Braced for winter break debate

DUE to circumstances beyond my control I was unable to go to the Hull game – so I was delighted when it was called off

However, I can’t understand why it was postponed.

Pubs, supermarkets, offices, restaurants – even open air swimming pools – were all open, but games were called off because areas surrounding grounds were deemed “unsafe”.

When I was young, snow was fairly common in the winter and if the buses weren’t running, we were expected to walk to school – no excuses – and that was over three miles.

Games went ahead then, too, even when it was virtually impossible to see the lines on the pitch due to the mud and snow.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to go into shimmering recollection of “the good old days” but all of this is very frustrating.

We will inevitably face another tedious debate about a winter break; someone (almost certainly Wenger) will sound off about games being cancelled for ulterior motives and insinuate there is some cheating going on.

And of course we will eventually face a fixture pile-up with games reorganised at a totally inappropriate time and causing maximum inconvenience for supporters. And all because it might be a bit slippy outside.

What’s happening at the African Cup of Nations – that’s a real issue.

I don’t know about anyone else but I have been watching events with disbelief as various individuals, organisations, and governments spouted off what the Togo team should do.

No one should be dictating anything to those involved. Each player, trainer, and official that was on that coach should be free to make up their own minds as to what is best for them.

These are life-altering events, and those involved should not be pressured into doing anything that they are uncomfortable with.

I can’t even begin to imagine the shock and horror of the attack. It’s all well and good talking about “not giving into terrorists” or “making a political statement” by calling the whole team back but those that were involved should decide their own courses of action.

It is not, after all, the job of footballers to fight terrorists. And let us hope that the security has been strengthened because on the evidence so far we could easily have had another Munich on our hands.

But back to more mundane matters. I see that Ferguson has had another rant at referees following the sending-off of the angelic Fletcher. As per usual he received nothing but a slapped wrist and you can bet that referees will be reticent to risk his wrath in future games.

There is method to the madness of the Lord of Govan. We all laugh about “Fergie time” but the fact is that they do seem to get an inordinate amount of time added on – and that is a direct result of his constant rants.

They say the best referees are the ones that you don’t notice, but rarely does a ref play an introspective or background role in a United game. Ferguson and his players see to that, and referees are human after all.

And then we have the Victor Meldrew of football – Wenger – who has this week advocated deliberate hand balls by his players should they lose possession.

Not that, that is cheating or anything – this tit bit was given a very small corner in most daily papers. Should this have been promoted by one of the less “influential” managers I imagine there would have been a tabloid outcry and an FA rap.

It’s Sunderland this weekend which should be deemed safe enough although I imagine they won’t be the pushover they were in August when they were given a footballing lesson. With Arsenal and United once again dropping points we have to break the habit of the season and capitalise on the opportunity to try put a sliver of daylight between us and them.

In my heart I don’t think we are good enough to win the league – but then Arsenal and United are no better either.

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