I went to loads of home games late 70s, 80s and was always very disappointed with the turnouts from virtually all the Midland Clubs ... considering the numbers, at times we took to them their non-existent return turnouts at Stamford Bridge bordered on the pathetic.

WEST BROM ... WOLVES ... BIRMINGHAM ... LEICESTER ... DERBY ... ASTON VILLA ... COVENTRY ... hang your heads in shame !!!

From memory, the only Midlands Club that actually brought a few down were FOREST, during the Brian Clough years. However, insignificant numbers compared to what we took to them.

One of the very best turn-outs at the Bridge were ARSENAL after they won the FA Cup ... our fixture was still outstanding. They absolutely packed the North Stand with a celebration of Wembley banners, etc. ... amazing, electric atmosphere in the Shed that day ... one of the very best ever !!!

Edited February 9, 201511 yr by cfcblue

Spurs in 82 had 14,000 at Chelsea but had 1,000 terrace tickets unsold. Had 9,000 in the north terrace and 5,000 in the west stand seats. Loads of teams used to have 4 sections Spurs West Ham Arsenal Liverpool Man Utd in the 80s but they were not full and could have fitted into 3 sections. Most of the time the front was empty with hardly anyone on the first few stepsI can remeber teams like Bolton Blackburn Oldham Cambridge and others having less than 100. Leicester had about 70 to 80 in the milk cup 83/84 but bought 6,000 in the lge cup and fa cup recently. I can remeber midlands teams bringing small numbers 80s and QPR 78/79 and Orient 79/80 both bought about 300. I can remember West Ham having 8,000 or so in the north terrace with loads in home areas but a couple of times was nearer 6,000 late 80s same as Arsenal and Spurs. Liverpool packed the away end winning the league in 86 but was well light a few times. Man Utd the same they had the whole end but mid 80s was never full to capacity the front was empty or they were spaced out but from the shed looked rammed..

I can remember Burnley once bringing about half a dozen, they put them in the section where the old North Stand after it was demolished. A couple of them were mimicking everything the bloke in front of them did.

If you go on the Bolton forum you can read they really fancied themselves in the 70's and 80's saying how they did some damaged down here in a cup match around '74. Their small mob got slaughtered in '75 never to return again until all seater stadiums.

Edited February 9, 201511 yr by Peckham Blue

Spurs in 82 had 14,000 at Chelsea but had 1,000 terrace tickets unsold. Had 9,000 in the north terrace and 5,000 in the west stand seats.

I have a poor memory about some things, but I am 99.9% certain that Spurs did not have the West Stand seats that day. 

if i was answering the question before seeing all the responses i would have said Newcastle was the most impressive away support I have seen at The Bridge. Not sure why anyone would have a problem with that but we all have our own different recollectios i suppose.

I am particularly thinking of a game probably 1980s where their vocal support had been unbelievable all the way through the game. usually any away fans trying to sing quickly stirred our lot into a vociferous response which shut them up, but on that particular day they gave it loads and there was little vocal response from us. they ended up winning the game, 1-0 i think, and I remember walking out of the ground thinking that was really disappointing but i was happy for those fans who had come all that way and were going home delighted. they deserved the win not for being the better team but for having the better fans. not often i have those sentiments!

Talking of infiltrating away ends- We did in the North Stand, West Ham were very adept at doing so in the South Bank, Arsenal weren't adverse to giving it in the Clock End, even Palace used to muster up a few in the Whitehorse End- remember them having a go at Sheffield Utd in a night game once, late 70s.

My point is, did Spurs used to get in amongst the opposition in the Park Lane?

I think they have Brighton a slap there in Div 2, but don't remember hearing of much else?

going back to that Palace cup tie in 76 which we lost 3-2, that was a game we expected to win, should have won, and would have won but for that Peter Taylor free kick. But Palace were on the up at that time under Malcolm Allison and they did bring a lot more fans than usual. I canot comment in detail on the crowd trouble but from my view in the west stand it was all over quite quickly.

That game sticks in the memory for me as I am from the Crystal Palace area with a lot of Palace mates.

incredibly a third post on this subject from me, very sorry if that is considered bad form.

 

it's another game that we lost, this time it was 3-0 at home to Oldham. late 1970s maybe or early 80s.

 

i was in the West Stand. the away support on the North Stand terraces was always woeful, made worse by it being such a large area and no Chelsea fans allowed in due to segregation issues. But there was a chap sitting behind me in the West who was out of his seat the whole game shouting "coom on Oldham" and of course going potty when they scored. we were too shocked and stunned by the result to give him a hard time.

That was the first season in Div 2, a terrible result.

From memory teams who brought support that season were:

Forest. Well up for it.

Bristol City, definitely up for it, came in the Shed too all be it briefly, also in the Anglo Scottish Cup

Plymouth. Scattered at the end, some over the railings into the old North Stand, same as Cardiff outside

Bolton. A small support, scattered down to the front corner as soon as they started singing

Sunderland. I think most of the action went on out of view

Charlton. Well segregated

WBA. Well segregated

Palace in the cup. Demolished

I must have missed the Portsmouth match, I'm sure they would have been there.

Half way through the season the old bill got their act together and started segregating the away fans,

The following season only Millwall, Cardiff, Wolves, Southampton, Forest and Plymouth brought any sort of support, the last two clubs numbers were well down on the previous season. Millwall apart, there was the only odd scuffle inside the ground.

I go with the West Ham match too but to say that Cass Pennant and co got a spanking is way off the mark. They left the North Stand in their 100's and came at us right up the steps as Chelsea scattered to the Tea Bar and protected the middle of the shed. The Old Bill hesitated as Chelsea stood their ground, I remember clearly as if it was yesterday 'panic' setting in and everyone shouting 'stand your ground'

I thought they came out of the West Stand, everyone was singing Bye Bye thinking they were leaving because they were losing and five minutes later they came through the Bovril and up the main entrance steps into the Shed at the same time, a 'two pronged attack' and very impressive it was too.  They didn't give a f**k that day, small mobs in the Shed from about 2 o'clock, then in Gate 13, and finally their top boys in the West Stand.  Bear in mind Gate 13 and the West Stand were where our main mobs went in those days.  They may not have taken the Shed as in days past but they came and took everywhere else including the piss. We had a high reputation and numbers back then so running them back out of a packed Shed near to full time was small consolation for what had gone on all day.  

 

As I wrote earlier, West Ham in '84 were best to ever come with violent intentions, regularly they always until Parsons Green.  So were Millwall whenever they got the chance, but numbers wise for me it's Spurs in '78. 

Was fairly low down under the whitewall when they arrived- had a broken collar bone at time and was trying to keep out the way of people running away from or to the action- could have sworn they ended up at the bottom by the fences?

West Ham mate who was watching from the North Stand told me at the time from there it looked like they'd come unstuck. Who knows as they say

I don't remember them getting anywhere near the front, I was up near the Bovril and pre-occupied.  There was another game where some of them in the Shed ended up by the benches but that was before kick off.  

 

After the '84 game all I could think of was that these c**ts are somewhere in the side streets waiting !

I have a poor memory about some things, but I am 99.9% certain that Spurs did not have the West Stand seats that day. 

Spurs had 15,000 tickets the north terrace held 10,500 at the time. I was in the west stand in the last block near the shed and all Spurs around me when they scored 3 goals. This has been disputed a few times over the years.

Spurs v Man City prog says £5 seats foir sale

Chelsea season ticket holders turning up in the west and werent told was going to be Spurs

Match of the day Spurs are 14,000 strong. North terrace held 10,500 and Spurs had 4,500 seats but cos they had 1,000 terrace tickets unsold they had 14,000 not 15,000. It was said Spurs were scared in an articles i dont call 14,000 scared had a huge mob that day as well. Should have had 11,000 25% of the ground but cos they took the seats the police didnt want the north terrace split after all the fighting at the Liverpool game an article on the net said this.

Chelsea were kept on the left of the Fulham Road with Spurs from the away end and seats all the right me and my dad included. So Spurs got to use Fulham Broadway tube why Chelsea had to walk past.

Didn't they wreck The Imperial?

Spurs had 15,000 tickets the north terrace held 10,500 at the time. I was in the west stand in the last block near the shed and all Spurs around me when they scored 3 goals. This has been disputed a few times over the years.

Spurs v Man City prog says £5 seats foir sale

Chelsea season ticket holders turning up in the west and werent told was going to be Spurs

Match of the day Spurs are 14,000 strong. North terrace held 10,500 and Spurs had 4,500 seats but cos they had 1,000 terrace tickets unsold they had 14,000 not 15,000. It was said Spurs were scared in an articles i dont call 14,000 scared had a huge mob that day as well. Should have had 11,000 25% of the ground but cos they took the seats the police didnt want the north terrace split after all the fighting at the Liverpool game an article on the net said this.

Chelsea were kept on the left of the Fulham Road with Spurs from the away end and seats all the right me and my dad included. So Spurs got to use Fulham Broadway tube why Chelsea had to walk past.

Yeh, barricades all down the Fulham road, old bill had it under control until me and the lads found a few crates of milk bottles, that kicked it off good and proper.

Didn't they wreck The Imperial?

Different year mate, all their main boys, and only a sprinkling of çhels, and they still didn't have it all their own way.

Yeh, barricades all down the Fulham road, old bill had it under control until me and the lads found a few crates of milk bottles, that kicked it off good and proper.

 

I'm sure that i the aftermath the 'Old Bill' reckoned they had arrested over 200 fans. But bearing in mind the numbers present, this was 'loose change'.

Spurs had a pop at 2 pubs before the game on that part of the kings road. I got told Chelsea then run Spurs down to the where the palmerston was. Years later heard a bloke say i bought a ticket in a pub for a few quid was well chuffed. Said i went across the road to the phone box to tell my mrs i got a ticket. Just as i was telling her the windwos of the pub i was in went in. I then heard off various over the years that Spurs had a huge mob that came form Sloane Square and walked up the Kings Road and on the day both won a few and lost a few. So when i see that article that Spurs had 1,000 tickets unsold and were to scared to come it was laughable. If anyone wants to see pics of the game MIRRORPIX then type Chelsea Tottenham 1982 or Chelsea v and you see hundreds of pics of old Chelsea games. Or Chelsea Tottenham or Chelsea West Ham etc etc.

Spurs had a pop at 2 pubs before the game on that part of the kings road. I got told Chelsea then run Spurs down to the where the palmerston was. Years later heard a bloke say i bought a ticket in a pub for a few quid was well chuffed. Said i went across the road to the phone box to tell my mrs i got a ticket. Just as i was telling her the windwos of the pub i was in went in. I then heard off various over the years that Spurs had a huge mob that came form Sloane Square and walked up the Kings Road and on the day both won a few and lost a few. So when i see that article that Spurs had 1,000 tickets unsold and were to scared to come it was laughable. If anyone wants to see pics of the game MIRRORPIX then type Chelsea Tottenham 1982 or Chelsea v and you see hundreds of pics of old Chelsea games. Or Chelsea Tottenham or Chelsea West

Ham etc etc.

Remember them putting the windows through of a pub on the kings until we came round the corner and battered them, there was some bloke taking photos of it until he got a slap and his camera smashed and the film destroyed.

Report of that Spurs 82 game,

 

Article says 10,500 terrace, 4,500 seats.

 

 

I definitely remember the Oxford game in the full members cup, p*ss poor turnout, and the shed end rendered their "Were gonna get our fu**ing heads kicked in" song, the only entertaining event of the night...... 

United in the Sixties used to swamp the Shed with sheer weight of numbers and getting in as soon as gates opened. One year we had to stand under the old north stand, another year about 50 of us stood at end of shed near Bovril entrance. The whole of the Shed was United

United in the Sixties used to swamp the Shed with sheer weight of numbers and getting in as soon as gates opened. One year we had to stand under the old north stand, another year about 50 of us stood at end of shed near Bovril entrance. The whole of the Shed was United

 

They used to do that at most London grounds. Remember Bobby Charlton quoting their game at West Ham in 66 or 67, saying he'd never seen so much trouble at a football game.

They swamped the North Bank, and throughout the game guys were getting taken out, who had been 'bottled' and taken a kicking.

No doubt West Ham fans would claim it was all Mancs who got pasted!.

They used to do that at most London grounds. Remember Bobby Charlton quoting their game at West Ham in 66 or 67, saying he'd never seen so much trouble at a football game.

They swamped the North Bank, and throughout the game guys were getting taken out, who had been 'bottled' and taken a kicking.

No doubt West Ham fans would claim it was all Mancs who got pasted!.

Yeah, remember that game well, I think United won the league that game, there was just no way of stopping them back then, God knows what time they used to turn up, must have been well before the gates opened.