Being in a nostalgic frame of mind, i was amazed to calculate that it is 20 years since Slaven Bilic left West Ham for Everton. There was a short-lived chat show on TV at the team featuring football personalities taking questions from the audience, and I distinctly remember a West Ham fan pleading with him not to go to Everton because, "they ain't no better than us" and he "deserved better".
20 years, my word. Before Arsene's first double. Before events in New York made the world a harsher, more cynical place. Just about the same time the tragic election of Blair ripped the heart and guts from the once great country.