'I was s****ing myself on the bench - then I was boozing in the changing rooms'

08 September 2023 , 16:00

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Blackburn won the Premier League title in 1995 in dramatic fashion (Image: Popperfoto via Getty Images)

It was one of the most iconic final days of the season in Premier League history.

And as far as title victories go, few will forget when Blackburn Rovers stormed their way to the trophy back in 1995. But the Ewood Park club almost let the title slip from their grasp on their last away trip to Anfield to face Liverpool, the former club of manager Kenny Dalglish.

Blackburn ended up losing 2-1 but still clinched the title thanks to West Ham holding Manchester United to a 0-0 draw to spark bedlam on Merseyside. Though former Blackburn star Tony Gale has admitted it was not exactly plain-sailing.

Here Mirror Football brings you extracts from Gale's new autobiography, 'That's Entertainment', on that nervy-come-jubilant day for Blackburn's heroes.

Within a week in 1994 I went from being out of contract at West Ham to playing at non-league Barnet, then playing for Blackburn against Manchester United in the Charity Shield at Wembley.

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At the time, owner Jack Walker had all the money in the world and could buy any player he wanted, but he listened to Kenny Dalglish and Ray Harford, taking me on a free transfer.

I’m sure a lot of fans and media were thinking ‘Why?’ - well, they took a gamble on me and there was no way I was letting them down.

Everything was looking great until the last six games of the 1994-95 season, where you could see a nervousness in our play, scrambling with 1-0 wins, 1-1 draws and losing by the odd goal.

Blackburn striker Alan Shearer sprays Champagne during the title celebrations (Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Our final game of the season was at Anfield against Liverpool. United, meanwhile, were away at my old club West Ham.

We were two points ahead, so they needed to win and hope we slipped up. I was sitting in the dugout at Anfield, watching the West Ham v United game on a TV.

When we went 1-0 up, I thought ‘I don’t even need to watch the telly now’, but then it went 1-1, then 2-1 to Liverpool and I was s******* myself.

I was watching the West Ham game, which was also 1-1, and Ludek Miklosko was making save after save, with defenders throwing themselves across the ball.

United only needed one goal to win the league. It was like a siege on the West Ham box. When the whistle went full-time at West Ham, I said, ‘We’ve f****** done it!’ Ray Harford looked at me and said ‘You sure?’ I said ‘I’m sure, I’m sure!’

Then the message got out to the players on the pitch and it was surreal for about two minutes while we were playing.

Tony Gale's new autobiography 'That's Entertainment' is on sale now

The fans around the pitch were going mad and even the Liverpool fans were cheering for us. If we weren’t going to win it at home, then the best place for Kenny would be at Anfield.

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The drinks started in the changing room straight after, but when we got on the coach after the game, we were like, ‘f****** hell. We’ve won the league!”

I was fortunate to have played 21 times in total for Blackburn. Many people said when I got there I was like a new player and person. That season at Blackburn was almost like a fairy tale - from non-league football to Wembley and then becoming champions.

*Tony Gale: That’s Entertainment, Reach Sport, is on sale now

Tony Gale