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Author Topic: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.  (Read 12058 times)

Offline wittonwarrior

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #15 on: October 20, 2019, 08:58:26 PM »
Anyone who was in the crush getting into the Swindon game in 1988 could be forgiven for thinking we had taken 20,000 fans. If I remember right there was also a big crush at Portman Road for our first game of the season.

with most of us on blag tickets

Offline Richard E

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #16 on: October 20, 2019, 09:00:23 PM »
The Swindon end was half empty as well.

Offline AlexAlexCropley

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #17 on: October 22, 2019, 03:16:18 PM »
Went to Blackpool on the special with my old man.Fantastic.Old Trafford 88/89 was special.
Molineux 76/77 we had the South Bank; don't know how many but must have been around 20k.

Offline PeterWithesShin

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #18 on: October 22, 2019, 03:19:26 PM »
From what i've read over the years i'd guess that for a league game it's between Highbury and Meadow Lane as even those that go for the more conservative estimates tend to have those at 20,000+

Offline ez

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #19 on: October 22, 2019, 05:39:20 PM »
It would be interesting to know how many we took to blues during the 70s. On the old film footage of the games we seem to have both ends of the ground.

Offline wittonwarrior

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #20 on: October 22, 2019, 05:48:24 PM »
Ez I would say the bank holiday game (3-2 loss) in 76 was the biggest turn out, not only did we have the Tilton which was packed but also that corner stand at the other end of the ground. would say up to 15,000 and  I am trying to keep this realistic.

Molineux - from what I remember and it was years ago we didn't feel the pen.  I think possibly the night game the season after they had to win to stay up and we had to win to have a chance of UEFA cup place we may have had more.

I will still maintain that Highbury was the biggest away support outside semi and finals


Offline sid1964

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #21 on: October 23, 2019, 08:26:06 AM »
Blues away boxing day 82, and Wolves away the year we won the league! obviously Highbury was the ultimate away following for me.

Offline OzVilla

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #22 on: October 23, 2019, 09:34:58 AM »
Please don’t mention Boxing Day 82. I was in the railway end which in those days was mainly used by away fans. Horrible experience.

Offline AlexAlexCropley

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #23 on: October 23, 2019, 11:28:41 AM »
Went to Blackpool on the special with my old man.Fantastic.Old Trafford 88/89 was special.
Molineux 76/77 we had the South Bank; don't know how many but must have been around 20k.
Just checked.The match at Wolves was 23 Sept 1975-a Tuesday night match and I'm sure we had the whole South Bank which held over 25k back then.Newly promoted,and we hadn't played them for 10 years!

Online Flamingo Lane

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #24 on: October 23, 2019, 12:05:18 PM »
Went to Blackpool on the special with my old man.Fantastic.Old Trafford 88/89 was special.
Molineux 76/77 we had the South Bank; don't know how many but must have been around 20k.
Just checked.The match at Wolves was 23 Sept 1975-a Tuesday night match and I'm sure we had the whole South Bank which held over 25k back then.Newly promoted,and we hadn't played them for 10 years!

I was at that Wolves game in 1975, stood on the South Bank, which was completely unsegregated at that time, and my recollection was about 50/50 Wolves/Villa.  The attendance at the game was 33,000.

Offline AlexAlexCropley

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #25 on: October 23, 2019, 12:29:21 PM »
Went to Blackpool on the special with my old man.Fantastic.Old Trafford 88/89 was special.
Molineux 76/77 we had the South Bank; don't know how many but must have been around 20k.
Just checked.The match at Wolves was 23 Sept 1975-a Tuesday night match and I'm sure we had the whole South Bank which held over 25k back then.Newly promoted,and we hadn't played them for 10 years!

I was at that Wolves game in 1975, stood on the South Bank, which was completely unsegregated at that time, and my recollection was about 50/50 Wolves/Villa.  The attendance at the game was 33,000.
Interesting to note Wolves drew a "gate " of just over 13,000 for the visit of Boro that season. So perfectly feasible for us to have +20,000. The Wolves fans from my memory were in the North Bank.

Offline PeterWithesShin

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #26 on: October 23, 2019, 01:34:39 PM »
The only way that works though is if less Wolves fans turned up to watch them play us than did to watch them play Boro which is highly unlikely.

Offline Pat McMahon

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #27 on: October 23, 2019, 02:12:46 PM »
Given the original criteria in the thread title I would also plump for Arsenal in 1981 and Blues in 1975-76, where we had the whole of the Tilton and a good number of fans in the unsegregated Railway End. I think there were 46k there that day.

The oft overlooked large away following, except by witton warrior above, was the League cup 2nd replay v Palace at Highfield rd. I think there was a gate of 25k - which was higher than Coventry's average home attendance - and Palace probably had a couple of thousand fans maximum.

Offline Damo70

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #28 on: October 23, 2019, 04:56:04 PM »
Blues away boxing day 82, and Wolves away the year we won the league! obviously Highbury was the ultimate away following for me.

Boxing Day 1982 was a toxic atmosphere. We were behind the goal opposite the railway end. Noel Blake got loads of "Villa reject" chants and stick from the Villa fans and then scored and gave us the V sign. There was a big picture of him doing it in the Evening Mail the next day alongside the headline 'Rejects Revenge". Jimmy Rimmer was dropped and never played for us again after that game. I think Blake got the first goal and Handysides got the third but for the life of me I can't recall who their other goalscorer was that day.

Offline thick_mike

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Re: Largest away following with the Villa - non Wembley.
« Reply #29 on: October 23, 2019, 05:26:38 PM »
As a left field option, what about QPR away in 1993? Not the biggest away following in terms of numbers, but must be up there with the greatest villa proportion of an away ground. I remember chants of BFRC&BA coming from all stands during that game. I was in a home stand and everyone around me was villa.

 


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