In a moment of boredom I decided to search google for a list of the Worlds worst International Football teams and I came across this...
"Montserrat: Managed by former Dagenham & Redbridge midfielder Kenny Dyer, Montserrat are ranked 174th. They have struggled to play many matches at home because of the volcanic activity on the Caribbean island and claimed their first victory since 1995 with a 7-0 win over the British Virgin Islands in 2012. The same year, though, they were held to a 4-4 draw by a Network Rail XI at The Valley in Charlton. Their most famous player is Ruel Fox, who scored one goal in two games and went on to coach his adopted nation."
Does anyone remember the game against Network Rail in 2012? Was anyone actually there!?! Attendance?
It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on this and any other bizarre fixtures the Valley has hosted in the past.
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4) Network Rail 4-4 Montserrat, 19 May 2012
Last Saturday, just before most football fans in England watched West Ham and Blackpool compete for the "most lucrative prize in football" and then tuned in to see Chelsea lift arguably the most prestigious, 300 punters journeyed to the Valley to observe the worst country in the world. Montserrat have good reasons for being joint bottom of Fifa's world rankings – the island's population of around 11,000 was halved when the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted in 1995, causing thousands to flee abroad. Only some have come back, and part of the island is still uninhabitable. Efforts to get the country's football league up and running have foundered. Hence, it is difficult for the national team to improve on a record of just two competitive victories since their first senior match in 1991. It is also difficult to find teams willing to play Montserrat in friendlies. So manager Kenneth Dyer was delighted to accept an invitation to play against an XI of employees of Network Rail, including Kenneth's brother, engineer Lloyd.
Montserrat have not played a competitive match since last July when they became the first team to be eliminated from the 2014 World Cup, beaten 8-3 on aggregate by Belize. But their only other match between then and Saturday brought a rare victory, a 2-0 friendly triumph over Antigua. A star was born in that match. "A college student from Massachusetts called Alvin Poteen was on holiday in Montserrat, where his father is from, and he saw the national team training and asked if he could join in, so I said yes," Kenneth Dyer tells the Joy of Six. "It turned out he was a very good central midfielder so he played against Antigua." Dyer welcomes such chance encounters, as harnessing the diaspora is key to Montserrat's progress. And progress there truly is. "When I played we didn't have anything, not even towels or shampoo but I've now got us a kitman, physio, goalkeeper coach and so on, and we're making strides."
For the game at Charlton last Saturday he selected a squad of players based mainly in England, though few play at a level as high as the captain, Anthony Griffith of Leyton Orient. The proceeds from the game went to charity but this was a Fifa-recognised match whose football merits were appreciated. "This was an important game for us and a tremendous opportunity for our guys to play at a ground such as Charlton," says Dyer, who enjoyed a 17-year playing career in Cyprus. "The Federation and I have a long-term plan, looking 20 to 25 years ahead. Cyprus used to be in a similar situation to the one Montserrat is now in, insofar as they used to lose matches 7-0 or 8-0 and they found it very tough to find anyone interested in playing against them, but they kept going and developing and now they are serious opponents."
Montserrat were not looking like particularly daunting opponents on Saturday when they went 3-0 down to the railway workers by half-time and then conceded a fourth early in the second half. Then Dyer introduced three local-based players for their first international cap, players who, because of the lack of a local league, have to arrange informal games amongst themselves and their mates back home. They stormed back to make it 4-4. "Their superior fitness did us in the end," said the Network Rail goalkeeper Paul Smith.
With such youngsters to call on, plus several stalwarts who missed the game at Charlton either through injury or to club commitments in Australia, Dyer says he is confident of unprecedented success at the Digicel Caribbean Cup that takes place later this year. In the last edition Montserrat lost all three group games and did not score a goal. "This year I think we can get out of the group at least," says Dyer, who invites any good players with Montserrat heritage to get in touch. "Just Google me or the Montserrat FA, we absolutely want to hear from you."
Couple of Valley obscurities on there - two games v the British Olympic team, managed by one Charles Hughes.
Knowing @DaveMehmet I'd expect many a time. Bet the museum would be reluctant to take it for that reason.
Seeing Charlton beat Feyenoord 2-0 seems a bit strange now. Surely the most random though are those weird games they put on of the kids that are played by YouTubers (not that I'd ever see one). Not even footballers playing - you can't get much more random than that.