Following Arsenal in the early 80`s
Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 6:30 am
Wrote this for a mate months ago who wanted to know what it was like following football teams in the early 80`s as he had heard there was lots of crowd trouble back then. Actually this would have been a fairly normal day out for a working class teenager following Arsenal in the early 80`s, quiet simply that was the way it was back then.
It was Luton V Arsenal and being a Arsenal Fan living in Watford I had two Options, either go down to London and travel backup with the crew or hop across to StAlbans and attempt to meet them on route, I took the second option. I got on the train and was informed by two Arsenal fans that the crew had gone up earlier and they had missed them as well. I decided to get to the ground with these two or until my mates showed up. Once off the train we headed for the Arndale Shopping center, not before long we stood looking at it from across a green and watched an Arsenal fan I recognised walking into a pub. We just started to head in the direction of the pub when one of my mates came rushing through the crowd of shoppers, he told us not to go across to the pub as a crew of Luton fans had just emptied out of the place in pursuit of 20 Arsenal fans who had walked by, he was sure they would return. I turned to the two I was with and said I will give a pint a miss in this pub, however they insisted they go across to the pub. I once again insisted they do not go, however they would have none of it and started to walk across the green to the pub. Needless to say as they disappeared inside the Luton crew came around the corner and headed straight for the pub, when they were about 15 yards from the door the Arsenal fan I had seen earlier came out clutching a pie and full pint of beer, he launched both pie and pint in the direction of the Luton crew before taking off like a greyhound. The two I had been with then came running out straight into the Luton crew who proceeded to beat them senseless, it was one of the Luton fans who stood over them in the end to put a stop to it. The ambulance took about 5 mins to arrive and took both of them away at which point me and my mate decided to head for the ground. We started walking up this residential road and hear shouting from a very angry man across from us who is dressed like a 70s reject with grey flares and a furry jacket. He shouted abuse and was getting aggressive to everybody walking up the road in full view of the Old Bill who was following behind. The Bill told him to shut it which did for a moment then he clocked me and my mate walking on the opposite side of the road. He ran into a garden and picked up a two house bricks joined with cement brick and launched it in our direction. The Bill grabbed him by the collars and shook him and threatened to arrest him, unless he calmed down, this time he did shut up. We turned off further up the road and headed to the ground the 70s reject walked on which made me think he was unconnected with football.
Ten yards on and at the bottom of the road we view a mob of about 150 gooners strutting past under police escort and chanting “Luton” , they were going to try and infiltrate the Luton end and incredibly the Old Bill were escorting them there. I made no attempt to join them as the whole idea appeared a waste of time surely someone was going to realise what was going on. The Luton crew I has seen earlier at the time were still wearing stay press, loafers and had cropped haircuts, the Arsenal mob were casuals dressed in faded jeans, track suits, brightly coloured jumpers and white trainers, in my mind you might as well have been infiltrating in an Arsenal shirt.
The ground started to fill up and with me still comparing an infiltration to the chance of finding Rocking horse shit the Arsenal Battle cry of the time went up from the Opposite end of the ground, “She wore, She wore, she wore a Yellow ribbon” When yellow ribbon was sung it all started kicking off with the Gooners attacking the luton fans stood at the back and center of the stand. The Luton fans backed off and and vacated their part of the terracing while the Gooners took it over and then bayed them to have a go back. The Luton fans were not up for it , the Old Bill and stewards were and not before long the Gooners were surrounded and pushed to the corner of the stand. Here the Old Bill and stewards started to lead the Gooners along the side of the pitch to the away end . They strutted down one side of the pitch and got to the halfway line when another group of Lutons in front of the main stand on the opposite side of the pitch piped up. They sang then pushed forward as if to make an attempt to get on the pitch. On seeing this the Gooners ran straight across the pitch to confront them, the Luton fans disappeared in a hurry behind the main stand to much laughter and jeering from the Arsenal fans in the away end. Thats how you do it Watford I thought and chuckled to myself, two years previously I had gone in to take that section in front of the mainstand with the Watford lads. Somebody got excited and announced our presence before the full mob could assemble, so in no time we were surrounded and taking a pasting. Being only 16 at the time I decided to bail out early and leave it to the older lads so climbed up railings into the mainstand in doing so I lost one of my shoes that fell back down to the terracing below. I just stood there looking down at a white sock wondering what the hell to do. I look over the side and see my mate Paddy taking the same route as me, I shouted down to him to get my shoe, his face was a picture he just stared at me then shouted back "Its kicking off we are taking a pasting and you lose you fucking shoe, Gooner your a c**t", He dropped down picked the shoe up and hurled it back up at me then continued with his escape. BTW That cost me a load of beers during my teenage years.
With the game well underway I hear the sound of it kicking off behind me and then cheering from the Luton fans, no way would they have a go like this I Thought. Next came the shout of “ICF” that was it every Gooner was piling up the terrace to take a swing, and within seconds this mob of West Ham ICF were surrounded and taking a pasting. The police managed to get between us and them and started to lead them off the terrace and out of the ground, Hundreds of Gooners also tried to leave the ground at the same time and carry on the fight , the police with truncheons drawn barred the exit gates, it was touch and go but the police managed to hold their line and send us back up to watch the game.
The game finished from memory in a draw and much to our disgust we were held in for 15 mins, then when the exit gates were open they did let us out only into a street that was blocked at the end. We waited for a further 10 mins and then I bumped into mate who had driven down from Watford who offered me a lift home. As we were still stuck in this side street and no sign of a breakout by the gooners and thinking the ICF would have been put on a train and left town ages ago I took his offer, we approached the police who let us through.
In the local pub that evening an Arsenal mate of mine walks in happy as Larry, he said I should have stayed as I missed the main event. He went onto explain, 5 mins after I left the Gooners managed to break out of the Police escort and then for the next hour and a half fought running battles with the West Ham ICF who had not left town as thought and also Luton fans, the gooners coming out victorious in the encounters.
In the Luton press it reported that violent clashes took place between visiting Arsenal fans and West Ham ICF the previous weekend, The ICF realising they would not make their game made their way over to ours and the police already over stretched containing the Arsenal fans did not have the numbers to escort the West Ham fans out of town.
It was Luton V Arsenal and being a Arsenal Fan living in Watford I had two Options, either go down to London and travel backup with the crew or hop across to StAlbans and attempt to meet them on route, I took the second option. I got on the train and was informed by two Arsenal fans that the crew had gone up earlier and they had missed them as well. I decided to get to the ground with these two or until my mates showed up. Once off the train we headed for the Arndale Shopping center, not before long we stood looking at it from across a green and watched an Arsenal fan I recognised walking into a pub. We just started to head in the direction of the pub when one of my mates came rushing through the crowd of shoppers, he told us not to go across to the pub as a crew of Luton fans had just emptied out of the place in pursuit of 20 Arsenal fans who had walked by, he was sure they would return. I turned to the two I was with and said I will give a pint a miss in this pub, however they insisted they go across to the pub. I once again insisted they do not go, however they would have none of it and started to walk across the green to the pub. Needless to say as they disappeared inside the Luton crew came around the corner and headed straight for the pub, when they were about 15 yards from the door the Arsenal fan I had seen earlier came out clutching a pie and full pint of beer, he launched both pie and pint in the direction of the Luton crew before taking off like a greyhound. The two I had been with then came running out straight into the Luton crew who proceeded to beat them senseless, it was one of the Luton fans who stood over them in the end to put a stop to it. The ambulance took about 5 mins to arrive and took both of them away at which point me and my mate decided to head for the ground. We started walking up this residential road and hear shouting from a very angry man across from us who is dressed like a 70s reject with grey flares and a furry jacket. He shouted abuse and was getting aggressive to everybody walking up the road in full view of the Old Bill who was following behind. The Bill told him to shut it which did for a moment then he clocked me and my mate walking on the opposite side of the road. He ran into a garden and picked up a two house bricks joined with cement brick and launched it in our direction. The Bill grabbed him by the collars and shook him and threatened to arrest him, unless he calmed down, this time he did shut up. We turned off further up the road and headed to the ground the 70s reject walked on which made me think he was unconnected with football.
Ten yards on and at the bottom of the road we view a mob of about 150 gooners strutting past under police escort and chanting “Luton” , they were going to try and infiltrate the Luton end and incredibly the Old Bill were escorting them there. I made no attempt to join them as the whole idea appeared a waste of time surely someone was going to realise what was going on. The Luton crew I has seen earlier at the time were still wearing stay press, loafers and had cropped haircuts, the Arsenal mob were casuals dressed in faded jeans, track suits, brightly coloured jumpers and white trainers, in my mind you might as well have been infiltrating in an Arsenal shirt.
The ground started to fill up and with me still comparing an infiltration to the chance of finding Rocking horse shit the Arsenal Battle cry of the time went up from the Opposite end of the ground, “She wore, She wore, she wore a Yellow ribbon” When yellow ribbon was sung it all started kicking off with the Gooners attacking the luton fans stood at the back and center of the stand. The Luton fans backed off and and vacated their part of the terracing while the Gooners took it over and then bayed them to have a go back. The Luton fans were not up for it , the Old Bill and stewards were and not before long the Gooners were surrounded and pushed to the corner of the stand. Here the Old Bill and stewards started to lead the Gooners along the side of the pitch to the away end . They strutted down one side of the pitch and got to the halfway line when another group of Lutons in front of the main stand on the opposite side of the pitch piped up. They sang then pushed forward as if to make an attempt to get on the pitch. On seeing this the Gooners ran straight across the pitch to confront them, the Luton fans disappeared in a hurry behind the main stand to much laughter and jeering from the Arsenal fans in the away end. Thats how you do it Watford I thought and chuckled to myself, two years previously I had gone in to take that section in front of the mainstand with the Watford lads. Somebody got excited and announced our presence before the full mob could assemble, so in no time we were surrounded and taking a pasting. Being only 16 at the time I decided to bail out early and leave it to the older lads so climbed up railings into the mainstand in doing so I lost one of my shoes that fell back down to the terracing below. I just stood there looking down at a white sock wondering what the hell to do. I look over the side and see my mate Paddy taking the same route as me, I shouted down to him to get my shoe, his face was a picture he just stared at me then shouted back "Its kicking off we are taking a pasting and you lose you fucking shoe, Gooner your a c**t", He dropped down picked the shoe up and hurled it back up at me then continued with his escape. BTW That cost me a load of beers during my teenage years.
With the game well underway I hear the sound of it kicking off behind me and then cheering from the Luton fans, no way would they have a go like this I Thought. Next came the shout of “ICF” that was it every Gooner was piling up the terrace to take a swing, and within seconds this mob of West Ham ICF were surrounded and taking a pasting. The police managed to get between us and them and started to lead them off the terrace and out of the ground, Hundreds of Gooners also tried to leave the ground at the same time and carry on the fight , the police with truncheons drawn barred the exit gates, it was touch and go but the police managed to hold their line and send us back up to watch the game.
The game finished from memory in a draw and much to our disgust we were held in for 15 mins, then when the exit gates were open they did let us out only into a street that was blocked at the end. We waited for a further 10 mins and then I bumped into mate who had driven down from Watford who offered me a lift home. As we were still stuck in this side street and no sign of a breakout by the gooners and thinking the ICF would have been put on a train and left town ages ago I took his offer, we approached the police who let us through.
In the local pub that evening an Arsenal mate of mine walks in happy as Larry, he said I should have stayed as I missed the main event. He went onto explain, 5 mins after I left the Gooners managed to break out of the Police escort and then for the next hour and a half fought running battles with the West Ham ICF who had not left town as thought and also Luton fans, the gooners coming out victorious in the encounters.
In the Luton press it reported that violent clashes took place between visiting Arsenal fans and West Ham ICF the previous weekend, The ICF realising they would not make their game made their way over to ours and the police already over stretched containing the Arsenal fans did not have the numbers to escort the West Ham fans out of town.