This article has been take from the current edition of the DCSCWCB publication – “WEST COUNTRY RAM”, our clubs newsletter. This particular article is entitled :
Loyal Supporter - No.3
This is the third in our series focusing on various supporters in the Branch and
giving them the opportunity to recount their favourite Rams stories.
Name: Kev Jones
Born: September 1950
Place of Birth: Linton, South Derbyshire
Current Location: Tavistock, West Devon (Moved there in 1993
through work - accountant at the Ambrosia factory at Lifton making creamed rice
pudding.
Family: Married with 2 sons -all supporting the Rams
Date joined DCSCWCB: 1995 (founder member of DCSCWCB 300 Club)
Rams Debut: My first visit to the Baseball Ground was in1957 . My Dad
took me on the train from Castle Gresley and we stood on the Popside – down by
the fence at the Normanton end. It was a Third Division game against Accrington
Stanley –I think the score was 3-3.
Football Connections: I attended Linton junior school where, in the year
above mine , 3 lads made it into league football – not bad for a small
village. Rod Fern played for Leicester City in the F A Cup Final against Man
City in 1969. Vic Halom got a winners medal for Sunderland against Leeds
in 1973 –shame for Revie’s wonderful ambassadors of sportsmanship ! Jeff
Bourne went on to play with Derby in the 1970’s rubbing shoulders with some of
the Derby legends. One story about Jeff was that in his early days at the club
he went into the office to see Mr. Cough about his progress. Jewff was playing
on the right wing for the Reserves but felt that he was more of a central
striker. Cloughie listened with sympathy and promised to rectify the situation.
When the team sheet came out for the following weekend, Jeff was outside right
for the Third Team !.
I went to senior school at Ashby-de-la-Zouch and remember going
to Prenton Park, Tranmere to watch fellow pupil David Nish play for Engalnd
Youth v N.Ireland. Nishy went on to be one of the Derby greats.
Early Memories: My early memories are of sitting up in the Normanton
Upper stand freezing to death with the wind whistling around our ears and
looking out on a diamond of mud. I remember the likes of Jack Parry and
Frank Upton charging around like tanks, Ken Oxford diving into the
goalpost (they called him blind Ken), Gordon Hughes running down the the right
wing like a headless chicken and Bill Curry leading the line. He was the best we
had in those days. I had been hearing for years how good the 1940’s team was
–there had been no-one like Peter Doherty and the others were nearly as good
–but in 1966 everything changed. Tim Ward bought Kevin Hector from Bradford
Park Avenue and suddenly we had a footballer !. I remember his first home game ,
he was unbelievable. Alan Durban scored a hat trick and hardly got a mention in
the papers the following day. The crowds increased by 5,000 and then came Brian
Clough and the great years. I saw all ten home games in those days and around
50% of the away games.
Most Memorable Games: The 5- 0 defeat of Spurs in front of 40,000 (still
Derby’s record home crowd) at Derby in our first season back in Division 1 and
the reaction of Jimmy Greaves when Les Green made an instinctive horizontal dive
to deny him a goal.
I was at Spurs for the famous 5- 3 cup replay victory when Roger
Davies gave Mike England the run –around and I remember the famous European
Cup nights against Benfica and Charlie George’s heroics against Real Madrid.
Best Game Seen Live: Without doubt though, the finest
game I ever saw was the league cup replay against Chelsea in our last season
season in Division 2. A gang of us had gone down to Stamford Bridge for the
first match and we drew 0-0. From where we stood at one end you could see the
far goals on a clear day. The replay was something special. Chelsea were a top
side with the likes of Peter Osgood and they scored first, but with Dave Mackay
and Willie Carlin driving the team on, we eventually won 3 –1. I had never
experienced an atmosphere like it -the noise was deafening standing in the
middle of the Popside under the old roof before the days of the Ley Stand. I
remember going back to the Alma Inn in Melbourne on the way home and having more
than a few drinks. I woke up the next morning with a thick head and a sore
throat.
Greatest Rams Disappointments: Watching the Rams over the years
has also brought its fair share of disappointments. The F A Cup semi-final at
Hillsborough (1976) was pretty grim – we just did not seem to get going.
Arthur’s multi-million pound “wasters” were an even bigger disappointment
(not counting Super –Tom that is ). How we ever got our money back on that
shower was beyond me. Biggest of all for me was the play-off defeat at Wembley
by Leicester. We were easily the better side and should have won comfortably.
Where I was brought up the main rivalry was Derby /Leicester and this one really
hurt. At the end of the day though you can always forget the bad times.
The Present Day : These days I don’t visit Pride Park very
often as I spend most Saturday afternoons watching my son play football for
Chillaton Canaries in the Cornish Duchy League. Towards the end of last season
whilst we were playing Newquay I got talking to a bloke on the line called
Mick(Lowry) who is also a member of DCSCWCB. The fellow who runs Lostwithiel FC
in the same league originates from Chaddesden and is a Derby fan. I even saw a
few months ago a photo of a guy from Bristol in th e national newspapers wearing
a a home shirt from 4 years ago (thankfully not a member ! –Ed). He had nicked
a car, got his girlfriend to take a photo of him in the front seat and
then abandoned it with the camera still inside. He may be useful arranging
travel to away matches when he gets out !
It’s a small world and there’s a lot f Rams fans about in
the South –West.
So for me who are the good, the bad and the ugly !? I’ll have
a go:
Best Rams Team: Boulton, Webster, Todd, McFarland, Stimac, Gemmill ,Asanovic,
Baiano, Saunders, George, Hector
This was a difficult choice, but I’ve gone for the ball players (with sincere
apologies to Dave Mackay and Mark Wright)
Best Goal: Dean Saunders v QPR when he turned Paul Parker in his own half
and outpaced him to score.
Best Shirt: PUMA home shirt of 2 years ago
Best Opponent: The great Coventry , Newcastle and West Ham defender
Stuart Pearce.
Worst Player: Leighton James. He disrupted the whole team, was utterly
selfish and not effective in the least. He marked the beginning of the end of
the Golden Age.
Best Player: Easy – Kevin Hector – by miles.
Please feel free to send your own versions of the above to WCR
c/o:-
LoyalSupporter@dcscwcb.derbycounty.co.uk