The Old Holte End

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

[darren woolley]

I really like looking at old picture's of the holte end.

[villasjf]

Nice pictures, nice memories with Andy lochead, Chico Hamilton and Willie Anderson in the 3rd picture. I have always been a Holte Ender

[MarkM]

"The left side!"... "The left side!"

[peter w]

The top one is the Holte as I remember it. Ah, happy days. Got friends with a group of people simply because we were always standing in the same bit at the back left of centre. And there was nothing like that yampee when Villa would score. Ah, the Holte.

[usav]

When was the two tiered Witton Lane stand knocked down for the single tier piece of crap - and whose brainwave was it?

[Chris Harte]

When was the two tiered Witton Lane stand knocked down for the single tier piece of crap - and whose brainwave was it?

I didn't think the Witton had ever been two tiers before 1994. I think they changed the rounded roof for the flat one prior to the 1966 World Cup, although I could be wrong about that.

[dave.woodhall]

When was the two tiered Witton Lane stand knocked down for the single tier piece of crap - and whose brainwave was it?

It wasn't so much two-tiered as a stand with terracing at the front, as was the fashion when it was built. It was a bit tatty, and had suffered bomb damage, when it was replaced in time for the 1966 World Cup. Its replacement was as good as we could get bearing in mind the houses that lined Witton Lane and the club's financial state at the time. 

[villasjf]

The Witton stand, ah how many balls did we lose over that roof when it was hoofed? I seem to recall some of the local kids lurking in Witton lane waiting for a ball to drop off the roof.

[usav]

When was the two tiered Witton Lane stand knocked down for the single tier piece of crap - and whose brainwave was it?

It wasn't so much two-tiered as a stand with terracing at the front, as was the fashion when it was built. It was a bit tatty, and had suffered bomb damage, when it was replaced in time for the 1966 World Cup. Its replacement was as good as we could get bearing in mind the houses that lined Witton Lane and the club's financial state at the time. 

Thanks Dave. 

The replacement (single tier thing) just seemed so devoid of charachter compared to the other one, which I've only seen in photos, so could have been terrible to sit/stand in - and as you say had damage anyway.

The design and build of the current Witton Lane stand was one of the best moves Doug made on the stadium, to be fair to him.

[dave.woodhall]

It was a decent view, being close to the pitch and usually so empty you seemed in a different ground to the rest of the crowd.   

[andyaston]

I used to call the Witton Lane the Bus shelter, it looked so small compared to the other parts of the ground. I did use to look at the Ansells clock in the middle of the roof during matches especially, when we were winning by only a goal and willing it to get to 20 to 5 (back in the times of 10 minute half times and hardly any stoppage time).

[jay]

Didn't Dwight Yorke score the last goal in front of the holte ? I think the loudest i remember it was against Tranmere.

[eamonn]

I love the first photo, is that a young Peter W with a pudding-bowl haircut...
Would love to see other photos taken of the Holte in the Holte.

[tonyh]

In all my time I sat in all 3 stands but I cannot ever recall sitting in the old Witton lane stand. I have been in the Doug Ellis but just cannot recall watching any match from the Witton Lane.