Worst away end....EVER

[Selly]

you have to laugh...

clicky

ahh, the beautiful game. you know you've got problems when you have to lock up spectators.

i found the hideous photo above by chance whilst looking for pictures of a polish conveyor belt (trust me, it's interesting. you'll see) and decided to post it quickly to brighten up your friday. the cage can be found at the ground of znicz pruszków in poland and i believe it houses supporters of the visiting team on match days. if you do know any specifics let me know. also, where's the toilet?

football attracts an unhealthy amount of hooliganism (especially in poland) and most stadiums contain enclosed areas for away fans but i suppose seeing an enclosed area this tiny really brings home the absurdity and depressing reality of the situation.

oh, and one tip for future designers of these cages: paint them using neutral colours. locking them up like animals is probably enough torture.

 

[Guesty]

I love those two leaning against the back wall

You'd end up fighting your own fans just to be able to see!

 

[IOM Blade]

Still better than the away end at Goodison.

 

[JJ Sefton]

I remember being at Griffin Park for Andy Scotts testimonial a few years ago and you had to sit in a cage at half time if you wanted to have a beer.

 

[Wards]

saw that on F365 the other day, it's a classic.

Worst I've been to is Oxfords Manor Ground. A couple of porta-cabins and what was supposed to be a standing area. Best remember that day for it being very wet and two lasses who were soaked taking their t-shirts off and revealing their jebs. Very nice!!

 

[Dog Blade]

Class

Good thread though to ask what people think has been their worst?...

I can remember going to Oldham as a kid (early / mid 80's - sure someone will remember date and score...Darren?..). The away end was soaking wet and to get out you had to walk across the grass at the back of the concrete terracing. Problem was that there was a 100ft mud puddle right in the middle of the exit gate - about 2 people at a time could tiptoe out at the edge of the swamp - world record time to exit a football ground but singing, moaning, piss taking, sliding through the puddles galore.

Funny how that is a happy early memory of my time as a kid following the Blades with my Uncle and his mates. None of that these days for the kids following us away at Leicester, Derby, Boro, Coventry and so on. Some will say progress, I'll always differ. Happy days, UTB.

 

[Bath Blade]

Worst I've been to is Oxfords Manor Ground. A couple of porta-cabins and what was supposed to be a standing area. Best remember that day for it being very wet and two lasses who were soaked taking their t-shirts off and revealing their jebs. Very nice!!

Was that the Andy Goram game, with our first away win in years?

Millmoor takes some beating, but I think the Manor Ground probably just wins it for me.

 

[Northyorksblade]

Still better than the away end at Goodison.

Disagree completely. Love that ground, happy memories of no moaners and a lot of singing! Better than the new plastic stadia anytime. Ayresome Park and Roker Park were bad. Couldn't see a thing from behind the bike shed and stewards were liable to beat you up at both grounds.

 

[grafikhaus]

Remember the Barnsley end pre-seating? I went with a non-footie-fan mate for a Cup replay. Think it was about 1990 (Littlejohn scored for us). It was basically a slag-heap with concrete steps on the pitch side.
At half time we wandered down the back for a piss and there was a hot dog stand doing roaring trade. My mate commented that it must be a gold mine having a pitch like that.

Anyway, we won and several thousand Blades departed. It was so crushed you could literally have lifted your feet off the ground and not fallen down. Eventually, about halfway from the slag heap to the exits, I noticed the crowd in front seemed to rise up a few inches. When we got to the spot, I looked down and their was a big pile of firewood with 'Hot' and 'Dogs' painted on it! :thumbup:

 

[Darren]

Class

Good thread though to ask what people think has been their worst?...

I can remember going to Oldham as a kid (early / mid 80's - sure someone will remember date and score...Darren?..). The away end was soaking wet and to get out you had to walk across the grass at the back of the concrete terracing. Problem was that there was a 100ft mud puddle right in the middle of the exit gate - about 2 people at a time could tiptoe out at the edge of the swamp - world record time to exit a football ground but singing, moaning, piss taking, sliding through the puddles galore.

Funny how that is a happy early memory of my time as a kid following the Blades with my Uncle and his mates. None of that these days for the kids following us away at Leicester, Derby, Boro, Coventry and so on. Some will say progress, I'll always differ. Happy days, UTB.

Games at Oldham in the 80's

8/9/84: D2-2 (Arnott, Philliskirk)
2/11/85 W5-1 (Morris 2, Edwards 2, Arnott)
1/1/87 L1-3 (Morris)
12/9/87 L2-3 (Stancliffe, Dempsey)

 

[Darren]

Was that the Andy Goram game, with our first away win in years?

Millmoor takes some beating, but I think the Manor Ground probably just wins it for me.

Either the 1-4 (Walker) defeat there on 14/12/96 or the 2-0 (Saunders, Kachuro) win there on 24/10/98. The latter was our first away win in the league since 4/11/97 and Goram did indeed play.

 

[Darren]

Remember the Barnsley end pre-seating? I went with a non-footie-fan mate for a Cup replay. Think it was about 1990 (Littlejohn scored for us). It was basically a slag-heap with concrete steps on the pitch side.
At half time we wandered down the back for a piss and there was a hot dog stand doing roaring trade. My mate commented that it must be a gold mine having a pitch like that.

Anyway, we won and several thousand Blades departed. It was so crushed you could literally have lifted your feet off the ground and not fallen down. Eventually, about halfway from the slag heap to the exits, I noticed the crowd in front seemed to rise up a few inches. When we got to the spot, I looked down and their was a big pile of firewood with 'Hot' and 'Dogs' painted on it! :thumbup:

5/3/90. It was a 2nd replay and we won 1-0 with a pen from Agana in extra time. Littlejohn didn't join us until 1991.

 

[Fiery Blade]

saw that on F365 the other day, it's a classic.

Worst I've been to is Oxfords Manor Ground. A couple of porta-cabins and what was supposed to be a standing area. Best remember that day for it being very wet and two lasses who were soaked taking their t-shirts off and revealing their jebs. Very nice!!

Remember it well :thumbup:
Also Oldham on New Years Day brought back fond memories of walking through knee deep mud to the turnstyle.
The only other one that stands out was Port Vale Division 3 when we scraped a draw in the closing minutes - Wet through by torrential rain, fell in the canal in rush to get into ground and then at half time being jammed in the piss Corner with 100 other blades which was designed? for ten people and a bloke behind me getting fed up and pissing down my back

 

[Bakewell Blade]

Colchester was a bit like that, greet atmosphere in the away end though

 

[Dog Blade]

Notts County IF stuck behind the floodlight pylon wasn't that great either....

 

[Stockholm syndrom]

Boothferry Park

Bothferry Park for me..

Awful stand with a supermarket at the back, awful game too I think 0-0 during the early 90s and the pies were shite an all!!

 

[happyhippy]

Halifax in Division Four was fun. Most of Division Four was, to be honest. Then again, the grounds weren't exactly designed for the prawn sandwich brigade.

Not that I'm saying that any of us are one of them!

 

[themaninblack]

Standing on the away end at Watford, early rounds of the cup. As I remember it was snowing and we lost 5-0 (can it really have been that bad?).

 

[sitwell]

Maine Road ,it always rained, you couldn't see anything ,we always lost ,you got a kicking outside ,your car got broken into ,then it was a good hour crawl back to the Snake.

 

[Bert]

Doncaster away 20 odd years ago in the cup. In a cage, no roof, coppers being twats and a bomb site of a car park covered in puddles awaiting after getting out of the one open gate.

Bert's favourite away match was always at Grimsby....

 

[raul]

Clearly, none of you has ever spent an afternoon at Post Office Road, Featherstone.

 

[tat]

Cambridge away

Cambridge away inthe old 3rd/4th division days. To access the away end one had to walk through many cow fields dodging the S**t.

On arrival to the open away end, we were penned and put in to several cages, once full it was closed and another opened!! going to the toilet you had to ask to be let out!!

Kenworthy then scored an own goal off his arse

 

[Revolution]

Worst I've been to is Oxfords Manor Ground. A couple of porta-cabins and what was supposed to be a standing area. Best remember that day for it being very wet and two lasses who were soaked taking their t-shirts off and revealing their jebs. Very nice!!

That was the game Darren mentions that we won 2-0 when Goram was playing. Wettest I've ever been at a game. We were given a voucher on the gate "in case the game is abandoned".

What a dump that ground was. Easily the worst away end I've been on, though I'd believe tat when he says Cambridge was worse - I've been there a few times but only stood with the home fans, and the away end had a terrible reputation. One unique feature was the midges swarming over from the marshland behind the away end, apparently. We've only played them once in the league, in 1979, when they effectively relegated us from Division 2 by beating us 1-0.

 

[FishFingers]

Been to loads over the years but that was the fun of it all. The dirtier and more hostile the better! Roker Park was always a joy and it wasn't just the ground but the whole area. Every single wall around the streets had broken glass cemented into the tops of the walls to deter burglars probably ;-)
The Den was just nasty, Elm Park stank, Wrexham away was utterly shocking but then again all the grounds were alike all over in the good old days of the seventies/eighties. I remember going to Anfield when they played Chesterfield in 79 and it was like a bomb had gone off with so much rubble around. Talking of Chesterfield, get there quick if you still like standing. One of the only grounds in the league left I think for being able to get away with nearly anthing. Not been for a couple of years mind, so maybe its changed? According to a mate it hasn't and won't until they get the new ground built.

Reminds me of the song 'In your Liverpool slums' ;-)

 

[davidpinder]

Rotherham is up there for me stand at the front your pitch level and at the back like i was still pitch level

 

[Darren]

Been to loads over the years but that was the fun of it all. The dirtier and more hostile the better! Roker Park was always a joy and it wasn't just the ground but the whole area. Every single wall around the streets had broken glass cemented into the tops of the walls to deter burglars probably ;-)
The Den was just nasty, Elm Park stank, Wrexham away was utterly shocking but then again all the grounds were alike all over in the good old days of the seventies/eighties. I remember going to Anfield when they played Chesterfield in 79 and it was like a bomb had gone off with so much rubble around. Talking of Chesterfield, get there quick if you still like standing. One of the only grounds in the league left I think for being able to get away with nearly anthing. Not been for a couple of years mind, so maybe its changed? According to a mate it hasn't and won't until they get the new ground built.

Reminds me of the song 'In your Liverpool slums' ;-)

Chesterfield was my first ever away game - the 3-1 defeat on 28/12/82. Mike Trusson scored for us and the game saw the first rumblings of discontent with the Porterfield regime as our expensively gathered squad (3 £100K + forwards - Edwards, Curran and Young - at a time when £100K was a lot) failed to make any impression on the 3rd Division.