Matt the Shrimp
aka Harry Potter
Indeed. Stan's debut coincided with a protest against the board - resulting in a sort of mass boycott of that game. The attendance was a paltry 3,900 or so, as I recall - the North and West Banks looked and felt pretty empty, and County brought two men and a dog.On the day of the match, which was wet, grey and utterly miserable, the demeanour of most fans was extremely gloomy.
I remember clearly that when the teamsheet was read out, they got to:
10. Stanley Collymore
...at which point there was a gentle ripple of laughter on the North Bank. Did people really still call their kids Stanley?! He sounded like a throw-back to a bygone era... I was half expecting to see huge baggy shorts, brylcreemed hair and a pipe.
But boy, were we singing that name to the rafters by the end. Amazing!
:clap:
* * *
Still enjoyed Freddy's debut more, though. That game against Swansea remains one of the best matches I've ever seen at the Hall - end-to-end stuff, Freddy v. Trundle, quality flowing football, ebbing and flowing of superiority, and a magnificent hattrick from the wunderkind.
You just knew that one, if not both, of those sides didn't deserve to be in the basement league - and so it proved, with both of us getting promoted that season (and with us bouncing up - and the Swans making it to the playoffs - the following season).
A brilliant game and a brilliant debut. Happy days.
:)