We've all had them, one of those days when not everything goes wrong but pretty close to it. Major things occur during the day that seem like the end of the world, things that could cause your blood pressure to rise and your chest pump with rage, unless like me you can learn to cope with these unexpected occurances that are out of your control.
Okay so that last bit isn't quite true, I am probably the least tolerant and most unable person to cope with the unexpected. If a plane, train or bus is scheduled to leave at a certain time then to my mind there is no reason for it not to do so. How can it be so difficult?
Having had a fantastic week on the island of Madeira we had breakfast in the hotel and checked out after refusing to pay €14.60 for phone calls we hadn't made and found our taxi driver was waiting to take us on the twenty-five minute ride to Funchal airport. His yellow Mercedes was draped in Benfica flags and a minor shrine to the Blessed Virgin on the dashboard. This portly moustache wielding latter day highwayman then set off into the Madeiran rush hour only using his brakes as a last resort. The speed we hit on the busy expressway was now getting serious, the needle hit 150kmh (an unhealthy 95mph) and exiting a tunnel onto a high level viaduct the car suddenly started weaving and snaking at high speed, "senor...SENOR, por favor SLOW DOWN", he did but only for a couple of kilometres, and my next utterance (after much swearing) was "he's got no chance of a tip".
Thankfully the Virgin Mary was looking after us and we got to the airport alive, SuperMario went off to get us a trolley which we didn't need "he's still not getting a tip" and then asked for €32.30. Now then, I'd booked it and the agreed price was €30, I know it's only €2.30 difference but stay with me here, it's the principle of the thing. I did a deal for thirty bucks which is more than enough for what proved to be a ten minute ride, you can hire a cab for half a day for forty euros! So me and this big moustache argued over who was right and when I called a policeman to my assistance he quickly weighed it up, on one hand a taxi driver sporting a giant rug on his top lip and an extremely irate soon to be departing tourist. His response was to ignore the whole incident and walk away, cheers mate thanks a bunch, so in my worst Portuguese I told the driver my thoughts of him and waited for my seventy cents change.
I was in a fit of rage, my girlfriend all the time telling me to forget it and calm down, wise words but I wasn't listening I was so incensed I forgot that he'd nearly killed us. Moving into the airport the next thing I see is our flight is no longer 1115 but 1225, "oh well, lets check in anyway" but oh no, easyjet have other ideas, so an hour later we get checked in and find that the flight is now set to leave at 1300. At last we're going to board the plane but at quarter past two we're on but being told to get off and wait in the lounge in the terminal while a gang of moustachios sort out a technical problem. Oh well, I didn't want to see the Turkey v Germany game anyway.
Needless to say I took this in my stride and calmly left the aircraft for the terminal, I had a great seat too, would I get the legroom I craved when we reboard? if we reboard. Being held in a limbo world between duty free and the aircraft my frayed nerves had to contend with screaming children and those who hold "speedy boarding" tickets. If you want a better class of travel you don't fly easyjet, if you want to get somewhere sunny for £80 return you do fly easyjet and take all the scrummaging that goes with it Those mugs who pay the extra just to get on first so that they can read their Daily Mails by the window, remember this, I always get on pretty early, get the most legroom and don't pay a penny more than when I bought the ticket.
So after cruising up and down Funchals runway to see if the new landing gear circuit board from the local Tandy shop is working the plane finally got away and back to Gatwick, a train journey back to Fratton and rushing over the footbridge to Smiffys Sports Bar on Goldsmith Avenue we ordered beer but they only had Fosters and settled in to watch the rest of Turkey v Germany.
All was not well, no picture which thankfully meant no Motson but the radio was on which meant Alan Green, just how bad could this day get? Soon answered, Germany go 2-1 ahead, pictures return and we see Turkey come back to two each but even as I was cheering the Turks and looking forward to extra time the Germans joined in the conspiracy and scored a third to book their place in the final of 2008s European Championship.
Never mind, I've learnt from the experiences of that day and whatever happens to you in "one of those days", you'll look back and think it wasn't that bad after all, nobody died and remember, there's always someone worse off than yourself, the awful scenes on the news from Zimbabwe reminded me of that.
Saturday, 28 June 2008
Monday, 2 June 2008
The Greatest Day of My Life..........So Far
It's been a couple of weeks since the FA Cup final and I've been enjoying, no, wallowing in the glory. I never thought I'd see Pompey win the cup, especially when the sixth round draw was announced, I was on Beachy Head, not the best place to be when you hear the draw is Manchester United away.
I did say at the time "well thats it then, of all the teams to get drawn against, why not Barnsley or Middlesbrough? **** it".
In fact I said "**** it" a lot that afternoon, I thought about that moment while I was driving up the M3 for the cup final, a smile on my face as I passed the stretch limos and coaches covered in Blue and white flags and scarves, how on earth did Pompey win at Old Trafford? Surely the name on the cup would be Portsmouth, all the luck was with us, last gasp own goal versus Preston, a penalty not given against Ipswich, and just how did Distin stop Carrick from getting the ball over the line? Pompey rode their luck like a surfer on the crest of a wave.
The moment I really felt confident of victory was on the train at Richmond, group of Cardiff fans joined us in the carriage, a lady started chatting to us and in a gorgeous Welsh accent said "how old is that Karnooo? he says he's thirty-two, is that right?". Laughter filled the train then she added "we know we're going to get beat but we'll have a lovely day and it's so nice to see you boys all looking so worried".
That relaxed me and at Willesden Junction meeting my brother and his son who is in the joyous situation of being a Pompey fan for a few years now and at thirteen years old he's yet to see Pompey lose. I became more confident, my first Pompey match I was eleven years of age and got a dismal 2-0 defeat at home to Orient, my nephew has seen wins and draws in the premier league and wins in the semi and the final at Wembley, a lucky mascot indeed. I have grown up watching cup finals and becoming part of it, the night before on ITV we'd watch "Who'll Win The Cup?" chaired by Brian Moore with a few hand picked guests. Then Saturday morning, watching the build-up and jealously seeing fans walking up Wembley Way, that's always something I wanted to do. I refrained at the semi-final, it wouldn't have been right to walk that route unless it was the FA Cup Final. So on the 17th May 2008 I realised an ambition, not much of an ambition you may say, but to me it was something special, a missing piece of a jigsaw. The fans were in awesome voice, the Pompey Chimes rang out loud along that walkway and then the sight I'll never forget, Bobby Moores' statue draped in St George and Pompey flags, his bronze image fervently guarded by Portsmouth fans.
The game went by in a flash, ninety minutes never ticked by so quickly until the final three minutes when the clock seemed to stop, the most vivid memory of the game I have is David James rushing out and clearing the danger in about the third minute of the match. I remember the celebrations and seeing the cup carried aloft by so many Pompey heroes and then Barry Harris found himself alone with the FA Cup, he looked around him for a Pompey player to hand the cup to but he saw no-one near him and to his great credit he milked the moment, in front of the fans, his face was a picture of pure joy. I have to admit and I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear or two when the FA Cup was collected by Sol Campbell, I looked around and many blokes of my age were doing the same. I doubt if winning the FA Cup has meant so much to a group of fans in recent times, it really meant something special.
I met up with an old friend at Wembley station, when we got on the train he looked stunned, stunned but happy but there was something else there too, a lifting of the suffering, we reminisced of journeys to far flung fourth and third division grounds, years of second division campaigns which became like trench warfare, losing the semi final to Liverpool, failing in the play-off semi final against Leicester. An ironic smile at this as we pondered Milan Mandaric and how Pompey prospered and slumped under him, we chatted away while we changed platforms at Willesden, then talked of the evening celebrations, he was heading straight back to Pompey but I was heading to Richmond and a quick sprint down the M3 to Bournemouth, at that point my friend realised he was on the wrong train. His comment "we were making good time too".
Which brings me back to the greatest day of my life, I saw Pompey lift the FA Cup in the afternoon and in the evening saw Paul Weller at his best in the Opera House in Boscombe, I met up with my girlfriend who'd got the train to Bournemouth and having my first cup winning celebration beer in the Opera House bar a couple walked past and I overheard him say to his girl "lets just get champagne eh?" I stopped him and said "are you Pompey?" He was indeed and he was so excited, I thought he was going to burst when I showed him my camera phone pictures of the day. Weller was awesome and really sealed the day for me, a fantastic day and a truly memorable Sunday to follow.
I did say at the time "well thats it then, of all the teams to get drawn against, why not Barnsley or Middlesbrough? **** it".
In fact I said "**** it" a lot that afternoon, I thought about that moment while I was driving up the M3 for the cup final, a smile on my face as I passed the stretch limos and coaches covered in Blue and white flags and scarves, how on earth did Pompey win at Old Trafford? Surely the name on the cup would be Portsmouth, all the luck was with us, last gasp own goal versus Preston, a penalty not given against Ipswich, and just how did Distin stop Carrick from getting the ball over the line? Pompey rode their luck like a surfer on the crest of a wave.
The moment I really felt confident of victory was on the train at Richmond, group of Cardiff fans joined us in the carriage, a lady started chatting to us and in a gorgeous Welsh accent said "how old is that Karnooo? he says he's thirty-two, is that right?". Laughter filled the train then she added "we know we're going to get beat but we'll have a lovely day and it's so nice to see you boys all looking so worried".
That relaxed me and at Willesden Junction meeting my brother and his son who is in the joyous situation of being a Pompey fan for a few years now and at thirteen years old he's yet to see Pompey lose. I became more confident, my first Pompey match I was eleven years of age and got a dismal 2-0 defeat at home to Orient, my nephew has seen wins and draws in the premier league and wins in the semi and the final at Wembley, a lucky mascot indeed. I have grown up watching cup finals and becoming part of it, the night before on ITV we'd watch "Who'll Win The Cup?" chaired by Brian Moore with a few hand picked guests. Then Saturday morning, watching the build-up and jealously seeing fans walking up Wembley Way, that's always something I wanted to do. I refrained at the semi-final, it wouldn't have been right to walk that route unless it was the FA Cup Final. So on the 17th May 2008 I realised an ambition, not much of an ambition you may say, but to me it was something special, a missing piece of a jigsaw. The fans were in awesome voice, the Pompey Chimes rang out loud along that walkway and then the sight I'll never forget, Bobby Moores' statue draped in St George and Pompey flags, his bronze image fervently guarded by Portsmouth fans.
The game went by in a flash, ninety minutes never ticked by so quickly until the final three minutes when the clock seemed to stop, the most vivid memory of the game I have is David James rushing out and clearing the danger in about the third minute of the match. I remember the celebrations and seeing the cup carried aloft by so many Pompey heroes and then Barry Harris found himself alone with the FA Cup, he looked around him for a Pompey player to hand the cup to but he saw no-one near him and to his great credit he milked the moment, in front of the fans, his face was a picture of pure joy. I have to admit and I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear or two when the FA Cup was collected by Sol Campbell, I looked around and many blokes of my age were doing the same. I doubt if winning the FA Cup has meant so much to a group of fans in recent times, it really meant something special.
I met up with an old friend at Wembley station, when we got on the train he looked stunned, stunned but happy but there was something else there too, a lifting of the suffering, we reminisced of journeys to far flung fourth and third division grounds, years of second division campaigns which became like trench warfare, losing the semi final to Liverpool, failing in the play-off semi final against Leicester. An ironic smile at this as we pondered Milan Mandaric and how Pompey prospered and slumped under him, we chatted away while we changed platforms at Willesden, then talked of the evening celebrations, he was heading straight back to Pompey but I was heading to Richmond and a quick sprint down the M3 to Bournemouth, at that point my friend realised he was on the wrong train. His comment "we were making good time too".
Which brings me back to the greatest day of my life, I saw Pompey lift the FA Cup in the afternoon and in the evening saw Paul Weller at his best in the Opera House in Boscombe, I met up with my girlfriend who'd got the train to Bournemouth and having my first cup winning celebration beer in the Opera House bar a couple walked past and I overheard him say to his girl "lets just get champagne eh?" I stopped him and said "are you Pompey?" He was indeed and he was so excited, I thought he was going to burst when I showed him my camera phone pictures of the day. Weller was awesome and really sealed the day for me, a fantastic day and a truly memorable Sunday to follow.
Friday, 18 April 2008
Red White & Blue
After the euphoria of the FA Cup semi-final for such a serial defeatist as myself coming to terms with Pompey actually being in the cup final having finally realised it's not just a dream, the joy has been dampened somewhat by the news that Portsmouth are to wear all blue in the final.
"The players are superstitious" is the official line from the club, I can understand that, I play cricket in the summer months and I'm a batsman, nobody is more superstitious than a cricketer, I've been putting my left pad on before my right for more years than I can remember but it doesn't guarantee any runs. I also play rugby and have lucky pants, socks, you name it, I follow the same routine but it never made any difference, if you're going to win you will.
Please Pompey boys, try and understand it won't affect the outcome of the match. I once wore a replica France rugby shirt the day before France v England in Paris, England won so the following fortnight I tried it again but we were playing Scotland or Ireland (my memory fails me) and England lost. I tried it again before the Wales game this year and it didn't work so the point is it doesn't matter. What you wear won't adversely effect the outcome of the game.
The Pompey players should be so full of confidence that they don't need superstitions, spare a thought for the fans and the watching world. Pompey very proudly play in blue white & red and apart from a brief dalliance with a pretentious white with blue twin stripe continental look in the seventies they have done for years.
This occasion belongs as much if not more to the long suffering fans as the players and I'm pretty sure that in a vote the fans would say wear the blue shirt white shorts and red socks. If superstition held any credibilty I'd be a millionaire, I do the same superstitious bets every week, the same superstitious lottery numbers, I back the same superstitious jockeys colours and here I am still working for a living instead of relaxing on the earnings of my superstitions.
Come on Pompey boys, do the supporters the club the city and yourselves proud, wear the club colours at Wembley, show the world you're above superstition and that what you wear isn't going to influence how you perform on the pitch, give us our day at Wembley in the red white & blue.
"The players are superstitious" is the official line from the club, I can understand that, I play cricket in the summer months and I'm a batsman, nobody is more superstitious than a cricketer, I've been putting my left pad on before my right for more years than I can remember but it doesn't guarantee any runs. I also play rugby and have lucky pants, socks, you name it, I follow the same routine but it never made any difference, if you're going to win you will.
Please Pompey boys, try and understand it won't affect the outcome of the match. I once wore a replica France rugby shirt the day before France v England in Paris, England won so the following fortnight I tried it again but we were playing Scotland or Ireland (my memory fails me) and England lost. I tried it again before the Wales game this year and it didn't work so the point is it doesn't matter. What you wear won't adversely effect the outcome of the game.
The Pompey players should be so full of confidence that they don't need superstitions, spare a thought for the fans and the watching world. Pompey very proudly play in blue white & red and apart from a brief dalliance with a pretentious white with blue twin stripe continental look in the seventies they have done for years.
This occasion belongs as much if not more to the long suffering fans as the players and I'm pretty sure that in a vote the fans would say wear the blue shirt white shorts and red socks. If superstition held any credibilty I'd be a millionaire, I do the same superstitious bets every week, the same superstitious lottery numbers, I back the same superstitious jockeys colours and here I am still working for a living instead of relaxing on the earnings of my superstitions.
Come on Pompey boys, do the supporters the club the city and yourselves proud, wear the club colours at Wembley, show the world you're above superstition and that what you wear isn't going to influence how you perform on the pitch, give us our day at Wembley in the red white & blue.
Sunday, 6 April 2008
Journey to Wembley
I had vowed to myself that I would only go to the new Wembley Stadium if Portsmouth were in the cup final, my strong feelings that millions of pounds have been wasted in the building of the complex made my resolve not to attend all the more. However what do you do when the club you first saw in 1976 on a wet Tuesday night in April get to a Wembley semi-final?
Of course, I'm going, all my principles were going out of the window and I was going to be there.
The whole city had been buzzing with excitement and it seemed everyone I knew who wanted to go had a ticket, this was going to be the trip of a lifetime. The track maintenance planned between Woking and Waterloo wasn't going to spoil it either, I got myself to the Harbour station at 05.45 to find I wasn't the only one with intentions of beating the later rush, at Horsham the train had four carriages added to the eight original ones such was the swell of people on board, getting off the train at Clapham I met my London based brother and his young son, I only hope my nephew knows how lucky he is to be seeing Pompey at Wembley at such an early stage in his Pompey fan career, I've seen plenty of ups and downs with Portsmouth, in fact more downs probably. On that wet Tuesday in 1976 when my journey began, Pompey were already relegated to the third division before they lost to Orient, so I had already made myself acquainted with a team that would regularly disappoint, following quickly was relegation the fourth division in 1978.
The journeys in those dark days were long, a trek to Rochdale in an Austin 1100 I remember only too well, around 2000 Pompey fans went to Lancashire that day and we cleaned them out of programs by 1pm. This was a typical Division four away game in those days and climbing out of the fourth division at the second attempt by the skin of their teeth was my first taste of success followed by the Division 3 Championship a couple of years later. Years of Division two football then ensued, seeing the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle come and go, Blackburn were always a big rival so too were Barnsley and Huddersfield. There was joy at Mark Hateleys two hat-tricks in a week and seeing him make his England debut as a Pompey player v USSR at Wembley. Then at the end of the 80s a brief flirtation with the top division, when the late Alan Ball guided Pompey up in 1987 only to come straight back down.
So you can see how Pompey fans have suffered over the years and surely nobody can begrudge them a bit of success in a competition so dominated by the rich four in recent times. In fact the victory at Old Trafford however lucky it may or may not have been is reason enough to suggest that Pompey can go all the way. The semi-final was not a great game but they very rarely are, so much is at stake that the professional will to win overrides any thought of showboating or individual skill. The atmosphere in the second half was incredible, deafening choruses of Play Up Pompey echoed around Wembley, I'm sure the Baggies were cheering too but we could only hear ourselves.
The New Wembley is a fantastic stadium but in the wrong place, the transport infrastructure is inadequate and there simply isn't enough access to and from it. I would have liked the semi-final to have been at a neutral ground, I believe that Wembley is part of the prize of the FA Cup but whatever, it's happened now and we all had a brilliant day out and stories to tell for generations.
At the ground I met old friends, people I hadn't seen in years and some new, a friend of a friend who is American and has become a Pompey fan after being dragged along to the quarter final at Old Trafford and one man who I have the utmost regard for. Father Pat a retired priest who was present at the 1939 cup final when of course Pompey won the cup and kept it safe throughout the war. After the game Pat was honest enough to say Portsmouth were poor and that West Brom had played a good game, he stopped and chatted to many groups of Baggies fans after the game and told them how well their team had played and that Pompey were lucky to win, I wonder how many others are still alive today that can say "I was there" in 1939?
The spirit between the two clubs support is very good natured, remember that last day of the premier league season when Southampton went down? Well West Brom played their part in full that day, so a kind of affinity exists between the two sets of fans, good luck to The Albion and I hope they get promoted.
Of course, I'm going, all my principles were going out of the window and I was going to be there.
The whole city had been buzzing with excitement and it seemed everyone I knew who wanted to go had a ticket, this was going to be the trip of a lifetime. The track maintenance planned between Woking and Waterloo wasn't going to spoil it either, I got myself to the Harbour station at 05.45 to find I wasn't the only one with intentions of beating the later rush, at Horsham the train had four carriages added to the eight original ones such was the swell of people on board, getting off the train at Clapham I met my London based brother and his young son, I only hope my nephew knows how lucky he is to be seeing Pompey at Wembley at such an early stage in his Pompey fan career, I've seen plenty of ups and downs with Portsmouth, in fact more downs probably. On that wet Tuesday in 1976 when my journey began, Pompey were already relegated to the third division before they lost to Orient, so I had already made myself acquainted with a team that would regularly disappoint, following quickly was relegation the fourth division in 1978.
The journeys in those dark days were long, a trek to Rochdale in an Austin 1100 I remember only too well, around 2000 Pompey fans went to Lancashire that day and we cleaned them out of programs by 1pm. This was a typical Division four away game in those days and climbing out of the fourth division at the second attempt by the skin of their teeth was my first taste of success followed by the Division 3 Championship a couple of years later. Years of Division two football then ensued, seeing the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle come and go, Blackburn were always a big rival so too were Barnsley and Huddersfield. There was joy at Mark Hateleys two hat-tricks in a week and seeing him make his England debut as a Pompey player v USSR at Wembley. Then at the end of the 80s a brief flirtation with the top division, when the late Alan Ball guided Pompey up in 1987 only to come straight back down.
So you can see how Pompey fans have suffered over the years and surely nobody can begrudge them a bit of success in a competition so dominated by the rich four in recent times. In fact the victory at Old Trafford however lucky it may or may not have been is reason enough to suggest that Pompey can go all the way. The semi-final was not a great game but they very rarely are, so much is at stake that the professional will to win overrides any thought of showboating or individual skill. The atmosphere in the second half was incredible, deafening choruses of Play Up Pompey echoed around Wembley, I'm sure the Baggies were cheering too but we could only hear ourselves.
The New Wembley is a fantastic stadium but in the wrong place, the transport infrastructure is inadequate and there simply isn't enough access to and from it. I would have liked the semi-final to have been at a neutral ground, I believe that Wembley is part of the prize of the FA Cup but whatever, it's happened now and we all had a brilliant day out and stories to tell for generations.
At the ground I met old friends, people I hadn't seen in years and some new, a friend of a friend who is American and has become a Pompey fan after being dragged along to the quarter final at Old Trafford and one man who I have the utmost regard for. Father Pat a retired priest who was present at the 1939 cup final when of course Pompey won the cup and kept it safe throughout the war. After the game Pat was honest enough to say Portsmouth were poor and that West Brom had played a good game, he stopped and chatted to many groups of Baggies fans after the game and told them how well their team had played and that Pompey were lucky to win, I wonder how many others are still alive today that can say "I was there" in 1939?
The spirit between the two clubs support is very good natured, remember that last day of the premier league season when Southampton went down? Well West Brom played their part in full that day, so a kind of affinity exists between the two sets of fans, good luck to The Albion and I hope they get promoted.
Thursday, 7 February 2008
Football Going to Hell in a Handcart....again
"When the league does well, other people in the football family do well in terms of redistribution. We feel it is a very positive thing".
Do they indeed? Well thats what Richard Scudamore chief executive of the Premier League seems to think. But on the day that AFC Bournemouth were forced into administration by HM Revenue & Customs it is somewhat unbelievable to take in the news that the Premier League have plans to play an extra round of matches.......in other countries just for the money. There is no other reason but money, surely the time has come to say enough is enough. How have lower league clubs benefitted by the growth of the premier league? This latest announcement severely threatens the whole ethos of football in this country, what was once a working class game has been hijacked and ultimately stolen from the common man by corporate greed and The Football Association has given its provisional support to the plans.
"We understand the reasons for this proposal and the benefits it can bring to English football as a whole," said an FA source. What they should be supporting are teams such as Luton Town and Bournemouth who through whatever fault are up the creek without a paddle or even a canoe.
My father played for Bournemouth & Boscombe FC as they were known then in the 1950s, and Notts County in the 60s, He was lucky if he picked up ten quid a week, to do that he'd have to score in a victory to collect the bonuses that found their way into his boot while he was in the bath after the game. He'd be absolutely incensed at this latest proposal. Many ex-players I speak to are completely dumbfounded and rightly enough quite bitter about the current crop of footballers and the riches that even ordinary players can accumulate just by being a premier league player.
I reckon most English football fans will be totally against this latest plan to destroy the integrity of football in this country, I mean real fans those that actually put their hands in their pockets and pay for their tickets, not the corporate football goer who uses the firms box at Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford or watches the game on Sky. One tournament, The European Cup which this country has had a fantastic pedigree, Manchester United, Forest, Villa and Liverpool all winners has gone, irretrieveably. Now called The Champions League (which should really be named the "Runners-Up League") has already eroded the special magic of the European Cup, how we used to look forward to it, home and away ties played on a Wednesday night between the teams that actually came first in each countries top division. All gone now I'm afraid, games on a Tuesday and Wednesday and teams who come fourth, way way back in fourth in the case of Liverpool have even won the thing, what a ridiculous concept.
So the lure of even more filthy lucre for the top teams will take football ever further away from the real football fan, I know people who can't afford to go and watch their beloved team anymore, it's just too expensive, somwhere between £30 and £50 a go in the Premier League.
This greed inspired treachery of the pound sign will no doubt see the so called big four playing in Osaka or Dubai, an extra game? what utter nonsense, how can this extra game count for anything in a league season? And heaven forbid what if it's a success? where will it lead to then. Twenty teams play each other home and away thats 38 games, nice and symmetrical, mathematically and ethically correct. So who plays who in the thirty-ninth game? Middlesbrough v Blackburn in Melbourne, no disrespect but it's not the greatest attraction, only four teams can play against the "so called big four" and those that are left will be the second tier of this global cash-grab.
I am saddened and disgusted by this proposal to sell the English game as a global product, a brand it's far more than that, it's an institution, a belief, a religion for some but while the game is controlled by money it will inevitably want more. The rich get rich and the strong grow stronger while the Bournemouths of this world who cannot afford to pay their tax bill and other creditors, have to lay off staff who will get no parachute payment from the Premier League and have points deducted, which will no doubt serve as the final nail in the coffin of a season that has been a struggle but lets hope it's not the end of the club. English Football needs the lower leagues to be strong and supported by the big boys, far more than they are at present, the Premier League should be made responsible for taking these smaller clubs under their wing, help them to grow, loan out players yes but pay their wages don't make the financially struggling club pay them.
I urge you to take up your pens and write to the Premier League, the BBC, your local or national newspaper and even your MP, lets try and take football back for the sake of our game and our national team because more television and global exposure will lead to more foreign imports taking places in teams that home grown players should be filling.
The Premiership Flying Circus should be set adrift to ride around the globe on their magic carpet of banknotes, we will be better off without it.
Do they indeed? Well thats what Richard Scudamore chief executive of the Premier League seems to think. But on the day that AFC Bournemouth were forced into administration by HM Revenue & Customs it is somewhat unbelievable to take in the news that the Premier League have plans to play an extra round of matches.......in other countries just for the money. There is no other reason but money, surely the time has come to say enough is enough. How have lower league clubs benefitted by the growth of the premier league? This latest announcement severely threatens the whole ethos of football in this country, what was once a working class game has been hijacked and ultimately stolen from the common man by corporate greed and The Football Association has given its provisional support to the plans.
"We understand the reasons for this proposal and the benefits it can bring to English football as a whole," said an FA source. What they should be supporting are teams such as Luton Town and Bournemouth who through whatever fault are up the creek without a paddle or even a canoe.
My father played for Bournemouth & Boscombe FC as they were known then in the 1950s, and Notts County in the 60s, He was lucky if he picked up ten quid a week, to do that he'd have to score in a victory to collect the bonuses that found their way into his boot while he was in the bath after the game. He'd be absolutely incensed at this latest proposal. Many ex-players I speak to are completely dumbfounded and rightly enough quite bitter about the current crop of footballers and the riches that even ordinary players can accumulate just by being a premier league player.
I reckon most English football fans will be totally against this latest plan to destroy the integrity of football in this country, I mean real fans those that actually put their hands in their pockets and pay for their tickets, not the corporate football goer who uses the firms box at Stamford Bridge or Old Trafford or watches the game on Sky. One tournament, The European Cup which this country has had a fantastic pedigree, Manchester United, Forest, Villa and Liverpool all winners has gone, irretrieveably. Now called The Champions League (which should really be named the "Runners-Up League") has already eroded the special magic of the European Cup, how we used to look forward to it, home and away ties played on a Wednesday night between the teams that actually came first in each countries top division. All gone now I'm afraid, games on a Tuesday and Wednesday and teams who come fourth, way way back in fourth in the case of Liverpool have even won the thing, what a ridiculous concept.
So the lure of even more filthy lucre for the top teams will take football ever further away from the real football fan, I know people who can't afford to go and watch their beloved team anymore, it's just too expensive, somwhere between £30 and £50 a go in the Premier League.
This greed inspired treachery of the pound sign will no doubt see the so called big four playing in Osaka or Dubai, an extra game? what utter nonsense, how can this extra game count for anything in a league season? And heaven forbid what if it's a success? where will it lead to then. Twenty teams play each other home and away thats 38 games, nice and symmetrical, mathematically and ethically correct. So who plays who in the thirty-ninth game? Middlesbrough v Blackburn in Melbourne, no disrespect but it's not the greatest attraction, only four teams can play against the "so called big four" and those that are left will be the second tier of this global cash-grab.
I am saddened and disgusted by this proposal to sell the English game as a global product, a brand it's far more than that, it's an institution, a belief, a religion for some but while the game is controlled by money it will inevitably want more. The rich get rich and the strong grow stronger while the Bournemouths of this world who cannot afford to pay their tax bill and other creditors, have to lay off staff who will get no parachute payment from the Premier League and have points deducted, which will no doubt serve as the final nail in the coffin of a season that has been a struggle but lets hope it's not the end of the club. English Football needs the lower leagues to be strong and supported by the big boys, far more than they are at present, the Premier League should be made responsible for taking these smaller clubs under their wing, help them to grow, loan out players yes but pay their wages don't make the financially struggling club pay them.
I urge you to take up your pens and write to the Premier League, the BBC, your local or national newspaper and even your MP, lets try and take football back for the sake of our game and our national team because more television and global exposure will lead to more foreign imports taking places in teams that home grown players should be filling.
The Premiership Flying Circus should be set adrift to ride around the globe on their magic carpet of banknotes, we will be better off without it.
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Observing the Rules
Brussels, what does the name mean to you? is it a cosmopolitan city in Belgium or does it mean Europe and the handing down of rules and regulations that only us British seem to impose and observe?
"Welcome to Smoke-Free Brussels" proclaimed the sign in the Eurostar terminal and again in the Marriot Hotel near the Grand Place. But somewhere along the line the bars have managed to evade this rule, every bar I visited (and they were numerous) during my three day trip was full of smokers. Now, I have been a smoker but managed to kick the vile habit in the year 2000.
I was at Cheltenham Racecourse and had bought sixty Lucky Strikes for the three day trip, found slumped under the statue of Dawn Run with acute loss of legs and speech, I had smoked all three packets in one day which also means I had drunk more than the recommended two months units of alchohol for an adult male in a single day.
I recovered slowly and after five days I realised I hadn't had a cigarette since Cheltenham, I surmised then that I obviously didn't need to smoke and from that day on I have (thankfully) found the whole smoking thing very unpalatable.
There's nothing worse than a reformed smoker so I've been told but if you've seen the light and are a much healthier and wealthier person for it then you shout it from the rooftops. I have some very dear friends who I constantly bully for their smoking, I don't know if it helps them or if it just makes them do it all the more?
The smoking ban in England has been welcomed and abhorred by thousands, pubs are now cleaner fresher smelling places but the outside areas are no-go zones for a non-smoker, why didn't the government give pubs the choice? It wasn't a ruling handed down by Brussels but the government went for it wholeheartedly and in the same old knee jerk reaction as if it was a european parliament decree. The pubs I use always tended to have less smokers than non, I wouldn't choose to go into a backstreet local or a working mens club and I doubt the regulars in there would want me to anyway, but give them the choice. Those pubs and clubs have a majority of smokers among their clientele, they're not normally well known for being food pubs so where's the problem? Let the smoky pubs continue and let those that don't rely on the smokers to be pleasantly smoke free.
Brussels does have smokeless zones in some bars but most are full on, smoke where you like and I have to say it was pretty nasty, after months of enjoying smoke-free establishments in England it came as a shock, the smoke drifting upstairs in one jazz cafe was too much for me to bear, so too in the trendy but old world Cafe Cirio when the man on the next table pulled out a foot long Montecristo and proceeded to ignite it, that was the final straw. I don't suppose this country will ever become like our continental chums who enjoy a pavement table, any outside seating area I see in England is occupied by smokers, so come spring and summer will I be forced to drink inside? There are many favourite boozers of mine that have outside areas to enjoy, living on the south coast the views from some pubs are a real joy but I fear that sitting outside one will not be the pleasurable experience it once was.
Brussels is also home to some of Europes worst drivers, on Saturday the 5th of January the police held an operation to target drink drivers and an astounding one in ten of those stopped were over the limit. Mind you if you popped in for a beer on the way home from work in Belgium and that beer was an 8.4% abv Duvel, you'd be significantly over the limit.
I enjoyed my Brussels experience very much, I wouldn't want to drive in the city though, just crossing the road on foot is a mission that requires careful planning and tactics especially if you've been on a bar crawl, the little green man lights up and off you go only to have a car come flying into your path, a stressful place and it's no wonder all the locals smoke.
I'll be returning to Belgium soon, Eurostar is the future, what a civilised way to travel without the security nightmare of Heathrow and none of the drag of a trek to Dover to catch a ferry with your car which will probably get rammed by a ten year old BMW the moment you fail to spot the traffic lights have turned green.
"Welcome to Smoke-Free Brussels" proclaimed the sign in the Eurostar terminal and again in the Marriot Hotel near the Grand Place. But somewhere along the line the bars have managed to evade this rule, every bar I visited (and they were numerous) during my three day trip was full of smokers. Now, I have been a smoker but managed to kick the vile habit in the year 2000.
I was at Cheltenham Racecourse and had bought sixty Lucky Strikes for the three day trip, found slumped under the statue of Dawn Run with acute loss of legs and speech, I had smoked all three packets in one day which also means I had drunk more than the recommended two months units of alchohol for an adult male in a single day.
I recovered slowly and after five days I realised I hadn't had a cigarette since Cheltenham, I surmised then that I obviously didn't need to smoke and from that day on I have (thankfully) found the whole smoking thing very unpalatable.
There's nothing worse than a reformed smoker so I've been told but if you've seen the light and are a much healthier and wealthier person for it then you shout it from the rooftops. I have some very dear friends who I constantly bully for their smoking, I don't know if it helps them or if it just makes them do it all the more?
The smoking ban in England has been welcomed and abhorred by thousands, pubs are now cleaner fresher smelling places but the outside areas are no-go zones for a non-smoker, why didn't the government give pubs the choice? It wasn't a ruling handed down by Brussels but the government went for it wholeheartedly and in the same old knee jerk reaction as if it was a european parliament decree. The pubs I use always tended to have less smokers than non, I wouldn't choose to go into a backstreet local or a working mens club and I doubt the regulars in there would want me to anyway, but give them the choice. Those pubs and clubs have a majority of smokers among their clientele, they're not normally well known for being food pubs so where's the problem? Let the smoky pubs continue and let those that don't rely on the smokers to be pleasantly smoke free.
Brussels does have smokeless zones in some bars but most are full on, smoke where you like and I have to say it was pretty nasty, after months of enjoying smoke-free establishments in England it came as a shock, the smoke drifting upstairs in one jazz cafe was too much for me to bear, so too in the trendy but old world Cafe Cirio when the man on the next table pulled out a foot long Montecristo and proceeded to ignite it, that was the final straw. I don't suppose this country will ever become like our continental chums who enjoy a pavement table, any outside seating area I see in England is occupied by smokers, so come spring and summer will I be forced to drink inside? There are many favourite boozers of mine that have outside areas to enjoy, living on the south coast the views from some pubs are a real joy but I fear that sitting outside one will not be the pleasurable experience it once was.
Brussels is also home to some of Europes worst drivers, on Saturday the 5th of January the police held an operation to target drink drivers and an astounding one in ten of those stopped were over the limit. Mind you if you popped in for a beer on the way home from work in Belgium and that beer was an 8.4% abv Duvel, you'd be significantly over the limit.
I enjoyed my Brussels experience very much, I wouldn't want to drive in the city though, just crossing the road on foot is a mission that requires careful planning and tactics especially if you've been on a bar crawl, the little green man lights up and off you go only to have a car come flying into your path, a stressful place and it's no wonder all the locals smoke.
I'll be returning to Belgium soon, Eurostar is the future, what a civilised way to travel without the security nightmare of Heathrow and none of the drag of a trek to Dover to catch a ferry with your car which will probably get rammed by a ten year old BMW the moment you fail to spot the traffic lights have turned green.
Friday, 18 January 2008
Dear oh dear oh dear BBC
Dear BBC, Match of The Day Dept: Messrs Lineker, Hansen etc
I have to say I am extremely disappointed that you chose to cover the FA Cup replay between Manchester City & West Ham as your live game on Wednesday. Millions of people do not have the luxury of Sky sports and so rarely get to see a live game on proper telly, furthermore those of us who can afford pay per view tv do not want to see two premiership clubs play each other in an FA Cup tie. We can see this kind of game week in week out, no disrespect to either club involved in the incredibly awful match but what possessed you to opt for the so called "big game"?
The FA Cup is extremely close to the heart of the nation, why choose that game when surely the most obvious choice was to cover Havant & Waterloo v Swansea. It was all there for us, yes us, the licence paying public, this game had it all to offer, the part-timers, the romance, the giant killing expectation, the high flying lower league club against the non league side who are on a journey of fantasy.
The half time Newcastle United/Alan Shearer sideshow was extremely galling, those people who were interested in the story knew about it, Shearer had already spoken to the press and those of us who'd heard all about it had our little chuckle and got on with our lives. That half-time break should have been devoted to the fantastic efforts of Havant & Waterlooville, we saw the highlights from St James Park why not from West Leigh Park?
The tie you did show is repeated as a premier league fixture this weekend, god forbid it's not as brain numbingly dull as the cup match. I hope you are kicking yourselves, you missed the chance of a live game between two clubs full of players and fans who care and believe in the importance of the greatest cup competition of them all, it produced six goals and those people deserved their evening on the box.
No doubt the fourth round game against Liverpool will be live on tv but I for one feel cheated that we didn't see what will prove to be the Hawks greatest achievement, oh yes they will have their day out at Anfield but the performance that got them there, now that is what I and so many thousands of other football fans in this country wanted to see.
I have to say I am extremely disappointed that you chose to cover the FA Cup replay between Manchester City & West Ham as your live game on Wednesday. Millions of people do not have the luxury of Sky sports and so rarely get to see a live game on proper telly, furthermore those of us who can afford pay per view tv do not want to see two premiership clubs play each other in an FA Cup tie. We can see this kind of game week in week out, no disrespect to either club involved in the incredibly awful match but what possessed you to opt for the so called "big game"?
The FA Cup is extremely close to the heart of the nation, why choose that game when surely the most obvious choice was to cover Havant & Waterloo v Swansea. It was all there for us, yes us, the licence paying public, this game had it all to offer, the part-timers, the romance, the giant killing expectation, the high flying lower league club against the non league side who are on a journey of fantasy.
The half time Newcastle United/Alan Shearer sideshow was extremely galling, those people who were interested in the story knew about it, Shearer had already spoken to the press and those of us who'd heard all about it had our little chuckle and got on with our lives. That half-time break should have been devoted to the fantastic efforts of Havant & Waterlooville, we saw the highlights from St James Park why not from West Leigh Park?
The tie you did show is repeated as a premier league fixture this weekend, god forbid it's not as brain numbingly dull as the cup match. I hope you are kicking yourselves, you missed the chance of a live game between two clubs full of players and fans who care and believe in the importance of the greatest cup competition of them all, it produced six goals and those people deserved their evening on the box.
No doubt the fourth round game against Liverpool will be live on tv but I for one feel cheated that we didn't see what will prove to be the Hawks greatest achievement, oh yes they will have their day out at Anfield but the performance that got them there, now that is what I and so many thousands of other football fans in this country wanted to see.
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