Slightly off topic but will never forget a trip to Tranmere with Sheels. Newcastle were also away at Grimsby and it transpired there were 4 coaches of them at the next services, and no police Flanny was very excited and loved engaging with the Mags, but was thoughtful enough to walk along our coach, single coach btw, and explain that he understood there were younguns on the coach and also some who did not like to fight, so just relax and stay on the coach. I was happily smoking Moroccan cigarettes, in anticipation of a relaxed trip to Tranmere, so sat back happily at this get out. Flanny then turned to me and said - this is going to be great isn't it - and he clearly had expectations about my involvement in the ensuing mêlée. Anyway,bas we turned into the car park, me gulping and Flanny ecstatic, the police came haring up and spoilt (?) the occasion. Another good story at Tranmere for another day but Frankie got cracked ribs.
Likes: Plymouth - went for a game down there with the Southern England supporters' branch and ended up in a pub with a wedding reception in the upstairs room. One of the guests came down and started talking about his army mate from Sunderland and it turned out his mate was one of our lad's dad. The Plymouth fellah immediately invited us all upstairs straight away for some beer and free grub. Lovely. Southampton - been down to the old ground a few times and the pubs in the town are full of their fans, who have always been great with no hint of trouble. Didn't hurt that we always lost, I suppose. One game Tommy Hauser scored the first goal and I thought we HAD to win after that, but promptly conceded three. Norwich - Friendly Final, end of. Dislikes: Newcastle - obviously. Many leery derbies over the years, although I have to say it's got worse in my lifetime. When I was a little kid my dad thought nothing of going to St James's Park when Sunderland were away and he'd root for the mags. When I started going to games with my mates in the 70s and 80s I didn't expect what started coming my way from the dark side, although the two clubs seemed to avoid each other for years. Got particularly nasty after a 1-0 defeat at Roker when they were playing in yellow and green stripes, although I can't remember the year. Liverpool - ran into a bunch of them in St Albans after the '92 Cup Final. Their coaches were stopping there en route home. Arrogant, unpleasant, ****ers who were unfazed by their win as "they were used to it". I still haven't forgiven Klopp, although I like him, personally. Bristol Rovers - went looking for any of our lads they could find following a game in Bath, after they'd left Twerton Park. Ran into some when I was with the wife and kept me gob firmly shut. They looked pretty handy, to be fair, but it was like being threatened by Worzel Gummidge with that accent. Twats.
I can agree with almost all of that mate. The only weird thing is that 5 of us drove down to Bath for the Bristol Rovers game. (The following details may be blurred through time and the amount of alcohol we consumed. I seem to recall waking up in a rowing boat in Weston-super-Mare covered in chips, Hawaiian garlands and mud.) We'd had serious trouble with their lads at Twerton Park and fancied a rematch. We drank in the bar of Bath rugby club, courtesy of an ex-Uni mate of Steve Nattrass ex-Boldon Colliery, and watched a reserve rugby match. I seem to remember Pete Crosby beating me at squash in their gym but that could've been a dream. We made it obvious we were Sunderland, on the way to the ground, and hung around outside until 10 minutes before kick off. When we needed to get inside we just told the stewards, on the big exit gate, to f**k off and let us in which they did. After the game, which was fractious and included a broken leg, we came out looking for a fight ... ... despite loads of singing, shouting and screaming we couldn't get anyone to take us on. Which all proves that people can have entirely different views on the same match
Indeed. I didn't even get in! I took the wife down and it was sold out, so we watched from a hill at one corner of the ground with a mix of SAFC and BRFC fans. It was quite jolly there and you could see most of the pitch, but it was after the game when we were in Bath that we came across the eejits.
That's about right, when we arrived we were told it was full so I just opened the big gate and held it open for all the lads locked out while the stewards went running for the polis, shame you weren't there. Just goes to show, we've all 'met each other' even if we don't realise.
Funny old world, like that. Think of all the games we've been to over the years and there'll be a big overlap. I remember you talking about fisticuffs in the car park at Molineux after a 1-0 win I was at. It was before the ground was rebuilt and we were on the big terrace, amazed at what a dump it had become. I narrowly avoided the punch-up on the way out, which was good as we were gagging for a pint and wanted to find a boozer away from the centre of town.
Paul Hardyman goal I think ... ... a Shotton minibus took on 100 of their lads. We were sshiiting it tbh. ...
Two women are new arrivals at the pearly gates and are comparing stories on how they died. Woman #1: I froze to death. Woman #2: How horrible! Woman #1: It wasn't so bad. After I quit shaking from the cold, I began to get warm and sleepy, and finally died a peaceful death. What about you? Woman #2: I died of a massive heart attack. I suspected that my husband was cheating, so I came home early to catch him in the act. But instead, I found him all by himself in the den watching TV. Woman #1: So what happened? Woman #2: I was so sure there was another woman there somewhere that I started running all over the house looking. I ran up into the attic and searched, and down into the basement. Then I went through every closet and checked under all the beds. I kept this up until I had looked everywhere, and finally I became so exhausted that I just keeled over with a heart attack and died! Woman #1: Too bad you didn't look in the freezer. We'd both still be alive.
