It was alot easier IMO.I used to go to nearly every home game in the 70's,you just turned up and paid at the turnstyles,it was also a lot,cheaper in cost of living terms,and travelling was cheaper of course
"It was alot easier IMO.I used to go to nearly every home game in the 70's,you just turned up and paid at the turnstyles" And get there early to queue for the big games. And separate kids/adult queues too.
The game I would love to have witnessed is the WHL FA Cup tie against Sunderland. I have experienced a 50,000 crowd at WHL. But 75,000 must have been something else.
I saw him play, many times. He was a great player. His nickname was "The Ghost" as he always escaped whatever marking was placed on him, found space, and usually caused some damage to the opposition...
Yes, in the 60-61 season, as kids we used to be there at 12.00, when the turnstiles opened to make sure we got down the front. - couldn't see otherwise!..
"Yes, in the 60-61 season, as kids we used to be there at 12.00, when the turnstiles opened to make sure we got down the front. - couldn't see otherwise!" Similar in the 70s. We used to make the call on when to go depending on who the opponent was. I am trying to remember whether we got it wrong in 1978 for the Bolton home game (50,000 attendance) , and we saw the game from the front of the Paxton or saw not much at all stuck in the lowest East stand terrace.
they have some classic matches on YouTube [video=youtube_share;WdNf2dkVH5g]http://youtu.be/WdNf2dkVH5g[/video] [video=youtube_share;9Wf2-1hG1xw]http://youtu.be/9Wf2-1hG1xw[/video]
I was at the Everton match. Interesting that it was a 433 formation with only one winger. That was Bill Nicholson's main formation from the late sixties onwards.
....and they used to hand the kids down to the front over everyones head.Can't see that happening today. My first wage packet in 1956 was 3 pounds 10 shillings...and I had just turned 15. Wonder how much they pay 15 year olds today? You can understand how they got 60/70,000.fans in pre and postwar games.There was little tele,unless you had dollar lolly,which we didn't.So all the working man had was the pubs,the local football game and,maybe,the Working Mens Clubs of which I was a member for years.They have closed several in Tottenham since!!!!
I suspect some serious elf n safety liberties were taken back in the day. That you never had reams of serious crowd crushes then, probably speaks volumes about the manner and behaviour of British society in those times. Without knowing what/if ground changes happened at WHL (more seating etc) over that period, tis difficult to visualise how the 50,000 max of the WHL of my 70s youth could have fitted in another 10-20,000 in the same layout.
RDBD. You know they did have crowd problems during big games (and big games).Could have been dangerous but rarely was. You'd be standing watching then all of a sudden the crowd would surge forward as if to get a better view of the action. You would be drawn with them,but believe me,it was all part of the fun.Most would be laughing as we retreated back to our original spot. The Hillsboro incident was kind of the same,I suppose,but deadly,Such a shame!
You would never dare go for a pee during a game as you knew you would never get back to your original position. So, what most did, was to just have a wazz on the terraces, splashing the trousers of the guy in front !!!!!
Oh,and they used to have officials standing on the running track beckoning/guiding late comers to forward positions where there were "gaps".
"You know they did have crowd problems during big games (and big games)." I meant in terms of serious fatalities like Hillsborough. Crowds like that must have been murder when summer was just fading out / creeping in. Especially with clan Spurcat urinating on you.
