Yes it was what it was back in the day but going to a game is much better without it. A lot of us talking about it now might sound like we are glorifying it but we are just reminiscing of a time long gone except for a few youngsters trying to resurrect it. There is however a sense of pride in not allowing others to take liberties with our fan base and if at home in our city. That's just how it was.
I started going in 1968 as a kid and there was violence back then. I have no idea when it started but I always remember it. It must have been the late seventies/ early eighties when so called firms started up with names and calling cards and the fashion trend came with it. Before that teenagers just wore the fashion of the day but old clobber was advised away as you were more likely to be in a punch up. I remember having a crombie and tonic trousers, though it was jeans for the game. Also monkey boots which were cheaper than Doc Martin's. I remember polishing mine for hours before a game, we used to buy them from Jack's in Moss Side although I lived in Wythenshawe.
The continent took a while to catch up, indeed for a long time it was called the English disease. Before that it was mainly fan's fighting the police as the poor locals had little chance against a huge England mob made up of experienced hard core hooligan firms, padded out with beer monsters too. As it died out in England and banning orders etcetera came to the fore it had picked up abroad. This was/is unfortunate for what are now mostly decent non violent England fans as they are still seen as a big scalp by the foreign firms when in reality they are far from what they were back then.
Lads who get involved now are silly as with all the surveillance around their chances of getting away with it are slim. The problem is young males are aggressive in all the animal kingdom so I guess a bit of violence where they meet in groups will always occur.
