STEVE BRIGNALL? SHEARER and PAUL GASCOIGNE

April 7th 1979 With 15 minutes remaining, Arsenal’s Steve Brignall came on as a sub for Frank Stapleton at Liverpool in a 0-3 defeat in front of a packed Anfield – and that proved to be the only time he ever played in the Football League! Steve went on to Harstad in Norway and ended his career playing for Kent non-league teams.

on April 8th 1988, having made two substitute appearances in the League for Southampton Alan Shearer made his starting debut for the Saints against Arsenal at the Dell and at 17 years 240 days of age became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the top flight. Southampton won 4-2.

Same day, 1994 The greatest goal I have ever witnessed was Paul Gascoigne's for England against Scotland at Euro '96. He was a player with amazing ability but you are perhaps left wondering what might have been. He was definitely the most "reported on" player of his era. The stories ranged from him belching into a TV microphone to his brushes with police. He had problems keeping his weight down and had a bit of a drink problem - sorry a 'refuelling' problem as England boss Graham Taylor called it. Then there were the injuries. They ranged from a thigh strain caused suffered getting out of bed to badly torn cruciate knee ligaments, which saw him miss the whole of the 1991/92 season. Another career threatening injury came on April 7th 1994 with a broken leg suffered in a training incident when with Lazio, an injury that saw him miss nearly all of the 1994/95 season. 

Junior 1980–1985	Newcastle United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1984–1988	Newcastle United	92	(21)
1988–1992	Tottenham Hotspur	92	(19)
1992–1995	Lazio	43	(6)
1995–1998	Rangers	74	(30)
1998–2000	Middlesbrough	41	(4)
2000–2002	Everton	32	(1)
2002	Burnley	6	(0)
2003	Gansu Tianma	4	(2)
2004	Boston United	4	(0)
Total		388	(83)
National team
1987–1988	England U21	12	(5)
1989	England B	4	(1)
1988–1998	England	57	(10)
Teams managed
2005	Kettering Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Born May 27th 1967. + Management!! Not for long....

 At his worst! and..... at his best....

film is 15 minutes LONG ....video "life story" and best goals film is 15 minutes....video "life story" and best goals    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyACBGS030k

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

THE WORLD'S WORST GOLFER

4th April 1959: For the first time, a club scored double figures in a Division 4 match – Hartlepools United (they had that extra "s" in their name in those days!) also setting a club record League victory when defeating Barrow FC 10-1 at the Victoria Ground. Here's some more.......

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3994718670252035536/3137038405099242668?hl=en-GB

I have written about these two clubs in the past and the reason I am using Barrow again is that I have just returned from Sheffield Vue Cinema where the "Phantom of the Open" has been entertaining a smallish audience in Meadowhall. The "Phantom" happens to be Maurice Flitcroft, who one way and another managed to play in the British Open Golf Championship, having never played the game properly before! Maurice Flitcroft ... was a chain smoking, shipyard crane operator, from Barrow-in-Furness, whose persistent attempts to gate crash the British Open Golf championship produced a sense of humour failure among members of the golfing establishment.

Mark Rylance leads and he is supported by actors who played Flitcroft's family, friends and some fruity members of the various golf clubs involved. The film is to be recommended.

I was excited to see in the story that Flitcroft worked at the Vickers Shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness (founded 1871), an "industrial" site that over the years, many Charterhouse A Level Geographers have visited, on the Dept annual pre-Easter Field Trip to Cumbria. One way and another we managed a half day industrial visit to the works, where the students were party to the inner workings of the site, including areas where the nuclear submarines were being built. We also had half a day in Sellafield! That might account for my loss of memory?

The second half of the day was spent on the coastline near Barrow-in-Furness, where we investigated beach "processes", you know, Long Shore Drift etc and especially sand dune formation, which involved us sneaking on to Maurice's golf course near Barrow, with our measuring tapes etc. Marram grass is tough rough! 

Well it was meant to be nearby, although the golf scenes were shot at Bedgebury Manor, Littlestone Golf Club and the industry at The Historic Dockyard Chatham. Bedgebury Manor is a former boarding school set in 200 acres of parkland in the Weald of Kent.

FASHION

Today, football is still coming to terms with Kalvin Phillips' baffling footware. The return of Premier League football, after the international break, was almost completely hijacked by the Leeds United ace’s bizarre footwear he was wearing recently. His shoes did not take a "stud", apparently. Remember, FOOTBALL IS ALWAYS THE WINNER.

Mario Balotelli was never too far away from outrageous headlines and here he is with outrageous headware in 2010. Is it a hand? A chicken hat? Or a radio aerial? 

Wayne and mates appear on Manchester's streets with baggy boots, cutty jeans and their baggy garments encapsulates an era of fashion, many are glad to see the back of!!

Meanwhile, rivals Liverpool lost their 1996 FA Cup final on both footballing and fashionable fronts, succumbing to Manchester United, the Reds winning 1-0 at Wembley, courtesy of a wonderful strike from Eric Cantona. The Frenchman’s strike may have come as a relief to most football fans as the Merseysiders investigated the Wembley pitch with some truly agonising white suits. When the fashion choices of players are more memorable than the match itself, then you know a side’s choice of garments has not gone well.

Tom Davies' tenacious displays have garnered him a reputation for being a midfield rascal. But while Everton fans grew accustomed to the Englishman's determined displays, his fashionable choices continue to amaze and shock in equal measure.

He turned many heads with his baggy, tweed dressing gown, baggy cream trousers, and purple shoes. He is likely wearing that exact dressing gown to this day as he is currently at home nursing a nasty knee injury that has kept him out since November.

David Beckham is coolness personified, but even he had his fair share of fashionable gaffes. While we are more accustomed to the former England captain sponsoring the likes of Gillette and Emporio Armani, Beckham found himself in the fashion headlines for the wrong reasons when he was seen sporting a sarong in the 1998 World Cup.“Twenty years ago when I wore that sarong people were shocked,” Beckham said. “It was an outrage. They were saying ‘Why are you wearing that? What were you thinking?’ Many may still be asking those same questions of the Inter Miami owner.

When Sheffield United were faced with imminent relegation from the Premier League, manager at the time Chris Wilder likely told his players to pull their socks up. Unfortunately, Oli McBurnie may have taken that too literally when he tucked his flamboyant tracksuit into a pair of long socks.

Gareth Bale is not the most popular figure at Real Madrid at present. And the Welshman would probably be relieved he chose to sport this skin-tight cardigan and trouser combination, while his stock remained high at Los Blancos.

CANADA TAKE THE SWORD

 The Canadian coach says the sword represents "the swagger we want to play with", as his squad reaches the Qatar 2022 World Cup Finals; it seems to be working. Having qualified for the Men's FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986, it is fair to say that Canada has more cutting edge these days, in more ways than one (both edges?)! Canada topped the CONCACAF qualification reached their first World Cup in 36 years. 

The country travels to every game with a "physical sword" mascot, engraved with the words "Qatar 2022". Manager John Herdman (Herdman is originally from Consett, County Durham, England) revealed the team's totem after their 4-0 win over Jamaica. This sealed the qualification and it symbolizes the "New Canada". The sword is engraved "Nihil timendum est"-"Fear is nothing". That's the "New Canada" and it symbolises the swagger that Canada wants to play with. It goes into every stadium to symbolise that Canada "owns" their ground. Having qualified with "smooth sailing" in CONCACAF, they qualified for November's World Cup Finals before Mexico and the USA. 

When the Canada squad went to Costa Rica for their qualifier, the sword was seized by customs with photos appearing in the national newspapers. Without their lucky sword Canada were beaten 1-0, their only defeat in the group, so far. It was returned to the squad after they left Central America, with Herdman stating that it was present at Sunday's historic win over Jamaica."We got it! We got it back! It was in that "turf" at the BMO field! Better than a Maple Leaf?? AND NOW FOR THE RANKINGS 2022.

Copa Mundial de Fútbol México '86
1986 FIFA World Cup official logo, designed by Rubén Santiago Hernández
Tournament details
Host country	Mexico
Dates	31 May – 29 June
Teams	24 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s)	12 (in 11 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Argentina (2nd title)
Runners-up	West Germany
Third place	France
Fourth place	Belgium
Tournament statistics
Matches played	52
Goals scored	132 (2.54 per match)
Attendance	2,394,031 (46,039 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Gary Lineker (6 goals)
Best player(s)	Diego Maradona
Best young player	Enzo Scifo
Fair play award	Brazil

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Soviet Union	3	2	1	0	9	1	+8	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	France	3	2	1	0	5	1	+4	5
3	Hungary	3	1	0	2	2	9	−7	2
4	Canada	3	0	0	3	0	5	−5	0

Source: FIFA

1 June 1986
Canada	0–1	France	Estadio Nou Camp, León
2 June 1986
Soviet Union	6–0	Hungary	Estadio Sergio León Chavez, Irapuato
5 June 1986
France	1–1	Soviet Union	Estadio Nou Camp, León
6 June 1986
Hungary	2–0	Canada	Estadio Sergio León Chavez, Irapuato
9 June 1986
Hungary	0–3	France	Estadio Nou Camp, León
Soviet Union	2–0	Canada	Estadio Sergio León Chavez, Irapuato

ISLAS MALVINAS-40th ANNIVERSARY

This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands) War, (April 2nd until June 14th 1982). We pay homage to and honour the memory of the fallen Argentine and British soldiers, who lost their lives in the South Atlantic. It should also lead us to reflect on why, four decades on from the cessation of hostilities, Argentina and the United Kingdom have not been able to resume a substantive dialogue to resolve the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, despite the call made by the international community through UN resolutions.

On August 19th 2018, the England "C" National XI ventured to the Falkland Islands to play an international match on November 10th and 11th at Stanley, next to the Government House and Community school.

Paul Fairclough, the ex-Liverpool star, managed the National squad, which consisted of players from Hertford Town, Northwood FC, St Paul's Jersey, Bracknell Town, Hanwell Town, Reading City, Basildon Utd, Leverstock Green, Bury Town, Didcot Town, Buxton, Barking, Chalfont St Peters and Witham Town.
The squad played against the Falkland Islands team and a Combined Services Military Police, the next day.

The visitors also held coaching sessions at the Community school and at the Islands' local Junior and Infant schools at Mt Pleasant.
Chair of the FA Representative Matches, Andrew Shaw, arranged the goodwill visit to the Islands and the armed forces.
The squad also attended a remembrance service at the capital's Christchurch Cathedral.


The Falkland Islands have had organised soccer since 1892 when the first official game was played between the British Defence Force and the Domestic Volunteers.
Stanley FC was formed in 1916, a National XI was first brought together after the Second World War and the locals eventually gathered together to form an Island League, which today includes the C&R Construction FC, Fire FC, Teenage Mutant Ninjas Skrtles, the Green Island Falcons, Home Bankers amongst 8 clubs. The military sides tended to be too strong for the local teams and it was the West Yorkshire Rgt that featured as most successful.

The Falkland Islands Football League (FIFL), Branded Stanley Services Ltd. Football League, is the national governing body in the Islands. The association operates the national side and the Stanley Services League, the only domestic league on the islands. They also sponsor an all-star team from the league, called Stanley FC, who occasionally play friendly matches against stationed troops on the islands and Royal Navy makeshift teams.

FIFL is not a member of CONMEBOL, the governance of South American football, due to the issues over the sovereignty of the Islands and Argentina.

Stanley FC, therefore have The NatWest Island Games to compete in, from 2001 and in 2013 they earned a third place medal. In 2017 they played in Gotland against the Isle of Man, Hitra and Yns Mon (guess where they're from)-losing all three matches and playing out a final match against Alderney, which was lost 0-3 to earn 16th place.

Distance and costs limit the number of times the FIF representative League team can honour the invitation to play in such tournaments. Flights have to be by RAF and LAN, naturally having limitations in joining in the Island Games. Those Islanders who get picked include mainly locals but four Englishman were included; Sam Toolan of Worthing Utd U18, Joshua Ennis of Sheffield Utd, Ethan Gilson-Clarke from  Cheltenham Town FC academy and Daniel Briggs-unattached. One other "foreigner" was from Bangkok!

BEES, BATES AND JOSE

As I write, on April 2nd, Chelsea has suffered a "devastating" Premier League defeat to neighbouring Brentford FC. The Bees came from 0-1 down at Stamford Bridge, to win 1-4. The great news is that Christian Eriksen topped his recovery from "near death", to score the third and contribute to Chelsea's first defeat to The Bees since February 1939, (1-3 in the Div 1 Football League). Since their first meeting in 1935, Chelsea has won 10 times, drawn 2 and lost 5 times in history. Previously in this season's PL, Chelsea won 0-1.(There was also a 0-2 win in the League Cup in December).

On this day in 1982, Ken Bates bought heavily-in-debt Chelsea…for £1. With somebody that Chelsea knows well, José Mourinho and Bates certainly seemed to keep the home fans happy for a while. Jose did move on of course. On April 2nd 2011, Jose's 150 game unbeaten home league record, as a manager, ended when his Real Madrid side were beaten 1-0 by Sporting Gijón in the Primera Liga at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.  Jose's previous home defeat, which was his only other home league defeat as a manager (at the time), had taken place on 23rd February 2002, when his 9-man Porto side were beaten 3-2 by Beira-Mar in the Portuguese League. 

Over the next 9 years Mourinho's sides were unbeaten in 150 home League matches on the trot - those matches comprised his last 38 matches at Porto (36 wins, 2 draws), all 60 in his first spell at Chelsea (46 wins, 14 draws), all 38 matches at Inter Milan (29 wins, 9 draws) and his first 14 home matches at Real Madrid (all 14 were wins). 

When he returned to Chelsea in 2013, for his second spell as boss, the Special One saw the Chelsea part of the unbeaten home Premier League record increase from 60 matches to 77 (61 won, 16 drawn) until lowly Sunderland recorded a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on 19th April 2014. This loss was one of 13 that season, the others were in non PL matches or away PL games.

Way out in front and ruining the game for everybody was Chelsea's remarkable run of 86 league games at Stamford Bridge without defeat from March 20th, 2004 to October 26th, 2008. The only thing surprising about the four-year run, is it only spawned two league titles, back-to-back in 2005 and 2006, but it was a period that really established them as the new challengers to United's dominance as Arsenal also began to falter. Again, it was Liverpool who mercifully brought that League run to an end with a 1-0 win. There were defeats in FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA games though.

FIFA WORLD CUP: THE BALLS

There was shock when The Sun newspaper reported that Alex Ferguson had agreed to become Life President of the Referees Association. Fergie never had an easy relationship with match officials but the Manchester United manager was reported to have accepted the role in an effort to end his long-running feud with the officials. Under the terms of his appointment, he promised to serve as an ambassador for all referees and their assistants and would try not to criticise their performances after matches. Then the date was noticed! April 1st

I heard this "live" this mornIng on Talksport:

https://talksport.com/football/1077119/april-fools-day-arsenal-ray-parlour-prank-breakfast/ and 

Rangers' anagram-based madness? The best April Fools' gags are the ones that have a hidden streak of cleverness, even smart people might miss - which makes this one a beauty. In 2003, the news Glasgow Rangers were about to spend £5m on a striker was no big thing (those were the day, eh Rangers fans?). So the story that Greek striker Yardis Alpolfo was on his way to Glasgow from Galatasaray seemed like no big deal - especially as Rangers announced the deal on their own website.What all the many publications who reported the story missed was what you get if you treat 'Yardis Alpolfo' as an anagram. Unscramble the words and hey presto, you have… April Fools Day.

The FIFA World Cup ball. The Al Rihla ball, below, is inspired by "sand dunes". There is the colour of the Qatari flag and traditionally white Arab clothes. One of the main innovations of the World Cup 2022 ball is Speedshell technology. Speedshell is aimed to increase the speed of flight and rotation of the Al Rihla ball to achieve excellent aerodynamics and a perfect shot. The ball’s official name is ‘Al Rihla’ which means “the journey” in Arabic.The ball’s design is inspired by the nation’s architecture, iconic boats and national flag. ‘Al Rihla’ is environmentally friendly and made exclusively with water-based inks and glues.

The full sized ball sells at £130 and the mini one at £15. One percent of the ball’s net sales will go to the Common Goal, a charitable movement launched by Spanish footballer Juan Mata. Common Goal encourages football players, coaches and other organisations to pledge at least one percent of their salaries to a collective fund that supports football charities around the world.

Below: The T Model from 1930, the First World Cup.

Above: The Slazenger Challenge Four-Star 1966

It all kicks off on Monday November 21 2022 through to Sunday 18 December.