Links to some football websites
Associations
| WLAYFC | The home page for our eleven a side association. The West Lothian Association of Youth Football Clubs | |
The home page for the soccer sevens association. The West Lothian Soccer Sevens
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West Lothian Football
| Linlithgow Rose | Polbeth United | BFC Linlithgow |
| Livingston Hearts | Murieston United | East Calder Colts |
| Blackburn United | Fauldhouse | Livi FC Boys Club |
| Livi Hearts Moroon 13s | ||
Central Region
| Seafar Villa | Syngenta 98 | Shawhead FC |
| Carbrain Boys Club |
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We read today about Premiership footballers who are earning £50,000, £75000, £100,000 a week who are too tired to play more than 50 games a season, two games a week is too much. They are it seems mentally and physically exhausted. Turn the clock back 90 odd years and take a look at another group of football players.
In November 1914 with Heart of Midlothian leading the Scottish First Division sixteen of their players replaced their football boots with combat boots and enlisted in the British Army to fight in the First World War. As part of the 16th Royal Scots and along side players from Hibernian, Dunfermline, Falkirk and Raith Rovers they fought with distinction.
In July 1916 they fought at the Somme, a horrific battle where the British Army lost 20,000 men on its first day, three Hearts players losing their lives.
By the end of the war seven Hearts players had made the ultimate sacrifice.
LANCE CORPORAL JAMES BOYD
SARGENT DUNCAN CURRIE
PRIVATE HENRY WATTIE
PRIVATE JAMES SPEEDIE
PRIVATE ERNEST ELLIS
SARGENT JOHN ALLEN
PRIVATE TOM GRACIE
So the next time you hear about how tired the current England millionare forward is, or how painful it is playing two games of football in a week think of those Hearts players and their fallen comrades.
Some characters from the football world.
Hooligan Granny !
A Granny has spoken out after causing chaos at an Ayrshire Junior game between Irvine Meadow and Glenafton. She invaded the park and demanded to know who had parked in her driveway, blocking in her car. One thousand fans watched in amazement at she confrunted the Referee demanding to know who the culprit was.
 | She said " I raised my hands and asked if someone was going to do something about it " Catherine went on " There was a big handsome goalkeeper there and I told him, look I'm sorry son but I need something done about this " She then got a bit worried as all the fans started booing her and someone else ran onto the park. Catherine explained " He looked as though he was going to shake me but the handsome goalie stepped in and stopped him. She finished up by saying " I eventually went home to make my mince and potatoes for dinner .... I was furious ! " |
STANLEY MATHEWS
Stanley was born on 1st February 1915 and played football in the back streets of Stoke as soon as he could walk.
Age 13 : Stanley was playing for Hanley Boys as a Centre Half. They were playing in the English Schools Shield Final against Altringham. Hanley were 2-1 down and struggling so they moved Stan up to Centre Forward to try and get back into the game. Get back into it they did and the final score was Hanley 13 Altringham 2 with Stan scoring eight goals. His days as a centre half were over !
Age 14 : Stan joined Stoke City as an amateur.
Age 17 : He joined Stoke as a full time professional.
Age 19 : He was a full international player for England.
Age 32 : Stanley was voted footballer of the year and transferred to Blackpool for a then huge transfer fee of £11,000. ……. But was he now “over the hill ” ?
In 13 seasons with Blackpool Stan played in three FA Cup Finals, winning the famous final named after himself when Blackpool beat Bolton 4-3. He also became the first European Footballer of the year.
Age 46 : Stan returns to his first club Stoke and helps them to another Second Division Championship Aged 47 : Stan wins the English Footballer of the year award again. Age 50 : Stan plays his last game for Stoke. He had played 710 league games for Stoke and Blackpool. Stan, on the right leads Stoke out at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea Age 55 : Stan moved to Malta to manage the local team Hibernians, to help the team he became a player coach still working his magic on the wing. |  |
William " Fatty " Foulkes
Willie “Fatty” Foulkes was Chelsea’s first goalkeeper and first captain. He was 6ft 3in, and weighed in at over 22 stone! Stamford Bridge was the first ground to employ ball boys – these were mainly employed in order to help out Willie. The first Chelsea manager, John Tait Robertson always maintained that a couple of skinny, under-nourished ball boys would make Willie look even more gargantuan. To emphasise his bulk even more the club’s smallest player, a tiny winger called Moran, would trot behind the great man. Willie was nearly 30 when he joined Chelsea from Sheffield United, where had won two Cup medals He had played for England and had also played cricket for Derbyshire. He could also have played for England if they had fielded eating team. One of the many stories that about him concerned an early away trip to Burton. At the team’s hotel, Willie decided to go down for dinner early. Crowds that chant “Who ate all the pies?” would have been in hooligan heaven, because that is literally what the keeper did. When the rest of the team came down they found that all eleven plates had been cleared. It’s just as well that there were no subs then. |
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Mr Foulkes redeemed himself the next day, though, by stopping two penalties. The Burton manager raged at the poor forward who had missed two penalties, screaming that both kicks were straight at Foulkes. “Yeah, but where else could I place the kicks? There was nowhere else to aim,” replied the forward. Such was Foulkes’ size that he was often the recipient of team mate “banter” but Foulkes would punish any player who tried to tease him in training by sitting upon him until he apologised. Foulkes stayed at Chelsea for just one season (1905 - 06) before moving on to Bradford City, his last club. Whilst playing against Accrington Stanley in February 1907, it is said that Foulke's jersey clashed with the red of Stanley and no-one could find a jersey large enough to fit him, so he played wrapped in a sheet, procured from a nearby house. Bradford won the game 1-0 and Foulke didn't dive during the match, so he kept a 'clean sheet'. It was during his time at Bradford that he snapped the cross-bar in two while saving a goal, causing the match to be stopped. When he left football he fell on hard times and was reduced to working a sideshow near the donkey rides on Blackpool beach. It was the old “beat the goalie routine” and the Big Man ended up diving on the sands, shot-stopping to keep him in burgers .............. There were no millionaire footballers in those days ! In 1916 Willie Foulkes, Chelsea’s first superstar, died at the age of 40 after catching a cold that turned into pneumonia. |