93/94???!!!

[BratislavaBlade]

Was keeping wicket at a game at Bradfield with someone shouting the scores on. Came home stunned (can’t remember the cricket result) pulled the curtains and listened to Neil Young unplugged on a loop in the dark.

 

[programmechap]

Aye
Often (correctly?) attributed to an Edwards (brave) header in an abject (3-1) defeat at Bolton on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon
Consensus was that we’d blown it as ‘ull were playing @ home later that day & were ‘nailed on’ to win but lost.
They then only drew on the following Saturday whilst we won to be 3 points & 2 goals ahead having completed our fixtures & them having their last game @ Turf Moor.
The ulcer birthed that week has been a constant ‘companion’ ever since.

Hull were at already relegated Port Vale that Monday night and , much to everyone's surprise as you say, lost 1-0.

 

[programmechap]

I went to the Leicester match....we needed to win it 9-0.
I was only young and naively thought we had a chance ha ha. We ended up drawing 2-2.
Remember a Blade running on to the pitch from the John Street and punching the Leicster centre back in the face.

Regards your list.....all the wins ended up being irrelevant as our rivals ended up losing.
Also in some of those home games we only needed a draw but ended up losing to relegation rivals (Walsall and Wigan).

It's so typical that the only time a last match of season went on our favour.....we weren't even playing in it.
I was listening to the Burnley v Hull game on Radio Sheffield, it wasn't live but they kept having a reporter giving updates every 10 minutes
and I remember Hull being all over Burnley. They needed to win 3-0 and were unlucky not to achieve it, instead they only won 2-0.

Remember celebrating promotion, so excited at home and thinking it's not happened at a stadium, so we've missed out on a normal promotion.

Point of correction. In 79 the last relegation place was between us , Charlton and Oldham. Going into the Leicester game, Charlton had finished their fixtures, but we're 2 points (2 points for a win in them days) ahead of us but with a vastly superior goal difference. Hence the 9-0 win needed to overhaul them.

However, Oldham were also 2 points ahead of us with 2 games left and their GF was -14 to our -17. Hence any kind of win against Leicester coupled with any kind of two defeats for Oldham would have seen us level on points and GD. We has scored 50 goals to Oldhams 46, so absent high scoring one goal defeats for Oldham we would have stayed up on goals scored.

So a 1-0 win v Leicester would have still kept us in with a chance. However relegation would have been confirmed on the 11th when Oldham won their penalty game 4-1 :-(

 

[Northyorksblade]

Worst I've felt at a game, as it was so unexpected. We had a seat very high up and there was a notice, if you have vertigo speak to a steward. Mrs Norks is terrible with heights so spoke to a steward who gave her the choice of sitting with the home fans or in the corporate again with home fans. In the end sense prevailed and she braved the heights.
In our own hands till it wasn't. Just absolutely gutted. I remember sitting on the tube after and the Chelsea fans ripping the piss out of us. No sympathy at all.
And then we went to see Schindler's List. Perfect day of misery.

 

[Moan? Nope-I saw Longhorn]

Coventry had a number of amazing escapes until they were eventually relegated from the top tier in 2001.

In 1968 they survived their first season in the top tier by drawing at Southampton in the last day of the season and we were relegated after we lost 2-1 at home to Chelsea.

1969. The bottom of the first division looked like this when Coventry completed their fixtures that season

View attachment 200067

Leicester won 2 and drew 1 of their next 4 fixtures but lost 3-2 their last game at Man U

1977 as explained in below link

Coventry City 2–2 Bristol City (1977) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

1984
Beat Norwich in final day of the season to finish a point above Birmingham who drew at home to Soythampton

1985

Coventry had three more games left after Norwich had completed their fixtures. There was an 8 point gap between them and Coventry needed to win all their remaining games against Stoke, Luton and champions Everton

View attachment 200071
Coventry won at Stoke, beat Luton at home then beat Everton 4-1 !

They remained a turd that wouldnt flush out of the top tier until 2001

Aye
Cov still hated with a passion up ‘ere.

Good job Bassette’s shenanigans haven’t (yet) caught their attention !

May be apocryphal but Sun’lun’s recollection of ‘77 (also) includes:-
“According to the following day’s Daily Mirror, Hill (who had made sure he had up-to-date information from Everton) “raced to the announcer’s box with the result, screaming ‘Get it on the board’”. It was also announced over the tannoy system.
Both sets of players and every fan crammed into the ground knew they were safe, if the game ended 2-2. For the remaining time, neither side made a competitive effort to win the football match. Indeed, for the last five minutes Bristol City passed the ball between defenders and goalkeeper with not a single challenge from a Coventry player.

Coventry City were subsequently charged with influencing the outcome of a game by erroneous or foul means, for which they were found guilty. Jimmy Hill, as managing director, received a reprimand from the FA, but the result stood. Sunderland were relegated.”

 

[Jan Age]

The 93/94 was my first season as a season ticket holder I was 11.

Fair to say it was a perfect season to set me up for a lifetime of supporting the blades.

It started one sunny Saturday afternoon at Bramall Lane against a newly promoted Swindon Town who rocked up without their socks so had to borrow our away ones. We secured a 3-1 win.

We started the season with Willie Falconer in midfield and Jonas Wirmola in defence both who would not last the full season but I remain convinced had they stayed we would have stopped up. We also had the addition of Norwegian duo of Flo and Nillsen.

Towards the end of the season we signed Nathan Blake from Cardiff and went on a great run of form posit just twice in the last 13 games (I believe) Blake bagging 5 goals including two against a high flying Newcastle in a great 2-0 win at the lane.

Alas , it’s all for nothing due to what we can only describe as an incredible set of circumstances on the final day.

UTB

 

[robbiez666]

Wasn't 93/94 the year Spurs got done for cheating and while Swindon got demoted 2 divisions they got a fine and a European ban?

 

[Silent Blade]

The 93/94 was my first season as a season ticket holder I was 11.

Fair to say it was a perfect season to set me up for a lifetime of supporting the blades.

It started one sunny Saturday afternoon at Bramall Lane against a newly promoted Swindon Town who rocked up without their socks so had to borrow our away ones. We secured a 3-1 win.

We started the season with Willie Falconer in midfield and Jonas Wirmola in defence both who would not last the full season but I remain convinced had they stayed we would have stopped up. We also had the addition of Norwegian duo of Flo and Nillsen.

Towards the end of the season we signed Nathan Blake from Cardiff and went on a great run of form posit just twice in the last 13 games (I believe) Blake bagging 5 goals including two against a high flying Newcastle in a great 2-0 win at the lane.

Alas , it’s all for nothing due to what we can only describe as an incredible set of circumstances on the final day.

UTB

Wirmola's debut was against Wimbledon

 

[Booker4]

It was to this day the worst day for me as a Blades supporter. I can remember it going vividly. I was 14 at the time and it felt like it wasn't reality when we went down. All I would say was to console myself was that the 93/94 team probably would have gone down the season after just as Ipswich did.

Palace and Forest came to up at the end of that season and both did well the season after, Forest really well and Palace got 45 points but went down in fourth bottom as FOUR teams got relegated in 1994/5 season!

The team was ageing and I just can't see how we'd have strengthened it much that summer given we had few assets of notable worth in the team and Brearley only funded the team when we sold players.

Flo wasn't up to it, Gannon, Gayle, Hodges, Gage, Beesley all past their best although Beesley probably just about still good enough.

Tuttle injured for most of the season after. I just can't see how we'd have stayed up the season after. That doesn't excuse what happened because it's well documented what went on with Wimbledon that day.

 

[Jan Age]

Wirmola's debut was against Wimbledon

Cheers mate I was only 11 and my first proper season as I would class it… still a quality player

 

[ATL Recs]

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!

The drive back from Stamford Bridge was wetter and more miserable than the weather - the feeling of loss lasted for days and took some getting over tbh - Remember the Warnock season ender with Wigan weather was exactly the same so I was prepared for what was to come and it did

 

[HodgysBrokenThumb]

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

1968, 1981, 1994, 2007… Hence the legend of the 13-year curse. When Wilder had clearly conquered the curse in 2020, God punished the whole of humanity with the Covid pandemic. FACT

 

[Stoney Blade]

What was the team that day at Chelsea?

Was working in Nottingham that day. Got in the van and heard the result...very grim drive home.

It was to this day the worst day for me as a Blades supporter. I can remember it going vividly. I was 14 at the time and it felt like it wasn't reality when we went down. All I would say was to console myself was that the 93/94 team probably would have gone down the season after just as Ipswich did.

Palace and Forest came to up at the end of that season and both did well the season after, Forest really well and Palace got 45 points but went down in fourth bottom as FOUR teams got relegated in 1994/5 season!

The team was ageing and I just can't see how we'd have strengthened it much that summer given we had few assets of notable worth in the team and Brearley only funded the team when we sold players.

Flo wasn't up to it, Gannon, Gayle, Hodges, Gage, Beesley all past their best although Beesley probably just about still good enough.

Tuttle injured for most of the season after. I just can't see how we'd have stayed up the season after. That doesn't excuse what happened because it's well documented what went on with Wimbledon that day.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

What was the team that day at Chelsea?

Tracey
Bradshaw
Gayle
Nilsen
Whitehouse
Ward
Rogers
Hodges
Blake
Gannon
Flo

 

[ancientblade]

1968, 1981, 1994, 2007… Hence the legend of the 13-year curse. When Wilder had clearly conquered the curse in 2020, God punished the whole of humanity with the Covid pandemic. FACT

we shouldnt have gone down in any of those 4 years hodgy

 

[HodgysBrokenThumb]

we shouldnt have gone down in any of those 4 years hodgy

I am not superstitious, but even I began to wonder. And then along came Wilder and 2019-20. I relaxed… and then came Covid. I am determined to live til 2033 to see what happens.

 

[Cheets]

Stamford Bridge was being redeveloped so we were up in the Gods in the main stand. Chants of "We are Blades and we're staying up" to the tune of Go West gave way to chants of "We Are Blades, we need oxygen". There were no mobile phones in those days, no scores announced on the tannoy or on the scoreboard. We were reliant on a handful of blokes with portable radios to keep us updated with the unfolding nightmare. Sean Bean was sat behind me bemoaning the price of the hot dogs. I'll never forget walking down the internal stand steps after the game and seeing Shred in tears. I stood at the tube station with a handful of Blades fans to be greeted with chants of "You're shit and you're going down" from the hundreds of Chelsea fans on the opposite platform. As others have said the evening rain compounded the misery of the awful day.

 

[ShorehamRevolution]

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!

Yet another reason why as a collective fan base we’re generally apprehensive about anything from a change in ownership to a new type of pie being sold.