English youth + excessive consumption of beer + football = stupidity
Hang on....misfire. We've had our problems in the past and we've paid the price (and, reading your post, we're still paying the price of course).
Those were Russians firing flares into our crowd. Russians charging at our fans who were trying to escape. Russians putting random English fans in the hospital by stamping on their heads when they were beaten to the ground. And a gang of over 100 Russians in Balaclavas running around with knives and slashing out indiscriminately.
Our hoolies these days are largely nursing beer bellies and maturity, or on life travel bans during major tournaments. Very rare that there's any major trouble involving English fans in recent tournaments.
My friend whose a journalist currently over there (and who has reported on English and Scottish hooliganism over the years) reckons the Russians now are pretty much where we were 20 years back...but worse. They come tooled up with knives and machetes. His view for what little it's worth...
"I think there is mindset difference (and pretty much always has been) between the Brits and those from the Eastern Euro countries and the odd country like Italy and that is most Brits like the ale, the sun, singing daft songs, a bit of arm flapping and if push comes to shove will have a dust up that mainly means haymakers and a boot in the ribs ... as opposed to serious intent on permanent damage, knives and life threatening injuries ... there has been some exceptions but in general I mean.
We are just not that blood thirsty but like an arse about more often than not ... some of those last night are just from another planet."
Course...it's still pretty **** behaviour. But most people will appreciate a difference between a bunch of like minded guys meeting on a playing field for a dust up, and a group of fans randomly attacking anyone in opposition colours.
It's a shame. Wouldn't catch me anywhere near a foreign football match. But I've been to the vast majority of grounds in England following my team...very rarely seen any trouble. Even at notoriously 'feisty' places such as Millwall and West Ham.