Winter 2007 - 2008 BackPass issue 2 available now! See http://www.backpassmagazine.co.uk/ January 2008 18 January 'We'll 'Ave A Go!' At first I thought that the city of Newcastle was suffering a mass-delusion when they'll hailed the return of 'The Messiah', Kevin Keegan (Scunthorpe United) on 16 January. He may not be the messiah, but there's a mess all right, and after his first press conference today I see what it is the Newcastle fans are wanting. 'Special K', King Kevin, has been given the job of giving Newcastle fans their spirit back, and after the rousing rally call he gave them at today's first press conference, he may just well do that after all. 13 January There's some new Next Generation stars that have come to my attention... Ricky Hatton First off Ricky Hatton. Persuaded by my son I coughed up a load of money to watch the Hatton Mayweather fight, which for all the unfortunate outcome was worth every penny. It was a great night of over-indulgence in boxing capped with a terrific major event that wouldn't have missed for the world. My cup over flowed though at the point where the commentators pointed out that Ricky'sDad, Ray Hatton was an ex-Manchester City footballer. I looked at my old 1970-71 football programmes and indeed, there he was, playing mainly 'A' games. He is not listed in the 70-71 0r 71-72 Rothmans but that's good enough for me, Ricky Hatton is officailly a Next Generation Star. Alan Carr Next up the comedian, Alan Carr, was talking about his life with his father as a footballer, and sure enough he is the son of Graham Carr, who's League career with career Northampton Town, York City and Bradford Park Avenue ended with Bradford PA's relegation out of the League to allow Cambridge United up fresh for the 70-71 season. However it wasn't the end of Graham's football career. He most famously managed Northampton Town from 1985-1990, but in 1970-71 he had left Bradford PA for Altrincham. After a few games he moved on to Telford United and was actually a member of the 1970-71 Telford side that beat Hillingdon Borough 3-2 in the FA Trophy Final! Indeed his picture was already featured on this site! Diego Forlán Not quite sure how this one came to my attention, but Forlán Atlético Madrid in Spain's La Liga is the son of an Uruguayan international Pablo Forlán. Pablo was in the squads for the 1966 and 1974 World Cup Finals and in the 1970-71 season was playing for São Paulo FC. 9 January Allardyce Out! A few weeks ago this seemed inevitable, but when it finally came everyone was shocked, but Sam Allardyce (Bolton Wanderers youth), a one time candidate for the England job, has left Newcastle United after just 8 months, due to lack of instant success. Newcastle look like they are coming out worse from this than Big Sam. Big Brother First off can I just say I have a 13 year old son and 20 year old daughter living at home... Hence my reason for knowing the following is entirely due to the fact that they are watching the programme everynight. Last night's show of Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack had a prominant picture of Bobby Moore (West Ham United) and Jimmy Greaves (West Ham United) in West Ham United kit, which could only have been taken in either the 1969-70 or 1970-71 season, as this was the only season's Jimmy was at West Ham. This may have had something to do with Russell Grant, no that's not right, Russell Brand was the celebrity hijacker, and he is supposedly a West Ham United season ticket holder. Sadly I fear that means the picture will no longer be up anymore. Russell Grant was a Leeds United fan, anyway... I'll be honest, I've been really struggling to update the site over the Christmas period due any number of projects that just limit my available time to almost nill, but one thing that has happened in the background is that the Next Generation page has been updated to include all the links to current players. Whilst not the most popular page on the site, it is one I enjoy updating, so it lives on in the new location! 7 January Absolutely Fabio! Fabio Capello (Juventus) becomes the new England manager, after the experiment of having an English England manager comes crashing to the ground! Fabio famously scored for Italy AGAINST England in a 1-0 win for his side at Wembly in 1973. As the Godfather suggests, you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Hell let them take over the organisation! To be honest I'm all in favour of the appointment, but expect me to deny I ever said this if he is sacked following a run of rubbish results before the next World Cup Finals. December 2007 29 December New Year's Honours List This year's list includes several Bob 70-71 Pages players: Former Arsenal and Scotland goalkeeper Bob Wilson has been appointed an OBE for his charitable work to improve the lives of seriously ill young adults. Following his daughter's death from cancer at the age of 31, Mr Wilson set up the Willow Foundation in 1999.
The charity gives the patient a "special day" of their choice, such as a day shopping with a friend, or a party for the family.
Mr Wilson, of Christchurch, Dorset, set up the foundation with his wife, Megs. I've added the Willow Foundation to the Charity page. Gordon Taylor (Bolton Wanderers) the who has been the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association for some time , gets an OBE. Alan Hodgkinson (Sheffield United) is awarded an MBE, as far as I can tell this is to honour services to football having been the country's first goalkeeping coach and in the game all his life. At 71 he is still Oxford United's goalkeeping coach, and his last playing season was with Sheffield United in 1970-71! Ivor Verdun Powell (University of Bath) is awarded an MBE also for services for football. Still assisting the coaching at Team Bath aged 91. He apparantly joined trhem as Bath University's first football coach back in 1970! From 1937 to 1954 Ivor played for Barnet, QPR, Aston Villa, Port Vale, Barry Town and Bradford City and was capped 8 times for Wales. The papers reported that Sir Stanley Matthews was the best mn at his wedding!
12 December Norman Giller's Football Fifties A must buy for Xmas ! Christmas brings its usual rush and updating has been a bit of a problem... no matter, there's lots of news to add in the near future including 3 more Next Generation stars and hopefully a new England manager from the 70-71 season! Norman Giller's latest... As seen at the head of the page, Norman has a new book. Here is a synopsis from Amazon The Fifties was one of the most dramatic and exciting decades in footballing history, with goals galore and wingers thrilling packed houses with their dazzling touchline runs - but it was also a time when, even if you were Stanley Matthews or Tom Finney, the most you could expect to earn was seventeen pounds a week...and there was hardly a foreign footballer in sight! They even spoke a different football language in the Fifties. There were wing-halves, inside-forwards and wingers, two points for a win, and shoulder charges were allowed against goalkeepers. Red and yellow cards were something associated with magicians, and referees took names only for tackles that caused grievous bodily harm. Spectators definitely got great value for their two bob (10p) entrance fee to grounds that were, generally, eighty per cent terracing; and it cost five shillings (25p) to get your bum on a seat to watch football that was full-blooded and rich with individual skills. In today's transfer market the likes of super-gifted players such as Matthews, Finney, Lawton, Mannion, Shackleton, Lofthouse and Carter would be valued in the zillions. As well as an all-encompassing look at the domestic scene with reports on all the major finals and key matches, "Footballing Fifties" also carries eye-witness accounts of the World Cup finals of 1950, 1954 and 1958, which memorably brought to the world stage players of the stunning calibre of Pele, Puskas, Kopa, Garrincha and Welsh giant John Charles. The World Cup reports include England's darkest hour - defeat by the United States in the 1950 finals in Brazil. "Footballing Fifties" will appeal to those of a certain age who look back on the fifties as the golden age of football, when average First Division attendances were around 50,000 every Saturday. It will also be enlightening reading for the generation that followed who still wonder why their Dads and Granddads are so nostalgic for an era when football was king. It offers a season-by-season breakdown of the highlights, as well as the low spots and scandals. It is introduced by Jimmy Greaves, who scored the first of his all-time record 357 goals for Chelsea at Tottenham in 1957. It includes a report on every major final of the 1950s, including the Matthews Final of 1953 and the 1958 World Cup that produced Pele. It is a moving tribute to the birth and death of the Busby Babes, the team that died in the 1958 Munich air disaster. News Archive 2007: Autumn
|