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Not meaning to contradict Herbert, but funnily enough my memories of John Nicholson were of a very cultured and classy footballer - a bit like Baudry in fact. To a lad like me he also seemed a very good, calm but authorative leader as well.
I remember, I think it was a christmas/new year fixture before the tragic fire, when the pitch had about 10% grass at best, and the centre circle was pure mud when Snod did a one man show and Stuart McCall was totally outclassed. I often wonder if he chose Scotland as a result as I believe he could have played for either.....
Mixed emotions. I was at both League Cup ties in 1966, 1-1 away and a fantastic performance to beat them 5-2 in the replay, including the best goal I have ever seen by a Rovers player - a bicycle kick by King Alick. Why mixed emotions? This was the game before the fateful away trip to Brighton, after which occurred the fatal car crash that killed skipper John Nicholson (R. I. P.), and effectively finished Alick's career.Sad memories.
My Dad would talk about John Nicholson a lot. A tough, no nonsense defender by the sound of it. There was a thread on here a few weeks ago about your favourite Rovers player as opposed to the best you've seen and I think Nicholson would probably have been my Dads favourite (or one of them anyway). I believe Rovers had a testimonial for his family after the tragedy and George Best came along to Belle Vue to play in it.
Herbert: Rovers scored just before half time from a Glynn thunderbolt freekick through a tiny gap in the Bradford wall. In the second half we had three players sent off quite quickly. We had a lad called Parker on loan from Barnsley and he ran himself absolutely ragged chasing everything that moved on his own upfront. Dennis was in goal and other six were strung out in a line across the pitch 10-20 yards oustide our area. And Ian stood there goading them. It was the finest Rovers performance I have ever, ever seen. And the finest player performance too. Ian was simply magnificent that day. We won 1-0. And they were top at the time too.BobG
That side in 84/85 was great I thought. It really should have gone on further. If memory serves though, injuries were not kind, and predictably the Snods were sold off over time.
Quote from: Herbert Anchovy on June 17, 2017, 07:54:01 amMy Dad would talk about John Nicholson a lot. A tough, no nonsense defender by the sound of it. There was a thread on here a few weeks ago about your favourite Rovers player as opposed to the best you've seen and I think Nicholson would probably have been my Dads favourite (or one of them anyway). I believe Rovers had a testimonial for his family after the tragedy and George Best came along to Belle Vue to play in it.Herbert, I was at the testimonial game.It was a Rovers Eleven which had many guest players against the then Division One Champion, Liverpool, who sent their first team.I think Liverpool won 4-3 and Best scored either one or two for us.A couple of years ago I was selling the match programme for the game on eBay and was contacted about it.It was a family member of John Nicholson who was collecting memorabilia about him.I was glad it went where it did.
Bob, that was Derek Parker.He is a good pal of mine who had a decent pro career.He currently does match commentaries on Radio Sheffield.He is a very funny man.
Quote from: drfchound on June 17, 2017, 10:33:33 pmBob, that was Derek Parker.He is a good pal of mine who had a decent pro career.He currently does match commentaries on Radio Sheffield.He is a very funny man.Gosh! I have always wondered what happened to him Hound. Briliant to have heard and brilliant that you actually know him! If you ever have the chance, perhaps you could tell him his performance that day still sticks in my memory after well over 30 years. And that that was the finest Rovers performance I have ever seen bar none. I imagine it ranks with the Man City 4-4 game for drama, impact and emotional longevity.CheersBobG