Always used to take large amounts of people wanting to see a one off against top flight opposition, Thrilla At The Villa, Tigers on Tyneside, Liverpool in League Cup. How tines change. When in the top flight we took 1,000 to Old Trafford for a semi final of League Cup. Bristol City took 8,000 a greater distance for their League Cup semi final in Manchester. As big an indictment off what the Allams have done to this club as there could be.
Villa, Newcastle and Liverpool away all saw massive away followings at the time because we hadn't any 'big time' games for over 20 years. We were like a non league club who usually get a couple of thousand for a run of the mill home game then suddenly 'taking' 5,000 away to a decent league club in the FA Cup 3 rd round. Then next home game there's the usual hardcore 2.000 there.
Our crowd at the 'Thriller at the Villa' were embarrassing, pumped up by the HDM as a 'one off occasion' we attracted the one game a season face painters complete with jester hats and tiger outfits.
Like the Liverpool FA Cup game in the mid 80's. We played Shrewsbury at home in the game before and vouchers were been given out for the Liverpool game. We had queues right down North Road to collect the vouchers, but only 5,000 actually bothered going into the ground for the game . Then Don Robinson said he could have sold the Liverpool game out 'four times over'. Remember reading that tickets were either £50 or £500 each off the touts.
The Doncaster League Cup in 75. It was our first sniff of a cup run since Terry Neills days and the one game a season mob turned out again, it's been claimed that we had 6,000 away fans there, when our away following at that time numbered about 100, from memory I'd say we had a lot more then 6,000 there. Perhaps one of best away followings who were actual City fans was at the Battle of Bramall Lane in 71, three days after we'd been knocked out of the FA Cup by Stoke at home.
Our following at the League Cup semi final at OT was embarrassing. We took over 4,000 there for an early round in the 80's when we were ****e, again that was down to being starved of any success at all.
Point being ? We probably haven't got as many 'hardcore, through thick and thin' supporters as we think we have. Could also be a case of, been there done that, as was our last appearance at Wembley.
