The story of former Arsenal and Liverpool legend Michael Thomas, hero, legend, title-winner... and a great fan of South Africa

It's up for grabs now! Michael Thomas, right, starts his epic celebration
after winning the title for Arsenal at Liverpool in 1989

MICHAEL THOMAS is in South Africa for the TENTH time. The Arsenal and Liverpool legend LOVES the country. On my football show BOLLOCKZ! this morning he said: "I can't get enough of South Africa. It's my second home. Wonderful place, wonderful people."

Currently staying in Tshwane with the mysterious MOLE, our regular undercover football analyst, before a family wedding, Michael will be BACK in November, for a Liverpool legends clash with Kaizer Chiefs on November 16.

THE BOLLOCKZ! Michael and I at the Ballz studio

The names reel off his tongue. Every one a hero to audiences around the world, from Africa to Asia, where the English football remains a sporting staple.

"Bruce Grobbelaar, Mark Wright, Alan Kennedy, Jan Molby, John Barnes, Gary McAllister, Robbie Fowler, John Aldridge, it should be a great trip. There will be a lot of reminiscing!

"We fly over on the 10th, will spend a few days in Johannesburg doing football clinics and a golf day at Houghton, then we go down to Durban for the Kaizer Chiefs game on the 16th.

"I've never seen the Moses Mabhida Stadium, but I hear it's great. Shame Arsenal haven't got a legends team coming over too!"

Michael is no ordinary former footballer. Raised in Stockwell, London, he overcame the then-severe problems of discrimination to rise to the very top of the game. And the crowning moment came in 1989 when, in the final game of the season, Michael scored the injury-time winner which clinched the title for Arsenal in a 2-0 win at Liverpool's fortress Anfield.

It's a moment few elderly Gooners will forget. The commentator screaming "It's up for grabs now!" as he broke through on Alan Smith's pass, enjoyed a fortuitous deflection... and slipped home goal which took the championship to Highbury on the narrowest-ever margin.

Fever pitch: Thomas and Tony Adams in 1989

That goal inspired Nick Hornby's classic book "Fever Pitch" which was followed by a block-buster movie of the same name. Few ignore the chance to raise the topic, with Ballz owner Darren Scott greeting Michael with a smacking kiss when he walked in to the studio this morning.

Lifelong Arsenal fan Scott explained: "When Michael Thomas scored that goal, I actually pulled a muscle on the couch when I was watching it on the television."

Michael went on to play for Liverpool, scoring in the 1992 FA Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa and the winner in the final against Sunderland at Wembley.

Now 46, Michael Lauriston Thomas was capped three times by England and in a career which also included Wimbledon, Portugal's Benfica plus Middlesbrough and Portsmouth on loan, he played 315 games, scoring 33 goals.

Today he runs a security firm called "Stop Taking the Michael" and lives near Liverpool between trips to South Africa and around the world.

He has strong views on a variety of subjects, though he tends to shy away from the high profile analysis spotlight. He says: "I can't believe we're taking the World Cup to Qatar, even they don't play at that time of the year. It's just ridiculously hot. We're stopping off at Qatar on the way home from South Africa - I'll tell you how hot it is!

"The World Cup has got to be shared about a bit, and I loved the way South Africa hosted it. But you can't have countries having it twice like Mexico and Germany."

On the more personal subject of his celebration after THAT "Fever Pitch" goal (the video features in our interview on Ballz radio (see below)), Michael grins: "I nearly broke my neck trying to do a handstand... but it wasn't as bad as when Tony Adams lifted Stevie Morrow after winning the League Cup at Wembley. Morrow was the hero, he fell and broke his shoulder and couldn't go up to get his medal!"


Having enjoyed a range of top coaches, Thomas has this verdict on his favourite boss: "I'd say Roy Evans at Liverpool was a great coach. He let us play. George was a great coach defending wise but he never let us just play.

"That's why I left Arsenal at the end of the day, because I wasn't enjoying the football. Jose Mourinho's the same today. As long as everyone gets back and defends, works for the group, he's happy."

As for Arsenal's hopes in the Champions League after impressive wins over Marseille and Napoli, Michael is pretty certain Arsenal will progress, insisting: "They said it was the Group of Death, but I said at the time the only tough side is Borussia Dortmund. I was always sure they could beat Napoli.

"Me, Tony Adams, (former soap opera star) Tom Watt and Paul Davies will all be going to watch Arsenal at Dortmund, we'll go through the EuroTunnel, sit there and enjoy the game!"

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews like the one above.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!

Everything you need to know about the final round of the ABSA Premiership

Up for grabs: eNews presenter Sandile Nkosi and I with the trophy

After a frantic penultimate ABSA Premier League Saturday, here's the facts:

1 Only Orlando Pirates or Moroka Swallows can now win the title.
2 If the Buccaneers win their final game at Arrows, they retain the title.
3 If the Sea Robbers draw and the Dube Birds win, Swallows snatch it.
4 If Pirates lose, Swallows must still win at Maritzburg United.
5 Siyabonga Nomvethe is FIFTH player to reach 20 PSL goals in a season.
6 Moeneeb Josephs wants Pirates caretaker Augusto Palacios to stay.
7 SuperSport United, despite beating Sundowns, are out of the race.
8 Dutch legend Johan Neeskens is under huge pressure.
9 Kaizer Chiefs produce late winner to end Free State Stars’ challenge.
10 Jomo Cosmos are relegated. Barring a miracle.

Yup, what a day of drama it was. Sponsors ABSA certainly got their money’s worth. And we’ve got another week of nail-biting still to come.
Champions Orlando Pirates, 1-0 down to an early Bloemfontein Celtic goal, looked like they’d thrown it away at the Orlando Stadium. Letladi Madubanya silenced the Ghost, who barely had an attempt on goal to celebrate in a dire first half.
But the Ghost were brought back to life by Thulasizwe Mbuyane’s equaliser after an agonising 73 minutes following a cross from Ndumiso Mabena.
Then along came Siyabonga Sangweni with the header which means the Buccaneers just need to win at Lamontville Golden Arrows in their final match to successfully defend their ABSA crown.
Sangweni’s goal means Bucca Bucca remain two points ahead of Swallows but the Birds have a narrow advantage on goal difference.
If the Birds fail to win at Maritzburg United next week, they’re gone. But if they win and Pirates draw or lose, the title goes to Dube.
Siyabonga Nomvethe, the veteran striker I wrote about in The New Age last week, scored twice for Gordon Igesund's Birds at Dobsonville, which was enough to see off Platninum Stars 2-1. That takes the 34-year-old from KwaMashu to 20 goals this season - only the four others have ever achieved that in nearly two decades of Premier League action in South Africa.
With Pirates 90 minutes away from a historic title defence, caretaker coach Augusto Palacios refused to go overboard. Through his big Peruvian smile, he told kickoff.com: "The last game we have, we need to win that game. Not any other results we will accept. If we draw we are out, it is clear we need to win that game.
"Until we win that came, then we can say we are champions, I can't say anything until we play that game against Arrows, which is a difficult game."
"I'm very happy with the character we put in after we made an early mistake by conceding an early goal.I must credit the players; it was not an easy game. It was very difficult game, Celtic for six games were unbeaten and had a very solid defence, but we knew the goal would come and we continued to put pressure and we got it."
Few expected Palacios to achieve glory after the departure of Julio Leal, but he will be difficult to dislodge now. Pirates chairman Irvin Khosa may be the Iron Duke, but even he would surely struggle to axe a second successive championship winning coach if three points are secured next Saturday.
Those wins for the two oldest top flight clubs in Soweto saw the other four contenders fall away in the title chase. Free State Stars were looking like possibles until Kaizer Chiefs produced a late winner, with caretaker coach Doc Khumalo looking like he's won the World Cup when the whistle went to confirm a come-from-behind 2-1 win. Quite what Brazilian Leal and Ruud Krol must think, who knows?
Perhaps he was cheered up by the news that Chiefs will keep their technical team intact despite the arrival of new coach Stuart Baxter with his dodgy CV.
SuperSport’s 1-0 win over Mamelodi Sundowns wasn’t enough to keep them in the (Gavin) Hunt.
Quite what happens at Sundowns now after their alarming late season slump is hard to say. The great Dutch master Johan Neeskens simply failed to come up with anything when it mattered.
Sibusiso Zuma's 79th-minute goal was enough to decide a League clash which previews the all Tshwane Nedbank Cup Final showdown.
Elsewhere, Santos grabbed a 2-2 draw against AmaZulu to keep survival hopes alive while Ajax crushed Arrows 4-1 in Cape Town. Jomo Cosmos - held 1-1 by Maritzburg - now need to beat Leopards and Santos with a combined goal difference of +5 to avoid the automatic drop spot.
So we go in to the final Saturday in South Africa just like they are in England. If QPR can hold Manchester City or Arrows can deny Pirates, everything changes.

You can follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol or read my Neal and Pray column every Tuesday at www.thenewage.com. I'll be on eTV Sunrise Classic Play at 7.30am on Monday, followed by eNews (DSTV 403) at 8.15am with Collins' Corner.