4000 Holes podcast - Simon Garner - “One Last Shot”

[broadsword]

Yeah that was when Jack walker was beginning to put in a little bit of money to help us I think.

 

Ossie didn't wear shins, and market absolutely banged him one and broke his leg. I remember watching Saint and gravel and greaveie and dear old Jimmy had a dig at rovers. Something about petitossie being able to buy the club.

 

I remember Steve scoring against villa and we beat them 3-2.

 

Their were great great days. For a start I was so much younger. But yeah, things were so much better than now

 

I would go so far as to say that the last thirteen years are the worst I've ever known things as a rovers fan. And my first game would've been in the early seventies

Edited July 29, 2023 by broadsword

[Cherry Blue]

Many years ago I was racing against Garner in an annual school's Dad's Race. Couldn't believe it when with a few+ yards (note not meters) to go I was winning. Race finished & I came second. 

Only one Simon Garner!

[Colt Seavers]

57 minutes ago, roverandout said:

Bit off topic but what was the deal with ossie ardiles signing? How did rovers convince him to join and how did he perform? A bit before my time 

Archibald was warming the bench at Barcelona after an injury. He was 31 years old. If memory serves, we paid him 6 grand a week. To put that in context,  Garner who would have been our top earner at that time, never earned more than 600 quid a week. It would seem that Jack Walker had some involvement in paying Archibald's wages although a doubling in crowd attendance because of his arrival would have helped as well.

Archibald arrived a couple of months into the season if I recall correctly, with Ardiles coming much later. Ardiles was aged 35 and slightly frozen out at Spurs. He was an old mate of Archibald from their time together at Spurs, and Archibald was used by Don as a bit of a go between in negotiations.  Ardiles spent a night or two on Simon Garner's settee on first arriving in Blackburn. I was a paperboy in those days and delivered the Sunday papers to Simon's house on the Kentmere Drive estate.

Ardiles only played about five games for us. He oozed class as you would expect, and was brilliant to watch. Archibald was too good for the 2nd Division. He only managed six goals for us in total due to being marked very tightly by opposition defences. What this tight marking did however was release Garner from being the main man for the opposition to worry about.  Garner benefited from having a bit more space than normal and scored lots of goals that season. I think Garner probably learnt a lot from Archibald because the following season was his best ever for us, in which he scored 25 goals in all competitions, and was quite simply too hot to handle for most defences that year.

Most of his goals from that year( 88/ 89) are on YouTube, including good examples of his all round link up play of which you can watch extended highlights on YouTube. 

Although my favourite ever Rovers team comes from the 88/ 89 season, look at our  best starting 11 from the season before that.

                         Gennoe

Price       Mail    Hendry      Sulley

                 Barker   Ardiles

Gayle     Archibald     Garner     Sellars

 

At least nine of those played (or easily could have done) in the top flight.

[tomphil]

I don't think they paid him anything like 6 grand a week but it was certainly a lot more than our lads were on that's for sure.

I since heard that Jack went guarantor for these signings but the increase in crowds where what covered the money.

[Leonard Venkhater]

5 hours ago, roverandout said:

Bit off topic but what was the deal with ossie ardiles signing? How did rovers convince him to join and how did he perform? A bit before my time 

His mate, Archibald, was already here-came in December-and we looked a good bet for automatic promotion through January/February. 

Ardiles came in at "Transfer deadline" in March. He should have been the final piece in the automatic promotion jigsaw. However, he was badly injured at Plymouth on 26 March (my birthday, so I remember)-a bad foul by Nicky Marker-and he didn't come back until we had dropped down to the play off positions.

I think he returned for the play off semis, where we got taken apart by Chelsea. In those days, the first division relegation zone provided one (I think) of the play off places. 

[Sweaty Gussets]

8 minutes ago, Leonard Venkhater said:

I think he returned for the play off semis, where we got taken apart by Chelsea. In those days, the first division relegation zone provided one (I think) of the play off places. 

I think I remember Pat Nevin being very good at Ewood. 

[Colt Seavers]

1 hour ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

I think I remember Pat Nevin being very good at Ewood. 

I wonder if Speedie played for Chelsea that day? I remember Kerry Dixon playing. 

They destroyed us over both legs.

[rigger]

9 minutes ago, Colt Seavers said:

I wonder if Speedie played for Chelsea that day? I remember Kerry Dixon playing. 

They destroyed us over both legs.

I think I remember Mickey Droy playing, but I may be wrong.

[Mattyblue]

https://www.11v11.com/matches/blackburn-rovers-v-chelsea-15-may-1988-218808/

[Upside Down]

Tell me something, did he really score against Burnley whilst playing for Wycombe and lift his shirt up to show the Rovers shirt underneath? 

[arbitro]

50 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

Tell me something, did he really score against Burnley whilst playing for Wycombe and lift his shirt up to show the Rovers shirt underneath? 

It's a myth. He was going to do it in a Central League game at Turf Mood but the West Brom chairman got wind of it and threatened him with a fine if he did do it. He told me that himself.

[Moptop1]

Even bigger question… Did he send the plane over Turd Moor when Burnley were in the old 4th Division? 🤔 or 😏

[tomphil]

3 hours ago, Upside Down said:

Tell me something, did he really score against Burnley whilst playing for Wycombe and lift his shirt up to show the Rovers shirt underneath? 

He did though nearly cause the travelling scruff to riot (never difficult) in a game at Wycombe just by being scheduled to come on the pitch and do the half time draw.

Also he took North End to the cleaners in a play off game at Wembley in a Wycombe shirt !

Edited July 30, 2023 by tomphil

[oldjamfan1]

2 hours ago, Moptop1 said:

Even bigger question… Did he send the plane over Turd Moor when Burnley were in the old 4th Division? 🤔 or 😏

Another myth. He said he would have loved that link to be true.

[oldjamfan1]

23 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

Definitely. An eye for a player, constantly in the top 6 on buttons, a cup win and a real swashbuckling team at times. Always came across as a top bloke too.

One of the best we’ve had.

I randomly bumped into Don Mackay in a supermarket in Carluke in Scotland about 9 or 10 years ago. His face lit up when talking about his time at the Rovers and he genuinely seems to love the club. We had just been relegated at that point I think and he was very forthright about the circus at Ewood. 
 

Oh for a Don Mackay now!

[Sweaty Gussets]

A BRFCS podcast with The Don would be amazing @Herbie6590

[Hasta]

1 minute ago, Sweaty Gussets said:

A BRFCS podcast with The Don would be amazing @Herbie6590

Has there not been one?

[Mattyblue]

There has…

 

[Herbie6590]

7 minutes ago, Hasta said:

Has there not been one?

There has…it was terrific fun to record…😉

 

 

[Colt Seavers]

3 hours ago, tomphil said:

 

Also he took North End to the cleaners in a play off game at Wembley in a Wycombe shirt !

This is absolutely correct. My boss at the time was a PNE supporter and went to Wembley for the match. I spoke to him a couple of days later and he was so impressed by Garner's performance that day. Said he was way too good for that level.

He had that Shearer like ability to spin off down the wing and cross one in. Interestingly, he saw himself as a Dalglish type of creative player rather than a Lineker type pure finisher. 

[Penwortham Blue]

16 hours ago, Colt Seavers said:

I wonder if Speedie played for Chelsea that day? I remember Kerry Dixon playing. 

They destroyed us over both legs.

I seem to remember it was Kevin ‘jockey’ Wilson who got both goals at Ewood. Also remember convincing myself that we could go and win 0 3 at the Bridge 🙈

[tomphil]

5 hours ago, oldjamfan1 said:

Another myth. He said he would have loved that link to be true.

Rumours he contributed to it and wasn't it a good mate of his who organised the oft copied but never bettered deed ?

Edited July 30, 2023 by tomphil

[oldjamfan1]

1 hour ago, tomphil said:

Rumours he contributed to it and wasn't it a good mate of his who organised the oft copied but never bettered deed ?

He was absolutely 100% nothing to do with it though, despite the rumours. Either by finance or by association. That’s from the horse’s mouth.

It was already as you say the best wind-up ever, that particular embellishment was a bit of extra pantomime for the Dingles, given Garner’s history with them. 
To be honest if I were him I would have carried on letting people think I was involved. 
 

[jim mk2]

On 29/07/2023 at 09:47, Sweaty Gussets said:

I've always thought The Don criminally underrated as a manager. 

 

Is under-rating a manager a criminal offence?

 

 

[oldjamfan1]

3 hours ago, Penwortham Blue said:

I seem to remember it was Kevin ‘jockey’ Wilson who got both goals at Ewood. Also remember convincing myself that we could go and win 0 3 at the Bridge 🙈

Yeah I was also one of the hardy souls that travelled down to Stamford Bridge for the second leg. A disappointing way to end what had been a brilliant season, one of my favourites. I was out with an ACL injury sustained in a pre season friendly and only missed one Rovers game home and away all season - ironically it was to have my knee operation and it was when Vince O’Keefe broke his leg and he ended up in the next bed to me in hospital. I think Garner ended up in goal that night?

Edited July 30, 2023 by oldjamfan1