[Archived] BIGGEST AWAY FOLLOWING EVER AT EWOOD ?

[Ozz]

No. But strangely I can remember the day very clearly, more than usual.

[forumquizmaster]

It was Boro's highest crowd for 20 odd years at the time. All seats full in that end and we had to stand on the steps at the back as loads of others did, prob over capacity lol I remember Don Mackay saying the following was more than half our home crowd at the time. Also remember them smashing down the big tin fence on the way out then jumping through ! Madness outside.

Anyone remember Notts County away in cup about 91 ish ? Weren't we set to take 7 thousand plus but it got cancelled and put back to midweek. We still took about 5k though. Had all the end and a side enclosure and some seats i think.

If I remember rightly Garns scored the first goal they'd conceded in about 12 games or so. Pallister played centre half. Oh, and wasn't that the day the Boro lot threw a toilet over the wall and into our end while we were locked in for 15 minutes after the game? A lad from Darwen lost a testicle that day, he got that much of a kicking - they dragged him out of a minibus at a set of traffic lights.

[Jock]

If I remember rightly Garns scored the first goal they'd conceded in about 12 games or so. Pallister played centre half. Oh, and wasn't that the day the Boro lot threw a toilet over the wall and into our end while we were locked in for 15 minutes after the game? A lad from Darwen lost a testicle that day, he got that much of a kicking - they dragged him out of a minibus at a set of traffic lights.

Thats made everyone wince on here.

Thats the most scared ive been at a match that day. Bradford was abit hairy also.

[chris_h]

My first experience of a Dingle derby was in 77. I went to the game with my mate, his Dad and mate's cousin who was an older lad and a Dingle. We had a Rovers scarf out of one side of the car and a Burnley scarf out of the other. As we passed the Hapton Inn one of the hundreds of Rovers fans on the car park tried to snatch the Dingle scarf. "just wait till we get to Burnley centre" said the irate cousin. On arrival in Burnley the place was over run with Rovers fans, some wearing huge blue and white "Ecky thump" hats, others shouting abuse from Edgar Pickering Transit vans.

I remember walking down the side of the cricket club and being able to see into the Longside - it was a seething mass of blue and white. We were in the Cricket field stand which was about 60/40 in favour of Rovers support. Throughout the game there was a procession of Rovers fans being escorted around the pitch from the Bee Hole End. I think there were 26,000 on that day, at least half of which were Rovers fans.

The Park End at Everton in '86 was a bit dodgy. A view of the players ankles through a fence whilst being regularly lifted from my feet with my arms pinned to my sides! All that and the PA guy telling Rovers fans to move forward to let more in! Stoke was crazy and the end of that incredible unbeaten run, 10,000 plus Rovers fans at the Victoria Ground? Coaches from pubs and factories - great days!

What about long distance away followings? You'd have to go some to beat Plymouth when (I think) Ardiles made his debut.

[ABBEY]

If I remember rightly Garns scored the first goal they'd conceded in about 12 games or so. Pallister played centre half. Oh, and wasn't that the day the Boro lot threw a toilet over the wall and into our end while we were locked in for 15 minutes after the game? A lad from Darwen lost a testicle that day, he got that much of a kicking - they dragged him out of a minibus at a set of traffic lights.

that was near our car we saw the mini bus drive off and it was twitchy arse time getting back to the car.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

The stoke away game which saw an end to our 14 match unbeaten run saw about 5,000 Rovers travel.Another dangerous paddock with no crash barriers...lots of fighting with the Stoke fans at the final whistle in the corner!

[Jock]

Remember a group of us being taken out of the Chadderton End at Oldham and escorted to the away end. There was a rotund lad with us and the Oldham fans were singing ' humpty dumpty la la la la la la'.

We always took a massive support to Oldham.

[forumquizmaster]

The stoke away game which saw an end to our 14 match unbeaten run saw about 5,000 Rovers travel.Another dangerous paddock with no crash barriers...lots of fighting with the Stoke fans at the final whistle in the corner!

Think you might be a few games short of what that unbeaten run actually was SG194, if its the game I'm thinking of. Nine short, to be precise.

Thats made everyone wince on here.

Thats the most scared ive been at a match that day. Bradford was abit hairy also.

I'm happy to report that the 'lad' is a fifty odd year old now who I still see in the Infirmary (pub not hospital lol) before games.

that was near our car we saw the mini bus drive off and it was twitchy arse time getting back to the car.

As luck would have it the Royal Cleveland Hospital was right next to Ayresome Park, we managed to carry the lad into A & E. Bloody mental day, that.

[JAL]

The three biggest away followings from 1970's are Bolton when they went up in 77, 15k plus.

City when they went up a few years ago.

Villa in the cup just after they won the european cup around 10,000.

[tomphil]

If I remember rightly Garns scored the first goal they'd conceded in about 12 games or so. Pallister played centre half. Oh, and wasn't that the day the Boro lot threw a toilet over the wall and into our end while we were locked in for 15 minutes after the game? A lad from Darwen lost a testicle that day, he got that much of a kicking - they dragged him out of a minibus at a set of traffic lights.

That's bad. Im not ashamed to say we legged it that day when they came through the fence,i was only a skinny scrote back then but i could move . The worse thing was the police on horses coming in as everyone was trying to go the other way, miracle no one was trampled infact a miricale no one was killed that day. It was clear it wasn't the usual slap and tickle it was obvious they wanted to seriously damage people. Think im right in saying that Boro had a fair reputation on the hoolie scene back in the day! Anyway it was a big following and great atmosphere.

[old darwen blue]

Was that the match when Rovers fans were singing "who hung the monkey?" This really wound up the Boro lot. I remember one of them climbing up this fence which must have been about twenty foot high to get at the Rovers fans. When he reached the top he was literally kicked back down but it didn't stop him climbing back up again! After the game we hid our scarves to get back to the car in one piece. We then saw a couple of Police horses galloping past us to charge the Boro, I wasn't re assured at all when the same horses galloped back the other way chased by Boro fans! Not a very nice place to go in those days.

Oh and the car broke down on the Cowling Road on the way back. Had to get bus and taxi home.

The Stoke game when the unbeaten run came to an end I think we were in a long paddock down the side of the pitch if memory serves me correctly. The Stoke fans above us spent the whole game spitting and throwing things down at us.

[ABBEY]

The stoke game pal was when a drunken mr Davis claimed the fence cos he wanted to chat to the stokies . I remember going to stoke one New Year's Day dressed in an Orville duck costume .

[Ewood Spark]

Villa in the cup just after they won the european cup around 10,000.

This reminds me of a few great midweek followings that Rovers took away.

For the Villa replay we packed the then terraced paddock behind the goals. It was a night to remember as Third Division Rovers held the reigning European Champions to a 1-0 defeat. I remember being in awe of the Holte End that night, I had never seen so many people gathered in one place apart from ....

..... A year earlier ('79) we had played at Anfield against the peerless Liverpool. A relegation bound Rovers held on for 80 mins before Dalgleish broke our hearts. I was sat in the Rovers section of the Kemlyn Rd Stand and had a great view of the massed ranks of Blue and White behind the goal.

An unexpectedly large midweek following was for the '85 FA Cup 4th Round tie at Oxford. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw how many Rovers had travelled to such a remote destination ( no M40 back then).

Great memories.

[forumquizmaster]

This reminds me of a few great midweek followings that Rovers took away.

For the Villa replay we packed the then terraced paddock behind the goals. It was a night to remember as Third Division Rovers held the reigning European Champions to a 1-0 defeat. I remember being in awe of the Holte End that night, I had never seen so many people gathered in one place apart from ....

..... A year earlier ('79) we had played at Anfield against the peerless Liverpool. A relegation bound Rovers held on for 80 mins before Dalgleish broke our hearts. I was sat in the Rovers section of the Kemlyn Rd Stand and had a great view of the massed ranks of Blue and White behind the goal.

An unexpectedly large midweek following was for the '85 FA Cup 4th Round tie at Oxford. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw how many Rovers had travelled to such a remote destination ( no M40 back then).

Great memories.

I'd completely forgotten that we got some seats in that stand. There were a few Rovers on the Kop that night too - me and most of my family for a start. We kept quiet though!!!

[Lancs Rover]

I was in the Park End terrace at Everton for the Lineker game, and remember being hardly able to move all through the game. If you managed to raise your arms to clap, you found it almost impossible to get them back down by your sides again. My mate had a fag stubbed out on his chin - the fag was in another bloke's mouth at the time but neither of them could do anything about it as they were squashed together. It was great fun at the time, but thinking back we were probably not that far from being part of a disaster.

Crying laughing at that story. Lucky it wasn't stubbed out in his eye, mate.

[Ewoodbhappy]

Add Carlisle away in the early 80s to that list as well.

I went to that on Football special train. Major crush at turnstiles. Think we won 1-0 to go top. Carlisle fan died in an incident too.

[BlueMonday]

The stoke away game which saw an end to our 14 match unbeaten run saw about 5,000 Rovers travel.Another dangerous paddock with no crash barriers...lots of fighting with the Stoke fans at the final whistle in the corner!

Went to that, but had it in my head it was nearer 7000. Was near the corner where it kicked off and remember seeing Bobbies helmets flying through the air. Also remember a Hugh following away to Barnsley not long after Duncan Shearer signed, 1989? again around the 7000 mark.

[BlueMonday]

I was in the Park End terrace at Everton for the Lineker game, and remember being hardly able to move all through the game. If you managed to raise your arms to clap, you found it almost impossible to get them back down by your sides again. My mate had a fag stubbed out on his chin - the fag was in another bloke's mouth at the time but neither of them could do anything about it as they were squashed together. It was great fun at the time, but thinking back we were probably not that far from being part of a disaster.

Your right there! I remember standing in @#/? for most of that game. it was so packed you couldn't get out to go to the bog. People were just pissing where they stood. And to cap it all the windows in our double decker got smashed in and we had to drive all the way back with a howling gail blasting in. It was freezing. Happy days!

[Gav]

Anyone remember boro away ? Boxing Day?!

It were a bit of a rum do.

Remember it well, had Boro on the run after kicking the Gate through at the side, but it was a different story when they opened the gates at the end.

Lots of bburn lads went that day, will live long in the memory.

The stoke away game which saw an end to our 14 match unbeaten run saw about 5,000 Rovers travel.Another dangerous paddock with no crash barriers...lots of fighting with the Stoke fans at the final whistle in the corner!

Didn't you win the face in the crowd that day? In the Rovers prog? Or was that another one of our motley crew?

[JAL]

I'd completely forgotten that we got some seats in that stand. There were a few Rovers on the Kop that night too - me and most of my family for a start. We kept quiet though!!!

The only time ive ever been on the terraced kop that night with another Rover and what an experience it was, think Steve Macmananem (sp)came on as a sub to make his debut just didnt realise how big the old terraced kop was though and what noise it generated.

[Ewood Spark]

.... think Steve Macmananem (sp)came on as a sub to make his debut .....

Doubt it ... he was only 7 at the time.

[Lancs Rover]

Doubt it ... he was only 7 at the time.

That's right, Neil. Very good. Well spotted that mistake.

And I bet none of those howwible Boro and and 'Pool fans never went to grammar school either. Ewood Rifles.

[bazza]

I seem to remember that the record attendance at the "Old" Ewood was something like 53,000 ? And that was for an F.A. Cup tie against Bolton in the '50s ?

I think the biggest crowd I was on for would have been the F.A. Cup replay against Burnley in 1960, when as a young lad I was sat in front of the wall at the corner of the Riverside and Blackburn end, we must have been 10 deep in front of the wall and I was actually on the grass in the corner, the wingers taking a corner had to try and make room and shift us out of the way. I don't know how many Burnley fans there were or the official attendance, but it is still in my mind as the biggest crowd I have been in.

Off the top of my head the record attendance at Ewood was versus Bolton Wanderers in the late 1920's, just over 61,000.

1960 FA Cup 6th round replay v Bumley.

One of the very first games my dad took me to. The gate was just shy of 54,000 so I would think that a good number of our six fingered friends must have been there. Forgive my memory, I was only 10.

Did they have six fingers back then or had the evolution of that particular species not fully evolved back then?

There was no segregation then. The attendance was 52,000. So I reckon Burnley brought about 21, 000 and Rovers had 31,000. Fantastic days!

[Claytons Left Boot]

There was no segregation then. The attendance was 52,000. So I reckon Burnley brought about 21, 000 and Rovers had 31,000. Fantastic days!

There were also 10,000 locked out for that game. The photographs were in the LT some years back showing an absolute mass of people on Nuttall Street who were unable to get in.

The sixty odd thousand on for the 1920s Bolton game could have meant 20k+ away fans that day as well.

[Ewood Spark]

Crying laughing at that story. Lucky it wasn't stubbed out in his eye, mate.

That's right, Neil. Very good. Well spotted that mistake.

And I bet none of those howwible Boro and and 'Pool fans never went to grammar school either. Ewood Rifles.

St Peters?