Sunday 16th March 1975
There are points in the life of the dedicated unwavering fan that milestone their lives until the day they die! That date was on the lips of just about every FC. fan for at least two decades for it was the lowest point in our rememberable history for us all and the day that the lowest ever gate in the history of the Boulevard (of 985) witnessed us scrape past the perennial scrubbing brushes of the game Huyton, 17-15. As fans we were down to the last remnants of unblinking loyalty and after season after season of watching often valiant players who were simply not good enough the then board of Directors had managed to take the club to an all time low.
The significance of the date was the fact that by the halcyon days of the late 70's, the 80's and early 90's at least 15,000 claimed to have attended. Everyone you met had been there it was almost a badge of their loyalty to the cause and a display that they were not just a 'there when your winning' 'only here for the beer' fan. It was undoubtedly the lowest point of my then supporting life but I wonder if that inept capitulation from minute one last night will rank in a similar position for fans in years to come. Or will it be this seasons inept capitulation from game one that will rank in the annals of our once great club in the minds of our once great fan base. We came back then but in a time when a philanthropist could throw unending amounts of money at a team when a salary cap world was decades away.
"I was there at Leeds when ...... " "I sat through that 2024 season"
I say this because despite me going on for weeks about how bad things are this is the worst FC team attitude and commitment wise that I can ever remember and that was possibly the worst performance heart and spirit wise I can remember too. (although that has crossed my mind a few times this season) At least back then we had 13 players out on the field who wanted to win and cared about the FC fans stood shivering on the three pennies. Because of a lack of finance a glue pot pitch, a dilapidated ground and poor recruitment we were just crap as players.
Perhaps that's an over reaction and perhaps in fact last nights significance in the history of our club is diluted by the number of "Huyton's' we have witnessed this season already. Perhaps the BBC are coming next week and have picked our game against the unfancied (for many years) Salford just to see how crap we really are??? I see this morning the despicable Mr Beaumont has again stuck the 'Asiata' knife in us as the game lines us to criticise our demise. But why the BBC have picked a game which could well display our humiliation as fans on a national stage even further, is anyones guess.
I don't think we will ever get some fans back now, some have simply had enough, and the damage this administration, this team and this season has done to our club will resonate for years to come but what will remain is the record of us going a whole season without an away win, winning the lowest amount of games in a season in our history and perhaps thanks to Mr Beaumont and Co a club that featured in the IMG great escape. Or, even perhaps the fact that for some it was all in the end blamed by some looking for a scapegoat on one simple fact, a toxic fan base.
It is as I often say simply heartbreaking and if you can walk away and clear it out of your mind now, good for you, I envy you, because some us simply can't!
