OUR GLORIOUS GAME

Having been a teacher and youth sports' coach for about 40 years, I found the behaviour of the players at Stamford Bridge last night distasteful. What ever the pundits say on radio and TV about it being a great game, the behaviour of the players set a poor example to our young footballers and their parents!
The audible language used by the crowd and the violence on the pitch needed to be put on air after the childen have gone to bed.
Sorry, but if youngsters hear and see this kind of thing being ignored by those who should know better, pundits and referees especially, then they will reproduce it on a Sunday morning when they are playing their own matches.

I saw some bad behaviour on Sunday where a young man (an under 12) blatantly kicked out at two different opposition players when he had been muscled fairly off the ball. The referee said he wanted to let play flow, so didn't do anything. In the goalmouth from corners the goalie was obstructed blatantly when the ball was in the air.

Over celebration is always an issue with kids piling on top of one another in the area of the nearest corner flag and I have a certain amount of suspicion when players come on to the playing surface or after scoring a goal, cross themselves and hold their hands up to the sky. Have they all had recent deaths in the family or is there an upsurge in religious commitment?

Not to mention the crowd. Despite the public and well advertised schemes by the FA to ensure "Respect" around the pitch, bad behaviour is not going to go away. Parents don't know the effect their "encouragement" has on their charges and of course the criticism of the referee is unacceptable. Opposition coaches ranting and raving up and down the touchline don't help much either. Oh well, Chelsea only had three players booked and Spurs 9. There were no red cards and Mark Clattenburg was said to have had a good game, by keeping players on the pitch. True Corinthian spirit.

Apparently the flare up between Rose and Willian fired up the Chelsea players and then Hazard came on-end of game! Fair dos to Chelsea for taking advantage of Tottenham's lack of discipline.

I don't even want to get into what happened in the "tunnel" after the game when a 69 year old, Hiddink, was knocked to the ground midst a skirmish between opposing players.

The other manager later said, "When an opponent (Chelsea) plays like this it makes me feel proud. This is football" Sadly it appears to be.

Congratulations to Leicester City on their remarkable achievement. Is it really the greatest sporting achievement ever?

Here are two photos to cheer me up. left is Jamie Vardy and his "double" Leicester born Lee Chapman who ened up on the team bus and hopes to be included as a body double for the up coming film.

Here is Jamie Vardy (or is it Lee Chapman?) after the party at his house

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A MAY DAY MAKES

May 2nd 1953 was the day that Blackpool legend Stanley Matthews helped his team win the FA Cup. 

Having transferred from home town Stoke in 1947 at 32 years of age, it looked as though he was going to see out his career quietly by the seaside running his hotel business.

Matthews had been with Blackpool in a Cup Final defeat by Manchester United in 1948. The Seasiders were 2-1 up at half time but lost to Matt Busby's first great team 4-2. In 1951 it was Jackie Milburn who spoiled the party when Newscastle beat Blackpool 2-0. Matthews was 36 years old. Surely there would not be another opportunity. 

Two years later, sporting their famous tangerine shirts, Blackpool played local rivals Bolton at Wembley, with Nat Lofthouse leading the Bolton line at centre forward. The England centre forward was already on the score sheet and Matthews' side we're 3-1 down with 55 minutes gone. It looked like third time unlucky for Matthews but Bolton's goal scorer Eric Bell tore a hamstring and stayed on the pitch. Matthews ran riot against him and provided cross after cross for another Stan, centre forward Mortensen. He had already scored his team's lone goal but with 22 minutes left he received a perfect pass from Matthews and scored another . Mortensen then converted a free kick with a minute of normal time left for his hat trick. Then Matthews set up Bill Perry to make it 4-3.

The final whistle brought an emotional out pouring for a nation's favourite who wept at the moment he realised his dream had come true at last holding his winners' medal. 

Whilst the 1953 Cup Final was known as "The Matthews' Final" many said it should have been called the Mortensen's Final.

Sir Stan (Matthews) a true ambassador for football and for Blackpool will be spinning in his grave at the goings on at his old club as the club struggles in League One and the crowds stay away protesting about the behaviours of present owners the Oyston Family. ( see previous blog)

Bloomfield Road was empty of usual home fans on Saturday as their team lost 0-4 to Wigan who gained promotion and Blackpool are destined for their second consecutive relegation.

AMMIES ANOTHER STEP UP

If you have ten minutes have a look at these highlights, below, from Salford City v Ashton United in the play off semi-final at Moor Lane on the 26th April.
Workington then met the winners of the Moor Lane head to head and so here it is:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBEnhA7Unvc  courtesy of Salford University.

If you don't know the history of Salford City then shame on you, so go to the internet or have a look at my blog from a while back when the "Class of '92", that is Scholes, Giggs, Butt and the Nevilles, had the common sense to invest 50% in a Manchester non-league club from Kersal. What a return their investment has made.

The semi-final film speaks for itself. The home side went 1-0 up after 24 minutes, Ashton, who have had several years of heartache losing vital matches in trying to get out of the Evo-Stick Northern Premier League fought back.

If you don't watch the video, the extraordinary events went like this:
24 minutes 1-0 to Salford-Hulme scores
68 mins-Haining equalises 1-1
77 mins-Allen comes on as sub for Salford but doesn't stay long.
92 mins-Seddon comes on as sub for Allen!!
93 mins-Gareth Seddon scores, 2-1 to Salford
112 mins-Poole scores third-game over.

At the end of the league season Darlington 1883 were champions and Blyth Spartans were "runners up", 9 points ahead of Salford City and 13 points ahead of the other team in the semi-final play-offs, Workington Town (once a Football league club from Cumbria).
Blyth therefore were subjected to the play-off system and lost their semi-final to Workington.

So the Ammies went on to play Workington in the "Final" on Saturday (30th). Workington would have loved to recreate past times by getting closer to ther Football League. BUT it was not to be as the Ammies (the club once known as Salford Amateurs) came from 1-2 down to win 3-2 on Saturday, in front of nearly 2,000 people. This victory gained the club promotion to the National League North (6th tier).

Clearly the influence of the "Class of '92" has given the Ammies energy and stamina.

Founded in 1940 the club played in local leagues and then went into the Manchester League. They worked their way into the NW Counties Division One North (8th level) and became runners -up in 2007-8. Promotion took them into the Northern Premier League Division One North (7th tier) and were champions in 2014-15.

This successive promotion brings the Ammies a step nearer to the Football League.

ACCRINGTON STANLEY? WHO ARE THEY?

It is up and down time with Aston Villa, MK Dons, Bolton, Charlton, Colchester, Crewe, Dagenham and York slipping out of their relative divisions and the last two out of the Football League and possible obscurity.

These two join a number of ex-Football League clubs now contesting the National League, the 5th tier of the pyramid. There are a couple of old FL clubs in the 6th tier too. 

Can you name them all?

The good news is that there are promotions and my favourite this weekend is Accrington Stanley's rise from "not existing" to starting the new season in League One with the prospect of playing local rivals Bolton Wanderers. They sit second in the SkyBet league Two behind champions Northampton.

Accrington Stanley FC was founded in 1888, very much part of the newly formed Football League. The club resigned from the League in 1893 and did not rejoin until 1921 playing in the newly formed Third Division North. 

By 1960 the club found itself in the newly formed Divsion Four and bankruptsy hit hard. By 1962 the club was relegated out of the Football League, losing their last fixture 0-4 to Crewe and their place was taken by Oxford United.

Accrington played in the Lancashire Combination starting in Division Two for four years and found this difficult to maintain, disbanding after 4 years. The club was reformed in October 1968 eventually playing at their new Crown ground in 1970.  

The club then spent the next years fighting their way through the lower pyramid until gaining a place in the FLeague Division Two after conquering the Conference, as it was known, in April 2006, replacing Oxford United.

The recent rise is partly attributed to money gained from the sell-on clause for their former star Brett Ormerod to Southampton from Blackpool. In 2003 the club won the Northern Premier league title, promoted to the Conference and played their first ever game at this level against another club "from the ashes", Aldershot Town.

In 2006 Stanley returned to the Football League and played Chester City (now defunct) in their first match.

The club has never been out of the lowest division, it has the smallest budget in the League and the seond smallest attendnace figures, beaten to bottom spot by Morecambe!

Today 580 fans travelled to Wycombe to see their team win 1-0 with a 78 minute goal by Mark Hughes. Their final game is at home to Stevenage next weekend and then it's Divsion One here the Accies come.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgYP1d5nN2o

ARSENAL CAST A SHADOW OVER HUDDERSFIELD.

April 26th 1930 saw Arsenal and Huddersfield Town at Wembley again in the FA Cup Final. Huddersfield were a seriously top team managed in the 1920s by Herbert Chapman. Chapman was now the Arsenal manager. Chapman brought in several influential players to boost the Gunners, who made their mark in the 1930s (League winners 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938) (Cup Winners 1930, 1936).

The crowd at Wembley was 93,000 strong and they watched the two teams run onto the pitch together, the first time this happened. The Yorkshire team were hot favourites having won the league three times (1924, 1925, 1926) been runners-up twice (1927,1928) won the FA Cup once (1922) and been losers in the final twice also (1920, 1928). But this was the 30s and times were a changing.

Arsenal's Alex James, who had played for Raith Rovers and Bolton Wanderers previously, had got used to taking free kicks quickly, something allowed in Scotland but not in England. In the Cup Final, after 17 minutes, a foul on James gave him the opportunity to "try out" the referee, who allowed play to carry on with a quick free kick. James passed the ball to Bastin who passed it back to James who rifled the ball into the net; 1-0. No questions asked? The Yorkshire folk were fed up.

At the beginning of the second half the sky was filled with the German airship, Graf Zeppelin, It drifted overhead, casting a shadow on the pitch, making a deafening engine noise and the pilot, Captain Lehmann noted the thousands of fans looking up at his airship. It may have distracted the Terriers who never settled and eventually lost the game 2-0, Jack Lambert scoring the other goal.

Arsenal won the cup that year and their reserves also won the London Combination Cup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q8jPUdwD1g

FURRY CAT, SLIPPY JERSEY

It is April, snow has fallen again today, the end of the football season is closing in on us and cricketers have to wear several layers to keep warm. At this time of the year the anniversaries of two Cup Finals stand out in history for very different reasons.

On April 23rd 1927 the FA Cup left England and went to Wales. Herbert Chapman's Arsenal machine was a firm favourite to beat lower table Cardiff City. West Bromwich Albion were bottom of the First Division that year by the way and were relegated. South Shields and Clapton Orient played in the Second Division. Cardiff had lost the final two years previously losing to Sheffield United.

The Cardiff boys relaxed before the final at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club and on their way round were followed by a black cat. Convinced this was an omen, the players persuaded the owner of the cat to let them have it for a day or two, in exchange for a cup final ticket. The cat was christened Trixie.

For the first time community singing was introduced to the pre-match entertainment and despite concerns that the 91,206 crowd would not join in, it was a great success. The first stadium conductor was T.P.Ratcliff, known as "the man in white". The tradition died out in the 1970s as crowds sang their own songs but "Abide with me" still remains a favourite.

In a dull game, by the 73rd minute, not much had happened which suited underdogs (cats?). As Cardiff attacked a low shot went in from Ferguson and Arsenal's Welsh goalkeeper, Dan Lewis, dived and appeared to fumble the ball. It went through his grasp and under his body, apparently slipping on his new cup final jersey that had hardly been tested. Into the net went the ball.

On St George's day the saints were not with Arsenal. The Cardiff boys claimed Trixie was the clue to success but the Arsenal crew said it was the new slippy jersey and  through superstition did not wash the goalkeeping jersey before a game.

Cardiff's captain, Fred Keenor, was described as a hard tackling, strong running, big voiced and chain smoking wing half. He put his fag out before he received the cup.
Two great snippets:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpftcY-7OwU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5A5CNx9M2s
The other great Cup Final moment was in 1930, but you will have to wait until tomorrow.

WHICH WAY TO THE SHOWER?

I had two comments on the Blog page yesterday. One was from a reader in Ockbrook, Derbyshire...no names, no pack drill (what ever that means-he will know) and one from a lady in the far east asking for $250,000 to help her kick start her life. I wonder what she gets out of the blog?

My Ockbrook friend reminded me about "Kes", a marvellous film, which summed up PE teachers of that age. My PE teacher was Ted Palmer, who ran the line in an Amateur Cup Final at Wembley, maybe around 1963?  Respect! Our first PE lesson as unsuspecting 11 year olds was all about hygiene, ingrowing toe nails and verrucas. Then we had to run through the shower naked. Since we were all boys, I guess it wasn't an issue?

As well as "Kes", I should really have brought to your attention "Next Goal Wins" which tells the story of the American Samoan team's attempt to rise from the ranking of worst football team in the world in 2001 after suffering a 31-0 defeat by Australia, to the daunting task of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. The "Sun" described it as "A glorious underdog story".

The issue of Fa'fafine crops up which means "third gender" and the transgender team member is the Samoan native Jaiyah Saelua, the first person (recorded??) with these characteristics to play in the World Cup. Her contrinutuion to the match was very important but, which shower did Jaiyah go through?

Here's the trailer:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S4C2nQZlSA