1990s Club Badges

No fancy dan coat of arms here, just classic simplicity does-the-job Football Club crests.

Hartlepool vs. Bury

First visit to Pools in bloody ages. Working weekends will do that but a brief rest bite this Saturday, so having tended to the family in the morning (a war museum and a chippy lunch), come 2pm I pointed the car in a south-easterly direction with Madness blaring and set off to Hartlepools. Took up a spot on the hallowed Millhouse terracing doing my best impression of the jolly green giant (not so much in height at 5ft10 but in frame at XL), wearing a plethra of said colour - Green Boneville cag, BH lambswool knit and olive Spezials. Smart look but attracted the odd angry September wasp who thought I was a shrub.

  Today's opponents were the Greater Manchester side Bury, managed by former Poolie targetman Richie Barker. Was pleased he got a good hearty round of applause before the match - the battering ram striker did a cracking job in 2 years at the club. A question mark over Bury's fans though - I'm always skeptical of supporters who can't pronounce their own clubs name correctly.

It was with that 'Burreh' kicked off and straight away looked second best. Their hopes seemed pinned on trying to expose our left-back, who is by trade, a right-back. However a former Premier League right-back at that, Stephen Wright, who was more than comfortable all afternoon.

Nobby Solano pulled the strings in the first half, neat touches, great passing and crossing from the right flank, and generally looked a different class. So when he crept into the middle on 33 minutes, he picked up the ball and danced through the Shakers defence with his tiny Peruvian Paddington bear steps and placed the ball past Bury's keeper. One nil United and well deserved. Could have been two straight afterwards when Colin Nish played a square ball across from an acute angle but Tony Sweeney's tap in was judged to be offside.

Second half there were surprises in store. Burreh come out with Barker's words ringing in their ears and looked a bit brighter, and on a couple of occasions Pools back line and keeps were tested. However this was only for about five minutes, as the game was effectively killed off after 51. Colin Nish, the most unlikely source, bagging the goal. I say unlikely despite the fact he's a forward by trade and wears the number nine, but he's far from impressive - 6ft5 but loses height when he jumps, as strong an Extra Strong mint seconds and has a shocking first touch - he can trap a ball further than I can kick it. But his touch on 51 minutes was bloody good, firing into the roof of the net from outside the six yard area. Two-nil.

If that was a surprise then what happened fifteen minutes from time was a big fat fucking swollen Kinder Egg, when Nish dispossessed the final man and lurched towards goal, long legs lumbering this way and that, drew keeper Carson and coolly slotted home with a fine finish. Time for me and the other Pools fans (who I've heard chant 'Nish, Nish, Nish, plays like fucking pish) to eat humble pie - and we duly did and started chanting 'Colin Van Nishtelrooy' instead. Three-nil. He could have had a hat-trick when a powerful header hit the underside of the bar and bounced clear, but no matter - another three points to Pools, undefeated this season and up to the dizzy heights of fifth. Cue the chant 'WE ARE UNBEATABLE'. Unlike Arsenal. And I'm pleased about that.

Cult Poolies - Joe Allon

Super Joe is probably Hartlepool's ultimate cult hero. He had two spells at United in the 1990s, both times he made an impact and created history.

He started out at hometown club Newcastle (pictured bottom right with Gazza), making a handful of appearances for the Toon before a season spell at Swansea. He came to Pools in the late 80s, with his blonde popstar hair do and settled in superbly. In 1989/90 there was a taste of things to come, bagging 18 goals. The next season under the guidance of legendary chief Cyril Knowles, Pools won promotion for the first time since the 1960s, with 'Skull' Allon hitting 28 goals, topping up his goals tally and his bank account - The Pools squad backed promotion at 45-1 in Willie Hills in summer 1990, and celebrated promotion twelve months later with £200 notes for the post season jaunt to Magaluff.

Money came in from Chelsea - £250k to be precise - and he scored two in two in his first appearances in 91/92. However he seemed to fall in with a bad crowd. His flatmate was none other than Vinnie Jones, he became chums with Dennis Wise, and an ex-Geordie team mate was also making his way in the capital - Paul Gascoigne. Lager-fuelled mayhem allegedly took place. After 18 games for the Blues and a lack of goals, and with an extra £100k due to Pools when he played 20 matches, so Chels flogged him to London neighbours Brentford for a club record fee of £275k - where he had  a more successful goalscoring record in two years .

Pools could probably have felt short changed after that, but following spells at Port Vale and Lincoln, Allon returned to Hartlepool in 1995 for nowt. The goals came but not as plentiful as before, hitting 22 in three seasons. However he'll always be best remembered for an incident in 1997 when he raised his status from cult hero, to cult legend. With Pools facing the drop (again) towards the end of the season, they found themselves one-nil down away at Darlo. Pools managed to get an equaliser through Man City loanee (and Poolie born and bread) Michael Brown, but desperately sought the three points for safety. With ten minutes remaining Allon was dispatched from the bench but still nothing. Deep into injury time a corner boucned across the area, evading everyone bar Joseph Ball Allon. Somehow having fallen on his arse he managed to scissor kick it into Darlo's net, in front of the Tin Shed (below). Silence in Feethams except mayhem in amongst the away support.

Unfortunately a recurring knee injury ended his career at the beginning of 97/98. Since then he's worked fairly regularly as a radio pundit, and except a minor incident with some Pools fans when returning as a coach with Dennis Wise's Leeds in 2007, he remains a legend amongst the Poolie faithful

9/11 Ten Years on

Merde tete. Ficken Schiesse. Everyone can remember what they were doing when they found out about the World Trade centre being hit. Thats what I was doing. Was in a free period in 6th form and was looking up swear words in foreign dictionaries. So I'll know the french for 'shit head' and German for 'fucking shit' as long as I'll live.

One of the swotty lasses came bursting into the common room and told us that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Centre and they weren't sure if it was a terrorist attack. Two things crossed my mind. 'What the frig is the World Trade Centre?' and 'The Irish haven't started up again have they?' - having grown up in the 1990s anytime terrorism was mentioned, I automatically thought of Gerry Adams and his cronies. So I apologise to the Pats for thinking this.

We moved through to the study room and and found news24 showing footage of the event. I knew what the World Trade Centre was now. There was on of the most iconic buildings, seen in just about every American New York based film I'd ever seen. One of the twin towers had a fucking gaping big hole in it. BBC were doing their indifferent sitting on the fence best, claiming that it was unsure if it was a terror plot or if a plane had simply crashed. They soon changed their tune two minutes later as they, like us, watched in open mouth horror as another plane came onto the screen and plowed into the other tower. Definately terrorist. Then everyone (just us thankfully, not the Beeb reporters) did that thing everyone does when they're panicked or scared - a nervous giggle.

News continued all day and rest of it is a bit sketchy, although I remember watching the rolling news all night, seeing people chuck themselves off the top floors rather than burn to death, and saw the towers collapse within 40 minutes of each other. A shocking day of events that will live on in people's memories forever. I just wished I'd started it and finished it with a bit more class. Rude words in strangers tongue, and on school bus home singing REM's 'It's the End of the World as we Know it'. Although some would agree it genuinely was.

Autumn Approach

It's September. Technically it's still summer, but bollocks to that - the nights are drawing in, the clouds are gathering and there'll be games under the lights. That means only one thing, that everyone's favourite time of the year for gear is approaching. Autumn/winter.

And if you've got a minute I'd like to share with you my approach for the upcoming months. Nothing outlandish or out of the ordinary, just my simple thoughts for keeping it simple but dressing smarts...

 - Plain Knits
Discreet is always the name of the game with me, so it'll be CP, M&S or Ralph Lauren with an invisible horse for me. Said it before and I'll say it again, nothing, absolutely nothing (no matter what the price) beats a Blue Harbour Lambswool jumper. Perfect staple for any chaps wardrobe, looks the business over any shirt and under any jacket. Looking to add a 'rust' coloured one before the season is out.

- Unchecked Scarves
Checked scarves are all over the joint. They have been for a long time, and like most I have a good handful from various sources. Nowt wrong with that. However I'm going to opt for plain solid colours. A nice classy look for dressing down and staying warm. This pleasant blue one is, again, from M&S.

- Uniqlo gear
Heard a few rumbles of joy regarding this Japanese company on forums. Decided to check it out and got a s/s shirt in sale. Not too bad at all, sizing and fit better than expected. May look into investing in a few more bits, particularly a flannel shirts and possibly a pair of selvedge, which seem to be every wear in the 'what are you wearing today' threads...

- Charity Shop dye Jobs
The country has hit recession again. So why not explore your local town's charity shops for a hidden gem? Picked up this early 90s Stone Island sweatshirt (with its luscious green rim patch) from one of the many establishments on Durham's North Road for the low price of £2.99. Admittedly got this well over a year ago and after having a sort out rediscovered it, and now it's at the forefront of my mind to get some Navy Dylon, do it over and get some wear from it. Remember charity rack rooters, styles and price (and indeed brands) vary.

- A Visit to the Barbour
Enjoy wearing North East labels. So I'll have to make time to visit South Shield's flagship factory store for a bit of Barbour. Shirts £19 each, knits 3 for £50, jackets starting from £49. Not been in over a year - inexcusable. Will have to make the short journey at some point. Talking of North East brands, would like to get another vintage Berghaus Aquafoil in from fleabay at some point.

- Madras and Brushed
Got that RL Madras check a bit ago. Needs to get itself off the hanger and on my shoulders. Nice autumn colours, excellent for any coloured knit. Plus that brushed cotton BH shirt I invested in will get its wear - nowt better than a  bit of brushed to help keep the North sea chill off your kidneys at the Vic.

- Go for the Brown
Yes your grandad wears nowt but that choice of shade, but once the leaves start changing get yourself blended in with plenty of brown. At least for the first couple of weeks of autumn before you get sick of it.

-Vintage Trotters
It's generally agreed that trainers are dead duck, thanks to the somewhat appalling re-issues that are churned out almost fortnightly from far east sweat shops. And to quote Partridge, who likes a dead duck? No one, not even its mother. It just flies off depressed. So move away from the kicks and invest in some retro shoes. A nice pair of Duffer Yogi will fit the bill nicely...

Rothmans Football Yearbooks

I've become quite sentimental in my old age (well late 20s). Maybe it's stemmed from becoming a dad in the past year or possibly that an increasingly alarming amount of grey hairs are sprouting, but I've become all nostalgic for the 1990s - the periods music and the clothes for example. And, of course, the football. Football seemed sexy and classy in the mid nineties as SKY pumped its early money in - there were big transfers and foreign signings - and England nearly bringing football home in 1996. But although football was changing fast, in those pre-internet days there was only one way of keeping up to date with all of footballs statistics - The Rothman's football yearbook.

Nowt screams football like these blue backed beasts of knowledge. Starting out in 1970 Rothman's produced 32 editions before government legislation banned cigarettes advertising in sport, thus prompting the decision to quit - handing over to SKY for the 02/03 season. Probably a more apt choice of sponsor given their (like it or loathe it) link with football. Had a couple of Rothy's back in the day (books not cigs) but didn't exactly appreciate them (packed full of stats they're not exactly light reading for a not-yet-teenager) and they went the way of the car boot. So bought an edition I'd previously owned from the bay and it was like welcoming back an old friend. A couple more have since followed through the letter box. So many facts and figures from years gone by down in black and white, a fountain of footie knowledge. In an age now when everything revolves around the internet it's so good to actually have something in your hands to flick through, never to be lost in time or a power surge.