Areas of Grand Final could be improved - Gatcliffe (From Warrington Guardian)

Dont think for one second that Warrington Fans were targetted unfairly, the behaviour of some fans I saw was despicable. Including one tough guy throwing beer through the train carriage window i was on because they couldnt get on. The problem is everyone wants someone to blame instead of looking at themselves.

i went with a friend and 3 young children we called in a pub when we got there which was virtually all leeds fans and i can honestly say they was brilliant with the kids we dont want drink fuelled trouble at rugby matches it is a family affair whatever changes are made must be for the better to keep it to a family day out

I said it on the day, and have repeated it since but I felt very "underwhelmed" by the whole GF experience (compare to Wembley, old and new, previous other finals, games V Australia at Wilderspool). My daughter and I came away thinking "we just got beat by Leeds" rather than "OMG we just lost out on the chance of becoming champions". There are many SIMPLE things that can be done to help with the problems at OT.
1. Move kickoff to the afternoon (but that will depend on SKY and whats the chances of SKY telling Man City to move one of their games for police purposes). Will also reduce drinking times and also allow for fans to head home before transport issues start.
2. Stricter enforcement of sales of alcohol to people who are obviously already drunk.
3. Restrict sales behind the sticks to sales though the qualifying clubs. If Leeds fans ( or for that matter Widnes fans) hadnt purchased tickets via the RFL in the West then some problems would have been avoided.
4. Get the stewarding right. OK, so the football orientated stewards at OT may have been told to ease off a bit for the rugby crowd BUT this doesnt mean ignore stuff which is happening right infront of you, and if you warn somebody about something be prepared to back it up when they ignore you (not, give them another 4 warnings before walking away).

MikeJT wrote:
I said it on the day, and have repeated it since but I felt very "underwhelmed" by the whole GF experience (compare to Wembley, old and new, previous other finals, games V Australia at Wilderspool). My daughter and I came away thinking "we just got beat by Leeds" rather than "OMG we just lost out on the chance of becoming champions". There are many SIMPLE things that can be done to help with the problems at OT. 1. Move kickoff to the afternoon (but that will depend on SKY and whats the chances of SKY telling Man City to move one of their games for police purposes). Will also reduce drinking times and also allow for fans to head home before transport issues start. 2. Stricter enforcement of sales of alcohol to people who are obviously already drunk. 3. Restrict sales behind the sticks to sales though the qualifying clubs. If Leeds fans ( or for that matter Widnes fans) hadnt purchased tickets via the RFL in the West then some problems would have been avoided. 4. Get the stewarding right. OK, so the football orientated stewards at OT may have been told to ease off a bit for the rugby crowd BUT this doesnt mean ignore stuff which is happening right infront of you, and if you warn somebody about something be prepared to back it up when they ignore you (not, give them another 4 warnings before walking away).

I'll add a number 5. Move it to Wembley.

CHADWICK wrote:

MikeJT wrote:
I said it on the day, and have repeated it since but I felt very "underwhelmed" by the whole GF experience (compare to Wembley, old and new, previous other finals, games V Australia at Wilderspool). My daughter and I came away thinking "we just got beat by Leeds" rather than "OMG we just lost out on the chance of becoming champions". There are many SIMPLE things that can be done to help with the problems at OT. 1. Move kickoff to the afternoon (but that will depend on SKY and whats the chances of SKY telling Man City to move one of their games for police purposes). Will also reduce drinking times and also allow for fans to head home before transport issues start. 2. Stricter enforcement of sales of alcohol to people who are obviously already drunk. 3. Restrict sales behind the sticks to sales though the qualifying clubs. If Leeds fans ( or for that matter Widnes fans) hadnt purchased tickets via the RFL in the West then some problems would have been avoided. 4. Get the stewarding right. OK, so the football orientated stewards at OT may have been told to ease off a bit for the rugby crowd BUT this doesnt mean ignore stuff which is happening right infront of you, and if you warn somebody about something be prepared to back it up when they ignore you (not, give them another 4 warnings before walking away).

I'll add a number 5. Move it to Wembley.

Wembley is not an option, why should fans of what is a predominatley northern game have to travel to London to be ripped off even more than at OT, the prices that we where charged for a tray of chips (approx 20 chips) £2,50 scandalous, £2.00 to be allowed entry into a pub where we were going to add to their profits absolute scandalous but in wembley the prices where even dearer

Old trafford and the RFL are to blame.

Firstly the no beer in the stands policy meant people got lashed up before the game and downed drinks at speed in the concourses. At Wembley beers could be sipped in the seats.

And the RFL sat loads of gangs of Leeds fans in the Wire end where all the fighting was, they should have been segregated.

I think old traffords a **** ground only reason it's capacity is coz the seats r squashed t'gether! And as for not drinking in the seats it's pathetic we get less trouble in rugby league than football and normally allowed what does that tell us??!

You cant really blame OT for the rule on alcohol not being allowed into the "bowl". This will be a stipulation placed on it by the licencing authorities to allow it a licence as a FOOTBALL ground. Herein lies the issue (where maybe OT is at fault). If I understand correctly, alcohol is allowed in the bowl at Wembley because it is licenced as a sport arena NOT as a football stadium. Old Trafford's designation goes back years and maybe Trafford MBC/GMP might object if it tried to use this loophole.

The biggest problem with the alcohol issue is enforcement. If bars are driven by money, they will serve to anybody. If GMP want drunks confined to inside the stadium (as it makes their job easier) they wont stop them going in (or assist the stewards getting them out).

Hopeful, I understand your comments and genrally speaking agree, BUT you do get alcohol related trouble at rugby games (just ask anybody who's been at the HJ when Featherstone come to town whether its for a cup game V Wolves or for the championship grand finals). The differences there are a) there are fewer spectators so fewer incidents and b) the staff are specifically trained for that type of crowd. Its very unsual to actually have a full police presence at a RL game.

I genuinely dont see that allowing alcohol in the Stadium Bowl is the issue.

The issue is people are using this as an excuse for drunken behaviour, if you get the train 6 hours before the final and drink all day, what does it matter if for 40 minutes per half you cant take a drink to your seat?