32 Years tomorrow

[Jon Crofts]

My old man had gone to Villa Park the week before & queued for hours for 2 tickets on the Clock End at Highbury which he duly got.
All the talk & banter on the Clock End that day was about Bobby Sands who was in his final days of his hunger strike, I can still remember some of the jokes I heard that day!
If you were there, you'll remember the guest of Arsenal on the pitch before the game was none other than Pele, he was booed off as he never came down the Clock End for a wave to the Villa fans the talentless, flacid cocked bastard.

Oh and lets not foget a big round of applause for Bosco Jankovic of Middlesborough, without whom this may not have been possible.  Cheers Bosco.

[Duncan Shaw]

What a season, what memories, the first year I had a season ticket!  Didn't get to many away as I was 12/13 and my Aunty used to take me down (God rest her soul) and wasn't at Highbury, but rremeber being glued to the radio in Mum's back garden.
Liverpool at home, when Dennis burst through for the 2nd was undoubtably the moment when I thought "We are going to win the league"
Thanks for the reminder pb....shame the kids of today don't have the hope we once had!

[amfy]

http://youtu.be/cDVpkdTLV2c

I hadn't seen this before. At first ! thought it was only on for under a minute and a half - then I realised it says 1 hour and 22 minutes. The quality is a bit dodgy in places - but the story is all there!

[Villan For Life]

Sadly Bosco Jancovich died in 1993 he was only 42.

Thanks Bosco. RIP.

[richard moore]

I was at uni in Guildford and travelled up on the day - I remember going to Euston to tag along with Villa fans to the ground and finding hardly any of them arrived by train. I then didn't know how to get to Highbury and had to rely on some young kids who were going to set me on the right bus. I shall never forget approaching the ground and seeing a pub called 'The Gunners' or some such other Arsenal-affiliated name outside of which were hordes and hordes of Villa fans stood on tables and chairs which they had evidently brought out the pub. I have never seen so many Villa fans at one away match. As I've said on here many many times, one of my best memories is going up to Brum during the preceding week to queue overnight to get a ticket for the game. I got the last train out of Euston and arrived at New Street in the early hours, walked out to VP and was about third in the queue. The other lads got a brazier going and we had bacon and egg sandwiches from a local shop for brekkie. I can still remember walking away from the ticket booth in the North Stand with my ticket held aloft in my hands and everyone cheering me. The queue by that time was all the way round VP...

[richard moore]

And to think that the long haired skinny runt who rolled that ball agonisingly past Jimmy Rimmer for one of their goals is none other than Reading's now ex Matt Lucas lookalike manager. Never been able to get my head round that...

[Simon Ward]

Coming out of Highbury and singing "Won the league,won the league".
Millions of us.
What a fantastic day.
I don`t actually remember anything about the journey home.
16 years old and pissed out of my brains.
I`ve continued to celebrate it from that day to this.

We are about the same age!
I got a ticket from a neighbour and my best mate and I got the coach from behind Walsall train station down to Highbury that day!

[PGW]

On this day Villa ran loads of coaches and they hadnt got enough stewards to run them so they asked me to look after one of them but it meant i got a free seat, would have preferred a standing tkt up Clock End but indeed a glorious day but ruined when on way home one coach breaks down on the M1........mine. Other coaches pulled over and took some of our passengers but being 'Captain' i had to stay with the ship. When finally managed to get away myself gone to collect my things including takings from Villa lottery cards......only had been nicked....i thought some 'robbing Villa bastard'.
My fears were unfounded as my coach then pulled up at whatever service station it was to be greeted by a Villa fan running toward me full of apologies, when he got opportunity to get on board another coach he just grabbed everything at hand and legged it......my faith restored.

[Dave Clark Five]

On this day Villa ran loads of coaches and they hadnt got enough stewards to run them so they asked me to look after one of them but it meant i got a free seat, would have preferred a standing tkt up Clock End but indeed a glorious day but ruined when on way home one coach breaks down on the M1........mine.

I was selected as steward for our coach but didn't get a ticket for my troubles. I think it was coach 74. Great journey up through Archway on the way back, with people jumping off and getting loads of beer in.

[Hookeysmith]

There was good / bad Karma in these 2 years

The Good

I had left school in 80 and had started to go to the odd game away with a few older mates - i said that when i had a job i would "go for the whole season and not miss a game home or away"  what a season to choose 

The Bad

The following year and 2 days before me and my Dad was due to travel to Rotterdam the house gets burgled - match tickets, coach tickets and spending money all gone
We sat at home and watched on tv and although our greatest triumph there was a feeling of hollowness as we "should" have been there

That is the reason why the League win is always my favourite 

[robbo1874]

Fucking hell- that's a terrible story. Really sorry to hear that  happened to you. Bad enough getting burgled but missing out on Rotterdam would've been gut-wrenching I would imagine. Hopefully one day we get there to the final again and you do make it.

[Chris Jameson]

My ticket only arrived on the morning of the match, my mum had arranged to go to our local sorting office at some ridiculous hour as I was getting a very early train, I returned home with a huge lump of Highbury turf and my brother had gone to Ayresome Park with a couple of his Boro supporting mates!

[dorsetvilla]

Our 3 tickets didn't arrive until the morning of the game. My friends mum who still lives about 400 metres from Villa Park had qot for tickets for us. We waited nervousdly for the postman to arrive before a mad drive from Southampton to get to Higbury. We could hardly move at the back of the clock end. What an away following!.

Funnily enough the next day I went to see Villa reserves play against Dorchester Townin a friendly. Why they were playing I don't know.

Dorset Villa

[ClaretAndBlueBlood]

There was good / bad Karma in these 2 years

The Good

I had left school in 80 and had started to go to the odd game away with a few older mates - i said that when i had a job i would "go for the whole season and not miss a game home or away"  what a season to choose 

The Bad

The following year and 2 days before me and my Dad was due to travel to Rotterdam the house gets burgled - match tickets, coach tickets and spending money all gone
We sat at home and watched on tv and although our greatest triumph there was a feeling of hollowness as we "should" have been there

That is the reason why the League win is always my favourite 

There was good / bad Karma in these 2 years

The Good

My older brother coming home the day before the Rotterdam game saying he had managed to get us match tickets, coach tickets and spending money for the game - what a great memory

The Bad

Reading Hookey's story, terrible that you missed out

[TonyD]

Anybody got any photos from the day at Highbury?