Heroes & Villains => Villa Memories => Topic started by: Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air on July 25, 2010, 06:31:01 PM
Title: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air on July 25, 2010, 06:31:01 PM
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Who else went to this ? Nasty atmosphere, poor segregation with skinheads wearing nazi armbands amongst the Villa. Outside in the streets after we had to hide round the back of somebodys house for a while.
We lost 1-0 which made it 23 years of hurt and counting. ...... and still counting !
Title: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Flamingo Lane on August 02, 2010, 12:17:00 PM
I went. Horrible.
Title: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: NatP on August 02, 2010, 08:19:08 PM
Brian Moore mentions an all-ticket crowd in his commentary. Talking to my Dad he remembers a cash turnstile on the day. He also remembers his vow never to set foot in Upton Park ever again!
Title: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: peter w on August 02, 2010, 09:03:54 PM
Wasn't there but this one of those that still sticks in my craw. Bastards.
Title: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Towser on August 03, 2010, 08:05:31 AM
I was there, worst away experience of my life
Title: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: sid1964 on August 03, 2010, 08:32:59 AM
I remember sitting at home listening on the radio - dreaming of wembley and then ......
Absolutely gutted! and I still am!
Title: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Dave Clark Five on August 05, 2010, 11:30:47 PM
It was an horrendous experience. I thought when they got that late penalty that they would calm down a bit but it went even more mental. Bad news inside and outside the ground. You had to be there to realise how grim it was.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Willie Anderson on August 09, 2010, 02:07:46 PM
I went.TBH I didn't think it was that bad at the time, it was only hearing other peoples horror stories did it dawn how lucky I'd been, but in them days I was young & full of piss & vinegar. After that penalty the red mist descended & the West Ham fans were only too happy to oblige.
I suppose I should have been scared but I was too angry to care at the time.
I know I was chasing two West Ham fans down a side street when a mate suddenly grabbed me saying they both had knives.Now wether they was running away because they thought I was a complete nutter or wether an ambush was planned I'll never know, but thanks anyhow Steve ;-).
The one story I did hear repeatedly was a few Villa were kept back in the ground & then given a police "escort" until they went through some deserted open air market when all the old bill jumped in their paddy wagons & drove away only for a couple of hundred West Ham to appear from nowhere to give the villa a good kickin'.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: ktvillan on August 09, 2010, 02:39:56 PM
I was there, segregation appeared to have gone out the window and I spent most of the match trying to avoid getting my head kicked in. The nastiest, most violent atmosphere I've ever watched a game in. And we lost to a dodgy penalty.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: cumgetus on August 13, 2010, 03:15:44 PM
o yes i remenber it well. ended up with a black eye as it kick of at half times in the loos as there was whu in there .i ended up outside with around 15 mins to go... try to get back to our coach as safe as poss.... that was other mistake as there was a few outside without tickets then got on the coach to hear on the radio they had a pen...Think everyone i know on the coach had add sum kind of bother o well maybe next year i thought >:(
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: willywombat on August 14, 2010, 05:52:11 AM
Similar story here too. One of those days where the old saying that, " You'll only find trouble if you're looking for it" was horribly wrong.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Dave Clark Five on August 30, 2010, 12:03:19 AM
I was sitting in the car in the car park behind that South Bank. There were West Ham nutters climbing over the turnstiles to get in amongst the Villa, all wearing those green flying jackets. As I was heading back to the car there was a bloke there, who I reckon was Bill Gardner, foaming at the mouth, screaming ' they are facking Villa, they want slaughtering'.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Astral Weeks on September 01, 2010, 03:07:42 PM
Alan Devonshire, the man who inexplicably used to keep Sid out of the England side.
Hmm, who was it that Greenwood used to manage?
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: TopDeck113 on September 22, 2010, 07:07:19 PM
One of my first away trips for a big game. I shat myself.
One of my teachers at school had also gone and I remember him saying the following week that seeing how some of the West Ham fans reacted to a victory by a last minute penalty, he was in some ways glad that Villa hadn't got a replay, let alone won it.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Exeter 77 on September 24, 2010, 09:27:16 PM
Still painful to watch.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Damo70 on September 29, 2010, 05:27:12 PM
As a kid in the days before Soccer Saturday and teletext I used to watch the wrestling and see the scores come up underneath on ITV, I was gutted when it said 1-0 right at the death. Ken Mcnaught handball wasn't it? Ray Stewart was the Le Tissier of the time when it came to penalties. My first Upton Park experience was a few years later and I still think it was the most intimidating away ground.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Big Dick Edwards on October 08, 2010, 10:30:14 PM
I went to that. It was a very intimidating afternoon. There should have been an inquest into that match because I saw club stewards letting West Ham fans into our end.
I avoided a kicking by good fortune that day. I remember going there again either shortly before or shortly after and not being so fortunate.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Dave Clark Five on October 11, 2010, 05:38:41 PM
I sat in a car behind the South Bank for quite a while before kick off and watched hordes of West Ham fans, clad in green flying jackets, climbing over the turnstiles with nobody making any attempt to stop them.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: pooligan on June 19, 2011, 08:47:01 AM
I was at this game with my father and brother and remember to this day how bad it was. Villa had been given the whole end and there must have been thousands of us. Was in the ground early and remember a villa fan who worked in London saying he had heard that the ICF had tickets for the Villa end and there was going to be some aggro and more.Did not take any notice untill around 2pm when suddenly in front of where i was standing a big mob of west ham started a big fight. The so called best police force in the world the Met soon calmed things but to our amazement let the west ham fans stay in the villa end for all the game. All hell was let loose when west ham got that late dodgy pen. The villa fans gave the west ham fans in our end a real good hiding but as soon as the final whistle went we had the rest of the west ham fans charging across the pitch trying to get into the villa end. Did not help that everyone was in claret and blue. The walk back to the car was one of the worst i can ever remember. Vowed never to go there again and never have.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Pat McMahon on June 19, 2011, 03:21:23 PM
Big Dick Edwards, you are right. One of the West Ham main hooligans, Bill Gardner, was either a steward or had got himself a steward's jacket for the day. He let 100+ ICF blokes in and it just kicked off all afternoon in a Vietnam style ambush. Most Villa fans who went to that game either got some aggro or a very close observation of it. Horrible.
Very rarely talked about is the revenge from Villa. West Ham played at Blues at either Easter or May bank holiday whilst we were away to Man City. We had a ridiculously small away following as loads of Villa fans were at New St waiting for ICF. And at first hand I saw the most violent, angry Villa mob I have ever seen when we played the Hammers at home in October 1981, our first encounter since that cup game. Everybody under the age of 40 seemed to go mental and a lot of West Ham fans took some very serious hidings - it really was brutal. The fighting seemed to go on for an hour and around 60 Villa fans were arrested.
Title: Re: West Ham v Villa FAC R6 1979-80
Post by: Dig the new breed on June 21, 2011, 10:14:09 PM
Been away a few years [not inside] .This is the most violent game i have been to. Got dropped off late by the coach and when asked a copper on the way in where the coaches would be he simply turned his lapel over to show a west ham badge and said " do you think i am going to f--king tell you ". Cheers mate !!