first city game

[boots60]

I discovered football a bit later than most. 10 years old!

The 1970 World cup finals, transmitting delayed coverage to our Black & White telly got me hooked & out of a sense of pure glory I started supporting Brazil. 

After the finals had finished I consistently pestered my Dad to take me to watch Brazil play.

This was to my dismay a non starter as my Dad kindly explained that the Austin 1100 would struggle to make Skegness let alone Rio De Janierio. 

So it came to pass that in November of that year I was taken to Filbert Street to see Leicester v Swindon.

Like the kid out of Fever Pitch I was totally overwhelmed by the whole occasion.

 The climb to the double decker, the odour of hot dogs & bovril & me & my Dad chatting to friendly strangers it was a massiver eye opener into the real world for me. The football, from the bit I can remember was a whole lot better than the odd bit you saw on the box now & again.

So, that was that, after a 3-1 victory to City I changed my allegiance from Brazil to Leicester City & have spent the best part of 5 decades on the LCFC rollercoaster ride we all know & love.

PS I still like Brazil though!

 

 

 

[fuchsntf]

48 minutes ago, Stoopid said:

Yeah - remember roaring in the back yard after the Final. Unconsolable. Convinced we were gonna win it...

Agree about Law. Scored a cracking overhead in the 4-3 as I recall. Though Jimmy Greaves has to be the best goal-scorer I've seen. Remember him destroying us at White Hart Lane a year or two after - one of the first away games I ever went to. Made Harry Kane look like Roger Davies!

No doubt about Jimmy,and also a favourite to put down in the same sentence as Dennis,plus he was English...

gutted when Ramsey,left Greaves out of the WCup final ,but hey-no 2hrs later who cared....Tho' I was very sad for him missing out...!!

[SixtiesFox]

Arsenal v Leicester City, 23 January 1965

Score	4-3 to Arsenal
Competition	League Division One
Venue	Highbury
Attendance	31,063

View Arsenal v Leicester City head to head

4Arsenal

3Leicester City

Goals:

George Armstrong
Joe Baker
Joe Baker
George Eastham

Goals:

Colin Appleton	penalty
Billy McDerment
Mike Stringfellow

Starting lineup:

GoalkeeperTony Burns

DefenderDon Howe

Defender/MidfielderFrank McLintock

Full backFreddie Clarke

Centre halfIan Ure

MidfielderGeorge Armstrong

MidfielderDavid Court

Centre forwardJoe Baker

ForwardJohn Radford

WingerAlan Skirton

Inside forwardGeorge Eastham

Starting lineup:

GoalkeeperGordon Banks

Right backLen Chalmers

DefenderJohn Sjoberg

Central defenderGraham Cross

Left backRichie Norman

MidfielderBobby Roberts

Wing halfColin Appleton

Wing halfBilly McDerment

Outside LeftMike Stringfellow

ForwardJimmy Goodfellow

Inside forwardDave Gibson

My first away game. Train to London with my dad and grandad. Mum stayed up late the night before to finish knitting my blue and white scarf. Armed with my 'rattle' (remember them?) I made quite a bloody racket. No segregation in those days, just friendly banter. What a game! What a day out! Supporting City is in the blood. My son, although born and living in Canada, is also an ardent Leicester fan. He used to get ribbed at school by the 'fans' of Europe's elite clubs for wearing his Leicester shirts. How the tables turned in 2016! 

Edited 9 February 2019 by SixtiesFox
Formatting

[copunk]

Midweek game against middlesborough in the 98-99 season, got beat 1-0 and gazza got the winner, was sat in the kop with my dad and can remember coins being thrown into our end and vise verca into the away end, went into school the next day with my programme and remember most of the lads giving it the old "what do you support them for, they're s**t" and I got really defensive of us, even though at the time didn't know alot about us, from then I knew there was only one team for me 

[Stoopid]

On 8 February 2019 at 20:17, fuchsntf said:

No doubt about Jimmy,and also a favourite to put down in the same sentence as Dennis,plus he was English...

gutted when Ramsey,left Greaves out of the WCup final ,but hey-no 2hrs later who cared....Tho' I was very sad for him missing out...!!

As you say, turned out the correct decision I suppose. Massive blow for him though. Always remember him in his suit on the pitch after, trying to look happy, but basically devastated. Sure it contributed to his booze problems later.

Even at the age of 11 and buzzing from the win, it was tough to watch for me.

[oxtonfox]

On 07/02/2019 at 18:14, Smudge said:

I remember this game very well, it was the first time I met up with Mrs Smudge. Pictures at the ABC in the evening and 56 years later we are still follow the city every week on TV and at the ground when there. She saw both Man City games at Christmas, I saw one ...........plastic !!

some brilliant players in both teams and what an attendance 

[Lincolnfox]

My first game was Oxford at home in the 88 - 89 season, my mate dragged me down to Filbert Street (best thing he ever did as a mate), Gary Mac bagged one and we went on to win 1-0... what a player he was. I was hooked from that day really.

[ROB-THE-BLUE]

My first game was City v Swindon, 18th January 1992. We won 3-1, Tommy Wright got 2 and I think Paul Fitzpatrick got the other. 

[fuchsntf]

2 hours ago, Stoopid said:

As you say, turned out the correct decision I suppose. Massive blow for him though. Always remember him in his suit on the pitch after, trying to look happy, but basically devastated. Sure it contributed to his booze problems later.

Even at the age of 11 and buzzing from the win, it was tough to watch for me.

We must be about the same age....I turn 65 next month,preparing for official retirement!!!

Ahh the kids of today..ain't seen nuffin.....At least we got a Wcup behind us!!!

Mind you to be fair...rather great if not better seeing ones own mousey home-club win the title..!!

[Stoopid]

6 hours ago, fuchsntf said:

We must be about the same age....I turn 65 next month,preparing for official retirement!!!

Ahh the kids of today..ain't seen nuffin.....At least we got a Wcup behind us!!!

Mind you to be fair...rather great if not better seeing ones own mousey home-club win the title..!!

Yeah - same age, a few months in it. Think I felt more of a buzz winning the World Cup than the Prem. Something to do with still being a kid for the former I guess. Bit too gnarled and fecked over by life to feel quite the same euphoria for the latter, incredible as it was...

[Stoopid]

7 hours ago, fuchsntf said:

We must be about the same age....I turn 65 next month,preparing for official retirement!!!

Ahh the kids of today..ain't seen nuffin.....At least we got a Wcup behind us!!!

Mind you to be fair...rather great if not better seeing ones own mousey home-club win the title..!!

BTW - got a feeling official retirement starts at 66 these days.

[smitha]

The first I can remember was Orient away last game of the season 1979-80 when Larry May scored and we won the old second division. 10,000 plus city fans and total mayhem at final whistle. Went before this but just a blur as no phones, social media or SSN to repeat it 100's of times

[fuchsntf]

1 hour ago, Stoopid said:

BTW - got a feeling official retirement starts at 66 these days.

Yes it does....I am in the 65 + 9 months bracket. So end of the year...

Mind you ,I have been in early retirement for 5 years...Company-offer..!

 

 

[Stoopid]

3 minutes ago, fuchsntf said:

Yes it does....I am in the 65 + 9 months bracket. So end of the year...

Mind you ,I have been in early retirement for 5 years...Company-offer..!

 

 

Yeah know what you mean. I retired years ago. 

No company offer, though. Just got sick of fekkin working!

[fuchsntf]

1 minute ago, Stoopid said:

Yeah know what you mean. I retired years ago. 

No company offer, though. Just got sick of fekkin working!

Why not...I dropped out a couple of times,and went a travelling. gap-years without being a student..

Also with kids..

[Stoopid]

23 minutes ago, fuchsntf said:

Why not...I dropped out a couple of times,and went a travelling. gap-years without being a student..

Also with kids..

To be honest my whole life's been a kind of gap year.

Probably an effect of growing up in the 60s/70s, but I could never take that straight white-bread kind of life too seriously.

[fuchsntf]

Just now, Stoopid said:

To be honest my whole life's been a kind of gap year.

Probably an effect of growing up in the 60s/70s, but I could never take that straight white-bread kind of life too seriously.

Ditto.....

Tho' I found myself dipping into the everyman soup,to earn some pennies....!

[coolhandfox]

24 August 1991

Plymouth Argyle

H

2–0

11,852

Gibson, Kitson

 

14 years old, listen to the great escape against Oxford on the radio, last game of the 90/91 season with my day, hooked since that day. 

Edited 10 February 2019 by coolhandfox

[HybridFox]

Can't remember the game vividly as I was only about 4 years old. But I have flashes of Filbert Street against Man United. It would have been the 1998/99 or 1999/2000 season.

Edited 10 February 2019 by TK95

[Stoopid]

18 minutes ago, fuchsntf said:

Ditto.....

Tho' I found myself dipping into the everyman soup,to earn some pennies....!

Me too, though I've always been kind of crap at it. Always ended up peeing off the wrong people - adroitly swerving any chance of emotional or financial security.

Being a Catholic & a lazy bastard, that whole Protestant work-ethic thing was a bit of a non-starter for me.

[Blueman1967]

1976 V OPR in east stand night game, lost 1 - 0, they score in about the third minute

[lcfcbluearmy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/4565028.stm

Against Tottenham in the fa cup where somehow Mark de Vries and Elvis Hammond scored

[urban fox]

Reading some of the accounts here has certainly brought back a few memories of some of the games mentioned, both good and bad high and low.

[Post Horn Galloper]

October 1952 -l was just seven and saw City beat Plymouth 2-0 with goals from Derek Hines and Arthur Rowley. In a later game I saw Hines put five past Lincoln in a 9-2 victory. Arthur Rowley went on to become the top scorer ever in British football history. He is virtually forgotten now but he scored most of his goals at City. All he ever got at international level was an England B cap. A crying shame for a player who deserves a statue in his honour.

 

[BoyJones]

Match 63 v Tottenham Hotspur FC. Think we were 1st / 2nd, they were third. 2-2 draw.

 

But what always sticks in my mind as a 10 year old was Jimmy Greaves drilling a shot into the Kop goal after 45 minutes and two seconds. The referee disallowed it as he had blown for half time, and turned towards the tunnel, just as my all time hero got his shot away.

 

BUT none of the Spurs players argued, they just walked off. Can you see that happening today with our current batch of players. 

 

Apart from the incredible 2015/16 season, the 60's was a great time to support the City. I loved the 40000+ crowds, particularly cup replays. The atmosphere, in 50 years, has never matched the 1968 replay against Man City, grown men and boys crying.

 

I know you youngsters will say an old fart remembering, but there have never been any nights like those days, except maybe the Seville game which was very special. Unfortunately new stadium can never replicate the raw emotions generated by a packed night at Filbert Street. Old age is a bitch, but I am glad I was around in the 60's / 70's.