A casual buy No. 7

 

Some brands associated with this thing called “casual” are afforded the status of “essential”, or even “imperative”, “cardinal”, or “prerequisite” (and any other amount of synonymous adjectives I can find for “essential” on thesaurus.com).

One clothing brand is all these things – Fjällräven – the Swedish outdoor clothing company. Their Nordli lightweight jacket is quite possibly their flagship item – it certainly is one of the most affordable (the Swedes don’t give this stuff away cheaply you know). But what I like most about the Nordli, and all Fjällräven clothing, is its rugged, genuine outdoors finish, it’s not for show, it really is designed for Scandinavia in all seasons. This means their range of clothing is perfect for British football grounds in winter too. There is nothing bling about Fjäll, it is the real McCoy.

The winter sales are on with most online stores, so now is a good time to pick one of these up quite cheaply. Google, find, buy, wear, look good, feel good.

Wycombe 2 – 5 Albion

So, our most important match of the season so far, the crucial clash, the “really must win game” is finally here, and it’s against the mighty………Wycombe Wanderers, away. After watching some scintillating Premiershit soccer action across the holiday fixtures on the telly, Albion’s BIG game is against a bunch of Buckinghamcestershire farmers? Fuck me ragged. We HAVE to win this one, shurely?

Wycombe hit the upright within minutes, here we go. Cox lively, Murray heads over on 14 minutes. 1-0 to Wycombe on 26 minutes, three goes on goal, didn’t clear our lines, same old, same old. Another goal from these farmers and they climb above us in the league. OVERHEAD KICK FROM GLENN MURRAY!!!!! 1-1, Bennett crosses and big Glenn rattles the Wycombe onion bag yet again. 39 minutes, free kick for Wycombe, off the wall, Brezovan drops it and a farmer taps it in. Fuck me – Albion goalkeepers. Half-time, sort it out Poyet.

No changes at half-time. Dicker crosses………FORSTER!!!! 2-2 and thirteen goals this season for the main man, what a finisher, where would we be this season without him? Let’s win this game lads, come on, it’s Christmas FFS! Gary Dicker is gripping this game, laying it on for our two forwards time and again. Forster gets between them, plays it in, MURRAY heads………3-2!!!!!!!!

What a game! Murray looking for his hat-trick. Murray’s through again on 71 minutes…………..4-2! Glenn Murray, a fucking BEAUT!!!! Virgo on for Navarro on 75 minutes. Ten minutes left, keep it tight, Orient are losing as well. Murray scores again!!!! That’s FOUR for the big fella! Forster goes off on 81 mins, he’s had a great game too.

Two minutes left, this game’s in the bag, and if things stay the way they are, we’re out of the relegation places on goal difference. Bennett misses a great chance to make it six deep into injury-time. Orient were beaten by Saafend. And that’s it, a late, late, Christmas present from Gus and the boys. Deep Joy.

The Hovian’s Albion Team Performance :   8 out of 10

The Hovian’s Albion Man of the Match : Would like to give it to Gary Dicker, but FOUR goal Murray just shades it!

Albion Team (goalscorers in bold):

(4-4-2) Brezovan; Hoyte, Elphick, El-Abd, McNulty; Bennett, Dicker, Navarro (Virgo 75), Cox (J Smith 89); Forster (Hart 81), Murray (4)

Subs: Kuipers, Virgo, Whing, McLeod, Hart, Davies, J Smith

League One table

Monday, 28 December 2009 17:07 UK

Position	Team	P	GD	PTS
Full League One table
1	Leeds United	23	32	56
2	Charlton	24	19	48
3	Norwich	23	23	45
4	Colchester	23	18	45
5	Huddersfield	23	18	38
6	Swindon	22	2	38
7	Millwall	24	7	36
8	MK Dons	24	0	36
9	Bristol Rovers	23	-4	34
10	Walsall	22	3	31
11	Brentford	24	-4	30
12	Southend	24	-4	29
13	Southampton	24	13	28
14	Yeovil	24	-2	28
15	Carlisle	22	-2	28
16	Hartlepool	23	-2	27
17	Gillingham	24	-5	26
18	Exeter	24	-9	26
19	Oldham	22	-8	25
20	Brighton	24	-13	24
21	Leyton Orient	24	-13	24
22	Tranmere	23	-22	21
23	Wycombe	24	-21	18
24	Stockport	23	-26	14

Albion 0 – 0 Leyton Orient

Christmas is over, back to the serious job of football it is then, and Albion could do with six more points before 2009 dies. Relegation is a distinct, if stark,  possibility this season, so we need to get cracking against a very beatable Orient side this afternoon, no arsing about.

Boring first twenty minutes, Orient more than shading it. Crofts booked on 30 minutes for late tackle. Dickinson is working his socks off, best of the bunch so far. McNulty and Forster combine, Fozzy heads just over – we’re starting to boss this game. Half-time, bit of a drudge this one, I’ll take 1-0.

Seagulls Player goes off on 50 minutes, it comes on 4 minutes later, cosmic. I haven’t missed much though, not a classic game by any means, mince pie induced ennui? Cox on for El-Abd, Murray on for Navarro – Poyet goes three up front for the three points. Orient hit the post, three minutes later and Crofts picks up his second yellow – and he’s off. Hanging on for a draw with 20 minutes to go.

Forster makes way for Gary Hart. Again, we seem to do better with ten men, fucking frustrating this team, to say the least. So, that’s it – eight reds for Albion and it’s not even January yet! Dickinson gets booked near the end, that’s five for him, so he and Crofts will miss Monday’s game at Wycombe. Dicko brings a save out of the O’s keeper, it’s on the blow here. Tunnicliffe goes close. Game over, gloomy, very gloomy.

The Hovian’s Albion Team Performance :  5 out of 10

The Hovian’s Albion Man of the Match : Liam Dickinson

Albion Team (goalscorers in bold):

(4-4-2) Brezovan; Hoyte, Elphick, Tunnicliffe, El-Abd (Cox 60); Bennett, Crofts, Navarro (Murray 60), McNulty; Forster (Hart 69), Dickinson

Subs: Kuipers, Murray, Davieees, Hart, Whing, Virgo, Cox

Feliz Navidad!

A very Happy Christmas to all my readers, I hope the festive season brings the three of you good tidings of great joy. I’m also hoping Señor Santa Claus and his Little Helper can deliver the goods against Orient at home, then away at Wycombe over the holidays. Six points will make it a memorable Christmas, anything less is bah humbug!!

A casual buy No. 6

 

It’s Christmaaaaaaaaaaaas! To help cheer me up from supporting Brighton and Hove  Albion Football Club, Santa is going to fill my stocking with – or I should say I will be putting my stockinged feet into – a new pair of these puppies. Adolf Dassler’s very own Samba blue/white suede trainers.

I don’t own a lot of Herr Dassler’s training shoes, but I do own a LOT of other training shoes. What perfidious heresy is this, some might scream, whilst stamping their Trimm Trabbed feet?

I have two good solid reasons for thinking like this: 1) Most adidas lines are cack and live off the rep of their few truly classic lines/colourways (see the sambas above). 2) In this game (the thing we call “casual”), one must not be seen to follow the herd too much. Every proper lad, boy, bonehead and chav (and his pitbull dog) owns adidas trainers, and not only that, they obsess and lavish so much love on ’em I feel sorry for their wives and sweethearts, I really do.

That said, some adidas shoes are just too good not to jump into with both feet (sorry), and the Samba blue/white suedeys are right up there with them. Just don’t expect me to take them to bed, wrap them lovingly in their box, or cry when I get a bit of shite on ’em being escorted by the plod up to Elland Road or The Valley. I’ll be too busy knocking about in them, having fun.

Swindon 2 – 1 Albion

I’m not even going to talk about this one, I was at work for the whole game and missed the lot. Forster scored for us again, and we lost again, yadda, yadda.

Here’s the latest table, we are going down; better start getting ready for it now – it will soften the blow when it comes in May. Believe it.

League One table

Saturday, 19 December 2009 17:11 UK

Position	Team	P	GD	PTS
Full League One table
1	Leeds United	21	28	50
2	Charlton	22	19	46
3	Norwich	22	21	42
4	Colchester	21	16	39
5	Huddersfield	22	17	35
6	Swindon	20	0	34
7	Bristol Rovers	22	-2	34
8	Millwall	22	7	33
9	MK Dons	22	-2	33
10	Walsall	22	3	31
11	Hartlepool	22	0	27
12	Carlisle	21	-2	27
13	Southend	22	-4	26
14	Brentford	22	-5	26
15	Southampton	22	12	25
16	Gillingham	22	-4	25
17	Yeovil	22	-4	25
18	Exeter	22	-7	25
19	Oldham	22	-8	25
20	Leyton Orient	22	-12	23
21	Brighton	22	-16	20
22	Tranmere	22	-22	20
23	Wycombe	22	-14	18
24	Stockport	21	-21	14

A casual buy No. 5

It is a widely acknowledged fact that casual culture started in Merseyside in the late 1970s. Hordes of Liverpool scallies followed their team on their successful runs in the major European football competitions around this time. Being true scousers many took the opportunity to raid the poorly secured continental clothes and sports shops. The scallies were the first to be seen wearing such sporting goods labels as Lacoste, Sergio Tacchini, Fila and Ellesse on the bleak football terraces of late seventies Britain.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the country, other young male football fans were either dressed in biker leathers, flares, club scarves, bobble hats and knitted tank tops (the regions); or, especially in the nation’s capital, bovver boots, donkey jackets, sta-prest trousers, braces and Fred Perry jumpers. London youth was immersed deep in the mod revival/skinhead movement, and the terraces of all the London clubs were full of unruly suedeheads and latter-day sawdust caesars.

When the cockneys saw the scousers at the match in their bright Italian sportswear, their “wedge” haircuts and adidas trainers, they most likely died laughing. The scallies saw the cockneys as muggy boneheads with no style. But, eventually the casual look caught on, especially when the London boys realised how easy it was for the effeminate looking northerners to evade the police – who were still out looking for shaven-headed louts in club colours on matchdays.

So, the casual scene grew and all the mod and skin clothes were eventually thrown away or kept on the backs of older lads who would never look like the “facking poofs” in their Trim Trabbs and Fila Bj trackies. All the old clothing labels died out, all except one that is, and that label was Fred Perry. The Manchester version of the scouse scally was even named after Fred’s clothing line.

The Fred Perry V-neck jumper in burgundy has outlived them all, it has seen the original 1960s mods come and go, the original skins, the new waves, the casuals, the Stone Island/Burberry clones of the 1990s, and can still be found on the backs of well dressed lads at the football or when they’re out on the tiles on a Saturday night.

The Specials' Terry Hall models a rare limited edition Fred Perry V neck with oversized laurel

If you own only one item of casual clothing, this is the one it should be. I’m a bit of a mod too, in clothes and musical taste, so how can I not own the only item that managed to straddle the gulf between so many antagonistic subcultures? What I’m saying here is that the Fred Perry V-neck is THE item of football fashion, but it is much more than that – it’s as much a British cultural icon as the Mini Cooper, or Big Ben, or Doctor Märtens’ famous boots, OI! That is why you’ll see old blokes, scruffy students, superannuated mods, and smart football dressers all wearing it. It’s a beaut.

Albion 1 – 2 Colchester

The giant new keeper Peter Brezovan keeps his place tonight as Gus sticks with the same team that nicked a late win at Exeter last week. Eight minutes, long ball…1-0 to Colchester. Thirteen minutes….2-0, what the fuck is going on? We’ve hardly touched the ball. Poyet has seen enough, McNulty comes on for El-Abd on 15 mins. Another dither at Withers – Colchester hit the crossbar with an overhead kick, they’re taking the piss here. El-Abd seems to have picked up a head injury. Bennett puts one over the bar, we have a  team out tonight then? That’s good. Murray scores…offside, great ball in from McNulty. It’s pony this match. A lifeline on 43 mins – a goal from Gary Dicker, game on again.

Albion start well second half, Forster goes close. Dickinson on for Hoyte, Bennett slips to right back, Poyet’s going for it with three strikers again, I love it when he does that, hopefully it will work this time. We’re pressuring them, Murray then Fozzy miss great chances. A draw will do.

Murray hits the post from 5 yards!!!! We are not getting anything here, our luck is out folks. Cox on for Navarro on 78 mins. If we lose this game it will be hard to take after the chances we’ve wasted this second period. Forster again!! Five minutes to go. Forster skys one on 90 mins, 4 mins of extra-time to be played. Corner, last chance, a scramble and goal kick. Game over, yet another home defeat, but this should have been a draw at least. Shite.

The Hovian’s Albion Team Performance :  5 out of 10

The Hovian’s Albion Man of the Match : Gary Dicker

Albion Team (goalscorers in bold):

(4-4-2) Brezovan; Hoyte (Dickinson 62) , Tunnicliffe, Elphick, El-Abd (McNulty); Bennett, Dicker, Crofts, Navarro (Cox 78); Forster, Murray

Subs: Pelling, Whing, McNulty, Cox, Dickinson, Virgo, Hart

League One table

Friday, 11 December 2009 21:44 UK

Position	Team	P	GD	PTS
Full League One table
1	Leeds United	19	27	46
2	Charlton	20	18	42
3	Colchester	21	16	39
4	Norwich	20	18	38
5	Huddersfield	20	19	32
6	Swindon	18	2	31
7	Bristol Rovers	20	-3	31
8	Walsall	20	4	30
9	MK Dons	20	-2	30
10	Millwall	20	6	29
11	Hartlepool	20	1	26
12	Carlisle	20	-3	24
13	Yeovil	20	-4	23
14	Southend	20	-4	23
15	Southampton	20	10	22
16	Gillingham	20	-5	22
17	Exeter	20	-6	22
18	Brentford	20	-6	22
19	Leyton Orient	20	-11	22
20	Oldham	20	-10	21
21	Brighton	21	-15	20
22	Wycombe	20	-13	17
23	Tranmere	20	-21	17
24	Stockport	19	-18	14

A casual buy No. 4

The King of Cool in his faithful Baracuta G9 Harrington Jacket, naturally

I guess this is really about two casual items – a jacket and a book. Both concern the coolest man ever to have walked the planet, and easily the best dressed – Steve McQueen. There’s the arty Taschen photobook by William Claxton, full of iconic photographs of the effortlessly casual star, and what else would the King of Cool be wearing on the cover? Yep, his trusty Baracuta G9, collar up (never down, sweet  Jesus!) and showing that unmistakable tartan lining.

Modish, simple, no fuss, timeless. You cannot own a better item of clothing than this jacket. It’s not just about casual (although the Stone Island clones should buy this book and see how it should be done), it’s an everyman look.

Now the caveat: don’t buy copies, some are good, some awful, but the original is the best – and those that know will know, it’s that obvious, trust me.

Exeter 0 – 1 Albion

Three points today, make it so.

A late,  late winner (90+2) from Captain Crofts gave us a very welcome and unexpected win yesterday. I missed the whole game through work and picked up the scoreline on the BBC’s World Service with James Alexander Gordon (De-dum-de-dum-de-deedle-de-dum-de-deedle-dum-dee-dee…etc). This was after the BBC matchday reporter had called it 0-0 after commentating on Manure v Wet Sham. The World Service always cuts away straight after the featured Premiershit match to the news and various other shite, so I had settled for the draw. Deep joy when JAG announced the final result later on!

So, we finally keep a clean sheet, and away at Exeter where it’s hard to get anything. Peter Brezovan seems to have made a great debut between the sticks for us. Three precious points away help our relegation woes more than a little, but that “…Exeter 0” on the radio means a lot more than it should this season, and is a lot more significant than us sneaking a late goal at the other end. More next week please Señor Poyet.

Albion Team (goalscorers in bold):

(4-4-2) Brezovan; Hoyte, Tunnicliffe, Elphick, El-Abd; Bennett, Dicker (McNulty 87), Crofts, Navarro; Forster (Cox 90+4), Murray (Dickinson 63)

Subs: Pelling, Whing, McNulty, Cox, Dickinson, Virgo, J Smith

League One table

Sunday, 6 December 2009 00:00 UK

Position	Team	P	GD	PTS
Full League One table
1	Leeds United	19	27	46
2	Charlton	20	18	42
3	Norwich	20	18	38
4	Colchester	20	15	36
5	Huddersfield	20	19	32
6	Swindon	18	2	31
7	Bristol Rovers	20	-3	31
8	Walsall	20	4	30
9	MK Dons	20	-2	30
10	Millwall	20	6	29
11	Hartlepool	20	1	26
12	Carlisle	20	-3	24
13	Yeovil	20	-4	23
14	Southend	20	-4	23
15	Southampton	20	10	22
16	Gillingham	20	-5	22
17	Exeter	20	-6	22
18	Brentford	20	-6	22
19	Leyton Orient	20	-11	22
20	Oldham	20	-10	21
21	Brighton	20	-14	20
22	Wycombe	20	-13	17
23	Tranmere	20	-21	17
24	Stockport	19	-18	14