McInnes and Warnock set for ROUND TWO!
Killie and Aberdeen managers prepare for reunion on Saturday, 22 years after they were at loggerheads in the infamous Battle of Bramall Lane — the only game in English football history to be abandoned due to a shortage of players
FOR the uninitiated, it appeared to be just a routine fixture between two sides in the second tier of the English game. West Brom’s trip to Sheffield United on March 16, 2002, certainly wasn’t the standout game down south that day. That was Manchester United’s trip to West Ham (a 3-5 thriller).
In fact, it wasn’t even the biggest match in the old First Division. That was Manchester City’s hosting of Crystal Palace (1-0) as they closed in on the title.
But the events that took place that afternoon in South Yorkshire ensured the match would become one of the most infamous in history. And one that will doubtless be revisited this week as two of its central characters, Derek McInnes and Neil Warnock, prepare to meet at Rugby Park on Saturday as managers of Kilmarnock and Aberdeen respectively.
Dubbed The Battle of Bramall Lane — somewhat unfairly, given there was only one side doing the fighting — the prologue to some unsavoury scenes had taken place at the same venue a year previously.
Sheffield United’s clash with Nottingham Forest was halted after eight minutes due to an aerial collision between the home side’s Georges Santos and the visitors’ Andy Johnson.
Warnock, the Blades’ manager, was dismayed as to why no action was taken against Johnson. Santos had to undergo a five-hour operation on a double fracture of his eye socket and considered legal action.
Johnson claimed he was ‘totally blameless’. Warnock disputed that. ‘Another quarter of an inch and he’s blinded,’ he said from Santos’ hospital bedside.
Later that year, Johnson signed for West Brom, although he was injured when Warnock’s side — including Santos — won 1-0 at The Hawthorns on December 8, 2001.
By the time the corresponding fixture came around three months later, the Baggies were sitting third in the table with United drifting in 15th place. Adding spice to the occasion was the fact that Warnock had only got the job after opposite number Gary Megson turned it down — citing an affinity with Sheffield Wednesday.
What ensued was jaw-dropping. Nine minutes in, United keeper Simon Tracey was sent off by referee Eddie Wolstenholme for deliberately handling the ball outside his penalty box. Warnock sent on sub keeper Wilko de Vogt in place of Peter Ndlovu.
With 18 minutes gone, Albion made their numerical advantage count when Scott Dobie — about to be called up by Scotland boss Berti Vogts — headed home a cross delivered by none other than Johnson.
It was only once the hour mark arrived that the fireworks began. West Brom skipper McInnes’ spectacular strike from outside the area gave De Vogt no chance and effectively sealed the victory. Warnock responded by withdrawing Gus Uhlenbeek and Michael Tongue. On came Patrick
Suffo and Santos. ‘It will be interesting to see what the first challenge between Santos and Johnson is like,’ said the BBC match commentator.
Santos’ first action was to charge towards a loose ball like a bull attacking a red rag. Out of control, his studs caught Johnson on the shin, sending him flying into the air. It was an act of violent retribution.
It sparked a mass brawl between both sets of players. Any number could have been sent off, but Suffo’s headbutt on McInnes was the only thing Wolstenholme was sure he saw.
With McInnes receiving stitches on a wound above his eye, his assailant became the third home player to receive his marching orders. Keith Curle could easily have been next for throwing a punch at the Scot. Likewise, Michael Brown for a cynical foul to stop a counter-attack.
Wolstenholme would later admit he kept his cards in his pocket in the hope the game could be finished. That was to be wishful thinking.
Coming in the 77th minute through a Dobie tap-in, Albion’s third goal was academic. But not so much what happened next.
Two minutes later, Brown hobbled off holding his groin. Three minutes later, his teammate Robert Ullathorne also left the pitch, complaining about muscle spasms. With just six United players on the pitch, for the first time in the history of English professional football, the referee abandoned the match because a side had insufficient players to continue.
Despite being the better team and having only had Larus Sigurdsson booked, Albion’s postmatch celebrations were curtailed by the unique end to the game.
The words of a Football League spokesman hardly helped their unease. ‘The Football League have the authority to allow the result to stand, or to order the game to be replayed,’ he said.
Fearing the outcome of a crisis meeting scheduled for the Thursday, Megson fumed: ‘There will be no replay. If we are called back to Bramall Lane, we’ll kick-off and then walk off the pitch.
‘I’ve been in professional football since 16 and I’m 42 now. I’ve never ever witnessed anything as
disgraceful as that.’ Warnock’s initial response was to plead ignorance to the fact that Ullathorne’s withdrawal meant the game would be abandoned. The fact he was a qualified referee did rather undermine this.
‘I wish I’d had a word from the ref about what would happen if we went down to six men,’ he said.
‘I’d have brought a deckchair out on the pitch to keep one of them on.’
The war of words quickly escalated. Sensing that Warnock was angling for a replay, Megson came back in.
‘The authorities have to do the right thing. Otherwise, they reward cheating,’ he stormed.
‘Sheffield United didn’t cause that, one person did. The things going on both on the pitch and on the line were disgraceful and have no place in football. They should be severely punished by the FA.
‘People were being told to go down, to come off, and the ref was being asked to send people off in the knowledge that it would mean the game couldn’t continue. It was very difficult to keep your temper.’
By the following morning, Warnock had taken a backward step. Belatedly acknowledging that West Brom should keep the three points, he transfer-listed Suffo and Santos.
Flatly denying Megson’s allegations of cheating, however, he launched another broadside.
‘I totally refute that, and it’s disgraceful that it’s even been said,’ he stated. ‘I can say 100 per cent that I did not tell my players to come off. I was not trying to get the game called off.
‘The way it has all come out so far, you would think I was guilty of committing more crimes than Bin Laden. Anyone who knows Gary Megson knows he’s one of the biggest moaners around. The way he goes on on the bench is an absolute disgrace at times.’
While Megson’s team were given the three points after the Football League meeting, he didn’t get Warnock’s head on a plate. The Sheffield United manager was fined £300 by the FA for improper conduct towards the fourth official but cleared of deliberately engineering the abandonment. His club were fined £10,000.
Brown actually missed the rest of the season, with Ullathorne sidelined for a month. Johnson, who accused Santos of trying to end his career, returned to the Albion side three weeks later.
Neither Santos nor Suffo, both given six-match bans, played for United again. Suffo soon joined Numancia, with Santos moving to Grimsby in the summer.
By then, Albion had enjoyed the last laugh — finishing second to win automatic promotion — with United stuck in 13th spot.
Warnock, naturally, had the last word. ‘I thought in this country people are innocent until proven guilty,’ he said.
The things both on the pitch and on the line were disgraceful and have no place in football