Grimsby 1 - 5 West Ham (1981) - did anyone go?

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Didn't Northampton go from Division 4 to the top flight and then back again in consecutive seasons?

I am not certain of it but in my mind I see a blond centre forward (was it Frank Large) scoring all the goals. At least he did on the Anglian TV highlights!

They had a meteoric rise but it was 3 promotions (4th Div to 1st) in 5 seasons and i think 3 relegations in 4 years coming back down.

Frank Large mostly played for them when they were back down in the 4th tier in the early 70;s although he did feature earlier in their rise before being transfered on Leicester?

I went to that West Ham game - I was 14 at the time, standing in the Constitutional Avenue open corner.  My first town game was the season when we were in Div 4 under John Newman (Port Vale at home, 1-0 from a late Tony Ford goal) and my second game was the first game under George Kerr when we beat Exeter 4-1 on the first day of the following season.  I didn't get to every game but i saw a half a dozen or so each season and for a few years I had never seen Town lose.  Those seasons under Kerr and Dave Booth were as good as anything Alan Buckley served up.

I seem to remember that West Ham game was maybe half a dozen games before the end of the season.  Before the game, Town were on the fringes of the promotion places with a genuine chance of going up to old Div 1.   That game was the first time I experienced real disappointment as a Town fan.  We were outclassed and got hammered and from there our chances of promotion fell away.  

These days I look back on that game as one of the high points of my nearly 40 years supporting Town because it was a time when we were playing teams like West Ham with genuine stars in the team and we were battling with a real chance of top flight football.  Its nice to beat Alfreton 7-0 but I'd rather be losing 1-5 to West Ham.

Quoted from mimma

If that was when the return game was on MOD, then I was also at that game.

We went on the train, then underground. Very scary! All the West Ham skinheads around the ground before & after.

We were loosing 2-0 with seconds to go, so we left to get away, John Stone scored in injury time, but we missed it, & didn't get home in time to see it on MOD.

Going to away games then you were taking a huge risk at places like Upton Park.

I remember an away game against Millwall about 15-20 years ago when we went 1-0 up and then being quite relieved that we went on to lose the game!!

Quoted from chaos33

I was there - in the Constitutional corner. I was only 8 at the time and remember being very upset at the score.

Me too - I was 14 - I used to love that corner - seemed to be mainly miserable middle-aged and older men - some great banter to overhear as a young lad.

Quoted from LondonMariner43

Me too - I was 14 - I used to love that corner - seemed to be mainly miserable middle-aged and older men - some great banter to overhear as a young lad.

That was where the Nunsthorpe teachers used to go. No wonder they seemed miserable!

Some of the football in the Kerr/Booth times was quite sublime and Waters was inspirational. Dave Booth is not a manger who springs readily to mind but he was knowledgable, tactically aware and tough with players when needed. He was also willing to listen. Chris Nicholl and Kev Moore were also very bright. Nicholl was one of the first to get into computers. If you think of Ford, Drinkell and Wymark in the same forward line with Wilkinson & Lund waiting for a chance, it takes some beating. I was one of the few who liked Bobby Mitchell. He was the one that kept the side ticking over. But just look at the choice of players he had to pass to.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Didn't Northampton go from Division 4 to the top flight and then back again in consecutive seasons?

I am not certain of it but in my mind I see a blond centre forward (was it Frank Large) scoring all the goals. At least he did on the Anglian TV highlights!

As Big Chris said, it was nearly but not quite. On the way up they spent 2 season in both Division 3 and Division 2 and coming down again spent 2 seasons in Division 3.

Quoted from LondonMariner43

I remember an away game against Millwall about 15-20 years ago when we went 1-0 up and then being quite relieved that we went on to lose the game!!

I remember going to an FA Cup tie at Millwall in the early 80s. The game had been postponed on the Saturday but was deemed playable on the Monday. We went in a mini-bus with Ready Rent a Van written on the side. Millwall scored first which seemed to galvanise Town-to the extent that they scored six! After the third went in we were praying we wouldn't score anymore. We went back to the bus in singles after the game and left about 10 p.m. Two hours later we were still in S.E. London on a petrol station forcourt because nobody could work out how to get the petrol cap off. We had to call the AA. Got home at 5:30

Quoted from barralad

I remember going to an FA Cup tie at Millwall in the early 80s. The game had been postponed on the Saturday but was deemed playable on the Monday. We went in a mini-bus with Ready Rent a Van written on the side. Millwall scored first which seemed to galvanise Town-to the extent that they scored six! After the third went in we were praying we wouldn't score anymore. We went back to the bus in singles after the game and left about 10 p.m. Two hours later we were still in S.E. London on a petrol station forcourt because nobody could work out how to get the petrol cap off. We had to call the AA. Got home at 5:30

That's a grammar school education for you!

Quoted from TheRonRaffertyFanClub

I was one of the few who liked Bobby Mitchell. He was the one that kept the side ticking over. But just look at the choice of players he had to pass to.

Bobby Mitchell is one of those players in a long line of town midfielders who did the simple, no nonsense stuff and got slated by the fans, often while their more forward playing partner got the glory.  Its a rare Town team that has 2 or 3 midfielders loved by the fans....this side could be one of them.

Quoted from LondonMariner43

Bobby Mitchell is one of those players in a long line of town midfielders who did the simple, no nonsense stuff and got slated by the fans, often while their more forward playing partner got the glory.  Its a rare Town team that has 2 or 3 midfielders loved by the fans....this side could be one of them.

That's true. It was rare. I remember a midfield pairing that was equally appreciated by the crowd was Ron Foster and Bobby Ross. Lew Chatterley and Dave Boylen was another, Shaun Cunnington and John Cockerill, but then I'm struggling.