What Are Your Memories?

[mr_hippo]

I don't like hi-jacking threads so I'll start this one. What are your memories of playing football? The highest level that I attained was reserve for the primary school team!

As well as the old kit mentioned in the other thread, I remember when plastic footballs first came out. None of us in our circle was rich enough to have a brand new 'casey' for either birthday or Christmas, we had to rely on hand-me-downs from richer kids! Our 'playing field' was known as 'The Big Hills' and I have seen ploughed fields smoother than it but to us it was Wembley, Old Trafford, The Oval (in summer) and Knowsley Road (Saints RLFC) and any other venue you could name. My first kick with the new plastic ball and I gave it the same amount of 'welly' as I did with an old 'casey' and you would have thought that it was going into orbit!

My primary school - less than 200 pupils, in a row of terraced houses and no playing field but we did have two 'playgrounds'! We used to play football in the smaller one sometimes and had steel milk crates for the goals. I remember skidding on the wet flags and colliding with the goal post and ripping my leg open on one of the 'locating lugs' and I still have the scar!

Going, as reserve, to Bleak Hill School on the fateful night that United played Red Star Belgrade. This was our 'European Cup' match and like United we drew 3-3 - coming home from the game kicking a tennis ball and wondering how the Babes would do.

Another memory is playing on the Big Hills and a posh car pulling up and a Man in a hat got out and started smoking a pipe. I somehow got it into my 10 year old head that he was a scout for either Manchester United or Port Vale; why Port Vale? I haven't got a clue!

So over to you for your memories, the ball's at your feet...

[oldgit]

I don't like hi-jacking threads so I'll start this one. What are your memories of playing football? The highest level that I attained was reserve for the primary school team!

As well as the old kit mentioned in the other thread, I remember when plastic footballs first came out. None of us in our circle was rich enough to have a brand new 'casey' for either birthday or Christmas, we had to rely on hand-me-downs from richer kids! Our 'playing field' was known as 'The Big Hills' and I have seen ploughed fields smoother than it but to us it was Wembley, Old Trafford, The Oval (in summer) and Knowsley Road (Saints RLFC) and any other venue you could name. My first kick with the new plastic ball and I gave it the same amount of 'welly' as I did with an old 'casey' and you would have thought that it was going into orbit!

My primary school - less than 200 pupils, in a row of terraced houses and no playing field but we did have two 'playgrounds'! We used to play football in the smaller one sometimes and had steel milk crates for the goals. I remember skidding on the wet flags and colliding with the goal post and ripping my leg open on one of the 'locating lugs' and I still have the scar!

Going, as reserve, to Bleak Hill School on the fateful night that United played Red Star Belgrade. This was our 'European Cup' match and like United we drew 3-3 - coming home from the game kicking a tennis ball and wondering how the Babes would do.

Another memory is playing on the Big Hills and a posh car pulling up and a Man in a hat got out and started smoking a pipe. I somehow got it into my 10 year old head that he was a scout for either Manchester United or Port Vale; why Port Vale? I haven't got a clue!

So over to you for your memories, the ball's at your feet...

I can't even remember what I was doing yesterday Oh yea,when I was 11,I had the flu and was off school for a week but as soon as I knew we had a games lesson(football) I was back like a rat up a drainpipe.Played that day,collapsed in a heap and was off for 2 months with pleursy,touch and go it was for yours truly

[Jockstar]

When i was in P7 i was the vice captain of our school team. With us being the oldest in the school. We had the run of the playground for football. There were not many kids that we allowed to play football with us. But there were 2 who were about 3 or 4 years below us. One was this kid called Jason, nickname Zico. Great little player. The other was Barry Ferguson just as good. Both were way better than some kids older. Just shows how life takes different turns.Zico is now a fat over weight pisshead, where Barry is captain of Scotland and Rangers. True story.

[mr_hippo]

Talking about school mates who turned pro. Geoff Nulty who went on to play for Newcastle, Burnley and Everton was in my year in grammar school had a very bad habit - he was an ankle tapper. In one inter-form match, he tapped me once too often so I knee'd him in the nuts and then committed the cardinal sin - the ref saw me! No such thing as a straight sending off from Joe Kirk (music master); his favourite punishment was for the offender to run round the school playing field. How big was the field? We had 14 football pitches, six tennis courts, the 'sacred' cricket pitch and four hockey pitches. I did learn a valuable lesson that day "Don't get caught!"

[Jockstar]

Talking about school mates who turned pro. Geoff Nulty who went on to play for Newcastle, Burnley and Everton was in my year in grammar school had a very bad habit - he was an ankle tapper. In one inter-form match, he tapped me once too often so I knee'd him in the nuts and then committed the cardinal sin - the ref saw me! No such thing as a straight sending off from Joe Kirk (music master); his favourite punishment was for the offender to run round the school playing field. How big was the field? We had 14 football pitches, six tennis courts, the 'sacred' cricket pitch and four hockey pitches. I did learn a valuable lesson that day "Don't get caught!"

Years ago when i was playing my highschool. I tackled this lad and won the ball. and when he was on the ground i stood on his ankle. The ref never saw it but my manager(head master) did. He hauled me off and said that i would never play for the school again. 2 weeks later he calls me in and says since that i missed the last game i had learned my lesson and let me play again.

[Sunderland]

I went to school in Tavistock, Devon with former Portsmouth defender Robbie Pethick. We used to call him 'Robbie Pathetic' behind his back. He was always complaining about tackles from behind in the playground when he was 7 years old and still moaning years later at Bristol Rovers and Brighton.

[StateSix]

From the ages of 11-16 I remember Sunday mornings, freezing cold, soaking wet through, trying to tackle some freak of a kid who had started puberty at 10 and at 14/15 was basically a grown man. Happy days until drinking beer and getting blown out by women became a more attractive pastime

Most famous player I remember playing against was Craig Allardyce (dozy son of big Sam). Also regularly played against David Flitcroft (journeyman brother of Garry). Once got spanked 34-3 by Blackburn Rovers youth team also, which wasn't such happy day. I'm sure there are other players, but I dont remember them.

At age 10 I dislocated my elbow badly in a game. I remember holding my arm out in front of me and watching it hang at a 90 degree angle the wrong way Have to admit that it stung a little bit!

[happyjackthe4th]

great football memories ? - watching West ham taking the shed at chelsea !!, I am not advocating violence , but it was F**king great !!

[ThaiPauly]

When I was a kid I used to play alongside Keith Osgood who went on to spend many years as a midfielder at Spurs in the Perryman era...he was just so good, different class from the rest of us...we used to win all our games by a country mile

[howtoescape]

I went to school in Tavistock, Devon with former Portsmouth defender Robbie Pethick. We used to call him 'Robbie Pathetic' behind his back. He was always complaining about tackles from behind in the playground when he was 7 years old and still moaning years later at Bristol Rovers and Brighton.

I was best mates at first and middle school with a mackem called Graham Hawke, his older Warren Hawke went onto play for the Mackems and set the goal up for Sunderland to beat Newcastle in the play offs in 1990 i think it was, he ended up in some Jock first division team.

First football memory was Keegan first game v Brighton in 1984, when a streaker ran onto the pitch at the beginning of the 2nd half, with illuminous socks on and put a scarf around Keegans neck.

Old bill raffled the socks apparantly.