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New book on the Owls' Darkest Times 73-76


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On 24/01/2020 at 20:46, Calgary Owl said:

Lucky to get nowt was what I meant

That summed us up most weeks in those days.

 

Dire football, but what fantastic memories of following them all over the place!

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31 minutes ago, Utah Owl said:

That summed us up most weeks in those days.

 

Dire football, but what fantastic memories of following them all over the place!

Hello Utah. I reckon we knew when we left home just what was in store for us at the game. Sadly we weren't proved wrong very often but the togetherness in times of adversity was incredible. Awful grounds away...awful football....wouldn't have missed a minute of it for anything. A way of life mate.

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22 hours ago, S A Andy said:

The game we had to win or draw to avoid relegation to the 4th division. The relief and the aftermatch celebrations were amazing!! The following day was the 1st time I had ever taken a day off work, after hitting the " Crazy Daisy" disco.

Great night, but having been one of "the Few" at the Colchester game couldn't help but think "where have you lot been all bloody season?"

 

I swear half of the 26 k there that night had gone to watch us go down!

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20 hours ago, bigthinrob said:

If this is the game i'm thinking about, I got kicked out for something. (Might have been for having a pee against a wall, actually on the Wednesday end during the game) struggle to remember nowadays, but got thrown out by a copper. Found a turnstile still operating, paid to get back in again only for the game to be called off shortly after. 

 

Fairly typical away day out in those days.

 

:laugh:

If you had your trousers round your ankles I'd say you were Sammy!

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13 hours ago, Calgary Owl said:

Yep, 3-1 defeat, Kop took off when Tommo equalized in the 1st half. Colin Harvey played for Everton that night

It was Tommy Tynan, Craig left us 3 years before!

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6 hours ago, matt68owls said:

There was a sense of pride following Wednesday in the mid 70s, especially away from home. I recall us driving to Peterborough or lincoln, (can't remember which) and parking outside the train station. There was a bunch of 20/30 lads waiting for Wednesday to turn up, the ICO pulled in and hundreds jumped off the train, you have never seen a group of lads run away so quick in your life.

Similar thing happened to 4 of us...Went to Preston in a van, got there eally early..got out of the van and about 20 Preston fand immediately came at us from the ground across the road...We legged it into that park..over an hill and there were about 200 Wednesday having a game of what looked like 100 a side football...They immediately charged towards the Preston fans...So we had to about turn, cos we were halfway between...and The Wednesday lads must have thought we were the 4 slowest Preston fans...We were f.ookin' knackered...back up the hill, down the other side...At the top of the hill it must have looked like 4 Wednesday chasin' 20 Preston...then the mob came over...I sat down..thank f.ook for silk scarves wiv yer name on...

"We're Wednesday..We're Wednesday!!!"

Its laughable now...but its bloody terrifying at the time

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Worst afternoon I can remember was a miserable November or might have been December game in '73 against Oxford...Think we lost 0-1...bloody miserable drizzle..very sparse crowd and a miserable performance..The Kop looked shocking...just the Electric scoreboard fizzin' crap.

That was all we had going for us as a club...For ages it was the only ground with an electric scoreboard in the country!!!!

Truth told..the bloke who operated it couldn't f.ookin' spell and some of the bulbs had gone...

Hence 

THE   WLS

FRIMSBY

and one that said...

"Cheer on Willie *ENDER**N  and the laffs"

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37 minutes ago, asteener1867 said:

Worst afternoon I can remember was a miserable November or might have been December game in '73 against Oxford...Think we lost 0-1...bloody miserable drizzle..very sparse crowd and a miserable performance..The Kop looked shocking...just the Electric scoreboard fizzin' crap.

That was all we had going for us as a club...For ages it was the only ground with an electric scoreboard in the country!!!!

Truth told..the bloke who operated it couldn't f.ookin' spell and some of the bulbs had gone...

Hence 

THE   WLS

FRIMSBY

and one that said...

"Cheer on Willie *ENDER**N  and the laffs"

The picture is of the Oxford game, November 1973. There were attempts to organise a boycott and the attendance therefore fell below 8000.

EEBUCUGXkAcrEUp.jpeg

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5 minutes ago, Inspector Lestrade said:

 

 

26 tho?  No chance I've talked to 70000 who were definitely there   

26'000 was a pretty decent crowd for the 3rd tier in those days....especially when the team was so f.ookin' abysmal...

theres probably only us, Villa and City that have gone so long from the big time and sustained crowds that approach that..Pompey do well to say what they have been through also.

I dunno what Villa and Citys away following was like during those times...but the percentage of fans Wednesday took was remarkable...I can remember being stood on the Kop watching Villa fans run around the pitch when they brought a great following, but they were virtually up and out of it by then.

Even then  tho'..you sorta knew Wednesday would be back, football was financed by crowds, and Wednesday although having some very poor gates...If owt like a disaster or a triumph was looming, the numbers tipped up...These day ..totally different kettle of fish...but the away fans hang on to the tradition

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4 minutes ago, Bearwood Owl1 said:

The picture is of the Oxford game, November 1973. There were attempts to organise a boycott and the attendance therefore fell below 8000.

EEBUCUGXkAcrEUp.jpeg

Actually mate...that looks better than I recall it lol

I honestly don't remember a thing about the Boycott 

Edited by asteener1867
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2 minutes ago, asteener1867 said:

26'000 was a pretty decent crowd for the 3rd tier in those days....especially when the team was so f.ookin' abysmal...

theres probably only us, Villa and City that have gone so long from the big time and sustained crowds that approach that..Pompey do well to say what they have been through also.

I dunno what Villa and Citys away following was like during those times...but the percentage of fans Wednesday took was remarkable...I can remember being stood on the Kop watching Villa fans run around the pitch when they brought a great following, but they were virtually up and out of it by then.

Even then  tho'..you sorta knew Wednesday would be back, football was financed by crowds, and Wednesday although having some very poor gates...If owt like a disaster or a triumph was looming, the numbers tipped up...These day ..totally different kettle of fish...but the away fans hang on to the tradition

 

I know I was there 

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3 minutes ago, Inspector Lestrade said:

 

I know I was there 

OK steady on Police inspector lol

I wonder though if todays fans in 50 years time will look back on todays teams with the same sorta nostalgia...

"Remember the Chansiri years"

"Oh aye...bloody loved it...whats he doing now?"

"Got a fish stall on the market...Rhodes is a filleter.......................

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1 minute ago, asteener1867 said:

OK steady on Police inspector lol

I wonder though if todays fans in 50 years time will look back on todays teams with the same sorta nostalgia...

"Remember the Chansiri years"

"Oh aye...bloody loved it...whats he doing now?"

"Got a fish stall on the market...Rhodes is a filleter.......................

 

Of course they will, nothing changes.  Rose tinted specs, things were better back then, kids aren't kids any more, the older generation said it about us, we say it about the young uns, and they will say it in years to come.  

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Just now, Inspector Lestrade said:

 

Of course they will, nothing changes.  Rose tinted specs, things were better back then, kids aren't kids any more, the older generation said it about us, we say it about the young uns, and they will say it in years to come.  

Aye probably...Hope they don't remember it as their "Glory" years lol

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36 minutes ago, asteener1867 said:

Actually mate...that looks better than I recall it lol

I honestly don't remember a thing about the Boycott 

Some letters in the local press, and leaflets distributed outside previous games. All with a 'sack the board' theme.

 

Not sure how much impact they had, or whether it was that Dooley's team were really struggling by this stage.

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Loving this nostalgia topic. Loved football in the seventies, you knew most players from most of the teams in the top division, household names Bell, Astle, Hunter, Sumerbee, Keegan Best etc. None of your Abangnyans or Xavier's or some other overpaid foreigners then.

 

Muddy pitches played on by honest hard men, not today's atheletes with a lightweight ball, who's sole aim is to con the ref into giving a penalty or free kick.

 

Loved going away every other week. Never planned most of the trips, just got up Saturday morning, jumped in car or train and paid on the gate.

Fealt like a conquering army rolling into town at the Shrewsburys, Oxfords, Orients Grimsbys etc. 

 

The football violence was a weekly regular feature of the game, no wonder the old blokes at the time wanted to bring back National Service.

 

Some great memories from forty to fifty years ago that will live with me to the grave.

Edited by marconi
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7 minutes ago, marconi said:

Loving this nostalgia topic. Loved football in the seventies, you knew most players from most of the teams in the top division, household names Bell, Astle, Hunter, Sumerbee, Keegan Best etc. None of your Abangnyans or Xavier's or some other overpaid foreigners then.

 

Muddy pitches played on by honest hard men, not today's atheletes with a lightweight ball, who's sole aim is to con the ref into giving a penalty or free kick.

 

Loved going away every other week. Never planned most of the trips, just got up Saturday morning, jumped in car or train and paid on the gate.

Fealt like a conquering army rolling into town at the Shrewsburys, Oxfords, Orients Grimsbys etc. 

 

The football all violence was a weekly regular feature of the game, no wonder the old blokes at the time wanted to bring back National Service.

 

Some great memories from forty to fifty years ago that will live with me to the grave.

The football hooliganism/violence bit gets a section to itself. Very different times for that 

 

One theme of the book is that football was the same but different back then. 1000s of Owls travelling away? Same. Able to decide on the day and pay on the gate? Different! 

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Wasn't always violence...Remember Norwich away when I was about 13, and me two uncles and ytheir mates had left us to stay in the pub..We wandered over to the ground...It was a really hot day, so probably early in the season...(I can't for the life of me remember dates...must have been early 70's)...We went in..The Kop...that was split in those days at Carrow Rd..with a big grass bank behind it...We were the only two Owls sat on the grass banking...most were on the terrace or in the pub...and an old (To us) Norwich couple passed us a coke and a bag of crisps through the railings that seperated the steps up....always liked Norwich since then...

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