Ton Up Town

Disappointing as it was to return empty handed last night from the second biggest soccer hotbed in Norfolk (the third being a table football game on Cromer pier), we did at least achieve the rare feat of notching our 100^th league goal of the campaign. Rare at least for us, not that unusual in a remarkably high scoring division where two of the other top five have already hit a ton and the others are very likely to follow. 

When was the last time the top 5 in a senior league all smashed over a hundred goals? 

 

Absolutely no idea!

However we do know this is the first time in nearly 40 years that the Poppies have done this.  It’s not the sort of detail you easily overlook, certainly not compared to seasons when the leaves were falling before we made it into double figures.  

The last Poppies team to go this big was of course the mighty Mick Jones side who combined a run to Wembley with racking up 109 in the last season of the old Southern League. That was a 42 game campaign so statistically they’re still slightly ahead, unless we go crazy against Gosport on Tuesday.

Interesting to look at that league table.  In some cases, not so much where are they now as who were they then? A handful have gone on to notably better things, but not necessarily who we might have been expected back then.  Just three survivors among this season’s opponents, and whatever became of Bridgend Town? 

 

                                  P  W  D  L   F   A Pts

 1.Worcester City                 42 27 11  4  92  33  65

 2.Kettering Town                 42 27  7  8 109  43  61

 3.Telford United                 42 22 10 10  60  39  54

 4.Maidstone United               42 18 18  6  55  35  54

 5.Bath City                      42 17 19  6  59  41  53

 6.Weymouth                       42 18 15  9  71  51  51

 7.A.P. Leamington                42 19 11 12  65  53  49

 8.Redditch United                42 19 10 13  70  57  48

 9.Yeovil Town                    42 15 16 11  59  49  46

10.Witney Town                    42 17 10 15  53  52  44

11.Nuneaton Borough               42 13 17 12  59  50  43

12.Gravesend and Northfleet       42 15 12 15  56  55  42

13.Barnet                         42 16 10 16  52  64  42

14.Hillingdon Borough             42 12 16 14  50  41  40

15.Wealdstone                     42 12 12 18  51  59  36

16.Atherstone Town                42  9 17 16  46  65  35

17.Dartford                       42 10 14 18  40  56  34

18.Cheltenham Town                42 11 10 21  38  72  32

19.Margate                        42 10  9 23  44  75  29

20.Dorchester Town                42  7 11 24  46  86  25

21.Hastings United                42  5 13 24  37  85  23

22.Bridgend Town                  42  6  6 30  39  90  18

 

 

...Back when men were men, logos were funky and programmes cost 15 pence