After some spicy encounters in recent years in the Second City derby, Aston Villa vs Birmingham City away allocations have dropped, 12 o’clock kick-offs are the norm and the policing presence has increased.
Last season’s match at Villa Park pretty much saw the area around Villa Park separated by wall of West Midlands police vehicles, which divided off Witton Road area.
While it’s as welcome as Donald Trump’s proposed Mexican border wall, it was viewed by the police and club as a necessary evil.
A briefing of the policing operation for the Second City Derby was given to MOMS before the last derby, and it’s certainly one of the most elaborate in recent Villa match history.
There’s no doubt that all these counter measures have dampened the atmosphere of the games, but this season comes news that baby steps are being made to rectify this.
The details of the ticketing allocations for the Villa v Blues matches this season have been confirmed with away allocations for each game at 2,100.
While it’s not a lot, it’s a five per cent increase on last season, in what the club calls, ‘recognition of the behaviour of both sets of supporters’.
Naturally, this decision was made in consultation between West Midlands Police and both of the clubs.
The thinking in a lower away allocation is the that tickets will only end up in the hands of the regular away supporters of both teams, thus cutting off the access to tickets to the casual potential trouble maker.
Both fixtures this season have already been levied with the 12’clock kick-off time and been moved to Sundays.
Birmingham City vs Aston Villa – October 29th
Aston Villa vs Birmingham City – February 11th
It’ll certainly be interesting to see if there is further increase in away allocations next season.
UTV
Perhaps when fans understand that purchasing a seat does not mean that they can take them home or deposit then on the pitch, we will get back to full stadiums and have people recognise the countries biggest Derby rivalry.