The Contrast - Scarborough FC

Scarborough rue their golden chance to equalise against Chelsea

As a friend and me sat in the pub ahead of the Liverpool - Man City 2nd Leg last night, we started chatting about when we used to go and watch Scarborough FC as younger lads. It was a complete contrast to the occasion we were about to witness, with 45,000 inside Anfield, for a place at Wembley in the Carling Cup final, and the match finely balance on a 1 goal lead courtesy of a Steven Gerrard penalty two weeks earlier. The feeling and occasion was something mostly alien to my time following Scarborough from the age of 6. It was then ironic yet unsurprising to see the Scarborough Evening News article on the front of the paper today.


We talked about things we remembered when paying our £2 to get in on the Seamer Road turnstile (occasionally knowing someone who knew someone who could get you a complementary ticket!). I'll never forget the guy standing just inside the gates yelling "golden gamble" week in and out. My mate knew what I was going to say, before I said it, something that has obviously stayed with him too. Another friend of mine used to sell the pies out of the little hut in the Shed, and you'd see the similar faces at all the games. 'Patto' appeared with his drum at the back of the East Stand and occasionally his trumpet! Doing the double over local rivals York on Boxing Day (5-1) and then at the KitKat Cresent (2-0) were also great memories as we supped our pints. 

The current site where the Athletic Ground used to stand

The lasting memory for many people in Scarborough of my era, and many others too, will be the visit of Chelsea for the 5th round FA Cup tie. Seeing those Premier League stars playing on the same pitch as the players you watched week upon week was something special. All the hype around the game, the papers featuring SFC on the back pages, seeing Sky Sports News interviewing people you knew in the town centre and the whole Chelski, experience made the club a 'Premiership' club for the day, and about the closest our seaside side got to the tie I was about to experience at Anfield. 


For those not of my generation there was everything that went before that too, including the promotion to the Football League under Neil Warnock, the first game of that Football League season, trips to Wembley for the FA Trophy, beating Chelsea over two legs in the League Cup and I'm sure much, much more. 


I don't want to go into why Scarborough FC went to the wall, leaving us without a 'proper' football side in the town. Many will have their views and opinions on who was to blame, but having read the paper today, when people like that were in charge of the club, it comes as no surprise that it did eventually go under. It's a very sad fact and seeing the turnstiles in tatters when you drive past is simply gutting. Even more disappointing is that nobody will ever be held to blame for one of the biggest crimes ever seen in Scarborough.