Author Topic: 80s Footballers Aging Badly  (Read 12758 times)

Salvatore

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80s Footballers Aging Badly
« on: 09 November, 2020, 10:03:28 pm »
The twitter account of this name regularly posts pictures matching the description. Usually involving premature hair loss (with vain attempts to hide it), and/or extravagant facial hair.

Currently the FA Cup of 80s Footballers Aging Badly is being held. It has now reached the 2nd round. There are 4 ties every evening from about 7:30, determined by a vote. The vote is open for 24 hours.

The account can be found here

These two, for example, were drawn against each other in the first round. A shame that one had to lose, because they would both have been worthy finalists

Hugh Sproat (32) v Henry Hall (32). For some reason Scottish players seem to be very well represented. Tough paper rounds up there, obviously.

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Cudzoziemiec

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #1 on: 09 November, 2020, 11:05:47 pm »
They're stretching the definition of 80s a bit, for instance with these two, 28 and 29, so not even born in the 80s.

Or have I misunderstood the maths?

Anyway, impressive the way they diverge; some still looking like, well, 80s footballers, while others are, um, aging badly.
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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #2 on: 09 November, 2020, 11:19:32 pm »
erm, surely the photos were taken in the 80s ?

Salvatore

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #3 on: 10 November, 2020, 05:33:24 am »
The ages are the ages of the players when the picture was taken (or.published). One of the first round ties had to be replaced when it was found that the ages given was wrong.
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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #4 on: 10 November, 2020, 09:56:38 am »
I think the idea is that modern footballers all look like fine specimens and seemingly can go on until they are 40. Back in the 80s, footballers probably spent more time in the pub than everyone else in the country put together, came in all shapes and sizes and often looked like they were playing sunday league after a week on the bins and a weekend on the ale.

Salvatore

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #5 on: 10 November, 2020, 10:23:18 am »
Back then every effort was made disguise premature hair loss, often with hilarious results e.g. Ralph Coates. Nowaday's he'd just shave the whole lot off.

John Dempsey and his remarkable barnet which is fooling no-one. A pre-season publicity photo, but his surely his coiffure couldn't have stayed like that after 90 minutes of hurly-burly at the Bridge? 


No it couldn't


Hughie Sproat is unusual amongst the candidates in that he has a full head of hair.

PS I'd post a photo of front-runner Nivaldo but it might cause undue distress to small children and those of a nervous disposition.
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Wowbagger

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #6 on: 10 November, 2020, 10:32:56 am »
Hughie Sproat's eyebrows are possible the finest of his hirsute features. Heading for the full Alistair Darling.
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Cudzoziemiec

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #7 on: 10 November, 2020, 01:04:57 pm »

In the 21st century, we require several months of lockdown to get anywhere close to this.
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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #8 on: 10 November, 2020, 01:07:37 pm »


Funny how nobody ever saw John Dempsey and Terry Nutkin in the same room together...

(I jest, obv. - IIRC, Nutkin's hair was somewhat longer)
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Salvatore

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #9 on: 10 November, 2020, 01:44:50 pm »
Hughie Sproat's eyebrows are possible the finest of his hirsute features. Heading for the full Alistair Darling.

That reminds me of a story about the Wimbledon and Cardiff City owner Sam Hammam, who appeared to have the same colour combo.

Following a match when Cardiff won something momentous, he was celebrating with the players in the dressing room.  Champagne was being sprayed over all and sundry including the club's owner, and the dye in his eyebrows began to run.

I don't know if this is true. More recent photos show a uniform white.
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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #10 on: 10 November, 2020, 02:00:00 pm »
What's Antonio Borges doing with the larval form of Dick Strawbridge on his top lip? :demon:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EmUVAclXIAAPR--?format=jpg&name=small
https://twitter.com/80sAging/status/1325488769030623233

And, are we sure that picture of Terry Hennessy wasn't a Victorian-era daguerreotype that's been coloured?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EmUxhVEXYAIspY5?format=jpg&name=small
https://twitter.com/80sAging/status/1325520116348579842



"He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." ~ Freidrich Neitzsche

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #11 on: 10 November, 2020, 02:11:54 pm »
I see I'd misunderstood the idea. It's not footballers of the 80s aging badly now, it's them aging badly while they were playing in the 80s. Perhaps I've become too used to the modern ideas of athleticism in football (?) but whatever reason, I find it hard to credit that some of those players were only in their 30s or 20s when those photos were taken!
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mattc

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #12 on: 14 November, 2020, 07:24:31 pm »
This is brilliant.

Compare to cycling s top 2020 races: they're won by 25year olds that look 12.
Has never ridden RAAM
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Salvatore

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #13 on: 21 November, 2020, 01:19:40 pm »
This is the draw (with Henning Wehn the guest celebrity drawing the numbers) for the last 16.





Chimenti v Nivaldo is the obvious tie of the round.



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et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #14 on: 21 November, 2020, 04:09:46 pm »
Shame it's a a knockout - we're missing out on a 'group of possible premature death'.

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #15 on: 21 November, 2020, 10:39:25 pm »
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

FifeingEejit

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #16 on: 21 November, 2020, 11:31:02 pm »
The twitter account of this name regularly posts pictures matching the description. Usually involving premature hair loss (with vain attempts to hide it), and/or extravagant facial hair.

Currently the FA Cup of 80s Footballers Aging Badly is being held. It has now reached the 2nd round. There are 4 ties every evening from about 7:30, determined by a vote. The vote is open for 24 hours.

The account can be found here

These two, for example, were drawn against each other in the first round. A shame that one had to lose, because they would both have been worthy finalists

Hugh Sproat (32) v Henry Hall (32). For some reason Scottish players seem to be very well represented. Tough paper rounds up there, obviously.



NEverheard of him despite playing for United
Anyway Wikipaedia explains it all "Born: 22 April 1945 (age 75 years), Skinflats"

Although it looks like he hung up his boots in 1979 having gone from the Dizzy heights of United to Forfar.



FifeingEejit

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #17 on: 21 November, 2020, 11:39:50 pm »
Shame it's a a knockout - we're missing out on a 'group of possible premature death'.

Quick blat through United's 1983 division winning team indicates that so far only Ralph Milne is deid.
Although the manager (McLean) is apparently so badly destroyed by Dementia he hasn't a clue he won the league, and no idea about the state of Luggy's Parkinsons.


Cudzoziemiec

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #18 on: 22 November, 2020, 12:37:05 am »
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Salvatore

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #19 on: 28 November, 2020, 09:14:19 pm »
Semi final draw. The 2 Scotsmen have avoided each other, and are both at home for the semis. Brazilian Nivaldo  has been the favourite all through the competition, but can do it on a cold and wet December night in Ayr?

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FifeingEejit

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #20 on: 28 November, 2020, 11:36:26 pm »
Having been to Somerset Park for a midweek Scottish Cup replay against Lochee United (I got to the first tie due to a dentists appointment for my first proper filling) I'd say he's a dead cert.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlB7bV6RdTovqUoAEtG8vesNthsQ

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Salvatore

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #21 on: 30 November, 2020, 08:39:13 pm »
Voting for the final now open



and also for the 3rd place match, but the two contenders have allegedly been on the lash since lunchtime

(@lastlegsfc)
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FifeingEejit

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #22 on: 30 November, 2020, 11:50:42 pm »
That is surely just Sproat trying to gain extra home advantage?

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #23 on: 02 December, 2020, 12:03:23 pm »
The twitter feed can now advertise itself with 'As featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal"

Behind a paywall, so this is all I have

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Barred From Stadiums, Soccer Fans Have a New Game: Which Player Looks Oldest?
In a U.K. competition called “80s Footballers Aging Badly,” the wrinkled and the bald battle bristly mustaches and extreme mutton chops
Back in the 1980s, when he played goalkeeper for Scottish soccer side Ayr United, Hugh Sproat liked to entertain fans by swinging on the crossbar.

He also grew a thick, bristly mustache, which this fall made him a front-runner in a contest to see who was the oldest-looking player before sports nutrition and ice recovery baths took over the game.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/barred-from-stadiums-soccer-fans-have-a-new-game-which-player-looks-oldest-11606836683

Salvatore

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Re: 80s Footballers Aging Badly
« Reply #24 on: 02 December, 2020, 01:48:39 pm »
The article also has a quote from Hugh Sproat and a picture of him as he is now (I somehow got past the paywall).

Now it's over, we have the “World Cup of Scottish Footballer Lookalikes 2020 #WCSFL2020”  at https://twitter.com/shoottb_podcast. There are still a few hours left for voting in the group stage.

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