David Harding
brodierussell
Cain LynchMoney Talks, Feet Walk
March 12th 2008 21:59
Football has proven that it relishes a hero, and persecutes a villain. It has also proven that the gulf between the two can be as little as 90 minutes. Loyalty is a luxury that is demanded by every football fan, but one that is very rarely seen. The hypocrisy that has filtered into a game that has tens of millions of pounds thrown at its celebrities is ever growing. It baffles me as to how a man like Dennis Wise can rant and rave about his players opting out of their contracts early, as soon as the £ sign come knocking at their door. How the now St James’ Park backroom boy easily forgets Leeds United. A club that gave him such a unique chance to be a part of their revolution, after only being in charge at Swindon Town for two minutes.
May we all bow to the size of the halo that has been put around John Terry’s head these last few weeks, after he pledged his footballing future to Chelsea. I wonder what played a huge factor in JT’s decision. Was it the privilege of playing your favourite hobby for a living? Was it the chance to honour thousands of adoring fans that worship your every step? Or was it the £130,000 a week he was being offered to pull on the Chelsea shirt every Saturday (and the odd cold winters evening in Kiev)? Getting paid in a week, what it would take five nurses a year to earn, draws obvious emotions. Surely if their weekly wage turned into their yearly salary these players could still live their playboy lifestyle, but possibly with just slightly more grounded feet. My friend Gary is a superb Estate Agent, but barely makes a living. He often has to work a lot over his 40 hour week. That doesn’t make him any better at his job, it’s just a necessity. For a footballer to stay an extra hour after training, kicking a bag of balls into an empty net, or running an extra 5km’s, improves his performance at “work”. That, and the added bonus of notching up £18, 571 for their afternoon’s muck about.
It’s obviously not just players that have an inflated bank balance and ego to match. Sven Goran Eriksson must have loved his lazy Sunday’s. A nice lie in, Hollyoaks omnibus, a few episodes of Friends, then a trip around to the mistress’s house. When he laid his head on his pillow it must have been very rewarding and comforting to know that he’s just earnt himself £11,000. All this, after he was sacked!
It was good to hear some logic from Mr. Frank Lampard this week. His comments that young trainees lack respect, driving BMW’s instead of cleaning boots. Why doesn’t anyone do anything about this? There are still people in the game that remember the lessons they learnt whilst being a trainee. It won’t be too long until this knowledge will be lost and all that is remembered are flash cars and diamond ear rings. Do the Powers That Be really think that doing a bit of dirty work and some hard graft will deter them from the game? Surely their ambition and drive will be the only thing that grows.
The passion seen by Croatia’s players when they turned the Wembley bog into a battleground was there for all to see. I’m sure Mr. Barwick’s “root and branch” analysis of our game will only draw one thing. They all need a pay rise! The failures and incapability’s of eleven Englishmen have spoilt the summer of millions.
MARK STANWORTH
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