As they are from Kent, I wonder if Matt Godden, who scored the second yesterday, is related to Tony?
I think that was the game where they just kicked the hell out of us, and the ref did nothing. Peter Hart was a passenger on the left wing with a broken arm, because we couldn’t sub, they’d already crippled others.Some of the most cynical playing and useless refereeing I can remember. They knew they couldn’t get anything off us any other way.
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Yes that sounds right! I think we took some other physical “doings” in that run in. My other memory of that Rotherham home game is that Buckley played, and possibly even scored?? I could be completely wrong on that, could be the memory playing tricks because he didn’t play much in those days. Always had it in my mind that was his last league goal for us and him turning out was some kind of desperate last stand to get the season going with a win. Also remember Rotherham wearing the “Brazil kit”in an instance of footballing sartorial irony.
Can’t see any info on that but good shout.
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Yes Buck scored in the Rotherham game at Fellows Park . Came on as sub and as you rightly said, was his last goal.
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I was a student in Sheffield at the time so an easy (and cheap!) bus ride over to Rotherham for that one. Can’t remember much about the game itself but it sticks in my mind because when I got back to Sheffield I was in time for the early edition of their Saturday evening sports paper (the Green 'Un up there as opposed to the Pink 'Un that us normal folks had) - and, apart from giving the score amongst amongst all the other results on the back page (and even that didn’t include Brown’s name as the scorer), there was not a single mention of Walsall or any of our players in the entire report on the game in which we were worthy winners. 
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Didn’t Plymouth do a similar job on us about that time at Fellows Park ? Possibly the season after ?We were 2-0 up and by far the better team , then they kept scything us down and with only one sub in those days by the end we were playing effectively with 9 men . We valiantly held on but with the last kick of the game they got an equaliser at the Railway End . I could barely look through my fingers with hands over eyes by that stage as it was swarm after swarm of attacking by then even though we had played them off the park for 80 mins .
The Buckley teams never had a “nasty “ man so sometimes we were targeted . It also explains why we didn’t have a great away record under Buck .
No nasty man , but that said , they wouldn’t have wanted to annoy Mark Rees 
The Plymouth game was actually two seasons after, and Rees was one of the “passenger” injured players that day I think. Can’t remember who the other one was. Again I could be wrong but I’m sure we signed Dave Bambi Bamber to shore up the physicality following the Rotherham home game in 84. The irony being his only decent game in that run in was against Hull who were probably the only team in league that were smaller than us! Bamber having all the aggression and physical presence of one of those inflatable snowmen you see around now.
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As I thought. It was an absolutely disgraceful piece of reffing. It was one of those days when you wondered whether incompetence alone was enough of an explanation.
I think so to. He was big, but not physical. On the day we signed him, a Bradford fan told me," he’s just a plank of wood." Oddly, his goal record for us wasn’t too bad- about one in three. But he disrupted the way we played without really offering an alternative.
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I wrote that the FA after that game to complain about the referee. To my surprise I got a reply a few weeks later saying that they accepted the refereeing that day was not up to the standard required. Not sure how many more matches he was allowed to do.
I nearly did the same after the Crewe game recently but resisted the temptation!!!
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Brilliant stuff as ever….you bring old fellas feint memories to life with the archive. Priceless 
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I’m sure I remember that incident with the ref and Garry Pendrey, if it is the one I’m thinking of. Reesy was writhing around in agony and Pendrey ignored him and squared up to the ref and had a go at him. Eventually he got round to giving Rees a bit of treatment. 
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Yes all the best to you mate. I grew up on Alumwell so it makes sense you dropped us off in Pleck. Those giant killing days were wonderful, we were really spoilt for those in the 70’s and 80’s.
I only missed Barnsley away in that Milk Cup run. The Blackpool first round matches were fairly run of the mill, but Shrewsbury, Arsenal, Rotherham and the Liverpool games were all boisterous and delirious occasions. I’ve never seen so many happy old men in one place.
Now I’m one of the old men!
UTS
I almost said Alumwell. I may have come off at Junction 9? Memory is so vague about that part of the journey. However, I can still see in my minds eye the two of you walking away and one of you, if not both have a sports bag over your shoulder. Great to have made contact with you again. Can’t wait to see Adrian again and let him know. He is away visiting his sister, back mid January.
That sports bag was probably mine. It went everywhere! I was lucky enough to come across Adrian again in the ‘Championship years’ through mutual friends. Lovely bloke and remember him well. I must have mentioned the Arsenal game so please when you see him say hello (I’m Paul).
I will. Keep the faith, I’m sure we will have some more happier times before our demise
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