Sunderland game

[Paul michael]

Sorry if this has been posted before, I assume it has, but I am new to this site and have not scrolled through all the topics. Why did the writers have Oz, Dennis and Neville (even tho he had to do with the radio!) so desperate to spend the time and money to watch sunderland play in Liege, when they were big Newcastle fans, surely toon fans wouldn't cross the road to watch their deadly rivals, let alone travel to another country!

[Tracy]

Must be some kind of cock-up !

[AWP Corsa Tim]

I think it was to get them out the hut for a while so they could have an event to go to that in some way would relate to 'home'... or at least something close-ish to it, thats my guess anyway..

[aid9]

Ian La Frenais has said since that hadn't decided that they were Newcastle fans at the time of the episode, They wouldn't have gone with that storyline if they had. He said it on a documentary that i watched.

[Lou]

Well I think my husband would rather spend the nite in the hut reading oz's overdue library books and being bored off by Barry's photos than going to watch a Birmingham City game as he's a villa fan. They'd have to drag him kicking and screaming. I think he'd rather scrape out his eyeballs with a rusty knife and replace them with hot toffy apples than watch the blues!

[Auf Wiedersehen, Pet]

Very descriptive Lou....

[Tracy]

Ya kna, in all the time I've known Lou, I think thats the longest speech I've ever heard her make !

[Barley mow]

Ya kna, in all the time I've known Lou, I think thats the longest speech I've ever heard her make !

aye Lou are ye in or not?

[GeordieMaffia]

To be honest though back in the 70's and early part of the 80's the rivalry between us and Sunderland wasn't as bad as it is now.

I know many people, my Grandad included, who would go watch Sunderland one week and Newcastle the next. So the lads making the short trip to see them (obviously way before many televised games etc) isn't that far fetched in my opinion.

[Auf Wiedersehen, Pet]

Not being a football fan, I can see how not being able to see many games back in the 80s, would make a football fan travel to watch an English team close to them in Germany.

[Si]

Was a bit strange esp as in If I were A Carpenter Dennis said to Oz "What you got a Sunderland sticker on the back for? I didn't know yer supported them!"

But by Episode 3 they pay money to watch Sunderland.

We need to get La Frenais on the blower!

"Hallo, Patterson's house. Who? WHO? Ian La Frenais? Listen, am I a magpie or a Mackem?"

"Giz that here, man! Look I'm sorry, Ian. I knar it was just the script at the time. Okay, I'm on me way...."

"What's he doing, ringing yer up, La Frenais?"

"We work for him, can yer not remember?"

"Oh aye. Still deserves a scudding like, writing me as a Mackem!"

"Just calm doon, man. Look I've hurt him a lot more than you could, ya knar!"

"Oh aye, how you done that like?"

"Said Open All Hours was better than Porridge!"

"Christ, yer pulled a flanker there, Den..."

Etc....

[peng50]

The strange this is Nev defending Sunderland when Bomber has a go - Okay fair enough if they wanted to get away
and watch a game like, but you don't defend your biggest rivals the way Nev did with his "better than Bristol Rovers"
jibe eh

While we're on the subject, does anyone remember on the Sunday of the Newcastle weekend, when we were all in the
boozer halfway round the bus tour, and a film crew walked in asking if there was any Sunderland fans in who wanted
to talk about Yesterday's game ? Of course being in Newcastle, the question drew a blank, so 5 minutes later they
marched back in, asking for any Newcastle fans, who wanted to pretend to be Sunderland fans for the interview !!!