Arabmariner said:
FFC Mariner said:
Clubs:
Chavski
Derby
Sheffield United
The Scum
National Teams
USA (Bruce Arena )
Just curious......why Derby ?
Oh thats easy.
Last game of the season, away at the old baseball ground, needed a win to go up and pip Leicester at the post (although we only found that out after the game).
The final day of the season saw Leicester at home against Burnley, with Fulham away against Derby County. Fulham had clawed their way back to being level on points with Leicester, meaning that if Leicester won, they were promoted. If Leicester drew with Burnley, a win would be enough for Fulham at Derby and if they lost, a draw would be enough for Fulham. Derby, who had been the English champions just eight years previously, had struggled all season and needed a point to guarantee avoiding relegation. To reiterate how strong the Second Division was at the time, however, their team contained the likes of Kenny Burns, Archie Gemmill, Paul Futcher and Bobby Davison, and they were managed by Peter Taylor, who had been Brian Cloughs foil to a Football League championship and two European Cups at Nottingham Forest. What followed was arguably one of the most infamous English football matches of all time.
When people talk about atmospheres at modern football matches ever being intimidating, they dont know what theyre talking about. The atmosphere at The Baseball Ground on that Saturday afternoon in May 1983 was poisonous. Derbys old ground was always an intimidating one for away clubs, with tall, narrow stands on all four sides and the feeling that the crowd was only inches away from the field of play. On this particular day the crowd was swollen by Derbys need to stay up, and Derby played above themselves. With fifteen minutes to go, Bobby Davison volleyed in the only goal of the match. What happened next, however, would leave the end of the season in chaos. The crowd invaded the pitch to celebrate the goal before being temporarily penned back in by policemen with dogs. With time running out, however, the fences behind the goal were opened and the crowd spilled out, standing on the touchline. With five minutes to play, Fulham were attacking on the left wing when Robert Wilson was kicked by a supporter. The referee called a halt to proceedings with two minutes to play when the crowd invaded the pitch, thinking that the referee had called for full time when he had actually blown for a free kick.
Ironically, the events of the last five minutes at The Baseball Ground were largely irrelevant. Leicester drew 0-0 against Burnley to secure their place in the First Division, meaning that Fulham would have needed to score twice in the last five minutes to stay up. However, it was an impossible atmosphere for the last ten minutes of the match and there is no question that Fulhams players were badly treated, with many of them being assaulted as they left the pitch. Fulham appealed to the Football League for the match to be replayed, and Derby, safe in the knowledge that results elsewhere had gone their way and they hadnt needed any points to stay up in the first place. The following week, the Football League decided to uphold the result, promoting Leicester and keeping Fulham down. As with so many other teams at the time, Fulham had serious financial problems, and their promising 1983 team soon broke up, with Malcolm MacDonald leaving as manager in 1984. It would take them until 2001 (and after several more scrapes with insolvency) before they finally made it into the Premier League. Leicester would go on to last until 1986 before being relegated again.
The only real time I have seen Fulham fans go "mental". Everyone was "out for the day" as they say and we had endured a 90 minute shower of urine filled cups, coins (and even a pigs head was lobbed). After the game, people were tearing down fences and gates to get at them and the police actually ran outside the ground until the dogs were off their leads and the horses came in (A terrifying sight).
By the time we got back onto the trains, British Rail then did something dumb. The train we were on stopped at Leicester of all places. Train emptied, station trashed - not pretty.
Since then, just about every Fulham fan who was there that day has wanted nothing but bad things for Derby.
