Despite all the talk about Dundee FC’s proposed stadium at Camperdown, I think everyone is missing the real problem.

It isn’t the road layout – the one thing I’ll say about that is Transport Scotland have too much power for a “government agency”.

If we don’t like decisions made by these civil servants, what can we do?

Why can’t we turf out obstructive, officious little people, who are paid from the public purse and who should therefore be accountable to the public?

But it’s a relatively small car park creating a relatively small problem. It will be resolved one way or another.

The real questions are about movement of people.

Now please don’t tediously tell me a football crowd should arrive on bikes or public transport, because most won’t.

I’m talking about the real world, not the priggish active travel lobby’s fantasies.

Where will 60 or 70 buses park? Bused-in fans have usually consumed the biggest carry-outs and are the most troublesome.

The proposed bus parking zone on Liff Road has been ruled out – not wide enough, apparently.

Not many will get in the small official car park, or the already well-used leisure park’s car park.

The only logical conclusion is that buses – and thousands of cars – will use Dryburgh and Dunsinane industrial estates, empty of workers on matchdays.

This will be bad enough as up to 12,500 spectators arrive – but chaos after a game.

Having published three books about football grounds, studied their history and construction, and conducted lectures on the subject, I have experience in the field.

You’ll have one section of a crowd bouncing out the ground in high spirits – in no mood to follow pedestrian restrictions.

The beaten team’s fans will trudge out in anger or disappointment – even less willing to obey restrictions.

Bad enough in a city environment – the police know this, they block off streets around Dens and Tannadice.

In Arbroath they close Dundee Road for 10 minutes in both directions when a big Gayfield crowd is exiting.

The mass movement problem at Camperdown will be 10 times worse than in Arbroath when an unruly crowd tries to negotiate the Coupar Angus road and circle to get back to the industrial estates.

It becomes lethal if any try to cross the Kingsway on foot on a dark, wet winter evening.

Because some will try a shortcut across a dual carriageway.

New Dundee FC stadium pedestrian infrastructure

It’s incredibly stupid, yes. But anyone who has been in a football crowd knows it will happen.

The nature of the mob rebels against being told what to do, where to go, and – most of all – where not to go.

Will fans park amid the housing schemes directly across the Kingsway?

Maybe. That means they’d get back to their cars via the underpass leading to Linton Road.

But any who remember the ambush zone that is the Crawford Bridge near Hibs’ Easter Road will try not to use a similar chokepoint underpass.

Again, they might attempt to cross the Kingsway on foot.

The stadium plan requires more attention to pedestrian infrastructure than the road layout sideshow.

There will have to be robust physical defences and an army of stewards and police to keep the football foot soldiers from invading the Kingsway at several points.

© The Courier