September 1971

Quoted from jock dock tower

Lincoln was my first ever away game by myself, and I can hardly remember anything about the game as I couldn't get into the stand as there was one huge melee around the back of it, with Town fans and police going head to head to prevent Town fans getting into the Lincoln end. It was one of those bottlenecks where you are just swept along and unable to determine where you want to end up. Pretty frightening when you consider how some of the disasters have happened at football.

Remember seeing a Town fan with blood stains down his white sta prest trousers. Rumour had it he'd been stabbed with a screwdriver. On the way back to the station there were running battles all the way, and there was a large hotel (whose name escapes me) on the opposite side of the road. Very quickly a hail of stones went it's way and the windows started going in causing genuine panic inside. Fairly sure the train was ripped to bits on the way back as well. Strange to think the majority of those involved will all now be pensioners screaming at irresponsible youngsters not observing the lockdown?

That was Bono who got stabbed the then leader of the Pontoon, who was famously pictured on the Barrett Stand roof in the final game v Exeter. I went with a group from Market Rasen on the train but because of the running battles decided to thumb a lift home as the safest option and despite getting chased a couple of times we got home safely.

The hotel you mentioned was the Barbican which included a decent pub until a great decision by the Old Bill in the 1990’s when Hull City arrived in town with many of them ticketless the Police thought rather than let them in the ground, or be let loose round town, they would heard them all in the Barbican until their train took them back north of the Humber. Suffice to say placed was smashed to smitherenes and never, in my memory, reopened, and still stands empty and run down.

Back to that season and not sure if it comes up in October but remember a 3-2 home loss to Crewe, god they are a bogey team to us, when Stan Bowles scored a couple one of which was an absolute pearler and followed his career from that night on, great footballer.

Should be Bonzo bloody predictive text, think he became a Councillor in his later life.