SOME SPOOKY MOMENTS

A player who perhaps shouldn't have got away with the statement, 'I'm off to the match this afternoon, darling' was Southport's Billy Holmes. Bill was married in the morning of Saturday 30th October 1954, he honeymooned in the afternoon by playing for Southport against Carlisle United in a Division 3 North fixture - AND he scored a hat-trick in Southport's 4-1 victory and hopefully carried that luck into the marital home, following a shower and a couple of bevvies with the lads!

Same date in October 2002 When the Football Association replaced Graham Kelly with Adam Crozier, then 35 years old, as chief executive in January 2000, they hoped that the skills that had seen him become CEO of the advertising giant Saatchi and Saatchi, would help bring the FA into the 21st Century. He had no previous skills in football, on or off the pitch!

To be fair despite having no experience in football - and being Scottish! - he oversaw some major changes and achievements in the organisation running a considerable slice of English football. 

During his tenure, The FA moved their HQ from Lancaster Gate to Soho Square,  England controversially employed their first foreign manager (Sven-Goran Eriksson), the management structure was dramatically streamlined (from 55 staff to 32), with the FA becoming more commercially aware, the Wembley Stadium rebuild project went from a dream to reality....and England won 5-1 in Germany! He had his critics, but he achieved a lot in 2 years, including reducing the average age of the FA from 55 to 32! and reduced the numbers of the "Ruling Body" from 91 to 12! (The end of "jobs for the boys").As a result he occasionally was criticsed for acting without consultation! He was replaced by Mark Palios.

While at the FA, Crozier reportedly identified some members of the England national team as the "Golden Generation". Remember than lot? Didn't last long!

October 2002, in newspaper articles, Ken Bates said that Crozier was 'hopelessly out of control' and had 'exceeded his authority' and several days later - on October 31st 2002 - Adam Crozier resigned his £613,000 FA job. He later became CEO at Royal Mail and ITV and was replaced at the FA by Mark Palios.

In 2007, on the same date......have a look at the payslip, below, for Liverpool's John Arne Riise. This monthly pay slip became visible for anyone with an internet connection. A copy of one his monthly payslips mysteriously appeared on the net and proved interesting reading. 

A monthly basic of £120,000, plus £4,000 appearance money, £250 points bonus and £15,384.62 for the Champions League making a total of £139,634.62. 

Deductions totalled £57,220.95 - tax £55,508.28, NIC £1,611.67 and meals and tickets £101 leaving take-home of £82,413.67....for the month.

30th October 2012 ten years later, Arsenal were 4-0 down after just 37 minutes of a Capital One (League Cup) tie at Reading but the Arsenal fans weren't despondent and sang 'We're going to win 5-4'. But they were wrong - Arsenal won 7-5.

THE BEAUTIFUL POETRY OF FOOTBALL COMMENTARY

Mentioned on the radio today, I introduce you to the solution to that tricky "Christmas Present" issue, for your best friend.....or yourself....

Roma have risen from their ruins!    Manolas, the Greek God in Rome!

The unthinkable unfolds before our eyes.    This was not meant to happen, this could not happen . . . this is happening!
Peter Drury

If football is the beautiful game, then commentators are its poets.

Whether it's the brevity of Barry Davies, the boundless enthusiasm of Clive Tyldesley or the sheer eloquence of Peter Drury's monologues, the canon of football commentary is replete with memorable lines that would have some of the great classical orators nodding in appreciation. Curated by football journalist Charlie Eccleshare, The Beautiful Poetry of Football Commentary is a glorious anthology of iconic lines, set out as poems, celebrating the best commentators that have ever graced a microphone. Each poem is accompanied by 'scholarly' analysis capturing the enduring power of language on the beautiful game.

So, drink it in, and immerse yourself in classic verse from Ali Brownlee, Andy Gray, Brian Moore, David Coleman, John Motson, Jon Champion, Jonathan Pearce, Kenneth Wolstenholme, Martin Tyler, and many more.

"It is a privilege to be part of this excellent work" - Martin Tyler
"There have been some brilliant lines of commentary down the years and Charlie's academic deconstruction of them is terrific." - Peter Drury

OLD WULFRUNIANS PENALTY SHOOT OUT AND OUT AND OUT......

Have a look at the website....http://www.afcwulfrunians.co.uk/

Did you know that?? The name 'Wolverhampton' derives from 'Wulfruna's town on the hill' (heaneton meaning "town on the hill")

After winning back-to-back Birmingham AFA Premier Division titles in 2013–14 and 2014–15, the club entered another team into Division Two of the West Midlands (Regional) League under the name Old Wulfrunians. They were Division Two runners-up in their first season, earning promotion to Division One.

The Old Wulfrunians Football Club was established in 1922. They joined the Birmingham AFC league system. They were Premier Division champions in 1932–33 and again in 1953–54, 1979–80 and 1991–92. After winning the Premier Division title and Senior Cup double for three successive seasons between 2002–03 and 2004–05, the club formed a new team under the name A.F.C. Wulfrunians in order to enter senior football, joining Division Two of the West Midlands Regional League, although the club continued playing in the Birmingham AFA under the Old Wulfrunians name. 

Old Wulfrunians v Lane Head: Jack Marsh's winning spot-kick after record 44-penalty shoot-out. Two lower-level Midlands football teams set a new English shootout record of 44 spot-kicks - and all in a longer time than it takes to drive to the local chip shop and back.  But Old Wulfrunians, from Wolverhampton, and Bloxwich-based Lane Head, shattered that mark. After their JW Hunt Cup first-round tie had finished 3-3, thanks to a late equaliser for the hosts from Leo Gill, Old Wulfs won a near half-hour long shootout 19-18. 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/16516835/uk-record-for-longest-penalty-shootout/

'I went to get the chips' Jack Marsh, the home side's left-back and son of Old Wulfs chairman-secretary Simon Marsh, hit the winning penalty. But proud dad Simon nearly missed it as, midway through the tense finale, he had to drive half a mile down the road to the local chip shop to pick up the players' post-match takeaway order. "It was amazing," he said. "It started at about 9.35pm and it was well after 10pm when it finished. "After the 22nd penalty, I went to get the team's fish and chips. But, when I got back, the shootout was still going. I was back in time to see the penultimate one saved and then I saw Jack score his. "It was 4-4 after the first five penalties. Then, when it went to sudden death, we had two chances to win it but missed them.  "After 11 pens each it was 8-8 and both sides then scored their next 10. But they missed the 43rd."

Ref, Jamie Howe, 42, said: “When one of the keepers walked up for his penalty one of his team-mates shouted, ‘Just miss, we want to go home’.” He scored but others missed. The 44 kicks beat the UK record of 34, but was shy of the world’s longest, 48, in Namibia. Lane Head secretary Martin Davies said: “It was great to be involved in such a memorable match that has gone into the record books. But we are gutted.” Around 60 fans witnessed this drama.

Old Wulfs' 19-18 penalty shootout win earned them a second-round JW Hunt Cup meeting with Shifnal. 

The previous record was 34, jointly held by Chelsea Under-23s and Oxford United in the EFL Trophy, and Taunton Town v Truro City in the Southern League Challenge Cup.

The JW Hunt Cup has been running since 1926. It is named in memory of John William Hunt, a local businessman, keen supporter of charities and founder of the Chillington Tool Company.

It donates all proceeds to the Sedgley-based Beacon Centre for the blind and partially-sighted and the final is usually played at nearby Molineux, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers. There was a Wolves connection to this game too as it was played at Castlecroft, now the CKW Stadium and home of Old Wulfs' neighbours AFC Wulfrunians. It used to be Wolves' training ground, whose Women still play at the ground.

It is the first season the JW Hunt Cup has joined other cup competitions in scrapping extra time to go straight to penalties - which led to a busy night for the two goalkeepers, Danny Tipton of Old Wulfs and Lane Head's Tom Kirkpatrick.  "They were the real heroes," said Simon Marsh. The outcome fell only four penalties short of the world record of 48, when KK Palace beat Civic 17-16 in the Namibian Cup. But it earned West Midlands League Division One side Old Wulfs a second-round tie against Midland League Premier Division side Shifnal Town.

THE WOMEN'S FINALISSIMA 2023

The 2023 Women's Finalissima will be the first edition of the UEFA and CONMEBOL Women's "Final", an intercontinental match between the winners of the previous season's European and South American championships. It will be played on April 6th 2023.

According to UEFA, the ribbons are "symbolic of the strong bonds between CONMEBOL and UEFA, and of their commitment to the development of football beyond their geographical zones". 

Who plays in the 2023 Women's Finalissima? 

England (FIFA Rank 4th) will take part as winners of UEFA Women's EURO 2022, which they hosted, having beaten Germany (FIFA Rank 3rd), 2-1 after extra time in the Wembley Final on 31 July 2022. The Lionesses triumphed in front of 87,192 spectators, a European record for a women's national-team fixture as well as for any EURO finals match for men or women.

Brazil (FIFA Rank 9th) earned their place with victory at the 2022 Copa América Femenina, defeating hosts Colombia (FIFA Rank 27th) 1-0 in Bucaramanga, a day before England's Wembley success. Whereas the Lionesses celebrated clinching their first major trophy, Brazil's victory increased their record number of Copa América titles to eight (from nine total editions). 

 The match will be played at Wembley on 6 April 2023. 19.45 ko

2023 Women's Finalissima

Event	UEFA–CONMEBOL Women's Finalissima
England Brazil
Date	6 April 2023
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London

Here are England's goals in Euro 2022.

https://www.uefa.com/womensfinalissima/video/027a-167063e914fe-76d9f11cb4a4-1000--all-of-england-s-women-s-euro-2022-goals/

The Women's Finalissima is more than just one competition.

The meeting of Women's EURO winners England and Copa América Femenina champions Brazil is part of the expansion of the cooperation between UEFA and CONMEBOL, which notably includes women's football, futsal and youth categories, the exchange of referees, and technical training schemes. There has already been a men's Finalissima (won by Argentina at Wembley), a Futsal Finalissima (won by Portugal in Buenos Aires), and an Under-20 Intercontinental Cup (won by Benfica in Montevideo).

1960/61 and the PRESENT DAY

Football On This Day – 25th October 1961, ok a day late, but worth waiting for.

How many can you name?

Goalkeeper Ron Springett from Sheffield Wednesday, at 5' 10", might be one of the smallest in the team. Manager Walter Winterbottom, was the first full time manager, a PE graduate, appointed by the FA, 8th July 1946. A player, briefly at Manchester United in 1936, he suffered a spinal injury and became head of physical training for the Air Ministry. (Here's two!! Connelly is front row on left and Pointer central sitting)

In  the centre, sitting was Ray Pointer who at only 5'9", was a popular centre-forward. He played over 400 times, famously at Burnley*, Bury, Coventry City, Portsmouth and Waterlooville. I saw him play. along with over 59,000, in 1960 at White Hart Lane, "The First Division champions v The next champions!!" Pointer scored! Note the results during that season. Bobby Smith, a rob ust centre-forward, who also played for England, scored 28. I saw Smith play, in 1966-7 season, in an early FA Cup round at Horsham FC playing for Hastings United. He was not in good shape. 

* John Kettley the Weatherman is on Talksport as I type...a Burnley supporter/ who played cricket for local town, Burnley and Todmorden. An "A Level" Geographer, he was fascinated by the subject, especially Meteorology! He helps sporting venues get accurate forecasts for events. (topical, with the recent England cricket being affected by the weather today)

He turned professional when he was seventeen in May 1950. He was transferred from Chelsea to Tottenham Hotspur FC on 21 December 1955 for £17,000.  He was transferred to Brighton & Hove Albion FC for £5,000 in May 1964 following a series of articles published by Smith regarding his club.  He was suspended by Brighton in 1965 for being 15st., declaring him unfit.  He found himself playing with non-league side Hastings United FC in October 1965 before being suspended in March 1967. 15 England caps.

03 Dec 1960	Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley	D	4-4	League Division One
18 Mar 1961	Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley	W	3-0	FA Cup
22 Apr 1961	Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur	L	4-2	League Division One

England beat Portugal 2-0 at Wembley, on the 25th day of October, in 1961, to qualify for the 1962 World Cup Finals, held in Chile. Burnley players John Connelly and Ray Pointer were the scorers. There were only three nations in the group, including Portugal and Luxembourg. England won 3 and drew once away in Lisbon, Portugal.

100,000 saw this at Wembley. Burnley, at the time were in their "pomp", having won the First Division title in 1960 and runners up and third in 1961-2 and 1962-3. This was a bit of a surprise to "Double winners", Tottenham, who you will see on the list, below, present during these four years. 

England didn’t play another World Cup qualifier for 11 years – they were hosts in 1966 and as holders in 1970 (wouldn’t it be great if either of those were true again!), so not needed. 

Meanwhile, Burnley, hardly a big hitting club, took the First Division title, although Tottenham were very much in charge of English football over those seasons.

1959–60	Burnley	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Tottenham Hotspur
1960–61	Tottenham Hotspur	Sheffield Wednesday	Wolverhampton Wanderers
1961–62	Ipswich Town	Burnley	Tottenham Hotspur
1962–63	Everton	Tottenham Hotspur	Burnley

In 1961, Johnny Haynes the England captain, became the first footballer to earn £100 a week playing at Fulham. Team colleague, Jimmy Hill was also a Fulham player and Chairman of the Professional Football Association, representing all professional players. The first time this was provided.

SPOKED -APOLOGIES FOR ERRORS-HALLOWEEN!!!

An extra today...for 24th October 1925 England debuts.

Five players, George Armitage, captain Claude Ashton, Billy Austin, Frank Hudspeth and Sydney Puddefoot made their England debuts in the dull 0-0 draw against Northern Ireland in Belfast. Puddefoot was the only one of the five to play for England a second time!

It is a far cry from February 1922 when local born Sydney Puddefoot moved from West Ham to Falkirk for a world record fee of £5,000. The forward's sale almost caused a riot in East London but the club claimed it was the player's "doing". The club stated that Puddefoot will benefit from branching out in "commercial circles in Falkirk" which will be "assured of a nice little competency" when his football days are over.

Having played for the Hammers 158 times between 1912-22, scoring 102 goals, Puddefoot did not want to go despite having his brother, Len, move with him and getting a one off payment of £390, when weekly wages were £8. West Ham were pushing for promotion to Division One however Falkirk matched manager Syd King's valuation, to his surprise and Puddefoot had to go.

The money was raised by the Falkirk supporters (actually £6,000) who wanted the Bairns to reach the state of success gained in 1913 when they won the Scottish Cup.  Falkirk had done well in the league after the war and came 4th in 1923-4, but then slipped away as Puddefoot left. He scored 45 goals in three seasons but did not enjoy Scotland, claiming that the Scots would not pass to him.
He moved to Blackburn Rovers in 1925 for £4,000, helping them win the FA Cup in 1928 with an assist. Remarkably this Final was the first where BOTH SIDES SCORED since 1910. Rovers beat Huddersfield Town 3-1.

In 1910 Newcastle United beat Barnsley 2-0 in a replay after a 1-1 draw. For 15 seasons after this, there was only one side scoring in the Final. There was of course a gap of Final ties due to the War (1916-1919)**

Rovers, narrowly missing relegation, beat Huddersfield who were in their pomp with Alex Jackson, one of Scotland's "Wembley Wizards", in the forward line and the club already league champions (1924, 1925 and 1926) and Runners Up in 1927 and 1928.
Sydney appeared twice for England against Northern Ireland and Scotland in the 1925-6 season.
His playing record was by 1933, scored 146 goals in 375 games.

He then went back to West Ham for a year moving into management, remarkably in Turkey with Fenerbahce until 1933, Galatasaray until 1936 and Northampton Town until the outbreak of war.
He then scouted for Southend and no doubt got involved with county cricket having played for Essex briefly in 1922-3. He died in 1972 aged 72.

in picture, Puddefoot scores one of five West Ham goals in an 8-1 win over Chesterfield in 1914.

**(More recently, in 1993-4 Manchester United beat Chelsea 4-0 in the FA Cup Final. There was then a run of Finals when one side failed to score; i.e. 21 Finals had one team scoring 0. Up to 1994-2000 inclusive, there was a run of no score for the loser,

In 2000-1 Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-1 but PRIOR to that only one Cup Final side scored through to 2005-6 when Liverpool and West Ham drew 3-3 and after extra time the game went to Liverpool winning on penalties.

Here's a Blog from 2019, published on this day!

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3994718670252035536/4065117179528787175 

and on October 23rd 2011, less than two months after Un ited had demolished Arsenal 8-2 at Old Trafford, at the Theatre of Dreams, United met Manchester City, at the same venue, in the Premier League and got demolished 1-6, confirmed by the score board!

In the Manchester derby, United have won 77 and lost 58 and drawn the rest of course.

In the first meeting

03 Oct 1891	City was known as Ardwick v Man Utd	W	1-5	in the FA Cup
03 Nov 1894	Manchester City v United	W	2-5	League Division 2

First meeting in Division One

01 Dec 1906

L City v United lost 3-0

06 Dec 1992

Manchester United v Manchester City

2-1

Premier League

WEST LANCASHIRE M55 DERBY

The West Lancashire derby (sometimes also known as the M55 derby) is a local rivalry in English football between Lancashire clubs, Blackpool and Preston North End. Blackpool are 19th in the Championship (early days, only 16 matches played so far) and PNE are 9th, 6 points ahead)

Roll the seasons back to the 1950/60s when Colin and Malcolm Bailey may well have been a loggerheads over the West Lancashire Derby between Blackpool and Preston NE. For some curious reason we supported these two teams. We had no idea where they played, Lancashire was a mystery but it was their "star" players, Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews, that attracted our support! In the 1950s both clubs were quite important. The Charles Buchan Annuals and sometimes the Daily Sketch reminded us who they were!

Not living any where near these two north-western clubs, it would not have been feasible to watch a game live at either ground and of course, there was no live football on televsion, no "live" radio commentary, indeed there would not have been any live sport on media. The results read on the family "wirelss" at around 5pm was a link.

This season, technology has move on a bit! But, despite that, no request has been made by Preston for this match to be beamed back to Deepdale. The Seasiders granted PNE permission to beam the game back last season. This time, no go! 

Sadly, ticketless local supporters will not be able to watch the game live. Overseas supporters, however, can watch the game via their club’s respective streaming platform. That’s despite the game kicking off at the earlier time of 12.30pm, which falls outside the UK’s 2.45pm-5.15pm Saturday blackout. 

The fixture at Blackpool's historic, Bloomfield Road hasn’t been selected for live TV coverage, but the kick off was brought forward on police advice. Making the game available to watch on iFollow – or Tangerine TV in Blackpool’s case – is at the home side’s discretion. 

However, Blackpool opted not to. This has caused some anger among Preston’s fans who would have liked the game steamed either at home or in a pub. PNE said in a statement earlier this week: “If you’re not going to the game this weekend, you can listen live on iFollow PNE. “The decision to stream the game to fans in the UK and Ireland is at the discretion of the home club, who have opted not to make this available.” 

Last season, Preston beamed the game back to their ground, Deepdale, for their supporters without tickets to watch. Blackpool also did the same for the reverse fixture. 

The derby has taken place across all four tiers of English football, but not the top flight since the formation of the Premier League. Blackpool were promoted to the Premier League in 2010; Preston North End have yet to reach it. They did not meet in the League between the 2009–10 and 2020–21 seasons, but did so again in the 2021-2 Championship campaign following Blackpool's promotion from the third tier. 

The first West Lancashire derby took place on 23 November 1901 at Blackpool's Bloomfield Road, in front of a crowd of 6,000, Preston won 4–1. 

23/11/37 First Division One meet: P v B 2-0        19/8/67 First Division Two meet: P v B 4-1 

26/9/87 First Div 3 meet: B v P 3-0                      10/10/92  Back to Div 2  B v P 2-3

8/12/07 First Championship meet: P v B 0-1

There have been 95 meetings between the two clubs in all competitions, with North End winning 45 to Blackpool's 31. The remaining 19 matches have been draws. Other meetings: League Cup meets=5, FAC=3, Autoglass=1.

37 miles between the two clubs.

OCTOBER 21st

 BIRTHDAYS / BORN ON THIS DAY - 21ST OCTOBER

• 21st October 1933 - Francisco "Paco" Gento. Real Madrid and Spain legend. Francisco "Paco" Gento was a lightening-fast left winger, he was one of the greatest players of the 1950s and 1960s. Gento was one of only three players to play in all five European Cup victories of the 1950s (Di Stéfano and Zárraga the others).
  
  
  

• 21st October 1959 - Kevin Sheedy. A sweet left foot and part of that incredible Everton midfield of the 1980s.

• 21st October 1965 - Jon Andoni Goikoetxea. The midfielder was a Don Balón Award winner in 1991 and part of the fabled Barcelona Dream Team.
  
  
  

• 21st October 1967 - Paul Ince. A "big-time Charlie" according to Fergie, but a cracking box-to-box, tenacious midfielder at Man U. nonetheless.

• 21st October 1948 - Jan Boskamp. Dutch midfielder in the 1960s-80s, winning titles in Holland and Belgium with Feyenoord and RWD Molenbeek.
  

  Senior career*
  Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
  1966–1974	Feyenoord	102	(14)
  1969–1970	→ Holland Sport (loan)	31	(7)
  1974–1982	RWD Molenbeek	238	(36)
  1982–1984	Lierse	60	(3)
  Total		431	(60)

  and only twice for the Dutch National side.

• 21st October 1981 - Nemanja Vidic.
  
  
  

  Senior career*
  Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
  2000–2004	Red Star Belgrade	67	(12)
  2000–2001	→ Spartak Subotica (loan)	27	(6)
  2004–2006	Spartak Moscow	39	(4)
  2006–2014	Manchester United	211	(15)
  2014–2016	Inter Milan	23	(1)
  Total		367	(38)
  National team
  2002–2011	SCG / Serbia	56	(2)

• And Smith must score..." - PETER JONES, 1983. A great piece of commentary from one of the BBC's finest football commentator's, Peter Jones. His tone is brilliant, you can almost close your eyes and picture what's happening without seeing the video clip itself.

  The scene was the 1983 FA Cup Final, with Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchetser United tied 2:2 deep in to 30 minutes of extra-time as Brighton's strikers Michael Robinson and Gordon Smith break forward towards United's penalty area. It results in heartbreak for the Seagulls, but a piece of commentary that brilliantly describes one of the great what-if moments of football. A ball played forward to Robinson. Robinson going forward strong. He's inside the Manchester United penalty area!  He finds Smith! And Smith must score......and he hasn't scored! And Bailey has saved it. (no relation)

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q4S1t2oVcA

   Peter Jones Brighton and Hove Albion vs Manchester United, 1983