RIP Roger Hunt and thanks for playing your part
IHAVE heard a lot of people talking about a fuel crisis this week, and a fair few others talking about having to put their heating on – Hargreaves HQ is in that category - but I have also heard some fantastic stories from the football world this week.
The passing of Liverpool legend Roger Hunt was of course incredibly sad to hear but his career was so good that it was more of a celebration of his life than that of grief and morning. Roger Hunt won the World cup with England, that statement alone is enough for immortality, but he was also Liverpool’s second every highest goalscorer behind Ian Rush, no mean feat there, 285 goals in 492 matches no less.
‘Sir’ Roger as he was known by Liverpool fans, mocking the fact he hadn’t been knighted, won seven trophies for Liverpool, and also played in all six matches in the 1966 World Cup for England, scoring 3 goals in the process. He also scored 18 goals in 34 games for England, and under the great Bill Shankly he scored 41 times in 41 games in 1961-62 in the side that won the second division title.
The stats above are quite simply immense, and yet he still came in for the inevitable slack from the fans. A legendary quote from Bill Shankly remains to this day to be a lesson to any striker looking to get on the end of anything.
“Yes Roger Hunt misses a few, but he gets into the right place to miss them”, brilliant, I couldn’t agree more.
The last stat of all and arguably the best, Roger Hunt was the person to score Match of the Days first ever goal, this in a 3-2 win over Arsenal in what was back then the only game highlighted in the show. He ended his career at Bolton whacking in another 25 goals, not a bad goal haul in the end. RIP Roger Hunt and thanks for playing your part in England’s best ever footballing day.
The second talking point is how some fans managed to get home after games on Saturday night, I must admit I did start to panic myself a little bit on the way home from
Chesterfield at the weekend, having been with BT Sport for their game against Torquay United. Every fuel stop I headed for was either shut or had no fuel, I really did drive on fresh air for 15 miles until I spotted what to me at that point was one of the best Oasis I have ever seen in my life, a fuel pump, open.
That chocolate milkshake and Yorkie Bar never tasted so good as I drove off the forecourt with a car full of fuel. What is it with us and the media though, the juxtaposition of toilet rolls and now fuel, ‘don’t panic Mr Mannering”, can we please get some rationale here.
Shopping like there is an impending Armageddon on the horizon, or literally filling the tank and back seats and boot with ten Gerry cans of diesel and petrol, it is not necessary. The quicker we all go electric the better eh? but whilst I am on the subject of stats, I have reliably been informed/or is it again media ‘story’ that an electric car has to do 400,000 miles to have a better carbon footprint than that of its petrol and diesel competitors, such is the environmental devastation that the mining and disposing of an electric vehicle’s vital component, lithium.
More reading to be done by Mr H there I feel before I rush out and buy a Tesla – second hand of course. Joking aside I do think we are becoming so well informed of the damage we are causing to our environment, but we
can do more, and football can do more, more shirt’s covered with information, more clubs going green, more consciousness and publicity of how we look after this world of ours. Football can bring attention to so many social and environmental problems, in a positive and empowering way, so bring it on!
I did see a few fans after the game from both clubs, and the one consistent is always there for die hard supporters, and what is that I hear you say? The answer is hope, hope that this season is ‘the one’, hope that everything will be ok with their team, ultimately it’s what keeps bringing everyone back, and for those us who have relied on fans at various clubs, we thank-you immensely for that.
It’s been a long wait for fans but I can tell you from an explayers perspective that it’s appreciated, waiting in the tunnel before a big game and hearing the anticipation and singing, seeing a reaction after you score a goal or make a thundering tackle, and driving to a game on the team bus as a player, manager, or coach, seeing fans, the scarfs and flags, and shirts, it’s pretty special to be honest.
Lastly a mention to all of our local clubs and fans, admittedly only a quarter of the season gone, or less in some cases, but all back into the swing of it, all fighting once again and all in with a genuine chance of promotion, here’s hoping.