It's nearly Saturday...

[Ardiles]

I reckon Eric should write his memoirs.

Clearly, he's a Swindon fan taking the piss.

[chalkies_shorts]

Eric is very special.

[Private Fraser]

I just parked up in a housing area behind and walked up that alleyway into the ground. Don't remember a tunnel  I remember that stand on the left that held about 150 

Ah, yes.  The 'Blue Peter Stand'.  So named because it looked like it was constructed from empty cereal boxes and sticky backed plastic. 

[Quagmire]

What time are people getting the train for those that are going?

Am i right in thinking all trains from Swindon will need to change at Didcot, then onto Oxford?

[stfcjack]

Am i right in thinking all trains from Swindon will need to change at Didcot, then onto Oxford?

that is correct

[suttonred]

Enjoy this classic from everyone's favourite Oxford fan - Eric read

Posh Red said: ↑
I'm obviously a few years behind you two.

My first game at Oxford was in 1980, and have been half a dozen times.
Have to say in all my visits I don't recall getting any trouble from the locals.
That was after segregation came in and the away fans were put in the Cuckoo Lane End. Strange thing with Swindon was, we used to scour the city for you before the game, but never saw a soul until we got to the ground, and there you'd all be in the away terrace as if transported there by magic. We used to joke that there must be a secret tunnel that led from Swindon straight to the Cuckoo Lane! One year a group of us pretended to be Swindon fans and got in the Cuckoo Lane five or ten minutes after kick off. We stood in the middle of you and up went the chant of Oxford Oxford, and you've never seen 1,000 people scatter so quickly! We really had the Indian sign over you. And all that happened to us was that we were marched back to the London Rd to a hero's welcome. Was late seventies, a different world to today.

In the earlier part of the seventies, when it was every man for himself, I'm afraid to say you were a massive let down and never showed in Oxford. We were always in your town in numbers and took the Town End twice, although we usually lost the bit on the field, while winning the bit off of it.

Oxford have always had this kind of support, and still do, and on Saturday you will see 16 to 60 year olds clad in designer clothing, frothing at the mouth with hatred toward you.

Enjoy...............

Eric is a lying cunt. About 20 or 30 of them came in with red and white dotted on them. The away terrace was pretty empty, mainly families and the quiet ones, all of the "boys" were still in the pub as it was still 45 mins before kick off, and proceeded to swing at everyone in range. I was 15, my mate a qpr fan same age was at his first ever game got a broken jaw, never been to one since. So yeah very big and hard they were. I also decided never to go there again, and have stuck by that, so i wonder how much the "heroes" have lost from that? In some small way i hope the slightly less money they had helped them spiral down out of the league.

[Only Me]

I just parked up in a housing area behind and walked up that alleyway into the ground. Don't remember a tunnel  I remember that stand on the left that held about 150 

Parked there a few times as well as the hospital car park.

Sent from my SM-G935F

[bleko89]

I think we can win tomorrow but I also think we can lose.

What times everyone getting to the boozer tomorrow? 

[TheDukeOfBanbury]

The name Eric Read was derived from the ref who was hit on the head during the smoke bomb game at the County Ground.
As for the 1000 Swindon at the Simod Cup game there was hardly a few hundred Swindon fans.
Been to all the home and away Derby games since the 70's and never witnessed Oxford fans in the TE.
In fact Eric doesn't remember when the London Rosd End was split for home and away fans and Kammy scored twice to claw us back to 3-3.
How old is this bloke?

[leftside]

Oxford have always had this kind of support, and still do, and on Saturday you will see 16 to 60 year olds clad in designer clothing, frothing at the mouth with hatred toward you.

Rabies.

[leftside]

Am i right in thinking all trains from Swindon will need to change at Didcot, then onto Oxford?

Didcot station was the only place I got caught up in nastiness, receiving a bit of a shoeing after a defeat. Despite the edgy atmosphere at the Manor I, thankfully, never witnessed violence, although I have heard of innocents having been on the receiving end after games on their way from the ground to the coaches.

Hope all goes well for those (Town and Pox) who go on Saturday only wanting to experience a decent derby.

[Mother Brown]

The name Eric Read was derived from the ref who was hit on the head during the smoke bomb game at the County Ground.
As for the 1000 Swindon at the Simod Cup game there was hardly a few hundred Swindon fans.
Been to all the home and away Derby games since the 70's and never witnessed Oxford fans in the TE.
In fact Eric doesn't remember when the London Rosd End was split for home and away fans and Kammy scored twice to claw us back to 3-3.
How old is this bloke?

Depends on when ln the 70s you started going.
Pre segregation ,which must have been 1974 ish, I can recall Pompey,Villa,Cardiff,Brizzle city fans and god forbid even the scum being in the Town end
Mind you , Swindon skins took the East end at Trashton gate in 1970

[Flashheart]

I was involved in a fight between Swindon and Oxford fans once.

I say 'involved', it was more chanting stuff that made me look hard. Or at least that's what I thought at the time, I must have only been about 16/17. And I say 'fight' it was actually quite comical....

It was on the bit of grass behind the Stratton Bank. The two groups came together and were just about to go for it and then there was a bit of pause when everybody collectively realised that, for whatever reason, there were no police present. Everyone realised that they might have to actually fight, or something. There was a bit more (less enthusiastic) chanting from both sides again. Lots of "come on then"... from a safe distance.

A couple of the older guys sort of clashed with fists and legs up in a woosy defensive manner more than anything, and then looked at each other as though they were not quite sure of what to do next.

Then, to everybody's relief, a couple of coppers came around the corner. Thank god for that, it meant that we didn't actually have to fight after all.

Of course we went back to being all well-hard with lots of enthusiastic chanting again. After all we were going to kick the shit out of them if only there were not a couple of policemen stopping us.

[tans]

It was talk talk scrapping wasnt it

[Flashheart]

Come to think of it....