70's & 80's away games

[brownie4583]

Do you remember attending away games in the 70's & 80's?
An early game I went to was Cambridge,around 1979,we lost 0-1 and ended up getting relegated that season.
Blackburn around same time,blades fans flattening a gate at the ground with a big grass roller.
Chester,1-1 draw,running across pitch onto their kop at half time
Carlisle on train,Martin Peters playing for us.
Oldham 5-1 win,me and my mate getting chased by around 10 of their fans walking back to the car.
Port Vale,Edwards scoring 2-0 win I think.
Rotherham 2-1 win when wall fell down on their kop.
What are your memories?

 

[brownie4583]

Stoke in cup and Terry 'gipo' Curran playing a blinder for us.
Mansfield in snow,won 1-0 with a last min pen,Bob Booker I think,and also a 4-3 win there a few years earlier,De Goey,Matthews,Trusson,Garner playing.
Leeds away,1st time at Elland Rd we followed this bloke in car with Leeds scarf hanging out of window,thinking he was going to the ground,but he pulled up the drive of a house no where near the ground!

 

[Grecian2000]

The ONE good thing about our journey up and down the leagues in these decades, was the ease of which it was possible to join the 92 club (and I mean properly having seen your team play a competitive game at each ground).
That and the days prior to none league teams always getting promoted meant there were probably more Blades in that particular club than any other team.

 

[Fulwood Blade]

yep, I was at the Cambridge game too - seemed to remember some sort of field you had to walk across to get in the away end.
Oldham one Boxing day - Blades broke a gate down on the away end, all got in for free - think we won 1-3 - "oh what fun it is to see United win away!"
Think I was at the Rotherham game too - used to live in Wath and went to stand on the Tivoli with my Toy town mates when the Blades weren't playing so have a soft spot for them.
Blackburn also - used to stand behind a goal - a real SHITHOLE of a ground before Jack Walker spent all that money - they should be so thankful to Jack Walker as they were really rank with a fucking wank ground.
Barnsley - no roof on away end - used to get wet through - that was a shit hole too.
Port Vale - yet another shithole of a ground - apart from the unfinished new stand we saw on Boxing day this year, it still looks the same.
Gawd, we have been to a load of shit holes in our time...........please Clough get us back to the Prem PLEASE!
UTB

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Attended loads at that time. A few Highlights:

Darlington - obviously!

Scunthorpe - The BBC getting steamed by a big munter of a lass. They couldn't scrap for laughing.

Peterborough - 4th division season on a Tuesday night.

Watford in the FA Cup 3rd round - Coldest I've ever been at a game, we were 4-0 down at half-time. Blades were just jumping up and down and singing for the whole of the 2nd half. Afterwards a Watford fan said to me, amazing support from you lot today! No, we were all just trying to keep warm!

Leeds in the 70s - Hellish whenever we went. Remember the 5-1 loss and the coach getting it's windows bricked in after the game.

Blackpool in the 80s - An amazing game of football on the beach, there were hundreds playing.

 

[Bayingblade]

Stoke in cup and Terry 'gipo' Curran playing a blinder for us.
Mansfield in snow,won 1-0 with a last min pen,Bob Booker I think,and also a 4-3 win there a few years earlier,De Goey,Matthews,Trusson,Garner playing.
Leeds away,1st time at Elland Rd we followed this bloke in car with Leeds scarf hanging out of window,thinking he was going to the ground,but he pulled up the drive of a house no where near the ground!

Was at Mansfield in the snow with one of our mates who was a big black lad. He looked like a pint of Guinness at the end. Everyone was jumping up and down to keep warm which prompted the song "we've been bobbing up and down, doo dah, doo dah". Booker won the penalty, it was the night he converted the fans from thinking he was crap to ultimately becoming a hero. Duffield put it away, as was usual for old Duffers.

 

[brownie4583]

Went on the coach to the Cambridge game and it got pulled up by the coppers and got to the ground at last minute and had to run across a field to ground,also remember fans climbing up the floodlights as well.
Also Oxford,Reading's old ground,Northampton,Bury,Oldham,Altrincham in cup lost 0-3

 

[Fulwood Blade]

the post above made me think of Scunthorpe - and the OLD ground, before Glandford Park was built.

For the sad gits among you, the old Scunthorpe ground was the first ever with a cantilever roofed stand, but it only went half way along one side of the ground. For the record, our piggy mates down S6 way was the first ground with a full length cantilever stand - built in '63 from memory.

This thread has also got me thinking of a mate I used to go with to some of those games who sadly died a few years ago. His name (if any of you knew him) was Brian Jenkinson - a real top, top bloke and best man at my wedding. Brian, if you are up there looking down - we are still shit mate ! and you are sadly missed.

UTB

 

[dublin 10 blade]

Was at a good few of the games , Cambridge away , all the coaches were stopped due to trouble the night before ,
was a long walk to the ground across fields ok .
Blackpool away was always a shit ground on the side bit in particular , Alan ball is it true what Haslam says your worth fuckall .
Chessie away was another dump ,
Newport away , Wrexham away , Grimsby away , Oldham, Barnsley away in the olden times wide open as was Uddersfield
Leeds might have been dodgy in the 70's but bottled it big time when we showed up in numbers home and away in the 80's
Millwall , the old den was a nightmare , Carlise , Jesus we have been to some holes .
Not even mentioned Toytown , Donnie or the Pigs .
All you young uns have been spoiled in the last few years .

 

[Shalalalafenoughty]

I remember going to Wrexham on the back of my brother's motorbike on a freezing midweek night in 1979 and watching us get hammered 4-0. We were deep in relegation trouble and performed accordingly. You'd have thought things couldn't get any worse but Duggie Brown made his debut three days later.

Dark days indeed...

 

[Silent Blade]

Went by car to the away games in 1970 and 1971 (went by train to Birmingham, Hull and Pompey in cup) then from Nov 1971 went to away matches by Bransons coaches organised by SUSC Dronfield branch until 1974 (went by train to Carlisle in Feb 1973 and on the Leagueliner train to Arsenal in March 1973- a photo of me with Ted Hemsley and two other Blades fans was in the programme for the next home game)

 

[blade too long]

Cambridge away 13 of us went in my works van crossed a field remember there being a drain gulley by the hedge , we ñost 1'0 needing a win , but was never on when we saw patched up side we had to play , think there were 8 missing

ipswich away in the fa cup , lost 3'2 but got to ground at 2pm got let out of police station at 3 10pm as thered been some free samples taken from a motorway services on the way

peston away , lost 2'0 they had a plastic pitch the glowed at night matches , players and fans needed sun glasses

bury away night match took about 4000 and deane equalised late on

hereford united away midweek 1-1 draw snowed there and back only a tad less horrible than aldershot away cup replay , never saw any of the game was 3 steps up on tearrace and could occasionally see linesman through fog , took about 7 hours to get home, had to be told we lost 1'0 despite being in ground

 

[kgchezzyblade]

Forgot just how cold Mansfield was...Darlington, everyone in fancy dress and it seemed one lone Darlington fan in the middle of Blades supporters, Arsenal after match a line of police horses between us and the busses, Norwich ..apart from the result...and Dundee on way back at the service station only one person on the till and everyone had polished off what was on their trays and on the display before reaching the pay station...like a plague of locusts

 

[metalblade]

Cambridge away 13 of us went in my works van crossed a field remember there being a drain gulley by the hedge , we ñost 1'0 needing a win , but was never on when we saw patched up side we had to play , think there were 8 missing

ipswich away in the fa cup , lost 3'2 but got to ground at 2pm got let out of police station at 3 10pm as thered been some free samples taken from a motorway services on the way

peston away , lost 2'0 they had a plastic pitch the glowed at night matches , players and fans needed sun glasses

bury away night match took about 4000 and deane equalised late on

hereford united away midweek 1-1 draw snowed there and back only a tad less horrible than aldershot away cup replay , never saw any of the game was 3 steps up on tearrace and could occasionally see linesman through fog , took about 7 hours to get home, had to be told we lost 1'0 despite being in ground

Ah Ipswich, I was one of the 100 or so locked up until after 3.00pm our coaches were easily identified as culprits as they were the bright yellow of Coopers at Killamarsh, SUT had run out of coaches due to the high demand.
One of the biggest shitholes I remember was The Shay at Halfax where the game was stopped for about 20mins with lightning hitting the floor all around the ground, never seen players run for the tunnel so fast LOL.

 

[Silent Blade]

Leagueliner train to Arsenal in March 1973- a photo of me with Ted Hemsley and two other Blades fans was in the programme for the next home game

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Winning 5-1 away at Halifax. Worst ground I'd been to.

Away at Bradford. Tropical storm on the way to the game, nearly aquaplaned our way under a car transporter, got on free somehow, PC A chasing a fan down a street, PC B in a car screeching to a Sweeney-style halt, flinging open the door, and PC A slamming into it. Not seeing much of the game as Bradford fans were throwing parts of their terrace at us throughout proceedings. Won 2-0? Not sure this is all one game, but it's all Bradford.

Losing 2-0 at Burnley which meant we were promoted on goals scored.

Brighton for a Tuesday night. Lost. Forget the miserable details.

 

[blade too long]

Ah Ipswich, I was one of the 100 or so locked up until after 3.00pm our coaches were easily identified as culprits as they were the bright yellow of Coopers at Killamarsh, SUT had run out of coaches due to the high demand.
One of the biggest shitholes I remember was The Shay at Halfax where the game was stopped for about 20mins with lightning hitting the floor all around the ground, never seen players run for the tunnel so fast LOL.

my dad was hurt at Halifax when we won 5-1 and the wall collapsed

 

[lepton blade]

Remember going to Bristol City in the mid 80's in an early version of the play offs. We were something like 3rd bottom of the old 2nd Div and they were 3rd top of the old 3rd. Think we lost 1-0 and tons of scrapping outside. What were the football league thinking of organising the games like that? A recipe for disaster if ever there was one. Think we drew the second leg at home and went down. Fingers crossed for a happier experience tomorrow.

 

[Mustela Putorius Furo]

Do you remember attending away games in the 70's & 80's?
......
Rotherham 2-1 win when wall fell down on their kop.
What are your memories?

Rotherham when the wall fell down.... They were top, we were second I think.... official attendance that day, about 21000. Actual attendance about 25000 thanks to so many down Millmoor Lane climbiing over the wall to get in free. I lost my shoes in the "queue" down the lane cos the crowd was so packed in waiting to get in... surge happened, people swayed uncontrollably, shoes popped off... last i ever saw of 'em... saw the game in stocking feet with my Dad (who went mental when we scored the second to go in front - cos he worked at TWIL with a load of Rotherham fans who'd been lecturing him about how United were gonna get stuffed!).

Incidentally the other lot played their the week after, repeated the wall incident by knocking it down deliberately.... attendance that day 14,500. Massive, you know.

 

[Mustela Putorius Furo]

Stoke in cup and Terry 'gipo' Curran playing a blinder for us....

I've never seen a game in my life so dominated by a single player who ended up on the losing side. Crazy night that one... and blatant "homer" ref too...(and I'm normally difficult to convince on such).

 

[Captain]

Wolves away 88-89 season, 2-2 draw, Brian Deane and Tony Agana and wibbly wobbly woo, both promoted to old second division that night!Magic

 

[lepton blade]

E="Captain, post: 718047, member: 12922"]Wolves away 88-89 season, 2-2 draw, Brian Deane and Tony Agana and wibbly wobbly woo, both promoted to old second division that night!Magic[/QUOTE]

One of their sides closed and another a bus ride away from the touch line. Great night though.

 

[Mustela Putorius Furo]

Oldham away, pre-season, 74-75.... anglo-texican-scottish-watney-cup - Blades fans on train being terrified of simply being in Manchester...lost 4-0. "This is gonna be a shit season isn't it?".... if only we'd stuck one in at Birmingham on the last day of that season!!!

Man City 74-75 - 2-3. Not so much for that game but for the incredible traffic coming back to M'cr from Sheffield as MUFC had played at S6 in the second division on the same day... and my journey to Maine road in a Hackney Carriage taxi, and my first experience of "look after your car mister?"

Northampton away midweek 81/82 - one of the most dire performances i've ever seen from a Blades team... 1-0 down until the millionth minute, the pulled it back and ended up winning 2-1. Blatant "awayer" that ref!

Hull City pitch invasions... every year. Without fail.

Rochdale 81/82 - one of Handsworth lads ending in someone's living room after being chased down a dead-end. 0-0. cold. F. cold.

Crewe - 3-2 jeff king....Mark Palios' incredible hair... first time i saw someone with a Wednesday jumper on with the owls head converted to a pig (by his Mum no doubt) - brilliant.

Bury - 1-1 81-82 but that late equaliser (was it an Edwards header???) .... about a billion Blades laughing all the way back across the M62.

Peterborough away (4-0, 81/82) was memorable for being the first trip on a football special train where the police just let us all find our own way to the ground and hence get some sherberts before kick-off... and of course for stuffing promotion rivals 4-0 at their place and just about guaranteeing promotion.

Torquay for going into a pub at 12;00 in the town making a lot of noise, being embarrassed at upsetting the very posh drinkers in there....imagine captain Peacock, and a Mrs Slocombe/Hyacinth Bouquet cross, General Melchett and Colonel Hall ..... "association football fans, Fawlty... I say..what!?"... only to see them in the directors box in the ground later taking the piss out of us for our inverted snobbery and passing us all a lager at half time!...

Darlington 81-82 for the sight of Busby and a Green Crocodile chasing some youth's outside the ground at about 15:10, and on the way to the ground a 12 year-old local running across the dual carriageway on the way down to the ground and twatting the lads behind us - with about 20 Blades pissing themselves laughing... and the largest percentage away following ever in English football....... and Bobby Hatton....

Portsmouth 82/83 first game of season, train pulls up 1 mile short of station, everyone charges off across the tracks rather than waiting... after match some numpty charging out of his own house to take on about 800 Blades going back to the footy special... and getting arrested and slung in a Maria for his trouble along with his girlfriend and mother (absolute tit).

Cardiff 82-83 ..lost 2-0 i think....miserable game, miserable day, miserable ground, miserable journey. Even Cardiff fans seemed miserable that day and they'd won. Just f***in' miserable.

Newport, 80/81 ... 0-4.... Cardiff 82/83 is a utopian dream memory. Enough said.

Derby, 86-87, 0-2 ... Handsworth Blades getting a kickin'. Big Mel (very big Mel) holding the hand of a 13-year old copper... "You're going nowhere mate, you need to get your mates"... Spud: Top "feight that lads"..."Top chips them lads"..... Main man from the DLF refusing to go down a back alley with one of the Handsworth lads half his size. Rest of us getting pasted or chased.

Bristol City - 87-88... the prickliest set of f***ers I ever came across... not hard, not intimidating at all, just f***in densely mental... like a hundred "Screech's" that wanted a scrap... and a tediously crap performance... you knew there was no chance in the second leg.


Just some memories.... no doubt blurred by time and ale! ..... there's a gazillion more....

 

[Aston max]

Attended loads at that time. A few Highlights:

Darlington - obviously!

Scunthorpe - The BBC getting steamed by a big munter of a lass. They couldn't scrap for laughing.

Peterborough - 4th division season on a Tuesday night.

Watford in the FA Cup 3rd round - Coldest I've ever been at a game, we were 4-0 down at half-time. Blades were just jumping up and down and singing for the whole of the 2nd half. Afterwards a Watford fan said to me, amazing support from you lot today! No, we were all just trying to keep warm!

Leeds in the 70s - Hellish whenever we went. Remember the 5-1 loss and the coach getting it's windows bricked in after the game.

Blackpool in the 80s - An amazing game of football on the beach, there were hundreds playing.

I would have played in that game but hurt my knee falling out of the Manchester

 

[brownie4583]

Remember going to Odsal Stadium against Bradford 1-1 I think 1986?
Norwich away lost 2-3 but top game in fa cup 1989.
Leeds when Peter Lorimer scored a pen for them in 1-1 draw,his comeback,around 37 I think.

 

[Aston max]

81/82 hartlepool away can anyone remember the little lad on top of a milk float pelting bottles at some interloping boro fans

 

[Mustela Putorius Furo]

81/82 hartlepool away can anyone remember the little lad on top of a milk float pelting bottles at some interloping boro fans

I have a memory of Keith Waugh taking a goal kick at Hartlepool (won 3-2) and it went into the air, came back and went out for a corner because of the ridiculous wind...

now, I don't know if it's a false memory cos it definitely happened during a sunday league game i played in up past Loxley... so i might be "projecting"....

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

That Mansfield one in '89 never been as cold at a match, it was colder on the side terrace than behind the net. Did both and thought why the f**k did I go on the terrace first! Got on the pitch at the end of the game, with all the sleet and snow it was slippy as f**k, crashed into Deano, he was lucky it wasn't feet first and knee high!

 

[Pragmatic Blade]

Enjoyed reading these... Mine are from the late 1980's:

Southend United away on a Friday night - losing countless match balls in the flats they were building behind one of the goals at a Roots Hall!

Port Vale away 3-3 draw. One nil up (Francis Joesph) then 3-1 down before Deano grabbed a late double - great game but I remember getting showered with piss in the loos at half time given the dreadful facilities and getting knee deep in the River Trent getting to the ground!

 

[dublin 10 blade]

Oldham away, pre-season, 74-75.... anglo-texican-scottish-watney-cup - Blades fans on train being terrified of simply being in Manchester...lost 4-0. "This is gonna be a shit season isn't it?".... if only we'd stuck one in at Birmingham on the last day of that season!!!

Man City 74-75 - 2-3. Not so much for that game but for the incredible traffic coming back to M'cr from Sheffield as MUFC had played at S6 in the second division on the same day... and my journey to Maine road in a Hackney Carriage taxi, and my first experience of "look after your car mister?"

Northampton away midweek 81/82 - one of the most dire performances i've ever seen from a Blades team... 1-0 down until the millionth minute, the pulled it back and ended up winning 2-1. Blatant "awayer" that ref!

Hull City pitch invasions... every year. Without fail.

Rochdale 81/82 - one of Handsworth lads ending in someone's living room after being chased down a dead-end. 0-0. cold. F. cold.

Crewe - 3-2 jeff king....Mark Palios' incredible hair... first time i saw someone with a Wednesday jumper on with the owls head converted to a pig (by his Mum no doubt) - brilliant.

Bury - 1-1 81-82 but that late equaliser (was it an Edwards header???) .... about a billion Blades laughing all the way back across the M62.

Peterborough away (4-0, 81/82) was memorable for being the first trip on a football special train where the police just let us all find our own way to the ground and hence get some sherberts before kick-off... and of course for stuffing promotion rivals 4-0 at their place and just about guaranteeing promotion.

Torquay for going into a pub at 12;00 in the town making a lot of noise, being embarrassed at upsetting the very posh drinkers in there....imagine captain Peacock, and a Mrs Slocombe/Hyacinth Bouquet cross, General Melchett and Colonel Hall ..... "association football fans, Fawlty... I say..what!?"... only to see them in the directors box in the ground later taking the piss out of us for our inverted snobbery and passing us all a lager at half time!...

Darlington 81-82 for the sight of Busby and a Green Crocodile chasing some youth's outside the ground at about 15:10, and on the way to the ground a 12 year-old local running across the dual carriageway on the way down to the ground and twatting the lads behind us - with about 20 Blades pissing themselves laughing... and the largest percentage away following ever in English football....... and Bobby Hatton....

Portsmouth 82/83 first game of season, train pulls up 1 mile short of station, everyone charges off across the tracks rather than waiting... after match some numpty charging out of his own house to take on about 800 Blades going back to the footy special... and getting arrested and slung in a Maria for his trouble along with his girlfriend and mother (absolute tit).

Cardiff 82-83 ..lost 2-0 i think....miserable game, miserable day, miserable ground, miserable journey. Even Cardiff fans seemed miserable that day and they'd won. Just f***in' miserable.

Newport, 80/81 ... 0-4.... Cardiff 82/83 is a utopian dream memory. Enough said.

Derby, 86-87, 0-2 ... Handsworth Blades getting a kickin'. Big Mel (very big Mel) holding the hand of a 13-year old copper... "You're going nowhere mate, you need to get your mates"... Spud: Top "feight that lads"..."Top chips them lads"..... Main man from the DLF refusing to go down a back alley with one of the Handsworth lads half his size. Rest of us getting pasted or chased.

Bristol City - 87-88... the prickliest set of f***ers I ever came across... not hard, not intimidating at all, just f***in densely mental... like a hundred "Screech's" that wanted a scrap... and a tediously crap performance... you knew there was no chance in the second leg.


Just some memories.... no doubt blurred by time and ale! ..... there's a gazillion more....

Newport away you didn't tangle with them Middlesboro fuckers who I think we're on there way to Swansea that day , did ya.
Was it John Aldridge that scored a hat-trick against us that day .
Shit ground , shit ale , long fucking trip .