In the Net

I appreciate this comment isn't the point of the thread, but how sad to see that scene and compare to now. You'd never see that many kids going to top flight football with their pocket money any more. Now the preserve of middle aged men who can afford £100 a week to watch the game.

They are proper. Pretty much all the time wear Bally, Churches or Edward Green loafers and brogues. Don't mind Red Wing boots- ex wife detested them- thought they looked like a couple of casserole dishes
Few years back at a car boot sale in Raynes Park I picked up a pair of pig ugly Solatio Beetle Crushers for a nicker, dated from 72 ish Smoothie Period I'd say. Had a hunch they might be collectable- stuck them on Ebay as Northern Soul footwear and got back a remarkable  £200. 
 

Posted September 29, 2012 Since first going in 1983 to football, this game more than any other, including our cup finals etc has left the biggest impression on me to this day.
I was 15 at the time, and me and my mate left my old man and his mate at the car,( we used to park near the old Fulham power station). Outside the ground the atmosphere was like no other I"d ever known and have ever known since at the bridge. The que and squash at the bovril gate trying to get into the shed was unbelievable!!. Once in the the shed we just about got to the old tea bar and basically couldn"t move either way from there on. Early on speedie scored and the place erupted. It seemed a comeback and victory was inevitable. But no this was Chelsea of old and the heart was broken by one of our own! ( i"ve forgiven you clive) Didn"t really watch much of the second half of football as the shed invaded the pitch, Gate 13 came from the East and the benches started to rip up the wooden benches and use them as spears towards the old bill! I"m sure I also saw police join the Sunderland attack for their final goal! On the way back to the car a few Sunderland fans were giving it large going towards their coach, me and my mate walked past them and then 30 seconds later heard a noise as they were seen off the premises by some disgruntled chelsea. The following day back at school in west sussex me and my mate were sort of mini celebs with our mates as we"d been there the night before and it was across all the papers, the clubs night of shame etc. Fast forward 5 years to a holiday in greece in 1990 and talking to a lad at the bar, he was a newcastle fan, but had come down that fateful night with some Sunderland mates on one of their coaches. He said time they left London there wasn"t a single window left on their coach. Him and his mates still talked about it to that day and had never seen a night like it!!
I now have MHL season tickets with my two sons 27 and 29  and have to say in some ways they have missed out on what going to proper football used to be like.It just seemed much more of a buzz and exciting back then compared to the disney experience of todays home games!!

In case I don't have a chance later today or tomorrow. A very Merry Christmas. As already mentioned for me this is the best thread on this forum.

Me too. I've told this story on here before, but I'll tell it again. In the mid 70s my older brother went on a school trip to London, saw the mirror on sale and bought it for me as a present. Only he left it on the tube and I never received it.
About 40 years later my wife and I joined a choir run by a local charity. I got to know one of the members (a ManU fan) who works in one of the charity's shops. One day he told me someone had handed in an old Chelsea mirror, which he had put aside for me. It was identical to the one my brother bought me.
So 40 years after he lost it I got my mirror.
 
 

Childhood hero of mine and Chelsea legend thought I'd share this story I recently heard. Ray's wife was in hospital giving birth at the same time another expectant father was in the waiting room. Not only did Ray give this guy a lift home after the wives gave birth and he lived in just a normal road the following morning Ray turned up unannounced to pick him up again to give him a lift back to the hospital. Such a nice and classy thing to do they really broke the mould with Ray.
 

 

Posted many times before but no harm in posting again.

The League Magazine on Twitter.

Chris Mears pic.
 

Saw this picture and remember being pleased and lucky to have my first pair in 1983 aged 15. Made with Kangaroo leather, they were so soft and great boots

Sorry about the ‘T word’ in the above advert!  Thought the adidas zx500s were very good shoes. I actually wore then for athletics and running back then too,as I ran quite a bit.   Pretty sure that advert is from 1984/85.

I can remember most of the trainers I had as a schoolboy and I bought a pair of Diadora Borg in 83 after that I can't remember a single pair bar a pair of Converse in 1990.  I started getting into trainers again in the mid 2000's when Adidas started reissuing classics. I do remember late 90's I had a pair of Lacoste trainers that were really nice but they squeaked like mad. I was coming home from my brothers one night I was wearing them the road he lived in was about a mile long well in front of me was a woman.
I'm a quick walker so as I was getting nearer the squeak was getting louder she kept turning round as I passed her I said sorry about the noise it's my trainers she must have thought she was getting stalked by Zebedee 🤣

Think I had the black pair the black and white ones Adidas must have been looking at closely they look a blatant rip off the Samba.
 

Old Trafford 1975.
 
 

My mate sent me this from Instagram possibly 1971 and Filbert Street.

Carlsberg and especially Heineken would have seen to be extravagant by Bates 😆 Definitely the lower end of the market I'm now thinking possibly this. 

Nothing to do with football but how Stamford Bridge was used before the club was founded. Bayonet exercise looks fun. 

Proposed redevelopment of the ground back in the early seventies. 

The Loft 1970 against us Paul Cook ( Chelsea fan) of the Sex Pistols with his leg sticking out. Was the same as any other year Chelsea fans all over the ground.  Other pic not sure who the guy in the cardi is think it might be Derek Richardson.
 

Sat on the benches 82-85 used to be down by the north stand end. Always tried to sit back row. Soon as the concrete came in, it was time to part with more money and by tickets behind benches block X Y Z!! 7£!!

I know of two that used to sit on the benches.
One of them used to come and find me in the office on Monday if it was an away weekend. It was amusing in the office as visitors were frowned upon yet she was quite senior so I did not get any grief.
On the end of season video on one season in the 90's I had to laugh as they were pictured on the benches wearing these horrible looking CFC type baseball caps with hands coming out of the sides holding a scarf.
 
 

Don't think I ever saw a woman in the benches when it was concrete. Looking back it shows how badly fans were treated back then concrete slabs to sit on a massive fence in front of you and terrible khazis and yet we still went every home game 😆. Here's the West Stand bogs you forget just how bad they were !

The Benches
 
 

Before I could afford a Pringle I used to pinch me old mans Argyle Marks and Sparks jumper.
I also had a cheapo red acrylic diamond number which was such a poverty model the front diamond wasn't symetrical with the V Neck.