The Night Andy Linighan Broke My Heart

Most people can pinpoint the moment their heart was broken in the same way that people of a certain age can remember where they were when JFK was shot.

In total it has happened to me three times.  It shattered once whilst waiting for a number 77 bus, when my boyfriend returned from his first semester at university and told me he wanted to split up so he could ‘find out who he really was’.

The last time, my heart tore in two whilst I was standing in an empty conference room at work, listening to the words of a man who was in the process of betraying my trust.

The very first time, however was on the evening of May 20th 1993, at about 10pm, by a self confessed ‘average’ Arsenal central defender.

Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal FA Cup Replay, the finale of the epic cup run which would put an end to all domestic cup replays forever.  To get to the final both clubs had had to beat their local rival in semi-finals held at Wembley.  An unusual occurrence at this time until the FA realised they could milk fans for more money and do this every season.  With Sheffield United and Spurs dispensed of this left just The Owls and The Gooners to play it out.

Not only had Wednesday and Arsenal bored the entire country to death by being the only two teams in English FA Cup football, they also met in the Coca Cola League Cup final only five weeks earlier.

My heart had already started to tear a little by losing the League Cup final but what hurt the most was not being able to be there at the FA Cup replay. The truth was as a family we couldn’t afford another costly trip to Wembley.  The replay was the fourth visit to London in a matter of seven weeks for Wednesdayites.  With tickets, travel and obligatory flag on a bamboo stick, a fourth appearance just wasn’t an option and we would have to listen to the match on the radio.  

The replay was a tempestuous affair.  They say that familiarity breeds contempt in relationships and Wednesday and Arsenal were the equivalent of a couple who were one last Relate session away from divorce.  Behind the broken fingers and noses there was agony and ecstasy on both sides.  It was like a night in the marital bed of Lee Chapman and Lesley Ash.

Ex strike partner’s Mark Bright and Ian Wright were now on opposing sides.  Bright helped to secure the Sheffielder’s place in the final but Wright went one better scoring in both the final and in the 34^th minute of the replay.

In the sensual 69^th minute Chris Waddle sent Wednesdayites into orgasmic celebrations.  Waddle’s shot from the left hand corner of the box hit Lee Dixon and left Seaman all over the floor.  Rapturous screaming ensued from the blue and white half of Wembley.

There was nothing to separate these two teams.

I remember Wednesday finishing the stronger.  The pressure was all coming from the Owls players and when Arsenal subbed a spent looking Ian Wright I looked at the two teams and thought ‘we can take them on penalties.’

As the clock ticked down we were a minute away from the first ever FA Cup final decided on penalties.  

119 minutes....Arsenal get a corner.  Paul Merson staggers over to take it.  

The ball hung in the air, much longer than it seemed feasible for a ball to do so and there he was.

Andy Linighan is a plumber now.  He's not the tall, dark, brooding man who sweeps you off your feet, that would be Tony Adams.  Just ask Steve Morrow after the 1993 Coca Cola cup final. 

Andy Linighan, rose above everyone by what looked like a clear foot.  Out jumping Mark Bright who had broken his nose with a swinging elbow in the first half.  His head kissed the ball and he directed it towards the net.

30 seconds to go….

Chris Woods, the Nosferatu of Sheffield Wednesday (notoriously afraid of crosses), flapped his gloves and pushed the ball into the roof of the goal.

25 seconds to go…it was over.

Linighan ran to celebrate with his teammates and I held my chest as if my heart would fall out on the floor.

Andy Linighan was now a man who would make other grown men cry, and not just the Yorkshire folk.

The evening, which was a final chance to clinch some silverware, ended with my dad pacing the floor of our living room, on the phone to Radio Sheffield ranting to the presenter of Praise or Grumble about Danny Wilson being ‘unable to hold his own water let alone a football’ and me sneaking upstairs to cry alone.

Football is uplifting at times, this for a Sheffield Wednesday supporter wasn’t one of those times.

It’s been twenty years since Andy Linighan head butted that goal through my heart and I can still feel every emotion I felt that night.  

Broken hearts are slow to heal especially when the team of 1993 deserved something other than a handful of runner up medals from that never to be replicated season.  I will always love that 1993 Sheffield Wednesday team, for better or worse, and I will forever maintain that Andy Linighan was the first man to break my heart.  

Wronga.com

Copyright The Sun

When Kerry Katona comes onto the television dressed like a Quality Street and preaching to the audience about the need for good financial help, I have to admit to gesturing wildly at the screen.

So when it was announced over the weekend that Sheffield Wednesday had rejected a sponsorship deal from a payday lending company, I got a glowing feeling from the season ticket in my purse.

Footballers' Mums

Footballer’s Mums could be a not so successful spin off show to Footballer’s Wives.  Behind every footballer there is a mother, whether they are nice, nasty or downright crazy they did give life to some of the greatest (and not so great) footballing talents.  Here are a few of those mum’s to celebrate…or stare at in bemusement.

Katie Chapman

Copyright FA.com

The Arsenal ladies captain is the only elite women’s player in the English game to have young children.  Katie had two young boys and continued to play competitive matches up until seven months into both her pregnancies.  Quite a feat when most women can barely walk during that part of the gestation.  After the birth of her first child she was back training with the Arsenal Ladies squad six weeks after giving birth.

Watching Wednesday in Weird Places

The last time Crystal Palace came to Hillsborough the day ended in tears for many Wednesdayites.  My day on the other hand ended in guiding a drunk bride to be through the streets of Benalmadena whilst trying to tactically avoid a traveller stag/hen do and overly aggressive club promo people.

How Do You Solve a Problem like Nile Ranger?

I’ve often described Nile Ranger as ‘Leon Clarke with a gun.’ 

Like Clarke, the ex Sheffield Wednesday loanee has the physical strength, ability to find the net and a definite presence on the pitch that can unnerve the opposition. 

But unlike Leon, Nile Ranger was never going to be a loveable mascot.

On Thursday evening, Ranger was arrested, for the sixth time in two and a half years, on suspicion of rape.  As the alleged crimes become more serious Newcastle United now have to ask, is Nile Ranger a problem worth solving?

The problems

The Toon Army will never be able to claim that they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into when they signed Ranger in 2008.  The year before he signed, when the striker played for Southampton, he was sentenced to 11 weeks in a young offenders institute for his part in a street robbery in Muswell Hill, London.

Nile was only 15 when he was convicted.

Despite his conviction, Dennis Wise saw the potential of the young striker and signed him for the Magpies’ academy.

During his four-year tenure at Newcastle, Ranger has been arrested for assaulting a man, who was left unconscious in the street.  He’s also been charged with two accounts of being drunk and disorderly and prior to the rape allegation he was arrested for criminal damage after kicking in a front door.  His explanation for the damage was that he thought his girlfriend had been kidnapped.  The charges against him were dropped.

When you're in a situation where you think your girlfriend has been kidnapped, it may be time to reassess your circle of associates.

As well as his brushes with the law, Ranger has had a fractious relationship with the FA.  In 2011 he posed with a replica gun for a social networking profile photo.  Nile later handed the gun in but later used his itchy trigger finger to unapologetic use when he was fined by the FA again for sending homophobic tweets to other players.

Just hours before Ranger was arrested for allegedly raping a woman in a hotel room, he posted an an Instagram photo of his surname spelt out in money.  There is an estimated month's wages for the average fan in Ranger's collage and another reason he doesn't endear himself to fans.

On the pitch Ranger has issues too.  He can be a ‘lummox’ as his brain works at the speed of a hamster going around a wheel.  When Nile does realise where he is on the pitch and the ball has landed in his general vicinity, his run is reminiscent of a character from It’s a Knockout.

BUT he always seems to be in the right place at the right time (specifically on the pitch, I can’t claim he’s ever in the right place at the right time in his own time!)

The positives

For Sheffield Wednesday fans the positive will always be the second goal he scored on the last day of the season against Wycombe Wanderers to promote us to the Championship.

What Nile Ranger gave us that day was respite from years of disappointment with a bullet of a goal.  During his loan period Ranger scored when it was important to the Owls.  In the match against Huddersfield Town last season, Ranger’s contributions were the turning point of our promotion campaign.

Despite his lack of awareness sometimes, he has enormous strength on the ball.  I don’t joke when I compare him to Leon Clarke.  He has a similar playing style and the capacity to score many goals and unselfishly assist in the build up of play.  Clarke maybe a journeyman player but there is no denying that wherever he plays he earns clubs points.   

Ranger may have a more dangerous edge to him than Clarke but with a manager like Dave Jones or Tony Pulis who like to collect delinquent and wayward football players, the Newcastle striker may have a chance to rehabilitate.

If you look at Ranger’s arrest record and overlay it with his time playing in a first team, the trouble all but stops when he is given the opportunity to play.  It’s not an excuse for Ranger but the lack of football for a talented player does seem to equate to more notes in his criminal record.

I’m not saying that he will ever get the opportunity to play again if he if convicted of the rape allegation or that I would welcome him back with open arms at Hillsborough but underneath the gangsta is a very good Championship/League 1 centre forward.  

Newcastle United need to decide whether he’s worth the risk. With an allegation of this nature is it already too late to save his career and prove he can ever be a 'changed man'?  The jury is definitely still out.