Bobby Robson 1933-2009

Sir Bobby Robson was the first England football manager I remember, starting with his ill-fated campaign to win the 1986 World Cup (failing to qualify for the 1984 European Championships was before my time).  England were on the verge of being knocked-out after a loss to Potugal and a draw with Morocco before a Gary Lineker hat-trick defeated Poland 3-0 in the final group game.  An identical scoreline defeated Paraguay in the second round, with another two goals by Mr Lineker which would take him 5/6ths of the way towards the Golden Boot he won that year.   An infamous quarter-final against Argentina, the first match between the two sides since the Falklands war, saw a moment of genius and a moment of disgrace by Diego Maradona send England home; Argentina went on to lift the trophy for the second time.

In 1988 an equally disastrous start saw England fail to recover from defeats to Ireland, Holland and the USSR to go out in the group stage.  Bobby Robson was continually villified by the national press, which continued into the 1990 World Cup where another slow start saw draws against Ireland and Holland.  Mark Wright scored to beat Egypt in the final group game 1-0 and England topped the group.  They went on to beat Belgium (in the last minute of extra-time!) thanks to a David Platt goal, and Cameroon in the quarter-finals after two Gary Lineker penalties.  This took England to the first (and only) World Cup Semi-Final since 1966, in which the Germans broke English hearts by winning the penalty shoot-out after Gary Lineker cancelled out a freak free-kick which went in after being deflected off Paul Parker.  For the second time, Robson's England had been knocked out of the World Cup by the eventual winners.

Normally the national job is the pinnacle of a managers career but if anything Bobby Robson went on to greater things while the national team seemed to go the other way.  PSV, Sporting, Porto, Barcelona and Newcastle awaited Robson in his twilight years, with success being achieved at each club.  His translator at Sporting, a certain Jose Mourinho, went on to become assistant manager with him at Porto and Barcelona, and has turned out to be a half-decent manager himself.  Newcastle would probably give a lot for him to be back as manager.

What I will always remember Robson for, however, was how he conducted himself with the utmost grace and integrity in the space of some vicious attacks from the national press (a situation which only got worse for his successor Graham "the Turnip" Taylor).  Despite, post-86, qualifying for every international tournament he could have, and getting us to our best result in a World Cup on foreign soil in 1990, my impression is he was never truly appreciated by the "experts" writing the football columns in the national press.  These same experts villified him at the beginning of the 1990 World Cup before claiming, with Paul Gascoigne maturing a little in four years time, England would have a great chance of winning the tournament outright in 1994.  Of course, England never qualified for the World Cup in 1994, and Paul Gascoigne never played in a World Cup again.  His biggest problem was that he was not Brian Clough.  Everyone thought Old Big Ead should have been the manager when Robson was appointed.  As such, the gutlessness of the FA overshadowed what Robson achieved for the England national team, which, save a dodgy World Cup win in 1966, was probably more than any other manager of the three lions could claim to have achieved.

Michael Jackson 1958-2009

Back in the eighties, a kind of inflation started taking place when describing musicians.  First we simply had stars. Then superstars.  Pretty soon we were talking about megastars.  I do not think we ever got as far as hyperstars, but if we had, surely Michael Jackson is one of the few who would have deserved this description.  How many people can bring down twitter and google on the news of their death?

Undoubtedly a musical genius, he will also be remembered for his overall strangeness and allegations of child abuse.  Having lost his childhood to the world of music, he spent his adulthood trying to regain it.  Perhaps this also expressed itself through his sexuality; certainly his actions always laid him open to criticism.

Hopefully, however, he will be remembered for his music and his worldwide appeal.  No-one could unite people through music quite like Michael Jackson.  His death is a real loss to many people across the world, and he will be sorely missed.

CSB 1980-2007

Be happy, young man, while you are young,
and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you to judgment.

Ecclesiastes 11:9 (NIV)

A year ago today I was driving home from work and found that one of the roads I normally use near Cannon Hill Park had been closed by the police as a result of a road traffic accident. In the past week I found out that the person who had died was an old school friend of mine.

When I knew him, CSB was a down-to-earth guy. An optimist, he believed Roy Evans was the man to bring back the glory days to his beloved Liverpool. He knew about value-for-money, once reading my mind when discussing how remakes of classic cars such as the Mini and the Beetle were expensive, and baulking at the cost of a Ferrari cap when I told him it cost £20. As we neared the end of our school days together, he had just started taking part in a Bhangra dance act, telling me how much he had moved on from a wedding he had gone to where he had only known one move.

In Year 8, there was a plank of wood that crossed our rather disgusting school pond. While he was on it, I went on as well and playfully tried to push him in. Of course, i was the one who ended up amongst the mud and the coke cans. If he were around, I would probably comment how ironic it was I outlived him after falling into that mess.

In A House for Mr Biswas, we are told how the main character strives from his humble beginnings to build a life for his family, culminating in him buying his house which he cannot believes he owns. At the end of his book, the character dies, and you are left with a sense that life is futile; after all our strivings, we can take nothing with us.

This post is a tribute to a guy who most of the world will never know, but lives on in the minds of those who did.

Duncan Edwards 1936 - 1958

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster. Regular readers may know that I am not much of a Manchester United fan; indeed you could say the reverse. Some things however transcend football's tribal nature.

Probably the most famous victim was Duncan Edwards, who I only recently discovered was a son of the West Midlands. He was born and is buried in Dudley. I discovered this website, which is a useful guide to anyone who is interested in exploring Duncan's life and roots.

The Manchester derby is on Sunday in which the commercial behemoth that is Manchester United will play in a replica of the 1950's kit without any sponsorship. Manchester City will also be playing in a special kit. Let's hope the fans also mark the occasion with an impeccably observed minute's silence.

Bobby Fischer 1943 - 2008

I couldn't possibly begin to explain to someone not interested in chess the impact Bobby Fischer had on the game when in 1972 he defeated Boris Spassky to become champion of a game the Soviet Union had made their own at the height of the cold war, so I will have to point you to this article which will give you a flavour.

He never defended his single world title in protest at the nature of the chess tournaments were played, leading to a never-ending battle between Karpov and Kasparov in 1986 when his ideas were finally adopted and nearly bankrupted FIDE, the World Chess Federation.

In 1992 he came back defying US sporting sanctions against Yugoslavia, defeating his nemesis Spassky 10-5. He spent the final years of his life in Japan before taking citizenship of the nation which hosted the 1972 match, Iceland, to avoid extradition to the US in 2005. He spent some of this time praising the September 11 attacks and making the odd anti-Semitic remark despite being of Jewish parentage. Rabid anti-Americanism seemed to have replaced his rabid anti-communism.

There is a fine line between genius and madness, and I think we can safely say that Fischer straddled both worlds.

Colin McRae 1968-2007

There must be a curse on British rally drivers. After Richard Burns' untimely death nearly 2 years ago, his great nemesis on the dirt track Colin McRae died in a helicopter accident this weekend.

He was an incredibly exciting driver to watch, but I don't think he ever really achieved as much as he could have done in the sport. While already famous among those who followed the world of rallying, he was considered a mythical figure like Lara Croft in the US due to the computer game named after him.

There must be some classic races going on in the next world at the moment.

Ken Hardeman Dies Aged 72

After spending three weeks at City Hospital, Birmingham with a chest infection and breathing difficulties, Ken Hardeman died today aged 72. Currently a Conservative councillor for Brandwood and in charge of regeneration, he popularity spanned the political divide.

From a personal point of view, Ken was the first politician I ever voted for in a time when the Conservatives had a chance of winning the ward of Moseley and Kings Heath. It is sad to hear of his illness and death.

The Birmingham Post have a tribute here.

Death of a Legend

When the right-wing talk about the West's victory over communism, they usually credit the victory to those three great heroes of the right in the 1980's - Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. Yesterday, the man who was actually responsible for the collapse of communism died; Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007).

The West loved to portray him as a mad Russian drunk, but the reality is he defeated communism when the West did not have a clue where to start. How did Ronald Reagan defeat communism? By bullying governments of small islands in his own backyard who had the audacity to look after the poor? Did Thatcher bring down communism by defeating Arthur Scargill? Did Pope John Paul's repression of liberation theology strike fear into the hearts of Marxists across the world? More likely, it depressed us Catholics who see support for it in nearly every book in the Bible, and perhaps moved some into the arms of the atheist leftists.

Boris Yeltsin famously stood on a tank to defy a coup by communists trying to overthrow another man who was pivotal in overthrowing communism, Mikhail Gorbachev. Unlike Reagan, Thatcher and Pope John Paul II there was a real chance he could have paid with his life. He could have looked the other way. He didn't, and as a result millions of people are freer than they used to be.

The West never defeated communism. Just like the Chinese adopting privatisation, in Russia it was an inside job.

A Super Weekend of Sport

What a weekend of sport! The fun started on Saturday when a double shock in the Cricket World Cup saw Ireland beat Pakistan and Bangladesh beat India. Unfortunately the former result took its toll on Pakistan's former Warwickshire coach Bob Woolmer, who was later found unconscious in his hotel room and died later in hospital. I would have loved to see him back at the Bears and the World Cup will be overshadowed by this tragedy.

Meanwhile post-Schumacher Formula 1 is more exciting than ever (unsurprisingly) with Kimi Raikkonen beating Fernando Alonso in the first race of what promises to be an exciting season. And forget Jenson Button; third place Lewis Hamilton staked his claim to become Britain' best racer with an excellent podium on his debut.

Paul Hunter 1978 - 2006

It seems to be the year for talented young sportsmen dying before their time. After Richard Burns earlier this year, Paul Hunter lost his battle against cancer yesterday a year-and-a-half after being diagnosed. When he first burst onto the scene it seemed obvious to all snooker fans that he was destined to be a world champion, and we al looked forward to some titanic battles between him and Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Unfortunately, it was not to be, and it we are left to ponder on what might have been.

Anthony Beaumont-Dark 1932 - 2006

A bit late I know, but here is a link to an obituary for former Selly Oak MP Tony Beaumont-Dark. He was MP for the former Conservative stronghold between 1979 and 1992, eventually losing to Labour's Lynne Jones the year John Major secured a fourth successive term for the Tories. I may not have agreed with everything he said, but at least he had something to say - which makes him a class above the current political trash who occupy Westminster and the Government.

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/politicsobituaries/story/0,,1747104,00.html

Richard Burns 1971-2005

The People's Republic was saddened by the news of the untimely death of former World Rally Champion Richard Burns on Saturday. The first Englishman to win the world title, he died on the 4th anniversary of his win after a two year battle with a particularly virulent brain tumour. George Best may have hogged the headlines, but Richard Burns was taken in the prime of his life, at the top of his game and could well have been remembered as one of the greatest rally drivers ever if his life hadn't so tragically been cut short.

Of course football is a bigger game and George Best was more famous, but I think the real reason he got more coverage is because he was a hero of the middle-aged who write the news rather than of my generation. As a result, we also here a lot about housing booms, family credits and pension problems, but nothing about the fact that the rate of inflation used to calculate interest repayments on Student Loans has doubled over the last year.

This is one of the reasons I increasingly use blogs as a source of news.