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adrock1976

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What's it called? It's called Cumbernauld
Regarding how the season should end, Heart of Midlothian FC would consider taking legal action should if the league positions stand as they are with no other matches played.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/football/51914718

As it presently stands, Hearts are currently propping up the top flight division in Scotland four points from safety. Should if they be relegated, this would have serious implications regarding sporting integrity.

This is a tricky situation across all divisions across the UK. Perhaps there could be no promotion or relegation this season strictly as a one off should no further matches are played?

PS I am typing this message on a mobile phone and am unable to copy and paste the full article. I hope to have broadband up and running in the new flat soon.
 

61653 HTAFC

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UEFA's recent decision to postpone Euro 2020 for a year will hopefully allow this season's games to be completed in the summer:- that is one of the reasons cited for that decision.

It may mean the following season will have to be shortened in some way, scrapping the League Cup and settling all FA Cup ties without replays would go some way towards this.

If the season restarts it will run beyond June 30, so there'll be issues of players' contracts and loan deals expiring, with games still outstanding.

We've never before had to contemplate scrapping a season so far in- 1939 with only a few games played and a war looming was one thing- but with the season mostly completed (and a situation which, without wishing to seem complacent, is far from World War II even in the worst-case scenario) is another altogether.
 

Darandio

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If the season restarts it will run beyond June 30, so there'll be issues of players' contracts and loan deals expiring, with games still outstanding.

Apparently they are already looking at this with short-term and weekly contracts discussed.
 

61653 HTAFC

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Apparently they are already looking at this with short-term and weekly contracts discussed.
That's good to know... if the season does resume I think my team would struggle without our loans: our first and second choice 'keepers are both loans, and Emile Smith-Rowe has been a revelation since arriving from Arsenal.
 

Old Yard Dog

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Kevin Hector scored 44 league goals for Bradford in 1965/66, a total which has not been surpassed in any of the top four divisions in the 55 years since (although others like Terry Bly of Peterborough scored more in earlier years).

Tim Ward signed Hector for second division Derby, not Brian Clough. Bradford were top of D4 the day he departed. By the end of the season we were second last and finished bottom for the next three seasons. We were then voted out of the league - Oxford Utd had joined the FL a few years earlier so they thought they ought to have Cambridge Utd as well. The transfer fee was a pitiful £32,000 or thereabouts.

There can be few cases in football history of a club's demise being so obviously linked to the knock down sale of one key player.
 

Old Yard Dog

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Signed from Bradford for Derby County by a certain Brian Clough, wasn't he?

Seeing as we'll probably all be on lockdown shortly, how about a bit of trivia... are there any other examples of teams with parentheses in their name?

Ashford Town (Middlesex) and the gloriously named Cray Valley (Paper Mills), beaten FA Vase finalists in 2019.
 

Jamesrob637

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No matches until the end of April now, but don't know whether this affects anything below League Two.
 

70014IronDuke

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Kevin Hector scored 44 league goals for Bradford in 1965/66, a total which has not been surpassed in any of the top four divisions in the 55 years since (although others like Terry Bly of Peterborough scored more in earlier years).

Tim Ward signed Hector for second division Derby, not Brian Clough. Bradford were top of D4 the day he departed. By the end of the season we were second last and finished bottom for the next three seasons. We were then voted out of the league - Oxford Utd had joined the FL a few years earlier so they thought they ought to have Cambridge Utd as well. The transfer fee was a pitiful £32,000 or thereabouts.

There can be few cases in football history of a club's demise being so obviously linked to the knock down sale of one key player.
Wow! I didn't know anything of Hector's background. I must have seen him when I was at Derby in 69-71, as I went to a few matches. He was adored by the Derby fans. I even went out with girl a few times who was his family's babysitter.
Shame about one-time great teams like Bradford (PA, I assume?)
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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The BetVictor Northern Premier League is in the league groupings immediately below the three National Leagues and South Shields, currently top, 12 points clear will be devastated by this news.

In the same league, my favoured non-league side, Hyde United currently lie in 10th position......P33 .. W12 D7 L14 .. 43 pts .. Level goal difference.
 

scotrail158713

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Interesting to see if that’ll swing anything up here with the SFA. Brora Rangers have been declared Highland League champions, after a vote with Highland League member clubs. They were about 10 points ahead at the top with around 3-4 games in hand as well so unlikely to have been caught.
No other football has been decided though.
 

scotrail158713

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Other unhappy clubs

Jersey FC playing on the mainland:
http://combinedcounties.pitchero.com/match-info/tables?table_id=d-51946
played 27
won 27
goals scored / conceded 99-7

Vauxhall Motors in one of North West Counties leagues:
Already won their league with seven games to play
And local to me Tynecastle FC in the East of Scotland 1st Division Conference B (though not yet confirmed the season is finishing)
  • played 23
  • won 21
  • drawn 2
  • lost 0
  • scored 125
  • conceded 22
  • 65 points
20 points clear of 2nd place
 

DarloRich

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Lets have a bit of fun and debate. Who is the bets player you have seen live? ( not on TV but in the flesh)

For me i think it would be Juninho. It was like a creature from Saturn landed in Middlebsrough, took up football and showed everyone else how to do it.

For Darlington I think it is either Marco Gabbiadini or Robbie Blake.
 

Iskra

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Lets have a bit of fun and debate. Who is the bets player you have seen live? ( not on TV but in the flesh)

For me i think it would be Juninho. It was like a creature from Saturn landed in Middlebsrough, took up football and showed everyone else how to do it.

For Darlington I think it is either Marco Gabbiadini or Robbie Blake.

Robbie Blake, of Burnley and Leeds? He was a very under-rated player at Leeds. Had some phenomenal skill and finishing but never quite got to the right fitness level to become even better.

For me, probably Thierry Henry who used to repeatedly single-handedly demolish Leeds in our PL years; a wonderful finisher. Honourable mentions to Giggs, Puyol, Figo, Maldini, Ronaldinho, Lucas Radebe, Roberto Carlos. Sadly, as a child I didn't appreciate these players at the time!

I did see Eddie Gray play once in a testimonial and even though he was older than a lot of the other players, he was still amazing, I would have loved to have seen him in his prime. Likewise Gordon Strachan.
 
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DarloRich

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Robbie Blake, of Burnley and Leeds? He was a very under-rated player at Leeds. Had some phenomenal skill and finishing but never quite got to the right fitness level to become even better.

No. Robbie Blake of Darlington. He may have played for other clubs :) Great player. Allegedly liked a drink.

I did see Eddie Gray play once in a testimonial and even though he was older than a lot of the other players, he was still amazing, I would have loved to have seen him in his prime.

Frank Gray played for Darlo and managed the club. He was a hell of player. My step dad always says Eddie Gray was a great player
 
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61653 HTAFC

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Lets have a bit of fun and debate. Who is the bets player you have seen live? ( not on TV but in the flesh)

For me i think it would be Juninho. It was like a creature from Saturn landed in Middlebsrough, took up football and showed everyone else how to do it.

For Darlington I think it is either Marco Gabbiadini or Robbie Blake.
From opposition players, Juninho is a good shout... saw him single-handedly destroy us 5-1 in the league cup at the newly-opened Riverside Stadium in September 1995. Chris Waddle in his later years for Bradford played out of his skin at Huddersfield one game, even scoring direct from a corner. Matt Le Tissier is up there too.

However I don't think I can look beyond Kevin De Bruyne really, even though he loses a few points for looking like Prince Harry!

If I limit it to players who've worn the blue and white, then it's a coin-toss between Marcus Stewart and Chris Marsden- with honourable mentions for Joe Lolley and Aaron Mooy.
 

scotrail158713

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Lets have a bit of fun and debate. Who is the bets player you have seen live? ( not on TV but in the flesh)

For me i think it would be Juninho. It was like a creature from Saturn landed in Middlebsrough, took up football and showed everyone else how to do it.

For Darlington I think it is either Marco Gabbiadini or Robbie Blake.
For me it’s got to be Kevin de Bruyne - he was a different class against Scotland last September.
(Youri Tielemans was also fantastic in that game actually)
 

SteveM70

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Lets have a bit of fun and debate. Who is the bets player you have seen live? ( not on TV but in the flesh)

For me i think it would be Juninho. It was like a creature from Saturn landed in Middlebsrough, took up football and showed everyone else how to do it.

For Darlington I think it is either Marco Gabbiadini or Robbie Blake.

Best player I’ve ever seen play - Zidane probably

Best player I’ve seen playing for my club (Halifax Town) - a toss up between Jamie Vardy and Stuart Parnaby. Parnaby was on loan from the smogs, aged 17 or 18, and strolled through league two games

Best performance against my club - possibly Paul Harsley, who was an ex Halifax player
 

gnolife

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i think i watch football at a different level to others here ;)
I used to watch at a similar level while I lived in England, only very occasionally straying into League 1 level (I had friends who were Rochdale fans). Since moving to Scotland, I've generally been watching around Scottish Championship sort of level (I work on a turnstile at Ayr), but also watch some of the local junior sides, although my local one, Johnstone Burgh had run into serious difficulties with pitch drainage partway through this season, and as a result had become somewhat nomadic before the pandemic halted the season.

As for the best player I've seen, that becomes a difficult one to answer, since my memory isn't the best, especially when it comes to names. One that I do remember seeing play though, was Jamie Vardy, back when he was at Halifax. He scored both of Halifax's goals in a 4-2 defeat to Alty, and, as I recall, was the only player of theirs who was doing anything much.
 

DarloRich

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I forgot I saw Romania v France at Euro 96. Romania had Hagi and France had Desailly, Blanc, Dechamps & Zidane. I would like to say it was a great game. It wasn't.
 

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