Most classless thing you've seen at a match

[Cheesebored]

A few years ago I drove past Stonehenge on my way to Bournemouth. I'd never been there before and didn't even realise my route was taking me past it, until I saw the stones. I stopped to gaze at it in amazement and take some photo's from the road. In some ways it disappointed me. I'd only ever seen it on TV and in my mind Stonehenge was some barren, isolated place, out in the middle of nowhere, perhaps high up on a lonesome moor, or maybe in a forest clearing. I'd imagined it as some stark wilderness with these ancient stones mysteriously placed at its centre. I'd not envisaged that it would be a few stones sandwiched between two busy trunk roads! That kind of spoilt the effect for me.

Mind you, I was also disappointed with the Pyramids in Cairo. I'd imagined the setting for those to be some barren desert. In fact, it's a bit more like driving through Woodseats then all of a sudden they just pop up around the corner on a bit of spare land. Bloody scruffy place an' all.

I agree with you that Swindon doesn't have much to commend it though - and that Magic Roundabout of theirs is one of the daftest things in the country.

Pyramids you say. Woodseats you say.

 

[sitwell]

Those in that open end were the last tickets to be sold to Blades fans, due to unprecedented demand, that type of thing. I remember looking on from my seat in the side stand and had already made my mind up that many of those Blades were, shall we say, the proper hard nuts - no fannying about, no pretences with these guys.

At the final whistle, as those Swindon fans goaded the Blades behind that goal, I thought to myself, "You've bitten off more than you can chew there, you soppy Wiltshire dick-splashes." As a peace-loving hippy with all the Gong and Hawkwind albums I would never condone violence, but I have to admit I got quite some feeling of satisfaction as United's finest absolutely mauled Swindon's daftest.

I was sat in that side stand ,next to Jim Phipps as it happens ,and we were talking as you do to a really normal lad behind us with his Dad and some other guys. When the swindon fans came over it was a matter of time ,while everyone was weighing it up a lad ran on from the side and steamed straight in followed by everyone else ,it was the lad who was behind us ,fuck knows how he got there ,his dad was just laughing. We had to walk right through them round the ground and over the famous roundabouts to get to the car ,think they had learned a lesson.

 

[Greenwich Blade]

Background at 2:18

Well spotted! Sitting on the wall outside Salisbury Magistrates Court, Hawkwind t-shirt 'n' all.

 

[Barney]

Well spotted! Sitting on the wall outside Salisbury Magistrates Court, Hawkwind t-shirt 'n' all.

I presume that's your bike there too? Looks like a Raleigh of some kind.

 

[Greenwich Blade]

A few years ago I drove past Stonehenge on my way to Bournemouth. I'd never been there before and didn't even realise my route was taking me past it, until I saw the stones. I stopped to gaze at it in amazement and take some photo's from the road. In some ways it disappointed me. I'd only ever seen it on TV and in my mind Stonehenge was some barren, isolated place, out in the middle of nowhere, perhaps high up on a lonesome moor, or maybe in a forest clearing. I'd imagined it as some stark wilderness with these ancient stones mysteriously placed at its centre. I'd not envisaged that it would be a few stones sandwiched between two busy trunk roads! That kind of spoilt the effect for me.

Mind you, I was also disappointed with the Pyramids in Cairo. I'd imagined the setting for those to be some barren desert. In fact, it's a bit more like driving through Woodseats then all of a sudden they just pop up around the corner on a bit of spare land. Bloody scruffy place an' all.

I agree with you that Swindon doesn't have much to commend it though - and that Magic Roundabout of theirs is one of the daftest things in the country.

They've grassed over the A344 that ran right by the Heel Stone now; in fact, a friend of mine who is the bass player with a Hawkwind-alike Space Rock band called Litmus played a big part in this as he was responsible for going back to the construction (or de-construction) company and making them aware of snags. We met up in Devizes, where he now lives, one summer solstice and he said there were hundreds of items on that snag list.

It is vastly improved as a result but the A303 is still to be put underground to further seclude it. The monument is most impressive when you are allowed right in there so's you can stand under those trilithons and marvel at how the fuck they built it with no cranes.

Mind you, my first view of the place in 1984 was coming along the A303 from the west in a rickety old coach at 7.30 in the morning and I found it awe inspiring. Once over the horizon the next view I got was of the festival site itself and that left me breathless. See for yourself (not my photo, but I have had numerous conversations with the photographer since).

One last thing; it's a race to see which book is finished first: Stonehenge Summer Solstice Celebrations and Banning Orders 1984-present day; Very Little Help - My Tesco Years 1995-2015; or Fever Hitch: The European Champions League Adventure.

 

[Greenwich Blade]

I presume that's your bike there too? Looks like a Raleigh of some kind.

Nope, I was travelling either on foot or by thumb. I've never been a bike rider really, although bizarrely I had a dream last night that I owned two bikes and had them both stolen in the space of a few minutes. Yes, I was at the cheese too close to bedtime last night.

 

[Greenwich Blade]

Well spotted! Sitting on the wall outside Salisbury Magistrates Court, Hawkwind t-shirt 'n' all.

 

[Davalon]

I don't want to generalise here as it doesn't apply to every single one of them, and i'm sure a few post on here, but having worked on the doors in Sheffield for nearly 10 years (plus 3 years in Derby), and having run ins with members of the BBC on more occasions than I care to remember, I can honestly say that the majority are pretty soft as shit and are basically just a bunch of pack hunters. They're loud and brave when they're in a group but on their own aren't really anything to write home about.

To emphasise the point one of their "top boys" and his crew (not Steve Cowens) kicked off big time at a club I was working at one night when there was about 8 or 9 of them and he was right at the front giving it the big un about doing this and that to us. A few weeks later one of the lads that was on the doors with me that night (a proper hard man) saw said "top lad" walking near the peace gardens on his own and proceeded to knock ten bells out of him without breaking sweat.

I'm not trying to glamorise violence but just backing up what the poster above said.

Wasn't Kiki's was it?

Witnessed a couple of pathetic BBC shows on the front door there in the 90's.

 

[Feo]

Pigs abusing Jamie Ward after being stretchered off infront of them.

He was letting them know the score with his fingers as he was stretched past them though.

 

[BushBlade]

Wiltshire Constabulary have a bad track record, although to be fair nobody covered themselves in glory in 1988 (see if you can spot me in this news footage:

Were you sat behind the band playing ‘3 Little Birds’?

 

[BushBlade]

Were you sat behind the band playing ‘3 Little Birds’?

Yes, obviously as you’ve said that. For some reason I missed the subsequent posts until I’d posted my reply. I must have missed the last page.

 

[SheepdipBlade]

For me, Wolves away in 2002 (won 3-1) always sticks in my mind. I was 12 at the time and I remember walking out of the ground at the end, with my Dad and 'The Subway Army'charging the gates, leading from the away end. I remember there being plenty of others a similar age to me caught up in it with their parents and I remember being scared. It then seemed to take an age for the police to re-open the gates, so we could get back to the car.

Other than that, I've largely been lucky enough to avoid being in the thick any real trouble. After the derby at Hillsborough last year was disgusting, as trips their largely are thanks to SYP. I half expected getting belted with a truncheon for having the audacity to try and catch the tram back, in to town.

I spent the second half of that game talking to one of their stewards (while the coins rained down). When it all kicked off in the tunnel after the game and we were all locked behind the gates, this steward led me down the stand and onto the pitch - past Neil Warnock being interviewed - down the tunnel and past the WAGs in the player's lounge - and out to reception. I picked up my crash helmet (which matched my black and yellow leathers) and out onto the street.

I was heading back to my bike when I got stopped by a copper. In front of me we all the Wolves fans in front of the gate to the away end - and at that moment the cops let their dogs onto them. At least three dogs flew into their fans. All I remember was the shouting and the copper telling me to get on my bike and fuck off.

In terms of classlessness - the fact that the Blades in wheelchairs were on their way out of the tunnel when their lot waded in and disabled fans took the brunt of it is pretty damn poor.

One that sticks in the memory.

 

[petcharlie]

Yep. Son (probably about 9 or 10) sat right next to him. No warning or word from them (he must have been sat in the middle of a group of about 20 Blades, wouldn't like to speculate who they were...) absolutely battered, and led away covered in blood with a distraught son. Embarrassing.

Unfortunately most clubs have a few brain dead fans .OK he should not have been there but come on the guy was with his young son who must have been petrified watching his dad get beat up.I can remember when fans mixed and got on with each other without any hassle and added banter and laughs to the match.

 

[Brian Blessed]

Ha!!! 3 guesses which county I currently live in? You're right though, I was also in the side stand thinking "oh dear, Kerry and Kurtan are going to get hurt now"

2 years before the programme was first broadcast, good effort. Did you write it!

 

[spongebobblade]

My dad always liked to get tickets for the stands but that day at Bradford he'd not managed to get any, so we were pay on the day standing. We hadn't got to valley parade until late on about quart to three to be met by massive queues outside the away end (as someone has said on the thread there wasn't many turnstiles open). At this my dad decided we'd go on the home end (the one you were on SpongeBob, though we didn't get coined), and headed for near the front. No sooner had we got there than a number of Blades were clambering over the wall on to the side of the pitch for an escort round to the away end. So we tagged on with those Blades and always remember the teams running out on to the pitch at the same time. The away end was rammed so the only place to stand for us was down at the front. Seem to remember a lot of away games were like that in that fourth division season.

The Bradford fans had no coins left to throw at you mate...... They were all in my uncles pocket

 

[raimond]

Unfortunately most clubs have a few brain dead fans .OK he should not have been there but come on the guy was with his young son who must have been petrified watching his dad get beat up.I can remember when fans mixed and got on with each other without any hassle and added banter and laughs to the match.

Yep, absolutely. Brain dead or not I'm not sure how it's meant to be tough for about 20 fellers to beat the hell out of one little bloke with his young son. As I said, embarrassing.

 

[Upton_Blade]

Wasn't Kiki's was it?

Witnessed a couple of pathetic BBC shows on the front door there in the 90's.

No mate that was slightly before I was old enough for the doors but I was in there quite often when it all kicked off.

 

[petcharlie]

Yep, absolutely. Brain dead or not I'm not sure how it's meant to be tough for about 20 fellers to beat the hell out of one little bloke with his young son. As I said, embarrassing.

Any one of those 20 fellers would not be so brave on their own but in a gang they could take on any individual .Really hard I DON'T THINK.

 

[Northyorksblade]

Whoever the thieving bastard ‘Blade’ was who nicked my phone at the Hull semi-final while I was busy having a piss in Wembley.
Now I know, they might not be a fan & got a ticket with the intention of lifting as many phones as possible. Or they were a fan & a thieving twat into the bargain.
Either way, not classy.

I must ge very naive. Can't imagine any Blade doing that.

 

[GodricBlade]

I must ge very naive. Can't imagine any Blade doing that.

Whoever it was was in the Blades end & from what I can remember, I wasn’t the only one who had their phone lifted that day.
Maybe some light-fingered wankers just realise there’ll be some easy pickings in the crush of the bogs & get a ticket for that reason only.
Took the edge off a great day out - that was the most galling thing.

 

[Mercedes]

.
Curran and Kenworthy became good mates after Curran joined United.

Tony Kenworthy never spat at Curran in that game.......if so show me the games on YouTube and I've just watched it

 

[FATTYFOULKE]

Tony Kenworthy never spat at Curran in that game.......if so show me the games on YouTube and I've just watched it

First I’ve heard of it as well and I was there.

 

[Not_a_Cheat]

4 twats wanting to come on. Laughing

 

[FATTYFOULKE]

4 twats wanting to come on. Laughing

5, insulting and taking the piss.

 

[Mercedes]

First I’ve heard of it as well and I was there.

Tony Kenworthy never spat at Curran in that game.......if so show me the games on YouTube and I've just watched it

If Kenworthy spat on Curran don't you think Curran would have mentioned it he's always talking about that day and it would have given him an excuse for his behavior but he's never ever mentioned it
As for best of friends......how do you know?