Quotes
Kevin Keegan:
".....I'm not trying to make excuses for David Seaman, but I think the lights may have been a problem....."
Joe Royle:
".....I will be writing to the relevant authorities to complain, but I'm wasting my breath....."
Steve McClaren: (England manager...)
".....I don't read the papers, I don't gamble, I don't even know what day it is!....."
David Moyes:
".....It was a mis-controlled backpass to the keeper and that does not constitute a backpass....."
Neil Warnock: ( on Sheffield United's promotion)
".....The chairman will be talking about Europe soon. In years gone by that would have meant taking on the waiters in Magaluf....."
Des Lynam:
".....Real's second goal made it 3-0....."
Ally McCoist:
".....Real Madrid are probably, without doubt, the best team in the world....."
Gordon Strachan: (after defeat by Everton)
".....I tried to get the disappointment out of my system by going for a walk. I ended up 17 miles from home and I had to phone my wife, Lesley to come and pick me up....."
John Hartson:
".....From start to finish we really started the game well....."
Mark Lawrenson:
".....Ireland will give 99% - everything they've got....."
Niall Quinn:
".....the Albanians are penetrating us from all positions....."
Kevin Keegan:
".....People will say that was typical City, which really annoys me. But that's typical City, I suppose....."
Craig Bellamy:
".....Arsenal are streets ahead of everyone in this league, and Manchester United are up there with them....."
Gordon Strachan:
".....The ref said: 'If I make a mistake don't make me look an idiot.' I had a great reply lined up but it would have cost me a couple of quid....."
Andy Gray:
".....Anyone who takes drugs should be hammered....."
Alan Parry:
".....He'll probably wake up having sleepless nights about that one....."
Jeff Stelling:
".....Chris Porter scored his first league goal last week, and he's done the same this week....."
Claudo Ranieri:
".....If you need just a first 11 and four others, why did Columbus sail to India to discover America ?....."
Alan Smith:
".....I'd love to be a fly on the Panathinaikos dressing-room wall.....if I could speak Greece....."
Glenn Hoddle:
".....We don't want to put a timescale on Tony Gardner's injury. He could be back in four weeks, but we'll re-assess in three weeks' time....."
Trevor Brooking:
".....That could have been his second yellow card.....if he'd already got his first one, of course....."
Alan McInally:
".....In any walk of life, if you get a penalty you expect to score....."
Joe Royle:
".....Wolves beat Palace convincingly without being convincing....."
Gordon Strachan: (after Southampton climbed to fourth in the Premiership)
".....I'm going home to get myself a Coca-Cola and a packet of crisps, sit in front of the TV and look at the League table on Teletext all night....."
Mark Bright:
".....The crowd will be looking for Vieri to inspirate them....."
Glenn Hoddle:
".....There was nothing wrong with the performance, apart from throwing away the game....."
Mark Bright:
".....Man City's marking was non-extinct there....."
Ian Holloway:
".....My day didn't start very well.....the Holloway household had to have our dog put down unfortunately, but that's life. I've just said to the lads: 'You're born and you die on a date. You've got to work on the dash in the middle'....."
Graeme Le Saux:
".....He's started anticipating what's going to happen before it's even happened....."
Gary Newbon:
".....There's such a fine line between defeat and losing....."
David Platt:
".....Michael Owen is irreplaceable, but Sven has Emile Heskey, James Beattie, Wayne Rooney and Darius Vassell, and whoever he picks can do the job....."
Phil Neal:
".....When England go to Turkey there could be fatalities - or even worse, injuries....."
John Aldridge:
".....You can't wait until you're a goal down at half-time, an away goal at that, before you throw the gun at them....."
Alan Green:
".....you don't score 64 goals in 86 games without being able to score goals....."
Gordon Strachan: (talking about defender Claus Lundekvam)
".....When he was carried off at Leicester someone asked me if he was unconscious, but I didn't have a clue. He's always like that....."
Rob Hawthorne:
".....All of West Ham's away victories have come on opponents' territory....."
Peter Jones:
".....It's Ipswich nil, Liverpool two, and if that's the way the score stays then you've got to fancy Liverpool to win....."
Ian Rush:
".....Djimi Traore had to adapt to the English game, and he did that by going out on loan to Lens last season....."
Gerard Houllier:
".....You can not say my team aren't winners. They've proved that by finishing fourth, third, and second in the last three years..."
Ian Holloway:
".....I can't see into the future. Last year I thought I was going to Cornwall on my holidays, but I ended up going to Lyme Regis....."
Peter Reid:
".....Magnifico.....or whatever they say in Paris....."
David O'Leary:
".....Achilles tendon injuries are a pain in the butt....."
Gordon Strachan: (talking about Sir Alex Ferguson)
".....He used to play tapes of Bill Shankly talking. I remember that and a singer he liked. I don't know who it was but it was crap. He played it on the team bus too, and all the boys hated it. Until one night it got chucked away. If he's still wondering who threw that tape off the bus, it was me. So maybe he was right and I'm not to be trusted....."
Peter Reid:
".....James Beattie is learning how to pull off defenders....."
George Graham:
".....the one thing I didn't expect is the way we didn't play....."
Glenn Hoddle:
".....Okay, so we lost, but good things come from it - negative and positive....."
Glenn Hoddle:
".....I have never heard a minute's silence like the one for Princess Diana....."
Glenn Hoddle:
".....He was a player that hasn't had to use his legs even when he was 19, because his first two yards were in his head....."
George Gavin:
".....So, this movie you star in, The Life Story of George Best. Tell us what it's about....."
Norman Whiteside:
".....The only thing I have in common with George Best is that we come from the same place, play for the same club, and were discovered by the same man....."
Clive Tyldesley:
".....He's not George Best, but then again, no-one is....."
Alan Brazil:
".....Our talking point this morning is George Best, his liver transplant and the booze culture in football. Don't forget, the best caller wins a crate of John Smith's....."
David Unsworth:
".....Wayne Rooney can go all the way to the top if he keeps his head firmly on the ground....."
Carlton Palmer:
".....I said to the players before the start, 'Just go out and give it 100 per cent'.....I am not asking for any more than that....."
Peter Schmeichel:
".....Solskjaer never misses the target. That time he hit the post....."
Joe Royle:
".....That was clearly a tackle aimed at getting revenge - or maybe it was just out-and-out retribution....."
Sir Bobby Robson: (on Paul Parker at the end of the 1990 World Cup)
".....That little lad has jumped like a salmon and tackled like a ferret....."
Sir Bobby Robson:
".....He's very fast, and if he gets a yard ahead of himself nobody will catch him up....."
Sir Bobby Robson:
".....For a player to ask for a transfer has opened everybody's eyebrows....."
Sir Bobby Robson:
".....Tottenham have impressed me: they haven't thrown in the towel even though they have been under the gun....."
Andy Gray:
".....there was no contact there - just a clash of bodies....."
Mike Parry:
".....David Beckham's wife appears to be no different from five million other girls, but she's got something that sets her apart from the other four million, nine hundred and fifty thousand and ninety-five....."
Ian Wright: (talking about Tony Adams)
".....It took a lot of bottle for Tony to own up to being an alcoholic....."
Kenny Sansom: (talking about Tony Adams)
".....His testimonial will be such an emotional night for Tony - I can't wait to go for a drink with him afterwards....."
Tony Adams:
".....Left alone with our own heads on, we can be pretty mental....."
Kevin Keegan:
".....there's a slight doubt about only one player, and that's Tony Adams, who definitely won't be playing tomorrow....."
Tony Adams:
".....The Championship is the carrot at the end of the Championship....."
John Greig:
".....Football's not like an electric light. You can't just flick the switch and change from quick to slow....."
Matt Lorenzo:
".....Forest scored after 22 seconds - totally against the run of play....."
Ray Wilkins:
".....Unfortunately, we keep kicking ourselves in the foot....."
David Pleat:
".....He had to cut back inside onto his left because he hasn't got a right foot....."
Steve Rider:
".....If you don't want to know the result, look away now as we show you Tony Adams lifting the trophy....."
Ron Atkinson: (as Steve MacManaman hoisted the European Cup, after Real Madrid defeated Valencia)
".....you won't see that again now that the Scouser's got it....."
Brian Moore:
".....The news from Guadalajara, where the temperature is 96 degrees, is that Falcao is warming up....."
Paul Gascoigne:
".....The doctor at Lazio told me I should try drinking wine, because it would be good for me. When I did, he had one look at me and said: 'You'd better go back on the beer'....."
Sir Alex Ferguson:
".....Andy Cole should be scoring from those distances, but I'm not going to single him out....."
Pat Crerand:
".....Matt (Busby) always believed Manchester United would be one of the greatest clubs in the world. He was the eternal optimist. In 1968, he still hoped Glenn Miller was just missing....."
Bill Shankly:
"....I'm not giving away any secrets like that to Milan. If I had my way, I wouldn't even tell them the time of the kick-off....."
Lawrie McMenemy:
".....the last player to score a hat-trick in an FA Cup Final was Stan Mortensen. He even had a Final named after him....... the Matthews Final....."
Peter Jones:
".....Sporting Lisbon, in their green and white hoops, looking like a team of zebras....."
Tommy Docherty:
"....my Chairman at Aston Villa, Doug Ellis, said he was right behind me, so I told him I'd rather have him in front of me where I could see him....."
Craig Brown:
"....when I joined Rangers I immediately established myself as third-choice left-half. The guys ahead of me were an amputee and a Catholic....."
Mrs. Kay Dicks:
".....people talk about Julian's haircut and his tackling and how aggressive he looks but I don't see him like that. I could see him in a tutu and ballet shoes. He is a big girl's blouse...."
Tommy Burns:
"....in Glasgow half the fans hate you, and the other half think they own you....."
Brian Glanville:
"....Jan Molby looked corpulent enough to be playing darts for Denmark....."
Brough Scott:
"....when the team trooped on, Molby looked like a fat man who had tagged on to the Liverpool line to live out every overweight's dream....."
Paul Gascoigne:
".....I've been told I retain a lot of moisture when I eat....."
Luther Blissett (on joining AC Milan):
"....blimey!... The ground looks a bit different to Watford. Where's the dog-track ?....."
George Best:
".....I once said Gazza's IQ was less than his shirt number and he asked me.....'What's an IQ ?'....."
Steve Bruce:
".....the only English I've heard from Eric Cantona is 'Goal !'....."
Tommy Docherty:
".....Tony Hateley had it all. The only thing he lacked was ability....."
Jesus Gil:
".....Hugo Sanchez is a very dangerous man. He is about as welcome as a piranha in a bidet....."
Ron Atkinson:
"......I'm going to make a prediction.....".....it could go either way....."
Kevin Keegan:
".....I know what is around the corner - I just don't know where the corner is. But the onus is on us to perform and we must control the bandwagon....."
Reporter:
".....How do you feel about your player Delgado's comments in the Press this week ?....."
Gordon Strachan:
".....I've got more important things to think about. I've got a Yoghurt to finish by today, the expiry date is today. That can be my priority rather than Austin Delgado....."
Terry Venables:
"......I felt a lump in my mouth as the ball went in......"
Joe Kinnear (after over-turning previous manager Peter Withe's 'No Jeans' dress code at Wimbledon):
".....they can wear jeans and earrings for all I care....but I draw the line at stockings and suspenders....until after the match....."
Chris Turner (before Peterborough played Middlesborough in the League Cup Quarter-final):
".....I told the players we need to win so that I can have the cash to buy some new ones....."
Harry Redknapp (on Dutch striker Marco Boogers):
"......if players can tie up their bootlaces these days they seem to be worth one million pounds. I got one who can't even tie his laces....."
Jasper Carrott:
"....I hear Glenn Hoddle has found God. That must have been one hell of a pass...."
Reporter:
".....Gordon, you must be delighted with that result ?....."
Gordon Strachan:
".....You're spot on ! You can read me like a book !....."
Desmond Lynam:
".....Chesterfield 1, Chester 1. Another score draw in that local derby....."
Kevin Keegan:
"....Bobby Robson must be thinking of throwing some fresh legs on....."
David Coleman:
"....Manchester United are buzzing around the goalmouth like a lot of red bottles....."
Ron Atkinson (on Tranmere long-throw specialist, Dave Challinor)
".....that boy throws a ball further than I go on holiday....."
Jonathan Pearce:
"......Welcome to Bologna on Capital Gold, for England versus San Marino with Tennent's Pilsner Lager, brewed with Czechoslovakian yeast for that extra Pilsner taste and England are one down....."
Andy Townsend (after dying his hair blond during the 1994 World Cup):
".....the boys call me Valderrama, but after this game I felt more like Val Doonican....."
Ally McCoist (on being voted the fifth-best looking sportsman in the world):
".....I was thrilled, until I learned that Ivan Lendl had finished above me....."
Roy McFarland:
".....If we get Promotion, let's sit down and see where we stand....."
Zit (1993):
"......Gary Mabbutt: Dodgy defender who's often caught in two minds..........Abbott and Costello's...."
Tommy Gemmell (on his goal in the 1967 European Cup Final for Celtic against Inter-Milan):
".....As I came to shoot, a defender stopped and half-turned his back on me. If he'd taken another step it would have been very difficult for me to get the ball past him. They say the book of Italian heroes is very thin........and he wasn't into expanding it any......"
Paul Fletcher:
"......They called Steve Kindon the 'Horse' because of his speed.It was also because he had the brain of a clothes horse, and the control of a rocking horse....."
Kevin Keegan:
".....It's understandable that people are keeping one eye on the pot and another up the chimney....."
Nigel Clough (1995):
".......When I arrived at Liverpool, I was at my peak and an England International. Now I'm a Pontins League player......"
Terry Venables (on Paul Gascoigne joining Lazio):
".....I'm pleased for him, but it's like watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your new car....."
Reporter:
".....This might sound like a daft question, but you'll be happy to get your first win under your belt, won't you ?....."
Gordon Strachan:
".....You're right. It is a daft question. I'm not even going to bother answering that one. It is a daft question, you're spot-on there....."
Jim Duffy (1993):
".......When Dusan Vrto came to Dundee, all he could say in English was 'Yes', 'No', and 'Morning'. A week later he'd added 'Thank you' and 'Budweiser'......"
Jan Aage Fjortoft (on Juninho joining Middlesborough):
"......He will only need to learn three words: 'Pound', 'Thank you', and 'Bye-Bye'....."
Anonymous Juventus Executive (1982) on Paolo Rossi's post-World Cup salary demands:
".....Two months ago he was over the moon.....now he's asking for it...."
Clive James, The Observer (1978) During the 1978 World Cup Finals:
"....The tune began changing when the Peruvians, one goal down, suddenly revealed an ability to run faster with the ball than the Scots could run without it....."
Reporter:
".....You don't take losing lightly, do you, Gordon ?....."
Gordon Strachan:
".....I don't take stupid comments lightly, either....."
Alan Ball:
"....I'm not a believer in luck......but I do believe you need it...."
Kevin Keegan:
".....In some ways, cramp is worse than having a broken leg....."
Ossie Ardiles (fearing for Glenn Hoddle's future as England Manager):
"....I wish Glenn luck, but he is putting his head in the frying pan....."
Ron Atkinson:
".....I'm afraid they've left their legs at home....."
Reporter:
".....Bang, there goes your unbeaten run. Can you take it ?....."
Gordon Strachan:
".....No, I'm just going to crumble like a wreck. I'll go home, become an alcoholic, and maybe jump off a bridge. Ummm, I think I can take it, yeah....."
Mark Draper:
".....I'd like to play for an Italian club.......like Barcelona....."
Paul Gascoigne:
".....I never predict anything........and I never will....."
Julian Dicks:
"......Once you've had a bull terrier, you never want another dog. I have six bull terriers, a Rottweiller and a bulldog......"
Gary Lineker:
".....There's no in-between......you're either good or bad. We were in between....."
Kevin Keegan:
".....England have the best fans in the world, and Scotland's are second to none...."
Reporter:
".....Gordon, do you think James Beattie deserves to be in the England squad ?....."
Gordon Strachan:
".....I don't care, I'm Scottish....."
Tom Perrie:
"......Dumbarton player Steve McCahill has limped off with a badly cut forehead....."
Gary Lineker:
"......most of the players will be wearing rubber tonight......"
Barry Venison:
"....the Newcastle back three, back four, back five have been at sixes and sevens......"
Bobby Robson:
"......I'd say he was the best in Europe, if you put me on the fence....."
Jimmy Hill:
"......Don't sit on the fence, Terry, what chance do you think Germany has got of getting through?...."
Terry Venables:
"......I think it's fifty-fifty...."
Phil Neal:
".....watching Manchester City is probably the best laxative you can take....."
Stuart Hall:
"....Lee Sharpe has got dynamite in his shorts...."
President of Juventus, (commenting on Ian Rush's lack of goals for Juve):
".....his goals do the talking, but so far he hasn't spoken very much....."
Brian Clough (on hearing of Graeme Souness' heart surgery):
"....my heart goes out to Graeme Souness....."
Joe Kinnear:
".....John Fashanu was having karate lessons and ended up a first dan, but he was playing like Desperate Dan....."
Rodney Marsh:
".....comparing Gascoigne to Pele is like comparing Rolf Harris to Rembrandt....."
Howard Wilkinson (on signing Eric Cantona):
"....Eric Cantona gave interviews on art, philosophy and politics. A natural room-mate for David Batty, I thought immediately....."
George Best:
"......I spent most of my money on birds, booze, and fast cars......the rest I just squandered....."
Steve Coppell:
".....I'm not going to make it a target, but it's something to aim for...."
Kevin Keegan:
"....the good news for Nigeria is that they're two-nil down very early in the game...."
John Motson:
".....for those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in yellow shirts...."
David Coleman:
"....don't tell those just coming in the final result of this fantastic match, but let's just have another look at Italy's winning goal....."
Terry Neill:
".....I'm not superstitious or anything like that, but I'll just hope that we'll play our best and put it in the lap of the Gods...."
Ron Atkinson (explaining why he had taken his seat in the dugout early in a match against Sheff.Utd):
"......I wanted to pass on some technical information to the team, like the fact the game had started...."
Gordon Lee:
"....well, what business has anyone got naming him Eamon O'Keefe if he isn't Irish...?
Billy Bingham:
".....probably the same business they have naming you Lee when you're not Chinese...."
Ron Atkinson:
"....Moreano thought that the full back was gonna come up behind and give him one really hard...."
Brian Moore:
".....Adams is stretching himself, looking for Seaman......"
George Best about Eric Cantona:
"....I'd give all the Champagne I've ever drunk to be playing alongside him in a big European match at Old Trafford......"
Alex Ferguson after United lost 0-5 at Newcastle,1996:
"....Everyone in the place is on Cloud 9. Well, perhaps by the time they come down they'll have lost the League again...."
Peter Swales, Manchester City Chairman, in May 1992:
"....We are going to beat them to the Championship. You have to feel sympathy for the way United missed out this season, but it was good for us because it now gives us the chance to get there before them. We were the last Manchester club to finish as Champions.......and we'll be the next......."
Norman Whiteside:
".....My career may have ended at Goodison Park, but I'm a Red Devil through and through....."
Pat Crerand, on George Best:
".....I live in hope that one day I'll go along to a Youth match, as in 1963, watch an unknown kid for five minutes and find myself asking: 'My God. Who is that ?'
Duncan Edwards:
"......I think Manchester United is the greatest club in the world, Mr. Busby. I'd give anything to play for your team...."
Denis Law, on Pat Crerand:
".....I used to say he was a great asset to Television, because they didn't need slow-motion when he was on the ball...."
Ted MacDougall:
".....I once asked Bobby Charlton the best way to get to United's training ground, and I'm still waiting for the answer...."
Willie Morgan:
".....I am biased where Tommy (Docherty) is concerned, and I make no apology for it. To me, the man is magic...."
Willie Morgan, on Tommy Docherty:
".....He's about the worst manager there's ever been, and nearly all United fans will be delighted when he goes....."
Willie Morgan:
".....I'm a better ball-player than George Best. George definitely had the edge over me in finishing, but when it comes down to beating people and creating chances for others, well, I could lose George at that...."
Bryan Robson, in 1990:
"....if we played like that every week, we wouldn't be so inconsistent....."
Ron Atkinson, talking about Gordon Strachan, 39:
"......there's nobody fitter at his age, except maybe Raquel Welch....."
Wendy Toms, the first female referee to officiate in a Professional game:
"...... If the players want to make it hard for me, I am happy to make it twice as hard for them....."
Ray Wilkins, on the QPR-Wasps ground-share:
"..... I think having Wasps around here as well gives us that little buzz around the place....."
Gerry Francis:
".....What I said to them at half time would be unprintable on the radio......"
Dave Bassett:
"...... And I honestly believe we can go all the way to Wembley, unless somebody knocks us out......"
Andy Gray, Sky Sports:
"...... I was saying the other day, how often the most vulnerable area for goalies is between their legs......"
Richard Keys:
"..... Well Roy, do you think that you'll have to finish above Manchester United to win the league?....."
Roy Evans:
"....You have to finish above everyone to win the league, Richard...."
Newcastle United fan, Radio 5 Live:
"..... Football today, it's like a game of chess. It's all about money..."
John Lambie, when told a concussed striker didn't know who he was:
"..... That's great, tell him he's Pele and get him back on....."
Mark Viduka:
"......I would not be bothered if we lost every game as long as we won the league......"
Stan Collymore:
".......I faxed a transfer request to the club at the beginning of the week, but let me state that I don't want to leave Leicester......."
David Beckham:
"....I definitely want Brooklyn to be christened, but I don't know into what religion yet........ "
Neville Southall:
".....If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of bed at the end of the day......."
Jonathan Woodgate:
"......Leeds is a great club and it's been my home for years, even though I live in Middlesbrough......."
Steve Lomas:
"......Germany are a very difficult team to play...they had 11 Internationals out there today......"
Les Ferdinand:
"....I was surprised, but I always say nothing surprises me in football......"
John Motson (during Exeter City's FA Cup replay against Man Utd)
".....This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these players.....well, twice in a lifetime if you count the first match.....'
Freddy Shepherd (Newcastle Chairman, after the departure of Laurent Robert)
".....You should only say good things when somebody leaves. Robert has gone.....good!....."
Alan Brazil (priceless evaluation of Sir Alex Ferguson)
"....The man is United - cut him and he bleeds red..."
David Pleat (The Spurs boss encouraging close relations between his players)
"....Our central defenders, Doherty and Anthony Gardner, were fantastic and I told them that when they go to bed tonight they should think of each other..."
Gerry Francis (The QPR manager on the lack of activity in the transfer window)
"....It is completely dead out there. I've been phoning myself up and disguising my voice just for a bit of interest...."
David Seaman (The man who never forgets)
"....I will never forget my first game for England at the World Cup, It was against Turkey... no I mean Tunisia...."
David Pleat (Commentating on a Champions' League game for ITV)
"....Hakan Yakin plays with Young Boys in Berne...."
Soccer Saturday (Sky Sports)
Jeff Stelling:
"...And Matt, Joe Hart's invincible today...."
Matthew le Tissier:
"...No he's not, Jeff - I can see him from here!...."
Noel Gallagher
"....I don't like John Terry and I never have. He's got funny eyes and he's a cry baby. He's also a Cockney...."
