|
|
Post by bristolpotter on Mar 5, 2023 14:10:40 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by nott1 on Mar 5, 2023 14:24:02 GMT
I used to go to Vale matches too on the days we were away or sometimes Stoke reserve games to watch the "stiffs" as we called them.
|
|
|
|
Post by suck_the_mop. on Mar 5, 2023 14:31:50 GMT
Very much in the 70s 80s vale were basically cannon fodder in the lower reaches of the old 4th division flirting occasionally up to div 3, used to be quite amicable between the clubs with friendly matches at each other's grounds every pre season used to go to them it's how we spotted Chamberlain in one of those matches was at stoke that year and he ripped us apart, we still won though..
|
|
|
|
Post by elystokie on Mar 5, 2023 15:05:29 GMT
I used to go to Vale matches too on the days we were away or sometimes Stoke reserve games to watch the "stiffs" as we called them. The Central League, I remember going to those games, my Dad was a steward in the Boothen Paddock for reserve games for a while. Had my first taste of football hooliganism at one such game, I'd be 6 or 7 years old probably - some kid walked up to my old man and said 'is this your son' my old man says 'yeh why' kid says 'can he fight?' my old man says 'why don't you find out?' 😳 So we stood toe to toe and punched each other in the face for about a minute, stopped, then the old man says to the kid 'alright?' kid says 'yeh' and goes on his way. One of the more bizarre experiences of my childhood  |
|
|
|
Post by milton58 on Mar 5, 2023 15:52:11 GMT
Can remember loads of stoke on the bycars end when vale had a tasty home game... remember Burnley at vale must have been 2 hundred stoke in bycars that game...then United in the night cup game stoke were everywhere that game...tbh didn't hear a peep out of any of the vale fans back then.they only starting to get abit boisterous in the early 90s
|
|
|
|
Post by kevkj on Mar 5, 2023 19:27:49 GMT
I attended a few games mid to late 70s when Stoke were on the Bycars helping Vale defend their. End and welcomed.
Preston in a league cup game on a Saturday before the league games started for some reason.
Sheffield United who came across pitch to take the Bycars.
A Vale v Brum pre season game.
Stop fans had no problem with them back then.
Their venture into the championship changed their attitude.
|
|
|
|
Post by baystokie on Mar 5, 2023 20:37:03 GMT
Just stumbled across several old newspaper articles concerning Stoke fans at Port Vale home matches or in Burslem town centre , now the early 70s were a bit before my time but growing up in a household with my father who would attend Stoke matches one week then Vale the other week I was always led to believe this was the norm in those days before we played each competitively in the late 1980s, what was it really like back then I always grew up hating Man Utd , Wolves , Birmingham , Liverpool far more than Vale even going to the Vale v Derby away game, Spurs at home , Watford cup games in the 80s wouldn’t dream of it now my old man always supported both clubs not a concept you see these days ! m.facebook.com/photo.php/?fbid=100289573010306m.facebook.com/photo.php/?fbid=100283823010881m.facebook.com/photo.php/?fbid=100289549676975Though a lifelong Stoke fan brought up in Heron Cross, I went to HHS at Chell in the 50s. Two lads at that school (Doug Wilson and Ernie Askey) were Vale ball boys and fans (as were 80% 0f my school pals!). Never thought much about anything but friendly rivalry in those days. |
|
|
|
Post by Orbs on Mar 5, 2023 20:47:21 GMT
I remember a Stoke away game being postponed in the mid to late eighties so a few of us went in the away end at Vale instead. No idea who/when/score or anything else. How some of you lot remember details of these long gone games is totally beyond me.
|
|
|
|
Post by ursemboys on Mar 5, 2023 21:10:34 GMT
I attended a few games mid to late 70s when Stoke were on the Bycars helping Vale defend their. End and welcomed. Preston in a league cup game on a Saturday before the league games started for some reason. Sheffield United who came across pitch to take the Bycars. A Vale v Brum pre season game. Stop fans had no problem with them back then. Their venture into the championship changed their attitude. I was at the Sheffield match, Paul Richardson has joined Sheffield, only went after going for a drink in the Bowler hat pub on a date and got talking to Sheffield fans, remember them coming on the pitch but dont remember them actual in the by cars |
|
|
|
Post by kevkj on Mar 5, 2023 21:53:14 GMT
Some brave ones made the Bycars most climbed into Railway paddock near the Bycars.
Plenty of Stoke their by the old tea hut.
|
|
|
|
Post by PotterLog on Mar 6, 2023 2:46:50 GMT
Love these threads, I grew up at the height of the rivalry when Stoke and Vale were evenly split at school and they were often better than us. I was probably in my twenties by the time I properly realised we were historically the much bigger and generally higher-division club.
Strange to imagine a time when there was a fraternal bond between the sets of fans, but I quite like it (especially as it’s implicit that they are the younger, runty sibling 😆)
|
|
|
|
Post by lordb on Mar 6, 2023 7:57:20 GMT
Can't speak about the 70's but in the 80's Vale were simply never discussed at Stoke in the same way we don't talk about Leek Town
Very different at Vale where sections of their crowd just talked about Stoke
|
|
|
|
Post by JoeinOz on Mar 6, 2023 8:45:38 GMT
In 82/83 Vale were going for promotion from 4th to 3rd. At Stoke they read out half time scores but missed out the Vale one . Boothen End sang 'What about the Vale?" They read it out and Vale were winning and everyone cheered. Nobody would admit to that now.
It started to get really nasty around the time they beat Spurs. We responded but we were only showing the same rancour they were. Which sounds infantile but still
|
|
|
|
Post by Not_Nick_H on Mar 6, 2023 12:24:01 GMT
I'd be interested to see if there were any similar details about Stoke fans going to watch Crewe. Didn't they used to play quite a few of their home games on a Friday night? - So Stoke fans would hop on a train to watch them and then go to the Vic on a Saturday? I remember the half time scores being read out at the Vic in the 80s and if Crewe were winning they'd get a friendly cheer - but as with the Vale - that seemed to stop once they considered us "rivals".
|
|
|
|
Post by lordb on Mar 6, 2023 12:39:49 GMT
I'd be interested to see if there were any similar details about Stoke fans going to watch Crewe. Didn't they used to play quite a few of their home games on a Friday night? - So Stoke fans would hop on a train to watch them and then go to the Vic on a Saturday? I remember the half time scores being read out at the Vic in the 80s and if Crewe were winning they'd get a friendly cheer - but as with the Vale - that seemed to stop once they considered us "rivals". Yes seen Conroy and Greenhoff play for Crewe when I was a kid on Friday nights Having a train back stopping at Longport made it easy |
|
|
|
Post by thevoid on Mar 6, 2023 14:11:39 GMT
In 82/83 Vale were going for promotion from 4th to 3rd. At Stoke they read out half time scores but missed out the Vale one . Boothen End sang 'What about the Vale?" They read it out and Vale were winning and everyone cheered. Nobody would admit to that now. It started to get really nasty around the time they beat Spurs. We responded but we were only showing the same rancour they were. Which sounds infantile but still They're the biggest 'rancours' around |
|
|
|
Post by doctortheopolis on Mar 6, 2023 21:11:52 GMT
Growing up in the far north end of the city, I can recall a few times in the late 80s, when stoke were away and my old man didn't fancy it, he would take me to watch Vale just so we could get a footie fix. I was in the Bycars for the Spurs and Watford games and a few of their league games when they won promotion in 89.
However, the line was drawn when we were in the Railway Paddock for their play off win against Bristol Rovers. The crowd were wildly celebrating promotion apart from 2 people - my Dad and I. I can remember their lot singing "city, city, here we come" and my old man saying "fuck this" and we were the only people who left the ground! I'd tolerated them before that moment (indeed 2 of my best mates are Vale) after that, the battle lines were drawn and I've never set foot in the place again when Stoke aren't involved.
We would also go to Crewe on a Friday some times as well like other posters. Sometimes there were less than 2k there. The first time we walked into the ground, my brother said loudly, "god, the ground isn't as good as stoke's" to which a guy nearby shouted back "yes but the team is!" That guy was Dario Gradi!
It was a time where we didn't regard Vale or Crewe as real rivals so it was a chance to watch a game where you could just rock up on a Saturday, pay cash at the turnstile and take the game in. Maybe it was through the innocent eyes of a schoolboy but football seemed to me to be a lot simpler then. My dad would also take me to watch games at the old Baseball ground, Old Trafford, Anfield, Goodison, Forest etc - never when Stoke were at home mind - but I don't think we ever had to buy a ticket in advance to stand up. Great memories.
The game (and world) has changed a hell of a lot since those days.
|
|
|
|
Post by Northy on Mar 6, 2023 22:23:45 GMT
Used to go Vale now and then in the 70s if no Stoke game on, was in the Bycars one time when they played Blackburn whose fans climbed across from the open end, onto the railway stand roof and around to the Bycars and tried to get down through the roof.
|
|
|
|
Post by AlliG on Mar 7, 2023 13:38:35 GMT
I'd be interested to see if there were any similar details about Stoke fans going to watch Crewe. Didn't they used to play quite a few of their home games on a Friday night? - So Stoke fans would hop on a train to watch them and then go to the Vic on a Saturday? I remember the half time scores being read out at the Vic in the 80s and if Crewe were winning they'd get a friendly cheer - but as with the Vale - that seemed to stop once they considered us "rivals". When watching football was cheap I would go and watch whichever of our local teams was playing, in the order Stoke, Stoke away (if not too far), Stoke Reserves, Crewe, Vale and Stafford Rangers. In the week October 4th to October 11th 1980, I went to the following games: Sat 4th - Stoke v Spurs Mon 6th - Vale v Torquay Tues 7th - Crewe v Hereford (Remember that game because it is the only one where I saw a player (Peter Coyne) score all 5 goals.) Weds 8th - Leicester v Stoke Thurs 9th - Stoke Reserves v ?? Sat 11th - Crewe Doncaster The most I managed was 3 games one Bank Holiday. I went to a morning kick-off Shrewsbury v Stoke, on the way back I went to Vale v Walsall (I think) a 3:00 kick-off and as I was at a bit of loose end that evening, I went to a 7:30 kick-off at Stafford Rangers. (I have a feeling that the whole day cost me about £5 (plus petrol)). I first started to go and watch Crewe when Waddo was appointed manager. So like the other poster, I saw TC and Jimmy Greenhoff play for Crewe along with the likes of Ian Callaghan, Bruce Grobellar, David Platt etc. The oddest moment was one Friday at Crewe (against Wigan). It was pretty wet and at half time I was standing on the old Railway End, propped up against a barrier with my dufflecoat hood up, listening to my radio when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up and there was a policeman, who told me that it wasn't safe to stand where I was. I then noticed that there was no one within about 20 yards on either side and the bottle and bricks were flying over my head between the Crewe and Wigan fans. Well there was no way I moving. While I was standing there everything was flying well over my head, but if I moved towards one side or the other they wouldn't have been. I stayed put and let them get on with it until the players came back out and everything calmed down a bit. I stopped watching all the local teams around 1988 when I first started working out of the area and later also moved away. |
|
