I didn't have much opportunity to go to away games as a kid coming from a non blade family
However, it was a Friday night in 1979 and my mate was having a party at his house, as his mum and dad were on holiday
He talked me into going to Mansfield to watch United play next day
So we left the party at about 9.00 next morning and set off
He didn't tell me we'd be hitch hiking
So we stood at the bottom of the Parkway thumbing for about an hour and a half,
Anyway I got bored and went to Pond Street and got a return ticket on the service bus
The bus got smashed to bits on the way to Mansfield by some rather scary looking people
We managed to arrive in Mansfield and went to the pub, went to the match, won 4-3 and went to the top of the League.........Fantastic
Then I arrived at Mansfield bus station expecting to get the service bus back to Sheffield
But no !!!! All return buses had been cancelled because of the damage done to them on the way
I was stuck in Mansfield, the town didn't even have a train station at the time with about 20p in my pocket
A couple of hundred United fans set off walking to Chesterfield where the plan was to get the bus from there back to Sheffield
Of course some of these morons couldn't behave, throwing bricks and bottles at any Mansfield fans we passed, looting shops and smashing windows.
It wasn't long before plod arrived with about 10 Black Marias, Dogs, Riot Gear, everything
They waded in swinging clubs at everyone and anyone
They chucked me in the van and took me to Mansfield police station where they kept me locked up all night with 104 other Blades fans IN ONE CELL
They dripped us all off in Sheffield at 5.00 next morning regardless of where anybody lived
One lad sat next to me lived in Worksop and we practically drove past his house on the way but the police wouldn't stop and let him get out
I had to walk from Sheffield City Centre to Crookes which wasn't too bad but some of the lads in the police vans were in the completely wrong city altogether
That was my first proper away game