BEST and PAPE

Football On This Day - 7th February 1970

George Best gave a masterclass performance when he scored 6 goals in an FA Cup Fifth Round match at the County Ground home of Northampton Town. Manchester United won the the match 8-2. Northampton's goalkeeper, Kim Book, later said 'not even the Berlin Wall could have stopped Best that day'!! 

Ray Fairfax, Best's marker, said 'The closest I got to him was when we shook hands after the game.'

match 8-2. 

On the 7th February 1925 one of the most unusual player transfers in English football history took place. Albert Pape started the day as a player for Second Division Clapton Orient (now Leyton Orient) and travelled by train with his team-mates for a League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford. 

Before his departure from London, representatives of the two clubs had spoken on the phone and had agreed in principle for Pape's transfer from Orient to United for a £1070 fee. When the Clapton Orient players arrived at Manchester's Piccadilly Station around mid-day United manager John Chapman was there to negotiate terms with Pape. Terms were agreed and the paperwork was wired from the Manchester General Post Office to the Football League and the FA and about an hour before kick off Albert Pape was confirmed as a Manchester United player. 

In the morning he was expecting to play for Clapton Orient against Manchester United but in fact turned out for Manchester United against Clapton Orient. Not only that he scored a goal for his new club in their 4-2 victory over his old club!

HULL CITY v MANCHESTER CITY (15 years ago)

6th February 2010 when the new rich kids on the block, Manchester City, came to visit the KCOM Stadium. A first goal for Jozy Altidore and a thunderous effort from George Boating, earned the Tigers three valuable points.

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CU4dPDNqH0

KCOM STADIUM Capacity: 25,586 (all seated)The Club moved to the MKM Stadium in December 2002 after leaving their former Boothferry Park home where they had been resident for 56 years. The MKM Stadium is home to both Hull Football and Rugby League Clubs.

Club Nickname: The Tigers

Year Opened: 2002

Pitch Size: 114 x 78 yards

When league football resumed agfter the War in 1946, the club moved into the newly built Boothberry Park. First planned in 1929, the stadium had seen slow development due to financial difficulty and the impact of the war on the city, particularly the Hull Blytz In 1951, Boothberry Halt railway station opened to serve supporters travelling to the stadium. It would ultimately close in 1986 because of safety concerns.

Boothferry Park would be the Tigers' home for 56 years before they left for the new KC Stadium in December 2002. By this time, the old ground had fallen into disrepair and the Taylor Report had enforced its ruling that clubs in the top two divisions of English football must be all-seater. Although Hull fell outside the restrictions at the time, playing in the fourth tier, it showed the club's ambition to progress.

City were joined at the new ground by Hull FC of the Super League. In 2006, the stadium was named "Best Ground" at the inaugural EFL Awards. When its sponsor, the KCOM Group, rebranded in 2016, the stadium was renamed to the KCOM Stadium, capacity 15,000. It was again renamed in 2021, becoming the MKM Stadium when MKM Building Supplies bought the stadium's naming rights.

Worth trying a "bit" of Geography by looking up Hull's location on a map/atlas. Hull City are one of very few clubs in English football to have no clear rival. Hull do contest the HUMBER DERBY with both Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe Utd, however they are both Lincolnshire clubs and generally consider each other as their main rivals, rather than Hull.

Latest Championship result 1st Feb: Hull City 1 v 2 Stoke City

MAC THE MOUTH SILENCED

February 5 1972. Remember this? John Motson never looked back. "Radford...now Tudor's gone down for Newcastle...Radford again....OH what a goal!!Radford the scorer, Ronnie Radford and the crowd....it's invading the pitch...and now it take some time to clear the field!" 

This was a goal that launched the career of a 26 year old BBC commentator, John Motson. Motty had been sent to cover the match probably as a snippet on BBC's Match of the Day that evening.

Football On This Day
In a Fourth Round FA Cup replay, Southern League (at the time) Hereford United defeated First Division Newcastle United 2-1, on a quagmire of a pitch at Hereford's home ground, Edgar Street. It was the first time in 23 years that a non-league side had defeated a First Division team in the FA Cup. 

Newcastle took the lead in the 82nd minute, against the run of play, with a goal from Malcolm Macdonald. With only 4 minutes remaining Ronnie Radford equalised with a spectacular 30-yard effort and during extra time Ricky George hit the winner. Amazing. The famous 'Oh, what a goal! Radford the scorer, Ronnie Radford' quote was said by John Motson in his Match of the Day commentary that evening, the game being the "lead" match. 

The 26-year-old Motty was in his very early days on TV and later credited that match as being his big break-through in TV. He later wrote is his autobiography 'It changed my life because my boss on Match of the Day realised I could be trusted to commentate on a big match.' SEE BELOW!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OKKskhyBS8

Mottie played for a "Commentators' Eleven", a team that played matches in the South-east, for Charity and one day his XI ventured to the school I taught at, Charterhouse in Godalming, Surrey. We raised a Charterhouse XI, made up from staff, boys and Old Carthusians (plus an odd pal) and played for Charity, entertaining a decent crowd, on Big Ground, the 1st XI pitch at the school which was first played on in the 1880s. The game was a success, the result did not matter and Motty commentated throughout the game from the right wing, he played wel on a day concluded with suitable refreshments and perhaps a glass of beer in the Old Boys' bar!

Malcolm MacDonald, clearly upset by the result against Hereford, announced in his newspaper column, that he would break Ted Macdonald's record at the Edgar Street replay! 

The neat symmetry to this was that it was the first time a non-league side had beaten a top-flight club since Yeovil Town (yes, a non-league side) knocked out Newcastle's regional rivals, Sunderland, at home, in the 1948-9 FA Cup Round Four, 2-1 aet. In the next Round 5, Yeovil met Manchester United and went out gracefully, 8-0 at Old Trafford!

In the earlier Cup Round 2, Yeovil Town had beaten neighbouring Weymouth 0-4, away and in Rd1 against Romford, had won 4-0.

1966-1970 WORLD CUPS

Following the 1966 World Cup shambles by the Brazilians (I watched them collapse with dismay!), Brazil then lost matches in 1968, to West Germany, Czechoslovakia, Mexico (twice) and Paraguay. The 1970 World Cup was looming and signs were not good. 

With the press sharpening their pencils, the Brazilian FA president, Joao Havelange, gave the managerial job to journalist, Joao Saldanha. Many thought this was a cynical trick to quieten the press but maybe just an act of genius!! Maybe his journalist comrades would not attack "one of their own". Saldanha, a former Botafogo player turned writer had been asked to step in as coach to his former club in 1957, leading it to the state championship, so there was evidence.

In Saldanha's first 13 matches, Brazil won them all, including the World Cup qualifiers, in which Brazil scored 23 goals and let in two. Off the pitch, there were "issues", with Pele, the World's greatest player, apparently, not able to see from one eye and therefore should be dropped. 

Saldanha also failed to bow to pressure from the Brazilian FA President, Emilio Medici, to pick his favourite striker, Dario! Saldanha said, "I don't choose the president's ministry and he can't choose my front line." When his predecessor as coach, Dorival Yustrich criticised his managerial skills, Saldanha went looking for him to discuss the issue, carrying a loaded pistol!! Accused of being emotionally unstable, in early 1970, Saldanha was replaced by Mario Zagallo, who led the team that Saldanha had "crafted" to the most famous of all World Cup victories. Zagallo was rewarded with a winner's medal, to add to his two winners' medals

Remembering the "violence" of the previous World Cup's, the 1970 Tournament passed without a single sending off, equalling the 1950 record and Mexico's competition was noted as a World Cup when "skills returned".

Brazil won their South American tournament, winning 6 out of 6 matches (v Paraguay, Columbia and Venzuela) scoring 23 goals (including 11 in two ties against Venezuela), letting in ONLY 2 goals. They beat Italy in the Final, wiping them 4-1 in front of 107,000 at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

England (the holders) did well to get to the Quarter-finals, inevitably losing to West Germany 3-2, after extra time, (after 90 mins 2-2), having been 1-0 up at half time. In the Guanajuato Stadium in Leon, only 24,000  attended.

Wor JACKIE, SHEARER AND THE "RACE"

When Alan Shearer scored for Newcastle Utd against Portsmouth on February 4th 2006, he became Newcastle's leading goal scorer, overtaking "Wor" Jackie Milburn's club record of 200 goals that had stood since 1957-which makes 49 years. When Alan turned up for a "trial" at Newcastle, when he was 15 years old, he was placed in goal-don't know why? Maybe the coaches thought he was "Wor Biggun"? The Toon Big Wigs would have regretted that move after they had to pay £15 million to bring their favourite "son" home.

Shearer was named "Football Writers' Association Player of the Year" in 1994 and won the PFA "Player of the Year" award in 1995. In 1996 he came third in both "Ballon d'Or" and "FIFA World Cup Player of the Year" awards. In 2004 he was named by Pele in the FIFA100 list of the World's greatest living players. Shearer was one of the first two players inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021.

Since retiring as a player in 2006, Shearer has worked as a television pundit for the BBC. In 2009, he briefly left his BBC role to become Newcastle United's manager in the last eight games of their 2008-9 season, in an unsuccessful attempt to save them from relegation. Shearer awarded the CBE, he is a Deputy Lieutenant of Northumberland, a Freeman of the City of Newcastle and an honorary Doctor of Civil Law of Northumbria and Newcastle Universities.

In London in 1991, Wimbledon FC had the nerve to ask to play their home matches at Twickenham, the home of Rugby!! The RFU rejected the idea and meant that The Crazy Gang could not play their home matches in front of rows of empty seats!! Crystal Palace came to the rescue and agreed to ground share.

"Shearer is the classic working class sporting hero ... everything legend demands an English centre-forward should be ... As a striker, he comes closer to fitting the Roy of the Rovers' fantasy than anyone else lately admired by English crowds". Below....Shearer as described in The Guardian on 10 April 1995. A comic book hero in the Tiger comic and annual. I had a few!|

KEEGAN FLIES IN LIKE A COMET

During the 1991–92 season, Newcastle United participated in the Football League Second Division.

The season started with much promise but quickly deteriorated into a relegation battle. Manager, Ossie Ardiles struggled to add to his squad of talented youngsters due to lack of funds, the truth being that the club was severely in debt. At one point it had looked like Newcastle would be relegated and could go out of business. Sir John Hall had all but taken control of the club, and replaced Ardiles with Kevin Keegan on this day in February 1992. 

Like Halley's Comet, Kevin Keegan was making a trade mark sensational "return" to Newcastle Utd. Kev was appointed as Newcastle manager and asked to get his team to avoid relegation to the "Third Tier". Newcastle United was in a spot of bother and the Club hierarchy decided to take a huge risk by flying Keegan into St Jame's Park after he had spent the previous few years on Spanish golf courses, An improvement in form helped Newcastle to avoid,  narrowly, relegation from the Second Division, with their survival only confirmed on the last day of the season. They finished 20th, just above the relegation zone – the lowest League finish in the club's history. 

Just as in the 1980s, Keegan's mere presence captivated the North-east. St James' Park was regularly packed to capacity again and United confirmed their Second Division survival with a 2–1 win at Leicester City on the last day of the season, after a last-minute own goal. Even though the club had to scrap to narrowly avoided relegation, the club's supporters were overjoyed with the choice of manager and the prospect of a bright new start!!

 

Here is the "end" of the 1991-2 Second Division League Table.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
18	Sunderland	46	14	11	21	61	65	−4	53
19	Grimsby Town	46	14	11	21	47	62	−15	53
20	Newcastle United	46	13	13	20	66	84	−18	52
21	Oxford United	46	13	11	22	66	73	−7	50
22	Plymouth Argyle (R)	46	13	9	24	42	64	−22	48

AND a bit of a coincidence in 1940, on this day, a record was made for football match postponements in Britain. The Wartime League was hit by bad weather with only one out of 56 matches beating the "freeze"!! Bristol City would have prefered that their fixture against "local rivals", Plymouth Argyle, did not avoid the freeze, as the fixture went ahead and they were thumped 10-3 by the Argyle!!

FOOTBALL CLOSES-IL CALCIO CHIUDE

 On 2 February 2007, a riot occurred between football supporters and the police in Catania, Sicily. The clashes occurred during and after the Serie A match between the home team, Catania and local rivals Palermo, both football clubs, playing in the Sicilian Derby. Police officer, Filippo Raciti was killed; in response Italia Football was suspended for about a week.

Gazzetta dello Sport frontpage on 3 February. The headline reads: Policeman murdered, football closes

The football match between Catania and Palermo, a derby between two of the three Serie A clubs that hail from Sicily (the other being Messina), was originally scheduled to be played on 4 February at 15:00. However, after requests from the Catania management, the Lega Nazionale Professionisti brought the match forward to 2 February, with 18:00 as the scheduled kick-off time, in order to avoid clashing with the official St Agatha celebrations in Catania.

The match started without the Palermo supporters, who arrived in the stadium ten minutes after the beginning of the second half, allegedly because of organizational problems. After the Palermo supporters' entrance, with Palermo leading 1–0 thanks to a controversial goal by Andrea Caracciolo, the throwing of smoke bombs and firecrackers started, forcing the police to reply by throwing tear gas canisters towards the Ultras (groups of football supporters). As a result, the match referee Stefano Farina decided to suspend the match for over forty minutes, in part because tear gas had drifted into the stadium and was affecting the players. After the end of the match, won 2–1 by Palermo, Catania supporters outside the venue began attacking members of the police force; Raciti died during these incidents, a fatality which was found to be due to severe liver injuries caused by a blunt object, contradicting an initial hypothesis which claimed his death was caused by an improvised explosive device. The local magistrate assured there was no direct responsibility by Palermo supporters in the events. The riot's sole fatality was police officer Filippo Raciti.

Born in Catania, Raciti joined the Italian police in June 1986, and joined the local flying squad in late 2006. He lived in Acireale, with his wife and two children, aged 15 and 9.

A week before his death, Raciti gave evidence at the trial of a football hooligan, who was then freed by the local magistrate. According to one of his colleagues, the hooligan laughed in his face as he left the court. Raciti died as a result of liver damage caused by blunt object trauma, disproving an initial hypothesis which claimed his death was caused by a homemade firecracker.

Raciti's death provoked outrage in Italy, with a great and somewhat uncommon amount of solidarity towards the Italian law enforcement forces, and massive coverage worldwide. A 17-year-old from Catania was later jailed and detained in custody, charged with the murder. As of February 2007, he was being investigated by the Italian police.

On 17 February 2007, the city council of Quarrata, in Tuscany, approved a proposal to name the local football stadium after the Italian policeman. An official ceremony, also attended by Raciti's widow, was held on 10 March, making Quarrata the first city to name a stadium after him.

Catania chairman and owner Antonino Pulvirenti announced his willingness to leave the football world, stating it was not possible to go on "doing football" in the city of Catania. A couple of days later he reconsidered.

On 2 September, Stadio Massimino finally reopened its doors for the first time since the tragic events causing Raciti's death, hosting a Serie A game between Catania and Genoa after which the venue underwent major work to fulfil the newly introduced safety regulations. Raciti's widow Marisa Grasso attended the match, and one minute silence was observed before the starting whistle to honour her husband's memory.