Just been listening to him on Talksport talking about his only first team hat trick 37 years ago today.
Against Liverpool ? Just watched some hilights on fb - awesome - short but deadly
4-0 versus Liverpool and Platnauer got the other. Gibson was a great player for us and scored a lot of goals in some pretty poor teams and with some weak striking partners.
After that performance we were even being talked about as contenders for winning the old first division that season. As it happened, after a post Christmas slump, we just survived on the last day of the season with a nervous win over Norwich.
After that performance we were even being talked about as contenders for winning the old first division that season. As it happened, after a post Christmas slump, we just survived on the last day of the season with a nervous win over Norwich.
You said it. In that season he scored 19 goals and the next highest (Bennett) was 7. The following season he scored another 19 and the next highest was 5 (Regis).
The same way I describe my penis.
My mate was the mascot that day. He told us on a lads' holiday in Benidorm when we were 18 by which point he was a 15-stone rugby player. I sent the club a letter when we got back, pointing out that he's obviously a good luck charm so do they want him to be a mascot again (attaching a photo). Fair play, they replied saying he might be a bit old but gave us two tickets for a match which I think was 0-0 v Wimbledon ...
A very unfit and totally crocked Alan Brazil was a makeweight in the transfer of Gibson to United.
Left at the end of the season and I don't think every played at professional level again. Disaster.
Our track record in adding in makeweights to transfers is not the best; the Wilson deal to Bournemouth another great example.
There must be examples of where player swaps and makeweights worked in our favour.....can't think of any off the top of my head?
Left at the end of the season and I don't think every played at professional level again. Disaster.
Our track record in adding in makeweights to transfers is not the best; the Wilson deal to Bournemouth another great example.
There must be examples of where player swaps and makeweights worked in our favour.....can't think of any off the top of my head?
Trying to think of some swap deals, they're quite rare
Wegerle for Gallagher which didn't really work out even though the former was a very talented player just didn't work out for him long term.
Not sure if it was officially a swap deal but Sordell went to Burton and we got Beavon and Callum Reilly
I went to a lot of games that season and have absolutely no memory of this Callum Reilly chap
Looking at the squad list for that season the names Rawson, McCann, Folivi and Clarke don't ring any bells either. Probably for the best.
Agree, Brazil was a disaster for us, came with a long standing 'back problem'. Was told that when Sillett and Curtis took over the first thing Big George did was to go round to Brazils house and tell him he was leaving the club.
I cried when Gibbo left but my dad said it will be ok Brazil will be ok.
Folivi I remember. Think he was a winger, on loan from Watford.
McCann - Chris McCann? Did we have him? We’ve had so many Clarke’s it’s hard to keep up! Rawson... no idea!
Jim Melrose from Leicester for Tommy English doesn't seem bad on the surface.
Melrose started 25 games for Coventry and scored 10 (including a hat trick). Tommy English started 31 games for Leicester and scored 4.
We sold Melrose to Celtic for £100,000, which seems weird considering he was 25, his strike rate and the fact Leicester paid £250,000 for him a couple of seasons earlier (but there were reasons for the low sale price and why he had 10 clubs between 1980 and 1990). Tommy English drifted down from Leicester, leaving on a free transfer to Rochdale. Whilst Coventry were winning the FA Cup Tommy was playing non-league at the age of 26.
Interestingly, when the city fans were held after the FA cup game against Stoke in 1986-87 it was Alan Brazil who turned up outside the closed the gates of the enclosure asking the stewards and police what was going on and making sure we were ok. Didn't think much of him as a player for us, but he went up in my estimation when I saw him showing genuine concern for supporters.
On a similar note, anyone else see what Andy Blair did on Cup Final day?
The following game, we were away at Norwich and got very generously applauded onto the pitch by the home fans, purely on the strength of the 4-0 hammering we gave Liverpool the previous week.
Agree that is an example of a swap in our favour, although Melrose was hardly a massive success. A hat trick on his home debut but fairly mediocre from then on in my view.
Amazed that English was only 26 when we won the FA cup. He seemed to be playing for us a long time before then but I guess he was very young when he broke into the team. Always thought he was unfairly criticised by a portion of our support (a bit of a Biamou of his time) and maybe that affected his confidence. Having said that he was clearly nowhere near Terry Gibson's level. I think English suffered from comparisons with Ian Wallace which was why some of our fans didn't take to him.
