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.
Crystal Palace 3 – Ipswich 1
Selhurst Park is a dump. It looks like it’s been nicked from all sorts of places and to me sums up why as a North Londoner, you rarely venture far south of the River. Whoever’s idea it was to put the river in the centre of London had a good one, as it creates a proper barrier between what is worth seeing and what is not. Selhurst Park is definitely in the once seen, why did you bother category.
Selhurst Park
This picture shows the bad view from the visitors’ stand, but it doesn’t do justice to the old wooden seats, the cramped conditions, the bad screen and the general dereliction of most of the ground. The pitch wasn’t good either.
The football was ruined by the sending off of Jon Stead. The foul was bad, but as he’d just been upended by a Palace player I suspect, he was too angry to think about what he was doing. It was the sort of foul though, that some referees would have been lenient with.
So I left a few minutes before the end and struggled to get back to civilisation, eventually taking a bus and then a train from Penge. And that was cold, but then all trains south of the Thames seem to be much colder than those north of the river.
I’ve now woken up and found I have a splinter in my palm. From those dreaded wooden seats no doubt!
Stuart Hall
There have been some wonderful masters of the English language, who have not trod the boards or written great books, but have entertained us doing sports reports on the radio.
I remember virtually a whole lifetime listening to those great broadcasters, John Arlott, EW Swanton, Brian Johnston, Henry Blofeld and others on the BBC’s Test Match Special. Sadly, for whatever reason the use of the more eccentric commentators seems to be on the wane.
I listen to and watch a lot of football on both radio and television and none of the live commentators have either the irreverence or command of the language of say an Arlott or a Johnston. But when it comes to match summaries, there are one or two, who uphold the tradition.
Years ago, Geoffrey Green would enchant everybody with his reports on Sports Report on the BBC every Saturday. He would always do an absolutely wonderful two minutes on the match he had watched. This is the conclusion in this entry in Wikipedia.
It is safe to say that like the FA Cup, Geoffrey Green set the bonfire of football writing alight with his rhapsodic flow of words that were never used before to describe the simple yet beautiful game of football. His career paralleled the rise of football from a restricted and disjointed following in most countries until the arrival of the World Cup and European Cup, to being firmly entrenched as the king of games with such a popularity to rival even the Olympics. English football and its unique history will always remain secure in the knowledge that Geoffrey Green has cached the folklore of its incipient era.
He probably had more effect on my newspaper reading habits, as I still buy The Times, which I first bought to read his football reports, such was their prose. I can remember reading his report of the League Cup Final where Swindon beat Arsenal in the League Cup Final. It’s one of his many classics.
Today we have no Geoffrey Greens on the radio, but we do have Stuart Hall reporting from the School of Science (Everton) and the Theatre of Base Comedy (Manchester City) amongst others. His use of language is to say the least different!
What prompted this entry, is that on Christmas Day, the much-loved Hall is eighty. He was interviewed on BBC Radio 5 this week and gave us all this memorable quote.
Life is a long joke. You don’t get the punchline until you’re six feet under.
We need more Halls, Greens, Arlotts, Johnstons and Blofelds, but I doubt we’ll see their ilk in the future.
Thanks and No Thanks Mr. Hughes
It seems that Moneybags Manchester City are doing their best to alienate everybody.
To someone who has watched football for many years, the problem at City is the team. Or the fact that they aren’t one! It’s probably impossible to get the City’s bunch of mercenaries to work as one anyway.
Mancini will need time to clear out the non-triers, buy a load more players and then get his team. But will he get the time needed?
Fighting Talk
This program on BBC Radio 5, is sometimes the highlight of Saturday. Especially, this Saturday, when I was hoping to go to see Ipswich at Scunthorpe and then have supper with an old friend. But the match has been called off and I don’t know what is going to happen about supper.
So I’m listening to Fighting Talk. They sometimes bring up subjects that really get you going.
The first is the game of Bum Hoopla. Apparently, someone went to a lucky dip Christmas Party, where a Bum Hoopla set was one of the prizes. Unfortunately, it was won by one of the women in the office…
They also brought up the subject of double duvets in football colours. One of my sons had a Liverpool duvet as a kid, but now he has seen sense and supports Ipswich. I wouldn’t have one on my bed, even if you could get one, but just imagine bringing a new lady to your bedroom and seeing a full size duvet cover in say Manchester United. For most women that would be a real turn-off.
I did find one in Arsenal colours. Yuck!
What Elans are for!
Although the Elan limped home from Holland on Sunday, it is now fit and very well. Should it be he, she or it? Incidentally, the refitting of the gear-box cable, replacement of two instrument panel lights, a quick check on all wearable parts and a very good valet cost just £84. Perhaps a very good reason to buy an old Lotus Elan.
Last night, I wanted to go to London to do some shopping and have supper with my middle son. My youngest son, wanted a car, so he needed the Jaguar, so despite the forecast of rain, I took the Elan and parked it in Blackhorse Road for the Underground. As an aside here, if they want to encourage people to use public transport, why do they still charge £3.50 to use the car-park at the station at all times of the day? That applies even if you park at five in the afternoon, when the car-park is half-empty.
I was raining hard, but the M11 wasn’t that busy, so I did push it a bit. But there wasn’t really any standing water, so the journey was safe. But does every car handle as nimbly and well in the rain? Visibility is very good and the wipers create a clear screen, although perhaps not quite as clear on the Jaguar. But then the car is a twenty-year-old design! An hour after leaving home and I was in the car park at Blackhorse Road.
The return journey was clear and without incident. I was also listening to the football on the radio in the car. Not the original, I should say, that wasn’t the best because of the plastic body, but a new SONY, that seems to work well in all conditions. I can even get BBC Radio 5 on the other side of the North Sea in Holland.
I may have had my problems in the last year, but if I want to feel really alive and get a lift, I just get in the Elan and drive.
That’s Elans they are for!
Beckham to the Rescue
The English World Cup Bid is in trouble. Just too many egos and too many faceless bureaucrats.
So today, David Beckham has been pressing flesh and smoothing up to those that make the decisions in FIFA.
He’s a star.
The Anonymous Widower 