“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.

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”.

Link to BBC coverage

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…..

"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.

(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 !!!!

WHAT A GAME !!!!

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?‘.

Busy, busy, and more busy !!!

I’ve changed roles at work so I’m a lot busier now, but I have to say, a lot happier. For almost two years, I’ve been sitting down with little or no work to do, so to finally not have to keep myself busy is a massive bonus.

However, I’ve had to take a few days off, I was ill for a while, then Baby O has been ill a couple of times, she is currently suffering from a bout of tonsilitis.

And football? Well, Liverpool has lost 4th place, plus been in the news for the wrong reasons off the pitch. My one shining hope was that Nigeria would win the African Cup of Nations, but that looks next to impossible with this team of overpaid millionaires, I think living in England, they are now like the English National Team !!

Anyway, the one piece of good news was that I became a British Citizen on Wednesday. I had to attend a Citizenship ceremony, to swear allegiance to Queen Elizabeth, ‘her heirs and successors’, and promise to be a good boy. I have to say, I’m proud to be British, I was speaking to a recruitment agency on Thursday, and when as for my nationality, and I said British, it felt……..STRANGE !!! lol.

Anyway, believe it or not, January is all but gone. 2008 will go almost as fast as 2007. Yikes.

(I’ve had a few requests to shed more light on Baby O’s ‘condition’ will do so soon, just need to get my head around it!)

Back in 2003, my hatred for the England football team was at its height. Nigeria and England had been drawn in the same group in the World Cup in 2002, and the English press said all sorts of terrible things about my Nigeria, and how the English would tear us apart. I was forced to listen to this babble from The more they talked up their team, the more they talked down mine. Sadly, we lost our two previous matches to Argentina and Sweden, and England needed to beat us 2-0 to guarantee top spot in the group. I was so happy when they couldn’t break us down, and the match ended 0-0. We had only our pride at stake, and we stood firm and resolute, with what was a reserve team at the time.

But what turned me, and why I will never forgive the English press was a quote in the newspapers the next day. It was from a Coca-Cola advert. “Goodbye Nigeria. At least, you dazzled the world with your luminous shirts“. Still smarting from our first world cup exit from the group stages, this incensed me. And from that day, I have hated the England football team, and have quietly rejoiced whenever a result doesn’t go their way.

OK, so back to the title of this post. Back then, the press were all waxing lyrical, in the way only English journalists can, about how England’s ‘golden generation’ was coming off age, and how they were going to win the world cup in 2006. A lot of stuff was written, but I remember one article very distinctly. A chap called ‘Dan Warren’ felt that maybe 2006 was too soon, but that England would definitely win Euro 2008. At the time, he would have been labelled a ‘pessimist’ such was the height of belief at the time. He felt that Alan Shearer would be England Manager, and he would have a wealth of talent at his arsenal. Looking back at the article now, I can only laugh at his ‘foresight’, but it’s interesting how time has changed what was actually a very realistic outlook. I mean today, all you hear is how English talent is not coming through because of all the foreign players, and how it is affecting the national team, back then is it was:

The recent steady flow of talented young stars has turned into an veritable torrent, with a new teenage hero seemingly unearthed every week.

A brace by 19-year-old Michael Tonge against Liverpool on Wednesday, while 20-year-old Neil Mellor was scoring at the other end, added two more names to this term’s astounding production line of promise.

So let’s look at Shearer’s team of 2008, shall we? Remember, this was written way back in 2003. It is surprisingly accurate, and a lot of these players made it through to the big time, while a few faded into relative obscurity.

And where are they now?

Goalkeepers: Kirkland, so much promise, but an injury ravaged career meant he has never really had his chance at international level. Robinson however, is England’s number one, and not on the bench as projected, although a few recent gaffes means that he may not be there for much longer. And who would have imagined that David James would still be contesting for the keeper’s spot ??

Defenders: Rio Ferdinand is still going strong. His younger brother Anton Ferdinand is still a rising star though, and not quite international standard. Martin Taylor is now with Birmingham city, and now 27, he had a lot of promise back then, but never made it to the top. Ashley Cole has made the left back position his own, and Shaun Wright-Phillips eventually moved forward and is now regularly playing as a right midfielder for England. John Terry, far from being on the bench is now England captain, and one of the world’s top defenders. Wayne Bridge is slowly fading from international reckoning, with the emergence of Joleon Lescott and Nicky Shorey.

Midfielders: Liverpool’s Gerrard is now is his prime and is doing very well for England, although his form has dipped in recent weeks. Joe Cole plays on the left now, and is doing ok in what was England’s problem position for years. David Dunn is now back with Blackburn Rovers after a spell with Birmingham. Once tagged “the new Gazza”, today, he has just one England cap to his name, and his time has come….and gone. And from the bench, Carrick still makes the squad, but Micheal Tonge had his best season in 2002/2003, and never really reached the dizzying heights that were expected of him.

Strikers: Owen and Rooney are still what many regard to be England’s best strike partnership. However, a certain Emile Heskey is trying to change that reality, although at 29, he can’t really do that for long. Defoe, Defoe. So much talent. Eriksson left him behind for the 2006 world cup, opting to take an untested Theo Walcott, that was the day I confirmed that the man was insane. And as for Neil Mellor, he now plys his trade with Preston North End, never made it to the top, he was king of the reserves at Liverpool then, but injury and bad luck have meant his career never really took off, which is a shame really.

And of course, manager Alan Shearer is now a football pundit with the BBC !!

And as for the ‘all conquering England team’ they are all hoping that Israel does them a favour against Russia on November 17th, otherwise the match with Croatia a few days later will be largely an academic affair. And all the players listed in this post will have one thing in common, they’ll all be home watching someone else win the tournament.

And my hatred of the England team? It’s still there, but now that this place is my adopted home, I have to admit that I have come to admire the sense of national pride be it Rugby, football or even curling !! I have to admit, it’s infectious, and I only wish Nigerians had the same sense of patriotism and national identity. And sometimes, I get carried away along with them. I’m still not an England fan, but I can see myself rooting for them one day in the near future.