How many of us NEVER saw a game at Ayresome Park?

Miss the old place, but the late 70s to late 80s the hooliganism could be awful at times and I gave some games a miss..it’s hard to tell fans today that you would literally see rival gangs attacking each other in the stands while the game was being played and the police trying to stop it.

Boro had some absolute maniacs following them in the 80s and that stopped me from going to away games, there was always a huge police present at Boro away games and the home hooligans thought you were fair game.

The Holgate in full voice was something else.
 
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The Boys' End from 23/8/58 via the Bob End to the Holgate but once on the south terrace for FA cup tie v Leicester 20/2/65 and once on the north terrace for the FA Amateur Cup final won by Crook Town 21/4/62
 
BobUpnDown said:
Wow not even a question I'd ever considered 🤣
You do forget that people born in the 2000's didn't - stand - on the terraces, breathe in the Bovril cigar infused air.. or watch the 4 shadowed players run across the lush green & glistening Ayresome Park pitch.. of a night match..
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I went to watch our Charlie (Wyke) play for Carlisle around 2015 and stood behind the goal with the home fans. I went out the back at half time for a pee and on entering the urinals the stench of pee was overwhelming. It was just like I had been transported back to the Holgate toilets in the 70's.
 
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For me when I started going with my mates about 81 ( 13 years old) Boro v Spurs (1-3), the spectacle of Hooliganism was a little thrilling and could be just a big as attraction as the football, I never got involved and didn't want to, but when i started going to to home matches regularly from the end of the 82/83 season I have to say the football was usually *****, but I was full of fervour for the Boro and going to matches no matter what was a big deal for me, the incidents outside the ground and sometimes inside could be just a big talking point amongst me and my mates , all from East Cleveland, and as it was coming into Boro was a fun day in itself for us young teenagers , not without it's dangers, sometimes lads from Boro not recognising the faces in our group meant that sometimes we got a slap before questions were asked, it worked the other way as well, whenever we played Leeds there would always be lots of of them floating about and if they heard our accents they have taken took us for fellow Leeds fans and started speaking, usually it would just go into silence as they couldn't quite work out who we were when we blanked them. I do miss AP , I think most of us on here are really sensible now, and youngsters who look at footage of AP and the other stuff must wonder if we are the same people or have have been abducted and replaced with something similar to Stepford Wife's, to any youngsters reading this we are the same but probably most of us feel relieved to not be revisiting the craziness that was football in the 80's and early 90's at AP.
 
BobUpnDown said:
Wow not even a question I'd ever considered 🤣
You do forget that people born in the 2000's didn't - stand - on the terraces, breathe in the Bovril cigar infused air.. or watch the 4 shadowed players run across the lush green & glistening Ayresome Park pitch.. of a night match..
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it wasnt cigar it was stale piiss
 
Capybara said:
So. Can anyone tell me what's the actual point of going on a thread asking if you've never seen a game at Ayresome to say that you have seen a game at Ayresome? Did none of you ever do a comprehension test?
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Stop whining and let us oldies enjoy the memories!! It's all of some of us have left after losing other abilities ( like reading) 🤣🤣
 
Mysonpat. said:
Miss the old place, but the late 70s to late 80s the hooliganism could be awful at times and I gave some games a miss..it’s hard to tell fans today that you would literally see rival gangs attacking each other in the stands while the game was being played and the police trying to stop it.

Boro had some absolute maniacs following them in the 80s and that stopped me from going to away games, there was always a huge police present at Boro away games and the home hooligans thought you were fair game.

The Holgate in full voice was something else.
Click to expand...
Dont forget the coppers hats getting tossed around, flat as a pancake and the back of them covered in spit if they came into the Holgate.
 
At the time was fully on board with the move to the Riverside. Ayresome was crumbling, was not going to be redeveloped cheaply so moving made a lot of sense.

Nothing against the Riverside, I like it, but as I've got older and football has become this huge, commercial behemoth I have really started to miss Ayresome. The... dunno...simplicity of it all. Standing on the Holgate with your mates, couple of beers in the Yellow Rose before the game. The bogs at half time 🤢. The atmosphere of the night games. Happy, simpler days.👍
 
20 odd years man and boy, always been gutted I didn't see Jack Charltons promotion, I was old enough but parents lived away at that time so missed it
 
I am of the generation where I went to plenty of games at ayresome, but not in my peak football watching (drinking) years as it was knocked down when i was 11, so don't really see it through the nostalgia rosetinted glasses people slightly older than myself do.
 
I remember Bovril from the "facility" near the Holgate bogs was hotter than the sun. Buy on entry and it was just about cool enough to drink at half time:love:

#UTB
 
I lived in one of the streets off Parliament/Crescent road, used to sit in our backyard and listen out for when the Boro had scored then run in and tell my Dad. Only went to a game there once though, I was 7 when we moved to the Riverside.
 
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