Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Clive Allen joined Arsenal for £1.25m.
Thirty three years ago, Clive Allen joined Arsenal for £1.25m... two months later he left without playing a competitive game
Just 16 months after Trevor Francis had shocked the world of football by becoming the first million pound player, another record was broken - when the first seven-figure transfer involving a teenager was struck.
Queens Park Rangers forward Clive Allen was the youngster who, while still aged only 19, commanded a £1.25 million fee as he moved to Arsenal, 33 years ago on Wednesday.
For a club that was trying to lift itself back up following the blows of losing the FA Cup final to West Ham and Cup-Winners' Cup to Valencia, it was seen as a major coup, particularly as the fulcrum of the side - Liam Brady - was set for a move to Juventus.
But if manager Terry Neill wanted to put a smile on the faces of those Gunners fans with such an audacious move for a striker who had bagged 32 goals in 49 appearances at Loftus Road, they were soon replaced by looks of total bemusement.
After three appearances in Arsenal's warm-up games - with a goal return of precisely nil - the teenage marksman was on his way out - to Crystal Palace in a swap deal involving Kenny Sansom and keeper Paul Barron.
It was one of the most bizarre transfers in history. And certainly up there with other short-lived moves.
David Unsworth's £3m move to Aston Villa lasted just 48 hours and was blamed upon the defender not knowing the location of Villa Park, according to manager John Gregory. Unsworth happily re-joined Everton instead.
And Sol Campbell's brief spell at Notts County was over after just one appearance, the England centre half complaining that the League Two club had 'broken promises' made to him.
But even that pales into insignificance when Didi Hamann's move to Bolton Wanderers is taken into account. The German had signed a pre-contract agreement with the Trotters after his contract with Liverpool came to an end but asked to move to Manchester City instead... his time at the Reebok amounting to little more than 24 hours.
As it was, Allen moved on just two months after joining Arsenal.
The theory at the time was that Eagles boss Terry Venables had a hand in engineering the whole move.
The suggestion was that Palace wanted Allen but QPR wouldn't sell to them and weren't interested in a swap deal with Kenny Sansom.
Arsenal did have cash to spend but were interested in the Palace left back - and so a complicated three-way move was orchestrated.
Allen is later quoted as saying: 'Several different theories were put forward. There was no foundation to any of them but it was quite an experience to be involved in.
'I mean, if Arsenal wanted Kenny, why didn't they just buy him from Palace?'
It is more likely that Neill bought Allen in good faith and then, having seen the forward first-hand during a couple of pre-season matches, decided that he didn't quite fit the bill and looked for a solution to his problem, finding one in a swap deal.
Whatever the true story, it remains one of the most bizarre stories in English football history.
P.S.
Allen spent just a single season at Crystal Palace before returning to QPR. He then joined Arsenal's north London rivals Tottenham where he scored a stunning 49 goals in the 1986-87 season.
He was also named the PFA and the Football Writers' Player of the Year - a feat matched by Spurs' Gareth Bale some 26 years later although the Welshman also won the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Barcelona striker, Lionel Messi, and his father are reportedly being investigated for tax evasion
Spanish Tax Authorities Investigate Messi for Alleged Tax Evasion
Barcelona striker, Lionel Messi, and his father are reportedly being investigated for tax evasion to the tune of 13 million Euros.
According to reports, the Argentine and his father Jorge are accused of deliberately concealing commercial revenues from Spanish authorities from 2006 to 2009 by channelling the income through front companies located in tax havens.
Barcelona's El Periodico newspaper says the allegation "consisted of simulating the assignment of image rights to front companies based in tax havens [Belize, Uruguay] and, at the same time, formalising contracts of licensing, agency or benefit from services between these companies, and other such instruments domiciled in convenient jurisdictions [the UK, Switzerland].
It added: "This was done with the intended and successful aim that the incomes would move from countries where the companies or entities were based, to companies domiciled in tax havens, without being submitted to any taxation and, furthermore, with total opacity towards the Spanish Tax Authorities. The beneficiary of these incomes was no other than the person served - Lionel A. Messi."
Meanwhile, Messi has responded to the tax evasion allegations via Facebook.
Expressing surprise at the allegation, the goal poacher and four-time Ballon d'Or winner said: "We have just known through the media about the claim filed by the Spanish tax authorities. We are surprised about this news, because we have never committed any infringement. We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations, following the advise of our Tax Consultants who will take care of clarifying this situation."
According to Forbes, Messi is the 10th highest-paid athlete in the world, earning around $41.3 million per year.
Only David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo have higher yearly earnings in the sport of soccer.
Five Good Fact about Christiano Ronaldo
=>He doesn't drink alcohol because it reminds him of the disease that
killed his father.
=>He hasn't got any tattoo's on his skin so he is able to donate blood
twice every year.
=>Comes from a poor family and lost his dad when he was just 20 years old.
=>Made big donations for Palestinian schools and gave $3m for
countries In Africa
=>He stepped forward tocover the cost ofa nine-year-old boy'scancer treatment.
Nice one Cr7
Sad news: Popular artiste, Fatai Rolling Dollar is dead
octogenarian passed on this morning at Ahmadiyya Hospital in Abule
Egba, Lagos, southwest Nigeria. He was rushed to the hospital by his
wife about a week ago.
Kunle Tejuosho, whose label, Jazzhole Records, brought out 'Won Kere
Si Number Wa' among other albums, confirmed his death. He said the
deceased came back from America some weeks ago where he had gone for
shows for about three weeks.
Tejuosho in his tribute, said: "Baba was a great Musician. He lived
life of a music. He was always happy to perform. May be he took too
much on.
"He was a good guy. He enjoyed his life. He had a second chance which
he used very well.
"He would be missed because he brought the past alive to the present.
He re-lived the music of the 50s. He was a great music historian and a
great music custodian."
Yomi Opakunle, his former manager, also confirmed the death. He
however said the deceased may be buried today.
Rolling Dollar was known for his verve and dexterity on the guitar.
His zest for life and energy, even in old age, was also a marvel to
all who beheld him while performing.
After decades of struggling to make ends meet and musical doldrums,
Rolling Dollar got a new lease of life after the French Cultural
Centre brought him back into public consciousness.
He later got a higher lift through Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while as
Lagos State governor.
The late musician was given a house in one of the low cost housing
estates in New Oko Oba, Lagos.
Juju music legend, Ebenezer Obey was among those trained by the late musician.
As a pioneer Juju music player, Rolling Dollar clarified in an
interview how juju music derived its name.
"It was derived from the tambourine which is one of the key
instruments used to play it. When they play it on the street they
would shout 'Ju so ke'. They would then throw the tambourine up and
shake it. … shukushuku. That was how juju got its name and not from
bad medicine and all that. Even though in Saro land the word was taken
to mean bad medicine. But here in Lagos our juju meant music. In juju
then, we had the guitar, agidigbo, samba, sekere and at times we used
the bottle to give us that clave sound. In fact, white people invented
the clave from our bottle sound. That is where they got the idea for
it," he said.
He was born on 22 July, 1926, in Ede, Osun State.
He is survived by wives and many children.
Composer Of Nigeria's National Anthem, Benedict Odiase Is Dead
Mr Odiase died last night in his sleep. He composed Arise O
Compatriots" in May 1978.
Pa Odiase retired in 1992 as a Deputy Commissioner of Police after
being the Director of Music with the Nigeria Police Band.
Doctors Use Superglue To Stop Bleeding From Brain Of Baby
The unbelievable happened at the University of Kansas Hospital when doctors had to apply superglue to stop the bleeding from the brain of a baby to save her life during an emergency surgery after it was discovered that Baby Ashlyn Julian was suffering from brain aneurysm.
The baby was discovered to be bleeding from two places. The mother said she observed that baby Ashyln was not her usually self as she kept screaming and didn’t respond well to care as opposed to her quietness.
“She has an aneurysm and it’s already haemorrhaged, and that’s just frightening,” Gina recalled.
Ashlyn had suffered from a stroke and bled from two places after having an aneurysm in the brain, a rare condition for babies under 28 days.
The Endovascular Neurosurgeon Dr. Koji Ebersole of the University hospital decided against cutting into the baby’s brain as every drop of blood is crucial in infants. Also, the condition in babies this age is so rare that tiny tools do not exist to perform the surgery.
The decision was made to use a sterile drop of superglue to fix the aneurysm.
Dr. Alan Reeves, an interventional neuroradiologist, placed a catheter in the baby’s body, entering at the hip, and then Ebersole was able to drop in the superglue and it did the magic and it is expected that Ashlyn will make a full recovery as her brain was not fully developed.
World Bank Indicts Jonathan’s Government, Says Massive Poverty, Unemployment Killing Nigerians
the World Bank says.
The number of Nigerians living in poverty is increasing significantly,
revealing a perplexing contrast between the nation's economic
statistics on rapid economic growth and minimal welfare improvements
for much of the population, the World Bank has said.
"Poverty rates remain high in Nigeria, particularly in rural areas.
These rates declined between 2003-2004 and 2009- 2010, although not
nearly as fast as would be expected from the pace of economic growth
in the country," the World Bank said in its 'Nigeria Economic Report'
May, 2013.
"While the officially reported growth rates of GDP well exceed
population growth in the country, the pace of poverty reduction does
not, this implies that the number of poor Nigerians living below the
poverty line has grown measurably," the report stated.
The World Bank said the first Nigeria Economic Report is designed to
give some attention to longer term trends in the country, including
the puzzle of why a decade of rapid GDP growth by official statistics,
concentrated in the pro-poor areas of agriculture and trade, did not
bring stronger welfare and employment benefits to the population.
Aside from the increase in poverty, the organisation said progress
towards a number of the other Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria
has also been disappointing, stating that Nigeria was ranked 153 out
of 186 countries in the 2013 United Nations Human Development Index,
as unemployment rates have been steadily increasing and younger
Nigerians are encountering increasing difficulty in finding gainful
employment.
The organisation said available data on unemployment suggest a similar story.
"Job creation in Nigeria has been inadequate to keep pace with the
expanding working age population. The official unemployment rate has
steadily increased from 12% of the working age population in 2006 to
24% in 2011. Preliminary indications are that this upward trend
continued in 2012.
Another issue the report highlighted was that the official definition
of employment in Nigeria (less than 40 hours worked in the past week)
is unusual, and is therefore not comparable to that in most other
countries. The negative dynamic is very consistent, however, with
perceptions of the population of increasing difficulties for finding
gainful employment. Going by this, the problem in Nigeria might best
be interpreted as underemployment in contrast to unemployment proper.
Variance in reported statistics and reality
Reports over the recent years have continued to highlight the concern
that the Nigerian economic statistics reveals a puzzling contrast
between rapid economic growth and quite minimal welfare improvements
for much of the population.
Nigeria's annual growth rates that average over 7 per cent in official
data during the last decade place the nation among the fastest growing
economies in the world. This growth has been concentrated particularly
in trade and agriculture, which would suggest substantial welfare
benefits for many Nigerians.
"Nevertheless, improvements in social welfare indicators have been
much slower than would be expected in the context of this growth.
Poverty reduction and job creation have not kept pace with population
growth, implying social distress for an increasing number of
Nigerians. Progress toward the fulfillment of many of the Millennium
Development Goals has been slow, and the country ranked 153 out of 186
countries in the 2013 United Nations Human Development Index" the
World Bank said.
The Organisation said further data collection and investigations will
be necessary to clarify this picture of what factors are responsible
or explain the disparities between economic growth and the welfare
indicators of the nation.
"Given the seeming inconsistencies between the national accounts data
summarized above and statistics based on other surveys, it is
imperative to conduct further investigations and statistical tests to
uncover the true growth and development story in Nigeria" the World
Bank said.
Against this backdrop, the World Bank said it is imperative that
Nigeria finds a recipe to unlock rapid growth and job creation in a
larger part of the country, as well as to increase standards of
education, health, and other social services to enable its citizens to
find gainful employment in the emerging growth poles.
"In sum, statistics on poverty and unemployment in Nigeria, together
with other direct indicators of welfare, suggest a story that is
rather different from the national accounts data. GDP growth has not
been sufficient to support levels of poverty reduction and job
creation necessary to prevent a growing number of poor and unemployed
(underemployed) Nigerians."
Despite the challenges, the World Bank states that the macroeconomic
outlook for Nigeria in 2013 appears fairly strong, assuming that oil
prices do not decline sharply and oil output stabilizes. The foreign
inflows that generated the balance of payments surplus and reserve
accumulation should continue, and will stimulate domestic demand. In
this context, particularly if there are better weather conditions in
2013, the pace of economic growth could accelerate somewhat.
"Overall, 2013 should provide a favourable context for the realization
of key reforms and investments (power, roads, business climate,
education, health, agriculture) that could generate the non-oil
growth, productivity increases, and jobs needed to ensure the
country's prosperous future".
The Jonathan administration has increasingly made reference to
Nigeria's GDP and economic growth as signs of successes while the
opposition and several Nigerians lament that those growth have not had
a corresponding effect on the lives of average Nigerians
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