Grammar School athletes in the running for silverware
Twenties team picture turned up in Scotland –
OUR front page photograph takes us back almost a century, and shows a particularly athletic bunch of Black Country boys.
But it was discovered only a few weeks ago, just about as far away from here as it’s possible to get without leaving the country.
Chris Holloway, archivist and historian for Tipton Harriers has put it our way, and told us:
Auction
“I have recent come by the attached photograph purchased via a well-known auction site from a seller in Scotland.
“It was bought speculatively as I am not totally sure of its subject.
“It is labelled in handwriting ‘DGS’ and ‘1929’ and was taken by photographer Horace Dudley. I believe that Horace Dudley was active in Tipton, Dudley and the wider Black Country. I have some portraits of Tipton Harriers from his agency.
“I am making the supposition that DGS could be Dudley Grammar School.
“From the spiked shoes worn by those in the picture I suspect it could be the athletic or cross country teams. I cannot make out what the badges worn by some are. It could be a county badge or perhaps ‘colours’ of a house within the school.”
The badges aren’t quite clear enough to read, but we’ve zoomed in on them
and they look very much like the Dudley Grammar School badge we’ve reproduced here, which would bear out Chris’s assumptions.
“My interest would be if any of those athletes contained in the shot may have been at a later stage members of Tipton Harriers,” said Chris.
Interest
“I thought that it may be of interest to readers of the Bugle and may provoke some confirmation, thoughts, and – even better – names and identities.”
If you can help in any way, either contact the Bugle (gjones@blackcountrybu gle.co.uk) or Tipton Harriers (info@tip tonharriers.co.uk).
THE England, Scotland and Wales European Championship squads will have spent some time, hot on the heels of a long hard season, preparing for European Championships across the continent.
Of course it is being played this year after its postponement in 2020 due to Coronavirus.
Hotel
When we watch a live game, the presenter will often say we will be going live to the England camp, or any of the other home nations who have qualified, in this case Scotland and Wales. This may be before the game, at the team hotel or at the game.
Being a member of the FA Medical Society I have attended many postworld Cup or European Championship tournament de-briefs by either former physios Gary Lewin, Fred Street or team doctors Vernon Edwards and John Crane. I thought I would give some insight on life of the medical staff at a major tournament.
Broad preparation and planning would have been going on since qualifying matches started two years ago. That planning, coupled with experience and knowledge gained from participation in previous tournaments, is aimed at providing a comfort blanket, allowing players to perform to the best of their ability.
The Football Association, via its many departments, provides and organises the facilities that are required for the squad, and nothing is left to chance. There are backup and contingency plans for everything that might or might not be needed.
The fine-tuning of the day-to-day detail is of course in the hands of the manager. In order for him to plan efficiently, he needs feedback from his coaching, training and medical staff.
The team doctor, physios and fitness coaches are responsible for the daily availability of as many fit players as possible to train, reporting back on the general health of players, and observing any other points that may be relevant to the well being of the group.
Those are in fact the terms of reference under which all teams will operate for national matches. The difference in a tournament is that they are together for a few weeks instead of a few days, with the problems that travel, foreign food and unsual climates can superimpose on the usual caseload of ‘running repair’ injuries and the ever present threat of serious injury.
Doctor
To minimise the hazards of the wrong food, travel problems, climate etc, the doctor takes all the usual sensible preventative measures and advises the players long before they arrive, on the part they can play in keeping fit and healthy.
They will carry every possible medication to facilitate all situations and requirements, and feedback from all members of staff (and players’ observations) is used to monitor the most important factor.
The treatment of injury is in many ways no different from the training and playing of any other international match. The main difference is that they are together for a series of matches, and can only use 26 named players for the whole tournament, so a national team party takes on a club-like attitude to the injured player.
Injuries
“One-off” national team games have players selected from a fit squad. Any serious injuries and the player is returned to their club and a replacement is brought in. This means that in practice only injuries under treatment are “running repairs”.
This is not possible in a tournament and rehabilitation of players becomes part of the scene. Players can be left out of training and games as part of treatment regimes and brought back in for later games or to cover injured players.
As I have said, it becomes like a club, where you are trying to have as many fit players available for the manager to choose from for training and playing. This involves much discussion on a daily basis with the manager, about players training too hard, too long or if at all, and even late fitness tests which again are more of a club feature than a routine international.
In order to provide this sort of back-up service to the manager and players, the doctor and physios set up a base at the hotel and at the training camp (often a facility of a local professional side with the equipment needed.)
They take all their own machines, ultrasound, pulsed shortwave, interferential and all the usual strappings and dressings that are familiar in any injury unit.
The room they convert in hotels tends to be the engine room of the party, where everyone gathers. It is a crossroads of gossip, information, supplies of kit, medication, a chat with the doctor, usually with a recreation room and TV/DVD room next door.
You will have gathered that they are ‘on the road,’ a familiar scene to any club footballer and anyone who has worked in football at a professional club.
The job is a tracksuit job, with as much time spent on the pitch and track as in the treatment room. As well as maintaining some fitness with injured players, there are other players who may not have played in the last game and need to do some work. Those who have played would be involved in a recovery session which may include some non-contact work in the swimming pool followed by massages. The injured players would obviously receive treatment whilst those that did not play, would train.
There is also morale and boredom to deal with – ‘killing time’ is the name of the game although it is a little bit different for players nowadays with internet, mobile phones laptops etc.
Maintaining a wi-fi connection will always be a priority for staff. In the modern age, things like tennis, golf and cycling can be used to ring the changes, especially during the two-to-three weeks acclimatisation period in the run up to the finals.
A major tournament is not all about treatment and academics but is all about joining in. A former England doctor who was seen cooking breakfast with a chefs’ hat and apron on took a lot of legpulling from the players as he served them baked beans.
Blood tests
An hour later he would be taking blood tests for altitude and acclimatisation tests. All without any loss of professional dignity or integrity. A neat balancing act that not everyone is equipped to perform.
The aim of all this is to field a team on match days with players who are as fit and healthy both physically and psychologically as possible. The analysis of who or what makes the most contribution to this end is both unrewarding and undesirable. What is important though is everyone is pulling on the same rope in one direction.
For a medical staff, a tournament can sometimes be defined not so much by results as injuries. Examples are Gordon Banks in 1970, Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking in 1982 and Brian Robson in 1986 and 1990. Wayne Rooney in 2004 and Michael Owen 2006 are other examples.
In the build-up to this year’s tournament, manager Gareth Southgate named an initial 33 man squad, considering the usual injury doubts. Similar concerns applied during the build up to Euro ’96 with striker Alan Shearer a fitness concern as he was recovering from a hernia operation. The England Physio at the tournament, Alan Smith, worked seven days a week, often using a school playing field in Rotherham in the weeks leading up to the tournament.
Terry Venables called his physio to his office as he had to submit the squad to UEFA. The question was, ‘Do I select Alan Shearer as he hasn’t played 90 minutes in the warm up games?’
Alan replied positively ‘Yes, he will be fit’.
He then joined in with the squad, continuing his rehabilitation and being named in the starting line up to face Switzerland in the opening game.
Shearer would go on to be the tournament’s top goal scorer, winning the Golden Boot award.