A Pompey Coincidence

[nutty nigel 7,902]

Saturday April 26th 1975 we went to Portsmouth for the penultimate game of the season. It was a glorious sunny day on the open terrace at Fratton Park. We won 3-0 with goals from McGuire, Peters and Boyer. All we needed was to hear that Villa beat Sunderland and promotion was won. We heard Villa won 2-0 and the celebrations began. There were no play-offs and we would finish 3rd promoted with Manchester United and Aston Villa.

 

 

Manchester United in the Second Division while a World Cup winner and World Cup Final goal scorer was playing and scoring for the Canaries. Times have certainly changed!

 

 

But on Monday May 2nd 2011 we return to Fratton Park for the penultimate game of the season. It won''t be sunny because the game has been moved for SKY. We won''t be on open terrace because there''s seats there now. (I believe even a roof has been added since we all got soaked on New years Day last time we went) We won''t need to find out other results because the other results will all be known. We won''t have a World Cup Winner to score goals but we have new heroes now.  And we won''t be automatically promoted if we finish 3rd but the there''s no Manchester United or Aston Villa in our way this time.

 

 

Is it possible we could once again clinch promotion at Fratton Park on the penultimate game of the season? Could we even win 3-0 with goals from Crofts, Hoolahan and Holt?

 

 

If we do are there any other old timers out there who would record their own special double from visits to Fratton Park separated by 36 years?

 

 

[Baldyboy 1]

I remember  that day too even though I was only 9 at the time!!!!

[Bungay Canary 0]

I was there that day good result . but every thing else was appalling, went by train from Diss got to Fratton central or what ever fighting started as soon as we arrived walking towards the ground some portsmouth arseholes decided to push my mate under a bus ended up in hospital with 2 broken legs .Fighting thoughout the game got on the train to go home and was bricked all the way out of pompey never been back to fratton pk since good result though

[PKC 0]

I was there Nutty - my first away game - god it was scarey but worth it in the end.

[ricardo 8,034]

I was there Nutty but I must confess to it being my only ever visit to Fratton Park.I shall be watching in comfort from my own front room this time

[nutty nigel 7,902]

[quote user="Bungay Canary"]I was there that day good result . but every thing else was appalling, went by train from Diss got to Fratton central or what ever fighting started as soon as we arrived walking towards the ground some portsmouth arseholes decided to push my mate under a bus ended up in hospital with 2 broken legs .Fighting thoughout the game got on the train to go home and was bricked all the way out of pompey never been back to fratton pk since good result though[/quote]

 

That was the other side to the day Bungay. Those Portsmouth fans were something else and they were not interested in the game. We went on Club Cabbage of the time which were those cream and maroon Mascot Coaches. When the game ended the Portsmouth fans were outside waiting for us. There was an announcement that the coaches had been moved and me and my mate got out of the ground and out of trouble but couldn''t find the buses. We recognised a pub we had passed on the way in so stayed there hoping the buses would come that way. We got lucky and waved one down returning to Norwich on a different bus to the one we went down on.

 

Don''t ever call them the good old days. On the pitch maybe but off the pitch I''m glad they''re well behind us.

 

 

[......and Smith must score. 1,599]

Yes, Nutty, that was a day and a half.......I hadn''t been in London very long and the Capital Canaries didn''t exist so went down on the train on my own. As soon as I arrived a Fratton I could see there was going to be trouble. Fratton Park was more of a dump than it is today with just one seated stand along one side, two open terraces and a covered terrace behind the goal which was the home end. For some strange reason I ended up buying a seat in the Main Stand and was glad I did. The local plod decided to lead a big group of City fans through the home end behind the goal and needless to say the Pompey fans were less than impressed. One City fan got kicked where he''d rather he hadn''t been before plod decided a retreat was the best policy. Eventually the City fans were sent to the big open terrace opposite the Main Stand and from what I remember skirmishes continued throughout the whole match.City won the match very comfortably and afterwards the atmosphere outside was very tense so instead of getting the firsrt train back to London I decided to go a little further away to safety in Southsea. There I proceeded to get totally hammered and somehow ended up at Waterloo Station sharing a bench with a tramp - that''s the male version - as I''d missed my connection back to South London.I later discovered that several of the Capital Canaries-to-be were on that first train out of Fratton which would have meant a better celebration but certainly not in terms of alcohol abuse and playing footsie all night with a pee-stained tramp.......

[TIL 1010 5,246]

[quote user="nutty nigel"]

Saturday April 26th 1975 we went to Portsmouth for the penultimate game of the season. It was a glorious sunny day on the open terrace at Fratton Park. We won 3-0 with goals from McGuire, Peters and Boyer. All we needed was to hear that Villa beat Sunderland and promotion was won. We heard Villa won 2-0 and the celebrations began. There were no play-offs and we would finish 3rd promoted with Manchester United and Aston Villa.

 

 

Manchester United in the Second Division while a World Cup winner and World Cup Final goal scorer was playing and scoring for the Canaries. Times have certainly changed!

 

 

But on Monday May 2nd 2011 we return to Fratton Park for the penultimate game of the season. It won''t be sunny because the game has been moved for SKY. We won''t be on open terrace because there''s seats there now. (I believe even a roof has been added since we all got soaked on New years Day last time we went) We won''t need to find out other results because the other results will all be known. We won''t have a World Cup Winner to score goals but we have new heroes now.  And we won''t be automatically promoted if we finish 3rd but the there''s no Manchester United or Aston Villa in our way this time.

 

 

Is it possible we could once again clinch promotion at Fratton Park on the penultimate game of the season? Could we even win 3-0 with goals from Crofts, Hoolahan and Holt?

 

 

If we do are there any other old timers out there who would record their own special double from visits to Fratton Park separated by 36 years?

 

 

[/quote]

Count me in Graham and if i remember correctly at least two of the goals were scored at the end where the City fans were.Those were the days of the special football trains as well.

[TIL 1010 5,246]

[quote user="TIL 1010"][quote user="nutty nigel"]

Saturday April 26th 1975 we went to Portsmouth for the penultimate game of the season. It was a glorious sunny day on the open terrace at Fratton Park. We won 3-0 with goals from McGuire, Peters and Boyer. All we needed was to hear that Villa beat Sunderland and promotion was won. We heard Villa won 2-0 and the celebrations began. There were no play-offs and we would finish 3rd promoted with Manchester United and Aston Villa.

 

 

Manchester United in the Second Division while a World Cup winner and World Cup Final goal scorer was playing and scoring for the Canaries. Times have certainly changed!

 

 

But on Monday May 2nd 2011 we return to Fratton Park for the penultimate game of the season. It won''t be sunny because the game has been moved for SKY. We won''t be on open terrace because there''s seats there now. (I believe even a roof has been added since we all got soaked on New years Day last time we went) We won''t need to find out other results because the other results will all be known. We won''t have a World Cup Winner to score goals but we have new heroes now.  And we won''t be automatically promoted if we finish 3rd but the there''s no Manchester United or Aston Villa in our way this time.

 

 

Is it possible we could once again clinch promotion at Fratton Park on the penultimate game of the season? Could we even win 3-0 with goals from Crofts, Hoolahan and Holt?

 

 

If we do are there any other old timers out there who would record their own special double from visits to Fratton Park separated by 36 years?

 

 

[/quote]

Count me in Graham and if i remember correctly at least two of the goals were scored at the end where the City fans were.Those were the days of the special football trains as well.

[/quote]

Count me in Nutty even[:$]

[Katie Borkins 1]

[|-)]

[ManchesterCanary 0]

I remember it well, I was eighteen at the time and though I had become

used to hooliganism and violence as a weekly occurrence this was

something else! There were thousands of City fans there and the Pompey

fans were right up for it with battles in the pubs before and after the

game and the police inexplicably letting the Pompey fans into the city

end at half time (I watched them open the gates). It was a battle for

all of half time and then some in the 2nd half, even being caught by the

Anglian TV cameras and shown on the Sunday afternoon). It did not spoil

a great result though! I hope its the same this time without the

violence...

[nutty nigel 7,902]

Well the special double is still on!

 

So if any other happy clappy old duffers who were there in 1975 and haven''t brought tickets it still may not be too late. We won''t know until we are at Portsmouth if promotion can be won that evening.

 

 

[Duncan Edwards 0]

I love reading these old accounts of days of yore. Monday will be my second trip to Pompey, following the NYD debacle when Green failed to dive the right way for a thrice taken penalty..!

I wasn''t born in ''75 so I missed what sounds like a but of a hairy trip. But there are those who will claim I was there, 18,977 that day and I seem to recall an academic defeat to Villa after...

[yellow hammer 131]

I should have been there.

My mate drove a van load of us down there and we got well-plastered on the long journey down. Except that the driver took us to Plymouth instead of Portsmouth. We spent hours wandering around wondering why there were no city fans except us. Spend the rest of the day in the pub.

Still haven''t forgiven him to this day.

[Block Y Seat 176 80]

[quote user="Bungay Canary"]I was there that day good result . but every thing else was appalling, went by train from Diss got to Fratton central or what ever fighting started as soon as we arrived walking towards the ground some portsmouth arseholes decided to push my mate under a bus ended up in hospital with 2 broken legs .Fighting thoughout the game got on the train to go home and was bricked all the way out of pompey never been back to fratton pk since good result though[/quote]

Happy Days!!

HRH

[ManchesterCanary 0]

Yellow Hammer that is priceless...

[BGG&YPOS 0]

Remember the day well, was stationed it Tidworth and travelled down with a few mates. Can''t remember the name of the put that was close to the ground, but it was run by a city fan, a load of Pompey fans walked by some banter then next thing bottles and glasses flying everywhere and at the end the pompey main stand just emptied coming across the pitch at the end. But what a day, will be repeated on Monday. OTBC

[CambridgeCanary 0]

I remember that day very well.   I was a student aged 19 and broke so I couldn''t get down to Portsmouth from Coventry so I went to Villa with some Sunderland supporting friends.

It was a strange feeling watching and wanting a Villa win especially as they were thuggish and their fans were revolting; both so even by the very low standards of 1975 but when the news came through that we had won it was fantastic.   The Villa fans invaded the pitch and taunted the Sunderland end with chants of Norwich.

It was a day I''ll never forget.

For me, that day was the start of the Norwich we know now.  We had struggled in the Frist Division before with a side so dull as to make Allardyce''s Bolton look like Barcelona but under Bond and with Peters in his prime, we went up as a freescoring attractive side playing good football.   You can tyrace a line from Lambert back to Walker, Stringer and Brown but it all begins with John Bond and that 1975 team.

Keelan, Butler, Forbes, Powell, Sullivan, McGuire, Steele, Peters, Suggett, Phil "Walks on water" Boyer and Ted "Supermac" MacDougall.

Halcyon days

[pompey yellow 0]

i was there my dad took me to that one with my cousins i hope this is a good evening for us please let us win and cardiff lose then party time for us on saturday my hotel booked for coventry game and match tickets

from pompey canary.

[nutty nigel 7,902]

Winning promotion at Portsmouth is getting boring now[|-)]

 

So who actually did the 36 year double[:^)]

 

I know we tend to look fondly at the past but.....

 

This one was the best!!!!!

 

COME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [<:o)][<:o)][<:o)][<:o)][<:o)][<:o)]