The North Stand (Goldstone) "surges"

[Caveman]

I f***ing LOVED the surges.

You never knew where you were going to end up.


MENTAL!!

That brings back memories. You would be talking to your mates, then we'd score and they would be 5 or 6 rows in front or behind you once it had all calmed down.

The big blue bar was always central and you had to make sure you missed this as you surged through the gap in the barriers...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOiJHToOb4k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKKXTn-4hRI

Best life.

 

[Spacegull]

I f***ing LOVED the surges.

You never knew where you were going to end up.


MENTAL!!

This ^....
Roll up for the mystery tour!

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxPW19rO1OI&feature=related

1min 10secs on here

 

[British Bulldog]

People didn't get injured because it was perfectly safe. It's sad that the health and safety nazis are slowly brainwashing us all to wonder how we didn't get injured doing things they've told us aren't safe, when the reality is that the figures speak for themselves. I bet there were harldy any injuries from surges at football if you look at it as a percentage of attendance.

The only one I know of is my older brothers mate doing his leg in after deano's free kick against ipswich

I expect plenty of people got injured but the difference was very few people complained about it, Picking up bumps and bruises and getting crushed was all part of football supporting. If it happened these days you'd end up with half the crowd on they're mobiles to claims direct or some such company.

 

[smudge]

11 years old, 1972, my old man took me against Aston Villa. 32,000+ crowd. It was PACKED.
First thing I see as we enter the ground is a skinhead fighting with a few coppers, screaming, "I didn't f***ing swear". We go up the steps & into the back of the North, a heaving mass. We squeeze through to just left of the goal about half way up. This was years before they painted some steps yellow which you weren't allowed to stand on; the whole stand was just crammed. I was picked up & placed on a crash barrier, me & some other kid. It was so packed that there was no space to fall into, we were just wedged there.
The match is a blur, I just remember the songs, the pride of belonging to that mass of people who were all there for their local team. This was Aston Villa & we were destroying them. Willie Irvine hit a screamer, I can't remember actually seeing him score, but I sure as hell remember the North exploding.
It was my first time in the North Stand after starting out in the South seats & chicken run. I was hooked.

 

[smudge]

Ok, this has been bugging me all bloody day. Who scored the other goal against Villa in that game? (Sure it was 2-1).

 

[¤DãŃn¥ §êãGüLL¤]

This tempted to chain meself to the railings afterwards!

As someone above said, they weren't that dangerous. Not as dangerous as noshing at a metal gig and they haven't banned that, have they?

Classic

 

[Brightonfan1983]

aged 14 - arsenal 2-1 home defeat - 10 minutes to kick off - crushed against a barrier - coudlnt breath - had to move down the terrace a bit .

Was that the Cup game in 86/87?

 

[JonathanLivingstonSeagull]

the worst sprain i ever had, to the wrist, during a surge. at the tender age of thirteen this taught me never to stand holding on to the blue leaning post in front of a massive crew of nutters. this was also the day of the major pitch invasion after twenty minutes that ended the match. i forget the opponent but you all know when i mean. the goal got snapped and all that. happy, painful days. i still maintain that when i got crushed against that post my knuckles for a brief moment actually touched my wrist. good times. and then there was a fight in the stand, i was too sorry for myself to get on the pitch personally, and some guy was doing his nut at someone who slagged him for being on the pitch with basically everyone else in brighton. he had a f***ing crazed look in his eye, i can tell you.

 

[smudge]

the worst sprain i ever had, to the wrist, during a surge. at the tender age of thirteen this taught me never to stand holding on to the blue leaning post in front of a massive crew of nutters. this was also the day of the major pitch invasion after twenty minutes that ended the match. i forget the opponent but you all know when i mean. the goal got snapped and all that. happy, painful days. i still maintain that when i got crushed against that post my knuckles for a brief moment actually touched my wrist. good times. and then there was a fight in the stand, i was too sorry for myself to get on the pitch personally, and some guy was doing his nut at someone who slagged him for being on the pitch with basically everyone else in brighton. he had a f***ing crazed look in his eye, i can tell you. albion fans yay.

It was York City & that is Albion folklore. It's what seperates us & makes us better than corporate brand supporters who wear green & gold scarves, or march from their nearest pub in the name of Shankly.
If you want to know how to protest against a corrupt & bent board, read the history books on Brighton.

As for North Stand surge, that was nothing really.

 

[JonathanLivingstonSeagull]

It was York City & that is Albion folklore. It's what seperates us & makes us better than corporate brand supporters who wear green & gold scarves, or march from their nearest pub in the name of Shankly.
If you want to know how to protest against a corrupt & bent board, read the history books on Brighton.

As for North Stand surge, that was nothing really.

i've deleted the last sentence from my post as it made it seem like i thought it was all stupid, when i meant just a tongue in cheek about a guy going f***ing apeshit, which was quality, but also scary to a callow youth as i was at the time...

point being, i agree with you entirely.

 

[smudge]

i've deleted the last sentence from my post as it made it seem like i thought it was all stupid, when i meant just a tongue in cheek about a guy going f***ing apeshit, which was quality, but also scary to a callow youth as i was at the time...

point being, i agree with you entirely.

No I didn't think you thought that; I was just reminding you who the opposition were & got all nostalgic!

 

[Northstander]

Was that the Cup game in 86/87?

No that was Bristol, the day Albion very nearly had it's only Hillsborough, my two best mates got over the fence and couldnt get me, I was being crushed at the time against those damn fences!

That was red hot day too.....cracking day up to that point!

None of the police seemed to be bothered about what was going on thinking it was just a pitch invasion if memory serves me right.
(This of course was prior to Hillsborough!!)

 

[smudge]

No that was Bristol, the day Albion very nearly had it's only Hillsborough, my two best mates got over the fence and couldnt get me, I was being crushed at the time against those damn fences!

That was red hot day too.....cracking day up to that point!

None of the police seemed to be bothered about what was going on thinking it was just a pitch invasion if memory serves me right.
(This of course was prior to Hillsborough!!)

Bristol Rovers. I had to give my cousin away at her wedding to a complete dick, (since divorced, which makes missing that game worse!)
The first line of my speech was, "Please raise your glasses to Brighton & Hove Albion, who have just won promotion & I'm missing the game to give my cousin away to him!"

 

[JonathanLivingstonSeagull]

No I didn't think you thought that; I was just reminding you who the opposition were & got all nostalgic!

Phew!!!

...well at least i have cleared out any doubt from my tale of folklore and woe

 

[Deleted User X18H]

was that the cup game in 86/87?

1988

 

[Brovion]

Fantastic memories of real football reading this thread. Smudge, that was a great post (and I think it was John Templeman who got the other but I could be wrong).

I expect plenty of people got injured but the difference was very few people complained about it, Picking up bumps and bruises and getting crushed was all part of football supporting. If it happened these days you'd end up with half the crowd on they're mobiles to claims direct or some such company.

Absolutely. God I hate modern Britain.

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

Another good one was when Johnny Byrne put us 2-1 up against Liverpool in the FA Cup replay in 1991

 

[Guerrero]

Was anyone at Derby around 75/76.A cup replay at the Baseball Ground?
I remember a bloke getting stuck with his back to a barrier during a surge.He was screaming and there was a massive cracking sound.It all went quiet and the St Johns Ambulance came and took him away.
I wonder if he was OK?
I'd forgotten all about it about five minutes later.

 

[redneb]

It's dying out, isn't it?

My lad (aged 13) just doesn't get why terraces are great. Why would you want to stand up if you can sit down?

I've tried explaining that it's not the standing up as such, it's the jostling, the atmosphere ...

Anyway, he has agreed to come to Peterborough this season to experience what maybe his first and last proper terrace experience.

Not sure what this will achieve, except hopefully not thinking I'm an idiot for being nostalgic for terraces.

Used to love it at the Dell or occasionally Goldstone North Stand. If you scored you would end up no where near you started and you would spend the next 15 minutes looking for your mates.