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Updated 30 August 1999  Welcome Page Welcome Page

Jaymer gets the DISH!  
Gullit gets the AXE!  

Dabizas gets

 

Nice article on Bobby Robson here

 

August 27/30, 1999

Two days which will live in infamy. Jaymer finally gets his satellite dish to catch much of the English Premier League on the tele, and Rudd Gullit the next day resigns as the toon's latest manager.
Coincidence???

The biggest news is, of course, me getting my dish, but we'll talk of Gullit 1st.

So we all know the details by now of Ruud's departure (or you can read about it at any football site). And I'm personally thankful it wasn't Shearer, because I've got his name on too many strips!

It's
been
a long
August!
Some interesting points come out of these happenings which I'll just throw out to you:

1) Good timing to do it now, because why take more flak after a possible drubbing at Old Trafford (and Chelsea in 2 weeks)- just go home and get in the surf and sun and put all this behind you. (Actually, the Lads lose 5-1 to the MANCs on Aug 30 - good choice Ruud)

2) Ruud leaves one year and a day to his signing. Think back to all those Dreadlocks on commercial items you've seen. They're crap now. What about the inside cover of the Match Day programme - I wonder if the Newcatle Brewery advert still has the dreads on the bottle? Will they reprint them or pass out the old version?

I have no personal animosity towards Ruud. On the one hand, I DO NOT think he's personally responsible when, for example, we are playing a youngster in the Wimbledon match and he misses the ball in defense on our 8 yard spot, only to have a Don's striker score. No, it is the players who play on the field, not him.

But, on the other hand, he did have the excuse (or was it US that made the excuse for him?) last year that "it wasn't really his team, it was Dalglish's". So, he puts an entire season behind him, trains his boys in Holland, buys a ton of new talent, and now it IS his team - and it plays like crap. So, that IS his responsibility now and there's no hiding behind anything. He tried to blame the directors for not giving him the money he needed - but I'm sure everyone thinks that he spent enough.

3)
Ruud Gullit - Black and White Army!
Ruud Gullit - Black and White Army!
Ruud Gullit - Black and White Army!
Ruud Gullit - Black and White Army!

He didn't even play on the squad, ya know! Yet he was in the chants. 'No More' sez the Raven.

4) And its too bad history won't be made this Worthington Cup time because Gullit won't be pulling on the old Black and White to play for the squad! Or will he?

5) Well, I've got a signed picture of him from a trip in March 99. It didn't cost me anything. Its worth nothing! I'm just glad I don't have GULLIT plastered all over my strips!!!

Oh Yes, forgot.
I just bought a satellite dish and now I get 4 games each weekend, so I'm ready to go.

After many months of planning to go with C-Band to get Fox Sports World, they announced they were pulling their signal off C-Band at year's end, but DirectTV would be picking it up. Fox World offered ONLY a replay of a Saturday morning match and a Live Monday match. But on DISH Network, I could get the spanish version of those matches PLUS a LIVE Saturday and Sunday fixture. I paid $249 for a 60 game list of the Sat/Sun games and the Saturday replay and Monday live come off Fox World Americas for $4.99 each month. Not a bad deal and a lot better than spending $10 each morning (plus breakfast and a pint ot two) to see the match live in a pub an hour away!

The Dabizas Debacle

Well, when I was in Newcastle last March, I had an extraordinary opportunity to talk to some of the directors. One of the topics was Nikos. He was Man of the Match at the final home match of 1997/8 when he scored the 1st goal in a 3-1 victory over Chelsea - an important one since it kept us from being relegated! Since then, and because we were at the match, Cyndi has always been interested in Nikos and we have always followed news of him whenever possible. (Cyndi is quite impressed with his physique, after several up-close views of him - she thinks he is a Greek God.)

Anyway, I asked about the future of Nikos in Ruud's squad and was told that he "probably didn't have a future" because he got too many cards and a manager likes to see his player play, not sit the bench. Cyndi, of course, hated this news but it certainly made sense. I don't have stats on Nikos from last year and have no clue how many matches he sat out (or was suspended). And, Nikos saw the writing on the wall and said so throughout the summer of '99 - and this was confirmed by the new defensive signings.

So why was it that I'm watching the Spurs match (our 2nd match of the season) and thinking, "Nikos wouldn't have let that header get through". Problem was, we just didn't have any real height in the back - Nikos is tall and strong and scrappy. And then 3 of the 4 new guys are injured in the 1st few weeks of the season and who comes in for the Sunderland match - Nikos Dabizas. The greek who felt he had pulled on the Black and White for the last time in May is now our key defender against the Mackems.

Unfortuately, Niall Quinn beats him and scores the equalizer in the rain, only to be followed by Kevin Phillips winner 10 minutes later. But at least it seemed to be a turn in the right direction for Nikos as he's now back in the squad and starts at Old Trafford. That brings us to today, where at the beginning of the 2nd half, his excessive dissent sees him sent off and the gaping defensive hole now opens the floodgates for a 5-1 rout by the Mancs.

So, same old Nikos - and now he's suspended for at least a match - there might be a review for his excessive and violent attitude toward the ref. And I think back to last March...

Jaymer and Cyndi and Nikos

 

 

You can always drop a note to Cyndi or Myself and we will try to reply promptly. As always, please give us notice if you are heading 'over the pond' to the Disney area and we'll try to give you a heads up on any special things of interest (like the best deals on pints and where to watch the footy!).

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Basically, all this stuff is copyright (c) 1999, Rocking H Productions, Inc. (That's Jaymer and Cyndi's Company!)
...Except for the parts that were stolen from some other website. Those parts are still copyrighted by their owners, whoever they may be - we've stolen so much we can't keep track of it. All photos are copyrighted by their respective owners... but like most things on the web, they can be stolen as well and there's generally no way anyone can ever find out. Speaking of stealing, how about the way Dietmar Hamann stole from us by signing with us and then breaking his contract - what a Loser!