Blocked off parts of the ground

[4th post]

does anybody know the year and why the east side of the shed end and the west side of the north end of the ground were blocked off.cheers

 

[MKBlue]

Don't know about the Shed bit but the corner of the North Stand never opened again after Spurs kicked off up there and almost had the fences down, 78-9.

There's a picture of it in the pics/vids thread.

 

[GarryJones]

I think they just could not afford the resurfacing work that need to be carried out. Crush or crash barriers had to be strengthened etc.

 

[4th post]

thanks.would you happen to know the capacity of each end before or after the bits were blocked off.cant find it anywhere on the internet.

 

[MKBlue]

thanks.would you happen to know the capacity of each end before or after the bits were blocked off.cant find it anywhere on the internet.

Another guess based on facts read a long time ago but I think the Shed was about 11000 and the North Stand 14000 maybe the other way round, before the closures, stand to be corrected though.

 

[MKBlue]

I think they just could not afford the resurfacing work that need to be carried out. Crush or crash barriers had to be strengthened etc.

You're probably right there Garry, the firm I was working for at the time did a little bit of steel repair and fabrication, mostly the barriers on the main Shed stairway and the steel mesh grills at the top, don't think we ever got paid for the work but some of the bosses were big fans and we had a long term job going on at Earls Court at the time so they took the job just to work at the Bridge. I'd imagine, given the clubs circumstances at the time that they only paid for what was strictly necessary to keep the ground open.

 

[forbzy]

Don't know about the Shed bit but the corner of the North Stand never opened again after Spurs kicked off up there and almost had the fences down, 78-9.

There's a picture of it in the pics/vids thread.

I remember being convinced the fence would come down that day. I'm pretty sure we were blamed for the trouble in the press too (no surprises there). Although it seemed to be mostly Spurs fans pulling at the fence at the time. I was pretty young though so could be wrong.

You are right though they never really opened up most of that section near the West Stand again. It just became covered in weeds.

 

[Peckham Blue]

I remember being convinced the fence would come down that day. I'm pretty sure we were blamed for the trouble in the press too (no surprises there). Although it seemed to be mostly Spurs fans pulling at the fence at the time. I was pretty young though so could be wrong.

You are right though they never really opened up most of that section near the West Stand again. It just became covered in weeds.

That was quite a sight seeing it sway backwards and forwards like it was made of rubber, they did it after their lot who came in through the Bovril gate just before kick off got a right hammering, even more brutal than Millwall a couple of years earlier. I can't make out in the LWT documentary whether this is the Spurs scene or its it Millwall.

Chelsea did everything on the cheap. I used to ride home from work on my bike and often used to go into the ground to see what was going on especially pre-season. One Friday afternoon before the season opener I went up the North Stand slope to have a butchers and found two Everton fans taking photos of each other and got talking to them, their parting words were 'be easy on us tomorrow' but I think this was the High St Ken. year! Anyway, the painters were still doing the yellow barriers at the Shed end and I think everyone who stood there the next day got smothered as it was still soft and peeling.