Out of control
On 29th January 2019, an excited, bouncing crowd proved too much for Blackburn to handle.
The stage barriers at King George's Hall came crashing down not once but twice, forcing the band to stop playing and slip behind the curtain - replaced by a nervous-looking man who was given the unenviable task of tottering onto the stage and informing the audience that the gig would be cancelled.
Local residents found it hilarious - claiming it was the sort of ineptitude that “sums up Blackburn” and that their hometown’s ming-boggling inability to facilitate an event was a “joke”.
At the time it just felt like the sort of self-deprecating humour you might find in any UK town when it embarrasses itself on the national stage. But it turns out these denizens had a point. This sort of thing is still happening in Blackburn today.
Exactly four years after that music gig, Wrexham AFC turned up for an FA Cup football fixture - and the crowd travelling to Blackburn from North Wales alone was four times the size of the one that forced a local hall to initiate a mass evacuation.
Clearly no lessons had been learned. Ewood Park’s stewards had apparently been told to treat every spectator like they were entering Crown Court - and they were still patting down pensioners for non-existent hunting knives long after the game had kicked off. Thousands of Reds huddled in puddles under the damp, bottomless hose of the Lancashire sky for the best part of an hour waiting to simply walk through a turnstile. The situation was at best infuriating and at worst downright dangerous.
“This always happens when there’s a big following,” a Blackburn police officer revealed.
“Leeds, Sunderland - any team that brings a lot of fans always has this issue. We encourage you all to make a complaint. That’s the only way this will stop happening.”
Reporters quickly quizzed Blackburn on the matter and received the equivalent of a shrug in statement form, with officials electing to blame Wrexham fans for the delay for “turning up late” and “choosing not to take their allocated seats” - a pathetic attempt to mask the fact the club was totally unprepared for a big crowd arriving en masse. They just didn’t care.
Rovers fans, too, were largely apathetic ahead of the game, reflected by their dripping ticket sales. Not even The Hollywood Effect - which has pulled opposition supporters out of the woodwork all over the country whenever the Reds pop over for the weekend - could seem to rekindle their faithfuls’ enthusiasm for a cup tie under the lights, although Glen Johnson matching the winner with Newcastle United in the next round appeared to spur a late flurry of “sod it, go on then” purchases that bumped up the attendance figure.
To be fair to Rovers fans for a moment: This game meant far more to us than it did to them. We are certainly enjoying our moment in the sun, but we have never been the toast of UK football like Rovers have - with the club’s cabinet stuffed with half a dozen FA Cups and a Premier League trophy. You just can’t get in a tizzy about playing a League Two club when your history is that rich.
With Blackburn currently struggling for form and the apparent ennui surrounding their supporters (and club), the game had giant-killing written all over it. And for a fleeting moment it looked like we might have rattled them. Andy Cannon’s projectile threatened to blow up the net and lift the delirious Darwen End off its axis - but a frustratingly flexible keeper prevented us grabbing a second and Rovers quickly found their footing. A trio of quick goals - all of which are painful to look back on - killed the tie.
The streets of Lancashire were too damp and smudged to cast any clear, coherent reflection on our FA Cup exit. The consensus among the departing Red Army was just “Shit that wasn’t it, la?” as the Pat’s Coaches drifted off towards the M6. But when we all shuffled Zombie-style to our offices at sunrise, the mist had cleared and the answer was more obvious: Blackburn were just better. Much better. And we might need to tweak a few things ourselves to return to form.
People keep speculating about the next move from our gaffer, who is weighing up his options at the transfer market, picking up various players, inspecting them, and stroking his chin wondering which one to buy. And this is always the way. At any time during the mid-season transfer window, you can close your eyes and hear the tip-tap of a keyboard somewhere in a spare bedroom as a self-declared Football Insider invents a rumour about a record-breaking Wrexham cash-splash. Some of these go viral, others die a death. (If a Wrexham transfer rumour falls in the social media forest and nobody is around to ‘like’ it, does it still make someone shout “oil money!”?) In any case, the gossip never stops in January.
By the time we return to action against Salford on Saturday, people can rest easy. We won’t have signed a £15 million striker from La Liga or brought Ronaldinho out of retirement. And mercifully, the focus will swing away from ShOcKiNg TrAnSfEr NeWs!!!! back towards the football on the pitch.
Gary Neville’s Pet Project have suffered a disappointing season - particularly at home - and they are there for the taking. But we said that about Blackburn. If we don’t turn up - we’re staring down the barrel of three losses on the trot. When was the last time that happened?
A much smaller allocation of 1,150 Reds can be accommodated for this one. So hopefully this time we’ll get out of the game - and through the turnstiles - unscathed, with a win.
UTST.