YES...OWN GOALS

Sometime ago, I was having a chat on a touchline, with a local ex-footballer, Charles, someone who got out regularly to watch his club and mine, Hepworth United FC, playing home and away. His son was also one of the pillars of the team and both followed Club that Charles helped resurrect in 1969.

The club has a badge that says established 1905, which it was, but with various fluctuations in the interest in football in the local area, the club was eventually reformed but some keen "youngsters" from the Yorkshire village and it is very successful today. There were two men's XIs, a Ladies team, several boys' and girls' teams, around 15 juniors! It is still a thriving club in the Sheffield and Hallamshire Senior and Junior Leagues.

"Veteran", Charles Battye was a regular performer, a serious centre half who took no prisoners. He also scored a few goals....sometimes in the wrong end! I got two stories from him!

Against Brook Motors in the Huddersfield and District League, on a windy day, Charles took a swipe at the ball to clear it and got a top edge. The ball spiraled upwards like a flying saucer and shot towards his goalkeeper, Tony Smith, known as Tonto, who at this time would have felt like his cowboy partner, the Lone Ranger (no masks!!). Isolated in his goal area, the ball flew over his head and despite a despairing dive, nestled in the top corner. The only goal of the day.
Another story included a game at home, on the old Far Lane pitch, against local rivals, Honley FC. Charles nailed 4 goals, one in their net and 3 in his own, mainly from passing back to his goalkeeper, who seemed incapable of pocketing the ball (in those days you could pick up a back pass). Final score 8-5...good game!! Sadly, Charles is no longer with us, but the club's memory of him and his influence is still strong with many reminders of his influence in the club house!
Here is a blog about "own goals" from a while back. Hope it works!
https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2018/12/own-goals-and-gongs.html

18th December 1954, Chelsea's second goal in the 3-1 win over Leicester  was a shared own goal. Two Foxes, lunged at the ball, Stan Milburn and Jackie Froggat contacted the ball equally and the ball flew into their net, "half an own goal each" was the credit on the score sheet.
14th May 1955 an England Schoolboys v Scotland Schoolboys international at Goodison Park, ended 2-2. Both of the Scot's own goals were scored by England centre-forward, Joe Baker. The England goals were scored by Scottish centre forward Alex Dawson They both went on to make a career out of the game.
In Madagascar (now Malagasy) in October 2002, the players of club side Olympique De L'Emryne, were so fed up with the referee's performance that they repeatedly put the ball into their own net, 149 times, AS Adema couldn't believe their luck! The score at the start of all this was 0-0!
Between 1956-7, 1961-2, Danny Malloy played for Cardiff City and Donny Rovers. He never scored for either club but was accredited with 14 own goals.

Frank Sinclair of Leicester City scored an own goal in the last kick of the game v Arsenal at Highbury on August  1999. Arsenal won 2-1. In the next Premier League game v Chelsea on August 14th, Leicester were leading 1-2; Sinclair slotted an own goal again, equalising the score with 7 seconds left in the game.

WEGNER AND WEDNESDAY

In 2005, on October 2nd, talent scouts would have been "on the ready" as Brazil took on Mexico in an Under 17 World Cup Final in Peru. Brazil's "youngsters" defied their "favourites tags" by losing 0-3 to the Mexicans, a team inspired by Carlos Vela...ring any bells? Here he is....

Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005	Guadalajara	0	(0)
2005–2012	Arsenal	29	(3)
2005–2006	→ Celta Vigo (loan)!!	0	(0)
2006–2007	→ Salamanca (loan)	31	(8)
2007–2008	→ Osasuna (loan)	33	(3)
2010–2011	→ West Bromwich Albion (loan)	8	(2)
2011–2012	→ Real Sociedad (loan)	35	(12)
2012–2018	Real Sociedad	184	(54)
2018–2024	Los Angeles FC	152	(78)
Total		472	(160)

Vela attracted interest from a number of European clubs. Where there's World class young footballers, Arsene Wenger isn't usually too far away, so he snapped up Vela, a 16 year old potential star, for a cool £2.5 million. Arsenal won the race for his signature in November 2005, on a five-year deal for a £125,000 fee that rose to £550,000 after he played 50 first-team games. However, since English work permit restrictions for non-EU citizens prevented him from playing in England,  Arsenal quickly loaned him out to Spanish club Celta Vigo in February 2006, but he was returned right away with no games played, as shown above.

The other star of the tournament also caught the eye of Premier League scouts, as Manchester United picked up Anderson (on your right) for the rather more inflated sum of £17m two years later. 

There wasn't much South American skill on show at Selhurst Park in 1991 on this date, as Wimbledon and Sheffield Wednesday played in front of the lowest "top-flight" audience since ther Second World War as just 3,121 turned out to see the Dons beat Wednesday 2-1.

THE FIRST THURSDAY IN OCTOBER. TOFFEES

YES....It's National Poetry Day, the first Thursday in October; but you knew that already!! The National Football Museum in Manchester had an exhibition, by their "Poet in Residence", Paul Cookson when there were published poems on display.  Paul brought together a number of his poems to help "illustrate" our national game, as well as a wide range of other topics. 

https://paulcooksonpoet.co.uk/

Paul is an Everton fan, so I am prepared to subject you Liverpool chaps (and others), to this piece of his work, as a taster. 

Home

It’s who we are
It’s what we do
It’s why we’re here
It’s me and you
It’s where we laugh
It’s where we cry
And where we shout and gasp and groan
It’s where we meet
Week by week
Everton – at home
Everton – at home

At home with those who care
At home with those who dare to dream
More than just a football crowd
More than just a football team

It’s church and it’s belonging
Weekly mass – communion
It’s faith and hope and love and more
It’s family, friends, our union

At home we know our places
The special points where we all meet
And all the usual faces
The click clack of a myriad seats

That music before kick off
That heralds expectation
The Z Cars Theme, A Grand Old Team
Excitement and anticipation

Not just what happens on the pitch
Those in blue on Goodison green
Important landmarks of our lives
Marked by matches we’ve all seen

Guardians of tradition
We pass that baton on
The heroes of the past
The heroes yet to come
Those magic moments that we shared
The joy and pain we’ve known
It’s where we meet – week by week
Everton – at home

The guiding lights on Winter’s nights
The Grand Old Lady’s throne
It’s where we meet – week by week
Everton – at home

Born not manufactured
Never on your own
It’s where we meet – week by week
Everton – at home

It’s who we are
It’s what we do
It’s why we’re here
It’s me and you
It’s where we pray - on Saturday
For future hopes unknown
Our history and legacy
Those times to come for you and me
It’s where we meet
Week by week
Everton – at home
Everton – at home

You will, no doubt, do some more research on the www. If you are a teacher, then his work will bring joy to many of your young students (and old ones). If you are a (grand) parent then this solves Christmas presents! Go on, treat them. https://paulcooksonpoet.co.uk/

The Footballer’s Prayer

Our team
Which art eleven
Hallowed be thy game
Our match be won
Their score be none
On turf as we score at least seven
Give us today no daily red … card
And forgive us our lost passes
As we forgive those Who lose passes against us
Lead us not into retaliation
And deliver us from penalties
For three is the kick off
The power and scorer
For ever and ever
Full time

DRAKE AND DOCHERTY

Some of you may recognise the christian names of two of the English Football League's greatest managers. I wonder if any of the present day goings on were actually being employed in their time, but without all the publicity....pre-IT etc you know! Chelsea FC was a bit of a music hall joke before Ted Drake arrived as club manager in 1952. Drake had been a successful forward in his younger years, a famous forward in the 1930s.

On this day in 1961, Chelsea, in history, had won very little, and quite frankly the club was a bit of a joke, but Drake had been a famous forward playing with Arsenal and England in the 1930s. His club and he won two League titles and an FA Cup and Drake was a top scorer for his team, one season scoring 42 goals, including the winner in the 1936 FA Cup Final and memorably seven goals in one match against Aston Villa in 1935, still a bit of a record!! As a manager he could be regarded as a bit special. 

Chelsea had done little to make its supporters cheery and the first thing Drake did was to change the clu's "homely" image. The club crest at the time of his arrival featured a cartoon of its homely image. The club crest featured a smily Chelsea Pensioner!! This was jettisoned for a "Rangers-style" CFC Logo, soon to become a rampant lion, still used today. The club was no longer to be known as the "Pensioners", becoming The Blues; minor changes of course but ones that instill a winning mentality....as I write this, the Manchester City "goings on" is on the radio and goodness knows where that will end up!!

In 1954/55, the title was expected to be contested between Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Chelsea no where to be included in "the race", especially since they lost their first 4 matches. (as I write the "present Premier League controversy" occupies my radio on Talksport!!)

Drake's side, built around players, Peter Sillett and Ron Greenwood (you should know these two...if not certainly "Ron"). Roy Bentle and was a strong foward...they were all battlers. Chelsea was strengthened and lost only three of their next 25 matches to take the League title from Wolves. 

Despite this success, the Club was criticised much for its "style of play" (rather like the criticism thrown as Mourinho's team when they all had so much success, recently!). Jealousy?

After several mid-table finishes and a slow start in 1961-62, Drake was sacked. He was replaced by an eager player-coach, Tommy Docherty, who couldn't turn things around quickly and soon after an inauspicious start against Blackpool (not a bad side in those days!!), the trend was set and the club was relegated!! But, just as Drake had modernised the club in the 1950s, so Docherty would do so in the new decade. The "new" Chelsea was promoted from Division Two, featuring Ron Harris, Terry Venables and Bobby Tambling and a few others!! They came to epitomise the club's 1960s and maybe set a trend for present day success?

 

29th of the 9th

 29th September 1971

Chelsea recorded the highest score by an English club in a European competition. They beat Jeunesse Hautcharage of Luxembourg 13-0 in the European Cup Winners Cup at Stamford Bridge to complete a 21-0 aggregate victory. Peter Osgood scored five on the night.

Chelsea's record 13-0 win over Jeunesse Hautcharage in 1971 ON 29 September, 55 years ago , Chelsea recorded their widest margin of victory, beating Jeunesse Hautcharage 13-0 in the second leg of their first-round meeting in the Cup Winners' Cup.

The tie was effectively over after the first leg, with Chelsea beating Hautcharage, an amateur side, 0-8 in Luxembourg. But the 27,621 people who turned up at Stamford Bridge for the second leg were treated to a match of historic proportions.

Striker Peter Osgood started the scoring deluge, providing the opening goal in the fourth minute, then adding another two minutes later. By halftime, the Blues were leading 6-0 with additional goals from Alan Hudson (11'), John Hollins (13', pen.), David Webb (23'), and Ron Harris (44').

In the second half, Hautcharage successfully defended their goal until the 61st minute, when Tommy Baldwin increased the lead to 7-0. More goals soon followed, including two more from Baldwin (68', 90'), a second-half hat-trick from Osgood (63', 80', 88'), and one from Peter Houseman (77').

The final score of 13-0 set a single-game Chelsea record and, with a combined score of 21, also beat the previous European aggregate record of eighteen.

Unfortunately for Chelsea, their scoring fortune ended in the next round, where they lost to Swedish side, Atvidaberg, on away goals, 1-1.

CELTIC AND STEIN

It was sixty years ago, on Wednesday, September 28, 1966, that Glasgow Celtic played their first ever European Cup tie and set out on a road that led all the way to the Final in Lisbon, the following May.

Swiss champions, FC Zurich, were the visitors to Celtic Park for the first round, first leg tie, and a crowd of 50,000 packed into Paradise for the match played under the floodlights. It was a tough physical test for Jock Stein's side as Zurich were intent on trying to knock Celtic out of the attacking rhythm that had seen them start the 1966/67 season so well.

After a goal-less first-half, Celtic stepped up the pressure and got the goals that their dominance deserved. The honour of Celtic’s first ever European Cup goal fell to Tommy Gemmell, who picked up a pass from John Clark, strode forward and from over 30 yards out hit a powerful shot which crashed in off the underside the crossbar, leaving Zurich goalkeeper, Otmar Iten, with no chance.

The goal galvanised Celtic, who pushed forward in search of a second, roared on by the supporters. Within five minutes, they doubled their lead. Joe McBride, who had missed a couple of chances earlier in the game, fired home a shot from the edge of the box following an interchange of passes with Bertie Auld that saw the midfielder set up his striking team-mate with an impetuous back-heel which fooled the Zurich defenders.

The result could have been even better for Celtic when McBride appeared to score in the dying seconds of the match. The striker headed home a cross from close-range, but it was ruled out by the Danish referee who explained that he’d already blown his whistle for full-time, which could only have happened when the ball was in mid-flight towards the Zurich goal. It was a bizarre decision to end the game and Celtic thus had to be content with a 2-0 lead to take to Switzerland for the second leg of the tie, on October 5.

Celtic competed for five trophies in the 1966–67 season and the club won all of them: the Scottish League, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the Glasgow Cup, and the European Cup, and completed the only ever European Quintuple. However, their European Cup victory from this season qualified them for the World Championship the following season, which they went on to lose in a playoff to Racing. Over the course of this season, Celtic scored a world record 196 goals in the major competitions they took part in. The team from this season is commonly known as the Lisbon Lions, because the European Cup Final was held in Lisbon.

1966–67 season
Manager	Jock Stein
Scottish Division One	1st
Scottish Cup	Winners
Scottish League Cup	Winners
Glasgow Cup	Winners
European Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Stevie Chalmers  All: Joe McBride
Average home league attendance	31,082

CELTIC: Simpson, Gemmell, O’Neill, Murdoch, McNeill, Clark, Johnstone, McBride, Chalmers, Auld, Hughes.

A TIPPLE BEFORE THE CUP

In the European Cup (yes, the famed historic competition!!) in season 1978/9, a first round tie, Juventus was beaten by Glasgow Rangers and Real Madrid by Grasshoppers Zurich.....two shock results. The beaten clubs could easily have been Finalists (but they weren't!!). Liverpool was the reigning European Cup holders and hadn't been knocked out of European tournaments for four years; having won the UEFA Cup in 1976 and the European Cup in 1977 (somehow that works out as four years!). The Merseysiders were drawn against Nottingham Forest who had beaten Liverpool to the English Football League title and in the League Cup the previous season. But of course it was a typical Brian Clough master class that ruined the Pool's record!

On September 13th, the first leg of the tournament, at The City Ground, Forest won 2-0 and it was a 22 year old Garry Birtles, thrown into the "deep end" by Clough for only his third appearance for Forest. "Birtles did well," said Clough, "Two years ago he was laying tiles on roofs and if he doesn't score again on Saturday, he'll be up there again!!" Birtles didn't score but was retained by his "generous" manager!! With a large prize at stake, Forest were nervous going up to Anfield two weeks later. Always ready to show his lads something special, Clough said to one of his younger lads, "Right get the players a drink!" remembered Tony Woodcock, who said, "We each had a bottle of beer and later, the boss encouraged us to have a glass of wine, or two, with our pre-match meal, at the locally booked hotel." With a couple of hours of sleep on the coach to Anfield, Forest was relaxed and held out for a 0-0 draw in a match Liverpool never threatened to score! 

"They threw everything at us, except the docks," smiled Clough, "but we didn't panic and Forest went on to WIN the European Cup. Clough also pulled the same stunt that season, before their League Cup Final against Southampton, producing a crate of beer, ordering his lads to "tuck in". Result? Forest won 3-2. En Route, Forest beat AEK Athens aggregate (1-2,1-5) = 7-2, Grasshopper (4-1,1-1)= 5-2 , Koln (3-3,1-0) = 4-3. In the FINAL (30th May) at The Olympiastadion, Munich.... Malmo 0-1 Forest. Trevor Francis scored the goal after 45 minutes. 57,000 saw it! NOTE...not a Forest player holding the Cup of course!!

Event	1978–79 European Cup
Malmö FF Nottingham Forest 0 1
Date	30 May 1979
Venue	Olympiastadion, Munich
Referee	Erich Linemayr (Austria)
Attendance	68,500

FIRST IN EUROPE

 26th September 1956

The first European Cup  match  (note, this was before the various present European Cup/League competitions were put into place) was played on English soil. Manchester United entertained the Belgians of Anderlecht at Maine Road. In front of 40,000 fans, United took the lead after only 9 minutes with a wonder goal from Tommy Taylor and went on to win.....by 10-0 (12-0 on aggregate). Dominating Europe was going to be easy....wasn't it!

Date	Match	Result	Score	Competition
12 Sep 1956	Anderlecht v Manchester United	W	0-2	European Cup
26 Sep 1956	Anderlecht v Manchester United	W	0-10	European Cup
13 Nov 1968	Manchester United v Anderlecht	W	3-0	European Cup
27 Nov 1968	Anderlecht v Manchester United	L	3-1	European Cup
13 Sep 2000	Manchester United v Anderlecht	W	5-1	UEFA Champions League
24 Oct 2000	Anderlecht v Manchester United	L	2-1	UEFA Champions League
13 Apr 2017	Anderlecht v Manchester United	D	1-1	UEFA Europa League
20 Apr 2017	Manchester United v Anderlecht	W	2-1	UEFA Europa League

A RAY AND TOM

25th September 1962 Surprise League champions Ipswich Town showed they had no fear of the European Cup when beating Floriana of Malta 10-0 at Portman Road to complete an aggregate 14-1 First Round victory. Ray Crawford scored five of the goals at Portman Road – Ipswich were knocked out by AC Milan in the next round.

                 

25th September 1963 Most will remember Tom Finney, as a loyal one-club player for Preston NE, but on September 25th 1963 he made his only competitive appearance for a club other than Preston - in the European Cup. 

Three years after playing his last Preston game George Armstrong, the manager of Northern Ireland champions Distillery, coaxed the 41-year-old Finney out of retirement to play for Distillery in their European Cup-tie against the Portuguese giants Benfica. On this day in 1963 a 19,326 Belfast crowd witnessed a memorable 3-3 draw between the sides but without Finney in the return leg, Benfica ran out 5-0 winners.

Finney in a Preston shirt v Chelsea in 1956 at Stamford Bridge. Imagine this happening today!!

and his statue outside Deepdale at Preston NE.

WRIGHT SIGNING; WRONG ATTENDANCE

24th September 1991 Arsenal paid Crystal Palace £2.5m for forward Ian Wright, with many doubting the wisdom of paying a then, club record fee for a player not far off his 28th birthday. But Wrighty scored a hat-trick on his Arsenal League debut and went on to score 185 goals in 288 first team appearances, a Gunners record until Thierry Henry came along.

and on the 24th September 1991
Just 2,081 turned up for the Second Round, Wimbledon v Peterborough, League Cup tie at Selhurst Park, the lowest ever home attendance for a top-division club in the competition. Posh won 2-1.

Tue	Sep	24		Wimbledon		1	-	2		Peterborough United
Tue	Oct	8		Peterborough United		2	-	2		Wimbledon
					Peterborough won 4-3 on aggregate

In the Third Round:

Tue

Oct

29

Peterborough United

1

-

0

Newcastle United

and in the Fourth Round:   Tue Dec 3 Peterborough United 1 - 0 Liverpool

D

Fifth Round
Wed	Jan	8		Crystal Palace		1	-	1		Nottingham Forest
Wed	Feb	5			Nottingham Forest	4	-	2			Crystal Palace
Wed	Jan	8		Leeds United		1	-	3		Manchester United
Wed	Jan	8		Peterborough United		0	-	0		Middlesbrough
Wed	Feb	12			Middlesbrough	1	-	0			Peterborough United
Wed	Jan	8		Tottenham Hotspur		2	-	1		Norwich City

Semi-Finals (home and away legs)
Sun	Feb	9		Nottingham Forest		1	-	1		Tottenham Hotspur
Sun	Mar	1		Tottenham Hotspur		1	-	2		Nottingham Forest
					Nottingham Forest won 3-2 on aggregate
Wed	Mar	4		Middlesbrough		0	-	0		Manchester United
Wed	Mar	11		Manchester United		2	-	1		Middlesbrough
					Manchester United won 2-1 on aggregate
Final (at Wembley Stadium, London)
Sun	Apr	12		Manchester United		1	-	0		Nottingham Forest

RIOTS, CONFLICT, HOOLIGANISM, DAILY MIRROR!

 The first instance of violence associated with modern team sports is unknown, but football related violence can be traced back to 14th Century England. In 1314, Edward II banned football, which at that time, WAS a violent, unruly activity, involving rival villages kicking a pig's bladder across the local heathland or from one part of the village to another. The King believed the disorder surrounding matches might lead to social unrest or even treason. 

Conflict at an 1846 match in Derby, England, required a reading of the RIOT ACT and two groups of dragoons (soldiers) to respond effectively to the disorderly crowd. This was identified as "pitch invasions", a common occurrence during the 1880s in English football. The Derby team has its nickname, The Rams, as a tribute to its links with the First Regiment of Derby Militia, which took a ram as its mascot. Additionally, the club also adopted the song "The Derby Ram" as its regimental song. Rammie is the first FULL TIME mascot in the Football League. 1,500 saw this drubbing.               Derby Football Club officially formed in 1884, out of the Derbyshire County Cricket Club, where the players wanted to keep fit, playing the winter sport and so the club was almost named Derbyshire County FC. The club's first official competitive match came in November 1884, in the FA Cup 1st Rd, where they lost 0-7, at home to Walsall Town. 

Arguably the most important match in the club's history (so far) came a year later, on November 14th 1885, in a Second Round FA Cup tie, when 6,000 saw a 2–0 victory over Aston Villa, already an emerging force in English football. This victory established Derby County on the English football map, helping the club to attract better opposition for friendlies. Unfortunately, they lost their next Round match to Small Heath Alliance (eventually Birmingham City FC) 4-2. During this 1885-6 FA Cup campaign, the Old Carthusians, the old boys of Charterhouse School, lasted two rounds longer, eventually losing to West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in Rd 5. West Brom went on to lose the final in a replay to Blackburn Rovers, as the growth of professionalism took over Cups and Leagues.

In 1888, an invitation came to join the inaugural Football League. The opening day of the first ever league season was 8 September 1888, when Derby came from 3–0 down, away to Bolton Wanderers, to win 6–3. The club ultimately finished the season 10th out of 12 teams. From 1895 they played at the Baseball Ground, where unsurprisingly, Baseball had previously been played and the club stayed there for 102 years. 

The first recorded instances of football hooliganism in the modern game allegedly occurred during the 1880s in England, a period when gangs of supporters would intimidate neighbourhoods, in addition to attacking referees, opposing supporters and players. In 1885, after Preston North End beat Aston Villa, 5–0 in a friendly match, both teams were pelted with stones, attacked with sticks, punched, kicked and spat at. One Preston player was beaten so severely that he lost consciousness and press reports at the time described the fans as "howling roughs". The following year, Preston fans fought Queen's Park (Scotland) fans in a railway station—the first alleged instance of football hooliganism outside of a match. In 1905, a number of Preston fans were tried for hooliganism, including a "drunk and disorderly" 70-year-old woman, following the club's match against Blackburn Rovers.

Although instances of football crowd violence and disorder have been a feature of association football throughout its history, (e.g. at Millwall's ground, The Den, was reportedly closed in 1920, 1934 and 1950 after crowd disturbances), the phenomenon only started to gain the media's attention in the late 1950s due to the re-emergence of violence in Latin America. In the 1955–56 English football season, Liverpool and Everton fans were involved in a number of incidents and, by the 1960s, an average of 25 hooligan incidents were being reported each year in England. The label "football hooliganism" first began to appear in the English media in the mid-1960s, leading to increased media interest in, and reporting of, acts of disorder. It has been argued that this, in turn, created a "moral panic" out of proportion with the scale of the actual problem.

Fans have been permitted to bring in newspapers but the larger broadsheet newspapers work best for a Millwall brick, and the police looked with suspicion at somne football fans (particularly at Millwall) who carried such newspapers. Because of their more innocent appearance, tabloid newspapers became the preferred choice for Millwall bricks. "Newspapers were folded again and again and squashed together to form a cosh, so-called The Millwall Brick!! Another trick was to make a knuckleduster out of pennies held in place by a wrapped around paper. You could hardly be pulled up for having a bit of loose change in your pocket and a Daily Mirror under your arm."