May 2nd 1998. Jason Lee's winner and Preston doing us a favour for once. On the pitch celebrating! That infamous Bristol City banner at Easter time.. spoke too soon. https://oldwatford.com/1998/05/02/2nd-may-1998-new-division-two-fulham-1-watford-2
That was a great day. I was in my final year at university, the day before I handed in my dissertation so other than my finals the following month I felt a weight off my shoulders and came down from Loughborough for the weekend.
Yes, it had been a long long time waiting to celebrate a real success and the first one with Mrs Willis at my side. Great memories.
I saw that banner at Bristol, and I was at Fulham too on that day. There was a pitch invasion in front of the Fulham Cottage, but the team would not come out to celebrate until we left the pitch, if I remember rightly?
Well Robbo ended up on the fans shoulders so maybe they just gave up ! I think the issue was Fulham needed a result to reach the play offs so there was a worry about fans clashing. They did but still sacked Ray Wilkins in the middle of them! We didn't get to see the trophy though.
I think some of the players got caught up in the immediate pitch invasion, but made it to the cottage, which is where the changing rooms were. After that we were all chanting for them to come out again, but it was announced they would not come back out until the pitch was cleared? I really can't remember if they did or not, but I think they probably did?
You must remember this, A miss is just a miss, A goal is just a goal, The fundamental things apply It's in our soul.
Something about Bristol City being champions that season. They were a point ahead of us with 4 games to go at that point, so after the draw they were still one ahead with three to play. The rest is glorious history.
11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-2/11-april-1998/ This was the table prior to the match we had at their place on Easter Monday.
Didn't we both have 50 points by Christmas but seemed to draw endless games afterwards with.... Yes you have guessed it . Goals given away late on! Would have got 100 points otherwise easily .
It was a great day indeed,very sunny I recall. My brother and I saw Cameron outside Bishop's Park eating a 99! He looked quite menacing, even with an ice cream! Lovely ground CC.
You are right, at Christmas we had played 23, we were on 53, Bristol on 49 and the 3rd placed team on 35. https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-division-2/25-december-1997/
That was the gist of it Willis, it was basically claiming that they would be champions though I do not remember the exact wording
You might well be right Pete it might have just said that, what I do remember was that we really took the piss when they failed to beat us.
I had not seen this website before so thought I would have a look. Not sure I believe their facts though!
The league table facility on it is fascinating. The only other site I’ve seen that on was the now defunct Statto.
It's is amazing how the very next season Bristol City were relegated again, having finished bottom of Div 1, yet we got promoted again.
Unlike a lot of you I only get to go to around 2-4 games a season. But one of the most eventful games I went to was Bristol City. Someone I’m sure can fill in the blanks but as I remember it, it was at home last game of the season and nothing at all was riding on it for either team. One of the first set of fans I’d come across that seemed quite Neanderthal - groups of thug type blokes chanting at me and my mate - both small 15 year olds! Anyway it was eventful because I believe they had two or three players sent off, the police brought the dogs out to keep their fans from getting onto the pitch. We won 5-2 I think and if I remember correctly it was Luther’s last ever goal for us? Also Nigel Gibbs scored a long ranger - maybe his last goal / appearance?
It was a day of mixed feelings as the winner was scored by Lee, who had been booed for most of the season
Old Pineapple Head, he got some stick did Lee. Loved him that day tho. Went with my Dad n brothers. Was working in Willesden and didn’t finish til about 1.30pm and was sweating on getting to the game. Crackin’ result and had a few hugs n tears with my Old Man. Miss those days
It was May 1992-and the second season in a row we had played them at home on the last game-previous season we lost 3-2. Just over 10,000 there but it was the second highest gate of that season for a nothing game and yes it was Luthers last game for us (he came on as sub) and Gibbs last goal-he played a few games at the start of 92/93 but lost his place to Gerard Lavin. Other scorers that day were Jason Drysdale, Trevor Putney and Darren Bazeley. I think the away fans might have been in fancy dress as well that day which made their aggressive behaviour all the more weird
Great day and one of the best Wembley goals but as it was by a WFC player it rarely gets mentioned as such.
Yes and they spent more money strengthening than we did. Soren Andersen (?) cost c£500k from recollection. Shame for John Ward though who was "let go" about a 1/4 of the way into the season.
That summer Bristol City signed two million-pound strikers in Tony Thorpe, late of L*t*n, and the hilarious Ade Akinbiyi, while all we could muster was two no-hopers from Carlisle. For some reason they also appointed a Swedish director of football, or similar, and John Ward saw he was being undermined and left. The Swede took over and they finished bottom while we stormed to glory at Wembley.
I remember some bloke actually wrote in the Watford Observer saying we lacked ambition whilst they were showing loads by spending big.
That letter to the Watford Observer is reproduced here: https://goldandblack.me/no-1 I was working at the Watford Observer then and I remember the day it came in. The letters used to get typed up and put on the computer system. I can remember Oli Phillips ringing GT and reading it out to him. GT said: "Tell him not to worry. We'll finish above Bristol City."
Such a crying shame that Wright and Kennedy, Mooney among others never got to give it a shot due to injuries of some sort. Darren Bazeley got roasted by Ginola in a cup game at spurs, which I'm convinced made him chicken out.