Season 75/76

Nottingham Forest - Plymouth Argyle - 16/08/1975

Source : Press

Brian Clough, the Forest manager, runs on to the pitch to stop an invasion, and orders the Plymouth supporters back to the stands.

Wolverhampton - Manchester Utd - 16/08/1975

Source : Press

The season opens with the usual surprises on the field, and crowd trouble off it. Over 70 fans are arrested at Wolverhampton.

Birmingham City - Manchester Utd - 19/08/1975

Source : Press

Manchester U. win 2-0 away at Birmingham and are the only team with maximum points in Division One after two matches. 26 United supporters are arrested.

LUTON TOWN - CHELSEA FC - 30/08/1975

Source : Press

Hooliganism makes the headlines again. Hundreds of Chelsea fans invade the pitch at Luton in an attempt to get the match abandoned because their team is losing 3-0. Some of them also attack Keith Barber, the Luton goalkeeper. But referee Eric Reed suspends play, and after the riot is quelled, completes the match. The Chelsea fans also vandalize the town after the game and their train back to London is wrecked.

STOKE CITY - MANCHESTER UTD - 30/08/1975

Source : Press

Other trouble spots are Stoke, where there were 50 arrests-the visitors being Manchester U.

RANGERS - CELTIC - 30/08/1975

Source : Press

Glasgow where there are 60 arrests following the first ever Rangers v Celtic Premier Division game.

Hooliganism security - 01/09/1975

Source : Press

'Identity cards for football fans and the ending of British Rail specials become imminent as the soccer authorilies, politicians and magistrates act in an attempt to halt hooliganism.' writes the Daily Mail. The Football Association urged a two-point plan for transporting fans to and from away matches. 1. Trains would be chartered by either official supporters' clubs or the football clubs themselves, and the organisers would be responsible for the behaviour of the fans. 2. The trips would be available only to registered supporters carrying an identity card and a ticket for the match.'

QPR - MANCHESTER UTD - 11/09/1975

Source : Press

It is announced that there will be a train and bus strike in West London on Saturday as a defensive measure against the invading Manchester U. fans on their way to Q.P.R.

Scotland hooliganism - 18/10/1975

Source : Press

Crowd riots stop two games in Scotland, at Motherwell and Celtic Park. Motherwell beat Rangers 2-1, but the Celtic v Hibernian game with the visitors leading 2-0 is abandoned due to thick fog with five minutes left to play.

West Ham Utd - Manchester Utd - 25/10/1975

Source : Press

Referee Peter Reeves takes the players off the pitch and the West Ham v Manchester U. match is suspended for 18 minutes. There is a pitch invasion caused partly by an overspill from the terraces, partly by fighting.

**********************************************************
About 30 mins before kick off Man u had been run on the pitch from both the south bank and the west side
Police made them get back onto the south bank terraces and tried to keep rival fans apart
Shortly after kick off a turnstile door was broken down and several hundred more joined an already overcrowded terrace, west ham steamed in again forcing everyone at the front to spill onto the pitch.

****
The video shows the aftermath of the fighting
west ham are all along the back of the south bank man u at the front
Fighting started in a packed south bank an hour before kick off with west ham and man u alongside each other
Man U got run , get over it , as you say ,it was a long time ago
Manu also got run onto the pitch from the west side
3 hours before kick off about 8oo man u were gathered outside the north bank entrance in green street and a mob of the same amount w ham chased them to f gate

UEFA fines Ireland - 17/11/1975

Source : Press

UEFA fines the F.A. of Ireland £900 because of bad crowd behaviour during the Eire v Turkey match in Dublin.

Bradford - Tooting - 24/01/1976

Source : Press

There are bitter complaints from Tooting concerning the behaviour of Bradford - the club and its alleged supporters - yesterday, li is claimed that hidden microphones were put in one side of the ground to increase the volume of vocal support for the home team. After the match the Bradford hooligans attacked the Tooting fans with bricks and stones causing several injuries.

Chelsea FC - Bristol City - Anglo-Scottish Cup - 75/76

Source: forum

Bristol lads entered the Shed end, had a go with locals who fucked them.

Sunderland FC - Crystal Palace - FA Cup - 06/03/1976

Source: forum

Crystal Palace fans' trains were late and they had to fought their way through local lot.

Arsenal FC - Leeds United - 75/76

Source: forum - AFC view

This game was my first real introduction to footballs fight club. I'd seen a fair bit but I’d never got up to anything. I used to stand in the North Bank back then and one thing I’ll always remember about those old days was at about 2:45 every home game you could watch the Clock end mob come into the ground from the East entrances and snake their way though CE picking up numbers and then steaming into the away fans from behind, while the North Bank sang "Hello, Hello ARSENAL AGGRO, ARSENAL AGGRO".
There was a good support from Leeds that day {as there always was} but the CE scattered them. Arsenal lost the game 2-1 but it was a great match and Highbury was electric that day. Believe it or not we used to get a fantastic atmosphere at Highbury...What happened.
Went 1-0 down but equalized {May have been a Peter Storey goal}. It was real end to end stuff. Leeds scored the winner with a few minutess left to play, I was gutted. After a couple of real angry choruses of "You're going to get your f*cking 'eads kicked in" the shout went up "All up the Clock End". The North Bank cleared and we headed up Avenell Road to get at Leeds.
Must of been a good couple of hundred of us possibly more. The older blokes were telling everyone to keep quiet so the OB would not guess what was happening. Didn't go into the ground we headed up the road and though the flats at the back of the CE then down towards the West Clock End entrance. Even more Arsenal were waiting for Leeds to leave the ground. There was a big roar and Arsenal pilled into the Yorkshire men.
Leeds firm put up a good fight but didn't last too long, there were so many Arsenal out that they didn't really stand a chance on the day. Made it down to the coaches and attacked the rest of the Leeds fans. In those days anyone at a match was fair game, I know that’s wrong and now rightly frowned on now but times were different then. Saw loads of Leeds get turned over, some were dragged of their coaches and beaten.
Loads of OB turned up and we got chased away from the Leeds fans at Drayton Park. We now seemed to be fighting the OB, Leeds had gone. Police horses charged at us and ran us back up the road. I hid behind a car next to this mad black guy who was shouting "Lester Piggott, Lester Piggott" at the top of his voice. Round the side of the car came a police horse and nearly bit me. Had to dodge the coppers baton but I couldn't stop laughing. It was total chaos with fighting going on all over the place.
Things started to calm down as the OB started to get organized and so we headed up to Holloway Road to try and stone the Leeds coaches as they went past. Can't remember anything else happening so it was back home for beans on toast. I was buzzing for days afterwards. Even though we lost it was still a brilliant day.

Manchester City - Manchester United - League Cup - 75/76

Source: english press

There was widespread trouble. A police officer was struck on the head with a brick and 30 fans thrown out of the ground.

Wolverhampton Wanderers - Manchester United - 06/03/1976

Source: forum - Man U view

The result was not taken well by the Wolves fans who were waiting for us outside and there ensued some serious disturbances.

-------------------------------------------

Source : http://www.molineuxmix.co.uk WWFC view

(…) After the game we walked around the other way and along Warwick Road by which time the Wolves fans were pouring out of the Scoreboard. We ended up being amongst them and fortunately in the middle of them which protected us from the battle which followed the length of Warwick Road. It was a terrifying experience for all the Wolves fans caught up in it. It was so choatic, and as the fighting was all around us (…)

Newcastle United - Manchester United - FA Cup - 20/03/1976

Source: forum - Man U view

A cold wet Saturday in the North East and the usual 'hospitable' welcome from the rock and bottle throwing Geordies.

Chesterfield Town - Millwall FC - 75/76

Source: http://www.thecfss.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=5461

Somewhere near the NE derby council offices about 100 or so Millwall fans came charging towards saltergate

Everton FC - Liverpool FC - 75/76

Source: http://www.liverpoolway.co.uk/forum/ff-football-forum/98404-football-hooligans-liverpool-v-man-u-1985-a.html

(...) Went on for over an hour with running battles from the Baseball ground to at least two miles away.

Scarborough - Preston North End - FA Cup - 75/76

Source: Lancashire Evening Post

Saturday was the blackest day in Preston North Ends history for several reasons. But the worst aspect of all was the behaviour of some of the clubs’ young supporters at Scarborough’s Seamer Road ground. “This is Proud Preston. Is it?” asked new social club steward Eddie Adams as he looked at the damage caused by the fans. I felt embarrassed to be a Prestonian and could not make a reply. The hooligans, who smashed windows of the boardroom and the club extension specially opened ahead of schedule to offer hospitality to Preston people, had disgraced the name of the town. The North End directors, officials and players were also terribly upset. “We do not want fans who behave like this”, said Chairman Alan Jones “We would rather have no support at all”.

Mr Jones has my sympathy and I hope something positive can now be done to stop vandals from seeing games at Deepdale and from travelling to away matches. Only last week, outside Deepdale, a window of the Wrexham team coach was smashed after Preston had lost to the Welsh club, and the follow up at Scarborough has again shown that some youngsters do not know what sport is all about. If they cannot accept disappointment they should not be involved in any way with football.

It is often said that many troublemakers are not interested in any case and that they only go to matches to cause bother and do as much damage as possible. If that is so, it is time other football followers rooted them out and gave the Police much more help in identifying the culprits. The result on Saturday was also the worst ever, the team beaten by a non-league club. But it is up to everyone connected with Preston North End to act with dignity. They young fans should prove that they are capable of being men and not morons, That is the only was the town can salvage it’s reputation and become Proud Preston again.

Sparta Rotterdam - FC Utrecht - 14/03/1976

Source : Press

Utrecht fans

Wales - Yugoslavia - 22/05/1976

Source : Press

Clearing the pitch after the final whistle - a helmetless police constable hustles away one of the fans as other police keep watch for more trouble. Ten fans are due to appear in court following the game at Ninian Park Cardiff.

Bolton Wanderers – Wolverhampton Wanderers - 18/12/1976

Source : http://www.burndenaces.co.uk/ - BWFC view

I remember the Wolves game quite vividly surprisingly. Must have been over 30,000 on and Wolves turned up in some numbers as they had already got promoted. We did need something out of the game to get promoted ourselves but lost 1-0, think Kenny Hibbert got their goal.

Anyway at the final whistle I do remember the Wolves fans invaded the pitch from the Embankment and charged the Burnden Paddock. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen - dozens of Noddy Holder look-a-likes, with their big hair/sideburns, half-mast flares and 18-hole docs cavorting all over the sacred turf. The scuffiest set of bastards ever to set foot in Burnden, no mistake. As they charged, a no-mans land opened up in front of the Paddock with both sets of fans not taking it any further. After a minute or two a bloke pushed me out of the way, leapt over the wooden fence and started laying into the said scruffy twats - a solo effort.

Chelsea FC - Crystal Palace - FA Cup - 14/02/1976

Source : Press

Crystal Palace defeat Chelsea in the fifth round of the FA Cup. There are scenes of violence off the pitch at Chelsea - several arrests, hospital cases, and a mounted police patrol is needed to quell the riot.

***************************

Source : CPFC forum - CPFC lad

Stamford bridge in the fa cup 1976 all through the match running battles in the northstand ,I remember footage of it on match of the day but haven't seen it since,it had all carried on from the tooting and mitcham match a couple of years before when a Chelsea firm turned up.