[HerefordBull]

Saw Mike Cecere a few times in the mid 90's at St James Park after his move to Exeter City. 

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Saw Mike Cecere a few times in the mid 90's at St James Park after his move to Exeter City. 

s-l1600 by Ann Edwards, on Flickr

Best I could do Snoots 

Interested to see one of my favourite Villa players , Peter Withe as assistant manager........................remember my father in law playing golf with him at the Belfry. During the game he promised him some tickets for the up coming Ryder Cup. My father in law thought nothing more of it but one night there was a knock on the door and there stood Peter with the promised tickets! Wasn't enough for him to change his lifetime allegiance from Birmingham City to the Villa though!!            (although he was one of those few players who had crossed the City playing for the Blues before joining the Villa)

[theo_luddite]

32 years ago? Ee' gads, that's half a lifetime ago to some of us

They only name 11 on the back row but there's at least 14 of them. Ah, The Unexamined at its finest.

[Lord Snooty]

November 19:

Jack Foster was born on this date in 1877, in Rawmarsh, near Rotherham. He was in his 30s by the time he joined Town in 1909 and had reached the back end of his playing career.

He started his career with Blackpool in the Football League Second Division, before dropping to the Midland League with Rotherham Town and then Watford in the Southern League. It was with the Hornets that he raised his game, scoring 29 goals in 59 matches, which earned him a move to Sunderland in Division One.

He made a great start there, scoring on his debut against Birmingham and then twice in a 5-2 win against Woolwich Arsenal. But when his health deteriorated, the doctor advised him to move to a milder climate down south. A move to the smog of London wouldn't be the most sensible prescription, but that's what he did with a move to West Ham United.

That was back into the Southern League though, staying for one season in which he scored a hat trick against Portsmouth. His next move was to Southampton, from where he moved back up north to the wonderful climate of the West Riding of Yorkshire and joined Huddersfield Town.

He scored on his Town debut in the Midland League against Bradford City's reserves and was our top scorer that season. His biggest haul was in the FA Cup tie against Heckmondwike when he scored four times in a club record 11-0 victory. He scored eleven goals in that FA Cup campaign, a record that still stands today, including a hat trick in that infamous match with South Kirkby Colliery.

He didn't stay around when we were elected into the Football League at the end of that season, instead playing non league with Castleford, whilst also taking on a job as a chimney sweep. That's right, Mary Poppins. A chimerley sweep.

He came back to Leeds Road as trainer in 1912, sticking around for many years and later was assistant manager at Bradford City and even later, a scout for Pompey.

Jack died in 1946, in Huddersfield, aged 68.

[Lord Snooty]

November 20:

On this date in 1976, we had our first ever match against Mansfield Town. They were a club we had avoided for the entiritey of our Football League life because obviously we had played the majority of our seasons in the top two divisions and the Stags had been in the lower leagues since their election into the FL in 1931.

But we ourselves were now in those lower leagues, dropping down to Division 4 by this stage. However, Mansfield had passed us on the way up and so we still hadn't played them. Until now, when the FA Cup first round draw was made and we got to play them at Leeds Road.

One of my fellow 201 Leeds/Huddersfield bus passengers was hoping for a draw. Why? I will explain later, because a draw is what he got. A dreary 0-0 draw, which attracted a crowd of 9,025, which was almost double that of the previous home game. The magic of the FA Cup.

It was a very young Town side, which included Peter Hart (pictured), Martin Fowler, Alan Sweeney and Lloyd Maitland, who had all come through the Youth team that got to the Youth Cup Final not so long before.

Not long to wait for the replay. It's in two days time.

On this date in 1929, Wilf Lewis, who we had recently signed from Swansea Town, played his one and only Welsh international as a Town player. He got six caps altogether.

This one didn't go well for centre forward Wilf. His team were stuffed 6-0 at Stamford Bridge. George Camsell of Middlesbrough scored a hat trick.

[Lord Snooty]

November 21:

On this date in 1914, Town played Arsenal at home and beat them 3-0 in front of a crowd of 10,246. It was a Second Division match and they had just dropped Woolwich from their name to be just known as the Arsenal, following their move to Highbury. Two of the goals were scored by Ralph Shields, though some reports have him down for a hat trick. Ernie Islip is officially credited with the other.

Spin on thirty years to the day and Ralph died on this date in 1944, a prisoner of war.

He was born in Easington, County Durham in 1892 and was working as a miner when Newcastle signed him as a 21 year old in 1913. He never made their first team and so in 1914, Town paid a hundred quid to bring him down to Leeds Road. He was top scorer in his first full season with us, scoring 16 in the season before the FL was suspended for the duration of the First World War.

He played in the first four games of the 15/16 Wartime League, but then signed up to serve as a bombardier in the Royal Field Artillery. After the war had finished, he played his part in our promotion season, but missed out on the FA Cup Final of 1920.

He scored 21 goals altogether for the Town, the last of which came in a First Division match at home to West Brom, scoring twice in a 5-1 victory. He was then transferred to Exeter, in part exchange for William Wright coming to us. They were in the Thrid Division South and he soon left there to join fellow Div3S team Brentford.

He left the Football League after that, playing for Sittingbourne and then back up to the north-east with Blyth Spartans. But then in October 1927, he and his family emigrated to Australia to start a new life in New South Wales.

Thirteen years later, with the Second World War now underway, Ralph signed up again. He was 48 by now and too old to fight, but he only went and lied about his age, reckoning he was only 39, with the age limit being set at 40. Two years later with the Australian Army Service Corps, he was in Malaya. He was captured by the Japanese Army and became a POW in Sandakan Prisoner of War Camp in North Borneo.

This was not like the POW camps in Germany, where varoius escape plots made some great films later on and of course was the inspiration for our own Great Escape skit in 97/98. No, these were death camps. The prisoners were ill treated and were used as slave labour. This camp had it's inmates building a military airstrip.

The prisoners were defenceless against the mosquitoes, their constant attacks on the victims weakened body making sleeping at night almost impossible. Ralph died of malnutrition and beriberi on this date in 1944 and his body, among many others was recovered after the war and buried at the Labuan War Cemetery in Malaysia.

This is his photo from his Australian Army days.

On this date in 1931, Dave Mangnall became the first Huddersfield Town player to score five goals in a match, a record that still stands today, only being matched by Alf Lythgoe and Jordan Rhodes.

Dave scored his five in a 6-0 home win against Derby County in front of an 11,638 crowd. Derby's captain Tommy Cooper was watching magic Mangnall going "ball, net, ball net" during a first half in which his first two goals gave us a 2-0 half time lead. Cooper had just been picked for England to replace Town's Roy Goodall.

Dave completed his hat trick in the first minute of the second half and made it four on the hour, nodding home a Wilf Bott cross. Dennis Jennings then supplied George McLean to make it 5-0 and Dave finished off his fantastic five in the 80th minute.

Later in the season, as I wrote about earlier in the year, Mrs Mangnall's lad went on to score in eleven consecutive matches. Another club record that still stands today.

[theo_luddite]

There's a bloke called Gill (no, not Jill, Gill as in the the things just behind a fishes head) that's worked behind the bar at The Unionville Arms on Main Street, Unionville, Canada (the first ever settlement north of Toronto) who's a dead ringer for Ralph. Wingnut ears, haircut, nose like a blind cobblers thumb - the works.

First bar I was taken into in Canada and I go back every time I'm over there. Some things just have to be done - no questions asked.

https://unionvillearms.ca/

I'm letting you into a bit more of my life again, you can't find better hosts than Tom and Paul and their staff.

[Lord Snooty]

November 22:

So the other day, I mentioned playing Mansfield Town in the FA Cup and that somebody I knew was hoping for a draw. Well that was because Field Mill was the only one of the 92 Football League grounds (at the time) that he hadn't seen Town play at. Getting to the replay, played on this date in 1976, would get him his entry into the 92 Club, which didn't actually exist in those days. The Club itself was only started in 1978.

So Joe, who we used to sit with on the 201 bus to the games, used to tell us loads of stories from the olden days, he was much older than us. And we got to see him at the match. We'd gone on the special from Batley Bus Station. I assume Joe went on the official Supporters Club coach and it turned out later that he was one of four Town fans who had completed the 92 on that Monday night, all while watching Huddersfield Town.

It would be almost impossible to do that nowadays with all the new grounds and teams being promoted and relegated between the FL and the National League. At the last count, I think I'd done around 72 of them in my time, but with different grounds, it's closer to a hundred.

Just had a quick count, it's now 71 of the current clubs I've been to (including Huddersfield). I don't think I'll be adding many more to that list. It costs too much and I've lost the enthusiasm.

How many have you done?

So anyway, back to the game at Mansfield. Arnold Sidebottom, the ex Man Utd player, who also played for Yorkshire at cricket, scored our goal in a 2-1 defeat.

On this date in 1919, Town won their fourth game in a row to go up to 4th in the 2nd Division. It was a 1-0 win at home to Bristol City, with Billy Smith grabbing the goal. Following the campaign of trying to get more people to Leeds Road, the crowd was a rather encouraging 7,897, almost three times the size of the attendance against Fulham when the alarm bells were rung about the club not being financially viable.

After the game, another meeting of supporters was gathered on the pitch in front of the main stand, where once again a Board member spoke to the crowd. This time it was WL Hardcastle and club captain Fred Bullock, announcing that he would be holding another meeting at the Palace Theatre on the next evening.

The campaign was going well.

We have some international games to report on. Two Town players played for England on this date in 1930. They were Roy Goodall, who was also the captain, and Austen Campbell. It was against Wales at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham and England won the game 4-0. Jimmy Hampson of Blackpool scored twice, Liverpool's Gordon Hodgson got one and Joe Bradford of Birmingham got the other.

On this date in 1961, England played Northern Ireland at Wembley. It was a 1-1 draw, with Bobby Charlton scoring for England. Ray Wilson of Huddersfield Town played in this match, gaining the 7th of his total of 63 caps, playing alongside legends of the game like Charlton, Bobby Robson and Jimmy Armfield.

In the Irish line up was an 18 year old Jimmy Nicholson of Manchester United. Six years later, on this date in 1967, he was the captain of Huddersfield Town and played for his country again against England, again at the Empire Stadium at Wembley. England were by now the World Champions and Wilson, having won a World Cup winners medal, was now playing for Everton and was getting his 57th cap in this one.

Jimmy Nick's boys, including the likes of Pat Jennings in goal and Terry Neill in defence couldn't stop two of the Three Lions' World Cup winners scoring. That man Charlton got another, his 43rd England goal. Geoff Hurst got the other in a 2-0 win for England.

[theo_luddite]

The road to 92?

I reckon I've seen Town play at 75 clubs in the current top 4 divisions, there's a handful I've still to visit in their new stadiums, but I also went to Roker Park one day when I was marooned in Newcastle thanks to a bit of wind buggering up British Rail's pathetic attempts to get me to Newcastle Airport in time for a flight to somewhere warmer and not quite as wet an windy. That's the only stadium on the list I've been to and not seen Town playing at and I also saw them play Spurs when they were using Wemberlee included in the 75. I couldn't be bothered with paying a fortune to watch us get stuffed at the new White Hart Lane ground towards the end of THAT season. You can also throw in at least 11 grounds in the non-league pyramid including FA Cup games at the likes of Workington and Northwich Victoria (I think - well, somewhere in Cheshire, might have been Runcorn, but whatever). So about 87 that I can remember, then add in the defunct Darlington who if they have revived themselves are so far down the pyramid I didn't spot them, and play-off and broken windscreen finals at the likes of old Wemberlee and Cardiff but those two aren't really part of The 92.

[Lord Snooty]

November 23:

Twenty one today, twenty one today. He's got the key to the physio's door...........

Happy 21st birthday to Tino Anjorin, our Chelsea loanee for this season. We seem to have at least one every season. He was born in Poole, on this date in 2001.

Also born on this date was the late great Frank Worthington. He was born in Halifax on this date in 1948, so would've been 19 when he scored for Town in my first match, which will be coming up on here very soon.

Described by Ian Greaves as "the working man’s George Best", he never reached his full potential for various reasons and although he did have a glittering career, it ought to have had more proper bling rather than just a couple of Second Division champions medals with us in 69/70 and Southampton in 83/84. Only eight England caps as well, scoring twice in friendlies against Argentina and Bulgaria.

Probably his best game in a Town shirt came in 1972, the 4-2 FA Cup hammering of the Hammers, when he tore their defence to pieces, a defence which included World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore. At the end of that season though, he was wandering off. Bill Shankly wanted him at Liverpool, but "high blood pressure" meant that deal fell through and he ended up in Leicester instead.

Twenty two moves later, he ended up back in his home town as player/manager of Halifax Town. Still playing at the age of 44. Wikipedia says he played 846 league games, but that's not all Football League matches, he did a few abroad as well. Hang on a minute, I'll just have a quick tot up.........

I get it to 757 Football League matches, including 171 for us. Add the Cup games on, that's 192, scoring 48 goals for the Terriers. Those 48 goals put him in 26th equal with David Cowling and Duncan Shearer.

His final years had him suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, which finally killed him last year, aged 72.

On this date in 2013, we had an away game at Sheffield Wednesday. All the talk beforehand was about a training ground bust up between Adam Clayton and Martin Paterson.

Paterson said they weren't playing tiddlywinks, when asked about it and he did wear a cast during the match after it was alleged that it was he who threw the first punch. The great part about it though, came in the 11th minute at Hillsborough when Paterson popped home the first goal. The celebration was legendary, as you can see in the picture, they recreated that training pitch punch.

Can't remember how they celebrated the second goal, but it was Clayton who scored it, making it 2-0 in the 68th minute. Connor Whickham made it 2-1 in injury time, but too late to give us any worries. All in the classy Covonia yellow kit as well.

[Lord Snooty]

November 24:

Ooh! Phil Starbuck, is 54 today. Born on this date in Nottingham in 1968, he started his playing career with his local team, the Nottingham Florist. He scored in his first two outings for them as an 18 year old, under the management of Brian Clough, against Newcastle United and Liverpool.

Cloughie had Phil traveling to Sid James' Park for his debut as assistant to the kitman and it wasn't until he'd put all the shirts out on the pegs that he pointed at the number 10 shirt and told him to put it on, you're playing!

He had seven years there, in which time he had loans at Birmingham, Hereford and Blackburn, before Cloughie let us have him on a free transfer. Surely one of the best free transfers we made and a sign that the old boy was finally losing his judgement.

Starby scored 47 goals for us, leaving him now in 29th position in our all time goalscorers chart, level with Charlie Luke. His most famous one would probably be the final goal at Leeds Road, the winner in the 2-1 win against Blackpool. But he had a record breaking goal as well, officially timed at three seconds, scoring from a corner just after coming on as a sub. That was the winner in a 2-1 win at home against Wigan.

After initially being disappointed at having to drop from the First to the Third Division to play for us, he always speaks fondly of his time with us and was always friendly enough to talk to fans who were bothering him whilst pushing a trolley around Asda. No, not me. Couldn't get near enough to ask his opinion on Neil Warnock.

Not sure what his response would've been as it was Colin who eventually let him go. It was up a division though, to Sheffield United, but I do seem to recall there had been some kind of rift between the two of them. His final goal in the bright blue n white came in an Auto Windscreens Shield match at home to York City, scoring from the spot in a 3-0 victory.

After that, it was lower league football and non league management. Back in the day, we used to call him the Reverend Phil in the fanzine Hanging On The Telephone. Well in 2012, that joke came to reality when he and his wife Claire officially became a part of the ministry team at New Springs City Church in Loughborough. https://www.newsprings.org.uk/about/lead...-starbuck/

On this date in 1928, we once more walloped Sheffield United. It was 6-1 at home this time, just over 12 months after smashing them 7-1 at Bramall Lane. It was also just a fortnight after hammering Burnley 7-1 as well. So why on earth were there only 7,590 spectators there? I know times were hard, but some of these attendances are really flummoxing me.

Anyway, six goals, three scorers. A hat trick for Alex Jackson, two for Laurie Cumming the Irish international whose dribbling style was described as a "pirouetting Charlie Chaplin swagger". Johnny Dent got the other. He went the other way to Starby, by becoming a legend on the banks of the Trent with Nottingham Forest, scoring over a hundred goals for them.

A couple of FA Cup games against non league opposition now. On this date in 1973, we played our first game with Wigan Athletic of the Northern Premier League. Having dropped down to the 3rd Division for the first time, this was our first entry into the competition at this stage since 1910.

We won it 2-0 with a couple of goals from Bob Newton, a day after his 18th birthday. Later in the season, he would play in our FA Youth Cup Final team against Spurs.

On this date in 1981, a Tuesday night home replay against Workington. We'd drawn 1-1 up at theirs on Saturday, with Malcolm Brown scoring for us. This was the game where Steve Smith came out of retirement to play at left back, due to a cripplingly long injury list.

Worse was to follow on the way home when our van broke down and we spent the entire night stuck in Tebay Services.

Anyway, the replay went much better, winning 5-0 with goals from Ian Robins, Mark Lillis, Micky Laverick (2) and another from the long legged Mally.