Liverpool were the best side in Europe at the time. No rotation or resting players back then (though they were missing Souness through injury). We went to Anfield and played them at their own game. Pass and move, on the deck, the Buckley way. And we more than matched them. The best team in Europe.
Talking of Europe, the three wins I’ve seen at the founders of European football and mossivest club in the world were also nice.
Your memory is spot on. That win taught me never to leave a game early. We were only winning 6-0 when I left with about 2 minutes to go. I heard a cheer as I was crossing the car park in Hilary Street and a second when I was on the bus !!! So although it was our biggest win in my lifetime I only saw 75% of the goals!!!
Later in the season we won 4-1 away at Southport and I was there for that so an aggregate score of 12-1 was pretty impressive. Now remind me how many goals have we scored this season?
I remember looking at my grandad at 4:50 pm and muttering the words “ this is our year” to which he responded “behave, let’s see what they’re like on a a Tuesday night in January!”.
I was going to mention the 4-4 against Sheffield United in 1980 - but the 1-0 at Bramhall Lane on the last day of that season (aka Thank Givens Day to Wednesday fans) when we survived by sending them down is probably the bigger result.
And then there was the other 1-0 last day survival at Bramhall Lane in 2002. Lightning can strike twice!
That got me thinking about that little run we had against them when Bakayoko was almost guaranteed to score.
Which led me to the even longer run against Forest - 8 wins, 4 draws, and 0 defeats over the last 18 years.
Reading some of these posts being back memories of games I’d forgotten. That Sheffield United one when we relegated them for instance. Oh happy days! It’s a different world now.
Yep i was there as well, remember their fans running on the pitch attacking our players, and their announcer telling them that a result had gone for them so that they hadn’t got relegated, but they had the chant at the time (as well as some "T shirts) “WE SENT THE BLADES DOWN”
The 1-0 win at the golden graveyard in Sept 1985 in the Milk Cup. 4,000 happy Saddlers in a run down Molineux chanting ‘Bhatti’s must stay’ An ex Baggie Boy Nicky Cross winning goal only added to their frustration. The fact we beat them at theirs in the first competitive game between the two teams in decades was brilliant too.
Stoke 0 Walsall 2 in the FA Cup third round January 1966. Stoke were near the top of the table in the first division, but we beat them with 10 men after Jimmy McMorran was crocked by an over the ball tackle by Roy Vernon (no substitutes in those days). One of my very first away trips, just before my 9th birthday, and the one that made me a Saddler for ever.
Without wishing to be morbid, if you were to judge this based on the memory you’re most likely to have etched into your mind in your final days of happy recollections as a Saddler, then for me, I would have to say Liverpool v Walsall, 1984.
Semi Final of what was then a major tournament. Playing Europe’s, arguably the world’s best football league team, on their turf and to get a 2-2 draw - unforgettable. Dreams of Wembley and as the British Airways advert said “90 minutes from Europe”. Possibly the main occasion (in my lifetime) we resonated at a national level, albeit for short time.
It will be hard to ever top that.
Plenty of other great examples mentioned - the Battle of Bramhall Lane, various cup successes in the 70s and 80s that I grew up on (Man U, Leicester, Newcastle).
For sheer late drama and “scenes” - beating Forest on aggregate, under Big Fat Jan, with Watson’s goals at the end was special.
The Anfield 2-2 for sheer amazement, but the Watford 4-4 was also epic. We thrashed Coventry 3-0 away around the same time in game that could have been 6-0. The Highbury 2-1 was also special.
More recently, Stoke at home in the playoffs, the 2nd half demolition was brilliant, and there was a spell of crushing Preston during the Kevin Wilson era which was highly entertaining. They hated him.
The 3-0 at Coventry was stunning , vivid memory of oggy sitting on the ball to stop it going in !!
The 6-0 at home to reading was special as they had won every league game of the season up til then I think .
Walking round to the cow shed taunting fans was always good !
If I remember rightly in the same season didn’t we beat Cardiff 6-3 at home plus the willie naughton inspired 7-3 Fa cup home win against Preston was memorable.
When sitting back and thinking about the 2-1 Fa cup win at “charlton” in the late 80’s , that was also a very impressive result
Arsenal 2 v 1 in the Milk Cup was so unexpected , there was no expectation going into the game. The following rounds were special for other reasons but that night at Highbury was unbelievable
The Watford 4 v 4 comes a close second , we just never gave up that night ,
That milk cup run was incredible, a small third division club that trained on a car park full of pot holes. Some fantastic nights against liverpool, Rotherham and arsenal but also a brilliant performance away at Barnsley and who can forget that Gary child’s winner against Shrewsbury and the scenes in the street end.
A wonderful memory for me as well Cooky.
And who could forget a certain George Kirby teaching the Sjoke hardman Maurice Setters a few manners for picking on a young Allan Clarke.
Ye i went on a minibus with work mates from the council, i had been warned for weeks that they would leave me there if i caused any trouble i nearly didn’t get on the bus because i turned up dressed as a punk we got to the game and we stood at the back under the clock and every now and then i would get a jab from behind from Arsenal fans walking behind me,and the lads said i had deliberately dressed like i had to attract unwanted attention to us and kept on moving further away from me, even making me walk on my own back to the tube station
The Brighton 9 man victory is one of the most impressive I’ve witnessed live.
Shout out to Wolves away in 2013 and a left-field shout, the 1-0 win at Sheffield United in 2016 was a proper backs to the wall victory in the face of a hostile Bramall Lane and an excellent United side under Chris Wilder.