My Earliest World Cup Memories
The earliest World Cup I can remember is in a book I was given about football, which included a report of the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. Looking at the pictures I remember I was puzzled as to why some players had numbers greater than eleven on their shirts.
But the first World Cup Finals I remember is Sweden in 1958. All four home nations qualified for the finals and it was the first World Cup to be properly televised. I think there was high sales figures for large nineteen inch black and white televisions. This fragment on Wikipedia says this about the coverage.
The 1958 tournament in Sweden saw a greater range of matches thanks to the new Eurovision Network; the BBC and ITV both screened matches, although the networks had to overcome opposition to the coverage from the Scottish FA, who were worried that attendances at Junior football matches might be hit.
Just imagine the uproar now, if the Scottish FA tried the same thing.
1962 in Chile wasn’t shown live, but I can remember the iconic pictures of Ken Aston, who refereed the infamous Battle of Santiago.
Reading his Wikipedia entry, there is this section, which describes how he invented the red and yellow cards, which referees in football and some other sports use today.
Did Arsenal Shilt Themselves?
On of my long-standing friends, who just happens to be both Jewish and a Hull City supporter uses the word shilt to mean bringing bad luck on yourself.
So did announcing the Victory Parade cause Arsenal to go behind so early.
If a
Did Arsenal Shilt Themselves?
nybody knows the real spelling of shilt please tell me.
Has Wayne Rooney Grown Up?
I heard this from Roy Hodgson in the England Press Conference today.
If it’s anything to do with desire and ambition then we’ve got nothing to fear. I’ve told the players to go away for a week and get mentally prepared. Wayne has decided to take a physio with him because he is so determined to come back firing on all cylinders. His attitude – spot on, desire – couldn’t be better, ability – yes he has. Now it is all about bringing that to the match on the day.
The Rooney of old wouldn’t have been so professional!
Watching The World Cup
Obviously, Brazil is out for most fans and although I’d like to go to Manaus to see England play Italy on the 14th June, it is probably prudent not to go.
But why not go and watch the match in Italy. I could fly out on the Friday, watch the match in a bar on Saturday night and then take the train back on the Sunday or the Monday.
Cities that come to mind are Venice, Naples, Salina and of course Taranto.
You may ask why Taranto! Just don’t go near a Royal Navy ship or establishment on the twelth of November, as often they are celebrating the battle that marked the start of the end of the battleship and was then imitated by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor.
I Missed The Final Match Of The Season
I have been away all week and at no time did I check the time of the last Ipswich match of the season. After all Saturday matches start at 15:00 don’t they?
I knew that all matches were starting at the same time, but thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve been to a last match of the season in recent years.
Then last night I got in about ten to a house empty of food and went straight to bed and slept all night.
This morning, I watched the television spasmodically, whilst I did my holiday washing and had a bath. About nine, I went to the Angel to do my shopping and then had breakfast in Carluccio’s. I didn’t even buy a paper until I left to go to the match. I suppose it didn’t help that no London club, was involved in promotion or relegation from the Championship.
I had intended to do a couple of things before I took my usual 13:00 train, but because the Overground was closed, I got to Liverpool Street station early enough to get the 11:30 train, which would have meant only missing a bit of the match. So I went and had a cup of tea and came back for the 13:00 train.
Only when I was sitting in the train, did I switch my phone on and then I got a couple of texts with the teams.
As I walked back through the barriers at Liverpool Street, there was another fan, who hadn’t heard about the match time either.
I know it is all my fault, but I suspect, I’m not the only fan who lived away from his team, who missed this last match of the season.
Affordable Football At Watford For £15
Today, Ipswich play a home match against Bournemouth and the match will cost me a proportion of my season ticket and the rail fare. The minimum that I could do this for, is probably about forty-five pounds, although I pay more for better seats in the ground and on the train.
But on Saturday at Watford, my Senior Visitors ticket cost me just fifteen pounds, as transport to Watford was free, as Watford High Street station is accessible using my Freedom Pass.
So next season, when Ipswich are away in somewhere unattractive or inaccessible like Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Blackpool or Yeovil, I might look to see which teams are playing in London and buy myself an affordable away ticket, as often these are very reasonably-priced, judging by some of the tickets that I’ve bought this season.
To The Football At Huddersfield
I arrived in Manchester on my trip from Southport at Piccadilly and had the long walk from Platform 13 to the main concourse to get the tram to my hotel. There are plans to put another two platforms here, so careful design must be used to avoid worsening a nightmare interchange.
I had a bath and then returned to Piccadilly for supper in Carluccio’s. This branch seems to be much faster than most and I’ve not missed a train yet there, due to a slow meal.
I nearly did this time though, as the next Huddersfield train left at 18:11 and I didn’t get to Platform 13 until 18:15. But the crowded train was late!
I was in my seat half-an-hour before the match started.
Ipswich won 2-0 and I was able to catch the 22:00 train back to Manchester, where I had a non-alcoholic nightcap in Carluccio’s.
I suspect that Piccadilly needs almost to create a new concourse linking the dreaded Platforms 13 and 14 and the proposed two new ones to the lines in the main station, at the far end of the station.
Let’s hope some of the UK’s best architects are working on creating a station fit for the twentieth century, let alone the twenty-first!
Will Ipswich Make The Play-Offs?
This looked extremely unlikely after David McGoldrick got injured a couple of months ago, but after three wins out of the last four games, it just could happen!
C would now be going on about the dreaded play-offs. I don’t know why she hated them so much, but it could be that it made me increasingly edgy.
But if they do make the play-offs, after last night’s win against Derby, where they gave away a goal in the first minute and didn’t score the winner until the last, they won’t do it the easy way!
It’ll probably be a roller-coaster ride all the way to Wembley! That’s if we get there!
Comfy Seats At The AMEX Stadium
The AMEX Stadium is one of the few in the country, that have comfy seats for all.
Comfy Seats At The AMEX Stadium
As you get free train travel in the price of tickets, surely the attitude of the club and the stadium design, did all this contribute to a full stadium.
Sadly for Brighton, Ipswich spoiled their party.
Why All The Fuss About David Moyes?
The phone-in on BBC Radio 5 this morning, is about David Moyes and his tenure at Manchester United!
I have been following and watching football for sixty years and I can name probably ten or even twelve very good or great managers, whose successors had problems. Those at the top level, who were followed by one who was equally good are extremely rare and the only one I can name is Bill Shankly at Liverpool.
But it’s not just in football, that the succession is a problem. Look at Kings and Queens, politics, Presidents and prime ministers and business leaders!
The only rule that seems to apply is that the more charismatic the leader, the bigger the problems.
So all those angry Manchester United supporters, should just remember than David Moyes’s problems are par for the course. Especially, when they have the example of Matt Busby.
The Anonymous Widower 