Monday, November 28, 2005

Psycho

It is not long since Stuart Pearce was made the manager at Manchester City towards the fag end of last season. He inherited an unenviable position. Witness what happened to Joe Royle and Kevin Keegan and there was also the inevitable sale of one of city's greatest potential youth products - Shaun Wright-Phillips. Few would have been as positive in picking up what appeared a broken poisoned chalice.

But looking back at this early stage it is testament to the qualities of this fiercest of former players that things are looking very good. The sale of Wright Phillips has given City the kind of boost that Wayne Rooney’s departure gave to Everton a season before. But whereas Everton’s trail of 1-0 victims saw them grind themselves up to the unfamiliar heights European contention City appear to developing an attractive brand of more open football with youth emerging in every department of the pitch.

Saturday I was at the City of Manchester stadium to see at close hand (well it was two or three rows from the back of the Colin Bell Stand, actually) what is making the city fans drool when in past seasons there has been that terminable sense of self-loathing that has been keeping them warm.

To be honest as a game it had all the qualities of an Everton 1-0 yawn from last season. Liverpool arrived with a neat passing game and fairly obvious desire to use Peter Crouch as much as possible. Gerrard was everywhere and a rusty looking Didi Hamann provided some Teutonic back bone to the midfield. City were a match for Liverpool’s clipped passing game but rarely showed the bite or passion shown in the home side’s technical area.

After the events of the previous home game against Blackburn Rovers where Pearce had twice came onto the field to inject some much need pace into proceeding, Psycho was choosing to imitate a deranged Marcel Marceau stopping himself violently at the point his body was about to leave his imaginary Blaine-like Perspex box. He really was like a caged animal and should be the subject of a small David Attenborough natural history series on the soon to be launched digital station BBC 9.



Obviously it is too early to be putting Stuart Pearce in the frame for the next holder of the England Manager’s post…. sorry I’m just getting a message in my left ear that it isn’t too early at all. In fact watch as premature media hype sends Stuart down the John Gregory blind alley of managerial oblivion.

Let’s just say, good manager, good values, good team and fingers crossed for the future.

Friday, November 25, 2005

George Best - substituted 1pm 25-11-2005

God bless you George. You made a lot of people very happy. R.I.P.

Today Crawley Town - Tomorrow .... well somewhere else I guess

Thursday's teletext page 323 - the bit that tells you about the poor people's news - heralded the capture of tricky winger Tony Scully by Crawley Town boss John Hollins. Hollins picked up the post recently when Graham Rix hit lucky at Hearts.

Tony Scully's career is one of those bi products of the infamous Bosman ruling. Another bi-product is obviously Michael Ballack touting round his expensive ass for £150,000 a week - but more of that at a later date I'm sure.

Scully has played for an awful lot of clubs in a career that goes back as far as the 2nd December 1993 when he signed as a trainee for Crystal Palace. So next Friday when he celebrates 12 years as a professional footballer he will have happy memories of the banter and camaraderie in no less than 15 different dressing rooms in the league and conference arena.

This is surely no record as there are many players who are not being actively pursued with cheque books who arrive at the end of their increasingly shorter length contracts, looking for their next pay cheque.

I remember being very excited in the late nineties when my team bought Tony, as he was highly starred as a dynamic winger with all the tricks and turns that set fans pulses racing. A personal highlight of his time in my life was a glorious 76th minute goal in the 6-0 demolition of Crystal Palace (ironically his first ex-club). It was a last match of the season survival clash that saved our bacon.

Which raises the point, that with so many ex clubs and so many opportunities to "go back to the old place and stick it up them" why he has only managed 13 goals. And surely it is that crazy irony makes football the beautiful game it is.

Tony Scully will be making 15th club debut tomorrow at home to Gravesend - he hasn't been there, yet - our thoughts will be with him.

thekingorama@googlemail.com

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Why take 60 Minutes when you can say it in 3

Vodafone, who is currently treating their many customers to a special offer where they can talk for an hour and will only be charged for 3 minutes, seemingly took less than 3 minutes to duck out of the final two years of the shirt sponsorship deal with world football's biggest cash cow -Manchester United. Sports and Financial analysts are in a feeding frenzy as to whether United are on the slide, what does these mean for the Double Glazers?

What will likely happen in the forthcoming will be a battle between United Commercial Director and the world's most recognisable marketing names to re-establish Manchester Red as a more valuable property than Chelsea Blue. Chelsea 10 million Man United 9 million it was, until Vodafone upped the stakes on Wednesday.

What a far cry this is, from the dignified absence of sponsorship on Barcelona's playing uniform [cultural translation for Glazer Lawyers, who may find their way to these neck of the woods] Barca have steadfastly avoided such activity for reasons entirely to do with a spirit of football long lost in these parts.

One aspect of Vodafone's rat like departure that I am yet to see highlighted, is whether the smart men at Voda started panicking last summer when high profile United fans where publicly talking of boycotting United plc related brands, Bud, Voda, Pepsi, Century FM. The power of the fans is enormous and acknowledgment, ever so occasionally, is vital to stop those who feed from our fevered consumption of the game taking the micky, as often as they seem to.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

In the Begining there was Fergie

You have to start somewhere, so here goes...... I think it was just after Alex Ferguson had bought Jaap Stam and was sniffing around another PSV Eindhoven Defender - possibly Kevin Hofland - that one of the PSV directors was so incensed by Alex Ferguson's ability to ignore the rules on tapping up and destabilise the Dutch club uttered the immortal line ... "Who does he think he is ..... The King of Football?"

The line has stuck with me ever since, not that Fergie is alone in behaving in a manner where people find him regal and untouchable. I guess it happens once an hour in the week and on Saturdays 100 times between 3 and 4:50.

The hope is that this blog will highlight and lampoon such behaviour in much the same way David Hills manages every week in the Observer Sports section. Outing the insincere, the arrogant, the enemy in the camp.

Anyway that's the hope. Come back and enjoy, share and shout.

Feedback on "Grammar Crimes" always welcome.

thekingorama@googlemail.com