25 years of football - the random games, some of which will never be repeated

After reviewing my 25 years of going to football matches I went through my boxes of old programmes to scan a few for a post about memorable matches. And I found a lot of other games that I remembered, and some that I didn't. Here's a selection of programmes from some very random games, featuring a number of clubs that I will never get to see again.

Some Shrewsbury ones to kick us off

Shrewsbury v Scarborough, Div 3, 15 September 1992

Scarborough went bust a while back. A new club has formed, Scarborough Athletic, but they are a long way off returning to the league. This programme was from the era of Shrewsbury's "scrambled egg" shirt designs, which is now being sold in the club shop as a retro item. At the time we mocked it as horrible. Even in the 90s, which was a decade of horrible shirts. Wait 25 years and it's cool again. I blame hipsterism for this.

I'm mainly including this to show how I used to deface football programmes with my own notations.

I gave Mark Barham my man of the match award. I vaguely remember him having blonde floppy 90s hair and being a winger. I could well be wrong.

Shrewsbury v Carlisle - 3 April 1993

I'm only including this because the cover star is flame-haired full-back Tommy Lynch!

I adored Tommy Lynch.

Shrewsbury v Hereford - Div 3, 2 April 1994 - birthday football!

Got to love going to a game on your birthday. Not as memorable as the Newcastle game I went to 11 years later (see here for more). Also, typical Shrewsbury photo choice with more of a gurning Hereford player than the Shrewsbury player who is being out-jumped for the ball. I think that's Gary Patterson, who I thought was crap but lots of other Shrewsbury fans loved.

Oswestry Town v Shrewsbury, pre-season friendly, 8 August 2004

Another disappeared club. This fixture will never happen again as Oswestry Town were absorbed by the TNS monster, who moved in and became The New Saints.

Telford United v Macclesfield Town, GM Vauxhall Conference, 26 February 1994
This is why I always think of the league below the football league as the GM Vauxhall Conference, even though it's been rebranded multiple times. The power of imprinting! Telford were founder members of the national league below the football league.

The programme cover shows the main stand of the Buck's Head. Rebuilding the ground in the 2004-05 season bankrupted the club owner and the club. They relaunched further down the leagues as AFC Telford United. Their new ground is quite nice, but they have never sustained the heights they were at in the 80s and 90s.

Next up, a Wales B international - do they still do these? This was in 1994.

We went mainly because Carl Griffiths, ex-Shrewsbury striker, was selected for the Wales squad, and it was played at Wrexham's Racecourse ground which was less than an hour away. There are some random players in this line up. I still defaced programmes back then, so we can see that Carl came on as a sub.

In 1994 I moved to Cardiff. I went to a few City games, but it didn't stick. So I drifted to other games. Here's another team that has disappeared - Inter Cable-tel. Technically their opponents, Barry Town, are a phoenix club now as well. This was the era when Barry bossed the League of Wales, although this was a league cup game.

The League of Wales is now the smaller Welsh Premier League. So both these clubs and the league they were competing in have either disappeared or been considerably revamped. The ground it was at, Leckwith Athletic Stadium, was bulldozed when Cardiff City relocated over the road from Ninian Park and built their big new CCFC Stadium. There is nothing about this game that could be repeated.

The next season, Inter Cable-tel had reverted to their original name of Inter Cardiff.  That's a cleverly cropped photo of them, saying Inter without the suffix,  with the Welsh Cup on the cover of this programme from a UEFA Cup qualifier in 1999. A note inside the programme reminded me that the half time entertainment was provided by the Tongwynlais Temperance Brass Band.

Thinking about it, that's a cup competition that's gone as well, replaced by the Europa League. Everything changes.

Here's another game unlikely to be repeated: League of Wales v League of Ireland, 4 March 1997.

My main point of interest on the night was the appearance of ex-Shrewsbury winger Mark Rutherford in the League of Ireland team. But this LoW squad list is a who's who of late 90s Welsh domestic footballing talent. Several players in the squad played for Inter, so this was like a home match for them, as it was played at Leckwith.

Moving on to Scotland - have you ever seen an Inverness Cup game? I have.

I've already said how my football match tally is influenced by my Dad's love for going to football matches. (Something I've caught.) We were on a family holiday to the Moray coast and Dad found this game was on. Forres Mechanics are known as the Can-Cans and play in the Highland League. Clachnacuddin are from Inverness.

A few years later and I was in Glasgow for a work conference. Celtic were playing at home so I sloped off one night to watch them.

It had been a boyhood ambition to go and see Celtic play because one of my best friends, Ed, was Scottish and supported them. The game was pretty dire and finished 0-0. But I had a great time anyway.

Another unlikely to be repeated opportunity - seeing a Great Britain international team. I went to the 2012 Olympics match played at the Millennium Stadium against Uruguay and Team GB won. I can't remember if Craig Bellamy played, but he looked alright on the programme cover, despite that honest-to-goodness disaster of a kit. The game was a double header with Mexico v Switzerland beforehand. Football should do more double-headers.

I also went to the third place play-off game in the Olympics because the brochure said it would include the bronze medal ceremony, which I thought would be a unique add-on to a football match. But then they announced just before kick off that the medal ceremony would be the following day after the final and the third place winners would receive their medals alongside the gold and silver medalists. I felt cheated by that and, frankly, the Olympics can do one for me now.

I've been to several football matches at the Millennium Stadium. In 2005, while Wembley was being rebuilt, they played a lot of cup finals there. Including the LDV Vans final between Wrexham and Southend United.

My Dad came with me, reliving his youth as a Wrexham fan, and also a couple of guys from work who supported Wrexham. When the game went into extra time I remarked to one of them, Pete, that I always felt extra time gave you more for your money. He wasn't happy about that - he wanted the stress to be over! He was happy at the end of extra time though because Wrexham had won.

And finally, to another cup final in Cardiff that went to extra time. It was my first women's football game, which also featured two goalkeepers taking the decisive penalties in the shoot out. I've blogged about it in more depth here.

Looking through my programmes was a mixed bag of memories. Some good, some bitter-sweet. It's a real reminder of how much the game has changed, and yet, it's still at it's heart the same game.

I'm going to do a post with some Shrewsbury-specific highlights next. And then a fun one to finish this short series.

2016-17 football season review

As we are now into the 2017-18 European competition qualifiers I felt I should probably get round to publishing my season review for the 2016-17 season. Seduced by the success of the Wales team at Euro 2016 I bought a "season ticket" for the 2018 World Cup qualifying  campaign that hasn't exactly reached the heights of expectation but means I have started watching international football again after a break of several years.

As per previous seasons, here are the overall stats:
Season: 2016-17
Total games: 14
Most goals in a game: 4
Fewest goals in a game: 0
Total goals seen: 26
Number of football grounds visited: 6 (3 of which I’d never visited before)

This year I saw 8 games at Cardiff City Stadium - 4 Cardiff City, 3 Wales and the UEFA Women's Champions League Final.

The games:

Cardiff City 0 v 2 Queen's Park Rangers

The mopey mascot just about sums it up for Cardiff at this point, as they were desperately poor. I was in the away end with Steve, my QPR-superfan friend. Two second half goals did for City

Weston-Super-Mare 0 v 0 Poole Town
Steve is also a Poole Town fan and persuaded me to go with him to Weston on a Tuesday evening to see the Mighty Dolphins take on the Seagull Army. (I didn't take much persuading.)

In case there was any doubt about the Seagull Army, they have a banner.

Second half we were right behind the Weston goal and I saw the keeper pull off probably the best ever save I've seen live, from point blank range. He was a nice guy too, having a chat to the fans about the various grounds in the league and who we thought were the best teams.

Cardiff 0 v 1 Reading
This game was notable for two reasons. Firstly, both sides were shambolically bad. Secondly, Reading were in a high viz yellow kit which meant the away end looked like it was packed with safety stewards.

Wales 4 v 0 Moldova
The first home game for Wales after the Euros and a trouncing for the weakest team in the group. Gareth Bale won a penalty at the death to make it more flattering than Wales really deserved. When Moldova decided to actually play they made life a bit more difficult for Wales, but they were trailing by then anyway. This game was my third of the season at Cardiff City Stadium and I was in the third different stand.

Cardiff 0 v 2 Derby
Derby's manager, Nigel Pearson, was relieved of his duties the day before this game, while City boss Paul Trollope was grimly hanging on. Grim was the operative word. I said to my friend Sara, who I was standing with at the back of the Canton Stand that they would get relegated.

Wales 1 v 1 Georgia
This was a massive let down. Wales took the lead, then lost momentum and let Georgia back in to throw away two much needed points.

Wales 1 v 1 Serbia
For the second match in a row Wales let a lead slip and this time against some of their main rivals in the group.

Poole Town 0 v 2 Ebbsfleet United
This was a long road trip with Steve, but I got to see Poole at home for the first time. I particularly liked the idea of the fundraising cheese that was on sale, although I didn't buy any.

The Poole mascot is Danny Dolphin. Amusingly he joined in the team handshakes at the start of the game.

Cardiff v Ipswich 3-1
Another Cardiff game, and another viewing angle. This time I was in the family stand with a friend who wanted to take his daughter to a football match but had never been to one himself. She loved it. He conceded at the end that it was much more enjoyable than he thought it would be.

She particularly liked it when Cardiff scored (naturally) but also when Cardiff missed and the whole crowd went 'OOOOHH' at the same time. It made me remember how much I enjoyed being part of the crowd when I was a kid at football matches. You're this tiny part of this huge organic thing and as much a part of it as anyone else.

Cardiff were much improved, having ditched Paul Trollope shortly after the Derby game and appointing veteran manager Neil Warnock. He's a bit of a marmite manager, with most people detesting him, but the turnaround at Cardiff in terms of team shape, tactics and spirit was very evident.

Shrewsbury 0 v 2 Bolton
I finally got to a Shrewsbury game for the season. Bolton were a horrible team of whinging cloggers. The game wasn't much better. There was supposed to be a minute's silence at the start but it turned into a minute's applause. The mascots joined in. I'm not sure how I feel about mascots at minute silences. It seems a bit frivolous.

Bristol Rovers 2 v 0 Shrewsbury
A game ruined by a referee who sent off a Shrewsbury forward for nothing and gave the home team a duff penalty. The rumour afterwards was that the ref went into the changing room after the game and apologised. Rovers have half a ground and we were sat under a tarpaulin roof.

Shrewsbury 1 v 0 Southend
Three points that meant Shrewsbury were almost guaranteed to stay up, which was a minor miracle given they were bottom in October when Paul Hurst took over as manager. The players did a lap of honour after the game as it was the last home game of the season - although technically they hadn't won anything, so it should probably have been called a lap of survival.

Ton Pentre 1 v 1 Port Talbot Town
Another new ground for me, this time in the Welsh League. The view around this ground, of blue grey mountains and hills is spectacular. The ground is basic, but fun. Tea served in proper mugs, and boy did we need it despite it being May. The pitch was the bounciest pitch I've ever seen. At one point a ball bounced into the stands and I swear it bounced higher off the pitch than it did off the concrete. I don't think player needed to wear studs.

I went at the invitation of my friend Ben who was playing for Port Talbot. Here's a picture of him in action.

Olympique Lyonnais 0 v 0 Paris Saint-Germain (aet) - Lyon won 7-6 on penalties
My eighth match of the season at Cardiff City Stadium. My full review of the game is here. It was the first ever women's football game I'd been to. There was a lot less diving and rolling around than in the men's final a couple of nights later.

It also contained the most amazing conclusion to a penalty shoot out, with one goalie missing and the other scoring to win the trophy. Not a bad way to end the season.

UEFA Women's Champion's League Final - Paris Saint-Germain play Lyon in Cardiff

This is the last game I will see in the 2016-17 season (my usual end of season post will be along soon). And what a way to cap it, a European final in the city where I live, and the first live women's game I have ever been to. I joked to my friend Steve as we walked towards the ground that it was a 'personal growth moment' for me.

Opening fireworks

22,000 other people also came to the game, meaning the Cardiff City Stadium was very full. The PSG 'ultras' down in one corner added to the atmosphere with non-stop chanting. Several people had travelled from France for the game. The couple behind us were a PSG fan and a Lyon fan so there was plenty of what I presume was banter between them.

The Paris Ultras

The game itself was technically very good, but it lacked pace. I can't decide if that was because both teams were nervous, or whether it's because they were both continental teams, or whether it was because it was a women's game. There were a couple of occasions where a quick ball over the top for a runner would have opened up scoring opportunities. But the forward line seemed a bit slow to capitalise.

They were running in this picture

The game ended 0-0 but I still can't really work out how as I saw contenders for the two worst misses I have ever seen in one game. There was also a shockingly bad offside decision when a defender  sold her keeper short with a back-pass and the winger who ran past her was then flagged offside. The attacking player went nuts at the referee, and rightly so, because it was an "Injustice!" as the Paris fan behind us shouted.

Woman of the match for me was Wendie Renard, the Lyon defender and captain. She has got a pass on her, almost Gerrard-esque in how she hammered the ball across the pitch. She also has a real physical presence. At one point a Paris striker tried to play the ball and run past her and Wendie just 'edged' her a good six yards off the field, casual as you like.

Anyway, it went to extra time and no goals were forthcoming so we were up for a penalty shoot out. Many of the penalties were drilled home, but Eugenie Sommer, the Lyon striker fluffed her shot, which was Lyon's second. Fortunately Lyon keeper Sarah Bouhaddi saved one of the Paris penalties. Wendie went after Sommer, and just hammered the ball home. She walked back to the centre circle at the slowest pace, as cool as ice.

And it was Bouhaddi who had the decisive kick. It had gone to sudden death. Both teams had taken 7 and it was tied at 6-6. The Paris goalkeeper, Katarzyna Kiedrzynek, stepped up to take the 8th kick and missed. Then Bouhaddi placed the ball and drilled it home to win Lyon their fourth Champions League title. I filmed both kicks!

That's one of the things I love about going to football matches. You never know what quirk or oddity will come up that will make it a unique experience. I've never seen goalies take back to back penalty kicks in a shoot out before. I doubt I ever will again. But I captured the moment in all its grainy mobile phone footage glory.

We watched the trophy presentation. Wendie hoisted the cup as ribbons were exploded over the victors. Of course we had to watch this from the back, but it still looked impressive.