RC LENS Thread........

Discussion in 'France: Clubs' started by HADJI, Jan 21, 2007.

  1. Teso Dos Bichos

    Teso Dos Bichos Red Card

    Sep 2, 2004
    Purged by RvN
    Our fans know all about the safety concerns that caged stadiums pose and so does the club (they made their concerns clear pre-match). You can get lucky and nothing ever happens, you can get a scare like we had or you can get a tragedy. There is a reason why you will not find any stadiums like that in the UK. Perhaps you should find out why that is.
     
  2. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    That's actually not true at all. I have contacts at Lens. The stadium issue was NEVER brought up by anyone at Man U. They only claimed they did after the match. They did bring up a concern about the pitch (rightfully so) because there was a heavy schedule for the stadium in the weeks before the match but as far as stadium safety it was not addressed.

    Decades of luck. I should ask the club for next week's lottery numbers.

    I'm well aware of why there are not stadiums like that in the UK and why you have all-seater stadiums. What's the common denominator with the reason you can't have those stadiums and the trouble at the Bollaert?
     
  3. Teso Dos Bichos

    Teso Dos Bichos Red Card

    Sep 2, 2004
    Purged by RvN
    1. Why would Man Utd address their concerns to Lens? It had nothing to do with your club.
    2. Don't be stupid.
     
  4. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    Except that it's our stadium, genius. Due to that fact, RC Lens is fully part of the logistical side of pre-match preparations.

    Don't worry, you've got the market on that cornered.

    Keep trying.
     
  5. HADJI

    HADJI New Member

    Jan 18, 2007
    NYC
    Club:
    RC Lens
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    What an idiot. How old are you kid?
     
  6. HADJI

    HADJI New Member

    Jan 18, 2007
    NYC
    Club:
    RC Lens
    Nat'l Team:
    France
  7. guignol

    guignol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 28, 2005
    mermoz-les-boss
    Club:
    Olympique Lyonnais
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    for once when we were rooting for OM... :rolleyes: well, congratulations on keeping the championship race open!

    and guys, just ignore TdB... everyone else does!
     
  8. Teso Dos Bichos

    Teso Dos Bichos Red Card

    Sep 2, 2004
    Purged by RvN
    Lens are not responsible for Lille's shoddy running of the tie. Man Utd did not once mention Lens during all of this because it has nothing to do with you. For Lens to then come out publically and attack our club and fans is ridiculous.
     
  9. guignol

    guignol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 28, 2005
    mermoz-les-boss
    Club:
    Olympique Lyonnais
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    let's see...

    this is the RCL thread...

    but none of this has anything to do with lens...

    but you're here anyway...

    calling people stupid...

    i think this is really what we all come to BS for. carry on! :D
     
  10. Teso Dos Bichos

    Teso Dos Bichos Red Card

    Sep 2, 2004
    Purged by RvN
    Lens made it about them by attacking our club and fans. If they didn't want people to respond then they should have remained silent. It's not a difficult concept to grasp.
     
  11. guignol

    guignol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 28, 2005
    mermoz-les-boss
    Club:
    Olympique Lyonnais
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    examples?
     
  12. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    Then by your reasoning if Lens had nothing to do with the tie then Sepp Blabber shouldn't have come out and attacked our club. Unfortunately he did, we responded. It's not a difficult concept to grasp...well, for most.:rolleyes:
     
  13. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    Except for coordinating stadium access for training and prior to the match, access to the training ground, VIP amenities at the stadium, catering, etc you're right Lens had nothing at all to do with this match.

    Newflash: it's Lens' stadium! The club just doesn't hand it over full stop to Lille without any sort of consultation or with a seat at the table for any discussions between Lille and Man U.
     
  14. Teso Dos Bichos

    Teso Dos Bichos Red Card

    Sep 2, 2004
    Purged by RvN
    Blatter did not attack Lens, he attacked the decision allowing a caged stadium to be used for the CL. Also notice how you failed to mention anything to do with security or stewarding. The fact remains that Lille are responsible and Man Utd did not drag Lens into it. Yes, Blatter passed comment about caged stadiums and he has every right to. Lens can attack him all they wish but instead they chose to attack Man Utd and their fans. That is the issue here, nothing else.
     
  15. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    He attacked the stadium which belongs to our club and is a source of pride within our club. If someone criticized Old Trafford, you would not consider that at least a de facto attack on your club?

    Why would I? To my knowledge there were no pre-match concerns raised.

    You mean the president of the same body that sanctions Bollaert for a World Cup and subsequent international matches? A bit ironic that such an individual would criticize another organization for certifying the stadium.

    And perhaps time will tell that he was not incorrect in doing so. I do so love how it MUST be that the stadium is crap (despite the fact there not been a single incident of a similar nature over the years despite some big, big matches there) and is simply impossible that Man U fans had any negative role in all at what happened.
     
  16. Teso Dos Bichos

    Teso Dos Bichos Red Card

    Sep 2, 2004
    Purged by RvN
    There is a big difference between an attack on a club and someone criticising an archaic feature of a stadium that is a danger to fans. Perhaps if a tragedy involving a caged stadium had occured in France then people might think differently and the immediate and subsequent reaction from our fans would be more understandable. However, I hope it never happens.

    It is already public knowledge that Man Utd expressed concerns regarding the basic facilities at the ground and the size of it. The club was particularly surprised at the game not being held at the Stade de France, as it was last season. Concerns were also raised about whether the infrastructure in Lens itself could cope with the match.

    FIFA raised exactly the same concerns during the 1998 World Cup because Lens and St Etienne refused to remove their fencing. It is a safety concern and the Taylor Report (which followed Hillsborough) resulted in them being banned from the UK. If you had bothered to read what Blatter stated then you would have realised that fact.
    http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fbleurc1fraenglillemanutd&prov=afp&type=lgns

    The same was said about Hillsborough but then 96 people died. You wonder why the stadium is blamed and we wonder why our fans are blamed. It's clear that we both want to defend our clubs but in all honesty this is not an issue between Man Utd fans and Lens fans, or even our clubs despite Lens trying to make it that way. Lille have already made incorrect claims regarding ticketing and this is simply a case of them knowing that they have their backs against the wall and are doing whatever they can to wriggle free. The 'funny' thing is that aside from the choice of stadium and the antics of their own fans, players and management, the blame really belongs to the police and stewards for allowing the situation to develop and then responding to a genuine safety fear in a completely inappropriate manner. Unfortunately an already tense situation has been made worse by the immediate reaction from Lille and Lens. At the end of the day we can go around in circles about this or just wait until we see the immediate findings from the UEFA investigation.
     
  17. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    Perhaps to you. Fier d'etre Lensois. Hmmm, wonder why there's never been a problem with stadiums with set ups like Lens in France? Pure luck I suppose.


    Yes, Man U claimed to have raised these concerns but only made light of such AFTER the match. Funny timing that.

    Lille played at Stade de France last year because Lens was involved in the UEFA Cup and Lens refused Lille access because they didn't want to deal with the hassle of not being able to host European matches in the same stadium during the same week. This year Stade de France was booked through the fall so Lens was more willing to accomodate Lille...for a price. Part of the deal was that games beyond the second round were to be played at Bollaert as well.

    As for infrastructure, you keep acting like the city has never hosted a match of considerable size before. We get over 30,000 fans at home matches, it's not as if it's some tiny little stadium.

    So much a concern that FIFA did absolutely nothing about it all. Must have been a high priority. And such a problem that Lens have trouble week after week, year after year. And I did read Blabber's comments...convenient revisionist history. If it was such a problem the stadiums would not have been certified for the events.

    The Taylor Report banned terraces as well. Should we look into the German, French and Italian stadiums that allow that?

    Gosh, I think I've heard that last sentence somewhere before. Hmmm, if I can only recall where.

    Regarding Hillborough, the tragedy did not happen in a vacuum, correct? While the events on that day surely were horrific, there was a history of overcrowding and hooliganism in the terraces during that period were there not? I've heard and read many who said something horrible was bound to happen given the circumstances of the time, I'm not sure the same can be said of the situation in our stadium.

    In terms of police reaction I'm left wondering if the French police are so heavy handed, as I've heard a lot from English fans, yet we don't have a significant hooligan problem in France maybe something right is being done after all. The police may very well have overreacted, it certainly remains to be seen, but it is a question to ponder.
     
  18. HADJI

    HADJI New Member

    Jan 18, 2007
    NYC
    Club:
    RC Lens
    Nat'l Team:
    France
  19. Allez Lyonnais

    Allez Lyonnais New Member

    Jul 26, 2005
    TX
  20. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    An inexperienced display today to be sure. As disappointing as it is, the silver lining is now we can focus totally on securing second place. Had we not drawn twice in the last three week when OL dropped points I might say we can focus on trying to catch them (which really would be the best way to try to secure second from a psychological standpoint) but in reality I don't think that's possible.
     
  21. guignol

    guignol Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 28, 2005
    mermoz-les-boss
    Club:
    Olympique Lyonnais
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    i'm disappointed... and surprised. lens really should have gone through, and has no excuses...

    just like us :eek:
     
  22. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    I don't think a lot of Lens fans are actually that surprised. Even before the tie started at Bollaert there was talk that we should not field our strongest team in either leg in order to convserve for the Championship. Qualifying for the Champions League seems to be far more important to most supporters than winning the UEFA Cup. Just today someone on the mailing list referred to it as piège à cons...that is a popular sentiment.
     
  23. Lensois

    Lensois Member

    May 19, 2004
    Here's the real tragedy of the loss to Leverkusen: Lens supporters locked in cages like, like Man United fans!!! The shock and horror! Strangely enough no tear gas or batons needed. In any case it's shocking that UEFA would permit the use of such a stadium for European play:p ;)

    http://www.rclens.fr/infos_2007/03/16_grilles/
     
  24. parkben1

    parkben1 Member

    Feb 18, 2006
    brooklyn
    I love those pictures and it proves a point that the whole issue with the Lille match was total BS......
     
  25. parkben1

    parkben1 Member

    Feb 18, 2006
    brooklyn
    Agree...Lens where the better team and should of advance to the quarter-finals...
     

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