Your Memories Of Football Past & Present

[Comfortably Numb]

Didn't he go on to play in Germany for Dortmond?

Knew I should have put an exclamation mark at the end there.

John is the local lad went on to play for Hibs, Celtic and Monaco, plus numerous Scotland caps!

Even as a youngster, he was completely off the scale in terms of abilty.

 

[Gene Hunt73]

@hunck

Verbal abuse of players by their own fans is common.
Football attracts some people who take out all their frustration at games.
Some disaffected and "loner" type people who live for it.
Some on the Autistic spectrum.

Have witnessed an Arsenal fan really tearing into Dennis Bergkamp during a game.

Think about that!

A Blackburn Rovers win at Old Trafford during the 2005/6 season.
Two Manchester United fans who were stood behind me all game shouting abuse at Ronaldo (you f#cking fraud) Giggs (you fu#king wanker) then ran down to pitch side to scream abuse at Alex Ferguson after the final whistle.
Then punches started getting thrown so I made a quick exit..

The tram home caught fire which summed the day up.

 

[Gene Hunt73]

Knew I should have put an exclamation mark at the end there.

John is the local lad went on to play for Hibs, Celtic and Monaco, plus numerous Scotland caps!

Even as a youngster, he was completely off the scale in terms of abilty.

I'm thinking of Paul Lambert sorry!
He played against Manchester United in the champions league 1996/7?

 

[Comfortably Numb]

He played against Manchester United in the champions league 1996/7?

It was 1997/98 (after I had looked it up ). Monaco went through on away goals after a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

Utd's goalscorer was... Solskjaer!

 

[Gene Hunt73]

The season before the legendary treble!
Happy days.

 

[Comfortably Numb]

The season before the legendary treble!

Before becoming Utd manager, Sir Alex Ferguson's greatest achievement was of course guiding Aberdeen to their famous 1983 European Cup Winners Cup final victory over Real Madrid.

Fond memories of watching the game with my dad in a small, local pub.

That team Sir Alex assembled, all Scottish players including Jim Leighton, Alex McLeish, Willie Miller, Gordon Strachan and Mark McGhee, was formidable!

The goals, as described by our greatest football commentator ever...

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Anyway, Ashton Gate, c1979, Bristol City...

Just last year, I subscribed to the main Bristol City fan's forum.

I was revisiting old Partick Thistle match programs and came across one for a 1980s friendly against City.

Realising it would only remain in a box amongst others, I wondered if it might be of Interest to a City fan, who I would gladly pass it onto and pay the postage.

Turned out there was a long serving supporter, also known to be an avid City program collector and this was one he lamented not being obtainable.

The reason being that many years ago he had contacted Thistle asking if a copy might somehow still survive.

The club replied that because it was a pre-season friendly, unfortunately no program had been printed for the match.

Duly sorted!

 

[Comfortably Numb]

14/10/85: Maidstone United Vs Tottenham

A testimonial for Brian Thompson.

Presently on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124523373149

 

[Krepostnoi]

I'm from Bradford, so my major footballing memory is not a happy one. We were in Coventry that weekend, staying with my Dad's best man. It only occurs to me now how that's a small mercy - we could hear the Valley Parade crowd from our house when we were at home. My brother and I, and the other two boys were watching telly upstairs, and I remember us clattering down to tell the adults. That's my memory: the disbelief in our voices, and on their faces.

We'd just won promotion, and the last game of the season was a home fixture - against Lincoln, if memory serves. So an opportunity for the city to get together and celebrate. Bradford has never been overly blessed with reasons to celebrate, and even that one was taken away from us. 56 people never went home, and plenty more still carry the scars. RIP.

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Bradford has never been overly blessed with reasons to celebrate, and even that one was taken away from us.

I remember this so heartfeltly... it seemed impossible to have happened.

Somehow, I heard events unfold live on the radio and can only surmise I must have been listening to another match commentary which was interrupted with breaking news.

The one thing I can never forget is the Bradford match commentator reporting a fire in the stands, which seemed to be spreading rapidly.

That exact moment is featured at the beginning of a video I have come across on YouTube - a poignant reflection on events, captured only a year later.

It's bound to be upsetting if you would wish to see this, so no autoplay of course.

It's entitled:

Bradford City - A Year of Healing 1986

The link is:

@https://youtu.be/FLK4k1vIP30

Thank you so much for sharing that football memory, it can't have been easy.

 

[Peripart]

Bradford has never been overly blessed with reasons to celebrate...

Here's a tiny gift from a Chelsea fan, then. I distinctly remember having a pub lunch with my other half and our granddaughter, surreptitiously following the FA Cup scores on my mobile. Chelsea Vs Bradford was one I was keeping an eye on. Just before half-time, Chelsea were 2-0 up, at home, so I paid a bit more attention to my family for a bit!

After all, this was Premier League Chelsea, against little old Bradford. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Victory]

@Comfortably Numb

I have searched in vain, but a nice photo was when former Fulham player John Collins was introduced to current at the time Fulham player Collins John on the pitch before a game.

Same club had Mousa Dembele (a midfielder) who left in 20212 and in 2013 they bought Moussa Dembele (a striker.)

And what about England having two different players in the 1986 World Cup Squad called Gary Stevens?

And Sperz have had two recent right backs - Kyle Walkers and Kyle Walker-Peters.

 

[AnonyJoolz]

I'm with Adrian Mole on the subject of football - not interested in the game but enjoyed watching a good pitch invasion!

As a child of the 70s-80s I remember the streakers, flung loo rolls, pitch invasions and the like. And that the clubs put their players in really short shorts for a while. Then the Bradford City fire, Heysel and Hillsborough happened seemingly in quick succession and I lost all interest in watching it at all, it was too sad.

In fact it seemed to me as though from 1985 onwards, for about five or six years, that there was some awful tragic disaster happening every week. Kings Cross, M1 plane crash, rail crashes, Piper Alpha, Lockerbie....

 

[Kryptonite]

@Comfortably Numb

I have searched in vain, but a nice photo was when former Fulham player John Collins was introduced to current at the time Fulham player Collins John on the pitch before a game.

Same club had Mousa Dembele (a midfielder) who left in 20212 and in 2013 they bought Moussa Dembele (a striker.)

And what about England having two different players in the 1986 World Cup Squad called Gary Stevens?

And Sperz have had two recent right backs - Kyle Walkers and Kyle Walker-Peters.

Dunfermline had two Scott Thomsons for a good few seasons in the 90s. One a goalkeeper, the other a guy who started as a striker, went to centre-half, sometimes played midfield and was a pretty good left-back. A bit like Paul Madeley at Leeds, he could play just about anywhere. The Thomson Not-twins had different middle initials which were included in the names on the back of their shirts.

 

[hunck]

@hunck

Verbal abuse of players by their own fans is common.
Football attracts some people who take out all their frustration at games.
Some disaffected and "loner" type people who live for it.
Some on the Autistic spectrum.

Have witnessed an Arsenal fan really tearing into Dennis Bergkamp during a game.

Think about that!

Too true. I got the impression with some it's maybe the only time they can vent anger & frustration legitimately.

 

[Naughty_Felid]

Presently on eBay:

View attachment 33767

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124523373149

50p that's a bit steep?

 

[Comfortably Numb]

I have searched in vain, but a nice photo was when former Fulham player John Collins was introduced to current at the time Fulham player Collins John on the pitch before a game.

I have found a related article - doesn't have the photograph though!

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/john-collins-or-collins-john-6975400.html

Best named footballer ever...

A candidate has to be Roberto López Ufarte, who spent most of his career at Real Sociedad.

When he played for Spain during the 1982 World Cup, it was, albeit childish humour, impossible not to smile when his name was mentioned in commentary.

 

[Comfortably Numb]

50p that's a bit steep?

I thought so as well and only afterwards realised it is presumably because this was a charity match!

 

[Comfortably Numb]

Here's a tiny gift from a Chelsea fan...

Magic.

I have been to the old Stamford Bridge. As mentioned, although we lived in Glasgow until late 1970s, my dad was a sleeping car attendant working the Kings Cross - Glasgow - Aberdeen - Fort William route.

Because we also had family who had recently moved to the new town of Welwyn Garden City (that Scottish shipbuilders migration to Welwyn history is detailed on another thread!), he would often take me to see them and I would have this freebie in a sleeping compartment!

Occasionally, he would use the visit as an opportunity to me to watch a match in London.

One was a midweek Tottenham v Man Utd game (score 2-2), another was a Chelsea v Blackpool Saturday fixture, which finished scoreless.

Scottish International Tommy Hutchinson played for Blackpool.

Which seems to pose a problem here...

Had a look online to see when this would have been and Hutchinson played for Blackpool between 1968-1972.

It would fit in with my age at that time and there's only one Chelsea v Blackpool game it could be, on 6 March 1971:

However, the score was 2-0 to Chelsea and the only 0-0 home draw v Blackpool was in 1955...

No, not having that... it was 0-0 and I remember it vividly.

There's another non-football forum I subscribe to and which deals with 'Fortean' type stuff.

I might bring this up there...

 

[hunck]

I posted about this somewhere else but it fits here.

When I went to the Arsenal early 80s there was a fair bit of wit & humour in the crowd, with new songs appearing as well as the old favourites. There was a man who stood at the back of the north bank named Harry who'd start off some of the chants.

If the match was going through a boring patch, the crowd would get restless & the chant would start 'Harry Harry give us a song, give us a song, give us a song'. Harry would then oblige with the start of a song which the north bank would join in with to rousing effect. I always wondered who Harry was.

The team had the reputation of being boring & were often taunted by the opposition with a chant of 'Boring boring Arsenal' so the North Bank adopted it & when they were playing well & leading easily would chant it at the opposition ironically.

With the new songs that emerged, I used to wonder how they arranged it, whether they had lyric sheets with 'sung to the tune of' handed round for the faithful..

 

[cycleboy2]

@Comfortably Numb

I have searched in vain, but a nice photo was when former Fulham player John Collins was introduced to current at the time Fulham player Collins John on the pitch before a game.

Same club had Mousa Dembele (a midfielder) who left in 20212 and in 2013 they bought Moussa Dembele (a striker.)

And what about England having two different players in the 1986 World Cup Squad called Gary Stevens?

And Sperz have had two recent right backs - Kyle Walkers and Kyle Walker-Peters.

On a very, very tangentially related theme (ie barely no connection at all), Marine's FA Cup team at the weekend featured a host of famous names: Neil Young (manager), James Joyce (left back), Michael Howard (sub) and... David Lynch (usually Clitheroe player-manager but signed to play for Marine). What a star-studded but ill-matched quartet!

 

[Dick Turpin]

As soon as I saw the thread, I immediately thought of Orients first game back after the initial lockdown. At home to Plymouth in 2nd round of the EFL cup – the winners being rewarded a home draw against spurs, so a huge game for the O’s.

I had a feeling that Orient could nick a draw against a good Plymouth side, so I put £10 on a 2-2 draw at odds of 16-1, and hoping Orient could win the game on penalties. The missus however rather optimistically stuck £10 on a 3-2 Orient win, at odds of a massive 28-1.

Orient were 2 nil down at half time, but I still remained hopeful. In the 2nd half, Dennis got one back in the 55th minute and then Macanuff equalised in the 74th.

Of course I went mental, which resulted in me breaking a faux antique lantern, that Mrs DT had hung from the beams of the living room. She was still moaning at me, when in the last kick of the game, Danny Johnson popped up to score Orients 3rd.

It was Mrs DT’s turn to go mental, which resulted in my next door neighbour banging on the adjoining wall.

Still, with her £280 profit, she didn’t mind going out the next day, and buying the neighbour a nice bunch of flowers as an apology.

 

[Beresford]

Being a supporter of smallish club (probably the lower end of middle sized in Scottish terms) is great. There is no waiting !ist for season tickets, most away games are pay at the gate and even when a game is all ticket getting one isn't a problem. I have a lot of very good friends thanks to football and there is a core of us who follow the team home and away. We've had some great times, although not always for the duration of the 90 minutes.

My first ever game was the Jock Stein testimonial, Celtic v Liverpool, but I decided at a very young age that I would support my local team. The first time I saw them play was in 1980 - Ayr United v Hamilton Academical. Ayr won, and I was hooked. I lost the match programme a number of years ago but I recently found one on EBay, which I now possess. It's fair to say there have been more downs than ups, but the big results and the promotions have been wonderful experiences.

I've been to matches in other countries, mainly England and Germany. The atmosphere at German matches is phenomenal (and the beer isn't bad either). Hopefully I'll be able to get back there for a fußball weekend in the relatively near future.

 

[Krepostnoi]

Being a supporter of smallish club (probably the lower end of middle sized in Scottish terms) is great. There is no waiting !ist for season tickets, most away games are pay at the gate and even when a game is all ticket getting one isn't a problem. I have a lot of very good friends thanks to football and there is a core of us who follow the team home and away. We've had some great times, although not always for the duration of the 90 minutes.

A mate here adopted one of the Saigon football teams. He used to follow them to away matches, on the basis that he'd get to spend a weekend in a part of Vietnam that he'd never otherwise have visited. The 90 minutes was almost incidental. But that was back in the before times.

 

[Beresford]

A mate here adopted one of the Saigon football teams. He used to follow them to away matches, on the basis that he'd get to spend a weekend in a part of Vietnam that he'd never otherwise have visited. The 90 minutes was almost incidental. But that was back in the before times.

I've been to many places I would never have seen thanks to football. Some places are more impressive than others, but I'm glad to have been to them all. As far as I'm concerned everyone should sample the vegetable soup at Glebe Park, Brechin.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

Whilst I'm far more of a cricket fan than football, I do recall with fondness watching the 1988 FA cup final.

Humble little Wimbledon were given no chance against the big-spending Liverpool, but the Crazy Gang spirit triumphed.

Legend has it that the overpaid, pampered Northerners arrived at Wenbley in their luxury air-conditioned coach, whereas The Dons turned up in a 4 Landrover Defenders.

Good old Vinnie Jones - football's only Cockney/Welsh hardman and an enduring image is of Dennis Wise holding up the cup and yelling "Take that you MFs" at the press, who had written Wimbledon off, within easy earshot of the Queen Mother.

I've been a sort-of Wimbledon fan ever since, even with their reincarnation as AFC Wimbledon.

 

[cycleboy2]

Being a supporter of smallish club (probably the lower end of middle sized in Scottish terms) is great. There is no waiting !ist for season tickets, most away games are pay at the gate and even when a game is all ticket getting one isn't a problem. I have a lot of very good friends thanks to football and there is a core of us who follow the team home and away. We've had some great times, although not always for the duration of the 90 minutes.

My first ever game was the Jock Stein testimonial, Celtic v Liverpool, but I decided at a very young age that I would support my local team. The first time I saw them play was in 1980 - Ayr United v Hamilton Academical. Ayr won, and I was hooked. I lost the match programme a number of years ago but I recently found one on EBay, which I now possess. It's fair to say there have been more downs than ups, but the big results and the promotions have been wonderful experiences.

I've been to matches in other countries, mainly England and Germany. The atmosphere at German matches is phenomenal (and the beer isn't bad either). Hopefully I'll be able to get back there for a fußball weekend in the relatively near future.

Whenever I go on holiday abroad I try to watch a local game if circumstances allow, so I've dragged my wife to Rennes (vs Nice I think) and to a Slavia Prague home game. That was quite an experience as we went to the wrong stadium first! They'd recently moved. Luckily there was a German couple there and we shared a taxi all the way across Prague, and we only missed a few minutes. This was less than 20 years ago but for a top division game it was only a quid or so to get in and beer and sausages were equally cheap. Result!

I've also seen Ferencvaros vs Feyenoord in a UEFA Cup game in Budapest. I left just before the end as the atmosphere felt like it was going to kick off badly. I took pictures of the lines of riot police on my way home – having asked their permission first!

I've also attended a rugby union tournament in Thailand, which was a bit of a surprise. The sports I'd still like to see are ice hockey and handball, which are big in parts of central and Eastern Europe.

 

[Dick Turpin]

Whilst I'm far more of a cricket fan than football, I do recall with fondness watching the 1988 FA cup final.

Humble little Wimbledon were given no chance against the big-spending Liverpool, but the Crazy Gang spirit triumphed.

Legend has it that the overpaid, pampered Northerners arrived at Wenbley in their luxury air-conditioned coach, whereas The Dons turned up in a 4 Landrover Defenders.

Good old Vinnie Jones - football's only Cockney/Welsh hardman and an enduring image is of Dennis Wise holding up the cup and yelling "Take that you MFs" at the press, who had written Wimbledon off, within easy earshot of the Queen Mother.

I've been a sort-of Wimbledon fan ever since, even with their reincarnation as AFC Wimbledon.

View attachment 33823

Lots of the local kids, were initially fans of little Orient, due I think to an impressive FA cup run in the late 1970’s, which saw them get a semi-final place against Arsenal, and of course because it was the nearest club.

But as the kids got older, they tended to drift away to the larger perhaps more glamorous London clubs.

For my sins though, and despite getting the P taken out of me by most of my mates, I stuck with the Orient, although I did for a few seasons, have the habit of watching the Hammers play at upton park, one week, then watching the O’s at home the next.

 

[cycleboy2]

Whilst I'm far more of a cricket fan than football, I do recall with fondness watching the 1988 FA cup final.

Humble little Wimbledon were given no chance against the big-spending Liverpool, but the Crazy Gang spirit triumphed.

Legend has it that the overpaid, pampered Northerners arrived at Wenbley in their luxury air-conditioned coach, whereas The Dons turned up in a 4 Landrover Defenders.

Good old Vinnie Jones - football's only Cockney/Welsh hardman and an enduring image is of Dennis Wise holding up the cup and yelling "Take that you MFs" at the press, who had written Wimbledon off, within easy earshot of the Queen Mother.

I've been a sort-of Wimbledon fan ever since, even with their reincarnation as AFC Wimbledon.

View attachment 33823

I watched the 1988 FA Cup Final in Jacksons on George, a pub in Sydney, late at night/into the early hours before getting the late-night bus back to Manly (I'm guessing from Wynyard but it's a long time ago so I wouldn't bet on it).

I'm a Spurs fan but missed watching the previous year's FA Cup Final loss to Coventry as I was working at a wedding as a location assistant/gofer for the video cameraman, carrying batteries/tapes (remember those)/lighting tripods etc, and helping myself to occasional glasses of very good Champagne as it was a posh affair. The bride looked as miserable as sin all day so I have my doubts about the longevity of the marriage.