Further frustration as FIFA minions flounder again

I HATE international breaks. I especially hate international breaks when greed, incompetence and more total disregard for the fans meant that come Saturday, there were thousands of people wandering their respective towns trying (mostly in vain) to find a pub showing the England game.

Then there was FIFA vice-president Jack Warner’s comments about England’s World Cup bid being too lightweight. To suggest the Queen go crown-in-hand to a body which bestows patronage with a mix of dark arts, brown envelopes and seemingly carrier-bags of goodies is insulting.

Speaking of FIFA, it’s all gone a bit quiet on the Kakuta business since Chelsea started releasing some of the information regarding his signing. Rather than showing the Blues in a bad light, the new information depicts them as having followed procedure and ensuring that the kid gets a formal education, something the French club cared little about. No doubt FIFA’s flying monkeys are desperately trying to make charges stick, especially as they hung Chelsea out to dry so publicly. But I’m not bitter...

I was disappointed when we were gazumped by City for Robinho’s services but it’s funny how these things often turn out to be for the best. If we had signed him, I imagine that it may have prolonged Scolari’s tenure, which in turn would have meant we would have got Hiddink later, or not at all, and that in turn could have meant no Champions League qualification and possibly no FA Cup. Don’t you love the law of unintended consequences?

We would also now be stuck with a stroppy Brazilian who has never really settled in England and whose football, though periodically mesmerising, doesn’t produce enough to guarantee a starting place ahead of Craig Bellamy. So Barcelona is now beckoning for Robinho and it will be interesting whether City manage to recoup their full outlay although his signing was more to provide a statement of intent — an expensive announcement which has paid very little dividends.

I must admit, I was worried when we initially signed Anelka as he hasn’t been a player with a reputation of a sunny disposition and in the early days he looked so miserable when playing, that I wondered had we made a terrible mistake. It’s taken a while, but he is now visibly contented and has publicly spoken of how happy he is at Chelsea. And the happier and more relaxed he has become, it seems the more often he is finding the back of the net. !

So it seems it’s ninth time lucky for the previously sulky Frenchman and I doubt we will be seeing “come get me” ovations to any Spanish side, or any team come to that. On the whole, we as a club make players feel welcome and if they initially come for the money, we capture a bit of them, which sees them keep an association with Chelsea even after they finish playing.

Those more observant amongst you may have deduced that my name is of Italian descent — a nationality probably none too popular after last weekend’s injury-time heartache at Croke Park. But even I, safe in the knowledge both Italy and England are qualified, have to have one last swipe at FIFA for this sudden announcement the World Cup Qualifier play-offs will be seeded.

I wonder if this seeding would have been introduced had all of the big boys (Argentina, France, Portugal etc) made it easily through? I think we all know the answer to that one. Isn’t it enough of a helping hand that these clubs are seeded in the group stages?

If then they have not fully grasped the advantage handed to them, and they have already been granted a lifeline in the form of a play-off, is it really fair then that they are seeded too so the so-called “big” teams do not meet? The obvious answer is it’s not fair but once again we are talking FIFA logic.

What if then the perceived lesser team wins anyway? Do we make it best out of three? Do we make Ireland play blindfolded? Where will it end? Sadly, the answer is with the destruction of our beautiful game. When I think of the various governing bodies who are meant to be guardians of our game, the one quote that comes to mind and won’t go away is Lord John Dalberg-Acton’s “power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”.

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