The infamous spring collapse 1992

[BRFCS.com]

There's an article here from that six-match losing run. What are people's opinions now looking back 30 years as to why it actually happened? Are there any similarities to 2022?

https://www.brfcs.com/magazine/articles/it's-all-going-horribly-wrong.../210

[Nuttall is lost]

Tony Mowbray was wearing a Kenny Dalglish disguise

[simongarnerisgod]

i think teams started to bully us a bit and found us out,i can recall barnsley,port vale and leicester were all big sides and they just overpowered us,newell getting injured was a massive blow as well

absolutely zero similarites to today,kenny and ray did`nt panic,there was no ridiculous positional changes and despite losing 6 games in a row we did actually play quite well in them,there was only barnsley and port vale that were truly bad,if you look in the present,looking in the present,we don`t look like scoring,which is sort of a big problem if you want to get in the play offs!!!

the major difference between then and now is if you look back at the vital plymouth game,would you be confident of a win under the mowbray regime???

[Herbie6590]

The injury to Newell was the biggest single contributor. When he returned, results picked up again.

[Miller11]

It’s probably a lot to do with youthful optimism, but there was never a point I didn’t believe we wouldn’t be promoted back in 1992.

Older, wiser, and a decade of disillusionment later, I can’t see us having enough about us to scrape a playoff place, let alone get promoted.

[Hasta]

Good job there wasn't BRFCS and twitter around then.

From the 4000 holes piece in the article:-

Quote

Is Dalglish worth his obscene salary? Do you think his heart ever left Anfield? How many players show the honest commitment, the stomach for a fight that might mean there is still hope? Can you remember such a tactically inept team that crosses from the halfway line to forwards with immense talent in their feet? One that bypasses midfield because no one thought to buy players to put there. Why do we persist in playing men who week-in week-out turn in bad performances? How can Kevin Moran be on the substitutes’ bench when Keith Hill is out there giving goals away for fun?

I didn’t intend to single any individual out, but enough is enough. I do feel an ounce of sympathy towards Tim Sherwood; he was booed on at Port Vale and with every subsequent touch of the ball was jeered mercilessly – what chance has he got?

 

[Gav]

2 hours ago, Miller11 said:

It’s probably a lot to do with youthful optimism, but there was never a point I didn’t believe we wouldn’t be promoted back in 1992.

Older, wiser, and a decade of disillusionment later, I can’t see us having enough about us to scrape a playoff place, let alone get promoted.

When Kevin 'Rooster' Russell scored late on for Leicester at the Darwen End I thought we'd blown it.

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Gav

[tomphil]

There are still no real parallels to be drawn between then and now.

[Gav]

21 minutes ago, tomphil said:

There are still no real parallels to be drawn between then and now.

One very clear parallel is we were cruising until January in 1992, but only just scraped into the playoffs on the last day of the season come May.

I'm sure we'd all take that now. 

 

[Mattyblue]

There’s certainly a parallel in league positions.

The difference being we snapped out of it quickly, came and went in a mad month and with enough time to recover… just.

This has been going on for over three months and it doesn’t feel like we’ve come out of the other side of it as yet. The fact we had far better and far more experienced players in 1992 than now is a major factor…

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Mattyblue

[tomphil]

2 minutes ago, Gav said:

One very clear parallel is we were cruising until January in 1992, but only just scraped into the playoffs on the last day of the season come May.

I'm sure we'd all take that now. 

 

Certainly would but it's unlikely whereas back then we knew it was just a blip that would could be put right.

We have these post Christmas depressing runs every season now despite league positions and low expectations. The team was toothless and out of ideas up top before Diaz got injured and they all knew Chile was on the horizon anyway. The much needed help didn't materialize and there didn't seem much desire to get it either.

This is more akin to the Saxton era - aside from the small matter of billionaire owners of course and a manager with the means to sign players mid season.

[Gav]

2 hours ago, Herbie6590 said:

The injury to Newell was the biggest single contributor. When he returned, results picked up again.

Dare I say shades of 2022 Herbie.....

You lose one of your main men, you struggle, we've lost several this season at key times with a threadbare squad.

Edited April 1, 2022 by Gav

[MarkBRFC]

Remember going to Port Vale and Barnsley in that run. Horrible games, was also at Tranmere where the fightback started.

Again like others have said, and it was probably because i was a lot younger but i always thought we would go up in that season.

Still, it's a good thing Dalglish did lose those 6 in a row so it can be pointed at every time Mowbray goes on a ridiculous losing run.

 

[simongarnerisgod]

2 hours ago, Gav said:

When Kevin 'Rooster' Russell scored late on for Leicester at the Darwen End I thought we'd blown it.

 

we were thoroughly depressed after the game,i did despise that leicester side,they were nothing but a bunch of long ball merchants led by that thug steve walsh and the lanky **** ian ormandroyd,for reasons that are unfathomable,we ended up getting plastered in the moorings minus our usual joviality🤔

[Gav]

35 minutes ago, simongarnerisgod said:

we were thoroughly depressed after the game,i did despise that leicester side,they were nothing but a bunch of long ball merchants led by that thug steve walsh and the lanky **** ian ormandroyd,for reasons that are unfathomable,we ended up getting plastered in the moorings minus our usual joviality🤔

With those 3 previous failures in the playoffs still raw sgig, I think the majority of the town got plastered after this game.

But it all turned out well in the end, like some posters above have said, I never felt we'd lose the playoff final once we got there.

[Mattyblue]

Sherwood just didn’t seem to fancy the second division, I remember the incredulity when Kenny said he’d be the main man once up… KK couldn’t half read a player.

[simongarnerisgod]

10 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Sherwood just didn’t seem to fancy the second division, I remember the incredulity when Kenny said he’d be the main man once up… KK couldn’t half read a player.

he did`nt feature at all after the port vale game,kk took him out of the firing line as he was so far off the pace ,i remember the barnsley and port vale games,he was so bad it looked like they`de picked a fan out of the crowd and given him a game

[Gav]

32 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

Sherwood just didn’t seem to fancy the second division, I remember the incredulity when Kenny said he’d be the main man once up… KK couldn’t half read a player.

I remember him being booed by Blackburn End when his name was read out.

[simongarnerisgod]

4 minutes ago, Gav said:

I remember him being booed by Blackburn End when his name was read out.

ironic that atkins under mackay and sherwood under kenny got absolute dogs abuse,they then turned into vital pieces of the title winning team,maybe if we start giving gallagher the type of abuse we used to dole out he might turn out to be 20 goals a season man😊

[tomphil]

4 hours ago, MarkBRFC said:

Remember going to Port Vale and Barnsley in that run. Horrible games, was also at Tranmere where the fightback started.

Again like others have said, and it was probably because i was a lot younger but i always thought we would go up in that season.

Still, it's a good thing Dalglish did lose those 6 in a row so it can be pointed at every time Mowbray goes on a ridiculous losing run.

 

That second half fight back v Derby should have been a Tranmere moment but we quickly reverted to recent type. Can't think why....

[Claytons Left Boot]

7 hours ago, Herbie6590 said:

The injury to Newell was the biggest single contributor. When he returned, results picked up again.

A combination of complacency and Mike Newell getting injured. He returned for the Tranmere away game and you could sense the collective relief amongst the Rovers support. 

[tomphil]

Newell at top level was always a hardworking but pretty run of the mill center forward back then i thought. Dropping down a league though his quality simply stood out like a beacon and he retained his workrate thankfully.

How good would he be now leading that line.