Saturday - an alternative

[Hempstead Gaz]

Quote:

BustaGut said:

Quote:

Hirsty said:
Ever played at Thong Lane when it was windy ? I know it's windy up there all the time....but once when we ( Fleetway ) took a goal kick, the wind blew it back over for a corner. I knew then that it was time for the bar !! Regretfully I had to carry on for a further farcical 30 minutes or so !! Can't remember getting over the halfway line after that ( not that we would have done anyway !). Although in a previous game there, under similar conditions, the same bloke hit a strong clearance & scored from about 65 yards !! It's a game of two halves Brian !

Cheers,

<img src="/forum/images/graemlins/applaus.gif" alt="" />

Should have tried it when it hailed stoned up there they naffing hurt lol

A favourite trick was to get there early, find out which pitch you were on, then swap the little board with a pitch where the wind was blowing across rather end to end.
It made life easier for us goalies! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Ray ellingham]

Think even us refs used to do that !!!! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

[Hempstead Gaz]

Funny how Guru Nanak always got the worst pitch. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

[American FLEET FAN No1]

Seeing there are some other ancients amongst us, <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> how many remember playing on the old pitches across the road(I think that is near where the school is now)? The bottom pitch was so steep even Hanibal wouldn't have taken his Elephants across it.

[Hempstead Gaz]

I played on the first school game for Thamesview School on t5hat site. It had a muddy great mound about 30' highnext to the pitch which made a great viewing position.

Didn't help our football though, we lost to Westcourt School if memory serves me correctly, and didn't get any better (in my time at least).

[American FLEET FAN No1]

It was our home pitch, when i played for "The Stork at Rest".

[Hempstead Gaz]

Do you remember a local at the S @ R - Alan Busby?

[American FLEET FAN No1]

I didn't drink in the Stork, that couldn't be the Busby that used to play for Riverview?

[Bill Kent]

Yes I remember playing for "Tideway" (no longer around) in the NK Sunday league on the top pitch, Having to change in a bit of a snowstorm one winter was a bit of a bind.

 

How many remember Mr (white gloves) Ayers the ref, and a good one at that. Ah memories,

 

<img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Ray ellingham]

Les Ayers know him well he was the Chairman of the Gravesend Referees Society when i first started.....I am sure he is still about

[ColtheJock]

I will give you all a laugh, I was a goalkeeper in Scotland when younger, and we used to play on ash pitches, don't know if they had them in England, but they were horrible. Near where I lived we had the black ash and the red ash, the black was better as more ash on it!!!!! Sadly they no longer exist, been replaced with some fake turf on my last trip North. And I will be at Hamilton on Saturday as I am off to Scotland for the weekend, that means over the last three weeks, I have seen Gravesend, Charlton and Hamilton the three teams I will always follow now. Hamilton play on an artificial pitch, the only one used by league teams in the Uk, but it is FIFA approved. :-)

[Hirsty]

...but we 'ad it tough. There were 'undred & fifty of us living in shoe box in middle o' road !

[Slartibartfast]

Quote:

Hirsty said:
...but we 'ad it tough. There were 'undred & fifty of us living in shoe box in middle o' road !

Try telling that to the kids of today and they won't believe you.

[Hempstead Gaz]

Aye, and 'appen we used to play football in't road, using 2 piles of horse manure as goalposts, and having to dodge the trams.

And our ash was on fire still!

Aye, we was tough in our days!! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />