by Simon Lewis
1906's FA Cup Final, saw Everton win for the first time, when they won against Newcastle United in a game played at Crystal Palace. Everton's goalscorer in a 1-0 win was Alex "Sandy" Young.
Newcastle was playing in its second final in two seasons, having lost the previous year's final (and with it the prestigious League and FA Cup double) to Aston Villa. The Geordies were also the hot favourite for the Cup. The first decade of the new century was indeed a golden period in the club's history. In total the Magpies won the league 3 times (1904-05, 1906-07 and 1908-09), were runners up in three Cup finals - 1905 and 1908 as well as 1906, before finally winning the FA Cup in 1910.
But enough about Newcastle, this was Everton's day. The journey to the final had seen a defeat for West Brom 3-1 in the first round before a tricky away tie at Chesterfield was negotiated with a 3-0 win. In the next round, a narrow 1-0 win spelled the end for Bradford City, before a classic of a quarter final saw Sheffield Wednesday depart from the competition in a 4-3 win for the Everton. And then, the mother of all semi finals, a 2-0 victory over neighbours Liverpool.
The final itself was a dour affair by all accounts - these things so often are. However, the Toffees' winner, coming with just 13 minutes of the match left was worthy of being the winner of an FA Cup Final. It was set up by Jack Sharp on the right wing as, after taking Jack Taylor's pass, he centred for Alex Young to apply the necessary finish past a despairing Lawrence in the Magpies' goal.
Alex "Sandy" Young was a Scotland International who played for the Toffeemen between 1901 and 1911. He scored a total of 109 League goals for Everton in a total of 275 League appearances. As well as registering the only goal in the 1906 FA Cup final at Crystal Palace, he is the Blues' fourth most prolific goalscorer - only William Ralph "Dixie" Dean, Bob Latchford and Graeme Sharp scored more. Following his FA Cup exploits of 1906, he was the top scorer in the football league in season 1906-07 - including a brace in Everton's pleasing 2-1 win at Anfield. Born in the Falkirk area in 1880, Young's demise is not known. There are a pair of conflicting stories, he was either hanged for sheep rustling in the Australian outback, or died in an Edinburgh asylum.
About the Author
Simon Lewis has been masquerading on the web as cosmicjellybaby for some time now. His primary interest, it has to be said, ever since he was a little boy, is Football (that's soccer and no other variation).
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Top Ten Goalkeepers of Asia
1. Ali Al Hasbi (Oman).
2. Mark Schwarzer (Australia).
3. Lee Woon-jae (South Korea).
4. Seigo Narazaki (Japan).
5. Ignatiy Nesterov (Uzbekistan).
6. Seyed Mahdi Rahmati (Iran).
7. Dương Hồng Sơn (Vietnam).
8. Noor Sabri (Iraq).
9. Markus Horison (Indonesia).
10. Majid Hasser (UAE).
2. Mark Schwarzer (Australia).
3. Lee Woon-jae (South Korea).
4. Seigo Narazaki (Japan).
5. Ignatiy Nesterov (Uzbekistan).
6. Seyed Mahdi Rahmati (Iran).
7. Dương Hồng Sơn (Vietnam).
8. Noor Sabri (Iraq).
9. Markus Horison (Indonesia).
10. Majid Hasser (UAE).
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Top Ten Women Tennis Players Ranking
1. Safina Dinara ( RUS ).
2. Williams Serena ( USA ).
3. Williams Venus ( USA ).
4. Dementieva Elena ( RUS ).
5. Kuznetsova Svetlana ( RUS ).
6. Jankovic Jelena ( SRB ).
7. Zvonareva Vera ( RUS ).
8. Azarenka Victoria ( BLR ).
9. Wozniacki Caroline ( DEN ).
10. Petrova Nadia ( RUS ).
2. Williams Serena ( USA ).
3. Williams Venus ( USA ).
4. Dementieva Elena ( RUS ).
5. Kuznetsova Svetlana ( RUS ).
6. Jankovic Jelena ( SRB ).
7. Zvonareva Vera ( RUS ).
8. Azarenka Victoria ( BLR ).
9. Wozniacki Caroline ( DEN ).
10. Petrova Nadia ( RUS ).
Top Ten Men Tennis Players Ranking
1. Nadal Rafael ( ESP ).
2. Federer Roger ( SUI ).
3. Murray Andy ( GBR ).
4. Djokovic Novak ( SRB ).
5. Del Potro Juan Martin ( ARG ).
6. Roddick Andy ( USA ).
7. Simon Gilles ( FRA ).
8. Verdasco Fernando ( ESP ).
9. Tsonga Jo-Wilfried ( FRA ).
10. Gonzalez Fernando ( CHI ).
2. Federer Roger ( SUI ).
3. Murray Andy ( GBR ).
4. Djokovic Novak ( SRB ).
5. Del Potro Juan Martin ( ARG ).
6. Roddick Andy ( USA ).
7. Simon Gilles ( FRA ).
8. Verdasco Fernando ( ESP ).
9. Tsonga Jo-Wilfried ( FRA ).
10. Gonzalez Fernando ( CHI ).
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Manchester United - what prospects for 2009/10?
by Steve Yates
There are many reasons why Manchester United are the most successful football team in England - and have been for as long as most people can remember. And especially since the development of the Premier League, the club has entered an era of almost unprecedented success.
The Old Trafford Stadium keeps expanding - its current capacity is over 76,000 - and the demand for tickets shows no sign of slowing down, despite the economic downturn.
Much has been made, quite rightly, of the influence over the club of the legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson. A blunt, at times irascible Scotsman, Ferguson has been at 'The Theatre of Dreams' since November, 1986 - a tenure almost unprecedented in any era of the game. He has managed to stay hungry, determined and, most importantly, in total command during that time and will, when he does eventually decide to stand down, undoubtedly be hard to replace.
Ferguson's main attribute, for me, has been to keep United at the top whilst continually changing his team. There has been one spell - between 2002 and 2005 - when the club 'only' had an FA Cup to display from the major competitions; but even then they could hardly be said to have languished in mediocrity.
The manager has had that priceless ability of being able to move players in and out of his squad, without it disrupting team spirit or damaging the pattern of play. Additionally, he's shown a completely single-minded approach to moving out players he thought would be possibly past their best or simply not up to standard. Yes, he's made a few mistakes - Kleberson, Veron, Taibi, Djemba Djemba, Jordi Cruyff - but some of those could realistically have been expected to have been successful. Kleberson was the midfield hub of a Brazilian team that won the World Cup, for goodness sake.
However, I do happen to think that Sir Alex has a hard season in prospect. Not one where United are in danger of plummeting down to fifth, or anything like that. But I do feel things could be a little more problematic when it comes to running away with the league title again.
Now, I'm not just saying that because Ronaldo has flown away to his spiritual home - I'm sure they'll suit each other perfectly. Although a player of his skill - and the number of goals he scored - will not easily be found, it's certain the staff at Old Trafford will bring at least one player in to take the winker's place.
My problems are elsewhere. I do think there are a number of players who are just about past their use-by date. Ryan Giggs might have been PFA Player of the Year but we all know that was a sentimental award - unless he really was exceptional in the 15 league games he started during the season! Clearly, Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes cannot be expected to play much next season.
Then there are others about whom you can't be really sure they're going to be quite good enough. Darren Fletcher has come on enormously in the last two years but the same can't really be said for Nani, Anderson, Ji-Sung Park and one or two more. It was abundantly clear in the Champions' League Final that Barcelona's midfield was inordinately superior to Manchester's. Owen Hargreaves, hopefully for United, will return to something like his best form - but Michael Carrick still looks a bit of a 'flat track bully' to me,
And, of course, there are the classic Berbatov and Rooney problems. I don't suppose I'm alone in wondering what on earth Wayne Rooney was doing spending half of last season stuck out on the left 'doing a job for the team' and looking a shadow of the player we all think he could be. And the manager's faith in the expensive Berbatov was clearly demonstrated in the last few vital matches of the season when the player barely got picked. Personally, for all Tevez's enthusiasm and running around, the best pairing up front for Manchester United has to be the intelligence of Berbatov - who did have more 'assists' than any other United player last year - with the brilliant Rooney playing in his best position alongside him.
I am looking forward to the 2009/2010 season in the Premier League. Manchester United can be sure of playing their fast, flowing football and will, of course, be right there at the end. I do think, though, that, if they are going to achieve the amazing feat of four titles in a row, the manager has got quite a lot of hard work to do.
About the Author
For information on Man Utd fixtures and other football packages see Football Ticket Packages.
There are many reasons why Manchester United are the most successful football team in England - and have been for as long as most people can remember. And especially since the development of the Premier League, the club has entered an era of almost unprecedented success.
The Old Trafford Stadium keeps expanding - its current capacity is over 76,000 - and the demand for tickets shows no sign of slowing down, despite the economic downturn.
Much has been made, quite rightly, of the influence over the club of the legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson. A blunt, at times irascible Scotsman, Ferguson has been at 'The Theatre of Dreams' since November, 1986 - a tenure almost unprecedented in any era of the game. He has managed to stay hungry, determined and, most importantly, in total command during that time and will, when he does eventually decide to stand down, undoubtedly be hard to replace.
Ferguson's main attribute, for me, has been to keep United at the top whilst continually changing his team. There has been one spell - between 2002 and 2005 - when the club 'only' had an FA Cup to display from the major competitions; but even then they could hardly be said to have languished in mediocrity.
The manager has had that priceless ability of being able to move players in and out of his squad, without it disrupting team spirit or damaging the pattern of play. Additionally, he's shown a completely single-minded approach to moving out players he thought would be possibly past their best or simply not up to standard. Yes, he's made a few mistakes - Kleberson, Veron, Taibi, Djemba Djemba, Jordi Cruyff - but some of those could realistically have been expected to have been successful. Kleberson was the midfield hub of a Brazilian team that won the World Cup, for goodness sake.
However, I do happen to think that Sir Alex has a hard season in prospect. Not one where United are in danger of plummeting down to fifth, or anything like that. But I do feel things could be a little more problematic when it comes to running away with the league title again.
Now, I'm not just saying that because Ronaldo has flown away to his spiritual home - I'm sure they'll suit each other perfectly. Although a player of his skill - and the number of goals he scored - will not easily be found, it's certain the staff at Old Trafford will bring at least one player in to take the winker's place.
My problems are elsewhere. I do think there are a number of players who are just about past their use-by date. Ryan Giggs might have been PFA Player of the Year but we all know that was a sentimental award - unless he really was exceptional in the 15 league games he started during the season! Clearly, Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes cannot be expected to play much next season.
Then there are others about whom you can't be really sure they're going to be quite good enough. Darren Fletcher has come on enormously in the last two years but the same can't really be said for Nani, Anderson, Ji-Sung Park and one or two more. It was abundantly clear in the Champions' League Final that Barcelona's midfield was inordinately superior to Manchester's. Owen Hargreaves, hopefully for United, will return to something like his best form - but Michael Carrick still looks a bit of a 'flat track bully' to me,
And, of course, there are the classic Berbatov and Rooney problems. I don't suppose I'm alone in wondering what on earth Wayne Rooney was doing spending half of last season stuck out on the left 'doing a job for the team' and looking a shadow of the player we all think he could be. And the manager's faith in the expensive Berbatov was clearly demonstrated in the last few vital matches of the season when the player barely got picked. Personally, for all Tevez's enthusiasm and running around, the best pairing up front for Manchester United has to be the intelligence of Berbatov - who did have more 'assists' than any other United player last year - with the brilliant Rooney playing in his best position alongside him.
I am looking forward to the 2009/2010 season in the Premier League. Manchester United can be sure of playing their fast, flowing football and will, of course, be right there at the end. I do think, though, that, if they are going to achieve the amazing feat of four titles in a row, the manager has got quite a lot of hard work to do.
About the Author
For information on Man Utd fixtures and other football packages see Football Ticket Packages.
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