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Post by butlerstbob on Apr 1, 2017 7:58:30 GMT
What a bunch of hard guys we are. Here's one for you fella, if YOU don't like what you read then don't read it! It really is that simple!
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Post by mouseykanga2 on Apr 1, 2017 8:00:01 GMT
Thanks.. Can't help true life stories. Nothing be proud of but it's just the culture at the time.. Better than when the corners going to be filled in !
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Post by mouseykanga2 on Apr 1, 2017 8:03:12 GMT
I do keep apologising. It's not every one's cup of tea. But it's not meant to be something that I'm proud of. It's a few stories of what life was like at that moment in time for a lot of older Stoke Boys.
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woza40
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Post by woza40 on Apr 1, 2017 8:43:26 GMT
I do keep apologising. It's not every one's cup of tea. But it's not meant to be something that I'm proud of. It's a few stories of what life was like at that moment in time for a lot of older Stoke Boys.
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woza40
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Post by woza40 on Apr 1, 2017 8:48:48 GMT
Nice to read about events which to place in our glorious away days past.i recently had a drink with a couple of them fictional people mentioned.
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Post by simple on Apr 1, 2017 8:53:20 GMT
I do keep apologising. It's not every one's cup of tea. But it's not meant to be something that I'm proud of. It's a few stories of what life was like at that moment in time for a lot of older Stoke Boys. All those names you mentioned previously are proper names,but it's strange you don't put your real name on here,I was at Luton and many more,I also played cricket with Mick and getting asserted at Luton did him no favours because he tried to have a normal life which was hard because of the reputation of his two brothers who I also played football with,Martin still goes every game.So for you to name inderviduals you must be a pig or a idiot.And you must be 55-63 if you were there.
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Stav
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Post by Stav on Apr 1, 2017 9:17:53 GMT
My argument is that if I make up a story about smashing up a fish and chip shop in Grimsby then at least 10 people will say they were there and what a great time it was!
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Stav
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Post by Stav on Apr 1, 2017 9:18:46 GMT
My argument is that if I make up a story about smashing up a fish and chip shop in Grimsby then at least 10 people will say they were there and what a great time it was!
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Post by bathstoke on Apr 1, 2017 9:28:59 GMT
Wasn't that the one where police helmets flying on the pitch. Last match of the season 84/85. We had to beat them by 3/4 clear goals to stay in the top flight. I still think it was a fix we did it, cause Wolves were already down.
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Post by dexta on Apr 1, 2017 9:34:57 GMT
Wasn't that the one where police helmets flying on the pitch. Last match of the season 84/85. We had to beat them by 3/4 clear goals to stay in the top flight. I still think it was a fix we did it, cause Wolves were already down. was it mcguire who got all the goals that day
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Post by Dutchpeter on Apr 1, 2017 9:37:42 GMT
My argument is that if I make up a story about smashing up a fish and chip shop in Grimsby then at least 10 people will say they were there and what a great time it was! You remember the chip shop in Cleethorpes!? We 'battered' them that day (ahem) ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/800541/images/kwfoKwtHI0jglJZ4qZf6.gif)
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Post by Dutchpeter on Apr 1, 2017 9:39:59 GMT
Wasn't that the one where police helmets flying on the pitch. Last match of the season 84/85. We had to beat them by 3/4 clear goals to stay in the top flight. I still think it was a fix we did it, cause Wolves were already down. Last day of 83/84 to be pedantic. I seem to recall that being dependent on other results was the key. Birmingham could only draw nil each and that sent them down instead of us.
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Post by Dutchpeter on Apr 1, 2017 9:43:15 GMT
And the win at Villa in 88. Haven't seen this since the game itself. Nice to have had some bragging rights at Clayton High (a school full of Liverpool and Man Utd fans back then). What made me laugh is it looks like a typical Mick Mills away win. Get pissed on for 80 minutes, nick a goal, then defend desperately. In all truthfulness, I remember Stoke playing very well that day.
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Post by NG4POTTERS on Apr 1, 2017 9:55:05 GMT
And the win at Villa in 88. Nice!!!!! Went to that with my dad. Awesome find!
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Post by jonnybravo on Apr 1, 2017 10:38:54 GMT
My argument is that if I make up a story about smashing up a fish and chip shop in Grimsby then at least 10 people will say they were there and what a great time it was! You remember the chip shop in Cleethorpes!? We 'battered' them that day (ahem) ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/800541/images/kwfoKwtHI0jglJZ4qZf6.gif) I prefer mine with breadcrumbs
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Post by Hiram on Apr 1, 2017 11:01:31 GMT
Last match of the season 84/85. We had to beat them by 3/4 clear goals to stay in the top flight. I still think it was a fix we did it, cause Wolves were already down. Last day of 83/84 to be pedantic. I seem to recall that being dependent on other results was the key. Birmingham could only draw nil each and that sent them down instead of us. Last match 83/84. Maguire got all 4 and kept the ball. Clive Thomas's last ever match as a ref.
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Post by JoeinOz on Apr 1, 2017 11:14:44 GMT
Last day of 83/84 to be pedantic. I seem to recall that being dependent on other results was the key. Birmingham could only draw nil each and that sent them down instead of us. Last match 83/84. Maguire got all 4 and kept the ball. Clive Thomas's last ever match as a ref. Alan Dodd played for Wolves and gave us a penalty. ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/800541/images/kwfoKwtHI0jglJZ4qZf6.gif)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2017 11:22:44 GMT
Some good reading on this thread. Whether you like it or not that's how football was back then for many of us and some great friendships were forged along the way. Football culture was different back then, not just at Stoke but in every town and city around the country, maybe it was the frustration of youths growing up in Thatchers Britain, making a name for themselves as the powers in charge overlooked them. Whatever the social or political reasons behind it, it happened and those that were there and involved look back with happy memories.
I can understand how it must have appeared to those on the outside and I know exactly what it felt like on the inside, if you don't like what you read or can't understand it you never will, you had to have been inside to 'get it' and fully grasp what was occurring during that time. None of us has the right to pass judgement on anyone else. If you didn't agree with it, that's fine with me. If you were involved I thank you, for standing by me, looking out for me and being alongside me on our travels even if you didn't know me. Some people will never ever understand that, to those that do, cheers lads.
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Post by stantheman on Apr 1, 2017 11:24:58 GMT
I do keep apologising. It's not every one's cup of tea. But it's not meant to be something that I'm proud of. It's a few stories of what life was like at that moment in time for a lot of older Stoke Boys. Nothing to apologise for. I was reminiscing with my Kids the other day about how many pitches I had run onto in my Youth. They don't believe me.
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Post by uknorse on Apr 1, 2017 12:21:08 GMT
Luton away was brilliant. Wiffer. Salty lamabys and half of meir mafia were on 4 coaches from the Thorley in meir Square. All in the first big pub going into Luton playing 3 card Bragg. Wiffer having a go at Sean Phillips for turning him on 123! You'd have killed me if I'd have gone anymore! 2 mini buses pulled up at the back. Someone Shouted Luton were here. Me and 2 or 3 others ran out and straight in em... They were Stoke ! Coppers come. Went daft. Mikey Smith got nicked and we all walked in. About 300.pakis started taking the piss.big Bags of tators went through the window! Find Seera cars had just come out. Lamabys and lenny Murray rocked it and flipped it over! Big oribl Fuckers them. 4 of us got knicked for the potato gate incident, 3 of us from bentilee, and a lad from the thorley, got pulled outa the fkn crowd at half time by ob and a pakistani , unreal, u dirty bastard lol,
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Post by bathstoke on Apr 1, 2017 13:55:27 GMT
Luton away was brilliant. Wiffer. Salty lamabys and half of meir mafia were on 4 coaches from the Thorley in meir Square. All in the first big pub going into Luton playing 3 card Bragg. Wiffer having a go at Sean Phillips for turning him on 123! You'd have killed me if I'd have gone anymore! 2 mini buses pulled up at the back. Someone Shouted Luton were here. Me and 2 or 3 others ran out and straight in em... They were Stoke ! Coppers come. Went daft. Mikey Smith got nicked and we all walked in. About 300.pakis started taking the piss.big Bags of tators went through the window! Find Seera cars had just come out. Lamabys and lenny Murray rocked it and flipped it over! Big oribl Fuckers them. 4 of us got knicked for the potato gate incident ![:D](//storage.proboards.com/800541/images/kwfoKwtHI0jglJZ4qZf6.gif)
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Post by woodstein on Apr 1, 2017 14:07:33 GMT
Went Bradford once.. Went in a pub by the ground called the bell vue broke me wrist outside fighting.spooner and Newcastle lads outside this pub. A strip pub! Picking Stoke fans off as they left the pub. Give it em big time. Got away with lots of trouble at the time but cameras got to good. It never leaves you though. Still think I'm 20 again after 6 Stellas sometimes ! Can't resist ! Mental health problems! Remember the Bradford belle vue strip pub well as I live few miles away - its now a muslim girls school!! Once in a pub with a stripper away at Chesterfields old ground late 80's, what a laugh. Stripper "Gemini" was an evil cow, enticing lads up, she stubbed a fag out on a blokes arse then for a finale, got a chap stripped-down on floor and set fire to his pubes!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2017 14:52:06 GMT
Some good tales and chuckles. Beats people posting about how they hate our players, the price of a pint, free away travel, ticket office woes, and replica strips.
Millwall away 1987 was one of the best. 70 hand picked lads. Some were sent home because they didn't have the minerals. Some decided to lose their way on route. I suppose the odds were against them? 70 of our finest. Facing the unknown in deepest darkest sarf London. One of the days that made us as a group.
Pompey away 2003 before the membership scheme. 12 of us tearing open the doors of their pubs right by the ground. Landlord says "too late lads they've fucked off to the game but thanks for coming". A Soton lad I was talking to said it was the nastiest looking mob he's seen for a long time. Grimps away, first day of the membership scheme. We landed before they'd even had their breakfast and we couldn't contain the excitement. Kicked off and we were sent home with letters stating we were banned from the City of Cleethorpes and County of Lincolnshire. Ended up on the piss in Castle all day and late into the night. We were a tight bunch, not just the football but everyone stayed out on the ale and had a chuckle about the day. Calls were made and people came from all corners of the empire to have a drink and a laugh.
Hull brought a van to us, late 80's, parked it on the street outside the away end. It was surrounded by a mob banging on the sides trying to tip it over. Lads inside looked terrified. Inside the ground we ran them ragged up through the stairwell at half time then back down the other side. It was like the Keystone cops.
Cardiff at home in the cup, they brought a handful. Bear in mind they were a tiny club then with gates of about 4,000. Not the big mobs they had around the turn of the century. A Taff lad in a Burberry check shirt says "you've got no form, Stoke". Next second my mate knocks him out straight cold. "Have that you cheeky cunt" he says. Then we rag them down the street. Comedy gold.
Liverpool at home in the stairwell when they were losing their trainers in the melee. Chucking stuff down from above in the Boothen seats til we got the doors open and taught them a lesson. Same game, afterwards getting to the station before their escort, an angry mob waiting on the corner in the darkness bricks and bottles in hand. They turned the corner, maybe 5 or 6 thousand of them. Raining missiles down on them, the coppers having to push them around the corner to get them to move. Backed them right off, they wouldn't cross the road to us. Blood down the front of my pristine white ST top but I didn't care. We went hand to hand into them, backing them off every time. First time I saw blades flashed and it incensed me, made me pick more bricks off the road and next time I aimed for heads. Enraged that anyone could threaten my fellow Stokies with metal.
Grimsby at home, so many lads on the pitch and on the streets after, it was unbelievable.
Wigan away, a mob 600 strong the likes of which would have taken anyone on. Absolutely horrible horrible lads. Every single face you'd ever imagine.
Late 80's, I was sitting with my Derby mate (we were playing them) in the Stoke End seats. An uncomfortable silence at first as each mob was sat close together. Then it went off, and we were experts in seat warfare. It went full mental. They were up against the wall with nowhere to go and we ran them ragged. Same season, same routine against Bradford, Oldham, Sheff, Pompey, Barnsley.
Brizzle away, 2003 a nice tight little 30 of us evaded the escort on the bridge by the park after the game. Brizz couldn't touch us and got ragged. Bricks and gas and they still couldn't budge this little group. Numbers mean nothing when you're up against the best. Brizzle were a shitty third rate little firm.
My little brigade was all Castle lads. Well dressed psychopaths. Some of the best dressed casuals at Stoke. Still are. Hard for onlookers and JCL's to comprehend. Times were different. Put on your best Diadora Borg Elite, Hardcore jeans, Sergio Tacchini tennis shirt, Cerruti 1881 wool jumper and stroll around the streets looking for foes. Dodge the back alleys, watch for minivans, scan for unfamiliar faces. Always the uncomfortable scent of violence. Always the opportunity to defend your kingdom from rampaging enemies. Always the chance to put another page in the historical records of those times.
The clothes. The mates. The beer. The laughs. The camaraderie. The memories.
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Post by dexta on Apr 1, 2017 14:59:36 GMT
Some good tales and chuckles. Beats people posting about how they hate our players, the price of a pint, free away travel, ticket office woes, and replica strips. Millwall away 1987 was one of the best. 70 hand picked lads. Some were sent home because they didn't have the minerals. Some decided to lose their way on route. I suppose the odds were against them? 70 of our finest. Facing the unknown in deepest darkest sarf London. One of the days that made us as a group. Pompey away 2003 before the membership scheme. 12 of us tearing the doors of their pubs right by the ground. Landlord says "too late lads they've fucked off to the game but thanks for coming". A Soton lad I was talking to said it was the nastiest looking mob he's seen for a long time. Grimps away, first day of the membership scheme. We landed before they'd even had their breakfast and we couldn't contain the excitement. Kicked off and we were sent home with letters stating we were banned from the City of Cleethorpes and County of Lincolnshire. Ended up on the piss in Castle all day and late into the night. We were a tight bunch, not just the football but everyone stayed out on the ale and had a chuckle about the day. Calls were made and people came from all corners of the empire to have a drink and a laugh. Hull brought a van to us, late 80's, parked it on the street outside the away end. It was surrounded by a mob banging on the sides trying to tip it over. Lads inside looked terrified. Inside the ground we ran them ragged up through the stairwell at half time then back down the other side. It was like the Keystone cops. Cardiff at home in the cup, they brought a handful. Bear in mind they were a tiny club then with gates of about 4,000. Not the big mobs they had around the turn of the century. A Taff lad in a Burberry check shirts says "you've got no form, Stoke". Next second my mate knocks him out straight cold. "Have that you cheeky cunt" he says. Then we rag them down the street. Comedy gold. Liverpool at home in the stairwell when they were losing their trainers in the melee. Chucking stuff down from above in the Boothen seats til we got the doors open and taught them a lesson. same game, afterwards getting to the station before their escort, an angry mob waiting on the corner in the darkness bricks and bottles in hand. They turned the corner, maybe 5 or 6 thousand of them. Raining missiles down on them, the coppers having to push them around the corner to get them to move. backed them right off, they wouldn't cross the road to us. Blood down the front of my pristine white ST top but I didn't care. We went hand to hand into them, backing them off every time. First time I saw blades flashed and it incensed me, made me lick more bricks off the road and next time I aimed for heads. Enraged that anyone could threaten my fellow Stokies with metal. Grimsby ay home, so many lads on the pitch and on the streets after, it was unbelievable. Wigan away, a mob 600 strong the likes of which would have taken anyone on. Absolutely horrible horrible lads. Every single face you'd ever imagine. Late 80's, I was sitting with my Derby mate (we were playing them) in the Stoke End seats. An uncomfortable silence at first as each mob was sat close together. Then it went off, and we were experts in seat warfare. It went full mental. They were up against the wall with nowhere to go and we ran them ragged. Same season, same routine against Bradford, Oldham, Sheff, Pompey, Barnsley. Brizzle away, 2003 a nice tight little 30 of us evaded the escort on the bridge by the park after the game. Brizz couldn't touch us and got ragged. Bricks and gas and they still couldn't budge this little group. Numbers mean nothing when you're up against the best. Brizzle were a shitty third rate little firm. My little brigade was all Castle lads. Well dressed psychopaths. Some of the best dressed casuals at Stoke. Still are. Hard for onlookers and JCL's to comprehend. Times were different. Put on your best Diadora Borg Elite, Hardcore jeans, Sergio Tacchini tennis shirt, Cerruti 1881 wool jumper and stroll around the streets looking for foes. Dodge the back alleys, watch for minivans, scan for unfamiliar faces. Always the uncomfortable scent of violence. Always the opportunity to defend your kingdom from rampaging enemies. Always the chance to put another page in the historical records of those times. The clothes. The mates. The beer. The laughs. The camaraderie. The memories. top post fella the liverpool game barry grant was with them was in brookside and the bill....as for the station absolute bedlam on car park and up by the post office sorting office
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2017 15:04:53 GMT
the liverpool game barry grant was with them was in brookside and the bill....as for the station absolute bedlam on car park and up by the post office sorting office I remember that now. Yes on the corner by the sorting office on the big open car park. Horrible mob of Stoke. Lads and shirters, everyone united for that. Back then even the shirt lads got stuck in when it was needed to make a point and to defend the Empire. They were the ones that nodded in approval when it went off. Rather than tutting like Daily Mail readers.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2017 15:17:16 GMT
Was their also someone around same time called Sid Stringer, or did I imagine that ? Sid was a great lad and loyal Stoke as they come. Another real character from the neck end area. Some of those characters... MH, DW, TT, all the ones listed in this thread. Top people and mad as a box of frogs. If they were on your coach you could expect for the worst and expect to not make it home til late and with not inconsiderable stories to tell, and quite possibly putting yourself at risk to your health and well being. He once gave me loads of shit in Entropy for wearing a Denmark shirt. Then we had a laugh and a beer and crushed another pill.
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Post by Caerwrangonpotter on Apr 1, 2017 15:20:17 GMT
A lot will bemoan the thread on senseless violence & making Stoke look like thugs, but this is how it was in the 70s/80s/90s....Im no violence merchant,I would never advocate or promote it but it was something that was never far away from fans home or away, thats how it was. You will no doubt find that for every story that's made a book, or been on a Danny Dyer programme, their will be more that only a select few who were present will know about. A tale from an elder brother of a 70s away day to Leeds, which led to some bloodied bodies & ripped shirts getting back to Longton on a Saturday night. A West Brom away day for me with a walk from Rolfe Street was absolute chaos that I can remember, simple fact of if you were a Stoke fan you were game. I can look through tinted glasses yes at what The Vic was like, but in the same it must have been an absolute nightmare for visiting fans.
Stories & tales. Dont hide them or pretend they didn't happen, they did....and deserve to be aired
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Post by woodstein on Apr 1, 2017 17:40:42 GMT
A lot will bemoan the thread on senseless violence & making Stoke look like thugs, but this is how it was in the 70s/80s/90s....Im no violence merchant,I would never advocate or promote it but it was something that was never far away from fans home or away, thats how it was. You will no doubt find that for every story that's made a book, or been on a Danny Dyer programme, their will be more that only a select few who were present will know about. A tale from an elder brother of a 70s away day to Leeds, which led to some bloodied bodies & ripped shirts getting back to Longton on a Saturday night. A West Brom away day for me with a walk from Rolfe Street was absolute chaos that I can remember, simple fact of if you were a Stoke fan you were game. I can look through tinted glasses yes at what The Vic was like, but in the same it must have been an absolute nightmare for visiting fans. Stories & tales. Dont hide them or pretend they didn't happen, they did....and deserve to be aired Think the Leeds away will have been when we went there top of league but lost 3-0, Shilton played so around 1975. I saw quite a few Stoke being taken to rail station looking a bit battered. I live in West Yorkshire and know of lot of Leeds fans who tell me their "boys" rate Stokes and they were well impressed with them when we played against Bradford City at Elland rd after the Bradford fire destroyed their ground. Some Leeds sided with Stoke as they don't like Bradford and a Stoke van was surrounded by large number of Bradford and lads in van jumped out and did them. It even gets a mention in Bradfords hooligan book and they were impressed too
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Post by madmickthe3rd on Apr 1, 2017 18:02:13 GMT
Some good tales and chuckles. Beats people posting about how they hate our players, the price of a pint, free away travel, ticket office woes, and replica strips. Millwall away 1987 was one of the best. 70 hand picked lads. Some were sent home because they didn't have the minerals. Some decided to lose their way on route. I suppose the odds were against them? 70 of our finest. Facing the unknown in deepest darkest sarf London. One of the days that made us as a group. Pompey away 2003 before the membership scheme. 12 of us tearing the doors of their pubs right by the ground. Landlord says "too late lads they've fucked off to the game but thanks for coming". A Soton lad I was talking to said it was the nastiest looking mob he's seen for a long time. Grimps away, first day of the membership scheme. We landed before they'd even had their breakfast and we couldn't contain the excitement. Kicked off and we were sent home with letters stating we were banned from the City of Cleethorpes and County of Lincolnshire. Ended up on the piss in Castle all day and late into the night. We were a tight bunch, not just the football but everyone stayed out on the ale and had a chuckle about the day. Calls were made and people came from all corners of the empire to have a drink and a laugh. Hull brought a van to us, late 80's, parked it on the street outside the away end. It was surrounded by a mob banging on the sides trying to tip it over. Lads inside looked terrified. Inside the ground we ran them ragged up through the stairwell at half time then back down the other side. It was like the Keystone cops. Cardiff at home in the cup, they brought a handful. Bear in mind they were a tiny club then with gates of about 4,000. Not the big mobs they had around the turn of the century. A Taff lad in a Burberry check shirts says "you've got no form, Stoke". Next second my mate knocks him out straight cold. "Have that you cheeky cunt" he says. Then we rag them down the street. Comedy gold. Liverpool at home in the stairwell when they were losing their trainers in the melee. Chucking stuff down from above in the Boothen seats til we got the doors open and taught them a lesson. Same game, afterwards getting to the station before their escort, an angry mob waiting on the corner in the darkness bricks and bottles in hand. They turned the corner, maybe 5 or 6 thousand of them. Raining missiles down on them, the coppers having to push them around the corner to get them to move. Backed them right off, they wouldn't cross the road to us. Blood down the front of my pristine white ST top but I didn't care. We went hand to hand into them, backing them off every time. First time I saw blades flashed and it incensed me, made me pick more bricks off the road and next time I aimed for heads. Enraged that anyone could threaten my fellow Stokies with metal. Grimsby at home, so many lads on the pitch and on the streets after, it was unbelievable. Wigan away, a mob 600 strong the likes of which would have taken anyone on. Absolutely horrible horrible lads. Every single face you'd ever imagine. Late 80's, I was sitting with my Derby mate (we were playing them) in the Stoke End seats. An uncomfortable silence at first as each mob was sat close together. Then it went off, and we were experts in seat warfare. It went full mental. They were up against the wall with nowhere to go and we ran them ragged. Same season, same routine against Bradford, Oldham, Sheff, Pompey, Barnsley. Brizzle away, 2003 a nice tight little 30 of us evaded the escort on the bridge by the park after the game. Brizz couldn't touch us and got ragged. Bricks and gas and they still couldn't budge this little group. Numbers mean nothing when you're up against the best. Brizzle were a shitty third rate little firm. My little brigade was all Castle lads. Well dressed psychopaths. Some of the best dressed casuals at Stoke. Still are. Hard for onlookers and JCL's to comprehend. Times were different. Put on your best Diadora Borg Elite, Hardcore jeans, Sergio Tacchini tennis shirt, Cerruti 1881 wool jumper and stroll around the streets looking for foes. Dodge the back alleys, watch for minivans, scan for unfamiliar faces. Always the uncomfortable scent of violence. Always the opportunity to defend your kingdom from rampaging enemies. Always the chance to put another page in the historical records of those times. The clothes. The mates. The beer. The laughs. The camaraderie. The memories. Old Stokie, you don't know me but I have had the pleasure of meeting you a couple of times, and I have to say, I would be hard pressed to find a nicer fella on this planet. Hard to believe back in the day you were involved in all these shenanigans but then I have seen that twinkle in your eye! Seriously though you really should consider writing a book about your life as a Stokie, as I for one, thoroughly enjoyed reading all of that and I am sure there are lots more stories you could tell. Give it some thought please cos it would definitely sell!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2017 18:20:01 GMT
Some good tales and chuckles. Beats people posting about how they hate our players, the price of a pint, free away travel, ticket office woes, and replica strips. Millwall away 1987 was one of the best. 70 hand picked lads. Some were sent home because they didn't have the minerals. Some decided to lose their way on route. I suppose the odds were against them? 70 of our finest. Facing the unknown in deepest darkest sarf London. One of the days that made us as a group. Pompey away 2003 before the membership scheme. 12 of us tearing the doors of their pubs right by the ground. Landlord says "too late lads they've fucked off to the game but thanks for coming". A Soton lad I was talking to said it was the nastiest looking mob he's seen for a long time. Grimps away, first day of the membership scheme. We landed before they'd even had their breakfast and we couldn't contain the excitement. Kicked off and we were sent home with letters stating we were banned from the City of Cleethorpes and County of Lincolnshire. Ended up on the piss in Castle all day and late into the night. We were a tight bunch, not just the football but everyone stayed out on the ale and had a chuckle about the day. Calls were made and people came from all corners of the empire to have a drink and a laugh. Hull brought a van to us, late 80's, parked it on the street outside the away end. It was surrounded by a mob banging on the sides trying to tip it over. Lads inside looked terrified. Inside the ground we ran them ragged up through the stairwell at half time then back down the other side. It was like the Keystone cops. Cardiff at home in the cup, they brought a handful. Bear in mind they were a tiny club then with gates of about 4,000. Not the big mobs they had around the turn of the century. A Taff lad in a Burberry check shirts says "you've got no form, Stoke". Next second my mate knocks him out straight cold. "Have that you cheeky cunt" he says. Then we rag them down the street. Comedy gold. Liverpool at home in the stairwell when they were losing their trainers in the melee. Chucking stuff down from above in the Boothen seats til we got the doors open and taught them a lesson. Same game, afterwards getting to the station before their escort, an angry mob waiting on the corner in the darkness bricks and bottles in hand. They turned the corner, maybe 5 or 6 thousand of them. Raining missiles down on them, the coppers having to push them around the corner to get them to move. Backed them right off, they wouldn't cross the road to us. Blood down the front of my pristine white ST top but I didn't care. We went hand to hand into them, backing them off every time. First time I saw blades flashed and it incensed me, made me pick more bricks off the road and next time I aimed for heads. Enraged that anyone could threaten my fellow Stokies with metal. Grimsby at home, so many lads on the pitch and on the streets after, it was unbelievable. Wigan away, a mob 600 strong the likes of which would have taken anyone on. Absolutely horrible horrible lads. Every single face you'd ever imagine. Late 80's, I was sitting with my Derby mate (we were playing them) in the Stoke End seats. An uncomfortable silence at first as each mob was sat close together. Then it went off, and we were experts in seat warfare. It went full mental. They were up against the wall with nowhere to go and we ran them ragged. Same season, same routine against Bradford, Oldham, Sheff, Pompey, Barnsley. Brizzle away, 2003 a nice tight little 30 of us evaded the escort on the bridge by the park after the game. Brizz couldn't touch us and got ragged. Bricks and gas and they still couldn't budge this little group. Numbers mean nothing when you're up against the best. Brizzle were a shitty third rate little firm. My little brigade was all Castle lads. Well dressed psychopaths. Some of the best dressed casuals at Stoke. Still are. Hard for onlookers and JCL's to comprehend. Times were different. Put on your best Diadora Borg Elite, Hardcore jeans, Sergio Tacchini tennis shirt, Cerruti 1881 wool jumper and stroll around the streets looking for foes. Dodge the back alleys, watch for minivans, scan for unfamiliar faces. Always the uncomfortable scent of violence. Always the opportunity to defend your kingdom from rampaging enemies. Always the chance to put another page in the historical records of those times. The clothes. The mates. The beer. The laughs. The camaraderie. The memories. Old Stokie, you don't know me but I have had the pleasure of meeting you a couple of times, and I have to say, I would be hard pressed to find a nicer fella on this planet. Hard to believe back in the day you were involved in all these shenanigans but then I have seen that twinkle in your eye! Seriously though you really should consider writing a book about your life as a Stokie, as I for one, thoroughly enjoyed reading all of that and I am sure there are lots more stories you could tell. Give it some thought please cos it would definitely sell! Old Stoke not Old Stokie. Different animal.
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