Sunday 22nd August 2010 (Premier League)
The first home game of the season and the visitor's were Manchester United, with me stationed in the Putney End—the away enclosure.
The early arrivals were routine enough, but as kick-off time approached, the flow of fans steadily increased and, likewise, the number of inebriated supporters. None of them were particularly difficult to handle, though quite a few of them packed into the aisles and gangways when they couldn't find their allocated seats.
Contrary to popular belief, the majority of United fans sounded like they came from the northwest of England. Perhaps their ‘distant’ fans only go to home games.
Fulham 2 (Davies 57, Hangeland 89) Manchester United 2 (Scholes 11, Hangeland [o.g] 84)
Att: 25,643The first home game of the season and the visitor's were Manchester United, with me stationed in the Putney End—the away enclosure.
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The Manchester United team coach prepares to leave Craven Cottage
after their 2-2- draw against Fulham on Sunday 22nd August 2010.
© Stephen Taylor
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Contrary to popular belief, the majority of United fans sounded like they came from the northwest of England. Perhaps their ‘distant’ fans only go to home games.
Just after the opening goal—a cracking strike by Paul Scholes that I didn't see—a United fan in a suit turned up with his female companion. The gentleman in question turned out to be John Virgo, the Manchester United-supporting snooker player who won the UK Championship in 1979. He was sporting a lounge suit rather than a dinner suit, presumably to wear to the players' bar, where I saw him heading to after the game.
When United scored their second goal, six minutes form the end, one of the Red Army ran on to the pitch, only to be apprehended by a couple of the security staff. I later saw him being led away in handcuffs by a couple of police officers as I lined up with other stewards to form a barrier as supporters left the Putney End after the game.
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