AuthorJeffEyesRimmer The Football Outcasts team love all things football. We chat about football every day even though we live in Australia and New Zealand and despite the time difference to be able to watch European football being quite troublesome. In our friends message groups (yes we have friends!) we constantly have football related topics on the go - football pretty much dominates everything we do! The world of football is quite often a negative one filled with corruption, sackings, injuries, relegation candidates, the shear absurdity of the money involved....the list could go on and on. However, there are certain quirks in the beautiful game that can elicit a special kind of joy - these are normally a moment that is rare, odd, or just so plain bloody brilliant that you forget about the problems of football and remember its a game and deep down its supposed to be fun. Below are just a few of those moments that bring a squeak of excitement to us whilst watching/playing football games: Outfield Players in Goal
The one to kick this list off, is a good one! How brilliant is it when an outfield player has to go in goal? It is rare that a team doesn’t have a substitute keeper on the bench these days to throw on in a time of need, but sometimes it this scenario just happens. The emergency keeper to the rescue is one of our favorite sights in the beautiful game. One of our favorites was a long time ago now, but Niall Quinn for Manchester City against Derby in the 1990-1991 season, just before the EPL era began. Quinn scored a goal for City before being sent in goal when Tony Coton was sent off, he then went and promptly saved the penalty from Dean Saunders. Another highlight was Rio Ferdinand in the FA Cup for Manchester Utd against Portsmouth. Rio made some great saves but Utd eventually went out to be the eventual winners. Orange Balls in the Snow This may not resonate that much here down underer, but there is something quite fantastic about watching a football match being played on a pitch covered with fresh snow and an orange ball. It brings back memories of players that didn’t wear gloves and just got on with playing football in all conditions, without a snood in sight! Rare now due to under soil heating that is installed in most top grounds, but this can still be seen in the lower leagues. The ball hitting the crossbar and bouncing in One of my favourite goals of all time resulted in this making the list, its one of my earliest football memories as well; Tony Yeboah smashing in a long range effort for Leeds against Wimbledon in 1995. If you haven’t seen it then check it out on Youtube, as it’s a lovely goal. Also a part of this is the sound of the ball when it hits the woodwork and goes in. Lovely. Defender hoofing off the line! Be it a looping header,a lob or a lucky deflection that is going in the pure change in emotion from one of elation if you are the scorer to despair as a defender hooks clear the effort is just a great moment in football. The opposite if on the end of goal line clearance, just the last ditch effort to save the team, its great to see and endears the player to the fans. Goalkeepers being lobbed You are one on one with the keeper, bearing down on goal; do you hit it to the left or right, power or place it? Nope, I’m going to lob them! Amazing! Is there a more fun goal to score and more embarrassing way to be beaten as a keeper than the simple lob? Muddy penalty area As with the snow issues, it is rare to see the penalty areas of grounds without grass nowadays. Again, you need to go down the football pyramid to still see the muddy goal mouths. You weren't a proper goalie if you didn't get completely covered in mud in these conditions! A player wearing black boots Rare as unicorn tears in modern football, especially with sponsorship deals for players’ boots providing all manner of colours nowadays, but when it happens it reminds you of the good ol' days. No one had brightly coloured boots when we were younger, but unfortunately its very difficult to find all plain black boots anymore. Such a shame. The simple nutmeg Although one of easiest tricks to complete it stills brings out a squeak of delight when one top player nutmegs another. The crowd love it and instantly you hear the joy of it from them when it happens. Maybe it is that it’s because you see it at all levels that it brings out the joy, but no other bit of skill brings out the same noise from the crowd, to the cry of "NUTS"! So forget all the doom and gloom of the modern game - what other little joys do you get out of football? |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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