Sorry young 'uns but this is about the '75/'76 season

[GreasyChipBeattie]

Playing Derby tomorrow made me think about the fact that they were our first opponents after our most successful top tier season for many years.
Albeit at home, it was against the reigning champions from the previous season when we finished 6th, a mere 4 points off winning the title.
I'd only just turned 13 so my memories are a bit sketchy, but the 'New South Stand' was full and it felt great to be playing in a 'proper' stadium with 4 sides like everybody else!
After a respectable 1-1 draw, I had no idea of the calamity that was to follow, not just the rest of the season, but for years to come.
What's your memories of that game and that season?

 

[ancientblade]

a total disaster had a season ticket in south stand gangway a we couldnt consolidate after a brilliant 2nd half of the 74/75 season bought cheap chris guthrie changed our game to suit him and were as good as down at christmas 75

 

[GreasyChipBeattie]

a total disaster had a season ticket in south stand gangway a we couldnt consolidate after a brilliant 2nd half of the 74/75 season bought cheap chris guthrie changed our game to suit him and were as good as down at christmas 75

I guess it didn't help much selling TC to Leeds in the summer either!

 

[Silent Blade]

Sunny day, new Admiral kit, South Stand opened but I think it was about two thirds full. Jim Brown saved a Bruce Rioch penalty in the first half (see below). In the second half Keith Eddy scored from a penalty. Late in the game new signing Charlie George scored a stunning equaliser. I thought we were going to stay in the first division for many years. I was wrong!

 

[Silent Blade]

I guess it didn't help much selling TC to Leeds in the summer either!

We sold him after the end of the 1975/76 season.

 

[K1 flabby stick]

"Remember you're a Guthrie"

 

[Bayingblade]

I was in "the new South stand" with my Dad and after drawing with the current champions, thought we may be in for another decent season.........

Also remember Colin Todd had thighs like two mature oak trees!!

 

[GreasyChipBeattie]

We sold him after the end of the 1975/76 season.

Oh yeah, that's right. Any idea why he was missing from the team that played against Derby?
I hadn't realised there was no Colquhoun or Dearden that game either.

 

[Jolly Buffer]

As just a young kid I remember a beautiful sunny August afternoon at the Lane. First game of the season against last seasons champions Derby. The New Stand open and a four sided Bramall Lane looking wonderful. We watched us gain a respectable draw against the champions and we thought all would be good for the season ahead. A season that promised so much and ended with relegation and disappointment.
There were a few scuffles outside afterwards. As we walked home we came across some blades and joined them. A group of derby fans were further up from where decathlon is now and being escorted by one police horse back to the station while a rag tag smaller group of blades ran at them throwing stones while the police horse struggled to keep them apart. The Derby fans ran onto Eyre St and down the back wacks with blades and horse following them. I remember a much older blade turning to me and saying go home chabby you're too young to be here, leave it to us(lol). I was quite insulted as I considered myself to be fully paid up Shoreham Boy, and had been to quite a few away games the previous season on my own, even though I was only 10/11 years old lol.

I think our third game was newly promoted Man Utd away. I was there (very quietly) at the back of Stretford End (bench seats) which was packed an hour before kick off as was the Scoreboard End. The first Man U home game of the season and a terrifc atmosphere. We were taken apart 5-1 in a fantastic display from Man U's young players in front of 55,000 and the writing was on the wall for both sides for the rest of the season.

Crickey it's over 50 years ago and who'd have thought back then we'd have been writing our memories of Derby County on a telephone using a thing called the internet...complete witchcraft.

 

[Lane Ender]

Painful that season not as bad as last season though

 

[Silent Blade]

Oh yeah, that's right. Any idea why he was missing from the team that played against Derby?
I hadn't realised there was no Colquhoun or Dearden that game either.

TC and Colquhoun were suspended, not sure about Dearden, he didn't play much that season. Guthrie was our number 9

 

[1973Blade]

I'm glad to be still considered a young un!!

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

a total disaster had a season ticket in south stand gangway a we couldnt consolidate after a brilliant 2nd half of the 74/75 season bought cheap chris guthrie changed our game to suit him and were as good as down at christmas 75

At the time £100k was not cheap.

 

[Silent Blade]

Oh yeah, that's right. Any idea why he was missing from the team that played against Derby?
I hadn't realised there was no Colquhoun or Dearden that game either.

Just had a look at the 1975/76 stats in Denis Clareborough's book and the reserves programmes from the below link. Currie and Colquhoun were suspended for the first two games of the season (v Derby and Arsenal). Looks like Dearden got injured in the pre season tour and wasnt available for selection until October as I couldnt find Dearden in the reserves line ups until January 1976

Reserves 75-6

1 missing Liverpool Away

www.flickr.com

 

[Rufus Smalls]

If I remember correctly, and I doubt it, didn’t we beat Villa 2-1 at home towards the back end of that season ??

 

[Silent Blade]

If I remember correctly, and I doubt it, didn’t we beat Villa 2-1 at home towards the back end of that season ??

February

 

[Blade1959]

Even though we finished the previous season brilliantly, we didn’t have a recognised left back in the team. With TC and Eddie suspended it would probably have been better in hindsight to put Ted Hemsley in the team instead of playing Bradford,Speight and Garbett.This was more obvious when John Flynn got injured in the second game against Arsenal and we went on a series of early season defeats that we never recovered from.

 

[bornablade]

At the time £100k was not cheap.

Just imagine how much £100k must have felt to us way back in September & November 1967 when we sold Mick Jones and Alan Birchenhall.

Dixk Wragg must have thought he'd won the lottery.

 

[Jon B]

The surprise wasn't that we were relegated in 76 but that we had such a successful season the year before.

We had a talented promotion winning side in 70/71 that grew old together and the Board tried to reinforce/replace on the cheap.

I remember in the early months of the 74/75 season sat with my stomach feeling in knots as we hung on in games to get points that I felt sure would slip away from us.

By the end of that season I had to conclude I was wrong and we actually had a good side and a Board that knew what it was doing.

In reality it turned out to be a last hurrah of the promotion winning heroes.

And then......

 

[HillStreet Blade]

Oh yeah, that's right. Any idea why he was missing from the team that played against Derby?
I hadn't realised there was no Colquhoun or Dearden that game either.

He was suspended. They used to carry over from the previous season in those days.

 

[Large Mendonca]

“Six foot two, eyes of blue, big Chris Guthrie’s after you”.

He was pish wasn’t he?

 

[Pegster]

Bet you wasn't saying that after Halifax away in the cup !!

 

[Ned the Donkey]

Does anyone know if Tom McAlister saved a penalty in the return game. It's not in these very heavily edited highlights but that's my memory of it:

 

[maidmarion]

My first season watching the Blades too

 

[wardonia_blade]

Painful that season not as bad as last season though

75-6 was worse in a sense because expectations were higher in 75-6. Last year we were relegation certainties before a ball was kicked.

 

[Silent Blade]

Does anyone know if Tom McAlister saved a penalty in the return game. It's not in these very heavily edited highlights but that's my memory of it:

Charlie George's penalty hit the post and the ball went to McAlister's hands

 

[Bell4]

News of the world sport headlines following Derby opening game

Super Sheffield turn on style

……then …..

 

[Pollingtonblade]

Some of the bile in shoutbox today could do with reading up on sufc 75-81 or 83-88 fuck me there were some real dire times when winning 1 nil at derby would have been considered a scalp