---------------------------------
[21] Fergie on Rovers
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
"When Jack Walker was alive he could change things in a minute and go and buy a player
just like that. The Alan Shearer signing was unbelievable. But Souness has had to work
harder in the transfer market and, while they have some talented players, it will not
be easy for them this time."
---------------------------------
[20] More from Fergie
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
"Blackburn will really want to get stuck into us in the first 15 minutes of the game.
The way we have been playing, they could be five goals up in that time! There's a real
lack of concentration about the defence. There were two goals in the first four
minutes in our friendly with Celtic. Then it was only 47 seconds before Liverpool
scored in the Charity Shield. Then Saha scored inside four minutes for Fulham on
Sunday. That is the sort of encouragement which teams who are facing us like."
---------------------------------
[19] Red News - news flash
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
For pictures of the Treble Exhibition opening by Sir Alex Ferguson and Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer yesterday, go to Features/Stop Press
Hover on any thumbnail picture for a much larger image. Pictures by the Old Fart.
---------------------------------
[18] Fergie on tonight
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
Good news - Keano back
"Blackburn are probably relishing the first 15 minutes. We are in the habit of giving
away early goals and if we are going to have success, we must get the defence right."
---------------------------------
[17] Cole still not happy
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
"It is frustrating to sit on the bench. We all know only 11 players can start, but
that doesn't mean you like it. There must be something wrong with anyone who does.
This is work. It is your living. You must want to start."
---------------------------------
[16] Curtis on tonight
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
"We have just got to treat it like another game. We can't let our heart ruled our
head. We just have to get on with it."
---------------------------------
[15] More from Curtis
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
"The thing with United was that I was very much at the bottom of the pile, playing in
the reserves week in, week out. Even if the first team are not playing well, you are
not likely to hold down a place because the manager has so many top players to keep
happy. You are the last of his priorities. It is very difficult to break in and that
is very hard for your confidence. Going to Barnsley, playing week in week out was such
a boost for my confidence. It made you feel like you were actually earning your money."
---------------------------------
[14] John Curtis on United
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
"I said when I signed for Manchester United as a schoolboy that if I wasn't playing
first team football regularly by the time I was 21, I would have to leave, and that is
exactly what I did. I went to the gaffer (Sir Alex Ferguson ) and asked to go on loan
to Barnsley. That was really the springboard for my success since then. It was the
best thing I ever did in terms of my football career anyway. I've improved as a
player, without a doubt."
---------------------------------
[13] United to win...
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by redend:
..odds vs Blackburn tonight:
Correct Score United to win:
1-0 6/1
2-0 6/1
2-1 7/1
3-0 11/1
3-1 10/1
3-2 25/1
4-0 25/1
4-1 25/1
4-2 40/1
Match Result
Blackburn 7/2
Manchester United 8/13
Draw 13/5
---------------------------------
[12] Odds tonight
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by redend:
First goalscorer versus Blackburn(A) tonight. Click on the SportingOdds banner on the
website or this link for those on email news:
(link:http://www.sportingodds.co.uk/adserver/scripts/ict.dll?click?rnews0)
http://www.sportingodds.co.uk/adserver/scripts/ict.dll?click?rnews0
Van Nistelrooy 4/1
Cole 6/1
Yorke 6/1
Solskjaer 6/1
Scholes 8/1
Beckham 10/1
Giggs 12/1
Chadwick 14/1
Veron 14/1
Keane 14/1
Butt 18/1
Irwin 25/1
Stam 33/1
Silvestre 40/1
Brown 40/1
G Neville 50/1
P Neville 50/1
---------------------------------
[11] EURO DRAW AS IT HAPPENS
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
Remember we will have the Champs League draw AS IT HAPPENS, Thursday, 3pm. Be here!
---------------------------------
[10] Latest Birdman article
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
Birdy's Bacon Barm NO 22 (16 AUG 2001)
sponsored by www.homestead.com/birdland1 and soon to be moved to
www.m-u-f-c.co.uk/~birdman
Free copies to Vas ov www.m-u-f-c.co.uk & Barney ov www.rednews.co.uk
INGREDIENTS - ROPE TRICK / HEAD CASE / LOGGING OFF / YOU SAY DIDO - I SAY DIL-DO /
GIGG'S TESTI / POO-L RULE / YEAH YEAH YEAH / FLOP FLIP / OOH ARH / GET BACK TO ME OWN
BED
Now this Barm is dedicated solely to my recent holiday in Zante, Greece. Now my
ramblings hopefully will ring true and mirror your own experiences on foreign soil
this summer. If they don't then no doubt you spent your hols either doing trendy
bleedin' back-packing or scrapping with scousers on Wincups camp in Rhyl. Either way I
need to get all this off my chest now - and at least this way I get to bore everyone
to death in one go.
ROPE TRICK
Anyway. Took the bread knife and the two sproggs (and a couple of our mates) off
abroad with my head firmly full of dread after spending 2 weeks with the kids last
year. I wasn't a happy bunny and would have gladly stayed at home and worked unpaid
for two weeks - no problem. Still, the wife had booked it and I had no choice - I had
to go. I did however, plan things a little this time and duly had hand cuffs and rope
it the case - no.... not for anything kinky - purely to tie the kids to the sun beds -
pesky swines.
HEAD CASE
Arrived - got to the baggage carousel and we all get our cases - except me mate. After
about an hour he's adamant his case is lost. Now there was only one case still doing
the circuit - the big black one that had been the kin first one on it. Yep - you
guessed it - as I checked the label it was indeed me mates case - dopey dick! Like I
say - always read the label.
LOGGING OFF
On the coach to the resort we must have had the most depressed rep in the soddin'
world - Jesus ! Her main ramblings were - don't drink the water - the showers in your
room are crap - the Island is riddled with local beggars - there is no defence
whatsoever from the mosquitoes - the drivers over here are like maniacs - don't leave
anything of value in your room - don't throw bog paper down the loo.
Incidentally - how come the drainage system over there can easily cope with a great
big 12 inch Richard the Third yet tissue paper (the flimsiest thing in the world)
blocks the pipes ? Eh ? Is someone having a laugh or what? All in all I wanted to head
straight home.
YOU SAY DIDO - I SAY DIL-DO
First trip to the shops - you know where you have a mooch down the main drag (main
drag? what's that mean then?) and we find the usual corner shop - you know the sort
that sells bleedin' everything. Well this one sold the usual po-rn(or art) cards and
dodgy videos - but in
addition did a lovely line in dil-do's - you know the old housewife's bedroom
paperweight. There they were in their pink glory next to the fruit and veg - large as
life - well much larger than life if the truth be told. Can you imagine the shops over
here selling such outrageous items ? I can just see people nipping out on a Sunday
morning : "give us 10 Benson love and a Sunday People......oh and before I forget
give us one of them 12 inchers for Maureen".
GIGG'S TESTI
First night was spent supping Mythos and watching Utd v Celtic to the annoying sound
of some Cockney no mark with an accent exactly like that guy off Blur's "Parklife".
What an annoying tw@t he was - And I am confident here that you will have met similar
types to this prick all across Europe and beyond this summer. Quite why this large
portion ov penis thought we wanted to listen to his loud marf opinions and running
commentary of the game is anyone's guess. Stroll on - 14 night of this - dear me.
POO-L RULE
Day 2 - After spending 2 hours running round the pool after the kids I
needed to take the plunge in to the pool. Arhh - that's better - in come the kids and
I started to think that this is quiet pleasant and maybe this holiday lark ain't that
bad after all. My two year old lad is happy in the water - the sun is shining and a
game of headers with me mate is underway. This is the life. Exactly 3 minutes later
the scene is transformed as me little lad sh!ts out a few Weetabix type
floaters - cleared the pool in no time. As if it wasn't embarrassing enough he felt
the need to keep shouting "Dada Dada - pooooood". Oh God. At least it was a welcoming
present for a couple of scouse families that arrived later that day. Eeeeeee.
YEAH YEAH YEAH
Now after a few nights out two things were beginning to look like they were linked.
Now there was a lot of these people who basically went round all the restaurants and
bars. They had a card typed up saying they were ill or summat and they'd leave
lighters and other such garbage on your table inviting you to buy em....the proceeds
would help pay for their medical needs. Now most of these bods tended to shake their
heads from side to side - either cos they were in fact actually ill or perhaps to make
it look like they were ill. Now the other thing I noticed was that a lot of theses
bars etc played a lot of Beatles music. I reckon the head shaking was maybe related to
the tendency to over play the Fab Four's gear tunes. My advice to these beggars would
be to ditch the selling and form a Grecian Mop Top Tribute Band - lets face it they
got the head shaking sorted. Got to admit its getting Feta - all the time. Sorry -
I'll get me towel.
FLOP FLIP
Just how much of a death trap are flip flops ? Need I say more.
OOH ARH
Met a top barman over there who was the double of King Eric - I kid you not. I get me
usual 10 films of photos back tomorrow - mostly of sh!te the wife has took - but in
there hopefully is a few of my main man Mr Eric - I'll scan the man and stick him in
me next barm. I swear this guy should move to Manchester - all the blokes would buy
him a beer and all the women would sh@g him. What a life.
GET BACK TO ME OWN BED
Flight home - family from hell sat behind us - if their kids stopped crying at all
during the flight then I am Father Christmas - what a whinging bunch of f-ckers.
Anyway - home now and got the usual "did it rain then" when I walked back in work.
Some things never change.
Tunes of the week - annoying Greek music - its all the same init
Web site of the week www.justzante.co.uk
Anyway - thats me stuffed - wheres them Rennies gone ? (oh and always read the label)
Que the credits.
Like Paul Weller says in A Town Called Malice "I could go on for hours and I probably
will but" Defoe - laters.
---------------------------------
[9] More from Fergie
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
>From Football 365
Do you sympathise with them likes of Jonathan Greening and Mark Wilson, who would have
got in the team in the past but have had to move now because the standard is so high?
"Well they've done the right thing, no question about that. We were just picking our
moment but they've decided to go now. We'd have preferred to wait a year for them
because when they're young you never know how they're going to progress over the
summer. But they wanted to leave. Jonathan Greening's made comments about whether
players can get in the first team and to be honest, he shot himself in the foot,
comparing himself to Beckham and Scholes - hmph! - was a bad analogy. It's only
Jonathan Greenings' opinions about how he sees Manchester United. I don't think it's
an accurate one."
Do you encourage those players when they leave to go where they'll
get in the first team? As a Preston fan, thanks for the players
you've sent up to us!
"Well, what we've tried to do is, with the ones who've grown up with us, who we've got
an affection for, is when we realise they're not going to be first-team material, we
then try to place them with clubs who we think play like Manchester United. And
Preston play good football, Steve McClaren's been with us and has taken Greening and
Wilson, who he knows well, knows their good points and bad points, and he needed young
players (at Middlesbrough). From his time here,
Steve knows the way we play and I'm sure he'll want Middlesbrough to play the same
way. He'll want them to play football."
Think Fergie's comments on Greening say it all don't you. And seeing his display on
that dreadful ITV show on Saturday night, now Boro fans know what we knew!
---------------------------------
[8] Fergie speaks, part 2
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
Further stuff from the Football 365 interview
>From Football 365
By Gavin Willacy
`The Alex Ferguson Player Manager 2001' game is all about picking
players and playing, rather than man-management. Which aspect of
management is the most important?
"I think you develop your man-management skills the longer you're in the game,
particularly at the level I'm at now - that had to come. You basically learn the game
as an instinct. You've been a player, that's your passport, but that doesn't last long
unless you've got the ability. And the players then learn to respect you and your
knowledge and the work you're doing on the training field. I've always based my
managerial philosophy on what goes on on the training ground. Whatever you achieve is
through what you do on the training field, and that will never change. Now that extra
part about man-management, player psychology, reading players and the rest of it, they
are details that are added on. What you do on the training field is the most important
thing."
Graeme Souness said recently that Bob Paisley wasn't particularly good at
man-management but was brilliant at picking players, judging who are the best. Do you
think you've improved at that as well as man-management over your career?
"I think I've been not bad at picking players. I'm not being big-headed when I say
that. I'd place an equal importance on that. Graeme Souness will obviously know Bob
Paisley better than most people but I'd have thought that, unbeknown to Graeme, Bob's
man-management was quite good, whenever it needed to be. He was a quiet man, don't
forget, and he had a good staff. So maybe it was a collective thing that got the
man-management part over."
The likes of Beckham, Scholes, the Nevilles should have about another five or six
years at this level. How are you going to feel having to leave them at the end of the
season?
"I've got to go sometime obviously, and I've picked this time because I thinks it's
the right time. I may be wrong. I don't know how I'm going to handle it to be honest
with you. I think it'll be okay, I'm going to stay active. I've had a long time and a
very successful time and I think you've got to pick the right moment."
Apart from winning the championship and the Champions League, have you got any other
aims for this season, like seeing Beckham develop or a striker adding more to his game?
"The thing we look for when a player gets to the ages of Beckham or Ryan Giggs or Paul
Scholes or the Nevilles, Butt and them - I know this from when I got to their age -
that thing called authority,
playing with authority, which experience gives you. At a good age, 28, 29, they play
with time - they give themselves time on the pitch which they never had before. These
are the things which will be added to their game in the next couple of years."
It seems Beckham's getting that already. What do you think he'll pick
up from Veron?
"I think David, like all the rest, will want to improve their performances to make
sure they stay in the team. That's the whole nub of what Roy Keane was talking about -
challenge. It was good that Roy
came out and said `It could be me who's left out but I'm going to make sure that it's
not'. And that's the sort of thing we want."
---------------------------------
[7] A bit rich
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
all round as the United Review came back for the Fulham game at a whopping £2.50 - a
50p increase in the summer.
Also a bit rich was Our Martin's page - and praise for Fergie's last season in charge.
But Fergie in his notes did make some interesting points as usual:
"I have never been more excited about our prospects in my life...I think we all
recognised that we had to address our capability to compete successfully in Europe and
examine our stature in the game...Let's be honest too, Liverpool won the European Cup
four times in the seventies and eighties. We haven't done that, and frankly the need
to at least match that achievement is one of the things that drives me on. We reckon
Manchester United are now one of the biggest clubs in the world, but we have to prove
it in the record books"
"I think the Utd players had come to the conclusion that we would never go all the way
to bring in a really top-notch world-class star. Now they know differently and I think
we will shake up a lot of people this season, both inside the club as well as out"
---------------------------------
[6] Stam book signing off
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
Jaap Stam's book signing, due to take place this Thursday 23rd August at WHSmith in
The Arndale Centre, has been postponed till mid September due to Jaap's playing
commitments.
---------------------------------
[5] Early team news
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
Seems certain that Gary Neville won't be Stam's partner at Ewood Park, Cole may get
his chance to partner Ruud.
Remember you can buy Red News 79 & Red News' Fergie special before the game tonight.
---------------------------------
[4] More from Sourness
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
"I like my side to express themselves but we are not anywhere near that level at the
moment. I don't think there is any secret of how you play against United. If you sit
back against them they are going to hammer you as they have so many attacking options.
They work on the premise that if you score two they will score three against you. We
have to go after them but in an intelligent way. It should be a great night for us
playing the champions in our first home game. What else can you ask for. People said
at the start of the season it was a hard start with United our second game. We are
back in the big league and these games are all very difficult but we've got to deal
with them.
We've got a good bunch of lads here who are confident. I think they are quietly
looking forward to testing themselves against United. If we play the same football as
we did against Derby, which will be harder against United, and have a wee bit of luck,
you never know."
---------------------------------
[3] Sourness on tonight's game
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
"Everyone wants to compete against the best and I would like to think my players
would feel the exact same. When the game starts it is not about Alex Ferguson and me.
For Fergie there is no job to do with the group of players he's got. All the hard work
in years gone by means he's got a group of players he's schooled, coached and
bullied. He's created the monster they are today. They are the best team around. For
him it is just a case of turning up knowing the hard work has already been done.
United are a top team. Their record proves it. It is not about coaching and tactics
with the team they've got, it's about letting your players express themselves. They've
got so much quality in the team."
---------------------------------
[2] Seaman downcast
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
"This was a big game - and we've got beaten at home. But there's a long way to go.
It's a blow but we'll be back."
---------------------------------
[1] O'Dreary doesn't mention kids shock
---------------------------------
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2001 by bar-knee:
Arse 1 Leeds 2 (Bowyer and Mills sent off)
O'Dreary: "I didn't think it was a dirty game. It's right to want to clean the game up
but some of the bookings for both sides left a lot to be desired. I would rather leave
it to the experts to discuss though. They don't get into trouble but I do. I enjoyed
getting the three points. If you are going to do anything good, like getting into the
Champions League, you have to come to places like this, a great stadium and a great
team, and get three points when you are not playing well. I have twice won a
championship here and it's about getting results when you are not playing well. These
are three fantastic points as this is a club who can beat anyone here. We showed a
great spirit of togetherness. They did superbly at the end trying to block and cover
for each other. The spirit got us through."
---------------------------------
[35] Ways to get Red News' Fergie Special
---------------------------------
Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2001 by bar-knee:
Red News has produced a limited edition FERGIE SPECIAL to commemortae his last season
in charge, with many unqiue memories and insights into his reign at United. This
really is a must have but we anticipate selling out completely in the not too distant
future.
A few loyal Red News readers (we kiss the ground that you walk on) have asked us how
they can still get one.
1) Through mail order. Each copy costs just £2.50 including postage and packing and
can be ordered via Red News, P.O.Box 176, Manchester, M16 8LG
2) Sportspages branches in Manchester and London have stock
3) Buying a copy from Red News sellers at the Blackburn, Villa (both away) and Everton
and Ipswich games.
4) Then we may have no more copies left, unless the Megastore decide to stock it!
5) Ruud Van Nistelrooy, tra, la, la, la, la!
---------------------------------
[34] Hear Our Martin
---------------------------------
Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2001 by bar-knee:
(link:http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?mnu=sports&ptitle=UK%20Football%)
http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?mnu=sports&ptitle=UK%20Football%
20News&tp=ad_sports&T=news_storypage99.ht&s=AO4JKOhO4TWFuY2hl&ao=82645
26
Edwards on Bloomberg audio. Blah, blah, blah.
---------------------------------
[33] Stam book signing called off
---------------------------------
Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2001 by bar-knee:
Jaap Stam's book signing, due to take place this Thursday 23rd August at WHSmith in
The Arndale Centre, has been postponed till mid September due to Jaap's playing
commitments.
---------------------------------
[32] Sweden in the draw on Thursday please...
---------------------------------
Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2001 by bar-knee:
Forget Real Mallorca - are Gothenburg in the draw Thursday ?
'A new survey reveals that most Swedish women want more sex. Seventy nine per cent of
those questioned for a magazine said they weren't getting enough and 52% admitted they
had been unfaithful.
However, the study of 1,700 women for Cafe found more than half were happy with their
sex lives. Six out of 10 had tried anal sex although 50% said they would not repeat
the experience. Two out of three said they had had sex on the first night and two out
of three would consider a threesome.'
'Forty per cent said they were turned on by style, followed by looks, intelligence,
money and power.'
Bugger
---------------------------------
[31] Will we get the blame for this as well?
---------------------------------
Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2001 by bar-knee:
>From Ananova
'This season's FA Cup quarter-finals will be played back-to-back on the same day, the
Football Association have announced. The first match - on Sunday March 10 2002 - will
kick-off at 11.30am, with subsequent games at 1pm, 4pm and 3pm. One match will be
shown live on BBC TV, with the remaining three all screened on BSkyB.'
---------------------------------
[30] Keano will speak out again
---------------------------------
Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2001 by bar-knee:
"If things happen that I am not happy about then I will say something again. A lot of
the fans were disappointed with my comments about the prawn sandwich brigade. I read
my mail and many weren't happy. But I'd always rather be honest with the press and
that's what I was doing. I am not here to keep everyone happy. I want what is best for
the team and the club and my comments reflected that. I think all the players felt the
same but I was the one asked the question. You are not going to please everyone with
your comments. I do respect the fans' feelings but if I upset one or two then so be
it.
When I was quoted about us needing new signings that wasn't a criticism it was a
fact. Everyone could see that. The players needed the new faces, the fans needed it
and the manager needed it. I only say these things because I always want what is
best for the club. I said in Germany that it might be the end of the road for this
team. When I said maybe break it up I didn't mean get rid of 10 players but bring in
three or four as we have done and one or two go out. I didn't mean massive wholesale
changes. But I said it purely because I felt the team had come to a bit of a
standstill especially in the Champions League. The Premiership is great but we want
to get onto the next level in Europe.
We've got the fresh blood now and we must now stop the talking and do it on the field.
Talk is cheap and it is about going out and doing it against these top teams in
Europe. They are switched on and we have to be ready for that. We can do it this year
but we've been saying this for the last few years and have come up short. Now we must
act."
---------------------------------
[29] Obituary for Les Sealey in the Times
---------------------------------
Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2001 by bar-knee:
'LES SEALEY'S ninety minutes of fame came in the FA Cup Final replay in 1990. In only
his third game for Manchester United, he made a series of outstanding saves which
propelled his side to victory over Crystal Palace. He was rewarded with a contract and
in the following season he played in the Rumbelows Cup final and European Cup Winners'
Cup final, in which United beat Barcelona 2-1. He then left on a free transfer.
"Players like me are workers, not superstars," he said. "We know we won't get an
England cap or be transferred to Real Madrid." During his footballing career he also
spent time as a car dealer and a travel agent. Leslie Jesse Sealey was born in Bethnal
Green, London, the son of a lorry driver. In his youth he supported West Ham and his
cousin, Alan Sealey, scored twice for the Hammers when they won the European Cup
Winners' Cup final in 1965, beating Munich 1860 by four goals to two.
Sealey's own career began ten years later when he signed for Coventry City, and in
1977 he made his debut because of an injury to the first choice goalkeeper, Jim Blyth.
Before the game he was violently sick, but he kept his place for the rest of the
season and Coventry stayed up by one point.
In 1983 he joined Luton Town. He was in goal two years later when he was showered with
missiles and abuse by Millwall fans, one of whom threw a knife at him, but missed. At
the end of the game, just before the fans rioted, the referee told him: 'Start
sprinting because I'm going to blow the final whistle.' Sealey said afterwards: 'I was
twenty yards outside the box when he blew and I never stopped running.' He said that
he had never been more frightened.
He was also shaken up in 1989 when he was warned over the telephone that he would be
killed if he did not help West Ham to win the Littlewoods Cup semi-final. He and his
family were put under guard in an hotel for five days. Luton won 5-0 on aggregate.
In the final, the cup had seemed to be within Luton's grasp for the second successive
season, but Sealey gave away a penalty for a foul on Steve Hodge; Nigel Clough
equalised, and Luton eventually lost 3-1. Sealey was the victim of a dressing-room
revolt and never played in the first team again. He had kept goal more than 200 times
for the club.
'I am a nutter when I play football,' Sealey once admitted. He refused to be
substituted, for example, when he later played for Manchester United in the Rumbelows
Cup final against Sheffield Wednesday, even when the physiotherapist pointed out that
his knee was open to the bone. Steve Foster, his captain at Luton Town, just said:
'He's part of the goalkeepers' union. They're all a bit daft.' For 14 years Sealey
wore the same lucky shinpads, and when Luton scored, he would impersonate an aeroplane
by running around the penalty area with his arms outstretched. He once announced at
training that he wanted to be known as 'The Cat', and on another occasion he ordered
conger eel for his pre-match meal. The senior players at Luton eventually snapped.
But Sealey went on to enjoy unexpected glory when he played in the 1990 FA Cup Final
replay against Crystal Palace. Alex Ferguson had extended his loan spell by one week
and dropped Jim Leighton, giving Sealey only his third game for the club, and the
decision was vindicated by three inspired saves in a tense first half. Like Brighton
in 1983, the underdogs had missed the boat; Sealey kept a clean sheet and United won
1-0, picking up their first trophy for five years. Only two months earlier Sealey had
been due to move to Colchester United.
But he did not stay around for the celebrations. 'Jim and the other boys are the
heroes,' he said. 'They got United to the Final.' He had just done his job, and gave
his winner's medal to Jim Leighton; Ferguson described it as 'typical of the man'.
Two years previously, Sealey had missed out on a Wembley appearance when Luton beat
Arsenal in the Littlewoods Cup final. He clearly understood all the traumas that
goalkeepers endure: in 1991, after Manchester United's European Cup Winners' Cup
quarter final, he ran the length of the field to console his opposite number, Claude
Barrabe, whose error had lost Montpellier the game.
He was awarded a contract and in the following season he kept goal when Manchester
United beat Barcelona 2-1 in the European Cup Winners' Cup final, in which he played
despite a knee injury. He left the club later that year because he wanted a longer
contract than the one that he was offered, and he was signed on a free transfer by
Aston Villa, whose manager, Ron Atkinson, said: 'He is not everybody's cup of tea but
I like him'. Referring to the incident in the Rumbelows Cup final, he added: 'He
frightens opposing forwards, his own defenders and physiotherapists.'
At that time Atkinson had been manager of Sheffield Wednesday, and whenAston Villa met
his old team in 1992, Sealey was again surrounded bycontroversy. When the referee
George Courtney ruled that he had carried a78th-minute header by the Sheffield
Wednesday striker Nigel Jemson over thegoal-line, Sealey ran half the length of the
pitch to protest. Although helater wrote a letter of apology to Courtney, the Football
Associationdecided to fine him £2,000 and suspend him for four matches.
In 1993 Sealey returned to Manchester United, to be the understudy to PeterSchmeichel.
He played in the 1994 Coca Cola Cup final in which Manchester United lost 3-1 to Aston
Villa, before moving to Blackpool and then to West Ham. He said that it was the
fulfilment of a lifelong dream, and the following year he even played out of goal,
when an emergency striker was required at Highbury.
He had a brief spell at Leyton Orient but soon returned to the Hammers, where he
became the goalkeeping coach. He left at the end of last season, saying that his only
regret in football was that he never played at Upton Park for West Ham.
His two sons, George and Joe, are both trainee goalkeepers there, and he watched them
playing on the day before he died. They and his wife, Elaine, survive him.
Les Sealey, goalkeeper, was born on September 29, 1957. He died of a heart attack on
August 19, 2001, aged 43.'
