I'm not disagreeing with the tenet of your post, but maybe the math.
100 marshals x £6.50/hr x 5 hours = £3,250. Which is probably the equivalent cost of a couple of police for a day.
While, at the time, I wanted each aggressive Widnes fan to receive a good kicking, with hindsight it was diffused without too much bloodshed. Without sufficient numbers of lowly paid stewards or police it could have inflamed the situation further if they had tackled the morons & reduced numbers further. With video evidence now available the police can deal with the trouble makers at their leisure.

I'm not disagreeing with your post either, IMHO a "human barrier" will never stop even a half-hearted pitch invasion like this one, only fences (perish the very thought) could do that.

A police barrier is both OTT , completely unaffordable and unnecessary, and it is unfortunate that many are suggesting we need to change the whole ethos of viewing and policing all RL matches just because of the idiocy of a hundred or so Widnes drunken boneheaded knuckledraggers. We should be able to rely (as in 99.9% of cases we can rely) on RL fans not to behave like these Widnes scumbags. And of course the vast majority of Widnes fans are genuine RL fans not scumbags, it is just they seem to be the go-to club for scumbags at the moment, if what I read is accurate.

What saved this from being a major incident was the restraint of the Castleford fans. However that should not detract from the fact that the knuckledraggers were attempting to start a major incident. The trouble is that BECAUSE there was not a major incident, BECAUSE not many people got punched etc., each knuckledragger can have the same defence
* had a few too many sherbets
* he's normally a good bloke really
* didn't actually hit anybody
* wouldn't actually have done any fighting
* nobody died
* apart from running on a field and waving, he didn't really do much

All of which is basically true, even if it distorts the reality grotesquely, and means so far as any criminal cases are concerned we can expect very little by way of court penalties. If I ran the CPS, I would be looking at for once putting the controversial law of "joint enterprise" to a good instead of bad use, pick the worst thing that happened and then charge all of them with it. Like the mascot being punched, which must surely earn that knuckledragger some jail time. Or charge the lot of them with affray. But I'm not, and CPS won't.

So it is up to the game to sort the individuals out. I can't tell you how much I resent the thought of anyone going to see a RL match being terrorised (as many near the front of the Cas end must have been). RL's reputation as a rare sport where fans can get on is chipped away at by these vermin and I don't think a "deterrent" is needed, nor do i think anything would deter any other club's vermin-in-waiting, but i do think that the process of identifying these lot and giving each a lengthy ban from the game is about the best thing that can be done. The Widnes club will sadly be punished, because that's how it is, but they should take it out on each and every knuckledragger to the max permitted by law.

I realise that only a very few actually threw a punch, but isn't there a charge of, 'actions likely to cause a breach of the peace'? If the whole episode was anything, it was that -at the [ivery[/i least. Though I guess the official punishment from the courts is the equivalent of a couple of 'hail Marys' and a promise not to do it again.

I suspect it will be down to the club to actually apply some sanctions; a few sine die bans maybe?

Nail, head. Breach of the peace is about as trivial as offences get, the sort of thing that you get a binding over or a conditional discharge. It's what they did collectively, and tried to do, but there is no way CPS is going to do them for that, which is why apart from one or two the criminal consequences will be basically inconsequential.


It will. And to pay their own fines, sadly.

I think that about sums it up FA, I found the most disgusting scene was when the Mascot was attacked, and in that instant the thug who did it, not only attacked a defenceless person, but the concept of our sport to the junior supporters of the future...The club mascot is revered by youngsters and the status is one of identifying and belonging to the club. He therefore could not retaliate as to do so would have put the whole concept of the club in jeopardy. That cowardly act epitomised the knuckledragger mentality as you rightly describe them.

Yes that scrawny little ginger tw@ deserved a right kicking.

I hope the cops smash his mum's front door off it's hinges when they go to arrest him and then charge him with riot.

Obviously that's a bit unlikely but if they are able to charge him with anything I hope they come to arrest him at work so he gets the sack.

That seems OK, but can we afford to ban fans? The game is going south, with long a's.

We can if we're seen to be making a big enough noise about doing it.

Never know they they might smash his Mums back door in.

I presume you're being humorous in some strange way but you'll have to explain it.

The game cannot afford not to.

While I don't have any official numbers to support it (and I am sure the current financial squeeze is a major factor) - but looking at the crowd at Odsal on Sunday compared to the glory days there seems to me to be far fewer families going to games now, and if the cost of the tickets doesn't prevent them going to games - the thought of having to put up with idiots like the ones at Wheldon Rd will.

So I would support the firmest possible action against the nutters

The LSV is in Wheldon Road?

Well, geographical faux pas aside, the sentiments are pretty much spot on.

Going back to the point about families, when I was a a kid we tended to follow our parents in going to matches, whereas today it seems that it's the kids who drive the activities, with parents running their offspring here, there and everywhere to follow [itheir[/i interests. The club needs the same kind of push it got when Peter Deakin came, and whilst it's definitely true to say that Peter Deakins don't grow on trees, we maybe need to be more youth oriented to attract them back?

Tbh think a big part of getting more support from younger end is having a winning team on the pitch. There isn't the emotional attachment/loyalty to turn up every week and watch us lose regularly from those who haven't experienced us in our pomp. Hopefully we'll be able to address that next season, albeit at a lower level, and carry some new supporters back into SL with us.

That's a fair point Mat, though youngsters, much as they often pretend to be more individualistic, tend to follow their mates, just as kids always did. When something becomes 'sexy' it tends to attract extra people, for no other reason than because it is sort of fashionable and their mates like it. It's getting that initial jump..and, of course , you're right, then they have to be kept by the side doing reasonably well.

Do we still do the free season tickets to schools/local junior teams etc? That's how I got into going many moons since. Not only are you getting the kids (future fans, in the long run) through the gate but as you say Bulliac, someone's got ot bring them so you end up attracting parents who might not have come in the first place.

I happened to take my two girls (7 and 9 yr old) to the Hull match as their first ever match after they asked out of the blue to come with me as I was leaving the house on Sun.
Now, they spent a lot of the time watching Bullmans antics, and enjoyed watching the cheerleaders as they both do dancing, and both loved being bought a replica shirt, but crucially they both want to come back for our next game against Widnes they enjoyed it so much. They really enjoyed clapping along when we scored and the music and the atmosphere, Im guessing had their first game been one of our early season collapses they might not have wanted to return, but thankfully their first impression was excitement and a win.

Next year they want to come to some games and I know they wont care what league we're in, they just liked the excitement on the day, so hopefully with Bullman and the music celebrating more tries next year my girls might get hooked. I hadn't really appreciated it fully before, but what kids get hooked on at the match is totally different to what adults appreciate and first impressions really count I suspect in regards of that initial jump you talk about.

(Best thing is my wife is a cas fan but my girls now have Bulls kit before the cas t-shirts their mum is buying them later this week ahead of Wembley!!

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Absolutely what we need and hope there are more like you in the pipeline... This is exactly what is needed now and next season.

You are bang on about what kids get hooked on and its the kids who are the lifeblood of the club, bringing in parent(s) too.

Damn near impossible when the team under performs and things go flat - but bearing in mind we have nothing to play for other than pride - things are going exceptionally well at the moment.

I am working on a couple of people who quit attending games during the Hood era - and I bet all contributors on here know at least one person who might return soon?

Also assuming the club doesn't make changes, aged 7 and 9 they will both for the next few years be entitled to a FREE season pass, plus a very cheap Away season pass if you need one.

Going back to the early days of SL, [ievery[/i season ticket got an equivalent junior ticket for free. I got three young people hooked on the game with those freebie tickets [two are still adult ticket buyers so not sure whether it's a case of can they afford to do it, or can they afford[i not[/i to do it?

Agreed



Yes, I'll be looking at this for next year now....I hadnt even realised under 12's were free this season, I was ready to hand over some notes at the turnstiles when they told me they where free to get in! Excellent, and then club got sales of 2 replica tops, 2 baseball caps and some sweets! Everyones happy....apart maybe from their cas supporting mum, but shes happy enough with the Wembley trip on Sat anyway! (My 9yr old is going with us to Wembley but she'll now be wearing her new Bulls kit along with me

)

I first took my son when he came home from his Primary School with a free ticket - given out by Joe Vagana!

I think he was about 7 at the time. He's 23 now and still goes - an adult season ticket holder who sits next to me in the main stand!

We really need to get back to that kind of thing.

Spot on.

I'm certainly no Peter Deakin, but one technique used was to get families with youngsters in, and then make it feel like a must-go for these youngsters. Bull Man's Parade, and all the rest. Big Joe (imagine what size HE looked to a 7 year old) handing out tickets. Party atmosphere. The kids loved it, they brought their parents of necessity, and everyone had a good time. That was I think the bare bones of it. - everyone sort of was made to feel part of a happy family.

I think that's right. It was a fun time, a happy time and a Bulls' match was a great place to be, even if we lost... For sure, success on the field helped - didn't it just, but it was always much more than just that. I know only too well that we've all been ground down with recent events over the last few years, but there are, at last, definite signs of an upward swing; the new owners; the plans for the future; the new signings et al. We're moving in the right direction and the mood around the place has had a significant improvement, can we reach that target and go back to the future?

Agree there Bulliac - still some more signings needed to complete the squad, but it looks like it's being worked on behind the scenes. So looking forward to next year hopefully:

No financial crisis hanging over the club
A decent sized squad
Jimmy getting the pride back in the shirt and full effort from the players
More wins
Some traditional Yorkshire derbies to look forward to - Fax and Fev
Some long weekends in Cumbria - cheaper than France or London

For me we hit the bottom a few months ago and are now starting to climb back - so if these things cannot bring some of the smiles back to the fans faces not sure what will - maybe beating the Rhinos in next years CC Final