Death in Vegas

Given that being a top level football manager is generally considered a rather stressful job, does anyone else think it's only a matter of time before we get another Jock Stein incident. We nearly had one a few years ago with Gerard Houllier. Prime contenders for me would be Neil Warnock and Luiz Felipe Scolari. There are also a number of famous ex managers who are getting on a bit. Bobby Robson's health problems are well documented, Mario Zagallo is well into his seventies and has suffered from an irregular heart-beat in the past, and it will surely only be a matter of time until Cesar Luis Menotti is diagnosed with lung cancer.

Horse racing trainer Henry Cecil is being treated for stomach cancer. He's had it for nine months apparently, but you never can tell with cancer.

Not technically an African despot as he's never been in power, but Zimbabwe's chief opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai is 'fighting for his life' after a friendly chat with some of Mugabe's heavies.

It occurred to me earlier tonight, that should the unthinkable happen and the seemingly immortal Clive Dunn does get posted to the Home Guard in the sky, what would the repercussions be for the Deathlist? Surely his death would be akin to the Big Bang, sending seismic shockwaves throughout this site, leaving carnage and devastation in its wake before collapsing in on itself and leaving a giant vacuum. Could anyone ever come close to matching the cult status held by Clive? I certainly can't think of any obvious contenders. These are important questions that need to be addressed. Ordinarily I would say that no individual is bigger than the list, but with Dunny... Frightening isn't it?

Article taken from the BBC. Whatever you think of his views to have to have respect for someone who's been going as long as he has.

Tennis commentator Bill Threlfall has died aged 81. Bit of a shock.

Ermmm you might want to look at the post above the one you just put Christ that's embarassing. I've just come home from work and clearly switched off my brain too soon. Mods please remove my post.

Another drummer bites the dust thanks to cancer. This time it's Ian Wallace, who performed with Bob Dylan and Don Henley amongst others.

German author Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, best known for his autobiographical novel 'Das Boot' has died aged 89 from heart failure. Wonder if he felt that sinking feeling.

Chadian Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji has died after suffering a brain hemorrhage in Paris. He was 56.

The founder of the Morelli's ice cream and cafe empire, Angelo Morelli, has died aged 99 after a visit from our old friend "a short illness".

I debated whether or not to put this is in the football thread but given how irksome I find it I'm going to put it here, namely footballers over celebrating rubbish/deflected goals. The way they run away milking the applause as if they've just scored goal of the season when in reality their shot was heading for the corner flag until it ricocheted off several defenders, etc.

He's surely got to get the message now that he's heading for an early grave unless he changes his lifestyle. 25 bottles of beer before every match is ridiculous. Heaven forbid he ever runs a happy hour at his pub. I know he did that celebrity fat/fit club but that doesn't seem to have made any difference and if he carries on the way he is I'd be surprised if he made it to 50.

Broadway performer Ellen Hanley has died aged 80 after a stoke.

Could this situation get any more f****d up?

Sailing photographer Keith Beken has died aged 92. He sounds a bit obscure to me but he must have achieved some degree of fame for his death to be reported on the BBC's website.

I always feel that people in their nineties are the ripest targets for death, and looking back over the last few years there have certainly been a fair few deaths of candidates in their early to mid nineties. It's almost as if they take a good hard look at themselves, realise the big 100 is still a way off and decide they've had enough. So with that in mind, and absolutely no scientific evidence to back it up, I think it's a toss up between Mark Felt and Michael Foot, with Felt winning by a nose.

People who spend an absolute age at cash machines. All you want to do is quickly take out £20, and they're standing in front of you seemingly pressing every button going, trying about 3 different cards, forgetting their pin number for at least 2 of them before printing out a statement and walking away without withdrawing any money and with a vacant expression on their face.

Proof, if proof be need be that Castro's got a bit left in him yet, although the slightly cryptic comment about Cuba being "ready for Mr Castro's eventual death" suggests he's still a good bet for this year. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6343915.stm

Too much to ask for Fergie to kick the bucket I suppose.... or Steve McClaren. The man's certifiable. He has a naturally left footed player who's played some games at left back this season, but instead picks Phil Neville, whose last memorable contribution at the position was bringing down a Romanian in the 89th minute to knock England out of Euro 2000. He starts Wright-Phillips, whose only full 90 mins this season was against Wycombe. He isolates Crouch up front, tells Lampard he's playing left midfield which he ignores, then gives Barton a massive 10 minutes to prove his international pedigree. Maybe he's copying Sven's old trick of trying to lose friendlies so everyone thinks they're rubbish. If so, mission accomplished last night. Steve Mclaren should never have got the job, his last game as a club manager, a 4-1 UEFA Cup bending over and I didn't see Middlesborough in the top half of the table at the end of the season either if memory serves me correctly. Sorry Steve but it's a definite straight for you. He'll be gone as soon as England fail to qualify for Euro 2008. This thread could go all Graham Poll at this rate, two reds in one post!!! Oh for the good old days of Sven. I would suggest that we campaign to make the English football team as a whole eligible for the Deathlist but we've probably missed the boat by a good ten years. Still, there's always the cricket to look forward to...

Former Welsh international rugby player Brian Williams has died aged 46.

I was surprised to find recently that T S Eliot's widow Valerie was still alive and seemingly in fine fettle, presenting the annual T S Eliot award for poetry last month. Even though she's only 81 I can't help but think that anyone connected with Eliot is from a bygone pre-WW2 era.