On this day...... | Page 4 | Vital Football

On this day......

To be fair, the second was something quite sublime 👌


Or was it? Should it have even been allowed? 🤔


Yes, nobs, I've seen that before. Terrible foul on Hoddle. The referee was fucking awful that day. I think he was pretty inexperienced and never refereed another WC game.

I've also heard that the turf on the pitch had only just been laid and was really loose and unsteady underfoot. Apparently it was moving about quite a bit. With this in mind it makes Maradona's twisting run that much more spectacular.
 
Only if you've got an English point of view and an English sense of 'fair play'.

The culture is very different in South America and what Maradona did (i.e. fool the officials) is considered to be just another aspect of the game. Nothing to do with 'cheating' or being a 'scumbag'.

Diego was the best player of his generation by a country mile and one of the greatest of all time. He is a God in Argentina and both of his goals against England in that 1986 WC quarter final are revered for different reasons.

Gary Lineker and Terry Butcher were both part of that England team. Lineker understands about the South American culture and has forgiven Maradons. Butcher, on the other hand, simply doesn't get it and still thinks Maradona is a bloody cheat!

I understand that lots of English people can never forgive the handball but they really do need to understand that there is a huge cultural difference and Maradona didn't break any universal ethical code, he was just playing in the spirit of the South American game.

Hear what you say, but cheating is cheating is cheating. Forgiveness isn`t relevant as far as i`m concerned - he`s just a cheat who got away with cheating. Had Gary Lineker won the game with a blatant handball, I wonder how many Argentinians would have thought "oh well, he was just playing in the spirit of the game" ?
 
Hear what you say, but cheating is cheating is cheating. Forgiveness isn`t relevant as far as i`m concerned - he`s just a cheat who got away with cheating. Had Gary Lineker won the game with a blatant handball, I wonder how many Argentinians would have thought "oh well, he was just playing in the spirit of the game" ?

You're half right, I think.

Yes, had Lineker scored the winner with his hand the Argentinians would have been unhappy. But their anger would have been directed at the officials. I don't think they would have blamed Lineker. Certainly not in the same way that the English blame Maradona. Liberal minded Argentinians would even have applauded Lineker's deception whilst remaining irate with the referee and linesman.
 
You're half right, I think.

Yes, had Lineker scored the winner with his hand the Argentinians would have been unhappy. But their anger would have been directed at the officials. I don't think they would have blamed Lineker. Certainly not in the same way that the English blame Maradona. Liberal minded Argentinians would even have applauded Lineker's deception whilst remaining irate with the referee and linesman.


Not sure about that, Buddha. Guess we`ll never know.
 
You're half right, I think.

Yes, had Lineker scored the winner with his hand the Argentinians would have been unhappy. But their anger would have been directed at the officials. I don't think they would have blamed Lineker. Certainly not in the same way that the English blame Maradona. Liberal minded Argentinians would even have applauded Lineker's deception whilst remaining irate with the referee and linesman.
My mind is now on South America after the Narcos thread. I haven't been to Argentina but went to 4/5 matches in Colombia. They have a mentality much more like 'whatever it takes to win' and diving is a skill. They also effing hate refs.

I went to the Medellín Derby (naturally supporting the crap one) in the ultras end and it remains the most mental footballing experience of my life. The riot police were in the stands stopping fights during the warm up and we all got tear gased after. Only one set of fans could use public transport and the previous season fans weren't allowed in the stadium due to too many deaths. I don't recall too much football from that one but that's largely because the stands were the entertainment and the tifos blocked most of the view anyway.

Definitely the craziest but the loudest goes to Galatasary vs Fenerbahce. The whistling in that was deafening.
 
On this day (well yesterday, actually) in 1829 The first policeman to be murdered in Britain was Constable Joseph Grantham in Somers Town (Euston area of London)

He went to the aid of a woman involved in a fight between drunken men and when he fell, all three proceeded to kick him to death.

At his inquest, the jury returned a verdict of "justifiable homicide", possibly due to dislike of the new police force. Grantham was held to have contributed to his own death by "over-exertion in the discharge of his duty..!!

The police force was a new concept - launched in 1829. Still hasn`t really taken off.
 
On this day (well yesterday, actually) in 1829 The first policeman to be murdered in Britain was Constable Joseph Grantham in Somers Town (Euston area of London)

He went to the aid of a woman involved in a fight between drunken men and when he fell, all three proceeded to kick him to death.

At his inquest, the jury returned a verdict of "justifiable homicide", possibly due to dislike of the new police force. Grantham was held to have contributed to his own death by "over-exertion in the discharge of his duty..!!

The police force was a new concept - launched in 1829. Still hasn`t really taken off.
Reminded me of this

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On this day 1950, England suffered their most notorius defeat. 1 0 to the USA in the World Cup.

Of more note to me, my elsest brother would have been 70 (yes, born on that same day). He introduced me to the Gills and took me to my first match v Swine 1/1/66. A lifetime of love and pain began. Sadly he died this year (March 26th) so didn't reach his 70th birthday.
 
Shilton bottled it, Diego went for it with everything he had. A bitter pill to swallow but there it is.
 
The last bit about expecting to be "assaulted stoned or stabbed" has been re-introduced on today's recruitment posters 😀
 
1987, is that a hat trick I see???

Same again next week please.


What a superb week that was at Priestfield. 2 games, 18 goals.

What a pity it all went South just a few months later and never recovered until our Knight in shining armour rode into town....