Your own fottballing prowess

[Andy_Faber]

Apols to anyone who hasn't, but I'd guess most of us have had a footy 'career' of some sort. Lets hear about it.

Me? Played the Chris Baird role (covered every position, not especially well) in a fantastic school footy team, played goalie in a middling junior sunday league club. Only played maybe a dozen competitive 11 a side games in my adult life, but did play semi-serious 5/6/7 a side twice a week for two decades and played in the annual R-R inter-departmental grudge-settling festival, by that time as centre forward. Stopped playing at 42 when my doctor told me my knees sounded like I had a packet of Doritos strapped to them when I walked.

Highlight? I played in a sort-of international, the 'Best Of The Brits' v. Island Of Aegina in front of a few thousand people when on holiday in Greece in around '82, the team photo is still on a wall at the ground

Lowlight? committing a professional foul on a chap called Dave during an inter-departmental ruck

Anyone?

[ramAnag]

Played rugby to a higher standard than football but...regular right back at college for a while and did a fair bit of school ‘coaching’.
Highlights...winning the village six a side competition with two of my sons in the same side and scoring a ‘penalty’ at the Normanton End on a school trip to the BBG with both Steve Haywood and Justin Philips in goal (but not allowed to use their hands). Made all the sweeter by my Forest supporting mate blazing his ‘go’ over the bar.
Lowlights...someone giving my name rather than their own for a booking because I was more dispensable...that moment when you have to acknowledge that even your youngest son can now run circles around you with a football...mixed feeling!

[MadAmster]

OOh..... aged 14 and 15 I played for Bass for 2 seasons as a right winger. They had 2 sides, Ressies in Burton and District Division 5 and the 1st's in Division 1. Played roughly an equal amount for both sides. Highlight was a 1st team game away to Burton Albion Reserves unde rthe Eton park floodlights.

Level 11 as a trainer here in Holland.

Biggest highlight was 4 years of twice a year taking groups of about 20 UEFA B candidates for a week's practical at Moor Fram. Training the U8 to U14 Monday to Thursday and being with the 1st team on the Friday when they were working on specific stuff, both attacking and defensive. That was followed by an hour of football discussion with whoever the manager was at the time. In our promotion season we saw the team practice all sorts of stuff and passed comment and made suggestions, some of which were tried and the odd one actually used. Most of the squad worked together. On an adjoining pitch the 2 starting CHs and the CH destined for the bench stood inside one half. One of the assistant trainers stood in the penalty area of the other half. He spent best part of an hour lumping the ball forward for one of the three to head back. We were all wondering..... why?

In the post training discussions I asked Billy D (it was the day before the wawy game at Barnsley when we took 7500 up there) what the purpose was. The answer was simple..... Barnsley have just the one tactic. Lump it forward to the big lad. Next day we saw he was right and judging the flight of the ball in the air was very important for the CHs.

Played all 11 roles up to the age of 53 when I played my last 11 a side. Probably 15 years as a keeper, the rest in every position thinkable.

Qualifed ref both in England and in Holland. FA Level 1,2 and 3 (UEFA courses. 2 Keepers trainers courses in Holland.

Not the best of players but knew enough to make the best of the few skills I had. Always a handy bloke to have around despite my failings.

1987. Pub tournament in Amsterdam. Mainly Dutch in our squad but 3 English, a Scouse, a red Manc and me. Won the 1st game 4-0 and then got to watch our next opponents in their 1st game. They won 7 or 8 nowt. Two very talented midfielders who could drop the ball on a sixpence..... all the Dutch lads went... we can't beat them.... Me and Scouse said, no problem, us two will play central midfield. We just stood on the 2 good uns and made sure they didn't get the ball. Neither of us committed a foul but the 2 lads were right upset. Anti football they called it we simply out-thought them.

[Geoff Parkstone]

Yeah but he probably had reached 7 years of age by then!

Played football in goal for Heanor Town in the old Central Midlands League until the accident. Should have been a drummer then could have carried on playing!! But to be honest my career was all but done by then.

Never could take to rugby. Football in winter, cricket in summer with a bit of golf thrown in but strictly as a hacker.

[Andy_Faber]

FOOTballing by the way everyone, not FOTTballing, I seem to have caught bad spelling off dear old Ratts

[ramAnag]

Yeah but he probably had reached 7 years of age by then!

Played football in goal for Heanor Town in the old Central Midlands League until the accident. Should have been a drummer then could have carried on playing!! But to be honest my career was all but done by then.

Never could take to rugby. Football in winter, cricket in summer with a bit of golf thrown in but strictly as a hacker.

Cheeky sod...he was all of eleven! Serious question Parky...not being disrespectful...don’t play myself...waste of a good walk imo, but I believe there’s some good one armed golfers around. Imagine it must be hard, swapping from left to right and all, but have you kept it up?

[Geoff Parkstone]

I tried but whilst I could still generate power with new master right hand, the direction control was awful. No Jack Newton here. Nowadays table tennis is my limit.... or snooker as I have an optional end for my prosthetic with a cue rest on it.

[Ram59]

I'm a little bit behind you lot. I'm just coming up to my 59th birthday and I've just played my first competitive game of football last week in the national walking FA Cup. Hopefully we'll progress to the regional finals and then on to the national finals which are due to be televised, in September. I think Derby will qualify for the champions league first, though.

I can heartily recommend it and there are 3 age groups, over 50s, 60s and 65s. I think Derby should play a bit, to learn how to pass accurately and with perfect weight, because you can't run after a wayward pass.

[Romanis]

Me a crap footballer, played field hockey though. Although when older could play a kickabout or two in defense.
Was a youth level referee. Most former players still call me Ref.

[MadAmster]

Me a crap footballer, played field hockey though. Although when older could play a kickabout or two in defense.
Was a youth level referee. Most former players still call me Ref.

In Holland, where hockey is a huge sport, footballers laughingly say "Hockey, voetbal met een stokkie". It rhymes too. It means "Hockey, football with a stick".

Football here is still the working class sport and hockey is still middle class and higher. Is there still the same hockey demographic in England?