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The Legend of the Roker Army...

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Carlisle can get an honourable mention. More Sunderland fans there than home fans.
I was in the home end standing behind the goal for that game (c. '85ish iirc). Our away support looked immense, and unless memory fails we had behind the goal (which had a fence up like the ones the put up at the paddocks at roker. No fence at home end)and a fair bit down both sides too.

We were utter shit at the time, under mcmenemy, but they were having a worse season and were cut adrift in last. I remember Elliott scoring a scrappy goal off a corner at the end I was at. Was ok to celebrate in their end as there was a big group of our lot in their end too who'd made themselves known at the start. I must of only been about 14/15 at the time. Won 2-1.
 
Wrexham 1979:

"So we stood at the top of the Kop and they were all dancing and hugging each other… when the announcement was made that (I thought it was Stoke had scored late on) they weren't promoted. There was a moment of cold silent realisation punctuated by the few Wrexham fans cheering and suddenly they turned en masse and ran towards us like the Scottish army in Braveheart. I was in front of Steve Austin belting down the road."

"Yep I was on the kop that day too - chuckling (momentarily!) at them celebrating when they'd not realised about the late goal elsewhere! Thank god there were the fences and a daunting 10 foot drop (this was before the bottom part of the kop was built up to pitch level) to slow the buggers down. I can remember that they'd just reached the top of the kop by the time that I was sprinting towards Yale!"

"I was on the Kop that day and I've never been down Crispin lane so quickly after the match. A great wave of Sunderland fans appeared over the Paddock wall heading for the Kop at the end of the game. I think the entire Kop was evacuted in a couple of minutes !!!!"

"I seem to remember that the Sunderland fans were at the Racecourse as early as 6am !!!!! playing footy on the car park that day!"

"I was on the kop that day and, like others who have posted, stayed on after the final whistle with a couple of hundred kopites, to witness the Sunderland promotion 'celebrations'. They brought 10,000 that day and most of them were on the pitch at the end enjoying their promotion following the 2-1 victory against us. When the Crystal Palace (I think they scored very late) result was announced we all cheered but they got a bit angry so it was a case of smart exit kop and a Usain Bolt like sprint up the Crispin Lane! My brother was swapping a scarf with one of the Mackens through the fencing and had to make an even sharper escape a la Ben Johnson on steroids but, to my knowledge, they never got over the kop fencing which was Berlin Wall like in construction"

 
Swindon in the play off season

I was living in Swindon at the time and bought tickets from the Swindon ticket office. In the run up to the game the local rag was going on about the expected invasion of Sunderland fans and panic was breaking out in the town!

We bought six tickets for me my wife and the two kids and two for a father and son who lived next door. As it was the father was a local league player and they got to a cup final on that day so their tickets were returned and sold on.

A couple of weeks before he game we had been broken in and the local beat officer was on the same gate we were going into and he stopped us and said be careful we have heard that one or two Sunderland fans have bought tickets in this stand. The fact that he had not clocked that we were from Sunderland made me laugh. It was my sons first game (he was 5) and I had bought him a Sunderland shirt which he had on under his coat. It was a hot day and once inside he took his coat off and I was taped on the shoulder by the guy behind to be told that the stewards had told him not to show his Sunderland colours in the home stand. I just said he's only 5 so I dint think there will be any bother.

We had been given both ends of the ground as away stands but when Super Kev scored the stand we were in went up as one, apart from the two people who had bought the tickets we had returned, they were the only Swindon fans any where to be seen! In both the stand we were in and the Main stand there was a small V of home fans and the rest were Sunderland , I think the capacity of the ground was 17,000 and the local press estimated that about 13,000 Sunderland fans.

I remember at the end of the game everybody went on the pitch us included with my son on my shoulders and that's what he thought supporting Sunderland was going to be like at every game!

On the Monday morning they were photos of the whole of the pitch cover with Sunderland fans with the title "Invasion of the Peace Army!" It turns out that there had been less trouble in the town over the weekend that an average weekend !

Fantastic day, shame about the play off final!
 
Weve had great away support for years early 80's was my era, some hostile away days then :lol:
 
Tranmere 96:-




Re: memorable prenton moments
"May 1996 vs Sunderland - My favourite atmosphere and game in general. Lovely weather, drinks and patter how it should be with opposing fans swapping scarves. Even though not a huge game in terms of spectacle or meaning, one I hold fondly."

Also found this little invite (below) to Ellesmere Port, now that was a good day out,totally took the town over......almost 20 year ago, how fast that time has gone :-(

01:00 Friday 03 May 1996
Hordes of Sunderland fans are

The Ellesmere Port Labour Club will be decked out in red and white so fans can celebrate in style before heading for Tranmere Rovers for the last match of the season on Sunday.The club opens at 11.30am.The venue was chosen after a Sunderland fan called Merseyside Police in a bid to find a place where Rokerites coud meet.To get to the club, exit the M53 at junction nine, signposted Ellesmere Port and Boat Museum, turn left and drive through the High Street, and the club is about three quarters-of-a-mile on the right behind The Viscount pub.

I live in Ellesmere Port and people still talk about that day when they find out I support Sunderland.
Apparently we also took over the British Legion and their team were a bit surprised when they got back to the club after winning the cup that morning to find it stowed out with our lot who got the beers in for the team and chanted the names of the goal scorers.
To quote the lad that was telling me this the other week "I fuckin hate Newcastle and their fans but you lot are top class"
 
Man Utd 1974:

"I’ll start with the Sunderland game, both teams were chasing promotion and the Sunderland fans filled the standing section of the scoreboard end and the Roker roar met the Stretford End head on, while I wouldn’t go along with Lou Macari’s analysis that they are the only club to out sing us at OT they put up a helluva go and this was something United fans wouldn't accept being out sung in our backyard - the ground at times was shaking and the football complimented the game. I cannot think of a 3.00 Sat afternoon match that really compares, all the rest of the games are night matches."



"Match of this day 30/11/74 V Sunderland was United's 20th league game of the season, sitting top of the pile and Sunderland 3rd, this encounter had all the ingredients to be very special, both teams were playing all out attacking football and late November meant floodlights for the 2nd half which always creates a great atmosphere. However, no one could have forseen this match would go down in United folklore - some will argue but this game produced the greatest ever atmosphere between then and now, OT has not been louder and more intense than this crisp November afternoon, a fantastic match which produced a 5 goal thriller, over 60,000 for Division 2 which is, well, f***ing amazing. MOTD used to run a "Match Of The Season" competition back then and it was a no brainer that this would win hands down and it duly did, my favourite ever day at OT will never be bettered."

 
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I live in Ellesmere Port and people still talk about that day when they find out I support Sunderland.
Apparently we also took over the British Legion and their team were a bit surprised when they got back to the club after winning the cup that morning to find it stowed out with our lot who got the beers in for the team and chanted the names of the goal scorers.
To quote the lad that was telling me this the other week "I fuckin hate Newcastle and their fans but you lot are top class"

Is the Tranmere game the one where our match -v- Everton or Liverpool was called off and our fans went to Tranny to watch their match?

I kna.I never read what I type.:)

I read what I want to believe mate!
 
Man Utd 1974:

"I’ll start with the Sunderland game, both teams were chasing promotion and the Sunderland fans filled the standing section of the scoreboard end and the Roker roar met the Stretford End head on, while I wouldn’t go along with Lou Macari’s analysis that they are the only club to out sing us at OT they put up a helluva go and this was something United fans wouldn't accept being out sung in our backyard - the ground at times was shaking and the football complimented the game. I cannot think of a 3.00 Sat afternoon match that really compares, all the rest of the games are night matches."



"Match of this day 30/11/74 V Sunderland was United's 20th league game of the season, sitting top of the pile and Sunderland 3rd, this encounter had all the ingredients to be very special, both teams were playing all out attacking football and late November meant floodlights for the 2nd half which always creates a great atmosphere. However, no one could have forseen this match would go down in United folklore - some will argue but this game produced the greatest ever atmosphere between then and now, OT has not been louder and more intense than this crisp November afternoon, a fantastic match which produced a 5 goal thriller, over 60,000 for Division 2 which is, well, f***ing amazing. MOTD used to run a "Match Of The Season" competition back then and it was a no brainer that this would win hands down and it duly did, my favourite ever day at OT will never be bettered."



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Billy Hughes, Vic Halom, Kerr Porterfield, should have gone up that year
 
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Billy Hughes, Vic Halom, Kerr Porterfield, should have gone up that year
Much better when they used to let loads of away fans in. They should bring the away fans back down from the Gods at the SOL too.
 
We've always had class away support but i remember Highbury in 1990 old standing terraces we were doing shit in the league and it just sort of hit me how many people had turned up in London for this,there must have been 7 to 8,000 there and 20 minutes in there was still loads pouring in it was fkn rammed,we lost 1-0.

Lee Dixon penalty.

Went in The North Bank that day for some reason.

Got a great view of our 2000 away following, only had the corner bit in the Clock End
 
www. toon army .com

"sunderland brought at least 3000 to the game which we lost three-nil

not one punched a horse and not one set a bin on fire

outstanding support really

they didn't even put a shop window in"
 
Love threads like this. The biggest away following I've been part of was the 6000 or so we took to Goodison in 2012 for the FA Cup quarter final. Obviously not on the same scale as some of the numbers mentioned elsewhere in this thread but it was still amazing support. One of my fondest memories as a fan is just going absolutely mental when Bardsley scored and having a bunch of strangers jumping all over me. :lol: I taped the game (think it was live on ITV?) and the commentator said "the Sunderland fans are literally shaking this old Victorian stand to its very foundations. :cool:
 
Bloody depressing how many times huge turnouts are rewarded with failure mind, add Selhurst (Wimbledon away)to the list.


This,must have been about 12,000 of us there that day,to see another load of shite dished up for us. You could just about see a few Wimbledon supporters dotted around here and there.
I know I am biased,but......we are class!!
 
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