I see that there was dangerous overcrowding reported in the Leppings Road end of Hillsbrough at the cup game with Newcastle. Anyone who was at that famous night game back in 2004 will remember the chaos of 8k City fans being funnelled into two turnstiles and the crush that ensued, meaning thousands of us missed the first 15 minutes of the game. Given the fallout from the Hillsbrough disaster in 1989 how does that club continue to get away this this bollocks?
To be fair, 8,000 City fans is miniscule when you take into account the 287,363,674,746,653 in the home end
If you look at the photos of the game there were empty seats at both ends of the lower tier and at one side of the upper. As the game was all ticket for away fans it suggests some fans decided they were going to stand where they wanted and not where there ticket was for. Our game back then was not all ticket and no doubt they were surprised at how many arrived. Humberside Police probably told them not too many would be going as it is a rugby city. Having said that I would tear Hillsborough down and, as Romans did in Carthage, plough salt in so nothing grows again. I would do the same to Elland Road and Bramall Lane as well.
I nearly got arrested that night at Hillsborough. It was obvious when I got to the turnstiles that there was a problem. Only two were open for a start and the queue was already stretching back onto the adjoining street, some four and more deep with people joining from all directions. The police were stood by watching looking totally bored, so I went up to them and told them in no uncertain terms to do something about it. I was threatened with arrest. They said 'Hull aren't bringing many' I told them thousands were coming and the roads from Sheffield Parkway to the ground were totally gridlocked. Eventually a couple more turnstiles were opened but they had no change and didn't know what to charge admission. So they took anything in payment, it was 'another Hillsborough' waiting to happen. Remember one of the Goole lads getting his skull smashed in by the police with truncheons on the concourse at half time. Another time, same Leppings Lane end, 1980? League Cup at the start of the season. I was there with a mate and it was the days you still wore colours. It was getting near kick off and we asked the police were the away fans were, he pointed to the turnstiles behind him, and we went in, through the tunnel under the seats and down to the terracing behind the goal, and it was full of Wednesday boot boys. The few City fans where at the opposite end high up on a corner of the terracing. It was mayhem before we finally got out of the stand. Another time after the game sat on a name's independently organised 54 seater outside the ground a couple of motorbike coppers drive up, storm onto the bus and drag a fella off very aggressively. They had him up against a wall and were trying to handcuff him. We could all see this didn't look right so some of us got off the bus and asked what was occurring. They said they had him on CCTV causing trouble inside the ground. The bloke hadn't even been to the game! He'd just come along with a mate for the jolly and spent the afternoon in the pub. We got him off and he honestly hadn't done anything. ****hole of a ground and a load of aggressive ****s in uniform patrolling it.
Made the mistake of going on their Kop End in 1971 when pissed up. Frank Cuffe kicked off with a Wednesday fan going through the turnstiles and it was a somewhat fraught afternoon to say the least.
“Hull aren’t bringing many…” Sounds like when we had the Cup replay against Blyth Spartans at Elland Road. Came out of the pub opposite the ground after police came in and ordered us out. A Superintendent was strutting about shouting at everybody, He said that you have come for a football match not to be drinking and get to the ground. Laughable as you can’t get near that pub when TWS are playing. He then announced anyone singing would be arrested. It was Christmas week and there was a group of people playing carols and collecting for charity. Everyone just stopped and burst into “The first Noel…” Someone said loudly “ that will look good in court, he was singing carols in an aggressive manner your honour… “. A young copper walking alongside us laughed and said the Superintendent was in a strop because they were having trouble as they had been told by Humberside Police that City’s support was poor and it was near Xmas so not many would be coming. They had therefore put a low police presence on duty and he was miffed this meant they were struggling policing a game between a 4th division side and a non league one. Humberside Police as on the ball as usual. The bastards wouldn’t let the coaches off the coach park until every coach was ready to depart.
If that’s the Pearson onion match , it was a bit rowdy on the open end , we’d got off the train special at Wadsley Bridge walked down and the first time I’d seen skinheads, working boots , donkey or reefer? jackets , checked shirts and short hair and sideburns, they were City fans . Lost 1-0 it was a crap day
You had to be brave, or daft, to go to Hillsborough in those days. They brought thousands to Hull. It wouldn't have been donkey jackets, that was later, maybe Harrington jackets, black with tartan or red lining?
I remember a home match against t'owls in the seventies. Their contingent had the whole of the east terraces and I was on Bunker's, me and the lads legged it at full time as the Wednesday hoard swarmed towards Bunker's!
It was 1-1. And there weren’t that many from City there. They had brought over 3,000 to City and were only one of 3 who took over Bunkers, being all the way across behind the goal,them, Leicester and Man City in the Cup a couple of years earlier.Even Stoke, who brought 12,000 in the Cup that year didn’t manage that. Then all that stopped when the following season they built the fence between Kempton and Bunkers. Though some of our more delicate supporters thought it was still some sort of dangerous place after the fence was built and started going in the seats.
I was on Bunkers v Leicester 70/71, they brought an impressive mob of skinheads with them. Worst trouble at home I've been involved in was v Chelsea one night game when their fans were banned from travelling. Could have been a cup replay and it wasn't the league game when we beat them 3-0. Don't recall many in the ground but outside down North Road there was a mob of about 60 Chelsea walking down from Boothferry Road end, down towards the fans leaving the South Stand and spread across the road with the front runners holding bottles, and hurling them, I saw at least one blade, others saw more. It seemed pitch black too and took everyone by surprise because no-one knew they were outside and people leaving the game were just walking straight into them and getting pelted with bottles. The police obviously didn't know they were there either. You had to have your wits about you that night because this lot were vicious. A few City fans had sore heads the following morning.
Haha, that was the first, & only, game I was ejected from. Frogmarched down the cinder track by a burley WPC. It went off in Bunkers after Clive Walker scored a 2nd. Think they jumped over from Bunker’s seats.
Correct. They did. Remember that one but cannot say for sure it was the same game as the ambush outside. I was in the South Stand for the game you remember when half a dozen or of them suddenly appeared from the seats behind us and jumped into the crowd. Bit of a kerfuffle before they were removed. One of them with a metal star hanging around his neck came unstuck before kick off, he wasn't in the seats but on the terracing, I suppose trying to find his mates. He finished up begging the police to remove him and he was escorted out around the cinder track. Wasn't you was it Ben? Fair hair, cockney accent, missing a few front teeth ?
Haha nah I was 100% ginner & even now, remarkably, still have all my own teeth.. That game was ‘82. I’d have been 15.
Hi UP ,think I was daft !! it hadn’t evolved to those clothes at that point they were very much in ‘working’ gear , that did the trick , it didn’t take long tho for that polished version to appear . Never did the shaved head bit tho , too extreme for me LOL You were right , docs, Harrington s, Brutus shirts , Wide legged Levi’s , Wranglers , or if a suede head , Staypress trousers , fluorescent socks, loafers or brogues , Crombie coats , hankie in the top pocket . And braces if you wanted them . If you couldn’t afford Ben Sherman or Brutus check shirts make do with Trutex!! History of the 70’s footie fan and some real bad fashion - but of it’s time . When Wednesday came here in those days they had a good number of big fat fellas who took some dislodging from memory - not by me LOL
I remember tha Leicester one lots of coin throwing them pennies were big unless I’ve got my decimalisation date wrong ( havent checked ) As for the Chelsea one I missed the trouble by accident I think but I recall Spurs coming one night in the 80’s/ 90’s and a small mob came up the exit back of west stand as we left , that was a lively encounter they had some very big black lads , City were really struggling then so not much to oppose them.
Your memory is spot on, was definitely Leicester chucking sharpened pennies, first time I'd seen that at BP - the St Johns mob under the sth stand were doing a roaring trade sticking butterfly stiches on, I still have a scar under my right eyebrow from that game, another first was they brought a gang of skinhead girls!
Some good fashion memories there ST.. The wide jeans were called skinners, 12'' bottoms. I was 18 in 1970 so well into all that stuff with the Monte Carlo and Albermarle lads. The fashion shop was Arthur Masons on Carr Lane. Do you remember Arthur Black shirts? Very cutting edge, only available from a shop in Glasgow and a men's outfitters down Huntriss Row in Scarboro who eventually got a batch in. You were the bees knees if you had one of them (I did).
