Ipswich 1 – Crystal Palace 3
Not a lot to say about this, but they really are in a pickle this year.
It seems to have got worse since David Norris was injured at Coventry.
The Five Live Riddle from Gethin Jones
He always asks a question on Saturday morning on his show.
Today’s question was.
Which footballer scored 8 goals in his home league and then came to the Premiership, where he didn’t score. He then played in Europe and didn’t score for his new club, but did for his country. He then came back to the Premiership and scored another goal. He was then transferred to another Premiership club, but didn’t score. He is recognised as one of the best footballers of all time.
I heard it driving back from Cambridge and thought it might well be a goalkeeper. Possibly Edwin van der Sarof Manchester United, who had played before for Fulham. I just wondered if he’d actually been in the Premiership earlier before Fulham. He hadn’t according to Wikipedia.
But searching for goalkeepers, who’d scored goals led me to José Luis Chilavert, who was famously nicknamed El Loco. No prizes for what that means. He scored 74 including eight for Paraguay, which is way ahead of anybody else at his level.
A link there to a video of one of Peter Schmeichel‘s goals gave me the answer.
Setanta Again
I used to subscribe to Setanta, as it gave me a lot of Premier League matches and Racing UK. Now I need to subscribe to one company to get both. The price will be more than twice what I paid Setanta.
No wonder they went bust!
But seriously, why do I have to pay through the nose to see some racecources on the box and the others are free?
Because most of those running racing are as described by Will Carling and can’t understand that one Racing Channel is for the best of the industry.
Connor Better Than Rooney
That was the headline on the front of the East Anglian Daily Times today.
It is hype, but how many sixteen-year-olds have scored two goals on their competitive start? Not many. I think Trevor Francis scored more but he was an exceptional talent.
I was at Shrewsbury and after watching England last night, he’s a bit like Emile Heskey. Big, strong, athletic and pretty nimble. I wouldn’t give very long odds that Connor leads the England line in the 2014 World Cup.
What Would Oswald Mosley Have Thought?
Just watching the Holland-England game on the box.
One of the odd things of this match is that Holland are playing in all plain orange and England are playing in plain white. You don’t see that often these days, as marketeers think that fancy strips sell better. The new England strip says that they don’t, as it is selling well. I suspect that something plain is acceptable in many more places like decent restaurants and clubs!
It’s interesting to look at the England side and see how many players are not your average white bloke.
They started with Green, Johnson, Ashley Cole, Ferdinand, Terry, Barry, Beckham, Lampard, Young, Heskey, Rooney. Only Green, Terry, Barry, Beckham, Lampard and Rooney would fall into Mosley’s preferred racial group.
Look at who Fabio Capello would have preferred to play like David James and who he used as substitutes and you might have an England team that line is as James, Johnson, Ashley Cole, Ferdinand, Terry, Barry, Wright-Phillips, Lampard, Young, Heskey, Defoe. Here it’s only Terry, Barry and Lampard.
Does anybody care?
I don’t!
My father wouldn’t have either.
He told me he was there at the Battle of Cable Street, when a coalition of Jews, communists and anti-fascists opposed Oswald Mosley and his supporters marching through the East End of London. But my father wasn’t a communist, although he did have Jewish ancestry, but a left-wing member of the Tory party. That may seem strange today, but race and religion often wasn’t a problem for a lot of Edwardians. It certainly wasn’t for my father, who I never heard say anything racist.
As I get to know my father more from people who met him, I suspect that he was there and his claim that he hit Mosley with a tomato may well be true.
Carling Cup at Shrewsbury
After Ironbridge I headed towards Shrewsbury and after a glass of rose wine in the Mytton and Mermaid Hotel at Atcham, I arrived in the town about six forty-five. I should say that the hotel looked magnificent, but at the time I was there, they didn’t have any snacks at all, as they close the kitchens from about four until six-thirty. They didn’t have any decent cider either! Only Strongbow and Magners! I thought that you got good cider in that part of the country.
Do these people want business?
I mean everybody was pleasant and welcoming, but us coeliacs are a prickly lot and we need to graze consistently. That reminds me, I need some more cake. Gluten-free ginger slices from Waitrose.
Now I had made one mistake in that I’d assumed that Shrewsbury still played at the wonderfully named Gay Meadow, which used to be by the River Severn. Legend has it that there was a man in a coracle ready to retrieve any balls that went that way. Will certain US web sites translate the word Gay in this post to something else, just like they do for the American sprinter, Tyson Gay?
As I approached the town centre, there was a reassuring sign with a P and a football on it. After half a mile, I found another sign pointing the way I’d come with P and “Gay Meadow” on it. As there was no sign of any football supporters, I even checked my match ticket to make sure, I’d got the right day. In the end because I needed fuel for the Lotus, I broke a habit of several years and went into Asda to get some. (I always buy products if I can from British companies first, when I have a choice and it doesn’t cost me more!)
Even the guy there was unsure, but eventually I found myself in an area with signs saying “No Football Parking” and people in recognisable Ipswich shirts walking along the road. The area bore no relation to the first sign I’d seen, so I guess it must be some dark plot to get people lost in Shrewsbury. What fate would have awaited me?
Shrewsbury Town's ProStar Stadium
This shows the new ground, the ProStar Stadium, as you approach it over the railway. I then followed others over a fence and down an embankment to cut the corner off getting to the ground. Why don’t architects work out how people will walk and cycle into a site and then create entrances accordingly? In this case, they could have put steps down to make it safer. But then people might fall down the steps in a large crowd and the club would get sued!
Inside the Ground
This shows the inside of the ground, which at present has a capacity of just under 10,000, with everybody in seats. It is typical of some of the modern grounds that we are starting to see in English football. It would also appear that when clubs make this investment wisely, they seem to move up a division. Look at Doncaster and Blackpool for a start. Perhaps, it’s just that you get more bums on seats and a better cashflow, which means better players. And also if I was a footballer, I’d prefer to play in a modern stadium with good facilities and a good pitch.
Shrewsbury's Mascot
Ipswich had brought a sizable crowd and the picture shows the mascot throwing sweets to them. I actually got one, but was it gluten-free? I didn’t chance the glucose in it and gave it away.
Ipswich always have a large support away and I suspect this is because it has a very large diaspora. You always meet locals at away matches, who used to go to Portman Road, when they lived in Suffolk and still follow Town at a distance. Perhaps the funniest thing was when I was in Moscow, I met a genuine Scouser, who had always supported Town. He’d obviously grown up in the 1970s and 80s and did it just to be difficult!
The match was entertaining and at full time and after extra time it was three-all. But then Ipswich won easily on penalties. I’m not sure how the Shrewsbury fans liked being taunted with the chant, “You’re just a small town in Wales!”
After the Shoot-Out
Phew!
Coventry 2 – Ipswich 1
Rather a disappointment! But we’re only three points behind the leaders.
Ricoh Arena
The Ricoh Arena is a good modern stadium and I’ve never found that I’ve had difficulty parking at the stadium. Although £10 might be thought a bit steep, but at least you can also get away quickly. It took just ninety minutes from starting the car to do the hundred miles to home.
Tribute to Bobby Robson
This shows the inside of the stadium, whilst the tribute to Bobby Robson was taking place. Note I was almost at the back of the stand at one end and everything was in view. But then so it is at Wembley, Leicester, Southampton and Derby. We really have got stadium building right in the last few years.
But the football wasn’t that good. Or at least for Ipswich.
First Real Football of the Season
Off to real tennis at Cambridge and then to Coventry to see Ipswich play. The Ricoh stadium at Coventry is one of the new grounds and as they go it’s not too bad. Parking is good if I remember it.
At least we’re only three points off the top of the table as of this morning.
I suppose we only have to lose by less than six goals to do better than Norwich!
Norwich 1 – Colchester 7
As an Ipswich Town supporter, I don’t wish Norwich City too much good fortune. Who in Suffolk does?
But for Norwich to go lose by seven goals to one on the first day of the season shows there must be some problems at the club. Unless of course they had seen that Ipswich were playing tomorrow and thought they were as well. So half their players didn’t turn up!
I just looked on the Internet and they beat Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in a warm up match. That wasn’t too bad or are Palace even worse!
Delia Smith seems to have created a wonderfully chaotic new pudding!
There’s Always Hope
I just had to post a link to this heartwarming tale.
A professional footballer, Robert Hughes, was left paralysed after an attack in Crete in June 2008. It was felt he was unlikely to walk again and he had no recollection of the last ten years. But now, he is playing football again and has just signed a contract with Welling United.
Well done to all concerned. And of course best wishes to Robert and his friends and family.
The Anonymous Widower 