Thirty years at the Den

Peckham Lion

Peckham Lion

Well-known member
Staff member
This coming season marks three decades since we made the short move form Cold blow lane to our current home. Don't time fly! I still miss the old place but i do think we often look back on that sometimes with rose tinted glasses. We've had some good times at our current home ( can't keep calling it the new place) along with some lows. We had to move cause the old place just wasn't going to be suitable for the way football was changing.




Favorite or one of my favourite games was the Hudderdsfield game, proper evil atmosphere and Millwall of old.

Carry on.
 
Peckham Lion said:
This coming season marks three decades since we made the short move form Cold blow lane to our current home. Don't time fly! I still miss the old place but i do think we often look back on that sometimes with rose tinted glasses. We've had some good times at our current home ( can't keep calling it the new place) along with some lows. We had to move cause the old place just wasn't going to be suitable for the way football was changing.




Favorite or one of my favourite games was the Hudderdsfield game, proper evil atmosphere and Millwall of old.

Carry on.
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Yeah, agree with all that. Huddersfield was my favourite as well
 
When I was living over at Massenger Street, I often used to walk down to the ground as they were building it. From the very beginning until the completion in all its glory. lthough sad to leave CBL,I knew Football was changing and we had to do it.

It took a while for me before it felt comfortable. But saying that, there have been some great times at the current place. Who can forget The Mother's Day Massacre...
😁🤣
 
I love the new place. I love walking up the steps and seeing the lush green pitch in all its glory in front of me. I love the buzz about the place. On the concourses it can be like a social club. Sometimes the atmosphere can be shit. Sometimes it can blinding… same as the old place. I love how we still have separate stands. I’d have hated to end up in one of those bowls. When each stand starts singing no one likes us, but they’re all slightly out of time with each other, I think that’s the bollocks. I loved the old place but if we wanted to move forward, or even keep up, we had to move.
 
Wow, I remember going past on the train every day watching it being built and the sporting Lisbon game I liked the ground but sitting wasn’t for me , so it took a long time to love the place, I will always miss the old Den and the times we had there but the New Den is home now , those of us who have been to both are so lucky .
We broke it in with a fun night v Derby , and Birmingham was mental a few others best not mentioned . In those 30 years what team would you go for ?
keller
Cooper Rhino Thacher Dyche
Cahill Rae Morrison Fleming and Skalak lol
 
Wippa said:
I love the new place. I love walking up the steps and seeing the lush green pitch in all its glory in front of me. I love the buzz about the place. On the concourses it can be like a social club. Sometimes the atmosphere can be shit. Sometimes it can blinding… same as the old place. I love how we still have separate stands. I’d have hated to end up in one of those bowls. When each stand starts singing no one likes us, but they’re all slightly out of time with each other, I think that’s the bollocks. I loved the old place but if we wanted to move forward, or even keep up, we had to move.
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This
 
Wippa said:
I loved the old place but if we wanted to move forward, or even keep up, we had to move.
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So true. It's why i say we often see the old place through rose tinted glasses. It was falling apart and unsuitable for the way football was moving. It wasn't so nice and much fun when there was less than 3 thousand there. we had shockingly low attendances when i started going in 1977.

I think we see it as a special place because it's where we started the love affair, learned to be passionate and loyal, went from boy to man, felt you belonged, formed friendships, formed your first happy memories, remember being with your dad and grandad, the characters , oddballs and nutters that stood on the terraces. It really was a unique place in that manner. I often sit in my seat in the west upper, turn to my right towards the old place and have a smile and think fuck me what a crazy place that was. It will always be in my heart, Thanks dad.

Going to Wall as a twelve year with your mates and finding the nutters to stand near for entertainment. I've heard some of the funniest things ever said/ shouted by blokes down at wall. The humour is still there, it's part of our Dna, what gets us through tough times and forms part of our fuck em/ oh well outlook.

If we were doing well we'd get 7 0r 8k, go on a bad run and 3k would drop off the gate in no time at all. Contrary to what we often think is a very loyal support we can be somewhat the fair weather fans bar that 4/5k of absolute hardcore that go every game. I think we are much better supported now. Our average attendances are quite high and steady campared to years gone by.

As for where we play now i think it serves it purpose and most importantly is still on the manor. It has grown on me and is a great place to be when packed and at our most orriblest and noisy.
 
leFerne said:
I quite enjoyed the FA Cup game against Leicester, that was a good atmosphere.
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I still have quite clear memories of when we beat em at the old place in that cup run season of 85 that ended at Luton. It was our reward for winning away at Chelsea, and the Nigels in the previous rounds. I wasn't used to a packed den, we had 15.000 thousand that night, it was superb. I love it when we're the under dog, it brings out the best in us.

Leicester and Everton were superb and special because both winning goals came in injury time and when your nerves are torn to threads. The outpouring of relief and sheer happyness is a wondeful thing. Wallaces winner against Everton came in the fourth minute of injury time.

I thought the roof was going to come off when that ball crossed there line. I was in block two, eight rows back when we scored. When we finished celebrating i was in black one, row one, nearest to the away end as possible with one fellow on top of me and another fella trying to kiss me on the cheek.
 
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Frank 1960 said:
Derby county at the new ground will always stick in my mind, was very lively before and after
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They didn't last to long at Surrey docks. Once there main lad got ironed they was on the back foot and ready to set a new world record for the 400 meters :grinning: They said at the first leg at there place that they'd turn up and they did but it was hardly worth the effort.
 
Peckham Lion said:
They didn't last to long at Surrey docks. Once there main lad got ironed they was on the back foot and ready to set a new world record for the 400 meters :grinning: They said at the first leg at there place that they'd turn up and they did but it was hardly worth the effort.
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The fella in the mac , fair play to them at time as no body turned up , old bill had a torrid time after.
 
Peckham Lion said:
They didn't last to long at Surrey docks. Once there main lad got ironed they was on the back foot and ready to set a new world record for the 400 meters :grinning: They said at the first leg at there place that they'd turn up and they did but it was hardly worth the effort.
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Caulkers turn out 👌🏻
 
The old Den was insane, from my first game in 1971 up to 1993 there were some crackers, Chelsea 76, Spurs Boxing Day 77, the 1970’s three regulars (Pompey,Cardiff,Wednesday) Bristol city, Bradford and that coach 😂 in the 80’s.. but one that stands out for me at the new den was Cardiff 4th December 1999.
They had got the better of wall down there on the opening day of the season, bigger numbers being the main reason and the return game at ours was only ever going to be “payback time”.. I was living in Pimlico back then and getting a lift off my mate to the den, as I walked into Vauxhall bridge road I see about 20 old bill vans full of the TSG heading south of the river lights flashing sirens wailing , apparently they had been Victoria street where Cardiff had detoured from Paddington to meet Birmingham ( who were at Fulham) for a tug o war competition, the police forced them on the tube and were now south Bermondsey bound hence the convoy of OB vans, we drove down gallywell road about 13:30 and you could smell the evil in the air, wall were firmed up outside tropics some in balaclavas with old bill blocking access towards ilderton road/SB station, rocks and debri flying through the sky and OB horses galloping back and fro with a line of riot police, around the ground there was mobs of wall plotted everywhere, it reminded me of the Chelsea 76 match at the den without the pre match bloodshed,it seemed like the game in wales earlier that season had been like someone poking a wasps nest and now there was 100’s of wasps ready to sting the intruder, it was pure and utter hatred, they turned up with probably the biggest escort I’ve ever seen with the streets cleared by old bill outside the ground, it was a non event as they were placed in the sanctuary of the top tier but the verbals still went on, after the game they were kept in with wall outside trying every trick in the book to get at them but there was only one winner, cars were getting bricked getting mistaken to be carrying Cardiff fans one of the cars was a wall bod who came in the Alscott after absolutely fucking fuming, these days I’m not happy with all the day trippers turning up like mod revivalists visiting Brighton in hope of a beach fight, we had to go forward I guess by moving so we are where we are.
 
No tales of daring dos, like some of you Herberts but being in my late 40’s I’ve seen some wonderful moments down the “new” Den. From the days of M&M, McGhee’s glory years. Wise’s FA Cup run, KJ getting us back to the Championship and NH doing the same feat. Of all these times my proudest moment was last season when I was offered a table in the Platinum Club vs Coventry by my mate. Took my girls and wife to their first game and we had such a great day. That moment when the third and winning goal went in and my eldest and I were jumping around like nutters, arm in arm. I could see the elation in her face and I had a tear in my eye. A moment that will live with me forever.
 
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Being able to walk from the cbl to the ilderton
Hurlimans in the halfway, hate seats, stewards at the old were sound and on our side, these cnts now deserve a slap,
 
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