Old is gold in the Morrision
IT WOULD be some feat if the Maccabi London Lions Masters team lifted the Peter Morrison Trophy in May. But stranger things have happened.
It would be remarkably apt if — in a season where, once again, teams are forfeiting matches, or worse, folding due to a lack of commitment — the Maccabi League stars of yesteryear showed the youngsters how it should be done.
The quality and experience on show at Rowley Lane against the defending MGBSFL champions were immense. And they still have players of the calibre of Guy Morris, Adam Harvey and Ben Long — one of the permitted under-age players — to come back.
But their success is no flash in the pan. For these boys, Sunday morning football helps them tick. Virtually every member of Dan Jacobs’s squad has featured in the JC over the past 15 or so years and it reflects how much Maccabi football means to them.
The majority leave their wives and children at home each weekend to reflect on the glory years with their mates. I believe they have a fantastic chance of rewriting the history books as the oldest team to win the competition. They are an example to us all.
Brighton striker Tomer Hemed was quick off the mark to swap shirts with one of his football heroes — Zlatan Ibrahimovic — last weekend. The Israeli came off the bench for the final 16 minutes in his team’s 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford. As soon as the final whistle sounded, he exchanged jerseys with the Swedish legend and later tweeted: “You don’t change shirts with Zlatan, Zlatan’s shirt changes you #zlatanfacts Thank you legend.”
Scott Shulton is reflecting on a memorable few days. After winning the Hemel Hempstead Supporters’ Club Player of the Month award with almost 50 per cent of the awards, Shulton said: “What an amazing feeling. Joining Hemel has been a really great decision for me. I’m lucky to have a great team and manager alongside me. It’s so great to be acknowledged by the National League and to be praised for doing something I truly love.” And just a day or two later he announced his engagement to Jaimie Stone. How about that for a match made in heaven.
Bibras Natkho has played down the significance of Israel’s 98th position in the latest Fifa rankings. The Israeli midfielder said: “That Palestine specifically has surpassed us is of no interest. It’s not very nice that we’ve fallen so far in the rankings but I think we are talking about rankings that are completely incorrect.”
See Danny Caro’s weekend round-up at thejc.com/mgbsfl. Email dcaro@ thejc.com and/or follow Danny on Twitter: @DjCaro