charliemiller

Written by josh , 19.04.2005 Brazil is the most fashionable country on the planet. Brazilian clothes, shoes, music, food, football.... from Gilberto Gil to Ronaldinho, havaianas to caipirinhas, Brazil is everywhere. But no one remembers the debt that Brazil owes to Britain – and to one British man, Charles Miller. In the 19th century, the British funded the Brazilian economy, built Brazil’s infrastructure - and taught Brazil how to play football. Brazil was never part of the British Empire. However, a small but very influential group of Britons lived and worked in Brazil. British values, institutions, expertise and money permeated the country. Even São Paulo, a provincial little town, plopped in the middle of uninteresting farmland - even that distant, dusty town had a stalwart British community which led a determinedly colonial existence. In 1874, the chaplain of St Paul’s, the British church in São Paulo, registered the birth of a boy. The father was Scottish; the mother was English; the boy’s name was Charles William Miller. Like many sons of British expatriates, Charles Miller went “back home” for his education. At the frail age of nine, he was put on a ship at Santos and sent to boarding-school in Southampton. At that time, São Paulo was a small town with a few shambolic streets, whereas Southampton was one of the greatest ports on the planet. Travelling from one to the other meant moving from a sleepy hamlet to a thriving metropolis. Charles Miller went to a small boarding school on the outskirts of Southampton. From his education, he had learnt only one lesson that really mattered to him: the rules of football. He was a fast, skilful player. He played for the Corinthians (the greatest amateur team of all time) and St Mary’s (now better known as Southampton Football Club). In 1894, Charles Miller sailed back to Brazil. In his luggage, he carried a book of rules and a deflated football. When Charles Miller arrived in Brazil, he discovered to his horror that no-one knew how to play the beautiful game. The expatriate community had retained many British customs - cricket on Saturdays, afternoon tea at four, visiting-cards on silver trays - but not football. Charles had found his mission. He pumped up the football, summoned his friends and colleagues to a patch of wasteland near the railway station, divided them into two teams and explained the rules. He wasn’t prepared for the amazing success of his game. Within months, people were playing football all over São Paulo. Within a few years, the game had conquered the entire country. Fifty years after his death, Charles Miller has been forgotten. In Brazil, people know his name and a few inaccurate myths about his life, but nothing more. In Britain, hardly anyone even knows his name. The British influence in Brazil has dwindled to a few language schools and a dribble of investment. And when British footballers are confronted by Brazilian opponents, they pray that the score doesn’t reach double figures. The story of Charles Miller’s life isn’t just a tale of one man’s fascinating life. Nor is it merely an intriguing episode in the history of football. The spread of football from Britain to Brazil is a neat riposte to anyone who is fearful of cultural imperialism. The English may have invented the rules of football, and the British may have carried the balls and the rulebooks in their imperial baggage, but Brazilians quickly made the game again in their own image. A hundred years later, talents and skills are flowing back the other way. In Britain, just as all over Europe, home-grown players display the skills and techniques which they have learnt from their Brazilian colleagues. Charles Miller’s gift is being repaid Think its a great idea

Ask MW if we can have a statue of the great charlie miller outside St.Marys . We really should let the world know what a huge impact Saints have had on world football , Charlie has a statue outside the Sau Paulo stadium , why not St.Marys. IMHO Would keep wilde busy for months getting that organised

Been here before .....Runnymede Meeting , Leon took the structure prepared to remove the Execs and did it himself . Funny how the piggy on the outside always talks about reconciliation.

I think if you read what is said in a different light perhaps all this does is confirm the view held by many that Mary Corbett nice lady that she is and part of the clubs history should never ever sit on the board at the club. A boardroom is a place where egos go head to head and as is well documented Lowe has one of the biggest Egos of them all , additionally he is more than capable of express a threat or a challenge in a way which leaves you questioning what he actually meant when deep inside you know exactly what was alluded to. If Mary feels intimadated or threatened may I suggest that it is because of superior intellect and presence rather than direct threats. She wont be the first to feel like that (I am generalising by the way this is not specific to Lowe, many business leaders have an air of aggression about them and she wouldnt be the first to be overawed by the presence of a person. I may be wrong but threatened in Marys eyes is different from your or mine . Maybe duncan is getting grief only because Mary didnt make her true feelings clearer.

As above glyn snodin all went downhill when he left IMHO

I think if you read what is said in a different light perhaps all this does is confirm the view held by many that Mary Corbett nice lady that she is and part of the clubs history should never ever sit on the board at the club. A boardroom is a place where egos go head to head and as is well documented Lowe has one of the biggest Egos of them all , additionally he is more than capable of express a threat or a challenge in a way which leaves you questioning what he actually meant when deep inside you know exactly what was alluded to. If Mary feels intimadated or threatened may I suggest that it is because of superior intellect and presence rather than direct threats. She wont be the first to feel like that (I am generalising by the way this is not specific to Lowe)

wont be take that ......will be rod stewart

Kevin Phillips , Dennis wise , mat oakley . How about this kid lol HCDAJFU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJtC-2ITx10&NR=1

Because I do .....he told me .

He stays in the penthouse at the Raddison Bangkok actually.

If it helps with your campaign .....he would come tommorow if it was to rebuild Saints.

curbishley or peter Reid for me .....actually think if one of them take over now we might survive. IMHO

British manager who exactly......With CCC experience and promotion experience ???? Ermmmmm Peter Reid ? Alan Curbishly ? who else ??? I cant think of any .

He is scottish with spikey hair

There will be a concert potentially in the summer , but I think you will be disapointed with who it is !!! Certainly not coldplay .

"Saints continue to punch above their weight" Feckin Rodney Marsh.

Correct , You saved me typing

Interesting , Steve Morgan does NOT own Wolves , He IS part of an Investment fund that purchased wolves . What his shareholding in Wolves is I dont know but maybe the Joe guy from the Hungarian team suggested a capital share investment with the fund and Morgan is the front man . Maybe IMHO

ermmm Tim hes a professional basketball star on a fortune . Was that a tongue in cheek suggestion ?

It is possible that these shares are currently being held in a brokers trade account. Market makers often purchase trades on T10 if they believe the stock is likely to move in the next two weeks or if they have a client who has asked for a set volume of notes that cant be achieved by a single purchase . In short you may well find that this a mopping up process on behalf on someone who needs to achieve in excess of 5% in one hit. That 5% could be critical with regard to only needing two major shareholders ownership to achieve in excess of 51 % IMHO of course.

They are all sells , look at the traded price 17.5p Offer is 19p . Actually in a way thats more worrying , people jumping ship

ermmm they were in the same room somehwere and had been all afternoon . Doesnt bode well IMHO

Dont think Surman will be playing tommorow if what I am READING is right.

Prefer to imagine him as the guy in the chair on Resevoir Dogs ......Leon dancing round him to stuck in the middle with you. I will get my coat LOL