United success was child’s play
QUESTION
What was the story behind soccer pundit Alan Hansen’s assertion that ‘you can’t win anything with kids’?
HANSEN, a legendary player for Scotland and Liverpool in his day, uttered this phrase on BBC’s Match Of The Day programme in August 1995.
The pundit made the remark following Manchester United’s 31 defeat away to Aston Villa, on the opening day of the 1995-96 English Premier League season.
The background was that, over the summer, United had let three experienced players leave the club: Mark Hughes, Andrei Kanchelskis and Paul Ince.
Surprisingly, manager Alex Ferguson opted against buying in replacements, instead choosing to build the team around a talented crop of homegrown players who had emerged from United’s youth ranks; these included Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, brothers Gary and Phil Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.
On Match Of The Day that evening, following the defeat to Aston Villa, Hansen was scathing in his appraisal, saying: ‘I think they’ve got problems... Obviously, three players have departed.
‘The trick is always buy when you’re strong, so he needs to buy players. You can’t win anything with kids.’ Expounding on this, he added: ‘You look at that lineup at Manchester United today and Aston Villa, at quarter-past two, when they get the teamsheet, it’s just going to give them a lift, and it’ll happen every time he plays the kids.’
Phil Neville later admitted that Hansen’s comments impacted him deeply. He recalled: ‘I went home that night, I watched it [Match Of The Day]. I was devastated. It probably affected me, because you actually think: he’s probably got a point. The league’s never been won with kids.’
However, the Red Devils bounced back from that poor performance against Villa with a ten-game unbeaten run in the league. And it seems that you can indeed win things with kids, as the United youngsters, known as ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’, helped fire the team to the top of the table, ultimately claiming the 1995-6 Premier League title.
What’s more, they made it a double, also winning the FA Cup by beating Liverpool 1-0 in the final. Phil Neville believed Hansen’s remarks helped the team, commenting: ‘That became our motivation: let’s prove Alan Hansen wrong!’
Down the years, Hansen has been regularly reminded – by United fans particularly – of his wrong call, and the Scotsman has taken it in good humour. He reflected: ‘That line pretty much made me, simply because I got it so dramatically wrong! The United souvenir shop printed the quote on a T-shirt and they sent me a couple, which was great.’
Jack Gilroy, Dublin.
QUESTION Who voices the Mission: Impossible ‘This tape will self-destruct’ message?
IT WAS Robert Cleveland ‘Bob’ Johnson (1920-1993) whose voice issued the weekly challenge on the TV series of Mission: Impossible. A native of Portland, Oregon, Johnson was an accountant in the entertainment industry, but while in the Army Air Corps in World War II, he began singing and announcing in variety shows. He also sang with the Roger Wagner Chorale and in background groups for films such as Dr Zhivago.
Johnson achieved TV immortality for seven years on CBS (196673) and two on ABC (1988-90) with the weekly warning: ‘This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck.’
In the film adaptations, the voice was provided by whomever was IMF (Impossible Mission Force) director. For example, in the 1996 film, the voice is that of Eugene Kittridge, played by Henry Czerny. And in M:I 2 (2000), the voice is provided by Anthony Hopkins’s character, Commander Swanbeck.
John Cowan, Luton, Bedfordshire.
QUESTION
Why were British Royal Marines officers sometimes referred to as Joe?
THE origin is uncertain. Cyril Field, in Britain’s Sea-Soldiers: A History Of The Royal Marines (1924), suggests it was to differentiate between the Marines and the common sailors, the Jacks. It may have been popularised by the John Ashley song Poor Joe The Marine (1839).
Today, it’s the Paras who are known as Joe.
The UK’s Parachute Regiment was formed in 1942 from soldiers already in the army. The volunteers had their documents stamped with the letters J.O.E, for ‘joined on enlistment’.
Marines are usually called Leathernecks, a term derived from the high leather stock once worn around the neck to protect the wearer from sword cuts.
Paul Rees, Cardiff.
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