Football specials

[CosbehFox]

Managed 1 - from Witton Station straight through after a 2-2 at Villa where Lennon equalised. 

 

Pre-COVID a lot of the London clubs were running them for their fans to Leicester

[Guest worth_the_wait]

On 18/12/2023 at 16:19, SpacedX said:

The worst away special was to Millwall at the Old Den in the FA Cup in January of the same year I think. The police kettled the City fans in the ground until it had emptied. They then opened the gates and left us at the mercy of the bushwackers. I managed to escape down an alley and on a freezing night spent about half an hour hiding under a Sherpa van parked in a street in New Cross. I was staying at a flat in Woolwich and getting there I felt like a fugitive fleeing a war zone. Some grim memories of travelling to and escaping from Upton Park too.

Went that game on the Football Special to New Cross Gate.   We literally had an armed escort to and from the ground (100 coppers, horses, dogs, the lot), so we were just about ok.   But It was as unnerving and hostile an atmosphere as you can imagine.  South London at its unfriendliest best!

[SpacedX]

26 minutes ago, worth_the_wait said:

Went that game on the Football Special to New Cross Gate.   We literally had an armed escort to and from the ground (100 coppers, horses, dogs, the lot), so we were just about ok.   But It was as unnerving and hostile an atmosphere as you can imagine.  South London at its unfriendliest best!

I don't remember it from the ground, but then I wasn't going back. It was exactly as you say from the station to the Den, but when we were let out at the end it felt like lambs to the slaughter - but then I wasn't going back on the train. 

[Guest worth_the_wait]

1 hour ago, SpacedX said:

I don't remember it from the ground, but then I wasn't going back. It was exactly as you say from the station to the Den, but when we were let out at the end it felt like lambs to the slaughter - but then I wasn't going back on the train. 

It wasn't quite as bad on the way back as we expected.   The police took us some back route way, rather than going straight down the Old Kent Road.

 

(we joked about it afterwards, that on the way there, they only took us down the main road past all the dodgy pubs, to shit the living daylights out of us!)

[CheeseHead]

1 hour ago, worth_the_wait said:

Went that game on the Football Special to New Cross Gate.   We literally had an armed escort to and from the ground (100 coppers, horses, dogs, the lot), so we were just about ok.   But It was as unnerving and hostile an atmosphere as you can imagine.  South London at its unfriendliest best!

Yep I was on that train. My abiding memory of the escort from New Cross Gate to the stadium is hoards of Millwall fans standing outside pubs being held back by cordons of police who had to link arms with each other to prevent the Millwall fans from breaking through!

[CheeseHead]

6 minutes ago, worth_the_wait said:

It wasn't quite as bad on the way back as we expected.   The police took us some back route way, rather than going straight down the Old Kent Road.

 

(we joked about it afterwards, that on the way there, they only took us down the main road past all the dodgy pubs, to shit the living daylights out of us!)

Could never work out why the trip back to the station was way shorter. I think there is some truth in what you say about the intentions of the police!

[Lesterlad]

On 18/12/2023 at 00:57, FoxesDeb said:

The infamous coach to Madrid for our game in 1997. Horrific journey, everyone has heard the horror stories and they're all true. 

 

Worth it for that goal though 

It was awful trip. Don’t think I’ve 3ver recovered xx