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A year after reaching Wembley this was another very exciting season for me, 11yo and courtesy of new neighbours able to attend every home game. I remember we absolutely tore Fulham apart and I'm on the pitch there somewhere. It was a brilliant three way battle for the title with Wolves also in the mix.
[Post edited 28 Sep 2017 10:53]
Wish I could be like David Watts
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 09:30 - Sep 28 with 6077 views
Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 08:42 - Sep 28 by CroydonCaptJack
I remember that season well. I was 18-19 years old. Were Wolves involved in that promotion battle as well?
Yes it was a three horse race between us, Wolves and Fulham. I seem to remember the three clubs were well clear of the pack.
Fulham eventually blew it and got overtaken by Derby. It was three up automatically, before the play offs came along.
We just went from strength to strength, it was never in doubt, there were no nervous nights like they were in our recent promotions.
On the run in with Sealy and Gregory seeming to score every game and a well drilled and organised defence (the Venables offside trap) we strode to the title. I can still see John Gregory in the directors box after receiving the trophy, looking absolutely knackered!
A lot of the actual football memories have faded but I can recall going to Chelsea around March and winning 2-0, I think. I hated them even then with their fans, clogging team and crap ground. Winning there seemed quite a regular feat in those days.
Whilst there is no doubt, the other clubs hated the plastic pitch, they only had to play on it once a season and could afford to go diving in. We, on the other hand, had to learn to play controlled football on it, which Venables had us doing very well and we did win ten away games that season anyway.
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 09:55 - Sep 28 with 6042 views
I was a steward that season and watched the entire magnificent season sitting on the pitch in front of the away end. It was every bit as good as it sounds. It was the days when stewards just directed people on the way in and then watched the match because there were loads of police in the ground to do the proper work.
The last few matches had a (fairly) peaceful pitch invasion from home fans at the end. The police horses waited in the corner between the school end and the ellerslie stand and came straight on at the final whistle to block the path to the school end. The omniturf could handle it without a problem. The piles of manure were no use for making it grow, though, so the groundsmen still moaned.
It was the only time that I remember feeling that every home game was a guaranteed win and we could just relax and enjoy the quality of the play. No wonder Barcelona came for our manager.
BRING BACK OMNITURF (and don't let any other feckers have it.)
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 10:02 - Sep 28 with 6025 views
Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 09:55 - Sep 28 by hoof_hearted
I was a steward that season and watched the entire magnificent season sitting on the pitch in front of the away end. It was every bit as good as it sounds. It was the days when stewards just directed people on the way in and then watched the match because there were loads of police in the ground to do the proper work.
The last few matches had a (fairly) peaceful pitch invasion from home fans at the end. The police horses waited in the corner between the school end and the ellerslie stand and came straight on at the final whistle to block the path to the school end. The omniturf could handle it without a problem. The piles of manure were no use for making it grow, though, so the groundsmen still moaned.
It was the only time that I remember feeling that every home game was a guaranteed win and we could just relax and enjoy the quality of the play. No wonder Barcelona came for our manager.
BRING BACK OMNITURF (and don't let any other feckers have it.)
Still amazes me now: QPR to Barcelona.
'What do we want? We don't know! When do we want it? Now!'
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 10:16 - Sep 28 with 5999 views
Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 09:30 - Sep 28 by francisbowles
Yes it was a three horse race between us, Wolves and Fulham. I seem to remember the three clubs were well clear of the pack.
Fulham eventually blew it and got overtaken by Derby. It was three up automatically, before the play offs came along.
We just went from strength to strength, it was never in doubt, there were no nervous nights like they were in our recent promotions.
On the run in with Sealy and Gregory seeming to score every game and a well drilled and organised defence (the Venables offside trap) we strode to the title. I can still see John Gregory in the directors box after receiving the trophy, looking absolutely knackered!
A lot of the actual football memories have faded but I can recall going to Chelsea around March and winning 2-0, I think. I hated them even then with their fans, clogging team and crap ground. Winning there seemed quite a regular feat in those days.
Whilst there is no doubt, the other clubs hated the plastic pitch, they only had to play on it once a season and could afford to go diving in. We, on the other hand, had to learn to play controlled football on it, which Venables had us doing very well and we did win ten away games that season anyway.
The two games against Wolves spring to mind. We got thumped 4-0 at Molineux in the freezing cold at Christmas.We got thumped outside as well in that underpass by the corner flag. Wolves went top but by the time they came to Loftus Rd in May we were champions. They took the lead at ours with Sian Masseys favourite pundit scoring.We won 2-1. Before the game some people walked around the pitch throwing hundreds of bags of popcorn into the crowd. At the end , as we were presented the trophy and were on a lap of honour, the Wolves fans decided to lob the popcorn en masse at Bob Hazell. He in turn gave them the 'up yours' sign pumping his fist into his elbow. He was then joined by 'C Mob' . Police horses came onto the omniturf to try and calm things down.It didn't work. Fights were going on all over the pitch and by both corner flags at the school end. It carried on for about 15 minutes and onto the streets outside.
We finished 10 points above Wolves in second, equivalent to 15 points today.
The season finished with a celebratory punch up on the beach at Cleethorpes.
Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 10:52 - Sep 28 by smegma
The two games against Wolves spring to mind. We got thumped 4-0 at Molineux in the freezing cold at Christmas.We got thumped outside as well in that underpass by the corner flag. Wolves went top but by the time they came to Loftus Rd in May we were champions. They took the lead at ours with Sian Masseys favourite pundit scoring.We won 2-1. Before the game some people walked around the pitch throwing hundreds of bags of popcorn into the crowd. At the end , as we were presented the trophy and were on a lap of honour, the Wolves fans decided to lob the popcorn en masse at Bob Hazell. He in turn gave them the 'up yours' sign pumping his fist into his elbow. He was then joined by 'C Mob' . Police horses came onto the omniturf to try and calm things down.It didn't work. Fights were going on all over the pitch and by both corner flags at the school end. It carried on for about 15 minutes and onto the streets outside.
We finished 10 points above Wolves in second, equivalent to 15 points today.
The season finished with a celebratory punch up on the beach at Cleethorpes.
[Post edited 28 Sep 2017 11:09]
Some of the finer and not so finer points remembered well. Lol
What did you mean by 10 points equivalent to 15 today? Three points for a win was introduced in England in 1981, albeit in those days the First Division (Championship) only had 22 teams and therefore played four less matches.
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 11:26 - Sep 28 with 5890 views
Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 11:22 - Sep 28 by francisbowles
Some of the finer and not so finer points remembered well. Lol
What did you mean by 10 points equivalent to 15 today? Three points for a win was introduced in England in 1981, albeit in those days the First Division (Championship) only had 22 teams and therefore played four less matches.
Oh yeah.......
The equivalent of 7 points in 1980 !!!!!
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 11:33 - Sep 28 with 5876 views
I remember that game well as the Loft was absolutely packed and a lad I was with almost got ejected by the Police for celebrating a goal a bit too enthusiastically. I also remember the game being a bit anti climatic as Fulham had been going really well but in the end we beat them comfortably and as others have said they then fell away.
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 11:59 - Sep 28 with 5837 views
Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 11:45 - Sep 28 by YorkRanger
I remember that game well as the Loft was absolutely packed and a lad I was with almost got ejected by the Police for celebrating a goal a bit too enthusiastically. I also remember the game being a bit anti climatic as Fulham had been going really well but in the end we beat them comfortably and as others have said they then fell away.
They were robbed by Derby if I recall.
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 12:50 - Sep 28 with 5780 views
Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 11:59 - Sep 28 by smegma
They were robbed by Derby if I recall.
Robbed? Derby fans were on the pitch playing the last five minutes in that final game of the season. I think Derby needed a win to guarantee safety.
That was my second season with my dad as ST holders. The football was just sublime to watch at times and while people understandably 'blamed' the pitch, we had to play to feet and on the ground and for that season and the next back in the 1st Division, we played some teams off the park at their own grounds.
The 82/83 promotion season, we played up at Cambridge and it was just ridiculous how good we were; you basically knew we were up from then on. Boro at home was also a footballing lesson handed down by us.
My best mate at school was a Fulham fan and so I sometimes caught their home games with him when we were away. They also had a bloody good side, but lacked depth and just ran out of steam at the death. I bunked off school and went with him to see Fulham also at Cambridge for a night game and it was one of those games they needed to win and they did everything but score and went down 1-0. By the time they came to us with about three games to go, they were running on empty; and we were finding it way too easy.
Great days!
'Always In Motion' by John Honney available on amazon.co.uk
Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 11:59 - Sep 28 by smegma
They were robbed by Derby if I recall.
Robbed by Derby indeed. Not only were their fans encroaching onto the Baseball Ground pitch - I think they were obstructing the Fulham players with the occasional tackle. The referee bottled it and blew for full time without playing any additional time for the delays. Fulham were a very good side that season and had to wait many years with Al Fahed's cash to reach similar heights. A Leicester side with a young Gary Linaker pipped them for promotion in the final weeks of the season. I was 19 in 82-83 and it was a great time to be an R.
[Post edited 28 Sep 2017 19:33]
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 13:53 - Sep 28 with 5703 views
Haven't checked and can't remember but id be amazed if John Gregory wasn't player of the season that year. Great all round midfield player, good in the air, good passer, chipped in with plenty of goals too.
Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 13:53 - Sep 28 by Nov77
Haven't checked and can't remember but id be amazed if John Gregory wasn't player of the season that year. Great all round midfield player, good in the air, good passer, chipped in with plenty of goals too.
He finished top scorer from midfield. Not a bad effort when you think we had Clive Allen as well.
One of the downsides was the Waltham Green pikeys stayed up .
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 15:04 - Sep 28 with 5643 views
After that Fulham game we heard a bit of an argy bargy on the Ellerslie, as we turned the corner thought we'd just missed s blood bath....only to discover they were so distraught they'd dumped their bottles of claret all over the street.
Fulham game was the day before my 14th birthday. My mate Steven Payne got on the pitch when we went 2 up (only about 10 minutes in if I Recall correctly?) and a copper nicked his union jack with Sealy on it and threw him back in the West Paddock.
We were so good that year in what must have been a strong division. Wolves had Andy Gray who may still have been the most expensive transfer at the time, Fulham had Tony Gale, Paul Parker, Ray Houghton and Gordon Davies who was pretty prolific and Leicester had Lineker.
People go on about the Omniturf but I think we had 10 away wins that season, we were far and away the best team in the division.
3 lively home games to finish the season too. Leeds to get promoted, Fulham to win the division and Wolves to parade the trophy. Can't remember Police horses on the pitch at 3 home games in a row before or since?
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 16:28 - Sep 28 with 5583 views
Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 10:52 - Sep 28 by smegma
The two games against Wolves spring to mind. We got thumped 4-0 at Molineux in the freezing cold at Christmas.We got thumped outside as well in that underpass by the corner flag. Wolves went top but by the time they came to Loftus Rd in May we were champions. They took the lead at ours with Sian Masseys favourite pundit scoring.We won 2-1. Before the game some people walked around the pitch throwing hundreds of bags of popcorn into the crowd. At the end , as we were presented the trophy and were on a lap of honour, the Wolves fans decided to lob the popcorn en masse at Bob Hazell. He in turn gave them the 'up yours' sign pumping his fist into his elbow. He was then joined by 'C Mob' . Police horses came onto the omniturf to try and calm things down.It didn't work. Fights were going on all over the pitch and by both corner flags at the school end. It carried on for about 15 minutes and onto the streets outside.
We finished 10 points above Wolves in second, equivalent to 15 points today.
The season finished with a celebratory punch up on the beach at Cleethorpes.
[Post edited 28 Sep 2017 11:09]
Oh yes, I had forgotten the pitch invasion. I would have been on there (fifty yards away from any confrontation)
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 18:15 - Sep 28 with 5462 views
Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 10:52 - Sep 28 by smegma
The two games against Wolves spring to mind. We got thumped 4-0 at Molineux in the freezing cold at Christmas.We got thumped outside as well in that underpass by the corner flag. Wolves went top but by the time they came to Loftus Rd in May we were champions. They took the lead at ours with Sian Masseys favourite pundit scoring.We won 2-1. Before the game some people walked around the pitch throwing hundreds of bags of popcorn into the crowd. At the end , as we were presented the trophy and were on a lap of honour, the Wolves fans decided to lob the popcorn en masse at Bob Hazell. He in turn gave them the 'up yours' sign pumping his fist into his elbow. He was then joined by 'C Mob' . Police horses came onto the omniturf to try and calm things down.It didn't work. Fights were going on all over the pitch and by both corner flags at the school end. It carried on for about 15 minutes and onto the streets outside.
We finished 10 points above Wolves in second, equivalent to 15 points today.
The season finished with a celebratory punch up on the beach at Cleethorpes.
[Post edited 28 Sep 2017 11:09]
Well remembered. In those days us youths, had migrated away from the Loft and were mainly in the Paddock next to the School End, it was much bigger in those days. Our final 3 matches were Leeds, Fulham and Wolves and all 3 ended up in pitch invasions of one form or another. The biggest was against Wolves though. Finished the season with a massive party in Skegness, on the way home from Grimsby.
That season was incredible for a fan, like in Warnock's season, we simply expected to win every game and we did it in style. The football we played was fantastic but every other fan used to say it was only because of the Omniturf, forgetting that we played on grass. and won, every other week.
[Post edited 28 Sep 2017 19:43]
RIP: Sniffer, Doug and Pat
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Any memories of 1983 promotion? on 19:55 - Sep 28 with 5342 views
Off topic I'm afraid, but I have a vague memory from the 1981-2 Cup Final season before of being among the crowd standing on the touchline for the last game home of the season while the match (against Cambridge United) was still going on. So surreal, I sort of feel maybe it never happened. Can anyone confirm it?
I sometimes wonder why Clive Allen's name isn't mentioned more often as a bonafide QPR ledge (maybe because it's because he became more of a Spurs man later, or because of his frankly underwhelming personality). I remember expecting him to score in every game; his goals in the quarter and semi finals took us to our only FA Cup Final and his record was extraordinary (according to Wiki, 72 goals in 136 games).
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