COVENTRY CITY 2 BRISTOL CITY 2 MAY 1977

THE RELEGATION BATTLE THAT SAW BOTH TEAMS STAY UP AND SUNDERLAND GO DOWN

[@llaauuddrruupp]

The Selfish Gene brought me here.

[@cen2s2s]

Presumably this example was included in a rewritten later edition as The Selfish Gene was first published in 1976.

[@llaauuddrruupp]

I suppose so. I've never read the first edition and thus can't say if this is in it. I read the 30th anniversary edition.

[@rachidfachat8644]

me too , lmao

[@NickHargreaves]

Yep

[@asifashraf6225]

haha, Same here

[@uncleambient]

I was there, what an atmosphere. PUSB

[@robertbarker8310]

I was there!!! We'd come up from Bristol. What a night. We kicked off late (because of traffic, apparently) so everybody in the stadium knew with 15 minutes left that a draw kept up both sides. Both sets of fans cheered every back pass. As full time got close, all the players started edging towards the tunnel because they knew all the fans would come onto the pitch to celebrate. I doubt Sunderland fans ever forgave Jimmy Hill.

[@joeboltons]

we never forgave him.we had a minutes celebration when he died, the senile cheating twat.hopefully coventry go down to div 4 this year.

[@joeboltons]

and there they go

[@grimupnorth]

Who are YOU going to blame for your relegation this season? Jimmy Hill had more integrity and passion for the game than any of the overpaid muppets that turn out for most clubs these days, Sunderalnd very definitely included.

[@bobwright9523]

@@joeboltons LAST PUSB

[@paulgriffiths1062]

@@joeboltons hahaha ha you prick. You northern asshole. Your football is doing so well now isnt it. Typical Sunderland twat. Don't go licking any plug sockets now...

[@zxz1]

And all 3 teams are playing In the same league this season 22/23 for the first time since then

[@nigelflint4196]

Was there that night brilliant

[@TheNotrac]

This and the West Germany Austria game in 1982 World Cup brought about the final set of matches in competitions starting simultaneously. But of course there are always wheezes like getting stuck in the traffic on the way to the ground.

[@AccessAdvisr]

I was there!

[@jonathanrundle8308]

I was there coach didnt leave AG, got lift there and back, will never forget it!

[@jeffreyroberts7438]

I was there......best night in football ever experienced

[@fcukwork]

Me too I was 10 years old

[@ducky131]

The fact that a traffic congestion indirectly relegated Sunderland (If the match was started on time, 15 minutes earlier, they would have still try to score until the end and if one of them scores then rip)

[@FIGHTGAME100]

Good few Bristol in the Coventry end

[@TheGiantKillers]

This sowed the first seed of reducing the top flight to 20 teams as the FL considered relegating both clubs. The logistics of the knock on effects in other divisions prevented them. Jimmy Hill then convinced the FL that a ten point penalty at the start of the following season would make the bottom of the table noncompetitive. It was hardly a new phenomenon. 70 years earlier several teams had conspired to ensure Everton and West Brom stayed in the top flight at Grimsby's expense. as the two 'big' sides pulled off some surprising results against other midlands and lancs sides in the closing weeks of the season. It was never formally proved but widely believed that clubs didn't want to lose the revenue that the two club's huge travelling support brought and contrived to ensure they stayed up.

[@pvik4332]

esse é o jogo que é citado no livro "gene egoítsta" do richard dawlkins???

[@TvGunslingeRvT]

I was there actually even though l was born in 1998😂

[@jamesdond614]

I was there too, I remember when Dicks was manager of Fulham, and they were on a terrible winless run, and the Fulham fans singing " Dicks Out".

[@mct1970]

Sunderland went into the game at Everton knowing they only needed a draw to stay up. So surely the question should be why didn’t they park the bus to ensure that?

[@tipple58]

Cov City - the finest team on the planet. And that's a fact.

[@shravzzv]

Have anyone come here after reading 'The Selfish Gene'?

[@cen2s2s]

Who is the person speaking at 1:10?

[@Atttleborough97]

Think its Clive Whitehead who was in the Bristol team that day.

[@MartinCube42]

@@Atttleborough97 It is.

[@bobwright9523]

LAST PUSB

[@manjoumenakamoto3248]

a quite scandal of relegation battle

[@ewanrenton8846]

The league table never lies...Maybe Sunderland deserved to go down, BUT it was the way it happened that night...Very sad ending for us Sunderland supporters,....Couldn't get away with it these days.

[@chrislukeman2514]

Dark day for football's integrity

[@apathyintheuk265]

Chris Lukeman Why?

[@JubbaheyChannel]

+apathyintheuk Because Hill delayed the kick off so that news of the Sunderland match was put out over the Tannoy, both teams knew that a draw would then keep them both up and they played the last part of the match without trying to score or challenge for a win. Pretty bad if you were a Sunderland player or supporter or football fan that that matter.

[@grimupnorth]

So Hill knew the Everton v Sunderland score before Coventry's game started? He was obviously a smarter guy than even he thought he was.

[@kevincrinks]

@@JubbaheyChannel it was delayed because thousands were still trying to get into the ground, including 15,000 Bristol City supporters on the night. As it was the equaliser for Bristol City was scored in the 82nd minute, when Sunderland were still playing