Eric Cantona: The Moments That Made Them

8:01Gary Lineker:They're building a system that proves renewable power can be affordable, scalable in practice and accessible to everyone, not just an idea on a tactics board.

8:13Alan Shearer:For more information about land referrals and energy powering the full festive fixture list, head to land at fuseenergy.com. And also, of course, he was hugely influential in ending United's draft. What was it, 26 years without a top flight title? He's going to Man City. That was Mark Hughes just knocking him on through. I played with. Yes!

8:36Eric Cantona:A magnificent equaliser by Manchester United. Eric Gentonard.

8:43Alan Shearer:Well, good header too.

8:44Gary Lineker:He could do a bit of everything, couldn't he? Good like that. On the floor. Yeah. Technically very good. Technique very, very good, yeah.

8:50Micah Richards:You mentioned ending the drought. You played for Blackburn and then won that trophy. I've spoken about Man City as well in terms of winning that first trophy for so long. I was always coming, I would say, with the players that we were signing, but trying to get over the line, especially when you're up against someone like Sir Alex Ferguson, was always going to be difficult.

9:12Gary Lineker:Well, Eric on the pod actually said we had him to thank for Blackburn winning the title because he was banned for the last sort of few months of that season and he says if he had been playing, we wouldn't have won that title. I beg to differ on that one because I reckon we should have won it the season beforehand with Blackburn

9:31Micah Richards:how many points was it you won't believe I'm not sure it was tight weren't it yours

9:36Gary Lineker:we went to the last day we lost on the last day at Anfield and Man United didn't win at West Ham so that gave us the title but we were in a really really good position the season before as well and it was only our inexperience that cost us I think

9:53Micah Richards:did you believe you could win it at the start of the season though

9:56Gary Lineker:maybe not in our first season I think we finished fourth or fifth in our first season. Then our second season, we thought, this might be it. We finished second that year. As I said, we should have won it. But the third year when we did win it, then we were really, really confident. Up until the last game or two, then we were petrified.

10:19Micah Richards:You can't speak about the nerves though.

10:20Gary Lineker:Yeah, it was. The nerves were like...

10:22Micah Richards:Even like you look at, we've talked about the Man City QPR game where it was just a crazy rollercoaster game. what was going through your mind you know you go there win you win the league and then you end up what do you say you lost the game we lost the game at Anfield yeah

10:36Gary Lineker:we were we were miles in front of the man United were clawing us back and because of our lack of experience we hadn't won it whereas United had won it the previous two years in 92-93 and 93-94 and then it was just that they were coming back at us and we'd never won it little old Blackburn coming in and taking and taking the might of Man United on and beating them. So, yeah, it was a nervy time, man. But Eric says we wouldn't have won it if he hadn't been suspended.

11:06Alan Shearer:We'll come to that shortly. But in 1994, after they obviously won, he was PFA footballer of the year.

11:13Gary Lineker:And rightly so as well. He made such a difference, I think, to that. I mean, it was one of the best signings of all time, that was, for Manchester United and for getting him for 1.2 million.

11:24Micah Richards:What would you say his best attributes were? Was it just a bit of everything? Good at everything? Because I only saw his goals. Obviously, I was young, but he scored some special goals.

11:33Gary Lineker:He's everything about. He just had a... I would say like a Bellingham, you know, in terms of...

11:39Micah Richards:Different kind of players, but similar aura. Similar aura.

11:43Alan Shearer:He's a bit more left field, Cantona. I think Jude's straight, but confident. Confident, yeah. But Eric was confident, but also slightly wacky, I think. I don't think it's unfair to say that. I mean it in the nicest possible way. But summed up, I suppose, by the infamous Kung Fu kick at Crystal Palace, which was, yeah, quite extraordinary really, wasn't it?

12:08Gary Lineker:It was, yeah.

12:09Alan Shearer:I mean, I was actually one of the very first times that I ever did punditry for the BBC, and it was on a midweek and it was a sports night. I was on with Des Line and he came to me after it. That was the first bit I had to do on punditry, was to describe what had happened to Cantona. And I just went, well, it's absolutely unacceptable. Something like that. And I thought, oh, God, I didn't really want to talk about this. But I mean, I remember sitting there and you know, like we watched the games, right? Match of the day. It wasn't a match of the day then. It was a sports night. because it was a Wednesday night, I think, certainly midweek.

12:53Alan Shearer:And just sitting there going, oh, my God, did he just do that?

12:57Gary Lineker:Yeah, that guy, that guy there, the kit man or whoever it was, when he's walking off with him, just go back. He tries to grab all of them, misses it, actually misses him.

13:08Alan Shearer:What did he, apparently, what was said to him? He said it was, he described it as racial slurs, I think it was directed at the fact that he was French, that kind of stuff. I believe.

13:20Gary Lineker:He tries to grab him and he can't grab him.

13:22Alan Shearer:I mean, goodness me. It really is extraordinary. It's actually, I mean, he talks about it. And then obviously after that, you had the lengthy ban they gave him for it. I think it was six months, wasn't it? Something like that. And then also, of course, he came out with that remarkable quote about trawlers. What was that? Got it here. The quote was, when the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. What does that mean? Well, I think only Eric really knows that. But I think what he's saying there is he's basically looking at having a go at the press, I think, for kind of around him.

14:02Alan Shearer:And they're looking for like scraps being thrown. I don't know. Something along those lines. There you go, John. Thank you.

14:09Micah Richards:We should have asked him on the pod, shouldn't we?

14:10Alan Shearer:He's been on the pod. I think we talked about it we did talk about it I love all that though it's different and you want different we want different because we work in the business of football we work in the media whether it's on television or podcasts or whatever that sort of stuff is great because it gives you something else to talk about

14:33Micah Richards:you mentioned on the pod about his family you tried to keep them away no phones nothing like this

14:41Alan Shearer:Yes, he wants them to look at the mountains and the trees and the sky. And talk to people. Yeah, and talk to people.

14:47Gary Lineker:You remember people, instead of your head down on your phone like that, he said he wants his kids to go look up and talk to people.

14:53Alan Shearer:I think going from perhaps the ugly side of the game in many ways and whatever you feel about that, it wasn't a great moment for football. It's one of the great moments in football and that was his brilliant chip. You would have enjoyed it more than most because it was against Sunderland.

15:13Eric Cantona:how to create space and then we've passed a couple of defenders McClare here's Cantona he's done it that is magnificent by Cantona

15:26Gary Lineker:I love this guy

15:27Alan Shearer:I love the celebration

15:29Gary Lineker:but he plays a huge part in him actually getting into that position anyway the way he sort of turns and goes past I mean look at that just on the halfway line look the turn there you go see you later and then the little give and go one two get it back I think it's Brian McClare that gives him the little one two but then that I mean the finish is amazing but then it's like look at me

15:53Micah Richards:the king has arrived

15:55Gary Lineker:it is call it up wow

15:58Micah Richards:what a finish that one

15:59Alan Shearer:he's lucky nearly it's over

16:01Gary Lineker:that's one of the standout goals for me that was you know you mentioned Eric Cantona that's one of the goals that just jumps out for me it always is isn't it

16:09Alan Shearer:it's the fact

16:10Gary Lineker:Because I think that epitomises everything about who and what he is. You only talk about the arrogance and the collar up, but also the ability to get there and then do that at the end. It was like proper play.

16:22Alan Shearer:Yeah, you never know what you were going to get with him. It was always, you know, suddenly there was a shot. Genius. Retirement. You know, there's no notice of genius, but also just, I mean, when we interviewed him as well, which was, I mean, at the end he just kind of walked off, remember? Yeah. When I talked about something about a goat. A goat. It's about a goat. see you later see you later and he was gone and that was it we haven't seen a sport do him since no no he's not sent flowers anything

16:48Micah Richards:why did he retire at 30 what was the reason behind him I think he just

16:52Alan Shearer:he's the sort of person that I've had enough of this that's what he said wasn't it I just fine done international football he went really young really young does things differently to everyone else

17:05Micah Richards:I don't mind yeah

17:06Alan Shearer:his messages are often cryptic let's put it that way top player So, unbelievable, Claire.

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19:13Alan Shearer:He's a maverick, really, isn't he, Eric? I mean, he's up there with those sort of players. Sometimes you think, do we still get those sort of people? Are they a bit more robotic nowadays in the way that they teach players to play? I don't know. There's been some good ones at the Premier League. We had top 10 Mavericks, it'd be quite. Mavericks? Yeah.

19:33Gary Lineker:Tino Aspria was similar. I know he was a bit of a Maverick. Aspria. Yeah. Gaza? Gaza, definitely.

19:40Alan Shearer:Gaza, definitely, in all sorts of different ways. My hero growing up was Frank Worthington. All right, yeah, definitely. Definitely. I mean, I ended up joining Leicester when I was 16, and Frank was my hero. I loved him. He was such a graceful footballer. And I kind of cleaned the home team dressing room for about six months before he left. And then he left. So he overlapped slightly. And he was always lovely. But he used to come in in cowboy clothes. And they used to call him Elvis because he'd wear like all this sort of stuff. And he was a real character. So you get a few of those people. Mario.

20:16Alan Shearer:Tell me. Mario.

20:18Micah Richards:Mario. What a guy. You need that. He was made up to be worse than he was, though. He was such a good human. Yeah. Top. He got up to some nonsense at times, but he was a bit of a man. Yeah. Remember the game where he came late? What was Wayne? No. I think it was in Russia. And he just come out to the pitch late. The game had kicked off and he went on to the pitch. Oh, that's a recurring nightmare I have,

20:44Alan Shearer:not getting my kit on ready and being late for the kickoff. Have you ever had that one? Really? I don't get it now so much. But when I was a player, honestly, I had this recurring dream. You know, like you get those dreams. I had one or two. One was a plane that couldn't take, well, like tapes off and then can't get up. But the main one was getting my kit on, my shin pads, and the team's all going out and I can't get my boots on. And I'm thinking, oh, I need to play.

21:07Micah Richards:Well, I have that one where you're running and you're running nowhere. Yeah. You just keep running and the monster's chasing you. I have that one. I have that one. Was that Mel B?

21:19Alan Shearer:Sorry, Mel B. No, that didn't mean she was a monster. Oh, when you're in bed

21:22Micah Richards:and you're trying to get up

21:23Alan Shearer:and you can't get up, you're awake. Have you had that? No, I'm not at that. I've had ones where, have you had dreams where you're six-yard boxing and you can't get in, the people are in the way all the time.

21:34Micah Richards:No, I'm not at that.

21:35Gary Lineker:You keep on taking your meds

21:36Alan Shearer:and everything will be all right. And the other one is, do you have a golf tee and you put a tee in the ball and then there's bushes in the way and you can't, everyone else is okay and everyone's waiting for you to tee off and you can't. I've never had that well you never played golf

21:52Micah Richards:have you had that one yeah haven't I yeah yeah it's horrible

21:56Alan Shearer:it's so weird it's so weird anyway but what other Mavericks were there now Mavericks Di Canio Di Canio Paulo Di Canio when he remember when he shoved the the referee I mean you shouldn't laugh at those things but that was can you remember the referee's name

22:12Micah Richards:I remember his face not his name

22:15Gary Lineker:can you

22:16Micah Richards:small little fellow wasn't he

22:18Alan Shearer:Go on, Paul Alcock, I think. Paul Alcock, yeah. Yeah, there's been a lot of... Anymore? Anymore for anymore? Oh, there's a few. Alan Birch, I was at Leicester. Could you name someone in this? Curry. Curry.

22:30Micah Richards:The viewers and the listeners will know. No, I'm talking about my time.

22:34Alan Shearer:Oh, bloody hell. There's no footage of your time. Your time, it's going to last 20 years, shall we? Your time, everyone's boring.

22:41Micah Richards:Yeah, they are.

22:42Alan Shearer:That's the thing. Everyone plays, they're all in all. Nobody says anything untoward anymore. We need more Mavericks. We need more Cantona's in this world. We do. That's what we do in the football world. So I'm not sure of any others. There must be some more. There's a few shithouses, but that's different. Yeah. Shit houses. They're different. Mark is a shithouse, isn't he?

23:04Micah Richards:In the nicest possible way. He's a shithouse. He's a good shithouse, but he's a shithouse. He's a legend. I love him.

23:13Alan Shearer:I love him. I won't say a bad word about him. but he's less than Eric Cantona. He'll never be forgotten though, will he? Not in the Premier League, I don't think. He'll always be... He's a legend, isn't he? Yeah, he's exactly that. Well, they still sing his name now at Old Trafford

23:26Gary Lineker:now in the games. Have a go? Oh, yeah, they do. Which tells you how...

23:30Alan Shearer:Funnily enough, I went to Sellers Park, which is obviously where the Kung Fu kick happened a couple of weeks ago to watch Palace against Man United and all the United fans for the first 20 minutes probably were singing Cantona for obvious reasons because it was at Christian Palace. But I don't think they'll ever forget. And I think it'll always be attributed to a massive part of that success that Manchester United had. And it all started with him and that signing and the difference he made, I think. Yeah.

24:01Micah Richards:When you think Man United, you think Cantona. Yeah.

24:04Alan Shearer:I think you do. Unless you're a Leeds fan. Then you probably still think Cantona for entirely different reasons. Okay. That's it for this episode of the Rest is Football. Goodbye from me. Goodbye from me. Goodbye from me.

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