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Sheffield Wedneday Vs Liverpool : 17th January 1984 - Milk Cup


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SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY Vs LIVERPOOL :  17th January 1984 - MILK CUP

 

I thought i would make this post after reading some great comments on the Wednesday vs Chelsea post where we drew the game 4-4.  I can remember this game against Liverpool for many reasons, but the biggest one was that it was the first time i had seen Wednesday play Liverpool. I was about 15 years of age and  i had only seen Liverpool on match of the day and sports night, a midweek football programme. That season we eventually went up and had a good side, including the likes of Hodge, Lyons, Sterland, Megson, Bannister, Shelton and Varadi. We had drawn Liverpool in the milk  cup and i went to the game with my dad. For some reason when i went to the game with my dad, we always went in the leppings lane stand where the away supporters went. I was a regular that season with my mate and we always went on the kop, unless we were a bit flushed cash wise and went in the north stand. Anyway, i think my dad wanted to see us play against Liverpool, so i went with him and we ended up in the away end.

 

I can remember when Liverpool ran out onto the pitch and it was like seeing the Roman army coming out. All the hairs stood up on my neck as i watched Groblaar, Hansen, Souness and Rush take to the field. I was thinking " Oh poo poo, i hope we can do alright against this lot ", because it was that Liverpool team of the 1980's that seemed to dominate everything and everyone. They perhaps had one or two people out like Dalglish, but they were still an awesome test and a big challenge to our boys. If my memory serves me right, i think we went on nil down and then two-one up, only for Liverpool to equalise or it could have been the other way around. Steve Nicol scored for Liverpool and Phil Neal scored from the spot. I think our scorers were Megson and Shelton ? Not too sure on that one. My biggest memory was going to the toliets at half  time and being surronded by Liverpool fans !! There was i a shy 15 year old kid with a Wednesday scarf on, trying to be inconspicuous and keep my head down, when all of a sudden a liverpool fan standing next to me at the urinals say's " Your team are doing ok aren't they " in the same voice as the Harry Enfield characters " calm down, calm down ". I look up and say " Yeah.......", to which he say's " I like the look of em, i think you will go up this year " and i manage a " Yeah thanks ", then return to my seat with my dad.

 

The attendance that night was something like 49,000 or it possibly could have been more. The kop didn't have a roof on it in those days and i can remember seeing the outline of the kop from the leppings lane stand and thinking " wow......" because it was jam packed and looked wonderful, with the night's sky in the background and the floodlights shining away. It was the first time i had ever seen Wednesday play i big team that was known as such and had a MASSIVE reputation. We drew 2-2 and we went on to lose 3-0 at Anfield and think it was Joe Fagan who was the manager at the time and he was very complimentary about our team and he thought quite rightly that we would have no problem joining the first division the very next season. That season and those just after it remain my favourite times as a Wednesday fan, with only the Waddle, Sheridan, Hirst era rivaling for my affections. But that Liverpool game has stayed with me for years and i often think about it, because it was special and made me realise what a big club we were and where we should be, ie, in the top division. Sorry for the long essay lol, but i just wanted to share my thoughts about that match and wonder if any of you were also at that game and what memories you have of it all. I hope one day that our younger fans who haven't seen the big games since our relegation from the prremiership in 2000 will have the chance to experience games like that, because the good ones you remember for life. Up the Owls :-)

Edited by Mick De Lyons
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I was 11, and the main thing I remember about that night is getting to the top of the gangway in the North Stand and just stopping and staring at the Kop, it was absolutely rammed, I'd never seen it like that before having only been going to games for 3 years.

 

I also remember Nicol chipping over Hodge for the opening goal, but can't really recall any of the other goals.

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Guest mkowl

Great night that was, stood on the Kop and as you say absolutely rammed. A few days earlier was another classic v Swansea with err 13000 in the ground as it was played in biblical freezing conditions with the few of us on the Kop huddled together like Antartic penguins

Only Wednesday could have a 36000 swing in the crowd over a few days

But yep it went 0-1 1-1, 2-1 then Rush went down like a veritable Robben for Neal to equalise. Its on Youtube somewhere as it was shown on Sportsnight later that night

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The biggest crowd I have been in, about 500 more than the boxing day massacre. Liverpool and Wednesday fans separated on the leppings lane by a row of police.

I remember megsons header running in from the corner of the 18 yard area to equalise and the second goal being a bit scrappy (bannister? ). Then it was just wave after wave of Liverpool attacks, I had never seen a team dominate so much at Hillsborough before (I had been going regular since 73).

The replay saw 12000 Wednesday fans at anfield but Wednesday were easily beaten 3-0 but were singing we'll be back again next year. We were and beat them 2-0 in November with goals from varadi and shelton with the Wednesday fans singing "we said we'd back and we are". Cracking days which I can't see ever returning.

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The biggest crowd I have been in, about 500 more than the boxing day massacre. Liverpool and Wednesday fans separated on the leppings lane by a row of police.

I remember megsons header running in from the corner of the 18 yard area to equalise and the second goal being a bit scrappy (bannister? ). Then it was just wave after wave of Liverpool attacks, I had never seen a team dominate so much at Hillsborough before (I had been going regular since 73).

The replay saw 12000 Wednesday fans at anfield but Wednesday were easily beaten 3-0 but were singing we'll be back again next year. We were and beat them 2-0 in November with goals from varadi and shelton with the Wednesday fans singing "we said we'd back and we are". Cracking days which I can't see ever returning.

Not how I saw the match, Liverpool were really lucky not to get a draw from that match.  At times Hansen and company were on the rack.  Only 3K Liverpool supporters at the match stuck in the corner where the scoreboard is.

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Guest mkowl

Just thinking how that era from Boxing Day to the promotion to Div 1 coincided with my secondary school years and how the fortunes turned. Going to Ecco Comp this was a Wednesday stronghold anyway, so the few Pig fans apart from their inherent social inadequacies and inbreeding had to contend with us being successful

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I was there sat on the upper section of the south stand I was only 9. There was something magical about Liverpool coming to town as they were the best team in Europe at that time.

 

I remember the result and walking away thinking we should have won.

 

Rushing home to watch Sportsnight in those days was also brilliant.

 

We should have won - didn't Shelton miss a header (or just not connect properly) from about 3 yards out when it was 2-1 to us??  Can't be too harsh on him though, he was one of my all time favourite players.  Great days, Hillsborough packed under the floodlights - nothing like it!!

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Just thinking how that era from Boxing Day to the promotion to Div 1 coincided with my secondary school years and how the fortunes turned. Going to Ecco Comp this was a Wednesday stronghold anyway, so the few Pig fans apart from their inherent social inadequacies and inbreeding had to contend with us being successful

 

What a fantastic night it was - several huge crowds in that era around 50K - Cup Quarter Final against Burnley another.

 

I thought you were writing about me there - was at Ecco Comp 78 to 85 and a great time to be an Owl as we rose from the dead - still remember the school banning the 'Boxing Day Massacre' badges that some wag had produced - everyone just wore them inside the blazer and still kept showing it to the few Blades we had.....

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Great night that was, stood on the Kop and as you say absolutely rammed. A few days earlier was another classic v Swansea with err 13000 in the ground as it was played in biblical freezing conditions with the few of us on the Kop huddled together like Antartic penguins

Only Wednesday could have a 36000 swing in the crowd over a few days

But yep it went 0-1 1-1, 2-1 then Rush went down like a veritable Robben for Neal to equalise. Its on Youtube somewhere as it was shown on Sportsnight later that night

I remember that Swansea game and i think we won 5-0 !! I can remember the snow coming down at a right pace and the Wednesday fans giving Bob Latchford a hard time.

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I remember that Swansea game and i think we won 5-0 !! I can remember the snow coming down at a right pace and the Wednesday fans giving Bob Latchford a hard time.

 

It was actually 6-1.

 

Sure it was John Toshack we had a go at; he was player-manager (played at centre half, I think) and he scored a terrific og. 

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The game we won 2-0 when Grobelaar passed it straight to Varadi and he passed it in the net from about 40 yards out was amazing. The sight of Wednesday fans going mental was something else. Like you say we won't ever see the likes of that again

Our generation was quite lucky, because most of us started out watching Wednesday in the third division with the likes of Hornsby, Mellor, Curran, Leman et al and ended up in first division with Waddle, Sheridan, Hirst. What a ride that was lol. Football has changed so much now with all the finances that in many ways you won't ever see those kind of era's again. Shame really.

Thanks for that mate :-)

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Just thinking how that era from Boxing Day to the promotion to Div 1 coincided with my secondary school years and how the fortunes turned. Going to Ecco Comp this was a Wednesday stronghold anyway, so the few Pig fans apart from their inherent social inadequacies and inbreeding had to contend with us being successful

I went to King Ecgbberts and they were all full of blades fans. There was only a few Wednesdayites and me and mate were the only one's in our class. We used to enjoy taking the wee wee out of them and it a way it's never changed since those day's apart from a short blip under Warnock.

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We beat Swansea 6-1. I went on the North. Nesh. :biggrin:

Show's how time makes you forget lol. At least i got the margin of victory right, by five goals. Yeah, that was some game and it felt like we would just score on every attack. I had a similar feeling that night we played Burnley in an F.A cup quarter final replay where we beat them 5-0 and were 3-0 up at half time.

 

I have to agree with everyone else, that this period of time was just so special to be a Wednesdayite, because you could almost taste the success that was to come. What made it extra special was the we were all just kids, young teenagers who had never seen a successful Wednesday side and had to listen to our Dad's go on about the top sides of the 1960's era.

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