Tag: soccer

There’s the Reds and there’s the Greens
Super slicks and has beens
They’re accompanied by three men dressed in black
One’s a whistle, two are flags
Quite often they’re the drags
Kick the ball into the goal, they put it back

Yes Match of the Day’s the only way
To spend your Saturday

Genesis, from the Spot The Pigeon EP 1977

A bit of a change from the running blogs.

I was on my constitutional walk this evening and I started to think about my career in football. As a young boy I was football crazy. I played football alone in the back garden. My Dad was livid because I turned it into a ploughed field. I just couldn’t live without a football. I think it started with Manchester United beating Benfica to win their first European Cup 4:2 at Wembley. I was far too young to watch the game but I knew of United’s history after the plane crash in 1958 and all the reports seem so romantic. Charlton, Best and Law were the Holy Trinity for me. My next memories are of the 1970 World Cup Finals in Mexico. England were a better team than the 1966 winning team and were hot favourites but with Bobby Moore arrested and charged with stealing jewellery and Gordon Banks getting food poisoning before the crucial quarter final against West Germany that hope was extinguished. March 1971 and 7 years old I was considered mature enough to stay up late on a Saturday night to watch Match of the Day. The that first match I watched was the quarter final tie of the FA Cup between Everton and Colchester United which Everton won 5:0. I was hooked and followed the Cup to final day when Arsenal beat Liverpool 2:1 with a stunner from Arsenal’s Charlie George. The following season gave us the immortal Hereford United victory versus Newcastle United.

Every play time at Primary School was spent kicking a tennis ball, or whatever we could find, around the playground. With games in a small space, close control dribbling was the key to success. Jumpers for goalposts and, even if you were 10 goals down, it was always next goal wins. Teacher blows the whistle and back to study. After school football matches sprung up over the local park and we’d play until darkness fell. Playing those games were against lads 2, 3, 4 years older me so I had to learn and adapt. In the summer playing cricket was the same so I learned the ability to leave what I didn’t need to play and score big with my signature shots. Always mature beyond my years and thinking about my game. 1974 and comprehensive school. The PE teachers wanted the school to be a rugby playing school which horrified me. The school wanted to compete against the grammar and private schools in Cheltenham and Gloucester. Being quick footed and good hands rugby came quite naturally to me but that doesn’t mean I liked it. My year had many good footballers which was proved when the first team won the County Cup in 1978-79. I was never deemed good enough but played for the ‘B’ team but by then cricket was my chosen sport.

I left school in 1979 still playing cricket but around 1981 I felt the desire to return to playing football after a couple of friends insisted I played for a newly formed Sunday morning team. I did and strangely enjoyed it. During my younger days I would watch the local team, Tewkesbury YMCA, play on Saturdays got to know the names of some of the players. As a teenager I got to play cricket with some of them and then I was invited to play football with Tewkesbury YMCA. This was like a scouse lad playing for Liverpool. How could I turn this chance down. My debut was for the second team against Colwall. I knew Colwall, near Malvern, as I had played cricket many times against them. In fact the goalkeeper was their major fast bowler. I was a tough game on a muddy pitch which we lost 2:1 but at least I scored the one. A corner that was cleared and the opposition rushed out to get attackers offside so I coolly received the ball on the right, chipped over the advancing defenders and chipped over that fast bowling goalkeeper into the net. See you in the summer, chummy.

I played mostly in the second team but had a few games in the first team and I remember the game where I impacted the most. I don’t remember who it was against but it was away. Martin Goodwin came up to me before the start and said look out for the left winger and hit him hard early. Well, that’s just not the way I played. Early in the game this left winger made a run. I was doing my job, keeping him wide with no chance to cut inside or cross but Goodwin flies in and catches him just below his knee and gets booked. The left winger was substituted soon after as he didn’t have the fight. My moment came soon after and similar to my debut goal a corner was defended and the ball was cleared to me on the right. The defenders were coming out to leave attacking players offside. I delayed and waited for Tony ‘Nobby’ Neather , sadly no longer with us, to advance from midfield. I crossed the ball which hit him plum on the head and into the net. Without his glasses Nobby was virtually blind so this was a miracle.

Soon after I started to lose interest in football. In reality I just wanted to play football and stop others playing by using my skill and ability. The start of the Premiership and the obscene money involved, the reactions of players who merely get touched, diving, simulation just makes me mad. I follow Charlton Athletic, a top community club, Portsmouth, my Dad’s team for the same reason, and Newport County my son’s team. These lower league teams reignite the fire and gives reason to follow your local team so follow them.