My Freedom Pass Failed South of the River
I’ve indicated before that London has always been two cities; my side of the North and the other side of the South.
Now I’ve got nothing against those who live south of the river and in fact some of my friends live there, but it’s a different country. It’s nothing new, as my father said that the two sides didn’t agree on anything before the Second World War. I blame it on Arsenal’s move from south of the river to Highbury. It was almost as bad as Wimbledon going to Milton Keynes.
But that still doesn’t explain, why my Freedom Pass wasn’t accepted at Elephant and Castle, either coming out or going in. However, in both cases, the helpful staff let me through.
Do the barriers read your DNA and if it’s from the North, you’re barred? We should be told!
The Very Good Can Come Back
It is an old adage in sport, that sportsmen and women never make a successful comeback, was disproved last night by Thierry Henry.
But then he was something special.
Cantona For President
According to this article, one of Britain’s favourite Frenchman, wants to stand against Sarkozy to be French President.
What Is It With ITV And Football?
I’m just watching Peterborough against Sunderland on ITV. Watching being the key word, as the sound isn’t working properly.
But then ITV has form in providing crap football coverage!
The Sensible Africans
Over the next few weeks, Africa will be staging the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
Obviously, as it can get very hot in some parts of the continent, they hold it at this time of year, as it will probably be cooler.
Roberto Mancini at Manchester City may moan, but he knew he’d have the problem some months ago and should have planned better.
After all, the Africa Cup of Nations is important to the continent and most clubs will only lose the odd player for a couple of games.
So what does FIFA do?
They award the World Cup to Qatar, where it will either be played in the heat of an Arab summer or moved to the winter, which will inconvenience the whole sporting calendar in countries like the UK, where other sports are played.
Are Goalkeepers Loners?
After the amazing goal scored by Tim Howard and the wind last night at Goodison, BBC Radio 5 has been talking about goalkeepers who’ve scored.
The first I remember being scored was by George Farm for Blackpool against Preston. He had injured a shoulder and was playing up front and scored a headed goal.
In later life he had a spell as a lighthouse keeper.
It’s always said that goalkeepers are a bit mad, but are they loners as well?
Vinny Jones Shows He’s All Heart
Vinny Jones has got involved in publicity for the British Heart Foundation. The details and a video are here.
It should be remembered that his wife, Tanya, has had a heart transplant and I think he’s done work for the BHF before.
I actually think the whole concept of the video is rather good, as it’s very simply put together and you remember his message.
How to Do a Football Shuttle Bus
The Madejski Stadium isn’t close to Reading town centre or the station, but getting there on Saturday couldn’t have been easier.
At the station there was a signpost that couldn’t have been clearer.
Signpost at Reading Station
The walk wasn’t far too and I think it will be shorter and easier, once they finish the works at the station.
A Smart Football Shuttle Bus
The bus was a rather smart Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 and I think it was a hybrid too. It was also free to those with a bus pass.
Many other clubs could do well to look at how Reading organise the transport for fans.
It was a pity Ipswich went and lost.
Trains on Boxing Day
There is a good article by the columnist Alan Williams in this month’s Modern Railways, where he decries the lack of trains on Boxing Day.
Apparently, if you want to go from London to Brighton, you’re OK, but for all other journeys, it’s car, bike or walk.
I would have liked to go and see Ipswich play at Leicester, but they might just as well be playing on Ascension Island.
It strikes me that Boxing Day might be a day, when the train companies with a bit of co-operation from the FA could make a bit of money on a day, when many will be hungover and not fancy driving at all. In fact, many might not be able to do it legally.
So how practical would it be to go to your team’s away game on Boxing Day, if the trains were running?
Here are the matches in the Premier League.
Arsenal v. Wolverhampton
This would have been very practical, but Arsenal have postponed it to the 27th because of a strike on the London Underground.
All Wolves fans would need to do, is take the Virgin train from Wolverhampton to Euston and two stops on the Victoria line.
Chelsea v. Fulham
This is going on despite the Underground strike, which won’t inconvenience the majority of fans who can either drive, walk or take a bus.
Bolton v. Newcastle
As Bolton has a station at the ground, this is a very easy journey for Newcastle fans. On Sundays, there is a convenient train with just one change at Manchester Piccadilly.
Liverpool v. Blackburn
This is another simple one, with just a change at Preston.
Man Utd v. Wigan
This is a direct train and a tram.
Sunderland v. Everton
This involves three changes of train at a minimum of over four hours.
West Brom v. Man. City
This one involves a couple of changes and two and a half hours.
Stoke v. Aston Villa
This involves a single change and takes just over an hour.
And here are the Championship matches.
Watford v. Cardiff
Not the easiest by rail, as it’s a very long way.
Derby v Leeds
Just two hours on a direct train.
Millwall v. Portsmouth
Plenty of trains and they all take around two hours.
Southampton v. Crystal Palace
Plenty of trains and again they take just over two hours.
Barnsley v. Blackpool
Not the easiest and it takes three hours with two or more changes.
Burnley v. Doncaster
Two and a half hours with a change at Leeds.
Coventry v. Bristol City
Two hours with a change at Birmingham.
Leicester v. Ipswich
Three and a half hours with all sorts of changes.
Middlesbrough v. Hull
Over three hours with a change or two.
Nottingham Forest v. Peterborough
Not too bad, if you can get a direct train.
Reading v. Brighton
Between two and three hours via London.
Birmingham v. West Ham
About two hours and a bit, depending on where in London, you’re coming from.
So basically, with the fixtures as they came out this year, it really wouldn’t have been possible, as there are too many long journeys.
But then years ago, Ipswich always used to play Norwich on Boxing Day. The police put a stop to it, but there hasn’t been much trouble over recent years.
I’m certain though, that it would be possible to arrange a better fixture list.
How many grounds aren’t well connected to the rail network? Either directly or by a match-day bus from the station! I think the list includes.
Arsenal – Three rail stations and well connected to London termini.
Aston Villa – Two rail stations connected to Birmingham New Street.
Barnsley – Not too long a walk, but it’s severely uphill to get to the ground.
Birmingham – It has its own station on match days.
Blackburn – It’s a fair walk from the local station or a taxi from the main one.
Blackpool – A fair walk and no shuttle bus.
Bolton – It has its own station at Horwich Parkway.
Brighton – It has its own station.
Bristol City – It’s a long walk.
Burnley – A far walk from the station.
Cardiff City – A fair walk from Grangetown station.
Chelsea – A fair walk from the Underground station.
Coventry – You have to walk across the City Centre to get a bus. Last year on New Year’s Day it didn’t run.
Crystal Palace – Two rail stations and the Overground, although it’s not too easy from some London terminals.
Derby – Walkable from the station.
Doncaster – Taxi or possibly a shuttle bus.
Everton – A match day bus from the train.
Fulham- A fair but pleasant walk from the Underground station.
Hull – Walkable from the rail station
Ipswich – A short walk from the station.
Leeds – A shuttle bus from Leeds station.
Leicester City – A fair walk from the station and no shuttle bus.
Liverpool – A match day bus from the train.
Manchester City – Difficult by bus, but they are building a tram.
Manchester United – A tram.
Millwall – It has its own station.
Middlesbrough – Walkable from the train station.
Newcastle – It has its own Metro station.
Norwich – A short walk from the station.
Nottingham Forest – Walkable from the station.
Peterborough – Walkable from the station.
Portsmouth – Walkable from Fratton station.
QPR – Two Underground stations, but not too well-connected to London termini.
Reading – There is a shuttle bus from the railway station.
Southampton – A fair walk from the railway station.
Stoke – Miles from the station, but there is a match day bus service.
Sunderland – It has its own Metro station.
Swansea – A long walk from the rail station.
Tottenham – Two train stations, but not that well connected to London termini.
Watford – Walkable from the station.
West Bromwich – It has its own rail station and tram stop.
West Ham – A short walk from Upton Park station.
Wigan – A long walk from the rail stations, and there is no match day bus. The club website says use a taxi.
Wolverhampton – A short walk from the rail station and the tram.
So some clubs are fairy ideal places to ave home matches on Boxing Day. Others like Blackburn, Blackpool, Bristol City, Cardiff City, Coventry, Leeds, Leicester, Southampton, Swansea and Wigan are definitely not, unless they break a habit of a lifetime and run a shuttle bus from the station.
To schedule what matches are played, it is a very simple matter and could even be organised like a cup draw. a list of practical pairs would need to be drawn up, when the teams in the division were finalised after the play-offs. Obviously conditions of distance and police views would prevail. So Arsenal could be paired with say Aston Villa, Fulham, Norwich, QPR, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton. I’ve left out Tottenham and Chelsea, as the police would probably want them on a less high-profile day.
You would start by drawing the home teams from the list of grounds with good transport connections. And then a draw would be made to see who they played.
There are a few problems however you do it, as both Newcastle and Sunderland are difficult to get to and the police would object to the derby on Boxing Day.
But I suspect with a bit of goodwill and co-operation between the rail companies, the FA and the police something could be worked out.
An aside here, and equally important, to those who don’t follow football, is that a lot of major shopping centres, like Meadowhall, the Metro Centre at Gateshead and Westfield and Eastfield in London have rail stations, so a good train service will help a lot more people.
I thought train companies were in business to make a profit. Surely with a bit of radical thinking, they could turn Boxing Day, into a nice little earner.
How About?
- Fans to football, rugby and other sporting events.
- Shoppers to large shopping centres.
- Families to the coast, big cities and other attractions.
- C and I often went on holiday on Boxing Day, as it can be a good day to fly long haul.
It might even help some get back to where they live and work a lot easier. Especially in these days of very complicated family relationships.
Suarez, Terry and Hansen
Luis Suarez has been given an eight match ban and a substantial fine for abusing Patric Evra in a racist manner. The ins and outs of the case are discussed in this article in the Daily Mail.
What annoys me about this case is the way that Liverpool and its fans will not let the matter drop. Suarez has been found guilty by the FA and may not normally be a racist, but it would seem that the evidence showed he said something very inappropriate.
It was very similar last night at Tottenham, with John Terry being cheered by Chelsea fans at every touch, after his well-publicised incident with Anton Ferdinand.
and then Alan Hansen makes a serious gaff on Match of the Day.
You could argue that his problem was less serious, as he was trying to make a serious statement and got the wrong words. Which of course he shouldn’t have done!
In the heat of the moment, we might all made statements appropriate to our feelings. I have several times said or mouthed things like “You stupid bastard”, when I’ve been cut up say, by another driver. But these days few of us would use any racial phrase in that sort of statement, even if they could have done, by virtue of the other person’s race. It doesn’t help either party.
In my view, the Terry case is the most serious of the three as the police have got involved. But then, this is not the first time, that the England captain has been touched by the law or scandal. Just read his Wikipedia entry.
In my view, John Terry’s real problem is that just like Alan Hansen, he has let himself down. He would not be the first footballer to do this and I hope he follows Tony Adams example and rebuilds his life constructively.
In some ways the pity of the Suarez and Terry cases is that the alleged offences were not spotted by the referee at the time. In that case, it would have been an immediate sending off, which would have probably calmed the situation somewhat, as sending off results in an immediate one-match ban, until the case is considered. So perhaps for racist behaviour it should be two or even a three match ban?
After all, if two of my employees had a racist spat, the first thing I’d do would be to send them home to cool off, whilst I discussed with my lawyers, whether I should fire someone.
The Anonymous Widower 