March
Two days prior to the following Saturday’s visit to Swindon Town another player left the club, but in contrast to Tynan the sale of Clive Wigginton to Fourth Division promotion chasers Grimsby Town brought a 50% profit. The centre half had cost £5,000 when signed from Scunthorpe in the September of the previous season and now returned to Grimsby for a second spell at Blundell Park for double that. As with Tynan, there was also a clause that would bring City an additional payment, in this case if Grimsby won promotion. They did so, and Wigginton formed a partnership with ex-Imp Dean Crombie that would then see the Mariners into Division Two after successive promotions.
It was clear that Murphy’s priority was the reduction of the wage bill because with Terry Cooper still unavailable it left the Imps with only one first team centre back available for the game at Swindon. The vacancy was filled by the 19-year-old Tony Loxley, who partnered Mick Smith, one year older. Loxley, son of long-serving physio Bert Loxley could be said to have started his Sincil Bank career as a ball-boy before becoming an apprentice. He had for some time been regarded as a player of promise without until now being given a chance in the first team. Unfortunately, he was found wanting alongside the scarcely more experienced Smith and it turned out to be his only game for City. With Loxley the only change from the previous game City trebled their by now usual away score-line by shipping six goals without reply for their heaviest defeat for over eleven years.
The 6-0 defeat was also the heaviest I’d ever witnessed up to that point in what was my first away game since early November. Needless to say, it was a desperately poor performance by the Imps against a side fifth in the table, and as Echo reporter Maurice Burton said, “Eighteen months of disastrous inefficiency as a football club came to a sickening conclusion.” He went on to comment, with relegation looking a certainty, that the steady improvement in the club’s prestige over the past ten years had been dissipated “in the short space of two unsuccessful seasons”. The only City player to come of the game with any credit was goalkeeper Peter Grotier as Swindon were 4-0 up with little over 30 minutes of the match played and then simply coasted the rest of the way.
Changes had to be made for the midweek visit to Chester for what was City’s seventh away game in a row. Phil Hubbard, who had played in central defence for a time in the early part of his career took Loxley’s place alongside Smith with John Fleming coming in at right back. The fit-again Graham Watson returned to midfield with Gordon Hobson left out along with John Ward whose place was taken by David Sunley, making his first start under Colin Murphy. It was Sunley who gave the Imps a first half lead with their first goal in five matches. However, with Smith looking shaky in the air at the back Chester turned the game around with four goals – three of them headers – midway through the second half. With a fifth goal from Chester near the end City were now really up against it, nine points adrift at the bottom of the table, and although with one or two games in hand on those above them, fourteen points off avoiding what seemed, as Maurice Burton said, certain relegation.
Prior to the following Saturday’s home game with Southend, which thanks to the weather, was the first at Sincil Bank since two days before Christmas, Colin Murphy admitted the players were experiencing problems but appealed for supporters not to show their displeasure with them, “If people want to have a go, they should have go at me.” Although saying it was his job to see the team kept working and doing their best, he went on to say he couldn’t “wave a magic wand and change things overnight”, and tellingly commented that the real trouble he found when appointed manager was that about half the players didn’t really want to play for the club.
With Mick Smith struggling in the match against Chester and Terry Cooper still out injured Murphy acted to strengthen the defence with the signing of 35-year-old centre half Graham Cross. In that he joined (for “a modest fee”) from Southern League lower division side Enderby Town it was a bit reminiscent for those of us who were around in those days, of the signing back in 1965 of veteran centre half Les Moore from Boston FC. Cross, however, although three years older than Moore, had a much more distinguished career behind him, having played almost 500 games for Leicester City, mostly in the top division, plus appearing in two FA Cup finals. He had actually only been with Leicestershire side Enderby since January after starting the season in Preston North End’s first team after winning promotion from the Third Division with them the previous season. He had also spent several years as a County Cricketer appearing as a useful all-rounder for Leicestershire, although he had retired two years previously so the Imps were just unable to boast that along with Phil Neale, they had two of the few remaining footballer-cricketers on their books at the same time.
For the visit of Southend, Cross went straight into the side in place of Smith while Guest and Fleming swapped positions, with the latter in midfield. Other changes saw Gordon Hobson return in place of Alan Harding and John Ward instead of Mick Harford who dropped to the bench. Once again, although giving a determined performance City were unable to hold onto a lead, given them by Fleming’s third goal of the season in the first half. A penalty given away by Cross for handball produced the third draw in the last four home games as City continued with the classic relegation form of drawing at home and losing away.
If there was some encouragement to be gained from the draw with Southend it disappeared again with the following Tuesday night’s visit to Walsall, the team 13 points ahead of City in 20th place. To stand any chance of catching the Saddlers City needed to get two points off them and win their three games in hand on them. But of course, in the real world what actually happened was that an unchanged team shipped another four goals with just Mick Harford’s first of the season in reply. City were up against it when Dennis Leigh had to go off with a knee injury early in the first half, and with Harford as the substitute John Ward had to drop back into midfield as John Fleming had to fill in at left back.
Before the scheduled visit to Mansfield the following Saturday there was news of another player leaving. Alan Harding had been one of Graham Taylor’s first signings, joining the club almost exactly six years before and being a key member of the Fourth Division championship side. Now aged 30, like several players he had not been having the best of seasons, and returned to his native north east to join Hartlepool for a fee of £4,000. The weather then intervened again, with the trip to Field Mill having to be postponed
City were now fifteen points from safety, and with sixteen goals having been conceded in the last four games Colin Murphy took drastic action for the re-arranged visit of Brentford, changing to an ultra-defensive formation with three centre backs – something not seen since the days of David Herd as manager over six years ago. The good news was that Terry Cooper was fit to return to the side and he made up a back three with Graham Cross and Phil Hubbard. With Dennis Leigh joining Phil Neale on the injured list the only real option at left back was 20-year-old Keith Laybourne, one of the former Sunderland boys’ club quartet who was making just his second appearance. With John Fleming at right back and just Mick Harford and David Sunley up front, a hard-working midfield trio was made up of Brendan Guest, Glenn Cockerill and John Ward who had featured in a midfield role for a brief spell in Graham Taylor’s early days as manager.
On a bitterly cold night, only just over 2,000 were present – the lowest attendance at Sincil Bank for five years – but they were rewarded when Ward’s first half goal was enough to give City their first home win since the opening day of the season.
No doubt boosted by the win there was a 75% increase in the attendance at Sincil Bank the following Saturday (well, I was able to be there too) – although there would have been a large contingent from promotion-chasing Swansea City, just two points behind leaders Watford. Those visiting supporters would have made the long journey back to South Wales disappointed after seeing their side outfought by the Imps who produced their best performance of the season against a side that could boast no less than seven past, present and future international players. Mick Harford’s second goal in three games gave the Imps a half time lead which was extended when John Fleming blasted home a penalty given away by Swansea’s veteran ex-England defender Tommy Smith. It was Fleming who gave the ball away for Welsh international Robbie James to score with almost the last kick of the match, but it was no more than a consolation for the visitors.
Swansea’s defeat proved to be their last of the season as they went on to win promotion, while City’s second win in a row put them within five points of Tranmere, still the team above them, with two games in hand to give a hope of at least avoiding bottom place. The following Monday night then brought a visit to the Birkenhead club, and in a game described as a gruelling slog in the mud, both sides put the emphasis on defence with much passing back to their respective goalkeepers as Graham Cross starred for City in a goal-free game.
The transfer deadline passed with no players joining City as Colin Murphy refused to pay what he considered to be inflated prices for players. One departure though was Alan Eden who joined Boston United on loan for the rest of the season, while winger Alan Jones was close to a £5,000 move to Scunthorpe United but was unable to agree terms with them.
The following Saturday’s visit to Hull brought the first meeting between the two sides in a league match for seventeen years. With Terry Cooper having sustained an injury at Tranmere his replacement by Mick Smith was the only change to the side as City’s good form continued with only home goalkeeper Eddie Blackburn standing between them and a win. I made the journey to Hull for a first visit to Boothferry Park for what turned out to be my last away match of the season, and while the goalless draw was obviously a great deal better than the 6-0 loss to Swindon in my last game it meant that in seven away games in the season I had failed to see City score a single goal.