Fruit Bat

Always reminds me of the Old West Stand but with an enclosure rather than benches.

Thats right Cloughie called the changing room a pig sty. There's an using book by a fella called Gary Bell called animal QC. He went on to be a top lawyer, but knocked around with the Forest mob in the 70s. He tells some good storys about that loony Paul Scarrott. At Derby he got slung out the Popside for fighting, paid to come back in again at the tier above....started shouting down to the Derby fans...got so enraged the dived down on his own and steamed in..

Speedie, Dixon and Wee Pat all arrived from lower leagues and went on to become internationals. John Neal was a good judge of a player ( Darren Wood excluded)

Never had Jam Shoes but a goof few kids at school did including the youth club dance troupe who got to the finals of the National Disco Dancing Championship. One of this lot later swapped his Jam Shoes (black and white ones) for a budgerigar cage, which made me laugh. When I think of spats Dingwalls on a Sunday afternoon springs to mind- fantastic mostly black dancers wearing polished spats with beer towells tucked into trousers to wipe the sweat sweat off.

There's something very heartwarming about it. I sent it on to ardent Chelsea hating friends who for once said something complimentary. One of the fella's in it I met on a building site in Brentford a few years back. Really decent chap.

Was that the year we were in the lower seats in their East Stand ( Looking down from the Clock End on the right hand side?) I turned up on a whim and got a ticket off a tout who was doing a roaring trade operating out of a betting shop on Avennal Road I think. No idea what the score was other than we didn't win. I had to wait till the midweek cup game first season of Wenger before witnessing victory there

I hope the lads who put this together don't mind me sharing.

https://roklimited-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/d_silva_roklimited_je/EVomEBj09eVOgGn1-WOcSMYBo9NgzplYpb67UqzaZt9UOw?e=k3Z3GQ

I was in that enclosure and nearly got my head busted by a seat thrown from above. If I remember right afterwards the Pompey chairman had a moan up about the amount of seats destroyed to which Ken Bates countered that it was only a handful of blokes responsible. Before kick off it looked as though it was gonna happen at the corner of our end where it joined onto their side terrace. A family friend I grew up with from Mitcham reckons he was the first one into the no mans land that separated the two mobs.

I'll have to catch the doc'. I think there was a big difference between the Northern and London look. Scousers were big on rare trainers and hooded jackets which I don't remember down here. Funnily enough I relocated to Jersey recently which is loaded with Liverpudlians ( and Glaswigans) and I often see fellas in their late 50's and even early 60s bowling around with those coats - bit like that Pete Hooton collective The Farm. sh*t look if you ask me.

I think casual at Chelsea caught fire very quickly at the start of 82/83 Season. I don't remember it being called casual for about another year maybe. Turned up at my cousins after the Wolves home game midweek early on 82/83 with standard uniform of Lois jeans, Stan Smiths and plain Pringle and she said ' Look at you, you're a proper little jazz funker' That was the first time I remember Gate 13 getting going also.

A fella called Garrison who contributed to this site spoke of being a Mod and a group of them going to various away games on scooters. This would have been about 64 because they used to stand on the half way line of the West Terrace, before the West Stand came into being in 65 and the Shed becoming the place to go.

West Ham steamed in from high up the terrace so presumably that's them on top. The chap left centre with the flight jacket and scruffy hair looks like it could be A.S. who was a face. Quite a few moustaches on show.

South Bank Upton Park 81

I was shocked to find out there were seats in the back of the Stretford End. Did anyone ever have a proper go at taking it I wonder? Remember some old hooligan years ago that end taking was mostly a London thing.

DIV 2 79-84 of the Northern teams I'd say Newcastle brought the most numbers, averaging maybe 2000. Don't think we played Leeds from 79 till 82, but thereafter they travelled well maybe 3000-4000 a pop, which was a bit less than we were taking up there IMO.

From memory a lot of them got in via Brompton Cemetery then across the train tracks

Very 81 looking that fella. Those cardigans and jumpers we called chunkys but I believe the technical term was waffle knit. Was still at school and used to go to games with a bottle green one with Lonsdale rip off Chelsea sweatshirt, pin badge, programme in back pocket ( either read before game if early- if late not enough elbow room in Whitewall- but always read or reread on District Line to Wimbledon...sometimes Bulldog...never into that stuff but it was a fashion accessory for a time- different world back then) Exactly enough money in pockets- no one had wallets so you'd have a crumpled up fiver and maybe some coins which would get you junior admission to shed, programme and a rotten burger from Fulham Broadway vendor in a white coat- when did those traders cease operating round the ground BTW- early 90's? Never once came with a single penny, and normally had to borrow 50p off someone to be paid back first break Monday morning.

Bit off subject but there's a touching tribute to John Boyle doing the rounds ATM. Still goes to games evidently.

It certainly was. Was in the shed that night. I'd migrated to the seats a few years earlier but everywhere else was sold out. One the fellas in our crowd was so appalled he stopped going for a good while. The seeds of bad feeling were sown in the first leg. Trains and coaches getting smashed up. Didn't go myself but my younger brothers lot who were only 18 hired a minibus and were fighting for their lives after the game. Someone had been to France and they had a couple of crates of cheap beer which they had to use to pelt off their attackers. Not long after that Millwall ran wild at Luton. Major trouble at Birmingham v West ham in the cup, plus Birmingham v Leeds last day of season, then Heysel. Probably the high water mark for trouble at football

Bought some white Kickers recently. Still wear Clarks Dessies- really crap shop and they're only things in there remotely wearable. I believe they pattoned the design from the 8th Army ( Desert Rats) PS White trainers still popular at football I see. gotta be 20 plus years now. Bit chavvy IMO

A lot of blue material such as on silk and wool scarfs used to fade to purple in the 70s, but that's not the case here because the blue is still blue therefore the purple must be original colouring. Don't think I've seen purple on the rampant lion badge before. BTW I've always thought our old badge was superb. Wouldn't swap it any other. Occasionally see people with crossed irons wet spam tatoos, or cockerel tatts, and think they look sh*t compared with our lion and staff.

Gutted. Heard he wasn't well but still a shock