Reading v Burnley League Cup 1974

[K9hassel]

This weekends match v Burnley brings back memories of a cracking League cup match vs Burnley in 1974.Back when the League Cup was taken seriously . We were in the old 4th division and Burnley were a 1st division team at the time. An evening fixture with over 14k in Elm Park made for a great atmosphere that night. In my opinion we were unlucky to lose and really gave them a close game. Days gone by that still linger in your memory ,giving you hope that they will come back to the club I love regardless of current form. Back then just having the opportunity to pit yourselves against upper league opposition was something to look forward to,not the lethargic attitude towards the cup competitions we have now. Comments,thoughts,abuse?

[Ark Royal]

Burnley were a useful side back then and I always liked Martin Dobson, who was a really stylish midfielder and had just broken into the England team. They also had Keith Newton, Leighton James, Brian Flynn, Frank Casper (Chris Casper's dad). Yes, the crowd was around 14,000 and Dick Habbin scored the Reading goal. I was watching from the Norfolk Road E stand.

We had a nice run in the League Cup that year: THREE replays against Brighton in the first round; totally destroyed Rotherham 4-2 in the second. I remember the Rotherham game particularly as my girlfriend fainted in the Town End during the first half and knocked herself out on the terracing. St John's wheeled us around the running track and we spent the rest of the evening in Battle.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Yep, iirc Burnley were running second in the old Div 1 when we played them.
Dickie Habbins goal (slotted beneath the advancing Stephenson) was well featured on the back pages of the Nationals the next morning.....along with eulogys of "Brave Reading" etc.

Remembering a bit of fun on the non-segregated terraces......the SB "hards of the day" beckoning and advancing on a packet of Burnley supporters....step forward one northerner.....hasty retreat en-mass of SB'ers,................nothing much changes lol.

2-1 the final score and having missed the Arsenal game a few seasons before, my first taste of a premier team at EP

[Sutekh]

....we spent the rest of the evening in Battle.

Bad punchline competition no. 1

a. That's quite drive away especially in those days with no M25
b. So did she throw the first punch?

[BR2]

I remember us playing Burnley before that in the 60s when Andy Lochhead was their no.9.
At that time most clubs had a bruiser playing as a centre forward and for Lochhead think of a smaller version of Andy Carroll without anywhere near as much hair.
I have a feeling that we might have drawn the game which presumably was in the FA Cup.
In my childhood Burnley were a top level club and often thereabouts when it came to being English champions but IIRC never quite making it.

I have always admired the club for it's support as the club was (I don't know about now) always the best supported club in the country in terms of fans as a % of the local population.

[Sutekh]

I remember us playing Burnley before that in the 60s when Andy Lochhead was their no.9.
At that time most clubs had a bruiser playing as a centre forward and for Lochhead think of a smaller version of Andy Carroll without anywhere near as much hair.
I have a feeling that we might have drawn the game which presumably was in the FA Cup.
In my childhood Burnley were a top level club and often thereabouts when it came to being English champions but IIRC never quite making it.

I have always admired the club for it's support as the club was (I don't know about now) always the best supported club in the country in terms of fans as a % of the local population.

That would have been 1965 when we lost at Turf Moor 1-0 in a 4th round FA Cup replay.

The first game finished 1-1 at Elm Park and we'd knocked out Watford, Aldershot and Newport to reach that far.

[East Grinstead Royal]

I was at the 1974 game, at the Tilehurst End. I thought Andy Lockhead played that night, maybe I am thinking of Ralph Coates - they had similar hairstyles.

[Sutekh]

I was at the 1974 game, at the Tilehurst End. I thought Andy Lockhead played that night, maybe I am thinking of Ralph Coates - they had similar hairstyles.

More likely to have been Peter Noble. Lochhead left Burnley in the late 60s and Coates was at Spurs by the time 1974 arrived.

[Ark Royal]

Andy Lochhead was in the Villa team that beat us 5-3 at Elm Park in November 70.

A 'no-nonsense' centre-forward.

[strap]

Remember it well. It was the game where we "scored too early", (Dick Habbinon 55 mins), to go 1 up. Burnley (who were 10th in Div 1 at the time), suddenly realised they shouldn't be behind to a Div 4 side, and managed to score a couple in the 1st 15 mins (I think?). Had we netted in 75 rather than 55, we would have gone on to win the game. We were the better side until we scored.

Their team was :

Alan Stevenson in goal,
back 4 of Keith Newton, Colin Waldron, Billy Rodaway and Ian Brennan.
midfield 3 of Doug Collins, Billy Ingham and Leighton James
up front Peter Noble, Ray Hankin and Paul Fletcher
Brian Flynn came on for Ingham in the 2nd half.

Noble and Newton (the right full back) scored their goals. They were managed by Jimmy Adamson. So no mean team for the time.

Our team was pretty much our regular for the 74/5 season, names roll off the tongue to supporters of a certain age!

Death; Henderson, Hetzke, Lenarduzzi, Moreline; Cumming, Wagstaff B, Carnaby; Habbin, Friday , Murray.

NPS was Sir Les of Chappell.

Obviously the RTG of yesteryear are kicking in, but at least that team had a bit of passion for the club, and a genuine rapport with us fans. The current shower are not a patch on them in that regard I'm afraid.

[AthleticoSpizz]

...not arguing....and you obviously have the facts in front of you, but, I thought that Burnley were much better off than tenth place at that time........"coincidently" they finished the season in tenth position

Those players in their line-up were MOTD household names back then

[Sutekh]

...not arguing....and you obviously have the facts in front of you, but, I thought that Burnley were much better off than tenth place at that time........"coincidently" they finished the season in tenth position

Those players in their line-up were MOTD household names back then

No, Burnley were 10th in Div 1 when we played them. They did though have a good run in the league in the months after and dragged themselves as high as 2nd before a poor end to the season saw them sink back to 10th.

They got relegated the following season and so started their 25 year "slump" to the nether reaches of the Football League before their Reading like revival to be more or less perennial Division 2 residents for the last 15 years or so.

For some reason, always remember the Burnley sides from the early to mid 70s as i used to get a lot of their player's in the old FKS collector's card albums. Now they were the days when each picture was completely different in terms of player pose and kit - not like the "all look exactly the same" tedium of the cards you get nowadays.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Cheers for clarifying that Suts........I knew I had their second place notion from something....but the brain gets a bit addled these days