The Old Main Stand >> Filbert Street

[HighPeakFox]

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be...

[mikey_b]

6 hours ago, oxford blue said:

And just broadening further, there are some great video clips on youtube of games at Filbert Street, which takes you back when there packed terraces to celebrate goals.

 

Just picking a couple, this was another win against Liverpool (1986)

 

q=leicester+city+home+games+filbert+street+youtube&&view=detail&mid=5389FE154A570F34FC7E5389FE154A570F34FC7E&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dleicester%2Bcity%2Bhome%2Bgames%2Bfilbert%2Bstreet%2Byoutube%26FORM%3DVDRESM

 

and the last game 

 

q=leicester+city+home+games+filbert+street+youtube&ru=%2fvideos%2fsearch%3fq%3dleicester%2bcity%2bhome%2bgames%2bfilbert%2bstreet%2byoutube%26FORM%3dVDRESM&view=detail&mid=504422EBF237F8783B07504422EBF237F8783B07&&FORM=VDRVSR

 

congrats, i have worked in IT for 18 years and you are the only person i have ever known use Bing

[Raw Dykes]

13 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be...

History is just one fuching thing after another.

[worth_the_wait]

9 hours ago, Blue Fox 72 said:

Does anyone remember the little steel footbridge that linked the main stand and the double decker? It was usually blocked off but I recall there being a skirmish between City and Arsenal fans in the double decker with people using the footbridge as either an escape route or a means to join in. Around 1983 iirc.

If it's what I think you're referring to, the "little steel footbridge" was how you got to Block L of the Double Decker in the 1960/70's.    It was like a little walkway leading off at right angles, part way up the main Double Decker staircase.   You had a good view of the Main Stand enclosure beneath you, as you walked along it.   It was like like walking along a birdcage.

 

Block L was right in the far corner of the Double Decker, next to the Main Stand.  

 

It was typically only used when the rest of the Double Decker was full.   I went in there once for a match in the mid 1970's.   It wasn't the best view, as you were tucked away right in the corner.   The roof was quite low at that point, and tbh it was a bit weird and felt like you were in an attic of a house.

 

I can't remember exactly, but I'm not sure Block L was even used in the mid/late 1980's.    It certainly got chopped off when they built the new Main Stand in 1993.

 

<Edited>

Added a picture.   Not very clear, but if you magnify it, Block L was right in top right hand corner.  Above and to the right of the right-most "Fresha" word.

If you look just to the right of the 3rd Main Stand stansion, you can just make out the blurred image of an entrace to that walkway.

Edited 15 February 2021 by worth_the_wait

[dynamark]

Wonder why they named the stand after a bar of chocolate ?

[Paninistickers]

10 hours ago, StevieLynex said:

Met him at the Saffron Lane sports stadium in the seventies when he was doing some work for ATV re cycling, got his autograph and asked who he supported - Wolves

He explained in an interview once that he was born and bred in cambridge (I think) and a family member used to take him to the occasional city.match as a kid. 

 

People assumed from this he was a 'fan' ....whereas I think your explanation is more likely. He was an ATV / Central West man through and through. West Mids was his beat. 

 

That said, his ATV colleague Tony Francis was a proper City fan. As was central sports reporters Steve Lambden and Dennis forgot his surname....both City.men too.

[l444ry]

Used to have a season ticket behind the Directors Box. Seem to remember that the exit into the area behind the seats took you down to a corridor that was blocked off at both ends. One end was the entrance to the Home dressing room and the other to the Players Lounge. Used to run into many of the players as well as Greavsie and Big Ron on occasions.

[HighPeakFox]

4 minutes ago, Paninistickers said:

That said, his ATV colleague Tony Francis was a proper City fan. As was central sports reporters Steve Lambden and Dennis forgot his surname....both City.men too.

Coath?

[Spudulike]

Some horrific views in the Double Decker. Many a time got stuck behind a pillar....but we were happy (I think). 

 

The city of Leicester is a unique place with a unique atmosphere embodied by Filbert Street. 

[Mapperleyfox]

11 hours ago, truefox said:

The Best Atmosphere at a Filbert Street Match was the Tony James Great Escape against Oxford United!!

 

The great thing that the club decided to do to ramp the home advantage was to put home fans in the entire Kop!! Pen 1 .2.3 and 4!

 

And Even the half of the east stand usually reserved for seated away fans was given to Leicester fans!!

 

For the only match in Filbert Street history the Oxford Away fans (300 of them) were forced to sit in the far left of the upper DoubleDecker!!

 

At the final whistle there was mutual applause between both sets of fans as we invaded the pitch!

 

Sadly all of these great memories were before digital cameras or mobile phones, so these are just great memories in our heads!!!!!

A brilliant day but I have to say the Cambridge play off game eclipses it in terms of atmosphere, or even the Atletico Madrid game in the UEFA Cup....certainly in my lifetime anyway

[Ashley]

17 hours ago, Wymsey said:

Did anyone take anything from the old ground, as a souvenir, at the last game played at Filbert Street?

Lots. 

 

My old seat, grass from Filbert Street which may I add is still growing in my mum and dad's garden 

 

Got the Programme sign out of one of the old Programme stalls. Some lovely man hit it for me and gave it to me and was offering the other 3 sides to others as they walked by😂

[los dedos]

1 hour ago, worth_the_wait said:

If it's what I think you're referring to, the "little steel footbridge" was how you got to Block L of the Double Decker in the 1960/70's.    It was like a little walkway leading off at right angles, part way up the main Double Decker staircase.   You had a good view of the Main Stand enclosure beneath you, as you walked along it.   It was like like walking along a birdcage.

 

Block L was right in the far corner of the Double Decker, next to the Main Stand.  

 

It was typically only used when the rest of the Double Decker was full.   I went in there once for a match in the mid 1970's.   It wasn't the best view, as you were tucked away right in the corner.   The roof was quite low at that point, and tbh it was a bit weird and felt like you were in an attic of a house.

 

I can't remember exactly, but I'm not sure Block L was even used in the mid/late 1980's.    It certainly got chopped off when they built the new Main Stand in 1993.

 

<Edited>

Added a picture.   Not very clear, but if you magnify it, Block L was right in top right hand corner.  Above and to the right of the right-most "Fresha" word.

If you look just to the right of the 3rd Main Stand stansion, you can just make out the blurred image of an entrace to that walkway.

That corner and the supporters club corner were the only two areas of Filbert street and never went in.  

Think I sat in almost every block in each stand too !

[davieG]

Just popped up on my Facebook page

 

[Raw Dykes]

2 hours ago, Spudulike said:

Some horrific views in the Double Decker. Many a time got stuck behind a pillar....but we were happy (I think). 

 

The city of Leicester is a unique place with a unique atmosphere embodied by Filbert Street. 

I sat behind a pillar in the top of the double decker at a Blackburn match in the thickest fog I've ever seen. Could barely see up to the half-way line.

[purpleronnie]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

Just popped up on my Facebook page

 

At the beginning of the 90's I would stand around the spot the bloke with the bucket is...i was hoping i would see myself  So many good times but i wouldn't swap it for what we have now.

[davieG]

6 minutes ago, purpleronnie said:

At the beginning of the 90's I would stand around the spot the bloke with the bucket is...i was hoping i would see myself  So many good times but i wouldn't swap it for what we have now.

Unfortunately what we have now is great on the pitch but off it well..........

[enmac]

16 hours ago, StevieLynex said:

I think people believed that Gary Newbon was a Leicester fan, but he supported Wolves

He's a City fan. 

 

https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/gary-newbon

[Bilsthorpe Blue]

Some of the floodlights are at Asfordby Amateurs sports ground just outside Melton

[Solihullfox]

30 minutes ago, enmac said:

He's a City fan. 

 

https://champions-speakers.co.uk/speaker-agent/gary-newbon

He is in the Director's Box on a regular basis and cheers every Leicester goal (not at the moment obviously)

[Saxondale]

On 14/02/2021 at 15:02, truefox said:

Was just wondering what the inside layout was of the old Filbert Street Main Stand?

 

I can remember next to the changing rooms was the Board Room which also held all of the Trophys etc.

 

The far Corner of the Main Stand where it joined the double decker had a very large unoccupied space!

 

I remember walking around the ground one summer and in this area the players had actually parked their cars whilst preparing to get on the bus for an away friendly!

 

Apparently there was a gymnasium but I have never seen pictures of this!

 

I also remember when I had a season ticket, in the centre of the main stand was a players bar!!   You could walk past and look in but security would wave you on!

 

If anyone else has any photos or memories of anything else tucked inside the stand please share for nostalga purposes!!

 

Thankyou!!!

I used to go in what I think you're calling the 'players' bar' with my Dad. My uncle (i.e. my Dad's mate) used to be able to get us in there somehow. It was quite small, and used to be full of ex-players on a match day. 

 

I also remember the big bar at ground level. Was absolutely packed.

[Saxondale]

20 hours ago, truefox said:

North Stand

 

My favorite part of the stadium was sitting behind the goal at Filbert St end, if you sat right behind the goal nets you were so close!!!  Literally when Penalties were being taken

you felt you were in goal!!

 

 

I only sat in the North Stand once or twice. It was absolutely brilliant.

 

I remember sitting just to the outside of the goalpost, and David Lowe thumping in a header from what felt like about one metre away from me. Because it probably was about one metre away from me.

[Corky]

18 hours ago, HighPeakFox said:

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be...

I wonder what our view would be we were still at Filbert St now looking to move to the King Power?

 

We all love Filbert St as for the vast majority of us over 25 it's the first ground you saw Leicester at but let's be honest, half the ground was great, the other half League One standard. The King Power is bland in many ways but you can't deny the facilities are much better.

 

Probably one for the unpopular opinions thread but do we look back at Filbert St with too much positivity? There was a lot of excitement at moving, I recall. Of course we were sad to see all of Filbert St go (would've been great if we'd been able to transfer the Carling Stand and build around that) but as you say, nostalgia does allow us to blank out a lot of the negative things.

 

I think if we'd been able to renovate the place and stayed it would've been better (and cheaper) but, as it was, it had had it's time.

[Saxondale]

3 minutes ago, Corky said:

We all love Filbert St as for the vast majority of us over 25 it's the first ground you saw Leicester at but let's be honest, half the ground was great, the other half League One standard. The King Power is bland in many ways but you can't deny the facilities are much better.

 

Probably one for the unpopular opinions thread but do we look back at Filbert St with too much positivity? There was a lot of excitement at moving, I recall. Of course we were sad to see all of Filbert St go (would've been great if we'd been able to transfer the Carling Stand and build around that) but as you say, nostalgia does allow us to blank out a lot of the negative things.

 

 

Agree. Everybody misses Filbert Street, but football has moved on. One of the biggest criticisms of the new ground (and all new grounds) is the atmosphere. But there are a few things to say to that:

• Everybody has rose tinted memories of the past. Things were always bigger and better in 'the olden days'.
• Yeah, Filbert Street was absolutely banging a lot of the time, but I also remember plenty of dreadful atmospheres there too. People forget that. 
• We can't say there's never any atmosphere at KP, especially when you think back to some of the games between around 2014-2018 (Great Escape, title win, Champions League, etc.)
• Football is different now to how it was in the 70s and 80s, that's just a fact. When I was younger, every adult was at least half-pissed and chugging on cigarettes.

It's nice that we have these memories of our famous old ground, but we are, by almost any measure, better off now.

[HighPeakFox]

20 minutes ago, Corky said:

I wonder what our view would be we were still at Filbert St now looking to move to the King Power?

 

We all love Filbert St as for the vast majority of us over 25 it's the first ground you saw Leicester at but let's be honest, half the ground was great, the other half League One standard. The King Power is bland in many ways but you can't deny the facilities are much better.

 

Probably one for the unpopular opinions thread but do we look back at Filbert St with too much positivity? There was a lot of excitement at moving, I recall. Of course we were sad to see all of Filbert St go (would've been great if we'd been able to transfer the Carling Stand and build around that) but as you say, nostalgia does allow us to blank out a lot of the negative things.

 

I think if we'd been able to renovate the place and stayed it would've been better (and cheaper) but, as it was, it had had it's time.

I was making a rubbish old joke, tbh, but yes indeed. I think if one was transported back now, one might be shocked at the state of it, and what was deemed normal.

[Paninistickers]

44 minutes ago, Corky said:

I wonder what our view would be we were still at Filbert St now looking to move to the King Power?

 

We all love Filbert St as for the vast majority of us over 25 it's the first ground you saw Leicester at but let's be honest, half the ground was great, the other half League One standard. The King Power is bland in many ways but you can't deny the facilities are much better.

 

Probably one for the unpopular opinions thread but do we look back at Filbert St with too much positivity? There was a lot of excitement at moving, I recall. Of course we were sad to see all of Filbert St go (would've been great if we'd been able to transfer the Carling Stand and build around that) but as you say, nostalgia does allow us to blank out a lot of the negative things.

 

I think if we'd been able to renovate the place and stayed it would've been better (and cheaper) but, as it was, it had had it's time.

I've posted on other threads - maybe unpopular thread- that I hated the place. 

 

It summed us up. Half ok, half shambolic. It was ugly, weird even. 

 

And I've definitely had equally as good atmospheres at the KP. 

 

The only thing I miss is the childhood buzz of watching a good old hooligan battle and my Dad in blind panic. That bit was, ngl, immense fun