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Last Saturday's debacle prompted a trawl through the archives to identify our heaviest defeats at Moss Lane since 1979.

So, how many of these nightmares still haunt you?


3-7

v Slough Town: 19th October 1991

(one of many low points during that abysmal season with Stan Allan as manager; local lad Steve Roberts was the hapless goalkeeper).


0-5

v Dagenham & Redbridge: 10th September 2005
v Dagenham & Redbridge: 3rd September 2006

(thank the Lord they haven't visited Moss Lane since...).


1-5

v Mossley (FA Trophy): 23rd February 1980

(yes, even the great Alty teams can get trounced! The only home defeat we experienced during the first year of the Alliance Premier League, as Leo Skeete & Co. take us to the cleaners during Alex Stepney's final appearance for Alty that particular season).


v Stafford Rangers: 30th January 1993

(the erratic Ray Dennis was our goalkeeper. Enough said).


v Stevenage Borough: 29th December 2007.


2-5

v Forest Green Rovers: 21st March 2009.


0-4

v Wycombe Wanderers: 11th April 1992

(a goalkeeping crisis meant that midfielder Nigel Shaw was forced to play as Alty's No.1).


v Macclesfield Town: 18th November 1995

(that one was especially painful; Phil Power causing havoc for McIlroy's team).


v Harrogate Town: 17th August 2002

(a disastrous start to the 2002/2003 season for Bernard Taylor's side, swiftly followed by two successive drubbings away from home).


v Woking: 10th December 2005.


v York City: 10th February 2007.


1-4

v Enfield: 15th March 1986

(revenge was sweet just a few weeks later though when we defeated them at the semi-final stage of the FA Trophy).


v Runcorn (Cheshire Senior Cup): 24th March 1988

(didn't Mark 'Spike' Carter run riot that night?).


v Witton Albion (Cheshire Senior Cup): 3rd March 1992

(that woeful Stan Allan season yet again....).


v Port Vale (FA Cup): 5th December 1992.


v Exeter City: 11th August 2007

(1-0 up, courtesy of Karl Munroe, but then we wilted in the second half).

Former Alty centre forward, Phil Smith, is now in the world of horse racing:

http://www.britishhorseracing.com/goracing/blogs/head_of_handicapping.asp

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/src/webroot/ldp2/sport/horse-racing/2009/02/13/liverpool-born-head-of-handicapping-phil-smith-talks-about-how-he-framed-the-weights-for-this-year-s-john-smith-s-grand-national-64375-22923007/

(Prompted by an article in Friday's MEN, in which he mentioned Alty and Graham Heathcote).

Just as a gentle warm-up exercise for the Grays match...

What was the significance of the match that Alty played eleven years ago today?   

Congratulations to Moss Lane's golden-voiced memory man on reaching his half century.

He's the only man I know with a more lucrative pension plan than Sir Fred Goodwin.

P.S. China Crisis, Chris Waring, Gary Johnson, Dave Martindale and the BBC Radio Oxford commentators send their love....

Just to get you in the mood for Saturday's big match at Moss Lane....

(1) The first fixture between Woking and Altrincham was back in October 1992.
Who were the Robins' goalscorers in that 2-0 victory?


(2) Woking's debut at Moss Lane was in March 1993.
Who scored the only goal of the game?
(Incidentally, the great Tunna did play in this match but was not the goalscoring hero on this particular occasion....)


(3) 8th January 1994: Altrincham...0  Woking...2.   

Fill in the THREE gaps in the Alty team that day:

1. Collings
2. Cross
3. ?
4. France
5. R Green
6. Reid
7. ?
8. Harris
9. ?
10. Carmody
11. Terry.


(4) Who scored his first ever goal for the Robins in the 1-1 draw at Woking on 12th March 1994?


(5) Who was the Alty goalkeeper when the Robins beat Woking 2-0 at Moss Lane on 9th March 1996?


(6) Who scored Alty's goal in the 7-1 debacle at Woking on 30th November 1996?   


(7) Who scored Alty's goal in the 1-0 triumph at Woking on 19th February 2000?


The prize for anyone who answers all these questions correctly is either a signed copy of Ecky's forthcoming diet book or an autographed photograph (sepia) of George Heslop as a boyhood Altrincham supporter....

Glancing out over the snow-engulfed Moss Lane turf this morning prompted me to wonder when we last played a competitive fixture at home on such a surface.

I have vague memories of a 4-1 victory over Stalybridge Celtic in the Cheshire Senior Cup at a snowy Moss Lane back in January 1982....
Anyone else recall this one?

Otherwise, wasn't there that FA Trophy tie against Bishop Auckland at Moss Lane back in February 1985 when our oh-so lovable friends from the North East had to be reprimanded for bombarding Trevor Dance with snowballs?

I'm sure that there is a photograph in an old issue of the Robins Review in which various esteemed Alty supporters (and Phil Taylor) are pictured clearing snow off the Moss Lane pitch with an assortment of brushes....but I'm not certain to which game this incident actually relates.

Do we still possess an orange ball in case of emergencies?

Flynny...Management Guru...gazelle...Jack Swindells' No.1 Fan...ATS...Saughall Robin...Mister Heslop...are you out there?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Match-Worn-Home-Shirt-Forest-Green-Rovers-Meechan_W0QQitemZ270331457263QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_SportsLeisure_Football_FootballShirts?hash=item270331457263&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Wednesday, 10th January 1979
FA Cup Third Round
Tottenham Hotspur...1  Altrincham...1

Can it really be 30 years since our first visit to White Hart Lane?
Good Lord, that makes me feel almost as old as George Heslop....

So, for those members of this Forum who were fortunate enough to be there, what are your abiding memories of the occasion?

I recollect travelling down on the specially chartered train from Alty station and the somewhat unpleasant walk back to this through the North London streets after the match. 

Kingy clattered Ardiles.
Ardiles clattered Kingy.
Mal Bailey went off injured.
And I recall almost banging my head on some pipes at the back of the stand when leaping out of the seat to acclaim Jeff Johnson's equaliser.

Halcyon days.