Big Match Revisited 1979 - Albion, Palace

[kevo]

Not sure if it will be repeated or is available on demand, but this was shown this morning at about 7am ITV4. Featured the Division 2 (Championship) promotion race from the penultimate Saturday of the season, April 1979 - highlights of Palace v Notts County, Albion v Blackburn, Sunderland v Cardiff - plus interviews with Mullers and Nobby Horton (and that utter tool Terry Venables).

Have to say that Vince Hilaire looked a bloody good player. For us, Wardy badly needed a haircut and Maybank showed what an utter donkey he was.... Our first goal should definitely have been disallowed due to the smoke bomb thrown on the pitch in front of their keeper!

Strange to see the Goldstone with those awful, brutal fences- the fans looked like they were in a cage. Can't be bothered to check in 'Seagulls' - but can anyone remember why they were erected in the first place? Was it the club's decision or were they forced to put them up by the FA? No fences at Palace or Sunderland at the time (Roker Park with 36,000 on the terraces looked incredible).

 

[Northstandite]

Was it because we decided to move the away fans from the defined and separate South Stand, to right plum in the middle of home fan terracing in the NE corner? Obviously in the middle of the era of hooliganism.

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

proper football experience
regards
DR

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

There had been big crowds & outbreaks of trouble (especially with London clubs) and fences were all the rage with the government. Albion may well have been warned and most grounds eventually had fences.

Horrible things and, of course, death traps as shown at Hillsborough. We could also have suffered if fences had been up on that infamous Tottenham game, where fans only escape was onto the pitch.

 

[catfish]

The fences went up as a result of the pitch invasions during the Spurs match in '78. The crowd trouble was a tad nasty that day.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

The fences went up as a result of the pitch invasions during the Spurs match in '78. The crowd trouble was a tad nasty that day.

Not exactly pitch invasions in the normally-accepted sense, but people spilling onto the pitch to escape fighting fans in the North Stand after Spurs supporters had got into our end. The fences were the utterly illogiical response - because of course if they had been up during that game, there would have been a Hillsborough-type tragedy, with fans unable to get onto the field.

 

[kevo]

Was it because we decided to move the away fans from the defined and separate South Stand, to right plum in the middle of home fan terracing in the NE corner? Obviously in the middle of the era of hooliganism.

Not sure if this is correct - away fans were always in the NE corner (between the East Terrace and the North Stand), well, at least since 76.

 

[Gregory2Smith1]

spurs fans did try to invade the pitch themselves when the 2nd went in,know doubt trying to get the game abandoned

OB did a good job keeping them off the pitch,then we scored a 3rd

the lads in the NS that day

 

[kevo]

Not exactly pitch invasions in the normally-accepted sense, but people spilling onto the pitch to escape fighting fans in the North Stand after Spurs supporters had got into our end. The fences were the utterly illogiical response - because of course if they had been up during that game, there would have been a Hillsborough-type tragedy, with fans unable to get onto the field.

Nick, can you remember if this was the club's decision though - or were they instructed to put them up by the FA?

 

[Return of the Rev]

Strange to see the Goldstone with those awful, brutal fences- the fans looked like they were in a cage. Can't be bothered to check in 'Seagulls' - but can anyone remember why they were erected in the first place? Was it the club's decision or were they forced to put them up by the FA? No fences at Palace or Sunderland at the time (Roker Park with 36,000 on the terraces looked incredible).

spurs

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Not sure if this is correct - away fans were always in the NE corner (between the East Terrace and the North Stand), well, at least since 76.

I can remember the away fans used to be in the South Stand before the North East Corner.

 

[Return of the Rev]

I can remember the away fans used to be in the South Stand before the North East Corner.

The n e pen was constructed for the 78/79 season in response to millwall 78 clash

 

[Return of the Rev]

nick, can you remember if this was the club's decision though - or were they instructed to put them up by the fa?

fa instruction

 

[catfish]

Not exactly pitch invasions in the normally-accepted sense, but people spilling onto the pitch to escape fighting fans in the North Stand after Spurs supporters had got into our end. The fences were the utterly illogiical response - because of course if they had been up during that game, there would have been a Hillsborough-type tragedy, with fans unable to get onto the field.

Yes - encroachments would have been a better term than invasions.

 

[somerset]

The fences went up as a result of the pitch invasions during the Spurs match in '78. The crowd trouble was a tad nasty that day.

Yep...it was the worst I ever saw at the Goldstone....by a mile....the fences went up in double quick time after that.....

 

[kevo]

Yep...it was the worst I ever saw at the Goldstone....by a mile....the fences went up in double quick time after that.....

Chelsea was worse,wasn't it (I assume the fences had come down by then?!)

 

[somerset]

Not exactly pitch invasions in the normally-accepted sense, but people spilling onto the pitch to escape fighting fans in the North Stand after Spurs supporters had got into our end. The fences were the utterly illogiical response - because of course if they had been up during that game, there would have been a Hillsborough-type tragedy, with fans unable to get onto the field.

No...the majority of the Spurs nutters came across the corner from the east terrace, we had a torrid time fending them off in the north...there were a lot of injuries.

...at least that was my memory as a 17 year old.

 

[somerset]

Chelsea was worse,wasn't it (I assume the fences had come down by then?!)

Chelsea wasn't really person to person trouble on a large scale...the club gave them some of the north stand ( at least that's what i recall)and they then got on the pitch and trashed the posts etc.....some scuffles but in truth there were simply too many of them for us.

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

Chelsea and the numbers game .................. ID CARDS
regards
DR

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

The n e pen was constructed for the 78/79 season in response to millwall 78 clash

The away fans were definitely in the NE corner before then , the fencing was like the metal fences surrounding the prison in The Walking Dead.