This post might mean nowt to non-football fans, but fans will definitely chuckle at this piece of news. A certain John Boileau actually cheekily applied for the Middlebrough, back when it was vacated with the departure of Steve McClaren, with a CV based on his managerial experience in the computer simulation Football Manager 2005. The highlights of his very "impressive" CV were :-
1. Signing Thierry Henry, Raul and Fernando Torres as the three main strikers at Doncaster.
2. Taking Rushden and Diamonds to the Champion League's final (which they unfortunately lost to Ajax in extra time). The Rushden side contained Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho, something unimaginable for a small town side.
To the chap, and many footy fans' surprise, the chairman of Middlesbrough Steve Gibson actually replied in good humoured to his application. The content of the reply could be found here. Needless to say, the reply generated alot of publicity among the football community.
To the credit of Boileau, he uses his new found fame to generate awareness for Breast Cancer Care and even manage to garner donations from complete strangers who took note of his cause through his website. Grateful for the publicity generated, Boileau wrote another letter to Steve Gibson expressing his gratitude.
Gibson, in yet another deft display of good PR, replied to Boileau. In his letter, he offered his assistance to help Boileau train for the London Marathon ( a feat which Boileau hoped to accomplish by 30) and also offered a dig at Steve McClaren, in response to Boileau's cheeky offer to aid the newly installed Middlesbrough's manager Gareth Southgate.
" I have passed your kind offer on to Gareth but we feel at the moment he has enough help, however I believe Steve McClaren may be in contact soon! "
The full transcript of the exchanges could be found at this website, and I have to say that the exchanges between Boileau and Gibson provided a rare moment of delight in a time when the English game is embroiled in the bung controversy.
1. Signing Thierry Henry, Raul and Fernando Torres as the three main strikers at Doncaster.
2. Taking Rushden and Diamonds to the Champion League's final (which they unfortunately lost to Ajax in extra time). The Rushden side contained Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho, something unimaginable for a small town side.
To the chap, and many footy fans' surprise, the chairman of Middlesbrough Steve Gibson actually replied in good humoured to his application. The content of the reply could be found here. Needless to say, the reply generated alot of publicity among the football community.
To the credit of Boileau, he uses his new found fame to generate awareness for Breast Cancer Care and even manage to garner donations from complete strangers who took note of his cause through his website. Grateful for the publicity generated, Boileau wrote another letter to Steve Gibson expressing his gratitude.
Gibson, in yet another deft display of good PR, replied to Boileau. In his letter, he offered his assistance to help Boileau train for the London Marathon ( a feat which Boileau hoped to accomplish by 30) and also offered a dig at Steve McClaren, in response to Boileau's cheeky offer to aid the newly installed Middlesbrough's manager Gareth Southgate.
" I have passed your kind offer on to Gareth but we feel at the moment he has enough help, however I believe Steve McClaren may be in contact soon! "
The full transcript of the exchanges could be found at this website, and I have to say that the exchanges between Boileau and Gibson provided a rare moment of delight in a time when the English game is embroiled in the bung controversy.
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