Cet Homme Charmant Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 15 hours ago, HamCam said: My own experience is they do not have to be top-level pros. Retired players from the seaside leagues still stand out a mile. They might not all run around as much as before but generally their touch and game awareness sets them apart from the DOT's of this world. This is definitely true. When I lived in The Netherlands I played in an amateur 35+ 5-a-side (or zalvoetbal as they call it) league in a wee town called Groesbeek, right on the the German border. We were all just your very average recreational players, except for one guy in our team who had played for the local semi-professional team De Treffers, who hover around the 3rd and 4th tiers of the Dutch league pyramid. He was by far the oldest in the team, I think we has around 50 at the time, but was by a huge margin our best player, even though we were mostly 10-15 years younger than him and he probably only put in half the effort. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamOakTree Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 On 1/29/2024 at 6:57 PM, TAFKAC said: You said "I later told my close friend since teenage years, John McMaster, and he told me it took him 7 years to get into Aberdeen’s first team." According to McMaster's book and Wikipedia "McMaster signed for Aberdeen in 1972 at the age of 17, and was loaned out for a full season to Peterhead in the Highland League. He broke into the Aberdeen first team in the 74/75 season and then played 21 games in the 75/76 season, when he was 20." Who are we to believe? I just checked and you are correct. I don't know where I got the 7 years from then, so I'm obviously mistaken if it was 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cet Homme Charmant Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 (edited) 8 hours ago, DreamOakTree said: I just checked and you are correct. I don't know where I got the 7 years from then, so I'm obviously mistaken if it was 4. It was 2 years. Signed in 72, debut in 74. Probably best to do a bit of rudimentary research before making up stories Edited January 31 by Cet Homme Charmant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capitanus Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 On 1/29/2024 at 7:14 PM, TAFKAC said: I was joking, but never mind. Here goes. A bit of background. Those that have been around since the Topica days will know that I worked in the Philippines in the late 90s and played in the Philippine National League for two seasons - it was a mix of quality, with a few better players possibly Lowland League level. I was in the lower end quality wise, but was a reasonable finisher. The club I played for had the best playing facilities in the country, as it was part of a sports club complex. My colleague from the Dutch Embassy organised a tour by the Ajax/Feyernoord old boys to the Philippines. I got a place on the League select team bench for the match and got on for 10 minutes at the end. Rep played up front for them and was astonishing. He barely moved, everything stuck, every pass hit his target and he scored 3. I went up to him at the end of the match and in a proper creepy fanboy told him that he'd made me cry as an 8 year old. His quality response was, in a classic comedy Dutch accent "Yesh, I meet many Shcottish people. They all tell me that. Let me buy you a beer." He got a case in and told us all about the plan in 1978 and what they could cope with. They always felt that they could score if they needed to, and that they thought Rough was the weak link. But the Gemmell goal spooked them, hence his long shot. He was a top man. So, in a nutshell you've played at a higher level than Rob Rensenbrink's 40-year old protégé in welding gear? *insert signature here* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamOakTree Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 13 hours ago, Cet Homme Charmant said: It was 2 years. Signed in 72, debut in 74. Probably best to do a bit of rudimentary research before making up stories He made 1 appearance in 74/75, he established himself in the team in 75/76, so I was still wrong. I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamOakTree Posted February 1 Author Share Posted February 1 Just now, DreamOakTree said: He made 1 appearance in 74/75, he established himself in the team in 75/76, so I was still wrong. I I'm sure he signed at the same time as Bobby Street. Could it be it took Bobby 7 years to get into the first team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreamOakTree Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 What a fantastic night we had at Friday’s match, best feeling in years at Cappielow. I also overheard a fan coming up with a great suggestion for a new Morton song - Singing in the Rain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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