Clarke V Hunter

Posted this many times but the footage, the images, the soundbites all take me back to those special days.

And Sir Norman speaking, right at the end,after the credits roll ...... wow, what a superb mindset.

 

A perfect summary from someone who knows.
It was Clarke’s team and Hunter reaped the benefits.
Hunter left a sour taste in my mouth when his response to the beginning of the decline of that great team was to drop King Ronnie and “bring in the kids”. It didn’t look remotely like he was capable of rebuilding the team so imho it was right to dispense of his services when we did.

 

This with bells on^^^^^^^, was just going to put virtually the same thing!
Clarkey was very much the catalyst though, fans these days wouldn’t believe what it was like err BC !

 

Clarke made us a force to be reckoned with brought pride to us supporters after what had preceded.
Devastated when Clarke went to Leeds, but needn't have worried as the football under hunter was the best I've seen in my 50-odd years watching Reds, especially considering the poor surfaces and heavy tackling that was quite legitimate at that time.
Seeing Stuart Barrowclough tear Mel Sterland a new one is a great memory.

 

Doesn't get the accolades that some other worthy members of that team get, but he was one of my all time favourite players.

 

100 % agree in my time watching the reds also

 

Hunter all day long. And look at all the critics of defender managers. Most exciting football you'd ever likely to see. Centre Half./defensive midfielder.
Clarke was the catalyst though. Striker.

 

Actually, the two Easter games were at Grimsby, as you mention, on Good Friday, and at home to Derby. As you recall, we were 2-0 up at Grimsby and had outplayed them in the first half. Then an early second half goal for Grimsby changed the dynamic radically and we lost 3-2. Amazing as it seems today, we then played Derby at Oakwell on the following day, Easter Saturday. The team still looked shell-shocked by Grimsby's second half comeback the previous day and produced a very lacklustre performance in a 0-0 draw at home to Derby. I thought at the time that, if we'd beaten Grimsby, we'd have been so buoyed by that and gone on to beat Derby too. The 5 points dropped in those two days proved to be very costly, as we finished the season only 4 points off a promotion spot and our first ever appearance in the top division.

 

I was at the Grimsby game on Good Friday and remember that one well. I knew we had a bad Easter all round but had forgotten it was Derby in the next game.
What might have been eh……..

 

Both but ultimately hunters team got me hooked. If you couldn't get hooked on that quality of football then we've all wasted our time. Fantastic.

 

I said Shankley kick started it like Clarke and then Hunter and Paisley moved it to forward

 

Maybe the break up of the team wasn't all Hunters fault. I was told by a former player of that era that as the team was successful, some players were asking for silly money to renew contracts and the club weren't willing submit to the blackmail. Who knows.

 

Boo, Iley out, they didn't want to go up.
I hope I'm wrong but my kids and grandkids will never see the likes of 78 till 82 and I included the Danny Wilson era in that

 

That's what I've wanted to believe as well, because surely Norman didn't deliberately want to lose all those quality players.
He couldn't stop McCarthy going to Man City, and apparently Aylott and his wife especially, were homesick for London.

 

The Clarke era brought so much excitement to the club. It's like Alan Shearer coming and playing in League 2. He raised the standards and set the club on the path of being a regular level 2 club.

Hunter brought in some great players and carried on the great work. Oakwell was bouncing. Highlights, Man City at home with over 32, 000 crammed in Oakwell and Rotherham at home when we were promoted. Grimsby at home in the Clarke era was the highlight with over 21,000 for a 4th Division game.

Glavin was the greatest signing, what a player, was such a joy to watch him in action, the perfect attacking midfield player. Parker, Aylott, McCarthy, McHale, Banke, Evans, Joyce, Chambers, what a team. Wish I could travel back in time and witness a match day again!

 

I'm fairly sure that Charlie George hit the bar for Derby in the Easter Saturday game. Like you, I was at Grimsby on Good Friday and even remember what I had for lunch!! Chips and eggs, cooked by the mother of an old uni pal of mine, who came from Grimsby.

 

I watched highlights of that 0-0 with Derby recently on YouTube, and there was an after match interview with Charlie George.
I don't remember it showing him hit the bar though.

 

I may well be wrong, in that case!

 

Exactly this. That Grimsby defeat was catastrophic.

 

But one result that no one has mentioned cost us promotion to the First Division. Look at that table again. We lost to Norwich near the end. Had we beaten them WE would have gone up instead of them. It was that close…