I think this will be the last of my reminiscences. Anymore and I'll have to start making up the anecdotes whereas so far they have all been true. The usual ragbag of half remembered things with my faulty memory and unprofessional opinion on top of them.
So half forgotten players, I've already mentioned the ones we all know.
Jackie Blanchflower. Slower than Lindelhof, but could play, decent in the air, great on the ground. Think Daley Blind, though not quite as good.
Dave Gaskell. Goalie, famous for dropping his shorts when he got some stick from the crowd. A good shot stopper, the one thing I remember him for was a shot travelling towards him, instead of clutching to his chest like most do, he just stuck out his hands at 45° up, so the ball bounced down in front of him, then up and he caught it. Very nonchalant.
Albert Quixall. We are in the era of colour now!. A record signing, good player, nice guy, but didn't have the character to really make it. Not a flop, not a success.
Ian Moir. A favourite of mine. Winger, skinned his fullback every time, and then would run it out of play, or miss the cross. Great to watch though.
George Best. God on two legs.
Alex Forsyth. Liked him too, a full back who could tackle. He could pass I suppose but I only remember the tackles.
Jimmy Nicholl. A really good fullback.
It was about now that life changed for my generation, new music, clubs, burger bars, getting married, buying a house, going abroad. It was brilliant, we all thought it would last for ever. It should have done, no reason why not.
Grounds were sheds, crumbling terraces, awful food, no parking, toilets with the appeal of a polecats fart, but great atmosphere, and cheap. I think we were still able to drink and drive then, well no breathalyser, but I didn't, Mick drank enough for us both. The laughs though, when your 20 odd everything can be funny.
Lee Sharpe.; For two years I preferred him to Giggsy!
Danny Wallace. Great for Southampton not for us. Either injured or unfit, it turned out later he had multiple sclerosis, poor sod.
Keith Gillesoie, another favourite of mine. I see a theme here, I like wingers, and he was a good one, fast and skilful.
Jodi Cruyff. Didn't like him or rate him.
Andy Goram. There's only two Andy Gorams'.
Alan Smith. Don't really know, nobody tried harder, and he was decent, but not really good enough imo.
All the away games were good whether by coach, train or car. I went to plenty on my own too,, but the best was with Mick and Ray, get a couple of mates and you laugh and cheer all day.
Nobody on that list (except one) would make it today, not athletic enough. But don't let anyone tell you players then didn't have the same skill level, it's just that 20 Parkdrive a day slowed you down.
Rambledone
posted on 13/7/19
comment by Dave NotSo (U11711)
posted 1 hour, 25 minutes ago
comment by Ole-Dirty-Baz ta’rd (U19119)
posted 27 minutes ago
Listen to this as you read 52’s great ramblings....https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EAmIuTI4wRg
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That's a good suggestion.
Nearly as good as what I was listening to as I read 52's article.
https://youtu.be/NHozn0YXAeE
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https://youtu.be/TVUq2fdr39I
This is the obvious one
posted on 13/7/19
You should do a podcast
posted on 13/7/19
comment by Shugs (U14253)
posted 9 hours, 28 minutes ago
comment by Dave NotSo (U11711)
posted 1 hour, 25 minutes ago
comment by Ole-Dirty-Baz ta’rd (U19119)
posted 27 minutes ago
Listen to this as you read 52’s great ramblings....https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EAmIuTI4wRg
----------------------------------------------------------------------
That's a good suggestion.
Nearly as good as what I was listening to as I read 52's article.
https://youtu.be/NHozn0YXAeE
----------------------------------------------------------------------
https://youtu.be/TVUq2fdr39I
This is the obvious one
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You cheeky scamps.. I was trying to compliment his article with an epic song that would compliment not take the p!ss.
posted on 13/7/19
The season we spent under the doc in the second division I went to every game with my dad and we played some of the best attacking free spirited football I’ve ever seen from a United team with Gordon Hill, Steve Coppel, Pancho Pearson, Gerry Daley etc think we finished second on our season back up.
Despite all we’ve won since it was proper pre prem and Sheiks and money football when players had to buy a pub or a chippy after retirement, wonderful memories even when we were crap the lads gave 100% been quite depressing the last five years or so to see the beloved badge devalued
posted on 13/7/19
Franko, yes that was a great season, I remember it well. I didn't know the term then, but we played a high press.
posted on 13/7/19
comment by manusince52 (U9692)
posted 46 minutes ago
Franko, yes that was a great season, I remember it well. I didn't know the term then, but we played a high press.
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Yes 52 and how blissfully ignorant of the term we were at the time we just thought they ran their socks off.
We were up against Paisley Liverpool at the time who would play 60+ matches with the same 12 players under the mantra never change a winning team and it worked with no red zones and pointless rotation, now if you get to the semi final of an FA Cup you rest your goal keeper etc all crazy to me.
I remember Paisley saying about what eventually became rotation that it wasn’t losing the player that was the problem it was fitting them back in to a winning team after without upsetting the team again and I’ve seen it and thought about that many tines with us with a so call star brought back in to replace a “ lesser” player, think it happened to us this season with Ole
posted on 13/7/19
Comment Deleted by Article Creator
posted on 13/7/19
Then you would have been wrong.
posted on 13/7/19
Yes of course I am 52
Also who is Keith Gillesoie,
We had a player once called Keith Gillespie who only played 9 times for United and was the make-weight in the Andy Cole deal?
posted on 13/7/19
He was indeed the make weight for Cole. But I think I saw most of if not all his nine games, including his debut? against Bury, who he terrorised. But the point anyway is that I had already written about the well-known, and this was about a few that floated into my head. The first few lines will tell you none of it is well remembered.