Let’s get behind England…..
….No, not those good-for-nothing footballing scoundrels who broke our hearts this summer. The England I am referring to are the England Women’s rugby team who, as we speculated last week, have made it to the final of the World Cup. A very physical and somewhat scrappy encounter ended in a 15-0 win over Australia in the semi-final which means our ladies will now go head to head with holders New Zealand in the final at Twickenham on Sunday.
New Zealand have beaten England in the last two finals but England have beaten them last year at Twickenham and have home advantage. But what good is the famed sporting term ‘home advantage’ if none of us get to the ground to watch the game or show our support. There are not many occasions where this country has the chance to cheer on its team in a World final.
And what’s more they play far more fluent and creative attacking rugby than their male counterparts. I confess, I am as bad as everyone else for following the team but from what I have seen I can tell why people are saying that this is their year. Or should I say this is OUR year. An adult and child can go to the final for no more than £40 which is nothing when you consider how much people will pay to see our footballers struggle past Bulgaria tonight. We have a chance to revel in some sporting success on our own back garden and see some athletes at the peak of their game. Convinced? Good. See you Sunday.
Mistakes are human nature, sporting genius isn’t
People cheat. In work, in relationships, in exams and in sport, we mere humans cheat. I don’t need to be a great philosopher to know that as people it is part of our programming that we are going to make mistakes, errors of judgements, and sometimes cheat. If the accused Pakistan players chose to take money to play cricket a certain way then they should be punished for making a mistake.
Mohammad Amir set this recent test series alight with some blissful, fearless, fresh out of the traps bowling and was quite rightly named man of the series. He is one of the future stars of this magnificent game. Let us not crucify him and his team mates for their foolish and ignorant human error. Let us go straight to the heart of the problem and deal with the people who set up this sordid little affair. The brokers, the middle men and the bookies.
I’m not saying that sporting ability should negate the need for punishment. I am saying we should consider the repercussions of handing out the wrong punishments to the wrong people. Majeed was caught red handed by the News of the World. Let us punish him most severely and punish any other middle men involved. Let us find out these overseas bookies which allow for these millions to be made on bets which just seem to be simply unimaginable. As British bookmakers have been quick to point out, their system does not allow for the kind of money to be made from the kind of bets involved in this sordid tale. Some people’s systems do allow for these money making schemes to be successful. Let’s get rid of them, by whatever means necessary. Banning or even imprisoning the accused players is not the way to go.
You can’t stop people making errors. I don’t care for this nonsense about being on the world stage and in the spotlight, all of which is true but the only way to become the role models which politicians pine for athletes to be is to allow the athletes to learn from their mistakes.
These Pakistan players have gifts and talents to inspire people across the world. The conmen only have a gift of treachery and distinct lack of moral conscience. Let’s hang them out to dry, let’s place them in the stocks and let’s give Amir and co. , if guilty, the chance to right their wrongs. Allow them to be ambassadors for getting rid of this disease which has plagued cricket for too long. Let them speak out, let them publicly document everything that happened, let them teach up and coming cricketers how not to fall into the trap. And whilst they do all that let them continue to be wonderful and glorious sportsmen capable of skill and talent which us mere humans can never accomplish. For if they are banned for life then that will be the biggest mistake of all.
Brentford blogger is from another league
1. DAVID HUNT – Brentford FC
David Hunt isn’t the type of football player who enjoys watching from the sidelines, especially when his team is struggling.
League One side Brentford FC have got just a point from their first four games of the campaign whilst former Leyton Orient and Northampton Town man can only sit and watch from the sidelines. Hunt has been an unused sub for all of the London club’s matches this season, including the recent 3-1 loss at home to Rochdale which left the Bees rooted to bottom of the table.
Not that the 27 year old (he turns 28 next month) would voice any discontent, not even on his regularly updated blog, Life of Another League (http://lifeofanotherleague.com/). Rather than act as a soapbox to bemoan his first team chances or slate manager Andy Scott, the blog gives Hunt a chance to demonstrate to football fans how a professional footballer lives.
“I get excited about writing” he says in a chat with Pope and Swift, “providing genuine thoughts on where my head is at. It’s nice getting it down, I love it.”
“As you settle down, you realise you’ve got to provide and your looking towards the future” he continues. “That’s why I’m happy nowadays giving people an insight into football whilst sitting at home. It’s much simpler.”
The blog, subtitled Mirror of Me, provides a genuinely interesting insight into Hunt’s life at the club he joined in January 2009. Since the season started, readers have been treated to an enjoyable run down of Brentford’s two-journey to Carlisle for the first game of the season (where they stayed at Lilleshall, played table tennis and two teammates got mistaken as a gay couple..) and a look back to his younger days as a pro, when he made his league debut for Crystal Palace against Sheffield United. There is even a photo of Hunt, who originates from London, as an 8 year old having just been knocked out of his first football tournament. This is stuff you couldn’t find anywhere else.
There’s even a smattering of opinion on the Premier League and the fortunes of his beloved Arsenal FC, who he grew up supporting. “I’d always like to talk about football and I have opinions which I feel are different and could contribute something” he tells Pope and Swift. “I’d never say never to a career in the media. If something comes up that’s worthwhile, yeah, I definitely be interested.” Up until recently, Hunt wrote a regular column for www.footy-boots.com.
Discussing how he came to start the blog, Hunt suggests it came about by chance. “I wasn’t in the team at the time so I had some spare time at home. I read some other blogs and thought I’d try writing. I only did one but I got some positive feedback and messages from other people saying they were interested and hoped that I’d continue writing.’
“I have to be careful what I say as all clubs have to keep some things private” he adds. “But from then I’ve been writing one a week, unfortunately I don’t get time to write much more, but I still get 1500 hits a week.”
At the start of the month, Hunt had to suspend writing as he set about learning HTML coding and toying with iWeb with a view to updating the blog’s design and features. “I know the basics but it’s tough to find the time. I have two young daughters and it’s hard to be a dad, have time with my partner as well as learn stuff.”
“The only problem is that I’ve been playing around with it so I’ve been losing parts of my old blogs, although that hopefully won’t happen anymore.” The break from writing was certainly worthwhile as Life of Another League now sports a smart new background and improved contact and favourites pages, as well as a Twitter follow me box (he updates regularly on football, Peppa Pig and enjoying sugar snap peas @DavidJHunt)
It’s impressive to think that Hunt has done the updates himself when it would be much easier to get someone to do it for him. “I spend a lot of time on my computer as so much is internet related nowadays. Times are changing and I realise it’s important to keep up.” Hunt is quick to point out that he’s not a complete computer geek, though. “But I love all sorts of sports, including golf and table tennis and just like to chill out with my family.”
That seems to sum up Hunt really. A normal young bloke who enjoys a bit of writing and is fortunate enough to play football for a living. Not many footballers, whatever league they play in, reflect on the fortunate life they lead in the way Hunt does. ‘I’ve experienced a lot but the main thing I have learnt is to appreciate everyday that passes and how lucky I am’ he says in a recent blog. And you believe he is being genuine too.
Does it annoy him, then, that footballers, as a collective, have a reputation for extravagance and for shopping, playing Xbox and golf when not training?
“Yes and no” is Hunt’s answer. “I kind of understand the reputation footballers have. When I was 21, I was playing computer games for hours every day and my partner wouldn’t be happy. But that was important then as, at that age, you need to relax and have fun. Now it’s different”.
It’s sensitive answers like that which prove David Hunt, as far as footballers go and as his blog suggests, is in a whole other league.
Introducing… Sidelines
Over the coming weeks, Pope and Swift will bring you Sidelines, a series of blogs with the aim of proving that footballers are actually interesting people who don’t just play golf in their spare time.
‘Why?’, we hear you ask? Because we think footballers, as a collective, have an unfair reputation for being extravagant, unintelligent and predictable. The select few, purely interested in money and procreating (we’re looking at a certain former England captain when we say this..) give the majority a bad name.
So, we’re going to prove just the opposite; that footballers are decent chaps with their own opinions and interesting hobbies. Such is why we’ve called the series Sidelines, because we’re more interested in what players get up to off the pitch, in their spare time, as opposed to on it.
In the coming weeks, we’ll blog about conversations with a prolific Premier League centre back about art, a former England under 21 stopper interested in business and an entrepreneur who played for Arsenal and Spurs before the age of 21. All of whom were a pleasure to talk to and nothing like we would have imagined.
We hope that Sidelines changes a few people’s preconceptions about footballers and shows that many are driven, well-balanced individuals who have minds of their own and are capable of speaking eloquently.
If you know a footballer who fits the bill, please email us at popeandswift@gmail.com or tweet us (@PopeandSwift).
Separated at Birth: West Midlands whippets
You can almost imagine the scene. West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo is sitting in the office of Jeremy Pearce, the Baggies chairman, identifying his transfer targets.
‘I wanta new strika Mr Peace’ the softly spoken Italian manages to get across. ‘I wanta sumaone who cana score Westa Brom many goals. Sumaone with pace who cana scora 15 goals for us in the Premier League. I wanta someone like Gabby Agbonlahor.’
Pearce makes a few calls and, lo and behold, a couple of weeks later part-time Agbonlahor impersonator Peter Odemwingie, the Uzbekistan born Nigerian international turns up at The Hawthorns and bangs the winner with a very Gabby-esque goal against Sunderland.
And, having signed their very own version of John Carew (Marc-Antoine Fortune re-signed this week..), it wouldn’t be a surprise if Peter banged in a few more for West Brom this season.
Warrington want it just as much
Today’s Challenge Cup Final has all the markings of being Leeds Rhinos’ day. Their first Challenge Cup final for five years (since losing to Hull in 2005) and their first visit to the new Wembley Stadium (their last two finals were played at Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium) , it’s all set up for Brian McLennan’s side to win their first Challenge Cup for 11 years.
Warrington Wolves, by contrast, are at Wembley for the second consecutive year, having taken the 2009 final against Hudderfield. An improving team under Tony Smith, they sit five points clear of Leeds in the Engage Super League with two games to go. So, in a sense, the 2010 Challenge Cup final has more riding on it for the Rhinos, who have suffered after a poor start to the season]. Saturday, then, is all set up to be a Leeds day.
But, travel on the London Underground and there’s a chance you’ll change your mind. That’s because, currently displaying on the walls of vast tube network are several different posters designed by Warrington Borough Council to boost the town’s business . Each one, quite remarkably, has a picture of a Wolves player and a rugby league related tag, such as ‘Try Warrington’.
A bit strange don’t you think? A bit peculiar to have a marketing ploy so dominated by pictures of a rugby league team?. Isn’t it a bit like Portsmouth (a similar size as Warrington) just promoting the South coast town with pictures of Michael Brown (never a good idea)? Or Solihull (another town with roughly 200,000 inhabitants) just putting greyhounds on their borough council posters?
Actually no. Because to say that would be to underestimate the extent to which Warrington is a rugby league town. Only by looking at the rugby league influenced posters dotted around the London underground do you get an idea of how much rugby league and the Wolves mean to Warrington. Only by looking at the posters proudly proclaiming Wolves past success can you possibly graps how much they will want their side to win on Saturday.
So how apt it is that many Warrington fans will walk past the posters on their way to Wembley Stadium. You don’t need to ask them to ‘Try Warrington’, it’s in their blood.
We’re going to win the World Cup…who wants in?
Did you know the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2010 is being held here in England? Probably not. Did you know that England are one of the favourites to win the competition? Didn’t think so. And did you know that they have already claimed two impressive wins in the group stage without conceding a single point? Of course you didn’t. Welcome to yet another classic case of a successful group of athletes who no one knows about.
England’s women are not new to success in Rugby. They have made the final of the last two World Cup’s only to be beaten by the mighty New Zealand. However, last autumn these English Roses defeated the Black Ferns at Twickenham to signal their intent for World domination. But I only found this out this week and the only person I have to blame is myself. Ignorance, in sport’s case, definitely isn’t bliss.
This is not the first time sporting success on these shores has failed to gain the acclaim it deserves. British Swimmers are claiming medals at every contest they enter yet only get recognised or noticed when the Olympics come round as are British Cyclists. England’s women cricket team dominated their sport last year and are still one of the best teams in the world but barely attract any sort of following. Even the England’s men won the World Twenty20 and barely raised any eyebrows because people were too busy with the end of the football season.
My point is that we, the public and the media often moan about the failings of British and/or English sport but we are blind to all the success around us. No longer can we blame a lack of information, it’s all right in front of us and only takes a second to find. So why don’t we stop citing all these overpaid, no good footballers as a reason for a lack of national pride and go and find all the success stories which are right in front of us. If England’s Women do win this Rugby World Cup on home soil and we all miss out on the party then we will have no one to blame but ourselves.
Separated at Birth: Danns and Davids
Pope and Swift don’t often do two Separated at Birth blogs in quick success but there’s a good reason for it. We think something fishy is going on at Selhurst Park.
Neil Danns, the Crystal Palace midfielder, played and scored in his side’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Ipswich on Saturday. Edgar Davids, the Holland international, was not in South London nor he anywhere to be seen.
Edgar Davids played his first game for the Eagles last night after signing for George Burley’s side on a pay-as-you-play deal. 27-year-old Danns, however, was absent for the match, which Palace lost to Portsmouth on penalties, supposedly ‘rested’ by his manager.
It’s just a hunch but we have a sneaky feeling that Davids and Danns could be the SAME PERSON. You may laugh but it makes sense – how else do you explain the Dutchman’s 74 caps for Holland and spells at AC Milan and Juventus? Danns played for Birmingham City for Cristiano’s sake. Cased closed.
Separated at Birth: Percy and Prince Charming
Percy Montgomery, in Pope and Swift’s eyes, is an amalgamation of cartoon characters you’d just love to punch. The retired South African rugby union player bears a passing resemblance to Gaston of Pope and Swift Disney favourite, Beauty and the Beast, a man famous for saying ‘As a specimen, yes, I’m intimidating’, something which we can imagine the record breaking full back saying to his Springbok mates.
However, facially, you can’t deny Montgomery looks spuriously like Prince Charming of the Shrek quartet. Mr Charming, who is believed to have played a bit of polo but not rugger in his time, has the same golden locks, complete with dark roots, and perfect teeth, which goes without saying.
As demonstrated in these pictures, Montgomery also has the subtle ‘I’m just celebrating..what these bad boys’ gun show down to a tee. Were it not for the cartoon/human issue, Pope and Swift are genuinely worried these two could actually be related.
The death of the 3pm kick off
Every year the Premier League sticks another nail in the coffin of the 3pm Saturday kick off . The 2010/2011 season won’t do anything to address the terminal decline.
A quick glance down the fixtures for August to December sees the Big Four playing an unprecedented number of games at times other than the traditional Saturday afternoon slot. Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea play at 3pm on Saturday on just 6 occasions in the opening 15 games, whilst Liverpool and Arsenal are scheduled to play even less than that, with only 5 games at that time. Even newcomers Newcastle are expected to play only 7 games at St James Park at 3pm on Saturdays between now and Christmas.
Now, Pope and Swift realise the increasing commercialisation of football, the rise in the number of sport specific channels, the increased revenue that these channels bring directly and indirectly blah blah blah which have made football this way. But it doesn’t make sense to have the league’s top five teams separated from the rest in this way, to segregate them from the rest of the top flight and reduce the games at 3pm on a Saturday to a mere side event.
We all know that the best weekends of football are when all the big teams are playing at 3pm on Saturday and you can set up camp in front of Sky Sports at home or in a pub. It’s part of the reason FA Cup weekends are so magical. So, as 3pm draws near today, we’ll continue to wish that football still held dear it’s 3pm kick off and that Saturday afternoons never lost its lustre.