Season Openening Nostalgia

[King Kev]

I posted a similar thread to this last year just before the season started.
Anyway since it is dead on here and my last thread had some excellent contributions I thought I would post another nostalgic thread.

So, which season openers stand out in your memory and why? Good, bad etc....we have all been there. Months of both boredom and excitement and then you are there again, in the pub getting ready to go again.
A sunny day and a beer garden always adds to the fun of course.

 

[DearneValleyRover]

You will remember this! 2 seasons ago, Donny v Bury awful game spiced up by Forrester's lobbed pass back to your keeper after Bury had put the ball out due to an injury which went straight in, From the restart Leon Clarke walking the ball into our goal although our keeper tried to stop him.

 

[LordJord]

Remember first year I became a regular. Opening day 0-0 draw against Aldershot, I died a little inside.

 

[Meadow]

2008-9 away to Newport, our first match in the Conference South having won the Ryman play-off. Travelled in luxury in a mate's jag. We found a lovely pub in Caerleon and I may have sampled a bit too much potent locally brewed cider.

We won 4-1, Jon Main scored a hat-trick (possibly the last time anyone got one for us) and I thought "we're going to do okay in this league". We won the league. Definitely my favourite AFC Wimbledon season.

 

[King Kev]

You will remember this! 2 seasons ago, Donny v Bury awful game spiced up by Forrester's lobbed pass back to your keeper after Bury had put the ball out due to an injury which went straight in, From the restart Leon Clarke walking the ball into our goal although our keeper tried to stop him.

Boiling hot day, kicking off everywhere before and after the game. Flitcroft showed his true incompetence that day, we were battering you during a twenty minute period, hitting the woodwork on a couple of occasions. Then for no reason whatsoever that stupid moron of an ex manager takes off Tom Pope and goes five in midfield and attempts to play out a 0-0 draw. That nearly came back to bite him on the backside .
Waded through a brawl after the game and wandered down a dual carriageway, lost. Then we found a working man's club which was selling Sammy Smith's, it was like an oasis found in the desert.

 

[joethegill]

First one that stands out is actually my first ever game back in August 95. Gills 2-1 Wigan, coming from a goal down (Roberto Martinez) to win it late-ish. Other than that we've actually had a few 'notable' first dayers. Couple of 5-0 wins over Preston and Swindon at Priestfield, our first ever game in what was then Division One (1-3 defeat to Stockport) and the 4-0 win over Sheffield United a couple of years back in one of the most dominating performances I've seen for many a year. I'm sure it won't go down in history due to the remainder of the season being awful, but last years 3-1 win at Southend had all of us believing we (and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas in particular) were good.

 

[Lance Stoe]

95 96- My first ever game. A 2-1 defeat at home to Cambridge, John Eyre with the opener. What a player he was.
99 00- First ever game at the DW Stadium. We were soundly beaten 3-0. Wigan were class that day. They didn't lose a game till January but succumbed to Gillingham in the playoff final

01 02- 1-0 defeat away at Kidderminster. Lovely place. Lovely people

04 05 3-1 win at home to Rochdale. Leo Bertos put them ahead. We stormed back with some fantastic football. We were brilliant that day. Went on to win promotion.

07 08- 1-1 draw at Charlton. They had just been relegated. We had just been promoted. My favourite away day of all time. I had elevent pints before the game and was thrown out of the ground for a pitch invasion but never mind. Had another eleven pints after the game and woke up on the Sunday in s back garden in Dalston.

13 14. 2-0 win at home to Mansfield. Scorching day. Ended up in the toilet after starting drinking at 7 Am straight off a night shift.

15 16- 2-1 defeat away at Burton. Don't remember much of it. Had 9 pints of Old Rosie before the game and got jumped by 6 Burton fans. Black eye and wounded pride lol

16 17- 3-1 win at home to the lovely Pirates. Good lads they are. 10 pints in The Berkeley before the game and I was enveloped with a feeling of optimism. KVV was superb that day.

 

[King Kev]

First one that stands out is actually my first ever game back in August 95. Gills 2-1 Wigan, coming from a goal down (Roberto Martinez) to win it late-ish. Other than that we've actually had a few 'notable' first dayers. Couple of 5-0 wins over Preston and Swindon at Priestfield, our first ever game in what was then Division One (1-3 defeat to Stockport) and the 4-0 win over Sheffield United a couple of years back in one of the most dominating performances I've seen for many a year. I'm sure it won't go down in history due to the remainder of the season being awful, but last years 3-1 win at Southend had all of us believing we (and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas in particular) were good.

Just after Scally's takeover and the appointment of Pullis? Wigan had just had a takeover as well that season. As a young lad who had only been going for two years at that point I could not fully comprehend why both Gillingham and Wigan were suddenly so good, you had both been perennial strugglers the previous two seasons.

 

[MillerWhale]

We've had a few. The time but last we were in the Championship, we stuffed Millwall 6-0 at the Den, though regrettably I wasn't there as was travelling back from holiday. It came out later that week that half of the Millwall team were despondent over pay disputes, but not taking away from a finishing masterclass from Darren Byfield, who bagged four of the six (after being racially abused).

A few years ago under Steve Evans, we were 3-1 down at Gresty Road with 4 mins to go and came back to draw 3-3. It was the season we were promoted and I'd like to think if we hadn't got a draw that day, the players wouldn't have gone into believe they could be promoted from that league.

Bad ones has to be losing 3-2 at home to Walsall when our fullback Marvin Bryan was played with a fever and inexplicably headed one into his own net. Brett Angel scored two headers as well. We had been 2-0 up. Walsall brought a good following that day.

Somewhere in the mid nineties, we lost 0-4 at home to unfancied Shrewsbury in the bottom division, which resulted in fans doing a sit down protest after the game against them owner, Ken Booth.

 

[joethegill]

Just after Scally's takeover and the appointment of Pullis? Wigan had just had a takeover as well that season. As a young lad who had only been going for two years at that point I could not fully comprehend why both Gillingham and Wigan were suddenly so good, you had both been perennial strugglers the previous two seasons.

That's the one, Scally's first competitive game with us. For about 10 years I just assumed we were always good as we kept winning . I witnessed our 'glory' years at an age that I wasn't fully able to understand and enjoy as much as I would do should they happen now, but I guess maybe that's what dragged me in to start with anyway. 2 promotions, 2 trips to the old Wembley, our record signing (still) being made, winning away at Premier League sides in cups and an FA Cup quarter final all within my first 5 years of supporting - I was massively spoilt!

 

[King Kev]

That's the one, Scally's first competitive game with us. For about 10 years I just assumed we were always good as we kept winning . I witnessed our 'glory' years at an age that I wasn't fully able to understand and enjoy as much as I would do should they happen now, but I guess maybe that's what dragged me in to start with anyway. 2 promotions, 2 trips to the old Wembley, our record signing (still) being made, winning away at Premier League sides in cups and an FA Cup quarter final all within my first 5 years of supporting - I was massively spoilt!

Same boat, though our glory period was much more short lived than Gillingham's was. My first ever game was a playoff semi final against York in 1993. My second full season we reached Wembley via the playoffs, and, even though we lost it was still an unforgettable experience for me at the age of 7. We were promoted the next year with yourselves and PNE. Then the following year we won the Division 2/league one title. Our first season in the championship we beat City at Maine Road, among several other scalps and then stayed up in the championship. Great times, if only I knew what the following years, in particular the next four, were going to entail.

 

[SMH]

2010/11. Wigan 0-4 Blackpool. I've never been so depressed and disconsolate walking out of the DW assuming it couldn't possibly get any worse......then the week after Ancelotti's Chelsea came to town and beat us 6-0! I still don't know to this day how we stayed up that season.

 

[King Kev]

We haven't actually won that many season openers at Gigg in my time.
One of the best was beating Brentford 1-0 in August 2008 on a soaking wet day. After sacking Casper and Alexander the previous February we had ended the 07/08 season strongly with Alan Knill guiding us up to midtable. We had made several good signings over the summer and had a fully fit, firing on all cylinders Andy Bishop upfront, fresh on the back of 19 league goals, 25 in all competitions from the previous season.
We faced a strong Brentford side and Bish bagged the winner just before half time. It actually turned into a really good game of football played out between two good sides, everyone felt positive afterwards, and rightly so.

The season opener the following season was a stark contrast. On the back of the previous season's playoff heartache, we were the favourites for promotion. We faced a Bournemouth side who had no money and had narrowly avoided relegation the previous season. They also had some novice rookie named Eddie Howe as manager. We had a goal wrongly disallowed early, after which the away side took us to pieces. They were 2-0 up at half time, the second a beauty, then 3-0 by the hour, the third goal was even better. There was nothing but complete and utter deflation all across the stands and in the pub afterwards, the GF at the time, (now wife) said it felt like someone had died when she came and met us sulking over our ale.

 

[DippyDon]

One of the better ones we've had has to be our first game in the Championship away to Rotherham. 4-1 win and we sat at the top of the table after the first round of fixtures, thinking the league would be fine and we'd survive easily...
The 4-2 win against Gillingham in 14/15 is up there too, from going in at half time 2-1 down to coming back strong and winning, it gave us all a bit of confidence that we'd go on and do well that year.

 

[King Kev]

We've had a few. The time but last we were in the Championship, we stuffed Millwall 6-0 at the Den, though regrettably I wasn't there as was travelling back from holiday. It came out later that week that half of the Millwall team were despondent over pay disputes, but not taking away from a finishing masterclass from Darren Byfield, who bagged four of the six (after being racially abused).

A few years ago under Steve Evans, we were 3-1 down at Gresty Road with 4 mins to go and came back to draw 3-3. It was the season we were promoted and I'd like to think if we hadn't got a draw that day, the players wouldn't have gone into believe they could be promoted from that league.

Bad ones has to be losing 3-2 at home to Walsall when our fullback Marvin Bryan was played with a fever and inexplicably headed one into his own net. Brett Angel scored two headers as well. We had been 2-0 up. Walsall brought a good following that day.

Somewhere in the mid nineties, we lost 0-4 at home to unfancied Shrewsbury in the bottom division, which resulted in fans doing a sit down protest after the game against them owner, Ken Booth.

That was the same Millwall side with Cahill and co who had finished fourth the previous season and narrowly lost to Birmingham in the playoffs. I remember being a little bit surprised when I heard that scoreline.

 

[Reaper]

We've had a few. The time but last we were in the Championship, we stuffed Millwall 6-0 at the Den, though regrettably I wasn't there as was travelling back from holiday. It came out later that week that half of the Millwall team were despondent over pay disputes, but not taking away from a finishing masterclass from Darren Byfield, who bagged four of the six (after being racially abused).

A few years ago under Steve Evans, we were 3-1 down at Gresty Road with 4 mins to go and came back to draw 3-3. It was the season we were promoted and I'd like to think if we hadn't got a draw that day, the players wouldn't have gone into believe they could be promoted from that league.

Bad ones has to be losing 3-2 at home to Walsall when our fullback Marvin Bryan was played with a fever and inexplicably headed one into his own net. Brett Angel scored two headers as well. We had been 2-0 up. Walsall brought a good following that day.

Somewhere in the mid nineties, we lost 0-4 at home to unfancied Shrewsbury in the bottom division, which resulted in fans doing a sit down protest after the game against them owner, Ken Booth.

Millwall and Crewe are the 2 what stick of me as well. Didn't go to the Millwall game but it was great feeling being top of the championship for 4 days or so. We also beat Burnley 6-2 away in the same season which was madness. Crewe away was a decent day out with a packed out away end, decent weather and 2 late goals to snatch a 3-3 thriller.

 

[Bobbin']

95 96- My first ever game. A 2-1 defeat at home to Cambridge, John Eyre with the opener. What a player he was.
99 00- First ever game at the DW Stadium. We were soundly beaten 3-0. Wigan were class that day. They didn't lose a game till January but succumbed to Gillingham in the playoff final

01 02- 1-0 defeat away at Kidderminster. Lovely place. Lovely people

04 05 3-1 win at home to Rochdale. Leo Bertos put them ahead. We stormed back with some fantastic football. We were brilliant that day. Went on to win promotion.

07 08- 1-1 draw at Charlton. They had just been relegated. We had just been promoted. My favourite away day of all time. I had elevent pints before the game and was thrown out of the ground for a pitch invasion but never mind. Had another eleven pints after the game and woke up on the Sunday in s back garden in Dalston.

13 14. 2-0 win at home to Mansfield. Scorching day. Ended up in the toilet after starting drinking at 7 Am straight off a night shift.

15 16- 2-1 defeat away at Burton. Don't remember much of it. Had 9 pints of Old Rosie before the game and got jumped by 6 Burton fans. Black eye and wounded pride lol

16 17- 3-1 win at home to the lovely Pirates. Good lads they are. 10 pints in The Berkeley before the game and I was enveloped with a feeling of optimism. KVV was superb that day.

Remember our game reasonably well. Most Charlton fans thinking we would win comfortably only to be saved by a Marcus Bent equaliser.

For me, the ones that stand out the most are beating Barnsley 3-1 in 1999 just for the Clive Mendonca hatrick. I loved that man. Still do as per my avatar.

^^ We won promotion that season with Man City finishing second. We had them on the first day in he PL the following season, remember thinking 'typical, we had a right battle with them last year'. Only for
us to absolutely humiliate them 4-0 and go straight to the the top of the Premier League. We are top of the league say we are top of the league!

 

[Marked Ox]

The recentish one that sticks in the memory is the Conference promotion season. We beat York at home with an injury time goal by new signing centre-half Mark Creighton. It was a dramatic end to a good game that kind of summed up the season ending in promotion at Wembley (also beating York).

 

[K-Win]

The one I can't get out of my head is our first game in League Two against Oxford four seasons back.

Picture the scene: Beautiful sunny day. The trust buy-out had finally chased out all the asset strippers, crooks and con-men. We had pretty much a whole new squad which looked good on paper, assembled by a club legend manager who finally had the financial shackles off. The bookies had us as short-priced favourites to bounce straight back. Wild optimism filled the air. We'd reached rock-bottom and this was the point when we finally turned the tide. Bring on the first lambs to the slaughter!

1-0 up 15 minutes in - here we go - the Pompey juggernaut is going to lay waste to this pitiful league. Then that cruel mistress "Reality" took a firm grip on our testicles and told us "No! Life isn't like that. You will suffer for a while longer yet!". Cue a 1-4 reverse that set the tone for a couple of seasons of absolute toss.

 

[Bar Carousel]

Away games always stick in my head.

I remember Blackburn away around 91 i think. Jack Walker had just come on the scene and that summer had spent unimaginable money on what was before then an unfashionable, run of the mill div 2 team for many years. We had just appointed Jim Smith as our manager and had spent on players about the same as their stellar signing David Speedie earnt in a week.

Our team that day was littered with youth team graduates, and we were the lambs to the slaughter in the bright new era for Blackburn.

An hour in and we running the show. Youngsters Andy Awford and Kit Symonds were bossing it it at the back. Ex brick layer Chris Burns was an absolute beast in the middle of the park, and an unknown Darren Anderton had just put us 1-0 up from a curling 25 yarder.

Of course, Pompey being Pompey, we conceded the obligatory 90th minute equaliser for an away game a long way from home, but i always remember that and walking out of Ewood full of pride. I think that was the same season we made the FA Cup semi-final and lost to Liverpool on pens.

Another that sticks in the mind. Bristol City away mid 90's. Squashed in like Sardines with a mob of ours climbing up the steps to their stand adjacent. Showing us in the terrace the shush signs as they grouped up at the top, hidden from view to those in the stand. Then for about 5 minutes they charged in and all hell broke loose. Think we drew 3-3, and they had Jackanowski (spelling?) and Andy Cole up front in what is still the best front 2 pairing i've ever seen.

 

[Jockney]

That was the same Millwall side with Cahill and co who had finished fourth the previous season and narrowly lost to Birmingham in the playoffs. I remember being a little bit surprised when I heard that scoreline.

Yes. A big missed opportunity that season. Because of the membership scheme and loss of ITV Digital money, there was very little investment that season and morale in the squad was low all season. That we still finished 9th is testament to the quality of the players we had, but can't help wonder what could have been if not for the riot.

 

[MillerWhale]

Yes. A big missed opportunity that season. Because of the membership scheme and loss of ITV Digital money, there was very little investment that season and morale in the squad was low all season. That we still finished 9th is testament to the quality of the players we had, but can't help wonder what could have been if not for the riot.

The team you were promoted to the Championship boasted Claridge, Harris, Cahill, Livermore, Warner, Bircham and the most frightening of the lot for me, Ifil.

I remember racing fo the title with you and Reading and there was a point in March you left us both for dead smashing teams for four , fives and sixes home and away. Think you won six two at Cambridge.

 

[roversfan2001]

4-1 loss to Norwich last season. Sacked it off when the 4th went in and went to the pub, missed our goal [emoji38]

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