[Albion] York City 1996: What was your experience?

[HangletonGull]

John Byrne was living next door to me at the time (my dads not mine ) and after the original game was abandoned I saw him in the evening and he was fuming , after the replay game it was last appearance for the Albion he gave me his shirt later that day

 

[Lenny Rider]

We'd all heard all the rumours and such but didn't quite believe it until rent a mob broke the cross bar.

Little bit wide of the mark, it was at that point as far as we knew effectively our last throw of the dice, the final game at the Goldstone, or so we thought.

Our protest had to have maximum impact, and getting the game abandoned to coincide with the half time segment on Grandstand was the intention.

We had been told by the then groundsman, the late Brian Harwood, that they had no spare goalposts, so once at least one cross bar had been snapped, the. It was game on, or should that actually be game off?

The people who were briefed about starting the protest, including the aforementioned and much missed Hanksie were aware what was needed to be done, so to say Rent a Mob is not correct, clearly others who may not have been Goldstone regulars joined in, but it was all part of the plan.

And history tells us it worked, no Goldstone in 96/97? I doubt either Jimmy Case or Steve Gritt would have kept us in the Football League, playing in front of small ‘home’ crowds at either Portsmouth or Gillingham.

Its the age old question, would we be where we are now if we’d dropped out of the EFL?

 

[Man of Harveys]

Pretty much exactly the same experience. Remember seeing the illiterate graffiti (we hat palace) and feeling the uneasy volatile atmosphere with a definite contingent of troublemakers who weren’t Albion…

Is exactly right. It was concerning at the time that some real troublemakers - thugs throwing bits of wood hard at people in the crowd, the racism vs Doncaster players etc - could have easily derailed our campaign. Thankfully they seemed to be few in number.

On a happier note I was in the SW terrace. After it had mostly emptied out I saw my old schoolmate Ian Chapman appear back in the tunnel through a gap in that corrugated plastic which had just been ripped away. So we had a very nice catch up chat through a hole in the wall of the Goldstone tunnel. All highly surreal.

 

[Lenny Rider]

Is exactly right. It was concerning at the time that some real troublemakers - thugs throwing bits of wood hard at people in the crowd, the racism vs Doncaster players etc - could have easily derailed our campaign. Thankfully they seemed to be few in number.

On a happier note I was in the SW terrace. After it had mostly emptied out I saw my old schoolmate Ian Chapman appear back in the tunnel through a gap in that corrugated plastic which had just been ripped away. So we had a very nice catch up chat through a hole in the wall of the Goldstone tunnel. All highly surreal.

One of those unfortunate pieces of Albion unfinished business, Ian Chapman taking his youth and coaching service into account, deserves a testimonial, sadly though I think the time has passed.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

The last time I commented unfavourably on this I received pelters.
Had we been relegated we would not have been allowed to ground share with Gillingham in tier 5.
That's fact.
I got grade 1 GCE maths, but failed the A level, so maybe my calculus is insufficient to recognise risk....
If someone can persuade me the York pitch invasion drove Archer to sell up,
and without it he'd have just let the club fold,
I'd be happy to immerse myself in the narrative.

One shouldn't 'get pelters' for expressing an opinion. There are so many situations where different factors combine in such a complex manner that it's impossible to determine the woulds and the whys and the wherefores. However I would suggest that this event raised our plight to national and even international levels which brought a lot more understanding and sympathy for us from the general football world. I travelled to the match from Liverpool and when I returned scarcely a person I knew didn't mention the events and almost all were sympathetic even though the initial press and TV reaction was mostly negative. Someone said that we were divided as a fan base about the York invasion and I agree, but I believe it was a catalyst for a more cohesive effort from our fans that started to involve those who had before either looked on in dismay or who were simply unaware/burying their heads in the sand about the manner the club we loved was being carved up.

And then it would trigger a 'you really think we should have done nothing?' 'debate'.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing," This is much misattributed but it is often true.

I was in the North, up near the back. To me, it felt like people ran on from the South before anywhere else, which struck me as a surprising place for it to all start from!

I was in the north to the west of the goal and I agree, or at least my memory does, the invasion came from the south first. Nothing else other than pictures and video can convince me otherwise.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

One of those unfortunate pieces of Albion unfinished business, Ian Chapman taking his youth and coaching service into account, deserves a testimonial, sadly though I think the time has passed.

Chapman had a good send off at one of the end-of-season Gulls Eye dinners.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I was on the south west terrace near the tunnel. I heard rumours of what was going to happen. It received a mixed response from those around me. I do remember some idiots throwing wood, ripped up advertising boards, in the direction of our stand. I went back to London post match and bumped into some football fans, Fulham I think, who were asking what happened as all they knew was the game was abandoned.

It got the attention we needed and arguably forced the FA to act.

 

[Seagullinhove]

Littlehampton lads should hang your heads in shame . No renta mob.

 

[Harold]

It was exactly what needed at the time. Blowing whistles and releasing balloons was great media PR, and won fans hearts. But this was the desperate confrontation that underlined the true state of things, to win the minds of the disinterested who held power, and start to move very obstinate objects.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

I remember a CID plod in my local the night before who knew I was a fan warning me not to go as they knew there would be unsavoury characters going. Didn't stop me standing in the SW corner with my then boss and his family as was usual for me then.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

I remember sitting close to Michael Knighton, the ball juggling twit who tried to take over Man Utd, at the replay. He was chairman of Carlisle at the time And was there to witness their relegation.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

In my mind, I watched it from the East Terrace, but now I'm wondering if that's my mind playing tricks on me, as I have a feeling it had been completely closed by then? And maybe I'm thinking of the TV pictures.

I know I watched the following season from the West Terrace, as I remember seeing the banana (shamefully) lobbed at Darren Moore when he and Ian Baird got sent off from quite close by.

I'm going to stick with my East Terrace memory anyway. As I recall, I was almost in tears when it all started going off. A combination of shock (hey, the Albion grapevine hadn't reached leafy Hurstpierpoint so me and my Dad weren't exactly in the loop with what was evidently planned!), fear at what we all knew the national media would make of it, and just complete despair at what our beloved club had become.

 

[rebel51]

An emotional day with my eldest son who was coming up to 20 years old. We knew it was supposed to happen , ( I think we all got the info at the albion pub on the corner near the ground) but never thought it would be so succsessful.

Co-incidentally he is 50 years old today and is just as passionate now, about the Albion as we were in those days and follows them up and down the country. It is thanks to him , I still get to see the Albion 8 or 9 times year when I come back to the UK. ( love the 1901 for that extra bit of comfort...ha ha ).

A few times after games we went down to Hove Police Station to register our complaints about police thuggery. Guppy was his name. Complete arsehole.

Guppy is an icon, the man is a legend and if you look deep inside he is a funny, authentic chap. I can't say a bad word about him.one of the old personalities following the albion.
You had to understand his humour though, otherwise goodnight Vienna.

 

[aberllefenni]

These were the early days of universal access to the internet, with larger businesses and universities being the main beneficiaries. I was doing a course at Cardiff Uni and was able to keep up with events via our message board. It became apparent that due to Archer and co stalling on renewing the lease on the Goldstone for a further year, this could be the last ever game at the ground, so I had to be there. What was planned on the day was obviously kept firmly under wraps.

A fortnight before the game I went to see Paul and Swill from the Men They Couldn't Hang. I got chatting with them and they said that the last gig of the tour would be in Brighton and I was invited to the after tour party. The venue turned out to be the Hedgehog and Hogshead, right next door to Hove station.

At the start of the protest it was clear I was not the only one kept in the dark as to what was actually planned. From memory I think I understood pretty quickly why it was happening although, as I was near the back of the north stand, it took me a while to get onto the pitch. Following the announcement that the game was abandoned (no shit Sherlock) I had 3 hours to kill before the gig so, rather than being sensible and going for some food, I headed straight for the H&H.

As I turned round after getting my pint. I spotted Roy Chuter sitting in the corner. Roy and I were in school together. although I hadn't seen him for over ten years. He spent the next couple of hours "filling in the gaps" and also told me about their plans for the first ever Glastonwick, due to take place the following month.

 

[Bodian]

The last time I commented unfavourably on this I received pelters.
Had we been relegated we would not have been allowed to ground share with Gillingham in tier 5.
That's fact.
I got grade 1 GCE maths, but failed the A level, so maybe my calculus is insufficient to recognise risk....
If someone can persuade me the York pitch invasion drove Archer to sell up,
and without it he'd have just let the club fold,
I'd be happy to immerse myself in the narrative.

Then again, if we'd gone to Hereford needing a win rather than a draw - we may have played it slightly differently and actually got the win. Who knows!

 

[Mr Bridger]

South west lower with my dad that day. Went onto the pitch eventually to have a mill about.
Good to see we’ve improved on the giant flags game!
Does anyone know who did the ‘sack the board’ on the pitch? I want the deets on how and when it was done.

 

[Lethargic]

I was there with a friend, we had sunk a few before the game in the pub by Hove station (think it was the hedgehog and hairbrush at the time), 10 minutes into the game my mate is desperate for a piss. when he gets back understatement of the year as he askes "did I miss anything" by then the goals were trashed, the players had gone and the fans were on the pitch.

All very bizarre,

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

I remember despair and depression. There was talk of a pitch invasion in the week before, but I seem to remember it starting straight after we conceded and it felt like that sent a mixed message. We watched from the North Stand, expecting the usual protest followed by resumption of the game. When the posts came down it became clear that no football would be happening and I remember leaving the ground thinking that things couldn't get any worse (oh how they did).

Back to the car and with the radio on, it became obvious that the national media were going to focus on the action, not the motive. There was no violence except to the goalposts and this obviously wasn't anything to do with hooliganism, but that was the immediate spin.

Looking back, it had to be done, but at the time there was no feeing of a fight back or of triumphalism. It felt like the wounded howl of a dying beast and left me with horrible feelings of anger, hopelessness and a desperate sadness. There was fear of what would come next. Genius work was done over the next few days to change the narrative and repaint the press's portrayal as what it really was: reasonable people pushed to desperation by nobody paying attention to what was happening. At the time it felt like death throes, but with the benefit of hindsight, it was the spark that lit the flame of recovery.

Absolutely, my feelings too.

 

[veuve]

Plenty of la lads

Littlehampton lads should hang your heads in shame . No renta mob.

Plenty of la lads there that day.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Then again, if we'd gone to Hereford needing a win rather than a draw - we may have played it slightly differently and actually got the win. Who knows!

And if my old mum had had a cock....she'd of been my dad.