'Memries' Opening day of the season

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davetheblade
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Go on then, what memories stand out for you from opening days of the season?
The first one I can remember was a 1-2 home defeat to Orient in 1978 following the signing of Sabella.
My joint favourites are:
Aug 89: Newly promoted to the old division 2 under Dave Bassett, we travelled to West Brom and most of us would have taken a point, but we ran out 3-0 winners as we started off a second successive promotion campaign.
Aug 97: The heart-breaking play-off defeat to Palace was forgotten as we played Sunderland with returning hero Brian Deane in the side. Vas Borbokis was also making his debut and we won 2-0 playing beautiful football in the sunshine. Unfortunately it was to prove a false dawn as Mcdonald and Green went from boom to bust as winter came.
 

Cheets said:
Go on then, what memories stand out for you from opening days of the season?
The first one I can remember was a 1-2 home defeat to Orient in 1978 following the signing of Sabella.
Click to expand...
I remember that one, busses on strike a long walk to the game, also in my mind it was 0:2?

1981 first home game in the old division 4, Hereford at home 2:2
 
Bath Blade said:
Gillingham away 2015, new manager, the optimism had no bounds, it was an utter certainty that we were going to walk the division with 100 points. Lost 4-0.
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I went to that. Warnock set us up without a striker that day and gave it all the 'Real Madrid would struggle against these' before and after the game. Idiot. See he lost another first game of the season last night.
 
Neuschwanstein said:
I remember that one, busses on strike a long walk to the game, also in my mind it was 0:2?

1981 first home game in the old division 4, Hereford at home 2:2
Click to expand...
No, the Orient game we took the lead through Stainrod I think and then they scored twice, all in the first half. It was Yorkshire TV's featured game so the highlights are on YouTube.
The Hereford game I think we scored straight from the kick-off. Was it Steve Neville? They must have thought "This fourth division's gonna be a doddle!"
 
Rudders said:
I went to that. Warnock set us up without a striker that day and gave it all the 'Real Madrid would struggle against these' before and after the game. Idiot. See he lost another first game of the season last night.
Click to expand...
Warnock? It was Nigel Adkins' first game in charge. Warnock had left 8 years earlier.
 
Cheets said:
Warnock? It was Nigel Adkins' first game in charge. Warnock had left 8 years earlier.
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Yes, sorry memory playing tricks. Just remembered that other game was in the winter so funking freezing! Adkins game was shit too!
 
Cheets said:
No, the Orient game we took the lead through Stainrod I think and then they scored twice, all in the first half. It was Yorkshire TV's featured game so the highlights are on YouTube.
The Hereford game I think we scored straight from the kick-off. Was it Steve Neville? They must have thought "This fourth division's gonna be a doddle!"
Click to expand...
The Hereford game I don't remember the scorers, but do remember the attendance around the 11k mark, from that game on the home attendances grew. That was the only time I ever watched us against Hereford.
 
Carlisle away, can’t remember year, ended 3-0 I think,can remember we’d found some red and white tape they used to have around roadworks, it was all over the stand as we walked out.
 
1970- Didnt go to Orient but it was a shock to learn that we lost 3-1

1971- Beat Southampton 3-1 at home, lightning and thunderstorm in 2nd half

1972 - Won 2-1 at Birmingham. Hockey shuts up Brum's boo boys by scoring the equaliser

1973 - First Saturday at boarding school and finding out we lost 2-0 at home to Burnley

1974 - 1-1 draw at home to QPR on a hot day. Cammack scored.

1975 - New South stand opened, new kit. Thought we were going to stay in the top division for a long time. Charlie George's late equaliser for champions Derby.

1976 - Lost 2-0 at Luton back in 2nd division

1977 - Didnt go to 4-2 defeat at Spurs (yes, in 2nd division)

1978 - Sabella's debut as mentioned by OP

Selection of the rest of opening days

1989 - 3-0 win at WBA despite WBA's manager Brian Talbot criticising Bassett's style of play in his pre match comments

1990 - 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool . Tracey carried off with fractured cheekbone.

1991 - 2-2 draw at Norwich. John Fleck's uncle Robert's late goals denying us a win.

1992 - Brian Deane scores 1st ever PL goal in 2-1 win against Man U

1997 - Deano's return in 2-0 win at home to Sunderland. We looked dead certs for promotion

2005 - Lucky 4-1 win against Leicester as we were dominated for the first 70 mins before we score 3 late goals.

2006 - Steve Gerrard conning the ref to deny us a win.

2019 - Enjoyable day at Bournemouth
 
It couldn't have been scripted any better.

GettyImages-1160685165.jpg


SHARP 10
LEGEND
 

Cheets said:
Go on then, what memories stand out for you from opening days of the season?
The first one I can remember was a 1-2 home defeat to Orient in 1978 following the signing of Sabella.
My joint favourites are:
Aug 89: Newly promoted to the old division 2 under Dave Bassett, we travelled to West Brom and most of us would have taken a point, but we ran out 3-0 winners as we started off a second successive promotion campaign.
Aug 97: The heart-breaking play-off defeat to Palace was forgotten as we played Sunderland with returning hero Brian Deane in the side. Vas Borbokis was also making his debut and we won 2-0 playing beautiful football in the sunshine. Unfortunately it was to prove a false dawn as Mcdonald and Green went from boom to bust as winter came.
Click to expand...
That West Brom one which I believe was the debut of the lime green shirts and a gloriously sunny away day at Elm Park Reading in 198? when we raced in to a three goal lead early doors (deano's debut?) and I was watching the crowds walking away behind the far end desperate to get a quick getaway.

* disclaimer * I've googled none of that and my memory is not what it once was so there may be factual inaccuracies but the principle remains the same.

Can't beat a good opening away day.
 
Maidenhead said:
That West Brom one which I believe was the debut of the lime green shirts and a gloriously sunny away day at Elm Park Reading in 198? when we raced in to a three goal lead early doors (deano's debut?) and I was watching the crowds walking away behind the far end desperate to get a quick getaway.

* disclaimer * I've googled none of that and my memory is not what it once was so there may be factual inaccuracies but the principle remains the same.

Can't beat a good opening away day.
Click to expand...
Yes the WBA game was the debut of the world's best ever away kit. They had just come down from top flight and we hammered them . Alan Roberts played like a Geordie Jairzinho.

I wore a Bertie Bassett T Shirt ( 'He's Britains favourite asset') and felt quite the thing.
 
Paisley Blade said:
Yes the WBA game was the debut of the world's best ever away kit. They had just come down from top flight and we hammered them . Alan Roberts played like a Geordie Jairzinho.

I wore a Bertie Bassett T Shirt ( 'He's Britains favourite asset') and felt quite the thing.
Click to expand...
The other thing I remember about that day is how bloody expensive it was to get in.

You just paid on the gate in those days and I was staggered when I saw the prices. (Can't remember how expensive though but the memory sticks)
 
Maidenhead said:
The other thing I remember about that day is how bloody expensive it was to get in.

You just paid on the gate in those days and I was staggered when I saw the prices. (Can't remember how expensive though but the memory sticks)
Click to expand...

6 quid I recall I remember Shred booting off
 
Watford at home in 95? Think we won 3-0 and Dane Whitehouse got on the scoresheet. Would have been 11 so every chance I’ve got this wrong.

First game in League One, Harry Maguire scored a header away at Oldham in a 2-0 win. The state of Oldham’s ground coupled with the quality of opposition made it hit home how far we’d fallen.

Forest away 01’. Devlin scored a last minute equaliser. Can’t remember much else.

2-0(?) win over Notts County with David Weir in charge on a Friday night. Played them off the park and felt certain after the game we’d be getting promoted.
 
1968 Villa at home. Won and I thought we'd walk the league (second division)

1969 Middlesbrough at home and I thought we'd walk the league. (second division)

1971 Southampton at home. Didn't actually go to this one. On our way back from holiday in Newquay. Had stayed in an expensive hotel which was very unusual for us. Weather had been crap and my dad was hacked off because he felt we could have left on the Friday and gone to the match. As Silent says there was a thunderstorm and remember the Chesterfield Road near the old Bridge Inn getting flooded.

2003 Gillingham at home. Boiling hot day. After the previous season thought we'd easily walk the league. A very disappointing draw and season.
 
Maidenhead said:
The other thing I remember about that day is how bloody expensive it was to get in.

You just paid on the gate in those days and I was staggered when I saw the prices. (Can't remember how expensive though but the memory sticks)
Click to expand...
Yes also remember that, think we arrived outside the turnstile and reaslised it was either £5 or £6 pounds to get in. Think £3.50 to £4 was probably the norm and it sounds ridiculous now to be so angry at one or two pounds extra but proportionally that was quite a hike in those days

A group of us marched round to the ticket office shouting the odds. I can’t remember now whether that made any difference or whether they told us to do one, probably the latter.

Anyway that was soon forgotten after a resounding 3 0 win.
 
Chicken with no head said:
Carlisle away, can’t remember year, ended 3-0 I think,can remember we’d found some red and white tape they used to have around roadworks, it was all over the stand as we walked out.
Click to expand...
We won our first three league games in 1980/81 3-0, 2-0 and 1-0. When we took the lead in the 4th game we just knew it was going to be a season to remember!*


*The season ended with relegation to the 4th division for the only time in our history following Don Givens' penalty miss against Walsall.
 
Silent Blade said:
1970- Didnt go to Orient but it was a shock to learn that we lost 3-1

1971- Beat Southampton 3-1 at home, lightning and thunderstorm in 2nd half

1972 - Won 2-1 at Birmingham. Hockey shuts up Brum's boo boys by scoring the equaliser

1973 - First Saturday at boarding school and finding out we lost 2-0 at home to Burnley

1974 - 1-1 draw at home to QPR on a hot day. Cammack scored.

1975 - New South stand opened, new kit. Thought we were going to stay in the top division for a long time. Charlie George's late equaliser for champions Derby.

1976 - Lost 2-0 at Luton back in 2nd division

1977 - Didnt go to 4-2 defeat at Spurs (yes, in 2nd division)

1978 - Sabella's debut as mentioned by OP

Selection of the rest of opening days

1989 - 3-0 win at WBA despite WBA's manager Brian Talbot criticising Bassett's style of play in his pre match comments

1990 - 3-1 home defeat to Liverpool . Tracey carried off with fractured cheekbone.

1991 - 2-2 draw at Norwich. John Fleck's uncle Robert's late goals denying us a win.

1992 - Brian Deane scores 1st ever PL goal in 2-1 win against Man U

1997 - Deano's return in 2-0 win at home to Sunderland. We looked dead certs for promotion

2005 - Lucky 4-1 win against Leicester as we were dominated for the first 70 mins before we score 3 late goals.

2006 - Steve Gerrard conning the ref to deny us a win.

2019 - Enjoyable day at Bournemouth
Click to expand...
As an aside, don't we always seem to play the same teams on opening day? Either Liverpool, Birmingham, Watford, Portsmouth, Gillingham or Swindon.
 

Remember the 2005 one against Leicester watching it on telly night after "Warnock" documentary. Morgan's "intent to foul" Vs Liverpool.

Also the 1-0 home win Vs Brentford first game back in the Championship was good, great atmosphere and nervy game we edged and showed we could compete in the league. Remember they missed a header from about 5 yards out for 1-1.
 
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