For March 31st I'm going back 31 years to 1990 and Tottenham's First Division fixture away at Sheffield Wednesday.
Wednesday is an almost unique suffix to a football club name. Sheffield Wednesday only became so called in 1929. Prior to that they were simply known as Wednesday FC or "The Wednesday". The day refers to the weekly day-off operated by local employers which enabled their employees to participate in sport on a Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday's stadium is Hillsborough, infamous due to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool supporters were crushed to death at the start of an FA Cup Semi-Final played at the ground. My featured game came within one year of the disaster and explains the empty Leppings Lane end terrace if you study the video attached to the blog.
There has recently been a mini-series on the BBC called "Football's Darkest Secret" concerning the child abuse that took place over many years in several professional clubs in England. I have great admiration for the victims of the abuse who showed great courage to speak out and featured in the show was former Manchester City and now Tottenham player Paul Stewart. As a striker he never quite scored enough goals for my liking but, after seeing this documentary, I have nothing but respect for the man given the abuse that he suffered as a kid. The series is still available on the iPlayer if you're interested in knowing more.
This was a cracker of a game. Ron Atkinson's Wednesday side included Trevor Francis, programme cover star John Sheridan, Nigel Pearson and Carlton Palmer. Terry Venables' Spurs had Gudni Bergsson, Pat van den Hauwe, Paul Gascoigne and Paul Walsh in their side. Wednesday actually had a 2-1 lead early in the second half and their goals were scored by David Hirst and Dalian Atkinson (not Ron's son before you ask) but Spurs took control eventually winning 4-2 in front of 26,582 with goals from Paul Allen, Gary Lineker (2) and that man Paul Stewart. Lineker's second was a rare, for him at least, outside-of-the-penalty-area collectors item.
This was a good season for Spurs who finished third in the league behind champions Liverpool and Aston Villa. Third place wasn't quite good enough for European qualification that season however as English clubs were only just about to be allowed back into European competition following their ban after the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985. Only one UEFA Cup slot was available for the following season which Villa took. Surprisingly, given the relative strength of their squad, the season ended in relegation for Sheffield Wednesday on goal difference from survivors Luton Town. A point from this game would have made all the difference to Wednesday but it was not to be.
CRB Match No. 655
Comments
Post a Comment