Quotethats the spirit!Originally Posted by Bravo
I will in Mooneys at about 12.30 tonight!
thats the spirit!
Ya Vodka!thats the spirit!
good start...when did we score 11 goals before ?
11 goals doesn't mean a good start,if you saw the game you'd know why. We weren't fantastic at all,dodgy at the back. Long time since we scored 11 goals i'd say. Wonder whats the most goals a rovers player ever scored in one game?
"he tries his best.... but I was a proper player".
Dixie Dean got five against Waterford in a league game.
What would we do without the Champion 24-01-07, for the younger supporters
It slipped by without any great fanfare or commemoration service, which is a pity, so I thought I would give some space in the column this week to record the fact that last Monday was the 100th anniversary of the birth of the legendary soccer personality, Dixie Dean.
Born on January 22nd, 1907, Dean was one of the greatest players ever to grace the world of soccer and what makes his remarkable story significant here is that he finished his professional career with Sligo Rovers.
An England international who had broken all scoring records, Dean was only thirty-two years of age when he signed for Rovers in a transfer coup which still ranks as one of the most sensational signings by any League of Ireland club.
To give the story a modern context it would be similar to Rovers securing the services of Alan Shearer or Ruud Van Nistleroy today. It really was that big.
Dean scored sixty goals in one season for Everton (1927/28), and hit a total of 383 goals for the Merseyside club in 433 appearances. He also made 16 appearances for England, scoring 18 goals, including two hat-tricks in ten days, against Belgium and Luxemburg in May, 1927.
He began his career with Tranmere Rovers, then moved to Everton, and later played with Notts County.
In 1939, Rovers were in the hunt for a big name signing and contacts in England put them in touch with Dean. At first, the England legend resisted Rovers approaches but eventually agreed to make the move to the North West of Ireland.
His decision to join Rovers generated enormous interest throughout the entire country and Sligo Railway Station was thronged with fans when the superstar arrived in town to start his new career.
He made his debut for Rovers at home to Shelbourne on January 29th, 1939, seven days after his 32nd birthday. Not surprisingly, he marked his debut with a goal in a 3-2 victory for Rovers.
With Dean leading their attack, Rovers reached the final of the FAI Cup that season. Dean scored in a 1-1 draw with Shels at Dalymount Park but Rovers great adventure finally ended in the replay, again in Dalymount, when they lost 1-0.
The story goes that Dean’s runners-up medal went missing during the after-match celebrations but was anonymously returned to him by post years later when he was working in a pub in Chester.
Dean made seven league appearances for Rovers, scoring ten goals, including a five-goal spree in a 7-1 hammering of Waterford at the Showgrounds on March 19th, 1939.
He suffered ill-health in his later years and had his right leg amputated in 1976.
Born William Ralph Dean on January 22nd, 1907, he died after being taken ill at an Everton v Liverpool game at Goodison Park on March 1st, 1980.
Since I have totally gone off topic, this weeks Champion
Following on from last week’s piece about the 100th anniversary of the birth of the legendary Dixie Dean, a reader sent me a nice article which appeared on the website of the Liverpool Echo.
In a detailed account of Dean’s extraordinary life and career, the writer recalls the player’s time in Sligo and the reaction his move to Ireland generated.
“The impact of his arrival in the little town of Connacht was sensational”, writes David Prentice.
He goes on: “Dean described his reception when he stepped off the Dublin train for the first time on a cold January night as like nothing he had witnessed since Everton’s Wembley homecoming in 1933
“There were firecrackers let off by hordes of townsfolk held back by an overworked Garda, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the legendary footballer. When Dean finally escaped to the sanctuary of the GSR Hotel, he had to be smuggled out of the back door to escape the huge crowd of well wishers trying to get in at the front
“Dean’s goals carried Sligo to runners up sport in the Irish League, and led the Irish Rovers to the proudest moment in their history - their first Irish Cup final - where they lost to Shelbourne after a replay.
“Dean’s display in the final had the ‘Sligo Independent’ in raptures: “If he was a better footballer ten years ago than he is now, he must have been a genius. He well merits the title of ‘world’s greatest footballer’
“Dean even dived into the heaving crowd to rescue an injured child during the Cup final and handed her to an ambulance man.
“Despite expressing a wish to pull on the red shirt of Sligo once again, War in Europe cut short his ambitions”
Faz, Peers and Brush all out injured,nothing serious though just slight knocks. As for Chrissy i don't know where he was. Is he under curfew down the north?
Last edited by DonalE; 04/02/2007 at 1:31 PM.
"he tries his best.... but I was a proper player".
ya but i think its about 9 oclock at night?
Martin Livzcechsky and Bayitor Bobik are the two polish lads.
were they any good?
Martin was centre half and was ok,didn's stand out for me anyways. Bayitor came on at half time up front on the left,scored the best goal of the game and caused the right back lots of problems but i didn't think he was fantastic.
"he tries his best.... but I was a proper player".
How can they be from Poland with two Roscommon names like that?
Their great grand mother on their fathers side was a Ros. Its funny you say that actually because the players were calling him Mairtín
"he tries his best.... but I was a proper player".
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