Dear Roker Report,
My good friend’s Dad played for Sunderland. His name was Tim Gilbert and he came through the youth intake at Sunderland and played for them from 1976 to 1980. Sadly Tim died at a very young age. It is his son’s 40th birthday in July and he is about to become a father himself so we wanted to do something for him that honours his own Dad. We have bought the home-and-away Sunderland shirts from 1978 and we are going to have them framed but we wanted to put some photos/memorabilia in the frame too. I have been
on eBay buying old Sunderland match-day programmes from that time period to see if he was featured in them. I know the programmes were called Roker Review and featured write-ups on specific players each week. I am just wondering if you could help me to locate any write-ups or photos of Tim from his days at SAFC. I would be very grateful for any help. His son’s name is John Gilbert. The family are big supporters of SAFC and are from the local area.
Gareth Hunter
Ed’s note [Martin]: Thanks for your email Gareth, and what a lovely thing for you to do for John. Tim was a little bit before my time, but I remember the news of his passing in the mid 90s and the shock everyone connected with the club felt. Andrew’s on the case for you and he’s going to have a look through his (very extensive!) programme collection to see what he can find. I’ve snapped a pic of Tim’s entry in Rob Mason’s The Absolute Record book below.
It would be lovely for people who saw Tim play to email any memories of him into us and any messages for John and the family – we can publish them here, or privately pass them on to Gareth.
Dear Roker Report,
Just to add to the rule changes that were just mooted. One movement from players really gets my dander up. In the area in front of goal, when a player is about to kick, the opposition grabs him to put him off. When a penalty is taken, how about a card for the opposition literally putting arms around the opposing player, preventing him from even moving? WHAT DOES THE REFEREE DO? SWEET F.A. What do the readers think about changing that rule so no grabbing other players or holding on to their shirts? Surely that is not football.
Harry Nixon
Ed’s note [Martin]: There seems to be an ‘anything goes’ situation in the box when free kicks and corners are to be taken. Referees were clamping down on it at the beginning of the season, but they’ve gone completely the other way now. Holding isn’t allowed, so you’d have to give a load of penalties for a few weeks to eradicate it, but for whatever reason the refs tend to ignore it. Although Luke O’Nien is often glad they do!
Hello all,
I really enjoyed Kelvin’s description of the Arsenal semi-final on your On This Week podcast. We obviously hear a lot about the final in 73 but little about the semi. The following memories came flooding back.
As a 13-year-old I was one of a line of kids in the Kop end, front right who were perched on a narrow ledge hanging on with our right arm draped over a wall. This gave you a clear view of the pitch and the mass of fans to our left. Two things still stand out for me.
1. The huge roar when our players ran out before kick off. It was deafening and simply took your breath away. You could see the look of astonishment on the faces of Kerr and Monty as they checked their run to the penalty area at our end. I was taken aback and the tears welled up and had to stop myself from sobbing.
2. The smile and little wave Halom gave to the crowd as the ball rolled in for the first goal, just a moment before absolute pandemonium broke out.
There are other memories which Kelvin covered, including the surprising number of fans in the Arsenal end celebrating after the final whistle and Leeds fans lining the streets with scarves and banners as we drove back in the heavy traffic. I was lucky enough to go to the final also but personally found the semi final to be the more emotional occasion.
Haway the Lads
Kevin Johnson
Ed’s note [Martin]: Great stuff Kevin – really appreciate you sharing your memories with us. Kelvin’s a master at sharing those stories in a way that really makes you feel you were there with him, and glad it brought back some memories for you. We love doing the OTW pods as the history of the club is so important but often overlooked as we move on to the next game or next signing – it’s brilliant to be able to spend time every week chatting about things that have happened in the past – think we all learn a lot from it, and have our own memories resurfaced too!
