That Friday Feeling Pt. 6 - Sir Alex, Seagulls and The Mac Attack
Welcome to this week's edition of TFF. A few technical difficulties lately, have lead to our absence, but we're back, bigger than ever and here to stay, so stick with us and enjoy!
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| You're hired! The master and the apprentice |
The big news of the week, of course, centres on the
retirement of Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Tributes and
endorsements from all over the footballing world have poured in for the Scot
who, aged 71, has called time on his 27 year stint at Old Trafford. His legendary
status as the greatest manager in the history of the game will overshadow the
rest of the Premier League season – which his team won for the 13th
time in his tenure – and, perhaps, the efforts of the next incumbent, David
Moyes. The Red Devil’s loss could be football’s gain. Though Moyes is one of
the best British managers around, he has yet to win a major trophy and
possesses scant experience of European football which brings the responsibility
of utilising a squad. Such a swift and early appointment will perhaps quash talk of his fellow Glaswegian's ability by the time the new season comes around but it’s testament to Ferguson and his monopoly on the
English game that his departure could actually make the league a little more
competitive again.
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| Gone are the Goldstone days... |
If Brighton and Hove Albion are promoted to the Premier League
via the Championship play-offs, it will represent an almighty change in the
status of clubs in English football. At the end of the 1997/98 season, the
Seagulls were in the bottom five of the fourth tier, only narrowly escaping
relegation to non-league football. With them in that five were Swansea, Cardiff
and Hull City – who will all feature in next season’s top flight – and Doncaster
Rovers, who regained the Championship status they lost last season at the first
time of asking. All five clubs have moved from dilapidated old stadiums to top
of the range all-seater facilities, which can accommodate at least 15,000
spectators. If Gus Poyet’s men can reach, and win at, Wembley this May, it will
be the 20th promotion between the clubs. Check out the following
link to see how times have changed: http://www.statto.com/football/stats/england/division-three/1997-1998
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| Keepmoat Kid, Jamie McDonnell |
IBF World Bantamweight Title challenger Jamie McDonnell will
create history on Saturday night when he enters the Keepmoat Stadium ring to
face highly rated Mexican hitter Julio Ceja. Not only will the fight be the
first world title showdown to be held in the South Yorkshire town, but the
Doncaster born boxer could also become the town’s first ever boxing world
champion. The highly rated Ceja (24 - 0) represents a drastic step up in class
for the home fighter (20 – 2 – 1) who will have the backing of up to 7,000 fans
at the venue and many more on PPV television. Despite not being the most
powerful of punchers, a McDonnell win would catapult him in to the limelight
and away from the sports halls he grew up in forging his career, vastly enhancing his and the region’s growing
boxing reputation.
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| Goodbye, but not farewell |
And finally...some sportsmen and women are lucky enough with
their careers that they can choose when they retire. It may come as a surprise
to them that they are no longer at the peak of their powers, but they can
concentrate on their friends and family and usually get on with the rest of
their lives. Hopefully the same can be said for 33 year old Bulgarian footballer
Stiliyan Petrov, who has had to quit the game after his draining battle with leukaemia.
Though he is thankfully in remission, a return to the pitch would be a step too
far for the former Aston Villa and Celtic midfielder who had claimed he was ‘lucky
to be alive’.
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