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Post by march4 on Sept 12, 2024 12:41:24 GMT
Tonight, Stoke welcome 3rd Division Halifax Town to the Victoria Ground for a League Cup tie. Huddy is ruled out after his car accident and Hurst is to be given a run out in preference to Ritchie because Big John is suspended from the forthcoming UEFA cup match (he was sent off at Kaiserslautern). TC has a tummy bug but is expected to play. This game sticks in my memory as I stood in the Butler St paddock for a change of routine. A crowd of only 19,000 meant plenty of room and there were a group of Keele University students standing next to me who supported Halifax. Somehow they had brought into the ground a full crate of bottles of beer (Double Diamond I seem to remember) and they were happy to share with the folk around them! We lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Greenhoff, Hurst, Conroy, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. TC had always rated himself as a striker and now was his chance to show what he could do and he didn't let himself down, scoring the first hat-trick of his Stoke career. The 3rd goal was a penalty after TC himself had been brought down. A special mention to Haslegrave who was behind everything that went well on the night, finishing with two assists to his name. A straightforward 3-0 win against a gallant Halifax team. After the game, England manager Don Revie names Greenhoff, Hudson, Pejic and Salmons amongst those invited to his 84 player get together. Disappointment for Smith who Stoke supporters felt should also have been involved. The evening is dominated by events at Leeds, where the newspapers report that before their cup game with 3rd Division Huddersfield, the players had a vote of no confidence in new manager Brian Clough. It took an 89th minute equaliser from Lorimer to save the League Champions from humiliation. The next morning Clough is sacked after just 44 days in charge. Leeds player Johnny Giles is favourite to replace him. At Crewe Alex there is turmoil, as the Chairman resigns and 3 other directors are voted off. Nationally, as Harold Wilson's government struggles, there is a sugar shortage and the price doubles overnight to 20p a bag. I remember visiting houses where their pantries were stacked bottom to top with dozens of bags. View AttachmentI was always under the impression there were 5 Stoke players in the Revie squad? Must be my memory playing tricks. I'd be interested in seeing a list of the 84 players though if anyone has got it? Used to be a photo of it with the Stoke players huddled together but cant find a record of that. He used 52 players in his 29 England games apparently. The photo was in the Daily Mirror but it was across a double page and so it is not easy to post it on here. Its 50 years today since this incredible interview was broadcast; |
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Post by march4 on Sept 12, 2024 13:02:48 GMT
Tonight, Stoke welcome 3rd Division Halifax Town to the Victoria Ground for a League Cup tie. Huddy is ruled out after his car accident and Hurst is to be given a run out in preference to Ritchie because Big John is suspended from the forthcoming UEFA cup match (he was sent off at Kaiserslautern). TC has a tummy bug but is expected to play. This game sticks in my memory as I stood in the Butler St paddock for a change of routine. A crowd of only 19,000 meant plenty of room and there were a group of Keele University students standing next to me who supported Halifax. Somehow they had brought into the ground a full crate of bottles of beer (Double Diamond I seem to remember) and they were happy to share with the folk around them! We lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Greenhoff, Hurst, Conroy, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. TC had always rated himself as a striker and now was his chance to show what he could do and he didn't let himself down, scoring the first hat-trick of his Stoke career. The 3rd goal was a penalty after TC himself had been brought down. A special mention to Haslegrave who was behind everything that went well on the night, finishing with two assists to his name. A straightforward 3-0 win against a gallant Halifax team. After the game, England manager Don Revie names Greenhoff, Hudson, Pejic and Salmons amongst those invited to his 84 player get together. Disappointment for Smith who Stoke supporters felt should also have been involved. The evening is dominated by events at Leeds, where the newspapers report that before their cup game with 3rd Division Huddersfield, the players had a vote of no confidence in new manager Brian Clough. It took an 89th minute equaliser from Lorimer to save the League Champions from humiliation. The next morning Clough is sacked after just 44 days in charge. Leeds player Johnny Giles is favourite to replace him. At Crewe Alex there is turmoil, as the Chairman resigns and 3 other directors are voted off. Nationally, as Harold Wilson's government struggles, there is a sugar shortage and the price doubles overnight to 20p a bag. I remember visiting houses where their pantries were stacked bottom to top with dozens of bags. View AttachmentI was always under the impression there were 5 Stoke players in the Revie squad? Must be my memory playing tricks. I'd be interested in seeing a list of the 84 players though if anyone has got it? Used to be a photo of it with the Stoke players huddled together but cant find a record of that. He used 52 players in his 29 England games apparently.  |
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Post by march4 on Sept 12, 2024 13:04:24 GMT
Tonight, Stoke welcome 3rd Division Halifax Town to the Victoria Ground for a League Cup tie. Huddy is ruled out after his car accident and Hurst is to be given a run out in preference to Ritchie because Big John is suspended from the forthcoming UEFA cup match (he was sent off at Kaiserslautern). TC has a tummy bug but is expected to play. This game sticks in my memory as I stood in the Butler St paddock for a change of routine. A crowd of only 19,000 meant plenty of room and there were a group of Keele University students standing next to me who supported Halifax. Somehow they had brought into the ground a full crate of bottles of beer (Double Diamond I seem to remember) and they were happy to share with the folk around them! We lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Greenhoff, Hurst, Conroy, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. TC had always rated himself as a striker and now was his chance to show what he could do and he didn't let himself down, scoring the first hat-trick of his Stoke career. The 3rd goal was a penalty after TC himself had been brought down. A special mention to Haslegrave who was behind everything that went well on the night, finishing with two assists to his name. A straightforward 3-0 win against a gallant Halifax team. After the game, England manager Don Revie names Greenhoff, Hudson, Pejic and Salmons amongst those invited to his 84 player get together. Disappointment for Smith who Stoke supporters felt should also have been involved. The evening is dominated by events at Leeds, where the newspapers report that before their cup game with 3rd Division Huddersfield, the players had a vote of no confidence in new manager Brian Clough. It took an 89th minute equaliser from Lorimer to save the League Champions from humiliation. The next morning Clough is sacked after just 44 days in charge. Leeds player Johnny Giles is favourite to replace him. At Crewe Alex there is turmoil, as the Chairman resigns and 3 other directors are voted off. Nationally, as Harold Wilson's government struggles, there is a sugar shortage and the price doubles overnight to 20p a bag. I remember visiting houses where their pantries were stacked bottom to top with dozens of bags. View AttachmentI was always under the impression there were 5 Stoke players in the Revie squad? Must be my memory playing tricks. I'd be interested in seeing a list of the 84 players though if anyone has got it? Used to be a photo of it with the Stoke players huddled together but cant find a record of that. He used 52 players in his 29 England games apparently.  |
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Post by Absolution on Sept 12, 2024 13:08:41 GMT
I was always under the impression there were 5 Stoke players in the Revie squad? Must be my memory playing tricks. I'd be interested in seeing a list of the 84 players though if anyone has got it? Used to be a photo of it with the Stoke players huddled together but cant find a record of that. He used 52 players in his 29 England games apparently. Strange, I have a vague recollection of Smith being one of 5 Stoke players in a photograph of the 84. |
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Post by spitthedog on Sept 12, 2024 13:11:21 GMT
I was always under the impression there were 5 Stoke players in the Revie squad? Must be my memory playing tricks. I'd be interested in seeing a list of the 84 players though if anyone has got it? Used to be a photo of it with the Stoke players huddled together but cant find a record of that. He used 52 players in his 29 England games apparently. Brilliant find March. I even got the huddled together bit wrong! It looks like Denis Smith was there though listed at No. 74, so that bit of my memory is still functioning at least. John Tudor and Alec Lindsay are both there, two of our worst ever signings. Don't like the fact that Peter Storey is next to Geoff Salmons. Should be keeping well away from him! |
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Post by senojbor on Sept 12, 2024 14:01:20 GMT
On this day in 1974 we were 4th in the league.
February 75 we went top
It was anyone's league and Derby came from mid table to win it
Had we signed Osgood in the March that year we probably would have won it.
Long Injuries to Richie, Greenhoff, Robertson and Pejic killed us.
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Post by march4 on Sept 12, 2024 14:27:49 GMT
On this day in 1974 we were 4th in the league. February 75 we went top It was anyone's league and Derby came from mid table to win it Had we signed Osgood in the March that year we probably would have won it. Long Injuries to Richie, Greenhoff, Robertson and Pejic killed us. Osgood didn't score a goal for Soton that season and they were relegated. However, Franny Lee went to Derby for £100,000 and his goals........................ (no spoilers). |
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Post by spitthedog on Sept 12, 2024 14:36:31 GMT
On this day in 1974 we were 4th in the league. February 75 we went top It was anyone's league and Derby came from mid table to win it Had we signed Osgood in the March that year we probably would have won it. Long Injuries to Richie, Greenhoff, Robertson and Pejic killed us. I'm sceptical about the Osgood factor. He was poor when he went to Southampton and that was in the old Division 2 Also he wanted to stay down South, so it wasn't a goer anyway. We couldn't have done much more about it. Southampton were relegated in the season he joined them. He didn't score 1 goal that season for them. Then in Division 2 he played 126 league games and scored only 24 goals over 4 seasons so he was a bit of a flop really. |
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Post by march4 on Sept 12, 2024 15:45:43 GMT
On this day in 1974 we were 4th in the league. February 75 we went top It was anyone's league and Derby came from mid table to win it Had we signed Osgood in the March that year we probably would have won it. Long Injuries to Richie, Greenhoff, Robertson and Pejic killed us. I'm sceptical about the Osgood factor. He was poor when he went to Southampton and that was in the old Division 2 Also he wanted to stay down South, so it wasn't a goer anyway. We couldn't have done much more about it. Southampton were relegated in the season he joined them. He didn't score 1 goal that season for them. Then in Division 2 he played 126 league games and scored only 24 goals over 4 seasons so he was a bit of a flop really. Not only was Francis Lee available for £100,000 but at the time we bought Shilton, Charlie George was on the transfer list for £200,000. So for the cost of one Osgood or one Shilton, we could have bought the goals of Lee and George. |
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Post by spitthedog on Sept 12, 2024 16:02:09 GMT
I'm sceptical about the Osgood factor. He was poor when he went to Southampton and that was in the old Division 2 Also he wanted to stay down South, so it wasn't a goer anyway. We couldn't have done much more about it. Southampton were relegated in the season he joined them. He didn't score 1 goal that season for them. Then in Division 2 he played 126 league games and scored only 24 goals over 4 seasons so he was a bit of a flop really. Not only was Francis Lee available for £100,000 but at the time we bought Shilton, Charlie George was on the transfer list for £200,000. So for the cost of one Osgood or one Shilton, we could have bought the goals of Lee and George. Wow!......can you imagine Charlie George with Hudson.......I wont sleep tonight now!!!! |
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Post by senojbor on Sept 13, 2024 12:29:43 GMT
On this day in 1974 we were 4th in the league. February 75 we went top It was anyone's league and Derby came from mid table to win it Had we signed Osgood in the March that year we probably would have won it. Long Injuries to Richie, Greenhoff, Robertson and Pejic killed us. Osgood didn't score a goal for Soton that season and they were relegated. However, Franny Lee went to Derby for £100,000 and his goals........................ (no spoilers). Soton were rubbish. Didn't we beat them 4-1 at home with 'that' Richie goal? Thing is we'll never know about Osgood. Remember going to Bramall lane with 3 games to go and it was billed as the Currie v Hudson game. Currie was throwing his arms in the air everytime he won a duel. Hudson and We lost Never like SU since |
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Post by march4 on Sept 13, 2024 12:51:52 GMT
Osgood didn't score a goal for Soton that season and they were relegated. However, Franny Lee went to Derby for £100,000 and his goals........................ (no spoilers). Soton were rubbish. Didn't we beat them 4-1 at home with 'that' Richie goal? Thing is we'll never know about Osgood. Remember going to Bramall lane with 3 games to go and it was billed as the Currie v Hudson game. Currie was throwing his arms in the air everytime he won a duel. Hudson and We lost Never like SU since Big John hit a hat trick that day - the 3rd being the goal he scored on his hands and knees. He celebrated by sticking two fingers up. |
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Post by spitthedog on Sept 13, 2024 13:45:15 GMT
Soton were rubbish. Didn't we beat them 4-1 at home with 'that' Richie goal? Thing is we'll never know about Osgood. Remember going to Bramall lane with 3 games to go and it was billed as the Currie v Hudson game. Currie was throwing his arms in the air everytime he won a duel. Hudson and We lost Never like SU since Big John hit a hat trick that day - the 3rd being the goal he scored on his hands and knees. He celebrated by sticking two fingers up. That game was Peter Osgood's Southampton debut and am I right in saying Osgood made some derogatory remarks about Ritchie in advance of the game saying he was a bit of a 'carthorse'? Hence the 2 fingers. March will correct me on this. I can still see that goal on his hands and knees now..... magical moment it was! |
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Post by tpholloway1 on Sept 13, 2024 14:28:56 GMT
Big John hit a hat trick that day - the 3rd being the goal he scored on his hands and knees. He celebrated by sticking two fingers up. That game was Peter Osgood's Southampton debut and am I right in saying Osgood made some derogatory remarks about Ritchie in advance of the game saying he was a bit of a 'carthorse'? Hence the 2 fingers. March will correct me on this. I can still see that goal on his hands and knees now..... magical moment it was! I think Osgood had said something along the lines that Ritchie could only score with his head. That goal is one of my favourite Stoke City moments, pity it's not on film somewhere. |
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Post by march4 on Sept 13, 2024 14:53:48 GMT
That game was Peter Osgood's Southampton debut and am I right in saying Osgood made some derogatory remarks about Ritchie in advance of the game saying he was a bit of a 'carthorse'? Hence the 2 fingers. March will correct me on this. I can still see that goal on his hands and knees now..... magical moment it was! I think Osgood had said something along the lines that Ritchie could only score with his head. That goal is one of my favourite Stoke City moments, pity it's not on film somewhere. Spot on. That’s what he said. |
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Post by march4 on Sept 14, 2024 10:02:24 GMT
4th placed Stoke welcome injury hit Coventry today for a game in which Huddy has declared himself hit after his car crash even though he is unable to head the ball. TC is dropped to the sub's bench in spite of his midweek hat-trick. We lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Greenhoff, Ritchie, Hudson, Salmons. Sub; - Conroy. Coventry didn't really stand a chance as we hit top form and they are less of a physical threat away from home than they are at Highfield Rd. We dominated to such an extent that it was surprise that we took an hour to score, but what a goal it was. Haslegrave collected the ball in his own area and carried it the length of the pitch in spite of a couple of attempted rugby tackles. Once in the opposition box he crossed to Greenhoff who played in Mahoney who scored with ease. A few minutes later Greenhoff was again involved lofting forward to Ritchie who hit an absolute thunderbolt of a volley into the top corner. Had our centre forward ever scored a better goal? A straightforward 2-0 win which left Waddo purring afterwards about the professionalism of his team. The only downside was an attendance of only 22,000 - the Sentinel had stated at the start of the season that we needed to average 30,000 gates to pay for Salmons and Hudson and so far only the Leeds game had exceeded that figure. We remain 4th. Paisley's assertion that Liverpool will remain top all season was blown apart as they lost at Man City and Ipswich go top. Our next 3 games? Ajax, Liverpool and Ipswich - that will test us! The weekend papers are full of interviews with Cloughie. In one he tells Billy Bremner that he isn't the manager of Leeds Utd. There is dissent on the Leeds Board as some of the directors were not involved in Clough's sacking and are now unhappy. With Clough gone, Leeds lose again and are now 4th from bottom. In a surprise move, Johnny Giles rules himself out of the Leeds job. Terry Venables is being sold by QPR to Crystal Palace much to his annoyance and that of his QPR team mates. Referee Clive Thomas has instructed his solicitors to take action against a supporter who ran onto the pitch and pushed him during the Soton vs Pompey game. The IRA terror campaign continues with two major legal figures shot and killed on their doorsteps. And police are concerned about the forthcoming fixture at Millwall against ManU.  |
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Post by Northy on Sept 18, 2024 7:49:15 GMT
The Sentinel is reporting that Stoke are interested in signing goalkeeper Peter Shilton from Leicester. A fee of £300,000 has been mentioned but Chairman Albert Henshall is adamant that Stoke have no money but would be interested in a player exchange. And Francis Lee has moved to Derby for a fee of £100,000. Stoke were rumoured to be interested in signing the striker throughout the summer. Shilton is 75 today, makes you feel a bit old doesn't it |
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Post by JoeinOz on Sept 18, 2024 8:18:24 GMT
50 years since we played Ajax.
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Post by AlliG on Sept 18, 2024 14:11:57 GMT
The Sentinel is reporting that Stoke are interested in signing goalkeeper Peter Shilton from Leicester. A fee of £300,000 has been mentioned but Chairman Albert Henshall is adamant that Stoke have no money but would be interested in a player exchange. And Francis Lee has moved to Derby for a fee of £100,000. Stoke were rumoured to be interested in signing the striker throughout the summer. Shilton is 75 today, makes you feel a bit old doesn't it Especially when I remember all the stories in the papers and football magazines about a brilliant 17 year old prospect ready to replace Banks at Leicester. |
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Post by Northy on Sept 18, 2024 17:26:41 GMT
50 years since we played Ajax. Remember being packed in for that one, over 40,000 wasn't there? |
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Post by march4 on Sept 18, 2024 19:32:10 GMT
Rarely has a game been so keenly anticipated as tonight's UEFA Cup clash against Ajax of Amsterdam. For context, Ajax with stars such as Cruyff and Neeskens, had changed the face of the game in Europe with their total football that had made them continental champions in 1970, 71 and 72. However, with the big stars having been poached by European rivals this was not the same Ajax team and they had experienced a more disappointing 1973/74 season. In the build up to the game, the Sentinel had focussed on the Ajax team day by day for the past couple of weeks and the Dutch team didn't let their game in the Potteries pass by without a visit to the Wedgwood factory. In front of a disappointing crowd of 37,000, we lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Greenhoff, Conroy, Hudson, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. The Ajax team was; - Schrijers, Van Doort, Blankenburg, Dusbaba, Krol, Van Santen, Haan, Geels, Muhren, Rep, Keizer. Over the past 10 months we had been defeated only 3 times and were far and away the best team in England - were we also the best team in Europe? The game didn't really go as expected. The Sentinel report headlined "clinical Ajax annoy City crowd" and the letters page were scathing about Ajax's brand of football - the most common word being 'boring'. Ajax's tactics were those of which Middlesbrough would have been proud. They spoiled the game at every opportunity with cynical fouls and back passes. Was this the promised total football? Yes they were expert in keeping possession but seemed to have little interest in crossing the half way line. These were experienced European opponents who set out their stall to silence the home crowd and kill the game. Conroy and Greenhoff were scythed down early on and the Italian referee soon had the names of Keizer, Desbaba and Krol in his book. Our opponents dominated possession and in the first half we were left chasing shadows. In the 38th minute a long ranger from Krol flew past Farmer and now we were a goal down. Ajax couldn't hide their delight and our declared aim of taking a 2-0 lead back to Amsterdam looked impossible. In the 2nd half we changed our tactics, pushing Smith forward and swapping Robertson for Salmons. The game swung in Stoke's favour as the Dutch side failed to deal with Smith's power. After the game, Denis couldn't quite believe he hadn't scored a hat trick. However, he did score a vital goal as Pejic's shot was deflected against the post by Greenhoff and Smith bravely gobbled up the rebound. If only Ritchie hadn't been suspended, as Ajax would surely have experienced problems coping with the big striker. It's all to play for in Amsterdam but beating them in their own backyard is not going to be easy. And before the return, we face Liverpool and Ipswich, both away from home. PM Harold Wilson accepts that his 5 month old government is in crisis and calls an election for mid-October.  |
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Post by castokie on Sept 19, 2024 19:21:13 GMT
Interesting when you say a disappointing crowd of 37,000. I thought that was about what you could expect for us,the only game with a higher attendance that season was the easter fixture v Liverpool when we had an amazing 45,000 no doubt boosted by a fair few scousers. With the exception of when the big boys visited over the years we have had so many 18,000 - 22,000 gates when doing reasonably well that packing them in week in week out has never been our sweet spot. The only season i remember being well supported was 63/4 the first season back in the top flight.
That away game at Ipswich will be remembered for one thing.
As always March great to see you reports especially the quips about non football stuff. So many of us are totally engrossed in this
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Post by march4 on Sept 19, 2024 20:48:06 GMT
Interesting when you say a disappointing crowd of 37,000. I thought that was about what you could expect for us,the only game with a higher attendance that season was the easter fixture v Liverpool when we had an amazing 45,000 no doubt boosted by a fair few scousers. With the exception of when the big boys visited over the years we have had so many 18,000 - 22,000 gates when doing reasonably well that packing them in week in week out has never been our sweet spot. The only season i remember being well supported was 63/4 the first season back in the top flight. That away game at Ipswich will be remembered for one thing. As always March great to see you reports especially the quips about non football stuff. So many of us are totally engrossed in this The club were expecting over 40,000 especially as the game had been built up so much by the local press and radio. I suspect some folk were put off thinking they would be unable to get into the ground. It is hard to think that the majority of fans would pay at the turnstile for big games like this. |
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Post by smallthorner on Sept 19, 2024 21:17:37 GMT
Interesting when you say a disappointing crowd of 37,000. I thought that was about what you could expect for us,the only game with a higher attendance that season was the easter fixture v Liverpool when we had an amazing 45,000 no doubt boosted by a fair few scousers. With the exception of when the big boys visited over the years we have had so many 18,000 - 22,000 gates when doing reasonably well that packing them in week in week out has never been our sweet spot. The only season i remember being well supported was 63/4 the first season back in the top flight. That away game at Ipswich will be remembered for one thing. As always March great to see you reports especially the quips about non football stuff. So many of us are totally engrossed in this The club were expecting over 40,000 especially as the game had been built up so much by the local press and radio. I suspect some folk were put off thinking they would be unable to get into the ground. It is hard to think that the majority of fans would pay at the turnstile for big games like this. Probably bus drivers on strike 😁😁 |
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Post by march4 on Sept 19, 2024 22:27:27 GMT
The club were expecting over 40,000 especially as the game had been built up so much by the local press and radio. I suspect some folk were put off thinking they would be unable to get into the ground. It is hard to think that the majority of fans would pay at the turnstile for big games like this. Probably bus drivers on strike 😁😁 There were an awful lot of strikes in the 70s. |
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Post by Gods on Sept 19, 2024 22:34:22 GMT
Interesting when you say a disappointing crowd of 37,000. I thought that was about what you could expect for us,the only game with a higher attendance that season was the easter fixture v Liverpool when we had an amazing 45,000 no doubt boosted by a fair few scousers. With the exception of when the big boys visited over the years we have had so many 18,000 - 22,000 gates when doing reasonably well that packing them in week in week out has never been our sweet spot. The only season i remember being well supported was 63/4 the first season back in the top flight. That away game at Ipswich will be remembered for one thing. As always March great to see you reports especially the quips about non football stuff. So many of us are totally engrossed in this The club were expecting over 40,000 especially as the game had been built up so much by the local press and radio. I suspect some folk were put off thinking they would be unable to get into the ground. It is hard to think that the majority of fans would pay at the turnstile for big games like this. I was a young boy in the Boothen Paddock with my dad. You are correct, the attendance was seen as disappointing. Perhaps because I don't recall seeing any away fans at all from Ajax, I mean zero. An equivalent league game with Man U or Liverpool would have seen 15K visiting fans to add to the total |
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Post by march4 on Sept 21, 2024 10:03:18 GMT
Something unpleasant is happening to Stoke now they are seen as real title challengers. For 10 months teams have been taken apart by us, but starting with Middlesbrough our opponents have realised that they can beat us by kicking us up in the air. Even Ajax did it. Now we face a tough game at Anfield against the self-proclaimed champions Liverpool. The Sentinel report screamed that Stoke were; "buffeted, pounded, hacked and tripped". "We were robbed" exploded Waddo as Ritchie was the only booking after having his shirt ripped off his back and responding by sticking two fingers up to the ref. For this tough test we lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Greenhoff, Ritchie, Hudson, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. Liverpool charged at us from the kick off like they were possessed cheered by 51,000 spectators and we couldn't get a grip on the game. At times we didn't help ourselves but any momentum we attempted to build was soon stifled by heavy challenges. Up until the 43rd minute we survived but then the referee didn't help us with some odd decisions. First Denis was pushed over the goal-line into the cameramen by Kennedy as he ushered it out for a goal kick. Somehow the referee awarded a corner from which Ritchie rose highest to head an own goal. Then from our kick off, Callaghan threw Haslegrave off the ball and Boersma ran the length of the field before adding a second. After the break, Heighway scored an excellent 3rd goal. Liverpool ran out of steam after Thompson collapsed off the ball with cartilage problems and was stretchered off. Farmer didn't actually have a busy afternoon apart from picking the ball out of the net, but Clemence did little other than field back passes. Our lack of a top class forward was exposed again. At least Denis has the consolation of being called up today by Don Revie to his get together, as a late replacement. Next up it is the hatchet men of Ipswich who have caused us enough injuries in the past and that was when teams were being nice to us. They are the current league leaders. The Sunday papers are full of the Peter Shilton saga. They claim his move to Leeds has fallen through now that Clough has left. We are negotiating along with Everton and Arsenal are also trying to put a package together. Clough has been spending time with Stoke under the invitation of Waddo but is linked with the Coventry job. Eastham highlights his reputation as the brightest young coach in the country as Revie names him manager of England under 21s. Banksie will be Eastham's assistant. They will both continue their jobs at Stoke when not on England duty. Will this unsettle our squad? Richard Nixon is in intensive care although there are suspicions about the extent of his illness. And the election campaign is in full swing in the UK. Little choice for the voters; the disastrous Ted Heath or the appalling government of Harold Wilson. What a choice!  |
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Post by march4 on Sept 25, 2024 20:11:45 GMT
Last night saw us visit Portman Road against an Ipswich team whose play had caused us much anger in the past. Still fresh in the memory was the awful leg break for Peter Dobing, which ended his career. On that occasion Waddo was so incensed he ran onto the pitch to halt play as the referee ignored Dobing's shouts of pain. Waddo was consequently given a touchline ban. That was the end of the career for our cup final captain. For this encounter, Ipswich are top of the table and are yet to concede a goal at home this season. We lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Hudson, Ritchie, Greenhoff, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. We started the game in determined manner. This was a game the players clearly wanted to win and we forced Ipswich onto the back foot throughout the first half. Ipswich weren't shy to make physical challenges but the likes of Pejic, Smith and Ritchie seemed to relish the battle. In particular, a body check on Salmons left the Stoke man dazed on the floor (no concussion protocol 50 years ago). Incredibly, the referee then booked Dodd and Marsh within a minute for two innocuous obstructions. Hudson was booked for retaliating following a challenge from Viljoen. Ritchie had our best chance on the half hour with a header that was cleared off the line by Burley with either his arm or chest depending on whose point of view you chose to believe. The second half started in the same manner with Big John bossing the two Ipswich centre backs; Hunter and Beattie. Then in the 55th minute came the incident that probably cost us the league title. A Beattie tackle left Ritchie with a double fracture of his left leg just below the knee. It was terrible deja vu as our striker lay on the floor shouting for help as the referee waved on play. It was some time before Farmer was able to boot the ball into touch so our physio Mike Allen could run onto the pitch. We were incensed and within seconds Ipswich took the lead as Pejic's header lacked power and it fell to Viljoen to lash home. Smith went up front with Haslegrave dropping into defence and again we dominated proceedings. One header clipped the bar and a second was well saved before Denis was then booked for questioning the linesman's decision. The referee finished us off when he adjudged Dodd had handled the ball on the half way line and promptly sent him off. Ipswich promptly scored two further goals with Stoke appealing for offside on both occasions and tempers really started to fray. The entire Stoke team pursued the referee back to the half way line but to no avail. Salmons did get a consolation goal at the end but a 3-1 defeat was a tough result considering how we had played. In his post match interviews, Waddo was furious about the evening's events. After the game, Ritchie was kept in hospital for a few days and Bluto was dispatched to Suffolk to keep him company. In a newspaper interview, John explained how unhappy he was with both the tackle and Beattie's attitude afterwards. He said he was determined to recover quickly so he would be fit to face up to Beattie again in the return fixture. Sadly, the injury ended Ritchie's career. We would face Ipswich 2 further times this season and it won't be the end of us suffering broken legs against them! Stoke's firepower was suspect before this injury but with our main goalscorer gone what would Waddo do? We were beyond desperate for a striker now.  |
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Post by lancashirelad on Sept 25, 2024 20:33:53 GMT
Last night saw us visit Portman Road against an Ipswich team whose play had caused us much anger in the past. Still fresh in the memory was the awful leg break for Peter Dobing, which ended his career. On that occasion Waddo was so incensed he ran onto the pitch to halt play as the referee ignored Dobing's shouts of pain. Waddo was consequently given a touchline ban. That was the end of the career for our cup final captain. For this encounter, Ipswich are top of the table and are yet to concede a goal at home this season. We lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Hudson, Ritchie, Greenhoff, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. We started the game in determined manner. This was a game the players clearly wanted to win and we forced Ipswich onto the back foot throughout the first half. Ipswich weren't shy to make physical challenges but the likes of Pejic, Smith and Ritchie seemed to relish the battle. In particular, a body check on Salmons left the Stoke man dazed on the floor (no concussion protocol 50 years ago). Incredibly, the referee then booked Dodd and Marsh within a minute for two innocuous obstructions. Hudson was booked for retaliating following a challenge from Viljoen. Ritchie had our best chance on the half hour with a header that was cleared off the line by Burley with either his arm or chest depending on whose point of view you chose to believe. The second half started in the same manner with Big John bossing the two Ipswich centre backs; Hunter and Beattie. Then in the 55th minute came the incident that probably cost us the league title. A Beattie tackle left Ritchie with a double fracture of his left leg just below the knee. It was terrible deja vu as our striker lay on the floor shouting for help as the referee waved on play. It was some time before Farmer was able to boot the ball into touch so our physio Mike Allen could run onto the pitch. We were incensed and within seconds Ipswich took the lead as Pejic's header lacked power and it fell to Viljoen to lash home. Smith went up front with Haslegrave dropping into defence and again we dominated proceedings. One header clipped the bar and a second was well saved before Denis was then booked for questioning the linesman's decision. The referee finished us off when he adjudged Dodd had handled the ball on the half way line and promptly sent him off. Ipswich promptly scored two further goals with Stoke appealing for offside on both occasions and tempers really started to fray. The entire Stoke team pursued the referee back to the half way line but to no avail. Salmons did get a consolation goal at the end but a 3-1 defeat was a tough result considering how we had played. In his post match interviews, Waddo was furious about the evening's events. After the game, Ritchie was kept in hospital for a few days and Bluto was dispatched to Suffolk to keep him company. In a newspaper interview, John explained how unhappy he was with both the tackle and Beattie's attitude afterwards. He said he was determined to recover quickly so he would be fit to face up to Beattie again in the return fixture. Sadly, the injury ended Ritchie's career. We would face Ipswich 2 further times this season and it won't be the end of us suffering broken legs against them! Stoke's firepower was suspect before this injury but with our main goalscorer gone what would Waddo do? We were beyond desperate for a striker now. View AttachmentI remember not knowing the result and the following morning reading the match report in several papers as I was a paper boy at the time. Ritchie was my favourite player so I was gutted and have never forgave Beattie (RIP). Also tomorrow marks my 54 anniversary of supporting Stoke that 5-0 Arsenal game. Happy Anniversary. |
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Post by spitthedog on Sept 25, 2024 22:25:11 GMT
Last night saw us visit Portman Road against an Ipswich team whose play had caused us much anger in the past. Still fresh in the memory was the awful leg break for Peter Dobing, which ended his career. On that occasion Waddo was so incensed he ran onto the pitch to halt play as the referee ignored Dobing's shouts of pain. Waddo was consequently given a touchline ban. That was the end of the career for our cup final captain. For this encounter, Ipswich are top of the table and are yet to concede a goal at home this season. We lined up; - Farmer, Marsh, Pejic, Mahoney, Smith, Dodd, Haslegrave, Hudson, Ritchie, Greenhoff, Salmons. Sub; - Robertson. We started the game in determined manner. This was a game the players clearly wanted to win and we forced Ipswich onto the back foot throughout the first half. Ipswich weren't shy to make physical challenges but the likes of Pejic, Smith and Ritchie seemed to relish the battle. In particular, a body check on Salmons left the Stoke man dazed on the floor (no concussion protocol 50 years ago). Incredibly, the referee then booked Dodd and Marsh within a minute for two innocuous obstructions. Hudson was booked for retaliating following a challenge from Viljoen. Ritchie had our best chance on the half hour with a header that was cleared off the line by Burley with either his arm or chest depending on whose point of view you chose to believe. The second half started in the same manner with Big John bossing the two Ipswich centre backs; Hunter and Beattie. Then in the 55th minute came the incident that probably cost us the league title. A Beattie tackle left Ritchie with a double fracture of his left leg just below the knee. It was terrible deja vu as our striker lay on the floor shouting for help as the referee waved on play. It was some time before Farmer was able to boot the ball into touch so our physio Mike Allen could run onto the pitch. We were incensed and within seconds Ipswich took the lead as Pejic's header lacked power and it fell to Viljoen to lash home. Smith went up front with Haslegrave dropping into defence and again we dominated proceedings. One header clipped the bar and a second was well saved before Denis was then booked for questioning the linesman's decision. The referee finished us off when he adjudged Dodd had handled the ball on the half way line and promptly sent him off. Ipswich promptly scored two further goals with Stoke appealing for offside on both occasions and tempers really started to fray. The entire Stoke team pursued the referee back to the half way line but to no avail. Salmons did get a consolation goal at the end but a 3-1 defeat was a tough result considering how we had played. In his post match interviews, Waddo was furious about the evening's events. After the game, Ritchie was kept in hospital for a few days and Bluto was dispatched to Suffolk to keep him company. In a newspaper interview, John explained how unhappy he was with both the tackle and Beattie's attitude afterwards. He said he was determined to recover quickly so he would be fit to face up to Beattie again in the return fixture. Sadly, the injury ended Ritchie's career. We would face Ipswich 2 further times this season and it won't be the end of us suffering broken legs against them! Stoke's firepower was suspect before this injury but with our main goalscorer gone what would Waddo do? We were beyond desperate for a striker now. View AttachmentIt's heartbreaking reading this....even now! A tragic way for our Big John to end his wonderful career. |
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