Genius

(put the sound on if you can)

You know how Nike have this strapline: Just Do It?

Has a sportsman ever embodied that saying more than Marco van Basten? Not, perhaps, in the way Nike meant, but watch this clip…. somehow the routine is spectacular and the spectacular is routine. This man was special. Today a very average player is rewarded in a way that makes him think he’s great. No. van Basten’s technique, awareness and positioning meant he could score ordinary goals often enough to be a consistent threat, and f*ck me! goals often enough to remind us that he was a bit special. He really was a great footballer.

Bottom Watch

I thought I’d try something here before the match’s today that looks at the match-ups of the bottom 6 teams.

As it stands today, we have:

15) Bolton 22 pts
16) Reading 22 pts
17) Birmingham 20 pts
18) Wigan 20 pts
19) Fulham 16 pts
20) Derby County 8pts

I’m really not very good at this sort of thing but for the sake of argument, here are my predictions.

Birmingham v Derby @Birmingham – 3 pts to Birmingham
Wigan v West Ham @Wigan – draw 1 pt to Wigan
Reading v Bolton @Reading – 3 pts to Reading
Fulham v Aston Villa @ Fulham – draw 1pt to Fulham

The table after this weekend could look like this:

15) Reading 25 pts
16) Bolton 22 pts
17) Birmingham 23 pts
18) Wigan 21 pts
19) Fulham 17 pts
20) Derby County 8 pts

Help wanted!

We need two programmes from the 1975 FA Cup run.

I now have all the programmes apart from two of the Hull City ones dated 7/1/75 (this is the first replay at Hull’s ground) and the one dated 13/1/75 the second replay. I have tried every thing I know but still no joy!

Said the man who needs them.   Can you help?  Please email me on the address on the right if you can.

Ooof!

Chris Baird lamps Jimmy Bullard in training.

Meanwhile, former Fulham star Luis Boa Morte is getting some trouble from the fans at West Ham.  This isn’t that surprising, he’s clearly not the player he was, but still you have to feel for the man (who is, from what I’ve heard, one of the more genuine and likeable players in the game).

“Of course the boos are upsetting. I don’t know why,” he told Sky Sports News.

“I agree if they are not happy because I’ve not scored enough goals. Okay fair enough.

“I don’t want them to boo me for the hard work because every single team I’ve had in England I’ve always worked hard.

“I’m not going to throw in the towel. I’m going to keep working hard and to go and see a witch to see if she can help with the scoring.”

I don’t want the part about the witch at the end to overshadow the point about being booed.  Very little angers me more about modern football, this thing about “they’re paid millions so they should be able to take it” or “I’ve paid my money, it’s my right to boo”, what utter rubbish.     I can see booing a team if it just hasn’t done anything, or looks poorly set up, but singling out an individual player?   No, that can’t help.  I can’t see any way it can help.

The witch, eh?  If it works we know where to send our lads.