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Author Topic: Chris Swailes  (Read 5862 times)

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The Red Baron

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Chris Swailes
« on May 22, 2016, 12:50:11 pm by The Red Baron »
Playing for Morpeth Town at Wembley in the FA Vase final at the age of 45. This despite having had four heart operations and having retired twice.

And as I write this he's just equalised the scores at 1-1.



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sheffield exile1

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #1 on May 22, 2016, 12:58:53 pm by sheffield exile1 »
Followed mad ken from Bridlington 93-95 (cheated on that bit from Wikipedia). Definitely remember him and having recently played for Ipswich was considered a bit of a coup I believe.

Sprotyrover

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #2 on May 22, 2016, 12:59:44 pm by Sprotyrover »
Playing for Morpeth Town at Wembley in the FA Vase final at the age of 45. This despite having had four heart operations and having retired twice.

And as I write this he's just equalised the scores at 1-1.

Hope there's an Ambulance

The Red Baron

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #3 on May 22, 2016, 01:01:20 pm by The Red Baron »
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3601573/Chris-Swailes-Wembley-s-oldest-finalist-FA-Vase-Final-45-aims-playing-50th-birthday.html

Bit more about him including a pic of him in his Rovers days.

Morpeth could be winning but missed the biggest sitter ever!

Jonathan

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #4 on May 22, 2016, 01:06:01 pm by Jonathan »
Remember him well. Wilcox and Swailes were a solid centre half pairing in what was a very good side at the time.

Remember a few years back when we stayed up in Newcastle after playing Hartlepool away. Got in a taxi and it turned out Swailes' brother was driving it. 

Al4475

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #5 on May 23, 2016, 07:41:55 pm by Al4475 »
Swailes, Graeme Jones Jones Jones and Radford (Alan - but may be wrong as may the surname) Brought in from Brid kinda together as I recall Swailes and Jones were class - Radford was toss! LOL!

Wilcox and Swailes were a proper defensive pair - both destroyers but Swailes a very competent footballer with ball at his feet too - was it Hackett and Kirby on either side of them? I seem to recall being very excited one year - I'm sure wse went 10 league games without conceding before Bury did us 2-0 - and then it all went boobs skywards!

Jonathan

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #6 on May 23, 2016, 07:55:54 pm by Jonathan »
Wilcox and Swailes were a proper defensive pair - both destroyers but Swailes a very competent footballer with ball at his feet too - was it Hackett and Kirby on either side of them? I seem to recall being very excited one year - I'm sure wse went 10 league games without conceding before Bury did us 2-0 - and then it all went boobs skywards!

That was the back four yes. I think it was six games without conceding (if I remember rightly) and I recall that reverse at Gigg Lane that brought it to an end, I'd forgotten what it was like to see us concede! We had a very very good side at that time. Brabin, Roche, Sean Parish, Jamie Lawrence, (oooh) Stevie Harper and Graeme Jones. We had a bit of everything in that team.

Was that around the time (before Cramb and before even Norbury) that we had Guomundur Torfason and O'Neil Donaldson at the start of the season, too?
« Last Edit: May 23, 2016, 08:01:22 pm by Jonathan »

Al4475

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #7 on May 23, 2016, 08:01:05 pm by Al4475 »
Agreed - a great team at the time! Very bizarre how things turned around so quickly!

BobG

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #8 on May 23, 2016, 08:07:53 pm by BobG »
That was pretty much the team that gave me what I still think is my best afternoon's entertainment at a football match ever. 5-1 away at Exeter. Simply awesome display, especially from the midfield. If Jonesy hadn't got himself stupidly sent off early in the second half we would have scored at least 8.

BobG

Jonathan

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #9 on May 23, 2016, 08:15:45 pm by Jonathan »
We had Andy Turner on loan from Spurs in that team, didn't we Bob? They were great times. I was only a kid so all I ever thought about was the team and the games, not the ownership (until it turned properly sour). But what was the general consensus amongst people at the time regarding Richardson? I feel like there was always a degree of scepticism around him (sensed that from my dad) but at the start I suppose he came in and began building a decent team so he can't have been instantly unpopular until his plans unraveled?

Draytonian III

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #10 on May 23, 2016, 08:16:20 pm by Draytonian III »
I was at Exeter that day ,we could have had 10. Also wasn't it the around the time the national lottery started, either week before or the week after

The Red Baron

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #11 on May 23, 2016, 08:22:24 pm by The Red Baron »
That was pretty much the team that gave me what I still think is my best afternoon's entertainment at a football match ever. 5-1 away at Exeter. Simply awesome display, especially from the midfield. If Jonesy hadn't got himself stupidly sent off early in the second half we would have scored at least 8.

BobG
[/q
That was pretty much the team that gave me what I still think is my best afternoon's entertainment at a football match ever. 5-1 away at Exeter. Simply awesome display, especially from the midfield. If Jonesy hadn't got himself stupidly sent off early in the second half we would have scored at least 8.

BobG

It was David Roche, Bob. Now there was a loose cannon!

BobG

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #12 on May 23, 2016, 08:26:08 pm by BobG »
I can't claim much local knowledge Jonathan. I wasn't living near home then. My Dad thought, and said, we had a good side. But he was a very well informed old boy. He knew about Flockton Grey. And he believed that mud sticks. So my Dad never trusted Firestarter and he kept his eyes open. But it really was a good team that, and tbh, Uncle Ken did know a footballer when he saw one. I don't think anyone really worried about him until after that advert came out in the Telegraph offering BV for sale. That put the cat among the pigeons big time with both the Council and the supporters who took a minute to think.

Still, Ken did give us a bloody cracking day that day. It was Andy Liney's favourite game ever too btw.

Cheers

BobG

PS Just seen yours John. I would have sworn it was Jonesy! Well damn me!
« Last Edit: May 23, 2016, 08:28:20 pm by BobG »

Al4475

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #13 on May 23, 2016, 09:14:48 pm by Al4475 »
That 5-1 at Exeter Nightporter has a bit of a story about that one - there was a gang of us used to travel many miles back then - Nightporter and me amongst em! Nightporter was almost always the driver - In Exeter that year (correct me if I'm wrong Neil as I wasn't there that day due to uni fixtures) Brabin waltzed across to Nighty's car with a coupla bags of shopping from Tesco on the way to the match!
 

BobG

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #14 on May 23, 2016, 09:20:17 pm by BobG »
Talking of whom one of that team gave me what i think is my most irritated half an hour ever at a football match. Gary Brabin, away at Walsall. Sent off before the second half kicked off - for entertaining the locals, who really were loving it, with his Sumo impressions. I was incensed that aftenoon. In fact I  wrote to the FA. Useless berks never even acknowledged it.

BobG

Chris Black come back

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #15 on May 23, 2016, 09:23:24 pm by Chris Black come back »
Wilcox and Swailes were a proper defensive pair - both destroyers but Swailes a very competent footballer with ball at his feet too - was it Hackett and Kirby on either side of them? I seem to recall being very excited one year - I'm sure wse went 10 league games without conceding before Bury did us 2-0 - and then it all went boobs skywards!

That was the back four yes. I think it was six games without conceding (if I remember rightly) and I recall that reverse at Gigg Lane that brought it to an end, I'd forgotten what it was like to see us concede! We had a very very good side at that time. Brabin, Roche, Sean Parish, Jamie Lawrence, (oooh) Stevie Harper and Graeme Jones. We had a bit of everything in that team.

Was that around the time (before Cramb and before even Norbury) that we had Guomundur Torfason and O'Neil Donaldson at the start of the season, too?

You are talking about 94/95 season. Torfason played in a game or two at the start of the season. We also kicked off that season with what must be some kind of record breaking run (Dutch Uncle could confirm) when we went first six league games of season without conceding a goal. Six clean sheets in a row!

That was a truly great season that ended with little to show for it but some cracking matches. The Huddersfield FA Cup match in pouring rain was one of my favourite ever matches at Belle Vue. Also the 5-0 hammering of Scunny as well. What a game to have seen. Never thought it would be topped.

Dutch Uncle

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #16 on May 23, 2016, 09:25:47 pm by Dutch Uncle »
Bob - including the last game of the 1993-4 season (Hereford Home 1-0) - those 7 games are indeed a club record of 7 clean sheets in a row.  :thumbsup:

Sammy Chung was King

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #17 on May 24, 2016, 12:50:50 am by Sammy Chung was King »
If that team had been left alone, we would have walked promotion. Even the subs were decent players. Instead of becoming the villain that he did, Richardson could have been a hero in donny. By the way when a clubs supporters hate the chairman, why does he become uncle so and so?, always wondered about that!.
I always remember a game being advertised in the paper as cheaper to get in, three of us turned up, and he had doubled the car parking charges, my dad said ''That's the last time he's getting any of my money, what a con job''!.

Nudga

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #18 on May 24, 2016, 06:21:32 am by Nudga »
I knew a good bloke who had managed Brid for a short time under Uncle Ken. When Richardson took over this bloke said that he would f**k Rovers over and try to use the club to make as much bent money as he could.

JonWallsend

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #19 on May 24, 2016, 09:23:54 pm by JonWallsend »
I knew a good bloke who had managed Brid for a short time under Uncle Ken. When Richardson took over this bloke said that he would f**k Rovers over and try to use the club to make as much bent money as he could.

John Reed?

Nudga

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #20 on May 24, 2016, 09:52:46 pm by Nudga »
Lesroy, forget his surname now.

RedJ

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #21 on May 25, 2016, 12:10:33 am by RedJ »
I knew a good bloke who had managed Brid for a short time under Uncle Ken. When Richardson took over this bloke said that he would f**k Rovers over and try to use the club to make as much bent money as he could.

John Reed?

My contribution is irrelevant to the thread but he is a top top bloke.

jonnydog

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #22 on May 25, 2016, 12:57:45 am by jonnydog »
I knew a good bloke who had managed Brid for a short time under Uncle Ken. When Richardson took over this bloke said that he would f**k Rovers over and try to use the club to make as much bent money as he could.

John Reed?

My contribution is irrelevant to the thread but he is a top top bloke.

My contribution is even MORE irrelevant to the thread...


... is he related to 'the virgin' Connie?

Sammy Chung was King

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Re: Chris Swailes
« Reply #23 on May 26, 2016, 12:03:43 am by Sammy Chung was King »
I knew a good bloke who had managed Brid for a short time under Uncle Ken. When Richardson took over this bloke said that he would f**k Rovers over and try to use the club to make as much bent money as he could.

John Reed?

My contribution is irrelevant to the thread but he is a top top bloke.

What is he the father-in-law?. ''You want to watch your health son, you've done that much boot licking you'll be coming down with cherry blossom poisoning''!-Grandad only fools and horses. :laugh:

 

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