Now, these things come in threes. And with a near-miss on the tarmac, and now a natural disaster hitting the plane, the odds on something else happening must be pretty high.
And, being in Japan, there's only one thing it could be...:
The man the football world seemingly loves to hate recently tried his hand at being a pop star.
The Portuguese midfielder was filmed during a vocal recording for an advert for Portuguese bank Banco Espírito Santo.
But the advice from his fellow sporting professionals: "Don't give up your day job!".
Wearing a cashmere scarf around his neck and sporting retro headphones, Ronaldo clearly thinks he is just as good at belting out love songs as he is dazzling opposing players on the pitch.
What do you think of Ronaldo's "singing"?
]]>Mickey, Ewan and Iain share their best and worst signings, the campaigns from hell - and reveal which of them has signed a real-life football managing relative to be their assistant in the game.
Listen to it on our player below, or you can download it from iTunes by clicking here.
And don't forget, you can download the FM2010 demo here until the end of October.
]]>Now, these things come in threes. And with a near-miss on the tarmac, and now a natural disaster hitting the plane, the odds on something else happening must be pretty high.
And, being in Japan, there's only one thing it could be...:
There's only one thing as impressive as the global reach of Manchester United and that's the extent of Sir Alex Ferguson's character.
]]> Jimmy Nicholl and I spent a couple of days at United at the tail end of last week after being invited into the directors' box at Old Trafford for the Champions League game against Wolfsburg by Sir Alex.They say a man is best judged by how he treats people who can do little for him. In that case, it's no wonder Sir Alex is adored around Old Trafford and at Carrington, the club's state-of-the-art training ground just outside Manchester.
Jimmy and I spent time there on Thursday and Friday in the great man's company and not only did it give an insight into the best manager in the business I don't think we've laughed so much in ages either.
The staff love him - from cleaner to kitman, office worker to each of United's eight groundsmen. He's on first name terms with them all.
They would do anything for him - and don't think he takes it for granted. Among other things he does for staff behind the scenes is to take them out for Christmas dinner every year, including partners. That's 120 people and 60 rooms at a top hotel, no mean gesture.
It's the little things that make a visit to Carrington a great pleasure. Despite the size of the club Sir Alex has fostered the feeling of a family, exemplified by the appearance every morning at this most private facility by three United fans.
The old men, all in their 70s, made a habit of wandering up to watch United every day at their old training ground, The Cliff, when entry was more easily accessible.
That's not the case at Carrington but Sir Alex made an exception for those three long-serving supporters when they moved to their new base and every morning they can be found chasing the rare stray balls kicked past the post by Wayne Rooney and Co.
Sir Alex was approached not so long ago by an old dear, the wife of one of these senior ball boys, and she was full of apologies that he wouldn't be around that morning.
She explained he wasn't well but he was doing all he could to be back again the following day.
Sir Alex asked: "What's up with him?"She replied: "Pneumonia."
Dead pan, he said: "Tell him that's the most feeble excuse I've heard for missing training!" The three old lads remembered Jimmy well from his time at United and Sir Alex even dragged him into the boot room at Old Trafford where a picture still hangs of a young Nicholl aged 16.
My relationship with Sir Alex stretches back several decades as he played for the same youth club in Govan, Harmony Row, as my uncle Angus.
Whisper it but I can remember going to watch him play on the old 50 pitches site at Cardonald when he was just a teenager.
And, yes, players from his team are still invited to Old Trafford twice a season to take in a match.
Govan still remains close to his heart and I loved the tale from a few years ago when he came up to Glasgow with United's superstars for a friendly match and decided to take them on a tour of the shipyards where he once worked.
Imagine the scene as a team bus with more than £100million worth of talent pulled up at the gates and out jumped Sir Alex to ask for an impromptu look around. Panic ensued and as health and safety concerns were addressed by the yard management the players were starting to get restless, still on the bus outside.
Sir Alex was in the street when a tenement window was thrown open and an old wifie shouted out for him to come up for a cup of tea while he was waiting.
He yelled back he couldn't because he had to look after the team. So she said:"Och, bring them up as well, son."
During our visit we bumped into United ambassador Bryan Robson, soon to be boss of Thailand, and he confirmed Sir Alex is a wee bit milder with his senior players these days, although the young ones can still feel that steely glare.
When you have exceptional older pros such as Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes leading the dressing room it's not a bad idea to delegate and allow them to lay down the rules and expectations.
This was the most relaxed I've seen Sir Alex and it's clear from his body language on the training ground that he's as close to his players as ever before. Sir Alex is still excited by football, his appetite for the game remains as ferocious as ever and he retains a hunger to be the best that has burnedinside him since his days as an apprentice on the Clyde.
He loves the crack of the game, the banter, but I never heard him as excited as when he was talking about a one-touch training match he organised on half a pitch a couple of weeks ago.
He raved about the quality of passing and movement of players and his only disappointment in the end was he had to call a halt to it because it was a Friday and he couldn't risk too high a tempo for too long with a match looming.
Sir Alex is the greatest manager in the history of the British game. He won his first European trophy in 1983 and his most recent in 2008.
He has evolved with football over four decades and his attention to detail is phenomenal.Carrington will be re-modelled shortly because Sir Alex visited Bayern Munich's facility and was impressed how their gym overlooks the training pitch so injured players can be inspired to return to what they do best.
The biggest problem United will face in future is who to bring in to replace Sir Alex.
As told to Gary Ralston
]]>Yes, the new Football Manager game's on it's way.
Now, it's safe to say we're pretty much all FM addicts here at DailyRecord.co.uk's digital desk.
And, as we're doing something very special with the game's launch this year, we want your campaign stories from seasons gone by.
]]> We've all had them. Memorable signings that came out of nowhere. Seasons where everything went right - or everything went catastrophically wrong. The nights where you thought 'Just one more game before I turn in', and before you know it it's 4.30am in the morning.And we want to hear your best - and worst - Football Manager moments. Your tips, tactics and player recommendations. Everything that makes the game mean something to you.
And just so you don't think we're stringing you a line here - from the four hardcore players on the digital desk, one admits to giving all his players a nickname - then deleting it once they leave his club.
Two others have signed relatives of theirs, who are in the Scottish game, for their FM clubs. I won't say who's who... just yet. But all will be revealed soon.
Obsessive? You better believe it.
So get your stories over to us - either via email at webeditor@dailyrecord.co.uk or in the comments box below., and we'll feature the best - and worst - of your FM moments on a forthcoming Football Podcast
]]>Harry Redknapp personified the class Spurs have always oozed both on and off the park when he threw open the doors to their Chigwell training base earlier this week.
I've only met Harry a few times at functions but you'd have thought I was his long lost brother when he welcomed me into the fold for a couple of days.
Our former Argentina midfielder at Birmingham, Alberto Tarantini, fancied himself as a hardman and went really over the top on Brian Greenhoff when we were beating Manchester United 5-1.
The tackle was out of order, it was the last minute of a game that had been well won and there was understandable outrage from United players.
As soon as the final whistle blew Tarantini sprinted for the tunnel, with big Joe in hot pursuit.
He literally kicked the hinges off the Birmingham dressing room door as he tried to get at Alberto and it honestly took five of us to hold him back.
Joe's relationship with foreign players is considerably warmer these days.
Spurs Lodge in Chigwell was one of the first purpose-built training facilities in English football and it still boasts a set-up that would be the envy of almost any club in Scotland including half a dozen world-class pitches.
Spurs are actually in the process of moving to a new training base that will incorporate bigger restaurants and fitness rooms, rehab facilities and a swimming pool. But the greatest asset is the enthusiasm of Harry and his coaching staff.
He has a wonderful knack of buying very good players and making them even better.
That's not just a result of his coaching skills and commitment to an exciting, attacking brand of football but his man-management abilities too.
The camaraderie is there for all to see and feel. Foreign players can often pose managers difficult challenges but the likes of Luka Modric and Niko Kranjcar are wonderful pros and can speak excellent English.
The players loved their training, almost all of which was done with the ball, and I also admired Harry for his trust in his backroom team of Joe, Clive Allen and Kevin Bond.
He clearly gives them freedom to do what they do best.
Harry took a step back on Monday and delegated quite a hard physical session. He came more to the fore on Tuesday when the tactical work began for tomorrow's visit to Bolton.
I may have been an outsider looking in but the guys came over and explained everything.
Harry and his team have turned things round these last 12 months to the point where I can see them making a genuine attempt, along with Manchester City, at breaking the stranglehold of the top four in the Premiership. Certainly, they won't be found wanting with their manager whom I rate alongside Roy Hodgson at Fulham as the best English boss of his generation.
We're guilty at times in Britain of rating foreign bosses ahead of our own when we should pay more heed to the prophets in our own land.
Harry comes from the heart. He's a players' manager and discipline is strong. The message is clear - don't mess me about and I'll look after you.
The most surprising thing of all in the two days I spent at Spurs was the number of first-team players Harry chooses to work with, only 18.
Spurs have stepped out of the reserve league and sent 14 players on loan to clubs up and down the country, including Jamie O'Hara at Portsmouth.
Harry reckons they will benefit from the greater physical edge of competitive, first-team football - and who can blame him?
I've always found it difficult to judge London reserve football when looking for players who can perform in Scotland because there's rarely a challenge made.
That's a bit of a hindrance when you're looking to bring them into an environment where second touches can often be a tackle.
Seriously, I've always found the north west of England a better barometer as managers such as Sir Alex Ferguson and Sam Allardyce still like their second strings to play with a bit of bite.
The SPL are looking to overhaul their own loans system and the sooner the better because we need greater flexibility to give players match practice beyond a bounce game.
The loan system can really work well for both parties and I recall the time Sir Alex was ready to send me a promising young full-back when I was boss at Dunfermline.
But just as the move was about to be formalised United suffered a couple of injuries and Fergie decided to hold the lad back. His name was John O'Shea. I wonder what happened to him?
As told to Gary Ralston
]]>How I would love to swap places with my former team-mate again in his position as head coach of Bayern Munich.
]]> I hadn't seen Louis for 10 years when I dropped in with Jimmy Nicholl last week as he prepared for Saturday night's game at Hamburg in the Bundesliga.Louis is a legend - a Champions League and UEFA Cup winner as coach at Ajax, he also has two UEFA Super Cups to his name, four Dutch titles and two Spanish championships and a Copa del Rey from his time at Barcelona.
Not a bad haul for a lad I first got to know almost 30 years ago when we teamed up as Sparta fought relegation from the top flight of Dutch football.
My love affair with the Dutch game began in March, 1980 when I fell out of favour with Jim Smith at Birmingham. A team-mate had lined up a three-month loan spell to Sparta but his father fell ill and he offered me the chance instead.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained - and it would be a move that would change the course of my professional life.
I only have two claims that can still put Louis' gas at a peep. I once strongly recommended one of my young defenders to him when he was at Ajax but he called back to say his scouts didn't fancy him. Jaap Stam moved to PSV Eindhoven shortly afterwards and the rest is history.
I also took Louis' place in the middle of the Sparta midfield when I arrived, forcing him back to the centre of defence as we went on a 10-game unbeaten run and kept our place in the Eredivisie.
Respect was born there as team-mates although I still tease him about losing his place to me. Away from football Louis was great fun and enjoyed a glass of wine but nothing, absolutely nothing, got in the way of the game.
He was 29 then and still a player but he ran the club and everyone looked up to him. Louis is a very clever guy, a schoolteacher, and shared that wonderful Dutch trait of questioning almost everything. Barely a day would go by when he didn't ask the coach why he was doing this and not that. Most of the time Louis was right.
His attention to detail marked him out then as it does now. I was still a member of the Dutch managers' and coaches' union when I was at Dunfermline and Louis was in charge of our 350 members.
Occasionally I would pop back to Holland for meetings and Louis would approach for a blether -andhealwaysknewhowweweregetting on at East End Park, our results and recent form.
He has always been an attack-minded coach and I'd like to think he also respected the way I approached games against Ajax when I was in charge ofWillem II and NEC Nijmegen.
Up against Marco van Basten and Co there were times you had to sit in and defend for dear life in Amsterdam but we were never afraid to have a go where possible, especially at home.
No one suffers fools any less gladly than Louis, so it was a thrill to be ushered in by his smiling face to Bayern's fantastic training facility lastWednesday.
Really, of all the set-ups we've visited so far this was by far the most impressive - from the 10 training pitches that would rival Wembley for their quality to the cinema, auditorium and state-of-the-art fitness facilities.
Jimmy and I took in some training then joined Louis in his office where he spent most of the session because his intensity is such the players need a break from him one day a week. Seriously, that's true, although it wouldn't surprise me to hear he has fitted his office with CCTV so he can still keep an eye on what's happening outside.
Louis has a massive job - imagine the demands when you are answerable to Karl Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Hoeness and Franz Beckenbauer. However, he won't be found wanting.
Louis sees everything and there's no hiding place. Each player is fitted with a heart monitor for every training session so he knows exactly how hard they are working and how far they have run.
He employs his own video analyst who films and collates information from every session and match played and the first-team squad make their way to the cinema every day where Louis points out areas in which they have done well or how they can perform better.
It's the wee things that count. Jurgen Klinsmann employed four interpreters last season to help his foreign players. They were shown the door when Louis arrived in the summer. Now all non-German speakers have lessons three times a week and it's the only language spoken on the training ground.
Louis even chats with countrymen Mark van Bomel and Arjen Robben in German.
It's about respect. The players all eat together at the same time, for example. They might get away with talking on their mobile phone in the dressing room or walking around in bare feet once, twice at a push. Three times and their bad attitude is confirmed. The exit door beckons.
Louis is a master of science and psychology. He approached the University of Amsterdam and they conducted a study that concluded, with evidence, players are best suited to being worked when they're tired. So Louis bucks the trend of Wednesdays and Thursdays off for his players and gives them a Tuesday instead.
If they play Saturday they have a session on a Sunday, a double on a Monday then a day off Tuesday. They works single sessions Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with an occasional double thrown in, to build them up again for the weekend.
He leaves no stone unturned. He trains his team hard for a six-week cycle then cuts it back for a fortnight then starts on another six-week cycle.
Louis,like Sir Alex Ferguson,is a phenomenon.It does not matter what they have achieved in the past they retain a hunger to learn still further and improve on all they have achieved.
The desire to win remains as strong now as it was when they first pulled on their boots.
Unfortunately, Bayern lost 1-0 to Hamburg on Saturday night but I would not bet against Louis leading them to the Bundesliga title in the coming months. He's getting his message across, just as he did all those years ago at Sparta.
As told to Gary Ralston
Next week: George Burley announces he's appointed Hercules to replace Steven Pressley in his backroom staff
]]>
Using your skill and judgement, place a cross on the picture where you think Jimmy Calderwood's face may actually be.
And for added giggles - the pub he seems to be in is the Bronze Bar. Bronze? More like mahogany...
]]>Now, we here at Row Z remember big John as being a bit volatile during his spell at Firhill, but the ban - which takes him up to June 2013 and covers all football - is shocking.
McVeigh's catalogue of offenses included hitting the referee with his own notebook - which not only ranks as a terrible thing to do, but also a very silly one.
So, in tribute to Mr McVeigh, here's six other moments when the referees found themselves on the wrong end of the action.
]]> 1: Player overreacts to a yellow card.
2: Paolo Di Canio shove. Yes, that one.
3: Even linesmen are in the firing line
5: Don't mess with Chinese players
4: Run Forest! Run!
6: Sometimes they fight back
Dave Narey (v Brasil 1982)
Toepoke my backside, Hill...
James McFadden (v France 2007)
The Archie Gemmill moment of the 21st century. Never get tired of watching this...
Joe Jordan (v Czechoslovakia, 1973)
The goal that sent us to a World Cup for the first time in 16 years.
Kenny Dalglish (v England 1977)
Kenny scored 30 goals for Scotland. Many better. Some worse. But none funnier...
Denis Law (v England 1967)
Like we need an excuse to wheel this out again...
What have we missed? Have your say below and tell us your favourite Scotland goal.
It's a wince-inducing question at the best of times. What's the worst tackle you've ever seen?
]]> But the answer may have come at the weekend, after Standerd Liege's Axel Witsel's horrific challenge on Anderlecht defender Marcin Wasilewski left the Pole suffering a double fracture of his right leg.Witsel, Belgium's player of the year last year, was hit with an eleven match ban and 2500EU fine for the tackle, and has received death threats. He could yet also miss four of Standard's Champions League matches if UEFA extend the ban.
Perhaps the most bizarre challenge we've ever seen though, is this one:
Which is part tackle, part Rey Misterio style headscissors.
Perhaps the most audacious, and certainly the most cynical tackle ever committed came during the 1982 World Cup semi-final, when Harald Schumacher came flying - literally - out of his goal to poleaxe French star Patrick Battiston. Schumacher avoided a booking while Battiston was stretchered off with a damaged spine and missing teeth.
Germany went on to win the match on penalties.
Dutch derby matches are always a bit tasty, but this one had a bit of extra spice thanks to a truly shocking high boot:
while Stephen Hunt was lucky he only got a yellow card for this shocker on Gelson Fernandes
Roy Keane's challenge on Alfe Haaland wasn't perhaps as brutal as some of the others on this list, but the effects of it would be far more significant, effectivley ending Haaland's professional career and ramping up tensions between Keane and the City support for years to come.
But for my money, the most sickening and disgraceful challenge - but also perhaps the funniest - came from young Vincent Peter Jones in 1989...
There's a few we restrict access to for legal or sensitivity issues, but by and large we welcome our users debating and discussing the stories among themselves, each other and the wider readership.
Lately though, some of our commenters have turned what should be a fun, friendly forum for debate into a snarling pit of sectarianism. And it's not something we here at DailyRecord.co.uk want or will tolerate.
Which is why you'll note that from today our Rangers and Celtic stories have no comments on them. Plus, we will be banning any user accounts who are flagged up as using sectarian or offensive language. We banned a substantial number over the weekend, and we're happy to keep bringing out the ban hammer until this stops.
We're saddened that we have to take this step, because we enjoy reading the debate on our stories, and seeing the comments you have. We used to take great pleasure here on the digital desk from the fact our users were lively and spirited, but knew when to draw the line.
But there's always a small, but determined, bunch of bams within both side's support who are determined to spoil it for everyone else. They know who they are. You know who they are. And they're the reason we're taking this action.
We've warned people before, we've suspended people - but it hasn't made a difference among the die-hard bampot sections of the support who think all that matters is baiting the other side in the most shameful way possible.
So to those of you who DO post on the comments board properly, we can only apologise for the inconvenience to you. Hopefully, once enough of the idiots determined to spoil it for you have lost interest, we'll happily restore the comments back to their original state.
]]>He could well be the new Pat Nevin. Let's give him a bunch of CDs and get him writing for the NME.
Anyway, it seems young Andrey's quite the character. Not only is one of his books the intriguingly named 555 Questions and Answers on Women, Money, Politics and Football (it probably loses something in the translation), he's also a bit of a Football Manager buff, admitting a preference for taking lowly English league sides to Premiership glory.
He was also once run over by a car. Presumably driven by a women, given his interesting views on letting the fairer sex behind the wheel:
"If I had it in my power to introduce a ban on women driving cars and to withdraw all their licences, I would do it without thinking twice," he said in his book.
"In my opinion a woman and a man are two absolutely different creatures."
And, just to add to his quirky image, here's young Andrey on a Russian TV show singing the theme tune to beloved 1960s cartoon Cheburashka.
Next week: Aiden McGeady discusses gender politics and sings the theme tune from Thundercats...
]]>But more than that, it gives us a chance to dig out this great old picture
Which when I see it, I can't help but think of...:
