LaticsPete

Bromley 3 Solihull 2 HT 1-1 Cheek 24222

The Unhappy Hero Carsten Fog Hansen & Jens Rasmussen Pitch Publishing 2024 Hardback 256pp £25.00 Lars Elstrup would probably be familiar to you for one of two reasons, quite possibly both. In 1992, Denmark were in the European Championship Finals, only there because Yugoslavia had been withdrawn due to the war that raged across its former territory. They reached the Semi-final due to an Elstrup goal against France and, when there, faced Netherlands. It was a penalty shoot out that won that match, and Lars scored one of them, before the Final versus Germany . The subsequent 2-0 triumph has been described as the nation’s “greatest unifying moment “ since liberation in 1945, and Lars Elstrup was feted as one of the heroes. The other source of familiarity could come from his two seasons in the English top-flight with Luton Town, from 1989-1991. A club record signing at £850,000, he was a massive favourite at the club, scoring 18 goals in his second season and helping keep Luton up. Since those glory days, at the centre of club and national success, the story of Elstrup , his “turbulent life” as the authors describe it, has been far from straightforward. The book was, in the main, written and published in 2012, but has been brought up to date in the same non-judgemental style that the earlier narrative was. Its understanding and description of Elstrup and what he has both enjoyed and endured is probably better appreciated now than it would have been ten years ago. It left me not with a rose-tinted view of the man, neither a condemnatory attitude, but certainly with a better comprehension of how depression can seize hold of a life, temporarily or not. Recent years have witnessed Clarke Carlisle, Dean Windass, Marvin Sordell, and Danny Rose have all talked of their battles. So too did German international Sebastian Deisler and, tragically, his countryman Robert Enke took his own life, as did Wales’ Gary Speed. Elstrup has dealt, or not dealt, with depression in manners that could be unique to him and is now in a position where he seems to have found some peace. Nonetheless, there remains a nagging doubt that , at the age of 61, there could still be more turbulence to come. The “black dog” of depression may still be lurking for one of the greatest players in Danish football. From starting with his local club, Randers Freja in 1981, via Brondby , Feyenoord, Odense (OB), and Luton, as well as playing 34 matches for Denmark , in 1993 he faxed his retirement from the game to OB and to the media. His life turned its focus to a new path, in a community known as Sangha. Both Elstrup and the authors are keen to differentiate it from a cult, its spirituality resonating with the Christian background to his earlier years. It did, however, facilitate the move from footballer to someone who immersed himself in the Sangha community, and to a new name , “Darando”. Three years later, a darker force took over, a depression so severe that , for weeks, he wouldn’t/couldn’t get out of bed. As with episodes in the future, depression lifted , and in 1999 he left Sangha and was Lars once more. Since then, his life has spun around depression, what many of us would regard as eccentricity, and relationship difficulties. Yet he has also been able to rebuild links with his close family and provide philanthropy to community charities, and the Danish nation seems to have a relatively warm understanding of his life. A book that really does say , “depression can happen to anyone”, and let’s not judge behaviours of those to whom it happens. Now, in 2024, that’s something we can all learn from.

Was there something about travel in the early days of organised football that caught the imagination? Or maybe the influence of Empire and associated roaming the globe was a stimulus. Because, if one looks, there were a probably disproportionate number of clubs that adopted a name associated with straying away from their home patch. A romantic aspiration , that of passing to and through foreign towns and spreading the game to others, or were there more practical reasons? Did the Rovers of Tranmere aspire to journey over the Mersey lands, or were five times FA Cup winners of Wanderers FC forced to journey afield simply because they didn’t have their own ground? How far did various “Rangers” want to range? Whether the original or subsequent names of clubs, there must have been a conscious decision by the players or committee , to adopt such a suffix. Club historians may well know the answers, but I’ll just look at four programmes that encompassed two Rovers and two Wanderers, each coming across Oldham Athletic on their footballing journey. It was 1879 when a scratch team from Doncaster decided to become Rovers. Their travels took them over the hills to Boundary Park for an FA Cup 2nd Round Match on 6th December 2014, one of a series of cup meetings between the teams around that time. Joined together in League 1, Oldham were in sixth place and Doncaster 16th, the visitors under the management of Paul Dickov, ex-boss of Latics, whilst the home team was the first managerial appointment for Lee Johnson. More manager links in that playing for the Yorkshire team was Richie Wellens, later to occupy that role for both clubs. A bright, very clear, white cover, red, blue and black lettering readily providing the match details and sponsors’ names, club badges, and the obligatory photo of the trophy itself, all on a decent card. For £2 the 36pp were attractively laid out, lots of colour and not much in the way of “padding” or advertising. Maybe a page on Mario Balotelli crossed the line but, other than that, there was decent coverage of recent matches and features on players, Daniel Johnson , now of Stoke City after over 300 matches for Preston North End, was on loan at Oldham and , “In Conversation”, said that it “has been a great start, three goals in three games”. Probably the only Philippines international to have played for Oldham, goalie Neil Etheridge, another loanee, was given two pages (one more than his matches for the club). Doncaster’s coverage was focused on four key players as well as their manager, whilst historical content looked at “Classic Kits” worn by Oldham, and who had played in the past and presently, in the No 11 shirt. Squads were on the back page with George Elokobi, who has just led Maidstone on an FA Cup path, at 5 for Latics, and Reece Wabara at 22 for Doncaster : he scored for Oldham in their Cup win over Liverpool just a year earlier. Latics had won the League match earlier in the season, but the travelling Rovers went into the draw for Round 3.; it was an o.g. by Elokobi after 86 minutes that was decisive. “No one needs to tell me that this has been a season of struggle for Blackburn Rovers,” wrote Chairman Derek Keighley in the match programme for March 14th, 1979, Div 2 game. With 27 matches played, Rovers were bottom and, after 42 and season-end, they had maintained that position. It wasn’t a publication full of cheer for this Lancashire derby, Latics just two places higher, and maybe the most positive item for home supporters were grainy photos of the last meeting at Ewood Park between the teams: 4-2 to Blackburn. It wasn’t an era of great programme design or production values, and this one didn’t break the mould. A decent cover, an aerial photo of an empty ground, a big “Rovers” headline, club crest and match details, the “official magazine” costing 15p. Rather hotch-potch inside, the first two pages squeezing in the Manager’s “team Talk”, a short history of the visitors, Board of Directors and Honours, a brewery advert, and a panel noting that Mr Keighley was the new Chairman and “Where do Rovers Go From Here?” was on later pages. This was where the policy was outlined: sales of good players would have to be made but signings would also take place. “I have not accepted the position of Chairman to preside over a funeral” said Mr Keighley, but , as it happened, over relegation. Things got better, however, and the club were promoted back the following season. The visitors were generously given over four of the 20 pages , notched a 2-0 victory and rose up the table to safety and an eventual 14th spot. We’ll wander no further than a bit down the road to Bolton and an important FA Cup 6th Round tie on 12th March 1994. The Wanderers , then in Div 1 (now Championship) had covered themselves in glory to get to this stage, beating Everton, Arsenal, and Aston Villa, so a derby game against another Premier League club in Oldham had them down as favourites with the bookies. For Latics, it was the fourth consecutive tie against teams from Div 1; Derby County, Stoke City, and Barnsley having been beaten as they sought to reach their second Semi-Final in four years. Bolton striker John McGinlay celebrated on the programme cover his goal against Arsenal, a forlorn David Seaman behind him, and the £1.20 issue had two more pages of action photos from the Wanderers’ cup progress. Plenty of reading too, and some nice pieces on links between the Lancashire neighbours. England ‘keeper Eddie Hopkinson was only 16 when he played three games for Oldham before moving to Burnden Park, 578 appearances for his new club as well as 14 full caps and six at u-23 level. Two previous FA Cup meetings , in 1913 and 1929, were described over a double page spread, honours even at one victory apiece. “Football Memories” featured the Milk Cup games in 1984 , two-legs with Bolton going through 5-4, including the programme cover from the match in 1984. Four pages devoted solely to the visitors but plenty of more parochial focus, including what was a regular feature on the local non-league scene, and updates on the Reserves and “A” team. Bolton Skipper Phil Brown (pre-tan days by the look of it) was looking forward to extending his contract and hoped to put one over on his best pal, Latics’ Rick Holden. It wasn’t to be, however, as Oldham booked a Semi-Final at Wembley against Manchester United with Darren Beckford scoring the only goal of the match in the 84th minute. For the Oldhamers in the 20321 crowd it was well worth the short trip. By 2013 Oldham had plunged down to League 1, the third tier, but shared the division with Wolverhampton Wanderers. The teams met four times in 2013/14, as the FA Cup First Round brought them together and a 1-1 draw at Boundary Park resulted in a Molineux replay on 19th November. Wolves had apparently been voted Programme of the Year in 2012 by the Northern Programme Club and there were some nice aspects to this one a couple of years later, although I’m not sure it would have won the same accolade. The cover certainly grabs the eye, partly because it’s difficult to make out a piece of script that is a background to the colour photo of striker Jake Cassidy. It’s a white font on a grey background, and the same applies to the match details. Nice and subdued, but difficult to read. Inside, what’s good? Well, there are veery good page templates for match reports, articles by Manager Kenny Jackett and the Chief Executive, and two pages on the aforementioned Jake Cassidy (later, in 2015/16, 21 games for Oldham without scoring) . Previous FA Cup matches between the clubs (four this time) are looked at , but there are no pen pictures of the visitors or much about the current squad. To counterbalance this, Leigh Edwards contributes a “Where are they now” -type feature on Oldham’s promotion winning teams from 1962/3 and 1990/91. The earlier squad lived in different times for professional footballers: post-career employment including, foreman at Middlesbrough docks, a newsagent, delivery driver, publican , and estimator for Bristol Parks Dept. A forty-page programme, but 18 are advertisements of one sort or another so not outstanding value for £2.50. The lowest crowd at Molineux for more than 20 years, 4226, wouldn’t have recalled it as a great night under the floodlights, Oldham winning 2-1. Wolverhampton at least kept wandering in the League, back up a division after becoming champions of League 1 that season.

The Main Stand Row T derby is surely the highlight of the finals !?

Barnet 2 Solihull 1 Ht 1-0 Kabamba 3178 Bromley 2 Altrincham 1 Ht 0-0 Cheek 5009

Nicknames are a crucial part of football history, reflecting club origins, or the local community and industry, and provide a lasting link to times when it wasn’t oligarchs and nation states that dictated the ebb and flow of the game. Some clubs, and the media, seem to have eschewed their early names : when was the last time Manchester City were referred to as “The Citizens” on tv? Or Preston North End as “The Invincibles” or even “The Lilywhites” Others have maintained them, and on the cover of their programmes. That’s where we’ll be looking this month, Oldham matches with “nicknamed” covers (and they are all FA Cup ties). In chronological order, I’ll begin with Oldham versus Tranmere Rovers on 2nd January 1993, a third-round game , and with “Latics” in script right across the top of the cover. When the club, then named Pine Villa, moved to the “Athletic Grounds” it was then that the name changed and, the local corruption of “athletics” became “Latics”. The “Blast from the Past” page coincidently records that the first match Latics played there was on 1st September 1906, was against Colne, and had a crowd of 3454. Anyway, it was the first season of the Premier League when this game took place and Latics, as founder members, hosted Tranmere, pushing for promotion from Division 1. In fact, Joe Royle, in his programme notes, reckoned the Merseysiders “must be very confident” of promotion. The visitors had a squad that included Pat Nevin, John Aldridge, and ‘keeper Eric Nixon, with over 400 games under his belt. The two clubs had shared , in 1935, an epic game that saw 17 goals. Unfortunately, Tranmere scored 13 of them and it’s only briefly mentioned in the “It’s A Fact” column! There’s a range of features , from Junior Latics , “Where Are They Now “, Youth team news, away travel , and the usual fixtures and results spread. There’s also a “Fan File” item, and many programme collectors will recognise the supporter featured – Jim Kirton. Sadly, now deceased, Jim ran the Programme Shop at Boundary Park for many years. His pet hate was “forecasters predicting Latics for relegation”. Jim, they got it wrong as Oldham stayed up , winning their last three games in what was genuinely a “great escape”. A 2-2 draw with a crowd of 13389, and Tranmere won the replay 3-0, although missed out on promotion, losing to Swindon in the Play-Offs. Over the border into Wales, and just over five years later on 3rd January 1998, Cardiff City the home team in Another 3rd Round tie. The club’s name had begun in 1908, and that’s when blue became the kit colour, leading easily to the Bluebird(s) nickname, proudly heading up the front cover. A 32pp programme that had plenty of reading matter, beginning right away with two pages called “Bluebird View” from a club Vice-President, comment on club and wider football issues but he also introduces the day’s referee, match sponsor, and mascots. Cardiff were then in the bottom tier, Latics in the third and one of Neil Warnock’s seats in his managerial odyssey. The Welsh club, had a Director of Football, Kenny Hibbitt , whilst the Manager was Russell Osman, and it was the former who contributed the “Team Talk” page, whilst both Youth and Commercial activities got pages to themselves. A nice spread, including, photographs from two earlier Cardiff v Oldham Cup matches, in 1920 and 1949, both had gone the Bluebirds’ way , and it was to be the same in this match, a 1-0 home win. A problem with one turnstile’s automatic return not working properly led to the attendance changing from an announced 6623 to 6808, the biggest of the season. A clean sheet for Cardiff ‘keeper Jon Hallworth who’d played for Latics for eight seasons , and there were two other Cardiff players with links to Oldham, although later in their careers. Captain Dave Penney went into management and was boss at Boundary Park in 2009/10, and midfielder Tony Carss played 75 times for them between 2000 and 2003, a real favourite with fans. The South Wales Echo seemed to go into overdrive with its match coverage, a four-page supplement on the following Monday. Warnock was “devastated” at his team’s poor showing, there was lots of praise for the Ninan Park groundsman, goal scorer Jason Fowler dedicated his strike to the aforementioned Hibbitt and Osman, nine of the City players were marked as 7/10, one got 8/10 and one 6/10, and the support from the home crowd apparently sent shivers down the spine of Kenny Hibbitt. The First Round FA Cup of the year 2000 and Oldham travelled down to Staffordshire and the former coalmining town of Hednesford, to play the Town , or “The Pitmen” as they were known. A strong cover to the programme, match details, teams, officials, and an action photo are all there, and the Conference club had produced an issue that had interest to regular supporters, away fans, and those who’d come for the glamour of Hednesford v Oldham! There had been just two home attendances of over 1000 that season, so the 2053 who turned up for this match hopefully got their money’s worth from the 4-2 Oldham win. Talking of money, the welcome “Setting the Scene” apologises for putting up admission prices but says that extra stewarding and police costs amounted to £6000. The visitors are directly welcomed over three pages, including photos from their win just up the road at Stoke the previous Saturday. The Pitmen were struggling in the league and their last match had been a 5-1defeat at Nuneaton Borough, and their last win had been in the 4th Qualifying Round, a 2-1 victory in a replay against Billericay Town with just 390 to see it at their Keys Park home. Player Profile for the Pitmen was Neil Pointon, former Everton, Manchester City, and Latic (95 games) and now player-coach, whilst one of his teammates was a certain Mark Cooper now, as at writing, in his 11th managerial posting , at Yeovil. There is a good deal of reading focused on Hednesford’s earlier FA Cup exploits, non-league giant killing stories, and Cup stats from the previous season, and the £2 cover price seemed a reasonable price. Unfortunately, relegation followed for Hednesford, and they’ve never got further than the 1st Round since, although won the FA Trophy in 2004. We stay in the Midlands and a coalmining area, albeit in Nottinghamshire this time, and Mansfield Town played Oldham at the same stage on 7th November 2015. Sherwood Forest stretched over much of the area, a royal forest that was popular for hunting with King John and others and, hence, the association with Stags and so on to the football club’s nickname. A wonderfully simple front cover, basically the nickname, match details, and a massive photo of the FA Cup, with lots of the club’s blue and yellow colours. The latter dominates inside pages too, all of which are cleanly laid out and designed. And the 2886 spectators hopefully appreciated the quality of this. A good deal of content was allocated to the Lancashire club, seven of the 32 pages, including historian Leigh Edwards’ “Unlikely Lads” , six ex-Latics players some folk might not associate with club, including Albert Quixall (missed a penalty against West Ham in 1966) , Tony Hateley (just five league games) , and Asa Hartford (seven matches). Blink and you could have missed the last two, similarly with the then Manager David Dunn. When there was revolving door policy of managers at Boundary Park, Dunn was in charge for just four months. “Famous Fan” was noted as Prof Brian Cox and “Best Ever Manager” as, no surprise, Joe Royle. Nice to see something that was once a staple of many programmes – the “Face in the Crowd” feature, circling a supporter’s head and winning them a prize. The “Parting Shot “in the programme was a black & white photo from “the Stags’ greatest ever cup shock”, beating West Ham United 3-0 in 1969. Two young lads, scarves aloft are chased off the pitch by “a member of the Nottinghamshire constabulary” , but he looks as though he is about to fall over! Nothing as exciting in 2015, a 0-0 draw, Oldham winning the replay 2-0.

The African Cup of Nations Ben Jackson Pitch Publishing 2023 Softback 318pp £14.99 It’s ironic that it has taken the development of European football to build the importance of what the author calls an “unappreciated tournament”. It’s fair to say that, without the reliance of clubs in the UK and the European mainland upon African talent, then the significance of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) would be far less than it is. The departure of players from their clubs to play in AFCON may have irritated managers and supporters but it emphasised the fact that the tournament is an established and respected part of the international football calendar, and as long as we call it “the global game” , then it must be worked with and around. It’s been a journey of over 60 years to the recent hosting of, and victory by, the Cote d’Ivoire. From an initial four countries that set about launching a tournament was almost immediately whittled down to three. South Africa, and its encompassing apartheid policy, refused to send a team of mixed races; either an all-black or an all-white team was its stance. Unsurprisingly the other nations - Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia – said no , and the last was drawn a bye into the Final. The very first AFCON match saw Egypt win 2-1 in Cairo and the Pharaohs then trounced Ethiopia 5-0 to win the first tournament . It was the first of their seven triumphs. Probably even more so than elsewhere in the world, AFCON has been influenced by politics. It was the rise of decolonisation in the 1960s that saw many African nations become independent states, keen to demonstrate that identity in many ways including sport. National football teams became symbols of progress and, in some instances, were personally backed by Heads of State. Kwame Nkrumah, who led the Gold Coast to independence as Ghana, was instrumental in the country’s footballing progress, from a colonial state to AFCON winners in 1963. For those of us who enjoy a derby match then the “Jolloff” one should be remembered; it’s named after a spicy rice dish cooked in different ways in Nigeria and Ghana Wars between Egypt and Israel also led to disruption but there was steady and irresistible expansion of AFCON. Now the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zaire evolved as a dominant force in the 1970s, and in 1974, had become the first sub-Saharan nation to qualify for the World Cup Finals, Zambia came strongly , whilst the North Africans remained competitive. A decade later the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon won the trophy twice, in 1984 and 1988 (as well as on three later occasions), and, in 1996 a multi-racial South Africa were victorious on home soil. Despite the efforts of Hollywood to portray the 1995 Rugby world Cup as the major sporting victory of the period, it is accepted the triumph of “Bafana Bafana” had a much more widespread impact upon South African society. Ben Jackson has written an excellently researched book, telling the story of AFCON with keen analysis and understanding of African history; cultures, and football. There is a comprehensive narrative about what is a still growing tournament, one that will exert an ever-larger influence over the rest if international football, and, if there is possibly a shortage of photographs from the earlier years, which is amply compensated by the detailed story.

Fair enough ..it wasn’t anywhere.

But not the supposed game you reference at Maine Road in a European tie when Keegan apparently “didn’t give Cruyff a kick”. That match never happened. Nobody disputes the Nou Camp friendly but that’s not what you claimed! , nor did you see that game, and Cruyff scored in it! By all means make your opinions known on past events but please make sure the facts are accurate.

Not when Keegan was at City and Cruyff at Ajax. Just didn’t happen, this marking master class in a European tie.

But City never played Barca in a European tie when Keegan was at Maine Road and Cruyff in Spain. Other than that , good story.

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Mirroring life….

That’s exactly what I was thinking too!

Quite. or maybe someone could email the club..,..