Outside Maine Road...6th November 1971....3-3 Derby Day Pictures

[dennishasdoneit]

Yeah I thought that too

Cladding was probably flammable as well. Maybe that was what John Maddock was alluding too?

Very good Sir.
Not so good for Mr Reid....

 

[Franny's toilet roll]

Great pictures, a couple of years before my Docs, i had leather soled brogues with segs in them before progressing onto Doc shoes then boots. My jeans and jacket were Wrangler, always thought Levis were cooler.

 

[hammocity]

Ah, it's a whole era! Crombies, Levis, Docs. A bit disappointed that no-one's got a scarf knotted round their belt at the hip.
The start of the seventies. Three or four of the best years of my life.

Tonics, Sylvesters, star jumpers, football jumpers, hoop socks, platforms, CB Badge on my Crombie with a velvet collar, those days.

 

[Franny's toilet roll]

Football was much more fun when you could pay at the gate, before segregation and having to buy tickets months in advance. For a couple of seasons around 1969/1971, three or four of us used to go in the recognised 'home end' at every away game we went to, just for the 'thrill'. The only exceptions were all-ticket games and Upton Park - There was no way we were going in with late 60s West Ham fans!

Very rarely had any serious trouble - Mostly friendly banter and the odd slap off the local yokels. When we were 'thrown out' by the police, we pleaded ignorance of the stadium and were invariably moved into what they advised us the 'away' section of the ground. If they didn't do that (or throw us in a meat wagon), we used to wait until the gates opened 15/20 minutes from the end, and go back in for nowt.

The most intimidating places (other than West Ham) were the Shed at Chelsea, the Shelf at Spurs, and that barrel of laughs that they called the Kop at Leeds - We kept our mouths shut and learned to celebrate internally when City scored. Forest used to be good for running over the bridge to get over the Trent - Proper fun until you got thrown in by the greasers - Hello Billy if you're reading. Billy was thrown in but made the mistake of swimming to the wrong bank and having to cross the bridge again... He made it 2nd time!

Most ejections from a ground..? The Swamp - FA Cup 2nd replay Huddersfield v Stoke. Thrown out three times during the game, walked back in three times through the same door the police were throwing fans out of. Manchester police were'nt employing the brightest buttons in the box at the time when it came to crowd control!

Post-70s fans really have no idea what it was like to go to a football match in the good old days - Segregation and fences just increased the hostility and moved the trouble outside the ground. It was a daft idea.

I was in the shed for West Ham game early 80's. West Ham had the open end and also hundreds in both side stands. Chelsea won easily and about 20 mins before the end all the West Ham fans got up and left. Everyone in the shed laughed and waved goodbye. 5 mins later West Ham stormed into the shed and kicked shit out of everyone and any thing. Being a casual observer i had to have on my toes sharpish as they . I think its fair to say West Ham were top dogs in London

 

[mancityvstoke]

Loved my steelies back then ..... evil things

Tonics , Ben Sherman check shirt , Harrington

Looked a right twat

 

[The Future is Blue]

Does anybody still wear their polyester scarf around their wrists at matches these days?

 

[Indaparkside]

Does anybody still wear their polyester scarf around their wrists at matches these days?

Rather that than half a rag scarf round my neck

 

[hammocity]

Or the 'Final Sroceshhh' guy who looked like he was in Hawkwind and used to sell The Pink Final after the match?

Before the final edition Pink "half time scores, racing results", never bought one at the ground. Waited at the local Newsagent for the final edition, as I got older back to the boozer and the Pink was delivered there.

One Saturday, I had to work, missed the game but met my blue mates after the game in our local. They had sunk a good few beers, I was on my first pint reading the match report in the Pink. I'm about halfway through the match report and my paper sets on fire, one of my pissed mates had lit it and it went up in flames very quickly, so much so it actually set my jumper on fire at the sleeve, the lads were laughing like hyenas, that jumper was a Christmas present from my then girlfriend, (Mrs H now 36 years on), cost a fortune, still mates with the arsonist.

 

[hammocity]

I can remember when I started going in the mid-late 70s there always used to be a section in the program about the next away match. It gave road directions, told you what the away terrace was but also gave you the address of the opposition club and the price of their seats so you could send off a PO or check and get a ticket returned. For some reason, IIRC, the price was always given in pence and not pounds, ie 250p.

My last junior season ticket in 1975, (I still have the receipt)was £4.50, I think the adult ticket was always double the cost, 21 games.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Or the 'Final Sroceshhh' guy who looked like he was in Hawkwind and used to sell The Pink Final after the match?

Long thin hair, sold it outside The Platt Lane Stand in the late 70s and 80s? I got a right shock when I saw him at a game not that long ago (maybe 10 years ago) and he had frozen in time. He looked exactly the same, even with the long hair.