“… and Smith must score …”
Four immortal words that kicked off my love affair with football. Up until the 1983 FA Cup Final, I’d been a follower of football; I was twelve at that time and I played in the park and on the playground, and I guess I was sort of a Manchester United fan, but I think this was probably the point at which the game really gripped me. I held my breath as Gordon Smith took his shot, and yelled a triumphant ‘Yes!’ when Gary Bailey blocked the shot (or, more accurately, when he failed to get out of the way).
Exactly two years on from that day, I was hopelessly besotted. Through the TV I pleaded with Peter Willis not to send Kevin Moran off. I stood on the touchline with Ron Atkinson exhorting the team forward. When Mark Hughes sent the ball down the right-wing to Norman Whiteside, I was ready to skin the full-back and put a cross in. But when Whiteside cut inside and curled the ball into the far corner, completely against all expectation, I knew my life had changed forever. From that day on football had a hold on me that I’ve never quite managed to shake off.
Norman Whiteside scores the goal that changed my life. Image from http://www.manutdzone.com/
Which brings us to the present day. As a thirty-something fighting vainly against becoming a forty-something, I’ve played a lot of games, seen a lot of games, and seen a lot of changes in my beloved game, and the internet is the perfect medium to sound off about it all.
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