In the week that 41 year old Teddy Sheringham announces his retirement, 44 year old Andy Kay, showing excellent fitness, continues a pace with another OhKay special.
Ta Ta Teddy
For the past 26 seasons, one name has seemingly popped up on a team sheet somewhere in the country. From Millwall to Manchester, Portsmouth to Colchester and a few others in between, Teddy Sheringham has been an English footballing constant. However the former England International who turns 42 next month has decided that this season will be his last. Never blessed with any great pace, Sheringham reached the top courtesy of an amazing football brain which gave him the ability to find space and time anywhere on the pitch. As for his greatest moments, there’s the destruction of Holland at Euro ’96, his Champions League final equaliser which set up victory for Manchester United against Bayern Munich plus my own personal favourite, being called Edward for a year by Brian Clough whilst at Nottingham Forest.
Do you want a bow on it Mark?
When Kevin Keegan returned to Newcastle United, a number of commentators warned the Toon Army to stand by for a brand of kamikaze football. They certainly got that at the weekend. Having dominated the game against Blackburn Rovers and pressing for the win, United got caught at the back by a classic counter attack and Rovers took full advantage of a 2 against 1 situation to snatch a winner in the last minute. Keegan bemoaned his luck and said that Rovers had “stolen the points.” OK, his side did miss a hatful of chances but, when you are being dragged down dangerously near the relegation places and have shipped 9 goals in your previous 2 Premier League matches, perhaps leaving just one defender at the back in the final few seconds wasn’t the brightest idea. Kamikaze, by the way, is a Japanese word, normally translated as ‘divine wind’, believed to be a gift from the gods. But then Blackburn boss Mark Hughes probably knew that already.
Fergie going for gold
Sir Alex Ferguson has apparently been tapped up by Lord Coe to manage a Great Britain side at the 2012 Olympics. Britain hasn’t fielded a team at the Games since 1960 but they qualify automatically in 4 years time as hosts. There are a number of political issues to sort out, particularly with the SFA, and it won’t go unnoticed that Euro 2012 will have been in full swing just a few weeks before the Games begin which could lead to further calls of player burnout. But all that aside, plus the fact that the Premier League will start just a few days after the Games conclude, Coe’s choice is intriguing as is the concept of picking a truly representative GB team. Using today’s players and with at least one from each country in the starting XI, here’s mine:
Craig Gordon (SCO)
Alan Hutton (SCO) Rio Ferdinand (ENG) Jonathan Woodgate (ENG) Gareth Bale (WAL)
James McFadden (SCO) Steve Gerrard (ENG) Jason Koumas (WAL) Joe Cole (Eng)
Wayne Rooney (ENG) David Healy (NIR)
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