Afternoon all, I'm having a shocker of a day at work and really need cheering up. Please can you all regale me with your funniest stories from the Vic. This can be anything from 'funniest song', 'ref falling over', 'player getting hit in an unfortunate place', 'best heckle from the crowd', the list is endless. Thank you in advance
I think that mis-fortune rates highly in British humour, so the Pierre Issa stretcher moment is up there. You can read about it and watch it at: http://fromtherookeryend.blogspot.com/2011/07/watford-fc-in-100-objects-1.html
Doyley being booked for picking the ball up on half way against QPR in a few seasons back was funny in a sense..summed Lloyd up in a way.
Was the very first thing that came into my mind. The other one I can't pinpoint to any particular match, but it is something I use whenever someone (eg a photographer) says 'think of something that makes you laugh.' I have mental picture of Lloyd picking* the ball up somewhere in our half and motoring off on a run with that peculiar sense of concentration he has; as he bore down on goal you could almost see the cogs ticking over in his head... this could be IT!!! So he winds up for a mighty swipe, slices it and falls over. This was obviously pre-THE goal. Still makes me chuckle. No idea when it was now, or who against. Bless him, love the man. *as in 'collecting the ball at his feet', rather than handling in the sense of Markthehorn's post.
Albert McLennighan shaping up to take one of his long throws leaned over so far backwards he fell over
I think it was the Crewe game in Jan 2006. Luckily we didn't need him to finish as we won 4-1 anyway. I have tried to find film of it, but haven't yet.
For me Brian Owen's 'in off the floodlights' goal has to one of the funniest moments at the Vic, made the more so by the Tranmere (?) goalkeeper going behind the goal to collect the ball, before it dropped into the net. At least that is what my memory tells me happened.
I remember that one too - the ball flew up above the Rookery roof, the wind blew it back again & it dropped down into the net - their keeper had gone behind the goal but couldn't scramble back quick enough to catch it! I nearly wet myself laughing when the ref awarded a goal. I did feel sorry for the Jim Cumbes, the Tranmere keeper - he was a great guy who always enjoyed banter with the opposition fans. The original 'ghost goal' was another amusing incident - not the Reading one, but the one back in the early 70's in a friendly against Greenock Morton. The game was so boring that the Rookery decided to invent a goal and, much to the amazement of the Morton keeper, suddenly started celebrating. Didn't do much for the game though - it still ended 0-0.
Thanks guys, some good ones there. My favourite so far is the 'in off the floodlight goal', would have loved to have seen it for real.
I have to feel sorry for Doyley. When he picked the ball up i had actually said what was the whistle for?? My dad and i did not know what the 'ref' had blown for. someone in the crowd must have thought it would be funny to blow a whistle like the ref would.
I was at both games and thoroughly enjoyed both goal & 'goal'. But one memory that does stick in the mind was the afternoon that Charlie Woods (recently transferred from Ipswich to us) took a free-kick to himself! He put the ball down on the LH edge of the penalty area at the Rookery End, gave some elaborate hand signals behind his back and then knocked he ball about five yards to the side, expecting a colleague (I forget who) to run on to the ball. Except there was no-one there, all had made their way into the penalty area. As the ball rolled to a stop, Charlie looked sideways and realised there was no-one there. The players froze, not knowing what to do. So, after a few seconds pause, Charlie ran over to the ball and crossed it into the penalty area himself. Ronnie Wigg headed it over the bar! Charlie looked dumbfounded when the ref ordered the kick to be retaken, amidst scenes of wild hilarity in the Rookery...... Don't forget, Charlie was one of the poorest players in a very poor side at the time and any light relief was very welcome.
Yes! that was so long ago but I remember it exactly like that! I was standing on the bend close to the goal line and always will remember the keeper running behind the goal - so funny! Didn't remember it was Brian Owen who scored though - I thought it was someone different. That will never happen again!
Me too, definitely my funniest Vic moment. Owens shot was possibly the worst shot ever seen at The Vic as he seemed to go almost onto the rookery roof near the corner flag, before the wind caught it. I remember the keeper running back to the goal line and as he saw that the ball was heading back towards the goal. He seemed to cup his arms like he was going to catch it against his chest and he even had time to adjust his position several times as he looked to the sky - before missing it completely. The ball bounced almost through his arms onto the goal line and in! I think I did actually wet myself slightly with laughter.
Steve Palmer proving that he truly can do anything Bournemouth has to be up there. I can't remember ever finding something so funny that I laughed so hard that I might have missed something. But according to a BBC employee who was not made to retract the comment, 15,000 of us were laughing our heads off when Robbie Savage broke his leg. I was at that match, and the BBC are sticklers for the truth, so apparently that's one of mine.
That's one of mine too apparently, Almost as good as Keith Dublin heading the ball over the Rous stand roof.
stevies, although this didn't happen at the Vic, Ben Foster slicing the ball over the roof at Hull was quite funny as it was with his right foot near the right touchline - he's left-footed.
