DufraisFTM
Striker
The difference between seeing bother and not could've been literally a minute or two. Like you say we saw not a single punch thrown. The 'welcoming committee' was almost non-existant when compared to previous years. No surprises there considering there wasn't a line of police from which behind they could have thrown their insults and offer people out.Think it all depended on what time you got there and walked up mate. Talking to @DufraisFTM in the ground and him and his dad saw nothing either. I was on same train and large group with @Father Jack Hackett and we saw a canny bit. Think we were one of the last trains/metros through with most of our lot, so maybe more and more mags were out as more of our lot came through, so there was more waiting on the streets.
The biggest commotion we saw was when we somehow ended up in the doorway of Gotham Town. We ended up on that side of the roadworks while there was a large group of Sunderland on the other side. Loads of them with veins popping out of their heads shouting 'Mackem Bastaads' from behind the safety of the railings. We had to bite our tongues mind and it was a little bit intimidating. But we just walked straight past and it was over in seconds really.
Then as we walked past the bars around the Centre for Life and turned right onto whatever that road is, it was like a ghost town. The silence was weird. You normally have the usually numpties walking alongside the escort and loads lining the various streets adjacent. All we saw was a few people making their way to the ground, minding their own business.
It obviously got a little bit busier when we got to the corner of the Gallowgate and John Hall stand. There were loads kicking about there and we had to make our way through them with not a lot of police presence really. There were a few insults back and forth and it could have went up if anyone wanted it to. But my take was 99% of people are like me and just want to go to the match and enjoy themselves. There's a glass fronted bar there and low and behold the windows were full of Mags red in the face waving arms around doing their best Danny Dyer impressions.
I can't comment on anything that happened after because I hopped straight on one of the buses, I usually can't be arsed with the hassle of it. I think I've only ever walked back to the train station after (well as it was still being played) the 5-1 and that's the most bother I've ever seen.