STIFF SHIRTS TO WINNERS' MEDALS

November 30th (St Andrew's Day) 1872, was the date of the first EVER international match between Scotland and England, played at Hamilton Crescent, Partick. Actually the first international match full stop!! The score? 0-0....diplomatic eh? It was the only 0-0 result between the two until 1970. The published team sheets, began with the outside-forward, working back to the goalkeeper. In this game the Scots used a different goalkeeper in each half, Barker and then Maynard! Confused.com??

The 1991, on the same date, was when the United States Women's team beat Norway 2-1 to win the first ever Women's World Cup in front of 65,000 fans at the Guangshou's Tianhe Stadium. USA striker, Michelle Akers, scored a late winner. In England women had been banned from playing football  at   official League Grounds in the 1920s because the "stiff shirts" at the FA decided it was not a ladylike pursuit. The ban was lifted in 1971 and since then the England Womens' team have largely mirrored their male counterparts achieving very successful pursuits in World competitions.

In the first half of the 20th century there were matches which were promoted as “England” but were not a national side as accepted today. Once the Women’s Football Association (WFA) became established in the 1960s it co-ordinated the activities of various regional leagues, set up a national cup competition and in 1971/72 the first official England side. The inaugural match was played on 18 November 1972 against Scotland in Greenock with a final score of 3-2 - goals by Sylvia Gore, Lynda Hale and Jeannie Allott for England, and for the Scots, Mary Carr and Rose Reilly.  The first England captain was Sheila Parker from Chorley in Lancashire and the first manager former professional footballer and an FA senior staff coach, Eric Worthington! Who else!!?? In the early days, funds were in short supply and consequently, England activities were  confined to Europe, for several years, particularly against the other home nations, with England beating Scotland and Wales in the only Home International tournament played during the WFA years. The first official England international to be played on the ground of a Football League club was on 9 November 1973 at Reading FC and on 31 October 1978 at Southampton’s former ground, The Dell. The Women's FA recorded an attendance of 5,471 against Belgium – at that time a record crowd. In September 1981 England accepted an invitation from the Japanese FA to play against Japan and Denmark in Kobe and Tokyo. Italy also made the trip but England did not play them on that occasion. Japan was exercising a little long-term planning with their sights set on improving their national women’s team. It paid off with them winning the World Cup in 2011. During the 1980s the Mundialito was organised in Italy each summer with England winning it twice – the first in 1985 and the second in 1988. The 1988 victory also brought the accolade to England as  “Team of the Year” at the inaugural Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year awards. The international governing bodies started to take a serious interest in women’s football with UEFA creating the UEFA Competition for National Representative Women’s Teams, in 1982. This was the forerunner of the European Championship, which England won in July 2022.In the 1984, two-legged final, England were beaten on penalties by Sweden. England trailed by a single goal after the Gothenburg first leg, but Linda Curl scored at Luton Town FC, to take the match into extra-time and the penalty shoot-out. In the 2009 Final, a silver medal was the reward when England lost to Germany 6-2. As the saying goes “revenge is a dish best served cold” and England’s moment came at Wembley in July 2022 with their 2-1 win over Germany to become European Champions. That was repeated in 2025, when the Lionesses defended their crown at the UEFA Women's EURO in Switzerland, after a penalty shootout victory over Spain in the Final!! Good girls! and more good history since.

NEARLY DECEMBER

29th November 1990  On his 17th birthday, he was a youth team player at Manchester United, who was considered the best prospect since George Best. was offered a 5-year professional contract with the club. The player...Ryan Giggs. He duly signed the contract! Whatever happened to him?

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh football coach, co-owner of Salford City, and former player who played as a left midfielder or winger. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, and one of the best wingers in the history of football, worthy of an OBE!

Born: 29 November 1973 (age 52 years)

Number: 11 Manchester United / Midfielder), 11 (Great Britain Olympic Team / Midfielder)

Dates joined: 2012 (Great Britain Olympic football team)

Spouse: Stacey Cooke (m. 2007–2017) see below. Photo from 2015.

Position: Midfielder Giggs left his director of football role at Salford City in September 2025 to pursue a return to management, as he has expressed his desire to get back into the managerial hotseat. His previous role was his first football job since leaving the Wales job in 2022

Using the name Ryan Wilson, Giggs captained England at schoolboy level, playing at Wembley Stadium against Germany in 1989. His surname to that of his mother, when he was 16 years old a time when his mother remarried, two years after his parents' separation.

Legal matters: 

Giggs was cleared of domestic violence allegations in July 2023 after the charges were withdrawn by the Crown Prosecution Service. 

Personal life: 

Giggs and his partner, Zarah Charles, welcomed a daughter, Cora, in November 2024. He also has two children from his previous marriage to Stacey Cooke. 

Awards: BBC Sports Personality of the Year. AND by the way, on this date in 1961, Jimmy Hill, known as a Soccer Pioneer, took over the running of Coventry City FC. They had just been knocked out of the First Round of the FA Cup by King's Lynn, a non-league club on what was known as "Black Saturday". The only goal Coventry scored was a comedy "shank" by King's Lynn's centre half. Black Saturday did for manager Billy Frith, who was replaced by former Fulham striker and self made, business man Jimmy Hill (below) who saw off the minimum wage as PFA Chairman. Did he ever "knock" one in with his chin?

QUICK PENS!

When Bournemouth's striker, James Hayter (below), scored three goals in two minutes/20 seconds against Wrexham in February 2004, the hat trick was reported to be the fastest in British Football history. His record however, remained barely two months. Publicity surrounding Hayter's hat trick energised action from over the border in Scotland!

The World's Fastest Footballing Hat Trick was produced on November 28th in 1964 by Ross County striker, Tommy Ross who scored a hat trick in 90 seconds during his teams' 8-1 win over Nairn County in the Scottish Highland League. Ross scored 7 goals for his club in that match. At the time Ross assumed that his claim to any record would be invalid as only the referee had a tight hold on his watch but it was believed that there had to be two time keepers in attendance, so the record was deemed unofficial. As it became clear in the wake of Hayter's treble, that wasn't the case.

The retrospective claim to the "Guinness Book of Records" was lodged and verified and in April 2004 the publication replaced Ross's hat trick officially replaced Hayter's British record.

It also replaced both the official and unofficial World Records, respectively, James O'Connor's hat trick of 2mins and 14 seconds scored for Shelbourne against Bohemnians in 1967 and Magnus Arvidsson's 1min 35 secs score for Hassleholm against Landskrona in 1995. It's a record unlikely to be beaten," said Ross. " When you scored in those you just ran back to the half way line and got on with it..clebrations these days take minutes!" Remarkably in November 28, 1964 wasn't the only time that the date went down in hat trick history for on the very same day 35 years later, Jose Luis Chilavert became the first goalkeeper to score three goals in a game converting THREE penalties for Velez Sarsfield against Ferro Carril Oeste in a 1999 League match in Argentina!!

https://www.planetfootball.com/lists-and-rankings/fastest-hat-tricks-football-history

LEN SHACKLETON-COMIC? as well

You should know about Len Shackleton, if you have an interest in football!! On this day in 2000, Len passed away aged 78. Having played for Newcastle, he "crossed the boundary" and played for Sunderland, where his "showman like tendencies" made him a firm favourite. Playing against Arsenal on one occasion, Shack's team was 2-1 up and there were only 5 minutes to go! Shack dribbled the ball into the Gunners' penalty area, before standing on the ball and prending to comb his hair! Managing this, he then looked at his watch, as the minutes ticked by! 

In 1956. he published his autobiography using his nickname in the title; "The Clown Prince of Football" The book famously contained a chapter entitled "The Average Director's Knowledge of Football"!! Underneath the title was a blank page, except for a small note at the foot of the page that read: "This page has been deliberately left blank in accordance with the author's wishes!" Leonard Francis Shackleton was an English footballer. Known as the "Clown Prince of Football", he is generally regarded as one of English football's finest ever entertainers. He also played cricket in the Minor Counties for Northumberland.

Leonard Francis Shackleton was born in Bradford, England on 3 May 1922 to Leonard and Irene Shackleton; his father was a self-employed painter and decorator and his mother was a housewife. He was the elder brother to Irene and John; John went on to sign for Sunderland, though never played a first team game and quit the game to become a chiropodist and tennis coach. Shackleton attended Carlton High GS, and became the first Bradford schoolboy to represent England schoolboys when he scored two goals in a 6–2 victory over Wales schoolboys; also in the team that day was future Sunderland team mate Dickie Davies!!

Len Shackleton

Personal information
Full name	Leonard Francis Shackleton
Date of birth	3 May 1922
Place of birth	Bradford, England
Date of death	28 November 2000 (aged 78)
Place of death	Grange over Sands, England
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1936–1938	Bradford Park Avenue
1936–1938	→ Kippax United (loan)
1938–1939	Arsenal
1938–1939	→ Enfield (loan)
1939	London Paper Mills
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1940–1946	Bradford Park Avenue	7	(4)
1946–1948	Newcastle United	57	(26)
1948–1957	Sunderland	320	(97)
Total		384	(127)
International career
1935–1936	England Schoolboys	3	(2)
1948–1954	England	5	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Born in Bradford, he spent his teenage years before World War II with Bradford Park Avenue (sadly now a defunct club), Kippax United, Arsenal, Enfield and London Park Mills, before he turned professional at Bradford Park Avenue in 1940. He spent the war assembling aircraft radios and playing for Bradford PA, and was sold on to Second Division rivals Newcastle United for a £13,000 fee in October 1946. He scored six goals on his Newcastle debut, but fell out with the club's directors, and was sold on to Sunderland for a British transfer record fee of £20,050 in February 1948. He scored 97 goals in 320 First Division matches for the club, with the closest he came to a trophy being the 1949–50 season when Sunderland finished third in the league, and when they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 1955 and in 1956. He retired due to an ankle injury in 1957, and became a sports journalist.

This is worth a read too...https://nationalfootballmuseum.com/halloffame/len-shackleton/

FROM THE PENALTY SPOT

The penalty kick was invented by Irish goalkeeper, William McCrum (7 February 1865 – 21 December 1932) in 1890 to "punish" foul play inside the penalty area. He was a wealthy linen manufacturer and sportsman from Ulster. McCrum played for many years as goalkeeper for his local Milford FC, including in the first season of the Irish Football League (1890–1891). Milford finished bottom of the league with 0 points from 14 games!!! having conceded 62 goals and scored only 10!!! 

"Master Willie" as he was known to the villagers, also spent his spare time taking part in amateur theatrics in the Milford Village Hall, called the McCrum Institute. When not travelling the world, he spent a large proportion of his life living in Milford where he was a JP and representative of many sporting clubs and committees including Milford FC, Milford and Armagh Cricket clubs, and Armagh Rugby Football Club. He played chess for Armagh and participated in individual and team competitions and also submitted games.

The penalty kick was adopted by the International Football Association Board in 1891. It was initially controversial, with some critics calling it "the 'death sentence' for the game," but it quickly became a fundamental and dramatic part of football. The first penalty kick was awarded to Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 14, 1891. 

Inventor: William McCrum, an amateur goalkeeper from Milford, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, proposed the rule in 1890. Motivation: He wanted to punish unfair play that often occurred near the goal, as the game was known to be rough in the 1880s. Official adoption: The proposal, initially rejected, was approved by the International Football Association Board and incorporated into the Laws of the Game for the 1891-1892 season. 

Early controversy and impact The English Football Association was initially opposed, believing a penalty kick was too harsh and went against the "gentlemanly" nature of the game. Public reaction: The press criticized the "Irishman's motion" as a "death sentence" for football. Unexpected popularity: Despite the criticism, players and supporters embraced the rule, which has since become one of the most dramatic and important aspects of the sport. 

Evolution of the penalty kick: Early techniques: In the early 1900s, players primarily used a "toe poke" to shoot. Shift in strategy: Over the decades, techniques evolved to include power shots, placement aimed at the corners, and more powerful long-run-up shots. 

Modern variations: Today, players use a wide range of techniques, including the skilled Panenka penalty (BASICALLY a normal run up and then assuming the GK has anticipated your shot, there is a chip shot) which "sometimes fools the keeper and is chipped nicely into the "empty" net. The Czech footballer cunningly used this audacious technique is named after the Czech footballer, AntoninPanenka, who first used it in the 1976 European Championship final.  

The "panenka" is a penalty kick which begins with a normal run up and then a chipped shot which goes through the middle of the goal anticipating that the goalkeeper had dived to one side! It usually works!!

Panenka played for Bohemians Prague for most of his career, joining the club in 1967. He was named Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year in 1980. In 1981, Panenka left Bohemians for Austrian club Rapid Wien, where he won two Bundesliga titles and an Austrian Cup. In 1985, Rapid reached the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final; Panenka played as a substitute, but his side lost 3–1 to Everton. Later that year, Panenka moved to VSE St Polton and played two more seasons before moving into the lower leagues in Austria, playing from 1987 to 1989 for Slovan Vienna, from 1989 to 1991 for ASV Hohenau and from 1991 to 1993 for Kleinwiesendorf.

Sportklub Niederösterreich St. Pölten is an Austrian second division league club from the city of Sankt Polten, capital and largest city of the state of Lower Austria, in northeast of the country. The city has 59,767 inhabitants as of 1 January 2025. The club was founded in June 2000 and has a stadium capacity of 8,000.  Due to its cultural status, the town (city?) has recently enjoyed an increase of tourists passing through Sankt Pölten on their way to Vienna.

DERBY della MADONNINA

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GesRzSU7nnE

The Derby della Madonnina, named after the Madonnina statue on top of the Milan Cathedral), also known as the Derby di Milano (in English: Milan Derby), is an historic match between the two prominent clubs in the city, Inter Milan and AC Milan, the most successful in Italian Football History. At the San Siro, 7:45 PM, 23 November 2025 Milano. Attendance: 75,562. Referee: Simone Sozza

v

In the past, Inter Milan was seen as the club of the Milan bourgeoisie, a Milanese term meaning "braggart"), whereas Milan was supported mainly by the working class, nicknamed casciavid, meaning "screwdriver", with reference to the Blue-collar workers. Due to their more prosperous ancestry, Inter fans had the "luxury" to go to the San Siro stadium by motorcycle (motoretta, another nickname given to the Nerazzurri). On the other hand, the Rossoneri were also known as tramvee or tranvee (i.e. able to be transferred to the stadium only by "tram", or public transport). Today, this socio-economic divide has largely been mitigated and preference for either club is personal or familial.

Taking place at least twice during the year via the league fixtures, this cross-town rivalry has extended to the Coppa Italia, Champions League and SuperCoppa Italiana, as well as minor tournaments and friendlies. It is one of the only major crosstown derbies in association football that are always played in the same stadium, in this case the San Siro, as both Inter and AC Milan call San Siro "home". Though both clubs share this stadium, Inter ultras traditionally occupy the stadium’s northern end (Curva Nord) while Milan ultras occupy the southern end (Curva Sud).

The Derby della Madonnina is named after the historic statue on top of the Milan Cathedral), also known as the Derby di Milano (English: Milan Derby), is a derby match between the two prominent clubs, Inter Milan and AC Milan, both the most successful clubs in Italian football history.

In the past, Inter Milan (commonly abbreviated to Inter) was seen as the club of the Milan bourgeoisie (nicknamed bauscia, meaning "braggart"), whereas AC Milan was supported mainly by the working class, meaning "screwdriver", with reference to the blue-collar worker (note colour of shirts!). Due to their more prosperous ancestry, Inter fans had the "luxury" to go to the famous San Siro stadium by motorcycle (motoretta, another nickname given to the Nerazzurri). On the other hand, the Rossoneri were also known as tramvee or tranvee (i.e. able to be transferred to the stadium only by "tram", or public transport. Today, this socioeconomic divide has largely been mitigated and preference for either club is personal or familial.

Taking place at least twice during the year via the league fixtures, this cross-town rivalry has extended to the Coppa Italia, Champions League, and Supercoppa Italiana, as well as minor tournaments and friendlies. It is one of the only major crosstown derbies in association football that are always played in the same stadium, in this case the San Siro, as both Inter and AC Milan call San Siro "home". Though both clubs share this stadium, Inter ultras traditionally occupy the stadium’s northern end (Curva Nord) while Milan ultras occupy the southern end (Curva Sud). 

First meeting	10 January 1909 Prima Categoria AC Milan 3–2 Inter Milan

Current unbeaten streak	6 matches AC Milan (2024–present)

Longest unbeaten streak	17 matches Inter (1929–1937)

Latest meeting	23 November 2025 Serie A Inter Milan 0–1 AC Milan
Next meeting	8 March 2026 Serie A AC Milan v Inter Milan

Statistics
Meetings	Official matches: 245
Most wins	Official matches: Inter Milan (91)
Most player appearances	Paoloa Maldini (56)
Top scorer	Andriy Shevchenko (14)
All-time	Inter: 91 Drawn: 71 Milan: 83

Largest victory	11 May 2001 Serie A Inter Milan 0–6 AC Milan

Largest goal scoring	6 November 1949 Seria A Inter Milan 6–5 AC Milan

Longest win streak	6 matches AC Milan (1911–1913, 1946–1948) Inter (2023–2024)

THE NORTH LONDON DERBY

 

Below detail based on the Arsenal history (i.e. we, us etc)

Sunday sees The Gunners host Tottenham Hotspur in the latest instalment of the north London derby - a fixture rich with historic moments and drama. Arsenal head into this fixture having won five of our last six league games against Spurs, including the last three in a row, which is our longest winning run against them since a five-game stretch between January 1987 and January 1989. There are a host of other niche facts surrounding our recent clashes with our rivals, so we’ve delved into the record books to bring you some of the more obscure statistics, and give you all the trivia you need to impress your mates wherever you’re watching this iconic clash. When it comes to recent clashes, the home side has tended to prevail. We have lost just two of our 33 Premier League home games against Spurs who haven't triumphed at Emirates Stadium since 2010, meaning we boast an unbeaten run of 14 in N5. However on the other side of north London, Tottenham have lost just four of their last 17 home Premier League games against us, but three of those have come in the last three meetings - that's as many as we'd achieved in our previous 23 visits. Gabriel's goal back in September 2024 saw us win three consecutive away derbies for the first time since September 1988.  

Arsenal v Tottenham is the fifth highest-scoring fixture in Premier League history (190), behind Liverpool v Tottenham (206), ourselves v Liverpool (199), Liverpool v Newcastle (193) and Newcastle v Tottenham (192). That equates to an average of 2.9 goals per game across our 66 meetings, and the 44 occasions both teams have scored is another Premier League record for a single fixture. On four occasions there have been games that have seen seven or more goals: successive 5-2 home wins for us in 2012, a 4-4 draw at Emirates Stadium in 2008, and the 5-4 win at White Hart Lane back in 2004 where Robert Pires grabbed what proved to be the winner. The first Premier League North London Derby without either for the first time since 2014.

No fixture in Premier League history has seen more penalties awarded than in the north London derby, with 24 of the 26 spot-kicks being awarded all netted - another league record. Robbie Keane in December 2007 and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in March 2019 were the two players to miss from 12 yards. Meanwhile, Tottenham have scored an own goal in four of their last five Premier League games against us, while they’ve put through their own net more often against us (6) than they have against any other club in the competition. Only Liverpool have accidentally scored more often for an opponent in Premier League history, with Spurs benefiting from the Reds' mishaps on seven occasions. Cockerels v Field Guns!!