BRFC - The Nostalgia Thread

[oldjamfan1]

13 hours ago, wilsdenrover said:

Great photo. Sad to think that three of that side are already no longer with us. 

I was lucky enough to play alongside two of them on a regular basis as well. Happy days!

Edited June 18, 2023 by oldjamfan1

[wilsdenrover]

3 hours ago, broadsword said:

Shocking outfit from howarth there, where did he buy his clobber?

 

So remember his cheesy "I'm on the phone" photo from the match program

[broadsword]

3 hours ago, wilsdenrover said:

Am I right or am I right?

 

"Ok love , you've laid my new trousers out on the bed, and you got me a new tie to go with them. Yes, love you too"

Edited June 18, 2023 by broadsword

[Sweaty Gussets]

Ex-Rovers keeper in the twilight of his career.  

[windymiller7]

On 17/06/2023 at 23:01, wilsdenrover said:

I remember having that pinned on my bedroom wall!

It was always a big deal when there was something to do with Rovers in either Shoot or Match.

First Rovers shirt I ever owned as well that one.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

On 13/06/2023 at 13:49, wilsdenrover said:

 

 

Just look at the state of that pitch ! Can you imagine Gally trying to run with the ball like Peter Dobing did on it ? How about playing out from the back on it ? Cliff Jones was the Gareth Bale of his day. I knew Keith Newton was destined for the top when I saw him play Jones out of the game a few years after that match.  Louie Bimpson, who scored 2 goals in that video, was playing for Rochdale in the old Fourth Division 2 years later.

[wilsdenrover]

I assume you meant to quote my post with the 1960 video on it 😀

Pitch looks fine - for growing potatoes 😁

I really do love hearing the stories from people who have seen Rovers for much longer than I have.

Edited June 20, 2023 by wilsdenrover

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I was just browsing the BBC football site and I came across video of the Turkey v Wales 6-4 match. Nathan Blake scores for Wales, then Robbie Savage gets a belter. After that Hakan Suker gets 4 brilliant goals for Turkey. What a great player he was.

[jim mk2]

Hakan Sukur was in the Rovers team the day a family relation was the club mascot. Unfortunately Sukur broke his leg soon after arriving at Ewood and went on to score 2 goals in only 9 appearances. He was only 31 at the time but he went back to Turkey and scored 55 goals in 146 for Galatasary over the next 5 seasons. A very good player - don't know why we didn't retain him. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

12 hours ago, jim mk2 said:

Hakan Sukur was in the Rovers team the day a family relation was the club mascot. Unfortunately Sukur broke his leg soon after arriving at Ewood and went on to score 2 goals in only 9 appearances. He was only 31 at the time but he went back to Turkey and scored 55 goals in 146 for Galatasary over the next 5 seasons. A very good player - don't know why we didn't retain him. 

I think he had a falling out with Souey, nothing new there I suppose. Didn’t he leave  him out for a game at Old Trafford only to bring him on as a sub when it was too late ? The game when Dunny missed a penalty ? After that he wasn’t hanging around at Rovers. A truly great centre forward. See if you can find that bit of film from the 6-4 Turkey v Wales game.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[jim mk2]

3 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

I think he had a falling out with Souey, nothing new there I suppose. Didn’t he leave  him out for a game at Old Trafford only to bring him on as a sub when it was too late ? The game when Dunny missed a penalty ? After that he wasn’t hanging around at Rovers. A truly great centre forward. See if you can find that bit of film from the 6-4 Turkey v Wales game.

 

I'll have a look. Souness was his own worst enemy at times, allowing personal issues to get in the way of the best interests of the club. He had well-documented fallings-out with other players too.  Allowing a top player like Sukur to leave Rovers like that was poor

[Upside Down]

Just think, we actually got to watch this guy playing for us every week.

And this is him just warming up.

Unbelievable.

 

[wilsdenrover]

5 minutes ago, Upside Down said:

Just think, we actually got to watch this guy playing for us every week.

And this is him just warming up.

Unbelievable.

 

The back spin on the pass to Jansen (vs Ipswich) was absolutely delicious.

[wilsdenrover]

I wonder how many of those Tugay passes would result in a goal with our current strikers…

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

6 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

The back spin on the pass to Jansen (vs Ipswich) was absolutely delicious.

Yeah, it had a message on it - it said “ Here, put this in the back of the net “ .

Only once in my career did I get one as right as that, and the striker put it over the bar ! Every time I see him in town he still apologises. 

[wilsdenrover]

2 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

Yeah, it had a message on it - it said “ Here, put this in the back of the net “ .

Only once in my career did I get one as right as that, and the striker put it over the bar ! Every time I see him in town he still apologises. 

It also had the ‘keeper thinking ‘that’s my ball.. oh shit’

Maybe he was just shocked at you getting it right 😁

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

5 minutes ago, wilsdenrover said:

It also had the ‘keeper thinking ‘that’s my ball.. oh shit’

Maybe he was just shocked at you getting it right 😁

Two reasons for the back spin - deceive the keeper and sit it up for the striker.
If Jansen had have been on the end of my pass there would have been no need to apologise.

[Ianrally]

The trouble with watching those clips is it brings me to tears to realise how far we have fallen.
At least we got the chance to witness these great players. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

How football worked in the Stone Age. I E when I first started watching and playing.

Line ups in a 2-3-5 formation.

Goal keeper ( no number on the jersey and no gloves, sometimes wore a flat cap on sunny days ! )

2 Right Back - 3 Left Back

4 Right Half - 5 Centre Half - 6 Left Half

7 Outside Right - 8 Inside Right - 9 Centre Forward - 10 inside Left - 11 Outside Left

What happened once the game started was the centre half dropped back to play between the two full backs. His main role was to play the opposing centre forward out of the game. He wasn’t expected to create much. Centre halves rarely crossed the half way line. The full backs played quite wide so they could mark the opposing wingers ( 7 and 11 ) very closely. The full backs role was to play the opposing wingers out of the game. When they got the ball they were expected to pass the ball to either the winger, wing half, and inside forward on their side of the pitch. Keep it simple. Overlapping runs forward by the fullbacks were not encouraged but did happen from time to time.

The wing half’s role was first and foremost to mark their opposing inside forward out of the game. After that they were expected to receive the ball and pass it forward to the winger or inside forwards. Sometimes they’d even put a long ball forward for the centre forward. They were also expected to take all the throw ins on that side of the pitch. Occasionally they’d even venture forwards and score a goal !

Inside forwards were expected to fetch and carry, receive the ball from the back half of the team and turn defence into attack. They would feed the wingers and centre forward and join in with the attack. They were expected to get a fair share of goals.

The wingers role was to receive the ball and attack the opposing full back. Get outside him and provide crosses and other goal scoring opportunities for the centre forward and inside forwards. Normally they took all the corners on their side of the pitch. They were expected to chip in with their share of goals.

As you can see the game was quite rigidly structured. For instance if I was playing right back ( 2 ) I’d watch the opposing outside left ( 11 ) in the kick in and see what feet he favoured etc because I knew I’d be marking him. 4 marked 10, 6 marked 8 etc. Marking was really tight all over the pitch and tackling was fierce. 
 

Later on one of the wing halves dropped into the back three to make a four. At the same time teams played one of the inside forwards alongside the centre forward creating the 4-2-4 system.

The best Rovers team I ever saw played a variation on that with a sometimes 3-3-4 system that morphed into a 4-2-4 line up.

Anybody else like to comment - feel free.

[wilsdenrover]

15 minutes ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

How football worked in the Stone Age. I E when I first started watching and playing.

Line ups in a 2-3-5 formation.

Goal keeper ( no number on the jersey and no gloves, sometimes wore a flat cap on sunny days ! )

2 Right Back - 3 Left Back

4 Right Half - 5 Centre Half - 6 Left Half

7 Outside Right - 8 Inside Right - 9 Centre Forward - 10 inside Left - 11 Outside Left

What happened once the game started was the centre half dropped back to play between the two full backs. His main role was to play the opposing centre forward out of the game. He wasn’t expected to create much. Centre halves rarely crossed the half way line. The full backs played quite wide so they could mark the opposing wingers ( 7 and 11 ) very closely. The full backs role was to play the opposing wingers out of the game. When they got the ball they were expected to pass the ball to either the winger, wing half, and inside forward on their side of the pitch. Keep it simple. Overlapping runs forward by the fullbacks were not encouraged but did happen from time to time.

The wing half’s role was first and foremost to mark their opposing inside forward out of the game. After that they were expected to receive the ball and pass it forward to the winger or inside forwards. Sometimes they’d even put a long ball forward for the centre forward. They were also expected to take all the throw ins on that side of the pitch. Occasionally they’d even venture forwards and score a goal !

Inside forwards were expected to fetch and carry, receive the ball from the back half of the team and turn defence into attack. They would feed the wingers and centre forward and join in with the attack. They were expected to get a fair share of goals.

The wingers role was to receive the ball and attack the opposing full back. Get outside him and provide crosses and other goal scoring opportunities for the centre forward and inside forwards. Normally they took all the corners on their side of the pitch. They were expected to chip in with their share of goals.

As you can see the game was quite rigidly structured. For instance if I was playing right back ( 2 ) I’d watch the opposing outside left ( 11 ) in the kick in and see what feet he favoured etc because I knew I’d be marking him. 4 marked 10, 6 marked 8 etc. Marking was really tight all over the pitch and tackling was fierce. 
 

Later on one of the wing halves dropped into the back three to make a four. At the same time teams played one of the inside forwards alongside the centre forward creating the 4-2-4 system.

The best Rovers team I ever saw played a variation on that with a sometimes 3-3-4 system that morphed into a 4-2-4 line up.

Anybody else like to comment - feel free.

Brilliant, thank you so much for taking the time to share this. 😀👍

[R0verb0y]

Yes, that's a brilliant evocation of how things used to be "back in the day", @Tyrone Shoelaces . Thanks for it.

There were always some players who could fit into more than one of those roles, I seem to remember. This may be an old man's memory playing tricks on him; but didn't Tom Finney sometimes play centre-forward - No. 9(😉!) for PNE?

And because I'm the "Sandgrown 'un" (born in Blackpool) son of two Blackburners and lived there till I was about 24, I didn't see as many Rovers home games in the 1960s, as my contemporaries on here.

So I need to ask those on here of a similar era, am I correct in remembering "Duggie" playing either as a Right winger or as an inside-forward as the "2 - 3 - 5" morphed into "4 - 2 - 4"?

[wilsdenrover]

9 hours ago, Tyrone Shoelaces said:

How football worked in the Stone Age. I E when I first started watching and playing.

Line ups in a 2-3-5 formation.

Goal keeper ( no number on the jersey and no gloves, sometimes wore a flat cap on sunny days ! )

2 Right Back - 3 Left Back

4 Right Half - 5 Centre Half - 6 Left Half

7 Outside Right - 8 Inside Right - 9 Centre Forward - 10 inside Left - 11 Outside Left

What happened once the game started was the centre half dropped back to play between the two full backs. His main role was to play the opposing centre forward out of the game. He wasn’t expected to create much. Centre halves rarely crossed the half way line. The full backs played quite wide so they could mark the opposing wingers ( 7 and 11 ) very closely. The full backs role was to play the opposing wingers out of the game. When they got the ball they were expected to pass the ball to either the winger, wing half, and inside forward on their side of the pitch. Keep it simple. Overlapping runs forward by the fullbacks were not encouraged but did happen from time to time.

The wing half’s role was first and foremost to mark their opposing inside forward out of the game. After that they were expected to receive the ball and pass it forward to the winger or inside forwards. Sometimes they’d even put a long ball forward for the centre forward. They were also expected to take all the throw ins on that side of the pitch. Occasionally they’d even venture forwards and score a goal !

Inside forwards were expected to fetch and carry, receive the ball from the back half of the team and turn defence into attack. They would feed the wingers and centre forward and join in with the attack. They were expected to get a fair share of goals.

The wingers role was to receive the ball and attack the opposing full back. Get outside him and provide crosses and other goal scoring opportunities for the centre forward and inside forwards. Normally they took all the corners on their side of the pitch. They were expected to chip in with their share of goals.

As you can see the game was quite rigidly structured. For instance if I was playing right back ( 2 ) I’d watch the opposing outside left ( 11 ) in the kick in and see what feet he favoured etc because I knew I’d be marking him. 4 marked 10, 6 marked 8 etc. Marking was really tight all over the pitch and tackling was fierce. 
 

Later on one of the wing halves dropped into the back three to make a four. At the same time teams played one of the inside forwards alongside the centre forward creating the 4-2-4 system.

The best Rovers team I ever saw played a variation on that with a sometimes 3-3-4 system that morphed into a 4-2-4 line up.

Anybody else like to comment - feel free.

A couple of further questions if you don’t mind…

You’ve mentioned the rigidity of the system in respect to each position having specific expectations but was there any fluidity in terms of players switching positions with each other during the match?

I’m thinking of things like the outside forwards swapping flanks.

Do you know whether ‘keepers starting to wear gloves was because of a rule change or because the rules never prohibited it and eventually someone just decided to give it a go?

Thank you

 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

1 hour ago, wilsdenrover said:

A couple of further questions if you don’t mind…

You’ve mentioned the rigidity of the system in respect to each position having specific expectations but was there any fluidity in terms of players switching positions with each other during the match?

I’m thinking of things like the outside forwards swapping flanks.

Do you know whether ‘keepers starting to wear gloves was because of a rule change or because the rules never prohibited it and eventually someone just decided to give it a go?

Thank you

 

The outside forwards, or wingers, rarely swapped wings.  Most players played in their zones but the centre forward would still run the channels in an attempt to evade the centre half. Inside forwards would interchange from time to time. Obviously the wing half would follow the inside forward he was marking.

Regarding gloves, I think that was in the 1960’s. As far as I know there was no rule to prevent it at any time. The first one I remember was Sepp Maier the German keeper who wore comically big gloves.

Edited June 29, 2023 by Tyrone Shoelaces

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

8 hours ago, R0verb0y said:

Yes, that's a brilliant evocation of how things used to be "back in the day", @Tyrone Shoelaces . Thanks for it.

There were always some players who could fit into more than one of those roles, I seem to remember. This may be an old man's memory playing tricks on him; but didn't Tom Finney sometimes play centre-forward - No. 9(😉!) for PNE?

And because I'm the "Sandgrown 'un" (born in Blackpool) son of two Blackburners and lived there till I was about 24, I didn't see as many Rovers home games in the 1960s, as my contemporaries on here.

So I need to ask those on here of a similar era, am I correct in remembering "Duggie" playing either as a Right winger or as an inside-forward as the "2 - 3 - 5" morphed into "4 - 2 - 4"?

Tom Finney was a really exceptional player. Up there with the best. He could play in every position all along the front line and look top class. He did play number 9 from time to time.

Dougie was playing mostly on the right wing in the 2-3-5 team, although he played inside left during the 1960 FA Cup run once Roy Vernon had left for Everton. A season or two later on when the 3-3-4 /4-2-4 system evolved Bryan played in the midfield two alongside Ronnie Clayton.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

18 minutes ago, renrag said:

Slightly disagree on Finney Tyrone! He wasn’t up with the best - (to quote TT) he simply was the best. I’ve never seen a better British player, and that includes George Best.

As for Bryan Douglas, he started off as an inside left and played the odd game there without really nailing a place down. Johnny Carey had brought a young winger from Man U, Frank Mooney, who seemed to have solved the long standing right wing problem. After a brilliant first season he went off the boil and Carey tried different players out wide before selecting Douglas for a game at Bury. Bryan will tell you himself that before the game, his dad said to him “You’ve always been able to go past and beat an opponent so why try and do anything differently. He followed his dad’s advice and the rest is history

My younger son and I were waiting outside Ewood for autographs 25 or so years ago. Tom Finney and his wife came past and I said to my son- “ There’s an autograph you want, it’s Tom Finney, he was better than George Best “. Tom overheard this, he smiled and said “ No I wasn’t “ as he signed the autograph but really he was every bit as good and played for a lot longer.