Hi Everyone,
Just joined from sunny (?!?) Glasgow where I've been exiled for years. I never thought I'd see the day when we were second from bottom of Legaue One! Anyway, to cheer myself up, I thought I'd join this and relive my memories of 87. I went to every round.
Round 3. End of Xmas hols and sat in the West End for the Bolton game. Cold. Wore favourite Sky Blue pants.
Round 4. I was a student in Liverpool so went to the Man Utd game with two Man U fans from Londonerry/Derry. They would have said the latter! Wore the same pants as for the Bolton game (and subsequent games). Put a tenner on us to win the game. Why didn't I have more confidence? Close run with Man Utd yobbos in Oxford Road station (?) whilst travelling back to Lverpool.
Round 5. Met up with my father for the Stoke game. Did we spend the entire second half singing 10 men went to mow a meadow? Was this the first time Spot made an appearance in the chant?
Q final. Had brewery "field trip" to Warrington on Friday afternoon. Unsurprisiingly got drunk, took coach to Sheffield and stayed with a friend from school who was at Uni there. Later, when even more drunk in a club (Lead Mill?), I remember hearing the "Sweetest Feeleing" by Jackie Wilson and I knew we were going to win the cup. Stood in the corner section of the Leppings lane End, I remember it being a crush to get in.....
S final. Easter hols, so drove up to Sheffield. Micky Gynn was a star.
Final. Only got tickets the day before - a mate from Southport had a friend who had two tickets for the Spurs end that he couldn't get get rid of....... Travelled down after champagne breakfast in a minibus with aforementioned Sheffield Uni mate. 12 of us with yellow and blue faces and electric blue wigs. A Gorilla too. We had the "Sky Blue Heaven 87" banner. Parked in Sainsburys (?) car park and swapped tickets with Spurs fans for City end outside Wembley. I recall a Ford Sierra on fire near the stadium. Killer lifting the cup was quite emotional. Repeated recently when Jess Ennis and Mo Farrah won golds at the Olympics. It's funny how a sense of ownership makes triumph more special.
Anyway, this self-indulgence has reminded that sporting triumph is always cyclical. When we first relegated from the Premiership it just got worse and worse but I do feel that we have reached the bottom. Surely it is not possible to mis manage a middle sized footbal club so badly ad in finitum. The economics of our fan base will eventually return us to the Premiership. Maybe the new manager will be the turning point....