Mid Sussex Royal 50 years ago today 1st Aug 1970, and on a Saturday, Reading 2-3 Man United featuring Best, Charlton, Law & co, first round Watney Cup.
This was the first sponsored competition in English football was run pre season for the highest scoring sides from the previous season.
I was a bit too young to go but I do remember it on Sunday ITV the next day
Anyone go?
I remember going. Football hooliganism was in its infancy and the Skinhead era was in full swing. Man Utd were the original and top hooligans at the time and as youngsters my parents and my friends parents were very concerned about us all going. Man Utd fans had arrived the night before and there were quite a few broken windows in Waverley Road.
However, the aim of hooligans then was purely to take the home end (The Southbank) and confiscate opposition scarves as trophies. Although Reading had a mob of Skins in the Southbank, it was no problem for the Utd mob who easily achieved their object and spent the next 90 minutes singing all the old songs and enjoying their supremacy.
As a young lad, I was able to sit on the wall pitch side and enjoy the game without fear of the hooligans who were already quite content with their days work.