We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
Grab yourself a strong cup of coffee and join me this morning as the Cup action starts extra early at 7 am with those lucky Chelski bastids who have an easy home draw with Cardiff. That's followed at 7:30 with the South Coast derby and then a full slate of Championship and L1 fixtures.
posted by The Blue Devil @ 12:35 AM
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
436 Comments:
Morning, chaps! VSS has a nice stream for the Chelski v. Cardiff match, which is about to get under way.
Actually, what I thought was going to be coverage of the early is merely Soccer Saturday. I don't see a working link for Chelski. The South Coast derby starts on FSC in just moments, so I suppose I'll have to drag myself out of bed.
Blimey - Drogba has scored in the 2nd minute! He's been on fire since coming back from the African Nation's Cup.
Chris Kamara thinks that Cardiff should be level.
Typical - I've switched on FSC for some preview action and they're doing some fitness infomercial. How exactly do they expect the game to take off in this country if they don't promote it?
League 1 is particularly intriguing today. Norwich are away to relegation battling Brighton. We're away to mid-table Leyton Orient, Charlton aren't playing and Colchester have a good chance to leap-frog them into third by defeating bottom of the table Stockport Rovers.
Good morning Blue Devil. Coffee's a brewing.Still dark outside.
The SS link has gone into the Newcastle v. Swansea Championship match. Meanwhile the teams are out at St Mary's, so I'm turning my attention to that.
Southhampton are taking the game straight to Pompey in the opening moments.
Morning, ManUtd. Welcome!
Match under way. I sense a giant killing .
I'm not sure whether a good Cup run makes sense for Pompey. You'd think that they'd be concentrated on Premier League survival but maybe they understand what the rest of do - they're already going down.
Yes, the Saints are not a bad team. If it hadn't been for the fifteen point deduction at the beginning of the season, they'd be firmly in the play-off spots rather than mid-table in L1.
It would be embarassing to be the victim of a giant killing to their bitter rivals just two years after winning the cup. They would never hear the end of it.
Someone Said will be a happy chappy. Celtic have taken an early lead through Kamara at Aberdeen in the SPL.
And ironically, their bitter rivals, despite their League 1 status, have a much better stadium. I think Portsmouth fans are used to the pain.
Well - that wasn't in the script. Michael Chopra has equalized for Cardiff against Chelsea.
Southampton free kick Looks promising. Shot high. Great pressure by the Saints. They look up for this match.
Great save by James. Saints should have been 1-0 up.
Surely that was off-side. No, no flag. Hreidersson pulled away from his man and left him with a free header. Good save, James.
Aberdeen are level at 1-1 in the 9th minute.
A Chelski loss would end a great week after the loss at Goodison.
Saints on the attack. Think Hreidersson was expecting an easier match.
IS this a preview for a vital championship clash in a couple of seasons?
Free kick by O'HAra just wide. A warning sign that Pompey do have some premiership class players. End to end stuff. Looks like a great cup tie.
It could well be. If Norwich, Leeds and, say Charlton go up this season, Soton will be top dogs in L1 next season.
It helps them to get Jamie O'Hara back from his loan spell at Spurs. They'll need them down the run in if they're to have any chance of surviving. I can't quite see it. They'll need 25 points from the last 16 or so games.
Corner for Pompey. Great commitment from the Saints.
I agree Blue Devil. Pompey are down. Not sure who will follow them. Its tight at the bottom as usual.
Oh, nearly an own goal there in favor of Pompey. Kelvin Davies was happy to see the ball pop into his arms.
O'Hara's shot blocked by Utaka. Typical Pompey.
I would love to see Bolton go down. Otherwise, take your pick from Burnley, Hull, Wigan and Wolves. I have a soft spot for West Ham because of the Menditto connection and they're academy tradition. I hope they'll survive.
Very open match at this point. Pompey starting to come back into it.
Nice hit from O'Hara. He's making a difference for Pompey today.
I think West Ham will survive Don't know about Zola. They have played well in many matches without getting the results. Great shot by O'Hara. He is single-handedly keeping them in this match.
Agreed. Zola's on his way in the summer regardless of what happens. He just hasn't worked out at Upton Park.
I think Bolton will survive now that Coyle is in charge. For the same reason I think Burnley will go down especially with their away form.
Is UWS joining us today? It was great hearing from him last week.
I would just rather have fewer non-footballing sides in the top tier. I understand the temptation to play negative in order to live with the likes of United but I still don't like it.
He should be. I suspect that he's watching the match in bed, the lazy sod. He often does that and then joins in at half-time. Every one of our contributors has a different situation. I use my laptop so I'm always on. Dave blogs from his living room when the kids aren't on the computer, my brother's set-up is in the basement where he doesn't get FSC on the telly, John (WHR) has three kids who are all involved in lots of things on the weekend and so on...
These are playing to their capabilities. It is their only chance of being competitive. I understand where you are coming from. If Newcastle and WBA get promoted then we should have two more footballing teams.
Chelski are making heavy work of their FA Cup tie against Cardiff. Still 1-1 there.
My situation is similar to John's with my two daughters. I will have to leave at halftime of the second match to take the girls to softball tryouts.
Great to hear. Love to see Chelski having a hard time.
Newcastle, yes. I'm not sure about WBA. They're the classic yo-yo team. They're too good for the Championship and tend to bounce right back up but they don't have the funds to make a go of it in the top division and they often revert to negativism when they're playing in the Prem.
My two cents - go to a salary cap in order to bring some balance back to the Premier League. Will probably never happen, though.
Jadi should have scored. A calamity James piece of action at a corner AGAIN!!!
Sure - the cool thing is that people chip in whenever they can. I don't know if you remember Bivalve Betsy from LHS. She was only there for our Senior year (81/82) but she was close friends with the teachers' kids group as her dad taught Physics at the high school.
She's not interested in football but often chips in with the more cultural threads. She's lead a couple of the book club threads we've done. I'd love to get more women involved. I've been trying to find Tina O'Neill for years without any luck. She's a wily one.
I don't know how Calamity stays in the England squad. Surely England have three better keepers.
I don't think so. The big four are too powerful and the high priced attorneys will cry violation of free trade,etc.,etc.It's a great idea though.
Two more quick goals in the SPL and it's 2-2 between Aberdeen and Celtic. Celtic's goal from United old boy Quintin Fortune - remember him?
The only problem is that there is a shortage of great England keepers at the moment. Probably Green and Kirkland when he's fit are the two best at the moment.
I think it works well here in the MLS. I'm not crazy about some of the other MLS traditions but that's one I can get behind. It means that teams like Seattle can come into the league and do well and you can never expect to know who the "Big Four" will be. Otherwise, LA and NY would probably win everything every year.
I do remember Fortune. I always thought he was a great player, but he had a horrible time with injuries. When fit he never had a bad game. I'm glad he is fit and playing. He will be a great asset to Celtic.
Yeah - I'd pick Green, Kirkland and Foster. Ironically, though there are three (four if you count the retired Friedel) American keepers in the Premiership who are better - Howard, Guzan and Myhill. Don't know why Myhill doesn't get a call up for country.
Ballack has scored a second goal for Chelsea early in the second half.
I think Myhill is the backup keeper for Wales. He has a Welsh parent and has been in their squad for competitive games. Is back up to Hennesey. I think he has a few Welsh caps as well.
Ah - thanks, I never knew that. That makes sense then. If he's played for Wales, then he's off the market. I wondered if Bob Bradley wasn't watching FSC or something. Made no sense. Cheers.
Good Morning from England . We have
the Saints - Pompey match on ITV as
well as Man City later . Where is my
little brother . It's Kathy's
birthday today so maybe he's busy .
Halftime approaching. An entertaining 0-0 draw. should be an exciting second half.
I have to leave around 11 as well this morning to help a colleague move into her new house. We'll have to leave the LOB in UWS's capable hands.
Morning, Tony. Good to have you on board. You've got to be happy with the Chelski scoreline.
Happy birthday to Kathy then!
Bradley probably made the remark because Myhill was born in Modesto,CA. Abut three years too late.
Half-time: Pompey have weathered the Saints' pressure well and it's 0-0 at the half. I'm off for a quick shower. Back in two ticks.
Good morning Tony how are you?
Hello manunitedrules . All good over here . Good to hear the Chelski score though that won't please you or Dave .
Still don't know why my posts come up as Tony and not Chelskilad . They used to .
Chelski where in England do you live? I live in Harlingen,TX.
Derby vs Birmingham to follow and Palce vs Villa tomorrow at 10:30 Am EST/3:30 PM GMT. Is that correct?
I live in mine and Dave's old family house in Worlington , just outside of Mildenhall . I graduated from LHS in 1971 .
I lived in England from 1977-1983. We lived in Mildenhall Village for one year.After that we on the base at Lakenheath. I think we lived at 9 North Terrace across from a bingo building.
great opportunity for the Saints. Greta save from James.
I'm back for the second half. Calamity has produced another terrific side to keep Pompey in it.
I read your half-time comments. Should I send you another invitation email, Tony, so that you can re-do the registration process and maybe your posts will come up properly again? It's up to you.
Very, very close there from Dindane.
Just wide by Dindane. Great football from Pompey.
That was the old movie theatre before it became a bingo hall . Now it is a Jehovah's Witness Hall .
Thanks for the update. I think I prefer the purple bingo hall. I would love to visit England some day. I was last there in 1983.
I remember that bingo hall. Why was your family in the UK for so long, ManUtd? That's unusual for the military families, no? I think that the reason that we teachers' kids tended to bond is that we were all in the same place a bit longer.
Meanwhile, Dean Sturridge has added a third goal for Chelski. So, that's the Blues safely into the Quarterfinal draw tomorrow.
I go back to the UK relatively frequently - I was in London to visit my folks over the holidays - but I haven't been back to the Lakenheath area since the summer of 1983 either. I came back from college one year, worked at the NCO club on Lakenheath base for the summer with Tina and JDLC and that was that.
I told Dave I would post this comment for you guys . I read your posts last week and wanted to update something .
When I started at LHS in Year 67/68 I was a Freshman at the High School . The Junior High was in the annex across the road . The next year there was an influx of new students and the Ninth grade and Junior High moved to Feltwell . The High school took over the annex . It stayed that way until your times . I was low man at the High school for both freshman and sophomore years .
Interesting story. I will give you the short version.My dad went for a four year tour. One morning during my sophomore year I was walking out the door to go to school and my dad says I can get a two year extension so you can graduate from Lakenheath. He said I need to know NOW and said its up to you. I thought for a few seconds and said yes. Its one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Interesting, Tony. I knew about the annex but not the other things.
Calamity seems to be in trouble here. He's clutching his groin Michael Jackson style. He's pulled something.
Interesting story Tony. UWS and Blue Devil were never the low men at high school. The freshmen moved back to the high school in 1979, and I was part of that freshman class.
Of course the Feltwell JHS (now called Lakenheath Middle) was an odd duck, not really housed in proper school buildings but those left behind from a WWII-era RAF base. So, for example, the "gym" was in an old aircraft hangar.
So who is the backup goalie since Begovic was transferred to Stoke City?
4-1 Chelski now. Saloman Kalou with the fourth goal. Chelski home and hosed.
Are those buildings still used or is the middle school housed in modern buildings now?
Maybe Antti Niemi? Isn't he still there.
Chelski in the quarters now. The 2008 finalists out of the cup.
From the website, it appears that the school is virtually unchanged. Have a look at:
http://www.lake-ms.eu.dodea.edu/
Don't know Bob . I haven't been to Feltwell for years now . I will find out for you .
If you click on the "History" link there are a couple of really bad pictures of me in there - one in the soccer team shot and just below, where I'm wearing some patented 70s plaid pants.
Goal Pompey. Great passing. A well worked team goal. I think Owusu is a former Arsenal academy player.
GOAL! Abeyie passes the ball into the side netting to put Pompey up. What a shock!
0-1!
Bob I had my plaid pants days as well at Feltwell.
GOAL! The Saints equalize immediately. Ricky Lambert rises above Wilson to nod home. James looked a bit static on his line there.
1-1!
I have to go into Mildenhall for a minute . I'll be back shortly .
If you cut and paste the following link, you'll see a picture of my dad with some excellent mutton chop sideburns:
http://www.lake-ms.eu.dodea.edu/HTML/history%20of%20LMS2.htm
Cheerio, Tony!
Great hearing from you Tony.
It's a seven-thriller at Aberdeen today. Robbie Keane and McGeady have added third and fourth goals for Celtic.
3-4 there.
Through Goal Dindane. Saints defence ripped apart.
GOAL! Didane restores Pompey's lead with a little chip that clips Davis's legs but trickles in.
1-2 Pompey!
A shame that the Celtic match is not televised.
Morning gentlemen. Got a stream of Celtic going here. Robbie Keane headed in his first goal for the Hoops. McGeady's added another then a stupid hand ball in the box has made it 4-3 over Aberdeen. About ten minutes left.
So, fifteen minutes left for the Saints to get this one back.
Good morning Someone Said. How are you?
Morning, Someone! You've got to be happy with that scoreline coming in from Aberdeen.
Looks like a thrilling end to this cup tie.
Celtic defense is thin. Should have been another penalty in the box. Boruc had to make a quality save.
I'm well thank you.
The Saints have it in the net! No, it's been called back for offside. Barnard should probably have stepped off the pitch since the ball was probably going in anyway.
Bugger. Goal disallowed for offside. Replays show the player was just offside.Bad luck Saints.
What is up with Pompey? They got paid this week?
Any thoughts about those Euro 2012 groups - either from a Scotland or England perspective?
Must have been - they've been much better. Of course the Cup run does bring some vital revenue into the club. For now...
GOAL! Pompey through to the Quarterfinals now as they break quickly through O'Hara Belhadj dummies the keeper and slides home.
1-3 Pompey.
Goal Belhadj. I think that settles this cup tie. Davis should have done a better job covering the near post. Valiant effort from the Saints.
I haven't really looked at the Euro groups. England can win their group even if they play horribly. There are always a few surprises as well.
Aberdeen's tied it. Cripes. The Celtic defense is terrible.
GOAL! O'Hara gets his well-deserved goal after another lovely team move on the break.
1-4!
Have not paid much attention to 2012 yet. Heck the World Cup has not even started yet :)
Another goal from Pompey 1-4. Also from a break. Late goals from a break. I think this due to superior fitness from the Premier League side.
Sorry about that, Someone. 4-4, though. What a cracker!
They're standing in the box watching the ball being passed. Terrible.
Pompey's moving on. Incredible.
Sounds like a classic Someone. It sounds like there may be another goal in that match.
To my mind, England will stroll their group, given that the Swiss are the second best side in the group. The Scots, however, have another horrible draw:
Group I: Spain, Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, Liechtenstein
The Czechs haven't been exactly world class recently. Maybe the Scots have a chance of second place.
That's possible. I'll be interested to see the Czechs this summer. They were a bit long in the tooth at the last World Cup but perhaps they have some young players coming through.
Urgh! Don't mention the Johnstone's Paint Trophy - I still haven't gotten over that penalty shoot-out calamity!
Match over. A five goal second half. Derby vs Birmingham in an all Midlands clash. Any comments about this match?
That's that, then. Pompey cruise it in the end and they're into the pot with Chelsea. I think that Brum will fancy their chances away to Reading. In fact, I suspect that Reading or WBA will be the only non-EPL side in the draw tomorrow.
Bob I just checked the guide and see that we begin the day tomorrow with your beloved Bolton against Spurs.
My focus switches squarely over to Division. It's a crucial day for us. Charlton don't play today and we also have another make-up match in mid-week. Maximum points, please, boys. I'm going to give the "Leeds United Calypso" a blast.
Yeah - I saw that. Don't know who I'll support there. I hate Bolton and Spurs knocked us out in the last round. I'm still gutted that we didn't get a chance to stick one on Bolton. Ah well....
At least Leeds will be able to focus on their promotion challenge which is their priority. Their victory over United at OT will lift them as well.
That is true; however, we've been really out of form since that OT triumph. I still think that UWS has put a hex on the side. He was not happy with that result for obvious reasons.
I don't think UWS would do that? Would he? I think Leeds will get promoted. They just need to be strong during the final stretch.
Absolutely - unfortunately, our leading scorer, Jermaine Beckford, picked up a knock last weekend and misses the game against Orient today. We'll be leaning on Luciano Becchio, who has three goals in the past three games, to provide the firepower.
I think there were rumors that Beckford would be leaving for Newcastle.I know their promotion challenge hinges on the form of Beckford and Becchio. The two Becks. I see FSC is killing time right now.
I think the Champions League resumes this week. United vs. AC Milan. A Beckham aginst United. Should be interesting during the return match at OT.
Beckford will leave in the summer when his contract is up. As long as he gets us promoted, I thinks fans will applaud his exit.
Kick-off time then. I'm listening to the Soccer Saturday broadcast online at:
http://www.livevss.tv/
Derby vs Birmingham. Robbie Savage leading out County. Any bets as to how long it takes him to find a place in the referee's book? A full strength lineup for Brum. They want a strong cup run.
Robbie Savage would start on a yellow if I were officiating. What a thug!
Just by kicking off at Orient, we've jumped up to a five point advantage over Charlton, who aren't playing today. I'd love to see us end up on 64 points tonight.
I'll be cheering for Leeds. should be able to win this one.
Early corner for County. A waste. Cross over hit.
Cheer, mate. We'll need the support. We did technically win the match in mid-week against Carlisle 3-2, even though we eventually lost on pens. Apart from that, we've only won one match since Old Trafford.
Joe Hart is a close call for an England call-up in my book. Maybe just a little too green this time around.
Leicester are 1-0 up over Scunthorpe.
Boro 1-0 up over Posh now.
With the current England goalie situation Hart could be the third choice goalie on the plane to South Africa. I have thought of him as a possible squad member.Now worse than calamity James.
I meant no worse than calamity James.
Two quick goals in L1 - Huddersfield and Swindon at 1-1.
I agree - I wouldn't have James in the squad. It's a question for me between Kirkland and Hart for #3.
Gary McSheffrey hits a shot just wide for Leeds. We seem to be taking the initiative in the match.
I'm hoping that Gus Poyet has his Brighton side - with new boy Lua Lua - up for this match against Norwich today.
According to the SS reporter, Leeds are just starting to get on top. Brad Johnson with another shot just wide.
Reading 1-0 against WBA in the Cup. Swansea 1 Newcastle 1 a fianl score in the championship.
Bugger! Colchester have taken the lead at Stockport. I had a feeling that might happen. They've leap-frogged over Charlton into third place. They're a threat to us now, only four points behind. We need a goal!
Not much action in cup tie at the moment.
Still early on. I think Colchester have an easy match today.
The pitch at Pride Park is terrible - it's really constraining the decent play from Birmingham.
2-0 Leicester against Scunny.
I think Brum's premiership class will tell as the match progresses.I think it has been the harshest winter in England since we were in high school.
Fifteen minutes in - Reading have scored a second and seem to be cruising it.
Leeds on top at Leyton Orient as Bradley Johnson shoots wide and Gary McSheffrey lobs Jamie Jones but just misses the target.
Speaking of cruising it, Colchester are 0-2 up at Stockport. They're woeful.
It's all Leeds pressure now after a quarter of an hour gone. Surely a goal is coming.
Sorry - my mistake. That was a WBA equalizer. It's 1-1 at the Madeski Stadium.
Leeds has to do their part. The other match is pretty much settled. Stockport have been pathetic since going into administration last year.
True - we just need to keep up with Norwich and extend the gap over the also-ran sides in the play-off spots. We're four goals behind Norwich on GD.
Yes! Brighton have taken the lead against Norwich. Make that three goals on GD and now only a point behind.
Coventry 1 QPR 0. Derby starting to apply some pressure without creating a meaningful goal scoring chance.
And yes again! Woeful Stockport have pegged Colchester back to 1-2 - a glimmer of hope.
And two games in hand. Leeds control their own destiny at this time.
The shots raining in now at Leyton Orient - from McSheffrey and Becchio now.
Yep - we've got one of those make-up matches in mid-week against Walsall coming up on Tuesday.
Stockport 1 Colchester 2 Game on. Interesting day in League 1.
Yes, indeed!
Leeds need three points against Walsall.
I quite like that Chucho Martinez player for Brum; I'm not so keen on Cameron Jerome, although he has scored a few for them this season.
A lot of huffing and puffing in the cup tie without any real quality at the moment. Cloughie not too pleased about that.
Leicester 3-0 up now against Scunny.
Yeah - not a lot of quality on display at Pride Park today.
Agreed. A few seasons ago I thought he was a promising player, but seems to have difficulty making the jump to the premiership. Was fantastic with Cardiff City. I think Chucho is the primary reason why they are in the top half of the table. I think he was playing in the Mexican league prior to signing for Birmingham.
Big shout for handball against Barry Ferguson - ref not impressed.
Doncaster take a 1-0 lead against Forest. Billy Sharp latches on to a flick-on, spins and fires home.
Savage a real genius. I remember he went to Blackburn instead of Brum claiming it was closer to Wrexham. I'm looking at a map posted on my wall. The two cities seem to be equidistant from Wrexham.
As if Robbie has any real connection to Wales. He's as Welsh as I am!
Leicester 3-0 up against Scunny. Chance for Chucho.
Hey Guys,
Yes it is Kathy's birthday so I won't be around much
I watched the south coast derby in the bedroom in between getting up and showering.
Shame about Chelski... good for Pompey
Any score with Leeds?
Jerome should have scored there. He was straight in on goal and gave Bywater too much of a chance there.
A Savage incident with the Ref's assistant. Most action he's seen today. He seems to be off the pace.
Morning, Rip Van Nocito!
0-0 Orient v. Leeds.
I have an SS link going strong from Justin
Was it breakfast in bed with the birthday missus, Davey?
Morning UWS. Happy birthday to Kathy.
The good news UWS is that Norwich are 0-1 down and Charlton aren't playing today. According to the SS reporter, we're well on top but we need a goal.
A chance for Derby. Straight at Hart. The angle was too narrow.
Thank you boys. No breakfast in bed. Too crowded with Jon coming in. I am making breakfast now
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