All posts by h79snht.top

We have all sat back in shock as rioting and general anarchy continues to sweep across the country’s major cities. It makes you wonder when it is all going to end and how the Government is going to act to bring this nation back in order.

I remember being alerted late on Saturday that Tottenham was apparently ablaze as the first of these riots kicked-off. At the time I hadn’t seen any of the damage or the full extent of the troubles, but my initial thoughts was that Dan Levy and the football club have suddenly found the perfect bargaining tool to get the borough of Haringey and the likes of Boris Johnson to sanction some funds towards the NDP project. If anything the riots merely underlined why the football club have been so keen to not only build a stadium but regenerate what is arguably one, if not the poorest community and area of London.

When the club looked to move to Stratford and take up residence of the new Olympic Stadium it was widely condemned by Haringey council and MP David Lammy in particular. They felt the club were committing some sort of treacherous act, without realising that the likes of Levy had very little option given the finances that were involved in making the NDP project happen. There are only so many times that you can bang your head against a brick wall (and Spurs did a lot of banging trying to get just their plans approved, let alone attempting to get help funding it) therefore without the backing the club rightly looked to cheaper alternatives – you see building a stadium it is the easy part, the real cost lay in the club’s desire to take on the responsibility of the council and regenerate an area in desperate need of investment.

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It is all rather ironic that those who look to defend the actions of the rioters in Tottenham have cited a lack of work and facilities as a potential cause – everything the NDP project would actually provide to the community if it could be funded. Maybe the events in N17 will finally hit home with the powers that be that they can no longer penny pinch around an area of London that needs investment and signs of prosperity the most. The NDP will provide this, so let’s hope the club and the council can now find a financial solution so they can build this better future for the people of Tottenham.

It’s very rare indeed to see a defender playing football with a smile on his face. As a breed, the boys in the back four are a miserable bunch of scowling b*****s. They were brought up to stop others playing and prevent crowds from being entertained. Their mission is to wreck and to ruin – and they take their responsibilities seriously. Defenders are, generally speaking, thoroughly resentful of strikers, referring to us as ”glory hunters”. Which is why Chelsea’s David Luiz is such an eye-catching footballer.

You can tell from his crazy curly hairdo that this is no normal muck-and-nettles defender. I’ve rarely seen a centre-half so keen to surge forward and score goals – or so slapdash at the back. You have to wonder whether Luiz will end up playing in midfield because his instincts always seem to be attacking. On his first appearance of the season, against Bayer Leverkusen the other night, Luiz broke the deadlock by scoring a beauty. And last week’s opponents Manchester United will certainly remember a lot about him from their two Premier League meetings towards the end of last season.

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At Stamford Bridge in March, Luiz netted a wonderful goal but also enraged Sir Alex Ferguson with a challenge on Wayne Rooney which should have earned him a red card. Then, when United virtually secured the title by beating Chelsea at Old Trafford in May, Luiz was guilty of a shocking blunder to gift the opening goal and was substituted at half time. Andre Villas-Boas faces a real dilemma over where Luiz should play.

Luiz has scored three times in just 12 games – a far better return than Fernando Torres, who signed the very same day. At this rate he’ll soon catch Chelsea legend Ron Harris, who scored 13 times in 795 games… but knew a bit more about the black arts.

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The upbringing of a defender from the Copacabana is, of course, very different to our own. While the Brazilians have had their fair share of proper hard cases, their defenders are usually excellent on the ball. Luiz will have grown up watching videos of one of the greatest goals of all time – Brazil’s fourth in the 1970 World Cup final, which was brilliantly executed by full-back Carlos Alberto. Still, I fancy we’ll see Luiz playing in a more advanced role in time.

And don’t forget that Geoff Hurst and Denis Law both began their careers as defensive-minded half-backs, so players can always evolve. I’ll never forget Spurs signing dear old Lawrie Brown from Arsenal in 1964, a surprising transfer which left us wondering whether our manager Bill Nicholson had foregone his life-long abstinence from alcohol. Lawrie, certainly not a man who lacked confidence, told us all: “I can play centre-half or centre-forward, equally well.” And it didn’t take long for the rest of us to find out that he couldn’t play in either role.

The League Managers Association are just one of many disgruntled parties in the recent and ongoing debate about the nature of our transfer windows. The LMA have been lobbying UEFA for over two years now in the hope that they will extend the January transfer window. However UEFA argue that is an issue for FIFA and not themselves whilst there is opposition to the proposed reviews from organisations including the Premier League. LMA chief Richard Bevan told The Observer:

“Transfer windows for players do not work. Transfer windows were supposed to be reviewed by Platini in 2008 and, despite asking, we haven’t seen any review and probably it’s because the administrators around Europe don’t know how to improve what we already have. We are pushing UEFA to review. My point is: have you reviewed it? And what advice are you going to give to FIFA or to whoever it is you need to communicate?”

Platini said on the matter in 2008:

“We have to look at both the summer and winter transfer windows. The season starts in many countries in July or early in August, yet the transfer window does not close until the end of August. Then we have another window in the middle of the season.”

There are clearly issues with the current system that need to be addressed but whether the proposals on offer present the right solution is another matter. Bevan suggests that the transfer system should go back to being a ‘free-for-all’, however he does also admit that a debate is needed throughout football first. Clearly a free for all system would have its benefits: clubs would be able to address their problems as the season panned out, they could sell players if in financial trouble, and so on. However this is not the answer and there are a number of factors that need to be considered before any changes to the rules can be made.

Issues

Firstly: people like Bevan have been saying that we should go back to the way the system was before, before transfer windows. He and other supporters of this idea say that it will work because it has worked before; but football is not the same as it was before. The power of players has increased dramatically and rulings such as Bosman’s are demonstrative of the precarious position that the clubs are now in. The majority of clubs are finding it harder than ever to hold on to their players and if we were to combine the new EPPP with the idea that players could be bought and sold whenever then clubs who pride themselves on their academies are in particular trouble. Imagine Southampton producing another star of the future. Under the EPPP they would barely get any money from them and if we abolished or extended the transfer windows then said player would barely have played a few games before a larger club snapped him up.

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It wouldn’t just be the small clubs who were at risk either. It would be every club that wasn’t one of the biggest in the world. Would Arsenal have held on to Fabregas as long as they did if the transfer windows were longer than they were? Would Tottenham still have Modric? The answer to both questions is probably not; clubs like Man City and Barcelona would be able to bully clubs all year round in the pursuit of their players. Even if the clubs were able to hang on to their players the disruption it would cause to the team would be hugely detrimental. In essence even if the larger clubs did not want their rivals players they would be able to unsettle them. Sure this goes on at the moment but to nowhere near the same degree as it does during the windows. The players are too powerful and the clubs are too rich for us to abandon a system of transfer windows.

Alternatives

Some managers, such as Arsene Wenger, have suggested the abolition of the January transfer window altogether. It allows for the lesser clubs to create a sense of continuity that the January transfer window would otherwise disrupt. Would Gary Cahill’s form have subsided as much as it has if there were not possibility of him leaving in January? Doubtful. However you do have to consider that the advantage January gives clubs is that they have the option, like Bolton do with Cahill, of hanging on to him for another few months before selling them (if their contract has one year to run).

The other problem with abolishing the January transfer window is that different leagues around the world begin and end their season at different times. So for example if English teams could only buy in the summer then English clubs could never buy players from America unless the MLS clubs were willing to sell their players half way through their season.

No the answer does not lie in removing the possibility for transfers mid season. But something about January does need to be changed. Namely: a winter break. The January transfer window makes sense for those with a winter break. The most logical time for transfers would be during the summer before the season starts and mid way through the season during a break. If FIFA or UEFA changed the summer transfer window from the end of August to the end of July and the Premier League installed a season break in January then we could avoid the problems of teams having their players poached whilst the season is running but retain the ability for managers to address the problems of their teams during the season.

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Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay

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Former European footballer of the year Matthias Sammer believes Bayern Munich will return to the summit of German football this season.Sammer won virtually every honour in the domestic game as a player and later a manager, and is now the technical director of the German Football Association (DFB). He also helped Germany win the European Championships in 1996.

And he thinks that now the Bayern squad has been assembled they must be considered favourites for the title.

“Basically Bayern Munich is one of, if not the favourite for the title,” Sammer said.

“Especially because almost every player is able to take part in the preparation. The physical condition is basic for being strong throughout the season.”

“At the moment everything seems to be very positive. But never the less, the prize will only be handed over next year”

Part of that new squad is Jerome Boateng who ends an unhappy spell in the UK to return to Germany.

Boateng joined Manchester City from Hamburg in 2010 but after making just 16 appearances for City, he has returned to Germany to link up with Bayern.

Despite failing to impress at City, Sammer has faith in Boteng’s ability.

“He needs time after his knee injury, he needs to rebuild, even though he is fully fit again, you shouldn’t forget that he has missed a few games,” Sammer said.

“He is very good at passing the ball, he is fast and he is the type of player that sets himself up with high aims, and with all I’ve been reading about Munich, everything will match.”

“As soon as he gets adapted and integrated, he will be a very strong player for Munich.”

Bayern start their Bundesliga campaign at home against Borussia Moenchengladbach on August 7.

Whilst the Premier League gives up faith on the current crop of multi-million pound stars that are unable to find the back of the net, tie up a midfield that boasts international wingers and ball-hungry strikers or manage a team suitably financed by a Malaysian air tycoon: the fans are understandably double-checking their screens amidst a quiet warbling of Rocky Horror’s lyrics, “Let’s do the Time Warp Again.”

At the end of the 2010/11 campaign, football fans across England were understandably right to expect they had seen the last of opposition players flying high up into the air after a Paul Scholes “tackle” and no longer have to be subjected to Mark Hughes bemoaning a lack of ambition wherever he goes, despite spending £17.5m on players like Roque Santa Cruz. The thought of Thierry Henry returning to the Premier League wasn’t even in Richard Dunne’s wildest dreams.

So, when Sir Alex Ferguson managed to finally convince his most favourite ginger to come out of retirement 6 months after he had announced it was the “right time for me to stop playing,” hung-over football fans waking up late Sunday morning to watch Manchester United win 3-2, but walk away like the defeated team, were understandably confused when they saw Paul Scholes named on the bench.

Despite the fact that Fergie didn’t want Scholes to retire in the first place and had always offered him the chance to re-join the playing squad, amateur psychologist Nicky Butt informed the world that bringing him back, “was a smart move by the manager,” considering the timing because, “It took all the attention off [City’s] home record and the bookmakers’ odds and switched all the attention to Paul Scholes and Manchester United.”

Ignoring the fact that not everything Sir Alex Ferguson does is some kind of mental game of labyrinth, Butt concluded that, “It was a great little bit of psychology.”

If heart palpitations hadn’t been induced by the last-minute surprise return of Paul Scholes, no way eluded to in the English media as early as November, or the clever link-up play he performed with James Milner, then Tuesday night’s love in with Thierry Henry featuring players of lesser ability, probably evoked at least the smallest of emotionally nostalgic twinges of the heart.

Having told fans, modestly, that he wasn’t “coming here to be a hero,” instead sympathetically “coming [back] to help,” Henry came off of where he intended to sit for 6 weeks, “ I’m going to be a bench player,” and scored the winning goal, playing up to the magic of the F.A Cup.

Having done so, Thierry Henry reacted in a way only previously expected of Paulo Di Canio this season: he rose his arms above his head, showered himself in ecstasy and felt the stupor us mere mortals can only ever dream of experiencing, “Now I know how people feel when they score for the club they support.”

If the strong stench of nostalgia hadn’t quite engulfed your immediate vicinity, then Sunday is a footballing treat: Mark Hughes returns to football management half a season after explaining that he had left Craven Cottage because, he is, “a young, ambitious manager,” who wishes to, “move on to further [his] experiences.”

The manager, no stranger to splashing the cash, has shown his ambition already, by supposedly listing Didier Drogba , Darren Bent , Wayne Bridge and Alex among his transfer targets; whether QPR quite possess the same ambition to appeal to such players remains to be seen.

Since leaving Blackburn Rovers for Manchester City , where he signed Wayne Bridge – a player he had spent time with during his playing days at Southampton F.C – as well as Shaun Wright-Phillips, Mark Hughes has lived off of expensive foreigners, so should find himself at home QPR.

Although a clash of egos may now ensue at QPR, what with Mark Hughes, Joey Barton and Adel Taarabt now all likely to be on and around the pitch – I can’t see Hughes playing Derry and Mackie over Adel Taarabt and Shaun Wright-Phillips – what he can bring to Rangers is astute signings and mid-table security; albeit among the odd woeful purchase.

With the ex-Wales manager, for every Jo he buys, he also brings in a Christopher Samba, a Nigel De Jong and a Vincent Kompany. Among the high-profile names on Mark Hughes’ media-constructed transfer list, is in fact Christopher Samba, the man he bought at Blackburn Rovers for £500k.

Meanwhile, in the world of the fast-becoming Nostalgia League sponsored by Barclays, whilst Paul Scholes took to the pitch for Luis Nani with half an hour left on the clock, watching on from the punditry box was Roy Keane; however, more poignant was the presence of David Beckham , who at one year Scholes’ minor, must’ve been bouncing Romeo on his knee thinking he could surely do a job still, too. Even Owen Hargreaves jogged about for a bit.

With Manchester United highly unlikely to provide a route back into English football to David – that really would be admitting defeat if resigning Paul Scholes didn’t – and Beckham surely scarred by the idea of moving to Loftus Road after Warnock stated that he, “personally can’t see where Beckham is going to get in the team at the moment,” (probably where you insisted on playing Derry or Mackie) there seems few options left for England’s footballing Braveheart.

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However, the wheeler-dealer that isn’t Harry Redknapp – he swears if you call him that – may well provide him with a bus ticket for the O.A.P coach to the Nostalgia League: “Could David play for us? It’s a difficult one, I wouldn’t know about the financial side of all of that. The chairman was dealing with his club last time. But as a fella, to have him around the place every day was brilliant. “

Redknapp, in the same interview, raised an extremely valid point, “People keep saying the players today are better than what they were. Well we keep bringing back 37-year-olds so I don’t know about that. It can’t quite be right,” using his poetic license to full flexibility as he referenced the 36-year old David Beckham, the 33-year old Thierry Henry and the 31-year old Robbie Keane in the same breath as the accurately aged Paul Scholes.

Personally, I am enjoying the mini-revival of players in the Premier League that I used to collect as little Panini stickers as a child and it was only today that I was revelling in the memory of a Jay Jay Okocha brace against Aston Villa in the Carling Cup Semi-final, whilst watching Manchester City v Liverpool in their same fixture for 2012.

At the rate at which transfers are moving along at the moment, it may just go down as the January bargain window of 2012. So, as Scholes makes his return, Henry makes his and Keane joins Aston Villa on loan, which other aging former Premier League stars are out there and could still do a job this season?

Article courtesy of  Jordan Florit from This is Futbol

Whilst sat on the sofa recovering from the effects of New Year’s Eve, I set about making some resolutions for myself – which I will not bore you with – and it got me to thinking about which footballers could benefit from a resolution or twenty, and what they might be. I am sure there are a couple that have popped into your head already, and here are the top ten footballers who I think could benefit from making a New Year’s resolution.

You may have noticed I have omitted Mad Mario from this list, but been as though the City striker provided us with the majority of the Champagne moments of the last year, I decided it would be best for him to continue as he started!

Click on Stephen Ireland to unveil the top 10

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Do you agree with my ten chosen footballers or is there someone else you feel could benefit from a resolution? Let me know on twitter @RebeccaKnight01

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Arguably Arsenal ’s most perturbing signing of the summer was that of South Korean striker Park Chu-Young. It was clear over the course of last season that the Gunners needed to bolster their forward ranks, with Bendtner and Marouane Chamakh failing to produce the goods on a regular basis and Robin Van Persie forced to shoulder too much of the goal-scoring burden.

Indeed, the general consensus amongst Arsenal fans was that the club needed to sign a world-class striker to play alongside Van Persie. Arsene Wenger , being Arsene Wenger , however, had different ideas. Instead he signed Park a player, who was relatively unknown outside of French footballing circles, but who had a fairly decent scoring record. There’s every chance that he could grow and develop into a World Class player, but the feeling is that he’s not quite there yet. Especially seeing as he’s not receiving regular first-team football.

Still Arsenal fans were excited to see their young Korean striker thrown into action. After all, he had to be a step up on Chamakh. Well, unfortunately chances have not been forthcoming for Park who has yet to feature for the club.

The lack of action is surprising considering that due to his enforced military service, there’s a good chance he’ll be off to join the South Korean army in two years time. When Van Persie doesn’t score, Arsenal start struggling for goals, yet still Wenger doesn’t chance his arm.

Despite this Park remains in a rich vein of form. He’s scoring regularly for South Korea and managed to put in a Man of the Match performance against Poland last night grabbing a brace in South Korea’s 2-0 victory. Given that he’s in form I don’t see why Wenger didn’t put him on in the dying minutes against Spurs. That was an opportunity for him to quickly establish himself as a club favourite and besides it’s not like there was too much inspiration on the pitch at the time.

If Wenger isn’t going to play him why did he buy a player that’s going to be scooting off to join the army in a couple of season’s time?

My fear is that Arsenal bought Park to give him a few run outs in the Carling Cup and more importantly to rake in merchandising profits from the Far East. Despite him showing that he’s a natural goal-scorer on the International stage the club seems content to treat him like a mascot. Quite frankly, that’s a pretty poor attitude to display from a club that should be promoting a type of meritocracy.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the Arsenal way lately.

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Read more of Harry’s articles at This is Futbol

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The ‘Wenger Out’ brigade have resurfaced in recent weeks. You hear it in pubs, at the games, on the Internet – some people have had enough. The fact that just before Christmas the very same people were saying they had never lost faith in him, even after Old Trafford, is neither here nor there. Football is a fickle business to be in, managers understand that and although I do fully support Wenger I also reject the claims that all who doubt him don’t know what they are talking about, and that those fans are ungrateful. People give Arsenal fans a lot of stick for complaining about Wenger but I doubt you see any Spurs, Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea or Liverpool fans supporting their manager if he went as long as Wenger has without a trophy. The fact that Wenger still has so much support is testament to the respect the fans have for the manager and the gratitude for all that he has done for the club from the fans.

Like I said, I don’t want Wenger to leave; however there will come a point when the fans will have to accept that our slide down the table can go no further. At first it was frustrating that we were not winning the league, then it was frustrating that we were not serious contenders, last year a collapse lead us dangerously close to finishing outside the Champions League places and this year we are battling for fourth. Every few years the expectations of Arsenal fans go down, just because the decline is gradual, it doesn’t mean it is not real.

I don’t think deadlines or ultimatums are helpful, however it has got to the stage where Wenger could be approaching the most important six months of his Arsenal career. You could argue that us coming third or fourth this year doesn’t really matter, that we can simply rebuild next year if we finish outside the top four. Maybe that is true, but I think that if we finish outside the top four this year then it could be the first time that Wenger is really undoing some of the work he has done at the club. Wenger and the board also have to realise that to go without Champions League football next year will encourage a whole new section of the fans to turn against both the board and the manager.

This is an important point as well. With Kroenke having seen what happened at Liverpool with Hicks and Gillett, or how quick the United fans were to turn on the Glazers he will be concerned with how the he and the Arsenal board are being perceived. I don’t think an angry reaction from the fans would see Wenger sacked but I do think that it may have an influence if the board ever had to make that sort of decision. In the past, despite not winning trophies, Wenger’s job has been safe because he has continuously made money for the club whilst guaranteeing them Champions League football. If that trend starts to fade then the board will be in a position where they have to put sentiment aside and consider the Frenchman’s future.

Players around Europe are aware of what is happening at Arsenal. The other risk that Arsenal are running at the moment is that soon they may be unable to attract big players. This is already the case to an extent but the situation will deteriorate with Arsenal’s standing in English football. Clearly Wenger has been unlucky with injuries to key players and Barcelona consistently poaching key men from the team. The rise of Chelsea and Manchester City has also weakened his crusade. However, ultimately none of that really matters. Arsenal are where they are and there is no point blaming our position on external factors. You have to take your own mistakes in to account if you are to progress and this is exactly what Wenger needs to do over the next six months. Wenger should not leave; he is still a great manager who encourages attacking football and nurtures young players extremely well. However he is not perfect. He has obvious glaring flaws that he needs to address and as much as he has an admirable philosophy he needs to understand that the club is bigger than him, that our longevity is more important than his pride. To be fair our transfer dealings in the summer suggest that he has accepted that but more needs to be done if Arsenal are to return to where they belong. The second half of the season will be a telling half, it could be the biggest of Wenger’s career.

Follow me on Twitter @H_Mackay

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Liverpool full back Jose Enrique has stated that despite Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United, the club are still in the race for Champions League qualification.

The defeat at Old Trafford means that the Merseysiders are four points adrift of Arsenal in fourth place, but the Spaniard feels that this deficit can be clawed back.

“We lost against United but the truth is that we have to win more games at home,” he told the club’s official website.

“We are still in the race to be in the Champions League next season.

“It’s hard but Chelsea and Arsenal have lost many points too. Chelsea lost this weekend and we can’t forget Newcastle.

“It’s really important that we have to play these teams at home and we’ll have another man – you play with 12 with our fans.

“It is hard to beat Manchester United at home but against teams like Blackburn and Swansea at home we need to win the points.

“There are many games left and we have to beat many teams to try and be there.

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“You never know in football – that’s why everyone likes it. But we’re still in the race,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Yahoo! LMA interviews also reveal Jesus, managers’ wives, Geoffrey Boycott, Kylie and Napoleon as choices

Muhammad Ali floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee and is also the perfect dinner companion, according to the UK’s top football managers, interviewed by Yahoo! Eurosport to celebrate the renewal for the second year of its ‘Dugout’ partnership with the League Managers Association (LMA)  ( http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/the-dugout/ )

Chosen by a quarter of the 20 managers interviewed,  which included some of the biggest names in football like Harry Redknapp, Roberto Mancini and David Moyes,  the legendary heavyweight boxer Ali was a clear favourite. Four diverse figures were tied as the second most popular dinner guest: Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and Elvis Presley and the managers’ own wives!

In terms of professions of the guests selected, Sports Stars were most popular, being chosen by 33% of the managers. Next came politicians, featuring in choices by 18% of managers, followed by musicians, chosen by 13% of managers.

There were some unique choices among the managers. Neil Warnock wanted dinner with the Queen, while Rafa Benitez was keen to share an hors d’oeuvre with Napoleon. Roberto Mancini wanted to break bread with the Pope, and Paul Lambert was looking for a quiet night in with George Best. Former managerial greats also popped up, with Simon Grayson citing Don Revie, Neil Warnock wanting a bite to eat with Brian Clough and Chris Hughton looking to invite Bill Shankly.

“The top choices of Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, Elvis Presley and their own wives as ideal dinner party guests shows that an evening with any of Britain’s top football managers would be an entertaining affair,” said James Wildman, Yahoo!’s Managing Director and Vice-President of Sales.

As the Premier Digital Media Company, Yahoo! is investing is quality original content in the UK, including ‘The Dugout’ with the LMA , Barclays Premier League highlights and ‘Bumps, Babies and Beyond’, a parenting show presented by Myleene Klass.

The full list with a breakdown of statistics is as follows:

Breakdown of results

Gianfranco Zola – Father, wife, Diego Maradona

Harry Redknapp – Muhammad Ali, Vincent O’Brien, Bobby Moore

Paul Ince – Wife, John F Kennedy, Tiger Woods

Paul Lambert – Elvis Presley, George Bush, George Best

Roberto Di Matteo – Julius Caesar, Claudia Schiffer, Robert De Niro

Sam Allardyce – Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Sir Alex Ferguson

Sven Goran Eriksson – Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul, Barack Obama

Chris Coleman – John F Kennedy, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix

Tony Adams – Jesus, Sir Alf Ramsey, Scarlett Johansson

Simon Grayson – Geoffrey Boycott, Bono, Don Revie

Roberto Mancini – Paolo Mantovani, The Pope, Sheikh Mansour

Rafa Benitez – Julius Caesar, Al Pacino, Napoleon

David Moyes – Mother, Tommy Burns, Kylie Minogue

Gustavo Poyet – Fernando Morena, Michael Jordan, Wife

Neil Warnock – Queen, Barbara Streisand, Brian Clough

Steve McClaren – Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, Sir Alex Ferguson

Alex McLeish –  Robert Di Niro, John Lennon, Muhammad Ali

Alan Pardew – Muhammad Ali, Barrack Obama, Spike Milligan

Peter Reid – Elvis Presley, Jesus Christ, Angelina Jolie

Chris Hughton – Martin Luther King, Muhammad Ali, Bill Shankly

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Order of popularity

1st – Mohammed Ali with 5 votes (25%)

2nd wives/Nelson Mandela/Elvis/Obama – 3 votes (15%)

3rd De Niro/Julius Caesar /Sir Alex/JFK – 2 votes (10%)

All others received 1 vote (5%)

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Profession of guest

Musician – 13%

Model – 2%

Actor – 8%

Writer – 2%

Politician – 18%

Family member – 10%

Sports star – 33%

Royalty – 3%

Other – 10%

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