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    Clubcall

    The mention of CEEFAX reminded me of Clubcall, the phone based service. Of course, it was one of those innovations that seemed to open up massive new vistas of information then which now would seem annoyingly meagre. I I can't think of the format but I seem to remember that, during times of transition and rumour, I rushed to the phone to work out what was going on. However, like now, I would be most bored if I found it was just the manager's post match thoughts. It never had any live match commentary or anything like that. Actually, there may have been but, of course, I only phoned during office hours - there was no way I was using my home phone. I seem to remember interviews from Phil Neal, Frank Burrows and the owner, Samesh Kumar, which would tie in with the time that Clubcall was on its descent into internet. I just checked and there is actually a Clubcall website which seems as shonky as the phone service.

    #2
    I remember when David Mellor was some sort of football champion he took up the issue of clubcall numbers. This was because the clubs were issuing news about tickets only over the clubcall number. But the recorded message didn't start with ticket news, oh no, you had to listen to the managers post match thoughts, reserve team news, youth team news and then finally they got round to the bit you really wanted which was how to buy a ticket for the forthcoming cup tie. It would take ten minutes to get there and all about 48p a minute, and this was in 1995!

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      #3
      The only time I used Clubcall at length was in 1989 when Norwich were about to sign a star striker who was intended to be the final piece of the jigsaw in their title challenge. It turned out to be Dean Coney, the phone call was extremely long and dull, and the hapless forward went into the annals as one of our very worst signings. We won only two of our last ten games and finished fourth.

      ​​​​​​​My parents weren't too thrilled when the bill came through. It was very expensive and a waste of money - a bit like Coney.
      Last edited by Arturo; 02-04-2020, 10:02.

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        #4
        0898 121 197. I never dialed it, we had a block on premium rate numbers on our line, but that number remains imprinted on my mind - especially after the rare occasions when Bury's was a line on the Clubcall adverts on the end of a multi-page story on Teletext ('Shakers swoop for World Cup ace? 0898 121 197')

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          #5
          Wow, that one was seriously deep in my subconscious.

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            #6
            I only rang it once. On that occasion the second item was that on an episode of some sitcom being aired that evening you could see a Brentford calendar in the background. I was quick to realise that this really was a horrendous waste of money.

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              #7
              Originally posted by Arturo View Post
              The only time I used Clubcall at length was in 1989 when Norwich were about to sign a star striker who was intended to be the final piece of the jigsaw in their title challenge. It turned out to be Dean Coney, the phone call was extremely long and dull, and the hapless forward went into the annals as one of our very worst signings. We won only two of our last ten games and finished fourth.

              ​​​​​​​My parents weren't too thrilled when the bill came through. It was very expensive and a waste of money - a bit like Coney.
              Crikey, there's a flashback. As noted elsewhere, it was my first season following football but I still knew with absolute clarity at the time that that signing was an underwhelming waste of time and money. From his Wikipedia article:

              Towards the end of the 1988-89 season, Norwich manager Dave Stringer paid £350,000 for Coney. Norwich were enjoying an excellent season and were in with a chance of winning the first division championship. Stringer felt that Coney would score the extra goals that were needed, though Coney had failed to score in his 16 games that season for QPR. However, his time at Carrow Road was neither happy nor productive for Coney. He scored just one goal, which was a fortuitous one - in a league match against Aston Villa at Carrow Road on 22 April 1989 he charged down a clearance by Villa goalkeeper Nigel Spink and the ball rebounded off Coney's backside and into the goal. His performances became lacklustre and the supporters were very critical of Coney. The transfer fee was, at the time, one of the highest that Norwich had paid for a player, but little return on it was received. He was frequently heckled during matches and at length handed in a transfer request, stating "the fans have it in for me." Coney suffered his cruciate injury in a reserve match before he was able to find another club.
              Ouch. I hadn't realised that was the end of his pro career too ('Flown From The Nest' adds that "A hernia problem and a snapped cruciate ligament ended Dean's Norwich career." Double ouch.), after what had actually been a decent 7-year spell at Fulham then that briefer interlude at QPR.

              With hindsight, it feels like that season was perhaps a better chance of winning the league than 1992-3 even when we came 3rd. Sigh.

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                #8
                Originally posted by Paul S View Post
                I remember when David Mellor was some sort of football champion he took up the issue of clubcall numbers. This was because the clubs were issuing news about tickets only over the clubcall number. But the recorded message didn't start with ticket news, oh no, you had to listen to the managers post match thoughts, reserve team news, youth team news and then finally they got round to the bit you really wanted which was how to buy a ticket for the forthcoming cup tie. It would take ten minutes to get there and all about 48p a minute, and this was in 1995!
                Aye, that sounds exactly like their modus operandi.

                I realised yesterday, after writing the initial post, that social media had become so all pervading (and footballers' more accessible as they revert to non-league) that I had gone from listening about Jim Rollo (I expect) on Cardiff City's clubcall to him correcting me on Facebook about the difference between Stroud and Wotton-under-edge.

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                  #9
                  It was pre-internet click bait wasn't it?

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