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Happy Birthday Tom Ritchie!


Curr Avon

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Legend, possibly my favourite player of all time (in our best team of all time) & far, far too modest.

An all time great.

Was astonished when he wasn’t one of the first 11 players inducted to our hall of fame, as there’s been no better striker in my 50+ years of supporting.

Said this in a post about him last week, he scored league goals against Liverpool, Man City, Spurs & Everton.

Who can else claim that whilst playing for us?

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9 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Legend, possibly my favourite player of all time (in our best team of all time) & far, far too modest.

An all time great.

Was astonished when he wasn’t one of the first 11 players inducted to our hall of fame, as there’s been no better striker in my 50+ years of supporting.

Said this in a post about him last week, he scored league goals against Liverpool, Man City, Spurs & Everton.

Who can else claim that whilst playing for us?

And who could forget the goal against the gAss in the FA Cup at Eastville.

Happy Birthday Tom.

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Because I was young and stupid at the time (no longer young) , I didn't realise just how good he was until he came back .
Important player in TC's squad , the highlight memory has to be "that" goal , really felt like something was happening then.

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40 minutes ago, Curr Avon said:

72 years young and an absolute gentleman. I was lucky enough to meet him yesterday (Thanks Neil!)

 

There's a lot of negatives aimed at the club these days, but the formation of the former players association is very positive imo. 

Great to see former players actively involved. 

I noticed Ivan Testematanu (sp)? was also a guest yesterday. 

I thought he was fantastic and was gutted when he got injured at WBA. 

 

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16 minutes ago, spudski said:

There's a lot of negatives aimed at the club these days, but the formation of the former players association is very positive imo. 

Great to see former players actively involved. 

I noticed Ivan Testematanu (sp)? was also a guest yesterday. 

I thought he was fantastic and was gutted when he got injured at WBA. 

 

Too right….i see the likes of Sweens, Speedy, Rodgers, Merrick, walk across from the lounge to their seats hakf a dozen rows down from me, and I always say to the guy I sit next to - I reckon Ritchie could still play!!!  He’s aged well.

Great player @GrahamC….pipped by Walshy for me as my fave players, but probably more because we are a few years apart in age and although I saw the Div1 days I didn’t see the promotion year and before, so saw less of Tom.

Edited by Davefevs
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55 minutes ago, Curr Avon said:

72 years young and an absolute gentleman. I was lucky enough to meet him yesterday (Thanks Neil!)

 

I will always remember some wag behind me shouting out as Tom attempted to win the ball "Use your weight Tom" :laugh:.

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25 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Too right….i see the likes of Sweens, Speedy, Rodgers, Merrick, walk across from the lounge to their seats hakf a dozen rows down from me, and I always say to the guy I sit next to - I reckon Ritchie could still play!!!  He’s aged well.

Great player @GrahamC….pipped by Walshy for me as my fave players, but probably more because we are a few years apart in age and although I saw the Div1 days I didn’t see the promotion year and before, so saw less of Tom.

My old man (83 soon & not in great health) always used to say to me when a City striker was out injured that Tom got kicked black and blue most weeks, wasn’t exactly the most robust looking (deceptive) but was always available for the next game.

Must have been a dream player for AD & having spoken to the late great Gerry Gow about him once, I know his team mates (Sir Geoffrey, Cheese, Sween, etc) all thought the world of him.

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1 minute ago, TV Tom said:

People forget that in our promotion year to the top flight he actually out-scored Cheesley 

Seeing as it was nearly 50 years ago now most of us around at the time can’t remember where they have put their reading glasses, let alone who was our top scorer in 75/76.

I’m joking, I think most of us know that he got 18 & Cheese 15.

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12 minutes ago, TV Tom said:

People forget that in our promotion year to the top flight he actually out-scored Cheesley 

I bet Graham won’t!

9 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Seeing as it was nearly 50 years ago now most of us around at the time can’t remember where they have put their reading glasses, let alone who was our top scorer in 75/76.

I’m joking, I think most of us know that he got 18 & Cheese 15.

Right on cue! 🙌🏻

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Included in the 18 goals that made him our top scorer in the promotion season was a hat-trick at home to York City in a 4-1 win. What made it extra special was it was on Match of the Day that night and I recollect Jimmy Hill, I think, commenting about the fact it was the first hat-trick on MotD for several years. 

Goals in general were harder to come by in the 1970s when away teams tended to play for draws more in the days before 3 points for a win.

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2 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Legend, possibly my favourite player of all time (in our best team of all time) & far, far too modest.

An all time great.

Was astonished when he wasn’t one of the first 11 players inducted to our hall of fame, as there’s been no better striker in my 50+ years of supporting.

Said this in a post about him last week, he scored league goals against Liverpool, Man City, Spurs & Everton.

Who can else claim that whilst playing for us?

Number one striker/goal scorer is obviously Big John.

But for me there is another one who could be number two. 

Jimmy Rogers, promotion 1955 with 102 goals, a superb good amount for one who played mostly on the wing except for two seasons at number 9. Two consecutive seasons of 25 per season.

Tom Ritchie who was also not considered as the major striker a superb 132, 40 of which were scored in Division One

Both of these were highly responsible for significant promotions so I won't add any others.

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We’ve all got our favourite eras (usually teenage years going with mates?), but for me it’s difficult for other eras to beat the first division team, given how rare those heady heights have been. Mixing it with the very best for 4 seasons, with Tom Ritchie crucial throughout. One small example of those heady days (realising plenty on here will remember it well), in 78/79 the Liverpool team of Dalglish, Hansen, Clemence, Souness et al won the league, conceding 16 goals all season and losing 4 times. One of those losses was to City (Joe Royle scored the winner). Unless we’re going back to the Harry Thickett era of the 1900’s, no City team has come close to operating at the level we did for those 4 seasons - Tom and the rest of that squad: legends one and all. As mentioned by others, Tom then cemented his legend status further with his fine work during the Terry Cooper era (inc his double act with Martyn Hirst). 

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A true City legend. There can’t be many players who’ve played in both the top and bottom division with the same club. I only caught the latter part of his career, but he was still one of my favourite players. 

I wasn’t at the 2-1 win at Eastville in 1983 (I remember very clearly listening to the radio commentary with my dad and dancing around the living room when Hirst scored the winner), but I love the footage of that game and the way he celebrated his goal. 

Happy birthday, Tom. 
 

 

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41 minutes ago, Offside said:

A true City legend. There can’t be many players who’ve played in both the top and bottom division with the same club. I only caught the latter part of his career, but he was still one of my favourite players. 

I wasn’t at the 2-1 win at Eastville in 1983 (I remember very clearly listening to the radio commentary with my dad and dancing around the living room when Hirst scored the winner), but I love the footage of that game and the way he celebrated his goal. 

Happy birthday, Tom. 
 

 

Great point, and not only that, you could argue he played at the top of Division 1 (after two games in August 76), and the bottom of Division 4 (little over 6 years later). I doubt any other player for any club has done this!

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2 hours ago, cidered abroad said:

Number one striker/goal scorer is obviously Big John.

But for me there is another one who could be number two. 

Jimmy Rogers, promotion 1955 with 102 goals, a superb good amount for one who played mostly on the wing except for two seasons at number 9. Two consecutive seasons of 25 per season.

Tom Ritchie who was also not considered as the major striker a superb 132, 40 of which were scored in Division One

Both of these were highly responsible for significant promotions so I won't add any others.

Fourth leading scorer for City. 

I bet if you asked the majority of City fans if they'd heard of Jimmy Rogers they wouldn't have a clue sadly. 

 

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1 hour ago, Sixtyseconds said:

FA cup Notts County away 84 the away end was a bit raucous.

Feet, OB helmets and a gert fence were in the way.

Can anybody conform if the great Tom scored City's equaliser ..

By imitating some of our fans by kicking their keeper in the head?  

 

shouldnt we have had a penalty tom rugby tackled by their keeper?....

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