Just when you thought it was all over

There's an FA World Cup Willie blazer badge ("unused"), World Cup Willie stickers, even World Cup Willie luggage labels.

The lot is expected to raise getting on £200 at the latest football memorabilia auction staged by John Wilson and old friends at Methusaleh, in Middlesbrough.

There are business cards and badges, tie pins, tea towels and Typhoo tea cards, even one of 1962 World Cup referee Ken Aston's resounding Acme Thundereers - for which they expect someone to blow £25.

Principally, however, the auction deals in programmes, the £750 top guide price expected to be realised for 1905 and 1914 Ayresome Park internationals between England and Ireland.

Few remain in pristine condition. They are variously described as delicate (aren't we all?), distressed (ditto) or slightly foxed. Others have split spines, torn edges or vertical creases.

One is even said to have "grubbiness to front". (See above.)

FA Cup final programmes from the 1950s are expected to fetch around £50, old Amateur Cup finals much the same. Boro Reserves, playing everyone from Seaham Harbour to Stillington St John's before the first World War, should bring £50-£75 each,

The auction is on Thursday October 24 at Marton Country Club, when members of the visiting 1966 North Korean team are expected to look in. Catalogues from John Wilson, 07718 120274.

Consternation at the Daily Telegraph on Monday evening when early word arrives that Peter Reid would go the following day.

Executive news editor and lifelong Sunderland fan Colin Randall rings his pal Peter Sixsmith, in Shildon. Pete checks Teletext. "He's already gone, it's just come up," he says.

Colin shouts "Reid's gone" to the chief sub-editor, a Man United fan, the message overheard by the night editor who's not a fan of anyone's.

"Christ," says the night editor, swivelling on his high powered chair, "we'll need a complete re-write of the Ulster front page splash." John Reid, apparently, is Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Warm from the presses but with an unavoidably longer gestation than the Daily Telegraph, the first rate Sunderland fanzine The Wearside Roar arrived on Wednesday.

"If Sunderland players want to be successful and keep their manager in his job, they must show collective pride and passion at all times," said the editorial.

A couple of days after it was written, they went to Highbury.

Paul Dobson, another arch-Sunderland fan, e-mails not just "grudgingly" to concede the title to the glorious Gunners but to raise the great Jurgen Klinsmann mystery.

Sunderland Reserves have twice been at West Auckland recently, pre-season friendly and Durham Challenge Cup. On both occasions, says Paul, spectators have been offered a free copy of the Klinsmann book - probably called What a Dive and written (he says) by a chap who looks remarkably like Rex Harrison.

Paul poses two questions: a) where did West Auckland FC get hold of several hundred copies of Jurgen Klinsmann's biography? and b) why?

Backtrack put the German bite on West secretary Allen Bayles. "Ah," he said, "those."

They were a gift from Bill Moody, chairman of Bishop Auckland based fork lift truck company Rushlift, the club's munificent main sponsor. "He just told us to try to make some money out of them," says Allen.

"For some reason no one seemed to want to read about Jurgen Klinsmann - they must have thought it was in German.

Everywhere we turned there were Klinsmann books so instead of chucking them in the bin we tried to give them away.

"We keep thinking someone will want one, but even that hasn't really worked."

The remainder, as they say in the books trade, lies with Mr Moody - who, unfortunately, is on business in Belgium. Should anyone next week be offered a fork lift truck load of Philippe Albert's biography, however, they can probably guess the provenance.

Eight days before he flies off to Australia with the England cricket squad, Durham fast bowler and former Ashington centre-half Stephen Harmison was at Shildon v Bedlington Terriers on Wednesday - four top layers and then off to his car for a fifth. Not that cold, surely? "Acclimatisation," said Harmi.

Chips and old blocks, Tuesday's column also wondered if Chris and Tim Nicholson had created a father and son cricket record. Chris hit an undefeated 113 and 18-year-old Tim 100 for Thornton Watlass, near Bedale. They miss out, suggests Jack Chapman, by an aggregate of four.

Jack, from Hebburn, is compiling a meticulous history of Co Durham first teams. In the Durham Coast League on Sunday June 3 1990, Richard Dreyer scored 113 for Bill Quay against Eppleton and his father Theodore 104 not out, adding 192 for the third wicket.

They also added 161 for the third wicket - son 115, dad 72 - against Seaham Park two weeks later.

Jack also offers a few fraternal facts and figures about brothers batting together - but more of that next time.

Birthday partying, we bumped on Tuesday evening into the learned Mr Eric Elliott, perhaps the only man to combine being a barrister with training racehorses.

"It's a switch off," he once said.

"There's nothing like getting up in the morning and shovelling muck to blow the cobwebs away."

Son of a Hartlepool fruit and veg wholesaler, Eric's now a head of chambers in Newcastle, trains near Rushyford with his solicitor wife Anne, uses Arthur Stephenson's old gallops and races in his late father's colours.

The racing's fine, the football even better. There's even a gnome in his garden wearing Hartlepool United colours.

"The Pool," says Eric with the full force of the law, "will win the third division by a street."

Dammit if another legal note doesn't arrive, this time following the reference in Tuesday's column to Amos the ostentatious ostrich. It's from the Stokesley Stockbroker and concerns the late George Carman QC, a man of whom it was said that he wouldn't clear his throat for less than £1,000.

Carman was involved in a trial with the much loved David Mellor when it was suggested that Mellor had behaved like an ostrich in ignoring something or other.

"The trouble with ostriches," said Carman, "is that when they stick their heads in the sand, they expose their thinking parts to the air."

The same column's piece on Bobby Davison - England amateur football international and the first cricketer to score a century at North Bitchburn - stirred particular memories for Arnold Alton in Heighington. He was the bit bairn at the other end. It was 1961. Bobby - "out of his class, even though he'd lost a finger at work" - smote 141; Arnold managed ten not out.

Coundon bowler Matty Garroway, he who became superintendent of Bishop cemetery, finally abandoned his run-up and bowled from the crease. As he'd done with so many previous deliveries, Bobby hit that one out of the ground, an' all.

North Bitchburn's team 40 years ago included characters like Ronnie Thompson, an Amateur Cup medal winner with Crook, Joe Pratt - grandfather of Durham County players Andrew and Gary - and the much remembered Jonty Raine.

Jonty's been a shoe repairer in Crook for 50 years, regularly helped in that long lasting endeavour by Norman Wilkinson from Annfield Plain, still York City's record goal scorer.

Now, we hear, Jonty may be about to shut up shop once and for awl.

* Thanks also to Mr S Gibbon in Wolsingham for memories of Bobby, Fred Jarrie - "the finest goalkeeper in the Northern League" - and the good old days of Crook Town.

And finally...

The only two players in the first starting line-ups of Hoddle, Keegan and Eriksson (Backtrack, October 8) were David Beckham and Gary Neville.

Brian Shaw today invites readers to suggest what was a little ironic about Skol's sponsorship of the Scottish League Cup in 1984.

Probably the best column on the Northern Echo sports pages on a Tuesday, we return in four days.

Robsons knight to remember

Sir Bobby Robson, job as safe as ours is, returns to Tow Law FC for a sportsman's evening on Friday November 1.

He was last up there on September 28 2001, spoke for getting on two and a half hours, didn't ask for a penny, stayed behind to chat and to eat his pie and peas, proved wholly engaging and utterly engrossing.

"A virtuoso display of football passion, wit, incisiveness and knowledge," the column reported.

Inevitably, they asked him back. "He even asked what day I wanted him to come," says Charlie Donaghy, again organising the event.

The evening, again with pie and peas and a comedian, is at Tow Law community centre from 7.30pm. It's a small venue and tickets, £13, will sell fast. Charlie will this morning be by the phone (01388 730444) to take orders.

By lunchtime, sold out, he hopes to be on the golf course. Truly a knight to remember

Published: ??/??/2002