Thursday, 12 December 2024

The one man football team

 It was grim day up north on December 12th 1891. In a snowstorm at Turf Moor Stadium, Burnley are playing Blackburn Rovers in a first Division match. It says much about the Victorian period that the Match kicked off at all.

In the second half the weather conditions worsen, and players resolve weakens. The Blackburn Rovers players revolt, walking of the pitch and feeling numb it is too cold to play. Only the Rovers goalkeeper Herby Arthur remains.

The match descends into farce, to derisive cries from the crowd Arthur successfully appeals for offside when one Burnley player passes to another. What can the referee do? With no one to pass to , Arthur engages in a lengthy period of time wasting until the bemused referee is forced to abandon the game 30  minutes before time.

 Burnley win 3-0.



                                                    www.therambingastronomer.co.uk

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