The Romford Pelé: It’s only Ray Parlour’s autobiography

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An enjoyable read overall with some funny stories throughout the playing career of Ray Parlour. I'm not an Arsenal fan and I'm not particularly bothered by Parlour himself, he was always a bit of a workhorse player without the glitz, but I did know he was supposed to be a joker and he was part of the infamous Tuesday Club so I thought this would be a good, light read and so it turned out to be. Parlour could easily have been the man of the match," said the Gunners' boss. "He has a huge engine and showed a big physical presence today and he got a vital goal. Greg Van Avermaet during stage 15 of this year’s Tour de France. Photograph: Tim de Waele/Getty Images Trainer Rebecca Curtis with Tea For Three which finished just half-a-length behind Monbeg Dude in 2012 in the Welsh Grand National (Image: Wales News Service) West Wales trainer Rebecca Curtis is preparing two contenders for this weekend’s Grand National and hopes the horses’ relaxing dips in the waters of her private Pembrokeshire beach will give them an edge in the famous, gruelling race.

Arsenal celebrate winning the Premier League title at Old Trafford in May 2002. Photograph: Action Images/Reuters Though he had revelatory support from Kanu, Parlour still had to do the bulk of the work in midfield, and gave the sort of performance that made him such a magnet for the word ‘underrated’. Parlour’s cross-country abilities were highlighted whenever he had a good game, and he needed them more than ever with Arsenal down to 10 men, but such a limited focus belies the authority and composure that he added to his game under Wenger. At the end of the book, there is a good section where he has selected teams of variously themed favourite players with explanations for inclusion. I agree with some, others notsomuch. But hey, I support Villa so, what do I know!

If I was at a crossroads when Arsène arrived, then the timing was perfect to ensure I went in the right direction. It was a time where a lot of things came together. The influence of the manager, new continental players arriving, Tony stopping drinking, not going out so much. The match was a study in nuance. Arsenal looked a class apart in their creativity, yet Liverpool still created some excellent chances to equalise. In the 73rd minute, Berger’s shot deflected just wide off the indefatigable Ljungberg; then, six minutes from the end, Murphy’s mishit volley bounced over the stretching Owen in front of goal. At the time Owen looked well offside. Replays showed he was not.

The Premiership’s sponsors, Barclaycard, accepted a PR open goal – they announced that Liverpool v Arsenal would be the first game in which the Man of the Match received a trophy rather than a bottle of champagne.As Opta's evidence highlights, the Arsenal man has not been the most creative of players in this year's Premiership but has done the simple things well. Parlour has yet to score or even set up a single league goal, and has the worst shooting accuracy of all England's midfield hopefuls this term. At Arsenal, they took pride in doing things differently, and their left-winger Pires barely used his left foot. Ljungberg was slightly different – though relatively two-footed, he was essentially playing on his natural side, as a right-footer on the right wing. Yet chalk was rarely found on his boots. Whichever wing Ljungberg started on, he did his best work when he came infield, never more dangerously than when he ran onto sliderule passes or crosses from Pires, Henry or Bergkamp. The latter was a portmanteau lover’s dream, especially when #Ljungbergkamp produced multiple goals during the 2001-02 run-in. In the same week, Leeds’ Jonathan Woodgate was found guilty of affray after an infamous street brawl in January 2000; and earlier in the 2001-02 season, the Chelsea quartet of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jody Morris were fined for drunkenly living life to the max, the day after 9/11, at a Heathrow hotel full of horrified American tourists.

Kempes, ridden by David Casey, on the way to Irish Gold Cup glory at Leopardstown in 2011. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Calvin, Michael (25 August 2012). "The Last Word: TV show sours FA Cup dream of Wembley". The Independent . Retrieved 21 December 2021.Freddie Ljungberg scores to make it 2-o to 10-man Arsenal. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images Even players who had been ridiculed and written off, like Luzhny and Igors Stepanovs, played an important part. Arsenal also needed three goalkeepers – Seaman, Wright and Taylor all received championship medals after playing at least 10 games each. (Taylor, who played nine of the first 37 league games, came on as a late substitute for Wright in the last game, a title celebration at home to Everton.)