I've never been so scared at a football ground in my life as I was that day.
The curious thing is there was a real party atmosphere in the ground before the game started. It was a nice sunny day, the brass band was on the pitch, and the Stretford enders were twirling their scarves around above their heads, which was unusual at the time.
I don't remember much about the game until Law put the ball in the net, but when he did, all hell broke loose.
There were packs of marauding reds kicking the shit out of anyone they didn't like the look of, police horses were on the pitch trying to control things, Matt Busby was appealing for calm over the tannoy, and it just got worse after that.
I was standing in the corner where the away fans now sit, which was an old wooden stand in those days, and the men in front of me advised me to stand in the gulley between that corner and the main stand. They knew I was a City fan, but they said they would protect me. I was on my own and just 16 at the time.
I watched red after red getting their heads well and truly kicked in. I saw one guy get kicked and booted all the way down from the top of the stand to the bottom, all the while protesting he was a red, until he lay motionless at the bottom of the stand, and the pack that had assaulted him moved on to their next victim.
The fact they were wearing red and white scarves meant nothing to their assailants.
All the while this was going on around me, there was carnage on the pitch as well.
Happy back heel day?
Not if you were there, mate, and you know what the biggest pile of bullshit is?
That Denis Law relegated them.
United could have beaten us 10-0 that day, and they would still have gone down.
I have met many fans over the years who claim they were there, and I ask one simple question.
What did you do when City scored?
I have only met two people over the years I believe were there.
