In tomorrow's programme on page 17 there is a competition to nominate United's team of the Millenium. So let's put our BBS net-heads together and vote our own selection. You have to pick from the following in 4-4-2 formation. The choices are as follows :-

Goal : Jimmy Lawrence, McFaul, Ronnie Simpson

Right Back : McCracken, Craig, Bobby Cowell, Natrass

Left Back : Frank Clark, Jack Carr, Frank Hudspeth, Alf McMichael

Centre Backs : Charlie Spencer, Jack Hill, Frank Brennan, Bob Stokoe, Bob Moncur, Steve Howey

Right Midfield : Scoular, Jimmy Howie, Joe Harvey

Left Midfield : Peter McWilliam, Tom McDonald, Sammy Weaver, Terry Hibbit

Central Midfield : Tony Green, Beardsley, Rob Lee, Wilf Low, Alex Gardner, Andy Aitken, Gascoigne, Ivor Allchurch

Wide Midfield : George Wilson, Jackie Rutherford, Stan Seymour, Bobby Mitchell, Ginola, Waddle

Strikers : Albert Shepherd, Neil Harris, Hughie Gallacher, Jackie Milburn, George Robledo, Len White, Malcolm Macdonald, Wyn Davies, Keegan, Cole, Ferdinand, Shearer

Managers : Stan Seymour, Joe Harvey, Keegan, Robson

I can see a problem with this (I mean apart from the fact that Perez isn't mentioned. (-; ) You have to fill the following positions :- Goalkeeper, right back, left back, 2 centre backs, 2 central midfield, 2 wide midfield, 2 strikers, a manager and a captain. So why do they give you the category of Right and Left midfield separately and no box to select them? Perhaps you can dispense with one or both of your wide midfield men if you select from these categories.

You should also nominate the All Time Greatest Player.

The position of sub is already picked - the great Colin Veitch.

So there you have it. Select a team from that lot.

As a matter of interest are there any other players you feel ought to have been mentioned?

Once we've picked our teams I'll get Softie to crank up his random number generator and the BBS Millenium league can start to roll! (-;

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2000

Answers

All righty then. Here goes mine:

GK Ronnie Simpson RB David Craig LB Frank Clark (He knows my father you know) CB Bob Moncur CB Frank Brennan LM Terry Hibbit CM Peter Beardsley CM Gazza RM Jimmy Scoular S Hughie Gallacher S Alan Shearer

Manager Bobby Robson

All Time Greatest Player: Peter Beardsley

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2000

I did consider Arthur Horsefield or Alan Gowling but decided against...dunno why.

-- Anonymous, May 13, 2000

I know they can't have everyone in these things.....and all suggestions are subjective to the person making the choice, but I'm surprised that Alan Kennedy, Tommy Gibb, Tommy Cassidy, Peter Noble and Benny Arentoft are not in there somewhere.....and who the f**k missed out Jink Jim!

However, given the selection available, I'd go for:

GK=Ronnie Simpson, RB=Irving Natrass, LB=Alf McMichael, CB=Frank Brennan & Bob Moncur, CMF= Tony Green & St Peter Beardsley, WMF=Bobby Mitchell & Terry Hibbett S=Hughie Gallacher & Alan Shearer

Manager: The Lord, the Saviour and The Master....one KK

Captain: Frank Brennan

-- Anonymous, May 14, 2000

That should of course have been Jinky Jim......doh.....dipstick typist

-- Anonymous, May 14, 2000

Lawrence
Craig Brennan Moncur Hudspeth
Howie Green Beardo Hibbit
Gallacher Milburn

Bobby Robson as manager although I'd say that's the hardest part.

-- Anonymous, May 14, 2000

Well I can't believe that Kenny wasn't considered for best manager, after all, he reinstated the reserves after all the damage done by Keegan.

-- Anonymous, May 14, 2000

Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh Softie....such tic contributions. ;0)

-- Anonymous, May 14, 2000

Nice one Softie - I notice that TSM's team completed the season with a flourish yesterday (0-0). (-;

OK my team

Lawrence McCracken Moncur Brennan Hudspeth Harvey Beardsley Aitken Mitchell Gallacher Milburn

Captain : St Joe Harvey (who, incidentally, held the position for longer than anyone in United's history.)

Most difficult to leave out :- Simpson, Scoular & Rutherford.

Manager : Keegan (I hope Robson will surpass the KK effort during the next 2 seasons - it is too early for him even to be a candidate at this stage IMHO)

Greatest player of all time - Milburn (edging slighty ahead of Gallacher, Beardsley and Veitch)

Obviously I have the advantage of having seen all of these play (-; but as memory fades with senile dementia, I've gone on the basis of achievement and what I've read about them.

BTW, Veitch gets a great write up in the histories. A gentleman on and off the field and "a man of great intellect, he was a scholar, playwright, producer, conductor and composer, as well as an actor of some merit." Sadly, the acting would have been useful in the game nowadays ...

-- Anonymous, May 14, 2000

This is much more difficult than it looks.Midfield a bit strange for reasons mentioned by Jonno. Have to say, if I was limiting this to players I'd seen, it would look very different and also, it is very much the glory players. There are some souls who scored massively important goals etc when we were crap (eg, David Kelly) and others who bled black and white (eg,Kenny Wharton) and they don't merit a mention. Interesting that the great Frank Watt isn't mentioned - he was the Toon's Matt Busby. I can only think this is because the manager's job was so different in the past and he was officially club secretary). In terms of players, I feel Big Al deserves some sort of plaudit for choosing us at the peak of his powers and staying even though he could have left. Also, players like Tino, Ferdinand, Cole were among the best this club has ever seen. Finally, how do you weight a vote for the Messiah? I'll go for:

Lawrence,

McCracken, Charlie Spencer, Bob Moncur, Alf McMichael Scoular, Beardsley, Rob Lee, Jackie Rutherford Gallacher, Milburn. Manager: Keegan. However, I'm not truly happy with this. I read the Toon in bed last night after chatting to Jonno about it and the opening pages about the birth of a giant are almost tear-indufing "The close of that fortnight in April 1905 marked two things of immense significance. It indicated the arrival of a great football team, probably one of the greatest club sides that Europe has seen, a team so good that it would dominate the remainder of the Edwradian era...and it posted notice of the arrival in Britain of a magnificent football club. A club, which, despite buffets and setbacks, losuy managers and worse directors, bad players and shoddy teams, would never for one moment after 1905 look like being killed off by anything - a club which, time and time again, would rise triumphantly from the ashes of its past and stir the whole of Tyneside into song". Sob. Sob. We almost won the double that year, yer knaa.

-- Anonymous, May 14, 2000

Dougal

>>>>>I read the Toon in bed last night after chatting to Jonno

Careful pet - divven't give the game away. (-;

-- Anonymous, May 15, 2000