TIM TO MAKE A BUCK OR TWO

Last updated : 13 July 2003 By Editor

From New Jerseys's local rag, The Star Ledger (Americanism's left in for effect):

The only snag was Howard securing a work visa to play in England. That country has stricter rules about clearing foreign players than most European nations, and Howard did not qualify for a permit because he has not made enough appearances with the U.S. national team over the past two years.

Because his mother was born in Hungary, Howard was eligible and applied for a Hungarian passport. But Hungary is not yet a member of the European Union, so he still was considered a foreign player. Manchester United is one of the most powerful clubs in the world, and they wanted Howard bad enough to make an appeal to the British labor board to issue him a work permit.

"It's been kind of tense, waiting for all this to fall into place," Esther Howard said.

According to Esther Howard, her son will go to England early next week to take a physical, then fly back to New Jersey to take care of personal business. He will join his new team next weekend in Portland, Ore., where Manchester United will arrive next Saturday to prepare for its four-game exhibition tour of the United States. Howard will be back in New Jersey when Manchester United plays at Giants Stadium July 31 against Italian club Juventus.

Also, can we just re-emphasise that the kind of Tourettes he suffers from is the 'tics' and not the swearing variety - as reported in our news a few weeks back, he says he never swears. His syndrome is kept under control but if we witness him continually tying his bootlaces, we know a substitution is likely."

His coach, Mo Johnston ( yes, the very same): 'He's a wonderful goalkeeper, tremendously agile, and I'm sure he'll be a success in England,' Johnston told BBC Scotland.