Exactly as SirKeefy states there never used to be any segregation unless separated by a line of police. Such occasions occurred during Millwall games as just one example, where they would turn up early, invade the pitch and occupy the Rainham End...(not condoning violence, just stating how it was). Particular memories for me would be Palace, Brighton, Wall, Pompey...where you used to be allowed to mix in the Town End, it was a volatile environment but an exciting one for young men to wind up the opposition if not always a safe one. In my early days I used to be able to walk from the Town End to the Rainham End via the back of the Gordon Road Stand for each half. Even managing free tickets in the old main stand from friends back in them days. My favourite times were in the Town End...nothing like scoring in front of a 5,000 following and seeing it wind them up face to face...lol...good job I was a young kid otherwise doubt I would have lived to tell the tale. 5,000 in the BMS imagine the uproar if that happened today. However, I remember one occasion with a Southampton coach parked outside Priestfield overlooked by Gills fans in the away end of the Town End during a so called friendly...was not nice and made me realise there needed to be change. The violence that sadly SirKeefy refers too. As he states...different era.
