Euro 88: The Football Purists’ European Championship

An exclusive extract from Steven Scragg’s new book, looking back at the classic 1988 tournament

Jun 14, 2024

Friday 14 June 2024

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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Friday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore, as Euro 2024 kicks off in Germany!

As it’s the opening day of the tournament, I thought we should publish something Euro-related, and I’m delighted that author Steven Scragg has allowed me to share an exclusive extract from his new book.

Euro 88: The Football Purists’ European Championship delves into the last major international tournament on European soil before Italia 90 – a tournament of rancour and drama blessed by the presence of Gullit, Van Basten, Belanov, Protasov, Vialli, Klinsmann, Butragueño, Elkjær, Whelan and Robson. It was a tournament that had it all.

As for Euro 2024, The Scarf My Father Wore will include all the fixtures each day, along with all of the best venues showing the games across Stockport and the surrounding areas. I’m also planning to watch lots of different matches in lots of different places so I’ll cobble together some words and photos for you over the next few weeks as well.

EURO 2024 – DAY 1

8pm: Germany v Scotland 🇩🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Here’s a list of the best places to watch tonight’s opening game…

Bask (SK1). All the action on two 75” screens, with commentary through the PA.

Crown (SK2). Buy a pint of Helles tonight and you’ll be in with a chance of winning 52 free pints! There’s also a special menu throughout the Euros.

Armoury (SK3).

Reddish Working Men’s Club (SK5). There’s four screens in the games room, a new projector in the lower games room, and a screen in the middle room where families and children can enjoy the match. Check out the Special Offer Wheel which will be offering a variety of great deals before, during and after the game.

Railway (SK6).

Marple Tavern (SK6). Food served at half-time such as burgers, hot dogs, pizza and chips.

Steelworks (SK6). Game shown upstairs, unless requested otherwise.

Shady Oak (SK7). Food served during the game from the matchday menu. Pick up a loyalty card to receive a discount on certain drinks.

Three Tunnes (SK7). Buy a pint of Helles tonight and you’ll be in with a chance of winning 52 free pints! There’s also a special menu throughout the Euros.

Cross Keys (SK8). Bitter £2.30 a pint all day. Discounts on certain lagers 12pm - 6pm.

Flute & Firkin (SK12). Call 01625 879181 to book a table, and quote “The Scarf My Father Wore” to receive 10% off your first round of drinks. (Not applicable for walk-ins.)

Friendship Inn (SK13). Five big screen TVs with surround sound, including one outside in the beer garden.

Today’s edition is sponsored by B.J. McKenna & Co and A Star Clean. A big thank you to both Adam and Patrick.

Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.

Total distance so far: 148.94 miles

Total steps so far: 237,462

Total raised so far: £1,831

Total completed streets so far: 304 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)

Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.

Des Junior

A magnificent contradiction of a squad, as the tournament began, Ireland were ranked as the 33-1 outsiders, yet here they were, unbeaten in ten games and fresh off the back of 18 months of Jack Charlton inspired belligerence. Europe had been warned, they had seen the evidence for themselves in the shapes of victories over Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Poland, yet still they were little considered as a genuine threat to the great and the good of the top-table at Euro 88.

Conversely, Charlton was characteristically blunt in his assessment of those viewed as the tournament favourites. While he did concede that the Netherlands were likely to win the tournament if allowed to play the way they wanted to, he was utterly convinced that nobody was going to freely allow them the luxury to do so, while he had little good to say about West Germany’s hopes.

Added to this, Charlton was also scathing about England’s chances, observing shrewdly that while they possessed some excellent individuals, he was less impressed with their ability to work together as a team.

With his own team supremely organised and brimming with self-confidence, the main factor that concerned Charlton heading into the England game was the weather conditions. Hot and humid in Stuttgart, it wasn’t a temperature that naturally played into the hands of Ireland, with their high-energy, up-tempo pressing game, yet the perfect footballing storm lay ahead.

With England fielding two wingers, Ray Houghton and Tony Galvin’s discipline in the wide-midfield positions was to be key, as they doubled up efficiently with Chris Morris and Chris Hughton in neutralising the threats of John Barnes and Chris Waddle, while Frank Stapleton dutifully dropped deep into central midfield alongside Ronnie Whelan and Paul McGrath every time Ireland lost possession of the ball, swamping the forlorn efforts of Bryan Robson and Neil Webb.

It meant that John Aldridge was to plough a lone-furrow up front for much of the afternoon, constantly snapping at the feet of the disorientated Tony Adams and Mark Wright, his relentless hard work ethic repaying Charlton’s faith in the striker, who was still without a goal at international level and had been at the centre of much conjecture pre-tournament over whether David Kelly should be chosen ahead of him.

So effective were Ireland in delivering on their tactics, that until the introduction of Glenn Hoddle, England themselves had been drawn into a long ball approach of their own, that was largely nullified by the unflinching Mick McCarthy, alongside the diligent Kevin Moran, and the goalkeeping of the inspired Pat Bonner.

From the moment Houghton’s header drifted over the helpless Peter Shilton, magnetism was at play, as Bonner made a succession of outstanding saves, denying Robson, Hoddle, and repeatedly Gary Lineker, inclusive of that incredible last gasp stop, via Hoddle’s pinpoint free kick.

Compared to the first two games of the tournament, where the football was more measured, technically proficient, and far more controlled, Ireland and England served up a snow globe of a game that was at times bemusing, but ultimately no less enthralling as its two predecessors had been.

Across the span of the first 15 minutes this was a game that was at times completely and utterly unrecognisable in terms of football at the very highest levels; the ball ricocheted from green to white shirted players, and back again with an alarming voracity, with neither team seemingly able to maintain possession for any more than a short few seconds.

Fast paced, but erratic, percentages were played, with mindless balls lumped up field, no shortage of head tennis partaken in, with a ball that was to be found as much in the air as it was on the ground. Here was an occasion with none of the neat, short-ball variant of the sport that we’d all seen West Germany, Italy, Spain, and Denmark deal in to varying degrees of success and failure during the opening two days of the tournament. Even before the goal, as a sighter, McGrath had got the first shot in on target, although one which was comfortably dealt with by Shilton.

Then, suddenly, came the golden moment, and it stemmed from a late tackle from behind by Lineker, just inside Ireland’s half, on his future Tottenham Hotspur teammate, Hughton. Not a tackle laced with any serious malice, but a painful one all the same for the left back, and had the East German referee, Siegfried Kirschen, allowed Hughton to receive the on-field treatment that his injury warranted, then maybe the goal wouldn’t have happened.

As Hughton got to his feet and began the process of limping his injury off, it was Moran who took the free kick, aiming it towards the right back area of the England half, where it should have been simple enough for Gary Stevens to deal with, despite the attention of the drifting Stapleton.

Mark Wright had other ideas, however, pulled across from central defence as he was, either handed by Robson the duty of shadowing Stapleton in such circumstances, or simply hypnotically drawn to the ball itself. Whichever it was, it resulted in he and Stevens going for the same header, in turn sandwiching between them the perplexed Stapleton.

From here, the ball bounced off Stevens’ head, not to his right and out of play for a throw in, but instead to his, Stapleton, and Wright’s left, towards the England penalty area and into the brief possession of the loitering Galvin.

Awkwardly positioned as it came to him, Galvin plumped for the only realistic option available to him, as he hooked the ball upwards and toward the penalty spot, where it was met by Kenny Sansom, who has been drawn across from left back to totally misjudge the bounce, getting his left foot to it but succeeding only in sending the ball back up into the air for Aldridge and Tony Adams to contest.

Not exactly known for his aerial ability, Aldridge’s determination meant he brushed Adams aside as if he were not there, sending his header on to Houghton, who arrived unmarked from the Ireland right to head the ball home, and unleash bedlam on the terraces behind.

As the ball nestled in Shilton's net, Houghton, Aldridge, and Whelan peeled away to celebrate, leaving Adams to raise his arm in a familiar but unrequited manner. No foul-play has occurred, and the West German television director was so bewildered by events that he focusses his camera angle of choice on Aldridge, having completely failed to recognise that Houghton was the man to score.

Throughout the ten seconds during which the ball travelled from Moran’s boot to the back of the England net, Shilton defiantly refused to venture outside the confines of his six-yard-box, a man arguably as culpable for the conceding of the goal as Lineker, Wright, Stevens, and Sansom were.

For the remaining 84 minutes, this game tends to be projected as a story of England’s profligacy up against Ireland’s defiant defence and a goalkeeper in inspired form, yet it was Charlton’s side that came the closest to scoring again, when Whelan shook Shilton’s crossbar during the second half.

Absorbing England’s inevitable pressure as they chased the game, Ireland counterpunched their way to the final whistle, but not without the will to put the matter beyond Robson’s side with that potential for a second goal, a positivity that was shown when Stapleton was withdrawn just beyond the hour, making way for the introduction of Niall Quinn, and the addition of Kevin Sheedy’s vision for the last 13 minutes, in place of Galvin.

Without a win over England since 1949, this was only the second time that Ireland had beaten them at senior international levels, yet there was a peculiar balance at play that nobody seemed to be able to reconcile. On one side, in historical terms this was a massive result for a nation that was going into their first ever game in the finals of a major tournament, against what was at that point only one of six teams to have won the World Cup.

On the other hand, however, here was an Ireland side with three players who had just been part of one of the greatest Liverpool vintages ever, three more that had been the bedrock of Celtic’s double-winning team, and another seven to make on-pitch contributions with either FA Cup or League Cup winners’ medals to their name.

Accumulatively, the 13 players that took to the pitch for Ireland against England could boast nine First Division league titles, 13 FA Cup wins, six League Cup successes, 16 major Scottish honours, plus one winners’ medal from each of the European Cup, the European Cup Winners’ Cup, and the UEFA Cup. This was a collective of impressive substance, and one which knew all about winning things.

England, meanwhile, with their dysfunctional collection of star names, had a set of players with significantly less of a back catalogue of success. Only six of them had a league winners’ medal to their name, with four of them obtaining theirs in 1987/88, three of the 13 that Robson called upon had no senior club honour at all, and only three of them could flash you their FA Cup winners’ medals. Yet, we were all sold on the concept that the team in green had pulled off a shock that doesn’t completely add up, when you crunch the numbers.

Via hard work, determination, excellent organisation, focus, team-spirit, experience in winning, incredible support, and the rustic football thinking of a man with a World Cup winners’ medal in his pocket, Ireland did more than just ride their luck against an England side that tipped up in Düsseldorf without many of the strengths listed above, and a seemingly sleepy expectancy of a gravity delivered two points. Stuttgart was to witness the party to end all parties from Ireland’s supporters after the match, with a now honorary Irishman in Charlton dancing on tables before the night was over.

Euro 88: The Football Purists’ European Championship, published by Pitch Publishing, is now available to buy in bookshops across the country, priced at £18.99 in hardback.

The book is currently available on Amazon for £14.15, with the Kindle edition priced at £9.99.

Cohabiting couples… make sure you have a will in place

There are over six million unmarried couples cohabiting in the UK.

A recent research study showed that more than one third of cohabiting couples were unsure about what rights they would have if their partner passed away without leaving a will.

Even more worryingly one in ten cohabiting couples wrongly believed that they would be automatically entitled to inherit their partner’s share of any property they lived in together. With cohabiting becoming more common this misunderstanding could lead to a nasty surprise for many people.

When someone dies without leaving a will their estate is dealt with in accordance with the rules of intestacy. Currently these rules do not provide for cohabiting partners. If you are not married to your partner they will not receive anything on your death.

If you want to provide for your partner, whether by leaving them your property outright or just the right to live there for a period time while they make other arrangements, you need to make sure you have a valid will.

Your will does not only deal with your property but all of your assets. If you and your partner have built a home together there could be upsetting disagreements with your family regarding who owns certain assets. If your partner relies on you to contribute to the household bills and mortgage they could find themselves in difficulty if they don’t have access to your finances after your death.

Don’t leave it too late. Make a will to provide for what happens after you’ve gone.

For further information please call 0161 432 4325 or email michaela@bjmckenna.co.uk.

Give those carpets of yours a clean

A Star Clean offer professional carpet cleaning for £35 a room, or three rooms for £90, with sofa cleaning starting at £50. If you’ve had a spring clean recently, give your carpets a little TLC as well.

Give Patrick a call on 07395 642066 or email patglee78@icloud.com.

Photo of the day

Somewhere in Turkey

One of our subscribers Simon Nield sent us this snap from his holiday recently, enjoying the Turkish weather with his granddaughter Harper. Both looking splendid in royal blue!

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Wicked Little Letters (15) at 6pm, followed by Back To Black (15) at 8.15pm. Click here for tickets.

💿 DJs

Stockport’s biggest party at the weekend is at Bask (SK1), with DJ Gareth Brooks playing till 3am. Last entry 1.30am.

The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have their resident DJ playing on a Friday night, with Dicko (Ian Dickinson) on from 8pm till 1am.

🍺 Food and drink

If you find yourself in Stockport today, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a pint or two.

Treat yourself to lunch at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). One course for £7, two courses for £11. 12pm - 2pm.

🎸 Live music

90 PROOF at The Crown (SK6). 9pm.

100 random grounds that County have played at

#37 – Mill Farm, AFC Fylde

Last visit: December 2019, a couple of days after Boxing Day. Fylde were relegated this season, but they were 1-0 up at the break thanks to an early goal from Ryan Croasdale.

Jim Gannon’s men hit back in the second half, though, with two goals in eight minutes from Tom Walker and Dan Cowan to spark wild scenes in the away end.