On this day 31 year ago

I missed the last game at the Den due to work. Which was lucky for you lot cause me and my 'well ard' stewards would have had you off the pitch in a flash.

And no I dont have a flashers mac!
 
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Trying to explain that place and some of characters, madness that occurred to my son and people that never went is difficult. They look at you as though your mad but it really was a different time and world. Most away fans and outsiders will tell you that it was the most scary and intimidating ground they've ever visited. As will many ex pro's that played there. To us it was just the Den and normal. For most of us it was a magical place where we fell in love with this wonderful club. Where bonds and life long friendships were first formed but for many it somewhere where you had to run the gauntlet and a real Den of inequity

Of course we'll look back on the place with rose tinted glasses but with good reason is some respects. For many of us of a certain age our first game/ season were watching us in front of sparse crowds and at the wrong end of the third and fourth division ( My first time was 77/ 78 ) We spent most of the in the bottom three but miraculously escaped the drop by somehow winning our final five games.

The following season we did get relegated. We spent from September onwards rooted in the bottom three ( we still beat the spotters though :grinning:. The final game of the season saw us lose at the Den in front of a crowd of just under 3k.

Attendances dropped from averaging 7/8k to under 5k and only slightly improved during George Grahams second and third seasons with us. It was the Docs first season when they tailed off again and then doubled during our infamous march towards the first division. Our season in the top tier saw us averaging just under 15.5k. The following season numbers dropped off again with us averaging around 12.5k.

Whatever the rights and wrongs and whether we agreed i think it was right that we moved given how football was changing. I think it's quite possible that we wouldn't exist now if we stayed put and never evolved and changed with the times.
 
Showoff said:
God knows what an away supporter felt walking to the ground on a cold Tuesday evening in Bandit Country.
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I've lost count of stories I've read down the years from fans of other clubs saying the Den was a terrifying place to come. When me and my mate was 15/16 we used to watch the Wackers ambush away mobs on Hornshay street as they approached the away end. There was so many hiding places and blind spots along that stretch that it made it ideal for having a go. The whole surrounding roads etc were proper dark, moody and intimidating for outsiders.
 
From 1960 to 93…Grandad, Dad, several uncles, all of the Surrey docks.
I stood on that terrace near the yellow painted railings at the run out to the pitch. No retractable hide away. Glorious days . Alas they are all departed.
Lots of characters , Eric, John, always guaranteed full on support.
 
Peckham Lion said:
I've lost count of stories I've read down the years from fans of other clubs saying the Den was a terrifying place to come. When me and my mate was 15/16 we used to watch the Wackers ambush away mobs on Hornshay street as they approached the away end. There was so many hiding places and blind spots along that stretch that it made it ideal for having a go. The whole surrounding roads etc were proper dark, moody and intimidating for outsiders.
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The only time I really felt it at home was when I was in the Crown on the NC Road before the West Ham match and 1000s of Vermin walked past the pub (no OB). It was packed but you could hear a pin drop.
 
Showoff said:
The only time I really felt it at home was when I was in the Crown on the NC Road before the West Ham match and 1000s of Vermin walked past the pub
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Was that when they carried on going and attacked the Canterbury which was empty? We was in the Carlton when they made that snide move and then claimed a result.
 
Peckham Lion said:
Trying to explain that place and some of characters, madness that occurred to my son and people that never went is difficult. They look at you as though your mad but it really was a different time and world. Most away fans and outsiders will tell you that it was the most scary and intimidating ground they've ever visited. As will many ex pro's that played there. To us it was just the Den and normal. For most of us it was a magical place where we fell in love with this wonderful club. Where bonds and life long friendships were first formed but for many it somewhere where you had to run the gauntlet and a real Den of inequity

Of course we'll look back on the place with rose tinted glasses but with good reason is some respects. For many of us of a certain age our first game/ season were watching us in front of sparse crowds and at the wrong end of the third and fourth division ( My first time was 77/ 78 ) We spent most of the in the bottom three but miraculously escaped the drop by somehow winning our final five games.

The following season we did get relegated. We spent from September onwards rooted in the bottom three ( we still beat the spotters though :grinning:. The final game of the season saw us lose at the Den in front of a crowd of just under 3k.

Attendances dropped from averaging 7/8k to under 5k and only slightly improved during George Grahams second and third seasons with us. It was the Docs first season when they tailed off again and then doubled during our infamous march towards the first division. Our season in the top tier saw us averaging just under 15.5k. The following season numbers dropped off again with us averaging around 12.5k.

Whatever the rights and wrongs and whether we agreed i think it was right that we moved given how football was changing. I think it's quite possible that we wouldn't exist now if we stayed put and never evolved and changed with the times.
Click to expand...

Peckham Lion said:
Was that when they carried on going and attacked the Canterbury which was empty? We was in the Carlton when they made that snide move and then claimed a result.
Click to expand...
Yep, there's CCTV of it and footage from OB in a van on You Tube. I was waiting for the cavalry to arrive cos if things went south it would have been Zombie Dawn Of The Dead in that pub. Thankfully they smashed a few windows in at the Canterbury.
 
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