Peacocks era | Page 2 | Vital Football

Peacocks era

Yes used to be a few of us and met some more like aged kids in Faversham when we passed there, some I still know to this day and all we had in common was chucking toilet roll out of the train windows and of course the football. Ha terrible looking back as I would go nuts if my son did that, but he wouldn’t have the technique of the unravel throw we had. And I still feel sorry for the food trolley people having to serve us to this day.
 
When I was about 13, used to travel to some home matches from Strood. Used to be able to unscrew the light bulbs on the train and bung them out of the windows as you went over the Luton Arches viaduct.

How things have changed, I'd go mental at kids doing that today :oops:
A mate of mine who follows Millwall, said they never hurled lightbulbs out of the train. Just opposing fans and ticket inspectors.
 
The only one of the Peacock team who is still linked to the club is Jason Lillis. You would have never guessed that years ago.

John Sitton is a taxi driver and very vocal with right wingish views

I think Colin Greenall was a physio as well
Greenall was part of Wigans set up when we beat them at Wembley
 
Apart from the persistently entertaining football under Peacock (take note present day f'ing boring Gills) I remember abysmally small crowds. Shocking lack of support given what was going on at the matches. Extra irritating for me as I had 80 mile round trips to watch games when I was genuinely hard up.


Isn't it the case that attendances were down generally?

Sir Keith's era coincided with Thatcher's systematic attack upon the working classes. Times were hard for many people. For many, so tough that going to a football match even once or twice a season would be all they could manage.

Of course it wasn't that bad for everyone and plenty of working class blokes (it was mainly blokes, not exclusively but mainly) had enough money to choose either the football or the pub. I suspect many chose the pub.

On top of that, football in the 1980s was distinctly out of fashion. The hooliganism was very real but it was nowhere near as prevalent as the media made out. Football fans were vilified in the newspapers and on the television news. If you never been to a game you might not fancy it. If you were under 16 and didn't have (usually) an older male relative to take you the chances are you're parents not even allow it.

For those who did go they soon found that grounds were often looking old and tired and inside them supporters were treated like animals, literally herded and caged. I think back then you had to be a real fan - whoever your club - to even want to go!

At least with Gills back then the football was exciting and the team relatively successful.
 
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When I was about 13, used to travel to some home matches from Strood. Used to be able to unscrew the light bulbs on the train and bung them out of the windows as you went over the Luton Arches viaduct.

How things have changed, I'd go mental at kids doing that today :oops:
I used to go with a bunch
When I was about 13, used to travel to some home matches from Strood. Used to be able to unscrew the light bulbs on the train and bung them out of the windows as you went over the Luton Arches viaduct.

How things have changed, I'd go mental at kids doing that today :oops:
I used to go with a group of strood/ Gravesend oiks. It kicked off on the train home against some Exeter fans after they tonked us at home, 5-1. Some Gills fan lobbed a light bulb and it hit one of the Gills mob. We never knew his name so he was christened "light bulb".