I still hate that bias cheating Manchester-based w****r of a referee Halsey, who cheated us out of our victory. What really rubbs insult into injury was he was elected to the Premier League the next season and is still stitching teams up today!Gillingham face Shrewsbury today in the League 2 play-off final. It's only the second time I've seen Gillingham play ball. The first time was in another play-off, the 1999 Division 2 final against my team, Man City. Not yet a teenager, I flew over to London with my Dad. We had no tickets, but expected to find a scalp outside Wembley with ease. No such luck. In contrast to today's final, where empty seats stare down at the action, the Division 2 play-off final was a sell-out, and I ended up watching the match in an empty restaurant in central London.
Two-nil down with all of one minute left to play, Joe Royle's City got one back. It looked like a consolation goal until the fourth official held up his board which signalled 5 minutes injury time. Needless to say, we got another one back, and won the penalty shoot-out. Nicky Weaver went nuts. The drizzle cleared. The day, which for a while had looked like being the worst of my life, had quickly transformed into the best of my life. It was the beginning of the end of City's spell in the lower leagues.
Referee Mark Halsey was later seen boozing with the victorious City fans. True blue!
Eric Cantona was in Cannes yesterday for the premiere of Ken Loach's new film Looking for Eric, in which the former United player stars. “I am not a man,” he says at one point, “I am Cantona.” The line seems equally suited to the other footballer turned film star, Vinnie Jones, but for entirely different reasons.
There's just one week of football left to play this season, and still neither Middlesbrough, Newcastle or even Sunderland are safe yet. What is it about clubs from the North-East? They're all big clubs, and yet they languish at the in the bottom half of the table year in year out.
In yesterday's Irish Times, Tom Humphries suggested that Celtic and Rangers be allowed to leave the SPL and join the Premiership. Not a bad idea, and Humphries argues his case very well. But how about a mini-league instead? I imagine that the Old Firm clubs play at roughly the same level as the teams from the North-East. And geographically, they're close enough as well.
Wouldn't it be easier for all concerned if they were all thrown into a mini-league, sponsored by NTL of course, where mediocrity could truly flourish?