Today I'm going back 40 years to 1982 and York City's remarkable Friday night home game against Crewe Alexandra which was played at Bootham Crescent in front of just 1,753 spectators.
Having had to apply for re-election the previous season, York City needed improvement and, after a difficult first half to the new season in which they parted company with manager Barry Lyons, they finally found a winning formula under two caretakers: Kevin Randall and club director Barry Swallow. City ran riot in the featured match against a poor Crewe side, running up six goals without reply with goals from Mick Laverick, two from Keith Walwyn, Gary Ford, John Byrne and a Derek Hood penalty.
The following month saw former Stoke City centre-back Denis Smith join the club, initially in a player/manager capacity and a new successful era dawned for York City. Not that we knew it at the time of the Crewe game but almost half of City's 1983/84 title-winning side were already in place and, in fact, one of the Crewe players that day, Sean Haslegrave would join his former Stoke City team mate at York the following year. Another notable name in the Crewe line-up was Mark Palios who, following a respectable Football League playing career for Tranmere Rovers and Crewe, eventually became Chief Executive of the FA in 2003. Sadly, Palios resigned from the FA the following year following revelations about his private life in the media. In 2014, together with his wife, Palios took a controlling interest in Tranmere Rovers and he now fulfils the role of Executive Chairman there.
Having finished bottom of the League the previous season, followers of York were no doubt relieved to see the club secure a 17th place finish in 1981/82. This upward trajectory would lead to promotion two years later and represents probably the most satisfying time to be a York fan in the last 40 years. In 1981/82 it was Crewe's turn to finish bottom of the pile, winning only six of their 46 League games all season and ending up 22 points short of safety. Promoted from the Fourth Division that season were Champions Sheffield United, Bradford City, Wigan Athletic and AFC Bournemouth, all of whom have enjoyed time in the financial promised land of the Premier League in the intervening years since. Interesting eh?
CRB Match No. 172
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