NAME THIS THE RETRO MATCH!
What a difference 34 years makes. In 1984 I found myself standing on a crumbling terrace in an atmospheric if dilapidated ground watching Chester beat Darlington 2-1 – my first ever football match. Fast-forward to a couple of Saturdays ago and I found myself standing on a secure terrace in a perfunctory if soulless ground watching Chester beat Darlington 3-1 (not my last ever football match). It’s progress of sorts, albeit two divisions lower down, and with a considerably larger gut. Ultimately, the latter game was a direct result of the former, the continuation of a lifelong obsession that began that fateful day. If only I’d gone to the shops instead! Not much has happened in between, give or take three stadiums, multiple relegations and promotions, memorable cup runs, the club going out of business, reforming, storming three consecutive championships, getting relegated, getting reinstated, actually getting relegated… you could write a book about it. Darlington have also had more than their fair share of turmoil, with a recent potted history involving a former safe-cracker, a 25,000-seater stadium, suspected money laundering, tax evasion, administration and inevitable reformation.
It’s enough to make you yearn for the good old days, and this most recent meeting between Chester and Darlo was the first to take place outside the rarefied climes of the Football League. As such, the powers that be designated it a ‘Retro Match’, with fans of both sides encouraged to dig out their ancient replica shirts and reminisce about days of yore.
Rummage
I had a quick rummage in the loft and uncovered three proud specimens, as well as a long-forgotten Half Man Half Biscuit T-shirt that I proudly wore to their triumphant Manchester gig on the Friday night before the big match – what a double header. Arriving at The Deva in good time, I went for the oldest shirt first, attempting to squeeze into a classic mid-80’s number. Wrestling with myself in the rain, dignity eventually prevailed and I jettisoned it in favour of the garish away shirt from the 1999/2000 season, the latter stages of which were dubbed ‘The Great Escape’. Sadly, it was a misnomer as the club was relegated from the Football League. Nevertheless, resplendent in orange with a felt KWIK SAVE logo, I strolled into the Blues Bar and was immediately engaged in conversation about that traumatic year, only interrupted when somebody vomited on the floor, which is as retro as it gets. Looking to mix it up, I obscured the KWIK SAVE eyesore with my traditional smock, and then topped off the fetching ensemble with a blue and white striped 90’s affair, strolling into the home end as a stylish triple threat. However, my thunder was well and truly stolen by a punter in the main stand who rocked up wearing nine different shirts, revealing a new one every ten minutes. Chapeau, Sir.
Gesture
All fun and games, but it’s worth remembering that progress can be a good thing. As the American journalist Doug Larson once said, “Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days.”The fact that Chester fielded a debutant called Akwasi Asante who was judged on nothing other than his ability is a sign of how far we’ve come from the dark days of the 80’s, despite some sad recent events. It also made a refreshing change to play Darlington and not be chased home by a pack of striking miners. In fact, apart from the berk who threw a flare and the retro one-man pitch invasion, the Darlo fans deserve special commendation for chipping in the best part of £500 to a raffle for injured Chester striker Matty Hughes. What a gesture. And despite encouragement from those around him, Chester’s famous Strangler resisted the urge to run on and grapple with the ref, an incident involving Chris Foy that sees its 20th anniversary next year. The only real blot on the day was the Darlington team failing to get into the spirit of things by turning out in a generic yellow away kit. Asante’s perfect hat-trick was as thrilling as it was unexpected, stoking memories of record scorer Stuart Rimmer doing the same on his debut in 1985. Now that’s nostalgia I can get behind...