The manager walked into the press conference dressed in the most outlandish looking shiny nylon red jacket. Carrying of all things a squash racket. "He seemed more anxious to talk about squash than his record deal," was how the BBC described the moment. Not bothering to sit down, perhaps he was already late for the squash court, the man dubbed as the greatest manager England never had addressed his audience. An immediate hush descended over the room. "He has all the equipment needed to be a highly successful player thats why we have invested £1,000,000 of Nottingham Forests money." The historic seven-figure transfer fee had been breached. February 9th, 1979 was the day English football welcomed its very first £1 million player, when Trevor Francis moved the short distance from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest. Deal brokered by Brian Clough esquire. No hair dryer required. The mavericks maverick. "Is there any formula you want him to fit into?" a member of the media brassily inquired. "No, no, no. We have no formula here apart from success." Clough immediately retorted. He wasnt kidding. Id like to see José Mourinho take over a team languishing in mid-table mediocrity in the Championship, guide them to the pinnacle of English football and win the BPL at the very first time of asking. As an encore? Win the European Cup the following season, knocking the holders out in the first round. The first question asked of Trevor Francis at his unveiling was if he felt any burden by becoming that million pound man. Clough had taken care of that by always claiming the fee was only £999,999. The actual total figure with taxes and fees worked out at £1,180,000. This though was no shirt wearing, badge kissing moment. Photo ops didnt fit with the times. In any case Nottingham Forest didnt sign a shirt sponsor until 2 years later. Francis though did arrive to the lunch time announcement with his fur coat wearing WAG. That was about as Hollywood as the occasion got. Contrast this to where we are today as the €100m Gareth Bale to Real Madrid cliff hanger looks set to go down to the deadline day wire. Fully aware in this social media driven era football now resides in which confidentiality is the opportunity cost - Madrid brazenly erected a stage inside their stadium in which it is expected Bale will be unveiled from. Jutting out from the sacred directors box of Estadio Bernabeu where the original Los Blancos legend Alfredo Di Stéfano anoints each new arrival, the stage that was put up shortly after Madrid opened up their campaign with the 2-1 victory August 18th against Betis, looks like it will have to be ripped down. No not because Bale isnt eventually going to get his shirt wearing, badge kissing moment. The little matter of a home La Liga date on Sunday is appearing rather ominously on Madrids immediate horizon. A mighty embarrassing moment for President Perez and all concerned at the home of world footballs biggest revenue generators. Perhaps Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy will oblige and pick up the demolition and reconstruction costs. Bale, who by all accounts yesterday afternoon was out shopping in one of Londons smarter looking shopping districts. Cristiano will be so proud of you Gareth, especially for that pink t-shirt and matching baseball cap get up that was flashed around Twitter. Now if you think Madrids courtship of Bale, the soon to be anointed GB11, seems to have gone on far longer than Tolstoys War and Peace then you better think again. Brian Cloughs assistant Peter Taylor revealed at Francis unveiling - which occurred around what could be best described as a mid-priced ranged coffee table - Nottingham Forest had initially reached out to Birmingham City a full eight years before finally landing their million pound man. Remind me again, how long before the transfer window closes. Please no extensions Mr. Platini, especially so for your old mate Arsene. The UEFA President himself was drawn into the sorry mess at yesterdays Champions League group stage draw. Where he rather prophetically stated, "Today a player is more a product than a footballer with a whole pile of people trying to get commissions. I think we and FIFA should think about that and find something more healthy." Whenever we finally get to eclipse that €100m moment the soft spoken Bale is sure to be asked if his slender frame feels the weight of such an obnoxious sum. Dont answer. What matters is what Bale does on the pitch and not necessarily on that world famous manicured one that adorns the Spanish capital. If Bale can achieve what Trevor Francis did within months of signing for Forest then all will be forgotten. Even Cristiano will forgive you for eclipsing his £80m word record sum. Thats presuming hes not back home to Old Trafford Tuesday morning for €100m and €1. It was May 30th, 1979 the occasion the European Cup Final. Not even four months after signing for Forest who should pop up at the far post in first half added time with the diving header? You guessed it, Trevor Francis. The lone goal of the game, and with it Forest crowned European Champions. No badge kissing. Just a 25-year old footballer doing what he loved doing best - scoring goals, not gals. Over to you Gareth, No pressure then mate. You can reach and follow Noel Butler at: Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel Cheap J. R. Richard Jersey . 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NEW YORK -- After more than two weeks of mostly misery, the Texas Rangers werent about to start patting themselves on the back for winning one game. Robinson Chirinos hit an early three-run homer, Adrian Beltre connected again and Texas ended a six-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over the New York Mets on Saturday night. "I know we finally won a ballgame, but weve got to win more than just today," manager Ron Washington said. Alex Rios had three hits, including an RBI double off longtime Texas nemesis Bartolo Colon in a four-run first, and Colby Lewis (6-5) pitched six steady innings to help the banged-up Rangers win for only the third time in 17 games. They snapped a 10-game skid on the road, their longest since a club-record slide of 12 games in 2003, with their first win away from home since June 16 in Oakland. "Its been a rough season and weve talked plenty about this, and its a shame that it happened to us with as good of a team that we were going to have," Rios said. "But we just have to go out and play like we did tonight, have fun and enjoy what we do." Travis dArnaud homered for the Mets, who have dropped five of six and eight of 10. David Wright had a double in four at-bats as he returned to the lineup after missing seven games with a bruised left rotator cuff. Colon (8-7) went seven innings but lost his second consecutive outing after going 6-0 with a 1.58 ERA in his previous seven starts. The 41-year-old right-hander fell to 20-9 in 34 starts against the Rangers, his most wins against any team and the most by any pitcher vs. Texas. The first inning has been a bugaboo for Colon all season. "I have no idea why," he said through a translator. "I was just having trouble getting my pitches where I wanted them that first inning." Lewis allowed three runs -- two earned -- and eight hits. He struck out seven, walked none and pitched around Wrights leadoff double in the fifth, retiring his final six batters to protect a two-run lead. The right-hander has lasted at least six innings in three straight starts, compiling 21 strikeouts and no walks during that stretch. Shawn Tolleson escaped an eighth-inning jam after Texas turned Juan Lagares hard grounder into a double play. Joakim Soria, pitching for the first time in six days, worked a one-hit ninth for his 16th save in 17 chances. "Were supposed to be winning more ballgames right now," Beltre said. "All the injurries and stuff -- we still have a pretty good team, and we shouldnt be losing as much as weve been.dddddddddddd No excuse. We should be playing better, and thats what we expect." Elvis Andrus and Rios hit consecutive doubles in the first to put Texas ahead. Colon had a chance to get out of the inning down by only one, but Chirinos drove a 1-2 pitch the other way to right-centre for his eighth home run. He has six homers and 15 RBIs in his last 20 games. Beltre, who also homered Friday in the Rangers first visit to Citi Field, made it 5-0 in the third with his sixth career home run off Colon. Curtis Granderson hit an RBI double, and Bobby Abreu had a run-scoring single in the bottom half, but Lewis limited the damage. With the bases loaded, Wright flied out to shallow centre, Lucas Duda struck out, and Lagares grounded out. "Just fell short tonight," said dArnaud, who hit a leadoff homer in the fourth. Chirinos was a bit shaken up in the fifth when a foul ball hit him in the mask. After a trainer and Washington came out for a look, Chirinos and his manager playfully shoved each other before the catcher returned to his spot behind the plate. "Were not out of this thing," Lewis said. "Its only the All-Star break, so you never know what can kind of happen." NOTES: The Mets said right-handed reliever Buddy Carlyle was on his way from Triple-A Las Vegas to New York, and manager Terry Collins confirmed "there is a possibility" left-hander Jonathon Niese will be placed on the disabled list with shoulder trouble. "We will make the announcement (Sunday)," Collins said. "We are going to wait to see when he gets in here, how he is doing." ... The Rangers fielded a different lineup for the 20th straight game. Theyve used 45 players this season, most in the majors and one shy of their total from last year. ... Washington said he would encourage Yu Darvish to participate in the All-Star game if the Japanese right-hander is chosen for the AL roster on Sunday -- but he doesnt want his ace throwing more than 20 pitches. Darvishs next scheduled start is Wednesday against Houston. ... Texas 1B Carlos Pena snapped an 0-for-20 slump with an eighth-inning double. He is 4 for 36 (.111) since getting called up from Triple-A Round Rock on June 24. ... Wright extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... RHP Nick Tepesch (3-3) starts the series finale Sunday against Mets RHP Zack Wheeler (3-8). 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