Two Minutes past Eight ( 2)
Welcome to this twice-monthly fanzine.
If you're looking for something glossy, sharp, and bang-up-to-date π±, then this probably isn't the place for you. This is a gentler read — somewhere I dip back into my football memories ⚽, wander through the bits of yesteryear that still make me smile π, and share a few thoughts from the quieter corners of the game π΅. I'll keep you updated with my fantasy football team too, for better or worse π.
πΏ Terrace View
Sometimes I wish I wasn't a football fan ⚽. I wonder if other people feel the same way. Some people don't get it — they say it's just a game, and I know it is... but it isn't, is it. Not really.
I've just been listening to Arsenal v Chelsea on the radio π» and it was murder. Chelsea scored in the first minute — literally as I turned the radio on — and that was it, my stomach dropped π±. I wasn't even going to listen, but something pulled me in. It always does. Football has a way of dragging you back, even when you swear you're staying out of it.
And listening on the radio is worse than watching it on TV πΊ. Every time the commentator's voice went higher, so did my blood pressure π±. When they lose, I always say I don't really care... but deep down you do. You're raging. You're pacing. You're muttering at the wall. All because of 22 people running around kicking a ball ⚽.
This month I've reached out to a few other publications. Brighton & Hove Albion's Dogma were very interested in hearing from me — they even asked for a copy of mine in exchange for theirs, which feels promising.
I also wrote an article for When Saturday Comes about second teams. It didn't make it in, but that's part of the journey. Sometimes the words land, sometimes they don't — but the writing keeps moving.
π΅ STICK TO THE FOOTBALL π»
Everton's 1985 Cup Final Song πΈ
Everton's squad recorded "Here We Go" ahead of the 1985 FA Cup Final. Backed by Columbia Records, produced by Tony Hiller, and arranged with Harold Spiro, it captured the spirit of their golden season. The single reached No. 14 in the UK Singles Chart and stayed in the Top 75 for five weeks. The chorus — "Here we go, here we go, here we go" — became a terrace anthem that still echoes today.
LOOK AT HIS FACE π€©⚽
One of my favourite goals ever is Mickey Walsh's screamer for Blackpool against Sunderland, winner of Goal of the Season 1974–75. He turned onto his left foot and unleashed an absolute rocket from way out π — not quite the halfway line, but far enough to make the keeper wonder what just happened π.
But the real magic is behind the goal.
There's a bloke jumping up and down like a total maniac π€ͺ — pure joy, limbs everywhere. And honestly, he's the spitting image of Almo from Brush Strokes. Showing my age there... but once you see it, you can't unsee it π€ͺ.
π TEAM COLOURS ❤️π — SUNDERLAND (1879–1884)
Sunderland began life in Hendon, Sunderland, wearing blue shirts and blue knickerbockers with a white stripe ❤️π — their first proper colours before the famous red-and-white stripes arrived π❤️.
⭐ KATIE'S FOOTBALL MEMORIES ⚽❤️
This month, I wanted to share a bit about my Subbuteo memories. For anyone who never played it, Subbuteo was football shrunk down to a tiny green cloth pitch π’, where plastic men balanced on curved bases tried their best to obey the laws of physics. You flicked them across the table with the enthusiasm of a World Cup winner π and the accuracy of someone throwing a biscuit to a dog πΆ. It was chaotic, brilliant, and full of imagination — and no doubt I'll venture more into Subbuteo in future editions.
But today I want to talk about Alan Shoulder.
You're probably thinking (never heard of him) — Alan Shoulder played for Blyth Spartans, and Newcastle United signed him in 1978 after Blyth's famous FA Cup heroics against the Geordies ⚽. But I'm not here to talk about the real Alan Shoulder.
I had my own version — my Subbuteo Alan Shoulder, the tiny plastic hero who lived on my living-room floor ⚽.
Sadly, as in real football, injuries happen in Subbuteo — usually when someone stands on a player π€. And, a bit like stepping on Lego, it bloody well hurts π. Unfortunately for my Alan, in his black-and-white striped kit, he'd been stood on several times.
At the time we still had a coal fire π₯, which meant the poker was often stuck into the flames for a few seconds and then speared into the plastic base, allowing the figure to be welded back into place. This proved to be a surprisingly successful operation... but it resulted in Alan losing everything below the knees. He was basically turned into a tiny Sammy Lee π. Not only did it not affect Alan — it seemed to inspire him. He became a wizard of the dribble ⚽. Half the size of the other players, but twice as nimble. He's gone down in folklore for me: the little Subbuteo hero who overcame catastrophic surgery and still ran rings around everyone π.
π️ LOST GROUNDS: CATHKIN PARK
Cathkin Park is a ghost of Scottish football. In the 1950s, thousands packed its terraces to watch Third Lanark, a proud Glasgow club. When the team folded in 1967, the roar fell silent — but the terraces never vanished.
Today, moss-patched steps still rise from the earth, and the pitch lives on as Jimmy Johnstone Park, restored by the Jimmy Johnstone Charitable Trust for youth football. Cathkin is both ruin and living ground: eerie, historical, and real.
ONE TO WATCH ⚽π₯
Celtic v Racing Club, 1967 — The Battle of Montevideo
A brutal Intercontinental Cup decider that descended into chaos. Riot police on the pitch π, six players sent off π΄, and Bertie Auld refusing to leave. Racing won 1–0, and Jock Stein later said the whole series had scarred Celtic's legacy. πΊ Watch on YouTube
π FANTASY FOOTBALL UPDATE ⚽
With the international break here, my Sun Fantasy team sits on 497 points—holding my own against thousands while chasing the leader on 677! ⚽ But I've just suffered the ultimate manager's curse: π€¦ I brought in Isak after his 2 goals against Ipswich and made him captain against Fulham (blank! π€¦), transferred him straight back out, and he immediately scored the winner against Bournemouth! π‘ You couldn't make it up! π€ͺ
⭐ MY FAVOURITE PLAYERS
I suppose I have to start with my very first favourite player — Billy Bremner ⚽π£. I would've been about five, maybe six, just getting into football, just starting to understand the swirl of colours, names, and noise.
I had a soft spot for Leeds United π‘ — or "Dirty Leeds" as they were known back then — and right in the middle of it all was this short, ginger-headed hard-nut who seemed to glow on the pitch. Billy Bremner wasn't just a player; he was a feeling. Tough, fiery, fearless — the kind of footballer a kid could latch onto instantly.
Around the same time, Paper Lace had a number one single with Billy Don't Be A Hero πΆ, and in my young mind I connected the two.
Billy Bremner... Billy the hero... it all blended together in that strange, magical way childhood memories do.
He was the first footballer I ever adored ❤️⚽.
If you've got a goal, a moment, or anything else from football that means something to you, email me at katiespride3@gmail.com — I'd love to read it π⚽.
π‘ SEPTEMBER QUIZ ANSWERS (Edition 1)
1️⃣ Edin DΕΎeko, 2️⃣ Valentin Ivanov, 3️⃣ Barcelona, 4️⃣ Mario MandΕΎukiΔ, 5️⃣ Roberto Mancini, 6️⃣ Kylian MbappΓ©, 7️⃣ Manchester City, 8️⃣ Di Matteo, 9️⃣ Paul Scholes, π Kostas Tsimikas
WHO AM I? ❓ Craig Bellamy
⚽ THIS MONTH'S QUIZZES — OLD FOOTBALL GROUNDS
- Which long-gone ground had a stand called "The Scratching Shed" and was demolished in 1997?
- At which forgotten stadium did Wimbledon play before Plough Lane — their original home in the 1910s?
- Which club's old ground, Elm Park, had a main stand built almost entirely from railway sleepers?
- Which Scottish ground had the infamous "Cowshed" terrace and closed in 1994?
- Which club played at the tiny, sloping, three-sided ground called Peel Park until 1966?
- Which old stadium had a stand known as "The Paddock" and was home to Workington until 1964?
- Which club left their historic home at Leeds Road in 1994 — a ground famous for its huge open terrace?
- Which non-league ground, notorious for its tree growing inside the terrace, was home to Wrexham's reserves?
- Which club played at the old Vetch Field, where the North Bank terrace once held over 20,000?
- Which club played at the old Manor Ground before moving to Kassam Stadium in 2001?
YOU ARE THE REF ⚽
A striker is running through on goal when a defender grabs his shirt. The striker keeps going, stays on his feet, and still gets a shot away — but the keeper saves it. The crowd wants a red card for denying a goal-scoring opportunity — What's your decision? ❓
⚽ GUESS THE ATTENDANCE ⚽
Watford v Liverpool, Vicarage Road, April 30, 1983
πΈ Thanks for reading — and don't forget to check in on your mates. See the QR code on the front. ❤️ hugs, Katie ππΈ
