Today’s fixture congestion is nothing compared to days gone by

Whether it’s the fault of UEFA at the top or increasingly wet British winters lower down, fixture congestion and the ever-rising demands on players is a hot topic at the moment.

If Pep Guardiola thinks he’s been hard done by, with the squad size and resources available at Manchester City, he should perhaps give Paul Wotton a ring at Truro City, to offer his congratulations – and ask for a few tips.

Turfed out of one temporary home at Plymouth Parkway’s Bolitho Park, not only did their next ground-share deal with Taunton Town drown in the mud at Wordsworth Drive, but they finished the season 160-odd miles away on Gloucester City’s all-weather pitch.

Quite how Guardiola’s stars would have coped with ten games in 20 days in April is a question for mischievous debate, but the part-time White Tigers still lost only four of them and comfortably banished any fears of relegation.

Poor old Taunton played nine matches over exactly the same period but went down.

It was a remarkable effort by any standards, and it revived memories of years gone by when the domestic schedule could be just as brutal, if not more so.

Many fans may be aware that until 1957 all Football League clubs played on Christmas Day AND Boxing Day, nearly always against the same opponents.

That usually meant two local derbies, but it’s part of Plainmoor folklore that in 1956 Torquay United were involved in an extraordinary long-distance episode.

Going for promotion to what’s now the Championship, Eric Webber’s much-loved side drew 0-0 against Brentford at Griffin Park on Christmas Morning (Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City were also in the Third Division South and played each other).

Travelling by coach, the team were then caught in snowdrifts on Salisbury Plain with little food or water.

After being dug out, they didn’t get back to Torquay until 5am the following morning.

Brentford, who made the journey to the English Riviera by train, enjoyed a full night’s sleep.

Yet Webber’s men still managed to report to Plainmoor for a 2.30pm Boxing Day kick-off and, reportedly with the help of a ‘tonic’ supplied by the club doctor, went out and beat the Bees 2-0.

By the way, United’s home record that season read: W19 D4 L0. But they lost the title and the only promotion place to Ipswich Town on goal-average.

It’s still the closest the club has ever been to what’s now the Championship.

Winters were harsher in those days, leading to many postponements, and in 1979-80 United were the victims of what still smacks as appalling treatment by the League and the FA.

Going for promotion again, that time under Mike Green, the Gulls were involved in an FA Cup Second Round tie against Swindon Town at Plainmoor that had to be put back to a Tuesday night (Dec 18).

As befitted Green’s entertaining team, it was a thrilling 3-3 draw.

The competition was already behind schedule because of the weather, and the FA wanted the replay decided as soon as possible.

United were due to fulfil a Fourth Division fixture three days later (Dec21) at Stockport County, who always played their home games on Friday nights.

County dug their heels in, with support from the League, even when the FA ordered the Swindon-Torquay replay to played on the Saturday (Dec 22).

Torquay protested, but to no avail.

So United travelled up to Stockport on the Friday, and lost 4-0 on an icy pitch, which would undoubtedly be deemed unplayable today.

We stayed that night in Stockport, headed back down the M6 to Swindon the next morning and, after a spirited performance, lost 3-2 at the County Ground in the afternoon to a Third Division Swindon side that later beat Arsenal in the League Cup Quarter-Finals.

Two matches in less than 20 hours! Well, it was ‘only’ little old Torquay, wasn’t it?

By the way, Green’s side picked themselves up and won their next three games over Christmas and the New Year (Newport County H 2-0, Crewe Alexandra H 1-0, Bournemouth A 2-1) .

For sheer weight of fixtures, there never was anything quite like the two seasons under Cyril Knowles 1987-88 and 1988-89.

Involved in promotion races and/or cup competitions on all fronts, United played 62 games the first year and 61 the second, when they went to Wembley for the first time in the Sherpa Van Trophy.

Centre-back Phil Lloyd played in every one of those 123 matches, and he was closely followed by Jim McNichol on 113, Mark Loram 112, Tom Kelly 110 and David Cole 108.

As ever, the fixture backlogs were at their worst at the end of each season, when there was most at stake.

United had to cram eleven league games into 35 days at the end of that exhausting 87/88 campaign – and that was before tackling four Play-Off battles against Scunthorpe United and then Swansea City.

I don’t actually recall much moaning or groaning. Pleased that we had so much still to play for, everyone just got on with it.

Footnote: Can’t finish without mentioning my boyhood club Norwich City and the 1958-59 season, when they reached the FA Cup Semi-Finals as a Third Division (League One) club.

Way behind because of their replay-laden Cup run, City finished the campaign having to play 16 league games in 41 days (playing on successive days THREE times) and still rose to fourth in the table with a run of W9 D5 L2. They won promotion the next year.

Cheer up, Pep..!