Stoke City away FA Cup

Who was at fault that day? I like to think I'm a law abiding citizen but to this day the police were at fault for holding back over a thousand fans and then trying to cram them all into the ground after the game had kicked off.Sorry for creating a new thread but there were similarities although on a much lesser scale.RIP the 96

 

Can't recall any fans being held back but yes it was packed in the terrace and many were helped up to sit in the stand.

 

For one horrible moment there I thought theyd held the First Round draw!

 

Weren't we 3-0 up before Beagrie and Bamber (???) got them out of the poo?
The Stoke fans were waving thousands of inflatable pink panthers on the day.

 

I remember it well. We were two up before we got into the ground which was absolutely packed.

 

I remember being stuck outside for most of the first half.
I think bugger all turnstiles being open was the issue.

 

You can shove your pink panthers up yer arse I remember being outside the ground and hearing all the cheering and thinking we were a couple of goals behind , delighted to be told we were actually in front . I remember the replay and being packed in the brewery stand and crowd give as 23/5 thousand and yet soon after we played Everton to a sell out crowd of 30 odd and I swear there were more people at the stoke game . Ah well happy days and coopers back flips were better than beagries n all .

 

Ha! We celebrated the first two goals in the queue, never saw them until the highlights.

There was a queue of us and one of Stoke fans at the side of us. One was bouncing, the other was probably wondering whether not to bother lol

 

As I remember it, there was a load of coaches stopped off in Uttoxeter and the police held them all back far too long. Also, our sheer numbers took them by surprise. We went in the car and bought a ticket from Oakwell beforehand, which wasn’t a common thing back then. Remember walking past several queues that seemed to go on forever. We simply walked straight through the turnstile into a half- empty stand, which was one of the to touch line stands rather than behind the goals.

 

I remember being squeezed through the turnstile with my back towards the ticket operator .Once in the ground I think they then opened a large gate to get the rest of the fans in.Not a pleasant experience and so unavoidable.

 

Very frightening experience that day. There was a young woman just in front of us who was being crushed into the turnstile due to the late arrival of hundreds of fans who were pushing to get in via the one or two turnstiles that were actually open. The police on horseback just looked on as we were screaming at them to intervene. It took Hillsborough and the death of 96 people for them to stop treating us like animals.

 

Me and my mate were there with my daughter, who was aged about 12 at the time. We got crowded into a pen under the main stand, watching the game through what looked like a letter-box. The overcrowding was terrible and the pressure from the back such that my daughter was getting crushed and very frightened. Me and my mate had to stand facing each other with our arms held out onto each other's shoulders to make a gap for her to stand in. We were like that for most of the match. It was one of the worst experiences I've ever had in a football ground and I was seriously worried about our safety. It could easily have turned into a rehearsal for Hillsborough. Nobody cared. Coming out of the crush was if anything the worst part at the end; tiny gates and hordes pushing to escape. Truly terrifying. Hillsborough brought that all back and gave me the horrors. The police have a lot to answer for still in these cases. Safe standing? I'll believe it when I see it working. Never for me.

 

I was one of the first in the ground that day and to my shock there was only a couple of pens open, told a steward you'd better open them all up because we're fetching thousands, to which he just laughed and said we'd not fill these, how wrong he was, just showed how unprepared and uninformed most ground staff were back in them days

 

Memorable day for many reasons for me. Our coach broke down and we ended up hitching a lift on another. Got to the ground about 5 mins before KO to find thousands outside the turnstiles. We didn't get in until after about an hour when we were 3 1 up. Bizarre outside as the goals were going in, trying to work out which team has scored (n mobiles in those days)! The half hour we eventually witnessed saw us concede 2 for a 3 3 draw....

 

Exeter was worse though, wasn't it?

 

Assume you mean Exeter at home.....3 up and lost 4 3......? Yes it was!

 

Or it might've been 3 1 up....my memory is going?

 

Long shot, but did anybody pick up my old Broadway Tech scarf which got ripped off in the crush?

 

All the coaches were held back four over an hour