February
/ March 2004
News
News of other stars from the 1970-71
season will appear here ...
Storton Leaves
9 March 2004,
Trevor Storton (Tranmere
Rovers) leaves
the Unibond Premier League side, Bradford Park Avenue
after seven years in charge of the club. Last November,
Trevor took Bradford to the first round proper of the FA
Cup, where they played Bristol City.
However, the League
form has not been good. After 32 games, Bradford Park
Avenue were placed 21st in a 23 team League.As the
football non-League pyrimid is being re-configured next
season, this means the club are likely to miss out on
being in the new Conference North Division.
Carl Shutt, the former
Leeds United, Bradford City and Sheffield Wednesday star,
was announced as the replacement a week later. Carl had
previously been manager of Kettering Town.
See Bradford (Park Avenue) A.F.C. Official Site
Story originally
spotted in The Non League Paper on Friday/Saturday,
12 March 2004, no.8.
Talbot Moves On
Current Top Bob 2003,
Brian Talbot (Ipswich
Town), left
Rushden and Diamonds on 8 March, 2004, a post he has held
for the last seven years. Brian joined the club when they
were non-League, and ast season the club were promoted to
Division Two.
Two days later, Brian
was named manager of rival Division Two side Oldham
Athletic. His contract is to last to June 2007. Oldham
are only just clear of the relegation places, whereas
Rushden and Diamonds were mid-table.
BBC SPORT Rushden and Diamonds
Talbot leaves Diamonds
Horton Leaves Vale
Here's a story I missed
at the time, but on 12 February, 2004, Brian
Horton (Port Vale) left Port Vale after 5 years in
charge. The departure was apparantly amicable and Port
Vale are in a Play-off position in Division Two.
Brian's contract was
due to end at the end of the season, and it seems that he
has chosen to leave sooner rather than later. Brian began
his playing career at Port Vale and played 236 League
games for them. When he returned as manager in 1999 he
took over John Rudge (Torquay
United) who had
been manager for 15 years, so a change at the helm is a
rare event for Port Vale fans !
See BBC SPORT Port Vale Horton leaves Port
Vale
Hart Returns !!!
4 March 2004, Paul
Hart (Stockport County) has been
snapped up by Barnsley in Division Two. This followed the
sacking of manager Gudjon
Thordarson. Barnsley have taken just eight points from a
possible 33 in the league since Christmas.
This means that Paul will
re-unite with the former Leeds United Chairman, Peter
Ridsdale, now Chairman at Barnsley.
Paul was sacked by Nottingham
Forest last month, see news.
Also see BBC SPORT Barnsley bring in Hart
Wilkinson to China and back
According to BBC Leeds
local television service, Howard Wilkinson is to take over for a 12 week
spell at top China League side, Shanghai Shenhua. Originally this was
reported as a three year contract, but this was turned
down by Howard.
However, the opportunity to take
over for a limited spell, as head coach to the side who
are the country's foremost club, proved to be too
exciting a challenge to refuse. Howard cannot speak the
lingo, so he will require a Yorkshire / Mandarin
interpreter !
Elsewhere it also reported that
Howard is on a shortlist to become the new manager of the
Egypt national side.
See BBC Wilkinson 'set for China'
and BBC Egypt look at Wilkinson
NB It was reported on Radio
Leeds on 21 May, 2004, that Howard is leaving his post
short of the full 12 weeks due to personal reasons
Smith Returns
3 March 2004, Walter
Smith (Dundee United) has been appointed as the
Assistant manager to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester
United. Walter will be free in this role to coach the
team, a role that he was often unable to do as manager
whilst at Everton and Rangers. The position has been available since
Carlos Queiroz left last summer to become manager of Real
Madrid, but has been filled by Mike Phealan on a
temporary basis.
BBC Walter Smith joins Man Utd reports:
"The chance to
come to Manchester United is something I couldn't
turn down," said Smith.
"There are few
bigger challenges in football than helping a
successful side sustain their achievements."
He added: "I
have huge admiration for what Sir Alex has achieved
at United and I'm excited to be part of it.
"I met Sir Alex
in Glasgow on Tuesday. We were both attending a
funeral. He asked if I'd like to give him and Mike
Phelan a hand until the end of the season.
"When you're
not doing a great deal and Manchester United ask you
to come along then you're more than happy to do
so."
United manager Sir
Alex Ferguson said he welcomed Smith's arrival.
"There are few
people in the game with his experience, knowledge and
technical ability," said Ferguson.
"I am delighted
that Walter has accepted the chance to join United.
"His talent and
background will be major assets at such a critical
time of the season."
Smith, a former
Dundee United and Dumbarton player, joined Rangers in
1986 and became first team coach in 1991.
He won the Scottish
Premier League title in each of the six seasons he
was in charge and picked up three Scottish Cups and
three Scottish League Cups while in charge at Ibrox.
Awarded an OBE in
1997, he was appointed Everton manager in 1998 until
he was dismissed by the club in March 2002.
John Charles Fever
Maybe it's a simply
distraction from the on-field and off-field problems of
the city's bottom placed club, but Leeds has shown an
overwhelming wave off grief following the news of John
Charles' (Hereford player-manager) death.
On Sunday 29 February,
2004, Leeds United played Liverpool at Elland Road in the
Premiership, and the tributes were everywhere to be seen.
The game's programme was a John Charles Special, the
large scoreboard screen re-showed a tribute that had been
shown on local television earlier in the week. And there
was a minute's silence before the match, that due to a
misunderstanding between referee and fans ran to two
minutes (less a ten second cheer followed but muted
embarassed laughter in the middle).
There had already been
a minute's silence prior to the Manchester United v Leeds
United match the previous Saturday, but this was made all
the more special by being attended by John's widow,
Glenda, and one of his sons.
Ten minutes prior to the game, it was announced that the
ground's West Stand was to be re-named the John Charles
Stand. A great honour, but I couldn't help but feel this
honour could have been made several years ago,and
accepted by John himself. As stated by the announcer the
stand was built with monies raised by John's sale during
his playing career.
On the following day
fittingly St David's Day, the patron Saint of Wales, (1
March, 2004) the funeral was held at Leeds Parish church,
with Revie era players acting as pallbearers, and a
memorial service was held at Elland Road. Those people
like me who could not attend due to other commitments,
were able to listen to coverage of the events on both of
the main local radio stations, BBC Radio Leeds and Radio
Aire.
Amongst Bob 70-71
Players noted at the funeral and memorial included Eddie
Gray, Paul Reaney, Peter Lorimer, Norman Hunter, Allan
Clarke, Terry Yorath, Denis Law, Jack Charlton, Sir Alex
Ferguson, and Roy Ellam - there
were more than likely many, many more.
Driving home that
evening I listened as usual to the rather fun Martin
Kelner show, which reviewed the days events and even
played a couple of John Charles' recordings from an LP
made in the 1960s in Italy. It seems his version of
'Twelve Tons' was well received and even included John
singing in Italian !
See BBC - Leeds Sport - John Charles
BBC - Leeds Sport - Listen to
Martin Kelner 24-7
The Official Martin Kelner
Website
The Songs of Leeds United Track 9
To purchase the John Charles music see Welcome to Exotica Records!
Regular visitors to the
site will know that John had only recently been added
once it was I realised he was the Hereford United
player-manager in the 1970-71 season. Along with John's
addition comes the realisation that the site also needed
to include John's brother, Mel Charles,
and Mel's son Jeremy Charles. See Sons
and Daughters: Bothers and Nephews.
Surfing around and
researching the above revealed two further excellent
links:
1) There's a break down
of the facts of John's career appears at
leedsfans.org.uk Leeds United
Player Profile John Charles
2) Brian Glanville's
Obituary for the Guardian at Guardian Unlimited The Guardian
John Charles ,
(I have added this link to this site's Obituary)
Kinnear at Nottingham Forest.
Joe Kinnear is back in management after a spell in which he
contemplated retirement. BBC SPORT Football My Club Nottm
Forest Kinnear considered quitting reports:
KINNEAR
FACTFILE Born: 27 December 1946 Teams as player:
Tottenham, Brighton Teams as manager: Doncaster,
Wimbledon, Luton Wimbledon record: 364 games, won
130, lost 125, drawn 109 Luton record: 122 games, won
56, lost 38, drawn 28
New Forest
boss Joe Kinnear admits he nearly quit football after
his departure from Luton in the summer left him
disillusioned with the game.
Kinnear was
unveiled manager of First Division strugglers Forest
on Wednesday, replacing sacked Paul Hart.
"I'll
put my hands up and say I was so disillusioned I
thought of calling it a day after Luton," said
Kinnear.
"The
whole scenario had left a bad taste and I thought
'that's it for me'."
He added:
"But I have missed it badly and I couldn't have
turned down this opportunity because I never thought
I'd get another chance at a club like Forest.
"Irrespective
of the league position Forest are in, there are times
in your life when you have to make decisions and I
was determined I wasn't going to miss out on this
one."
Having left
Luton, Kinnear launched legal proceedings in an
effort to recoup the money he claims he was owed in
compensation and bonuses.
And the
Forest chief is hopeful the dispute will be resolved
soon.
He said:
"I was owed a vast amount of money because I was
on a massive bonus to get them promotion, which I
did, and I had a year left on my contract.
"I
felt bitter, hard done by and aggrieved about it and
I decided this was a case I would fight.
"It's
all still on-going but will hopefully we tied up this
week although to be quite frank I'll have to write
off £400,000.
"At
the end of it I'll probably end up with £35,000 but
I'm going to take that on the chin and get on with my
life."
The former
Republic of Ireland international established his
reputation during his seven-year tenure at Wimbledon
where he worked wonders on a tight budget.
He led the
Dons to sixth in the Premiership in 1993-94 and the
semi-finals of both FA and Coca-Cola Cups.
But he was
forced to stand down from his role with Wimbledon in
June 1999 after suffering a heart attack.
After a
spell out of the game he was handed the Luton job in
February 2001, but was unable to prevent them being
relegated from Division Two.
He led the
club out of Division Three the following season but
was sacked in a shock move when the club was taken
over last year.
Forest
chiefs now hope that Kinnear will use his experience
to guide the club out of the Division One relegation
zone.
Forest held
talks with Kinnear on Monday and afterwards chairman
Nigel Doughty said: "During his time at
Wimbledon he was a key figure in developing a lot of
talented young players who have become household
names in football.
"Everyone
knows how much emphasis we put on the academy at
Nottingham Forest.
"He's
also an inspirational and charismatic figure and his
popularity with supporters at his previous club
speaks volumes for the job he's done.
"He
had tremendous success at Luton who he took to
promotion in his first full season before they were
gripped by financial and ownership problems."
Hart Sacked
7 February 2004, Paul
Hart (Stockport County), who had only recently had
been suggested as the new manager of Leeds United, has
now been sacked as manager of Nottingham Forest.
Forest lost 1-0 at home
to Coventry City leaving the club 14 games without a win
and 7 games without a goal. The club have also now
slipped to into the relegation zone, two above bottom
place. Many fans believe that Paul is the scapegoat for a
more general decline at the club, but that will be of
little comfort to Paul.
Paul Hart is the
current holder of the Special Bob Award.
John Charles Latest
Note since this
item appeared earlier this month, John has died - read Obituary
Leeds United legend, John
Charles (Hereford player-manager) has been in hospital very
seriously ill. On 8 January 2004, BBC NEWS Wales Soccer legend
faces 'critical days'
Welsh
football legend John Charles is facing "critical
days" after undergoing emergency surgery for a
burst blood vessel.
The
71-year-old former Leeds, Juventus, Swansea and
Cardiff player collapsed during a promotional tour of
Italy.
He was
rushed to hospital on Tuesday moments before he was
due to appear on a television show in Italy, where he
remains a hero to football fans.
But
surgeons said on Thursday that Charles, who was
dubbed "Il Bon Gigante" or Gentle Giant,
during his successful five years in Italy, had asked
for the latest Italian football scores and was in
good spirits.
His
surgeon, Dr Piergiorgio Settembrini, said Charles was
still on the critical list but was showing signs of
improvement after an operation to correct the blood
flow in his major artery.
He added:
"The patient is recovering well from a serious
vascular operation, and we are optimistic.
"I saw
him this morning, and he is feeling better than
yesterday.
"These
are critical days." Dr Settembrini led the
medical team which carried out the two-hour abdominal
aortic aneurism operation on Charles on Tuesday.
"The
operation technically went well," added Dr
Settembrini.
Charles,
who published his autobiography - King John - in
August, was due to be reunited with his former
Juventus strike partner, Omar Sivori, on the sports
TV show Domenica Sportiva when he became ill.
Surgeons in
Milan worked to fit a stent - a device to keep his
arteries open.
Doctors are
hopeful that Charles - who was capped 38 times by
Wales and played in the 1958 World Cup - will make a
full recovery.
He has had
to cope with two serious illnesses over the last few
years: he was diagnosed with blood cancer and in 1997
had a tumour removed from his bladder.
After
several years of chemotherapy he has been in
remission for the last two years.
He has also
had to cope with Alzheimer's, which has not yet
affected his long-term memory .
Born in
1931, Charles was signed by Leeds United as a
15-year-old and made his Wales debut in 1950 at the
age of 18.
At 6ft 2ins
and almost 14 stone, he was the First Division's top
marksman in 1957 with 38 goals, and signed for
Juventus that August.
During his
five years in northern Italy, the Turin club won
three championships and two Italian cups, with
Charles, who was equally at home at centre-half and
centre-forward, scoring a remarkable 93 goals in 155
games.
On 7 February BBC NEWS Wales Soccer hero loses
part of foot
reported:
Wales
football legend John Charles has had part of his
right foot amputated, a month after undergoing heart
surgery, a family friend has revealed.
In January,
the 72-year-old former Leeds, Juventus, Swansea and
Cardiff striker had a two-hour operation to clear his
main artery at Milan's San Carlo Borromeo hospital.
But
circulation problems meant blood was not reaching the
end of his right foot.
One of
Charles' close friends said doctors at the same
hospital were forced to remove part of it.
"After
heart surgery, there is often a problem with
circulation - it was the same for John," said
David Williams.
"The
blood wasn't reaching the end of his foot and they
were forced to amputate half of his right foot."
Mr
Williams, 65, is visiting the hospital regularly to
see Charles, whose wife Glenda has also been at his
bedside.
"The
doctors say he will still be able to stand and it's
not like he has lost a leg," he said.
"Part
of the foot is still there and he can be fitted with
a prosthetic foot."
However, he
added that progress was slow.
Further February / March
2004 news can be found at ...
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