|
|
Post by Kenilworth_Stokies on Sept 6, 2021 22:07:12 GMT
This image keeps cropping up on Farcebook. It seems inconceivable to me that away fans might have occupied this spot on the Boothen End long enough to graffiti the wall. But then this was 15 years before my time, where I was later stood just behind the camera man, in the layer days of segregated stands.
Anybody got any context of what happened here? I assume the Boothen End took umbrage to Leeds fans in their midst and steel-bending mither ensued. Must have been pretty severe, looking at the thickness of those girders.
I remember they replaced these barriers again in the late 80s, presumably with this sort of crush incident in mind.
|
|
|
|
Post by meltonjohn on Sept 6, 2021 22:37:11 GMT
This image keeps cropping up on Farcebook. It seems inconceivable to me that away fans might have occupied this spot on the Boothen End long enough to graffiti the wall. But then this was 15 years before my time, where I was later stood just behind the camera man, in the layer days of segregated stands.
View Attachment
Anybody got any context of what happened here? I assume the Boothen End took umbrage to Leeds fans in their midst and steel-bending mither ensued. Must have been pretty severe, looking at the thickness of those girders.
I remember they replaced these barriers again in the late 80s, presumably with this sort of crush incident in mind. Remember it well. Yes, Leeds fans in the Boothen and some aggro resulting in the barrier collapsing. A few minor injuries but nothing major. Having been in the social club after the game I was passing by about an hour after the game and ended up being quoted on the radio and the front page of the News of the World next day! Worried friends and relatives rang my home all weekend to see if I was ok! Have no recollection of the match whatsoever but it was in the days of Bremner, Hunter, Giles et al. |
|
|
|
Post by Gods on Sept 6, 2021 23:00:36 GMT
My first season following the club as a boy.
It's almost inconceivable to imagine the human pressure required to bend those barriers in that way.
Spurs, Wolves, Man United, Leeds and West Ham were regular visitors to the Boothen in those bat shit crazy madcap years.
Putting to one side the N40, organisation and all that was to follow the simple fact is the 70's were a violent decade in all walks of life. You were never too far from someone punching your lights out. It does make me laugh seeing folks dancing up and down behind a row of stewards these days waving a camera around. This was an altogether different situation, there was a very real chance of getting a fearful beating and no one was going to do a single thing about it.
Time moves on, progress, and it's mostly a good thing.
|
|
|
|
Post by werrington on Sept 7, 2021 6:04:41 GMT
My first season following the club as a boy. It's almost inconceivable to imagine the human pressure required to bend those barriers in that way. Spurs, Wolves, Man United, Leeds and West Ham were regular visitors to the Boothen in those bat shit crazy madcap years. Putting to one side the N40, organisation and all that was to follow the simple fact is the 70's were a violent decade in all walks of life. You were never too far from someone punching your lights out. It does make me laugh seeing folks dancing up and down behind a row of stewards these days waving a camera around. This was an altogether different situation, there was a very real chance of getting a fearful beating and no one was going to do a single thing about it. Time moves on, progress, and it's mostly a good thing. They always all seemed to go top right of the boothen also mate and battled their way down to the pitch The equivalent of going into block 19 these days |
|
|
|
Post by kentpotter on Sept 7, 2021 7:07:49 GMT
My first season following the club as a boy. It's almost inconceivable to imagine the human pressure required to bend those barriers in that way. Spurs, Wolves, Man United, Leeds and West Ham were regular visitors to the Boothen in those bat shit crazy madcap years. Putting to one side the N40, organisation and all that was to follow the simple fact is the 70's were a violent decade in all walks of life. You were never too far from someone punching your lights out. It does make me laugh seeing folks dancing up and down behind a row of stewards these days waving a camera around. This was an altogether different situation, there was a very real chance of getting a fearful beating and no one was going to do a single thing about it. Time moves on, progress, and it's mostly a good thing. Spurs were buggers for it! Remember my first ever game at the Vic in 1976; Spurs were there in force for this FAC replay, delayed due to no Butler Street roof! The first twenty minutes of the match was mayhem as Spurs fan after Spurs fan (many dressed in dungarees and Rubettes hats  ) was bundled down from the back of the Boothen by the Old Bill, ably 'assisted' by the feet and fists of the Boothen Boys! After the match, Spurs discovered how problematic it was getting beyond the overflow graveyard!!! |
|
|
|
Post by 19notbeaten72 on Sept 7, 2021 7:43:08 GMT
Leeds fans were in the Boothen end that day but took a beating as they got pushed further towards the corner leading to pressure on the crush barriers. I don't think they tried again after this.
|
|
|
|
Post by Kenilworth_Stokies on Sept 7, 2021 8:14:17 GMT
When did that all die out then? I don't ever recall seeing groups of away fans in the top right of the Boothen in the mid-80s onwards. Was that just because segregation had formally been introduced?
The 80s could still get a bit tasty but, by the sounds of it, it was relatively tame compared to the 70s. Is that fair to say?
|
|
|
|
Post by werrington on Sept 7, 2021 8:20:57 GMT
When did that all die out then? I don't ever recall seeing groups of away fans in the top right of the Boothen in the mid-80s onwards. Was that just because segregation had formally been introduced? The 80s could still get a bit tasty but, by the sounds of it, it was relatively tame compared to the 70s. Is that fair to say? Around the late 70s Away fans then started to attempt to take the boothen paddock ( especially West Ham and Wolves) as that’s where the Stoke hardcore frequented They never succeeded despite all their efforts |
|
|
|
Post by 19notbeaten72 on Sept 7, 2021 8:27:48 GMT
The problem in the late sixties early seventies was you could enter most grounds by just paying at the turnstile & policing was not really anywere near what we get today.
So you ended up with a mob from another club arriving very early & taking residence on the home end which led to some very tasty aggro.
|
|
|
|
Post by stroller on Sept 7, 2021 8:34:00 GMT
Stoke fans were not immune from invading opposition away ends. I'm sad to say that I was once one of them. However the worst I ever suffered was a coin on the head at Leicester and a meat pie in the face in the Trent end at Forest. I was quick to escape extreme violence at Wolves, Sheffield and Burnley by pretending to be a home fan. Sometime in the early eighties or late seventies segregation was introduced, but by then I had "grown out of it"! Incidentally, once at a cup game at Watford a bunch of West Ham thugs turned up and caused mayhem, it was the only time I saw a knife brandished in a stadium.
|
|
|
|
Post by jonnynico on Sept 7, 2021 9:34:55 GMT
I was in front of the barrier, just managed to get out of the way
|
|
|
|
Post by AlbertTatlock on Sept 7, 2021 10:50:55 GMT
Great advert for safe standing. Gouranga.  |
|
|
|
Post by hyaduck on Sept 7, 2021 11:07:35 GMT
Leeds fans were in the Boothen end that day but took a beating as they got pushed further towards the corner leading to pressure on the crush barriers. I don't think they tried again after this. They tried again about 82, I’d say 30/40 tops. They were in the top right end of the Boothen for about 15 minutes after kickoff before being escorted out. West Ham also tried and got a complete slapping when the coppers escorted them through the paddock. |
|
|
|
Post by midtempo on Sept 7, 2021 11:10:02 GMT
I was about 10 yards down from that barrier, the problem was also the barrier was on top of the wall and Leeds fans were also falling a couple of feet along with being crushed.
You can see the wall leading to one of the the Boothern End entry passages (where the wall is daubed Leeds).
I always stood with my back to a barrier and next to a gangway, the fans behind me were also having problems as they were being crushed against the barrier that I was leaning on and the Leeds fans were just spilling down the gangway next to me.
One thing they did instigate in the boothern after Leeds was a gap at the back .
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2021 11:20:30 GMT
Great advert for safe standing. Gouranga. If you're using incidents like this to support your disagreement with safe-standing then you've lost the argument. It would be like being against aviation because some nutter on monkey dust attached cardboard to his arms and jumped off a roof. |
|
|
|
Post by werrington on Sept 7, 2021 11:24:55 GMT
Leeds fans were in the Boothen end that day but took a beating as they got pushed further towards the corner leading to pressure on the crush barriers. I don't think they tried again after this. They tried again about 82, I’d say 30/40 tops. They were in the top right end of the Boothen for about 15 minutes after kickoff before being escorted out. West Ham also tried and got a complete slapping when the coppers escorted them through the paddock. That was an absolutely unbelievable police decision that day |
|
|
|
Post by shawi on Sept 7, 2021 11:40:51 GMT
I was there that day - the 1970's were indeed violent in the extreme, long before the advent of N40. The Stoke fans pushed Leeds into the corner & another group went underneath & came charging up the stairs to encircle the Leeds fans who were then spilling over the barriers & dropping on to the path below - think some 64 were injured.
Thankfully things changed for the better & sense prevails. Despite the barrier failure, I'm a supporter of safe standing in some areas, in an attempt to create a better atmosphere
|
|
|
|
Post by hyaduck on Sept 7, 2021 14:00:26 GMT
They tried again about 82, I’d say 30/40 tops. They were in the top right end of the Boothen for about 15 minutes after kickoff before being escorted out. West Ham also tried and got a complete slapping when the coppers escorted them through the paddock. That was an absolutely unbelievable police decision that day I bet they thought this will be a piece of piss, if we go through this way at least we won’t get gobbed on when walking around the pitch. They got a massive surprise. |
|
|
|
Post by Gods on Sept 7, 2021 19:42:09 GMT
When did that all die out then? I don't ever recall seeing groups of away fans in the top right of the Boothen in the mid-80s onwards. Was that just because segregation had formally been introduced? The 80s could still get a bit tasty but, by the sounds of it, it was relatively tame compared to the 70s. Is that fair to say? I think by the 80's hooligan groups had got organised, it was a lifestyle choice replete with its own fashion and and social mores and you were either in or out, no grey area. In the 70's it was much more of a spontaneous 'fun for all the family' activity, it didn't define you. That's my take on it anyway. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2021 19:47:29 GMT
Great advert for safe standing. Gouranga. If you're using incidents like this to support your disagreement with safe-standing then you've lost the argument. It would be like being against aviation because some nutter on monkey dust attached cardboard to his arms and jumped off a roof. Pretty sure that's how Ryanair were founded |
|
|
|
Post by upthejunction on Sept 7, 2021 19:58:17 GMT
I was in the Boothen that day. We hammered Leeds 3 nil and ended their unbeaten run if I recall correctly. Pressure from the back of the full Boothen pushed heavily onto the crowd. I was in front of a barrier and it was painful. Yes some Leeds fans had found themselves amongst Ziggar Zaggers tribe but it was the pure weight of Stokies revelling in our dominance that caused the barriers to bend.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2021 20:08:33 GMT
I was in the Boothen that day. We hammered Leeds 3 nil and ended their unbeaten run if I recall correctly. Pressure from the back of the full Boothen pushed heavily onto the crowd. I was in front of a barrier and it was painful. Yes some Leeds fans had found themselves amongst Ziggar Zaggers tribe but it was the pure weight of Stokies revelling in our dominance that caused the barriers to bend. 3-2 was their unbeaten run. Think 3-0 was Clough |
|
|
|
Post by lordb on Sept 7, 2021 20:30:07 GMT
When did that all die out then? I don't ever recall seeing groups of away fans in the top right of the Boothen in the mid-80s onwards. Was that just because segregation had formally been introduced? The 80s could still get a bit tasty but, by the sounds of it, it was relatively tame compared to the 70s. Is that fair to say? I think by the 80's hooligan groups had got organised, it was a lifestyle choice replete with its own fashion and and social mores and you were either in or out, no grey area. In the 70's it was much more of a 'fun for all the family' activity, it didn't define you. That's my take on it anyway. 'social mores' ? You mean amphetamines? |
|
|
|
Post by 19notbeaten72 on Sept 7, 2021 20:39:09 GMT
I was in the Boothen that day. We hammered Leeds 3 nil and ended their unbeaten run if I recall correctly. Pressure from the back of the full Boothen pushed heavily onto the crowd. I was in front of a barrier and it was painful. Yes some Leeds fans had found themselves amongst Ziggar Zaggers tribe but it was the pure weight of Stokies revelling in our dominance that caused the barriers to bend. 3-2 was their unbeaten run. Think 3-0 was Clough Correct the 3-0 was the first game of the season & Cloughs first game in charge of Leeds. I think the game the barrier went was a 1-1 draw. |
|
|
|
Post by Gods on Sept 8, 2021 9:32:23 GMT
I was in the Boothen that day. We hammered Leeds 3 nil and ended their unbeaten run if I recall correctly. Pressure from the back of the full Boothen pushed heavily onto the crowd. I was in front of a barrier and it was painful. Yes some Leeds fans had found themselves amongst Ziggar Zaggers tribe but it was the pure weight of Stokies revelling in our dominance that caused the barriers to bend. It wasn't the 3-0 match, this was 1970 according to the Subject. NB Apologies per DaveF there was another 3-0 victory in 1970 to go with 1974 win against Brian Clough's Leeds |
|
|
|
Post by TheWiseMaster on Sept 8, 2021 10:14:05 GMT
Remember the 3-2 win very well
Boothen was packed like sardines
We stopped Leeds breaking a winning number of games record
My elder brother's only football match and he thought it was quite exciting lol
Can't recall that damage, but it only takes minutes to graffiti a name on a wall
|
|
|
|
Post by Kenilworth_Stokies on Sept 8, 2021 10:35:35 GMT
The picture does remind me of one of my earliest memories of the Boothen End, as a kid in the mid 80's, amongst the flat caps and woodbines.
Being shit, as we were, you'd get the familiar flow of people heading for the exits, from about 80 minutes onwards. Every so often, a small flurry of excitement would well up as Stoke threatened an equaliser. Those traipsing towards the exit would hop up onto the step next to the Policeman's left foot to see over the heads of those still watching the game, only to resume their exit when the attack petered out.
I'd love to stand there and watch a match just one more time.
|
|
|
|
Post by wakefieldstokie on Sept 8, 2021 11:22:05 GMT
My first season following the club as a boy. It's almost inconceivable to imagine the human pressure required to bend those barriers in that way. Spurs, Wolves, Man United, Leeds and West Ham were regular visitors to the Boothen in those bat shit crazy madcap years. Putting to one side the N40, organisation and all that was to follow the simple fact is the 70's were a violent decade in all walks of life. You were never too far from someone punching your lights out. It does make me laugh seeing folks dancing up and down behind a row of stewards these days waving a camera around. This was an altogether different situation, there was a very real chance of getting a fearful beating and no one was going to do a single thing about it. Time moves on, progress, and it's mostly a good thing. "It's almost inconceivable to imagine the human pressure required to bend those barriers in that way." I dunno, there's always some big youths up stoke 😉😁😳 |
|
|
|
Post by woodstein on Sept 8, 2021 17:48:41 GMT
When did that all die out then? I don't ever recall seeing groups of away fans in the top right of the Boothen in the mid-80s onwards. Was that just because segregation had formally been introduced? The 80s could still get a bit tasty but, by the sounds of it, it was relatively tame compared to the 70s. Is that fair to say? I think by the 80's hooligan groups had got organised, it was a lifestyle choice replete with its own fashion and and social mores and you were either in or out, no grey area. In the 70's it was much more of a spontaneous 'fun for all the family' activity, it didn't define you. That's my take on it anyway. Can't remember many lads taking their mums for a punch up! 😂 |
|
|
|
Post by Davef on Sept 8, 2021 19:54:48 GMT
3-2 was their unbeaten run. Think 3-0 was Clough Correct the 3-0 was the first game of the season & Cloughs first game in charge of Leeds. I think the game the barrier went was a 1-1 draw. If the game was in September 1970, then Stoke won 3-0. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970–71_Stoke_City_F.C._season |
|
) was bundled down from the back of the Boothen by the Old Bill, ably 'assisted' by the feet and fists of the Boothen Boys!
