35 Years ago today

Anyone remember this? Pretty hairy by all accounts

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Remember it well, carnage.

Crazy feckin scenes before during and after the match, loads of Pompey scum in Lyndhurst and Devonport, coins everywhere, pitch invaded, Mayflower invaded. Car park was a war zone and the old bill on the whole sat back and let it go until they could get in and snatch the odd person. Can't say I blame them tbf.

Corner flags as javelins, SJA chairs as battering rams, crash helmets as batons, rocks flying through the air, fir, fists, blood and guts, running pitch battles.

And that was just the match!

Twas my fist encounter with football savagery as mere 16 year old. Twas most fun. Have seen nothing on that scale since at HP. Now that I'm older and wiser, I don't think I want to either.

'Twas unforgettable, the only time I've ever seen total anarchy in action with the police powerless to do anything about it. Either myself or two members of my family could have been killed by a lump of concrete which hit the side of the Lyndhurst roof and landed a couple of yards away, never been so pleased to get out of Plymouth. Argyle were outnumbered by 10000 Pompey in a 16000 crowd, a hopeless cause and like POI,never want to be in the middle of anything like that again.

I was there, and not very pleasant. One other in the hoolie era was when Bournemouth visited. The sight of a Bournemouth fan in the Devonport whirling an axe around his head was something that stuck in my mind.  Luton and promoted Southampton get dishonourable mentions too, along with out of their head 8000 FA Cup Vassallo era Everton fans in the Lyndhurst pissing on anything that moved.
The worst behaviour from Argyle fans was undoubtedly the away promotion game at Peterborough. Cars turned upside down, police sheltering under a barrage of concrete and brick.
Having said all that, it's far more dangerous on a personal level out and about in real life away from the almost corny tribal stuff. Most people don't come across that sort of thing at all. There were also some crazy moments working at the 70 and 80s music festivals. I remember the classic Convoy set to at Glastonbury and the mayhem at the last Elephant fayre where much was set on fire and our security was somewhat overwhelmed, to say the least. LOL. It's always gone on, probably always will.
Can't wait for the next rake of bombs flying into Plymouth.

beesrus wrote:

I was there, and not very pleasant. One other in the hoolie era was when Bournemouth visited. The sight of a Bournemouth fan in the Devonport whirling an axe around his head was something that stuck in my mind.  Luton and promoted Southampton get dishonourable mentions too, along with out of their head 8000 FA Cup Vassallo era Everton fans in the Lyndhurst pissing on anything that moved.
The worst behaviour from Argyle fans was undoubtedly the away promotion game at Peterborough. Cars turned upside down, police sheltering under a barrage of concrete and brick.
Having said all that, it's far more dangerous on a personal level out and about in real life away from the almost corny tribal stuff. Most people don't come across that sort of thing at all. There were also some crazy moments working at the 70 and 80s music festivals. I remember the classic Convoy set to at Glastonbury and the mayhem at the last Elephant fayre where much was set on fire and our security was somewhat overwhelmed, to say the least. LOL. It's always gone on, probably always will.
Can't wait for the next rake of bombs flying into Plymouth.

Chelsea Headhunters 1976 wasnt it?

I remember that Pompey game.

On arrival at the ground me and my buddies walked up the ramp and pootled over to where we usually stood - pretty near the front of what is now Block 14.

Strangely there was a huge gap in the Lyndy. Down the BPE end of the Lyndy there was a bunch of lads, no colours, being held back by police. There was another bunch being held back at the front down the Demport End - also no colours.

Somehow we just sauntered right through the middle of it all oblivious.

After a while the BPE mob broke through the OB cordon and went steaming in to the other lot. Carnage. Major scraps all over the shop. Nobody wearing colours. Had no idea what the hell was going on.

After a bit is all calmed down but by now it was every man for himself. Scouts were finding opponents from earlier and then sending crews in to do 'em and then disperse. Truly horrible and proper, proper scary and completely out of control.

At the end there was an off-side and Pompey fans from all over the ground swarmed onto the pitch thinking the game was over and I was swept out of the ground by the crowd surge and was down the bottom of the ramp before I could control where I was going at which point i thought "oh well - I'd best get myself away from here!"

It is a miracle that nobody was killed that day.

P.O.I wrote:

Corner flags as javelins, SJA chairs as battering rams, crash helmets as batons, rocks flying through the air, fir, fists, blood and guts, running pitch battles.

And that was just the match!

Twas my fist encounter with football savagery as mere 16 year old. Twas most fun. Have seen nothing on that scale since at HP. Now that I'm older and wiser, I don't think I want to either.

My first ever visit to Home Park as a fresh faced 14 year old.
The one thing that still sticks in my mind was the yelp of a police dog as it had it's tail cut off by the Pompey Scum in the Devonport.

BBC1 wrote:

P.O.I wrote:

Corner flags as javelins, SJA chairs as battering rams, crash helmets as batons, rocks flying through the air, fir, fists, blood and guts, running pitch battles.

And that was just the match!

Twas my fist encounter with football savagery as mere 16 year old. Twas most fun. Have seen nothing on that scale since at HP. Now that I'm older and wiser, I don't think I want to either.

My first ever visit to Home Park as a fresh faced 14 year old.
The one thing that still sticks in my mind was the yelp of a police dog as it had it's tail cut off by the Pompey Scum in the Devonport.

A mate of mine was 14 at the time as well, he got knocked clean out by a 43year old Scummer. He got banged up for it.

Earwegoagain wrote:

BBC1 wrote:

P.O.I wrote:

Corner flags as javelins, SJA chairs as battering rams, crash helmets as batons, rocks flying through the air, fir, fists, blood and guts, running pitch battles.

And that was just the match!

Twas my fist encounter with football savagery as mere 16 year old. Twas most fun. Have seen nothing on that scale since at HP. Now that I'm older and wiser, I don't think I want to either.

My first ever visit to Home Park as a fresh faced 14 year old.
The one thing that still sticks in my mind was the yelp of a police dog as it had it's tail cut off by the Pompey Scum in the Devonport.

A mate of mine was 14 at the time as well, he got knocked clean out by a 43year old Scummer. He got banged up for it.

Despite being a 'big fella' for a 14 year old (I had already started going to pubs) I had no one smack me that day. We ended up on Spion Kop with most of the Argyle fans. Saw one fella who had obviously had an uppercut to the chin as he had an almost perfect star in the middle of his tongue, where he had been biting his tongue whilst fighting. Claret everywhere!

BBC1 wrote:

Earwegoagain wrote:

BBC1 wrote:

P.O.I wrote:

Corner flags as javelins, SJA chairs as battering rams, crash helmets as batons, rocks flying through the air, fir, fists, blood and guts, running pitch battles.

And that was just the match!

Twas my fist encounter with football savagery as mere 16 year old. Twas most fun. Have seen nothing on that scale since at HP. Now that I'm older and wiser, I don't think I want to either.

My first ever visit to Home Park as a fresh faced 14 year old.
The one thing that still sticks in my mind was the yelp of a police dog as it had it's tail cut off by the Pompey Scum in the Devonport.

A mate of mine was 14 at the time as well, he got knocked clean out by a 43year old Scummer. He got banged up for it.

Despite being a 'big fella' for a 14 year old (I had already started going to pubs) I had no one smack me that day. We ended up on Spion Kop with most of the Argyle fans. Saw one fella who had obviously had an uppercut to the chin as he had an almost perfect star in the middle of his tongue, where he had been biting his tongue whilst fighting. Claret everywhere!

There was indeed a sort of desperate 'retreat' to the Spion Kop area. The biggest thing that sticks in my mind that day was the irony of the shouts of "You'll never take the Lyndhurst!".