Steve Gritt - were you there?

[Clive Walker's slaphead]

I've always said it will be the best game I ever see in my life, even if I go to another 1,000. That season will always be the best of all time too, with only this season getting anywhere close.

The other thing I find quite strange is how well I can remember it all. I can still picture every second of Storer's goal in my memory, and of Ian Baird scoring against Barnet and us DISMANTLING Hull in Gritt's first game, but I probably couldn't tell you the details of some of the games I went to last season.

Although they were hard times we also had some great times as there was a real togetherness between the small amount of fans who were left. A brilliant run of home form pulled us back from the brink and christ knows where we'd be now if he hadn't turned it around for us. Gonna get a rousing reception tonight and hopefully a rendition of 'He's got no hair but we don't care' will show him how fondly he is remembered

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

I most certainly was

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Wigan were the runaway leaders weren't they, beating them was even less likely than us beating Reading tonight. so I'll be expecting another MASSIVE win in front of the bald one tonight.

14 points ahead (and promoted) of the first playoff place. Their away form was W8 D6 L7, so having been promoted already, I think that might have helped the cause!

 

[scarby]

I was at every home game sitting right behind the South Stand Goal. Went to Walsall away, when Bellotti turned up going against Police advice. Also went to Hereford Away.

you sure that wasnt mansfield away?, remember some shenanigans going off in the main stand during that game with brighton fans.

was at mansfield then went to the fans utd game the week after, orient at home the infamous 4-4 then hull away, lost 3-0. then on to scunthorpe away lost 1-0
cambridge away, drew 1-1 then donny at home in the chicken run, then on to hereford away.
remember booking the tickets with the club for the hereford game and as i live in northamptonshire they had to send them, low and behold they never turned up!! eventually managed to get into the game which was the longest 90 mins of my life!

the rest as they say is history

 

[scarby]

I was at every home game sitting right behind the South Stand Goal. Went to Walsall away, when Bellotti turned up going against Police advice. Also went to Hereford Away.

you sure that wasnt mansfield away?, remember some shenanigans going off in the main stand during that game with brighton fans.

was at mansfield then went to the fans utd game the week after, orient at home the infamous 4-4 then hull away, lost 3-0. then on to scunthorpe away lost 1-0
cambridge away, drew 1-1 then donny at home in the chicken run, then on to hereford away.
remember booking the tickets with the club for the hereford game and as i live in northamptonshire they had to send them, low and behold they never turned up!! eventually managed to get into the game which was the longest 90 mins of my life!

the rest as they say is history

 

[catfish]

Missed the Cardiff & Barnet home games due to a hip replacement but was back in the North Stand for the Wigan match.

 

[eastlondonseagull]

I was living in Southsea that season, so I'd secretly wanted the Pompey groundshare to come off. But made it to quite a few home games and a handful of the away defeats. Hereford is still my best ever away day, beats the FA Cup semi at Highbury - I missed the final, sadly - and will alway remember Stevie Gritt for what he did. Unbelievable.

 

[Don Tmatter]

Saw all the home games that season.

Gritt was appointed as a 'puppet' by those who were determined to run the club out of business. He would have been cheap with little experience, perfect cannon fodder except....

...he didn't play their game. He had pride, dignity and a will to do the impossible, save the Albion.

Defo one of our most respected managers, given what he had to work with and who he had to work for. I'll be forgoing my half time pint to applaud him tonight.

I dont know if he was seen as a 'yes man' puppet but out of him & Dave Merrington who seemed to be favourite until the last minute, i preferred Gritt to be the man who could save us, whereas i had grave misgivings about Merrington keeping us up and if i remember, Merrington had the raging hump about the club going back on their word. Who had the final say on appointing SG ? cos it was best thing they ever done for us.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

you sure that wasnt mansfield away?, remember some shenanigans going off in the main stand during that game with brighton fans.

was at mansfield then went to the fans utd game the week after, orient at home the infamous 4-4 then hull away, lost 3-0. then on to scunthorpe away lost 1-0
cambridge away, drew 1-1 then donny at home in the chicken run, then on to hereford away.
remember booking the tickets with the club for the hereford game and as i live in northamptonshire they had to send them, low and behold they never turned up!! eventually managed to get into the game which was the longest 90 mins of my life!

the rest as they say is history

Bellotti was def at Walsall. He got out of a car in front of the entrance and appeared surprised that Brighton fans let him have it. It was a great opportunity for us to give him some stick as he'd been advised to stay away from both home and away games.
Good respect from Walsall fans as I remember.

 

[Mancgull]

I was at the Hull away game as well as Hereford. The Hull game was incredibly depressing. All over them for the 1st 20 minutes, they then scored, and we were thumped. No one who was there, will ever forget the Hereford game.

 

[Bozza]

Audio of Gritt at the Amex tonight - Audioboo / Albion Steve Gritt IV

 

[sully]

I hang my head in shame and admit that the last season at the Goldstone is the only season for which I have zero appearances since my first game in the '69-'70 season.

It was a mixed time for me. My youngest was born a week after the Hereford game and my dad had just been diagnosed with brain cancer. Football had been replaced by climbing in my life as all the friends I had gone with as a teenager had stopped going and after a few years going on my own for midweek games only I stopped altogether. My last game at the Goldstone was the abandoned game against York (I expected it to be the last ever home game at the time) and I returned for a midweek game at Gillingham against Peterborough (I think). After that I gradually built up again until I got a season ticket in the third season at Withdean.

Back to just a handful of games again now due to location.

I probably only attended three or four games for which Gritt was our manager, but still think of him as a total hero of the club.