billc
Youth Player
Posts: 490
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Post by billc on Nov 10, 2015 18:54:36 GMT
Seasonally we were in the middle of winter and politically as well as Britain was in the grip of a Miner’s Strike the first national strike since 1926 when Stoke entertained Southampton at the end of January 1972. The news was full of the power cuts and the shortage of fuel as schools and other public buildings began to close. It’s not to say that there was some sympathy for the striker’s position as a miner was getting about £22 a week as one striker said “hardly a wine and pheasant lifestyle”.
It was also played the day before “Bloody Sunday” although not in the Alan Partridge understanding of the phrase.
Still Potters whether they were on strike or not settled down to watch a Stoke side comfortably beat a defensively frail Southampton side.
In a nice touch the Stoke Board welcomed a long term supporter the 80 year old Walter Owen of Barlaston who had not missed a Stoke game in 64 years. He seems to have been of independent cast of mind as he passed up the opportunity to be driven to the game in a Rolls Royce and did what he did every Saturday and walk from his Barlaston home to the Victoria Ground.
Greenhoff and Ritchie were back from injury and the Southampton side included Mick Channon and the veteran Terry Paine closing in on over 700 appearances for one club. On the subs bench was John McGrath later an unconventional manager for the Vale. His presence allows me the opportunity to tell a John McGrath story that must have appeared at the time of his death in 1998. A coach tells a young player that the difference between having footballing skill and real talent was this. Having skill was to jump up, control the ball on your chest, turn and accelerate away, but having real talent was to do all this with John McGrath’s boot up your arse.
It was Conroy’s game and the Irishman was in action early when a move between Greenhoff and the winger saw the later strike the post.
Constant pressure paid off when Conroy found Ritchie with a shrewd pass and he placed the ball past the advancing Martin into the net.
Banks cut off a cross from Byrne which was aimed at a leaping Channon.
Determination by Conroy saw him push past McCartney and Fry and then beat Martin but Gabriel cleared at the last moment.
Conroy was working both flanks and Ritchie totally recovered from an injury was moving freely causing the Southampton defence many problems.
On 51 minutes Greenoff collected a short throw by Dobing and advanced on the Southampton goal before hitting a 30 yard unstoppable shot past a grounded Martin.
Southampton rarely troubled the Stoke defence although Banks had to be quick to block a run from Channon the liveliest Southampton player on that day.
On the 82 minute Stoke wrapped it up when Ritchie held the ball up well for Greenhoff to make no mistake. Byrne pulled one back for the Saints a few minutes later.
The following Monday Stoke beat West Ham in the League Cup Semi Final in Manchester and shortly afterwards in anticipation of a Wembley visit in March George Eastham was being measured up for a suit from the Coop.
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Post by Staying up for Grandadstokey on Nov 10, 2015 19:38:42 GMT
I vaguely remember the Southampton game, but I remember the League cup semi final replay better, as I recall it was bucketing down at Old Trafford and the game was frenetic from start to finish.T.C was on fire that night, though he got some stick from the West Ham fans who blamed him for injuring their goalie who was carried off, resulting in the great Bobby Moore going in goal and saving Bernard's penalty, only for him to knock in the rebound giving Stoke a 3-2 win and sparking off a great mental.
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Post by harryburrows on Nov 10, 2015 19:55:22 GMT
Don't remember the game at all , I do remember jimmys goal though . A Bobby Dazzler
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Post by admiral on Nov 10, 2015 19:59:44 GMT
It's my age and memory issues, but when was the game against Southampton when Big John Ritchie got his hat trick by going on all fours and heading the stationary ball over the line?
I know we older Stokies remember it well but I remain amazed that it has never quite got the legendary status it deserved. To add to that, didn't we go top of the table with that win?
Think it may have been a year later than the game the OP refers to but indulge me.
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Post by harryburrows on Nov 10, 2015 20:10:03 GMT
It's my age and memory issues, but when was the game against Southampton when Big John Ritchie got his hat trick by going on all fours and heading the stationary ball over the line? I know we older Stokies remember it well but I remain amazed that it has never quite got the legendary status it deserved. To add to that, didn't we go top of the table with that win? Think it may have been a year later than the game the OP refers to but indulge me. Can't remember us topping the table in 73 . |
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Post by Staying up for Grandadstokey on Nov 10, 2015 20:14:30 GMT
It's my age and memory issues, but when was the game against Southampton when Big John Ritchie got his hat trick by going on all fours and heading the stationary ball over the line? I know we older Stokies remember it well but I remain amazed that it has never quite got the legendary status it deserved. To add to that, didn't we go top of the table with that win? Think it may have been a year later than the game the OP refers to but indulge me. 1973-74 season Big John scored a hat trick in a 4-1 win against Southampton ,the last goal he went down on his hands and knees after rounding the keeper basically taking the piss out of Peter Osgood who had said in a newspaper article that all Ritchie could do was to head a ball. You are right it does deserve legendary status, imagine if Rooney or someone of his ilk did that today, you would never hear the last of it. |
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Post by admiral on Nov 10, 2015 20:14:59 GMT
It's my age and memory issues, but when was the game against Southampton when Big John Ritchie got his hat trick by going on all fours and heading the stationary ball over the line? I know we older Stokies remember it well but I remain amazed that it has never quite got the legendary status it deserved. To add to that, didn't we go top of the table with that win? Think it may have been a year later than the game the OP refers to but indulge me. Can't remember us topping the table in 73 . I did say I may have a poor memory. To be honest, so many seasons seem to blend all together. I remember fantastic moments, lots of heartache and several periods of ecstasy. Presumably, the lot of most supporters as time goes by! |
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Post by admiral on Nov 10, 2015 20:17:47 GMT
It's my age and memory issues, but when was the game against Southampton when Big John Ritchie got his hat trick by going on all fours and heading the stationary ball over the line? I know we older Stokies remember it well but I remain amazed that it has never quite got the legendary status it deserved. To add to that, didn't we go top of the table with that win? Think it may have been a year later than the game the OP refers to but indulge me. 1973-74 season Big John scored a hat trick in a 4-1 win against Southampton ,the last goal he went down on his hands and knees after rounding the keeper basically taking the piss out of Peter Osgood who had said in a newspaper article that all Ritchie could do was to head a ball. You are right it does deserve legendary status, imagine if Rooney or someone of his ilk did that today, you would never hear the last of it. Thanks. I still remember it so well. Frankly, if anybody in the modern era had done it, they would never stop showing it. |
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Post by Staying up for Grandadstokey on Nov 10, 2015 20:20:05 GMT
It's my age and memory issues, but when was the game against Southampton when Big John Ritchie got his hat trick by going on all fours and heading the stationary ball over the line? I know we older Stokies remember it well but I remain amazed that it has never quite got the legendary status it deserved. To add to that, didn't we go top of the table with that win? Think it may have been a year later than the game the OP refers to but indulge me. Can't remember us topping the table in 73 . We finished 5th in the 73-74 season so it's within the realms of possibility that we went top at some stage though I think the Southampton game was towards the end of the season. |
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Post by harryburrows on Nov 10, 2015 20:26:35 GMT
Can't remember us topping the table in 73 . I did say I may have a poor memory. To be honest, so many seasons seem to blend all together. I remember fantastic moments, lots of heartache and several periods of ecstasy. Presumably, the lot of most supporters as time goes by! Lots of great memories as you say , forgotten the bad ones , almost |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2015 20:27:57 GMT
Can't remember us topping the table in 73 . We finished 5th in the 73-74 season so it's within the realms of possibility that we went top at some stage though I think the Southampton game was towards the end of the season. Imagine the reaction if this site was around back then, our record after 12 games was W1 D6 L5, slit your wrists time........ |
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Post by harryburrows on Nov 10, 2015 20:29:43 GMT
Can't remember us topping the table in 73 . We finished 5th in the 73-74 season so it's within the realms of possibility that we went top at some stage though I think the Southampton game was towards the end of the season. Sorry should have said 72 |
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Post by admiral on Nov 10, 2015 20:32:40 GMT
We finished 5th in the 73-74 season so it's within the realms of possibility that we went top at some stage though I think the Southampton game was towards the end of the season. Imagine the reaction if this site was around back then, our record after 12 games was W1 D6 L5, slit your wrists time........ Crikey! Must be another one of those periods I have now conveniently expunged from my memory. |
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Post by Staying up for Grandadstokey on Nov 10, 2015 20:32:53 GMT
We finished 5th in the 73-74 season so it's within the realms of possibility that we went top at some stage though I think the Southampton game was towards the end of the season. Sorry should have said 72 Busy winning cups that season. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2015 20:37:54 GMT
Bit before my time but what was with the fluctuation in crowds back then? 35,000+ against Leeds on the 8th April followed by under 14,000 just two days later against Forest. Seems mental that was it just a financial thing with two home games so close together or did Leeds bring about 15,000 fans with them?
Few other occasions when this happens as well.....
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Post by admiral on Nov 10, 2015 20:47:15 GMT
Bit before my time but what was with the fluctuation in crowds back then? 35,000+ against Leeds on the 8th April followed by under 14,000 just two days later against Forest. Seems mental that was it just a financial thing with two home games so close together or did Leeds bring about 15,000 fans with them? Few other occasions when this happens as well..... Hmm. Difficult to say. Pretty. Much all the turnstiles were cash payment. We didn't have as much disposable income as today. There were particular transport issues, especially for midweek evening games. No idea really, just trying to think what the issues might have been. |
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Post by Davef on Nov 10, 2015 20:48:05 GMT
Can't remember us topping the table in 73 . We finished 5th in the 73-74 season so it's within the realms of possibility that we went top at some stage though I think the Southampton game was towards the end of the season. We didn't top the league that season. We were quite low in the table around new year and Hudson's arrival saw us surge up the league. We did top the table the season after as we were around the top places for most of the season. |
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Post by Staying up for Grandadstokey on Nov 10, 2015 20:58:54 GMT
We finished 5th in the 73-74 season so it's within the realms of possibility that we went top at some stage though I think the Southampton game was towards the end of the season. We didn't top the league that season. We were quite low in the table around new year and Hudson's arrival saw us surge up the league. We did top the table the season after as we were around the top places for most of the season. Indeed, our best season ever in my lifetime .(So far winky thing) |
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Post by no1972 on Nov 10, 2015 21:57:24 GMT
Bit before my time but what was with the fluctuation in crowds back then? 35,000+ against Leeds on the 8th April followed by under 14,000 just two days later against Forest. Seems mental that was it just a financial thing with two home games so close together or did Leeds bring about 15,000 fans with them? Few other occasions when this happens as well..... The big teams regularly brought over 5000,many times they would take too blocks at the back of the boot hen as well as the Stoke end,remember one game against the shit we could not get to the top of the boothen ended up stuck under the players wife's seats by door x it was flat there so I could see nothing of the game. |
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Post by kentpotter on Nov 11, 2015 7:48:18 GMT
Seasonally we were in the middle of winter and politically as well as Britain was in the grip of a Miner’s Strike the first national strike since 1926 when Stoke entertained Southampton at the end of January 1972. The news was full of the power cuts and the shortage of fuel as schools and other public buildings began to close. It’s not to say that there was some sympathy for the striker’s position as a miner was getting about £22 a week as one striker said “hardly a wine and pheasant lifestyle”. It was also played the day before “Bloody Sunday” although not in the Alan Partridge understanding of the phrase. Still Potters whether they were on strike or not settled down to watch a Stoke side comfortably beat a defensively frail Southampton side. In a nice touch the Stoke Board welcomed a long term supporter the 80 year old Walter Owen of Barlaston who had not missed a Stoke game in 64 years. He seems to have been of independent cast of mind as he passed up the opportunity to be driven to the game in a Rolls Royce and did what he did every Saturday and walk from his Barlaston home to the Victoria Ground. Greenhoff and Ritchie were back from injury and the Southampton side included Mick Channon and the veteran Terry Paine closing in on over 700 appearances for one club. On the subs bench was John McGrath later an unconventional manager for the Vale. His presence allows me the opportunity to tell a John McGrath story that must have appeared at the time of his death in 1998. A coach tells a young player that the difference between having footballing skill and real talent was this. Having skill was to jump up, control the ball on your chest, turn and accelerate away, but having real talent was to do all this with John McGrath’s boot up your arse. It was Conroy’s game and the Irishman was in action early when a move between Greenhoff and the winger saw the later strike the post. Constant pressure paid off when Conroy found Ritchie with a shrewd pass and he placed the ball past the advancing Martin into the net. Banks cut off a cross from Byrne which was aimed at a leaping Channon. Determination by Conroy saw him push past McCartney and Fry and then beat Martin but Gabriel cleared at the last moment. Conroy was working both flanks and Ritchie totally recovered from an injury was moving freely causing the Southampton defence many problems. On 51 minutes Greenoff collected a short throw by Dobing and advanced on the Southampton goal before hitting a 30 yard unstoppable shot past a grounded Martin. Southampton rarely troubled the Stoke defence although Banks had to be quick to block a run from Channon the liveliest Southampton player on that day. On the 82 minute Stoke wrapped it up when Ritchie held the ball up well for Greenhoff to make no mistake. Byrne pulled one back for the Saints a few minutes later. The following Monday Stoke beat West Ham in the League Cup Semi Final in Manchester and shortly afterwards in anticipation of a Wembley visit in March George Eastham was being measured up for a suit from the Coop. Was this the game when, legend has it, Mike Pejic was even booed by the Boothen End for putting Terry Paine unceremoniously into the Boothen Paddock? |
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Post by lawrieleslie on Nov 11, 2015 15:56:30 GMT
71-72 season was not a good one in the league. We had a good start winning 8 out of the first 16 games and lay 8th on 19 points. But the FA Cup and League Cup runs started to take their tole and we only manage two more wins in the last 26 games, Southampton being one of them. We played over 70 competitive games that season as we were in the Texaco and Anglo-Italian Cups. Many players completed over 50 games and some over 60 with Jackie Marsh playing in no fewer than 69. The season started in June with the Anglo-Italian Cup competition and finished some 14 months later, in early August, with the FA Cup 3rd/4th place play off just before the start of the next season. Luckily our decent league start to the season meant we easily avoided relegation
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Post by nzstokie on Nov 11, 2015 18:06:24 GMT
I vaguely remember the Southampton game, but I remember the League cup semi final replay better, as I recall it was bucketing down at Old Trafford and the game was frenetic from start to finish.T.C was on fire that night, though he got some stick from the West Ham fans who blamed him for injuring their goalie who was carried off, resulting in the great Bobby Moore going in goal and saving Bernard's penalty, only for him to knock in the rebound giving Stoke a 3-2 win and sparking off a great mental. The West Ham game is one of my all time favorite football matches  |
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Post by no1972 on Nov 11, 2015 18:42:02 GMT
I vaguely remember the Southampton game, but I remember the League cup semi final replay better, as I recall it was bucketing down at Old Trafford and the game was frenetic from start to finish.T.C was on fire that night, though he got some stick from the West Ham fans who blamed him for injuring their goalie who was carried off, resulting in the great Bobby Moore going in goal and saving Bernard's penalty, only for him to knock in the rebound giving Stoke a 3-2 win and sparking off a great mental. The West Ham game is one of my all time favorite football matches I ran on the pitch at full time at Old Trafford and my Docs went straight down in the mud upto my ankle,they would not of played that game now.The previous game at Hillesborugh was also in pouring rain. |
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billc
Youth Player
Posts: 490
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Post by billc on Nov 11, 2015 19:04:38 GMT
I will mention the Terry Paine incident to Mike Pejic when I see him in the Foxlowe in Leek next
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Post by stokey127 on Nov 11, 2015 19:26:04 GMT
Don't remember the game at all , I do remember jimmys goal though . A Bobby Dazzler Same as. |
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Post by raythesailor on Nov 11, 2015 19:56:17 GMT
Bit before my time but what was with the fluctuation in crowds back then? 35,000+ against Leeds on the 8th April followed by under 14,000 just two days later against Forest. Seems mental that was it just a financial thing with two home games so close together or did Leeds bring about 15,000 fans with them? Few other occasions when this happens as well..... In those days if you regularly stood in the Boothen End, and looked across to what I always called the Town End, and saw the spaces , or lack of spaces in the paddocks you could quite accurately estimate the crowd. Entrance was cash via the turnstiles, and we only got to know the attendance by reading the Sentinel. Many times we would estimate 35000 plus only to read in the paper 17500 or 24500 ! Conclude what you wish. Games against Man U, with Law, Best, Charlton and co were amazing. If someone sneezed thousands of people swayed. |
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