[Archived] Mick Mcgrath

[tonyoz]

Hmmm. I don't think I have ever started a topic before but I logged in ready to make my response to the LET's article about Mick McGrath.............but I can't find any mention anywhere. Then I thought - "Well you are 60 next year - maybe they have all forgotten him?"

But no, I am not the only old fogie on here, maybe someone needs to get the ball rolling.

Don't you think that his comments took us back in time so effectively?

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/5045113.Turf_Moor_shock_still_all_the_talk_for_Blackburn_Rovers/?ref=rss

50,000+ for local derbies!!!

Coming back from 3-0 down and 17 minutes left?

AND winning the replay!

I well remember the black and white photo of his goal when a sea of players in front of him made it seem impossible.

The awful cup final (my Dad and Uncle refused to attend Ewood again after they failed to get a ticket)............it was my 9th birthday (7.5.60)!!

I didn't realise that he still lives in Blackburn......Did you get the impression that he was a little bit disappointed with his final departure from Ewood?

I wonder, does he still attend matches? I hope so, I remember him fondly.

[jim mk2]

Old-fashioned wing half and a very good player.

Your dad and uncle are not alone in that respect.

[darwenblueswearehere]

Hmmm. I don't think I have ever started a topic before but I logged in ready to make my response to the LET's article about Mick McGrath.............but I can't find any mention anywhere. Then I thought - "Well you are 60 next year - maybe they have all forgotten him?"

But no, I am not the only old fogie on here, maybe someone needs to get the ball rolling.

Don't you think that his comments took us back in time so effectively?

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/5045113.Turf_Moor_shock_still_all_the_talk_for_Blackburn_Rovers/?ref=rss

50,000+ for local derbies!!!

Coming back from 3-0 down and 17 minutes left?

AND winning the replay!

I well remember the black and white photo of his goal when a sea of players in front of him made it seem impossible.

The awful cup final (my Dad and Uncle refused to attend Ewood again after they failed to get a ticket)............it was my 9th birthday (7.5.60)!!

I didn't realise that he still lives in Blackburn......Did you get the impression that he was a little bit disappointed with his final departure from Ewood?

I wonder, does he still attend matches? I hope so, I remember him fondly.

Never saw him play, but played against his son (Paul?)in the late 70s/early 80s, and Mick McGrath and my dad had some ferocious touchline rows, so I can say for sure that he was passionate. Never like to hear "how many international caps do you have" put forward in an argument though.......my dad was equally childish in his response of "how many own goals have you scored at Wembley".......

Incidentally my brother (God rest his soul) was born on 7th May 1960.

McGrath jnr was never a professional like his dad, but he was a decent player and a good lad from what I remember of him.

[den]

50,000+ for local derbies!!!

Video of Blackburn v Burnley, FA cup 6th round.

Gate 52,920

[tonyoz]

Video of Blackburn v Burnley, FA cup 6th round.

Gate 52,920

Den, that was fantastic! Thanks for the clip - I watched it all with a massive smile on my face - especially the shots of the crowd. It's hard to believe now isn't it?

I'll be back in November........maybe I'll see similar crowds?

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I remember Mick well. He scored the opener in my first away game following Rovers.A great 3-0 win at Old Trafford, cracking shot into the top corner from about 20yds out. I couldn't believe it. He also scored in that famous game against West Brom when Dougie scored the best goal I've ever seen at Ewood, Mick's was slightly different, he slid it in from about a yard out.

He was a tough tackling ,terrier like player who had more skill than a lot of people gave him credit for. I suppose the nearest to him in the modern era would be David Batty but without the histrionics. Clayton, Woods, McGrath, it just tripped off your tongue in those days, they picked all three of them for the English League against the Irish League. He gave Rovers great service but time caught him with him along with a few more stalwarts in that dreadful season of 1965-66. I saw his last game for Rovers, that was at Old Trafford in 65-66 season when he came in at No 10 to pack the midfield in an attempt to try and get a point. He became a Rovers first in that game, anybody guess why ? For about ten sesons he was a regular with Eire.

He later moved on to Bradford P.A. for a small fee later in that season.

Sorry, just read the article in the paper. No prizes for the correct answer now.

[unsall]

Hmmm. I don't think I have ever started a topic before but I logged in ready to make my response to the LET's article about Mick McGrath.............but I can't find any mention anywhere. Then I thought - "Well you are 60 next year - maybe they have all forgotten him?"

But no, I am not the only old fogie on here, maybe someone needs to get the ball rolling.

Don't you think that his comments took us back in time so effectively?

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/sport/5045113.Turf_Moor_shock_still_all_the_talk_for_Blackburn_Rovers/?ref=rss

50,000+ for local derbies!!!

Coming back from 3-0 down and 17 minutes left?

AND winning the replay!

I well remember the black and white photo of his goal when a sea of players in front of him made it seem impossible.

The awful cup final (my Dad and Uncle refused to attend Ewood again after they failed to get a ticket)............it was my 9th birthday (7.5.60)!!

I didn't realise that he still lives in Blackburn......Did you get the impression that he was a little bit disappointed with his final departure from Ewood?

I wonder, does he still attend matches? I hope so, I remember him fondly.

Yeah a great guy is Mick I know him well,still lives in the wilpshire area not to far from Ronnie Clayton,still does a bit of part time working for his son in law,sadly he hardly ever goes down to Ewood,prefers to watch local amateur football,a top guy and was a top player!!!!!!!!!!

[Riversider48]

Saw both games, the Turf Moor result was totally unbelievable. Notice that you could go to a Burnley game in those days without any trouble.

I played alot of football for the next 20 years and only went to night matches and games when ours were off. When did all the hatred start?

Supporters today have no idea how good it was to go a match, stand side by side with other supporters and enjoy the banter. They were the good old days.

[47er]

Old-fashioned wing half and a very good player.

Your dad and uncle are not alone in that respect.

Yep--same with my family (except me!). Attendances absolutely plummeted in the season after the Cup Final.

[old darwen blue]

Yep--same with my family (except me!). Attendances absolutely plummeted in the season after the Cup Final.

Heard a bit about this, mainly about fans access to tickets for Wembley. Is this why?

[47er]

Heard a bit about this, mainly about fans access to tickets for Wembley. Is this why?

Yes that was a big part of it.The other reason was the conduct of the players many of whom saw this as their one big chance to make some money and spent their time at Woolworths selling autographs for sixpence a go!--I kid you not. I went down to watch them train in that last week before the big day, the only senior player training was Ronnie Clayton. Then there was the Dougan farce--put in a transfer request on the day of the final and turned out knowing he wasn't fit and promptly got injured inside 15 seconds! That plus some bad luck meant our performance after half-time was woeful.1-0 down with effectively 9 men! It was a pretty disgruntled load of supporters who journeyed home to East Lancs that day. Many never watched Rovers again.

PS--you can't be that old!

[ross-shire rover]

Clayton, Woods, Mcgrath - what a half back line. I was 10 in 1960. I couldn't go to the game but I remember standing for hours waiting to see the team come back to Blackburn. My dad and uncle never went again either - they hadn't been able to get tickets, and "Cheyenne" Dougan was the last straw. Amazing isn't it ? If memory serves me well wasn't there a big debate about one of Wolves's goals being offside. Mick claimed he was standing behind the goal line and not on the field of play.... That one wouldn't be possible today and didn't wash then either

[jim mk2]

Dave Whelan also broke his leg in the final, and of course in those days there were no substitutions.

The final was an absolute disaster on and off the field for Rovers, and attendances started to dwindle at Ewood from 1960 onwards as a result.

[Kelbo]

Saw both games, the Turf Moor result was totally unbelievable. Notice that you could go to a Burnley game in those days without any trouble.

I played alot of football for the next 20 years and only went to night matches and games when ours were off. When did all the hatred start?

Supporters today have no idea how good it was to go a match, stand side by side with other supporters and enjoy the banter. They were the good old days.

I sat over the wall on a small bench for us kids at Ewood!!!!

They wouldnt allow that now, stood in the Bee Hole end at Turd Moor and all our three goals were scored there too,

wonderful day and my mates from school who were dingle fans stood beside me crying after giving me grief for 70 minutes, the reason Rovers won that game was Burnley put Alex Elder on a man marking job on Douglas, but Dougie decided he would go very deep and Elder followed him, leaving Dobing acres of space on the right hand side.

[b12_simon]

Dave Whelan also broke his leg in the final, and of course in those days there were no substitutions.

The final was an absolute disaster on and off the field for Rovers, and attendances started to dwindle at Ewood from 1960 onwards as a result.

My granddad was another who refused to set foot in Ewood after that final.

[ross-shire rover]

I sat over the wall on a small bench for us kids at Ewood!!!!

They wouldnt allow that now, stood in the Bee Hole end at Turd Moor and all our three goals were scored there too,

wonderful day and my mates from school who were dingle fans stood beside me crying after giving me grief for 70 minutes, the reason Rovers won that game was Burnley put Alex Elder on a man marking job on Douglas, but Dougie decided he would go very deep and Elder followed him, leaving Dobing acres of space on the right hand side.

I used to sit on the bench over the wall too. Dads used to stand behind in the "Enclosure". I can still remember staring in amazement at John Bray's huge legs as he ran up and down a yard or so away. Those were the days. A cheerleader guy used to come along and we all joined in with "1, 2, 3, 4, who do you think we're shouting for. R-O-V-E-R-S Rovers" Those were the days ...

[bazza]

Video of Blackburn v Burnley, FA cup 6th round.

Gate 52,920

Of course Mick McGrath didn't play in this clip of 1952 cup tie; just to clarify for the younger generations.

[bazza]

I used to sit on the bench over the wall too. Dads used to stand behind in the "Enclosure". I can still remember staring in amazement at John Bray's huge legs as he ran up and down a yard or so away. Those were the days. A cheerleader guy used to come along and we all joined in with "1, 2, 3, 4, who do you think we're shouting for. R-O-V-E-R-S Rovers" Those were the days ...

Yes and the R-O-V-E-R-S always speeded up unlike other clubs' chants e.g. PNE

Perhaps the current supporters can adopt this old chant.

[Kelbo]

I used to sit on the bench over the wall too. Dads used to stand behind in the "Enclosure". I can still remember staring in amazement at John Bray's huge legs as he ran up and down a yard or so away. Those were the days. A cheerleader guy used to come along and we all joined in with "1, 2, 3, 4, who do you think we're shouting for. R-O-V-E-R-S Rovers" Those were the days ...

Think the guy was called Reg and had a bell which he rang at games, unless I am mistaken, I think he was killed in a rail crash going to an away game!!

[47er]

Think the guy was called Reg and had a bell which he rang at games, unless I am mistaken, I think he was killed in a rail crash going to an away game!!

Wasn't he the guy with a limp?