Was looking through historical e-mails from last year around this time, and wanted to share this piece from an English newspaper...Apologies if some of you have read it before....
James McFadden's tears
Middlesbrough 0 Everton 2
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James McFadden elevated a mundane match into the realms of poignancy yesterday, scoring a memorable goal for Everton and then grabbing the black armband worn in honour of Phil O'Donnell and pointing to the heavens. McFadden was rising through the ranks at Motherwell when O'Donnell was in his first spell at Fir Park; amid all its bluster, football hailed one of its own.
McFadden broke down at the Riverside Stadium, moved by the minute's recognition of the midfield player who died of heart failure on Saturday and then crying on his substitution in the 80th minute. In between, he scored a goal that helped to lift his club into fifth place in the table but, understandably, the Scotland international's thoughts were elsewhere.
"I had a feeling I was going to get a goal today and that if I did I was going to dedicate it to Phil," McFadden said. "In the end, it was the right thing to do because I have not been able to see any of his family. I have passed on my regards to them, but I felt that this was the way I wanted to pay my respects to him. My wife is friendly with his niece and me with his nephews, and I'll see them as soon as possible.
"I shed a tear when I came off towards the end. It was such an emotional occasion, with a silence that turned into applause before the game. It has been so shocking. It is difficult to get your head around that he is dead; you can't imagine what his family are going through. He was a great player and one of the nice guys of football. What's happened is a tragedy."
