What Level did you Play at?

[1959_60]

I played in the Bacup and District Amateur Football League Division Two during the 60's and 70's for Edenfield Tonsillitis.

I was a midfield dynamo with not a little skill.

Think a cross between Jimmy Mac and Brian O'Neil and you will get the idea.

I once scored the best goal I have ever seen during a training session.

Bizarrely, I hung up my boots without winning a single trophy.

[oldcolner]

I had little talent but did play a few times in a Sunday School League. The team became the nucleus of the formation of Colne Dynamos a few years later.
I played centre forward in two games we won 22-0 and 13-0. I didn’t score!!

[CaspertheClaret]

Right winger at school - always captain of second team or sub in first.
Far too lightweight.
Village teams then got into clubs ladies and beer, moved married and never played for 15 years then played regularly 5 a side and played a few games for Heysham reserves when I was in my mid 30's
Continued playing five a side etc when we moved up to Scotland until about 5 years ago when the knees went knacked
Now play the dreaded walking football

Probably a far better player in my 30's and 40's than I was when I was younger.

[The Bedlington Terrier]

I played for Rossendale Schoolboys as a fif**** year old.

I had trials with Bury, Southport and Rochdale but of course I only ever wanted to play for Burnley!

Nicknamed "Chopper" because I more or less copied my idol Brian O'Neil.

A detrimental liking for loose women, Thwaites bitter, Northern Soul All-nighters and a young marriage sort of took the edge off playing, although I did play at a very decent level until I was about 45!

Now the knees have gone, my back plays havoc, my calves are shot and the beer belly means I can only wear slip-ons, other than that I'm fully fit and ready to recapture my wasted youth!

[Balanbam00]

Being in a school in Rishton, (1954-57? )by the way Jimmy adamson did a spot of coaching, if we were any good we played for Accrington schoolboys). So I played for Accy school kids. In some 'Kay Cup(1957) we beat Burnley,Clitheroe going on to win it.Then with Accy in the English schoolboy league round, played Horwich ,Salford ,then knocked out. Three of us trained at Accy Stanley, Peel park but then they were going bankrupt so that finished. I then made that glorious statement ''Ah there's no money in football!'' Buzzed off to Germany to work with SABA TV's & Radio's,in the Black forrest. Then later worked for the U S Army in Dachau,were I played with Turks ,Black Wolf football team in a local German League. At home here I played with my Kibutz team and trained the kids. After training/being in charge 3 teams mens,youth and kids,I was asked to train some Ethiopian kids ,as they were looking to just play football,I could not say No! So when I brought them to play with our kids they did not want to play against the Ethiopians ,''they foul us!!!'' One day after training the coach that brought the Ethiopian kids was late,so the kids asked me if they could run home 3 kms away,our kids were 'buggered'.

....My knees ?shhhhhh! , my back also plays havoc, my calves are ok and the belly means I am a little pregnant , other than that I'm ok and ready to use my mind now, to find that accepted suitable human society!!

[Supersub6]

I played for Gisburn in the Clitheroe and District League from 1964 to 1966 when I joined the RAF. While stationed at RAF Uxbridge I played for the station and also Hillingdon Borough in the Southern League, for which I got a few quid. Went to Bermany and played station football and also for Borussia Monchengladbach Amateurs, which was great fun often playing on shale pitches!
In the late 70s returned to RAF Uxbridge and played and managed the station and also a couple of local teams who played Saturday and Sunday, as well as doing some refereeing and running a youth team for 7 years until I left there in 1988.

Moved up to Northumberland and played with local teams on Saturday and Sunday until I retired from playing in 2005. aged 58. Since then I have been involved in running a league for local football until two years ago when we had to shut down because of lack of teams. I now spend some time coaching very young players but mainly just telling them to enjoy themselves!

I always played at left full back, with an occasional shift at centre half and, like most of the others who have posted, I have arthritic knees but my back is OK, in spite of carrying a 38 pound tuba around for 23 years in the RAF.

I don't care what anyone says --there is no substitute for playing!

[The Bedlington Terrier]

"I don't care what anyone says --there is no substitute for playing!"

I was on the driving range in Rawtenstall a few weeks ago and ran across one of my old footballing playmates.

We both said if we could just turn the clock back and play all of those games again!

[Balanbam00]

....One of the things I would like to do is to play or feel one of the 1st class Football pitches . I remember in school going out to play,when I asked our trainer, after looking at the pitch , if we were going to swim today or play football?

[1959_60]

Ah, yes Balanbam - the pitches!

Bacup Rec was the worst - permafrost until May, deeply rutted surface with plenty of broken glass and dog mess, and a wind straight from the Arctic (or as they say in the Arctic, "A wind straight from Bacup").

I remember one particularly freezing day when we turned up and the match was inevitably called of because of a bone hard frozen pitch. The wind cut you in two. But...on the way off we saw some (obviously local) men playing crown green bowls in shirtsleeves.

Happy days.

[outwoodclaret]

I played criminal football in multi-story car parks. It was wrong on so many different levels.