As Vale were so unremarkable against Aberdeen until they conceded that soft penalty (they did then leap into action, too little too late), I wasn’t too upset to find myself welded to the back gate for most of the Walsall game.
You have to have stewards permanently manning the back gates to let supporters out if, for example, there is a massive fire (like at Bradford City c20 years ago). It doesn’t look good in the papers if you accidentally let fans burn, fry, charcoal, melt…well, you get the idea.
But we’re not just there for the nice things in life. We’re also there for stuff like letting people out who have had enough and want to go home (or the pub). This happens a lot more than you would think. People who have paid good money will quite happily walk out on Vale after less than half-an-hour. Some are occasionals, some are regulars, some young, some old. There is no pattern. They just seem to snap and decide THAT’S IT! I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE ANYMORE OF THIS!!! or something like that. Some have the determined gritted look of a John Cleese about to thrash their car with a tree branch, whilst others seem quite relaxed, relaxed in the might-suddenly-pick-up-an-AK47-and-spray-the-whole-street-with-bullets manner.
Talking of guns and stuff, we stewards are also responsible for ensuring that any money-carrying staff have an armed guard back to base. These are usually turnstile operators, although it is rare they are trusted with anything valuable like CASH as all games are all-ticket now. Not so the Walsall game, as the operators craftily spirit away with several hundred quid each in brown paper bags, petulantly avoiding having to wait for their escort. Thankfully none of them went missing or got mugged, but they will be not allowed out on their own in future.
After the game we have to form a vague line in the middle of the Hamil car park, although no one is exactly sure why. Just to show our presence, I suppose. A girl tries to chat me up, which is nice but not the best time for such things.
As for the game, the one on the pitch, well it ended 1-1 (Griffith equalising after an early Walsall strike), and no one seemed that bothered either way. What I want to know is whether the fans could have predicted the wins against Bury and QPR after watching this? Judging by their reaction, I don’t think so.
But what do I know.