' Things are just not quite the same anymore! '

What memories hey.

Vince Alm posted

Football hasn't been the same since they took down the barb wire fences, got rid of the tear gas and truncheons, razor blades and calling cards, flares, drainpipes, skinheads, long hair, perms, moustaches, doc martins, donkey jackets, butchers coats, bricks, hole to pee in! football specials selling barbican from behind a cage, banned from all service stations, open terrace getting wet when losing 4.0, any seats ripped out and thrown at each other, banned from travelling, smoking in stadiums, alcohol bans, your car windows smashed and panels dented after parking in the clubs car park, coaches smashed up, searched 10 times before going in the ground, sat on the side of motorways for hours surrounded by police, steel stanchions, stadiums falling down, catching fire, cheap admission.

Things are just not quite the same anymore!

What memories hey.

Vince Alm posted

Football hasn't been the same since they took down the barb wire fences, got rid of the tear gas and truncheons, razor blades and calling cards, flares, drainpipes, skinheads, long hair, perms, moustaches, doc martins, donkey jackets, butchers coats, bricks, hole to pee in! football specials selling barbican from behind a cage, banned from all service stations, open terrace getting wet when losing 4.0, any seats ripped out and thrown at each other, banned from travelling, smoking in stadiums, alcohol bans, your car windows smashed and panels dented after parking in the clubs car park, coaches smashed up, searched 10 times before going in the ground, sat on the side of motorways for hours surrounded by police, steel stanchions, stadiums falling down, catching fire, cheap admission.

Things are just not quite the same anymore!

Ah, the good ol' days, eh!


It's clearly tongue-in-cheek stuff from Vince, however, there were certainly good things about those bygone years too.

Agree, things not the same any more. We never used to know who was going to win the league before a ball was even kicked. Fathers could afford to take their kids to every home game without wondering if the admission fee would leave them skint for the next fortnight. Could have a good sing song without being told to sit down in your seat. Grounds had an football atmosphere not a cricket ground atmosphere, more noise on the pitch now than in the stands. Players used to tackle one another rather than acting as if they have been shot just because someone brushes up against them. We could run onto the pitch at the end of the match and get a couple of autographs from the players, sometimes you could get them before the match as they would often be on the way to the game on the same train as the fans. Did'nt have to pay through the nose to get a pint of beer. Things are definitely not the same, although the pies are still as crap as they always used to be.

What memories hey.

Vince Alm posted

Football hasn't been the same since they took down the barb wire fences, got rid of the tear gas and truncheons, razor blades and calling cards, flares, drainpipes, skinheads, long hair, perms, moustaches, doc martins, donkey jackets, butchers coats, bricks, hole to pee in! football specials selling barbican from behind a cage, banned from all service stations, open terrace getting wet when losing 4.0, any seats ripped out and thrown at each other, banned from travelling, smoking in stadiums, alcohol bans, your car windows smashed and panels dented after parking in the clubs car park, coaches smashed up, searched 10 times before going in the ground, sat on the side of motorways for hours surrounded by police, steel stanchions, stadiums falling down, catching fire, cheap admission.

Things are just not quite the same anymore!

Ah, the good ol' days, eh!


It's clearly tongue-in-cheek stuff from Vince, however, there were certainly good things about those bygone years too.

Not the Clarkes pies at the old lady!!!!

Agree, things not the same any more. We never used to know who was going to win the league before a ball was even kicked. Fathers could afford to take their kids to every home game without wondering if the admission fee would leave them skint for the next fortnight. Could have a good sing song without being told to sit down in your seat. Grounds had an football atmosphere not a cricket ground atmosphere, more noise on the pitch now than in the stands. Players used to tackle one another rather than acting as if they have been shot just because someone brushes up against them. We could run onto the pitch at the end of the match and get a couple of autographs from the players, sometimes you could get them before the match as they would often be on the way to the game on the same train as the fans. Did'nt have to pay through the nose to get a pint of beer. Things are definitely not the same, although the pies are still as crap as they always used to be.

Great post, Vince's one is a load of garbage as usual IMO.

Vince is talking of a different time, but is being a bit harsh - alot of skins were tidy lads, people wore flares as fashion, and alot of bloody good music was around, pubs were packed, and birds never plastered themselves in tattoos.

Going away on the train was always the better option - I never went away to go to a service station, and you could pretty much go where you wanted - had some really good times, and fondly remembered now.

Ok, the tushes might have been a bit much, but Swansea are still flying that flag.

Vince is forgetting one thing - it was a fookin good laugh......

The move to the plastic stadium has killed the club.

I would say Vince hung around the wrong people.

A stadium is just a building. The crowd create the atmosphere in response to what they see on the pitch.

This harking back to a bygone age is understandable and the jumpers-for-goalposts nostalgia also tempting to enjoy. However, the quoted passage at the beginning of the thread is pure satire. It sends up the notion of yesterday being utopia and reminds us that actually, football has come a long way.:

You can now visit a stadium with your family and not be too worried that you will be coshed by a policeman's baton. Everything is now expensive, or so it seems, but going to a game should be a special occasion, a treat, a privilege. Maybe the truth is more that people these days want the penny and the bun. Sacrifice is less the norm in society where we demand more.

The true veterans are the away crowd. I admire the Dunkirk spirit and camaraderie, the dedication and, yes, the sacrifices regularly made by the majority of them in terms of their time, efforts and hard-earned cash. They are the ones entitled to complain about costs and the way stewarding can be overbearing.

Me? I just enjoy the craic of being part of a supporters' crowd. I can't travel (probably an excuse), but totally love the experience of match days. If the football is poor, so be it. It doesn't mean I won't turn up next time in the hope of something better.

A stadium is just a building. The crowd create the atmosphere in response to what they see on the pitch.

This harking back to a bygone age is understandable and the jumpers-for-goalposts nostalgia also tempting to enjoy. However, the quoted passage at the beginning of the thread is pure satire. It sends up the notion of yesterday being utopia and reminds us that actually, football has come a long way.:

You can now visit a stadium with your family and not be too worried that you will be coshed by a policeman's baton. Everything is now expensive, or so it seems, but going to a game should be a special occasion, a treat, a privilege. Maybe the truth is more that people these days want the penny and the bun. Sacrifice is less the norm in society where we demand more.

The true veterans are the away crowd. I admire the Dunkirk spirit and camaraderie, the dedication and, yes, the sacrifices regularly made by the majority of them in terms of their time, efforts and hard-earned cash. They are the ones entitled to complain about costs and the way stewarding can be overbearing.

Me? I just enjoy the craic of being part of a supporters' crowd. I can't travel (probably an excuse), but totally love the experience of match days. If the football is poor, so be it. It doesn't mean I won't turn up next time in the hope of something better.

Disagree with almost every point you make. Having visited over 70 different grounds over the years, to most true supporters a stadium is more than just a building. It is a place that almost becomes part of you over a period of time, a place that you have a strong affinity to , and a place that you can feel part of. The styling of the ground definitely plays a part in creating an atmosphere, as does the situation in where away supporters are placed in conjunction with the traditional noisy home end. While I accept that changes have to be made, I don't think I will ever feel the same about our current lego stadium with the affection I felt towards Ninian Park.
I still travel to away matches, but not as many as I once did due to the increased costs involved. I would say that I rarely experience much problem with stewarding, other than sometimes during our home matches. I don't think being able to watch a football match should be a privilege, as a special occasion in my mind is something that occurs once or twice a year, not around 50 times over a period of 9 months.
I honestly think that you have explained exactly why the atmosphere at most grounds is so poor now in comparison to not so many years ago. By the way, even in the 60's and 70's I never felt likely to be coshed by a policeman's baton as I went to matches to watch the football, and not get involved with the minority who often had a different agenda to me.

What memories hey.

Vince Alm posted

Football hasn't been the same since they took down the barb wire fences, got rid of the tear gas and truncheons, razor blades and calling cards, flares, drainpipes, skinheads, long hair, perms, moustaches, doc martins, donkey jackets, butchers coats, bricks, hole to pee in! football specials selling barbican from behind a cage, banned from all service stations, open terrace getting wet when losing 4.0, any seats ripped out and thrown at each other, banned from travelling, smoking in stadiums, alcohol bans, your car windows smashed and panels dented after parking in the clubs car park, coaches smashed up, searched 10 times before going in the ground, sat on the side of motorways for hours surrounded by police, steel stanchions, stadiums falling down, catching fire, cheap admission.

Things are just not quite the same anymore!

cheap admission and terraces, then it's all sorted

the reason admission was cheap was because the football was almost amateur standard, the stadia were ancient, health and safety regulations were almost non existent to the point of putting thousands of lives at risk, and hooligans put off a generation of potential football fans.

Football in the UK is boring now.

the reason admission was cheap was because the football was almost amateur standard, the stadia were ancient, health and safety regulations were almost non existent to the point of putting thousands of lives at risk, and hooligans put off a generation of potential football fans.

I never considered watching the likes of George Best, Rodney Marsh, Jimmy Greaves, Gordon Banks, Bobby Charlton and numerous others was anything like amateur standard.

the reason admission was cheap was because the football was almost amateur standard, the stadia were ancient, health and safety regulations were almost non existent to the point of putting thousands of lives at risk, and hooligans put off a generation of potential football fans.

I never considered watching the likes of George Best, Rodney Marsh, Jimmy Greaves, Gordon Banks, Bobby Charlton and numerous others was anything like amateur standard.

i'd say they were the exception as opposed to the rule. the skilful players received very little protection from refs, and whenever i see replays of any matches in the 70's and 80's, all i see is players hoofing it forwards on boggy pitches. yes it was cheap to watch, but its supply and demand at work.

the reason admission was cheap was because the football was almost amateur standard, the stadia were ancient, health and safety regulations were almost non existent to the point of putting thousands of lives at risk, and hooligans put off a generation of potential football fans.

I never considered watching the likes of George Best, Rodney Marsh, Jimmy Greaves, Gordon Banks, Bobby Charlton and numerous others was anything like amateur standard.

i'd say they were the exception as opposed to the rule. the skilful players received very little protection from refs, and whenever i see replays of any matches in the 70's and 80's, all i see is players hoofing it forwards on boggy pitches. yes it was cheap to watch, but its supply and demand at work.

To be fair, the above players were just a tiny number of the household names who were around then. I could name virtually the entire Leeds team (although I didn't like them) and throw in extra names like Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Alan Gilzean, Ian St John, Peter Osgood, and loads more who would grace any field whatever era they played in. Our own little team reached the semi final and quarter finals of a major European competition, and we had some pretty good players ourselves back then. Sometimes the players had to adapt to poor quality pitches in the Winter months, but watch a recording of the England team in Mexico 1970: they weren't bad playing on perfect surfaces either.
It was cheap to watch because genuine supporters weren't so easily ripped off back then, if admission fees had been much higher the gates would have been much lower. Unfortunately, many of those supporters have been priced out of following their teams. A lot of today's supporters go to the big games because it's the done thing to do,Half the time the bars are still full 10 minutes into the second half of a game, and if their team is struggling, they will leave half an hour before the end rather than give the players a bit of vocal backing.
True supporters should not be priced out of the game. I see people on this forum saying they are not renewing their season tickets because we are not winning any more. If a lot of these newer fans won't go because we are losing more than we are winning, and a lot of the older fans can't afford a season ticket, the gates next season even if we are mid table are going to be a big disappointment, and there will be virtually no atmosphere to speak of. Not saying everything was perfect back then, but I never got the feeling that we were being ripped off in the way that we are now.