Hooliganism and Violence Maine Road 80's/early 90's

Never a fighter but sometimes there was no choice.

The buzz of getting in & out at aways was ace tho.

As for at MR, rags, Spurs,Chelsea & both dips sides always created a bit of liveliness.

Think my first experience was in the NS/Kippax corner where I'd stand with my dad. 10 deep of the NS side of Bro' and the same on the Kippax side of City, it was like a mini scene from the Russian forest fights.

Again although an away games the 2-2 at Oldham, 3-2 at Notts Co and loads of raggy games were exciting viewing.
 
I was young in the 90s so never encountered any violence. I saw somebody bottled at Copenhagen away.

On a side note at a Sunderland away game (think it was the one where Tevez missed a sitter) this ginger twat in his 40s pinned me against the wall. He incorrectly thought I was barging through the queue for the shitters on the concourse. I was only 20 at the time and remember being pretty ill. I Would love to see that same ginger twat again and see of he'd try the same now.
 
nickmcfc1 said:
What I remember is them getting into that little block between the North Stand and the Main Stand but there was hardly anyone in there. I remember seeing loads of City running across the top of the main stand I think where the press were to get at them but they'd backed off by then. Outside a huge amount were waiting but they must have been kept in cos they came out in drips and drabs probably shitting it. I put something about the Boro game before having been in the Kippax. They all got up in 2 and 3s with about 10 to go so it was well planned and came back in. I believe they ended up meeting their match
Click to expand...
Coventry tried it on in I think what was called outer block H right below police box. Came unstuck in the ground and out. Boro came in top of north stand in the corner next to main stand and again came unstuck. No doubt both at the time claimed victory.
 
Eds said:
Coventry tried it on in I think what was called outer block H right below police box. Came unstuck in the ground and out. Boro came in top of north stand in the corner next to main stand and again came unstuck. No doubt both at the time claimed victory.
Click to expand...
I seem to remember in the Coventry game they filled the North Stand on a bit of a day trip and we scored that late most had gone home in not that big a crowd anyway. I remember some coming out afterwards in a sort of act of surrender. Shithouses
 
I was at the England v Greece game at the wear house then went to the thirsty scholar after now that was an interesting afternoon .
 
paulchapo said:
Yes they didn't travel up north well. The Chelsea headhunters were the toughest London firm in my opinion in the late seventies/early eighties. They took it everywhere. They even turned up at Maine Road when their away fans had been banned. I remember hanging around near the ticket office wondering if they would show when in the distance you could hear this chant getting closer. " The Chelsea United will never be defeated." A couple of minutes later around the corner they came, marching in formation like an infantry unit, all dressed in reefer jackets, jeans and docs, about 50-80 of them. The police were as surprised as we were but soon hemmed them in.
Click to expand...
Remember a massive rumble with Chelsea outside the Brunswick near Piccadilly in 85, was very early in the season City had just come up from Div 2,they made the game an 11am KO on a Saturday morning,2 absolutely huge crews goin toe to toe after the game,how 2 such big crews bypassed the police was baffling looking back especially when the game was switched to such an early start to try & avoid this...
 
TheCentralScrutinizer said:
Remember a massive rumble with Chelsea outside the Brunswick near Piccadilly in 85, was very early in the season City had just come up from Div 2,they made the game an 11am KO on a Saturday morning,2 absolutely huge crews goin toe to toe after the game,how 2 such big crews bypassed the police was baffling looking back especially when the game was switched to such an early start to try & avoid this...
Click to expand...

I remember a rag telling me one night game at OT they took pure liberties, walking around the ground like they owned it, even the Stretford end.

The cup winners cup game at our place in 1971 was quite a night too, scrapping all over the ground, loads at the top of the kippax.
 
nickmcfc1 said:
I seem to remember in the Coventry game they filled the North Stand on a bit of a day trip and we scored that late most had gone home in not that big a crowd anyway. I remember some coming out afterwards in a sort of act of surrender. Shithouses
Click to expand...
They brought 4k, so about 2/3 of the North Stand, which is about 3,800 more than they would normally bring. As you say, bit of a day out for them.
 
AJ71 said:
They brought 4k, so about 2/3 of the North Stand, which is about 3,800 more than they would normally bring. As you say, bit of a day out for them.
Click to expand...
Remember playing them in a cup replay at Maine rd about 96 when some genius thought it would be a good idea to allocate 400 travelling fans the whole North stand,who made them decisions back then ffs?
 
TheCentralScrutinizer said:
Remember a massive rumble with Chelsea outside the Brunswick near Piccadilly in 85, was very early in the season City had just come up from Div 2,they made the game an 11am KO on a Saturday morning,2 absolutely huge crews goin toe to toe after the game,how 2 such big crews bypassed the police was baffling looking back especially when the game was switched to such an early start to try & avoid this...
Click to expand...
Loved drinking outside The Brunswick.....oh look .....it's the Utd special.....from that London.


Miss the 70's
 
manclad said:
My feelings exactly Purplenose. I am 64 now,so would have no chance in a scrap with a younger guy and I cant run very fast either.
But the match day experience is garbage now,compared to the 70s and 80s. Too many happy clappers and tourists for my liking.
Click to expand...
Very true.

I’d love to have the same numbers of lads (and I don’t mean these throwbacks wearing Fila and posturing, just the lads there for the craic and the game) going to the match en mass these days, without the violence but just for the edge and atmosphere.

There’s a massive lack of big groups of 20-40 year olds at City compared to other clubs. I always look at the Everton and United away ends (moreso than other clubs) and always notice how their main element is groups of 20-40 year old lads. At City, our demographic is very different. I remember the last time I went to Newcastle (two years ago I think, might be three, recent years before the pandemic seem all muddled to me at the moment) and I was with two other lads my age, late 30s, and we all commented on how old everyone around us was (and we’re not even young!).

I started going as a young kid in 1989 so missed the worst years but I always remember still feeling the edginess to a match day that I enjoyed even as a kid. The thought of a match day experience with Moonbeam firing t-shirts into the crowd or getting on stage with Pike and Fanzone would have seemed like a fucking joke to me back then even as an 8 year old.
 
Not really old enough to remember much of the eighties. The first bit of serious trouble I saw at Maine Road was after the Liverpool relegation match in '96 - quite a few Scousers' cars getting smashed up with the occupants still inside along Claremont Road towards The Sherwood

The Leeds FA cup game in 2000 was lively, I think they had the full North Stand that day. Most vans/minibuses with a Leeds phone number on it was overturned, running battles seemed to go on for ages...

The most amusing one I saw was when a group of Chesterfield fans came walking past The Sherwood giving it the big un' after the game, they must of lasted no more than a few minutes at best!
 
Millwallawayveteran1988 said:
One if the worst outbreaks of trouble at MR was when Warrington played Wigan in the Challenge Cup SF. That was a day and a half that one.
Click to expand...
I remember it well, they were going at it on Princess Road and in the Platt Lane.
I saw one of the mobs and it looked like 200 Rugby players ffs!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top