quinta-feira, 6 de janeiro de 2011

Lawrie Sanchez


THIS FAIRGROUND THEMED MANAGERIAL-MERRY-GO-ROUND FIVER STORY SEEMED A GOOD IDEA. THEN WE WROTE IT

When bandied about by your favourite tea-timely football email, we like to think the phrase "managerial merry-go-round" conjures up images of a dilapidated, low-rent carousel in an abandoned fairground. The usual suspects are on board: Bryan Robson slumped over the withers of a sorry-looking wooden horse in dire need of a lick of paint; Lawrie Sanchez clutching the rusty iron pole from which his chipped cup-and-saucer conveyance is suspended as it creaks in the breeze. Behind him sits Alan Curbishly, perched on the back of a once-proud unicorn with a wonky horn, staring forlornly at his mobile, willing it to ring. And over there in the fence? A Micky Adams-shaped hole, recently created after Sheffield United's latest manager got the call from Bramall Lane.

But after last night's bizarre results in the Premier League, a new super deluxe managerial merry-go-round has been ordered. Boasting hand-carved, lovingly painted, Arabian steeds (tossed manes, high-tail carriage, flaring nostrils and moving eyes as standard) suspended from barley twist poles, decorated by fairy lights and sound-tracked by Rick Wakeman freestyling on Mini-Moog synthesiser and custom-built Hammond C-3, it will need to seat at least four if rumours of imminent casualties are to be believed: Carlo Ancelotti, Ged Houllier, Uncle Roy and Uncle Avram, whose teams were all embarrassed in the midweek fixtures (apart from Hodgson's who did as well as we've come to expect).

"I am not prepared to talk about my future," said one of them, checking his pocket for change to hand the stubbly man with the gold-hooped earring leering at the girl in the candy floss hut. "I hope that I can continue this job because I would like to stay here and I have a good relationship with the players and with the club," said another, standing on tippy-toes to make the required height to board our spanking new ride. "What's important is you have the backing of the chairman," said a third, marvelling goggle-eyed in amazement as the fourth said "'I make no excuses everything went wrong last night," then clambered aboard a nearby Speak Your Weight machine, leaving it uncharacteristically lost for words.

Luckily, there was some good news today for at least one member of English football's managerial uber-elite. "Preston North End are a big club with great history and tradition and I am really looking forward to the challenge and opportunity," he way-ayed, before heading off to save a damsel in distress who may or may not have been about to fling herself from that giant revolving spinning wheel thing.


Lawrence Philip Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a Northern Irish football manager, and a former player. The defining moment of his playing career came in the 1988 FA Cup Final, where he scored the winning goal for Wimbledon, producing one of the biggest Cup upsets against Liverpool.
Personal life

Sanchez was born in London, the son of an Ecuadorian father and a Northern Irish mother. He was educated at Presentation College, a grammar school in Reading, Berkshire, and went on to take a BSc degree in management science at Loughborough University while a Reading F.C. player. He was married to Heather, who died of cancer in 1998; the couple had a son, Jack. In 2004, Sanchez became patron of a Northern Ireland-based cancer charity.


Playing career

Club career
Sanchez had first played for Reading, between 1977 and 1984, before moving to Wimbledon for £30,000. He scored the goal that got the Dons promoted to the First Division in 1986. His most famous moment as a player came in 1988, when he scored the goal that won Wimbledon the FA Cup in 1988 against Liverpool, a match widely believed to be one of the biggest cup final upsets in history. It was not an easy game, as Peter Beardsley had found the net 10 minutes before Sanchez scored, only to have his goal disallowed. Liverpool came close to jeopardising Wimbledon's dream again in the second half when they were awarded a penalty, only for John Aldridge's shot to be saved by Dons goalkeeper Dave Beasant.
During the 1993-94 season Sanchez left Wimbledon for newly promoted Swindon Town, who ended the reason relegated with a mere five wins from 42 games and conceding 100 goals.
He is believed to be the first player to be sent off for a professional foul, after committing a deliberate handball in a Football League Trophy match against Oxford United in 1982.


International career
Sanchez won three international caps for Northern Ireland, qualifying by virtue of his Northern Irish mother. He had also been invited to try out for the Ecuadorian national team (Ecuadorian father), but declined on the grounds of distance.



  

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