On 02/11/2020 at 00:46, erskblue said:

A sad week indeed. Post away re Nobby stories. 

I don't know if you ever saw him play - I'm sure some on here did - but Nobby was far more than the clogger he was portrayed to be in the press. Like your own Ron Harris, he was tough, uncompromising, but also one hell of a good player. The fact that two of the greatest managers in the game, Matt Busby and Alf Ramsey, played him regularly for club and country says it all. 

I've written elsewhere that my abiding memory of Nobby was during the title run-in in 1967. We were neck and neck with Forest. We beat Leicester at home 5-2 but David Herd broke his leg in a tackle with their centre half. On the Saturday before Easter, we got a 0-0 draw at Anfield and then we played Fulham away on Easter Monday, and at home 24 hours later. Absent a striker, Matt threw Nobby up top at Craven Cottage and he scored the equalizer in a 2-2 draw, saving a precious point. Matt played him there again for the home game and Nobby ran the Fulham defence ragged - and they had George Cohen - scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 win and edging us ahead. 

Lastly, was his relationship with Alf Ramsey. In the group game with France in 1966, Nobby's job, as he later said, was to win the ball and get it to Bobby Charlton. Anyway, he tackled the French forward, Jacques Simon, and laid him out flat. The referee saw it as fair and did nothing but England went up the field and Roger Hunt scored. The FA committee were livid and called Alf Ramsey onto the carpet, demanding he drop Stiles. Ramsey stood behind his player and told the committee he would resign if they forced the issue. Nobby played against Argentina in the quarter final. Nobby later said: that before the game, Harold Shepherdson grabbed him by the throat and told him 'Don't you let Alf down' and he didn't. 

I wasn't at Wembley to see his famous jig with the Jules Rimet but I was there two years later to see him dancing around the place with the European Cup. He had one had on it and Brian Kidd - who also came from Collyhurst - had the other. He probably played his greatest game for us that night against one of the greatest players in the world game - Eusebio. 

In later life, as his illness took hold, he sold his medals to secure a future for his family, as so many of that team did. RIP Nobby. You were one of a kind. 

 

 

 

Edited November 3, 20205 yr by Stretford Ender

Good memories re Nobby ,not sure i saw him play live so good read Stretford ,how sad he like many of that generation had to sell their hard earned medals...shame the money bags PFA couldn’t have done more plus the clubs as well

I appreciate the clubs are a business and do quite a bit on  the quiet  ,especially CFC in many ways but why cant they buy the medals then give them back to the families

moan over.... RIP Nobby

ps not being disrespectful but what was his first name as I presume Nobby was a nickname ?

 

 

Edited November 3, 20205 yr by erskblue

54 minutes ago, F1905 said:

Good memories re Nobby ,not sure i saw him play live so good read Stretford ,how sad he like many of that generation had to sell their hard earned medals...shame the money bags PFA couldn’t have done more plus the clubs as well

I appreciate the clubs are a business and do quite a bit on  the quiet  ,especially CFC in many ways but why cant they buy the medals then give them back to the families

moan over.... RIP Nobby

ps not being disrespectful but what was his first name as I presume Nobby was a nickname ?

 

Nobby was a shortened version of his first name, Norbert.

Cheers Ersk...Norbert cool

5 minutes ago, F1905 said:

Cheers Ersk...Norbert cool

No problem.

From Football Memories on Twitter.

 

 

On 02/11/2020 at 06:31, erskblue said:

 

 

 

Is that the 3-0 win in the league cup replay in 1991?, if it was I was right behind the goal, enjoyable evening!?

2 hours ago, F1905 said:

Good memories re Nobby ,not sure i saw him play live so good read Stretford ,how sad he like many of that generation had to sell their hard earned medals...shame the money bags PFA couldn’t have done more plus the clubs as well

I appreciate the clubs are a business and do quite a bit on  the quiet  ,especially CFC in many ways but why cant they buy the medals then give them back to the families

moan over.... RIP Nobby

ps not being disrespectful but what was his first name as I presume Nobby was a nickname ?

 

Alf Ramsey - pretentious git that he was - always called him Norbert. 

7 hours ago, chi blue said:

Is that the 3-0 win in the league cup replay in 1991?, if it was I was right behind the goal, enjoyable evening!?

Yeah I think it is.😀

7 hours ago, Stretford Ender said:

Alf Ramsey - pretentious git that he was - always called him Norbert. 

I’m sure I read that he, in a similar manner, called Bobby Moore, Robert and Geoff Hurst, Geoffrey.

A young Jimmy Greaves at The Bridge in 1957.   Posted on Football Retro Plus,Twitter.

Rick Glanvill on Twitter. Posted this Giles classic from Nov 1945 

 

Rick Glanvill On Twitter.

 

Of course, most cartoons were meant to make fun of clubs’ reputations, such as this one from 1976.

Others tried to reflect amusingly on recent events on the field. This one appeared between the 1970 FA Cup final and replay.    Rick Glanvill on Twitter.

15 hours ago, erskblue said:

Others tried to reflect amusingly on recent events on the field. This one appeared between the 1970 FA Cup final and replay.    Rick Glanvill on Twitter.

Giles was a brilliant cartoonist. I have a few of his albums at home. Will have to dig them out and browse through them.

v Sunderland back in March 1947. 

 

On 03/11/2020 at 14:00, Stretford Ender said:

I don't know if you ever saw him play - I'm sure some on here did - but Nobby was far more than the clogger he was portrayed to be in the press. Like your own Ron Harris, he was tough, uncompromising, but also one hell of a good player. The fact that two of the greatest managers in the game, Matt Busby and Alf Ramsey, played him regularly for club and country says it all. 

I've written elsewhere that my abiding memory of Nobby was during the title run-in in 1967. We were neck and neck with Forest. We beat Leicester at home 5-2 but David Herd broke his leg in a tackle with their centre half. On the Saturday before Easter, we got a 0-0 draw at Anfield and then we played Fulham away on Easter Monday, and at home 24 hours later. Absent a striker, Matt threw Nobby up top at Craven Cottage and he scored the equalizer in a 2-2 draw, saving a precious point. Matt played him there again for the home game and Nobby ran the Fulham defence ragged - and they had George Cohen - scoring the winning goal in a 2-1 win and edging us ahead. 

Lastly, was his relationship with Alf Ramsey. In the group game with France in 1966, Nobby's job, as he later said, was to win the ball and get it to Bobby Charlton. Anyway, he tackled the French forward, Jacques Simon, and laid him out flat. The referee saw it as fair and did nothing but England went up the field and Roger Hunt scored. The FA committee were livid and called Alf Ramsey onto the carpet, demanding he drop Stiles. Ramsey stood behind his player and told the committee he would resign if they forced the issue. Nobby played against Argentina in the quarter final. Nobby later said: that before the game, Harold Shepherdson grabbed him by the throat and told him 'Don't you let Alf down' and he didn't. 

I wasn't at Wembley to see his famous jig with the Jules Rimet but I was there two years later to see him dancing around the place with the European Cup. He had one had on it and Brian Kidd - who also came from Collyhurst - had the other. He probably played his greatest game for us that night against one of the greatest players in the world game - Eusebio. 

In later life, as his illness took hold, he sold his medals to secure a future for his family, as so many of that team did. RIP Nobby. You were one of a kind. 

 

 

 

respect mate

4 hours ago, Boyne said:

Love him or loathe him you could not ignore him!

Chance meeting: The headband on the train – Trevor Aylott

GOTP Editorial Team

gameofthepeople.com

Posted on August 3, 2015

Trevor Aylott’s finest 55th minute in football      5th Nov 1977..      Chelsea 1-0 Nottingham Forest.

IN 2015-16,  AFC Bournemouth and Stoke City will play each other – in the Premier League.

In 1990, my pal Kevin and I visited Bournemouth v Stoke in the old third division. The game was fairly forgettable and notable for the fact that Alan Ball, hero of 1966, was manager of the Potters.

As we made our way home, we picked up the train at Bournemouth and, as we chewed over an average sort of football experience, a tall chap, smartly dressed, joined us at the next station.

He sat opposite us and mumbled, “Alright lads?”, and sat awkwardly, taking up most of the available room. “Been to the game?”.

Innocently, we asked him the same. He was obviously interested in football. “Hang on, I recognise you. You’ve just played in the game,” I said.

He grinned and acted out a near post header.

“I didn’t recognise you without your headband on.”

“You’re Trevor Aylott,” I said and shook his hand. His grip was blokeish and firm.

“I saw your two Chelsea goals.”

Aylott was a journeyman footballer in every sense of the word, but I have never forgotten his two goals for Chelsea in 1977-78 season. Introduced at a time when Chelsea were going through difficult times, he was young, raw but willing. Ken Shellito, trying to big up the powerful youngster said he “moves like Peter Osgood and is as brave as Ian Hutchinson”. That was some billing and he couldn’t possibly live up to it.

Nevertheless, the young Aylott did make an immediate impact. He scored the 55^th minute winner against Bristol City, Chelsea’s first goal in five games, with a “textbook header” from Charlie Cooke’s cross. How did he celebrate?: “I’m going out to a dance with my girlfriend,” he told the media.

A week later, he did it again – in the same minute against Nottingham Forest. Kenny Swain played the ball through, Aylott brushed aside Larry Lloyd (no easy task) and shot past Peter Shilton. Chelsea won 1-0 – one of only three league defeats for eventual champions Forest.

His Chelsea career peaked almost there and then, for we saw precious little of Aylott from thereon at Stamford Bridge.

Strangely, Aylott’s reputation grew after he left Chelsea. He moved to Barnsley in 1979 and then onto Millwall, Luton, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Birmingham, Oxford United, Gillingham and Wycombe.

For some years he had worn a headband.

“Scar tissue,” he said. “That bastard [Gary] Pallister nutted me at Middlesbrough.”

We had a good chat all the way back to London. “You fellows know your football,” he said, which we regarded as a great compliment.

I caught up with him against in 1993 when he was playing for Bromley at Hitchin in the Isthmian League along with his old Chelsea mate, John Bumstead.

“Remember, me?”, I asked.

He shook my hand, just as firmly as he had on the train. “Sure. Bournemouth.”

“I still remember those two superb goals,” I replied.

“Course you do. Up the Blues eh?”.

“Absolutely.”

He seemed a decent individual. I hope he’s faring well today.

 

 

 

 

Butch Wilkins doing an Ossie.     Want My Chelsea Back  on Twitter.