QUIZ-SNOWSTORM

Name five Premier League managers who have won 80+ (at least) PL games with ONE PL club.

On this day in 1891, Burnley played Blackburn Rovers in Division One and were 3-0 up at half time. The game was played in a snowstorm to start with and within four minutes of the second half a fight started and the players involved were dismissed. Annoyed with the decision, the entire Blackburn team left the field except for goalkeeper H.J Arthur, the England goalkeeper.
The referee gave Burnley a freekick, who took it and Arthur claimed offside. He was then given the free kick and took such a long time over the restart (nobody to pass to!) that the ref, bewildered by now, abandoned the game.
The first official league game between these two local clubs took place in November 1888 and their last encounter was in the League Cup on 23rd August 2017 which Burnley won away 0-2.
Overall Burnley have Won 42 Drawn 19 and Lost 41 times.

The referee was J.C.Clegg, later known as Sir John Charles Clegg, who became President of the Football Association. Charles Clegg was a proponent of the amateur game and when a young footballer came before him in a hearing over his dismissal for making ungentlemanly remarks to the ref, Clegg asked him to repeat what he had said.
The lad said "I have shit better referees". Clegg responded with this judgement:
"All right, I'll give you a week to prove that you can do that, but if you can't, I'm afraid I shall have to fine you £1."
William and Charles (below) Clegg were very important in the development of football in the Sheffield area and ultimately in the world!

Answer to above: AW, AF, BR, RE, RM...work out the initials and clubs.

SPURS ON THE MARCH

With a night of European ahead, and Tottenham taking on Barcelona, the Spurs might take courage from their inspirational two legged victory over Glasgow Rangers on this day.
On October 31st 1962 Spurs were 5-2 winners at White Hart Lane in front of a 60,000 crowd.
The clip shows the 5-2 win and is worth watching just for the crowd shots,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kprA6xANFnk
Did you spot the Spurs goalscorers?
John White 2, Les Allen, Maurice Norman and an o.g. by Bobby Shearer.
The rest of the team:
Brown, MacKay, Baker, Henry, Blanchflower, Greaves, Medwin, Jones.

The 1st Round 2nd leg tie had been scheduled for the 10th December but was postponed due to fog!

On December 11th, the away leg, Spurs sneaked a 3-2 win at Ibrox where the Scots made up the majority of a 80,000 crowd. Bobby Smith 2 and Jimmy Greaves did the business in an unchanged team.
Tottenham went on to win the final. It was Spurs' fourth tie, having played in the First Round v Rangers, Quarter-Final v Slovan Bratislava 6-2 and Semi v OFK Belgrade 5-2. They met Athletico Madrid and won the final 5-1.

There have only been two "serious" games between the two clubs, but plenty of friendlies.

MOST SCORERS IN A GAME

10th December 1892 saw Sheffield United crush Burslem PV (Port Vale) 10-0 away in a Division 2 game; the only double figures score AWAY in the history of the Football League. In the return game it was 4-0 only. United came second in the division whilst Burslem were relegated.

On the same day in 1955, Derby County played in Division 3 for the first time and met Boston Utd from the Midland League in an FA Cup 2nd Round tie at home. Six of the Boston side were old Derby players-Roy Harrison who won an FA Cup medal in the 1946 Cup Final with the Rams. Others were Geoff and Don Hazledene, Ray Wilkins (no!), Dave Miller and Ray Middleton. The heart of the Boston United side was good enough to beat Derby 6-0.
They then met Tottenham and were beaten 4-0 on January 7th 1956. The Spurs eventually lost to Manchester City in the semi-final, who won the cup beating Birmingham City.
In 1973-4 the two clubs met again in the cup and Derby won 6-1 away after a Baseball Ground 0-0 draw.


In 1960 on this day, Newcastle and West Ham drew 5-5 with 9 different goal scorers contributing. Newcastle were relegated that season having scored 86 goals but conceding 109. In 1989, Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 9-0 with 8 different scorers. Steve Nicol scored 2. In 1984, 9 Liverpool players managed 11 goals when the beat Stromsgodet from Norway in an 11-0 European Cup Winners Cup win.

When Arbroath beat Bon Accord 36-0 in a Scottish Cup tie, Archie Thompson and Jocky Petrie scored 13 each.

NOPS AND WASHERS

As the original Middlesbrough FC formed, it did not embrace professionalism, so the club played in the FA Amateur Cup and could also play in the FA Cup. They tried professionalism in 1889, reverted to amateurism in 1892 and then became professional fully in 1899.

Middlesbrough Ironopolis FC formed as a club representing the heavy industry based in town and became professional.

Known as "the Nops" and also known as the "Scabs and Washers", the club was formed in 1889 and dissolved in 1894.
On this day in 1893, they beat Rotherham Town 6-1 in their first season in Football League Division Two. The Nops ended up 11th out of 15 in the division whilst Rotherham Town stayed in the division having been 14th, possibly because Ironopolis dropped out of the league.

Prior to their unsuccessful visit to the Football League, the Nops had been Northern League winners, had won 2 cups and reached the FA Cup Quarter-Final. They played at the Paradise Ground in Middlesbrough which held 14,000, but they rarely proved that popular. On the 18th February 1893, they met Preston North End in an FA Cup replay and lost 0-7 having drawn away 2-2; they did fill the ground though.
In September 1893 they met Liverpool and only 2,000 went through the turnstiles. Liverpool eventually became Division title winners.

Other teams in that division with unfamiliar names were: Small Heath, Burton Swifts, Burslem PV, Lincoln, Woolwich Arsenal, Ardwick, Northwich Victoria.
READ THIS TO FIND OUT MORE AND SEE THEIR KIT.
http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Middlesbrough_Ironopolis/Middlesbrough_Ironopolis.htm

Middlesbrough FC, when they played as amateurs, played in the FA Amateur Cup. The Old Carthusians met them in the Final on 27 April 1895 at Headingly, losing 1-2.

The next year Middlesbrough lost to the Royal Artillery (Portsmouth) in the FA Amateur Cup Round 2, who went on to the Final. Middlesbrough won the Amateur Cup again in 1898.
In 1899 they turned professional permanently.

SIGNED PROGRAMMES

My son, no mean footballer, has a job that takes him to the inner sanctum of most European football clubs. His latest venture was into Old Trafford for the UEFA Champions League Group H match between United and Juventus. Cunningly he gets a programme, one of many I guess provided for his job, and finds a celebrity who politely obliges to sign the programme. So today I acquired the 23rd October 2018 UEFA Champions League programme signed by Denis Law.

Couldn't ask for more, could I? The tie played on October 23rd 2018 resulted in a 1-0 loss for United at home (74,000) and a 2-1 win away (42,000).


Son knows that he is contributing to a considerable collection of programmes, dating to the early 1960s, some in terrific conditions, some signed, so a bit scruffy. But if treated seriously, they will fetch a "small fortune" in the future. I'm leaving the pile to him in my will!!

Back to United and Juve, the two massive clubs have played each other 14 times in similar ties with results even at P14 W6 D2 L6.
The first combat was a 2nd Round tie played on the 20th October 1976 at Old Trafford with a 1-0 win for United. 59,000 attended.
The return was a 0-3 defeat away on 3rd November 1976. Over 66,000 saw this.
The United squad included: Stepney, Houston, Nicholl, Greenhoff, Albiston, Coppell, Daly, McIlroy, Macari, Pearson, Hill, McCreery and Paterson (born Elgin, played for Nairn County!).

Since then they have met in 1984 Cup Winners Cup Semi-Final (loss 2-3), 1996 (1-3) , 1997 (3-3), 1999 (4-3) and 2003 (5-1).
The other 1984 semi-final included Aberdeen versus Porto, who won 0-2 during the Ferguson era. Sir Alex, of course, joined United in 1986.

POSH PIZZA

Peter Boizot died recently aged 89 and his obituary may be read in several national papers today. Who, why? Peter Boizot was a self made man who invested money in his local Football League Club, Peterborough United.

He was born into a modest family, near the city and during his early years he enjoyed singing in the Cathedral choir and worked hard in the class room, gaining a place at St Catharine's College, Cambridge to read History. He loved the Mediterranean life style, travel, jazz and sports especially hockey and soccer. Having introduced pizza to an English "audience" that didn't really appreciate the Italian dish, he gradually made money through Pizza Express, with cute selling techniques, jazz entertainment and other novel additions to the dining experience. Anybody keen on making a fortune should read about his life and simple ideas for a few tips.

I am interested in Peter Boizot because I met him occasionally at college reunions and watched jealously, as his kind donations to "our" college sports' fund usually gave hockey a financial boost, a sport he continued to play into later life. He didn't need to improve the soccer pitches at Cambridge colleges, which of course were set on the land where the FA Laws were seriously modified, as early as the 1850s and of course were flat as pancakes, on very fertile Fenland soil.

This weekend the crowd at the ABAX Stadium, Peterborough United, from League One, will pay tribute to a man who gave the Posh a push. His investment during the 1990s led them to promotion in 2000 as his left Pizza Express to find its own way, whilst he indulged in his favourite sports with a joy for life.

In 1921 local coach, Pat Tirrell, announced that was looking for Posh Players to play in a Posh Football team, when he founded Fletton United. In 1923 he added Peterborough to the club name, hoping to attract local businesses to finance his campaign as they joined the Southern League. At that time the club was fondly known as the Brickies, linked to the local industry.
In 1932 the club went bankrupt and it reformed in 1934 as Peterborough United, playing in the Midland League. Posh joined the Football League in 1960 and immediately won the Division 4 title. They also has quite a reputation as FA and other Cup giant killers and for winning the Football League Trophy in 2013-14. Centre-forward Terry Bly holds a record that still stands, for scoring 52 goals in the 1960-1 league season.
In 2002, Victoria Beckham filed a complaint to the UK Patent office over the use of the name Posh. Her claim was unsuccessful.

WOMEN AND BEER

I was travelling through the "borderlands yesterday", yes that bit between the West Midlands and Wales, so I never had time to write last night (I was at the Old Charterhouse in London where the Carthusians first played their "mob" game of football).

On December 5th 1921, the FA thought about women and football and decided that they should not play the game; after all it was the invention of the FA, which at the time most certainly would have been an all male affair. So NA na nya na.
The stiff shirted FA gentlemen actually couldn't stop women from running around with a football, but they could ban any FA member club from hosting a women's match. So they did and that ban was not lifted until 1971. All those wasted years.

If you more on women and soccer then have a look at this lot:
https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2017/07/dickladies-and-co.html

On this same day in 2005 Paul Gascoigne was relieved of his managerial duties at Northern Conference side Kettering Town. He has overseen two wins, two draws and two losses in the first six games of his reign, but it wasn't the points that upset the committee, it was the PINTS! Yes they sacked him for drinking too much. No duty of care there then? It was worth a book though.