WATFORD AWAY 1970

What a mad day, skinheads were at their prime and it was a bit nasty everywhere, not just at football. I had gone up on a football special train from Cardiff along with around ten other Aberdare boys amongst a train carrying possibly six or seven hundred City fans, it was a proper cattle train, but hey, that was about all we deserved it was all a bit lawless.

People find it hard to believe but you could turn up at a place like Watford 700 handed and not see one copper, mad to think, but that's just how it was. In those days any shop on the route to the ground would get steamed and looted, and this behavior wasn't unique to Cardiff and teams like Liverpool actually had fans who tagged on simply for the robbing, they would tour Europe on the strength of what they could nick'

Frankie was the main man as he was for many years and he had a price on his head at many clubs, but I never seen him come unstuck, he was a right game fucker and still is larger than life, just wish he would put some of his stories down on paper.

Can't remember anything about the game other than we had a go at taking their end, and they had a good old mob as well in those days, a no mans buffer zone was created and no real harm done.

But what stuck out for me this day, was the after match events on the station, we were all packed in on our platform waiting for our South bound special, and on the platform opposite heading North bound were a good few hundred Watford fans threatening all sorts from the safety of the distance between us and a few rail tracks and coppers at each exit keeping everyone apart, when suddenly, one of the City fan pulls out an air pistol and start shooting the Watford fans.

Well f**k me, I've never seen so many people fit behind a waste bin etc, it was mental, I think the gun was what we used to call a gat, which was a simple air pistol with a range of about thirty yards after which the slug wouldn't go thru paper, but it was certainly stinging a few Watford skinheads on the swede.

One of the coppers standing at the bottom of the steps on that platform, run up onto the platform to see what the f**k was going on, and heard two hundred skinheads shouting "they got guns" wel this copper got a good look at our mystery gunman and headed down the steps obviously to make the arrest of his carrer-- A dangerous gunman

Well by the time the cooper and his back up got onto our platform, the Gunmans own mum wouldn't have recognised him, he'd had a complete change of clothes and a bobble hat that made him look like a train spotter, don't know what happened to the gun, but I'd make a bid if it shows up on E bay..

Mad days, glad I was there, but please do gooders save your finger pointing, it wasn't me and I don't think its big and clever, just saying what I seen.

Cracking read that Gwyn You should write a book

I'm having a right old reminisce tonight for some reason.

It was a year or two later and I'm sure some of the older heads may remember, but we had been to Leicester away I think and again it was on a special which was rammed full, on the way back we pulled into some station the same time as a train load of Aston Villa fans arrived on their train which was now stopped about three feet apart from us and side by side.

Well it was just as if someone rang a bell, everyone on each train instantly started putting the windows through using fire extinguishers and table that they had snapped loose, people were standing opposite each other trading punches through smashed windows for what seemed like ages before someone in power had the sens to move the trains apart, but after twenty feet of travel, both trains had pulled the communication cords and it was round two, f**k me that was one cold journey home.

And whilst I had said earlier you could go places and not meet a copper, well after this event as we pulled into Newport station, there must have been a hundred coppers waiting for us, and whilst they stamped their feet and interview loads of us, they were never going to be able to prove who done it and get any convictions.

Mad day yet again.

sounds like things were berzerk!!

how many of those days did you get through???? obviously quite a few as your still kicking on 41 yrs later

great read ...

What a mad day, skinheads were at their prime and it was a bit nasty everywhere, not just at football. I had gone up on a football special train from Cardiff along with around ten other Aberdare boys amongst a train carrying possibly six or seven hundred City fans, it was a proper cattle train, but hey, that was about all we deserved it was all a bit lawless.

People find it hard to believe but you could turn up at a place like Watford 700 handed and not see one copper, mad to think, but that's just how it was. In those days any shop on the route to the ground would get steamed and looted, and this behavior wasn't unique to Cardiff and teams like Liverpool actually had fans who tagged on simply for the robbing, they would tour Europe on the strength of what they could nick'

Frankie was the main man as he was for many years and he had a price on his head at many clubs, but I never seen him come unstuck, he was a right game fucker and still is larger than life, just wish he would put some of his stories down on paper.

Can't remember anything about the game other than we had a go at taking their end, and they had a good old mob as well in those days, a no mans buffer zone was created and no real harm done.

But what stuck out for me this day, was the after match events on the station, we were all packed in on our platform waiting for our South bound special, and on the platform opposite heading North bound were a good few hundred Watford fans threatening all sorts from the safety of the distance between us and a few rail tracks and coppers at each exit keeping everyone apart, when suddenly, one of the City fan pulls out an air pistol and start shooting the Watford fans.

Well f**k me, I've never seen so many people fit behind a waste bin etc, it was mental, I think the gun was what we used to call a gat, which was a simple air pistol with a range of about thirty yards after which the slug wouldn't go thru paper, but it was certainly stinging a few Watford skinheads on the swede.

One of the coppers standing at the bottom of the steps on that platform, run up onto the platform to see what the f**k was going on, and heard two hundred skinheads shouting "they got guns" wel this copper got a good look at our mystery gunman and headed down the steps obviously to make the arrest of his carrer-- A dangerous gunman

Well by the time the cooper and his back up got onto our platform, the Gunmans own mum wouldn't have recognised him, he'd had a complete change of clothes and a bobble hat that made him look like a train spotter, don't know what happened to the gun, but I'd make a bid if it shows up on E bay..

Mad days, glad I was there, but please do gooders save your finger pointing, it wasn't me and I don't think its big and clever, just saying what I seen.

That was my first away game I was 9 and as a family had been stayin in hertfordshire my Dad took me down to watch the game all I saw was mayhem so funny compared to the corporate sanitised football we see now.
Alaways remember Man ure outside Asteys in town 1977 i think, that was mental

I'm having a right old reminisce tonight for some reason.

It was a year or two later and I'm sure some of the older heads may remember, but we had been to Leicester away I think and again it was on a special which was rammed full, on the way back we pulled into some station the same time as a train load of Aston Villa fans arrived on their train which was now stopped about three feet apart from us and side by side.

Well it was just as if someone rang a bell, everyone on each train instantly started putting the windows through using fire extinguishers and table that they had snapped loose, people were standing opposite each other trading punches through smashed windows for what seemed like ages before someone in power had the sens to move the trains apart, but after twenty feet of travel, both trains had pulled the communication cords and it was round two, f**k me that was one cold journey home.

And whilst I had said earlier you could go places and not meet a copper, well after this event as we pulled into Newport station, there must have been a hundred coppers waiting for us, and whilst they stamped their feet and interview loads of us, they were never going to be able to prove who done it and get any convictions.

Mad day yet again.

What a mad day, skinheads were at their prime and it was a bit nasty everywhere, not just at football. I had gone up on a football special train from Cardiff along with around ten other Aberdare boys amongst a train carrying possibly six or seven hundred City fans, it was a proper cattle train, but hey, that was about all we deserved it was all a bit lawless.

People find it hard to believe but you could turn up at a place like Watford 700 handed and not see one copper, mad to think, but that's just how it was. In those days any shop on the route to the ground would get steamed and looted, and this behavior wasn't unique to Cardiff and teams like Liverpool actually had fans who tagged on simply for the robbing, they would tour Europe on the strength of what they could nick'

Frankie was the main man as he was for many years and he had a price on his head at many clubs, but I never seen him come unstuck, he was a right game fucker and still is larger than life, just wish he would put some of his stories down on paper.

Can't remember anything about the game other than we had a go at taking their end, and they had a good old mob as well in those days, a no mans buffer zone was created and no real harm done.

But what stuck out for me this day, was the after match events on the station, we were all packed in on our platform waiting for our South bound special, and on the platform opposite heading North bound were a good few hundred Watford fans threatening all sorts from the safety of the distance between us and a few rail tracks and coppers at each exit keeping everyone apart, when suddenly, one of the City fan pulls out an air pistol and start shooting the Watford fans.

Well f**k me, I've never seen so many people fit behind a waste bin etc, it was mental, I think the gun was what we used to call a gat, which was a simple air pistol with a range of about thirty yards after which the slug wouldn't go thru paper, but it was certainly stinging a few Watford skinheads on the swede.

One of the coppers standing at the bottom of the steps on that platform, run up onto the platform to see what the f**k was going on, and heard two hundred skinheads shouting "they got guns" wel this copper got a good look at our mystery gunman and headed down the steps obviously to make the arrest of his carrer-- A dangerous gunman

Well by the time the cooper and his back up got onto our platform, the Gunmans own mum wouldn't have recognised him, he'd had a complete change of clothes and a bobble hat that made him look like a train spotter, don't know what happened to the gun, but I'd make a bid if it shows up on E bay..

Mad days, glad I was there, but please do gooders save your finger pointing, it wasn't me and I don't think its big and clever, just saying what I seen.

great story gwyn. ive heard many stories from you about the 70s and city on my travels to rochdale etc i think you should write a book about those times ..

[quote="BigGwynram"]What a mad day, skinheads were at their prime and it was a bit nasty everywhere, not just at football. I had gone up on a football special train from Cardiff along with around ten other Aberdare boys amongst a train carrying possibly six or seven hundred City fans, it was a proper cattle train, but hey, that was about all we deserved it was all a bit lawless.

People find it hard to believe but you could turn up at a place like Watford 700 handed and not see one copper, mad to think, but that's just how it was. In those days any shop on the route to the ground would get steamed and looted, and this behavior wasn't unique to Cardiff and teams like Liverpool actually had fans who tagged on simply for the robbing, they would tour Europe on the strength of what they could nick'

Frankie was the main man as he was for many years and he had a price on his head at many clubs, but I never seen him come unstuck, he was a right game fucker and still is larger than life, just wish he would put some of his stories down on paper.

Can't remember anything about the game other than we had a go at taking their end, and they had a good old mob as well in those days, a no mans buffer zone was created and no real harm done.

But what stuck out for me this day, was the after match events on the station, we were all packed in on our platform waiting for our South bound special, and on the platform opposite heading North bound were a good few hundred Watford fans threatening all sorts from the safety of the distance between us and a few rail tracks and coppers at each exit keeping everyone apart, when suddenly, one of the City fan pulls out an air pistol and start shooting the Watford fans.

Well f**k me, I've never seen so many people fit behind a waste bin etc, it was mental, I think the gun was what we used to call a gat, which was a simple air pistol with a range of about thirty yards after which the slug wouldn't go thru paper, but it was certainly stinging a few Watford skinheads on the swede.

One of the coppers standing at the bottom of the steps on that platform, run up onto the platform to see what the f**k was going on, and heard two hundred skinheads shouting "they got guns" wel this copper got a good look at our mystery gunman and headed down the steps obviously to make the arrest of his carrer-- A dangerous gunman

Well by the time the cooper and his back up got onto our platform, the Gunmans own mum wouldn't have recognised him, he'd had a complete change of clothes and a bobble hat that made him look like a train spotter, don't know what happened to the gun, but I'd make a bid if it shows up on E bay..

Mad days, glad I was there, but please do gooders save your finger pointing, it wasn't me and I don't think its big and clever, just saying what I seen. [/quote. Remember it all like it was yesterday. They were great times although shit your pants times as well on occasions. Had some good times with Frankie and great times at home games before the match in the (old) Ninian pub and the pub just up the road just down from Tesco's where there is now a community centre but can't at this moment in time remember it's name. Remember being in that pub when we played Pompey and one of their fans came up to me and asked me if I was going on our end today (the old fantastic grange end). When I told him I always do and don't see anything from you lot to stop me today, he said they are already on there and have taken "our end". When we got to the ground we realised he was right and we congreagated on the Bob Bank ( no fence separating the grange and the bob in those days - that fence went up for the Man Utd game but that's another story!!!). Anyway the shout eventually went up from Frankie to charge the Pompey fans on the Grange End. I set off charging sort of across but slightly down the terraces only to be grabbed straight away by a copper who was going to arrest me but for some reason took me to the turnstile and told me to jump over and let me go. I went straight around the ground and got back in via the turnstiles to the Bob Bank behind the Canton Stand. Can't remember if I paid to get back in or not but assume that I did. Ended up getting kicked out again this time for getting into a fight with another Cardiff fan. Never liked him anyway! To cap the day I went to meet my girlfriend from work only to find she had already left and gone off with some boy she worked with!!

Only seems like yesterday that trip. If I remember rightly they found the gun under the springs of one of the seats, Well after seeing all the slug pellets on the floor of the carrage they did'nt have far to look.
STILL A NICE READ THAT ONE.












AND SLEEPLESS IN CANTON

[quote="FblockFrank"]Only seems like yesterday that trip. If I remember rightly they found the gun under the springs of one of the seats, Well after seeing all the slug pellets on the floor of the carrage they did'nt have far to look.
STILL A NICE READ THAT ONE.




Charlton 1972/3 was one my first away trip without the family I was with Law & Chrissie Mullet and as just kids 14ish we were told we had to go with a friend of the family DB aka "Sailor" for safe keeping, Im sure this nasty little gang had met up with you at Charlton Frank. We were on Waterloo train station when the first time Id actually shit myself with a eerie sound coming from the opposite platform, when we looked over there was this horrible big bastards of a mob. Must have been 50+ and all blokes in their 30's, 40's plus, as kids it was the first Id experienced anything like it. One of them was standing right on the edge of the platform shouting "SAILOR, SAILOR" we know who you are, now at this time I didnt know he was called sailor and kept looking behind me to see who he was shouting at until DB shouted back "well if you know come on over", all I was thinking whilst trembling was dont come on over and just f*cking stay there please. As luck had it their train had pulled in and I had leant that it was ICF and for the life of me I cant recall the name that was mentioned but he was their main man back then. But what stuck in my mind that day was the weapons that was carried i.e butchers hooks, a 3-4foot swords(which amazed me how this fella could walk with it down his pants), piping, studded belts, all sorts of knives and car ariels(which stung like f**k). The day itself was sort of quite, thank god with the armoury available but later on back at Paddington it got very lively with Deby or Leicester butcher boys, thats when it all kicked off big time so much so that the Police sort of let everyone get on with it. I remember you Frank you robbing b*stard liberating their pockets after you'd skittled them all over the platform and when we all boarded the trains after, theirs was next to us and they made a huge mistake of leaning out the windows giving abuse while our train was pulling out. Some fella had left his hand out the window while holding a carpet knife and must of slashed a dozen or more on route out of station. If that was today most were been sentenced 15 years or more, they were crazy days and you had to keep your wits about you or you'd be well n truely fucked.. Anyway thanks for the experience Sailor, by f**k I would have been safer with Gadaffi. Great memories of the 70s, 80s & early 90s.....


Half a bar Frankie

Great reads, keep them coming

I dont remember the Watford trip Gwyn but I think the season before the Aberdare boys went to Oxford on the train when we got there we headed for woolworths and caused chaos on the way home we arrived at the station and there was a cart on the platform loaded with boxes ready for the train someone said whats in these boxes so we opened a box- the boxes contained brandy snaps I dont think anybody had seen them before it didnt take us long before we had tasted them decided we didnt like them and spread them all over the platfor and the track