In 1986, on this day, the Manchester United Board decided to appoint Alex Ferguson as the club's new manager, a decision that would have a huge impact on English Football. After a rocky start, Alex Ferguson avoided being "sacked", apparently it was a close run thing, but he led his team to an FA Cup success and once he got the idea of "winning things", he began hoovering up the trophies. With luck you will be able to switch on this video and watch the documentary. Really, you don't have to be a United supporter to enjoy a bit of footballing history!!
Born on December 31st 1941, he ran United from 1986-2013, and was regarded as valuing youth football, particularly with the "Class of '92", the great squad that made him famous! he played for Dunfermline and was top goalscorer in the Scottish League in the 1965-6 season. He continued his link with Scottish football with a managerial career at East Stirlingshire FC and St Mirren and then a highly successful period with Aberdeen, winning three Scottish League Championships, four Scottish Cups, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 1983.
He briefly managed Scotland after Jock Stein untimely death, taking the side to the 1986 World Cup and then was appointed Manchester United manager in November 1986. This lasted 26 years with 13 Premier League Titles, 5 FA Cups, two UEFA CHampions League titles. He was knighted in 1999 for his services to Football and became the longest serving manager of Man Utd, having overtaken Sir Matt Busby's historic record on December 19, 2010. he retired from the job of management at the end of 2012-13, having won the English Premier League in his final season.
On this day in 2001, Carlton Palmer, the forming England midfielder, took over at Stockport County as manager and was sacked two years later, after the club's first relegation.
Herbert Chapman, below, was the manager of Huddersfield Town, where he led Town to win the FA Cup and the League Championship twice:
1921–22: Huddersfield won the FA Cup, with Smith scoring the winning penalty. They finished third in the League table, seven points behind Liverpool.
1923–24 and 1924–25: Huddersfield won the League Championship twice.
Chapman is considered one of the most influential managers in English football history. He was known for his strategic thinking and his W-M formation*. Chapman left Huddersfield Town in 1925 to join Arsenal, where he led the Gunners to an FA Cup Quarter Final in his first season. He later led Arsenal to victory at Wembley, overcoming Huddersfield Town.Floodlights to Highbury, the stadium clock,
On November 5th 1932, Arsenal had been to Wolverhampton Wanderers and beaten them 7-1. The previous Saturday they had overcome Leicester 8-2 at Highbury and they had their local Tube Station renamed from Gillespie Road to Arsenal. With the Division fixtures beginning on August 27th, they beat Birmingham City 1-0 away, but it wasn't long before Arsenal lost their next game to West Bromwich Albion at home 1-2. But by the end of the season the Gunners had Played 42 Won 25 Drawn 8 and Lost 9 coming top of the First Division with 118 goals for and 65 against.
This was Herbert Chapman's team and you will know, he was brought from Huddersfield Town to revive the North London club. He and Arsenal were loved by some and hated by many! Arsenal were league champions on 1931, 1933-4-5, and 1938. They were runners-up in 1932 and third in 1937.
Arsenal won the FA Cup in 1930, 1936 and runners up in 1932. The first 38 championships had been won by Midland or Northern clubs and Arsenal broke the run. There was no television to show the country this success but Arsenal's players became household names. Do you know about these? Alex James, David Jack, Joe Hulme, Cliff Bastin, Herbie Roberts, Tom Parker, George Male, Eddie Hapgood, Ted Drake to name the most well known.
Chapman was an innovator who, having visited Austria, saw floodlights being used to illuminate a game, so he introduced lights at the training ground. He also introduced other innovations to the game, including: numbered shirts for his team.He talked about using a white ball under lights, but all this didn't happen until 20 years later. He insisted on first class facilities for spectators, so the Highbury Ground was developed and he tried out "numbered shirts" before they were made official by the Football League in 1939.
He used "all weather" pitches for practice, he experimented with independent time keeping and goal judges! Even his gift of persuasion had the local tube station name changed to Arsenal!
Born 1878 at Kiveton Park, Yorkshire near Rotherham. It's a venue for local football and I have been fortunate enough to be there with our local junior teams.
In 1881, Kiveton Park FC was formed and the club has played in the FA Cup and FA Vase on numerous occasions. They currently play in the Sheffield County Senior League.
Chapman's brother Harry, played for Sheffield Wednesday. At one time the Kiveton Village football club was reputed to have produced more professional footballers than any place its size in England, with the Chapman brothers, Derek Ashton of Aston Villa, Bert Morley (Notts County and England), Sidney Cartwright (Arsenal), Leslie Hoften (Man Utd), Eric Oakton (Chelsea) and Walter Wigmore (Birmingham City) all coming from the village.
Patrick Barclay, in his book about Herbert Chapman, wrote: "Kiveton Park could claim to have been a cradle of two revolutions, one industrial and the other sporting. Beyond question it is the birthplace of at least one great man, widely considered the father of football as we have come to know it."
Souleymane "Sol" Bamba (13 January 1985 – 31 August 2024) was a professional footballer, a centre-back. Born in France, he played for the Ivory Coast national side.
Bamba started his career in his native France with Paris Saint-Germain, but failed to establish himself in their first team. He moved to Scotland to join Dunfermline in 2006, helping the club reach the final of the Scottish Cup in his first season. Two years later, he was transferred to Hibernian, before joining English side Leicester City in January 2011.
Bamba was transferred to Turkish club Trabzonspor in 2012 for £750,000 before joining Palermo. However, he was loaned to Leeds United after making only one appearance in six months. He eventually joined Leeds on a permanent deal and was appointed club captain, spending a further year with the club before being released and subsequently joining Cardiff City. In his first full season with Cardiff, he helped the side win promotion to the Premier League. He retired in 2022 after one year at Middlesbrough, and was assistant manager of Cardiff in 2023 and manager of Adanaspors in Turkey at the time of his death.
Born in France to Ivorian parents, Bamba represented Ivory Coast in the 2008 Olympic Games and earned 46 caps for the senior international team between 2008 and 2014. He was chosen for two World Cups and three Africa Cup of Nations finishing as a runner-up team in the latter in 2012.
At Paris Saint-Germain, Bamba began his career with the Ligue club at the age of 11. He had been spotted by club scouts playing street football in Paris but had initially turned the club down as his mother hoped for him to become a doctor. He lived with his parents Sehrata and Bakary Bamba in Ivry-sur- Seine, a suburb in central Paris. Since his family could not afford the travel to the club's training facilities outside the city, he moved away from his family home to instead live at the club's academy. Originally playing as a defensive midfielder, he converted to playing as a central defender at the age of 15 after impressing there as cover for a teammate who had missed a match due to being stuck in traffic.
Despite impressing for PSG's youth and B teams, he only appeared in two first team games, in his final year at the club at the age of 21. Dissatisfied with this performance (or lack of it!), Bamba asked to be sent out on loan to gain experience but was denied by manager, VahadHalilhodzic causing Bamba to reject PSG's offer of a new contract and subsequently leave the club. He later claimed that PSG had damaged potential transfers to other French sides after he left the club, stating "I was disappointed because my club said, 'He's a good player but he's a tough guy – he doesn't listen and he can get the team into trouble." THEN, he joined.....Dunfermline Athletic!!
After an initial trial period, Bamba signed for the Scottish Senior side Dunfermline in July 2006 on a two-year contract. JimLeishman later revealed that he had been intending to bring over another player from France on trial, but this deal fell through and Bamba's agent sent him instead. Leishman was immediately impressed by Bamba's physique and his performance as a trialist during a preseason friendly against West Bromwich Albion striker John Hartson, no shrinking violet!! He made his competitive debut for the club in Dunfermline's opening league match of the season, a 2–1 defeat to Hearts. On 2 December 2006, Bamba was sent off for the first time in his professional career after pushing Steven Naismith in the chest during a 5–1 defeat to Kilmarnock.
In his first season at the Scottish club, Bamba was part of the squad that reached the 2007 Scottish Cup FInal and played in a 1–0 defeat to Celtic in the final. However, the club also suffered relegation from the Scottish Premier League after a seven-year spell in the division.Bamba signed a two-year contract extension at the start of the 2007-8 season. The extension brought an end to rumours of his desire to leave the club in order to play at a higher level and further his chances of breaking into the Ivory Coast national side, having not played in any of Dunfermline's preseason matches.
Bamba was allowed to go on trial with Championship side Watford in July 2008, appearing in a friendly for them against Boreham Wood. Soon afterwards, manager Jim MacIntyre said he expected a fee to be agreed between Dunfermline and Watford, which would allow Bamba to move to the Championship side. The deal was thought to be almost complete, with Watford sending a doctor to China, where Bamba had travelled with the Ivory Coast Olympic squad, to conduct his medical. However, Watford later pulled out for unknown reasons. A few weeks later, Dunfermline accepted offers of £50,000 for Bamba to move to either Hibernian and Motherwell, keeping him in the Scottish Premier League.
Bamba chose to move to Hibernian, signing a three-year contract with the club.As part of the transfer deal, Dunfermline were due 10% of any future transfer fee.He was sent off on his debut for a second bookable offence against Dundee United, but Bamba subsequently established himself in the Hibs first team. Despite being a natural centre back, managder MixuPaatelainenpraised Bamba's performance as adefensive midfielderduring a 2–0 win over Celtic in December 2008.Paatelainen commented further that he believed Bamba had improved as a player since his spell at Dunfermline, with him no longer going to ground when making a challenge,and described him as possessing "tremendous pace and physical presence."Bamba quickly became a popular player with the Hibs support due to his tough and committed tackling in this new role.
In his second match in this position, Bamba scored his first ever professional goal in a 3–1 win against Falkirk on 22 August. Coincidentally, he scored his second goal for the club at the same ground against the same team and in another 3–1 win, on 27 March. The Edinburgh Evening News reported on 8 May 2010 that Bamba's performances had "not gone unnoticed", with Sven-Göran Eriksson, the new manager of the Ivorian national team, was also due to watch Bamba ahead of the 2010 World Cup, but was not spotted at the last game played by Hibs in the 2009–10 season.
Bamba angered manager John Hughes when he failed to report for a pre-season tour of the Netherlands in July 2010. Bamba responded angrily to the criticism by claiming that he needed a full three weeks off after returning from the World Cup and had attempted to contact both Hughes and Hibernian's chairman to discuss the situation, but Hughes dropped Bamba from the first team squad when he eventually returned to Edinburgh. Bamba was made to train with the club's youth team on his return but was recalled for the second leg of a UEFA Europa League tie with NK Maribor at Easter Road, which Hibs lost 3–2 on the night and 6–2 on aggregate.Following the incident, manager Hughes stated his desire for the situation to be forgotten. During his time with Hibs, he made 80 appearances in all competitions, scoring four times.
Leicester City:
Bamba in 2011
Bamba's contract with Hibs was due to expire at the end of the 2010–11 season, so the club agreed on a deal with Football League Championship club, for his transfer. The deal was confirmed on 2 January 2011, with Bamba joining for an undisclosed fee midway through the season, although sources placed the figure around £250,000 with Hibs also due to receive a percentage of any future transfer fee. He was reunited at Leicester with his former Ivory Coast manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson. He made his debut for the club in a 2–2 draw against Manchester City on 9 January in the third round of the FA Cup, scoring with his first touch of the ball. He scored his first two league goals in a 4–2 win over Millwall on the 22nd January.
After speculation linking him with several Premier League sides, including Blackburn Rovers, and French side Marseille during the 2011 summer transfer window, Bamba signed a new contract with Leicester in September 2011. During negotiations, Eriksson compared Bamba's style of play to that of former German international player Franz Beckenbauer!! A good judge of a player was Sven. Blackburn manager Steve Kean had claimed that the two clubs had made a bid for Bamba and described the move as being "quite close" to being completed.
After Eriksson was replaced by Nigel Pearson as Leicester manager, Bamba played less regularly, particularly after January when the club signed Wes Morgan and Bamba missed a month to play in the African Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast. In his 17 months at the club, in total he played 55 games for the club in all competitions, scoring four goals. He later expressed his regret at leaving the club, stating his belief in Pearson's ability to help them win promotion to the Premier League.
Bamba playing for Tranzonspor in 2013
Bamba signed for Turkish club Trabzonspor in June 2012 for a fee of £750,000. He made his debut for the club on 26 August 2012 playing the full 90 minutes, in a 2–0 victory at home to Elazigspor. He only made 18 appearances during his first season at the club, missing a proportion of fixtures in December and January in part because he was away with Ivory Coast as they qualified for the 2013 African Cup of Nations.
During the 2013–14 season, Bamba made 15 appearances for Trabzonspor in the first half of the season, including being a regular starter in their Europa League campaign. However, on 22 January 2014, he picked up an ankle injury which ruled him out for the majority of the latter part of the season. Bamba was not selected to play for Tranzonspor again after suffering the injury, however he recovered in time to play for Ivory Coast at the 2014FIFA World Cup.
Palermo:On 26 August 2014, after having been released by Trabzonspor, Bamba agreed a three-year deal with newly promoted Serie A club Palermo, making his Palermo debut on 24 September 2014, when he started in a 3–3 draw against Napoli. However, he made no further appearances for the club. After leaving the club, he expressed his confusion over not playing more for Palermo, commenting "The manager would say 'you're not far off, keep doing what you're doing and you'll be playing.' Well, after one month then two, three and four you start to get worried.
Leeds United: On 23 January 2015, less than six months into his Palermo contract, Bamba was loaned to Championship side Leeds United for the remainder of the season, with the possibility of making the transfer permanent at a later date. He made his debut for Leeds in a 2–1 win over Huddersfield Town a week later. Less than a month after joining the side, Bamba was made team captain. In particular, he served as captain when Leeds beat the then league leaders Middlesbrough 1–0, with Bamba receiving praise for his performance.
Bamba scored his first goal for Leeds against Fulham in a 3–0 away victory in March. After impressing during his time at Leeds, Bamba revealed his desire to join the club on a permanent basis. However, he was also outspoken towards the club's owner MassimoCellino advising "the person in charge has to do better for the sake of the club and the supporters". In June, Leeds arranged with Bamba's club Palermo to sign him on a permanent basis for an undisclosed fee. The deal was for two years with the option for a third year. New Leeds United head coach Uwe Rosler described Bamba as "a match-winner in both boxes", and said that "he brings fantastic qualities with him" and "he can be a leader by himself for the young team he is working with".
In the offseason, Bamba was appointed captain of Leeds by head coach Uwe Rösler and he soon received the man of the match award in a 1–1 draw against Burnley in the league on the opening day of the season. At the end of the 2015–16 season, Bamba was again critical of Leeds owner Cellino, calling on him to put 'promises to action'. He revealed the players were unaware if head coach Steve Evans would be retained for the following 2016–17 season, that the players were unaware of when to return for pre season training and they were told they would find out 'by text' when Cellino had made a decision.
Nonetheless, new head coach Garry Monk announced Bamba would remain as Leeds captain for the 2016–17 season. On 7 August, Bamba scored an own goal against QPR in a 3–0 defeat in the opening match of the season and was subsequently dropped from the side. On 1 September 2016, Bamba, despite being Leeds' captain, was released by the club. His contract was cancelled by mutual consent following the close of the transfer window the previous day. The decision was made after Monk informed him that he would no longer be first choice at the club.
Cardiff City: In July 2019 it was revealed that Bamba would miss the start of the 2019–20 season due to injury. He made his return from injury as a substitute on 2 November in a 4–2 home win over Birmingham City and in December he signed a new contract adding one year to his deal. After a cancer diagnosis in January 2021, Bamba returned for the final minute of the season on 8 May in a 1–1 draw at home to Rotherham United. In June 2021, Cardiff announced that Bamba was one of five players to be released. He said that he was upset to have learned the news from the club's Twitter post.
Middlesbrough: Bamba was re-united with former manager Neil Warnock after joining Middlesbrough on a one-year contract on 10 August 2021. He made his first start for the club one day later in a 3–0 defeat away to Blackpool in the EFL Cup. His first league start came in a 2–0 defeat away to Coventry City on 11 September 2021. Bamba won the Sky Bet Man of the Match award for his performance in a 2–0 victory against his former club Cardiff City on 23 October 2021.
On 4 February 2022, Bamba came on as a substitute in the 28th minute of extra time in Middlesbrough's FA Cup tie against Manchester City. Upon the game going to penalties, he took and converted his team's fifth spot kick and ultimately allowed the Boro to progress to the fifth round of the tournament for the first time since 2015.Bamba was released by the club at the end of the 2020-1 season.
International career:
Bamba (left) playing for Ivory Coast in a friendlyagainst Poland in 2010.
Although born in France, Bamba represented his parents' nation of Ivory Coast. He featured at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, the 2005 African Youth Champs and the 2008 Youth Tournament. Bamba was also part of the Ivory Coast squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2008 Olmpic Games.
Bamba made his competitive debut in a 5–0 win against Malawi in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, again as a late substitute. This match was played in the aftermath of the Houphouët-Boigny Arena stampede, which killed dozens of Ivorian spectators. Bamba became a regular in the national team as they qualified for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Bamba scored his first goal for the team in a friendly against Rawanda, as part of the squad's preparation for the 2010 African Cup.He played in all of Ivory Coast's matches at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, but the team suffered a quarter-final defeat to Algeria after extra time. The "uneasy" central defensive partnership between KoloToure and Bamba was cited as one of the reasons for their defeat. The tournament had been played in the shadow of the shooting of the Togo team bus, however, with death threats also being made against the Ivory Coast team.
Manager Vahid Halilhodžić, who had worked with Bamba at PSG and given him his first appearances at club and international level, was sacked after the tournament. The new Ivorian coach, Sven-Göran Eriksson, selected Bamba in his provisional 30-man squad for the 2010 World Cup on 11 May. Bamba scored in Eriksson's first match in charge, a 2–2 draw with Paraguay Bamba was selected in the Ivory Coast's World Cup squad, but was dropped from the starting lineup.
Bamba resumed his partnership with Touré at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Ivory Coast did not concede a goal during the entire tournament, but lost the final against Zambia on a penalty shootout. At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Bamba played in central defence alongside Zokora after Touré contracted malaria before the tournament. Bamba was booked in the first match, which Ivory Coast won 2–1 against Japan Ivory Coast were eliminated at the group stage after suffering 2–1 defeats against both Colombia and Greece.
Bamba was called up to the squad for 10 September 2014 fixture against Cameroon, however on 29 December 2014 he was a surprising omission from the Ivory Coast for the 2015 African Cup of Nations. Although he had not retired from international football, he did not appear for the side since 2014.
Coaching career: Bamba was appointed assistant manager of Cardiff City in January 2023. He was appointed by the incoming SabriLamouchi who managed him for the Ivory Coast between 2012 and 2014. He left the club in June 2023 when Erol Bulut came in as manager.
He was appointed head coach of Adanaspor in July 2024, who he managed until his death the following month.
It was on the 1st of November 1882, that the very famous Corinthian Football Clubplayed its second match ever against the Royal Military College (RMC) at Sandhurst. They lost 1-4 to the Army lads. Prior to this, their first match was played versus St Thomas' Hospital, in London, winning 2-1 and after the Sandhurst game they visited Brighton College (a school) and lost 1-3.
This was the relatively modest beginning of the club that was soon to become the most famous one in soccer history and even had the honour of "founding" the Brazilian Corinthians. There may have been a hint of religion in the name since many of the founding players were wealthy and educated, thus probably "God fearing" or Elite.
The city of Corinth was founded in 600BC by Corinthos, the descendant of the sun god, Helios and matched Athens in terms of wealth. Not everyone was able to live or indeed go to Corinth because it was so expensive. There was also a seedier side to the city, inhabited by the prostitutes of Aphrodite in her temple. Corinth has another meaning-"man of fashion and pleasure". Only read this link if you are old enough!! http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20161017-it-was-an-ancient-form-of-sex-tourism The temple of Aphrodite- earth may have moved!! The Corinthian Club in England was formed by "select" membership based on high standards on and off the field, which captured the essence of a sporting ideology. Even in the modern day I knew a Corinthian-Casuals player who had been sent off for an indiscretion on the field. By the time he got to the changing room he was met by the club committee and "dismissed". The Corinthian Club later merged with the Casuals FC in 1939.
Casuals F.C. was formed in 1883, and was originally made up of players exclusively from the "Public Schools" at Eton College, Westminster School and Charterhouse, but were quickly expanded to include players from all Universities and public schools. In the early days they would field up to five teams a week in order to meet all engagements.
For the duration of the 1890 FA Cup, the team merged with that of the Old Carthusians, who had won the FA Cup nine years previously in 1881. They beat the Old Etonians in the Final.
They were founder members of the Isthmian League though spent six seasons in the Southern Amateur League, 1907 to 1913, before returning to the Isthmian League for the 1913/14 season. Casuals won the FA Amateur Cup in 1936.In their early days the clubs would tour the country, sometimes playing more than one game in the same day, not at the same ground. They would also play more than once or twice a week, including playing everyday except Sunday.
In 1913, they defeated New Crusaders by 3 goals to 2 in the final of the AFA Senior Cup, after the Casuals scored a winning goal in the final minute.
In 1939, the club merged with Corinthian following a meeting on 4 January to form a new club Corinthian-Casuals at the end of the season. The merged club remains active and currently plays in the Combined Counties Premier Division South following back to back relegations from the Isthmian League Premier and South Central divisions in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
England internationals.
Five Casuals players were capped for England. The full list of England players (with the number of caps received whilst registered with Casuals F.C.) were:
On 31 October 1920, Kaiserslautern and West Germany legend Fritz Walter was born. Gifted with a remarkable combination of ball control, vision, and agility, Walter, who was born in Kaiserslautern, spent his entire career with his hometown club. He made his first-team debut for them at the age of 17, but World War II interrupted his career for several years. Play resumed in 1945 and Walter soon guided the team to their first major silverware, winning league titles in 1951 and 1953. He retired in 1959 with a record of 380 goals in 411 league appearances. In 1985, the club renamed their stadium after him. His greatest achievement, however, came with the West German national team in 1954, when he captained them to their first World Cup trophy, beating Hungary 3-2 in a final known as "the Miracle of Bern" (Hungary were up 0-2 after only 8 minutes before West Germany rallied for the win). Despite the wartime hiatus, Walter earned 61 caps between 1940 and 1958, scoring 33 goals. When UEFA, in preparation for their fiftieth anniversary in 2004, asked each member nation to name their one greatest player--the Golden Players--of the previous fifty years, Germany selected Walter. He passed away in June 2002 at the age of 81.
30th October 2012 Arsenal were 4-0 down after just 37 minutes of a Capital One (League Cup) tie at Reading but the Arsenal fans weren't despondent and sang 'We're going to win 5-4'. But they were wrong.......... Arsenal won 7-5.
On 30th October 1960, future Argentinian superstar Diego Maradona, was born in the city of Lanús, Argentina, just south of Buenos Aires. Raised in poverty on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Maradona joined Argentinos Juniors as a 10-year old youth player. He signed his first professional contract with them in 1976 and made 167 appearances before transferring to Boca Juniors in 1981.
After an impressive performance for Argentina in the 1982 World Cup, he moved to Barcelona for a then-record fee of £5 million. Although successful during his time in Spain, winning a 1983 treble of the Copa del Rey, Copa de la Liga, and Spanish Super Cup, his relationship with the club was tempestuous and he moved to Napoli in 1984 for a new record fee of £6.9 million.
He became a true international superstar in 1986, when he captained Argentina to the World Cup title, playing every minute of every match for the Albicelestes, scoring 5 goals and making 5 assists. Two of those goals came in the legendary 2-1 win over England--the "Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century," which cemented his status as one of football's greatest players. He followed his World Cup success by winning silverware with Napoli, including two Serie A titles (1987, 1990) and the UEFA Cup (1989). He left Napoli in 1991 and spent time with Sevilla (1992-93), Newell's Old Boys (1993), and a second stint at Boca Juniors (1995-97) before retiring.
Despite a controversial personal life, including a constant struggle with a cocaine addiction, Maradona was voted FIFA's Co-Player of the Century in 2000, along with Pelé. Maradona currently manages the Argentinian national team, who recently secured their spot in the 2010 World Cup Finals despite a rocky start to qualification.
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