Boro v Port Vale 1986

W

Will_Graham

Well-known member
I love reading different viewpoints of the story. I remember the day but to my eternal regret I wasn't there. I had agreed to work overtime before the announcement was made. I'll never forgive Mr. Dankley for making me stick to it 😡

Boro 2-2 Port Vale
 
Strangely, I can actually remember what I was wearing that night. So if anyones got any crowd photos of a mullet haired 24 year-old wearing his girlfriends (at the time) white T-shirt with a picture of Spandau Ballet's True album cover on the front, 'tis I!
 

I was there ..... honest. Will never forget it. Archie's second wonderful left foot volley.
Boro's most important match ever. Without it non of the other great matches would never have happened!
 
I was at the game, remember the two warly goals and thinking (silly mistake) this level of football is easy...never learn
 
I was in Hartlepool for about 10am, as soon as I knew we had survived I knew I was going to make a day of it, I also knew the potential for trouble with Cardiff at Pool as well was going to be massive, so as soon as i got off the train to keep out of the way I headed off to the headland and went to a pub called the Middlesbrough😉. About 1300 I headed off back to the centre, I was going to watch Pool v Cardiff, there was little groups of Cardiff floating around all over the place and it was sporadically kicking off around the centre. I didn't feel safe.. I was in the ground for 2 pm, but not before buying a home end ticket for Tuesday night when Boro were back at Pool in the 1st Rd of the League cup and we had been only given 1100 tickets. I stood on the long terrace down the side towards what used to be the old away end. The match was quite good and think Cardiff scored first with about 40 Cardiff in home seats behind me letting the home fans know they were there, which led to a big confrontation at half time as Pools fans swapped ends and started gathering in front of the taffs, , this led to a rain of seats and dozens of Poolies spilling onto the pitch. About 5 minutes from the end pools fans at either end of the terrace ( mill bank?) started congregating around the exits, a group of about 200 Boro had turned up and where moving along the back of the terrace on the wasteland as well as police trying to move them on. Sounds like a hooligan recollection but it's not, it's how it was at the grounds in the 80's and even as young supporter you were tagged as hooligans not just by the police but by the opposition fans, and because if you did travel away you couldn't help but speak to the Joeys or even drink with them at some grounds for safety, but from 86 when our away numbers started climbing again you could find more pubs with regular Boro fans in and could keep with them but it was hairy some times.
The town centre between the Pool game and ours was just lawlessness, I had seen some Boro 'fans' smash up a jewellers front and help themselves. In the ground it was a lot more well behaved , the atmosphere really positive , there was a sprinkling of vale fans maybe 60 or 70, they had very short notice to organise their travel arrangements as well, we went 2-0 up everything was good but then before you knew it, " it's the Boro way" had reasserted itself and it was 2-2.
There was a little bit of pavement dancing after the game with the police but most people just headed back off to the train and Teesside, glad to have seen the club again.
 
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exeterboro said:
I was in Hartlepool for about 10am, as soon as I knew we had survived I knew I was going to make a day of it, I also knew the potential for trouble with Cardiff at Pool as well was going to be massive, so as soon as i got off the train to keep out of the way I headed off to the headland and went to a pub called the Middlesbrough😉. About 1300 I headed off back to the centre, I was going to watch Pool v Cardiff, there was little groups of Cardiff floating around all over the place and it was sporadically kicking off around the centre. I didn't feel safe.. I was in the ground for 2 pm, but not before buying a home end ticket for Tuesday night when Boro were back at Pool in the 1st Rd of the League cup and we had been only given 1100 tickets. I stood on the long terrace down the side towards what used to be the old away end. The match was quite good and think Cardiff scored first with about 40 Cardiff in home seats behind me letting the home fans know they were there, which led to a big confrontation at half time as Pools fans swapped ends and started gathering in front of the taffs, , this led to a rain of seats and dozens of Poolies spilling onto the pitch. About 5 minutes from the end pools fans at either end of the terrace ( mill bank?) started congregating around the exits, a group of about 200 Boro had turned up and where moving along the back of the terrace on the wasteland as well as police trying to move them on. Sounds like a hooligan recollection but it's not, it's how it was at the grounds in the 80's and even as young supporter you were tagged as hooligans not just by the police but by the opposition fans, and because if you did travel away you couldn't help but speak to the Joeys or even drink with them at some grounds for safety, but from 86 when our away numbers started climbing again you could find more pubs with regular Boro fans in and could keep with them but it was hairy some times.
The town centre between the Pool game and ours was just lawlessness, I had seen some Boro 'fans' smash up a jewellers front and help themselves. In the ground it was a lot more well behaved , the atmosphere really positive , there was a sprinkling of vale fans maybe 60 or 70, they had very short notice to organise their travel arrangements as well, we went 2-0 up everything was good but then before you knew it, " it's the Boro way" had reasserted itself and it was 2-2.
There was a little bit of pavement dancing after the game with the police but most people just headed back off to the train and Teesside, glad to have seen the club again.
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Those Cardiff fans must of been especially bonkers to have turned up that day
 
I had been to two home games against them in the preceding years, I was a Holgater prior to 86 but on one occasion you could see them trying to climb into the Boro seats from the South East corner all through the game this is when you used to have Boro fans in the east end seats there in a large block with their craze for stuffed toy animals or birds on their caps.Crazy early days off the casual scene at Boro with somes misses in the fashion stakes. Cardiff fans seemed even more crazy than our fans despite there only being about 200 on that occasion.
 
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since1970 said:
Strangely, I can actually remember what I was wearing that night. So if anyones got any crowd photos of a mullet haired 24 year-old wearing his girlfriends (at the time) white T-shirt with a picture of Spandau Ballet's True album cover on the front, 'tis I!
Click to expand...
I bet you had her panties on too
 
went with my missus at the time who hated footie ... cant remember why she came with me . we stood on the terrace opposite where the players came out
 
I was there with my best mate who had just got his first car, I was 16 and was behind Archie Stephens when he let rip with that cracking goal. We also went to the Tuesday night game against pools as well. Weirdly I never saw any trouble at all but they were great times as a Boro fan.
 
exeterboro said:
I was in Hartlepool for about 10am, as soon as I knew we had survived I knew I was going to make a day of it, I also knew the potential for trouble with Cardiff at Pool as well was going to be massive, so as soon as i got off the train to keep out of the way I headed off to the headland and went to a pub called the Middlesbrough😉. About 1300 I headed off back to the centre, I was going to watch Pool v Cardiff, there was little groups of Cardiff floating around all over the place and it was sporadically kicking off around the centre. I didn't feel safe.. I was in the ground for 2 pm, but not before buying a home end ticket for Tuesday night when Boro were back at Pool in the 1st Rd of the League cup and we had been only given 1100 tickets. I stood on the long terrace down the side towards what used to be the old away end. The match was quite good and think Cardiff scored first with about 40 Cardiff in home seats behind me letting the home fans know they were there, which led to a big confrontation at half time as Pools fans swapped ends and started gathering in front of the taffs, , this led to a rain of seats and dozens of Poolies spilling onto the pitch. About 5 minutes from the end pools fans at either end of the terrace ( mill bank?) started congregating around the exits, a group of about 200 Boro had turned up and where moving along the back of the terrace on the wasteland as well as police trying to move them on. Sounds like a hooligan recollection but it's not, it's how it was at the grounds in the 80's and even as young supporter you were tagged as hooligans not just by the police but by the opposition fans, and because if you did travel away you couldn't help but speak to the Joeys or even drink with them at some grounds for safety, but from 86 when our away numbers started climbing again you could find more pubs with regular Boro fans in and could keep with them but it was hairy some times.
The town centre between the Pool game and ours was just lawlessness, I had seen some Boro 'fans' smash up a jewellers front and help themselves. In the ground it was a lot more well behaved , the atmosphere really positive , there was a sprinkling of vale fans maybe 60 or 70, they had very short notice to organise their travel arrangements as well, we went 2-0 up everything was good but then before you knew it, " it's the Boro way" had reasserted itself and it was 2-2.
There was a little bit of pavement dancing after the game with the police but most people just headed back off to the train and Teesside, glad to have seen the club again.
Click to expand...
What time was the game actually announced? I didn't find out until lunchtime I think.
Then I caught the train straight from work in my natty three piece suit I had recently bought from Foster Menswear.
It became known as my "Relatively lucky Foster's suit (light grey, three piece)"
I wore it to every league match that season until we lost. Bloody Blackpool.
 
I'm not even sure what time it was announced, it must have been before 10pm on the Friday because I think that was the deadline, I certainly don't remember how or when they sold the Hartlepool away allocation for a few nights later, it must have happened on the Monday,
 
I went. Very rare I missed a game them days...
29,000 Boro fans there but only 5,000 on official numbers lol
 
BigUnit said:
I went. Very rare I missed a game them days...
29,000 Boro fans there but only 5,000 on official numbers lol
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Fewer than that. 3690 in the ground and there were some from Burslem. And despite the 29,000 who claim they went, honest, that was pay on the day and not a full house. It also wasn’t lower than our lowest home attendance at Ayresome Park during the 80s decline.
 
exeterboro said:
I'm not even sure what time it was announced, it must have been before 10pm on the Friday because I think that was the deadline, I certainly don't remember how or when they sold the Hartlepool away allocation for a few nights later, it must have happened on the Monday,
Click to expand...
Are you certain it was all ticket? They weren’t very often pre-Hillsborough. They just shoved you on that big open end and let everyone in regardless of safety.
 
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