September 10 – The Birth of Crystal Palace

IN 1905 a merry band of workers at London’s Crystal Palace decided they’d like to have the occasional kick-about, so they set about creating Crystal Palace FC. One of South London’s most popular clubs, Palace may not have the longest list of honours, but fans have had their fair share of personalities and drama over the years.

Palace were named after Joseph Paxton’s reconstructed Victorian glass building that was destroyed by fire in 1936. The club’s pre-1970′s nickname was ‘The Glaziers’, reflecting the link to the Palace, but they are now known as ‘The Eagles’ – presumably not at the request of Manchester United’s new owners. Back in 1905 Palace were based at Sydenham Hill, a site that hosted several early FA Cup finals. After a few years of moving around, including a stint ground-sharing with rivals Millwall at the Den they settled into their Selhurst Park ground, where they remain to this day.

As for trophies, there hasn’t been too much to shout about over the last 102 years. A collection of lower league titles and the now-defunct Zenith Data Systems Cup in 1991 are all that reside in the Selhurst Park trophy cabinet. A memorable FA Cup run in the 1989/90 season saw a side featuring John Salako, Nigel Martyn and young strike partners Ian Wright and Mark Bright reach the final, only to lose out to Manchester United in a replay. The epic 4-3 semi-final win over Liverpool saw many neutrals take Palace to their hearts.

Plenty of big-time players have been and gone at Selhurst Part through the ages. Ian Wright, Gareth Southgate, Andrew Johnson and Stan Collymore are just some of the more recent players who have plied their trade at Palace, with Terry Venables, Steve Coppell, Dario Gradi and Alan Mullery all having been in charge of the dug-out at various times. In one of the more random moves English football has seen recently, Attillo Lombardo and Tomas Brolin took the managerial reigns in 1998, but the bald man and the fat man didn’t have a scoobies, as the lingo round those parts would suggest and got The Eagles relegated.

See footage of Palace and Liverpool legends recreating their 1990 FA Cup semi final below in aid of Palace legend Geoff Thomas’ cancer charity, ‘The Geoff Thomas Foundation’. Keep an eye out for bombastic chairman Simon Jordan playing in one of his charges, and join us tomorrow for a tale of a lost trophy that doesn’t involve a dog named Pickles.

September 9 – Happy Birthday Aki

Today at On This Football Day we’d like to wish one of football’s more eccentric characters a very Happy Birthday. The mad Finnish midfielder Aki Riihilahti is thirty-one today. Whilst his performances for the likes of Crystal Palace were not that of a Cruyff or a Maradona, Aki was hard-working on the pitch and a bit of a live-wire off it.

Riihilahti, who lists his occupation as “motor of midfield, writer, a human”, joined Palace in 2001 and quickly became a cult hero as fans took to his industrious attitude as he became a pivotal part of the team that achieved promotion via the play-offs in 2004.

To attempt to get into Aki’s psyche, here’s a section from Aki’s latest entry on his very entertaining website as he discusses his lack of match fitness: “The average running speed with a hamstring that is cramping is the same of an experienced hungry camel.” Obviously.

His weekly columns in The Times are equally hilarious. With titles like “I’m Not the Borat of the Bundesliga” and “Gold Medal? I Prefer Pizza”, his musings are well worth a read if you’re bored, like Joey Barton, of the “I had a crap World Cup, buy my book” school of football literati. Palace chairman Simon Jordan sums Aki up nicely when he says “Aki Riihilahti, a ridiculous person in the best possible way – committed, brilliant work ethic, bit bonkers and totally engaging.”

Aki laments the fact that his birth in 1976 was not widely celebrated, as it happened on the same day that Chairman Mao joined the great Cultural Revolution in the sky, but here at OTFD we’d like to wish him many happy returns and urge him to come back tomorrow for a subject that’s close to his heart.

September 8 – First Football League Matches Played

I won’t beat around the bush. In 1888 the game of football was a shambles, a total hotchpotch. The professional game had been legalised three years earlier but the clubs were now getting their collective knickers in a twist over their fixture lists.

They had FA Cup matches, inter-county games and one-off friendlies, all of which would often get cancelled at the last minute if the club received a more lucrative offer to play someone else.

Clearly something needed doing. And the man who was going to do the doing was one William McGregor.

McGregor saw that the clubs needed an organised, stable league to compete in to bring some order to the game and stop the shambolic nature of each club’s season. And so was born the Football League.

It was on this day in 1888 that the first matches of this new fangled league kicked off, marking the beginning of the structure which still governs football in England today.

McGregor was a Scotsman who had come down to Birmingham to open up a linen draper’s shop. His shop was near Villa Park and, as they had three Scots in the team at the time, McGregor began to support the Villains and he eventually became a director of the club – coincidentally on the same day that Doug Ellis, already well into his eighties, joined the board.

McGregor wrote to several clubs with his league idea and some of them liked it enough to join. The first season saw 12 teams compete for the title: Preston North End, Bolton Wanderers, Everton, Burnley, Accrington, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Notts County, Derby County and Stoke. The League members rejected one points system of 1 point for a win and nothing for a draw in favour of the 2 for a win, 1 for a draw system that would remain in place until Jimmy Hill came along many moons later.

Today being the day of the first ever matches of the new league, it was obviously also the day the first goal was scored in the new league, and hence there would be a first goal scorer – imagine that, the first EVER name to come up on the vidi-printer thing under Steve Rider’s face on Grandstand.

Sadly, records are patchy on this subject, with most people’s best guess being Jack Gordon of Preston North End, although this is disputed by some who believe Preston’s game that day kicked off 45 minutes later than others.

Preston went the whole season without losing a match and were not only the first ever winners of the Football League, but also the first team in history to do the league and cup double, as they also won the FA Cup that season.
Right, that’s your lot for today but mosey on back into town tomorrow to see which former Palace player still isn’t Finnished playing.

September 7 – Norn Iron Sink Sven

WHEN England lose, fans usually have a moan and a beer and then get back to supporting their true love, their club side. Tabloid headline writers however, rub their hands in glee. “Sack the Swede” and “Taxi for Eriksson” were two of the more generous headlines aimed at everyone’s favourite Swedish ex-England boss after Northern Ireland stunned the Three Lions with a 1-0 win in Belfast on this day in 2005.

Coming into the game Northern Ireland were ranked lower than Rwanda, Turkmenistan and Lebanon, as they languished in FIFA’s ratings at 116th place. How was a team featuring players from Peterborough, Motherwell and Southampton reserves going to compete with the like of Beckham, Rooney and Owen?

Very well was the answer. A horribly disjointed performance from the English, coupled with a gritty never-say-die effort from the home side saw David Healy fire home in the 73rd minute and give Northern Ireland their first win over the English since 1972. Tempers flared in the England side as Rooney and Beckham almost came to blows in the dressing room at half-time as the scouser was told by his captain to stop running around the pitch like a crazed loon, kicking out at everything in green.

This would prove to Sven’s only ever loss in a qualifying tournament, and he knew how bad it was. “This is my worst experience as England manager because it’s a qualification game. We shouldn’t lose here. We should not even draw,” said the Swede. English fans agreed, booing off their team as the Irish taunted them with chants of “are you Scotland in disguise?”

The Irish fans partied long into the night, celebrating a famous win that would prove to be the start of a renaissance in Northern Irish football, as a year later they would defeat the Spanish, thanks to a hat-trick from David Healy. See footage of the boy from Killyleagh’s goal and 14,000 Irishmen going crazy below and join us tomorrow to go way, way back to a time when no-one knew what was really going on.

September 6 – BSkyB Confirm Talks to Buy Man Utd

It was supposed to be one of the “great partnerships in sport”. The biggest football club in the world were to be taken over by one of the planets biggest media empires that was the driving force in creating the richest and most popular league in the world. As money was becoming a bigger and bigger influence in the beautiful game, who would object to this new venture thought the two protagonists? Quite a lot of people it turned out, as it was on this day in 1998 that BSkyB confirmed that they were locked in talks to buy Manchester United.

Rupert Murdoch and BSkyB were instrumental in the creation of the Premier League in 1992, and the wily Australian saw taking over the biggest team in the league as a chance to tap even further into untold riches that the booming football industry was beginning to offer. After what was rumoured to be several months of talks Murdoch had a £624.4m offer for the club accepted. This was the largest ever amount offered for a sports club anywhere in the world, and £50m more than the club had been originally valued, meaning that BSkyB really meant business.

However, this proved to be one of the most controversial episodes in Manchester United’s illustrious history, as fans, pundits and the government reacted with anger to the sale. Fans saws were furious that the United board were selling the soul of their club, putting money ahead of tradition. Chairman Martin Edwards was singled out for criticism as he was cashing in on his family’s legacy, as he stood to make nearly £100m from his shares. Fans groups, such as Shareholders United quickly mobilised and the knives were out for Murdoch.

Fears were also raised over a conflict of interest for Murdoch, as the deal would have meant that with one hand he would be able to sit at Sky’s table and dish out the cash for TV rights and with his Manchester United hat on, accept it. This meant that the government were quick to call in the Monopolies and Mergers Commission who put a stop to it, handing Murdoch his biggest defeat since his flirtation with bankruptcy in the early 1990s.

The MMC decision meant that the heart and soul of the worlds most famous football club remained intact. Well, it did at least until gnome-a-like Malcolm Glazer got out his credit card bought the club in 2005, borrowing hundreds of millions to do so. That however, is another story for another day. Join us tomorrow as we prepare for the weekend’s international action with a look at one of the Three Lions’ lowest ebbs.

September 5 – Sir Alan Sugar’s Apprentice

HE was the Swiss man no-one had heard of who Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Alan Sugar decided was the future of the club.

Christian Gross was the relatively unknown manager of Swiss side Grasshoppers Zurich when Sugar appointed him Spurs boss in 1997 to the shock of the football world.

But it was on this day in 1998 that Sugar, no doubt flanked by his sidekicks Nick and Margaret, called Gross into his boardroom, wrinkled his brow, pointed at the unfortunate Swiss and growled: “You’re fired!”

Gross had lasted less than ten months in charge of the north London club before being relieved of his duties, with results during his tenure a bit of a mixed bag. He had taken over from Gerry Francis in November 1997 with the team second bottom of the Premiership and in danger of relegation. Having re-signed White Hart Lane favourite Jürgen Klinsmann, Gross steered the club to safety.

However his second season did not start well. Spurs lost two of their opening three games and Gross was apparently not popular with the players, and certainly not with the press. Sugar reacted, and gave the Swiss his P45.

At the press conference to announce his appointment, Gross famously waved a London Underground ticket at the media throng saying: “I want this to become my ticket to dreams.” He went on: “I came by Underground because I wanted to know the way the fans feel coming to Spurs. I want to show that I am one of them.”

Sitting next to his new manager at the press conference, Alan Sugar’s face was virtually spelling out the words: “Oh my God, who the hell is this chump? What have I done?!”

Let’s just hope Christian bought a return ticket….

September 4 – Phil Babb Wipe Out

EVERY once in a while in football, something happens which transcends club allegiances, even if it is only for a moment.

Occasionally a sublime piece of skill, a spectacular goal, or just a magnificent performance can earn praise and applause from even the opposition fans.

It was on this day in 1998 that fans everywhere were all grimacing together, regardless of club when Liverpool defender Phil Babb clattered into the goal post with his legs either side of it.

Babb was desperately trying to prevent Chelsea’s Pierluigi Casiraghi from scoring, after he had gone around Liverpool ‘keeper David James.

Sliding across the turf Babb missed the ball which rolled into the net for a goal, while Babb came to an abrupt stop when he, ahem, “tackled’ the goal post.

Babb was a Coventry player in 1994, but an eye-catching performance for the Republic of Ireland at that year’s World Cup persuaded Liverpool boss Roy Evans to pay £3.6m to take him to Anfield.

Despite being a regular in the side, Babb’s shortcomings began to be exposed, particularly when playing as the left sided defender in a back three. For his country, Babb was mostly required to clear the ball any which way, but at Liverpool he was expected to actually play a bit as well and it became clear he was struggling.

Certainly Gérard Houllier didn’t rate him so after a loan spell at Tranmere, Babb ran down his contract and left on a free transfer in 2000 to try his luck in Portugal at Sporting Lisbon.

The move proved a success and Babb was voted best defender in Portugal in his second season there. This upturn in form prompted Peter Reid to make Babb one of his trademark panic buys in his last days at Sunderland, where, after two seasons, Babb hung up his boots.

Sadly for Phil though, he will always be remembered as for moment that made 40,000 people in Anfield simultaneously wince.

September 3 – Walking in a Robson Wonderland

IT is fair to say that Freddy Shepherd is not everyone’s cup of tea, or bottle of Brown Ale for that matter. The former Newcastle chairman probably did the best thing for relations between himself and the Geordie faithful by selling his stake in the club earlier this year, and stepping down as chairman.

Whether it was calling Geordie women “dogs”, ridiculing club legend Alan Shearer as the “Mary Poppins of football,” or even laughing at Newcastle’s own fans for shelling out vast amounts of money for replica shirts, Shepherd was not what you would call a people’s chairman.

It was on this day in 1999 when Shepherd made one of his better decisions when he appointed fellow Geordie Bobby Robson as manager.

This appointment followed the disastrous flirtation the club had with European coaching – Ruud Gullit had been in charge for only a year and was sacked for not only failing to get the club anywhere near the top of the table, but also for the cardinal sin of dropping Shearer.

Only a few seasons prior to this the club had been challenging for honours under Kevin Keegan, but Kenny Dalglish and Gullit had all but undone KK’s hard work.

Sir Bobby meanwhile had just returned from his managerial spell on the continent which took in successful spells at PSV, Porto and Barcelona, and despite being 66 years-old he couldn’t resist the chance to revive the fortunes of his hometown club.

And revive them he did. In his first match in charge, at home to Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle ran out 8-0 winners – a club record winning margin.

After steadying the ship Robson really got the team firing on all cylinders and despite not being able to remember the name of any of his squad members, he led the team to fourth in 2002 earning them qualification to the Champions League. Robson bettered the feat the following season, finishing third.

Robson is also credited with extending Alan Shearer’s career by changing his method of play and getting Craig Bellamy to do his running.

Despite this, and in a series of event that exactly mirrored those that saw the departure of Robson’s predecessor, Sir Bobby was sacked by Shepherd one day after leaving Toon favourite Shearer on the bench for the game away to Aston Villa.

Shepherd said he was reluctant to sack Robson. “I didn’t want to be known as the man who shot Bambi,” Shepherd said as he cocked his rifle and trained the cross hairs on Sir Bobby.

Shepherd’s next two appointment’s failed to come anywhere near matching Robson’s achievement’s at the club, with both Graeme Souness and Glen Roeder sacked after short tenures, before current incumbent Big Sam Allardyce was appointed in the summer.

As for Sir Bobby, he seemingly cannot give up the game, and even at 74 he is still employed by the Football Association of Ireland to act as mentor to rookie manager Steve Staunton.

Have a look at this nostalgic look at Sir Bobby’s Newcastle tenure here, and tune in tomorrow to re-live the moment a certain Liverpool player became rather more intimately acquainted with a goal post than he would have liked.

September 2 – It Started With Le Tiss

THE word ‘legend’ gets bandied around a lot these days, often unjustly. But today’s subject surely qualifies on more than one count.

It was on this day in 1986 that Matt Le Tissier made his Southampton debut at the Dell against a Tottenham side that included Matt’s own boyhood hero Glenn Hoddle – not the first time their paths would cross. Saints won the match 2-0 and although Matt himself didn’t score, it was not long before he was off the mark, scoring against Manchester United later in the year.

Le Tissier, nicknamed Le God by Saints fans soon established himself in the side and in 1990 he picked up both the Southampton Player of the Year and the PFA Young Player of the Year awards, as his quality began to show.

By the mid-nineties Le Tiss was not only scoring lots of goals, but scoring spectacular goals as well. In the 1993/4 season he bagged 30 goals, and the following season he won the Match of the Day Goal of the Season for his 40 yarder against Blackburn Rovers.

In over 500 club appearances Le Tissier scored 209 goals from midfield – remarkable given the Saints team he played in was often struggling at the wrong end of the table.

He also famously scored 48 out of 49 penalties (the one save came from Mark Crossley since you ask), and he is so far the only midfielder to have scored 100 Premiership goals (although Scholes and Giggs will surely join this exclusive club sometime this season).

For all his brilliance, for all his breathtaking goals and supreme talent, perhaps the most remarkable thing about Le Tiss is that he was that rarest of beasts – a one club man.

All very well if you come through the ranks at Manchester United, but Le Tiss was an exceptionally gifted player, playing for a small club which was often fighting relegation – indeed it is hardly stretching the truth to say Le Tiss almost single-handedly saved the club from the drop at times.

It is unthinkable now that such a player would resist the overtures of AC Milan, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham, as Le Tissier did, to remain with the Saints.

Matt reportedly did sign a contract with Spurs in 1991 but after further consideration tore it up to stay on the South coast.

During the 1990s, Matt made Match of the Day compulsive viewing as seemingly every other week he scored a wonder goal, and it was not just Southampton fans that were keen to see him wearing the Three Lions of England.

The men in charge were not so sure, and in his entire career Matt only ever earned eight full caps as he was overlooked by Graham Taylor, Terry Venebles and even his hero Glenn Hoddle.

Hoddle did organise an England B match prior to the 1998 World Cup, supposedly to give Matt a chance to prove himself. Playing as captain, Matt scored a hat-trick and hit the cross bar twice as Russia were well beaten, but even this was not enough for a place in the world cup squad.

Often branded a luxury player, overweight or even lazy by critics, Le Tiss was worshipped by Saints fans and he certainly had an aura of fairytale around him, as his final game proved.

Playing Arsenal in the last ever match at The Dell, the score was 2-2 going into the final minutes. Le Tiss was brought on and with virtually the last kick of the game, scored a left-footed volley to give Saints the win and send the crowd totally radio rental. It proved to be Matt’s last goal for Saints as injuries forced him to retire in 2002.

As with all sublime players, it’s best to let their skills have the final word, so enjoy some of Matt’s best efforts below, including the wonder goal he scored against Newcastle which is second in the compilation.

September 1 – An Addiction is Born

Brothers Paul and Oliver Collyer have got a lot to answer for. Exams have been failed, relationships have ended and social lives ruined thanks to them. On this day in 1992 they unleashed the first edition of Championship Manager, the annoyingly addictive football simulation computer game.

From the humble beginnings of their bedroom in Shropshire, the Everton-supporting Collyer brothers dreamed up the first edition of the game and got to work, producing what they promised to be ‘The Most Realistic Football Management Simulation Ever!’ Although the first edition did not include any real team or player names it began to pick up a strong following. To see how the game looked then see the clip below.

As time went on, future versions became bigger and better, as a real player database and leagues from across the world were added, as were additions such as media mind-games to make the game as all-encompassing as it is today. It soon became one of the best-selling PC games ever and lead to the creation of another best-seller, Football Manager, when the Collyer boys’ company Sports Interactive split with their publishing company Eidos.

Anyone who has ever played the game will know how addictive it can be. You tell yourself you’ll only play for half an hour but suddenly you notice you haven’t left your desk for nine hours as you find yourself on the cusp of promotion to the Premiership, with that Norwegian left-back you been tracking about to sign and simply can’t tear yourself away. Far too many girlfriends have heard the words “just one more game and I’ll turn it off darling…”

Another sign that you’re playing too much is when you forget where real life ends and the game begins. You suddenly remember that your team won’t really be challenging for the Champions League and Cherno Samba isn’t the best striker in Europe.

Now if you’ll excuse us we’ve got a League 1 play-off semi-final to get involved with. Hopefully we’ll be back tomorrow with a look at a modern-day legend. We’ll just play one more game first though.