Thursday, December 27, 2007

The Future of United??

Have a look at this little lad!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG47FDenyXw

This Is Surreal

Old Trafford must seem a million miles away . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e23DZBC5mx8

David Beckham and Snoop???!!!

Puskas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmK6Q6YU4ys&feature=related

A European Cup Final For The Purist In You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlGOXOa-lnc

This game is commonly regarded as one of the greatest European Finals ever

England 3 Hungary 6 November 1953

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgOs_m5bXCs&feature=related

This footage is ingrained on any student of English football history's brain . . . the day tactics were thrown up in the air and revitalized in a way never thought possible

When We English Had Our First Wake Up Call

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYFl6oOad3E

This fascinating German footage shows action from The 1950 World Cup when England were beaten 1-0 by the USA plus footage from the final

The Day Bestie and Co Ran Riot!

Hello All,

If winning the World Cup in 1966 wasn't enough, the icing on the cake was this, when United won the European Cup for the first time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwJSNlpGsUM

Of course, we didn't have drama on this magnitude until 1999 . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf3DNit0FvE

Truly memorable stuff! Still brings a tear to the eye all these years on

Eddie Kennedy

When England Truly Had A World Class Team

Hey Up!

Happy days indeed . . . and I wasn't even born! The 1966 World Cup Final

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIGiYn8Iw1Q

Have fun

MOTD The USA Way

A True Gent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG4ATQHt708

This link takes you to one of the true gents of the game . . . a man by the name of Zola . . . a wonderful Italian player who played in the Premiership for seven years . . . enjoy!

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

When Gary Met Diego

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFz-qEzEfm0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adHoGYBRNh0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW3xcudqSCw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckjaSS2CqY4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te3_sq-cCV8&feature=related

The above links take you to a programme I watched on the BBC before I left for the US of A. It was a programme where Gary Lineker, one time England centre forward and the second highest England goalscorer behind Bobby Charlton and now successful presenter of some programme called Match of The Day met Diego Maradona, the scourge of England but, it has to be said, one of the greatest players of all time. It's a fascinating programme and I hope you enjoy it.

The Best Night Out At Old Trafford I Ever Had

Hello Football Lovers everywhere,

In March 1984 I was privileged to be at Old Trafford to witness one of the greatest comebacks ever.

The European Cup Winners' Cup was a tournament played between winners of each European country's F.A.Cup winners. Manchester United were, in 1984, in the quarter finals. The opponents were the mighty Barcelona. Their side included Diego Maradona and Bernd Schuster, the German who is currently the manager of Real Madrid.

In the first leg of the tie, United were beaten by 2-0. The odds were stacked against us. What happened has lived with me for ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzsIFKJRt3s

If you click on this link you see brief edited highlights of the game that'll live with me for ever. We won by 3-0.

Enjoy

Eddie

How Fabio will be honoureyed!

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2007/12/20/21.12.07.SPORT.CapelloEnglish.pdf

Wenger presses Almunia's England claims | News | Guardian Unlimited Football

Wenger presses Almunia's England claims News Guardian Unlimited Football

BBC SPORT | Football | Premier League | O'Neill blasts ref after thriller

BBC SPORT Football Premier League O'Neill blasts ref after thriller

BBC SPORT | Football | Premier League | Chelsea 4-4 Aston Villa

BBC SPORT Football Premier League Chelsea 4-4 Aston Villa

BBC SPORT | Football | Premier League | Sunderland 0-4 Man Utd

BBC SPORT Football Premier League Sunderland 0-4 Man Utd

Is It Really Two Years?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3i9O7uqGJ8&feature=related

Watch this footage and you'll understand why George Best's funeral was live on British TV . . you'll understandwhy he was held in such high esteem as a footballer in the UK and around the world

God Bless Bestie!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2HWUbFGHMU

Well Done Jamie Redknapp!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aph8mgWEX9w&NR=1

Anglos Saxon Vocabulary Anyone??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1r1av1Shn4&feature=related

The Man From Govan Glasgow at his finest!

I'd Love It If You Watched Thsi!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXpUdBlRZe8

This was just a memorable piece of footage

The Legend That is Eric

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVhQ6nME8f8

See this link above ? Well, hopefully, if you click it on it, you'll see a few minutes of excellence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTq6aApCBnA&feature=related

and this one . . sit back and enjoy a true legend !

Au revoir mes amis!

Football - Spare The Rod and Spoil The Child??

Hello All,

Happy Holidays everyone . . .well, the festive Football campaign is well under way. The games come thick and fast . . .games are on as I write this right now . . . must get to the telly very quickly!

I've been reading a lot lately about football players and their thoughts and behaviour. Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool captain, wants a quota put on the amount of foreign players allowed in the English game. My beloved Manchester United had their recent Christmas Party and got into trouble ( making the trashy British TV series "Footballers' Wives" look a bit more realistic than is comfortable for my liking.

Let's talk about the quota issue for starters. It's never going to happen. The Treaty of Rome prohibits the restriction of movement of EU citizens between member states. The argument "well, it'd have to be an agreement between clubs" would never get off the ground in my book. Let's face it, clubs sometimes want their cake and eat it. Let's remember Jean Luc Bosman.

Here was a guy in the mid 90's who was at the end of his contract. Thankfully, freedom of contract by now was in place. He wanted to play for one particular club. The transfer fee offered by this club was more than was offered by another club who his employers wanted to sell him to. However, the club was not prepared to sell hum to the club he wanted to go to. ( As I write this, it reminds me a bit of the saga United had with Gabriel Heinze . . . )

Bosman was unhappy, quite rightly so. At the end of the day, when you go to work, you have to be happy don't you? He consequently took his case to the highest European Court - and he won. Now players can move more freely than ever before. They can let their contract finish, and be perfectly within their rights in doing so. More importantly, clubs who have players who let this happen lose out financially. Big style. Classic case in point - well, two now I think about it - Steve McManaman at Liverpool in 98-99 season if I remember rightly and Michael Ballack at Bayern Munich. Both left their clubs to go to other clubs ( Real Madrid and Chelsea ) for no transfer fee and pocketed a huge signing-on fee. The pendulum has swung so in favour of the players it's gone just a little bit silly. Players can now, after the age of 25, if they have been with their clubs for more than 3 years, buy out their contract if they want to. Like most things in life these past 40 odd years, there needs to be a happy medium struck. Will it happen? I don't know.

I sound a bit like an old fart! Oh well, I have turned 40! Only joking, I am a fully paid up member of the "Life Begins At 40" brigade! Anyhow, I have to say that I fully back Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, who has banned his players from organising parties after lurid tales emerged from their Christmas Party. What players have to realise is they really do have a duty to set an example to people, especially the younger generations. They are paid thousands of pounds a week ( to put it into context, I was on 15,200 pounds a year working in a call centre back home and that was the highest salary I had ever had in my life ) for playing football. I'd give my high teeth to be able to say I have stood on the grass at Old Trafford.

However, I'm not totally against footballers and their salaries. My argument has always been that if you are in an industry which wants to pay you silly money, are you going to turn it down??!!! I don't think so. It is a short career and they do have to look after themselves financially as best as possible. You just have to behave fellers, that's all we want. Plus, fans have to stop treating opposing footballers like they are something they have trodden in. We all have a duty to clean up our collective acts. We are all only human after all. Eric Cantona famously proved that in January 1995. If I find the footage, it'll be on this blog, have no fear.

If you want to read what a well brought up footballer and human being can sound like, read the article from "The Guardian" which carried an interview with Phil Neville. It makes refreshing reading. It's on this here blog.

Anyhow, time for me to be glued in front of the telly - it's Boxing Day after all, which means beaucoup de footy. Have fun and be ready, there may be shows posted on here soon of the show David Beckham only dream about getting on , namely"Match of The Day The USA Way" every Monday morning at 7am on Valley Free Radio, 103.3FM here in the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts. It is also available to listen to online, just go to www.valleyfreeradio.org and follow the instructions. It's dead easy - if I can do it, so can you. Ta ra!

Malaysian referee pulls out red card, then a gun | Breaking News | Guardian Unlimited Football

Malaysian referee pulls out red card, then a gun Breaking News Guardian Unlimited Football

Neville fires at overpaid and underworked young stars | News | Guardian Unlimited Football

Neville fires at overpaid and underworked young stars News Guardian Unlimited Football