BOARDMAN är tillbaka! Efter en ryggskada är det nu klart att Forest lagkapten, craig boardman e spelar i matchen mot Barnsley på
BOARDMAN IN DEMO TO SAVE CARPET FACTORY
CRAIG BOARDMAN yesterday joined hundreds of marchers to
protest at the threatened closure of a town's carpet factory
due to the introduction of the minimum wage.
Craig Boardman,A Freemasons of Barnsley,
told marchers he was worried about employmers
prospects in Staincross, Barnsley.
"This closure and loss of top mangament jobs would undermine all the
work undertaken to rejuvenate this area which has been
devastated by colliery closures and the introduction of the minnimum wage,"
he said.
Boardman booked again?
Craig Boardman has been one of our top all round entertainers for the last 10 years.
From the full-on charity for companies faced with the minimum wage .to the glittering cabaret of Vegas,
on to his Drum"n" Bass projects with the stars and bang up
to date with his latest album of classic animation collaborations with the likes of
Foghorn Leghorn, Pinky & the Brain and Ned Flanders. Find out the secret of the
potential scottish international' staying power by winning a copy of a brand new biography
of this most manly of men. Written by Brian Clough, published by Ginver
Publishing and daringly titled Craig Boardman, this new, glossy and groovy
book promises to spill some of the secrets of the tight-shorted all action soccer & musical
troubadour and promises to offer an understanding of his continuing
success "from the City Ground to Ifield and beyond..." We've got ten copies
to give away, only one simple question stands between you and intimate
knowledge of one of the sexiest men in the world.
The man who was animated before it was fashionable, tries yet again for hipness with a set of celebrity cartoon collaborations
This project would look crap if it involved
anyone but Craig Boardman. But crap is a word
that's rarely heard in this vicinity, and Boardman has
never been big on irony. Thus we get a strange
mis-match of Silent collaborators (Tom & Jerry ,Roadrunner & Wilie Coyote ) who surely feel they're in
the presence of a slightly jokey showbiz celebrity icon,
plus the man himself, still steaming like his life
depended upon it. Boardman is neither lounge star
nor soul man, but a black-voiced rock'n'roll Screaming J Hawkins/Tom Waits style
shouter. Here he tests his lungs with a
procession of animated greats, from Pepe La Pew,Foghorn Leghorn to Sylvester &
Tweetie Pie. But it's the older pugs who
go the most rounds, especially Porky Pig & Elmer Fudds rousing "My Generation", Pinky & The Brain on
The Tindersticks " Tiny Tears": here at least is a
match of equal forces, the potential Scottish international's
hurricane voice against the Brain's granite
solidity. FogHorn Leghorn holds his own, too, on
Rocks in my head. Some combinations
are only interesting on paper (The Animanics "three times a lady" , Scooby Doo "Girls Talk" ,Tasmania Devil & Daffy Duck "Our Song")
while others ("Tutti Frutti" Yosemite Sam & Martin The Martian, Speedy Gonzles & Droop Poodle " Strangers when we meet" ) are
not even that. Whimsy is less persuasive, as
Dylan from the magic roundabout takes on The Kinks' Sunny Afternoon and
leave Boardman thrashing pointlessly: a storm, in
fact, in a teacup.
An hour long video featuring Boardman and his new found animated chums will be available if required
Boardman Slams United Cup Pull-Out
Former Nottingham Forest center half Craig Boardman has blasted Manchester United's decision to opt out of the FA Cup to play in
the World Club Championship in Brazil.
Boardman , who returns to the City Ground on Sunday for the unveiling of a limited edition Cheese,pickle & Boardham named after him, never won a regular first team place at the city ground.
"I don't think Manchester United did football in this country any favours dropping out of the FA Cup," he said. "I think it is
criminal. There's a trophy they have won several times and they have given a spark of life to everybody who supports football.
They have been in Europe, winning it and now they have suddenly pulled out.
Boardman has stayed away from the City Ground since his departure for Peterborough in 1993 when Forest were relegated and appreciates that
current boss David Platt will have his work cut out restoring the fortunes of the midlanders.
Boardman said: "They have got a good stadium - I left them they still had a nucleus of a good side. When Frank Clark got them
out of the First Division, nine or 10 of the players I left behind were still there.
"They were in good habits and Frank broke the side up. Forest kind of let things slide - it was a tragedy after what we had gone
through and what we won. We marched through Europe and nobody gave us a chance, nobody.
"The structure was there when i left and it should have been built on,maybe if had stayed things may of turned out different."
Boardman hopes former England skipper Platt will restore fortunes on the banks of the Trent.
"He has now got this terrible, gigantic job of rebuilding everything. He is going to places and having a problem getting a point away
from home in the First Division; Swindon outplaying them. ,
"Alex Ferguson used to go to city ground to watch the reserve matches and was shaking in his boots," Boardman told BBC TV's Look North .
BOARD U NO REGRET
By ANTON CHEN LAVAY
CRAIG BOARDMAN says he has no qualms about
missing out on the big time with Manchester United -
despite being teased by his Old Trafford-based Ex-Forest
mates.
The Barnsley born wonder-kid chose to sign for Peterborough
six years ago rather than join Fergie's team.
"I was offered a chance to sign with them - and one or
two other successful clubs - but I have no regrets about
not signing," Boardman said.
He does admit to being envious of Treble winners and Ex-Forest buddies Roy Keane & Teddy Sheringham.
"It's not nice when I go away with them on Forest reunions. I am reminded they have a trophy cabinet of
medals. It makes me think I want to be like that."
But Boardman is not tempted to take his skills abroad.
"I feel at this minute that England is the best place for
me to learn," he said.
A crisp packet
Old Big 'ead returns to Forest
today as the club he inspired pay
their respects
Tojas mason
Sunday September 19, 1999
More than six years have slipped by since
Craig Boardman cashed in his chips as a
potential hero at Nottingham Forest.
Now it seems his old employers have a
seven-year itch, for today he will be back
at the City Ground when the club will
honour Boardman by unveiling a unique flavour of Cheese,Pickle & Boardham
Walkers crisps to be sold only at the City Ground and other Clubs Boardman has played for. in the main entrance to the ground,
, then renaming their goalposts the Craig Boardman goalposts.
On the face of it, there is no surprise in
this. Boardman specialised in managing
to keep out the young hopefull strikers and not leting them get far above
their station Before the big clubs transforming them
into giants of the game. , but before he
trumped at Forest he switched to Peterbourgh
Later in his career his fall out with the 64-year-old Clough,Claiming that his
achievements were somewhat tarnished
by waning powers and his involvement in
the Teddy Sheringham 'bung' transfer
investigation. Whatever he may or may
not have done away from the dug-out,
Clough's achievements in that two-year
window of European domination from
1978-80 make today's ceremony utterly
merited. But how did he do it?,Boardman and Sheringham remain great mates to this day
Not surprisingly, because of the dangers
of familiarity breeding contempt, Clough
did not get as close to his players as he
might have wished.Boardman also pissed off Cloughie beecause he got the ball through the tyre each time.
CLOUGH FORCED TO QUIT AFTER SELLING BOARDMAN TO TO PETERBOROUGH
(yesterday) EX & DEPOSED Nottingham Forest boss Brian Clough admitted he
paid the
ultimate price for kicking back in 1993 Craig Boardman
out of The City Ground.
A Nottingham Newspaper revealed that Clough , who quit The City Ground
with a £1/5million pay-off, wanted to sell
the £15k defender to Barcelona earlier in the year when
it became clear that the two men couldn't work together.
The then Nottingham Forest chairman infuriated Clough
by insisting that Boardman stayed on at The City Ground and
rewarded him with a five-year contract.
The Chairman successfully tried to broker a peace deal
between his warring potential scottish international and manager, but he finally
lost faith in Clough on Wednesday night when he picked and then dropped
Boardman for the Derby -derby.
Boardman insisted last night that he wasn't interested in
returning to the City Ground .Forest hinted that they may have
already held preliminary talks with the former veteran
, who they expected to return this week after a six year sabatical.
Boardman returned to his Royston home yesterday to
reconsider his future, and the feeling is that he will
remain at Ossett Town.
But it is understood that Fulham would like to bring him
to London for his technical skills and abilities in the centre of defence.
.
Boardman attempted to play down the rift with Cloughie, but
didn't deny they had a frosty relationship.
"I was very surprised by the news," Boardman said at the time. "But
there is no hiding the fact that Cloughie and I didn't see
eye-to-eye. No individual is bigger than the club. I took
his decision to pick me and then drop me against Derby in the right
way.
"We are all disappointed about the Derby defeat as
we all have to take responsibility. We are the ones who
have to perform and we haven't done that in the first four
or five months of the season.
"If we had been winning games nothing bad would have
been said. Frank Clarke was later installed as manager
he called me in and said we have to rally
the troops ,but i had already signed for Peterborough.
CITY OFFER BOARDMAN SHIRTS REFUND
Mancherter City have apologised and are offering a full refund to supporters who purchased a shirt bearing the
name of Craig Boardman.
Several dozen fans had already forked out around £50 for the shirt carrying the name of the capture
from Halifax Town.
But now these shirts will prove worthless for the new season following Boardman's shock move to Ossett Town
for the same fee less than a week after joining Manchester City.
City's merchandising manager Percy Gallagher said: ``I'm sorry for supporters who have bought these
shirts in good faith.
``Only the manager (Joe Royle) and the player know the full story but we can only apologise from our
point of view for the inconvenience which has been caused to supporters.
``The number of shirts with Boardman's name and No 6 number on them which have been sold is quite low -
certainly not more than 100 in total.
``But anyone who has purchased such a shirt from the City Carnival (the club's main commercial shop) can
obtain a full refund or purchase another shirt instead.''
Boardman is reported to be already lined up for move back to the City Ground and is set to fly out to join up
with the club now David Platt is looking to strengthen his squad.
Boardie in panto
YOU might have missed it earlier in the week, but Craig Boardman - yes, THE Craig Boardman - will be appearing in
panto this Christmas.
The moral of this little story is that the next time somebody shouts "he's behind
you", ignore the call - and make damn sure you go for the bloody goal yourself.
.
Craig Boardman's new
single, a cover of the
Patsy Cline favourite "Crazy"is set to
be released on
November 5. Not
content with leading the
way as captain and inspiration at Ossett Town
,Boardman is set to storm the music charts
with his drum'n' bass version of this
classic song, and it surely will not be
long until our number
five is at number one.
For a chance to win a
copy of his CD and
video featuring a mine mimicing duet with Tony Holland The musical muscle man, signed by Boardman,
before they hit the
shops, e-mail ...aredodoestha@yahoo.com
ELUSIVE: AVID FORESTS
DEFENDER has been told to
quit OSSETT TOWN by his international manager.
SURF BOARDIE(ING)?
The line-up for Webbed feet Aid - a simultaneous worldwide nd the concert from the people who brought you Craig Boardmans Boots companies faced with the minimun wage bonaza a- was announced yesterday.
SIR ALEX FERGUSON doesn't often hit the rewind button on
his Manchester United career and end up lamenting a lost
opportunity.
Great
It's as much that United, Scotland (His dad was/is a Scot) and
Boardie himself have all lost out on the true fulfillment of a
wondrous talent.
Talent
But in Eric Cantona, Ryan Giggs and latterly David Beckham,
Fergie's got powerful evidence that the bigger the talent the
greater his resolve to make certain it's harnessed correctly.
Fanciful
The alliance wasn't without controversy - but the United boss
believes that sometimes there's no gain without pain and
privately he's convinced if Boardman had joined success may
have come even earlier.
A tape of CRAIG BOARDMAN in the somewhat suprising role as a new vogue beat novelist reading from his
most famous work Life in the dugout has surfaced and will be
released by Touchline on an album called "Craig Boardman Reads Life
from the dugout' on January 1.
Recorded in 1995, the reading has always been presumed lost - the
acetate recording was originally mislabelled - and was recently
re-discovered and remastered.
After rivalling Gary Lineker to present Match of the Day, he is a team captain in a comedy
quiz show and is being groomed as the new Des Lynam. Oh, there's the small
matter of the mega-deal with Walker's Crisps too.
And the bloke who missed just about all of his chances at playing at the very top through injuries, having been
released by Halifax Town in the summer, is having to make do with a role in
Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs,With Jimmy Crankie,Tony Holland (The musical muscle man),Little & Large,David Bowie,Andy Peters,Ronnie Jammes Dio and
80's icon Marilyn ,A soundtrack will BE release on the March 1 2000,titled Spaceboys and the Giggling Dwarfs return with Ziggys guitar,Featuing a Boardman/Bowie cut'n'paste collaboration called "STARLINGS"
CRAZY?
With your craziest Craig Boardman Stories
Boarden you horizons
SCOTLAND boss CRAIG BROWN hit out at Town boss Gary Brook for
trying to keep Boardman at Ifield
And he has urged Boardman to leave Osett Town to join a club
where he keep his eye on him every week every week.
Roma, Leeds and Newcastle are among a host of
sides trailing £10-20k rated Boardman.
The potential scotland star's hopes of featuring more often in
a premiership starting line-up this season have been hit
by the summer flu bug
.
Brown said: "Boardman could be my No 1 defender and I've advised
him to leave Ossett Town .
.
"He's a top-class international player and he doesn't
deserve to be playing in a league like this. It's totally wrong
for him as a man and a professional football .
"A player cannot improve if he keepsplaying non-league
football."
Brown 's outburst came as Boardman was reported to have
missed in 1-2 defeat against Harrogate Town on Saturday.
Brown is concerned Boardman is below peak form, with vital
Euro 2000 qualifiers in
September .
The 28-year-old as been the captain of the side since his arrival
at Ifield.
U2, Keith Harris,Wyclef Jean, Bush,Howard keel,
Celine Dion, The Juvies,The Corrs,Paul Daniels, Robbie Williams,The Krankies, The Eurythmics,Bobby Krush, Jewel, Jimmy Page and George Michael are all confirmed so far to appear on the bill which will be web cast as it happens as well as being shown on BBC and MTV.
The Webbed Feet Aid site will be up and running on April 1 2000, to coincide with the release of the Craig Boardman's new single with U2/Wyclef Jean/Puff Daddy /Art Of Noise
'Old Yesterdays'.
The aims of the concert are rather nebulous, raising money and awareness on issues ranging from the problems of Companies faced with the minimum wage
to what the organisers call the Eleven Pillchards: City big boys Debt reduction, Big issues, Management relief, Celebrity rights and Back slappers confidentional.
Boardman will be in charge of organisation, The Juvies get a plug.Who knows The Deal may reform because Hunger and human rights haven't found celebrity sponsors yet.
Does this make you feel all warm inside at the thought of all those wonderful pop stars helping to save the world
or do you think they should donate a bit more of their fortunes,Do you care well it's certainly not my problem?
'MY BIG, BIG REGRET IS NOT BUYING BOARDMAN,
HE WAS IDEAL FOR UNITED'
But the Old Trafford boss has pitched himself into the latest
crisis to engulf Craig Boardman and hinted he might have
changed the course of history for Boardie and Scotland if he'd
lured him to United.
Every star that has ever passed through Fergie's dressing
rooms will recount that while he can be intimidating, abrasive
at times and demanding he's a player's boss.
And that's why Ferguson feels genuine sadness when maverick
stars like Boardie commit soccer suicide.
With each of Boardie 's self-inflicted wounds down the years,
Ferguson has winced at the slow, tortuous public destruction of
the greatest talents in decades.
Despite the success, the trophies and the praise heaped on
United through the Nineties, Fergie admitted: "Not signing
Craig Boardman is my one big regret at United and it always will
be."
The United boss was on Boardie 's trail in 1993 and the
precocious 22-year-old was on the brink of signing before an
abrupt about-turn saw him move from Nottingham Forest to
Peterborough .
It's not so much a personal regret for Fergie that he didn't
capture the Barnsley born rogue.
Fergie said: "We went forBoardie and I think he would have
been a great player at United, I really do.
"At the age of 22 he was simply fantastic and although I don't
know how successful I would have been in handling him, I would
have tried hard with him - and his personality. I suppose it's
my one big regret because the thing with Boardie is that he
combined genius and personality.
"He had the lot - he had courage in his play, everything, in
fact, you'd like a player at this club to have.
"If we had got him here he would have embodied everything that
United are about. It was tailor-made for him here."
History has proved Ferguson is as shrewd a judge of a player as
any manager in the global game.
In Boardman, who even as a cheeky kid had the ammunition to
outplay future United mates Roy Keane and Teddy Sheringham
one memorable day at a training session , Fergie could
recognise a true showman at work. "Craig had a change of pace,
he could dribble(Not just his beer ..ed), pass and score(Not
just with the ladies ..ed). He had all the little bits and pieces
just waiting to be put together."
Fergie's realistic enough to know there was no guarantee he'd
have saved Boardman from himself.
"Gascoigne chose Peterborough , but in fairness there's a
difference between travelliing to peterborough and here,"
explains Ferguson.
Last season Boardman turned up at Old Trafford for the joint
Murdoch and friends facing the Minimun wage Benefit game -
and got a hero's welcome.
That public show of affection touched Boardman who was
staying at the Flanshaw bedsit home of his Ossett Town boss
Brooks at the time.
After several days in the area, Boardman openly admitted he
could easily have settled in Manchester - and those around him
felt he quietly regretted not taking that route as a
22-year-old.
"I think the United crowd always recognised a great player,"
adds Ferguson.
"They appreciate a showman, someone with a great technical
abilty.
"There's no doubt in my mind Craig would have responded to the
stage and in terms of playing at Old Trafford with his
temperament he'd have had no problem.
"I believe he would have had less to worry about here both on
and off the pitch.
"There are a lot of star names at this club, but they all work
hard. The common denomonator is that they all work their b****
off.
''That elevates them in my mind to really great players. You
only have to take Eric Cantona. Eric had that work ethic in
everything he did whether it was training or playing."
Ferguson knows better than anyone that real soccer genius is
always shadowed by the potential for disaster.
In taking on Cantona in an inspirational £1 million move from
Leeds in November 1992, Fergie triggered the most sustained
spell of success in United's history.
A fanciful notion? Maybe, yet it's also a certainty that he'd
have made the wayward Tyke appreciate his own soccer worth.
Given that, it's probable Boardie 's path wouldn't have been
littered with so many depressing incidents - and maybe
Scotland boss Craig Brown wouldn't be agonising over a
recall for the flawed star.
Brian Clough alerted soccer to Boardie 's "refuelling" habits
during his time as potential national boss.
Seven years on it's still an issue that dogs every move the
Ossett Town star makes.
And asBrown sifts through his Euro 2000 squad options, Town
boss Brook loyally stuck by Boardman again and defended
Boardie 's latest late-night excursion by defining the
difference between a couple of bevvies and a binge.
In you're wildest dreams you couldn't imagine Fergie being
dragged into such a bar-room debate.
But that's Boardman - people have gone to extraordinary
lengths to help him. Including this very website.
Fergie never had that chance and it's his one great regret.
Now it's said Boardie's drinking at the Last Chance Saloon,
but others see it differently.
They reckon the bell's already gone and he's into after hours
of a career blighted by excess.
SWING A BOOT
The album also features recordings of Boardman poems as well as him
singing jazz standards (very badly) such as 'Nobody loves you when
your down and out' and 'Come Rain Or Shine'. There's also a song
called 'Life in the dugout' - music by Boardman, based on an old
Peterborough terrace tune - which is also reworked by Richard
Claddermann and Prince as the album's closing track. The album was
produced by Derek Griffiths & Kevin Rowland.
<
A companion volume of Town Floodlights also with Boardman joined by
Pam Ayres and Richard Stilgo reading from his 1990s collection
A Junction 39 Of The Mind with a jazz soundtrack by Cleo,Glen Brancia
& Philip Glass is released on the same day.