50 years ago - Oldham 1 Notts County 3

[upthemaggies]

Interesting that. The Football Post that day said 'second-in-the-table Oldham' and the league table after Notts victory showed Oldham above Northampton. They were on goal difference but in 1970/71 goal average was used. It was some years later this was changed to goal difference. Were the Football Post ahead of their time? Or could they just not work out goal averages?

The latter and it probably was just them. I've got most of the Sunday Observer's tables and results pages to hand saved on my laptop from 1964 to 1998, so a quick check shows they have Northampton above Oldham on the Sunday, as does my own site (I was becoming paranoid I'd messed up the coding somewhere). Lord knows why it took the FL so long to change to the much more sensible, fairer and easier to understand Goal difference system. It's amazing how some daft rules persist for so long - The one club per city entry into the UEFA Cup for example lasted until 1976 as a relic of The Fairs Cup (which was originally a sideshow of the European Trade fairs). The tossing of a coin to decide drawn European ties is beyond belief.

[Observerpie]

It was interesting (from what I could see) that 7 of those clubs in the league table are no longer league clubs. Perhaps someone knows if there are any more from the full table.

[60YearsAPie]

It was interesting (from what I could see) that 7 of those clubs in the league table are no longer league clubs. Perhaps someone knows if there are any more from the full table.

Here's the full table at 6th March 1971.

[upthemaggies]

It was interesting (from what I could see) that 7 of those clubs in the league table are no longer league clubs. Perhaps someone knows if there are any more from the full table.

I make it ten, though many more have dropped out and come back in again.
Notts
Chester
Southport
York
Darlington
Stockport
Workington
Aldershot
Hartlepool
Barrow (who finished 24th but got re-elected, so them losing there place the following year isn't quite the injustice it's made out to be, it's the club that replaced them and where they finished that was more controversial)

Also from the 3rd tier.
Halifax (Who finished 3rd but still only two up until 1973/74).
Chesterfield
Wrexham
Torquay
Bury


1970/71 was also Cambridge United's first ever season in the FL (replacing Bradford PA)
Telford won the 2nd ever FA Trophy (introduced in 1969/70 for clubs that were semi-professional)

[Frigiliana Pie 1]

I think only 8 of the 24 have been in the Football League without a break since 1971 - Bournemouth, Oldham, Northampton, Peterborough, Crewe, S****horpe, Brentford and Southend. It’s quite possible that Southend will lose their status at the end of this season. And I think that Northampton would have been relegated in the 1990s but were saved because somebody’s ground was not up to the required standard.

[Elite_Pie]

We went on the charter train to lots of games but I think my Uncle drove us to this one.

Although I think this game was a few months before my first away game, the mention of the charter train evokes some fantastic memories. These are all a bit hazy and may not be factually correct, but for me they are what being a Notts fan is all about. As I recall, they were organised by the supporter's club and I remember Claude Bishop and Neal Hook running them.

1. The away trip to Carlisle. Once we got the other side of Manchester, it was a scenic delight. Sitting back and looking out at the magnificence of the Lake District made one of our longest trips seem short.
2. The day we played a top of the table clash at Sunderland and lost 4-0. As we walked back to the train station it was absolutely pissing down, but these was the days of hooliganism so the police kept us waiting outside in the pouring rain until all the home fans had dispersed. We all boarded the train soaked to the skin, and still hadn't dried off when we got back to Nottingham.
3. A game at Highbury which I think was in the FA Cup. Arsenal beat us on a freezing cold day, and when we got on the train it was announced that the heating system had broken. The journey back was like sitting in a fridge.
4. A cup game on the south coast (I think either Bournemouth or Portsmouth) which we found out on arrival had been postponed due to a frozen pitch. We were told the return train was still scheduled to leave at 5:30, so I spent most of the afternoon in a betting shop, mainly for a bit of warmth. I got lucky and covered not only the cost of the journey, but also enough for a coffee and omelette and chips in a local cafe.
5. The epic Fulham 1-5 Notts game when they had Bobby Moore, George Best and Rodney Marsh in the team. For London games the train always stopped at St Pancras and we had to make the onward journey using the London underground. I just managed to hop on a tube and got back at St Pancras station an hour before we were due to depart, so sought out the nearest pub which had only just opened at 5:30 (no all day drinking in those days). I was euphoric so must have necked 4 pints in 40 minutes. I even asked for a couple of bottles with the tops taken off to sneak on the train for the journey back.
6. Whatever the game or distance, whenever we got back to Nottingham station there was always a bloke outside selling the Football Post. I always tried to be quick to avoid the queue.

We often get mocked for being 'old people' but I wouldn't swap memories like these for anything.

[upthemaggies]

3. A game at Highbury which I think was in the FA Cup. Arsenal beat us on a freezing cold day, and when we got on the train it was announced that the heating system had broken. The journey back was like sitting in a fridge..

That would be the 1979 'winter of discontent' when it snowed very heavily on New Years Day (which PP'D out home game with Sheff U) and kept on snowing for weeks on end, I remember it well because we couldn't play football at school for what seemed like an absolute eternity, the playground was under a solid block of thick ice. Notts only got to play three league games before we got to March. In the FA Cup 3rd round Arsenal were playing at Sheff Wed and the locals bombarded Pat Jennings with snowballs which delayed the start of the 2nd half. Owls boss Jack Charlton went over to appeal to them to stop but they snowballed him as well.
Footage here....
https://youtu.be/YK0HkGEPmxI?t=321
That tie ended up going to a 4th replay, only being completed five days before Arsenal played Notts in the 4th round.

[nw6pie]

Although I think this game was a few months before my first away game, the mention of the charter train evokes some fantastic memories. These are all a bit hazy and may not be factually correct, but for me they are what being a Notts fan is all about. As I recall, they were organised by the supporter's club and I remember Claude Bishop and Neal Hook running them.

1. The away trip to Carlisle. Once we got the other side of Manchester, it was a scenic delight. Sitting back and looking out at the magnificence of the Lake District made one of our longest trips seem short.
2. The day we played a top of the table clash at Sunderland and lost 4-0. As we walked back to the train station it was absolutely pissing down, but these was the days of hooliganism so the police kept us waiting outside in the pouring rain until all the home fans had dispersed. We all boarded the train soaked to the skin, and still hadn't dried off when we got back to Nottingham.
3. A game at Highbury which I think was in the FA Cup. Arsenal beat us on a freezing cold day, and when we got on the train it was announced that the heating system had broken. The journey back was like sitting in a fridge.
4. A cup game on the south coast (I think either Bournemouth or Portsmouth) which we found out on arrival had been postponed due to a frozen pitch. We were told the return train was still scheduled to leave at 5:30, so I spent most of the afternoon in a betting shop, mainly for a bit of warmth. I got lucky and covered not only the cost of the journey, but also enough for a coffee and omelette and chips in a local cafe.
5. The epic Fulham 1-5 Notts game when they had Bobby Moore, George Best and Rodney Marsh in the team. For London games the train always stopped at St Pancras and we had to make the onward journey using the London underground. I just managed to hop on a tube and got back at St Pancras station an hour before we were due to depart, so sought out the nearest pub which had only just opened at 5:30 (no all day drinking in those days). I was euphoric so must have necked 4 pints in 40 minutes. I even asked for a couple of bottles with the tops taken off to sneak on the train for the journey back.
6. Whatever the game or distance, whenever we got back to Nottingham station there was always a bloke outside selling the Football Post. I always tried to be quick to avoid the queue.

We often get mocked for being 'old people' but I wouldn't swap memories like these for anything.

Great memories, though I assume the postponed cup game on the south coast was Brighton in 1978.

My first away game on a football special was the FA Cup tie at Leicester in 1982, we won 3-2 (they scored a couple of late goals to make it interesting). I have a 100% record at Filbert Street after seeing that and a 4-0 win on the opening day of the 1983-84 season.

Don’t think I ever recall a single train we went on that wasn’t in a shambolic state with no heating. I was just relieved they had the same number of wheels when we returned to Nottingham Station. Happy days. Last one I remember going on was the night game at Huddersfield in 84 (another cup tie) when the rain was monsoon-esque. I’d been to see the Scorpions at the RCH the previous night, I think, after the cup game - due to be played that same night - had been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

[Elite_Pie]

Great memories, though I assume the postponed cup game on the south coast was Brighton in 1978.

That's the one!

[nw6pie]

That's the one!

I lived in Brighton for a few years in the mid-90s and the main thing I remember about the Goldstone Ground was its proximity to Hove train station. Not much consolation when the game is called off, though.