Disgraceful scenes at Upton Park make you grateful we watch our football at Carrow Road

A lot has already been said on the matter since West Ham and Millwall's 'supporters' decided to lock horns last night in what was a worrying throwback to the 80s.

But at times like this, you always wonder whether football has the potential to slip back into the dark ages, where scenes like last night's in East London were commonplace.

The clubs � and the FA to be fair � have put a hell of a lot of work in since the late 70s and early 80s. CCTV ensures the trouble inside stadiums is now very rare.

Increased Police presence around the grounds and a slicker approach to supporters arriving by public transport has made it virtually impossible for fans to get at each other.

Some would say that it is Police overkill and there have been occasions where innocent, law abiding fans have had their day ruined in the name of keeping the peace.

All-seater stadia has made a huge difference as well but as we saw last night, if the wrong two clubs come together, it can still all go horribly wrong.

Upton Park is now, by and large, a decent, modern stadium but that didn't stop a Met Police nightmare happening yesterday evening.

And you do worry that if the authorities take their eye of the ball, it could creep back onto the terraces.

According to eye witnesses from last night's troubles and some Millwall messageboards, the Police could have planned the visiting supporters' route into the Boleyn Ground much better than they did.

And why was this game allowed to be played on a Tuesday night anyway? The Police in this part of the world insist on the Norwich v Ipswich derby kicking off at some unearthly hour, which is fine.

But how the most violent derby in England is allowed to be staged in the evening is beyond me.

The worry now, of course, is whether this will affect England's chances of hosting the 2018 World Cup.

And the bid team certainly weren't happy today. Too much work has gone in already for some mindless hooliganism to go and spoil it.

“It is extremely disappointing,” a bid spokesman said today.

“A tiny minority have deflected from the passion and dedication that millions of genuine fans show every week for our national game.”

“The scenes from Upton Park were a regrettable but isolated example of a culture that the football community has worked tirelessly to eradicate from our game.”

And while they will be keen to stress that it was a one-off incident, they will be worried that the events will give Australia, Japan, the USA, Russia, Mexico and Indonesia, as well as joint bids from Netherlands and Belgium and Portugal and Spain, the advantage in the race for 2018.

Even the FA's communications director Adrian Bevington admitted that this country still has a problem � even if England is seen as a leader in tackling the problem.

“We are seen as one of the leaders, if not the leader, in the way that we have tackled hooliganism and disorder in our grounds over the past 30 years,” he told Radio Five Live today.

“We receive communication from South America, from Fifa, from Uefa and other European countries asking for advice.

“That doesn't mean that we're sitting here saying we've got it all sorted. Clearly on what we're seeing last night shows there are still times when we have problems to deal with.”

Luckily, we don't have a real problem with football related disorder in this part of the world and nights like Tuesday August 25th make you realise what a great family experience you enjoy at Carrow Road.

In the season before last, City had the joint third least number of arrests in the Championship. And considering the Canaries' large attendances, that is an impressive stat.

So if you ever get down in the dumps about the fortunes of your beloved club, just be grateful that you get to watch your football at Carrow Road, not Upton Park.