Denis didn’t relegate United

[bluemoon32]

Love the Mike Doyle slow stroll about, daring them to have a go, never tire from seeing it

 

[smeeagain]

Unforgettable moment , I was dead level with Denis when he backheeled them into the old Div2 , laugh ? I thought my socks would never dry!
Had to keep quiet on the bus going away from gold Trafford tho !

 

[SkyBlueHobgoblin]

I was there……..stood on the terrace, at pitch level, right behind the net into which Denis put the ball. I was 14 at the time. I remember celebrating, then seeing an army of fans legging towards us from the Stretford End. Instinctively, I jumped the wall and ran across the corner of the pitch to my right. A copper tried the stiff arm technique on me but luckily I managed to duck…..(he would have floored me otherwise!!!). Escaped the ground………but it was really tense outside. I lived in Leigh…….and didn’t feel safe until I was on the bus travelling down the East Lancs. ………scary……but awesome day at the same time.

 

[OB1]

I was there, it doesn't matter what the maths were.

 

[Blue Floyd]

Was his last kick of a ball and they made a statue :D

 

[Blue Floyd]

 

[Gary James]

I’ve spent ages going through every element of this over the years. Bottom line is the ref only abandoned the game when he knew for certain that Utd were down. Had there been any chance of survival then he’d have brought them out again, so he did relegate Utd.
Think about that last day of 2011-2012 season and how that all panned out and remember that football games are not simply about maths but about emotion too. All City needed to do that day was match Utd’s result and they’d win the League. In the end City did that BUT there were times, such as the minute before Aguero scored v QPR Utd thought they’d won the title. Emotionally it was an incredible day.

In 74 Utd were not relegated pre match but post match they were. Before the game their fans had hope and, as with any final day, scores around the grounds transform the emotions being felt. Emotionally Law relegated Utd. No question.

I know not everyone subscribes to my website but I’ve written an in-depth piece on it here, showing how it all actually went and talking about the multiple pitch invasions that day:

Denis Law and United’s Relegation

Over the years there has been a lot of discussion on Denis Law and his backheeled goal for Manchester City v Manchester United at Old Trafford in April 1974. If you’re a Blue you tend to say it relegated United; if you’re a Red you tend to say ‘absolutely not! It made no difference.’ So,…

gjfootballarchive.com

Another thing that drives me about that day are the myths created about Denis Law retiring. He played on into the 1974-75 season and only retired when it became obvious Hartford would be first choice:

The Story of 1974-75

Here's a review of the 1974-75 season as experienced by Manchester City. That year Manchester City finished 8th with an average attendance of 32,898 (fifth highest in the top flight). The following explains how Denis Law played on into the 1974-75 season, even scoring in one game (this is often...

gjfootballarchive.com

 

[NPBlue]

I was there……..stood on the terrace, at pitch level, right behind the net into which Denis put the ball. I was 14 at the time. I remember celebrating, then seeing an army of fans legging towards us from the Stretford End. Instinctively, I jumped the wall and ran across the corner of the pitch to my right. A copper tried the stiff arm technique on me but luckily I managed to duck…..(he would have floored me otherwise!!!). Escaped the ground………but it was really tense outside. I lived in Leigh…….and didn’t feel safe until I was on the bus travelling down the East Lancs. ………scary……but awesome day at the same time.

I was scared as shit when the ball went in the net. It was kicking off all over the place, police horses were on the pitch, and I was on my own aged 16 surrounded by united fans. I was standing in the corner where the away fans now sit, in the days when it was a wooden stand and there was, seemingly, no hiding place from the maurading united fans running riot all over the ground.

I saw one lad get kicked and booted all the way from the top to the bottom, all the while stating he was a united fan. He was wearing a red and white scarf, but the pack didn't let up until he was motionless on the floor at the bottom of the stand.

A couple of guys standing to my left recommended I stood in a gully between the corner I was in and the main stand, assuring me they would protect me. It was deep, there was a fence to my lefthand side, and I felt invisible but not entirely safe.

I don't remember how or when I left the ground. I remember Matt Busby appealing for calm over the tannoy, which fell on deaf ears, but it was all at odds with the carnival atmosphere before the game began. All those red and white scarfs being twirled around before the game began in the sunshine literally had me laughing. I'd never seen anything like it before.

It turned nasty very quickly after Law scored his goal, and the violence afterwards was on a scale I'd never seen before or since.

I remember being releived when I returned home unscathed.

 

[RiversideBlue]

If it was now:- VAR has just checked and disallowed the goal for some petty reason. United have been awarded a penalty and the Liverpool fans are blaming Chelsea, City have been punished for the pitch invasion at the end.