[Football] Your First Taste Of Football Hooliganism

[Dancin Ninja BHA]

I was at one of those 90s pre-season matches on a Friday night (think it was Steve Foster's testimonial)………...in the Palace end!! Long story.

Very strange coming out of the ground being eye-balled and being looked at by lads who want to rip your head off and you want to say "I'm not Palace!!!!"

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Gillingham away 1976/77, we won 1-0 with a goal from Ian Mellor. I vaguely remember a couple of 'crews' from other teams being at the match before and after it took place to add to the total mayhem.

There were scenes.

They were marvelous.

Gillingham away around 1988 was lively as well (we may have played them twice in a week, league and cup). We were in the corner terrace next to the main stand and the fence separating us from their fans was forced open and people were pouring through back and forth (as I remember it). After the game the two sets of fans met at a junction after leaving into separate roads. I was wearing a suit (as I had come down from work in London on the train) and walked through and around people fighting on the ground. No-one did anything to me. All very surreal and I did the fast walk back to the station.

 

[Is it PotG?]

Went to an England game with the school when about 10/11 at Wembley.

Walking back to the coaches, some brave teenager strolled up, pushed me firmly in the chest and nicked my lovely silk scarf.

"I'll have that" he said.

Still have nightmares to this day.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Fratton Park 1984.

We lost 5-1 (Mark Hateley hat-trick), it pissed down all match and we were soaked as Away end was uncovered. The police kept us in for 30 minutes after in the rain in the assumption that the Pompey mob would disperse, then went off to their wagons as shifts finished.

Pompey had not dispersed and kicked the shit out of us en route to the station.

Must have been a feature of Fratton Park. Exactly the same happened there in 1989 I think.

 

[shingle]

Brighton - Cardiff, around 1973

At the time I was getting a little bit of bullying from some of the kids at school. So, after the game, Cardiff fans who were wearing silver sprayed Doc Martins (I remember it like yesterday) were chased across Hove Park by what seemed like half the North Stand and I found myself at the front of the charge fired up with adrenalin. Standing on the elevated edges of Hove Park were the bullies from school watching the events unfold, for some reason I didn't have a problem at school from there on.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

The worst for me still remains 30th jan 1993 Leighton Town v Aldershot Ryman Div 3 where a couple of lads got carved up .It was still kicking off at 9pm for a 3 pm ko

Presumably your ground has changed quite a lot since ‘88 when we were both in Div 3 ? I remember everyone entering by the same turnstile and walking around a flower bed and lawned area (?). We then walked around the back of a stand full of your supporters before arriving at the terrace at the opposite end which was maybe two thirds ours and a third yours. I remember showing a policeman some proof I was a Brighton fan (membership card I think) before being allowed into the cordon. I don’t remember any real trouble apart from a few surges back and forth.

 

[atfc village]

Presumably your ground has changed quite a lot since ‘88 when we were both in Div 3 ? I remember everyone entering by the same turnstile and walking around a flower bed and lawned area (?). We then walked around the back of a stand full of your supporters before arriving at the terrace at the opposite end which was maybe two thirds ours and a third yours. I remember showing a policeman some proof I was a Brighton fan (membership card I think) before being allowed into the cordon. I don’t remember any real trouble apart from a few surges back and forth.

Not really changed much . Away fans now go up the hill beside the ground to enter. Small seated stand behind the open end ,wider segregation and the flower beds are still there.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Not really changed much . Away fans now go up the hill beside the ground to enter. Small seated stand behind the open end ,wider segregation and the flower beds are still there.

Make sense re the away fans. I think we left that way that day in ‘88 surrounded by a lot of police. Much as I love the AMEX I think you are lucky to still have a unique ground with terracing.

 

[atfc village]

Make sense re the away fans. I think we left that way that day in ‘88 surrounded by a lot of police. Much as I love the AMEX I think you are lucky to still have a unique ground with terracing.

The Council gave us a 118 year lease at £1 a year rent last year ,too help redevelop the ground . We wait with baited breath ,i'd go 3 sides seated and one terrace behind a goal .

 

[wigman]

The first violence I saw at a football match was the 1st game of the 74/75 season against Palace.
Trouble before and during the match, plus we beatvthem 1-0.
Happy days and great memories.

 

[Eeyore]

I was at one of those 90s pre-season matches on a Friday night (think it was Steve Foster's testimonial)………...in the Palace end!! Long story.

Very strange coming out of the ground being eye-balled and being looked at by lads who want to rip your head off and you want to say "I'm not Palace!!!!"

I met some Palace fans in a pub at one of those and got very drunk with them and ended up in the away end. Cheering the Albion...

Thankfully I had a 'he may be Brighton but he's our Brighton' group around me.

I seem to remember it saved me at the station. A group of Palace fans came looking for trouble after some kind of incident. I was identified but left be as one of them recognised me.

Keep your enemies closer...

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

Only looking up an old Albion match, I came across this. Extracts from a book by Nick Lowles.
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=g_hmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT217&lpg=PT217&dq=1976+palace+goldstone+ground+smoke+bombs&source=bl&ots=IY1kUER4D2&sig=ACfU3U2HgKrhEqUvz4nkTUXtJ_N_V5uJcA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwirj6jKgbfpAhX-UhUIHY2lBHUQ6AEwC3oECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=1976%20palace%20goldstone%20ground%20smoke%20bombs&f=false

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Two Brighton lads with a crate of milk bottles
Regards
DF

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

Two Brighton lads with a crate of milk bottles
Regards
DF

Reminds me of when a certain someone who chased a group of Arsenal down the road with what turned out to be a plastic wine bottle.

 

[Weststander]

Two Brighton lads with a crate of milk bottles
Regards
DF

I'd guess that you own that book?

On the Aldershot pages, that talk of an awful day for them in the FAC November 2000, where initially they attacked a small group of Brighton pre match, witnessed by other Brighton.

Resulting in 60 Brighton attacking their pub, a big loss for them.

 

[el punal]

Not really changed much . Away fans now go up the hill beside the ground to enter. Small seated stand behind the open end ,wider segregation and the flower beds are still there.

My memories of the Recreation Ground are varied - the awful Milk Cup tie of 84/85 (I think that was the season) where the Albion were appalling and lost in extra time on a two leg tie. A convincing 4-1 in the league in 1987 and the other one was an Easter weekend game in 1976 when we drew 1-1 with Wardy scoring again (who else!). It was prior to this match that we were in a pub in Aldershot having a few pints. I asked the barmaid if they had any food - we’ve only got cheese rolls, she said. Cue all the Albion fans in the pub chanting “Cheese rolls! Cheese rolls!”. Oh well, whatever gets you through the day!

 

[GREASED WEASEL]

My memories of the Recreation Ground are varied - the awful Milk Cup tie of 84/85 (I think that was the season) where the Albion were appalling and lost in extra time on a two leg tie. A convincing 4-1 in the league in 1987 and the other one was an Easter weekend game in 1976 when we drew 1-1 with Wardy scoring again (who else!). It was prior to this match that we were in a pub in Aldershot having a few pints. I asked the barmaid if they had any food - we’ve only got cheese rolls, she said. Cue all the Albion fans in the pub chanting “Cheese rolls! Cheese rolls!”. Oh well, whatever gets you through the day!

76 was that the game the crossbars got snapped?

 

[el punal]

76 was that the game the crossbars got snapped?

Could have been but I’m not sure. I do remember the crowd was around 11,000 and probably 8,000 were Albion fans. Our chance of promotion went with our defeat to Millwall on Good Friday. Peter Taylor resigned at the end of the season and Alan Mullery took over - and took us to the top tier in three years!

 

[atfc village]

My memories of the Recreation Ground are varied - the awful Milk Cup tie of 84/85 (I think that was the season) where the Albion were appalling and lost in extra time on a two leg tie. A convincing 4-1 in the league in 1987 and the other one was an Easter weekend game in 1976 when we drew 1-1 with Wardy scoring again (who else!). It was prior to this match that we were in a pub in Aldershot having a few pints. I asked the barmaid if they had any food - we’ve only got cheese rolls, she said. Cue all the Albion fans in the pub chanting “Cheese rolls! Cheese rolls!”. Oh well, whatever gets you through the day!

TBF we were unlucky to come away from The Goldstone in 84 with a 3 1 defeat in the league cup ,we were great that night as we were in the home leg . Next round we held eventual winners Norwich 0 0 at Carrow Road . lost the replay 4 0 in fog that in this day and age the game wouldn't of even started ,but with just under 10000 packed in that game wasn't getting called off.

 

[atfc village]

Could have been but I’m not sure. I do remember the crowd was around 11,000 and probably 8,000 were Albion fans. Our chance of promotion went with our defeat to Millwall on Good Friday. Peter Taylor resigned at the end of the season and Alan Mullery took over - and took us to the top tier in three years!

11666

 

[Eeyore]

11666

Looking forward to starting up my annual pilgrimage again.

I remember a 3-2 victory over Oxford United in 2013. I think this is the winning penalty



Not enough to save Shots though.