And about the only one off the coach to make it down to Brighton while the rest of us where sat in cells.
Here's what you missed. A dodgy 1-0 defeat in the snow at the Goldstone ground. I was on National that day. Bus took a direct hit on the big side window in the dark outside the ground and it was a draughty trip back to Hull. Nowadays it would be counselling and Neil Hudgell, back then it was 'Pedal to the metal driver and don't spare the horses'
And, to make it even more galling for the club who hoped to diminish the event of Dave’s, the event at the Chalk Lane Club charged an entrance fee whilst the club one was free. I am sure I am not alone in enjoying in some ways those times when we were crap but the few fans going were ones who really cared about the club and felt more affected by its ups and downs than they do in more recent, successful times.
Away days were much more fun in those days. Though the newer breed of fan more concerned about someone standing up and spoiling their view as they have paid for a seat than anything else might disagree. The spontaneity of someone saying they had booked a coach and rounding up people, often on a Friday night after the pubs closed, something Brains did regularly going back to the early 70s has gone as well in the organised, police approved travel arrangements in place nowadays.
As we made our way back from that south coast with a big side window out and the temp well below zero, the driver took us to Redhill where there was a National depot. GTF was the response from them so on we went, next stop Luton another National depot. Same again, GTF. Driver at this point had developed a jaundiced view of his employers and in an early example of Stockholm syndrome, he joined us for a drink in some Luton boozer before setting off again in the tundra to HU. Promoyion clinched a few months later at Fellows Park.
Coming back from Cardiff at the end of October after a 5-1 mullering with all the windows down one side missing wasn’t a bundle of fun. The worst thing was our coach always stopped until midnight for a night out, either where we had played or the nearest city if the police escorted you out, and on this occasion by the time we rendezvoused with the replacement coach they has sent we were near Doncaster and the pubs had shut. You had to credit Bluebird coaches as despite a number of such incidents they never refused to hire a coach.
The article clearly explains how you can buy your own seat, as a membership holder. It’s a bit less clear about where seat assigned to your second ticket is located though!
Don’t know them. When I first met up with a bunch of City lads at Sheffield Utd in 1969 I was living in Leeds. They used Dalby’s , who weren’t much cop. I used to come over on a Friday night, we would set off for longer trips when the pubs shut, and then hitch hike back to Leeds Sunday morning. When they got a bit iffy about hiring coaches for some games one of the lads got in touch with Bluebird. By 1976 I had a car and we either went in cars or by minibuses as it was getting harder to get coach firms to stop out because of drivers hours.
I went to that game in car. Broke down on the way in thick snow. Eventually got there just after half time. Still had to pay to get in. Think we was already 1-0 down. Within an hour we was back in the car for a 7 hour journey home.
I went on Simon Gray's bus and got there in good time for the kick off, proof of the law of averages! The views expressed in my posts are not necessarily mine.
The last time we got knocked out by a non London club was 2013 Arsenal Arsenal Arsenal Chelsea Fulham Millwall in that order
