SUMMARY

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Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Ave Att:
28	10	8	10	3,187

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The style is one of my favourites over the years. This issue is for the Hereford game in early October 1979. It was a 2-1 win, courtesy of Phil Henson and Mike Czuzcman, who scored for the third game in a row. The cover pictures feature Alan Thompson’s penalty at Old Trafford 12 months previously; a shot of the Town Hall taken from Wellington Road, and Mike Summerbee, (then manager but sacked a week after the game after a 6-1 reverse at Valley Parade). He’s with Mike Bailey the Hereford manager who lasted a full 5 days more than Summerbee!

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TOMMY PUTS SUNDERLAND TO THE SWORD

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I missed the one home game this year. Once again it was a day when cricket took precedence when Rochdale visited EP in mid August for the season opener. The summer sport had also led me to miss a first trip to Sealand Road for a League Cup game the previous week. It would be another 2 years before I got to go there. We had the excitent of some of the “great and good” of the English game treading the hallowed turf. Sunderland came in the League Cup and drew 1-1. A decent performance we thought but a trip to Roker looked to be the end of the line. It shows how much thoughts can be wrong!!

I didn’t make it to the north-east, (work commitments precluding a half day off), but listened to the action unfold on a small transistor radio as I watched Ashton United at Hurst Cross. (Surreal in retrospect – the idea of us playing competitive football at Ashton would have been inconceivable then!!). We won of course and the reward was a game against Arsenal.

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The crowd when the Gunners turned up was 11,635 – still the biggest crowd I have ever been in at EP. Crowds were falling though. Taking out the Sunderland and Arsenal games, the average in 1980 was 2.572, (a reduction of getting on for 40% in two years). It was a reflection of what was on offer. After the Arsenal game there were 9 league fixtures and we lost 6 of them.

We turned the year in 21st place – a re-election battle was on the horizon. The battle was won, by the slim margin of 3 points and one place!!

Other than the Cup games home highlights were few and far between. The end of the 1979/80 season featured a visit from the Shaymen. We went out on a high winning 4-1. It was a bitter sweet moment for Eddie Prudham, (left), though. He finished his Hatters career in that game having been told he wasn’t being retained for the following season. Obviously wanting to prove the powers that be wrong he notched a hat-trick, the only one in his County days, in which he totalled 24 goals in 87 (+8) games.

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It was a poor start to the decade, and proved to be the precursor of similar years. Indeed it was only at the end of the 80’s that we saw an upwards trend,

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Back to 1979 Forward to 1981 Home Games Summary Page Away Games 1980

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THE HOME GAMES I SAW THIS YEAR

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Day	Date	Competition	Tier / Round	Opponents	Res	F	A	Crowd	Home Game
Fri	11/01/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Tranmere Rovers	D	2	2	2,898	82
Mon	21/01/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Peterborough United	W	1	0	1,789	83
Fri	08/02/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	York City	W	1	0	2,533	84
Fri	22/02/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Bradford City	D	2	2	3,872	85
Sat	08/03/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Lincoln City	W	2	1	2,536	86
Mon	10/03/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Portsmouth	D	1	1	2,938	87
Fri	21/03/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Scunthorpe United	L	1	2	2,115	88
Fri	04/04/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Northampton Town	W	2	0	2,499	89
Fri	11/04/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Aldershot	L	0	4	2,511	90
Fri	24/04/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Port Vale	L	0	1	2,404	91
Fri	02/05/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Halifax Town	W	4	1	1,979	92
Mon	11/08/80	Football League Cup	Round 1 (2nd Leg)	Chester	W	1	0	2,720	93
Wed	27/08/80	Football League Cup	Round 2 (1st Leg)	Sunderland	D	1	1	6,108	94
Fri	29/08/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Halifax Town	D	1	1	2,487	95
Sat	13/09/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Lincoln City	D	0	0	3,289	96
Mon	15/09/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Port Vale	W	2	1	3,480	97
Mon	22/09/80	Football League Cup	Round 3	Arsenal	L	1	3	11,635	98
Fri	26/09/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Crewe Alexandra	L	1	3	3,536	99
Mon	06/10/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Peterborough United	L	3	4	1,794	100
Fri	10/10/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Hereford United	D	0	0	2,303	101
Fri	24/10/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	AFC Bournemouth	W	2	1	2,012	102
Mon	27/10/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Hartlepool United	L	0	2	2,066	103
Fri	07/11/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Doncaster Rovers	W	2	1	2,474	104
Mon	10/11/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Bradford City	L	1	2	3,248	105
Sat	22/11/80	FA Cup	Round 1	Sheffield United	D	0	0	7,179	106
Sat	29/11/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Aldershot	W	1	0	1,818	107
Fri	19/12/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Bury	L	1	2	1,941	108
Sat	27/12/80	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Wigan Athletic	L	0	1	3,062	109