So then, do you actually care that it finished Chardonnay 0 Claret 0? Seriously? And I don’t just mean that’s because it finished goal-less either. There was a seriously strange mood about the place today – I noticed things didn’t seem all that special even when I got up – and as you’ll see later on in this report, this mood turned ugly. Real ugly. As for the game itself, we did boss procedures, though sadly (and somewhat predictably) we failed to put away any chances. At least we had some – can you remember Burnley having any? Oh, and Wild Thang returned, after BUPA finally turfed him out. And guess what – he didn’t get injured. Wonders will never cease.
Brief run-down on the match, SW19 style…
Plus points: We didn’t lose. We were dominant. As stated above, Wild Thang returned and got the second biggest standing ovation we’ll get this season (biggest one being Koppout hanging round with a noose around his neck).
Minus points: We didn’t win either. Suddenly, we’ve forgotten how to score. The mood.
Point to ponder: Are Burnley REALLY promotion candidates?
The referee’s a …………….. : Look, when you’re greeted with the chant “Are you Koppel in disguise”, your whole approach really does suck the big one.
Truth is stranger than fiction: (1) The Burnley goalie wearing Heald’s shirt. Yup, as in the Paul Heald. (2) The realisation that this may be the last ever league game worth watching at SP. Or at least, the last one which will get finished.
Shit scared yarpie lawyer watch: He’s flipped. At 2.15pm today, he actually walked around the side of the pitch (Main Stand side, of course), shook hands and signed an autograph. Wonder if he knew that piece of paper is actually his death warrant? Obviously, trying to be like Hammam. And we all know what a popular guy he is with everyone these days, don’t we?
Quotes: (1) “Terry Burton is our mate, is our mate, is our mate. Terry Burton is our mate. He hates Koppel” – Holmesdale pointing out publically the dangers of chairman/manager relationships within football clubs. Or something. (2) “You’re not fit to wear his shirt” – cry from some wag at aforementioned Burnley goalie.
Hmmmm: The person who wrote that letter in Y&B today about WFC’s defiencies sounded a right sarky git didn’t he? He really sounds fun at parties….
Burnley fans: Pretty good turnout by them. Bit subdued though. Like we weren’t. Honest………….
So, was it worth it? Pass.
In a nutshell: Do you actually care?
So, why all the somewhat obvious lack of enthusiam today? Well, actually, we’ve been doing other things. Along with quite a few others, your humble and esteemed editor partook a OWFF meeting. Needless to say, WFC chickened out of it, and indeed even sent a couple of coppers to over-see it all. Purely a police decision, say WFC, though funnily enough the chief inspector didn’t think so. Hmm. So what went down? Well, predictably I didn’t make notes so I forgot what was actually passed (sorry), but basically, it appears that we were going to merely sit there and wait for somebody at the club to make a statement. This got abandoned after Thorley said “fine by us”. That and the fact that we really do want to watch football occasionally.
Funny story – you must be aware of the transcript of Monday’s HBRA meeting being somewhat unofficially distributed. Well, it’s part of the club’s commitment to the OWFF (stop laughing) that facilities are made available to do distribution of stuff like leaflets. A nameless activist (all right, it was Xav) actually took the transcript to WFC offices and came very close to getting 100 or so copies knocked out at WFC’s expense. Shame Reg Davis had to come and spoil it all, though Xav DID get to meet old Swivel Eyes. Who needless to say, showed his major self-confidence and legendary respect for all by bottling it. I think the term was “rattled”. After the meeting, some of us decided to hang around the main offices hoping to get a word or two with those who matter. Yup, by this time Koppout was hiding in the bogs with a rubber object.
As I said earlier, today’s mood was ugly, and today, finally, people responded to the shit treatment. Basically, the following things I know happened today – the owner(s) of a banner with no swear words were very, very close to being slung out. What – is “Club Killer” an arrestable offense now? When I came back at half time, I saw a helluva lot of argy around my area. I did take a snapshot very badly (see right) of it, which did get me a severe look of “why the fuck did you do that?” from behind me. A guy with his kids got lifted, which apparently may be related to distributing leaflets and/or singing “who the fucking hell are you” with plenty of other people. The Met, who normally I consider having a bit more brains than other cop forces, totally lost it today. One copper pulled over about the above incident said simply “we are acting on instructions”. Hmm.
After the game, people’s collective tempers with various people who still work for WFC just vacated the building. A group congregated around the club shop, singing anti-MK stuff and whatnot, forcing the shop (avec customers still inside) to close. Along came the coppers, who did a fair bit of pushing and shoving, and I have to admit, I am surprised a few people didn’t get nicked. It was then decided upon to try our luck outside firstly the directors entrance, then the main entrance. I don’t think I have witness a mood so ugly, although the coppers probably won’t find this the worst mob they’ll deal with. Yet. I don’t think the coppers actually blockading the bit between the directors entrance and the main entrance did much for crowd control relations, though as people did disperse around the various streets (and back to the gates by the directors entrance) it did tail off quite a lot. As I returned, certainly there were relatively very few people there. So we buggered off home (in my case – the sacrifices I make for the SW19 readership) or to the Farley, where most of the others probably still are 🙂
The result of all this? Well, the club shop incident is REALLY going to strain relationships, probably permanently. It could be used against us, but then again, the fact that it’s taken to this very late stage for even something remotely resembling disorder is of immense credit to Wimbledon fans. Face it, WFC’s level of intimidation, oppression and outright deflamation to all who oppose its aims is on a par with the worst dictatorships of the world. Why does apartheid South Africa spring to mind here? What it also does show is that WFC fans CAN get, ahem, “pro-active” to the point that the cops over-react. And if I was WFC, that would scare me most of all. In the past, I’ve said that people will turn violent and I’ve got a few “yeah, all right” glances as a result. Now? I think that minds have been changed to an extent. The next game at SP, regardless of Panel result, will be highly tense and emotional. People will act according, the authorities will react according. There is something very nasty going to happen to a couple of people, believe me.
Watch this space. BTW, is there anyone driving up to Boro?