Wembley Stadium (the original) My Visits 1973-1995

This section is dedicated to my happy memories at Wembley Stadium between my first visit in 1973 and 1995. Please check out the other page here of later memories between 1996 and the stadium closing in 2000, as well the main Wembley Stadium page for a fanzine article I had published and the stadium's history.

Scarborough 2 Wigan Athletic 1 after extra time (Saturday 28^th April 1973) FA Trophy Final (att: 23,000)

Dad, Paul and I had been to the victorious semi-final at Peterborough against Ashford Town and I couldn’t wait for the final at Wembley; which I thought was the greatest place on earth as a football mad kid, even though I’d only ever seen it on TV.

I can’t imagine the organisation required for Wembley but I know loads of buses made the journey as well as four special trains carried 5,000 Boro fans down to the mecca. It was my first ever visit to the capital and I was warned not to stray!

I went with my parents, grandparents on my mum’s side and my two brothers. My youngest brother, Nick was officially Boro’s youngest fan at 10 months. To commemorate the fact we had our picture taken for the Scarborough Evening News.

The journey on the tube to Wembley Park was an adventure in itself and immediately captivated me. It probably ingrained my interest which would eventually see me make the move to London. 

I couldn’t wait to get down Wembley Way and into the stadium. The game took place exactly 50 years to the day of the first game there, the legendary 1923 White Horse FA Cup Final.

My elders were telling me that there was no rush, but I wanted my first look at what had seemed like heaven on television. Our seats were for the benches in the lower tier to the left of the Royal Box. I was so disappointed once inside.

I don’t know whether it was the lack of crowd, but it looked nothing like I imagined. In time I grew to love the place and it was a sad day when I went to see it been demolished nearly 30 years later.

With my proud family before setting off from Scarborough railway station

for London, with my brother Nick, Boro's youngest fan.

Boro were seconds from holding the Trophy aloft after Malcolm Leask had put the team ahead, when the Lancastrians in the crowd awoke for the first time from their slumber with an equaliser. I was devastated. However my joy knew no bounds when Jeff Barmby sent Mally Thompson through for the winner.

When we came out there was a little stall selling miniature trophies with red and white ribbons so my grandparents spoilt us. The journey home was superb fun, especially to a youngster who was already on cloud nine. A bloke was playing a washboard to a singalong while my grandma played cards with me.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Manchester City 1 (Saturday 2nd March 1974) League Cup Final (att: 100,000)

Mr Smith, a schoolteacher at St Augustine’s in Scarborough somehow used to get enough tickets to arrange a coach to go to the League Cup Final. Back then the game wasn’t even shown live and was played on a Saturday afternoon.

Dad took Paul and I. Nick was still too young for such an experience. Roadworks meant that we were diverted through the beautiful towns of Harpenden and St Albans, while I got my first glance of Hendon’s floodlights at Claremont Road; little did I realise at the time.

Talk of the day was to watch out for pirate programme sellers, punting out poor imitations and only to buy anything with ‘official’ on the cover. Once inside it was absolute mayhem; especially in comparison with my experience the year before.

Our tickets were for the lower terracing behind the goal at the tunnel end. We couldn’t even get up the steps to our block. Mr Smith was most unhappy and gathered us together while playing hell with a steward. The result was magnificent.

We were taken through a door and corridor, which led to some open steps. We came down in the open tunnel area next to players such as Denis Law and Rodney Marsh as the marching band were coming off the pitch and down the middle of the two teams. A steward opened a gate and we entered the terracing, which was relatively spacious at the front.

Young Wolves goalkeeper Gary Pierce was in goal instead of the injured Phil Parkes, and would go on to be named as Man of the Match. Wolves went 1-0 up with a Kenny Hibbitt goal a minute before half time. Colin Bell equalised before John Richards fired in the winner five minutes from full time.

We were in the City end, and some of their fans didn’t do their club much credit. It had been a great day out and wonderful experience, with a look at the action available here.

Matlock Town 4 Scarborough 0 (Saturday 28^th April 1975) FA Trophy Final (att: 21,000)

Boro reached Wembley again after easily dispatching Bedford Town in the last four, which led to a family treat of the weekend in London. We arrived on the Friday morning for my first proper trip to the capital and went on a great long sightseeing walk in the afternoon.

Saturday morning was spent with spotting all the places I’d only ever seen on TV or read about at school, before we headed on the tube to Wembley from our hotel on Bond Street. I recall there being quite a few younger Dartford fans going to the match; after their final appearance the previous year.

Boro absolutely hammered Matlock in the final but the ball wouldn’t go in. The Gladiators had four attempts on goal and they all found the net, aided by flapping Scarborough keeper Mike Williams.

The defeat was tempered by the superb time we had as a family. I had the bonus of adding to my programme collection from a stall at Wembley and then the following day at the Sunday Market at Petticoat Lane; which seemed to be a nice place.

Scarborough 3 Stafford Rangers 2 after extra time (Saturday 24^th April 1976) FA Trophy Final (att: 21,000)

The final at Wembley against Stafford Rangers was a belter, which carried extra spice, as the victors would become the first club to lift the trophy on two occasions. Many people recall music that was in vogue during a memorable moment in their lives and play it at special times.

I would struggle on this occasion, as I couldn’t get the Austrian entry from the previous weeks Eurovision Song contest out of my head, as we had lunch in Wembley High Street as the football special trains had alighted at Wembley Central station rather than Kings Cross.

Because of this the vast majority of fans approached the stadium from a road behind the goal. Not us. My stubbornness had persuaded my family to walk all the way to a deserted Wembley Way. I was not best popular!

In a pulsating match Boro went ahead through John Woodall before a Roger Jones brace put Stafford into the lead. Derek Abbey sent the match into extra time, where Woodall had a penalty saved by future Everton goalkeeper Jim Arnold.

It looked like the match may be heading to a replay at Bramall Lane when Boro were awarded a second spot kick. Sean Marshall stepped up to fire the ball into the bottom corner to set off wild celebrations.

The match had been marred with quite a lot of crowd trouble on the terraces. I later heard that the nearby pub, The Green Man had been a battle zone before the match. My parents had brought me up correctly, so we stayed behind and applauded both sides on their lap of honour.

In a common sense world this would have given us plenty of time to reach our train home, supposing they had put departure time back 30 minutes for extra time. Sadly they only delayed it by 15 minutes.

There was anger at the station. The train was to depart in a few minutes, but a smug young copper was blocking access. He would not move. People with belongings on the train were panicking while I was learning industrial language by the second. Eventually a mature member of the police let us through with seconds to spare.

Scarborough 2 Dagenham 1 (Saturday 14^th May 1977) FA Trophy Final (att: 20,000)

8,000 Boro fans made the annual trek to Wembley. Under our name on the programme was the legend ‘holders’ in brackets. Dad said it might as well of said ‘keepers’. If only that had been proved to be correct!

Dagenham flew at us from the start and took an early lead through Terry Harris. As the game progressed the Londoners were gradually burning themselves out. Boro were using all their guile and experience while at the same time keeping the Daggers at bay.

With half an hour to go, Appleton introduced Jeff Barmby into the fray. It was alleged that the pair didn’t always seen eye to eye over my hero’s role, with the boss using his ‘horses for courses’ philosophy; using Barmby as substitute to come on and change the game.

Gradually Boro were having more and more of the game and were starting to take camp in the final third of the pitch. With only five minutes to go, Barmby jinked along and his low cross created mayhem, which led to a penalty being given for handball. Harry A Dunn made no mistake.

Barmby was now running riot. Defenders were falling over without a hint of physical contact through his trickery on top of their exhaustion. Once again he weaved his way along the byline to drag the ball back to local lad Derek Abbey.

The big man wasn’t everybody’s favourite as he suffered from the jealousy of a lot of locals who didn’t rate him. However when he found the net with that priceless winner, he ensured he would go into the record books as Boro’s leading scorer at Wembley. The final seconds soon elapsed. We had won the FA Trophy THREE times.

I’m too young to remember the 1953 Matthews Cup final, but if Sir Stanley played any better than Barmby did in that thirty minutes spell, then he must have been superhuman. The master tactician Appleton had come up trumps again, just as he’d done in the previous final when he brought Chris Dale from the wilderness to carry out a perfectly execution job.

It was said by at least one Dagenham defender that they were relieved that the game finished in ninety minutes, because if Barmby was let loose in extra time against their jaded team, it would have led to carnage. Once again we all went to welcome home the team when they returned the following day.

On the Monday morning I was away on the coach to Derbyshire on a week long school trip to the Peak District. Quite a few on the trip had been to Wembley and were full of good spirits before the holiday began.

The holiday was OK with lots of walking and picnics. The hostel was good as it had a large garden for football matches each night. All was going well until after tea on the Thursday evening.

Our teacher, Neil Davis, who had played a few first team games in the early 70’s, had gathered all the Boro fans into one dormitory. Oh great I thought. He must be organising some sort of game.

Then the poor sod produced a national paper and had to break some terrible news. Tony Aveyard had died following a collision of heads following the game against Boston United on the Monday evening as a large crowd assembled to cheer on the Wembley heroes.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Davis was very professional looking back and helped explain what had happened. I was inconsolable as were my mates. I got through until returning home. I’d never been so glad to see my Dad.

Liverpool 0 Everton 0 after extra time (Sunday 25th March 1984) League Cup Final (att: 100,000)

I attended the first ever Merseyside final when Everton and Liverpool battled out a goalless draw for the 1983 Milk Cup Final; as the competition was known as at the time.

I was a student at The De Havilland College in Borehamwood, with my Andy, my Aberdeen supporting housemate, suggesting that we went down to take in the atmosphere, get a programme and then go home to watch the game. As soon as I got there having walked from Cricklewood station, I was determined to get in. 

Andy gave up and left me to my fate. I was about to pay £10 to a Liverpool fan before a decent bloke stopped me, explaining that he was trying to sell me one that had already been used and been passed back. I wandered about before a local approached me. 

We negotiated on a tenner to get in. He had gathered up a few others who wanted to get in, but didn’t have tickets. He gave us all hats to wear. Some were blue and others red, before ushering us towards a turnstile. There was no sign of any tickets, but he was charging £10.

As soon as we got through the turnstiles he took back his hats and went back outside for more custom. He’d been on the fiddle with the turnstile operators! I remember asking him how I’d pass through the gate inside to reach the terracing without a ticket. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “That’s up to you, mate”. 

It made me wonder just what the actual attendance was. The match was tight and played in front of a fantastic atmosphere, with plenty of opposing fans in either end without a hint of any trouble. The game ended scoreless and went to a replay at Maine Road.

England 1 Northern Ireland 0 (Wednesday 4th April 1984) British Home Championship (att: 24,000)

The Home Internationals were in a sorry state, so in an attempt to increase interest the fixtures were played throughout the season instead of at the end like in the past. The attendance shows this didn't work. Remarkably there were still touts outside.

I took a fellow student colleague who hailed from Brunei. We bought tickets for the back terracing opposite the Tunnel End but could move around at will. He was a really nice man who never stopped smiling. I was having a tough time on the course and his company was most welcome.

The only goal of the game came from Tony Woodcock on forty nine minutes, as Bryan Robson led England, with Martin O’Neill skippering the Irish.

Liverpool 0 Everton 1 (Saturday 18th August 1984) Charity Shield (att: 100,000)

The League Cup Final had grabbed by imagination, so when the same two sides were to contest the pre season Charity Shield match I decided to apply for tickets. I was back full time in Scarborough after abandoning my course.

Younger brother Nick wanted to go, as did drinking pal Paul Sharp. I got the tickets without any problems, so we went south for a cracking day out in the capital by train. We stood on the lower terrace opposite the Tunnel End.

The game was decided ten minutes after half time, when Blues striker Graeme Sharp was sent through. He rounded Bruce Grobbelaar but saw his attempt kicked off the line by Alan Hansen. Unfortunately for Liverpool the ball ricocheted off the keeper and into the net; which can be seen here.

England 2 Holland 2 (Wednesday 23rd March 1988) International Friendly (att: 74,590)

I’d got to know local photographer Stuart Kendall. He was going to work at the game so he kindly offered me a lift along with Boro mates Mick Young and Jon ‘Doomie’ Dyer. I finished at lunch, having started work as a Postman.

We arrived early, so we tried to go for a pint in the Green Man. The doorman saw my Scarborough shirt and I was told there was no chance, despite everyone else wearing club colours! Surely Boro fans hadn’t been that bad in 1976?

We stood in the top tier at the Tunnel End as Ruud Gullit grabbed my attention. I thought he was fantastic. Gary Lineker put England ahead, before the Dutch levelled through a Tony Adams own goal as the teams warmed up for the forthcoming European Championships.

Marco Van Basten was missing for Holland through injury, but his replacement Johnny Bosman made it 2-1 after twenty five minutes. Adams managed to score at the right end just past the hour mark as the teams shared the spoils in a good game.

England 3 Poland 0 (Saturday 3rd June 1989) World Cup Qualifier (att: 69,203)

This was the first match with Ade Stelling and Dave ‘Crusher’ Johnson, who were to become regular travelling mates. I somehow slept in after a Friday night out, and had to be awoken by Crusher, but we were soon on the road.

It was also my first time drinking in Stanmore with Ade leaving the car there and us going the rest of the way on the tube. I recall drinking the flat John Bull Bitter while talking to Nuneaton Borough fans in the Corner House.

Ade sneaked in the queue to collect tickets at the Arena, as the line was ridiculously long. Inside I 

marvelled at the warm up as Glenn Hoddle, Paul Gascoigne and Chris Waddle fired passes to each other forty yards away with the ball never touching the floor.

We stood behind the goal as Gary Lineker scored the only goal of the first half. Further efforts from John Barnes and Neil Webb secured the points and sent us home happy.

England 0 Italy 0 (Wednesday 15th November 1989) International Friendly (att: 67,500)

We travelled with Ade once again and stayed overnight near Russell Square thanks to our drivers work perks. It was my first experience of afternoon drinking around London and coming across lots of fans of other clubs and having good fun.

There was a great atmosphere in a warm up match to Italia 90. We stood downstairs, right next to the away fans. It was the final time that I got the chance to stand at the stadium before the ends were made all seater.

Ade could only take us as far as Leeds on the way back, but Crusher and I made the most of our afternoon with a pub crawl in a city that was new to me. The beers in the Duck and Drake seemed to go down very well!

England 1 Brazil 0 (Wednesday 28th March 1990) International Friendly (att: 80,000)

We headed south once more after I’d finished at work mid morning. I was in my new England shirt and seemed to recall falling asleep in a bar on Wardour Street after a far too heavy a session the night before.

Crusher was not happy at the game. He was heading to the loo before the half time rush, so I asked him to bring me a pie and a drink back. While he was stuck in the queue Gary Lineker scored the only goal of the match.

Branco took a long range free kick that had a crowd captivated. Peter Shilton managed to get behind it, but the pace and swerve from our seats high up at the Tunnel End gave it a really dramatic feel.

Bridlington Town 0 Yeading 0 after extra time (Saturday 5th May 1990) FA Vase Final (att: 7,932)

The match may have been poor, but we had some adventure! Crusher had booked us into the Elm Park Hotel at Wembley but I was having trouble with the mini bus. Mum intervened after a company refused to let us hire it after they found out we were going to football. Problem solved!

A few last minute withdrawals left the line up as Crusher, Nick, Doomie, John and Nick Groombridge and myself. The two Nick’s and John were dropped off on the edge of Watford for them to go to the Hull City match. 

The remaining three headed to The Greyhound for a pre match beer before going inside a sweltering Wembley, containing a loud contingent of Brid fans; who’d obviously refuelled heavily. The match was poor and never really looked like offering a goal.

Once reunited, we headed down to The Falcon at Queen’s Park to meet Crusher’s cousin Jess and his junior colleague; the very tall ‘Tiny’. We had a couple of pints before they had to head back. They helpfully suggested Kilburn High Road for a pub crawl.

It was a tremendous night. Kilburn was top class back then. Eventually we found ourselves at McGoverns. We’d been warned that some pubs were fiercely Irish and to be careful. Doomie took exception when the bucket went round ‘for the cause’ Crusher persuaded him to shut up and put something in.

Meanwhile Crusher had made a phone call and Jess and Tiny were on their way back. The others were casting doubts whether they’d reappear when two unmarked cars with sirens came through the traffic and pulled up. It was them!

They took us to a late bar full of elderly friendly West Indian gents playing dominoes where they had a word with the landlord before returning for us at 2am. We were driven back to the hotel past the evil looking Stonebridge Road Estate. What a Bank Holiday night out!

The following day we went to Edgbaston, where Yorkshire were playing Warwickshire in the one day league. Inevitably a poor Tykes side were defeated. We ran out of petrol near Boothferry Bridge as we came off the M62 to round off a memorable trip.

Fortunately we were able to push our vehicle into a petrol station, where a whip round just about managed to get us enough juice to get home!

Notts County 2 Tranmere Rovers 0 (Sunday 27th May 1990) Division Three Play Off Final (att: 29,252)

At the time I was sharing a flat with another Dave Johnson on South Cliff. At the time he was seeing a girl whose Dad, Mike Kelly, was big friends with Neil Warnock from his time at Scarborough. He put on a luxury coach to the match, so I went with Nick.

As we arrived we went for a few beers on Wembley High Road before carrying on inside as we had very decent seats. Nick had decided he was going to the Italia 90 World Cup. I wasn’t sure it was achievable, but I’d made up my mind to join him by kick off.

County were a good side on the up and won the match with goals in each half from Tommy Johnson and former Scarborough defender Craig Short. On the way home, we stopped at Meadow Lane and drank with the team in the Players Lounge.

I had a lovely chat with goalkeeper Steve Cherry as I reminded him of the time he was awarded 10/10 in a Sunday newspaper for his performance a few seasons previously at Boothferry Park for Walsall against Hull City. He was more than happy to talk about it!

England 1 Hungary 0 (Wednesday 12th September 1990) International Friendly (att: 51,459)

Another car journey saw Ade take us to Wembley for Graham Taylor’s first England match as manager. Enthusiasm and optimism for the national team was still very high following a fantastic Italia 90 tournament.

We had drinks with friends we’d met in Italy on Kilburn High Road. That was to be the highlight of the day as the match didn’t do much to excite. Gary Lineker scored the only goal a minute before half time.

England 2 Poland 0 (Wednesday 17th October 1990) European Championship Qualifier (att: 77,040)

Once again we drank in Kilburn with old friends predominantly in McGoverns; where we saw people collecting wages from a counter in the back of the bar. Ade introduced me to onion bhajis from the Indian takeaway to eat on the Jubilee line on the way to the match.

Gary Lineker opened the scoring from the penalty spot, before Peter Beardsley added a second in the final minute in another uninspiring but competent performance.

England 2 Cameroon 0 (Wednesday 2nd February 1991) International Friendly (att: 61,075)

If ever there was a case of loyalty going too far, this was it. The weather was freezing and the opposition hardly attractive. Nick and I had been in Naples when England defeated Cameroon a few months earlier, but the Africans had proved niggly and not particularly attractive to watch.

However, the lure of a day out with pals and a few beers and then a match at Wembley did strange things to lads living in a provincial town. Gary Lineker scored both goals, the first from the penalty spot.

Ade’s driving was put to the test on the way home as we encountered heavy snow the further north we got. My main memory is being stood in a farmer’s field near Rillington having to improvise to release the bhaji’s and Guinness. My poor fellow passengers!

England 1 Republic of Ireland 1 (Wednesday 27th March 1991) European Championship Qualifier (att: 77,753)

Fans were gradually losing patience with Taylor despite decent results. The football wasn’t very pleasant on the eye and he was still playing catch up from dropping Paul Gascoigne for Gordon Cowans in the first game in Dublin.

We decided against drinking in Kilburn for this match. Ade didn’t travel with us, so my flatmate Dave made up the four. We travelled down in his upholstery van, which had been kitted out with padding in the back, which was handy for a sleep as I was working again at 5am.

We were having a great time in the Corner House at Stanmore as rumours were abound that there’s been some real trouble in Kilburn as England fans looked for Irish as they randomly smashed pub windows. It was nearing time to head off when someone said that the Jubilee line was suspended.

What happened next was crazy, but incredible. Nick had drunk less than Dave, so he went and retrieved the van. We packed it with England fans as my brother tried to steer it towards the stadium. I reckon there was over twenty people inside it.

Some kind souls tipped up a quid for the ride before they were told to jump out half a mile away to avoid police interaction. Nick put it in the car park as we entered the ground. It wasn’t pleasant inside, with Irish fans in the England sections.

 

Many were not looking for any trouble, but feelings towards our opponents were tense after England fans had a tough time in Dublin when the IRA sympathisers marched the streets looking for English after one of their prisoners had been extradited by Margaret Thatcher.

Scuffles randomly broke out around the stadium as England stuttered on the pitch against the Republic’s usual mind numbing tactics. Lee Dixon scored before Niall Quinn equalised. The van badly broke down on the way to the England v Turkey game a few months later!

Notts County 3 Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (Sunday 2nd June 1991) Division Two Play Off Final (att: 59,940)

County reached another final and Mike Kelly ran another coach. Crusher joined Nick and I. We jumped out at Neasden as I used experience, so we could go and meet some Notts fans Nick had got to know, and I would befriend in time, up at Kingsbury.

We had a top day with beer and watching films on the coach before County tore Brighton apart. Tommy Johnson netted twice with Dave Regis adding a third. Graham Wilkins scored a consolation for the well supported Albion, as County won promotion to the top flight.

We got inside the players bar at Meadow Lane, once again, on the way home for a good drink. I must admit I felt a little guilty as loyal fans couldn't get inside. I notice as I write this that Neil Warnock signed my ticket. Happy days!

England 0 Germany 1 (Wednesday 11th September 1991) International Friendly (att: 59,493)

This was another poor game, but the trip was an absolute classic. Nick decided to organise a mini bus and thought he’d ordered a fifteen seater; only to be given one with eleven seats from local businessman Barry Boothby.

The bus was not exactly in prime condition. Rich Carsey was given the keys and quickly realised that he’d been given a banger. It would have struggled to cope with its allotted numbers, but it creaked when we picked up passengers on route. It was certainly snug inside.

As we reached Bedfordshire, we were resigned to travelling on the hard shoulder. There were some really good characters on the bus who thought it was fantastic and never stopped laughing, although one or two who hadn’t been with us before struggled to see the funny side.

We had to push the bus into the parking space at Stanmore station, because the reverse gear didn’t work; much to the hilarity of the locals. We were running late so pre match drinking was done in Kingsbury before England were undone by a Karl-Heinz Riedle goal.

A sleeping Mick Cammish summed up the match in the second half. The comedy continued for some of us at full time, as Crusher got within ten yards of the chicken take away shop when the bloke turned the sign round to ‘closed’.

There was plenty more farce to come on the return journey. We waited an hour for the AA van, who thought we were on the other side of the services! We got home 28 hours after leaving for the match, with some even being late for work.

England 2 France 0 (Wednesday 19th February 1992) International Friendly (att: 58,723)

We somehow managed to scramble together enough for a mini bus the night after a Scarborough home game. We had to park at Harrow on the Hill instead of Stanmore as usual as the Jubilee line was out of action.

Pre match drinking was done at The Globe in Baker Street before we were treated to a decent performance from England. Goals came from a young Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker. The match was made famous for a miss by Geoff Thomas as he tried to chip keeper Gilles Rousset.

The change of parking spots led to confusion after the game as Andy Clough and his drinking pal ‘Old Albert’ got on the train in to the city instead of northbound. This was in the pre mobile phone days and led to a long and anxious wait before they reappeared.

England 1 Brazil 1 (Sunday 17th May 1992) International Friendly (att: 53,428)

This was a roasting hot day with two mini bus loads of us making the journey; which included an excellent buffet breakfast organised by Ade Stelling at a hotel he dealt with near to East Midlands Airport. Drinking was once again done in Kingsbury.

Some West Ham fans followed some of our lads out of the much missed Prince of Wales; only to beat a hasty retreat when they saw how many of us there were! Some York City fans foolishly tried to intimidate a couple of the younger members of our party.

Gary Lineker had the opportunity to equal Bobby Charlton's goalscoring record on ten minutes after being brought down by keeper Roberto Gallo Carlos. He fluffed his penalty, trying to dink it down the middle, and didn’t score another goal for England.

Bebeto opened the scoring for Brazil before David Platt levelled. I can’t remember too much of the match, as we did have rather a big drink. It’s my only excuse for purchasing a cheap t shirt that had sketched images of the England team, which drew ridicule from my pals.

England 1 Norway 1 (Wednesday 14th October 1992) World Cup Qualifier (att: 51,441)

Our trip down was excellent, with the breakfast matching the early hospitality provided by Cloughie at his station café. We drank away the day around the centre of town before heading back to Kingsbury for food nearer the game.

The match saw another uninspiring England performance, Platt put England ahead before they conceded an equaliser from Kjetil Rekdal. The signs were already looking bad for qualifying for the finals in the USA.

To make matters worse we were sat directly behind a similar amount of York City fans who looked to stir things up. It was a rotten atmosphere, not helped by the dross being served up on the pitch.

Great Britain 6 Australia 10 (Saturday 24th October 1992) Rugby League World Cup Final (att: 73,631)

While down for the Norway game Ade was asking for others interested in returning for this trip. I made a call there and then to my parents having had a few beers and they agreed that it would be a nice trip.

Ade drove us on Friday afternoon; parking up at Hendon Hall Hotel and then taking a cab to the Old Selfridges Hotel on Oxford Street. The surroundings were certainly salubrious, and expensive, but we had to have drinks to start the weekend in the bar.

Ade and I headed out and also enjoyed a walk on Saturday morning before having drinks at The Railway at West Hampstead and Wetherspoons in Kingsbury as my pal tried to offload the two spare tickets. Mum and dad weren’t that keen on going to the match.

In a tight game Britain’s Deryck Fox and Australia’s Mal Meninga both kicked three penalties, but it would be a solitary try from Steve Renouf that won the trophy, despite the home sides best efforts. The Aussie defence was simply superb.

We enjoyed a decent Saturday night out around Covent Garden and places on the way back to the hotel before we all returned after a lovely weekend on the Sunday afternoon.

England 2 Holland 2 (Wednesday 24th April 1993) World Cup Qualifier (att: 73,163)

This was the straw that broke the camels back for me attending England games. Perhaps I’d done too many, or it was the football. The toxic atmosphere created by a poor team and the aggression in the stadium wasn’t helping.

We actually had a really good day. Crusher, Karl Theobald and Dave Trenham went off piste. A young Karl learned the harsh lesson of buying a round in the Punch & Judy at Covent Garden on his debut day out in the city.

We ended up drinking near Tower Bridge. Pubs were reluctant to allow football fans into their establishments, as the press had blown up the potential of crowd violence out of all proportion. It turned out that the Dutch fans were taken straight to the Conference Centre at Wembley to use the bars inside there.

The atmosphere was fizzing inside the stadium. Fans got behind the England team; at least to begin with. John Barnes drew lots of criticism for international performances, but he shut up the critics when he fired in a superb free kick in the first minute past Ed De Goey.

The place was going crazy when Platt made it 2-0 on twenty four minutes. Dennis Bergkamp pulled an excellent goal back for Holland ten minutes later. Then England returned to type and tried to defend their lead.

The Dutch gradually turned on the pressure. It looked like the home side were going to hang on, until referee Peter Mikkelsen awarded a penalty in the eighty sixth minute when Des Walker was outpaced by Marc Overmars and resorted to pulling him back and tripping him. Peter van Vossen sent Chris Woods the wrong way from the spot.

The match can be viewed here.