Kinnock's wild celebrations at Fulham/led to him being moved

Good to see Kinnock celebrating CCFC goals in the time honoured way - going ballistic!



01st October 2013


Cardiff City fan Neil Kinnock escorted from seat among Fulham supporters
Former Labour leader is relocated after being seen 'vociferously' celebrating his team's first goal in the Craven Cottage home


The Guardian

Lord Kinnock was reportedly escorted to the away fans' stand at Craven Cottage. Photograph: Karen Robinson
Neil Kinnock, the former Labour leader and a keen football fan, was escorted from his seat after celebrating a goal by his beloved Cardiff City while sitting in the midst of opposition supporters, it has been claimed.

Lord Kinnock was watching the team he has supported from boyhood take on Fulham FC at Craven Cottage in west London on Saturday.

According to Fulham FC, he was sitting with home fans but was escorted to the away end by stewards when he was spotted "vociferously" celebrating his team's first goal.

Sarah Brookes, spokeswoman for Fulham FC, played down suggestions that Kinnock had infuriated Fulham fans but said it was club policy to relocate an away fan found sitting in the home end.

Brookes said of Kinnock's celebrations after the 12th-minute goal: "He was in the home area and celebrated when Cardiff scored. Stewards did him the courtesy of relocating him in the away end. No home fans are particularly happy when away supporters are located in their area and vociferously celebrate when their team scores."

Kinnock was not the only Cardiff fan in the home end. Another posted on a fans' forum: "Pleased to see Mr Kinnock sitting two rows in front off me in the stand. I am not sure if Neil has as much experience as me of sitting with the home fans but his celebration of our first goal led to him being escorted from the stand."

The Premier League match ended well for Kinnock and other Cardiff fans: their team scored a second goal in injury time to record their first away win in top flight football since 1962.

There was no reply from Kinnock's office in London on Tuesday morning. A Cardiff press agency quoted his office as saying he had been expecting to sit in the away end with other fans of the newly-promoted Welsh club and that it was just coincidence that he was moved just after his team scored.

Kinnock has been a fan of Cardiff City – known as the Bluebirds – since his father took him to his first match aged six.

To be fair to Neil Kinnock he has supported Cardiff City for years and is not a jonny come lately or just a Premier League fan

To be fair to Neil Kinnock he has supported Cardiff City for years and is not a jonny come lately or just a Premier League fan

That is true and it's something he has been accused of in the past. When he was leader of the labour party I remember people slagging him off for only attending games when the cameras were there or big occasions, which off course is true but understandable seeing as he had to do everything in his power to get elected.

To be fair to Neil Kinnock he has supported Cardiff City for years and is not a jonny come lately or just a Premier League fan

That is true and it's something he has been accused of in the past. When he was leader of the labour party I remember people slagging him off for only attending games when the cameras were there or big occasions, which off course is true but understandable seeing as he had to do everything in his power to get elected.

As leader of the labour party surely the cameras found him rather than vice versa ?

To be fair to Neil Kinnock he has supported Cardiff City for years and is not a jonny come lately or just a Premier League fan

That is true and it's something he has been accused of in the past. When he was leader of the labour party I remember people slagging him off for only attending games when the cameras were there or big occasions, which off course is true but understandable seeing as he had to do everything in his power to get elected.

As leader of the labour party surely the cameras found him rather than vice versa ?

The criticism was that he was using the club to gain a higher profile, which is absured because he had been a bluebird previous to that. Another criticism was that he didn't go to games, forgetting that he was probably the busiest man in the country!

To be fair to Neil Kinnock he has supported Cardiff City for years and is not a jonny come lately or just a Premier League fan

That is true and it's something he has been accused of in the past. When he was leader of the labour party I remember people slagging him off for only attending games when the cameras were there or big occasions, which off course is true but understandable seeing as he had to do everything in his power to get elected.

As leader of the labour party surely the cameras found him rather than vice versa ?

The criticism was that he was using the club to gain a higher profile, which is absured because he had been a bluebird previous to that. Another criticism was that he didn't go to games, forgetting that he was probably the busiest man in the country!

In his position the cameras would find him and splash his face on the telly. The criticism you talk of is not true (I don't mean there was no criticism , I mean the criticism itself was unjustified). I met him twice , both at Ninian Park many years ago - And , he wanted to talk Cardiff City not politics both times!

Apparently Phillip Schofield was arrested at Fulham on Saturday after trying to take the Johnny Haynes Stand single handedly.

That guy is just a City nutter.

I met Neil Kinnock when he was campaigning in one of the '74 general elections. (There were two). I was too young to vote, but he saw my CCFC badge, and talked football for about ten minutes. He was a Bluebird then, and he's a Bluebird now.

Don't know what he was doing in one of the home stands, though. Probably bought tickets up in London, or got complimentaries, through Fulham. They were right to move him to our section.

Next time, Neil, just book your tickets through Cardiff City. You're one of us Celebrate as much as you like, with the rest of us

I met him a couple of seasons ago at the QPR game and seemed like a decent bloke. We had a good chat and I noticed that he then drove off in an old Nissan Almera which was probably so he didn't attract attention by rocking up in his 'Euro Bentley'. I also resisted the urge to quote the 'Lovely Lesbians' sketch from Spitting Image. 'A finger of fudge.........'.

To be fair to Neil Kinnock he has supported Cardiff City for years and is not a jonny come lately or just a Premier League fan

That is true and it's something he has been accused of in the past. When he was leader of the labour party I remember people slagging him off for only attending games when the cameras were there or big occasions, which off course is true but understandable seeing as he had to do everything in his power to get elected.

As leader of the labour party surely the cameras found him rather than vice versa ?

The criticism was that he was using the club to gain a higher profile, which is absured because he had been a bluebird previous to that. Another criticism was that he didn't go to games, forgetting that he was probably the busiest man in the country!

In his position the cameras would find him and splash his face on the telly. The criticism you talk of is not true (I don't mean there was no criticism , I mean the criticism itself was unjustified). I met him twice , both at Ninian Park many years ago - And , he wanted to talk Cardiff City not politics both times!

I am defending him but I get what you mean. I have never met him but seen him at games before hand, top bloke by all accounts and I can see why he used the club to gain some votes. Where else will 5k local voters of all ages be at once?

Honestly don't believe that Neil Kinnock has ever tried to use the club to try and get votes. Why would he need to? He had a rock-solid seat in Bedwellty. Plus, our fans come from a wide range of constituencies, all over South Wales. It's not as if all our supporters live in Cardiff West, or, at a push, Cardiff South and Penarth.

Kinnock is a genuine fan. When he was leader of the Labour Party, (at a time when politics was a bit more lively than now), he was given extra police protection. Cameras will always zoom in on celebrities in the crowd. Like Hugh Grant at Fulham, or Rod Stewart at Celtic.

No doubt, Kinnock would have been invited to sit in the directors' box. But that's not the same as courting publicity. The very fact that he has continued to come to games, long after his need for votes was over, proves this.

Let's face it - there weren't many votes in supporting City in those days! We were seen as a basket case and probably one of the most unfashionable clubs in the entire league.

I used to mention I was a Cardiff fan in job applications and employers thought I was crazy.

I remember Kinnock sticking up for City fans when there was aggro at Fulham years ago. Nice that we can return the favour and stick up for him for causing aggro there this time!

I shook his hand on Saturday and mentioned the brilliant speech at the opening of the Fred Keenor statue.
I was watching him having photos taken with fan after fan and was really accommodating to everyone.
For me Neil is a legend and he's ours.

Apparently when he was confronted by Fulham fans, he simply said 'Afternoon gentlemen, the name's Neil Kinnock'. Just the mention of his infamous catchphrase struck terror into the two members of Fulham's firm (The Cottagers), who immediately left Craven Cottage with their chauffeurs for a 'de-stress' landscape oil painting break in the Dordogne. Despite reports in the press, 'Killer' Kinnock is still an active 'front-line' figure in Brussels. Lovely, lovely Lesbians.

A finger of fudge is just enough, to give your kids, not anybody else's kids a treat. Classic Spitting Image sketch ( for those that can remember the satire).

The fella must be confused these days. His team has gone from blue to red but his party went from red to blue.

The fella must be confused these days. His team has gone from blue to red but his party went from red to blue.

The fella must be confused these days. His team has gone from blue to red but his party went from red to blue.

go away you irritating child - the grown ups were having a chat.

I remember back in 1993 when we played Fulham at Craven Cottage and there was a fair bit of trouble in the ground and the match was stopped for about 20 minutes, Neil Kinnock was interviewed on national TV and refused to condemn our fans despite pressure from the interviewer. Kinnock said he was unsure who had started the trouble. A genuine Cardiff City fan who should have been the first Bluebird Prime Minister.