SUMMARY

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Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Ave Att:
24	11	6	7	2,207

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The particular issue is for the Reading game early in the New Year. It was to be Quinny’s last game after an EP career in which he was with us for less than 18 months; played 69 (+1) games and notched 41 times. It was impressive and seeing him to go on and score just as regularly at the highest level in years after he left it was always good to think that County, (and Eric Webster in particular) had been responsible for reviving his career.

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Back (l tor): Dave Liptrot; Mark Leigh; Mike Quinn; Steve Sherlock; Joe Connor

Middle (l to r): Chris Wych (physio); Clive Evans; Graham Jones; Paul Bowles; Mike Salmon; Tommy Sword; Andy Thorpe; John Rutter; Howard Jones (Programme Editor)

Front (l to r): Nigel Smith; Oshor Williams; Graeme White, (Director); Eric Webster (Manager); Alan Kirk (Chairman); Terry McCreery (secretary); Josh White (Director); Dean Emerson; Tony Coyle

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ANFIELD – AN EPIC PERFORMANCE

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1984 was another year of very little achievement. We came into it standing in 12th in Division 4, and 12 months later were a further 4 places down the table. Eric Webster was in charge for the whole of the year, and continued to battle manfully with precious little resource to maintain our status. There were some highlights, most notable of course with the two legs of the League Cup tie against Liverpool who were then, of course, the reigning champions.

We played at home 27 times that season. I missed 3 of them, and to my everlasting disappointment one of them was the home 0-0 draw with Liverpool. My absence is more fully covered in the page relating to the trip to Anfield for the 2nd leg on Away Trip 34. A week after the home game I was still in Tenerife and missed a 2-0 win over Bury. A few weeks prior to that I’d been cricketing on the day of the opening home game against Hartlepool.

1984 started well. Hartlepool were overcome on January 2nd, and later in the week there was news of the signing of John Kerr. He moved north after a short spell at Bristol City, having previously been a regular marksman over quite a few seasons with Tranmere. A partnership with Quinn looked to be just what was needed. And it looked to be that way, as Reading were put to the sword, with the new man picking up a brace and Quinn the other in a 3-0 win. The prospects were bright but cruelly dashed within days as Oldham swooped for Quinn, parting with £52,000 for his services.

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OUR ONGOING PENALTY SHOOT OUT MISERY STARTS

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1983/84 saw the introduction of the Associate Members Cup. No prospect of a Wembley appearance with it though in the early days. Our first game was a particularly ignominious affair. It ended in a 2-2 draw, and with no round robin or group stages in those days it had to be settled on the night to determine who progresses.

It was my second experience of a penalty shoot out involving County. (The first had been at Wigan in a League Cup game the previous season when we went down narrowly 4-5). It wasn’t close this time. Crewe scored their first three, and that was enough. Each and every one of the County attempts flew over the bar – I know because I was stood on the Railway End and actually caught one of the errant spot-kicks. There’s been other shoot-outs over the years, but only one has seen success – at Crewe in the Auto Windscreen Trophy in 1997, when Paul Jones stepped up and smashed the ball most of the way back to Stockport for the winner.

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GATES START TO DWINDLE

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The fare on offer was hardly enticing enough to draw people out. The average crowd in the games I saw at EP in 1984 was 2,207. They had fallen by well over 25% in 4 years. Only a matter of weeks after 11,278 turned out for the Liverpool game we faced Exeter on a Saturday afternoon. For years “Friday night” had been “County night”. The logic was inescapable. With so many counter attractions on a Saturday, moving the games forward 24 hours undoubtedly led to larger crowds. It certainly seemed to be the case as a mere 1,335 braved a wintry afternoon to watch us take on the Grecians.

There weren’t many more there 3 weeks later when Chester visited. It was one of the more memorable games that year. A first half hat-trick from John Kerr saw us on the way to a thumping 5-1 win.

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Back to 1983 Forward to 1985 Home Games Summary Page Away Games 1984

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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
Mon	02/01/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Hartlepool United	W	1	0	1,799	179
Fri	06/01/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Reading	W	3	0	1,751	180
Fri	20/01/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Northampton Town	W	1	0	1,846	181
Fri	03/02/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Crewe Alexandra	L	2	3	2,775	182
Mon	13/02/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Bury	D	1	1	3,219	183
Wed	22/02/84	Associate Members Cup	Northern Round 1	Crewe Alexandra	D	2	2	1,692	184
Fri	24/02/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Chester City	W	2	1	2,006	185
Mon	05/03/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Rochdale	W	2	1	2,115	186
Fri	16/03/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Chesterfield	W	2	0	2,010	187
Fri	06/04/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Mansfield Town	L	0	4	1,933	188
Sat	21/04/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Bristol City	D	0	0	2,645	189
Fri	27/04/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Peterborough United	W	4	1	1,753	190
Mon	07/05/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Doncaster Rovers	L	0	2	2,993	191
Mon	27/08/84	Milk Cup	Round 1 (1st Leg)	Rochdale	W	3	1	2,274	192
Fri	07/09/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Tranmere Rovers	L	0	2	2,825	193
Sat	22/09/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Mansfield Town	D	1	1	1,635	194
Fri	05/10/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Rochdale	D	1	1	2,681	195
Fri	19/10/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Crewe Alexandra	L	0	1	2,455	196
Sat	03/11/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Port Vale	W	3	1	2,698	197
Sat	17/11/84	FA Cup	Round 1	Walsall	L	1	2	2,781	198
Sat	24/11/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Exeter City	W	1	0	1,335	199
Fri	07/12/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Blackpool	L	1	3	2,428	200
Fri	14/12/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Chester City	W	5	1	1,463	201
Fri	21/12/84	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Darlington	D	0	0	1,861	202