The Diary

02 October 2003: The Proof Of The Pudding Is In The Reading?

It?s October the first today, which means we?re now nicely into production mode for the next Dick, due out for the Sheffield United game. This evening, I was engaged in the mammoth task of proof-reading all the copy we?d produced thus far, a process that demands concentration, plus a sharp eye ? not to mention a cast-iron guarantee of a couple of cat-free hours. I love my mobile fur-balls to death, but they do have this disconcerting habit of trying to ?help? with whatever I?m doing. Not to be recommended if I?m trying to sew something, and definitely not a good idea when typing on my PC; if the latter?s the case, my language is apt to become rather fruity. One good thing I?ve just learned, though; just minutes ago, Steve The Miser rang to give us an update on our money-raising efforts for the Dovedale Day Care Hospital, the place where King Jeff spent so much time towards the end of his life. Thus far, the total raised is ?152. It might not sound a lot at the moment, but our fund-raising activities will be going on for quite a while to come. I?ll be contacting the place within the next few days, to establish what item(s) of equipment would assist them in their work should we have the funds to eventually acquire it, and also to find out more about the place, with a view towards eventually writing a Dick article about what they do there.

I do have a fair idea already of what range of therapies they can offer their patients; when my dad was alive, he went to a similar place, and really benefited from the love and care shown to him by their dedicated staff. A secondary function of such places is the break they can give those who care for dementia sufferers on a day-to-day basis. What a good many people fail to realise about such degenerative conditions is the strain they place on husbands, wives and relatives, who literally have to fight for adequate care for their loved ones. The mental strain of looking after someone with such a problem can literally drive some people to breakdowns, of their health, or of their relationships. Sometimes, sadly, both. Theoretically, there is local authority provision for assistance with personal care etc. for those suffering from such conditions, but because facilities are largely dependent upon how much money is in the Social Services pot, the onus is very much upon carers ?pushing? for such help. Any donations would be much appreciated, either to the usual Dick address, or via any of our sellers on matchdays.

Back to matters Albion, then, and in this case, Jason Koumas. It now looks as though I did Millwall a considerable disservice by saying it was one of their players who performed a crafty ?crocking? of the lad last night. Apologies to the Dingle reject for that one; as Jason himself has stated, the problem occurred when he was sprinting to get the ball. We now await the medical verdict as to the severity of the injury; if Nick Worth is right, and it?s just a case of tweaking a few fibres in his hamstring, then the lad should be fit and ready to do battle with Sheffield United in around a fortnight?s time. If the injury proves more serious than first thought, then we may have problems, but having said that, we do have Artim Sakiri to call upon should we need him. I suppose it?s a measure of our progress as a club that a couple of seasons ago, we would have regarded losing a player of Jason?s calibre as an absolute disaster; now, we can rest assured we?ve got cover ? unless the fickle finger of fate moves to knacker our prize Macedonian as well! Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the Welsh FA won?t be getting too irate over what?s happened to Jason; because of that sending off, Jason was suspended from the Euro 2004 qualifier against Serbia and Montenegro anyway.

Although the next item isn?t strictly to do with our favourite football club, I make no apology for including it, although some of the content you may find disturbing. Cast your minds back to Saturday?s game versus Stoke City. Yes, the club are well known for having a somewhat violent element attached, but since the introduction of an ID card scheme for away supporters, the likelihood of trouble had been greatly diminished; once the scheme started in earnest, there were no arrests whatsoever. Until Saturday?s game, that is. Before I begin, let me introduce you to my correspondent, a Stoke City-supporting local media person whom I?ve known for ages. He?s a graduate, married, with a respectable job, and about as far removed from the image of a hooligan as he could possibly be, but that didn?t stop him witnessing many unpleasantries in the away end last Saturday. Trouble was, according to my friend, most of them were perpetrated by the West Midlands Police. Examples? Just one of many: the police, to an 80 year-old Stokie, on being told to walk the long way around the ground: ?Enjoy the game, you fat C***.? In the ground, during the second half, the Stoke contingent were being provoked by a group of moronic Albion supporters in the East Stand, but for reasons best known to themselves, the police concentrated their attentions on the visiting supporters instead. Fed up of all this undue attention, my friend?s mate got up and shouted down to the police, ?It?s all right; I?ll come down, you don?t have to get me,? and made his way to the end of the row of seats. Once there, although he had moved of his own free will, the police grabbed him and put him in an armlock. So what had precipitated this? According to my mate, the lad became fed up with the Albion supporters who were swearing, and he shouted, ?Sit down, you gobshite? at one. A police officer then told him to shut up, or he would be ejected, and being somewhat surprised at this, he then asked the officer, ?Are you going to tell those Albion fans to stop swearing??

Thus far, so bad ? but it got worse. Once they got him into the tunnel, they started shouting and swearing at him, then twisted his arm so the only way he could walk was by almost crawling along the floor. Apparently, the arresting officer kept shouting, ?You want to ask me a question? I?ll tell you what the answer is, you?re a fat C***. You had a cheek to call me back, F*** off back to Stoke, you F***ing hooligan.?

The best bit was, once in the police post in the Smethwick, the officer then claimed the guy was goading the home fans, shouting, ?Come on, you B*****s?, so they had to restrain him. As my mate said, he was doing no such thing, and it made him ashamed to think that police officers should behave like this. Remember, this wasn?t the deranged rantings of a member of the ?idiot tendency;? this was a perfectly respectable citizen, with a highly-responsible job, talking.

Unfortunately, this wasn?t the only case where the West Midlands police appeared to be somewhat over-zealous in their attitude towards away supporters. Look on the ?Oatcake? (the Stoke City fanzine) website, and you?ll see lots, lots more. Sure, some complainants may have deserved what they got; without independent witnesses, it?s hard to establish the truth, but I?ve no reason to doubt the veracity of my mate, who, prior to this incident, was quite pro-police. He?s angry because his friend now faces a totally-unjustifiable 3-year banning-order; suffice to say, although he is a keen supporter of the Potters, he won?t be visiting the Hawthorns for a game for a long, long time.

My take on the whole matter? Simple. Perhaps it might behove the rotten apples in our local police force (and those who ? erm ? ?supervise? them) to remember the old proverb, ?As ye sow, so shall ye reap?. In other words, there may come a time when you might need urgent assistance from members of the public, and as you are lying on the floor getting the mother and father of all kickings, or worse, it might just be that those most suitably-placed to render such assistance are drawn from the ranks of those you have wronged and alienated at football matches in the past. Should they then choose to shrug their shoulders and walk away, I wouldn?t necessarily agree with their actions, but I would readily understand.

Tomorrow, it?s off to Wednesbury Branch to hear the thoughts of Chairman Jeremy once more. If anything startling or worthy of mention emerges, I shall ?produce?; if not, my next missive will be on Friday night.

And finally?.. Love him or hate him, you have to admire his wit. Who am I talking about? Our manager, of course. On Sekou Berthe, during the post-match Press conference:

?The problem with him (Berthe) is that his English isn?t any good, and my French isn?t great. Lee Hughes is trying to translate, but that?s not quite working!?

 - Glynis Wright

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