Trouble on the Terraces. Arsenal v West Ham at Highbury 1982. icf ?
83Billowing smoke scatters the Arsenal and West Ham thugs on Highbury's North Bank.
1982 and an English football (soccer) match was not always a pleasant event to attend. It was a couple of years before Maggie Thatcher's clampdown on the activities of Soccer Hooligans and the gangs were becoming more vicious and more willing to use a frightening array of weaponry, which was only too obvious at this particular game. Arsenal versus West Ham was always likely to be a major flashpoint. West Ham had always had a large trouble making following, and had a particularly large and violent gang called the Inter City Firm (ICF), named after their fondness of travelling to away games First Class on the Inter City Trains, and were generally thought of as the top gang in the Country. Arsenal, although they had seemed to be successful in breaking free from the Skinhead element which had plagued the club in the late 60's, were not without their own violent followers, and had an up and coming young street gang known as the Gooners, a spoof name for the official club nickname of the 'Gunners'. May 2nd 1982, an hour and a half before the kick off and the fans were streaming into the ground. In the preceding years it was common practice for the ICF to march onto the North Bank, which was the Arsenal stronghold virtually unopposed, with very little resistance from Arsenal's followers. However. this year was to be different, and there was a very uneasy feeling as I stood on the North Bank on this particular sunny Spring Saturday. Having been part of the hooligan scene years before, I could tell who was who, and I could see the West Ham fans gathering on the North Bank. The Arsenal fans sensed this and attacked immediately, and their rivals were kicked and punched and quickly dispatched from the sprawling terrace, which when full could hold up to 20,000 people. As the police battled to gain control, another West Ham gang had forced their way into the middle of the North Bank and set off a smoke bomb. Clouds of thickening smoke billowed across the pitch and pandemonium broke out. The players, who had just about started the game, were led off the pitch, and panicking Arsenal fans stampeded onto it for their own safety. This left the large West Ham gang cock a hoop in the middle of Arsenal territory. Their they were, the largest most vicious gang of football thugs in the country doing what they did best, bullying and taunting their beaten rivals. Only, something was wrong. Not all of Arsenal's fans had panicked, and the next thing they launched a counter attack, and probably for the first time in their lives, the ICF were on the back foot, and were brutally pushed right to the edge of the North Bank. The police desperately fought to surround the ICF for their own protection, and despite numerous attempts by the gooners to attack again, the police line held firm, and the ICF were held until the final whistle, and then escorted to safety. Sadly, this was not an end to the trouble on this particular day, and about an hour later an Arsenal fan was surrounded by a gang of West Ham thugs, and brutally stabbed to death. His killer was never caught, but folklore has it that he himself has also gone to meet his maker. It was the end of an era, and West Ham never again ventured onto Arsenal's North Bank. And in the following years, Arsenal were known to have taken liberties on West Ham's Manor, a feat previously unheard of since the old skinhead days of the late 60's. This ultimately led to several undercover police operations, and many of the main players were arrested and subsequently charged. Nowadays, thankfully the only winners on match days are the police. And premiership matches, although missing the old boisterous atmosphere, are much safer places to be, with attendances on the increase, and families very much in attendance. If you are interested in watching an Arsenal game, visit www.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-get-Arsenal-tickets-at-face-value for ideas on buying face value Arsenal tickets.
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Good to keep the memory of these things alive. Good that the days of football violence are largely gone.
Fantastic read, very well written and overall very interesting!!
I was on the North bank when this all kicked off & it was scary stuff, fortunately it's a lot safer going to games these days...
Oh my post deleted again. You really have a problem with people questioning your take on things don't you.
I deleted a couple of posts because of disgusting language, if I've deleted yours by mistake then I apologise. Please feel free to repost.
I was there on the day and confirm this is a very good and accurate account. However I have been aware even from the day after the event that the vast majority of West Ham fans present that day are blissfully unaware of the first encounter you mention and this leads to some confusing assumptions. For the sake of clarity I would like to add the first encounter you mentioned in the above account took place as soon as the turnstiles opened, with very few police around and a handful of people in the ground. The main Arsenal firm (Gooners) enter the ground closely followed by West Hams fiercest (ICF) , they go hell for leather at one another on the west side of the North Bank by the top stairwell. Any thoughts this particular gang of West Ham ICF have of taking the North Bank are extinguished and they end up in front of the West Stand . The Arsenal fans from this encounter then position themselves by the West Ham fans on the North Bank but by the West stand this leads to them being out of position when the next gang of West Ham fans attack the middle of the North Bank. West Ham fans present that day I leave you to ponder….
Thanks for the input, I'd go along with that. Unfortunately all the comments so far from West Ham fans have had to be deleted due to obscene language or just calling the author a liar. Talk to some of the decent West Ham old boys and although they have a different perspective of events, their version doesn't differ from this one a great deal. The main sticking point is whether or not the ICF were surrounded by the police for their own protection or to stop them fighting, but this is circumstantial, the fact is they were surrounded.
………….the fact is they were surrounded by an Arsenal firm that an hour and a half before had seen off another West Ham gang twice if not three times larger which contained most of the main boys one of which is now a well known author who writes books congratulating you on meetings leads me to side with the author of the article on the sticking point.
confirmed we gave them a battering
every dog has his day. it was the end of an era for west hams crew, we were no longer scared of them.we stood our ground,and gave a good account of ourselves.
A couple of weeks later Spurs took the North Bank.
Let’s get the facts straight, 1967 -1973 Arsenal take all three sides of Tottenham’s ground as Tottenham have the worse crew in London. 1976-1981 revenge time Spurs get their own back and take the North Bank.
1982 the year you refer to Tottenham are in the North Bank singing songs surrounded by the OB that’s about it mate. The vast Majority of the covered area is held by Arsenal, with Denton’s mob certainly making more of an effort than your lot. Stalemate I would say.
1983, your ground 500 gooners swan down the high road like they own the place , attack the corner pin are in the shelf and Paxton. Our ground was Boxing Day non event
1984, Tottenham come into the North Bank early in the exact same place as West Ham in 1982, they have more numbers than West Ham and still get battered. They never come into The North bank again, and now years later I am hearing stupid excuses like the game was all ticket and denial the event ever took place.
Tottenham’s problems of the pitch go from bad to worse during the 80s when they can’t even raise a crew to go to west ham and have to print leaflets to encourage their boys to make the trip, in contrast the Arsenal Gooners are going to west Ham and getting results. It speaks volumes when West Ham old boys from the time say the only firm in the whole country going to West Ham and having it with them regularly during the 80s were the Gooners. Like the man said above “every dog has its day”
i was part of the Gooners firm (clock enders) in the late 70s and Early 80s , i was part of a large south London following who traveled all over the country , love your account of what happened on that day , happy days real firms from the day rated us highly , ask the Everton boys about a certain Friday night match at Everton gooner legends
" with Denton’s mob certainly making more of an effort than your lot"
That quote does deserve a special mention before its lost in time. The OB managed to seperate the Arsenal and Spurs fans on the North Bank but Denton and his mob managed to work their way to the base of Tottenhams crew from here they steamed up into the spurs fans who backed up into each other in an attempt to avoid them creating a gap, stood in the middle of the gap is Denton and a few of his lads beckoning the whole of Tottenhams crew to come and have a go, nobody stepped forward.
Another sorty into the Spurs fans Denton picked up I was told a knife wound to the leg, he goes to the front of the North Bank hops onto the pitch while the game is going on and gets a st John Ambulance man to bandage his leg over his jeans, hops back into the North Bank and steams straight back into the Spurs fans. This time he is arrested and led along the side of the pitch to a huge cheer and applause from the Arsenal fans on the North Bank.
Dave 2 years ago
Great read that!!!!