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Reply | Abuse in modern football
at 23:00 27 Jan 2025
This thread reminds me of this story about Dixie Dean:
After a game at Spurs, Dixie was the last to walk off and a fan shouted to him "We'll get you yet, you black bastard!" A policeman overheard this but was pushed aside by Dixie saying "It's alright officer, I'll handle this" Dixie jumped over to the fan and punched him, sending him flying. The policeman who saw the incident winked at Dixie and said "That was a beauty but I never saw it officially."
https://www.toffeeweb.com/players/profiles/DeanWR.php
As a sign how things have changed, Dean got congratulated for his initiative, some decades later Cantona got severely punished for something similar.
(Btw, Dean was so abused because he had an unusually dark complexion, and tight, curly hair) |
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Reply | How about a few “not a lot of people know thats”
at 22:38 27 Jan 2025
Debateable.
As the link below demonstrates, the term "monkey" had a number of different applications at sea.
But this source also has the following:
"The first recorded use of the term 'brass monkey' appears to dates to 1857 when it was used in an apparently vulgar context by C.A. Abbey in his book Before the Mast, where on page 108 it says "It would freeze the tail off a brass monkey."
However it goes on to say:
"It has often been claimed that the 'brass monkey' was a holder or storage rack in which cannon balls (or shot) were stacked on a ship. Supposedly when the "monkey" with its stack of cannon ball became cold, the contraction of iron cannon balls led to the balls falling through or off of the 'monkey.' This explanation appears to be a legend of the sea without historical justification. In actuality, ready service shot was kept on the gun or spar decks in shot racks (also known as shot garlands in the Royal Navy) which consisted of longitudinal wooden planks with holes bored into them, into which round shot (cannon balls) were inserted for ready use by the gun crew. These shot racks or garlands are discussed in: Longridge, C. Nepean. The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships. (Annapolis MD: Naval Institute Press, 1981): 64."
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alp
Sorry - yours is a much better story! |
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Reply | Bus stop
at 22:19 27 Jan 2025
May I assume that that is a parody?
"Frank Sibley was the youngest player to play for QPR, his debut was at the age 15 on 3rd September 1963, away to Aldershot in a League Cup tie. On that day ’Hey Frank’ was coined in honour of his achievement ."
The Beatles released 'Hey Jude' in 1968.
Anyhow, I was wrong when I ventured the 1980's, it was over a decade earlier and here is the full story, straight from every QPR fans favourite Bee, Peter Gilham:
“Hey Jude came out in 1968,” says the 74-year-old known as Mister Brentford. “In 1969, it was my first year on radio and I’ve been on it for 52 years now. In those days, I would sit in a box at the back of the stand (at Griffin Park), make an announcement and put the music on as well.
“During the 1970s, there was a group of us who would socialise and go to home and away games. One of them was a girl called Judy Kaufman. Judy was known as Jude and therefore I used to play the song for her.
“It [was] adopted by Brentford fans listening to it and it evolved pretty quickly. It was an innocent start — it wasn’t launched to become a Brentford anthem!”
Fascinating stuff, isn't it?  |
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Reply | Bus stop
at 16:25 27 Jan 2025
This.
Though it is documented fact that Bees fans sang "Hey Jude" decades before it caught on at other grounds following, I assume, Brentford's climb to the Premier League and getting featured on Sky etc.
(For anyone who's interested - and I won't be disappointed or surprised if no-one is - this originated at Griffin Park back in the 1980's. The woman who used to organise supporters' buses to away games was called Judith, and at one match at Griffin Park which coincided with her birthday, the matchday announcer played it for her. The crowd joined in, it stuck and the rest, as they say, is footballing history.) |
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Reply | How about a few “not a lot of people know thats”
at 23:59 26 Jan 2025
While "Go to Work on an Egg" is attributed to Fay "Life and Loves of a She-Devil" Weldon.
Meanwhile, I heard the other day that India has 100,000 different varieties of rice.
And it was on Radio 4, so it must be true. [Post edited 27 Jan 0:00]
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Reply | Tamworth
at 10:57 23 Jan 2025
On this question of the FA abolishing Cup replays and denying little clubs of a money-spinner/day out at a big club etc, they're now considering scrapping extra time, so that matches drawn after 90 mins go straight to penalties.
This would give part-timers like Tamworth, or even lower league EFL teams, more of a chance against f-t/fitter/PL opponents.
Meanwhile, on a vaguely-related topic, who here remembers the FA Cup 3rd/4th placed matches between the losing semi-finalists they staged for five years between 1970 and 1974?
This was to replace the traditional pre-FA Cup game between England vs Young England (remember those?). Predictably, perhaps, they never took off, reaching their nadir in 1971 when 5,031 spectators watched Stoke beat Everton 3-2 at Selhurst Park:
[url] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FA_Cup_semi-finals[/url] |
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Reply | Eze Transfer Deal
at 21:42 22 Jan 2025
"What is the obsession (for anyone) to constantly open new threads when one, or more, already exist?"
Er, because it's Eze?
(I'll get my coat) |
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Reply | If a miracle happened and we went up via the playoffs
at 19:47 20 Jan 2025
Regarding Luton and the best stadium in L1 etc, it's not that long since they were non-league, and in the shittiest stadium South of the Arctic Circle.
The point surely being that the new stadium can give them financial security for the next 50 years i.e. plenty of time for them to climb back up to the PL again, even if after a spell in L1 or below.
(Agree with all the rest of your post) |
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Reply | If a miracle happened and we went up via the playoffs
at 19:41 20 Jan 2025
I suspect 90%+ of Bees fans would far rather "make up the numbers" in the PL, than go back to the Championship. While I am sure the owner and execs at the club are determined to try to progress to beyond that status, even if it must seem long odds-against to neutral outsiders.
As for Fulham fans, I'd guess it's the same, at least if their owners weren't gouging them shame-facedly over ticket prices. |
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Reply | If a miracle happened and we went up via the playoffs
at 19:32 20 Jan 2025
Take it from an ex-bookie, that's not the way to do it. If you must have a punt, decide which is the more likely, no matter how marginally, then put ALL your stake money on that.
Otherwise you're absolutely guaranteed that one bet/half your dosh will be a loser.
Of course you may decide that the other bet has so little chance that it's not worth backing either, in which case save your money for The Derby in June. |
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Reply | If a miracle happened and we went up via the playoffs
at 19:22 20 Jan 2025
Isn't the point about Luton that they're using their unexpected one season windfall to help pay for their new stadium?
Which over the long term, will do far more for them than spunking it on players transfers and wages, in a hardly-guaranteed attempt to bounce straight back up again. |
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Reply | If a miracle happened and we went up via the playoffs
at 19:17 20 Jan 2025
A good point (imo).
When Bees got promoted from League One in 2013/14, under a certain Mark Warburton(!), they made a very good attempt at gaining an immediate second promotion (tailed off to finish 5th and flunked the p/o's).
Had we gone up to the PL that time it would have been a disaster, since our players simply weren't good enough eg our leading striker was Andre Gray.
Then after five seasons consolidating and building in the Championship, in 2019/20 we got to the P/O Final and were beaten by Fulham, before winning the P/O's the following season (vs Swansea). Most Bees fans agree that the first time probably would have been too soon, so we'd have struggled to survive. But by the second season, we were so much better prepared eg signing Ivan Toney as our main striker, hence our staying up.
All that said, we'd still all have taken it in the Fulham defeat season, if only because the parachute money would still have given a massive boost to our chances of bouncing straight back up following a one season relegation. As eg Fulham did after they had gone up before us.
So if you get the chance, go for it! [Post edited 20 Jan 19:34]
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Reply | Half a million a week for 9 years!
at 14:01 17 Jan 2025
You can sign a player for as long as you like, but you can only amortise (word?) the cost over the first five years max.
My guess is that M.City are protecting themselves against Haaland leaving for Real Madrid on a free, or small transfer fee.
And by offering such a huge weekly wedge, they've probably been able to up the release fee which the player will undoubtedly have in his contract.
Whatever you think about where they get their money from (Clue: Stink. Week old Fish.), it cannot be denied that City apply it very cleverly, unlike eg their Manc neighbours. |
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Reply | Working Mens Clubs/ Constitutional Clubs.
at 00:01 16 Jan 2025
Priceless - and thank you for that gem!
One further addition, Turner and the temperance movement started in Preston.
I've been to Preston and I find it very hard to believe that they would abjure the only thing which could make life even half-bearable in that (otherwise) God-forsaken place!
Strange folk. |
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Reply | Identity Crisis
at 18:46 15 Jan 2025
Euro Poop?
You might want to rethink that one... |
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Reply | Tamworth
at 18:42 15 Jan 2025
Why would the FA willingly forego their cut of the gate receipts from a crowd of 50k+ at White Hart Lane? Makes no sense.
While after the England NT,and Wembley stadium, the FA Cup is likely the FA's 3rd biggest source of revenue, as well as its (still) most prestigious competition. |
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Reply | How about a few “not a lot of people know thats”
at 17:05 15 Jan 2025
More specifically, the urine was mixed with alum, an aluminium ore, for tanning.
And I seem to recall reading that during the Middle Ages alum had to be imported from Europe, which was expensive.
Anyhow, during the 16th century, deposits of alum were discovered in North Yorkshire, near the coast, and a mining industry grew up. However they needed vast quantities of urine, so had to source it from outside the region.
With the biggest population in England, London was an obvious resource, the urine being sent up North by ship (no canals or proper roads back then).
This was doubly useful, since the barrels of urine served as ballast and income for the return journey of ships which had originally sailed to London with cargoes of processed alum, coal and timber etc.
And where did they get these barrels of urine? Out the back of every pub and tavern in the city, they'd have a big barrel for when punters needed to relieve themselves and I assume these would have been loaded on Thames barges and taken downriver to where the ships from Newcastle and the North East used to dock. The "Prospect of Whitby" in Wapping is named after one of these ships.
All of which represents the last time Northerners were legitimately able to take the piss out of Londoners, with the "trade" being very much the other way in the hundreds of years since! [Post edited 15 Jan 17:08]
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Reply | How about a few “not a lot of people know thats”
at 16:59 14 Jan 2025
The phrase "Daylight Robbery" is thought to derive from the introduction of a Window Tax in 1696.
In order to reduce their tax liability, a lot of householders bricked up some of their windows, thereby having their "daylight stolen".
You can sometimes see the results of this even today:
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