BLUNDERS, BROMLEY, BROLLY, BRISBANE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhaW73uZdeU 

If you have ten minutes these goals ABOVE, are definitely worth seeing, avoiding adverts. Some you may have seen before, others are pure comedy. So click on and sit back!

It was on this day in 2016 that Simeon Akinola of Braintree Town was driving to Bromley FC for a Vanarama National League game. When he got to Hayes Lane he discovered nobody there and that the game was at his place. He turned round, drove 60 miles and got onto the pitch after half time. He helped set up an equalising goal in a 2-2 draw.

On this day in 2007, Steve, the England coach, got the sack soon after this show of "weakness" and so did his assistant, Terry Venables. Where did they go wrong? McClaren had been in charge for 18 matches and this was a 2-3 defeat in the Euro 2008 tournament at Wembley. The Daily Mail showed no mercy, nor did the FA.

Some years before, Wembley Stadium hosted a more prestigious match, when Clapton Orient (later Leyton Orient), then a league side, played their first home game in Division Three South against Brentford at the "local" Wembley Stadium. Their own ground at Millfields Road from 1900, which had held over 27,000 in a match v Newcastle United, was bought by the local council and a greyhound track put around the perimeter. Tension mounted as the footballers were not welcome to train there during the week and the boardroom not open for use during match days. 

So a move to Lea Bridge Road, a mile away, provided a good idea, though the pitch had an oval wooden fence around it, which separated the pitch from a speedway track. The first home match was held on the afternoon of September 4th 1930 against Newport County in Div 3 South. There were no floodlights, hence the early kick and therefore not much chance of a crowd, though over 5,500 turned up. 

Another league game,  a couple of months later, was against Torquay Utd, who having lost 4-0, complained about the closeness of the wooden fence to the pitch. This caused the League to ask Orient to do something about this and the ground was closed until alterations were complete. Following this, Orient played their next two home league games at Wembley, one on November 22nd 1930, a 3-0 beating of Brentford in the league (att:8319) and on December 6th, another league win 3-1 v Southend Utd (at:1916...the weather was foul).

In April 1937, Orient eventually moved to Brisbane Road, in 1938, a ground I played on, at least 30 years later, for Brighton HA U18s v Orient U18s in a mid-week floodlit South-East Counties League, used mainly for trialists. Not quite a high point in my illustrious career!! I had to get my own way there because the Brighton lads were on their own train into London on a different line. Our kit was carried by "volunteer" players and it was in a large "wicker" basket; not light. The kit was the famously halved shirts in blue and white, with collars and cuffs!baggy white shorts and stripey socks with the Brighton badge on the left breast....we lost! Crowd....small.