Luton Outlaws - Independent Message Board for Luton Town FC

Different era when games were attended by a lot of young men high on adrenaline. The off the field violence was just part and parcel of the game back then. Difficult to explain to the fans of the modern era. Always looked forward to the big games just because of the edginess they had about them, particularly against the big London clubs.
My memory of the Wezt Ham game is quite fresh. I remember walking along Dunstable Road pre match when we got approached by a larger and much older group of West Ham. They thought we were West Ham but we didn’t want to put them right. Their leader informed us of the plan to invade the Oak Road and said they’d be hundreds in there so we knew what was coming.
No doubting they had a big mob with a well earned reputation. I went to see them against Chelsea with a Chelsea supporting mate at Upton Park and it was carnage. However Luton was a rough town with a hard reputation so the belittling of the Luton fans at the game is very unfair. West Ham didn’t have it all their own way despite their numbers.
Anyway it was just part of growing up. Thankful for the streetwise education it gave me.