Ewell CFC

A West Ham mate told me that as a result of recent developments he's gonna stop going to attending games. Many years ago I played football against a Sunday team that he used to manage over Redhill way.

Aparantly Everton took down a good firm for the 84/85 game which was live on telly. Something to do with payback for when their train got ambushed at Kensington High St last time they came down.

During that time me brother and me heard on the radio that they'd been trouble at Forest away. I think it was the following week that our dad was due to take us to the Bridge. (even though he was brought up as a Chelsea fan he was dead against hooliganism, hence he took us to Fulham more in the mid 70's. ) Cut a long story we were really worried that the game would be on MOTD, our old man would discover it had gone off again, and renage on his promise. Sods law in was featured on MOTD ( which was a rarity), and he decided against taking us to the next home game. In hindsight I don't know why we were so paranoid about the telly spilling the beans, because he'd have read about it in the Sunday papers.

I put Newcastle's turnout at ours during the sh*t years above Leeds because we didn't play the Yorkshiremen from 79 till they got relegated for the 82/83 season- the 83 game I remember for the headlines next day " Thugs, masquerading as stewards, aimed kicks and punches at the Leeds fans trying to scale the fences." ( how times change- I remember when stewards were fans, not the lot these days whose vitality is limited to grassing people up for having a crafty smoke in the bogs at half time) Id just started work around the time of the Leeds game, and a Leeds colleague was one of the 150 odd who got arrested at Piccadilly Circus station; not long after that he got arrested and detained for a couple of weeks in Luxembourg I think following an England game. Ove a period of time ( before all ticket and with terraces), I'd say the best away support at ours from Northern teams was Newcastle, Leeds and Man Utd.

Good post. There's no loyalty amongst players or managers these days, the only loyalty is amongst proper fans ( not so called fans who down tools and cry their eyes out the moment a grey cloud appears on the horizon) Some of these self pitying planks ought to try supporting clubs like Blackpool, Blackburn or Dirty Leeds, who've been royally shat on by their owners, and see what that feels like.

I can't remember City or Wednesday turning up at ours in force. ( My brother was a copper on duty when we had Wednesday in the Milk Cup in 85- some of them didn't want to get off the coaches when they arrived at Fulham Broadway) Newcastle in the late 70s through to the mid 80s - old second division- consistently brought down more than anyone else from the North. They always filled one section, even when they were doing sh*t. They used to get reminded in song of a certain event that happened near Wandsworth Bridge!

Good point. With the amount of money at stake he's no doubt received legal advice on how far he can push things without breaching contract. A " gagging" order effectively preventing coaches from airing grievances publicly might hamper future hirings however. Like pretty much everyone else though I agree that his critical comments throughout this season have been angled towards getting himself the sack, which is sh*t behaviour in anyone's book.

Very true. David Lee also had a howitzer of a right peg.

I would be amazed if it not Roman who stipulates how much money he is prepared to pay for a player. It's his train set, the board are just middle management in the wider scheme IMO

I'd imagine Wisey and Vinnie were murder to play against. Can't remember who it was but someone said VJ startied on the verbals to which he told he to .... off. " Wisey, we've got a live one here" said Jonesey, then DW gives him some bunny....During Porterfields time as manager it came out that there were a cabal of players that called the shots and pretty much run things, which were the above two plus Townsend and maybe Mick Hartford plus someone else- the old grey cells not working well this morning... The first time I went in gate 13 was against Wolves early on in 82/83, which I reckon was the first year it really got going. Between then and the Shed getting pulled down it was there or the West Stand seats for me, with maybe a dozen or so appearances in the Shed because either the seats were sold out or I was skint. Re OMWTM, the accompanying arm actions were amusing looking back!

Just thinking about Gate 13- it weren't uncommon for people to sneak in, everyone would shuffle up a bit and you'd end up not having a full seat to sit on.

The back page headline of the Sunday Express the next day was Chelsea and Spurs are disgraced. The y..s had pitch invasions as well ( they were relegated) My older brothers got a scrapbook from that season somewhere I'm trying to get me hands on.

For some reason the Shed roof looks to cover more of the terrace than it actually did- must be the angle of the photograph. I reckon it only gave shelter to about a third of the end. Good pics though.

Couldn't see him going to Arsenal but stranger things have happened I guess. Me thinks he's homesick and aching for the land of spaghetti twirlers.

Or 8.1.64 . FA Cup 3rd Round Replay 2-0 win, crowd 70,123. Edit- probably not. The replay was played on a Wednesday ( night game presumably). It's daylight here so I'd agree with 65.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of Courtois comments, the worrying aspect is that he's decided to go public. The making of critical statements to foreign media- knowing full well that any remarks would reverberate back to blighty, is a common tactic employed when players want out. ( No doubt engineered by his agent) Soon enough we'll be hearing the old well worn chestnut " At the moment I am happy at Chelsea, but in football you never know what's in the future."

He also was the youngest player in the top flight of English football to score 100 league goals, (when he was still 20 years old.) This is still a record. Im guessing Michael Owen's well up on that list?

According to my old mans mate, there was a whisper going round at the time that he was carted off because he was carrying on with the Chairmans daughter or granddaughter- most likely a load of cobblers.

I take my hat off to you Sir- just out of interest, what dyou reckon was the biggest gate in games you attended in the 50's, 60's You must go back to the period before the old West Stand was built in 65 and that side was all terracing. Edit- just checking online, from 65 onwards our capacity must have been capped at about 62, 000, until the old East Stand was torn down in 73. Our highest gates during that period were against Man Utd every year with the exception of Spurs in 69/70. I reckon the last 60,000 plus gate would have been Bobby Charlton's farewell in 73

Good away trip that one.

There's a rumour that another player of ours from that era always played in long sleeves because he had an NF tatoo.

Royal blue. Compare shirt colours of the one Ossies wearing with the one Zola's holding. For a while our kits were mid blue, which didn't look quite right IMO. Good to see the present kit is the proper colour and has the classic white stripe on the shorts.

Me too. The moment Sky took over commentary was immediately sensationalised. Cue Andy Gray " Just look at that throw in."

Enjoyable read. According to Harry Rednapp, JC found out that an influential old youth coach had fallen on hard times and was waiting for a knee operation, and paid for him to go private. A very good player who was unlucky with injuries.

Old floppy hands my mate used to call him, owing to the way he used to shake them when he scored or became exited about something or other. Another mate got on the pitch after the final whistle in Stockholm and had Poyet on his shoulders.