johnh

Bill, McNamara isn't on my photo. Clinton is but I don't remember him playing.

When I supported Everton in the years after the war, I can still remember my favourite team. Goalkeeper: Sagar Right back: Greenhalgh Left back: Dugdale Right half: Lello Centre Half: Jones (Tommy) Left Half: Farrell (captain) Outside right: Corr Inside right: Wainwright Centre forward: Dodds Inside left: Fielding Outside left: Eglington Other players who played: Boyes, Stevenson, Powell, Burnett (goalie) Bentham, Catterick, Saunders. Grant. I have a club photo (1948/49) of all the club players at the time, including all those above. We didn't win anything in those days but were still the best team in the world.

Good result for Scotland and Ireland but the best result must be Northern Ireland beating Greece.

Great news Mike, really pleased for you. Rubes, hope everything goes OK, will be rooting for you.

I see that Sterling told Hodgson that he was 'too tired' to play the whole game against Estonia. What a wimp.

That one free kick was all Rooney did in the whole game. He was very poor and missed two or three open goals. England don't have anyone up front who can head the ball, so they play everything on the ground into the penalty area and every shot is blocked. After Estonia went down to ten men, in one passage of play, when the ball was in the Estonia half, I counted six England players on the halfway line. Hodgson should have changed the formation but England continued to play the same which meant their spare man was just that - a spare man.

Forgot to add - the most important thing, Grandad was an Everton supporter all his life. He took me and my brother to Goodison on several occasions.

This photo was taken in about 1900. Not sure about the team, it is either Valkyrie FC or Old Xaverians. My guess is that it is Valkyrie FC. My Grandfather is third from left in the back row, next to the two guys in civvies. He would have been 19 years old in 1900. I don't know anyone else in the photo other than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in the bowler hats. Note that in those days the shinpads were worn outside the socks. The ball in those days was segmented and at each end there was a leather 'button' to hold it together. There were instances of players being killed by heading the 'button' so it was banned. My grandfather was a bookbinder with Rockliffe's Printers who are still going in Long Lane. He would have been apprenticed with them at the time the photo was taken. He then went on to be a Tram driver and was an Inspector on the Trams when he retired. Another interesting story is that the Chief Electrician on the Titanic (Peter Sloan) also played for Valkyrie FC and may be on the photo. He didn't survive the sinking. Click on the photo to enlarge.

If Rooney beats Charlton and Greavesie's record it won't mean much. When they played, there weren't as many international games and what there were were against top teams. No easy San Marino games then.

Got a good laugh from it though, someone awarded Wilshire man of the match. :wind up:

England are absolute rubbish. Moving the ball too slowly against a packed defence. How does Wilshire get in this team? Not sure if I want to watch the second-half, East Enders might be on the other channel.

Thanks Steve, have sent you a PM.

Does anyone know if Yancey Bros (Caterpillar Dealers) are still in business? They really looked after us well when we visited them.

Ken Dodd hasn't done too bad.

Its not often you get a penalty at Old Trafford, when you do, you must score it.

Hodgson would still be picking Gerrard and Lampard if they hadn't retired. He is too 'safety first' to take a chance on young options.

First time I have seen him. Very disappointed. He had a half chance inside the penalty area but instead of pulling the trigger he hesitated and lost the ball. Its a long time since I saw an Everton team give the ball away so much. Fortunate draw in the end.

Martinez has been very specific about Mirallas, he is quoted in the Telegraph today as saying 'it is an injury that will keep him out for a while'. Reminds me of the old joke about the Irish navvies laying paving stones. A retired engineer is watching and says to Paddy 'when I worked, we used to have to measure things to a thousandth of an inch'. Paddy said 'that would be no good for us, we have to be 'spot on'.

If this guy could actually do this stuff, then you would think he could come up with something more impressive than telling people what they had left in the next room.

I visited Atlanta in about 1978. Remember a lovely restaurant called 'The Lark and the Dove'. Visited the Caterpillar Tractor Dealer there - Yancey Bros. Welcome in Michael.

Liverpool did well holding Basel to only 1 - 0. Next to Carroll, Balotelli must be the worst signing Liverpool have made.

I have been married 55 years this year but still introduce my wife as 'my first wife'. Keeps her on her toes.

I'm not sure that was the case in those days. I remember watching Everton playing Grimsby Town and the Grimsby goalie, Tweedy, wore a red jersey. Though, I admit, green was the usual colour.

Just to get back to the original thread. I was brought up a Catholic and it was generally assumed that Everton were a 'Catholic' club. When I went to Goodison in the late 1940's there were a lot of Irish Republic players playing for Everton. There used to be a story (probably apocryphal) that Burnett, one of the goalkeepers, ( along with Ted Sagar,) wore a yellow jersey in a game on St Patrick's day and was roundly booed by the Everton crowd for the whole game! On the other hand, my Dad supported Liverpool.

What makes it worse is it's a syrup!