|
Post by bobgauden on Dec 19, 2015 23:25:14 GMT
Hey all, new member here, thought I'd start a thread for most of us who were lucky enough to remember Eton park, many fond memories for different reasons. I was born in 1977 so my first real memories are of watching them in couple of seasons prior to the 87 Wembley final. The popside was a nice place to be.
A place to share your Eton park memories...
|
|
|
Post by swaddy Dave on Dec 20, 2015 11:59:22 GMT
Is that really you Bob . Great idea for a thread I have many many memories of Eton park, will post some when I have more time.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2015 12:09:52 GMT
I only had about 5 or 6 years worth at Eton Park but one that always sticks out in my memory was the FA Trophy semi final against Yeovil. The bar that was the other side of the car park to the ground before the game was full of Yeovil supporters, Man Utd vs Arsenal was on Sky as a warm up to our game (first time we were on live TV?) and they were one of the very top non league teams at the time. There was a great atmosphere at the game despite it being a foregone conclusion over who was getting to the final but we won on the day. I'll always remember it because I looked on in envy as they were clearly destined for the football league. They walked the conference the year after. How little I knew what was in store for us...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2015 12:55:09 GMT
Doug Newton's exocet free kick from inside the centre circle to the top corner versus Staines Town in the 1st round of the FA Cup. Never seen a goal like it ! 1974/5 FA Trophy semi-final v Matlock Town. Attendance 5,555 including about 55 from Derbyshire. The disappointment of losing that day hurt very deep(I was 17 at the time) and the pain didn't lift until we were promoted as Champions of the Conference.
|
|
|
Post by etonparker64 on Dec 20, 2015 16:06:28 GMT
my first season at Eton park was 64/65 .I remember my dad used to park outside the cafe that operated from the building that had been Horninglow railway station on Derby road. You had to walk down a cinder pathway alongside Eatoughs ? sports and social club to get to the turnstiles at the corner of the popside and derby road end. The railway line was still in use and occasionally a freight train would use its horn as it went behind the popside stand. i seem to remember that it used to be called the railway stand in the early days? At half time the supporters behind the goals used to swap ends and often met up in the middle of the popside or by the tea hut run by Vera Goode. The tea hut was an old railway wagon that had been dropped off from the railway line immediately behind the popside. The social club was an old wooden building next to the main stand . That moved to a new building on the far side of the car park in the late 60's or early 70's but then went independent of the football club for some reason that i never understood for many years until the football club took it back when the social club had financial problems.
one of my abiding memories of those early days were the collections at half time when club officials would come round the edge of the pitch with a blanket collecting money to be used to keep the club afloat. How far we have come|
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2015 16:29:47 GMT
my first season at Eton park was 64/65 .I remember my dad used to park outside the cafe that operated from the building that had been Horninglow railway station on Derby road. You had to walk down a cinder pathway alongside Eatoughs ? sports and social club to get to the turnstiles at the corner of the popside and derby road end. The railway line was still in use and occasionally a freight train would use its horn as it went behind the popside stand. i seem to remember that it used to be called the railway stand in the early days? At half time the supporters behind the goals used to swap ends and often met up in the middle of the popside or by the tea hut run by Vera Goode. The tea hut was an old railway wagon that had been dropped off from the railway line immediately behind the popside. The social club was an old wooden building next to the main stand . That moved to a new building on the far side of the car park in the late 60's or early 70's but then went independent of the football club for some reason that i never understood for many years until the football club took it back when the social club had financial problems. one of my abiding memories of those early days were the collections at half time when club officials would come round the edge of the pitch with a blanket collecting money to be used to keep the club afloat. How far we have come| So many memories of my early days after reading your excellent post etonpark64. We really have come a very long way. A very merry Xmas to you my friend COYB's
|
|
|
Post by dcpedigree on Dec 20, 2015 19:01:52 GMT
Vera Goode, Matlock Town our bitter rivals, those FA trophy clashes, sitting on the grass in front of the advertising boards behind the goal, Dickie Guy the best goalkeeper I had ever seen who refused to go pro when Wimbledon got promoted I was led to believe, Bury FA cup, swapping sides at half time and meeting half way, same copper every game who’s name escapes me, “play up the albion” song we used to sing, Kicking the corrugated back wall of the stand, orange silky scarf with tassels tied round our wrist. Wow, now top of the old third division, one league away from where Man Utd were in 73-74 season
|
|
|
Post by mikeyboy on Dec 20, 2015 19:24:16 GMT
Some great memories there chaps, the way Eton Parker described the scenes it was so real I could almost see and touch them once again. I was a year after that 1965/66 which was a great season for Albion and later on England in the World Cup. My first match was a local derby - Burton Albion Reserves v Gresley Rovers in the Central Alliance. From memory it was 1s 6d to get in in those days (7.5p for the uninitiated) and the programme was 6d. Does anyone else remember the day that football violence came to Burton for the first time in the FA Trophy match v Bridgwater Town in 1969/70? I was so shocked that it came from such an unlikely source and a club 2 leagues below us in the Western League.
|
|
|
Post by bobbydolphin on Dec 20, 2015 19:55:40 GMT
Really good oxtail soup with loads of meaty bits in it. Naughty big lads bunking in over the wall next to the social club when we played Bury in the cup. Ian Storey Moore with socks rolled down. Stuart Mell,Jim Kabia and "that" Doug Newton goal. Pat Lally having his leg broken. Barry Alcock getting floored by a Tamworth player at a corner. 900 being a very good crowd. Loads of floodlight pylons down each side and a supplementary one behind each goal. Wycombe Wanderers in the trophy circa 79/80 with I had a dream by ABBA being played after our cup victories that season......TUNE! ? A short lived half time scoreboard. An equally short lived monthly,glossy(ish) magazine called Banner. Graham Fearn. Clive Arthur. Ind Coope donating the princely sum of £3'000 over 3 seasons as our main sponsor. Kevin Hector in Nike boots and Frickley Athletic in the fog. Honourary mentions also to the excitement felt when the main stand was upgraded to shiny plastic orange seats from the original wooden benches and kicking off The 79/80 season at home to Witton Albion. Bathed in sunshine and optimism with the club having opted to join the NPL. UP THE BREWERS!
|
|
|
Post by uttoxbrewer on Dec 20, 2015 20:22:59 GMT
I'm enjoying reading your Eton Park memories chaps, thanks a lot.
Terraceman - you mention the FA Trophy Semi Final against Matlock. That was the second game I attended, and first on a Saturday, and remember going to the match with my then next door neighbour and his Dad. We got there (on the old bank end) at about 12.30pm (it was a 3pm kick off!) and didn't realise at the time (I was only nine years old then) the significance of the game or if this was the norm for every Saturday game. Fortunately the next time we played in a FA Trophy Semi Final against Dartford twelve years later helped erase those memories, even if the weather that day was terrible!
I don't think anyone who was at the match against Staines will ever forget Doug Newton's piledriver free kick. I also remember the 4th qualifying round that season vs Wycombe was a cracker too. (Won 4-2)
Bobby Dolphin - bizarrely enough I also remember the game against Frickley Colliery in the pea soup fog.
Never seeming to beat Marine. Beating Gateshead 8-0 on a Sunday afternoon. Neil Warnock's blood and thunder sides. The 1986-87 season and especially the FA Trophy quarter final vs Maidstone. Not long after Nigel Clough took over(the first time) watching a Birmingham Senior Cup game against Kings Norton Town, losing 4-1 (anyone remember Wayne Sutton?), the attendance was 104, it was December, the sky was clear and the temperature was akin to those in Siberia. And wondering why on earth I was there. (I'm sure the other 103 felt the same).
Just a few memories of the top of my head.
Oh, and Captain Len Kojak.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2015 22:52:38 GMT
Some great memories there chaps, the way Eton Parker described the scenes it was so real I could almost see and touch them once again. I was a year after that 1965/66 which was a great season for Albion and later on England in the World Cup. My first match was a local derby - Burton Albion Reserves v Gresley Rovers in the Central Alliance. From memory it was 1s 6d to get in in those days (7.5p for the uninitiated) and the programme was 6d. Does anyone else remember the day that football violence came to Burton for the first time in the FA Trophy match v Bridgwater Town in 1969/70? I was so shocked that it came from such an unlikely source and a club 2 leagues below us in the Western League. I remember that Bridgewater town game very well, running battles with the yobs from the west country some who were dressed clockwork orange style. I was 12 or 13 and a bit scared but I had seen plenty of hooliganism at Molineux, got punched a few times but landed a few back, just in self defence. I also remember near the end when Albion's right winger Ian Marshall was ripped up in the box and left winger Dave Scattergood coolly slammed the resultant penalty home in front of the Albion faithful on the sand bank, wild scenes of celebration in an scary atmosphere and a great end to a thrilling cup tie. Any one remember the Dave Vaughan tackle during the Warnock era when he hit Oldbury's winger that hard in the tackle that he went over the advertising boards or the battles with Macclesfield. Billy Naylor, Graham Brown and Steve Buckley scoring goals for fun in the 1973/4 season ably assisted from midfield by Frank Corrigan.
|
|
|
Post by uttoxbrewer on Dec 20, 2015 23:01:14 GMT
Does anyone else remember the day that football violence came to Burton for the first time in the FA Trophy match v Bridgwater Town in 1969/70? I was so shocked that it came from such an unlikely source and a club 2 leagues below us in the Western League. Trouble over Bridgewater?
|
|
|
Post by everard on Dec 20, 2015 23:19:57 GMT
Does anyone else remember the day that football violence came to Burton for the first time in the FA Trophy match v Bridgwater Town in 1969/70? I was so shocked that it came from such an unlikely source and a club 2 leagues below us in the Western League. Trouble over Bridgewater? Yeh Garmon and Sifunkel wrote a song about it, didn't they?
|
|
|
Post by mikeyboy on Dec 21, 2015 12:54:54 GMT
Some great memories there chaps, the way Eton Parker described the scenes it was so real I could almost see and touch them once again. I was a year after that 1965/66 which was a great season for Albion and later on England in the World Cup. My first match was a local derby - Burton Albion Reserves v Gresley Rovers in the Central Alliance. From memory it was 1s 6d to get in in those days (7.5p for the uninitiated) and the programme was 6d. Does anyone else remember the day that football violence came to Burton for the first time in the FA Trophy match v Bridgwater Town in 1969/70? I was so shocked that it came from such an unlikely source and a club 2 leagues below us in the Western League. I remember that Bridgewater town game very well, running battles with the yobs from the west country some who were dressed clockwork orange style. I was 12 or 13 and a bit scared but I had seen plenty of hooliganism at Molineux, got punched a few times but landed a few back, just in self defence. I also remember near the end when Albion's right winger Ian Marshall was ripped up in the box and left winger Dave Scattergood coolly slammed the resultant penalty home in front of the Albion faithful on the sand bank, wild scenes of celebration in an scary atmosphere and a great end to a thrilling cup tie. Any one remember the Dave Vaughan tackle during the Warnock era when he hit Oldbury's winger that hard in the tackle that he went over the advertising boards or the battles with Macclesfield. Billy Naylor, Graham Brown and Steve Buckley scoring goals for fun in the 1973/4 season ably assisted from midfield by Frank Corrigan. Yes it was a bit scary TM, but then you go on to mention battles with Macclesfield and that was scarier still. I remember travelling to the Moss Rose ground for the Quarter Final replay and there was a lot more violence there too. I was also 13 and I remember the Macc lads ringleader was about 40 and taking on anybody daft enough to have a go at him. The start of the skinhead era I guess.
|
|
|
Post by sinfinbovril on Dec 21, 2015 13:22:32 GMT
I only had about 5 or 6 years worth at Eton Park but one that always sticks out in my memory was the FA Trophy semi final against Yeovil. The bar that was the other side of the car park to the ground before the game was full of Yeovil supporters, Man Utd vs Arsenal was on Sky as a warm up to our game (first time we were on live TV?) and they were one of the very top non league teams at the time. There was a great atmosphere at the game despite it being a foregone conclusion over who was getting to the final but we won on the day. I'll always remember it because I looked on in envy as they were clearly destined for the football league. They walked the conference the year after. How little I knew what was in store for us... That game against Yeovil saw my favourite Brewers goal of all time - Dale Anderson. I can't remember if it was the winner or not (we won 2-1, didn't we?) but he seemed to dribble round half their team and take an age to hit the ball into the net. I think I yelled "HIT IT!!!!" about six times before he did. Beating the mighty Yeovil - heady days...
My first game was in 2000 against Welling Utd. I remember queuing (early) for my half time tray of chips and watched Webby miss a penalty. All that talk about violence reminds me of the season we came second to Margate and we played them on the last match of the season. Their supporters had a scrap amongst themselves and I found it hard to explain to my 10 year old son why!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2015 15:04:09 GMT
I only had about 5 or 6 years worth at Eton Park but one that always sticks out in my memory was the FA Trophy semi final against Yeovil. The bar that was the other side of the car park to the ground before the game was full of Yeovil supporters, Man Utd vs Arsenal was on Sky as a warm up to our game (first time we were on live TV?) and they were one of the very top non league teams at the time. There was a great atmosphere at the game despite it being a foregone conclusion over who was getting to the final but we won on the day. I'll always remember it because I looked on in envy as they were clearly destined for the football league. They walked the conference the year after. How little I knew what was in store for us... That game against Yeovil saw my favourite Brewers goal of all time - Dale Anderson. I can't remember if it was the winner or not (we won 2-1, didn't we?) but he seemed to dribble round half their team and take an age to hit the ball into the net. I think I yelled "HIT IT!!!!" about six times before he did. Beating the mighty Yeovil - heady days...
My first game was in 2000 against Welling Utd. I remember queuing (early) for my half time tray of chips and watched Webby miss a penalty. All that talk about violence reminds me of the season we came second to Margate and we played them on the last match of the season. Their supporters had a scrap amongst themselves and I found it hard to explain to my 10 year old son why! I could be wrong, because he did score a few good goals, but the famous Dale 'dribble goal' came, I think, in the Northern Premier League v Hucknall Town.
|
|
|
Post by claymillman on Dec 21, 2015 15:30:39 GMT
Yes I think the fantastic solo goal was in an otherwise drab game against Hucknall Town. He picked the ball up just inside his own half, then dribbled his way through many tackles, then rounded the goalkeeper. A fantastic goal by Dale Anderson
|
|
|
Post by etonparker64 on Dec 21, 2015 16:55:42 GMT
Just a few more memories to take us back to Eton park. I remember the floodlights being put up. They were purchased from Bristol rovers I think. They were painted a reddy brown colour and presumably we could not afford to repaint them. the lights always shone in your eyes which I was told was because they were on a concrete base in Bristol and they were therefore lower when fixed in the ground at Eton park.
I don't know if this is true or not, but it was rumoured in the mid to late 60's that our then chairman Tom Bradbury actually re-mortgaged his house to keep the club afloat! HIS WIFE WAS NOT TOLD UNTIL MUCH LATER! You can see from that example that we have been extremely fortunate in our chairmen, even before Ben Robinson.
my first memories of Albion players were Stan Round and Richie Barker and I think one of them still holds the goal scoring record ?
I still remember my Burton Albion rattle, a great heavy wooden object that you swung round so it made a completely unique noise like nothing you hear these days! it was of course painted in the club colours. I also seem to remember that at one point we played in black and AMBER or is my memory playing tricks on me.
I wish you all a merry Christmas. Shame there is no home march on boxing day. I recall several of those, they started at 11am so you were back for lunch. The crowd warmed themselves up with nips of whisky from hip flasks which got passed around between the section of the crowd that you stood with every week as people always seemed to stand at the same spot every week.
COYB!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2015 16:57:16 GMT
Yes Dale Anderson's wonder goal was against Hucknall Town definitely. Claymillman I remember that FA Trophy QF replay at the Moss Rose and I don't think the thuggery was limited to the terraces, didn't we end the game with only 8 fit players on the pitch ? Macc were a disgrace. Mossley 3-1 at home and a brilliant volley from Kevin Hector, every time Mossley had the ball Albion fans chanted "cheats" as during the away game we played something like 12 minutes of added time or basically until they scored the winner sending us home with a 2-3 defeat. There fans were most unfriendly. Mossley could play though as well as dish out the rough stuff, they had 3 brothers up front, the Skeete family, all mixed race about 6'13" and muscles in their spit ! I was chuffed to bits when we signed defensive lynch pin off them David Vaughan, he came with the nickname " the assassin" and those who saw his performancies in the 5 years he was with us will know what I mean. I think it was a bit of a culture shock for us when we first joined the NPL from the Southern league but after having lumps kicked out of us by teams like Mossley, Marine and Witton Albion we gradually came to terms with a more rugged approach !
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2015 17:15:34 GMT
Eton Park was home to some wonderful FA Cup and Trophy nights, the place seem to generate an atmosphere all of its own in those mid week games and some very good attendances. Here's a few for the memory banks FAT 1974/5 v Atherstone 4-2aet, there keeper Gerry Peyton(who went on to have a great league career) scored from a drop kick and we equalised late on and a young lad named Peter Ward scored a cracker for us that night. FAC4thQR 83/4 3-1 v Walthamstow Avenue and 2 goals for Paul Fisher. 84/5 FACup v Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 to the Albion with goals from Mell and Froggatt in front of 3,442. 86/7 FATQF 1-0 v Maidstone Utd with Dave Redfearn getting the only goal 2nd half with 3,316 watching. 87/8 FACup 1st round lost 1-2 to York City. Will that do for part one !
|
|