Thetownend.com

Bum bandit Julian Alsop is back in league football with Cheltenham

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/cheltenham_town/8147538.stm

and for those that forget this tale ....

Julian Alsop may well be remembered for sending shock waves through the footballing world in the Autumn of 2004. I hear you ask was it his silky skills? Was it his cunning ability to outwit the opposition? Or was it his tireless performances which inspired many a youngster to put down their playstation control and take up the beautiful game? Unfortunately Alsop will not be remembered for any of the above but for an incident which has gone down in football history as “Bananagate”.

Julian Alsop at age 31 was playing for Oxford United in the Autumn of 2004 when he allegedly attempted to shove a banana up the rear end of a youth team player in a prank that went too far. It was reported that a play fight which had occurred on the training pitch had irked Alsop and in revenge he had grabbed the 16 year old youth, stripped him naked and whipped him with a towel. That not being enough of a punishment in Alsop’s eyes he then reportedly got another player to hold the lad down and then allegedly tried to ram a banana up his back side.

Now everyone knows that a football changing room can be full of jokers and high jinks are to be expected but this story shocked fans across the country as a prank that simply crossed over the line. The incident was not reported to the police at the time as according to the Sun the youth was afraid “it may affect his future at the club”. Despite the lack of police intervention manager Graham Rix (who by the way was a previous feature in our sex scandals anthology) didn’t escape an ear ache as the boy’s concerned parents demanded action be taken for what they regarded a serious assault on their son. An investigation was carried out and Alsop was duly sacked from the club following the incident. Three other Oxford youth team stars also were disciplined in the wake of the incident.

This story never seems to amaze fans as many questions remain unanswered such as where did the banana come from? Who fetched the banana? Why did no-one intervene? The incident is still clouded in an air of mystery as thankfully the youth’s name was never revealed thereby saving him from a life full of taunts from the terraces. You can just hear the away fans at Oxford now “Bend over for the half time show, bend over for the half time show, etc, etc” following by a fabulous rendition of “Does he take up the arse?”. Thank the Lord for small mercies son!

Martin Allen has lost it. I'm fucking delighted we got Wilson and not that clown.

Who wanted him in charge.

Was it Bart and arriba?

i did say i would have had him as boss.wasn't my frst pick though.i alos siad it at a time when we were dragging our feet in appointing a manager, and in dismal form.
i was one of a few who mentioned mad dog
alsop is a strange signing.he was playing for cirencester last season in the div below supermarines

The man is a joke

Fuck me, Bart!!  Where is he these days, no comment on the signings we have made so far! :-[

What about that other eejit? Bummyboy or whatever he was called?

Eurgh, this ain't news.

it's easy to slate the bloke,but he is working with peanuts compared to what wilson has here it would seem.
i'm reasonablty pleased that wilson is our managerand have been since his appointment,but lets not delude ourselves that he was first choice.

Given the events that led to Wilson's appointment does anyone actually believe he was our first choice?

I hope not, Richard Money was always first choice I believe.  However, wasn't Wilson still in charge of Pools when we were seeking Malpas's replacement?  The failure to appoint Money has been a big plus in hindsight I believe.  Nobody could have known what would have happened if AF had got his first choice in, but the fact is Wilson became available, Money didn't come and DW got the job, and I am 100% behind him and looking forward to the season ahead.

Yes, he was. IIRC we actually moved for Wilson within a few days of him becoming available. And while Allen may be working with peanuts, that's just no excuse for signing monkeys like Alsop

Paul you racist.

I saw Julian Alsop play for Newport County v Havant & Waterlooville a couple of years ago in Conf South and not only was he HUGE but he was miles out of his depth even in that division!!

Is Allen trying to get Cheltenham relegated back down to the Southern League as quickly as they got promoted to the league a few years back???

Spot on Mr D

No. But I think the board may have started to realise they were trying to sprint before they could walk in regard to promoting youth players.

Getting a man with 'youth credentials' was starting to get a bit of an obsession.

You cant run a football club that way. The first team has to come first.

I think Wilson probably became first choice when, in a short space of time, Money said no and Wilson left Hartlepool. 

To be fair to Allen, what can he do in Cheltenham's situation?  I read somewhere that they can't even afford to pay for scouts at the moment.  Not easy to work under those conditions.  On a brighter note for them Pook would fit in well to their system under Allen.  He doesn't let midfielders pass the ball anyway.

Alsop scored last night.

He is fucking HUGE!!!!

As big as Razor.

Big lad built on bananna's I guess? But from which end did they enter?

tee  hee

Wasn't he Bann(ana)ed For 4 Months  :D




[url width=155 height=157]http://www.blurtit.com/var/avatar/Featured_bananaman.jpg[/url]

here he is doing some shopping

[url width=500 height=375]http://www.comicrelief.com/files/cr09/imagecache/gallery/files/gallery/T-D-Waterhouse-bananaman.jpg[/url]