Upton Park memories

[hydemaine]

I'm going to Upton Park this Saturday.

West Ham United v Manchester City.

This will be my eleventh visit over the years.

My first was in 1967.

My most memorable was in 1987 when City were releagated West Ham fans applauded us fans and a special relationship between the clubs was born and has remained to this day.

West Ham are most City fan's London team!

Is anyone else from opposing clubs going to their last match at Upton Park this season?

Anyone with good memories of this famous ground?

[pafcprogs]

Was a guest in a box for the League Cup game v Plymouth...we were great...well in relative terms and Hatles and Ebanks Blake prompted by Buszacky played blinders....

As we got deeper and deeper into injury time I started to speculate on who their penalty takers might be if they didn't score ...

then the ball dropped to Dean Ashton twenty yards out...

Never liked him after that

But a proper ground with proper fans....
_________________
Currently disposing of my collection so please email any wants lists to [email protected].
Most Plymouth post 1959 but plenty of others including reserves, friendlies, Cup Finals Internationals and Club issues, handbooks and other sports.

[pafcprogs]

Also a boring 0-0 against Charlton where Shilton shushed the Argyle fans behind him so he could concentrate...

Also I took my the girlfriend to a 5-3 defeat....mark Stuart scored a blinder for us and even though I was in the home stand I celebrated...

A big hairy lummox came rushing over and as I prepared to get lamped , shook my hand and said " Blinding goal...what's is name?"

Cue sense of relief
_________________
Currently disposing of my collection so please email any wants lists to [email protected].
Most Plymouth post 1959 but plenty of others including reserves, friendlies, Cup Finals Internationals and Club issues, handbooks and other sports.

[Five and In]

hydemaine wrote:

I'm going to Upton Park this Saturday. West Ham United v Manchester City. This will be my eleventh visit over the years. My first was in 1967. My most memorable was in 1987 when City were releagated West Ham fans applauded us fans and a special relationship between the clubs was born and has remained to this day. West Ham are most City fan's London team! Is anyone else from opposing clubs going to their last match at Upton Park this season? Anyone with good memories of this famous ground?

I used to work in East London and would go to some night matches at Upton Park with workmates who were Irons. I loved the atmosphere there, and even though the fans around me knew I was "Spurs" was always accepted as I would vocally back their team against whoever. When I went there as a Spurs fan however, we always had to take shelter from the bottles that rained on us from the very same fans.

[littlewiggy]

Never had the privilege of seeing the County there (although we did knock them out of the FA Cup in 1979 at Somerton Park before they won the very next tournament), but being a life-long closet Liverpool fan I have seen the Reds there on a few occasions.

Always really enjoyed it too.
Proper East End ground, hemmed in by houses, flats and shops.

I think my first visit was around 1985 when I was about 17.
During the week Panorama (or the equivalent back then) on the Beeb had ran an expose show about the ICF.

In 1985, Mars Bars were doing this deal, where each bar had a "cut-out" token for the National Express coaches.
So completely beguiled by the place, I bought seven Mars Bars, cut the tokens out, and on the Saturday morning was sat on their 7am coach from Chepstow to London Victoria, having purchased a returned ticket for less than it cost to travel the 25 miles to Cardiff.

Having successfully negotiated the Tube, I stood on the boisterous North Bank and watched Liverpool draw 2-2 against a Frank McAvennie inspired Hammers in the year they finished 3rd, and the Reds won the double.

Absolutely loved it.
Of course you could arrive early, queue up, and pay about £2-50 to get in back then.
Would be impossible for a starry-eyed boy to do now.

Recall having two more visits to see Liverpool, a 1-1 in '87 when Aldridge scored a penalty, and a 0-2 win a year later when Rush & Beardsley scored - the latter being the first time I had risked "drinking in the alehouses" around that neck of the woods.

RIP The Boleyn Ground.

[littlewiggy]

Buoyed by my success, I also used the Mars Bar tokens to visit Stamford Bridge, White Hart Lane and Loftus Rd, by which time the token offer had run out.

Think I got my monies worth though.

Plus I was becoming something of an expert at negotiating the London Underground network.

All on my Jack Jones too.


Edit: Just checked my personal records, and my visit to Stamford Bridge was Dec '84, Jan Molby scoring in a 3-1 victory for Chelsea.
I guess the 'Mars' offer must have started then and ran for a year.

[Pete’s Picture Palace]

1997-8

Palace played an evening game there, and comic defending by Rio Ferdinand and whoever was in goal for them allowed a slim Neil Shipperley to put Palace 2-up. I think it was John Hartson who got one back just before the interval.

2nd half started all Hammers and after about 5 minutes Frank Lampard Jr slotted home to equalise - it was at the away end so the goal celebration was in front of us and Ferdinand was goading the away fans with "Come on then" - and suddenly the lights went out - we stood there for ages before the game was declared abandoned. Something to do with a Far East gambling ring, allegedly.

Then went to the re-match a week or two later and Palace were awful and lost 4-1. Cue the quiz question - how do you lose a game 4-1 when you've taken a 2-0 lead?

My first visit there was in Feb 72 and a late David Payne equaliser brought this celebration from John Jackson at the same end as described above



Action from the Feb 1972 match (1-1)



Left to right

Tommy Taylor, Bobby Tambling, John McCormick, Geoff Hurst, and another quiz question..... Sammy Goodwin.

Yes, a proper football ground with real fans - will they be able to fill the (almost!) freebie given to them by us taxpayers?

[Ruud Van Driver]

Three Upton Park memories for me

Firstly my Grandad who was born and bred close to the ground always claimed to have played youth football for West Ham. I have never been able to substantiate the claim but if anyone finds the name Warren in anything West Ham from around 1920 please let me know!

Secondly I remember seeing West Ham v Aldershot FA Cup 3rd Round 5th January 1991. Aldershot had been drawn at home I think but the game was switched to Upton Park. It was my first trip to the ground and we couldn't have picked a worse game from the Cup games on offer that day. It finished 0-0 and Jimmy Quinn put in one of the worst performances I've ever seen on a football pitch, truly woeful. The replay followed 11 days later but I wasn't there to see West Ham win 6-1, Quinn of course scored! The only plus point that day was getting to the ground early and parking literally round the corner - As we walked around outside the ground with plenty of time before kick-off a bloke stuck his head out the supporters club bar and invited us in, nice unexpected touch as he hadn't a clue who we were there to support. Doesn't happen very often to a Leeds United supporter, I didn't let on!

Finally 1st May 1999 and West Ham v Leeds United, the winners likely to secure the final European place from memory. My son turned 6 two days earlier and this was his first Leeds game. We weren't members at the time and therefore didn't have tickets for the Leeds end but I was lucky enough to get 2 for the East Stand. I told my son before the game to keep seated if we scored just in case of trouble, poor lad at that age probably didn't grasp the importance of this. Leeds went and scored through JFH just seconds into the game and my son leapt from his seat. The chap next to me turns and says 'You ain't West Haaaam are ya?' to which I quickly replied 'well I am but my son likes Leeds!' Now how that worked I will never know but I'm still here to tell the tale.
Leeds went on to win 5-1 in the game best remembered for West Ham finishing with only 8 players, I think Ian Wright kicked the ref's door in when he got sent off very early on.

Therefore my last visit was a very happy one (once we'd got safely out of the ground!)

If I hadn't picked Leeds to support as a glory-hunting 7 year-old I may well have spent my life supporting West Ham instead due to my Grandad, always had a soft spot for them
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[Dorking]

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Yep, Palace play there in April, there will only be 3 more league games there after ours.

Will be very sad to see it go, over the years watched many games there, West Ham, their reserves and even England (both a full international and an U21 game). Watched from 3 of the 4 sides, and have both stood on the terraces and sat in both new and an original old stand there.

Never saw the Anne Boleyn castle that was where the car park is now, it was demolished in 1955, so well before my time.

Always sad to see old grounds go, places like Stoke's Victoria Park, Maine Road, The Dell, Roker Park etc. Some were just too small, some needed too much doing to them, and some grounds had just had it, and the offer of a shiny new ground was too easy to not turn down.

It's particularly sad in the case of West Ham, as they had planned carefully for the future completion of the ground, by making sure their new(ish) Main Stand was set well back, so that the Chicken Run side could eventually accommodate a new stand twice the size, by offsetting the pitch and end stands.

But I guess the bargain offer of a huge Olympic Stadium once again was an offer too good to turn down.

I am sure the new ground will be rubbish for watching football. Despite the publicity spin, the fans will be miles from the pitch, and the viewing angles will be like those in National Stadiums abroad where they have running tracks.

Luckily I will only have watch my team there once a season, whereas West Ham fans will have to suffer it every game for the rest of their lives.

[Dorking]

Further to Pete's mention of seeing David Payne score there for Palace....

2 seasons ago, went there with the wife and son, to see Palace play there. Went stupidly early as is my habit, and next to me on the tube train was 60's/70's Palace player David Payne.

I know him fairly well as he's always around for games at Selhurst, and yet nobody other than frequent attending and longserving Palace fans would know who he is - he can often pass unnoticed

Anyway an old West Ham female fan was near us on the train started talking to me about the game and how often do we go to away games etc, that sort of thing, and so I dropped into the conversation, do you know who this is I'm sitting next to? Of course she didn't know, so I introduced them to each other, and he spent the next 20 mins on the district line telling her (and me listening intently) stories about him playing against Bobby Moore, and also lots of great Johnny Byrne stories (he was an all time Palace legend of the 60s, who went on to play for West Ham in some of their most successful times).

Both she and I were made up with the stuff he shared with us, such a lovely man and always happy to chat to fans and share his memories as a player!

[littlewiggy]

Pete’s Picture Palace wrote:

1997-8 Palace played an evening game there, and comic defending by Rio Ferdinand and whoever was in goal for them allowed a slim Neil Shipperley to put Palace 2-up. I think it was John Hartson who got one back just before the interval. 2nd half started all Hammers and after about 5 minutes Frank Lampard Jr slotted home to equalise - it was at the away end so the goal celebration was in front of us and Ferdinand was goading the away fans with "Come on then" - and suddenly the lights went out - we stood there for ages before the game was declared abandoned. Something to do with a Far East gambling ring, allegedly. Then went to the re-match a week or two later and Palace were awful and lost 4-1. Cue the quiz question - how do you lose a game 4-1 when you've taken a 2-0 lead? My first visit there was in Feb 72 and a late David Payne equaliser brought this celebration from John Jackson at the same end as described above Action from the Feb 1972 match (1-1) Left to right Tommy Taylor, Bobby Tambling, John McCormick, Geoff Hurst, and another quiz question..... Sammy Goodwin. Yes, a proper football ground with real fans - will they be able to fill the (almost!) freebie given to them by us taxpayers?

I remember that Pete.

[littlewiggy]

Read a quiz in the Daily Mail the other day, about how many defunct FL Grounds have you visited?

I scored highly (obviously, I'm old), but was majorly ruddy ticked-off as per.
They never, ever include Somerton Park in these things.

It's like we never happened!

[littlewiggy]

Might not have been the Daily Mail (Soz), here it is ...


http://www.buzzfeed.com/richar.....mtyxKAz5my

[yachtsmun]

Of all the big clubs that have moved grounds, I reckon West Ham will be one of the ones most fundamentally affected by removal from their traditional home. Great ground, great supporters, and all the events there seemingly inextricably linked with the people and surroundings - the incredible resistance to the Bond scheme c.1990 springs to mind. First time I went there was on my own as a 17y.o. - sneaked a pint in the Boleyn beforehand then stood on the North Bank for a 0-0 draw with Port Vale.

[hydemaine]

yachtsmun wrote:

Of all the big clubs that have moved grounds, I reckon West Ham will be one of the ones most fundamentally affected by removal from their traditional home. Great ground, great supporters, and all the events there seemingly inextricably linked with the people and surroundings - the incredible resistance to the Bond scheme c.1990 springs to mind. First time I went there was on my own as a 17y.o. - sneaked a pint in the Boleyn beforehand then stood on the North Bank for a 0-0 draw with Port Vale.

My own club Manchester City were also affected by the move from Maine Road to the Etihad. Maine Road still holds the attendance record of 84,000 + for a match outside of Wembley.
I think West Ham are going to be in a similar situation to City when they move. Great ground but souless for the first few years. It's only now that the Etihad has started to have it's own memories ala the Aguero moment which everyone knows about. Matches make memories. Good Luck West Ham.

[Dorking]

At least with Man City, the whole design was planned (before initial construction) so that the conversion to a football only ground looked right, ie adding the bottom tier and making sure the sightlines from the Upper tiers was right for the end use in the first place

West Hams new ground will fundamentally have far too shallow a lower tier despite retractable seats, and the upper tier will be waaaaay too far back from the action.

I bet the away section will be awful too

[yachtsmun]

hydemaine wrote:

[Matches make memories.

Yeah, this is true, but it doesn't take into account the dislocation from community, where a fair chunk of support might be able to walk to the ground, for instance, and the community businesses that benefitted on matchdays (and were able to stay open through the week because of matchdays) are replaced by oft-overpriced franchise operations. It's all part of the shift away from the traditional concept of supporters towards being consumers.

While accepting that ground moves, redevelopment etc are inevitable (and much needed in many cases) I do also mourn the loss of character from many grounds - the idiosyncrasies that made away grounds interesting to visit and your home ground - or an area of it - special. The County Ground at Northampton may have been a bit of a dump, but the Hotel End was a great place to watch a game from. Plymouth Argyle are a good example too - pre-redevelopment Home Park had six or seven distinct areas you could watch from, each of which had its own character (and characters): a lot of the stalwarts would stand on the paddock; the conservative types in the main stand; the Devonport End was full of Cornish fans in retro silk scarves smoking pot; the bizarre little 'kop' as it was called was the home of the cynical and world weary, while the lads and self-styled naughty boys sat in the Lyndhurst. I tried them all during my three years at college there, eventually settling in nicely to the Devvy End.

[pafcprogs]

I scored 18/39...which is scary because I think my overall total grounds is only around 55!

I did however have the hardest football fan in the world in my family...

Aged 5 my daughter Freya had been to two professional matches...Millwall away, and Millwall away again....

You should have seen the look on the three policemens face as my three blonde moppets, all under eight, skipped towards the away end asking why the path from the station had a roof...

They were a gnats thingys away from calling social services I swear!
_________________
Currently disposing of my collection so please email any wants lists to [email protected].
Most Plymouth post 1959 but plenty of others including reserves, friendlies, Cup Finals Internationals and Club issues, handbooks and other sports.

[littlewiggy]

Whilst I agree that WHU will undoubtedly miss snug Upton Park when they move into their new, soulless surroundings, I also have a sneaking suspicion that the 'Ammers might well be the next "oil rich" club, a-la-Chelsea and Man City.

Situated in their new, almost free stadium, I can see some far-flung zillionaire viewing them as perfect for a takeover given that their location is desirable and the price involved will be relative peanuts.

I honestly think it'll be either them or possibly Spurs, when they move into their "new" White Hart Lane next door.


PS. Loved pafc's story above ^^^

[whitenoize]

As a WHU season ticket holder for many years, its very gratifying to hear the comments in this thread, certainly remember most of the examples listed, especially Man City 1987, Plymouth in the league cup (What a miss Dean Ashton is) and the Palace fiasco when the lights went out.

Certainly I will have mixed emotions after the Swansea game on 5 May. Living literally 400 yards from the bank of the old south bank (nowadays the Bobby Moore Stand), the void left when the ground is redeveloped will be intangible.

However...

The new stadium is fantastic. The sight lines excellent, and having been to the RWC there last autumn, the atmosphere is great, which will only be better when the throaty, p**sed up WHU supporters get in there!

A lot for an old sceptic like me to say.

I will no doubt miss the Boleyn. I first went in 1968 with my dad (the only game he ever took me to), incidentally against Man City and a 2-1 win on a pitch of mud. Like most fans, I've seen the highs and the lows but never a better place to watch football, especially under the lights.