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The CHRIS WADDLE thread

Archibald&Crooks

Aegina Expat
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Feb 1, 2005
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Christopher Roland Waddle born Dec 14th 1960

After famously working in a sausage factory he joined his hometown club Newcastle United. After 46 goals in 170 games for Newcastle, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur in July 1985 for a fee of £590,000. At Tottenham he established himself as a regular in the England team, playing in the side that reached the quarter finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico linking up again with Beardsley. [ar]
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After the World Cup he enjoyed his most productive season. He won an FA Cup runners-up medal in 1987 when Spurs were beaten by Coventry, while they also finished third in the League and got to the semi-finals of the League Cup. In the same year, Waddle found himself in the pop charts, with the single Diamond Lights making the UK Top 20 in a duet with Spurs and England team-mate Glenn Hoddle. In 1988, he was in the England side which lost all three group games in the European Championships.

In July 1989, after scoring 42 times in 172 appearances for Tottenham, Waddle moved to Olympique de Marseille for a fee of £4.5 million, the third highest fee in history at that time. In a team of stars he was one of the top players and during his time there the club were French champions three times (1990, 1991 and 1992). He infamously missed a penalty in a shoot-out at the end of the 1990 FIFA World Cup semi-final against West Germany, ballooning the ball over the bar.

Waddle was seen as a strong contender for the 1991 European Footballer of the Year. However the tactics of Red Star Belgrade in the 1991 European Cup Final, whose stated tactic was to play for penalties, caused Waddle to have a deeply ineffectual game. Red Star Belgrade went on to win the final and Jean Pierre Papin won European Footballer of the Year. Chris Waddle's performances in the 90-91 season were phenomenal, and probably the most complete season of a British player abroad since John Charles in the 1950s and Kevin Keegan in the 1970s. Because of English disinterest in Continental European football, having just come out of the Heysel ban, and a particular ignorance of French League Football, Waddle's time at Marseille is often overlooked.
During his years in Marseille, the fans gave him the nickname : "Magic Chris".

Here are a couple of clips:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1KEMMfV5-Qg
Hoddle & Waddle - Diamond Lights :lol:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IGhgNWWdVjU
In action for Marseille (Couldn't find anything Spurs) :bowdown:

I remember Waddle as having the ability to beat a man simply by raising an eyebrow, well, that is how it appeared at the time. One game, at home to Nottingham Forest I think it was, we played piss poor and the outstanding moment of skill was Waddle bringing a long ball down with one touch as it dropped over his shoulder. It was a real shame to see him leave WHL and no surprise to see him achieve so much success at L'OM.

Appearances/goals: 137(1)/33 (LG), 15/5 (FAC), 21/4 (LG CUP)
 

DC_Boy

New Member
May 20, 2005
17,608
5
yep - a top top player

my favourite memory was the bridge in 86/7 season - CW was running down wing I was v.near where action was -' go on Chris you can beat him (or some such)' shouts I as hapless Chelsea defender shaped up - Wadds duly did, no danger - crossed in for Allen to score one of his 49 goals that season

Indeed Clive scored 2 that day - other one supplied by a bit of Hod magic as we won 2-0 - happy days :)
 

Wellspurs

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2006
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Hoddle got him the job at Marseille when their chaiman asked Glen [then at Monaco] who was the second! best English player.
What was his record in Europe? I'm sure he played for us in uefa cup, I remember watching him against Drogeda 6-0?
 

advinhifi

New Member
Oct 22, 2006
24
4
Waddle is and always will be my idol...
Should have been european player of the year when marseille lost to red star in that campaign. Papin pipped him for it, but it should have been his. That year he was magical.

If only he was in our team now...
If only...
 
Dec 8, 2006
93
15
Waddle memory

If I remember correctly the first home game in which Chris Waddle really showed us what he was made of was vs QPR in early 1987 - a game notorious for Gavin Maguire's tackle that nearly took off Danny Thomas's leg and ended his career.

Hoddle was injured if I remember rightly and Gary Stevens was proving unable to create anything from midfield. Pleat took the unusual step of moving Waddle inside, from where he proceeded to spray an amazing succession of accurate passes to his team-mates. I seem to remember half of them going inside the QPR left back - the late Robbie James (must be his big red moustache that fixed it in my memory). Eventually they led to our winning goal - a Clive Allen pen.

When the passes started flowing, my mate and I began a chant of 'There's only one Chris Waddle', which spread along the whole length of the shelf. The only time I ever achieved such a thing!
 

dannythomas

Well-Known Member
May 17, 2004
3,757
2,813
My favourite player.

Yes Carl even Leapy in his prime could not have kept him quiet ! I was really upset when he was sold - he could have given us another 5 years. I remember in his last season with us he played for a while with a free role and scored some stunning goals . One magical game he had against Villa one night sticks in my memory. Also the Coventry cup final where he skinned the full back to cross right onto Allen's head for our opener.
 

Sally_G

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2005
1,036
277
Waddle was a sensation in his last season for us. Absolute class. If only he'd stayed to play with Lineker. Oh well.

Waddle highlights for me include his 40+ yard chip at a muddy Dell, him and Gazza ripping the piss out of Millwall at The Lane, his 2 great goals at home to Villa, and his mullet.

And if my memory serves me correctly, it was 18 years ago to this very day that we sold him.
 

Chuba

SC founder member gone bad, i love u all
Sep 21, 2003
5,916
2
My best memory of waddle was not for us actually but for Marseille in the CL Semi-final return game against AC Milan.

One of those european nights never to forget as Chris played some outstanding football against a Milan team out to get the little froggy's.

I don't believe i have ever seen so much jumping with elbows raised ever (and i saw Spurs against Wimbledon), they just didn't stop hassling, and elbowing left right and centre, obviously this had an effect on Marseille but they just kept on playing.

Chrissy was particulary sectionned out as he had pace, skill and was one of the most dangerous to score a goal for Marseille apart from JPP (Jean-Pierre Papin), so as the game went on u could make out that Chris was not really there, sort of dazed and confused sort of thing, then suddenly a break from the centre left for Marseille, Waddle streaming down the right hand wing into space. JPP puts in an incredible long header pass pin points Waddle who steps up and whacks the ball flying passed the keeper and into the net.

The whole of the Marseille ultras explodes and all the players swamp Waddle who is actually knocked out standing up; after he gets up u can still make out that he's really not there in his head.

He was later interviewed by french tv about his marvellous goal, and he said what goal did i score?! He was later taken to the local Marseille hospital and treated for concussion.

What a goal, what a night and i will never forget him.

This goal can be seen in the compilation below at 30 secs from behind the goal and at about 2 mins also from a rooftop cam, the players swamping him is about 0.2.06 sec in where u can see he's not really there mentally.

A Chrissy compilation from his times at Marseille which is the same as above in fact:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGhgNWWdVjU

PS:
Sally G u really should ask a mod to change ur name as ur not a girly...
 

dannythomas

Well-Known Member
May 17, 2004
3,757
2,813
My best memory of waddle was not for us actually but for Marseille in the CL Semi-final return game against AC Milan.

One of those european nights never to forget as Chris played some outstanding football against a Milan team out to get the little froggy's.

I don't believe i have ever seen so much jumping with elbows raised ever (and i saw Spurs against Wimbledon), they just didn't stop hassling, and elbowing left right and centre, obviously this had an effect on Marseille but they just kept on playing.

Chrissy was particulary sectionned out as he had pace, skill and was one of the most dangerous to score a goal for Marseille apart from JPP (Jean-Pierre Papin), so as the game went on u could make out that Chris was not really there, sort of dazed and confused sort of thing, then suddenly a break from the centre left for Marseille, Waddle streaming down the right hand wing into space. JPP puts in an incredible long header pass pin points Waddle who steps up and whacks the ball flying passed the keeper and into the net.

The whole of the Marseille ultras explodes and all the players swamp Waddle who is actually knocked out standing up; after he gets up u can still make out that he's really not there in his head.

He was later interviewed by french tv about his marvellous goal, and he said what goal did i score?! He was later taken to the local Marseille hospital and treated for concussion.

What a goal, what a night and i will never forget him.

This goal can be seen in the compilation below at 30 secs from behind the goal and at about 2 mins also from a rooftop cam, the players swamping him is about 0.2.06 sec in where u can see he's not really there mentally.

A Chrissy compilation from his times at Marseille which is the same as above in fact:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGhgNWWdVjU

PS:
Sally G u really should ask a mod to change ur name as ur not a girly...


Interesting that Chris is the only one of the Legends of the Lane who got better after they left us. All the others played their best club football for Spurs. Chris was a legend for us but I bet he is even more of a legend in Marseille.
 

Chuba

SC founder member gone bad, i love u all
Sep 21, 2003
5,916
2
Interesting that Chris is the only one of the Legends of the Lane who got better after they left us. All the others played their best club football for Spurs. Chris was a legend for us but I bet he is even more of a legend in Marseille.

Yes he was idolized at Marseille from the first game he played for them which was more we can say for us, as i remember people booing him at WHL on quite a few occassions.

Things suited him so much better when he played in France, but you have to admit that Marseille had a fantastic team in that era aswell.

I actually met him in a bar at Antibes (near nice) and got his autographe but said little to him as i was in aura to see such a legend.
 

Sally_G

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2005
1,036
277
PS:
Sally G u really should ask a mod to change ur name as ur not a girly...

You daft sexist.

I too enjoyed that Milan game. I remember an interview with him some time after and he admitted that he must have been f**ked, because he would never have tried a right foot volley if he was thinking straight.

Not true that he was accepted in France right away though! He struggled in his first few games which he blamed on living in hotels, but eventually he got a house, and in his next match (against Bordeaux and live on TV with the spotlight on him) he scored that audacious back-heel. They loved him from then on.

But yeah, he was jeered at The Lane early on. Sickening really, but the same went for Henry and Pires at Arsenal. Ignorant pack mentality.
 
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