| The
inspiration for this tale was a
dark, sombre afternoon in October
1994. Spirits had been high at
the 450th Anniversary
celebrations. The inaugural game
of Old Boys v School resulted in
a 7 - 0 thrashing for the Old
Boys. I knew then that much work
lay ahead. Just as Sir Alf Ramsey
had to discard many who had
served him well I knew that for
some their best years were behind
them. I had to cut away the dead
wood. Gone were Andrew Burrows,
Eddie Reid, Phil Chandler and
Steven Houghton. Even ex-Everton
Geoff Nulty was to be a casualty
in the fight to avoid a repeat of
the 450th Anniversary massacre.
Father Time is cruel. The team
selected in January was decimated
by injury and the lack of
Phyllosan. Another team was
selected. The team that was
selected was very able to say the
least. The final touches were
applied in the last week of
September. Then disaster struck
again. Several injuries befell
the squad. In the best traditions
of a Graham Taylor England squad,
several last minute replacements
were called up. Only two players
from last year remained. I
questioned whether the squad had
sufficient experience. The
following team was assembled: H Nulty
(68-75)
Vine(70-76) Rhodes(67-73)
Drewett(72) Cain(65-72) Drewett
(72)
North (80-85) Dooley (82-87)
Valentine(52-59) Donnelly(68-75)
Hayes (80-87). Sub: JAnders
(69-74)
The
team played some excellent
football, albeit at a slow pace.
Soon the Old Boys were 5 - 0 in
front thanks to the excellent
finishing of Kingsley Hayes. By
the time Nulty added the seventh
with a far-post header from a
comer the School's morale was
low.
The
final score was 10-2 to the Old
Boys, a late flurry o'f goals
spoiling the excellent defensive
performance of the older side.
The scorers for the Old Boys
were; Hayes(4), Vine(2),
Nulty(l), North(l), Drewett D(2).
Special thanks from myself to all
who took part. Thanks to Jim
Taylor for watching and to the
School for staging the game.
Special thanks to Jim Anders who
played at ten hours notice and
came on as substitute and rolled
bade the years with a vintage
performance. Who needs
"Classic Match Of The
Day"?
|
