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Everton Fans on Cardiff to Chester Saturday Night

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parkender102

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I had the misfortune to be trapped on the same train as Everton Fans celebrating their teams win at Swansea at the Weekend - Saturday Evenings Cardiff to Llandudno at around 19:35. My attention was drawn as we got on the train at Cardiff which I think only had 2 coaches? Charging down the carriage singing 'Your journeys going to be a nightmare!' - my son somewhat upset at this drunken (and foul mouthed behaviour) we immediately got off and moved to the other carriage as the thought of spending 3 hours with this mob didn't fill me with joy (I am myself an Everton Fan but no longer attend games).

The train was pretty full and I said to the guard 'you're going to have to do something about this lot' fearing for the people who had to put up with the carriage containing them.

I don't know what happened but all the singing died down and I noticed a lot of Police at Cwmbran - whether the fans were ejected or Police travelled on the train I don't know. The few Everton Fans in our carriage were well behaved and enjoyed a drink and a chat on the way home.

I was wondering whether the Police have the right to remove their alcohol they brought with them and indeed does the guard or train manager have the right. It also raised the question as what to do in this situation as this was probably the last train that was going to get us back to Chester that night and therefore I was stuck with it - that or spending another night in a hotel in Cardiff.

Ultimately I'd have probably coughed up for a taxi rather than put up with the aggro.
 
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142094

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Even if a guard did have the right to remove alcohol, I bet not many would try to do so.
 

Ivo

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Our fans are some of the best in the Prem. Very rarely here anything bad about them. But every club has some like that, who let down everyone else.

Regarding your query, I would 142094 is correct. Police should be able to exercise powers of confiscation in such a situaiton in my opinion; it is a public setting.
 

Essexman

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Rare for Everton to cause any trouble.

Similar situation on Burnley to Preston train after West Ham's game on Saturday. Fans singing on the train but good humoured and not threatening. OK for half an hour but other passengers wouldn't have enjoyed a long journey with such noise.
I thouht at the time that this was like 70s & 80s football, but without a hint of violence. That's the big change with football fans. Still like a drink and can be anti social but very few now look for trouble.
 

Sheridan

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I don't know if the people you mention were still on the train but I got on at Wrexham after the Crusaders game, the 2213 to Llandudno - I think this is the same train? There were certainly some slightly merry Everton fans on there but the ones I sat with were nice enough and we had a chat about our teams' respective fortunes for the course of the twenty minutes. I can imagine perhaps the most vociferous ones would have fallen asleep or at least calmed down by the time they reached Wrexham though!
 

142094

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It would be good if BTP could be put on some of the trains straight after a match, although you'd need to find someone to pay for it.

On the other hand, there is always going to be some sort of trouble, football fans or not, when alcohol and the railways mix - only last week was I standing at an unstaffed station when a drunk got off, walked across the tracks and started talking to me, bottle of Frosty Jack in hand. I was half expecting some sort of confrontation but I managed to get rid of him, but that is the first time in a few years where it has happened to me.

Perhaps some will call for all trains and stations to be alcohol free zones, which isn't going to happen.
 

robschopper

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It would be good if BTP could be put on some of the trains straight after a match, although you'd need to find someone to pay for it. QUOTE]

In fact, a large majority of BTPs policing strength on a Saturday during the football season is spent of policing returning football fans. As with all police forces, as with other public services, resources are finite and are therefore targeted to certain locations.

Go to many stations serving football stadia at 4:45 on a Saturday and see the amount of officers BTP have to deploy to protect the public from the actions of a very small minoirty of, otherwise genuine, football fans.
 

142094

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In fact, a large majority of BTPs policing strength on a Saturday during the football season is spent of policing returning football fans. As with all police forces, as with other public services, resources are finite and are therefore targeted to certain locations.

Go to many stations serving football stadia at 4:45 on a Saturday and see the amount of officers BTP have to deploy to protect the public from the actions of a very small minoirty of, otherwise genuine, football fans.

The problem I find with BTP is that they very rarely travel on the trains themselves, and instead are at the stations in between (which of course is down to shifts, distances etc). I've only been on a few trains where BTP have been on board, and that was for local derbies and friendlies.

Quite agree that resources are finite but I'm sure more could be done on board as well as at stations by BTP.
 

Essexman

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As someone who travels by train to most West Ham away games, my view is there are far generally too many police on stations. Eg about 15 at Preston on Saturday & half a dozen at Doncaster earlier in the season for 50 odd West Ham changing from Sheffield.
Yes they are sometimes needed but as a matter of routine there are often far more than needed.
 

Temple Meads

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Perhaps some will call for all trains and stations to be alcohol free zones, which isn't going to happen.

It does strike me as a decent idea sometimes - though I was drinking on the platform at Temple Meads last week, and wasn't being at all disruptive, this sort of idea is always a swings and roundabouts, rock and a hard a place type of thing.
 

jopsuk

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if it was a two carriage train, and the group didn't fill a carriage, that's, what, forty or so max out of the few thousand Everton fans that will have travelled to Cardiff?
 

parkender102

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I don't know if the people you mention were still on the train but I got on at Wrexham after the Crusaders game, the 2213 to Llandudno - I think this is the same train? There were certainly some slightly merry Everton fans on there but the ones I sat with were nice enough and we had a chat about our teams' respective fortunes for the course of the twenty minutes. I can imagine perhaps the most vociferous ones would have fallen asleep or at least calmed down by the time they reached Wrexham though!

That was the same train - I was travelling in the front coach as it arrived at Chester and like I said it all seemed to calm down after Cwmbran for whatever reason - be it Police or the effects of alcohol and the length of journey. I saw the Crusader fans getting on at Wrexham. The Everton fans in the front coach were well behaved all the way home. As I exited at Chester with my son to get a taxi to Hawarden it was a case for the passengers left on there of 'out of the frying pan and into the fire'. Waiting on the Platform at Chester were a large group of inebriated people - maybe 40-50 - who looked like they had been enjoying a Saturday Afternoon/Evening Session on the sunniest/hottest day of the year so far!
 

Greenback

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I rarely travel on Saturday evening trains because of the general level of drunkeness and boisterousness. It's not just football fans, and it's not just particular teams, it's more the 'let's get off our faces' brigade, who are usually tanked up before they leave home.
 

142094

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The other problem is that it is no longer Friday and Saturday nights, it seems to be nearly all week now.
 

Greenback

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The other problem is that it is no longer Friday and Saturday nights, it seems to be nearly all week now.

Fortunately, it isn't down this neck of the woods!

Yes, there are a couple of people who have been out to the theatre, or for a meal and adrink, but there are none of the hordes of drunken people (of all ages) who inhabit the trains at the weekend.

Mrs greenback and I have often travelled back on late night trains Monday - Thursday and seen no anti social behaviour whatsoever. Most ar elike us, travelling back home after a day out or a few days away.

Sunday is an interesting mixture of weekend and the week! On the last train back from Cardif recently, there were two very sober people discussing religion, two couples who had been for dinner, five or six drinkers and several long distance travellers trying to get home!
 

142094

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Don't get me wrong, I'm not seeing that much 'bad' behaviour outside Fri-Sat nights, but I'm noticing that there are some incidents during the week now when I didn't see them before.
 

Greenback

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Don't get me wrong, I'm not seeing that much 'bad' behaviour outside Fri-Sat nights, but I'm noticing that there are some incidents during the week now when I didn't see them before.

You are probably right, it's just that we haven't seen any!
 
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I am a football fan (Sheffield Wednesday). The most frightening experience I've had was on a KX-LDS HST (GNER days). Huddersfield Town had lost 4-=1 at Loftus Road (against QPR). The "fans" were well "tanked up" and removed a Muslim passenger's veil; and attempted to pour beer down her throat. Very intimidating and the conductor was nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, they exited the train at Wakefield Westgate. I (and presumably other passengers) made a complaint to GNER. In fairness, they recognised that this unacceptable situation should never have occurred. It should also be recognised, that sadly any football club will have its share of "morons" hell bent on besmirching the club. However, I vowed then not to travel after 4:30 on a match day.
 

12CSVT

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The "fans" were well "tanked up" and removed a Muslim passenger's veil; and attempted to pour beer down her throat.

By my reckoning that amounts to assault and should have been reported to the police at the earliest opportunity, especially as it was clearly a racist incident.
 
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I do not know, if it was reported to the Police or not but I take your point. If memory serves, the guard did not enter our carriage, for a ticket check? As a wheelchair user, I was in a vulnerable position too. There were four of them and a thoroughly nasty bunch they were too!
 
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