BBC Sport Does some Football What-Ifs?

[Marky Bunny]

The BBC Sport website has done a little video based on 4 football what-ifs to celebrate "Back to the Future" Day.
They are:

1. Maradona gets sent-off in the 1986 World Cup Q/F. NO Hand of Gold goal.
2. Alex Ferguson gets sacked in 1990. No goal from Mark Robins in the now famous game v Nottingham Forest.
3. Russell Crowe buys Leeds United in 2013.
4. Steven Gerrard does not slip in the vital game v Chelsea in April 2014.

See it here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34582783

 

[Hugo Strange]

[*]Maradona gets sent-off in the 1986 World Cup Q/F. NO Hand of Gold goal.

Not sure how they're planning on doing this. The most Maradona would get for the Hand of God goal was a yellow card. And that's by today's standards, back in 1986 it could very well end with only a disallowed goal, without even a yellow card. Now if the referee does give Maradona a yellow card for it, it's possible an enraged Maradona will start arguing with the referee all the way to a 2nd yellow card. Or, of course in this alternate timeline Maradona could just be committing a violent foul that warrants an immediate red card 3 minutes before the Hand of God goal would have happened.

In either scenario the 2nd half would already be under way, and Argentina would have to adjust for the loss of their obvious star without the benefit of half-time to talk it over and rethink their strategy. With the 1 man advantage for England and the disarray Argentina would be in immediately after Maradona would be send off, I'd expect England to win the match. How they would have fared against West Germany in the final is anybody's guess.

 

[Coulsdon Eagle]

The BBC Sport website has done a little video based on 4 football what-ifs to celebrate "Back to the Future" Day.
They are:

Steven Gerrard does not slip in the vital game v Chelsea in April 2014.
[/LIST]


Nah - they'd still blow the title at Selhurst Park

Wonderful night watching sobbing Scousers on & off the pitch. You see some of us still remember the 9-0

 

[KillerT]

Funny thing is there was LOTS of speculation earlier this year about Crowe buying Leeds. Considering how volatile things are, never say never....

 

[Tovarich]

Funny thing is there was LOTS of speculation earlier this year about Crowe buying Leeds. Considering how volatile things are, never say never....

Maybe a knock-on effect would be it becomes fashionable amongst Hollywood antipodeans and Hugh Jackman putting his hand in his pocket instead of being just a plastic Canary on chatshows? (OTBC!)

 

[Lindseyman]

We still lost to West Germany and on penalties! Some things never change

 

[Marky Bunny]

We still lost to West Germany and on penalties! Some things never change

Yes, I liked that.

I think if Fergie had been sacked in 1990, he would have gone back to Scotland and most likely taken the Hearts job which came available later that year (It was taken by Joe Jordan in OTL). He probably would have been successful and then it is not hard to see him moving onto Scotland or maybe back to England.