Match Two : Reading 1 – Ipswich 0
After the Fulham match this was a disappointment in many ways.
But the visit to Reading started well with this greeting from the structural steelwork of the station.
Steelwork At Reading Station
I had wanted to have a delicious egg and watercress sandwich from Marks and Spencer, but their stores in both Paddington and Reading stations were gluten-free free zones. Or at least as sandwiches were concerned!
The Police on duty at the station didn’t know where to get the buses to the Madejsky stadium, so in the end I guessed. And luckily right! The Police did say they weren’t from Reading, but surely they should be briefed on basic questions.
When I got to the stadium, I was at least met by these bikes.
Ready Bikes
The name of Ready Bike is certainly memorable and there’s more here.
In the stadium I was treated to the worst cup of hot chocolate I’ve ever had.
A Very Bad Cup Of Hot Chocolate
I have the same drink at Ipswich and they make sure it’s all mixed up. They are obviously berks in Berkshire, when it comes to making hot chocolate.
They also expected me to climb to the top of the back of the stand.
Wot No Handrails!
Surely there should be some form of handrail! I did climb up and down without any trouble.
Throughout the match we had to put up with the worse public address system,I’ve not heard in a long time. They also weren’t putting up things like substitutions on the big screen.
The match was the final disappointment in that Ipswich lost to a single goal scored after a bad mistake by David McGoldrick.
Let’s hope it’s all a lot better on Tuesday in Birmingham.
On Line Rail Tickets Aren’t Always Cheapest
I’m going to Reading today to see Ipswich play Reading at the Madejski Stadium. It is one of the easiest out-of-town stadia to get to, as there is a bus service from the main Reading station.
I live about a ten minute walk away from Dalston Junction station on the Overground.
They have recently updated the ticket machines there, so you can buy any point to point ticket for use on the day or the next one after 16:00.
So yesterday, I would my ticket for Reading today at Dalston Junction station. As I have a Freedom Pass, which gives me free travel to any station within the Zone 6 Boundary, I was able to buy a ticket from the machine that took me from the Zone 6 Boundary to Reading. Previously to this clever machine appearing on the Overground, the only way to buy this extension ticket was to go to a Ticket Office and queue for often twenty minutes or so.
Zone 6 Boundary to Reading Ticket
The ticket cost me £7.40 with my Senior Railcard.
That seemed cheap to me, so this morning I looked at the First Great Western web site, to see how much they’d charge.
It would have cost me £11.70.
Was the ticket machine programmed by a senior citizen with a Freedom Pass or just somebody, who understood how holders of such passes think and behave!
I suspect though that over a season buying my London to Ipswich tickets at an Overground station, might save me nearly a hundred pounds.
The only problem for some people will be that their local Overground or Underground station doesn’t have these new ticket machines.
But as they are so comprehensive and surely every non-London ticket sold is revenue to Transport for London, it can’t be long before these are the universal ticket machines in London.
The only thing they don’t do is to issue Oyster cards, which is probably not needed, as they will probably not be needed for ticketing at some point in the next few years.
Crawley For The Carling Cup
I went to Crawley Town to see Ipswich get knocked out of the Carling Cup in extra time.
It wasn’t a good match for Ipswich, except that some youngsters made promising debuts.
At Crawley Town
I had got to the ground courtesy of a lift from my cousin, with whom I had supper.
But coming home. there was no other way thsan to get a taxi to Three Bridges. Luckily I was able to get a lift with a Crawley Town supporter, who was also going back to London on the train.
Crawley would appear to be one of those grounds, where to get away after an evening match you are going to need a taxi.
Match One: Ipswich 2 – Fulham 1
It was a result, I hadn’t expected as I walked to Portman Road from Ipswich Station.
Ipswich Town is one of the better placed grounds with respect to transport and also access to the town centre. There are also maps, but as you can see the stadium from the train station, you don’t need to consult them.
The only problem I had, was that the club had run out of programmes.
The club must have been pleased with the result and also with the size of the crowd considering, the match was on Sky. It’ll be interesting to see, if the performance has any effect on the gates at home matches after the next, which is Norwich, so it will be a full crowd.
Blitzkreig
Whether you think this German side is good is irrelevant, but the Brazilian side has about as much commitment as a bad Division One side!
Will anybody beat the Germans?
Yes! But I don’t know who will!
How To Motivate Your Team
I like this story about paying the footballers from Ghana in cash, which a mate forwarded from Bloomberg.
Perhaps, if we paid ours in cash, they’d have performed better.
Crass Commentary From ITV
When France scored their third goal against Switzerland, the ITV commentator said this.
Not for the first time, there really is a mountain between France and Switzerland.
That really is one of the most crass statements heard in a football commentary.
One Of The Most Depressing Days Of The Year
I hate June the twentieth, as it was my late son’s birthday. He would have been forty-four today, if he hadn’t died of pancreatic cancer four years ago. I never hate my late wife’s birthday in the same way, but that could be eased as another son virtually shares it.
So why did England’s kamikaze defending have to ensure their exit from the World Cup last night?
The media will be full of this depression today.
To make matters worse, BBC Breakfast is talking to a lady, who lost her husband and daughter in a speed-boat accident.
I’ll have to find something stimulating to do.
If my son were still here, we’d at least be arguing the whys and wherefores!
My only comfort is life could be worse. I did try to organise a luxury trip to the World Cup some months ago, but failed.
I would feel a lot worse, if I was waking up in Brazil.
ITV And The BBC Disagree Over Fred’s Penalty
ITV’s commentators and experts thought that the penalty awarded to Brazil last night was correct. The BBC’s pundits were adamant Fred dived.
The Times this morning is saying that Fred was guilty. Type “Fred penalty” into Google News and most newspapers the world-over think it was a dive!
Brazil were lucky, as other decisions of the referee didn’t stand up to video scrutiny.
Let’s hope that the rest of the referees have been to Specsavers!
A Little Alone Time For Roy
This headline accompanied a picture of Roy Hodgson walking by the waterfront by the team’s hotel in Rio.
Managing footballers and especially those as well-paid as today’s England team, is probably not an easy job. I got to wondering, how the players were reacting to Roy’s apparent calmness.
So I looked up Sir Alf Ramsey’s obituary in the Guardian. Talking about his playing career, they said this of Sir Alf.
He was a calming and reassuring influence on the whole team.
So one could probably assume that he managed his teams in a similar way. We do know from the likes of Ian Callaghan, that Sir Alf fought to get the best for his players, and it was probably partly from Sir Alf’s pushing that the whole England squad from 1966 got winner’s medals. Even if he got his posthumously.
I don’t think that for the England team to get worked up will do them any good.
So is Roy doing his best to keep total calm in the camp? After all he has been to World Cup Finals before with Switzerland in 1994. So he probably knows more about motivating a side in the World Cup than any of the public! Or the pundits!
The Anonymous Widower 