kushiro

Man U have lost three in a row at home for the first time since 78/79. The second of those three was the greatest game ever:

When young Barrie worked at hospital radio in Nottingham he was 'publicity and promotions manager' and on air he called himself 'Barrie James'! Another attempt to hide his family's connection to to the Pierrepoint family (the UK's most famous exectutioners). A reminder of the story:

Here's bearded Frank during that Cup run. He mentions this game in his book, proud that the Sunday People gave him 10/10. It was at the end of this season that he almost signed for Liverpool before we stepped in:

Great view of a packed Bentley's Roof at the start of this:

Right here's the answers (set to music): 1) He's magic, you know: 2) He's got no hair but we don't care: 3) Chant about him and Gary Lineker unprintable... 4) ..though it's similar to a famous chant about: (he revealed his new haircut at Filbert Street) 5) What was our Sven chant? 6) Another unprintable chant: (for younger readers, that's Barrie Pierpoint, notorious LCFC chief exec 1990s) 7) Oh Frankie, Frankie... (opposition fans had a different version): At Huddersfield he let his beard grow during their FA Cup run then when they lost at Birmingham in the QF it came off.

Earlier in his career.

Lots of people on the right track - anyone know numbers 3 and 6? I'll post the answers after tonight's games

Just a bit of fun. Seven questions that start easy and get pretty tough. All the answers have a Leicester connection. 1) Who's this? 2) Who's this? 3) And this? 4) What's going on with these lads at Filbert Street in 2000? 5) And from about the same time, who's this a tribute to? 6) Nottingham Hospital Radio 1970s. Who is circled? 7) a) Who is this? b) Who is he playing for? c) Why did he shave his beard off the following day? Have a go and I'll give the answers later (it's bedtime here now).

Don't know if this has been posted on another thread:

Yep - definitely the Argentina game. That's Enrique Wolff in the background: Weller's 4th cap - he wouldn't win any more. Shilton's 20th cap - he'd win 105 more.

A little extra for Peaky Blinders fans. That keeper in the photo of Goodison Park is Dan Tremelling: The TV series was set in Small Heath of course - the part of the city in which Birmingham played (and still do). Tremelling was the only player from the club ever mentioned in the series. But then he was a bit of a legend. His penalty save on the last day of the previous season stopped Cardiff City winning the League, handing Huddersfield the first of their hat-trick of titles. And it looks like he's borrowed Arthur Shelby's cap.

Match 23 Saturday December 27th 1924 Leicester City v Manchester United Supporters in Leicester that morning faced a dilemma. The team were on the crest of a wave, and Manchester United were in town. But across the country a storm was raging, and with half of Filbert Street uncovered, many wondered if they really wanted to spend 90 minutes exposed to gale-force winds and driving rain. At Everton, a huge tarpaulin was caught by the wind and slammed into a goalpost, breaking it in half. The game kicked off ten minutes late to allow for emergency repairs: At Leicester the club flag, flying proudly over the Filbert Street end, flapped so forcefully against its supporting pole that it snapped it in two. The pieces narrowly missed people queueing at the turnstiles, 'falling into the open space behind the refreshment bar'. Many thousands who had been planning to see the game decided to stay home - and they would regret the decision. After our seven goal bonanza on Christmas Day, no-one imagined we'd put in an even better performance against United. But that's what happened. Let's review the action with the help of two of the great sports journals of the day. First, Kernel in the Football Post, who described the games's key moments in that evening's paper; After 19 minutes, City deservedly took the lead, and it was a brilliant effort by Chandler. Taking a pass near midfield, the centre-forward dashed away on his own and not only beat both backs but also eluded the keeper as he came out before placing the ball in the net. The crowd went nearly frantic for quite five minutes. The second half opened in sensational fashion. Adcock beat Grimwood and centred nicely across the goal. Chandler first tried to convert it but the ball struck a defender and rebounded to Duncan, who dashed up and put it in the net, the visitors appealing vainly for offside. With fifteen minutes to go, Chandler, seizing onto the ball from a throw-in, tried a shot from 25 yards. It hit Silcock's leg and found its way into the net. As for United's response, Kernel told us that: The extent to which the Manchester side were subjugated may be gathered from the fact that while in the first half keeper Godderidge had very little to contend with, in the second he didn't have a single shot to stop. 'Jacques' of the Athletic News had time to reflect on what he'd seen before writing his commentary for Monday's paper: Leicester City are not likely to achieve a greater performance than this, and I say it with full knowledge of Duncan's six successive goals against Port Vale. In this match they completely conquered the worst conditions imaginable in mud and water, a driving wind and rain. Though losing the toss, they played such magnificent football that Manchester United, powerful side though they have proved themselves to be, were never able to do much more than desperately and vainly defend their goal. Despite the awful conditions, the Leicester men were quick on the ball, rapid and accurate in their passing, and from first to last the Manchester United half-back line was an utterly beaten force. So much did the home side by their dash and combined skill dominate affairs that the home backs had an easy task, while their custodian was a mere spectator. The crowd who braved the anger of the elements saw as fine an exhibition of football as they are ever likely to see, when we take into consideration the difficult conditions. On this form, the City are a great team, and while the forwards played splendidly, individually and as a combined force, one must not forget that they owed much to the half-back line. Chandler led the line with his dash and ability. Duncan was a great craftsman, and it was noticeable that the wings had a great understanding with the wing half-backs. Even in the mud, they worked the triangular scheme with such success that Mann and Greenwood, the opposing wing half-backs, could make nothing of them. The Leicester Mail reporter singled out our wingers: Adcock and Wadsworth appeared to revel in the mud. They fell and rolled in it, but they were up and after the ball again in a wonderful manner. Once Wadsworth was charged over the line and had to dig mud from under his sleeve and out of his eyes, whilst United's Frank Mann, who has the misfortune to be bald, ceased to have that appearance long before the match was over. Leaders Derby faced the same conditions at Hull, where 'the storm reached its height during the game and players sank to their ankles in mud'. Most of the play was 'purely farcical', but the referee allowed the game to run its course. It finished 1-1. At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea stretched their unbeaten run to 16 with a 3-0 win over bottom club Coventry. That left the table like this: Our three goals took us level with Derby as top scorers in Division Two. The table also reveals the contrast between the leading pair - United's strength so far had been their defence - at least until they arrived at Filbert Street. We were now playing the best football of any side in the division, and in those more egalitarian days, it's fair to say that the only sides in the whole Football League playing at a higher level were West Brom and Huddersfield, breaking clear at the top of Division One, with early pace-setters Notts County and Birmingham falling back. Here are the men responsible - our strongest line-up that season, first selected at Derby in early December and pretty much unchanged for the rest of the season: These men were becoming household names, getting rave reviews week after week, their exploits capturing the imagination of football lovers all over the country. But still we were only fourth. Chelsea didn't have our style but kept grinding out results, while the top two had been unchanged for over three months. As we looked forward to 1925 we knew we had a real scrap on our hands if we were to win out in this brutal promotion race.

Yeah - I kind of wish I'd gone along to one of those games when I had the chance (but I've only ever been to about two Tigers games in my whole life). By the way, I should correct something. I said that when the Tigers v Barbarians game was first played in 1909 it was 'almost as if they saw the success of Leicester Fosse's traditional Christmas Day fixture and wanted a piece of the action'. But that's misleading. It seems the Barbarians were first invited because Tigers' previous regular festive visitors, Fettes Lorettanias, could no longer send a team. Who on earth are they, I wondered. Well, Fettes and Loretto were (and still are) private schools in and around Edingburgh, and this was a combined team of their old boys. Apparently in the late 19th century they were a very popular touring side, thanks to the effors of one Andew Ramsey Don Wauchope. And here's a nice piece written around that time (from the Mercury in 1906):

Is this the one? Bikes at 3.35:

No sniggering please - this is the Mercury reporter's description of the penalty incident at Port Vale:

Match 22 Friday December 26th 1924 Port Vale v Leicester City Heading for the Recreation Ground in Hanley that day would have been a nine year old Port Vale fan called Stanley Matthews. He lived a mile from the ground and he probably ran the whole distance. Running, along with kicking a football, was his great love. He was already building a reputation as an athlete. Every year he entered the annual Boys' 100 Yards Handicap, held at the Victoria Ground, home of Stoke City. The very first time he entered, aged just six, he came first (with a 45 yard start over the eldest boys). As he got older, and that head-start shortened, he would win it three more times. Stanley's hero was Port Vale centre half Bob Connelly, who had been marking Arthur Chandler in the game at Filbert Street on Christmas Day. Their personal duel had finished fairly even. Chandler put Leicester ahead early on, but after that, Connelly kept him quiet (while Johnny Duncan ran riot). Duncan's double hat-trick took him above Channy at the top of the Division Two goalscorers list. It is not clear who was supposed to be marking him that day, but we have a pretty good idea. For this return game, Tom Cooper was restored to the Vale defence for just his second appearance, in place of Jack Braddock. With that change, Vale's defence was considerably tightened up. This is the place Leicester visited that day: It looks like an industrial wasteland because that's exactly what it was - 'squalid ugliness on a scale so vast it became sublime', as writer Arnold Bennett put it. Bennett's works, which include wonderfully authentic portrayals of football matches around the turn of the century, somehow made the Potteries romantic. In the photo you can see the Recreation Ground, scene of today's game, at the bottom, in the very centre of Hanley. On the left is the Cobridge Athletic ground, from where the club had recently moved. And the arrow at the top is the site of their present home, Vale Park, back in Burslem where the club were born. Arnold Bennett's home was very close to the Cobridge ground, on Waterloo Road, the main route from Hanley to Burslem which you can see stretching up the left hand side of the picture. The Leicester team had a very early start that Boxing Day morning, stopping in Derby on the way to have breakfast. And in those less partisan days, there would have been a fair few Stoke fans heading for the game too, curious to see the team they'd be facing in the FA Cup two weeks later. The first chance of the game fell to the home side. Alf Strange, future England star, 'sent in a magnificent shot that rebounded from the crossbar'. Then Leicester's Billy Newton let fly from distance and saw his shot strike the bar at the other end. It was at this point that the main characters of the previous day took centre stage once again. Johnny Duncan was fouled in the Vale area and Leicester were awarded a penalty. Duncan it was who stepped up to face Tom Fern. Did the keeper adopt his 'putting off' attitude? We don't know - but he did manage to outwit the Leicester captain, whose shot was saved as Fern dived to his right. Then just before the break, 'Fern was loudly applauded (and deserved it) for a maginificent save, again from Duncan, fisting the ball over the bar with his arm extended'. According to the Leicester Mail, 'for several seconds the crowd were dumb with amazement before they broke out in cheers and applause'. After 45 minutes it was still goalless. The few Leicester supporters in the crowd would have been persecuting themselves with typical football supporter logic - 'Why didn't we save a couple of those Christmas goals for today?' During the half-time break, one of the main exit gates was pushed open and dozens of people rushed through to add to the already huge holiday crowd, though from reports it's unclear whether the gates were forced or if it was a safety measure of some kind. Three minutes into the second half we finally took the lead, Chandler scoring with what the Mercury called 'an overhead kick'. This is unlikely to have been a bicycle kick of the Klaus Fischer / Shinji Okazaki variety, more likely Channy hooked the ball over his head while facing away from goal, as he would do so many times later in his career. Vale's response to going behind was very different from 24 hours earlier, and they were on top for much of the second half. Strange again came close, this time hitting the post, and then seeing a shot beat Godderidge but hit a defender. The pressure paid off fifteen minutes from time when Harry Hooper failed to clear and centre forward Wilf Kirkham rushed in to score the equaliser. We knew we needed the points, and we stepped up our game in search of a winner. Adcock got away on the right and was closing in on goal before a cynical challenge stopped him in his tracks. From the free kick, George Carr got in a header which flew past Fern for a priceless goal. 2-1 was the final score, and we had four points out of four with two thirds of this hectic holiday programme completed. Just how vital Carr's winner was the players realised when they heard the other results. All three teams above us had won: With none of the teams immediately below us winning, a gap opened up between the top four and the rest: It was turning into a gripping promotion battle, with four outstanding teams chasing two slots (just like 2023/24). And the excitement would go up yet another notch the following day, when Manchester United arrived at Filbert Street.

The last Christmas Day game at Filbert Street was a 4-1 win v Rotherham in 1953. Jon Holmes mentioned it on his podcast this week as one of his very earliest memories. Football Ruined My Life - Jon Holmes, Patrick Barclay, Colin Shindler, Paul Kobrak | ポッドキャストランキング

Football Ruined My Life - Jon Holmes, Patrick Barclay, Colin Shindler, Paul Kobrak | ポッドキャストランキング

There's going to be a few follow-ups for these festive games - and not just because I want to re-use the six reindeer logo while it's still seasonal. Johnny Duncan's double hat-trick 'equaled the world record', said the Mercury's banner headline. Well - did it? Only one player had ever scored six times in a Football League fixture before - and that was way back in 1899 when Steve Bloomer did it for Derby against The Wednesday. So Duncan equaled that record. But to speak of a 'world record' is a bit far-fetched. You only have to go north of the border to find John Petrie, who scored 13 for Arbroath in their famous 36-0 win against Bon Accord in the Scottish Cup in 1885. And a player called Jeno Karoly had scored 11 for MTK Budapest in the Hungarian top flight in 1905 (not that you could expect the Mercury to have known that). In the subsequent years, Bloomer and Duncan's record would be eclipsed - and the main reason was the change in the offside law at the end of this 1924/25 season. Our own Arthur Chandler equaled it in the famous 'sixth swan' game in 1928. Then in a crazy few months in the 1935/36 season, the English record was broken by Ted Drake (Arsenal - seven), Bunny Bell (Tranmere - nine) and finally Joe Payne (Luton - ten goals).

I did wonder if there was a Robin Hood connection.

You may be wondering why those Christmas feasts for poor children were called 'Robin breakfasts'. It's not easy to find a definitive answer, but it seems that the 'robins' were the poor children themselves. At the time, it was apparently quite common to find a poor starving robin lying in the winter snow, and from that came the name of this movement, which seems to have been started by Rev Charles Bullock in London around 1877 (first as 'Robin dinners') and then spread to many other areas.

I'm sure you're recollection is correct. The 'shillings' is those who'd let dozens cram their bicycles iinto their back yard (which I've read stories of). Can you recall any more about leaving your bike? Love to hear it. Did you always leave it at the same house?

Football and food - an unbeatable combination at any time of year. And they are the themes of this look back at two forgotten traditions of Christmas Day in Leicester. Let's start with the nosh. @Union FS are doing sterling work with their campaign for the homeless, and that's part of a long history of thinking of those less fortunate than ourselves at Christmas. Between 1885 and 1914, a 'Robin Breakfast' was held every Christmas morning, organized by the Ragged School Mission. Around 400 of the poorest children in the borough were given an early morning feast at the school's HQ in Bedford Street. They could eat as much as they liked, and 'were enabled to experience for once the pleasant sensation of satiety'. When the Great War broke out, it signaled the end of the tradition. And you'll notice that those years - 1885 to 1914 - correspond almost exactly with the lifespan of Leicester Fosse FC. I like to imagine that, when the feast was over, some of those children took themselves across town to enjoy the other great Christmas Day tradition of the era. If you ask most people to name the great sporting tradition of a Leicester Christmas, they'll point to the Tigers v Barbarians match at Welford Road. But that only started in 1909. There was already a well-established Christmas routine for sports fans - involving the round ball game. Leicester Fosse entered the Football League in 1894, and a year later, Loughborough joined them. When the League drew up the annual fixture list, clubs were allowed to make special requests, and we asked for the home game against The Luffs to be staged on December 25th. So it was that on Christmas Day 1896, we staged a yuletide League fixture for the first time. We beat our local rivals 4--2 in front of a big holiday crowd, and the club decided that Festive Football at Filbert Street was not just a wonderful piece of alliteration, but an altogether splendid idea that should be repeated the following season. And so we made the same request to the Football League in 1897. The Luffs had no more luck on their second Christmas visit - we scored four again, this time without reply. The following year, Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, and so the next occasion was 1899, when the score was even more emphatic - Leicester Fosse 5 Loughborough 0. Sadly, that was the last ever 'Leicestershire derby' in the Football League. The Luffs dropped out at the end of the season, never to return. But those Christmas Day fixtures had been such a success that the club put in a new request. It doesn't matter who our opponents are, we said, just give us a home game on Christmas Day. And so it was that throughout the Edwardian era, the tradition was established. In Leicester, Christmas Day was Football Day. Loughborough weren't there to be bossed around anymore, but it didn't matter who we played, we usually put in a sparkling performance. Look at this amazing run of results. These are all the Christmas Day games played by the club in that era: All those games were Division Two fixtures, apart from the Arsenal game, which came in Fosse's only top flight campaign. Surely there would have been a few among the 400 or so children at the Robin Breakfast who got in to see some of those games, even if they had to squeeze under the fence or be carried over a turnstile. It was in the same year as the last game on that list - 1909 - that the Tigers v Barbarians fixture began. It was almost as if the rugby club could see the success of the traditional Filbert Street game, and wanted a piece of the action for themselves (though typically, the Barbarians fixture was staged a day or two after Christmas). In the run up to the Great War, we actually lost a couple of those Christmas Day fixtures, and when we resumed after the war as 'Leicester City', we no longer put in the traditional request. After that we played many more games on Christmas Day, but if they were at Filbert Street it was simply by chance. One of those, a game that took place exactly 100 years ago today, was the most extraordinary Christmas Day fixture we were ever involved in. You can read all about that over on the 'Second Greatest Season Ever ' thread. Robin Breakfasts and Festive Filbert Street fixtures have long since disappeared. And it would be good to see another 'tradition' consigned to history tomorrow. I'm all for winding up the opposition - but there are much better ways to do it than that bleeding 'feed the scousers' chant. Merry Christmas all.

Match 21 Thursday December 25th 1924 Leicester City v Port Vale 'There''ll be no White Christmas this year', the Leicester Mail reported in its December 24th edition, but 'about midnight, the carol singers and bands will be on their rounds to proclaim that Christmas has come. Leicester City are playing Port Vale at Filbert Street in the morning, but as the tramwaymen are taking a holiday, there will be no cars on any section'. No snow and no trams - so we know what the streets of the Leicester would have looked like that morning. From all points of the city, thousands of bicycles would have been heading for Filbert Street. They'd be parked close to the ground or kept in the back yards of the neighbouring terraced houses, the occupiers making a few shillings as an added bonus (they already had the free view of the game from their upstairs window). The Christmas Day game had been a tradition at Filbert Street. Between 1896 and 1911 we played twelve games on December 25th - every one of them at home. Clubs could make special requests to the Football League when the fixture lists were drawn up, and this was ours. On Christmas Day 1914, as British and German troops were staging that famous kick about in No-Man's Land, Leicester Fosse were losing 4-1 at home to Arsenal (in the Gunners' last ever season in Division Two). Since the War and the birth of 'Leicester City', the tradition had ended (for reasons that are unclear), and the fact that we were at home today was simply a matter of chance. The game against Port Vale would revolve around two characters - Leicester captain Johnny Duncan, and Vale keeper Tommy Fern, who really was a character. Originally from Measham in North-West Leicestershire, he was now 38. He had won a League title medal with Everton a decade earlier and was known for his eccentric on-field behaviour. Here's a cartoon from the Echo showing his antics during a derby match in 1922. The caption reads: As soon as any of the Liverpool team got near goal, Fern immediately adopted a 'putting off' attitude: The Filbert Street crowd would have been familiar with him. He'd first played on the ground for Lincoln City way back in 1909. Port Vale had beaten leaders Man U five days earlier, but there was a crucial change in their line-up. Full back Tom Cooper, so impressive on his debut against United, stepped aside as Jack Maddock was fit again. We had no injury worries, and fielded our strongest XI. Duncan won the toss, and Leicester kicked off towards the Filbert Street goal with both the wind and the sun at their backs - the latter an extra factor with the 11 o'clock start. Early on, Fern had to deal with shots from Duncan, Adcock and Chandler, 'any one of which might have beaten him'. Then in the twentieth minute we took the lead when Chandler scored after 'some pretty play from Jack Bamber'. A few minutes later, a fine run by Harry Wadsworth on the left wing led to Duncan slotting in the second. Then after a move down the right, Hugh Adcock set up Duncan to increase the lead. Shortly after that 'only a wonderful save from Fern prevented Duncan completing his hat-trick before the change over'. 3-0 was the half-time score, and it could have been much more. As Fern ran out for the second half and headed for the Spion Kop end he received a huge ovation. Eleven minutes after the break 'Bamber placed a free-kick, Duncan stood in the penalty area unattended and swung round to give Fern no chance with a left foot shot'. Five minutes later 'Wadsworth, with tenacious work on the wing was able to flash across a low centre. Fern pushed the ball out and Duncan found himself with quite enough shooting space to make a goal a certainty'. Two minutes later, from a pass by Adcock, Duncan got his fifth to make it 6-0. Two great saves from Duncan and one from Chandler followed, and there was then a ten minute period in which Vale tried to fight back, forcing five corners and giving Bert Godderidge some work to do. Then we broke away, and a neat right-wing move between Newton and Adcock led to Duncan making it 7-0, our captain 'accepting the chance with decisive effect' to complete an incredible double hat-trick. At the final whistle, 'two men ran on to congratulate Fern on his game', and the cheers he received were 'second in warmth only to those accorded the hero of the day'. The wonder of the game, concluded the Leicester Mail, was not that seven goals were registered, but that there were not seven more. This was entirely due to Fern, who saved every shot that it was possible for a human being to save. It was still only 12.45. Twenty thousand Leicester fans would have headed home with a special glow, looking forward to Christmas dinner and the chance to tell the story of the game to disbelieving relatives. Port Vale made their way back to the Potteries in the knowledge that they'd have to face this team of footballing supermen all over again just twenty four hours later. These were the Mercury headlines: Elsewhere that day, Man U could only draw 1-1 at Middlesbrough, which meant that Fairy Fairclough's goal for Derby put them top of the Christmas tree. His penalty was the only goal of the game at Oldham. Chelsea also got a crucial 1-0 win, at home to Wolves - that stretched their unbeaten run to 14 games. We were still down in fourth place, and knew we needed to follow up our festive goal bonanza with another two points on Boxing Day.

Gimson has a connection to the football club. Look at these magnificent pictures of the new bridges across the canal in 1889, published in the Leicester Daily Post: Gimson designed the ironwork. For anyone who has approached the football ground from the West End, those bridges are a central part of the matchday experience. You'll notice also that the names of the two bridges are the names of the homes of Leicester Fosse. We moved into the Mill Lane ground in 1889 (just after those photos were published). Then when the land was needed for housing, we moved south to Walnut Street (after a brief spell at Grace Road). Shortly after, of course, the ground was renamed 'Filbert Street'.