Villa Park 1981

[stevethecab]

was 15 at the time , spent the weekend at an RAF base in warrington . one of the lads took his radio ,so we had a great afternoon . can still remember the excitement when power scored that goal .

 

[the old abbey]

what a great day,went down in the old mans car,remember the weather being good but most of the boozers round the ground being shut,listen for the air horn just before powers free kick,my pal at the time always reckons it was him,when the ball hit the net the bird behind me was hugging me,fantastic as she had the biggest set of puppies you could wish for.in the evening news on the monday there was a picture of the holte end and a flag was on the front fence saying "ray holds mariner to ransom"anyone remember it? to the left of this was my late father with my young brother,they got there picture in the paper.what a day!

 

[Mr Blue Sky]

A truly memorable day two of our party got knicked before the game for being pissed remember the manic scenes when Power scored Black Mamba it might have been me who kissed you ha ha. To put the lid on a great day Rags had been playing at coventry and there team coach was stuck in the traffic jam and we were all out of the van banging fuck out of there coach oh happy days.

 

[beehive_bob]

still remember the quote from a mate seconds before the goal went in

"Don't let Power take it..."

 

[*simmo*]

I was 12 at the time. Sat in stand near halfway line with my dad. Remember everything others have said. Cars at a standstill on m6. People getting out and walking around. Longest 20 mins in history after goal. Every time Ipswich fans tried to sing they got drowned out. My most vivid memory is the City fans waving to each other at opposite ends of the ground. Happy memories. Lets hope for plenty more in the future. its been too long!!!!!

 

[squirtyflower]

iirc
the holte end was split down the middle, we had half each
i don't remember any problems about numbers of tickets

great day that
spent the night in the vale cottage gorton celebrating when we got back

Interesting that.... so did I! Had a couple of beers first in the Waggon and Horses, followed by the Bulls Head on Reddish Lane then to the Vale. In those days, the place was run by Ronnie Almond who was a rag, which made a trip to the Vale a must.

which was one of the reasons we went in
there were three of us, all 20/21 and then we were joined by other blues we knew from school

 

[lancs blue]

I'm somewhere in that pic, about 10 yards from the segregation fence and just ahead of the line of the pillars. Brilliant day, we dominated as I recall and the match should never have gone to extra time so we were all getting very nervy that we might lose it until Power stepped up for that free kick. Ipswich won the UEFA Cup that season and finished 2nd in the league to give younger fans an idea of how good they were.

 

[Royaloak]

Interesting that.... so did I! Had a couple of beers first in the Waggon and Horses, followed by the Bulls Head on Reddish Lane then to the Vale. In those days, the place was run by Ronnie Almond who was a rag, which made a trip to the Vale a must.

which was one of the reasons we went in
there were three of us, all 20/21 and then we were joined by other blues we knew from school

So you probably went to either Wright Robinson (as I did), or Spurley Hey - I was 20 at the time and was back from University - we must know each other.

 

[Balti]

Like a thunderbolt it was that free kick. Place went mental. Already smashed and got more pissed with the unhappy Ipswich fans in the buffet car heading south on the way back to base in Pompey.

Happy Days.

 

[jimharri]

I was in the Holte End that day, about 10 yards back from the front and right behind the right hand post. As soon as Paul hit that free kick, I just knew it was in! Bearing in mind I've been over here since '82, that has to be my best away trip ever (far better than the final). Look at the prices back then as well; £2-50 to get into a semi final and 50p for a programme!!