80s and 90s Fans Memory Lane

[leicester ghost]

talking of reliving past glories........is there anywhere to post relating to 80s and 90s days...i'm getting all sentimental....anyone remember beating liverpool 2-1 at anfield,they had gone about 89 home league and cup games undefeated....we beat them,the annie road flickheads are all singing [sing the hand song] [oh when your smiling]....police made the train escort walk back to lime street station whereas before the game they'ed laid on busses and your everton fans were coming out of houses to congratulate leicester fans on that long march back....................we're back

[leicester ghost]

one day, a long time ago,i walked up to filbert street with a mate......i'd only been a handfull of games ,usually when the old mans team came down or a mates dad took us...on this day there was two of us,we'd promised to do a bit of work on the saturday night and been payed upfront...50 pence each.......we got to the ground,corner of burnmoor street,and payed to go in pen 1.......50 pence to get in[our evenings wages]...we wern't ready for pens 2, 3 or 4,that'd come later,we stood just below the middle,left side next to pen 2 waiting for the teams to come out........now in them days the away fans at filbert street used to be in the corner,next to the orange seats,north stand....this particular day leicester were entertaining aston villa.........the away end was getting quite rammed,....so some joker within our dear club decided that with over 500,if not over 1000 pissed up villa fans still outside an already full away enclosure,it would be a good idea to put them in pen 1 with a heavy police presence in front and alongside pen 2.....ok,around this time pen 1 was'nt the most boisterous area in the ground, but you had a few hundred leicester fans in there,even a few schoolkids,i can vouch for that........now this had to be a recipe for disaster.......and it was,absolute carnage......pen 2 were loving it,and so were villa,personally we'd seen enough and after about 1 minute,we were on the way home,we'd have never have been able to concentrate on the game..........cheering the likes of weller would have to wait a while longer...........

[Anstey Fox]

talking of reliving past glories........is there anywhere to post relating to 80s and 90s days...i'm getting all sentimental....anyone remember beating liverpool 2-1 at anfield,they had gone about 89 home league and cup games undefeated....we beat them,the annie road flickheads are all singing [sing the hand song] [oh when your smiling]....police made the train escort walk back to lime street station whereas before the game they'ed laid on busses and your everton fans were coming out of houses to congratulate leicester fans on that long march back....................we're back

Fantastic game, I was there, especially when you consider we lost away to Exeter the previous Wednesday in the FA Cup, I was there as well.

The life of a Leicester Fan encompassed in 4 days.

[purpleronnie]

So many memories of the 1980's how brilliant and terrible it was. But most of my early 90 memories are a bit of a alcoholic blur.

I do remember a night at Notts County around 91/92 where it seemed we had more fans inside the ground than the home team, it was Zenith Data Cup thingy, semi final I think, we won in extra time, it was an amazing night, we ended up losing to the other nottingham side in the final.

This was quickly supassed the same season when we beat Cambridge utd in the semi final play offs 5-0, which remains one of the best nights I had at filbert street and one of the best performances I've ever seen from Leicester.

[leicester ghost]

purpleronnie...think i remember notts county 1992..was derek strickland the matchwinner,could have got meself confused,we played notts county alot.....the other lot in nottingham...well,first time i ever went to see leicester at forest was a testemonial for their winger john robertson....yes,i feel a touch guilty regarding the abuse we dished out to him on his big night.....and he still came to leicester with martin o neil and did us proud.....i used to go to alot of games away with schoolmates early on...sometimes there was 2 of us,sometimes 10 or more,we were passionate and even stood outside the m1 sliproad hitching the odd game,also if stuck for transport you could wait around humberstone gate with a good chance of a lift...2 of us got a lift from humbo gate on two successive trips to chelsea,and with the same 2 lads...back to forest,1980 i think,5 or 6 of us,all still at school set off on the old normal service barton bus....got off and in the corner pen. with no bother ....can't remember how many went or how many pens we filled,there was a decent following but nowhere near later amounts we took....a few seasons you could'nt move and we'd have the corner pens and 2 overflow pens.....iv'e been a few leicester v forest games and iv'e not seen much joy which does'nt seem fair considering what later transpired that night....your supposed to mature as you get older but personally i think the midwives down the royal should be the first to mention hating forest,then a small note on the birth certificate,and definately at least a week in the leicestershire school curriculem......back to 1980,we're in the ground and an older lad i knew handed me a can of beer,you could drink on the terraces then,i took my fist swig and he's pointing me out to a copper for underage drinking...cheers...what made the copper ignore it was ,i looked older......the game passed as a 0-0 draw,but the abuse shown to robertson as he made his trademark runs down the wing was both vicious and constant...we left the ground and turned on to the main road and walked towards the trent bridge tavern,we needed to take a left for our bus....as we are walking towards the tavern theres a big group approaching us......we're no threat to anyone so we carry on,call it tunnel vision but i can't remember anything around us,we must have been the first leicester out,just this big group walking down the centre of the road and getting closer...bang...mr scarrott and his mates are on to us,we panic and scatter all over,i ran into a garage yard,deadend so cleared a 10 foot wall on the run with one stepup......i landed on a car park yard in the middle of a serious brick fight,luckyly i landed on the leicester side and had a word with one lad as i was passing by and he was rearming.......i followed the crowds and got back to the station somehow,bunked the train while nursing my wounds.....i think i saw us beat forest once at filbert street,and 2 draws,the last when we were 2 up at there place,i did'nt go last year.the two players that represent us and them for me are obviously stuart pearce and blood and thunder andy feely......years later i went for a few drinks in the trent bridge tavern to exercise a few ghosts,bastards nicked our money off the pool table...my mate told them what he thought of them ......1993 was another time i saw them bullying....on the dover to ostende ferry travelling to see englands last make or break qualifyer in holland[the ferrys to the hook had been suspended]forest were bullying and we got talking to one of them,we were due to play them soon and after a frosty but civil few words we shook hands and mr forest says''in a few weeks we'll be fighting but for now we're all england,,

[leicester ghost]

tottenham away,early 80s.....on the football special,its the old type with corridoors and compartments,room for 6 people and theres about 9 in our comprtment...leicester were'nt expected to trouble a spurs side with all the big names and garth crooks and steve archibald up front........the special train took us to tottenham hale overground station,and it seemed a long walk through a pretty down trodden area.....in the ground and they only have 3 sides being used,one side is a vast building site,opposite is the shelf,then the two stands behind either goal......one things for sure,theres a sizable amount of spurs in our end,theres a decent following but enough space to walk about freely,if i remember right tottenham score first;the rest is hazy.....we score 2 and hero jim melrose breaks a bone in either his leg or his arm....the ambulence had to drive into the building site to pick jim up........after the game was a bit hairy.....big tottenham lads twice our age mixing in at the front of our disorganised escort are disgusted at the average age of the leicester lads[there all facking kids]was one comment before the local coppers kicked them up the road,the coppers did'nt mess about....we made it to tottenham hale and on the train with the journey home livened up with 2 of ours scrapping in the compatment,it would soon be forgot and we'd all be back...............liverpool,away.....on the special train....they have'nt been beaten at anfield for about 89 games,that includes league,cup and of course europe.......we get to lime street and get put straight on busses,we're a good few hundred and we get a tour of the docks and areas leading to the ground...iv'e heard the docks and liverpool in general have been regenerated,it certainly needed it,like newcastle another place i'd like to see now...we get to the ground,straight in the corner end,a 5 foot corridor seperates us and the liverpool flickheads nextdoor in the annie road end.......they don't show us too much animosity as they'll obviously hit us for around 5 or 6.......leicester have around 700-1000 fans and we're singing well.....after a rendition of [oh when your smiling].....the annie road lads turn to us, give aflick so they can look you in the eye,and demand we[sing the hand song]......1 goal each and the kop can't believe it,pddy byrne i think smacks one in and the leicester fans go daft........my mates glasses fall off and by the time he finds them even he's laughing at the state there in......last few minutes everyones delerious,not anxious as in later years,when we'd be in the same position,......we had'nt learnt that yet......game ends,mass celebrating,players know they've done something special and i remember seeing a photo of jim melrose on the anfield pitch so he must of scored.....outside there was no knife attacks,no clothes stolen,i think everyone was too shocked....except the night stick wielding police....they made us walk promptly all the way back to lime street......sometimes at double time.....a few carrying a bit of weight suffered but the police threatened any slow movers with being locked up for the night so we all kept going....one big help,and this was happenning close to anfield as well.......everton fans were coming out of houses congratulating leicester fans in the passing escort.....we had a good record agaist liverpool,their fans will be glancing over at our league table,twitching

[Mickey O'Neil]

I do remember a night at Notts County around 91/92 where it seemed we had more fans inside the ground than the home team, it was Zenith Data Cup thingy, semi final I think, we won in extra time, it was an amazing night, we ended up losing to the other nottingham side in the final

Was that the night it rained?

[Alexikokopops]

...AND AN IAN ORMONDROYD!

[leicester ghost]

health and safety at football was never brilliant

food cooked on gas mark 2 for 23 seconds.......toilets several inches deep in urine.....watford wolves and southend spring to mind

fans penned in with the surrounding fences having rusty spikes on.......if the pen was full.....and you were near the fence......if a goal went in you were in danger of being spiked....

crush barriers ....so called ....because if you stood anywhere near them you were gonna get crushed if a goal went in

stadium gates opened 15 minutes before the end of the game......unmanned .....open invitation to the icf or any football mob wanting to get better aquainted

pen crowd capacity .....the hillsborough disaster could have happened at any number of grounds with particularly away enclosures absolutely rammed ......it was'nt easy reaching into your pocket for something

forest away.....one year alot of leicester arrived late so the pen next to their stand started getting dangrously full......

filbert street.....if you were quick and agile enough you could jump from pen 3 into pen 4 or vice versa......some games would see these pens holding 50 less than actually paid to get in

leicester v shrewsbury fa cup....how many people were in pens 3 and 4.......that was one of the most exciting games ever at filbert street....we used 3 keepers and still won 5-2....

[mikey54]

David Geddes' attempt to jaw butt Steve Walsh's elbow.

Lynex, Lineker, Smith - great combination with plenty of goals between them

Lynex doing the breaststroke on a waterlogged pitch (game subsequently abandoned)

[AndyBrew]

Cambridge 5-0 was a bloody fantastic evening, one of the few Leicester games where at no point did I feel apprehensive or concerned that we might just actually lose !!!

I took my little brother to Leicester v Newcastle last game of the season and all hell broke loose, coins came raining down, and my brother took home more money than he went with

[mikey54]

Bobby Smith's mullett

[Suffolk_fox]

Lynex doing the breaststroke on a waterlogged pitch (game subsequently abandoned)

I remember that! I swear he actually moved too....

[fox123]

Was that the night it rained?

I remember that said night, going to Meadow Lane, no roof absolutely lethered it down but a brilliant night none the less, our fans were amazing that night!

My first memorys of Filbert Street were sitting on the wall of the old family stand (down by the corner flag) before the new West Stand was built, I was told of by the officials because they said that if a ball come flying over it would break me legs so I wasn't alowed to sit on the wall no more

[leicester ghost]

the good old football special...............leicester train station,the area where taxis pick up has'nt changed much over the years

in fact i bet it looked the same when mr cook was organising his day trips....football away days and the area was teeming with leicester fans

you'd have your crisps,pop and paper....you just could'nt wait

the police would try to get everyone lined up against the wall in an orderly fashion...not always easy if it was a big game or grudge match

on the other hand ...for a midweek night game at west ham,only about 60 turn up.....on the train a lad comes in all the compartments to remind everyone to stick together

at stratford we change from football special to an underground train.....looks suspiciously like we were expected as plenty of loitering eastenders suddenly get on........talk about intimidation

we get off the train and slowly get escorted by the market and along green street......its a tight escort and needs to be.....

mr pennant and friends are slightly ahead and also at our side.....they keep changing position to make it look innocent...we all know the game and so do the police

in the ground...theres about 120 leicester in the pen....looking to the right two thirds up theres a small group of west ham....one has his shirt sleeves rolled up so everyone can see his muscles..you've gotta laugh

the game kicks off,would you believe it..we score through alan young..yes.......trouble was we then conceeded 3 or was it 4....another journey back from the capital with no points

[leicester ghost]

i used to like the promotion battles in the old 2nd division

leeds away..1981 or 82.......leicester took a massive following.......it could have been the baby squads first major appearance.......a young gary lineker took a knock

we spent the next 10 minutes not bothering with the game...we just watched lineker grimmacing as he tryed to run the knock off...

it all turned out well....legend larry may popped up to secure a 2-2 draw

fulham v leicester .. about 1980 something....top of the table clash......the cameras were there with brian moore commentating

fulham had a lethal striker gordon davies...but we wern't fazed

leicester took about 5 thousand fans behind the goal with the thames providing the backdrop

i think davis might have had 1 chalked out....anyway,good old,dependable, ian wilson came through from midfield to score from 20 yards out..a rare win in london

i think i saw 1 point in 5 games at chelsea

no points in 3 games at west ham[4 if you count the game against charlton]

3 points in 2 games at orient

0 points in 2 games at arsenal

1 point in 2 games at qpr

3 losses at millwall

3 points in 1 game at tottenham....

3 points in 1 game at brentford

so my record in london was'nt too clever

[Sparky]

So many memories of the 1980's how brilliant and terrible it was. But most of my early 90 memories are a bit of a alcoholic blur.

I do remember a night at Notts County around 91/92 where it seemed we had more fans inside the ground than the home team, it was Zenith Data Cup thingy, semi final I think, we won in extra time, it was an amazing night, we ended up losing to the other nottingham side in the final.

This was quickly supassed the same season when we beat Cambridge utd in the semi final play offs 5-0, which remains one of the best nights I had at filbert street and one of the best performances I've ever seen from Leicester.

I remember that said night, going to Meadow Lane, no roof absolutely lethered it down but a brilliant night none the less, our fans were amazing that night!

My first memorys of Filbert Street were sitting on the wall of the old family stand (down by the corner flag) before the new West Stand was built, I was told of by the officials because they said that if a ball come flying over it would break me legs so I wasn't alowed to sit on the wall no more

Paul Fitzpatrick diving header to win it !!!! 1st ever away match for me !!

[leicester ghost]

the 1990s........no more trips on the football special.................

now it would be in the car to aways.,with freedom of movement....in the mini bus.......or on the service train where travelling about watching leicester you'd sometimes

see the same small groups of fellow leicester fans...or dynamic duos

purpleronnie......you mention the 1990s were a bit of a drunken haze.....how right you are

i honestly never thought i'd live to see leicester at wemberly.....but now our fortunes were going to change for the better

several trips to wemberly......play off finals....cup finals......and even a chance to fly the leicester flag at a european football match

this decade, i think, introduced a whole new generation of kids to supporting leicester who might other wise be wearing chelsea or man u shirts

as for us....we were off the leash

[leicester ghost]

does any leicester fan, have any comments to make regarding matches in the 1980s or 1990s.

i'm especially interested to hear, interesting,factual stories,particularly if it involves a game iv'e mentioned

thanks,in anticipation.

[He's not bald]

So many memories of the 1980's how brilliant and terrible it was. But most of my early 90 memories are a bit of a alcoholic blur.

I do remember a night at Notts County around 91/92 where it seemed we had more fans inside the ground than the home team, it was Zenith Data Cup thingy, semi final I think, we won in extra time, it was an amazing night, we ended up losing to the other nottingham side in the final.

This was quickly supassed the same season when we beat Cambridge utd in the semi final play offs 5-0, which remains one of the best nights I had at filbert street and one of the best performances I've ever seen from Leicester.

Absolutely peed it down all second half and through extra time,my new "Bukta"coat was soaked but a great night and we went back a season or 2 later and annoyed Mr Pavis when we laughed at his refurbed stadium ....happy days!

[Simi]

Would love to see a return to Football Specials, although the chances must be minimal due to the way they'd be need(?) to be policed.

[SantiagoFox]

Anfield when we broke their record - I was there.

For some reason we'd got tickets in their main stand, and after we'd won, some scousers at the front came up to us and said "Are you Leicester fans?". I thought "oh, dear here we go". We said yes, as we'd cheered when we'd scored, and they shook hands and said well done.

I remember looking over to the corner at the city fans going mental.

Anyone remember the last game of one season when we were already down, and played away at Norwich. Still about 800 on the special!

[SantiagoFox]

Would love to see a return to Football Specials, although the chances must be minimal due to the way they'd be need(?) to be policed.

They apparently don't have the rolling stock available now.

Although there's a place down south full of unused carriages..

Specials started to get less popular as the policing was so "good" that everyone got herded to the ground...

Be handy sometimes though.

[He's not bald]

health and safety at football was never brilliant

food cooked on gas mark 2 for 23 seconds.......toilets several inches deep in urine.....watford wolves and southend spring to mind

fans penned in with the surrounding fences having rusty spikes on.......if the pen was full.....and you were near the fence......if a goal went in you were in danger of being spiked....

crush barriers ....so called ....because if you stood anywhere near them you were gonna get crushed if a goal went in

stadium gates opened 15 minutes before the end of the game......unmanned .....open invitation to the icf or any football mob wanting to get better aquainted

pen crowd capacity .....the hillsborough disaster could have happened at any number of grounds with particularly away enclosures absolutely rammed ......it was'nt easy reaching into your pocket for something

forest away.....one year alot of leicester arrived late so the pen next to their stand started getting dangrously full......

filbert street.....if you were quick and agile enough you could jump from pen 3 into pen 4 or vice versa......some games would see these pens holding 50 less than actually paid to get in

leicester v shrewsbury fa cup....how many people were in pens 3 and 4.......that was one of the most exciting games ever at filbert street....we used 3 keepers and still won 5-2....

Watford always was terrible... used to have to walk through what amounted to garden allotments to get to the away end!

Cambridge wasn't much better and once you were on that poxy little terrace it was difficult to get out for a slash so most supporters used to do it where they stood!

But none compare to the old Den,now that place was really scary...remember going there in the FA cup one chilly winter's midweek...horrible ground horrible weather horrible fans and horrible game!

Grimsby away though was always good for a giggle and we usually got a result there.

Strangly some of my best times ended with us losing,like playing Charlton at Upton Park,don't know how many city fans were there that day but we must have outnumbered the Charlton fans by at least 2 to 1 and the Swindon Play off at Wembley..we lost but what a comeback and as bad as it was we got to do it all again the next year!

As for Filbo my best memories are Tony James goal against Oxford that kept us up,the Shrewsbury FA cup game of course and giving Shilton some stick whenever he came back!

[Uncle Albert]

I wish I went to Leicester aways in the 90's seems to me they are alot different from nowadays.

I used to wacth most of the away games at Filbert Street on some bigscreen, was good.

Filbert Street night games were something special, even being as young as I was you could feel a different atmosphere outside Filbert Street compared to the Walkers. Will never forget Atletico Madrid home tie, that will always be in my memory and will usually make me smile and the Arsenal game. When Walshy scored I had never cheered as much in my life.