Safe and Secure

Not the result I wanted!

Chelsea have equalised!

My man and I have just come in from the garden.  It’s hot out there and even in the shade, I need to come in to cool off.

He’s getting salads, whilst I’ve just come into the office to check for important e-mails.  Nothing!  Except a couple of messages on this blog.

We’re both supporting Everton.  As I suspect most of the country is today!

That was quick.  Everton have just scored!  My screams have alerted my man and he’s rushed in wearing nothing but a pinny.  Well!  That was one thing more than I am!

I was leafing through The Times website when I this article about the Top 50 Spurs Players.

Now I was eleven when Spurs won the first League and Cup double in 1961.  I only went once that year and that was to the match where they were presented with the league trophy.  Incidentally, they lost and that has been typical of my football watchingf.  If I go, the team loses.

My father though was regular and had been at the Cup Final in 1921, when they had previously won the FA Cup.  He used to regale me with tales of such as Taffy O’Callaghan, Alf Ramsey and Ted Ditchburn.  I didn’t see any of them.  I should say that I was the one who would listen to his tales of football, so it was me who eventually got taken.  Mary just wasn’t interested.

But in the article they mention Tommy Harmer.

I never saw him, as he left Spurs before my father used to take me to White Hart Lane.  But my father had a soft spot for him, as Harmer was not unlike my father in being short in stature and wiry.  As my father would say, Harmer had more tricks than several hundred magicians.  He would delight in showing with all the actions how Harmer would take a ball from a short pass from a corner kick and then dance his way up the goal line into the penalty area.  (My father had form as a dancer, as he had actually appeared on stage! I don’t think he had been very good!) But Harmer was and in many cases he either got a penalty or the ball was laid back for someone to hafve a shot from close range.

I’ve never seen anybody do anything like that, although I’m told George Best did it a few times.

But I’d love to see someone have a go.

I did see an awful lot of Jimmy Greaves, Pat Jennings, Alan Gilzean and those of that generation in the later 1960’s amd early 70’s.

Those were the days.

But then I had my kids and life got rather restricted.

I got invited by a client to go to the Emirates last night to watch the FA Cup match between Arsenal and Hull.  As you know I was bought up to be a Spurs supporter, so I had to behave, as I was surrounded by Arsenal supporters.

But I couldn’t help raising a little smirk, when Hull went ahead and I would have loved them to hold on.  In the end the goal Arsenal scored that won the match was rather dubious.

But that’s football.

They do things differently in Germany.

Catania is in Sicily and their team has found an innovative way to score at free kicks.

I suppose it’s not as bad as asking the Mafia to shoot the opposing goal-keeper.

There is a general view that footballers are thick.

Today though, I read this piece in The Times from Moritz Volz, who plays for Ipswich Town.

It’s pithy, funny and very entertaining.  A pity though that he’s German and not English.

What a game!

I was trying to work and two of the lads from the pub had come round to watch the match on my Sky. When you live alone as a woman, you sometimes need things done and I find the pub a great source of people to do heavy jobs. So it was only a large chest to be moved, but I knew they wanted to watch the match.

But their shouting drew me to the television and in the end I watched it with them.  I was also keeping the peace as they both supported opposite sides.

I was a bit torn at the result.  My past wanted Spurs to win, as they will always be one of my favourite teams, but if they can’t win the Premier League, then I’d prefer Arsenal to do it, as they play attractive football and they’re not Manchester United or Chelsea.  Liverpool would be acceptable though.

In the end we all went down the pub to watch Match of the Day.  It was a good way to end a hard day’s work.

I’ve been watching this, whilst writing a report for Monday.

As in common with most football fans, I was pleased that Chelsea lost.  It would really be good if they lost at Hull in mid-week.

They should win there, but the way Hull seem to have the knack of beating people, means that I’ll be crossing my fingers.