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The Popside


uttoxram75

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I love reading this kind of stuff I've unfortunately not witnessed.

 

More memories, please!

Totally agree mate gives a buzz about it all with all what we missed! I'm being serious some one should write a book or something on them all with the stories I've spoke to loads of lads who went back in the day with amazing stories and well told stories too!

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Totally agree mate gives a buzz about it all with all what we missed! I'm being serious some one should write a book or something on them all with the stories I've spoke to loads of lads who went back in the day with amazing stories and well told stories too!

Only Eddie is old enough  :ph34r:

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I can't remember which one it is but there is a boozer in Burton that has the ball from that Fulham game behind the bar.....one of the lads swiped it as we invaded the pitch.

 

Every game we would park at the DRI, walk up to the Grange, grab as many beers as we could, stand on the garden if it wasn't freezing cold or play the bandits inside if it was, leave as late as possible, walk down to the ground, get chips in a massive newspaper cone thing and wobble into the C Stand, just in time for kick off....

 

Such great memories, not just of the baseball ground but of football in general.....the worst thing this football club has ever done is build Pride Park.

 

Pride Park/Ipro is ok. If we'd have stopped at the BBG and developed it fair enough, but as it was, with an 18,000 capacity, surrounded by terraced houses it was finished.

Once the seats went in the Popside then we might as well have an all seater stadium with proper toilets and a bit of legroom.

 

Love the photo's of the old place and the reminders of the old days but i've grown to like the new ground. Especially with the South Stand now giving us an "end". I always wondered what the Ossie End and Popside together would have been like, now the young generation can make their own history, make the ground bounce, and maybe, just maybe, see a tiny bit of what we had in the 70's.

 

I know realistically we can't live with the insane money clubs but Southampton are living the dream atm.......we could do that with Steve Mac and the way we play, the nucleus of this side,  with this board.....why not?

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There was also one near the ground. The picture is opposite B Stand I think.

Yeah you're right. Went in with my Dad before the match when I was about 10 to get a wooley hat (it must have been a January game). It was rammed with people in there, seemed like the smallest room imaginable at the time. I couldn't see a thing. I still call the club shop the Ramtique now!

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Didn't know the lad but i was 5 yards along the line from him and clearly saw him trip the Fulham player. It was surreal even by those days standards!

We must have been pretty close ,the guy who stuck his leg out was about 10yds to my left .Will never forget it  thought the match might get abandoned.

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Good stuff isn't it. Love the stories and pictures too

Whilst not a member of the DLF me and my mates used to have lots of scrapes .I used to go to the match in a white coat with a big ram on the back and all the players names on it.

It goes without saying whilst I didn't go looking for trouble ,it usually found me .One of the guys I often  used to see we called chinner because he would go up to other fans and ask them if they wanted chinning .

 Last time I saw him he was in a one to one with a Villa fan outside the Baseball Hotel, another memory of him was at Notts County he was effing and blinding and a female Derby fan told him off .

He was eating a meat pie with tomato sauce on it ,he put his fingers in it turned to the woman and said, look missus I have had my fingers up my arse. Her face was a picture.

The final memory of the same guy we were away at Spurs ,he was going round nicking their scarves ,and after wards came over to talk to us .

All the spurs fans saw us together and chased us away from the ground ,he steps into a shop door way grabs a load of milk bottles stood in the middle of the road and shouts run lads I'll hold them off .Brilliant.

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 I've been a Derby fan for all my life. Went to my first game when I was about 3 years old. I'm now 51. Missed very few home games from the early 80's until 97 when I moved out to Spain. Also went to many away games. However I've never understood about the DLF. Yes, I remember when trouble broke out chanting "D, D, DLF!", and whooping when I saw some of the things that were cracking off. But what exactly was the DLF. Was it a club? Did you have to take out membership? Could anybody join? Did they have their own "social club" where they would meet up to discuss "tactics"?

 Perhaps I had a very sheltered upbringing, although I don't think so afterall I did go to Noel Baker. Just wondering out loud really. It's always been there at the back of my mind when I've heard them mentioned.

 Anyway, Popside. Loved it. Stood in various places over the years. early years down at the front to get a better view. Even had a couple of years in season ticket pen. Finally ended up on the bend where the gully cut down towards the front. Used to get to the ground about an hour before kick off to enjoy the buzz as the ground filled up. Would just look for the mound of spat out chewing gum to know exactly where my spot was. If we were lucky by the end of the game I would be god knows where within the Popside. The atmosphere was fantastic in there, especially for mid week games. And with that incredible smell that the place had (I'm told it was Ley's, but I'm not so sure)! Fantastic days. Hopefully shall never forget them. Thanks for some cracking memories.

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The iPro had to happen, we had to upgrade and the BBG didn't allow us to do it for the same price as Pride Park. Even if we'd stayed, we wouldn't have been able to have the conferencing facilities we have now, and unfortunately, they're essential to our income.

 

As for this generation making their own memories, Southampton and Brighton playoff games, the 5-0 and Peterborough away are all games that stick in my memory as highlights of watching Derby, and I did see games at the BBG. The South Stand has got potential, especially if it ever gets safe standing going.

 

We still have the noise and passion we used to, but we have to recapture that ability to keep the volume going even when the football or away fans don't give us reason to. That's the challenge for the likes of Nick, Higgo and the rest of the South Stand.

 

The spontaneity of yesteryear is gone, that's a fact. Organisation, commitment and participation have to be good. I think having a ST in the South Stand should require signing a "fans charter" or something where you recognise you will be required to sing, chant, and create the intimidating atmosphere we need. Otherwise you end up with people demanding you sit down who got tickets there because they're cheap. I know a lot of people hate the "organised" stuff though!!!

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There was also one near the ground. The picture is opposite B Stand I think.

 

Yup - my Dad took me in there when I was a kid - it was literally just some tables with a few badges and scarves laid out. I remember buying badges that said "Jesus Saves...but Biley scores the rebound" and "Swindlehurst sells more dummies than Mothercare". A1 wit back then eh?

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