Fan's view

Saturday 10th September 1977

Long before millionaire benefactor John Madejski sprinkled his lucre over Reading like fairy dust, they were slumming it with the rest of us. Because thirty years ago this weekend the Royals were Way Down in Division 4; then English league football’s bottom tier, at a time when Elvis Presley had his first posthumous number one single of that very name.

The Berkshire side visited the Spartan confines of Plainmoor, home of Torquay United, after both teams had endured an indifferent start to the 1977/78 campaign with a win and a draw from their opening three league fixtures.

On a cool day United’s powerful side soon blazed away at the Reading goal and it was no surprise when they opened the scoring after 11 minutes. Player-manager Mike Green struck his first goal for the Gulls with a crisp left-footed volley from twelve yards after Reading’s defence had failed to clear a Barrie Vassallo corner.

There was to be no respite for Reading, as United, superbly marshalled by midfielders Dave McVay and Jimmy Dunne continued to pour forward in the face of death. However, keeper Steve Death was helpless to prevent Dunne’s 15-yard thunderbolt from doubling the advantage on 27 minutes, following excellent approach play from the forwards Lee and Lawrence.

Torquay were now relentless and after forcing Death to save brilliantly from a 25-yard Green strike, they scored a third, just six minutes before the interval. Striker Colin Lee struck home from eight yards after evading his marker from another Vassallo corner.

Despite pummelling their opponents throughout the second half the Gulls failed to add to the scoreline, with a thoroughly entertaining match ending 3-0 to the home side, watched by 2,877 spectators.

Commenting in the Torbay Herald Express newspaper, Reading Manager Maurice Evans admitted of his conquerors: “They compare very favourably indeed with anything we have faced so far.”

On its front page the Herald Express trumpeted: ‘Bread Buyers Strip Torbay Shops’. After South Devon bakeries and supermarkets were besieged by locals in the wake of a strike by bakery workers. In an educational vein the paper even carried recipes for home-made loaves, enabling local families to beat the strike.

On the subject of bread, I caught up with former Torquay striker (and manager, from 2001-2002) Colin Lee, who recently returned to the club, now in the Conference, as Chief Executive and asked how much was his weekly salary, back in 1977? “I can’t be sure, but it was between £65 and £70.” Came the reply - heady days.

At least Reading’s weary supporters arrived back in Berkshire in time to either drown their sorrows in the pubs, with pints of bitter and lager costing 27p and 32p respectively, or watching some quality Saturday night televisual entertainment. In the days of three channels, BBC1 screened the classic cop show: Starsky and Hutch, whilst BBC2 broadcast the sedate: Mistress of Hardwick, Scenes From An Elizabethan Life. Over on ITV, Angie Dickinson starred in the American drama: Police Woman.

Finally, on this day, Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer, became the last person in France executed with the guillotine. Likewise, Southport got the chop from the Football League at the end of the 1977/78 season, during an era when the bottom four teams in Division 4 sought re-election. They were replaced by Wigan Athletic. Whatever happened to them?