What’s the biggest away following you’ve witnessed at your ground

Lifted the title from this group question on FB that I joined recently  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/214663202055976/?fref=nf

I answered with Manchester Uniteds following at Home Park in 1977 for the St Etienne game  ??
Not strictly the answer per se but I doubt any club has ever had more than that night of anothers clubs fans

Of course that would mean we would have one of the largest away followings ever at Villa Park.

The correct answer here is probably that infamous visit from Portsmouth in 1983. I'm not sure anyone else has run it close in my supporting lifetime.

The biggest away following at Home Park I can remember is the FA Cup Everton bunch who were given 3/4 of the Lyndhurst when it was a standing terrace. Crazy idea. I think it was the 70s Vassalo game but not quite sure. They were a rather unpleasant drunken bunch on a par sadly with our Mariner day at Peterborough that was probably Peterborough's record, 8000 away out of an 11000 gate..

beesrus wrote:

The biggest away following at Home Park I can remember is the FA Cup Everton bunch who were given 3/4 of the Lyndhurst  when it was a standing terrace. Crazy idea. I think it was the 70s Vassalo game but not quite sure. They were a rather unpleasant drunken bunch on a par sadly with our Mariner day at Peterborough that was probably Peterborough's record, 8000 away out of an 11000 gate..

Ah yes the infamous Peterborough day were Ian Newell was photographed acting the hooligan with Plod legging it after him across the pitch.    
Am sure someone will dig it up on here....

The St Etienne game was my first ever at Home Park. Quite an introduction to live football.

Pompey in '83 will always embedded in my mind. That was just total anarchy in a football ground. Personally, nothing has ever come close since, and that includes quite a few hairy games around Europe with England.

Gotta be Pompey 83 as technically united were the home team when they played at HP and the game didn't involve Argo.

Definitely Pompey in 1983.Wolves had a massive following when they clinched promotion at HP around about 1977 but that game,the Everton cup tie and all the rest paled into insignificance compared to Pompey which amounted to viirtually a complete takeover.

'83 for me although my old man took me to some of my first games from '67 onwards and I remember it being absolutely rammed although they are faint memories of a very young child.

Les Miserable wrote:

Gotta be Pompey 83 as technically united were the home team when they played at HP and the game didn't involve Argo.

Yes I did allude to that in the OP
Same with the Villa game we weren't the "away" team as such

The Derby FA Cup Quarter final is probably the biggest I've seen. They were given the Devonport End and of course it was terracing back then.

Big Robby wrote:

The Derby FA Cup Quarter final is probably the biggest I've seen. They were given the Devonport End and of course it was terracing back then.

Yep the Derby game for me thousands of county fans, also Wolves winning the old second divison at HP they must have had six thousand fans.

Wonder how many Chelsea were here in the 1970's games. I can recall Barn Park chocca with them everywhere plus huge numbers in the Lyndhurst and subsequently taking over the Devonport end... Everton game same decade 38,000 gate

Didnt Arsenal have record away fans from Argyle at both Highbury and the Emirates FA cup games out of interest at some point  ??

Yes at one point we did....edited

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/jan/04/facup-arsenal

12000 at Highury. In the 80s ? The only time I have felt in danger of a disaster at a football match. They under estimated how many would travel from Plymouth and it was POTD,  let in too many a la Hillsborough, and for 10 minutes, my feet were literally off the ground in the corner of the clock end. They had to open the segregation area to ease the congestion. Dodgy stuff. Got thumped 6 something as well. Not the best away day.

Cheers for the link harv, just put me off my porridge. Those 4 aren't related perchance.....geddon

Probably. They certainly look Miserable

beesrus wrote:

12000 at Highury. In the 80s ? The only time I have felt in danger of a disaster at a football match. They under estimated how many would travel from Plymouth and it was POTD,  let in too many a la Hillsborough, and for 10 minutes, my feet were literally off the ground in the corner of the clock end. They had to open the segregation area to ease the congestion. Dodgy stuff. Got thumped 6 something as well. Not the best away day.

We got into the ground about 10 minutes before kick off and ended up on the side so the clock end was to our right but as you say heaving
Rowbotham scored ours from memory must have been start of 1987 ??

harvetheslayer wrote:

beesrus wrote:

12000 at Highury. In the 80s ? The only time I have felt in danger of a disaster at a football match. They under estimated how many would travel from Plymouth and it was POTD,  let in too many a la Hillsborough, and for 10 minutes, my feet were literally off the ground in the corner of the clock end. They had to open the segregation area to ease the congestion. Dodgy stuff. Got thumped 6 something as well. Not the best away day.

We got into the ground about 10 minutes before kick off and ended up on the side so the clock end was to our right but as you say heaving
Rowbotham scored ours from memory must have been start of 1987 ??

I got into the ground about 3.15 and we were already 3 nil down. Some Argyle fans robbed a program seller just outside the ground and then ran causing lods of trouble as people were falling and being pushed. I dont mind saying I was pretty scared at times because the crush was ridiculous. After the game trying to leave was a nightmare as well.

Big Robby wrote:

harvetheslayer wrote:

beesrus wrote:

12000 at Highury. In the 80s ? The only time I have felt in danger of a disaster at a football match. They under estimated how many would travel from Plymouth and it was POTD,  let in too many a la Hillsborough, and for 10 minutes, my feet were literally off the ground in the corner of the clock end. They had to open the segregation area to ease the congestion. Dodgy stuff. Got thumped 6 something as well. Not the best away day.

We got into the ground about 10 minutes before kick off and ended up on the side so the clock end was to our right but as you say heaving
Rowbotham scored ours from memory must have been start of 1987 ??

I got into the ground about 3.15 and we were already 3 nil down. Some Argyle fans robbed a program seller just outside the ground and then ran causing lods of trouble as people were falling and being pushed. I dont mind saying I was pretty scared at times because the crush was ridiculous. After the game trying to leave was a nightmare as well.

Very surprised when looking up the details of the game that it was only 3-1 with 15 minutes to go before Rocastle and Davis went to town,always thought of it as being all over as a contest long before that.Shocking overcrowding,must have been comparable to when there was 65000 to see Arsenal v Argyle back in the 1930's-my grandparents went to that one,said there were people fainting all over the place and a few broken limbs in the crush as well.Remember at the 1987 game the ticket man at Arsenal tube station got so hacked off that he slammed his cubby hole door shut and nearly caused a riot,also my old man fell into a stream of piss running down the terraces-he was not best pleased, God rest his soul.

A mate of mine ended up on the side and when he went for a piss at half time was acosted in the bogs by a couple of Arsenal lads who pulled a knife on him, told him to enjoy his day out in the city but feck off back to the sticks sharpish at full time.

It was a horrible day. My memory is similar to that of Bees. There was a shit lod of racist abuse eminating from the Argyle end and no doubt the toilet exchange was related to it.

IIRC the stewards were reluctant to open the segregation area to our right and suffered a hail of coins because of it.

For an idea of how many we took the crowd was a shade over 39000, in the next round against Barnsley there was 26000.

I was there. Not the nicest of football days of my life and the result wasn't good either.