Balloongate

[marky No.1]

Anyone had issues with things on Saturday, report here

https://www.morecambefc.com/news/2024/o ... statement/

[nobbyshrimp]

I am astounded at some of the reports I am reading about our beloved club. ‘If’ true, Saturday was a sad sad day in our history but I stress ‘if’ as I don’t know, I wasn’t there but I remember many years ago when we played at the old Gay meadow, Shrewsbury in the Mickey Mouse trophy and a copper was about to put his hands on my son who had climbed up and sat on some concrete at the base of a floodlight, I went mad and ran towards the copper because even he has no right to touch my son without reasonable suspicion. He stopped by the way before I got to him lol This is what our protocol should be and can’t be far off but sounds like this didnt happen.

Stewards should not need to touch the child during the search, as the procedure is to guide the child or young person to demonstrate that they are not carrying/hiding any dangerous or prohibited items.

Good Practice Good Practice

Explain the reason for the search.
Ask the child for permission to undertake the search, explain that the person has a right to refuse, but doing so can lead to non-admittance; if an adult is present with the child, obtain their permission to conduct the search.
Ask the child if they are carrying anything which may be dangerous, prohibited or that they plan to use to celebrate during the match.
Ask if anyone else has asked them to carry anything into the ground for them.
Explain what they think they may find in the search.
Ask the child to empty and turn out their pockets.
Ask the child to take off any outer jacket(s) and pass them over to the other steward for searching.
Ask the child to roll up their trousers to the knees and roll down their socks.
If wearing trousers, ask them to pull out the shirt at the waist and visually ensure there is nothing in the trouser belt area
Request that they replace all clothing before moving on.
Only search people of the same gender as themselves.
Follow the correct stadium procedure when finding unauthorised items and explain these procedures to the people involved
Keep people only for as long as necessary.

[black morse]

So I think we can assume that this was connected to the "Protest Group" and as I said before I strongly believe that any protest should be organised through the Trust but if the Board think this action will stop protests inside or outside the ground I feel they could be making things much worse. What the Board should be doing to defuse the situation before it gets out of hand is giving the fans some honest answers to the present position.

[vvm]

Was anything even planned involving balloons? Not seen anything mentioned on here or Facebook so was there some big protest plan involving balloons organised or just a coincidence people had them on them?

[marky No.1]

Was anything even planned involving balloons? Not seen anything mentioned on here or Facebook so was there some big protest plan involving balloons organised or just a coincidence people had them on them?

Yes it was mentioned on fb to take black balloons to the game to signify our current path.
We know Director(s) read social media posts..
Rod has actually replied to one of the posts , but won't be doing another he says

[black morse]

So the Board won't even tolerate the release of black balloons which would do no harm to anyone?

[marky No.1]

https://www.beyondradio.co.uk/news/loca ... -concerns/

[black morse]

https://www.beyondradio.co.uk/news/local-news/morecambe-fc-issue-statement-addressing-stadium-safeguarding-concerns/

Thanks for that Marky. That seems to clarify things.

[Billy bodger]

So the Board won't even tolerate the release of black balloons which would do no harm to anyone?

Probably not when at the game the Club was Honouring the Fallen, not appropriate really last Sat.

Just My own personal belief because of family who lost their lives in the two World Wars.

[KenH]

So the Board won't even tolerate the release of black balloons which would do no harm to anyone?

Probably not when at the game the Club was Honouring the Fallen, not appropriate really last Sat.

Just My own personal belief because of family who lost their lives in the two World Wars.

IF it was a Board decision and IF that is the reason, then fair enough, 100% agree, but why don't they be honest and tell people that. As it is, as usual, the silence and lack of communication is doing a lot of reputational damage to both the directors and the club.

[twosheds]

So the Board won't even tolerate the release of black balloons which would do no harm to anyone?

Probably not when at the game the Club was Honouring the Fallen, not appropriate really last Sat.

Just My own personal belief because of family who lost their lives in the two World Wars.

IF it was a Board decision and IF that is the reason, then fair enough, 100% agree, but why don't they be honest and tell people that. As it is, as usual, the silence and lack of communication is doing a lot of reputational damage to both the directors and the club.

I don't call this silence or lack of communication....

https://www.morecambefc.com/news/2024/o ... statement/

[Lurchy]

As mentioned in another thread Rod said on fb Saturdays protocols were not instigated by the board

[vvm]

Was anything even planned involving balloons? Not seen anything mentioned on here or Facebook so was there some big protest plan involving balloons organised or just a coincidence people had them on them?

Yes it was mentioned on fb to take black balloons to the game to signify our current path.
We know Director(s) read social media posts..
Rod has actually replied to one of the posts , but won't be doing another he says

Was the plan to release them onto the pitch or just on show in the stand? Can understand if it was a plan to throw them onto the pitch as that would cause issue.

[marky No.1]

On the 25th minute according to this, to signify the Club being for sale 25 months

https://fanbanter.co.uk/morecambe-fan-e ... Mbqj8m0E9w

[twosheds]

On the 25th minute according to this, to signify the Club being for sale 25 months

https://fanbanter.co.uk/morecambe-fan-e ... Mbqj8m0E9w

Not the most accurate piece of journalism I've seen...but at least they're trying to get the clubs plight into the media...

[redrobo]

I've supported my club since the age of 6 and now at 74 my passion is just as it was all those years ago.

The prospect of my club going out of business is a major worry.

All could be sorted if the owner would come good on his promises about selling the club.

Well done to all involved in producing the video.

Hopefully it will result in a quick sale.....but I'm not holding my breath as we have had too many promises in the past from the owner and non has come to fruition.

[al1]

Still waiting for an update on this! How long does it take?

[black morse]

Still waiting for an update on this! How long does it take?

I doubt whether we'll hear the result of the investigation.

[dazza]

when this was all kicking off on facebook after the game . i did see a post from rod saying that the day after he would make a post with answers to some of the questions and his own personal views but i didnt see anything after that ?

[black morse]

when this was all kicking off on facebook after the game . i did see a post from rod saying that the day after he would make a post with answers to some of the questions and his own personal views but i didnt see anything after that ?

The Board did make a statement on the 28th October on the club website saying they were initiating an investigation but nothing since.

[dazza]

personal views im eluding to

[Phoenix Shrimp 2017]

Was anything even planned involving balloons? Not seen anything mentioned on here or Facebook so was there some big protest plan involving balloons organised or just a coincidence people had them on them?

Yes it was mentioned on fb to take black balloons to the game to signify our current path.
We know Director(s) read social media posts..
Rod has actually replied to one of the posts , but won't be doing another he says

Was the plan to release them onto the pitch or just on show in the stand? Can understand if it was a plan to throw them onto the pitch as that would cause issue.

Perhaps a better course of action maybe to inflate a balloon each just before the time of the protest then turn your back to the pitch and pop it yourself. If enough went off at the same time it may make a racket and pique the interest of the media. We could even deposit the deflated balloons in the bin later to save on the mess.

What we don't want is another fallout with stewards (which could quickly escalate) with farcical scenes of stewards chasing after balloons and even taking them off kids.

One things for sure it ain't gonna bother Whittingham in his ivory tower down south.

[redrobo]

Popping each ballon at a given time would create one hell of a sound and certainly be noticed rather than a general release that could encroach onto the pitch during game time.

All in favour of that as an idea BUT I suspect it would have little effect on the sale process other than to show a united front with the BoDs.

[al1]

BUMP,still waiting!

[black morse]

BUMP,still waiting!

You should be used to that as a Morecambe fan!