Gate 13

If you listen carefully you might hear the middle and the white wall in verse “T Bar, T Bar, give us a song, (pause) aaaaaaarrrgh!”

Bloke at the right hand side of the photo has probably bought his cuppa from the T bar

Is this the match where Micky D has to wear borrowed shorts for some reason? Notice that MD is wearing our white Le Coq shirt but Umbro shorts. I think we are away to Coventry? - Highfield Road was a crap ground and I never saw us win there. Used to bussed from the Station to the ground with an escort.

Great post Bluehaze - I wonder if the other player in white (midddle distance) might be Alan Mayes, a strong contender for the standout most useless player ever to play for us, playing here for the reserves which was about his limit. I for one would not have wasted time or money to watch him play for the stiffs.

Might it be John Phillips rather than Hutch?

Wee Pat and Spackers?, and Keegan and McDermott? - anyone remember the Spackman chant based on the old Batman theme tune ..?

Speedo and Rhodes-Brown?

Chopper chops Gray https://twitter.com/chelseafc/status/1255556905667264513?lang=en-GB

I first went to the Bridge with my Dad, late 60s, a midweek match against Nottingham Forest, a 1-1 draw; we sat in the old West Stand and I was hooked. I sat up in my Jim Jams to watch the Cup Final replay in 70, they say something like 28m people watched the replay, mind you it was on BBC and ITV so the nation did not have much choice, and the internet and mobiles did not exist. Winning the Cup was fantastic but Chopper’s ‘tackle’ on Eddie Gray was special. I lived in London in the early 80’s and was able to see the great John Neal version of our club - I know the ‘old days’ always seem great, but looking back that was a very special time for CFC. The 83-84 season will live with me forever, even now I break out into a verse of: “we’re the boys in Blue from Division 2, but we won’t be here for long”. The away days were brill, and the Leeds match at home was off the scale, winning 5-0, them going mental and smashing up the scoreboard, and everyone on the pitch afterwards. Some of the Stockwell boys who used to meet at the back of Gate 13 still left sharpish to try to ambush Leeds on the way back to Kings Cross; that’s commitment for you.

2nd leg play off v Middlesbrough perhaps?

Update, April 89, CFC 1 Dirty Leeds 0.

Many happy times pre-match in the Black Bull, a particular favourite was home to Leeds 88 or 89, the match we won 1-0 with Johnny B scoring. The Leeds coaches came past and the BB emptied to give them a warm welcome; one geezer who wanted to make his point climbed up on a window sill and had to be held in place by has mates while he was giving it large to the coaches. Epic.

The seats previously fitted in Gate 13 …

From You Tube, I forget about the geezer charging the North Stand armed with a plastic chair …

I guess this photo was taken well after the Sunderland League Cup Semi final, 2nd leg - no wood left on the benches … What a night - anyone remember the bloke chasing Flash Walker across the centre circle? Rumour had it that Walker offered Speedie some tickets for the final after the match in the players bar …. I understand a punch up followed …. And for afters some of our boys ambushed Wet Spam at Parsons Green station. Memories …

That season I think every London away match of ours was moved to an 1130am kick off, in part due to the massive away following we took everywhere in the 83/84 promotion season. Met up at Victoria with the usual crew, tube to Seven Sisters then the long walk. Some went to Liverpool Street where there was a skirmish then overground to WHL station. Kerry got us off to a flyer in front of our mob stuffed in the Park Lane stand, we had a chance to win it but Paul Canoville blasted over the bar. Ugly mood in the ground and afterwards a bit like the Sunderland League Cup semi.

I seem to think that Portsmouth at home on Boxing Day delivered another display of how not to take penalties - others may remember better but I think we missed two that day - a 12 noon kick off, ‘kin freezing and King Kerry in a short sleeve Le Coq shirt - happy days. How about a a thread for worst penalty miss? Pat Nevin against Man City a strong contender, but Dixon at QPR when we wore the minging green (jade?) shirts takes it for me. The ball landed up in the top tier of the stand behind the goal, and the week after the fanzine did a spot the ball skit with the A to Z page of Shepherds Bush and to had to put an x where the ball landed. We lost 1-0 and come to think of it we played rubbish every time we wore that green strip.

I doubt we shall see the likes of Ronnie’s chop on Eddie Gray ever again; a pity as I can think of a few deserving cases, some of who were wearing red yesterday.

Thanks Peckham Blue, I stand corrected - you are quite right. Don’t know if you are living in Peckham but I lived in Woolwich during those wonderful days 83-86, used to make it back to the KIng’s Arms for a few after watching John Neal’s fantastic team.

Clockwise: Clive Allen - did not stay long with us, was there a First Division London Club he did not play for? I think Dennis scoring our equaliser at QPR with King Kerry in the background, took a while to get us off the pitch after the goal and QPR vanished quickly afterwards. Spotted a few blokes doing the Conga round Shepherd’s Bush Green afterwards. Damian Matthew - bags of potential but never made it big. Paul Elliot - career destroyed by that Scouse/Welsh git Saunders at Anfield. Steve Clarke - loyal, long serving and never let us down. Vinny - er … fastest booking ever?, scored a belter at Anfield when we won for the first time for a long time, decent foul on the West Ham keeper at Upton Park but in truth not a patch on Chopper.

I think its Clive Wilson

Two great photos. I stand to be corrected but the top photo is, I think, the 87 match which we lost 1-0 to a goal in the last couple of minutes, scored by Nico Claesen; he thought it was a smart move to celebrate in front of us rammed in the front of the Park Lane end - he got a torrent of abuse straight out of the top drawer. The lower photo is, I think, the 84 match which was a draw 1-1; kick off at 1130am, all ticket, and an atmosphere not unlike the Sunderland LC SF a year later. In heaven when King Kerry put us in front early on. Bit lively on Seven Sisters Road afterwards, a few of troops went for post match refreshments in the pub opposite Victoria Station which was always a Chelsea pub, and a meeting point for the South East London CFC boys for London away days.

Bjarne Goldbeck, scored a belter against the Spuds at WHL when we did them 6-1

Definitely the 89 game, behind King Kerry is the Elephant known as Peter Nicholas, why we bought him I have no idea, might have been a Porterfield or Campbell buy. Drank in the Black Bull before the match and everyone piled out onto the pavement when the Leeds coaches arrived, the abuse was off the scale. Jonny B scored the winner.

I went to the Spuds game at the Bridge, between Christmas and New Year and it was freezing cold. We played well and much better than in the 4-1 defeat at WHL earlier in the season, and in which Patesy was sent off - that was an 8pm ko if memory serves me right and the walk back to Seven Sisters tube just after 10pm was lively. We were the stronger team in this match and bossed it, when King Kerry’s header went in the Shed erupted, whitewall, middle and the T bar all went mental as one - epic. We gave the travelling Spuds plenty of grief as they departed and there was a skirmish at Earls Court later on. I was living at Woolwich at the time and celebrated with a few pints of London Pride. Happy days.