I really like Aaron Lennon (20 years old) who is on Tottenham Hotspur, the team that Simmons has adopted. I think he performed very well in the limited amount of playing time he had in this World Cup. This kid is extremely skillful and it seemed to me something good would happen everytime he had the ball. I was surprised he didn't get any votes in the 'best new player' award. Call me crazy, but I would pick him over Messi to build a team.
Cause he barely played 90 minutes total over 5 games. T-shirt an english site was selling last month:
that is pretty damn funny you gotta loooooooooooooooooooooathe soccer to do something so sneaky, so sinister, so downright bhgonzo42. awesome.
Messis reached that total coz he played a little over an hr against the dutch. Lennon shoulda got some consideration. oh well.
Dude, your club is the second largest spender in the EPL, and by some distance, I might add. Man U is not "horribly stingy".. be grateful for what you have, yeah? Ah, nothing like some good old football rivalry to spice up a basketball message board
The only reason I became a fan of Manchester United was because of Tim Howard. I thought it was cool to have an american playing for one of the biggest teams in England. I was surprised that he played immediately and did so well in his first season. Rooney has since become my favorite player due to his playing style and passion. Hopefully Tim will make it back soon. In retrospect I wish I had chosen Liverpool instead but I'm willing to stick it out with RD's for as long as possible. I was really close to choosing Chelsea right around the time that Roman bought them but after the way he got rid of Raineri and basically bought his way to a title, Chelsea seemed more big and evil than Manchester Utd. ever did. Which kind of sucks because I'm a big fan of John Terry (being a good player and one of the few players on Chelsea who were there before Roman). Things haven't been easy for the Devils since I started rooting for them but I think they have it in them this year to challenge Chelski for the title. And hopefully they can make it further in the CL after the disaster that was last year...man was that painful...no scoring whatsoever....ugh. If there is one team I will root against, it would definitely be Arsenal. I don't like wenger and for a long time I couldn't stand Lehmann (I have since come to the conclusion that he is one of the top 3 keepers in the world but still couldn't stand all the hype around him especially since it came from Lehmann himself. Partly I feel bad for him especially after his CL red card and the german meltdown in the WC). And then Henry, I'm just pissed because he doesn't play for United. There isn't a striker in the EPL who can control a game like he does. He makes it seem so easy. And he's not like Ruud who can't score from outside the box (yeah I know who he plays for). When Henry gets the ball I really feel bad for the defender because it would take a miracle to stop him from scoring. But mostly because Arsenal can't seem to stop getting more yellows and reds than every other team in the EPL (actually they're cutting down on them as of late, but they have been pretty bad about cards in the not so distant past). I wonder what Ferguson is going to do with Ruud. If he really wants Viera like he has for the last 10 years or so, then he most likely will have to let Ruud go especially due to the animosity between Ruud and Viera. Oh well....we shall see in the next couple of weeks.
Ruud is almost certainly going to Real Madrid, the teams only need to get the finance complete, Real and Ruud have agreed.
Tottenham Hotspur was my Dad's Premier League team, and so now they are mine as well. I've even got a Spur's baseball cap!
I wonder why he compared Chelsea to the Knicks. Chelsea = Dallas Mavericks. The similarities are almost frightening. Insanely rich maverick boss who doesn't hesitate to break out the checkbook? check. Blue jerseys? check. Significant number of international players? check. Massive payroll? check. Several years of winning potential without championship success (until last year)? check. Hated rivals of my favorite team (Arsenal)? check.
Tonight(European tonight) the last game of Bergkamp will be played, a friendly between Arsenal and Ajax. He was such an amazing player, to bad we will have to miss him from now on.It is nice that soccer has these going retirement games, between old teams of the player. For the people interested, this is a mix of some goals of bergkamp, I did not make it myself,(also i do not like the music, so you can watch it without sound. http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=CAFD9A2E47305345
MAN U all the way! but I love the beautiful game so much, especially the EPL, that I enjoy watching most of the teams b/c most of them play an entertaining attacking style and have international stars. I don't care too much for Simmons writing style but props to him for writing about some of the history and pagentry of the EPL for thos new comers. He made a good choice in the Hotspurs mainly because of my boy Davids. Anyone seen Man U's new jersey? Ughh... The red is not nice at all and the jersey is too plain looking. Berkamp was amazing. That goal he scored against Argentina in '98 was one of the greatest WC goals ever. It is really cool to see that Arsenal has done this for him. Arsenal won 2-1 in the friendly with greats from the past playing, I wish FSC would show it. Here's the link: http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/5807090
I thought Davids was gone. I'm an Arsenal fan so there is definitely some irony that someone who doesn't know anything about soccer (Simmons) would choose the Spuds. j/k. actually they finally got a decent coach and he's brought in some good players. that Lennon is going to be terrorising defenses for awhile. he is more than fast, he seems to have a good feel for the game. they should be competing for the fifth spot for the next decade.
http://www.duncan-edwards.co.uk/tribute.asp Duncan Edwards - A Legend - Duncan Edwards was born in Dudley on 1st October 1936 and throughout his short life professed his pride at being an ambassador for the town wherever his football career took him. From his earliest days his love for kicking a football around the streets signified a special feeling and enthusiasm for the sport. By the time he was playing for his junior school his footballing skill was already being noticed. One schoolmaster watching the 11-year-old Duncan noted that the youngster 'told all the other 21 players what to do and where to go and that included the referee and linesmen!' That same schoolmaster later wrote to a friend 'I have just seen a boy of 11 who will one day play for England'. How right he was! Two years later the lad wrote an essay in his classroom in which he mused about 'playing at Wembley' and his wish came true that same year as he stood on the 'hallowed turf' wearing a white England shirt playing against Wales in a schoolboy international. That day in April 1951 his footwork on the field dazzled everyone and one talent scout was heard to remark 'by God, they've got a good 'un there!' The name Duncan Edwards will forever be associated with Manchester United and the so-called 'Busby Babes', a concept developed by United's Manager Matt Busby in the late 1940's when the club was badly in debt and unable to afford to buy 'expensive' players. Busby and his trainer Jimmy Murphy decided to employ a radical youth policy developing their own young players, creating the stars of the future. Duncan was pivotal in that scheme and he made his debut for the first team on 4th April 1953 against Cardiff City - the team lost 4-0! The lad from Dudley was a mere 16 years and 185 days old. Three and a half years later Duncan celebrated his 100th appearance for United and the 'Busby Babes' were beginning to create the sensational legend that took the footballing world by storm. In this age of footballing megastars who become international millionaires, it must be mentioned that Duncan Edwards was the rising star in a most promising firmament. His contract with Manchester United can still be examined and reveals that this 'solid gold' prospect earned a paltry £15 a week during the season reducing to £12 a week during the non-playing summer months. Of course even in the 1950's there were other ways to bolster a superstar's income and Duncan became one of the first footballers to earn money endorsing products. He promoted Dextrosol Glucose Tablets, which his adverts said 'were a natural source of energy which you could rely on anytime, anywhere'. Whether Duncan actually ever took any of the tablets, of course, remains unrecorded! Following the Munich crash, Duncan's body was flown home and was buried in Dudley's Borough Cemetery. Over 5,000 people stood in silence outside the cemetery and lining the streets in tribute "to the lad from Elm Road on the Priory Estate. Three years later, hundreds more turned out for the unveiling by Sir Matt Busby of two stained glass windows at St. Francis' Church in Dudley commemorating the life of Duncan Edwards who died tragically aged just 21. As Sir Matt said that August day in 1961 'there will only be one Duncan Edwards and any boy who strives to emulate Duncan or take him as his model, won't go far wrong'. At the time of his death, Duncan Edwards had the world at his feet. His footballing skill far outpaced his rivals and young supporters the world over idolised this big lad with the sure feet. Off the field too, things were going well and a few days before he flew to Belgrade, the manuscript of his book 'Tackle Soccer This Way' was handed to his publishers and later printed word for word as he wrote it. In the book he offers youngsters hundreds of soccer tips such as 'always respect the referee and be reasonable at all times'. Today we are left to wonder what this towering figure (in every sense of the word) would have achieved had there been no Munich. Perhaps the question was answered by soccer supremo Tommy Docherty who said of him 'You can keep all your Bests, Peles and Maradonas, Duncan Edwards was the greatest of them all!' Dudley was and still is very proud of its own soccer hero and even now, more than thirty years after that horrific air crash at Munich, visitors in their hundreds enquire about Duncan Edwards. His grave in the Borough's cemetery is still a shrine for pilgrimage by soccer supporters and often bunches of red and white flowers appear there, especially if Manchester United has a Midlands fixture. The two stained glass windows in Laurel Road and a display case (containing some of Duncan's shirts, international caps and other memorabilia) can be found at the Dudley Museum and Art Gallery in St James Road - the exhibition moved there from Dudley Leisure Centre in July 2006. A statue has recently been erected in the main shopping square in Dudley. The Borough's Archive & Local History Department at Mount Pleasant Street, Coseley, has an interesting file of press cuttings featuring Duncan and you can see there also copies of three rare books about Duncan plus his own book of footballing hints. The three main biographies are: Duncan Edwards a Biography' by lain McCartney and Roy Cavanagh, published by Temple Nostalgia Duncan Edwards' by Derek Dougan, Hugh Jamieson & Frank Taylor, published by The Duncan Edwards Sports Medicine Centre Appeal. Duncan Edwards - Manchester United and England' by Geoff Warburton, published by The Dulston Press Duncan's own book is called 'Tackle Soccer This Way' published by Stanley Paul. A rare chance to understand the man, appreciate his total feel for the game and sense the great man's kindness and modesty. As Frank Taylor (the only pressman to survive the Munich aircrash) said 'So Long Dunc! It was great while it lasted!' http://www.ifhof.com/hof/edwards.asp In the parish church of St Francis, in the Midlands town of Dudley, stands a stained glass window, a unique memorial to the life of a remarkable young man. Few are the footballers who could have been commemorated in this way, but Duncan Edwards was not an ordinary footballer. He was 21 when he died, a victim of that terrible air crash that claimed the lives of eight Manchester United players in the snow and slush of Munich. The window is all the more touching for having been paid for largely by a football fan. What was it about a professional sportsman barely on the threshold of his career that not only moved so many people at his death, but also continues to keep a reverence for his memory more than 40 years on? Those who saw him play - and because his life was cut short there were comparatively few of them - speak of a colossus who comes just once in a lifetime. They have never forgotten. As the journalist Michael Henderson put it: "Men have grown old with his name on their lips." Edwards played his last game on February 5, 1958, and had fewer than five full seasons in League football. Yet he left behind such an impression that even the long passage of time is unable to erase it. Of all the names in the International Hall of Fame, his is the most poignant. Not just for what he was, but for what he may have become. And when fans voted to nominate the best players the world has ever seen, fittingly they remembered him. Despite the tenderness of his years, no one doubts that he was already a truly great player. What the world was robbed of was the glorious pleasure of witnessing just how great he could have been. One only needs to consider that "Big Duncan" had established himself as England's left-half at the age of 18. In 1966, when England won the World Cup, he would have been 29 and in his prime. The irony is that his position became that of the victorious captain, Bobby Moore, an honour Edwards himself might have held. Edwards was born in Dudley, Worcestershire, on October 1, 1936. By the time he was 11, he was starring for the town boys' team, in which the average age was 15. His talent fed a frenzy among the Football League's leading clubs to sign him. Edwards had joined United as an amateur when he was 15. But that did not stop their rivals from trying to poach him from under their noses. United took no chances. Their coach, Bert Whalley, drove through the night, arriving at the Edwards's home in the early hours so that he could rouse the precocious star from his bed and sign him before sunrise on the birthday when he became eligible to turn professional. He was an amazing prospect, tall and strong and, apart from an abundance of natural skill, he seemed to have non-stop, driving energy. In a few short years, many a match report would conclude that Edwards played like a one-man team. He made his First Division debut against Cardiff City in April 1953. Though a powerhouse at left-half, Edwards had the ability to play anywhere, even turning out as centre-forward in an emergency. And at 18 years and 183 days, he became the youngest player to be capped by England this century, a record only beaten by Michael Owen of Liverpool in 1998. Edwards played on his debut like a veteran international as England swept away the auld enemy Scotland 7-2 at Wembley. He was mature beyond his years and possessed an innate ability to read a game quickly. He was a creator as well as a destroyer and, in what was a galaxy of stars at Old Trafford, he more than any other symbolised the brilliance of the Busby Babes. In 1955-56, Edwards won the first of what was to be two successive First Division Championships. The title qualified United for the European Cup. But the English FA were not happy to let their teams enter the competition and had banned the previous season's Champions, Chelsea, from taking part. United manager Matt Busby was having none of the FA's nonsense, defied their instruction and lined up against the cream of Europe's club sides. His young team were an immediate success. They beat Belgian Champions Anderlecht 12-0 on aggregate, then saw off Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Bilbao before losing 5-3 on aggregate in the Semi-Final to the eventual winners Real Madrid, the team who had dominated the cup from the start. That season in the League, United were awesome. They went 12 games without defeat from the start of the season and won the title by 11 points under the old "two-for -a-win" rule. The only disappointment was defeat in the FA Cup Final when United - reduced to 10-men through injury to goalkeeper Ray Wood in the days before substitutes - went down 2-1 to Aston Villa. It cost them a deserved League and Cup double. But Edwards and the United Babes were ready for another crack at the European Cup. They reached the Quarter-Finals by beating first Shamrock Rovers and then Dukla Prague to set up a tie with Red Star Belgrade. They won the home first-leg 2-1 and drew 3-3 in Belgrade. They had reached the Semi-Finals again where they were to face the Italian Champions AC Milan. That 3-3 draw was Edwards last match. For the next day disaster struck . . It was 3.04 on a snowbound afternoon. The date was February 6, 1958. The day a team died. The Busby Babes, justly proud of their triumph, were flying home to Manchester. The plane in which they were travelling, a British European Airways Elizabethan, had stopped at Munich to refuel. There was slush on the runaway as the plane made its fateful third attempt to take off. The Elizabethan never made it. Just 54 seconds after the pilot opened the throttle, the plane hit the airport's perimeter fence and slithered 200 yards across a frozen field. A wing had been torn off and the tail section had broken away, scattering bodies into the snow. Twenty-one people died, among them seven of Busby's Babes - Roger Byrne, the captain, Tommy Taylor, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Geoff Bent. Eddie Colman and Billy Whelan. They were members of a team that had won back-to-back Championships, a team with a wonderful opportunity to achieve the dream of becoming the first in Britain to win the European Cup, a team that had not yet reached its peak but had seemed destined to dominate like no other before. Busby survived, clinging to life in an oxygen tent. Schoolchildren cut out pictures of the players from newspapers and stuck them on their classroom walls. Adults prayed for the injured, willing them to pull through. And foremost in their thoughts was Duncan Edwards. He fought. Oh, how that muscular frame fought. But after 15 days, he died from his terrible injuries. He had played 18 times for England. He held the world bedazzled at his feet. He was the bravest of the brave. But he could not make it. Jimmy Murphy, United's assistant manager and the man who not only did most to develop Edwards's abilities but also to rebuild the club after Munich, described his lost star as "the Kohinoor diamond among our crown jewels." Bobby Charlton, team-mate and Munich survivor, said: "If I had to play for my life and could take one man with me, it would be Duncan Edwards." It was to be a further 10 years before United would realise their dream of winning the European Cup. When they did, Busby spoke of "being cleansed." He had been haunted by the tragedy of his boys, and especially that of "Big Duncan." It is so long ago now, but the tenacious spirit of Edwards lives on in today's United. The pictures, though fading, remain too. Edwards, his short hair parted on the side, Fifties-style, in his red, v-necked, short-sleeved, United shirt. And the memories . . . of a player who was never allowed to discover how much more he might have achieved. Perhaps, to those aged men "with his name on their lips", he will always possess, like the film star James Dean, the radiance of eternal youth. Because he never grew old, he is a constant reminder of how life used to be, a hero frozen in time, forever a flourishing 21. There are plans to erect a statue to him in Dudley. It is not before time, for Duncan Edwards may well have been the greatest British footballer of all time.
