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

[Ohrodneyrodney]

You’re entitled to your own view of course, but I went home and away in the 70’s with my dad and to a fair few aways in the 80’s with my mates and never, not once, not ever, felt frightened, surrounded, or in need of a punch up. Not once.

I simply can’t believe this unless your mates were like 200 SAS guys.

 

[xgorton]

I went to Leicester away in 1976. On my tod as I was living darn south. I turned away from the ticket office (newly acquired ticket in hand) to find myself in no man's land between two groups (City and Leicester) who were chucking house bricks at one another.

I was lucky to slide away unseen, but this is an example of how easy it was to find trouble without looking for it. I could easily have found myself heading a brick.

I remember 76 away at Leicester first game of season 2-2 red hot day,on the piss after the game left it late and could only get a train as far to Sheffield but a nice young lady put me up for the night in Sheffield and I carried my journey on to Manchester on the Sunday,happy days.

 

[BringBackSwales]

Swearing on both posts to people who havn't said anything antagonistic to you. Hope no women and children are reading.

Has some **** been swearing in this forum? Fucking disgusting that. In a thread about hooliganism as well!

 

[BlueMoonRisin’]

Born 1968 started going in the mid 70's and still going to this Day, fuckin does my head in all this shite about 'tough men' the sooner they rid this from football the better.

Most so called 'tough men' involved in hooliganism are fuck all without back up from their hooli mates. I remember one guy in my town who led a gang of reds. He was regarded as the hardest guy in town and nobody messed with him. I was drinking in a pub when he and his mates came in. They picked on a blue aged about 18 and took his City shirt off and burned it with a cigarette lighter. I couldn't do anything as I was about 20 and on my own and they were in their mid 20s and about a dozen strong, this was about '84. They thought it highly amusing burning that poor lads shirt and watching him leave the pub bare chested, bullying cunts.

20 years later I walked into a pub and saw the town bully sat on a stool at the bar. I was going through a bad divorce and in a bad mood and thought I'd ask him if he was still a bully. "I've never been a bully" he replied. I reminded him of that shirt burning incident but he said he didn't remember. I then told him to bully me (half thinking I could get beat up) and he said - "look mate I don't want any trouble". He never ever looked at me as he just stared at his pint, a pale shadow of his former self when with his mates to back him up. I'm not a violent guy but I wanted to beat the shit out of him because I hate bullies, especially rag football bullies.

 

[A57 the snake]

It’s not for everyone this thread I get it ,
It’s different now but back in the day we had challenges, on and off the field .
As a 16 year old in the early eighties I wouldn’t want to miss a match and barely did from Middlesbrough to Millwall I had to be there . Knowing we had lads who’d back us all the way made it easier, probably wouldn’t have done as many games without knowing we’d have a turn out .To this day I’m still in-touch with many of them friendships grown from forty odd years ago.
I was never in the front of it but I’m not ashamed to know of those who helped many of us out back in the day.

 

[Koniec]

I simply can’t believe this unless your mates were like 200 SAS guys.

He’s not a Dippers fan.

 

[johnnytapia]

Yep! View attachment 123518

Nice pic. Wrong game. That looks circa ‘74. Franny, the socks etc.

 

[BringBackSwales]

Born 1968 started going in the mid 70's and still going to this Day, fuckin does my head in all this shite about 'tough men' the sooner they rid this from football the better.

Tbf it largely has, that’s why the thread is about the 80s and 90s. Football is incredibly safe these days in comparison

 

[BlueRockape]

God knows how it all started.
But for me early 70s to 80s it was more about not going to look for it but it was coming your way like it or not and protecting yourself and others as a group.
You got a kicking or thump at say Leeds and you waited for the return fixture at home for revenge and so it went on.
Stupid really but hay ho that was Saturday.

Edit
Not every Saturday :)

 

[BTH]

Nice pic. Wrong game. That looks circa ‘74. Franny, the socks etc.

It was the point about Droy in short sleeves.

 

[SWPISHOME]

It's funny the thing I always remember about Maine Road is going to and from the games and not the actual game itself.

Anyone remember when "Hat Stealing" was very very popular at Maine Road? You'd be walking along with a large crowd and some guy would just take the hat off another guys head and keep walking...The guy who got his hat stolen would basically punch the person behind him!

This always happened!

 

[its a Barm]

I remember 76 away at Leicester first game of season 2-2 red hot day,on the piss after the game left it late and could only get a train as far to Sheffield but a nice young lady put me up for the night in Sheffield and I carried my journey on to Manchester on the Sunday,happy days.

Think it was 77.
How nice was this young lady and you know the rules.

 

[Kippaxpete]

Has anybody in the 2,000 + posts on this thread claimed that?

Nobody may have specifically claimed that in this thread but, in fairness to the poster, ordinary fans' fears were an inevitable consequence of football violence. Moreover, there's a clear inference from some that they look back on the bad old days with a degree of barely disguised excitement, bordering on pride, to have been directly involved.

Dons tin hat and awaits incoming fire.

 

[Milesvk]

I remember 76 away at Leicester first game of season 2-2 red hot day,on the piss after the game left it late and could only get a train as far to Sheffield but a nice young lady put me up for the night in Sheffield and I carried my journey on to Manchester on the Sunday,happy days.

My Dad always mentions this game, getting chased by a load of Leicester fans up the road him and his mate having to hide in a shop.
He also said before the game him and his mates went into a pub and out of the blue his mate said to a Leicester fan "go and get 10 of your hardest lads now"

 

[Shirley]

It's funny the thing I always remember about Maine Road is going to and from the games and not the actual game itself.

Anyone remember when "Hat Stealing" was very very popular at Maine Road? You'd be walking along with a large crowd and some guy would just take the hat off another guys head and keep walking...The guy who got his hat stolen would basically punch the person behind him!

This always happened!

Scarf stealing I recall was the trend at one time, to be tied with others with pride.
Had mine ripped from around my neck at goodison leaving a nasty burn mark.
Merseyside was a horrible place to go to in them days, the bent police were in on it also.

 

[heslops barnet]

Scarf stealing I recall was the trend at one time, to be tied with others with pride.
Had mine ripped from around my neck at goodison leaving a nasty burn mark.
Merseyside was a horrible place to go to in them days, the bent police were in on it also.

Merseyside is a horrible place to go to everyday

 

[Platt Lane 59]

Scarf stealing I recall was the trend at one time, to be tied with others with pride.
Had mine ripped from around my neck at goodison leaving a nasty burn mark.
Merseyside was a horrible place to go to in them days, the bent police were in on it also.

Remember youngsters used to tuck their scarf into the waist band of their jeans ?
This was a disaster when you had a piss, as some scally could nick it, with you trying to chase them and pissing down your leg...

 

[Stephen230]

Nobody may have specifically claimed that in this thread but, in fairness to the poster, ordinary fans' fears were an inevitable consequence of football violence. Moreover, there's a clear inference from some that they look back on the bad old days with a degree of barely disguised excitement, bordering on pride, to have been directly involved.

Dons tin hat and awaits incoming fire.

Well there’s a lot of people on this thread, like myself, who are now way too old for any of that nonsense. But who grew up in the era where our teens and early 20s coinciding with the peak years of hooliganism.

I’m not saying it was totally unavoidable for everyone but If you went to away games on public transport, in a reasonably sized group of young men then you were inevitably involved whether you liked it or not.

Some on here went specifically looking for it. Others would be quite happy just having a booze and a laugh but would be quite happy if it came to them. Others would try their upmost to avoid it. But whichever group you fell into, there was no avoiding it.

And yes, as young testosterone filled young men, it was exciting. In a good and a bad way. And when you were finally safe on the way home from a tricky away ground there was a sense of pride if you’d managed to hold your own. As well as relief.

I don’t see anything wrong with reminiscing on your youth and what you got up through a bit of rose tinted glasses.

Analysing it too deeply as men mainly in our 50s and 60s and it probably all does seem a bit silly. But we were mainly young, working class ragamuffins who lived for the buzz of the football on a Saturday and everything that came with it.

There’s no harm in acknowledging that. If it’s not for you, that’s fair enough. Probably best avoiding the thread in future.

 

[A57 the snake]

Well there’s a lot of people on this thread, like myself, who are now way too old for any of that nonsense. But who grew up in the era where our teens and early 20s coinciding with the peak years of hooliganism.

I’m not saying it was totally unavoidable for everyone but If you went to away games on public transport, in a reasonably sized group of young men then you were inevitably involved whether you liked it or not.

Some on here went specifically looking for it. Others would be quite happy just having a booze and a laugh but would be quite happy if it came to them. Others would try their upmost to avoid it. But whichever group you fell into, there was no avoiding it.

And yes, as young testosterone filled young men, it was exciting. In a good and a bad way. And when you were finally safe on the way home from a tricky away ground there was a sense of pride if you’d managed to hold your own. As well as relief.

I don’t see anything wrong with reminiscing on your youth and what you got up through a bit of rose tinted glasses.

Analysing it too deeply as men mainly in our 50s and 60s and it probably all does seem a bit silly. But we were mainly young, working class ragamuffins who lived for the buzz of the football on a Saturday and everything that came with it.

There’s no harm in acknowledging that. If it’s not for you, that’s fair enough. Probably best avoiding the thread in future.

Bang on !!

 

[Kippaxpete]

Well there’s a lot of people on this thread, like myself, who are now way too old for any of that nonsense. But who grew up in the era where our teens and early 20s coinciding with the peak years of hooliganism.

I’m not saying it was totally unavoidable for everyone but If you went to away games on public transport, in a reasonably sized group of young men then you were inevitably involved whether you liked it or not.

Some on here went specifically looking for it. Others would be quite happy just having a booze and a laugh but would be quite happy if it came to them. Others would try their upmost to avoid it. But whichever group you fell into, there was no avoiding it.

And yes, as young testosterone filled young men, it was exciting. In a good and a bad way. And when you were finally safe on the way home from a tricky away ground there was a sense of pride if you’d managed to hold your own. As well as relief.

I don’t see anything wrong with reminiscing on your youth and what you got up through a bit of rose tinted glasses.

Analysing it too deeply as men mainly in our 50s and 60s and it probably all does seem a bit silly. But we were mainly young, working class ragamuffins who lived for the buzz of the football on a Saturday and everything that came with it.

There’s no harm in acknowledging that. If it’s not for you, that’s fair enough. Probably best avoiding the thread in future.

Great post Stephen. I suspect we actually agree on all the salient points you make above. I can certainly remember the visceral thrill and emotional rush back in the 70's and 80's that accompanied those moments when you knew trouble was brewing. At the same time, my head was telling me it was fundamentally wrong, particularly when innocent bystanders were at risk of being caught in the crossfire. However, for all the faux moralising of self-appointed arbiters in the media, those feelings probably tap into something primeval in all of us.