Popular Post johnh Posted January 2, 2014 Popular Post Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 I was brought up during the war. There was no organised football during the war as all leagues were suspended for the duration. I was still football daft though, through playing in the street with an old tennis ball and the occasional game at school. We lived on Walton Hall Avenue in a cul-de-sac, almost opposite where Littlewoods Pools were, by the big girder bridge. Our cul-de-sac was our Wembley Stadium and we could always get enough lads to make two teams of five or six a side. One lad, Bernard Hogan, was a bit older than the rest and had seen some league games before the war. He was an Everton supporter and is the reason that my brother and I are Everton supporters to this day. Bernie Hogan had a photographic memory and he used to keep us spellbound with his commentary on the games he had seen. Almost kick for kick. He knew all the Everton greats and my hero became Dixie Dean, even though I had never seen him play, or even seen a photo of him. One day, my dad took me and my brother to see an elderly gentleman. I have no idea to this day who he was. But he told us that he had been to the party which was held to celebrate Everton winning the FA Cup in 1933. He went to a drawer and got out an old stiff collar, the sort that was attached to a shirt with a collar stud. On the stiff collar were the autographs of all the Everton Cup winning team, including Dixie Dean. I remember holding the collar and touching Dixie Dean's autograph and the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. A few years ago, I keyed in 'Dixie Dean' to Wikipedia and the information provided included the fact that when he retired, Dixie Dean worked as a Porter at Littlewoods Pools on Walton Hall Avenue. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck again. Just to think, all the time I was kicking a tennis ball around our cul-de-sac, the great Dixie Dean was no more than a couple of hundred yards away! Finally saw my first live football match, aged 10 in 1946. Fearthainn, Toffee_in_LA, Quinn31 and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 Another great one John....love your stories, keep them coming . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett Angel Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 thats what football does to you. i do appreciate the wealth of technology wr have at our fingertips nowdays but i would have loved to have experienced those days -war! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevO Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 John you old romantic! Love it. You need to write your own blog with these stories. Fearthainn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue 250 Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Not just a legend but a true sportsman.......Saurez will earn in a week more than Dixie did in his entire lifetime! I wonder if Dixie ever dived in his life, where did this disgusting habit come from. People used to be too proud to dive!! marcus jones 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted January 4, 2014 Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 You've reminded me, I have this. It's about 2 feet high and 3 feet wide. I bought the print online a few years ago and had it framed and mounted in Rennies on Bold Street. I think it looks great but I've never got around to hanging it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnh Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Not just a legend but a true sportsman.......Saurez will earn in a week more than Dixie did in his entire lifetime! I wonder if Dixie ever dived in his life, where did this disgusting habit come from. People used to be too proud to dive!! Blue 250 I played in the 1950's, 60's and early 70's. No one dived, if anyone had done even their own team mates (and the ref's) would have laughed at them. Matt, marcus jones and markjazzbassist 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnh Posted January 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2014 Louis What a fabulous photo of Dixie Dean. I think you should hang it in the hall so you see it every time you go out and every time you come in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalziel Kane Posted January 5, 2014 Report Share Posted January 5, 2014 I dont think there's any more to be said about William Ralph Dean that hasn't already been mentioned. A superlative playing individual, the epitome of tough, and a supreme center forward. Arguably the greatest player to be seen in British soccer, and what's more - he was ours. No better place to pass on some would insist than Goodison Park itself, and a name that nearly all will recognize regardless of club support or indeed ages. A colossus of a player and eternally thankful that most of his immense productivity was for Everton Football Club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nikica Posted January 9, 2014 Report Share Posted January 9, 2014 He was a fantastic goalscorer and player it seems. A true legend of the game. I am enjoying your stories John. Would love to hear more from you because - as I am someone with a deep respect for football history - it's always good to hear from those who lived through the days of these wonderful players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubecula Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 oh for a 60 goal a season striker today ... how much would he be worth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marcus jones Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 oh for a 60 goal a season striker today ... how much would he be worth? Same as Ronaldo probably. (Cristiano,not the fat one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nikica Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) Same as Ronaldo probably. (Cristiano,not the fat one). I know you don't mean anything nasty by it, but it's disrespectful to call him 'the fat one' - in his prime he was the better player, after all, it's not like he's some nobody compared to Cristiano. If Ronaldo was playing in this La Liga he'd score as many goals as Cristiano does. He played and scored goals in leagues which were far better defensively i.e. Serie A of the nineties and La Liga itself when it was more equal back in the late 90s and early 00s. Generally speaking, defences all over Europe were far better in Ronaldo's day than they are now. I do believe that Messi and Ronaldo's goal stats are inflated by the weak era they play in. Edited January 10, 2014 by Nikica EFC-Paul 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Generally speaking, defences all over Europe were far better in Ronaldo's day than they are now. I do believe that Messi and Ronaldo's goal stats are inflated by the weak era they play in. And I don't think either of them would get close to sixty league goals in England. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nikica Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) And I don't think either of them would get close to sixty league goals in England. The most league goals Ronaldo has scored in Spain is 46, I believe. He could definitely get that in England as he's a better player now than he was in 2009, probably. Also, the PL has declined since he left, The defending in England has declined just as much as it has everywhere else, imo. As a watcher of both Spanish defending isn't any worse. I reckon Messi would run riot in England, moreso than in Spain because there's so many dumb, brutish defenders in the PL. Suarez isn't anywhere near as good as he is yet he takes the piss. I think Messi would get 60 league goals easily if he played for Man City. The top nine or ten in the PL is pretty good (although Messi would still score against them), but the bottom half is full of absolute shite and Messi would fill his boots there. With all due respect, it's a myth that defending in England is better than everywhere else, imo. Defending across Europe is terrible these days, and that includes England. The whole debate doesn't bother me anyway as one of my pet hates is this tendency to rate players by their stats. But this is my view on their goalscoring. Edited January 10, 2014 by Nikica EFC-Paul 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnh Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 The reason defending has deteriorated is that tackling is being taken out of the game. Platini of UEFA has even stated that this is his objective. You only have to see some of the pathetic decisions from referees who seem to think its a foul every time a player falls over. Dixie Dean scored his 60 goals when tackling bordered on the GBH. Matt and EFC-Paul 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 I think Messi would get 60 league goals easily if he played for Man City. Disagree completely, but we'll (probably) never know. EFC-Paul and Sibdane 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnh Posted January 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 Don't know why this suddenly came to mind. This story was common in Liverpool in the 1930's/40's. Liverpool had a famous goalkeeper named Elisha Scott and the story was that one day Dixie Dean passed him in the street. Dixie Dean nodded and Elisha Scott dived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubecula Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 I also heard that before derby games Dixie would send a packet of aspirin to Scott Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 The Guardian have just published this: It's the team checking out Madame Tussauds' model of Dixie Dean in 1929. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Teeth are too prominent....but I've never seen the point in Madame Taussauds anyway, virtually none of the models look anything like the real people and I've no idea why anyone would want to see waxworks of people in the first place . Got dragged around a couple of times as a kid....load of rubbish. And why isn't he wearing an Everton shirt ffs :shaking fist:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 I've never been, is that all there is it to thought? A room of wax mannequins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 I've never been, is that all there is it to thought? A room of wax mannequins? Lots of rooms full of them....some of them in "settings" or whatever (at least that's how it was forty+ years ago....may have changed a bit ). It's one of the biggest tourist attractions in London though, if not the biggest....£30 at the door and £25.80 for kids (and you'll have to queue). Madness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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