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“It’s absolutely fantastic, a real dream come true for me. I’ve been a Liverpool fan all my life, going back to when I was a kid growing up in Dublin, and I always had a Liverpool shirt on my back. So, to be here now as a Liverpool player is incredible and I couldn’t be happier…
“Being a fan makes it even more special because there aren’t too many players who can say they are lucky enough to play for the team that they support” – Robbie Keane on signing for Liverpool, July 2008.
“It’s absolutely unbelievable. This is the reason why I’ve always wanted to come to Celtic. It’s no secret over the years I’ve been a Celtic fan. I’m hoping to bring a lot of success in the short time I’m here…I always wanted to play for Celtic and it works out well for both parties” – Robbie Keane on signing for Celtic, February 2010.
Two years ago, a colleague who sat next to me at work, a Crystal Palace season ticket holder, asked if I had heard of a Nigerian footballer called Victor Moses. At the time, I had never heard the name, but over the last 12 months, Victor Moses has slowly been catching everyone’s attention, and may have played his last match for Crystal Palace. Crystal Palace are reluctantly looking to sell him to ease their financial problems, and the interested clubs are rumoured to be Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool and Manchester City(currently favourites to land him). He is currently the hottest football property outside the premiership at the moment and looks to command a transfer fee of between £3-5 million depending on which news paper you read.
His back story: Victor Moses was born in Nigeria, and lived in Kaduna. His father was a pastor and was killed during one of Nigeria’s many religious riots, back in 2002. (Sadly, today’s news is reporting religious clashes in Jos, it’s so sad how we are still fighting the same battles so many years on). Within a week of his parents being killed, Victor was brought to London, where he was registered as an asylum seeker.(Read his full back story here, although I RESENT the use of the term “war torn Nigeria” in that article)
In 2005, he helped his school (Whitgif) to win the FA Youth Cup with a superb display, he was 14 at the time, and already attending Crystal Palace’s academy.
The young man seems destined for the big time.
The big question, will he ever play for Nigeria? He has already played for the England U-19 side, but can still switch to Nigeria if he so wishes. Can the right Nigerian manager convince this man to switch allegiance, or will England get him, just like they have already ‘captured’ Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor ? The Nigerian team, for some inexplicable reason, is currently being built around the cretin that is Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel, however, building the team around this 19 year old lad will be a long term aspiration, and hopefully we can find the players to play around him, and build a team that can challenge for the World Cup sometime in the future. Looking at the current team in the Nations Cup, you can tell we are desperately in need of a creative spark in midfield, and Moses fits the bill.
Sadly, given his personal tragedy back in Nigeria, I doubt that this young man will ever wear Super Eagles green.
As a Nigerian, I have grown up reading about religious crises in the north, but this story just goes to show that innocent people are the ones who end up with scars for life. I am just pleased that this young man has at least managed to put the past behind him, and is poised to make a success of his life.
Finally, Jack Straw sees sense:
Liverpool fan Michael Shields, who was jailed for 15 years in Bulgaria for the attempted murder of a barman, has been pardoned.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw issued the royal pardon, saying that Mr Shields was “morally and technically innocent”.
Statement by Liverpool Football club
Shields, 22, was convicted after a disturbance following Liverpool’s European Cup victory in Turkey in 2005.
He was later transferred to a prison in the UK.
His pardon follows a campaign by his family, MPs, clergymen, Liverpool players and many others, who believe he is innocent.
In 2005 another man, Graham Sankey, originally admitted involvement in the attack on the barman, but subsequently withdrew his statement and now denies any involvement in the attack. However, it has since been reported that at the time of the attack, Michael was asleep in his hotel room.
This man spent 4 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. I’m just glad that he is finally free.
Michael Shields, You’ll Never Walk Alone…..
I remember watching this year’s Olympics football finals between Nigeria and Argentina. It was a good tournament, and one of the highlights for me was Nigeria beating Belgium 4-1. However, looking at the makeup of the 16 teams that qualified, it’s pretty straightforward:
2 from South America
2 from North+Central America and the Carribeans
4 from Europe
3 from Africa
3 from Asia
1 from Oceania
So, the places are spread out among all the continents, very fair, very evenly distributed.
So how about the World Cup? Well, the South Americans started, and the Europeans pay the most when it comes to TV money. And the number of qualification places is skewed HEAVILY in their favour. Out of the 32 finalists we will have:
Africa – 53 teams/5 places (9.4%) + 1 place for this year’s hosts
Asia – 43 teams/4.5 places (10.4%)
Europe – 53 teams/13 places (24.5%)
North, Central America and Carribean – 35 teams/3.5 places (10%)
Oceania – 10 teams/0.5 places (5%)
South America – 10 teams/4.5 places (45 %)
So percentage wise, South America has the best deal, while Oceania has the worst deal, with Africa second from bottom. But both Europe and Africa have 53 teams, but Europe has more than twice the number of places in the tournament.
Some will argue that South America and Europe have produced all of the previous winners of the tournament, and as a result, they have every right to hold on to most of the places available. Africa has had 2 quarterfinalists but that’s it. Asia, one semi-finalist, and so if we don’t do well, we shouldn’t get any more places.
But isn’t this just going to be a vicious circle? As long as the tournament favours the Europeans and South Americans, the teams from that region will keep getting exposure to top level competition, which helps to develop the players, giving them opportunities to shine on the World Stage, and sign with top clubs. So teams like Bulgaria and Slovenia will occasionally make the tournament, while teams like Gabon will remain in the backwaters of world football.
I propose a ‘reset’.
South American, thank you for giving us the World Cup. Europe, thanks for giving us leagues for our players to play in.
But it’s a WORLD cup. If FIFA is serious about developing football in Africa and Asia, then our teams need more exposure at the very top level.
Each region should have a number of places based on the number of participating teams. The Olympic model looks very good to me, just double the number of spaces to make 32 teams. They’ll be an extra space (only one host), which can be used for co-hosts or even a wildcard place.
It’s only fair.
"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."
Bill Shankly
The first time I ever saw an English football match was 20th of May 1995. That was the day ABG came to install our ‘cable TV’ (which was really an antenna) in Lagos, just in time for us to catch the FA cup final. Everton was playing Manchester United, and Nigeria’s Daniel Amokachi was playing for Everton, so of course I was rooting for the boys in blue. The antenna was not set up properly, so we watched the whole match with a very grainy, snowy picture. 4 days later, we got to watch Ajax lift the Champions League with a win over AC Milan, with 2 Nigerians in their team (Finidi George and a very young Kanu Nwankwo). Yes, those were the good old days, when Nigerians were ruling the football world, but I digress, let me get back to where I was heading. (I have a post in my head about this, coming soon)
Anyway, the next season, we got to watch the English Premier League live. I didn’t support any team in particular, I just loved watching the football. My uncle lived in Liverpool, so I assumed he was a Liverpool fan, and was very disappointed that he turned out to be an Evertonian (In 2001, when I went to live in Liverpool, I found out that almost EVERYONE who lives in Liverpool is an Evertonian !!) So, my natural affinty to Liverpool began, they had some really good players in their squad, most notably Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman. And McManaman was the reason I eventually started supporting Liverpool.
Liverpool was a ruthless team, and their passing game reminded me of the clinical. methodical game Ajax played in the 1995 and 1996 Champions Leagues finals. But as we didn’t get the Dutch league on TV, Liverpool became my Ajax. And on the 19th of August 1996, it was sealed. Liverpool beat Arsenal 2-0 at Anfield, and McManaman gave one his best performances ever. The rest of the team were playing a one touch passing game, but once McManaman got the ball, the ball seemed stuck to his feet, he dribbled like a master, went past anyone who dared challenge him. ESPN’s Tommy Smyth said “He’s a good player, but he doesn’t score enough goals”. And Stevie scored 2 goals, and shut him up. Mangerless Arsenal were no match for the men in Red. And that was the day I started to support Liverpool “Full time”. (Bruce Rioch was sacked by Arsenal at the start of that season. In October, a few weeks later, Arsene Wenger became Arsenal manager)
Anyway, the next few years saw more and more Nigerians get access to cable TV, satellite TV, and most importantly, Premiership football. Most people started ‘supporting’ the teams who were winning things at the time, namely Arsenal and Manchester United. I stuck with Liverpool. After researching the history of the club, I couldn’t let go. All you need to do is read one Bill Shankly quote, and you’re hooked. The history around the club is inspiring, and their record second to none in England.
Over the years, it’s been an interesting journey, I went to University of Liverpool in 2001, and finally got to watch a few matches at Anfield.
So, why did I give all this ‘history’?
Well, last week, after Arsenal lost to Manchester United, a Kenyan Arsenal fan hung himself. He was still wearing his Arsenal shirt.
This has shocked people in Kenya, as to why he took this so far. But coming from a similar background, I can understand where the passion came from. But I would obviously not go that far (following Liverpool, I would have killed myself a million times in the last 14 years!!).
When I went back to Nigeria in 2003, I was surprised to see how well the Sky/Premier League marketing machine was working. Everyone was a fan of a club in England. Arsenal, Man. United mainly. We watched so much Premier League, it felt like we were English. In 2006, sports shows were inviting listeners to dial in and debate who would be a better England captain, John Terry or Steven Gerrard. I remember listening to the show online, and amazed at how people called in to argue their points, even more effectively, than the people I listened to on English radio !!
In the last few years, fights have broken out when the big teams have played each other, and people have been killed. Africans are very passionate people, and sometimes, all we need is a cause to fight for, and we’ll fight it to the end.
Sadly for Suleiman Omondi, it’s too late. What a tragic waste of life. Reading this blog post, apparently, there have been Premier League related brawls in Kenya as well, so it’s not a uniquely Nigerian problem. Sadly, you can still see the Africna passion of the writer :
PS: This is a wake up call to Arsenal. This is how much it hurts all the fans when you play hopelessly. It might just be financials for the Arsenal stakeholders, might just be business for the Arsenal Board of Directors, might be just another job for Arsene Wenger, might just be a career for the players … but this club is the LIFE for all the supporters…! May Suleiman Omondi R.I.P.
Taken from here.
I’m sorry, but I don’t agree.
Arsene Wenger and any one of the Arsenal players probably make more in a week what this guy makes in a years, and that’s assuming he’s either abroad, or has a very, very good job. And the people who can claim to have a real connection to Arsenal, the North Londoners, when the team loses, they drown their sorrows with alcohol, and are back at work with a hangover the next day.
Please. It’s a beautiful game, but it’s just a game.
“David Blaine was gutted to hear that his record of 48 days in the box doing absolutely nothing has been broken by Darren Bent.”
“You can buy ‘Spurs, The Glory Years’ from most shops, priced £200. That’s £5 for the tape and £195 for the Betamax player.”
“What’s the difference between Father Christmas and a Spurs win? Some people actually believe Father Christmas exists.”
“Darren Bent is ill, so Jaunde Ramos offers to do his shopping for him. While in Sainsbury’s he bumps into Arsene Wenger. ‘What are you doing in here, Juande?’ asks Wenger. ‘Getting a bag of potatoes for Darren Bent,’ he replies. ‘Sounds like a good swap to me,’ says Wenger.”
Haringey council has blocked Tottenham’s plans to build a new ground on Northumberland Park. A town hall source said: “We don’t mind having a funfair there once a year, but a circus every fortnight is a bit much.”
“I was playing Scrabble and had enough letters to make ‘Tottenham Hotspur Football Club’. I was gutted when I found out it was only worth two points.”
Tesco are releasing new Oxo cubes in Spurs colours. Customers are told to look out for laughing stocks.
A young boy goes to social services and tells them he has nowhere to live. “What about your parents?” asks the social worker. “No, they beat me,” says the boy. “What about your grandparents?” says the social worker. “No, they beat me even harder!” says the boy. “Well … where do you want to stay then?” replies the social worker. “Tottenham,” says the boy. “They don’t beat anyone.
What do a toothpick and Tottenham have in common? They both have two points
Juande Ramos, shortly after another training session, comments to the head groundsman at White Hart Lane how impressive the pitch is looking. “It ought to,” replies the groundsman. “We put 70 million quid’s worth of manure on it every week.”
I just went down to the newsagents and bought Tottenham Hotspur magazine. Thank goodness they had porn mags to hide it in.
What does a Spurs fan do after he sees his team win? Turns off the Xbox
After leaving San Siro, Jose Mourinho was asked if he was going to help Spurs get out of their slump. He turned around and said, “No way, I ain’t that special”.
Apparently the entire Tottenham squad have been busy honing their skills playing the computer game Championship Manager. Sadly it seems Juande misunderstood and thinks they want to play for a Championship manager.
Contrary to what you may think, Spurs are the strongest team in the league at the moment. Sure, aren’t they holding everyone else up?
What do the Premier League and a cowboy have in common? They both have spurs at their feet.
A man was found dead floating in the Thames, wearing a blond wig, full make-up, bra, knickers, suspenders and a Spurs shirt. Before informing the next of kin the police removed the Spurs shirt to save the family embarrassment.
What would an improved version of Spurs be called? Newcastle United.
Did you hear that Juande Ramos was clocked doing 169mph on the M1 coming back from Stoke? Apparently he was just so desperate for three points.
Is it just me or are Spurs the team to beat this season? Everyone’s at it.
A man is sitting in a pub with his jack russell dog one Sunday afternoon. The football results are coming up on the television in the corner: “Stoke City 2, Tottenham Hotspur 1,” reads the announcer. Suddenly the jack russell jumps up and shouts out, “Oh, no, not again.” The shocked landlord says, “That’s amazing. Why did he say that when it was announced that Tottenham lost?” “Because he’s a Spurs supporter,” the dog’s owner replies. The landlord then asks what the dog says when Tottenham win a match, to which the man replies, “I don’t know. I’ve only had him six months.”
When a groggy Vedran Corluka regained consciousness in the ambulance leaving the Britannia Stadium on Sunday he asked medical staff who he was. On being told he played football for Tottenham Hotspur he lapsed into a coma.
All trains through White Hart Lane have been cancelled due to a massive points failure.
What’s the difference between Juande Ramos and a cowboy? A cowboy wears Spurs on his boots whereas Ramos is a crap manager.
What does THFC stand for? Tottenham Heading For the Championship.
A little boy gets £10 for his birthday and rushes down to the sports shop to buy the new football he has been desperate for. He gives the ball to the shopkeeper, who says, “Sorry, son, this ball is £20. You only have £10″. The boy says, “OK, if you blindfold me and I can guess the name of the club on any ball, will you give it to me for £10?” He agrees and gives the boy an Arsenal ball. “I can hear cannons blasting, so it’s an Arsenal ball.” Next he gives him a Millwall ball: “I hear lions, so it’s Millwall.” Amazed, the shopkeeper says, “Get this and you can have it for nothing.” The boy listens and says Spurs. The man asks if he’s heard a cockerel. “No,” says the boy. “It’s going down.”
What’s the difference between Bigfoot and the Spurs defence? Bigfoot has been spotted several times.
Spurs have been forced to rename their ground “White Lane” because their “Hart” was surgically removed when Berbatov and Keane were sold.
Breaking news: Tottenham Hotspur have finally won a game. It was a friendly behind closed doors at non-league Walthamstow the other day. And if you don’t believe us here is the proof.
Following on from my last post, it’s great to see Paul Ince take the job of manager at Blackburn Rovers, becoming the first ever English black man to manage a club in the top flight of English football. (Ruud Gullit and Jean Tigana were 1st and 2nd black managers respectively).
However, Paul Ince needed special dispensation to take the job, as he does not have the required qualifications to manage a club in the top flight.
Now, make no mistake, Ince has excelled in his two previous jobs at Macclesfield and MK Dons. And when he started managing, he was talking about going all the way to the top, hopefully managing Inter Milan one day.
What surprises me is that he has been managing for two years, and has not managed to get any of the UEFA badges. You see, to manage in the premiership, you need a UEFA Pro License, which is the highest qualification you can get. But you can also get a lesser ‘A’ badge or a ‘B’ badge when you start coaching. I read in the press that last year, Paul Ince was meant to go to college to get his ‘B’ badge, however, he didn’t turn up, and went golfing instead. And Roy Keane, who only just retired, has already completed his qualifications.
For someone who wanted to manage at the top, I’m surprised he didn’t prepare for the role. He’s been retired for years, and could have taken his badges a lot earlier. Current and recently retired players are already talking about getting their badges, Stephane Henchoz started his while still playing for Blackburn, and Steven Gerrard has been thinking about doing his for a while. Neil Lennon is starting his A badge this summer.
Make no mistake about it, the UEFA Pro License is hard work. Generally, the course takes a year to complete, with 240 hours of work to be put in. Prospective coaches are taught on their handling of top-class players, their use of the latest technology, and their abilities to deal with off-the-field problems. The English course begins in June with a 10-day residential period at Warwick University.
Glen Roeder and Gareth Southgate are both working towards obtaining their qualifications, after being given dispensation to manage with it in the past. And we hear that Ince should be one of the last people to take a job in the premier league without one.
We have another black former player in the shape of John Barnes, who is claiming that the only reason why he has not been offered another management job since he was in charge of Celtic, is because he’s black. However, I don’t see his name on the list of holders of the UEFA Pro license. For all I know, he may have an A or a B badge. However, if someone in the premiership decides to offer him a job tomorrow, he won’t be able to take it, because he’s not ready. They say opportunity knocks but once. I’ve heard another expression, ‘If opportunity doesn’t knock, then build a door.’ or ‘Chance favours the prepared mind’.
Both Paul Ince and John Barnes were great footballers. And Ince has done really well as a manager. But both would be wise to follow Roy Keane’s example, and prepare for the future in good time.
N.B. Just realised that Roy Keane’s name is not on the list of managers who have the qualification. However, I don’t remember the Premier League making a special case for him unlike Glen Roeder, Gareth Southgate, Avram Grant and of course Paul Ince, so I assume he has it.
(Sing to the tune of Let it Be by the Beatles)
When we find ourselves in times of trouble,
Benitez comes to me.
Speaking words of wisdom, Stevie G !!!!
Stevie G, Stevie G, Stevie G, Stevie G
There will be an answer.
Stevie G !!!!
Chelsea, are you watching?? BRING IT !!!!
WARNING : LONG FOOTBALL RELATED POST
I remember the second time I went to watch a competitive match at Anfield. It was Liverpool v. Ipswich town, 3rd round in the league cup, back in 2002. The match ended in a draw, and Liverpool won on penalties. I sat close to the Ipswich fans with a friend of mine, and there was a brief moment when I thought things would kick off, but fortunately, the police/stewards sorted things out. Anyway, after the match, as we were leaving, we came across a group of Ipswich fans. In my ‘Nigerian boy’ attitude, I started to taunt them. Liverpool fans around me told me off immediately. “That’s not how we treat people” was among the phrases I heard that night. The message was clear, and I learnt a valuable lesson about supporting the greatest club in the world.
Liverpool fans might have a bad reputation from the past, however, things have changed. Liverpool fans respect visiting fans, and applaud other teams when they deserve it. When Havant and Waterloovile gave us a cracking match a few weeks ago, Liverpool fans gave them a standing ovation. One of the first things you see when you sit down in the stadium are signs saying foul language is not allowed. I’ve only ever attended a friendly and two league cup matches, so you could argue that the crowd I’ve sat with are not the normal Liverpool matchday crowd. But on all three occasions, the behaviour was immaculate.
Today, Manchester United finished off their week remembering the Bubsy Babes with a league match. They had planned to have a minute’s silence before the match began, but unfortunately for them, the match was against local rivals Manchester City. All week long, Man City fans have been urged to respect the minute’s silence. They even blackmailed them, reminding them that Frank Swift, a former Man City keeper also died on the flight. Fortunately, the minute’s silence was immaculately observed. Manchester City then decided to be very bad visitors, and beat their hosts in the match 2-1. Personally, I was pleased to see that. I find that it was poetic justice. Manchester City fans have been the target of some venomous chants from Manchester United for years.
Before I go into that in more detail, let me tell you another story. A friend of mine, a fellow Liverpool fan, who lived in Leicester was lucky to get a ticket to watch Leicester City against Manchester United. What got to him was the way the Man U supporters insulted Leciester fans throughout the match, and to rub salt in their wounds, they won it. “We’re got a stand bigger than your stadium” was one of the more polite chants. And of course, they inserted a random insult to Liverpool and Manchester City every few minutes. That was the day he started to hate United.
And that is what gets to me. Manchester Untied was expecting Man city fans to behave themselves today, however, they are probably the worst fans when it comes to respecting other teams. No matter who they are playing they pour out poison from the terraces about Liverpool, Manchester City, and any one else.
Tune: Oh my darling Clementine
Build a bonfire,
Build a bonfire,
Put the Scousers on the top,
Put City in the middle,
And we’ll burn the f*cking lot
My younger brother who supports United when to Old Trafford to watch them play West Brom. When he got back, he had learnt so may songs insulting Liverpool, and Manchester City, including the one above. But why do they find it necessary to insult Liverpool and City all the time? I’ve been to a few Liverpool matches, and the worst I’ve seen was in a friendly against Lazio, every time Japp Stam (former United player) touched the play, he was booed, but that was it. And when the other cup results were announced, a loud cheer if Man U lost.
Today, Manchester United fans expected Man City fans to be on their best behaviour, and thankfully, they were. However, I feel they need to look at themselves, if it was them on the other end, would they do it. Whenever Liverpool sing about winning the champions league 5 times, Man United tell us that they may have only won it twice, but they didn’t kill anyone.
Liverpool
We won it five times (2ce)
In Istanbul, we won it five times
Manchester United reply
We’ve won it two times (2ce)
Without killing anyone, we won it two times.
Personally, I think this is pretty distasteful. If Man U was visiting Liverpool when we were remembering the Hillsborough victims? I don’t think so.
In conclusion, and with respect to the dead, Manchester United must have heaved a sigh of relief when no one interrupted the minute’s silence today. However, while those great players whose lives were cut short deserve every honour, Manchester United fans do not.
I leave you with a selection of songs from the Man United terraces:
tune: this is how it feels (Inspiral Carpets)
This is how it feels to be City
This is how it feels to be small
This is how it feels when your team wins nothing at all
Nothing at all…
Tune : Land of hope and glory
We hate Nottingham Forest,
We hate Liverpool too, (and Leeds),
We hate Manchester City,
But United we love you – altogether now…
Tune : Daydream Believer
Cheer up Kevin Keegan,
Oh what can it mean,
to a Sad Geordie b*stard,
and a Sh*te football team.
Tune : If you’re happy and you know it…
If you all hate the scousers clap your hands
In the Liverpool slums,
They knock on the door when they want something to eat,
They find a dead rat and they think it’s a treat,
In the Liverpool slums…
In the Liverpool slums,
Your Mum’s on the beat and your Dad’s in the nick,
You can’t find a job ‘coz you’re too f*ckin’ thick,
In the Liverpool slums…
Tune : Let them know it’s Christmas time..
Feed the scousers,
Let them know it’s Christmas time…
Feed the scousers,
Let them know it’s Christmas time…
Tune : Don’t Dilly Dally on the way
My old man, said “be a city fan”,
I said “f*ck off, you’re a c*nt!”,
“I’d rather shag a bucket with a big hole in it,
Than be a city fan for just one minute”.
With hatchets and hammers,
Stanley knives and spanners,
We’ll show those city b*stards how to fight (how to fight),
“I’d rather shag a bucket with a big hole in it,
Than be a city fan! (all together now)”.
Tune : He’s got the whole world in his hands
They’ve got the tallest floodlights in the Football League,
They’ve got the tallest floodlights in the Football League.
They’ve got the tallest floodlights in the Football League
Oh city are a massive club!
Other verses include…
They’ve got the widest pitch, in the land.
They signed George Weah but he thought they played in red.
They had a derby match with Macclesfield.
Their best ever player played for Ajax reserves.
At last count, they are over 2000 different verses for this song.
P.S. In the days gone by, songs about the Munich Air Crash (‘Who’s that dying on the runway…?’) were sang tastelessly by Liverpool fans with responses aimed at Shankly’s death (‘Who’s that dying on the carpet…?’) from the United fans. After the Hillsborough Disaster, Liverpool fans stopped singing about Munich, so United fans chanted, ‘Where’s Your Famous Munich Song?‘.
Any thoughts?
I remember when he started playing for Nigeria, as soon as I saw him, I thought, he would make a great captain for the team one day. He eventually became captain, but left the role controversially. He clearly has leadership skills, he has been coaching in Belgium, and will complete his Uefa Badge soon.
Could he be the man to take Nigeria to the promised land?