City's ground shortcomings exposed
THE 2-0 victory over Leeds United is a result that will go down in Exeter City folklore, but Saturday could have been remembered for all the wrong reasons after a worrying incident just moments after kick-off, writes the WMN's Stuart James.
With the Leeds travelling contingent still trying to get into the stadium, the standing area immediately after the turnstiles became heavily congested.
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Despite numerous pleas from Exeter City's PA announcer, Barry Fulls, for the Leeds fans to move down the terrace and make room for the incoming supporters, no action was forthcoming as they stood there, unwilling to budge.
A more serious announcement was then read out across the Tannoy system, preceded by an alarming sound, asking the Leeds fans to "urgently" move to their left as the congestion by the entrance got increasingly worse.
Seeing such scenes brought back memories of the Hillsborough disaster, and I doubt I was alone in thinking that. The small crush that ensued led to a handful of Leeds fans clambering over advertising hoardings and on to the pitch, as police and stewards milled about seemingly not knowing what to do. It has to be said that, while entering the field of play is a criminal offence, there was not a hint of trouble from fans who just wanted to get out of such a situation.
The events were of such concern that the Grecians' vice-chairman Julian Tagg was seen trying to assist in whatever way he could.
It is not the first time that the St James' Road terrace has been packed out with away fans and, with there being only one entrance into that end of the stadium, such messages are often relayed over the Tannoy when away followings are large.
Quite why the Leeds fans decided to ignore those pleas, which became more urgent with each announcement, is beyond comprehension. They are sure to have a pop at Exeter for the way in which they handled the situation, but, from my view in front of the press box, there was little more the club could have done.
Even the Exeter supporters got in on the act, frantically gesticulating to the Leeds fans to move down the terracing, the distress on the faces of those by the turnstiles quite evident. Their view was obviously clearer than that of the Leeds fans further up the terrace, who seemed unaware that a number of their fans were in some discomfort.
It is believed that the match referee, Graham Scott, was well aware of the situation and was in regular contact with the ground safety officer, via his headset and the fourth official, as the match wore on. The simple thing would have been to call a halt to proceedings and allow order to be restored, but he decided against it, with a number of stewards and police finally dealing with the matter.
Quite why it took so long for the situation to be resolved is worrying, though. Why didn't the stewards or police act swiftly and make more of an attempt to shift the supporters along the terracing?
What it does do is further enhance Exeter's need to get that end of the stadium sorted out. Having only one entrance into such a long terrace is not ideal, but that is the way it is and always has been at the Park. There is not much that City can do right now, so one can only hope that the issue of a new stand at that end can be sorted out soon. A repeat scenario of what happened Saturday would most certainly not be welcome.
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by macadamia man, australia
Wednesday, January 20 2010, 1:31AM
“I agree, Jim from Huddersfield, that the writer comes across as ignorant and perhaps even inflammatory when he says: "Quite why the Leeds fans decided to ignore those pleas . . . is beyond comprehension." My own opinion is that admitting a complete inability to comprehend shows a pretty complete lack of nous, and the accusation that Leeds fans ignored - rather than couldn't hear - warning messages is equally shallow. I'd hazard the subs / sports editor felt the same way, judging by the (clarifying?) headline used. If the writer has form for maligning Leeds fans, it's a different matter, but as it stands (sorry), the story depicts both the club and the policing in a far worse light, and fans who were there seem to share that analysis - unless of course they are as partial as you seem to be? Try substituting another club's name for Leeds and see if you read the piece the same way. Let's hope both the ground and the local police take note of the disaster averted largely by chance and sort out the factors that seem to have triggered the problem: paranoia, asine policing policy and inadequate communications inside the ground. I'm not that impressed by allowing away fans to purchase home stand seats either. Greed triumphing over due care, perhaps? MOT”
by macadamia man, australia
Wednesday, January 20 2010, 1:27AM
“I agree, Jim from Huddersfield, that the writer comes across as ignorant and perhaps even inflammatory when he says: "Quite why the Leeds fans decided to ignore those pleas . . . is beyond comprehension." My own opinion is that admitting a complete inability to comprehend shows a pretty complete lack of nous, and the accusation that Leeds fans ignored - rather than couldn't hear - warning messages is equally shallow. I'd hazard the subs / sports editor felt the same way, judging by the (clarifying?) headline used. If the writer has form for maligning Leeds fans, it's a different matter, but as it stands (sorry), the story depicts both the club and the policing in a far worse light, and fans who were there seem to share that analysis - unless of course they are as partial as you seem to be? Try substituting another club's name for Leeds and see if you read the piece the same way. Let's hope both the ground and the local police take note of the disaster averted largely by chance and sort out the factors that seem to have triggered the problem: paranoia, asine policing policy and inadequate communications inside the ground. I'm not that impressed by allowing away fans to purchase home stand seats either. Greed triumphing over due care, perhaps? MOT”
by Brian, Budleigh Salterton
Tuesday, January 19 2010, 10:30PM
“It`s easy for everyone to blame the Leeds fans, why wasn`t the start of the game delayed so that everyone could get in and watch the match comfortably. Why did the police keep the coaches at the services so long, Why did the stewards at the big bank end say if you¿re a Leeds fan you can go up to the away end and they`ll let you in? Why did you not have to show your ticket to get in? Why did they keep letting people in when there was no more room? Why were the police and stewards telling us to get back get back when they could see we were getting crushed? THE ANSWER THE POLICE THE STEWARDS AND EXETER CITY FOOTBALL CLUB MESSED UP, not the Leeds fans fault they are so lucky no one was badly injured or worse. Hillsborough should have taught everybody a lesson.”
by Dave, Exeter
Tuesday, January 19 2010, 6:23PM
“Yes there are problems with what happened. the police were shoddy. why did none of them go and make the people move down at the other end!!
The police also decided to hold back the coaches and bring them all in at once!
the only fault the club had was that they were too kind and let the leeds fans who bought tickets for the home stands to stay in the ground!
The club couldnt have done much more as we have had many large crowds come into the away end and not have any problems.
but on those days they obviously didn't have the "county's finest" in charge!”
by Ryan, Exeter
Tuesday, January 19 2010, 5:13PM
“Whilst I am an Exeter supporter and wish to defend our ground, as well as some of the stupid comments about being relegated to where we belong, I understand the Leeds supporters viewpoint with this ridiculous article pinning the blame on them.
That terrace has coped with more than 1200 fans in it's time and has been reduced to that for health and safety, it has also taken that capacity on several occasions in recent years without such problems. There is a design flaw with just the one entrance, but there is a second entrance that has been closed due to health & safety not liking the steepness of the steps.
Yes, if the Leeds fans had been properly instructed to move along the terrace, the problem wouldn't have occured, and this was poor stewarding, but in addition the decision of the police to attempt to escort 400 odd Leeds supporters to the ground just before kick off was stupid beyond comprehension. The cheek of them charging the club more money for policing big games like this is laughable when you consider the complete inadequacies in their performance.
Action has been taken by the club immediately by only distributing 500 tickets to Southampton for the upcoming game, until a report has been done into the terracing.
I fear Stuart's article has done nothing more than inflame the ill-feeling of Leeds supporters as they obviously feel like the victims in this. A more balanced view could've helped. But at the same time, the Leeds fans were not entirely blameless, but blame should most likely be shared equally between the parties involved.”