80s away days

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

2 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

This, sir, is a very valid point. I thought it was just me.

 

I was shit scared of our own fans.

 

Tbh, we weren't a friendly bunch and always felt that lads were as likely to kick off with each other.

 

In world war terms, you wouldn't want to be in the trenches with 1980s city fans. They never had your back.

I was so naive back then I even bought a ticket ? 

Those same fans who stood alongside you at the football were the same ones who’d kick your head in given half a chance on a Friday or Saturday night ?

Edited 9 April 2019 by Mark 'expert' Lawrenson

[AylestoneRaider]

I’ve always heard the stories of the estates fighting each other in the Kop. Braunstone was always the most feared part of town back in my old man’s era - going back to the 50’s

[Guest bss9401]

9 hours ago, Line-X said:

Anyone at this? Still have a relative living in the same house on The Bishops Park Road who has unbelievably never watched a match at the Cottage. 

 

Wilson's goal, one of my favourite away celebrations ever and part of our 15 game winning streak under Milne. Saw him the next day in County News in Oadby and shook his hand.

 

All went South for Fulham V Derby on the last day of the season...farcical.... 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/that-1980s-sports-blog/2018/may/03/fulham-promotion-leicester-derby-football-league

I was at that game. It seemed like half of Leicester were in London. Absolute scenes when we scored. Fulham had a weird clapper of a scoreboard behind us that gleefully stuttered into action when they 'scored' and went 1-0 up. Shrieks of delight from our lot when it took 2-3 minutes to reset itself. We went 1-0 up for real very soon after. That was that and we were pretty much promoted.

[Stoopid]

13 hours ago, Paninistickers said:

Paulls from the saff and Dave Tallis van hire from Hinckley.

 

If those minibuses were parked up at a boozer en route, it was advisable to avoid unless you enjoyed pre arranged scraps with the oppo

Yeah - schoolboy error really. Though I suppose we thought Alvaston was safely distant from the centre of town. 

After that 4 or 5 of us chipped in and bought an old Fiat that we used for away games - man, that old thing did some mileage!

[Vince Vega]

14 hours ago, Foxesmints said:

I remember that, I'd never even heard of Cricklewood at the time!

So you never watched The Goodies then? 

[TheLittleBigMan]

Let's all agree there are no classes and work from there. See what happens.

[Guest bss9401]

Anyone go to Cov away in 1984? We lost 2-0 but our fans invaded the pitch several times and there were around 3-400 Leicester fans in their end. This is no exaggeration as it was reported in the paper later (the Mercury actually reported 6-700).  Inevitably it went off big time with the home fans dispersing, seats were ripped out and the game stopped. I recall being forced into the pitch myself because of the surge of fans trying to get at them. Leicester fans then attacked two of their stands. It was kicking off around the ground and in the city pre and post match. I met up with some Hinckley lads in Leicester the following night who were a big part of it and they were incredibly proud of themselves. It was the worst situation that I'd ever been caught up in. Hinckley, Cov and Leicester papers were all over it but neither us nor Cov were banned. It is a measure of how that sort of thing was almost expected and accepted in those times.

[SpacedX]

1 hour ago, bss9401 said:

Anyone go to Cov away in 1984? We lost 2-0 but our fans invaded the pitch several times and there were around 3-400 Leicester fans in their end. This is no exaggeration as it was reported in the paper later (the Mercury actually reported 6-700).  Inevitably it went off big time with the home fans dispersing, seats were ripped out and the game stopped. I recall being forced into the pitch myself because of the surge of fans trying to get at them. Leicester fans then attacked two of their stands. It was kicking off around the ground and in the city pre and post match. I met up with some Hinckley lads in Leicester the following night who were a big part of it and they were incredibly proud of themselves. It was the worst situation that I'd ever been caught up in. Hinckley, Cov and Leicester papers were all over it but neither us nor Cov were banned. It is a measure of how that sort of thing was almost expected and accepted in those times.

Yes - I was recounting this recently to a Cov fan that I work with but was conscious that I might have been exaggerating it. We then thumped them 5-1 a few months later at Filbert Street and Milne won December manager of the month. 

 

I also recall in the away fixture in '86 - which we also lost - the Baby Squad invading their Main stand. They filed in mid second half regaled in Burberry and Pringles with their folding umbrellas and then all lined up saluting the travelling fans.

[Out Foxed]

17 hours ago, Jo Smith said:

Saw it in Madrid the other year, young lad got knocked out cold outside a bar. Earlier one nearly had me for asking where ho got his hat

Saw the same in Copenhagen. Some right nasty bastards looking start on anyone. Bizarre.

[dayday]

1 hour ago, bss9401 said:

Anyone go to Cov away in 1984? We lost 2-0 but our fans invaded the pitch several times and there were around 3-400 Leicester fans in their end. This is no exaggeration as it was reported in the paper later (the Mercury actually reported 6-700).  Inevitably it went off big time with the home fans dispersing, seats were ripped out and the game stopped. I recall being forced into the pitch myself because of the surge of fans trying to get at them. Leicester fans then attacked two of their stands. It was kicking off around the ground and in the city pre and post match. I met up with some Hinckley lads in Leicester the following night who were a big part of it and they were incredibly proud of themselves. It was the worst situation that I'd ever been caught up in. Hinckley, Cov and Leicester papers were all over it but neither us nor Cov were banned. It is a measure of how that sort of thing was almost expected and accepted in those times.

There was a piece in the Mercury a few  years ago about Asian girl who use to tip the Leicester thugs off when rival fans approached.

 

It also showed you the Leicester fans on the pitch at Cov, I think that’s the game you are on about.

[Livid]

I started going away when I was around 16-17 in the mid 80’s it was always a bit edgy.

 

I remember coming away from Hillsborough and a grown man in his 30’s just smacking my mate in the face and calling him a F’in Scab.

 

Other than being able to get up on the morning of the match and pretty much know you could pay on the turnstile I don’t miss it one bit. 

[Foxesmints]

7 minutes ago, Livid said:

I started going away when I was around 16-17 in the mid 80’s it was always a bit edgy.

 

I remember coming away from Hillsborough and a grown man in his 30’s just smacking my mate in the face and calling him a F’in Scab.

 

Other than being able to get up on the morning of the match and pretty much know you could pay on the turnstile I don’t miss it one bit. 

Always used to kick off at Barnsley as well after the Miners strike.

[Guest Markyblue]

The way football has changed is startling. The away following in the eighties consisted of 2/3 supporters club coaches and literally hundreds/ thousands of young men in the 16-40 age range. 

[HighPeakFox]

This thread is very interesting, but occasionally verges closely to looking back to those awful times with pride, in the same way the top 10 hardest players thread does. 

 

The contemporary reports of internecine violence in Copenhagen and Madrid tells me it's never that far away, given half a chance. It's pretty easy to avoid, you just have to be willing to not go along with the crowd. I never saw anything bad in Madrid, simply because I treated it as a midweek break rather than a land grab. 

[rico]

2 hours ago, bss9401 said:

Anyone go to Cov away in 1984? We lost 2-0 but our fans invaded the pitch several times and there were around 3-400 Leicester fans in their end. This is no exaggeration as it was reported in the paper later (the Mercury actually reported 6-700).  Inevitably it went off big time with the home fans dispersing, seats were ripped out and the game stopped. I recall being forced into the pitch myself because of the surge of fans trying to get at them. Leicester fans then attacked two of their stands. It was kicking off around the ground and in the city pre and post match. I met up with some Hinckley lads in Leicester the following night who were a big part of it and they were incredibly proud of themselves. It was the worst situation that I'd ever been caught up in. Hinckley, Cov and Leicester papers were all over it but neither us nor Cov were banned. It is a measure of how that sort of thing was almost expected and accepted in those times.

i was at this game, went into Cov centre pre-match with a couple of mates and got filled in,had to pretend i was from Cov to stop being started on a 2nd time near the ground.

[Guest Markyblue]

5 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

This thread is very interesting, but occasionally verges closely to looking back to those awful times with pride, in the same way the top 10 hardest players thread does. 

 

The contemporary reports of internecine violence in Copenhagen and Madrid tells me it's never that far away, given half a chance. It's pretty easy to avoid, you just have to be willing to not go along with the crowd. I never saw anything bad in Madrid, simply because I treated it as a midweek break rather than a land grab. 

You can not judge a time period of 30+ years ago on todays standards. Many working class youths were unemployed and saw little prospect in day to day 80s britain. The thrill of Saturday afternoon was as much as their lifes offered. No not big and clever but its just as it was at the time. I'm sure everyone is happy that things have changed but denying history dosnt change it only allows it to happen again. 

[Basildon Fox]

19 hours ago, AylestoneRaider said:

I remember the famous Ipswich away in ‘91 BS having a row on the pitch dressed as Bhuddist Monks - so funny.

 

The modern world seems so safe compared to back then. Obviously there are enormous benefits to that, but there is something a bit sinister about how closely the state is able to monitor and control things like rowdy footy fans. 

One of my favorite away days despite the result. Remember Ipswich on the pitch at the end goading us but wouldn't come past the penalty area. They filtered out only to run back in to the stadium about a minute later as 1k fans were chased by about 20 lads in Krishna outfits who had been in the seats. 

[HighPeakFox]

1 hour ago, Markyblue said:

You can not judge a time period of 30+ years ago on todays standards. Many working class youths were unemployed and saw little prospect in day to day 80s britain. The thrill of Saturday afternoon was as much as their lifes offered. No not big and clever but its just as it was at the time. I'm sure everyone is happy that things have changed but denying history dosnt change it only allows it to happen again. 

You're absolutely right. Nobody should deny it, I simply pointed out that on occasion it sounded as though it was being celebrated 30 years on, which I find troubling. 

[Jo Smith]

2 hours ago, HighPeakFox said:

This thread is very interesting, but occasionally verges closely to looking back to those awful times with pride, in the same way the top 10 hardest players thread does. 

 

The contemporary reports of internecine violence in Copenhagen and Madrid tells me it's never that far away, given half a chance. It's pretty easy to avoid, you just have to be willing to not go along with the crowd. I never saw anything bad in Madrid, simply because I treated it as a midweek break rather than a land grab. 

 

1 hour ago, Markyblue said:

You can not judge a time period of 30+ years ago on todays standards. Many working class youths were unemployed and saw little prospect in day to day 80s britain. The thrill of Saturday afternoon was as much as their lifes offered. No not big and clever but its just as it was at the time. I'm sure everyone is happy that things have changed but denying history dosnt change it only allows it to happen again. 

I suppose a thread like this will border on nostalgic exploits but so far most posters are trying to be factual and discuss how it was, not brag. Many of the older forum members were actively involved in trouble in their epocas , those loitering mobs of 500+ post home games have (mostly) grown up, not dissolved into dust or joined Bentleys roof.

 

Many were not even violent lads, it was simply a culture at the time that dragged them in, unemployed urchins, Ashby De La Zouche heirs and “loads a money(s)”, alike. Those mid 80s away days integrated a lot of people from different areas of Leicester and the Shire. Those Anglo Saxon hamlets (Braunstone, The Saff, etc) became less insulated, It was even safe for me to drink in Jesters…… never quite graduated to The Rocket though.

 

Hope this thread does not degenerate into who did who and I hope the mods keep their politically sensitive fingers of the delete button……

 

 

 

Edited 10 April 2019 by Jo Smith

[hackneyfox]

On 08/04/2019 at 20:22, smudger63 said:

Yep, i was there too. The BS arrived late as i remember, then it all cracked off big time in the car park after the game. 

 

On 08/04/2019 at 20:54, 49er said:

Scariest away trip - FA Cup replay away at Millwall in the mid eighties. I was a student in London at the time. Travelled by tube/overground train from North London, with my LCFC scarf safely tucked in. I was one of the first City fans into the ground. We should have won the game, but ended up losing 2-0. At the end, there was a sense of relief, thinking that the Millwall fans would be happy with a victory and would forget about a confrontation. Instead, they invaded the pitch and headed towards our end. Fortunately, we had a big fence separating us. In the next round, they played Luton away and totally ravaged the place.

 

 

 

On 08/04/2019 at 20:57, 49er said:

Was anyone else at the FA Cup tie at the Baseball Ground vs Burton?

 

 

On 08/04/2019 at 21:30, TrentFox said:

I can remember going to Upton Park to see a 3-1 defeat in the early 80’s. It was a grim place to go. You got to the away fans’ entrance and went ‘phew’ as you got off the streets. Unfortunately, as soon as you went in, you realised there was no segregation and all you’d done was identify yourself as an away fan! Spent thirty seconds watching the game and 90 minutes watching my back, as fights erupted everywhere. Still the only ground where I took one in the face. My reflexes improved significantly after that day ! 

 

On 09/04/2019 at 11:28, dayday said:

Funny enough in 1990, we had gone up to boro on a supporters coach from Rugby.

 

We lost the game 6-0, left at full time and headed back to our bus, there was roughly about 8 of us who walked through this park.

 

we took the left path way only to be confronted by 40-50 boro lads, we legged as fast as we could,luckily saw a load of coppers or we would have got battered.

 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, bss9401 said:

Anyone go to Cov away in 1984? We lost 2-0 but our fans invaded the pitch several times and there were around 3-400 Leicester fans in their end. This is no exaggeration as it was reported in the paper later (the Mercury actually reported 6-700).  Inevitably it went off big time with the home fans dispersing, seats were ripped out and the game stopped. I recall being forced into the pitch myself because of the surge of fans trying to get at them. Leicester fans then attacked two of their stands. It was kicking off around the ground and in the city pre and post match. I met up with some Hinckley lads in Leicester the following night who were a big part of it and they were incredibly proud of themselves. It was the worst situation that I'd ever been caught up in. Hinckley, Cov and Leicester papers were all over it but neither us nor Cov were banned. It is a measure of how that sort of thing was almost expected and accepted in those times.

I was at all of those except boro.

Dayday did you always travel from Rugby? Do you know Terry and Barrie?

[dayday]

21 minutes ago, hackneyfox said:

 

 

 

 

 

I was at all of those except boro.

Dayday did you always travel from Rugby? Do you know Terry and Barrie?

I used to get Mick Prestoon buses and mini buses from 88-93, was Terry a small guy with a flat top kind of hair cut? he always sat with the same guy, forget his name but Barry rings a bell.

[Guest bss9401]

8 hours ago, Line-X said:

Yes - I was recounting this recently to a Cov fan that I work with but was conscious that I might have been exaggerating it. We then thumped them 5-1 a few months later at Filbert Street and Milne won December manager of the month. 

 

I also recall in the away fixture in '86 - which we also lost - the Baby Squad invading their Main stand. They filed in mid second half regaled in Burberry and Pringles with their folding umbrellas and then all lined up saluting the travelling fans.

The 5-1 was so sweet but my mate and I were ambushed after the match and took a few good punches before we were rescued by a load of other Leicester fans near the Royal. I do remember the baby squad's arrogant show at the later game. I just hated how we always lost there around that time. We were so crap in local derbies away from home in the eighties.

Edited 10 April 2019 by bss9401

[TrentFox]

5 hours ago, HighPeakFox said:

You're absolutely right. Nobody should deny it, I simply pointed out that on occasion it sounded as though it was being celebrated 30 years on, which I find troubling. 

Totally get your point. From a personal perspective, the only ‘celebrating’ is due to having actually survived it ! ?

[hackneyfox]

4 hours ago, dayday said:

I used to get Mick Prestoon buses and mini buses from 88-93, was Terry a small guy with a flat top kind of hair cut? he always sat with the same guy, forget his name but Barry rings a bell.

So did I, I'm the guy that sat with Terry.

[dayday]

20 minutes ago, hackneyfox said:

So did I, I'm the guy that sat with Terry.

Small world, I still go football with Steve Warden, Ed Simmonds, Mark and Neil Beasley.