70s recollections please! | PASOTI
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70s recollections please!

Sep 16, 2009
447
34
Bournemouth
Following on from my "worst mobs" thread, I am too young to remember the mid 70s, but have looked at wonder at the crowds Argyle got in their brief spell in the 2nd division in 75/76 and 76/77, plus of course the 74/75 promotion season, i.e...25,305 at home to Southampton le in April 76, 28,744 v Blackburn in Feb 75.

How many green army used to go to the away games back then, ie. did we pack many in at the Dell and Fratton and what about Chelsea, who were with us in league two? I imagine a lot of saints fans travelled to Home Park just before their FA Cup win in 76..

I'd be interested to hear from those who were around in those lively days! :grin:
 
Jan 16, 2010
12,978
1,683
plymouth
i used to travel to away matches back then. the great thing about those days were if you wanted to know how your team were doing you had to be there. it was before the days of sky, it was rare to have cameras at the match, i am not knocking sky, their coverage is magnificent, and if you had to go to work, as i often had to you had to tune in at 5 to 5 bbc radio with james alexander gordon and listen excitedly for hopefully a good result. if your opponents were nil you knew you got something out of the game, if you won it was elation. they were great days
 
Aug 10, 2006
3,723
412
Bezza":1s5wbfwx said:
Following on from my "worst mobs" thread, I am too young to remember the mid 70s, but have looked at wonder at the crowds Argyle got in their brief spell in the 2nd division in 75/76 and 76/77, plus of course the 74/75 promotion season, i.e...25,305 at home to Southampton le in April 76, 28,744 v Blackburn in Feb 75.

How many green army used to go to the away games back then, ie. did we pack many in at the Dell and Fratton and what about Chelsea, who were with us in league two? I imagine a lot of saints fans travelled to Home Park just before their FA Cup win in 76..

I'd be interested to hear from those who were around in those lively days! :grin:
wait till the book comes out.
 
Aug 3, 2008
2,814
344
Plymouth
Went to all our away matches in our first season back in the Second Division. Don't think we won one. Some horrible grounds back then.
 
B

bandwagon

Guest
The walk/run from Temple Meads to Eastville was always a howler, especially if dark on way back - wouldn't change a moment of it!!
 
B

bandwagon

Guest
greengenes":33753h86 said:
bandwagon":33753h86 said:
The walk/run from Temple Meads to Eastville was always a howler, especially if dark on way back - wouldn't change a moment of it!!

Temple Meads to Ashton Gate was interesting in the 60s .

Not that good now GG - my first away game was Fulham in 1970, went on train with 2 mates and one of them's uncle!! 1-1 I think and remember seeing our first skinhead!!
 
L

LeamingtonGreen

Guest
I had 3 inch heels and 3 button high waister trousers...thought I was as cool as ++++

Hey...I was cool...... 8)
 
Aug 12, 2010
872
348
South Wales
Working people were more able to afford to attend games and the average age of the crowd seemed younger, my memory, perhaps distorted now is that the average age of a fan in the Devonport would have been easily under 25? any one else got a view on that ?
I remember the lack of adequate fan seperation. I went to my first away game league cup at St. Andrews ( BRUM ) and being in the seemingly massive Tiltern stand, :shock: ( now all seats and opposite side of the ground to the current camera arrangements for MOTD.) We had a single line of police between us and the Brum fans, no fencing, and some of them seemed to want to do us an injury, ( the fans ) more so as we won against one of the most successful top flight teams in England, but we survived.
One interesting thing re 70's football was the declining attendance trend in the top flight, for instance Arsenal had a few games where they were getting less than 20,000 for top flight games, ( 17,000 vs Coventry I recall ) and Everton were playing at home in front of less than 15,000 at times.
I read a peice by the journalist Hunter S.Thompson about how American football had by the 1950's degenerated into declining numbers of drunks going to dilapidated stadia and having mass brawls, then there being a cultural change to entertaining middle class families in shiny new stadiums devoid of atmosphere at much expense / profilt. Sound familiar?
The best thing about 70's footie was the raw passion, the next best thing was MAN UNITED GOT RELEGATED. :grin:
See the film "the dammed united " bout Brian Clough sometime.
 
B

bandwagon

Guest
ghost of hughie reed":3s9hw3gi said:
Working people were more able to afford to attend games and the average age of the crowd seemed younger, my memory, perhaps distorted now is that the average age of a fan in the Devonport would have been easily under 25? any one else got a view on that ?
I remember the lack of adequate fan seperation. I went to my first away game league cup at St. Andrews ( BRUM ) and being in the seemingly massive Tiltern stand, :shock: ( now all seats and opposite side of the ground to the current camera arrangements for MOTD.) We had a single line of police between us and the Brum fans, no fencing, and some of them seemed to want to do us an injury, ( the fans ) more so as we won against one of the most successful top flight teams in England, but we survived.
One interesting thing re 70's football was the declining attendance trend in the top flight, for instance Arsenal had a few games where they were getting less than 20,000 for top flight games, ( 17,000 vs Coventry I recall ) and Everton were playing at home in front of less than 15,000 at times.
I read a peice by the journalist Hunter S.Thompson about how American football had by the 1950's degenerated into declining numbers of drunks going to dilapidated stadia and having mass brawls, then there being a cultural change to entertaining middle class families in shiny new stadiums devoid of atmosphere at much expense / profilt. Sound familiar?
The best thing about 70's footie was the raw passion, the next best thing was MAN UNITED GOT RELEGATED. :grin:
See the film "the dammed united " bout Brian Clough sometime.

That Brum game was scary - remember the Blues fan wispering in my ear "gonna get that sheepskin off you when it kicks off"!!
When Steve Davey scored we climbed up onto the pitch (terrace was lowered) to get away from the literally thousands of Blues massed behind us, being outnumbered about 5 to 1, only to be thrown back in!! A comment from a copper escorting us out was "don't worry, they've got Man U next week, they're nuts"!!
 
Sep 18, 2009
182
1
The seventies were the golden age of football hoolaginism. Unsegrated grounds let you wander whereever you wanted to, I used to watch the first half of games at Argyle in the Barn Park end and the second half in the Devonport. No stewards and not many uniformed police, however, a mate a mine from school who joined the police and had little or no interest in football, used to turn up to games on his days just to help his mates out if something kicked off. He loved it, absolutely loved it.

Argyle had their moments in the seventies; the League Cup run, promotion in '75 and the Santos game. But my abiding memory is of walking home after a game through Central Park towards the sorting office meeting up at the hill that led down to Wake Street and charging down the hill like Cheyenne warriers at The Little Big Horn.
 
Aug 3, 2008
2,814
344
Plymouth
Went to Millwall, got hit on thr head with a bottle which was thrown at me when walking to the ground. Got to the ground to find an Argyle supporter being beaten up on the pitch and the police not doing anything about it.

Also remember going to watch England/ Scotland match at Wembley. Only decided to go because a mate got hold of tickets the day before. What we didn't find out until we got there that we we had tickets for the Scotland supporters end. Quickly bought a tartan scarf and developed a Scottish accent in oorder to survive. It was the year that the Scotland supporters went on to pitch and broke goalposts.
 
M

MoistVonLipwig

Guest
Herb":mkns14wm said:
Bezza":mkns14wm said:
What about Chelsea, who were with us in league two?

league two?

FFS, it was the Second Division.

League 2....pffff.

Anyway, yes, I was Stamford Bridge for both games in the 70s.

But I was only 8 and 9.

What do you want to know?
8)

Well......... Did you?
 
Aug 10, 2006
3,723
412
pilgrimage":20ieg31p said:
Went to Millwall, got hit on thr head with a bottle which was thrown at me when walking to the ground. Got to the ground to find an Argyle supporter being beaten up on the pitch and the police not doing anything about it.

Also remember going to watch England/ Scotland match at Wembley. Only decided to go because a mate got hold of tickets the day before. What we didn't find out until we got there that we we had tickets for the Scotland supporters end. Quickly bought a tartan scarf and developed a Scottish accent in oorder to survive. It was the year that the Scotland supporters went on to pitch and broke goalposts.
scotland end they had most of the ground.
 
Sep 16, 2009
447
34
Bournemouth
Herb":2jh0mxx6 said:
Bezza":2jh0mxx6 said:
What about Chelsea, who were with us in league two?

league two?

FFS, it was the Second Division.

League 2....pffff.

Anyway, yes, I was Stamford Bridge for both games in the 70s.

But I was only 8 and 9.

What do you want to know?

8)

Well, yes I know it was Division two-slip of the tongue old chap. I really wanted to know what sort of numbers went to away games at Southampton, pompey and Chelsea and how many away fans came to Home Park in those days. I think its correct to say that the 70s was the decade when travelling to away games really started in earnest- it was the first decade after major motorways were in place and the cars were just about up to taking people across country in a reasonable time without breaking down (good old Mk3 and Mk4 Cortinas saw to that!)

So was it a green army, or a green minibus! :p