As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
Wrexham Gooner wrote:Does anyone remember Palace away in about '79? The team of the 80's. We lost 1-0 but of a crowd of 50000 I reckon we'd taken at least 30000 probably more. Couldn't move in the away end, and we had a huge chunk of the home end. Simply a case of Arsenal here Arsenal there Arsenal every.........
Never been to see Palace but even we faced Wimbledon we had half the stadium in 1998 when they were doing ok for themselves
Arsenal i think have the best away support as we useually take our full allocation
I'm also sick of Spurs fans telling me that they have the best home support, my ass all the have is a couple of stupid songs which doesn't relate to much or any players
Its funny but once you start down the road of "do you remember... " its hard to stop those memories coming.
As some of you say many of the games in the early 80's were dire.
But how many of us can say that we were there the night Sammy Nelson dropped his shorts in front of the North Bank after equalising against Coventry. There were only 17000 there, and I was one.
I've tried to explain to many younger gooners what times were like then. They find it hard to get their heads around the fact that people weren't flocking to watch Arsenal then.
But then the memories...
Man City at home in the league Cup about 77/78 with 57000 there (and the rest!)
Willie Young's volley in the opening minutes against Fenerbahce in 1980?
The away leg in Turkey when the Turkish Army patrolled the pitch with bayonets fixed with rumours of an impending coup ?
And one I missed but a mate who went swears it happened .... body cavity searches when travelling to the away leg in magdeburg when crossing the East German border
Ah i like the stories
A young Gooner like myself shall be telling my stories to the future Gooners
Well my first away game expect for the pre season friendles in 1998/99 (Enfield, Luton) was Sheffield Wednesday when Paulo got sent off which i couldn't stop laughing about & still today
We lost the match again to them at there backyard thanks to the 'legend' number 7 Nelson Vivas
Sadly i can;'t say so much about the day as i was about 7 at the time so i remember little bits of it includeing trying to sing stupid songs of anti Tottenham & stand up if you hate George Graham even though i don't also a Alex Manninger song which i kept saying his name over & over again to a beat but at the time i really liked him
Also i remember being in a pub full of Gooners which i was told Rangers lost to Celtic
Otherwise most of my home/away days have been abit more recent but i'll go on forever
Wrexham Gooner wrote:Its funny but once you start down the road of "do you remember... " its hard to stop those memories coming.
As some of you say many of the games in the early 80's were dire.
But how many of us can say that we were there the night Sammy Nelson dropped his shorts in front of the North Bank after equalising against Coventry. There were only 17000 there, and I was one.
I've tried to explain to many younger gooners what times were like then. They find it hard to get their heads around the fact that people weren't flocking to watch Arsenal then.
But then the memories...
Man City at home in the league Cup about 77/78 with 57000 there (and the rest!)
Willie Young's volley in the opening minutes against Fenerbahce in 1980?
The away leg in Turkey when the Turkish Army patrolled the pitch with bayonets fixed with rumours of an impending coup ?
And one I missed but a mate who went swears it happened .... body cavity searches when travelling to the away leg in magdeburg when crossing the East German border
People who can only remember the Wenger years must find it hard to believe how bad things were in the early 80s, I remember a night game at home to Brighton where only 12,000 turned and another against WBA with a similar crowd. We were also signing players of the calibre of Hankin, Hawley and Peter Nicholas. It does make me realise how lucky I've been over the last 10 years to see all the world class players and fantastic football we've played. I was in the 57,000 against Man City and literally could'nt move in the North Bank, more like 67,000 I'd say as it was in the days of the turnstile operators little fiddles to make a few quid on the side
does anyone remember beating Hereford at home 7-2 and singing 'whats it like to shag a cow.
Also, 50,006 people at THOF when we beat Liverpool 3-1 and then beating Newcastle in midweek when Brian Talbot put a freekick in one corner, then the other!
The watford cup tie when the linesman gave us a penalty at 1-2 down but the ref played on, Arsenal stopped and Watford scored to make it 3-1.
Graham Roberts pushing Charlie Nicholas in to the east stand and nearly killing him? That bloke from Grange Hill being arrested for fighting in the clock end v scum.
Charlie Nicholas' goal in the Easter 3-2 win against the sum. Charlie Nicholas, Charlie Nicholas, who put the ball in tottenhams net, Charlie Nicholas!
Finally, question. Why do teams sing 'we all follow the ?, over land and sea and Leicester. Why Leicester? Does anyone know as I have wondered for years
I remember the league cup tie at Brighton, but only because a well known spuds fan, jinksy (now deceased, but thats another story), was in the thick of it helping the gooners. I knew him because, like me, he came from Harlow - but think he was one of those who led the initial surge. Also, it should be pointed out that although I recall being part of mobs in the late 70's early 80's which took the home ends at Brighton, Palace & QPR....it didn't happen at Upton Park or Spuds - quite the reverse!
Being part of a 16000 home crowd in the snow v Norwich, just before christmas 1979, should have guaranteed me a cup final ticket that season - but I got stitched up by the dreaded voucher method of allocation, which meant buying a programme was more important than going to the match!
dbrien mentioned the home game v Hereford. Do you remember the 1-1 draw away? Thousands of us packed sardine like into a tiny end which wasn't terraced - meaning most couldn't see the pitch. Mini fights breaking out between gooners as a result. Then having to exit one at a time through the same turnstiles as we'd come in! The only enjoyable bits of the day were the pub beforehand, and winding them up in the ground by calling them welsh!
Suprised no-one has mentioned Willie Youngs ridiculous wasted punt in the last seconds of a 2nd leg v hadjuk split (or some team from down that way!). We were losing on aggregate at the time. Even as I was slagging him off for the effort it dropped down between bar and keeper and into the net. Amazing - we went through of away goals.
nuttygoonerpaul wrote:Does anyone remember at shite hart lane in the 80,s some arsenal fan throwing a p/bomb at the shelf ?????
I think that was the "6 reserves" game around Easter 1980 and as far as I was told, it was a scum scarf soaked in lighter fuel that was thrown at the shelf from our fans in the Park Lane. I had tickets in the Paxton that day, in amongst all the spuds so had to keep fairly quiet but I remember the incident if that's the one you mean.
dbrien wrote:does anyone remember beating Hereford at home 7-2 and singing 'whats it like to shag a cow.
Also, 50,006 people at THOF when we beat Liverpool 3-1 and then beating Newcastle in midweek when Brian Talbot put a freekick in one corner, then the other!
The watford cup tie when the linesman gave us a penalty at 1-2 down but the ref played on, Arsenal stopped and Watford scored to make it 3-1.
Graham Roberts pushing Charlie Nicholas in to the east stand and nearly killing him? That bloke from Grange Hill being arrested for fighting in the clock end v scum.
Charlie Nicholas' goal in the Easter 3-2 win against the sum. Charlie Nicholas, Charlie Nicholas, who put the ball in tottenhams net, Charlie Nicholas!
Finally, question. Why do teams sing 'we all follow the ?, over land and sea and Leicester. Why Leicester? Does anyone know as I have wondered for years
I'll never forget that Charlie Nicholas goal, I swear it took about 5 minutes for the ball to finally cross the line and I think the North Bank sucked it in in the end coz it did'nt look as tho it was going to make it.
I think the "and Leicester" line comes from the famous marathon FA cup tie against Sheffield Wed in 1979, after two drawn games at Hillsborough and Highbury, we then had three replays at "nuetral" Filbert St, Leicester. It seemed as tho we were making the trip there every other day at the time so I think that's where the line originated.
I was at all the other games you mention and I don't think I've ever quite recovered from the shock of Talbot managing two identical, perfect free kicks in the space of five days
I think that was the "6 reserves" game around Easter 1980 and as far as I was told, it was a scum scarf soaked in lighter fuel that was thrown at the shelf from our fans in the Park Lane. I had tickets in the Paxton that day, in amongst all the spuds so had to keep fairly quiet but I remember the incident if that's the one you mean.
MK Gould wrote:You probably remember the song:
"We hate Nottm Forest,
we hate Liverpool too, & Leicester,
we hate West Ham Utd,
but Arsenal we love you".
One year we played Nottm Forest, Liverpool, Leicester and West Ham in successive away games! How spooky is that!
One old song that seems to survive all the years is the clock end song, "eyes right, skin back tight.............................etc" I heard it first during some of my earliest years at Highbury circa 71/72 and some geezers were still singing it at Barnet the other week.
again to them at there backyard thanks to the 'legend' number 7 Nelson Vivas
