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Traffic after game


Didcot Saint
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Just what we're the Police doing yesterday what a total shambles.

Took an hour just to go round back to where we started(car park just along from the King Alfred pub). The Police in their infinite wisdom closed all routes northbound just to try and get the coaches out which took an hour. Result. City centre gridlock for many.

 

Why did'nt they hold the Skates in, let all the Saints traffic go, then close the road. NO. Lets **** everyone off who come to most home games for an hour, just to let those morons out quickly.

Do you reckon Pompey Police would have done that for us?

 

What a totally moronic decision, no wonder people have less respect for the Police nowadays.

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Just what we're the Police doing yesterday what a total shambles.

Took an hour just to go round back to where we started(car park just along from the King Alfred pub). The Police in their infinite wisdom closed all routes northbound just to try and get the coaches out which took an hour. Result. City centre gridlock for many.

 

Why did'nt they hold the Skates in, let all the Saints traffic go, then close the road. NO. Lets **** everyone off who come to most home games for an hour, just to let those morons out quickly.

Do you reckon Pompey Police would have done that for us?

 

What a totally moronic decision, no wonder people have less respect for the Police nowadays.

 

Totally. Took me 90 minutes to get to West Quay from Terminus Terrace. It would take ten minutes to walk it!! What were they thinking when everyone heading out north to the City Centre was directed back to... er Saint Mary's!!!??

 

It was a bloody joke and so ill-thought through.

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Agree with the first post.The police were totally over the top with the way they handled the Skate fans and how aggressive they were towards Saints fans,just trying to get home.My mate was threatened with arrest for meerly wanting to walk over the Northam railway bridge,despite there already being loads of home fans walking over there anyway.My son was nearly pushed over by a demented poicewoman on a horse who seemed to take great delight provoking innocent fans waiting by a bus top.

All of this couldve been avoided if they had kept the away fans back for an hour,until we had all had a chance to get home.Then at least if any Saints fans were still waiting outside,they would know they were probably troublemakers.

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I think it was a matter of luck in choosing the route away. We parked in the East Street car park and were away heading back up to the Midlands slightly faster than normal if anything. I did think at the time that traffic was lighter than usual on this route. I assume because so many people will still gridlocked in the City Centre. I do agree that traffic handling in general after football matches needs looking at, however I think on balance that Southampton is on a par with most. Easily the worst is Huddersfield - we were still trying to get away from the town at 6.30 after a game that drew a fraction of yesterday's crowd.

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Totally agree with the 1st post,took me nearly 2 hours to get back to lordswood from lime street car park.Lost my rag after being redirected the 3rd time back into town by some plod who looked about 15 years old.Keep the away fans in let the traffic clear then let them out simples.At the worst hold the traffic until the away fans are past then let it go.

Redirecting thousands of cars back towards the town centre is a recipe for chaos.

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what would you all have done instead..?

 

1. Set the lights away from the stadium in all directions to green.

 

2. Directed traffic away from the ground north and west.

 

3. Kept in away fans until the entire area had dissapated - max 1 hour needed.

 

4. Allow away fans then back to the station or away in buses.

 

 

Sadly, anyone wanting to go East would have had to go out via the M271 (or waited for the Northam Road to open) but that's a modicum of inconvenience compared to being directed towards each other in the total chaos that left thousands of people sat in cars not far from away fans...

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Think the traffic was fantastically done - quickest route out I've ever had. Stopped for a drink at Shamrock Quay after the game, 30 mins later we all jumped in the car and there were no queues what-so-ever. I think that the police may well have closed the road nearer the ground because of the trouble which meant that there was little traffic coming out of the Quays. Cheers!

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Question? What was the quickest way to get a mate back to Swaythling after the Skate game when you are parked up at College Street?

 

Answer: Somehow!!!! The M271!!!!!

 

Keep them locked in for an hour, let the traffic disperse and then walk them back to the train station, they won for gods sake! Open up the bar and just drain their wallets dry..... And then you won't need to co-ordinate 27k angry Saints who have the audacity to want to get home through their own city.

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ask yourselves...what would your reaction be if you were kept in at an away ground for 1 hour..?

 

sigh heavily and sit in me seat for an hour??

 

Its happened to me several times over the years, my personal record was in '97 or '98 at Highfield Road when it took 2 hrs 10 mins to set foot outside the stadium after the match

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sigh heavily and sit in me seat for an hour??

 

Its happened to me several times over the years, my personal record was in '97 or '98 at Highfield Road when it took 2 hrs 10 mins to set foot outside the stadium after the match

people complain when a steward asks them to sit down these days

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Question? What was the quickest way to get a mate back to Swaythling after the Skate game when you are parked up at College Street?

 

Answer: Somehow!!!! The M271!!!!!

 

Keep them locked in for an hour, let the traffic disperse and then walk them back to the train station, they won for gods sake! Open up the bar and just drain their wallets dry..... And then you won't need to co-ordinate 27k angry Saints who have the audacity to want to get home through their own city.

 

Thank you Captain Sensible.

 

When I run for government (and I will) the kind of lunacy we saw yesterday with traffic management will be outlawed.

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I got stuck on foot with my mates, the OB wouldn't let us back towards the city for about 20 minutes.

 

But it was worth the wait......

 

We stood at the side of the road as the poopey coaches drove past; at least 20 of them. It took ages for them all to drive past.

 

Needless to say, we gave each and every one of them a 'friendly wave' as they went past. :D

 

That alone was worth the price of my ticket.

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Just what we're the Police doing yesterday what a total shambles.

Took an hour just to go round back to where we started(car park just along from the King Alfred pub). The Police in their infinite wisdom closed all routes northbound just to try and get the coaches out which took an hour. Result. City centre gridlock for many.

 

Why did'nt they hold the Skates in, let all the Saints traffic go, then close the road. NO. Lets **** everyone off who come to most home games for an hour, just to let those morons out quickly.

Do you reckon Pompey Police would have done that for us?

 

What a totally moronic decision, no wonder people have less respect for the Police nowadays.

 

Totally agree,the public seem to be treated as cattle these days..no wonder there isnt any respect for those in authority anymore.

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Totally agree,the public seem to be treated as cattle these days..no wonder there isnt any respect for those in authority anymore.

 

football supporters always have been strange thing is i have watched saints on 58 different grounds over 40 years and SMS is the only one where home fans are inconvienced , just lock away fans in for 30 mins like every where else.

must be the ob overtime bill or something

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Didn't think it was that bad considering I had a drive back to Yorkshire!

 

Might have been something to do with going to The Alex for 90-mins after the game and then walking to Jansen Road to get my car. I was home in the usual 4-hours without any hold ups on any of the route.

 

I do something similar after most games - leaving Southampton a good 1-1.5-hours after the final whistle. It doesn't seem to matter - I'd rather be having a relaxing post match drink (even if non-alcoholic) than sitting in traffic. It's a full day out - perhaps more fans should do this as there is really only one road out of the City - down The Avenue if you are heading North.

 

Top day out apart from the result - but it won't matter after 1st March 2010 - RIP PFC!

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Play-off semi final at Derby

 

they kept us in the stands whilst the Derby fans celebrated their victory by calling us out for a fight on the pitch - must have been 20 or 30 minsutes

 

and then when we got back to the coaches they kept us waiting for another hour whilst they tried to find and identify the one saints fan who had thrown something at the Derby fans on the pitch

 

and for some reason the Derbyshire Police didn't appreciate me asking why they were wasting their time looking for one Saints fan when they should have been busy arresting all those nice Derby fans who had stormed onto the pitch

 

and then there were the roadworks on the A34 on the way home - it made it a very very long night!

 

still the £10 I paid the coach driver to drive through a massive puddle and soak a load of Derby fans standing at the side of the road to wave us off was probably the best tenner I've ever spent

 

and at least Derby and their fans got what they deserved in the premier league - the worst top flight record ever!

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