LOCKED OUT OR LOCKED IN; WITH AND WITHOUT A KEY

We were locked out of our Walking Football pitch today. A small and unperfectly formed bunch of chaps and a young girl along with her dad, rocked up at 4pm but there was no key to unlock the astro. Did anyone consider playing on the little recreation area next to the ground? I think it was a bit humid, warm and perhaps a day off wouldn't go amiss; looking for excuses, surely not?

In January 2015 the away end at Kingfield the home of Woking FC in the Conference was put under unnecessary pressure. It could only hold 1,800 Bristol Rovers fans but Rovers had just come from the Football League and hence had a large following making the journey along the M4. Woking appeared unprepared for the onslaught and so hundreds of away fans were locked out of the Chris Lane Terrace. Result? No bad behaviour, some fed up Pirates but it was a 0-0 draw....so not much missed. Woking did make a public apology.

Salisbury City in 2014, Hull City FC in 2000 and Hull United AFC (2015) have all had rental disagreements with their ground owners in recent years and so have not been allowed to use the stadium until new arrangements have been made and debts paid. Coventry City experienced a similar lock out of the Ricoh, over their failure to pay ACL, the stadium owners, appropriate rent. We know what happened to them in 2013.

On a positive note, in 1917, the Munitionettes were women who worked in the armament factories and in the north-east of England and Ladies Football teams were playing cup matches, when due to the war, little serious football was played. So many were eager to see the spectacle that hundreds of "voyeurs" were locked out of the grounds. Bella Raey was a super star who made her name during this period.
http://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/bella-centre-forward.html

Dick Kerr introduced his Ladies team  (see below) that toured the country giving exhibition matches in the 1920s. On Boxing Day 1920, 54,000 went to Goodison to see the Ladies play and needless to say many were disappointed as the gates closed at capacity, leaving many chomping at the bit outside.

Alternatively the referee at a Turkish League game, Cagatay Sahan, failed to give Trabzonspor a penalty awhen the score was 2-2 at the end of an important match against rivals Gazientespor. He was encouraged by the police to stay in his changing room and not come out until it was safe. He stayed there for several hours until the trouble died down.

I have also been part of a fairly serious team that was kept by its manager in the away changing room for "too long" as he let his feelings felt about our performance on the pitch that afternoon. I know who felt better afterwards! The local caretaker wanted to clean it but couldn't get in.

CHANTILLY LACE WHAT A FACE, PONY TAIL HANGING DOWN, A WIGGLE.......

Whilst The Hepworth United Juniors and Open Age Football Club is still waiting for its new club house to be built and for the "other" pitch that turns into a river when it rains to be drained properly, the FA is cutting no corners in its attempt to win the Euro 2016, by spending large numbers of ££££s.

Flying off from Luton Airport was hardly salubrious and suggests a cheap deal with an airline but arriving in their base for the next few weeks at Chantilly (yes there is a song about "lace" and something about cream) investment has been thorough. Chantilly is twinned with Epsom. There is a race day on June 19, known as the Prix de Diane. It must be an omen and hopefully a "rest day" for our boys.

When England's plane drops into Chantilly airport, the Mayor and local schoolchildren will be on site to sing God Save the Queen as a greeting. After all, this few weeks will generate loads of money for the local economy. I wonder if the song will ever be mentioned?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b-by5e4saI

Chantilly is a small town with a population of 11,000, it is 25 miles from Paris and half an hour from the main airport, Charles de Gaulle, whose feelings about the English were often made public and so might stir the loins of our players, if any of them have done a bit of GCSE History. The racing tradition came from the English too, who in the 1830s brought horseracing to the town and inhabited it to the tune of 2,000 English at its peak. Inevitably they formed the football team in 1902.

YOU SEE there's a link coming up here with Belper Town FC. (now my historic researcher in Ockbrook, Derbyshire told me more about the nails. He says that nail making lasted a bit longer than I suggested yesterday. Women and children worked in Strutt's Mill and men made nails in cottages nearby, a settlement made part of Derby's World Heritage Site. It's great innit.) The link? Oh yes, nails, horse shoes.....

There is a large racehorse community nearby and its famous race course, the Hippodrome, where Wayne is welcome to chat to the professionals about why his three race horses have underperformed so far. One of them apparently having psychological issues.

There are various tourist facilities in the small town, such as an Erotic shop, La Fromagerie which has made a cheese especially designed for the English, which looks like a football pitch-so it is "green".
The English Shop/Cafe selling English "ware", papers, digestives and serving English breakfast (not allowed), scones and tea (not allowed) will make the chaps feel at home (possibly). A French waitress, at the cafe, 29 year old Julie is hooked up to a local lad who likes Manchester United, so she wants to "do Wayne and Chris a few favours" during their stay. Steady...

Roy trusts his boys and wants his players to feel that there is a real world still outside the tournament, so they can relax without 24-7 football being shoved down their throats. The local golf course has hosted the French Open 10 times, the Chateau has the largest collection of Old Masters outside the Louvre, so with the youngest English squad in the area, maybe there is a hint of omen here too. I am snatching at straws I know and I dont' suppose for one moment the chaps will go visit the "gallery".

The Auberge du Jeu de Paume (Hotel) at £500 per night will provide Roy's delicate squad with even more of their needs. All 92 rooms have been booked by the FA for the "duration", so there is no excuse. A two star Michelin restaurant and spa forms a solid base from which to prepare for football, although of course, they won't be allowed anywhere near the spa prior to a game and it's ice baths afterwards, although a steam room might just be the ticket between matches.

The practice facilities at the Stade des Bourgognes, the ground of local amateur side, US Chantilly, have been upgraded. A new pitch has been laid to replicate the superb playing surfaces at their group venues, and two English groundsmen have been sent out to oversee preparation and repair. This of course rings bells of "legacy" as US Chantilly will inherit these improvement once the English head home.

Meanwhile, HUFC, old and young, male and female, play on dodgy surfaces with no changing facilities or refreshments. Not even a tap! We have got17 teams though.......

ps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeu_de_paume  Auberge means "inn". The Jeu de Paume is a "palm game". A tennis like game played with the hand (like "fives") and then adapted to a racket, similar to modern day racquets or even real tennis, originated in France.

More about food tomorrow.

BELPER MIGHT HAVE BEEN A BELTER

This post number 651. I wonder if there is anyone out there who can claim to reading them all? I was drinking many real ales in an ale house, The Brunswick Inn, in the "heritage sector" near Derby Station last evening. My dear wife had a school reunion and a good friend of hers (ours) introduced me to an old school buddy of his who had played some serious football and cricket in the region. I am hoping he might get in touch and give me a few ideas from his knowledge of football, so I can expand my research and give him a mention.

Travelling from South Yorkshire through the eastern Peak District to Derby took us past a few quaint villages and towns; Eyam ( I did a blog on Eyam http://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/a-plague-on-you.html), Matlock and the Spa, Cromford and so on. It was Belper that attracted me as I neared Derby. I saw substantial floodlights and a proper football stadium. Bliss!

Belper FC was founded in 1883 and now play in the Northern Counties Division One South. This season they came 13th.

In 1887, probably the club's most notable match was played against Sheffield Wednesday in the 1st round proper of the FA Cup, losing by a creditable 2-3 scoreline. To put this into perspective, the Old Carthusians (a bunch of posh old school boys!!) were eventually knocked out of the FA Cup that season by WBA, the eventual winners, in Rd 6! Wednesday lost to Preston in the same round. Preston NE also got to the final.

Belper has not ventured further in the Cup than this, but they did reach the semi-final of the FA Vase in 1994-5, losing to Oxford City.

Over the years the club has "folded" three times and most recently reformed in 1951 taking over land from the Tootal Group (remember Tootal ties?) and building the ground at Christchurch Meadow now with the Marston's name emblazened. Good sponsorship move!
The club moved into the Central Alliance League when Mansfield Town "A". They then moved into the Midland Counties League three years later.

Belper FC are known as the Nailers. John of Gaunt's hunting lodge was nearby where the club originated and needless to say the punters (or hunters) needed nails for their horses, which were forged nearby. With industrialisation, the demand for nails was soon solved by mechanisation and so the local "production line" collapsed.

Recently the club has had its ups and down getting to the league play offs in 2013-14 only to be relegated the following season. To cheer themselves up they posted a "Special" match for the club against Real Madrid last April only to be found out that this was an April Fools' prank. What lads they are in Belper, eh? Good beer though. The beer in the Brunswick was a bit more interesting than Marstons!

NOT THE WORLD CUP

Some of my readers are retired gentlemen who usually have three hours free during the day to listen to the radio. My friend Lew in Taunton is one and he and I listened to "Not the World Cup" on Radio 4 Extra this morning. There were a series of radio snippets, specially prepared or recovered from the BBC archives, about the great game. And the World Cup (nor the Euros) were mentioned with any purpose. It was a celebration of the not-so glamorous side of the beautiful game.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0499kgw

The last piece featured Terry and Bob, the Likely Lads, trying to avoid finding out the score of the Bulgaria v England international in Sofia. OK don't be put off by this, for there were other little gems including a John Motson piece, Charlotte Green's dulcet tones, JB Priestly chatting about the game and something about a 75 year old footballer, still playing 3 times a week. There's hope for us all.

And now, I am off to Oakwell to watch one of the Hepworth United Junior Girls have a trial at Barnsley FC. What a life.

GAME OF CARDS

Ken Aston was a well thought of English referee who had the misfortune to adjudicate the "Battle of Santiago" in 1962 when Chile and Italy came to blows in a World Cup tie. Ken retired in 1963 having done an FA Cup Final and then was asked by FIFA to be in charge of the World Cup 1966 refereeing. It was not long before he had to witness the England-Argentina quarter-final tie when Antonio Rattin was sent off for "violence of the tongue" amongst other things. The German referee at Wembley that afternoon spoke no Argentinian (Spanish) and of course Rattin had no German. Aston had to come down from the stands, where he was sitting with other officials, to encourage Rattin off the field before a major incident occurred. (see below)

Bobby and Jack Charlton found out the next day that they too had been in the ref's bad books and had apparently been cautioned. They did not know this at the time. Aston reckoned it was time for better forms of communication on the field.

When Aston was driving home one day he was stopped by a "red traffic light" and of course it had gone through the "amber" phase. He thought it a good idea to visualise punishments but it took several years for the use of cards to be accepted. Aston introduced the Red and Yellow cards at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico.  USSR Evegeny Lovchev was the first player to receive a yellow when he was cautioned on May 31st, during the opening match. It worked there were no sendings off at all during the tournament.

GETTING A BETTER VIEW

Typically it is the Germans who have produced a football (or any other activity) stadium that will not take up too much space around it (peoples' homes and businesses), has good sightlines and will allow over 95% spectators to be within 50 metres of the action.

The Suprastadio "folds back on itself" as the number of tiers increases. The German Interpol Studios' architectural division's design takes up one third less space than conventional stadia. The wave like shape traps sound, amplifies noise and is cheaper to run. It can be built as a enclosed arena or as individual grandstands at no extra cost. It will meet health and safety standards and complies with the UK Sports' Ground "green" guide. With new stadia in the pipeline contracts cannot be far away from Interpol Studios.

On the other hand the doyen of football stadia was Archibald "Archie" Leitch, a Scot, born in 1865, was trained as a consulting engineer and factory architect. He died in 1939 leaving behind a substantial legacy all over Britain, where his stadia stand out with typical style. In his obituary there was no mention of his buildings. In 1922, 16 out of the 22 First Division Stadia were his and in 1931 you would have a 1:3 chance of watching football in a Leitch stadium anyway in Britain. His company was quick and cheap, cornering the market in ground building at that time.


The list of his work stretches from Ibrox and Hampden in Scotland to Windsor Park and Dalymount in Ireland and Sunderland to Fulham (see below). The last remaining Leitch standing terrace was knocked down when Saltergate, Chesterfield's old ground was demolished in the 1950s.  His "company" built the Mayflower Stand at Home Park, Plymouth in his style.


One blotch on his reputation was the Ibrox disaster in 1902 when a terrace collapsed during the Auld Enemy match causing several deaths. Despite this he persuaded Rangers to re-employ him to put the matter right. He changed the structure of the terracing getting rid of wooden barriers and floors and replacing them with tubular steel fixed into concrete standing on raised banks.

When the Taylor Report emerged in 1989 after Hillsborough, things changed and as clubs modernised many of Leitch's stands were demolished. Fulham's Johnny Haynes' Stand and the fabulous Cottage remain, being Grade II listed buildings and having been lovingly restored.


With Everton and Tottenham looking to rebuild, they may not call on Leitch's ideas and might rely on the Germans.

You will find examples of Leitch's work in the National Football Museums in Manchester and at Hampden.

KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON

Well done Roy. He has stuck to his guns, taken advice and picked his final 23 for the Euros. So after the "Jose" saturation we now have Drinkwater to swallow in abundance. Apparently some others apparently deserve to get picked.

This is the youngest England squad to play in an international tournament since 1958.

And which nation did better than England in that World Cup? Wales.
The Welsh celebrated their place in the Swedish World Cup by coming top of their group, beating the hosts, then Hungary and Mexico. They then lost to Brazil 0-1 with a goal scored by some bloke called Edson Arantes do Nascimento who was 17 by the way.

England had three draws with the Soviet Union 2-2, Brazil 0-0 and Austria 2-2, so with a goal difference of 4-4 this was the same as the Soviets there was a play off and they beat us 0-1.

Northern Ireland also got through, coming second in their group behind West Germany qualified for the q-fs and then got over excited losing 0-4 to France.

The youngest players in the England squad were Bobby Charlton (Man Utd) 20 and Peter Brabrook (Chelsea) 20, whilst the oldest was Tom Finney at 36 with 73 caps, certainly the elder statesman, then Billy Wright having earned 92 caps at 34 years old and Bill Slater at 31.

The Munich air crash earlier that year involving the youthful and successful Manchester United squad took three young players who might have made a difference; Roger Byrne, Duncan Edwards and Tommy Taylor.

The English team were not allowed to shirt swap because they only one set of kit.

www.amazon.co.uk/Ahm-Tellin-Thee-Biography-Wanderers/dp/1908341939
This biography from Tommy Banks tells the story of football during his time. Having been in the England squad (and played in four matches) on his return from Sweden, he was walkng down his street with his all his England travelling gear on, tie, blazer, pressed trousers when he met a neighbour whonsaid "You look smart Tommy, have you been to Blackpool?". Nice!

Not so nice is this incident that Tommy was involved in as reported in the Bolton News.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/14285368.Wanderers_legend_Tommy_Banks_rescued_after_becoming_stranded_in_bog_in_freezing_temperatures_for_more_than_5_hours/

In the World Cup final the cheerleaders pitch side were banned because it was thought they might give the home side an unfair advantage!

By the way the hosts Sweden were managed by George Raynor, whom I have mentioned before. Our most successful Englishman in that World Cup.
http://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/his-last-post-but-no-statue.html

And it was of course Pele who scored against Wales.