Tales of The Spion Kop (1 Viewer)

TrueSkyBlueLiam · Mar 15, 2016

Bit of a random Cooks Question this week. Yesterday i was going through my collection of CCFC Season Reviews (still looking for a few, give us a shout if you can part with any) and i stumbled across the 1992/93 campaign, the final season of the famous Spion Kop, which would be demolished after the 3-3 draw with Leeds. Obviously i never got to stand in the Kop as it was knocked down 2 years before i was born, so for this week's Cooks Question, i'd like you to share your stories of the Spion Kop. Your views on the kop, your feelings when it was gone, the view, the atmosphere, memorable times ont he kop, anything you'd like to say, let me know and i'll read out as many as i can on this week's episode of Sports Louneg (Thursday, 10am til noon, 98.6 Hillz FM, www.hillzfm.co.uk and www.mixcloud.com/liamcook)

RegTheDonk · Mar 15, 2016

Went in there once. Got soaked. Went back to the west end.

I guess that makes me a softie.

kg82 · Mar 15, 2016

Started going about 91-92... First match was vs Luton. I was a keeper and my dad said "watch this fella" (referring to Alec Chamberlain in the Luton goal). We won 5-0! Probably why I never made pro!

steveo1987 · Mar 15, 2016

Standing in the crows nest.What an experience.We moved in time when I started going on my own with mates. We used to stand alongside the fencing just down from the old scoreboard that separated the away fans.Walking down the steps at the back of the kop at the end of the game was treacherous as the gents loo used to overflow...not nice

ceetee · Mar 15, 2016

Not living in Cov didn't actually go regularly but when we did we went in Kop end. Remember George Kirby's debut and JH ridng his horse. Also remember that pitch sloped up towards RH corner at Kop end and at some time it was levelled.

Steve.B50 · Mar 15, 2016

It was a bit of strange place, if you went up towards the Crows Nest and stood in the wrong place some big hairy arsed bloke would ask you to move as that was his spot. People always seemed to be in exactly the same place every week. You would always see Dads going in and carry stools or old beer crates so there kids could stand on them (would never get away with that now).
I always remembered the little blue disabled cars that used o be on pitch side at front of the Spion Kop, they used to drive round pitch to get there.
My wife and her Dad stood there most games when she was a child till it was demolished.

steveo1987 · Mar 15, 2016

Steve.B50 said:
It was a bit of strange place, if you went up towards the Crows Nest and stood in the wrong place some big hairy arsed bloke would ask you to move as that was his spot. People always seemed to be in exactly the same place every week. You would always see Dads going in and carry stools or old beer crates so there kids could stand on them (would never get away with that now).
I always remembered the little blue disabled cars that used o be on pitch side at front of the Spion Kop, they used to drive round pitch to get there.
My wife and her Dad stood there most games when she was a child till it was demolished.

My dad used to have a delivery from Watneys on Fridays.A party four and a Party seven and ice cream soda for us kids.We got to take the empty corona bottles to the out bar of the Binley hotel as a treat to buy chocolate and the wooden Watneys beer crate was what I stood on to see the match.

matesx · Mar 15, 2016

How things have changed.

My 13 year old lad has only ever know the modern and smart Ricoh Arena.

When i tell him about HR having broken bottles cemented into the mortar above the turnstiles he cant believe it.

And that on passing through the turnstile on the walk up to the crows nest you had to walk by overgrown bushes and weeds INSIDE the stadium with piss flowing downhill at you he thinks im winding him up!

ah they were the days.... pint in the Mercers a 1 minute walk to said turnstile.

steveo1987 · Mar 15, 2016

matesx said:
How things have changed.

My 13 year old lad has only ever know the modern and smart Ricoh Arena.

When i tell him about HR having broken bottles cemented into the mortar above the turnstiles he cant believe it.

And that on passing through the turnstile on the walk up to the crows nest you had to walk by overgrown bushes and weeds INSIDE the stadium with piss flowing downhill at you he thinks im winding him up!

ah they were the days.... pint in the Mercers a 1 minute walk to said turnstile.

The stench from the river of piss was terrible

Malaka · Mar 15, 2016

I remember freezing my Kahoonas off watching Coventry beat Bolton in the third round of the FA cup 86/87. It was snowing

steveo1987 · Mar 15, 2016

Same as.Remember that

Grendel · Mar 15, 2016

Didn't he just vanish from this forum when the club left sixfields?

skyblueinBaku · Mar 15, 2016

Grendel said:
Didn't he just vanish from this forum when the club left sixfields?

Who? Is this relevant to the Kop?

Broken Hearted Sky Blue · Mar 15, 2016

skyblueindorset said:
Who? Is this relevant to the Kop?

You fell for it

Paxman II · Mar 15, 2016

As a young lad maybe 10/12 I went in often at half time, when they would open the gates and you can get in free. The Kop was really atmospheric but was high up and you needed to be nearer the front for a view. The toilet block just behind the old scoreboard was by today's standards a disgrace and smelly as hell...no one ever washed their hands! Being lifted off my feet and finding myself a dozen levels further down as the crowed swayed to the action was frightening. I had to climb onto the separation bars and sit, balanced for what seemed like an eternity to get a view. Everybody smoked, drank beer by the pint glass. health and safety would simply shut it down today. Somehow though it was exciting and nearly everyone concentrated on the match before them for 90 minutes unlike today's mobile phone addicted fans. it's where I saw the likes of George Curtis, Ernie Hunt, Ronnie Rees and a player we could do with today Ernie Machin.

skyblueinBaku · Mar 15, 2016

Broken Hearted Sky Blue said:
You fell for it

Fell for what, BHSB?

Broken Hearted Sky Blue · Mar 15, 2016

skyblueindorset said:
Fell for what, BHSB?

He's been waiting for ages for someone to ask who. Either that or he's posted on the wrong thread

Broken Hearted Sky Blue · Mar 15, 2016

skyblueindorset said:
Fell for what, BHSB?

Chipfat · Mar 15, 2016

Watching Roger Van Gool and thinking how bad is he, after coming to the club with big reputation.

Then Clive Allen Palace goal that never was in 80, due to the ball hitting the stantion and bouncing out?

Lastly, first time i seen Gazzo Oct 87, he was so good with the ball, all around didn't even know who he was but he killed us that day, one of the best performances i ve seen at HR by a player.

Colin Steins Smile · Mar 15, 2016

My first game was in the 66-7 season. I used to take a small wood box to stand on just behind a barrier [remember those?]. Whenever, we scored I would end up pinned to the barrier, gasping for breath....but it was worth it. The tea room at the back of the kop managed to serve everyone 10x faster than the high tech muppets at the Ricoh. The stairs up to the Kop was okay pre-match, but on the way out...a bit challenging, especially after seeing the Ibrox disaster on the news.

Some great memories.....seeing Ernie Hunt chip Tony Waiters from the centre circle and the pained look on Waiters face as he dived back towards the goal. Stein and Cross causing havoc and the reception Tommy Hutchison got whenever her came to take a corner.

skyblueinBaku · Mar 15, 2016

Broken Hearted Sky Blue said:
Either that or he's posted on the wrong thread

I find that difficult to believe, BHSB. I get the impression that he never makes mistakes.

torchomatic · Mar 15, 2016

We flitted between the west end and the kop and I used to love standing on there. One that sticks out for me is the Chelsea game. It pissed it down but I think we won three-nil. For some reason I have a feeling it was the same day that the Grand National was called off due to some IRA bomb threat. Happy days.

torchomatic · Mar 15, 2016

I remember the white wall too.

Steve.B50 said:
It was a bit of strange place, if you went up towards the Crows Nest and stood in the wrong place some big hairy arsed bloke would ask you to move as that was his spot. People always seemed to be in exactly the same place every week. You would always see Dads going in and carry stools or old beer crates so there kids could stand on them (would never get away with that now).
I always remembered the little blue disabled cars that used o be on pitch side at front of the Spion Kop, they used to drive round pitch to get there.
My wife and her Dad stood there most games when she was a child till it was demolished.

bringbackrattles · Mar 15, 2016

When Jimmy Hill took over was the time I started going to matches as a kid with my dad,and we always went on the Spion Kop with us kids down the front.That was the era of rattles and the Beatles and before games the tannoy would blast out songs by the Fab Four,and we'd click our rattles and bang the wall,while the adults behind us would be smoking away on their fags and on the Christmas fixture the strong smell of cigar smoke would be wafting around the Kop.As we had great teams at that time and were winning promotions,the atmosphere on the Kop was brilliant,and to watch the Hud banging in the goals,the great wing play of Rees and Humphries,and stood behind the goal watching the goalkeeping skills of Bill Glazier,it was a privilege to be there amongst a sea of Sky Blue.
That to me was the best time to be stood on the Spion Kop as it has such fantastic memories for me.

stevefloyd · Mar 15, 2016

Remember standing there watching the willie carr ernie hunt flipper and going to a midweek match v dirty leeds sitting on the toilet wall to be able to see then goibg with my auntie to complain that she couldnt see but they took us thro the tunnel just as the players were coming out and i slapped willie carr on the back... happy days

eastwoodsdustman · Mar 15, 2016

torchomatic said:
We flitted between the west end and the kop and I used to love standing on there. One that sticks out for me is the Chelsea game. It pissed it down but I think we won three-nil. For some reason I have a feeling it was the same day that the Grand National was called off due to some IRA bomb threat. Happy days.

Must be mistaken there. I went to the National that weekend and we played Liverpool at Anfield on the Sunday. We won 2-1 with Dublin scoring right near the end.

rupert_bear · Mar 15, 2016

rupert_bear said:
In the JH days we would go in the Kop when the turnstiles opened at about 1.30 and make for the perimeter wall or you wouldn't see a lot, entertain ourselves for an hour and a half. As for toilets you didn't bother no way would you get your spot back if you moved, just had to tie a knot in it !

the rumpo kid · Mar 15, 2016

stevefloyd said:
Remember standing there watching the willie carr ernie hunt flipper and going to a midweek match v dirty leeds sitting on the toilet wall to be able to see then goibg with my auntie to complain that she couldnt see but they took us thro the tunnel just as the players were coming out and i slapped willie carr on the back... happy days

if its the same game , I would say 69 or 70, I remember my feet not touching the ground from about the mercers arms until I was inside the ground, the being passed over head to the front where the boys paddock was, sure there was about 40,000 that night.
Also remember, on other occasions going under the crows nest amongst the piss and crap looking for dropped money , and by the way what a fire hazard that was, paper and crap everywhere and people dropping fag ends down on it, if it wer'nt for the piss soaking it all I would have surely gone up. (the leeds game )

hutch1972 · Mar 15, 2016

the rumpo kid said:
if its the same game , I would say 69 or 70, I remember my feet not touching the ground from about the mercers arms until I was inside the ground, the being passed over head to the front where the boys paddock was, sure there was about 40,000 that night.
Also remember, on other occasions going under the crows nest amongst the piss and crap looking for dropped money , and by the way what a fire hazard that was, paper and crap everywhere and people dropping fag ends down on it, if it wer'nt for the piss soaking it all I would have surely gone up. (the leeds game )

I remember on one august game in the mid to late 70s , possibly v man u the bushes and rubbish under the crows nest did set on fire. My uncle was amongst the people who set about extinguishing it while everyone else carried on watching the game. The games stopped for nothing in them days .

Sky Blue Harry H · Mar 15, 2016

A couple of memories for me were against Everton (IIRC) when a mass snowball fight broke out between the City fans and the Everton fans (IIRC) who were 'caged' in the section of the Spion Kop nearest the main stand. Until I remembered that, I had forgotten that they put the away fans in that bit for a while!

The second was against Leeds in the last ever game the old kop was open(somebody will now correct me!). My;mate' who was a 6' 4" yoof and a bit of a loose cannon was at his last City match for a while before moving to Holland (closer to dad and wacky baccy'). He took great exception to Leeds fans giving it large on the Kop and launched into a group of them (I hid behind an old lady) and then being sought by the old bill, proceeded to change clothes with whoever he could to avoid detection. Not condoning his behaviour, but made me chuckle looking back on it. Whatever happened to you Jase?

TrueSkyBlueLiam · Mar 17, 2016

Anymore answers lads? Show will be kicking off at 10am

Moff · Mar 17, 2016

matesx said:
How things have changed.

My 13 year old lad has only ever know the modern and smart Ricoh Arena.

When i tell him about HR having broken bottles cemented into the mortar above the turnstiles he cant believe it.

And that on passing through the turnstile on the walk up to the crows nest you had to walk by overgrown bushes and weeds INSIDE the stadium with piss flowing downhill at you he thinks im winding him up!

ah they were the days.... pint in the Mercers a 1 minute walk to said turnstile.

Brilliant matesx, I had forgotten about them, I couldnt belive it the first time i saw them. Health and Safety would have a field day if we had them now.

Greta place to watch in good weather, awful in the rain.

I was sad to see the Kop go, but thought the East Stand that replaced it was a fairly good stand.

Monkeyface · Mar 17, 2016

Dragged my brother to his first and only game against Palace, circa 89/90. We stood at the front of the Kop and got soaked. We won 3-1 and remember looking at my brother near end, buzzing because we were playing so well and he just had a look that couldn't understand why everyone was so happy. I knew then je would never come back!

Another nice memory is Kilker taking a penalty against Wimbledon which was saved (Han Seagers?), only for him to volley it straight back into the net.

Shit I could go on forever... Steve Livingston scoring four against Sunderland. Beating Forest 5-4 in the League Cup. West Ham getting relegated at the end of 91-92 season, I seem to remember loads of their fans on pitch and thinking they were gonna go mental, but instead they just clapped our fans!

Terry Gibson's perm · Mar 17, 2016

There is picture of me as a youngster on the kop in the background behind the sign that says Speedie is God, didn't enjoy it on the kop had to get to the ground to early to get a decent position and in my mid to late teens it wasted good drinking time

chiefdave · Mar 17, 2016

Moff said:
I was sad to see the Kop go, but thought the East Stand that replaced it was a fairly good stand.

Same here. If we'd be able to build similar new stands to the East Stand on the other 3 sides of the ground we would have had no need to move and could have done it over a number of years avoiding the need for a huge outlay.

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