Memries of Leicester

[grafikhaus]

I'm putting this out a bit early as a) We play them this Friday and b) I'm bored.

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We first met Leicester (Fosse) in 1900 and a couple of times after that before they changed their name to Leicester City in 1919 and we played them under their new guise in 1925. Apart from a couple of uninteresting Cup games, we must go back to 2011 since we had a ‘serious’ meeting in the League. Here are our most recent meetings headed by that classic match on 5th May, 1990 – more of which later.



Full history v Leicester

So, let’s start with the 1990 match from the incomparable BBC2 series ‘United’. (Special thanks to WalthamstowBlade).

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To complete a memorable day which would see the Blades promoted back to the top flight, Wednesday lost at home 0-3 to Nottingham Forest and would be relegated to the third level. An estimated 12,000 fans – many wearing the iconic fluorescent yellow away shirt – travelled to Filbert Street and roared Dave Bassett’s team to a 5-2 win. As a Blades fan, days simply don’t get better than this!

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On 18th August, 2009 in The Championship United drew 1-1 at home with a fine equalizer from Keith Treacy:

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Boxing Day (26th December, 2009) and a 1-2 defeat at Leicester. Our goal was scored by Henri Camara, a much-travelled Senegalese striker who was nearly 32 years old in this match, but who went on to play for another seven clubs after leaving The Blades!

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Bramall Lane on August 6th, 2005 – the opening day of the 2005-06 season which would see the Blades promoted back to the top flight - witnessed a good 4-1 United win over The Foxes. Only 18,224 were in the crowd to see our goals scored by Andy Gray (p), Steve Kabba (p), Paul Ifill and Leigh Bromby:

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However, just over three months later in the return match, United lost at Leicester on 26th November, 2005 in The Championship. This time, the score was 2-4 with Steve Kabba and Craig Short scoring for us:

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[grafikhaus]

14th September, 2004 and United lost 2-3 away at Leicester. Chris Morgan and Jonathan Forte getting our goals. This was only our second visit to The King Power Stadium (formerly The Walkers Stadium back when we played on this day) which opened on 23rd July, 2002.

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On 21st April 2003, United beat Leicester 2-1 at Bramall Lane. Leicester had gone ahead with an opener from…Brian Deane…before Carl Asaba scored a brace. (Deano played 52 games for Leicester and scored a very-respectable 19 goals. The man who took Deano to Leicester? Dave Bassett). This was the season when United lost the play-off final in Cardiff to Wolves. United missed out on automatic promotion to the top flight as Portsmouth were Champions (98 points) and Leicester City were second with 92 points. The Blades trailed far behind in third place (80 points) but the disappointment of a no-show at The Millennium Stadium was still cruel on the Blades fans in the 69,473 crowd. A few weeks earlier, we had lost the FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal at Old Trafford 0-1 and, in January that season, we had lost the Worthington (League) Cup semi-final over two legs to Liverpool. Still, this ‘Triple Assault’ season (2002-03) will live long in the memory of our fans back then.

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A 1-3 home defeat on 21st October, 1995 in the second tier with our goal scored by Jostein Flo. Despite finishing this season in ninth place, the Bramall Lane crowd for this fixture was just 13,100.

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On the 18th of September, 1971 Match of the Day cameras were present to see a 1-0 United win at Leicester’s old Filbert Street ground. The Blades fans packed into the ‘away end’ (a small shed behind the left-hand goal) had a near front-row seat to see Alan Woodward score directly from a corner, beating Peter Shilton in the Leicester goal. Simply the best United team I’ve ever seen.

Our team that day was: John Hope, Len Badger, Ted Hemsley, John Flynn, Eddie Colquhoun, Trevor Hockey, Alan Woodward, Geoff Salmons, Bill Dearden, Tony Currie, Stewart Scullion. What a team!

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I won’t bother with the usual ‘Form Guide’ or ‘Players to Watch’. I don’t think Leicester will field a depleted team on Friday as the FA Cup is their only chance of silverware this season.

We’ve only met five times in the FA Cup – On 27th January 1900 we beat Leicester (Fosse) 1-0 at home in the first round. On January 11th 1930 in the third round we won 2-1 at home, our winner coming from Jimmy Dunne.

January 7th 1950, WW2 had not been over for too long and an entertainment-hungry 41,898 saw United defeat Leicester at Bramall Lane 3-1 in the third round. Our third goal was scored by Harold Brook. (Jimmy Hagan also played in this game).

1961 saw us meet three times in a twice-replayed FA Cup semi-final. The first game at Elland Road on 18th March ended 0-0, as did the first replay at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on 23rd March. Finally, on 27th March, we lost 0-2 at St. Andrews, Birmingham.

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Leicester would lose the final 2-0 to the great, double-winning Tottenham Hotspurs.

It’s over forty years since we last met The Foxes in the FA Cup. On 3rd January, 1976 an abysmal United lost at Leicester in the third round 0-3. Although in the top-flight, United would end this season rock-bottom of the table with just 22 points.

Finally, a game one or two on here may remember. On 22nd November 1952 a very strong Blades team (who would end this season as Champions of the second tier) won the league game at Bramall Lane 7-2. Our scorers included Alf Ringstead (2), Hagan (2) and Furniss. The second Leicester goal was scored by Arthur Rowley – later to be Sheffield United manager 1968-69.

 

[Liverpool blade]

The match at filbert street will always be a treasured memory. Can't think why???. I remember traveling down on a double decker bus from the white hart in greenhill if my memory serves me well. I was dressed as a gorilla. Happy memories indeed!!

 

[Silent Blade]

I will always remember my first away match. At Filbert Street on 21st March 1970. With 7 games left, despite the last game being a loss at Boro, we still had a very good chance of getting the second spot. The table looking like this in the below link

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-two/20-march-1970/

My dad drove me and my cousin down to the match. Len Glover opened the scoring, Gi Reece equalised but Rodney Fern (passed away last month) scored the winner. Woody had a good goal disallowed near the end.

After the match I was watching our players getting into the coach and Colquhoun seemed to be annoyed with a small group of Blades fans (think they were giving them some stick). Woody indicated my dad to take me round to the other side of the coach so that I could push my match programme through the little slide at the top of the window and he got the programme signed by the players in the coach. I was trembling with excitement! Have always loved Woody (and the team) since then!

 

[Beans]

Magnificent example of "play to the whistle" at about 55 seconds in this one!

 

[grafikhaus]

Another memorable meeting with Leicester (and a shameless bump for this thread ) came on 3rd November 1951. We drew 5-5 at Filbert Street in Division Two.


Our team - managed by Teddy Davison - was 1. (Ted) Burgin 2. Furniss 3. Cox 4. Hitchen 5. Harry Latham (later to become our trainer) 6. Joe Shaw 7. Alf Ringstead 8. F. Smith 9. Harold Brook 10. Jimmy Hagan 11. Hawksworth. 4-3 up at half-time, our goals came from Brook, Smith (2) and Hagan (2).

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

My memories of Leicester ... can't get much further than 5th May 1990 ... what a f***ing day

 

[Blade56]

A club that uses administration to bankrupt small,businesses whilst gaining promotion. That's it really

 

[Bladey McBladeface]

I’m too young for the 1990 game, but I do remember travelling to Filbert Street to watch us beat Leicester 2-0?

Martin O’Neil was in charge and they were in uproar. They set fire to the home stand.

After that I think they went on an amazing run and got promoted. What year would this have been? Am I making things up?

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

I’m too young for the 1990 game, but I do remember travelling to Filbert Street to watch us beat Leicester 2-0?

Martin O’Neil was in charge and they were in uproar. They set fire to the home stand.

After that I think they went on an amazing run and got promoted. What year would this have been? Am I making things up?

That'll have been Spring 1996, when we went on that great run under Kendall. I didn't go to the game but remember going to the cinema that evening to see ... When Saturday Comes

 

[Bladey McBladeface]

That'll have been Spring 1996, when we went on that great run under Kendall. I didn't go to the game but remember going to the cinema that evening to see ... When Saturday Comes

Admit it, you only watched the film for the strippers, didn’t you?

 

[DifferentClass]

They went from the Walkers Stadium to the KP Stadium.

Cheeky gets.

 

[Carlton Blade]

The 2-4 in 2005 was the most over policed match I've ever attended. It was some sort of national clamp down so we were escorted from the station to one specific pub and kept there before getting marched to the ground.

After the game, not a copper in sight

 

[Gerritforud]

 

[cahill]

I will always remember my first away match. At Filbert Street on 21st March 1970. With 7 games left, despite the last game being a loss at Boro, we still had a very good chance of getting the second spot. The table looking like this in the below link

https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-two/20-march-1970/

My dad drove me and my cousin down to the match. Len Glover opened the scoring, Gi Reece equalised but Rodney Fern (passed away last month) scored the winner. Woody had a good goal disallowed near the end.

After the match I was watching our players getting into the coach and Colquhoun seemed to be annoyed with a small group of Blades fans (think they were giving them some stick). Woody indicated my dad to take me round to the other side of the coach so that I could push my match programme through the little slide at the top of the window and he got the programme signed by the players in the coach. I was trembling with excitement! Have always loved Woody (and the team) since then!

I’ve got fond memories of that era Silent. We were always going to be second best to Lestah that season but hit the ground running following season.

Also the TC/ Birchenall incident during our 4-0 hammering of them around 1974/5

 

[originaltrueblade]

Some of us still hate em for 1960/61. Robbed at Elland Road. Convinced we would of given Spurs a better game

 

[Silent Blade]

In my many visits to Filbert Street there always seem to be a high number of old ladies wearing blue and white woolly scarves. I remember being in my dad's car back home after the 1-0 win in August 1978 (Matthews scored on his debut, Sabella's 2nd match for us), there were a few Blades supporters coaches in front of us leaving the ground and I spotted three old ladies on the kerb giving V signs at the passing coaches

 

[stringer]

Magnificent example of "play to the whistle" at about 55 seconds in this one!

Looks like there’s about 34 Leicester fans there, too

 

[DaveBassettsgoneonholiday]

I must be one of the few people that actually admits to not being there in 1989.
I was in a bloody caravan in a field near Whatstandwell listening to Radio 2 (?) on a wireless with very crackily reception. Was gutted not to be there but remember going mental when they kept going over to Filbert Street as the goals were going in.
My only other memory of Leicester was going there last year for some dental work.

 

[grafikhaus]

I’ve got fond memories of that era Silent. We were always going to be second best to Lestah that season but hit the ground running following season.

Also the TC/ Birchenall incident during our 4-0 hammering of them around 1974/5

 

[cahill]

That photo was on the cover of a book about football in the 1970s. It vas a warm day end of season, Leicester brought thousands, some of who tried to get on the kop.

 

[RossoDeltic]

The 2-0 when it all kicked off after the game with windows being smashed resulted in O’Neil appearing on the radio. We were on the coach when he was interviewed. I wonder how many Blades that day thought we could sneak into the play-offs despite being some way behind as we took Leicester City to the cleaners. Can’t remem the goal scorers but one was a penalty (Whitehouse) and either Walker or Taylor with the other.

 

[Working Class Hero]

I didn't realise Wilder had played in midfield that day in 1990.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/sheff_utd/4908494.stm

 

[BusheyBlade]

1961 saw us meet three times in a twice-replayed FA Cup semi-final. The first game at Elland Road on 18th March ended 0-0, as did the first replay at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on 23rd March. Finally, on 27th March, we lost 0-2 at St. Andrews, Birmingham.

Nothing's changed then I see. 3 semi finals, one after the other and still no bloody goals

Was this not our last semi final appearance until 1993? Strange to think we went so long (32) without one considering how good we've been in the cups since. Well, relatively speaking that is!

 

[JJ Sefton]

Perhaps this was Cup nerves, because we were in the Semi-Final of the FA Cup and drawn against Leicester. My brother-in-law was twelve years older than me, (still is, come to that), and he took me up to Leeds to see the Semi-Final. The ground was packed. Before the kick-off some Leicester supporters carried a mock coffin round the pitch with "Sheffield United" on the side. For us, an elderly gent dressed in red and white with a long red and white baton walked round the pitch escorted by two young lasses with United hats and scarves. The game was real end-to-end stuff, and both sides had goals disallowed. Doc Pace hit the ball into Leicester's net, but the ref ruled he had handled it first. Doc pointed to a mark on his shirt, to show he had chested the ball, but there was no change. Ever after, I cited this as evidence we had been robbed, but I heard that Doc, just before he died, admitted he had handled the ball.

The game ended 0-0 and the replay was a few days later at Notts Forest's ground. We were at school, and the teacher let us listen to the second half commentary on the old school radio. This was 0-0 again. The third, and deciding, match was won by Leicester 0-2. They went on to lose in the Final to Spurs who were in their Double-winning year. We took comfort by saying we could concentrate on the promotion drive.

- Walth Snr