May 16, 2001: Liverpool's Unique Cup Treble

Robbie Fowler (left) and Gary McAllister with the UEFA Cup

May 16, 2001: Liverpool Football Club complete a series of three cup final wins, a "Treble" never achieved before or since.

With the old Wembley Stadium in West London being demolished, and the new one built on the site, the Finals of both the FA Cup and the Football League Cup were held at the next-biggest stadium in Great Britain: The Millennium Stadium (since renamed the Principality Stadium) in Cardiff, Wales.

On February 25, Liverpool, managed by Gerard Houllier, played Birmingham City for the League Cup, then named the Worthington Cup, as it was sponsored by Worthington's brewery -- a far cry from when the national dairy board sponsored the tournament, and it was known as the Milk Cup.

Robbie Fowler scored in the 30th minute, and it looked like the Mersey Reds had it wrapped up. But in the 90th and last minute of normal time, the Brummies were awarded a penalty, and Darren Purse converted it. After extra time, the game went to penalties. Birmingham goalkeeper Ian Bennett could only stop 1 of 5 Liverpool shots, while Liverpool's Dutch goalie, Sander Westerveld, stopped 2 out of 5, and Liverpool won.

They were not as successful in the Premier League: They finished 3rd, 11 points behind winners Manchester United, and 1 point behind 2nd-place Arsenal of North London. But they reached the FA Cup Final, by beating Yorkshire teams Rotherham United and Leeds United, then Manchester City in the 5th round; then foiled a pair of upset bids, by fellow Merseysiders Tranmere Rovers in the Quarterfinal, and Buckinghamshire side Wycombe Wanderers in the Semifinal.

Arsenal, a perennial Cup contender, having beating Liverpool in the Final in 1950 and 1971, and beaten former Liverpool star and manager Kenny Dalglish as he took Newcastle United into the Final in 1998, would be a harder nut to crack. But conditions would be unusual, as this Final, also, was held in Cardiff. For the 1st time since 1922 -- not counting the 1970 replay at Old Trafford in Manchester -- the FA Cup Final was held outside of the old Wembley. For the 1st time ever, this event that began in 1872 was held outside England. And it was between 2 historic teams, both of whom had received significant contributions from Welsh players in their histories.

In the 17th minute, Stephane Henchoz of Liverpool committed a handball in the penalty area, which should have given Arsenal a penalty, and gotten him sent off. Referee Steve Dunn didn't see it, and waved play on.

Freddie Ljungberg, Arsenal's Swedish midfielder, scored in the 72nd minute, and it looked like Arsenal had their 8th FA Cup. But Michael Owen, an Englishman but appropriately of Welsh descent, struck in the 83rd minute, and again in the 88th, doing a somersault after the 2nd, and Liverpool were 2-1 winners, in a game where they should have been playing with 10 men for 75 minutes.

Liverpool's Captain, the Finnish centreback Sami Hyypiä, received the Cup from Adam Crozier, the Chief Executive of the FA. Hyypiä brought Jamie Redknapp onto the podium with him, as Redknapp had been the Captain, but had been injured for much of the season, and was in a suit rather than a uniform (or a kit, as they would say over there).

This completed a "Cup Double," which had only been done once before, by Arsenal in 1993.

Four days later, at the neutral site of the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, Germany, Liverpool took the pitch for the Final of UEFA's secondary tournament, the UEFA Cup. Their opponents were Alavés, of the Basque Country of northern Spain, a team that has spent most of its history, before and since, in Spain's second division. Its lineup included Jordi Cruyff, son of the legendary Dutch star Johan Cruyff.

The Scousers jumped out to an early lead, as German right back Markus Babbel scored in the 3rd minute, and rising English midfielder Steven Gerrard scored in the 16th. Iván Alonso, a Uruguayan forward who had entered the game in the 22nd minute due to an injury, scored for Alavés in the 26th. Liverpool were awarded a penalty in the 40th, and Scottish midfielder Gary McAllister converted it. It was 3-1 at the half, and there seemed little doubt that European giants Liverpool would hang on against the would-be Cinderella side.

But Spanish forward Javi Moreno stunned everyone by scoring in the 47th minute, and again in the 49th, tying the game. In the 72nd, Fowler scored, and at 4-3, viewers again figured that Liverpool had the win. But Cruyff, while nowhere near the player his father was, proved himself a dangerous attacking midfielder, by tying the game back up in the 88th.

This was during FIFA's "Golden Goal" period, which meant that, in extra time, whichever team scored first would win, a rule that proved so unpopular that it didn't last long, only from 1993 to 2004. (France had beaten Italy in the Euro 2000 Final on a golden goal.) In the 93rd minute, Alonso had put the ball in the Liverpool goal, but it was ruled offside. In the 94th, Brazilian forward Magno was shown a 2nd yellow card for a two-footed challenge on Babbel, and was sent off, reducing Alavés to 10 men. In the 105th minute, Fowler thought he had scored the winning goal, but, as with Alonso's goal, it was correctly disallowed for offside.

In the 115th minute of the match, Alavés were reduced to 9 men, when their Captain, Antonio Karmona, received a 2nd yellow card for fouling Vladimir Šmicer, Liverpool's Czech midfielder. McAllister took the resulting free-kick, which Catalan left wingback Delfí Geli headed into his own goal. It was over, and Liverpool had won, 5-4.

It wasn't a domestic Treble, which would be the League, the FA Cup, and the League Cup: That wouldn't be done in England until Manchester City did it in 2019. And it wasn't a European Treble, which would be the League, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League. That had been done by Manchester United in 1999. (UPDATE: It was done again by Manchester City in 2023.) But it was a Cup Treble that had never been done before, and has never been done since.

On August 12, Liverpool beat Premier League winners Manchester United in the FA Charity Shield in Cardiff. And on August 24, they beat Champions League winners Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup in Monte Carlo. Their fans began to brag about having won 5 major trophies, which led to a debate about which trophies were "major." On September 11, that debate was put aside for a while.

When the cloud lifted, fans resumed talking about how Liverpool hadn't won the top flight since its rebranding as the Premier League, and about how Arsenal won the Double for the 2001-02 season. As time passed, and as other achievements were raised -- an unbeaten League season by Arsenal, back-to-back titles and later a Double by West London team Chelsea, 3 straight titles and a Champions League win by Manchester United, and of course Liverpool's own Champions League triumph of 2005 -- the Cup Treble (or "Quintuple") of 2001 faded in relevance.

In 2010, UEFA rebranded the UEFA Cup as the UEFA Europa League.

*

May 16, 2001 was a Wednesday. American-style football was out of season. These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Oakland Athletics, 4-3 at the Network Associates Coliseum (as the Oakland Coliseum was then known). The Yankees trailed 3-0 after 5 innings, and tied the game in the 9th, but Frank Menechino singled Mark Bellhorn home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th. Brian Boehringer lost the game in relief of Andy Pettitte. Derek Jeter hit a home run.

* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 5-2 at Shea Stadium. Adam Eaton got the win, while Glendon Rusch didn't get out of the 3rd inning. Tony Gwynn, in his final season, did not play, but Rickey Henderson went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI for the Padres.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 7-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Cal Ripken, in his final season, went 0-for-3.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Colorado Rockies, 6-4 at Turner Field (now Center Parc Stadium) in Atlanta. Tom Glavine started, but José Cabrera got the win.

* The Florida Marlins beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Pro Player Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. Barry Bonds went 1-for-4.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-0 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Darryl Kile pitched a 7-hit shutout. Albert Pujols went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. Ken Griffey Jr. was injured, and did not play.

* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 9-5 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 4-3 at The Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Anaheim Angels beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-1 at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox, 7-2 at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle. Ichiro Suzuki went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

There was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs: The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Toronto Raptors, 121-88 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. Allen Iverson scored 52 points.

There was 1 game played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The St. Louis Blues beat the Colorado Avalanche, 4-3 at the Savvis Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis. Scott Young scored the winning goal, 10:27 into the 2nd overtime. This would be the only game the Blues won in the series.

May 11, 1985: The Bradford City Stadium Fire

May 11, 1985: Bradford City Association Football Club, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, hosts their last home game of the season at their stadium, Valley Parade. It turns into a disaster -- and not the kind of disaster their fans would have considered a 4-0 defeat to be.

Unlike America, England didn't have a building boom of new stadiums in the 1960s and 1970s, and so most of their stadiums were ramshackle structures tucked away in old neighborhoods, not really conducive to driving -- just like the American ballparks of the 1910s, except most of their stadiums were even older, in some cases considerably older.

Throw in end sections that were standing terraces instead of seated sections, and the fact that many of them still had wood in their construction, and fans liked to smoke, and drop their cigarettes, and it's a wonder they didn't have more disasters.

On this day, at Valley Parade, which opened in 1886 and had hardly been modernized at all since, Bradford, in England's Football League Division Three, were playing Lincoln City, of Lincolnshire. This game is the most interesting thing that has ever happened to the "Imps."

Bradford, the "Bantams," should be so lucky: They had won Division Three that season, earning promotion to Division Two, and nobody outside Bradford remembers that. And their only major trophy is the 1911 FA Cup, and that's so far back that nobody alive today remembers that, either.

The stand before the fire

The match was covered by British network ITV, so the key moments survive without a film crew arriving in mid-disaster. At 3:40 PM, ITV commentator John Helm remarked upon a small fire in the main stand. In less than 4 minutes, with the windy conditions, the fire had engulfed the whole stand, trapping some people in their seats.

In the panic that ensued, fleeing crowds escaped on to the pitch, but others at the back of the stand tried to break down locked exit doors to escape. Many were burned to death at the turnstile gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. A total of 56 people died, making it the biggest disaster in the history of English football to that point. (This was topped in Scotland by the 66 who died at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow in 1971, and would be surpassed by the 97 deaths that have now been attributed to the Hillsborough Disaster in Sheffield in 1989.)

Helm reported that he could feel the heat, from all the way across the stadium. As he put it, "Quite extraordinary scenes at Valley Parade. This was supposed to be a day of utter joy, triumph and celebration. It's turning into a nightmare."

There were many cases of heroism, with more than 50 people later receiving police awards or commendations for bravery.

Nevertheless, a bad year for English soccer -- which had already seen several notorious incidents of hooliganism, including a riot of Millwall fans at Luton Town 2 months earlier -- got even worse. On the same day as the Valley Parade fire, Birmingham City's promotion from the Second Division to the First Division was marred by a riot by Leeds United fans, in which a 14-year-old spectator was crushed to death by a collapsing wall.

Both clubs were then known for their infamous hooligan firms: Leeds had the Leeds Service Crew, while Birmingham City had the Zulu Army, named in tribute to Zulu, the 1964 film that launched Michael Caine to stardom, but also because it was the first widely-known hooligan firm to have been racially integrated.

Bradford City played home games at other grounds in West Yorkshire for 19 months, while Valley Parade was rebuilt, opening on December 14, 1986, just in time to get it in for the 100th Anniversary of the original stadium. Today, it is a modern all-seater stadium, holding 25,136 spectators, with a memorial to the victims at its north end.

The disaster led to rigid new safety standards in British stadiums, including the banning of new wooden grandstands. It was also a catalyst for the substantial redevelopment and modernization of many British football grounds in the years to come. Bradford City continues to support the burn unit at the University of Bradford hospital as its official charity.

Most English stadiums have since been modernized, or replaced completely - in some cases by faceless, atmosphere-less structures in the suburbs. In other words, when it comes to stadiums, England is still about 30 years behind America. Let's hope it doesn't take another Valley Parade or Hillsborough for them to get their own "Camden Yards generation of stadiums."

*

May 11, 1985 was a Saturday. Elsewhere in English soccer, North London team Arsenal traveled to the Birmingham area, and played West Bromwich Albion to a 2-2 draw at The Hawthorns.

There were 2 games played in the United States Football League. The Birmingham Stallions beat the Portland Breakers, 14-0 at Legion Field in Birmingham. And the Oakland Invaders beat the Los Angeles Express, 27-6 at the Oakland Coliseum.

The NBA Playoffs were between rounds. The Stanley Cup Playoffs were underway, but no games were scheduled.

And these games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals, 11-3 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Dennis Rasmussen outpitched Bud Black. Don Baylor went 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 5 RBIs. Dave Winfield went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Don Mattingly went 1-for-5 with an RBI. Rickey Henderson went 1-for-3 with a walk. For the Royals, George Brett went 1-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-0 at Shea Stadium. Sid Fernandez pitched 6 innings, allowing 1 hit, a leadoff single by Von Hayes in the 4th. Roger McDowell went the rest of the way, finishing the 1-hit shutout.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Bill Gullickson pitched a 5-hit shutout. 

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox, 12-1 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-2 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Eddie Murray went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-2 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

* The Houston Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-7 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose, the Reds' player-manager, went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-4 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The California Angels beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-5 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Reggie Jackson hit his 510th career home run. Rod Carew, in his final season as a player, did not play.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 4-1 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-1 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Garry Templeton and Steve Garvey hit home runs, and Tony Gwynn went 2-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Tony Peña hit a home run in the top of the 13th inning to win it.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants, 9-4 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

May 5, 1956: Bert Trautmann Breaks His Neck to Win the FA Cup

May 5, 1956: Many sports fans have said they would die for their team. Most don't mean it. And most don't expect their players to die for their teams. Well, one man broke his neck to win his team a trophy, and lived to tell about it.

Bernhard Carl Trautmann was born on October 22, 1923 in Bremen, Germany. He excelled in multiple sports, including soccer, where he was an expert goalkeeper. Like nearly every German male of his generation, he joined the Army, fighting for the Nazis whether they liked it or not. He became a paratrooper, so he was certainly brave. He would eventually be captured by, and escape from, the Americans, the Soviet Red Army, and the French Resistance. The 4th time, he was captured by the British. This time, he accepted his fate, and was taken to a prisoner-of-war camp near Liverpool.

After The War, he was released, but declined an offer of repatriation, and stayed in England. He played for St. Helens Town, a club near Liverpool. He was allowed to marry Margaret Friar, the daughter of the club secretary. He got the club promoted, and in 1949, he was signed by Manchester City Football Club. This made him the 1st soccer player in England to wear Adidas shoes, since he was a friend of the company's founder, Adolf Dassler. (His nickname was Adi, hence, "Adi Das." His brother Rudolf Dassler founded Puma.)

Man City fans were not happy about the signing. A, Trautmann wasn't just German, he had actually fought for the enemy. B, He was replacing Frank Swift, the greatest goalie in Man City's history to that point. (Swift then became a journalist, and died in the Munich Air Disaster of 1958, covering Manchester United's European Cup run.)

A January 1950 match away to West London club Fulham changed things. He made several great saves, and, although Fulham won 1-0, their fans stopped hurling insults at him, and gave him a standing ovation as he walked off the field.

Man City were relegated to the Football League Division Two at the end of the season, but bounced back up to Division One at the end of the next season. Led by Trautmann and forward Don Revie (later the manager of the great Leeds United team of the late 1960s and early 1970s), they reached the 1955 FA Cup Final, losing to Newcastle United FC.

In 1956, they got back to the Final, and faced Birmingham City FC. The game was 1-1 at the hour, but Bobby Johnstone and Jack Dyson scored in quick succession to make it 3-1 to Man City. In the 73rd minute, Peter Murphy attempted a shot for the Brummies, but Trautmann dove at his feet to win the ball. In the process, Murphy's knee struck Trautmann in the neck.

Trautmann was knocked unconscious. Substitutes were not allowed in English football until the 1965-66 season, so if he could not continue, an outfield player would have to put on the green shirt, and City would be down to 10 men. Trautmann came to, and, with the situation explained to him, he insisted on staying in the game.

The Man City players did what they could to keep the ball away from him, but he had to make 2 more saves, the 2nd of which was another collision with Murphy, resulting in his needing treatment.

The game ended 3-1, and the Man City players climbed the famed Wembley Stadium steps to the royal box, where Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, handed out the Cup to winning Captain Roy Paul, and the winner's medals to all the players. On the film, Trautmann can be seen rubbing his neck. Prince Philip expressed concern for Trautmann's condition.

After 3 days, the pain didn't go away, so Trautmann went to the doctor. He was told he had dislocated 5 vertebrae, 1 of which was cracked. The 3rd vertebra had lodged against the cracked 2nd, possibly saving his life. He had, quite literally, broken his neck to win the FA Cup.

He missed much of the 1956-57 season, and in 1958, because he had not fully recovered, Man City became the only team in the history of England's Football League (including the post-1992 Premier League) to score 100 goals and allow 100 goals in a single League season. But he continued to play until 1964, and his final match was a testimonial at Maine Road, City's ground from 1923 to 2003. He captained a combined City and United team, with Bobby Charlton and Denis Law guesting from United, against an International XI that had England stars Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney and Jimmy Armfield.

He was not allowed to play for the West Germany national team, under their rules of the time, because he was playing outside the country, and so he was not on the team that won the 1954 World Cup. He later coached in England, Germany and Spain, and managed the national teams of Burma, Tanzania, Liberia and Pakistan.

He settled in the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia, Spain. He married 3 times, and had 4 children, 1 of whom died in a car crash as a boy, which led to the breakup of his 1st marriage. Queen Elizabeth II awarded him an OBE for his efforts at diplomacy through sport, and, on the occasion, asked him if his neck felt better.

He was honored with a statue outside the City of Manchester Stadium, to which Man City moved in 2003, and is now named the Etihad Stadium.

He died on July 19, 2013, in Valencia, from the effects of a pair of heart attacks earlier in the year, up to which point he was still thought to be in good health. He was 89 years old.

Bert Trautmann was a symbol of courage, perseverance, understanding and sportsmanship. He could have been embittered by either the war he was in or his new country's reaction to his service in it. Instead, he made both his old country and his new country better places to be. That's testimonial enough for anyone.

*

May 5, 1956 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Athletics, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Mickey McDermott was the winning pitcher. Mickey Mantle hit 2 home runs, one of them his 1st of at least 3 that he would hit off the façade atop the right-field roof. There were also home runs from Yogi Berra and Hank Bauer.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1 at the 1st Busch Stadium (formerly the last Sportsman's Park) in St. Louis. Tom Poholsky limited the Dodgers to 3 hits, including a home run by Duke Snider. Jackie Robinson went 0-for-3. Stan Musial went 1-for-3. Ken Boyer hit a grand slam.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 16-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. Al Kaline went 1-for-4 with a walk. Ted Williams got a hit as a pinch-hitter.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-2 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Cincinnati Redlegs (as the Reds were known from 1954 to 1958) beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 7-6 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Gus Bell singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. The Reds got home runs by Frank Robinson, Wally Post and Ted Kluszewski.

* The Chicago Cubs and the Philadelphia Phillies were rained out at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on July 18. The Phils swept, 6-4 and 6-1. Ernie Banks went 4-for-8 with an RBI.

* And the New York Giants and the Milwaukee Braves were rained out at Milwaukee County Stadium. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on August 21. The Braves swept, 5-3 and 6-2. Hank Aaron went 2-for-6 with 2 walks and an RBI. Willie Mays went 2-for-7 with a walk and an RBI.

February 27, 2011: The Arsenal Fans' Civil War Begins

Martins celebrates, while Koscielny (Number 6)

and Szczesny (Number 53) react

February 27, 2011: The League Cup Final is held at the new Wembley Stadium in London. North London team Arsenal was heavily favored to beat Birmingham City, whose entire haul of major trophies to that point consisted of the 1963 League Cup, and that's it.

But Arsenal were missing several starters due to injury: Midfielder, Captain and best player Cesc Fabregas; goalkeeper Manuel Almunia; forward Theo Walcott; and midfielder Aaron Ramsey. To make matters worse, the referee was Mike Dean, already known as someone who would fix games to make Arsenal lose.

Arsenal fell behind in the 1st half, but soon equalized. It looked like the game would go to extra time, but a miscommunication between backup goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and centreback Laurent Koscielny led to the winning goal for “The Brummies.” It was scored in the 89th minute by Obafemi Martins, and the Nigerian forward repeated the backflips he did after scoring against Arsenal in UEFA Champions League play for Inter Milan in 2003. It was a brief reprieve: They finished 18th out of 20 teams in the Premier League, and were relegated to the 2nd division.

For Arsenal, it was an ignominious defeat. It came 22 days after losing a 4-0 lead against Newcastle United that became a 4-4 draw; 9 days before being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the Round of 16 by FC Barcelona in a match that seemed to be riddled with official corruption; 13 days before being knocked out of the FA Cup in the Quarterfinal by eventual Premier League Champions Manchester United; and seemed to begin a weak stretch of PL games that saw them win only 2, draw 6, and lose 3 of their last 11 games, taking just 12 of a possible 33 points, and fall from contending for the title to finishing 4th.

It was now 6 years since London's most historically successful team had won any of the 4 competitions usually judged to come with a "major trophy," not since the 2005 FA Cup, a streak that would reach 9 years. And since Manchester United and West London team Chelsea had dominated English football in the interim, and North London arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur had won a trophy as recently as the 2008 League Cup, it got more embarrassing every season.

For the next 7 years, a small but very loud, and equally stupid, group of fans, rallying around a YouTube channel named Arsenal Fan TV, demanded the firing of manager Arsène Wenger. He would win 3 more FA Cups, and keep the team in the Champions League until 2017, but it was never enough for these cretins.

Finally, Wenger resigned in 2018. Those people got what they wanted, with terrible results: Arsenal finished 5th in the 2018-19 season, 8th in 2019-20 (though firing new manager Unai Emery and replacing him with former Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta did bring the 2020 FA Cup), and 8th again in 2020-21. Arsenal had become almost irrelevant.

Legal action taken by the organization resulted in Arsenal Fan TV host Robbie Lyle, a former BBC radio host who had previously claimed to support suburban team Luton Town, losing the right to use the Arsenal name on his broadcasts, and the right to record his material on the grounds of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.

As Arsenal began to recover under Arteta in the 2021-22 season, the renamed "AFTV" became an afterthought, as its original regular interviewees were no longer available: Claude Callegari was banned from the channel in 2020 after a racist remark, and died in 2021; Aumar Hamilton, who went by "Troopz," left Britain to come to America and work for Barstool Sports (which means he actually achieved a downgrade); and, in 2022, Liam Goodenough, who went by "DT," was sent to prison for armed robbery -- for the 2nd time.

*

February 27, 2011 was a Sunday. Baseball had just begun Spring Training. American football was out of season. There were 10 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Miami Heat, 91-86 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Charlotte Hornets, 100-86 at the Amway Center (now the Kia Center) in Orlando. Stephen Jackson scored 35 points for the Magic.

* The Houston Rockets beat the New Orleans Hornets, 91-89 at the New Orleans Arena (now the Smoothie King Center). Kevin Martin scored 33 for the Rockets.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 90-87 at the Oklahoma City Arena (now the Paycom Center).

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 95-88 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio. Manu Ginóbili scored 35 for the Spurs.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors, 114-96 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 95-91 at the Quicken Loans Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Indiana Pacers, 110-108 at the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. Grant Hill scored 34 for the Suns.

* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Golden State Warriors, 126-123 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Kevin Love had 37 points and grabbed 23 rebounds for the T-Wolves.

* And the Atlanta Hawks beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 90-83 at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) in Portland.

And there were 8 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Florida Panthers, 2-1 at the BankAtlantic Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Atlanta Thrashers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta. Ron Hainsey scored the winning goal with 2:29 left in overtime. There would be only 9 more home games for the Thrashers, who did not make the Playoffs, and were moved in the next off-season, becoming the new Winnipeg Jets.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-3 in a shootout at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Calgary Flames beat the St. Louis Blues, 1-0 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2 at Rexall Place (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known) in Edmonton.

* And the Anaheim Ducks beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

February 23, 2008: The Attack On Arsenal's Eduardo da Silva

February 23, 2008: Arsenal Football Club and Birmingham City F.C. play to a 2-2 draw at St. Andrew's Stadium in Birmingham, in England's West Midlands.

James McFadden put "Brum" up 1-0 in the 28th minute. Theo Walcott scored twice in 5 minutes for Arsenal, early in the 2nd half. But, in stoppage time, referee Mike Dean, already known to treat the North London team unfairly, gave yellow cards to Arsenal defenders William Gallas and Bacary Sagna, and awarded Birmingham a penalty it didn't deserve. McFadden converted it, and they walked away with a draw they didn't deserve.

On the other hand, Arsenal should have scored more than 3 goals against Birmingham City, who finished in 19th out of 20 places, and were deservedly relegated. They should have done so because Birmingham received a straight red card in only the 3rd minute of the game, when Dean sent Martin Taylor off, and played over 90 minutes down to 10 men.

What could Taylor have done, in only the 3rd minute, against Arsenal, to get Dean to send him off? He broke the leg of Arsenal forward Eduard da Silva with a tackle.

Two days short of his 25th birthday, Eduardo, like many soccer players native to Brazil known by just his first name, had played for Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia at age 16. Since he had not yet played for the Brazilian national team, he applied for Croatian citizenship, got it, and played for their national team. So he became known as "The Crozilian."

Between 2001 and 2007, 6 seasons, he helped Dinamo win Croatia's league twice and its national cup 3 times, winning both, "The Double," in 2007. In 2006 and 2007, he was named that league's player of the year. That led Arsenal to spend £7.5 million on him, in the hope that he could be the team's next great striker, as they had just lost Thierry Henry to FC Barcelona. He scored 12 goals in his 1st 31 games. At the time of his injury, Arsenal led the Premier League by 3 points over defending Champions Manchester United.

But Eduardo was out for the season. The draw in which he was injured began a PL string of 8 games where Arsenal won only 1, drew 5, and lost 2, to Chelsea and Manchester United, in each case by a 2-1 score. This earned them 8 of a possible 24 points. Despite snapping out of it and winning their last 4, Arsenal ended up in 3rd place, 4 behind United and 2 behind Chelsea. Ever since, Arsenal fans have seen Eduardo's injury as the reason they failed to win the League that season.

Eduardo did not return to action for almost a full year, until February 16, 2009, when Arsenal defeated Cardiff City 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium, in a 4th Round Replay of the FA Cup, after a 0-0 draw with them in Cardiff. He scored the opening goal from open play, and scored another on a penalty.

When the score of this game was 3-0, the camera focused on Dave Jones, the manager who had miraculously taken Cardiff to the previous season's FA Cup Final, losing to Portsmouth. Seeing the dream die in front of him, announcer John Motson said, "There stands… a lugubrious character."

Arsenal fans were ecstatic over Eduardo's return. But it was a false dawn: He was never the same again. It wasn't just that his speed was gone, it was that he could never finish off his attacks. The assault had left him, literally, intimidated. He only scored another 8 goals for Arsenal, and was sold after the 2009-10 season.

He played for Croatia in Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup. He went to Eastern Europe, helping Shakhtar Donetsk win 4 Ukrainian league titles, and Legia Warsaw to win Poland's Double in 2018. After that season, he retired. He goes down in history as a "What if?" story.

And Martin Taylor? He played in England's Football League from 1997 to 2013, mostly with Blackbrn Rovers and Birmingham City. No team outside England ever wanted him. Not because he was a dirty player, but because he was a bad one.

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February 23, 2008 was a Saturday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 7 games in the NBA:

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Indiana Pacers, 102-91 at the Izod Center at the Meadowlands. Richard Jefferson scored 36 points.

* The Washington Wizards beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 110-95 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Miami Heat, 101-96 in overtime at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Denver Nuggets, 115-109 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the New Orleans Hornets, 98-89 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Atlanta Hawks, 100-94 at the Delta Center (then named the EnergySolutions Arena) in Salt Lake City, Utah.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 113-95 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles, in what was officially a home game for the Clippers.

And there were 11 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-3 at the HSBC Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the New York Islanders, 4-2 at the Prudential Center in Newark. I was at this game.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-0 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Florida Panthers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 2-1 at the Wachovia Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia. Olli Jokinen scored the winning goal with 1:16 left in overtime.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Washington Capitals, 6-3 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-3 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Nashville Predators, 6-3 at the Sommet Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3 at the Civic Arena (then known as the Mellon Arena) in Pittsburgh. Daniel Alfredsson scored the winning goal with just 4 seconds left in overtime.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings, 6-5 at the Staples Center (hosting an NBA game and an NHL game on the same day). Patrick Sharp scored the winning goal with 3:12 left in overtime.

* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 at GM Place (now the Rogers Arena) in Vancouver.

* And the St. Louis Blues, the Calgary Flames, the Edmonton Oilers, the Colorado Avalanche, the Phoenix Coyotes, the San Jose Sharks, the Anaheim Ducks and the Minnesota Wild were not scheduled.

February 9, 1979: Britain's 1st £1 Million Footballer

February 9, 1979: Trevor Francis becomes Britain's 1st £1 million footballer when he is transferred from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest, doubling the British record transfer fee set when West Bromwich Albion signed David Mills the previous month.

Born on February 19, 1954 in Plymouth, Devon, in England's West Country, Trevor John Francis was signed as a forward by Birmingham City when he was just 15. In 1978, during the English Football League's off-season, he came to America to play for the Detroit Express of the North American Soccer League. At a time when England's national team was at a low point -- it did not qualify for the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, or for Euro 76 -- individual stars like Francis, Kevin Keegan and Malcom Macdonald became more hyped than ever.

Francis helped Forest, defending Football League Champions, win the European Cup (the tournament now known as the UEFA Champions League) the next 2 seasons. He later won trophies with Sheffield Wednesday, Sampdoria of Genoa in Italy, and Rangers of Glasgow in Scotland. He also played for England in the 1982 World Cup.

He was less successful as a manager, notably leading Wednesday to the Final of both the League Cup and the FA Cup in 1993, but losing both Finals to Arsenal. Critics of his later work as a studio analyst for the sport have suggested that, while he may have had a million-pound foot, he may also have a sixpence head.

UPDATE: Trevor Francis died on July 24, 2023, of a heart attack, at his home in Marbella, on the Spanish Riviera. He was 69 years old.

*

February 9, 1979 was a Friday. This was also the day the film The Warriors premiered. I have a separate entry for that event. And Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, known for her roles in martial arts films, was born on this day.

Baseball and football were out of season. There were 9 games played in the NBA:

* The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers, 112-101 at the Boston Garden.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the San Diego Clippers, 117-106 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Houston Rockets beat the New Orleans Jazz, 106-99 at the Superdome in New Orleans. Moses Malone had 33 points, and a whopping 37 rebounds.

* The Kansas City Kings beat the Chicago Bulls, 124-114 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 118-116 in overtime at the Milwaukee Exposition, Convention Center and Arena, or "The MECCA." Since 2014, it has been named the UW-Panther Arena.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Phoenix Suns, 105-102 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 106-103 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Golden State Warriors, 106-104 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 125-106 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Despite the defeat, the Spurs' George Gervin led all scorers with 34 points.

The NHL was in its All-Star Break. There were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association. The Cincinnati Stingers beat the Winnipeg Jets, 4-0 at the Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center) in Cincinnati. And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 3-0 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.