FIFTY SHADES OF GOLD
Back in the day, it didn’t matter who you supported: if a team from England was playing a match against European opposition, you’d give them your blessing. Take, for example, the passion on display across the entire country when Wolverhampton Wanderers took on Honved in a prestige floodlit friendly in December 1954. The BBC cleared the schedule of Britain’s only TV channel to show the second half live, while the whole thing was the subject of radio commentary on the Light Programme. Everyone was on tenterhooks to find out whether Stan Cullis’s champions could put Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis, Zoltan Czibor and Jozsef Bozsik back in their box after England’s recent 6-3 and 7-1 Hungary humiliations. And they did it! Whoop! What a glorious nation!
Admittedly they only managed this after flooding the pitch when two goals down at half-time in order to jigger Honved’s passing artistry. Hoof! Hoick! Belt! A 3-2 win! That’ll teach ‘em. But it was a close-run thing. In the dying seconds of the match, Czibor smashed a shot goalwards from six yards. Wolves goalie Bert Williams parried; Bill Slater cleared. However on the Light Programme, millions were now swinging along to big-band music, the continuity announcer having faded the commentary out in a panic when the match over-ran by 75 seconds. The day after, several national newspapers carried the story of a listener in a pub in Sunderland, incensed at not knowing the final result, hoying a bottle of ale into the radio receiver in impotent rage. It must have been a slow news day. Still, at least people across the country, regardless of their day-to-day allegiances, really cared, eh?
Whether the nation will be similarly enchanted by Wolves’ latest foray into Europe is another matter. Tonight, 65 years since Honved, 47 years since they were defeated by Spurs in the final of Euro Vase, and 39 years since they last competed on the continent, losing to PSV Eindhoven in the first round of the same competition, Nuno Espírito Santo’s men will take on Crusaders in the second qualifying round of Euro Vase. “I feel a lot of pride,” says the manager. “It’s a big, big game for the club.” Indeed it is. And yet there’ll be no country-halting coverage on the nation’s most popular channel this time. Instead, the game will be tucked away out of sight on Premier Sports. As a result, few outside partisan enclaves of the Black Country and north Belfast will be on 50s-style tenterhooks waiting for the final score tonight. Sad times, though public bars all across Wearside will breathe a huge sigh of relief.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Seeing Luka at the age of 17 – young, short, skinny, a guy who was full of passion, full of drive and aspiration. As a young coach, I wasn’t sure he was going to make it … [but] he was smelling something good. When I saw him in the World Cup final, I had goosebumps.” – Romeo Jozak recalls coaching a young Luka Modric in Croatia. The man they call ‘Dr Romeo’ is now in charge of Kuwait, who are on a curious tour of England.
FIVER LETTERS
“I was moved by the plight of Stuart McLagan [Wednesday’s Fiver] and feel compelled, as one Stuart to another, to come to his assistance. I was fortunate enough to win a prize (The London Football Companion, used copies available for £0.01 on Amazon) for a letter back on 26 February, and the sheer scale of the delight this gave me probably says something about my life. So that another Stuart can experience something similar, what if I return my prize back to Fiver Towers so that it can be sent on? I don’t want anything in return (unless he has a Millennium Falcon lying around). Just the idea of another Stuart experiencing what I did is enough for me” – Stuart Robertson-Reed.
“In taking over as president of the Rugby Football League, Tony Adams opined, ‘I’ve been bored out of my brains at some recent football games with all the sideways passing.’ Um… who’s going to tell him?” – Jim Hearson.
“Who better than Hollywood bad boy Russell Crowe to provide commentary for a Nasty Leeds documentary? Only they could employ someone who amongst numerous other unsavoury incidents, had a fight in a fancy Japanese restaurant that had to be broken up by Ross Kemp. Blackeye Rovers will probably have to tap up Colin Farrell to stand any chance of competing” – Ben North.
“Succint album reviews, you say? How about Charles Shaar Murray’s 1973 NME review of Lee Hazlewood’s Poet, Fool or Bum: ‘Bum’” – Barrie Francis.
“I was quite surprised to read Paul Dunlop’s letter and see the name Johnty spelled the same way that I spell my name, considering I have not once come across this. The real surprise came from something in the Fiver grabbing my attention enough to give me reason to actually send something in. It feels like I should include HHAGTFABM, just to keep the side up.” – Johnty Marshall.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day prize is … Ben North.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
Everton are eager, anxious, impatient, yearning to sign Moise Kean from Juventus – but the Italian forward could cost a cool £36m. The Toffees have at least pocketed more than £20m from the sale of Ademola Lookman to RB Leipzig.
Juve could put some of that Kean cash towards repaying a 116-year-old debt to Notts County. The Magpies famously supplied the Turin side’s first black and white kits – and now local MP Lillian Greenwood is asking them to help the cash-strapped Magpies pay for new shirts for next season.
Bernard Cribbins insists he’s not at Newcastle just to do Mike Ashley’s bidding. “I’m not going to be anybody’s yes man,” Bruce muttered as he scraped vomit from a fireplace. “I’m not Mike Ashley’s bagman or anything else. I’m my own man.”
Manchester City suit Ferran Soriano has hit back at claims the club were a bit up themselves when they visited China. “We are not arrogant anywhere. Our players were close to the fans,” he snooted. “[Other teams] just come here to play a game. Our commitment and investment in China is far, far more.”
Aston Villa have added £15m City midfielder Douglas Luiz to their heaving sack of summer recruits, with Club Brugge midfielder Marvelous (yep) Nakamba set to follow.
And Bury are set to start their League One campaign on minus 12 points – but the EFL has warned the club they risk expulsion over their ongoing financial concerns.
STILL WANT MORE?
Holsten! Avco! JVC! Wang! Football Weekly’s own Max Rushden remembers a simpler time for shirt sponsorship, and boosts his hipster credentials with a mention of Jeff Goldblum.
that 80s Spurs kit in the crowd. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA
Wolves head honcho Nuno Espírito Santo chats Coca-Cola, chess and cycles with Stuart James.
Remember when Ademola Lookman banged in Everton’s fourth against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City? It feels like a long time ago, muses Andy Hunter.
Feast your eyes on pre-season pearlers and summer fitba fun in this week’s Classic YouTube.
Wilfried Zaha to … Everton? Oh the Mill, you do keep us guessing.
Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO!
