Southampton Away - Bubble Trip?

[LoyalRoyalFan]

With all the trouble down in Southampton after last season's win, will Hampshire and Thames Valley Police team up again to enforce a bubble trip on us?

A few Southampton fans reckon it will be a bubble trip, both down there and up here.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

I can't think of any conceivable reason it would be a bubble game. Not nearly high-risk enough.

Even more so as the new Minister for Policing is a Reading fan

[LoyalRoyalFan]

Fair bit of a trouble before and after the match last season.

Thames Valley and Hampshire Police responded with heavy handed policing, wouldn't be surprised to see it as a bubble trip to avoid any more disturbances.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

I would be massively, massively surprised to see it as a bubble game.

Any trouble after the last match was minimal and isolated, and TVP are aware that their response at Reading Station was a disproportionate mistake.

[FRIDDY109]

I was planning on visiting my girlfriend at Southampton Solent Uni before and after the game. Wouldn't a bubble trip affect that?

[creative_username_1]

I was planning on visiting my girlfriend at Southampton Solent Uni before and after the game. Wouldn't a bubble trip affect that?

Yep you'll prolly have to dump her before the Old Bill find out

[who are ya?]

Leave it out m8 FFS

[Kingsley Junior]

What trouble was there last time? I was living in Southampton near the ground at the time, went to the game and didn't see any hassle around my area. Walked across town to another Reading fan's house near the station half hour after the game to watch it back on Sky+ and didn't come across any trouble either.

Also, sorry to be dumb, but what does "bubble trip" actually mean?

[St Pauli]

AFAIK you're escorted off the train to the ground and back again in a police kettle or 'bubble'.

As for trouble, saw a fight on the platform apparently involving a blade on the way back and apparently there was quite a bit of fighting in one of the carriages on the train.

As for my group we spent the day drinking on the Isle of Wight, and so managed to get two randoms from High Wycombe on to a ferry they didn't have a ticket for on the way back by drunken arguing with the ferry ticket lady. Danny Dyer watch out, we're pwopah nawty.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Nope, there's more to a "bubble" than that.

It means that you can only go to the match if you go on "official" transport, so, for instance, all Reading Supporters could only get to the game by arriving at the MadStad, getting onto coaches there and being driven directly to St Mary's. No transport of your own is allowed - and even if you happen to live next to St Mary's you'd need to go to the MadStad to get the bubble transport - this happened when Burnley/Blackburn was a bubble - a guy did live right next to the away ground but had to go via the home ground.

There's another, less-severe way of doing it, which has been enforced a few times for Millwall fans going to Leeds, where they have to arrive at a services on the M1 to pick up their ticket and get coaches to Elland Road.

Bubble matches are utterly ludicrous things, which inconvenience all supporters going to a game and are vastly disproportionate to any actual threat.

The practice does tends to be slowly growing, but it's utterly, utterly inconceivable that one would be used for Southampton v Reading. I can't see any reason that any police force could justify it and from what I know of the way these things are decided it's completely unthinkable that there'd be one used here.

[Kingsley Junior]

How do they enforce it, if you're not in colours? How do they distinguish between someone going to Southampton for other reasons and someone going from Reading for football? Or is it just the last bit getting in the away end that is only possible if you've gone the official route?

I'm ok now as I live in Berks again but my mate who I would sit with still lives near Southampton station. Would be crap if he had to make a trip to the Mad Stad for his easiest game of the season. Can't see it being a bubble though (thanks for the explanations btw).

[Alexander Litvinenko]

How do they enforce it, if you're not in colours? How do they distinguish between someone going to Southampton for other reasons and someone going from Reading for football? Or is it just the last bit getting in the away end that is only possible if you've gone the official route?

I'm ok now as I live in Berks again but my mate who I would sit with still lives near Southampton station. Would be crap if he had to make a trip to the Mad Stad for his easiest game of the season. Can't see it being a bubble though (thanks for the explanations btw).

You don't get a match ticket in advance - you get a voucher for it, and you exchange if for your ticket when you get onto the coach. So travel by any other way and you don't get the ticket.

[Kingsley Junior]

Ah I see - can't see even the remotest chance of it happening, but interesting to know how it would in theory.

I've been in Southampton in the past when Pompey have come to town = never seen so many police near the station but no "bubble".

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Ah I see - can't see even the remotest chance of it happening, but interesting to know how it would in theory.

I've been in Southampton in the past when Pompey have come to town = never seen so many police near the station but no "bubble".

Both Saints v Pompey games last season were "bubbles" : http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/9607035.Police_unveil_plans_for_Saints_derby_match_with_Pompey/.

Of course, it's great for the police - do this, charge the clubs a fortune, and when there's no trouble they can say "see, it was needed after all."

[Kingsley Junior]

Fair enough - lived in Southampton 04-08 so when I was referring to would have been in that period. Was in Soton again all last season but was back in Reading for the weekend when the home game was on so wasn't aware of the bubble - and the away one I was watching other football in the Royal Oak so any Saints fans travelling were obviously in Portsmouth and not the pub.

[LoyalRoyalFan]

One of the pubs in Southampton was smashed up by some Reading fans.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

One of the pubs in Southampton was smashed up by some Reading fans.

From what I've heard and read, "smashed up" is massively over-stating what actually happened.

[who are ya?]

Just like the Aldershot lot who "smashed up" O'Neills in Shepherds Bush a couple of seasons back, when we had QPR.. Not even as much as a broken pint glass

'Avin a bubble

[Green]

How do they enforce it, if you're not in colours? How do they distinguish between someone going to Southampton for other reasons and someone going from Reading for football? Or is it just the last bit getting in the away end that is only possible if you've gone the official route?

I'm ok now as I live in Berks again but my mate who I would sit with still lives near Southampton station. Would be crap if he had to make a trip to the Mad Stad for his easiest game of the season. Can't see it being a bubble though (thanks for the explanations btw).

You don't get a match ticket in advance - you get a voucher for it, and you exchange if for your ticket when you get onto the coach. So travel by any other way and you don't get the ticket.

Still a bit unsure about the logistics of it.

What's to stop you getting off the coach outside the ground then not going in to ground but making str8 for the nearest boozer to start a fight?

And what about after the match? Surely you can sack off the coach and make your own arrangements? (Not if you've left your car at a motorway service station, I guess)

[Alexander Litvinenko]

Still a bit unsure about the logistics of it.

What's to stop you getting off the coach outside the ground then not going in to ground but making str8 for the nearest boozer to start a fight?

If you just want to go there and start a fight in a boozer, why go to the hassle of buying and match ticket and getting the coaches? Get a train there and spend the ticket money on beer.

And what about after the match? Surely you can sack off the coach and make your own arrangements? (Not if you've left your car at a motorway service station, I guess)

You'll be escorted back onto coaches by lines of police.

But valid questions, and show just how utterly ludicrous these "bubbles" are. Everyone knows that anyone who's going to start trouble isn't that interested in going to the game and won't be wearing colours, so this is an expensive show of force that massively inconveniences the 99.9% who legitimately are there for the game and doing nothing effective about the 0.1% who want trouble.