"Surely an over-reaction," said BBC Radio 2's Chris Evans, to rapturous applause from within the car. "C'mon, there were 250,000 Rangers fans in Manchester and only 40 arrests, that's zero point zero zero zero something in percentage terms."
The DJ's assessment of the numbers was perhaps slightly excessive but conservative estimates are that no less than 200,000 Rangers supporters had descended on England's third city. And Greater Manchester Police's subsequent announcement that only ELEVEN Ibrox fans were facing charges put all the 'riot, 'rampage' and 'war zone' stories into some perspective.
The genie, however, is once more out of the bottle. Subsequent reflections on events have been outrageously hyped up, all the usual suspects - from attention-seeking politicians, journalists with an axe to grind, discredited anti-sectarianism bodies, the butchers, bakers and candlestick-makers who adminster the game and, not least of all, Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Police - have jumped on the holier-than-thou bandwagon and put Rangers F.C. on the back-foot yet again.
Let it be made clear right now, no right-thinking person would dream of condoning the actions of those morons whose response to the blanking of the big-screens in one of the fanzones was to hurl bottles at the screens and turn on the police. It is indefensible and nobody would lose any sleep if those responsible were to be locked up and the key conveniently mislaid.
It is the reaction to it all which has been so disappointing, yet wholly predictable. For the bulk of the past 25 years, Rangers and their fans have been under attack from all angles and it is a relentless drip-drip-drip process which has eaten into any feelgood factor the fans have enjoyed, with every high being clouded by dubious side-issues, while their traditions have been rubbished and abandoned, songs outlawed and individual fans and supporters groups subjected to harassment or worse.
Of course, Manchester was an accident waiting to happen from the moment Nacho Novo slotted home the penalty kick to beat Fiorentina and take Rangers through to the final. As soon as it became clear the Gers were Manchester-bound, the messages coming out of the city were unfriendly in the extreme. If you don't have a ticket, stay away; there will be no big screens and no fanzones; the pubs will be closed, drinking in public is not permitted; the police will stringently enforce the local by-laws. Welcome to Manchester ? You must be joking!
"It took the intervention of respected politicians like Ian Davidson MP, the Manchester business community and various representative groups from within the Rangers support to force both the council and the police authority to soften their stance," explained Steven Smith, media spokesman for the Rangers Supporters Trust. "Wednesday's brief disorder was disappointing but, had the local authorities had it their way, one shudders to think what might have happened."
Realizing that a human tsunami was about to descend on the city regardless, Manchester made a dramatic u-turn. But already their position as reluctant hosts was exposed. Yet in a city which claims to be football-mad, home to one of the most passionately supported clubs in world football, they seemed incapable of interpreting the mood amongst Rangers fans. Put it this way, if United were in a European final at Hampden, how many of their fans would travel to Glasgow, with or without tickets? They would surely come close to matching the numbers who travelled south last week, although it is fairly safe to say Glasgow District Council would have laid out the welcome mat from the outset, unlike their Mancunian counterparts.
No Rangers fan will need to be reminded that Greater Manchester Police have a history where their club is concerned. In 2003, when the Light Blues visited Old Trafford on Champions League business, every pub in the city was ordered to close, yet the visits of Celtic prompted no such clampdown, despite their fans' overt support for the terrorist organization which bombed the heart out of the city centre no more than twelve years ago. And in the summer of 2006, in a most abysmal abdication of responsibility, GMP ordered the cancellation of a friendly between Bolton Wanderers and Rangers because they claimed policing the match would stretch their resources. If they can't handle a pre-season kickabout, one wonders why they ever backed their City Council's bid to host a high-octane event like the UEFA Cup Final.
When the Cup Final went out to tender, it would have been part of the city's sales pitch that they are experienced in hosting such events, no doubt citing regular glamour games at Old Trafford, the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the Champions League Final of the following year. Clearly they expected two foreign sides to arrive in town, enjoy a cozy get-together, then head off home with the minimum of fuss. In a perfect world, it would all work out that way but, of course, we live in a different world entirely. Walter Smith's men stunned Europe with their progress this season and suddenly Manchester City Council wanted to change the rules.
Two things immediately bothered Rangers fans. With the City Stadium holding only 44,500 spectators, tickets would be like gold dust and, inevitably, a flourishing black market sprung up. Was it out of the question to switch the event to Old Trafford, with a capacity of close to 80,000? Whatever the logistical problems with ticketing etc, the increased revenue would surely have made the switch financially viable. And if that was impractical, why not set up Old Trafford for a big-screen showing, taking more than 70,000 ticketless fans off the streets? Furthermore, with the city being so accessible from all parts of the UK and beyond, the volume of incoming fans outstripped all the estimates of the local authority, they constantly disregarded the ever-escalating but wholly realistic figures being quoted by the more informed sources in Scotland.
Quite simply, Manchester did not have its finger on the pulse and, even as late as Wednesday afternoon, with the town centre grid-locked with fans, heads were buried in the sand. The volume of humanity in the vicinity and the workload on an inadequately prepared area meant a breakdown in the system was almost inevitable.
Prior to the match, the city centre was just a giant beer garden and the mood amongst the crowd was so good. Sure, various nit-pickers with previous convictions in this area have been able to focus on the sentiments of some of the songs being sung and embark on their usual long-winded tut-tutting about the ethos of the Rangers support. They conveniently overlook the impeccable behaviour of the vast majority who were simply out to have a good time, soak up the sun, savour the occasion and cheer their team, whether at the City of Manchester Stadium or at one of the fanzones.
The loss of transmission at the screens at Piccadilly Gardens was unfortunate - there are growing suspicions that the police ordered the switch-off! Again it must be stressed that the misconduct of a few idiots cannot be excused. However, long before kick-off time, the security company in charge of stewarding had simply given up, the orderly gathering of the afternoon became a free-for-all and many of those in the area were expressing concern about how events might unfold. The organizers had ignored advice from those who knew better, consequently they were unprepared and were inevitably overwhelmed by the volume of the crowd. Claims from the City Council that they subsequently bussed 11,000 fans to the Velodrome are laughable. Where on earth could Manchester find the required number of coaches at such short notice? Disgracefully, short of a 'we are doing our best to solve the problem' message on the screens, fans were left in the dark and, inevitably, the more sinister elements among the crowd reacted.
"This is what quite a few Scottish media men would have been hoping for," sighed Steven Smith. "I'm sure a few of them are already compiling dossiers which they'll submit to UEFA in the hope of landing the club with a big fine, a ban, or both. Lets not forget that it was Scottish journalists who highlighted an incident which led to a Rangers player (Alex Rae v CSKA Moscow 2004) getting a five-game ban or that is was Scottish journalists who were only too happy to act as interpreters of a song to land the club with a big fine following our Champions League game in Villarreal two years ago. Yet they were strangely silent when the fans were indiscriminately attacked by the Spanish police in Pamplona last year. Indeed, one reporter even suggested we deserved to be battered for the songs being sung.
"And it reflects very badly on the integrity of those who, while quick to get up on the soap-box and criticize Rangers fans for last Wednesday night, omit to mention that we have just come through the longest European campaign any club has ever faced - 18 games prior to the UEFA Cup Final, nine away from home at some notoriously hostile venues - without there being a single arrest."
Those who went to the game were totally unaware of any trouble in town. As they walked back into the city, despite the disappointment of defeat, the mood was still laid-back and light-hearted. Given the quality of opposition in their Champions League group, nobody had seriously expected Rangers to be playing European football beyond Christmas so the positives of going all the way to Manchester undoubtedly outweighed the negatives of falling at the final hurdle. However, closer to the centre, at a business park on Great Ancoats Street, fleets of police vans were parked up and officers were seen changing from their day-to-day uniform into riot gear. The sound of one of them laughing "Its showtime!" betrayed an unhealthy relish for the events which followed.
A group of Scots heading for Victoria railway station found all the side streets blocked off by riot squad officers. Any attempt to inquire about a safe route to the station was met by a loud and menacing "Keep moving!" Thinking a female might have more luck in getting a courteous response, a lady approached, only to be told "Keep moving or I'll f*cking move you!" And at Piccadilly station, where those hoping to travel were herded by police up an escalator into a dangerously confined area, only some quick assertive action by fans in forcing a gate open prevented a very serious, potentially fatal, crush.
Launching an unrelenting damage limitation offensive, Greater Manchester Police released CCTV footage showing one officer being tripped and set upon: "…like a pack of wolves," lamented Assistant Chief Constable Justine Curran. Once more nobody could possibly defend the despicable actions of the thugs involved but, rather than making selective clips available to the media, perhaps ACC Curran should check out some of the footage on the Youtube website. One fan, clearly having no wish to be involved in what was going on, raised his hands above his head submissively and tried to step aside, only to be knocked off his feet by an officer and there are numerous other clips of individuals being isolated then set upon 'like a pack of wolves'.
Nor should Manchester City Council's bleating about the way events unfolded be allowed to pass without comment. Hosting the UEFA Cup Final was said to be worth £5 million to the local economy. Subsequent calculations have seen the figure rise to an amazing £25 million, all of which is no surprise given the hiking up of the prices for food and drink, the rip-off taxi rates and the outrageous costs of hotel accommodation. They have been quick to complain about the actions of a minute minority, whilst simultaneously tucking away a king's ransom from their free-spending visitors.
Manchester should beware of squealing too loudly. It is widely accepted that England will be in the bidding to host a future World Cup Finals but when FIFA see how arguably their number one soccer city couldn't cope with events last week they might be prompted to ask more than a few poignant questions. Or will Manchester demand to know exactly who will be playing in their city before they accept any future prestige fixtures?
Meanwhile, Rangers have repeatedly stated that only a misguided few were involved in the trouble, stressing that stringent action will be taken against any who are registered supporters. As a club, however, they have capitulated at so many levels over the years. There has been no effort to defend the image of the club or the fans against often groundless allegations and the absence of any significant response from chairman Sir David Murray, chief executive Martin Bain and those they employ to look after the PR side of things has effectively sent out a signal that they are a legitimate target. Those who run the club are now seen to be distant from the fanbase and elements who take a distinct anti-Rangers stance clearly see no need to hide their contempt for the club. There is no hidden agenda, it is open season on Rangers, a point highlighted by coverage of events in Manchester.
"The Supporters Trust meets regularly with Sir David Murray and Martin Bain and this is an issue which certainly bothers us," Steven Smith pointed out. "However, the club seems to prefer to go for the dignified silence approach, rather than give those concerned the satisfaction of knowing they've struck a nerve. We prefer to identify those pursuing an anti-Rangers agenda and will continue to challenge their innuendo and blatant lies. Hopefully, someday soon the club will adopt a similar strategy."
As always, when Rangers are under attack, the critics play the sectarian card, although it is hard to see what part sectarianism played in any disorder last week. But some just can't resist putting Rangers' Protestant traditions in the firing line, their fans' so-called bigotry and the songs they sing are highlighted, as if a different mindset would induce instant sobriety and a more placid response to being ruthlessly ripped off by their hosts, regularly demonized in slanted media circles and abused by the police. Big-screens have blanked on numerous occasions in the past, most noteably during the screening of World Cup games in various towns in England, and the reaction of those at the venues was almost identical to that of the Rangers fans in Piccadilly Gardens on Wednesday night. Yobs act as yobs because they are yobs, not because they support a certain football team or claim allegiance to any particular religion.
If Manchester had occurred twenty years ago, Rangers' enemies would have focused on the club's refusal to sign Catholic players, placed responsibility for the trouble at the door of sectarianism and called on the club to open its doors to all. In 1989 former Celtic favourite Mo Johnston was signed amidst much controversy and the Ibrox dressing-room has long since become a multi-cultural workplace. Rangers have had a Catholic captain, a Catholic chief executive and a Catholic manager (although Paul Le Guen's ill-fated time in charge probably did more for anti-Catholicism than it did for integration!) but sectarianism is still the stick used to beat Rangers.
"The signing of Johnston was a very significant point in how our club was portrayed," Steven Smith pointed out. "Rangers had done what so many had been calling out for them to do, the club had deprived the critics of their ace card, yet the attacks have continued incessantly and no less vociferously, perhaps even more so. The motives of our club's critics have been exposed as a sham."
The harsh facts of life are that, regardless of the religious make-up of the team, Rangers will remain a Protestant club, just as Celtic will continue to be the flagship for the Catholic population despite the prominence of so many Protestants in their history, because the bulk of the fanbase comes from one community. This may change with the passing of time but, when kids are separated at the impressionable age of five and educated differently, the clever money will always be on the great divide being maintained. Any suggestion that a more ecumenical outlook from Rangers fans would have led to events unfolding differently in Manchester last week is, at best, misguided…or more probably and more sinisterly, further evidence of an ongoing demonization of Rangers and their supporters.
As the journey homewards continued with growing exasperation from the within the car, the news that Manchester City Council won't be screening the Champions League showdown at Piccadilly Gardens was nevertheless welcomed from the back seat. "The screens probably wouldn't work anyway, trouble would kick-off…and they'd blame it al on us!"
Greater Manchester Police's subsequent denial of a victory parade for United's Champions League winners is confirmation, if ever it was needed, that the force just can't handle big crowds. The F.A. would do well to minimize Manchester's inclusion in any future bid to bring a major football occasion to England.
Robert Watt