1977-78

[String fellow]

3 hours ago, ceredigion said:

Excuse me Sir, I think the Grammar Police would like to ask you a few questions.

 

''Possibly only the Derby side were worse'' doesn't mean that there is a possibility that they were better. If it meant that, the word ''only'' would not be in the sentence. It means there is a possibility that they were the only team worse than us from 77/78. In other words, the worst top flight team was Derby of 06/07 and then there's close competition as to who is the 2nd worst and our 77/78 team is one of the contenders.

 

Amongst those contenders I would include Stoke City 84/85, Swindon 93/94, Burnley 09/10 and maybe even us again from 94/95. For a long while this season it looked like Sheffield United might make a bid for Derby's crown but they've shown a modicum of spirit lately.

 

For the record, in my opinion Derby County from 06/07 are the worst team ever to compete in the top flight, not just in the last fifty years but since the beginning of professional football, by a country mile. But if you were to ask me who's next I would have to say probably us from 77/78. If you're too young to remember it then thank your lucky stars.

I think that the Grammar Police might need to look at their own performance. There are several instances where commas are missing from the text.

Edited 23 March 2021 by String fellow

[ceredigion]

6 minutes ago, String fellow said:

I think that the Grammar Police might need to look at their own performance. There are several instances where commas are missing from the text.

Are there? Feel free to point out those instances then.

[HighPeakFox]

Just now, ceredigion said:

Are there? Feel free to point out those instances then.

Definitely eating popcorn here  

[String fellow]

3 minutes ago, ceredigion said:

Are there? Feel free to point out those instances then.

I would, if only I'd not just lost the will to live!

[ceredigion]

2 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

Definitely eating popcorn here  

Don't bother. Do you really think that Stringfellow, whoever he/she is, is really capable of identifying where commas do and do not belong in a sentence? You'll consume way too much popcorn than is good for you.

[ceredigion]

2 minutes ago, String fellow said:

I would, if only I'd not just lost the will to live!

Your location suggests Scraptoft. I used to know it quite well and was never overwhelmed by its human potential. Are you a Jeremy Corbyn supporter as well as an LCFC supporter?

[murphy]

Soooo... 1978.  Not only bad, but seemingly very dull.  Eight 0-0 draws.

 

So dull that we've already run out of things to say about it but it was the year that smallpox was finally eradicated and the year that Kate Bush first appeared caterwaulling Wuthering Heights, so y'know, not all bad.

[Dorkingfox]

Seems strange we did so bad as we had quite a good squad, it was that man Frank. Relegated with 22 points and bottom. Along with West ham and Newcastle. Grim

[ourla]

That was a grim season. I was 11/12 years old and went to most home games and the odd away game with my dad.

 

I remember the Forest home game vividly. We were so awful. Even at the early stage of the season I knew we were screwed.

 

 

[Dorkingfox]

One thing that was good 77/78 was music and very varied

 

[Crazy Kop Corner]

My first season as a 6 year old - Set me up for life it did - Everything in football and in life following that seasons been a bonus. 

[Stoopid]

When we signed Lammie Robertson. Frank Mac called him 'the Kevin Keegan of the 4th Division'. Remember puzzling over this. Played with my mind far more than it should have. But basically thought 'we're knackered'.

Also remember John Motson,  after our opening scoreless draw at Maine Rd,  saying that Leicester were going to be no-one's mugs this season. Hmm...

Nice away day at Hull in the Cup,  though. 

[1972 Fox]

5 minutes ago, Stoopid said:

When we signed Lammie Robertson. Frank Mac called him 'the Kevin Keegan of the 4th Division'. Remember puzzling over this. Played with my mind far more than it should have. But basically thought 'we're knackered'.

Also remember John Motson,  after our opening scoreless draw at Maine Rd,  saying that Leicester were going to be no-one's mugs this season. Hmm...

Nice away day at Hull in the Cup,  though. 

Not so good at Walsall in the following round though!

[Stoopid]

12 minutes ago, Blue Fox 72 said:

Not so good at Walsall in the following round though!

Yeah, thanks mate. Almost succeeded in expunging that from my mind.

Maybe I can rebook those therapy sessions when lockdown's over...

[Spudulike]

15 hours ago, ceredigion said:

A truly abysmal season it was. Under 3 points for a win we'd have finished on 27pts and that was a 42 game season, not 38 like today.  They were one of the worst top flight teams of the last 50 years.  Possibly only the Derby side of 2006/07 were worse. Knocked out in the first round of both cups too.

 

Looking at the players in that photo, although there were a few who were decent servants of the club in their day, they were all gone within a year of Jock Wallace taking over, with the exception of Mark Wallington.

 

And don't get me started on the players who were signed during the season as the season disintegrated at the speed of light. The likes of Roger Davies, Billy Hughes and Lammie Robertson were not what was required at the time. McLintock signed all his old mates from London to give them a final pay day. Only Eddie Kelly was remotely decent.

 

Hilariously, Frank was sacked with a game to go when we were already down so he didn't even finish the debacle. And we won that game too. Beat Newcastle 3-0 at Filbert Street, the best result of the season by far and one which continued Newcastle's proud record of always losing to the worst sides. And they got relegated themselves the next year.

How could anyone forget the FA Cup 3rd round away at Hull? Horrendous stadium but we took a massive crowd. Trouble outside when a large group of City fans decided to head into town pre-match and got stopped by Police. Truncheons drawn with the main road blocked. A police horse tried to bite my ear off. 

 

But we didn't lose. Super Geordie Armstrong scored the only goal of the game for us. Classic 70's away day. They don't make them like that anymore. 

[Stoopid]

16 minutes ago, Spudulike said:

How could anyone forget the FA Cup 3rd round away at Hull? Horrendous stadium but we took a massive crowd. Trouble outside when a large group of City fans decided to head into town pre-match and got stopped by Police. Truncheons drawn with the main road blocked. A police horse tried to bite my ear off. 

 

But we didn't lose. Super Geordie Armstrong scored the only goal of the game for us. Classic 70's away day. They don't make them like that anymore. 

Weird ground that. In a kind of Reggie Perrin suburbia, or the Hull equivalent anyway, rather than the inner-city terraced streets of most places then.

Remember a large group of lads from Loughborough who got into a bit of a crunch-up with the cops as well. 

Passed the team coach on the way back. Plenty of smiles and thumbs up for one of the very few occasions that season. 

[SkidsFox]

7 hours ago, Dorkingfox said:

One thing that was good 77/78 was music and very varied

 

Yep. I was going to write that from then until the late 80s a lot of things got worse, with the economy shrinking and the Thatcher government trying to destroy everyone's jobs. But the variety of music genres popping  up was amazing. And we were about to see the Spectrum/Commodore surge in home computers. So not all bad.

[reynard]

I recall going to the away game at Villa, one of our better days, and I'm sure we only took enough fans to fill the centre pen directly behind the goal. A really dire 0-0.

 

Terrible season. Wasn't it the lowest number of goals scored in a top flight season ever or the second lowest at the time?

Roger Davies was our record siging then as well wasn't he? 300K from Bruges. What a waste of money. One of our worst ever siginigs I'd say.

[Stoopid]

33 minutes ago, SkidsFox said:

Yep. I was going to write that from then until the late 80s a lot of things got worse, with the economy shrinking and the Thatcher government trying to destroy everyone's jobs. But the variety of music genres popping  up was amazing. And we were about to see the Spectrum/Commodore surge in home computers. So not all bad.

Also it was the time before the ubiquitous introduction of computers. Just. They were introduced to the place I was working at in 79. 

In other words probably the last time when personal freedom was something more than an abstract idea. 

At the risk of sounding like a deluded old git (I'm nothing if not that), I'm grateful to have been young when I was. 

[gerblod]

18 hours ago, hackneyfox said:

I was excited when he became manager but my dad said at tne time 'he walked out on us to further his career as a player, if he does well as manager he'll do the same'.

Well he certainly wasn't a success as a manger. I remember The Kop going crazy one week and bouncing around singing 'We've got a corner'. Truly awful times.

That particular City debacle serves to illustrate the folly of employing a bloke because he used to be a great player who used to play for your club!

My dad admired him no end when he played for us - although for some reason he pronounced his name as McLintosh (which is kind of appropriate for his time as our manager) but I was angry that he turned his back on City for the Gunners (I have rejection issues ).

 

The squad was well capable of doing a job but I suspect they were devoted to Bloomfield - it's doubly difficult to move into management and replace an admired predecessor - look what happened to Cloughie when he went to Leeds.

 

I think the clincher for me was his decision to stay living in the Smoke - to look after his 'business interests'. That showed a monumental lack of commitment from him and an amazing lack of wisdom from the board...or sheer laziness.

 

It's interesting that clubs keep on doing it - pushing player-heroes in at the deep end and expecting something good to happen - if you throw money his way. Lampard was the latest choice to be proven wrong. Just shows the kind of business acumen lacking in football. I would imagine that Rooney,W. will be back at United before too long. Funny old game.

[String fellow]

14 hours ago, ceredigion said:

Don't bother. Do you really think that Stringfellow, whoever he/she is, is really capable of identifying where commas do and do not belong in a sentence? You'll consume way too much popcorn than is good for you.

 

14 hours ago, ceredigion said:

Your location suggests Scraptoft. I used to know it quite well and was never overwhelmed by its human potential. Are you a Jeremy Corbyn supporter as well as an LCFC supporter?

Firstly, my username is 'String fellow'. There's a space after the sixth letter.

Secondly, I'm a male. There's a hefty clue in my username, which you seem to have overlooked.

Thirdly, I'm a proofreader for two separate publications, so please don't question my ability to position commas correctly within sentences.

Fourthly, the human potential within Scraptoft is perhaps superior to that of the sheep lovers (polite expression used here) of West Wales.

Finally, if you'd read any of my messages in the politics thread since I became an FTer, you'd know that I'm very definitely not a Jeremy Corbyn supporter.

 

Edited 24 March 2021 by String fellow

[demon_dog]

Fortunately I never saw this side play!

I stopped going to see the City in early 1976 when I got married and no longer came into the city at weekends.

Still followed their results though.

I remember the talk about how abysmal the city were!

[davieG]

I remember when he was 'rumoured' to be leaving us as a player there was plenty of renditions of the Hollies song "Oh wont you stay just a little bit longer". During his managerial reign Go Now by the Moody Blues would have been appropriate. 

[davieG]

4 minutes ago, demon_dog said:

Fortunately I never saw this side play!

I'm not sure anyone did. 

[HitchinFox]

I was born during the 77-78 season. My dad said not only was he always knackered at work during the week – due to having a a crying baby in the house – but he hated the weekends because he knew City would lose again. 

 

Contrast that with MY son, who was born in March 2015, just as we were about to set off for the "Great Escape" (and we all know what happened the following season). Oh, and he was a sound sleeper.

 

Sorry dad.