Centre Spot UK

27/07/2025

What an achievement for the - they continue to inspire a generation of young women, as well as the entire country. Congratulations to our England Women!!! 🦁🦁🦁

03/07/2025

How can words express the devastating news today. Diogo Jota was one of the most likeable and decent footballers in a modern world where greed and ego overshadow what the good guys do. Number 20, you were such a great example of what football truly is. Mike and I express our sincere condolences and respect to Diogo’s family, Liverpool FC and Portugal. 🫡🙏🏻♥️

13/06/2025

U21’s invited to trial for my Old club ‘Old Rivingtnians’, Horwich, Bolton. Welcome to trial, contact the details in the information. Good luck and welcome 🫡

11/05/2025

To a City that personally, I have had the pleasure to work in and know the good people, short as it was. Mike and I would like to mark this day with respect and rememberance. To all who lost their lives and those whose lives where changed forever, 40 years on, we wish to share our thoughts. 🙏🏻

03/05/2025

As Goodison Park hosts it's final 3pm kick off today, we look back at our visit there and the new stadium that awaits the Toffees.

Simon and Mike visit Goodison Park, the home of Everton Football Club. They discuss the history of the club, the amazing statistics of Goodison Park and the ...

06/03/2025

Getting ‘community’ into a community initiative. Good work!

📢 Announcement 📢

We are delighted to announce that Saturday 31st May 2025 will be hosting a fundraising music event.

📍The Ramp, Horwich, BL6 7JH

⏰ 7pm - Midnight

🎟️ £6 which includes booking charge.

🎤 The artists we have playing are local to the area

music


💷 All money raised will be donated to our 3️⃣ chosen charities of 2025:





👀 Lookout for upcoming posts with more details and the link to purchase your tickets.

17/01/2025

Here at Centre Spot UK, we are saddened to hear of the passing of Denis Law CBE at the age of 84.

Denis signed for Manchester United in 1962, setting a British record transfer fee of £115,000.
Law spent eleven years at Manchester United, where he scored 237 goals in 404 appearances. He remains third in the club's goalscoring history behind Wayne Rooney and Sir Bobby Charlton.
Our thoughts and wishes are with Denis' friends and family.

12/12/2024

ON THIS DAY: 12th December 1984

A truly indicative fixture for football in the 1980’s.

12th December Celtic v Rapid Vienna, which took place at Old Trafford! 😳

Cetic were drawn against Rapid Vienna in the Second Round of the European Cup Winners Cup back in the 1984/85 season. The first leg was in Austria and Celtic were beaten 3-1 but won the second leg in Glasgow 3-0 on the 2nd December. This sealed the fixture as a win the tie 4-3 on aggregate... as they left the pitch, that is what both sides thought!

Both legs had seen trouble on and off the pitch from both sides. There was also crowd trouble at Parkhead, which included a bottle being thrown onto the pitch and a linesman being pelted with missiles (mainly coins). This resulted in UEFA ordering the second leg to be replayed at a venue at least 100 miles from Glasgow.

That match was played at Manchester United's Old Trafford ground on December 12th with around 40,000 Celtic fans travelling south. Thought to be more than attended in Glasgow. Things from both sides didn’t really improve but Rapid won 1-0 to give the Austrians a 4-1 aggregate victory.

The match resulted in more trouble, player conduct was dubious - two Austrian players were attacked by Celtic fans, everything that was now indicative of 80’s football.

UEFA ordered Celtic to play their next home European match behind closed doors and fined them £17,000.

Rapid went on to reach the final of the ECWC, where they were soundly beaten by a strong Everton side 3-1.

Celtic played their only home European match in 1985/86, against Atletico Madrid in a return leg defeat of 2-1, behind closed doors.

Infamous European game from 1984 as Rapid Vienna kick and cheat their way through this game.

11/12/2024

ON THIS DAY; 11th December 1824

John Hope founded the first football club simply called The Foot-Ball Club in Edinburgh.
The club met in the summer months to play a form of football that did not resemble association football. Nevertheless, the organisation can claim to be the earliest recorded club playing football of any kind.

The club disbanded 1841. Membership lists and accounts of the club between 1824 and 1841 are held in the National Archives of Scotland.

In 2017, a brief set of handwritten rules was found on the back of the club's 1833 budget statement. This has been described as the earliest known written rules of football. It was the first time that the use hands was set into the rules, later to be clarified in what was to be ‘The Harrow Form’, instigation of the rules we know today.

A modern association football club with the same name was formed in 2007, in an attempt to revive the legacy of the old club.

Read more in the below article:

How a Scottish teenager set up the beautiful game’s first club exactly two centuries ago

10/12/2024

ON THIS DAY: 10th December 2016

Hats off to the boy who came back from nowhere.

Jamie Vardy scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a sensational performance where the Premier League champions Leicester City beat Manchester City 4-2. Manchester City were to be Premier League Champions in 2017.

In a fairy tale story of progression, released by Sheffield Wednesday at 16, Vardy moved to Stocksbridge Park Steels breaking into the first team 2007. Three seasons later he joined Northern Premier League Premier Division club FC Halifax Town. He scored 25 goals in his debut season 2010/11, and took the Players' Player of the Year award. 2011 he joined Conference Premier club Fleetwood Town scoring 31 league goals, again taking Player of the Year award as the team won the division.

In 2012 he joined Leicester City in for a non-League record transfer fee of £1 million. In 2014 the team took the Championship.

In 2015/16 he took his now Managers record, Ruud Van Nistelroy, in scoring 11 goals across 11 consecutive games.

In 2019/20 he became the oldest player to take the leagues Golden Boot.

Jamie Vardy scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a sensational Foxes performance

09/12/2024

ON THIS DAY: 9th December 1892

Happy 132nd Birthday ‘The Toon’

Newcastle United were formed between rival clubs Newcastle West End and Newcastle East End (West end approaching the East as they were in severe financial trouble). The original teams were as 1881 (West End F.C) 1882 (East End F.C.)

The old West End home shirt has since been used as the away shirt in recent times but the club formation brought about the distinctive Black and white in 1894 replacing the East End kit of Red shirt, white shorts, red socks used for the first two years of existence.

Suggested names included 1892 Newcastle, Newcastle Rangers, Newcastle City and City of Newcastle, but Newcastle United was decided upon on 9 December 1892,

The ground of St James Park was acquired by lease. One of the few clubs to have retained their ground throughout there history.

The club was refused entry to Fivisin One 1892-93, it was refused again in 1893-94 along with Liverpool and the then Woolwich Arsenal. They joined Division 2 in September drawing their first game 2-2 with Woolwich Arsenal.

08/12/2024

On this day in football... 8th December 1965.

It is almost the norm these days for players to make their England debut by coming on as a second-half substitute. Hundreds have won their first cap by doing this. However, it was back on this day in 1965 when, for the first time, a player made his debut for England when coming on as a sub. The player in question was Norman Hunter of Leeds United. The match was Spain v England match played at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium when, in the 35th minute, he replaced Joe Baker, who had suffered a pulled muscle. England won the match 2-0 and were very close to getting together a side who would win the World Cup a few months later – Norman Hunter was in the squad for the competition but didn’t play in the finals.
Hunter went on to play 28 times for England, as well as 540 times for Leeds United to become one of their all-time greats.

In 2009, Hunter was eventually presented with a 1966 World Cup winners medal.