Oldham 35 years on

[bladeshater]

I did all the games we were banned

[FARMER]

Was there, and remember being totally bemused when we got back to Sheffield and people were asking about

this terrible "riot" that had happened.

 

Compared to some of the larks that went off during the 70's and then later through the 80's, it was powder puff stuff.

 

There was trouble at the start of the game where some Wednesday were in with the Oldham fans

(standard behaviour at the time).

 

Then after the sending off, lots of Wednesdayites chanting "there's gonna be a riot" and a few lobbing

bits of rubble at the coppers, who seemed to be so intimidated by the word "riot" that they stood off and left us to it. 

 

I think one kid made a half-hearted attempt at a pitch invasion, but didn't get very far.

 

I reckon if the police had gone straight in, it would have been snuffed out immediately. 

[PARMACHINE OWL]

God 35 years !! I was there and tbh I thought it was exaggerated out of proportion - a lot worse went off in those days - before the pc guys jump on me im not condoning it but it was part of that era - I went to the 4 matches we were banned - great memories

[OzOwl]

That's so true. I'd never seen Owls fans react like that at an away match and I used to go all over in those days. Even looking back at it now I still can't understand why it kicked off so badly

I was stood right behind the goal when the incident that sparked it happened, Oldham were about to take a corner when Curran brought his knee up towards Stainrod without actually making contact, Stainrod who had been getting a hard time from Wednesday fans went down like he'd been poleaxed holding his groin.

The fans actually thought Stainrod was going to get booked but instead gave Curran a straight red and the fans literally saw red, thankfully the fences were in place that day because our lot turned into rabid animals, like you say ibbo it was strange but i think it was a combination of factors and the sending off lit the fuse.

[Owl in Nottingham]

Ha ha. I was there. It wasn't half as bad as it was made out to be. Curran got sent off by a *** of a ref who was losing control of the match. Stainrod got away with murder and our fans had just had enough.

I my younger sister and my Dad were with me that day. We didn't feel intimidated. It did seem bad that our fans were lobbing concrete chunks around but we had all been ripped off paying money to stand on what was virtually a tip of rubble.

Anyway after that we sat in the South Stand for the Hillsborough matches and I was amazed how fast Geoff Johnson was when you saw him at close quarters. So something good came out of the whole episode. 

[Ibbo48]

I was stood right behind the goal when the incident that sparked it happened, Oldham were about to take a corner when Curran brought his knee up towards Stainrod without actually making contact, Stainrod who had been getting a hard time from Wednesday fans went down like he'd been poleaxed holding his groin.

The fans actually thought Stainrod was going to get booked but instead gave Curran a straight red and the fans literally saw red, thankfully the fences were in place that day because our lot turned into rabid animals, like you say ibbo it was strange but i think it was a combination of factors and the sending off lit the fuse.

Thanks Oz that's as I remember it.

It was quite a surreal atmosphere because I'd never known us react to an on field situation like that.

Yes of course we all remember the odd ruck on the terraces and outside grounds which was par for the course in those days.

Quite unique to have a match stopped for 30 mins like that no matter which way you look at it

[SPRINGS]

Something & Nowt to be honest.

As the above poster says it was powder puff

Portsmouth away was cracking

I was 19

The chants of were not here were funny at the time ! Swansea I think can't arsed to Google it

UTO

[brian joicey]

i was there , we were the first coach to arrive and the place was empty so we decided (the first and only time i've ever done this) to go on their kop (after all it was only oldham!). there were about 10 of us stood in a corner when it started filling up, then we heard some wednesday chants around us so we (thinking there would be loads of owls on there) joined in. turned out there weren't that many and we took a bit of a beating before being led round the pitch to our end behind the goal (as if they'd do that nowadays!!!). so,for me ,that was a scene setter for what was about to unfold !!!  stainrod conned the ref and got TC sent off , cue the mayhem. the owls fans turned into an angry mob seeking justice, the place was a demolotion site in progress so the wednesday fans merely helped the process!!! stones and bits of wood reigned from all over the place - it was carnage!! 

looking back as a 50-odd year old now it was something i hope i never have to witness again and something i can't help but regret that i had a hand in (maybe our little cameo at the start set the tone ??? who knows???) 

[PARMACHINE OWL]

Something & Nowt to be honest.

As the above poster says it was powder puff

Portsmouth away was cracking

I was 19

The chants of were not here were funny at the time ! Swansea I think can't arsed to Google it

UTO

Swansea was awesome - we landed at 1030 turned out of boozer at 1445 started chanting you`ll never ban the wednesday and continued it through the game - if I remember when we scored im sure some of the players ran up to where we were in middle of their stand ? 19 as well ! happy days

[brian joicey]

 

Was there, and remember being totally bemused when we got back to Sheffield and people were asking about

this terrible "riot" that had happened.

 

Compared to some of the larks that went off during the 70's and then later through the 80's, it was powder puff stuff.

 

***** >>>>>There was trouble at the start of the game where some Wednesday were in with the Oldham fans

(standard behaviour at the time).<<<< *****

 

Then after the sending off, lots of Wednesdayites chanting "there's gonna be a riot" and a few lobbing

bits of rubble at the coppers, who seemed to be so intimidated by the word "riot" that they stood off and left us to it. 

 

I think one kid made a half-hearted attempt at a pitch invasion, but didn't get very far.

 

I reckon if the police had gone straight in, it would have been snuffed out immediately. 

 

didn't read this post earlier but i was one of those on their end ! 

[wakefieldowl]

I was there too, in that stand along the side (the one that's just been rebuilt...eventually). We were in with Oldham fans but that was par for the course really.

It's strange how people remember it so differently. I can't remember it being much, compared to a lot that you saw week in week out back then.

I can remember that fracas on their kop beforehand tho

And afterwards wednesdayites running smock behind their kop.......

Remember though.....hooliganism isn't wednesdayism

[EL CID]

We got in early and went on their end , as others have said it was almost the done thing then , it kicked off and we got took round to our end (now days you would be ejected or arrested for that ).

I will always remember there was a snack bar to our right that got ransacked and somebody set fire to a plastic bread tray and launched it at some oldham fans.

We were at the bottom of the Terrace, the Police tried to gain entry through a gate to gain control but only a couple managed to get through, the gate was shut behind them and they took a bit of a beating before being rescued.

After that a Sargent came and ordered a Dog handler to send his Dog in , but he refused saying " They will kill him"

A bad day all round , Football has changed beyond belief , places like Grimsby you'd be spread eagled against a Wall and frisked before you were let in.

[dumboldowl]

Curran scored in his first game back after his ban and dropped to his knees in front of an empty Kop to salute an invisible crowd.

[FARMER]

Unless my memory is playing tricks on me, I'm pretty sure the "riot" chant was 

prompted by something more genuinely riot-ish that'd gone off a few weeks before.

Involving some rather naughtier hooligans than those that follow SWFC...

 

At Oldham, it was almost like nobody could believe the police were so intimidated.

 

So we just carried on because they let us.

 

As pointed out by others, the ref was a complete tugger.

 

If he'd not stopped the match, there's no way the incident would have caused the furore it did.

[FARMER]

nothing good came out of that day it was a disgrace.i was there and saw concrete chunks falling short of hitting the police and hitting our own fans at the front.i saw police dogs getting kicked to death on the pitch and i felt horrible.so i would rethink your post again sunshine.

 

"police dogs getting kicked to death"?????  

 

Are you sure about that..?

[lanzaroteowl]

Can't remember any police dogs being kicked to death.

I'm pretty sure that would have stuck in my mind.

[lanzaroteowl]

Brother in law got bit by one, but I'm pretty sure it survived!

[FARMER]

Brother in law got bit by one, but I'm pretty sure it survived!

 

Haha! I reckon getting rabies off an unwashed hoolie would be the biggest threat to a police dog back then!

 

I went to a lot of football in the 70's and 80's, and I've been round dogs all my life.

 

Anybody who got close enough to a police dog to kick it was going to get his arse bitten.

 

Possibly badly!

[bigthinrob]

I remember 1 dog being let loose into the Wednesday end and it got 'returned' from whence it came pretty rapidly.

 

It got so out of hand, big Jack came on to remonstrate with the Wednesday fans and even he got short shrift and was forced to give up. Was just one of those days where everyone there basically lost it.

 

PS according to some of the 'experts' who posted on the recent 'Preston Yobs' thread, this sort of thing never happened. Ditto, the Leeds match at Hillsborough from 1969. 

[Jennz]

 

Was there, and remember being totally bemused when we got back to Sheffield and people were asking about

this terrible "riot" that had happened.

 

Compared to some of the larks that went off during the 70's and then later through the 80's, it was powder puff stuff.

 

There was trouble at the start of the game where some Wednesday were in with the Oldham fans

(standard behaviour at the time).

 

Then after the sending off, lots of Wednesdayites chanting "there's gonna be a riot" and a few lobbing

bits of rubble at the coppers, who seemed to be so intimidated by the word "riot" that they stood off and left us to it. 

 

I think one kid made a half-hearted attempt at a pitch invasion, but didn't get very far.

 

I reckon if the police had gone straight in, it would have been snuffed out immediately. 

 

 

 

Exactly this...there was some bad stuff by a minority of people but no way was it as bad as reported...had there not been a half hour break in the game it would have passed over like most incidents did in the eighties, the coppers should have been straight on it & it would have broken up just like a million other times...for some reason they just stood there in a line as if to say come on, throw all that rubbish that's been left around & see if you can hit us, there wasn't hundreds lobbing stuff there was thirty or forty at most, some were getting stuck into theirs down the side & there were other flare ups around the place...I left the game like I'd left many other away games back then only to find on arrival back in Sheffield that I'd attended world war three instead...total over the top reaction & total over the top punishment of the club...still it was fun being at games we shouldn't have been at.