OldBlueLady
Junior Blues Coordinator⭐⭐
:clap: Magnificent!
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Slipperduke's Slippery Column
- Status
Cricko
Guest
Brilliant as always Slip....:clap:
sufcintheprem
This is a modified caption
Desperate attempt to hold on to him? I don't know but it was shocking. Did make me laugh when it looked like he had a Barcelona shirt on in one of the clips.
Good game last night, more ambition than a game involving Mourinho would have been allowed. The only way it could have encapsulated the premier League season more would have been if the Cesc Fabregas show was aired before the match to steal the limelight!
Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
Chelsea fans will feel crushed today.
Thanks guys, really glad you liked it! Here's the follow-up:
High up near the rafters of the Luzhniki Stadium, as the early morning rain washed away the tears of his expensively assembled superstars, the Super Tsar himself, Roman Abramovich, sat disconsolately wondering what might have been. The Russian gazzilionaire has always yearned for this trophy above all others, and he must have felt that it was his destiny to finally capture it in his home country. He will have watched enviously as Sir Bobby Charlton took the victors up the steps and, like the rest of us, he will have been confused as to what exactly Peter Kenyon was doing at the helm of his Chelsea team. More cynical men than myself would suggest that the two clubs were led by their respective avatars, the embodiments of the collective. Charlton, dignified and loyal. Kenyon, scheming and treasonous. But that isn't the case.
Abramovich is a very private man, but we do know a little of his sporting ideology. For all of his riches and power, he is a football romantic. He fell in love watching Real Madrid at Old Trafford in 2003, when they were beaten 4-3 on the night, but still prevailed on aggregate. He saw the United fans saluting Ronaldo, the old Ronaldo, after he put three goals past their team. He wanted a part of that magic. It hasn't quite turned out like that.
Rich men, when they run out of things to buy, seek approval and love above all else. Abramovich wants his team to be appreciated, like Barcelona, Real Madrid and, of course, Manchester United. He prizes the noble above the nefarious and it is no coincidence that the only two players he has been seen to publicly bond with are Frank Lampard and John Terry, the duo who best sum up the battling, English qualities of the team. The way he slumped back into his thick leather chair on seeing the pointless dismissal of Didier Drogba was reminiscent of the way he stormed out of the Villa Park director's box last September. Abramovich doesn't often show his emotions, so when they actually appear you have to take note.
Chelsea fans must now prepare themselves for widespread restructuring as they enter their sixth season of Russian ownership. Avram Grant, nice chap though he undoubtedly is, will return upstairs. He can be proud of the way he prevented the much anticipated post-Mourinho apocalypse, but it must be clear now that he is one of life's perpetual runners-up. Second in the league, second at Wembley, second here. Also, sad as it is that we must discuss it, in this global game, Chelsea need a manager who can deal with the media comfortably and who can be the public face of the team. Grant is not that man.
Players must leave as well. Didier Drogba would save everyone some time if he flew direct from Moscow to Milan. I'm sure the rest of the team would be only too happy to forward his post. Andriy Shevchenko, the world's most expensive unused substitute will join him, wondering why he ever left Italy in the first place. Paolo Ferreira, Shaun Wright-Phillips. Claude Makelele, the list will go on and on. No great team can last forever and if they plan to build a better future, they must first shake off the past.
Chelsea fans will feel crushed today, and understandably so, but all defeats are opportunities. The Mourinho era has been and gone, leaving trophies and memories in its wake. Now it is time for a new dawn. This is an opportunity for Abramovich to tear down the walls and start again. A chance for him to build the club he wants, the style of football he cherishes and to finally win the respect he craves.
Thanks guys, really glad you liked it! Here's the follow-up:
High up near the rafters of the Luzhniki Stadium, as the early morning rain washed away the tears of his expensively assembled superstars, the Super Tsar himself, Roman Abramovich, sat disconsolately wondering what might have been. The Russian gazzilionaire has always yearned for this trophy above all others, and he must have felt that it was his destiny to finally capture it in his home country. He will have watched enviously as Sir Bobby Charlton took the victors up the steps and, like the rest of us, he will have been confused as to what exactly Peter Kenyon was doing at the helm of his Chelsea team. More cynical men than myself would suggest that the two clubs were led by their respective avatars, the embodiments of the collective. Charlton, dignified and loyal. Kenyon, scheming and treasonous. But that isn't the case.
Abramovich is a very private man, but we do know a little of his sporting ideology. For all of his riches and power, he is a football romantic. He fell in love watching Real Madrid at Old Trafford in 2003, when they were beaten 4-3 on the night, but still prevailed on aggregate. He saw the United fans saluting Ronaldo, the old Ronaldo, after he put three goals past their team. He wanted a part of that magic. It hasn't quite turned out like that.
Rich men, when they run out of things to buy, seek approval and love above all else. Abramovich wants his team to be appreciated, like Barcelona, Real Madrid and, of course, Manchester United. He prizes the noble above the nefarious and it is no coincidence that the only two players he has been seen to publicly bond with are Frank Lampard and John Terry, the duo who best sum up the battling, English qualities of the team. The way he slumped back into his thick leather chair on seeing the pointless dismissal of Didier Drogba was reminiscent of the way he stormed out of the Villa Park director's box last September. Abramovich doesn't often show his emotions, so when they actually appear you have to take note.
Chelsea fans must now prepare themselves for widespread restructuring as they enter their sixth season of Russian ownership. Avram Grant, nice chap though he undoubtedly is, will return upstairs. He can be proud of the way he prevented the much anticipated post-Mourinho apocalypse, but it must be clear now that he is one of life's perpetual runners-up. Second in the league, second at Wembley, second here. Also, sad as it is that we must discuss it, in this global game, Chelsea need a manager who can deal with the media comfortably and who can be the public face of the team. Grant is not that man.
Players must leave as well. Didier Drogba would save everyone some time if he flew direct from Moscow to Milan. I'm sure the rest of the team would be only too happy to forward his post. Andriy Shevchenko, the world's most expensive unused substitute will join him, wondering why he ever left Italy in the first place. Paolo Ferreira, Shaun Wright-Phillips. Claude Makelele, the list will go on and on. No great team can last forever and if they plan to build a better future, they must first shake off the past.
Chelsea fans will feel crushed today, and understandably so, but all defeats are opportunities. The Mourinho era has been and gone, leaving trophies and memories in its wake. Now it is time for a new dawn. This is an opportunity for Abramovich to tear down the walls and start again. A chance for him to build the club he wants, the style of football he cherishes and to finally win the respect he craves.
Davros
The Whippet
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2003
- Messages
- 8,387
as much as i like your work slipper, i disagree with this comment. I imagine some Chelsea fans will feel crushed today.. however, i feel most of them will probably have forgotton about last night already, and will be thinking about which team they will support instead next season!
Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
Ha ha! It wouldn't surprise me for a moment!
Irish_Shrimper
Ant from across the Pond
Whilst it is nice to have a charismatic gaffer that goes into press confrences with a huge ego, or cracking jokes etc. like Mourinho, Claudio Ranieri, I don't think it matters a blind bit that Avram Grant is a tad 'boring' to the media. This past week Ashley Cole and a few of the Chelsea players came out and said they didn't understand why the world think Grant should be put upstairs next season. They said he is very shy, but knows exactly what he wants in training and on the pitch. He doesn't say a lot, but the players know exactly what his plan is, and feel much more comfortable around him because he is soft spoken and so forth.
I'd be very interested to see what kind of a team he would build over the next couple of seasons - and hopefully Roman will let him do this IMO.
Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
I wish that were the case, but it just isn't anymore. Managers have to be able to deal with the media because that's where the money comes from. They have to be good in interviews because that's where today's new supporter comes from. It's all about 'branding' and 'image' and, of course, those big sponsorship deals.
Under Mourinho, despite playing very dull football, Chelsea were seen by the rest of the world as less of a team and more of a fashion accessory. They had a gorgeous manager who was in credit card adverts and expensive watch adverts. People latched on to them because they were desirable as an entity. Being a Chelsea fan, ludicrous though it seems, became trendy.
Under Grant, they haven't got that at all and it will hit them in the pocket on a global scale.
Real Madrid have got a simialr problem with Bernd Schuster. The heirachy there want someone distinguished, dignified and intelligent. What they've got is a stroppy German who hates journalists and that's why, even when he was streaking ahead, that they considered sacking him.
It's a horrible, pointless, soulless state of affairs, but that is modern day football. A quiet, racing enthusiast like Bob Paisley wouldn't have got a look-in these days.
A Century United
Firewalking for HD
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2007
- Messages
- 10,004
Which is why a manager with the record Tilly has is still at SUFC, with barely a sniff from "bigger" clubs.
So some good comes of it! :clap:
Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
Precisely. We get to keep one of the best young managers in the game and Aidy Boothroyd, a tactically stone-age, shouty, David Brent-alike, is touted as the shining white hope of English football.
Funny old game, Saint. Funny old game.
OldBlueLady
Junior Blues Coordinator⭐⭐
Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
We should get Cricko and that to give us our our own show, OBL. You can provide the sensible analysis, I'll sit there laughing at my own jokes and wishing I could hit the sauce again. It'll be great!
OldBlueLady
Junior Blues Coordinator⭐⭐
Irish_Shrimper
Ant from across the Pond
I see where you're coming from - and it is a shame things would have to come to that, as Grant is a talented manager IMO. But surely, for all the money Chelsea have, they can use their PR staff to good effect by putting a postive spin on things at the club, so the drearyness of Grant in his interviews is slightly overlooked: Some new big name signings would surely appeal to new fans and sponsors, and these PR people could milk that for a while. Perhaps putting a bright red Ronald McDonald hairpiece on Peter Kenyon would bring the laughs back to Stamford Bridge also...
Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
Sir Alex Ferguson
It's not often that a manager can switch to good, old-fashioned 4-4-2 and be thought of as a tactical genius, but when Sir Alex Ferguson deployed his troops in a formation that many believed he had turned his back on forever, it was another demonstration of why he's still at the top of his game after 22 years at Old Trafford. He knew that Avram Grant would try to accommodate Michael Essien at right-back and he had a nasty surprise waiting for him in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo. The scheme worked so well that, with better finishing, the game would have been over by half-time. But, even though you'd be hard-pushed to think of any other manager who would shuffle his pack so dramatically before such a big game, we shouldn't be too surprised. Sir Alex's longevity is borne out of his willingness to evolve.
When he arrived at Manchester United from Aberdeen in 1986, the club was festering near the bottom of the old First Division with a group of under-achieving, over-indulging players churning out the kind of lethargic performances that put the club's future in the balance. Football was a very different game in the 1980s. Liverpool players of the era boast of having won the title 'on egg and chips' and if Arsene Wenger had turned up with his vitamin supplements and regulated diets, he'd have been laughed out of town. Players routinely sank half their body weight in lager straight after training and a surprisingly large amount smoked cigarettes.
Sir Alex acted quickly, booting out the trouble-makers and slowly setting down the foundations of his empire. The formation was still 4-4-2, but the ethos was different. Manchester United gradually became more disciplined than their competitors. They still drank, some of them in prodigious quantities, but they did it at the right time and they worked as hard as they played. Their rivals desperately tried to catch up, notably at Anfield where Graeme Souness attempted a similarly draconian revolution with markedly less success, but it was too late. By 1993, Manchester United were streets ahead.
Then the game changed again in the middle of the decade, when it was swamped by new money. The Bosman Ruling, the astronomical wages on offer and the endless line of clubs willing to pay them, meant that players had more power than ever before. It wasn't enough to simply shout at them, they had to be cajoled. Sir Alex evolved again, softening slightly, breeding a generation of young stars and keeping them settled, while all the time adding the right kind of senior professionals to the mix. Around him, a generation of old school managers, Gerry Francis, Howard Kendall, Alan Ball, fell away into obscurity.
The most dangerous time came in the summer of 2003 when Roman Abramovich arrived and Chelsea became a super-power. Wise enough to realise that they could no longer dominate through such rigid tactics, Sir Alex and Carlos Queiroz began to devise a new formation, capable of smoothly adapting to the ebb and flow of the modern game. The back four remained unchanged, but the attacking midfielders were given more freedom, provided they could be trusted to drop back and form a narrow barrier when required. The results were mixed and United drifted out of contention, finishing third two seasons in a row. Undaunted, he stuck to the plan, and in 2006 it all clicked into place.
A second European Cup cements Sir Alex's reputation across the globe as one of the finest managers of all time, but his success hasn't come just because he has an eye for a player, or because he is tactically adept. It has come because he is wise enough to see the way the game is developing, bold enough to make the changes and yet still cunning enough to know that sometimes, just sometimes, you can still surprise everybody by going back to that tried and trusted 4-4-2.
It's not often that a manager can switch to good, old-fashioned 4-4-2 and be thought of as a tactical genius, but when Sir Alex Ferguson deployed his troops in a formation that many believed he had turned his back on forever, it was another demonstration of why he's still at the top of his game after 22 years at Old Trafford. He knew that Avram Grant would try to accommodate Michael Essien at right-back and he had a nasty surprise waiting for him in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo. The scheme worked so well that, with better finishing, the game would have been over by half-time. But, even though you'd be hard-pushed to think of any other manager who would shuffle his pack so dramatically before such a big game, we shouldn't be too surprised. Sir Alex's longevity is borne out of his willingness to evolve.
When he arrived at Manchester United from Aberdeen in 1986, the club was festering near the bottom of the old First Division with a group of under-achieving, over-indulging players churning out the kind of lethargic performances that put the club's future in the balance. Football was a very different game in the 1980s. Liverpool players of the era boast of having won the title 'on egg and chips' and if Arsene Wenger had turned up with his vitamin supplements and regulated diets, he'd have been laughed out of town. Players routinely sank half their body weight in lager straight after training and a surprisingly large amount smoked cigarettes.
Sir Alex acted quickly, booting out the trouble-makers and slowly setting down the foundations of his empire. The formation was still 4-4-2, but the ethos was different. Manchester United gradually became more disciplined than their competitors. They still drank, some of them in prodigious quantities, but they did it at the right time and they worked as hard as they played. Their rivals desperately tried to catch up, notably at Anfield where Graeme Souness attempted a similarly draconian revolution with markedly less success, but it was too late. By 1993, Manchester United were streets ahead.
Then the game changed again in the middle of the decade, when it was swamped by new money. The Bosman Ruling, the astronomical wages on offer and the endless line of clubs willing to pay them, meant that players had more power than ever before. It wasn't enough to simply shout at them, they had to be cajoled. Sir Alex evolved again, softening slightly, breeding a generation of young stars and keeping them settled, while all the time adding the right kind of senior professionals to the mix. Around him, a generation of old school managers, Gerry Francis, Howard Kendall, Alan Ball, fell away into obscurity.
The most dangerous time came in the summer of 2003 when Roman Abramovich arrived and Chelsea became a super-power. Wise enough to realise that they could no longer dominate through such rigid tactics, Sir Alex and Carlos Queiroz began to devise a new formation, capable of smoothly adapting to the ebb and flow of the modern game. The back four remained unchanged, but the attacking midfielders were given more freedom, provided they could be trusted to drop back and form a narrow barrier when required. The results were mixed and United drifted out of contention, finishing third two seasons in a row. Undaunted, he stuck to the plan, and in 2006 it all clicked into place.
A second European Cup cements Sir Alex's reputation across the globe as one of the finest managers of all time, but his success hasn't come just because he has an eye for a player, or because he is tactically adept. It has come because he is wise enough to see the way the game is developing, bold enough to make the changes and yet still cunning enough to know that sometimes, just sometimes, you can still surprise everybody by going back to that tried and trusted 4-4-2.
EastStandBlue
Life President
- Joined
- May 29, 2005
- Messages
- 15,519
For me, SAF is the single best manager to grace the game. The way he meticiulously builds and rebuilds his teams is genius and the football they play is admirable... So much so that he's turned the team everybody hated in the 90's into the team that is adored and respected across the globe.
More than deserving winners of both the Premiership and Champions League this season and deserves to be knighted a second time round for sticking two fingers up at Roman and his money.
Still... he hasn't beaten Southend yet has he...
More than deserving winners of both the Premiership and Champions League this season and deserves to be knighted a second time round for sticking two fingers up at Roman and his money.
Still... he hasn't beaten Southend yet has he...
Last edited by a moderator:
Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
League one play-off's
It would have been impossible for the ticket office staff to recognise them when they arrived. Clad in red and white scarves and speaking in broad Yorkshire accents, the Leeds United supporters who had failed to secure Wembley tickets in their half of the stadium surreptiously crept down the road to their opponent’s home and began snaffling their allocation instead. Today’s League One Play-Off Final is a battle between two fine footballing teams, but there’s every chance that it could be remembered instead as a battle between the supporters.
Doncaster Rovers were forced to suspend ticket sales this week when they realised what had happened and Wembley officials have been having palpitations as they try to comprehend what could happen when dozens of Leeds fans stand up and make themselves known. The Elland Road faithful are, sometimes unfairly, perceived as the most violent, aggressive supporters in the country and no-one wants to imagine what could happen if it all goes wrong.
All of which is very sad because it detracts from what should be a fantastic game of football between two excellent teams, both battling for the chance to humiliate Derby County next season. Leeds United famously lived the dream until it became a financial nightmare and they slipped into the third flight last season. Slapped with a further 15 point penalty, the fact that they are at Wembley at all is an astonishing achievement for the club. Their excellent early form went awry mid-season when assistant manager Gustavo Poyet left for White Hart Lane and Dennis Wise floundered in his absence, but the appointment of Gary McAllister has led to a stylistic renaissance as the ball is returned to ground level and the players are encouraged to express themselves. After 95 minutes of their semi-final first leg at home to Carlisle, they were two goals down. An injury time scuff from the old warhorse Dougie Freedman gave them a lifeline and they used it to strangle their opponents in the next leg, winning 2-0 in front of several thousand crest-fallen Cumbrians.
With the media focusing their attention on the fallen giants, no-one has really noticed quite how impressive Doncaster Rovers are these days. Well, no-one apart from the Southend fans who are still reeling from the shock of a 5-1 battering in their semi-final clash. It was a performance so polished and so emphatic that, as a Southend fan myself, I needed to get very, very drunk indeed to cope with shame. They were so good that I’ve actually only just sobered up this morning.
Doncaster also have a terrible history of financial mismanagement and actually dropped out of the Football League altogether in 1998, with the former chairman languishing in jail following an unsuccessful attempt to torch the stadium for the insurance money. They returned under the benevolence of local businessman and boyhood fan John Ryan who, having secured legend status by saving the team from extinction, then did exactly what all of us would do in his position, and registered himself as a player, coming on for the last five minutes in a meaningless game against Hereford. Ryan has presided over an era that has seen Doncaster rise from non-league to the brink of the second flight and, whatever division they’re in next season, they’ll be playing at their gorgeous, new and hopefully-unburnable Keepmoat Stadium.
With both teams eager to get the ball down and play their way to promotion, everyone in football is praying that this game will be remembered for what happens on the pitch, and not what could occur off it.
It would have been impossible for the ticket office staff to recognise them when they arrived. Clad in red and white scarves and speaking in broad Yorkshire accents, the Leeds United supporters who had failed to secure Wembley tickets in their half of the stadium surreptiously crept down the road to their opponent’s home and began snaffling their allocation instead. Today’s League One Play-Off Final is a battle between two fine footballing teams, but there’s every chance that it could be remembered instead as a battle between the supporters.
Doncaster Rovers were forced to suspend ticket sales this week when they realised what had happened and Wembley officials have been having palpitations as they try to comprehend what could happen when dozens of Leeds fans stand up and make themselves known. The Elland Road faithful are, sometimes unfairly, perceived as the most violent, aggressive supporters in the country and no-one wants to imagine what could happen if it all goes wrong.
All of which is very sad because it detracts from what should be a fantastic game of football between two excellent teams, both battling for the chance to humiliate Derby County next season. Leeds United famously lived the dream until it became a financial nightmare and they slipped into the third flight last season. Slapped with a further 15 point penalty, the fact that they are at Wembley at all is an astonishing achievement for the club. Their excellent early form went awry mid-season when assistant manager Gustavo Poyet left for White Hart Lane and Dennis Wise floundered in his absence, but the appointment of Gary McAllister has led to a stylistic renaissance as the ball is returned to ground level and the players are encouraged to express themselves. After 95 minutes of their semi-final first leg at home to Carlisle, they were two goals down. An injury time scuff from the old warhorse Dougie Freedman gave them a lifeline and they used it to strangle their opponents in the next leg, winning 2-0 in front of several thousand crest-fallen Cumbrians.
With the media focusing their attention on the fallen giants, no-one has really noticed quite how impressive Doncaster Rovers are these days. Well, no-one apart from the Southend fans who are still reeling from the shock of a 5-1 battering in their semi-final clash. It was a performance so polished and so emphatic that, as a Southend fan myself, I needed to get very, very drunk indeed to cope with shame. They were so good that I’ve actually only just sobered up this morning.
Doncaster also have a terrible history of financial mismanagement and actually dropped out of the Football League altogether in 1998, with the former chairman languishing in jail following an unsuccessful attempt to torch the stadium for the insurance money. They returned under the benevolence of local businessman and boyhood fan John Ryan who, having secured legend status by saving the team from extinction, then did exactly what all of us would do in his position, and registered himself as a player, coming on for the last five minutes in a meaningless game against Hereford. Ryan has presided over an era that has seen Doncaster rise from non-league to the brink of the second flight and, whatever division they’re in next season, they’ll be playing at their gorgeous, new and hopefully-unburnable Keepmoat Stadium.
With both teams eager to get the ball down and play their way to promotion, everyone in football is praying that this game will be remembered for what happens on the pitch, and not what could occur off it.
number11
"Good morning everybody........"
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2005
- Messages
- 5,671
Indeed that is the mark of his greatness....he has rebuilt the team 3 times, from his first title winners of Kanchelskis, Ince, Pallister, Bruce etc, to the home grown Beck, Scholes, Neville brothers etc, to the current team.
I think to rebuild a team within a club is harder then going on to pastures new and doing it again. He has always made tough choices of when to end the careers of established and loyal stars, and maintained the hunger and desire to do it again. Someone like Shankly and Paisley did this at Liverpool, but many other managers who were great for a time struggled to do this and go stale.
Id argue his eye for a player is not actually that great, and he would struggle without a decent budget, but his ability to cajole the best players and create a team is really impressive.
And you are right, I hate Man U, especially in the 90's but I now do have a lot of respect for their team and players (now its just the fans I cant stand!).
Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
Bristol City v Hull City
There can’t be many people who, when the Championship season began, thought that today’s SG$120m Play-Off Final would be contested between newly promoted Bristol City and almost relegated Hull City. In fact, if you’d have asked an expert, or even if you’d just have asked me, you’d have been told that the chances of both them even staying up in the second flight were probably quite limited. Astonishingly, we are now just 90 minutes away from one of them joining West Bromich Albion and Stoke City in the big time.
But don’t think for a moment that these are just two small-time outfits, looking for a quick season in the limelight. Even in the midst of their relegation battle, Hull City were still attracting nearly 20,000 to the KC Stadium and the city of Bristol is an untapped gold mine of footballing potential. Staying in the Premier League is a challenge that may well be beyond both teams, but if one of them could do it, just for one season, they would have more chance of establishing a foundation there than smaller clubs like Reading or Wigan. When the noveau football fans eventually lose interest, it will be the proper clubs like Bristol City and Hull that survive.
Unlikely as it may seem, there is a strong argument for labelling Bristol City boss Gary Johnson as one of the best up-and-coming English managerial talents. Spells at Cambridge and Kettering were followed by an unlikely period in charge of the Latvian national team. He returned to England to guide non-league Yeovil through two promotions and to the brink of Championship football before he joined the Robins, who were then floundering. A manager with an eye for undiscovered talent, he has assembled a side that have gone from the bottom of League One to the brink of the Premier League by playing good football. They boast a number of exciting players in their ranks including the podgy genius of Lee Trundle, the mesmeric flank-work of Michael McIndoe and the sun-tanned class of Australian Nick Carle, and they are certain to entertain at Wembley.
Hull City’s boss Phil Brown is another success story. Once Sam Allardyce’s assistant at Bolton Wanderers, he left to try and prove himself in his own right, failing miserably with Derby County and getting the bullet within seven months. Brown picked himself up, dusted himself down and bounced straight back as assistant manager to Phil Parkinson at Hull. Luckily for Brown, Parkinson was failing spectacularly, and his new boss quickly became his ex-boss. Brown stepped in as caretaker, won back-to-back games and was awarded the job on a permanent basis, rewarding the club for their faith by guiding them clear of the relegation dog-fight.
Despite this relative success, no-one could have expected to see the club building on it so quickly and travelling down to Wembley today for a shot at a season with the superpowers. The goals of on-loan striker Frazer Campbell have certainly helped, but so too has the experience of 39 year old Dean Windass and one Nicky Barmby. But the sum of Hull is worth more than their parts. They are a brave, battling outfit, not afraid to get physical if the occasion requires, but also clever enough to play some very decent stuff themselves.
Never mind the Champions League Final, this is officially the most valuable game in world football. Two teams with one shot at a place in the most lucrative league in the planet. Expect thrills and spills and some glorious celebrations, because whoever wins today will be described as an unlikely victor.
There can’t be many people who, when the Championship season began, thought that today’s SG$120m Play-Off Final would be contested between newly promoted Bristol City and almost relegated Hull City. In fact, if you’d have asked an expert, or even if you’d just have asked me, you’d have been told that the chances of both them even staying up in the second flight were probably quite limited. Astonishingly, we are now just 90 minutes away from one of them joining West Bromich Albion and Stoke City in the big time.
But don’t think for a moment that these are just two small-time outfits, looking for a quick season in the limelight. Even in the midst of their relegation battle, Hull City were still attracting nearly 20,000 to the KC Stadium and the city of Bristol is an untapped gold mine of footballing potential. Staying in the Premier League is a challenge that may well be beyond both teams, but if one of them could do it, just for one season, they would have more chance of establishing a foundation there than smaller clubs like Reading or Wigan. When the noveau football fans eventually lose interest, it will be the proper clubs like Bristol City and Hull that survive.
Unlikely as it may seem, there is a strong argument for labelling Bristol City boss Gary Johnson as one of the best up-and-coming English managerial talents. Spells at Cambridge and Kettering were followed by an unlikely period in charge of the Latvian national team. He returned to England to guide non-league Yeovil through two promotions and to the brink of Championship football before he joined the Robins, who were then floundering. A manager with an eye for undiscovered talent, he has assembled a side that have gone from the bottom of League One to the brink of the Premier League by playing good football. They boast a number of exciting players in their ranks including the podgy genius of Lee Trundle, the mesmeric flank-work of Michael McIndoe and the sun-tanned class of Australian Nick Carle, and they are certain to entertain at Wembley.
Hull City’s boss Phil Brown is another success story. Once Sam Allardyce’s assistant at Bolton Wanderers, he left to try and prove himself in his own right, failing miserably with Derby County and getting the bullet within seven months. Brown picked himself up, dusted himself down and bounced straight back as assistant manager to Phil Parkinson at Hull. Luckily for Brown, Parkinson was failing spectacularly, and his new boss quickly became his ex-boss. Brown stepped in as caretaker, won back-to-back games and was awarded the job on a permanent basis, rewarding the club for their faith by guiding them clear of the relegation dog-fight.
Despite this relative success, no-one could have expected to see the club building on it so quickly and travelling down to Wembley today for a shot at a season with the superpowers. The goals of on-loan striker Frazer Campbell have certainly helped, but so too has the experience of 39 year old Dean Windass and one Nicky Barmby. But the sum of Hull is worth more than their parts. They are a brave, battling outfit, not afraid to get physical if the occasion requires, but also clever enough to play some very decent stuff themselves.
Never mind the Champions League Final, this is officially the most valuable game in world football. Two teams with one shot at a place in the most lucrative league in the planet. Expect thrills and spills and some glorious celebrations, because whoever wins today will be described as an unlikely victor.
Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
When the final whistle sounded, it was all too much for the oldest man on the pitch. With the roaring celebrations of over 40,000 of his fans, his people, ringing out across Wembley, Dean Windass sank to his knees in front of them and wept. Hull City, who were languishing in the basement division at the beginning of the decade, are in the Premier League and it was Windass who put them there with a thunderous first half volley. How fitting that it should be a man who watched them as a child from the terraces of their old stadium, who delivered their proudest moment. In an era when a footballer's dedication is constantly questioned, Windass is a joy to watch. He lives and breathes this football club.
For his manager, Phil Brown, there was quiet satisfaction and pride. Brown was in the Premier League as assistant to Sam Allardyce at Bolton, but his first attempt at solo management ended in disaster when he was sacked after just seven months at Derby County. Now his new side will replace them in the top flight. Revenge is rarely so sweet. Hull were in the relegation zone of the Championship when he arrived, but with shrewd purchases and excellent man-management, he has presided over an incredible change of fortunes.
Windass was the goalscoring hero and the man of the match, but he couldn't have done it without the impressive Frazer Campbell, on loan from Manchester United. Campbell latched on to a 38th minute Nicky Barmby through-ball and jinked into the penalty area, dancing through the Bristol City defence. Forced wide by his victims, most young strikers would have tried in vain to crash the ball home from a tight angle, but not this boy. Campbell looked up, noticed a heavy-set, bleached blonde hardman on the edge of the box and lofted the ball to him with remarkable precision. Windass did the rest. When Sir Alex Ferguson watches the highlights, he may consider giving Campbell a chance at Old Trafford.
This was a terrible day at the office for Bristol City who lost their defender Jamie McCombe to overnight illness, their right-back Bradley Orr to a sickening head injury and just couldn't find their groove on a long frustrating afternoon. Lee Trundle, their most gifted player, was woefully off the pace, tripping over the ball and losing possession. When the ball fell to him on he edge of the six-yard box, it was almost inevitable that his shot would be deflected over. That deflection, caused by the excellent Michael Turner, was as important as a goal for Hull City, coming as it did in the middle of an extended spell of pressure from the Robins. It crushed Bristol City's confidence. If they couldn't score from there, they couldn't score from anywhere.
Questions will be asked of this Hull City side soon. Are they just fresh meat for the Premier League grinder? Can they do better than last year's play-off winners Derby County? How many of this team will still be here in August. But these are questions for another day. For now, London reverberates to the sound of their celebrations and somewhere, even as you read this report, that old warrior Windass is probably still out there with them.
For his manager, Phil Brown, there was quiet satisfaction and pride. Brown was in the Premier League as assistant to Sam Allardyce at Bolton, but his first attempt at solo management ended in disaster when he was sacked after just seven months at Derby County. Now his new side will replace them in the top flight. Revenge is rarely so sweet. Hull were in the relegation zone of the Championship when he arrived, but with shrewd purchases and excellent man-management, he has presided over an incredible change of fortunes.
Windass was the goalscoring hero and the man of the match, but he couldn't have done it without the impressive Frazer Campbell, on loan from Manchester United. Campbell latched on to a 38th minute Nicky Barmby through-ball and jinked into the penalty area, dancing through the Bristol City defence. Forced wide by his victims, most young strikers would have tried in vain to crash the ball home from a tight angle, but not this boy. Campbell looked up, noticed a heavy-set, bleached blonde hardman on the edge of the box and lofted the ball to him with remarkable precision. Windass did the rest. When Sir Alex Ferguson watches the highlights, he may consider giving Campbell a chance at Old Trafford.
This was a terrible day at the office for Bristol City who lost their defender Jamie McCombe to overnight illness, their right-back Bradley Orr to a sickening head injury and just couldn't find their groove on a long frustrating afternoon. Lee Trundle, their most gifted player, was woefully off the pace, tripping over the ball and losing possession. When the ball fell to him on he edge of the six-yard box, it was almost inevitable that his shot would be deflected over. That deflection, caused by the excellent Michael Turner, was as important as a goal for Hull City, coming as it did in the middle of an extended spell of pressure from the Robins. It crushed Bristol City's confidence. If they couldn't score from there, they couldn't score from anywhere.
Questions will be asked of this Hull City side soon. Are they just fresh meat for the Premier League grinder? Can they do better than last year's play-off winners Derby County? How many of this team will still be here in August. But these are questions for another day. For now, London reverberates to the sound of their celebrations and somewhere, even as you read this report, that old warrior Windass is probably still out there with them.
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