SENTINELCELTS

Sentinel Towers along with todays planned article were thrown into whirlwind mode yesterday by the Plc’s release of their crush report .
On hump day afternoon seemed strange but there she was eventually for cyberspace to pick over .
Firstly I will flat out admit that what you may read will by no means be a Pulitzer Prize winner as I wasnt there and have never actually been in a crush , and when it comes to directions and maps I am the very very last person you want to talk to. My trusty Gps seldom leaves my side.
So as it is just like yourselves I await with baited breath those who were there and are familiar with the area to fully digest the report and then give us their frank assessment .

However even an ignoramus like myself seen issues within that report.
Take this for instance ,,
“ This was because reduced ‘Sunday service’ schedules operate, as standard, on bus and train networks serving the regional areas around the stadium. It has been identified that, on average, the overall reduction in service capacity, on both bus and train services, on Sunday mornings is approximately 50% “
Grab a sports fan anywhere and tell him the flagship games of the season will be at a time that fans consider inconvenient and there is next to none facilities available at that time and watch him struggle to grasp it .
Even if we were to accept it might be best to play that game when theres not much drink available , why not coordinate with the department of transport and GCC to run extra buses on the day ? In fact the minister for transport should draft it in as mandatory especially after these crush scenes.
At the very least theres some money to be made catering to a large crowd in terms of restaurants and bars.
Its typical of Scottish footie though and another reason why I call it the bent farce.
The crush is an example of the farce and the month after Rangers died “ the Rangers “ get their titles just to prove the bent bit for anyone wondering .
Its another example of fans being treated poorly is lack of infrastructure on the biggest matchdays.

“ Pre-match planning processes were extensive, and positive collaboration existed between partner agencies throughout all stages of planning and delivery. This included the hosting of joint-agency planning meetings and site inspections/recces. These practices are considered to have been positive and should be continued for future fixtures. “
You gotta be kidding me here.
“ We had it all worked out on paper , honestly. And we did a good job and will do so again ! “ basically ffs . I mean if it wasnt soo serious I would laugh at the gallus or sheer stupidity or mixture of both coming from this shower. Incredible that phrase was okayed.

“It is also the opinion of Fairhurst that the turnstile data identifies that the crowd congestion incident was not caused by the late arrival of supporters to the stadium. “
No shit Sherlock !

“ The density of home supporters’ peak arrival flows in the North Stand underpass pre-match phase, as a result of a combination of the external segregation arrangements during the peak arrivals flows for home supporters and the constrained arrivals window, was greater than had been experienced at previous Celtic v Rangers fixtures..”
So again it wasn’t the fans fault ,, we all know this ffs .

“ significant congestion built up very quickly in the underpass and at the North West approach to it and it was necessary for the pre-established contingency plan to be activated by the Celtic Safety Officer. “
This statement seems to suggest the Celtic Safety Officer has the final say . or perhaps does in the event of an emergency , in the area outwith the stadium ie the undpass and approach ways not within the actual stadium . This goes against the rules that fan activities outwith the stadium are not the clubs fault or at least do not fall under their jurisdiction.
Seems theres a major grey zone in regards to just what exactly the relationship is between a club and its fans outwith the actual stadium .
Stadium imprint can be a pretty broad phrase and if thats going to be brought up then specific boundaries should be drawn for clarity sake.

“ It is the opinion of Fairhurst that, for the future, opportunities exist to improve match-day records and to improve control measures to manage the movement of supporters through the underpass and to identify and manage crowd congestion build-up. “
Thank F%#k for that then !

“ These dynamic decisions, made by those who were in command and using their detailed knowledge of the stadium environs and management arrangements that were in place that day, are recognised as being particularly important factors in achieving an efficient resolution to the incident. These intervention actions included switching turnstiles to manual over-ride and the redeployment of Stewards in order to remove physical segregation barriers and turnstile queue lanes formed of barriers. These actions would not have been obvious to those supporters who were involved in the congestion and were identified by Fairhurst as being critical to the successful and efficient management of the overall incident. “
They being the Match Commander and Celtic Safety Officer . This is one hell of a pat on the back in essence ,, saying we saved the day.
I await the verdict on this one from those involved.

“ In particular, engagement by Stewards and Police Officers with supporters in the early stages of dealing with the incident could have been more effective. “
Thats a very mild scolding but in essence its huge imo. The “ in particular “ will not have been missed as a very conscious effort to bear weight , however lofty the wording .
Its probably about as hard as they could go , and they did. Please note that.

And then we see the end of the report with many recommendations , some notables include
“ Consider benefits of recording all audio communications on two-way radio networks. “
“Consider evaluating the audibility of the Public Address system against background noise generated by dense crowd build-up in the enclosed underpass space.”
“ Ensure media responses to all situations, including any emergency/contingency situations are agreed jointly by stakeholders (as far as is possible) prior to release. “
To sum up nothing is recorded , the crowd couldnt hear your microphones ffs , and no message goes out without being on song .
The professionals are here , relax.

Once again I cant wait for others take of this malarkey but one things for sure .
Its just another example of life in the bent never boring Sphell !

Writers needed ,, great conditions , honestly.
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