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I've got as far as Coventry away with the Robin Reliants by the corner flags (how funny is that). Stand out performers Gerry Francis like you say and Dave Thomas. The 5th goal by Francis against Everton is tremendous! Also I noted in the footage from Elland Rd that our current style of play is very reminiscent of this team. Will finish watching tomorrow.
They weren't Reliant Robins, they were what was then quaintly termed 'invalid carriages'. Any colour you like as long as it's aquamarine. Quite a common site at football grounds back in the day. They were banned from use on the road in 2003 because of safety concerns.
They weren't Reliant Robins, they were what was then quaintly termed 'invalid carriages'. Any colour you like as long as it's aquamarine. Quite a common site at football grounds back in the day. They were banned from use on the road in 2003 because of safety concerns.
There was a large contingent of R's fans at this game. All I remember is two things: 1. Bowles getting loads of stick from the Everton fans and then he shuts them up! 2. On the way home I thought we would win the league - we were almost unbeatable during that run in March/April.
I was never a fan of Givens, can't like them all I suppose, his last season with us he was dreadful 4 goals in 37.
He had a strange way of jumping sort of arms up tight to his chest fists under his chin, often jumped too soon or too late and you don't see that many-headed goals from him
Maybe a bit unfair as did get 1 in 3 over the 5 years. Apart from missing that Pen at AV he missed one for Sheffield U....
His time at Sheffield will forever be remembered for the time he missed a last minute penalty in the last match of the 1980—81 season against Walsall at Bramall Lane in the old third division. If he had scored, The Saddlers would have been relegated, instead it was Sheffield United who were consigned to the 4th division for the first time in their history.
How much did 'The Big Match' bloody love us that season? A featured game in the London area for the home games with: West Ham Man U Spurs Derby Man C Middlesbrough Leeds The away game at Arsenal and were the main game in the other ITV regions at Coventry, Ipswich and Everton.
In contrast the BBC only featured us five times in the league. Mind you we lost three of those (plus they showed highlights of the defeat at Newcastle in the Cup) so probably just as well they stayed away.
How much did 'The Big Match' bloody love us that season? A featured game in the London area for the home games with: West Ham Man U Spurs Derby Man C Middlesbrough Leeds The away game at Arsenal and were the main game in the other ITV regions at Coventry, Ipswich and Everton.
In contrast the BBC only featured us five times in the league. Mind you we lost three of those (plus they showed highlights of the defeat at Newcastle in the Cup) so probably just as well they stayed away.
[Post edited 24 Apr 2020 11:46]
The BBC were worse than that, we lost 4 out of 6, plus as you said, they showed both Fac3 games (drew home, lost away replay) On regional ITV, I believe Boro away was covered but as it was 0 0, not shown down in London on the Sunday. Anyone ever seen that footage?
How much did 'The Big Match' bloody love us that season? A featured game in the London area for the home games with: West Ham Man U Spurs Derby Man C Middlesbrough Leeds The away game at Arsenal and were the main game in the other ITV regions at Coventry, Ipswich and Everton.
In contrast the BBC only featured us five times in the league. Mind you we lost three of those (plus they showed highlights of the defeat at Newcastle in the Cup) so probably just as well they stayed away.
[Post edited 24 Apr 2020 11:46]
The BBC were worse than that, we lost 4 out of 6, plus as you said, they showed both Fac3 games (drew home, lost away replay) On regional ITV, I believe Boro away was covered but as it was 0 0, not shown down in London on the Sunday. Anyone ever seen that footage?
The BBC were worse than that, we lost 4 out of 6, plus as you said, they showed both Fac3 games (drew home, lost away replay) On regional ITV, I believe Boro away was covered but as it was 0 0, not shown down in London on the Sunday. Anyone ever seen that footage?
Honourable mentions to Masson and Webb, little bit under the radar Thomas seemed to stand out for me and big fan of Gerry. Also didn’t realise Bowles had a spell out of the team. Apparently upset Sexton. What did he do?
Honourable mentions to Masson and Webb, little bit under the radar Thomas seemed to stand out for me and big fan of Gerry. Also didn’t realise Bowles had a spell out of the team. Apparently upset Sexton. What did he do?
3 O'clock at Kempton...
I don't really know but I remember Stan talking about training, while he was a good trainer he got bored with DS going over and over technical stuff, he just wanted to play and they had a bit of a falling out, Stan did go on to say DS was right and a brilliant coach.
Honourable mentions to Masson and Webb, little bit under the radar Thomas seemed to stand out for me and big fan of Gerry. Also didn’t realise Bowles had a spell out of the team. Apparently upset Sexton. What did he do?
The team was driven by Masson - what a player. He could pass the ball wherever, but he was also a nasty bugger and I never saw him knocked out of a game. He allowed Gerry and Stan to push on. Cannot remember Bowles being dropped - maybe injured, which would not be surprising. He used to get kicked all over the park, home and away. Good shout on Webb. If I recall, he won a few games during that season. Alongside McClintock they were a tough nut to crack.
Masson, great passer but he was never loved like others.
I remember him coming back with Derby or Notts County , I think it got called off/ weather or lights and played the next day or something, he got a lot of stick from the fans.
Masson, great passer but he was never loved like others.
I remember him coming back with Derby or Notts County , I think it got called off/ weather or lights and played the next day or something, he got a lot of stick from the fans.
Masson rarely took more than two touches in a game. I think he was well liked by the fans, but down the pecking order, given the quality of that team. I think he played nearly every game that season.
Love hearing about Masson. And great to see so much footage of him. How much would he be worth now? He strikes me as a Busquets-type player but with a far better passing range, maybe? The vision and weight of some of those long passes was perfection.
My Dad never had any time for Rodney (loves himself), Parkes (arra he was grand*), Venables (chancer) among a host of others. A hard man to please. But he had three Rangers heroes - Stan (Best with workrate), Thomas (proper winger) and Masson (cleverest passer we've ever had).
* "arra, he was grand" - I really don't know how to translate this, but it's a slapdown. 'Grand' can mean anything in Ireland, from posh to tolerable, in this context it means 'only alright'. 'Arra' is at best a precursor to 'meh'!
"The opposite of love, after all, is not hate, but indifference."
People asking what was the original date for the West Ham away game. I posted a picture of the fixtures on page one of this thread. West Ham away was originally scheduled for the 26th April - the Monday after the Leeds game. West Ham were absolute pony for the second half of the season. In a parallel universe (or at least exactly the same as this universe but for one fixture change) we would have won the league at Upton Park.
I always liked Don Masson. He seemed to be a player that went under the radar alongside the big guns like Gerry, Stan & Phil but I get the feeling it suited him. It seems amazing that he didn't play in the first division until he was 28 and that bigger clubs before then never saw what Dave Sexton had done, to sign him from the second division. It seemed like he'd played there all his life.
As I recall he only really did it for us at the top level as I don't think he's that fondly remembered at Derby for the single season he had in a largely unhappy spell there. He then dropped down a division again to go back to his spiritual home of Notts County where he got promoted to the top division and played another season in the top flight at the tail end of his career.
In hindsight it might have been better for Leighton James and him to stay where they were rather than swap clubs as they did as James was never the same player for us he had been for Burnley and to a lesser extent, Derby.
Happened to catch this on The Twitter a couple of weeks back:
My recollection about Masons return was we were in the school end, away fans were in the loft end, or closed and against notts county.
He took a lot of stick from Rangers fans and was visibly very hurt and upset. He just stared at the so called supporters and looked so distraught. I recall reminding others around me what he did for our club. It was a very sad moment to be honest.
A couple of days ago on the 20th of April, BT Sport were showing many of Liverpool's games from the 1970s. Second game in was our away game there in the 76/77 seaspn where we lost 3-1 conceding 2 goals in the last 8 minutes having taken the lead through a Peter Eastoe header. It looked a horrible, freezing cold foggy day and the Scousers' second goal by Keegan looked well offside but then again it was at the Kop end so it naturally stood.
I was at that game, it was very foggy, struggled to see across the pitch at times. We gave them a good game until the last 10 minutes, were very dangerous on the counter.
The West Ham away game was going to be our last game of the season having, I think, been moved from the Easter weekend as Rangers generally did that. Apparently the League made a rule where if you moved any of the Easter games they had to be played within the Easter fortnight. Also West Ham were in the Cup Winners Cup so had to be fit around any potential games that West Ham May have then, which they eventually did have.
With Rangers and West Ham having both been knocked out of the FA Cup at the third round both were then free on the day of the fourth round and Rangers thought that playing West Ham that day could let them do a bit of catch up when the rest of the Division were otherwise engaged or not playing. We then went and lost.
And also lost the chance of winning the league at Upton Park.
[Post edited 22 Apr 2020 20:59]
With my apologies to XTC there were three Easter games scheduled, West Ham WAS on Good Friday. As evidenced in the thread at some point it was bumped to April 26 (imagine that!) before being pulled back in to FAC4 day.
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