A Tale of Three Leaders

Brad Guy's the Hero

Brad Guzan's value has surely soared after a show-stopping 90 minutes in Aston Villa's goal in their 1-0 UEFA Cup win at Slavia Prague tonight.

One of six changes made by coach Martin O'Neill, the former Chivas USA goalkeeper pulled off a string of saves to deny the Czech champions, who were rampant in the second half, chasing John Carew's 26th minute lead. US international Guzan has yet to make his Premier League bow for the EPL side, but showed few nerves on a testing night in front of a packed crowd at the Eden Stadium.

Villa, who won the European Cup in 1981, top Group F after two wins out of two, three points ahead of Hamburg and Ajax....

Nottingham honors its Sheriff

Martin O'Neill is a two-time European Cup winner himself, the Villa coach being Nottingham Forest's midfield anchor when they lifted the trophy in 1979 and 1980 under coach Brian Clough's tutelage. Today, four years after his death, Clough was honored by the unveiling of a monument in Nottingham's central square, a rival to the Robin Hood statue which is the city's usual tourist photo-op. Middlesbrough, his home town, already has one of him and another is planned for Derby, where he coached and lived.

Clough's legend grows as time passes: Duncan Hamilton's brilliant memoir 'Provided You Don't Kiss Me - 20 Years with Brian Clough' is the UK's Sports Book of the Year, while a film of David Peace's amazing novel imagining Clough's 44 days in charge of Leeds, 'The Damned United', is released in 2009.

An era of bland soccer personalities and clubs betrothed to money has fueled interest in such colorful characters of the past. Clough was the supreme personality, with a magical knack of turning average players into great ones, while facing down all threats to him and making us laugh. A pure leader, Clough's supercharged ego however meant big clubs and countries ran scared of him. Think Jose Mourinho x10 but with humor and a lust for real power.

If taking two modest clubs, Derby and Forest, to the heights of Europe, was not enough to make him England's greatest ever coach, Clough was certainly the most remarkable one. Managers Roy Keane (Sunderland), Brian Laws (Sheff Wed), O'Neill and Stuart Pearce (England U21) are all former players of his taking up the baton...

Jumping on the Bandwagon?

Jonathan Spector's West Ham United, still apparently cash-strapped and up for sale after Sheffield United's suing of them and the collapse of the Icelandic banks where their owners' wealth was stashed, have turned to the States for succor.

Barack Obama attended Upton Park in 2003 while visiting his half-sister in London and the Hammers have announced they will formally invite the new US President back to East London.

West Ham are short of famous fans now that comedian Russell Brand has hot-footed it to Hollywood following a media witch-hunt regarding some untoward remarks he made on air. Alf Garnett, the original model for Archie Bunker, was a Hammer through and through, insisting they were the monarchy's favorite team because they played in claret (drink) and blue (blood).

I'm looking forward to some improvised chants at the Boleyn Ground. When it was revealed none other than Osama Bin Laden had attended an Arsenal v Torino game in 1994, the Highbury fans reveled in their celebrity appeal thus (to the tune of 'Volare'):

'Osama, oh-oh, Osama oh-oh-oh-oh,
He's hiding near Kabul,
He follows Ar-senal!'

-Sean O'Conor