Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service free-to-air television network that began transmission on 2 November 1982. Although commercially-self-funded, it is publicly-owned. With the conversion of the Wenvoe transmitter group in Wales to digital terrestrial broadcasting on 31 March 2010, Channel 4 became a UK-wide TV channel for the first time; the channel was established to provide a fourth television service to the United Kingdom in addition to the licence-funded BBC One and BBC Two, the single commercial broadcasting network ITV. Before Channel 4 and S4C, Britain had three terrestrial television services: BBC1, BBC2, ITV; the Broadcasting Act 1980 began the process of adding a fourth, Channel 4, along with its Welsh counterpart, was formally created by an Act of Parliament in 1982. After some months of test broadcasts, it began scheduled transmissions on 2 November 1982; the notion of a second commercial broadcaster in the United Kingdom had been around since the inception of ITV in 1954 and its subsequent launch in 1955.
Indeed, television sets sold throughout the 1970s and early 1980s had a spare tuning button labelled "ITV/IBA 2". Throughout ITV's history and until Channel 4 became a reality, a perennial dialogue existed between the GPO, the government, the ITV companies and other interested parties, concerning the form such an expansion of commercial broadcasting would take, it was most politics which had the biggest impact in leading to a delay of three decades before the second commercial channel became a reality. One clear benefit of the "late arrival" of the channel was that its frequency allocations at each transmitter had been arranged in the early 1960s, when the launch of an ITV2 was anticipated; this led to good coverage across most of the country and few problems of interference with other UK-based transmissions. At the time the fourth service was being considered, a movement in Wales lobbied for the creation of dedicated service that would air Welsh-language programmes only catered for at "off peak" times on BBC Wales and HTV.
The campaign was taken so by Gwynfor Evans, former president of Plaid Cymru, that he threatened the government with a hunger strike were it not to honour the plans. The result was that Channel 4 as seen by the rest of the United Kingdom would be replaced in Wales by Sianel Pedwar Cymru. Operated by a specially created authority, S4C would air programmes in Welsh made by HTV, the BBC and independent companies. Limited frequency space meant that Channel 4 could not be broadcast alongside S4C, though some Channel 4 programmes would be aired at less popular times on the Welsh variant, a practice that carried on up until the closure of S4C's analogue transmissions in 2010 when S4C became a Welsh channel. Since carriage on digital cable and digital terrestrial has introduced Channel 4 to Welsh homes where it is now universally available; the first voice heard on Channel 4's opening day of Tuesday 2 November 1982 was that of continuity announcer Paul Coia who said: Good afternoon. It's a pleasure to be able to say to you, welcome to Channel Four.
Following the announcement, the channel headed into a montage of clips from its programmes set to the station's signature tune, "Fourscore", written by David Dundas, which would form the basis of the station's jingles for its first decade. The first programme to air on the channel was the teatime game show Countdown, at 16:45 produced by Yorkshire Television; the first person to be seen on Channel 4 was Richard Whiteley with Ted Moult being the second. The first woman on the channel, contrary to popular belief, was not Whiteley's Countdown co-host Carol Vorderman but a lexicographer only identified as Mary. Whiteley opened the show with the words: As the countdown to a brand new channel ends, a brand new countdown begins. On its first day, Channel 4 broadcast controversial soap opera Brookside, which ran until 2003. On its launch, Channel 4 committed itself to providing an alternative to the existing channels, an agenda in part set out by its remit which required the provision of programming to minority groups.
In step with its remit, the channel became well received both by minority groups and the arts and cultural worlds during this period under founding chief executive Jeremy Isaacs, where the channel gained a reputation for programmes on the contemporary arts. Channel 4 co-commissioned Robert Ashley's ground-breaking television opera Perfect Lives, which it premiered over several episodes in 1984; the channel did not receive mass audiences for much of this period, however, as might be expected for a station focusing on minority interest. Channel 4 began the funding of independent films, such as the Merchant-Ivory docudrama The Courtesans of Bombay, during this time. In 1992, Channel 4 faced its first libel case by Jani Allan, a South African journalist, who objected to her representation in Nick Broomfield's documentary The Leader, His Driver and the Driver's Wife. In September 1993, the channel broadcast the direct-to-TV documentary film Beyond Citizen Kane, in which it displayed the dominant position of the Rede Globo television network, discussed its influence and political connections in Brazil.
After control of the station passed from the Channel Four Television Co
Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Queens Park Rangers Football Club abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in White City, London. The team plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football, they were founded in 1886 after the merger of St Judes Institute. In the early years after the club's formation in its original home of Queen's Park, they played their home games at many different grounds, until the club settled into its current location at Loftus Road; the club's achievements include winning the League Cup in 1967, they were FA Cup finalists in 1982. Their highest league finish was achieved in 1975–76 when they were runners-up in the old First Division, now known as the Premier League. QPR have long-standing rivalries with several other clubs in the West London area; the most notable of these are Chelsea and Brentford, with whom they contest the West London Derbies. The club was formed in 1886; the resulting team was called Queen's Park Rangers, because most of the players came from the Queen's Park area of north-west London.
QPR became a professional team in 1889, played their home games in nearly 20 different stadia, before permanently settling at Loftus Road in 1917, although the team would attempt to attract larger crowds by playing at the White City Stadium for two short spells: 1931 to 1933, the 1962–63 season. QPR were promoted as champions of Division 3 South in the 1947–48 season. Dave Mangnall was the manager as the club participated in four seasons of the Second Division, being relegated in 1951–52. Tony Ingham was signed from Leeds United and went on to make the most league appearances for QPR. Arguably the club's greatest manager, Alec Stock, arrived prior to the start of the 1959–60 season; the 1960–61 season saw QPR achieve their biggest win to date: 9–2 vs Tranmere Rovers in a Division 3 match. In time, together with Jim Gregory who arrived as chairman in the mid-1960s, helped to achieve a total transformation of the club and its surroundings. In 1966–67, QPR won the Division Three championship and became the first Third Division club to win the League Cup on Saturday, 4 March 1967, beating West Bromwich Albion 3–2, coming back from a two-goal deficit.
It is still the only major trophy. It was the first League Cup final to be held at Wembley Stadium. After winning promotion in 1968 to the top flight for the first time in their history, Rangers were relegated after just one season and spent the next four years in Division Two. Terry Venables joined from Spurs at the beginning of the 1969–70 season and Rodney Marsh was sold to Manchester City. During this time, new QPR heroes emerged including Phil Parkes, Don Givens, Dave Thomas and Stan Bowles; these new signings were in addition to home-grown talent such as Dave Clement, Ian Gillard, Mick Leach and Gerry Francis. In 1974 Dave Sexton joined as manager and, in 1975–76 led QPR to the runners-up spot in the First Division, missing out on the championship by one point with a squad containing seven England internationals and internationals from the home nations. After completing their 42-game season, QPR sat at the top of the league, one point ahead of Liverpool who went on to defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers to clinch the title.
Wolves were relegated to the Second Division that same season. The late 1970s saw some cup success with Rangers reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup and in their first entry into European football reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup losing to AEK Athens on penalties. Following Sexton's departure in 1977 the club slipped into the Second Division in 1979. In 1980 Terry Venables took over as manager and in 1981 the club installed a'plastic pitch'. In 1982 QPR, still playing in the Second Division, reached the FA Cup Final for the only time in the club's history, facing holders Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham won 1–0 in a replay; the following season QPR went on to win the Second Division championship and returned to English football's top division. After a respectable fifth-place finish, UEFA Cup qualification, the following year, Venables departed to become manager of Barcelona. In 1988 the club had 24-year-old Richard Thompson. Over the next seven years, various managers came and went from Loftus Road and the club spent many seasons finishing mid table but avoided relegation.
The most successful season during this period was the 1987–88 season in which QPR finished fifth, missing out on a UEFA Cup campaign due to the ban on English clubs in European competition as a result of the Heysel Stadium disaster. They were runners up in the 1986 League Cup, losing to Oxford United. Gerry Francis, a key player in the 1970s QPR side who had proved himself as a successful manager with Bristol Rovers, was appointed manager in the summer of 1991. In the 1991–92 First Division campaign they finished mid-table in the league and were founder members of the new Premier League, finishing fifth, as top London club, in the 1992–93 inaugural season. Francis oversaw one of QPR's most famous victories, the 4–1 win at Old Trafford in front of live TV on New Year's Day 1992. Midway through the 1994–95 season Francis resigned and quickly became manager of Tottenham Hotspur and Ray Wilkins was installed as player-manager. Wilkins led QPR to an eighth-place finish in the Premiership. In July 1995 the club's top goalscorer, Les Ferdinand, was sold for a club record fee of £6 million to Newcastle United.
QPR were relegated at the end of the 1995 -- 96 season. QPR competed in Division 1 until 2001 under a succession of managers. Gerry Francis returned in 1998.
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English football player and manager. He played as a striker and remains one of the Football League's highest goalscorers, but his career was shortened by a serious injury; as a manager, Clough's name is associated with that of Peter Taylor, who served as his assistant manager at various clubs in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. They achieved great successes with Nottingham Forest. Clough is remembered for doing frequent radio and television interviews in which he made controversial remarks about players, other managers, the overall state of the game. During his playing career with Middlesbrough and Sunderland, Clough scored 251 league goals from 274 starts, making him the third most prolific scorer in the league, with a conversion rate of 91.61%. He won two England caps, both in 1959. Clough retired after sustaining anterior cruciate ligament damage. In 1965, Clough took the manager's job at Fourth Division Hartlepools United and appointed Peter Taylor as his assistant, the start of an enduring partnership that would bring them success at several clubs over the next two decades.
In 1967, the duo moved on to Second Division Derby County. In 1968–69, Derby were promoted as Second Division champions. Three years Derby were crowned champions of England for the first time in the club's history. In 1973, they reached the semi-finals of the European Cup. However, by this point, Clough's relationship with chairman Sam Longson had deteriorated, he and Taylor resigned; this was followed by an eight-month spell in charge of Third Division Brighton & Hove Albion, before Clough returned north in the summer of 1974 to become manager of Leeds United. This was regarded as a surprise appointment, given his previous outspoken criticism of the Leeds players and their manager Don Revie, he was sacked after just 44 days in the job. Within months, Clough had joined Second Division Nottingham Forest, he was re-united with Taylor in 1976. In 1977, Forest were promoted to the top flight and the following season won the league title, making Clough one of only four managers to have won the English league with two clubs.
Forest won two consecutive European Cups and two League Cups, before Taylor retired in 1982. Clough stayed on as Forest manager for another decade and won two more League Cups and reached the FA Cup final in 1991, but could not emulate his earlier successes. Forest were relegated from the Premier League in 1993. Charismatic and controversial, Clough is considered one of the greatest managers of the English game, his achievements with Derby and Forest, two struggling provincial clubs with little prior history of success, are rated among the greatest in football history. His teams were noted for playing attractive football and for their good sportsmanship. Despite applying several times and being a popular choice for the job, he was never appointed England manager, has been dubbed the "greatest manager England never had". Born at 11 Valley Road, an interwar council house in Grove Hill, North Riding of Yorkshire, Brian Clough was the sixth of nine children of a local sweet shop worker sugar boiler and manager.
The eldest, died in 1927 of septicaemia at the age of four. When talking of his childhood he said. If anyone should be grateful for their upbringing, for their mam and dad, I'm that person. I was the kid who came from a little part of paradise." On his upbringing in Middlesbrough, Clough claimed that it was not the most well-appointed place in the world, "But to me it was heaven". "Everything I have done, everything I've achieved, everything that I can think of that has directed and affected my life – apart from the drink – stemmed from my childhood. Maybe it was the constant sight of Mam, with eight children to look after, working from morning until night, working harder than you or I have worked." In 1946, Clough failed his Eleven-plus examination and attended Marton Grove Secondary Modern School. He admitted in his autobiography that he had neglected his lessons in favour of sport, although at school he became head boy. Clough stated in his autobiography'Walking on Water' that cricket, rather than football, was his first love as a youngster, that he would have far rather scored a test century at Lord's than a hat-trick at Wembley.
Clough left school in 1950 without any qualifications, to work at ICI and did his national service in the RAF Regiment between 1953 and 1955. Clough played for Billingham Synthonia before his national service in the RAF between 1953 and 1955. Following this, he became a prolific striker for his home town club Middlesbrough scoring 204 goals in 222 league matches for Boro, including 40 or more goals in four consecutive seasons; however Clough regularly submitted transfer requests and had a tense relationship with some of his fellow players. He was irked by Boro's leaky defence, which conceded goals as as he scored them. After a 6–6 draw against Charlton Athletic, Clough sarcastically asked his teammates how many goals they would have to score in order to win a match, he publicly accused some of his teammates of betting against the team and deliberately letting in goals. While at Middlesbrough, Clough became acquainted with goalkeeper Peter Taylor, with whom he would form a successful managerial partnership at various clubs.
Clough played twice for the England national football team, against Wales on 17 October 1959 and Sweden on 28 October 1959, without scoring. In July 1961, one of Clough's transfer requests was
Sam Allardyce
Samuel Allardyce is an English football manager and former professional player, who left his post as manager at Premier League club Everton in May 2018. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent in the Football League, as well as brief spells in the North American Soccer League and League of Ireland, he was signed by Bolton Wanderers from Dudley Town in 1969 and spent nine years at Bolton, helping the club to win the Second Division title in 1977–78. He spent the 1980s as a journeyman player, spending time with Sunderland, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Coventry City, Huddersfield Town, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, West Bromwich Albion. During this time he helped Preston to win promotion out of the Fourth Division in 1986–87. Moving into management, he took charge of Irish club Limerick in 1991, leading the club to the League of Ireland First Division title in 1991–92, he returned to England to coach at Preston North End serving as caretaker-manager. He took up his first permanent management role in England at Blackpool in July 1994, but was sacked after two years having narrowly failed to achieve promotion.
He spent January 1997 to October 1999 in charge at Notts County, taking them to the Third Division title in 1997–98. He returned to Bolton Wanderers as manager, leading the club to promotion out of the First Division via the play-offs in 2001, as well as a League Cup final and UEFA Cup qualification. Following a spell at Newcastle United from May 2007 to January 2008, Allardyce managed Blackburn Rovers for a two-year spell from December 2008, he was appointed West Ham United manager in June 2011, leading the club to promotion out of the Championship via the play-offs in 2012, before leaving West Ham in May 2015 after criticism from fans over his playing style. He was saved the club from relegation, he was appointed as manager of the English national team for a brief spell in July 2016, before taking charge at Crystal Palace five months later. After helping Palace to avoid relegation that season, he announced his resignation in May 2017, he remained in charge for a six-month period. Allardyce has been labelled a long ball manager by some analysts, though he has disputed this perception as "totally and utterly wrong".
He takes a modern and statistics centred approach to tactics and coaching, has been praised for his organisational and man-management skills. Allardyce has been criticised for alleged corruption and has twice been the subject of undercover investigations. In September 2006, he and his son, were implicated in a BBC Panorama documentary for taking bribes, allegations which they denied. In September 2016, undercover Daily Telegraph reporters posing as businessmen recorded him offering to help them to get around FA third party ownership rules and provisionally agreeing a £400,000 contract. Following the Daily Telegraph investigation, Allardyce resigned as England manager in a mutual agreement with the Football Association on 27 September. Samuel Allardyce was born in October 1954 on the Old Park Farm Estate, the son of Robert Allardyce and Mary Agnes Allardyce, his father was a police sergeant. Both parents originated from Scotland with his mother from Dumfries, he has an older sister, born in Scotland in 1939 and an older brother, Robert junior, born in 1951.
Allardyce was educated at Sycamore Green Primary School and at Mons Hill School, having been unsuccessful in his Eleven plus exam. He discovered in life that he suffers from dyslexia; as a child, he supported Wolverhampton Wanderers and dreamed that one day he would play at and manage the club. Allardyce spent his youth with semi-professional side Dudley Town, making his debut at the age of 14 he learned how to play centre-half in the physical West Midlands League, he trained with local Football League clubs West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers, had an unsuccessful trial with Aston Villa. He was spotted by Bolton Wanderers just before leaving school at the age of 15, signed an apprenticeship with the club. To supplement his income before starting his apprenticeship he worked in a factory producing record decks; the Bolton under-18s were successful, winning the Lancashire Youth Cup and reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup, Allardyce rose through the B-team into the A-team.
He signed his first professional contract on his 17th birthday, receiving a £125 signing on fee and wages of £14 a week. Manager Jimmy Armfield gave Allardyce his debut for the "Trotters" on 6 November 1973, in a 2–1 defeat League Cup to Millwall at Burnden Park, he made his Second Division debut eleven days in a 2–1 defeat to Notts County. However he failed to establish himself in the first team under Armfield, only got a run of games under new manager Ian Greaves, who played Allardyce in the last ten games of the 1974–75 season after he sold Don McAllister to Tottenham Hotspur, he impressed during this short run. Bolton lost to Newcastle United after two replays in the FA Cup Fifth Round in the 1975–76 season, went on to miss out on promotion out of the league by a single point, they suffered similar disappointment in the 1976–77 campaign, reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup, again finished just one point outside the promotion places. Allardyce played alongside Paul Jones at centre-half, a scouting report for England manager Don Revie in 1977 described Allardyce and Jones as "one of the best central defensive pairings in the Football
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger is a French football manager and former player. He was the manager of Arsenal from 1996 to 2018, where he was the longest-serving and most successful in the club's history, his contribution to English football through changes to scouting, players' training and diet regimens revitalised Arsenal and aided the globalisation of the sport in the 21st century. Born in Strasbourg and raised in Duttlenheim to an entrepreneurial family, Wenger was introduced to football by his father, the manager of the local village team. After a modest playing career, in which he made appearances for several amateur clubs, Wenger obtained a manager's diploma in 1981. Following an unsuccessful period at Nancy which culminated in his dismissal in 1987, Wenger joined AS Monaco. In 1991, Wenger guided Monaco to victory in the Coupe de France, but their failure to regain the league title in seasons led to his departure from the club by mutual consent in 1994, he coached J. League side Nagoya Grampus Eight and won the Emperor's Cup and Japanese Super Cup during his stay in Japan.
Wenger was named manager of Arsenal in 1996 and two years led the club to a Premier League and FA Cup double. The club retained the FA Cup a year later. In 2004, Wenger managed Arsenal to an undefeated league season, a feat last accomplished by Preston North End, 115 years previously. Arsenal eclipsed Nottingham Forest's record of 42 league matches unbeaten and went seven more matches before losing in October 2004; the club made their first appearance in a Champions League final in 2006, though they lost to Barcelona. After a period of nine years without a trophy, which coincided with the club relocating to the Emirates Stadium, Wenger guided Arsenal to further FA Cup success in 2014, 2015 and 2017, before stepping down as manager a year later; the nickname "Le Professeur" is used by fans and the British media to reflect Wenger's studious demeanour. His approach to the game emphasises an attacking mentality, with the aim that football ought to be entertaining on the pitch. Wenger's Arsenal teams have been criticised for their indiscipline.
At Monaco, Wenger earned a reputation for spotting young talent, he has remained focused on developing a youth system. Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger was born on 22 October 1949 in Strasbourg, the youngest of three children born to Alphonse and Louise Wenger, he lived in Duppigheim during the 1950s, but spent most of his time in the neighbouring village of Duttlenheim, ten miles south-west of Strasbourg. Alphonse, like many Alsatians, was conscripted into the German Army by force following Germany's earlier annexation of the French region of Alsace-Lorraine, he was sent to fight on the Eastern Front in October 1944, at the age of 24. The Wengers owned a bistro titled La croix d'or, it meant that they had difficulty looking after their children, but Duttlenheim was a village where everyone took care of the young. Before Wenger started school, he expressed himself in the local Alsatian dialect of Low Alemannic German; the primary school which Wenger attended was run by the Catholic Church, as one of its brightest students, he was accepted into a secondary school in Obernai.
According to his father, who managed the village team, Wenger was introduced to football "at about the age of six". He was taken to games in Germany. Alsace was an area steeped in religion; because the population of Duttlenheim was short in numbers, it proved difficult to field a team of 11 players of equal ages. Claude Wenger, a teammate of Arsène's, noted his lack of pace as a player, which he made up for with his "ability to guard the ball, to have a complete vision of the pitch and having an influence among his team-mates", according to Marcel Brandner, the president of FC Duttlenheim; as a young teenager, he was called Petit. The team did not have a coach to prepare the players tactically, rather a person who supervised training sessions. Wenger took it upon himself to manage the side, with Claude stating "Arsène wasn't the captain and yet he was, it was'You do this, you do that, you do this, you do that.' He was the leader". In 1969 Wenger was recruited to nearby third division club Mutzig.
The club was famed for playing the "best amateur football" in Alsace and managed by Max Hild, who would go on to become Wenger's mentor. Wenger's emergence at Mutzig aged 20 was considered too late for him to build a reputable playing career. Football was not seen as his future, he was however of the age to start increasing his tactical knowledge of the sport. He read France Football and alongside Hild made trips to Germany to watch Bundesliga matches and observe the different managerial styles. During Wenger's three years at Mutzig, the club beat RC Strasbourg 3–0 to win the Coupe d'Alsace, he represented Alsace in a competition held annually between the regional leagues. Wenger took his studies further and in 1971 enrolled at the Faculté des sciences économiques et de gestion (Faculty of Economic and Management Science
Diego Forlán
Diego Forlán Corazo is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a forward. A prolific goal scorer, he is regarded as one of the greatest Uruguayan players of all time. At club level, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the European Golden Shoe. With Uruguay, he had huge individual success at the 2010 World Cup receiving the Golden Ball, the joint Top Scorer award, the Goal of the Tournament award and being named in the Dream Team. Forlán joined Argentine club Independiente after rising through their youth team, after a successful four-year spell, he signed for Manchester United of England, his form for United was not as successful as at Independiente, although he won the Premier League in 2002–03 and the FA Cup in 2003–04. In the summer of 2004, he moved on to Spanish side Villarreal. In his first season in Spanish football with Villarreal, Forlán scored 25 league goals and won the Pichichi Trophy. After two more successful seasons with Villarreal, Forlán joined Atlético Madrid, where he once again became the league's top scorer, became the first player to win the Pichichi Trophy twice since Ronaldo achieved this feat in the 2003–04 season.
Forlán scored in Atlético's 2010 Europa League final victory against Fulham. In 2011, he joined Inter Milan of Italy before moving to Internacional in 2012. Forlán had a successful international career, scoring 36 times for his country since his 2002 debut to his retirement on 11 March 2015, including one at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he was the joint top scorer by scoring five times as Uruguay came fourth at the 2010 World Cup, being recognised with the Golden Ball award for the best player at the tournament. On 12 July 2011, at the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, which Uruguay won, Forlán earned his 79th international cap, against Mexico, breaking the record held by former goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodríguez since 1986. On 20 June 2013, in a match against Nigeria at the 2013 Confederations Cup, he became the first Uruguayan to win 100 caps. Forlán was Uruguay's all-time leading top scorer from 2011 until Luis Suárez overtook him two years later. Born in Montevideo, Forlán, son of former player and Uruguayan international Pablo Forlán, was a tennis player in his youth.
He decided to follow the occupation of his father in playing football when his sister Alejandra was involved in a horrific car accident, which killed her boyfriend and left her in intensive care for five months and handicapped thereafter. In 1995, when he was 16, Forlán was brought to France by manager László Bölöni, spent several months on trial at AS Nancy. However, the club opted against signing him, Forlán returned to South America. Forlán has played for several South American clubs, including Argentine side Independiente, where he scored 36 goals in 77 league games, his goalscoring attracted the attention of European sides, in January 2002, Independiente agreed a £6.9 million deal with Middlesbrough of the Premier League. Forlán travelled to England expecting to negotiate with Middlesbrough, but at the last minute Manchester United gazumped the Teesside club, offering Independiente the same fee in a single payment, as well as a more lucrative salary for Forlán. On arriving in England, the Uruguayan negotiated with United officials for four hours informed the press of his decision.
"Manchester United is a big club, so I've decided to go there," he explained. "The thing is, they offered more money than Middlesbrough." He signed for United soon after. Forlán was signed for Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson for £6.9 million on 22 January 2002. He made his debut on 29 January as a 76th-minute substitute for Ole Gunnar Solskjær in a 4–0 away win at Bolton Wanderers, he made his first start in 4–0 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur on 6 March. Forlán made 13 Premier League and five UEFA Champions League appearances in the 2001–02 season but did not score. On 18 September 2002, Forlán came on as a 56th-minute substitute for Ryan Giggs in a Champions League match versus Maccabi Haifa, he scored his first United goal as an 89th-minute penalty kick in the 5–2 win. His first Premier League goal was a 77th-minute equaliser in a home 1–1 draw against Aston Villa on 26 October. In Forlán's next Premier League game, at home to Southampton on 2 November, he came on as a 79th-minute substitute for United's goalscorer Phil Neville with the score at 1–1, scored the winner with a dipping shot over Southampton goalkeeper Antti Niemi in the 85th minute.
The goal became notable due to his goal celebration where he ripped off his jersey, but struggled to put it back on as the game recommenced, with Forlan making a blocked tackle while shirtless. On 1 December, Forlan scored his first brace for Manchester United with goals in the 64th and 67th minute of an away 2–1 Premier League win at rivals Liverpool. On 17 December 2002, Forlán scored the winning goal as United defeated Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Football League Cup. On 18 January 2003, Forlán scored a 90th-minute winning goal to again defeat Chelsea, this time in a Premier League match. Manchester United went on to win the Premier League title in 2002–03, Forlán scored six goals to make him the club's third best-scoring striker that season after Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjær. At the start of the 2003–04 season, Forlán played seven Premier League games without scoring; this run was broken on 25 October, when he equalised the score to 1–1 in the 45th minute of a home match versus Fulham, a game which United lost 3–1.
Forlán scored a goal in his three subsequent matches in three different competitions, starting with an extra-time goal in an away League Cup game at Leeds United which Manchester United won 3–2. This was followed by the opener
Jason Dasey
Jason Dasey is a Singapore-based journalist and media executive. He is best known as the first Australian sports host on CNN International and BBC World News and the original anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter Asia and SportsCenter India. Based in Asia since 2001, Jason is a former vice-president at Malaysian network ASTRO who works as an ESPN anchor in India and host of his own interview show on Singapore station Money_FM_89.3 through his company, Cockatoo Media. The eldest of four brothers, Jason grew up in Sydney where he attended North Sydney Boys High School and was co-editor of the school's magazine, his father was an advertising copywriter and artist, while his mother was a cooking book author and cooking teacher. Jason's first newspaper articles were published in the North_Shore_Times in 1977. From 1978, he became a freelance sports reporter for Australian Associated Press. At the start of 1980, Jason joined The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia's oldest newspaper, as a cadet journalist. In December 1980 at the age of 18, he broke his first major story, securing an exclusive interview with a Soviet defector who jumped ship in Sydney Harbour to seek political asylum.
Towards the end of his four years with the Herald, Jason's personal vacation to New York City in September 1983 coincided with Australia winning sailing's America's Cup. Jason borrowed a blazer and talked his way into the New York Yacht Club before sending back an insider's account to the Sydney Morning Herald on the night the United States lost the America's Cup for the first time after 132 years; that front-page story from a famous edition of the Herald helped 21-year-old Jason land a job at Australia's Seven Network in Sydney where he worked between 1983 and 1985 as an on-air reporter for Seven News and its nightly'Willesee' current affairs show. At the end of 1985 after a six-month stint as a researcher for BBC_Nine_O'Clock_News in London, he became a producer and reporter for SBS-TV in Sydney. In 1987, Jason returned to London where he would base himself for most of the next decade, with his paternal grandmother from Staffordshire, he freelanced as a producer/reporter for SBS-TV, Fairfax Media, Reuters TV and BBC TV for whom he was an assistant producer on Breakfast Time, contributing to its coverage of Australia's Bicentenary, including producing a back-stage interview with Barry Humphries in London's West End.
In January 1989, Jason became a sports producer and reporter for European satellite network Sky News as it launched in Britain. A year at Sky, he gained his first regular experience in the studio, as a weekend sports presenter. Jason's biggest break came at the end of 1994; as a freelance producer and occasional presenter for BBC World Service Television in London, he was promoted to senior sports anchor on the re-branded BBC World News after a fill-in stint as host. It made him the first Australian newsreader on the global network as part of ‘Newsday’, a breakfast show for Europe, with co-hosts Philip Hayton, Melinda Wittstock and Richard Quest. After three years in London with the BBC, Jason moved to the U. S. in 1997. After serving as a freelance reporter for BBC World Service and Denver local station, KUSA-TV 9-News, Jason re-located to Atlanta in early 1999 to take up a job at CNN International, he was a news producer/writer, but in May 1999, Jason became the first Australian sports anchor on CNN International's World Sport, broadcasting daily to more than 200 countries in partnership with Pedro Pinto.
That year, he made his first forays into digital journalism with a regular column for the CNN_Sports_Illustrated website. In November 2001, Jason left CNN to become the senior news presenter at Asian network ESPN Star Sports, based in Singapore. After hosting the India-focused Sportsline, Jason was the original anchor as SportsCenter Asia was launched in earnest in May 2002 and when SportsCenter India was reshaped as an English-language show in October 2003. With Jason as co-host, SportsCenter Asia was voted Best Sports Programme at the 2003 Asian Television Awards. In 2005, he appeared as a judge on the first Dream Job Asia series, including the final with Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram. In addition, Jason presented major sporting events for ESPN STAR Sports, including three tennis Grand Slams in 2003 and 2004, the 2005_United_States_Grand_Prix, international cricket, plus the 2006 FIFA World Cup where he was an on-site'live' reporter in Germany, he wrote a weekly column called Dasey Direct for Espnstar.com.
After hosting more than 1000 news programmes over five years at ESPN STAR, Jason relocated to ESPN's world headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut in late 2006 to be an anchor for the launch for two more international versions of SportsCenter while reporting on major events like the 2008 Masters Tournament and 2008 French Open. He conducted in-depth SportsCenter Conversations with sports legends that included Sugar Ray Leonard, Nadia Comăneci and George Foreman, his meeting with Foreman in Houston for ESPN was featured in Episode 6 of the Family Foreman reality TV series, airing in August 2008 on TV Land. In November 2008, Jason moved back to Asia, setting up a base in Hong Kong while freelancing for ESPN as a feature interviewer of sports identities like Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Venus Williams and Justin Langer while continuing to write a weekly column on Asian and Australian football for ESPN Soccernet. After eight years within the ESPN group, Jason joined Asian satellite network ASTRO in 2009 as vice-president and sports' executive producer.
Based in Kuala Lumpur, he built an in-house production team, was chief anchor for Astro's Premier League coverage and hosted seven major tournaments, including 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2012, 2014 FIFA World Cup. He devised new program
