NUFC Fans -1975/76
Falling Apart at the Seams
At the end of July Minister of Sport, Denis Howell, announced the findings of the working party on crowd behavior with particular emphasis on control and safety of First Division grounds. It recommended that all clubs should arrange meetings with local police, magistrates, and court clerks so as to work out a uniform policy in the treatment of soccer hooligans.
It also suggested the use of detention centres for hooligans as an alternative to fines.
The Safety at Sports Grounds Act became legislation implementing the findings of the Wheatley report. It meant that football grounds had to be licensed by the local authority and had to comply with the "stiff" safety regulations in line with other entertainment venues such as cinemas.
As a result improvements were made to the Gallowgate before the season commenced.
Catering services were revamped with "Stadia Catering" taking over the franchise.
Armchair fans also got a better view as a new camera structure was erected in the West Stand giving a much higher vista than ever before
That's Not The Way (I Like It)
The average attendance during the season was 34,269 for league matches; a slight increase on the previous campaign and impressive considering what was happening at many grounds.
With the recession beginning to bite many northern industrial clubs were being hit hard with Liverpool and Everton witnessing some of the biggest drops.
When Joe Harvey was sacked the fans were looking for a "big name" replacement and were severely under impressed with the unknown Gordon Lee. With the faithful still smarting from the Cup Final defeat and the disappointments of the 1974/75 season it was clear that the new manager had his work cut out to win over the fans.
The club's usual inconsistency seemed more entrenched than ever and it appeared to induce mass schizophrenia amongst the crowd.
When the going was good (notably in the Cup matches) the fans were happy and the chant of "Gordon Lee's Black 'n' White Army" echoed around the Gallowgate. Another (albeit more gallant) Wembley failure didn't prevent hundreds of thousands welcoming the vanquished home after the League Cup Final.
But the mood often darkened when things were not going quite as well. Phone-ins and letters pages were often overflowing with complaints about the team's style and quite often players were singled out for criticism during games.
The abuse reached a crescendo when the team performed desperately in a dire 1-1 draw at home with Ipswich at the end of December the crowd turned in no uncertain style. Before the game had even started the tone was set when a placard stating "WE ARE BOARD SICK" was hung on the stand facing the directors.
During the game The Leazes End had a "sit down" protest and players, chairman and manager were all jeered mercilessly. The team was booed off the field at half-time, when they re-appeared for the second half and at the end of the game.
You might think that the team was struggling, but they were not doing too badly, especially at home where the previous results had been 1-1, 3-0, 3-0, 5-1, 2-2, 5-2, 2-0, 1-2 and 4-0!
Action
Trouble was endemic throughout the season. Right from the opening day the hooligans resumed their "war". United travelled to Ipswich on the opening Saturday and "fans" caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage to local hostelries.
One of the worst days was August 30th. Losing 3-0 at Luton Chelsea hooligans invaded the pitch in an attempt to get the match abandoned. When this failed they resorted to rampaging through the town and destroying a train.
When another train was set on fire British Rail withdrew the football specials and stated that clubs would have to charter their own trains and accept liability for any damage.
The FA responded with a two-point plan for transporting fans to and from away matches. Firstly, Trains would be chartered by either official supporters' clubs or the football clubs themselves with the organisers being held responsible for the behavior of the fans. And secondly fans should only be allowed to travel if they were registered supporters carrying an identity card and a ticket for the match.
The plan never really got off the ground but Newcastle United Supporters Club became the first in the country to launch an ID scheme and during the season 3500 of the 5000 members had joined the scheme.
The Police Superintendents Association had a more hair brained idea suggesting the introduction a classification scheme (along the same line as the cinema) with fans under the age of 16 banned from "X-rated" games unless they were accompanied by an adult.
Low Rider
Unfortunately it had little impact with a senior Leeds police official labelling United supporters the "second worst" in the country (behind Manchester united) and the worst trouble of the season was reserved for the home match with the Red Devils in March.
It was an all-ticket game but this was to no avail as United fans decided to take on the Red Army.
During the game batons were drawn as police waded into the Gallowgate. The main trouble had started when United yobs smashed down a barrier to get at the Mancunians. They also bombarded the visitors with bricks and bottles. The violence was described as the "worst seen" at the ground by the officer-in charge.
More than 50 were injured and eight required hospital treatment. Eighty-two were ejected and twenty-five arrested. The entrances to the newly opened Eldon Square were locked to keep the bands of roaming hooligans out.
There was, inevitably, trouble at the League Cup Final and there were 50 arrests in total including that of a Londoner who stabbed United fan Glen Stephenson four times in the back. But Scotland Yard praised the fans for being "generally well-behaved".
Indeed their behavior at the Final drew praise from all quarters. Even Man City captain Mike Doyle wrote a letter to the club praising the fans' sportsmanship
Gordon Lee's self-named "Black and White Army" also received positive press from the excellent turnouts for the FA Cup matches at Coventry (8,000) and Derby (12,000).