[Archived] Guantanamo Bay in the Darwen End

[Majiball]

It says the stewards carrying out the searches are CRB checked, not all of them that are on duty. I'm not saying this is accurate because it sounds like Kelbo knows otherwise though...

I would wonder who would be at fault?

Rovers or the agency they used to get the stewards in. Rovers will not have done the recruiting.

[gumboots]

It sounds like a bit of a shambles to be honest, but I won't lose any sleep over it. In the grand scheme of things this is the least of our bloody problems.

Actually it's not the least of the problems because ti's all part of the same Kean/Venkys problem. The manager makes all decisions and is answerable only to Venkys who don't give a toss what he does so basically it's down to him. He doesn't like dissent and therefore wants banners banned so they have now gone very heavy handed on one section of the ground where they think there will be the majority of protesting fans. It's all part of the same disgraceful way the club is being run. Prehaps those who normally sit in the Darwen end should all look to move to somewhere else just for one match and get the banners in there instead.

[Ossydave]

I would wonder who would be at fault?

Rovers or the agency they used to get the stewards in. Rovers will not have done the recruiting.

Well it's a pretty big clanger to drop so whoever is at fault needs to be dealt with accordingly and heads should roll.

[ABBEY]

Do stewards these days not have to do courses that doormen have to ? After all it's very similar.

[Bluefudge]

We are all being moved for 2 upcoming matches.

Will the whole attendance on those 2 occasions be searched ?

[Roost]

Very weak IMO and the searches were illegal and everyone was searched in fact every person was searched

Illegal? Which law was broken?

[Parsonblue]

Club statement

In other words, if you sit in one of the other stands it's no problem bringing anti-Venky banners into the ground. Clearly the muppets at Ewood seem to believe, like Kean, that it's only a small minority of fans in the Darwen End who want rid of the Indian mob and their puppets at Ewood Park. They seem to be blissfully unaware that fans in all parts of the ground want rid of these clowns. Indeed, I would say the majority of the people in the town want to see the back of them.

On the one hand Hunt and his cronies appeal for the fans to get behind the club and then when families arrive to support the team they are treated like scum. It's almost as if the club want to lose supporters. Heaven knows they are going to see a huge drop in season ticket sales as it is without going out of their way to upset the ever dwindling band of supporters they have. The next thing you know they'll be claiming to be a family club again.

As for inflammatory banners, I think it's safe to say that nobody will be bringing Pro-Venky banners into the ground and surely these are the only ones that would be inflammatory!

[47er]

Club statement

Inflammatory imo. Treats supporters as the enemy. Trying to prop up Kean and Venkys by denying freedom of expression.

What have we come to?

[Silittl]

Illegal? Which law was broken?

The manner in which the searches were carried out I am waiting for confirmation. It's something to do with technique.

[Ossydave]

Do stewards these days not have to do courses that doormen have to ? After all it's very similar.

The activities defined as licensable by the Act are:

•Manned guarding, which includes: •Cash and Valuables in Transit

•Close Protection

•Door Supervision

•Public Space Surveillance (CCTV)

•Security Guard

•Immobilisation, restriction and removal of vehicles

•Key Holding

[47er]

Great comment but I think you'll find most of us complaining aren't scared or upset by the treatment, we're angry and object to being treated like hooligans despite showing no behaviour that we are anything of the sort.

As for Newsham's reply, I'm almost impressed by how childish and ignorant he can be about complaints from the people who effectively pay his wages. Makes me wonder if Venkys appalling attitude to our support is spreading into people who were at the club before they arrived.

Well said. Personally I think this is part of the on-going propaganda campaign by Kean and others to denigrate their own fans. Plus a bit of fascism--we're not allowed to express views they don't like.

[Roost]

The manner in which the searches were carried out I am waiting for confirmation. It's something to do with technique.

I really hope that all CCTV cameras were focused on the DE turnstiles as they must hold the key to this. I hope even more that the recordings don't get misplaced.

[OJRovers]

Inflamatory banners?

What about the Venkys logo that appears on the ad boards every 5mins or so. Nit to mention Kean's "majority if fans backing him" interviews.

[SAS]

Pretty big claim to say all stewards checking were CRB checked....

Find it hard to believe myself as most stewards just do it for a little bit of cash and nothing more than.

[Mercer]

Club statement

Don't know why you pander to these morons.

Personally, have never liked Newsham Dip,s,M.I.I.R.S.M. Dip, E.M.I.M.A.- IMO, full of his own importance, as his 'showcasing' of his 'letters' signify, and not even moderately competent in what he does. Always remember when City fans 'took' Ewood - absolutely clueless, IMO!

Might go in the Darwen End next match. Hope that Newsham knows the law or otherwise he could be in for a big surprise.

[Ossydave]

Newsham has been stalking us all season from the box at the back of N01 in the B'burn end, a true cretin of a man.

[SAS]

Newsham has been stalking us all season from the box at the back of N01 in the B'burn end, a true cretin of a man.

Reminds me of the time we all received letters about standing......

[blue_and_white]

It sounds like a bit of a shambles to be honest, but I won't lose any sleep over it. In the grand scheme of things this is the least of our bloody problems.

Is it? Obviously I wouldnt expect someone who didnt have to put up with it to be as annoyed. But I find this the most offputting thing Venkys have done yet. They've made many stupid decisions but this is the first direct attack on the fans they've done.

The way I see it they are saying we dont trust you, and we're willing to treat you as hooligans rather than customers. And this to fans who I would argue have shown themselves to be some of the best, most loyal, most passionate home support in the country the last couple of seasons. Are there many sections of home fans around these days who will sing for almost 90 minutes win, lose or draw? Because I can tell you its not often that the 100 or so of us in the corner ever stop.

The protest group moved into the Darwen End from the Blackburn End about 5 games ago, it didnt start in the DE. And while I've nothing whatsoever against them, they aren't really much to do with the singers who have been here for the last 3 years. Our priority is still what the club wanted it to be when it opened the stand, get behind the players no matter what. And this is the thanks we get, worse treatment than the away fans.

[DaveyB]

Very weak IMO and the searches were illegal and everyone was searched in fact every person was searched

No they weren't. None of the children with us were searched. In fact we were joking with the stewards that if we wanted to get anything dodgy into the ground we could just get the kids to carry it. Maybe that's why they started to search the kids...!?!

Just out of interest your profile says you sit in the BE. Did you switch for this game or are you peddling second hand info? Because you seem to very certain of the 'facts' for someone who wasn't actually there.

2. Away fans and home fans treated the same - Blatant lie.

What a ******* joke.

Again incorrect. Villa fans were searched just the same as Rovers fans. How do I know? Well, other than knowing what I saw with my own two eyes, we were walking to the ground with some Villa fans who thought they were being unfairly vicitimised for trouble in previous years, with firstly the Fernhurst being closed to them and then the searches on the turnstiles!

I really really don't see the problem. Being asked to be searched by a steward happens at many grounds and venues around the country and the world. I found the stewards to be fairly helpful and polite - although as I always try to be polite and friendly to people I usually find that they respond in the same way. Maybe if I'd gone in shouting the odds they would have behaved differently towards me.

It just seems like an excuse, for people who want to, to shout and stamp your feet and badmouth the club some more. Haven't you got enough things to moan about without the mock outrage at what is, as I've said, fairly standard practise at football grounds up and down the country.

[barry_]

In relation to the CRB checks... as part of the process of being licensed by the SIA,the SIA (not the club) do a CRB check. This is performed every 3 years, either at the renewal/first application stage. As part of the training to become licensed by the SIA there will of been a short discussion on searches but nothing too lengthy.

The clubs statement ('All stewards that are on search duties are SIA licensed, CRB checked and trained in search techniques.') seems to imply that BRFC does this independently whereas, as I already said, it is a basic requirement of becoming SIA licensed.

I do not know of the legalities in searching children, but it would not suprise me that it is different when entering a privately owned place which has its own rules and regulations (i.e. EWOOD) than it is when being in a public place.

It is worth noting that there was a lot more police present outside the ground on Saturday, a sizeable number being just outside the security cordon, so it seems safe to assume that the club and the police acted together.

What upset me the most on Saturday was the positioning of stewards IN THE AISLES, causing a blockage.

What will be comical will be the lack of security in the Darwen End when Utd and Liverpool visit. I recall when City visited a few (maybe 30?) people from the d.E were in the small section (W01)and were being constantly filmed/watched/monitored whereas the City fans were left alone.

It would seem that the reason the Darwen End home fans are being singled out for this treatment is because that's the most vocal part of the home support nowadays and the management do not like this.

We all know what is happening to our club and how it has turned on its own supporters, but most everyone here goes to watch our team because we care.

I am hoping that the LET article will come down heavily in our favour and that the club see some sense. hoping... but everyone must now know that we are the enemy of the club now and the treatment towards us will become even more draconian.

[Realist]

I've been quite reticent to post but this is getting really silly now..

This thread has become an absolute farce, people winding each other up about what? I went to The Etihad Stadium and guess what.....absolutely the same search techniques used there, also, remember the glory days, Cardiff and the league cup but probably not many of the keyboard warriors remember those days.

I don't like the search but, I can live with it and so will the many hundreds of thousands of people who will attend olympic events later in the year.

If the owners or managers of a private building or business see fit they have the right to search customers, does anyone remember Cavendish, Romeo & Juliets, Peppermint Place, Utopia etc. God, even The Borough in it's glory days used to search on entry.

From what I hear also from "In the know" sources in the Brown Cow is that one or two of the protest organisers actually have a mutual respect for John Newsome as he was the only true point of contact when they needed one. Why oh why are people winding each other up about this?

And as far as CRB checks are concerned, I'm pretty sure that all the searchers at the Darwen End are licensed agency staff with SIA badges anyway......sorted then really!

Bye for now

R

[barry_]

I've been quite reticent to post but this is getting really silly now..

This thread has become an absolute farce, people winding each other up about what? I went to The Etihad Stadium and guess what.....absolutely the same search techniques used there, also, remember the glory days, Cardiff and the league cup but probably not many of the keyboard warriors remember those days.

I don't like the search but, I can live with it and so will the many hundreds of thousands of people who will attend olympic events later in the year.

If the owners or managers of a private building or business see fit they have the right to search customers, does anyone remember Cavendish, Romeo & Juliets, Peppermint Place, Utopia etc. God, even The Borough in it's glory days used to search on entry.

From what I hear also from "In the know" sources in the Brown Cow is that one or two of the protest organisers actually have a mutual respect for John Newsome as he was the only true point of contact when they needed one. Why oh why are people winding each other up about this?

And as far as CRB checks are concerned, I'm pretty sure that all the searchers at the Darwen End are licensed agency staff with SIA badges anyway......sorted then really!

Bye for now

R

Why is there increased security in the home section of the Darwen End?

Why were stewards stood all the way up the aisles blocking them and restricting the view of the pitch?

Why was the large majority of home fans searched going into the D.E and nowhere else in the ground?

Who gives a flying (f) if someone has a mutual respect for a security officer... this has nothing to do with protesting against kean/venkys!! it is about home fans being treated disrespectively for daring to support our team and not a corrupt regime.

[Sparky Marky]

The manner in which the searches were carried out I am waiting for confirmation. It's something to do with technique.

Are you seriously checking the technique of the searches?? You are a right pain in the arse to rovers management......you must learn to pick your fights. They are baiting you and you are most certainly looking more stupid by the day.

[Realist]

Why is there increased security in the home section of the Darwen End?

Not sure there was apart from a few barriers..

Why were stewards stood all the way up the aisles blocking them and restricting the view of the pitch?

From what I saw, one aisle, probably a reaction to the protesters taking the p155 at QPR game..

Why was the large majority of home fans searched going into the D.E and nowhere else in the ground?

See above..!!

Who gives a flying (f) if someone has a mutual respect for a security officer... this has nothing to do with protesting against kean/venkys!! it is about home fans being treated disrespectively for daring to support our team and not a corrupt regime.

I'm not defending any regime, just giving my opinion. Just as Simon and Glen tell me I'm allowed because we are all entitled to our own opinions are we not?

[Realist]

Are you seriously checking the technique of the searches?? You are a right pain in the arse to rovers management......you must learn to pick your fights. They are baiting you and you are most certainly looking more stupid by the day.

NOW THAT SHOULD GET A REACTION !! That takes it to new heights in Manhattan (see what I did there)