Leeds Utd v City - 1976/77 FA Cup

Played Leeds away 81/82 midweek game when I was about 14. Me and my mate used to get a lift to the match off a woman off his road. Went to a few away matches with her and no idea why but we always used to sit in the home seats

So this night the match hadnt started and she realised she'd left her fags in the car so left the ground for them, said she'd be back in 10 minutes... but never came back

A gang of grown blokes behind us sussed us out and started to give us a load of grief, saying she'd been murdered and they were gonna do us in next.

Then we only went and scored in the last 5 minutes, header from Reeves or Tueart if I remember right. We both went up like dickheads and had to run for our lives!!

We ran back to the car and found his neighbour. Some Leeds fans had spotted the Manchester garage sticker, forced the door, let the handbrake off and pushed it down a hill into a lamppost, smashed the windows and the lights

It was just about drivable so we drove home over the tops in the M62 in a blizzard and fog at about 20mph with no lights
 
Out of all the away games of that era, Leeds away stood out from the others. The Boxing Day game was won comprehensively was it 3/1 ? However, I didn't get to see All of the game that day as I got thrown out by those very kindly Yorkshire police officers. As I got turfed out into the passageway behind the away end there sat my mate who had suffered the same fate as me for doing precisely nothing. We watched the remainder of the game from a hill that had advertising hoardings on which we climbed to get a view of the game. The following FA Cup game was equally lawless. The short film highlights the toxic mood of the day but nothing would capture the sheer intensity and threat of violence from admittedly, both sets of fans that day. After the game as we made our way through the car parks, I indulged in the only bout of football violence ive ever had to take part in whilst following the blues. I witnessed a young City fan, who was only 10 or 11 years of age, who was with his dad. The traffic was stationary when this Leeds shithead punched this young lad which caused his glasses to slide across the bonnet of a car. Being a tall fella I was able to see this shithead move around the stationary traffic and came towards me. As he passed me I deliverd my retribution. He fell like a sack of the proverbial shite. I wanted to console the young City fan but I felt the need to preserve my own wellbeing as it all looked like getting a bit ugly with the locals. It was all a long time ago, and thankfully times have moved on. However, I feel Leeds fans have never changed. A return to the Premier next year will show this to be true.
 
I didn't get to see the match in 78 at Birmingham. Got legged by load of Brummie punks who were in our end about an hour before kick off. Tried to scale the perimeter spiked fence onto the pitch and into the stands,but slipped and impaled my inside thigh onto the fence,about an inch from my nuts. Hospital and stitches inside and out.
To the OP,fantastic find that video. I was there and again the following year in the cup,or was it the year after,when the Leeds fans invaded the pitch.
As someone else mentioned demographic of possibly not just City fans,but fans in general seemed to be a lot younger in those days. A hell of a lot cheaper to attend matches. "Special" from Piccadilly to somewhere like Norwich no more than £3 if I remember correctly.
 
nefynblue said:
Out of all the away games of that era, Leeds away stood out from the others. The Boxing Day game was won comprehensively was it 3/1 ? However, I didn't get to see All of the game that day as I got thrown out by those very kindly Yorkshire police officers. As I got turfed out into the passageway behind the away end there sat my mate who had suffered the same fate as me for doing precisely nothing. We watched the remainder of the game from a hill that had advertising hoardings on which we climbed to get a view of the game. The following FA Cup game was equally lawless. The short film highlights the toxic mood of the day but nothing would capture the sheer intensity and threat of violence from admittedly, both sets of fans that day. After the game as we made our way through the car parks, I indulged in the only bout of football violence ive ever had to take part in whilst following the blues. I witnessed a young City fan, who was only 10 or 11 years of age, who was with his dad. The traffic was stationary when this Leeds shithead punched this young lad which caused his glasses to slide across the bonnet of a car. Being a tall fella I was able to see this shithead move around the stationary traffic and came towards me. As he passed me I deliverd my retribution. He fell like a sack of the proverbial shite. I wanted to console the young City fan but I felt the need to preserve my own wellbeing as it all looked like getting a bit ugly with the locals. It was all a long time ago, and thankfully times have moved on. However, I feel Leeds fans have never changed. A return to the Premier next year will show this to be true.
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You Llyn Peninsula whallas are all the same....battering Leeds & bothering sheep.
 
Great clp, and a reminder of the passion that existed on and off the pitch in those days!

I was there the year after, and also the FA Cup game when we took well over 10,000 fans!

If they do come up, they will definitely make their presence felt!
 
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Went to Elland Road a couple of times in that era and like others have said it was madness, in the ground and getting back to the station. Other Yorkshire grounds weren't as bad, unless you ever went to Post Office Road and Featherstone Rovers.
 
AliBobbyJ said:
Went to Elland Road a couple of times in that era and like others have said it was madness, in the ground and getting back to the station. Other Yorkshire grounds weren't as bad, unless you ever went to Post Office Road and Featherstone Rovers.
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Yep! A very grim outpost in the old Yorkshire mining area.

Not been for a while though, as we (Salford) haven't played them.
 
chaddblue said:
Played Leeds away 81/82 midweek game when I was about 14. Me and my mate used to get a lift to the match off a woman off his road. Went to a few away matches with her and no idea why but we always used to sit in the home seats

So this night the match hadnt started and she realised she'd left her fags in the car so left the ground for them, said she'd be back in 10 minutes... but never came back

A gang of grown blokes behind us sussed us out and started to give us a load of grief, saying she'd been murdered and they were gonna do us in next.

Then we only went and scored in the last 5 minutes, header from Reeves or Tueart if I remember right. We both went up like dickheads and had to run for our lives!!

We ran back to the car and found his neighbour. Some Leeds fans had spotted the Manchester garage sticker, forced the door, let the handbrake off and pushed it down a hill into a lamppost, smashed the windows and the lights

It was just about drivable so we drove home over the tops in the M62 in a blizzard and fog at about 20mph with no lights
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Sorry to laugh but that is funny as fuck!
 
Steveo said:
Yep! A very grim outpost in the old Yorkshire mining area.

Not been for a while though, as we (Salford) haven't played them.
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They have a big rags supporters club at Feath so something in common with Salford. Went there a few months ago and not lad threatening as the old days.
 
I used to Love going to Leeds we used to take thousands never went by train though .always took over the boozers where we parked up and walked en masse to the ground always livley on the way back The City fans that went were well up for it and gave as good as they got .Got talking to some Leeds fans and they shit them selves coming to Maine Road
 
Shirley said:
I was at that game and also at Newcastle in the previous round. As you say it certainly gives a good feel what away games were like in them days.
96 arrests seemed to be acceptable, lol.
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Was the Newcastle game the 3 1 when it all kicked off? First police escort of my life at SJP, and we needed it!
 
I know quite a lot of Leeds fans who found City fans at Maine Road to be the most frightening anywhere.

Narrow streets & allys,pubs on every street,outside drinking,street rats,hellfire corner,relentless intimidation,loads spoiling for some good old fashioned toe to toe boxing. No escape.

Under the lights in drizzle it could be a bloody fearsome place for any visitors.

Aaaaah Bisto.

Spirit of MANCUNIA MANCHESTER-The City of CITY.
 
CrownPointBlue said:
I know quite a lot of Leeds fans who found City fans at Maine Road to be the most frightening anywhere.

Narrow streets & allys,pubs on every street,outside drinking,street rats,hellfire corner,relentless intimidation,loads spoiling for some good old fashioned toe to toe boxing. No escape.

Under the lights in drizzle it could be a bloody fearsome place for any visitors.

Aaaaah Bisto.

Spirit of MANCUNIA MANCHESTER-The City of CITY.
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I have Leeds mates from when I lived in Sheffield and they say the same,its why we always got a special welcome.
 
Tbilisi said:
I have Leeds mates from when I lived in Sheffield and they say the same,its why we always got a special welcome.
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Yep it takes 2 to tango.

Who remembers the guys who had a 10 minute punch up in their Kop before one of the cup ties then walked across the pitch end to end waving at the crowd (we were all along the side,behind the goals & had one third of the main stand seats) and taking the piss out of Leeds players. Did one of the give McQueen a slap ?

Spirit of MANCUNIA.
 
Loving all the stories on this thread. That's a cracking vid by the way PB. I was only 6 at the time so was way too young to be going to Leeds away and by the time I was attending City matches on a regular basis at the back end of the 80's things had calmed down a fair bit off the pitch and I'd missed the worst of the trouble that blighted much of the 70's and 80's.

Out of interest, when we played Leeds in the famous pitch invasion FA Cup tie the following season at Elland Road does anyone know roughly what numbers we took? I've read on here in the past that we perhaps had 15,000-16,000 in the ground but not sure whether that's a little on the high side as back then away clubs were entitled to 25% of the allocation for FA Cup ties which with ER's capacity would've equated to more like 12,000 or so. That said, on the YouTube vid of that game there were some very complimentary comments about our numbers from the Leeds fans and one actually went as far as saying it was the biggest away following he'd ever seen at Elland Road.
 
For the sake of balance, one of the Leeds hooligan books alludes to the violence after their 3-2 victory at Maine Road the previous November, as the main reason why there was so much aggro at the 78 FA Cup Tie.
According to the author, they were looking for revenge as a result of many innocent Leeds fans being injured on the Kippax car park.
 
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