30 years ago

[Owling_Wolf]

On 31/12/2024 at 08:35, Chelters said:

Saturday 31 December 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Leicester City (away)

 

As 1994 drew to a close, with New Year's Eve falling on a Saturday, games took place on that day and the following Bank Holiday Monday rather than New Year's Day. It continued a rather hectic - but not unusual - festive period that would involve 4 games in 8 days. So far it had been an absolute dream for Wednesday with six points and nine goals on the board, including four for new signing Guy Whittingham.

 

The Owls travelled down to Filbert Street to face a struggling Leicester side in their first season in the Premier League. Promoted via the play-offs, their squad had a distinctly First Division look to it. Manager Brian Little had departed for Aston Villa in November, and new boss Mark McGhee had not really enjoyed the new manager bounce, although a more than creditable point at Old Trafford in their previous game hinted at signs of improvement.

 

Wednesday made just the one change from the side that had started those two handsome wins over Everton and Coventry, with Chris Waddle replacing the injured Klas Ingesson. The Foxes' side showed few household names, their star player being Mark Draper which tells you something.

 

With the home side perhaps unsurprisingly adopting a tough and direct approach this was not one for the purists, and any thoughts of another 4 or 5 goal runout for the Owls were to prove unfounded as Whittingham was kept quiet. After a tight and scrappy opening period the contest was lit up with a fantastic goal in the 40th minute. Graham Hyde received the ball in the Leicester half, eluded two challenges and then hit a cracking effort from 25 yards that flew into the top corner past Kevin Poole. It was probably the best goal Hyde would ever score and a reminder of the quality that he did have. Having won his place in midfield early in the season he had become an automatic choice, and picked up the baton of the Carlton Palmer role that Ian Taylor was meant to fill. Was this a sign of Hyde's quality or more of an indicator of the decline that had started to set in? I'll let you decide that one.....

 

The second half had a bit more going on as the home side pushed for an equaliser. Kevin Pressman was not massively tested, with a couple of headers from Iwan Roberts and a shot from Simon Grayson his main bits of action. But with 11 minutes to go the infamous Mike Reed gave the Owls defence the runaround when he awarded a very soft looking penalty against Ian Nolan. Cue a rather unusual occurrence as Steve Thompson saw his spot kick hit the post before he slotted in the rebound, promptly realising that, as no other player had touched the ball, it was a 'double touch' and Reed correctly disallowed the effort, awarding Wednesday a free kick. The home fans showed their ignorance by making a fuss about it but, to be Frank, there was nothing to argue about. A Pat on the back for Mr Reed there.

 

By this stage Wednesday were soaking up pressure but happy to play on the break, with Poole required to make good saves to deny substitutes Gordon Watson and Dan Petrescu. But it turned out that no further goals were needed as the Owls saw the game out to record a full complement of 9 points so far from the Christmas fixture list. Having scraped along in the bottom six for much of the season, as can often happen at this time of the year three good results saw Wednesday shoot up the table into 9th place and, going into 1995, things were suddenly starting to look a lot better.

 

Final score : Leicester 0-1 Wednesday

 

Leicester : Poole, Grayson, Whitlow, Willis, Hill, Agnew (Blake 67), Philpott, Draper, Thompson, Oldfield (Lowe 53), Roberts. Unused sub : Ward

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Waddle (Petrescu 67), Hyde, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham (Watson 82), Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Attendance : 20,624

With our luck nowadays the ref. would have told Thompson to take the penalty again.  

[Chelters]

48 minutes ago, Owling_Wolf said:

Is that Cov player listed on the programme Paul Cook the Scouse Chezzie Manager, anyone? 

Yes I believe it is

[Chelters]

Monday 2 January 1995

FA Carling Premiership

Southampton (home)

 

Wednesday rounded off the festive fixture list with a Bank Holiday Monday visit from Southampton hoping to make it a full house of 12 points from the four games, It was the Saints' second visit of the season to Hillsborough after a rather forgettable 1-0 win for the Owls in the League Cup back in October (scroll up if you want to find out more about that one, but it's probably not worth the effort). 

 

Like previous visitors Coventry, Southampton were one of those teams that seemed to be fighting relegation every season but never seemed to go down. True to form they were toddling along in the bottom half, albeit not down with the dead men at this stage. Their manager was an England legend not really turning himself into a managerial legend, the squeaky voiced Alan 'someone just trod on my' Ball. Their star player was a certain Matt Le Tissier, a well respected chap at this point who has more lately turned into one of those flat earther, anti-vax types who probably thinks we are being ruled by lizards and sprayed with chemtrails. (It's a ball, vaccines are fine, lizards tend to lay eggs and planes spit out exhaust fumes the same way your breath shows when it's cold, just to clear all that up).

 

Anyway, back to the football, and Wednesday named an unchanged team from the win at Leicester, meaning the side was unchanged through the entire congested Christmas and New Year fixtures apart from Chris Waddle replacing Klas Ingesson at Filbert Street. Other than Le Tissier, other notable names in the visiting lineup were goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, another future Owls legend in Jim Magilton, the fearsome Francis Benali, and the equally fearsome but for entirely different reasons Iain Dowie up front.

 

A quiet opening period was brought to life in the 20th minute when Graham Hyde scored his second goal in consecutive games, and it was another good strike following his belter at Leicester. A corner from Chris Bart-Williams was half cleared to the diminutive midfielder in the centre of the area and he rifled home a volley into the roof of the net. The stage seemed set for another handsome victory, but the Owls struggled to add to their lead, with Guy Whittingham and Waddle having attempts saved and Bart-Williams blazing a good chance wide.

 

The second half saw referee Reger Dilkes get involved - or in some cases fail to get involved - as Wednesday were denied two good penalty shouts with visiting defenders Jason Dodd and Richard Hall both appearing to handball in the box. The Owls almost extended their lead as Andy Pearce - just as in that League Cup game - saw his header rebound off the post, but almost inevitably it was the visitors who got the next goal, and Dilkes was again involved. The dangerous Le Tisser played in Neil Heaney who was felled by a clumsy Peter Atherton challenge and the ref pointed straight to the spot. It was the fourth penalty Wednesday had conceded in three games but, unlike the previous three, this one was probably correct. Le Tisser took the spot kick and , as usual, scored although Kevin Pressman did get a hand to it. Le Tissier (which is French for 'The Weaver' if you're interested) only ever missed one penalty in his entire career, now there's a conspiracy theory for you.

 

The Owls pressed for a winner, the closest being a goalmouth scramble that saw Hyde and Bart-WIlliams both denied on the goalline, but it just wouldn't come and Wednesday had to settle for a point. It was a bit of an anticlimax to what had been an impressive few games, but 10 points from a possible 12 was not to be sniffed at and this one was probably a case of a game too far.

 

Final score : Wednesday 1-1 Southampton

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Waddle (Petrescu 74), Hyde, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham (Watson 74), Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Southampton : Grobbelaar, Dodd, Kenna (Tisdale 51), Monkou, Hall, Benali, Widdrington, Magilton, Le Tissier, Maskell (Heaney 65), Dowie. Unused sub : Beasant

 

Attendance : 28,424

 

Document_2024-12-27_114924.pdf
2024-12-27_115041.pdf

[Beaconowl]

34 minutes ago, Chelters said:

Monday 2 January 1995

FA Carling Premiership

Southampton (home)

 

Wednesday rounded off the festive fixture list with a Bank Holiday Monday visit from Southampton hoping to make it a full house of 12 points from the four games, It was the Saints' second visit of the season to Hillsborough after a rather forgettable 1-0 win for the Owls in the League Cup back in October (scroll up if you want to find out more about that one, but it's probably not worth the effort). 

 

Like previous visitors Coventry, Southampton were one of those teams that seemed to be fighting relegation every season but never seemed to go down. True to form they were toddling along in the bottom half, albeit not down with the dead men at this stage. Their manager was an England legend not really turning himself into a managerial legend, the squeaky voiced Alan 'someone just trod on my' Ball. Their star player was a certain Matt Le Tissier, a well respected chap at this point who has more lately turned into one of those flat earther, anti-vax types who probably thinks we are being ruled by lizards and sprayed with chemtrails. (It's a ball, vaccines are fine, lizards tend to lay eggs and planes spit out exhaust fumes the same way your breath shows when it's cold, just to clear all that up).

 

Anyway, back to the football, and Wednesday named an unchanged team from the win at Leicester, meaning the side was unchanged through the entire congested Christmas and New Year fixtures apart from Chris Waddle replacing Klas Ingesson at Filbert Street. Other than Le Tissier, other notable names in the visiting lineup were goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, another future Owls legend in Jim Magilton, the fearsome Francis Benali, and the equally fearsome but for entirely different reasons Iain Dowie up front.

 

A quiet opening period was brought to life in the 20th minute when Graham Hyde scored his second goal in consecutive games, and it was another good strike following his belter at Leicester. A corner from Chris Bart-Williams was half cleared to the diminutive midfielder in the centre of the area and he rifled home a volley into the roof of the net. The stage seemed set for another handsome victory, but the Owls struggled to add to their lead, with Guy Whittingham and Waddle having attempts saved and Bart-Williams blazing a good chance wide.

 

The second half saw referee Reger Dilkes get involved - or in some cases fail to get involved - as Wednesday were denied two good penalty shouts with visiting defenders Jason Dodd and Richard Hall both appearing to handball in the box. The Owls almost extended their lead as Andy Pearce - just as in that League Cup game - saw his header rebound off the post, but almost inevitably it was the visitors who got the next goal, and Dilkes was again involved. The dangerous Le Tisser played in Neil Heaney who was felled by a clumsy Peter Atherton challenge and the ref pointed straight to the spot. It was the fourth penalty Wednesday had conceded in three games but, unlike the previous three, this one was probably correct. Le Tisser took the spot kick and , as usual, scored although Kevin Pressman did get a hand to it. Le Tissier (which is French for 'The Weaver' if you're interested) only ever missed one penalty in his entire career, now there's a conspiracy theory for you.

 

The Owls pressed for a winner, the closest being a goalmouth scramble that saw Hyde and Bart-WIlliams both denied on the goalline, but it just wouldn't come and Wednesday had to settle for a point. It was a bit of an anticlimax to what had been an impressive few games, but 10 points from a possible 12 was not to be sniffed at and this one was probably a case of a game too far.

 

Final score : Wednesday 1-1 Southampton

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Waddle (Petrescu 74), Hyde, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham (Watson 74), Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Southampton : Grobbelaar, Dodd, Kenna (Tisdale 51), Monkou, Hall, Benali, Widdrington, Magilton, Le Tissier, Maskell (Heaney 65), Dowie. Unused sub : Beasant

 

Attendance : 28,424

 

Document_2024-12-27_114924.pdf 2.81 MB · 1 download
2024-12-27_115041.pdf 2.22 MB · 1 download

Thanks @Chelters, I appreciate the time you put in to write these posts up

[Chelters]

3 minutes ago, Beaconowl said:

Thanks @Chelters, I appreciate the time you put in to write these posts up

Cheers, it’s a bit of a labour of love to be honest and I still have a pipe dream that one of the local journos might notice and land me my dream job of reporting on Wednesday for a living.

But accountancy is probably better for the bank balance if I’m honest. 

[Reesh]

1 minute ago, Chelters said:

Cheers, it’s a bit of a labour of love to be honest and I still have a pipe dream that one of the local journos might notice and land me my dream job of reporting on Wednesday for a living.

But accountancy is probably better for the bank balance if I’m honest. 

You're over qualified.

[Chelters]

Saturday 7 January 1995

FA Cup 3rd Round

Gillingham (away)

 

After a successful festive period with 10 points out of a possible 12, the Owls turned their attention to the FA Cup with a long trip down to Kent to take on Gillingham. The hosts were toiling in the bottom half of the 3rd Division (League Two in today's money) but this nevertheless held the possibility of being the proverbial banana skin on a dodgy pitch in a ramshackle stadium.

 

As I have mentioned before in this thread, these were the days before squad rotation, and also before Premier League teams put out their second team for this sort of fixture. No surprise then that Wednesday named an unchanged team after their recent good form.

 

The Gills were not only struggling on the pitch but off it as well, with owner Bernard Baker unable to fund the club to the level required. Their manager at the time was Mike Flanagan - nope, me neither - and their squad also contained such well known names as, er, Gary Micklewhite. Certainly on paper this should have been an absolute walk in the park.

 

In the first half the Owls showed their superiority and dominated possession despite the frantic efforts of their hosts. The first chance came as Peter Atherton saw his firm drive hit the post, and then Mark Bright shot just wide after some good build up. Then, on the half hour, the dominance finally told. Chris Waddle - being given plenty of stick by the local dunderheads for the crime of being a good footballer - jinked down the right and then swung a cross over with his right foot that ended up nestling perfectly in the top corner despite the efforts of home keeper Steven Banks.

 

A minute or so later it was two, and Waddle again doing the damage down the right. This time he cut back on his left foot to swing in a perfect cross for Bright to head home. Having got the two goal cushion, and with Guy Whittingham almost adding a third in as many minutes, the scene was set for a comfortable final hour of the game but, this being Wednesday, that would have been far too easy. 

 

In the 42nd minute Des Walker hit a slightly awkward back pass to Kevin Pressman, who decided that the best way of dealing with it would be to do some keepy-uppies. Sadly, after just the one the ball drifted out of his control and home striker Chris Pike nipped in. Pressman promptly took him down, resulting in a penalty and a red card (the 5th penalty conceded in 4 games). With Whittingham sacrificed it was finally time for sub keeper Lance Key to make his Owls debut. Key - a Ron Atkinson signing from Histon a few years earlier - had been patiently sitting on the bench all season and, whilst welcoming his debut, would have probably preferred different circumstances. Pike took the penalty and sent Key the wrong way, resulting in a somewhat less than comfortable 2-1 half time scoreline with a whole half to survive with 10 men.

 

As you would have expected, the Gills went for it in the second half and Wednesday had to sit back and absorb pressure. Key had to make a couple of relatively routine saves and there was some defending to do but, in truth, the home side just never had the quality to hurt Wednesday and, in the end, there were no further goals and it was probably a more comfortable win than the scoreline might have suggested. Key could sort of claim a moral clean sheet, but was never to appear for the club again.

 

For Gillingham there was to be a nasty postscript as, on the following Monday, the receivers were called in. They did manage to survive the season and, eventually, it all led to a takeover by Paul Scally and a climb up the leagues - within 6 years the two teams met as equals in the First Division (and Gillingham won of course).  

 

Final score : Gillingham 1-2 Wednesday

 

Gillingham : Banks, Arnott, Watson, Carpenter, Butler, Green, Micklewhite, Smith, Forster, Pike, Reinelt. Unused subs : Palmer, Ramage, Barrett

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Waddle (Petrescu 76), Hyde, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham (Key 42), Bright. Unused sub : Watson

 

Attendance : 10,425

[mkowl]

[mkowl]

Mike Flanagan BTW

Not a bad forward. 

[mkowl]

The question is whether he ever played alongside a young Clive Allen.

One for Owling 

[Vialli]

55 minutes ago, Chelters said:

Saturday 7 January 1995

FA Cup 3rd Round

Gillingham (away)

 

After a successful festive period with 10 points out of a possible 12, the Owls turned their attention to the FA Cup with a long trip down to Kent to take on Gillingham. The hosts were toiling in the bottom half of the 3rd Division (League Two in today's money) but this nevertheless held the possibility of being the proverbial banana skin on a dodgy pitch in a ramshackle stadium.

 

As I have mentioned before in this thread, these were the days before squad rotation, and also before Premier League teams put out their second team for this sort of fixture. No surprise then that Wednesday named an unchanged team after their recent good form.

 

The Gills were not only struggling on the pitch but off it as well, with owner Bernard Baker unable to fund the club to the level required. Their manager at the time was Mike Flanagan - nope, me neither - and their squad also contained such well known names as, er, Gary Micklewhite. Certainly on paper this should have been an absolute walk in the park.

 

In the first half the Owls showed their superiority and dominated possession despite the frantic efforts of their hosts. The first chance came as Peter Atherton saw his firm drive hit the post, and then Mark Bright shot just wide after some good build up. Then, on the half hour, the dominance finally told. Chris Waddle - being given plenty of stick by the local dunderheads for the crime of being a good footballer - jinked down the right and then swung a cross over with his right foot that ended up nestling perfectly in the top corner despite the efforts of home keeper Steven Banks.

 

A minute or so later it was two, and Waddle again doing the damage down the right. This time he cut back on his left foot to swing in a perfect cross for Bright to head home. Having got the two goal cushion, and with Guy Whittingham almost adding a third in as many minutes, the scene was set for a comfortable final hour of the game but, this being Wednesday, that would have been far too easy. 

 

In the 42nd minute Des Walker hit a slightly awkward back pass to Kevin Pressman, who decided that the best way of dealing with it would be to do some keepy-uppies. Sadly, after just the one the ball drifted out of his control and home striker Chris Pike nipped in. Pressman promptly took him down, resulting in a penalty and a red card (the 5th penalty conceded in 4 games). With Whittingham sacrificed it was finally time for sub keeper Lance Key to make his Owls debut. Key - a Ron Atkinson signing from Histon a few years earlier - had been patiently sitting on the bench all season and, whilst welcoming his debut, would have probably preferred different circumstances. Pike took the penalty and sent Key the wrong way, resulting in a somewhat less than comfortable 2-1 half time scoreline with a whole half to survive with 10 men.

 

As you would have expected, the Gills went for it in the second half and Wednesday had to sit back and absorb pressure. Key had to make a couple of relatively routine saves and there was some defending to do but, in truth, the home side just never had the quality to hurt Wednesday and, in the end, there were no further goals and it was probably a more comfortable win than the scoreline might have suggested. Key could sort of claim a moral clean sheet, but was never to appear for the club again.

 

For Gillingham there was to be a nasty postscript as, on the following Monday, the receivers were called in. They did manage to survive the season and, eventually, it all led to a takeover by Paul Scally and a climb up the leagues - within 6 years the two teams met as equals in the First Division (and Gillingham won of course).  

 

Final score : Gillingham 1-2 Wednesday

 

Gillingham : Banks, Arnott, Watson, Carpenter, Butler, Green, Micklewhite, Smith, Forster, Pike, Reinelt. Unused subs : Palmer, Ramage, Barrett

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Waddle (Petrescu 76), Hyde, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham (Key 42), Bright. Unused sub : Watson

 

Attendance : 10,425

within 6 years the two teams met as equals in the First Division (and Gillingham won of course).  

 

Hold on a minute,  how do you know this

[Chelters]

1 hour ago, Vialli said:

within 6 years the two teams met as equals in the First Division (and Gillingham won of course).  

 

Hold on a minute,  how do you know this

2000/01 first season after relegation we lost at Gillingham.

[JBO]

WHOOSH 

[Reesh]

2 hours ago, Vialli said:

within 6 years the two teams met as equals in the First Division (and Gillingham won of course).  

 

Hold on a minute,  how do you know this

Grays Sports Almanac......

[Chelters]

Oh I see…..

[EastCraigsOwl]

9 hours ago, Chelters said:

...resulting in a penalty and a red card (the 5th penalty conceded in 4 games).

That's answered one of my questions from another thread. Cheers Mr Chelters 👍 

Interesting that Steve Banks was in goal for Gillingham. He played for Hearts many moons later. Not the worst goalkeeper I've ever seen.

[Reesh]

On 01/01/2025 at 11:55, Owling_Wolf said:

With our luck nowadays the ref. would have told Thompson to take the penalty again.  

Disgraceful EastEnders references there ya Butcher.

[Owling_Wolf]

5 minutes ago, Reesh said:

Disgraceful EastEnders references there ya Butcher.

Like I know any.  👀

[Chelters]

Saturday 14 January 1995

FA Carling Premiership

Chelsea (away)

 

After the FA Cup win at Gillingham the previous Saturday, the Owls travelled down towards the South East one again for a game at Stamford Bridge. The successful festive period had seen Wednesday rise into the top half of the table whilst the hosts, under Glenn Hoddle, were having a middling season bobbing around the mid-table mark.

 

Earlier in the season, the teams had played out a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough, with Mark Bright getting an equaliser in a game that Wednesday probably should have won. The Owls' record at Chelsea was pretty good, with 3 wins and 1 draw from their last 4 visits. There were a couple of changes to the team with Andy Pearce and Graham Hyde out : Lee Briscoe came in at left back, meaning a bit of a reshuffle at the back, and Klas Ingesson came into midfield after a short spell out injured.

 

It was a freezing cold afternoon so could the Owls warm up the travelling supporters with a great result? 

 

The game certainly started well with Wednesday - wearing the yellow and purple third kit - on the front foot. With 25 minutes gone this looked to have been rewarded when the Owls were awarded a penalty after a foul by Erland Johnsen on Mark Bright. Step forward the usually reliable John Sheridan, but the midfielder went for the bottom corner and dragged his kick just wide.

 

This seemed to give the home side a boost and within 10 minutes they were in front and, to be fair, it was a quality goal. The legendary Mark Stein chased down a Gavin Peacock pass and laid the ball back nicely for John Spencer to crash a powerful effort into the top corner from the edge of the box, with Kevin Pressman not standing a chance. A couple of minutes later it could have got worse as Peacock's 25 yard strike beat Pressman all ends up but hit the underside of the bar and bounced down and away.

 

Having looked comfortable for half an hour, Wednesday were glad to see half time. Shortly after the restart they should have been level as Briscoe's cross found its way through to Chris Waddle but his strike hit the outside of the post - in truth it really should have been a goal. Pressman made a great save to tip a Spencer effort onto the woodwork and, with the clock going into the fifth minute of injury time, it looked like it was game over.

 

This was long before the days of knowing how much injury time there would be, so the home fans were baying for the final whistle. Substitute Dan Petrescu picked the ball up from a throw-in and swung a cross in with his left foot. It evaded Jakob Kjeldbjerg and found Ian Nolan rushing in at the far post, and the Owls full back stretched out to divert a volley into the corner with the outside of his right foot. Having suffered plenty of injury time heartbreak in previous years it was nice to be on the right side of a late goal for once. Ref Gary Willard got pelters from the home crowd and Hoddle was not happy afterwards, maybe he should have got Eileen Drewery to predict the amount of injury time for him?

 

It was a decent point in the end and extended the unbeaten run to 6 games since Christmas, with high flying Newcastle up next.

 

Final score : Chelsea 1-1 Wednesday

 

Chelsea : Kharine, Clarke, Sinclair, Johnsen, Kjeldbjerg, Minto, Spackman, Peacock, Spencer, Stein (Newton 71), Furlong. Unused subs : Hoddle, Hitchcock

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Nolan, Briscoe (Petrescu 70), Atherton, Walker, Waddle, Ingesson, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham (Watson 68), Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Attendance : 17,285

[HoylandOwl]

On 07/01/2025 at 06:44, Chelters said:

Saturday 7 January 1995

FA Cup 3rd Round

Gillingham (away)

 

After a successful festive period with 10 points out of a possible 12, the Owls turned their attention to the FA Cup with a long trip down to Kent to take on Gillingham. The hosts were toiling in the bottom half of the 3rd Division (League Two in today's money) but this nevertheless held the possibility of being the proverbial banana skin on a dodgy pitch in a ramshackle stadium.

 

As I have mentioned before in this thread, these were the days before squad rotation, and also before Premier League teams put out their second team for this sort of fixture. No surprise then that Wednesday named an unchanged team after their recent good form.

 

The Gills were not only struggling on the pitch but off it as well, with owner Bernard Baker unable to fund the club to the level required. Their manager at the time was Mike Flanagan - nope, me neither - and their squad also contained such well known names as, er, Gary Micklewhite. Certainly on paper this should have been an absolute walk in the park.

 

In the first half the Owls showed their superiority and dominated possession despite the frantic efforts of their hosts. The first chance came as Peter Atherton saw his firm drive hit the post, and then Mark Bright shot just wide after some good build up. Then, on the half hour, the dominance finally told. Chris Waddle - being given plenty of stick by the local dunderheads for the crime of being a good footballer - jinked down the right and then swung a cross over with his right foot that ended up nestling perfectly in the top corner despite the efforts of home keeper Steven Banks.

 

A minute or so later it was two, and Waddle again doing the damage down the right. This time he cut back on his left foot to swing in a perfect cross for Bright to head home. Having got the two goal cushion, and with Guy Whittingham almost adding a third in as many minutes, the scene was set for a comfortable final hour of the game but, this being Wednesday, that would have been far too easy. 

 

In the 42nd minute Des Walker hit a slightly awkward back pass to Kevin Pressman, who decided that the best way of dealing with it would be to do some keepy-uppies. Sadly, after just the one the ball drifted out of his control and home striker Chris Pike nipped in. Pressman promptly took him down, resulting in a penalty and a red card (the 5th penalty conceded in 4 games). With Whittingham sacrificed it was finally time for sub keeper Lance Key to make his Owls debut. Key - a Ron Atkinson signing from Histon a few years earlier - had been patiently sitting on the bench all season and, whilst welcoming his debut, would have probably preferred different circumstances. Pike took the penalty and sent Key the wrong way, resulting in a somewhat less than comfortable 2-1 half time scoreline with a whole half to survive with 10 men.

 

As you would have expected, the Gills went for it in the second half and Wednesday had to sit back and absorb pressure. Key had to make a couple of relatively routine saves and there was some defending to do but, in truth, the home side just never had the quality to hurt Wednesday and, in the end, there were no further goals and it was probably a more comfortable win than the scoreline might have suggested. Key could sort of claim a moral clean sheet, but was never to appear for the club again.

 

For Gillingham there was to be a nasty postscript as, on the following Monday, the receivers were called in. They did manage to survive the season and, eventually, it all led to a takeover by Paul Scally and a climb up the leagues - within 6 years the two teams met as equals in the First Division (and Gillingham won of course).  

 

Final score : Gillingham 1-2 Wednesday

 

Gillingham : Banks, Arnott, Watson, Carpenter, Butler, Green, Micklewhite, Smith, Forster, Pike, Reinelt. Unused subs : Palmer, Ramage, Barrett

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Waddle (Petrescu 76), Hyde, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham (Key 42), Bright. Unused sub : Watson

 

Attendance : 10,425

My first visit to Gillingham, hated the place ever since. 

[mkowl]

On 14/01/2025 at 07:52, Chelters said:

Saturday 14 January 1995

FA Carling Premiership

Chelsea (away)

 

After the FA Cup win at Gillingham the previous Saturday, the Owls travelled down towards the South East one again for a game at Stamford Bridge. The successful festive period had seen Wednesday rise into the top half of the table whilst the hosts, under Glenn Hoddle, were having a middling season bobbing around the mid-table mark.

 

Earlier in the season, the teams had played out a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough, with Mark Bright getting an equaliser in a game that Wednesday probably should have won. The Owls' record at Chelsea was pretty good, with 3 wins and 1 draw from their last 4 visits. There were a couple of changes to the team with Andy Pearce and Graham Hyde out : Lee Briscoe came in at left back, meaning a bit of a reshuffle at the back, and Klas Ingesson came into midfield after a short spell out injured.

 

It was a freezing cold afternoon so could the Owls warm up the travelling supporters with a great result? 

 

The game certainly started well with Wednesday - wearing the yellow and purple third kit - on the front foot. With 25 minutes gone this looked to have been rewarded when the Owls were awarded a penalty after a foul by Erland Johnsen on Mark Bright. Step forward the usually reliable John Sheridan, but the midfielder went for the bottom corner and dragged his kick just wide.

 

This seemed to give the home side a boost and within 10 minutes they were in front and, to be fair, it was a quality goal. The legendary Mark Stein chased down a Gavin Peacock pass and laid the ball back nicely for John Spencer to crash a powerful effort into the top corner from the edge of the box, with Kevin Pressman not standing a chance. A couple of minutes later it could have got worse as Peacock's 25 yard strike beat Pressman all ends up but hit the underside of the bar and bounced down and away.

 

Having looked comfortable for half an hour, Wednesday were glad to see half time. Shortly after the restart they should have been level as Briscoe's cross found its way through to Chris Waddle but his strike hit the outside of the post - in truth it really should have been a goal. Pressman made a great save to tip a Spencer effort onto the woodwork and, with the clock going into the fifth minute of injury time, it looked like it was game over.

 

This was long before the days of knowing how much injury time there would be, so the home fans were baying for the final whistle. Substitute Dan Petrescu picked the ball up from a throw-in and swung a cross in with his left foot. It evaded Jakob Kjeldbjerg and found Ian Nolan rushing in at the far post, and the Owls full back stretched out to divert a volley into the corner with the outside of his right foot. Having suffered plenty of injury time heartbreak in previous years it was nice to be on the right side of a late goal for once. Ref Gary Willard got pelters from the home crowd and Hoddle was not happy afterwards, maybe he should have got Eileen Drewery to predict the amount of injury time for him?

 

It was a decent point in the end and extended the unbeaten run to 6 games since Christmas, with high flying Newcastle up next.

 

Final score : Chelsea 1-1 Wednesday

 

Chelsea : Kharine, Clarke, Sinclair, Johnsen, Kjeldbjerg, Minto, Spackman, Peacock, Spencer, Stein (Newton 71), Furlong. Unused subs : Hoddle, Hitchcock

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Nolan, Briscoe (Petrescu 70), Atherton, Walker, Waddle, Ingesson, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham (Watson 68), Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Attendance : 17,285

That is a truly shocking attendance at Chelsea. Was Uncle Ken still there 

[Chelters]

19 minutes ago, mkowl said:

That is a truly shocking attendance at Chelsea. Was Uncle Ken still there 

Their average that season was only 21k. It was Ken Bates era.

[Andyben]

Isn't this when they were re building Stamford Bridge and there were only 3 stands?

[mkowl]

53 minutes ago, Andyben said:

Isn't this when they were re building Stamford Bridge and there were only 3 stands?

That was the highest average compared to the previous 5 years. It started to increase to mid 20k the next couple of seasons

[Chelters]

Saturday 21 January 1995

FA Carling Premiership

Newcastle United (home)

 

With their form having turned a bit for the positive recently, the Owls welcomed Newcastle to Hillsborough on a filthy day weather-wise. The Match of the Day cameras were there after the weather forced the postponement of their main game (not sure what it was, sorry!). Since being promoted to the Premier League at the start of the previous season, the Magpies had beaten Wednesday three times on the trot, with a certain Andy Cole scoring on each occasion. 

 

Thankfully though, just 11 days prior to this game, Cole had been sold to Manchester United in a shock £7m move, with Keith Gillespie going the other way. Which must be a bit like selling your precious vintage Playboy collection and getting a signed photo of Chris Wilder as part of the deal. Gillespie started on the bench in this game, with Peter Beardsley and Paul Kitson starting for the visitors up front.

 

Wednesday's main selection issue was caused by Kevin Pressman's suspension following his red card in the FA Cup win at Gillingham. After making his debut in that game having got the proverbial splinters in his backside after sitting on the bench all season, Lance Key was lined up for his full debut. But, much to everyone's surprise, it was more splinters for the unfortunate Key as Chris Woods was brought in from the cold for his first appearance for over a year. There were a couple of other changes as Gordon Watson was preferred over Mark Bright up front and Dan Petrescu returned to the defence in place of Lee Briscoe (Ian Nolan switching back over to left back).

 

In fact it was Woods who created the first chance as his punt upfield was chased down by the lively Guy Whittingham, whose shot clipped the post as it flew into the Leppings Lane end. The tricky Ruel Fox was causing some problems at the other end and, when he squared for Rob Lee in the area, the midfielder should have done better than put his effort straight at Woods. It was proving to be an even game with half chances at both end but no real further chances at goal.

 

The second half continued in much the same vein and it was the visitors with the first good chance as Lee Clark's low drive was tipped round the post excellently by Woods. The keeper was having a decent game considering how long it was since he had last played, although he wasn't massively tested his handling was sound when required.

 

The closest either team came to scoring was a passage of play when the Owls couldn't really believe they didn't score. Firstly, a corner was flicked on by substitute Bright to Chris Waddle, but his header was well tipped over by Pavel Srnicek. Shortly afterwards some good play down the left saw a cross by Chris Bart-WIlliams eventually reach Klas Ingesson, but his close range effort was saved by the Czech keeper. In the passage that followed Bright looked certain to score but hesitated a split second and saw his shot blocked by a defender.

 

It was one of those games where neither side really did enough to win it despite not playing badly, and in the end both were probably content to settle for a point. In Wednesday's case it continued the unbeaten run since Christmas and cemented their place in the top half of the table. 

 

Final score : Wednesday 0-0 Newcastle

 

Wednesday : Woods, Petrescu, Nolan, Atherton, Walker, Waddle, Ingesson, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham, Watson (Bright 58). Unused subs : WIlliams, Key

 

Newcastle : Srnicek, Hottiger, Beresford, Peacock, Howey, Venison, Fox, Lee (Gillespie 45), Clark, Gillespie, Beardsley, Kitson. Unused subs : Bracewell, Hooper

 

Attendance : 31,215

 

 

 

 

 

[HoylandOwl]

One of those 0-0 games that wasn't boring. 

[Chelters]

Monday 23 January 1995

FA Carling Premiership

West Ham United (away)

 

When I picked up the '30 years ago' baton from cheat at the start of last season I determined that I would try and keep things going in 'real time' i.e. post the match reports on the 30th anniversary of the game. To a large degree I've managed to stick to that and have got used to the routine of writing them over the weekend to put up on a Tuesday (as that's the equivalent of the Saturday 30 years ago) plus the odd midweek game. So, after posting the Newcastle game a couple of days ago I sat back, relaxed and hung up the proverbial pen for another week. Imagine my surprise then to find that Wednesday were selected for Monday Night Football on Sky - on the same weekend that they had already played on a Saturday. Quite how and why this happened I can't work out but it is most definitely something that would drive the likes of Jurgen Klopp to grind their beautifully formed teeth to stumps in this day and age.

 

Anyway, on to the game, and there were perhaps unsurprisingly a few changes in the Owls lineup for the second game in three days. Chris Woods, despite a decent performance and clean sheet against Newcastle, promptly lost his place in goal to the returning Kevin Pressman. Andy Pearce returned in defence, meaning Peter Atherton reverted to right back and Dan Petrescu dropped to the bench. John Sheridan was absent for the first time this season, with Graham Hyde returning in midfield.

 

The home side, beaten 1-0 at Hillsborough back in November, were struggling at the wrong end of the table under the management of Harry Redknapp in his first season in the role. At this stage 'Arry was still a relatively young manager finding his way in the Premier League rather than the human Spitting Image puppet he has become today. 

 

This was to prove to be one of those games where the referee took centre stage, and for once it was in Wednesday's favour. With just 9 minutes on the clock a long ball forward was chased down by Mark Bright and ex-England (yes, really) defender Alvin Martin. The lumbering Martin slipped and dragged Bright down with him, with replays showing that there was probably a bit of intent once the defender knew he was in trouble. Nevertheless, a yellow card seemed the most likely outcome but the man in black Paul Danson decided it was a clear goalscoring opportunity and flourished a red. In truth it was a bit of a harsh decision and caused the home fans to spit their jellied eels.

 

The Owls took the opportunity to get on the front foot and home keeper Ludek Miklosko had to be smart to keep out Hyde's drive and Bright's chipped effort. But on 32 minutes the deadlock was broken and it was a beauty. Chris Waddle picked up the ball down the right, advanced into the area and, with the defender backing off, curled a fantastic effort into the far corner that clipped the bar on its way in. 

 

Strangely though, rather than taking confidence from this, Wednesday seemed to go into their shells and allowed the Hammers to take the initiative. Pressman had an inexplicable brain fart and picked up a Pearce back pass, leading to one of those close range indirect free kicks. Thankfully, the mob of defenders on the line managed to keep out Tim Breacker's powerful effort.

 

Into the second half the 10-man home side continued to push with the Owls struggling to make any impact, and massively grateful to Chris Bart-Williams for a goal-line clearance from Jeroen Boere (who I was a bit shocked to find out died in 2007). There was plenty of effort and energy from the Hammers but Wednesday were able to keep them at bay before the killer blow for the home side on 75 minutes when Breacker was sent off for a second yellow card.

 

The Owls were able to relax a bit and should have got a second when Dan Petrescu played a great ball to fellow substitute Gordon Watson, but Flash dragged his shot disappointingly wide. But in the 83rd minute the second goal did finally arrive as Miklosko fumbled a Bart-Williams centre, presenting Bright with a simple tap in.

 

It was a pretty poor performance from Wednesday in the circumstances but a win's a win, and resulted in an eighth game unbeaten and a rise to 7th place in the table. Next up it was back to FA Cup action and another televised game against First Division Wolves, which surely couldn't go wrong.....

 

Final score : West Ham 0-2 Wednesday

 

West Ham : Miklosko, Breacker, Brown, Potts, Martin, Holmes (Allen 76), Hughes (Rieper 12), Bishop, Moncur, Cottee, Boere. Unused sub : Sealey

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Waddle (Petrescu 73), Ingesson, Hyde, Bart-Williams, Whittingham (Watson 62), Bright. Unused sub : Woods

 

Attendance : 14,554

[Andyben]

While we were at 'stam, south of the river this happened

 

[Chelters]

44 minutes ago, Andyben said:

While we were at 'stam, south of the river this happened

 

Actually that was two days later but still worth the reminder so thanks.

In fact I was wondering whether to add a bit of ‘in the news’ type stuff to each report if you lot are interested?

[Skamp]

When Cantona did his kung fu kick, I was taking 5 hours to get home from Leeds to Doncaster in the heavy snow. Very surreal sat in blizzard conditions listening to the football on the radio.

[Andyben]

27 minutes ago, Skamp said:

When Cantona did his kung fu kick, I was taking 5 hours to get home from Leeds to Doncaster in the heavy snow. Very surreal sat in blizzard conditions listening to the football on the radio.

Can't beat a personal story about travel problems.

A true OO staple....

[mkowl]

7 hours ago, Andyben said:

Can't beat a personal story about travel problems.

A true OO staple....

Well given you have given the go ahead .....

Good news is won't bore you this time.

My recollection is more that the Cantona incident was shown on the main news with the game still being played. Wasn't on TV per se, so it was all a bit wow