Too Big To Apologise!

Yesterdays 4th rd FA Cup tie with Leyton Orient was entertaining, with Campbell & Ferguson back, fit & scoring goals, Gazza in top form, & Everton winning 4-1. In the hat for the 5th rd. draw. That should have been the end of it. But the talk in the pubs around the ground, & on the local radio station phone in, after the game was about the thousands of Evertonians, who were locked out of the ground before the game. How could this happen? We at Blue Kipper said there would be a problem as far back as 10th Jan when we found out that the season ticket holders would not be getting their usual seat. Surely this was the root of the problem.

When we heard that fan's were locked out. This was about 3.30pm during the game, we looked around the ground & there were hundreds IF NOT THOUSANDS of empty seats. This was explained by Everton Safety Officer, Norman Whibley, who said: “The decision to opt for unreserved seating meant a capacity reduction of 10% under the terms of the Club’s safety certificate." So now they tell us, AFTER THE EVENT. So they decided that this game would not be a sell out (41,000), so they knowingly reduced the capacity to 35,000 without telling the fans. Even on Friday, there was no concern from the club, when they told us that the Park End & the Top Balcony were sold out. Not once did they say "It looks like a bumper crowd. Get there early."

The decision to opt for unreserved seating was wrong. If the club think they were right, which by the statements coming out of Goodison appears to be the case, this will happen again. If there are 5,000 Evertonians locked out, & 5,000 empty seats inside then something is wrong. Do the club apologise? No, but Ian Ross, Head of Corporate Affairs and PR said: “This in no way was an administrative or ticketing problem - the simple truth is that by 2.50pm the capacity had been reached.” This sounds like, Everton think there was nothing wrong. Everton must acknowledge that 5,000 Evertonians locked out is a problem. They seem to be saying that there is nothing that could be done about it. They must review the situation. Though they haven't said this. They are just saying " WE are not to blame." So the fans who didn't get in, many with young kids - the future of the club, DON'T DESERVE AN APOLOGY. A simple sorry would do, but apparently, Everton are too big to apologise. (27/01/02)

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Michael Dunford's Apology.