Best opposition we've faced

So...out of all the sides that Town have faced have we played one better than the one Chelsea put out on Wednesday night?

Admittedly I didn't see us play Everton or Liverpool in the 80s but I think Chelsea fielded a side that was stronger than the one that played against us in the 1995/96 season.

I also think it was stronger than the two Liverpool sides we faced in the late 90s and early noughties - and those of Spurs in 93 and 05.

Who do you think the best opposition has been?

Liverpool in 1980 were good. I have to say comparisons with modern teams are difficult but I thought Chelsea looked better on Wednesday. Hudson-Odoi looked so good, his control and change of pace were breath taking.

Liverpool January 1980.5-0.
Ray Clemence
Phil Neal
Alan Kennedy      
Phil Thompson      
Ray Kennedy      
Alan Hansen      
Kenny Dalglish      
Jimmy Case      
David Johnson      
Terry McDermott      
Graeme Souness      

Nigel Batch
John Stone
David Moore
Joe Waters
Clive Wiggington
Dean Crombie
Mike Brolly
Kevin Kilmore
Kevin Drinkell
Bobby Mitchell
Bobby Cumming

Attemdence 49706.
8000 away fans.. not sure??

Lincoln when Cowley was in charge  

Seriously though the Liverpool team we played in 1980 for me.

Personally feel the Chelsea team was best team we've faced since the Everton game mid 80's.. tho the Liverpool team above was even better..

Quoted from Teesknees

Liverpool January 1980.5-0.
Ray Clemence
Phil Neal
Alan Kennedy      
Phil Thompson      
Ray Kennedy      
Alan Hansen      
Kenny Dalglish      
Jimmy Case      
David Johnson      
Terry McDermott      
Graeme Souness      

Nigel Batch
John Stone
David Moore
Joe Waters
Clive Wiggington
Dean Crombie
Mike Brolly
Kevin Kilmore
Kevin Drinkell
Bobby Mitchell
Bobby Cumming

Attemdence 49706.
8000 away fans.. not sure??

Have to correct you there, 16,000 Town fans maybe more. I was sat against the top that day and clearly heard Mariners coming from Town fans on the kop. A lot of them were given a less than friendly welcome from the scoucers.

I was told by a police officer that they were expecting around 10000 Town fans but more like 25000 turned up.
We filled the away stand and other areas of the ground, even part of the Kop had Town fans. Also thought Tony Ford played.

Quoted from 140067

Also thought Tony Ford played.

Fordy came on for Kev Kilmore on 60 mins, had to Google it as I couldn't remember but I was at Anfield that day.

Quoted from mimma

Have to correct you there, 16,000 Town fans maybe more. I was sat against the top that day and clearly heard Mariners coming from Town fans on the kop. A lot of them were given a less than friendly welcome from the scoucers.

You might be right , I was there, but didnt count people, it's too long ago to rememeber much about it. I got the 8000 from some web site .. not this one.. and as someone else said 24000 was another figure quoted!

That Liverpool team were all internationals, and had won the European Cup in the last couple of years, maybe eventually the Chelsea team will be as successful but at the moment it has to be Liverpool.

I’m sure 15000 was quoted at the time.

Quoted from 140067

Liverpool in 1980 were good. I have to say comparisons with modern teams are difficult but I thought Chelsea looked better on Wednesday. Hudson-Odoi looked so good, his control and change of pace were breath taking.

Not a Liverpool fan by any means but they were exceptional that day in 1980. Kenny (Dogfish) Dalglish was brilliant. Such quick feet. Remember we had a far superior side then and the game came only a month after we'd taken Wolves to 3 games...

Difficult to say because the game is so completely different. I think it has to be Liverpool 80 because they were the best team in the country and they played a full strength team against us. Having said that the current Chelsea team would probably beat that Liverpool team because sports science has moved on - fitness and athleticism are way ahead of 1980 and, perhaps more importantly, the interpretation of the laws has moved on. Bobby Cumming would get sent off most weeks now and probably the likes of Souness as well. Also the pitches - when we beat Everton at Goodison it was pissing down, the pitch wasn't a mud heap but it certainly cut up and was less than perfect - loads of divots. There were more levellers then, now the main (only?) leveller is the Premiership clubs not taking the cups seriously and playing kids. Chelsea didn't do that with the inevitable result.

You have to take account of the quality of the Town side as well. I know it is a long time ago but we played Leicester at home in the League Cup in 1964 with a good side including Tees, George McLean, Brian Clifton, Brian Hill ...... and they simply brushed us aside 5-0. This was basically the Town side that the next year nearly knocked West Ham out of the League Cup so we weren’t bad. They had some lad in goal called Banks if I remember right. Frank McLintock later of Arsenal just ran the game from midfield and they took us apart.

The Liverpool and Everton teams was the best teams in England at the time , Chelsea aren’t in the top 3 at the minute .
Saying that this current Chelsea team would probably beat them both if it was possible to have played in the same eras

We played West Ham  in the league cup 1965 and they had Hurst. Peters, Moore in their side,

We managed a 2-2 draw losing the replay 1-0.

Since circa 95 when I started I'd definitely say this Chelsea side; the games improving all the time (athleticiscm wise at least) at the very top and the gulf between the big 6, the Premier League and everyone else getting bigger and bigger every year. I know we League Two and in times past we took on teams from the top division from the tier below but the skill and finesse on show was just other-worldly.

The top teams need to improve year on year to stay at the table and boy have they, their second teams would smash most. And of course the humongous rise in income catipulting higher at ridiculous rates year on year.

We were also a bit unfortunate Chelsea not won at home since January or whenever it was, Lampard put out a stronger than would be expected side to ensure no hiccups and correct that wrong.

I certainly didn’t like getting battered on Wednesday but the football fan in me enjoyed watching the quality of football Chelsea played.

But Liverpool 1980 for me.

Interesting comments. I thought those who were at Anfield in 1980 would say Liverpool were the best team we've ever played - I wasn't there so couldn't comment - but wondered if hypothetically Chelsea's team on Wednesday was better? Yes Town are 4th tier now rather than 2nd tier, and Liverpool then, unlike Chelsea now, were the best side in the country, if not Europe, at the time.

But that said would Souness et al struggle with the athleticism of Chelsea's young guns and the finesse of the likes of Alonso and Pedro. We'll never know...

Any way...Bloody brilliant result tonight!

The Liverpool and Everton teams were truly outstanding.  They both played very strong teams of well known players.  Everton only lost one game at home that season - to Town.  No wonder they bought Wilco.

Chelsea played some outstanding very young players.  The squad on Wed could have produced say 8 full England Internationals.  If you look back in 10 years time.  This excludes Loftus-Cheek, who was injured. They already runaway with the FA Youth Cup.

Hard to judge then.  All these 3 teams were or are, outstanding in their time.  It was good to have the opportunity to play against them and to see them at first-hand.

Can’t argue with the Liverpool comments, but surely the 86/87 Arsenal side are worth an honorary mention given they were the nucleus of the side that won the league in 89. I look back at that lineup and there were some awesome players that day.

Chelsea Wed

I can remember reading The Shoot magazine  and it said estimated  20000 Grimsby fans in the eighties went to Anfield. I went on the Football special From Town station.

Quoted from sydney

Chelsea Wed

Not their bitter rivals Chelsea Utd?

Quoted from woodi147

I can remember reading The Shoot magazine  and it said estimated  20000 Grimsby fans in the eighties went to Anfield. I went on the Football special From Town station.

I also went on that "Football Special".

When we got back into Cleethorpes, because the train was so long we had to walk through a few carriages to get to the platform and more than one of them had had a window smashed coming out of Liverpool, luckily not ours.

I think people are being fairly quick to dismiss the two Liverpool teams we faced in 97 and 2001.

The 97 team finished third, had 6 England internationals and a World Cup winner in the 11. Midfield including Ince, Redknapp and  McManamam. Michael Owen was the most exciting youngster in the world, Chelsea had some fabulous youngsters on show but it’s still unlikely they’ll be as good as him.

Quoted from NorthseaMariner

I’m sure 15000 was quoted at the time.

We were one of the first coaches there, and they only had two turnstiles open at the Anfield Road end. I was talking to one of the police there and advised him there were huge numbers coming, but he said they'd been told about  two to three thousand only. There were approximately 20,000 there that day, you can check this by looking at the attendances Liverpool had at home that season. They surpassed 50,000 on only four occasions, versus Everton, Leeds, Man Utd and Spurs. Ours was their fifth highest attendance of the season. They played Bury, in what was basically a fairly local derby in the next round and there were 33,000 there. Assuming Bury took 5,000 it still leaves the Liverpool fans only attendance at about 28,000, and using that as the base of the game vs Grimsby you can see where the 20,000 plus fans figure comes from.

We were sat in the Kemlyn Road stand, which had a large Town contingent in it, and there were a good number of Town fans in the Kop who'd been directed there by the police. Of all the mind numbingly stupid decisions re police and football, that's got to be up there with the very worst. Some Town fans had knives pulled on them, and all the Town fans were evacuated at half time. Didn't end there though, the journey back to the coaches was pretty horrendous as they were all parked around Stanley Park and there were Evertonians involved as well looking to pick off folk as we'd beaten them in the League Cup that season. Got to love those scousers with their wonderful sense of humour, eh?

Agree with Jock above but later after standing on the pavement with a mad copper on motorbike zooming up and down yelling keep on the path which was impossible because of the vast numbers of our fans.

I took my life in my hands and wandered up the road and found 2 more turnstiles opened but they did not tell anybody so I wandered back side stepping the mad cop on his bike and told my wife and friends ,

We got through the turnstile leaving thousands still waiting to get through the first 2 turnstiles.

Maybe they did not want to get run over by that crazy cop.

Quoted from grimsby pete

We played West Ham  in the league cup 1965 and they had Hurst. Peters, Moore in their side,

We managed a 2-2 draw losing the replay 1-0.

Yes,  and I seem to remember we gave a debut to a 17 year
old wing-half that night on a rain-soaked Blundell Park.

Angus Davidson had a great match

Liverpool in 1980 were a great team on there way to another title, Everton were a great team on there way to 2 titles and many finals & cups. But the current Chelsea side are just a youngish squad being rebuilt, remember they had changed all 11 players from Sundays game against Liverpool.
Also this Grimsby team is in its very early days no where near as good as the 1980 or 1984 teams which were just about the best since the old First division days.
So I don't think last week stands for much, just look at the amount of team changes going on these days at Chelsea and Town as everywhere else.

Quoted from Teesknees

Liverpool January 1980.5-0.
Ray Clemence
Phil Neal
Alan Kennedy      
Phil Thompson      
Ray Kennedy      
Alan Hansen      
Kenny Dalglish      
Jimmy Case      
David Johnson      
Terry McDermott      
Graeme Souness      

Nigel Batch
John Stone
David Moore
Joe Waters
Clive Wiggington
Dean Crombie
Mike Brolly
Kevin Kilmore
Kevin Drinkell
Bobby Mitchell
Bobby Cumming

Attemdence 49706.
8000 away fans.. not sure??

That Liverpool side is frightening and packed with legends of the game. The Town team is a good side as well, going on reputations although I toddled the earth at that time, I wasn't quite ready to go to the football!

Quoted from mimma

Have to correct you there, 16,000 Town fans maybe more. I was sat against the top that day and clearly heard Mariners coming from Town fans on the kop. A lot of them were given a less than friendly welcome from the scoucers.

I was 15 and ended up in the Kop , I have to disagree. The Liverpool fans were fantastic that day and the Chelsea team we lost to last week would have been beaten 3-0 by that Liverpool side

Best side technically I have seen against us simply because times have vastly improved the amount of money in the prem means they get the best money can buy in Players, facilities, all the back up help the Chelsea has (Even the pitch looked like a snooker table) it was inch perfect with an automatic sprinkler system hiddern under the pitch etc. (lol caught our lads out training at half time lol)

Yeah I was in the kop back in the bad ole days when Liverpool hammered us with precision play and top players. I also and got a smack in the head for my trouble and there was a lot of trouble during that game. We also had our car windows smashed in probably by the two little scouse toerags that wanted money to look after it. Bloody freezing all the way home.

Went to Everton for the "alamo" game against a top Everton outfit that were flying but out defence and luck somehow kept us in until Wilco on our only attack scored with "that" header.

Mind you we should thank Chelsea for that hamering because our team were that knackered chasing shadows it forced M.J. to rethink his plan for another long away day at Exeter.

Either that or M.J. is cleverer than I thought.

A lot of that side would be physically and mentally drained certainly not in the mood for a top of the table side unbeaten all season.

He would have been absolutely thrilled to bits that plan B was so successful in what I would defininately say was the best game of the season thus far.

The staff set that one up perfectly and now he as so many options availible to him he can chose tto play the big man up front and perm any four to partner him.

Or go for pace and get behind sides.

Yes the Chelsea hammering could be a blessing in disguise maybe lost out on money but we did not have the side to match them no matter who he had played.

We can now concentrate on getting some consistancy going and mount a serious threat to this division.

Mr mr look after your car for a fiver?
No it’s ok , I have my dog in the back
Mr mr, can he put fires out ?
Here’s a fiver

lol yeah those scallywags knew how to make money would have still probably brick our windows anyway.