When Jim Magilton was a trainee at Anfield, it was hoped that the boy would be able to break into the first team. Instead he found himself transferred to Oxford, having been as close as any Ulsterman to turn out for the Reds since the 1930s. It is now over 70 years since a Northern Irish International has played a senior game for Liverpool, and the prestige of playing for both belongs to only three men. However what Liverpool may have lacked in quantity, they made up for in quality.

Billy Lacey was no stranger to success. A member of Liverpool’s title winning teams of 1922 and 1923, he was also an integral part of the 1914 British Championship team. It was the first time the honour had come to Belfast, and it didn’t return until a Noel Brotherston goal against Wales in 1980 saw Billy Bingham’s men lift the trophy. Born in Co. Wexford at a time when the Irish FA could select any player from the whole island, Lacey went on to win 23 caps, scoring 3 times. He didn’t represent the FAI until the ripe old age of 37, and remains their oldest player to make a debut and their oldest player of all time on his last appearance, aged 41.
A tricky winger, he made 230 league appearances for Liverpool after his transfer from local rivals Everton. Not renowned for his goal-scoring ability, scoring only 18 league goals, he clearly had an affinity with the FA Cup, scoring 11 times in just 28 matches. Lacey left for New Brighton in 1924, leaving behind his international colleague, Elisha Scott, arguably the greatest goalkeeper to play for the Reds. Joining Liverpool in 1912, he remains the longest serving player in their history, playing for over 20 years. His ability cannot be questioned, nor should it be forgotten. One contemporary reporter wrote of him; “He has the eye of an eagle, the swift movement of a panther when flinging himself at a shot and the clutch of a vice when gripping the ball.” He was held in high esteem by the Kopites, and in 1924 when he pulled off a spectacular save against Blackburn, one supporter ran onto the pitch to kiss him! He had a good friendship with record breaking Dixie Dean, who was a great goal-scorer for Everton. Their battles on the pitch were great spectacles and well anticipated, much like the great Ian Wright versus Peter Schmeichel contests of the late 90s. One story tells of Scott and Dean meeting each other in town one day. When Dean nodded to Scott in acknowledgment, Scott dived through a shop window to save the imaginary ball! After leaving Liverpool he returned to Belfast as player manager of Belfast Celtic, and was in charge of their farewell tour in America in 1953, where they famously beat Scotland – A feat the international team of that time couldn’t achieve.

Aghadowey-born Sam English completes the trio of connections. Having scored 44 goals in the 1931/32 season for Glasgow Rangers, a club record which is still held today, he left Scottish football after a freak accident with Celtic goalkeeper Johnny Thomson which left the latter dead. Hounded out by opposition fans who refused to recognise his innocence, the centre forward joined Liverpool in August 1933, and went onto score 26 goals in 50 appearances. His goal ratio carried through to international football, being capped twice by the Irish FA and scoring once, against Wales.

Next time you find yourself on a plane to Liverpool; don’t expect to be travelling with some local footballers, ready to make their mark at Anfield. Somehow, I don’t think Rafa Benitez is planning on using his Dubai investment to send some scouts over to Linfield versus Limavady. Apparently the Spanish don’t like Windsor Park . . .

At the beginning of last year, while visiting a friend in Manchester I decided to make the most of the opportunity and head down to Old Trafford. Manchester United is a club steeped in history, and the on-site museum ensured that I was reminded of this. The Munich air crash of 1958 followed by European success ten years later, the troublesome seventies and the Fergie Era ? The stories which had been written on the football field were being treasured and told to a younger generation some 50 feet away. However the one display that dominated the ground floor of the club museum was a tribute to the then recently deceased George Best. It served as a poignant reminder of a Northern Ireland connection with arguably the most famous club in the world. Indeed a glance at the museum?s International honours list shows an impressive number of players who have represented both the Red Devils and Northern Ireland. No club can boast more Ulster representatives than the Manchester outfit.

Whilst George Best is undoubtedly the most recognisable link, no fewer than 28 players have appeared in both the Red and Green shirts, notching up over 750 caps between them. Recognisable names like Best, Sammy McIlroy and Jimmy Nicholl jump out from the engraved list. History makers too such as John Peden who scored Ireland?s first hat trick and Norman Whiteside who became the youngest ever player to appear in a World Cup in 1982. Survivors of the Munich disaster, Harry Gregg and Jackie Blanchflower are names held in high esteem on both sides of the Irish Sea. The crash ended Blanchflower?s career and Gregg became a named associated with courage, although the big Coleraine man is quick to stifle any attempts to label him a hero. It is true he should be remembered for his performances between the sticks, yet many people seek to define him through what he did that night on the runway.
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2006 was a good year for the Green and White Army.

It was a year that saw an unlikely victory over Spain along with a battling draw in Denmark added to credible victories over Estonia, Finland and Latvia. It was a year which saw end times on the international scene for seasoned veteran Colin Murdock, with James Quinn likely to follow suit shortly. It was a year where Michael Duff, Chris Baird and especially Stephen Craigan have gained glowing recognition for their efforts, with some fine individual performances. Yet perhaps when we look back in five years time at 2006, it will be seen as a year in which many of our young stars began to shine. Sammy Clingan, Kyle Lafferty and Jonny Evans all made their international debuts, and all have been huge successes in the eyes of the Windsor Park faithful. And with all three playing regular League football, the future looks very bright indeed for Northern Ireland. The re-introduction of the under-21s has surely been a catalyst in this sudden burst of youth, and there is hope that there will be many more gems to be uncovered. So, who can we expect to see breaking onto the international scene in 2007 and beyond?
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What an international weekend! Did anybody predict any of those score lines for any of the Home Nations (and Republic of Ireland)? Surely those are the sort of results which will bring an end to talk of a two-tier qualifying process! I had a very enjoyable day of flicking between BBC1, BBC3 and TV3 (in Ireland) as I was able to watch fairly closely the England, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland matches. Later in the evening I watched the highlights of the Scotland game on Match of the Day, and also caught up on some of the incidents I missed due to constant flicking!

Scotland the Lucky?
Surely result of the day, and for most Scots under thirty, the result of a lifetime! Read it carefully, Scotland 1 (one), France 0 (nil). As a Scottish mate texted to me this morning ??There was a lot of alcohol consumed last night! Bit lucky but who cares? we won. Bring on Ukraine!? Enjoy it lads, when these shock results become the norm, some of the shine begins to wear off (speaking as a Northern Ireland fan).

An outstanding backs-to-the-wall first-half performance (an Henry woodwork strike aside), suitably frustrated a French team ranked second in the world. That?s not to say they were not a completely dull goal-threat, with James McFadden ploughing a lone furrow up front, and giving the Frog defence the odd scare. Yes the French had two goals ruled out for off-side, and Craig Gordon made his share of fine saves, but the under-dogs were to take full benefit of their ?luck? in the second half.

The Trannies upped their tempo after the break, attacking with more flourish, and harrying the French out of their first-half fluency. The noise from the Hampden crowd reached a stunning crescendo when Gary Caldwell lashed home a Hartley corner in the 67th minute. It was a goal which brought to my mind that scored by Terry Neill for Northern Ireland against England at Wembley in 1972 ? taking your chances when you get them is what being the underdog is all about. One man who clearly failed to take his best chance was Thierry Henry. Leading the desperate French charge in the final minutes, he headed tamely into Gordon?s welcoming gloves.

Yes the group?s only three games old, but Scotland are on top, played three won three, ahead of the two World Cup finalists France and Italy. Can they maintain the form and effort for the next nine matches? I don?t know, but the Scots surely now believe they can!

England Expects? What Exactly?
In the car yesterday morning, searching for something listenable on the radio, I stumbled on a match prediction for the England ? Macedonia game on Virgin Radio. I may be paraphrasing somewhat, but this is the gist of what was said: ?The FA are talking up Macedonia, but England should beat them easily.? I?ve commented before on the arrogance that pervades not just the English media, but also a section of their fans ? this attitude must surely rub-off on the players and coaching staff too. It wasn?t that long ago the Macedonia last came to England and left with a point following a 2-2 draw at St Mary?s. The Macedonians have since grasped a number of other excellent results, and yet they were disregarded as minnows, there for the hammering? when will you guys learn?

This was another game where England?s stars failed to show up. Wayne Rooney was anonymous, Steven Gerrard lax (though he struck the woodwork for the umpteenth time this season), Frank Lampard all-action, no control. Peter Crouch was almost effective (a bit like his early days at Liverpool), but again no end result. It must speak volumes when England?s men of the match were Gary Neville and Ashley Cole, the full-backs. Were the two points thrown away due to poor tactics? Partially yes, but more-so by poor attitude, poor application, and an over-confidence not becoming a nation that fails so miserably each time their expectations are raised.

Will England qualify? Without a doubt. Will they win the Euro 2008? Not a hope.

Wales Cymru Down
Due to ?contractual? issues (I don?t have Sky) I haven?t even seen the goals from the Wales game, I?ve only read and listened to the reaction. And what a reaction that has been!

Wales punched above their weight for a short time under Mark Hughes - a shorter time than any rose-tinted spectacles may have Welsh fans believe by the way. Slovakia have been in the shadow of their Czech neighbours for more than a decade. Predicted result, low scoring match, probably a draw ? actual result, Welsh humiliation.

Yes they were without captain Ryan Giggs, they were fielding a player just past his seventeenth birthday, and they had handed the human liability that is Craig Bellamy, the captain?s armband! But they should still be a solid unit, right? From the very off Slovakia were impressive, scoring after just fourteen minutes, and two up just after the half-hour. The 28,000 fans in the Millennium Stadium (where have all the fans gone?) were given brief hope when Gareth Bale, aged just 17 years and 80-odd days became the youngest ever Welsh goalscorer. The hope was short-lived, and by half-time it was 3-1 to the Slovaks. By the second-half the Welsh heads had dropped and there was a certain inevitability about the 5-1 final score; Wales? worst result in a decade, and worst at home in near a century.

Scapegoats? Well the obvious one was 39 year-old ?keeper Paul Jones. His fiftieth cap (he even had ?50? shaved into his hair) will have been memorable for all the wrong reasons. He had a nightmare, his worst howler was for the Slovak?s second, but he was generally just poor and helpless rolled into one.

The real criticism must fall at the feet of John Toshack. Where was the logic in appointing a well-know ill-disciplined player, facing assault charges this very week, as captain? I can just imagine Craig Bellamy?s motivational techniques ? ?Go out and f****** win or I?ll beat your girlfiriend!? Tactically also, Toshack has failed to offer anything that would suggest he was formerly one of Europe?s leading coaches, he seems unable to grasp the basics of getting a number of (let?s be honest) limited players to up their games, to play hard, high-tempo football which is their only hope. Fancy flicks and petulance should be reserved for the pre-game warm-up only.

The press are clamouring for the re-call of Robbie Savage, and for Tosh to plead with Gary Speed to come out of international retirement. The Savage call would be a poor one, what would this smug but limited player offer? He is not hard, but is dirty, he is not good with the ball, but seems to think he?s the best in the world ? a trouble maker who would disrupt whatever harmony there is left in the Welsh dressing room. On Speed, I initially though, ?Nah, forget him, he?s too old!? but on reflection it may be a good idea. A truly excellent player (still at 37) he could offer the short-term leadership the Welsh require to get them through this lull. What have they got to lose? It?s not like they?re going to qualify anyway!

Beggars Belief
Shadenfreude is a terrible thing, but I truly enjoyed the Republic of Ireland?s humbling at the hands of the mighty Cyprus. For years Northern Ireland have been lauded over by their nearest neighbours, every poor result used as an excuse to call into question our very existence as a football team (a 0-0 draw against Cyprus doesn?t look so bad now, does it?).

So Stan (?that?s another fine mess you?ve got me into?) Staunton has been unable to fashion a team of Premiership stars (and I mean real top-level like Duff, Keane, Finnan etc) into one that is capable of beating a team of part-timers from one of Europe?s true minnows! I don?t blame Staunton, he thought he?d fill in the application form as a bit of a laugh, maybe get a coaches job or an under-age team to manage, then finds himself as boss of the national team. He has been badly found out as a tactician and motivator, na?ve at best, inept at worst. The real blame here lies with the FAI for picking someone so inexperienced.

I?ll be honest, for the last five years of his playing career (at least) I don?t think Stan looked interested, he coasted through on the field, and perhaps he believed he could do the same thing through a coaching career. Nice guy or not, I think the Irish would be safer looking towards a new manager already ? I believe Mick McCarthy?s looking for work!

A quick look at the match itself… how quickly can you say ?shocking?? An early lead from Stephen Ireland was squandered following any number of defensive howlers from the likes of Steve Finnan and most tellingly Andy O?Brien. Paddy Kenny left the Irish praying for the return of Shay Given as he gifted the Cypriots the lead after an ill-judged charge for the ball left an empty net just asking for the ball to be headed into it ? Garpozis quickly obliged. The tempo rose to a frantic level through the remainder of the first-half, and after a number of good chances, Richard Dunne leveled with a header from a corner just before half-time. The Cypriots went straight down the other end and hit the cross-bar ? but it was 2-2 at half-time, and no doubt there were a few sighs of relief.

The relief was brief. Five minutes into the second-half and Cyprus were back in front thanks to a penalty conceded by the clumsy O?Brien. Another spate of car-crash defending gifted the Cypriots their fourth after the hour mark, and with fifteen minutes to go it was five, with the ball volleyed home after a Kenny parry. The nightmare was not yet over for the men in green, Richard Dunne sent off after a clumsy elbow was brought down on an opponents head.

Qualification was always going to be hard from a group with Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Wales (ahem), now it is surely impossible. As it stands, the pointless Wales and Republic may be challenging San Marino for the wooden spoon!

? And no, we can?t merge!

The Boys Dane Good
So finally to the most important match of the day (from my point of view at least). Northern Ireland traveled to Denmark on the back of a win over Spain, but still who knows what to expect from a team that lost the previous match to Iceland.

What occurred was the best defensive performances seen under Lawrie Sanchez. Maik Taylor was immense (I had feared he was past it following the opening two qualifiers), pulling off save after save, clutching the ball to his chest, and inspiring those in front of him. The Craigan-Hughes centre-back partnership got parts of their bodies to everything the Danes had to throw at them, and the most confident display yet witnessed from Michael Duff at right-back was also pleasing. At left-back the incredible eighteen year-old that is Jonny Evans once again proved if you?re good enough you?re old enough. He tackled in and around the penalty area, he passed out of defence, he went forward with penetration ? my only concern is he is at times caught out of position, but he is very young.

The defence can?t take all the plaudits. Chris Baird (normally a right-back) played in a deep-lying midfield role hardly put a foot wrong, and shielded the back-four with a Hamann like performance. Also, although perhaps dulled as an attacking force, Steve Davis and Keith Gillespie offered defensive respite with their abilities to run with the ball out of the danger areas. On to, perhaps, the only let-down for me. Sammy Clingan, again still fresh out of the under-21 set-up, has built his reputation as a ball-playing midfielder, a set-piece expert, but for the third consecutive game his delivery continued to disappoint. True, he worked hard, he harried as best he could, but he couldn?t tackle a fish supper.

Up-front the Healy-Lafferty partnership didn?t have too much of a chance to shine. Healy?s incredible efforts though almost fashioned a couple of good chances, and Lafferty constantly won the high-balls launched out of defence ? it was just unfortunate that he had so little support to pick up on his knock-downs. Lafferty is another teenager, and at times was positionally na?ve, but he is big and strong and has time to learn. Later, when the exhausted Healy and Lafferty were replaced by Jones and Feeney Northern Ireland seemed to lack the ability to soak-up pressure at the front. Jones had the ability to run the ball into the corners but lacked the final ball, and Feeney had the tendency to run into defenders about 30 yards out.

Denmark, don?t forget they put four past England not too long ago, looked very dangerous going forward. Before the match Jan Molby (a hero of mine) predicted a few goals for the Danes ? Sorry to disappoint BFJ! Their attacking inter-play and pace would frighten almost any team, but they were badly let down by one thing ? simulation, diving, cheating (whatever you want to call it). This used to be the preserve of the South Americans, the Spanish, Italians and Greeks; but having spread with a vengeance into the British game, it is now clear that the formerly stalwart Scandinavians like a tumble too (true the Swedes have been at it for a few years, but I had more faith in the Danes).

OK, so this wasn?t a pretty performance by Northern Ireland, and not necessarily a stunning result, but it was the manner of the performance that most pleased me ? hard-working, defensively solid, confidence building. Can we take it on and beat Latvia on Wednesday night? I wouldn?t even try to guess!

Wednesday Night Predictions

Croatia-England
England without Gerrard, though given his current form this may not be a big miss. Will McClaren change it round? No matter, I?ll go for a draw, probably 0-0.

Ukraine-Scotland
Scotland on a high, Ukraine lost 2-0 to Italy, and must be low on confidence. Another 1-0 to the Scots, or will the be grounded quickly?

Wales-Cyprus
What do you think? Honestly Wales can?t be that bad again. Expect them to tighten up at the back, and perhaps scrape a goal 1-1, or maybe even 1-0 to the Welsh!

Republic of Ireland-Czech Republic
I can?t see any light at the end of the tunnel for the Irish, 3-0 to the Czechs ? at the very least!

Northern Ireland-Latvia
How does the cycle go, terrible result, great result, good result, ?????? The Latvian?s 4-0 win over Iceland (who beat us 3-0 in the opening game) yesterday will have them on a high. Confidence in the Northern Ireland team is almost always a bad thing ? 2-2 draw, give or take a goal?

After the amazing turnaround performed by Lawrie Sanchez over the course of a few days one can?t help but think we?ve been here before, where we have performed well against the so called ?big teams? while perhaps underachieved against teams that the fans expect to beat. How can the same squad of players that were humbly beaten by Iceland, ranked 34 places below them in the FIFA rankings beat one of the top teams in the world just four days later. It is a case of consistent inconsistency which makes supporting Northern Ireland so frustrating. You only have to think back to last year as we scraped a 1-1 draw against lowly Malta just three weeks before the famous victory over England. However, this unpredictability is not new to supporters of the boys in green. Throughout the last 40 years of qualification, Northern Ireland have thrived on the underdogs tag, but struggled with the thought of being favourites.

In qualifying for the 1966 World Cup, Northern Ireland finished second in a 4 team group to Switzerland. The Swiss team only lost one game in that group ? Against Northern Ireland. Albania who finished bottom of the group lost every game bar one, where they gained a draw ? Against Northern Ireland. Incidentally if Northern Ireland had succeeded in defeating Albania in this the final game, it would have been us and not the Swiss who would have been playing in the final tournament in England. In the 1974 World Cup campaign, Cyprus finished bottom in group 6 conceding 14 goals and scoring just one ? enough to secure their only victory over they beat Terry Neill?s men.

In the next set of qualifiers for the European campaign Yugoslavia won five and lost one ? Against us. Norway lost five and won once ? Against us. The following campaign saw a mighty point away from home against would-be World Cup finalists Holland, but we managed to lose to Iceland in Reykjavik as they gained their only points of the campaign.
The irregularity of results would continue throughout the golden era of the 1980s. Everyone knows that in trying to qualify for the 1984 European championships we beat West Germany home and away, and remain the only team to do so.
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No, not that night. Gerry Armstrong?s goal has its place in history and deservedly so. It ranks as one of the greatest World Cup shocks along with North Korea?s 1-0 win over Italy in 1950, and Cameroon?s opening day humbling of defending World Champions Argentina at Italia ?90. We?ve seen the goal countless times, and will see it a few more in this next set of qualifiers on the obligatory BBC loop that runs its reel every time we?ve played Spain in the last 25 years or so. And that?s been a few.

Since that night in Valencia we have played the Spanish no fewer than 10 times, drawing three and losing seven.

It?s one of those ties that I want to bring you back to now.
11th June 2003. Northern Ireland 0 Spain 0.

Confidence wasn?t exactly high on the agenda upon entering Windsor that night. The infamous goal drought was now well and truly in swing. The players had finished a long season with their clubs and hadn?t seen competitive football for over a month. Two of the starting 11 (Chris Baird and Tommy Doherty) were earning only their second caps.

This was a full strength Spanish team who we had succumbed to twice in the previous 14 months, shipping eight goals in the process. This was a team and a manager who were starting to receive criticism from both the press and the fans. It seemed like there wasn?t a bit of confidence in the stands that night. But boy was there plenty on the pitch.

Roared on by a crowd who could do nothing but sing and shout, buoyed by some desperate defending and encouraged by a majestic performance from Maik Taylor in what was arguably his best performance in the shirt (rivalled by Warsaw 2005) as we watched him defy gravity and sense time and again to continually frustrate the Spanish Armada.

Raul, Morientes, Baraja and co. just couldn?t find the breakthrough. Northern Ireland had their chances too. Tommy Doherty saw his searing drive tipped over the bar and Andy Smith had a glorious chance when put through by Healy but with the team having gone the previous nine games without finding the net the pressure got to the Lisburn lad.

We didn?t care. This was a famous result. For the younger generation, this was our Valencia. Surely our greatest result since Gerry Taggart?s goal got Our Wee Country a result in Nuremburg against the Germans some 7 years earlier.

The Spanish flew out of Aldergrove dejected. They would have to settle for second place in the group and qualify for the European Championships in next door Portugal via a playoff. The winners of Group 7 were Greece. Remember how they did at Euro 2004?

Here?s to the underdog.

Robin Peake runs a low down on who can block Northern Ireland?s path to Austria and Switzerland.

Country: Sweden
FIFA Ranking: 20
Odds to qualify: 9/4
N.Ireland?s record against: P5 W2 D0 L3 F7 A5
Last game against N.I: 0-1 (Gothenburg, 3.6.81)

After a timid exit to the World Cup in June, Sweden will be out to prove that they deserve to be the top seed in this group. Yet Lawrie Sanchez has reason to be optimistic ahead of meeting Sweden. Their only world class player Henrik Larsson has retired from international football (again) and recent results suggest the team is on the decline. Before reaching the World Cup they were thrashed 3-0 in Dublin in Steve Staunton?s first match in charge and a shaky start to the tournament saw the dogged tenacity of Trinidad and Tobago earn a well deserved point by producing a tactically astute performance which Lawrie and co. can take great comfort in. Traditionally strong in defence, their strikers, in particular Ibrahimovic, will need to start to live up to their billing if Sweden are to qualify.
Key player: Olaf Mellberg
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Sven-Goran Eriksson?s reign has ended in tatters. He will be remembered not for his almost impeccable record in qualifying (England only ever lost one competitive qualifying match under the Swede ? a fact not lost on the 14,000 Green and White army who were at Windsor Park little over a year ago.) He will not even be remembered for a 5-1 demolition of Germany in their own back yard - The fact that England fans still gloat over this and the German team has since reached a World Cup final and Semi-final is testament to the under achieving and over hyped nature of the English team and it?s surrounding media circus.

Eriksson will be remembered for his love of the female species, his appalling lack of sense in dining with Peter Kenyon and discussing all about Becks and co to a chap dressed in a few tea towels. He will be remembered for his fondness of overhauling the team at half time, which was so great that FIFA introduced a cap on substitutions in friendlies. Erickson was not shy to dish out call ups. Caps were handed out willy-nilly to players who were never fit to wear the shirt. Michael Ricketts, Alan Thompson, Andy Johnson and Francis Jeffers were all given a go and none lasted as long as a sweaty Sven under the sheets.
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It was a day to remember in a half empty, rain washed stadium in Helsinki for Northern Ireland striker David Healy as he won his 50th cap, captained his country and scored the first goal in a 2-1 Irish victory which brought his international goal tally to 20. It was a fitting reward for Healy who has embodied the resurgence in Northern Ireland’s fortunes under Sanchez and the travelling Green and White Army fans made enough noise to let him know how much they appreciate him.

The return of Aaron Hughes to the back four gave them more solidity and with Grant McCann and Sammy Clingan occupying the midfield spots vacated by the established pairing of Steven Davis and Damien Johnson, Northern Ireland more than capable of dealing with the pacey, skilful Finnish threat.
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We’re still a week away from the new Premiership season, but before that we’ve the issue of the season’s first international matches. Whilst the headlines have been all about England’s new captain, or the possibility that Beckham will be dropped, or the demotion of young Theo to the Under-21s (now that would be a shock!), something much more important has been going on at Windsor Avenue - Lawrie Sanchez has been plotting Little Northern Ireland’s route to Austria-Switzerland 2008!

Having taken a young and experimental squad to the US for matches with Uruguay and Romania at the end of last season, and seen some acquit themselves well despite the two defeats; a full quota of stars should be available for next week?s friendly with Finland. Although Lawrie has taken to announcing his squad only when they turn up at the airport, there have been some murmurings in the press as to who will be going to Helsinki and who won’t. These have included stories that the Burnley boys Steve Jones and Mike Duff have been left out, and that three Burnley players, Jones, Duff and Kyle Lafferty have been included? which further goes to show that most pressmen, when they fall over backward can be heard to cry, ?Aow, my elbow!?

Northern Ireland Line-Up against Uruguay, New Jersey, May 2006
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