I am reproducing in full the statement that I was sent by Bill Waterson regarding the above games. This centres mainly around the requests and suggestions I received from fans as to how to combat such incidents going forward.
"This note is based on discussions over several weeks between Mike Reeves, Supporters Liaison Officer and myself, Bill Waterson, Director after feedback from the fan base on the home fixtures against Stafford Rangers and Coalville Town. The issues raised in this note were discussed at length by the board at our last board meeting on 20th September.
The fans had suggested that all games start with complete segregation of the ground, with the Community Sports Hall partitioned to allow access from the road only for away fans. The lifting of segregation would be lifted dependent on number of away fans and conditional on their behaviour.
The board in considering this question have decided not to follow this path as part of a regular game management strategy. We think it would be overkill for the vast majority of clubs visiting Moss Lane this season. However, we will adopt this strategy for those games which we believe may require segregation, and we know there will be some such games this season. We will work with the SLO to communicate to the fans which games we believe require us to start with segregation. We think this is a reasonable approach given our experience now of clubs such as Rushall Olympic and Whitby Town visiting the J Davidson Stadium. We also agree that partitioning the Community Sports Hall is a good idea should a situation similar to the visiting Leicester City fans at the Coalville game arise again.
The fans also asked for continuity and stability in stewarding, and the board completely agree that fan safety is our primary concern and this is non-negotiable. After the Stafford game, we have reviewed our existing Match Day Planning processes, which have been in place for quite some time and we acknowledge that we made a mistake on the opening day of the season. We intend to ensure that all parties – whether stewards, bar staff, turnstile operators or others are aware of any specific circumstances on any given match day. As part of this process we are overhauling to role of the Match Day Organiser to embed the lessons we have learnt.
In summary, we would like to thank the fans for the feedback, acknowledge we got it wrong for the Stafford game and recognise the value of a number of your suggestions. However we do feel it would be inappropriate to segregate every game as a matter of course. I would like to apologise for the length of time it has taken to produce this response and take full responsibility for the delay.
Bill Waterson"
Recognising the flaws in our matchday planning process is one thing, but continuing it is another. New blood is actively being sought for the Matchday Organiser role and I have received assurances that this won't just go to "a known face" or someone who necessarily has a close link to the board, as has happened before.
With recent developments in the changes in stewarding (of which I was unaware until I read the forum on Saturday evening), a fresh outlook and new impetus will be able to better the Matchday experience for all of our supporters.
If there are any more queries or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me, either by replying to this, sending myself a personal message or by emailing altrinchamfcslo@gmail.com
Thanks for your time, and apologies for the delay.
Mike.