Let's have a bit of nostalgia...

By Robert Davies

Robert Davies, a 12-year-old Wrexham fanatic, penned a series of vivid match reports in the early 1950s. The superb and evocative pieces are serialised in Red Passion…

We like Oldham fans

It’s the post-apartheid era in South Africa, but this story relates to the days before apartheid in football grounds. Believe it or not, there was a time when home and away fans mixed in friendly rivalry and enjoyed much banter.

Standing one Saturday afternoon in the Paddock (the area below where the new stand is being built) we got into conversation with an Oldham Athletic fan. Not only did we talk our way through the whole match, but at the end of the match he shook hands with my dad and, even better, gave me two shillings. A good bonus to my pocket money that week.

The next time we played Oldham I looked forward to renewing my acquaintance with this generous Lancastrian. I searched the Paddock in vain. Maybe he was in another part of the ground or, having run out of money, maybe he was no longer able to afford expensive trips to away games.

Anyway he left behind a good impression, a florin, and a happy little Reds fan.