how time flies,it was 10 years ago we were at Cardiff in the play off final.I had just finished a night shift and my mates and I left at 05.00.Tried to kip on the way but didnt get a wink of sleep.Arrived in Wales at 09.30 and was on the red bull all morning.Fantastic day and atmosphere even bumped in to a certain Mr Jewell who was in the pub taking in the day. The rest is history and i slept all the way home.Great memories and cant believe it was 10 years ago.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/1979806.stm I still to this very day, loathe Darren Carter (scored penalty that knocked us out) That said, had he missed and we had won the Penalty Shootout, our path would have been very different. Personally, I prefer the current route we have gone down: reached premiership, few abject years of misery, relegated, and Lambert arrives...and we all know the latest 3 years .
Haha that Sutch penalty has to be the weakest effort I've ever seen, it had practically rolled to a stop by the time it reached the by line. Was a great day, I remember our coach pulling into Birmingham and the street was litterally half blue and half yellow, bet the bars in Cardiff made an absolute mint that day. Favourite memory was walking out of the concourse and an absolutely deafening chorus of OTBC was belting out. Of course we can't forget waiting late at Carrow Road for the Burnley result (or was it Barnsley), which secured our 6th position! The whole journey was epic, apart from the grown Wolves fan shouting vile abuse at 13-year-old me for having my face painted - glad we beat them!
What I like about our history threads is that most of us are old enough to actually have lived through that era and do not need to resort to dusting off our old VHS Tape collection to view it
please log in to view this image "Quickly Algernon, Ipswich's Association Football Team are playing in the final!"
Thai, You can borrow my old "Ipswich Town - The Glory Years" black and white VHS video any time you want...I've just got to get it back off JWM first!!
I remember that day very well it was a good laugh looking back it bar the penalty and the journey home where my uncle caused a load of aggro in a service station. We stayed in a hotel which was full of Birmingham fans which was a good laugh until my Dad told them they all looked like Right Said Fred which went down as well as a Bacon Sandwich at a Bar Mitzvah, he was correct they didn't have that mentally ill look that you associate people from Birmingham having, they looked more like they'd bussed it up from Brighton for the day.
I can't believe just how vividly I can still remember it, to be honest. I wasn't at the game but was still terrified of losing. Every time Birmingham attacked I hid behind a pillow - apart from the time they scored, unbelievably. Then, when it came round to penalties, I was so nervous I had to go outside while my Mum (my Dad went without me) relayed the increasingly desolate situation to me from the kitchen. Despite all that, however, I'm now delighted we lost. Considering I was actually there, every single moment of that night at Fratton Park made it the best football-related evening of my life. Nothing that could have happened in Cardiff could've matched it. We are Premier League!
My son drove us to the match. 194 miles from Reduth to Cardiff and we did it in 2hours 40 minutes. My eyebrows have never gone back in place. I think it was even quicker going back as it was downhill of course. Fabulous day out, magnificent stadium compared to Wembley pound for pound and the roof shut made the noise factor tremendous. Couldn't get in the Norwich pub so went in the Birmingham one. Fcuk 'em. I'm thirsty. Wanted the three of us to sing OTBC but they started up Keep Right On so that was that.
I went by us from Carrow Road, possible the most awful journey I have been on in the UK. Never have liked travelling by bus other than short hops in and around the city. Pre match atmosphere was superb but we did not actually manage to physically get inside a bar! Orders were passed along with the guys inside, the money changed hands and the beer came back in return - total madness but was the only way to get anything Inside the ground was highly impressive, more so as they left the roof closed which allowed an incredible noise to reverberate around it, god alone knows what it must have sounded like on the pitch! Then the game and everything that goes with it and the ultimate defeat on penalties, promptly followed by having to wade through 1000's of joyful Blue noses saying how unlucky we were and it would not be long before we went up to join them (they got that bit right at least ). The bus journey back to Norwich was even bloody worse as everyone was so quiet and trying hard to come to terms with what Sutch had done that fateful day. Until that time he was my then girlfriends favourite player, needless to say he was duly dumped of that honor
Interesting now 10 years later we are in the Premier League and Birmingham are in the Championship. I don't remember a huge amount from that game as an 11 year old. But I do remember Iwans goal, I believ I was a header, then wishing the rules were golden goal and then I remember Birminghams goal being fairly scrappy. Sutchs penalty was the worst I've ever seen. I seem to remember he tried to add a bit of curl and scuffed it badly. I also, oddly, remember an incident with Nielson in the corner of the pitch. Despite the result it was a brilliant day. The stadium looked brilliant outside and onside. Probably the best stadium in the world I've been to. Ahead of Wembley but that's probably due to the fact that there were diggers on the pitch!
yo welly,im not one for really dwelling on the past,i just couldnt believe it was 10 years ago. I dont know where the time has gone.Just hope i hant got to wait 10 years for another good day out like that one was apart from the result.And as for Sutch just dont get me started on that twat.
I was on holiday in Wales on that day, in Snowdonia with the ex Mrs Welly, she wanted us to go out and explore the countryside, I wanted to stay in and watch the play-off final. I got my own way, but I don't think she ever forgave me, hence the EX Mrs Welly! But congratulations on your season, I didn't think you would be relegated, or even in the relegation mix, but I didn't expect you to do as well as you have!
In reality, we are (as of today) only 2 wins away from being in the relegation battle, 3 wins away from being near certs to go down!
