April 24 – Murphy’s Peno and Other Stories

WHILE he was at Liverpool, Danny Murphy carved out quite a nice little niche for himself as personal scourge of Manchester United. He scored the winning goal in League matches between the two clubs at Old Trafford three times.

The latest was today in 2004 when Murphy netted midway through the second half to tie up a 1-0 win for Gerard Houllier’s team. The goal was that rarest of things: a penalty awarded to the away side at Old Trafford. It was the first time any player from the away side had scored a penalty at United’s ground for more than ten years.

Ruel Fox had scored a peno for Norwich City in December 1993, giving the Canaries a 2-2 draw, but no other player would do likewise until Murphy all those years later.

Also on this day in 1992, goody-two-shoes goal-hangers were obviously en vogue, as crisp salesman Gary Lineker was named Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association. The luggy front man was plying his tap-in trade at Tottenham at the time, and he was picking up the award for the second time, having first won it in 1986 when he was at Everton.

Links bags a hat-trick for Barca against Real Madrid

At the opposite end of the ‘teachers’ pet’ scale from Lineker is Graeme Souness and today in 1996 he was causing as much trouble as possible in Turkey as manager of Galatasaray. After he had just seen his side win the Turkish Cup against hated rivals Fenerbahce, Souness ran on to the pitch and planted a huge Galatasaray flag in the middle of the Fenerbahce pitch.

He claimed it was in response to some disparaging words about him from the Fenerbahce president but the rioting fans in the stadium didn’t seem to care who had started it. Scottish diplomacy at it’s best. Maybe Graeme could be sent out as a special envoy to the Middle East?

Back in Blighty and Coventry City were busy appointing a new manager on this day in 2002. Former Sky Blues player Gary McAllister was given the job of trying to restore the club, by now in the Championship, to its former glory.

“It must represent a gamble by the board but I don’t see it as such,” he said. “It has been a disappointing season for Coventry and I see it as a very exciting opportunity for me. I am very privileged to be asked. I am aware there were a lot of senior managers who applied for this job.”

And lastly on this football day, two Icelandic footballers were making a little piece of history in Estonia. Find out what the heck was going on right here, and come back here tomorrow for more tales from the crypt. Or football or whatever.