I want you to go back, back in time .........

The sepia toning on these 1979 photos is not deliberate - it's just reflects the poor quality of developing from Conn Cameras in Dame Court. To develop a roll of film in those days was close to £10, an alarming price by today's standards.

The Day the Music died

So sad to see the departure of Ray Wilkins from Chelsea this afternoon. Let's face it for our generation, this man was Chelsea. A shining light in a team festooned with mediocrity. Chelsea in the mid-seventies.

And what happens today? The unrelenting march of the oligarch continues and years and years of history, devotion and dedication goes out the window. South London is in tears - or maybe not.
Does the current generation of fans down the Kings Road even know what the Shed meant and how much Butch contributed to its' aspirations and dreams? I think not. Yes his picture is on the wall in the Harding suite - beside Leboeuf; Gallas; Zola; Vialli and the Czech guy ("what was his name again)? My father used to watch Wilkins play they say, in between sips.

Ray remember this - to some of us you were vital, as important as Status Quo and tartan scarves tied to the wrist, Rod Stewart's "I am Sailing" and Britt Ekland. Your memory will linger at the Bridge always, and if only you had got rid of that nasty little habit that developed at training in recent years, there's nothing to say you wouldn't have been with us forever.

Magic of the FA Cup and Rochdale

At the start of the season, I decided to track Rochdale's results this season, a token gesture to acknowledge their second promotion in the history of the club, and only the second time that they had ever played outside the bottom division of the Football League. To date their results have been up and down, with the team currently nestling in mid-table in Division 1.

Last Friday night brought their notable season head-to-head with the fairy-tale season of another club - FC United of Manchester, the team formed and owned by the Machester United supporters who objected to the take-over of the Old Trafford giants by the Glazer consortium.

Now in existence five years, FCUM play their football in the Northern Premier League. Their progress this year in the FA Cup has been remarkable, and on Friday they came up against local rivals Rochdale AFC in the 1st Round Proper. A 3-2 win with a controversial goal in the 93rd minute now leaves them with one round to negotiate before fate will surely play a part and they will be drawn at home, in the third round to who else but Manchester United. After that, the rest will be history.

The controversial winner came amid claims that the goalscorer, Norton, has kicked the ball out of the Rochdale keeper's hands before scoring. Shades of George Best and Gordon Banks at Windsor Park.



In the 2nd round FCUM have been drawn away to Brighton or Woking who drew 0-0 on Saturday.

An interesting footnote to the game is that the match was shown live on ESPN, who paid FC United of Manchester £67,000 for the rights. The money, which starts to inch FCUM away from their amateur status and into ranks from which they fled, is to be used to build a new ground for the club.

Let's hope the underlying ethos remains the same in the new location and that ESPN and Sky and whomever is next, don't go spoiling the dream in the long-term.

Remember this?

No mister, if you do that you'll detonate an atomic bomb

From today's Irish Times.

European Champions - you're having a laff

Inter Milan packed off home with consumate ease; Bale value increased by £5 million (he will be let go despite what Harry says) and who's on top of the group, say who's on top of the group?

Just how hard was this man?

You have to admit, whether it was battering intruders in his house, head-butting policemen at taxi-ranks, or sorting out moaning defenders, Big Dunc had a rather direct style. Four convictions for assault, three months in jail and nine red cards over the course of his career are testimony to this approach.

A strong believer in keeping Everton at Goodison, his attempts at public debate on the matter with Brusselsblue were politely declined.

Quote Duncan:

"During my time at Everton, Goodison Park came to feel like a second home, with the supporters of the club, and the people of the city becoming a second family to me. If you were to take Everton out of the City, I firmly believe the club could no longer call itself the ‘People’s Club’ and I give my whole-hearted support to the campaign to keep Everton in the City."

And who's to argue against that?