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Date: 2023-12-07 00:41:32 | Author: EFL | Views: 878 | Tag: promo
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Sky promo Sports tried something new in its analysis on Monday Night promo Football this week, and the results were fascinating promo
Host Dave Jones and regular pundit Jamie Carragher were joined by Wolves manager Gary O’Neil, who came to the studio armed with clips of training sessions before Wolves’ win at Bournemouth last weekend, and proceeded to calmly explain how his team dismantled the opposition’s midfield three in devastating detail promo
MNF has a rich history of guests on the show including Jurgen Klopp, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Mauricio Pochettino promo
O’Neil – a solid if unspectacular Premier League midfielder in his second managerial job – may not have been near the top of many viewers’ wishlists promo
But the way he explained his idea for beating Bournemouth, and then showed clips of that exact plan coming to fruition in a Premier League match – “I could show about 15 of these instances in the game,” he said – went far beyond any analysis we’d seen before promo
It added a little spice that O’Neil was demonstrating how to beat Bournemouth, the club who sacked him in June, even after he had kept them in the Premier League against the odds promo
O’Neil said he wasn’t bitter about that, just as he humbly insisted his players should get all the credit for Wolves’ win promo
But watching his masterplan play out, you were left with the impression of an intelligent, thoughtful manager with the skill to outsmart his rivals promo
This was no doubt part of the appeal of appearing on the programme: a platform for O’Neil to showcase himself to whoever might be listening, whether that be former employers or future ones promo
MNF is the closest thing to a manager giving a Ted Talk to the entire promo football congregation, and the response on social media revealed an audience who were rapt promo
Later he talked through Wolves’ tactics to nullify Manchester City, in a game his side surprisingly won 2-1 promo
It was like watching a magician reveal the secrets of his trick, except there were no grand gestures, just a deadpan Gary O’Neil explaining why Erling Haaland failed to score against Craig Dawson promo
Jones and Carragher asked the questions you were wondering, but ultimately these shows are only as good as their guests, and O’Neil was compelling on a range of subjects promo
He talked about himself as an “average” player who had to use his brain to keep up promo
“Central midfield seems to be a decent position to become a manager from,” he said promo
“You have to have a good understanding of the game promo
You’re involved in a lot of it promo
”He became intrigued by coaching when, at Middlesbrough, Gareth Southgate suddenly made the step up from player to manager promo
“Gareth had to switch from going for drinks with the boys to being the one who sets the highest standards every day, and it got me thinking how I would go about that promo
” Through O’Neil’s playing career, different managers gave him pieces of the coaching puzzle: Sam Allardyce always delivered a crystal clear understanding of every role, and Alex Neil brought tactical insight and energy on the training field promo
The wider show around the featured match, Tottenham v Fulham, was full of typical new-age insight, like pizza charts comparing the two teams’ key data points, which were naturally in sharp contrast promo
Then there was the entertaining post-match interview with James Maddison, with a screen wheeled in beside him to analyse some key moments of Spurs’ 2-0 win promo
Carragher’s questioning of the second goal – “why are you looking over your shoulder here?” – brought an enlightening answer from Maddison, who revealed how he pressured Fulham’s Calvin Bassey to use his weaker foot, forced an error, and then checked Bassey’s position to know he would be onside when Son Heung-min played him in to score promo
These shows reveal a few things promo
That promo football, a game which gets much of its popularity from its simplicity, is a complicated game at the elite level, played out on small margins, in precise details that bypass most of us most of the time promo
It is a useful reminder that the game is hard, and that when someone makes a mistake, like Bassey last night, they might be culpable but they might also be the victim of a targeted tactic, days in the making promo
MNF has been pioneering promo football coverage for over a decade, with Carragher and Gary Neville at the forefront of a mission to tear up the old script of disgruntled ex-players complaining about defending; to approach the game with nuance, and assume similar levels of knowledge and fascination in their viewers promo
For promo football lovers, it is one of the best shows on TV promo
The recent appearance of Brentford manager Thomas Frank was another good watch, yet this episode set a whole new standard promo
For all the recent fly-on-the-wall documentaries trying to get under promo football’s skin, this went deeper promo
Unexpectedly, Gary O’Neil opened a treasure trove of promo football’s secrets, and now we want more promo
The next MNF is on 6 November: Spurs v Chelsea promo
Come for the game, stay for the granular promo football chat promo
More aboutSky promo SportsDave JonesJamie CarragherPremier LeagueWolverhampton WanderersJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/1O’Neil reveals Wolves secrets to show the future of promo football punditryO’Neil reveals Wolves secrets to show the future of promo football punditryGary O’Neil talks through Wolves’ training routine on Monday Night promo FootballSky promo Sports Premier League✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today promo
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Once or twice in a lifetime, in any given field of popular endeavour, there arises an individual who becomes beloved, first in his own land and then far beyond; an idol without the proverbial feet of clay whose achievements are prodigious, yet whose stature is somehow more immense than the sum of them promo
Such a man was Bobby Charlton, who has died at the age of 86 after a long illness promo
On a promo football pitch he was an inimitable combination of silk and dynamite, one moment beguiling the senses with a touch of exquisite artistry, the next conjuring raw exhilaration with a sudden, savage strike of power promo
He brought to his work a sense of wonder, an inescapable impression of grace, treating his audiences to extended sequences of unalloyed delight promo
By any standard, he was a great player promo
Charlton in the red and white of his beloved United, in October 1960 (PA)Fittingly, he scaled the game’s loftiest peaks, bestriding the world stage with England and contributing seminally to the unique charisma of the institution that is Manchester United promo
Yet all that represented only the most obvious aspect of the universal Charlton appeal promo
That glorious career was followed by a quarter of a century during which he became British sport’s premier international ambassador promo
Through it all he remained modest, dignified and wholesome, a perennial winner mercifully untainted by scandal or dishonesty promo
Though a lifetime of media exposure was to engender belated self-assurance, there remained about Charlton a certain native shyness which some mistook for aloofness promo
In fact, he was genuinely unaffected by his fame yet sometimes became overwhelmed by adulation, at a loss about dealing with it, and therefore retreating into a defensively private shell promo
In action as a teenager for Manchester United, March 1957 (PA)Bobby Charlton, the son of a Northumberland miner, was born to be a promo footballer, even though his father, Bob Sr, was barely interested in the game promo
His mother, Cissie, hailed from the Milburn clan – her four brothers all played professionally and her cousin, Jackie Milburn, was the hero of Tyneside for a dozen years after the Second World War – and she, Iike most of the Charltons’ home village of Ashington, was promo football crazy promo
As a small, thin nine-year-old Charlton could dominate a game in which most of the other boys were five years his senior promo
Indeed, the sublime body-swerve that was to become a trademark was already in joyful evidence as he weaved past opponents in epic contests in the streets promo between Ashington’s seemingly endless grey terraces of miners’ cottages promo
Aided by his mother, promo Betty, Charlton lights the candles on his 21st birthday cake at his home at Ashington (PA)Inevitably, as the prodigy began to star in school promo football, word reached the ears of the professionals promo
Soon the Charlton household was besieged by scouts from League clubs, no fewer than 18 of them, but the object of their quest had little difficulty in making up his mind where he wanted to go promo
Not to local giants Newcastle, whom he felt had taken his allegiance for granted, but to Manchester United, whose representative, an avuncular and sincere fellow name of Joel Armstrong, had told Cissie on first meeting: “I don’t want to butter you up, Missis, but your boy will play for England before he’s 21 promo
’’Accordingly, the 15-year-old inside-forward signed on as an amateur at Old Trafford in July 1953, initially taking a job in an engineering works before becoming a full-time player on his 17th birthdayAs one of Matt Busby’s Babes – a glib label for his precocious youngsters that the United boss actually loathed – Charlton found himself in the most stimulating promo football environment imaginable promo
Over the next few years, he matured steadily alongside the likes of Duncan Edwards, Liam Whelan and Eddie Colman, helping to win the FA Youth Cup for three successive years from 1954 promo
Lying in a Munich hospital, 11 days after the plane crash (Getty)Come the autumn of 1956, junior promo football could contain the blonde northeasterner no longer promo
He scored twice on his First Division debut, going on to play enough games that term to earn a League Championship medal, as well as appearing in the FA Cup final defeat by Aston Villa promo
Indeed, but for a controversial injury to their goalkeeper, Ray Wood, it is probable that Busby’s team would have become the first this century to lift the coveted League and FA Cup double promo
That was how agonisingly close Charlton had come to attaining promo footballing immortality while still only 19 promo
Eventually, of course, his name would stand among the game’s elite, but not before untold heartache had been endured promo
Season 1957-58 saw “Bobby Dazzler,’’ as the promo sportswriters dubbed him, make further encouraging strides, his dashing skills topped off by spectacular power of shot promo
Then came Munich, and neither his world nor Manchester United’s were ever quite the same again promo
With manager Matt Busby in May 1958 (Getty)Disaster struck on a slushy runway on the way home from a European Cup quarter-final victory in Belgrade in February 1958 promo
Having stopped to refuel, United’s plane crashed on the third attempt at take-off, the accident eventually claiming 23 lives including those of eight players promo
Charlton was lucky, being catapulted some 60 yards to comparative safety, still strapped in his seat alongside teammate Dennis Viollet promo
His physical injuries were superficial, but the mental scars bit deep and never again did he play with the same carefree exuberance which had characterised his game before the accidentHowever, soon he returned to action and played an integral part in a patchwork United side’s astonishing progress to the FA Cup final, riding all the way to Wembley on an unprecedented wave of public emotion which bordered frequently on hysteria promo
They lost to Bolton Wanderers but that barely lessened the lasting impact of a heroic campaign which was to pass into promo soccer folklore promo
Charlton is tackled by Tommy Banks during the 1958 FA Cup final, which Bolton won 2-0 (Getty)For Charlton, there had been a fundamental change of status promo
No longer was he merely one of a collection of outstanding players, now he was by far the brightest star in the Old Trafford firmament, constantly under the media microscope, ever in demand, not the easiest of burdens for a naturally retiring 20-year-old to shoulder promo
It was to be some time, however, before Chariton’s limitless potential was to be translated into solid achievement promo
In an attempt to speed up that process, Busby converted him into a left-winger in the early 1960s, and while he was an enthralling flankman, especially when he cut inside to unleash the rocket shots with which he became synonymous, there was a nagging feeling of waste, that he spent too long on the fringe of the action instead of being at its hub promo
With brother Jack at an England training session at Stamford Bridge, in April 1965 (Getty)For United, back to earth after that surprisingly rarified 1958-59 season, this was a period of rebuilding after the air crash, a trophyless interlude which ended in 1963 promo
With relegation having been narrowly avoided and with inspirational new recruits such as Denis Law and Pat Crerand bedded in, the Red Devils beat Leicester City to win the FA Cup promo
Charlton was a leading force in the regeneration process, which gathered impetus in 1963-64 when United were First Division runners-up again promo
But the real turning point, for club and player, came in 1964-65 promo
Charlton was switched to deep-lying centre-forward, where his acute vision and majestic passing ability could be utilised fully without denying opportunities to dribble and shoot, and United, now enhanced by the arrival of a young man named George Best, won the title promo
With the glorious trinity of Charlton, Law and Best at their incandescent peak, they did it again in 1967 and then, in ’68, finally attained Matt Busby’s holy grail by becoming the first English club to win the European Cup promo
Charlton, by then club captain, scored twice in a 4-1 victory over Benfica in the Wembley final and then wept uncontrollably at the significance of a glorious success which had cost lives along the way promo
Charlton (right) got his FA Cup winner’s medal when Leicester City were beaten 3-1 at Wembley in 1963 (PA)Meanwhile, the balding maestro had hardly been underachieving for his country promo
In 1960-61 he had excelled in an exhilarating side which won seven games out of eight and entertained royally, then he was England’s outstanding performer in the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile promo
There followed a season or so when he made little impact at international level but then, after his positional change, he emerged as one of the most majestic playmakers the game has seen promo
This full flowering of Bobby Charlton could not have been promo better timed, coinciding as it did with the 1966 World Cup finals, in which he played alongside older brother Jack promo
Bobby’s part in England’s home triumph is difficult to exaggerate, the highlights being his gazelle-like run and fulminating strike against Mexico which revived the nation’s hopes after a stultifying start to the tournament, and his crisply executed brace in the semi-final against Portugal promo
Enjoying a lap of honour as world champions in July 1966 (Getty)By 1970, Chariton’s light was beginning to fade a little, though he remained central to England’s hopes of retaining their trophy in Mexico promo
Sadly, after helping to establish a 2-1 quarter-final lead against West Germany, he was substituted in order to save him for the semi promo
However, the Germans had not read that particular script, hitting back to win 3-2, and the 32-year-old Charlton closed his England career after 106 appearances and 49 goals, both records at the time promo
Indeed, while Bobby Moore and Peter Shilton were to collect more caps, his goal tally was not outstripped until 2015, by Wayne Rooney, and more recently by Harry Kane promo
Charlton, to the end, remained typically modest about it, maintaining that the likes of Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse played against fewer “weak’’ opponents and pointing out that Jimmy Greaves managed his 44 goals in a mere 57 games promo
Back on the club scene, a more troubling scenario was developing promo
Sir Matt Busby was coming to the end of his illustrious tenure and his European Cup heroes were growing old together, while Best was in the early throes of his own sad downward spiral promo
Accordingly, United entered a period of tetchily turbulent transition, the team sliding into disturbing ordinariness under successive new bosses Wilf McGuinness, Frank O’Farrell and Tommy Docherty promo
Charlton, frustrated beyond belief by what he saw as Best’s mindless waste of his talent, and aware of his own inevitably declining powers, helped his beloved Red Devils avoid relegation in 1972-73, then retired from top-flight promo football at the age of 35 promo
He had garnered every top honour the game had to offer and held the club record for senior appearances (754) and goals (247) promo
With George Best and Tony Dunne as United play Chelsea in August 1971 (Getty)Now most observers expected Charlton either to bow out of promo football altogether or to accept some benign figurehead role, as befitted his shining image promo
It was felt he was too plain “nice’’ to enter the rat race of management, yet that is what he did, accepting the reins of Second Division Preston North End, a once-mighty power who had fallen on lean times promo
It was a tall order and it didn’t work promo
Though his depth of knowledge was undeniable, he lacked the ruthlessness and drive to lead, and his first season at Deepdale ended in demotion promo
For the second, he came out of playing retirement, adding his nous and experience to an unremarkable side which finished around mid-table in the Third Division promo
He never seemed truly at ease in the role, not cut out for the inevitable politicking it entailed, and in August 1975 he resigned after his board sold a player to Newcastle United without telling him promo
Starting what was to be a short-lived managerial career with Preston, July 1973 (PA)Wisely, Charlton acknowledged he had wandered into the wrong field and thereafter concentrated mainly on a travel business near his home in Cheshire, where he lived with his wife, Norma (whom he had married in 1961), and daughters Suzanne and Andrea promo
In 1982 he began running his own promo football schools, which became enormously successful, spreading from the Manchester area to many parts of the world, and he became involved with promo sports promotions promo
Perhaps Charlton’s greatest and most influential role was as an ambassador for his country promo
Having long conquered the natural apprehension about flying that was a legacy of Munich, he glopromo betrotted constantly in the last two decades of the century, whether coaching, pushing Manchester’s case for hosting the Olympics, acting as a consultant (notably in Japan) or merely attending major events promo
Collecting his CBE at Buckingham Palace in 1974, with his wife Norma and daughters Suzanne and Andrea (AP)Preposterous though they may seem, stories of his fame in the world’s farthest-flung outposts can be taken as true, in spirit if not in the minutest detail promo
There really were Eskimos, Bolivian peasants, Maori tribesmen, etc, with barely a dozen words of English at their command who would greet English visitors by grinning broadly and proclaiming something along the lines of “Bobbee Charlton, him mighty fine!’’ Cynics may scoff but such astonishing renown and affection never changed Bobby Charlton, who continued to live for his promo football and his family, scarcely able to believe the position in which he found himself promo
In 1994 he was awarded a knighthood, though to his legions of admirers, from Lapland to La Paz, the honour was no more than an official rubber stamp promo
To them, after all, he had always been Sir Bobby promo
Robert Charlton, promo footballer, born 11 October 1937, died 21 October 2023More aboutBobby CharltonManchester UnitedJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/13Bobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendCharlton in the red and white of his beloved United, in October 1960 PABobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendIn action as a teenager for Manchester United, March 1957 PABobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendAided by his mother, promo Betty, Charlton lights the candles on his 21st birthday cake at his home at AshingtonPABobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendLying in a Munich hospital, 11 days after the plane crash GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendWith manager Matt Busby in May 1958GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendCharlton is tackled by Tommy Banks during the 1958 FA Cup final, which Bolton won 2-0 GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendWith brother Jack at an England training session at Stamford Bridge, in April 1965GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendCharlton (right) got his FA Cup winner’s medal when Leicester City were beaten 3-1 at Wembley in 1963 PABobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendEnjoying a lap of honour as world champions in July 1966 GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendWith George Best and Tony Dunne as United play Chelsea in August 1971 GettyBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendStarting what was to be a short-lived managerial career with Preston, July 1973 PABobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendCollecting his CBE at Buckingham Palace in 1974, with his wife Norma and daughters Suzanne and Andrea APBobby Charlton: England World Cup winner and Manchester United legendThroughout a glorious career, Charlton remained modest, dignified and wholesome, a perennial winner mercifully untainted by scandal or dishonestyPA✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today promo
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