Rivalries

[Shankster]

I remember the late 70s v Utd (was living in Gateacre L25 at that time) and then through to mid-late 80s dad was living in Anfield L4 by then, the games were bitter but off the field was evil, particularly around the stadium and Priory Rd where the coaches park.

People tend to think of the Merseyside derby as friendly, it was until Hysel after which the blue noses blamed Liverpool for their demise (at that time 1985 Everton were the best team in England) from that point until today the Merseyside derby is vitriolic and bitter.

As for Plymouth I can remember some clubs treating Plymouth as a playground to act up and for a nice weekend away. Leeds, Pompey and Cardiff came here over the years and played up royally. On the pitch for some strange reason Luton has been an odd rivalry ala Wycombe BUT I’ve always, always loved Bristol City days at Home Park, both on and off the pitch as a rivalry

 

[IJN]

Tell them your Leeds story Shanks, it still makes me snigger. :greensmile:

 

[Shankster]

Hmmmmm I was only a baby!!!

Leeds turned up down at Bretonside (sometime around 1986) we were at the top of the steps opposite the Royal Mail entrance, you could hear these Leeds blokes (I was a young teenager) getting louder and louder below us in the bus station then all of a sudden a dozen A38 huge beer monsters (Plymouth ‘firm’ was still known as A38 I think) came legging it up the steps followed by scores of Leeds monsters. We were on our toes and the only place I could go was into Blacks at the top of town, I ran upstairs and hid in a tent (they had a tent display upstairs). The staff locked the doors, there were dozens of pi**ed up Leeds monsters bashing the window and baying for blood. The girl staff locked the door and sneaked me out the back into the rear car park after an hour or so

 

[third earl of jean]

Pompey is quite a good rivalry now due to us playing them a number of years running and the play off match we had. Also the infamous 1983 "battle of home park" still resonates with anyone over the age of about 45. I like to think the two clubs have the most passionate fan bases on the south coast (I dont consider saints and Brighton fans to be as passionate as for me Portsmouth and Plymouth are two northern style working class cities, southampton and Brighton more middle class).

I also really find it hard to like Burnley due to them beating us in the play offs in 1994 and relegating us four years later and their fans invading the pitch and attacking the Argyle contingent that day, which showed their lack of class.

Wycombe I cant stand. They just always seem to be a thorn in our side. Im from Bournemouth and its always surprised me there was next to no rivalry with Argyle, considering relative locality and the two sides playing almost every year in the 80s and 90s.

Burnley are still my least favourite club of the 92. Their fans behaviour in 98 after they beat us in the relegation decider was the most classless thing I’ve ever seen by an absolute mile. On the pitch en-masse in huge numbers singing ‘going down’ to the away end and lobbing things in while they were at it. Horrible club.

 

[Herts Green]

Pompey is quite a good rivalry now due to us playing them a number of years running and the play off match we had. Also the infamous 1983 "battle of home park" still resonates with anyone over the age of about 45. I like to think the two clubs have the most passionate fan bases on the south coast (I dont consider saints and Brighton fans to be as passionate as for me Portsmouth and Plymouth are two northern style working class cities, southampton and Brighton more middle class).

I also really find it hard to like Burnley due to them beating us in the play offs in 1994 and relegating us four years later and their fans invading the pitch and attacking the Argyle contingent that day, which showed their lack of class.

Wycombe I cant stand. They just always seem to be a thorn in our side. Im from Bournemouth and its always surprised me there was next to no rivalry with Argyle, considering relative locality and the two sides playing almost every year in the 80s and 90s.

Burnley are still my least favourite club of the 92. Their fans behaviour in 98 after they beat us in the relegation decider was the most classless thing I’ve ever seen by an absolute mile. On the pitch en-masse in huge numbers singing ‘going down’ to the away end and lobbing things in while they were at it. Horrible club.

There’s plenty of Argyle ‘fans’ who would do the same in those circumstances unfortunately

 

[L G]

Pompey is quite a good rivalry now due to us playing them a number of years running and the play off match we had. Also the infamous 1983 "battle of home park" still resonates with anyone over the age of about 45. I like to think the two clubs have the most passionate fan bases on the south coast (I dont consider saints and Brighton fans to be as passionate as for me Portsmouth and Plymouth are two northern style working class cities, southampton and Brighton more middle class).

I also really find it hard to like Burnley due to them beating us in the play offs in 1994 and relegating us four years later and their fans invading the pitch and attacking the Argyle contingent that day, which showed their lack of class.

Wycombe I cant stand. They just always seem to be a thorn in our side. Im from Bournemouth and its always surprised me there was next to no rivalry with Argyle, considering relative locality and the two sides playing almost every year in the 80s and 90s.

Burnley are still my least favourite club of the 92. Their fans behaviour in 98 after they beat us in the relegation decider was the most classless thing I’ve ever seen by an absolute mile. On the pitch en-masse in huge numbers singing ‘going down’ to the away end and lobbing things in while they were at it. Horrible club.

There were plenty of things going in the opposite direction that afternoon.

 

[Pettgreen]

Always been the 2 Bristol clubs for me. More so City. Cardiff also I put up there. Just a horrible set of fans.
Swindon as well ever since Mark Smith was killed. Worked for my Dad as well, so it resonates with me a tad more.

 

[AdelaideGreen]

Then there was Chelsea in the mid 1970's.

Both clubs were in the second tier (Division 2 then) and had a "bad reputation" , and so both sets of knuckle dusters had a something to prove.
Argyle's mob had a group called "The crazy gang" (if memory serves), who were great friends - if you wore a green, black and white scarf. Hi Jock et al!

If memory serves, I went to the 1975/76 match at Stamford bridge (or was it 76/77?). However approaching the away end gates I saw a large group of blue and white clad supporters patiently waiting - and I doubted their intent was to applaude. So, I quietly hid my scarf and turned right, thinking that I was going behiind the goal and thus gaining access to the away end on the other side.

I paid my dues at the gate (no-one checked for id etc... - it wasn't done then), put my scarf prominently back on, and marched up the steps ... to find myself at the other end of the ground and in tbe Chelsea "Shed" (as I think the home end was then called). The scarf was quickly hidden again, and I hid myself in a quiet corner hoping to survive the day.

Of course Argyle scored, and I tried to restrict my joy so as not to attract attention. However, to my horror, about 4 metres in front of me another pilgrim (who somehow also ended up in the home end) was rather loud and exuberant, and a few thousand malevolent eyes were cast in our direction.

I remember thinking whether I could convincingly mimic a "Lund'n" accent if questioned at knife point (which I doubted), whilst trying to make peace with my chosen deity. The mob started moving towards our section, when...

... the Argyle hooligans (hooe legions?) decided to choose that moment to try to force their way towards the home end (with some success).
They may have saved my life. Attention was diverted elsewhere.

The match ended 2 - 2, and I celebrated the draw - quietly in the Stadium but more loudly back on the bus.

Of course, the next home game against Chelsea involved a mam-for-tat invasion of the Demport, and so the rivalry continued ... for a while.

 

[Shankster]

Always been the 2 Bristol clubs for me. More so City. Cardiff also I put up there. Just a horrible set of fans.
Swindon as well ever since Mark Smith was killed. Worked for my Dad as well, so it resonates with me a tad more.

Mark was a friend of mine, we used to go fishing together on West Hoe Pier. I was at that match, sad day. All he did was trip on a curb but it shows you what a kick to the head is capable of (I was living with my Nan in Wyndham Square at the time )

 

[L G]

Always been the 2 Bristol clubs for me. More so City. Cardiff also I put up there. Just a horrible set of fans.
Swindon as well ever since Mark Smith was killed. Worked for my Dad as well, so it resonates with me a tad more.

Mark was a friend of mine, we used to go fishing together on West Hoe Pier. I was at that match, sad day. All he did was trip on a curb but it shows you what a kick to the head is capable of (I was living with my Nan in Wyndham Square at the time )

I seem to remember the next match at Home Park between Argyle and Swindon was particularly high octane with plenty of skirmishes outside and in the park.

 

[Shankster]

Always been the 2 Bristol clubs for me. More so City. Cardiff also I put up there. Just a horrible set of fans.
Swindon as well ever since Mark Smith was killed. Worked for my Dad as well, so it resonates with me a tad more.

Mark was a friend of mine, we used to go fishing together on West Hoe Pier. I was at that match, sad day. All he did was trip on a curb but it shows you what a kick to the head is capable of (I was living with my Nan in Wyndham Square at the time )

I seem to remember the next match at Home Park between Argyle and Swindon was particularly high octane with plenty of skirmishes outside and in the park.

There was a mural on a wall near the park ‘general smith’ or something of that nature if I remember BUT although Mark was involved in bother he wasn’t really a bad lad at all, quite the opposite really. It was the ‘scene’ back then and many lads were on the periphery because all their mates were on the periphery together

Yes, it went mam for tat for a while after

 

[IJN]

The next away swindon match turned nasty as well. Especially in the Grandstand.

I dislike Bristol Rovers, never liked the fans, don't like the ground (now) and still to this day that bleeds Irene song annoys the hell out of me.

 

[Adam]

By the way I was told few weeks ago that Joe Kinnear has advanced dementia.

I wonder if that would explain some of his odd comments in that Talksport Interview he a while back?

"Kinnear claimed to have signed Dean Holdsworth at Wimbledon for £50,000 (actually £650,000), sold Robbie Earle (retired a year after Kinnear left), signed goalkeeper Tim Krul when he was previously manager (actually signed by Graeme Souness three years prior) and has been awarded the LMA Manager of the Year award three times despite only winning the award once, he also said he'd never been sacked in his life. Kinnear claimed to have signed John Hartson on a free when he in fact paid £7.5 million for the striker. "

 

[L G]

Always been the 2 Bristol clubs for me. More so City. Cardiff also I put up there. Just a horrible set of fans.
Swindon as well ever since Mark Smith was killed. Worked for my Dad as well, so it resonates with me a tad more.

Mark was a friend of mine, we used to go fishing together on West Hoe Pier. I was at that match, sad day. All he did was trip on a curb but it shows you what a kick to the head is capable of (I was living with my Nan in Wyndham Square at the time )

I seem to remember the next match at Home Park between Argyle and Swindon was particularly high octane with plenty of skirmishes outside and in the park.

There was a mural on a wall near the park ‘general smith’ or something of that nature if I remember BUT although Mark was involved in bother he wasn’t really a bad lad at all, quite the opposite really. It was the ‘scene’ back then and many lads were on the periphery because all their mates were on the periphery together

Yes, it went mam for tat for a while after

I know what you mean.
We were all young and carefree once upon a time

 

[Fergy]

Pompey, Bristol Rovers, Exeter.