Club football restarts tomorrow lunchtime when Cardiff City play the first of two consecutive home matches as they entertain Plymouth Argyle and is anyone really that surprised that we still haven’t made it clear how we intend to proceed more than a month after Erol Bulut was sacked?
I see Callum Robinson has backed caretaker manager Omer Riza to be given the job full time. Now, i could write stacks of stuff on here about what I think, but I’ll limit myself to saying that those of you familiar with Mel Brooks’ brilliant Western spoof Blazing Saddles may remember a scene where the townsfolk of Rock Ridge are holding a public meeting regarding how they best deal with the threat to the town’s existence they’re facing and the local preacher having first said he’s going to do a runner is persuaded to stay, but adds “I think your’e all making a terrible mistake”
Well, that’s how I feel about the inaction of Messrs Tan, Dalman and Choo as we go down the Morison/Hudson route with the one notable difference being that this time we’re bottom of the league – there’s nothing I can do to influence the decision makers, but I’m far from optimistic when it comes to how the situation will pan out.
Keep Omer Riza on in an attack coach role by all means because we’re doing better on that front lately, but, I’m sorry, I can’t just forget about how his substitutions turned what was looking like a very probable three points at Ashton Gate in our last fixture into just one (for a while it was looking it would become none).
So, I’ll leave it at that and move on to the usual quiz, the answers to which I’ll post on here on Sunday.
60s. This five times capped international had a somewhat unusual start to his career in that he started out on the books of one of the best teams in the country at the time, was released by them without playing a game and returned home to play for a team City would become familiar with before the end of the decade. He then did well enough for them to persuade what was a bigger team again to sign him up and become their first choice. for a while During his three years at his third club, he won a medal and his international caps before he was sold to Plymouth after his team paid what was a world record fee for someone in his position, He was the unquestioned first choice during his three years at Home Park before returning to his second club where he earned the dubious honour of being the first player in his home country’s professional football struture to be shown a red card. When he finished Roving, he was a player manager for a team that was based in an area that we were told was a long way away, before he was appointed player/manager of the Auld Reds, who is he?
70s. This Midlands born midfielder had a spell when he was a regular in a side that were realistic challengers for the League title at one time. Such a notion seemed a long way off when he began his career in the lower divisions representing the place that, by reputation, has the best version of a particular type of take away meal in the country. In 1969, his team faced a First Division opposition in a Cup tie in which they were beaten 6-0 in a replay, but our man had done enough to earn a move to the winning side and he stayed with that club, that, for a while, boasted the country’s only heated stand, for the next eight years. Initially, he struggled as much as his team were at the time, but, eventually, his educated left foot and excellent dead ball skills made him a first choice as his team were among a number of sides that fought for the league title in a season in the mid seventies which had the most open top flight Championship race of my football supporting life. Plymouth signed him as they, unsuccessfully, tried to avoid a relegation and he played for them against City, but he didn’t stay there long as he teamed up with a former manager at the other end of the country. His next move took him to a place he had probably been twenty four hours from before and then he returned to the UK to see out his career with a Lancashire team which is today trying to regain the EFL status it lost a few years ago – he was, briefly, their player/manager, but can you name him?
80s. Governor in India meets the first part of an Elvis Costello single title from a long time ago and turns up in the Plymouth defence!
90s. A five game Plymouth career (one of his appearances was against the City) seems quite appropriate for this super hero whose total number of games barely made it into double figures!
00s. Possibly desperate young bird?
10s. Stone curls in confusion, but at Home Park, not the Winter Olympics! (6,6).
20s. Which member of the current Plymouth squad made an international debut this week which lasted for less than ten minutes?
Answers
60s. Goalkeeper Pat Dunne began his career at Everton, but never played for the first team and in 1962 he returned to his native Republic of Ireland to play for Shamrock Rovers for the next two years. Dunne did so well though that Manchester United paid £10,000 for him and he played nearly fifty times for their first team over the next three seasons, during which he won a Leaguer Championship winner’s medal. However, the signing of Alex Stepney for what was a world record fee for a goalkeeper at that time saw Dunne move to Plymouth for the start of the 67/68 season. In 1970, Dunne returned to Shamrock Rovers and he became the first player in Irish professional football to be shown a red card in 1974. Three years later, Dunne was appointed player/manager of Thurles Town, a team based in County Tipperary, and he then had a season as player/manager of Shelbourne.
70s. Derbyshire born Doug Collins started his career with Grimsby and was signed by Burnley after impressing in a League Cup tie between the teams. Collins played just under two hundred league games for Burnley and was a regular in their team which led the First Division in 1974/75 for a while. Collins played twenty odd games for Plymouth in 76/77 before reuniting with Jimmy Adamson, his manager for much of his time at Burnley, at Sunderland. Again, his stay was a short one and he next turned up in Tulsa playing for the Roughnecks before ending his career with Rochdale.
80s. Clive (of India) Goodyear (for the Roses).
90s. Richard Flash was with Manchester United as a youth player, but only ever played one match for Watford, five for Lincoln and five for Plymouth (which included a 1-0 loss at Ninian Park in 98/99) in his whole career.
00s. Dan Gosling.
10s. Curtis Nelson.
20s. Kornel Szucs came on for his first international appearance in the 87th minute of Hungary’s 2-0 win over Bosnia on Monday.
