EGRI ERBSTEIN

The Egri Erbstein Tournament was played out last Sunday at the United Business Group Stadium, King George's Field, Kingston-u-Thames, Surrey, last Sunday. The home of Corinthian Casuals hosted a little bit of history; the first meeting between two World famous clubs for 128 years. Their first "coming together" was in the FA Amateur Cup First Round Proper in 1894, it's first season of competition. Avoiding the three Qualifying rounds arranged by the Football Association, The Casuals (the original name of the club) met the Sheffield Club at their home ground.  

This time, a last minute header by Connor Cutts gave the Sheffield club a win in the seCond playing of the tournament, named after Erno Egri Erbstein, the mastermind of the great Italian club of the 1940s, Torino. Torino won the Italian, Serie A titles for five consecutive years in that period. 

A book titled "Erbstein", writen by Dominic Bliss, brought into footballing history, yet another fascinating celebration of this great game. Erbstein's story was about a talented  Jewish-Hungarian "coffee house" manager who served in the Austo-Hungarian Army in  the First World War. Having made a name for himself as a football coach, despite antisemitic persecution from Mussolini's regime, Erbstein survived the Holocaust in Italy and went on to manage Il Grand Torino. He tragically died in the Superga Air Crash on May 4th 1949, when the club's aeroplane crashed into the Basilica of Suerpga on the outskirts of Turin.

Bliss' book inspired a Hungarian club, Budapesti Atletika (BAK), where Erbstein had made his debut and spent many years playing, to reach out to an English club of some history. He chose Corinthian-Casuals FC, which as many will know, lies at the heart of English football and indeed, has historically, spread the "word of football", globally through tours. 

The Corinthians, before they merged with The Casuals, had enjoyed a trip to Budapest, just before WW2 began in 1939. It was the club's first tour and they bequeathed a trophy called the Corinthian Cup to the amateur clubs of Hungary to compete for.  BAK and the well known Ferencvaros, modern day football giants in the country, took part in the first ever playing for the BAK Cup.

In 2019, BAK hosted a biennial tournament which the Corinthian-Casuals won. The Pandemic prevented the Corinthian-Casuals from hosting the tournament last year, in England, but things have improved! Combined Counties League (Div 1) club , Hilltop FC, a north-west London club with roots in the Somali community, joined in at the last minute, when the American visitors, Fall River, were unable to travel. The Hilltop FC come from Ruislip, groundshare with Hillingdon Borough FC and was founded in 2005.

To complete the four, Sheffield FC, officially the World's oldest club and BAK came to play in the tournament. 

On day one, the C-C  beat Hilltop 2-0 and BAK lost 0-7 to Sheffield. BAK then drew 1-1 with Hilltop, regaining some dignity! whilst Sheffield conquered in the "Final". The winners really were all the folk who turned up to witness the celebration of  Erbstein's story. Erbstein's grandson, Stefano de Bosio, presented the trophy and plans are already in place for a third edition  of the tournament and celebration; keeping "the legacy alive". Nice story!

FA COMMUNITY SHIELD

A match known as The Sheriff of London Charity Shield, was competed for annually for 10 seasons from 1898. The pre-season match became known as the FA Charity Shield, then the Community Shield. Today the two "best teams" in the Premier/Football League compete in this curtain raiser; Liverpool and Manchester City.

Originally, the competing TWO teams, were the best amateur side of the period - which was usually the Corinthian Football Club - and a top professional side- played in 1898 Sheffield United. 

On March 5th 1904, a fund raising match was contested between The Corinthians and the side that had won the FA Cup, the previous season, Bury FC. 

The match was played at the Queen's Club, London, which was Corinthians home ground and better known now as a tennis venue. Bury fielded ten of the side who had beaten Derby County 6-0 in the Cup Final (link here is that I am doing to watch Derby County play Oxford United in the Sky Bet League One this afternoon!). 6-0 is still a record winning margin which has not been bettered in an FA Cup Final. 

In less than 10 minutes of the game, Bury were leading 2-0 but then the amateurs started to play with 'wonderful dash' and the Corinthians were 4-2 up at the break and won the match 10-3. Amazing! The Corinthians, of course, have, historically, given their name to the present Non-League club, Corinthian Casuals. 

• 1898 Corinthian 0–0 Sheffield United (match replayed and drawn 1–1, shared)
• 1899 Aston Villa 0–0 Queen's Park (shared)
• 1900 Corinthian 2–1 Aston Villa
• 1901 Aston Villa 1–0 Corinthian
• 1902 Tottenham Hotspur 5–2 Corinthian
• 1903 Sunderland 3–0 Corinthian
• 1904 Corinthian 10–3 Bury
• 1905 The Wednesday 2–1 Corinthian
• 1906 Liverpool (below) 5–1 Corinthian
• 
• 1907 Newcastle United 5–2 Corinthian

The new format was to have the Football League First Division (as it was then) Champions play the Southern League Champions-an imp'ortant league then. The first match was played in 1908 between Manchester United (the First Division champions) and Queen Park Rangers (the Southern League champions), a match drawn 1–1, so the game was replayed when Manchester United won 4–0. This is the only Charity Shield game to go to a replay. Both games were played at Stamford Bridge. 

Things changed after 1907 and proceeds from the annual game were distributed to hospitals and charities. The fixture which began in 1908, was the predecessor to the FA Charity Shield, today the FA Community Shield. After 1908 the trophy was revived on seven occasions in the twentieth century to raise funds for grassroots football causes in matches played between London-based sides. 

Fundraising matches:

• 1931 Arsenal 5–3 Corinthian
• 1932 Arsenal 9–2 Corinthian
• 1934 Tottenham Hotspur 7–4 Corinthian
• 1964 Arsenal 7–0 Corinthian Casuals
• 1965 Arsenal 5–2 Corinthian Casuals
• 1966 Watford 7–0 Corinthian Casuals
• 1983 Watford 6–1 Corinthian Casuals

STATUE? OR BUST!

 “The earliest footballer statue identified, an anonymous player, can be found in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was sculpted in 1903. Real Madrid were the first club to erect statues at their stadium, portraying their Argentinian stars Sotero Aranguren and Alberto Machimbarrena in 1925.”

Statues devoted to British players may be found below: IN BOLD ARE STATUES  I HAVE BEEN TO

                                                                                            NAME                                   DATE                     ARTIST                  LOCATION

Matthews, Sir Stanley 21/10/1987   Melbourne, Town Road Shopping Precinct, Hanley,

Milburn, Jackie 15/11/1999              Robinson, Susanna    Newcastle United FC, St James Park.     

Milburn, Jackie  5/10/1995                 Mills.                         John Ashington Leisure Centre.

Busby, Sir Matt 27/4/1996               Jackson, Philip           Manchester United FC, Old Trafford.

Wright, Billy      12/9/1996              Butler, James             Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Molineux.

Milburn, Jackie  5/12/1996               Maley, Tom                 Sculptor's premises, Morpeth.

Shankly, Bill       4/12/1997            Murphy, Tom               Liverpool FC, Anfield.

Cooper, Davie   18/3/1999              Mackay, Kenny            Hamilton Palace Sports Grounds, Hamilton.

Bremner, Billy   7/8/1999              Segelman, Frances        Leeds United FC, Elland Road.

Edwards, Duncan 14/10/1999     Butler, James                  Market Place, Dudley, West Midlands.

Ramsey, Sir Alf 22/8/2000            Hedges-Quinn, Sean      Ipswich Town FC, Portman Road.

Mannion, Wilf  16/10/2000         Maley, Tom                     Middlesbrough FC, The Riverside Stadium.

Hardwick, George 25/11/2000   Maddison, Keith              Middlesbrough FC, The Riverside.

Greig, John         2/1/2001              Scott, Andy                    Glasgow Rangers FC, Ibrox Park.

Hagan, Jimmy    19/1/2001            Robertson, Kenneth       Sheffield United FC, Bramall Lane.

Dean, Dixie        4/5/2001              Murphy, Tom                 Everton FC, Goodison Park, Liverpool.

Walker, Jack      25/9/2001            Butler, James                 Blackburn Rovers FC, Ewood Park.

Matthews, Sir Stanley   27/10/2001 Payne, Carl                 Stoke City FC, Britannia Stadium.

Law, Denis          23/2/2002            Panting, Ben                 Manchester United FC, Old Trafford.

Robson, Sir Bobby 16/7/2002      Hedges-Quinn, Sean      Ipswich Town FC, Portman Road.

Baxter, Jim   20/4/2003            Scott, Andy                          Hill O' Beath, Cowdenbeath, Fife.

Hurst, Sir Geoff   28/4/2003            Jackson, Philip           Green Street, Newham, London.

Moore, Bobby   28/4/2003            Jackson, Philip              Green Street, Newham, London. 

Peters, Martin  28/4/2003            Jackson, Philip              Green Street, Newham, London.

Wilson, Ray        28/4/2003            Jackson, Philip             Green Street, Newham, London.

Cullis, Stan         14/6/2003            Butler, James               Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Molineux.

Bell, Colin           10/8/2003            Furre, Kari                   Manchester City FC, City Stadium.

Trautmann, Bert 10/8/2003         Furre, Kari                     Manchester City FC, City Stadium.

Finney, Sir Tom 31/7/2004            Hodgkinson, Peter        Preston North End FC, Deepdale. 

Bartram, Sam     9/6/2005              Hawken, Anthony         Charlton Athletic FC, The Valley.

McIlmoyle, Hugh 31/7/2005        Kelly, Chris                    Carlisle United FC, Brunton Park, Carlisle.

Mortensen, Stan 23/8/2005        Hodgkinson, Peter          Blackpool FC, Bloomfield Road.

Allchurch, Ivor   15/10/2005         Field, Michae                Swansea City FC, Liberty Stadium.

Walfrid, Brother 5/11/2005          Robinson, Kate              Glasgow Celtic FC, Celtic Park, Glasgow.

Stokoe, Bob       18/7/2006            Hedges-Quinn, Sean    Sunderland FC, Stadium of Light.

Moore, Bobby   11/5/2007            Jackson, Philip              Wembley Stadium, London

Clough, Brian     16/5/2007            Mallock, Vivien           Albert Park, Middlesbrough, Teeside.

Peacock, Bertie 29/7/2007            Wilson, Ross                   The Diamond, Coleraine,  Londonderry

Sanders, Jim       1/12/2007            Unknown                        Arnos Cemetery, Bristol.

Bates, Ted           22/3/2008            Hedges-Quinn, Sean     Southampton FC, St Mary's Stadium.

Hughes, Emlyn 18/4/2008            Kelly, Chris                    Abbey Road, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria

Best, George     29/5/2008            Jackson, Philip                Manchester United FC, Old Trafford,

Charlton, Sir Bobby 29/5/2008   Jackson, Philip                Manchester United FC, Old Trafford.

Law, Denis          29/5/2008            Jackson, Philip              Manchester United FC, Old Trafford.

Banks, Gordon  12/7/2008            Edwards, Andy               Stoke City FC, Britannia Stadium, Stoke.

Haynes, Johnny 18/10/2008         Jennings, Douglas           Fulham FC, Craven Cottage, London.

Clough, Brian     6/11/2008            Johnson, Les                 Old Market Square, Nottingham               .

Johnstone, Jimmy 13/12/2008    Robinson, Kate                 Glasgow Celtic FC, Celtic Park, Glasgow.

Bloomer, Steve 17/1/2009            Edwards, Andy                Derby County FC, Pride Park, Derby.

McGregor, William 28/11/2009 Holland, Samantha          Aston Villa FC, Villa Park, Birmingham.

Dooley, Derek   30/7/2010            Vanstone, Paul                Sheffield United FC, Bramall Lane.

Shaw, Joe            30/7/2010            Vanstone, Paul               Sheffield United FC, Bramall Lane.

Clough, Brian     28/8/2010            Edwards, Andy              Derby County FC, Pride Park, Derby.

Taylor, Peter      28/8/2010            Edwards, Andy               Derby County FC, Pride Park, Derby.

Osgood, Peter   2/10/2010            Jackson, Philip                Chelsea FC, Stamford Bridge, London.

Armfield, Jimmy 22/12/2010       Edwards, Andy       Oldham Sports Village, Ashton-under-Lyne.

Hurst, Sir Geoff 22/12/2010         Edwards, Andy       Oldham Sports Village, Ashton-under-Lyne.

Perrotta, Simone 22/12/2010      Edwards, Andy         Oldham Sports Village, Ashton-under-Lyne.

Stein, Jock 5/3/2011            Mckenna, John                 Glasgow Celtic FC, Celtic Park, Glasgow.

Armfield, Jimmy 1/5/2011   Johnson, Les                  Blackpool FC, Bloomfield Road.

Hill, Jimmy 28/7/2011        Dimbleby, Nicholas         Coventry City FC, Ricoh Arena, Coventry.

Johnstone, Jimmy 14/8/2011      Mckenna, John          Viewpark, Uddingston, North Lanarkshire

Adams, Tony 9/12/2011 MDM Ltd.                             Arsenal FC, Emirates Stadium, London.

Chapman, Herbert 9/12/2011 MDM Ltd.                   Arsenal FC, Emirates Stadium, London.

Henry, Thierry  9/12/2011  Roulleau-Gallais, Margot  Arsenal FC, Emirates Stadium.

Revie, Don 5/5/2012             Ibbeson, Graham.             Leeds United FC, Elland Road, Leeds.

Robson, Sir Bobby 6/5/2012  Maley, Tom.                  Newcastle United FC, St James Park.

Law, Denis 20/7/2012                     Herriot, Alan           Aberdeen Sports Village, Aberdeen       

Keenor, Fred     10/11/2012         Andrews, Roger         Cardiff City FC Stadium.

Sproson, Roy     17/11/2012         Talbot, Mike              Port Vale FC, Vale Park, Burslem, Staffordshire.

Ferguson, Sir Alex 23/11/2012   Jackson, Philip          Manchester United FC, Old Trafford.

Lofthouse, Nat  24/8/2013  Hedges-Quinn, Sean         Bolton Wanderers FC, Reebok Stadium,    

Bergkamp, Dennis 22/2/2014     Arsenal FC,               Emirates Stadium, London

Friar, Ken 28/2/2014     Arsenal FC,                              Emirates Stadium, London  

Wharton, Arthur 16/10/2014 Mallock, Vivien            St George's Park, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffs.     

King, Johnny      1/11/2014            Murphy, Tom          Tranmere Rovers FC, Prenton Park, Birkenhead,

Brown, Tony      6/11/2014            Wylder, Jonathan    West Bromwich Albion FC, The Hawthorns.

Wright, Peter     5/2/2015    Pratt, Man                          Layer Road, Colchester, Essex.

Mackay, Dave    2/9/2015    Edwards, Andy                Derby County FC, Pride Park, Derby.

McNeill, Billy      19/12/2015   McKenna, John          Glasgow Celtic FC, Celtic Park.

Sirrell, Jimmy    5/5/2016    Edwards, Andy               Notts County FC, Meadow Lane, Nottingham.

Wheeler, Jack    5/5/2016      Edwards, Andy               Notts County FC, Meadow Lane, Nottingham.

Shearer, Alan     12/9/2016      Maley, Tom                  Newcastle United FC, St James Park, Newcastle.

Cohen, George 1/10/2016     Jennings, Douglas         Fulham FC, Craven Cottage, London.

Atyeo, John        5/11/2016     Murphy, Tom               Bristol City FC, Ashton Gate, Bristol, Avon.

Whelan, Dave    24/11/2016    Hedges-Quinn, Sean   Wigan Athletic FC, DW Stadium, Wigan.

Tull, Walter         4/7/2017   Austin, Richard,              Northampton Guildhall, St Giles' Street. 

Turner, Chris      1/9/2017    Hedges-Quinn, Sean,      Peterborough United FC, London Road.

Cunningham, Laurie 30/11/2017  Ibbeson, Graham.  Coronation Gardens, Leyton, London.

Hayward, Sir Jack 14/6/2018       Butler, James,       Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Molineux.

Taylor, Graham 4/8/2018   Jennings, Douglas.         Watford FC, Vicarage Road, Hertfordshire.

Lennox, Bobby  18/11/2018   McKenna, John UK          Countess Street, Saltcoats, Ayrshire.

Ball, Alan             4/5/2019    Murphy, Tom    UK          Everton FC, Goodison Park, Liverpool.

Harvey, Colin    4/5/2019       Murphy, Tom    UK         Everton FC, Goodison Park, Liverpool.

Kendall, Howard 4/5/2019     Murphy, Tom    UK        Everton FC, Goodison Park, Liverpool.

Batson, Brendon 21/5/2019    Ibbeson, Graham UK      New Square, West Bromwich.

Cunningham, Laurie 21/5/2019  Ibbeson, Graham UK   New Square, West Bromwich.

Regis, Cyrille     21/5/2019       Ibbeson, Graham UK      New Square, West Bromwich.

Best, George     22/5/2019         Currie, Tony UK         Windsor Park, Belfast.

Parr, Lily         4/6/2019          Stewart, Hannah UK    National Football Museum, Manchester      

Ball, Allan   19/10/2019    O'Rourke, Simon                 Queen of the South, Palmerston Park, Dumfries.

Dobbie, Stephen 19/10/2019   O'Rourke, Simon           Queen of the South, Palmerston Park, Dumfries.

Houliston, Billy  19/10/2019   O'Rourke, Simon           Queen of the South, Palmerston Park, Dumfries

Paisley, Bob       30/1/2020   Edwards, Andy  UK         Liverpool FC, Anfield, Liverpool.

Hughes, Emlyn 30/1/2020   Edwards, Andy  UK          Liverpool FC, Anfield, Liverpool.

Paisley, Bob       15/3/2021  Unknown            UK          Bill Shankly Hotel, Victoria Street, Liverpool

Dalglish, Kenny 15/3/2021 Unknown            UK          Bill Shankly Hotel, Victoria Street, Liverpool

Ball, Alan           15/3/2021  Unknown            UK          Dixie Dean Hotel, Victoria Street, Liverpool

Kendall, Howard 15/3/2021 Unknown          UK          Dixie Dean Hotel, Victoria Street, Liverpool

Dean, Dixie        15/3/2021   Unknown           UK          Dixie Dean Hotel, Victoria Street, Liverpool

Shankly, Bill       15/3/2021  Unknown           UK          Bill Shankly Hotel, Victoria Street, Liverpool

Kompany, Vincent 28/8/2021  Scott               UK           Manchester City FC, City of Manchester Stad

Silva, David         28/8/2021   Scott, Andy         UK       Manchester City FC, Stadium.

Clough, David    17/9/2021    Unknown            UK       Rochdale FC, Spotland, Rochdale, Lancashire

McLean, Jim       18/9/2021   Herriot, Alan      UK        Dundee United FC, Tannadice Park, Dundee

Moore, Bobby   29/9/2021    Unknown            UK        Olympic Stadium, Stratford.

Hurst, Sir Geoff  29/9/2021  Unknown            UK       Olympic Stadium, Stratford.

Peters, Martin  29/9/2021     Unknown            UK       Olympic Stadium, Stratford, London       

Law, Denis   18/11/2021     Herriot, Alan          UK        Broad Street, Aberdeen              

Charlton, Jack    1/12/2021 Jennings, Douglas UK        Ashington, Northumberland     Planned

Beattie, Kevin 18/12/2021 Hedges-Quinn, Sean            Ipswich Town FC, Portman Road, IpswicH

Srivaddhanaprabha, Vichai* 1/12/2021 UK                 Leicester City FC, King Power Stadium, 

*owner of the club who tragically died in 2018 in a helipcopter crash

Best, George 1/7/2022 Unknown   UK                          George Best Hotel, Donegall Square planned

Bradford, Geoff  1/7/2022 TBC     UK                          Bristol Rovers FC, UWE Stadium.   Planned

McIlroy, Jimmy 1/7/2022 TBC     UK                         Burnley FC, Turf Moor, Burnley, Planned

Leslie, Jack  1/7/2022 Edwards, Andy UK                  Plymouth Argyle FC, Home Park,Planned             

McNeill, Billy  1/7/2022 McKenna, John UK                Main Street, Bellshill, North Lanarkshire

and one of the worst! at Madeira Airport

OLYMPIC FOOTBALL 1948

Since today is the day that our England Women's Football team play a crucial UEFA knock out tie against the very favoured Sweden, it is worth reflecting that on this day in 1948, Great Britain fielded a Mens' team at the London Olympics and indeed it was Highbury that hosted the match as recorded below. I'm afraid Women's football had not emerged as a serious option at this time.

Following the end of the Second World War, the first major world sporting event to be held in Britain was the 1948 Olympic Games in London. The official opening ceremony took place at Wembley on July 29th but three days earlier - Monday July 26th 1948 - saw the Olympic football tournament kick off with two Preliminary Round ties. In those matches Luxembourg beat Afghanistan 6-0 at the "old" Goldstone Ground in Brighton (attendance 5,000) and the Netherlands defeated Ireland 3-1 at Fratton Park, Portsmouth in front of a 8,000 crowd. Remarkable that Afghanistan made the journey. 

Great Britain then beat the Netherlands 4-3 aet in a First Round tie at the more traditional London venue of Highbury, then beat France 1-0 in Quarters, and lost to Yugoslavia 1-3 in the semi-final. GB went on to the Bronze medal match where they lost to Denmark 5-3, in front of a Wembley crowd of 50,000. So GB came fourth!

The top football crowd was 60,000, also at Wembley, who witnessed Sweden defeat Yugoslavia 3-1 to win the gold medal. 

One member of the GB team in 1948 was Scottish goalkeeper Ronnie Simpson who, 19 years later, was one of Celtic's Lisbon Lions who beat Inter-Milan to become the first British team to win the European Cup.

Bernard Joy, the sports' journalist, wrote at the time: William Ling rose quickly through the ranks as a referee. He was initially on the supplementary list as a Football League match official but even so, was selected to participate in the 1948 Olympics' football tournament. Ling refereed both the first round match involving Sweden v Austria (3-1), the quarter-final involving Italy (Denmark won 5-3) and was then selected for the Final between Sweden and Yugoslavia. The final itself turned on two penalty decisions early in the second half (both which were denied to the Yugoslavians) and which affected their temperament. The biggest crowd was 60,000 at Wembley which saw Sweden defeat Yugoslavia 3-1 to win Gold.  

Joy wrote: "The setbacks rattled the Yugoslavs, their behaviour got out of hand for a spell and they did not recover their rhythm. What made matters worse was when Gunnar Gren converted a penalty midway through the second half. It is true that Gunnar Nordahl was bowled over, but the offence looked no worse than those committed by the Swedish centre half Bertil Nordahl". 

Here is the ball used in the Olympic Final match at Wembley in  1948.

ENGLAND'S FIRST YOUTH TOURNAMENT

25th July 1993 The (future) Class of '93 did England proud at the UEFA Under 18 tournament finals, hosted in England. Two groups participated, with hosts England topping their group with victories over France, Netherlands and Spain to qualify for the final against Turkey. Turkey played in a group with Hungary, Romania and Portugal. The Final, the match, played in front of a 23,381 crowd at the City Ground home of Nottingham Forest saw England take the honours 1-0 - a Darren Caskey penalty - to win the competition for the ninth time. 

The 1948 FIFA Youth Tournament, was the first edition of what would later be called the UEFA Tournament, an annual international men's football tournament organised by FIFA. This venture was held in England from 15 to 17 April 1948 with five different venues holding the matches, at Loftus Rd, Selhurst Pk, Vicarage Rd, The Boleyn Ground with White Hart Lane hosting the final stages i.e the Final (first place), the third place and fifth place ties. (three games in ONE DAY!!) Eight teams competed in a straight knockout competition with England defeating Wales 4-0 in th4 Quarter-Final, Belgium 3-1, in Semi and the Netherlands 3–2 in the Final. Belgium came third.

In 1993, many considered that Julian Joachim was the player of the tournament and would develop into a major star. He didn't ever play for the full England side, although four members of the England winning side did - Sol Campbell, Robbie Fowler, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes as did Nicky Butt who was a squad member, who didn't play in the 1993 final. A player named David Beckham - remember him? - didn't even make the England squad! 

The winning England team - Chris Day (Tottenham); Gary Neville (Manchester United), Kevin Sharp (Leeds), Darren Caskey (Tottenham), Chris Casper (Manchester United), Sol Campbell (Tottenham), Mark Tinkler (Leeds), Julian Joachim (Leicester), Paul Scholes (Manchester United), Robbie Fowler (Liverpool), Kevin Gallen (QPR). Substitute: Noel Whelan (Leeds) for Gallen, 71st minute. We all thought that these players would be helping England winning the World Cup soon......

ENGLAND'S Group B

Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
England	3	3	0	0	11	2	+9	6
Spain	3	2	0	1	8	8	0	4
Netherlands	3	0	1	2	4	8	–4	1
France	3	0	1	2	2	7	–5	1

England beat France 2-0, Netherlands 4-1 and Spain 5-1

THE NEWRY FILM FESTIVAL, FOOTBALL AND PETER McPARLAND

Sadly, I only heard about this today, but it's not too late, to attend, should you be in the area or have a private jet. AND of course there is always next year. The Newry Film Festival runs (ran) from July 22-24th at the home of Newry City FC, from County Down.

The first ever football dedicated film festival on the island of Ireland is coming to Newry later this month.

The inaugural Kick Off Football Film Festival will take place at Newry Showgrounds, the home of Danske Bank Premiership club Newry City AFC.  Newry City Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional  club that played in, and won, the NIFL Championship in 2021-22, and will play in the Premier in 2022-23. 

The club was created in 2013 after the city's former semi-professional club, Newry City FC, was dissolved in September 2012, when a winding-up petition brought against the club by former player and manager Gerry Flynn was granted, and the club decided not to appeal the decision. This led to the majority of Newry City's players leaving the club. The new club, wearing the same colours and having the same home as its predecessor, is regarded as a phoenix club, but has and claims, no legal connection to the former club business.

The women's team.....

played its first season in 2011. They won the Division 4 in 2011 and the Division 3 in 2012. They won the Division 1 title in 2013. The women's team was promoted to the Premier League in 2014, after winning the Championship. In their 2015 Premier League season, they only had 2 defeats and were second place going into the final matchday. After Linfield only drew with Glentoran United and Newry City won the team took first place and won the Premier League title.

Over the course of the weekend of July 22-24, the festival will play host to wide range of films, exhibitions and special guests with all screenings overlooking the Showgrounds pitch – a truly unique setting.  

Tonight 22 July will see the screening of Evan Marshall’s Spirit Of ’58, which tells the story of the famous Northern Ireland side who competed in the 1958 World Cup.  

Not only will Evan Marshall himself be in attendance on the night, but Northern Ireland and Aston Villa goalscoring legend Peter McParland – who hit the net five times in that tournament – will be returning to his hometown for the film as well.

There will also be a Northern Ireland memorabilia exhibition prior to tonights screening.  

To see the full list of screenings and events, and to book your seat, go to WWW.KICKOFFFILMFESTIVAL.COM 

Tickets can also be booked via Eventbrite at: WWW.EVENTBRITE.CO.UK or via Ticket Button above.

Who's he?? A legend! Clubs played for: Dundalk, Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Plymouth Argyle, Worcester City, Toronto Inter-Roma, Peterborough United, Worcester City, Atlanta Chiefs, Glentoran (1951-1971)

McParland holds a unique place in English football history as the first player in the game to score in and win both English major domestic knockout Finals. 

During his time with Villa, McParland won the FA Cup in 1957, scoring twice in the final against Manchester United, but also becoming involved in a controversial incident in which he shoulder-charged (at the time a legitimate form of challenge) the Manchester United keeper after only 6 minutes which left United's goalkeeper, Ray Wood, unconscious with a broken cheekbone. McParland's two-goal haul is remembered fondly as an example of his all-round abilities as a player showcasing his diving header and volleying techniques. He played 293 matches and scored 98 goals.

McParland also won the Second Division title in 1960 and the League Cup in 1961 with Villa and was on the scoresheet for the second leg of the 1961 League Cup final, when Villa overturned a 2–0 deficit against Rotherham Utd to win the second leg 3–0 at Villa Park, to win.

McParland represented Northern Ireland 34 times and scored twice in his debut against Wales in 1953–54 season.

He also starred in the 1958 World Cup Finals in which he scored five goals and helped his team to the quarter-finals. France eventually defeated Northern Ireland 4–0 in the quarter-final. He holds the record for being the highest-scoring Northern Irish player in World Cup finals history.

Full List of Events

Friday 22 July

7pm: Northern Ireland Memorabilia Exhibition and Spirit of ’58 film screening with Northern Ireland’s top scorer at the 1958 World Cup Peter McParland in attendance 

NOTE: Screening begins at 8pm sharp 

Saturday 23 July

12pm: Screening: Why are there no openly gay footballers? – followed by Q&A with filmmaker John Reavey 

5pm: Respect Project Mental Health short video screening followed by The Play Off Newry City AFC screening 

8pm: Screening: I Believe In Miracles (European Cup in attendance) 

Sunday 24 July

1pm: Football Monologues 

8pm: The Three Kings (European Cup in attendance)

IT'S NOT ABOUT MEE!!! IT'S ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT!!

Brentford completes the signing of Burnley defender on a vfree transfer and he is attempting to make his move to Brentford sustainable by offsetting his carbon emissions for a year. The 32 year old has signed a two year contract following an 11 year stay at the Lancashire club, relegated from the Premier League last season.

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The former Burnley centre-back signed a two-year deal after joining the Bees on a free transfer, but it is not only on the pitch where he is trying to make a difference. The 32 year old has signed a two year contract, following 11 years and 376 apps at the Lancashire club, Burnley, relegated to the Championship last season. Mee missed the last 13 games of the season fillowing a broken leg in March. He did "run the dressing room",  after Sean Dyche was "sacked" in April.

Mee usually drives an electric car, but made the journey from his home in Hale, Greater Manchester to West London, in a petrol car as he did not know where the nearest charging points were in the area he is staying near his new club. To ensure the emissions created during the 36-hour period of his transfer were covered, the 32-year-old has paid a fee to Carbon Neutral Britain, a UN-certified scheme, to cover his output!!

Mee, who wants to keep learning more about sustainability, said: "I'm conscious that transfers rack up lot of air miles and a lot of driving miles as well, so I'm looking to offset my emissions for this transfer. I'm not perfect, but I want to do my bit to make this transfer carbon neutral." Although it cannot be determined exactly the amount of emissions created through the deal, Mee has ensured he has covered an average person's emissions for a one-year period.

Mee's donation will see the money used to plant 20 trees a month and offset 15 tonnes of CO² per year, with the average output for a Briton being 12-14 tonnes a year. The Bees were due to visit Brenda Roger's side on August 6 at 3pm, but the game been postponed for 23 hours due to the Caribbean Carnibal taking place in Leicester City centre on that Saturday. I wonder how many emissions will be released in Leicester that day. May the Bees survive.

This afternoon, I visited Penistone Church FC who were hosting a friendly against Bacup from over the Pennines, 7 miles south of Burnley. Penistone, The Martlets, won and Bacup Borough FC, had a nice journey home. Their next three games are against Euxton FC (never heard of them), Garstang FC and Ilkley Town in the North West Counties FL Div 1 North.

The Bacup club was founded by brothers and former Vale of Leven (the Scottish club) players, John and Robert Rankine in 1879 as Irwell Springs Football Club, a works' team for the Irwell Springs Dyeing Works. In 1883-4 they reached the third round of the FA Cup, losing 8–1 at Bolton Wanderers. The club joined the Lancashire League during the 1893–94 season, taking over the fixtures of Barrow, who had resigned on 20 November 1893.

Bacup is home to the 17 ft (5.2 m) long Elgin Street which held the record as the shortest street in the world until November 2006, when it was surpassed by Ebenezer Place in the Scottish Highlands.

Bacup is a town in the Rossendale Borough, in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines, close to Lancashire's boundaries with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.

ENGLAND? DON'T YOU LOVE THEM? A DOZEN SHOCKERS!

On 22nd July 2006, Arsenal played their first match at the Emirates, the Gunners defeating Ajax 2-1 in the testimonial match for Dennis Bergkamp. Enough of that.....after watching England's Women perform so well last night (21/7/2022), here's a few disasters incurred by our MEN!

By the 14^th June 2022. England had scored one goal in their previous 4 Nations' League internationals; a penalty from Harry Kane against Germany on July7th, salvaging a 1-1 draw and thus avoiding four defeats in June. England had lost to Hungary 1-0 away on June 4th and drawn 0-0 at home to Italy on the 11th and lost 0-4 to Hungary at home on the 14th June. P4 W0 D1 L3 F1 A6 Pts 1

Gareth Southgate’s earlier success, culminated in the “creditable” loss in the last World Cup semi-final and a penalty shoot-out loss in recent Euros. These glimmers of hope, have been forgotten by England’s supporters, spoiled by The Lions latest failure. Here are a few more disappointments:

This is the first time that this has happened to England, since 2014 when England had drawn with Ecuador in the USA 2-2 on June 4th, drawn with Honduras 0-0 also in the USA on the 7th, lost to Italy 1-2 in the World Cup in Manaus on the 14th, lost to Uruguay 1-2 in Sao Paulo on the 19th and on the 24th June drawn 0-0 with the mighty, Costa Rica, finishing the World Cup challenge! 

Following on from that England played 6 and won 6 the following season mainly in UEFA Qualifying ties. Cheerily, in that run of success,  England thumped Scotland 3-1 at Hampden on November 19th 2014 in a freindly. BUT................................

12. 14^th June 2022, England 0-4 lost to Hungary, at Molineux, in a Nations’ League game, viewed as an experiment by manager Gareth Southgate. Below are some of the worst defeats recorded by England, expressed by a “news’ item”.

Here’s another one from March  31st 1928 when England were over run 1-5 by the “Wee wizards” from Scotland on “home soil”.

British Home Championship:  England v Scotland @ Wembley Stadium, London,  Referee Willie Bell (Scotland). Attendance: 80,868.

11. England slumped to a new as their European Championship campaign came to an end at the last-16 stage following a shock 2-1 defeat by Iceland on 27th June 2016. Roy Hodgson and his players were beaten by a nation with a population of 323,000 in Nice, but it wasn't the first time the Three Lions have been humiliated on the international stage.

10.  England 0-1 Scotland, Euro 2000 qualifying play-off second leg, November 1999, England held a 2-0 lead after a brace from Paul Scholes in the first leg at Hampden Park, four days earlier, but they didn't make life easy for themselves with this underwhelming performance against their old enemies at Wembley.

Don Hutchison grabbed the only goal in the 39th minute as Kevin Keegan's men were left to hold on and just confirm their spot at Euro 2000 in less-than-convincing style. Scotland's Don Hutchinson (third from right) headed home the only goal at Wembley in November 1999.

9. Sweden 2-1 England, Euro 1992 group stage, June 1992. England needed a win in Stockholm- or at least a high-scoring draw - to make it through to the knockout stages, but they found themselves on the end of a defeat as the hosts made the semi-finals. David Platt struck early for the Three Lions before Jan Eriksson and Tomas Brolin turned the game on its head and Graham Taylor made the surprising decision to take off captain, Gary Lineker. Sweden striker Tomas Brolin wheeled away in celebration after netting his side's second goal against England.

8. Northern Ireland 1-0 England, September 2005. The only defeat England suffered in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup came against lowly Northern Ireland, a country they had not lost to since way back in 1972. David Healy was the hero at Windsor Park, scoring the only goal in the 73rd minute as Sven Goran Eriksson's men went down with a whimper. 

7. England 0-1 Republic of Ireland, Euro 1988 group stage, in Stuttgart, June 1988 Ray Houghton's early strike gave the Republic of Ireland victory in their first-ever tournament match, as England's campaign got off to the worst possible start.  To make matters worse, Bobby Robson's team then lost their next two group games before heading home, humiliated.

6. England 1-3 Soviet Union, Euro 1988 group stage, 18^th June. England had already been eliminated from Euro 1988 when they met the Soviet Union in their final group game, but they could not even salvage some pride before flying home. Tony Adams equalised after Sergei Aleinikov's third-minute opener before goals from Oleksiy Mykhailychenko and Viktor Pasulko condemned Robson's men to a third straight defeat.

5. Norway 2 England 1, 1982 World Cup qualifier, September 1981 Defeat in Oslo was not a disaster as England still qualified for the World Cup in Spain. But the 2-1 loss to Norway - who finished bottom of the qualifying group - is better remembered for Bjorge Lillelien's superb commentary at the full-time whistle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDrwyuWYkIU

'Lord Nelson! Lord Beaverbrook! Sir Winston Churchill! Sir Anthony Eden! Clement Attlee! Henry Cooper! Lady Diana! Maggie Thatcher - can you hear me, Maggie Thatcher! Your boys took one hell of a beating! Your boys took one hell of a beating,' he bellowed.

Bryan Robson had given Ron Greenwood's side the lead before Tom Lund and Hallvar Thoresen turned the game in favour of the hosts.

4. Germany 4-1 England, World Cup 2010, last 16, June. Despite Frank Lampard having a perfectly good goal disallowed when the officials failed to spot the ball had crossed the line (remember that volley?), England were comprehensively beaten by Germany in Bloemfontein. Goals from Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski and a double from Thomas Muller sent the superior Germans through to the quarter-finals, as Fabio Capello's men faced up to another early exit.

3. England 2 Croatia 3, Euro 2008 qualifier, November 2007. A damp night in north London brought the curtain down on Steve McClaren's ill-fated reign as England coach as Croatia's victory saw the Three Lions miss out on Euro 2008.  Defeats in Croatia and Russia, as well as a damaging goalless draw at home to Macedonia, meant McClaren's men were at risk of not qualifying for the event in Austria and Switzerland.

And so it came to pass as Scott Carson fumbled Niko Kranjcar's effort and Ivica Olic made it 2-0 inside 15 minutes. McClaren, watching on from underneath an umbrella on the touchline, saw his side rally as Frank Lampard and Peter Crouch scored - only for Mladen Petric to claim a winner for Slaven Bilic's Croatia. Remember, The Wally with the brolly?

2. United States 1 England 0, 1950 World Cup group stage, June 1950 Entering their first-ever World Cup as favourites, England's squad in Brazil boasted names such as Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney and Billy Wright.  But Walter Winterbottom's side were shocked in Belo Horizonte as, despite dominating possession and hitting a post, they were beaten by Joe Gaetjens' effort, with the USA's team of amateurs, postmen and funeral directors pulling off the biggest upset in the history of the sport at the time.

 1. England 1-2 Iceland, Euro 2016 last-16, June 2016 The worst in the list of embarrassing defeats. Iceland's deserved victory in Nice capped off a miserable tournament for Hodgson and his underachieving squad, who just never got going. Wayne Rooney's early penalty seemed to have England on course for a quarter-final against hosts France, but they had no answer after goals from Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson. Go on my "sson"!!!