Just wanted to know if any other saints fans have ever been in a situation where you thought something was seriously going to erupt into fisty cups. I have travelled down from Reading as that's where I live countless times and had to travel back with away fans but thus far apart from a few times of being sworn at and threatened nothing has ever happened even at away games. Be interested to hear from older people who went to the games during the 70's and 80's when this was a much more common thing involved with the game. Just a bit of conversation to pass the time so who's been involved in a crap your pants scenario? Or are we just southern softies! This is in no way to promote this attitude or culture in football its just a chit chat for a laugh about times you have thought about doing a runner or something! I thank you!
Happened nearly every single game in the late 70's to mid 80's. Chelsea caused mayhem at the Dell in those days, the pitched battle in Hill Lane after one game was unreal. Going to away games, you really had to be careful what pub you went in and the further north you went, the more some would have a go at you just for the accent. Liverpool & Everton was often a bit nasty, especially walking through Stanley Park, with scallies acting all friendly one minute then jumping you the next. However, having said all that, you soon got street smarts to know where to avoid and what Saints fans or other fans were looking for trouble and to then avoid them.
i'm a bit too young to remember the issues mentioned above but they made several movies on footy violence to get me up to speed. Plus i was in Pompey when they beat us a few years back and still smashed their own city up!! Priceless
Thanks CBK having gone to lots of games during that era I bet you saw a lot! Graham I am quite like you and this was before my time, However I did get taken to a home game against Cardiff once and as we were walking back I saw the Cardiff fans spitting on peoples backs this was with my friend and his dad at a Norwich match and just clearly remember thinking what the hell!
Saints fans aren't angels i know but footy thugs tend to fall in to groups the way i see it. 1. Thugs from 70s/80s who don't like getting old 2. Young lads pretending they are in "football Factory" or similar, inspired by listening to the older tw@ts in pubs. Either way a football thug never stands alone no matter what team they are from they are always beered up and in big groups.
League cup tie v Man City around 79 when violence was probably at its peak about twenty yards from away support with just a high fence between us the atmosphere was most menacing no fisticuffs inside the ground but thspittle exchanged between both sets of fans was of moumental proportion. it was one of the few times i have left a game early to get to the car and awayas there was areal sense of trouble to follow. The game ended in a win for us and if my memory is correct Mick Channon was in the City line up that night.In all honesty most games you attended around that time could potentially be quite dangerous and you quickly developed good sense of survival
Do you think by the number of films brought out about football violence it has made a come back of wannabe young lads out to just get drunk and cause problems? I know were now getting off topic but I do agree with what you said in the second part since these films were made. Still like to hear about encounters from the older fans and others if they have had problems..... I remember just before 606 got closed down reading about the disgraceful going on's at wembley in the play off final between Peterboro and Huddersfield cause by the Hudders fans apparently.
See your new thanks for your post! Yeah it sounds very scary to be honest, I don't know if I would fancy being in any situation like that. Were you young at the time or with maybe a child of your own? I have heard some disgraceful things from other people regarding taking their children to games. I will admit I do have a fair few drinks before games with my friends and I do swear and forget who is around me sometimes however once I do notice I tone it straight down and apologise however this is before going into the stadium as most people I see in Northam and Kingsland North even with kids are swearing their heads off!
I was about 20 but none the less intimidated the interaction between fans these days is often sarcastic and some of the chants and songs are very funny but trust me back then there was more of a sense of hatred between rival fans. Once went to an old fourth division game Aldershot v Reading mid seventies and some of the fighting in the high street though small scale was pretty spiteful sadly it became common and part of the game in that era.Now ido have sons and we go to st marys without such worry good job to.
got nutted at sms against cardiff couple of years ago - was walking to the car park to make sure my grandad was alright (cant walk far) and skinhead just went for me - was small so had to literally jump! funny thing was i thought my natural reaction would be to jerk back but i just took it and it didnt hurt!! then i started just laughing - then realised i should move quick as the next one MIGHT hurt. then a copper saw it and asked me to point him out - i pointed to a sea of cardiff shirts with skinheads and said 'not a ****in clue!' still to this day cant believe it didnt hurt and honest to god i get more pain from the thought of doing the dishes! lucky bugger i guess
In those days if you were looking for trouble you usually could find it. It didn't take too much effort. I seem to remember in London one Saturday our game was called off last minute. About 6/7 of us decided to go to another game, as we got off the train (Can't remember which station or what game) as we went into the street. We came across about twenty Pompey fans doing much the same as us. Unfortunately they were surrounded by about 30/40 opposing fans (Either QPR or Crystal Palace I think) We had little choice it seemed to kick off just as we arrived. It didn't matter what colour our scarfs were we were just set about by the London boys. So we ended up scrapping on the side of our near neighbors, not because we wanted to, as we had no choice. The police eventually turned up on horses. No body was arrested as it was pretty much over by the time they arrived. We all did pretty well considering. Most of both sets of fans ended up in some pub (Pompey and Saints) cleaned ourselves up and had a few beers. Never saw a match came home with a scratch down the side of me mush given to me either by a horse or it's rider. We didn't have time to be scarred or run, it kicked off so quick.
This documentary on the police response to the 2010 FA Cup match at home to Pompey is well worth a watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKU5JeQTWg4
oh wait we also walked the wrong way after the plymouth away game this year when we went up/they went down. police were escorting about 200 angry fans and they just stopped and looked at about 8 of us. the police managed to walk them on and in short sharp words told us to go the other way. for a moment though it was a crap your pants moment.....not to glamourise it - but it was like footie factory. THAT could have ended badly! id be friggin useless in a fight!
Thanks for the input guys good reading and very informative I would check the you tube video also tomorrow! Work calls so as young as I am I have to grab some Zzzz's lol
Had a few close shaves. As CBK says, Chelsea in the early to mid 80's was scary. I was a nipper then in the family centre and remember looking down into the Milton rd end when at half time about 50 Chelsea fans jumped over thd barrier and turned to the saints fans giving it the big "come on then". Also remember a bank holiday august game home to qpr approx 1982; we used to park up past king Edward school (I think) near the away Coaches as that's where most coppers were. Well we turned the corner of Milton rd heading up to the traffic lights at archers road and looked up to see lines and lines of qpr fans. We looked round and realised that there were rows of saints fans behind us. There were just 2 coppers with dogs in the middle when a dog howled and that set both fans charging at each other. By this point, my mate and I were nearly at the corner of archers rd where there was a hotel (I think) on the corner and as the charts of fans starts MD and my mate dived into the drive only to see a hord of rangers fans coming in from the other entrance. I shat myself and jumped through thd hedge and sprinted up the road (hill road maybe). Still don't know how we didn't get done in. I was about 12. The scariest day for me was the FA cup semi at highbury against everton; fans climbing down from stands behind us trying to scrap and get on the pitch for a scrap. We couldnt get out the tiny exits as the police were trying to push passed us to get in. Again I was very scared but managed to get out alive. That all makes me fully aware of potential hassle now when I take my 10 year old son.
Back in the "good old days" of the late seventies it used to kick off most games down the Archers.Saints fans one side,away fans the other side,and a line of coppers seperating them. Every time someone scored there would be a scrap,with coppers helmets go flying when it all went off. Home to Chelsea was always hairy and Man U at home in the cup in 77 was pretty scary as there were thousands of them lingering outside the dell without tickets just waiting to mug any Saints fans for there tickets. Plus loads of them charged the gates and got in without tickets, and they were all over the ground. I reckon there must have been 35000 in the Dell for that game. Away to Pompey in 1984 in the cup was "fun" too. Got the train down and thought it was going straight down to Pompey. It stopped at every station on the way,Porchester,Cosham and others,where Pompey fans got on,and a fight followed every stop on the train. Then had to make our way to the ground from the station, where the inevitable scraps started.
I have to with the rest of the old brigade here..where do i start! Man City away where we won and Leeds away (another win) were pretty hairy. Wolves away, Derby away and Liverpool (running across Stanly park) worth it and god bless Steve Moran. I remember Highbury and a few "friendlies" at the Skates. Birmingham at home last game of the season was fun......
Yep, remember that Birmingham game. Countless pitch invasions and recall them climbing over the fence into the lower east before being pushed back. Was always bad under the West stand benches most games because they gave the away fans the end block of benches next to the cage, with little or no segregation. Pompey in 84 and the Everton semi final were mad. I remember we played Everton the following midweek and despite them only bringing about 100 fans down to the Dell, one of theirs lobbed a tear gas device into the Archers. I think the score was settled up at Goodison a couple of years later when we had a pretty big mob for Saints up there for a cup game. Aston Villa away around the same time was a bit lively. Used to be things that look really daft now used to go on all the time. Everytime I went to Old Trafford, used to be the same fat Man Utd fan who would be in our end, quickly kick off with Saints fans, be hauled out by the old bill and just marched round the touchline to applause from his mates and put back in the home end. Swear I saw him do that about 3 seasons in a row. One of the most mental days following Saints away was a pre-season game at Weymouth. Was carnage, everytime we scored, everyone ran on the pitch. Fighting with the police on the seafront afterwards. Barely got a mention in the papers or anything. These days, would be headlines with mass outrage, banning orders etc etc. Generally, in those times, a fight would break out at any point inside the ground and nearly every single match. It was the done thing for away fans to get in the home end and try to "take it". But because it happened all the time, it wasn't shocking, you'd be watching a game, a fight would break out, you'd turn your head to watch it for a minute, it would soon be over and then casually back to watching the game again. Yes it is better now without all that hassle, although in some ways that element of danger added to the fun of going to games.
