From the Grauniad, c.1988:
"The inflatable banana craze at Manchester City is getting out of hand - it apparently dates from the days of Imre Varadi, or Imre Banana as fans used to call him. A fruit company has even taken an advertising hoarding at Maine Road. Inflatable Frankenstein monsters - representing Neil McNab? - sharks and alligators have also been spotted.
A group of travelling Portsmouth supporters
have more modest symbols, Tony Hardy
of Avon writes, in puppets of Sooty, Sweep and Soo. At Shrewsbury, Hardy
says, Pompey's winning goal
came immediately after a "rousing chant of 'Izzy Wizzy, let's get busy'".
He also recalls that at Selhurst Park Sooty once received a clip around
the ear from an over-zealous policeman for trying to take his magic wand
into the ground. He could lose his membership card for that."
For the record, these photos were taken at Gay Meadow on the opening
day of the 88-89 season, when Pompey
beat Shewsbury 2-1 thanks to goals from Terry Connor and Mark Kelly. We
wore those lovely salmon pink away shirts that day. This was all part of
my 2 week Stag Tour and, a week later, we beat Leeds 4-0 on my wedding day.
Great days...
By the way, that's not me with my hand up Sooty's hem hem, it's Les Stevens.
And his wife Lynne knitted the scarfs. Thanks Lynne.