93/94???!!!

[Bladesman101]

Out of curiosity I searched for who won the league in the last season before the prem started, and saw that we finished 9th that season (for context I’m 27 and my earliest season I remember is 2006/07)

I looked for the next few seasons how the blades did, until I reached the 1993/94 season, and the more I kept looking at the numbers of our relegation that year, the more I couldn’t quite believe I’ve not been told more about this season.

I’ve been told about the Everton cheating saga that season, but no one has ever mentioned to me that
1. Ipswich got a point away at 2nd placed Blackburn to stay up
2. Southampton got a 3-3 draw (I think they would’ve been safe anyway)
3. We fell to 2 late goals against Chelsea to lose 3-2
4. Everton came back from 2-0 down to beat Wimbledon is suspicious circumstances.

Ironically, my first season was the West Ham stuff, which had shades of this season in terms of cheating and 1st/2nd place teams not doing their jobs against our rivals, but this last day just seems insane!!!

I wondered (if not too painful) any blades could share what the feeling was on that day? The circumstances almost seem too ridiculous to assign normal disappointment to!

 

[coaxingstar71]

I always thought that regardless of what happened elsewhere, it was in our own hands and as usual, we fucked it up by throwing away a 2-1 lead with about 20 minutes left. I feel the same way about the Wigan game in 2007, it was in our own hands and we blew it.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

This shows how it happened in real time.

 

[coaxingstar71]

In fact, when was the last time we needed to get a result in the final game of a season to stay up and actually achieved it?
Every time I remember, we've lost and been relegated.

 

[Bladesman101]

This shows how it happened in real time.

That is just insane, I’ve had it easy and didn’t even know it

 

[Blade for Sale]

Out of curiosity I searched for who won the league in the last season before the prem started, and saw that we finished 9th that season (for context I’m 27 and my earliest season I remember is 2006/07)

I looked for the next few seasons how the blades did, until I reached the 1993/94 season, and the more I kept looking at the numbers of our relegation that year, the more I couldn’t quite believe I’ve not been told more about this season.

I’ve been told about the Everton cheating saga that season, but no one has ever mentioned to me that
1. Ipswich got a point away at 2nd placed Blackburn to stay up
2. Southampton got a 3-3 draw (I think they would’ve been safe anyway)
3. We fell to 2 late goals against Chelsea to lose 3-2
4. Everton came back from 2-0 down to beat Wimbledon is suspicious circumstances.

Ironically, my first season was the West Ham stuff, which had shades of this season in terms of cheating and 1st/2nd place teams not doing their jobs against our rivals, but this last day just seems insane!!!

I wondered (if not too painful) any blades could share what the feeling was on that day? The circumstances almost seem too ridiculous to assign normal disappointment to!

What else do you do out of curiosity? Rub Deep Heat on your balls? Stick pins in your eyes? Expose dental nerves?

 

[Sheffsteel]

Out of curiosity I searched for who won the league in the last season before the prem started, and saw that we finished 9th that season (for context I’m 27 and my earliest season I remember is 2006/07)

I looked for the next few seasons how the blades did, until I reached the 1993/94 season, and the more I kept looking at the numbers of our relegation that year, the more I couldn’t quite believe I’ve not been told more about this season.

I’ve been told about the Everton cheating saga that season, but no one has ever mentioned to me that
1. Ipswich got a point away at 2nd placed Blackburn to stay up
2. Southampton got a 3-3 draw (I think they would’ve been safe anyway)
3. We fell to 2 late goals against Chelsea to lose 3-2
4. Everton came back from 2-0 down to beat Wimbledon is suspicious circumstances.

Ironically, my first season was the West Ham stuff, which had shades of this season in terms of cheating and 1st/2nd place teams not doing their jobs against our rivals, but this last day just seems insane!!!

I wondered (if not too painful) any blades could share what the feeling was on that day? The circumstances almost seem too ridiculous to assign normal disappointment to!

I was in holiday in Tunisia that weekend and I paid for a taxi to take us to a bar that showed Premier league football.
Our match wasn't on but they had Sky Sports News and kept flicking backward and forward around the grounds.

At half time we were miles clear of relegation.....I bought a small bottle of champaign
and my girlfriend said "isn't it too early to celebrate, there's still the 2nd half".
Told her that it would need a miracle for United to be relegated now.

Then in that 2nd half gradually....little by little all the results started going against us.
Still felt confident....then when Chelsea scored in the last minute.....the league take came up again and we were 3rd from bottom.

The only match still playing was Ipswich away at Shearers top rated Blackburn......
Think they played about 5 minutes injury team and apparently it was all Blackburn with Ipswich parking the bus.
Still thought surely Blackburn at home will beat lowly Ipswich but it finished 0-0 and we were down....couldn't believe it.

Also it's still a mystery how Everton scored their equaliser.
A shot that looked a simple save for the Wimbledon keeper but he seems to dive over the ball as though he deliberately let it in.
A few years later their keeper Hans Segers was caught up in the betting scandal for deliberately conceding goals during that season.

 

[Sheffsteel]

In fact, when was the last time we needed to get a result in the final game of a season to stay up and actually achieved it?
Every time I remember, we've lost and been relegated.

Agree...it's an amazing record.

It's the same when we've needed to win for promotion on the last day we've generally failed.

The only time we needed a win for promotion and managed to win, was the Leicester away game in 90.
However Newcastle lost their final match....so our result didn't matter. We could have lost and we'd have still been promoted.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Agree...it's an amazing record.

It's the same when we've needed to win for promotion on the last day we've generally failed.

The only time we needed a win for promotion and managed to win, was the Leicester away game in 90.
However Newcastle lost their final match....so our result didn't matter. We could have lost and we'd have still been promoted.

Must win games very rarely occur at the end of a league season.

I've never seen us play in one in my time.

 

[coaxingstar71]

Agree...it's an amazing record.

It's the same when we've needed to win for promotion on the last day we've generally failed.

The only time we needed a win for promotion and managed to win, was the Leicester away game in 90.
However Newcastle lost their final match....so our result didn't matter. We could have lost and we'd have still been promoted.

Arguably we had to win our final game of the 1983-84 season to go up, which we did 2-0 against Newport, which meant Hull needed to win 3-0 in their last game a few days later. It felt a bit flat after that Newport game though because I don't think we felt we'd done enough.

 

[Revolution]

In fact, when was the last time we needed to get a result in the final game of a season to stay up and actually achieved it?
Every time I remember, we've lost and been relegated.

1930-31. Won 5-1 at Man U to stay up.

Also in 1987-8 could have been automatically relegated on the last day. Won 2-0 at Huddersfield but (i) Reading didn’t win so it didn’t matter and (ii) we went down in the playoffs anyway.

Went down after failing to get a last day result in 1949, 1968, 1981, 1994 and 2007.

I was at Stamford Bridge in 1994. Easily the worst day of my Blades supporting life. Worse even than Wigan.

 

[Revolution]

Agree...it's an amazing record.

It's the same when we've needed to win for promotion on the last day we've generally failed.

The only time we needed a win for promotion and managed to win, was the Leicester away game in 90.
However Newcastle lost their final match....so our result didn't matter. We could have lost and we'd have still been promoted.

This is not true. The last time we failed to win on the last day and missed promotion was 1938.

We won when we had to in 1939, 1971, 1984 and 1990. Our promotions since 1990 have all been achieved with a few games to go.

We failed to win on the last day in 2009 and 2012, but on both occasions we would not have gone up anyway because the other team did the necessary.

 

[Greenwich Blade]

Out of curiosity I searched for who won the league in the last season before the prem started, and saw that we finished 9th that season (for context I’m 27 and my earliest season I remember is 2006/07)

I looked for the next few seasons how the blades did, until I reached the 1993/94 season, and the more I kept looking at the numbers of our relegation that year, the more I couldn’t quite believe I’ve not been told more about this season.

I’ve been told about the Everton cheating saga that season, but no one has ever mentioned to me that
1. Ipswich got a point away at 2nd placed Blackburn to stay up
2. Southampton got a 3-3 draw (I think they would’ve been safe anyway)
3. We fell to 2 late goals against Chelsea to lose 3-2
4. Everton came back from 2-0 down to beat Wimbledon is suspicious circumstances.

Ironically, my first season was the West Ham stuff, which had shades of this season in terms of cheating and 1st/2nd place teams not doing their jobs against our rivals, but this last day just seems insane!!!

I wondered (if not too painful) any blades could share what the feeling was on that day? The circumstances almost seem too ridiculous to assign normal disappointment to!

I was there at Stamford Bridge and I was devastated. I was working in Banbury at the time, and on the following Monday, none of my colleagues dare even come near me, never mind talk to me.

 

[Silent Blade]

The only match still playing was Ipswich away at Shearers top rated Blackburn......
Think they played about 5 minutes injury team and apparently it was all Blackburn with Ipswich parking the bus.
Still thought surely Blackburn at home will beat lowly Ipswich but it finished 0-0 and we were down....couldn't believe it.

The ref missed a blatant handball by Ipswich's Dave Linighan late in the game and should have awarded a penalty. Am sure Shearer would have whacked the penalty in.

Also Wimbledon should have had a penalty in the first half when Gary Ablett handled a Holdsworth chance off the line. If the ref had spotted this then Ablett would have got the red card.

 

[Silent Blade]

1968. We got relegated... 20 years later Ernie Hunt revealed in a Sunday paper that Coventry bribed Southampton players not to win the match in the last game of the 1967-68 season. He said near the end of the match, a Saints player had a chance that was easier to score than miss but very skilfully missed the sitter.

 

[103SecondsOfMagic]

In the 98/99 season we scraped into the playoffs on the final day by virtue of
A - Birmingham failing to win at home, and
B - It being the only season (in my lifetime at least) when goals scored was used ahead of goal difference.

We lost to Sunderland in the semis

 

[Silent Blade]

In the 98/99 season we scraped into the playoffs on the final day by virtue of
A - Birmingham failing to win at home, and
B - It being the only season (in my lifetime at least) when goals scored was used ahead of goal difference.

We lost to Sunderland in the semis

That was 97/98

 

[CornwallBlade]

I’d be interested to see if one of tge statto’s could confirm my suspicions that Everton have had more last day (or last two matches) escapes than any other team in PL history. And, how many were due to “shock” results.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

I’d be interested to see if one of tge statto’s could confirm my suspicions that Everton have had more last day (or last two matches) escapes than any other team in PL history. And, how many were due to “shock” results.

Not much truth in it to be honest.

In 1997-98 they survived on the final day and stayed up on goal difference after a 1-1 draw against mid table Coventry. They failed to win any of their last five games of the season.

In 2003-04 they finished 17th but were never in any serious danger of going down because the bottom three (Leicester, Leeds and Wolves) were cut adrift.

In 2022-23 they again finished 17th and stayed up on the final day after beating Bournemouth 1-0. They knew victory would guarantee survival irrespective of events elsewhere.

Apart from those seasons they've not had too much trouble.

Since the Premier League started in 1992-93 they've finished 4th, 5th three times, 6th three times, 7th four times and 8th three times.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Fair few ex Blades in that 1997-98 Everton squad that nearly went down.

Terry Phelan
Don Hutchison
Craig Short
Paul Gerrard
Peter Beagrie
Mitch Ward
Carl Tiler
Danny Cadamarteri
Graham Stuart
Gary Speed
Jon O'Connor

 

[Northern Rivers Blade]

I was standing on the shed end at Stamford bridge with the Chelsea fans. To top it all off it rained.

 

[CornwallBlade]

Not much truth in it to be honest.

In 1997-98 they survived on the final day and stayed up on goal difference after a 1-1 draw against mid table Coventry. They failed to win any of their last five games of the season.

In 2003-04 they finished 17th but were never in any serious danger of going down because the bottom three (Leicester, Leeds and Wolves) were cut adrift.

In 2022-23 they again finished 17th and stayed up on the final day after beating Bournemouth 1-0. They knew victory would guarantee survival irrespective of events elsewhere.

Apart from those seasons they've not had too much trouble.

Since the Premier League started in 1992-93 they've finished 4th, 5th three times, 6th three times, 7th four times and 8th three times.

Damn you and your evidence - killer of conspiracy theories! Thanks, and, to be honest, I’m glad to know that.

 

[FatPaul]

Still need the top half of Niall Quinn for my 94 sticker book if anyone has any swaps.

 

[Groucho Blade]

Arguably we had to win our final game of the 1983-84 season to go up, which we did 2-0 against Newport, which meant Hull needed to win 3-0 in their last game a few days later. It felt a bit flat after that Newport game though because I don't think we felt we'd done enough.

Burnley v Hull was an amazing experience. Turf Moor was packed with fans of three teams, Burnley, Hull and Blades. I think there were more Blades in the ground than fans of either team that was actually playing. Never seen anything like it before or since. I don’t think it could even be possible now.

It was an incredible atmosphere…we were really nervous, particularly as Hull (Brian Marwood) scored early. They absolutely dominated the game, hitting the post a couple of times, having several goal line scirmishes and going close many, many times. How they didn’t score six or seven, I’ll never know. But they only scored one more and bizarrely, almost unbelievably we were promoted…our goal difference was identical, but we went up because we’d scored more goals, I think maybe just one more.

We couldn’t believe it. This couldn’t be happening. Joy was unconfined on the Blades end.

 

[Blade56]

Recent last day dramas blazed in my stomach . Away at Leicester to get promoted, away at Exeter to get in playoffs (pigs pipped us), drawing 5-5 away at Swindon thus failing to get in L1 play off final, away at Chelsea to stay up and the do or die games to get to the play off finals.

 

[Geordie Blade]

On the last day of 1993-94, United’s reserve team was playing at Bramall Lane at the same time that the first team was at Stamford Bridge. I went to the reserve match, as did quite a number of others who didn’t get a ticket for the first team - there was a bigger than usual attendance for a reserve game.

Practically everyone in the crowd was listening to the radio and ignoring what what on the pitch. Generally a good atmosphere for 85 minutes, but then changed to nervousness and then a devastated silence and we all trudged out. Very surreal.

 

[Bladesman101]

On the last day of 1993-94, United’s reserve team was playing at Bramall Lane at the same time that the first team was at Stamford Bridge. I went to the reserve match, as did quite a number of others who didn’t get a ticket for the first team - there was a bigger than usual attendance for a reserve game.

Practically everyone in the crowd was listening to the radio and ignoring what what on the pitch. Generally a good atmosphere for 85 minutes, but then changed to nervousness and then a devastated silence and we all trudged out. Very surreal.

I know it seems slightly morbid of me to start this post altogether but I really enjoy hearing stories like this, who knows, if we’d have gone down instead of Everton then we might’ve had to endure the same boring finishing 15th every season since. Would much rather have had our journey since 2006 then Everton’s!

 

[davey1889]

Out of curiosity I searched for who won the league in the last season before the prem started, and saw that we finished 9th that season (for context I’m 27 and my earliest season I remember is 2006/07)

I looked for the next few seasons how the blades did, until I reached the 1993/94 season, and the more I kept looking at the numbers of our relegation that year, the more I couldn’t quite believe I’ve not been told more about this season.

I’ve been told about the Everton cheating saga that season, but no one has ever mentioned to me that
1. Ipswich got a point away at 2nd placed Blackburn to stay up
2. Southampton got a 3-3 draw (I think they would’ve been safe anyway)
3. We fell to 2 late goals against Chelsea to lose 3-2
4. Everton came back from 2-0 down to beat Wimbledon is suspicious circumstances.

Ironically, my first season was the West Ham stuff, which had shades of this season in terms of cheating and 1st/2nd place teams not doing their jobs against our rivals, but this last day just seems insane!!!

I wondered (if not too painful) any blades could share what the feeling was on that day? The circumstances almost seem too ridiculous to assign normal disappointment to!

I was living near London then and working night shifts. Finished Saturday morning at 7am, had a couple of hours kip then met some mates and went to Stamford Bridge. None of us thought it likely we would go down and I remember it being fairly relaxed before the game. What happened happened and we had to wait a few minutes for confirmation from Blackburn (no smartphones then).

Had a quick diet coke with my mates and went home to get ready for work at 10pm.

Wasn't the cheeriest shift I remember.

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

What else do you do out of curiosity? Rub Deep Heat on your balls? Stick pins in your eyes? Expose dental nerves?

Follow Dem Blades, that's agony enough at times!

 

[John Street West Terrace]

Arguably we had to win our final game of the 1983-84 season to go up, which we did 2-0 against Newport, which meant Hull needed to win 3-0 in their last game a few days later. It felt a bit flat after that Newport game though because I don't think we felt we'd done enough.

We thought we’d fucked it in the last away game at Bolton in the 3-1 defeat , little did we know at the time how important would Edwards stooping headed consolation goal that resulted in him being stretchered off after being kicked in the head would be .
I went to Turf Moor along with about another 2k+ Blades to watch Burnley vs Hull game , by the time we got in 7:35 Hull were already 1-0 up through Marwood . Hull laid seige to the Burnley goal for 90 mins and went 2-0 ( needing to win 3-0 to get promoted ) and Roger Hansbury had an absolute blinder in goal for Burnley that night . I don’t think I’ve ever shit myself as much watching a game of football that didn’t involve my team & an Imodium extra family pack would have come in useful . It was the longest last 10 mins of a game I’ve ever known . I remember at the end all the Burnley fans ( that had run off from their Kop around onto the long side terrace ) coming over at the end & shaking hands with a lot of the Blades . We stopped off for a celebratory pint after , flagging off all the passing Hull coaches as they drive past … happy days