Getting the ball just outside the centre circle, five minutes from time in a game poised at 1-1, controlling it on my chest, dropping it to my knee, flicking it over my shoulder and walloping it into the top corner from 40 yards - listening to the bloke I was playing alongside in midfield (a much better player than me) say "Fuck.... off...." as the ball sailed over the keeper and crashed in off the underside of the bar. Honestly - I could never do that again in a million years. I've got a decent right foot, and have scored a few from 30 odd yards but that was one of those one in a million things. It won the game as well.
Worst:
Playing a team from our league but three divisions above us in the third round of the London Sunday Senior cup, leading them 1-0 with ten minutes to go and losing 3-1. Heartbreaking.
Actually, there's another one - telling our striker he'd be OK after he got a bang from the opposition keeper as he went in for a 50/50 (he scored). Of course, he hobbled off, spent the rest of the game cheering us on from the sidelines - felt a bit sick after his tea that evening and ended up going to hospital... where they reset his leg which was, of course, broken in two places. My first aid skills are legendary...
Ah yes, as a youngster, I used to play for a sunday league club who had a 1st and 2nd teams, one sunday we all met up as usual only to find the 1st team game was called off, the 2nd team however were playing at Falconwood which was on, we all agreed that we would go and cheer them on, however before we left the 2nd team manager called me aside and said I want you to play but if I put you in ahead of the the guy that normally plays c/forward he wont ever turn up again, so it was agreed that would come on as 2nd half sub, the grief I was getting from my team mates I watched this guy who was pretty average to say the least, getting rings run round him by a c/half who was pretty poor was appalling, as half time neared I got the nod, the whistle went, oi Batesy , get warmed up,putting out my fag, the normal sunday warm up was started, keepy uppy`s in the centre circle the whispers went round the oppo, "this bloke`s a bit good he`s normally in the 1st team" the heckling continued, the players returned, the ref blew his whistle, I kicked off passing the ball to what used to be called the inside forward, who in turn passed to the c/half, meanwhile I was off like a robbers dog to the edge of oppo`s box, the ball was pumped up field towards me, I rose like a salmon, watching the ball near my forehead, then whack it was all over, that useless shower of sh*te that called himself a c/half had completely missed the ball and had nutted me, I was carried off driven the Brook hospital where 18 stitches were put in split eye, my debut in the 2nd team had lasted a good 3 minutes 2 of which I was unconcious.
which reminds me anyone here ever play at Falconwood? there is a public right of way though what used to be the pitches, and every sunday by way of some sort of a protest this old girl in her sixties used to walk right though the lot pulling one of those tartan shopping trolley`s with her yorkie dog in it, if you ever approached her, she would tell you in no uncertain terms, that it was her right to exercise her dog as its a public right of way, the bloody dog never left the trolley.
funniest, when I told a great big lump of a c/half he had split his lip and he should rinse his mouth in our sponge bucket which was nearest, he did so, so I told him " 2 minutes ago I used that sponge to wash dog sh^t off my leg" he got sent off for punching me : )
Winning the league with Hawkwell Athletic 1988/89 (team Jason Euell used to sponsor) and then getting player of the year presented to me by a probably hungover Tony Adams.
Worst
Dont know how old I was, probably 9 or 10 playing Canvey boys and one of their players literally went through our entire side then went past me but I (unintentionally) brought him down, kid was quite badly injured and his old man in particular went ballistic, wanted me sent off, my old man intervened, thought this bloke was gonna start on my old man. Horrible, horrible.
Scoring with a back header from 25 yards in a school game. Not an important game but it was against my best mate and i still mention in 9 years on...
Worst:
Playing in goal in a league game after our keeper got injured, a twat of a turkish striker booted me straight in the groin meaning i had to get WSS Tinky Winky out on the pitch. It was the middle of December. Pretty Embarassing.
Best - Saving a penalty in the dying minutes of a big relegation crunch match (Playing for Teviot Rangers, Bexley B league).
Worst - Letting the ball bobble over my hand in an 8-8 draw last night was pretty low (5 a side - another big relegation battle). As was losing 31-0 in a Bexley D league game.
Best:
winning the treble for my Sunday side about 6/7 years ago, didn't lose a game all season and then I was voted 'players player of the year' (depsite playing the whole season at left back and our centre forward banging in about 50 odd goals !) I was well chuffed.
Worst:
Anytime I've been sent off (and there have been a few) plus the hernia op I had last year which sidelined me for about 6 months, never really had a serious injury *touch wood* other than that
Not sure. Scoring 6 in one half was good, going on an international tour in spain and getting shown around the nou camp by el tel, seeing the sunday club i manage win a cup last season.
worst
getting released at 15, not getting selected for england schools because i was 'too small' even though it was the best i'd ever played, but undoubtedly the last game i played without pain 4-5 years ago. Broke my wrist, and a couple of weeks later my knee went, and that was that.
funniest
posted the stories on here before, but the time a wingers false hand fell off when he was flying down the wing, or the corner my mate took when the ball stay still and the corner flag got booted 20 yards.
I scored from inside my own half when I was a kid once having caught a goal kick from their keeping clean on the half volley and sending it straight back over his head - only for it then to get disallowed by their linesman (who I'm guessing was their keepers dad!) because one of our players was allegedly standing in an offside position. Quite how anyone could have been interfering with play when the ball was half a mile up in the air and with nobody anyone near it is beyond me.
The ecstasy and agony of football all in 5 seconds.
Not having played much football I have a small pool of memories to go on but i would say:
Best: in a techy geeks tournament about 5 years ago we need to win our final pool match to get into the semi-finals and I scored two goals in a couple of minutes towards to the end to give us a 2-1 win and put us through. Including one very good one from the corner of the box. Had my back to goal with the defender in very close attention, a quick swivel and a swing of the left foot and straight in the bottom corner. Keeper never moved.
Worst: Missing a penalty in the sudden death element of a shoot out for a team when I was at college. Hit the post and we lost.
Best Last minute winner for Kidderminster boys vs Worcester boys. Cross came in from the right and I ghosted in from the left wing to head the ball into the net. But I was out cold for 5 mins as their goalie connected with my face rather than the ball in his attempt to punch the ball away. Went to the final and stuffed Bromsgrove 5-2
Worst has to be the ball in the b*****ks, was the blocker for a free kick which came at me like an exocet and took the full force, was out for 5 mins then proceeded to come round and puke everywhere...lovely
Best - having the entire summer off after breaking my leg. Breaks dont hurt much after a few weeks and as you are sort of disabled it entitles you to a seat on buses, trains and bars.
worst- either tearing cruciate ligament or breaking both wrists (not this time) in pre season training. this happened within a year of each other so i decided to call it a day at the ripe old age of 26. the alternative was 'eternal leave' otherwise known as the sack.
best - An annual 5 a side comp at meridian for all years in our school! Every year we did ok but thats that, there was this one class that had the best the best 4 outfield players we had in the year, and a decent goalie to boot! We were ok had a couple of good players and one excellent player! Anyway we battled our was to the final, and were playing against the team i just mentioned! I was in goal and we cleared one off the line, i saved aboout 30 efforts from them and we scored a nasty little goal right at the end! The jubilation was amazing, the rest of my class were watching and when the whistle went we all went mad!
worst - being at the bottom of the human mountain after we won it, the whole class bundled me and i couldnt breathe!!
Funniest - First time i ever played on pitch i was like 14 or something, and they put me at right back, anyway the winger kept on skinning me and one time i actually dived at his feet goalie styley, for which the kid chased me around the pitch trying to do me! Later that game i went into a 50 50 with a bigger boy, the ball went his way so he ran towards it whilst i am on the deck so i tap tackled him rugby styley and he proper stacked onto his face, this time the boy was much bigger and he promptly offered me to the sideline for a punch up! needless to say he actually got sent off and that was that, apart from after the game when we all a massive tear up outside the changing block! All caused by my inability to play on pitch!
[cite]Posted By: MCS[/cite]best - An annual 5 a side comp at meridian for all years in our school! Every year we did ok but thats that, there was this one class that had the best the best 4 outfield players we had in the year, and a decent goalie to boot! We were ok had a couple of good players and one excellent player! Anyway we battled our was to the final, and were playing against the team i just mentioned! I was in goal and we cleared one off the line, i saved aboout 30 efforts from them and we scored a nasty little goal right at the end! The jubilation was amazing, the rest of my class were watching and when the whistle went we all went mad!
!
Your havin a larf surely....what about skippering a Charlton Life side....?
Played for my saturday team in the cup against team 4 divisions above us at thier ground. They were warming up names on tracksuits, the lot, most of our team standing around doing a few stretches and smoking fags! Must have been 300 people watching players rumoured to be on money as well.....stuffed them 6-0, we were even giving it the Ole by the end. Blimey got drunk that night!
Worst
Played for the youth team for a non-league side, reached the 3rd round of the FA youth cup played Ipswich away at Portman Road, lost 6-0 and got sent off for swearing at an official...nightmare, all the family were there, only time I got sent off.
[cite]Posted By: MCS[/cite]best - An annual 5 a side comp at meridian for all years in our school! Every year we did ok but thats that, there was this one class that had the best the best 4 outfield players we had in the year, and a decent goalie to boot! We were ok had a couple of good players and one excellent player! Anyway we battled our was to the final, and were playing against the team i just mentioned! I was in goal and we cleared one off the line, i saved aboout 30 efforts from them and we scored a nasty little goal right at the end! The jubilation was amazing, the rest of my class were watching and when the whistle went we all went mad!
!
Your havin a larf surely....what about skippering a Charlton Life side....?
best - playing full back in one of my last u16 games which we needed to win in order to stay in our league, whilst playing the team crowned champions, a couple of minutes to go at 1-1 and the opposition broke forward from a corner which i'd gone up for. i made up yards on the guy streaming towards our goal, put a fantastic tackle in 10 or so yards from the edge of the area, took man, ball and everything, picked myself up and launched a long ball forward down the right channel, which was hooked across the box and we ended up scoring to win 2-1 and stay in the league. jaws of defeat to victory ;-)
worst - needing an operation when i was 10 when i'd really showed some promise, banging in goals as a pacey striker and gone on FA courses, got looked at, got awards etc. after missing a whole season i was never quite the same in terms of pace and skill and slipped back to full back or centre mid. :-(
Comments
Worst: Scoring a headed own goal from the halfway line by heading our keepers goalkick back into our own goal for my old team in the mid 90's.
Getting the ball just outside the centre circle, five minutes from time in a game poised at 1-1, controlling it on my chest, dropping it to my knee, flicking it over my shoulder and walloping it into the top corner from 40 yards - listening to the bloke I was playing alongside in midfield (a much better player than me) say "Fuck.... off...." as the ball sailed over the keeper and crashed in off the underside of the bar. Honestly - I could never do that again in a million years. I've got a decent right foot, and have scored a few from 30 odd yards but that was one of those one in a million things. It won the game as well.
Worst:
Playing a team from our league but three divisions above us in the third round of the London Sunday Senior cup, leading them 1-0 with ten minutes to go and losing 3-1. Heartbreaking.
Actually, there's another one - telling our striker he'd be OK after he got a bang from the opposition keeper as he went in for a 50/50 (he scored). Of course, he hobbled off, spent the rest of the game cheering us on from the sidelines - felt a bit sick after his tea that evening and ended up going to hospital... where they reset his leg which was, of course, broken in two places. My first aid skills are legendary...
which reminds me anyone here ever play at Falconwood? there is a public right of way though what used to be the pitches, and every sunday by way of some sort of a protest this old girl in her sixties used to walk right though the lot pulling one of those tartan shopping trolley`s with her yorkie dog in it, if you ever approached her, she would tell you in no uncertain terms, that it was her right to exercise her dog as its a public right of way, the bloody dog never left the trolley.
Winning the league with Hawkwell Athletic 1988/89 (team Jason Euell used to sponsor) and then getting player of the year presented to me by a probably hungover Tony Adams.
Worst
Dont know how old I was, probably 9 or 10 playing Canvey boys and one of their players literally went through our entire side then went past me but I (unintentionally) brought him down, kid was quite badly injured and his old man in particular went ballistic, wanted me sent off, my old man intervened, thought this bloke was gonna start on my old man. Horrible, horrible.
Winning the club penalty shoot out comp last season sliding 15 unbeaten past Nick 'Haystacks' Rogers to claim the trophy.
Worst
Losing 18-1 as a youngster to local team with all there players at our school, to make it worse I was in goal never mind
Scoring with a back header from 25 yards in a school game. Not an important game but it was against my best mate and i still mention in 9 years on...
Worst:
Playing in goal in a league game after our keeper got injured, a twat of a turkish striker booted me straight in the groin meaning i had to get WSS Tinky Winky out on the pitch. It was the middle of December. Pretty Embarassing.
Worst - Letting the ball bobble over my hand in an 8-8 draw last night was pretty low (5 a side - another big relegation battle). As was losing 31-0 in a Bexley D league game.
winning the treble for my Sunday side about 6/7 years ago, didn't lose a game all season and then I was voted 'players player of the year' (depsite playing the whole season at left back and our centre forward banging in about 50 odd goals !) I was well chuffed.
Worst:
Anytime I've been sent off (and there have been a few) plus the hernia op I had last year which sidelined me for about 6 months, never really had a serious injury *touch wood* other than that
Not sure. Scoring 6 in one half was good, going on an international tour in spain and getting shown around the nou camp by el tel, seeing the sunday club i manage win a cup last season.
worst
getting released at 15, not getting selected for england schools because i was 'too small' even though it was the best i'd ever played, but undoubtedly the last game i played without pain 4-5 years ago. Broke my wrist, and a couple of weeks later my knee went, and that was that.
funniest
posted the stories on here before, but the time a wingers false hand fell off when he was flying down the wing, or the corner my mate took when the ball stay still and the corner flag got booted 20 yards.
The ecstasy and agony of football all in 5 seconds.
Winning 2 Cup finals, one for Sunday side and one for Bank (Westpac) .
Saving 3 pens in one game V Villacourt Rovers, when playing for Parkmere. (Late 70's)
Getting the better of any lairy forward in a "one on one keeper only to beat " situation. (Too many to mention)
Worst.
Letting in a softie in a semi final, we lost 1-0.
Not going to world net with CIFC, the years they won it.
Best: in a techy geeks tournament about 5 years ago we need to win our final pool match to get into the semi-finals and I scored two goals in a couple of minutes towards to the end to give us a 2-1 win and put us through. Including one very good one from the corner of the box. Had my back to goal with the defender in very close attention, a quick swivel and a swing of the left foot and straight in the bottom corner. Keeper never moved.
Worst: Missing a penalty in the sudden death element of a shoot out for a team when I was at college. Hit the post and we lost.
Saving the sudden death penalty in the London Cup quarter final.
Worst.
Doing a ben foster this season (ball bouncing over your head)
Worst - Losing the Surrey County Cup Final for the same side the previous year.
Last minute winner for Kidderminster boys vs Worcester boys. Cross came in from the right and I ghosted in from the left wing to head the ball into the net. But I was out cold for 5 mins as their goalie connected with my face rather than the ball in his attempt to punch the ball away. Went to the final and stuffed Bromsgrove 5-2
Worst
has to be the ball in the b*****ks, was the blocker for a free kick which came at me like an exocet and took the full force, was out for 5 mins then proceeded to come round and puke everywhere...lovely
Best - having the entire summer off after breaking my leg.
Breaks dont hurt much after a few weeks and as you are sort of disabled it entitles you to a seat on buses, trains and bars.
worst- either tearing cruciate ligament or breaking both wrists (not this time) in pre season training. this happened within a year of each other so i decided to call it a day at the ripe old age of 26. the alternative was 'eternal leave' otherwise known as the sack.
worst - being at the bottom of the human mountain after we won it, the whole class bundled me and i couldnt breathe!!
Funniest - First time i ever played on pitch i was like 14 or something, and they put me at right back, anyway the winger kept on skinning me and one time i actually dived at his feet goalie styley, for which the kid chased me around the pitch trying to do me! Later that game i went into a 50 50 with a bigger boy, the ball went his way so he ran towards it whilst i am on the deck so i tap tackled him rugby styley and he proper stacked onto his face, this time the boy was much bigger and he promptly offered me to the sideline for a punch up! needless to say he actually got sent off and that was that, apart from after the game when we all a massive tear up outside the changing block! All caused by my inability to play on pitch!
Your havin a larf surely....what about skippering a Charlton Life side....?
Played for my saturday team in the cup against team 4 divisions above us at thier ground. They were warming up names on tracksuits, the lot, most of our team standing around doing a few stretches and smoking fags! Must have been 300 people watching players rumoured to be on money as well.....stuffed them 6-0, we were even giving it the Ole by the end. Blimey got drunk that night!
Worst
Played for the youth team for a non-league side, reached the 3rd round of the FA youth cup played Ipswich away at Portman Road, lost 6-0 and got sent off for swearing at an official...nightmare, all the family were there, only time I got sent off.
i aint done that yet, its on tuesday silly!
mind you, walking out the tunnel onto the sacred turf before kick off will surely be a best moment.
Not sure it was nerves, more like beer n curry........Still Funny tho
Would rather not see it again, please don't wear white shorts.
don't worry, it'll be black with a spare pair!
worst - needing an operation when i was 10 when i'd really showed some promise, banging in goals as a pacey striker and gone on FA courses, got looked at, got awards etc. after missing a whole season i was never quite the same in terms of pace and skill and slipped back to full back or centre mid. :-(