billc
Youth Player
Posts: 479
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Post by billc on Sept 21, 2015 13:08:41 GMT
Stoke City 0- Blackburn Rovers 1 April 21st 1990
The headline read “Same Old Stoke” and adequately reflected a season which ended with Stoke being relegated to the 3rd tier of English football for the first time since the 1920s. There was a contrast between the two teams Stoke in long term and possibly permanent decline, or so I though at the time, and a confident Blackburn who had themselves been out on the top league of football for over 20 years. The two differed though in that Blackburn was about to taken over by wealthy industrialist Jack Walker. Walker’s wealth would see them promoted back to the top flight and eventually winning the Premier League in 1995. All that, however lay in the future.
It had been a poor season for Stoke. The reign of Mick Mills had ended ignominiously in November following a 6-0 shellacking by Swindon Town. New manager Alan Ball had started well with a win against Brighton, but it was a steady drifting down to the bottom of the table. There was a succession of lacklustre performances during the early spring of 1990.
By the time of the Blackburn game on 21st April, as it happened my 35 birthday, Stoke’s relegation to the 3rd Division had been confirmed and with nothing to lose Ball had introduced two youngsters to the team Darren Boughey and Anthony Gallimore.
Stoke started briskly enough with the standard bustling performance from Mickey Thomas but the usual pattern of sloppy defending, misplaced passing and wasted chances with Biggins failing to score from an easy chance characterised Stoke’s performance that day.
It ended with Stoke’s 8th home defeat when Sandford clumsily bought down Kennedy with Mail scoring from the spot. Sandford compounded a bad day by being sent off shortly before the end.
In the view of the Sentinel Blackburn did not deserve their victory, but then Stoke’s predicament was entirely of their own making.
Some days earlier a poll by the Sentinel found that there was general dissatisfaction with the Board with 81% of those polled wanting the Board to resign. Chairman Peter Coates thought the poll in poor taste and that the Sentinel should know better.
I recall one fine player who was present that day was Blackburn’s Frank Stapleton towards the end of his career. I did not realise it at the time but he made his debut at stoke for Arsenal in 1975. Stapleton made history by becoming the first man to score for two different clubs in FA Cup Finals, Arsenal and Manchester United. He was a great servant of the Republic of Ireland team.
It was a match watched by just over 9,000.
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billc
Youth Player
Posts: 479
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Post by billc on Sept 21, 2015 13:11:52 GMT
I am writing a autobiography/ Social History of Stoke from 1960-2000.
I have written about 40,000 words but I thought I would punctuate the account by focussing on games I had seen in that period. Some are well known and some, in a sense humdrum but I hope it gives a flavour of the times
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billc
Youth Player
Posts: 479
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Post by billc on Sept 21, 2015 13:13:10 GMT
Here are the 40 odd games I will look at.. Notice there are one or two non Stoke games
March 24th 1962 Stoke City 0 Swansea Town 0
April 18th 1963 Stoke City 2- Luton 0
March 21 1964 Stoke 9 Ipswich 1
April 9 1965 Matthews Testimonial
May 7th 1966 Stoke 0- West Ham 1
April 29th 1967 Stoke 3- Leicester 1
May 15th 1968 Stoke 2 Liverpool 1
Sept 22 1969 Stoke2 v3 Santos 9 (Friendly)
October 25th 1969 Stoke 1- Spurs 1
March 30th 1970 Stoke 0- Everton1
April 24th 1971 Stoke 2- Manchester City 0
Nov 18th 1972 Stoke 0- Birmingham 1
April 14th 1973 Stoke 2 Manchester United 2
Feb 23rd 1974 Stoke 3 Leeds 2
Sept 25th 1975 Stoke1 Derby 0
Dec 18th 1976 Stoke 0- West Brom2
Jan 8th1977 Everton2 Stoke0 FA Cup
Dec 26th 1978 Stoke 2 Charlton 2
March 24 th 1979 Port Vale 1- Wimbledon 0
April 25th 1979 Stoke 0 Newcastle 0
March 22nd 1980 Wolves 2- Stoke 0.
November 7th 1981 Stoke 0 Southampton 1
September 25th 1982 Stoke 4 Luton 4
September 17th 1983 Stoke 0 Watford 4
Dec 26th 1984 Stoke 2 Manchester United 1
Sept 4th 1985 Stoke 1 Grimsby 1
Nov 15th 1986 Bradford 4 Huddersfield Town 3
Nov 21st 1987 Stoke 0 Millwall 1
December 26th 1988 Stoke 3 Manchester City 1
December 9th 1989 Stoke 0 Barnsley 1
21st April 1990 Stoke 0 Blackburn 1
23rd Feb 1991 Wigan 4 Stoke 0
16th May 1992 Stoke 1 Stockport County 0 ( League Trophy Wembley
28th April 1993 Stoke 1 Plymouth 0
5th February 1994 Stoke 1 Wolves 1
27th August 1995 Stoke 0 Port Vale 1
6th Jan 1996 Stoke 1 Notts Forest 1 FA Cup
5th May 1997 Stoke 1 WBA 1
15th August 1998 Stoke 2 Macclesfield town 0
14th November 1999 Stoke 1 Bristol City 1
26th December 2000 Stoke 2 Bury 1
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Post by JoeinOz on Sept 21, 2015 13:18:52 GMT
21/11/87 Millwall beat us 1-2.
Blackburn game you mention was staggering because after violently attacking his opponent Sandford was applauded off after seeing red.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2015 18:08:29 GMT
21/11/87 Millwall beat us 1-2. Blackburn game you mention was staggering because after violently attacking his opponent Sandford was applauded off after seeing red. Standing ovation is how I remember it. I think the player Sandford brought down for the penalty had taken the piss a bit. Sandford was a hot head to say the least (before Lou later instilled some discipline), and a few minutes later I'm fairly sure it was the same player that Sandford sent 6 foot in the air. Quite funny really. Bally's team did have a thuggish tendancy about them. |
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Post by mickstupp on Sept 21, 2015 20:12:46 GMT
21/11/87 Millwall beat us 1-2. Blackburn game you mention was staggering because after violently attacking his opponent Sandford was applauded off after seeing red. Millwall actually got promoted that season, with Sherringham and Cascarino up front. |
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Post by Davef on Sept 21, 2015 20:32:34 GMT
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Post by lennythegoose on Sept 21, 2015 20:39:42 GMT
21/11/87 Millwall beat us 1-2. Blackburn game you mention was staggering because after violently attacking his opponent Sandford was applauded off after seeing red. Standing ovation is how I remember it. I think the player Sandford brought down for the penalty had taken the piss a bit. Sandford was a hot head to say the least (before Lou later instilled some discipline), and a few minutes later I'm fairly sure it was the same player that Sandford sent 6 foot in the air. Quite funny really. Bally's team did have a thuggish tendancy about them. You're spot on. I've always remembered the ovation he got. It was like we were saluting a hero. Can't really remember anything similar since to be honest. The player concerned was Kennedy who had thrown himself down for the penalty and then been pantomime villain for the rest of the game before trying to knock the ball past Sandford and receiving a hefty boot in the knackers / midrift for his troubles. The combination of the frustrations of the day and the season as a whole came out in both the player and the fans. I suspect Geoff Cameron would have received a similar send-off had he launched Danny Rose in a similar fashion two seasons ago. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2015 20:45:48 GMT
Standing ovation is how I remember it. I think the player Sandford brought down for the penalty had taken the piss a bit. Sandford was a hot head to say the least (before Lou later instilled some discipline), and a few minutes later I'm fairly sure it was the same player that Sandford sent 6 foot in the air. Quite funny really. Bally's team did have a thuggish tendancy about them. You're spot on. I've always remembered the ovation he got. It was like we were saluting a hero. Can't really remember anything similar since to be honest. The player concerned was Kennedy who had thrown himself down for the penalty and then been pantomime villain for the rest of the game before trying to knock the ball past Sandford and receiving a hefty boot in the knackers / midrift for his troubles. The combination of the frustrations of the day and the season as a whole came out in both the player and the fans. I suspect Geoff Cameron would have received a similar send-off had he launched Danny Rose in a similar fashion two seasons ago. Ha ha, yeah; fair comparison. |
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Post by JoeinOz on Sept 21, 2015 21:28:35 GMT
It was the kind of indiscipline that relegated teams show.
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