[Albion] First albion experience going with your mates to an away game and staying the night

[Wes Tupper]

Back in the 1980’s a mate and I missed the last train back from Oxford after watching us at a 3.00pm kick-off game. So we went back to a pub and ended up, absolutely pissed, chatting to a group of students. After they learned of our predicament they took us back to their college, found us an empty room, gathered fresh bedclothes for us and even found some food for us.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Before any kind of responsibility we would often look to stay in the nearest city / night life hotspot for the various northern outposts

Looking at my Futbology account of grounds we stayed for the weekend in

Newcastle for Carlisle away
Blackpool for Burnley / Blackpool / Preston / Blackburn basically any excuse
Leeds for Leeds (about 5 or 6 weekenders up there)
Manchester for Oldham / Stockport away
Liverpool for Tranmere away
Nottingham for both Nottingham and Derby away

Been to all ways around the West Midlands but don’t recall ever staying in Birmingham for the weekend for football.

 

[heathgate]

We had a number memorable overnighters... some dates are a bit of a blur ..

Grimsby away last game of relegation season - draw - Friday night calm evening of pool and beer in a local pub, suddenly doors smashed open by a dozen lads being chased by Brighton fans... lol, we just kept our heads down, well outnumbered.

Wrexham away, I think last game of season, or last away game at least, interrupted the NSC management glitterati having their group curry... we were quite loud and wobbly, so the withering stare from @Bozza et Al convinced us to move on.... later found @Bozza slumped asleep in the hotel foyer... a win if I remember.

Plymouth away ... can't recall the exact game, or the result, but again a calm lunchtime pre match in a pub on the waterfront, playing pool,.. a group of dodgy looking fellas came in, obviously needing to use the pool table... we made a sharp exit when we realised we were in the Royal Marines pub... the photos on the wall were a clue I guess.... we avoided said pub that evening, although used the curry house nearby which had a number of equally scary fellas in.

Plus many more.... all happy days ..mostly.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Birmingham...

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

when you say staying overnight
you mean a train station waiting room

Chester 1988 Bank Holiday

Then the ridiculous pissed up idea to go to Stockport v Cambridge in the evening….

….nah, we’ll be alright

 

[veuve]

Any northern games in the 90s back to Nottingham

 

[veuve]

The aviary, Nottingham.

 

[Official Old Man]

Reading about suitcases reminded me of the home game v Fulham, October 1978. I'd been working in Barry Island for two weeks and so had a suitcase with me. I walked into the ground along with case and no one said a word. We won 3:0 in front of one of the biggest crowds, over 31,000 plus a suitcase.

 

[Whitechapel]

Blackpool away for my 18th birthday with a few mates who weren’t even massive football fans really. Would have been 2012 I think.

It went about as expected. The night before the game we ended up in a club that had all drinks for £1. At one point we see one of my mates being dragged out by security, we go to fight his corner against the presumably heavy handed security, only to be told he’d managed to be sick on the DJ. We decided it was probably fair enough to kick him out and made a swift exit.

 

[Nicks]

Peterborough away in 85 for the FA Cup game.
We went into Northampton for the night (and one of our party of four was a very well known County League manager at the time )
So four of us checked into the Hotel and told them we were part of the BHAFC football team but our other hotel was overbooked.
We then had a night out in the town and the well known person pulled some young lady and then the fun and games began back on the hotel afterwards.

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

Any northern games in the 90s back to Nottingham

Any northern games in the late 80s back to Wolverhampton

 

[POSKETT AT THE VALLEY]

Ipswich away midweek in the 80s. Stayed over night but not through choice.

 

[Weststander]

The aviary, Nottingham.

That was our first port of call on Friday lunchtimes, we made long weekends of it. Various nightclubs in the Friday and Saturday nights including Ritzy’s.

 

[Swimboy64]

FA Cup 1986 Peterborough away
Hired a car,B&B in London,night out down the old Kent road then onto Peterborough early next morning
5 of us

 

[maffew]

The problem with staying away is always 'what do you do with your stuff?'

It's generally the night before I've stayed. Shrewsbury in the mid 1980s I remember well, as we went up the night before and spent the night playing darts in the pubs. Checked out of the B&B in the morning, and turned up at the ground with our bags, including sets of darts - asking where we could store them. They just let us in with them.

Much like the time a couple of us went to Headington on the way back from a working holiday, and I had a billhook in my rucksack. Stewards looked at the first few muddy clothes - said 'is it all like this' - and just let us in!

letting away fans in with darts!! Imagine in the 80s being told bottle tops would be against the rules in the future. Progression eh

 

[Justice]

Chester 1988 Bank Holiday

Then the ridiculous pissed up idea to go to Stockport v Cambridge in the evening….

….nah, we’ll be alright

That was a weird day Albion fans running through Chester for no apparent reason

 

[Tubby Mondays]

. A game that always will stick in my mind, don't even know if we won or lost.

You might need to use some better glue?!

 

[Guinness Boy]

Infamous one was Carlisle, early 2000s.

We decided to spend Friday in Lancaster so we weren’t drinking throughout a 6 hour journey on the Saturday.

In the way up, by Milton Keynes @Uncle Buck was leading us in a drinking competition with a stag do going to Blackpool. We were pissed getting off the train, checked in and went straight out again. The only things I remember after that were @Carrot Cruncher nearly setting fire to a curry house and our mate Sex God nearly falling off a statue he’d climbed.

Game was 0-0, didn’t drink at all on the Saturday due to alcohol poisoning and spent four hours next to The Cardinal On the way home as he alternated between “Bright Eyes” and “I Think We’re Alone Now”.

Great trip.

 

[Guinness Boy]

One of these View attachment 178807

Everyone had them late 80s / early 90s. Remember doing a lads weekend (not for football) and all of us turning up with basically the same bag.

They still look great.

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

In the late 80s We used to make a night of it in Wolverhampton as we had somewhere to crash.
If we could we’d take in a match on the Sunday although Sunday football was rare in those days.i recall we ended up at a FA Cup 6th round match between Everton and Wimbledon (2-0 I think) and another time Cambridge United v Southend (the score escapes me)