headerimg
#1

Ahead of the 112th clash of The Auld Enemy on Friday, Sky Sports presenter David Tanner recalls the sights… and smells… of his f

in Balance Discussion Tue Apr 03, 2018 5:46 am
by jokergreen0220 • Farseer | 295 Posts | 2950 Points

Ahead of the 112th clash of The Auld Enemy on Friday, Sky Sports presenter David Tanner recalls the sights… and smells… of his first sampling of the fixture. Custom Miami Dolphins Jerseys . His memories of the landmark 100th meeting will last a lifetime. As a Glaswegian, I am very proud that international football was born in the same city as I was. It all began at the West of Scotland Cricket Clubs ground in Partick in November 1872. If you are a football fan and you ever visit Clydeside or, indeed, if you live there, you should make a pilgrimage there. Hamilton Crescent is largely unchanged since that first match when Glasgow was proudly known as the Second City of the British Empire.My own first experience of The Auld Enemy story was the 100th edition, some 110 years after that pioneering match. I was just 10 years old and such was the enormity of the event and the richness of the experience I can recall so much detail about that day in 1982. Paul Mariner found the target for England in their 1982 clash My father and I jumped in the familys Ford Escort estate and headed to the south side of Glasgow, via my grandparents house to collect my maternal grandfather. Next stop: Hampd… actually hold that thought; we didnt go anywhere on a Saturday until Id visited the sweetie shop! RS McColls in Springburn. My usual match-day snack was ½ lb of Kola Kubes and ½ lb of Pan Drops, weighed on scales and handed to me in an old-fashioned white paper poke. Id discover years later that when he founded his chain of newsagents, Robert Smyth McColl was a decorated Scotland international! RS McColl scored 13 goals in 13 appearances - including a hat trick against The Auld Enemy at Celtic Park in 1901! His name can still be seen on high street convenience stores across the UK and his photograph hangs on the wall at the Scottish Football Museum as he is in the Hall of Fame - for services to football and more importantly the provision of Wham Bars, Dip Dabs, Candy Shrimps and Space Dust. He also kept me stocked up on The Beano and Roy of The Rovers, come to think of it.Despite the sugary diversion, we arrived early and parked near Mount Florida railway station. Although just a few hundred yards from the ground, it was very quiet with the only football-related activity being the street vendors setting up their stalls. Lion rampant flags with printed messages like Remember Bannockburn 1314 or unrepeatable comments about Jimmy Hill. More on Jimmy shortly…Lunch was the traditional Scottish pre-match meal. A curry. After Id finished my plain omelette and chips (cut me some slack - I was only 10 and Im a wee bit more adventurous now!), we ventured outside the Indian restaurant and onto Cathcart Road. The relative serenity of the pre-lunchtime period had been replaced by total chaos. Noise, noise and more noise. The first sound I was aware of was the steady clip-clop of the Strathclyde Police horses. The first smell I was aware of was also those horses… Then a louder banging - coming from a 37A Greater Glasgow PTE bus dropping off fans before it chuntered off in the direction of Castlemilk. The din coming from that one double decker would, I reckon, beat the atmosphere at most stadia during matches! We look back at the best goals from clashes between England and Scotland from the 1970s and 80s, when the rivals played each other regularly The first chant of the day came from a match magazine seller: Erz-a-feeshul-prog-ra-a-a-amme! For those of you not fluent in Glaswegian, the English translation is: Here is the official programme, chaps… Papa treated me to a copy (80 pence was over my weekly pocket money budget). I remember the cover - a tartan background with a photo of a fully outstretched Alan Rough in mid-air making a save…a manoeuvre that Roughy would forget to do when faced with a Zico free kick in Seville during the World Cup one month later!We then made the short walk down Letherby Drive, past Lesser Hampden, en route to its bigger and rather more famous neighbour. I was like an excited school boy - mainly because I was an excited school boy. Whenever I approach Hampden now, I visualise that scene and get the same feeling of exhilaration that the wee laddie experienced all those years ago. Nowadays, I take in games at the National Stadium from a wonderful vantage point in the Sky Sports studio but whenever I welcome the audience to our programme, I have a habit of referring to the wonderful history of that acre of land in Mount Florida, influenced by my mental snapshot of 82.Hampden attacked all the senses. The smell of drink filled the air. To be fair to Hampden, it seemed to me that much of Glasgow had a strong whiff of whisky and beer on Saturdays in those days. The old Hampdens tarmac urinals were something to behold, too, but some memories are best erased!Despite the smell of McEwans Export, this was actually the first dry clash of the Auld Enemy as Scottish football was taking, perhaps staggering, its first few sober steps into a new more civilised age. Alcohol had been banned at games in the wake of the Old Firm riot at Hampden two years earlier. That said, the wee man in the kilt that I saw berate Jimmy Hill as he entered the main door looked like hed had a fair few stiffeners…and not to be sociable. Fair play to Jimmy, he completely ignored the stick he was getting; the louder the wee fella got, the more Jimmy pretended that he couldnt here him! Quite a shirricking chuckled Papa. I remember being very impressed by Jims calmness under fire, he was the Tartan Armys least-favourite pundit of the era…and by some distance. I use that same nonchalant approach now…whenever I have to walk through a crowd alongside Andy Walker(!) Former Scotland manager Alex McLeish, who won 77 caps for his country - has mixed memories of Wembley both as a fan and as a player I remember vividly watching fans hiding their carry outs under bushes beside the red blaize (ash) pitch which sat outside the old main stand at Hampden. I read in the papers the following day that local residents sneaked out of their houses and grabbed all those hidden Agnews off-sales bags filled with cans of the golden stuff. You wouldnt be happy seeing Scotland lost to England and then discovering your secret bevvy plank had been pinched, would you?!I marvelled at the size of the crowd - the official attendance was 80,000 that day, though it would have been far greater as there was a tradition of youngsters being carried over the turnstiles. And that day I was one of them. The rusty revolving barriers were remarkably low and even with my wee legs it was remarkably easy to get up and over. Ironically, I was offered encouragement by the friendly turnstile operator. They didnt do jobsworths in hi-viz jackets in those days. It was to be the final big game that the old (and, by all accounts, creaking) North Stand perched up at the back of the enormous terracing would be occupied by fans. (When the North Stand was completed in 1937, the total capacity was 180,000! Hampden was the biggest football ground in the world until overtaken by the Maracanã in Rio which was constructed for the World Cup finals in 1950.)As 3pm approached, I found a great standing position leaning on the back of Jock Steins dugout in the old enclosure. From there I had a close up view of the teams when they marched out. As it was the landmark 100th meeting, captains Danny McGrain and Kevin Keegan didnt lead out the teams, instead, they had to follow two stars of the fixture in the 1940s and 50s, George Young and Tom Finney. My heroes Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness, Joe Jordan, John Robertson (a sub that day - what was Jock Stein thinking about?!) and (whisper it) Bryan Robson followed as the Hampden Roar filled the air. Former Scotland manager Craig Brown insists Scotland must stand up and be counted if theyre to get a result at Wembley against England The players managed to find some space on the pitch to line-up which was never easy in those days: the massed pipes and drums (over 200 bandsmen would be on duty) filled the middle third of the playing surface and created a wonderful din that added to the atmosphere. Now when I go to Hampden, the crowd seem stifled by loud dance music being blasted at them for no apparent reason. No offence to Daft Punk but give me the Shotts & Dykehead Pipe Band any day. SFA please take note; imagine the emotions stirred by having an old-fashioned massed band on the pitch when England march out at Hampden on June the tenth.I remember the wonderful skirl of the pipes when the players lined up for the anthems - in those days it was Scotland the Brave - which always seems such a passionate and triumphal tune (even if nobody knew the words!) compared to the insipid folksong Flower of Scotland which has always seemed to me to set a downbeat tone since being adopted by the SFA in the late 1980s. When the brass band (significantly smaller in number!) struck up the English anthem Land of Hope and Glory I could hardly hear it above the jeers of the home support. I was also struck by the fact that there seemed to be a total absence of England fans in the ground.My dad told me in advance to look out for the dust rising from the ash-covered terracing when Scotland scored. Sadly, I didnt get to see that peculiar phenomenon as England won the game 1-0. It was a goal made in Ipswich. From a corner, Terry Butchers header hit the bar and Paul Mariner pounced to bury the rebound with club mate George Burley on the near post unable to get up in time. Ron Greenwoods boys left as winners of the British Home Championship with 3 wins out of 3. That success saw England draw level with Scotland on 39 wins each and, believe it or not, after trailing the Scots for over a century, it took the English until 1983 to overtake Scotland in the wins column. It took them a while, but they eventually got the hang of this great Scottish sport! Former Scotland manager Bobby Brown takes us through some of his countrys most memorable moments in fixtures against England in years gone by On the way home we listened to radios original football phone-in on Radio Clydes Super Scoreboard82 which was presented by my broadcasting heroes, Richard Park and Paul Cooney, with star pundit, the late James Sanderson, famous for his nasal tones and his eloquent put downs. Clydes coverage in those days was exceptional but I recall a very subdued feel about the coverage that night on good old 261. Even the normally upbeat Ian St John sounded lacked the effervescence he was famed for when played for Scotland and in his later TV career starring alongside Jimmy Greaves. Sanderson coined the radio catchphrase Where you at the match, caller? I had been that day and, despite the defeat, I was glad that I had been and I had seen.Papa died a couple of months later, on the day I started Primary 6, so it was the last time the three generations of my family went to a game together and so Im thankful that the day was so memorable.I had to wait until 1985 to see Scotland beat England. Dundee United right back Richard Gough headed the only goal of the game in torrential rain and skipper Graeme Souness of Sampdoria lifted the Sir Stanley Rous Cup at the end of it. My mum still has my ticket for the game; I climbed into the main stand to get it autographed by her favourite singer Rod Stewart! This is not behaviour I would encourage but the big police inspector who lowered me back into the enclosure congratulated me on my pluck… Roy Hodgson talks to David Tanner after Englands 3-1 win over Scotland in November 2014 Fast forward 29 years and I had the honour of being in the tunnel doing the interviews in Sky Sports live coverage in the most recent meeting of the nations. Before the game, I was met with a warm embrace by the England goalkeeper Fraser Forster with whom I had enjoyed a fantastic relationship when The Wall was with Celtic but despite that and being charmed by the politeness of Wayne Rooney, Roy Hodgson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere in after-match interviews, I was as disappointed as I has been as a kid. I just didnt let it show until I got home!Can Scotland win at Wembley this year? Why not? England are hardly in a settled state at the moment. The power thats been missing in the Scots side during the campaign will be back with the return of Celtic captain Scott Brown, rejuvenated and fit under Brendan Rodgers. Im interested to see if and how Charlie Mulgrew will be used given the recent problems in central defence. I was pleased to see James Morrison start and score in West Broms win against champions Leicester at the weekend. Mossa has been a class act for Scotland for years and I reckon Gordon Strachan could feel he is ready to come back into the first 11.In the week that a lad from Dunblane has become the worlds number one tennis player and the son of Mary Anne MacLeod from the Isle of Lewis was voted President of the United States of America, anything is possible. And I mean anything!Gaun yersel, boys!!! Also See: England v Scotland preview Rooney captain against Scots England and Scotland XIs rated World Cup qualifiers on Sky William Hayes Jersey . For the Bombers it has been a combination of things coming together at the most inappropriate moments in time. Quarterback, injuries, Canadian talent or depth and leadership are all issues. Trust me when I say being a Bomber is no fun right now in a city that embraces football the way Winnipeg does. While Buck Pierce will be getting another shot, I think Max Hall does deserve another opportunity. Cameron Wake Jersey . McCutchen was cut before the series opener against Seattle on Monday night, when Lewis was set for his first start for Texas since July 18, 2012. Texas selected Lewis contract from Triple-A Round Rock. http://www.shopdolphinsauthenticnfl.com/Youth-Matt-Haack-Elite-Jersey/ . "Youre not really spending time to sit back and analyze what your competitions doing and things like that," Anthopoulos said. "Youre so focused on what were trying to get done." Ultimately, while the landscape around them changed with trades both major and minor, the Blue Jays did nothing before Thursdays non-waiver deadline.WINNIPEG -- Canadas Olympic curlers will compete in the Continental Cup, which starts Thursday in Las Vegas. Winnipegs Jennifer Jones, the Canadian womens skip, is looking forward to the event. "It will be great to go back and start competing," she said Tuesday. "A lot of the teams there will be going to the Olympics so its a great event, the Continental Cup. "Its kind of a loose event so we can go and get some games under our belt." Not that Joness rink hasnt been training hard. The squad just returned from Edmonton where it was preparing for the Olympics. "Were prepared," she said. "We had a reallyy good plan going into the trials and I feel we have an even better plan heading into the Olympics. Brandon Doughty Jersey. . "Were feeling great about everything." Canadas mens team headed by Brad Jacobs will also be there, along with Winnipegs Jeff Stoughton and Ottawas Rachel Homan. Theyll be playing for North America with U.S. Olympic hopefuls Erika Brown and John Shuster. Five of the six teams competing for Team World in Las Vegas will also be at the Olympics: Scotlands David Murdoch and Eve Muirhead, Niklas Edin and Margaretha Sigfridsson of Sweden and Norways Thomas Ulsrud. The format is modelled after golfs Ryder Cup. China Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '

Scroll up


Visitors
0 Members and 32 Guests are online.

We welcome our newest member: selfstudys
Board Statistics
The forum has 6516 topics and 6575 posts.
Visitor record: 493 users on Fri Nov 22, 2024 4:10 pm..