Читать книгу Steel City Rivals - One City. Two Football Clubs, One Mutually Shared Hatred - Steve Cowens - Страница 13

The general consensus of opinion is that the shift of power from Wednesday to United occurred in 1985. My view is that, one winter’s night in 1982, the fear myself and the rest of our main youngsters had for Wednesday was lifted after we had stood our ground against Wednesday’s main firm that night and created a massive shift in attitude within our pups.

The peace that had existed for the Leeds visit three months earlier had dissolved that same night as the two groups had clashed later in town. With Wednesday wounded that the Blades firm had had the audacity to even think of taking them on, they took it upon themselves over the nest few months to start smashing in everything that was red and white. Our firm of youngsters had discussed on numerous occasions about how and when we were going to take over who runs the show in Sheffield. For most of us it was bravado because we were still only 16- to 18-year-olds, I for one really talked the talk but deep down I knew I wasn’t really ready to walk the walk, yet.

Anyhow, around 25 of our young trendies were heading from the Penny Black pub in Pond Street that night to go and meet up with the rest of the older lads who had settled down in the Blue Bell on Sheffield’s High Street. As we walked up, around 40 Wednesday came around the corner and we bumped straight into them. We were edgy as Wednesday belittled us by spitting at us and telling us to ‘get home as it was past our bedtime’. I was looked up to by a few of our youngsters because I’d got myself a bit of a reputation for being game. So, in an act of bravado, I waded into Wednesday.

Our pups all followed me into battle and Wednesday were shocked at our attack. They back-pedalled a couple of yards but those couple of yards may have been a couple of miles as we had surprised ourselves in moving these snorters back. I admit at the time I was bricking it, after all I was only 17 and some of the geezers we had run into were double our age. The police thankfully came to our rescue, as Wednesday came back at us but we had done enough and I can still see the handshakes and high fives that our lot shared as we walked up to meet the rest of our firm. I was shouting, ‘I fuckin’ told you we could do them cunts.’ Although we hadn’t actually run Wednesday, we’d done enough and the fear and respect we once had for their firm was lifted.

On entering the Blue Bell, we couldn’t tell the older lads quickly enough of our semi-result. Sensing that Wednesday would probably be thinking twice about our up-and-coming firm, the older lads left immediately and headed down to the Penny Black. The 60 of us ran Wednesday back inside the pub after they had initially spilled out into the street to engage in combat.

The gamest Wednesday lad and the last to retreat was a black guy called Delroy, who has since passed away having suffered asthma attack. The pub was totalled and a couple of United’s main actors got lifted, one of which was Eyes.

That in my view was a major victory for the morale of our youngsters and we never had the same respect for Wednesday’s firm again.

With friendships between United and Wednesday firmly put to bed. Trouble between the two groups became more frequent than at any other period in time. Over the next couple of years, a power struggle evolved; one week Wednesday would come looking for the Blades mob, the following week United would go on the hunt. By 1984, it was a level playing field, and the battle for supremacy had at last begun, but, by 1986, United’s firm had all but taken over. Wednesday still had the odd result and turned out big numbers to try and counterattack this new breed of Blades thug but the damage had been done; the contempt they’d had for United’s firm had come back and bitten them on the bollocks. There was no turning back for our firm and, like a fox after a rabbit, we wouldn’t let up until we were totally sure the job was complete.