Friday, 26 April 2013

CCC Team of the week - Dan's Brighton

Brighton and Hove Albion Football is nicknamed the "Seagulls" or "Albion". The team has historically played in (Tescos Value) blue and white stripes, though this changed to all white briefly in the 1970s and to plain blue during the 1980s.

They were elected to the Football League in 1920 and enjoyed their greatest prominence between 1979 and 1983 when they played in the First Division (season 1982/83) and reached the 1983 FA Cup Final, losing to Manchester United in a replay.  They were relegated from the top division in the same season. Mismanagement brought Brighton close to relegation from the Football League to the Conference which they narrowly avoided in 1997 and 1998. A boardroom takeover saved Brighton from liquidation, and following successive promotions they returned to the second tier of English football in 2002 and have played in the second and third tiers ever since.  Their only national honour to date, was defeating Football League Champions Aston Villa in 1910 in the FA Charity Shield.
In 1996, the club's financial situation was becoming increasingly precarious and the club's directors had come to a decision that the Goldstone Ground would have to be sold in order to pay off some of the club's huge debts. A terrible start to 1996–97 saw Brighton stuck the bottom of the league by a considerable margin but after the appointment as manager of relatively unknown Steve Gritt, Brighton's league form steadily although their improving chances of survival were put under further threat by a two-point deduction imposed as punishment for a pitch invasion by fans who were protesting against the sale of the ground. A lifelong fan named Dick Knight took control of the club in 1997 having led the fan pressure to oust the previous board following their sale of the club's Goldstone Ground to property developers.
By the last day of the season, after being 13 points adrift at one stage they were off the bottom of the table and had to play the team directly below them, Hereford Utd. All Brighton needed was a draw but a defender scored and own goal in the first half so it was looking pretty sick, but a late goal saved the day and Brighton retained their league status on goal difference. Robbie Reinelt scored the goal that will write his place in Albion history.
The sale of the Goldstone ground went through in 1997 and this led to Brighton having to play some 70 miles away at Gillingham's Priestfield stadium but by the start of the 1999–2000 season The Seagulls moved back to Brighton and started playing their home games at Withdean Stadium, a converted athletics track which had previously been a zoo and was owned by the council.
2000–01 was Brighton's first successful season for 13 years. They were crowned champions of Division Three and promoted to Division Two, where they made an excellent start and under the leadership of newly appointed Peter Taylor maintained their good form and ended the season as Division Two champions — winning a second successive promotion and joined the now Championship.                                                                                  (Yellow Car)
By 2004 due to the cost of the public enquiry, ground rent and low ticket sales inherent with a small ground, the club had an accumulated deficit of £9.5 million in 2004. The board of directors paid £7 million of this; the other £2.5 million had to be raised. A fund-raising appeal known as the Alive and Kicking Fund was started, which included nude Christmas cards featuring the players.  On 28 October 2005 it was announced that the application for new Falmer Stadium had been successful and building of the 22,374-seater stadium started in December 2008. The club officially completed the handover and were given the keys to the stadium On 31 May 2011, signifying the end of 12 years without a home. The stadium has expanded to 27,250 by the start of this season, to 27,750 by December 2012 and 30,250 by the start of the 2013–14 season.
Famous names at the Club include Brian Clough, Alan Mullery, Bobby Zamora and Peter Taylor.

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

CCC- this weekend's fixtures (penultimate weekend)

This weekend's fixtures
Friday 26th April
PeteVScott19:45
Saturday 27th April
BarnsleyVAmy15:00
ShirleyVPaula15:00
KellyVAndy15:00
KeithVMargs15:00
JanVChris15:00
DaveVDan15:00
ColinVJane15:00
MillwallVMick15:00
SueVAnna15:00
PeterboroughVTed17:20
Match of the day 
LynVJim15:00

CCC match reports & update

It was a decisive weekend with Cardiff's 1-1 draw at Anna's Burnley meaning Keith clinches top spot and the free curry.  On Friday night Amy's Hull were held 0-0 at home against Kelly's Bristol City but a point wasn't sufficient for Kelly who takes bottom spot and will be paying the most for her curry.  Watford's 4-0 win at home to Shirley's Blackburn means Scott could still get second spot from Amy if results in the last two games go his way. 

Result of the day went to Dan's Brighton who scored all seven of the goals in their 6-1 win over Blackpool!  Palace took the lead twice against Leicester but the final sore of 2-2 didn't particularly help Paula or Pete and Margs was able to climb above Pete after Bolton's 2-1 win against Colin's Middlesbrough.  All 3 goals were in 9 minutes with Margs's taking the lead, Colin scoring and equaliser before Margs clinched it with a penalty. Jane's Charlton had the same scoreline, taking the lead before letting Sue's Wolves draw level and then taking the points with a 90th minute winner.
Mick's Forest picked up a point in the only goaless game as Barnsley visited his Forest team and Chris' Birmingham over took Dave's Leeds by beating them 1-0 at home.  Jim also climbed up the table as Derby beat Peterborough 3-1.  There was a point each for Ted and Jan from Sheffield Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Ipswich and Andy kept close with a win at home to Millwall.

Tuesday night Shirley's team played their game in hand against Millwall and after trailing 1-0 her Blackburn team won 1-2 away.


April 24th
TeamPtsWhoPence in the pound
1Cardiff85Keith0p
2Hull78Amy0.3p
3Watford74Scott0.7p
4Brighton69Dan1.3p
5Crystal Palace67Paula1.7p
6Bolton66Margs1.9p
7Leicester65Pete2.2p
8Nottm Forest64Mick2.5p
9Charlton61Jane3.5p
10Birmingham60Chris3.9p
11Derby58Jim4.8p
12Leeds United58Dave4.8p
13Middlesbrough58Colin4.8p
14Ipswich57Jan5.4p
15Blackburn56Shirley6p
16Blackpool55Lyn6.7p
17Burnley55Anna6.7p
18Sheff Wed55Ted6.7p
19Huddersfield54Andy7.5p
20Wolves51Sue10p
21Bristol City41Kelly18.4p


That's approx £34.66 for Kelly (which increased by 980p just from Shirley's win against a non-CCC team!). All exact amounts to be announced after final match

Friday, 19 April 2013

CCC Table update and this weekend's fixtures

April 19th
TeamPtsWhoPence in the pound
1Cardiff84Keith0p
2Hull77Amy0.3p
3Watford71Scott0.9p
4Brighton66Dan1.5p
5Crystal Palace66Paula1.5p
6Leicester64Pete2p
7Bolton63Margs2.3p
8Nottm Forest63Mick2.3p
9Charlton58Jane4.1p
10Leeds United58Dave4.1p
11Middlesbrough58Colin4.1p
12Birmingham57Chris4.6p
13Ipswich56Jan5.1p
14Blackpool55Lyn5.7p
15Derby55Jim5.7p
16Burnley54Anna6.4p
17Sheff Wed54Ted6.4p
18Blackburn53Shirley7.2p
19Huddersfield51Andy8.8p
20Wolves51Sue8.8p
21Bristol City40Kelly18.3p


Kelly's paying more again!
This weekend's fixtures
Friday 19th April 2013
AmyVKelly
Saturday 20th April 2013 - Championship
AndyVMillwall
AnnaVKeith
MargsVColin
DanVLyn
JaneVSue
PaulaVPete
JimVPeterborough
MickVBarnsley
TedVJan
ScottVShirley
Match of the Day
ChrisVDave
Tuesday 23rd April 2013 - Championship
MillwallVShirley

CCC Team of the Week - Scott's Watford

They started as Watford Rovers which were formed in 1881 by Henry Grover who played for them as a full-back.  Currently nick-named the Hornets, they joined The Football League in 1920 and started playing at their current home Vicarage Road two years later. The current capacity is 17,477.  

After time in the lower divisions, Watford scaled new heights under the leadership of Graham Taylor (later to become England Manager) and in the 10 years he was there from 1977 to 87 they rose from the Fourth to First Division.  On winning the Fourth Division title they had recorded the most wins, fewest defeats, most goals scored and fewest goals conceded of any side in the division.  1982-83 season Luther Blissett was top scorer in division and helped the team finish second in the First Division and as a result they competed in the Uefa Cup in 1983-84, also reaching the FA Cup Final that season.
 
There was a decade of decline between 1987 and 1997, before Taylor returned as full-time manager, leading the team to successive promotions from the renamed Second Division to the Premier League, (their first match being a win over Liverpool).  They were also a Premiership team under Aidy Boothroyd’s management in 2006-07 after finishing third the previous season and defeating Dave’s Leeds United 3-0 in the play-off final.  However, the team did not record a Premier League win until November and Watford finished bottom after only winning five league games, although they did reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup.  Watford led the Championship by several points early in 2007-08, but only finished 6th; Boothroyd's team were defeated 6–1 on aggregate by Amy’s Hull City in the play-off semi-finals.
 
Watford's weak financial position was exposed in 2002-03 following the collapse of ITV Digital. The club was facing administration, but an agreement by players and staff to a 12% wage deferral helped the club's cash flow, and a run to the FA Cup semi-final generated vital revenue. The current owners the Pozzo family, also own Udinese Calcio in Italy and Granada CF in Spain.  However, their more famous owner was Life-long supporter Sir Elton John, who was the owner during the successful Taylor years. Both John and Taylor serve as the club's joint Honorary Life President.
 
Colourful Watford have had kit’s featuring combinations of red, green and yellow stripes, then black and white, followed by all blue before changing to gold shirts and black shorts which gave them their nickname. The gold has now changed to yellow.  The club crest has a hart on it – a red male deer representing the town’s location in the county of Hertfordshire.
 
Other nicknames for Watford have been adopted, including The Golden Boys, Yellow Army and The 'Orns. Their initial nickname was The Brewers, in reference to Benskins Brewery which owned Vicarge Road.  The club rented the ground until 2001, when it purchased the freehold outright but their financial situation worsened following the purchase, and in 2002 Watford sold the ground for £6m, in a deal which entitled Watford to buy the stadium back for £7m in future which they did in 2004.  At present, only three sides of Vicarage Road stadium are open to spectators. The East Stand, part of which was constructed in 1922, was closed to the general public in 2008 for health and safety reasons, although it still hosts the dressing rooms and the match day press area.

Since 1997, Watford have shared Vicarage Road with rugby union side Saracens and the stadium has hosted matches for the England under-21sand senior international football between overseas teams.  It was also a concert venue for Elton John; he first played at the stadium in 1974, and returned in 2005 and 2010 to stage fundraising concerts for the club. Other former events include horse and carriage shows and greyhound racing!
 
 

On home matchdays, Watford's players traditionally enter the pitch to the Z-cars theme tune before the start of a game.

Random info: 18-year old Northern Irish goalkeeper Pat Jennings played for Watford and during that time made his international debut despite being a Third Division player and England International David James was in goal for the Under-18 team when they won the FA Youth Cup in 1989.

They have a fanzine called Blind, sad and desperate!