Thread For The Over 40's Only

[Hetzkes Ballet Teacher]

Went to Hillsbrough for the Semi in 92 - 5 of us in the car, 4 of us drinking. Pulled off the M1 at the junction we were told to in all the media to the back of a queue on the slip road and we could see police up ahead on the roundabout. The cars in front started to throw cans out of the windows, after a few seconds we clicked on they were searching the cars with the threat of being arrested or, worse still missing the match. Panic sets in ... we had a matter of minutes to either drink 4 cans or dump them - got 2 down amid the fits of giggles a-la childish schoolboys knowing they were being naughty. Gets to the front of the queue, Frankie winds window down, copper says "going to the football lads ?". "Yes" says Frankie in his best voice. "Know how to get there?" asks officer. "Yes, been before" says Frankie. "Okay, enjoy yourselves" says officer waving us on. We looked back to see our cans rolling down the embankment

That was the only SAFC away game where I never, in any way shape or form, for even a millisecond, thought we might lose.

 

[Sandboy]

there were 2 combo meals available in the chippy opposite the New Derby, Cowboy was one but what the hell was the other ?

 

[Henry Hocklediver]

My first 'solo' away game.
The football coach was leaving Spennymoor at 8am and I was up at 6. There
were four of us travelling from 'Doggy' (West Cornforth); myself, my mate (both 16) and two younger lads. The coach got away on time stopping only to pick up a couple
of hitchhikers at Scotch Corner, one of whom was "Sammy". Sammy was
instantly recognisable by having an enormous chin, bigger even than Jimmy
Hill's, to go with his larger than life personality. He entertained us for
the rest of the journey with tales of shoplifting and football hooliganism
including one story of being caught trying on shoes in a shop window at
midnight. More of him later! The rest of the journey went smoothly and we
arrived in York just after 9:30. Yes the game was at YORK who were in the
same division (Div 2) as us that season. Don't ask me why we needed to leave
so early but we did. After a long morning in York we arrived at the ground
to await the turnstiles opening and were first in to secure a good
position - only to find ourselves shoved out five minutes before KO by a
group of latecomers. The joys of terracing. The game went well with the only
goal of the game coming from Vic Halom. In good spirits we made our way
back to the city centre for the bus home. Once back on the bus Sammy
announced a collection for the driver who then agreed to stay till midnight.
Back into York city centre we went. After phoning home to say I'd be late
(little did I know how late!) we went to the pictures after which we hung
around the bus park until the rest of the party straggled back to the bus,
most of them worse the wear for drink, and off we set for home. Or at least
that's where we were headed until the bus started going slower and slower
until it eventually broke down close to Wetherby. Sammy, who had been
comatose in the back seat for most of the return journey, threw a wobbler
when roused and chased us all off the bus threatening all sorts of violence.
Somebody said they thought he had a gun (!), another said a knife but none
of us hung around to find out. Perhaps he'd been having a bad dream and
thought we were the cops but our 'hitchhiker from hell' had control of the
bus and we weren't going anywhere (not that we could as the bus was
knackered anyway). So there we were shivering at the roadside until Sammy
eventually emerged from the bus and instantly enlivened things with the
bright idea of removing a five bar gate from a nearby field to create a road
block. We managed to dissuade him from this cause of action and thankfully
he soon settled down into another deep sleep. Whilst all this was going on
the driver had gone off to find a phone and call out the mechanic who
eventually came and got the bus going. By now it was early morning and we
finally arrived back home at 8am, 26 hours after leaving to see a game just
50 miles away, to find my mam had waited up and was not at all pleased. Good
job my first solo away trip was not a distant one or I'd have needed a week
off school. Happy days !

Another away trip bus story!
Before the days of alcohol bans and coaches with toilets we used to sometimes go away on a bus where the lads had rigged up their own contraption. The 'toilet' consisted of a length of hose and a big funnel. This was positioned by the door beside the step with the end of the pipe leading out under the brush section at the bottom of the door. When you needed a piss you went to the front of the bus and relieved yourself into the funnel with the urine ending up on the road. Great idea, very eco-friendly, but not suitable for number two's. All ok until one game the funnel went missing. What to do?
Not to be beaten someone got a bin bag and everyone used that. But what to do with the piss? One of the lads had a bright idea to lift one of the floor panels and drop the bag through the floor onto the road.
No problem. Imagine the scene ..... bombing down the A1 with the road a couple of feet below you and trying put a bag of piss down the hole in the floor. Problem was that there is a propshaft running down the length of the bus and when the piss was poured down the hole it hit the propshaft and splashed back with great force onto the lads doing the pouring and anyone in nearby seats !!! Nobody seemed to mind, everyone was bad laughing.
You'd never get away with such stuff nowadays - happy days!!

 

[Parkmaverick]

April 24th 1976, Bolton, my first game on my own, slipped out of my grans on the qt, with 3 scarves packed into a bag one for either side of my jeans for each belt loop, and one for my wrist,

Used to have a big red/white/black scarf round me neck. re/white/black woolie hat and 2 silk scarfs for me wristsr- Stokoes Stars was one can't remember the other. The hat went missing as I was walking up past the cage and we scored a late goal v Monty (Birmingham) '77.

Can also remember those badges

Newcastle Couldn't win a match on fantasy island etc.

 

[NeilP]

I remember Pop Robson scoring a peach of a goal at Fulham, the ball came in, he did a sort of flick up/volley combo which screemed into the net. I'm sure it was when Fulham had George Best/Rodney Marsh/Bobby Moore, and if my memory is correct Moore scored with the best diving header I've ever seen......straight into his own net. This was probably the year after we won the cup, but it's so long ago it could have bee any time in the 70's.

 

[SteveFTM]

Remember it well. Gutted and in tears. My Mam came out with the immortal words, "it's only a game!" :-(

I wrote an essay for school the following week about the match and i got top marks

Iirc i think we only needed a point to stay up and we were doing ok until that Liverpool corner near the end of the game. First introduction into how cruel and disappointing football can be, nearly 40 year on and fuck all has changed

 

[40 Simonside Rd]

Used to have a big red/white/black scarf round me neck. re/white/black woolie hat and 2 silk scarfs for me wristsr- Stokoes Stars was one can't remember the other. The hat went missing as I was walking up past the cage and we scored a late goal v Monty (Birmingham) '77.

Can also remember those badges

Newcastle Couldn't win a match on fantasy island etc.

Aye silk scarves, i had a few of those, I remember the famous trip to Blackpool, third division, i also had one of those big floppy grey cowboy hats, also the patches which your Mam sowed onto your denim jacket, I can remember a star shaped patch with Stokoes stars and i also had a set of wings with the sunderland badge on emblazened across the back of my jacket, not the best idea when walking around Sheffield on your own!

 

[Deleted member 2014]

there were 2 combo meals available in the chippy opposite the New Derby, Cowboy was one but what the hell was the other ?

There was also a Geordie snack iirc - it had battered saveloys & black pudding (or mebbees it was haggis ??) iirc

I never ever got one of those, I always had the Cowboy Snack, after a gallon of pre match ale (you needed a gallon just to be able to watch some of the shite footy we very often endured at Roker)

 

[Pooter]

Aye silk scarves, i had a few of those, I remember the famous trip to Blackpool, third division, i also had one of those big floppy grey cowboy hats, also the patches which your Mam sowed onto your denim jacket, I can remember a star shaped patch with Stokoes stars and i also had a set of wings with the sunderland badge on emblazened across the back of my jacket, not the best idea when walking around Sheffield on your own!

I've still got a Ha'way the lads one sewn on my old 1973 woollen scarf, when we first introduced the black stripe on them.

Neil Martin was an awesome centre forward, it was madness when McColl sold him to Coventry. His partnership with John O'Hare was just getting going and with Toddy at the back we had the makings of a team.

 

[stubber]

I've still got a Ha'way the lads one sewn on my old 1973 woollen scarf, when we first introduced the black stripe on them.

Neil Martin was an awesome centre forward, it was madness when McColl sold him to Coventry. His partnership with John O'Hare was just getting going and with Toddy at the back we had the makings of a team.

Fantastic c/f. I had NM's name painstakingly drawn on the back of me school ex-army haversack (remember them? Kids these days don't know what they are, but they were de rigour in the 1960's) and when he was sold to Coventry I was absolutely gutted. £200,000 was the fee iirc, which was a hefty wad in those days.

 

[Deleted member 2014]

Good one. I'm pissed and I have a poor memory at the the best of times but I'm trying to recall an away FA cup tie (evening KO) at some place like Burnley in the '70's. Freezing cold it was. I need Nils Desperandum to help me out here. Or Scary Nuns.

Anyway the long and short of it was that we all got slaughtered in a pub afterwards. We pulled off the Motorway on the way yem for the munchies and the driver decided to re-enter the Motorway via the exit lane! Cue the Polis, breathlyser and a night in the cells. I hitched home and somehow made it to work on time. What a night.

Could it be the on-off cup tie at Burnley in the 1978-79 season ?
The game was postponed a couple of times due to the frost/snow, but we eventually managed to get the game on, in midweek in February 1979 and we drew 1-1 (Entwhistle scored for us, and I think Leighton James may have scored their equaliser)
It was f***ing frezing like you said, Stubber, and I remember being in the police escort to the ground and as we were being marched along the road, a lad next to me got arrested, coz the large carving knife he was concealing up his coat sleeve, fell out and onto the floor, and he was immediately nabbed by the coppers
I remember loads of fighting insisde the ground too, and we had a good part of the side stand and behind one of the goals as well.
Liverpool were waiting for the winners in the 5th round, but typical of Sunderland, we blew it in front of nearly 40,000 fans in the home replay and we got walloped 0-3, though the night was memorable because of some lad running along the roof of the Clock Stand

 

[malcsouthshields]

I recall a game against Liverpool that was played on a tues/wed afternoon maybe around 1972-73 (can't remember why though) we all played the nick from school despite warnings from the headmaster in assembly the previous day not to.
Everyone that played the nick had to write an essay on the match the next day :-D

 

[Frente Bokeron 1986]

I recall a game against Liverpool that was played on a tues/wed afternoon maybe around 1972-73 (can't remember why though) we all played the nick from school despite warnings from the headmaster in assembly the previous day not to.
Everyone that played the nick had to write an essay on the match the next day :-D

Power cuts / shortages ....

Floodlights banned.

FA Cup Rd 3 Replay v Carlisle in 73-74 was the same.

 

[---Nemo---]

I remember Pop Robson scoring a peach of a goal at Fulham, the ball came in, he did a sort of flick up/volley combo which screemed into the net. I'm sure it was when Fulham had George Best/Rodney Marsh/Bobby Moore, and if my memory is correct Moore scored with the best diving header I've ever seen......straight into his own net. This was probably the year after we won the cup, but it's so long ago it could have bee any time in the 70's.

I was at the game and you're right, a cracking goal from Pop. The ball came in low from the right and in a heartbeat he'd touched it on with his right and hammered it home with his left. Incredible skill.

I was at Sid James with my brother and was at the back of the stand opposite the tunnel (can't remember what it was called). Couldn't see as I was only 9, so I was carried over the heads of the crowd and sat on the cinder track to watch the game.

I could be totally wrong here but I think George Mulhall got two and Neil Martin got the other. I'm sure one of the wrinklies on here will put me right if I'm wrong!

Neil Martin scored a header from outside the box.

The Roker CLICKY opened 5 -10 minutes after start
bottom rung missing, meant 2 people had to come out to align Clicky so that MULTITUDES cud get in

Straw sacks round the pitch in Winter...

I've posted about the clicky's before, no bugger could recall them. I used to sneak in through the one in the Fulwell. Were you at the Everton game when some headcase set bleeze to the straw? :-D

Has anyone mentioned that little kid who used to wander around the ground? I think his name was Gordon.

 

[Duncan Disorderly]

I seem to recall the buses at Leeds at one time had to travel up this road passed a pub and turn round at the roundabout and back down again. We went past this pub and got all sorts hurled at the windows. We got to the end and thought fuck we've got to through it again. When we got back down the Leeds fans were trying to barricade themselves inside the pub as a couple of buses had stopped and they were all wading into them

I was amongst this lot, we were stuck in the traffic and the leeds put a couple of windows out on our coach, next thing you knew we were charging at the leeds who all ran back inside, the tables and benches that were outside went through the windows, and when we got inside there was no-one there, no fans, no staff, Deserted.

 

[buster]

Just a small bit of useless information but the peanut seller at RP was a geordie who also sold peanuts at SJP.

An infiltrator in our midst and no one ever knew

 

[stubber]

Could it be the on-off cup tie at Burnley in the 1978-79 season ?
The game was postponed a couple of times due to the frost/snow, but we eventually managed to get the game on, in midweek in February 1979 and we drew 1-1 (Entwhistle scored for us, and I think Leighton James may have scored their equaliser)
It was f***ing frezing like you said, Stubber, and I remember being in the police escort to the ground and as we were being marched along the road, a lad next to me got arrested, coz the large carving knife he was concealing up his coat sleeve, fell out and onto the floor, and he was immediately nabbed by the coppers
I remember loads of fighting insisde the ground too, and we had a good part of the side stand and behind one of the goals as well.
Liverpool were waiting for the winners in the 5th round, but typical of Sunderland, we blew it in front of nearly 40,000 fans in the home replay and we got walloped 0-3, though the night was memorable because of some lad running along the roof of the Clock Stand

That's the game! It was even colder standing on the slip road in the snow, at 2.00 am in the morning, trying to hitch a ride home for work next morning. Somehow I made it, like; I was dropped off at the Barnes roundabout at about 6.00 in the morning.

 

[Frente Bokeron 1986]

I've posted about the clicky's before, no bugger could recall them. I used to sneak in through the one in the Fulwell. Were you at the Everton game when some headcase set bleeze to the straw? :-D

Has anyone mentioned that little kid who used to wander around the ground? I think his name was Gordon.

I was a regular at RP from '63/64 'til 1998 ....
And I've never even heard of a clicky.

I once got into the ground through a gadgie dying, like !!!!!

Around the last two or three games at Roker Park, a night match.
f***ing packed.
Near the front of the queue for the Main Stand Paddock, when they locked the gates shut.
Ran around to The Roker End - And they were shutting the gates there.
Clock Stand, ditto.

Got up to the corner of the clock stand and Fulwell End ....
When the big exit gate opened and a bloke was getting stretchered-out to an ambulance.
A few blokes (his mates ???) exiting with him.

I heard one of the paramedics say to his mate "We've lost him".


I belted on the exit gate and the steward slides it open .....

"We've lost him, poor bugger has died" ....
"Can we come back in ??" says I.

"Nee bother", says the steward and beckoned us 'BACK' in.

 

[SteveFTM]

Remember going to Blackpool early 70's, thought Blackpool was a safe place to go for my first away game. Iirc it was an evening kick off and we lost 0-1 and i think Mel Holden was playing upfront for us. I didn't see too much of the game due to the Blackpool lot throwing coins (sharpened edges) from their enclosure up to the metal roof to bounce back into the Sunderland crowd, i recall some bugger shouting they're throwing darts. Oh them were the days

 

[40 Simonside Rd]

Fantastic c/f. I had NM's name painstakingly drawn on the back of me school ex-army haversack (remember them? Kids these days don't know what they are, but they were de rigour in the 1960's)

Aye bloody hell i forgot about those, i had a RAF one, it was a bugger if you were running for the bus and it was full, wafted from side to side, i had a wooden pencil box that would knack my shoulder blades.