April
2001 News
This is the latest news
of all the players who appeared in the 1970-71
FKS Publishers Ltd
Wonderful World of Soccer Stars Album
30 April
Kember's
Back !
Steve
Kember (Crystal Palace) has become caretaker-manager
of the club he first signed for in December 1965 ! In
fact, 1970-71 was his last complete season at the club
before moving on to Chelsea. From there he went to
Leicester City, before coming back as a player for a
second spell at the club. He completed 260 League games
at Palace.
Steve has
been the temporary manager once before, when he took over
Dario Gradi in 1981. He was over-looked for the permanent
place, when Alan Mullery took over.
His
appointment follows the sacking of Alan Smith, who was
only appointed for his second spell as manager of the
club at the beginning of the season. Palace are presently
in 22nd place in Division One, and are 3 points adrift in
the relegation place with only 2 games to go.
Steve has
been at Crystal Palace 9 years, when he was brought in by
Alan Smith during his first spell at the club, and has
been working as Chief Scout. Steve is hopeful that this
time he'll be given the full appointment.
Since the
70-71 manager Bert Head left the club, Palace have had a
tradition of revisiting old managers. As well as Alan
Smith and Steve Kember, Palace have re-employed Malcolm
Allison (Manchester City Coach), Terry Venables (QPR) and Steve Coppell. Indeed,
Coppell has had no less than 4 spells as manager of the
club !
Sky Sports - Steve Kember - which has a video with an
interview with Steve.
and The Official Crystal Palace
Website - News Item
25 April
All Change
For Welsh World of Soccer Star Managers!
Bobby's
Up !
Bobby
Gould's (Wolverhampton Wanderers) Cardiff City secured promotion
to Division Two next season for his Cardiff City side.
Leo Fortune-West scored a hatrick to secure a 3-3 away
draw, which along with results going their way elsewhere
was enough to put them up.
Cardiff
City still have a mathematical chance of the Third
Division Championship if they win all their games,
Brighton lose all theirs - and Chesterfield get at least
a 9 point ban (It could happen !!!!)
See Latest News at Cardiff City AFC Official Site
John's
Down !
Not such
good news for John Hollins's (Chelsea) Swansea City, however. John's
team were relegated back to Division 3 just 51 weeks
after gaining promotion. Relegation followed a 2-1 home
defeat to Oldham Athletic. Swansea cannot finish bottom,
but are almost certain finish in their current 23rd
place.
It's not
been a good footballing week or two for John. Apart from
Swansea going down, and Welsh rivals Cardiff City going
up, his former club QPR were relegated and another former
club, Arsenal were knocked out of the European Cup
against the odds!
See SWANSEA CITY FC - Oldham (h)
19 April
Icke's
Ire - 'Teflon Tel'
Former
Coventry City goalie, one time World Saviour, and now
football pundit, David Icke (Coventry
City squad)
sees Terry Venables as some kind of false footballing
God. He could have a point - or maybe he has sour grapes
because his Coventry side might finally make the big
drop. Go to Football365.com for the unedited version of
this article.
'Teflon
Terry Venables (QPR) Is Football's
Naked Emperor'
HAVE I missed
something or is it just that I refuse to be
influenced by decades of propaganda? I was watching
Match Of The Day on Monday night when I found myself
looking at Terry Venables and Bryan Robson sitting in
the stand at the Riverside Stadium. What bemused me
were the words of commentator Steve Wilson:
"Terry Venables and Bryan Robson together - been
quite a turnaround since the former joined
Middlesbrough." Later, as the great Tel was
making gestures to his players from the touchline,
Wilson referred to him as the "schemer
supreme."
'How things have turned around since Venables took
over'? Come again?
Middlesbrough were second bottom when Venables
arrived in a blaze of "saviour" headlines
on December 6, but he inherited, on paper at least,
the most talented squad of players among the
struggling clubs and had plenty of time to turn the
tide. Eighteen games later, Boro are just two points
clear of relegation - and would be back in the drop
zone once again but for Saturday's outrageous 3-0
victory over Arsenal, which came largely thanks to
two comic own goals.
Middlesbrough's performance against Ipswich on Monday
exposed all the fundamental flaws that Tel Boy was
hired to eliminate and showed what a freak result
their win at Arsenal was. You would have thought it
was a pre-season friendly, not a match crucial to
their efforts to survive. There was no passion or
commitment and the blatant lack of co-ordination
throughout the side was hardly the work of a
"schemer supreme."
But still the Tel Boy legend continues and
commentators and pundits alike seem terrified of
criticising the Myth Man. They use code phrases like
"Terry Venables will not be happy with
that" and "Terry will be concerned at that
performance." Where is the simple truth that a
coach is responsible for the co-ordination and
motivation of a team and therefore he takes
responsibility - along with the players - when they
produce the dog's breakfast they did against Ipswich?
No, Venables remains Teflon Tel.
I shall say it again. Middlesbrough are just two
places higher up the table today than they were when
Tel Boy walked through the door four months ago.
Clearly, this does not even begin to qualify as
"turning things around."
Middlesbrough have a much easier run-in than with
Leicester, Bradford, and West Ham among their last
four games and they must be favourites to hang on. If
they do, we will see "Tel The Saviour"
headlines all over the place and his ludicrous legend
will be exaggerated to yet greater levels of
absurdity. But if they fail, maybe the mist will
clear and free the eyes of the football media to see
what, for me, has been so obvious all along: Terry
Venables is a competent coach and little more. His
real gift is not the game, but the gab.
4 April
Redknapp - Fool to Quit
Harry Redknapp to quit West Ham ? That was the headline news
at West Ham United FC Online - KUMB
- Redknapp quits
on April 1st. After West Ham's recent dreadful form, I
would have believed it possible. The suggestions that
John Lyall and Billy Bonds were to make their return in
his place, was perhaps less likely. Reported without a
hint of being a ruse the story ran :
Harry Redknapp will be
waving goodbye to West Ham at the end of the season
after he quit late last night following yesterday's
defeat at home to Everton.
Redknapp, speaking earlier
today revealed that he felt he 'had taken the club as
far as he could', and confirmed that he would be
quitting at the end of the current campaign.
However Redknapp's
resignation is far from news to the club, who had
already taken steps to install his successor.
And KUMB can reveal that
that will be none other than former Hammers boss John
Lyall, who has been coaxed out of retirement with the
promise of £30m+ to spend on new players, thanks to
the new improved TV deal with Sky Sports.
And in another amazing
twist, Lyall's right-hand man will be his former
captain Billy Bonds, who will initially join the club
as player/coach - despite the former centre-half now
being in his 50's!
The campaign to remove
Redknapp as boss at Upton Park has gathered pace over
recent weeks, and a succession of disastrous results
were the last straw for Redknapp who has had to put
up with Mannygate, the sale of star player Rio
Ferdinand and frozen pitches in the last year or so.
Speaking earlier, he said:
"I've been here since
1994, and I've brought the club from relegation
certainties to a top ten team. We've finished in the
top ten in the last three seasons, and no manager at
the club has ever managed that before - especially
with the bare bones that I've had here.
"But it's the punters
that ultimately pay our wages, and if they don't want
me here then I'd rather go back to Bournemouth where
I can run my restaurant in peace."
Redknapp also confirmed that
he is in talks with fellow Premiership outfit
Southampton - just up the road from his beloved
Bournemouth - , and it is expected that he will
unveiled as their replacement for Glenn Hoddle early
next week.
Thanks to Billy
Green for sending me this news story.
See more April 2001 news at the
following ...
|
