Month: December 2006

A look to the past yesterday: today, a glance at the future. I sincerely hope it looks something like this. Theo Walcott, ladies and gentlemen, who has spent this season politely confirming that he had every right to be in the squad in Germany: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVUlxrFmpAM]

There was a lot of promise in our footballing futures one year ago. I can’t let the year die without marking where all of that went. I don’t believe in superstition – but sometimes there is such a thing as luck. Here’s our luck, this year gone: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHgu5e9K3Ww] And, not to end on a low…

Decades have a habit of lingering on beyond their allotted ten years. Or they cut themselves off early: the ’20s didn’t quite make it to 1930, jumping as they did from their stockbroker’s window ledge on the 55th floor the morning after the Crash. The 60s, in English footballing terms, persisted beyond poor Peter Bonetti’s…

Flawlessly summarised in colour: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syPPrz6t1PQ] Watching these clips, it’s impossible not to be struck by the slowness of the game compared to today. It has to be remembered that they were playing as fast as contemporary fitness levels allowed – and that’s still true now: the chances are that we’re only seeing the beginning of…

The holiday season still has a week to go, and if you’re thinking of visiting London and taking in a game, here are some tips. It’s a big place and a big subject, and I haven’t had time to put my own guide together, so what follows is from Dickens’ Dictionary of London, 1888. Prospective…

The 1958 World Cup – the Supraphon of World Cups: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwUj13izb5s]

If you think you can’t play because you’ve eaten too much food by now, allow the Galloping Major to show you how it’s done: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPH8owfgyrg]

Alfredo di Stefano. In 1963, the great debate was whether HE was the greatest player in football history – or Stanley Matthews: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Mo5Z8xvgA]

Gerd Muller. I don’t think we’ll be calling anyone “The Bomber” as a term of praise or affection for a while, but from happier days, this: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD14ff1XwAM]

The man who, but for the War, would have been our first four minute miler, died on Thursday. Obituary Also recommended: 3:59.4: The Quest to Break the Four Minute Mile and The Perfect Distance.