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Worst violence at the Goldstone ?



Dave the OAP

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
46,731
at home
Anyone remember the Leeds United game at the goldstone where I think Leeds were losing and this random bloke got changed down they front of the north east pen into a full Leeds kit and started to do all sorts of warming up exercises and the Leeds fans were having a whale of a time egging him on.

It was in the days of the razor wire around the pen( how dangerous was that!!!) and if the fences would have not have been there, I am sure he would have got on the pitch.

....also the arsenal game. Not the first game in the first division....but we were in the chicken run, when it all kicked off in the north stand with these **** off huge arsenal skin heads piling into brighton fans making a hasty retreat....anyway, my mates stood around were egging on the brighton fans telling them to " stand their gound" etc...when I heard scuffling behind us and there was about 50 + arsenal hoolies running along the walkway behind us trying to get to the north stand. Suffice it to say there was a lot of shhhh ing and they dashed passed us. That could have got very nasty indeed!

Talking about arsenal fans, I went with Huddersfield to a cup game one evening at highbury! We were in the clock end and a train load of Huddersfield fans arrived and were being escorted along the front of the clock end down the bottom and all hell broke loose with arsenal fans changing down the front and having a go at the town fans.....unbeknown that the rest of the town fans had been led in at the back of the stand and they charged down the front. It was like something out of charge of the light brigade. Due to the trouble in that game, we only ended up watching about 10 minutes of the game ...the rest of it was dodging these maniacs from both sides just wanting to kill eachother. I didn't realise that there was a feud between town and arsenal...but it all resurfaced three years ago in the cup at the emirates!
 




Silverhatch

Well-known member
Feb 23, 2009
4,650
Preston Park
The Spurs game in 78 was so mental because the violence started on Friday night and continued all the way through until early Sunday morning. The seafront was like a war zone! The old Buccaneer Pub was smashed up and when the Spurs fans weren't fighting the Brighton youth, they were laying into the police and then fighting between themselves.

I think there was a bit of payback for the mayhem on the seven sister's road the previous November. Someone else said that both games at the Goldstone and White Hart Lane were both Hillsboroughs in waiting, and I'd go along with that. In fact I've never been as scared, in any situation, as I was at White Hart Lane. The crush was ridiculous and was only relieved when people started spilling out onto the track and were moved to the terrace opposite the shelf. Safe standing it wasn't.
 


perseus

Broad Blue & White stripe
Jul 5, 2003
23,459
Sūþseaxna
Not forgetting the Bradford Park Avenue Hooligan Army.

He was six foot six and wide as a brick shithouse.
 


perseus

Broad Blue & White stripe
Jul 5, 2003
23,459
Sūþseaxna
In fact I've never been as scared, in any situation, as I was at White Hart Lane. The crush was ridiculous and was only relieved when people started spilling out onto the track and were moved to the terrace opposite the shelf. Safe standing it wasn't.

I go along with that. People would not move forward and eventually a fight broke out and everybody surged forward and could breathe. Before that it was like the trains on the way back from Falmer.

The punch I saw thrown was Perryman hitting Tony Towner.
 


pasty

A different kind of pasty
Jul 5, 2003
30,947
West, West, West Sussex
Someone else said that both games at the Goldstone and White Hart Lane were both Hillsboroughs in waiting, and I'd go along with that. In fact I've never been as scared, in any situation, as I was at White Hart Lane. The crush was ridiculous and was only relieved when people started spilling out onto the track and were moved to the terrace opposite the shelf. Safe standing it wasn't.

Completely agree. I would have been 12 or 13 at the time, and was down at the front at WHL when it all kicked off behind us. There was a group of about 6 or 7 of us and we were getting pushed harder and harder up against the wall, and was getting very very frightening for a bunch of kids as we were. Eventually, police came and took us out of that section and moved us to another section of the ground. Had there been fences then, yes, it would definitely have been a Hillsborough scenario.

Shortly after we were taken out, my brother who would have been 18 or so came rushing down to ask a copper where his little brother (me) had been taken, only to be told I'd been nicked for fighting :eek: :lolol:
 




Dandyman

In London village.
I think the Spurs game in 78 was the most frightening. I was on the terrace in front of where the lego stand would be erected. When the spurs fans got into the North Stand, the whole lot of our supporters moved over towards the north west corner and got crammed up to the chicken wire fence separating north and west terraces. The fence was so bowed over, how it didn't collapse I will never know. If it had there would have been loads of fatalities as supporters would have cascaded down the 4 foot drop and been crushed to death.

Probably the innocence of youth and it being my birthday (15 April 1978) but I found the whole thing quite exciting.
 


PFJ

Not the JPF ..splitters !
Jun 22, 2010
994
The Port of Noddy Holder
Both the Spurs home game 1978 and the Millwall home game that same season were horrendous. Fonthill Road after the Millwall game looked like The Somme.
 






despite only 5 years between the two, the Big 2 (Spurs and Chelsea) were very different, my recollection was that in the late 70's the Albion hooligan element was totally unorganised and anyone with a blue and white scarf on their wrist got involved and helped each other out/stuck the boot in (whatever you prefer) and we were big in number. Post the Cup Final a lot of those lads had started to settle down and stopped going. Our hooligan element in them days (i.e The West Street Firm) was relatively small in number and due to the fashion of the day, unless you were in the know, didn't know who was who, as a diamond Pringle jumper and a pair of Farahs didn't give any clue to the casual boot boy of the 70's. Inside the Goldstone at least we had a good go at Spurs, but with Chelsea they were in the South Stand Seats, The Lego Stand, The North West terrace, The North Stand, the lot, not to mention the 3000 or so in the away corner. I remember a group of about 30 or so old school in the North, trying to get some singing going (good effort as they looked like they had taken a beating) but they were pissing in the wind. As mentioned, Friday was different, a friend of mine ended up doing time for the petrol bomb incident.

Probably in 'third place' was the Arsenal evening match (79). It didn't help that it was pissing down so the North Stand was more appealing than the uncovered away corner.
 


dennis

Well-known member
Aug 1, 2007
1,151
Cornwall
Yes Spurs 1979 was probably the worst it has ever been and is unlikely to be repeated.

Southampton late 70’s very early 80’s was a bit hairy. This was the game when they climbed the floodlights.
The Cup game in 86 was the game where their fans all got held back and then let in about ten to three. They charged down from the top of the North East corner and they did look very impressive.
The Peterborough replay was a bit mad after and some of their coaches got bricked and for some reason the Argus blamed Chelsea fans for it.

Arsenal in the cup in 1988, when they were given the whole of the chicken run. That was a bit tasty afterwards too.

I also remember the Mid Sussex mob having a go at Liverpool at Brighton station on the way back from the televised cup game around 1984.
 


The Stout Yeoman

Master Farter
Aug 14, 2003
916
59 Le Petomane Boulevard
I think the Spurs game in 78 was the most frightening. I was on the terrace in front of where the lego stand would be erected. When the spurs fans got into the North Stand, the whole lot of our supporters moved over towards the north west corner and got crammed up to the chicken wire fence separating north and west terraces. The fence was so bowed over, how it didn't collapse I will never know. If it had there would have been loads of fatalities as supporters would have cascaded down the 4 foot drop and been crushed to death.

Four foot drop ? Blimey my legs must be longer than I thought ....
 




seagurn

Well-known member
Feb 19, 2007
1,971
County town
Remember being in the east terrace north lower with wsf and standing on a barrier and my okd man had videod the game on his betamax and i was giving the. large he rewound it loads of times and gave me a right rollocking ...happy days.

Liverpool 84
 


FamilyGuy

Well-known member
Jul 8, 2003
2,486
Crawley










Taybha

Whalewhine
Oct 8, 2008
27,615
Uwantsumorwat
Man City ? What year was that ? I remember the Eclipse mob giving them a good go under the tunnel once but cant remember any other grief with them .
 






Mackenzie

Old Brightonian
Nov 7, 2003
33,952
East Wales
You'd quite often get that crush in the North Stand of the Goldstone, it all seemed funny and exciting at the time but looking back (and knowing what happened at Hillsborough) I'm surprised there weren't more injuries. If you got caught in front of one of those blue barriers in the NS during a surge!

Still those days are gone now, but reading this thread has brought back some memories.

:)
 




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