Extended highlights of the Play-off 1st leg at Plainmoor in 1991
https://youtu.be/PrgZXIFEso4
5 times Casper had to be spoken to by the ref.
Bad error by Pearce for the first goal.
David Hamilton sent off late on (not long back from injury after that Stuart Pearce tackle).
Ray Deakin playing midfield in his last game for the club.
Not sure I counted a single Burnley shot on target. Looks like Deary and Futcher were badly missed that day.

My only memory of the game is Cssper's antics and even they are vague but I have no desire to watch the highlights to remind myself.

Did Deakin not play in the home leg?

Come out! Come out!

Masochists!

Where are youuuuuuuu

TheFamilyCat wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:23 am

Did Deakin not play in the home leg?

Seemingly not.
He'd been out of the side for a month or so before the play-offs with Ian Bray playing at left back.
Looks like he was shoehorned into midfield for the play-off first leg due to injuries and suspensions maybe.
Deary was back for the home leg.

That first leg was absolutely awful, but the second leg was only marginally better. At 2 down we needed an early breakthrough, but bizarre as it may seem to some of the younger ones on here Torquay (yep, Torquay!!!) were just too strong for us and although we ragged a last minute own goal, it was all rather too late.

I remember watching this game from the BL stand on the giant screen because Torquay were only giving us a few hundred away tickets.

Casper was p1ssed that day.

I remember certain parts of the day well. We were there early and met the players coming of the bus. I distinctly recall Frank Casper saying: ‘the lads are bubbling’ which to this day seems an unusual turn of phrase. Wasn’t it a 12 noon kick off (or maybe even earlier). They had a centre half called Elliott who went on to play for Leicester- and Mark Loram in midfield who always looked better than Torquay. Those two players were enough. It would have been interesting playing Blackpool in the final on a Friday night at Wembley.

Cubanclaret wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:01 am

I distinctly recall Frank Casper saying: ‘the lads are bubbling’ which to this day seems an unusual turn of phrase.

It does but he also used the same phrase after the Blackpool game a month earlier:
https://youtu.be/VFjMoxJAyzQ

Cubanclaret wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:01 am

It would have been interesting playing Blackpool in the final on a Friday night at Wembley.

I always thought that too. What an iconic game that would have been.

fidelcastro wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:51 am

I remember watching this game from the BL stand on the giant screen because Torquay were only giving us a few hundred away tickets.

From memory wasn't the screen bathed in sunlight making it hard to see? (Maybe a blessing!)

Only positive I could take from the game was staying the weekend as it got me out of my nieces christining. The wife was very understanding as she new that football always comes 1st in our household, although I doubt the in laws understood

Who's the Number 6 for Torquay?
Commentator said Joyce, Shawn/Sean? Looks & moves exactly like Warren Joyce, is that his brother?

diamondpocket wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:29 am

Who's the Number 6 for Torquay?
Commentator said Joyce, Shawn/Sean? Looks & moves exactly like Warren Joyce, is that his brother?

Sean Joyce is the player and I don't know if there is any relationship, but he and Warren are not brothers.

Any clarets under 40 who criticise todays side should be made to sit through the full 40 minutes of that rubbish,
us older lads had to endure around 10 years of it

It really makes you appreciate where we are today and how important our Premier league status is

fidelcastro wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:51 am

I remember watching this game from the BL stand on the giant screen because Torquay were only giving us a few hundred away tickets.

Likewise watched on the screen in the BL. Very depressing as I recall and remember being glad I hadn’t gone to Torquay. The 2nd leg wasn’t much better and the plane banner etc..Nice that the tables have turned now.

That video shows why the backpass law was changed that’s for sure and you only have to watch a few seconds to see how far we have come.

Top Claret wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:45 am

Any clarets under 40 who criticise todays side should be made to sit through the full 40 minutes of that rubbish,
us older lads had to endure around 10 years of it

It really makes you appreciate where we are today and how important our Premier league status is

Just watched it, absolutely shocking stuff, pinball football. You'd never think that was a play off semi even at the 4th level.

If someone clever knows how to edit the video so all the pixels are scrambled and blurred then we could relive the highlights as we saw them on the Turf that day.

I was on the Bee Hole end and the screen was miles away, tiny by todays standards and virtually impossible to see properly because of how blurry it was and the glare of the sun

diamondpocket wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:49 am

Just watched it, absolutely shocking stuff, pinball football. You'd never think that was a play off semi even at the 4th level.

The football was dreadful. How I watched that for 10 years is beyond me, when I should have been playing on a Saturday myself

Devils_Advocate wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:59 am

If someone clever knows how to edit the video so all the pixels are scrambled and blurred then we could relive the highlights as we saw them on the Turf that day.

I was on the Bee Hole end and the screen was miles away, tiny by todays standards and virtually impossible to see properly because of how blurry it was and the glare of the sun

I'm too young to know, did you have to pay to get on DA?

But on the flip side going to football was generally more fun in those days. You could stand on a terrace with your mates, the atmosphere was better etc.

diamondpocket wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 10:00 am

I'm too young to know, did you have to pay to get on DA?

I honestly cant remember. I dont remember anything about the match or the day apart from it being very empty and quiet like a reserve game and what ive put about the screen and the view in the other post.

I think the screen was either on the edge of the Cricketfield penalty area or maybe the halfway line and they might have even opened the londside so had the fans spread across multiple stands.

Still I guess in them days it was pretty good just to get the screen at all

Sat in Bob Lord and the screen was absolutely shocking! Though that was probably for the best. Vaguely remember the last minute goal in the home leg and of course the aeroplane.

We were far from ready for promotion and it may ultimately have caused more damage than good. All I remember from watching the big screen is from the first few minutes it was obvious we were up against it and Frank Caspers at times desperate attempts to tip the balance, giving earache to their keeper and trying everything he could to disrupt the game. It became almost embarrassing... I remember thinking I’m glad this is not being broadcast. It was a shame as I have always had a fantastic amount of respect for Mr.Casper, and have always enjoyed spending time with him, something I was luckily able to do quite often at that time, even being invited around during working days, so I got quite friendly with George Bray (kit man), Jimmy Holland (physio) and Roy Oldfield (groundsman) especially.... it was a great back room and a great times but not a great team sadly.

TheFamilyCat wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:23 am

My only memory of the game is Cssper's antics and even they are vague but I have no desire to watch the highlights to remind myself.

Did Deakin not play in the home leg?

Deary & Futcher came in for Hamilton and Deakin for second leg

Couldn’t get there that day. There was an accident on the line involving an oil tanker train which I didn’t find about until too late! A blessing. Of the two play off games we have had in Devon that was definitely the one to miss!

elwaclaret wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:20 am

We were far from ready for promotion and it may ultimately have caused more damage than good.

Do you really believe that? We should have gone up that year - only four points from the league winners Darlington.

Yes that was my thought at the time, I remember not being confident going into the play-off... possibly disappointment of not getting straight up, but I know I was not that confident even going on to watch the big screen. Possibly because I was sat with Mick Doc a couple of weeks before when there had been a rather serious fallout fallowing training. I remember Steve Davis Mk1 being very concerned about it.

We had recently moved to Cornwall from Essex and I managed to get a ticket for the game.Very disappointed with the result.

elwaclaret wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:45 am

Yes that was my thought at the time, I remember not being confident going into the play-off... possibly disappointment of not getting straight up, but I know I was not that confident even going on to watch the big screen. Possibly because I was sat with Mick Doc a couple of weeks before when there had been a rather serious fallout fallowing training. I remember Steve Davis Mk1 being very concerned about it.

We were the form team going into them, six wins in the last eight games and only one defeat in the last ten.

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:33 am

Do you really believe that? We should have gone up that year - only four points from the league winners Darlington.

Didn’t realise we had finished as close as that!

Steve-Harpers-perm wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:56 am

Didn’t realise we had finished as close as that!

Torquay were the ones who were a long way behind but they won the play offs beating us and then Blackpool. We were 6th but closer to champions Darlington on points (just) than we were to Torquay in 7th. We'd been in superb form going into the play-offs, and were considered favourites to win promotion.

https://www.uptheclarets.com/league-tab ... sion-table

Just had a look at the results towards the end of the season the Maidstone and Rochdale games if we’d won either of those! I remember Futcher scoring a winner in the last minute against Doncaster near the end of the season.

We really missed Deary that day

Top Claret wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:45 am

Any clarets under 40 who criticise todays side should be made to sit through the full 40 minutes of that rubbish,
us older lads had to endure around 10 years of it

It really makes you appreciate where we are today and how important our Premier league status is

And that was far better than what we'd had to endure a few years earlier - frightening to look back at it now

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:52 am

We were the form team going into them, six wins in the last eight games and only one defeat in the last ten.

Not arguing, just reminiscing about a time I was a lot closer to the heart of the club than I have been for many years since. I loved the time, the people involved and that our club was back looking up, but I was not confident and the pressure was showing (which is probably why I spent most of my time in the Cricket field rather than Gawthorpe, despite having relatively free reign to go wherever I wanted).

Culmclaret wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 12:15 pm

We really missed Deary that day

Deary made the team tick - really important player for us.

diamondpocket wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:29 am

Who's the Number 6 for Torquay?
Commentator said Joyce, Shawn/Sean? Looks & moves exactly like Warren Joyce, is that his brother?

No relation

Sean is from Yorkshire I think but has been down this way for years

After finishing playing he went on to mange and has been very successful at Bideford. Been there since the late 1990’s

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 12:37 pm

Deary made the team tick - really important player for us.

I think he got injured in the Rochdale game. Head and shoulders above the rest of our midfield. I remember the Peterborough game a few weeks before when he absolutely ran the show and we were 4-1 at half time after an exhilarating half of football. Totally unrecognisable from those extended highlights. As often against us, Loram looked like a thorn in our side. A quality player at that level.

A low point that rivalled the mid 80s for me. Probably because we expected better at that point.

We really should have gone up. We were on fire after those wins against Peterborough and Blackpool, getting big crowds on again at last. That 0-0 at Rochdale really killed it. A strange non-performance at just the wrong time.

I don't remember much about that season but I remember everyone being confident of overturning the 2‐0 scoreline in the 2nd leg.

In the early 90s we just expected to win at home.

NottsClaret wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 1:30 pm

We really should have gone up. We were on fire after those wins against Peterborough and Blackpool, getting big crowds on again at last. That 0-0 at Rochdale really killed it. A strange non-performance at just the wrong time.

Strange game that afternoon at Rochdale, a win there and we'd have gone up automatically. But you are right, those wins against Peterborough and Blackpool were terrific and we'd never previously beaten Peterborough. We hit a 10,000 crowd for the Peterborough game and then had well over 18,000 at the Blackpool game. The momentum was with us but we did miss John Deary and we really missed Ron Futcher who had been sent off at Maidstone and was serving a suspension.

Quickenthetempo wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 2:03 pm

I don't remember much about that season but I remember everyone being confident of overturning the 2‐0 scoreline in the 2nd leg.

In the early 90s we just expected to win at home.

I think that was the best season I can recall at home in terms of defeats - we lost just once against Chesterfield.

Quickenthetempo wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 2:03 pm

I don't remember much about that season but I remember everyone being confident of overturning the 2‐0 scoreline in the 2nd leg.

In the early 90s we just expected to win at home.

I think that was the best season I can recall at home in terms of defeats - we lost just once against Chesterfield.

Yes remember the Peterborough game and it being a huge win as they were a bogey team!

Absolutely devastated at the time but maybe it was for the best. the following season was one of my favourites, and we might not have had Wembley 1994 had we gone up that season.

Joe Jakub was fantastic for us that season at full back.

elwaclaret wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 2:13 pm

Joe Jakub was fantastic for us that season at full back.

Jakub was largely used in midfield during the play off season. It was the championship winning season the year after where he was moved to fullback.

Is the commentator the same chap who did the Plymouth play off away game a few years later?

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 27, 2021 2:07 pm

I think that was the best season I can recall at home in terms of defeats - we lost just once against Chesterfield.

Dave Lancaster, wasn't it?

We were excellent at home that season, but could barely win away, although I remember a fantastic win and performance at Scunthorpe at the back end of that season.