Considering how hard Carlisle United are striving to get into the third tier, and the kind of crowds that are backing them in that quest, it seems surreal to think there was a time when they were at that higher level, yet supporters had almost completely deserted them.
It does not, though, take much of a delve into the past to realise exactly why. The season of 1986/7 hit some historic lows for Carlisle and, come the end of it, left a couple of particularly miserable marks in Blues history.
It was the Cumbrians’ all-time worst season of goalscoring – just 39 goals from 46 games, a tally only matched by last season’s side – and also, come May, produced a home crowd which remains the lowest for a league game that Brunton Park has seen (other than Covid-affected attendances).
United were well and truly down by Wednesday, May 6, 1987 – a second consecutive relegation taking them to the bottom division for the first time since the early 1960s.
Faith and optimism in the Blues had long gone. It was only three years that Carlisle had come close to reaching the top flight, yet that felt painfully distant in the barren Third Division season of 86/87, and Chester City’s visit, for the season’s penultimate game, simply further exposed the state of United.
Nowhere was it more apparent than on the terraces, given that only 1,287 devotees showed up and, while it would be nice to say they were rewarded for their hardened faith, that would also be a lie. The spectacle, such as it was, proved very much in keeping with the season and era as a whole.
United’s relegation had been confirmed two games earlier, through a comprehensive 3-0 home defeat to Swindon Town. If there was good news on the back pages for one Carlisle lad – a young Manchester City prospect named Paul Simpson had just been selected in the England Under-21 squad for a tournament in France – there was little on the pitch, other than a certain intrigue regarding one or two players.
In goal, there was an opportunity for Workington Reds’ Keith Hunton, who had joined on non-contract terms to cover the loss of Scott Endersby to injury. After a debut at Rotherham United, he made his first Brunton Park start in front of that sparse crowd – a departure indeed from his day job as a blacksmith’s welder in the highways department of Cumbria County Council.
The Blues were bottom of the table, having lost six on the spin, and Gregg laid the reality out to his players before Chester’s visit. “I can’t tell them to go out and enjoy it, because of the position we are in, with fourth division football next season,” the manager said.
“But I expect them to go out and give the sort of performance that’ll get us off bottom place.”
It was, by that stage, a case of hope and indeed fantasy trumping expectation. United’s state could not be concealed and the Chester game did little to convince anyone that Carlisle deserved more than the sort of attendance even EFL Trophy games have sometimes surpassed.
The Blues were inferior to mid-table Chester, players either releasing the ball too hastily or finding themselves caught on the ball by a busy visiting side. Harry McNally’s Chester made the first incision on 13 minutes, when referee Tony Fitzharris penalised Paul Gorman for a challenge on Gary Bennett, and Stuart Rimmer beat Hunton with a clinical penalty.
Chester almost went further ahead through Ricky Greenhough, who was adeptly denied by Hunton, before Colin Woodthorpe hit the post. Carlisle came close on 34 minutes, when Paul Haigh’s free-kick slipped out of keeper Billy Stewart’s grasp, but the Chester No1 recovered to deny Mark Patterson from the rebound.
The refereeing of Fitzharris added to the frustration in the grumbling, tiny crowd, who had further cause for dismay when, three minutes into the second half, Chester scored again. Woodthorpe and Milton Graham were involved in the build-up, and when Gorman failed to reach the latter’s cross, Bennett wrapped things up with a tap-in.
A 2-0 defeat was an outcome that surprised few, given the trajectory, yet the small gathering of fans were still loud enough to let the team – and the officials – know their feelings.
All that was left was to complete the season, which United did with a surprising 3-0 win over Chesterfield in front of a slightly higher but still small gate three days later (1,439) which lifted them to third-bottom, before a challenging summer could unfold. United released a cluster of players, including Geoff Lomax, Paul Baker and the long-serving Mike McCartney, offering terms to six more – Garry Worrall, Wes Saunders, John Cooke, Haigh, Gorman and Andy Robinson – whilst transfer-listing Endersby and Billy Wright.
Only Ian Bishop, Mally Poskett, John Halpin and YTS kid Patterson exited the season still under contract. “If none of the six accept our offer I will have to chase around the country looking for players the club can afford,” admitted Gregg.
Carlisle, a rapidly shrinking force, had already had to sell to survive, and that prospect loomed again as they prepared for life at the basement – and more hardships to come.
United: Hunton, Lomax, Gorman, Saunders, Haigh, Cooke, Bishop, Robinson, Worrall, Poskett, Patterson. Not used: Baker.
Chester: Stewart, Greenhough, Fazackerley, Lundon, Woodthorpe, Kelly, Butler, Houghton, Rimmer, Bennett, Graham. Not used: Croft.
Crowd: 1,287.
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