Dean Smith's First Miracle

[kushiro]

What a wonderful blast of fresh air Dean Smith and co have blown through the club in the last few days.

 

And if Dean wants to convince his players that anything is possible this Saturday, he could do worse than telling them a story from the start of his own career.

 

He's had thirty five years of ups and downs as a player and a manager, but the most remarkable tale in all that time was right at the beginning - on Page One of the Dean Smith Story.

 

The form book says that Leicester getting a result at Man City this weekend is well nigh impossible.  But when Walsall traveled to Sunderland on February 11th 1989, their prospects were even gloomier.

 

Let's set the context by starting the tale a week earlier, on February 4th. Walsall had lost 14 games in a row in the old Division Two, and were hopelessly adrift at the bottom. Their next game was at home to promotion-chasing Chelsea. Could they stop the rot and pull off a shock victory? No - things just got worse. They lost 7-0 - the biggest home defeat in the club's history, with Gordon Durie scoring five.

 

So that was 15 League defeats in a row.

 

You can see the sordid details here, with a couple of Cup exits in the middle of the sequence:

 

 

 

You'll notice that the fourth game of that run was a 1-0 defeat to David Pleat's Leicester City, a Mike Newell goal giving us victory in a game when, according to Bill Anderson in the Mercury, Steve Walsh was 'magnificent' in defence.

 

What could Walsall possibly do to stop the rot? Was there someone waiting in the wings who could inject a bit of hope into this doomed club?

 

After Chelsea, Walsall's next game was another toughie - away to Sunderland, and as they boarded the coach on Friday for the long trip north, there was a new face in the party. Manager John Barnwell decided to add 17 year old YTS trainee Dean Smith to the squad. 

 

On Saturday morning, veteran centre half Peter Hart got the bad news - he was dropped, and Smith was told to prepare for his debut. Being on a YTS contract, that preparation was a little different to the other players. He was sent to Roker Park early and had to lay out all the kits in the dressing room ready for his teammates.

 

Like Chelsea, Sunderland were chasing promotion, and the visit of the hapless Saddlers surely presented an opportunity not just of an easy three points but also a chance to massively boost their goal difference. Their boss, called Denis Smith,  was warning the fans not to be complacent. 'Don't expect us to score seven in the first ten minutes' he said.

 

At five to three, Walsall ran out to greet the 24 fans standing in the away end. According to the match report, keeper Fred Barber 'was wearing a rubber comic mask, showing he had not lost his sense of humour after the Chelsea game'.  

 

Dean Smith wasn't laughing, though. He had a job to do - and it quickly became apparent just how good he was at doing it. Never mind seven in the first ten minutes, the home side were struggling to create any chances at all. Smith 'made several cool interceptions' and  'a key sliding tackle on Colin Pascoe'. 

 

Then the unthinkable happened - Stuart Rimmer put Walsall ahead. 

 

With the home fans getting more and more frustrated, Smith was 'making several clearances, looking confident'.

 

Then in the second half Rimmer added a second, and then a third, and the home fans streamed out of the ground in disgust and disbelief. Those 24 away fans were no doubt conga-ing up and down the Roker Park terraces.

 

Sunderland 0 Walsall 3 - a result so sensational that it pushed the Big Four - Aston Villa, Birmingham City, West Brom and Wolves - off the top of the Sports Argus front page that Saturday night:

 

 

Perhaps, as Dean Smith is telling this tale to the Leicester squad, he'll ask a colleague to chip in with his own recollections.

 

Smith was wearing the number six shirt that day, and at number four was a 24 year old called Craig Shakespeare. He was a highly-rated midfielder who'd spent eight years at Fellows Park but was now looking to leave the troubled Saddlers. Boss John Barnwell has had talks with Shakespeare, said the Walsall Observer that week, following reports of interest from Norwich City, Leicester City and West Brom.

 

It's unclear just how close David Pleat came to signing him, but he ended up joining Sheffield Wednesday in the close season.

 

Dean Smith's introduction to the Walsall team led to a sharp upturn in fortunes - they were too far adrift to avoid the drop, but they salvaged a lot of pride in the remaining games, which included a famous 3-3 draw with yet another promotion contender - Manchester City. 

 

You can see brief highlights of that game below - a clip which is fascinating for several reasons. 

 

First, it was the very peak of the inflatable craze, and at 2.15 in the video as City go 3-2 up you can see just how many bananas there are in the away end (this was just three weeks before the Hillsborough tragedy changed the mood and put an end to inflatable-driven frivolity).

 

You can also see just how Dean Smith got his nickname. His Walsall teammates called him 'Goughie', after the Rangers defender Richard Gough. At 1.55 in the clip, after Man City equalise, you can see him walking away from the goal looking the absolute spitting image of the Scot.

 

You'll also notice Gerry Taggart making one of his very few Manchester City appearances (alongside teammate David Oldfield)

 

 

3-3 v Man City. That'll do on Saturday. 

 

But don't imagine Dean Smith isn't thinking something even better is possible.

Edited 14 April 2023 by kushiro

[Heskey2011]

When Shakey made an appearance  "fvcknoff no way!!!"

[CloudFox]

This is awesome @kushiro, great work! Did not expect Shakey to pop up there at all!

[David Hankey]

He'll need 8 miracles to be accurate.

[filbertway]

I enjoy these historical posts a lot

 

[KingsX]

You are the Barbara Tuchman of football.  Write a book!

[Guest Mee-9]

The first miracle at LCFC - Getting Tielemans smiling again before his breakfast Croissant. 

[fazzyfox]

Interesting article but when I saw the thread title I thought it was going to be footage of Vestergaard sprinting

[Lionator]

41 minutes ago, David Hankey said:

He'll need 8 miracles to be accurate.

No he needs 3 or 4 max.

[sishades]

I was at that Wallsall game.Fellows park was a dump.

[kushiro]

5 hours ago, sishades said:

I was at that Wallsall game.Fellows park was a dump.

 

Bill Anderson agreed with you. Here's his report:

 

[Guy]

I well remember Shakey playing in that newly promoted 1988-89 Walsall team like it was never 34 years ago, while Dean Smith was a rookie at the time of course! Re other prominent club connections then a certain David Kelly was firing on all cycliders the season before for the Saddlers before West Ham snapped him up! 

Edited 14 April 2023 by Guy

[kushiro]

9 hours ago, Guy said:

I well remember Shakey playing in that newly promoted 1988-89 Walsall team like it was never 34 years ago, while Dean Smith was a rookie at the time of course! Re other prominent club connections then a certain David Kelly was firing on all cycliders the season before for the Saddlers before West Ham snapped him up! 

Yeah - I remember thinking Kelly was the bees knees that year. There's a great clip of a goal v Notts County in the play-off SF here - the reporter thinks it was accidental but I'm not so sure. Look out for Craig Shakespeare's fine goal too! 

 

 

Peter Hart, the 'committed Christian who was reluctant to play on Sunday', was the player mentioned above - dropped to give Dean Smith his debut at Roker Park.

[Guy]

2 hours ago, kushiro said:

Yeah - I remember thinking Kelly was the bees knees that year. There's a great clip of a goal v Notts County in the play-off SF here - the reporter thinks it was accidental but I'm not so sure. Look out for Craig Shakespeare's fine goal too! 

 

 

Peter Hart, the 'committed Christian who was reluctant to play on Sunday', was the player mentioned above - dropped to give Dean Smith his debut at Roker Park.

Cheeky flick, one of those he could've meant but hard to tell! Good intentional goal from Shakey though! The old look Meadow Lane before it became all seater. I preferred the old terraces by far and rthe atmosphere they generated. Shame about Hillsborough.

[weller54]

I'm sure I heard him say in his media presentation today...

Blessed are the Cheesemakers?