'Taking the Holte'

[WarszaVillan]

Following on from a comment on the Villa-Chelsea thread, can anyone remember being at games when away fans attempted to 'take the Holte'.

As far as I know this happened successfully once, during the Rangers friendly in the '70s. I can recall two times when away fans tried. Once against Arsenal in the early 1980s when a group of fans came into the Holte around an hour before kick off (I was only a kid and we had to get there early to book a barrier, I remember fighting breaking out around us).
Secondly, was the Chelsea game around '83, when a small group of their fans tried to enter the Holte but got pushed out.

Both times I was pretty young and stood on the left-side of the Holte and my memory may be playing tricks with me

[Fin Feds Dad]

That arsenal game was the game that they stuffed us 6 -2. 29th Oct 1983.

It was the first game that my Dad couldnt take us to as he had to work - so my Mom took me and my sister . We stood on the left of the holte at the back - above the exit. It seemed to last quite a long time but I was alot younger then !

[Pat McMahon]

For me, going down since the late 60s, the most obvious instance was when Chelsea had a couple of hundred fans up the Holte in 1979. They first came in maybe 40 mins before kick off and people scattered before grouping to have a go back, by which time the police were on top of things. They surrounded the Chelsea at the top left corner and then marched them out. Some of them must have got out because they ran a later charge about 15 minutes later. I reckon it would have been really hairy were it not for the police.

W Ham and Arsenal both came up in the late 70s, well before lkick off on each occasion, but did not get too far. Arsenal were up the back of the  Holte in the championship winning season but were gone in 10 seconds.

As well as the above a few teams, Man U in particular, had a small mob in the bottom riight of the Holte on a few occasions around 78-80 but this was because the Witton was full and they were not looking to take the Holte. I remember one year in particular when a glory hunter from school was in a small number that had  to get on top of the programme stand for safety. The front right of the Holte then became "nutters corner" and I don't recall any further mobs down there.

[nigel]

West Ham had a go in the mid-late 70's if I remember correctly.
I always got there fairly early and it was usually pretty empty when I arrived, on this occasion though there was a group of around 30 'blokes' (it was probably more) towards the back, I remember thinking it was odd.
There was a shout and they just legged it across the back, I reckon Usain Bolt would have struggled to keep up with me.

[dave.woodhall]

Every Chelsea hoolie book talks in endless detail about their 1979 incursion. They never mention that it was well before kick-off and the Holte was 3/4 empty at the time. Apart from that and Rangers there were no other serious attempts. Arsenal came up the back in 1981-82 but everyone else (usually Manchester United and Small Heath) were strictly bottom right hand corner, shout a bit and bugger off quickly.

[WarszaVillan]

The Arsenal game was definitely 81/82. As I said it was at least an hour before kick off and the Holte was half empty. We would have been a bit over half way up the Holte on the left and there were some scuffles around us with Villa fans from the back charging down.

Funny thing was that my Dad managed to persuade his friend to come with his kids for the first time. The man was from Canada and was scared about hooliganism, but my Dad said that not to worry. He never came again.

[Dave Clark Five]

Even Port Vale came in The Holte.
If you want to see some of the 'faces' from the bottom right corner, go in the Souvenir Shop. On the wall to your right, as you walk in, is a picture. I know three of them.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Rangers weren't that tough, they didn't take the Holte for the whole 90 minutes of the game.

[WarszaVillan]

Rangers weren't that tough, they didn't take the Holte for the whole 90 minutes of the game.

So what happened?

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Rangers weren't that tough, they didn't take the Holte for the whole 90 minutes of the game.

So what happened?

Dunno, I was driving up Gravelly Hill by 4.30.

[Kingthing]

I've seen Coventry chased out of the bottom right on more than one occasion.

[The Man With A Stick]

I've seen Coventry chased out of the bottom right on more than one occasion.

They tried it in 92 when Regis scored after about ten seconds.

Mark my words, they'll be back.

[tomd2103]

I've seen Coventry chased out of the bottom right on more than one occasion.

I remember one game in the early 90's against Coventry when they were facing the prospect of being relegated, as it was the final game of the season.  Their manager at the time had been in the press in the week telling their fans to buy tickets in the Villa end and I remember there was a gathering of them in the bottom right of the Holte.  I remember them booing our reserve team (might have been youth team) walking round the pitch before the start of the game and the next thing you know they were hot footing it across the pitch towards the North Stand.

I remember a similar scenario happening when Newcastle first came back up into the Premier League.  I can recall seeing one Villa fan going to town on a Newcastle fan on the floor and there being some kind of criminal proceedings happening after it. 

[Pat McMahon]

Rangers weren't that tough, they didn't take the Holte for the whole 90 minutes of the game.

So what happened?

We went 2-0 up, some Villa fans brandished an Irish tricolour to taunt Rangers, and they decided it was time to invade the pitch and come and engage the Villa fans in a debate about transubstantiation.

[willywombat]

About 50 QPR came in an hour before kick off at the front of the Holte once, would have been been about 1973 I think. They were almost immediately surrounded by police before being marched across the pitch. Small heath would always have a presence in the bottom corner behind a line of Police and then claim to have 'Taken' it