Before the days of boring football

[Alan Dicks]

[Oizys]

[CodeRed]

We had a few goals that year, Pritchard with 13, Tom Ritchie 14, Alan Crawford 16, and Glyn Riley with 18,  Trevor Morgan with 5 after he joined from Bournemouth .

Some notable names on the list to who were yet to join us Walshi with 15, Steve Johnson, and Stevie Neville and lurking in the Division 2 chart a certain Danny Wilson with 11 

[City oz]

1 hour ago, Alan Dicks said:

A great era of football. Hopefully these great times will come back to BS3.

[Davefevs]

Trevor Senior - we almost signed him from Dorchester before he went to Reading.

Is that Brian Williams getting those goals for Rovers, or a misprint and David Williams instead?

Some great names there from growing up.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Before my time and am sure people who were there had fond memories but..Yeah it was more real, fans and club close I'm sure and resurrection post the on pitch slide and off-field disaster. Plus Terry Cooper and his galvanising ways.

However the standard with the greatest of respect.

a) Two Leagues lower and

b) Possibly less technical as a whole 40 years ago, less structure and organisation- on the other hand more fun and yeah more physical and worse pitches another big challenge but we were surely a big fish, one of the biggest in the division.

[Lorenzos Only Goal]

38 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Before my time and am sure people who were there had fond memories but..Yeah it was more real, fans and club close I'm sure and resurrection post the on pitch slide and off-field disaster. Plus Terry Cooper and his galvanising ways.

However the standard with the greatest of respect.

a) Two Leagues lower and

b) Possibly less technical as a whole 40 years ago, less structure and organisation- on the other hand more fun and yeah more physical and worse pitches another big challenge but we were surely a big fish, one of the biggest in the division.

Will be watching York City Saturday.  My boy will be playing for the under 9s of Biggleswade FC and then watching the senior team play in the FA Cup.

Edited Thursday at 00:32 by Lorenzos Only Goal

[bs3]

Correct me if I’m wrong, wasn’t John Ward manager of the York City team which finished top of the table.

And if my memory servers me right we played York City under floodlights that season. I seem to recall going to the game with my old man , its funny after all this years you remember some games . I think it was a one one drew .

[Mike Hunt-Hertz]

54 minutes ago, bs3 said:

Correct me if I’m wrong, wasn’t John Ward manager of the York City team which finished top of the table.

And if my memory servers me right we played York City under floodlights that season. I seem to recall going to the game with my old man , its funny after all this years you remember some games . I think it was a one one drew .

I was at Portsmouth Polytechnic, and remember seeing in the paper that we had won 1-0 in front of over 10000 fans.

That was a pretty good crowd for 1980s Div 4 days.

Just now, Mike Hunt-Hertz said:

I was at Portsmouth Polytechnic, and remember seeing in the paper that we had won 1-0 in front of over 10000 fans.

That was a pretty good crowd for 1980s Div 4 days.

The stuff that dreams were made of!

[bs3]

Just now, Mike Hunt-Hertz said:

I was at Portsmouth Polytechnic, and remember seeing in the paper that we had won 1-0 in front of over 10000 fans.

That was a pretty good crowd for 1980s Div 4 days.

You are right it was 1-0 .  

[handsofclay]

I think Alan Hay was sent off for York as well.

[Mike Hunt-Hertz]

1 minute ago, bs3 said:

You are right it was 1-0 .  

I went to York away on the special (1-1)

[weepywall]

25 minutes ago, Mike Hunt-Hertz said:

I went to York away on the special (1-1)

Me too !

[Oh Louie louie]

5 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Trevor Senior - we almost signed him from Dorchester before he went to Reading.

Is that Brian Williams getting those goals for Rovers, or a misprint and David Williams instead?

Some great names there from growing up.

Theres a picture of the guy he replaced at reading too, you speak to Chelsea fans of our age, the speedie Dixon partnership was the best they have seen! 

[Sleepy1968]

2 hours ago, Mike Hunt-Hertz said:

I was at Portsmouth Polytechnic, and remember seeing in the paper that we had won 1-0 in front of over 10000 fans.

That was a pretty good crowd for 1980s Div 4 days.

The stuff that dreams were made of!

I was there. I thought it was an amazing crowd at the time, especially after our first season in div 4.

[Bazooka Joe]

Them were the Goalden days.

[GrahamC]

9 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Trevor Senior - we almost signed him from Dorchester before he went to Reading.

Is that Brian Williams getting those goals for Rovers, or a misprint and David Williams instead?

Some great names there from growing up.

Looking at his Wikipedia page he scored 21 for them in 170 odd games.

Think he might have taken penalties over there?

Joined us later & after an abysmal start (sent off on his debut & couple of other shockers), definitely won the support over, unlike Gary Emmanuel who arrived at the same time..

[Northern Red]

20 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Looking at his Wikipedia page he scored 21 for them in 170 odd games.

Think he might have taken penalties over there?

Joined us later & after an abysmal start (sent off on his debut & couple of other shockers), definitely won the support over, unlike Gary Emmanuel who arrived at the same time..

My brother was at Uni with Brian's daughter in Leeds, and they and some others lived together for a year on placement in Chicago. I had no idea who he was (before my time) but when we went to see them all off at the airport my Dad clocked him straight away, he was working for Shrewsbury at the time. Keith Curle is godfather to his daughter.

[GrahamC]

29 minutes ago, Northern Red said:

My brother was at Uni with Brian's daughter in Leeds, and they and some others lived together for a year on placement in Chicago. I had no idea who he was (before my time) but when we went to see them all off at the airport my Dad clocked him straight away, he was working for Shrewsbury at the time. Keith Curle is godfather to his daughter.

I liked him, he had some real grit about him.

Coops brought in a few ex Rovers players (Hughes, Curle, Emmanuel) & if people think today’s atmosphere is tough they should have been around then.

We lost 5-0 at Bournemouth & him & Emmanuel took absolute dog’s abuse.

Emmanuel walked out, Williams didn’t (as I said it didn’t help he’d been sent off in his only other game) & he won the supporters over.

He did look a lot like Bob Carolgees mind..

[Davefevs]

Just now, GrahamC said:

I liked him, he had some real grit about him.

Coops brought in a few ex Rovers players (Hughes, Curle, Emmanuel) & if people think today’s atmosphere is tough they should have been around then.

We lost 5-0 at Bournemouth & him & Emmanuel took absolute dog’s abuse.

Emmanuel walked out, Williams didn’t (as I said it didn’t help he’d been sent off in his only other game) & he won the supporters over.

He did look a lot like Bob Carolgees mind..

I didn’t realise GE had been at Rovers.

[Markthehorn]

Are the days of the classic number 9 almost over although guess there is that Haaland chap to show they are still around? 

 

[GrahamC]

2 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I didn’t realise GE had been at Rovers.

He was certainly reminded of it at Bournemouth, “eff off you gas see you next Tuesday” was being shouted at him.

Tore his contract up a few days later & subsequently joined Swansea.

[Northern Red]

6 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

I liked him, he had some real grit about him.

Coops brought in a few ex Rovers players (Hughes, Curle, Emmanuel) & if people think today’s atmosphere is tough they should have been around then.

We lost 5-0 at Bournemouth & him & Emmanuel took absolute dog’s abuse.

Emmanuel walked out, Williams didn’t (as I said it didn’t help he’d been sent off in his only other game) & he won the supporters over.

He did look a lot like Bob Carolgees mind..

That was how my Dad spotted him!

[Merrick's Marvels]

7 hours ago, bs3 said:

Correct me if I’m wrong, wasn’t John Ward manager of the York City team which finished top of the table.

And if my memory servers me right we played York City under floodlights that season. I seem to recall going to the game with my old man , its funny after all this years you remember some games . I think it was a one one drew .

You've got lots of memories muddled up there. Easily done!

Yes John Ward was once manager of York but not until the 90s, before leaving them to join Rovers.

The game you're thinking of was under lights and played, for some reason, on a Friday night.

Denis Smith was the York manager then. Yes, that Denis Smith. (John MacPhail was in the York side, also). 

York were the best team in the division by a mile that season, winning the league by 16 points or something.

Couldn't beat us though.

The game you're thinking of we won 1-0, a rare Paul Stevens goal, at the East End.

The crowd was 10,888.

I'll repeat that, the crowd was 10,888 - an astonishing turnout, even if the win did put us top of the league that night. Given we'd been bust only 2 years before that, the turnout was quite something given our straitened circumstances and also football's in general at that time, and certainly in the Fourth Division. I doubt any other club had an attendance anywhere near it for a league game all season.

For context, I bet few if any Third Division clubs did either. Over at Eastville and playing well in the league (but not the FA Cup ), Rovers had 1 attendance all season of 7,000. Nothing else remotely close. Their average for the whole season was 5,000.

Our 1-1 with York you're thinking of was the away game that season. By then it was York who were top and running away with it (Walwyn & Byrne a fine strike partnership).

Still couldn't beat us though, the game memorable for a brief but superbly skillful sub cameo from Terry Cooper who's class, even then, stood out a mile. City debuts for Keith Curle and Trevor Morgan that day. Morgan scoring our equaliser - one of 5 goals from March to the end of the season, each one vital, the last 2 securing promotion on the last day at Chester.

What a season.

Memorable games, attacking football, excitement, fun.   

Excitement!

Fun!

Remember them?

 

Edited Thursday at 10:28 by Merrick's Marvels

[Merrick's Marvels]

19 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

He was certainly reminded of it at Bournemouth, “eff off you gas see you next Tuesday” was being shouted at him.

Yeah, sorry about that. Not. 

[GrahamC]

44 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

Yeah, sorry about that. Not. 

Pretty certain though you weren’t the herbert sat by me that smashed the wooden stand seat & then threw it on the pitch like a javelin, ending up perilously close to the lino.

As for the “fruity” language there were loads shouting this, so if it was you, you were part of a chorus, not a soloist.

Edited Thursday at 11:03 by GrahamC

[Major Isewater]

12 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Trevor Senior - we almost signed him from Dorchester before he went to Reading.

When I joined this esteemed forum many moons ago I wanted a poster name which spoke of the club , I settled on Always the Bridesmaid because that pretty much sums up the club throughout its existence.

 

[BigTone]

13 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

When I joined this esteemed forum many moons ago I wanted a poster name which spoke of the club , I settled on Always the Bridesmaid because that pretty much sums up the club throughout its existence.

 

And you did look quite attractive in that lacey dress xx

[Merrick's Marvels]

1 hour ago, GrahamC said:

Pretty certain though you weren’t the herbert sat by me that smashed the wooden stand seat & then threw it on the pitch like a javelin, ending up perilously close to the lino.

Remember that javelin like it was yesterday.

Conceding 3 goals in the first 10 minutes of that game didn't help. Plus losing 5-1 at Hereford 3 days earlier. With a team full of useless gAss monkeys (we believed). Brian Williams sent off on debut 7 days earlier, Gary Emmanuel giving away a last minute penalty to lose us that game..... all proved a little too much for some. 

A dare say drink had been taken but even so.

Bournemouth have come along way since then. We're still going round in circles. 

Edited Thursday at 12:04 by Merrick's Marvels

[GrahamC]

3 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

Remember that javelin like it was yesterday.

Conceding 3 goals in the first 10 minutes of that game didn't help. Plus losing 5-1 at Hereford 3 days earlier. With a team full of useless gAss monkeys (we believed). Brian Williams sent off on debut 7 days earlier, Gary Emmanuel giving away a last minute penalty to lose us that game..... all proved a little too much for some. 

A dare say drink had been taken but even so.

Bournemouth have come along way since then. We're still going round in circles. 

That was when Mark Hughes returned in pre season looking like he was sponsored by Pieminister.

Think we had converted Keith Curle to a CB by then but can’t recall if he played?

Pretty sure Coops binned Hughes off after the first 4 games (which we lost).

Williams went on to play in the Freight Rover Wembley win, a turnaround in fortunes neither of the other two ex-Gas got remotely near to replicating.

 

[Oh Louie louie]

City in division 4 on mike js is well worth a watch, Terry cooper comes off the bench in one game and plays as a winger and sets up the winner, a few players TC ended up signing are in there too

[Lanterne Rouge]

I reckon pretty much every one of us of a certain age can remember nearly all the names on the lists for all four divisions and saw a large percentage of them play live.