Happy James Hayter Day

[Bentley Bullet]

Eeh, 13 years ago...

[Campsall rover]

Eeh, 13 years ago...

Can’t get my head round it being that long ago. The memories will never fade.

[idler]

A fantastic day and something that I never thought that I would experience.

[Monkcaster_Rover]

An experience I got to share with my nana, god rest her soul.

Time flies.

UTR.

[Bollinger]

Incredible day. Been to Wembley on several occasions but never thought I’d see my Rovers play there. And win.

I remember the Tube trip with dozens of good luck messages streaming in once we got overground from colleagues who were Palace, Orient, Charlton, Derby fans and many more and then I saw the Wembley arch, which is when I started shaking and I didn’t stop until the final whistle.

I’m a nervous wreck all these years later watching the highlights.

[roversdude]

What a brilliant day out

[rover-n-out]

A truly wonderful day and experience for all of us there. I was emotionally and mentally drained walking back to the tube station.

[bedale rover]

Shivering thinking back to THAT day

[Petche]

Missed the day because the wife booked a holiday! Couldn't even watch it as we were flying at exactly the same time.
Remind her of it regularly

[turnbull for england]

That means I'm  due my annual reminder from Mrs Tfe that I left her with a 2 year old to fly back from Isle of Man alone after calling short the few days booke months in advance there for a family Christening on the Saturday

 Well worth it

[Goole Rover]

Missed the day because the wife booked a holiday! Couldn't even watch it as we were flying at exactly the same time.
Remind her of it regularly

I can go one better than that I missed the 1966 World Cup Final. I was on a deep sea trawler sent as part of my apprenticeship. We couldn’t get a radio signal until twenty minutes into the game. I wasn’t the only one a navy exercise was in progress so the RN boys would have also missed the game, no televisions at sea in those days. One of the regrets of life.

[PDX_Rover]

Surreal, wonderful day. Watched it on telly as I lived in Portland Oregon at the time. Unbelievable. Rovers were magnificent.

[Herbert Anchovy]

On the morning of the game I remember walking into a pub close to Baker Street tube station. It was absolutely rammed with Rovers fans who looked and sounded like they’d been boozing for hours already! Tremendous atmosphere. We then moved onto another boozer further up the line that had a mixture of Leeds & Rovers fans in there. I’ll never forget the patronising and arrogant nature of the Leeds fans in there. They thought they’d got it all sewn up.

After the game, trying to navigate out past some very angry and very pissed Leeds fans was not much fun. Got a tube to Russell Square and found another pub full of Rovers fans! A great night was had by all!

[Bentley Bullet]

There was a story doing the rounds after the game. Apparently, a car full of Rovers' fans arrived at a property that had rented them parking space for the game. Shortly after, a car full of L**ds fans arrived at the same venue. The driver of the car full of L**ds fans said: "we'd better go in first and you can park behind us, as you'll be wanting to head straight home after the game, and we'll be here a while longer, celebrating victory in the local pubs."

Following the game, it was the Rovers fans who went celebrating victory around the area. When they eventually arrived back at where their car was parked, the L**ds fans were sat in their blocked-in car, all quiet and embarrassed!

In their moment of ecstasy, the Rovers fans had completely forgotten about the parking arrangement!

[Barmby Rover]

A great day, watching the game and the captured Leeds fans in the upper tier having to stomach the fact that they weren't good enough.

[keyser_soze]

I can remember sitting in my car in absolute shock and stunned reflection after the game, and a bunch of Leeds fans banged on the window shouting 'cheer up you glum Kitson, you f**king won'

[DRCraig]

Never ever forget that. What a day.

[VivaRovers]

Away from the personal memories I remembered this from Sean O'Driscoll today which I think sums up what it meant as a win to the club and the town. This is from when I interviewed him for the fanzine in 2019.

“I think the fact that the club became a real focal point of what Doncaster stood for. I know it’s got its own problems, but the football club doing well, as it’s doing now, is really beneficial for the area, so what people said about the club reflected not just on the club and the people around it, but the whole town. And that then culminating in playing your local big name rivals in a final at an iconic stadium, I don’t think it can get much better than that can it?”

“And actually going there thinking ‘we’re going to win this’. I’m not sure I thought that at the time, but the players had a real belief that we were far better than them as a collective. Nothing against Leeds, but they were the big team, we were always in the shadow of Leeds because of the size of the city, so it was a case of the minnows having their time in the sun, that one day. It was a football club becoming an integral part of the town and the town’s fabric, and then actually having that moment where everybody can celebrate.”

You can read the full interview here by the way.

[selby]

  Always remember being in front of the stadium near the statue with four or five Leeds fans before the game.
  Mostly good humoured except one who was giving it large and 4 or five nil scores out, and saying to him that if we play well and get the ball your side will not touch it for ages, I have always wondered what he was thinking after 15 minutes of the game.

[Chris Black come back]

The whole day was a total blur except for the inordinate amount of injury time that we were forced to play through - several minutes of which were without obvious justification.

[turnbull for england]

Sullivan taking five mins to fall to ground after catching every ball might have allowed some of that , superb professionalism

[essexrover]

Even now my legs turn to jelly if I see a re-run of the game. I had to watch on TV & Mrs. Essex always reminds me that she couldn't understand why I cheered so loudly at the final whistle  .
Thank you Mr Hayter (and the rest of the squad).

[Alan Southstand]

What a tremendous day and what a team. I’ve watched the full game back several times and I still can’t believe how we controlled that game from start to finish, which I never really ever experienced on the day.

We had a great side back then and we added to it, eventually, with Billy Sharp. Unforgettable.

[bradford exile]

A fantastic day and something that I never thought that I would experience.

Hi mate,

I have DVD'S of Wembley, Stoke and Cardiff, amongst all my match dvd's they are my favourite 3.

I have watched the Leeds game over and over and I still get goose bumps waiting for Leeds to equalise.

A day I also will never forget,-- although with luck and good fortune I may get the chance to experience yet again.

But after 47 minutes I turned to my Daughter Sue and said "I don't think I can do another 50 minutes of this"

To this day I don't know how I did

Terrific memories non the less

Regards

Ray (aka bradford exile)

[Peebles Rover]

Can you still get DVDs of the game?

It just felt like the longest 45 minutes of my life followed by a feeling I’ve never quite experienced before! The win to go up in the conference final was something, but this was literally a different league!

[Bentley Bullet]

I bloody loved that team. They were literally what dreams were made of. Mine anyway!
https://youtu.be/JjLi4mirHRk

[Bentley Bullet]

Great to see a return of a prodigal son as manager in  what could have been acceptable of any member of that team.

Richie stands out though, in my mind.

[BillyStubbsTears]

That means I'm  due my annual reminder from Mrs Tfe that I left her with a 2 year old to fly back from Isle of Man alone after calling short the few days booke months in advance there for a family Christening on the Saturday

 Well worth it

I left Mrs S-T with an 18 month old and a 2 month old in Reading of all places, that day. And then me and our kid came within seconds of missing THE goal due to slow half time imbibement.

My visual memory of that goal is framed by the concrete side walls of a Wembley vomitory as we emerged out of the ale den just in time.

My physical memory is our kid jumping on my back and kneeing me in the f**king kidneys a few hundred milliseconds later.

Just as every key football moment should be. Ale-addled and both physically and emotionally intense.

[SydneyRover]

Watched it again t'other day, still makes you tingle with excitement even though you know the score, who scored it and when.