Memories of “Crunch”End of season games BFC.

GrahamwantshisOates

GrahamwantshisOates

Well-known member
Supported Pool since early 60’s and witnessed many “crunch“ games.
No living fan on here has seen us automatically promoted more than twice and one of them was confirmed when we were not playing!

We have had many relegation deciders which have seen either joy or tears. Blown promotion a couple times or so and sneaked into Play Offs. Never a dull moment and so it continues.

My first experience was against Northampton Town in 1966. It was their only ever season in top flight and needed to beat Pool and hope we also lost at relegated Blackburn. They brought a big following only for the team to be ripped apart and 3-0 down at halftime. Alan Ball was unplayable and little did we know that was his last home appearance with us as a top flight player. We also won at Blackburn and survived comfortably.

What games do you remember, the good the bad and the ugly!
We have many to choose.
 
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Walsall, Lincoln and York that I went to.

I remember it being about 4.43 in the car just turning into my road when Oldham scored and we were relegated. At 4.42 I was bouncing thinking we'd survived. That was probably worse than the 3 above.
 
fcblackpool said:
Walsall, Lincoln and York that I went to.

I remember it being about 4.43 in the car just turning into my road when Oldham scored and we were relegated. At 4.42 I was bouncing thinking we'd survived. That was probably worse than the 3 above.
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fcblackpool said:
Walsall, Lincoln and York that I went to.

I remember it being about 4.43 in the car just turning into my road when Oldham scored and we were relegated. At 4.42 I was bouncing thinking we'd survived. That was probably worse than the 3 above.
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I think we blew it at home to Walsall under Allardyce. We had to depend on Oxford slipping up at home to a poor Peterborough side. There was no way they would lose that and won 4-0. I gave my York tickets away as it was very inconvenient to travel and knew the inevitable would happen.
 
Apart from the obvious ones, vaguely remember a trip to Turf Moor, 2-0 down, got back to 2-2 then
Steve Banks?? saved a penalty we got a point and stayed up.

Was this right?
 
I’ve seen Pool promoted at Preston and at Wembley in 2007 and 2010 ( boycotted the Exeter game and the Lincoln Final was restricted attendance due to vivid).
 
Seventiesseasider said:
Apart from the obvious ones, vaguely remember a trip to Turf Moor, 2-0 down, got back to 2-2 then
Steve Banks?? saved a penalty we got a point and stayed up.

Was this right?
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John Deary took the pen and rolled it gently into our keepers arms. If we went down, Exeter stayed up. I guess the Clarets preferred a short trip to the Fylde coast the following season.
 
As mentioned above, Walsall, Lincoln and York. Remember everyone invading the pitch at Lincoln when a false rumour spread that a result was going our way in one of the other games.

Wrexham under Megson when we had a chance of sneaking into the playoffs and also Darlington. Leyton Orient at home when we won 4-1.
 
Trimm-Trab said:
As mentioned above, Walsall, Lincoln and York. Remember everyone invading the pitch at Lincoln when a false rumour spread that a result was going our way in one of the other games.

Wrexham under Megson when we had a chance of sneaking into the playoffs and also Darlington. Leyton Orient at home when we won 4-1.
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Think we went a goal down vs Orient then a patched up Dave Bamber got us out of jail. 1990 at a guess?
 
I was at Leeds Rd, Huddersfield in 1969 to see Pool win 3-1, only to hear minutes later that QPR had won 2-1 at Villa( a pen and an o g ).
 
I don’t think we would have gone down if we lost at Burnley. It ensured our survival .
The Leyton Orient game was in 1994.
Udders game was 1968.
 
GrahamwantshisOates said:
Supported Pool since early 60’s and witnessed many “crunch“ games.
No living fan on here has seen us automatically promoted more than twice and one of them was confirmed when we were not playing!

We have had many relegation deciders which have seen either joy or tears. Blown promotion a couple times or so and sneaked into Play Offs. Never a dull moment and so it continues.

My first experience was against Northampton Town in 1966. It was their only ever season in top flight and needed to beat Pool and hope we also lost at relegated Blackburn. They brought a big following only for the team to be ripped apart and 3-0 down at halftime. Alan Ball was unplayable and little did we know that was his last home appearance with us as a top flight player. We also won at Blackburn and survived comfortably.

What games do you remember, the good the bad and the ugly!
We have many to choose.
Click to expand...
Although it's highly unlikely that he'd have been at the match, I believe that @Davepick would have been alive when 'Pool were promoted to Div 1 at the end of the 1936/37 season.
 
Oldham away when we were relegated in about the 95th minute.
Darlington away - waiting for Plymouth/Rochdale to end.
Wrexham away 1997 Megson and a faint hope of play offs
York away - praying for Peterborough to stop the Oxford juggernaut
Orient at home - King Billy's last game - Dave Bamber couldnt walk after that
Burnley away - The Lee Martin penalty save.
Man Utd away- 30 mins from staying in the Premier

I am sure there is more...
 
I went to Swansea in 89. We won 4 of our last 5 fixtures and had to take 3 points away at either Swansea on the Saturday (which we did winning 2-1) or at Cardiff the following Monday night (we drew 0-0). A 12-0 defeat at Cardiff would still have sent us down but we weren't too concerned!

You guessed it.... we got relegated the following season.
 
Anyone remember the last game of the 2007/8 season at home to Watford? Last 15 mins the score was 1-1 and from then to the end there was no attacking intent from both teams who seemed to be very happy to settle for a point. We survived relegation by 2 points and Watford got the last play off place.
 
27 April 1974 Sunderland 2-1 Blackpool. With seven minutes to go, Blackpool were winning and heading back to the then First Division. Five minutes later we’d conceded twice. The closest we came to the top division until May 2010.
 
1974 I think it was and 10 minutes away from getting back into the top flight with a Micky Burns special.
 
TangerineWizard7 said:
27 April 1974 Sunderland 2-1 Blackpool. With seven minutes to go, Blackpool were winning and heading back to the then First Division. Five minutes later we’d conceded twice. The closest we came to the top division until May 2010.
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I was typing as you posted😵
 
GrahamwantshisOates said:
Supported Pool since early 60’s and witnessed many “crunch“ games.
No living fan on here has seen us automatically promoted more than twice and one of them was confirmed when we were not playing!

We have had many relegation deciders which have seen either joy or tears. Blown promotion a couple times or so and sneaked into Play Offs. Never a dull moment and so it continues.

My first experience was against Northampton Town in 1966. It was their only ever season in top flight and needed to beat Pool and hope we also lost at relegated Blackburn. They brought a big following only for the team to be ripped apart and 3-0 down at halftime. Alan Ball was unplayable and little did we know that was his last home appearance with us as a top flight player. We also won at Blackburn and survived comfortably.

What games do you remember, the good the bad and the ugly!
We have many to choose.
Click to expand...
That game against Northampton wasn't as straight forward as you make out , it was 0 0 at half time .
 
Worse: Walsall. I can still hear the first goal hitting the net. We hit the woodwork twice but we were destined not to score that day.
 
Winning at Darlo 4 0 with thousands of Pool fans in attendance to all but clinch promotion under Sam Ellis. Stopped off in Barnard Castle on the way home. Who knew it would become infamous?
 
Trammo said:
Lea Moir Ball ( pen ) all in second half.
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I'm pretty sure Alan Ball's penalty was right at the death so it could have been his last kick in anger for us. He was rested , as
was Jimmy Armfield , from the Blackburn match in case they picked up an injury with the World Cup in mind.
 
FessParker said:
I'm pretty sure Alan Ball's penalty was right at the death so it could have been his last kick in anger for us. He was rested , as
was Jimmy Armfield , from the Blackburn match in case they picked up an injury with the World Cup in mind.
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Lea 51 mins, Moir 70 mins, Ball pen in the 80th.
 
Wizaard said:
Winning at Darlo 4 0 with thousands of Pool fans in attendance to all but clinch promotion under Sam Ellis. Stopped off in Barnard Castle on the way home. Who knew it would become infamous?
Click to expand...
We stopped off somewhere and I can remember Trever McDonald reading the football results out 10:30 and saying we'd all but secured promotion.

Pitch invasion. Bowing at the feet of Hetze and losing a bankcard which I thought I'd have to cover all the pitch to find, luckily it was in the paddock. It was a good night.
 
Thepoolaregoingup said:
Worse: Walsall. I can still hear the first goal hitting the net. We hit the woodwork twice but we were destined not to score that day.
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I remember Colin Methven having the game of his life against us, he marked tricky trev out of the game. OO came on the pitch at half time dressed like colonel sanders giving it large about his premiership dream and all the Walsall fans wetting their sides at him.
 
Surprised that Preston 1970 isn’t mentioned.

There was also a game in late 90’s where we scored a last minute winner at Deepdale andkept us up.
 
HetzkeBlaster said:
I remember Colin Methven having the game of his life against us, he marked tricky trev out of the game. OO came on the pitch at half time dressed like colonel sanders giving it large about his premiership dream and all the Walsall fans wetting their sides at him.
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Tricky Trev only came on for the last 20 mins and hit the inside of the post from 20 yards. It was my brother in laws first sight of Trev and he said he was going to be a superstar. He should have come on earlier.
 
aquaduck said:
I went to Swansea in 89. We won 4 of our last 5 fixtures and had to take 3 points away at either Swansea on the Saturday (which we did winning 2-1) or at Cardiff the following Monday night (we drew 0-0). A 12-0 defeat at Cardiff would still have sent us down but we weren't too concerned!

You guessed it.... we got relegated the following season.
Click to expand...

I went to Swansea too, I remember the scenes at the end with Keith Walwyn climbing on the railings into the away section and hearing him scream like a little girl, I hadn't appreciated quite how high pitched his voice was until that moment.
 
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