Old Timey Football Thread

[tmesis]

It's staggering really how football really changed beyond recognition in the 20 years or so after The FA formed. So many sports were formed from rules as they were around 1860, but football changed more than all the others.

[Winston Biscuit]

Video footage of Blackburn Vs Villa from 1904

https://twitter.com/IainMcMullen/status/1651484159100035073?t=SpIAFij4w8moEXi80Ts6fw&s=19

[Whore Jackie]

The clubs in the south at the time were often tied into posh schools and they played by different rules

teams in Scotland and the north east of England were the driving force behind codifying the game and setting out leagues so teams could compete evenly. Took the south quite a while to catch up.

I think that different rules thing was long gone by then. That was the whole point of the FA, to get a single set of rules.

It was single set of rules but there were different styles. The Scottish passing game, pioneered by Queen's Park, was far superior to the game in England, which was predominantly running in packs and dibbling - in England passing was seen as cowardly and giving away responsibility.

So most of the professionals were brought down from Scotland because they played a more successful version of the game - and many of the crucial founding fathers of the game worldwide were also Scottish.

Jonathan Wilson's Inverting the Pyramid covers this and more brilliantly.

[paultheroyal]

This is a brilliant read, well put together and some excellent photos.

First match at the new Wembley and "that horse".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/extra/bjy6eeo1gs/white-horse-final-100-years-on

[Green]

In the second of my occasional old school footballers Christmas party photos - here's the Liverpool players Christmas party, 1990

[Sutekh]

Reading winning a game.

[Silver Fox]

In the second of my occasional old school footballers Christmas party photos - here's the Liverpool players Christmas party, 1980

NINTCHDBPICT000290609660.jpg

Nice of them to invite so many players who wouldn't sign for the club for several years

[LUX]

someone dressed up as Hitler bottom right.

[Green]

In the second of my occasional old school footballers Christmas party photos - here's the Liverpool players Christmas party, 1990

NINTCHDBPICT000290609660.jpg

Nice of them to invite so many players who wouldn't sign for the club for several years

Good catch, thanks!

[Silver Fox]

Solid edit, we now just need to work out who came as Hitler, fortunately it may have been a lesser known player so no need to cancel them

[Dave the rave]

The great John Hollins. What a player he was. He booked me a trial for Chelsea and QPR dontcha know.

Also I never got how Spurs could sell a legend like Jennings to Arsenal for next to nothing (40k). He had many amazing years at Arsenal whilst Spurs went for Ray Clemence, who in my opinion was past his best.

Because Spurs bought Clemence 4 years after they sold Jennings? Clemence replaced Barry Daines.

More pertinently though, didn't Spurs sell Jennings after they got relegated in 1977? Having said that, a quick trawl of the internet suggests Keith Burkinshaw thought that at 32, Jennings was past it. Spurs did have the worst defence in the division that year so maybe not a completely outlandish opinion.


Talking of Spurs, hands up who knew Mark Bowen was a non playing substitute n the second leg of the 1984 UEFA Cup final?

Spurs thought Pat was past it (he was 32) and sold him to Arsenal in August 1977 to replace Jimmy Rimmer who was sold off to Aston Villa. He lasted as Arsenal keeper for 8 seasons before returning to Spurs for one (non playing as it turned out) season. John Lukic replaced him at Arsenal in 1985. Pat then moved to Everton as a backup keeper for a further season before finally retiring (aged 42) after Northern Ireland’s World Cup in 1986. Just to complete his playing record, he joined Spurs for £27k in 1964 after one season with Watford who had picked him up from Newry Town the season before.

Knew Bowen was at Spurs in the 80s but that’s about it. Seems he was there between 1981 and 1987 and in that time he managed just 20 appearances. His career really started after moving to Norwich in 1987 where he became their best ever left back! His last ever game in football as a player was for Reading in the Johnstone’s Paint Tonka Toy Associate Sherpa or whatever it’s called and think it was during his month or so at Reading he landed his first managerial/coaching gig as assistant to Mark Hughes with the Welsh national team.

I met Pat Jennings about 30 years ago. He was handing out the trophies at the festival of football weekend at Butlins. Not sure how he got the gig looking back. I can confirm he was a giant of a man and had hands like shovels.

[Winston Biscuit]

currently reading a book on Cruyff at Barca and they are going through his time at Ajax first

85/86 season. 120 goals! WTF!

[Winston Biscuit]

also, I had no idea that as a 'f*ck you' to Ajax after they told him they were not going to offer him a new contract, he contacted Feyenoord, their biggest rival, to ask to play for them, they gave him a contact, he was brilliant for them, they won the league for the first time in a decade, he was named Eredivisie player of the season, and he announced his retirement afterwards

[Winston Biscuit]

Hugo Sanchez 89/90 record goal scoring season for Real Madrid, where he scored 38 league goals, were all scored with a single touch

[Winston Biscuit]

Was just looking up some Ajax detail and noticed that of their first 20 managers, covering the time period of 1910 - 1965, 12 were English, 1 Scottish and 1 Irish

I didn't know that, and now want to read up more on it!

[Dirk Gently]

Was just looking up some Ajax detail and noticed that of their first 20 managers, covering the time period of 1910 - 1965, 12 were English, 1 Scottish and 1 Irish

I didn't know that, and now want to read up more on it!

I'd point you to this - the story of how Brits took football to the world.

[Winston Biscuit]

Was just looking up some Ajax detail and noticed that of their first 20 managers, covering the time period of 1910 - 1965, 12 were English, 1 Scottish and 1 Irish

I didn't know that, and now want to read up more on it!

I'd point you to this - the story of how Brits took football to the world.

Ooh that's the kind of book I like!

[Sutekh]

Was just looking up some Ajax detail and noticed that of their first 20 managers, covering the time period of 1910 - 1965, 12 were English, 1 Scottish and 1 Irish

I didn't know that, and now want to read up more on it!

I'd point you to this - the story of how Brits took football to the world.

Ooh that's the kind of book I like!

Yes, it's thanks to these guys England (let alone Wales, Ireland and Scotland) regularly fail to win anything.

[Sanguine]

Solid edit, we now just need to work out who came as Hitler, fortunately it may have been a lesser known player so no need to cancel them

That's David Burrows, fwiw.

Second left on the front row could be Andy Robertson's previous incarnation. Is uncanny.

[Winston Biscuit]

was looking through the historic winners of the European Golden Shoe last night and was laughing at the slightly mad period in the years before the weighted points were brought in, where the 95-96 winner was someone from the Georgian league, the 94-95 winner was someone from the Armenian League, and the 93-94 winner was David Taylor of Porthmadog in the League Of Wales!