Jumpers For Goal Posts

summerisle · February 14, 2015

As insomnia wins another battle I was thinking about the relationship between the young and football : specifically playing and watching. When I was at school I would say the majority of boys, at least 80%, played football. Be this at school,in the playground or in school teams, or recreationally, in the park/road or waste ground. A good proportion of them would also go to the Match- Everton,Liverpool or Tranmere.

My question is : How much, if any, has this experience changed ? If it has changed, and in a dramatic way, does it matter. Was the upbringing of Rooney the exception that proves the rule ?

We hear a lot about grassroots football but that, to me, means organised football. Is that the death knell for kickabouts, being able to afford to go to the Match with your mates and without your parent(s), and jumpers for goalposts ? Or do I just need some sleep ?

degsy · February 14, 2015

summerisle said:
As insomnia wins another battle I was thinking about the relationship between the young and football : specifically playing and watching. When I was at school I would say the majority of boys, at least 80%, played football. Be this at school,in the playground or in school teams, or recreationally, in the park/road or waste ground. A good proportion of them would also go to the Match- Everton,Liverpool or Tranmere.

My question is : How much, if any, has this experience changed ? If it has changed, and in a dramatic way, does it matter. Was the upbringing of Rooney the exception that proves the rule ?

We hear a lot about grassroots football but that, to me, means organised football. Is that the death knell for kickabouts, being able to afford to go to the Match with your mates and without your parent(s), and jumpers for goalposts ? Or do I just need some sleep ?

sleep is usually good...but.

on the coats for goal posts, subject to a none yewtree look around the parks etc to see if anybody is actually out there, being Feb as well, I would venture that even in summer you wouldn't drag the lazy 2@s off their phones and playstations.
Streets? nah too many cars and speed bumps.
Waste ground? full of Asda and Tesco super stores.
Oh and houses.

Eggs · February 14, 2015

......footy was all there was to do for kids in 60s and 70s, you could play into the dark hours if you had a lamp post that hadn't been smashed.

On the subject of putting jumpers down it reminds me of a cup final my junior school got to at Penny Lane. The home of Liverpool Schoolboys, they put a tape across the posts because the cross bar was deemed too high for little uns. Nets, of course, were an absolute luxury.

Titus Bramble · February 14, 2015

When I was at school (both primary and secondary) we'd play footy all breaks/lunch times, play 11 a side saturday morning and then I'd either go to the match with my dad, or go to the park and play with mates Saturday afternoon until it went dark. Those were the days.

maccavennie · February 14, 2015

Even in the early to mid 80's as computers such as Commodores, Spectrums then Amigas and Atari ST became popular, they were still secondary to playing out with your mates and playing football. As soon as Saturday morning came around it was get my goalkeeper kit on, choose what sondico gloves to wear and then knock at my mates and straight onto the little grass verge at the side of our house to play as much football as possible. It still happens now but not to the level it used to be when I was a kid. Free time meant football time, play time in school meant football time, going to sleep meant dreaming about playing for Everton. Football football football until you got to the age where you could play football, then go the match and then go and replay that match that evening in your back garden.

The Esk · February 14, 2015

Endless games of spot on the end house of our road. Then in the summer cricket. You could get a long run up by using the entry but it meant a sharp swerve to the right before bowling.

The poor old lady who lived in the end house must have heard the balls thumping against her wall, yet never complained. She used to leave the yard door unlocked for when the ball went over.

Orange wembley trophy of course!

PeterPrinciple · February 14, 2015

American here, so obviously the experience is different. Just wanted to say that most parks here have soccer goals available, so coats (jumpers) for goalposts aren't usually needed, but my 5 year old plays football everyday at lunch break, and they say it is coats for goals. So it is not dead even in football deprived USA. Which i know is not what you asked or particularly care about either, but kids are still kids near as i can tell. As long as the adults don't get them too messed up.

Joey66 · February 14, 2015

The arguments we would have as kids on the local waste ground in a game were jumpers were goalpost cliaming the shot {if a goal post would have gone in off the jumper or coat for a certain goal etc!lol

summerisle · February 14, 2015

the esk said:
Endless games of spot on the end house of our road. Then in the summer cricket. You could get a long run up by using the entry but it meant a sharp swerve to the right before bowling.

The poor old lady who lived in the end house must have heard the balls thumping against her wall, yet never complained. She used to leave the yard door unlocked for when the ball went over.

Orange wembley trophy of course!

Th
Those were the black and white days :

evo1878 · February 14, 2015

the esk said:
Endless games of spot on the end house of our road. Then in the summer cricket. You could get a long run up by using the entry but it meant a sharp swerve to the right before bowling.

The poor old lady who lived in the end house must have heard the balls thumping against her wall, yet never complained. She used to leave the yard door unlocked for when the ball went over.

Orange wembley trophy of course!

Haha this is exactly how i remember my childhood too! Mrs Taylor was the old lady at the end house. She was one of those really kind old ladies every kid loved and respected. She was stone deaf as well so everything was harmony. New family moved in and the father would go nuts. He definitely wasn't deaf! So Spot was replaced by 'kerby' until 4 kids turned up. The spoilt kid at the end of the street getting a casey but no one being able to play with it in case it got scuffed. So it sat on the pavement while a 2 aside match turned in to a 20 aside match. Then everyone getting called in for their tea. Getting your tea down your neck as quickly as possible so you could get out for the second half 'under floodlights' (or lamposts).

I was talking with my little brother about this and he remembers having to clear away the goalpost jumpers whenever a car came. Didn't always happen - cue getting told off by someone's mum. We revisited our old street (36 years later) and the street is full of parked cars with no kids outside playing. Bit sad really. People had cars when we were young but i don't think every family had more than one?

The Esk · February 14, 2015

evo1878 said:
Haha this is exactly how i remember my childhood too! Mrs Taylor was the old lady at the end house. She was one of those really kind old ladies every kid loved and respected. She was stone deaf as well so everything was harmony. New family moved in and the father would go nuts. He definitely wasn't deaf! So Spot was replaced by 'kerby' until 4 kids turned up. The spoilt kid at the end of the street getting a casey but no one being able to play with it in case it got scuffed. So it sat on the pavement while a 2 aside match turned in to a 20 aside match. Then everyone getting called in for their tea. Getting your tea down your neck as quickly as possible so you could get out for the second half 'under floodlights' (or lamposts).

I was talking with my little brother about this and he remembers having to clear away the goalpost jumpers whenever a car came. Didn't always happen - cue getting told off by someone's mum. We revisited our old street (36 years later) and the street is full of parked cars with no kids outside playing. Bit sad really. People had cars when we were young but i don't think every family had more than one?

Great post mate, Kerby, haven't thought of that for years. We used to give 1 point for a kerby and 2 if the ball bounced back and you caught it before bouncing.....

No cars, or very few anyway. Next door neighbour "Uncle Jimmy" was the first to get a car. Even years later no-one would park in "his" spot outside his house lol

Dario Terracotta · February 14, 2015

Eggs said:
......footy was all there was to do for kids in 60s and 70s, you could play into the dark hours if you had a lamp post that hadn't been smashed.

On the subject of putting jumpers down it reminds me of a cup final my junior school got to at Penny Lane. The home of Liverpool Schoolboys, they put a tape across the posts because the cross bar was deemed too high for little uns. Nets, of course, were an absolute luxury.

I always remember the thrill of my first goal with proper nets,the whoosh as my, ahem "piledriver" from the edge of the six yard box

lolhit the back of the net

The Esk · February 14, 2015

Dario Terracotta said:
I always remember the thrill of my first goal with proper nets,the whoosh as my, ahem "piledriver" from the edge of the six yard boxlolhit the back of the net

Hahaha fond and very similar memories.

Remember once on Clubmoor Rec one of our lads hitting the bar which knocked the screw out between post and bar, causing the bar to fall. For weeks the kid told everyone in school his shot was so powerful it had broken the bar lol

Dario Terracotta · February 14, 2015

the esk said:
Hahaha fond and very similar memories.

Remember once on Clubmoor Rec one of our lads hitting the bar which knocked the screw out between post and bar, causing the bar to fall. For weeks the kid told everyone in school his shot was so powerful it had broken the bar lol

Ha ha,reminds me of Hot Shot Hamish in the Tiger comiclol

peteblue · February 14, 2015

the esk said:
Great post mate, Kerby, haven't thought of that for years. We used to give 1 point for a kerby and 2 if the ball bounced back and you caught it before bouncing.....

No cars, or very few anyway. Next door neighbour "Uncle Jimmy" was the first to get a car. Even years later no-one would park in "his" spot outside his house lol

Pfft....getting points without catching it.........