Angry Fans
He casts his eye over your comments and gives his own critical analysis of the goings on throughout the world of football. You may agrewith him or then again you may not. This week Ireland’s apology defies credibility; Has Stephen really earned his keep; Ireland rejected what Keane stood for; Wilshere should not play u-21; Conor Clifford’s loan turned down; United fans claims are total nonense; City get Hughes call right; Big Sam for Fulham; Redknapp’s won’t sign anyone; Chelsea won’t break even; Eveton deserve credit; Roy blames wage structure.
LIAM, Ken Early's Stephen Ireland apologia defies credibility. So that's it ... a work place issue. Unfortunately there is more than one workplace issue to write out of history. There were also workplace issues at under-17 level with Brian Kerr as foreman and at under-21 level with his boss Don Givens. Young men who have regular tantrum-related workplace issues eventually end up unemployable, a status which our hero Stephen is quickly approaching.
A final point on the workplace: employers generally expect their employees to make some pretence at earning their salaries. Can we honestly say that Mr Ireland has ever earned the massive salary he has been paid? A fringe player under Eriksson and Mark Hughes (check the records and results) and totally out of favour under the Mancini and Houllier regimes, Ireland has earned vast wealth on the pretence of being a footballer of some quality. Ken Early's suggestion that Ireland is world class surely calls into question Ken Early's own stature as a pundit. How can a player be described as world class that doesn't play for his country and has never held a regular place with a premiership club?
Mr Early in his punditry and comment likes to be a bit academically pretentious so I'm sure he is familiar with the poet's words 'Great wits are to madness near allied and thin partitions do their bounds divide'. Stephen Ireland's workplace problems arise from being on the wrong side of this partition perhaps.
To introduce Roy Keane into this discussion is just as ridiculous as the workplace analogy. Ken, to understand what world class means have a look at Roy Keane's career and achievements. In Saipan Roy Keane made the supreme sacrifice. Like the men of 1916 his sacrifice was made so that those who followed would have a better working place, a 'no fault environment' that would allow talent to blossom and excellence prosper. This is what Stephen Ireland rejected.
Well, Jack, your argument was coming along nicely and I was on the point of polishing the prestigious ‘Letter Of The Week’ gong when, oh dear, along comes a sentence containing the words, ‘Roy Keane’, ‘supreme sacrifice’ and ‘the men of 1916’. And you accuse Ken Early of being pretentious?!? Have a red card for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
ARSENE Wenger isn’t always right, although he thinks he is, but he is bang on with his latest comments about dragging full internationals, such as Jack Wilshere, back into Under-21 tournaments. The Germans used junior tournaments to advance players such as Mesut Özil into the senior ranks. Once they are there they don’t drag them back into junior competitions. As he quite rightly says: “You take any player who plays at Arsenal in the Premier League, put him down to Division One, you would be disappointed by him."
England’s Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce has got previous form in this respect. He ignored Wenger’s advice in 2009, insisted on playing Theo Walcott, and he had a disastrous and injury-interrupted season afterwards.
In the club v country debate, I find that, for once, I too am on the side of Arsene Wenger. Always remembering, of course, that Arsene would not be a whole lot more enthusiastic about Wilshere being selected for the senior panel.
ANOTHER example of the crazy, and long overdue for reform, loan system. Irish player Conor Clifford, youth team captain at Chelsea, has been playing well for the past two months with Plymouth Argyle, but an extension on the loan has been turned down because since joining them the Pilgrims have gone into administration. Yet the application for the winding-up order has been adjourned for 63 days to allow the club to pay their taxes. Meanwhile a rising player has lost the chance to contribute and gain more experience in a challenging league.
Can’t argue with that. Have our last Letter Of The Week prize for 2010.
WHAT nonsense from Manchester United supporters that the match was called off at Chelsea in order to give Carlo Ancelotti some kind of breathing space. It was postponed so that life wouldn’t be made too difficult for travelling Reds. Everyone knows how dangerous the roads in from Surrey and the West Country were over the holiday period.
Oh, Cork Blue, you remind me of the days when wags really were wags.
HOW rubbish are Fulham. Looks like Manchester City, for everything that was said at the time, got that call absolutely right with Mark Hughes. Roy Hodgson must have been some sort of genius to get them into Europe last season and all the way to a final. I can see both Fulham and West Ham going down and they wouldn’t be much loss.
SO, that’s it then. Big Sam Allardyce for Craven Cottage. Or is it Upton Park. Or, given the austere times, perhaps he could do a job share?
Of course, doubtless Big Sam reckons he could ‘do a job’ at the Nou Camp, tighten them up a bit more at the back, don’tca know.
HARRY Redknapp says he won’t be signing anyone this January unless “they’re something a bit special.” Didn’t he make a similar comment before sweeping up Rafael Van Der Vaart last August?
Ah, you know ‘Arry well. But, then, don’t we all?
CHELSEA have the most successful season in their history, reach the last 16 of the Champions League, do the Double, and still only reduce their losses from £44m to £40m. There’s something not quite right there, is there? Could be the small stadium, could be players’ wages, could be ticket prices, could be the fact that they keep sacking managers but they are going to be hard-pushed to break-even by 2013 and escape the penalties of the new UEFA fair-play rules.
Truly, a nation mourns.
WELL done Everton for banning their players from wearing snoods, the silliest fashion accessory of the year. That was a real striking difference between the Toffees and the soft centres of Manchester City when Mancini’s men were beaten at the City of Manchester Stadium just before Christmas.
Still, they’ll be nice and cosy potential losers though.
ALEX Ferguson has pledged that he won’t make the same mistake as when Peter Schmeichel retired and it took him years to find a proper successor in Edwin van der Saar. Well, I won’t hold my breath because, those two apart, Ferguson has been a consistently bad judge of goalkeepers which is one of the few things he seems to have in common with Arsène Wenger. The case for the prosecution: Jim Leighton, Mark Bosnich, Raimond van der Gouw, Massimo Taibi (shudder), Fabien Barthez, Tim Howard, Roy Carroll, and Ricardo!
Always nice to hear from Shay Given
POOR turnout from West Ham fans at Craven Cottage on Sunday, and that can’t entirely be blamed on the fact that there was a Tube strike in London. Tickets at £50 to watch two mediocre teams struggle, even if it a local derby, is going to be too much for many people’s pockets in 2011.
Too late: I think you’ll find we cooked the same goose well before Christmas.
NOW Roy Hodgson is blaming the Liverpool wage structure on his inability to move players on — they’re too expensive for Championship clubs apparently.
Yes, that’s a very good idea Peter. Now, excuse me, but I have to get back to Planet Earth. And a Happy New Year to one and all.
