Ray O'Brien

[Elite_Pie]

My favourite Ray O'Brien goal was a thunderbolt in open play at Ashton Gate against already promoted Bristol City on 24th April 1976, because our 1-2 win meant we finished above Forest in the table. What a defender he was, fairly lightweight in stature but if he tackled a brick wall the brick wall would come off worst!

[lunaspie]

I remember those two pretty identical free-kicks, my mind has them in the Lane End but I might well have that wrong, especially as it was around Christmas so I might have gone with my family who were Koppites. The thing that is clear is Ray was superior to anyone else I have seen at left-back, including Nigel Worthington, who Sergeant Wilko replaced him with, more pace, less class. Ray O is in the all-time Notts XI.

A crisp Tuesday Dec. 27 1977;
Notts recovered from a Boxing Day 2-0 loss at Burnden Park,with Big Sham and Neil Whatmore on target, to record a victory over Hull in front of almost ten thousand.Rayo specials on 19 and 37 minutes.
Definitely at the Kop.

[Med Pie]

Can?t forget the ?Ray O ?..? ringing round Meadow Lane. Did he take penalties as well as free kicks?

Yes he did, I remember one game when I mentioned to him after the game, that Allan Curbishly (?) had tried to tell the keeper which way to go for Ray'O's kick in that game (presumably West Ham?) and I remember the feeling of pride on hearing him as he walked away, telling someone else what Curbishly had done.

Edit; 11th Nov 1978 in a 1-0 victory over West Ham

[since41]

Yeah that rings a bell. My favourite Killer moment was the winning header at home to Arsenal, celebrated that goal like it had won us the world cup.

As for ?Ray O? every free kick just outside the box was as good as a penalty!

i think everybody that saw it was feeling the same they battered us for 89 minutes only for us to nick it in the end. We all stood at the back of the mains stand just laughing nobody could believe it.
RayO although not in this match was a one off great freekicks and defender.

[ncfcog]

i think everybody that saw it was feeling the same they battered us for 89 minutes only for us to nick it in the end. We all stood at the back of the mains stand just laughing nobody could believe it.
RayO although not in this match was a one off great freekicks and defender.

I was in the Kop for this game. I did a piece about it a few years ago on my old stats website . . .

https://www.ncs-news.co.uk/read/from...lt-03-oct-1981

[upthemaggies]

And we collected 3 home points against Arsenal again the following season. What a time to be alive.

[since41]

I was in the Kop for this game. I did a piece about it a few years ago on my old stats website . . .

https://www.ncs-news.co.uk/read/from...lt-03-oct-1981

Good read thanks.yeap definite red for killer nowadays.

[nw6pie]

My favourite Ray O'Brien goal was a thunderbolt in open play at Ashton Gate against already promoted Bristol City on 24th April 1976, because our 1-2 win meant we finished above Forest in the table. What a defender he was, fairly lightweight in stature but if he tackled a brick wall the brick wall would come off worst!

I’m happy to read that, because I have no recollection of him as a defender. It’s the chant I remember above everything else.

He scored one goal for us in the old Division 1, in a 2-2 home draw against Spurs. I have no recollection of that goal (penalty, free kick?). Sadly, the only thing I remember from him that season was taking one of the worst penalties I’ve ever seen - when we lost 4-0 at home to Liverpool but actually played really well and he put the pen well wide at the Meadow Lane (building site) end when it was, I think, 0-0.

[marky]

I was in the Kop for this game. I did a piece about it a few years ago on my old stats website . . .

https://www.ncs-news.co.uk/read/from...lt-03-oct-1981

"A crowd of 10,785". How on earth did Notts survive for 3 years in the top flight on that sort of crowd.

[upthemaggies]

"A crowd of 10,785". How on earth did Notts survive for 3 years in the top flight on that sort of crowd.

Since 1919, 20% of the gate money of any league fixture had been given to the visiting club, so we took 20% of whatever the gates were at Old Trafford, White Hart Lane, City Ground etc, when we visited those grounds. That agreement was scrapped for 1983/84 and was a big blow to clubs like Notts.

Having said that, Fword's average dropped to 16k mid 80s, so relatively we weren't much further behind the top 10. We were only 9k less than the 10th best supported club in the country 1982, when we were in the 3rd tier in 1988 we were 13k behind the 10th highest, last season in 2024 we were almost 30k behind the 10th highest. So the gap is much bigger today.