The manager walked into the press conference dressed in the most outlandish looking shiny nylon red jacket. Carrying of all things a squash racket. "He seemed more anxious to talk about squash than his record deal," was how the BBC described the moment. Not bothering to sit down, perhaps he was already late for the squash court, the man dubbed as the greatest manager England never had addressed his audience. An immediate hush descended over the room. "He has all the equipment needed to be a highly successful player thats why we have invested £1,000,000 of Nottingham Forests money." The historic seven-figure transfer fee had been breached. February 9th, 1979 was the day English football welcomed its very first £1 million player, when Trevor Francis moved the short distance from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest. Deal brokered by Brian Clough esquire. No hair dryer required. The mavericks maverick. "Is there any formula you want him to fit into?" a member of the media brassily inquired. "No, no, no. We have no formula here apart from success." Clough immediately retorted. He wasnt kidding. Id like to see José Mourinho take over a team languishing in mid-table mediocrity in the Championship, guide them to the pinnacle of English football and win the BPL at the very first time of asking. As an encore? Win the European Cup the following season, knocking the holders out in the first round. The first question asked of Trevor Francis at his unveiling was if he felt any burden by becoming that million pound man. Clough had taken care of that by always claiming the fee was only £999,999. The actual total figure with taxes and fees worked out at £1,180,000. This though was no shirt wearing, badge kissing moment. Photo ops didnt fit with the times. In any case Nottingham Forest didnt sign a shirt sponsor until 2 years later. Francis though did arrive to the lunch time announcement with his fur coat wearing WAG. That was about as Hollywood as the occasion got. Contrast this to where we are today as the €100m Gareth Bale to Real Madrid cliff hanger looks set to go down to the deadline day wire. Fully aware in this social media driven era football now resides in which confidentiality is the opportunity cost - Madrid brazenly erected a stage inside their stadium in which it is expected Bale will be unveiled from. Jutting out from the sacred directors box of Estadio Bernabeu where the original Los Blancos legend Alfredo Di Stéfano anoints each new arrival, the stage that was put up shortly after Madrid opened up their campaign with the 2-1 victory August 18th against Betis, looks like it will have to be ripped down. No not because Bale isnt eventually going to get his shirt wearing, badge kissing moment. The little matter of a home La Liga date on Sunday is appearing rather ominously on Madrids immediate horizon. A mighty embarrassing moment for President Perez and all concerned at the home of world footballs biggest revenue generators. Perhaps Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy will oblige and pick up the demolition and reconstruction costs. Bale, who by all accounts yesterday afternoon was out shopping in one of Londons smarter looking shopping districts. Cristiano will be so proud of you Gareth, especially for that pink t-shirt and matching baseball cap get up that was flashed around Twitter. Now if you think Madrids courtship of Bale, the soon to be anointed GB11, seems to have gone on far longer than Tolstoys War and Peace then you better think again. Brian Cloughs assistant Peter Taylor revealed at Francis unveiling - which occurred around what could be best described as a mid-priced ranged coffee table - Nottingham Forest had initially reached out to Birmingham City a full eight years before finally landing their million pound man. Remind me again, how long before the transfer window closes. Please no extensions Mr. Platini, especially so for your old mate Arsene. The UEFA President himself was drawn into the sorry mess at yesterdays Champions League group stage draw. Where he rather prophetically stated, "Today a player is more a product than a footballer with a whole pile of people trying to get commissions. I think we and FIFA should think about that and find something more healthy." Whenever we finally get to eclipse that €100m moment the soft spoken Bale is sure to be asked if his slender frame feels the weight of such an obnoxious sum. Dont answer. What matters is what Bale does on the pitch and not necessarily on that world famous manicured one that adorns the Spanish capital. If Bale can achieve what Trevor Francis did within months of signing for Forest then all will be forgotten. Even Cristiano will forgive you for eclipsing his £80m word record sum. Thats presuming hes not back home to Old Trafford Tuesday morning for €100m and €1. It was May 30th, 1979 the occasion the European Cup Final. Not even four months after signing for Forest who should pop up at the far post in first half added time with the diving header? You guessed it, Trevor Francis. The lone goal of the game, and with it Forest crowned European Champions. No badge kissing. Just a 25-year old footballer doing what he loved doing best - scoring goals, not gals. Over to you Gareth, No pressure then mate. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. [url=http://www.adisuperstar.it/adidas-superstar-saldi-outlet.html]Adidas Superstar Prezzo Basso . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Adidas Lite Racer Neo Uomo . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. BARCELONA, Spain -- Neymar scored twice to help Barcelona beat Villarreal 2-1 and take advantage of Real Madrids slip as it opened up a five-point lead over its fierce rival at the top of the Spanish league on Saturday. Third-place Madrid fell behind and settled for a 2-2 draw earlier at Osasuna in a match both sides finished with 10 men, and Barcelona didnt let the chance escape. Barcelona, still without the injured Lionel Messi, again turned to Neymar after his hat trick against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday to convert a penalty on the half-hour mark and restore the lead in the 68th after Villarreal levelled. Barcelonas eighth win in as many league games at Camp Nou this season provisionally lifted it three points clear of Atletico Madrid before it hosts Valencia on Sunday. "We played well and knew how to pull out of the game," Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said. Other than Alex Songs shot off the upright from a corner kick six minutes in, the first half was a rather monotonous display of "tiki-taka" passing by Barcelona. But all of Villarreals discipline in defence was undone when right back Mario Perez used his arm to block Jordi Albas pass, letting Neymar step up and stroke in the spot kick. Villarreal didnt muster a shot on goal until defender Mateo Musacchio outmanoeuvred Marc Bartra to thump in a corner kick three minutes after halftime to unexpectedly even the score. The pace picked up with Giovani Dos Santos going close for the visitors before Neymar put Barcelona back in charge when he tapped in Alexis Sanchezs short pass following his control of Cesc Fabregas lobbed throughball. Besides missing Messi as his hamstring heals, Barcelona will be without Neymar for next Sundays game at Getafe after he received his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he must serve a one-game suspension. Osasunas Oriol Riera headed in goals in the 16th and 39th before Madrids woes deepened when Sergio Ramos received his second yellow card in the 44th. With Cristiano Ronaldo unable to extend his eight-game scoring run for club and country, midfielder Isco Alarcon pulled one back before halftime and passed for Pepe to head home the 80th-minute equalizer seconds after Osasunas Francisco Silva also earned his second boooking.dddddddddddd. "The team demonstrated it has a good attitude, but a draw is like a loss for us," Madrid defender Marcelo said. "We knew that the result wasnt good enough but we reacted too late." Madrids five-game winning run in the league ended at Reyno de Navarra Stadium, where it has only one victory in its last six visits. Osasuna, which sits just two points above the relegation zone, has held both Barcelona and Madrid to draws there this season. After Ronaldo missed two chances, Osasuna struck first when right back Marc Bertran dribbled by his marker and swung a cross to the far post where Riera was left unmarked to redirect the ball into the net. Madrid momentarily lost both its verve in attack and composure in defence, and both centre backs Pepe and Sergio Ramos got yellow cards. Riera was left free to finish off the rebound of Damia Abellas header from a corner kick that goalkeeper Diego Lopez sprung to palm off his line. And Ramos soon saw his second yellow card on a questionable decision when Osasunas Roberto Torres fell after colliding with his arm. "Our first 20 minutes were very good. Its unbelievable that we were then down 0-2 and playing with 10 men," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "Its difficult to explain." Just when Madrid was at its lowest, Ronaldo dribbled into the Osasuna defence and laid off for Isco to place a right-footed strike just inside the upright and pull one back before the break. Osasuna still appeared set for victory after a placid second half until Silva earned himself two yellow cards in a four-minute span. Isco found the hole left in the defence which Pepe exploited to score Madrids second and salvage a point. Elsewhere, Granada moved into the upper half of the standings by prevailing 2-0 at 10-man Rayo Vallecano in an error-plagued match, which included Granadas Youssef El Arabi wasting a golden chance, Rayo letting Fran Ricos harmless cross bounce into its net, and Rayo defender Ignacio Martinez drawing a second yellow for diving in the box. Malaga edged Getafe 1-0 at home to get a much-needed win and take some pressure off first-year coach Bernd Schuster. Striker Roque Santa Cruz went on in the 74th and a minute later headed in the winner. [url=http://www.cheapjerseyswholesale.top/]Cheap China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China China NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '