Went for a long walk yesterday and went past the Horse and Groom!Pub has a sign on the doors saying shut until further notice!i think the bloke that runs it has taken over the White Horse further up the road.Could be a bit of a nightmare for fans having a beer next monday,mind you it could be open by then but i doubt it by the looks of things.
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blimey dood, was it burnley who glassed ya or was ya in the wrong place at the wrong time?
All hell broke loose.
Most of these books are different to the facts
Then a second lot came in, and started being a little loud, in a "and what are you going to do about it" kind of way. The landlord came out, covered up the pool table and the pub filled up. I don't know what the catalyst was, but it just kicked off, glasses going in all directions, most seemed to be aimed at the big mirror behind me presumably to try and break it. I was sat right in front of the mirror and could hear the glasses breaking on the mirror (I had my jacket over my head and was trapped between the seat and the table) but was showered with beer and broken glass, fortunately the mirror didn't break.
Then it stopped, no-one was fighting and I guess they'd run of glasses to chuck. A table where there'd been a Burnley fan and his two kids (aged I reckon 10/11 years old) was in matchsticks and there was that atmosphere of wtf was that all about. One of the Burnley fans was screaming at anyone to fight him, but there were no takers...For those that know the pub there is or at least was a pillar to the inside left of the side entrance. One of the Burnley crew had a Charlton fan literally by the throat, and in his other hand an upturned pool cue. I'm not ever going to watch someone get beaten up and do nothing, I went over and told him to put the cue down and let this guy go. Strange that 13 years on I can still see the vacant look in this bloke's eyes, drunk or stoned I don't know, probably both. Anyhow after some persuading he did, I pulled the Charlton fan away and turned to walk back to get my jacket and at that point it kicked off again with me this time right in the middle. I never saw what hit me, all I heard was a crunching, cracking noise as the glass or bottle made contact with the right side of my skull. Naturally it shattered on impact leaving me with an inch long gash about two inches above my ear.
The police turned up after I left the pub (at that point having seen enough I grabbed my jacket, shoved my buddy in front of me and we ran for it), not stopping until I was outside and halfway up the road. I remember sort of realising at that point that I'd been hit, and put my hand to where the glass had hit me and blood was literally dripping off my finger tips, plus it was running down my face, everywhere. When I got home that evening it had run down the back and front of my shirt and the match ticket which was in the right breast pocket of my shirt was pretty saturated. The St John's peeps stitched me up at the ground and by the time I was cleaned up I'd missed a chunk of the first half - but caught the three goals.
The police arrested I think four or five people who were put on remand until the case came to court (about Sept/Oct time). At the trial (Belmarsh) they pleaded guilty but plea-bargained their crimes down, and one got off on a technicality (some confusion about the colour of his jacket), so I never got to give evidence in court, which still grates a little, but justice was done. Part of the plea-bargain was that those who pleaded guilty would be let out on remand until sentencing, the judge however threw that bit out...and let them rot in prison for another month. Good man.
The landlord was knocked unconscious and someone lost a number of teeth, I think six or seven. But out of the packed pub - maybe 100 or so people, I was the only witness that came forward. Supposedly there was an off duty policeman there that day and if so he did nothing to stop the fighting.
After that I started drinking at the Swan in the Village before matches.
A few people i know were there that day and Ive heard all the stories about it, pretty shocking.
There's alot of bravado and bullshit that gets put about, about what happens in these circumstances, but what you did was certainly an act of bravery.
agreed afka re the bravery part, not sure how many people would of done that, bfr thats quite a tale, shocking really that these 'ard people cant just go toe to toe without glassing someone! Its so cowardly.
good on ya bfr for standing up to these morons