Ewell CFC

My grandad used to watch dog racing at the Bridge ( and many other tracks being a gambling addict) Re doping gangs, he was involved with the Clerkenwell Italians. Normally they’d know someone on the inside like a kennel maid, who’d let them in to spike the dogs food. He told me occasionally 2 different gangs would nobble the same dog, which sometimes led to the thing crawling out of the traps creating uproar

Anyone recognise the chap top left?

We played Forest, cup replay 97 I think. My big boss was a Nottingham based Chelsea fan arranged to meet him at the Adelaide ( when he went he used to drink round the Broadway so new ,territory for him) It had a scary clientele back then- he was waiting outside for half an hour before I bowled up. ” No way was I ordering a drink with my accent’

Cheers gents. Palmerston and Hand and Flower went brain dead over. Used to like the Rose round the corner by Imperial Square, with the old Roller parked up opposite the Gasworks Club for decades.

Great photo. So many memories of that stretch of road. Trying to think of all the watering holes..... The Imperial, La Rueda, the CIU Club, The Adelaide, the Beer Engine, Come the Revolution by the Bridge. What was the pub on the corner front left ( just out of shot), and what was the name of the pub on the right before the petrol station before it became a Thai place? Ps This pic is taken from the flats above the shops. We looked at buying one of these in 2002 ( above a fish restaurant but no outside space or parking), sometimes wish we’d pulled the trigger. Remember when there was a good time to be had on this stretch on a Friday night. Happy memories.

I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Leeds. Good support and they’ve really been through the mill in the last 15 years or so. Probably in about 2000 they were going through a real lean patch but never stopped singing all game at the Bridge. The “ we’ll score again, don’t know where don’t know when” song made me chuckle. When I started work in 83 there was an older bloke ( bout 26) Leeds fan from York who took me under his wing. Bit of a nutter looking back. He got nicked in Luxembourg with England, and spent a good while out there sharing a cell with with a Chelsea fan from Morden ( That documentary I think it was the London Programme which did a focus on hoolies, he was featured on their as “ Ralph” but that’s not his real name) Reckon he was locked up for about three weeks but they kept his job open for him.

Bring back the Pools Panel

Loving the post match summary with Brian Moore and Jimmy Hill.. Brian Moore “ We would like to show the goals in slow motion, but that’s been on the blink for a couple of weeks now so we will show in real time” 1970 technology for you. Ps Bestie didn’t have his shooting boots on. Pps Goal of the Season at the very end- decent Osgood effort v West Brom

Get the impression there’s not going to be as much money in football post Virus. Financial crash has got to affect TV subscriptions plus ST renewals, also think the transfer market will lower massively- bit obscene having 80 mill transfers when the worlds on its arse. Semi Permanent player wage reduction has got to be on cards. Any clubs that had plans to replace stands or rebuild must be on indefinite hold. Fulham’s Riverside Stand and Brentford’s exception because are well underway/ almost complete

I’d forgotten there was one in the middle. Was looking at that pic thinking it doesn’t look like the one I remember in the Whitewall......Laurel and Hardy theme tune etc

Was mulling around the concourse at half time trying to get a beer when the song when up “ Boro, Boro run, Boro run from Chelsea” Must have been a thousand Chelsea walking towards the Boro end... Id only been to Wembley a few times before this. Seems ridiculous now that you could just amble over to the opposition end with no segregation. Did this happen at other games at Wembley? Probably I reckon but never heard mention of it...

All Portsmouth fans I believe

Before my time but always fascinated with skinhead. The fellas wearing Harrington’s and Sheepies should have been at the front- think leather was avoided due to Greebo/ Biker associations at the time. Love the facial expressions. The little geyser at the front reminds me a bit of Wisey- when Wimbledon played Liverpool in the 89 Cup Final the night before the Wimbledon squad were cooped up in the Cannizzaro House Hotel off Wimbledon Common. Morning of the game Wise and Vinny Jones escaped for an hour and decided to get crop/ skinhead cuts at my mates that’s still got the same hairdressers on Worple Rd Wimbledon. Edit: that was pretty bold in 89- the only footballer that springs to mind with a crop back then was Steve Bull to my recollection

That’s taking me back the Dunn Cow. It’s now a doctors surgery. I’m not sure there’s a single pub left on the Old Kent Rd these days. The World Turned Upside Down might be around? Must have been 20 booozers or fun pubs as they became from there down to Drovers and Samson’s in the 80s First started going down there with Chelsea fans the J Brothers from Kennington in 82 as a 16 year old, then with an older Millwall fan I got to know through work. Dropped the latter out because him and his crowd were in the habit of coming home on a different motor every week and a bit heavy for me at the time.

Bobby Charlton’s last game was against us at the Bridge. Believe he got a very good send off. I watched Fulham a fair bit in the early/ mid 70s as a nipper. Think their gates doubled for a bit when Bestie came on board, mostly neutrals interested in seeing a great footballer rather than come out of the woodwork Fulham fans I guess. Edit: Zola used to regularly get applauded by away fans- just one of those blokes you can’t help but like.

Thanks RS. I’m guessing Spurs would have been the top draw crowd wise in the early 60s and Man Utd in the second half of the decade... I think the appeal of the Law, Charlton, Best team must have been the first time in this country that people supported a side in mass that wasn’t local? Cant imagine Londoners in previous decades following for instance Blackpool or Preston because of Matthews and Finney.

Did you go to the Spurs FA Cup replay in 64? 67,000 gate with another 10,000 locked outside. Remember about it in Bates’s propaganda rag, the Bridge News. Terry Venables did a feature about his time at Chelsea- think he might have been Barcelona manager at the time. He used that gate as an example of what a big club we were- albeit just out of the “ sleeping giant “ tag we had for a few years when crowds were really sh*t.

Wasn’t the West Terrace replaced by the West Stand in 65...not sure when in 65 mind?

I bought this from Greenwich Vintage Market about 12 years ago. It had an elastocated waist which didn’t sit right. Took it to the dry cleaners to get altered- told him to get rid of the elastic- thought he would open the thing up and remove, instead he cropped off the bottom 3 inches. I was ....... mortified! I don’t remember Gabici being worn to football much; more evening wear and just a bit before the casual explosion

Yellow and red are originals. Grey more recent

Yardie Cardi! I’m sure Gregory Isaacs had shares in Gabici. Every album cover and PA he made he was wearing one, which made them popular with black youth and crossed over into the Soul Boy scene.

Still can’t get my head around Jody Morris now being assistant manager. 15 years ago I couldn’t think of a player less suited- whenever I saw him out and about which was quite often, he stuck me as thick as two short planks and always smashed out of his head. People change I guess

And the winner of the Glenn Campbell lookalike competition is.....David Webb Rita Spaghetti along with Harris, Hollins and Houseman always struck me as pretty conservative, but he’s been given the full Randolph and Hopkins Deceased treatment there. Far Out Man...

I didn’t go, but recognised the bloodied face on the front page of the evening standard as a Chelsea fan from Wimbledon. No idea as to the inns and outs of what went on.

The Spanish police were very heavy handed. A few skulls got cracked when they batton charged Chelsea in the main stand.