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First County Visit:	Tuesday 25th November 1980
Competition:	FA Cup – (Round 1 (Replay))
Result:	Sheffield United 3 – 2 Stockport County
Attendance:	10,428
Away Trip:	20
Away Day:	33
County Line-up	1 David Lawson; 2 John Rutter; 3 Steve Sherlock; 4 Martin Fowler; 5 Tommy Sword; 6 Steve Uzelac; 7 Oshor Williams; 8 David Sunley; 9 Les Bradd; 10 Andy Thorpe; 11 Tony Coyle (12 Chris Galvin)
Scorers:	Tony Coyle; David Sunley
Manager:	Jimmy McGuigan
County Visits:	10

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BLADES BLUNTED AS COUNTY HIT FIVE

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The 1^st Division game I had witnessed in the late 1960’s was enacted on a three sided ground. Stood on the John Street terrace that afternoon, as the game unfurled before us, in the distance, beyond the far touch line stood an impressive structure which saw summer service as the pavilion when Yorkshire CCC held their home games in the Steel City.

As an inveterate cricket enthusiast, for many years now merely a spectator, and a contributor to keeping Ashton CC on the straight and narrow, but in times past a player of moderate qualities, Bramall Lane never struck me as the sort of ground where you would witness the spectacle beloved of Cardus or John Arlott, taking place in sylvan surroundings, the sound of leather on willow, and cream teas. 

It must have been a place of hard graft, surrounded by the steel foundries, where the White Rose would wait for the trembling opposition and crush them on the way to yet another Championship. No lover of Yorkshire myself, it was always in the context of grudging admiration for the quality of players like  Freddie Trueman; Jimmy Binks and the most indomitable of them all, Brian Close, that  my (very patient) wait for Red Rose success in the Championship had to take place.

Hard graft for players no doubt, but it looked like hard graft for spectators as well.  Spending 7 or 8 hours sat on the terraces, which propped up Blades fans in the winter, never seemed to be particularly appealing.   Much history there might have been on the cricket side of things at Bramall Lane but as a venue, and in an area, which was, and remains much more fitting for football. 

So this second visit was at a re-framed stadium.  The cricket square having disappeared under the edifice of an impressive new Main Stand, with the pavilion at this point still standing, but forlornly staring at the main entrance rather than the greensward of past years.

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At this point I will indulge myself.  You may ask why my admiration, referred to above, for the skills of the Yorkies does not include one Boycott G.?  Surely the best I hear some cry – well certainly in his own mind he is.  Clearly highly skilled but equally, in my very humble opinion, clearly devoid of backbone.  In the early part of 1974 word came out of Australia that a new fast bowling sensation was emerging … to add to the absolute mastery of one Dennis Keith Lillee, still, for me, the “greatest fast bowler that ever drew breath”. Trueman’s quote, about himself of course, but this time I’m sorry Freddie you were good, but not a patch on DK.  Jeff Thomson was a phenomenon with the sling shot action and stood 22 yards away must have been a terrifying prospect.

Geoffrey obviously caught wind of this, and decided that meeting Lilian Thomson wasn’t the best way of spending a winter.  He made himself unavailable for “personal reasons”.  David Lloyd, now of course one of the doyens of Sky commentators was summoned, sent down under and got the bullet that Boycott dodged. A truly torrid experience.  Wisden Cricketers Almanac suggested “”never in the 98 years of Test cricket have batsmen been so grievously bruised and battered by ferocious, hostile, short-pitched balls”. Having served at the target end of the coconut shy Lloyd was then peremptorily discarded, never to turn out for England again.  Geoffrey meanwhile kept his head down, finally deigning to return to the fold a couple of years later when things had quietened down – poor behaviour and poor form took him well away, in my view, from those real warhorses of the White Rose

Anyway, enough of that. Why on earth would County be playing at Bramall Lane. No more than 4 years earlier the Blades were an established Division 1 Club, but a fall from grace saw them, in 1980/81, plying their trade in Division 3, and thereby compelled to enter the FA Cup at the 1st Round stage.

Waiting with bated breath for the draw early in November 1980, having popped out of the office to listen to the car radio, much satisfaction ensued when the balls emerging saw County pitched at home to the Blades. They would be the third “big club” to visit EP that season. Sunderland had been early on, drawn 1-1, and must have fancied progressing in the return game up at Roker Park. Not so, as Tommy “puts Sunderland to the” Sword saw them off with a penalty. The royalty of Arsenal then made the trip North, and went away with the spoils.

To County fans starved for a long time of a decent home draw in the various Cups two in one season was indeed riches. And to make it a third in the space of three months was riches beyond dreams. Watching a side play in front of crowds which in those days tested barely 20% of the capacity of Edgeley, the prospect of a decent throng was always a real attraction. And despite their fall from grace Sheffield would be certain to bring a goodly following for the first game between the two Clubs in over 40 years.

Which they duly did, as the average crowd for the season, 2,355, was more than tripled. In excess of 7,000 turned out on what was from memory a more than chilly late November afternoon. They didn’t see any goals, although a very misty memory seems to recall that Bob Mountford, (with a very brief 7 game SCFC career), might have come very close late on.

So, three days later it was back over the hill.  None of this nonsense we see these days about having to wait 10 days for a replay.  Again one of those trips where expectation was never on the agenda, and indeed hope was only paying a very fleeting visit.

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I ended up, for some unaccountable reason, not with the sparse County following but in the Main Stand.  It must have been about 100 feet above where mid-off had been stationed for so many years when the bowling was from the pavilion end.  A good view, even on what turned out to be a foggy evening.  Four sides to a ground always introduces the gladiatorial aspect, and even more so under the lights.  Bramall Lane was immeasurably improved as a spectator experience when compared to that initial trip a decade or so earlier. (Although I must say that on later visits I stationed myself in the Bramall Lane Stand upper tier, (see left). Accommodation which was not for the faint hearted with vertigo issues. 

Simply the steepest stand I’ve ever sat in, with the prospect of jumping up to salute a goal unquestionably being overridden by an impending fear being of plummeting to the terracing below).   As a County spectator experience back in 1980 we put up a good show.  Defeat had been anticipated, but unexpected strikes from Dave Sunley and Tony Coyle, (who managed but another 7 goals between them in a total of 90 appearances that season), saw the Hatters stretch United to the limit; taking them to extra time before succumbing 3-2.  On reflection, driving home, it was a performance from which much credit could be taken, rather than one rued for a chance of further progress.  Such was the demands of the County fans in those days!

A fond memory, but still not the best trip to Bramall Lane.  That surely must be reserved for the evening of Tuesday 24^th September 1996.  A Coca-Cola 2^nd Round 2^nd leg saw County come into the tie on the back of a 2-1 1^st leg win.  All to play for, with 3^rd tier County facing a challenge at the home of the Blades, then in the Championship.  The football on display that night had to be beholden.  County followers were rapidly becoming aware that Dave Jones had created was to become a great team.  And they certainly showed it that evening. 

With no thought of defending the slender single goal advantage from the first leg they simply blew Sheffield away.  A 3-1 half time lead, (courtesy of Jim Gannon; Alun Armstrong and Tom Bennett), was quickly increased after the break as Brett Angell made it 4.  A brief rally brought a goal for the Blades but Armstrong’s second of the night made it a 7-3 aggregate victory.  An imperious performance, but as things turned out just an indication of things to come later that season, as County took on challengers from the elite in Blackburn; West Ham; Southampton and Middlesborough, beating three of them on their home patch and drawing at Upton Park.  On reflection the night in South Yorkshire was the start of the highpoints of a 50+ year watching County.  Simply magnificent stuff, and still vivid in the memory over 20 years later.

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January 2017

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VISITS

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Day	Date	Competition	Tier / Round	Opponents	Res	F	A	Crowd	Away Day
Tues	25/11/80	FA Cup	Round 1 (Replay)	Sheffield United	L	2	3	10,428	33
Tues	09/02/82	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Sheffield United	L	0	4	11,603	53
Tues	27/09/94	Coca-Cola Cup	Round 2 – 2nd Leg	Sheffield United	L	0	1	5,065	286
Tues	24/09/96 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Cup	Round 2 – 2nd Leg	Sheffield United	W	5	2	6,285	331
Tues	21/10/97	Nationwide Football League – Division 1	Tier 2	Sheffield United	L	1	5	16,241	368
Tues	20/10/98	Nationwide Football League – Division 1	Tier 2	Sheffield United	D	1	1	12,657	392
Sat	18/03/00	Nationwide Football League – Division 1	Tier 2	Sheffield United	L	0	1	14,907	423
Tues	24/10/00 (Highlights)	Nationwide Football League – Division 1	Tier 2	Sheffield United	L	0	1	13,542	432
Sat	02/03/02	Nationwide Football League – Division 1	Tier 2	Sheffield United	L	0	3	15,642	462
Tues	24/08/04 (Highlights)	Carling Cup	Round 1	Sheffield United	L	1	4	5,399	508

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ON MY JOURNEY WITH COUNTY AROUND 180 GROUNDS

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Previously – LONDON ROAD Next stop – FIELD MILL