City and West Ham fans

MCFC Wirral said:
Similar backgrounds. A very hardcore working class club and traditionally overshadowed by their neighbours. I’d love to see West Ham kick on but they’re abysmally run.
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There's a good few Mancs linked to their neighbourhoods by marriage and family too. On my street alone I know of three families within spitting distance with relatives/in-laws in East London/Essex - My Mrs grew up walking distance from Green Street/The Boleyn etc and her family are all still in the East End/Essex border although they are all Arsenal fans with one Spud. I always liked seeing the West Ham lot coming back in to Newham from Essex on the C2C when they were still at Upton Park, Pearly Queens and Kings and all. I think having the City on their doorstep the West Ham lot are quietly quite well off these days, but still cockney through and through. Sucked a lot of the life out of Newham when they moved to the London stadium. The pubs around there lived for matchdays.
 
garfresco said:
Slight issue with this, says West Ham were singing Blue Moon to us, but didn't we only start singing it about 89/90ish
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As I recall, the West Ham fans congregated in the penalty area directly in front of us, and (after a very short period of impending doom) they clapped us and we all joined in on the loudest "we only hate man united" you've ever heard.

That was the moment that we became 'one'.

The police and stewards literally stood aside, and the City/West Ham love-in began. We were trading chants, scarves, handshakes for some time after, and walked back to cars, tube station etc together.

It was a memorable event and almost made relegation seem a minor issue!
 
Jazzyblue said:
Sucked a lot of the life out of Newham when they moved to the London stadium. The pubs around there lived for matchdays.
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Tell me about it. I did a trek from The Boleyn to The Denmark to The Red Lion (formerly The Hammers) trying to find people I know but they’ve all gone food and craft beer to attract the new breed of resident. Down there was home for a decade.
 
Jazzyblue said:
There's a good few Mancs linked to their neighbourhoods by marriage and family too. On my street alone I know of three families within spitting distance with relatives/in-laws in East London/Essex - My Mrs grew up walking distance from Green Street/The Boleyn etc and her family are all still in the East End/Essex border although they are all Arsenal fans with one Spud. I always liked seeing the West Ham lot coming back in to Newham from Essex on the C2C when they were still at Upton Park, Pearly Queens and Kings and all. I think having the City on their doorstep the West Ham lot are quietly quite well off these days, but still cockney through and through. Sucked a lot of the life out of Newham when they moved to the London stadium. The pubs around there lived for matchdays.
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My Dad's cousin played for West Ham in the 50s ( Geoff Hallas) and his widow Irene and son Garry still live in Saddleworth so yes another family connection.
 
I got legged by a few hundred West Ham skinheads at Piccadilly Station in the late 70’s….. handy fuckers they were and scary as fuck
 
I recall a match at Maine Road towards the end of the 1969-70 season. City had won the away match 4-0 earlier in the season. City we’re having a great season and ended up winning the League Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup that season. But West Ham destroyed City 5-1 that day in a superb display of football.

We were later discussing the match in the City Social Club. A friend called Dave was explaining how much he had enjoyed the match. That was despite him being thrown out of the ground by the police for ‘disruptive behaviour’. In those days if you were ejected from the ground, you could pay another three shillings and sixpence at the turnstiles and get back in a few minutes later.
 
I've only been to watch City play at West Ham once. It would have been around 2015 at their new ground, and I remember there was a fence erected seperating us all the way from Stratford station to the stadium.

It seemed a bit odd and unnecessary, but it was there, and after the game which City won comfortably, I was walking back to Stratford station, and there was a point where the road or path we were walking on was the same height as the path on the other side of the fence, and it was obvious that it would be quicker to climb over the fence to get to the station rather than carry on being corralled as we were.

Anyway, there was a group of good, solid, Cor Blimy cockneys there helping us over and they couldn't have been friendlier. They were sound as a pound.
 
Back in the mid to late 70’s I was posted to Ilford territorial barracks to cover the Fireman’s Strike.
On our days off I used to drink in the local pubs. Met many a WHU fan and they showed an interest in City and I was complimentary about them and some the players that had served each club.
Whenever we got called out on a job the locals would bring us teas cakes, sandwiches and when they found out we were from the Navy - out came the rum. Good job we were not breathalzed on the way back!
 
jimharri said:
Long before 2012, wasn't it. Early 90s,when they got relegated at Maine Road (younger BMers, ask your dads), and they brought thousands down from the north east that day.


Or is my memory finally giving up the battle?
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94 ish? They brought 12000. They had loads in our end too, including one sat next to me. They did nothing but support their team and were amazing.
Liked them ever since
 
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