Et Tu Fabio . . .

Fabio saying goodbye to the FA?

Good Morning All!

Who'd be a manager? Supposedly the natural progression for a player who wants to remian in the game . . .it seems to me more trouble than it's worth! Perhaps the most fraught job in football is that of England manager.

We recently saw the resignation of Fabio Capello, a man who came into the job with an incredibly high reputation, his CV littered with success in Italy and in Spain. Yet success eluded him with supposedly the finest crop of players we've had since . . . well since probably the last time we did any good as a nation, and that was back in 1990.



Was this how Fabio's resignation meeting went?

Fabio, with hindsight, didn't quite get the English culture. The role of Captain of the side in this country is a role not to be disrespected in any way shape or form. Call us old fashioned, but the Captain is supposed to be the leader of the team, someone who is to be respected and looked up to. In Italy, the position is looked at in a slightly different but nonetheless crucually different way. Normally, the player who's Captain is normally the person with the most service to the club. I remember Zanetti at Inter Milan and before that Guiseppe Bergamo holding the Captain's armband. Fine players though they both were, they got the gig on experience alone.

The furore surrounding John Terry's alledged racism trial against Anton Ferdinand puts being his England career as Captain into some jepoardy. Yes Terry has to be proved guilty . . . that is the rule and quite rightly so, but comments muttered by some players have suggested that he's not the most popular player in the game . A Captain has to command respect. End of story. It'll be interesting to see who Stuart Pearce picks as Captain for the game against Holland next week.

I'm proud to be English. First and foremost I'm a Manchester United fan but I want my country to do well. England have been dining out on 1966 for WAY too long. It was 46 years since we won a trophy. The top brass at the FA can't have been pleased by the way things went in South Africa during the World Cup. I get the feeling that Fabio's bosses acted in a slightly Machiavellian way and waited for him to shoot himself in the foot before thinking that now was the right time to see if he'd buckle. Fabio's reaction the dismissal of John Terry was the final nail in his coffin. Constructive dismissal you might think but the truth of the matter is that England fans want a passionate English man in charge of the national team. We've tried the foreign experiment with Sven and now Fabio. Both were paid huge amounts of money to bring success to the England team. Both failed. Controversy surrounded both men during their tenure for different reasons. With Sven it was prediliction for being on the front pages for his dalliances with women and the embarrassment that caused that ultimately lead to him going. Now with Fabio misplaced loyalty to John Terry has seen him go. Fabio picks the team but the controversy surrounding the England team and the Chelsea centre back was too much.

'Urry Up 'Arry Cahm On!

It's time for a football man, a man who understands how English men work and can get the best out of them. At the risk of sounding like I'm following the pack, Harry Redknapp is now the best choice for the job. He's done amn incredible job at Tottenham. He's had his low moments but he's a good manager. 

What I like about him that beneath the jovial Cockney personna that surrounds him there's a man who's not afraid of making decisons and I just get the feeling that any player who plays for him knows who's in charge.

I hope for everyone's sake that a mutual agreement can be arranged. We need stability before we go to the European Championships. I hope that one day there'll be a generation of kids who can name the England team that won a trophy, instead of the boys of '66 being the only names football fans can name.

All together now . . .Banks, Cohen, Wilson, Stiles, Charlton(J), Moore (C), Ball, Peters, Charlton(R), Hunt, Hurst - did it!

Change is good but continuity is also good. Cry God for Harry, England and St.George!

Enjoy Your Football,

Ed

Wonder how Harry would look with Larry's basin cut?



Things that make you go Hmmm . . .

There are many things that make you crazy. Things that drive you to talk and act in a way that is totally different from how you’d normally approach everyday life. Certain subjects bring out the beast in you! Fox hunting polarizes public opinion. Once upon a time The Rolling Stones were subject matter in the House of Commons. They still do when the subject of music crops up. Should they still be touring, making records, how is Keith still alive?! (If you read his excellent autobiography you’ll have a better idea!) One more subject comes to mind – Manchester United!

You either love the team or hate them. When players play for Manchester United you either think they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread or the biggest pain in the butt going. I was reminded of how the team that Linda and I love splits the football-loving nation straight down the middle the other weekend whilst walking from Antrobus Street car park with my lovely wife.

We were minding our own business when a man who I’d never met suddenly blurted out “What about that Rooney, eh? What a bloody fool!” Here we go again I thought, it’s time to dust down my tin helmet and be ready for the ABU (Anybody but United) flak!

Wayne Rooney had been sent off playing for England the previous night. He lashed out at a player and kicked him. It was silly and he deserved to go off. He got a three match ban from UEFA. I just hope that England for once do themselves justice and get through the group stages in the finals next year because if they don’t, you can be sure United’s loveable Scouse rogue will get the blame. You know why – because he plays for Manchester United and happens to be the most skillful player this country has produced since Paul Gascoigne. Funny how the hopes of a nation rest on one player . . . football is a team game played by eleven people isn’t it?

Manchester United fans, of which I am one of them, have seen players suffer in one way shape or form for many years. Steve Coppell, the right-winger signed by Tommy Docherty for £40,000 in 1975, severely injured his right knee playing for England in 1981 during a World Cup qualifier against Hungary. A career finished – at 28.

The 1990’s saw media coverage explode with the advent of the Premier League. The World Cup in Italy in 1990 helped as well. The game suddenly became the subject of the “chattering classes” in the coffee bars as well as the pubs. The first season of the Premier League saw the arrival in Manchester of a Frenchman who would leave his mark on the game and an abusive Crystal Palace fan! I refer to my hero, Eric Cantona.

One of the most charismatic players I have ever had the pleasure of watching play, I first saw him play in September 1992 in the white of Leeds United, our hated rivals. Here, the fickleness of fans was rammed home to me.  In the red of United it was “Ooh, aah, Cantona!” However, in the white of Leeds United it was “F@#k off Cantona, I said F@#k off Cantona!”

 Little did those fans who were hurling that abuse realize that a few months later the start of a glorious four and half year era was about to begin. It was the start of United’s rock and roll era!

Skillful stylish and charismatic, Eric brought a freshness to United’s play. A swagger, maybe symbolic of the “Hollywood” image of the club, was personified in the Frenchman. Trophies started to arrive. 1995 was to be a pivotal year for Eric. It was the year when, in my humble opinion, the Football Association finally had their chance to go after Eric and United.

The incident at Selhurst Park, South East London, on 25^th January 1995, has been well documented. United had struggled on a bad surface against Crystal Palace. A 1-1 draw, with the benefit of hindsight, probably cost us the League. We lost the League by 1 point that year.

Eric’s game had suffered. His usual slick passing game wasn’t as good as normal. Being the big star, he was the primary target for Richard Shaw, their defender, to be upset. His plan worked to perfection. Constant niggles from Mr. Shaw culminated in Eric lashing out at him. Eric got his marching orders and was sent-off. The vultures in the crowd saw their moment to pounce, especially one Matthew Simmonds.

This “fan” ran down the stairs in that stand and started giving Eric all kinds of abuse. Now, here’s where the cultural differences kicked in. Here in England the word “bastard” has been almost sanitized. It doesn’t have anywhere near the level of seriousness it does in Europe. Over there its literal meaning still has some gravitas! Eric had had enough. To be sent off is bad enough, but to criticize your Mother and question her integrity . . . well, a karate-kick is deserved!  

It was a sensational moment. It was shown on TV dozens of times. United acted quickly and consequently suspended Eric within 24 hours of the incident. Eric would not play again that season. Here’s where the F.A. stuck their nose in.

They wanted Eric banned for a further month. They wanted him banned from all football activity. He couldn’t even play in a practice match. For some reason, even now, sixteen years on, the words “restraint of trade” comes into my mind. Eric decided to quit. It wasn’t until a meeting with Sir Alex Ferguson in a quiet restaurant in Paris that summer that Manchester United fans were guaranteed and reassured that their star player would return. He did, and we had a couple of wonderful years with Eric captaining a side that contained youngsters by the name of Scholes, Neville and a young Londoner called Beckham . . . more of him later!

Having lived in the United States for five years, I’m well aware that a good conspiracy theory is well appreciated. One of the top men during the 1990’s at the FA was a man by the name of Brian Barwood.  Once head of BBC Sport, he famously told Greg Dyke, a fellow BBC big-wig (who happened to be a big Manchester United fan and a one-time director)   that if he had any say Manchester United would never be BBC’s “Team of The Year”. It was only when the Reds had won the League, the F.A.Cup and the European Cup during that celebrated season of 1998-1999 that the BBC were able to announce that we were “Team of The Year”.   Now I’m sure you’re wondering why the conspiracy theory allegations? Well, dear reader, the head of BBC Sport was a Liverpudlian who supported Liverpool . . . as the Americans say “I’m just saying!” 

That famous year saw Manchester United fans take David Beckham into their bosom and cradle him from the marauding hordes of away fans. He’d been a blossoming star at United for a couple of years, becoming the Cockney Red “of whom we are so proud” (Pete Boyle’s words) and gaining fame and notoriety with his skill and liking for spectacular goals, most notably the goal I witnessed at Selhurst Park in August 1996 when he scored from just inside his own half. It was a beautiful goal – Eric said so!

Anyhow, let’s get back to 1998. David got sent-off playing for England in the World Cup against Argentina.  England played valiantly for over an hour with ten men. England had a goal disallowed because of a foul on the goalkeeper. People missed penalties and eventually England lost yet who got the blame for the defeat? David Beckham.

The treatment dished out to him was disgusting. So-called reputable newspapers, papers that campaign for justice and proclaim to have the nation’s interests at heart should have been closed down. Papers like The Daily Mirror, who printed a dart board with David’s face on it, were the same papers who three years later were proclaiming him a savior when his specialist free kick skills saved England’s back side and got England into the 2002 World Cup Finals.

Two years later in the2000 European Championships David was the subject of vile abuse from England fans. He was pictured giving the fans the finger when he was subjected to abuse that went beyond “banter”; chants of “hope your kid gets cancer” make you wonder why he continued to play for England as long as he did. Well done to Kevin Keegan, the manager at the time, for highlighting this disgraceful abuse.

David’s foot was the subject of front page headlines when he injured a metatarsal playing for United. These papers are a hypocritical disgrace.  “Pray for David’s foot” and other such rubbish filled the pages of the tabloid papers for weeks, eagerly read by the idiots who were only too willing to hurl abuse when it suited them. One day they’ll realize that England haven’t been world beaters for many a long year and that before long we’ll be having a World Cup/European Championship song like the Scots had . . . “Don’t Come Home Too Soon!” (For the record, it was sung by Del Amitri – great band, saw them once in Manchester!)

David did eventually get fit in time to take some part in the World Cup that year. He scored the winner against Argentina - from a penalty no less. Everybody was happy. There were quite a few Manchester United players in that World Cup squad. They used to get booed.  Why – because of the team they played for. No wonder fans at Old Trafford used to sing a song that went like this (to the tune of “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain”) “You Can Stick Your F@#king England up Your Arse!!!!”  For the entire media circus that still accompanies David Beckham, I’ll always be a supporter of David’s. He’s a genuine, hard-working player who loves Manchester United.

Talking of Manchester United players from the capital city, Rio Ferdinand walked into a hurricane made by the Football Association in 2002. He forgot to go to a drugs test. The F.A. wanted the manager of the England team to not pick him. His team mates were on the verge of going on strike in protest. The ring leaders were Gary Neville and David Beckham. So, why the fuss you ask?

Under F.A. rules players were supposed to be guaranteed anonymity on cases of such severity until a verdict had been reached. The F.A., under the ruling of Chief Executive Mark Palios, a Liverpudlian ex Tranmere Rovers centre half, were going to clean up football’s image. Rio walked head first into a storm.  He was banned for nine months and fined £50,000. No anonymity, just a big fine and loads of publicity. The F.A. was grinning from ear to ear.

Now, Manchester United fans were outraged to say the least. It seemed another case of one rule for United, another for the rest. What made it particularly galling was the fact that it emerged in the press that a Manchester City player had committed the same “crime” and was only fined £2000 and had all the anonymity you could want! He couldn’t have asked for more anonymity if he’d ticked the box when doing the lottery!

You know, what goes around comes around. There’s a saying that goes “empty vessels make the most noise”; well our Liverpudlian friend Mr. Palios was one very empty vessel. It later emerged that the holier than thou Mr. Palios was issuing edicts on such issues whilst sleeping with someone who wasn’t his wife! What made it more intriguing and funny at the same time was the same woman was sleeping with the England manager!

So we come to the present day. Wayne Rooney has even drawn The Guardian, that bastion of respectability, into the debate. “Can Rooney Be Trusted?” or words to that extent. Yes of course he can. He can be trusted to have that extra bit of skill that no England player of his generation has to deliver that killer pass and score that great goal.  Manchester United players who play for their country are no different than players who represent their country and ply their trade with other clubs and should be treated so.

The level of expectation on England teams at tournaments is ridiculous. The sooner fans realize that England don’t automatically have the right to be classed as world beaters and that we have to work hard at generating skillful players who can pass the ball like Spain, the current World and European Champions, the better. It’s time we had the opportunity to celebrate . . . and not counting how many years of hurt it has been – currently it’s 45 and counting.

Cheer your country when they play and don’t have a grudge. When England fans stop having a go at players of my beloved Reds, I’ll stop thinking John Terry is a complete and utter . . . (insert your own expletive!!!) We all want our country to win. Even Manchester United players do, believe me!

Enjoy following football,

Ed

   

“Shirty” – The Wonderful Adventures of a Football Shirt

A timeless classic...the shirt too!

It’s amazing how a simple garment can have such power over a person or a group of people. The simple act of someone wearing something can determine the desires and actions of many. The world of fashion has known this for many years of course. However, the world of football has been equally aware of this for many years as well.

Attending a Congleton Town game last week at Booth Street, when “The Bears” or “Da Bears” as I now know them as (it’s amazing how powerful American popular culture is) were playing Alsager Town,  Linda and I noticed that Town’s number 11 had a different shirt on than the rest of his team mates. It took the referee a few minutes to realize this . . . ah, the joys of non-league football. Once Town was in unison kit-wise, they managed to beat their near neighbours 2-1. It was a good game, full of tension and drama. There were some great tense moments: a penalty save, an injury to Congleton’s excellent keeper which resulted in quite a few minutes of injury time and two well-taken goals scored by the home team. That period of injury time saw an onslaught on Town’s goal. A woman sat across from me had to avert her gaze from the play, so tense was the goal mouth action.

“I can’t look” she said. Evidence, if you needed any, that a fan, someone who feels happiness and pain in equal amounts dependent on the actions of eleven men on that pitch, can be a man or a woman.

There may be some women who watch football just to ogle the players. However, those who go understand the game and can be as vociferous as a man. Just ask my wife! The pictures coming out of Turkey of the Fenerbache game attended by women only are further proof that football is the people’s game, not just the stronghold of men. That game was attended by women, if you didn’t know, as a result of crowd trouble resulting in the club saying that no boys or men were allowed to watch as punishment.  You know it would be a good idea if clubs over here did something to promote more women to watch games.  In my opinion, I think that the more people who watch and care for the game the better. Not all women who follow football are W.AG.S. (This stands for “Wives and Girlfriends” for the uninitiated. These ladies do women a disservice in my opinion. They seem to be with their men just for the glamour that they can buy, courtesy of their men’s grossly over inflated wages.)

Give me an F! No trouble fellers, take note

The other moment during the afternoon at Booth Street that caught my attention was the sight of a happy little lad making his way towards the main stand with his Dad in a Barcelona shirt with “Messi 10” on the back. It was a stark reminder of the power television has over the game. In an interview with the BBC here in the North West, the manager of our little football team, some feller called Ferguson (you might have heard of him!) spoke rather elequently and very truthfully on the power TV has in this country.

"When you shake hands with the devil you have to pay the price," he said, "Television is God at the moment.  It is king.  When you see the fixture lists come out now, they can pick and choose whenever they want the top teams on televisioin."

Why did this little lad have a Barcelona shirt on? According to a copy of Four Four Two magazine I have, the aforementioned shirt costs £54.99! That’s well over $100! In this current economic climate, that’s amazing. Of course that shirt will be out of date at the end of this season when new kits come out. I have become a big fan of “old fashioned” football shirts. The Old Fashioned Football Shirt Company (www.toffs.com) is great for fans who want to wear their team’s colours without being slaves to football fashion.

 Where was the boy’s Manchester United shirt, or his Stoke shirt or, God forbid, a Manchester City or a Chelsea shirt?! Why did he want to have a replica shirt of a team that’s about a thousand miles away? I would have expected to have seen something like this if I was back in the United States with Linda. There, the tribal rivalry is still in its infancy, relatively speaking. It is compared to over here. Over there, loyalties are developed through the ever increasing exposure the game has courtesy of the Fox Soccer Channel, ESPN, and GolTV. There are encouraging signs that the loyalty, the desire to wear the shirt of your team of choice in the MLS, is developing in the right way. Check out the crowd at a Seattle Sounders game if you’re undecided as to how well the game is progressing over there.

So, to see a boy with a Barcelona shirt on was surprising to me. Loyalty to a club is something that is passed on from father (or Mother) to son (or daughter) and on through the generations. Organized league football has been in existence in this country for nearly 130 years. I can only assume that the little boy who pestered his Dad for that Barcelona shirt (this season’s version as well – the one with UNICEF demoted to the back of the shirt and replaced with “Qatar Foundation” on the front) with “Messi 10” on the back has been sucked in by the power of television.

The UEFA Champions League has excellent coverage in the United States. We never missed a game over there.  Fox Soccer Channel’s coverage was really good. For the Final, they flew their people over to Wembley especially for the game that was shown live on Fox nationwide. Over here, Sky Sports and ITV do a good job in promoting the best competition in the world. So maybe that little boy was mesmerized by “Little Lionel” as GolTV’s Ray Hudson might have said. You know, one day I hope that boy goes to a game with a Manchester United shirt on (or whoever he supports).  Mind you, let’s hope an English team can one day produce someone as good as Messi! We can only hope!

Enjoy your football wherever you see it, preferably at a live game . . .

Ed

“And Now On BBC One . . . “

When I was asked to take over Valley Free Radio’s (www.valleyfreeradio.org) soccer show slot in May of 2007 from Carson Cistulli there was only one name I could think to call the show I was inheriting. The show which was on Valley Free Radio at the time was called “Goal! The Soccer Show” and quite frankly the whole name and format of the show didn’t appeal to me. If the show was going to be mine then there would be changes.  The name of the show would pay homage to a highlights show that became a household name in Great Britain – “Match of The Day”

 Now I was of the opinion that I couldn’t use the exact name as that would be cheating! So, seeing how the show was being broadcast in the USA meant that the name would be “Match of The Day the USA Way”.  I knew I always wanted to have a theme tune to my radio show, so what better theme tune than the music that is synonymous in a lot of ways with football. I had theme tunes for the other shows I was involved with (“The Late English Breakfast” www.thelateenglishbreakfast.blogspot.com  and “The Nightclub”) so why not the football show? It certainly made sense to me!  

Why do I reminisce about theme tunes today? Well, last Saturday night I had a trip down memory lane when the continuity announcer on BBC One said “And now on BBC One,highlights of today Premier League action with Gary Lineker on Match of theDay” and cue the music!  

I had looked forward to watching the show all day. You see, for most people of my generation, “Match of the Day” was the main source of football on the television back in the 1970’s. It was part of a stellar line-up of programmes on BBC One back in the day. It was on after 10pm back then, like now, but it was the weekend so I was allowed to stop up to watch!  

It was funny watching the show last Saturday, because deep down, although I was obviously aware that it was 2011 it felt like I was transported back in time to the 1970’s. Although the format of the show has changed dramatically from the halcyon days of the 1970’s, the excitement of the programme starting was just the same.   

Jimmy Hill the presenter of Match of The Day in the 1970's and the man who got on ym Dad's nerves!

Back in the 1970’s there was just two games covered on that show. Even in the 1980’s, when I started going to Old Trafford, if you saw the cameras at the stadium you got that extra sense of excitement knowing that the game you were about to see was going to be “on telly”.  

Live football on television was a rarity in those days. There were a handful of games covered live all season; now there are several each week on Mr. Murdoch’s Sky Sorts channel (which charges £1500 A MONTH –outrageous!). I have to thank the Landlord of the Castle Inn Public House here in Congleton for that fact. I was reminded of a conversation I was involved in several years ago with another Landlord here in Congleton. He said he couldn’t afford to show live football in his pub, but couldn’t afford NOT to. His way round the exorbitant fees charged by Murdoch was to show an Arabic channel’s coverage of the BBC’s coverage of Manchester United versus Tottenham Hotspur. What made the afternoon more exciting and slightly clandestine was that what we were watching was being viewed illegally!

You see we (my friend Richard and I) were watching the game at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon, with, if my memory serves me correctly, the curtains of the pub drawn. In England, it is illegal to show games that kick-off at the traditional 3pm on television. That’s why games that are shown on television live on television live on Sky are known as having being “skyjacked”! We’ve only been back in England for nearly a month so I don’t know if ESPN has its own version of skyjacked yet!  

Not everyone has satellite television. I commend the landlords and landladies who install Sky Sports in their pubs. It takes a lot of courage to be bold enough to spend that much money in the hope of pulling in the punters, especially in this economic climate. It’s a bold move. So, highlights shows that are on free to air channels like the BBC (yes I know there’s the Licence Fee but it’s not a pay per view channel) are essential and play a role in the cultural make-up of this country.  

Thinking back to my time on Valley Free Radio, my co-presenter Tim told Stokes told me that friends of his who were ex-pat Brits were instantly taken back to their childhood when they heard the theme tune to our show. That’s how I felt when I heard that music last Saturday night. Happy Days! 

Enjoy your football wherever you are in the world – it’s still the beautiful game and will always be the people’s game, despite what you see and hear!  

Best Wishes,  

Ed

Match of the Day the USA Way goes on the road to . . . Booth Street Congleton via Foxborough, Massachusetts?!

“It was the third of September, a day I’ll always remember” The Temptations famously sang when warbling about their dad being like a “Rolling Stone”. Well, for me, the 3^rd September 2011 was the day I discovered National Non- League Day back home here in England and that meant a chance to visit the ground where my love of live football began – Booth Street, Congleton, home of Congleton Town Football Club – our version of “Da Bears”. (For the uninitiated, my hometown has the nickname of “Beartown”, a name that relates to the town’s ancient past, when it had a bear for entertainment.)

The premise of “National Non-League Day” was to generate interest in the lower levels of English football. It is a day when fans of the bigger clubs, like yours truly, get the opportunity to go and watch non-league, or semi-professional football. It takes place when there’s an “international break” as was the case this weekend. To add extra spice to the occasion, Congleton Town was playing in the F.A. Cup, the oldest domestic competition in world football. Their opponents were Runcorn Town, a team they had drawn (or tied if you’re reading this in the USA) 2-2 in the League the previous Tuesday.

Booth Street Congleton is a million miles from Foxborough Massachusetts. Let me make that perfectly clear. There was no car parking charge of $40 to contend with on this occasion. Linda and I parked by the side of a nearby street and walked up to the ground.

It cost £6 each to get in. The admission fee is a long way from the exorbitant fees charge by the more glamorous grounds around the world (hello Old Trafford and Gillette Stadium). Once you’d made your way through the turnstiles the programme was the next thing to be bought. The cost of one of these programmes was the princely sum of £1.20. Again, very refreshing from the £3.00 we last paid at Old Trafford three years ago or the $10 we paid in Foxborough (admittedly, that was a very glossy brochure so I’ll let them off on this occasion!)

Hindsight is always 20/20, but maybe things weren’t meant to be when the announcer, when welcoming everyone to the ground, said “Welcome to Booth Street, home of Congleton Town, for this North West Counties League . . . oh, wait a minute, it isn’t a league game, it’s the F.A. Cup isn’t it? Anyway, welcome to our visitors Runcorn Town!”

Could it be possible that it might just be 1989 all over again, when Congleton famously got to the first round proper of the F.A.Cup, the game’s oldest domestic competition, only to be beaten by neighbours Crewe Alexandra? Congleton lost that day by 2-0 to a side that was several divisions higher in the football pyramid. I went to that game and remember it vividly. The score was 0-0 for 70 minutes until Town‘s resistance finally gave way to their near neighbour’s superior fitness. What made that day even more memorable were the commemorative scarves made to celebrate the occasion.

Quality control went missing as the scarves famously said “Congletown Town” on them instead of “Congleton Town”! That rogue “W” was the inspiration for the title of a Congleton Town fanzine I once featured in entitled “What W?” Anyhow, let’s get back into the DeLorean and get back to 2011!

Would the game have a similar outcome to the recent league meeting or would “The Bears” win and continue on the road to Wembley? Sadly the game would prove to be the last Town would play in this season’s F.A.Cup as they lost 6-0. Tragedy struck after 14 minutes when the team’s goalkeeper, making his debut, broke his fibula and tibia.

There has always been a concern over how money is distributed in football in England. The inequality between the top level and the bottom was never more visible than watching the goalkeeper getting treatment for his quite nasty injury. Those of you whose football viewing is limited to the glamour of the Premier League or MLS would be astounded by how limited resources are at the semi-professional level.

It was necessary for an ambulance to be called – no ambulance on standby here; no doubt they couldn’t afford that – don’t blame Congleton in any way shape or form. They did the best they could. It took 45 minutes for the aforementioned ambulance to arrive. I’ve never seen a game held up for that amount of time in nearly 40 years of watching football, but hey, this is the harsh reality of life in the lower leagues. The poor goalkeeper needed morphine and gas and air to ease the pain.

I’m of the opinion that the injury to the goalkeeper had a detrimental effect on the team’s morale. The team that had drawn only 4 days previously looked second best right throughout the game. Runcorn passed the ball better and looked hungrier to win the ball whenever they lost possession. Defensive errors were costly for the home team.

An honourable mention must go to the number 8 for Congleton, Walsh, who battled ferociously for the 90 minutes and looked composed on the ball. Even though his team were getting a “thrashing” his head never went down and he always made himself available to a team mate. Both Linda and I liked the way he played very much.

So, although the result was not the one Linda and I hoped for, it was nice to go to watch Congleton Town again. It was a lovely fresh Saturday afternoon with an autumnal breeze that made it very refreshing after another hot and humid New England summer. Going to a game at a lower level is great because it gives you an understanding of how much it means for people to give up a couple of nights a week to train, because these guys have “day jobs” and then play on a Saturday afternoon at 3pm – the traditional fixture  kick-off time. No games commandeered for satellite TV here my fiends! 

I first watched Congleton Town play back in the 1970’s . . . I think I’ll be going to a game again soon – despite not winning the half-time raffle!

Enjoy your football wherever you watch it,

Ed

  

The Kids Are Alright!

They knew what they were talking about!

Morning all and welcome to another of my blogs about the beautiful game. If this is the first time you've read this blog, well, thank you for finding it and if you've read it before thank you for reading it again! It's a blog that commemorates the time when Valley Free Radio (www.valleyfreeradio.org) had the good sense to keep me happy and broadcast the only radio show about football in the Pioneer Valley here in Massachusetts!

I watched the F.A.Community Shield with my wife Linda at the weekend. It is, if you're unfamiliar with the game, the traditional curtain raiser to the English season. It is competed for by the winner's of last season F.A.Premier League (in this case my beloved Manchester United) and the winner's of last season's F.A.Cup (for the first time since 1969 the noisy neighbours from across town Manchester City).

I'm not going to give you a match report (suffice to say United came back in grand style after being 2-0 down to win by 3-2). What motivates me to write is the fact that for the first time in what seems like ages the youthfulness of Manchester United was evident for all to see.

The team put out by manager Sir Alex Ferguson had an average age of 22. It showed. The players on display, in particular Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley, Rafael Da Silva, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling (I could have listed the vast percentage of the team) showed an immense desire to chase after the ball, to put in strong challenges. The desire to win was there. Yes Manchester United have won trophy after trophy, but not everyone has the medal haul of Ryan Giggs!

Mentioning Ryan Giggs leads me nicely onto the last time there seemed to be an influx of talented young players permeating their way into the team. I refer tot he now famous "Class of '92".

Ryan is the last man standing still at Old Trafford of that famous group of players. I remember vividly going to Old Trafford on a Friday night in May of 1992 to see United play Crystal Palace in the 2nd leg of the F.A..Youth Cup Final.  It was a lovely sunny evening as I remember, and it was fun and interesting to watch the group of players win the trophy. United won the F.A.Youth Cup with players who later on would become household names, players such as Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Beckham.

Here's the "Class of "92" with another trophy!

Manchester United had always put a lot of emphasis on the development of youth. This first started under the guidance of Sir Matt Busby in the 1950's. United had no money after the 2nd World War. The ground was in ruins after being bombed by the Germans.

In keeping with the times, the club decided to develop their own players. Sir Matt (who I once had the pleasure of meeting 25 years ago) knew that the vitality of youth, as long as it was good enough, would shine through. Over the coming years players would be found who would be legends. Their names are still legendary now to any United fan worth his salt. Duncan Edwards, Roger Byrne, David Pegg, Bobby Charlton . . . just a few of the names who were like a breath of fresh air, bringing excitement to football fans all over England with their exhilarating play, much needed in those austere times.

Yet sadly for some their careers were to be painfully short. The plane crash at Munich Airport on Thursday 6th February 1958 cut short the lives of eight players. The oldest - the captain Roger Byrne - a few months shy of his 30th birthday. So tragic.

The Busby Babes pictured together on the 5th February 1958 - the last time they played together

Yet Sir Matt, himself badly injured, remained convinced that youth was the key to success. The 1960's wouldn't see the degree of success for the youth policy as had been previously witnessed, as the club needed time to regroup and had to buy players to augment the staff cruelly decimated. There was one bright light for the youth policy at Old Trafford. One very bright light. His name - George Best.

The club's Irish scout, a man by the name of Bob Bishop, sent Sir Matt a telegram saying "I think I've found you a genius." This was May 1961. Little did they know that for the next 13 years Old Trafford would be witnessing its own rock and roll years. There were other people who broke through the ranks, like Brian Kidd and Johnny Aston, but "Bestie" was the shining light above shining lights.  The youth policy would stagnate during the 1970's and early 1980's. It wasn't until the arrival of Sir Alex Ferguson in November 1986 did youth get to shine again.

Bestie celebrating his goal in the 1968 European Cup Final

 "Fergie" had noticed that rivals Manchester City had stolen a march on United in terms of attracting the best young talent. It is alleged that City had more scouts in Manchester than United had nationally. City were building a team for the future. I have a personal interest in this, as one of the players signed by City was in my class at school, a boy by the name of Ian Brightwell. His brother David would soon follow. Ever the keen football historian, Sir Alex went about correcting this "wrong". Sir Matt approved . . .

The story more or less has come full circle. The success of the famous "Class of "92" has been well documented. Now only Ryan Giggs and David Beckham are the only two left who are playing. Gary Neville and Paul Scholes retired at the end of last season.

So, to see good energetic young players playing with so much conviction for "the shirt" did this Manchester United fan proud. Yes times have changed and now it's not uncommon to have Brazilians "coming through the ranks" but providing they're good enough and have the right habits and have the desire to learn, it doesn't matter too much where they're from. Having said all that, seeing Mancunian Danny Welbeck performing so well on the highest domestic stage leaves me thinking let's play the younger players. Let's test them in Europe against the rest of the best. Tom Cleverley has shown immense promise. He looks like he's another Paul Scholes in the making. The defeat to Barcelona in last season's Champions League Final, which saw a wonderful Barcelona give United a footballing lesson, was a good reminder of how the right training and a good youth policy can reap dividends.

It would be great to have Wesley Snejider on the payroll, but as long as there are players coming through from the Youth team, you can guarantee fans will be happy. What most fans won't tolerate is a bunch of mercenaries playing for the team. The player who just joins for the money and the prestige of playing in the Premier League. I can guarantee no glory hunting prima donnas will last long in a team. It is a team game after all.

So, if you're good enough, you're old enough!

Enjoy your football,

Ed

Mecca Comes To Massachusetts!

One Happy Chappy!

Morning All!

The pilgrimage to Foxborough has now started to become a memory . . . yet it seems so fresh, as if it were yesterday. Going to see United play New England Revolution for the first time in three years with my wife Linda was a wonderful experience. It was so enthralling to see the players play that it seemed superfluous to indulge in anything else that seems so commonplace amongst other fans . . . I'm thinking of playing with beach balls and summoning the vendors to satisfy their need for burgers, beer and lemonade! More about beach balls later.

The trip to Foxborough, by my standards, is a long one. It is a 2 hour, 106 mile drive. We had the misfortune to encounter a torrential downpour whilst en route, which makes driving difficult. However, we got to the ground, which is a splendid site when you see it, only to find another downpour welcoming us! Undeterred, we sat patiently in the car until the rain had finally disappeared.

In all the times I've been to the Gillette Stadium, it's been natural for me to compare the experience with my times going to Old Trafford. I remember the last time Linda and I went to Old Trafford in August 2008 it cost us the princely sum of five quid to park. We were dumbfounded to be charged $40 to park at the stadium! It had doubled from when we went to see Brazil versus Mexico in 2008. Talk about capitalizing on a big opportunity! Oh well, as they always used to say at Old Trafford, whenever United came to play another team it was like their "cup final"; better change that to "Superbowl"! The fact that it proved to be the biggest attended friendly the Revs had played in certainly backed up the Gillette Stadium's view that Manchester United is indeed a cash cow and therefore every opportunity to make money should be acted on.

One other thing we were given when we got to the ground was a piece of orange paper entitled "Fans Code of Conduct". This piece of paper boldly told us that the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution valued their fans and that in order for them to retain their self proclaimed title as "the best in the business" they needed to adhere to certain codes of conduct. Under no circumstances should fans be caught in the act of showing anything that resembles, and I quote, "verbal or physical harassment of any of our guests, including other fans, players, coaches or staff".  This isn't surprising to me. It was announced at the McGuirk Stadium, the home of the University of Massachusetts football team, that any fan caught verbally abusing anybody of the opposing team would be ejected from the stadium.  Linda and I were there to support United so we would be fine!

On the reverse side of the paper there was a a list of"prohibited items"; items that were banned from being brought into the ground. We noticed that beach balls were one such item. We were pleased to see this as on previous occasions at the Gillette Stadium we were dismayed, bewildered and annoyed to find beach balls being batted by children whilst the game was in progress! It has been amazing to contrast the American sports fan with the British fan: the average British fan doesn't, as a rule, bring beach balls in (unless you're a Liverpool fan!)! He or she is, for the most part, there to watch the game.

One more issue I have to mention is the subject of banners. Banners, or flags, call them what you like, are deemed, in the eyes of the Patriots and the Revs, important in projecting a loyal fan base. However, the stadium management says that it "reserves the right to prohibit banners due to space availability, banner size, interference with other fans, or message content." Now you have a picture of what we were expecting when we sat down in our seats behind the goal. We were in the "away end"!

The Revs "hardcore" support entered the section, like gladiators ready for battle. Holding their scarves above their heads they looked eager for the game to commence. Then, the fun started!

That bloody flag!

You see it in the picture don't you? It's as clear as day! Complaints were made to the security staff. Chants started to rumble, getting louder and louder "put the flag down!" No response. Linda complained, then I did. One member of the staff even had the cheek to tell me, even though I'd read the code and could clearly see that this flag didn't meet the requirements laid out in the aforementioned list, that flags were appropriate and if we weren't happy go sit somewhere else! Wow! This loyal hardcore member of the Revs "family" could wave his flag to his heart's content.

We'd had enough. This wonderful event, seeing United for the first time in three years was becoming sour by the second. We found the office we were told to find. We weren't on our own. We were given tickets for another section of the ground. Other people who were in our section who complained followed our lead. They were equally as pleased to find other seats. What was interesting was that the people who complained weren't "stuffy" or "pompous" old people but people of all ages.   One guy felt so enraged by the whole affair he said he'd cancel his Season Ticket. Now that's serious in my book.

Half Time: New England Revolution 0 Manchester United 0

In the second half, we got to see our beloved Reds turn on the style. Their passing was smooth and accurate, and soon the goals started to flow. Goals from Michael Owen (looking like his old self), two from Federico Macheda (back from his loan spell in Italy with Sampdoria) Ji-Sung Park (nice passing between him and Michael Carrick) saw United come out worthy winners. The Revs scored with a deflected free kick from Mansally. Benny Feilhaber won a free kick after being felled by Rio Ferdinand. Mansally was in the wall and deflected it passed Anders Lingaard in United's goal. Anders had a competent game, showing "good hands" as they say in the trade. He looks a sound and competent acquisition and will provide good competition for new star signing David de Gea.

Full Time: New England Revolution 1 Manchester United 4

You'd think I have had my whinge. Not finished yet! To our dismay, we saw this flying object in the second half . . .

Is it a bird? No! Is it a plane? No! It's a bloody flying beachball - a "banned" object!

A BLOODY BEACH BALL! For the record, we were subject to an airport "pat down" before we went into the stadium. Honestly, the "Code of Conduct" isn't worth the paper it's written on. The Security Staff didn't seem too bothered. I think they were enjoying the whole occasion of having the second best team in Europe, the reigning English Champions or the most recognized team on the planet, whichever name you wish to use, playing good football and showing the United States that although great strides have been made by the game in this country there's a long way to go yet. Real Madrid's 4-1 thrashing of Los Angeles Galaxy shows that there still is a gulf in class. I think what sets the Galaxy and the Revs apart from the Uniteds and the Madrids of this world is the speed of thought and first touch. It is just that much better.

It was good to see United again. It seems funny to think that the next time Linda and I will see a game of football live will be at Booth Street Congleton. Life takes you on many paths, that's why it's good to have as many experiences as possible and venture out whenever possible and experience life.

Here's some more pictures from the game and enjoy the coverage ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel give this summer. There's plenty of opportunity to enjoy football before the season starts!

Ed

Scoreboards have changed a bit!

The Revs warming up

United!!!

USA's finest.

The game kicks-off!

Mark your men Reds

Job done! Substituted Nani, Young and Carrick can say job well done.

The words say it all - United 4 Revs 1

Just one more word . . . want to know a little bit more about the hardcore loyal fans known as "The Fort"? We saw the second half of the Revs' league game on Sunday when they played Philadelphia Union. They were soundly thrashed 3-0. The place echoed as players' shouts could be heard. Where was the loyal fan base? Gone home, sulking, taking their flags home in protest at the sad demise of their team. Not so loyal now are they? Let me tell you about loyal fans. Let me tell you about a team you fans were asking about on Wednesday Surely you must remember the song "Who the fuck are Man United?" I'll tell you who Manchester United are. They are the reigning English Champions. They are the most successful team in English league history. They are the team that has the highest attendance average year in year out, and has done for more years than I can remember. How's that for a statistic, you stat-obsessed lot? Even when they were in English football's second tier, the fans turned up, week in, week out. I rest my case. Revs fans - stick with your team, no matter what the result. If you want to sing English football songs, here's another one to remember "Part-time supporter!!"