Great Goals. Not great player.

[Bladesway]

Mark Patterson on debut if memory serves me right. Not a goal scorer, not a very good player but I do seem to remember a belter on his debut never repeated.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

Mark Patterson on debut if memory serves me right. Not a goal scorer, not a very good player but I do seem to remember a belter on his debut never repeated.

Was about to mention him, but couldn't find the detail. Debut sounds about right - an away game? Only goal I think I saw him score in was a header against either Stockport or Birmingham. He was the smallest player on the pitch - the tallest, Kevin Francis, scored the other with his feet.

 

[Silent Blade]

Mark Patterson on debut if memory serves me right. Not a goal scorer, not a very good player but I do seem to remember a belter on his debut never repeated.

yes it was a good goal in the 2-2 draw at Stoke in Dec 23rd 1995. Also scored on his home debut with a header v Birmingham on Boxing Day (drew 1-1)

 

[Darren]

Wikipedia has Flo scoring 10 in 1993-94.

Wiki is wrong.

His goals were:

24/8/93 Wimbledon H
28/8/93 Ipswich H
1/9/93 QPR A
2/10/93 Southampton A (2)
13/3/94 Leeds H
2/4/94 Liverpool A (2)
7/5/94 Chelsea A

 

[mattbianco1]

Lee Dixon (does it matter it was in the wrong net)

 

[Shalalalafenoughty]

Lee Dixon (does it matter it was in the wrong net)

The greatest own goal I've ever seen from a United player was Tony Moore's at Exeter in January 1980, a couple of weeks after the Boxing Day disaster.

A smallish knot of diehards gathered on the away end, the end we were defending first half. Exeter kicked off and the ball was instantly played out to the right wing. I think it was Steve Neville, shortly to play for us, who picked it up and swung in a cross. Moore did that thing defenders do and assumed it was going over his head. He turned his back on it and set off running towards the corner flag on our right flank, presumably expecting it to appear in front of him at some point thus enabling him to clear. There wasn't an attacker near him. Whether the wind caught it or not I don't know but the ball hit him on the back of his head about six yards out and trickled into the net with Derek Richardson and our disbelieving support looking on open-mouthed. It was our first touch of the ball and must have been all of twenty seconds in.

We were two down after three minutes, lost 3-1 in the end, John Matthews got sent off and had a Cantona-style confrontation with an Exeter fan on the front row of the stand as he trudged off.

It was a long way to go for such a miserable game and the rest of the season followed suit.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Didn't Jonathan Hunt crack in a 30 yarder once ? I thought it was the Wolves game when Akinbiyi missed that sitter but he didn't score that day. Over to Dazzler

How about another '1st name on Warnock's team sheet' Bobby Ford. Seem to remember him on the right wing, stepping inside and curling it into the top corner against Tranmere, early 2000.

 

[Revolution]

United scorers in the EPL:

15 - Deane
11 - Littlejohn
10 - Whitehouse
9 - Flo
8 - Hulse
6 - Hodges
5 - Rogers, Stead, Gayle, Cork, Blake
4 - Carr, Jagielka
3 - Nade, Bryson, Falconer, Webber
2 - Hoyland, Bradshaw, Beesley, Gillespie, Quinn, Tonge
1 - Morgan, Kazim-Richards, Ward, Gannon, Scott

 

[Darren]

United scorers in the EPL:

15 - Deane
11 - Littlejohn
10 - Whitehouse
9 - Flo
8 - Hulse
6 - Hodges
5 - Rogers, Stead, Gayle, Cork, Blake
4 - Carr, Jagielka
3 - Nade, Bryson, Falconer, Webber
2 - Hoyland, Bradshaw, Beesley, Gillespie, Quinn, Tonge
1 - Morgan, Kazim-Richards, Ward, Gannon, Scott

To be an utter pedant..

Scott could be on 2, the goal v Blackburn H on 15/1/94 was originally credited to him but then re-credited as a OG a la Deane v Leeds on 6/4/93.

 

[Darren]

The greatest own goal I've ever seen from a United player was Tony Moore's at Exeter in January 1980, a couple of weeks after the Boxing Day disaster.

A smallish knot of diehards gathered on the away end, the end we were defending first half. Exeter kicked off and the ball was instantly played out to the right wing. I think it was Steve Neville, shortly to play for us, who picked it up and swung in a cross. Moore did that thing defenders do and assumed it was going over his head. He turned his back on it and set off running towards the corner flag on our right flank, presumably expecting it to appear in front of him at some point thus enabling him to clear. There wasn't an attacker near him. Whether the wind caught it or not I don't know but the ball hit him on the back of his head about six yards out and trickled into the net with Derek Richardson and our disbelieving support looking on open-mouthed. It was our first touch of the ball and must have been all of twenty seconds in.

We were two down after three minutes, lost 3-1 in the end, John Matthews got sent off and had a Cantona-style confrontation with an Exeter fan on the front row of the stand as he trudged off.

It was a long way to go for such a miserable game and the rest of the season followed suit.

Top 3 own goals I have seen:

1. Stan's diving header v Preston at the Lane on 8/4/89. Luckily this was the last minute and we were 3-0 up.
2. Andy Barnsley's bullet header v Bradford at the Lane in the first minute on 28/3/87. We went 2-0 down before rallying to draw 2-2.
3. Lee Dixon smashing in a corner early on when playing for Stoke at the Lane on 15/11/86 to put us 1-0 up. We evebtually won 3-1.

The daddy of them all was apparently Jeff King's goal at Reading on 23/2/83. Anyone see that?

 

[Darren]

Didn't Jonathan Hunt crack in a 30 yarder once ? I thought it was the Wolves game when Akinbiyi missed that sitter but he didn't score that day. Over to Dazzler

How about another '1st name on Warnock's team sheet' Bobby Ford. Seem to remember him on the right wing, stepping inside and curling it into the top corner against Tranmere, early 2000.

Hunt got 2 goals for us: both at the Lane, v Crewe on 31/8/98 and Port Vale on 20/3/99. I think the latter was a good one.

Ford's goal was on 5/2/00. It was almost certainly meant as a cross.

 

[gavtheblade]

Tony Battersby anyone???

 

[Darren]

Tony Battersby anyone???

His only goal was sliding it one (ooh err missus) from about 3 yards against Portsmouth at the Lane on 4/11/95*

* Apart from one in got in tge Anglo Italian v Ancona on 5/10/94, but I don't count that.

 

[Silent Blade]

Top 3 own goals I have seen:

1. Stan's diving header v Preston at the Lane on 8/4/89. Luckily this was the last minute and we were 3-0 up.
2. Andy Barnsley's bullet header v Bradford at the Lane in the first minute on 28/3/87. We went 2-0 down before rallying to draw 2-2.
3. Lee Dixon smashing in a corner early on when playing for Stoke at the Lane on 15/11/86 to put us 1-0 up. We evebtually won 3-1.

The daddy of them all was apparently Jeff King's goal at Reading on 23/2/83. Anyone see that?

Deano's neat flick header from the near post into the far post after a corner by Gordon Armstrong in the 1st minute in the 1-1 draw at Roker Park (Bryson equalised for us) in Sept 1989 was another own goal gem.

The best one was in the 2-1 win at Stoke in October 1973. A cross from a Stoke right winger was cut out by Tom McAlister but the ball went straight to the head of the onrushing Eddie Colquhoun who couldnt get out of the way and the ball bounced down hard towards the goal to give Stoke the lead. In the second half we responded with a powerful free kick by Woody that pierced through the defensive wall and a piledriver by Stewart Scullion

 

[Grecian2000]

I was particularly fond of Eddies resigned turn and walk toward the centre in such circumstances.

I actually thought his effort against Leeds circa August '72 was his finest hour in the og department.

As an aside that Stoke game was memorable (for us) in that we took a friend of my brother in law who got into a full blown argument with a Stoke fan on the basis that their stripes weren't as "red" as ours.

 

[Sensiblade]

Pemberton's diving header own goal against Man City is the best own goal against us I've seen in person.
Des Walkers against Forrest is the best one for us.

 

[Silent Blade]

I was particularly fond of Eddies resigned turn and walk toward the centre in such circumstances.

I actually thought his effort against Leeds circa August '72 was his finest hour in the og department.

He scored two own goals in the 2-2 draw against Wolves in December 1972. The first goal for Wendy in our 3-2 win in October was debatable on who was the scorer. Some credited to Tommy Craig but others say it was Eddie's own goal. You are spot on in describing Eddie's deflated feeling after scoring an own goal or making an error gifting a goal to the opponents. I loved him as he was a real leader and his explosive shouting was quite entertaining

 

[Darren]

He scored two own goals in the 2-2 draw against Wolves in December 1972. The first goal for Wendy in our 3-2 win in October was debatable on who was the scorer. Some credited to Tommy Craig but others say it was Eddie's own goal. You are spot on in describing Eddie's deflated feeling after scoring an own goal or making an error gifting a goal to the opponents. I loved him as he was a real leader and his explosive shouting was quite entertaining

11th December 1971

 

[Revolution]

Pemberton's diving header own goal against Man City is the best own goal against us I've seen in person.
Des Walkers against Forrest is the best one for us.

That wasn't a header. He sliced it into the top corner.

I saw Des Walker play in a veteran's tournament about a month ago. I chickened out of mentioning this goal.

Like Darren, Stancliffe's is the best I've seen in a United game, but Brian Gayle's against Leeds belongs in any top 3 given its sheer importance, and it has some comedy value if you forget Mel Rees was injured and Leeds were the beneficiaries.

Also on the subject of Gayle and own goals: has anyone else done either of these feats?

- scored an own goal playing for us and playing against us (he got one in our 4-0 win over Wimbledon in 1985-6)

- scored own goals in home and away fixtures against the same team (he did this against Luton in 1994-5)?

 

[Highbury_Blade]

That's whole new thread of "last time you saw explicit racism at a game".

Mine was the game at Southend on 1/10/96. A black Southend player went down injured just in front of the United fans and got a load of racist abuse. To his credit one fan stood up and faced the crowd and harangued them to the effect that the player was obviously a bastard but it was not on to call him a "black bastard". He got a round of applause.

Sadly my last experience of explicit racism from united fans at a football match was a lot more recent.

 

[dublin 10 blade]

Somebody has mentioned our Arsenal signing ,
Mr John Matthews , ran like a lass arms all over the shop , but a belter of a shot ,
one v Barnsley , a night match stands out , hit a piledriver from way out and it smashed into the kop goal .

 

[Darren]

Sadly my last experience of explicit racism from united fans at a football match was a lot more recent.

Tell me more...

 

[Darren]

Somebody has mentioned our Arsenal signing ,
Mr John Matthews , ran like a lass arms all over the shop , but a belter of a shot ,
one v Barnsley , a night match stands out , hit a piledriver from way out and it smashed into the kop goal .

31st March 1981.

 

[Darren]

That wasn't a header. He sliced it into the top corner.

I saw Des Walker play in a veteran's tournament about a month ago. I chickened out of mentioning this goal.

Like Darren, Stancliffe's is the best I've seen in a United game, but Brian Gayle's against Leeds belongs in any top 3 given its sheer importance, and it has some comedy value if you forget Mel Rees was injured and Leeds were the beneficiaries.

Also on the subject of Gayle and own goals: has anyone else done either of these feats?

- scored an own goal playing for us and playing against us (he got one in our 4-0 win over Wimbledon in 1985-6)

- scored own goals in home and away fixtures against the same team (he did this against Luton in 1994-5)?

John McAlle scored an own goal for us when playing for Wolves on 9/2/77 but never scored a goal when playing for us. Has anyone else done that?

 

[Highbury_Blade]

Tell me more...

Sadly enough, on the first game i took my last girlfriend to see, we were sat in front of a bunch of six meatheads who regaled anyone in earshot to "You're just a team full of french fucking niggers." This was at at the Emirates when we got spanked 6-0. Thankfully they all got thrown out by the stewards (and hopefully arrested) at half-time.

 

[Darren]

Sadly enough, on the first game i took my last girlfriend to see, we were sat in front of a bunch of six meatheads who regaled anyone in earshot to "You're just a team full of french fucking niggers." This was at at the Emirates when we got spanked 6-0. Thankfully they all got thrown out by the stewards (and hopefully arrested) at half-time.

Apart from anything else, it's pretty astonishing that in 2008 anyone would think that that kind of explict racism would not land them in serious shit. So either:

(a) They were the thickest of the thick; or
(b) they were so "hard" that they just didn't care.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

Apart from anything else, it's pretty astonishing that in 2008 anyone would think that that kind of explict racism would not land them in serious shit. So either:

(a) They were the thickest of the thick; or
(b) they were so "hard" that they just didn't care.

c) Combination of a + b plus booze.

 

[Shalalalafenoughty]

The best one was in the 2-1 win at Stoke in October 1973. A cross from a Stoke right winger was cut out by Tom McAlister but the ball went straight to the head of the onrushing Eddie Colquhoun who couldnt get out of the way and the ball bounced down hard towards the goal to give Stoke the lead. In the second half we responded with a powerful free kick by Woody that pierced through the defensive wall and a piledriver by Stewart Scullion

I went to that one, Silent. I have absolutely no recollection of the own goal. Woody's goal is exactly as you describe but Scullion's was no piledriver. He got put through one-on-one with the keeper in the last minute, took it round him and slotted it in right-footed from a narrowish angle.

 

[Darren]

c) Combination of a + b plus booze.

Now you mention it, I did hear some explict racism after 1996. It was at the game v Preston on 30/12/00. We went 2-0 down early on and this old bloke (at least 80) sat behind me saw fit to blame it all on Gus Uhlenbeek and kept talking to the bloke he was with about "fucking niggers".

 

[Grecian2000]

Hope the old boy had packed in going before Nyron rocked up.

I think Richard Cadette was the last player I heard getting abused by "our own".