WLD - I'm not denying that there's an element who misbehave in the way you describe. I'm simply saying it's a small minority. I've regularly attended games with crowds in excess of 35,000 over the past few years, I've only ever seen a handful of arrests and I've never felt in danger (unlike a game at Molyneux in the 70's where I felt fortunate to escape with my life).

I'll say it again - the vast majority of people attending football matches in the UK today are decent, law abiding people. A minority are thugs and, as is always the case with the media, it's the rotten apples you hear about, not the good ones. A headline such as 'Law-abiding Fan Attends Game With His Wife, Buys A Replica Shirt In The Club Shop, Enjoys The Game, Applauds Good Play By Both Sides, Goes Home And Enjoys A Chinese Takeaway' wouldn't sell many papers would it? Yet that, or something closely akin to it, is precisely what the majority do. It's a sad but inescapable fact that the media have hoodwinked the public into believing that ALL football fans are hooligans, and it patently ain't true. Some are, most aren't.

BTW, the taxpayer doesn't pay for the police - they present the clubs with a substantial bill for their attendance.