The ref in that "Battle of Bramall Lane" was Eddie Wolstenholme. He was the ref in our FA Cup match and replay against Wycombe in 2001. I remember it as one of the worst refereeing performances I've seen.

 [Link]

 Naz, you need 8 players to start a game but it only gets abandoned if a side goes down to 6 players

 In this Group B clash, already heightened tensions between the two football teams were exacerbated by the description of Santiago in crude terms by two Italian journalists, Antonio Ghirelli [it] and Corrado Pizzinelli; they had written that Santiago was a backwater dump where "the phones don't work, taxis are as rare as faithful husbands, a cable to Europe costs an arm and a leg and a letter takes five days to turn up", and its population as prone to "malnutrition, illiteracy, alcoholism and poverty. Chile is a small, proud and poor country: it has agreed to organise this World Cup in the same way as Mussolini agreed to send our air force to bomb London (they didn't arrive). The capital city has 700 hotel beds. Entire neighbourhoods are given over to open prostitution. This country and its people are proudly miserable and backwards."[3] Chilean newspapers fired back, describing Italians in general as fascists, mafiosos, oversexed, and, because some of Inter Milan's players had recently been involved in a doping scandal, drug addicts.[4] The Italian journalists involved were forced to flee Chile, while an Argentinian scribe mistaken for an Italian in a Santiago bar was beaten up and hospitalised.

 Chileans don’t mess about

 One player had to be escorted off by police

 2-0 Chile and two Italians sent off

 But not quite the "battle of Santiago" WC 1962, Hosts Chile versus Italy. Can't remember the score but think it was 1-0 Chile? Some X certificate tackles

 OTD - lucky Bassett wasn't playing or it could have been 7 reds!

 OTD - IIRC four of the sendings off (sending offs?) were at the same time from one incident. We were left with 8v8. I heard afterwards if either side went to fewer than eight players the game would have been abandoned.

 That is probably my favourite "On This Day" ever. Wish I'd witnessed it :)

 OTD - that Wealdstone game was something else with all the players sent off.

 It was. And even the chance that Spurs might be just one division above us next season is pretty cool.

 I'm not a youngster and I couldn't resist joining that chant. I also texted a tottenham mate after with tottenham away ole ole. It was fun for a few days to have that fantasy.

 When I say we I mean the youngsters behind the goal as I’m too long in the tooth to celebrate too early

 I wasn’t, CW. Same as I wasn’t singing “we are staying up” after we scored at Wigan. Well not until full time there and at Burton was confirmed.

 When we beat Blackpool we were singing Tottenham away ole ole

 Orient we're pretty good that night and their fans were singing "We ate staying up, say we are staying up"

 Trig; also Ballard putting one over the bar that was probably easier than the chances he took against us

 Since beating us 4-2 at Plough Lane Orient have only scored 4 goals in 8 games

 Anyone seen Blackpool’s goal against Leyton Orient from Saturday? Sort of thing that happens when you’re at the wrong end of the table. Blackpool get given a softish penalty. Sends the keeper the wrong way but hits the post. The ball bounces across the six yard box and hits the keeper’s studs and goes in.

 Didn't realise that Maynard was York's manager either

 Any games involving Salford, Franchise and Bromley could be dubbed El Plastico

 One thing about the possibility of Crawley getting relegated is that the would increase the chances of the (un)holy Trinity of Franchise, Bromley and Salford coming up to L1

 “Bit like Barnsley…” where Goodman went when Huddersfield had had enough of him. Their fans did not take to him at all unfortunately. Dunno how he is perceived by Barnsley fans I only know one and she doesn’t talk to me anymore:-s