The Irvine Meadow side who beat Cambuslang Rangers after two replays in 1973. To win the Scottish Junior Cup at Hampden.

The Scottish Junior Cup in 1973 , was to Junior football in Scotland what the FA Cup was to senior football in England.

. It was The One to win.

 

 

Frans Thyseen and Arnold Muhren, two of the stars of Ipswich Town .
Their excellent side of the the late 1970s and early 1980s.

 

Some fine players in this picture.

Jimmy

 

Luton’s Roy Baynham saves a ball during England practice at Stamford Bridge, 1955

Edited August 22, 20205 yr by erskblue

Peter Bonetti  looks on, as Jimmy Greaves makes a save in an England practice session. Dated 1966.

 

Edited August 22, 20205 yr by erskblue

 

+54

The Spanish national team at The Bridge  in 1931.
 England beat them 7-1 in the friendly match at  Highbury a couple of days later, Just realised there are 15 players in this photo😀

Edited August 22, 20205 yr by erskblue

9 minutes ago, erskblue said:

 

+54

The Spanish national team at The Bridge  in 1931.
 England beat them 7-1 in the friendly match at  Highbury a couple of days later,

Great picture. I wonder if any of the players were caught up in the Spanish Civil War. I've found a couple of websites about football and the Spanish Civil War. It has been said that Real Madrid were favoured by Franco.

http://www.international-brigades.org.uk/content/conference-football-and-spanish-civil-war

https://www.wlv.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/centre-for-historical-research/football-and-war-network/football-and-war-blog/2019/football-and-the-spanish-civil-war-beyond-el-clasico/

3 hours ago, Boyne said:

Great picture. I wonder if any of the players were caught up in the Spanish Civil War. I've found a couple of websites about football and the Spanish Civil War. It has been said that Real Madrid were favoured by Franco.

http://www.international-brigades.org.uk/content/conference-football-and-spanish-civil-war

https://www.wlv.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/centre-for-historical-research/football-and-war-network/football-and-war-blog/2019/football-and-the-spanish-civil-war-beyond-el-clasico/

In the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War, Barcelona was a Republican stronghold, Madrid the base for Franco’s eventually victorious Falangist rebels. After the war, Atletico Aviacion, the air-force team later to become Atletico Madrid, initially benefited more from Franco’s rule than Real.

Madrid’s official history lists the club’s biggest domestic cup win as an 11-1 victory over Barça in 1943. It describes the result as "majestic" and the players that day as "heroes".

What it doesn't say is that having lost the first leg 3-0, before the second leg Barcelona’s players were treated to a terrifying changing room visit from Franco’s Director of State Security. He ominously reminded them that they were only playing due to the generosity of the regime.
 

This was in part of a 442 Magazine article a few years ago on the history of Real Madrid v Barcelona.

From footyfair.com

s: Most Controversial El Clasico of all Time

 

 

The date was June 19th, 1943 and for most it was just another match between Barcelona and Real Madrid, but nobody could anticipate what was about to happen in this El Clasico that will forever be a huge part of the story of these two giants of world football.

Real Madrid hosted Barcelona at Estadio Chamartin, and the result of 11-1 for the home side hit a nation that loves football harder than a magnitude 9 earthquake.

Nobody that walked in to the stadium that day could predict what they were about to witness. This was not a pre-season friendly, or a charity game, this was the semi-final of the Copa del Generalisimo (which was the name of the cup before changed to Copa Del Rey). Not only this was the semi-final, this was the second leg of the semi-final. During the first leg in Barcelona the Catalan giants had defeated Real Madrid 3-0 in a game that they dominated from start to finish.

Real Madrid was leading 8-0 after the first half and 11-1 by the end of the 90 minutes. It looked like something had happened, something that ccouldn'tbe explained with only one team being superior to the other. That was a naive way of looking at what had happened.



Barcelona was seen as the flag of the Catalan independence, while Real Madrid where General’s Franco team of the regime, as it was costume in most European countries at that time. The regime in power seems to always have one team that represented them and their people to the world. Real Madrid was without a doubt Franco’s team.

Barcelona players arrived in Madrid under an immense pressure and fear, the atmosphere was less of a football match and more of war. Fear for their families and themselves were abundant amongst the players and staff, and while the game would be played under normal circumstances, everything surrounding the game was anything but normal.

There is no proof, or evidence that General Franco’s government, influence the result by means outside of the norm, but a team that had won 3-0 at home, and looked to be far superior to their Real Madrid rivals would never lose a game by a score of 11-1 under normal circumstances. 

This is viewed as the moment in which Real Madrid became Franco’s team.

 

 

Zamora . The legendary Spanish goalkeeper at The Bridge in Dec 1931.

He played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid in the 1920s and 30s.

Edited August 23, 20205 yr by erskblue

Man City goalkeeper Joe Corrigan gives Baseball Ground groundsman Bob Smith a helping hand after Bob was called onto the pitch to repaint a penalty spot after it disappeared into the mud in April 1977

A Gravel Surfaced Pitch. The kind we played on regularly mid 1970s - mid 1980s.
This one was in Gourock, West of Scotland.

1 hour ago, erskblue said:

A Gravel Surfaced Pitch. The kind we played on regularly mid 1970s - mid 1980s.
This one was in Gourock, West of Scotland.

I have played on this pitch as I have in the Murdieston Dam and Lady Octavia before it was rebuilt. All in Greenock. 

4 hours ago, MayosNoun! said:

I have played on this pitch as I have in the Murdieston Dam and Lady Octavia before it was rebuilt. All in Greenock. 

Cheers🍺

And not forgetting the Battery Park too. Was the Lady Octavia pitch .an ash pitch ?

1 hour ago, erskblue said:

Cheers🍺

And not forgetting the Battery Park too. Was the Lady Octavia pitch .an ash pitch ?

It was. The ash pitches from memory were:

Lady Octavia, Broomhill, Gibshill, Gourock, Murdieston Dam, Overton, Ravenscraig and there was one at Parklea. 
 

I believe only the Murdieston Dam pitch remains, or at least did a few years ago. 

 Panenka winning the European Championships 1976

3 hours ago, MayosNoun! said:

It was. The ash pitches from memory were:

Lady Octavia, Broomhill, Gibshill, Gourock, Murdieston Dam, Overton, Ravenscraig and there was one at Parklea. 
 

I believe only the Murdieston Dam pitch remains, or at least did a few years ago. 

Cheers mate. That list of pitches takes me back. 

Edited August 23, 20205 yr by erskblue

Brirkmyre Park, Kilmacolm.
By contrast The Poshest  Park or place I ever  played football on or in.😀

 

4 hours ago, charierre said:

 Panenka winning the European Championships 1976

What a penalty.

1 minute ago, erskblue said:

What a penalty.

His name is now firmly associated with this style of penalty kick. Remember watching the match at a caravan park in Morecambe with a girl from Wigan.

Czech skipper Anton Ondruš and Dutch captain Johan Cruyff exchange pennants.

Ref Clive Thomas holds a brolly over their heads !😀

1976 European Championship  Semi Final

 

2 hours ago, erskblue said:

Brirkmyre Park, Kilmacolm.
By contrast The Poshest  Park or place I ever  played football on or in.😀

 

I used to live 5 minutes away from here. 😂

11 hours ago, MayosNoun! said:

I used to live 5 minutes away from here. 😂

So it was your back garden, almost😀

A 5 min walk or drive?😀

Edited August 24, 20205 yr by erskblue