BY far the worst football match I have ever seen live was Standard Liège 0 KV Mechelen 0 in the Belgian League on Tuesday 30th August 1983 at the Stade de Sclessin.
I won’t ever forget the bizarre spectacle I witnessed that night. In fact, I’ve never come across anything like it throughout my life as a football fan!
Standard Liège played a high defensive line just inside their own half. Nothing unusual there. But in response, Mechelen decided to have their forwards deliberately running fully 40 yards offside with long clearances repeatedly punted towards them.
Once the offside flag was raised, those advanced Mechelen players would pick the ball up and walk very slowly back holding it tightly until they reached the free-kick position. This happened over and over again wasting a good 30 seconds each time.
Home fans were irate yet there wasn’t much the referee could do because Mechelen weren’t actually breaking any rules. Yes, some stoppage time was added on but nowhere near enough. The delays must have amounted to at least half an hour!
Anyway I decided to ask my social media followers for their own recollections of poorest games attended. And I received some wonderful replies concerning fixtures which would have attracted interesting football betting odds in the betting stakes…
Dave Jones @disco_kkcc
Wrexham 0-1 Chesterfield in 2002. They sprung our offside trap once, which was enough for Glynn Hurst to score the only goal. Awful game, comfortably the worst I’ve seen at the Racecourse.
Stephen Copping @coppinocops
A non-league game. Caught a dreadful flu and sat in a poor stand. Can’t remember the teams. Awful. I was commentating.
Andrew Protheroe @AndrewProt1968
2004 Macclesfield 2 Swansea 1. Tuesday night freezing no cover in away end. Not many Swans fans. Stood on yellow margins and a steward moved me despite no one being there.
Shaun Scott @ShaunAleScott12
Opening day of the 1988/89 season at Goodison. Newcastle had spent the money from the Gascoigne sale on Beasant and Thorn from Wimbledon. They were 1-0 down within 60 seconds. 4-0 by full-time. Cottee hat-trick. Relegation followed after a truly awful season.
chris crane @chris3oct
Carlisle v QPR FA Cup 1986. Postponed three times, it eventually took place on a Monday night. Arrived at 6.15 pm to be told there was a pitch inspection - it went ahead but QPR lost 1-0. Had to sit in station until 12.30am for a train back to London which got in at 7am and had to go straight to work!
Chris Sanderson @NE63exile
26/10/02: Dumbarton 0 Stenhousemuir 0. Had to file 200 words for the Daily Record and literally nothing happened. One of the hardest football reports I ever had to write.
The Artist Currently Known as Swindle @SwindlehurstJ
Last season, Cambridge United away at Peterborough, 5-0 loss, earliest I’ve chosen to leave a game.
Peter Thornton @insidewrite1957
Southampton v Oldham 2010 on a Tuesday evening. Down from Manchester for a meeting in Eastleigh with two other lads and the Oldham supporting boss of an events company I worked for. Only at 5pm with no way back to Manchester that didn’t cost £££s did he announce we’re going to the game. Don’t think either team had a shot 0-0.
Paul Hutton @trafficpaul
1999 Oxford United 0 Watford 0. Was reporting for Sky. Tommy Smith had a one-on-one he put wide in the first minute. Decent opportunity. From memory that was the last chance I wrote down for the entire game.
GoatyGavster @GoatyGavster
West Ham 0-0 Derby. Took my two cousins from Exeter who hadn’t been to a game in ages…the first match at Upton Park for the younger one. Awful game that was like both teams had agreed a draw before kick-off.
M @mikejt67
Boxing Day 1990. Luton 0 Sheffield Utd 1. Luton looked as if they’d just come straight out of the Toby Carvery. I could’ve been at home on the sofa with the Quality Street and ‘Mutiny On The Buses’ on TV.
David Michael Raby @davidraby123
Anything under Roy Hodgson but Liverpool 0 Wolves 1 December 2010 stands out as particularly awful.
Tom @tomliwh_08
December 2022 Lincoln away with Wycombe - we thought it would get postponed but it never did. Got there three hours early, sat in the freezing cold all game for a 0-0 draw.
OUT_OF_TOUCH_OUT_OF_TIME @djpickup1980
Sheffield Wednesday v Scunthorpe, FA Cup replay 2003. Ended 0-0 and Scunny won on penalties. Awful match in an awful season for Wednesday.
MaidstoneFan1976 @westhamfan76
Grays Athletic 0-0 York City just before Christmas on a very cold day in 2006. No shots, no excitement, no passion from either team. Most of us wished we had gone Xmas shopping!
Matt Hughes @Hughsey1976
Strasbourg 3 Liverpool 0……16 hours on a cramped coach.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Adobe*
