Football Hooligans - Birmingham City V Leeds United 1985
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- THE creaking and crumbling of the wall was barely audible at first above the violent din of baying mobs of rival hooligans bent on trouble.
Within seconds, an almighty rumble was to shake Birmingham City's St Andrew's stadium as a 12ft high wall crashed to the ground below, sending a cloud of dust and debris into the air.
Cars that had been parked beneath the structure were left bent and twisted by the destructive force of the rubble that crashed on top of them.
Tensions had been running high throughout the final day clash between Birmingham City and Leeds that overcast May day in 1985.
Birmingham City faced Leeds on the final day of the season knowing that victory could see them top the old Division Two table if Oxford lost. Both clubs had a history of crowd trouble and tensions had been high throughout the match.
"Although little in the way of promotion or relegation hinged on the result violence erupted on the terraces resulting in several police officers being injured," wrote the then Chief Constable Geoffrey Dear in his annual report for 1985.
But no one could have envisaged the ugly scenes of violence that followed the final whistle.
The fighting was described by Justice Popplewell, during the Popplewell Committee investigation into football in 1985 as more like "the Battle of Agincourt than a football match".
A thin blue line of police officers, in little more than their tunics and helmets and armed with just a wooden truncheon, faced the baying crowds ripping down fences.
It was just their charges and the work of the police mounted branch that kept the fans apart as the battle ebbed and flowed.
Seats were also torn up and bottles hurled at police and a refreshment bar was set on fire and wrecked.
Retired Detective Chief Supt Mick Treble, who left the force earlier this year recalled: "We were standing in a line in the middle of the pitch facing the stand as the crowd tried to break down the fences.
"It was the most terrifying experience I had in my police career.
"The intensity, the anger, the violence shown by Leeds fans was something else.
"They were throwing coins at us, officers right next to you were getting slashed over the face when they hit. Officers questioned their own moral fibre, but we all knew we had to stand firm and hold the line."
Former mounted branch officer Doug Smith was in action, too, on his horse Lochinvar during the infamous pitch riot.
"It was testing for both of us," he said.
"I'd been trained. So had Lochinvar.
"My mouth went dry, I felt the anticipatory butterflies in my belly.
"That's the time you start wondering if the pair of you will make out together.
"The the trouble starts and you forget everything except breaking up the crowds into small groups and keeping them moving.
"A horse in a riot, don't forget, is the nearest thing to a tank you can find."
Ian was to be fatally injured when police pushed the Leeds fans away from the pitch and the wall collapsed under the pressure of the crowd.
In total 145 policemen were injured and 125 fans were arrested.
At least 40 fans were treated at East Birmingham Hospital and about a dozen at Birmingham Accident Hospital.
Writing in his annual report for 1985, the then Chief Constable Geoffrey Dear described it as "possibly the worst crowd disorders ever seen at a football ground in this country".
He went on: "The trouble at the St Andrews Ground led to a reappraisal of the scale of protective clothing for issue to officers in this Force together with other equipment to assist in dealing with severe public disorder, and the force is now much better prepared in this respect."
His annual report had been full of the heartache of two major outbreaks of trouble. In an effort to finish on a optimistic note, he continued: "Many of the casualties, both police and civilian, were taken to East Birmingham Hospital that day and the consultant in charge of the Accident and Emergency Department later had this to say, 'One of the things which impressed me most was the stoicism and the calmness of the injured policemen. Their behaviour was remarkable.
'They were less concerned with their damaged heads, crushed feet and other injuries than with trying to help other people, and if this is the typical British bobby we have every reason to be proud.'
"I believe he is right," the Chief Constable added, "and I believe that the spirit of the service that he identified augurs well for the future of the force."
I always remember that kid who was crushed to death by a falling wall at this game. He was only 15 and he went out to see his team play and never returned home.
R.I.P Ian Hambridge ⚽🙏🏻
I was there that day and here are my memories - I'll never forget them. I was 20 and used to follow Leeds home and away around the country, from Berkshire (so every game was an away game!). I was on my first trip to Birmingham by train on my own. From the moment I left the station, it felt very intimidating, with countless gangs of black lads on every street corner looking really menacing at everyone - you had the sense that something could kick-off at any moment. The trains had been delayed into Birmingham, so a large number of fans got to the ground late. Some may have not even had tickets, I don't know. But what happened next was a pre-cursor to Hillsborough and on another day, could easily have had the same end result! At around 2:45, the old wrought iron away end entrance gates were locked shut, leaving 500-1000 maybe more outside unable to get in (It was a vital end of season high-pressure game and Leeds had to win, in order to get into the play-offs, so the atmosphere was highly charged without anything kicking off!). They were not having that, so after about 3 mins of rocking the gates back and forth, forced them off their hinges collapsing on the ground like cattle grids. In the crush I got my ankle caught in the railings and nearly got it broken. Everyone spilled in, towards only 1 or 2 still open turnstiles. The police were too small in number to prevent anything and just allowed everyone to pile in at once I'll never forget the look of sheer fright on the poor turnstile attendants face - poor bloke!), resulting in a huge surge from the top rear of the stand where everyone enters (the pitch is set down below like in a bowl effect set up), same as Hillsborough. I was on my own and wanted to stay safe and out of trouble, so kept to the absolute back of the crowd, as the whole situation and steepness of that stand seemed to be a recipe for disaster and there were next to bugger all railings to hold onto for safety. So I stood at the back, behind a line of much bigger taller lads and only caught glimpses of the actual match, from memory.
I recall that before half time the home end started kicking off and invaded the pitch in their thousands and was like a scene from Zulu Dawn literally. I'm sure they were screaming "Zuluuuu!" on mass. They reached as far as the halfway line before being chased back by mounted police. By this point Leeds fans had begun kicking off and ripping up all manner of stuff including hoardings and some seats etc and those along with coins and all sorts were getting thrown onto the pitch, but from memory no Leeds fans made it onto the pitch, which was a miracle, but mainly down to the fencing holding everyone inside. Halftime lasted around 45 mins, during which David Harvey and Eddie Gray (I think), came onto the pitch to appeal for the violence to stop. That helped, the pitch was cleared of debris both ends, and the 2nd half recommenced. By that stage, the game was a diversion and from memory, there were a few more incursions onto the pitch by the Birmingham crowd, that were quickly quelled. Then after the final whistle, Birmingham kicked it all off again, and that is where this video starts. I don't know where the wall collapsed and what side the boys supported - I heard Birmingham and it was his first match? But what I do vividly remember is a group of young lads (14/17 y/o's) in the Birmingham end of the main stand down in the left-hand corner of the video, who were constantly provoking and throwing stuff at the Leeds crowd, baying them to respond, which at the end you can see they did, which I think is when the police then piled in on mass. I don't know if it was there and then that the wall collapsed? The Leeds crowd were kept inside the stand, in order to not confront the home fans on exit, which is why they didn't clear away during the video, there was no-where to go.
A frightening, dark and sad day for football that one and no set of supporters came out of it without blame. Christ knows what it must have been like for all the players that day, those providing emergency services and those just simply doing their jobs! Sad to say, but if they'd learned lessons from that day, in my opinion, the Hillsborough disaster wouldn't have happened, or at least it wouldn't have been anywhere near as bad.
There, I finally got all that off my chest in the open after all these years...
Excellent analysis Nigel.
I know the Birmingham mob are known as "The Zulus" and I could be wrong but at the matches I don't remember many Black Birmingham fans but yet even 34 years ago there were mobs of them outside as some kind of Reception Committee...
Play-Offs didn't start until the 86/87 Season
@@Isleofskye Cheers mate. Ravages of time have blurred some of the memory of everything that went down that day - so much happened, just keep up and I didn't know all the debris thrown from our end was from a pulled down hut, though that all makes sense. Now recall our mob being allowed on the pitch to "assist" with the pitch clear up/ammo recollection. Yeh and the 2nd half was delayed by about 30mins. I recall the police charge at the end (I stayed back - seemed safer that way), but wasn't aware of the young lad's death until the following day - RIP. Recalled there was promo riding on the game, hence why I went up there but had forgotten it all rode on that result and others. The end result that day actually didn't matter one iota, I was just glad to get home alive. ;-)
@@hillfigure4 Thanks for that valuable contribution....
Sick people who start something like that video.
I agree with you 100% when you write people should have learned things after that and it would have saved s lot of lives too.
You are a very wise man
Bye for now and take care of yourself
I was there that day as a young teenager with my family, we left early - but thoughout the game the leeds fans could be seen tearing the ground apart, right at the back of away area was a refreshment stand, they took this apart brick by brick, and you could see large pieces of wooden planks being passed down from the top to the bottom of the stand like ants - there may well have been trouble that day in anycase but I think this just stirred up the atmosphere even more for the home 'fans', having heard the reaction around me to the destruction
can also remember the home fans rushing to the executives boxes in the old stand to see the tv footage of the bradford fire.
A sad day for football
I was there that day too, in the away end. Before the game at the turnstiles near where the wall collapsed, the WM mounted Police forced so many people into that small fenced off area it was a whisker away from a Hillsborough type crush. If the fence hadn't given way that day, people would have died in that pen outside the turnstiles.
@yortzandat I was there too and, throughout the first half, Leeds fan dismantled a refreshments bar at the back of the stand and passed the debis to the front. No excuse for the violence from Blues fans later.
@@sinisterdexter Yep, I was in the crowd herded into that area before kick-off also. Everyone had tickets, but were refused entry, so a large group were intent on getting in and rocked the iron gates off their hinges and then piled in at the one remaining open turnstile, a full-on crush that then hit the back of the crowd in the away stand. I remember the pitch being down a slope, so the crush was identical to Hillsborough, but even more dangerous, with everyone moving downwards from the back. It was scary, so I kept out of the way and tried to watch the match from the very back, through the taller lads in front - didn't see too much of the game, only what was going on from the other end. Personally, I didn't see the fast food hut dismantled, but do recall plenty of wood etc thrown onto the pitch, after the zulu's began charging.. Not a good day for football. And to think there are still knuckle-scrapers (on both sides) on this page, still "proud" of what they did that day. Hopefully we won't see any new repeats, now that terraces are being opened up again!
this was my first football match i ever saw sadly,it was an organised school trip as a 10yr old, not the best introduction to the beautiful game i have to say.
i remember the leeds fans climbing on the roof of a fast food building and tearing the tiles of the roof and throwing them like Frisbees at the city supporters, mounted police arrived and broke most of it up if i remember rightly.
R.I.P Ian Hambridge
Amazing a school would organise a school trip to the football in the 80’s
Fair play the Old Bill who were vastly outnumbered but put their lives on the line to keep the two firms/groups apart. If they hadn't i've no doubt there would have been many serious casualties. It looks worse than it was. Lots of running about and taunting but the Old Bill won the day 100%.
I was at this game, a 17year old leeds fan, used to follow them all over, now i'm 51, this brings back some memories, i didnt realise how bad this was. I remember the police running into the leeds end and hitting us with batons, i also remember leeds ripping the seating out, it doesnt look good does it.
No it doesn’t . This is truly appalling behaviour .
The fences at these grounds were put up due to hooliganism and pitch invasions .
We all know the tragic occurrence that occurred in April 89 !!
this was the same day as the fire at Valley Parade. It would probably be more infamous if that didn't happen. Also, i really think the Millwall riot at Luton gets more "column inches" and wasn't as bad as this
Anniversary today.
Millwall have been the scapegoat for football violence since the panorama documentary in ‘77. Newspapers love to milk how bad Millwall are.
I think the fire at City actually curtailed the violence because we ended up in those seats and we could see the fire on the tv s .There were loads of Bradford Whites there and we all had friends and relatives at the game .Once we were aware of what was happening Most people were watching the tvs rather then watching what was going on the pitch .
I was going to comment the same thing. I think Luton v Millwall gets more attention than the events shown here is due to the fact that the BBC cameras were at Kenilworth Road for the cup tie. Whereas this game didn’t get any television coverage. I think if it was televised, either live or the highlights, it would be mentioned as much as Luton v Millwall.
No the Police chased them off! Particularly Leeds who obviously had the numbers. Millwall made the Police run for their lives until they organised themselves. The Police also didn’t have the horses as they do here.
The main thing I remember about being at this game,was a bloke dressed as Rupert the Bear climbing fence to get on pitch .
That was Jasper Carrot
@@silesianslonskoeagle 😂😂😂😂😂😂
It was Bowie Beaumont from Ossett near Leeds.
I remember Leeds fans on motorway m5 just outside Birmingham R.I.P the lad that passed away that day 😢⚽️
Young lad Leeds fan 1st ever game Ian Hambridge age 15 ..11/05/85
RIP; he is in heaven.
I was there as a 17 year old ,seems like yesterday, RIP Leeds fan, god bless
I remember going this game i was only 16 at the time and the biggest problem was the fact the police underestimated how many us leeds fan`s would travel down they kept us outside causing a crush making us walk between two horses too the turnstiles in the end it got that bad they kicked the gates down too get in i think then all hell broke lose the leeds fan`s wrecked the cafe throwing mars bars you name it on pitch they even tried too chuck the tea urn on the pitch some leeds fans jumped over the barriers towards the birmingham city fans which is when the tragic accident happened the police forced the leeds fans into a small gap between the too stands and the pressure made the wall collapse then you had mounted police at one end keeping the blues fans back and riot police at our end on pitch it was to mayhem and ive never ever seen anything like it since and probably never will .
seek legal advice man
Sadly overshadowed by the Bradford City Fire that occurred the same day, and then by the Heysel disaster a couple weeks later.
Jared DiCarlo: spot on - this was as low as it got for English football. Deaths in ALL cases as well.
Yes,this was English football's darkest hour in many ways,notwithstanding Hillsborough nearly four years later.
I was there as a Blues fan, I was 14 and my Dad said "never again son" and he didn't return for about 10 years. If I recall, Brum were already promoted and Leeds needed to win to have any chance of going up. Brum took the Lead just before halftime and que the riot. It basically went on and on, the 2nd had was delayed by about 30 mins and then it kicked off again at the end. I think we were probably
Birmingham had claimed promotion as runners-up to Maxwell family-owned Oxford United,while Leeds still had a glimmer of a chance of coming 3rd and gaining the last promotion spot. They lost 1-0 and came 7th,while Manchester City took the last promotion place a year after they just missed out. Portsmouth,Blackburn and Brighton finished 4th,5th and 6th. It was Oxford's second straight promotion as champions. Ron Saunders's Birmingham had been relegated from the top flight on the last day of the previous season in 1984 after a long time sailing perilously close. Manchester City had been relegated,famously by a goal for their visitors Luton with 5 minutes to go on the last day of the season,in 1983 and followed that year's losing FA Cup finalists Brighton down. Leeds had been relegated in 1982 and were managed by Eddie Gray at the time of this match.
The farcical element on that chaotic day was the dismantlement of the tea stand and the kettle ending up on the pitch to uproarious laughter - strange days indeed to quote john Lennon. Oh A copper got spiked by a fence pole to add to the carnage, You Had to be there boys!!!
I remember that !
Same day as the Valley Parade Fire... what a sad day for English football.
I went to School with your Uncle Ian and had some great times messing about over Vicky Park. He was sound as a pound, i remember when i heard what had happened SHOCKED doesn't even come close. I was only talking about him the other Day with Darren Wright who was with him that Day. RIP Ian mate Gone but not forgotten
The fixture at Elland Road Brum only filled one pen about 800 on the Lowfields Road it was quite a foggy day.
I also recall feeling shock at hearing a young lad had been killed by the falling wall and of the Bradford fire - tried asking a police officer about both as we were escorted back to the station, but naturally got a very abrupt response. Those were horrid days as a true football supporter - Leeds "fans" were regularly involved in trouble - I recall at Chelsea, and Derby in particular - policing the games certainly cant have been much fun.
I'm sure this took place the same day as Bradford's Valley Parade fire.We were leaving BC in a Salford van hire transit & the newsflash was reporting deaths, but no mention of the fire. We all thought the fans had been fighting.
SuperDelphinidae exactly the same day Obviously the brum-Leeds game was overshadowed by events at valley parade. I remember watching the pictures from Bradford and I couldn’t believe it. How quick that stand went up. Horrible day.
I was there that day....even madder outside with blues attacking the cops with lots of concrete for ages as I remember...Wildness.
You shit it mate
I was there that day as a visiting Leeds fan.
Arrived at the ground late, with a good thousand Leeds fans paying at the gate with just a turnstile open. Police crushing us with the horses until the fans had enough of the heavy policing and decided to open the entrance gates in order to watch the game already in play. I swear, a policeman on horseback had a 3 foot long baton with a chain and smaller baton attached to it. I remember thinking wtf that isn't standard police issue. He was swinging it about and hitting any fan in his way.
Inside the ground, Leeds fans first started the ground wrecking. Then the Birmingham fans completely wrecked their seats and advertising holdings and made a dash across the pitch heading towards the away fans only for the mounted police to chase them back into the Birmingham end.
By half time the Birmingham mob had moved into the seats (opposite their big terrace) up to the half way line. A mob of around 1500 Leeds occupied the other half of the stand. A Mexican standoff between both groups ensued throughout the second half. When the final whistle blew, the Birmingham mob made another attempt at charging at the Leeds fans and the police managed to push them back, keeping the rival supporters apart.
The Leeds fans were kept in while the Birmingham mob was pushed out of the ground. The rioting inside the ground was over with only Leeds fans remaining. But the police then decided to charge the remaining Leeds fans with horses, causing a crush which toppled the wall over. The death of the Leeds fan was entirely the fault of the police.
Lastly, a mob of Aston Villa's firm infiltrated the Leeds end. After the game I asked a Leeds fan for directions and he replied in a deep Brummie accent, I have no idea. He wasn't a Birmingham fan because he was throwing stones at the Birmingham City stadium with a grin on his face. Years later, a Villa friend told me Villa's mob had infiltrated the Leeds end.
Apart from Heysel, this is the worst outbreak English of football hooliganism ever and certainly on home soil.
I clearly remember this being reported on the news. RIP the young innocent kid who was killed. This truly was a dark day for English football.
LOL you should have been with us here it's obvious you have never had a fight: ruclips.net/video/m4JvIxUZsXk/видео.html
You should have been at Elland road 3.5.80 Leeds v Utd, or 85 semi final Liverpool v Utd.
Full on indescribable violence.
@@mancunited3845 It was all mad back then but whilst people were distracted the people who control the UK Government have destroyed England with unfettered immigration.
Millwall @ Luton 85.
@@mancunited3845 I was at ER that day and I have to admit that Man U brought thousands
Just shows you it is just chaos. I was down small heath as a young boy when they had hooligans, lots of running around, one lot knicking all the broom handles from outside 'Crash Bang Wallop", police chasing, thugs retreating. The bloody cost of it, disruption to the game.
i was there I was 16 , never seen anything like it , it was a bad game anyway and you could sense something was going to happen , and when the whistle went all hell broke loose , it was scary , thank god its better now
Hmmm. I was there too in the Leeds end, probably about 20 years of age. Standard practice to keep the away fans in after a game yet repeatedly the commentator says, Leeds staying inside . . . did we have a choice, I cannot recall? Always thought the young kid was killed when the police charged the away terrace and caused a crush and the wall came down. As mentioned, without the Bradford disaster, may well have had more news coverage. For me, kid died due to poor policing and a wall that should not have passed safety checks.
three things caused the death of a young lad
1. the wave of fans,good and bad exiting an out of date ground
2. bad policing again out of date approach
3. failure of the wall weak due to old age and bottle-necked traffic
bear this in mind when commenting on blame
points 2 and 3 about sum things up . Tousands by t theboasts/ admissions of people having a tear up and parts of the ground being wrecked and you have the gall to blame poling /old grounds for the death of a young lad. You want to know why we now have allseaters whether you like it or not and why noone can have a pitch side drink as in most other sports, well just have a fucking look at yorselves
Never forget Ian , young lad that was just supporting his team that fateful day..I was there that day and ashamed of the actions of both so called fans.
I think they said this was the first football match he attended. RIP. I heard news reports at the time but the Bradford fire in all its horror overshadowed everything at the time. This is the first time I've ever seen footage of the St Andrews trouble. A sad day indeed.
Indeed it did - I remember the Leeds "fans" throwing things on the pitch during the 2nd half and the game being suspended for a while. The Police were then daft enough to allow the Leeds "fans" to come onto the pitch on the pretext of clearing the missiles. They then used it as an excuse to get into the seats at the side of the pitch, where there was no fencing. The atmosphere was so tense & I recall being scared witless when the police charged into the Leeds end at the end.
I'd forgotten that part in the proceedings, might add it to the account I just added for that day mate.
I was there, grown men with plastic bags full of rocks throwing them into the Leeds end.
Always remember the one lone Blues fan charging the Leeds end with a huge poll .. talk about medieval!
Leeds were rowdy as they missed the points they needed .. but they really didnt do ‘owt’ as they where outnumbered.
Rip to the lad who lost his life .. what a disgrace !
I was there. Violence at matches was standard practice. Remember walking back to the city centre with the constant wailing of police sirens. Got home to hear about Bradford. One of the blackest days in my life.
i was there that day supporting Blues with a mate whos a Leeds fan!
im sure the riot would have made bigger news if it had not have been for the terrible fire at Bradford the same day.
It's wild to know that both The St. Andrew's Stadium AND the Bradford City Stadium Fire all occurred on the same day, two very tragic incidents that should not be forgotten.
God those police officers at that point should have thrown some yellow/mustard or poisionous gas cans and items to make the crowds get away from each other at that point.
A shameful day in our history. I didnt go again untill 1996. Does it even mention a 12 yr old died that day?
15 year old Leeds fan 1st ever game.. Ian Hambridge..11/05/85..Thankyou for rembering his loss on that day
I'm surprised these games were completed. Today, if this happened, the match would be abandoned until another date.
was there that day,leeds fan in blues end,kept my mouth shut and had no probs,birmingham was always a tough day for away fans and came unstuck myself couple of seasons later at Friday night match at st Andrews,but after this game in 85 got home about 7.30 and only live 30 miles from brum,what a mental day,always remember two black lads stood by me saying fair play to leeds they are a massive club. blues was always a place to keep on your guard and heard of many London clubs especially coming unstuck in b,ham
@r que It's because Blues were proper unorganised to begin with. Loads of areas in Brum were more focused on being top dogs than being together as one, once got together and well organised were a top mob and you'd know if you're in the know..
I was at this match and let me tell you I have never ever seen anything like it and to this very day I have never seen anything like it since
Was on the open terrace in the away end that day..............crazy behaviour from all sides of the ground!!!!
good video danny glad these days are over more or less
Soon as fixtures for that season were out Leeds at home last game it was in the post, my pal was in Leeds end i remember the food stand in away end being passed down in bits and used to ram rails,if young lad never died or the disaster at Bradford this game would've been legendary, better than any drug what a fukkin time to be in late teens up to 40s for that game.#KRO RIP everyone who lost lives that day
leeds didn`t attack mate, that was the OB who scattered blues. leeds didn`t even get near the halfway line as this video shows.
st andrews Leeds had already kicked b4 all this, if my memory saves me right leeds kicked off once blues scored. All this shows you is what happened at final whistle, as I said Leeds had already kicked off earlier fact
st andrews there were a lot less Leeds fans and they held their own throughout the day
@@jackwhite8256 Not in the incidents i was involved in.
:\ Shame on them,.... no respect even for their home ground... Those poor Police & Horses.
Christ, wtf is wrong with England and the hooliganism.
Man I'd be like 41 days old when this happend
the leeds service crew and the brimingham zooloo s were recognized as the top two hooligan gangs at that time ,they were fighting all day from am
in the lower league not in the country
@@redflag8970 Leeds and Chelsea were the main headline grabbers throughout the 80s Man U did nowt no headlines involving them Fact!!
@@mick6370 for wrecking small teams minute leeds came up they never made a any news.
@@redflag8970 Any firm on their day back then was capable of a result, some silly talk here, not you personally mate.
Absolute bollocks been twice with chelsea in the day turned up in numbers your infamous zulu backed down and went missing talk about something u know about son🫵
Well the firms who followed these teams (leeds service and Birmingham Zulu's) were basically 2 of the top firms in their day. Also a large part of Birminghams following was black and Leeds were probably the biggest racists at the time, this meant it kicked off, even black people who weren't part of the Zulus firmed up when leeds came to town.
Bradford v Leeds at odsal 86 every bit as bad/mad. absolutely mental that day.
Didn't Leeds fans set a chip van on fire and push it down the terrace or something?
@@rjjcms1 The chip van was set on fire and blue up the Leeds fans invaded the pitch, carnage outside with Leeds attacking police.
The running battles with the police was blues. Only few Leeds got on pitch. Leeds smashed up refreshment stand and Leeds fan died when Wall collapsed on him. There then followed a huge police operation when alot of blues got banged up.
Rip to the Leeds dead ( brum fan) I was 4 wen this happend my dad in the kop middle he said it was like a war zone
My First season and Sixth game, that year.
You got that the wrong way round, it was a young lad from Birmingham, following Leeds.
The wall collapsed on him, at the back of the away end.
Jake Ryder from Northampton the lad who died. Apparently it was the first game he'd attended.
@@adrianoddy4339 and is last so sad r i p
Ian Darke who was presenting Sport on 2 for BBC Radio summed it up in four words. "Absolutely mindless moronic behaviour"
A sad day for English football kids dying because of a football match
Awesome scenes, sadly unlikely to be repeated in the foreseeable future.
ullscarf you obviously have the brain capacity of a carrot.....
Wrong again, Simon Beresford; my IQ is approximately 135. And how is my prediction likely to be incorrect?
ullscarf your prediction is correct with policing nowadays this is unlikely to happen again. But I fail to see how someone with a supposedly high IQ would think this is anyway awesome.....
Well it's subjective, of course. You either get it or you don't. Thousands of people who were young men back in the day will testify to the adrenaline rush of footy aggro that can't be got in any other way. That's got little or nothing to do with intelligence.
ullscarf there are plenty of ways of getting your adrenaline rush. I spent 8yrs in the Paras with 3 tours of Northern Ireland under my belt. I came out in 94 and turned to boxing for my kicks. There’s nothing noble about running around like a wild animal not caring who gets caught up in the mayhem. And I guarantee you one thing, most of these wouldn’t have the balls to get in a boxing ring....
I was there that day and the blues and Leeds fans didn't actually get to fight each other it was all just throwing stuff at the police even outside the ground.I think if they'd have met in the street they wouldn't have known what to do lol.
Is yam pissed they didn't fight🤣🤣only all day and night
Leeds used have a supporters club from the midlands used to take 2 coaches to all games
leeds have supporters coaches everywhere
Even a poxy club like Leeds will attract glory hunters once they won the league.
I used to go on those coaches, pick up in Cannock
Gosh mate sorry to hear about your uncle! Thank GOD there are a few decent people about with brains in their heads! Poor lad only went to a football match only to have his life stolen from him thanks to a bunch of hero headed idiots wanting to inflict violence on each other so they feel like grown men! And as you said, NO PARENT should have to bury their own child before them! RIP to your uncle mate!
I remember that day like it was yesterday, i was 18 then, I'm 51 now, you had to be there to believe it , everyone new it was gonna get out of hand that day, i went up there on one the London Leeds supporters buses and we had no Windows left by the time we got to st Andrews 😁 it was a cracking day , but because what happened at valley parade the same afternoon i will always feel sad
the bradford fire a very sad day
take it from me fella leeds were just as bad
it went on most the night in city centre
and i should now as i was their
rip ian hes never forgotten by leeds as is chris and kev
Exactly Leeds had already done most of the damage before the end of the game and like you say well after the game .
Bloody idiots
Later that evening a minibus of leeds fans decided to stop off at a pub before the journey home.The door staff wouldnt allow them in and told them to go to another pub further down the road.The door staff knew the zulus were in there and as the leeds fans walked in they were sliced pretty bad with knives.
That was not that day it was after play off game lad I know got stabbed in neck
Birmingham won 1-0 and man city went up instead of leeds. It did not go down well
And Oxford went up as champions!
As long as Man City won which they did 5-1 the result at Birmingham did`nt matter.
Day of the Bradford fire.I remember people congregating on the roof.Stupid as it obviously wouldn't support their weight.I remember the crush at the back of the terracing where Leeds had been allowed to enter en masse as per Hillsborough.If you moved to the front there was space.I remember lots of Leeds fans migrating into the less populated side stands(seats)And I remember the ref taking both teams off before the end.Then people stormed the pitch.It seemed to me from the BC end carrying improvised weapons:hordingd,pieces of wood,bottles,etc.Soon police on horseback entered the pitch through the tunnel.Previously they had been deployed outside to disperse the Leeds fans,but seemed reluctant to charge.Mt main recollections are of being waved through the gates(not turnstiles)and riot police charging Leeds fans with batons,and some large clubbing.Blood was let and I couldn't see much logic.No-one was attacking them,and it was far away from the snack bar .The whole thing looked out of control Simone was bound to get hurt.A few volunteered to exit.I wasn't aware this was an option.These are my memories.
Why did this all kick off?
Was it relegation or promotion?
On the day itself Birmingham were already promoted. May have already been champions. Leeds could have gone up on the day but it was highly unlikely. Leeds needed a win and about 4 other results to go their way. So no Leeds fans expected it.
I would of been 10 at this time ✊ always was and will be leeds ( ALAW) ❤️ ⚽ ✊
What does a Millwall supporter say to his wife with two black eyes ? Nothing, he's already told her twice....
That looks a lot worse than luton v millwall.
It was because the coppers set it up and wanted it to happen.
lusc the biggest and best mob ever to come out new street station....fact
And then you met us....
yes mate I use to run with the service crew back in the 70s 80s aka lusc aka Yorkshire Republican army !!! what memories .!!!! am with u now and then
Glasgow Rangers were the best mob EVER to turn up at new st.....on their way to villa park,for the friendly ! hehehe sotv.
This happened just minutes after the Bradford City fire. Look at all the Birmingham fans who went running back to the stands once Leeds charged after them.
Wrong
A terrible day. Trouble was expected all season. At the start of the game the Leeds fans demolished the burger stall at the back of the Tilton to use us weapons. Plus they were ripping up the concrere of the stand to hurl at gans in the Coventry Road stand. Blues fans were way out of order too. The police had a horrendous time. It was like a wsr zone. At the end, as fans were eventually leaving the police sent smatch squads into the Tilton to try and get the Leeds ringleaders. There was a rush to the back and I think that's when the wall collapsed and that poor fan died. Both sets of fans were disgraceful and it's a miracle, and thanks to incredible brave policing, that more werent hurt or killed. And then going home we heard of the Bradford tragedy
I was at this game as a manu fan parent ooen my gob....was in the army at the time and went with a mate.. well fck me it got a bit heated
Seems to me (as a neutral) watching this, is that the City fans were initially just doing a non-malicious traditional end-of-season pitch invasion - they're certainly not running towards the Leeds followers -, until the police riled them by charging at them. What the police should have done was just stood in front of the Leeds fans (as some of them did a bit later) to stop the two sets of fans clashing.
Are you for real?? You obviously weren't there that day. I was and it was a war zone, period. The only agenda the Birmingham morons had was getting to the away end, end of. The only thing preventing the equivalent Leeds morons getting to them, and they would have done exactly the same, make no mistake, was the fencing that coraled everyone in. Prior to everything really kicking off before half time (teams were pulled off a min or two early for their own safety), the refreshment hut at the away end and most of it had been used as missiles against the line of police on the pitch that end (same place as in the vid). All that had to be cleared, before the 2nd half commenced. Absolute shameful scenes from both sides that ultimately resulted in a young lad getting killed ffs. If both sets of morons had been able to get to each other, with the police sandwiched in the middle, it would have been an absolute bloodbath that day. It sickens me that there have been some who've commented here who are actually still proud of their actions that day. Beggars belief....
@@nigelwood4036 Leeds inthe seats at the side of the away end were getting slapped, some Blues were sneaking up there pat the ob.
The invasion wasn't good natured.It wasn't the end of the game.I was told by a policeman that they were aware of fans of other clubs(Chelsea?) who had targeted this game to attack Leeds fans.
Every Man and his dog knew what would happen apart from the old bill,
For such an infamous game there is barely one punch thrown in any video. A lot of running and charging and then retreating at pace with the Old Bill leading the charge. For the amount of hard men from both firms in attendance it was much ado about nothing really in the ground anyway.
Outside mate, outside, It was mental.
Dublin was u there? I bet not so shut up
1875 The park after was crazy vs police
working with a mate today who was in the leeds end on that day he,d forgotten what year it was til we seen this mad
i went to this game, it was crazy,, leeds fan
People often talk about the old football days with nostalgia, looking back now they were actually pretty shit
I think they mean everything football related that didn't involve violence.
I can’t believe grown men in these comments are STILL proud and boasting about this. And you still have the audacity to complain about immigrants when this is what you like to do in your spare time...
your here aswell haha
Indeed! 34 Years later and these knuckle scrapers are still bragging about the mindless crap they got up to. These inbreds will be grandfathers, possibly even great gf's now - it beggars belief! Pity their offspring - all proud of what g/dad got up to, "back in the good ol' days..." I've loved Leeds the club for nearly 50 yrs, but there has always been a large section of mindless morons attached to it, which have brought shame on the club and still do. Sadly every club is the same and not much has changed over the years, just not as newsworthy in the media anymore and mobile tech' has made the scum more savvy, in organising things and not getting caught. Some of the teenage foot-soldiers back in '85, will now be the generals of today, wearing their scars with pride. How pathetically sad that all is...
This was my Sixth game. I still remember coming out by the clock exit and seeing the row of Police bikes all lying on the floor.
And a bit later, the unfortunate incident with the wedding coach. Someone shouted it was a Leeds coach arriving, and it got showered with house bricks. There wasn’t a window left in it.
Was mental all day ,all night ,
Good of them to wait til the end of the game at least
Leeds were shitting it hiding behind old bill..blues ran them ragged outside after
I was there mate and blues didn't run anyone ragged outside because the old bill kept the two sets of fans apart all day,talk to any Leeds fans that were there that day and they'll tell you the same,there may at some stage through the day have been a few small skirmishes around the ground but defiantly not anything on a big scale.blues had it with the old bill outside after the game but blues and Leeds never got at each other that day fact! It was a mad day I was only 13/14 and the whole city was talking about the game the whole week leading up to the game,I'm villa but everyone went to that game that day because everyone knew what was going to happen.
Oh yeah and I remember later much much later into the evening it went off in town by new street station,me and my mates were just going into the station to catch the train back home to longbridge/Northfield
+Stewart Watson Spot on with that comment about everyone knowing what was going to happen - it was exactly the same in Leeds! We always had a look at the fixture list when it first came out to see when we were playing certain teams. The last away game of the season was always one to look out for and we couldn't believe it was Brum. Every man and his dog were talking about it for months ahead. Everyone knew it was gonna be a big one - the old phrase "we went for a riot and all of a sudden a football match broke out!". On the morning of the game in Leeds all you could see were groups of lads mobbing up for coaches or the train - everyone carrying crates of ale. The co-op by the Bond St shopping centre got robbed of ale too. We ended up blagging onto a coach that went via Leicester (and a run in with the Baby Squad!) and ended up getting free into the ground when the gates were smashed down. Total mayhem all day long - tempered at the end by the awful news from Bradford and the Leeds lad that was killed.
+Stewart Watson the same applied in Leeds mate. I remember as soon as we saw the new fixture list for that season everyone knew it was gonna be a crazy last day. We always looked out for who we were playing last game away. Everyone man and his dog was talking about it in Leeds for weeks before the game. I remember leaving Leeds that Saturday morning and there was just a weird buzz about the place and a real sense of violence coming!
simon onepunch barrat dont think so
VHS.. miss you
TheRiothamus84 beta orf!
Lol KRO them were the days my dad told me about the ground has changed so much since them days great video shows the boys in there prime
Tough guy
Can you confirm who owns this footage?
West mids police .
What a great thing it would've been for anyone born since 2000's to be in the midst of this. It would've been the time of their lives.
No it wouldn't mate. You can't have been in a lot of it. There are no heroes and the end result is that the biggest lad in the biggest team wins.
Been there seen it done it and try to talk young lads away from it now. Only two rules at the time.
Don't turn your back and don't run.
Mot..
Yes great times, a young lad losing his life..
That sick country.
we were worse then than we are now, (not much) but still worse. But we are still famous and always will be...
Wankers!! I followed Leeds till this day. I burnt my famous Leeds scarf in front of those Yorkshire "Fans" at the same time as the wall went over. My 15 year old brother got knocked out by a bottle. What were they thinking!! I hate Leeds and always will.....massive pity uncle Don Revie!! RIP.
Andy Spokes why when the police caused that by charging the Leeds fans as they left the ground dickhead
How stupid burning your scarf but a very brave thing of you to do 🙄 Suppose you support man u now !! 😳
Why didnt the police just let the Birmingham fans have the few coins they asked for to put dinner on their families tables.....i just dont get it..
top day out credit to both mobs bang at it all day and into the night great footage happy days
for some
Birmingham caused more trouble that day, but I think Leeds are worse nowadays
why do the police allow games to go ahead on a saturday at 3pm when u know theres gonna be trouble, just been watching leeds v millwall from 2007 sat kick off at 3pm loads of trouble, sometimes i think the police want the aggro
See now that's just stupid
The police love it as much as the hooligans, they are their own firm.
Was there that day our van got smashed up by the Brum fans , very weird day 🤷♂️
Thatcher's Cops saved Leeds-Why do we not have these resources now? For the NHS?
Looked like Birmingham fans were the ones running away.
@@tenfourproductionsllc Well you no nothing mate.
Many Leeds fans were miners and knew all about wmp
Don't forget that a 16 year old lad was killed at this game . I'm a villa fan but was very upset that a young life was lost just because he went to a footballer match, people like me ask is support your team but don't fight, i more often than not have a beer or two with the outher side's fans in some of the real ale pubs in Birmingham city center and the Barton arms not far from villa park and made some good frends ( have met up with them when villa go to there ground ) drinking beer is more fun than fighting . LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FOOTBALL COMING BACK HOPE IT'S FUN I'VE GOT MY BEER IN
Wasn’t he killed by Leeds smashing up the refreshment Stand and it collapsed on him???
was at ht pitch invasion
what at 5:20pm?
Doesn't look like much is actually happening to be fair. Lot's of Blues fans running on and off the pitch!
Was there actually any fighting?
Not so much in the ground between rival morons, but some within the Birmingham lot and in between them and the police in places and then at the end when the police finally charged the Leeds lot. I recall the shepherded walk through the building site outside the ground and into the city, was not very pleasant, with gangs of Birmingham lot looking to ambush our column from a number of side streets. They were chucking anything they could find at us.
Edit - actually there was some fighting, apparently in the seated area at one side of the away end, where some Brum morons got into, to have a go our morons, which I didn't see due to where I standing. Honestly, there was so much kicking off constantly all over the ground, it was impossible to keep up and take it al in! Crazy day..
There wasn't much hand to hand.
Mainly the blues throwing massive boulders at us while being backed up by the coppers on horses.
Group if about 50/80 Leeds got done in kop car park before game and ambushed in Aussie bar in city centre
terrible absolutely terrible
Leeds fans were known for been extremely racist, and as Birmingham City was one of the first clubs with a mix of black and white supporters, they took offence, it was a reaction to racism NOT mindless violence.
Bollocks
two clubs with mobs end of season promotion game for both attendance larget than normal in a tense atmosphere. that was the reason for this.
Typical nose. Always making shit up.
Bullshit
This is insane... Even the police on horseback are running for it
I was there that day and the Police ended up bossing this. I saw alot of beatings dished out by the Police that day against people who absolutely deserved what they got.
Birmingham dashed straight back . 😂
i know they are both notorious mustash growers.
Probably the worst game for trouble
Biggest mob ever to descend on new street station .. Fact . LSC notorious
It wasn't i'm afraid THE United has that honour, and West Ham would take some beating
Man united/Cockney reds would fill up half the ground, upon every visit during the 70's and we couldn't match them. Chelsea were the first mob to land on new street and that was way back in 1968. They brought twice as many as Leeds. Forest in 1988 brought one hell of a crew to an FA Cup match and made Leeds look like amateurs.