FIRST INTERNATIONAL, THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE AND NO TRUCE BETWEEN DANNY AND THE BBC

International football had it's origins in Britain and the first international match was between England and Scotland on November 30th 1872. It was played at the Kennington Oval and resulted in a 4-2 win for England. Approximately 3,000 attended.

Matches tended to be held at the "end of the season" in February or March and as the League season developed, April in 1888. In 1908, England went on tour to Europe in June, as the league season had finished, visiting Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, The FA was promoting the "formalised" game in Europe. Some tours extended into June, as late as the 13th in Prague v Bohemia.

As the First World War came to a conclusion, matches were played in Britain from October 1919, for example, England v Ireland in Belfast,  which resulted in a "diplomatic" 1-1 draw. Cock scored for England! 

From 1921, as countries settled down, England met Belgium in Brussels on May 21st 1921, another 1-1 draw. In 1922, the three "Home" nations met each other and from 1923 and England met Belgium twice, Sweden twice and France.  The Belgian match was played at The Hawthorns on December 8th 1924, a friendly, which England won 4-0. No charity there.

Some years ago, The FA asked us to help commemorate the famous "Christmas Truce Football Match". Why not look up the FA website which remembered the many footballers who perished in the First World War? There was a Sainsburys' advert including a theme on the "Christmas Truce" between British troops and allies and the Germans, which is a bit soppy but a reflection of what happened (see this post 26/11/14). Before your match this week, take a photograph of your two teams joining together with officials and coaches (and parents, why not?). 

www.thefa.com/news/2014/oct/football-remembers-world-war-1

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-real-story-of-the-christmas-truce

Adding to this day's celebrations, some will know that Northern Ireland's, Danny Blanchflower (who remembers Danny?) signed for Tottenham Hotspur on December 8th 1954. Don't know who he is? Shame on you!! He was a bright footballer who liked to do things "his way". which is why he was "let go" by Aston Villa, his first English club. There was a dispute with him and the Villa hierarchy over team tactics. Blanchflower couldn't understand why training didn't involve "THE BALL" more, he complained and the management got the 'UMP'!!  So they let him go for £30,000 to Tottenham, twice the price Villa had paid Danny's first English club, Barnsley, for him. They also outbid Arsenal for Blanchflower's signature.

The Spurs manager at the time was Jimmy Anderson, who didn't like Blanchflower interfering with his tactics. One occasion (of many!) was against Manchester City in the 1956 FA Cup Semi-final. Blanchflower shuffled his team on the pitch when they were behind in the cup tie and Anderson objected. 

In 1958 Bill Nicholson took over as manager and soon "dropped" Blanchflower who was getting on a bit at 32 years old. It didn't take long for Bill to note his error and he reinstated Blanchflower, which led to the famed Spurs' League and  Cup Double in the 1960-1 season. A season when I was noticing Spurs as a team to follow! (always back a winner). 

Blanchflower also turned down the opportunity to be the figure on "This is Your Life" the famous BBC, life story "revealing" programme. The host, Eamon Andrews, would secretly get alongside the "chosen subject" and surprise him or her before taking the "victim" straight to the live studio at the BBC to air the victim's history. Blanchflower was having none of it, and refused live on TV. Nor was he very helpful when working for the CBS in the USA during the 1960s. He rubbished the quality of football he was watching and he was quickly NOT asked back.

He said that "the game is about glory, doing things in style, with a flourish, about going out and beating the lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom!"

Date of death at Stained London: 9 December 1993 (aged 67)

• Later in life he wrote a book called The Double And Before. Blanchflower was one of the only people to ever win Football Writers' Award Footballer Of The Year, twice. There is a park named after Danny in Sydenham, Belfast (Blanchflower Park).

•