Anyone else remember the infamous home match versus Bradford City in season 1977/78? It was abandoned midway through the second half due to howling Arctic winds and driving snow. I don’t think I have ever been as cold as that at a football match since.
77/78 was one of “those” seasons. It was our first time back in Div 3 (third tier) after the brief but unforgettable Tony Waiters glory years. Waiters had gone just before the end of the 76/77 season and Mike Kelly was named caretaker manager. He failed to keep us out of the bottom two, however, and we “looked forward” to another spell in Div 3. The following season was a nightmare and Mike Kelly was sacked part way through, with Lennie Lawrence taking over as caretaker. The football was poor and the results were worse. We languished towards the bottom with the spectre of a double relegation staring us in the face.
And so we came to the Bradford City match. I don’t know the exact date - even having scoured the amazing GOS - but I would go for a Saturday in January. Kicking off on a snow encrusted pitch in front of a meagre crowd we were soon 0-1 down (McNiven for Bradford, if memory serves) and heading for another depressing Saturday afternoon. There was no spirit and if we had played until Easter there was no chance of us scoring. We needed a miracle - and it came courtesy of the referee. Amidst apocryphal stories of it being so cold that the mechanism of his watch froze, he decided that the weather conditions were so bad that the game should be abandoned, midway through the second half. I can’t remember ever greeting what was effectively an Argyle defeat with so much glee and enthusiasm but that might equally have been due to the fact that I was grateful that none of my toes or fingers had snapped off.
The match was subsequently rearranged for the last game of that season. Ironically, we made a mini-revival when Lennie Lawrence gave way to Malcolm Allison (Big Mal) and our improved results meant that we JUST scraped in and avoided relegation (which would have been the first time in the fourth tier) by three points. With the pressure off, we absolutely tonked City 6-0 in the final match, confirming THEIR relegation. Of course, had it not been for the abandoned match and had that score remained 0-1 in favour of City they could have finished above us and we could well have gone down. Funny old game...
77/78 was one of “those” seasons. It was our first time back in Div 3 (third tier) after the brief but unforgettable Tony Waiters glory years. Waiters had gone just before the end of the 76/77 season and Mike Kelly was named caretaker manager. He failed to keep us out of the bottom two, however, and we “looked forward” to another spell in Div 3. The following season was a nightmare and Mike Kelly was sacked part way through, with Lennie Lawrence taking over as caretaker. The football was poor and the results were worse. We languished towards the bottom with the spectre of a double relegation staring us in the face.
And so we came to the Bradford City match. I don’t know the exact date - even having scoured the amazing GOS - but I would go for a Saturday in January. Kicking off on a snow encrusted pitch in front of a meagre crowd we were soon 0-1 down (McNiven for Bradford, if memory serves) and heading for another depressing Saturday afternoon. There was no spirit and if we had played until Easter there was no chance of us scoring. We needed a miracle - and it came courtesy of the referee. Amidst apocryphal stories of it being so cold that the mechanism of his watch froze, he decided that the weather conditions were so bad that the game should be abandoned, midway through the second half. I can’t remember ever greeting what was effectively an Argyle defeat with so much glee and enthusiasm but that might equally have been due to the fact that I was grateful that none of my toes or fingers had snapped off.
The match was subsequently rearranged for the last game of that season. Ironically, we made a mini-revival when Lennie Lawrence gave way to Malcolm Allison (Big Mal) and our improved results meant that we JUST scraped in and avoided relegation (which would have been the first time in the fourth tier) by three points. With the pressure off, we absolutely tonked City 6-0 in the final match, confirming THEIR relegation. Of course, had it not been for the abandoned match and had that score remained 0-1 in favour of City they could have finished above us and we could well have gone down. Funny old game...