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Hi Guys
Following the serious disturbances in Bristol last night. I contacted a few people I know up hear to find out the situation for Saturday.
At the moment our game is on as it is classified as low risk and the club have no Police officers booked for any aspect of the game. They do patrol outside but non are required inside.
But the club are in hourly contact with the Police and they have been advised as the City match has been called off due to this unrest, that there is a risk to the Watford match in the Carling Cup and if there is any more serious unrest then there is a good chance that Saturday will be called off, as there will not be either the manpower avaiable for Police to attend outside the ground and that The access south of the Mem which goes down Gloucester road straight into the area of trouble will be closed off and they don't want either an element of trouble makers to join in after the match or fans to get into trouble being caught up in the unrest as it seems so mobile.
This is being monitored hourly and reports will come through if I hear anything concrete

Can't see it myself. The main problem with evening games is that fans come out of grounds at the height of the troubles. I can't see much rioting going on during a saturday afternoon.

In fairness, it kicked off at 4pm in Hackney yesterday. If these troubles haven't been stamped out by the weekend, or god-forbid have escalated, football has to take a back seat. All resources have to be directed at keeping law and order on the streets.

There has already been rioting during the day i that area Dave. There was a Tesco Express store opened recently despite furious opposition and riots broke out over that. There were fairly localised and it didn't spread but this time things are different. Cities match has already been postponed as there isnt the manpower to deal with it and it has a hight risk depsite being a fair way from the trouble. But the Rovers ground is close to the area and they are worried about 1. access to the stadium 2 trouble makers geting involved after the match. not nec from us, but others who in the guise of football fans, look to cause trouble, and of course. 3. Manpower. Officers are always outside in case anything kicks off and to help with traffic. They don't want fans leaving the ground going down Gloucester road into the area of trouble to get home. I know some say they could always find another route but I expect that if they did nothing and something however small happened they would be pilloried. As I say this is being monitored on an hourly basis and as you can hopefully understand they can't just have officers in that area just during the night. They have to have a presence during the day. the last lot of riots a few weeks ago took up huge resources and the Police were down there all day with treble the manpower if not more. So it doesn't just affect the evenings or night it does affect the day

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Bristol City match called off tonight.

It'll be on. Citys game was only called off because it was against Swindon so would need a fairly big police presence.

Rovers should still be on against Watford tomorrow so no chance it'll be off Sat.

Well if it is called off on Saturday anyone fancy coming into Bristol with me to do some shopping instead? I hear there are a few shops holding a "Take What You Want" sale.

The Rovers V Watford match tomorrow is very much in doubt.

Th Mem is only a mile or so away from where the trouble hit last night, St Pauls is on high alert and judging from what I have seen, more riots are being planned.

If it carry's on throughout the week then The Gas V Torquay will be postponed no doubt about it.

BritishGAS wrote:The Rovers V Watford match tomorrow is very much in doubt.

Th Mem is only a mile or so away from where the trouble hit last night, St Pauls is on high alert and judging from what I have seen, more riots are being planned.

If it carry's on throughout the week then The Gas V Torquay will be postponed no doubt about it.

Bugger, that means I am going to get dragged to the inlaws for the weekend instead....... do we have names and numbers for the rioters so I can put a plee out to them to not riot on Saturday?

Tomorrows game may be off just due to timing but doubtful. There wasn't that much trouble in Bristol. Some in Stokes Croft which is at the bottom of Gloucester road.

Saturdays game will be on.

I live in Montpellier, and there was loads of trouble in Stokes Croft and St Pauls, and from what I have heard on the grapevine it is going to get a lot worse in the next couple of days, it is all going to kick of in Easton aswell.

Hopefully it will all die down before saturday.

The trouble in Bristol has not yet reached the levels of in the capital, but it is still bad enough to be on the national news along with Brum and Liverpool.

Of course there was a lot of trouble.

I would say that our match against Watford tomorrow night is in great doubt but can't see there being any problem on Saturday as its during the day and in all honesty there will be far more people in town shopping than going to the match and the shops will be open so can see no reason at all for cancelling the football.

i expect match on sat will only be cancled if troubles continue through to the weekend which is doutfull, trouble last night was noware near as bad as london or the stokes croft riot a few months back. it was about 150 kids smashing up the streets, burning cars and trying to break into shops, hopfully police will nip it in the bud but more unrest expected tonight.

Fonda wrote:In fairness, it kicked off at 4pm in Hackney yesterday. If these troubles haven't been stamped out by the weekend, or god-forbid have escalated, football has to take a back seat. All resources have to be directed at keeping law and order on the streets.

I can only go on the information given to me by the stadium manager who stated that any trouble in Bristol tonite or even successive nights could mean the Watford game is called off and the risk of Torquay being called off then raises to a much higher risk.
It's not so much about trouble happening inside the Mem. for years Rovers have had thier own stewards and they have dealt very successfully with any problems inside the ground, There hasn't been any real element of trounble for a long time. They have had on the odd occassion someone try to start it off but stewards nipped it in the bud pretty successfully.
The main problem we have now is a massive escalation with mobile trouble enabling these lawless morons to act like Guerillas. It uses up huge resources and the Police cannot be in 3 or 4 places at once. There have been threats of loads more trouble tonite in several areas of Bristol and this is going t stretch the Police and other authorities more than they can cope. There will none available for policing traffic and anything that could kick off outside the stadium. As I type this the Englans game has just been called off. Thanks to mindless thugs and morons including the loutish girl who spouted forth about respect. I Qoute "you dont respect us so why should we respect you" attitiude, She needs to be taken to a situation where she would be made to eat her own words.
And we also have the Social media. who on one hand say they will help the Police and identify those who sued twitter to organise this. But on the other hand throw their hands up in horror at suggestions that the service be suspended to stop them organising it. Qouting civil rights. Well I have only one thing to say to you lot who qoute this drivel.
What about our civil rights to be able to live in a community without fear of being mugged. Looted. Beaten, or burnt to death in our houses cos you set them alight without regard for human life. Your argument about civil right and respect fall flat on thier face. what did the common man ever do to you. except maybe object to paying huge sums of unemplotment benifit so you can sit on your ass at our expence. (I am not having a go at geniune unemployed people who must be as disgusted as I am.

Awayday wrote:Well if it is called off on Saturday anyone fancy coming into Bristol with me to do some shopping instead? I hear there are a few shops holding a "Take What You Want" sale.

Not funny.