Your first footballing hero

[Guest HTT II]

1 minute ago, madras said:

I think that says more about the demographics of this place.

That’s from my WhatsApp group, I think about two people said Shearer and most of them are old cunts as Pardew would say, or younger cunts!

[Big Geordie]

45 minutes ago, gazza ladra said:

Giorgio Chinaglia
 

Yes, the NASL had Pele, Beckenbauer, Muller, Cruyff, Best, Eusebio, and somewhat later a very young Beardsley. But Chinaglia was the star on the playground. Every American kid that cared about soccer, was obsessed with Chinaglia. 

I remember Ray Hankin telling me about him, when Ray played for Vancouver Whitecaps. Some lad, apparrently.

 

Ray (ex Burnley and Leeds), is a work colleague, btw. Top fella.

[Kid Icarus]

Had no idea that Malcolm Allen was forced to retire because of an injury. In my daft young mind at the time I had just thought he wasn't as good as Cole, therefore he couldn't get in the team and had thought no more of it.

 

To get 7 goals in 12 is really impressive and an absolute guttner for him that he had to retire at 28, having just got to the top level and started off so well.

[Comegetasample]

Our primary school team turned up to the first football match of the year, I was probably 7 years old, and our coach asked for a volunteer to go in goal as he hadn't realised 5 minutes before the game that we didn't have a goalkeeper, being fairly adventurous and confident at the time I volunteered and spent the following 30 minutes staring at the trains going past and having to be constantly barked back into concentrating on the game in front of me. 

 

What followed was a 20 year on and off love affair with the lonely position between the sticks.

 

I'd started to be taken to games at that time and developing a keen interest in NUFC and was immediately obsessed with the bloke who did it for Newcastle, whilst everyone was watching what Shearer, Robert and Bellamy where doing at the far end of the pitch, I would be watching what Given was doing at the back. It makes sense that I would be enamored with the Toon player I shared a position with, and I tried to model my game on him (with added garage door coaching from dad) closing down the angle, throwing myself at the ball as it was dribbled into the box and diving dramatically to tip shots over the bar. I loved it, and wore my blue northern rock gk replica jersey round Safeway with pride and still have a pair of Addidas Predator FingerSavetm  gloves in the wardrobe, the ones with the plastic spines. 

 

I think he's our greatest goalkeeper and doesn't get talked about enough, he was an amazing shot stopper, athletic, brave on the deck and was a real leader and an integral part of that spine of captains (Shearer, Speed et al) in the first NUFC team I was really aware of and helplessly in love with.  

 

I met him once, when we were bundled into the players lounge after a game. I say I met him, I sat glued to the bar and stared in stunned silence whilst dad collected his autograph and a few others as my arse had completely dropped, I was 8.

 

Incidentally there was another young and much braver lad running around collecting autographs and bouncing off the walls only to stop and take the occasional sip of his orange juice that was on the bar next to me, only took 10 years for us to work out it was Sammy Ameobi. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Comegetasample

[mighty__mag]

Peter Beardsley. 

 

I'm surprised by HTT, because although Cole was very good, and bagged goals, he was nothing without Beardsley. 

 

 

[Lazarus]

2 hours ago, gazza ladra said:

Giorgio Chinaglia
 

Yes, the NASL had Pele, Beckenbauer, Muller, Cruyff, Best, Eusebio, and somewhat later a very young Beardsley. But Chinaglia was the star on the playground. Every American kid that cared about soccer, was obsessed with Chinaglia. 

 

Never even heard of him so looked him up on wiki

 

Quote

In all matches played, including friendly, exhibition and pre-season games, Chinaglia scored 734 goals, giving him a lifetime average of a goal a game.

 

Insane

[Collage]

Diego Maradona; the GOAT in terms of ability, influence and importance

[Robster]

3 hours ago, Wolfcastle said:

Malcolm and my (background circled) reaction to that clincher.

Had everything really didn't it. Quite edgy because they were a good team and we were new to the level. Noise is so loud when Mathie scores that the audio maxes out.

 

Them were the days, man.
Fantastic times.

[Super Duper Branko Strupar]

2 hours ago, Kid Icarus said:

Had no idea that Malcolm Allen was forced to retire because of an injury. In my daft young mind at the time I had just thought he wasn't as good as Cole, therefore he couldn't get in the team and had thought no more of it.

 

To get 7 goals in 12 is really impressive and an absolute guttner for him that he had to retire at 28, having just got to the top level and started off so well.

 

Still remember the Black & White VHS from 93/94 I think. He was interviewed after obviously being injured for most of the season and talking about getting back to fitness for the next. Like you though only realised he'd only played 1 more game and retired at 28 until years later.

 

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Super Duper Branko Strupar

[George Bailey]

For me these guys stand out with Tony being my first hero.

 

Tony Green, would have been ranked up with the greats but for the injury (played at wrong time, nowadays you recover from his injury and have a career) what a player. He had it all.

 

Supermac. Was simply an idol. Lethal.

 

Beardsley, without a doubt over a prolonged period he is the best I have seen for us (sustained). The guy was genius (and wasn't even the most gifted Beardsley apparently! I saw his brother playing 5 a sides years later and what a player he was!)

 

Ginola. Possibly the most naturally gifted player (to date!) I have seen for us.

 

My favourite player of recent years however was Scott Sellars! Go figure! Just loved the bloke.

 

 

[Wolfcastle]

Yeah Allen came on at half-time in that utter classic with Spurs (we had no strikers at the time) and started (think scored twice) the first friendly that summer at Hartlepool, had a real forgotten man and lovely bonus about having him back on top of the rest of the squad. Don't know if it was a recurrance of the previous injury or a new one but that was pretty much that.

Could have figured in the underrated players thread, was pretty prolific for Millwall

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Wolfcastle

[leffe186]

3 hours ago, HTT II said:

Who wants to do an anti hero thread? 

Mine might be Graham Roberts. Would have to have a long think though.

[George Bailey]

1 minute ago, leffe186 said:

Mine might be Graham Roberts. Would have to have a long think though.

David...... fucking........ Speedie

[Big Geordie]

Speedie - without a doubt.

 

Little bastard!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, mighty__mag said:

Peter Beardsley. 

 

I'm surprised by HTT, because although Cole was very good, and bagged goals, he was nothing without Beardsley. 

 

 

Cole still had 5 in 7 before Beardsley returned from his broken cheekbone and looked perfectly fine alongside David Kelly the season before.

[WarrenBartonCentrePartin]

Given the answers are all fairly similar dependent on the decade you grew up in/started supporting the club, anyone got a first/favourite cult hero? Does Alex Mathie fit the bill, for example? Malcolm Allen?

 

There's @Inferior Acuña on here and on the understanding of the term, his namesake is probably mine. Never let us down and was good for the odd goal.

 

Taylor and Besty spent a load of donated money on "tracking down" Philippe Albert (who is commonly reported as being in the fruit and veg trade in Belgium) for a film that is still yet to see the light of day. Would've been far better off going to Chile and finding him.

[leffe186]

23 minutes ago, Big Geordie said:

Speedie - without a doubt.

 

Little bastard!

Are you talking anti-hero or villain though, because those are different things. Graham Roberts is definitely not my villain.

[Groundhog63]

2 hours ago, Comegetasample said:

Our primary school team turned up to the first football match of the year, I was probably 7 years old, and our coach asked for a volunteer to go in goal as he hadn't realised 5 minutes before the game that we didn't have a goalkeeper, being fairly adventurous and confident at the time I volunteered and spent the following 30 minutes staring at the trains going past and having to be constantly barked back into concentrating on the game in front of me. 

 

What followed was a 20 year on and off love affair with the lonely position between the sticks.

 

I'd started to be taken to games at that time and developing a keen interest in NUFC and was immediately obsessed with the bloke who did it for Newcastle, whilst everyone was watching what Shearer, Robert and Bellamy where doing at the far end of the pitch, I would be watching what Given was doing at the back. It makes sense that I would be enamored with the Toon player I shared a position with, and I tried to model my game on him (with added garage door coaching from dad) closing down the angle, throwing myself at the ball as it was dribbled into the box and diving dramatically to tip shots over the bar. I loved it, and wore my blue northern rock gk replica jersey round Safeway with pride and still have a pair of Addidas Predator FingerSavetm  gloves in the wardrobe, the ones with the plastic spines. 

 

I think he's our greatest goalkeeper and doesn't get talked about enough, he was an amazing shot stopper, athletic, brave on the deck and was a real leader and an integral part of that spine of captains (Shearer, Speed et al) in the first NUFC team I was really aware of and helplessly in love with.  

 

I met him once, when we were bundled into the players lounge after a game. I say I met him, I sat glued to the bar and stared in stunned silence whilst dad collected his autograph and a few others as my arse had completely dropped, I was 8.

 

Incidentally there was another young and much braver lad running around collecting autographs and bouncing off the walls only to stop and take the occasional sip of his orange juice that was on the bar next to me, only took 10 years for us to work out it was Sammy Ameobi. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Given was special. Mad he left to sit on Man City's bench. 

Had a look at this, prompted by your post.... 

 

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/newcastle-united/torhueterchronik/verein/762

 

Obvs McFaul was my no1/no1 but, over the years him, Budgie, Shaka, Pav, Timmieeeee and Shay and Enrique ?

Special mention to Kevin Carr, ACAB 

[Ben]

Keegan, my absolute hero as a player and then he topped it as a manager, I'd use his shite for toothpaste

[Lush Vlad]

Tino. 

[Wolfcastle]

55 minutes ago, leffe186 said:

Are you talking anti-hero or villain though, because those are different things. Graham Roberts is definitely not my villain.

Yeah, I'm not sure what we mean by anti-hero

a player that was our guilty pleasure or the opposite of hero/Owen

 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Wolfcastle

[Geordie_once_removed]

John Beresford. I was always drawn to the less dramatic option and coming of football age in the early to mid 90s those flowing locks were hard to resist! I met him briefly at a corporate thing on a match day my dad was attending and scored me a free ticket too, in the early noughties at St James' Park (Chris Mort was chairman at the time and I met him too). We lost to Blackburn, but I'll never forget how star struck I felt seeing one of my 'Match' poster heros in real life. 

 

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Geordie_once_removed

[McDog]

5 hours ago, gazza ladra said:

Giorgio Chinaglia
 

Yes, the NASL had Pele, Beckenbauer, Muller, Cruyff, Best, Eusebio, and somewhat later a very young Beardsley. But Chinaglia was the star on the playground. Every American kid that cared about soccer, was obsessed with Chinaglia. 

 

 

Wow, never realized how good he was. My entry was Alan Willey who made the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Second all time in the NASL in goals. Chinaglia was insane.

[Kaizero]

Never really been much into individual worship of a footballer. As a kid the only thing that came close would be Shearer and Filippo Inzaghi, with Roar Strand thrown into the mix from watching Rosenborg. Beyond that I absolutely still worship Hatem Ben Arfa.

 

I have a soft spot for Oguchi Onyewu and Landon Donovan from my good old FIFA playing years as I'd be playing with the US national side with mates and we'd have tons of internal jokes. Soft spot for our very own Jonas as well.

 

Keegan and SBR are also next level, but not as players for me. Egil Olsen as well for what he did to Norway in the 90s.

 

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Kaizero

[Oregon_Geordie]

1 hour ago, Geordie_once_removed said:

John Beresford. I was always drawn to the less dramatic option and coming of football age in the early to mid 90s those flowing locks were hard to resist! I met him briefly at a corporate thing on a match day my dad was attending and scored me a free ticket too, in the early noughties at St James' Park (Chris Mort was chairman at the time and I met him too). We lost to Blackburn, but I'll never forget how star struck I felt seeing one of my 'Match' poster heros in real life. 

 

 

 

 

Gazza for me, I used to train at Benwell as a kid and he was about 18-19. He actually went on a date with my sis! He was always turning up late for training in an old Ford Cortina, socks rolled down, shorts pulled up, big thighs, greased hair - cool as fuck! Remember going to one of my first games with my Mam, Milburn Paddock, he was another level.

 

Did like Ned Kelly too

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2022 by Oregon_Geordie