My Hirst footballing hero

Wednesday fans of certain age will call David Eric Hirst their favourite player of all time and I’d be one of em.

I’m mid thirties and Hirsty signed for us around the time I was first taken to Hillsborough so his career and my formative years as a Wednesday fan were intertwined.

I’ll be honest I don’t recall too much from games prior to 1988 so the goal v Manchester United in 87 which is still raved about isn’t in my memory bank.

The first goal the boy wonder netted that stood out for me was the winner v Villa in September 88, he swiveled home from three yards to net a 1-0 win, the 1 armed salute to his family or friends in the old south stand was his sort of trademark celebration back then, one I copied on the school playground time and again.

That awful season, saved only by the appointment of Ron Atkinson, saw Hirsty net some vital goals including belters like the third up at St James’ when he cut in and arrowed home into the stanchion which even the Geordie faithful applauded despite it all but condemning them to the drop (see video below), not to mention the outrageous volley down at Luton when a cross hit him and landed perfectly to smash home from around 25 yards out, on their old plastic pitch. However my personal favourite came in front of the Kop as he intercepted a back pass and toe poked it home before sliding on his knees to his adoring public.

The 89/90 was one of despair for the club as we endured a heartbreaking final day relegation, many Wednesdayites will wax lyrical about the performances of Dalian Atkinson that season but it was Hirsty who ended up top scorer and flourished under the management of Big Ron, he even had a short spell on the other side of the fence as he replaced Kevin Pressman in goal, he kept a clean sheet as we won 2-0, not to mention scoring our first. I’ve mentioned before on here about games I attended as a kid and one was away to Blackburn in the FA Cup, a belated 8th birthday present, the away end at Ewood back then made the Kop look like paradise and i remember another Hirsty special as he beat several players with a jinking run before lashing home, sadly I cannot find the video for it.

The drop seemed to inspire the 22 year old striker as he smashed in four goals in our opening home game v Hull and perhaps scored his best Wednesday goal when he turned David Mail on the halfway line before sprinting full flight towards the Kop and lashing home, that goal completed his hat-trick. Hirsty would go on to accrue 30-odd goals in all competitions as he helped fire Wednesday back into the top division at the first attempt and secure the League Cup. Some of the goals that stand out for me were his second at Leicester, when he beat Mike Hooper from around 35 yards, the team goal v Portsmouth and the curling effort to open the scoring at home to Bristol City as we secured promotion.

Hirsty and the top flight seemed to fit like a hand in a glove as he scored 20 in 37 despite Big Ron leaving us for Villa, Trevor Francis took over as manager and Hirst continued to flourish. Atkinson’s return to Hillsborough saw Hirst score one of the best goals I’ve seen, he cut in from the right wing before rifling the ball over Nigel Spink from around 30 yards into the top left corner.

Over the course of the campaign he and Paul Williams continued to impress as a partnership. In a home victory over Man City he scored a similar goal to the aforementioned Hull one as he turned Michel Vonk on the halfway line before beating Tony Coton off the post. Other stand outs in the goal laden season were a bullet header v Manchester United, a stunning volley v Palace, a free kick at Old Trafford and a composed finish at Spurs in a 2-0 win. His goals helped the Owls into 3rd place in the country and a return to European football not to mention an England cap or three for Hirsty.

It’s safe to say the 92/93 was the final decent one for both the Owls and Hirsty as following this he was struck down by injuries, Hirst would net 16 in 33 appearances which included a goal away in Germany in the UEFA Cup and the equaliser in the FA Cup final, arguably the career highlight of the Cudworth lad. That goal at Wembley was memorable but his give and go with Chris Waddle which ended with a left foot finish past Alan Kelly at Bramall Lane was my personal highlight. The season promised so much for the club with two cup finals and for Hirsty but a cynical ploy to stop him by opposing defenders which included booting him from pillar to post, Steve Bould (C**t), was the perfect example as he broke his ankle at Highbury, did I mention he was a C**t?, these type of actions coupled with Hirst seemingly rushed back took its toll.

The comedown from the loss of both domestic Cup finals was evident the following season and for Hirsty it was a nightmare as he was restricted to just 10 appearances and two goals. 94/95 wasn’t any better for both club and player as The Owls finished 13th and Hirst made just 17 appearances scoring three times, the club also dispensed of manager Trevor Francis.

David Pleat was the man brought into replace Francis , it seemed like we had the old Hirsty back as he managed 13 goals in 29 games, 11 of those were at his beloved Hillsborough, his final goal of a topsy turvy season was his 100th League goal for the club in a 5-2 home defeat to Everton.

We didn’t know it but the 1996/97 season would be the last full season Hirsty would spend at the club, he was used more as a substitute by Pleat and made 28 appearances as the workman like side finished 7th in the table. Fittingly he scored his final goal for the club with a bullet header at Hillsborough at home to Leeds United in March 1997, 10 years and 8 months after his first. His most telling contribution of the season however was a brace in a 3-2 win at the Dell as we recovered from a 2-0 defecit at the break.

October 1997 saw the end of a love affair between the club and player as Southampton paid £2m for the lad we’d paid 90% of that for and who’d repaid it 128 times.

Hirst would score one more goal in a game involving Wednesday, barely seven weeks after leaving, he and another ex Owl Carlton Palmer fired the Saints into a 2-1 lead down at the Dell before Ron Atkinson’s men turned things around to earn a 3-2 win.

The following summer David suffered an injury in pre-season and missed all but 2 games of the 1998/99 season and finally called time on a career that could have been so much more but delivered a lot to so many.

Over the years there’s been many interesting anecdotes flying around about our hero, he’s a great host at Hirstys nights and has you in tears of laughter at times.

When speaking to him you can tell there’s some regrets, the £4m move to Manchester United that never materialised, the different lifestyles of then and now, that’s not to suggest Hirsty was owt but professional but he like many other players of era enjoyed a pint. Was he overused by the club when injured and rushed back? Only Hirsty could get 10k inside the ground for us for a reserve game on his comeback trail.

You only have to read a couple of the Ex-Pros autobiographies, they cite Hirsty as one of their most difficult opponents and Stuart Pearce himself recalls a game where he and Hirsty kick the living shite out of each other for 90 minutes, nowadays both would have been sent off but back then they just got on with it then had a pint after. He had  it all, pace, power, left foot, headers and even goals with the wrong peg.

Almost 19 years after leaving the club there’s a new Hirst in town, today George Hirst signed a 2 year professional contract with the Owls, so a whole new generation could be treated to the ‘Number 9 Hirst’ on the scoreboard, though there’s no pressure young un.

Thanks for the memories David!

If you get a bit of time, enjoy this https://youtu.be/wZAlqTJx5tM

Dare to dream

16 years ago in May I wandered round the pitch at Hillsborough wondering where my club would be going next, barring the 2nd tier of English football for the first time in 9 years, we had overpaid players underperforming and an interim manager.

Despite beating Leicester 4-0 on that day we had been relegated five days previously after surrendering a 3-1 lead at Highbury in the final 15 minutes of the game, wandering around Hillsborough I never for one minute thought we’d spend 16 year long outside the top division, it’s 16 years and counting at present and is our longest spell away from the elite in our history.

The trials and tribulations of following this club, my club, our club are what makes us stronger, since that day in May we’ve had some tough tough times, trips to the high court, two bottom half finishes in the third tier and some of the most pathetic players to ever grace those famous blue and whit stripes. We have had fans being sued to former Chairmen, former shareholders pratting about in France whilst winding up petitions are on the agenda, we had fans groups split apart, we’ve had chancers look to buy our club and we’ve seen our cross city neighbours go up to the top flight, it makes grim reading when put like that doesn’t it?

However that isn’t to say there’s not been any bright spots in the last 16 years, that 2004/05 season gave us one of the best days of being a Wednesday fans when over 42k of us headed to Cardiff for a League One play-off final which saw us back into the 2nd tier thanks to a controversial penalty and a couple of extra time goals.

Fast forward 7 years and after a return to the 3rd tier we got back out of it again in our second season down there, however this was just a little bit more special, our neighbours across the city had managed to turn themselves from a Premier League club to a 3rd division club inside 4 years and were in there with us. What you cannot script is how the season unfolded, a 1-0 home win for us February over the Blades gave us belief that automatic promotion was still in reach but the Blades still sat 2 points in front with 2 games in hand, not to mention us sacking Gary Megson in the week that followed the derby.

Milan Mandaric, the man who had ‘saved’ the club in 2010 from the high court vultures, made that decision and brought in Dave Jones, that move proved inspired as we picked up an incredible 33 points from 39 on offer, it was that run of form that not only saw us claw the Blades back but actually overhaul on the penultimate weekend of the season which set up a final day ‘shootout’.

Wycombe were the visitors to S6 on the final day and the Blades travelled to Exeter, we only had to match their results as we had moved 1 point clear, the visitors had already been relegated back to the 3rd division and had nothing to play for but pride. Over 37,500 Wednesday fans packed inside Hillsborough and the grand old stadium was rocking, none more so than when “Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh T” flashed up on the score board, that was a cue that Exeter were winning, Alan Gow scoring on 24 minutes, within 60 seconds the celebrations were cranked up as Michail Antonio broke through and lifted the ball into the Wycombe goal, the roof was taken off every stand. In the second half Nile Ranger headed home a Chris Lines cross to make the game safe and promotion was just a final whistle away. As the seconds ticked down on the season fans headed towards the front ready to run on the pitch and the pitch was enveloped by Wednesdayites when referee Webster called time on our stint in League One leading to some of the most iconic Wednesday pictures that inhabit the web to this day.

Just to add, the Berties bottled the play-offs as usual and remain in the 3rd tier.

Fast forward 4 years to now and we are pushing our way back towards the big time and in 8 games time we could be facing the biggest shootout in football, the Championship playoffs, the £100 million game that is the final.

When the season began in August I wanted top ten, we had a generally unknown manager in charge and a new squad but somehow, thanks to canny management, astute signings and down right hard work from the Chairman down to the tea lady we find ourselves in 6th place and ensconced in the play off shake up.

The next few weeks are going to be nervy and exciting, there will be disappointment along the way but if we stick together as a club, as a fanbase I believe we can do it, we can end 16 years of misery, sixteen years of being told we are not famous anymore and sixteen years of pottering around the likes of Hartlepool, Chesterfield and Grimsby!

In Carlos we trust!

 

 

 

 

 

The Wednesday way

I’ve recently turned 35 and when you are approaching the big 4 0 you tend to be far more philosophical over things although blind panic does sometimes set in.

I cast my mind back to the first time I can really remember watching Wednesday, I’d been to loads of games prior to this game but this one remains vivid, Liverpool at Hillsborough in January 1989, a few months before that fateful day and a few days before my 8th birthday.

Previously my great uncle, and I mean great in every sense of the word, or my grandad were the ones taking me to games but this one was different, my dad was the one in charge. The build up to the match began about 12:30 when I was picked up, had my ‘Celtic’ style away kit on which I’d got at Christmas. Pre match ritual for him was a quick pint or three so we stomped off to the Old Blue Ball, now that was a proper boozer and its current guise makes a mockery of the how good pubs were back then.

A couple of rounds of pop and crisps for yours truly and it was off to S6, it was 2:15 when we edged up to our spot on the left side of Kop, I’d been in plenty of times before but this one felt or even smelled different to previous trips to a place I go to religiously to this day.

The away end was as full as I’d seen and the home stands weren’t too far off overflowing or so it seemed, a quick look up says only 31k there, we were playing the Champions at home although the two clubs were miles apart on the pitch, Wednesday under Eustace facing relegation, Dalglish led Liverpool chasing the title once more.

Wednesday began playing the ‘wrong’ way, kicking towards our Kop in our awful pin striped kit but it seemed to throw the Scousers as we raced into a two goal lead thanks to goals from Imre Varadi and Mark Proctor, Mike Hooper in his pulled up shorts look all at sea, and a bit of a prat with his bright ginger hair.

Now I’ve titled this article, The Wednesday Way so you know what’s coming don’t you? We were 2-0 up at the break and we managed to chuck it away, not all of it but Steve Nicol grabbed on back with a thunderbolt before that great goalscorer John Aldridge climbed off the bench to restore parity, from then on it was one way traffic but roared on by a vociferous Kop and being defensively resolute we held out for a point.

That’s my first real memory of the Wednesday Way, finding adversity from the point of victory. Over the next 27 years I’d argue there’s been many more of these situations but those are the things that make us stronger aren’t they?

Now we fast forward to the present day, a run of five games without a win, three of those without a goal but last night we more than earned a point at The AMEX by all accounts and thanks to a late late goal by Stephen Dobbie for Bolton against Ipswich we retained our berth in the top six for now.

Build on that, kick on and come mid May we may see Hillsborough full to the rafters once more as we sit three games away from ending our exile from the country’s top table at football.

After posting this I was asked by a friend of mine from the Wycombe area what our record was like in the 90/91 promotion season for letting two goal leads slip, I seem to remember the following Millwall away (2-4), Notts County at home, in the away kit, (2-2), Wolves at home on Boxing Day (2-2) and Oldham away on the final day (2-3), Wolves away rings a bell too.

In the words of George Michael ‘you gotta have the faith’