United v Bristol City - play offs 1988

[Darren]

Some footage from youtube of our first ever play off game which I have never seen before. We started as meant to go on...

 

[Coily]

Bad times, but perhaps we couldn't have rebuilt and gone to the 1st within two years without this failure. At the very least, it meant that Paul Williams fucked off out of it and for that we should be grateful.

Oh, and before I forget, Carl Shutt is a cunt.

 

[bricktop]

There is only one person to blame for that shambles, and that is the lucky mascot that day. This forum's very own LS26BLADE

 

[sitwell]

It kicked off massively after the match ,that was a bad day.

 

[bricktop]

My first relegation. I was 10 years old, and cried my eyes out that night. Remember being right at the front of the kop clinging on to the railings and watching the clock tick down and praying United would score.

At full time it seemed like half the kop scaled the fence to get on the pitch.

 

[alcoblade]

It kicked off massively after the match ,that was a bad day.

I remember that....

That park ouside the away end has been the scene of some battles.

UTB

 

[Bladesway]

My first relegation. I was 10 years old, and cried my eyes out that night. Remember being right at the front of the kop clinging on to the railings and watching the clock tick down and praying United would score.

At full time it seemed like half the kop scaled the fence to get on the pitch.

Try relegation to 4th Brownie. Especially for the first time ever.

 

[alcoblade]

Try relegation to 4th Brownie. Especially for the first time ever.

Not so bad looking back mind. I wouldn't swap that season now.

UTB

 

[alcoblade]

My first relegation. I was 10 years old, and cried my eyes out that night. Remember being right at the front of the kop clinging on to the railings and watching the clock tick down and praying United would score.

At full time it seemed like half the kop scaled the fence to get on the pitch.

I got punched by a copper in the Penny Black that night, if memory serves.



UTB

 

[diplomat]

25k is a good gate at their place. Any idea how many we took and what the attendance was at the Lane.

 

[diplomat]

It kicked off massively after the match ,that was a bad day.

Wasn't our last game of the following season down there after we'd got promoted at Wolves? They had failed to go up after relegating us so we were in the same league as the team that relegated us. I seem to remember stories of it kicking off then too.

 

[Russ]

Thanks for this Darren. I wonder if there is any footage of the second leg? Hope not. I still have nightmares about Paul Williams scooping it over the bar from about 5 yards.

 

[alcoblade]

25k is a good gate at their place. Any idea how many we took and what the attendance was at the Lane.

Twas a good following down there, with the usual shit ending. There was just shy of 20K at the Lane from memory (they were the days of one for me, one for you accounting at BDTBL), but Dazzler will clarify, to the nearest decimal point, 35 seconds after kick off.



UTB

 

[Darren]

Thanks for this Darren. I wonder if there is any footage of the second leg? Hope not. I still have nightmares about Paul Williams scooping it over the bar from about 5 yards.

There is footage of Morris' equalising goal on the "100 years 100 goals" (i.e. the centenary/ 88-89 video) which I have at home, but I have never seen it on youtube.

And Williams' shot was saved - not scooper over the bar

 

[Darren]

Bad times, but perhaps we couldn't have rebuilt and gone to the 1st within two years without this failure. At the very least, it meant that Paul Williams fucked off out of it and for that we should be grateful.

Oh, and before I forget, Carl Shutt is a cunt.

We actually had Williams for another season. He played a couple of games in 88-89 as no.5 striker (after Deane, Agana, Joseph and Francis), but never remotely looked like scoring.

 

[Revolution]

We actually had Williams for another season. He played a couple of games in 88-89 as no.5 striker (after Deane, Agana, Joseph and Francis), but never remotely looked like scoring.

I think he only played in the league when Deano was serving his suspension for getting sent off at Notts County. His Bristol City miss is also on the 88/9 video I think.

How Williams managed to win an international cap (admittedly, he played against the Faroe Islands) I will never know.

Trivia time: apart from Williams, which other players who played for United that season later won international caps?

 

[Darren]

I think he only played in the league when Deano was serving his suspension for getting sent off at Notts County. His Bristol City miss is also on the 88/9 video I think.

How Williams managed to win an international cap (admittedly, he played against the Faroe Islands) I will never know.

Trivia time: apart from Williams, which other players who played for United that season later won international caps?

Not sure if you mean 87-88 or 88-89, but in either case the answer is:

87-88

Withe - England

88-89

Deane - England
John Moore - Hong Kong

edit: just seen the "later", in which case scrap Withe.

 

[Revolution]

Yes, that's right, Deane got his 3 friendly caps and Moore eventually hung around long enough in Hong Kong to get local residency, allowing him to play for Hong Kong in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers.

 

[Billyblade]

Wasn't our last game of the following season down there after we'd got promoted at Wolves? They had failed to go up after relegating us so we were in the same league as the team that relegated us. I seem to remember stories of it kicking off then too.

It did indeed kick off that day. It was back in the days of me travelling to away matches on the travel club coaches. We were the first coach to arrive at the stop point at Avon Gorge. The copper got on the coach and said to the driver "how many more behind you? 3 or 4?" The driver said "you're joking aren't you?, more like 30 or 40. This lot's just got promoted"
They weren't prepared for us at all. It was pay on the day and the away end filled up pretty quickly so they moved all their fans to one side of their Dolman stand and sat us at the other end. There was a gangway and a sprinkling of coppers between us which led to a very uncomfortable atmosphere. I seem to remember we lost the game (I think we needed to lose 12-0 to not get promoted) but towards the end of the game our fans started to move to the front of this stand to invade the pitch. Their fans took offence to this and started to move to the concrete apron at the front of the stand too. The inevitable scuffling started which spilled onto the pitch. This caused the match to be halted, the referee called the players off and the cavalry arrived. There were fans, horses, coppers etc. charging about on the pitch.
There were also several cavalry charges in the park opposite after the game too.

 

[Bladesway]

I never remember a game at Bristol City that didn't end in trouble. They are horrible fans.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

Some footage from youtube of our first ever play off game which I have never seen before. We started as meant to go on...

Commentator totally did my head in so I couldn`t even watch the full clip, shit as the outcome is anyway.

 

[Coily]

25k is a good gate at their place. Any idea how many we took and what the attendance was at the Lane.

If I remember right - and the chances are, I haven't! - then the crowd at the Lane was around 19,000 with about 4,000 from Bristol.

Mind you, we were in a decade where promotion seasons apart our crowds were usually piss poor. As an example, there was one game in the cup against Derby when there were about as many away fans there as home fans.