Town's Horror Shows
Picture from Mark’s Mobile Phone
Mark Harrison, Writer.
Twitter: @MarkHarrison15
We’ve been “treated” to some awful performances in the last few games, capped off by what happened last Saturday down Beeston way. I just hope these “treats” are just a terrible “trick” and we will now push on up the league like a phoenix from the ashes. Watch out Watford, we’re waiting for you!
In the spirit of Halloween, I thought I’d look back at some horror shows from the past. Perhaps just to illustrate that our current showing is not a new phenomenon and even in the best of seasons, a shit show is just around the corner and from a positive standpoint, things can improve, even when all hope appears to be lost.
So, settle back and let the abominations commence, as we look back in disgust at my top 10 scary performances….
8th September 1984 Town 1 Shrewsbury 5
My early years of supporting Town had been ones of relative success and Leeds Road under Mick Buxton was something of a fortress. We had taken to the second tier with relish and without ripping heads off, we were more than holding our own.
We were 9th going into the game, but every time Shrewsbury attacked, they seemed to score, and my Leeds Road fortress was well and truly reduced to rubble.
Never mind, we’d get revenge in the return fixture later that season surely. The result 5-1 to Shrewsbury. Double spook on us!
7th November 1987 Man City 10 (TEN) Town 1
The attendance for this one was 19,583 and there were no less than 35,000 Town fans there to witness it, including Phil Hodgkinson. I had just gone to Uni and it was literally the only Town game I got to the whole season. Don’t blame “supermac” for the result, blame me!
We had the better of the first twenty minutes in this one and then they scored 10 offside goals. I think we remain the last side to concede 10 (TEN) in a league game in the EFL/Premier League? Shivers up the spine!
18th April 1989 Bristol City 6 Town 1
Living down in Devon makes Bristol an easy trip for Town away games. Although I missed this one, it did set a precedent for future visits including a couple of 0-4s and a 2-5 when Cowley lost it with some of our Premier League “stars” still left on the books.
It has never mattered what form we were showing heading to Ashton Gate, we have often gone home with a proper hiding. A true graveyard.
16th October 1996 Swindon 6 Town 0
Nothing like a wet evening in the West Country to bring out the true pumpkin in us! We were 6th going into this one, but it was to be another 9 games before we won again.
If you want to see Town win away, avoid the West country, oh and South Wales. Come to think of it, Norfolk and East Anglia. Not so clever in London actually. It’s probably best to stay at home really.
27th November 1998 Barnsley 7 (SEVEN) Town 1
I was at work on the night when this one was played, but recorded it as it was live on Sky and I had avoided the score all the way to just before the end of my shift until a “friend” or should that be fiend, told me about the score with a certain relish. I fast forwarded the game just so I could see for myself that it really happened! Just like the Swindon game, we were 6th in the league going into this. Freakish.
1st November 2003 Scunthorpe 6 Town 2
Twas the day after Halloween and all was well as we arrived at Glanford Park on the edge of the playoffs. But in a season which was to end in triumph, this was scary. Peter Beagrie had our defence in knots and Efe Sodje had one of his Gordon Tucker rather than Franco Baresi days shall we say. Never mind, it’s Macclesfield soon, we’ll put it right there. Nope, 0-4.
Happily, Macclesfield proved a watershed moment and better days followed. All this was just pre-Twitter and for that, the Town players could be thankful.
28th December 2010 Southampton 4 Town 1
Losing 1-4 away from home is never fun and just after Christmas in 2010 Town suffered their 4th defeat in 6 (sound familiar?) Happily, this capitulation was the nadir from which a 43-game unbeaten run ensued. We will of course forget the Play Off final because, frankly, that does not count. Plus the 1-4 was a step forward on the ghoulish 0-5 we had suffered earlier that year at St Marys. Always look at the positives!
19th February 2013 Nottingham Forest 6 Town 1
It’s always good to make a favourable early impression on the fan base, isn’t it? So, in Mark Robins first game in charge at our dear friends on the banks of the Trent, James Vaughan gives us a dream start. “Mark Robin’s blue and white army” sang the Town fans after that 10th minute strike. 80 match minutes later, 6 goals against, including a hat trick for Town legend Radoslaw Majewski, it was “you don’t know what you’re doing Robins”!
1st February 2014 Leeds 5 Town 1
The home side were in turmoil with an upheaval in the board room. The manager had been “sacked” the night before the game and they were there for the taking. The Town fans arrived at Elland Road to surely witness a victory against our hapless rivals. Ward put us in front, and all was well, but then McCormack turned into a monster with a hat trick, and we licked our Elland Road wounds once again.
6th April 2021 Norwich 7 Town 0
Another televised massacre for Town, this time during lockdown. A thoroughly miserable experience all round. The home side’s goal scoring music Samba de Janeiro was played so often I thought it was going to wear out. Our defenders resembled zombies and Pereira signed off with 11 goals against in a total of 2 appearances in our goal.
Who would have believed that Corberan would go on to take us to the Playoff final a year later?
There have been numerous other disastrous performances over the years. Let us know your “favourites”. In the meantime, don’t have nightmares.
