The Great Escape - Bristol City 1976-77

The season is 1976-77 and the club in focus is Bristol City.  They’d made it to the big time when they gained promotion the season before from the old Second Division, along with Sunderland and West Brom.  Their last game in English football’s top tier was in April 1911 and so a wait of 65 years was finally over.

SQUAD

MANAGER

Alan Dicks, aged 42.  After a playing career at Chelsea and Southend, he joined Coventry as assistant-manager to Jimmy Hill.  In 1967 Bristol City was Dicks first management job.  He finally left in October 1980, moving to Greece and Qatar before returning to manage Fulham in 1990.  

GOALKEEPERS

Ray Cashley, aged 25 (8 games) – Local born, he joined the club as a youth player making his debut in 1970.  Was a regular during their promotion season and eventually moved to Bristol Rovers in 1982 after over 260 appearances for City.

John Shaw, aged 22 (32 games) – Scottish born Shaw began his professional career at Leeds United but before making a league appearance he joined City on a free transfer in 1974.  Eventually, got his chance during this season in the home defeat to Birmingham in October. He played every match from then on.  Stayed with the club until his move to Exeter City in 1985.

Len Bond, aged 22 (2 games) – Born in Somerset he joined City as an apprentice in 1971.  He was always understudy to Cashley and Shaw before he moved to Brentford in 1977.

DEFENDERS

Gerry Sweeney, aged 31 (42 games, 2 goals) – Began his career at Morton before moving south to City in 1971.  Became a regular during their promotion season and beyond, he left the club in 1982 having made over 400 appearances for the club.  He later managed them in 1997 in a caretaker capacity after Joe Jordan was sacked.

Gary Collier, aged 21  (42 games, 1 goal) – Born in Bristol he made his debut for the club in 1972. Formed a solid defensive partnership with Geoff Merrick and then Norman Hunter before leaving for Coventry in 1979.

Geoff Merrick, aged 25 (39 games, 1 goal) -  Born in Bristol he made his debut with the club in 1967 and ended up playing over 360 times for the club before he left in 1982.  Was club captain for many years and was a transfer target of Arsenal’s just after he helped City to promotion.

Norman Hunter, aged 33 (31 games) – Part of ‘the great Leeds side’ of the 60’s and 70’s, he earned a reputation for tough tackling and was subsequently nicknamed Norman “Bites yer legs” Hunter.  Won League title and FA Cup winners medals at Leeds and after 540 appearances, he joined City in 1976.  Remained with the club until leaving for Barnsley in 1979.

Brian Drysdale, aged 33 (11 games) – Durham born, he spent 10 years at Lincoln and Hartlepool before joining City in 1969.  Made 280 appearances until moving to Oxford in 1977 as he was a regular in their promotion season.

Brian McNeill, aged 20 (1 game) – Made his debut for the club in 1975 but only ever came on as a sub for the club before he moved to Plymouth and then onto Hearts.

David Rodgers, aged 24 (1 game) – Born in Bristol he made his debut in 1970.  Always found himself understudy to Merrick and then Collier he eventually left the club in 1982 having made 192 appearances.

MIDFIELD

Trevor Tainton, aged 28 (38 games, 2 goals) – Born in Bristol he first played for the club in 1967, playing an important part in both their promotion season and their First Division spell.  Left the club in 1982 having played more than 480 times.

Gerry Gow, aged 24 (30 games, 1 goal) – Born in Glasgow he made his debut as a 17-year old in 1970.  Became in integral part of their midfield during promotion push and remained at the club until his move to Manchester City in 1981, where he won an FA Cup runners-up medal.

Jimmy Mann, aged 24 (30 games, 1 goal) – Began his career at Leeds in 1969 and made the move to City on a free transfer at the same time as John Shaw in 1974.  Left the club in 1982 after playing over 200 times.  Later played for Barnsley, Scunthorpe and Doncaster.

Clive Whitehead, aged 21 (41 games) – Joined City in March 1973 and became an important part of their promotion side.  Remained with the club until his move to West Brom in 1981, having played almost 230 times for City.

Don Gillies, aged 25 (37 games, 3 goals) – Another Scot, Gillies began his career at Morton then signed for City in March 1973.  A crowd favourite he played over 240 games for the club before moving across the city to Rovers in 1980.

John Bain, aged 19 (2 games) – Born in Falkirk, he joined City in 1974.  Struggled to get into the first team and ended up carving a decent career for himself in America mainly in their indoor league.

STRIKERS

Tom Ritchie, aged 24 (30 games, 7 goals) – Another Scottish born player who was signed by Dicks in 1969.  An important player in their promotion success as well as their First Division spell, scoring 77 goals in just over 300 appearances before he moved to Sunderland in 1981.  Returned to City in 1982 during a difficult period for the club.

Chris Garland, aged 28 (21 games, 7 goals) – Local boy, he joined the club in 1965.  Spent 6 years at the club, including making an appearance for England at under-23 level.  He moved to Chelsea and then onto Leicester in 1974.  Dicks brought him back to City in November 1976 and he was a big part of their battle for survival.

Keith Fear, aged 24 (26 games, 6 goals) – Born in Bristol, he first played for the club in 1969.  Eventually left in 1978 after 150 appearances and 32 goals.  He later joined Plymouth after a couple of loan spells

Paul Cheesley, aged 23 (3 games, 1 goal) – Unlike all the other local boys in the squad, Cheesley didn’t start at City.  He made his debut for Norwich City in 1971.  In late 1973 Norwich offloaded him to Bristol City.  He formed a lethal partnership with Tom Ritchie during their promotion season, scoring 33 goals between them.  After scoring the winner against Arsenal in the opening game of the 1976-77 season he was injured against Stoke, 3 days later and never played again.

Peter Cormack, aged 30 (20 games, 6 goals) – Edinburgh-born Cormack started his career at Hibs, where he made his debut in 1963.  In 1966 he earned the first of his 9 international caps.  In 1970 he moved south to Nottingham Forest and when they were relegated, Bill Shankly signed him for Liverpool.  He won League and UEFA Cup winners medals in 1973 and was part of the squad which lifted the title again in 1976.  Surplus to requirements at Anfield, Dicks bought him to Ashton Gate in November 1976.  Remained at the club until he moved back north to Hibs in 1980.

An opening day win at Highbury followed by draws against Stoke and Newcastle had given the Robins a dream start.  That win at Arsenal was all the more sweet as the home side had spent big during the summer bringing Malcolm MacDonald from Newcastle and he’d spent the run-up to the match boasting how many goals he was going to score.  After 29 minutes he clashed with Gary Collier and went off with broken ribs.  Not so super-mac.

ARSENAL   (0)   0

BRISTOL CITY   (0)   1   (Cheesley)

Arsenal: Rimmer; Rice, O’Leary, Simpson, Nelson; Ball, Ross, Cropley, Armstrong; MacDonald (Storey), Radford

Bristol City: Cashley; Sweeney, Merrick, Collier, Drysdale; Tainton, Gow, Whitehead; Ritchie, Mann, Cheesley

When Sunderland came to Ashton Gate and were beaten, 4-1 City were in the heady heights of 2^nd place.  But they then went 9 games before they won again, including a run of 6 straight defeats.  Back-to-back wins against Tottenham and Norwich gained them some reprieve, but by the end of the year they were in the bottom four and fighting for survival.

The new year really illustrated their Jekyll and Hyde qualities as January saw them complete the double over Arsenal, before losing to bottom club Sunderland and then beating title-chasing Manchester City.  They followed this with 3 straight losses which saw them hit rock-bottom.

Bristol City now had 10 games to save their First Division status.  Having waited so many years to feed off the top table again, they were desperate for the dream to last.  In November, Alan Dicks was alerted to the fact one of the club’s ex-players was not securing a regular place in the Leicester City side.  So Dicks bought Chris Garland back to Ashton Gate.  He left the club in 1971 to join Chelsea and then moved to Leicester where he formed a good partnership with Frank Worthington.  No longer a starter at Filbert Street, City bought him for £110,000 at the end of November.  It would prove to be a shrewd piece of business.

Mid-April and Tottenham arrived at Ashton Gate.  Spurs were struggling just 4pts ahead of City and with a defence which had shipped more goals than any other team in the Division.  Peter Cormack scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot to give them a vital 1-0 win.  Defeat was a calamity for Tottenham who dropped 4 places into 21^st.  City were now 2pts adrift at the bottom behind 5 clubs on 27pts.

TOTTENHAM   (0)   0

BRISTOL CITY   (0)   1   (Cormack)

TOTTENHAM: Daines; Naylor, Osgood, Perryman, J. Holmes (Keeley); Pratt, Hoddle, McNab; Armstrong, Jones, Taylor

BRISTOL CITY: Shaw; Sweeney, Collier, Hunter, Merrick; Tainton, Gow, Whitehead; Ritchie, Garland (Fear), Cormack

Bristol City now had 9 games to try and save their First Division future.  It would start with a run of 4 away games, including trips to Stoke City and Queen’s Park Rangers, both of whom were not safe.  They only had three more matches to come at home and to make things tougher, two of them were against teams in the top five, Liverpool and Manchester United.  As things stood they still faced the prospect of the final day clash at Coventry, who by this stage were 19^th.

Saturday 16^th April 1977

NORWICH CITY   (1)   2   (Reeves, Peters)

BRISTOL CITY   (1)   1   (Cormack)

NORWICH: Keelan; Ryan, Powell, Jones, Sullivan; Neighbour (Evans), Suggett, Steele, Peters; Reeves, Gibbins

BRISTOL CITY: Shaw; Sweeney, Collier, Hunter, Merrick; Tainton, Gow, Gillies (Mann), Whitehead; Ritchie, Cormack

City travelled to Norwich City who were lying in 13^th.  Norwich won 2-1 to put Bristol City under further pressure.  Tottenham and Sunderland played out a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane.  QPR went to Middlesbro and came away with a vital 2-0 win.  West Ham weren’t so fortunate as their trip to Newcastle ended in 0-3 defeat.  Coventry City played host to Aston Villa but also went down 2-3.  Stoke also lost away to Birmingham, 0-2, and certainly couldn’t be considered safe.

Midweek fixtures saw QPR gain a priceless win as they beat Man Utd, 4-0.  Coventry also earned a point at home to West Brom.  The next night saw Bristol City at Stoke City.

Wednesday 20^th April 1977

Stoke were 7 places ahead of Bristol put only 5pts better off and just 2pts above the drop zone.  Their away record was the major reason for their lowly position but they weren’t easy to beat at the Victoria Ground.  Bristol City hadn’t won away from home since their victory at White Hart Lane back in November and had gained just 2pts in the 9 games since.  Tom Ritchie gave them a first half lead, but early in the second half Alan Bloor equalised.  Denis Smith, Bloor’s defensive partner, put the home side in front before Chris Garland grabbed a crucial equaliser and Bristol had earned a point.

STOKE CITY   (0)   2   (Bloor, Smith)

BRISTOL CITY   (1)   2   (Ritchie, Garland)

STOKE CITY: Shilton; Dodd, Bloor, Smith, Marsh; Robertson, Salmons, Mahoney, Ruggiero; Tudor, Crooks

BRISTOL CITY: Shaw; Sweeney, Hunter, Collier, Merrick; Tainton, Gow, Whitehead; Ritchie, Garland, Cormack

On the same night Derby County (18^th) and West Ham (21^st) played out a 1-1 draw.  Tottenham did little to improve their position, going down 1-2 at Aston Villa

The following weekend was the Easter holiday and on the Saturday Stoke (16^th) and Tottenham (20^th) meet and play out a 0-0 draw, and Sunderland (18^th) and Derby County (17^th) play out a 1-1 draw.  Coventry (19^th) were well beaten at Arsenal, 0-2 and QPR (15^th) missed the chance to pull away from the danger zone as they gave up a lead to lose 1-2 at home to Newcastle.

On the Monday Coventry and Derby were again in action as they met at Highfield Road.  Goals from Mick Coop and Mick Ferguson gave the home side a 2-0 win.  This ended a run of 13 games without a win for the Sky Blues.

Tuesday 26^th April 1977

QPR   (0)   0

BRISTOL CITY   (0)   1   (Ritchie)

QPR: Parkes; Clement, McLintock, Webb, Gillard; Francis, Hollins, Masson (Thomas), Kelly; Eastoe, Givens

BRISTOL CITY: Shaw; Sweeney, Hunter, Collier, Merrick; Tainton, Gow, Whitehead; Ritchie, Garland, Cormack

In front of just 14,576 at Loftus Road, Bristol City earned a priceless win when Tom Ritchie scored the only goal of the game as City closed the gap at the bottom.  It was a crucial victory and meant the bottom eight clubs were separated by just 4pts and the bottom four clubs separated by a single point.  City also had games in hand on the three clubs immediately above them and hope was returning to Ashton Gate.

Saturday 30^th April 1977

LEEDS UNITED   (1)   2   (Thomas, E. Gray)

BRISTOL CITY   (0)   0

LEEDS: Stewart; Stevenson, McQueen, Madeley, F. Gray; Thomas, Cherry, Currie, E. Gray; McGhie, Jordan (Harris)

BRISTOL CITY: Shaw; Sweeney, Hunter, Collier, Merrick; Tainton, Gow, Whitehead; Ritchie, Garland, Cormack (Fear)

Inside the opening 10 minutes and Gwynn Thomas pounced on a John Shaw’s inability to hold onto his initial shot, to score on his debut.  The goal was really of City’s own making and the kind of goal you concede when you’re battling against relegation.  In the second half Tony Currie’s free-kick was headed on by Gordon McQueen and Eddie Gray turned the ball in at the near post to complete the victory for the home side.  It was a blow for City, but it would be the last time they savoured defeat that season.

Worse news was to follow as the five clubs immediately above them all picked up points.  West Ham earned a 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough, but Tottenham, Sunderland, Derby and Coventry all won.  Tottenham ended a run of 1 win in 9 when they produced a rare highlight by beating Aston Villa 3-1 at home.  Sunderland pulled off a surprise as two goals from Tony Towers helped them to a 3-2 win at West Brom (7^th).  Derby hosted Manchester City, who were second only to Liverpool on goal difference.  Goals from Gerry Daly, Archie Gemmill, Peter Daniel and Kevin Hector gave Derby a surprising 4-0 win.  Coventry (18^th) put Stoke (15^th) back into trouble as they thumped them 5-2, thanks to a hat-trick from Ian Wallace.  QPR were unable to repeat their performance against Man Utd 10 days previously as their return match at Old Trafford saw them lose to a Lou Macari goal.

Bristol City were back to 2pts adrift at the bottom with the next 7 clubs separated by just 2pts.  Tottenham looked to be in most trouble with just 2 games left, despite their win over Villa.  City needed to take advantage of their games in hand.

Midweek matches saw Derby earn an important 0-0 draw at Arsenal and then West Ham (21^st) beat Coventry (16^th), 2-0 with goals from Geoff Pike and Bryan Robson.  This win propels the Hammers out of the relegation zone to 18^th but they have just 3 games to go.

Saturday 7^th May 1977

BRISTOL CITY   (1)   1   (Garland)

MANCHESTER UNITED   (0)   1   (J. Greenhoff)

BRISTOL CITY: Shaw; Sweeney, Hunter, Collier, Merrick; Tainton, Gow, Gillies, Whitehead; Ritchie (Mann), Garland

MAN UTD: Stepney; J. Nicholl, Buchan, B. Greenhoff, Houston (McIlroy); Coppell, Jackson, McCreery, Albiston; Macari, J. Greenhoff

Over 32,000 packed into Ashton Gate for City’s first home game in a month.  A feisty match which saw Stewart Houston suffer a broken leg, which put him out of the FA Cup Final, and then Gow and McIlroy were sent-off for fighting.  Another Chris Garland goal gave City a vital lead at home to Man Utd, but they couldn’t hold on and Jimmy Greenhoff equalised in the second half.  But a point was still welcome, especially as 5 other clubs around them did the same.  West Ham and Derby drew 2-2 to earn another point each.  Coventry also picked up a point as Tommy Hutchison equalised Bruce Rioch’s goal at Everton.  Stoke drew 0-0 at home to Norwich, and QPR held the leaders, Liverpool to a 1-1 draw.  The biggest beneficiaries were Sunderland as Mel Holden scored the only goal of the game to give them a 1-0 win over Birmingham.  It was the second successive victory for the Black Cats who were now unbeaten in 8 and looking like survivors.

Tuesday 10^th May 1977

BRISTOL CITY   (0)   1   (Garland)

LEEDS UNITED   (0)   0

BRISTOL CITY: Shaw; Sweeney, Hunter, Collier, Merrick; Tainton, Mann, Gillies, Whitehead; Ritchie, Garland

LEEDS UNITED: Stewart; Stevenson, McQueen, Madeley, Hampton; Thomas (Harris), F. Gray, Currie, Cherry; McNiven, E. Gray

With 4 games to save their bacon, it was time for experienced, cool heads to stand up and be counted.  Chris Garland was that man.  He scored his third goal in 5 games and City hung on this time to pick up a crucial win.  They had lost just once in their last 5 and picked up 3pts from their two recent home matches giving the Ashton Gate faithful some real hope.  This win now took City off the bottom as Tottenham were unceremoniously dumped there.  On the same night Derby beat QPR 2-0 to shoot them up to 13^th and they looked safe.  QPR, on the other hand, still had work to do as they were still in the bottom three, albeit with games in hand.

Coventry and Stoke both earned points which may well make them safe, in only just safer than others.  Coventry held the league leaders, Liverpool, to a 0-0 draw.  Stoke City were involved in an exciting battle with Manchester United where Garth Crooks scored twice in a 3-3 draw.

Realistically, the three relegated clubs would come from the bottom seven with Stoke and Coventry 2pts clear of the drop zone.  Sunderland and West Ham were nervously looking over their shoulder as the two clubs below them, QPR and Bristol City, both had games in hand.  Tottenham looked doomed.  They only had one game to go and had a goal difference 5 goals worse than West Ham.  QPR were the biggest surprise as 12 months earlier they’d come 15 minutes away from lifting the League title, yet here they were contemplating Second Division football.

Bristol City now had a crucial week to save their skin.  At the weekend they would travel to Middlesbrough, then back home for a Monday night game against the league leaders, Liverpool, before a trip on the following Thursday to Coventry.

QPR are away to Leeds on Saturday, then home to Ipswich on the Monday before a Friday journey to Aston Villa, culminating in a home game against Birmingham on the Monday

Saturday 14^th May 1977

The last Saturday fixtures of the season and things were reaching a conclusion.  City were up at Ayresome Park to meet mid-table Middlesbrough.

MIDDLESBROUGH   (0)   0

BRISTOL CITY   (0)   0

MIDDLESBRO: Platt; Craggs, Maddren, Boam, Bailey; Mills, McAndrew, Souness, Armstrong; Wood (Boersma), Hedley

BRISTOL CITY: Shaw; Sweeney, Hunter, Collier, Merrick (Gow); Tainton, Mann, Gillies, Whitehead; Ritchie, Cormack

Chris Garland missed the match and City missed his firepower.  The hosts had little to play for and the game ended as a rather drab goalless draw with City nervous not to make any mistakes.  It was another point and in a relegation battle so tight, that was important.

Elsewhere, at White Hart Lane Tottenham had to try and overturn a 5-goal deficit in their goal difference.  But a win might not even be enough if West Ham or Sunderland didn’t lose.  Goals in each half from John Pratt and Jimmy Holmes gave Tottenham a 2-0 win over Leicester but it just was too little too late.  West Ham held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw, handing the Championship to Liverpool and giving West Ham hope of staying up.  Sunderland were at Norwich and Gary Rowell and Bobby Kerr earned them a point in a 2-2 draw.  Tottenham were relegated.

Coventry lost 0-1 at home to Manchester City to cause them further grief and Stoke City were well beaten, 1-3 at West Brom.  QPR managed to end their poor run when Peter Eastoe first half goal was enough to win 1-0 at Leeds.  QPR had gone 5 games since they last won and this was a welcome change in fortune.

Tottenham had been relegated with Stoke, West Ham, Coventry and Sunderland all on 34pts with one game remaining.  QPR had given themselves a chance with their win over Leeds as they had 3 games to go.  Bristol City may still have been bottom but they had 2 games to try and gain at least 3pts.  However, next up for them were the League Champions, Liverpool.

Monday 16^th May 1977

Liverpool arrived at Ashton Gate for a league game for the first time since they were both Second Division sides in 1959.  Liverpool had just won the league and were on course for the treble with the FA Cup Final to come on the Saturday.  But their run-in had seen them grow tired and weary as they’d had to fight for three successive draws against relegations candidates, QPR, Coventry and West Ham.  Their final league match was against the bottom club, Bristol City.  Ashton Gate’s biggest crowd of the season, 38,688 turned up to see if the home side could pull off the impossible.

BRISTOL CITY   (1)   2   (Garland 2)

LIVERPOOL   (1)   1   (Johnson)

BRISTOL CITY: Shaw; Gillies, Collier, Hunter, Sweeney; Tainton, Gow, Mann, Whitehead; Ritchie, Garland

LIVERPOOL: Clemence; Neal, Smith, Hughes, Lindsay; Case, McDermott, Kennedy, Callaghan; Fairclough, Johnson

David Johnson gave Liverpool the lead on the half-hour as he was keen to force a place in the upcoming Cup Finals.  As half-time approached the home fans got their reward and it was that man, Chris Garland who got the equaliser.  Level at half-time and there was a growing belief amongst the City faithful they could pull off a shock.  Liverpool clearly had their minds on other things and with 15 minutes to go, Garland was again the hero as he scored the winner.

Liverpool’s FA Cup Final opponents, Manchester United were at West Ham, who needed the points.  Gordon Hill put Man Utd in front after just 25 seconds to give them a half-time lead.  On the hour Frank Lampard equalised and then ‘Pop’ Robson and Geoff Pike sent the home fans into raptures before Stuart Pearson grabbed one back for the visitors.  Robson then completed the scoring and West Ham won 4-2.  This secured West Ham’s survival.  The three teams below them couldn’t all reach 36pts as two of them were playing each other.

Not so, Stoke City.  They were at Villa Park where Andy Gray scored the only goal of the game and Aston Villa won 1-0 and Stoke were relegated.

QPR took one step further to First Division safety when Don Givens goal earned them a 1-0 win at home to Ipswich.

So, two down and one to go.  Coventry, Bristol City and Sunderland were all on 34pts.  To add to the drama Coventry and City were to meet next three days later.  On the same night Sunderland travelled to Everton.  If Skysports had been around they would’ve either thought up a title for this dramatic Thursday night in May, or they’d have moved the fixtures to a night more convenient.  But the English fixture list still valued the FA Cup Final, to be played on the Saturday and then Liverpool were in the European Cup Final the following Wednesday.

Thursday 19^th May 1977

It couldn’t have been scripted any better.  Three clubs on the same points and one of them was going to be relegated.  Two of those clubs were meeting each other.  Unfortunately, things didn’t seem that good for Sunderland as Coventry and Bristol City could just play out a draw and if Sunderland didn’t earn at least a point, then they’d be down.  Sunderland’s goal difference was the superior of the three and if there was some collusion at Highfield Road then Sunderland could still be safe with a draw at Everton.

The following description of that night has been garnered from various areas, some factual, some mythical, some strewn from memories long draped in a hue of the Robin.

Highfield Road was besieged with Bristol City fans as this was one of the biggest away games for the club in their history.  When Liverpool arrived at the same ground the previous week, a crowd of 38,032 turned up.  For this game between two sides battling against relegation a crowd of 36,903 were there.  Bristol City fans talk of queues outside the ground as these the were the days where you turned up to buy a ticket rather than went online the summer before.  Bristol filled the terrace behind one of the goals and the main stand was a sea of red too.  Local legend has it that a Crown Court jury was let off early to join the hoardes of Bristolians making their way to Coventry.  Thousands of schoolkids had been joined by their teachers in bunking off school in Bristol and there were suggestions the turnstiles were opened to let thousands of people in to avoid crushing outside.  Coaches were getting stuck in traffic around the ground and for anyone who remembers Highfield Road they will be able to sympathise.  Due to the congestion, kick-off was delayed by 5 minutes.  It is not certain whether this was done on request of Coventry Chairman, Jimmy Hill, or whether the police ordered the referee to do so.  Conspiracists would prefer it to be Hill and indeed he has endured some pretty unpleasant vitriol for what transpired, as a delay in proceedings would give his team a slight advantage of finishing after the Sunderland game.

Tommy Hutchison gave the home side the lead which they held to half-time.  At Goodison Park, Bruce Rioch put Everton in front and both games were 1-0 at the break.  At this stage, Bristol City were going down.

Into the second half and further despair for the Bristol fans just 7 minutes after the re-start as Hutchison grabbed his second to double Coventry’s lead and it looked desperate for the visitors.  Bob Latchford then scored for Everton and they too were 2-0 up and cruising.  Then, Gerry Gow got a goal back for Bristol City almost immediately after a knockdown by Gillies and there was renewed hope amongst the travelling masses.  It was Gow’s 30^th league appearance of the season and what a time to score his first goal.  Bristol City were now throwing everything at Coventry and finally gained their reward as long free-kick into the area found Garland who nodded it down and Don Gillies had time to steady himself and fire the ball into the net for the equaliser.  The place was rocking.  On the scoreboard was the Everton v Sunderland scoreline of 1-0.  To add to the drama, the crowd watched as the words ‘correction’ lit up.  “You could hear a pin drop waiting for the revised score to go up”, recalled one spectator.  Eventually, the scoreline was confirmed as Everton 2-0 Sunderland, and there were still 5 minutes of play to go at Coventry.

Various supporters have pointed to memories of players being told to stop trying to score as a draw was enough for both sides.  In the end the game ended 2-2 and both Coventry and Bristol City fans celebrated as they would meet again next season.  Indeed both managers, Alan Dicks (Bristol City) and Gordon Milne (Coventry City) shared the champagne.

COVENTRY CITY   (1)   2   (Hutchison 2)

BRISTOL CITY   (0)   2   (Gow, Gillies)

COVENTRY: Sealey; Oakley, Coop, Holton, McDonald; Beck, Powell, Yorath, Hutchison; Wallace, Ferguson

BRISTOL CITY: Shaw; Gillies, Collier, Hunter, Sweeney; Tainton, Gow, Mann, Whitehead (Cormack); Ritchie, Garland

For Sunderland it was a bitter blow.  They were relegated barely 12 months after winning Division Two.  It was also their first defeat in 9 matches and certainly seemed cruel.  But they paid the price for their awful form in the first half of the season when they’d only picked up 9pts from their first 23 matches.  So a run of just 3 defeats in 19 wasn’t enough to save them.

Bristol City rejoiced in an amazing escape.  The dream would live on.  They were unbeaten in their final 5 matches including games against Liverpool and Manchester United.  They’d picked up 12pts from their last 10 matches and they’d taken their supporters through every kind of emotion.

There were many heroes for Bristol City that season and one of the undeniable contributions came from Chris Garland who returned to the club he joined as an apprentice in 1966.  Garland would remain with the club until he became one of the Ashton Gate Eight in 1982 (but that’s for another story).

Tragically in 1998 Garland was diagnosed with Parkinson ’s disease.

Another sad story from that season was Paul Cheesley.  “The Big Cheese” formed a lethal striking partnership with Tom Ritchie during their promotion season as the two shared 33 goals.  Cheesley scored the only goal in their famous win at Highbury on the opening day of the season.  Three days later Stoke City came to Ashton Gate.  Cheesley went up for a cross to challenge Peter Shilton, and although he got there first the clash would have disastrous consequences for the young striker.  He landed badly, ripping his cartilage, tearing ligaments and chipping a bone in his knee.  He was taken off and would never play professional football again.  At the age of 23 he had a promising career ahead of him, having been named in the Second Division team of the year in 1976 and had caught the eye of national manager, Don Revie, but it all ended on 24^th August 1976.

City finished 3pts clear of the drop the following season too, and in 1978-79 finished 13^th.  But in 1979-80 the dream came to an end and they were relegated.  This preceeded an alarming fall from grace as they suffered three successive relegations before they were virtually bankrupt in 1982. 

But that is for another story.

Five Favourite Wins Against - Fulham at Anfield

Continuing the series where I look back at my five favourite wins by Liverpool against their upcoming opponents.  This weekend Liverpool play against Fulham at Anfield.  Here are my five favourite wins from past encounters.

23^rd September 1986, League Cup Second Round, 1^st leg

LIVERPOOL   (4)   10   (Rush 8, 76, Wark 10, 63, Whelan 28, McMahon 44, 66, 71, 79, Nicol 83)

FULHAM   (0)   0  

LIVERPOOL: Grobbelaar; Gillespie, Lawrenson, Hansen, Beglin; Nicol, Wark, McMahon, Whelan; Rush Dalglish

FULHAM: Vaughan; Marshall, Scott, Hoddy, Cottington; Achampong, Lewington, Barnett, Parker; Coney, Kerrins

This series has solely concentrated on First Division/Premier League meetings since 1975.  However, there haven’t been as many games between these two at Anfield during that time, as other fixtures.  So, I’ve included a couple of League Cup meetings.  The first is a classic encounter from the 1986-87 season.

The League Cup, sponsored by Littlewoods, had reached the Second Round which was over two legs.  However, after the first 45 minutes the tie was effectively over.  Liverpool, who were double winners the season before had just been beaten at Southampton in the League.  Fulham were in the Third Division (now League One) having suffered relegation the season before, had just won games against Bolton and Notts County and in buoyant mood.  But it was all to come crashing down around them.

Only 13,498 turned up at Anfield but those who did were in for a real treat.  Fulham could’ve taken the lead but Dean Coney miscued his shot and the chance had gone begging.  Then 8 minutes in and Ian Rush put the home side in front.  Two minutes later and John Wark had doubled the lead.  Ronnie Whelan grabbed the third goal before Steve McMahon made it 4-0 just before half-time.  McMahon was to end up with the man-of-the-match award to cap a memorable night for Dalglish’s first signing as manager.  In the second half was when the home side ran riot but they didn’t add to their tally until after the hour when John Wark scored his 2^nd of the night.  Three minutes later and McMahon got his 2^nd as well as Liverpool moved into a 6-0 lead.  Liverpool were then awarded a penalty, which McMahon took to try and complete his hat-trick – he missed.  But it didn’t take him long to make amends as McMahon got his third on 71 minutes.  Ian Rush, who started it all, then scored his 2^nd of the night to make it 8-0, before McMahon netted his 4^th of the night to make it 9-0.  With still 7 minutes on the clock, Steve Nicol became the 5^th scorer of the night and Liverpool had reached double figures.  10-0 is still a record in the League Cup and was just one of those nights when everything went right for the home side and wrong for the visitors.

Ian Rush later described their finishing as ‘razor-sharp’ and said the keeper ‘didn’t stand a chance’.  He also reckoned he could’ve had 4 goals himself but had to settle for just 2.  Liverpool went onto win the 2^nd leg 3-2 for an easy aggregate win, 13-2.  They reached the Final of the competition but lost to Arsenal, 1-2 in the first game they had lost when Ian Rush scored.  They would also finish 2^nd in the League to Everton.  Fulham finished 18^th in the Third Division, just 3 places off another relegation.

5^th October 1993, League Cup Second Round, 2^nd Leg

LIVERPOOL   (2)   5   (Fowler 13, 21, 47, 55, 70)

FULHAM   (0)   0  

LIVERPOOL: Grobbelaar; Jones, Wright, Ruddock, Dicks; Stewart, Clough, Redknapp, Hutchisonn; Fowler, Rush

FULHAM: Stannard; Morgan, Angus, Ferney, Pike; Eckhardt, Thomas, Onwere, Kelly (Jupp); Farrell, Brazil

Seven years after suffering their worst defeat back in 1986, Fulham were drawn against Liverpool again in the League Cup Second Round.  Fulham were still in the third tier of English football and had beaten Colchester to get here.  Another sparse crowd for a League Cup match turned up and witnessed a goalscoring sensation come of age.  The game was all about one man, Robbie Fowler.

Liverpool had won the 1^st leg, 3-1 with Fowler scoring the third goal.  It was his debut for the club, which made his exploits in the 2^nd leg all the more reason to take notice.  Within the opening 15 minutes of the 2^nd leg, he’d extended Liverpool’s aggregate lead.  Rob Jones hit a powerful shot from about 30 yards which Fulham keeper, Jim Stannard could only parry, and the 18 year old Fowler pounced to open the scoring.  Soon after, Liverpool had a free-kick in the penalty area, and instead of blasting the ball at the wall, Ruddock played it square where Fowler fired it into the net for his 2^nd of the night.  2-0 it was at half-time but the second half belonged to Fowler.  Within two minutes of the re-start, Fowler completed his hat-trick as Rob Jones joined the attack on the right and squared the ball for Fowler to score from close range.  Before then, Grobbelaar had been called upon to make a double save to deny the visitors but that was really the last they were able to muster by way of a challenge.

Ten minutes into the second half and Fowler had his 4^th goal as he headed in a Julian Dicks cross.  Liverpool were now rampant as the visitors suffered for the their first-half efforts and with still 20 minutes of the game remaining, Jamie Redknapp played a great through ball for Fowler to run onto and slotted the ball past Stannard for his 5^th goal of the night.  He became the 5^th Liverpool player to score 5 goals or more in the same game, and had announced himself on the stage with a bang.  5 goals, one with his head, one with his right and the other three with his left.

This was a disappointing season for both clubs.  Liverpool finished 8^th in the League.  They went out in Round Four of the League Cup losing to Wimbledon in a penalty shootout and then suffered the embarrassment of being dumped out in the FA Cup at home to Bristol City.  For Fulham, this season represented a nadir as they were relegated to English football’s basement.

15^th March 2006

LIVERPOOL   (2)   5   (Fowler 16, Brown og 34, Morientes 70, Crouch 89, Warnock 90)

FULHAM   (1)   1   (John 25)

LIVERPOOL: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Traore; Garcia, Gerrard, Hamann, Kewell (Warnock); Morientes (Crouch), Fowler (Cisse)

FULHAM: Warner; Knight, Rosenior, Pearce, Bridge; Pembridge, Brown, Malbranque, Radzinski; Boa Morte, John

Twelve and a half years after Robbie Fowler tormented Fulham in the League Cup, he was back at Anfield in his second spell with the club.  He’d had a goal disallowed on his first game back against Birmingham but had yet to find the net after his dream move back to the place where he made his name.  It was almost as if he was waiting for Fulham, as 16 minutes into the game he gave the home side the lead.

Harry Kewell took a corner on the left which was flicked on by Luis Garcia and Fowler was at the far post to head the ball in.  The crowd went wild and Fowler had now drawn level with Kenny Dalglish in the all-time goalscoring list for the club with 172 goals.  Ten minutes later and Collins John had equalised for the visitors as he ran onto a good ball from Boa Morte.  Fulham were sitting in 16^th place in the Premier League, which illustrated how far the club had come since the ‘Fowler-game’ in 1993.  After 34 minutes Liverpool restored their lead when Fowler and Garcia combined to put Kewell away on the right and his cross was turned into his own net by Michael Brown.

In the second half Luis Garcia was unlucky to hit the angle of the post and bar and then in the 70^th minute Cisse’s header was palmed out by former Liverpool reserve keeper, Tony Warner, and Fernando Morientes was on hand to turn the ball in for his first goal for three months.  As full time approached, Benitez sent on Peter Crouch to replace Morientes and he scored Liverpool’s 4^th.  Cisse’s cross into the area was volleyed back across by Gerrard and Crouch converted the opportunity.  Soon after, in injury time, Steve Finnan’s close range shot was blocked by Warner only for Stephen Warnock to score his first goal for Liverpool and complete the scoring.  5-1 probably flattered the home side as Fulham had done well to repel them for most of the game but the night belonged to Fowler.

Liverpool ended the season 3^rd in the table and won the FA Cup beating West Ham on penalties.  Fulham finished the season in 12^th comfortably clear of relegation.

9^th December 2006

LIVERPOOL   (0)   4   (Gerrard 54, Carragher 60, Garcia 66, Gonzalez 90)

FULHAM   (0)   0 

LIVERPOOL: Reina; Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Riise; Garcia (Fowler), Gerrard, Alonso; Pennant, Kuyt (Gonzalez), Bellamy (Crouch)

FULHAM: Lastuvka; Knight, Volz, Pearce, Rosenior; Boa Morte, Jensen, Brown, Diop (Christanval); McBride (John), Radzinski

Fulham’s next visit to Anfield was another blow to their goal difference.  Liverpool were in 5^th after 16 matches and still unbeaten at home.  Fulham were down in 13^th with just 1 win on the road.  Liverpool had just returned from Turkey in their latest Champions League group match where they would eventually reach the Final.

Both sides had chances in the first half with Pennant and Kuyt going close for the home side and McBride being denied by a great save from Reina.  The first half ended goalless, more due to Liverpool’s lack of a cutting edge in front of goal, than a determined Fulham defensive display, although there was no doubt they were making it difficult.

Ten minutes into the second period and Liverpool were awarded a penalty.  Ian Pearce blocked a shot from Dirk Kuyt and the referee had no doubt about the decision.  Steven Gerrard stepped up and hit it low to the keeper’s left, but Lastuvka saved it only for Gerrard to score from the rebound.  This seemed to be the breakthrough Liverpool required as they now stormed the Fulham goal.  Gerrard took a corner on the left which Agger flicked on and at the far post, Jamie Carragher arrived to stab the ball home.  It was Carragher’s first goal since he scored in the 7-1 win over Southampton in January 1999.  Six minutes later and Kuyt took a throw on the left wing to Alonso who turned back onto his right foot and his cross was converted by Luis Garcia with a glancing header and Liverpool were 3-0 up having scored 3 in 12 minutes.

Fulham were now just playing out time but Liverpool weren’t finished as Benitez sent on Gonzalez, Crouch and Fowler.  It was Fowler who was brought down just outside the area by Boa Morte as he ran at the Fulham defence.  From the resulting free-kick, Mark Gonzalez stepped up and curled the ball beautifully past Lastuvka to complete the scoring.  Fulham must’ve been getting fed-up with Anfield as they’d turned up twice in 2006 and conceded 9.

Liverpool ended the season in 3^rd in the League and were beaten finalists in the Champions League.  Fulham finished 16^th just 1pt above the relegation zone.

22^nd December 2012

LIVERPOOL   (2)   4   (Skrtel 8, Gerrard 36, Downing 52, Suarez 90)

FULHAM   (0)   0

LIVERPOOL: Reina; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique; Gerrard, Lucas (Carragher); Suso (Sterling), Shelvey (Allen), Downing; Suarez

FULHAM: Schwarzer; Riether, Hangeland, Hughes, Riise; Kacaniklic (Rodallega), Baird, Karagounis, Richardson (Frei); Dejagah, Berbatov

As Christmas 2012 approached these two clubs were next to each other in the table with Liverpool 12^th and Fulham 13^th.  After recovering from a poor start, Liverpool had begun to find some form under Brendan Rodgers but were brought back down to earth the week before when Aston Villa comfortably beat them at Anfield.  Fulham, though, were in worse shape as they’d only won 1 of their previous 9 coming into this fixture.

These were still early days of the new Rodgers-regime at Anfield and you were never really sure what you were going to get.  But from a Steven Gerrard corner on the right the ball dropped to Martin Skrtel who thumped it into the back of the net, to give the home side an 8^th minute lead.  Liverpool then doubled their lead 10 minutes before the break from a lovely flowing move.  Shelvey began things in the centre-circle, finding Glen Johnson alone on the right touchline.  Johnson took the ball down with his chest and ran at the Fulham defence, eventually cutting inside to lay the ball back to Stewart Downing.  Downing had just spotted a diagonal run from Gerrard and he played a beautifully weighted ball past three defenders for the Liverpool captain to run onto and he finished in style in the bottom corner.  Downing’s brief Liverpool career looked to at an end as the manager had made it very clear he doubted the England winger’s value to the team.  But this game was to delay his execution to the end of the season.

Seven minutes into the second half and Downing showed more evidence of his talent as Gerrard found him on the right wing and as he reached the area, he cut onto his left foot and unleashed a fierce shot which went inside the keeper’s near post.  It was Downing’s first Premier League goal since arriving at the club in July 2011 and Liverpool were now comfortably in a three goal lead.  Fulham’s keeper, Mark Schwarzer, did his best to keep the score down but in injury time great work from Jose Enrique down the left, saw him pull the ball back from the bye-line and Luis Suarez scored to give Liverpool their biggest win of the season at Anfield thus far.  Of Downing, Rodgers said after that he would consider keeping the player if he continued to put in performances like that.  Downing was able to delay his eventual transfer to the summer when he moved to West Ham.

Liverpool eventually found some consistency with their play and ended 7^th in the League.  Fulham were rarely away from mid-table for the rest of the season as they ended 12^th.

HEAD TO HEAD at Anfield

Matches: 30

Liverpool win: 22

Fulham win: 1

Draws: 7

Liverpool goals: 81

Fulham goals: 17

Away Day Blues

During the 1992-93 season the defending Champions, Leeds United, went through a without winning away from home.  But that is generally seen as a rare event in the Premier League.  Take a look at this table of a season which has just finished.

Some of you may have seen this already as an article about it appeared in The Guardian.  It is the Nigerian Premier League and it is certainly a strange league.  If you look closer at the table and especially at the away record, it becomes clear there is something extremely wrong going on here.

Only one team won more than 2 away games.  Only 4 clubs won more than one away match and 7 clubs didn’t win an away match all season.  One of the most unbelievable records is with a club called Gombe United.  They dropped just 2pts from their 19 home matches, scoring 34 goals and conceding just 7.  Yet they lost every single one of their away games, scoring just 4 times and conceding an amazing 39 goals.  What could possibly have gone so wrong whenever they played away compared to their home form?

Kaduna United were a similar example where they won 17 of their home games, drawing the other two and also conceding just 4 goals.  Yet whenever they were away from home they conceded a total of 41 goals, losing all 19 of their away games.  All this against opponents they had little trouble against at home.

The Champions, Kano Pillars, who have just won back-to-back titles, lost an incredible 15 times away from home.  Second placed, Enyimba, didn’t even concede a goal at home yet could only pick up 9pts on the road.

The bottom club, Shooting Stars, were only beaten once at home.  There cannot be too many clubs around the world who have been relegated despite only losing one home match all season.  Only four clubs scored more goals at home than they did, yet away from home they could only find the net 6 times.

Apparently, the reasons behind all this is a combination of poor travelling conditions leaving away sides tired and ill-prepared on matchday, corruption and intimidation of referees and also violence and threatening behaviour from home fans.  The issue of travel problems was highlighted in several games having to be postponed as teams failed to arrive.  You would have thought the Nigerian Football Association could do something about the last two points, but are probably powerless to be able to improve the travel conditions throughout the country.

Referees not only have to contend with angry and aggressive supporters but they also have to contend with many of the home clubs insisting their earnings are ‘performance-related’.  In a weird concept, the League does not pay the referees, the home club does.  This seems to lead to a completely corrupt system of intimidation and undue influence.

But this season is not the exception as last season’s League table has 9 clubs unbeaten at home and only the Champions, Kano Pillars, managed a points tally from their away games going into double figures.  In fact you have to go back to 2011 to find a side winning more than 3 away games in a season.  Dolphins won the League that year but still managed to find themselves on the losing side 11 times when they only dropped 2pts at home.  Sunshine Stars beat every single team which came to their home that season, yet remarkably all but three of those sides avoided a ‘double’ when it came to hosting the Stars.

This last season’s tally of just 18 away wins in the League is an improvement on 2012 when only 14 of the 380 matches resulted in victory for the away side.  To give you some idea of a comparison, in the Premier League last season 106 matches ended in an away win.  Even in a League such as MLS where travelling involves thousands of miles, there were 77 away wins last season from fewer matches.

Going back to the table above, Heartland (12^th) won 2 away games this season.  Those are the first matches they’d won away from home since 2009, yet such is the ridiculous nature of the league they’ve never been in any danger of relegation.

It is a surprise the betting companies haven’t woken up to the potential as the odds on an away win must be pretty long and the opportunity to influence proceedings must be quite high, but of course normally you’d feel sorry for the fans in this situation but if they’re having an effect on the results then perhaps they’ve got the league they deserve.

Results Comparison With Last Season

What do the above tables represent?

Well, they are the comparison between this season’s results and the corresponding fixtures from last season.  In other words, I have compared how each team has done with their fixtures so far, compared with the results against the same opposition from last season.

Or put it another way, how has a team done this season compared to their results against that opposition at that venue, from last season?

I have stripped out games against the promoted clubs as that distorts things, because you cannot compare both seasons.  What that throws up is Tottenham has played three promoted clubs already this season, whereas West Brom has yet to meet any of them.

To give an example, Arsenal has taken 19pts from sides who were in the Premier League last season.  Yet in those corresponding fixtures last season they took 22pts.  By way of a comparison, Southampton has taken 15pts from games where they only managed 4pts last season.

What this research does reveal is perhaps a little more consideration to whether a side has had a good or poor start to the season.  For example, Aston Villa fans may be wondering whether they’ve had a good or bad start to the season, and you can see from the tables they’ve taken 9pts from fixtures they only managed 1pt from last season.

For those sides who are under new management you can compare how Mark Hughes’ Stoke City have done in games this season compared to the team managed by Tony Pulis last season.  David Moyes Manchester United has managed 11pts, whereas the same team managed by Alex Ferguson gained 19pts from the same opposition.

Of course what this ignores is that many of these fixtures are played at different stages in each season and so form, injuries and general conditions can have an effect. 

Tottenham have the oddest sequence in that their record this season matches last season’s.  When you look a little closer their results haven’t been the same against each opposition, for example they were beaten at home by West Ham when they won the corresponding fixture last season.

There is nothing to be gained by this research, other than it can give an idea of whether your team has improved from last season, or gone backwards.