The Rookery was really quite small with little depth or slope. 4,500 to 5,000 max spotty teenagers and half-cut fanatics mainly. Only remember standing there for the European home games in 1983 when the atmosphere was fantastic. It is very hard to judge on 'official' attendances back then. It was not unknown for clubs to undercount in order to avoid VAT in an era before TV money.
I'm pretty sure they had the whole Rookery that night Stevo. I must admit it was a while ago so a bit misty like that evening.
Come to think of it, the big clubs were always given the whole of the Rookery. It was annoying as we were stuck out in the rain up the vic rd end. It was definitely an advantage for the away teams. The atmosphere didn't travel well up there did it.
TBF from what I remember of standing on the Vic Rd terraces was that the "atmosphere" rarely left the area under the scoreboard.
I checked on the Youtube footage and it was split. Our bit was as packed as theirs. *Warning* Those of a nervous disposition might want to look away as this contains a falling Ian Rush. Though to be fair it looks less of an obvious dive in the footage.
If you look right at the end they show a clip of the left side when Liverpool scored. It looks like all Scousers to me.
That video is confusing, the left side was definitely home for 'that dive', I know, I was in it. Was there more than 1 game that Rush fell over?
That is exactly how it was. One bay for Watford (with a few scousers in there) and 3 bays and the bend for Liverpool. At one point the fans going through the turnstiles couldn't get in given the wall of bodies immediately on the other side at the back of the terrace. So if my estimation of 7k Liverpool fans coming through the six turnstiles in the away end is robust (and I think it is) add that to 1,500 Watford fans and the Rookery was over, but not thousands over, capacity. Mind you at one point Liverpool fans did force open the exit gate but it was for moments rather than minutes. I also squeezed myself into the Rookery that night when turnstile duties were finished. Interestingly I don't remember any trouble from a violence perspective unless Diamond or La Tempesta remember differently. The conditions were ripe for it. And many of the northern clientele I met that evening were far from sweetness and light. PS - If you call me a horse again and I'll ..... !
That was the big downside of not having a roof at the Vic Road end (north stand). We made plenty of noise/ singing under GT but the ground was so open it was lost to the sky. It was hard to intimidate the away fans or sound loud on MOTD like at other clubs. Getting wet was normal in those days but we were young and only paid 3 pounds to get in. Wonderful times.
That night I was squeezed into the far left of the Rookery, (as you look at the pictures), as I simply couldn't get any further over. I don't remember any trouble either before, during or after.
This is why we have demanded our own place on the forum* where we can wallow in the past and let you younguns discuss the latest kit, version of Fifa or that grimey music * We havent really but there was some talk of it. I'd be more than happy to see it.
You should know by now that us older folk like repeating ourselves and reliving golden days of yore. Just for you ... I like the new kit. Stripes suit the more ample frame so perfect for many us our fans as well as our captain.
Arriviste! Some of us only paid £2*! *Awaits the arrival of the really old farts who probably paid in groats or whatever it was in ye olden days.
Getting wet I could have lived with if I didn't wear glasses but I did. They weren't fitted with automatic wipers so I had to wipe them myself every minute - and they were usually off when something interesting happened
I remember turning up for a game at L*t*n and being outraged they were charging £1 for a programme when everyone else was at about 50p.
The only trouble I remember was my dad threatening to punch some scouser for continually shoving him! No there was no trouble that night, the ‘firm’ that stood in the rookery at that time were a group of teenagers, we went down there for the singing, the laugh, the crack with opposition fans a few feet away, and because the scoreboard already had its own group. I think if the LHS had been split like that just a few years later it would have kicked off in an almighty way as the group had grown bigger and older and a few nutters had blossomed.
I don't know if this has already been suggested or not, but Red & Black stripes in the same design as the home kit, seems an obvious choice for our away strip.
I'm probably wrong, but I don't think the rules would allow us to play in black stripes against team in black stripes (toon and muff) so we'd be getting into third kit territory for those away games.
I may be wrong but I think the point is that our home strip didn't have black stripes then so could be worn in the event of a clash, two kits both with black stripes would/could be an issue.
