Octopus of Odstock

Graham Taylor, too. Did miracles at Watford, but miracles were in very short supply when England boss.

Only a small update - whilst reading The Times today it mentioned Mandela had taken voted in his local elections (28th Feb). It mentioned he was frail, but he was well enough to walk to the local booth & make a quick speech for the newspeople nearby.

The question, surely, is why should you want to post in Near Misses, when there's already a dedicated thread to him which has announced his death? Near Misses, as you clearly need some reminding, is those near misses, not covered elsewhere in the forum, who were ones that either the DL should've got or at least people who maybe some of us have heard of. Near misses is not Iain's personal posting of anybody who appears on Recent Deaths Wikipedia page. You seem to be in some fantasy world that you're in a newsroom & you are breaking the news to us of deaths, when most of us have already seen the deaths, dismissed them as nobodies & three days later you're telling us again. *Rant Over* Apparently, he died from oral cancer. So my source, which said he was clear was wrong.

Too slow again Iain. Posted 20 minutes ago in the Jack Wild thread, which is the obvious place to post, I would've thought.

Hmmm.... The BBC have also announced he has died. Maybe I should look at my reasoning again, or trust better sources... Unless he went suddenly... anyway.

Yes, I know. It's shameful. However, there's not many I have up my sleeve now. As for my birthday, it is a struggle. There's a few for the ladies like Marc-Paul Gosselaar, but all the most notable ones, Glenn Miller, David Niven, Yitzhak Rabin are dead. From a DL point of view, Harry Belafonte is the best one, though Ron Howard & "Face" from the A Team do their best too. However I did find: Cara Buono, 32 today & Alicia Leigh Willis, 28 Don't ask me who they are, but some people here will not be too worried about that!

Worthington, he was another - only 8 caps for England. Currie got 17, but maybe that should've been more. No matter, it's done now.

Not when capping them for England, he didn't. Indeed, you must remember most of his Leeds show players weren't English like Giles etc. Only when dear old Joe Mercer took the reins as a caretaker boss that the likes of Osgood etc. got a go. Mercer had nothing to lose so picked the most talented players & just sat back & enjoyed. I think Revie thought that England & Leeds were too different in importance & perhaps in tactics to have the same outset. Looking back, it looks like he got it badly wrong.

The military leader of Islamic Jihad, Khaled Al-Dahduh in an explosion. Maybe not famous per se, but a death that might have repurcussions in that region.

Should've been 40. But then, Ramsey & Revie didn't really like all those show players. The likes of Bowles, Osgood, Hudson, Charlie George etc - should really have got more caps if talent is a virtue. Even though John Hollins, Osgood's team-mate, was no showman, he only won 1 cap. It amazes me how some players in the England team tonight have simply racked up cap after cap, but hey, that's an discussion for another time. Osgood was part of the George Best era of footballers who were sublimely talented, for those of you who don't know who he is. I think the reason it is big news is many, many people have either lost a hero or suddenly feel very old all of a sudden. Nice to see the Anfield crowd clap, then observe a minutes silence AND respect the opposition's anthem, but that too is for a discussion elsewhere...

Well, as you've mentioned it, yes, and so has Hungarian footballer Ferenc Bene, who scored 3 goals in the 1966 World Cup. Wayman also played for Southampton, so that's two dead players in two days for them. Firstly, thanks for the birthday mentions. Now, you could argue that this lady should be a "Not famous.. but", but as she was my secret weapon for my 2007 DDP as I felt no-one would choose her if she was still living, I'll put her down here: Georgina Battiscombe I noticed her when The Times announced her 100th birthday in November & I thought... mmm.. good possibility here as not on Genarians, famous enough for Times Birthdays, definitely alive AND ancient. Shame she had to go in February then.

Didn't want to. But it's on my birth certificate, so it can be proved.

What?!! No!!!!! On my birthday too. Bugger. Great footballer. 59 is no age at all. With this & Linda Smith, it's been a sad few days. to both & also LA Times Publisher, Otis Chandler.

Happy Birthday Mr Sharon

I think a thread with the subtitle Don Knotts has died is quite enough notice for most people. Besides, most of us have Wiki Recent Deaths or Google News Search or something else to alert us, so it's not like you were bringing us a scoop.

McGavin will be there, just give it time. Although more famous in the US, he's been in enough films to warrant enough obits here. Puzlman's Passing Picks are the most notable scorers, now on 18 - the Raven & Eternity Tours both now on 14 & Mr C's joker takes him to 13. Looks like it might be a brilliant scrap for second this year, but who knows?

Oh, will I? I've never seen it!! However, I have heard of him vaguely. Wrong thread again, anyway, Iain. Sad to hear about McGavin though. Always good entertainment

Okay, here we go.. Wanda B. Aamot, 95, resident of Dundee, Oregon Mary E Aarant, 92, resident of Nacoghoches, Texas Bradley A. Abbott, 40 - very tragic... Thing is, if the three had been posted on recent deaths on Wikipedia, you'd known about them via Iain!

Tempus, both count, they're just busy at the moment, I should imagine. I would expect to see it up in the next few days - after all, it doesn't really matter if its a few days late when there's still 10 months to go!

The trouble is that someone else doesn't understand subtle. If everyone would like, based on Iain's criteria, I can post all 120,386 names listed in the Social Security Death Index who died in January 2006......

No glitz & glamour from me but I do wish you a very happy birthday

No. In fact I took him off the DDP longlist completely as he's cancer free and apart from the fact he can't speak is quite healthy.

I'd be surprised if you do. "World's 11th oldest person dies" isn't that exciting a headline bar her local area. Paul, Genarians get their info from www.grg.org who decide who is oldest etc, so you can take it as read they are dead if they come up on the Genarians site.

Somewhat surprised to hear of film star Osa Maasen's death. Not in itself, she was 90, after all, but that she died on January 2nd & it wasn't more publicised - in her day she was relatively famous in her field. Osa Massen

Agree with Ward Baker, I thought he had died until I checked the Genarians website. Neame is remarkably good health & form given his age. I can see him possibly reaching 100 if he continues as he is doing. Another name from that period, Sally Gray has just turned 90. She too could be a decent bet.