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Special: Get A Room! Managers And Players Who Liked Each Other A Little Too Much
Sometimes the bond can just be that little bit close...
12-Feb-2010 2:07:00 PM
By Zack Wilson
Probably the most dramatic 'romance' of recent years has been that between Frank Lampard and Jose Mourinho. The 'Special One' just cannot get enough of our Frank it seems, whether it's hailing the player's talent after a shower or trying to get him to move to Inter.
Mourinho's torch certainly hasn't been extinguished in Milan either, with Frank's absence only making the Portuguese's heart grow fonder, it seems.
"Frank is in my heart for everything we have done together. But I’m left with a bitter taste in the mouth. He said to me ‘I will go with you to Inter, if it’s not possible now, then in a year we will be together’," Mourinho told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Afterwards he changed his mind."
The Hollywood ending to this epic romance may now be less likely than ever, but there are sure to be some of the old sparks when Inter meet Chelsea in the Champions League later this month.
Liverpool's great manager Bill Shankly certainly had his feelings stirred by giant centre-back Ron Yeats, asking journalists to walk round the new signing whilst he changed in order to get a sense of the magnificent physique of the man he called his 'colossus'.
"He was a tower, a fantastic man, 6ft 2½in, quickest thing on two feet and strong as an ox," Shankly said, admiration glinting in his wise eyes.
And as if to prove these special relationships are reserved only for the best managers in the game, we move from Shankly to another who made his name in the north-west.
It might be hard to imagine anyone falling for Sir Alex Ferguson's gruff charms, but over the years it's clear that the manager's moody authority has made an impression on Gary Neville.
Whatever Fergie does is okay by Gaz, it seems, who was quick to take his boss's side against Carlos Tevez recently, claiming that Sir Alex always gets it right, and he was correct to let the Argentine leave.
Carlos, with all the anger of a lover spurned, called Gary "a bootlicker" and "a moron". Gary responded with the kind of one-fingered gesture that could be construed as suggestive in a different context.
Finger pointing | Neville hits back at Tevez
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has also been the subject of some speculation in recent years, with many supporters wondering at his insistence on picking Dirk Kuyt over other players.
Some Kop-ites also wonder just what Rafa continues to see in Lucas Leiva - love, blind as she is, can be such a fickle mistress...
There is nothing so beautiful though as the kind of deep love that can grow over a number of years, blossoming into something truly special.
Arsenal fans may remember Tony Adams as the kind of blood-and-thunder English centre-back who led his team to glory in the 1980s and 90s, but it seems there was a more tender side to the Gunners defender, certainly as far as manager George Graham was concerned.
Team-mates Ray Parlour and Alan Smith certainly thought so, with Parlour recalling: "Always with Tony Adams, if we got into a little bit of trouble or whatever, we'd both go down to see the manager.
"He [Graham] would say, 'Tone, don't worry about it. You [Parlour] - two weeks' wages'."
"We used to ask Tony to go in to see the gaffer on behalf of the lads to get us a wage rise or bonus or whatever," added Smith.
"He [Adams] would go into the little office at the training ground and he'd be in there for 20 minutes, then he' d come out.
"We'd ask 'any luck Tone?' and he'd say 'Sorry lads... but I've just signed a new four-year contract!"
Brian Clough was so keen to sign Roy McFarland for his Derby County team in the 1970s that he actually turned up at the player's house in Liverpool and proceeded to stay the night, sleeping on the front room sofa though like a real gentleman.
McFarland's father was so impressed with the kind of commitment Clough had shown that he immmediately gave his blessing to a relationship that was a key part of the Rams' winning the English top flight in 1972.
Our list comes, as Puma launch a hilarious campaign involving pub-dwelling football fans joining together to serenade that special someone. Why not join in the fun and pass on the link to your loved one?
Mourinho's torch certainly hasn't been extinguished in Milan either, with Frank's absence only making the Portuguese's heart grow fonder, it seems.
"Frank is in my heart for everything we have done together. But I’m left with a bitter taste in the mouth. He said to me ‘I will go with you to Inter, if it’s not possible now, then in a year we will be together’," Mourinho told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Afterwards he changed his mind."
The Hollywood ending to this epic romance may now be less likely than ever, but there are sure to be some of the old sparks when Inter meet Chelsea in the Champions League later this month.
Special friends | Lamps & Jose celebrate PL triumph
Liverpool's great manager Bill Shankly certainly had his feelings stirred by giant centre-back Ron Yeats, asking journalists to walk round the new signing whilst he changed in order to get a sense of the magnificent physique of the man he called his 'colossus'.
"He was a tower, a fantastic man, 6ft 2½in, quickest thing on two feet and strong as an ox," Shankly said, admiration glinting in his wise eyes.
And as if to prove these special relationships are reserved only for the best managers in the game, we move from Shankly to another who made his name in the north-west.
It might be hard to imagine anyone falling for Sir Alex Ferguson's gruff charms, but over the years it's clear that the manager's moody authority has made an impression on Gary Neville.
Whatever Fergie does is okay by Gaz, it seems, who was quick to take his boss's side against Carlos Tevez recently, claiming that Sir Alex always gets it right, and he was correct to let the Argentine leave.
Carlos, with all the anger of a lover spurned, called Gary "a bootlicker" and "a moron". Gary responded with the kind of one-fingered gesture that could be construed as suggestive in a different context.
Finger pointing | Neville hits back at Tevez
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has also been the subject of some speculation in recent years, with many supporters wondering at his insistence on picking Dirk Kuyt over other players.
Some Kop-ites also wonder just what Rafa continues to see in Lucas Leiva - love, blind as she is, can be such a fickle mistress...
There is nothing so beautiful though as the kind of deep love that can grow over a number of years, blossoming into something truly special.
Arsenal fans may remember Tony Adams as the kind of blood-and-thunder English centre-back who led his team to glory in the 1980s and 90s, but it seems there was a more tender side to the Gunners defender, certainly as far as manager George Graham was concerned.
Team-mates Ray Parlour and Alan Smith certainly thought so, with Parlour recalling: "Always with Tony Adams, if we got into a little bit of trouble or whatever, we'd both go down to see the manager.
"He [Graham] would say, 'Tone, don't worry about it. You [Parlour] - two weeks' wages'."
"We used to ask Tony to go in to see the gaffer on behalf of the lads to get us a wage rise or bonus or whatever," added Smith.
"He [Adams] would go into the little office at the training ground and he'd be in there for 20 minutes, then he' d come out.
"We'd ask 'any luck Tone?' and he'd say 'Sorry lads... but I've just signed a new four-year contract!"
The Clough stuff | A different kind of committment
Brian Clough was so keen to sign Roy McFarland for his Derby County team in the 1970s that he actually turned up at the player's house in Liverpool and proceeded to stay the night, sleeping on the front room sofa though like a real gentleman.
McFarland's father was so impressed with the kind of commitment Clough had shown that he immmediately gave his blessing to a relationship that was a key part of the Rams' winning the English top flight in 1972.
Our list comes, as Puma launch a hilarious campaign involving pub-dwelling football fans joining together to serenade that special someone. Why not join in the fun and pass on the link to your loved one?
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