Standing Issues Tarnish Trip To Teesside Again, United
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Face In The Crowd: New Year's Day
"The whole issue of Reds standing at away games is one
that refuses to go away." - FITC
On paper this match looked to be the trickiest of the
four games over the Christmas holiday yet the Reds
came away from the Riverside with another three points
after another impressive performance.
Ryan Giggs continued his recent fine form and Darren
Fletcher scored his first senior goal for the club but
for many amongst the Reds� 2,200 following there will
be another major talking point today; fans being
ejected for persistent standing.
Back in April 2000 United�s allocation for the visit
to the Riverside was cut to 1,100 on the instruction
of safety authorities in Middlesbrough. Since then
improved behaviour has seen that figure double but
even the 2,262 tickets the Reds received for this
fixture remains short of the full 3,000 allocation
given to most club�s visiting Teesside. Past fixtures
have seen supporters ejected for refusing to sit down
and bad feeling increase because of heavy-handed
stewarding, resulting in antagonism between fans and
stadium staff. Sadly, this match followed that same
pattern.
Not for the first time this season supporters were
handed a letter upon entering the stadium requesting
them to desist from standing for prolonged periods.
"The Club worked hard � with the help of Middlesbrough
FC � to secure as many tickets as possible," said
Chief Executive David Gill in the letter, "and was
successful in securing an allocation of 2,262.
However, the award was made with the clear warning
that, if United fans continue to stand, next season�s
allocation will be dramatically cut."
The words seemed to have little effect. Whilst some
sections chose to sit down without the need of
cajoling from those in yellow bibs, large areas of the
away end remained standing. And so the (not so) fun
and games began. Stewards wandered up and down the
aisles instructing United fans to sit down but when
these orders fell on largely deaf ears the ejections
began. Stewards grabbed supporters and dragged them
out of the stadium with the help of the police. This
created an atmosphere of antagonism at perceived
overzealous stewarding that merely made supporters
more belligerent and stewards more resolute. It was a
situation that could have been avoided.
That said, the whole issue of Reds standing at away
games is one that refuses to go away. Calls for safe
standing may have come to nothing but the desire to
stand at away games � something deemed by many safety
authorities as dangerous despite research to indicate
otherwise - remains fierce. Of course, not everyone
wants to stand at away games and persistently doing so
shows little consideration for the elderly, the young
and those unable to stand for long periods. It is
difficult to see how a resolution can be found.
Whilst supporters were being thrown out the team were
doing their best to take supporters minds off events
in the stands. Ryan Giggs was busy picking up where
he�d left off at Villa Park by causing plenty of
problems for Boro�s back line. It was his run and shot
that caused Mark Schwarzer to parry into the path of
Darren Fletcher for the young Scot to tap home his
first United goal.
Middlesbrough rallied in the second half but rarely
threatened Carroll�s goal and the away end were spared
a nervy ending to the game when Ryan Giggs broke into
the Boro area to prod past Schwarzer. With Chelsea and
Arsenal both winning, these were three gratefully
received points.
United have had better years than 2004 but the FA Cup
success and run in to 2005 give cause for optimism
over the next twelve months. The senior players like
Giggs, Scholes and Keane are playing as well as ever,
last summer�s signings are looking good and look to
have been good acquisitions, whilst the return of Rio
Ferdinand has given the Reds backline a resolute look.
Jose Mourinho�s men may well be title favourites, and
deservedly so, but only a fool or a City fan (one and
the same?) would write off this United side. Best
wishes for 2005.
Face In The Crowd
The Riverside, 1 January 2005
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