Author Topic: RAWK Advent Calendar 2014 #18 - Arsenal 1972 Tosh's Goal Mr Pickwick Disallowed  (Read 48896 times)

Offline Mutton Geoff

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A memorable effort but in vain.

End of the 1971-72 season - a three way title decider night.

Picture the scene; a Monday night game under the Highbury Floodlights in the days before Sky made Monday night games obligatory. Derby were sitting on top of the league, but their season was over. Leeds only needed a draw at Wolves to take the title and we needed to beat Arsenal on their midden.

Some game details, with blanks filled in by 11v11.com
Date: 8th May 1972
Score: 0-0
Competition: League Division One
Venue: Highbury
Attendance: 39,289

Arsenal starting line up
Geoff Barnett / Goalkeeper
Pat Rice / Right Back
Peter Simpson / Defence
Peter Storey  / Defence
Sammy Nelson / Left Back
Frank McLintock /  Midfield
Alan Ball /  Midfield
George Armstrong / Midfield
George Graham / Midfield
Ray Kennedy  / Striker
John Radford / Striker

Sub: John Roberts for Pat Rice

Liverpool starting line up

Ray Clemence / Goalkeeper
Chris Lawler / Right Back
Tommy Smith/ Defence
Larry Lloyd / Defence
Alec Lindsay / Left Back
Emlyn Hughes/ Midfield
Steve Heighway / Midfield
Brian Hall / Midfield
Ian Callaghan / Midfield
Kevin Keegan / Striker
John Toshack / Striker

We didn't use a Sub, so who it was is lost in the mists of time.



I was working as a young chef in London at the time and rushed from my Liverpool Street Hotel to Highbury, and in my rush I ended up on the Northbank instead of the Clockend. At first I thought sod it, everyone had a red scarf, and there were no replica shirts in those days.

In that brief moment when I took my place on the terrace I was a bit flustered after the massive rush to get to the game. And I was too busy eating my pie and holding my mug of bovril to listen to the conversations around me! But when we came out to warm up a minute or so later, I finally realised we had taken over this section of the Northbank.

To be honest the game was good and the Referee was Roger Kirkpatrick - Mr Pickwick, as we called him. A man so rotund he makes some modern day referees like Mr Dowd look like a combination of Twiggy with the athleticism of an Olympic sprinter.

This Old Match of the Day Introduction clip has a brief cameo from the comedic character that was Mr Pickwick, Roger Kirkpatrick.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/QCPz9zygKEo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/QCPz9zygKEo</a>

To be honest Football in those days was full of great characters including the Refs. I think the best way to describe the late Roger Kirkpatrick's unique Refereeing style is this:

If play stopped at one end of the field, say a free kick to the defending side, he would delay the kick slightly before turning and running half the length of the field - with his arms and legs pumping like pistons. It was brilliant to see. The crowd would laugh and cheer loudly. He was a comical figure to watch but on this night he wasn't very funny...



The game went OK, we battered them without scoring. I remember at one point Kevin Keegan appeared to be running down the wing and heading the ball as he went. My hero 'Crazy Horse' Emlyn Hughes hit the bar with such force that it was probably still rattling in September. As always, it seemed the team left it all on the pitch that night.

We knew Wolves were beating Leeds through the old transistor radio guys and the terrace grapevine, meaning if we could score, we would be Champions... And with two minutes to go Tosh put the ball in the net. Well we all went ballistic! That was until we saw Mr Pickwick had disallowed it for offside, so as with all the fans around me I went from elation to deflation faster than the speed of sound.

When the final whistle went we cheered for the lads. They could not have given more and, but for a decision that I still disagree with (from a well respected and likeable referee - yes we had some then), we would have left as Champions.  We made up for just missing out during the next two decades, but for me it was this near miss that was a night to remember. A proud night to be a red, despite the result.

This report from the Guardian can fill in some of the blanks that my old memory has not retained after all these decades

Quote
"  Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool, Division One, 08/05/1972
… but you might not be aware of this almost equally dramatic title decider, one that has been weirdly airbrushed out of history. When folk talk of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Brian Clough’s first title , they concentrate almost exclusively on Leeds's failure to get the point they needed at Wolves to win the championship ahead of Clough's Derby. Yet on the same Monday night, because of Leeds's 2-1 defeat by Wolves, Liverpool would have pipped Derby had they beaten Arsenal at Highbury.

They came excruciatingly close. Emlyn Hughes hit the bar, John Toshack missed a great chance; then, with two minutes to go, Toshack had a goal disallowed for offside. The Guardian said he was "palpably offside", but the Liverpool manager, Bill Shankly, disagreed and suggested that the decision was given by the referee, not the linesman. For some clubs it might have been a lifelong frustration; but when you win 11 of the next 18 titles, as Liverpool did, it's easier to forget about the one that got away."

This reporter only got one or two things wrong: I have never forgotten that night and I was proud to be at the game. And I still maintain it was a good goal. In those days Linesmen generally gave the offside decisions, and he didn't raise his flag.

It was also not every day you could take the Northbank!
« Last Edit: November 30, 2014, 08:49:44 pm by Rhi »
Mellowing and Retired, and stayed around long enough to watch the Tories implode

Offline John C

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Geoff reflects on a game before some of your parents were even born :)

Nice one mate.

Offline kavah

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thanks Geoff, great choice, this one is lost in the mists of time, at least for me. And after Yorky's mention of Alec Lindsay's cup final disallowed goal maybe we should have a top 10.

Some cracking English teams knocking round in the early 70s. We of course from 1975 burnt all of them off but before that it was very competitive and the season you spotlight, oh my gosh that must have caused a few heart attacks, and then trying to calculate the goal averages!

69/70 Everton (66), Leeds (57)
70/71 Arsenal (65), Leeds (64)
71/72 Derby County (58, GA 2.091), Leeds (57 GA 2.355) (Liverpool GA 2.133 3rd & Man City 4th 57pts GA 1.711 !!)
72/73 Liverpool (60), Arsenal (57)
73/74 Leeds United (62) , Liverpool (57)    
74/75 Derby County (53), Liverpool (51) (and 3rd Ipswich 51)
« Last Edit: December 18, 2014, 03:26:16 am by kavah »

Offline Harinder

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"went from elation to deflation faster than the speed of sound"

Know that one!

Great write up :)
Just clicked on the main board and my virus scanner came back with this

"When we visited this site, we found it exhibited one or more risky behaviors."


:lmao

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Offline Maggie May

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Great piece Geoff.  Didn't  make this one, but I certainly remember Mr Pickwick. 
Rather a day as a lion than a lifetime as a sheep.

I can only be nice to one person a day.  Today is not your day.  Tomorrow doesn't look too good either.
I tried being reasonable.  I didn't like it.  Old enough to know better.  Young enough not to give a fuck.

Offline paulrazor

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yer ma should have called you Paolo Zico Gerry Socrates HELLRAZOR

Offline Mutton Geoff

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http://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/678

sub was Thommo

gonna read this now

thanks for that  i lost in the mist of cans of Tennants .
Mellowing and Retired, and stayed around long enough to watch the Tories implode

Offline paulrazor

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thanks for that  i lost in the mist of cans of Tennants .
good summary mate

honestly felt i read loads of peoples accounts of that goal, people who listened on car radios. heard the goal. jumped into their house and then realized it wasnt a goal. it honestly must have been heart breaking.
yer ma should have called you Paolo Zico Gerry Socrates HELLRAZOR

Offline Timbo's Goals

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Well plucked out of the fading memory banks let alone north bank geoff lad. Great stuff.

I can still recall hearing about the disallowed goal while sat downstairs at the back of the jumper off 6C bus as it went down Bowring park Road coming back from seeing my girl in Roby. I presume someone on the bus must have had a radio.

As far as I'm concerned ever since I've always believed it was a goal and we've got 19 titles.

 ;D

Offline Corrie Nick

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Great read, thanks. I knew of the 3 way title fight (imagine this day and age where the final games aren't all played at the same time) but I don't think I new (or remembered) of the disallowed goal, and only two minutes from time.

Yorky mentioned in his piece that he can't fully celebrate a goal without quickly pausing to check that the ref has given it and I'm a bit like that although I can't think of the specific incident that sparked it off for me.

Offline paulrazor

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Great read, thanks. I knew of the 3 way title fight (imagine this day and age where the final games aren't all played at the same time) but I don't think I new (or remembered) of the disallowed goal, and only two minutes from time.

Yorky mentioned in his piece that he can't fully celebrate a goal without quickly pausing to check that the ref has given it and I'm a bit like that although I can't think of the specific incident that sparked it off for me.
im like that for penalties

when they are given not to celebrate. thats mainly thanks to Ian Harte for Ireland against Spain in 2002

im nearly sure Brian Clough just went on the piss in Spain prior to the game and didnt even watch this match at Highbury.
yer ma should have called you Paolo Zico Gerry Socrates HELLRAZOR

Offline McrRed

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Best thing about RAWK is reading stuff like this when you learn things you never knew about the club. Nice one!!

Yeah. Brilliant. Totally unaware of this game thanks to the aforementioned airbrushing. 19-5.

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The thing about that season was that we went on a charge and despite Dirty Leeds being well ahead we came up the hill at them. For me as a 12 yr old kid, we were robbed in the previous game, and that was what cost us. That late run forged us into steel, and the next season, my first full one on the Kop with my mates, was absolutely amazing.
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Offline Kemlyn 28

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I don't think I've ever seen a replay of that game.I can remember listening on e radio though and bouncing around our kitchen before realising it had been ruled out.

Offline Redsnappa

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Found this - you can make your own minds up ... looks to me like Tosh was played on by the defender's intervention.

State of that officious prick Kirkpatrick  ;D

Always was a poor TV angle from Highbury  :P

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/jLcJX8yjUFs" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/jLcJX8yjUFs</a>

Offline Nitramdorf

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I really enjoyed reading this thread. Thank you Geoff.

For some reason I dont visit this sub forum much, I must make amends on that, its fascinating.

I became a red in the 76/77 season and to my shame I had no idea about this and how close we came. Despite all our success it's strange to think how much more we may have won over the years, the mind boggles.

Loved the MOTD opening titles, Terry Macs goal against Everton especially.

I'm a big one for nostalgia and sometimes, maybe go on a bit much about how it was better in my day. But it really was. The amount of different clubs who had a chance and who quite often took that chance. With the Forest years to come after the list Kavah posted.

Cheers Geoff, all the best.

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thanks Geoff, great choice, this one is lost in the mists of time, at least for me. And after Yorky's mention of Alec Lindsay's cup final disallowed goal maybe we should have a top 10.

Some cracking English teams knocking round in the early 70s. We of course from 1975 burnt all of them off but before that it was very competitive and the season you spotlight, oh my gosh that must have caused a few heart attacks, and then trying to calculate the goal averages!

69/70 Everton (66), Leeds (57)
70/71 Arsenal (65), Leeds (64)
71/72 Derby County (58, GA 2.091), Leeds (57 GA 2.355) (Liverpool GA 2.133 3rd & Man City 4th 57pts GA 1.711 !!)
72/73 Liverpool (60), Arsenal (57)
73/74 Leeds United (62) , Liverpool (57)    
74/75 Derby County (53), Liverpool (51) (and 3rd Ipswich 51)

I listened to the match parked up in my car off Lodge Lane for the 71/72 finale. Took me about ten minutes to calculate the relative positions.

That's when the 1970s team kicked off.

Offline Manila Vanilla

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I was at that game but it’s the first time I’ve seen the TV footage. We’d actually moved to Dover by now, though I managed to get to 33 games that season.

My grandfather, bless his heart, had queued for hours to get me a ticket for what was supposed to be the title decider, at Derby. It was a midweek game and I plucked up courage to ask if I could have the afternoon off school to go. I was told I could, provided I was at school the next morning. I got back at about 5.00am on the milk train – and we’d lost.

When the title was still up for grabs a week later I knew it would be a lockout, but I couldn’t risk asking for time off again. So I bunked off for the afternoon.

The “goal” is pretty much how I remember it. Kevin Keegan scuffed his shot for the first time in a remarkable debut season and Tosh was on his own, three yards from goal. I was at that end, the Clock End, and wasn’t surprised when it was given offside. The film isn’t conclusive but shows Tosh pretty much on his own. He wasn’t the most mobile of strikers and I’m not sure he had the speed to beat defenders to the ball.

To make matters worse, they’d done an unscheduled roll call at the start of the afternoon – and I got caught!