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Koumas from Liverpool and Stockton from Burton being run up the Twitter flagpole

Tom Eaves doubles his goals for Rotherham Now two in 34

A real downbeat interview. Definitely knew that he had nowhere to go with that team. Can't help but feel sorry for the guy. I wonder if he was told before the coach trip back? That would have been an uncomfortable journey.

Ah, the ever predictable “ sign the best player on the opposition “ post.

Never really threatened us after their goal. Hudson had good hands, Hobson commanding in the air, Hope was non stop , as was Stones, and we could easily have notched a couple more. Very satisfying afternoon out.

And then went and scouted two matches, spotted five youngsters that went on to play for England, had Christmas dinner with Brian Clough, and wrote three official complaints.

It’s all so easy in your world isn’t it?

Always cheery

Read that as "on the breakfast". Tip over their cornflake bowls and burn their toast.

“Lost” . Overloaded with implications. Did Blackburn fret at him coming to us? Let’s wait until we see how he turns out before bemoaning what happened

Although-as the article points out- those tipped for greatness often don’t achieve it.

https://www.givemesport.com/england-predicted-xi-of-the-future-from-2007-couldnt-have-been-more-wrong/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=657d984c1b24a10001525bab&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3D4zGPeGVVDr3EMuOXwpvgzOgF9LEb7OowSBLX0lol1el74sP6iDOhOJo_aem_Ab3hjxw79NE4SVGYOkj5hxdx0RPjIhPnJHHFpZq5gqKA6MJTa5QCXjCbUEibRvjOAOs

Look at this post on Facebook https://www.givemesport.com/england-predicted-xi-of-the-future-from-2007-couldnt-have-been-more-wrong/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=657d984c1b24a10001525bab&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3D4zGPeGVVDr3EMuOXwpvgzOgF9LEb7OowSBLX0lol1el74sP6iDOhOJo_aem_Ab3hjxw79NE4SVGYOkj5hxdx0RPjIhPnJHHFpZq5gqKA6MJTa5QCXjCbUEibRvjOAOs Jose B in this team . So many players fell short of (unrealistic?) expectations. Some had decent careers it could be argued but several just bounced around club after club.

Yet when he is bothered then he shows real quality - viz that driving run that led to Stones’ goal, or similar at Barnet. Is it arrogance, laziness, frustration, or what? Did he portray similar issues elsewhere? I don’t know, but Mellon surely does and I believe will get the most out of him than anyone can.

Of course they were And made my prediction yesterday in the Prediction League and didn’t feel the need to be a drama queen on here .

Some very quiet people who were pontificating earlier ,,,,

Surely there’s only Cookson that is “earning rave reviews “ in a “ higher league” than Micklover? And that’s a loose interpretation of “rave “ review.

Re-arranging bookshelves the other week naturally took longer than it should have. Dipping into books I hadn’t used for a while happily diverted me and one particular side road was Simon Inglis’ “Football Grounds of Great Britain”, published in 1987. What a groundbreaking (no pun intended) type of football book that was and, even though probably every ground in the country has had significant alteration since, it’s still a reference work of great utility. It got me thinking about how programmes not uncommonly used illustrations of club stadia for their front cover, some photographic , some drawn. The only “architectural” motif for Oldham home programmes was a photo of the Official Entrance on its 1960/61 issues so I’ll be looking at examples of what other clubs produced for their clashes with the Latics. Mr Inglis’ book will help give some of the historical setting. It was 1905 when Wrexham made the Racecourse Ground their permanent home. By 16th November 1968 when Oldham arrived for an FA Cup 1st Round match, there was still aspects of it that hadn’t changed much. The front of the programme’s aerial photo shows the Turf Hotel , used initially as changing rooms, in the corner and the uncovered terrace or “Pop Side” dominates one length of the pitch. At the left is what was a fairly recent (1962) addition, “The Pigeon Loft”, holding 1000 spectators and constructed from the frame and seats of Wrexham’s Majestic Cinema. The rest of the cover is fairly basic, club name prominent and a price of 9d (4p) in the top corner. Match details don’t appear until p3, along with the normal Board of Directors , Manager, and Secretary. The “magnificent gesture” of Alderman Rowlands in giving a football was noted , just below a small half-time scores list. The layout was a template of adverts at the top and bottom of pages , with text between . So, both the Manager and Secretary had their say, each welcoming the visitors and recalling previous encounters. The centre spread had the teams listed 1-12, adverts around them , and then it was back to the template for the succeeding pages, where visitors’ pen pictures were given, along with fixtures and the Div 4 League Table. Several empty advertising slots I’m afraid but that of Williams the Wine Merchants promised “prompt delivery” even if the vehicle illustration didn’t encourage confidence! Right at the bottom of the back cover is a line noting that the programme was published by the Supporters Association on behalf of the club, an arrangement that had lasted for a little while. The Welshmen notched a convincing 4-2 victory over their Div 3 opponents and a crowd of 7086 watched , under the careful eyes of the police and their programme crime prevention message. It was another FA Cup match, this time the 2nd Round, on 25th November 1961, at Saltergate, when Oldham played at Chesterfield. It was a repeat of the exact same tie a year previously that had ended in a 4-4 draw. It’s an artist’s impression of parts of the ground that takes up the top half of the front page. It’s a relatively accurate representation, the Main Stand , a 1930s design, to the left and, at the far end is the covered Kop. Interestingly, in the programme for the previous year’s match, a similar illustration had no roof on this stand , it being a new addition. A corner of the Popular Side is also just visible, so slightly over 50% of the Recreation Ground is portrayed. Inside the programme unfolds with the Board etc, over Saltergate Chatter, which then continues over pages4,5 &8. There’s quite a bit about the Latics, including pen pictures and history, but the Chatter also covers recent Spireite news : a draw last week when “offside tactics by Darlington lowered the standard of the game”. Lots of local adverts throughout the programme, the teams, an on the centre pages and forthcoming home matches inside the front cover. The following Saturday Oldham were again the visitors in a Div 4 match, the absence of floodlights meaning a 2.15. kick off. That turned out to be the third match in a week between the teams: this cup match finished 2-2 (att 11855), the midweek replay went Oldham’s way 4-2 (att 20800) and it was Latics again in the League match 3-2 (att 4167). If there’s one architectural feature of Fulham’s Craven Cottage to note, it’s the cottage itself. The one illustrated on the cover of this 7th November 1953 programme for the Div 2 match was designed by the great football architect Archibald Leitch when he remodelled the ground in 1905. The illustration uses it, and the Stevenage Road Stand of the same date, as a backdrop to a cover that’s full of movement, two footballers tussling, a flag that’s blowing about and a font for the words “Official Programme” that’s also quite dynamic. At the same time heritage via the club crest is present and match details are clear at the bottom, this game against Oldham kicking off at 2.45 pm ( no floodlights until 1962) Once again inner content leads on from the Board of Directors and club details. A certain top comedian of the time, Tommy Trinder, was a Director and became Chairman in 1959 right through until 1976. There’s a good deal of editorial, “Inside The Cottage”, that’s opinion and news, much appreciated by fans before mass and frequent coverage of the ins and outs of local clubs The Cottagers’ 3-1 win at Bury the previous Saturday was analysed, Johnny Haynes had “one of the finest displays he has ever given”, whilst Bobby Robson and Bedford Jezzard (two) scored the goals. A similar report on the last home match versus Doncaster was also given ,”a most disappointing result”. Jezzard was the subject of a quiz : he had played for his Army Brigade in India, his brother was an amateur with Arsenal, and he played cricket for the Licensed Victuallers. It was page 7 before the visitors were mentioned, and that was in the 2-3-5 lineups. Latics had a former England captain, George Hardwick whilst Fulham a future one, Johnny Haynes, and it was the latter who was in the winning team, 3-1 pleasing most of the 18285 in the ground. Oldham finished rock bottom of the Division, not returning until 1974, and the Londoners a creditable 8th. Lastly, a programme similar in many ways to the Wrexham one earlier. Another red and black cover, a big aerial photo of the ground, and a template inside that was, in parts identical. This game was a few years earlier and was the Div 4 match between Exeter City and Oldham on 4th March 1961, the details prominent on the front as was the 4d (less than 2p) price. Not many Devonians nor Lancastrians there that day would probably have had the benefit of seeing St James’ Park from the air so the photograph gave them a very different perspective. The Main Stand, rebuilt in 1926 after a fire, had a big roof advert emblazoned “Regent for better results”, and the St James’ Road open end can be seen on the left. It was just 13 steps deep, a contrast with the “Big Bank”, again uncovered at the other end. To complete the picture, there was a pitch length Cowshed, behind which is a school. There are four pages that include “Club Chatter” (starting below, yes, the Board of Directors and the inappropriately named Honorary Medical Officer, Dr Stumbles). The Grecians were having a tough season, fifth from the bottom, and there was a sense of forward planning in the notes. It was , apparently, going to be tough with players’ contract talks, and a “statement from the Board of Directors outlining the policy for next season will be printed in our programme for the next match”. The Chatter reflects that Oldham had fallen from grace , next to bottom last season, but were recovering with players like Bobby Johnstone, Bert Lister , and “one of the best full backs in the Fourth Division, Ken Branagan”. Teams were the centre pages, ably supported by advertisers for “Pony Cream British Sherry”, Holman Ham Chemists, Bartletts the Printers, and many other Exeter businesses. And it was the locals that could be happy, a 3-0 win to please 4955 spectators.

What If? Rob Mason Pitch Publishing 2023 Hardback 254pp £16.99 So, if Brian Clough, Jock Stein, Don Revie, or Bobby Robson, had become Manager of Sunderland, would the club’s history have taken a different path? Maybe, if Fabio Borini had scored from the chance he had in the 2014 League Cup Final, and made it 2-0, Sunderland would have beaten Manchester City. In 1977, the Black Cats made an offer for a 17 -yr.-old Diego Maradona – he apparently said, “if they don’t sell me to Sunderland, I’m retiring”. He didn’t sign, he didn’t retire, but what would a future at Roker Park have held for him and the club? Life is full of ifs, buts, and maybes, and so is this book, subtitled “Turning Points in the History of Sunderland AFC”. The author is the official club historian so knows a good deal about its ins and outs , privy to information that the general supporting public may not be. As a consequence, the stories on the background to the aforementioned managerial possibilities have a credibility ad robustness. Approaches to, or from, these names are credibly documented : Clough apparently was in the running three times, Stein was keen to go to Roker in 1965 , the job went to George Hardwick, and it was the history of Celtic that was rewritten not that of the Wearsiders. There is a sense of injustice that Rob Mason attaches to some of the scenarios – understandable from such a committed supporter although an outsider might raise an eyebrow even if every supporter carries the torch of unjust decisions against his/her own team. In 1977 such an incident has led to bitterness between fans of Sunderland and Coventry City. The book devotes 32 pages to the story but , in a nutshell, it was about a relegation struggle for both teams who were playing on the same night. Sunderland lost 1-0 at Everton which meant that Coventry and their opponents Bristol City each needed one point for safety. The kick-off at Highfield Road was delayed 10 minutes because of traffic holding up away supporters and the Coventry scoreboard flashed up the result from Goodison Park. A final 10 minutes was played out with each team passing it around , holding on to the draw , and sending Sunderland down from the topflight. The conspiracy theories abound – should the score have been shown and did Coventry press for the delayed start? Another , what if. There are a lot of “Had this happened then…” scenarios, occasionally with a double dose as in if Sunderland had kept Sam Allardyce as Manager , and had kept Younas Kaboul, then it was possible that the club would have stayed in the Premier League in 2017. It’s an entertaining set of stories , non-Wearsiders may scoff at some of the possibilities, but locals will have plenty to chew over and imagine the glories that might have been “if only”.

At the same time …maybe the club has had recommendations from him that turned out to do nothing. There may be all sorts of reasons why tips haven’t been signed, and the club has no obligation to explain why. An acknowledgment “thanks for letting us know of your opinion” is a possibility but I have a feeling that wouldn’t be acceptable to @BP1960 . I might be wrong on this however.

Jack Byrne’s level

Famous name from when I started watching football _FA Amateur Cuo winners and finalists in late 50s and 60s. Isthmian League champs as well i think. A time when the Amateur Cup Final would get 100,000 crowd at Wembley.

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Famous name from when I started watching football _FA Amateur Cuo winners and finalists in late 50s and 60s. Isthmian League champs as well i think. A time when the Amateur Cup Final would get 100,000 crowd at Wembley.

And, with respect, how do we know the player was offered to us, and what were the terms of that offer? Also, did you recommend him before or after this?