Villa v Rangers 1976 - reaction

[Sunny Villa]

Ill try and give some info on this game as I remember it, from a kind of inside view
At around 10 is in the morning the club was informed by the police that around 10,000 + Rangers fans had travelled over night to B/ham and were hanging around the ground and surrounding streets.
The club opened the doors on their request, and they went into the Holte.

That got the main group off the streets, in town it was lively and some pubs closed as did most around the ground

When Villa fans turned up and tried to take their place in the Holte, they where given a hard time to put it mild

Villa went onto the then open Witton end

There was many fights on the Holte soon after Villa scored, as bottles were being thrown from the back but not reaching the pitch, but hitting their own fans, there were many Rangers fans getting first aid for head wounds

The then minister of sport Denis Howell was at the game, being based in the midlands he often enjoyed the freeby.

There were a few minor pitch invasions but after Villa's second goal a huge invasion happened and the game was abandened

Yes an Irish. flag was seen a few times and a Rangers Director talking with Howell tried to blame that on the trouble, as you can imagine the Rangers people would have been quite embarressed, and needed a scapgoat, bottm line is that was going to happen irrespective of what flags were on display.

the official numbers were 1400 Rangers there, made up with around 10,000 from Scotland, and Corby being the most talked about largest english group

For the record the town was lively again in the night and the locals had one or two scores to settle

[Dharmendra Actor]

The Scotch  were boozing up town that day and smashed up a pub cos they band playing in their couldn't play any Status Quo.

[wittonwarrior]

I wasn't allowed to go - my mum had had enough of me that season what with Man City away coming home with a shiner and getting involved the week before at Witton Station against the Mancs (Manure)

[Paul T]

Went in the Holte to start & we carried on walking to The Witton End.

After the game this woman runs up to my mate & myself with a crying young boy & dumped him om us, luckily we found a couple of policemen to take him off our hands.