Who Misses the days when we used to have trouble at Brighton Matches?

[Hungry Joe.]

I starting watching The Albion in1980 and yeah, I remeber the aforementioned trouble against Chelsea, Southampton etc. I went to many Palace away games and remeber a stabbing and seeing one of our boys with his blood stained white Pringle jumper wrapped round his head. I got beaten up and chased by Newcastle and Leeds fans at The Goldstone.
It's a strange quirk of human nature that we can be excited, frightened, appalled and entertained by seeing or being around violence and I experienced all of those emotions.
I don't miss it for one minute though. It's enough for me now to wind up the other support by singing songs that question their motherhood with the odd hand gesture and then to have a chat and a laugh with them on the bus or in the pub afterwards. However much you think you 'hate' another football club doesn't justify putting one of their fans in hospital or scaring them so much they never attend a game again (or worse). Vent your spleen by all means but leave it at that. #

"IT'S ALL GOOD STUFF DEAR"

 

[On the Left Wing]

Worst experience I ever had was not even at a Brighton game. Went with a mate from college (in 1975 I think!) to watch a League Cup second replay between Newcastle v Bolton at Leeds!!
I was with a load of Newcastle fans and the atmosphere against Bolton was fierce but with little violence.
At the end of the match we left the South Stand at Elland Road and began to make our way back to the station, when we were suddenly surrounded by about 200 Leeds scum on a mud ridge who hailed bricks and rocks down on us. Saw women and kids go down as we all tried to get away (it was no use fighting). I ended up with a cracked skull and plunged into a canal.
Only time in my life I have been truly terrified.

 

[The Large One]

The last bit of aggro I remember was as recently as 2000 when we visited - wait for it - Chesterfield. It was the game where Oatway got sent off and they scored in the last minute.

It really kicked off with Brighton waiting in one of the side street a la West Street Firm of the early 80s. In fact, there were an awful lot of mullets and Pringles at Chesterfield - or was it my imagination? Remember being wound up and pissed off with the result, but not frightened.

Canvey Island was a very red-necked place as well. They really are caught in a time warp and are convinced it's still 1977.

 

[graz126]

miss the lot. great times. but have grown up loads now. have a family and realise the risks. but terraces would be nice, as long as they are packed for a good atmosphere.

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

I suppose a lot of us in our late 30s and 40s remember all the aggro and in a way it was just part of the culture at the time.

A few examples I can think of off the top of my head:

Fighting in some blokes front room at Wrexham,thats another story tho!!

Leeds at home when 20 of us got ambushed on our way to the ground!

Palace away in 81(I think?)going across the railway lines at East Croydon Station chasing Palace and turning over parked cars on the way out of the ground!

A lot of us used to go in the South Stand when it was a Stand,always standing in the same spot every game.

Thinking back on it now,it seems quite moronic but at the time it was brilliant,thats what old age and having your own kids does to you:nono

 

[Brighton till i die]

" We want our terraces we want our terraces!!!!!!!!!"

maybe Prescott can sort that 4 us too!!

 

[Storer68]

well as one who enjoyed the post 75 BHA experience i have no desire to return to terracing-

i have no deisre to be crushed in an overcrowded stand
i have no desire to stand ankle deep in other people's piss
i have no desire to be unable to see what's going on the pitch
i have no desire to be rammed up against someone whose body odour could be a weapon of mass destruction.

and if that makes me a moning old whnger, then I'll have another prwan sandwich please.

 

[Brighton till i die]

wheres your sense of adventure!!

 

[Storer68]

it got beaten out of me by a palace fan in 76

 

[tedebear]

I wasn't in the UK when all that stuff was happening - although certainly Sydney had its fair share of "terraces" for example The Hill at the SCG was a fairly colourful place - hundreds of pissed as a fart Australian cricket fans who are sunburnt to nearly 3rd degree status - creates an interesting atmosphere - more comical than anything mostly though - the only fights I saw were by people who couldn't see each other due to beer goggles let alone punch anyone else!!

Although at a local rugby league derby once I had the misfortune to witness a brawl which was more like WW3 than anything - rasberry jam everywhere, people with broken arms and one chap who had a heart attack - all started because of some racist individual who made comments about an aboriginal who was on the field at the time - a few people waded in to stop it, and the whole thing went off - even carried on through 2 tries until the game was stopped as people started falling over the baricades onto the pitch....

As much a part of the game as it was back then - its not something I wish to see again - live and learn.....

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

A shag or a good surge down the north terrace?.....you decide.

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

A shag or a good surge down the north terrace?.....you decide.

Depends on your age!!

 

[portslade seagull]

I think terracing could come back and be easily policed by
making it an all-ticket area only taking away most of the potential
for trouble.
Anyway thats a pointless argument as you still get
trouble in the seats.

 

[Braders]

i want terraces , NOW!

 

[Max's Dad]

I want terraces back but as for the violence ... you have to have very little going on in your life if you miss it.

I care a lot about this club but I'm not going to thump anyone on its behalf. Neither do I expect to be on the receiving end of a bottle purely because I've chosen to watch the team play.

Anyone would think there was some golden age of football hooliganism. I don't remember it that way and fond reminiscences about the Hove Station and West Street scraps of yesteryear won't exactly convince the doubters that we'll be good residents of Falmer.

 

[Hunting 784561]

Several hundred innocent deaths at Hillsborough in the 1980s killed off the chances of terracing in this country forever.

 

[graz126]

can remember going to liverpool with a red supporter once. we went in the kop (pre seats) against aston villa great atmosphere. but i spotted what looked like a good bit of open space to stand in and a cruish barrier to lean on. it wasnt until liverpool scored that i realised why people left this space free. there was a massive surge forward, crushing me and my mate onto the barrier i was fearing for my life and hoping my ribs didnt give way. then the crowd started to ease off, phew me and my mate were ok. we did move after that. but i do miss those huge surges, and wouldn't stand behind the barriers again in a packed out terrace.

 

[chez]

I'm as against hooliganism as is humanly possible, but I have to admit as a kid in the south west stand terracing bit I used to love seeing all the trouble in the north stand, police piling in and dragging a few people out, the extra bite to the songs and chants, and once seeing people hiding in the trees in the park on our way home waiting to ambush some bunch of away fans. My dad is always telling the story of when he went to Milwall and saw their fans setting fire to some policemen's helmets they had got hold of.

That was the play off semi final in 91, it was an amazing game which wouldnt have had the same atmosphere had the Millwall fans not have been so fierce.

 

[chez]

Curious how some mindless wannabee hooligan post from a twat manages to evolve into amore sensible debate about terracing,

I dont think you can slag him off mate. He's not saying that he wants to pummel every opposing supporter in the country - he's simply looking at the past through rose tinted spex - something we all do from time to time.

 

[Brighton till i die]

Several hundred innocent deaths at Hillsborough in the 1980s killed off the chances of terracing in this country forever.

however the reason for all those needless deaths was due to f***ing ridiculous policing and stewarding.
these days that sort of thing would not happen, and for people, like the majority of us, there could be one side of terraceing, and the "safer" seats located around the rest of the ground.