Thetownend.com

As someone who grew up in the old Town End,and cold Friday nights stood on wooden terraces in Colchester i was thinking today do i miss those days,no stewards to tell you to sit,like a dog,really dodgy pies and bovril,and that huddle you had with your fellow followers,my main concern was....does the away end have a roof,the atmosphere was great if it did like your Walsalls ad Aldershots,a thousand away fans would sound superb,and today well footy has moved on,more money so watching the big boys on tv every 2 weeks is boring,even the England friendly was pants,so for me i do miss those days,i could afford to go home and away most matches,these days people like myself have to pick matches to miss now and then,maybe if the Town got to the prem i might change my mind.Do young people get as exited looking forward to the next match as i used too...i hope so,but i doubt it.

I'm with you leefer. I'm also ex Town End from over 30 years ago. I also used to go to most away games and if there was a roof over you then great. The food and drink was always crap.
The problem is that with that you got groups of nutters who could get away with almost anything. Once you were in the Town End it was lawless. I certainly saw some really nasty incidents in there that I wish I hadn't witnessed.  
It also gave the police the belief they could treat you like absolute shit and it unfortunately it took a Leppings Lane incident where the police could actually legally kill you.
There were some games where it could have happenned to Swindon fans - eg Mansfield away, Luton away in the Simod, Scum away or the Slave Traders away in the game that kep them down.

Just off the top of my head
In favour of the old - much more fun on the terrace when surrounded by mates, everyone going ballistic when we scored, interesting stadiums that all looked different, tickets cost under a quid.
Downside of the old - away fans in the home end with knives, crap view of the game, not safe to take your kids(didn't have then tho!), piss swilling down the terrace at places like the Manor

Can you remember Eastville...Rovers ground....the away terrace was massive.

Obviously I'm too young for any of that, but for me football has got worse over the years. I'm sure it is mostly nostalgia that makes me think that though. I'm pretty sure football was crap but in different ways.

Money has killed the game from a fan's perspective, simply because less people go to watch their local teams, which I'm sure was half your point anyway  :o

The fact that many consider televised football as an alternative, rather than something that can coincide with watching a football match at the event has taken the edge off the game. Is money to blame or convenience - especially as many consider a lot of televised games to be especially boring?

Was at college in Bristol and went to Eastville a couple of times - hardly anyone there for the games I went to

When we beat them 4-1 and went top of the league there was enuogh Town there to fill that end. Terry Cooper got the sack afterwards. We then went to Walsall on the Tuesday and lost 5-0 and i got thrown out. It all went downhill after that and we got relegated.

This is a difficult one. The 'old days' always seem better than they actually were. I remember being at Reading's old ground over the Xmas/New Year period 20 odd years ago and being dying for a dump. The state of the crapper still gives me nightmares now !

I remember when travelling up and down the country that I'd always buy a cup of Bovril cos tea and coffee both tasted the same, which was nothing like tea or coffee should.

But I loved it !

When I compare the whole 'experience' with going to see US sports, I find football severely left wanting. The stadiums in the US are clean and safe, there is stuff there for the kids to do too, you can make a day of it and finally the people are there to have a good time rather than a testosterone fix and an opportunity to show that they know every swearword known to man!

NMH

Yes, but US sports are cra p :D

I do agree with you in some sense though about the cleanliness. I think that and the whole 'matchday experience' are beginning to be considered more here but you can't change football overnight. I'm not sure how I'd prefer football - some of the stories I hear from the 70s and 80s make me glad I didn't experience it, but at the same time we seem to be going down a sterilised commercial 'soccer' route which if it goes too far will suck any life out of the game.

I like the quirkiness of older stadiums and I always feel it seems more 'authentic' standing on a terrace watching football.

But I wouldn't have the nutters and the violence back.