'Memries' v walsall

[nowtfancy]

I appreciate this match will get dragged up every time we play them, but we are in league position terms now nearer that dark 1981 day than ever before..


I was 8 years old, in my 1st or 2nd full season of attendance, in the kids pen front of the kop, dad stood on the kop just the other side of the white railings.

Don’t remember too much of the match, although do remember the penalty…

What I remember most of all was standing on the footpath up against the wall on john street, waiting for my dad to fetch me, and feeling the worrying tension and threats in the air.

When my dad got to me he said its ok, we haven’t gone down, a policeman has told me (whatever the other results needed to be). He lifted me up on his shoulders and carried me back to the car as if we were celebrating promotion, telling people on the way that it was ok.

Then we put the radio on……...
One of the few times I saw my dad swear and completely lose his temper..


Still, the next season was a good one. Wonder if we’ll be able to say the same after this one?!

 

[I should coco]

When my dad got to me he said its ok, we haven’t gone down, a policeman has told me (whatever the other results needed to be). He lifted me up on his shoulders and carried me back to the car as if we were celebrating promotion, telling people on the way that it was ok.

I was 17 and on the KOP with my mates. People started trying to rip down some of the cladding and taking their frustration out on the police, snack bars, toilets and basically going mental. Then an announcement came over the tannoy saying we were safe as some other tossers (can't remember who) had lost.

They lied to us then and they have continued doing it for 35 years.

We owe Walsall, BIG TIME.

 

[I should coco]

feeling the worrying tension and threats in the air.

About 8 years later I met a Walsall fan through work, who'd been at the Lane that day. He'd watched Walsall through the 70s and 80s and the worst of the hooliganism but he told me had never been as scared as that day. They brought several thousand but it was mayhem afterwards and he told me he saw several Walsall cars turned over.

Not big and not clever but in terms of tension, frustration and anger it was about as bad as I've known it. Roll on tomorrow then.....

 

[Tyler Durden]

To rub salt in the wound, Walsall came to the Lane in 2001 (or '02) needing to win to stay up.

And they did

 

[TJB.]

Local ex-BBC hardman and general nutter 'Larry' seeking out Walsall's 'boys' after last year's draw at home in December, whilst clutching a club shop bag presumably containing Christmas presents. It seemed to be just him and one other bloke on the prowl, but the cries of 'COME ON THEN WALSALL' were clear for all to hear.

The young lads waiting by their minibus looked rather perplexed by the whole thing.

A fond memory

 

[Russ]

I was about that age too. I just remember seeing grown men crying.
And I hated the irony of their pen being scored by Don Penn.

Little known fact - Penn is a place on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. (Not far from Walsall)

 

[MobileBlade]

My mother still reminds me that I cried all that night (I was 16 at the time!) In fact, she even mentioned it on the phone this week! And she is 83 and goes to every home game (and not an Adkins fan!).

 

[Lane Ender]

About 8 years later I met a Walsall fan through work, who'd been at the Lane that day. He'd watched Walsall through the 70s and 80s and the worst of the hooliganism but he told me had never been as scared as that day. They brought several thousand but it was mayhem afterwards and he told me he saw several Walsall cars turned over.

Not big and not clever but in terms of tension, frustration and anger it was about as bad as I've known it. Roll on tomorrow then.....

It was only the fence that saved them that day.
Fucking terrible day for us

 

[VLYDONIMIR]

Was it Givens for missing the penalty or Matthews for not having "the bottle" to step up?

Folks can moan about the last decade, but compared to that day in '81, and the previous nine months, we've been successful.

 

[maidmarion]

One of my worst memories of a football match. Nasty atmosphere, terrible scrapping on the pitch after the match. Not a day i would care to relive.

 

[MobileBlade]

It was a disaster season. Rotherham actually won the division that season and Barnsley came second (following on from Wednesday going up the previous season including a certain Boxing Day game). It was a fantastic time to be a Blade. Imagine if they had only had Football Heaven in those days ........ How can we ever forget that magnificent day out in Newport (you guys who complain about Rochdale know nothing)

This was our fantastic season:

09.08.1980 Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Sheffield United Football League Cup
(1st round 1st leg)
12.08.1980 Sheffield United 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday Football League Cup
(1st round 2nd leg)
16.08.1980 Carlisle United 0-3 Sheffield United 5248
19.08.1980 Sheffield United 2-0 Chesterfield 18390
23.08.1980 Sheffield United 1-0 Oxford United 13632
30.08.1980 Barnsley 2-1 Sheffield United 17478
06.09.1980 Sheffield United 3-0 Swindon Town 12089
13.09.1980 Reading 1-0 Sheffield United 7561
16.09.1980 Sheffield United 4-2 Blackpool 13331
20.09.1980 Huddersfield Town 1-0 Sheffield United Huddersfield 14721
27.09.1980 Sheffield United 1-2 Rotherham United 17955
01.10.1980 Blackpool 2-1 Sheffield United 8995
04.10.1980 Sheffield United 0-0 Plymouth Argyle 12401
07.10.1980 Burnley 3-2 Sheffield United 7305
11.10.1980 Charlton Athletic 2-0 Sheffield United London 5602
14.10.1980 Sheffield United 2-0 Newport County 9776
18.10.1980 Sheffield United 3-1 Exeter City 10608
25.10.1980 Millwall 1-4 Sheffield United 5261
28.10.1980 Gillingham 2-2 Sheffield United 4976
01.11.1980 Sheffield United 3-0 Colchester United 12810
04.11.1980 Sheffield United 0-0 Burnley 14585
08.11.1980 Chester 3-2 Sheffield United 4563
11.11.1980 Chesterfield 1-0 Sheffield United 15887
15.11.1980 Sheffield United 2-2 Carlisle United 11031
22.11.1980 Stockport County 0-0 Sheffield United FA Cup 1st round)
25.11.1980 Sheffield United 3-2 Stockport County FA Cup
(1st round replay)
29.11.1980 Walsall 4-4 Sheffield United 4931
06.12.1980 Sheffield United 1-0 Portsmouth 12158
13.12.1980 Sheffield United 1-1 Chesterfield FA Cup
(2nd round)
16.12.1980 Chesterfield 1-0 Sheffield United FA Cup
(2nd round replay)
20.12.1980 Sheffield United 3-1 Hull City 10720
26.12.1980 Fulham 2-1 Sheffield United London 6029
27.12.1980 Sheffield United 0-0 Brentford 13130
03.01.1981 Newport County 4-0 Sheffield United 6630
10.01.1981 Portsmouth 1-0 Sheffield United Portsmouth 14321
17.01.1981 Sheffield United 0-1 Gillingham 8778
31.01.1981 Oxford United 2-0 Sheffield United 4427
07.02.1981 Sheffield United 2-0 Reading 8601
14.02.1981 Swindon Town 5-2 Sheffield United 6305
21.02.1981 Rotherham United 2-1 Sheffield United 11905
28.02.1981 Sheffield United 2-2 Huddersfield Town 14426
14.03.1981 Sheffield United 3-2 Charlton Athletic 11687
21.03.1981 Exeter City 1-1 Sheffield United 4224
28.03.1981 Sheffield United 2-3 Millwall 10350
31.03.1981 Sheffield United 1-1 Barnsley 20369
04.04.1981 Colchester United 1-1 Sheffield United 2439
07.04.1981 Sheffield United 2-0 Chester 10027
14.04.1981 Plymouth Argyle 1-0 Sheffield United 4897
18.04.1981 Brentford 1-1 Sheffield United 5620
21.04.1981 Sheffield United 1-2 Fulham 10898
25.04.1981 Hull City 1-1 Sheffield United 4895
02.05.1981 Sheffield United 0-1 Walsall 16001

 

[grafikhaus]

Walsall at full strength and raring to go
Boss Jon Whitney has confirmed Walsall are free from injury and raring to go as they prepare to take on Sheffield United.

The Saddlers resume their quest for the Championship at Bramall Lane tomorrow, having enjoyed a 13-day break since their last outing against Colchester.

That time has allowed the likes of Adam Chambers and James O’Connor to recover from leg and calf injuries respectively, so Walsall will make the trip with a fully-fit squad.

Whitney said: "Everything over the past fortnight has gone to plan. We had a couple of lads who had a few little niggles but they are now back up and running, so we have got a fully fit squad to pick from.

“That gives me a really nice problem. The players are all fighting for places. We are really looking forward to the game.”

Whitney, together with coaches Dean Holden and Neil Cutler, travelled to Southend on Wednesday to see the Blades fall to a 3-1 defeat against Phil Brown’s side.

The interim chief added: "I watched their game against Burton, the Crewe game, the Oldham game and I watched them on Wednesday night. (Poor bastard).


Read more at http://www.expressandstar.com/sport...trength-and-raring-to-go/#WUuoAxfmrzH4yIKs.99

'Raring to go.' I remember that feeling...

 

[Kenilworth]

I was 17 and on the KOP with my mates. People started trying to rip down some of the cladding and taking their frustration out on the police, snack bars, toilets and basically going mental. Then an announcement came over the tannoy saying we were safe as some other tossers (can't remember who) had lost.
They lied to us then and they have continued doing it for 35 years.

Was a similar age and on the kop on that dark, miserable day.
Would have had to walk up past Bramall Lane on way home but didn't witness any trouble - although the tension was all around.
I too heard the rumours about us being safe but some others with a tranny radio dismissed it as bullshit.
I just trudged back to the bus stop and off home - the same walk I've done from Cardiff and Wembley and ...............

It would have been somebody like Carlisle or Chester or Swindon for the rumour about who lost to keep us safe.

Here is a copy of the league table that year.
Look where Hull are
Look at the chart showing who was at the top of the division at the start of the season - it was us at least three times up to the middle of September
It was the first time we'd been in the bottom four, I believe - Silent Blade and Darren will no doubt add their wisdom to that fading memry

 

[VLYDONIMIR]

How many clubs get relegated with a positive goal difference?

 

[Silent Blade]

I decided to play in a 6 a side tournament at Manchester thinking that the Blades "would be alright". I had not been to many matches that season (perhaps about 8 matches). When I found out our score and the other results from the Pink Final that night confirming our relegation I vowed not to go to another match again!

 

[Silent Blade]

How many clubs get relegated with a positive goal difference?

Think we were the only one!

 

[VLYDONIMIR]

The worst day in our history?

No competition.

Nothing comes close.

 

[Trafford]

The irony that everybody forgets is how the away game at Walsall finished. We were romping home, conceded at least 2 (maybe 3) in the final 10 minutes and rescued a point in the last minute. If we'd closed out the match as we should have, the final game wouldn't have mattered!!

 

[coaxingstar71]

Not our finest hour!
I'd prefer to remember the game in March/April 1984 when we beat them 2-0 on our run in to promotion. Seem to recall Arnott and King Keef were the scorers, both cracking goals, particularly Keefs which, unusually for him, was from outside the box from near the corner of the 18 yard box and he smashed it across the keeper into the far corner.

 

[Lane Ender]

The worst day in our history?

No competition.

Nothing comes close.

You aint kidding i thought Cambridge was bad.
But that day fucking hell!

 

[Greenwich Blade]

As a result of the postings in the Away Fans Celebrating On Our Pitch thread, I have found myself here. Miserable stuff.

When I saw Don Givens stepping up to take the penalty, I thought, "Ah yes, a seasoned pro - we'll be fine!" How did that turn out, then?

At the final whistle, and as the Unitedites ran onto the pitch to start fighting with the Walsall players, my dad cupped his hands to his mouth and gave a proper old fashioned boo. Aged-15, and really not in the mood, I said, "Dad, shuurrup!" but he carried on. Then we heard the announcement that Swindon had lost at home to Brentford which meant we were safe, and although I couldn't work out how this could be, because to the best of my knowledge if we lost we were down no matter what (which I had got wrong), we left the ground not exactly happy, but relieved. "They were lucky!" pronounced my dad, but he was smiling.

We didn't have a radio in the car, so when we got home we were still blissfully unaware. I was still niggled with doubt, though, so I went up to my room and put the radio on. I think it was Radio Hallam I was tuned in to, and the first thing I heard was, "So to confirm, Sheffield United are relegated." I shouted downstairs to my dad, "We're down!" "Eh? How come?" was his reply. "Dunno, but we are."

Now, it may have been Stuart Linnell presenting the show on Hallam, or possibly Alan Biggs, but they had some sort of phone-in going on and I remember one call in particular. At the time there had been a load of hoo-ha about Fulham starting to play Rugby League, and indeed, a quick Google check tells me that 1980-1981 was their first season. Some bright spark therefore phoned up Radio Hallam and said to Linnell/Biggs, "Why don't Sheffield United start playing Rugby League?" Almost immediately, Linnell/Biggs shot them down with, "This is really not the time for such calls. This is bad enough for Sheffield United fans without you coming on making smart comments like that," and amidst protestations from the caller - "No, I... er, I mean... I'm being serious..." - they were sent packing.

My memory was that Martin Peters resigned there and then that evening, but it would seem I'm wrong about that. Anyway, it ruined my weekend, spending most of it in tears. Thanks, United.

And for anyone who thinks it's bad now? (Second place in the second tier, 13 points clear of third place, but boo-hoo, we've got a registration embargo, and Ili said no to £20m from Everton?) Quit yer moaning, yer daft sods!