Let me take you back, right back actually to Saturday 17th January 1981. It’s about 9.40am and like most teenagers I’m having a problem dragging my wiry little carcass out of bed!
I pop my head out from under the bed sheets, reach out and pull aside my bedroom curtains to get a glimpse of what it’s doing outside. It looks like another cold one, a thin layer of ice appears to have set on the outside of the window and small pools of condensation have started to settle on the window sill. Like most folk on our road double glazing was yet to grace the façade of our humble abode.
I lay back in my bed and my left hand fumbles around on the floor finally coming into contact with my radio. I turn it on and gaze at the obligatory poster covered wall opposite. Paul Weller stares back at me with an assured aloofness as John Lennon’s ‘Woman’ resonates across a medium wave frequency.
It’s probably worth noting that this is Lennon’s third re-released song on the bounce to make the number one spot in the charts following his shooting on 8th November 1980. However he didn’t actually take the Christmas No.1 spot, this accolade went to no other than St Winifred’s School Choir! Odd that?
I continue to peruse the wall and my eyes are drawn to an old newspaper cutting showing a picture of an odd looking chap with a big nose and wonky teeth with the headline “Sirrel, Success on a Shoestring,” this reminds me it’s Saturday, match day, and Notts County have a home game. This buoys my mood and I’m up out of bed with a renewed vigour.
Having washed and finishing off copious quantities of toast and coffee leaving very little for my younger brother and sister I head for the number 5 bus into town adorning Adidas trainers, drainpipe jeans and fish tail parker with Notts scarf clearly visible around my neck. A couple of years ago I would have had a silk scarf tied to my wrist, but that’s so 1970’s!
The sun is shining but low in the sky. It’s still very cold and although it’s nearly mid day the ground frost doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon. I meet up with the usual suspects and we settle outside a tv rentals shop in Broad Marsh to watch all the football highlights from last week on Grandstand.
This is great fun because when we go to watch Notts we always stand right at the front of the Meadow Lane End just to the side of the keeper’s right hand post. From this position every time there is any goalmouth action and assuming the cameras are there we always get to see ourselves on the ‘box’. Somewhat immaturely we take every opportunity to shout obscenity’s at the opposing keeper in the hope that our street credibility will increase amongst our peers at school if we’re seen doing this on television.
It’s now about 1.45pm so we make our way down London Road, full of anticipation and excitement for the coming match. Today we are playing West Ham, a team running away with Division 2, a team who soundly trounced us 4 – 0 at Upton Park just four games into the season. Trevor Brooking is the star attraction but this is a team full of quality with household names such as Phil Parkes in goal, Paul Goddard and top scorer David Cross, not to mention their captain Billy Bonds.
But we remain confident, currently lying third in the table and three games into what will become a nine match unbeaten run we have some quality of our own. Don Masson, Ray O’Brien and Iain McCulloch to name but a few.
As we near the ground our excitement is tinged slightly when we begin to hear rumours of a pitch inspection due to the ground frost. We needn’t have worried as the game is allowed to go ahead. Apparently upon arriving in Nottingham the whole West Ham team popped into a local sportswear shop to buy trainers that would be suitable to use on an icy pitch, imagine that!
Having purchased a match day programme we continue along Iremonger Road and I can’t even begin to describe the emotions I’m experiencing. These are the same emotions felt by thousands of football fans up and down the length of the country on a Saturday afternoon. The cries of the programme seller, the smell of the burger stand and the click, click, click of the turnstiles as fans filter into the ground. A swarm of butterflies are unleashed in my stomach as I step through the turnstile and the adrenaline kicks in.
We take up our usual position in the stand. The pitch looks rock hard and funnily enough both sets of players appear to be wearing trainers and not boots. I look around the ground trying to calculate the size of the crowd, as always I over estimate and claim it must be at least 16,000! This was maybe a little over exuberant as our highest gate of the season was 16,500 against local rivals Derby County
The match kicks off and we’re in luck, ATV is there with their cameras to show the game on Star Soccer that evening. Needless to say we did everything we could to get ourselves noticed.
As expected the contest didn’t disappoint. It was a very tight but enjoyable game and having gone in at the break 0 – 1 down to a Paul Holland goal Notts rallied in the second half and managed to secure a deserved point with a Paul Hooks equaliser.
As the players left the field and the crowd began to exit the ground we made our way to the back of the main stand and the players entrance. There we stood patiently waiting for the players to emerge so that we could get autographs. And we did.
As the highlights play out I stand shouting “look mum, there I am just behind the goal”, as I point frustratingly at the screen.
“Oh yes” she replies, “I can see you now, who’s that one in the green kit?”
“That’s Phil Parkes, the West Ham Goalie. Look he’s right near me when he comes to get the ball.”
“Oh ok, he looks quite nice . . .”
I screw up my face wondering what on earth she means then it hits me! She turns imposingly towards me, takes the slipper from her foot and shouts!
“. . . so why have you just shouted at him to ‘eff off?!
Ah, fame at last!
Match Facts:
Notts County 1 – 1 West Ham United
Hooks Holland
Att: 13,745
Notts County: Raddy Avramovic, Tristan Benjamin, Ray O’Brien, Eddie Kelly, Brian Kilcline, Pedro Richards, Iain McCulloch, Don Masson, Trevor Christie, David Hunt, Paul Hooks.
West Ham: Phil Parkes, Ray Stewart, Paul Brush, Billy Bonds, Alvin Martin, Alan Devonshire, Pat Holland, Paul Goddard, David Cross, Trevor Brooking, Geoff Pike.
Brilliantly evocative of a bygone age and a pleasure to read.
ReplyDeleteNice one!! I was at that game and stood in the Lane End!! We would probably recognise each other!! I was 17 at the time and was fairly recognisable in that I had a leather jacket permanently stuck to my back with UK SUBS written across the back.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteUK SUBS, I do think I remember seeing you around, I was probably less conspicuous other than my big mop of red hair!
Brilliant blog. Star Soccer.. what a great hour that was on a Sunday lunchtime. Hugh Johns was the main commentator I seem to remember.
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