Stoke City 1 v Derby County 0 27th September 1975
To use a word favoured by Terry in the 70s TV series “Minder” the situation around Football during the mid 70s could be described as “tasty”. Britain was going through one of its moral panics about football violence well illustrated by a BBC “Nationwide” item following a group of Man United fans on a visit to Norwich in the 70s. On camera a supporter fell through a stand roof and bounced’ if the fall doesn’t get you the asbestos is the conclusion that could be drawn from this episode.
Closer to home Stoke town centre was often caught up in sporadic violence with clashes with Manchester City supporters early in 1975 and a near riot when Stoke seemed close to winning the League during Easter with Liverpool supporters being memorable incidents. There were a number of stabbings and thefts reported before and after the Liverpool game with Scousers robbing one of the turnstile operators.
Not that Stoke were entirely innocent in terms of laying waste other communities.
Stoke’s rivals and eventual winners of the league in 1974/5 Derby saw heavy fighting between both set of fans in the spring so much so that local MP Walter Johnson called for Stoke fans to be banned from travelling. Even small towns were not spared. A Stafford town centre pub was wrecked after a testimonial game in March and in September 1975 there was the “Battle of Lincoln”, not a historical re-enactment of the 12th century conflict during the “Anarchy” of King Stephen, but a punch up after the lower league club had turfed Stoke out of the League Cup. That occasion says something about ground safety as a wall collapsed at the ground injuring 18 Stoke fans, 2 seriously.
Something had to be done and looking back at the archival footage it is inconceivable that authorities would allow such mayhem now. It is also instructive to see how poorly equipped, woefully so, the Police were in the 70s as a members of the Norfolk Constabulary are seen in the “Nationwide” film warding off bricks and bottles from the Man United fans with nothing more than truncheons outside Carrow Road.
On the subject of the Plods in the autumn of 1975 locally they were still busy trying to capture the murdered of Shropshire heiress Lesley Whittle found hanging in a tunnel in Bathpool Park in Kidsgrove. It was the most expensive police enquiry of its kind in Staffordshire Police history costing £1 million and still no nearer to capturing the killer. That would be a few months into the future and would be the result of a couple of eager eyed PCs in Nottinghamshire assisted by a few Miners coming out of a chippy in Mansfield that would finally apprehend Neilsen.
Other news was the successful completion of the run by Kevin Bowers fundraising for the Ladsanddads who had run over 10,000 miles to Australia. Unbelievably, in the context of 2015, he had run untroubled through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Punjab area of India.
As for myself I was due to start a University degree at York so this match was a final opportunity to see the Potters before journeying northwards.
Derby County, the League Champions, were managed by Scot Dave MacKay. I once chatted to Graham Barnett the Vale striker from the early 60s who played against MacKay at school boy level and thought that he was the best player he had played against. He was not alone in this opinion as George Best was also of this view. Mackay’s League winning team included a number of Scots including Rioch and Archie Gemmill who had scored a wonder goal for the national team at the World Cup the previous year. In fact there is probably a PhD in getting to grips with the overall decline of Scottish Football over the last 50 years.
Stoke were up for revenge and put out a strong team with the return of a fit again Dennis Smith partnered by the ever dependable Alan Bloor. Derby were missing striker Franny Lee although they had available possibly the most irritating player of those times Charlie George. He would fit easily a phrase of Terry’s, a fellow Stokie and workmate at Johnson and Slater’s Potbank where I worked a few years before, of “Big Girl’s Blouse”. He was talented, but a somewhat sly, arrogant player and his cause was not helped, in Stoke supporter’s eyes by having played for Arsenal.
Nerves were settled in the game when Stoke took an early lead when a cross was nodded back by Ian Moores for Greenhoff to volley past Boulton in Derby’s goal on the 11th minute. (For younger reader Ian Moores was a somewhat limited striker who Stoke sold on to Spurs where he soon exposed for the plodder that he probably was all along. In retrospective Palachios can be seen as a near 40 years revenge by the people down at White Hart Lane. Perhaps they know the Italian proverb “that revenge is a dish that people of taste prefer to eat cold”). Then there is a phrase in the Sentinel report that Stoke fans will instantly recognise as typical of a Stoke stalwart of the time “Hector had to receive attention after being stunned by a solid challenge by Smith”.
Alan Dodd something of an unsung hero in that Stoke side put in a sterling performance it is reported. Smith was also in the thick of it when a blasted clearance flattened the ref who took some time to recover. Hudson and Salmon linked up well and a cross was taken off the head of Moores by a timely intervention from Thomas.
The conditions were breezy and a long clearance by Shilton nearly caught the Derby defence out as a Todd raced back to intercept and the half ended with Stoke definitely on top.
An early attack by Derby in the second half was blocked by Marsh who ended up in the back of the net nursing a head wound. There was no undue concern about head injuries in those days and after the application of a damp sponge to the back of the full back’s head he shook his head and returned to the fray. This time Derby were applying the pressure and a floated chip by George missed everyone. Shilton saved well from Newton. He also did well to save from Rioch in the 73 minute with the Stoke defence well beaten: Smith was hobbling from a damage thigh at this late stage of the game. Derby’s keeper tried to take advantage of the wind which now favoured the away side and kicks were reaching Shilton with only one bounce. Despite this Stoke held on to record a victory against their North Midland rivals.
Just over 25,000 watched this match. It is worth noting that MacKay died earlier this year.
