Today's games

[Yeats 62]

I was down in Manchester for a weekend last year and the locals well remember the chaos Der Hun caused down there at the UEFA Cup Final in 2008. They absolutely hate them.

Did my best to tell them that those chunts are not representative of the rest of Scottish football club supporters.

In the interests of balance, there was a bunch of the Man Utd fans that came to Dundee when we played them in the UEFA cup were up here to cause trouble. And they did cause some bother in the city centre IIRC.

At the first leg, I was at Old Trafford. They kept us in the ground for 15 minutes after the end of the game - which was fine, we just got tore into the shedboys' songbook to pass the time. But outside, the police escort we got to the train station was like a scene from Belfast in the 70's. There was a squad of Man U fans that wanted a go, and there was a few shedboys that were wanting the same. However, the polis kept both sets of fans well apart. I've never seen such effective policing of football fans like that. The polis were really switched on.

I remember it well. Police on horseback and foot. When let out, the Chief said "right you lot, to the train station we go" Unfortunately for me we had travelled by car and were parked well away from the station. When we told him this he just gave us a look and repeated "train station we go, no exeptions" and we did.

We then had to find our way back to the car without the safety of a police escort.

[cybershed]

I remember it well. Police on horseback and foot. When let out, the Chief said "right you lot, to the train station we go" Unfortunately for me we had travelled by car and were parked well away from the station. When we told him this he just gave us a look and repeated "train station we go, no exeptions" and we did.

We then had to find our way back to the car without the safety of a police escort.

Glad you made it to the car safe and well. There were also three police vans with windscreen covered with wire mesh. In between the vans, as you mentioned, police on foot and horseback. That's what made me think I'd been transported to Belfast.

On the train back, the polis were on train until we got out of Manchester. They were freaking out pulling blinds down over the windows.where they existed and telling us to get back from windows. TBF It was all a bit excessive. I remember thinking that 'I wish we got this sort of protection when we go to Ibrox & Parkhead!'

I remember a Manc policeman said to us "how's about some of your Dundee Cake then" to which one of the nearby shedboys told him "**** off you English ****!"

That fixture was my only ever adventure going to see Utd 'away' in Europe. Was on the 2nd of the 2 football specials that left Dundee that day. Jack Daniel's opened at 10:30 that morning, and by 11am there was an almighty United party going on there. Boys on tables, flags oot, shed songs galore, it was like a pre-cup Final atmosphere.

Alcohol was banned on the train, and the polis were checking bags etc on the way into the station at Dundee. There was a bunch of Arabs that had injected oranges with vodka to get by the police searches. Absolute class and amazing ingenuity lol.

Those were the days.