[Football] Memories of yesteryear from going to football

[Mackenzie]

Walking over the bridge at Hove Station.
Buying a programme by the church on the corner.
Burgers floating in hot water.
Scuffles with away fans outside the East Stand.
Fred Oliver and his evenin’ argees
Blue invalid cars in the SW corner.
Police horses in the Sw corner.
Standing on the wall in the NW.
The parting of the waves for the right side/left side song.
Surges.
Tobacco smoke in the West Stand.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Programmes?

He was the Argus man surely

Evenin- ARRgus

He also used to sell Shoot and Match. I remember him shouting Arrrrrgus, Shoot or Match.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Remember the old boy selling the Argus at the Goldstone and out the County Ground, white coat and satchel

Yes....turned to him in the West Stand once and asked him what he thought of the game...." Oh, I don't watch this rubbish " he said...." I'm an Arsenal fan "

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I looked it up after you mentioned it as I wasn't 100% sure, but it was "PROGRAMMMMMMMMEEEESSSSSSS"!! at the Withdean Stadium, there's a good chance he was the Evenin- ARRgus selling guy at the Goldstone...possibly did a bit of both knowing him.

One of the funnier moments at Withdean was when, out of sight of the stands, he could be heard bellowing "PROGRAMMMMMMMMEEEESSSSSSS"!! all the way through a minute's silence

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Not sure if it was only a Scottish football thing, or maybe even only a Partick Thistle thing, but Firhill Park used to always echo to pre-match calls of "Get yer macaroon bars, yer spearmint chewing gum!"

 

[Blue3]

1. Being able to just turn up and get in to see a game
2. Being able to stand where you wanted or where there was room
3. Scarfs worn on the wrist or over a the belt
4. Being able to get in for free just after half time
5. That last twenty minutes of every home game the noise especially attacking the North Stand was something to behold
6. The Argus seller a time when it was worth reading
7. Only one Substation and tackles from Nobby Horton
8. Peter Ward, Gary Nelson, Peter Osullivan, Gerry Ryan, Steve Foster, Jimmy Case Tony Towner, Fred Binney, Frank Worthington, kit Napier, just a few of so many great players
9. Going with my Dad and older Brother standing on a box my Dad made for me football was so different then as fans it was much more edgy
10. Norman Wisdon and Slade on the pitch Duffy coming on as Subtitution then bets as to when he would be booked and then when would he boot the ball over the south stand
11. In the summer police in white helmets
12. Pitch invasions, Streakers, Keepers so close to the crowd that you could offer pearls of wisdom

Equally there are lots of things I don't miss

1. The casual and not so casual racism
2. The aggression which at times affected people and property that had involvement
3. The toilets, The Catering, The Safety, The comfort were all awful

 

[boik]

6 Lottery board

The cry of "Get that bl00dy board out the way!" as the lottery board was paraded round the touchline as the second half started.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Walking through Hove Park and seeing the floodlights, particularly evening games.
Making sure we touched the large rock in the park for good luck ( ' The Goldstone ' )
Crossing the Old Shoreham Road, dodging the traffic. It felt like crossing the Rubicon. Now you really were at the ground.
Arriving two hours before kick off. Programme read from cover to cover in about ten minutes ( they really were skimpy in those days)
In the North Stand, a mass of bodies, surging. Booze and body odour.
Right at the top of the East Terrace as a youngster, felt like being up a mountain and just as cold in the winter. Feet like blocks of ice. The smell of the urinals.
Telling my Dad I couldn't see and all the fans parting to let me down to the front.
Any bald ref being greeted with a torrent of good humoured banter.
The HT scores round the pitch.
The man with the lottery board. Saw him blown over the wall and onto the East Terrace once. Whole ground shrieking with laughter.
Frankie Howard painting the bare patches green for MOTD cameras.
The Lego Stand ( Never looked safe to me )
Willie Irvine's goal v Villa. Sweeping move the whole length of the pitch and a thunderous finish. What a goal ( In my Albion top three )
Hurrying back to the car for Sports Report. Sometimes, if you were a bit late, you could hear that iconic tune playing on other car radios. At that stage, we were breaking into a brisk trot. We had to hear the results.
Checking pools coupons in the car going home!!! Got that one....and that one...no...no....no...no...oh well.....etc.
Getting home in the warm...Dixon of Dock Green...Dr Who....The Black and White Minstrel Show ( Yes...white men blacking up like Al Jolson!!!!! ) Being allowed to watch MOTD. Star Soccer or the Big Match on Sundays.
John Vinnicombe's Argus report on Mondays.
No internet. No mobiles. No playbacks. All consigned to memory. Players and goals burned deep into your soul. The oldest memories are often the sharpest. Loved the Goldstone. It was very special. Saddest sporting day of my life, April 27th 1997. The rain. ( felt like the football gods were crying for us ) The Last Post. Storer. Bits of turf or goal netting. Just want to remember happier times. Over 30 years watching there. Big part of my life. Wish we could bottle up that sizzling atmosphere, with the mist swirling around, at evening games. The noise. Hair tingling. Can still feel it now. It will never leave me.

 

[Robinjakarta]

Seeing our new signing Bobby Smith introduced and then scoring twice on his debut.
Seeing our new manager Brian Clough in the dugout.
Seeing us lose 0-4 to Walton and Hersham and 2-8 to Bristol Rovers in the same week.
Half time hot Bovril on the east terraces.
Lawrenson in his prime. He didn't do bad games.
Mullery applauding his whole team at the end of one match and sending his team back out early at half time after a terrible first half.

 

[schmunk]

I was there too and remember the disbelief in the stand when he did that and still vividly remember that goal. Bobby Charlton scored a belter, too, but the Greaves one was unforgettable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jYTLfukNUg

Each of those goals makes our defending for Sheffield United's goal this week look world class.

 

[blue-shifted]

Walking through Hove Park and seeing the floodlights, particularly evening games.
Making sure we touched the large rock in the park for good luck ( ' The Goldstone ' )
Crossing the Old Shoreham Road, dodging the traffic. It felt like crossing the Rubicon. Now you really were at the ground.
Arriving two hours before kick off. Programme read from cover to cover in about ten minutes ( they really were skimpy in those days)
In the North Stand, a mass of bodies, surging. Booze and body odour.
Right at the top of the East Terrace as a youngster, felt like being up a mountain and just as cold in the winter. Feet like blocks of ice. The smell of the urinals.
Telling my Dad I couldn't see and all the fans parting to let me down to the front.
Any bald ref being greeted with a torrent of good humoured banter.
The HT scores round the pitch.
The man with the lottery board. Saw him blown over the wall and onto the East Terrace once. Whole ground shrieking with laughter.
Frankie Howard painting the bare patches green for MOTD cameras.
The Lego Stand ( Never looked safe to me )
Willie Irvine's goal v Villa. Sweeping move the whole length of the pitch and a thunderous finish. What a goal ( In my Albion top three )
Hurrying back to the car for Sports Report. Sometimes, if you were a bit late, you could hear that iconic tune playing on other car radios. At that stage, we were breaking into a brisk trot. We had to hear the results.
Checking pools coupons in the car going home!!! Got that one....and that one...no...no....no...no...oh well.....etc.
Getting home in the warm...Dixon of Dock Green...Dr Who....The Black and White Minstrel Show ( Yes...white men blacking up like Al Jolson!!!!! ) Being allowed to watch MOTD. Star Soccer or the Big Match on Sundays.
John Vinnicombe's Argus report on Mondays.
No internet. No mobiles. No playbacks. All consigned to memory. Players and goals burned deep into your soul. The oldest memories are often the sharpest. Loved the Goldstone. It was very special. Saddest sporting day of my life, April 27th 1997. The rain. ( felt like the football gods were crying for us ) The Last Post. Storer. Bits of turf or goal netting. Just want to remember happier times. Over 30 years watching there. Big part of my life. Wish we could bottle up that sizzling atmosphere, with the mist swirling around, at evening games. The noise. Hair tingling. Can still feel it now. It will never leave me.

Some things really do never leave you !!

 

[maltaseagull]

and the man in a white coat who painted the half time scores next to the letters with whitewash.

Argus! The seller who walked around the pitch selling copies.

Guessing the size of the crowd based on how far away from the ground we had to park.

Disgusting cups of tea at half time.

I learned early on to stand in front of the barriers in the North Stand and avoid being crushed when we scored.

 

[studio150]

I learned early on to stand in front of the barriers in the North Stand and avoid being crushed when we scored.

Never understood why some people seemed to get to the ground early to stand behind a barrier. And this is not just an Albion thing, some time ago we were discussing terracing of yesterday and a Sheffield Wednesday fan of long standing said the same thing as us, always stand in front of the barrier.

 

[Weststander]

Sand in the goalmouths and centre circle
The rutted orange cinder track round the edge of the pitch
The blue disability vehicles in the SW corner
The noise from the tannoy as you approached the ground blaring out “Please stop fighting”.
Police dogs sinking their teeth through a thug’s flares.
A decent variety of songs and chants such as “Referee, Referee, your old lady is a whore”.
Getting back to my dads car just in time for the jaunty music of Sports Report

Happy, happy days.

Top post.

 

[Weststander]

Never understood why some people seemed to get to the ground early to stand behind a barrier. And this is not just an Albion thing, some time ago we were discussing terracing of yesterday and a Sheffield Wednesday fan of long standing said the same thing as us, always stand in front of the barrier.

Something to lean on, giving the body a bit of a rest.

Not me btw

 

[Weststander]

A striker scoring

Lucky sod. That was before my time.

 

[Bry Nylon]

No mobiles obvs, so the tannoy announcer reading out the halftimes from around the grounds and the cheers or boos that greeted the scores..

 

[zefarelly]

alighting from first class at Hove, the trampling of feet as you made your way through the tunneled overpass, and that feeling as you turned the corner onto Goldstone Lane and saw the north stand, and heard the buzz. the ratchety clack of turnstiles and simply parting withg a bit of cash on the day to lawfully gain entry.

high quality meat based snacks at half time. ;-)

bits I don't miss are being pelted with East terrace debris by Leeds fans in SS helmets.

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

Now, can someone correct me if I'm wrong. I got to go on the pitch at the Goldstone a couple of times and I remember the goalposts not being perfectly round, but a bit... convex?

Am I remembering that right? Or was my 8 year old self seeing things?

 

[getz]

Some wag in the crowd shouting out to the first female lines woman"show us your t**s".
The marvellous school marching bands.
Who can forget Ron Pavey and his on pitch announcements.
The south-western terrace invaded by frightening Millwall thugs wearing
surgical masks.
The peanut seller.