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Phil West-Upper. said:
Villa, Newcastle and Liverpool away all saw massive away followings at the time because we hadn't any 'big time' games for over 20 years. We were like a non league club who usually get a couple of thousand for a run of the mill home game then suddenly 'taking' 5,000 away to a decent league club in the FA Cup 3 rd round. Then next home game there's the usual hardcore 2.000 there.
Our crowd at the 'Thriller at the Villa' were embarrassing, pumped up by the HDM as a 'one off occasion' we attracted the one game a season face painters complete with jester hats and tiger outfits.
Like the Liverpool FA Cup game in the mid 80's. We played Shrewsbury at home in the game before and vouchers were been given out for the Liverpool game. We had queues right down North Road to collect the vouchers, but only 5,000 actually bothered going into the ground for the game . Then Don Robinson said he could have sold the Liverpool game out 'four times over'. Remember reading that tickets were either £50 or £500 each off the touts.
The Doncaster League Cup in 75. It was our first sniff of a cup run since Terry Neills days and the one game a season mob turned out again, it's been claimed that we had 6,000 away fans there, when our away following at that numbered about 100, from memory I'd say we had a lot more then 6,000 there. Perhaps one of best away followings who were actual City fans was at the Battle of Bramall Lane in 71, three days after we'd been knocked out of the FA Cup by Stoke at home.
Our following at the League Cup semi final at OT was embarrassing. We took over 4,000 there for an early round in the 80's when we were ****e, again that was down to being starved of any success at all.
Point being ? We probably haven't got as many 'hardcore, through thick and thin' supporters as we think we have. Could also be a case of, been there done that, as was our last appearance at Wembley.
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I remember the cringe making report in the HDM describing wide-eyed youngsters setting off on the trip of a lifetime. Some had a few lifetimes before then and many have had a few lifetimes since.
Strange thing is when we were doing well under Terry Neill the away following was generally pathetic. You were often on the one coach in addition to the supporters one in places like Leicester and Sunderland who brought thousands here.
If other clubs adopted a been there done that attitude at Wembley they wouldn't have anyone there comparing the number of times they have appeared there compared to us.
 
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AlRawdah said:
I prefer it when we have lots of fans. Even irregular ones. It’s a powerful sign of success on the pitch.
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Even better with lots of regular fans. Especially ones who want to get behind the team rather than greet the away team off the bus and spend half the game waving to and photographing opposition stars.
 
Phil West-Upper. said:
Point being ? We probably haven't got as many 'hardcore, through thick and thin' supporters as we think we have. Could also be a case of, been there done that, as was our last appearance at Wembley.
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I would also venture that the cost also puts a lot of 'casual' supporters off travelling to away games these days. e.g. A day trip to Wembley for 2 adults and 2 kids isn't cheap.
 
Barchullona said:
Even better with lots of regular fans. Especially ones who want to get behind the team rather than greet the away team off the bus and spend half the game waving to and photographing opposition stars.
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Which as you rarely fail to remind us, isn’t a situation we’ve had at City since the 50s. So more is still better than fewer, no matter what their motives might be, no?
 
AlRawdah said:
Which as you rarely fail to remind us, isn’t a situation we’ve had at City since the 50s. So more is still better than fewer, no matter what their motives might be, no?
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If you like being surrounded by people telling you to sit down and shut up because you are spoiling their view of Stevie G and the like, yes. Not a situation unique to City but worse than a lot.
 
City Man said:
Shame they don't go every week, the club would be flying...
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He was making the point that not going to Wembley reflected what was happening off the pitch, as did Blackpool. Coventry showed that wasn't the case.
Even when boycotting Wembley more went to watch us, despite the supposed high cost for an impoverished resident of Hull, than our average gate for the season, as was the case for each Wembley appearance. If they went every week we would be flying.
 
FA Cup All our Yesterdays' Anyone go to Leeds vs. Sunderland at BP...Might have been 4th round replay...Circa 1968
 
Barchullona said:
He was making the point that not going to Wembley reflected what was happening off the pitch, as did Blackpool. Coventry showed that wasn't the case.
Even when boycotting Wembley more went to watch us, despite the supposed high cost for an impoverished resident of Hull, than our average gate for the season, as was the case for each Wembley appearance. If they went every week we would be flying.
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Most clubs suddenly find and extra 20,000 'fans' for these one off Wembley games.

In reality many regular fans take their spouses and kids.
 
Duffens_Briefs said:
FA Cup All our Yesterdays' Anyone go to Leeds vs. Sunderland at BP...Might have been 4th round replay...Circa 1968
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I was there in my City scarf. Stood in Kempton with the Sunderland fans, Leeds had the South Stand. Over 40,000 there from memory and one of the best atmospheres I have ever witnessed at Boothferry Park. The game had everything, dodgy penalty, minor pitch invasion when the ref got hit over the head with a ruck sack, sendings off, bone crunching tackles etc, but the over riding memory for me was one of 'What if' ? I always thought City would be like that at BP if we ever made it to Div 1.
Sadly we only ever saw one First Division game at the old place and I saw that too.......I'll leave that to someone else to tell you who it was against.
 
Duffens_Briefs said:
FA Cup All our Yesterdays' Anyone go to Leeds vs. Sunderland at BP...Might have been 4th round replay...Circa 1968
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It was 1967.
That cup game was the record crowd for TWS 58,000. The previous record for a game at Elland Road was 54,000 for Leeds RL v Hunslet. Not that Leeds is as big a rugby town as Hull of course.
I went to work in Leeds at end of 1967. Saw them play Man City in front of a crowd of 52,000. All I can say is I wouldn't have liked to have been in the 58,000 one.
A shame we have never had the amount of vociferous supporters both of them had in BP that night.
As an aside, Revie was that impressed with BP that he had the Gelderd End rebuilt based on the South Stand minus seats.(I wish Bunkers had been built that way). He also had the new pylons built the sane height as the BP ones.
 
Phil West-Upper. said:
I was there in my City scarf. Stood in Kempton with the Sunderland fans, Leeds had the South Stand. Over 40,000 there from memory and one of the best atmospheres I have ever witnessed at Boothferry Park. The game had everything, dodgy penalty, minor pitch invasion when the ref got hit over the head with a ruck sack, sendings off, bone crunching tackles etc, but the over riding memory for me was one of 'What if' ? I always thought City would be like that at BP if we ever made it to Div 1.
Sadly we only ever saw one First Division game at the old place and I saw that too.......I'll leave that to someone else to tell you who it was against.
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It was when Leeds had to play their first four home matches at neutral venues due to an Elland Road closure - think we got the Spurs/Leeds match? I went but have zero recollection of the game.
 
Phil West-Upper. said:
I was there in my City scarf. Stood in Kempton with the Sunderland fans, Leeds had the South Stand. Over 40,000 there from memory and one of the best atmospheres I have ever witnessed at Boothferry Park. The game had everything, dodgy penalty, minor pitch invasion when the ref got hit over the head with a ruck sack, sendings off, bone crunching tackles etc, but the over riding memory for me was one of 'What if' ? I always thought City would be like that at BP if we ever made it to Div 1.
Sadly we only ever saw one First Division game at the old place and I saw that too.......I'll leave that to someone else to tell you who it was against.
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A lot of us were temporary cockneys that night. Some Spurs fans in East Stand were surprised to see so many people cheering when their team came out.
 
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