Lily Hammer
3:08 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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I personally thought a Liverpool Chelsea draw would have been better than a Chelsea win, because we would have needed to beat Everton either way, 1-0 being enough. If Chelsea had won, 1-0 would have been enough for Everton, but a draw meant they would have had to beat us by loads of goals to win the league.
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tanman
3:06 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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I agree Swindon, they were a great team and would have been favorites at home. Lineker sealed his move to Barca that year with around 40 goals.
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swindon hammer
3:02 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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Even if Chelsea had held Liverpool in that game I’m not convinced we would have gone on to win at Everton as they were a very good side.
We lost all our away games that season to the “big 5” as they were known then.
In fact Chelsea were the only team that finished in the top ten that we won away at that season.
Lost at Liverpool, Everton, Man Utd, Spurs, Arsenal & Nottingham Forest. Drew at Luton & Sheffield Wed.
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Lily Hammer
2:55 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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I can count on one Homer Simpson hand the number of top flight seasons where we had a real belief we could win every game. It was pretty much an expectation that season, by the time our mojo was working.
I’ve never known a feeling quite like after the final whistle of the Ipswich game. I was in the South Bank and will never forget Parksie not being able to watch Tonka take the penalty. Then the roof came off. Magical night; magical season.
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only1billybonds
2:52 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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Yep, the Chelsea game was the killer. Only game i missed that season was the last one,away at Everton. Great season though.
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Manuel
2:26 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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The Chelsea home result is what ended it, was 1 up too.
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Northern Sold
2:24 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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Yeah 1-0 Dalglish volley IIRC at the Bridge...
... Chelsea done a proper number on us with that and the 1-2 result at home
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Mad Dog
1:09 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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Fifth. Beating Chelsea wasn't it?
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cholo
11:12 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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People cite the tough run-in and fixture congestion as the reason we didn't win the league, maybe they have a point but our terrible start played just as big a role. One win in our first seven. Win two of those drawn games and get a draw from a defeat and the title would've been ours?
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Fifth Column
10:41 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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I was 10 by the end of the season. The only time I've cried supporting West Ham, sitting on sofa watching grandstand as it came in that Liverpool had won the league - I think by beating Luton but I could be wrong.
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ludo21
1:22 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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Got to the last home game (Ipswich) late due to train breaking down. By the time I got to UP station there were hundreds of fans who had been turned away getting back on the tube.
Carried on to the ground and managed to get into the East Stand just before half time when a gate opened to let some firemen out... the steward let about 5/6 of us in. Great night, possibly only bettered by the final game in 2016.
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Syd Puddefoot
12:47 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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Went to almost all of the games home and away that season.
When you look back at the stats it seems incredible by today’s standards, even in Covid world.
Only 13 players started games apart from three with four starts between them and from the cup exit in March we played 16 games in 50 days from 15th March to 5th April. One match every 3.12 days! Won 11 lost 5, and I can still feel the pain of some of those defeats
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swindon hammer
12:42 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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It’s said about lack of investment meant we didn’t build on the 85/86 season but that was down to John Lyall and his loyalty to the players he had and his reluctance to spend money for the sake of it.
In reality that 85/86 season was a bit of a freak season. We had hardly any injuries and the likes of Parris, Orr, Pike & Dickens played above themselves while it was almost the last hurrah for the likes of Devonshire & Parkes.
We would have needed 5 more decent players to carry on challenging at the top.
There were funds available though and we did go on to spend that money in the second half of the 86/87 season. 1 million pounds (which was a lot of money in 1987) was spent on Stewart Robson, Liam Brady, Gary Strodder & Tommy McQueen.
Letting Paul Goddard leave was a big mistake as well.
Lyall had lost his touch a bit in the transfer market after the success of Macca & Wardy in 1985.
The likes of Strodder, McQueen, McKnght, Kelly were bad signings that resulted in relegation.
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Steady
12:15 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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First proper season I started going age 10, sure we started the season average too. Remember beating Newcastle 8-1, Villa 4-1, Chelsea away 4-0, last minute winner came Ipswich, Butcher punched a hole in the dressing room door. Coldest game ever, 18 games unbeaten and we lost 1-0 at Spurs on Boxing Day (Perryman), great days, award, Cottee, Macca, Alvin, my hero Devo
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AKA ERNIE
12:04 Fri Mar 5
Re: The year that we came third...
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Was at every game that season, away games were superb especially later in the season.
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WHU77
11:17 Thu Mar 4
Re: The year that we came third...
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I done the lot H & A and all the cups only ever time ...time of my life I was 19 !!! We should have won it
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New Jersey
11:16 Thu Mar 4
Re: The year that we came third...
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Fucking hell, this takes me back! Remember going to Forest for a night match towards the end of the season and we were still in with a shout. A bald Dutch guy, Jonny Metgod (something like that) scored an absolute screamer of a free kick for them, l remember Frank MacAvennie pulling one back but knew in my heart that was curtains for us!
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The Stoat
11:15 Thu Mar 4
Re: The year that we came third...
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Went to so many games that season and WBA away was a bloody annoying day thinking we had a chance and yet the wrong info came through and boy were we gutted to hear it on the terrace
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Iron Duke
11:01 Thu Mar 4
Re: The year that we came third...
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This was the first season I started going to matches. I was ten years old.
We were pretty lucky with injuries that season, but not so lucky with the weather.
Fans who weren’t around at the time wonder why we go on about finishing third, but the truth is we were gutted to miss out on winning the league that year. We’ve never come any where close before or since.
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Too Much Too Young
10:00 Thu Mar 4
Re: The year that we came third...
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And another reason to hate them murdering scouse cunts for senying us the prize of european football.
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ted fenton
8:20 Thu Mar 4
Re: The year that we came third...
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1985 we bought our shop in Clacton but still managed some home games.
Great season and at one time felt sure we were going to be champions.
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