Category Archives: World Cup 2010

January 7, 2011 · 12:40 am

#oneaday 5: A party political broadcast from the 1950’s

There’s something very speciaal about the New Year. I love the feeling of ‘‘out with the old, in with the new’. It’s been a great Christmas and New Year time, but I am looking forward to getting rid of the Christmas decorations and doing a bit of a spring clean. I like the fresh new diary with all of the promise it holds for the year ahead, the determination to do better this year than last, the New Year’s resolutions. Parliament and politics feel refreshed and ready to go – with all kinds of plans and initiatives  ready to go.

I held a very successful ‘Student Surgery ’ in XXX on Tuesday – a large group of enthusiastic school students overbrimming with questions, some criticisms. Probing for the great truths and the things which will affect their futures – from the economy, student loans and university fees; education, employment. I never took the viiew that my ‘schooldays were the best days of my life’,
but how we older people must envy the optimistic looking to the future which our teenagers can enjoy. The world is truly their oyster. And I am very much looking forward to the Annual Speech
Evening in XXX School tomorrow night, when I know that the same positive spirit will be much in evidence.

That’s what politics should be about. Not about tomorrow’s headlines; not even about winning the next election (central as that is to a heaalthy democracy); not about being popular, slaves to the
polls. Nor should it be about the petty issues and arguments of Westminster, nor the plottting and personalities which so often diminish politics. Those of us who are privileged enough to have
been elected to office should be ready to throw personal and party interests to the winds; to rise above short term populism; and in everything we do and say try to project ourselves forward to a
distant future – quite possibly long after we ourselves have quit this planet – and make plans and take steps which will be of benefit not only to our generation, but to our children and our
children’s children.

Too much of what we do nowadays will not last a decade, far less a century. Buildings are constructed with an in-built obsolescence. How many of our public buildings, for example will stand the test of time of our town halls, the Foreign Office and Treasury, or indeed Parliament itself. Which will last longer –– Westminster or Holyrood? Too many initiatives and ideas last barely longer than the launch ceremony before they are forgotten or outdated. Everything we do and say must be for the long term. ‘What will it be like in 20 or 100 years’ time?’ should be our question. ‘What will our grandchildren think about it?’

As the Coalition faces the new Parliamentary year, some of these thoughts should be uppermost in our minds. What do we have to do to right the wrongs in our country, save our ruined economy; recue our reputation in the world as a force for good?? So let us cast away our short termism, our eye to the main chance, our fixation with personalities and politicking. And let us seek to do what all great statementm(sic) in our history have done – build a nation, institutions, buildings and businesses which will be a force for goood for the century which lies ahead. There may be tough times ahead in the coming year, but I so much hope that all we have to do will in the long-run be seen to have been for the good of everyone in this great Nation of ours for generations to come.

Ok, so this is my blog and these should be my words, except they aren’t. They are the words from a serving MP from 2010 who sent this to their constituents recently in a newsletter and was printed in the local paper. The spelling and grammar are exactly as they were written,  indeed the call for us to always question ‘what will our grandchildren think about it?’ could actually be seen as a tad ironic. 

However, this feels like the  language of a different age, a sort of post war, rose tinted spectacled eulogy wistfully yearning for the days when England was England, or Great Britain, or indeed the United Kingdom (more on that national identity crisis later in this series), but always a force for good.

I am not particularly bothered by the political sentiment in the surface DNA of this piece. Rather I am a little  puzzled that our national interest can be put into such halycon and simplistic terms. Surely, our society is a little more complex than this? Noblesse Oblige is a wonderfully British thing, all be it a French principle, but a lust for great public buildings just feels a little bit light, or is it lite, I can never remember?

Britain ‘being a force for good’ is a very noble and admirable position. No one should disagree with that should they? I sincerely hope that we can have a country that ensures all their citizens have equal chances in life and one which sits fairness at the core of its constitution. Hard work, endeavour and entrepreneurialism should be rewarded, as should taking responsibility. This Coalition preaches fairness at their core  and I for one support them. I am sure everyone else who lives here would do the same. I will be hoping for all our good, that this principle is kept true and at all times, no matter the cost. The right thing is the right thing after all. Indeed one of my good friends who devotes his whole time to those worse off than him has a little note posted above his desk, a quote from EF Schumacher. It says rather beautifully, “We must do what we conceive to be the right thing and not bother our heads or burden our souls with whether we’re going to be successful. Because if we don’t do the right thing, we’ll be doing the wrong thing, and we’ll just be part of the disease and not a part of the cure.”

Let’s hope our leaders keep things fair and do the right things so that our grandchildren think well of us all.

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January 6, 2011 · 2:28 am

#oneaday 4:Re-use and Recycle?

Management, specifically football management, what makes a good manager and why do failures get re-used and recycled time and time again? It seems like the only way the managerial gene pool is ever widened is when Premier League owners decide to import big hitters from abroad, or Blackpool and Stoke get promoted.  Having seen the hapless incumbents at Liverpool, West Ham, Aston Villa and even Chelsea look like dead men walking (apologies Gerard) after their teams all lost vital games tonight, the talk is of who will be sacked first. 

Surely this prize must be won by Avram Grant at West Ham, who has never really fitted the bill since he arrived in the summer. After 3 games in the Premier League, the owners Messrs Gold and Sullivan put dear old Avram on a warning. He’s had more since, despite the MD of West Ham, Karen Brady (her of The Apprentice panel alongside SirAlan) assuring the media, public and the fans, that ‘we just don’t sack managers’. The big question was how did this Israeli football manager ever get a job in English football in the first place? He arrived as technical director at Portsmouth when Harry Redknapp was manager and  Harry made it clear that he did not want any interference. He then went on to do a similar job, this time director of fooball, at Chelsea and dropped into Jose the Special One’s manager’s seat when Emperor Roman decided that Mourinho had expressed an opinion one too many times. After losing the Champions League final, Grant was sacked. He then returned to Portsmouth as director of football, only to become manager about a month later after the latest Pompey owner sacked the latest Pompey manager. He left after Portmouth lost the FA Cup final and were relegated, admittedly because of points deduction due to Portsmouth FC going into administration. Indeed Grant did not even hold the required top-flight coaching certification from UEFA when he took over at Chelsea. In fact, he had never received the lower-level coaching cerfications from UEFA for “B” and “A” level coaching in Europe.  But Messrs Sullivan and Gold thought it would be a great idea to hire him.

Not far behind must be either Roy Hodgson (most pundits ‘in the know’s’ choice as England manager to replace Capello after the shambles that was the 2010 World Cup) or Gerard Houllier. Neither seem in control of their respective teams, both seem just too old, too bemused and actually not good enough for either team and certainly unable to handle the expectations at their respective clubs. Indeed Hodgson’s first foray into English football was to get sacked by Blackburn a few years back. Admittedly he had a very good season with Fulham, but his record in our league was actually poor. Ditto Houllier. One UEFA Cup , FA Cup and League Cup victory plus a runners up in the League really does not make him a great winner, especially at Anfield. Thus groans were heard all through the claret and blue parts of Birmingham when Martin O’Neill stepped down, Kevin MacDonald stepped in and then made way for Houllier. If Houllier gets the boot, then he will almost certainly return to France. Ditto if Carlo Ancelotti leaves stricken Chelsea, it is unlikely that he will seek further misery in England.

So the question really is why do some of these consistently under performing managers keep getting employed? Why do the club owners fall for the same candidates time and time again? Lord knows why. If Grant and  Houllier go, surely that must be the end for them in English football? Of the current 20 Premier League managers, 14 are British which is as high as I can remember. Of those, Hogdson will not be in his job until the end of the season and some of the others may have a few sleepless nights. But we need new, younger  managers, men with fresh ideas and men who can handle the errant ways of the modern millionaire footballers. Outside of natual promotions – ie managers of teams who gained promotion in order to gain a foothold as a Premier League manager namely  Ian Holloway, Tony Pulis, Roberto Di Matteo and Owen Coyle, there seems to be a total lack of promoting managers from lower divisions into the top jobs. Is that caution or stupidity? Indeed, does football need a bit of a cull in order that we can refresh and relaunch our game?

Let’s see what happens in the coming months. Meantime, if you are a Villa, West Ham, Liverpool and even a Chelsea supporter, the next few weeks will be  very interesting. Messrs, Southgate, O’Neill, Allardyce, Curbishley and Hughton are all looking to get back into the top jobs, it will be interesting to see who does not come back and if clubs like West Ham or Aston Villa live a little and look to the Chanpionship for talent.

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January 5, 2011 · 1:37 am

#oneaday 3:Tax Lax

On the day that saw the UK’s value added tax rise from 17.5% of the sales value to 20% of the sales value of goods and services, with some notable exceptions, there has been much debate as to whether this is a ‘progressive’ or ‘regressive’ tax. All 3 party leaders seem to have had conflicting and changing views on this aspect, indeed a bout of memory loss seems to have been doing the rounds over the Christmas break. But hey times change and all that, and we are all rightly concerned about the ‘national interest’ so needs must, pay your part.

Today was also the day that the 38 Degrees Campaign ran its rather irreverent ‘Artful Dodger’ ads in some of the national newspapers – The Guardian, The Independent and the i. Allegedly, The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph and The Metro (part of the same group as the Mail) pulled the ads, or put their prices up. That is their right and their call, both the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph have shown their hands in recent times, so we all know where their allegiances lie. But we have a free press and for that we should be thankful.

This is the rather dodgy ad run by the 38 Degrees Team

However, one issue or number that I am totally perplexed about is the quoted £150 billion per annum which tax avoidance, tax dodging or working within the tax laws depending on how you view these things is supposed to cost the UK Exchequer. £150 billion – ie just shy of the deficit we are all being told must be chased down with extreme vigour and haste.  This is a serious amount of money and I for one would like know where this figure comes from – does anyone know or is it an urban myth? Have Vodaphone avoided, legitimately or otherwise, paying UK taxes to the tune of £6 billion last year? We need some facts, please.

This whole issue of tax and tax avoidance, indeed use of individuals’ or companies’ earnings to put against their tax allowances is relevant in the computer and video games industry, given our disappointment when the much campaigned for production tax credits. The Film Council has used the tax breaks system and National Lottery funding to part fund many films on the basis of cultural relevance. The net result of all these systems to offset tax against production of creative industrial output is that we have a pretty healthy film industry. Only today I watched ‘Tamara Drewe’ and ‘Another Year’, two very British films that would never get made in Hollywood, or if they did, would be dramatically altered in their final delivery. Last week I watched ‘Made in Dagenham’ and ‘The King’s Speech’ and the same observation could be made. These films define our culture both in an historical context as well as a contemporary one. They also earn the UK money, provide key jobs, and get us noticed in an ever competitive world. In short they feel like a good thing.

A quick look at the UK Film Council’s website tells quite a lot, namely:-

  • The core UK film industry now contributes approximately £4.3 billion per year to the UK economy – up by 50% since 2000, when the UK Film Council was created;
  • In 2009 UK films took 7% of the global box office and 17% of the UK box office; Independent UK films took an 8.2% share of the UK box office, the highest figure of the last decade;
  • UK film grossed $2 billion at the worldwide box office last year;
  • UK box-office takings are at record-breaking levels, worth £944 million in the UK in 2009, up 62% from 2000;
  • The overall territory box office gross for the UK and the Republic of Ireland exceeded £1 billion for the first time in 2009;
  • UK Film Council investments in British films have been hugely successful – for every £1 we have invested, £5 has been generated at the box office;
  • Over 173.5 million people went to the cinema in the UK in 2009 – up 31 million from 2000, the highest since 2002 and the second highest since 1971;
  • The UK has more digital cinemas than any other European country – 365 and counting;
  • Overall UK audiences had a far greater choice of films in 2009 – 503 films were released, 31% more than a decade ago;
  • The UK film industry directly provides jobs for almost 44,000 people, with extended employment impact of 95,000 jobs;
  • The film industry earns over £1.3 billion in export income from film rights and film production services;
  • In 2009 alone, British films and talent scooped 36 awards. 

Impressive stuff. Now, what if we could convert some of that ‘tax avoidance’ into ‘incentives to back creativity and innovation’ to produce a win win for the tax payer/avoider and the creative industries? Rather than blaming the bourgeoise or the benefit classes in some outdated class war, if we really are all in this together, let’s get creative and encourage big earners to contribute to things that can earn the UK vital export Dollars, Euros and whatever China uses as currency. After all, I actually think we could do with some culturally British computer and video games, rather than every game that is based on earth being impregnated with American or Japanese cultural reference points.

More on this in the coming weeks.

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November 29, 2010 · 6:14 pm

World Cup 2018 – is the grass greener at home?

As we await the results of England’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup this Thursday (2nd December), much has been said and written about our chances by our media. Seemingly the joint bid of Spain (had the World Cup in 1982) and Portugal (never hosted a World Cup) are front runners, with England and Russia (never hosted a World Cup) neck and neck in 2nd place. Joint bidders Holland and Belgium, neither of who have staged a World Cup either, trail in 4th place.

The hands of FIFA, Sepp Blatter and Jack Warner are all weaving their intrigue in those shadowy places none of us know about. Twenty two people will vote and twenty two people will ultimately decide the location for the next 2 World Cups this week. The aforementioned Jack Warner has blamed the ‘British media’ for scotching our bid. He refers of course to The Sunday Times who have exposed 2 FIFA delegates of corruption, both of which have now been stood down, and the yet to be seen BBC Panorama programme that runs tonight. Instead of FIFA thanking The Sunday Times for exposing these two corrupt clowns, FIFA and Warner specifically criticise our media. The question has been asked as to why Panorama does not wait until the vote and air their documentary next Monday. Surely, the question is should it make any difference? If FIFA, Warner and Blatter want to punish England for the British media questioning their ethics (note FIFA have their own ‘Ethics Committee’, which is sort of ironic really), then that is down to FIFA. When the Panorama expose is run is immaterial. Surely it is better for England and ultimately FIFA if the decision is made with all the facts on the table? Should we really blame the BBC and Sunday Times for being unpatriotic? Is it unpatriotic to tell the truth?

FIFA have often spoken about their legacies and what they do for the world game. Indeed, much was made of the investment made by South Africa running up to this summer’s World Cup and the relationship of that investment versus the profit FIFA made. The stories of small traders and hoteliers losing out to the FIFA regulations and business models are legendary, and the issues surrounding potentially empty and unused stadia in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town are also there for everyone to see. FIFA has no ultimate governing body, namely to be very clear it answers to no one but itself. Autocracy is never a great thing and that is precisely what FIFA is.

If England miss out, which looks to be likely, then it will be 2026 before we can be in the frame again. If it is meant to be, it will be. At the end of the day, the rest of the world, both fans and supporters would like to come to England and our own people would embrace the whole thing like few others can. Football is our national sporting obsession. Spain and Portugal would be worthy hosts, as would Belgium and Holland. Even good old Russia would probably do a decent job, although security issues may be a concern, but having overcome real fears for fan safety in South Africa, anything is possible. Personally I really don’t care either way. If FIFA can’t face the truth and their 22 delegates feel Britain (sic) is against them, well that is their right. But please let’s not blame the media this time around, for once they have behaved ethically responsibly.

Outside of a guaranteed place at the 2018 World Cup and possible home advantage, I would not be too fussed if we had to face another away trip to deal with. Euro 96 was great, but never the same at home as it is away, regardless of results.

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November 1, 2010 · 6:03 pm

Motivation is what you need….

As a long suffering Hammer, one who actually parts with the thick end of two grand a season for the right for two of us to witness the best and worst of the Premier League, I get an email every Monday from West Ham. The wonders of the internet eh?

This is what arrived in my inbox today, and from the words, it really does not look like a ghost written piece on behalf of Avram….have a read and you may agree that Avram’s hand is here.

Dear Andrew

Once again I must hail your fantastic support at our away fixture against Arsenal at the weekend. Many things were very positive at Arsenal. The fighting spirit was good and the players can be proud of the way they played against a very good team.

No one is happy with our position, but at this stage of the season, one win can make the picture look so much different. We are only in November and we know we can do it with the matches we have coming up.

Click here to buy tickets for West Bromwich

Click here to buy tickets for Blackpool and Wigan

We have a long way to go. We will pick out the many positives, work hard in training this week and I know we will take points. We had a tough game in midweek but we deserved to win and even though some players played extra time and some were just coming back from injury, they kept going.

I am pleased with their effort. It was just unfortunate there was no time to respond. We tried but from their point of view they scored in the perfect moment. Arsenal are a very good team but we did a very good job tactically.

The difference between us winning games is very small thing. We are doing all the right things. The next couple of months are very important for us and I am encouraged by the performances. It would be different if we were not playing well.

I have watched Arsenal in many games and I think they created fewer chances than usual in this game. We have defended well and to lose in the last minute it is very disappointing.

After a game against a very good team, we can take a lot of positive things from this match and also the Carling Cup win last week against Stoke City. We are not in a situation that we cannot change. We will win games, we deserve to win games and we will try to do that at Birmingham next Saturday.

We are in a good situation in terms of our performances and I really believe we can do it. We have fighting spirit. It was a heroic performance on Saturday and it bodes well for the future.

Thanks again for your support,

Avram Grant

 

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October 23, 2010 · 10:25 am

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…..

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

So wrote Dickens in the opening lines of a Tale of Two Cities, a brilliant piece centred around the run up to the French Revolution and it’s immediate aftermath. Living in these times, ordinary people had been pushed to the point of no return, witnessing the excesses of the rich and privileged, they rose up and changed everything. That spirit of revolution spawned France’s national strap line ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’ and if ever we needed that DNA in and around football we need it now. Indeed whilst our French neighbours are making their views on ‘these times’ clear 21 miles away, we may well wonder if things have changed, for good or bad.
With France in social meltdown, our football is now approaching that nadir. Forget the situation at West Ham, that is bagatelle compared with what is happening at Portsmouth, Liverpool and the mighty Manchester United. In a few weeks everything has changed and ultimately I believe this will be for the good of football and its fans. But the public gets what the public wants.
Liverpool and Manchester United have one thing in common. Very much in common. Both were/are owned by businessmen who have borrowed a ton of money to ‘buy’ the club, the  money was easy, credit was everywhere and the good times flowed. Or did they? These clubs and mine, have been saddled by heavy debt and high interest rates effectively stopping them from being able to buy further success. Clubs owned by properly rich individuals – Manchester City and Chelsea – have been able to outgun both clubs in the transfer market. The youth teams of all of these clubs continue to produce players, but it seems that the clubs, their supporters and importantly fellow players are not patient enough to nurture the talent. Everyone wants a quick fix, immediate and continued success at all costs. Wayne Rooney has come in for a ton of stick this last week, and he does deserve some of it. But not all of it in my view. Here is a player who does care about his football and one who has seen the rot set in at Manchester United, the rot of the Glazer reign. Not only has he seen this, but Sir Alex Ferguson knows it. I am convinced that Rooney knows that times have changed and Manchester United under the Glazers will not be the same. They will not be able to buy talent in, not at least until the new rules about clubs having to make a profit come into play. Rooney will have passed his best by then. Ferguson would have laid down the gauntlet to Glazer and his family. Break the bank to keep his prize asset at the club or watch him leave to Manchester City or Real Madrid. Ferguson knows the regime, he is coming to the end of his reign and he will not like the methodolgy of these US businessmen one iota. Fair enough to play to the tune of the boss, if it is their money, but with people like the Glazers, Gillett and Hicks, it isn’t their money and their methods of ‘leveraging the brand’ have stymied the clubs royally. Given the new media world we live in, action and reaction take place at an unprecedented pace. The Glazers will not have expected to have a hike in their overheads at the beginning of the week, by the end of the week they have to find another £5m pa on their overhead. At least the extra cash may produce a result on the pitch, rather than an additional bonus to some Mayfair or Manhattan based hedge fund.
And then we see what has happened to poor old Pompey. A people’s club if ever there was one. I don’t know many Pompey fans anymore, but those I have known generally come from the area. We have seen a succession of chancers come and go on the South Coast. This bloke Gaydamark was another Abramovich, but substantially poorer. If these blokes are businessmen then Sonny Corleone is a puppy. Gaydamark ‘sold’ to some other ‘young entrepreneur’ Sulaiman Al Fahim (the fat geezer with a baseball cap who looked like he craved kebabs), who never had any money, it then passed to Al-Faraj who called in the administrators. A well documented mess of gigantic proportions and one that may result in Pompey being no more. Except it always will be a club so long as those supporters have the spirit. We are seeing it at FC United and at AFC Wimbledon, fan power makes a huge difference and surely that gives us all hope. I got an email from West Ham yesterday which talked about a club ‘owned by the fans for the fans’. I don’t think so. Until fans are given a seat at the table, permanently, football will always be subject to the whims of the free market. Historically fans are the ones who do not change, do not follow the money and above all care about that thing called their club. In these troubled times, we must not forge that.

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July 25, 2010 · 11:18 am

My, My, Hey, Hey…….

It’s a  funny old world and maybe sometimes we just look for connections, because they are there, we think they are there, or just because we want to. In an webworld full of  infinite words and available knowledge, these connections become more frequent, daily. Yesterday evening, 24th July 2010, I was sorting out a few plants in my garden, the ones which had really  not recovered from the hot weather in June.  Hot weather we had missed, for June saw us in South Africa for the World Cup and thus there was little watering intervention happening in the Payne garden.  So, there I was with iPhone in my ears,  left hand flicking through some music, right hand struggling with an over-heavy watering can.

So I settled on Peter Gabriel’s ‘Scratch My Back’ album, which is a beautiful collection of covers the great man has selected. He sings his version of someone else’s song on this album and in return the original  artist sings one of his songs, on a different album.  First up on shuffle is ‘My Body is a Cage’, originally by Arcade Fire. Naturally enough after that epic,  I decide to listen to the original again which of course is equally amazing. Deciding to switch to an Arcade Fire half hour I get the pleasure of  ‘Intervention’. The amazing Bach like opening sequence, complete with a wondeful church organ is a prelude into the the most wonderful song and accompanying set of lyrics.  Curious as ever about their possible meaning, I decided to look them up, whilst watering and stumble upon a forum discussion about their likely meaning(s). Sure enough, I then spotted a reference to ‘Intervention being a protest song ala Bob Dylan’s Hurricane’ . For old times sake, I gave  ‘Hurricane’ a digital spin and once that wonderful tune faded out, like immediately afterwards. I decided to pop over to Twitter to see what’s up in the world. What’s the first post I read? From @montymunford ‘That was the story of the hurricane – too much booze. RIP Alex Higgins’ .

 So the man who had got me and my mates into snooker had finally faded away, indeed his burn out had been slow and tortuous. This was the  man who had shown his emotion when winning the Embassy World Professional Snooker Championship in May 1982 the same year as my first ever World Cup ‘live’.  I watched that snooker final with some of  school mates, Keith, Gus and Dom and we lived on a diet of music,  Grape Nuts and beer. 3 weeks later I had kicked my exams  off the menu, threw some shorts and T-shirts in an Adidas bag and boarded the Magic Bus (yes it was the name of a coach company) bound for Bilbao. This year  I spent a fair bit of the World Cup with Keith and Dom and although Gus could not make it, he was there in spirit.

The Hurricane was the man who made snooker, the old man’s game exciting, the man who had put the real colour into snooker. A man who made it an adrenaline sport for the viewer. A man who literally kept you on the edge of your seat whilst he moved around the table like a hustler with a nervous twitch . The second greatest boy genius from Belfast. And like his sporting brother, a frustrating genius, who never really achieved as much as his potential suggested he might,according to the media. But maybe he did and maybe that day in 1982 lives in the memory precisely because it was his pinnacle, achieved before the booze, fags and cocaine rendered him ‘past his best’. If there is a lesson there, then some if not many will never learn from it.

 My, my, hey, hey – Alex Higgins really did come out of the blue and went into the black, but this time let’s hope he is not forgotten.

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July 15, 2010 · 3:36 pm

J’Accuse

This title, which has become part of the English language in a particular  famous letter printed by French newspaper L’Aurore in January 13th 1898 penned by Emile Zola. Now this name is made up of 2 unique  names, both of which we associate with football, and close, it must be said to my heart.

Gianfranco Zola, the wonderful footballer and possibly the nicest man in football disgracefully treated by the new owners of West Ham, messrs David Gold and Sullivan and Emile Heskey, the England footballer who has just announced his retirement from international football.

J’accuse the owners of West Ham and J’accuse the world for the abuse heaped on poor old Emile. He is not the best footballer in England,  he does not possess the finest of touches and does not read the game in the same way as players such as Shearer and Sheringham, but at least he always tried. How must he feel time and time again in the run up to an international game. It starts with his selection as a squad member, always universally met with howls of derison from the media. Then, heaven forbid, he gets picked for a game and the media and the fans howl again. If he is substituted, he is often seen off to a chorus of disapproval. Worse still his name is used in a song sung by the fans in an attempt at irony, ‘ 5-1 and even Heskey scored’ , doubly ironic as this was the baiting cry that heradled the opening exchanges between English and German fans in Bloemfontein a few weeks back. His goal scoring record is worse than Rene Higuita and Jose Luis Chilaver, both internationals for Columbia and Paraguay respectively, and both goalkeepers.

So he has tied his last international bootlace up and will never be seen in the England colours again, unless Robbie Williams tempts him one more time for Soccer Aid.  I bet he is actually relieved to be away from the whole furore. Let’s face it, all he ever did was agree to play, and that many managers have picked him, from memory Capello, O’Neill, Bruce, Houlier, Eriksson, McClaren, Keegan and more it goes to show that there is consistency. So don’t blame Heskey, please. It’s like picking a one armed pianist to play at your wedding, whilst you may get the semblance of a tune, it will not be balanced or indeed what you were expecting. What it does highlight is one, simple fact. England just do not have many good forwards and given that the heir apparent to Heskey is either Darren Bent or Gabriel Agbonlahor, well it a’int going to get better before it stays the same or even gets worse.  J’accuse the system that simply does not produce footballers who have technique over power, touch over pace, balance over strength and intelligence over brawn. Emile, I salute you, you did your best and that’s that.

One last thought. My approach to the current England football team is not to drop them all and start again, yet. Rather Capello should pick the same 11 that started against Germany, barring Emile and anyone else who announces their retirement from international football and let them face the few who pay good money to attend the ‘friendly’ against another faded nation, Hungary, on August 11th. I for one will be attending that game, and it will be very interesting to see what actually happens that night. Hungary arguably showed England the way to play in1953 when they thumped us 6-3. We are one game on from year zero, so let’s indulge the old regime one last time and start afresh after the fans who travelled to support their team in South Africa have had their catharsis. That or change the whole lot at half time……

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July 12, 2010 · 2:49 pm

The Legacy of the World Cup

Not my words but the words of Peter Delonno from Business Report. Incidentally the British couple mentioned at the foot of the page under Cyberspace is in fact Kirsty and I. Funny old world. Enjoy!

http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=552&fArticleId=4102101

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July 12, 2010 · 11:31 am

A Fitting Finale, if not Final

So the end of the World Cup happened and we have to wait another four years before we can enjoy it all over again. Now this may not seem like a long time to those of you young enough to have your best years ahead of you, but to us older types, the years are increasingly precious and we don’t know how many more we will be able to attend. I would hope to still be attending well into my seventies and beyond. For some this will probably be the last, and for Nelson Mandela surely the oldest man in Soccer City last night, his appearance before the game capped a near perfect tournament. If the football had been better, it would have been a perfect 10, that’s for sure.

Watching on TV is never satisfactory, and if England had made the final, we would have been there, unlikely as that event would have been of course. Some good friends had been lucky enough to have made the trip, David who I cycled with earlier this year on the Dallaglio Cycleslam, Ian who climbed Kilimanjaro with the rest of us in 2004 and Dom, with whom I went to school and who was the host with the most whilst we were in Johannesburg and I am sure they would have sucked in the atmosphere, which I know would have been electric. But to be there, in that stadium in Soccer City, when Nelson Mandela was driven in on his little golfing buggy across a white carpet, well that must have been a very special moment, and boy did Madiba have the biggest smile in the whole world. He must have been so proud, so pleased and above all so happy that his beloved land had delivered this the biggest sporting tournament in the world. Whether or not FIFA had put this old, frail man who will be 92 next week under pressure is another story ( as they say in South Africa). Rather fitting that he did not stay for the matchthen, as it really did not do anything to enhance the reputation of the so called beautiful game. Indeed another ‘leader’ looked on whilst the battle between the total footballers of Spain and the Total Cloggers of the Netherlands played out. One Robert Mugabe. Hero of Zimbabwe in 1980, now pariah of Africa. What exactly that evil man was doing there is anyone’s guess. If FIFA invited him, shame on them. If South Africa invited him, shame on them too. The only black mark in this whole tournament was his presence at this final.

The game was absorbing if ultimately disappointing. Spain’s football is sublime and in Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets and Alonso they have a quartet that not only pull every string, but make every string sing. Not since Brazil 70 have we seen such masters.

This was a victory for the little man. Even their power house at the back, Puyol is shorter than would be accepted in the English leagues and plays with his heart on his sleeve. With his distinctive locks, resembling Tony Iommi or David Coverdale circa 1976 (ironically in the times of the truly great Dutch footballers), he was an inspiration. Spain hold the ball and as my co watcher last night Steve said, ‘they are not afraid to go backwards’. By contrast Holland decided to become the new West Germany. No shortage of skill was secondary to pure muscle and more often than not overt aggression. Van Bommell plays like Graeme Souness without the touch and De Jong is like Jimmy Case. One attack on Alonso begged the question ‘was De Jong a big Bruce Lee fan as a kid’ karate, or otherwise, and De Jong was lucky not to be sent off before half time. Indeed the martial arts approach was contagious with Schneidjer auditioning as Cato for an episode in the Green Hornet. I bet Howard Webb wondered what he had walked into last night.

A moment of sublime brilliance from Spain’s biggest bit part player, Fabregas, a man who would walk into any of the other thirty one teams taking part, was met equally by one from the diminutive Iniesta, who for me was the man of the match, despite some journalists and commentators stating he had had a poor game (?). The cup was Spain’s and they swapped shirts from blue to red (with a star of course) as is their tradition – I have now found out – but a significant departure from World Cup tradition, I may add. A future trivia question will be what is unusual about the picture of Spain receiving the World Cup in 2010. Add in ‘who was the only unbeaten team in the tournament’ and children not yet born will never guess it was the part timers from New Zealand.

Faced with BBC TV coverage, ITV was frankly beyond the pale, it was evident that Lee Dixon, Alan Hansen, Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker had all been impressed by the people and the country that is South Africa. They were all visibly moved by the appearance of Mandela and all pleased that Spain had won. On a night where good triumphed over bad (barring one certain Robert Mugabe’s presence of course), the BBC ended their coverage with a District 9 style cinematic piece. Whether you thought it was cheese or not, and I did not, it did point to the questions that remain. Those of legacy, inequality, poverty and social justice. District 6 has long gone, but let’s hope its legacy is going now. Indeed let’s hope the World Cup 2010 is the kick start that all of Africa needs in this ever competitive world dominated by the new colonial powers of multinational globalisation.

South Africa – wave your flag with pride and belief. Well done.

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