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Football
Dreams record
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Full name:
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William John Abbs
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Date of birth:
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6th February, 1984
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Football Dreams career:
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1998-
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Team names:
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FC Abba
Faithless, the Wonder Boy
Abbzonspor / League of Nations
The Somme Public Baths / Rapid Artisan
The Prime Minister's Nipples / Dynamo
I Want Chips and Tart / Give Ocean a Go
Dial M for Murderousness / Fire! Fire! Chris Baird's on Fire!
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Honours:
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Football Dreams League
1999
Football Dreams Cup 1999, 2003
FDL Cup 2003,
2005
Football Dreams Association
Shield 2005
Manager
of the Month
Oct 99, Nov 00, Jan 01, Feb 01,
Sep 01, Aug 02, Oct 02,
Feb 03
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Competition record:
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| Year |
League |
Cup |
League
Cup |
El
Torneo |
Super
Cup |
| FDI |
1st |
Winner |
- |
- |
- |
| FDII |
3rd |
2nd Round |
2nd Round |
- |
Runner-up |
| FDIII |
2nd |
Semi-Finals |
Runner-up |
Runner-up |
DNQ |
| FDIV |
3rd |
2nd Round |
Group
Stage |
Group
Stage |
DNQ |
| FDV |
2nd |
Winner |
Winner |
Runner-up |
DNQ |
| FDVI |
3rd |
Runner-up |
Group
Stage |
Group
Stage |
Runner-up |
| FDVII |
4th |
2nd
Round |
Winner |
Group
Stage |
DNQ |
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Overall FDL record:
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| Pos |
F |
Pts |
Pts/Yrs |
| 2 |
405 |
4196 |
599 |
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FDL highs/lows:
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High |
Year |
Low |
Year |
| Pos |
1 |
FDI |
4 |
FDVII |
| W |
247 |
FDV |
217 |
FDI |
| F |
72 |
FDV |
50 |
FDIV |
| CS |
165* |
FDVII |
113 |
FDV |
| A |
233 |
FDII |
168 |
FDVI |
| Pts |
676 |
FDI |
539 |
FDIII |
| *
Football Dreams record |
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Prize money:
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£43.50, up £8.50 from a £35.00 total
stake.
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| Talking
football |
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Supports:
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Manchester United. I remember watching
them destroy Barcelona in 1991 to win the Cup Winners Cup and over the next
twelve months my interest in football developed. For some reason, Euro 92
won me over to the sport for good and United became my team. Strangely
enough, although I did have a friend who supported United too, my best mate in Year
3 was an Arsenal fan who wore the old speckled yellow away shirt almost
every day for school.
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Most likes them to beat:
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To beat Arsenal at the moment is
fantastic because there is such inherent antipathy between the clubs.
However, Liverpool and United are the two most historic and successful clubs
in the country and, because we both know it too, to win against them gives
me the most satisfaction. The importance of beating City is something I
won't claim to fully appreciate because I don't come from Manchester, but
the 4-1 thrashing last season really hurt.
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| Apart
from United, would most like to play for: |
It
has to be playing in Serie A for Juventus because of the sheer
glamour. |
| Favourite
player ever:
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Andrei
Kanchelskis will always fill this role. I tried to imitate his stuttering
dribbling style in the playground, and my soft spot for the folly of
old-fashioned wingers endures to this day.
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| Favourite
goal ever:
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Teddy Sheringham's equaliser against Bayern
Munich in the 1999 Champions League Final. The combined sense of relief and
ecstasy was so consuming that, after I had finished shouting myself hoarse,
all I could do when Solskjaer got the winner was burst into tears.
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| Favourite
goal celebration:
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Players should show they care when they
score. I'm not a fan of choreographed or contrived celebrations, although
they used to be my forte. Therefore, Marco Tardelli's wide-eyed,
head-shaking screaming in the 1982 World Cup is the ultimate celebration.
Raul's habit of kissing his wedding ring, which I find rather touching, is
worth a mention. Taunting opposition fans is always good too, whether by
putting your finger to your lips or cupping your hand to your ear.
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| Best
match attended:
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Ipswich 5 - 3 Bolton (AET), 1999/2000
Division 1 Play-Off Semi-Final 2nd Leg. It was a fantastic match but it was
also an honour to be present on such an important night for the club.
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| Best
football kit in history:
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The
Total Football played by Holland in the 1970s is the most
beautiful expression of the game ever witnessed, and the orange
number 14 shirt of Johan Cruyff, complete with two not three
black stripes down the sleeves, was its equal in kit terms. |
| Nightmare
eleven: |
Mine
is a United team that really would give me nightmares:
Massimo Taibi; John
Curtis, David May (c), Clayton Blackmore, John O'Kane; Neil Webb,
Pat McGibbon, Juan Sebastian Veron, Jonathan Greening; Erik
Nevland, Alan Brazil
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| Greatest
football memory: |
United's comeback to win the Champions League in
1999 and complete the Treble. How will I ever top that?
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| Lowest
football memory: |
It was only the first knockout round, but
Champions League nights are so intense and Costinha's last-minute goal for
Porto in March hit me hard. The memory I have when I realised he was going
to be the first player to Tim Howard's parry, and thus knock us out, still
haunts me. It was such a shock that I'm not afraid to say I shed a tear.
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| Playing
career: |
I played for Blue
Star Rangers for three years between the ages of 11 and 14. They were a team mainly made up of players ditched by the bigger local
teams. My first year brought a personal tally of 19 goals as a
midfielder/forward but no silverware. We won our league in my final season
with me at right back. I also turned out a few times for White Woman Lane
Middle School and Notre Dame.
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| CULTURAL
PREFERENCES |
| Favourite
TV programme: |
Early 'Frasier' runs it close, but 'Bottom'
still gives me the most belly laughs.
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| Favourite
film: |
I'm not a film buff but probably 'Trainspotting'.
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| Favourite
book: |
'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac. Sex,
drugs, jazz, roads - what's not to like?
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| Favourite
music group/artist: |
The Smiths
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| Top
10 albums: |
1) 'OK Computer' - Radiohead
2) 'The Queen is Dead' - The Smiths
3) 'The Stone Roses' - The Stone Roses
4) 'Searching For the Young Soul Rebels' - Dexys Midnight Runners
5) 'In Utero' - Nirvana
6) 'Turn on the Bright Lights' - Interpol
7) 'Doolittle' - Pixies
8) 'Definitely Maybe' - Oasis
9) 'London Calling' - The Clash
10) 'Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven' - Godspeed You! Black
Emperor
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| Underrated/overrated
albums: |
'Meat
is Murder' by The Smiths is almost their forgotten album
considering the way it is so criminally overlooked.
The most overrated album
ever, without doubt, is Television's yawnathon 'Marquee Moon'.
When NME voted it the 4th best record in history in March last
year I went out and spent good money on it. Since when have
ten-minute guitar jams been punk? |
| Best
gig/festival attended: |
The Libertines at Norwich Arts Centre in
September 2002 was a historic occasion. Explosions in the Sky were awesome
too at the Arts Centre in April. Their guitarist blew his amp out halfway
through.
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| PHILOSOPHIES |
| 6
things to consign to Room 101: |
> 'Jazz' pianists like Cullum, Jones,
Melua and Winehouse. Music should never, ever be aural wallpaper.
> Getting soap underneath my fingernails.
> Men who leave the toilet seat up. I feel embarrassed for my sex when
they do.
> People who wear trendy hats (because such garments do not suit me).
> Chelsea Football Club - a bunch of mercenaries.
> 'Loose Women' (the TV show, I hasten to add).
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| Favourite
snack: |
My Mum's homemade mincemeat tart with a
cup of tea.
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| Dream
job: |
Leaving aside the fantasy of turning pro
with United, I'd like to write comedy.
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| Political
persuasion: |
Just that I abhor bigotry and
small-mindedness. Britain has always been a melting pot of all sorts of
people, customs and beliefs, and much the better for it.
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| First
act as world leader: |
Ascertain why Batman doesn't dance any
more.
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| Motto: |
"The
hours of your life are more valuable than the money that you can
sell them for."
Do you know who said that?
Alex Kapranos.
And people think he's just
a floppy-fringed ponce. |