Roy Skillen

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Joined March 11th 2008

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Mistaken Identity

October 5th 2010 09:55
Everyone remembers the 1986 World Cup quarter final between Argentina and England for just two things: Maradona’s cheating hand of God, and his wonder goal just five minutes later. But the game also saw the emergence of a superb English talent that very nearly changed the course of football history on that sunny day in Mexico. If it hadn’t been for a loud mouthed commentator by the name of Barry Davies, we would probably be calling John Barnes ‘Sir’ and bowing down at the feet of his bronze statue sat outside Wembley stadium

It was late in the second half and England was chasing the game. Maradona had been simply magnificent all day, conducting his team like an orchestra from the middle of the field and giving the England players a pure football lesson. They needed something special to get back into the game, something that the Argentineans wouldn’t be expecting. England boss, Bobby Robson, decided that now was the right time to unleash John Barnes. Up until then Barnes had been nothing but a bit part player for England. Despite his scintillating performances at club level for Watford where he showed devastating pace, skill and crossing ability he was finding it difficult to dislodge the more senior players of the England side. But the time for John Barnes had come as Robson brought him on in place of Trevor Steven in the 74th minute. His impact on the game was immediate as the Argentinean defenders struggled to contain his runs down the left. In the 80th minute his persistence paid off. Barnes shifted the ball on to his left boot and whipped in an early cross that seemed to catch everyone by surprise. Well, everyone except the competition’s top goal scorer, Gary Lineker, who met and (delete this) nodded the ball into the net from close range. England was not only back in it, they were in control and just a few minutes later the Lineker-Barnes combination was again in full effect. Again, it was Barnes that picked out the England striker with a superb cross. It looked certain that Lineker would equalize. So certain in fact that commentator, Barry Davies, screamed “GOAL” before the ball had even reached Lineker’s head, putting poor Gary off the job at hand and his header hit the post. To this day I feel that the man who once famously but very stupidly said, “If that had gone in, it would have been a goal,” jinxed us out of one of the most amazing comebacks in World Cup history. But despite the stupidity of Mr. Davies a new England star had been born, and the whole world would now know the name, John Barnes.

While the rest of the world, and indeed England, may have only just caught on and realized how good Barnsey really was, within football circles his skills were no secret. Three years earlier, at just 20 years of age, John Barnes broke into the Watford first team and formed a devastating strike partnership with Luther Blissett. With Barnes’s pace and vision alongside the hustle and bustle style of Blissett, Watford went on to finish 2nd in the old English first division behind Liverpool, which is still their highest ever league finish. The performances of the front two were starting to attract some interest from abroad, with Italian giants AC Milan leading the way. After a few scouting missions to Vicarage Road, the Milan board decided that the abilities of John Barnes would be better suited to Serie A, and went about putting together a deal to sign the youngster. But one day, in the summer of 1983, it was Luther Blissett who found himself in the black and red striped shirt of Milan, playing in front of thousands of passionate Italians at the famous San Siro stadium, after an amazing 1 million GBP move. The move seemed to shock everyone in football, even the Watford faithful who saw it as a bitter sweet move. On one hand they were losing a hero, on the other, someone was stupid enough to pay 1 million for Blissett.

After five goals in 30 appearances Blissett’s time in Italy can hardly be seen as successful, and after just one year away he was sold back to Watford for 550,000 GBP, which is just over half of what the Italians had paid for him in the first place. So you have to wonder, what caused the turn around? What was it that saw Blissett playing in Italy instead of the younger, more exciting, prospect of John Barnes?

The very politically incorrect version of events goes something like this. After hearing reports coming out of England that Watford had an exciting prospect, AC Milan sent scouts over to see what all the fuss was about. The scout returned to Milan with glowing reports and at the end of the 1982 – 83 season, a representative was sent over to England with very simple but pretty vague instructions that he must “sign the black guy that plays upfront for Watford.” When the representative arrived at Vicarage Road he found that he was spoiled for choice as there were in fact two black guys playing for Watford. But rather than contacting his bosses back in Milan the representative either decided to use his own initiative, or he took the advice of Graeme Souness, and went about signing Watford’s top goal scorer, Luther Blissett.

No one from Milan has ever admitted to the blunder. In fact, the general perspective in Italy is that they were after a big, bumbling striker to lead the line.

“Even the most ignorant and provincial person could see that Blissett and Barnes looked absolutely nothing alike. Second, the fact is that at that time Milan were looking for an out-and-out goal scorer and Barnes just wasn’t that type of player,” said well known journalist Gabriele Marcotti talking about the incident during an interview with Britain’s Guardian newspaper in 2005.

And if you take into account his hat-trick for England against Luxembourg in only his second appearance, his golden boot award at the end of the 1982 - 83 season, (Yes, believe it or not Luther Blissett was awarded the European golden boot award for scoring more league goals than any other player in Europe, with 27,) and seven preseason goals for new club AC Milan, you can see how the Italians could have been duped by a man who was just going through something of a purple patch.

But whether they wanted to sign Blissett or not, his purple patch came to an abrupt end and the Rossenari were left with egg on their faces. Luther Missit, as he was becoming affectionately known, failed to score in his next 12 international outings and even saw a penalty kick bounce back off row Z in the San Siro. His signing even saw the downfall of Milan’s former owner who eventually went bankrupt and was forced to go into hiding. But Milan fans now look back on the Luther Blissett era with fond, comic nostalgia, the same way Liverpool fans might see Istvan Kozma, Spurs fans Ramon Vega, Evertonian Billy Kenny, and Gooner’s fans Gus Ceasar. Well done, Luther.

What if?

John Barnes completed his 1 million GBP move from Watford to AC Milan on 24th July 1983. His move came as a bit of a surprise to many in the football world, but not to Barnes’s former manager who said this about losing the emerging talent, “John, without doubt, has the potential to be the best player in the world.”

Barnes made his full Milan debut after a string of positive reserve team games against Juventus and became an instant hit with the fans at the San Siro. With his relaxed style of play, quick feet, great vision and flair, he reminded his adoring Italian fans more of a Brazilian than the boring English players they had seen in Serie A before. In just his second season at the club he was awarded the Serie A Player of The Year award and was hailed as “Il nuovo Pele” or “The New Pele” by the Italian press. But despite his phenomenal form for Milan, England boss, Bobby Robson, seemed reluctant to give him a real opportunity at international level.

In the summer of 1986 Barnes was named in the England squad to travel to Mexico for the upcoming World Cup, but was once again left on the bench for the opening game. England cruised through to the Quarter finals stage, but pressure from the English tabloids was building on Robson to include Barnes in the team to add some pace and skill out wide. On 22nd June he finally crumbled, and John Barnes was named in the starting line up to face Argentina.

The first half of this mammoth quarter final clash was tight and finished 0-0 with both teams looking tense. Barnes looked good out wide for England and Maradona was beginning to produce his best form for Argentina in the middle of the park, but it wasn’t until early in the second half that the breakthrough came. Maradona had chased a long hopeful ball in behind the English defence. He jumped to challenge goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The ball seemed to evade them both and trickled into the back of the net. Shilton was livid, complaining that Maradona had handled the ball. But his argument fell on deaf ears and the goal stood.

From the kick off, Barnes picked up the ball and ran hard at the Argentina defence. He skinned Jose Cuciuffo on the edge of the box and drilled a low shot past Nery Pumpido in the Argentine goal for the equalizer. The goal is one of the greatest in the history of English football and caused a piece commentary that would be quoted for years to come by fans all around the world from commentator Barry Davies:

“RUN AT HIM. BLOODY RUN AT HIM BARNSEY. YEEEEEEAAAHHHHHHH HE DID IT. THE BASTARD DID IT. I TOLD YOU ROBBO, I TOLD YOU TO PLAY HIM. YOU CAN STICK YOUR MARADONA UP YOUR ARSE BECAUSE THAT IS QUITE SIMPLY THE GREATEST GOAL YOU WILL EVER SEE.”

From here, England were always on top. Barnes had the measure of man marker Jose Brown and later on he turned the tired Argentine defender inside out, creating two late goals for England striker, Gary Lineker, to seal a 3-1 victory. The performance put Barnes on the top of world football, but it was his two goals in the final against Germany that clinched England their second World Cup win and saw the man cement his place as one of the legends of the game.

So popular was he in his home country that when the new Wembley stadium was built in 2006 a bronze statue was erected outside to match the one already at Milan’s San Siro stadium in honour of the great man.

Find out what would have to the careers of Ronaldinho if his proposed loan move to St Mirren had gone ahead. And whether Maradona would have still gone on to conquer the world if Sheffield Utd had stumped up the cash to sign him as a 17 year old in the new footy book WHAT IF?








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Short Story Competition

September 21st 2010 10:06
Short story competitions are a great way for writers to get their names known with in the writing world. No matter how small the competition it is always great to have a win under your belt and it usually comes with the added bonus of publication.

The only problem with many of these competitions is that they now carry a hefty entry fee, which is why I set up the R M Skillen short story competition. There is no doubt that this comp run by me (a little known author) will not exactly get you world wide recognition but for just a $2 entry fee you have the opportunity to win $50, publication on my web site and a free entry in to the Global Short Story Comp which carries a little more weight around the world. And like I said a win is a win.

Go to www.rmskillen.com for more details. And search my name through the web if you are worried about my credentials.
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Best Soccer Book Ever

September 9th 2010 10:02
WHAT IF?


The soccer world is constantly full of transfer rumors. What if? Takes a look at some of the world's greatest ever soccer players and how different their careers could have been if some of these transfers had been pulled off. Would Maradona have become the player he had if Sheffield Utd had signed him as a 17 year old. Would Ronaldinho have survived his time on loan at St Mirren? How successful would Arsenal have been with both Lionel Messi and Ronaldo in the ranks? The book covers successes, injuries and skinny dipping in Manchester's River Irwell. An informative and entertaining read.








The resultant half time argument sent the players out on to the field more than a few mixed messages and they were eventually over run losing the game 4-1. As the team entered the dressing room after the game Alex Ferguson kicked a boot that was lying on the floor towards George Graham. The boot hit him flush on the nose breaking it in two places. Graham understandably flew in to a fit of rage and wrestled his boss to the ground smashing his head on the floor. With both men bleeding on the ground the fight began to turn a little nasty. With neither man gaining the upper hand Graham rammed his thumb in to Ferguson’s eye. Ferguson’s response was to grab Graham by the nuts and squeeze as hard as he could. Graham’s girly scream was heard by the press who were now trying to break down the door to see what was going on. The players tried their best to keep them out but it was no use and the press finally broke through. When they did they found Ferguson allegedly kicking Graham in the back before spitting on his head and saying “This is for talking me out of signing Bryan Robson you gutless prick”. The two were instantly sacked and fined 10,000 GBP each for bringing the game in to disrepute.
EXERPT FROM WHAT IF?


BUY IT NOW

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This is an excerpt from a book I am writing so please let me know what you think.

The name of Alex Ferguson is synonymous with just one club, Manchester Utd. Since he took over on the 6th of November 1986 Manchester Utd have become the dominant force in English football. They have won the English Premier League a staggering 11 times and the European Champions League twice with Alex Ferguson becoming known by many as the greatest coach the world has ever seen. His ability to build sides with a mixture of experience and youth that play with attacking flair and imagination is definitely second to none. These were already evident in his first managerial position at lowly Scottish side East Sterlingshire when he was earning just 40 GBP per week. While there he became known as a strong disciplinarian, with former player Bobby McCulley describing him as a “terrifying bastard”. But it was his tactical knowledge that won over his players and at the age of 32 he was already on the verge of greatness. He only lasted at East Sterlingshire for one year before he was poached by St Mirren. Even though St Mirren were lower in the league they were seen as a bigger club and the decision to move was an easy one. In 1977 it appeared Ferguson had worked his magic as St Mirren won the second division title, but surprisingly just one year later Ferguson was sacked for the first and last time in his career. There are many different theories as to why St Mirren remain the only club to have wielded the axe to great one. But at the trial put forward by Ferguson for unfair dismissal he was described as “petty and immature” with “no managerial ability” by the St Mirren chairman Willie Todd. In 2008 Todd did an interview with The Guardian newspaper in which he said that Ferguson’s dismissal was down to a simple breach of contract. Apparently Ferguson had agreed to take over at Aberdeen without telling his current employers and was already trying to poach players and staff


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Owen Signs For Manchester Utd

July 7th 2009 00:58
Michael Owen has angered Liverpool fans by signing for arch rivals Manchester Utd. It was 13 years ago when Sir Alex Ferguson last tried to sign the England striker. On that occasion Owen was playing for Liverpool and laughed off the request saying that he would never pull on a red devils shirt. But in recent years Owen has slipped out of the England squad suffered a number of injuries and been relegated from the premier league with Newcastle Utd. There is no doubt that his about turn on a move to Utd comes from his desperation to be in the World Cup Squad next year, but it also come out of Ferguson's desperation to strengthena squad that is looking rather weak for next season.

No matter what the reason for his decision Liverpool fans will certaily give him some stick when the Devils come to Anfield.
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Another Murder

July 4th 2009 12:05
To follow my own dream when I murdered someone and was being chased by the police, my wife had one where I did the same thing.

While I by no means feel that this shows that I am all of a sudden going to go out and committ murder I do feel that the susequent chase by the police shows that I am running away from something big, something that maybe I need to turn and face up to. But what that is I amstill not sure.
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Double blow for Liverpool

June 26th 2009 10:05
This week could see Liverpool being dealt a massive double blow with Javier Mascherano set to join Barcelona and Xabi Alonso hoping for a move to Real Madrid. If the two players were to leave it would make a massive hole in Liverpools midfield and dent their championship aspirations. The two plaers have been the centre piece around which the team is slowly being created and replacing them will be difficult. A bid for Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas would make all Liverpool fans happy, but he has his heart set on a move back home to Spain.

WHO WILL WE GET TO FILL THE HOLE
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Fabregas Frustrated

June 25th 2009 10:03
The transfer market has gone pretty quite of late. That was until Arsenals Cesc Fabregas set off a transfer scramble by admitting he his frustrated by the lack of silver ware at the club.
"Cristiano [Ronaldo] said he's leaving Manchester United because he had nothing else to win. For me right now it is the exact opposite" he said

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Liverpool get new funds

June 21st 2009 12:36
The financial cloud that has been hanging over Liverpool football club has lifted somewhat after co owner George Gillet sold his stake in Ice Hockey team The Montreal Canadiens for a whopping $660 million. There had been reports that Liverpool may have to sell off some of their prized assets to cover mounting debts, but now it looks as though that will not happen and that Manager Rafael Benitez will have a healthy transfer kitty to build on their second place finish last season.

GO THE REDS
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Sleep Paralysis

June 21st 2009 12:21
If anyone has ever suffered from sleep paralysis it can be quite a scary experience. It occurs because the body becomes paralised during a certain stage of the sleep process. If you awak suddenly during this time your body will be un able to move but your mind is working clearly. Another scary part can be that dream residules will cross over and you may feel a presence in the room. It is this phenomenon that is thought to be behind the alien abduction stories.

This brings me to my own experience. I was dreaming of a police chase. I had murdered somone by chopping off their heads. The police chased me everywhere. It was an exciting and enthrawling dream until I awoke and found I couldn't move and to make it worse the head of the person I had murdered was next to me. I could sense it and hear it speaking to me. I tried to scream but nothing came out


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Recent Comments

Comment by Roy Skillen
on What if Alex Ferguson had managed Arsenal

August 10th 2009 10:03
Hey there click HERE to here to read What if Ronaldinho had signed for St Mirren

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Comment by Roy Skillen
on Drug Rehab

June 24th 2008 12:19
Its very hard to say but she isn't helping by keeping him around, he is comfortable he knows he wont lose her no matter what, he doesn't feel like what he is doing is that bad because if it was she would leave. all you can do is keep being a friend because she will need you if he carries on, it will all blow up in his face one day i hope it just isn't to bad.

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