An extract from Sir Bobby Charlton’s latest autobiography. I still have one he wrote in 1964 called "My Soccer Life" so it will be interesting to contrast it with the book that is about to be published.
This piece is for the old timers. The last chapter of the 1964 book Charlton picked his best British eleven. The side he picked in the old 2-3-5 was - Bert Trautmann; Jimmy Armfield, Ray Wilson; Danny Blanchflower, Neil Franklin, Duncan Edwards; Stanley Matthews, Wilf Mannion, Tommy Taylor, Denis Law and Tom Finney.
Gongatore - Even though the US-DEN match was meaningless and if you saw it, what would you take away from the match?
Bobby – First off I didn’t see the game as it wasn’t broadcast in Canada so I can’t really comment on the display. Having said that and even though it was probably more like a “B” international (or the Danish League vs. MLS) the result was important in that it took some pressure off Bob Bradley. After the Jurgen Klinsmann situation, a loss would have reactivated the debate about the coaching position-not withstanding that he remains an “interim” appointment. If the team can put together a run of good results, then it will be extremely difficult not to make Bradley's appointment permanent.
Twinkletoes - What's your take on stadium sharing? I couldn't care less if Pool is bought by #### or Gillett, but it seems to me that sharing grounds w/Everton might make financial sense and little else. I think it's important for a team to have a true home atmosphere, identity, and advantage over visiting teams. I can't quite picture Gerrard celebrating in front of blue and red seats of the Coca-Cola Greater Merseyside Sports Complex West Stand, but maybe it's just me.
Bobby –This is a subject in which both sides of the argument can bring forward strong evidence to support their case. The traditionalists, as you point out, look to issues such as atmosphere and identity while the financial realists factor in capital costs, operating costs etc. I stand to be corrected on this but it seems to me that apart from Italy not many other teams in the world actually share stadiums - yes I know it happens in Los Angeles as well. That may have something to do with the fact that in Italy stadiums are mostly built through government funded projects and considered a community asset. The San Siro situation is the one that is usually used to support the stadium sharing idea but I have read on a number of occasions over the years that Inter and the Milan are not necesarily happy with the arrangement.
When a stadium is shared then other revenue streams are compromised so although capital costs may be less, revenues may also decline.
However, you also have to consider that my opinion is probably flavoured by the fact that I grew up in a city where a ball could be punted from the ground of one professional team into the other the grounds were so close. I can also remember a number of players that regularly attempted the feat allbeit by accident!
Toffeenose - Please try to give a mention to the 100 anniversary of the birth of William Ralph (Dixie) Dean 1/22/2007. The greatest goalscorer in the history of the game 60 league goals in 1927/8.
Bobby – I'm sorry but I didn't get chance to fit a mention of this into the show on Monday, but to make up for it here is an excellent article by Robert Galvin on the great Dixie Dean.
Venti_vidi_vici - How surprised are you to see Oba Martins' exceptional performance for Newcastle so far this season? He was incredible as Inter's super-sub the past couple of seasons, but now seems to have adapted very well in his new role for a new club in a new league.
Bobby – I am surprised at Martins’ performances for Newcastle. When he was with Inter he struggled with consistency and I think that was why we saw them coming on as an effective substitute so often - 20 minutes was fine, 90 minutes seen too much. But perhaps there is a simple explanation for his performance. This from Glenn Roeder his Newcastle manager - "She has been staying with him and this has given him a lift. I don't how long she is staying, but if she is the reason why he perked up in the second half against West Ham on Saturday then I hope it is for a long time." The lady in question - his mum - Martins' not Roeder's.
atleti_female - Apparently Atletico Madrid are close to signing two new defenders: Kanga Akalé, an Ivory Coast defender who currently plays for Auxerre and Fabiano Eller, a Brazilian defender from Inter (Bra). Hopefully, this means the end of Perea and Seitaridis.
Bobby - I haven’t seen much of Atletico but going into this season they looked to have built a solid back four with the arrival of Seitaridis and Pernia. The statistics seem to indicate that the defense has played well – 13 goals against in 19 games and they have only conceded more than a single goal once. But obviously you are not happy with Seitaridis and Perea.
As for the latest recruits Eller looks to be a very solid player. When I was researching information for the FIFA Club World Cup he constantly came up as an outstanding player. He spent some time playing in Turkey but never settled down.
As for Akale I believe he is a midfield player rather than a defender – or should I say that at least he was a midfielder at the World Cup this summer.
Djnima - The commentator for the Arsenal Man U match was commenting how Giggs was playing a bit inside and Rooney was allowed to roam on the left to get a bit more space. Isn't this how Wenger plays Henry and do you think it could work with Rooney?
Do you think Mourinho could possibly go to Real next season? And with the talent in the squad do you think he would bring Madrid in the instant success he had with Chelsea?
Bobby – Henry starts in the centre and drifts out to the left when it suits him. That isn't how Fergie played Rooney on Sunday - Rooney was very much the left sided midfield player. Rooney's strength is as a support striker that can drift deeper while Henry is very much a mobile front line striker. If you are looking for a comparison Saha when he drifts out to the left would probably be a better comparison or option.
One of the raps on Capello is that he has Real Madrid playing boring football - why they expect Mourinho to suddenly arrive and play entertaining football just because he moves to Real Madrid is beyond me. Capello and Mourinho are cut from a similar cloth.
Real Madrid has short and long term problems. The short term solution was to try and shore up the team with experienced and normally dependable players - RVN, Emerson etc. Even though they are not playing exilirating football Real is still well ahead of last seasons performance. The next stage is bringing in younger players - like Gago and Higuain - and that has started.
You have to consider that when Mourinho arrived he inherited a good Chelsea side plus he was able to cherry pick players from Porto plus he had money to spend on others such as Drogba. I am not so sure it would be the same if or when he moves to Real.
As for the future I have to agree that Mourinho looks to be an act that wears out relatively quickly and he is not going to hang around one club like Fergie or Wenger.
J3sUsD - What do you think of Mexico's appointment of Hugo Sanchez as its head coach and how do you think his team will perform against Bob Bradley’s U.S. Side.
Bobby –By his constant criticism of LaVolpe Sanchez has created a stick for his own back and faces incredible pressure when his Mexico side finally takes to the field early next month. (As I mentioned earlier, the fact that Bob Bradley has a win under his belt already will help his position, Sanchez needs the same thing.) Perhaps Mexico's situation with a foreign coach being replaced by a native son was very similar to the situation faced by Scotland after they decided to get rid of Berti Vogts and to replace him with Walter Smith. Although you would have to say that LaVolpe was a lot more successful with Mexico than Vogts was with Scotland!!
Bubbles07 - Ok I know I may be beating a horse to death... but here's what I am wondering... I think that Beckham moving to LA will be good for MLS, but can he help to fill a gap or to improve the LA Galaxy themselves? Or is he more o####ood idea, than a good addition?
Bobby – As long as he remains injury free Beckham will be an outstanding addition to the L.A. Galaxy. The challenge for the Galaxy is to make sure that they have the players to take advantage of a Beckham's skill and ability.
Henry14 - To be honest l feel the gunners can not win the premiership title but l feel that this will give the young team unbelievable belief in themselves. How do you rate them for next season?
I have to say the standard of football in La Liga this season is the poorest l have seen all of my lifetime. There is a lot of diving, bad officiating and football quality is low.
Bobby – I have never considered Arsenal as a realistic Premiership title contender this season and so with 14 games left and a 12 point deficit I don't see any reason to change my mind. Next season - that is a different matter. They are definitely beginning to gel and I see no reason at the moment why they can't challenge for the title next season. Of course it doesn't mean that they can't still pick up a trophy of two this season if they can hold their form.
As for Spain you can look at it from two different perspectives - things are so tight at the top of La Liga that it shows that it is an extremely competitive league. Or the league is mediocre so a number of clubs can win it.
Given that Spanish clubs won the Champions League and the UEFA cup last season I wouldn't be writing league off quite yet! Perhaps we should wait to see how the Champions League unfolds when it gets going again in a few weeks. Real Madrid – Bayern Munich, Liverpool – Barcelona, and Valencia-Inter Milan - all interesting and challenging matches.
Finally, Speakers’ Corner was created to provide an opportunity for FSR viewers and FSC readers to ask questions or to make comments on anything to do with the game no matter where it is played.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
Thank you to all who take time to visit this blog and especially to those of you who post your comments and thoughts.
PS - If you have questions please post them on the regular Monday blog. I am unable to answer e mails posted to the inbox on this site.
And one more thing. If you have questions or complaints or compliments about programming please contact Fox Soccer Channel or Fox Sports World Canada directly. I have no control over what the stations televise.
