Southampton and Football
I went to Southampton on Saturday to see Ipswich play them in the FA Cup.
I’ve always had rather a low opinion of Southampton. Not that I’ve been there very often, but I had great difficulty once getting a gluten-free meal and that clouded my view of the place.
I was surprised that the city had medieval walls, which contain the longest stretch in England, and you can walk along the top of them in places. Like many English cities, it has a ruined church, Holyrood, that was bombed by the Luftwaffe in the Second World Wat and has been left as a memorial sailors of the Merchant Navy.
Let’s not talk about the football.
Daily Telegraph Does Page Three
Well not really page three, but I thought the Telegraph didn’t publish things like this.
It’ll cause heart attacks all over Tunbridge Wells.
Football in Welsh
This note is in the latest Popbitch.
The December 14th edition of S4C’s Welsh language football show Sgorio picked up a grand total of zero viewers, according to official audience figures.
This can’t be correct, as the presenter’s family would have watched.
A Bankruptcy Story
Wilfrid Hyde-White was one of those British actors, who did everything by being British. Most people of my age remember him in films and on television. I also remember him in the BBC radio series, The Men from the Ministry. David Ashcroft of the Racing Post, is writing a series on racing eccentrics. Yesterday, he wrote about Hyde-White and Robert Morley. This is an extract.
By the time Hyde-White appeared in the Jockey Club Stakes, which enjoyed a successful run on Broadway in 1973, he had moved to the USA. When Morley asked his friend why he was moving, Hyde-White replied, “I really cannot stand another winter in England with the income tax and Violetta [his girlfriend].” Then Hyde-White paused and apologised. “Sorry, that was a very caddish thing to say about the income tax.” In 1979, Hyde-White returned to face the wrath of the Inland Revenue, which entailed several bankruptcy hearings.
At one, the official receiver asked why Hyde-White was staying at the Savoy Hotel. “Two reasons, dear chap,” Hyde-White replied. “One, it is the finest hotel in London and two, it is the nearest to Carey Street.” “But how are you going to pay for it?” asked the incredulous receiver. “Well,” said Hyde-White, “You’re the financial expert. You tell me.”
I hope all these stories get published as a book.
Kiss My Badge
Footballers have a reputation for kissing the badge after they score. Tonight one of the West Brom footballers did something similar, except it was the sponsor’s logo. And who was the sponsor?
The Disasters Emergency Committee advertising the Haiti Appeal.
I have no problem with that. And I suspect no-one does!
Timekeeping
There have been a lot of complaints recently about referees in football. There always have been, but some, including Alex Ferguson, have been extremely vocal lately.
We had another incident on Saturday at Ipswich. Town were leading 2-1, when four minutes were indicated by the fourth official. I was nervy about Ipswich conceding another goal to Coventry, so I judged the extra minutes on my watch.
Inevitably Coventry scored. The BBC shows it on their match report as being scored at five minutes and two seconds after the ninety minutes.
I left moaning about the referee’s timekeeping, as I felt he should have blown earlier.
But then Pablo Counago scored for Ipswich another seventy seconds later, to restore their lead.
The most extraordinary thing was that the BBC timed the match as ending just one second short of nine minutes after the ninety minutes.
I know two goals were scored, someone was booked and there was a substitution, but that surely doesn’t add up to five minutes. The only thing that you might say, is that the mini-match at the end, didn’t alter who won or the goal difference.
Surely, we should go to an independent timekeeper and a clock that everybody could see start and stop. Then there would be no arguments. Except I suspect from one high-profile manager. To be fair to both managers on Saturday; Roy Keane and Chris Coleman, they took it all with fairly good grace.
But then with Haiti in the news, football is almost irrelevant and a welcome distraction.
Who do I Support in Angola?
It is strange the rules you apply to decide which team to support in the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.
Take Egypt against Nigeria.
Egypt is a country, where I enjoyed a good gluten-free holiday at Luxor and is somewhere I’ll go to again. Nigeria on the other hand is a country I’ve never visited and from which I get endless spam, named after article 419 in their penal code. (To be fair to Nigeria, they are doing their best to stop the spam!)
But I supported Nigeria for no apparent reason!
Now, I’m watching Benin against Mozambique.
Here it’s Mozambique.
I was in Trinidad and happened to be staying at a hotel, where there was a Speakers’ Conference of all the Commonwealth countries. At breakfast I was in the queue with a guy whose badge said he was an official of the Mozambique parliament!
But then they aren’t in the Commonwealth are they?
Oh yes they are! And when I questioned the guy about it, he told me how important the Commonwealth were to his country in providing aid and specialist advisors. He made some comment about the Commonwealth sending a sole advisor who knew his stuff, whilst the UN sent one who didn’t with a useless entourage.
Another thing I remember at this conference was Betty Boothroyd, who was doing a sterling job at making everybody’s time a good and productive one. She was always immaculately dressed and at breakfast I asked my wife, a barrister, who was the scruffy bloke with Miss Boothroyd. She choked on her muesli, laughed and said it was Derry Irving. He was definitely second class to Miss Boothroyd!
Africa Cup of Nations
Two years ago, I was very lonely, miserable and possibly desperate, as my wife had died. If anything helped to get over the loneliness, it was football and in particular the Africa Cup of Nations.
For many nights in that January, there was entertaining football every night, played by countries who had a lot more problems than I had. So I watched and enjoyed. It helped!
This year, I was looking forward to the 2010 cup in Angola. In just ten years since one of the most nasty and vicious of African civil wars, Angola has progressed enough to be awarded the finals. With Africa in the news so often for the wrong reasons, here was a reason to be cheerful.
But then we had the attack on the Togo players as they drove to Cabinda. Perhaps they shouldn’t have driven through one of the most dangerous parts of Angola. But they did and three people died. It is easy for us to say they should have flown, but then we don’t know the finances of the Togo team and flying is not as safe in some parts of Africa as it is in Europe and the US. Remember too, that the Zambian team was wiped out in an aircrash in 1993. Did this influence the decision?
We will probably never know, but sadly the attack has cast a very sombre gloss over the tournament.
This quote from Thomas Dossevi of the Togo team will be remembered as it has a dignity and a maturity.
We are all heartbroken. It is no longer a party but we want to show our national colours, our values – and that we are men.
I can feel their pain and my heart goes out to everybody.
But football is proving to be one of the values of Africa. It might even be some of those footballers, who in the end, lift some of the more troubled countries out of their problems of poverty, disease, famine, bad government, dictatorships and corruption. Many are doing a lot more than their governments.
We must support them in every way possible.
Italian Style
I have made comments about the sacking of Mark Hughes at Manchester City, but I’ll admit I have a sneaking admiration for his replacement, Roberto Mancini. I still don’t want to see them make the top four of the Premiership.
He has a certain style, reminiscent of Francesco da Mosta, who has made some wonderful programs for the BBC.
I’d love to know where he got the cashmere scarf in blue and white he wears. One in royal blue and white would do me for Ipswich Town.
The Internet is a mine of information. There’s one here.
Graham Alexander
Graham Alexander is one of those footballers, who do a good job and keep going year after year. This year, he is playing for Burnley in the Premiership at the age of 38. I think he was the oldest player to make his debut in that league.
Piers Morgan in the Daily Mail put him in a poll for his footballer of the year. And guess what he’s leading. Vote Alexander to make sure he wins.
The Anonymous Widower 