Restroom comedy has always been the reliable retreat in everyday journalism, and we are always mindful of notable bog-related stories and historic moments, notably connected to soccer. What a delight it was to find out that a prominent writer Adrian Chiles has a West Brom-themed urinal in his house. Consider the situation for the Barnsley fan who took the rest room a little too literally, and needed rescuing from an empty Oakwell stadium after falling asleep on the loo midway through a 2015 losing match by Fleetwood. “He had no shoes on and had lost his mobile phone and his cap,” stated a representative from Barnsley fire services. And everyone remembers at the pinnacle of his career playing for City, the Italian striker visited a nearby college to use the facilities during 2012. “He left his Bentley parked outside, then came in and was asking the location of the toilets, subsequently he entered the faculty room,” an undergraduate shared with local Manchester media. “Subsequently he wandered around the college grounds as if he owned it.”
Tuesday marks 25 years to the day that Kevin Keegan resigned as England manager following a short conversation inside a lavatory booth with FA director David Davies deep within Wembley Stadium, following that infamous 1-0 defeat against Germany in 2000 – England’s final match at the famous old stadium. As Davies recalls in his journal, his confidential FA records, he had entered the sodden beleaguered England dressing room directly following the fixture, discovering David Beckham crying and Tony Adams “fired up”, both of them pleading for the suit to bring Keegan to his senses. Following Dietmar Hamann’s free-kick, Keegan walked slowly through the tunnel with a thousand-yard stare, and Davies located him seated – similar to his Anfield posture in 1996 – in the corner of the dressing room, saying quietly: “I’m off. I’m not for this.” Grabbing Keegan, Davies worked frantically to save the circumstance.
“What place could we identify for confidential discussion?” remembered Davies. “The tunnel? Full of TV journalists. The dressing room? Heaving with emotional players. The bathing section? I couldn't conduct an important discussion with an England manager as players dived into the water. Just a single choice remained. The restroom stalls. A crucial incident in the Three Lions' storied past took place in the vintage restrooms of a stadium facing demolition. The coming demolition was almost tangible. Pulling Kevin into a stall, I closed the door after us. We stood there, facing each other. ‘You can’t change my mind,’ Kevin said. ‘I'm gone. I'm not suitable. I’m going out to the press to tell them I’m not up to it. I can’t motivate the players. I can't extract the additional effort from these athletes that's required.’”
Therefore, Keegan stepped down, later admitting that he had found his period as Three Lions boss “without spirit”. The two-time Ballon d’Or winner added: “I had difficulty passing the hours. I found myself going and training the blind team, the hearing-impaired team, supporting the female team. It’s a very difficult job.” English football has come a long way over the past twenty-five years. Whether for good or bad, those stadium lavatories and those iconic towers are long gone, whereas a German currently occupies in the technical area Keegan previously used. The German's squad is viewed as one of the contenders for the upcoming Geopolitics World Cup: Three Lions supporters, appreciate this period. This exact remembrance from a low point in English football acts as a memory that circumstances weren't consistently this positive.
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“We stood there in a lengthy line, in just our underwear. We were the continent's finest referees, premier athletes, inspirations, grown-ups, parents, determined individuals with high morals … yet nobody spoke. We hardly glanced at one another, our looks wavered slightly nervously when we were requested to advance in couples. There Collina examined us thoroughly with an ice-cold gaze. Quiet and watchful” – ex-international official Jonas Eriksson discloses the embarrassing processes match officials were formerly exposed to by previous European football refereeing head Pierluigi Collina.
“What’s in a name? A Dr Seuss verse exists called ‘Too Many Daves’. Have Blackpool suffered from Too Many Steves? Steve Bruce, plus assistants Steve Agnew and Steve Clemence have been dismissed through the exit. So is that the end of the club’s Steve obsession? Not exactly! Steve Banks and Steve Dobbie stay to take care of the first team. Full Steve ahead!” – John Myles.
“Now you have loosened the purse strings and awarded some merch, I've opted to write and make a pithy comment. Ange Postecoglou claims he started conflicts in the school playground with kids he expected would overpower him. This pain-seeking behavior must justify his choice to sign with Nottingham Forest. Being a longtime Tottenham fan I will always be grateful for the second-season trophy yet the only follow-up season honor I predict him achieving near the Trent River, if he remains that duration, is the Championship and that would be some struggle {under the present owner” – Stewart McGuinness.|
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