At Burnley, once the coaches were parked up outside the ground they quickly went to work installing an anti terrorist barrier at each end of the main road. I took a picture: I didn't go to the Brighton game but did we do something similar, (didn't hear about it on here if we did)? I've said to the chaps many many times last season that if some lunatic in an artic came down Vicarage Road looking to cause maximum carnage it would be very easy when everyone's going in or coming out. Should Watford be doing this? I think they should.
look a bit flimsy to me. Are you sure they are not mini ski jumps , dancing on ice exterior set or something like that. I'm sure it usually snows this time of year in Burnley.
It was the good Burghers of Burnley trying to make us feel at home because we are from That London. The Thames Barrier replica was a nice thought.
Forget installing them for the terrorists, install them all around West Watford for the idiots that decide 5pm on a match day is a great time to pop into the area for a quick drive.
There are traffic lights at each end of Vicarage Road. With the extortionate fines being handed down for motoring offices these days, I'm sure they're enough to slow down any terrorist
Looks a bit grim there! Mind you it is the north. Think we just have one barrier at either end of Occupation Road and a load of men standing around by it checking cars etc. Same at the entrance o the training ground.
Any terrorist with an artic would probably have to negotiate the ring road traffic and local one-way / matchday restrictions, so fans would have long gone home by the time they got anywhere near the ground.
Moose, you say you don't care about anti-terrorist intelligence, so I suppose you'd be happy to take your chances come what may? I've always thought that a football crowd would be particularly vulnerable to a terrorist attack, and hope that there are plans in place that we don't know about
I think it is a good point about large crowds being a possible target. Before last Sunday I had never seen these type of temporary barriers in place at a football stadium. New stadia like the Emirates are designed with subtle vehicle blocking street furniture. And of course the redesign of the forecourt at Watford Junction was primarily about stopping someone driving a vehicle bomb into the booking hall. So I am sure intelligence based responses would put something in place if/when required. As an aside the most vulnerable group are at the end of the game walking back to the town centre is on Vicarage road beyond the pedestrianised part.
Not to mention those chaps in luminous yellow boiler suits. I feel pretty confident they could deal with anything. They have radios and everything.
I notice they put the barrier next to double yellow lines. Good thinking that.. just in case any terrorist was thinking of parking up until the barriers were removed.
Sir GT stands ready to prevent any issues if someone decided to ram the club shop. Defence up to scratch with him in charge...
Unfortunately if someone’s really determined to cause mass fatalities there’s so many options open to them that are hard to defend against. I hope the unseen intelligence service provides best defence and ultimately some how trying to prevent the motivation of such assailants. Hmm, sobering.
The Barriers as per the photo certainly didn't stop the coaches getting through, obviously very lightweight and temporary!
While it makes sense, we probably can't put any physical barricades down at Watford due to the road being an important access route to the hospital.
One set just after the hospital exit, (before the turnstiles), the other at the junction on Vicarage Road. Those would protect the areas where the most crowding happens.
Surely the whole point of the new Back door road to the hospital from the ring road was to provide an alternative to the Vicarage Road access.
Those barriers are much too far apart. Has anyone considered terrorists on bikes? The RoadMen of Luton would laugh at that. Be smart people.
Yeah I know that posting something like this on this site is going to be ridiculed mercilessly, (I'm guilty myself), but I just hope the intelligence is correct and we don't need them. One of my daughters friends has a Father who's quite highly ranked in the Met Police. He warned us not to go to Oxford Street on Boxing day last year as the chances of an attack were rated very high by them. I seriously considered putting it on here but knew if nothing happened, (it didn't), I'd get slaughtered.
