while neither is a spectacular ticket - plymouth argyle and doncaster rovers respectively - to a supporter coming from overseas, having the opportunity to see the albion at home twice in the space of three days is something that is unlikely to happen again in my lifetime, ane being quite uncalculated, at that. it is unique and i hope i will always treasure it.
at the suggestion of some of the posters on the BBC's 606, i've got tickets for the upper tier of the east stand. i was told that it's probably the best view of the game, and fairly relaxed. whereas, i was also told that if i really want to get a bit of atmosphere and a lesson in olde anglo-saxon football vulgarity and a general rowdy old time, then the smethwick end is the place to go. i chose the former, as almost all my football experiences in england were a long time ago and there was an aspect to it that it was really frightening.
now, i haven't been to a football match in england since march in 1976, when i went to highbury and saw west ham united trounced 5-1 by the arsenal. in the process of arriving at the stadium, a friend and i got jumped by a gang of kids as we were entering the away supporters end of the ground and i had my nose broken. it was a long drag of a day (my friend and i were supporting west ham at the time) and we met some young spurs supporters coming back on the train who could see from my broken nose and our general attitude, that we were on our way back from highbury and were decent enough to sit down and commiserate with us. i've always liked spurs and their fans ever since.
before that, it was a 3rd round cup-tie at stamford bridge with crystal palace - then managed by the inimitable malcolm allison - away to chelsea. quite incredibly, palace was in the the 3rd division, in those days, and chelsea spent a season in the 2nd division. the match was won 3-2 by palace, putting chelsea out of the cup. mid-way through the second-half - and with palace having just gone in front again - an element of the chelsea gang, who had formed a long line at the back, and running the width of the terraces - started pushing down on the crowd, causing it to move forward in a kind of uncontrollable wave, and ultimately causing those in front to spill violently onto the pitch, inspiring running battles between crystal palace supporters, chelsea supporters and the police.
the incident was made famous as a photo of a hooligan delivering a kung-fu style drop-kick on a policeman made the front pages across the country. it was the worst incident of football violence that year.
i'm glad to say , that from all reports i've heard about the development of hooliganism over the years, is that while it still exists, and is still repulsive and in its own way more violent than it was - it no longer occurs within the confines of the stadium with the regularity that it used to, and its thrust is no longer the general social chaos, for example, of chelsea supporters all wearing their club colours walking down fulham broadway after an away loss at craven cottage turning over every car in their path. it has instead, changed to a scene where the hooligans are only interested in meeting other rival hooligans and engaging in selective and often armed conflict. they do not wear the identifying colours of their club, other than a small pin which is used, it seems, solely as an identifying symbol when needed. generally speaking, the scarf wearing, rattle shaking, banner waving football fan isn't a specific or important target anymore.
being a fan of the latter category, i'm looking forward to my visit just as a devout muslim would on a pilgrimage to mecca.
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