Thought i'd start a thread about the old scoreboard at the Vicarage road end in the 1970's/80's.. well actually the two scoreboards that stood there. Ive got endless photo's of them and will put them up here over time. I'm gonna have to start off with a controversy though, As much as we think of the second board at the Vic as part of the clubs identity it was far from unique. The exact same design could be found at several grounds. At SJP and Stamford Bridge for example. Thankfully the one up in Bedforshire was of a different design.. though, whisper this.. it did have the dancing men (as did Newcastle) Worst still our dancing men were holding hats.. i hope they never realise this! More pics to follow.
The first scoreboard we had didnt last long. From about 75 to 78 i believe. It was also tiny.. barely a quarter the size of the one that replaced it. Here it is on its last journey out of Vicarage Road. I wonder what became of it?
and finally.. for tonight. Another historical evening for the club and the scoreboard should give away which one?
An unbelievable night: the 2-0 v Wrexham that took us to the top division - something that had never seemed remotely possible.
That picture at Chelsea in the opening post isn't a photo taken from the away end now is it. Had you taken the Shed singled handed yet again?
Taken from the Shed end yeah. Maybe from one of the little blue disabled cars you could park behind the goal back then Here's a clearer view of that pic. Our fans on the right under the scoreboard. I'm in there somewhere. This was the September 81 game (won 3-1) which was a pivotal game what with the return of Ross, the introduction of Barnes and emergence of Callaghan. GT said after the game that it was "time to move on" and that he had found the right balance to the team.. with 4 up front.
It was.. though oddly exhilarating to visit as well. Here's a pic of a section of our support there in Sept 79. A rare (back then) loss at Stamford Bridge.
Hang on, FOUR up top... hmmm. King, Pedro, Dennis, Cucho(?) Let's do it! Stick the others in defence and say "no" to the midfield (which is largely invisible anyway). Might just win a few games.
I well remember that. It was our first ever visit to Stamford Bridge in the days when segregation of fans was still limited. A group of Chelsea fans had infiltrated our terrace incognito and ‘pounced’ just as the teams ran out. This was quite a regular terrace tactic in the 70s at big games but, as we had only just been promoted from Div 3, it was all new to us.
