Memories of the York "riot"

[eastlondonseagull]

I still have all the old TV coverage on video and will one day convert it all onto DVD.

I'd buy it Cavey! One of, if not the, most important days in the club's history.

 

[Robot Chicken]

Pciture the scene, its carnage, the goals have been ripped down, the closest thing to footballing anarchy most of us will ever see and Tony Millard gets on the mic and says...
" Whilst we have this break in the play can I remind you all this Tuesday its Steve Foster testimonial kicking off at 7.45pm"
PRICELESS

 

[perseus]

Who was a girl on the pitch in the Argus photograph?

It seemed like lost of people knew what was going to happen? Theyn even half told me and I didn't belive it. But the players on the pitch all knew.

Most of the supporters on the "chicken run" didn't know, or like me, didn't know for certain.

There were one or two mutterings of disapproval, but the overall impression from the East Terrace was approval.

Contrast this with the Orient game when the nutter ran on to the pitch. When the Police tried to put him back into the crowd in the north-west corner underneath the mainstand, the supporters were angry, and one of them hit him, so the Police had to escort him down the touchline for his own safety.

I do not know if would count as the biggest riot though. The Spurs match off-pitch was mayhem for a couple of hours continuous.

 

[Brovion]

I don't normally agree with people bouncing old threads but this one is relevant. Read Harty's comment: "To some people Brighton and Hove Albion is their life and if you start messing around with people's lives you've got to accept the consequences".

What made that day stand out wasn't us herbivores and our peaceful protest, it was the lads who smashed down the goals and got the game abandoned. That's what made the news.

Because every one at the club is now on the same side (more or less) having a riot at a football match is now not the right thing to do, but let's keep thinking ........

 

[coventrygull]

Travelled down from Coventry with my young son. He cried when it all kicked off but then enjoyed running about on the pitch. Had to answer to the Mrs when I got back though.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

We were told by Lancing that we would get suspended if we went to the game. I went on the pitch about ten mnutes after the invasion and saw so many school friends. One was sunbathing in the centre spot.

Apparently my headmaster was in the directors box that game!! A chap from my school climbed up and was chucking bits of the pitch at him.

Did we play Walsall last game of the season? My Walsall STH friend, said he thought we were a great set of fans. Did we sing Walsall songs or something? I didn't go to that one....

 

[East Staffs Gull]

Did we play Walsall last game of the season? My Walsall STH friend, said he thought we were a great set of fans. Did we sing Walsall songs or something? I didn't go to that one.... [/B]

Last game was at Walsall. The police were expecting a repeat of the York invasion. Never seen so many mounties. There were protests in the car-park before and after the game. At the end of the game we were prevented from getting on the pitch, but many walsall fans came over and applauded us.

 

[Bakesy]

yes to get it abandonded but some went too far. ripping up the pitch was not needed nor was damage to the players tunnel. A lot of those there I hadn't seen before and just seemed to want to be involved in a riot

FFS, feelings were running very high, what did you expect.NO REGRETS FROM ME..........

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Last game was at Walsall. The police were expecting a repeat of the York invasion. Never seen so many mounties. There were protests in the car-park before and after the game. At the end of the game we were prevented from getting on the pitch, but many walsall fans came over and applauded us.

Cheers ESG - My flatmate has just confirmed that as well. He told me that he went over and appluaded us. Marvellous scenes.

 

[Bromley shrimp]

Contrast this with the Orient game when the nutter ran on to the pitch. When the Police tried to put him back into the crowd in the north-west corner underneath the mainstand, the supporters were angry, and one of them hit him, so the Police had to escort him down the touchline for his own safety.

A big train-spotter sort (camera) of bloke in front of me in the North-West went really ape when the police dumped him into that section. The "nutter" already had blood on his face from the police's previous attempts to land him back in the crowd.

 

[dougdeep]

We started the game quite well. Shame we couldn't have delayed the protest until the second half.

 

[Barry Izbak]

These were desperate times. And desperate action was called for to get someone to sit up and take notice. Those that took part in this "riot", in the Mansfield invasion and all the other direct action should be proud of themselves. They are all mild mannered "normal" people 6 days a week, but once a week reason goes out the window and they would follow the Albion to the ends of the earth.

When a couple of crooks turn up and try to ruin it, even mild mannered people get upset, get REALLY upset, and have to do something about it.

When you are at the game today, moaning about our inability to score against a team who could conceivably be playing Chelsea next year, look around and you will see hundreds of little kids in Albion shirts and scarves who weren't even born that day at the Goldstone.

They wouldn't be at the Albion today if the "thugs" hadn't gone on the pitch that day. They would be at Charlton, or Palarse. These are the people we told the media we were doing it for. We may have sentenced them to a life sentence, but they will have joyous days with the Albion in the future, because of those who took the law into their own hands in 1996/97

At the York game I watched, with my brother on one of his rare visits, from the East Terrace. I was listening to my radio and wandered onto the pitch at about 3.20. I sat down and cried my f***ing eyes out. I'm not even ashamed to tell you this, because The Albion are that important to me.

 

[the full harris]

I remember being pretty f***ing scared at the time (I was only 12). We didn't live in Brighton then so used to travel across from Hastings every home game.

Being that we didn't know anyone else who supported Albion, we didn't know anything about the riot till it actually happened so it caught us by surprise slightly.

In retrospect, I can see it was necessary but I'm afraid at the time my most vivid memory was my younger sister (probably about 10 years old at the time) crying her eyes out. It didn't help that we had our season tickets in the SW terrace and always tried to stand as close to the tunnel as we could get every game, therefore putting us rather at the focal point of the events!

 

[Gully]

I wasn't even in the UK at the time of the game, I was sent press clippings by my mum and that is how I heard about it, remember those were the days before NSC, the internet and easy passage of information across the time zones.

I missed almost completely a couple of seasons that were the most incredible, for many reasons, in the history of our club. Something else that I remember from about that time, again from reading press clippings, was a game up north which was possibly either Rochdale or Halifax. It was at the time that everything was starting to get a bit nasty, during the game a group of the home fans walked from their end, round the pitch and joined our fans to sing a few songs, then walked back to their own part of the ground. I believe that this happened and must rate as one of the strangest things to happen at an away game, though I can remember our fans joining Donny Rovers during a half-time pitch invasion early in the 97/98 season.

 

[sir danny cullip]

It was my first ever albion game! What a start!

 

[The Large One]

These were desperate times. And desperate action was called for to get someone to sit up and take notice. Those that took part in this "riot", in the Mansfield invasion and all the other direct action should be proud of themselves. They are all mild mannered "normal" people 6 days a week, but once a week reason goes out the window and they would follow the Albion to the ends of the earth.

When a couple of crooks turn up and try to ruin it, even mild mannered people get upset, get REALLY upset, and have to do something about it.

When you are at the game today, moaning about our inability to score against a team who could conceivably be playing Chelsea next year, look around and you will see hundreds of little kids in Albion shirts and scarves who weren't even born that day at the Goldstone.

They wouldn't be at the Albion today if the "thugs" hadn't gone on the pitch that day. They would be at Charlton, or Palarse. These are the people we told the media we were doing it for. We may have sentenced them to a life sentence, but they will have joyous days with the Albion in the future, because of those who took the law into their own hands in 1996/97

At the York game I watched, with my brother on one of his rare visits, from the East Terrace. I was listening to my radio and wandered onto the pitch at about 3.20. I sat down and cried my f***ing eyes out. I'm not even ashamed to tell you this, because The Albion are that important to me.

Exactly. I wouldn't have been able to take my then 7-year-old nephew to his first away game at Watford last season if we hadn't done that day what we were almost obliged to do. Going to Watford was the day that I knew his blood ran blue and white, and I genuinely thought back to those days when I was taking him up there.

I must have missed this thread first time round. As Harty said, if necessary, I would do it all again if I had to.

It was, as Liam Brady labelled it 'a different kind of riot...'

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

It HAD to be done.

It was the leading News item that evening on both the BBC and ITV

Finally people started taking notice.

 

[the wanderbus]

I went down with the same mate I go with now, I remember nearly getting into a fight with another Albion fan who threw one of the substitution boards into the crowd almost taking some little kids head off.
When we got back to our local the "riot" was all over the telly & we got abused by a bunch of new age travellers because we had the stripes on, cheeky, scrounging fuckers

also I got a phone call from australia on the sunday, my brother in law wanted an eye witness account to relay to other fans out there as it was on the front page of their papers

 

[Albion Dan]

The goal posts getting ripped down and the serious intent of the following trouble were the only reason we got real national news, and in my opinion the real reason the club was saved. Wrexham and others should have followed the blueprint we set imo!

 

[dwayne]

MAybe I was the only one but I don't remember it being an intimidating atmosphere at all, the main job was to get the game postponed and get some media attention, that was achieved. A few people hanging from crossbars and running on the pitch is hardly scary. Indeed, I remember people sitting on the pitch after it had all happened and having a picnic and others playing football, it was a glorious sunny day.

Those times though, people who are new to supporting the club, the Yorkies, the fatboys - will probably never see anything like that again, even though they were desperate times they are some of my proudest moments supporting the club.