Author: Dr. Steroids

No, I’m not talking about passion in overtime. It’s Old Trafford again, this time for the European Champions League quarterfinal first leg and the visit of Inter Milan to the famous stadium. It’s wet. I’m thirsty. Somehow those two seem to go together although not quite like apple pie and cream. Now I’m hungry as well. Blow the whistle ref. These are the games the city of Manchester lives for. All the recent league and cup trophies this decade long can be sacrificed for the glimpse of the European Champions title. King Eric (Cantona) was rightly worshipped at OT but…

So I’m talking to Jerry Seinfeld and it’s a story about nothing. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Lots of comedy shows are about nothing. Jerry says he fancies Spurs for the “real” cup and I suppose there’s always a chance that he could be right. A win away to Barnsley puts them into the last four for a certain to be tension filled semi final. Add to that the George Graham factor, (whatever that means) and you can’t rule them out. Manchester United play Chelsea in the prize draw which not for the first time this season will…

So King Kevin’s first arrival is upon us. I like Keegan. He’s good. He has displayed courage, intelligence, and skill throughout his playing and managerial career. Allied to this, his business acumen is Fortune 500-worthy – at least in terms of personal finance. Is he the answer to England’s woes? Ah! Where does that hindsight go when you need it. Even he doesn’t know the answer to that one yet. But by claiming that the timing is not quite right for him, how he can only do the next few European Championships qualifying games before he locks in the rewards…

That’s a reasonable question, I says with the non-verbalised but implied hope of getting a satisfactory answer. “Just how is it that the English Premier League can be the best league in the world and yet England’s national team continue to flatter to deceive?” This of course, comes in the wake of England’s defeat at the hands (& feet) of World champions France last night.Even though they had never won at Wembley before, France were clearly entitled to start the game as favourites given their newly crowned status and the turmoil in the English camp following Glenn Goddle’s dismissal. As…

Well, you will no doubt recall that you first read it on Suite 101 when I told you that the demise of Glenn Hoddle could hardly be far behind the Welsh FA “loan” debacle referred to a few weeks ago. (See Chocolate Fireguard & other stories.) He finally opened his mouth once too often and couldn’t extricate his foot quickly enough. In point of fact, his admitted “serious error in judgement” and consequent sacking was ironically accompanied by less dignity than he himself had displayed towards the disabled people he “unintentionally” offended.In some powerful countries, a “serious error in judgement”…

So Nottingham Forest did what the soccer world expected and gave Big Ron Atkinson his somewhat customary role of saviour to the relegation-threatened. For Dave Bassett and his impending exit, it was only a matter of time. His visit to soccer Limbo will doubtless be of a temporary nature until some other club views him as their “saviour.” Swings and roundabouts, don’t you know. Meanwhile, wee Ronnie Zeitner is continuing to manage Coquitlam Royals over forties to a lengthy unbeaten run extending back to September of last year, thanks in no small part of course to the outstanding and consistent…

Hey, all you wrestling fans. I thought since this was the beginning of a new year that I would start off with my predictions for the year ahead. WWF: First of all DX will finally be all together again. Shawn Michaels will return to the squared circle and not just as the Commissioner, but as a full-fledged member and co-leader of DX. Michaels will also regain the championship title this probably from Stone Cold Steve Austin. Steve Austin will regain the coveted world title at Wrestlemania this year. He will continue to be a thorn in Vince McMahon’s side and…

Take a look at just a couple of the upcoming FA Cup fourth round matchups and get yourself a case of Cup Fever. Not to be taken (or mistaken) with Bee Gees music from the Seventies. This Cup fever predates the Saturday Night Fever of the Seventies by a century and is still as relevant today as it was in the days of Wanderers playing Royal Engineers. For those of you with short memories, that was 1872. It would be hard to miss the Manchester United versus Liverpool game and many a column could be consigned to this one alone.…

Well we all know how fragile a chocolate fireguard would be, right? So why is it when the English FA is quoted to be about as popular and effective in Europe as the aforementioned fireguard, that only the English themselves can see their bid for World Cup 2006 as being “on track” and “all the indicators point to our bid being successful.” This comes in the wake of the biggest scandal to rock the Football Association’s 135 year history, culminating in the resignation of Chief Executive Graham Kelly. Was the “loan” to the Welsh FA 3.2 million sterling or 2.2?…

So I’m in the Penny Lane, a creamy pint of Guinness settling nicely, and it’s ten minutes to kick off. Ah! The days when I would be inside the famed stadium and not thousands of miles away. Two quick sips of the pint and I don’t feel so bad or far away. I’ve been looking forward to this game for a few months – ever since World Cup fever subsided. There are many great stadiums on this planet and Old Trafford, Manchester, certainly houses one of them. A guaranteed full house and atmosphere you cannot buy. Regular readers will know…