It wasn't unknown for some Police to find out which of you were parked away from the rest, and then give the opposition fans the heads up.
The psycho's started a renaissance of lads following City away that dove tailed in to the casual years of the early to mid 80's, lower league success came after receivership, an emerging young team, a reborn Kempton, a good firm of young lads that stuck with City whilst many turned to eggchasing, happy days and some wild times away, no regrets, no explanations, Toty's mob never run, CTID.
M'Boro away 1968 as a 14 year old. City fans stood at one end of Ayresome Park behind the goal and at half time the home fans swopped ends as you could do in those days, only they battered us all in the process. No where to run and the police just stood back, don't remember stewards in those days either. It seemed that we were outnumbered about 10-1 and every Boro fan was at least twice our age. You certainly learn the score after a baptism like that and you learn it quickly. Afterwards the walk back to our couple of buses was a free for all, the police again stood back and laughed. I do remember one saying 'Well, you shouldn't have come' Bricks, bottles, kicks and punches and you had to run this gauntlet. Windows smashed on the bus, which was parked up on some back street and it was surrounded by a baying mob. I got half a brick slammed in my face as I climbed onto the bus with my scarf hidden under my denim jacket. Our bus sped away leaving a couple of lads behind and we had to beg the driver to go back to look for them. But we were there for the next away game.
Yes 'You shouldn't have come then' was heard a few times. As people have said, they sometimes seemed to be teamed up with the local toughs in their attitudes.
That video is ****ing cringeworthy, especially the footage from the Bradford match at BP. It's like watching primary school kids 'fighting'...
Not sure why you've got so much **** over your questions, strikes me as perfectly reasonable for someone who wasn't around at the time to ask what it was like. Nobody checked your credentials, if you were the enemy, you were fair game and everyone knew the score. It was fists rather than weapons, so it didn't seem that risky, though bricks did fly fairly regularly. The other major difference was the lack of consequences. In the main, if you got nicked you just got locked in the back of a van and released at full time. No banning orders and court action only really happened if it had properly kicked off or someone had got badly hurt. I had a mate in Anlaby and the first time I met him he was on his way to court for kicking someone's nose off at a game. His defence was, that it was a poorly fitted Seg at the front of his brogue that had done the damage, so it wasn't really his fault. I don't think that worked as a derfence, but he got off anyway, as he'd just joined the Para's.
Think the bottom line was when a group of 150 mainly teens and early 20,s tip up in a town or city 3 hours before kick off it attracts attention from the local youth therefore there was always the threat of a scuffle .
Memories of Millmoor are always of the police in that tenny alongside the ground. Whichever way you wanted to go after the game, you could guarantee they would force (as in police force) you to go the other way, along with punches and knees and then herded by the police horses. Their bonhomie usually extended to '**** off back to Hull you twat'. Pleasant.
And Bratfut. Remember going there a couple of times on what was the big open end, opposite to where away fans go then. First time we went there for a pre season friendly, thought it was a bit odd that the old bill exited the ground sharpish with about 10 mins left. Game over. Then a ****ing hail of bricks over the top on to the unwitting City fans (reminiscent of Lokeren). Everyone got up against the wall at the back, some got outside and said the coppers had ****ed off! Well at least down to the away coaches to protect them! Good of them, I have to say. Heads caved in but cushy bus ride home.
I was on that bus to Tranmere, the bus broke down in a service station, my mate got in the drivers seat whilst big Bruce the driver bled the injectors to get it going again, Blackpool who also had a double decker going to some team in Yorkshire stopped on the opposite services a charge over the motorway bridge ensued. We were about 20 mins late getting to the ground whereupon all 100 of us charged in and fought off the locals who were having a go at the few scarfers in the ground, as it was a wooden stand with sleepers for terracing with clinker filling in the gaps, this was flying back and forth all game, the scouse police took great delight in smashing City fans over the head with their 3 foot long pay sticks ( an Army officer thing) It really was an adventure following your team away in those days, I sit in the KC these days and wonder who gentrified modern football fans to the point of being boring bastards who can't even sing up for the team, and don't get me started on the miserable ****ers who sit at away games.
The Police did make the odd arrest of anyone being in possession of an offensive weapon back then. please log in to view this image
As someone infamous once said, For those involved, no explanation is necessary, For those not involved, no explanation is possible.
Interesting reminiscences of getting bricked/beaten at Boro, Rotherham, Bradford & Tranmere, all clubs where City's mob got the better of them in the 80's when we came of age.
Interesting to read all this, thanks for all who contributed memories. My first away game was as a 14 year old at Hillsborough to see us lose 5-1 to a David Hirst hat-trick, the day we sold Jobbo I seem to recall and of course, pre internet and wall to wall news, we had no idea why he wasn't in the team when we got there. Anyway... I honestly don't recall ever being faced with a 'mob' at any of the hundreds of away games I've been to and, at the time, I'd done about 80% of the league grounds, so I'd suggest from that it was all pretty much done and dusted by the start of the 90s. The only in-stadium hairy moment I can recall off the top of my head was at Sid James Park when we won there 1-2 in an end of season game and their fans invaded the pitch as Sunderland had been relegated, before then turning their attention on the away end. Lincoln stands-out as being intimidating on the streets - they really do ****ing hate us for some reason - but I never was party to any of the incidents we've all probably heard of.
Probably an age thing, but same for me in the main. Although, I do recall being in a state of hairy canary at Ninian Park, Stoke and one or two others. But by and large, in my experience, it's been City running amok most places, on the pitch, inside and outside the ground.
Yeah I thought about Ninian Park after I'd posted this, that's the only place I think I've been compelled to dive to the floor as the coach came under a hail of bricks at windows. It was after we'd won there 3-4 and Chris Lee had a stomer*. *No, really.
