Today in 1987, a day never to be forgotten a football club became A pheonix from the ashes

I can't recall where I was if honest , but I do remember you got the football results 5 times a day out the world service . I tuned in to one of those to hear our result.
In today's world you watch the game on the phone.

I'm on the photo...no lifetime bans in those days thankfully

It still chills me to the bone thinking that if just one of two results had gone against us, we would have gone. Even if we had won 20-0.

When we lost at Crewe a few games earlier I really thought we'd gone. It was the low point of my footballing journey and I came out of Gresty Road in a daze. The rest is history and one verse in our song says it all; " In 1987, they said our club was dead!"

I think I recognise somebody in that pic, Trevor Bartley who used to steward the BFSC buses. Wearing the stripy top just above the scarf.

randomclaret2 wrote: ↑

Fri May 09, 2025 10:03 am

I'm on the photo...no lifetime bans in those days thankfully

Me too...

CaptJohn wrote: ↑

Fri May 09, 2025 10:22 am

When we lost at Crewe a few games earlier I really thought we'd gone. It was the low point of my footballing journey and I came out of Gresty Road in a daze. The rest is history and one verse in our song says it all; " In 1987, they said our club was dead!"

Same here. A very poor performance and I'd practically given up any hope at the end of the game.

Leisure wrote: ↑

Fri May 09, 2025 10:52 am

Same here. A very poor performance and I'd practically given up any hope at the end of the game.

That night at Crewe was a shocker, really did feel that we'd had it

Dazzler wrote: ↑

Fri May 09, 2025 10:11 am

It still chills me to the bone thinking that if just one of two results had gone against us, we would have gone. Even if we had won 20-0.

I got it the wrong way round, we needed just the one favourable result & for us to win.

Goalposts wrote: ↑

Fri May 09, 2025 9:38 am

Today in 1987, a day never to be forgotten a football club became A pheonix from the ashes

I have actually forgotten all about it. I don't remember a thing from that day.
Maybe it's trauma related!!

I was there somewhere but watching the game recently it really showed how things have changed. We had some committed fans roaring on players who played out of the skin.I never thought we would loose but the other results could have wrecked my optimism.

The Crewe defeat felt like the penultimate nail in the coffin, but on that wonderful May 9th, they were part of the rescue package along with Swansea.

Crewe was on the Bank Holiday Monday preceding Sat 9th May. Like so many others I thought that was it for our club and the drive home was virtuallyy silent.

Herts Clarets wrote: ↑

Fri May 09, 2025 12:20 pm

Crewe was on the Bank Holiday Monday preceding Sat 9th May. Like so many others I thought that was it for our club and the drive home was virtuallyy silent.

Yep, a dark day and a dark mood on the drive home. Recall a coach load of Everton fans in front of us on their way home from Watford? where a Pat Van den Hauwe goal had won them the First division title. What a contrast! In my lifetime as a Claret I'd seen us compete with them home and away beating them as much as they beat us. Just what had gone wrong?

Dazzler wrote: ↑

Fri May 09, 2025 10:11 am

It still chills me to the bone thinking that if just one of two results had gone against us, we would have gone. Even if we had won 20-0.

Not quite. We needed either Lincoln to lose, or Torquay to draw or lose. Given that we beat Orient, then either one would have been enough to finish off the bottom; as it was, we finished above both, and only one team went down.

I’ve never experienced anything like it at a game before or since. The rawest of raw emotion. I still don’t know how the otherwise excellent Alan Comfort missed a total sitter near the end. I can only assume it was divine intervention….and what a header from the smallest player on the pitch!

With one or two humps and bumps it has been onwards and upwards ever since

dsr wrote: ↑

Fri May 09, 2025 1:43 pm

Not quite. We needed either Lincoln to lose, or Torquay to draw or lose. Given that we beat Orient, then either one would have been enough to finish off the bottom; as it was, we finished above both, and only one team went down.

I did correct myself.

Remarkable to think we've now spent 25 years in the top two tiers.

Dazzler wrote: ↑

Fri May 09, 2025 10:11 am

It still chills me to the bone thinking that if just one of two results had gone against us, we would have gone. Even if we had won 20-0.

a PROPER twist of fate for the club that day

As a youngster back then, starting at our lowest ebb, I couldn't imagine us playing above the 4th division. Seemed ridiculously exciting a few years later to be playing Stoke and West Brom in the 3rd division.

I lived in Cornwall back then and had travelled up for the Crewe game, thought we were dead and gone, so decided not to do the 6-8 drive each way on the Saturday, much to my eternal regret. Listened to the radio whilst sat in my back garden and chewed my nails so much I was gnawing on wrist bones by the end!

22 years later, I stood at Wembley crying as we gained promotion back to the highest level of English football. I never thought I'd ever see us there again.

For anyone who endured those gut-churning events 38 years ago, our achievements in recent times seem all the sweeter. If ever a crowd won a game for a team, that was it. Always had a little soft spot for Orient (and Lincoln) since.

I was there and the emotions of that day were something else. I was also at the Crewe game and I too thought we'd be going down after that result, it was a sickening feeling. Even beating Orient wasn't certain to keep us in the league. The euphoria and relief after of the Orient result, where the team of heroes played out of their skins, masked what a really dreadful team we'd become. I didn't see that many games that season due to living in the midlands and bringing up a young family but I remember taking my 2 eldest boys to the 1st round FA Cup game at Telford. We lost 3-0 and driving home I couldn't get over how far we'd fallen from our teams of the 60's and the 70's. However a bright spot for me personally following us up and down the country (and leagues) allowed me to complete the 92 league grounds by 1994. Every cloud has a silver lining. We're certainly back where we belong now though, punching above our weight and long may it continue. UTC

Some reports and more about the game at this link

https://www.uptheclarets.com/category/3 ... rient-game

For me it was the 2-2 at home to Torquay.

Leighton james penalty it what seemed like the 120th minute.

Lashing down with rain.

I think everyone on that game really got behind the team at 2-1down.

My dad god bless him when we got back to the local challenged everyone to get on the tuf.

I also remember Scunthorpe away, phil malley scored first, we got beat, dont think we spoke all the way home.

Those were dark days and i know some on here go on about us orient survivours being cautious, but the orient game is a reason i didnt sell my shares to Pace (i has them before Orient)

Spelling awful but been drinking all day in bilbao!!

I was there but can't remember much about it. Way too stressed. I was 14 and my bruv drove us over from near Garstang where we had moved to about 3 years before from Burnley.

Didn't it absolutely **** it down just before kick off as we were queuing up to get on at the Bee Hole end. Seem to remember clouds of steam rising from the crowds. Really don't remember anything about the game or after apart from obvious relief. Couldn't tell you whether we were on the pitch or not guv. Genuinely no idea.

I took my bird on the game. First and last time I ever took her. She wouldn’t stop talking about non football related stuff. Hair, nails etc. She also complained that people around us stunk of beer. Me included.

Guller Bull wrote: ↑

Fri May 09, 2025 5:41 pm

I was there but can't remember much about it. Way too stressed. I was 14 and my bruv drove us over from near Garstang where we had moved to about 3 years before from Burnley.

Didn't it absolutely **** it down just before kick off as we were queuing up to get on at the Bee Hole end.

That was 5 years earlier when we won promotion from the third division.

Silkyskills1 wrote: ↑

Fri May 09, 2025 7:12 pm

That was 5 years earlier when we won promotion from the third division.

Yes that was the Chesterfield game. It was cloudy/bright on the day of the Orient game but it didn’t rain….except for the tears

Let's not forget that we endured another 5 seasons of 4th Division football after the Orient game and didn't really look like ending our stay. 1 play off semi final defeat to the footballing powerhouse that is Torquay United is the closest we came to ending our tenure in the bottom Division.

Then we appointed Jimmy Mullen.

Herts Clarets wrote: ↑

Sat May 10, 2025 1:28 pm

Let's not forget that we endured another 5 seasons of 4th Division football after the Orient game and didn't really look like ending our stay. 1 play off semi final defeat to the footballing powerhouse that is Torquay United is the closest we came to ending our tenure in the bottom Division.

Then we appointed Jimmy Mullen.

And the rest is mainly marvellous history, thank you Jimmy. I wish he would come back as a half time guest but ignore an interview but stroll to the centre circle so we can give him one last Jimmy Mullen's Claret and Blue army as a belated thank you.
What a fanstastic club we have despite the ups and downs, it truly is never dull and boring being a Claret.....