Jimmy Sirrel


Recommended Posts

There is no need for me to put any thing more than to say ,

A sad loss to Notts County and their supporters where ever in the world we are. Condolances to his family and friends .

And yes this big lummox was in tears at the news!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I have mentioned else where I have four short interviews with him but no idea how to get them out of my documents and online.

Link to post
Share on other sites

All those that met him briefly, and those that knew him well, held him in the highest regard...

Never heard a bad word spoken of him...something of a rarity in soccer!

My late Uncle-in-law played against him often in the post-war Scottish League.

By chance, they met in Slab Square some 25 years ago and instantly recognised each other. After a bout of handshakes and back-slapping they adjourned to The Bell and attacked the top shelf...

Cheers

Robt P.

Link to post
Share on other sites
By chance, they met in Slab Square some 25 years ago and instantly recognised each other. After a bout of handshakes and back-slapping they adjourned to The Bell and attacked the top shelf...

Cheers

Robt P.

Lovely stuff. Just as it should be, Rob. Heartwarming.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Great story Rob

ANY BODY GOING TOMMOROW (SATURDAY 27th)

I IMAGINE IT WILL BE IN TRIBUTE TO THE GREAT MAN

I SHALL BE IN THE VAT AND FIDDLE AT AROUND 2PM

Link to post
Share on other sites

Shall do Stu

My train gets in at 14.05pm so I'll be in the Vat and Fiddle at 14.10 and on my second HP by 14.11 ...............LOL

Link to post
Share on other sites

How strange, I only said in a posting the other day in comparison to Clough that he was at least, still alive.

Remember how some of us kids used to go to see Forest in the late 60's when they were a force to be reckoned with, then you could swallow your pride, crawl through the gap in the fence and see the likes of Brian Bates and the terrible Stan Marshall, sadly going through the motions until the great man appeared.

Imagine that, a 4th division team with a style of play and a mid field that was unbielavable to watch, it truly was amazing, his acumen at signing gifted players that other teams had rejected was beyond belief. I shall never forget how, with a sadly depleted team, he took on the mighty Leeds at Eland Road and treated them to a humiliating defeat, and an exercise in what football was all about, I was there that night, it was a moment to savour in the annals of footballing history, but forgotten about, as usual. by the media.

Good old boy, not appreciated by the powers that be, but surely one of the greatest managers that ever lived, how he never got into the top flight was beyond me.

RIP old pal, you deserve it

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well he did make it to the top flight of sorts with Sheffield UTD and then with Notts, but I know what you mean .

I too was at the Leeds game , (My first away night match) and yes it will stick in my memory banks forever ,Ian Scanlon where are you now ?? .Later that same season Leeds got their revenge by knocking us out of the F.A. Cup in the 3rd round

Happy Days!!

14.10 "Vat and Fiddle" to reminisce some more

Link to post
Share on other sites

RIP Sir Jimmy

I have been supporting Notts for some 50 years man and boy.

He was the greatest manager we had and will have , got the best out of all his players .He was always prepared to talk to you (if you understood him was a different matter) and sign autographs even the last match he attended at Meadow Lane.

He was always down the Lane when his health didnt stop him.

I do and still believe that the Main Burton Joyce Road should be named Jimmy Sirrel Way or Road, people will moan about this but it is better than any road named after a coucillor who we have never heard of.

Also Brian Clough has a statute being put on King Street and it is deserved, lets have one of Sir Jimmy as well.

Condolences to his family.

I will be there this afternoon in the Don masson Siute where he always was, and will be joining in th 1 minute clapping salute.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Sorry it took so long but here we go.

I had worked out it was cheaper to go in by train £14.10 return as apposed to 20 quids worth of diesel,I got to Winsford station in time for the 10.52 to Crewe , only to find that there were no trains owing to 'essential maintenance' coaches were the order of the day

Bloody funny trains round here (Picture for Rob237)

JimmysDay001.jpg

I eventually got to The Vat and Fiddle for a quick one , I tried 'Hemlock this time' sorry BIP but it's better (In my humble opinion) than the H.P.

JimmysDay003.jpg

I left early to head to the ground as I was expecting a large turn out , as it happened there was a rather disappointing 6 and a bit thousand there, (Short memories in Nottingham) £18 to go in , that'll explain the low turn out then!!

JimmysDay013.jpg

Quite a poignant moment I thought

JimmysDay008.jpg

I didn't get to the gates to see the tribute as it was nearly time for the parade of legends (Nice to see Micky Vinter there, as they didn't part as the best of Friends)

Unfortunately at this point I was told (politely) that I couldn't take pictures with my 'new lens' ,(As the papperazzi paid big bucks for the exclusives.) I was OK with my normal one though so I continued in smaller scale

JimmysDay018.jpg

The Aldershot fans were an absolute credit to their club and football supporters every where by not only joining in , but on many occations leading , in a chorus of "One Jimmy Sirrel"

!bravo!

JimmysDay033.jpg

There's only one Jimmy Sirrel

JimmysDay034.jpg

The one minutes applause !clapping!

JimmysDay037.jpg

Half mast

JimmysDay080.jpg

After there had been 5 minutes injury time at the end of the first half and the same in the second it left me without time to get to sign the book of condolence or get a picture of the gates again, (my last train was at 15.20 and I had to walk to the station) I may be over next weekend so I shall try again then!!

Link to post
Share on other sites

As for the match!!! The first half was a total non event , Aldershot were the far better side, in my opinion. The closest we got was this header that flashed passed the post.

JimmysDay041.jpg

JimmysDay042.jpg

At half time I found some old mates from schooldays, who I used to go home and away with. I changed seats to sit with them for the second half, and was amongst a bunch of (Shall we say ) restless people. I missed the photo of their goal as I was moving out of the way for somebody, I missed our equliser as all the tossers in front were standing up!! , and I had packed the camera away (for a quick exit) when Jimmy pulled off his track suit , ran on , and stuck it in the net!!

NOT A GREAT ADVERT FOR FOOTBALL, BUT A GREAT ADVERT FOR TWO FOOTBALL CLUBS, THEIR FANS, AND THEIR LEGENDS. I WOULDN'T HAVE MISSED IT FOR THE WORLD !!!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Excellent reports and pics Ian...

Also surprised at the attendance - or lack of. Suspected they'd get 10K+...as you say. 'short memories'.

Half expecting you'd have some probs' on your week-end (usually chaotic) rail trip!

Seems not - or is that in Report III? :rolleyes:

Cheers

Robt P.

Link to post
Share on other sites

No real problems , apart from the coach to Crewe going on a 5 mile detour and the fact that I would have had to wait 50 minutes at Crewe for the coach back to Winsford, I got SWMBO to fetch me instead.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice pics, they've always been funny about taking pictures in grounds, even back in the 60's and 70's, if they're for private use, which these obviously are, ahem, I can't see the problem.

One question, who are the three 'old' boys in the photo, is one my hero Les Bradd, he was there surely.

I struggled through the appalling County web site to find the attendance and was quite shocked, considering the size of the city, 6000+ was a drop in the ocean. Looking at the pics, the enormous gaps on that lovely ground were very sad. Given the national publicity, I gather that the Independant had a full page obituary, and it has been much mentioned on Sky Sport, it just shows you what a lack of respect for sport people have in Notty, it's an opinion I've always held, OK when whichever team are doing well, they can bask in self glorification, like if they have the rarity of an Olympic gold medalist.

On the other hand, if the club had not been so greedy and made it a special Jimmy Sirrell day with reduced admission fees, even the Forest fans might have turned up, I don't know how much was made of this between the Evening Post and the club, so I shouldn't comment really, but it could have been a day to remember.

Incidentally, I think this clapping lark is wierd, it must be some Americanism, like the roadside flowers at car crashes. Lets get back to the 2 minutes silence and peoples private thoughts, it seems more respectful to me.

Are there any plans for a Jimmy Sirrell memorial match, it could be an interesting combination of things, but please not a ritual County V Forest, Jimmy deserves much better than that.

Just to lighten things up, remember the worlds greatest Notts fan, Percy. He always stood in the wooden stand with his Brylcreemed hair, demob coat and surrounding fans and admirers. His enjoyment of the game was to insult every player, of both teams, and be generally obnoxious, he was like Al Read on acid.

Quite frankly, it was a joy to stand near this bloke, anything could happen, I think he was dissapointed when Jimmy Sirrell took over and the team became succesful, he could no longer complain about Charlie Crickmore, the genius winger who would run and run and be too knackered to cross the ball at the end of it, and whovever Percy chose to point his manevolent vocals at, they suffered the consequences.

He had a hatred of Allen Mullery, who once got so annoyed with Percy's comments during a match, that he attempted to climb over the barrier to sort him out and had to be restrained by the ref.

The greatest moment ever was when Mick Rose, the fabled goalie, fell writhing on the floor during a goalmouth incident. Percy's comment, 'Give him a kiss ref and he'll be alright'.

Ref walks up to Percy and says, 'Come down here and I'll give you a bloody kiss'.

Thats what football was all about, but what happened to Percy, is he an old boy sitting in a retirement home regretting his insults, did he ever forgive Jimmy Sirrell for ruining his fun.

I recall bumping into him in the Central Market and seeing him being totally humbled and nagged by his wife, it was very amusing, I bet he's probably passed on now, but who knows. God help Jimmy Sirrell if there is an afterlife and he bumps into this bloke, Jimmy will probably arrange something and be back on track down here next week, refreshed, rejuvenated, away from Percy, and be ready to go.

Link to post
Share on other sites
...I gather that the Independant had a full page obituary...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituari...20s-944134.html

Penned by Ivan Ponting, who writes excellent sporting obits' in their columns...

Cheers

Robt P.

SEE POST BELOW FOR THIS ARTICLE

Link to post
Share on other sites

I was quite surprised about the picture thing ,this is going to show naivety on my part ,but I thought you got in for free if you were press, as they were glad of the publicity.!!

The picture of the old boys is Les on the far side and Brian Stubbs nearest the camera (I'm not sure who is in the middle)

A couple more. This time it's Dean Yates nearest camera

JimmysDay019-1.jpg

Now Mick Vinter

JimmysDay022.jpg

As for the people hurling comments, on Saturday the announcer said "The Notts County man of the match is..... Richard Butcher." and two fellows leaving past me said to each other "Who the F*** is he kidding " 30 seconds who pops in the winner ?? Brilliant !!

JimmysDay049.jpg

Hmm Admin better go back and take a picture from the other side?

JimmysDay049.jpg

Thanks Rob (You posted that whilst I was writing my bit )

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...