Quite a few years ago we played Birmingham away in the play offs first leg If I remember it correctly we had played a back four all season without fail. In the first leg of the play offs Dave Bassett picked a back three, bringing in Keith Brown and played a completely different style. Birmingham didn't know what hit them and were completely unprepared. We stuffed them abiyr 4-0, I think. Just a thought....
We also lost Robbie Van De Laan early in the game and had to reshuffle a bit. I think it was the power and pace of our forward play that they couldn’t cope with. Shipperley, Dyer and Hignett, among others, were absolutely outstanding that day
Dyer only came on because of the injury and played a blinder. Getting away from the game was very scary !!
I was living in Gloucester and really should have popped up the A38 for the match but chickened out. Didn’t fancy the St Andrews hostility and there was no way we could win there, was there? I just listened to the Radio Five reports coming in, not believing what I was hearing. I did go to the home leg, which was a let down except for the fact that there was a Wembley date at the end of it. Another let down but it could have turned out differently. Ipswich were on a par with us so we could have won it.
If we had played any other team in the final we would have gone up , unfortunately Ipswich had our number that season after beating us comfortably at home and wiping the floor with us at theirs..........sithi.
Missing the penalty cost us, if we'd gone in at half time in front might have a been a different outcome, ifs and buts
Obviously the penalty at Wembley was the turning point but leaving out Nicky Eaden was a mistake that Bassett later admitted to. Also picking Keith Brown who was next to useless (he'd have even struggled to get in our back line this season).
The home leg wasn’t a let down at all. Yeah ok we lost the game 2-1 but it was essentially a procession. Birmingham never looked like turning it round, our players played in second gear from the point Dyer equalised on the night presumably to not risk injury and it was a party atmosphere for the last half hour at least. I seem to remember a streaker running past with just his boots on and we were doing the conga at the front of the east stand. The final was gutting but I still really enjoyed it; there was no aggression or bad feeling with the Ipswich lot at all. They were a great side and went on to qualify for Europe the next season. Still think about what might have been had Barnard not missed that penalty though, or even if Richard Wright hadn’t made that save from Hristov’s header.
Sure I've heard Eaden say in interviews since that he was fit. Think Bassett thought he might have been a risk with him being out a while prior.
I meant a let down in that we lost the home game even though it didn’t affect the result. Most matches that I have been to against them have been defeats so, on that basis, it WAS a let down because they beat us again. The worst was when Claridge (I think) got four at Oakwell - 5-0 was it?
Something like that. 0-2 in the first ten minutes with Butler have a nightmare. IIRC it was after our best start to a season in decades too...
