CECIL POYNTON SENT OFF

Cecil Poynton won't cut a lot of mustard with many of you, but any Spurs' supporter will recognise the name, as a man who was "trainer" at White Hart Lane from 1945 through to 1972, a period when Tottenham won trophies!
Cecil joined Spurs as a player in August 1922 having started his football career with local club Ton Pentre- yes that's in Wales.
He made his debut against Birmingham City in December 1923 appearing 158 times at left back. He was sent off playing in a league game against Stoke City on October 27th 1928. He retired from playing in 1932 and took on the role as Spurs' "Trainer", a post he held until 1972. He died in 1983.

Spurs did not suffer many sendings off.

Frank Saul became the next Spurs' player to be sent off in a league game when he had his marching orders against Burnley at Turf Moor on 4th December 1965. Frank then went on to Southampton, QPR, Millwall and Dagenham, played 116 times for Spurs. He later became a builder in Essex.

Jimmy Greaves had his marching orders in a Cup Winners Cup semi-final against OFK Belgrade, when he retaliated to being targeted by the opposition. This was another "next" sending off, but not a league game.
Spurs, of course, became the first English club to win a European final.

JIM, PAT AND PELE

December 3rd 1960 saw Chelsea thump West Bromwich Albion 7-1 in the League and Jimmy Greaves scored 5 of them. They might be here??
Peter Brabrook and Ron Tindall finished it off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTtpd07cIA8
In 1986 Pat Jennings played his final organised game when he turned out for a British XI against an International XI at Windsor Park, Belfast. His last official appearance was for Northern Ireland in the 1986 World Cup v Brazil. Jennings won 119 caps overall. he made his 1000 appearance at WBA for Arsenal on 28th February 1983 in a 0-0 draw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG8-5b8rZGI  Hold onto the video for a while, there is a spectacular save after 1 min and 8 secs! amonhst many others.

In 1997 Brazilian super star Pele was awarded the KBE, an Honorary knighthood, at Buckingham Palace. Don't think Pele has any link with WBA??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QEmnP48PEc

BIG DAY FOR FOOTBALL AND UNIONS

Wow! Just recovering from the big game; its 4.30 and I'm not sure I can take the Merseyside Derby as well. Yes Hepworth Junior FC Under 15s have just beaten, this morning, the league leaders (Div 6-last one in the year group) St Columba's FC 6-3. We are second.......

Ok, seriously, I was battered by the North London derby on TV. A heavy heart. What about the young Argentinian defender who keeps giving the ball to the opposition-no not in my U15s, the professional Spurs side??!!?

There was a big game on this day in 1948 with Southampton's Alf Ramsey making his debut in an England shirt at Highbury against Switzerland. England won 6-0 and Alf continued having a connection with the national side for a few more years on.
Ted Ditchburn made his goalkeeping debut too as did Jack Haines and Johnny Hancocks. Billy Wright was captain that day, having accumulated a huge number of 18 caps. Stanley Matthews was top man with 29 caps and in is prime.

Jack Haines came from Worcestershire, played mainly for Bradford Park Avenue, scored twice in this game and was never picked again!
Ted Ditchburn joined Spurs after the War and played over 400 games during the "push and run" episode attributed to Tottenham and manager Arthur Rowe in the 1950s. Ted was an expert at the "short throw" to start moves.

Johnny Hancocks, playing for Wrekin Schools as a junior, debuted for Wolves in 1946 and having made his international debut against Switzerland scoring 2 goals, he played twice more only for England.

On this day, in terms of more international football, England lost the chance to host either the 2018 and the 2022 World Cup Finals. England got 2 votes out of 22 votes in the first "round" of voting and so Russia got the 2018, Qatar the 2022. No controversy then.

Oh and today in 1907, The Association Football Players and Trainers Union (known as the PFA) was formed in the Manchester Imperial Hotel, which is the World's oldest Professional Sports' Trade Union. The first matter to deal with was the issue of the maximum wage at £4.

SPURS PARKED THE BUS BUT NOT AT THE BRIDGE

December 1st, I saw a man buying a Christmas tree this morning, surely too early? On this day in 1990 Tottenham were on their way to Chelsea for a league game, yes by coach to Stamford Bridge. Presumably from the training ground. On the way the coach stopped, with the entourage, at a Hotel restaurant, to allow them all a spot of lunch.
The driver parked the coach in the wrong place and it got a ticket and was clamped after a further amount of time! Where was the driver? Even worse, since nothing had been done to move the coach, presumably the team was still gorging itself on trifle and ice cream, it was towed away. with the kit in it.

Luckily one way and another the chaps got to the ground and rustled up some kit. Oh yes, they lost 2-3. Gascoigne and Lineker scored and at 3-1 down they missed a penalty.
Rest of Spurs team: Thorstvedt, Van den Hauwe, Thomas, Tuttle (who?), Mabbutt, Allen, Howells, Nayim and Stewart. Underground?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSa8uHmTDQk

ST ANDREW'S DAY

The 30th November is of course St Andrew's Day and I know several friends who will tonight, "don" their kilt and sporran and dance around a lot, having piped in a haggis!
A sporran by the way is that pursey thing that dandles down from the waist and is made of sealskin (or leather if you can't get sealskin) and covered in fur.
By coincidence, or was it  an excuse to celebrate being Scottish? The first international match between Scotland and England took place, as details on these links reveal.
https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2017/06/threeheartycheers.html
https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2016/11/i-want-england-to-win.html

This valuable ticket (it's a copy of course) allowed entry to the game; the World's first international football match.
Marion Wotherspoon neatly sewed on the rampant red lion on to the Scot's dark blue jerseys. Her brother was one of eleven Queen's Park players selected. England fielded three Oxford University players and one from Cambridge University. The rest were a mixture of clubs, 1st Surrey Rifles, Barnes, Sheffield, Crystal Palace, Harrow Chequers, Notts Club and Hertfordshire Rangers. Two of the England players had a half in goal each and Chappell was described as "fly kick"......the Scots didn't have one! Score 0-0.
The teams had dinner at the Royal Hotel, george Square and toasted all and sundry, including the Scotland rugby team, who had played the England rugby team for the first time in Edinburgh a year earlier on March 27th.
The Scots scored 2 tries and 1 goal and England 1 try. KNOW WHY IT'S CALLED A TRY? Because by grounding the ball behind the goal line your team could TRY a kick at the posts! FINAL SCORE 1-0.
(kicks after a try, a dropped kick or a kick from the "penalty" mark counted for points)

LOADS OF GOALS

Yesterday's thriller at Villa Park (28th November) saw the home team
score after 11,14, 36, 71 and 75 minutes while their visitors, Nottingham Forest scored at 3,6,22,51 and 82 minutes. The game "to and froed" with 3-3 at half time and 34,000 in the ground. There have been 127 games between the two clubs beginning in December 1880 in the FA Cup and Villa won away 1-2.
On the 12th November 1892 the teams fought out a 4-5 win for Forest away in the First Division.
Anniversary matches  have not been so exciting with a 2-2 draw in 1998 at Forest and a Villa victory 3-1 at home in 1981.
Villa have won 59 and drawn 30 games.

Boxing Day 1952 saw a nine goal thriller which involved West Bromwich Albion at Sheffield Wednesday, scoring only two goals in a nine goal thriller. Their other three goals came from the two opposing full backs and a Wednesday "half back". Over 59,500 saw them win 5-4.
The very next day, 27th December, at the Hawthorns, the Baggies lost 0-1 with over 52,500 watching.

21st April 1930 Leicester City drew with Arsenal in the First Division 6-6
On 21st December 1957 Charlton Athletic beat Huddersfield Town 7-6 and on  22nd October 1960 Charlton drew with Middlesbrough 6-6 in the Second Division.

Reading lost to Arsenal 5-7 in a Capital One League Cup tie on 31st October 2012. The Gunners were 0-4 down, scoring their first goal in added time tacked on to the first half. Theo Walcott scored 3 including the winner after extra time + 1 minute!

Manchester United beat Swindon Town 8-4 in the 4th Charity Shield on 25th September 1911 at Stamford Bridge with only 10,000 watching. United's Harold Halse scored 6, an individual record for Manchester United. And 60 years later George Best slotted 6 goals against Northampton Town on 7th February 1970 and equalled this club scoring record.
The Charity Shield was originally played from 1898 between the winners of the Football League and Southern League. The proceeds went to Charity and later went to the Titanic Fund. It has had a varied history and is known now as the Community Shield.

In the FA Cup Dulwich Hamlet beat St Albans City 8-7 in an FA Cup 4th Round Qualifying round on 22nd November 1922. They also drew with Wealdstone 7-7 in another 4th Round Qualifier on 16th November 1929.

In a Non-League, FA Vase 1st Round tie, on 20th October 2001, in the North-east of England, Washington Nissan hosted Billingham Synthonia which may be recorded as the "match of syllables". Like the syllables (well 5-7, not quite), it went to 6-6 after 90 minutes, then 9-6 to Synthonia and then Nissan scored one more 9-7.

INTERNATIONAL CAPS FOR CORNWALL

From the other end of the country, my South-west correspondent, R.V.Lewis, alerted me to "The Times" sports' pages today which was reporting on Cornwall declaring its football independence, no doubt concerned about Brexit and so on!

Yorkshire did this recently when the Yorkees played as a separate "independent state"  in the Conifa tournament, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations. I have dealt with this topic before.
https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2018/01/yorkshire-caps.html
https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2018/01/owah-baht-that-then.html
This is for states and regions not recognised by FIFA.
https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2018/05/world-football-geography-lesson.html

The Cornish have a "national" team, known as Kernow, the Cornish word for Cornwall, as do the Isle of Man, Northern Cyprus, Tibet, the Sami nomads from Scandinavia and a dozen or more.

Local Cornish players either move out to further their careers or get ignored by big clubs. Name 6 Cornish based professional footballers?

Phil Lafferty once of Exeter City is the "national" team manager and will hunt for squad players, one of whom will be Jack Stephens, born in Cornwall and now with Southampton.

Next up is next year's Conifa European Cup and the World tournament in 2020.
The Conifa 2018 world champions are Karpatalya representing the Hungarian population of the Ukraine, who beat Northern Cyprus on penalties in June. 16 teams took part including:-
Padania from N.Italy (3rd place), Szekely Land ethnic Hungarians from Romania (4th place)
The tournament was "hosted" by Barawa, the Somalis diaspora in the UK and was played in London.
Cornwall play UK Conifa in a New Year friendly.
https://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-rebel-world-cup.html
It must be serious, PaddyPower is involved.