Cantona project - help needed!

philippeauclair

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I should start by introducing myself; my name is Philippe Auclair, and I have been France-Football magazine's England correspondent for over ten years now. France-Football is the most widely read football publication in the French-speaking world, and is better known elsewhere for its Ballon d'Or - the European Footballer of the Year award, which is attributed each year by our correspondents. I don't think I'll need to remind you that Man Utd is the only club to ever have played with three Ballons d'Or in the same team: Law, Best and Charlton...

I'm now engaged in a long-term project, the subject of which is Eric Cantona; this project aims to put together a multi-faceted portrait of Eric through the memories of others, from Sir Alex to 'ordinary' fans. Which led me to redcafé. I'm sure you all have memories of Eric; and I'm sure quite a few of you have crossed his path. You may have been the fan he embraced after scoring his wondergoal against Wimbledon; you may have shared a pint in a pub; you may have been a neighbour of his in Worsley or Boothstown; whatever the occasion may have been, if you've been even a very small part of the story, I'd love to hear from you. You can post here if you wish to, and share your memories with everyone - or we can 'talk in private' by email if you prefer. In any case, I hope to hear from you very soon.

A big thank you to Niall and redcafe for making me feel welcome in this forum!

PA
 
Not exactly an insight or anything but my abidding memory of cantona is when he scored that chip and then just stood looking around OT as if to say "yeah im the fecking man".
 
My favourite memories:

The goal against the Dippers in the FA Cup final 1996, just fantastic.
His delightful chip from outside the box, when it went in he stood there and just slowly looked around as if to say 'any fecking harder games son'.
His kung-fu kick on a scum Palace fan in the crowd who was abusing him, GET IN ERIC!!
His 'seagulls follow the trawler' speech. I don't know what the hell it means but it was fantastic :lol:
 
I loved the time he was on MUTV(December 2004) and said the Glazers should stay away from United and buy Coca Cola. And when he slammed for the FA for not allowing him play in behind closed doors games during his ban(saying they do enjoy making love with their wives, do they have any fun).

And in Keanes autobiography, where he tried to pay for a packet of chewing gum with a credit card at the airport.
 
MUFCgal said:
His 'seagulls follow the trawler' speech. I don't know what the hell it means but it was fantastic :lol:
Click to expand...

He was referring to the press, suggesting that like seagulls they follow behind him hoping for some juicy titbits they can get their teeth into..
 
Je suis Eric Cantona actuallement, et j'habite a Bury a ce moment, c'est bon.
 
To me Eric was the final piece of the jigsaw in 93. He was everything United supporters loved about footballers, flair,no nonsense and always knew the derby games were a big occasion for the supporters. Thats just him he always had a strong bond with the supporters even when the glazers bought the club he spoke out about it not many former reds were doing that. We were also an under achieving club for to long and he was one of the biggest reasons why today we no longer have that stigma.

To most supporters he is mentioned in the same breathe as Law, Best and Charlton and thats probably the biggest compliment to any player that has played for United.
 
Actually = En fait, friendlytramp, you need to work harder in French :D

Bienvenue parmi nous Philippe, je suis sur que tu trouveras ici des membres qui ont des souvenirs uniques, bien à eux, d'Eric Cantona.
 
quethenoo said:
Not exactly an insight or anything but my abidding memory of cantona is when he scored that chip and then just stood looking around OT as if to say "yeah im the fecking man".
Click to expand...

Every now and again I get the Video out and watch that it gives me
" Goose bumps" I always imagined he was saying " Did you see that, I am class"
Not the best player ever in a United shirt but possibley one of the most important, the class of 99 owe him a lot.
 
Cantona was a prophet of sorts. When he retired I was devastated as were most fans because we knew he could still offer so much. And when he gve his reasoning as the fact that there were two Manchester United's ; the footballing side and the business side and how it was the latter that made him disillusioned and led to his early retirement. Backthen most fans I spoke to were confused and although everybody acknowledged United's global fanbase didn't really think the business side was anymore than a side note to the football.

Fast forward 10 years and without a doubt football has become more about the money than ever. Players who play with a passion and wear their hearts on their sleeves are put on pedestals because they are so rare.

An often mentioned quote of his is how he fears one day the united fans will stop chanting his name because he loves it and everything you love, you fear you will ultimately lose. Eric need not worry. We sing his name because we know that in all probability as long as we live there will never be a player who embodies the flair and bravado of Manchester United like he did. We sing his name because he has given us memories we can never forget.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
He's a saviour from afar,
What a friend we have in Jesus,
And his name is Cantona!
Ooh ah, Cantona,
Ooh ah, Cantona,
Ooh ah, Ooh ah,
Ooh ah, Cantona,
Ooh ah, Cantona.
 
Desert Eagle said:
Cantona was a prophet of sorts. When he retired I was devastated as were most fans because we knew he could still offer so much. And when he gve his reasoning as the fact that there were two Manchester United's ; the footballing side and the business side and how it was the latter that made him disillusioned and led to his early retirement. Backthen most fans I spoke to were confused and although everybody acknowledged United's global fanbase didn't really think the business side was anymore than a side note to the football.

Fast forward 10 years and without a doubt football has become more about the money than ever. Players who play with a passion and wear their hearts on their sleeves are put on pedestals because they are so rare.

An often mentioned quote of his is how he fears one day the united fans will stop chanting his name because he loves it and everything you love, you fear you will ultimately lose. Eric need not worry. We sing his name because we know that in all probability as long as we live there will never be a player who embodies the flair and bravado of Manchester United like he did. We sing his name because he has given us memories we can never forget.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
He's a saviour from afar,
What a friend we have in Jesus,
And his name is Cantona!
Ooh ah, Cantona,
Ooh ah, Cantona,
Ooh ah, Ooh ah,
Ooh ah, Cantona,
Ooh ah, Cantona.
Click to expand...

Well said. He is by far my favourite united ever and I remember crying for weeks when he retired. For me, he was the player I looked up to when I was growing up and a true LEGEND. I, for one, will not forget him and everything he did for united. Many will disagree with me and they will bring rightful reasons for it, but for me, he is the greatest player to ever play in the premiership. I'm biased but that is how I feel.
 
WTF? One post and Promoted? this guy must be Harry Potter...

:cool:

Welcome Philippe
 
Not to hijack the thread or anything, but what was people's reaction when you heard about the signing of Cantona? Did you know he was going to be good, or were you worried about some moody french bloke upsetting the team?
 
Desert Eagle said:
Cantona was a prophet of sorts. When he retired I was devastated as were most fans because we knew he could still offer so much. And when he gve his reasoning as the fact that there were two Manchester United's ; the footballing side and the business side and how it was the latter that made him disillusioned and led to his early retirement. Backthen most fans I spoke to were confused and although everybody acknowledged United's global fanbase didn't really think the business side was anymore than a side note to the football.

Fast forward 10 years and without a doubt football has become more about the money than ever. Players who play with a passion and wear their hearts on their sleeves are put on pedestals because they are so rare.

An often mentioned quote of his is how he fears one day the united fans will stop chanting his name because he loves it and everything you love, you fear you will ultimately lose. Eric need not worry. We sing his name because we know that in all probability as long as we live there will never be a player who embodies the flair and bravado of Manchester United like he did. We sing his name because he has given us memories we can never forget.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
He's a saviour from afar,
What a friend we have in Jesus,
And his name is Cantona!
Ooh ah, Cantona,
Ooh ah, Cantona,
Ooh ah, Ooh ah,
Ooh ah, Cantona,
Ooh ah, Cantona.
Click to expand...
Well put, desert eagle. I'm at OT for the Chelsea game, and hope to hear that song again. Others too. Do you remember when he first put his collar up? When my friend Eric Bielderman of l'Equipe talked to him a few months ago, Eric himself couldn't remember which game it was. But he remembered why, once he'd done it, he'd have to do it again. Pure superstition - he'd played a stormer.
 
Good luck with your project.

I sadly never met Eric, but he remains my favourite player of all time - its hard to imagine that ever changing.
 
Hi Phillepe,

I have heard you on talk sport numerous times.
welcome to the cafe.

I have this as my desktop background and believe it to hit the nail on the head.
kingericfc2.png
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The guy had so much talent and charisma he was just made for our club, I think they complimented each other equally. Had he stayed at Leeds he would not have become Le Magnific in my opinion
The FA cup final volleyed goal against Liverpool is my favourite memory, the technique was sublime and he was the only man on the field capable of such beauty!
 
Hi RedGib

Thanks for the message...Let's hope I don't cover myself with shame on TS! Agreed with you: Eric needed United as much as United needed Eric.

Cheers

Ph
 
It was just after he had been banned and was staying in the Novotel Hotel in Worsley....

I was running a training conference when he walked into the reception.....

...cue mass hysteria from many of the United supporters who were participating in the conference.....but on a coffee break..

..the hotel management asked me to request that my participants leave him alone and give some privacy.....Eric turned to the manager and said..

"No! It is OK!"

He turned to me and asked what I was doing at the hotel and after i finished explaining ....and apologising....he duly signed autographs for everyone who wanted one. Even some Manchester City fans asked him.

Even when he had just been through a terrible ordeal...he found time to sign scores of autographs...

Pure Class!
 
I loved it when Eric put a flaming football through the devil's chest. Sent a shiver down my spine, and made me turn to my old man and say, 'I wish I could do that.'

Not even Satan could save one of King Eric's shots.

Oh yeah, Cantona was a bad ass.
 
Ok this is a pretty random bump, but I'm in the midst of reading Auclair's fantastic book on Cantona, and I thought I'd do a search on the Caf to see what people have said about the book. I found this thread, started by none other than Auclair himself, which is pretty cool. But then I saw that he was banned? Pure curiosity, but what did Philippe Auclair do to get himself banned on the Caf?
 
jem said:
Ok this is a pretty random bump, but I'm in the midst of reading Auclair's fantastic book on Cantona, and I thought I'd do a search on the Caf to see what people have said about the book. I found this thread, started by none other than Auclair himself, which is pretty cool. But then I saw that he was banned? Pure curiosity, but what did Philippe Auclair do to get himself banned on the Caf?
Click to expand...

It's a great book and a great bump. Auclair did a very good job and it's very cool to see he was (presumably) on the cafe. My favourite part was about Canto's time before United.
 
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jem said:
Ok this is a pretty random bump, but I'm in the midst of reading Auclair's fantastic book on Cantona, and I thought I'd do a search on the Caf to see what people have said about the book. I found this thread, started by none other than Auclair himself, which is pretty cool. But then I saw that he was banned? Pure curiosity, but what did Philippe Auclair do to get himself banned on the Caf?
Click to expand...

Inactivity. When the site converted to Xenforo and also in early 2014, a whole bunch of accounts were automatically banned for inactivity. He's more than welcome back if he wants to be, just needs to message the caf twitter account but he most likely has better things to do.
 
Henrik Larsson said:
It's a great book and a great bump. Auclair did a very good job and it's very cool to see he was (presumably) on the cafe. My favourite part was about Canto's time before United.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm at the part where he's back for his last tour at Marseilles. Riveting stuff, and very well-written. I wish I could've have seen Cantona play at United.
 
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