(right) Kevin Keegan giving a fashion lecture to young men

You could say that we shouldn’t talk. After all it was Kevin Keegan who was labelled as the first footballing superstar in terms of his ability to sell products. Who can forget seeing him on the pitch terrorising opposition defences, scoring at will and setting up others for their share of goals, then seeing him stepping out of the bath in a magazine advertisement for Brut after-shave? In fact it could have been George Best as the first of the guilty ones. His lifestyle of wine, women, and song was as well documented (and as well remembered by some recently) as his unequalled talents as a footballer. His conquests in both arenas are legendary. Add to that his own “boutique” clothing store and you have another individual who was accused of caring more about his off-the-pitch product endorsement contracts and money making sidelines than his club’s playing contract. Either way, it’s a close call as to who was first (or worst).

Who can blame any player for wanting to set himself up with a business for the day when he hangs up his boots and has to find some other way to earn a living? Most players, even at small clubs, look for ways to supplement their income through appearances for local businesses or by aligning themselves as spokesmen for brand-name products. The most obvious things for players to be associated with are of course their boots, with the more famous players having specially designed footwear with their name on them. Every kid wanted a pair of Mitre “Denis Law” boots didn’t he? Well, not if you were a die-hard red like me. I wouldn’t have been seen dead, or even on the bench, with such things! Now, if there had been a pair of Roger Hunt or Ian St. John “Special Euro Shooters” available, then that would have been different. This kid would have worn those to bed if he could have got away with it.

(left) George Best in a stylish pose

So much for the young impressionable kids; now, what about the virile young man-about-the-terraces, starting to notice that there’s more to Saturday night than talking about football, and dreaming of taking something other than boots home with him? (Insert your own jokes about boots, scoring, and studs in bed here!) The marketers must think that we never grow out of the worship of these superstars. Why else would they assume that if Kevin Keegan is shown to be using Brut, then I will too? Likewise, if George Best is seen as a fashion conscious ladies man, then surely I will take an active interest in wanting the best and latest clothing styles, regardless of the cost. I always thought there was something questionable about a lad who was overly interested in fashion, colognes, hairstyling, and such things. The players seemed to be able to get away with it, in spite of the comedians’ comments about getting hit with their handbags if you were to criticise them and so on, and it certainly got the attention of the ladies so perhaps there is some benefit to it after all. The theory was that if you can’t look like Keegan on the pitch, then you can at least look like something resembling Keegan when you’re on the make. If it works, then it’s good for you. If it works for everyone, then it’s good for Keegan as his advertising value goes up.

The practice of using athletes to sell products stayed pretty much the same for many years, whether it was Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, or some other millionaire selling his name to promote a product. And then along came Beckham. This is now a new era where the pampered superstar no longer has his manhood questioned for his appearance but is instead given a whole new lifestyle identity as a “metrosexual.” That’s a term that’s not well defined; unless you look it up in an illustrated dictionary and see a picture of “Becks” grinning at you (each new edition has to be updated to show the latest trend-setting clothing and hairstyle). The man is not content to have his name on a pair of boots; he has his own brand and his own logo!

(right) Beckham appearing in a tribute to Queen

How far can this go you ask? Well think back to how much we were surprised when we saw Keegan hawking after-shave, now look at the latest news from overseas where David Beckham has just unveiled his own brand of cologne for men. Daily Telegraph reporter Neil Tweedie (no, that’s not a joke) reports that “David Beckham’s Instinct”, the new fragrance for men, has the world divided as to whether this is “the sexiest new addition to male grooming in years or a chemical spillage on the M6.” So far the reactions of those who have had the dubious pleasure of getting a whiff have variously described it as “attractive and musky” or “like something you keep under the sink.” At a cost of $30 for 30ml, it’s not the most expensive of fragrances, even though it does come with a label that says “fabrique en Spain.” “Becks” now finds himself in the not-so-exclusive superstar company of J-Lo, Britney Spears, and Sarah Jessica Parker, with an eau de toilette to be sold in not-so-exclusive superstores. At the recent unveiling for the press, the label on the display bottle was described as a little off-centre, which I thought was somehow appropriate. How did the marketing geniuses come up with the name “Instinct”? They must have known that it was going to open them up to the obvious jokes like “Beckham’s In-Stink” and so on. But then again, I suppose it’s hard to come up with a suitable name for his fragrance, especially when “Egoiste” was already taken.

But how does it smell, and why? Early reviews have described it as “sickly and unmanly” by one woman customer, who also said “I don’t like David Beckham – he’s like a plastic toy. Eminem could stink of diesel and I’d adore him.” (I don’t think she means the fragrance Diesel either). Another potential customer, male this time, said it was “quite a fresh smell, not overpowering.” That depends on how much you wear, the “vaporisateur” can deliver too much in one squeeze if you’re not careful, resulting in “a feeling of nausea, but on the upside produces plenty of space at the bar.” Depends on which kind of bar you go to I would imagine. “David was very involved in the process” said a spokesman from manufacturers Coty, while managing to keep a straight face. It has ingredients of bergamot, grapefruit and mandarin leaf, cardamom seeds, red pimento, star anise, white amber and patchouli. Of course it also contains ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate and hydroxyisohexyl-3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde in case you were wondering. It could not be confirmed by the spokesman that the original fragrance was also going to be spiced up a bit with a hint of ginger, but Mrs. Beckham said no to that.

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Hello critic my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again. But what’s this? All I’m getting from you now is the sound of silence. Where are all those naysayers that were out in droves a few weeks ago, saying the end is nigh? They’ve gone elsewhere I suppose, looking for something else to squawk about. Meanwhile, back at Anfield: another week, another two clean sheets. The past five games have given us 5 out of 5 clean sheets, with 4 wins and 1 draw, scoring 10 while conceding none. Any way you look at that, it’s good. The result of this run of form is qualification for the second stage (round of 16) in the Champions League, and moving up a few places in the Premier League standings. Recent comments from Fernando Morientes and Steven Gerrard that we are not ready to concede the title at this early stage and that we could in fact be contenders or even champions by next May suddenly don’t seem so ridiculous.

(right) Djibril Cisse scores against Pompey

The week began with the pounding of Pompey. Peter Crouch earned a penalty and confidently stepped up to take the kick, unfortunately right at the keeper’s hands. But, failing to hold onto it, Zenden was there first to knock in the rebound. 1-0 for us early in the match and we’ll take it, but poor, poor Peter just can’t buy a goal. The reds controlled the game and never looked in any real danger. Two more goals came courtesy of Cisse and Morientes, making the final score 3-0. That’s exactly what we needed from this one: a good one-sided domination with 3 goals from 3 different scorers, and yet another clean sheet. That’s now 12 in Premier League and Champions League matches so far, out of 16 played. The only negative from the match had Alonso and Garcia picking up injuries which, while not serious, put them both in doubt for Wednesday’s match against Real Betis.

For the Champions League midweek match, Donna and I decided it was time to get together with a few fellow reds while we had the chance. So the word went out and we planned to meet with whoever showed up at Library Square Public House. We were able to watch the Setanta broadcast of the match which is definitely better than the ESPN version fed through TSN locally. As the teams came out, we saw that both Garcia and Alonso were being given a rest for those injuries, even though Rafa had insisted that they were both fine and ready to play. We finished our lunch and moved down to the lower section of the pub and found a couple of lads watching the match down there (Mark and Tim if I remember correctly). At last, some sort of interest from fellow reds, willing to make the effort to come out to watch a match. Two more lads joined us after a while (sorry, I don’t remember the names, let me know and I’ll mention you next time) with Sueyin and friend (again, I don’t remember the name, sorry) arriving after that.

By this time, it was obvious that we weren’t going to score in this one. We had lots of chances, about 22 all told, with some of them needing good saves from Doblas. Crouch played his usual game of controlling and holding up the ball, and showed just how skilful he can be with the ball at his feet. He did everything but score – again! Mind you, chances were also squandered by Gerrard and Morientes, as well as Cisse when he came on later in the second half, not to mention Sissoko and Hyppia who both had good chances go to waste. Still, the Reds passed the ball well and had no trouble opening up the Betis defence with their quick touches and by playing each other into good positions. The build up just never paid off in this one. The final whistle came as some relief as Betis looked a little dangerous in the last few minutes of the match, pushing forward to get a goal that would give them the 3 points and another chance at making it to the next stage. Instead, we held off the threat and left the field knowing that we will definitely be playing Champions League matches next February.

(left) Crouch bears down on goal against Betis

It was precisely one year ago today (November 23, 2004) that we lost at Monaco to put our Champions League chances in serious doubt. We needed some weird result in our last group stage match in December (either 1-0 against Olympiacos with a Monaco loss, or by at least 2 goals if Monaco win, or some other combination) to be able to survive. We all know the rest of the story. This time around, we are already through with one more match to play, the only thing to be decided is whether we finish first or second in the group. The usual thinking is that it’s better to finish first as we are then drawn against the second place team from another group, but in reality there are no easy matches since every team that makes it through is going to be tough to play against. Just look at what happened to the second place team from group A last year!

One more thing to think about is that the loss to Monaco on this day last year was the last time we were defeated in a Champions League match (not counting this August’s 3rd round qualifier against CSKA Sofia). That’s an incredible record for any club. Last year it was thought to be ridiculous that we could have any chance of winning it all, but the faithful, or the merely optimistic, among us said “why not us?” Our reasoning was that the previous year saw Monaco lose to Porto in the final, both of whom were considered outsiders for the trophy. Considering the results over the last 12 months, I’m ready to say “why not us again?”

Overall it was a very enjoyable day at the Library Square Public House, even if the match was somewhat frustrating to watch. Sometime during the second half, pub manager Steve Jennings was handing out boxes with Heineken and UEFA Champions League logos on them to all of us watching the match. “Thanks for coming out to watch soccer here", says Steve. We opened them up and found each one contained a t-shirt, courtesy of UEFA sponsors Heineken. Sueyin was disappointed that the box didn’t play the Champions League anthem as it was being opened, something for the sponsors to think about for the future!

All of us there today would like to say many thanks to manager Steve, bartender Garret, and waitresses Rachel and Andrea. As I said, the food (and the beer) was excellent and the service was superb. We’ll see you all again soon; watch the website and your e-mail for notices of the next get-together. One unfortunate incident that I should mention: on the way out of Library Square, I was just walking along calmly and some clumsy idiot tripped over my leg. I swear it wasn’t deliberate, but I still ended up getting booked!

As we were on the Skytrain going home, I was lost in a world of my own thinking of how this year compares with last year. Every way that I look at it, it seems that we are doing so much better in both the Premier League and especially so in the Champions League. Could it be that this year we might actually be considered one of the favourites? If that’s the case, then considering how we did last year, what can we dream about for this year? Donna noticed that I had been staring off into the distance for some time and said those words that strike fear in the heart of every male of the species: “What are you thinking about?” Fortunately I had an answer ready: “I was just wondering how you would feel about springtime in Paris!”

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