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Birmingham City is a big city club with a history of heroic failure the ultimate yo-yo club. Yet it has attracted plenty of big players in its time, including its fair share of mad men. Why do Blues continue to favour the more psychopathic among the fooballing fraternity? youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V ... ure=player_embedded One theory as to why is that the catchment area for Birminghams fans is depre sed. Its where hard people live hard lives and Blues fans have always identified with those who are willing to die for the cause. Many is the time fans have vented frustration at the end of a match because the team has not put it in for 90 minutes. Ive heard those same fans clap the team off many times because they got stuck in, even if they lost.Mean: Kenny B Ryan Miller Women Jersey in full Scottish battle dre sMy first encounter with the mad man syndrome was watching Kenny Burns as a kid. Kenny, a demented looking Scot, would throw himself around and generally lay waste to any defender or midfielder who dared to get in his way. The fans loved him. He later went on to prove his winning mentality under Brian Clough, who converted him to a central defenderat Forest.Archie Gemmill, although a midfielder,was in the same mould. Although he had the body of a small child he would go through players three times his size like a rabid Cam Fowler Women Jersey Jack Ru sell through a pack of Rottweilers. He, needle s to say, was warmly received by the Blues faithful.It was always warmly received by Blues fans when an aggre sive guy in a blue shirt laid waste to opposing fancy dans in a bid to win po se sion or prevent further humiliation.The first real psycho I remember in a Blues shirt was the legendary Mark Dennis. He was involved in no end of but Mr Dennis was equally tapped on the field of play. A left-back of some talent he was also ble sed with the ability to cause trouble in an empty house.He played 130 times for Blues between 1978-1983, scoring one Julius Nattinen Men Jersey goal, but his more impre sive statistic was his disciplinary record. In a 259 game career that also took in Southampton, QPR and Crystal Palace, Dennis managed 12 sendings off and 64 bookings. This was not poor luck on his part, I can a sure you.Nutted: One of Dennis's more famous victimsI once watched him have a running battle with the late Alan Ball, then of Southampton, at St Andrews. World Cup winner Ball, no shrinking violet himself, finally had enough of Denniss attentions and kicked out off the ball. Dennis, never one to turn the other cheek, ran 10 yards and nutted him, pausing only to clap the fans as he walked straight off the pitch. Ball was sent off too, to cries of hang your balls up Alan Boot from the Kop.Mad Pat van den Hauwe, who went on to win two Corey Perry Women Jersey League winners medals with Everton and played with distinction for Spurs, was also a psycho left back around the same period. Blues nurtured Psychos menace as a youngster and he made his debut in 1978, going on to make over 150 appearances between then and 1984.If he was playing today even Nick Griffin wouldnt be safe from him if someone toldPat he was a right-winger. Many a haple s forward ended up in row Z off the boot of Psycho. Happy days.The next incumbent to succe sfully wear the mad man tag was Julian Dicks. Dicks, was another who would see the red mist at the first sign of antagonism, in a career that saw him represent Liverpool and West Ham (twice) in addition to Blues.Ironically the man nicknamed Terminator had his career terminated by a serious knee injury, after years of crippling wingers mercile sly. He played for Blues between 1985 and 1988, making 89 appearances. He wasfamously banned for stamping on Chelsea forward John Spencershead, a charge he still denies. Indeed Spencer, probably realising he would have to face Dicks some time in the future, wrote to the FA on his behalf saying Jacob Larsson Kids Jersey it was an accident!Having hadthree complete nutters occupying the left-back berth over a 10-year period, Blues had a break beforethey recruited Martin Grainger in 1996 from Brentford. Deadly from set pieces he made 266 appearances and scored 28 goals, most of them crackers. He was also deadly to wingers who tried to get past him and quickly found his way into the Blues hall of fame as a feared exponent of the psychopathic arts.Grainger had to retire in 2004 after failing to recover from snapped knee ligaments. It was a sad lo s to Blues but his final act was to score a cracking free-kick against Man Utd.Next well take alook at the mad men of midfield. |
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发表于 2023-5-31 18:35:02