Random years

In light of the recent discord on here and in an effort to move onto other things I was wondering if it was worth starting a thread on some random season from the past and see if people have any memories of games etc they want to share. We've all been watching the Reds for varying numbers of years. Myself from 1965 though it wasn't until 1975 that I really got the bug. Though I live in Chester now and don't get to many games from 75 to 99 I barely missed a home game and went to hundreds away. I guess I've been standing at matches at places all over the country with most on here at some time or another.
Just thought it might be fun to pick a few years at random and share a few memories of them instead of kicking lumps out of one another about whether or not Lee Johnson is doing a good job or not.
If this is a crap idea I guess the deafening silence and the tumbleweed will provide a clue. lol

 

Throw us a random year then, pal. Preferably post-1990 for us mere whipper snappers.

 

I wouldn't know where to start really. So I suppose chronologically would be best.
Became regular in the Jim Iley era, Promotion g Div 4 around my 18th Birthday, promoted to old Div 2 day before my 21st birthday. The prem promotion year, The prem league, Wembley, Admin, Cardiff, Wembley. Note I missed the big R word. I've experienced 4 and apart from dropping out of the Prem league they really hurt.

 

One of my favourite seasons watching Barnsley was 1973/74. A quick look in the record books showed we finished just below halfway in the old Fourth Division. However that only tells half the story. We played an extremely attacking style of play, had some young, skilful players (Millar, Doyle), a couple of young fullbacks (Yates, Chambers), experienced players (Stewart, Greenwood) and a terrific striker (Butler).
Unfortunately, as it was the 1970's, there was no protection for the skilful & talented from the referees and tackling from behind was lawful no matter how brutal and we suffered greatly because of it.
One of the best games was against Reading, played on a Sunday. We won a thoroughly entertaining game 3-2. Reading had a wonderfully talented player in their ranks called Robin Friday (later to play for Cardiff City). Our manager Jim Iley was so impressed with him, he asked his Reading counterpart at half time whether we could sign him!

 

i grew up thinking one micky butler was his name. eric winstanley was my favourite because i liked his name, proper yorkshire name

 

Can we rename it Golden Years, in homage to Bowie?

wa wa wa

 

Have you read the book about Robin Friday? "the greatest footballer you never saw" I think. A while since I read it but I think that game gets a mention


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Yes, mate, I have. The Cardiff fan who used to post on here, Bluebird, lent me his copy to read. The story was mentioned the Monday after the game in the Morning Telegraph & The Star. I doubt we could've afforded him, though, at the time.

 

Remember a Reading Goalie called Steve Death.

 

Blimey, mate, that name's a blast from the past.

 

Probably 1966

I was about 10 and my dad took me to my first game, against Port Vale (it must have been 12-Nov 1966). I remember doing a picture of the match at School (Highgate Juniors) on the monday morning.
For the next year or so we used to stand on the Ponty with one of my dad's mates and his son; a certain Gordon Shepherd.

 

My first recollection is when my dad took me to the FA cup games of 1960/61. We beat Gateshead who were then a football league club 2-0 after drawing 0-0 at their place, Bradford City 2-1 away - my first ever trip to an away ground, Reading 3-1 after a replay, Huddersfield 1-0 after yet another replay and then the one that really sticks in my mind 1-0 v Luton in the 5th round with a Jacky Lunn goal. In the 4th round, Man City were leading Luton 6-2 when the game was abandoned, Denis Law had scored all 6. In the replay Luton won 3-1 with Law again netting so he'd finished on the losing side despite bagging 7 goals. Luton then played at Oakwell in front of 38,000 plus about another 5,000 who climbed over the wall at the back of the Paddock. There wasn't room to swing half a cat never mind a full one. In the quarter finals we went out to Leicester 2-1 after drawing at their place. There were no floodlights back then so the game kciked off in the afternoon of a working/school day. Despite that, enough people wagged it to fill the ground although to my dismay, my dad made me go to school so I missed it whilst he took a sicky off work to go.

 

That's tantamount to child abuse!

 

I'll leave the post 1990 for one of you youngsters. God, I'm only 55 for heavens sake.
How about I start with 1978-79 when we got promoted out of the fourth division.
There's loads of things loads of people will remember (if they're old enough) The win at Pompey that virtually clinched it with 2 games left. The electric night at home to Grimsby next game that sealed it in front of 21000. That was a staggering crowd for us for those days.
Some of my memories were:-
going to the away match at Bradford third league game in. We'd won the first two and I was, for some reason I don't remember standing in the home end, we footballed em to death and I had to keep quiet but it did my heart good to hear the Bradford fans give us grudging admiration for outplaying them.
Allan Clarke was pivotal in that side. So much know how. I remember the game at Wigan, I was stood right down at pitchside and you could see and hear Clarke (who was playing) telling all his players what to do and where to position themselves.
Signing Derek Bell from Halifax. His home debut against also promoted Wimbledon and he got two, one smashed in from outside the box.
Thumping Port Vale 6-2 on Boxing Day with a Clarke hat trick.
It was a terrible winter and we had loads of games postponed and a backlog of games in hand but were losing ground. Had three home games in a week in March and ground out two tense one nillers against Bournemouth and Newport before thumping Scunny 4-1.
Big promotion game against Aldershot in April (we played 10 league games that April). Winning 1-0 and got a corner at the kop end. All the reds fans could walk round at half time so it was full of Barnsley fans. The corner came over and their top scorer (back defending) spun on a sixpence and smacked it past his own keeper on the volley. I still swear he temporarily thought he was attacking.!
A game against Grimsby earlier in the month. Massive game, they also went up. They realised Clarke was vital and sent Bobby Cummings to do a job on him. He ran over to Clarke, scythed him down off the ball and Clarke was carried off. We lost that one two nil.
Seems a million years ago but also like yesterday. After two near misses in the previous seasons we finally got up and set up the momentum for the next 20 years really.
Right, that's enough of me blathering. Be interested to hear any other memories of that year though.

 

The Aldershot striker was John Dungworth, mate. He'd spent a month on loan at Barnsley in the 1974/75 season and he scored one goal in our 3-0 victory at Reading.

 

I remember it was John Dungworth but I'd completely forgotten he'd ever been on loan with us.
Do you remember that Aldershot match? Some things just seem to stick in your brain. It was like a gift out of the blue when he stuck that own goal in and handed us the game.

 

Bobby Doyle was classy. Or seemed so at the time. Went to Peterborough didn't he? I was only 13 at the time. Was it the season after that we had Otulakowski and Gorry come into the team?

 

I do, mate, yes. The one thing that sticks in my memory was when one of the Aldershot midfielders made a nasty, over the top, dangerous foul on Alan Little. Little just brushed himself down, walked away and didn't complain. However, everyone in the ground knew what was coming next. Sure enough, about ten minutes later, Little kicked the player so hard & high in the air when he came back to the ground he was covered in snow (a little poetic licence)! None of his team mates complained and the referee merely looked at the prone player and shrugged his shoulders. Alan Little didn't even get booked.

 

Anton Otulakowski & Martin Gorry became regular first teamers during the 1975/76 season. Bobby Doyle was sold for a reported £20,000 to Peterborough United during the Summer of 1976.

 

Lil have you any record of Kevin Hector once scoring 5 against us for Bradford Park Avenue 65/66?