HORROR SHOWS ON HALLOWEEN

I might have used this piece of history before; after all it is Halloween and strange things happen! On this day in 2002 there was a Halloween horror show when Madagascan (now known as Malagasy) club, Stade Olympique L'Emryne (who had won the League title the previous season) lost to AS Adema in a league game, by a world record shattering 149-0. The match was played at the Barikadimy Stadium, Toamasina, where these two teams played in the Madagascan top flight match- the THB Champions League.

Arbroath’s huge victory of 36-0 against Bon Accord would be the record for the most goals scored in a match for a total of 117 years, until the record was eventually beaten by Antananarivo rivals AS Adema and SO l’Emyrne in 2002. SO Emyrne had won the THB Champions League in 2001. However, 2002 was to be AS Adema’s year. In fact, by the time this match was played, AS Adema had already wrapped up the title, after a draw for SO Emyrne in their penultimate match saw them concede defeat in the title race. The club saw a late penalty given against them in that game, which was undeniably a debatable call by the referee. Of course, given the ramifications, the club weren’t so happy with the decision and decided to stage a protest in their final game against champions AS Adema. The SO Emyrne players kicked off and immediately passed the ball into their own net. They kicked off against and repeated the skill!! Unsurprisingly, by the time the referee blew the final whistle, the game had smashed the record for most goals in a match by a country mile, ending 149-0 to the home side. The silly stunt cost the SO Emyrne coach, as well as four club players (including the Madagascan national team captain) their jobs, with the Football Association handing out three year bans to each of them. 

Yet, despite the punishment, the thrown game earned them an otherwise unlikely place in the Guinness Book of Records. win would hold on to the record for the most goals scored in a match for a total of 117 years, until the record was eventually beaten by Antananarivo rivals AS Adema and SO l’Emyrne in 2002. 

Clocking in at the rate of two goals per minute, SOL'E fired the ball into their own net(s), second after second (straight from their kick off!!) in a protest against the referee's decision that saw their match coach, Ratsimandresy Ratsarazaka (yes, try saying that after a couple of Whitbreads), lose his composure on the pitch side. 

The record score ended an eventful week for Adema, whose had just won the Malagasy League title! With opponents AS Adema (below), having already been crowned champions, due to Emryne drawing their penultimate match, Emryne proceeded to sabotage the contest.

From kick-off, Emryne repeatedly kicked the ball into their own goal as their opponents looked on in bewilderment, until the match ended with Emryne (below) having scored 149 own goals. 

This broke Arbroath's record of most goals scored in a senior football match, with their tally of 36 against Bon Accord having stood since 1885. Emryne, who hail from Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, had been the defending champions following their maiden league title the season before. However, their title defence ended in disgrace as the football federation handed out strict punishments to those involved in the 149-0 loss. 

Head coach Zaka Ratsarazaka was reportedly banned from football for three years, whilst four players were suspended from playing or attending matches for the rest of 2002. These included national team captain Mamisoa Razafindrakoto and club captain Manitranirina Andrianiaina. At the time, federation president Jacques Benony told the press that "the sanctions have been put in place," with the federation itself dissolved shortly after before being reconstituted. 

All other players from both sides were handed a warning about their future conduct and told that more serious sanctions could be handed out for similar offences in the future. The referee was not punished, although it was understood that he had been involved in a heated argument with Ratsarazaka. 

SO, Emryne have been unable to add to their 2001 league title in the two decades since their record loss and are no longer members of the Malagasy top flight. The Pro League Championnat de Football National Division 1 (known as Orange Pro League Madagascar, for sponsorship reasons) is the premier football league in Madagascar. Prior to 2019, it was known as the Three Horses Beer-sponsored the THB Champions' League.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqK3SSLkmJ0&t=48s

Dont forget these:

36-0: Arbroath v Bon Accord-yes, it's the Scots! Arbroath goalkeeper Jim Milne Sr, the easiest match in his career, as he failed to register a single touch of the ball. 

79-0: Plateau United Founders vs Akurba FC In Nigeria, in 2013, the Plateau Utd feeder team were one of four clubs suspended, pending an investigation into their 79–0 victory over Akurba FC. The four clubs were accused of match-fixing in order to advance into the professional league.

EUROPE'S FIRST MAJOR CUP FINAL

Hugo Meisl has been mentioned before in this blog. Understandably, because he has been a major influence on European Football. The son of a wealthy Bohemian banker, he should have followed in his father's foot steps in the family business. He did however, take another career route by joining the emerging Austrian FA as an administrator and in 1919 he was part of a committee that selected the National side, eventually creating the Austria's Wunderteam, that made its mark in the 1930s.

Meisl inspired by this success, in 1924, suggested an international tournament played by central European clubs, naming this the MITROPA CUP, officially known as La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale. It was conducted first among the successor states of the former Austria-Hungary. After World War 2,  in 1951, a replacement tournament named Zentropa Cup was held, but just for one season, the Mitropa Cup name was revived, and again in 1958 the name of the tournament changed to Danube Cup but only for one season. The tournament was discontinued after 1992. The most successful club is Vasas, of Budapest, with six titles.

This "International" competition for football clubs was founded in 1897 in Vienna. The Challenge Cup was invented by John Gramlick Snr, a co-founder of the Vienna Cricket and Football Club. In this cup competition all clubs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, that normally would not meet, could take part, though actually almost only clubs from the Empire's three major cities Vienna, Budapest and Prague participated. The Challenge Cup was carried out until the year 1911 and is today seen as the predecessor to the Mitropa Cup and consequently the European Cup and then the Champions' League. The last winner of the cup was Wiener Sports Club, one of the oldest and most traditional football clubs of Austria where the cup still remains!!

The idea of a European Cup competition was shaped after World War 1, which brought the defeat and collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.The centre of this idea were the Central European countries that, at this time, were still leading in continental football. In the early 1920s they introduced professional leagues, the first continental countries to do so. Austria started in 1924, followed by Czechoslovakia, in 1925 and Hungary in 1926. In order to strengthen the dominance of these countries in European football and to support, financially, the professional clubs, the introduction of the Mitropa Cup was decided at a meeting in Venice on 17 July, following the initiative of the head of the Austrian FA (ÖFB), Hugo Meisl. Moreover, the creation of a European Cup for national teams – that unlike the Challenge Cup and the Mitropa Cup would not be annual – was also part of the agreement. The first matches were played on 14 August 1927. The competition was between the top professional teams of Central Europe.

The president and the captain of Bologna, Renato Dall'Ara(left) and Mirko Pavinato (right), with the trophy of the 1961 season.

Initially two teams each from Austria, Hungary, Czechslovakia and Yugoslavia entered, competing in a knock-out competition. The countries involved could either send their respective league winners and runners-up, or league winners and cup winners to take part. The first winners were the Czech side, AC Sparta Prague. In 1929, Italian teams replaced the Yugoslavian ones. The competition was expanded to four teams from each of the competing countries in 1934. Switzerland in 1936, and Romania, Switzerland and Yugoslvia, in 1937 were allowed to join. Austria was withdrawn from the competition following the Anschluss (the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 12 March 1938). 

In 1939, prior to the start of World War II, the cup involved only eight teams (two each from Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Italy and one each from Romania and Yugoslavia). 

The level of the competing nations is clearly shown by Italy's two World Cup titles, in 1934 and 1938 and Czechoslovakia's (1934) and Hungary's (1938), World Cup finals, and Austria's (1934) and Yugoslavia's (1930) semi-finals. Out of the eleven different teams competing in the first three World Cups, five were part of the Mitropa Cup.

A tournament was started in 1940, but abandoned before the final match due to WW2. Again, only eight teams competed, three each from Hungary and Yugoslavia and two from Romania. Hungarian Ferencvaros and Romanian Rapid (which had won on lots after three draws) qualified for the final, but did not meet because the northern part of  Transylvania (lost shortly after WW1) was ceded to Hungary from Romania.

It involved a two legged format and by July 1927, the idea of the cup was accepted with two clubs from each East European countries, Czecholslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Meisl's Austria.

The first "Champion's team" was Sparta Prague, who reached the final following a "toss of a coin" against the Hungarian side from Budapest named Hungaria. Hugo Meisl had come up with a two legged model for "his" competition, but he had not factored in clubs finished level after two legs! Still, Sparta continued their success and romped into a 6-2 lead against Rapid Vienna at home. They lost the away leg 2-1 and were subsequently pelted with rotten fruit and stones! As if that ever happens in football.

Italy saw the potential success of the competition and in 1932, Juventus won its first title under controversial circumstances. 4-0 ahead after the first leg, Juventus were well ahead in the second leg, with Slavia Prague a further 2-0 down. Slavia took to "time wasting" to halt the slide and as a result the crowd rioted, with Slavia refusing to continue the match after their keeper had been hit by a "rock". The teams took refuge in the changing rooms and stayed there for an hour, when both teams were "disqualified", with Bologna won the final on a "walk over". 

Mitropa, the organisers, hoped that British teams would join in and raise the status of the competition, but World War 2 happened and the idea melted away. Iron Curtain countries were not going to enter the competition and UEFA launched the European Cup in 1956. The Mitropa competition raised its head as a tournament for "second tier" clubs which led to Milan winning it in 1982!

DO NOT SMOKE!

 

David Wilson, born, Hebburn, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 23 July 1888.

On 27 October 1906, Leeds City (as the Leeds club was then known) centre-forward David "Soldier" Wilson, died of an apparent heart attack during a match against Burnley. He was 23 years old.

Wilson had debuted for Leeds, the previous December, after being transfered from Hull City for a fee of £150. A clever passer of the ball, he also proved to be a prolific goal scorer, tallying 13 goals in 15 games in his first season, enough to make him the club's top scorer. Injuries plagued him, though asnd he missed eight matches at the end of the 1905-06 season and a few others at the start of the next.

By the time Leeds hosted Burnley at Elland Road in October, Wilson had appeared in a total of five matches that Autumn and had not scored in any of them. It was a physical match, with Leeds inside-left Jack Lavery taking a knock that greatly reduced his effectiveness. Then, after 60 minutes, with the match scoreless, Wilson withdrew to the locker room complaining of heavy chest pains.

About 15 minutes later, another injury forced Leeds left winger Harry Singleton to retire from the match. With Singleton out and Lavery still hurt, Wilson decided to return to the pitch despite his own pain and against the advice of others. The Yorkshire Evening Post later reported that "Though his chest was very sore, Wilson said he could not remain there while the Leeds City team were in such straits."

After only a few minutes, the pain became so great that Wilson again withdrew from the match. He stepped into a hot bath, where he soon lost consciousness, then died from what was later diagnosed as heart failure. The match was still in progress, with Burnley taking a late goal to win 0-1.

Prior to Wilson's death, at least six other footballers had died from injuries sustained while playing, but he was the first to die during a match. His wife later laid much of the responsibility for his death on cigarettes, noting that had been a very heavy smoker!!

David 'Soldier' Wilson had a short, successful, yet ultimately tragic period playing for Leeds City. He died during the Peacocks' game against Burnley on 27 October 1906, pushing himself beyond exertion as his outnumbered colleagues fought to get back into the match. It came as a surprise to many who knew him that Wilson was only 23-years-old when he died. Most people who saw him would have taken him to be about 30, because of his heavy moustache. He was one of three brothers who made their name as footballers in the Army, and this led him to be familiarly known as Soldier Wilson. The Yorkshire Evening Post: 'Wilson had had an interesting football career, the story of which he related to the writer only a few months ago. He was a native of Musselburgh, in the county of Midlothian, and in 1896 enlisted in the Cameron Highlanders, with whom he went out to Gibraltar, where he began playing Association football. Whilst at Gibraltar, Wilson transferred to the 1st Battalion Black Watch, which regiment he accompanied to India, and subsequently to South Africa, where, with Colonel Remington's column, he took part in some of the Boer drives. 'It was after returning to England that he was bought out of the army by the Dundee Club, for whom for a season or two he played at centre-forward in the Scottish First League. Just two years ago he had his knee badly twisted, and on his recovery he was transferred to the Hearts of Midlothian Club, for whom he rendered yeoman service until joining Hull City. He played at Anlaby Road in two or three matches last season, and then came to Leeds City, the transfer fee paid for him being £150.' Wilson's stay at Hull was brief, but he scored three goals in ten games for the Tigers with another two in two Cup-ties. One of those goals came in Hull's 3-1 defeat at Elland Road on 23 September 1905. The Yorkshire Post: 'Wilson getting possession of the ball in the centre about twenty yards from the Leeds goal mouth, shot straight. The ball travelled at a tremendous pace, and completely beat Bromage.' His displays against the Peacocks persuaded the directors to offer him a deal. Wilson's debut for Leeds came in a 1-0 defeat of Glossop on 23 December 1905, and he was an immediate hit, scoring 13 goals in 15 games that season. That haul included four in the 6-1 slaughter of Stockport County on 3 March, when he was almost unstoppable, having another effort disallowed and striking a shot against the bar. The Leeds Mercury: 'Four out of the six goals fell to Wilson, the centre-forward, who again showed what a dangerous man he is when within range of the net. His assumed indifference seemed to have a disconcerting effect on the opposition; and then, suddenly, without manoeuvring for a position, he drives the ball clean and hard. The number of times he deceives the opposition in this way is really remarkable. 'It was not only as a marksman that the City centre was seen to advantage. He led the front rank splendidly. He has a fine knack of drawing his opponents, and then passing out to the wings, and in this way the opposition were frequently beaten.' The Mercury had reported as follows after the 4-1 defeat of Leicester Fosse on 20 January (a game Wilson missed through injury): 'Though the players often foundered and tumbled in the mud on Saturday, Leeds, both the forwards and backs, had a surprisingly good control of the ball. But the most pleasing feature of the home team's work was the way in which the forwards went for goal, and the determination with which they sent in shots. This is an improvement which I attribute largely to the influence of Wilson. As I have previously mentioned, the old Hull City centre has put a lot of life into the Leeds front rank, and although he was unable to turn out against Leicester owing to an injury he sustained at Manchester, the example he has set his new colleagues in shooting with all his strength on every possible occasion, and more especially the efforts which were made to follow it, were clearly apparent throughout the game.' Wilson's contribution was brought to a sudden end when he tore ligaments during a rough house game at Grimsby on 29 March and he missed eight matches before returning in the final game of the season. He just could not maintain the same momentum in the 1906/7, his form dipped and he missed a number of games with injury. He had failed to score in five appearances before this tragic final match v Burnley. Wilson went off for a period, complaining of chest pains, but came back on when Harry Singleton and Jack Lavery were forced to withdraw. He collapsed and was carried off, only to die shortly afterwards in the dressing room. The Leeds Mercury paid him this tribute: 'He played his first match for Leeds City against Stockport, on December 26th last year, and before the season was over Leeds City could have had £500 or £600 for his transfer. They preferred to keep him, however, and the Leeds officials are still confident that he was one of the best centres in the country. 'Wilson, of course, had adverse critics, who held that he had fallen off his game, but in the words of Mr Gillies, team manager. "Those critics did not know Wilson." If at times slow, he was always in his place, and his passes to the wing players were always well timed and well directed. "There were few better centre-forwards in the country,'#" is Mr Gillies' opinion, and that opinion is shared by all the Leeds City players and officials. 'Soldier was popular with all, and he was always of a cheery and good-natured disposition. Lately, however, his health had not been so satisfactory as before, and there is a suggestion that he suffered from a heart complaint, and that he tried to hide it from his friends. That this suggestion was pretty near the truth may be fully borne out by the inquest which will be held on the body today. 'Wilson married a Scottish girl, and the union was blest with a fine babe, which is not yet twelve months old. He adored his wife and child. Numerous messages of sympathy have been received at Catherine Grove, and the young widow's sorrow is shared by a large circle who knew and respected Soldier.' The £96 takings from a benefit match against Hull City on 19 November, a 3-3 draw watched by 3,000 spectators, were donated to David's widow, along with a number of other sums realised through various fundraising activities. The Football League Management Committee criticised City for the match paperwork they filed after the Burnley game. The minutes from their meeting on 5 November read: 'The secretary was instructed to write to the Leeds City Chairman and point out that the word "transferred" opposite D. Wilson's name in the result sheet for the match in which Wilson played and was injured, and his death took place before the close of play, was uncalled for and entirely out of place, as this was a national calamity.'

ARTHUR TRAIL BLAZER

28 October 1865 - The Birth Of A Trailblazer

On 28 October 1865, Arthur Wharton was born in the city of Jamestown on the Gold Coast. He went on to become the world's first black professional footballer.

Technically, Wharton was of mixed race. His father, a minister, was half-Grenadian and half-Scottish, while his mother was part of an African royal family. He moved to England at the age of 19 to train for the ministry, but soon developed a passion for sport, including running, cricket, and football. (At 20, he set a world record in the 100-yard sprint.)

In 1885, he began his footballing career as an amateur goalkeeper for Darlington and moved to Preston North End the following year. In 1889, after a brief time away from football to focus on running, he returned to the sport, signing a professional contract with Rotherham Town. He later played for Sheffield United, where he became the first black player to appear in an English First Division match.

By the time he retired in 1902, he had also played for Stalybridge Rovers, Ashton North End, and Stockport County. After football, he spent time as a haulage hand, but continued to run and play cricket. Sadly, he died a pauper in 1930 and was buried in an unmarked grave. He eventually received a headstone in 1997, thanks to an anti-racism campaign led by the Football Unites, Racism Divides project.

In 2003, he received a posthumous induction into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his status as a pioneer.

THE F.A. FOUNDED ON THIS DAY 1863

26 October 1863 - The Football Association Founded

On this day, English football's governing body, the Football Association, held its first meeting, making it the oldest national football association in the world.

Twelve clubs sent representatives to the meeting, held at Freemasons' Tavern on Long Acre, Covent Garden, London, in order to agree on a common set of rules. The clubs were Barnes FC, Civil Service*, Crusaders, Forest of Leytonstone, No Names Club (Kilburn), Crystal Palace**, Blackheath, Kensington School, Percival House (Blackheath), Surbiton, Blackheath Proprietary School, and Charterhouse (School), who declined the offer to join.

Prior to the creation of the Football Association, football clubs in England operated under different sets of rules, including the Cambridge Rules, which were used by many clubs throughout the nation, and the Sheffield Rules, which dominated the northeast. Although those two sets of rules contained slight differences, they both prohibited hacking, which would prove to be a point of contention for the new FA.

Indeed, when the FA ultimately adopted a set of rules that closely mirrored the Cambridge Rules, several clubs chose to form a separate Rugby Football Union that allowed hacking. Thus the Football Association was instrumental in triggering the split between association football (or "soccer") and rugby.

The FA currently oversees all association football competitions in England and is in charge of the English men's and women's national teams. As the first football association in history, it is the only one not to include its nationality in its name!!

‘Organised football’ or ‘football as we know it’ dates from that time.

Ebenezer Morley, below, a London solicitor who formed Barnes FC in 1862, could be called the ‘father’ of The Association. He wasn’t a public school man but old boys from several public schools joined his club and there were ‘feverish’ disputes about the way the game should be played.

Morley wrote to Bell’s Life, a popular newspaper, suggesting that football should have a set of rules in the same way that the MCC had them for cricket. His letter led to the first historic meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, near to where Holborn tube station is now.

*Civil Service FC, now play in the Southern Amateur League’s Senior Division One, are the only surviving club of the eleven who signed up to be FA members at that first meeting in 1863, when they were listed as the War Office. Civil Service FC celebrated their 150th anniversary in 2013.

**This club (see back) has no connection with the present Premier League club.

There could be no authority without laws and six meetings took place in 44 days before the new Association could stand on its own feet. The FA was formed at the first. Its rules were formulated at the second. (There was an annual subscription of a guinea and alterations to rules or laws were to be advertised in sporting papers.) A useful discussion on drafting the laws took place at the third.

‘Football’, they thought, would be a blend of handling and dribbling. Players would be able to handle the ball: a fair catch accompanied by ‘a mark with the heel’ would win a free kick. The sticking point was ‘hacking’, or kicking an opponent on the leg, which Blackheath FC wanted to keep.

The laws of the game, originally drafted by Morley were finally approved at the sixth meeting, on 8th December, and there would be no hacking. They were published by John Lillywhite of Seymour Street in a booklet that cost a shilling and sixpence. The FA was keen to see its laws in action and a "show" match was played between Barnes and Richmond at Limes Field in Barnes on 19 December. It was a 0-0 draw!

OCTOBER 25th and the Navigators

25th October 1961, England played Portugal at Wembley, in a World Cup Qualifier, European Group 6. John Connelly (below) and Ray Pointer (below-below), both of Burnley, scored after 5 minutes and then 9 mins, to grab an early lead in the match and that's how it stayed. 

As a homage to the rich history of famous navigators who set out on oceans in search of new territories, the national football team of Portugal decided to adopt the perfect nickname, paying homage to the countries navigating past, as they are called "Os Navegadores" — The Navigators!

Burnley FC was a surprisingly successful member of the First Division in the late 1950/early 60s, winning the First Division (top then) in 1959-60.  I saw them play Spurs at WHL in 1960 when the teams played out a 4-4 draw. Both Connelly and Pointer were in that side and they were cast iron England internationals in October 1961. England won this match against Portugal 2-0 and once qualified they were not called on to play another World Cup Qualifier for 11 years. They hosted the 1966 tournament and were "holders" when they went to Mexico in 1970.

The England team then was: Ron Springett (Sheff Wed), Jimmy Armfield (Blackpool), Ray Wilson (Huddersfield), Peter Swan (Sheff Wed), Ron Flowers (Wolves), Bobby Charlton (Man U), Ray Pointer, John Connelly, Bryan Douglas (Blackburn Rovers), Johnny Haynes (capt) (Fulham) and Bobby Robson (WBA). No Spurs' players, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Man C.....etc etc

England and Portugal first met on an England tour in May (25th by coincidence) 1947, ending in a 10-0 defeat for the Portuguese side. The latest fixture was in June 2016, in a friendly, when England won 1-0 with an 86th minute goal by Chris Smalling. A struggle for England therefore. Roy Hodgson was in charge. 

The two sides have met in 23 internationals and England has won 10, Drawn 8 (2 lost on penalties) and lost in open play 5 times. 

In 1955 there was a first 3-1 defeat, away, in a friendly. England's manager was Walter Winterbottom..  In 1986 FIFA World Cup Group F; 0-1 in Monterrey under manager Bobby Robson. In the 2000 UEFA Championships 2-3 in Eindhoven: Manager Kevin Keegan.                                  

Then in 2004 in the UEFA Championships (Q-F) in Lisbon after a 2-2 aet draw. Pens were 5-6. This was under the managership of Sven and after Sol Campbell's "winner" was wiped out following a foul by Terry on the way to goal.                                                                                                                     

On July 1st 2006, in the FIFA World Cup in Gelsenkirschen, England lost on pens again after a 0-0 draw and then a 1-3 pens. Sven in charge again.

The last fixture was 02 Jun 2016 which England won at home 1-0 in a "friendly" and our goal scored by Chris Smalling in the 86th minute. Roy managed!

Global medical surveys also find that October babies tend to live longer than those born in other months — the Journal of Aging Research has found that people born in the fall (September through November), have a greater chance of living to see the 100-year mark. October birthdays also bring strong mental health. The primary October birth flower is the marigold, and the secondary flower is the cosmos. So there!

and finally, in 2000 on this day, ITV won the rights to to show Premier League highlights at 7pm on a Saturday evening! Cilla Black (a serious supporter of football) and her "Blind Date" programme was "ousted" by ITVs version of Match of the Day. After a couple of months, the ITV realised that the "football" ratings failed to match those of Cilla's and the bosses shifted the football back to 10.30pm. Cilla had given the "beautiful game" a pounding. Meanwhile in 1989 during the afternoon, Frankie Bunn of Oldham scored six goals against Scarborough to set a Football League Cup, individual scoring record.

JOHN RUDGE and his Lada "da"

John Rudge is the legendary Port Vale (Vale Park above) manager who crossed the Potteries "divide" to become Stoke City's Director of Football for 14 years. His long-awaited autobiography is published in October, co-written with author Simon Lowe. His autobiography, To Cap It All, has all profits going to the Port Vale Supporters' Club's fundraising efforts for a £100,000 statue in his honour.

He moved from his home town in Wolverhampton to Huddersfield aged 15, to try and make it in football, then to Wembley glory (and heartache) plus European competitions, promotions, relegations and a whole host of "personalities" such as Robbie Earle, Andy Jones, Phil Sproson, Andy Porter, Ray Walker, Bobby Downes, Tony Pulis,Tony Scholes, Peter Coates, Ricardo Fuller, Rory Delap, Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and, of course, John’s tempestuous relationships with Vale chairman Bill Bell and Stoke manager, Johan Boskamp. (football scholars will appreciate this list of well knowns!)..well most....He says....

"In January 1980, I turned up at Vale Park to discover that I had walked into a ‘land that time forgot’ scenario. Far from being somewhere, I would actually end up spending almost 20 years, in this place that seemed more like a throwback to when I started my fledgling career in the late 1950s. Given that Vale Park had been (part-)built in the very late 1940s and opened in 1950, and had barely been touched since, this wasn’t far off the truth." 

"John McGrath was a very big, imposing man who, I felt, dwarfed me, as he enthusiastically laid out his plans during our long chat. He explained that he really needed someone who knew the Third and Fourth Divisions well and had some experience of coaching; he was basically describing me. This, I felt, was very shrewd and I could see immediately how I would dovetail with him, both in that way and in terms of personality." 

"Vale, like Crewe, were near the bottom of the Fourth Division, yet John was incredibly ambitious for the club and wanted it to live up to the ground’s nickname of  ‘the Wembley of the North’ which had been coined on its opening due to the extremely wide pitch, the second-widest in the Football League. This gave me ideas about coaching wingers, a position I had played quite a bit myself and had also benefitted from their service when playing as a striker."  

"The strange thing is John actually completely overawed me with his enthusiasm about what he was going to do at Port Vale. By the end of the meeting, I thought we’d be winning the European Cup within five years! He was so overwhelming, that after telling his wife, Del, about it, she said to me later, ‘John, I can’t understand why, but you don’t seem enthusiastic enough about the job. Do you really want to take it?" 

"Bear in mind she was also thinking about moving our family from our idyllic life on the south coast to the Midlands. But it wasn’t that I was unsure at all, what had happened was that John had overpowered me with what he planned to do so much that it had knocked me for six. It felt like I was being apprehensive, when, in fact, I was struggling to process his vigorous determination that we would succeed when both history and everything I had seen on my visit to the club suggested the opposite."

"However, there was one clinching factor that I kept coming back to; not inspiring the players to win trophies, not finishing off the shoddy ground, not the challenge of turning round one of the lowest-placed clubs in the Football League, not even John’s inspirational, if challenging, enthusiasm … ultimately, I took the job because I was sold on the fact that the contract came with my first club car, an 1100cc Lada, which apparently had just the one previous careful lady owner, low mileage and was reputed to have a good heater (well, according to director Don Ratcliffe, club director, who owned the garage the car came from)."

"So, yes, a second-hand Lada changed my life. To have a club car as an assistant at that time was quite something. Don’t knock Ladas, they’re very good cars. OK, they weren’t in 1980, but this was Port Vale – my club car clearly wasn’t going to be in the Jaguar class, now, was it? Moving also meant we would have to part with our beloved beach hut. It wasn’t the best swap deal I’ve done in my career …"

"You may not be surprised to hear that the car turned out to be rubbish. I mean really bloody awful. I remember driving that Lada to Southampton once to have a look at a player, as John McGrath made me travel down to watch this potential target he had been tipped the wink about at his former club. I can’t even remember who it was now, as we didn’t sign him. He clearly wasn’t that memorable."

"Far more unforgettable was the diabolical journey I had in that car. In fact, I recall it as clear as day even now as some kind of dystopian nightmare. It was a heck of a long trip, especially on the way home after the game, with the Lada clanking and phutting all the way back to the Potteries. That car nearly was the death of me. I was constantly amazed that it got me anywhere. Another reason I joined Port Vale was that, being located in the heart of the country, I felt the club was part of a ‘hotbed’ of soccer, in stark contrast to Torquay. However, that was the only thing hot about the Potteries. On my first day in the job, Del and I left Torquay in a balmy 18 degrees at 6am, but by the time we had reached north Staffordshire it felt like Ice Station Zebra. The temperature had dropped about 12 degrees, there was a wicked wind whipping in off the Staffordshire Moors and Burslem itself looked like a set from a mid-19th-century Arnold Bennett drama of the kind the BBC often put on in the 1970s and 80s. It was bloody freezing!"

"I remember stopping in Burslem town centre and dropping Del off, advising her to walk down Waterloo Road to Hanley, to do some shopping while I took training with John McGrath. I arranged to meet her back in the same place about 3.30pm. At the appointed time, I proudly drove up in my clanking Lada, heater on full blast, to find my wife at the side of the road looking simultaneously freezing and dazed. ‘Are you alright, love?’ I enquired breezily, flushed with the buzz of taking a first session as coach. Del looked me in the eye and simply said, ‘What the hell have you brought me to?’"

Personal information
Full name	John Robert Rudge
Date of birth	21 October 1944 (age 78)
Place of birth	Wolverhampton, England
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1959–1961	Huddersfield Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1961–1966	Huddersfield Town	5	(0)
1966–1969	Carlisle United	50	(16)
1969–1972	Torquay United	96	(34)
1972–1975	Bristol Rovers	70	(17)
1975–1977	AFC Bournemouth	21	(2)
Total		242	(69)
Managerial career
1983–1999	Port Vale
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

If you search this BLOG you may find out what the Port Vale FC badge represents! Definitely knowledge that needs to be shared!!

 

 

BOBBY CHARLTON AND THE REST OF THE WORLD

Following the recent death of Bobby Charlton, a true hero of English football, I am reminded that he played on the 23rd October 1963 at Wembley, in Sir Alf Ramsey's England team, that played "A FIFA World Squad", to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the English Football Association (yes, The FA was founded in 1863). The first official FA in the World.

I remember it well (the 1963 bit!!), somehow or the other (I think it was half term), we watched it on TV (I suspect a small black and white one!), learning extraordinary names of famous, foreign footballers, playing against Bobby Charlton and English players, with familiar names. This was a foundation for Ramsey's World Cup 1966 plan.

Alfredo di Stefano, Puskas, Eusebio and Denis Law were in a select World team playing Alf Ramsay's selected England team, many to be World Cup winners, three years later. A 100,000 crowd watched this historic game which England won 2-1 (see below). The FA "Suits" loved the spectacle. 

ENGLAND: Gordon Banks, Ray Wilson, Jimmy Armfield (c), Gordon Milne. Maurice Norman, Bobby Moore, Terry Paine, Jimmy Greaves, Bobby Smith, George Eastham, Bobby Charlton: Subs: Tony Waiters (Gk), Ken Shellito, Ron Flowers, Tony Kay, Joe Baker. (name their clubs!)

REST OF THE WORLD:  GK1 Lev Yashin RB2 Djalma Santos LB3 Karl-Heinz Schnellinger RH4 Svatopluk Pluskal CH5 Ján Popluhár LH6 Josef Masopust OR7 Raymond Kopa IR8 Denis Law CF9 Alfredo di Stéfano (c )IL10 Eusébio OL11 Francisco Gento Substitutes: GK1 Milutin Šoškić DF2 Luis Eyzaguirre DF6 Jim Baxter FW9 Uwe Seeler FW10 Ferenc Puskás   Manager: Fernando Riera

This was the first time a World team had played against a single nation.

Jimmy Greaves was close to scoring for England several times in the first half, but failed due to laudable saves by the famous keeper, Lev Yashin. In the second half, when Yashin was replaced by Soskic, Greaves assisted Terry Paine, to score in the 66th minute. Denis Law equalised 16 minutes later, but Greaves brought England to a last-minute victory. Greaves had the best game of his career and was considered as the best player of the match, while Yashin's saves greatly contributed to his reputation of world's best goalkeeper and earned him the Ballon d'Or, two months later.

As promised by FIFA, all of the World XI substitutes were used in the second half, with Raymond Kopa replaced by Uwe Seeler. The World XI selection committee, headed by Harry Cavan,, invited Soviet-Georgian Mikheil Meshki, via the USSR Football Federation, who falsely replied he was injured and could not play—BUT he was never informed of the invitation. Brazilian clib, Santos FC refused to release Pele and AC Milan also refused to release Cesare Maldini, who was replaced by Slovan Bratislava's Jan Popluhar.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?sca_esv=575801097&q=Jimmy+Greaves+penalty+for+England+v+Rest+of+the+World&tbm=vid&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwin1Y2twYyCAxWjWUEAHYGZDNsQ0pQJegQICRAB&biw=1098&bih=461&dpr=1.75#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:e485b303,vid:gRCXa74oit0,st:0

23 October 1963
14:45 BST

England	2–1	Rest of the World
Paine  66' Greaves  90'		82' Law

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 87,000

Referee: Bob Davidson (Scotland)