Putting your faith in your kids.

August 19, 2003 2:34 AM

Putting your faith in your kids. Only a little soccer story about a possible new England goalkeeper but its quite sweet.
posted by biffa (9 comments total)

Two football stories in two days? This is getting as bad as the California recall threads... ;)

I've always liked Kirkland. Whenever I've seen him interviewed, he's come across as a nice lad with a bit about him. Didn't give the bland Shearer/Beckham/Owen non-answers you'd expect. And with James getting on and Robinson having problems living up to his initial promise, his England future looks bright if he can stay uninjured for a while.
posted by humuhumu at 3:01 AM on August 19, 2003

classic. it appears quite sweet until you meet his dad and his mates. probably the type of guys who threaten referees at saturday under 15 matches and teach young children to swear at fantastically early ages.

i know i'm being cynical but do you not think that with this bet being laid down when Chris was 15 there would be a little pressure on him to perform from dear old dad.
posted by Frasermoo at 3:02 AM on August 19, 2003

soccer story?

shame on you biffa.
posted by Frasermoo at 3:06 AM on August 19, 2003

I'm sorry Frasermoo, my commitment to inclusivity and accessibility has gone too far. I'm hanging my head for the rest of the day.

I don't know about pressure to succeed from parents, to be honest I wish I'd had a bit more when I was a kid.
posted by biffa at 3:34 AM on August 19, 2003

Let's hope the kid does come good because Calamity James and Pieboy Robinson just will not cut it at international level IMHO.
posted by squealy at 3:43 AM on August 19, 2003

*sigh* As a Cov fan I was priveliged to watch the young Kirky in his formative years and it was always on the cards that he was going to play for England one day. Totally commanding in the air & a great shot-stopper to boot (or should that be 'to hand'?) Still miss him.

A whole bunch of appearance-related payments start kicking in after his first England game (I think we get £250,000 - a bit more than his dad) and once he has played 20 games for Liverpool. He was injured - in a clash with our new centre forward Dele Adebola who was playing for Palace at the time - during his 19th game & hasn't played a competitive game since which is fustrating for nearly everyone except for maybe the Anfield bean counters...

...anyway, take it from one who knows, he will be a great keeper for England. Hopefully our first-choice by Germany 2006.
posted by i_cola at 7:03 AM on August 19, 2003

Just FYI Frasermoo: the term "soccer" emerged in England to distinguish association rules football from other games which were regularly played, including a game called rugby football, which was also known at the time as "rugger". The first recorded use of the word "soccer" was in 1889, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Although American football was well established at least in the American university circuit by that time, it was not commonly played in England where the word "soccer" originated.

My point being that although we commonly believe that "soccer" is an Americanism designed to distinguish American football from "real" football, it was actually coined to distinguish our new upstart game from rugby football.

Nowadays we just refer to rugby football as "rugby" and association football is far more popular, so we find very little use for the "s" word. Many americans believe their game to be the only type of football and therefore "soccer" still has some usage over there as a distinguisher. We therefore commonly make the mistaken assumption that it is an American word.

Now I must stop channelling languagehat and go to find some coffee. Don't know what came over me ...
posted by walrus at 8:02 AM on August 19, 2003

ps Kirkland will play for England at some point if not tonight, and surely we made it up to Cov by lending you Ritchie Partridge last year? Fantastic winger on either side of the park: I hope he makes a few first team games this year.
posted by walrus at 8:33 AM on August 19, 2003

If you think that walrus has painted a confusing picture, try living in Australia, where there are four different kinds of football played at a high level (there have been sightings of that weird variation we call gridiron, but these are quickly put down when they are noticed). There is Soccer, Rugby League, Rugby Union and Australian Football, all of which are played professionally and which, between them, manage to make weekend television unwatchable for at least 6 months of the year. Then comes the Cricket season :-(
posted by dg at 3:25 PM on August 19, 2003