Jump to content
IGNORED

Reading away 80s


Red Army 75

Recommended Posts

As a young kid it was an eye opener. Done twenty thirty away games and there was nearly always violence and often a lot of it even where I didn't think there would be any like Northampton. At reading properties got smashed up and looted  and there was a lot of bullying going on. Lot of guff about hooligans only fight hooligans that day that got ****** out the window this showed City fans at their worse worst. It was Reading not Milwall.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, forbespm said:

Absolute carnage.most away games I feared for my life in those days.got ambushed a couple of times at places like chester,Middlesbrough,chesterfield and hereford.glad my kids can support city in relative safety

Crazy days, mate. Was good fun at the time, but yes, it's good to go away with little chance of getting your head caved in!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, City Rocker said:

An insane day at Elm Park. I wasn't involved in the shenanigans but stood at the back of the terrace immediately behind where it was all going off and so had a full view of the scenes.

Having seen the City mob in action on quite a few away trips through the 80s, I have to say the violence that day at Reading was the craziest and most demented I ever witnessed. Concrete flying all over the place. 

I remember seeing lads digging up the terrace with an ice pick, and hoiking it at the scuffers. Some policewoman got poleaxed by a large lump of masonry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mad,mad days,lads from absolutely every part of Bristol and surrounding area,plus places like the FOD, Chepstow,and all over Somerset.Would I change anything from my younger days,absolutely not,it was what it was.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, forbespm said:

Absolute carnage.most away games I feared for my life in those days.got ambushed a couple of times at places like chester,Middlesbrough,chesterfield and hereford.glad my kids can support city in relative safety

Boro were a top 10 firm back in the 80s. Well organised, never afraid to call it. Ayresome Park was an absolute rabbit warren of side streets and almost impossible for the OB to police. I worked in the North East for a few years and some of the stories of FV  in the 80s was pretty intense stuff.

Have to say, IMO the North East is the most passionate region of England for football (by far). They will literally put football before the family. Many have a dieing wish of being buried in the football strip of there supported team. Great people to talk to about football. Enjoy going up there still even today.

Sunderland Till I die is a great watch on Netflix. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think I was at just about every game being talked about on this thread. The buzz was amazing for a young twentysomething from sleepy Taunton but **** me looking back some of the things we did were bordering on suicidal. How we got away without serious injury or serious jail time is beyond me.

I miss the rush but not the aggro and as @Mike Hunt-Hertz posted, it`s nice now to go to a game without the fear of serious damage being done to you. It really was fight or get put in hospital back in those days.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Mike Hunt-Hertz said:

And Dursley, Stroud and Gloucester!

Back in the 80s, times were tough post Maggie Thatcher/Falklands War/miners strike/economic recession etc. 

Football was a release for the “common man”. As a country we came together with football being a “common ground” regardless of what part of the south west we lived. I met some great guys from Taunton and had some completely mad days out with them (The Lamps).

As stated, there was an adrenalin rush when you went away with City, but by Christ, you always had some guys who would stick up for you if things got sketchy. CCTV, the rave scene, and high publicity/major undercover dawn raids by the OB saw an end to FV.

Nowadays it is a family game and things have moved on. Like others, Bristol was a tough city in the 80s.

   

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Alan Dicks said:

Yep i was there, some City fans left for home after only minutes of being there.

Cooper came over to the fans threatening that he would concede the 3 points to Reading unless the fans stopped.

Bedlum that game, on par with Swindon and Walsall away.

Yes, my first away game. I was sat in the main stand looking down on you lot thinking, is it like this at all away games? I remember Terry Cooper on the tannoy threatening to "concede the game to Reading" if it didn't stop. Then the concrete started flying again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, GasDestroyer said:

Back in the 80s, times were tough post Maggie Thatcher/Falklands War/miners strike/economic recession etc. 

Football was a release for the “common man”. As a country we came together with football being a “common ground” regardless of what part of the south west we lived. I met some great guys from Taunton and had some completely mad days out with them (The Lamps).

As stated, there was an adrenalin rush when you went away with City, but by Christ, you always had some guys who would stick up for you if things got sketchy. CCTV, the rave scene, and high publicity/major undercover dawn raids by the OB saw an end to FV.

Nowadays it is a family game and things have moved on. Like others, Bristol was a tough city in the 80s.

   

 

We didn't just knock down our unwanted buildings, we used to blow them up! Lloyds need a new building, so this lot had to go - while we queued up for Walsall tickets!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Kingswood Robin said:

We didn't just knock down our unwanted buildings, we used to blow them up! Lloyds need a new building, so this lot had to go - while we queued up for Walsall tickets!

 

I was sure it was that game we were queuing up for when they did that. I was driving back down the A38 when they did it and you could hear the explosion and see the dust from out by the Town`s Talk!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Lew-T said:

Any reason why this one in particular was a bad one? Reading are not exactly known for much bother.

Big promotion game at the end of the season, both teams in the top 4 (both eventually promoted).

Not sure why it went off so spectacularly, even considering what an important game it was. Perhaps because we were 2 down quite early and it felt like a hammer blow to our promotion hopes. In the event, we went undefeated for the rest of the season, winning 4 of the last 6 games and were promoted with York, Doncaster and Reading.   

For the record, we lost the Reading game 2-0 to goals from Lawrie Sanchez and a Dean Horrix mishit fluke (yes that Dean Horrix) 

Edited by Merrick's Marvels
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lew-T Any reason why this one in particular was a bad one?

Citys away support then was a very different to 2020 sometimes the majority could be hooligans. the mobs compared to now where massive. constant trouble at away games it was escalating by the season.and a important game close to home was always going to see trouble.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, normanhillred said:

Did the Chester ambush involve a park by the river?

Yes,a few of us from Gloucester and dursley were sat drinking by the river with cans we had nicked from the local off licence.

we got spotted by a big mob who ran for us,we managed to get a few punches in but had to make good an escape as we were massively outnumbered,nearly got run over by cars on the main road and we got to the away end in one piece but some of us sporting black eyes and cuts!back at Ashton gate in the return we tried to get in the away end for revenge but got rumbled by the cops!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For that mboro game when they came down to the old divsion 3, for the away game i recall people having a not for the squeamish ticket.

A few people had there doors put through around ashton and bedminster,.

That same season i think, the evening post reported chester city fans brought blades to ashton gate..

I think the post sent a undercover reporter into the luckwell pub, to find out about the boro game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 28/01/2020 at 14:38, Red Army 75 said:

My first away day. My first CATS experience. Absolute mayhem. People on the roof of the stand. People with blood streaming out of their heads. Literally raining coins. I remember a policeman's helmet landing at my feet and picking it up and throwing it back to him and a huge cheer going up. Absolutely horrendous behaviour. Hooked for life. CTID.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 28/01/2020 at 17:22, Nogbad the Bad said:

Never been a rioter but was present at the 'goings on' at Reading, Swindon, Plymouth, and even Torquay - after the game (Nolan sister, made the papers)

Also on the train to York, as mentioned above, but remember that as a good day out and very peaceful except the first City fan off the train at York ran across the platform shouting, BRRRISSSSSSSSSSSTOL, and was promptly rugby tackled to the ground by police and arrested.

Always thought that was a long way to go to be arrested within 30 seconds!

That York train 'special' trip is a fond memory as well. Being told to "Get oover by t'wall" by the foreign northern police was hilarious at the time. I seem to remember a longer than usual stop at Derby station. The noise coming from the train was something to witness. "City are back  City are back, hallo, hallo" . Happy days.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Nicki's soulmate said:

Took the Town End every year 69-73

Yep. Even when Millwall came down following their match with us at The Gate the previous Saturday.

 

Know there’s been a bit of a ‘do’ away at Bolton and Millwall in the relatively recent past but was the last big ‘off’ The Cherry Tree incident at Plymouth? Most odd was walking up to the this random pub only to witness a hundred or so City being chased down the road by the owners of a second hand car dealership wielding axes. Undeterred went into the pub and it was like a bomb had just gone off, but bizarely a few groups of stray City lads having a pint. 

Edited by RedRock
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, RedRock said:

Yep. Even when Millwall came down following their match with us at The Gate the previous Saturday.

 

Know there’s been a bit of a ‘do’ away at Bolton and Millwall in the relatively recent past but was the last big ‘off’ The Cherry Tree incident at Plymouth? Most odd was walking up to the this random pub only to witness a hundred or so City being chased down the road by the owners of a second hand car dealership wielding axes. Undeterred went into the pub and it was like a bomb had just gone off, but bizarely a few groups of stray City lads having a pint. 

A few Plymouth lads had walked to the pub with baseball bats or something similar,they took a bit of a beating and retreated into the car showroom,the car showroom was the attacked with most of the windows going through and a number of cars getting damaged,police turned up and emptied the pub and escorted the City fans to the ground.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...