Does anyone else have an individual to thank for first getting into football as a kid? I mean a pro as opposed to a parent or friend. Mine was Thierry Henry. He alone was the Premier League for me for some time, and the amount of PL/ Champions League football I watch has dropped by about 75% since he left for Barcelona. Seeing him back now has temporarily made it worth watching again, although it's pretty deeply upsetting to watch him go for the second time.
nope none , it just happened i was probably playing football before i could name any player , i didnt go to many matches as a kid , tho spent most days playing and had those hull city trials in the early 80s on franny askew i think
My dad talking about Hull City to me when i was about 3 or 4 . me allways loving to kick a ball about . Then my dad taking me to see Hull City v Mansfield in the 1965/ 66 season and me starting my hero worship of Waggy and love of watching Hull City ..
Henry has always annoyed me. He's been a fantastic player but he just has that French air of arrogance, he looks like a massive ponce and like other foreign players (and most of the Arsenal team at the time of his first spell) he's prone to the odd dive. It's a shame because he's a really unique talent.
People will probably laugh at this answer but my Gran won a Ray Wilkins football at bingo in Scarborough in 1980 and gave it to me as a six year old, after that I was football crazy and Ray Wilkins was my hero, until I managed to see the mighty Tigers in 1983 and forgot about any other teams and players!
It's funny you should say that, because I can't think of one incident where he's been accused of diving (I could be blinded by the fact that I love the guy ) The only controversial moment I can remember was the Ireland handball - if you can call it controversial. Anyway, I'll always prefer a player who has an insane amount of passion for a club (every goal he's ever put away for Arsenal, he acts like it's his first) and 'looks a bit poncy' to the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney, Van Nistelrooy, Drogba.. etc.
Surely Rooney is one of the most passionate players for his club in the world? And i lost any respect i still had for Henry after he cheated against Ireland. He didn't admit he did it for three weeks afterwards despite the whole world clearly seeing he did. Back on topic when i was four me and my dad both got a free ticket through football in the community and got told to come down to their football coaching on Saturday mornings behind Boothferry Park, i went along to the match and the training and loved it, season after i got a season ticket and i am still there now. Think how much money that one free ticket has got them, this is my fifteenth season ticket now as it is my fathers, we have dragged along two uncles and a cousin to aswell due to them free tickets. I don't get why we don't give more out....
Henry is very similar to Ronaldo in that respect in my opinion. As for Rooney, he's the sort of player who would be a national hero if he was born in any other country but because he's English it's cool to dislike him. There isn't a particular player for me, I was more or less taught to like football from a young age (and rightly so) I went to City first when I was 5 and never looked back!
His passion has been in doubt in my mind after he demanded to leave Utd before changing his mind when they offered him more money. Plus, he's hardly one of the nicest blokes in football, whereas Henry has never really been under involved in any controversy, apart from the Ireland thing. Ie he's always loved the fans, and playing for Arsenal etc, in comparison to Rooney who puts his face into a camera and states that the fans are a disgrace (or something to that effect). I'm not saying I hate Rooney or anything, just that despite the handball, Henry still comes way above him in my mind.
i feel exactly the same about maradonna , dont care how good he was, he will always be a cheating twat in my eyes. saw a clip of peter reid laughing and joking with him a few weeks ago and couldnt understand it, dont think id piss on him if he was on fire.
This is how got into City, as a kid I always played football but as kids do, watch premier league and like the best teams. Then I must of been 6/7, did football in the community (came to our school) and got two free tickets, my dad took me and I haven't stop going since. At the time Stopped liking whatever team it was at the time and got a city kit. Think I still have it somewhere.
I can appreciate where you're coming from on the Ronaldo part but I'm just not keen on the guy in general - he acts too much like a Hollywood star I disagree on Rooney's nationality though, my reaction to the way he acts has nothing to do with whether he's English or not. Well, my Dad wasn't around when I was a kid and most of my family live away from Hull, so I had no uncle's etc to encourage me, I didn't even go to a football match until I was about 9!
I agree with you on that. The thing is, outside of the UK cheating just isn't a big deal. If you get away with it everyone treats it as a victory. I don't think many Uruguyans would understand the fuss about Suarez's handball.
It was a no brainer for me, even though most of my mates turned to the egg chasers of the day down at the Boulevard. I went a few times, when Hull City were playing an away game, but fortunately there was a program club in the ground itself where I could spend most of the match instead of watching the likes of Johnny Whitely, Peter Bateson and company. Boothferry Park was a different place in those days, 1958/9 and to stand at the top of 'Bunkers Hill' (pre South Stand) you risked having your hair blow away if it was windy, and pi**ing wet through at worse. I lived in sight of the floodlights at that time, even though they were situated on top of the stands, and a train use to stop at the sidings to unload the supporters. I remember once the ball was hoofed into the stand where I picked it up and proceeded to kick it back on the pitch only to find out that it felt like a ball of concrete cased in a leather coat, it must have hurt to be hit by one of those. We had similar footballs at school, but they somehow seemed lighter. I'm taking a guess here but I think entrance was about 6d for us young ones (two and a half pence since the wonders of decimalisation) and a program cost you a threpeny bit, I won't bother with the conversion, but you didn't have to buy one as they were strewn all over the place after the match and for a budding collector like myself it was the perfect solution. I'm still smitten today but not too the same extent, the passion of waiting for the next match, eager to get there as early as possible, and for me it was very early indeed as I collected autographs, has long gone I'm afraid. And I have to say I miss the absence of any sort of characters in the game, oh yes they are fine athletes and all that today, but where are the George Best's, Charlie George's, Stan Bowles, Malcolm McDonald's, Rodney Marsh's, and Frank Worthington, just a few off the top of my head by the way, not favourites or anything. And although other sports do take my interest, none will match football.
While my dad sat down in the kitchen and finished his tea on Saturday (late 60s-early 70s) I was posted by the telly specifically to tell him City's result. I can't remember a time when I told him we had won, but instead of putting me off football for life I think it brainwashed me into supporting the Tigers.
I've never really been into football, I'm a City fan and tend to only watch other games if there's some City related interest.
I was flicking through the channels one Saturday and I saw this bloke called Dean Marney or something kick the ball into the net without it bouncing, for some reason the people on the TV were saying this was quite a big thing for the city of Hull, so I popped down to see what all the fuss was about. I remember seeing some quite famous people at first but there doesn't seem to be any anymore.
