The week that was - 21st Sept 1976. Charlton 0 West Ham 1

HOME & AWAY

Having accounted for F A Cup holders Southampton in the previous round, Charlton went out to a late goal on an evening remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Tuesday 21st September 1976. Football League Cup 3rd round. The Valley. Att 32,898

Charlton Athletic 0 (0) West Ham United 1 (0) (A Taylor 83)

Charlton: Wood, Berry, Warman, Hunt, Giles, Curtis, Powell, Hales, Flanagan, Bowman, Peacock. Unused sub: Hammond

West Ham: Day, Coleman, McGiven, Bonds, Green, T Taylor, Jennings, Paddon, A Taylor, Brooking, Lock. Unused sub: Ayris.

Referee: B J Homewood (Sunbury-on-Thames)

Tragedy: It was reported that six people were arrested at the above match. In addition, a policemen was was injured when he was kicked in the kidneys and a young man suffered severe head injuries.
Even more serious, however, was the subsequent fate of a Millwall supporter who was killed by a train at New Cross station after fighting broke out between Millwall and West Ham fans. Millwall had faced Orient at The Den on the same evening.

Weegie Addick

How strange! I was just thinking about this match, and even just went into the internet archives to check what year it was (I'd guessed 75). As a kid at the time, I don't think I was aware of the tragic events. Just remember our Latin teacher at school letting us off homework because he was a West Ham fan. I was the only pupil in a class of 30 going to it - football was so uncool/ out of fashion in those days!

uncle

He's name was Ian Pratt. Ran past a west ham supporter and tried to grab the scarf from his neck. Lost his grip and fell on the track. Really tragic think he was only 18

BDL

Remember this game well, first time at a really packed Valley - Couldn't see a thing from the top of the East Terrace, too many people in the way, I was 9. I remember the crush outside the Sam Bartram Gate at the top of Lansdowne Mews.

ChicagoAddick

Wasn't this the catalyst for the Millwall and WHU 'rivalry'?

bingaddick

I remember this game well. We were well in it without necessarily looking like were going to win and then were stiffed by the late goal. I remember the crowd, it was getting on for the biggest crowd I had seen at the Valley. It was at a time when the capacity was about 65,000 and I was struck by the thought that it was impossible to have got twice the number in the ground.

I usually went by train and changed at New Cross. For some reason I went by a mate's car and we missed all the trouble.

Miserableoldgit

[quote][cite]Posted By: ChicagoAddick[/cite]Wasn't this the catalyst for the Millwall and WHU 'rivalry'?[/quote]

Don't think so.
I think they don't get on because Millwall is actually a place north of the Thames , near Limehouse. This would make them "Rivals" as its only about 3/4 miles down the track from Upton Park. Millwall (the Spanners) were founded over there then moved to the South of the river.

Goonerhater

Millwall --- eastlondon fact !! When the Bermondsey pikeys give it about "being a dockers thing" they are probably right two sets of dockers from East LOndon who didnt get on.

There was a load more than 32,000 there as well.

HOME & AWAY

Anyone else remember this one? Decent crowd that night.

redlanered

I was there, but to be honest don't have many strong memories about the game really. Biggest Valley crowd I'd known at a time when the League Cup mattered, but though we'd huffed & puffed, i don't recall us every really threatening to score. And then they did.

I was not interested in terrace shenanigans, but Wham's reputation was tough enough then, and maybe the police were generally on top of things. I don't recall the tensions that, for example, brooded over our game with Spurs the following year.

As for the ground, i could never take the "66,000 capacity" seriously. As others have pointed out, whenever we had a crowd around 30,000, you never sensed that the ground was half-full. I guess we could have fiddled the gate figures but I doubt it somehow, and surely WHam would have had something to say about that.

soapy_jones

Come on everything was fiddled in them days. As for capacity crowds, I fear that people are looking at it from a modern safety perspective. The days of 76k at the Valley in the 30's would of involved crowding that a modern day H&S planner at Greenwich Council would have recurring nightmares over for years.

As for that night and it was a long time ago mind, I reckon the crowd called was about 5 or 6k short of the actual attendance, in the days of cash on the turnstiles, a nice little earner for someone...

stockportaddick

First time I had actually been scared at a footy match, both inside and outside the ground. I remember being on the bus going through woolwich and gawping at all the broken windows put through by west ham. I am also certain there was way more than 32k inside the valley that night, as with the spurs game the following year. Attendance fiddling was rife back then.

AshBurton

I was there too, but don't remember much at all apart from not being able to see! (ditto for the QPR league cup match in the same era). I do remember the crush at the Bartram entrance though, as I missed the first 20 minutes because of it.

I also have no particular recollection of any violence at the match itself, but it was always in the mix around that time - this match was sandwiched between two infamous incursions into the Covered End by opposition fans - Sheffield Wednesday at the FA Cup match (January 1976?) and Chelsea at Easter 1977 when their fans lit fires and trashed most of the house fronts in Harvey Gardens after we stuffed them 4-0. So, if anyone says "those were the days", they weren't - it was bloody scary.

E_cafc

Was at this game and remember not being able to push our way into the crowd on the east terrace so ended up on the roof of a small kiosk in the NE corner, think it was a hotdog,hamburger stand near the floodlight. Remember being well impressed with a packed Valley but gutted when they scored. Actually thought the goal was later than 83 minutes. Far more than 32,000 there that night.

TellyTubby

Was told on the night by a club official (unofficially) that there were 50,000 there that night. Also remember it well for having handed over 50p to a bloke behind the Covered End (never seen him before) for a can of Coke and got no change when cans were around 15p!

stockportaddick

TellyTubby said:

Was told on the night by a club official (unofficially) that there were 50,000 there that night. Also remember it well for having handed over 50p to a bloke behind the Covered End (never seen him before) for a can of Coke and got no change when cans were around 15p!

I went with my old man, a big gooner fan, who had witnessed many charlton v arsenal games during the 50's when we were getting monster crowds for that fixture. Shortly after the start he looked around and said he thought he would never see a 50k crowd in here again and this from someone who had been in many 50k crowds at the valley, he was astounded when the attendance was announced.

throughthickandthin

I was at this games anD have no fond memories.

On the football side, largest crowd I have every seen at the valley, but as already said despite the score line I never felt we were going to win this one and so it proved.

However the abiding memory I have of this night was the fight I was caught up in half way through the first half in the covered end. On arrival we went to our normal spot, near the back to the left off the goal. Usually we stood with my dad for a bit then went over with the singers at the other end of the stand. However it soon became obvious that the covered end had been over run with West ham "fans". At this point, my friend and I, both 14 at the time suggested to my Dad that we went out on the east terrace, "no son we will be ok here" replied dad confidently. Thanks dad, my mate was punched to the ground twice in the melee, that occurred, fortunately with no ill effects. Well I say that, the amount he still talks about that night I wonder sometimes.

This match along with the Spurs Sheffield Wednesday and Chelsea games are memories I do not cherish, which is a pity because they were all wins and in the case of Spurs and Chelsea 4-1 and 4-0, some of my best footballing memories supporting CAFC.

My overriding recollection of these games is however negative because of the violence that occurred in and around them. The night we played Chelsea for me was the stuff of nightmares and one of the reasons I stopped going regularly to football. I marvel sometimes as to how the game has changed for spectators, please god lets never go back, they truly were dark days

cashncarry

I was at all of the mentioned games Went back to Grove Park via New Cross after the West Ham game ,had my gf with me so decided to leave 5 mins early luckily didn't hear about the fatality until I read about it next day in the papers Think Milwall were playing Orient that night at the Den, a recipe for disaster

bolloxbolder

I always thought the crowd v Spurs a season later appeared bigger, although it was a Saturday so easier to marvel at the turnout during daylight hours.

Carl Leaburn

As usual the Programme can be seen here

https://www.flickr.com/photos/addicks7-6/8594282491

Want to see more Charlton Programmes, then visit

http://www.flickr.com/photos/addicks7-6/sets/

thai malaysia addick

I've managed to expunge this one from my brain. If only I could expunge another few hundred defeats.

MillwallFan

Goonerhater said:

Millwall --- eastlondon fact !! When the Bermondsey pikeys give it about "being a dockers thing" they are probably right two sets of dockers from East LOndon who didnt get on.



There was a load more than 32,000 there as well.

We are the dockers club because of our east end roots (we moved over a hundred years ago) and because of the docks all around our south east London home of bermondsey, deptford, rotherhithe, surrey docks etc. Our original nickname was The Dockers. Although they claim to be West ham were never a dockers club as such. Look at the map of London, their ground is situated further out of east London away from the docks. Back in the day Millwall drew a lot of support from docks both north and south of the river. Up until the 60's, when all teams had to kick off at 3pm on a Saturday, Millwall was the only team allowed to kick off at 3:15pm. This was to give the dockers enough time to get from their Saturday shifts on the docks to make kick off on time.

MillwallFan

Oh, and the thing about us being scabs is a myth created by them (shamelessly stolen from Pompey about Southampton). The truth is, during the time of the general strike (10 or so years after we left the isle of dogs) the docks on both sides of the water would have been full of Millwall.

http://transpont.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/millwall-not-scabs-shock.html?m=1

Addickted

MillwallFan said:

Goonerhater said:

Millwall --- eastlondon fact !! When the Bermondsey pikeys give it about "being a dockers thing" they are probably right two sets of dockers from East LOndon who didnt get on.



There was a load more than 32,000 there as well.

Millwall was the only team allowed to kick off at 3:15pm. This was to give the dockers enough time to get from their Saturday shifts on the docks to make kick off on time.

90% of whom never went to the Den

TellyTubby

throughthickandthin said:

I was at this games anD have no fond memories.

On the football side, largest crowd I have every seen at the valley, but as already said despite the score line I never felt we were going to win this one and so it proved.

However the abiding memory I have of this night was the fight I was caught up in half way through the first half in the covered end. On arrival we went to our normal spot, near the back to the left off the goal. Usually we stood with my dad for a bit then went over with the singers at the other end of the stand. However it soon became obvious that the covered end had been over run with West ham "fans". At this point, my friend and I, both 14 at the time suggested to my Dad that we went out on the east terrace, "no son we will be ok here" replied dad confidently. Thanks dad, my mate was punched to the ground twice in the melee, that occurred, fortunately with no ill effects. Well I say that, the amount he still talks about that night I wonder sometimes.

That's where I was standing too. Despite being a couple of years older, it wasn't me that laid your mate out.

austrianaddick

congratulations, you remember a lot. At least I can say a few months before that I had been to England the very first time and watched Arsenal v. Briston City.

Covered End

TellyTubby said:

throughthickandthin said:

I was at this games anD have no fond memories.

On the football side, largest crowd I have every seen at the valley, but as already said despite the score line I never felt we were going to win this one and so it proved.

However the abiding memory I have of this night was the fight I was caught up in half way through the first half in the covered end. On arrival we went to our normal spot, near the back to the left off the goal. Usually we stood with my dad for a bit then went over with the singers at the other end of the stand. However it soon became obvious that the covered end had been over run with West ham "fans". At this point, my friend and I, both 14 at the time suggested to my Dad that we went out on the east terrace, "no son we will be ok here" replied dad confidently. Thanks dad, my mate was punched to the ground twice in the melee, that occurred, fortunately with no ill effects. Well I say that, the amount he still talks about that night I wonder sometimes.

That's where I was standing too. Despite being a couple of years older, it wasn't me that laid your mate out.

And I was stood behind you. You used to stand with your blond girlfriend, a tall thin blond guy & a short guy.
Stalker alert !

superclive

A year before I was born. Anyone got any pictures