's really put us off going again. I've followed Boro for over 30 years but I'm just feeling a little deflated about things now after Saturday's experience. Anyway, up the Boro. Fingers crossed for 3 points tonight, we'll be cheering on watching it on TV.
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I agree that it's an increasing problem and not enough is being done about it. It's the same across football ground when you read other forums and not just Boro.

That said, I have no idea how it could be combatted.
 
InglebyUTB said:
Sadly it's a becoming a bigger and bigger problem within football.

Always find it incredible whether at a home or away ground how many seemilingly young, health lads are queuing up to use the traps.

Either Teesside has a serious IBS issue, or the more obvious answer is they're waiting to get off the heads on coke.

Not sure what the answer is, you could put sniffer dogs on the turnstiles which would help stop it in the ground, but they'd find some way of getting it in or just do it before they got there.

Tough one to answer.
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I did notice there was a fair old queue for the traps at half-time. Sad really.
 
InglebyUTB said:
Sadly it's a becoming a bigger and bigger problem within football.

Always find it incredible whether at a home or away ground how many seemilingly young, health lads are queuing up to use the traps.

Either Teesside has a serious IBS issue, or the more obvious answer is they're waiting to get off the heads on coke.

Not sure what the answer is, you could put sniffer dogs on the turnstiles which would help stop it in the ground, but they'd find some way of getting it in or just do it before they got there.

Tough one to answer.
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why would any living being want to ingest anything from a surface inside a football ground toilet block?

I try to avoid going for a pi$$ in there if I can at all help it.

In fact, I was thinking of taking up Kabaddi, such is my increasing ability to hold my breath.
 
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Middlesbrough Football Club is still actively working with away clubs and alerting them to issues like the toilets. It needs the other club to want to cooperate but a fair bit of progress has been made over recent months. We have had less reports of men in the women's toilets for instance, But you have to stay on the ball.
We also had a meeting, both club and fans with Swansea City to look closely at an initiative they are using, a partnership of fans and club and a contract in effect. If anyone breaks this they have a sliding scale of bans.
There is also a group nationally in the Football Supporters Association pooling ideas and looking at actions.
But this is not a football problem. Just like racism this behaviour comes into the ground from outside and goes back out through the exits again. ie these are people behaving the same way outside of football but the group mentality emboldens them. They see this as the way to behave.
 
Is one of the biggest causes of drug use the price of alternatives? The cost of having a few drinks out is very expensive and in a football stadium is even more ridiculous. I have no knowledge of how much drugs cost so someone else might have to fill in the blanks but I've heard plenty of youngsters explain why they don't go out as much as older generations did and the biggest factor is the price. You're looking at £100 for a night out these days.

Are drugs a cheaper alternative to booze? People get in the habit, a football stadium is just an extension of a night out for some so whatever happens on those will happen at the football.
 
Fans misbehaving at away games has been around for 50 years.

It used to be more alcohol, with people vomiting, peeing on the terraces, starting fights and arguments, looking to beat rival supporters, touching up female supporters.

I have noticed more younger fans looking a bit glazed, but not smelling of alcohol so I agree drug use is increasing giving the users a perception of heightened excitement etc.

Could dogs be used to sniff fans entering stadiums in certain sections etc?
 
pallyparker said:
The game in Bristol was the first for me and my son for over a year. We live not far from Bristol so it was a good opportunity to go and see a game. We'd been looking forward to it for weeks. On the whole the atmosphere in the away end was fantastic but I couldn't believe just how many 'fans' were absolutely off their faces. A little scuffle broke out in front of us in the first half when some bloke in his 40s swung for a kid probably in his teens. It was awful to witness especially for my 10 year old boy. We moved away for the second half, which we shouldn't really have to do. It's just so disappointing that these people, clearly high on coke, feel that a football game is the place to take out their anger etc. It's really put us off going again. I've followed Boro for over 30 years but I'm just feeling a little deflated about things now after Saturday's experience. Anyway, up the Boro. Fingers crossed for 3 points tonight, we'll be cheering on watching it on TV.
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I have had similar experiences unfortunately. Most of the time you get next to or near good supporters, but every so often you get the wrong seat and you get the drunks or cokehead‘s next to you and it is really disconcerting. They make clever remarks or forever nudge, fall into or grab you, to steady themselves. Try to ignore them and you still get called a miserable git etc. Really spoils away trips and I don’t go as often because of that (covid played its part though too).
fmttmadmin said:
Middlesbrough Football Club is still actively working with away clubs and alerting them to issues like the toilets. It needs the other club to want to cooperate but a fair bit of progress has been made over recent months. We have had less reports of men in the women's toilets for instance, But you have to stay on the ball.
We also had a meeting, both club and fans with Swansea City to look closely at an initiative they are using, a partnership of fans and club and a contract in effect. If anyone breaks this they have a sliding scale of bans.
There is also a group nationally in the Football Supporters Association pooling ideas and looking at actions.
But this is not a football problem. Just like racism this behaviour comes into the ground from outside and goes back out through the exits again. ie these are people behaving the same way outside of football but the group mentality emboldens them. They see this as the way to behave.
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I am pleased to hear the club are at least aware and talking to clubs on the matter. You say it isn’t a football problem, it is societal one, and to a degree I understand, but it is football that brings such people together in significant and increasing numbers, albeit inadvertently, so it is a football problem. I don’t see this happening at cricket matches, rugby league games or horse racing for example (where significant crowds gather) to anywhere near the degree I do at Boro games, away matches especially, so lets not underplay its presence at football either. It is up to the Police nationally, but inside grounds, clubs do have a duty of care toward decent football supporters and need to do more to identify these numpties (at best) some are just criminals in truth.
 
Redwurzel said:
Fans misbehaving at away games has been around for 50 years.

It used to be more alcohol, with people vomiting, peeing on the terraces, starting fights and arguments, looking to beat rival supporters, touching up female supporters.

I have noticed more younger fans looking a bit glazed, but not smelling of alcohol so I agree drug use is increasing giving the users a perception of heightened excitement etc.

Could dogs be used to sniff fans entering stadiums in certain sections etc?
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It is a long standing problem that's never gone away completely, but it's one that has re-emerged in the last 10 years, after largely dying away in the 80's.

I think it's driven by socio-economic factors and reflects society as a whole.

It last peaked in the 70's/80's, got better under the period of (relative) improved living standards, and has re-emerged since the being collapse and period of austerity.
 
Boro999 said:
This is the reason I can't accumulate more points by going to away games, I don't want to expose my little lad to this cr@p and be In a position I can't get away from.
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Sympathise with you there mate.

I've got tickets for Barnsley and not sure I want to take my young daughter, she loved her visit to the Riverside but the standing all game and toilet situation is putting me off.

If we're out in public without the wife she'll normally come in the gents with me and use one of the traps, but that's not really an option with the big queues of young men and do I really want to send her in there where people have been getting coked up? I could of course send her into the women's on her own, but previous games have had idiotic blokes going in there.

Don't think it's worth the chew.
 
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