The Greatest Stag Do : Part Five : The story of Mansfield Town's glory days : Division 3 title 1976-77

 

This is the story of Mansfield Town’s glory days in the mid-to-late 1970’s. So far we’ve seen them win Division Four. We pick the story up in their second season in Division Three. They were lying fifth, just three points behind the leaders, Rotherham United. There were still 26 matches to play.

1977

January

The club dipped into the transfer market. He signed midfielder Billy McEwan, who became another ex-Chesterfield player at the club. But the big news was when they accepted a club record £110,000 from Huddersfield for Terry Eccles. Eccles had played 118 times for the Stags scoring 47 goals. They’d won the Fourth Division thanks to goals from Clarke and Eccles, now it was up to Randall and Moss to try and get them into the Second Division.

After missing the cup week they resumed their league form with a fourth successive victory. Moss scored the only goal to beat Sheffield Wednesday.

The winning run came to an end at Portsmouth, with Moss again on target. He scored in his fourth successive match with they won at Preston.

Their unbeaten run was now at seven matches. They’d lost just once in their last 13. Now they were up to the heady heights of second place, two points behind Brighton. There were five clubs below them just two points worse off.

 

February

This was always a big month. It was this time last season when they really turned things round at the start of their 19-match unbeaten run. They had six games to look forward to. The first being a tough match with Rotherham. The Millers were level on points with Mansfield.

As if to sense the importance, Morris chose this game to score his first for the club. Moss then added a second, the fifth successive game he’d been on target. Alan Crawford had been prolific for Rotherham in the first half of the season and when he scored he took his tally to 13. But they couldn’t find an equaliser, leaving Randall to score the third for Mansfield to pick up all the points.

Two days later they were again at home as Oxford United were the visitors. Oxford had come down from the Second Division but were showing no signs of going back up. Moss scored another two. What a start to his Stags career. He’d scored in six successive games, hitting seven.

Brighton were still top of the table, but had played more than anyone else. Mansfield had closed the gap to two points and had two games in hand. But behind them were Wrexham, who also had two games in hand on the Stags.

Colin Foster scored the goal which won the game at Grimsby and this was the fourth successive win. This was now 10 unbeaten and they really were in the promotion hunt.

Brighton were held at Rotherham so now Mansfield were just a point behind.

The line-up was now looking quite different from the start of the season. No Pate, Eccles, Matthews, McCaffrey or MacKenzie. Morris was playing regularly and Moss had certainly settled straight in. McEwan had come in towards the end of January, he now scored his first for his new club at Lincoln City.

Lincoln hadn’t beaten Mansfield in the league for four years, but were leading at half-time. Bird scored in the second half but Lincoln held on to win 3-2. It was Mansfield’s first defeat in 10 matches. They were still in second place as Brighton hadn’t played, but now they only had one game in hand.

MacKenzie had returned from injury to take over from Saxby at the back, and the last two matches of the month were both at home and both a success. York City were sent packing after a 4-1 win. Randall scored two to take his total for the season to 13. Morris also scored and he repeated the feat a fortnight later when they beat Walsall 3-0. Bird scored in both matches too.

February ended with Mansfield having won five of their six matches. They were still second, a point behind Brighton but with a game in hand. Peter Ward scored in both Brighton’s wins at the end of the month. Rotherham were two points behind Mansfield with the top three pulling away from the pack, with Wrexham and Crystal Palace the closest chasers.

 

March

If February had been considered important, there was no let-up in March as another six games lay ahead.

Crystal Palace were the first opponents. Venables’ team were in fifth and had matched Mansfield’s February record, five wins, one defeat. Just short of 11,000 saw Colin Foster’s second half goal win it for the home side.

Brighton were held at home by Tranmere and so the two were locked at the top on 43 points. Mansfield still had a game in hand.

That game in hand came in the week when Northampton Town were the visitors. They were in the bottom three but had won their last three.

A goalless first half saw the deadlock broken in the second by Randall. The Stags hung on to take the points and move to the top of the table. Rotherham beat Lincoln to join Brighton on 43 points. The top three sides were separated by just two points.

It was their fourth successive home match and they’d won all of them. Their home form was nothing short of remarkable. They’d won their last nine at Field Mill. It had been over two years since they last lost a league game at home. A run of 30 matches.

The players may have celebrated a little too much as they then suffered their worst period of the season. They lost at Bury and Tranmere and could only draw at home to Peterborough United and Chester City.

Despite losing at Bury they were still top as Brighton lost at Crystal Palace and Rotherham drew at Grimsby.

At home to Peterborough, Robbie Cooke scored his first goal for the club. Two days later they suffered their biggest league defeat of the season when they were trounced 0-4 at Tranmere.

This was a big shock. Tranmere hadn’t won for 11 matches. Future FA CEO, Mark Palios opened the scoring.

Rotherham then went to Tranmere and won 1-0. On the same night Mansfield were held at home by Chester City. With Brighton losing at Peterborough, Mansfield were back on top. They lead Rotherham on goal difference, one point above Brighton and two above Wrexham.

March had not been the month their February form had promised. Two wins, two defeats and two draws. They now had 11 matches left to see if they could reach the Second Division for the first time in their history.

 

April

This was the busiest month of the season, with eight games to navigate. First up would be the toughest of them all, a trip to the Goldstone Ground.

Rotherham, in second, also had a tough game as they welcomed Crystal Palace.

Kevin Randall missed the trip to Brighton as Ian McDonald replaced him. Peter Ward scored for the home side with Moss levelling things for the visitors. Gerrie Fell, who was born just 20 miles from Mansfield, put Brighton ahead at the break. It was his first start of the year and an important time to put his team in front. It seemed like the next goal would be crucial, and it fell to Brighton as Ward scored from the spot.

That was now four consecutive away defeats. Dropping to third, there was just one point covering the top three.

Given their away form it was with some relief they now had three matches at Field Mill, all against sides from the bottom half of the table.

Just after their defeat at Lincoln, they hit back with a 4-1 win when Port Vale visited. Bird scored a brace and Colin Foster was on target too. That was six each from the two defenders. Randall also scored to give him 15 for the season.

Brighton also won but Rotherham lost at Gillingham. Wrexham won and were on the same points as Mansfield, in third.

This was the Easter period so the games came thick and fast. Easter Monday saw the visit of Chesterfield. A crowd of just under 12,000 watched as goals from Bird and Moss gave the Stags another win. Brighton didn’t play so Mansfield were now a point behind.

The next night both clubs were in action. Mansfield welcomed their old foes, Shrewsbury. McEwan scored his second goal for the club to give them their third straight victory.

Brighton won as well and now had a slight gap to the rest of the chasing pack, Wrexham and Rotherham.

The run came to an end at Reading. Colin Foster put through his own net for what proved to be the only goal of the game. That was now five away defeats in a row.

Fortunately, Brighton also lost at Walsall. Wrexham won to move to within a point of Mansfield, with a game in hand.

Walsall would now provide Mansfield’s next opponents. Alan Buckley put the home side in front from the spot, but Moss equalised before half-time. It was his 10th of the season. In the second half the game was decided when Walsall defender, Roger Hynd, scored an own goal. At last Mansfield’s losing run away from home was at an end.

The night before, third place Wrexham beat fourth place Rotherham.

Brighton then drew at Lincoln so it was ‘as-you-were’ at the top. There was a four-point gap between third and fourth. Mansfield weren’t far away from securing promotion.

Five games to go, three at home.

The next visitors to Field Mill were Gillingham. Randall put the Stags in front. Damien Richardson levelled things for the visitors. Colin Foster then put the home side back in front, but John Overton gave Gillingham a point.

With Brighton and Wrexham both winning, Mansfield dropped to third. Wrexham and Mansfield were level on points, Brighton were one better. This was going all the way to the wire. There was a five-point gap to Palace in fourth.

The last game of the month saw the Stags travel to Swindon. Colin Foster scored again and it was enough to win the game.

This was a crucial win as Brighton were at Wrexham. That game ended goalless, so now Mansfield joined Brighton on 58 points with Wrexham one behind and still with a game in hand.

 

May

On the Monday night Portsmouth made the trip up to Field Mill. Colin Foster scored yet again, the third successive game. Randall’s 17th of the season crowned a 2-0 win and Mansfield had secured promotion to the Second Division, for the first time in their history.

Mansfield’s joy was soured with a bad injury to Barry Foster. The left-back suffered a double fracture of his right leg and would play no further part in the season.

The next night Peter Ward scored his 30th of the season to help Brighton to a 3-2 win over Sheffield Wednesday. At Selhurst Park Crystal Palace won a vital match against Wrexham.

Brighton and Mansfield were now on 60 points. Wrexham were three behind with Palace a further two back.

The following weekend saw Brighton and Wrexham sit it out. Mansfield had their final home game of the season. Over 11,000 came to see the visit of Northampton Town.

Bird and McEwan gave the home side a two-goal lead at the break. In the second half Moss scored his 11th of the season and the win was confirmed.

Mansfield were top, two points clear of Brighton who had a game in hand. Wrexham were two points back also with a game in hand. Crystal Palace were fourth, a point behind Wrexham.

Midweek saw Brighton travel to Swindon. Peter Ward scored his 31st of the season for the visitors, but goals from David Moss and Ray McHale gave Swindon a surprise 2-1 win.

It was the Seagulls first defeat in five matches and now handed the advantage to Mansfield. One game to go and Mansfield could even afford to lose it, if Brighton couldn’t beat Chesterfield in their last match.

24 hours later, Crystal Palace travelled to Wrexham and a brilliant second half performance saw them pull off a 4-2 win.

Palace were now in the third promotion spot, but their season had finished. In order for them to confirm promotion they would need Wrexham to win their final match. Palace had a superior goal difference so even a draw wouldn’t be enough for the Welsh side. Wrexham’s final match would be at home to Mansfield.

There was an outside chance Rotherham could overhaul Palace, but they would need to beat Port Vale by seven goals to do it.

The final day of the season saw Mansfield travel to Wrexham. The two clubs had met so many times in the recent years, with Mansfield getting the better of their battles.

The first half was goalless, which suited the visitors. Brighton were a goal down after Steve Cammack gave Chesterfield the lead. Alan Crawford had given Rotherham a half-time lead in their match.

As things stood Mansfield would be champions, with Brighton and Crystal Palace joining them in promotion.

In the second half Peter Ward scored his 32nd league goal of the season to equalise for Brighton. Rotherham knocked the goals in to give them a 4-1 win at Port Vale but that wasn’t enough to make their goal difference greater than Palace.

Then in the final minute at the Racecourse Ground the ‘old firm’ partnership of Randall and Moss combined to give Moss his 13th of the season. It gave the pair 30 goals for the season and the 3,500 Stags’ fans who’d made the trip to North Wales reasons to celebrate as they won the Third Division.

These were glorious times for Mansfield. Two championships in three years and now they were looking forward to Second Division football for the first time ever.

They finished three points ahead of Brighton with Crystal Palace finishing third.

The local newspaper, the CHAD recalled the events;

An afternoon for the 3,500 Mansfield Town fans, and every member of the team and officials at the Wrexham game, to remember for a lifetime - yet one member of the side will have to rely on newspaper cuttings and gossip for his memories of the historic occasion.

Player of the Year Rod Arnold was knocked cold right on the half-time whistle, and he could recall little of the preceding 90 minutes as he changed at the end of the game - except Mansfield had won and were champions, and Ernie Moss scored the winner.

To remind him of his contribution, it was a super save which kept out a Billy Ashcroft header in the 33rd minute. It was left to the old firm of Ernie Moss and Kevin Randall to finally kill-off Wrexham's hopes of promotion. Randall eeled his way past his covering defender right on the bye-line, and chipped the ball in for Ernie Moss to score and send the Mansfield contingent of fans behind the goal, wild with delight.

There were scenes of great emotion after the final whistle as the Mansfield players and fans celebrated their second championship in three seasons.

Mansfield had won the title going the whole season unbeaten at home. They’d gone through 1976 unbeaten at home in the league. In fact their unbeaten home record now stood at 37 matches.

Kevin Randall ended as top scorer. He justified manager Peter Morris’s faith in him as he was chosen to lead the line after Ray Clarke moved abroad. Ernie Moss also proved to be a vital signing as he and Randall shared 30 goals. The club had managed to survive the sale of Clarke and Eccles, two transfers which brought the club £200,000.

The fans could now look forward to visiting places such as Sunderland, Southampton, Bolton, Fulham and Sheffield United. They soon discovered they’d also have the prospect of a visit to White Hart Lane as Tottenham had been relegated from the First Division. What a season to look forward to.

 

 

 

 

pics courtesy of Stagsnet & The Chad

The Greatest Stag Do : Part Four : The story of Mansfield Town's glory days : 1976-77 season

 

This is the story of Mansfield Town’s glory days in the mid-to late 1970’s. We’ve covered their Division Four title win and a season in Division Three, where they finished very strongly. Could they take that form into the new season? The club had never played at a higher level than the third tier of English football. Could they reach their zenith?

1976-77

After the euphoria of their first championship trophy when they won the Fourth Division in 1975, their subsequent season in Division Three was very much a season of two halves. Rock bottom of the table in mid-February, a 19-game unbeaten run saw them finish a creditable 11th. If they could keep that form going into the new season then what could they achieve?

But then just as they were beginning to dream, the club was rocked by two shocking pieces of news. Top scorer, Ray Clarke, announced he didn’t want to play another season in the third tier and the club accepted a record fee from Dutch club, Sparta Rotterdam. Perhaps even more shocking was the news manager Dave Smith, the man who had masterminded their Fourth Division title, was ‘relieved of his duties’.

Suddenly it was now all worry and uncertainty. The new season seemed to ask more questions than answers for Stags’ fans. Who would replace the goals Clarke had provided? Who would be selecting the team in the first place, now Dave Smith had moved on.

The answer to the second question was found in former player, Peter Morris. 33-year old Morris spent eight seasons at Field Mill in the sixties, making over 280 appearances. He moved to Ipswich Town, playing under Bobby Robson, then onto Norwich City where he was managed by John Bond. Mansfield signed him as a player-manager.

Morris brought with him Johnny Miller, who’d been with him at both Ipswich and Norwich. Miller was a winger and would provide the crosses for Kevin Randall. Instead of dipping into the transfer market to find someone to replace Clarke, Morris chose to move Randall into the centre. A bold move given he’d only scored three goals the season before and their coffers were bulging to the tune of £90,000 Sparta paid them for Clarke.

Player-managers were quite common in the lower divisions, but they brought their own particular issues. This was the first managerial appointment for Morris, which in itself wasn’t too much of a problem as Mansfield had been Dave Smith’s first. But how often would, or should Morris play? He’d had experience at a much higher level than this and would surely be an asset.

The season kicked-off with the League Cup. The First Round was over two legs and Mansfield had been drawn against a familiar foe, Scunthorpe. Stags’ fans remember with fondness their team winning 7-0 to secure the Fourth Division title in 1975. The Iron were also opponents at the same stage last season when Mansfield made it all the way to the Quarters. They were also the opponents they came up against in the league too.

Mansfield won both legs in the League Cup that season, and they drew first blood this time with goals from McCaffrey and Eccles. Three days later Scunthorpe won their home leg 2-0 so a replay was required. McCaffrey was again on target but Scunthorpe won 2-1 with goals from Mick Wadsworth and Doug O’Connor. O’Connor had been part of the Stags Fourth Division title winning team, before moving to the Old Show Ground.

With no chance of a repeat of their League Cup run, Mansfield set about tackling the Third Division.

Their form in the last two and a half months of the previous season was the best in the division. Mid-February had seen them sitting at the bottom, five points adrift. They went unbeaten in the last 19 games, picking up more points than any other team during that period. They finished the season in 11th.

During their championship winning season, Terry Eccles had scored 17 in a 45-goal partnership with Ray Clarke. With Clarke now having moved to the Netherlands, Eccles was under pressure to become the top striker at the club. He only hit the target six times the previous season so when he was on the mark twice against Preston, this was an immediate boost for the Stags.

Their first away trip was a short, but ultimately disappointing one. They went down 0-3 to Rotherham. Their first league defeat for 20 matches.

But then they bounced back straight away with a 3-0 win at home to Grimsby. Eccles hit a hat-trick, his third for the club. He was on the scoresheet in midweek when they also beat Oxford United 3-0. He now had matched his previous season’s tally in just four matches.

Morris had played the first three games but stepped down for the Oxford match. Paul Matthews came back into midfield. Kevin Randall scored his first of the season and the two men who were tasked with replacing Clarke’s goals were now up and running. Oxford had come down from the Second Division. Another club who’d been relegated were York City, and they were the next visitors to Field Mill. Eccles scored the only goal of the game. Seven goals in five matches.

Mansfield were top of the table ahead of Swindon on goal difference. You’d never notice the difference from Smith’s team of last season.

Randall scored in the 1-1 draw with Tranmere, before the first big test of season. Crystal Palace were in the promotion hunt throughout the previous season, just missing out on going up. Managed by Terry Venables, Palace were on the verge of their own golden years. Goals in each half from Steve Perrin and Dave Swindlehurst gave Palace the points.

 

October

October started well when Bury arrived and Mansfield sent them packing with a 5-0 win. New signing, Johnny Miller scored twice as did Randall. But they couldn’t continue this form as they suffered back-to-back defeats at Peterborough United and Chester City.

Eccles picked up an injury against Peterborough and subsequently missed the Chester defeat. Young Robbie Cooke made his debut for the club in his absence. He was back for the crucial visit of Brighton. The Seagulls were managed by former England international, Alan Mullery. Like Venables at Palace, ‘Mullers’ was putting together an exciting team at the Goldstone Ground. They were making the running during the early part of the season.

Chris Cattlin gave the visitors the lead at the break, but Colin Foster scored his second of the season to earn a point.

One win in six wasn’t the form they were hoping for. Eccles was again missing for the final game of the month. No one knew it at the time, but he’d played his last game for the club. Morris brought himself back for the trip to Sheffield Wednesday.

Wednesday had narrowly escaped the drop the season before, but this time round had made a much better start. First half goals from Miller and Matthews were enough to turn things round for Mansfield.

Mansfield ended the month in eighth, five points behind the leaders, Brighton. Next up Shrewsbury.

 

November

Morris was now having to juggle his squad as a spate of injuries caused headaches. Both full-backs, Sandy Pate and Colin Foster, were now out. Kevin Bird moved from the centre to the right in defence. Local boy, Ian Wood, was now installed at left-back making his debut against Wednesday.

Shrewsbury were The Stags’ next opponents. They’d pushed them all the way when Mansfield won the Fourth Division. The first half of last season saw The Shrews pushing for promotion, before they tailed off alarmingly during the second period. This time they began strongly again, and were in third just a point behind the leaders. The game ended goalless.

Mansfield then took their unbeaten run to five matches with back-to-back home wins against Lincoln and Reading. The Lincoln game saw Gordon Hodgson finally open his account for the season. The Reading match was a personal triumph for Randall. He scored all four goals in a 4-0 win. Stags’ fans had worried about the loss of Clarke, and they were now without Eccles. Could Randall now provide the necessary fire-power up front?

The injury situation was getting worse as Bird was now out and Morris had to fill in at right-back.

Mansfield were now up to third, level on points with Shrewsbury. They were four behind the leaders, Brighton.

The run came to an end the following week when they went down 1-3 at Gillingham. Pate and Colin Foster were back. Pate would only be seen twice more that season.

The FA Cup kicked off the following week. Stags had been drawn against Fourth Division Huddersfield Town. The first meeting was at Leeds Road and ended goalless.

The replay was the following Monday at Field Mill. Randall put Stags in front, but Huddersfield equalised through Arnie Sidebottom. Sidebottom was one of those multi-sports professionals you never see these days. He was a fast bowler at Yorkshire and father to Ryan, who played for England many times. Eccles won it for Mansfield in the second half. Was there to be another cup run for the supporters?

Hodgson had scored in the defeat at Gillingham and he was again on target in the home draw with Swindon. He now had three in his last four matches. This was an important contribution.

At the end of November they were sixth, one of three teams on 20 points, Sheffield Wednesday and Bury were the others. They were four points behind the leaders Brighton and Wrexham.

 

December

Everyone knows about the summer of 1976 being one of the hottest ever known, but the winter of 1976-77 was one which started to muck about with the fixture schedule. It was two weeks into the December before Mansfield took to the pitch.  They couldn’t play their FA Second Round fixture on the designated day, and this was postponed to the following Wednesday.

They were drawn at home to non-league Matlock Town. Matlock were in the Northern Premier League. They had built up a bit of a pedigree too. They reached the First Round for the first time two seasons before, losing 1-4 to Blackburn Rovers. They then went on to win the FA Trophy for the first time. The following season they were in the First Round again but lost to Wigan Athletic, also a Northern Premier League side then.

During this season Matlock were again up against Wigan, and this time won 2-0. They then made the 18-mile journey west to Mansfield for the Second Round clash.

When Matlock won the FA Trophy their side contained three brothers. Tom, Mick and Nick Fenoughty. It remains the only time three brothers have featured in a cup final at Wembley. All three were in the side when they arrived at Field Mill, with Tom now player-manager.

Nick scored one of the goals which gave Matlock a surprise 2-1 lead at the break. The second half was a disaster for the Stags, one of their worst experiences at home especially in the cup. Nick Fenoughty scored from the spot for his second of the game, with Oxley and Scott adding further strikes. Non-league Matlock had pulled off a famous FA Cup giant-killing winning 5-2. Losing to a side several divisions below them was bad enough, losing at home was unbelievable but losing by such a scoreline was huge embarrassment for the club.

Morris acted straight away. Next day he signed Ernie Moss from Peterborough. Moss had won the Fourth Division during a seven year spell at Chesterfield, before spending a season at Peterborough. He and Randall had been at Chesterfield together and Morris was hoping the two could hit it off again.

The boost to the team was immediately noticeable. They won three on the trot to finish the year. Hodgson and Randall were on target against Wrexham and Chesterfield. Moss scored his first for the club against Port Vale.

The Wrexham game was an important win. The Red Dragons were managed by John Neal, before he moved on to Middlesbrough and then Chelsea. They were second to Shrewsbury in the table, but only on goal difference. Goals from Hodgson and Miller gave Stags a crucial victory. This was the eighth meeting between the two clubs in two years, with Stags only losing once.

The year ended with Mansfield fifth, now three points behind leaders Rotherham. Shrewsbury were second, Wrexham third and Brighton fourth. Brighton, Mansfield, Preston and Sheffield Wednesday were all on 26 points. Things were well set for a push towards promotion in the new year.

 

Join us for Part Five when we cover the second half of the 1976-77 season. Could Mansfield mount a push for promotion?

The Greatest Stag Do : Part Three : The story of Mansfield Town's glory days

 

 

This is the story of Mansfield Town’s glory years. Parts one and two covered the 1974-75 season when the Stags were Division Four Champions. Now we see how they fared in Division Three.

1975-76

Smith spent the summer considering whether to strengthen the squad for the higher division. He chose to bring in Ian McDonald, a midfield player. McDonald was on Liverpool’s books but hadn’t made it into the first team. They loaned him to Colchester United but again he only made a few appearances, much like Clarke’s career before he became a Stag.

Ian MacKenzie was another player who fitted the Smith mould. The central defender spent six years at Sheffield United but only made 45 appearances. They loaned him out to Southend, but it was Smith who looked to give him his chance.

The season began with entry into the Anglo-Scottish Cup. 16 teams from England and eight from Scotland entered the competition. For the first phase they were kept apart. Mansfield were drawn into a group with West Bromwich Albion, Leicester City and Hull City. Three games in a week saw them draw at West Brom and win both home matches against the other two, thus winning the group. A week later the league season kicked off.

The Stags’ fans spent the whole summer break dreaming of clashes against bigger clubs, who would bring more fans with them.  But in reality there were only three clubs who could be considered ‘bigger’ status, Sheffield Wednesday, Crystal Palace and Brighton. Ironically, their first opponents was the very team which had been chasing their tails the whole of the previous season, Shrewsbury.

McDonald crowned his debut with a goal, but they lost their first league game at Field Mill for 27 matches. The run stretched back to 1 April 1974.

Before they had a chance to put things right in the league, they were offered a chance to relive happier times back in April when they took on Scunthorpe in the League Cup. In the same venue they confirmed their Fourth Division title with a 7-0 win, they put four past them this time. McDonald scored a brace as if to reinforce the idea Smith could change things for a player’s career.

This had the desired effect and their first win in the third tier came soon after at Colchester United. After completing their League Cup tie success over Scunthorpe they continued to find things tough in the new division. They lost four matches on the trot in September.

Their form for the first four months of the season was a real contrast. In the league they won three of their first 17 matches. After the Colchester win in their second match they only won one of their next 14, losing nine.

The contrast was their cup form. In the League Cup they put won at Wrexham then found themselves up against First Division Coventry City in round three. Another crowd of over 10,000 packed in to see internationals such as Tommy Hutchison (Scotland), Jimmy Holmes (Rep Ireland) and Larry Lloyd (England).

City’s form had been patchy with them losing as many games as they’d won. They’d just lost three at home but if they were happy to be away from Highfield Road Mansfield made life tough for them straight away. Clarke put the home side in front 70 seconds from the kick-off. The partisan crowd roared their team on with Terry Eccles making it 2-0 before the break. Mansfield held on to pull off a famous victory, into the Fourth Round for the first time in their history.

Their prize was another home tie against First Division opposition. At the beginning of November Wolves arrived at Field Mill. They were struggling near the bottom of Division One, yet still fielded a side containing players of the calibre of Alan Sunderland, Kenny Hibbitt, Willie Carr, John Richards, Steve Daley and Steve Kindon.

Mansfield Town had earned a ‘cup giantkiller’ reputation against the same opponents 47 years earlier when, as a non-league club, they dumped Wolves out of the FA Cup at the Third Round stage. This time round The Stags were rampant from the off. Clarke went close on a couple of occasions, as did Kevin Bird. So it was hardly a surprise when Ian McDonald put the home side in front with eight minutes of the first half still to go.

A crowd of nearly 13,000 expected a backlash from the more illustrious side but it never materialised. Mansfield were very good value for their 1-0 win and the dream continued. Wolves boss, Bill McGarry was very complimentary about the team;

“Mansfield were by far the better side. I don’t understand why they are at the bottom of Division Three. We were lucky it wasn’t 4-0.”

With QPR, West Ham and Liverpool, all whom had lead the league by some stage that season, all out of the competition, along with Manchester United, Mansfield were within a shout of a Wembley appearance. They weren’t the lowest ranked side still in, as Fourth Division Doncaster Rovers were still there. But they were up against the highest ranked team, Manchester City who’d thumped United 4-0 in the last round. The tie was at Maine Road too so wouldn’t be easy at all.

When they arrived in Manchester they weren’t in good form. They’d suffered back-to-back 1-4 defeats in the league to Grimsby and Crystal Palace, leaving them rock bottom of the table. City were packed full of stars too. Joe Royle, Dennis Tueart, Peter Barnes, Asa Hartford, Joe Corrigan, Dave Watson and Willie Donachie.

Royle gave the home side the lead inside 10 minutes. But Mansfield weren’t overawed as Clarke was again on the scoresheet to equalise. Before the break Alan Oakes put the home side back in front. The visitors were always dangerous even into the second half, but 11 minutes after the re-start Sandy Pate had a rare moment of indecision. His backpass gave Tueart an easy chance and he finished it comfortably. But once again Mansfield came back. Pate’s cross was headed in by Bird.

With just four minutes of the game to go there was a sixth goal, but unfortunately for the visitors it was Hartford who got it to complete the win for City. Once again an opposing manager had good things to say about Mansfield. City manager Tony Book said;

“this was our hardest home game of the season.”

Stags’ fans went home disappointed by not completely downheartened. A Quarter-Final appearance in the League Cup was not to be forgotten. But now they had the concentrate on their league form. The City performance seemed to galvanise them as they finally won in the league when Swindon visited.

Dave Smith dipped into the transfer market and pulled out another gem. Kevin Randall had just turned 30 and had recently dropped out of the Notts County side, which was competing in Division Two. He been at Meadow Lane for four years having spent six at Chesterfield. He was a goalscorer. Smith said it was the easiest signing he’d ever made.

It seems remarkable when you consider the sort of money players earn these days, but Randall was on £65pw at County and moved to Mansfield for just £50pw. But he made an immediate impact and it wasn’t long before he attained legendary status at Field Mill.

He scored on his debut to complete a 3-1 win over Swindon. Two days later he was in the team for the FA Cup replay against Wrexham. This was the third attempt to settle this First Round tie. Finally, Mansfield came out on top in a 2-1 win.

But their hopes of further cup success were dashed just five days later when they were beaten at home by Lincoln City. City were top of the Fourth Division and immediate one place down from Mansfield on the league pyramid. But no one likes to lose in the FA Cup one round before the big boys join, but that cleared things further for the league.

By this time the Anglo-Scottish Cup campaign had ended too. They beat Ayr United in the Quarter-Finals over two legs. The Scottish side were managed by Ally McLeod at the time but the Stags won both legs with McDonald scoring in both.

Their reward was a Semi-Final tie against Jack Charlton’s First Division Middlesbrough side. Boro included Graeme Souness and Terry Cooper in their team and won both legs quite comfortably.

The Christmas period wasn’t a good one for the Stags. They lost two of their three matches, scoring just once. They were firmly rooted to the bottom of the table, four points adrift of Swindon and seven points from safety.

A measure of how the first half season could be so disjointed in the way of league rhythm was that up to the end of 1975 Mansfield had already played 38 matches, yet only 20 of those were league games. Now all the cups were out of the way, they could concentrate on trying to prove they belonged at the higher level.

1976

For some teams from the bottom two tiers of the Football League the New Year would involve the FA Cup Third Round, with hopefully a big tie. Last season the Stags enjoyed being amongst it, for the first time in five years. But this season they were back on the sidelines.

They couldn’t focus on that, though. There was a relegation battle to negotiate. Four points adrift at the bottom, they’d won just three league games all season. So it was the ideal start when they beat Port Vale 3-1 with Clarke getting a double.

Randall got the other one, and he was again on target when they went to Chester City a week later and came away with another point. A draw at home to Gillingham extended their unbeaten run to four.

This came to end with back-to-back 0-1 away defeats to two sides in the top six, Cardiff and Brighton.

They ended the month still bottom and with Swindon managing to turn their form around, the gap was still four points but now Southend were the club the Stags were closest to. Swindon had climbed out of the relegation zone and were six points ahead of Mansfield.

February

Hereford would provide the first opponents home and away in the month. The first meeting was at Field Mill where Clarke reached 10 goals in the league for the season in a 2-2 draw. Midweek saw the return fixture where Hereford won by a solitary goal. After the brief enjoyment of a win just into the New Year, Mansfield were now looking back at six without a win. They were running out of games too.

But something changed about now. Years later, Clarke would put this down to Smith using too many new players in the first half of the season. For the rest of the season he concentrated on a settled side and it showed. This had a particular positive effect on Clarke.

Their next four matches were against sides in the bottom half, starting with Halifax who were in the drop-zone with them. This was at The Shay Stadium and their form away from home was becoming a worry. They’d only won once on the road, and that was their very first game back in August.

Clarke put them in front and this was the start of a run of scoring in four consecutive matches. Saxby scored his first of the season and they finally won an away game, winning 2-1.

Clarke got the only goal of the game when Grimsby visited and for the first time all season they had registered back-to-back wins. They were still bottom but now the nearest club to them were just two points better off, and the gap to safety was down to four points.

Clarke again scored in a 1-1 draw at home to Bury. Last season their home form had been an important base for their success. Now they were now five unbeaten at home.

They ended the month with a trip to Preston, who were smack bang in mid-table. Clarke and Matthews scored to give them another vital away win.

So many things were now looking promising for the team. They’d gone the whole month unbeaten (6 games). Clarke now had 18 for the season, 13 in the league. Slowly but surely they were hauling themselves back in with the pack. They were a point behind Halifax who were crucially one of four teams on the same points. Mansfield were a point from safety.

March

This was going to be make-or-break for the Stags. Eight games lay before them. Three against sides in the top six, but also two matches against sides in the bottom five. Six matches were at home.

The first visitors to Field Mill were Brighton. Managed by Alan Mullery they were sitting in second and embroiled in a promotion race which was getting very tight. McDonald put them in front with his 11th of the season. He was now second to Clarke in the scoring stakes. Mansfield held onto win. It was a vital win, against the odds. They were now unbeaten in their last five, winning four of them.

This change in fortunes meant for the first time since the end of September, they were out of the bottom four. Two of the teams below them had games in hand but they weren’t putting together the sort of results Mansfield were.

The Brighton game was the first of three consecutive home games , with Wrexham and Millwall following. Remarkably this was their sixth meeting with Wrexham that season having met them in both cups. The game was goalless with the Millwall match also ending in a draw. Mansfield were now unbeaten in their last seven. These were crucial points they were gathering.

Next up was a trip to Peterborough, who were eighth but only two points off a promotion spot. Mansfield were excellent. One of the performances of the season saw them win comfortably, 3-0. Clarke scored twice and McCaffrey, who’d scored his first of the season the previous week, added the third. Clarke now had 20 for the second season running. Not bad for £8,000.

This was their third successive away win and they were now up to 18th.

By now Clarke was on fire. The swagger which seemed to have deserted him for the first few months of the season, had now returned. When Southend arrived they were on the receiving end of a Clarke hat-trick. Five goals in his last two matches, nine in his last nine.

They were now up to 17th, and more importantly four points above the dropzone. Things really had turned around.

Crystal Palace were the next visitors. They were lying in third, battling with Brighton for a promotion place. Hereford were five points clear of the two at the top so points were important. Palace’s position in the table attracted a crowd just short of 13,000. Mansfield’s form was so good they again avoided defeat. Laverick was on target in a 1-1 draw. Not much use for Palace but Mansfield continued to move up the table.

They’d come through the two toughest challenges they had left in the season, Brighton and Crystal Palace, and only dropped a point.

They were next in action at Swindon. A few months ago this would’ve been a relegation battle as Swindon was second from bottom. But Mansfield were past all that by now and the gap between the two was clear. Laverick was again on the scoresheet, with Clarke getting the second in a 2-0 win.

The month ended with a 1-1 draw at home to Rotherham. It had been as perfect a month as they dared to dream. Eight matches, no defeats. 12 points from a possible 16. They began the month bottom of the table and ended it 15th. They now had a five point cushion from the drop zone. Several clubs below them had games in hand, but the form was such surely they couldn’t find themselves back in trouble?

April

Before they won at Halifax in mid-February they had won just one of their 15 games on the road. Now they’d won their last four. Their next away trip was to Shrewsbury, the team who had pushed them all the way to the title in the Fourth Division the previous season.

They did the double over them that season, but Shrewsbury inflicted Mansfield their first defeat of this season. But that was months ago and things were different now. Shrewsbury had acquitted themselves very well in the Third Division and were up in 7th. Mansfield won 2-1 with Clarke and Hodgson getting the goals. Clarke now had 20 in the league.

Four days later Hodgson’s goal beat Walsall to take their winning run away from home to six. This was another impressive win as Walsall were just two points off a promotion place at the time. Mansfield were now up to 13th. If only they could’ve shown this form earlier in the season.

They won their next three matches too, beating Aldershot (1-0), Chesterfield (2-1) and Sheffield Wednesday (3-0).

The win over Wednesday was in front of the biggest crowd of the season at Field Mill. Not even Coventry or Wolves attracted more. This was their fifth successive win. They were up to 10th.

They were nine points clear of relegation but also nine points off a promotion place. How different things were by then.

Their run of seven successive wins on the road came to an end in their final away game of the season. Clarke scored twice in a 2-2 draw at Port Vale.

When Colchester were the visitors for the final match of the season a 0-0 draw meant they’d gone 19 games unbeaten. The last team to beat them was Hereford United, and they won the title.

They ended the season in 11th place. Their form from mid-February was incredible. They looked doomed back then, but the turnaround gave supporters a feeling if they could maintain that form the following season they might be able to challenge for promotion.

To illustrate the change in fortunes, in mid-February Shrewsbury were 4th on 34pts. Mansfield were rock bottom on 16pts.

Shrewsbury accumulated 13pts from their 18 matches from there. Mansfield amassed 31pts from 19 matches. The two were separated by just one point by the end.

If the season had just been those last 19 matches Mansfield would’ve finished top, four points ahead of Millwall, six ahead of Cardiff with, eventual champions Hereford, a point back in fourth.

Stags’ fans were riding high on the emotion of it all. To such an extent they were utterly shocked at what happened next.

Ray Clarke requested a transfer.

He’d scored 29 goals in 61 matches in all competitions. 24 in 45 league games. This followed 30 goals in 53 games in all competitions the season before, with 28 coming in the league when he never missed a game.

How on earth would they cope without him, and what had gone wrong to mean we wanted out?

The player claimed he was not happy to spend another season in Division Three. He’d enjoyed his time at the club but would not be satisfied until he could play at a higher level. The first offer came from Division Three champions, Hereford United, but the board rejected it. In July 1976 a superior offer came in from Dutch club, Sparta Rotterdam. Clarke went for a record fee of £90,000. £82,000 profit. There was little doubt his goals contributed massively to their Fourth Division title win, and were a huge factor in the team’s improvement in his second season.

Clarke’s career took him onto Ajax and then Bruges, two of the best sides in Europe at the time. Not bad for a player many thought wouldn’t make it and it wasn’t until Dave Smith got to look at him, and took a gamble, he actually proved them all wrong.

But how would the Stags replace him?

Not only was the matter of replacing Clarke a huge issue, in April manager Dave Smith left the club. The reasons for his departure were never disclosed at the time. Chairman, Arthur Patrick, announced he had been relieved of his duties. Apparently, the whole episode remains a mystery to this day.

He moved to Southend United and managed them for seven years. He experienced two promotions with Southend, plus one with Plymouth and then Torquay.

His record at Field Mill was nothing short of remarkable. He took them to the Fifth Round of the FA Cup and League Cup Quarter-Finals for the first time in their history. They won the Fourth Division title and their run of 19 games unbeaten to the end of the next season, was also something to be admired. He is still considered a true great by Stags’ fans.

Mansfield approached the 1976-77 season with some trepidation.

 

All photos courtesy of Stags.net

A Moment in Time - Promotion Race, Division Three-1976-77

The focus for this article is on the Third Division (now known as League One) during the 1976-77 season.  We are about to enter the final weeks of the season and, as there were no play-offs in those days, just the top three get promoted.

Here is the run-in for the top 5.

We begin on the morning of Saturday 30^th April 1977 and this is how the table looked.

The top 2 met at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham.  Wrexham had, by far, the toughest run-in still having to play Brighton, Mansfield and Crystal Palace (twice).  They played out a 0-0 draw with Brighton.  This gave Mansfield the opportunity to move into 2^nd place as they went to Swindon and won, 1-0.

Crystal Palace were away too, and also won when they beat Chesterfield at Saltergate, 2-0.  Rotherham also kept up the pressure on the leaders with an away win of their own at Walsall, 1-0.

Two days later, Mansfield had the chance to go top as they met Portsmouth, who themselves were struggling against the drop.  Mansfield won 2-0

The next day, the other four clubs were in action.  Brighton were at home to Sheffield Wednesday, who were in with an outside chance of promotion, but their hopes were dashed as Brighton won 3-2.

Rotherham slipped up when they were beaten at home, 1-2 by Reading.  Then came the game at Selhurst Park between Crystal Palace and Wrexham.  Wrexham were on an unbeaten run stretching to 7 matches.  Palace needed to keep winning, especially after the Mansfield victory the night before.  Palace won 2-1.

Brighton were back on top and Palace had now put Wrexham under pressure as 2 of their last 3 games would be against Mansfield and Palace.  Rotherham may just have blown their chances.

Saturday 7^th May 1977

With Brighton not in action, Mansfield entertained Northampton with the opportunity to go back on top.  They didn’t disappoint the home fans, winning 3-0.  Wrexham travelled to Oxford and could only draw 2-2.  They were now in danger of missing out, and certainly making life harder for themselves

Crystal Palace were at home to Lincoln who were 7^th but out of the race for promotion.  Palace saw them off with a 4-1 win.  They were now just 1pt behind Wrexham, who they would meet in their next, and final, match.  Rotherham made up for their Reading defeat by beating Gillingham, 1-0.

Mansfield were top but may still need to win their final match (away to Wrexham), as Brighton’s goal difference was superior.  Brighton still had trips to Swindon and Chesterfield, both of whom were in the bottom half of the table.  Palace’s final game was at Wrexham.  Rotherham were almost out of contention, as any result between Wrexham v Crystal Palace could put both, or either, club on as many points as Rotherham could reach.

Tuesday 10^th May 1977

At County Ground, Swindon, Brighton were the visitors.  Brighton, beaten only once in their previous 9, were surprisingly defeated 1-2 by Swindon.  This now meant the destination of the promotion spots depended on two matches

Wrexham v Crystal Palace

Wrexham v Mansfield

Wednesday 11^th May 1977

These days television might call it Wonderful Wednesday with Wrexham and Palace in a shoot-out at the Racecourse Ground.  Wrexham were unlikely to win the title, unless they could overturn a 6-goal deficit on their goal difference.  It was a game Palace simply had to win, a draw was not enough for them yet they were the lowest scorers in the top 4 and needing to find goals from somewhere.  To make things tougher for Palace, Wrexham were unbeaten at home all season.

On a famous night in Crystal Palace history, they raced into a 2-goal lead only to be pegged back level by the home side.  Dave Swindlehurst opened the scoring in the first half and then Steve Perrin made it 2-0 early in the second.  Whittle and Lyons got Wrexham back level but then Palace sub, Rachid Harkouk put the visitors back in front.  Deep into injury time, Jeff Bourne grabbed a vital 4^th for Palace and they won 4-2.  They still weren’t promoted as Wrexham had a game to go, but with Mansfield still needing points for the title, they could at least hope Wrexham may falter.  What that result had done for Palace, was to put their goal difference ahead of Wrexham’s and so a draw for the Welsh club in their final match, would now not be enough.

Rotherham won at Reading to leave them needing to win by 6 clear goals in their final match to stand any chance of going up.

Saturday 14^th May 1977

The final day in the Third Division calendar that season was one Crystal Palace players could only join their fans in watching from afar.  Many of the players were sent to play a reserve game to take their mind off things, with many of their supporters making the journey up to North Wales to cheer on Mansfield.  Brighton were at Chesterfield knowing a win would see them Champions if Mansfield lost.  Mansfield just needed a point to win the title.

Rotherham, needing to win by 6 goals, went to Port Vale and won 4-1 so their promotion dreams had gone.  Brighton were held, 1-1 and so they wouldn’t go up as Champions but they would at least go up.

At the Racecourse Ground Wrexham threw everything at Mansfield.  Spurred on by their prolific striker-force of Billy Ashcroft and Graham Whittle, who had scored 59 goals between them during Wrexham’s push for promotion.  But Mansfield’s keeper, Rod Arnold, played a blinder in goal despite being knocked out just before half-time.  Arnold made it back out for the second half to pull off further saves and then with a minute to go, Mansfield winger, Kevin Randall, beat his man to get to the bye-line.  His cross was turned in by Ernie Moss and Mansfield had won it with almost the last kick of the season.

That goal would have repercussions for various people.  Mansfield had secured the Third Division title for the one and only time in their history.  But it also meant Crystal Palace were promoted at the expense of Wrexham.  At the start of this focus Wrexham were unbeaten in their previous 6 games, winning 5 of them.  But their last 4 games yielded just 1pt.

For Palace, it meant promotion back to the Second Division.  They were managed by Terry Venables who had only just taken over from Malcolm Allison at the end of the previous season.  Just think, if Wrexham had won that Mansfield game then Palace’s, and Terry Venables, future may well have turned out differently.  Venables had been recommended to the board by Allison but they had their doubts as to his ability.  Who knows, but another missed promotion may have spelt the end for Venables and the whole ‘Team of the 80’s’ may never have happened.

What happened next?

Wrexham weren’t to be denied the following season as they went up as Champions.  They also reached the Quarter-Finals of the FA Cup, narrowly losing to Arsenal.

Mansfield went straight back down from the Second in the following season and have never been back to the second tier of English football since.

Brighton just missed out on a second successive promotion the following season when they finished behind Tottenham on goal difference.

Crystal Palace finished 9^th in the Second Division, but then both Brighton and Palace went up the year after.