Football and Music

I was saddened to read the following article via Soccernet this morning. Sir Bobby is a battler and I thought he would have won this one too.

Sir Bobby admits defeat in battle against cancer

Former England manager Sir Bobby Robson has admitted he will lose his battle with lung cancer ’sooner rather than later’.

Robson has been battling a fifth bout of the illness and has accepted doctors’ prognosis that he is unlikely to beat it.

Speaking to The Sun, he said: ‘I have accepted what they have told me and I am determined to make the most of what time I have left.

‘I am going to die sooner rather than later. But then everyone has to go some time, and I have enjoyed every minute.

‘I have been fortunate to survive this long. It is thanks to the doctors and their dedication.’

Sir Bobby, who took England to the brink of a World Cup final in Italy in 1990, has enjoyed a football career spanning six decades - from playing days with Fulham and England, to managerial triumphs first with Ipswich and then as national coach at two World Cups, to continental coaching appointments.

He later returned to his native north-east to take over at Newcastle and most recently spent a short time as consultant for the Republic of Ireland.

» Full article

- Here is the legend accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year last December:

- TWTD : An independent website for news and views about Ipswich Town has set up a poll and somebody has started a campaign to get the North Stand named after Sir Bobby.

- You can vote in the poll and sign the petition but what would be a more fitting act right now is to donate to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation via the Justgiving page

There’s no need for me to add to the blog discussions about him.

But I want to make a Football and Music contribution to the subject.

Get better Gazza. The football world is rooting for you.

  First up - Some songs about him :

» Spitting Image - Cry Gazza Cry

» Mr Martini - Gascoigne Please

» The New Cockerel Chorus - Nice One Gazza

  …and now two songs by him :

» Gazza and Lindisfarne - Fog On The Tyne (Revisited)

» Gazza - Geordie Boys (Gazza Rap)

Look barcodes fans you are kidding yourself. It’s not the same football as Keegan walked away from when he was the England boss. It’s not the same Premier League that KK walked away from 11 years ago and again 3 years ago. He can’t resign in the toilet this time. He has to stay and face it. Can’t run away this time. The only chance of getting away this time is when he gets “mutuallly consented.” Which should be in only a few months time…

I really don’t understand why he decided to return. I think it is because he’s spent a few years out of the spotlight now and has maybe forgotten about all the scrutiny, the pressure, the expectation… which will be in triplicate now. But it is football. Like the clowns in the circus ring, like the Toreador in the bullring, the sawdust gets in your blood (and possibly in KK’s case - his head) and it’s something that you can’t leave behind.

Rolling out another cliché now - You can never. Should never. Go back. All right I admit that he presence might spurn a mini-resurgence and Newcastle might actually play better but they’ve got to realise that they are not that big a club any more.
KK will have only a couple of weeks before the transfer window closes and I can’t see any likely signings coming in so he’ll have to work with Big Sam’s squad. Newcastle are currently 11th in the table and at the time of writing still in the cup. But all this wasn’t good enough for their fans, they want to rollercoaster ride that Kev took them on last time which will include some alarming dips this time, trust me. Sacrificing your midtable obscurity just so you can see better football ? Strange wish to have.

For this season anyway Newcastle will have to post the excuse of rebuilding after a rocky start. Will the messiah be there at the end ? Will there be a relegation dogfight or challenge for a European Cup place before that. Only time will tell.

In the meantime back in time with a song by the Don Juans who half talk/half sing about when KK was first signed and they reminisce about the glory days (as usual… actually is there anybody still alive who remembers their last cup win ?).

» Don Juans - Wor Kev

Until I find his 1973 release this will be the last time I mention KK and the Barcodes.
There’s been enough mentions already.

After this breaking news I’m sure that there will be many google searches for the original curly perm. Below are links to KK’s musical output plus a couple of other interesting related posts:

» KK - Head Over Heels In Love

» KK - Move On Down

» KK - In England

- Here’s a tribute after he left. » Busker - Thank You Kevin
Time for a follow-up welcoming him back again I think.

- Finally a visual feast of video and photographs for you to drool over: » KK In Pictures

Edit & update: One more and that’s it. Enough already. » Don Juan - Wor Kev

On a personal note I would like to emulate Busker’s words by thanking you Kevin for making this stupid return. It is partly because of your musical output that I got the idea for F & M.

I hope that some enterprising record company will leap onto this bandwagon and gather all his material together - I’m still looking for his appearance on Little and Large in which he sang with them on the show, there was also a little know single released in 1973 called It Ain’t Easy. If anybody out there spots these then give me a shout.

Yesterday we had three ingredients that should never meet. Today I’m going to throw in another one which again you would usually never associate with some of the others.

Today it is: Football. Music. Christmas and… Elvis.

How the hell this came about I don’t know. No joy in a search for the truth. This is another one like Dubya’s drunk driving conviction, was buried in the hope that nobody would uncover again.

Yesterday’s offerings were a bit bad, these ones are very sad.

Harry Roden (for we must name names here. The guilty must be exposed) wherever you are. I’m sure you are still cursing this career (if you had one) killer.

Harry is a barcodes fan and sings, in an Elvis style, about Santa wearing red and white when in his opinion he should be in black and white:

» Harry Roden - Santa Is A Geordie

Next up is a song about a journeyman and well known footie player, who might have been also known as a legendary footballer if it wasn’t for his legendary drinking and womanizing. This one isn’t a Chrimbo one but is a footie/musical/Elvis one.

Frank Worthington has somehow managed to survive where Bestie’s liver didn’t and is still doing the rounds as an after-dinner speaker. A snippet from Who At All The Pies on his colourful past:

“Frankie has the kind of history where myth and fact are blurred… but it doesn’t really matter. One brilliant tale I overheard once involved Frank playing for the England U23s… the squad flew to Russia, and the players trudged off the plane one-by-one in their royal blue England blazers… but without Worthington who delayed his departure… probably to get a last gin in, and to chat up the stewardess… then, like his hero, Elvis, he swaggered down the steps dressed in full cowboy attire, complete with ten gallon stetson and tassles. The Russian public didn’t know what to make of such decadence, and Frank promptly pissed off to the bar.”

This track was recorded when he was at Leicester and done by some person(s) unknown under the pseudomyn of “The Joe Jordanaires”. Why they chose this name I don’t know. I’ve looked at their careers and they never crossed paths. I think they just used Joe Jordan’s name because it was an attempt at a pun on the real group.

» The Joe Jordanaires - Frank Worthington