Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds fan

Just had a flick through the history book, and it appears that after watching my first reds game (4-0 win over Workington in April 1977, 2 goals from Brian Joicey, my first hero), I never saw us lose until the following February (1-0 at home to Stockport, the day that all the Wednesday fans turned up and went in the away end after their game was called off whilst they were travelling to it). Furthermore, after attending my first away game (2-2 draw at Donny in September 1979, the day before my tenth birthday) I never saw us lose away until we lost 2-1 at Lincoln in the first leg of the League Cup first round the following August. And I did go to plenty of home and away games in between all these games.

So, whilst it was a great time to start going down to Oakwell, with the team improving year on year between 1977 and 1982-3, two promotions, some great cup runs, loads of packed out derby games, McCarthy, Glavin, Banks and the like, I can't help feeling that it didn't really prepare me for what decades of being a Reds fan would be all about. I reckon there will be a few young kids at the moment who have similar stats to mine above, but have to switch the words 'lose' and 'win' around!

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

My first game was Exeter at home on 24th October 1966. We were bottom of the 4th Division before the game and the 2-1 win moved us up to 3rd bottom. So you might say that the following 47 years have been a pleasant surprise!

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

Mentioning Workington reminded me of this away result a few years earlier ....

[TABLE]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]1975/1976[/TD]
[TD] Wed 07 Apr[/TD]
[TD] Workington[/TD]
[TD] 1 - 7[/TD]
[TD] Barnsley[/TD]
[TD] Fourth Division
[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

Mid-week, remember getting up for school the next morning, and my dad said we'd won 7-1 and i thought he was pillocking. He said he'd seen on Calendar the night before. There was no real way to check, no Breakfast TV, no internet or mobile phones, we didn't get a daily paper, so I had to keep quiet until it was confirmed at the school bus stop by some kid who's parents got a paper.

Not sure if we've ever won by a bigger margin whilst I have been watching us (since about 1970)?

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

I remember that and it said "Workington 1 - 7 (seven) Barnsley" ont telly, the cheeky basterds.

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

I too am a glory hunting Barnsley fan starting in the 70s though I went to I think 5 games under Ileyout before I actually saw us score after that it was success success success until the strike kiboshed it and them another run leading up to promotion to the prem.

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

I started watching about the same time as you, but I'm a little younger so I don't remember much until Clarke got the job. Obviously those first few years were the best under Clarke and Hunter, and later the Wilson years, but until we were relegated in 2002 we'd had almost a quarter of a century of watching a fantastic team. It's just a pity we didn't appreciate what we'd got in the mid to late 80s and early to mid 90s because, in retrospect, we didn't know we were born.

You didn't really see us lose that Lincoln game mate. It was just half time. We won the second half and we all got the chance to see our first live penalty shoot out. One of the very few games my sister ever attended.

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

Mine's a pretty similar story but a little later.

The first game I can remember going to was Arsenal at home in '95. After that, hooked. First season ticket the year after and didn't miss a game.

In the space of ten or so years I saw:

1 Prem promotion
1 Prem season
2 relegations
1 FA Cup Semi Final
1 Play Off Final defeat
1 Play Off Final win.
1 administration

Not bad, that. The rest has been **** though.

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

Ah, but I only saw a 2-1 defeat, because we were still on holiday for the second leg. We holidayed in Cleethorpes the same time every year, which was lucky, as we drew Lincoln away and then S****horpe away in the League Cup, so I managed to get to both away legs. On the year where we weren't local to Cleethorpes (Chesterfield away probably, as it always seemed to be them in the first round, just as it always seemed to be West Ham when we got a first division team!) me, my dad and my grandad went to watch Grimsby beat Exeter 4-1 instead to get our holiday football thrill. Steve Neville played a blinder for Exeter, despite the thrashing, so Grimsby went and bought him.

You've got me thinking about penalty shootouts though, because in the 700-800 games I've seen I think the one at the Millenium Stadium is the only one I've ever seen live. I didn't go to the Wednesday one in the Full Members Cup and I watched the Leicester one on Sportsnight after work without knowing the score (my dad did too, but having actually been at the match and leaving with 5 minutes to go because he was cold, so he missed Archie's equaliser and the penalties. He thought he was settling down to watch the replay of a 1-0 defeat and nearly fell off his chair when we won!). And I was on holiday this year for the Scunny one. Have there been any more?

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

Blackpool away. Can't remember the season, but it was pitch black as the floodlights were rubbish. Futcher missed the vital penalty and we lost.

There was one this season against Scunny where everybody missed. The worst set of penalties I've ever seen.

There are more, but I can't think of them at the moment.

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

I was living in Brighton for that game and took a couple of days off to get home for it. I was a penniless staff nurse at the time and couldn't afford the train fare, so I spent all day on the Tuesday on National Express buses to get to Barnsley and then all day Wednesday getting home the same way. I did it another time that season for a Tuesday night game against Burnley, when Andy Payton said he didn't want to score against them and wouldn't celebrate if he did. I felt like lamping him. All that time and effort to get home to watch his mourngy face. He did score too. My flatmate in Brighton was a Burnley fan though, so it was worth it.

Anyway, after the second game, I can't remember which way round they were, I realised that Brighton was too far away from Oakwell, so moved to North London, taking several hours off each leg of the journey! Fastforward a few years to when we started a family and I was told the only way I would be allowed to renew my season ticket would be if we moved north, hence I'm now living in Oxspring. I don't think long boozy days out with the London branch, leaving the FPO at home with the daughter, was going down well.

So I've changed careers (I quit my NHS job on the back of Clint Marcelle's goal against Bradford, because I was becoming increasingly fed up with internal rotation and not having every Saturday off like my mates) and made at least two moves around the country for that shower of sh!te. And averaging out the last 36 years it comes to something like 67.3% misery. But the good bits were very very good...

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

The God that is Paul Futcher only ever scored one goal for us, the irony being that he was playing for Oldham at the time. He's scored a couple against us though, both whilst playing for the Reds of course, the best being the lob over Clive Baker from 25 yards against West Brom.

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

One of my favourite ever goals that Futcher own goal. It made no sense, it was just mental. I've never seen it since, but I'd love to. I doubt there was even a camera there.

Brilliant players Futcher and Baker, and I've got a lot of time for the pair of them, but they didn't half get in a tangle when passing it between one another. There was a time when we couldn't get through a game without those two making a mess of something.

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

Absolutely brilliant home goal I'm sure the Futcher twins were hatched in some soviet era laboratory.

 

Re: Early success followed by years of (mainly) misery - the perils of being a Reds f

I've been following BFC since 1988. First match, 0-0 draw with Bradford at Oakwell.

I've been to Wembley twice, the Millennium Stadium, seen us promoted to and play in the top flight, FA Cup runs, another promotion as well as some nearly seasons, and two relegations as well as nearly going bust.

I've been blessed.

Not bad for a **** club with no money and **** crowds etc.

 

I was a jinx

When I started. My first game was a 3-2 home defeat against Barrow (10th August 1968). I didn't witness a promotion season until 1978/79. That first season, 1968/69, we got through to the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, where we lost 2-1 to Leicester City (the eventual cup runners up) in a replay, after drawing 1-1 at Oakwell. The following season, we lost 3-2 at Mansfield Town again in the 3rd Round. However, we never reached that stage again until the 1980/81 season. In the League Cup, we never progressed beyond the second round until, again, the 1980/81 season.
This is my 46th season. Of the other 45, we've finished the season in the same division we started it in 38 times.
I was a jinx? I AM a jinx!

 

Re: I was a jinx

Would'nt swap it though eh easy to support a team that is wealthy and doing well all the time we are true supporters

 

Re: I was a jinx

I reckon we'd all be pretty happy to finish this season in the same division we started it in. If we carry on like this though one of these years they're just going to cut it short at Christmas and relegate us there and then out of mercy for us.

I married a Scot and her dad, in his father of the bride speech, said that when he met me and found out I was from Barnsley he knew two things about Barnsley, the football team and the chop, which is ironic because most seasons the football team are trying to avoid the chop. He wasn't wrong was he!

 

Re: I was a jinx

Mine was 1963 I think cup match V huddersfield

 

Bang on, mate

Our club have given us great moments of pride & joy with their successful seasons and watching some wonderful players. Our club has also broken our hearts and sent us into pits of depression. But they're our club and I love 'em to bits.
I must be bloody mad!