Author Topic: Wolves away - 4th May 1976 (Read 225322 times)

Dewey Finn · « **Reply #40 on:** August 2, 2006, 01:54:23 pm »

Is there a comparison in our history for away support in a domestic game? Bring back big kex, a scarf on each wrist and first there gets in. All of the ground + ...

Zeppelin · « **Reply #41 on:** August 2, 2006, 02:03:24 pm »

I remember travelling down really early - I was a student at the time, so skipped lectures and got there early afternoon - it was obvious then that there was going to be a big crowd, so we joined the queue. The turnstiles were at the end of a big alley and it started to get really packed. When they opened the turnstiles, there was a surge and the exit gates at the end of the alley burst open and we all flooded in without paying. I remember the PA announcing the 'official' attendance as being something like 35,000, which got a good laugh. there must have been more Liverpool fans than that in the ground. there was also 1 Nottingham Forest fan - one of my student mates came down with us and got in.

After the match it took hours to get home - traffic on the motorway was at a stansdtill and people were getting out of their cars and running up and down the fast lane - absoltuely crazy. It must have been the biggest away turnout for any match ever. Great memories.

blert596 · « **Reply #42 on:** August 2, 2006, 02:49:50 pm »

Always been one of my favourite games ever this.

I was 13 when I went to this with all the auld arses. Was a bit in awe of the oldies there but was brilliant watching and listening to them ripping the piss out of everyone and everything Brum.

Remember the gates "opening" and crushing my way in. I can recall a load of meshed wire being pulled down to get us through to the end behind the goal and ended up in a great spec.

The party on the pitch afterwards, and the drive home are all a blur really. Remember a big sort of ring a ring of roses going off on the pitch which even then I thought was quite strange.

Going home afterwards and being encouraged by all the auld gets to nick what I could from the services. Not that there was much left when we arrived anyway.

Absolutely brilliant day/night/season

Yorkykopite · « **Reply #43 on:** August 2, 2006, 03:31:59 pm »

There must have been nearly a thousand people standing on the floodlights alone.

Wallingtonian · « **Reply #44 on:** August 2, 2006, 04:06:48 pm »

Quote from: Dewey Finn on August 2, 2006, 11:53:09 am

I was 14 at the time and had never been to an away game. However, regardless of what my Mam and Dad had to say that night I was going to Wolves away! LFC needed a win to win the league. Wolves needed a win to stay up. Having bunked the bus home from school and got out the house before me Mam and Dad got back from work I proceeded with 5 like-minded mates to the nearest pub we knew with a coach going to the match.

The coach came and left at 5 (we got on it). Many got left behind, but having been, and known to have been, to all home games that season by the chief - who was fortunately also my brothers mate we got on and stayed on. I remember some scallies (about 16-18 year old) trying to get on and telling the chief to throw us of cos we were kids - gave them my first moony as we pulled off (part-timers).

I hoped that we would have a good mob there - at least 5-10 thousand. Going down the motorway we passed more and more scousers as we approached Wolverhampton. By the time we got to the city outskirts it was clear that we wearn't going to get in, at least legitimately - which meant paying at the turnstile in those days.

Scousers were everywhere when we got to the ground, one big mass - particulary acute, at gates and turnstyles. The gates and turnstyles where opened on at least three occasions that I saw using a skeleton key - a mass of BIG BOOTS. One of me mates managed to get in as a result of being strategically placed when the gate collased . I got stuck at the back of the queue as a result of the fact that their were 20,000 bunking in and 19,900 were biger and better placed than me (the bizzies also played a part).

Many were still outside at kick-off time. All the blokes dissapeared to the pubs as the game passed on but I was determined to get in. Hovered around every gate and turnstyle, tried blagging anyone that looked like they might have access. We were standing at a big gate when it was still 1-1 and it opened. One fella began to walk out while the other began to close the gate "let us in". He did, couldn't believe it.

We ran up the steps of what resembled the back of the old Kop and couldn't see anything. So, went to the front and also couldn't see anything but then LFC scored and I ended up on the pitch with a few hundred others. As things were calming down we scored again so, back on the pitch. This time they couldn't get us all back onto the terraces so I sat with a few hundred others on and around about the touchline.

When the final whistle went that was it. The whole pitch got covered in scousers. Eventually got back home and got battered by My Mam - but it was well worth it.

LFC had the ground that night. Their END, both stands and 70% of the away end (a few Wolves were allowed to stay in for a laugh). My brother - 7 years older - claims that there were some QPR there when they got there - very early. QPR having thought they had won the league the previous Saturday. Be very interested to hear any old scallies recollections of this game.

I was at the game too, although I was a tad older than you at just over 20 at the time. Travelling up from London, we went for a few beers at lunchtime before joining the massive queue that was building up at the away end. The crush was so great that sheer weight of numbers led to the gates collapsing. There was no vandalism, the weight of bodies just pushed the gates open. I lifted my feet and was swept in by the crowd. The official attendance was 53,000 I think, but there were many, many more in the ground. Poor old Wolves must have lost a packet as I doubt if anyone behind our goal paid to get in.

On the train back to London there were so many Liverpool fans that it was like one of the old football specials out of Lime Street. I think it was the first time I realised our nationwide appeal, as many of those on board were changing trains further down the line to go to such unlikely places as Wiltshire etc.

It really was one of the most memorable away games ever

IanfromUSA · « **Reply #45 on:** August 2, 2006, 05:10:01 pm »

You will be glad to know that I was the one that paid

. One of my mates knew some fella who was driving up early and needed some petrol/beer money so I bunked off school and off I went.
We got in very early,took a spec on a barrier and got ready but by an hour before kick off the place was packed like I had never seen any ground before,was as scary as hell for me,all 5 ft /7 stone of me.
Toward the end of the game went to take a piss and saw the gates at the back of the ground just flattened there must have been 30,000 in that away end.
Lastly nearing got my head removed by a copper on the pitch by the corner flag who was just swinging at anyone close. Then did get flattened by my old man when he found out where I had been.
Great day.

scouse in Italy · « **Reply #46 on:** August 2, 2006, 09:51:10 pm »

I must admit that takes me back.It was only two years I had moved to Italy and really showed me what I had been missing!
I arrived at Manchester airport just after the games had ended and when some Mancs heard I had come to see us win another title they said I had wasted my time and money as QPR had just been crowned champions.
I remember walking into the Albert (my local) to scenes like Istanbul when everyone seen I was over for the match.
I can still remember the massive crowds at Lime street.My last special i think.
When we arrived at Wolves I jumped of the train (as usual) straight into the arms of some braindead superindendant trying to show his "boys" how to handle hooligans.Luckily we had arrived early,it took me about two hours swearing at him every insult I had learned in Italian to convince him I didn't live in Liverpool anymore.Anyway got to the game and saw us win another trophy. Just great.

Dewey Finn · « **Reply #47 on:** August 4, 2006, 09:34:52 am »

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 - 3 Liverpool

Game Date :: 04.05.1976
Competition :: 1st Division Stadium :: Molineux
Spectators :: 48,900
Starting line-up
1 Ray Clemence
2 Tommy Smith
3 Phil Neal
4 Phil Thompson
5 Ray Kennedy
6 Emlyn Hughes
7 Kevin Keegan
8 Jimmy Case
9 Steve Heighway
10 John Toshack
11 Ian Callaghan

Subs
12 David Fairclough

Goals
Kevin Keegan 76'
John Toshack 85'
Ray Kennedy 89'

Substitutions
Jimmy Case out for David Fairclough

From Liverpool history.

How did they come up with that figure? Whatever the actual attendance. I doubt in can be bettered in our history in terms of away support.

BrianL · « **Reply #48 on:** August 6, 2006, 09:23:19 pm »

I was only just 9 when this game was played, so wasn't anywhere near being allowed to go.

My dad was working for Triumph in Speke at the time and would often be on night shifts. So I thought nothing of it when he 'went to work' on the afternoon of the game.

I didn't even smell a rat when there was a copy of the fantastic match proey they designed for the occasion (made up like an old theatre programme) waiting for me next morning. He said one of his mates had been.

It wasn't until i was about 30 that i put two and two together and realised the bastard had taken time off from making 'Cadbury's Smash robot' figurines and had sneaked to the game behind my back.

Our teacher in Major Lester, Miss Brands, was from Wolves and she was tearful the next day as well, the soft cow.

jimmybobo · « **Reply #49 on:** December 13, 2006, 07:33:35 pm »

does anyone REMEMBER the night we won the league at WOLVES, when our SUPPORTERS stood on their KOP and stood on the Floodlights and every wall that we could climb on . ?

the red rebel · « **Reply #50 on:** December 13, 2006, 07:34:45 pm »

deffo remember the game, bit before my time as a match going fan though. great night an amazing travellling support by all accounts.

Durango · « **Reply #51 on:** December 13, 2006, 07:38:15 pm »

They had to win to stay up and we had to win to win the League we where getting beat 1-0(Steve Kindon) with about 15 mins to go,but Keegan,Toshack and Ray Kennedy scored(i think it was them 3) for us to go on and win the Championship.

rhylred · « **Reply #52 on:** December 13, 2006, 07:39:38 pm »

remember the trip home, m6 was packed,bumper to bumper,could.nt see the ball hit the net them days,just had to wait for the roar to know it was a goal,one of the best ever!!!!!especially after bein a goal down after carthorse kindon had scored for them!!!!!!

pad-dock · « **Reply #53 on:** December 13, 2006, 07:41:43 pm »

Went to the game.................stands out as one to remember.......I ran on the pitch when Keegan equalised....by the time the 3rd went in 100 or so Reds were on the pitch.

Great night with massive support.

The dude abides · « **Reply #54 on:** December 13, 2006, 07:51:14 pm »

great end of season game.

All to play for - both sides needing a result for massively different reasons.

What a wonderful era.

On a related note, I have a recording here on my pc of the bbc radio commentary of the final minutes of the and of season game when we won the title in 81 at home to villa.

jimmybobo · « **Reply #55 on:** December 13, 2006, 08:04:49 pm »

A LOT of Supporters will not remember but their Da's and Granda's will if they were packed into a laneway for over an hour before the match. there but for the Grace of God, and Scousers who again had to look after each other would have been another , and BEFORE i PRINT the word LORD REST THE 96 . YES it could have been another disaster, the Police poured us into a laneway and more and more people behind us , were Sheperded in there was no police to be seen. then at 6pm They OPENED 1 old fashioned style the crush got so bad the Gates CAVED IN due to pure Pressure of the crush.

thank God they did I had to keep my 9 year old Son above my head with Thar help of some Supporters as he Developed Asthma. I had tickets but In ever handed them to anyone because of the gates going in Anyway the Game got under way and we went a Goal down and it stayed that way until 14 minutes from time WE only needed a draw to WI the League then KEEGAN STRUCK THEN TOSHACK AND THEN RAY KENNEDY . A job well done and we were Delirious and of Course we forgot about the Danger we had faced Earlier, But as always Happens THE LIVERPUDLIANS looked after each other on What Finished up another Mighty REDS NIGHT.

campioni1984 · « **Reply #56 on:** December 13, 2006, 08:05:51 pm »

Was there a bad crash that night on the way home? Random question I know,but me cousin always mentions it when he talks about this game.

Trabolgan · « **Reply #57 on:** December 13, 2006, 08:21:48 pm »

I was 11 an me dad took me out of school at lunch time to go to the game. Going down it seemed the M6 was full of Liverpool fans. After the game if I remember rightly there was a crash on motorway which blocked the M6 leading to a massive party on the motorway with rejoicing reds. Happy times.

jaffod · « **Reply #58 on:** December 13, 2006, 09:24:32 pm »

I was 11 at the time and can remember listening to the commentary on one of those old radiogram things we had in the front room.Didnt think we were ever going to score.Brings back great memories.

Talk Doctor · « **Reply #59 on:** December 14, 2006, 04:05:29 am »

Remember being about 10 yds from the gates when they bust open. All of a sudden about 8-9 coppers on the other side were faced with about 2,000 well happy reds. I got pushed forward<in the first line and some copper swung at me with his truncheon, ducked, got pushed from behined at the same time and ended up on me feet about 5 foot past the coppers. Stood up and legged it for the terraces. Remember there being a bunch of QPR fans there that night in the Wolves end and also the great match proey they did. Kept mine for years but finally donted it to the museum along with me "Rome and Back" train ticket. When the last goal went in I turned to the two fellas I#d gone with and said this time next year we're going to Rome, but that's another story.

Stanfo · « **Reply #60 on:** December 14, 2006, 07:11:27 am »

Didn't go to that game but vividly remember the commentary on local radio, what an exciting night.

Benimar Col · « **Reply #61 on:** December 14, 2006, 10:40:09 am »

happy days , that was a memorable night for me also sat next to the radio , chewed my nails to my elbows , then what a relief and enjoyment of another title , i think it was QPR we pipped for the League that night

JRC · « **Reply #62 on:** December 14, 2006, 11:02:15 am »

I was there with my leg in plaster, ankle to thigh, so I got a front row seat - but still invaded the pitch on crutches at the end!

The M6 was jammed going down,. We had a big artic to the side of us, and we were talking out of the window in the queue - he was supposed to be on a job, but he was a Red, so he was stopping off for the match - followed him into Wolverhampton, and he just parked up in a residential side street, blocking it up - 'f*ck 'em, he said when the locals came out to complain. The are near the ground was full of underpasses you would normally avoid - but not scary that night, as we were truly mob-handed - just safety in huge numbers; if anyone (Wolves, West Brom) thought about having a go, they would have soon changed their mind, we were like Sherman's Army heading through Atlanta. There were walkway bridges and other vantage points where you could see into the ground, or at least taste the atmosphere, and they were totally jammed - when they opened the gates near the end to let people out, they reckon nearly 5,000 got in - and that's when we scored - although I don't remember feeling nervous at any time that we wouldn't do it.

If the M6 was jammed going down, it was a slow-moving or stationary party several miles long going back. I remember everyone having to move out of the lanes to let an Ambulance go past, lights flashing - only to see, as it went past, the back doors open and about 50 scousers on board having a party - seems they'd 'acquired' it for the evening. A great night, strangely innocent - national rather than European success, the first title of the Paisley years before we took them for granted.

Bruges at home (UEFA Cup Final 1st Leg) must have been only a week or so after that, right? Or had we played that already? I had my cast on for that as well, Main Stand 1st Row, but threw my crutches in the air when we got back to 3-2 from 0-2, and someone in the paddock had to pass them back to me...

inky2 · « **Reply #63 on:** December 14, 2006, 11:33:30 am »

here's the proey

The dude abides · « **Reply #64 on:** December 14, 2006, 03:41:31 pm »

woooooooooooooooooooow!!!!

thanks for the scan.

12 pence! Wow, wonderful times.

Redsnappa · « **Reply #65 on:** November 5, 2012, 04:16:05 pm »

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Theoldkopite · « **Reply #67 on:** November 6, 2012, 06:56:08 pm »

Me and my mate went with our respective fathers who were getting on a bit. They bailed out as the queues got a bit unruly and we did the decent thing and stayed with them. Wish we'd just told them to piss off and we'd see them after the game but we were well brought up young men! So I was (nearly) there on the night!

andy in warrington · « **Reply #68 on:** November 10, 2012, 09:56:10 am »

I remember vividly listening to this as a 9 year old with my dad on our radiogram (a record player and radio combined made to look like a piece of furniture). To be honest I didn't think we'd score.
I don't even think they had highlights on later, only newsreel type footage.
It seems hard to believe QPR almost won the league that year.
Anyway, whatever happened to 7.30 evening kick offs, and teams playing decisive season ending games when rivals had already finished their season.

WaterfordRed · « **Reply #69 on:** November 10, 2012, 12:18:46 pm »

I was there. Left college early on an exam day and got a right bollocking for it since they all knew where I had been.
I remember driving back via the A5 and seeing loads of lads with traffic cones on their heads thumbing it back to Liverpool.
Its funny what sticks in your memory. What a great day.

Yorkykopite · « **Reply #70 on:** November 10, 2012, 01:28:46 pm »

Came across this from a Rangers fan who travelled up to Molineux on a QPR supporters' club coach hoping to get in - he failed. Evocative stuff though.....

For the fans television was not an option. Sitting with your ears glued to BBC Radio 2 and its then static filled medium wave broadcasts was the only option available…unless you felt that you had to be at Molineux in person. Two coaches were run by the Official Supporters Club. One of the passengers was Robin Haldane, still getting over the events of the previous night at the Dell. Others drove up to Wolverhampton. My father, Frank Percival, and his cousin Peter Robinson were lifelong Rangers fans and, together with my brother and I, were season ticket holders in the South Africa Road Stand. Rangers did have some Stand tickets on sale for the Wolves v Liverpool game on the day of the final home game v Leeds but, understandably Daphne Biggs, the Supporters Club Secretary, would only sell them to people travelling on the official coaches so we just decided to take our chances.

My brother Dave and I left school early and by 5pm we had arrived in Wolverhampton. The town was already seething with Liverpool fans, with little sign of many home fans. We joined the queue to try and get into Molineux – our blue and white QPR scarves hidden from display. However, I hadn’t hidden my scarf well enough and a guy behind me in the queue spotted it. “What have we got here then ? Some Evertonians ?! “
“No” I replied. “Queen’s Park Rangers fans”
“What the hell are you doing here ?” the Liverpool fan asked.
“If you lose, we’re the Champions” was my reply.
The Liverpool fan scoffed and said: “We’ll not be losing this game pal.”

By 5.45pm it was clear that Molineux was already full for the 7.30pm kick off. The Liverpool fans smashed the gates open at the South Bank End and a few hundred fans gained entry, but the stewards and Police soon stopped the flow of people into the ground and the queue stopped moving.

By 6.45pm we gave up hope of getting in and set off for home. There were still dozens of coaches arriving from Liverpool. There was no way any of those fans would have got in, unless they had Stand seat tickets. This was of course a time when the vast majority of the capacity of most grounds consisted of pay on the day terracing. The official attendance was 48,900, but there must have been at least 10,000 locked out that night. So we had to settle for listening to the game on the car radio on the way home.

Surprisingly Steve Kindon scored for Wolves in the 13th minute. Maybe Rangers would be Champions, despite the odds ? Wolves were still in front with 14 minutes to go, despite great pressure from Liverpool. Agony ensued though…as Keegan, Toshack and Kennedy all scored in the final minutes to win the game 3-1 for Liverpool.

Here are the goals plus Gerry Francis and Stan Bowles recollections of that night:

watch?v=E98Zj9mVgBU&feature=player_embedded

As for the Rangers fans who did make it to the game, Robin Haldane recalls the terraces being packed solid and a Liverpool fan stumbling onto one of the Rangers coaches after the match. He was bemused when he received the reply “London” to his question: “Where is this coach going to ?”
One of the Rangers fans even gave him a bottle of champagne that had been stashed away, just in case, and the Liverpool fan stumbled off the coach and into the night clutching his prize.

Listening to the Radio 2 commentary in the car on the journey home, my brother Dave and I were choked with the result. I was 12, my brother 10. My Dad put it into a bit of perspective though. He’d been following Rangers since the age of 8 in 1926; they’d had to apply for re-election at the end of his first season as a fan. That summer the club had changed colours from green and white hoops to blue and white in an attempt to change their luck. So much for that ! The 1926/27 season had got off to a great start with the Club Secretary forgetting to submit the club’s application to compete in the FA Cup ! My Dad summed it all up by saying: “Think about it. Rangers have finished second at the end of their fourth ever season in Division One. We’re top London club, something I never thought I’d live to see. Next season we will be in Europe. Our time will come.”

http://www.indyrs.co.uk/?p=700

the 92A · « **Reply #71 on:** November 10, 2012, 02:09:08 pm »

Good account, imagine getting that bottle of Champagne and what a great jesture, it's easy to forget that along with the real fear of a kicking that was always present in those days there were always lovely moments from rival fans, been saved a few times with acts of kindness out of nowhere.

meady1981 · « **Reply #72 on:** November 10, 2012, 02:55:41 pm »

Goals from the night..

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/G1-7GzqHjsE?fs=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/G1-7GzqHjsE?fs=1</a>

B0151? · « **Reply #73 on:** November 10, 2012, 08:37:09 pm »

amazing reading all this

tony new mexico · « **Reply #74 on:** November 24, 2012, 02:18:38 am »

Hahahaha, a Million years ago.

kriss · « **Reply #75 on:** November 24, 2012, 10:49:51 am »

This is what I remember about this amazing night, a night on which a Red army of biblical proportions travelled to Wolverhampton from all points of the compass :

Much was at stake for both clubs. If Wolves won, Queens Park Rangers would become English champions for the first time and Wolves would avoid relegation if they won and Birmingham City lost at already-relegated Sheffield United on the same evening. A low score-draw (I think up to 2-2) would take us above QPR on goal-average but any draw higher than that would have given Rangers the title because the goal-average between the two clubs was so close. As things turned out, Birmingham took a point from their visit to Bramall Lane and that point would have condemned Wolves to the Second Division anyway. Back at Molineux, the biggest travelling army I have ever seen during my time as a Liverpool supporter started to arrive from mid-afternoon onwards. Initially there was something that resembled a queue but an hour or so before the turnstiles opened there was only chaos and an enormous scrum of people desperate to get inside. That desperation turned to panic, not because people were getting hurt but because they didn’t want to be locked out. Having already been waiting for at least three hours, it was obvious that there were more visiting supporters than could fit on Molineux’s South Bank. As a double wooden gate was getting pummelled until it gave way, I took my chance and managed to climb inside the stadium through a toilet window. I didn’t care about getting in free. It was every man for himself and I convinced myself that it was about getting inside safely by whatever means necessary as I made my way onto the massive terrace behind one of the goals.

The atmosphere inside the stadium was extraordinary as kick-off approached. I think the fervour, excitement and anticipation was even greater than it would be on another final-match May evening thirteen years later. Wolves flew out of the blocks and didn’t play like a team facing relegation, not in the first half anyway, and deservedly took the lead. Even though our goals came late, they were the result of patient probing as the second half wore on. A major concern was the number of our supporters who got onto the pitch after our goals. I was seriously concerned that the match would be abandoned and in the little time that remained after Ray Kennedy put us 3-1 up, I remember another Liverpool player (I think John Toshack) blasting an easier chance wide. I am not saying that was deliberate but I am sure all the players understood the serious consequences of hundreds of our supporters coming onto the pitch again. Those hundreds who had invaded the pitch earlier turned into thousands as referee George Courtney blew his final whistle. Having entered Molineux illegally, I left it illegally by wandering down the tunnel and out through the main entrance with nobody challenging me. I knew I had missed the last train that would get me home the same evening but I got a bus to the centre of Birmingham, where I remember a small group of Birmingham City supporters who had just returned by train from Sheffield chanting “champions” towards the larger group of Liverpool supporters that were inside New Street station. They were also celebrating their delight at Wolves’ relegation but seemed genuinely pleased at our success.

Most of our support headed north while I headed south through the night. Like Rome in 1977, it was one of those occasions where you could probably find 50,000 Liverpool supporters who claimed to be there. There were definitely more inside the stadium than the official crowd-figure of 48,900. It was Bob Paisley’s first trophy as Liverpool manager and it was as magical a night as you can get as a football supporter. If this final match of the season with so much at stake for both clubs had been played on a Saturday afternoon, it would probably have been made all-ticket, even though such matches were a rarity in the 1970s. But because it was played on a Tuesday evening, you just did what you usually did at the time … travel, pay at the turnstiles (or not in my case!), watch the match then travel home. The crushing outside the stadium was unpleasant but it was an inevitable result of the importance of the occasion. I cannot think of any other fixture ever in the club’s history where we took so many supporters to an ‘ordinary’ away match as opposed to a match at a neutral venue. It remains one of the greatest evenings of my life, as it must be for any Liverpool supporter lucky enough to have been there.

Yorkykopite · « **Reply #76 on:** December 4, 2012, 03:30:14 pm »

That's fantastic Kriss.

I've occasionally looked for photographs of what it was like that night. You don't really get an impression from the footage of the game - as impressive as it is when we score - because it's so dark. I've never found much though. But there's some terrific old 'Life' photos of the South Bank as it was. They're taken from the 1950s (pre-floodies) but you can see the sheer size of the terrace. And the entire terrace was jammed with Kopites with their flags and banners that night.

You get a glimpse of one corner here. I was beneath the floodlights which, you can see, have been scaled by hundreds of Liverpool fans. When we did our YNWA before the game I remember looking up and seeing the pylon behind me festooned with banners all the way to the top. I can't imagine what the entire bank looked like from the Wolves end.

kriss · « **Reply #77 on:** December 4, 2012, 06:04:56 pm »

The South Bank at Molineux was in the 1970s the second-largest terrace in the country after the Holte End at Villa Park. It could hold 30,000 and it surely did on the evening we won the title there in 1976.

Garstonite · « **Reply #78 on:** December 4, 2012, 11:25:37 pm »

Quote from: yorkykopite on December 4, 2012, 03:30:14 pm

Superb stuff, that. I was too young for it myself, but my Dad still talks of it every so often.

On a not-so-related note - and in regards to these excellent photos - I do wonder why they got rid of the 'corners' of The Kop. That was part of why old terraces were so intimidating. The stand behind 'hugged' the pitch. I started off on the 'wings' and slowly made my way further and further in before settling to a nice spot to the right of the goal most weeks.

Andy G · « **Reply #79 on:** February 5, 2013, 03:37:59 pm »

An excerpt from a book I am writing for the kids about our family and LFC.

04 May 1976 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool. Molineux, League Div. 1 - Won 3:1
Once again we faced Wolves in our final game, and just like in 1947, we could clinch the league title (but this time without the wait), by winning or drawing. Wolves on the other hand had to win to avoid relegation. Dad had arranged to go the match with former Liverpool player and Derby County legend; Willie Carlin as well as a couple of lads from the supporters club. Dad and Willie arranged to meet the other two back at the car afterwards.

Willie says that it is he who persuaded Ian Callaghan to go to Melwood for a trial as Cally did not believe that h was good enough. I am not sure of the truth of this, but he was certainly still good friends with Cally, as well as a number of others in the dressing room.

Wolves went for it from the off and scored setting the nerves tingling amongst the Liverpool supporters, and the longer it went on, the more nervous they got. With 15 minutes to go, it was still 1-0 to Wolves. Then Keegan equalised, followed by a Toshack winner and a wonderful Ray Kennedy goal just to make sure and as the commentary said, “The old firm have done it”. Cue mass celebrations.

Upon final whistle, Willie told Dad to follow him as he made his way down through the stands to the players entrance at which point he kept telling people that Dad was his friend, and made his way to the away dressing room. There is video footage of the dressing room after the game on the History of Liverpool, but Dad and Willie were not in the picture; however there is a famous photo of Ray Clemence swigging from a bottle of champagne and Dad says that he swigged from the same bottle. Dad sat next to Keegan who had just got out of the bath and had a chat with him which came to Dad inviting King Kev to come and visit us at the Derby Branch. Kevin replied that he must talk to his agent first. How times were changing.

Dad felt embarrassed because he did not want to take Willie away from talking to his mates – who just happened to be the league champions, but was also aware that the other two lads will be wondering what had happened to them (and I suppose how jealous they would be when they found out), so the party was cut short, but not everyone can say that they were in the dressing room after, what was, one of the most memorable matches in our history. Oh, and he got the programme signed too.