Bradford 1989 / Long Haired Fan (merged)

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

Re: Bradford 1989

The Bournemouth game.

My biggest memory of that day is the huge beach ball that was going round the crowd at 3-0 and everybody cheering as it bounced along.. when they scored their first goal I think a few blues even cheered ironically. There was no cheering at the end though. Gutted!

We were very lucky that day actually as if my memory serves me right Leicester got a last minute equaliser against Palace, meaning we only needed a point at Bradford. (why do I remember stuff like this? I'm sure there must be better stuff worth remembering! :))

We only needed a point at Bradford whatever the Palace result. For Palace to go up we had to lose and they had to win and beat our goal difference which was five better than theirs.

Correct. The long haired lad was incorrect saying Palace were 5 up, it was 4-0 and as it happened Palace went out all attack for the fifth towards the end of the game and Birmingham nicked one on a counter attack so the score ended 4-1

 

[FrankSwift1]

Re: Bradford 1989

The Bournemouth game.

My biggest memory of that day is the huge beach ball that was going round the crowd at 3-0 and everybody cheering as it bounced along.. when they scored their first goal I think a few blues even cheered ironically. There was no cheering at the end though. Gutted!

We were very lucky that day actually as if my memory serves me right Leicester got a last minute equaliser against Palace, meaning we only needed a point at Bradford. (why do I remember stuff like this? I'm sure there must be better stuff worth remembering! :))

We only needed a point at Bradford whatever the Palace result. For Palace to go up we had to lose and they had to win and beat our goal difference which was five better than theirs.

Correct. The long haired lad was incorrect saying Palace were 5 up, it was 4-0 and as it happened Palace went out all attack for the fifth towards the end of the game and Birmingham nicked one on a counter attack so the score ended 4-1

I was talking about the City v Bournemouth game the week before. That day Palace were away at Leicester and the game ended 2-2 - Leicester scored a last minute equalising goal. If Palace would have won that game we would have needed to beat Bradford.

 

[moggymoz]

Re: Bradford 1989

I remember listening to this live on the radio (no Sky in them days) and nearly hitting the ceiling when we scored... Then waiting impatiently all evening for the highlights on Match Of The Day.

Sorry to be pedantic, but it was Elton Welsby (with John Bond) on Granada TV

I stand corrected...

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Re: Bradford 1989

I remember listening to this live on the radio (no Sky in them days) and nearly hitting the ceiling when we scored... Then waiting impatiently all evening for the highlights on Match Of The Day.

Sorry to be pedantic, but it was Elton Welsby (with John Bond) on Granada TV

Anyone else remember Rob McAffrey interviewing John Bond at the City end before the game and him getting dog's abuse from many of the blues in there? Talk about asking for trouble.

I was sat in the Bradford end for this game. Still went mental when Morley scored.


"At long, long last". I wonder what became of that commentator.......

 

[hateutd]

Re: Bradford 1989

nostalgia.....

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

Re: Bradford 1989

We only needed a point at Bradford whatever the Palace result. For Palace to go up we had to lose and they had to win and beat our goal difference which was five better than theirs.

Correct. The long haired lad was incorrect saying Palace were 5 up, it was 4-0 and as it happened Palace went out all attack for the fifth towards the end of the game and Birmingham nicked one on a counter attack so the score ended 4-1

I was talking about the City v Bournemouth game the week before. That day Palace were away at Leicester and the game ended 2-2 - Leicester scored a last minute equalising goal. If Palace would have won that game we would have needed to beat Bradford.

Yes, understood about the Leicester v Palace game - remember that well as when the Bournemouth game ended, the tannoy at City gave the result at Filbert Street as a 2-1 win to Palace to much shaking of the heads all around. What we didn't know was the game was still playing.
I was just exiting the Kippax when some bloke with a radio informs us it was 2-2. We were now on the Kippax car park and I shouted something like 'City's going up' and someone shouted back 'fuck off' and threw a 10p coin at me, hit me on the chest! I looked around and everyone looked depressed ha ha

 

[urmston]

Re: Bradford 1989

I worked in Bradford at the time and my employer had loads of free Bradford tickets that often went untaken.

For the crucial match I got a free ticket for the match through work, but in the Bradford end.

I cheered when Trev scored and rushed back to Manchester on my motorbike to join the celebrations.

Happy days.

 

[Gary James]

Re: Bradford 1989

I remember listening to this live on the radio (no Sky in them days) and nearly hitting the ceiling when we scored... Then waiting impatiently all evening for the highlights on Match Of The Day.

Sorry to be pedantic, but it was Elton Welsby (with John Bond) on Granada TV

Anyone else remember Rob McAffrey interviewing John Bond at the City end before the game and him getting dog's abuse from many of the blues in there? Talk about asking for trouble.

I was sat in the Bradford end for this game. Still went mental when Morley scored.


"At long, long last". I wonder what became of that commentator.......

Bond had been on Kick Off the night before saying that even if MCFC get promoted the kids would not be good enough for the top flight yet. To be fair to him he meant without the addition of some quality older players but none of us saw it like that at the time. When I interviewed him a few years later and asked him about the abuse and what he'd said he pointed out that they did struggle before the experienced players Kendall brought in. He did admit that the abuse hurt him, but said that perhaps his 'honesty' was badly timed - he still believed he was right but recognised that it put a bit of a dampener on things the day before an important game.

In an interview I did with Paul Lake he told me that a few of the players refused to be interviewed by Bond at Bradford because of what he'd said.

 

[manimanc]

Re: Bradford 1989

Correct. The long haired lad was incorrect saying Palace were 5 up, it was 4-0 and as it happened Palace went out all attack for the fifth towards the end of the game and Birmingham nicked one on a counter attack so the score ended 4-1

I was talking about the City v Bournemouth game the week before. That day Palace were away at Leicester and the game ended 2-2 - Leicester scored a last minute equalising goal. If Palace would have won that game we would have needed to beat Bradford.

Yes, understood about the Leicester v Palace game - remember that well as when the Bournemouth game ended, the tannoy at City gave the result at Filbert Street as a 2-1 win to Palace to much shaking of the heads all around. What we didn't know was the game was still playing.
I was just exiting the Kippax when some bloke with a radio informs us it was 2-2. We were now on the Kippax car park and I shouted something like 'City's going up' and someone shouted back 'fuck off' and threw a 10p coin at me, hit me on the chest! I looked around and everyone looked depressed ha ha

didn`t we have a scoreboard on the kippax that day?
and if I remember rightly we was all stood there waitjing for the Leicester/palace score to come in and it flashed on the scoreboard "latest score" and everybody started going "sshh ssshh" and up came 2-2 and we all went mental....

 

[njmcfc1894]

Re: Bradford 1989

I was only 11 at the time (day after Bournemouth so Blackburn 2000/Ipswich 2001 were on my birthday haha) but weren't the highlights shown (possibly a repeat) on the Sunday afternoon?

 

[pluto]

Re: Bradford 1989

Re Bradford
Always remember the state of the pitch walking on it post match seemed 60% sand 40% grass

 

[dennishasdoneit]

Re: Bradford 1989

always remember playing their supporters club in a match on the sat morning ..beat them 10 -1 or something silly- i scored with a left foot blaster from two yards..happy days. Their lot got us into some home fans only social club, really looked after us and we had great seats in their Main stand.

nerve racking day but playing footy in the morning helped take my mind off the real match to come later.

 

[chaddblue]

Re: Bradford 1989

I got a ticket for the Bradford game off a tout outside Maine Road before the Bournemouth game for £50. Probably a small fortune back then

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Re: Bradford 1989

I got a ticket for the Bradford game off a tout outside Maine Road before the Bournemouth game for £50. Probably a small fortune back then

bBefore the Bournemouth game?

 

[WhenProgrammesWereAShilling]

Re: Bradford 1989

I remember this game very well. It was just a few weeks after the Hillsborough tragedy and the police had set up several road blocks and also a security cordon some 100 yards from the ground, so unless you had a ticket you could'nt get near the turnstiles.

I arrived by car and parked up well away from the ground at about 9am for the 3pm kick-off and bought a ticket from a Bradford fan for £20. That was'nt cheap in 1989! I was a season ticket holder but had missed out on the measly allocation we were given- i think the capacity was around 13-14,000 at the time there. I also remember the flowers some city fans had laid at the memorial to the fans who suffered in the 1985 fire, a nice touch.

Inside the ground in their end it was a strange atmosphere and as one person has already mentioned we congregated near the front, to our left of the goalposts. A fair few blues were there and we got no mither- even when they scored and it was obvious who we were.

The tension was unbearable with news that Palace were winning and we needed a goal. When it came at last we knew immediately that we were up- cue the (now) customary pitch invasion at the final whistle.

On my way out of the ground (via their new main stand) a Bradford fan grabbed me and gave me a hug, 'Well done, i hope you stuff United next season!' he said. We both shared another hug, shook hands and that was it.

The following season i thought of him as we beat the rags 5-1. That's another story.

 

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

Re: Bradford 1989

My mind might be playing tricks on me, but my abiding memory of that game was a hack/professional foul by Gary Megson, with the score 1-1 and a Bradford player going clear. In my minds eye, I am convinced, Megson knew he couldn't catch the player do just took him out, no messing! I have always convinced myself that that was what got us promoted that day-a tackle by Gary Megson. Marvellous day whether true or not!!

 

[chaddblue]

Re: Bradford 1989

I got a ticket for the Bradford game off a tout outside Maine Road before the Bournemouth game for £50. Probably a small fortune back then

bBefore the Bournemouth game?

That's how I remember it, but paying that much for a ticket for a match we all thought was going to be meaningless? Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. It was 1/4 of a century ago!!

 

[droylsdenblue]

Re: Bradford 1989

We went by car, when in Bradford we asked a lad the way to the ground, he asked us if we were City fans, when we said yes he told us to f*ck off! still laugh about that.
Loads of City fans in the Bradford end.
When Morley scored I said to my mate that we'd win this game now not realising it was so close the end, the quickest 45 mins ever that second half.
Happy days.

 

[St Helens Blue (Exiled)]

The Long Haired fan at Bradford 1-1....

Anyone else remember him..He ran on the pitch late on on the game when Morley equalised to send us up.

I am 100% certain I saw him last night in the South Stand Level 2....Made me chuckle thinking about that day many moons ago.
Can anyone confirm if he does go still etc? I cant post pictures of him as am at work.

 

[marco]

Re: The Long Haired fan at Bradford 1-1....

Anyone else remember him..He ran on the pitch late on on the game when Morley equalised to send us up.

I am 100% certain I saw him last night in the South Stand Level 2....Made me chuckle thinking about that day many moons ago.
Can anyone confirm if he does go still etc? I cant post pictures of him as am at work.

i remember him though i doubt he would have all that hair today and if he did it would probably be grey 'lol'