Читать книгу Steel City Rivals - One City. Two Football Clubs, One Mutually Shared Hatred - Steve Cowens - Страница 14

In 1985, a fight on London Road with a few of Wednesday’s big hitters led to a year of trouble and a year in which me and a lad called Howie were number one on Wednesday’s hit list. It all started late one night in the Lansdowne pub. Around 10 young United lads, myself included, entered the pub.

Inside, standing near the door, were six Wednesday lads, three white and three black geezers, whose reputation went before them. It was evident from the start that they were out to cause some bollocks … and bollocks is what they got. As we were all relatively young, Yifter, the senior Blade among us, took it on himself to try to pour oil on troubled waters.

This didn’t happen, and, when one of the black blokes wanted to fight Yifter outside, he took up the offer, even though you could see in his eyes he didn’t fancy it one bit; fair play to him, though, as none of us wanted trouble with this group but his pride carried him through. Everyone headed outside and I deliberately held back and was the last one out.

As the two groups squared up, the Wednesday lads were calling all the shots about how we were wankers and hadn’t got the bollocks to fight them. They had their backs to me so I walked through them, turned and faced up a yard away and without warning I chinned the nearest one to me. He went straight down and wasn’t getting back up by the look of him. It kicked off and, despite the odds now being two to one in our favour, they had a right go. One was shot in the chest at point-blank range with a distress flare and one by one they were overpowered. Four of their group were left unconscious in the middle of the road with two taken away by ambulance.

I knew straight away that there would be serious repercussions; these game lads had lost some face and anyone there that night would be on their shopping list. Sure enough, my name came out along with Howie’s, when 10 Wednesday informed two Blades that we were both dead meat, then the two Blades were twatted. Another United lad was assaulted in Sinatra’s nightclub by one of the black lads; he was out with his girlfriend and lost a tooth in the attack. This was seen by many as totally out of order, but it also sent out the message that they meant business. The week after the assault in Sinatra’s, United attacked a few Wednesday in the Hallamshire Hotel on West Street in revenge for the aforementioned wrongdoing. Both incidents were out of order but now the gloves were off and the rules between the two firms were that there were no rules.

To make matters worse, around two months later, a group of 15 blokes were out celebrating a stag night one Friday on London Road. They began singing Wednesday songs and, although a few of them were known to the young United firm that were drinking in the same pub, the 20-strong Blades firm steamed into their rivals with chairs and glasses. One was left unconscious with a broken jaw and a couple were arrested.

Again Wednesday vowed revenge and rumours of Wednesday coming down to London Road in big numbers to sort out this young Blades firm gathered pace by the minute.