Jonathan Watson on Marseille 93

[McEwan's Lager 30,514]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41485885

I was a very very young Bear watching it on TV on my Dad's knee. I only remember Durrant's goal and that was about it but tbh I think I only falsely remember it because he has told me about it so much and i've watched the highlights a few times.

[simplythebest 11,453]

1 year old I was then..

[bluedylan 11,555]

37 minutes ago, McEwan's Lager said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41485885

I was a very very young Bear watching it on TV on my Dad's knee. I only remember Durrant's goal and that was about it but tbh I think I only falsely remember it because he has told me about it so much and i've watched the highlights a few times.

I enjoyed that ..hammer for a wee bit of security 

[Deanzmeanzheinz 4,312]

I was there! After Feyenoord the scariest place i've ever been in. We were penned in the corner, surrounded by huge fencing and a net over the top of us to protect us from missiles. 

They bombarded us that night. When the first goal went in from Suazee i genuinely thought 3,4-0. However that Rangers team just didnt know when it was beaten. In fact no team in europe defeated us that season. Marseille, Bruges, Leeds, CSKA Moscow , Lyngby 

We almost nicked if i remember correctly. McSwegan had a great chance near the end. If he had scored we were in the final against AC Milan. Thats how close we came. 

[bluedylan 11,555]

6 minutes ago, Deanzmeanzheinz said:

I was there! After Feyenoord the scariest place i've ever been in. We were penned in the corner, surrounded by huge fencing and a net over the top of us to protect us from missiles. 

They bombarded us that night. When the first goal went in from Suazee i genuinely thought 3,4-0. However that Rangers team just didnt know when it was beaten. In fact no team in europe defeated us that season. Marseille, Bruges, Leeds, CSKA Moscow , Lyngby 

We almost nicked if i remember correctly. McSwegan had a great chance near the end. If he had scored we were in the final against AC Milan. Thats how close we came. 

Those cunts CSKA being bribed didnt help.Milan wanted the final replayed with us facing them if I remember 

[Deanzmeanzheinz 4,312]

3 minutes ago, bluedylan said:

Those cunts CSKA being bribed didnt help.Milan wanted the final replayed with us facing them if I remember 

Yep, it was proven later that Bernard Tapie who owned Marseille then bribed CSKA players, and attempted to bribe other players and refs both domestically and abroad. They got stripped of their League title win by the French FA but strangely nothing happened within UEFA, although they banned them from defending the trophy. 

They were a really good team though 

[Thewhitesettler 2,711]

3 hours ago, McEwan's Lager said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41485885

I was a very very young Bear watching it on TV on my Dad's knee. I only remember Durrant's goal and that was about it but tbh I think I only falsely remember it because he has told me about it so much and i've watched the highlights a few times.

Your dad's got a TV in his knee? ??

We could've been the champions of Europe that year. We were robbed of, at the very least, the chance to play AC Milan for the trophy.

[Helicopter Sundae 5,967]

3 hours ago, Deanzmeanzheinz said:

I was there! After Feyenoord the scariest place i've ever been in. We were penned in the corner, surrounded by huge fencing and a net over the top of us to protect us from missiles. 

They bombarded us that night. When the first goal went in from Suazee i genuinely thought 3,4-0. However that Rangers team just didnt know when it was beaten. In fact no team in europe defeated us that season. Marseille, Bruges, Leeds, CSKA Moscow , Lyngby 

We almost nicked if i remember correctly. McSwegan had a great chance near the end. If he had scored we were in the final against AC Milan. Thats how close we came. 

I was there. although it ended a draw, we left that place absolutely bouncing. We had to walk back through the Marseille fans as our hotel was out past the stadium. They just looked a bit stunned.

I think if we had won, we would have had to head off with the rest of the fans as they would have been hunting us.

[Helicopter Sundae 5,967]

3 hours ago, bluedylan said:

Those cunts CSKA being bribed didnt help.Milan wanted the final replayed with us facing them if I remember 

True...there was speculation for a while after the final that we might still be in with a shout, as there was talk of replaying the final with us in Marseille's place.....however, I think the sheer implications were too big for Uefa to handle.

Taking the trophy off a team, and then rescheduling the final again. Fucking shame they didn't. Closest we ever came.

And now we're getting caned by Luxembourgers FFS.

[pcbear 10,913]

Nice little story told well cheers JW.

[Mr Soprano 13,964]

Superb

[Gazza1212 1,212]

8 hours ago, Deanzmeanzheinz said:

I was there! After Feyenoord the scariest place i've ever been in. We were penned in the corner, surrounded by huge fencing and a net over the top of us to protect us from missiles. 

They bombarded us that night. When the first goal went in from Suazee i genuinely thought 3,4-0. However that Rangers team just didnt know when it was beaten. In fact no team in europe defeated us that season. Marseille, Bruges, Leeds, CSKA Moscow , Lyngby 

We almost nicked if i remember correctly. McSwegan had a great chance near the end. If he had scored we were in the final against AC Milan. Thats how close we came. 

Hatley getting sent off v Brugge cost us a place in that final imo. These are the margins when operating at that level.  

[quabba 440]

We should have been in that final, the robbing and cheating bastards.

[Deanzmeanzheinz 4,312]

1 hour ago, Gazza1212 said:

Hatley getting sent off v Brugge cost us a place in that final imo. These are the margins when operating at that level.  

Yeh, that was a factor but to be fair what about Nissy's goal on the same night? ?? or Fergie's deflected effort in Bochum. I think by in large we got our fair share of luck in that run we just came up a little short. 

Remember though the players Marseille had eg Deschamps, Desailly, Boksic, Voeller, Abedi Pele yet they couldn't beat us home or away. 

AC Milan Baresi (in my opinion the best defender ever), Maldini, Papin, Van Basten etc etc - heady days indeed 

[buster. 1,114]

23 minutes ago, Deanzmeanzheinz said:

Yeh, that was a factor but to be fair what about Nissy's goal on the same night? ?? or Fergie's deflected effort in Bochum. I think by in large we got our fair share of luck in that run we just came up a little short. 

Remember though the players Marseille had eg Deschamps, Desailly, Boksic, Voeller, Abedi Pele yet they couldn't beat us home or away. 

AC Milan Baresi (in my opinion the best defender ever), Maldini, Papin, Van Basten etc etc - heady days indeed 

We had a great team in a collective sense rather than any of the really top players Milan and Marseille had and this told at times as we couldn't get the goal to win some of the matches  that our play merited, eg Bruges (A) and CSKA (H).

- the Durrant  pass leading up to the McSwegan headed goal was sublime

- Hately's sending off was rank stupidity on his part

- Our chance was to win in France. As soon as the game was over you knew that Marseille would win in Bruges.

 

Loved Watson's two lines about 'the wee man' and the 'hammer' 

Anyone wanting to go straight tothe Watson lines, it's at 28mins 30secs in on the link below

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05hzbzq#play

 

[Cedrick 8,048]

When it was the champions league 

[Gazza1212 1,212]

34 minutes ago, Deanzmeanzheinz said:

Yeh, that was a factor but to be fair what about Nissy's goal on the same night? ?? or Fergie's deflected effort in Bochum. I think by in large we got our fair share of luck in that run we just came up a little short. 

Remember though the players Marseille had eg Deschamps, Desailly, Boksic, Voeller, Abedi Pele yet they couldn't beat us home or away. 

AC Milan Baresi (in my opinion the best defender ever), Maldini, Papin, Van Basten etc etc - heady days indeed 

First off I'd agree with you on Baresi, run very close by Maldini BTW. 

Yes we come up a wee bit short but that is my point really those are the fine margins that can make all the difference at the very highest level. 

It's my firm belief if we had Hatley available for the Marseille tie we'd have got a result because they were genuinely terrified of him. Of course we carried a fair bit of luck but two things should be remembered about that campaign. 

Firstly even the top teams need good fortune from time to time even the great Milan carried it. Also probably the most important factor for me anyway was Rangers came within a whisker despite playing in a vastly inferior league to the rest of the big boys. That massive gulf in class wasn't there in the 60's and 70's which made our efforts all the more admirable. I think it's important people remember that especially now when even the English take getting to the last eight as an achievement. 

[Falcoholic 1,348]

Horrible cheating bastards

[BLUEDIGNITY 33,638]

Aye we were cheated out of at least the final but I was at Brugge away we should've won that !

[MurrayWilson 3,375]

Think we only got 900 tickets for that game, I was absolutely sick I never got as id been to Bochum and Bruges and thought id been in with a shout for one but failed in the ballot. I mind watching the game and when durrant scored all I could thinkof was getting to munich for the final. Fuck sake, thinking back everything seemed possible then.

[Gazza1212 1,212]

4 minutes ago, MurrayWilson said:

Think we only got 900 tickets for that game, I was absolutely sick I never got as id been to Bochum and Bruges and thought id been in with a shout for one but failed in the ballot. I mind watching the game and when durrant scored all I could thinkof was getting to munich for the final. Fuck sake, thinking back everything seemed possible then.

It was entirely possible, as mentioned we had a team that was greater than the sum of its parts who never knew when they were beaten. There have been lesser teams have lifted the trophy bud. 

[MurrayWilson 3,375]

I remember watching the final which turned out a poor game with Milan having a right off night, if we had got there I reckon we would have had a real chance against the Milan that turned up that particular night, great a team as they undoubtedly were.

[Deanzmeanzheinz 4,312]

1 hour ago, BLUEDIGNITY said:

Aye we were cheated out of at least the final but I was at Brugge away we should've won that !

I was at Brugge mate and in my opinion we should have won that. We battered them in the second half - both before and after Huistra equalised. It's all hypothetical now but winning this game and at home to CSKA (who knocked out the holders Barcelona earlier ) who we battered that night too - Ally should have scored 3-4 that night. All buts and maybes but still my favourite season watching the bears 

[BLUEDIGNITY 33,638]

4 minutes ago, Deanzmeanzheinz said:

I was at Brugge mate and in my opinion we should have won that. We battered them in the second half - both before and after Huistra equalised. It's all hypothetical now but winning this game and at home to CSKA (who knocked out the holders Barcelona earlier ) who we battered that night too - Ally should have scored 3-4 that night. All buts and maybes but still my favourite season watching the bears 

Aye all ifs and buts, we should've won it,  doesn't help though when cheats are are work though eh, still feel cheated of a final and possibly the holy grail!

[Jakes Pal 5,569]

13 hours ago, Deanzmeanzheinz said:

I was there! After Feyenoord the scariest place i've ever been in. We were penned in the corner, surrounded by huge fencing and a net over the top of us to protect us from missiles. 

They bombarded us that night. When the first goal went in from Suazee i genuinely thought 3,4-0. However that Rangers team just didnt know when it was beaten. In fact no team in europe defeated us that season. Marseille, Bruges, Leeds, CSKA Moscow , Lyngby 

We almost nicked if i remember correctly. McSwegan had a great chance near the end. If he had scored we were in the final against AC Milan. Thats how close we came. 

I was there that night, was also in Rotterdam. Whilst both occasions were quite intense, they were lke a freindly family get together compared to Belgrade. A few hundred of us in this gigantic bowl of a stadium, standing on a large section of terracing,surrounded by a mob of howling nutters. On a couple of occasions a solitary Belgrade fan got in to our section, and without hesitation charged into us. These guys were certifiable maniacs, and I do not mind admitting that my sphincter twitched on a few occasions that night.