Memory Lane 50 Years ago Today- 1971-72 Promotion Season - Wednesday 3 May 1972 - We finish as runners up! - Southend United 2 Gillingham 2

[LBBlue]

Saturday 4 March 1972 Exeter City 0 Southend United 0

1972 was a leap year so the 29th February has thrown the corresponding dates/ days of the week out! So I will stick to the corresponding day of the week.

Bill Garner returned from suspension, Peter Woods kept his place and Bernie Lewis was left out again with Peter Taylor on the bench.

Exeter were in 17th position just 3 points above the bottom 4, so we would expect to get something from the game.

It was very wet and very muddy and football was a struggle and the conditions took their toll.

David Elliott pulled a muscle after just 4 minutes and was replaced by Peter Taylor. The influential Elliot missed the next 5 games with Arthur signing Dennis Booth to replace him.

Not a lot else happened apart from Exeter losing two players to injury and finishing with 10 men for the last 30 minutes.

So we picked up a point away from home, having lost 4 of the previous 5 ways games.

With 16 games to go were still 6th a point behind Brentford and Southport with 2 games in hand. Of the 5 teams above us we still had away games at Lincoln and Southport over Easter weekend and Scunthorpe a couple of weeks later.

We were due to play at Northampton the following Tuesday but that was postponed because of the power cut situation which was to be resolved before the next weekend when we had Friday and Monday home games coming up. There were going to be a lot of games to play before the planned end to the season on 29 April In theory 16 in 51 days….

 

[Stuart W]

This game was memorable for me as if I recall correctly it was the only game where the fans actually voted as to whether to proceed to the game!
It was my first season of travelling on ( I believe) the green liveried Harris coaches commanded by Alan and Peter Bushell.
The weather had been horrendous all the way down to the south-west, and I think we got wind of the proposed pitch inspection when we had reached the Bristol area. It didn’t look promising and I believe the alternative proposal was to find another game that was more likely to be on. However the vote was in favour of taking the gamble and continue to Exeter, and we were “rewarded” with another point on our way to promotion.

 

[ozzie]

It was memorable for me for a few reasons....on the way down,FERTIE,who had studied Exeter UNI knew a few things about Exeter..
One was according to him when we were about an hour away from Exeter, you should look for MAGPIE(birds)...count how many you see and that was how many goals we would score!!
After about eight i gave up..
Another was his Exeter COWSHED song....the COWSHED was Exeters "end"although the COWSHED was on the side!!! It was where their "lads-farmers" were...
His song went.....
1....2....3....4..... listen to the COWSHED roar.......(then we all went)..MMOOOOOOOOO
Exeter fans may well have heard that chant many times before,but i remember it well.
Also after singing that song a few times sitting in the seats.A gang of about ten ECFC fans came over threatening us,one being a lad wearing a turban(Sikh ??) with scarfs hanging from his belt down his trouses and one on each wrist.
Never thought 13 years later,i would be living there (its a great place) and when i went to St James Park (which i did often,especiallythe season they won the 4th div and we also went up) i always wore my SUFC badge.
In fact my nickname became "Safend" to a few City fans.As well as a few other names which i cannot write....happy days

 

[LCBB72]

It was memorable for me for a few reasons....on the way down,FERTIE,who had studied Exeter UNI knew a few things about Exeter..
One was according to him when we were about an hour away from Exeter, you should look for MAGPIE(birds)...count how many you see and that was how many goals we would score!!
After about eight i gave up..
Another was his Exeter COWSHED song....the COWSHED was Exeters "end"although the COWSHED was on the side!!! It was where their "lads-farmers" were...
His song went.....
1....2....3....4..... listen to the COWSHED roar.......(then we all went)..MMOOOOOOOOO
Exeter fans may well have heard that chant many times before,but i remember it well.
Also after singing that song a few times sitting in the seats.A gang of about ten ECFC fans came over threatening us,one being a lad wearing a turban(Sikh ??) with scarfs hanging from his belt down his trouses and one on each wrist.
Never thought 13 years later,i would be living there (its a great place) and when i went to St James Park (which i did often,especiallythe season they won the 4th div and we also went up) i always wore my SUFC badge.
In fact my nickname became "Safend" to a few City fans.As well as a few other names which

It was memorable for me for a few reasons....on the way down,FERTIE,who had studied Exeter UNI knew a few things about Exeter..
One was according to him when we were about an hour away from Exeter, you should look for MAGPIE(birds)...count how many you see and that was how many goals we would score!!
After about eight i gave up..
Another was his Exeter COWSHED song....the COWSHED was Exeters "end"although the COWSHED was on the side!!! It was where their "lads-farmers" were...
His song went.....
1....2....3....4..... listen to the COWSHED roar.......(then we all went)..MMOOOOOOOOO
Exeter fans may well have heard that chant many times before,but i remember it well.
Also after singing that song a few times sitting in the seats.A gang of about ten ECFC fans came over threatening us,one being a lad wearing a turban(Sikh ??) with scarfs hanging from his belt down his trouses and one on each wrist.
Never thought 13 years later,i would be living there (its a great place) and when i went to St James Park (which i did often,especiallythe season they won the 4th div and we also went up) i always wore my SUFC badge.
In fact my nickname became "Safend" to a few City fans.As well as a few other names which i cannot write....happy days

Fertie 'Malcom Oystermayer is a friend of mine on face book and lives in Lancaster , if I remember right he used to count magpies on the way to all away games . Remember the story on his way to Roots Hall to see the Southend V Aston Villa game .. Fertie was standing on the Billericay train Station when the Villa away special went past and he had to duck all the empty beer bottles being thrown at him .

 

[Billy Bests boot laces]

Fertie 'Malcom Oystermayer is a friend of mine on face book and lives in Lancaster , if I remember right he used to count magpies on the way to all away games . Remember the story on his way to Roots Hall to see the Southend V Aston Villa game .. Fertie was standing on the Billericay train Station when the Villa away special went past and he had to duck all the empty beer bottles being thrown at him .

Remember when he used to appear in The North Bank, & the chant went up 'Furt-e-lizer, furt-e-lizer'!

 

[ozzie]

YEP, he is a great bloke and a legend

 

[LBBlue]

Friday 10th March 1972 Southend United 4 Chester 1

The promotion run started with a bang as a 4-1 victory became our favourite score.

Trouble is I’ve misjudged the dates and won’t get back from Agadir until tomorrow to check out the details!

I think Dennis Booth made his debut in place of injured Dave Elliott and Bill Garner got back to scoring with 2.

 

[Zeuss]

Friday 10th March 1972 Southend United 4 Chester 1

The promotion run started with a bang as a 4-1 victory became our favourite score.

Trouble is I’ve misjudged the dates and won’t get back from Agadir until tomorrow to check out the details!

I think Dennis Booth made his debut in place of injured Dave Elliott and Bill Garner got back to scoring with 2.

For anyone who can’t stand the suspense of waiting:

Friday 10th March 1972. Kick-off 7,30 pm
Southend (3) 4. Garner 3..three ! ,Moore)
Chester (2) 2...two ! Kennedy 2

Southend : Bellotti,Ternent,Smith,Booth,Albeson,Jacques,Johnson(Lewis),BestGarner,Moore,Woods.

Chester :
G.Livesey,N.Edwards,N.Griffiths *team-change,replacing Graham Birks,R.Cheetham,G.Turner,D.Pountney,D.Kennedy,K.McHale,D.Draper,G.Clapham,J.Bingham *team-change replacing G.Futcher.

 

[sufc_statto]

Friday March 10, 1972 - Division 4
Southend Utd (3) 4 (Garner 32', 34', 87', Moore 43')
Chester (2) 2 (Kennedy 2', 12')
Venue: Roots Hall KO: 7.30
Attendance: 8,197

Southend Utd: D Bellotti, R Ternent, A Smith, D Booth, B Albeson, J Jacques, T Johnson (B Lewis 68'), B Best, B Garner, G Moore, P Woods.
Chester: G Livsey, N Edwards, N Griffiths, R Cheetham, G Turner, D Pountney, D Kennedy, K McHale, D Draper, G Clapham, J Bingham.

Match Report
Any team, home or away, that can pull back a two-goal deficit then calmly to pulverise the opposition into the ground and finish with goals to spare in their favour, must be looked upon as a promotion prospect in any division. This is just that United did on Friday night at Roots Hall, writes ALF SMIRK.

Why the transformation? It must still be mystery, even to the 8,197 spectators who bothered to turn up. It must still be an even bigger mystery to those who stayed away. But as it factual, it is something which must be accepted by all of them.

As it turned out, those two early Chester goals really went a long way to providing the entertainment which was to follow. But I’d hate Blues to make practice of it!

Could it have been lack of application in the opening stages or could it have been the conditions? The United defence was certainly still at sixes and sevens when the visitors, still searching for their first away League win of the season, went two goals in front in the first 12 minutes. But that same defence had to face a gale-force wind and driving, torrential rain which sprang up from nowhere shortly after the start.

Whatever the cause, Chester were jubilant and probably counting their win bonus when Dave Kennedy netted twice before the game was 13 minutes old.

Chester’s first attack came after two minutes and Kennedy, fastening on to a through-ball from Kevin McHale, raced through a square defence to beat the out-coming Derek Bellotti. Another 10 minutes and John Bingham swung in a right-wing corner which was helped by the howling wind. A United defender saw his headed interception bounce off a post and Kennedy had only to tap in the rebound.

I’ve seen the time when two goals like this would have killed off United completely. But not this night.

United had to struggle and fight for another 20 minutes, during which Chester's Graham Clapham was booked by Treharris referee Iorwerth Jones for afoul on Terry Johnson.

After 32 minutes. Bill Garner, making his first home appearance after a three-week suspension, reduced the arrears. He took advantage of a defensive mistake to stroll through and easily beat Gordon Livesey.

United were level two minutes later. Johnson swung over a right-wing corner and Garner, judging his run to in to perfection, powered in to head into the top of net.

Garner, who had already netted a minute after Chester took the lead only to find that a foul had been given for a tackle from which he had recovered, went close to a six-minute hat-trick when l.ivesey managed to turn his next effort against the crossbar.

With Blues powering forward at every opportunity, they went in front two minutes before half-time. Brian Albeson floated a long free-kick into the Chester goal-mouth and Gary Moore headed it home.

But this amazing first-half was still far from over. In the remaining two minutes, Chester’s Neil Griffiths was booked for foul and Derek Draper’s name also went on to the “wanted" list, apparently for arguing against this decision.

The second half just had to be an anti-climax! After Livesey had done well to parry a Billy Best effort two minutes after the restart, Garner had pulled fractionally wide he was falling, and Bernie Lewis had replaced the injured Johnson after 68 minutes, the game settled down to prop and cop.

While United always had the edge, as long as Chester were only one goal behind they looked dangerous enough in their breakaways to snatch an equaliser.

The crowd were put out of their misery three from the end when Garner completed the scoring and a well-deserved hat-trick. Alex Smith clipped a long ball through the middle and Garner, outpacing the Chester defence, took a quick look at the advancing Livesey before calmly heading over the keeper.

Full marks to United for their remarkable recovery. None did better than their two latest acquisitions. Dennis Booth, £7,000 signing from Blackpool, was making his debut, and Peter Woods, £3,000 signing from Luton after a short spell on loan, did all that was required of them.

After spell of comparative safety in their respective reserve sides, both looked as though a couple of run-outs in the fire and fury of the combat football of sudden-death League fixtures would have them fitting into manager Arthur Rowley promotion plans.

Although all deserved mention-in-despatches for their recovery, it must be Garner’s glory on the night he took his League total to 16 for the season.

League Table

 

[LBBlue]

For anyone who can’t stand the suspense of waiting:

Friday 10th March 1972. Kick-off 7,30 pm
Southend (3) 4. Garner 3..three ! ,Moore)
Chester (2) 2...two ! Kennedy 2

Southend : Bellotti,Ternent,Smith,Booth,Albeson,Jacques,Johnson(Lewis),BestGarner,Moore,Woods.

Chester :
G.Livesey,N.Edwards,N.Griffiths *team-change,replacing Graham Birks,R.Cheetham,G.Turner,D.Pountney,D.Kennedy,K.McHale,D.Draper,G.Clapham,J.Bingham *team-change replacing G.Futcher.

That will teach me to guess …..- funny how some great come backs from 2 down stick in the memory and others (like this one) don’t ! The 4-1s start on Monday …

 

[ozzie]

Very true LLB,i was at that game but dont remember it.But the Dec77 ?game v Newport,two down won 4-2 i will never forget.

 

[Whispering Bob]

Great picture of the Garn there, capturing his power and arial prowess.

 

[LCBB72]

Am I right in thinking , that league table only 6 clubs have not slipped out the Football League

 

[LBBlue]

Am I right in thinking , that league table only 6 clubs have not slipped out the Football League

Scunthorpe ( for the time being), Brentford, Reading, Gillingham, Crewe and Northampton -that's 6

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

Scunthorpe ( for the time being), Brentford, Reading, Gillingham, Crewe and Northampton -that's 6

As Woody Allen joked a relationship (ie a football club) is like a shark, you have to keep moving forward or die"

 

[Stuart W]

Scunthorpe ( for the time being), Brentford, Reading, Gillingham, Crewe and Northampton -that's 6

What about Peterborough?

 

[LBBlue]

What about Peterborough?

They have not been back have they since they joined the League - that's 7

 

[LBBlue]

That will teach me to guess …..- funny how some great come backs from 2 down stick in the memory and others (like this one) don’t ! The 4-1s start on Monday …

Friday 10 March 1972 - Southend 4 Chester 2 ( Mark 2)

Now that I'm home. What I would have said is the Bill Garner scored the only League hat trick of his career having scored 4 against Weymouth in the FA Cup the previous season and I think in the preseason friendly against Millwall.

Dennis Booth made his debut having signed from Blackpool for £7000.

Booth had so far played all his football in Division 2 having come through the ranks at Charlton where he made his debut in March 67 just before his 18th birthday. He made 82 league and Cup appearances for them before he was sold to Blackpool, also in the second division, before the 71/72 season. He played in the first 11 league games of the season and 3 league cup ties as Blackpool reached the 5th round before losing at Spurs.

He then only played one more game in November before dropping 2 divisions to sign for us for the same fee that Blackpool paid for him. Only 5ft 7 tall he was a good solid pro playing either at full back or in midfield and did very well in our run in giving us a bit of bite. He missed only 3 games the next season but fell out of favour in late 1973 after we signed Dave Worthington.

He then struck up a long relationship with Graham Taylor, who first signed him for Lincoln in Feb 74, and took him with him to Watford where Dennis played Div 2 football again as captain. He played over 250 games for Graham Taylor.

He joined Hull in May 1980 retiring in 1985 with a playing record of over 550 league games.

The Chester game was a bit of a goal fest, as 10 of Chester's matches finished 0-0, and they finished one place out of the bottom 4. Terry Johnson went off injured and would miss the next 5 games together with the also injured Dave Elliott.

A good win on Friday with another home game against bottom of the table Crewe coming up on Monday.

 

[mfurok]

Friday 10 March 1972 - Southend 4 Chester 2 ( Mark 2)

Now that I'm home. What I would have said is the Bill Garner scored the only League hat trick of his career having scored 4 against Weymouth in the FA Cup the previous season and I think in the preseason friendly against Millwall.

Dennis Booth made his debut having signed from Blackpool for £7000.

Booth had so far played all his football in Division 2 having come through the ranks at Charlton where he made his debut in March 67 just before his 18th birthday. He made 82 league and Cup appearances for them before he was sold to Blackpool, also in the second division, before the 71/72 season. He played in the first 11 league games of the season and 3 league cup ties as Blackpool reached the 5th round before losing at Spurs.

He then only played one more game in November before dropping 2 divisions to sign for us for the same fee that Blackpool paid for him. Only 5ft 7 tall he was a good solid pro playing either at full back or in midfield and did very well in our run in giving us a bit of bite. He missed only 3 games the next season but fell out of favour in late 1973 after we signed Dave Worthington.

He then struck up a long relationship with Graham Taylor, who first signed him for Lincoln in Feb 74, and took him with him to Watford where Dennis played Div 2 football again as captain. He played over 250 games for Graham Taylor.

He joined Hull in May 1980 retiring in 1985 with a playing record of over 550 league games.

The Chester game was a bit of a goal fest, as 10 of Chester's matches finished 0-0, and they finished one place out of the bottom 4. Terry Johnson went off injured and would miss the next 5 games together with the also injured Dave Elliott.

A good win on Friday with another home game against bottom of the table Crewe coming up on Monday.

Riley went to this one,

 

[LBBlue]

Riley went to this one,

Has he been since ?