Football has been tribal and jingoistic for over a century. Where it succeed in penetrating beyond the scope of a mere sport, it is inherently primitive. This can be a healthy way for people to remain in contact with all that is important in life but it’s often not.
Writing in today’s Sun, former Celtic player (good grief) , Ian ‘Wrighty’ Wright said: “The next young player who says he does not want to play for England should be ordered to ring the parents of a soldier who has died serving his country in Afghanistan and tell them his reasons”.
To invoke the memory of those who have sacrificed their lives in order to rebuke reluctant footballers is beyond primitive, it is debased and ugly. Bereaved parents would surely be sickened at attempts to equate their sacrifice with a football game. Football and our media have lost their way. Wright should be ashamed, but he won’t be, it’s nonsense like this which newspapers pay for. His media value will have increased.
Harry Redknapp’s ill-made comments about Spurs players not wanting to travel for England games are also a nonsense. There’s not a top-flgiht manager in the game who’s yet to experience players reluctant to fly to Tbilisi, or some other distant destination, for a friendly instead of resting at home with his family. If you are a top pro, these games hold little excitement or value and come at a fitness cost, to pretend otherwise is being duplicitous.
Players with imposing club demands can see these games far enough. Those involved in European football often have two games per week for months, depleting resources and adding strains to muscles. A flight to the back of beyond before a thankless task of a game is simply not an attractive offer. Most players go, but let’s be honest, almost all will choose times to back out occasionally.
England are hurting after an awful World Cup but it will be counter-productive to hand the stage over to jingoistic lunatics. And ‘Wrighty’, if anyone asks you to pull the Paradise Windfall one day, don’t feel obliged to pitch up.
Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his book, All the Best.
[calameo code=0003901719d82038831a9 lang=en page=126 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
1,013 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- ...
- 27
- »
ryecatcher
It as a sweeping generalisation therefore it must be singular, MUSTY.
Lefty…………
Keep The Faith
HH
WC,
Thanks for your reply. For me, it is very unusual. When I think of a player, I usually think of some incident(s) in a game or games. With Joe, I just see him sticking the ball in the net at the rangers end. Mind you, maybe that is because, just before he got that injury, all he seemed to do was put the ball in the net. Best goalscorer I have ever seen.
Sandman
I heard WGS the other night …quite enlightening
60 million Englishmen and not one centre back among them that can win a header from a long high punt down the middle.
Gene pool deficiency.
The WGS stuff was interesting and maybe more applicable back in the 80s (which he was referencing) but it doesn’t really excuse players cheating/assaulting/biting.
Plenty of world class players who didn’t cheat were also brought up in poverty.
There’s always a line between being dirty and a scumbag.
Liverpool between a rock and a hard place now. Best case senario for them will be to punt LS to Madrid for 40-50m, but say cheerio to the league for sure. There’s no one to replace him.
Ryecatcher
Cannot see why you would support an ex player of your club?
Both Barca and Real are biting at the bit to sign him.
marrakesh express
Maybe no other player got a going over like Diego did that day, was really meaning that most teams in those days were adept at using cynical tactics. Was it not that tournament that Schumacher took out Battiston which in turn led to the last man rule coming about?
Thanks to leftclicktic and gordybhoy64 for the kind feedback
Just clicked the BBC red button to see Pele’s amazing try from the halfway line in the 70 World Cup,gets nearer tae the post every time ah see it :)
….PFayr supports WeeOscar
20:31 on 24 June, 2014
Sandman
I heard WGS the other night …quite enlightening
=========================================
Yes.
For 28 years I’ve bemoaned that Uruguay game. Then you get his first-hand perspective and you realise the acute differences in meaning the game can have for cultures.
And then Suarez exemplifies it with that chomp – and you see his reaction at full time and he’s suddenly out of his instinctive, conditioned ‘zone’ and objectifying the situation; creeping dismay at the forthcoming storm.
There should be no whataboutery regarding Suarez, we all have seen leg breaking tackles we have seen downright blackguarding on the pitch. However all these despicable actions should not be trotted out to somehow minimise what Suarez has now done on at least 3 occasions Yes he is a brilliant footballer and yes I rejoiced when he hammered in the winner against England, but he is a seriously flawed individual. I hope he gets banned for 6 months at least. .
Probably should have signed off when I said I would and wouldn’t have seen the racist comments
Marrakesh Express
I don’t see Liverpool having a chance in the league with or without Suarez,
think their chance went last year,they will have the CL this year to focus on too
and don’t have the squad to compete on all levels
Even if Suarez was offered to Celtic for nothing – for me it would be a definite fangs but no fangs…
Heard wgs a few times during this world cup.he shows good insight imo.i particularly liked his critique of the end of tipi-tapi pass and run game the spanish play, with the rise of athletico etc he said runs were getting matched by more fitter, technically gifted and athletic footballers
HH
Ohandhenevertalksdownthecelticsc
Also BBC red button five of the worst misses, Yakubu Nigeria even worse than Van Vossen :)
Surely neither Barca nor Real will buy Suarez after that. FIFA will throw the book at him and he’ll be damaged goods. No?
I haven’t witnessed Suarez latest bit of idiocy. But I did hear WGS the other evening talking about what motivates so many players today. I certainly didn’t get the impression that he was in any way making a case for such behaviour as Suarez exemplifies. Suarez should be banned for the remainder of the WC and, if the likes of Barca or Real Madrid will “stomach” him, which wouldn’t surprise me, Liverpool should offload him immediately.
Caltontongues
Read back a bit there..chianticsc
Belter :-)
Catching Up
Delaneys Dunky – thoughts and prayers with Molly
Lionsroar67, liked that wee clip, pass and move at pace, wow, aboot time we played like that training exercise :-)
Congrats to big Stubbsy, ( gooood player for us) good luck in winning that league,
Big Leftclicktic, your an absolute star big mhan :-)
Hail Hail
sandman
The fecker broke the skin,hence the infection
Wit a time my mate and his family had waiting for the results
They thought hep C ,aids, all sorts
Thankfully the tests came back clear
HH
Lininker, shearer and the usual clowns dissing old Georgious. Hope has the last laugh.
HH
Shoulder of Lahm on the menu if Suarez plays v Germany later in tourny?
ryecatcher
musty try harder at school?!
Aye you should have .
Link to the summary of the report about how to reduce health inequalities in Britain.
http://www.britac.ac.uk/templates/asset-relay.cfm?frmAssetFileID=13278
The report contains nine articles on how to move towards better health equality, and the first of these articles advocates implementing a living wage.
Seems that the whole ethos of reducing health inequalities is consistent with other Celtic Foundation and club initiatives.
For Celtic to walk away from this forum…something is amiss.
They actually sat down with the Living Wage Commission and the Celtic Foundation so initially must have had good intent.
As far as I can tell, the club have not said anything publicly about the decision to withdraw and I have learned more from Auldheid today than previously from any other source.
Who is responsible for PR and Media Relations at Celtic?
We keep operating behind the curve and seem to make any issue worse by doing so.
HH
If the way chiles was going on is representative of the english people i reckon an invasion is on the cards?
Whats the chances of oil being found in uruguay?
Uruguay will be toothless without Suarez.
(Jacket on, taxi phoned)
A good mate had England at 66-1 not to win a game in the WC.
Badgeman if yer here am on the ferry and the beers are on you!!!
Big sammi playing through middle, fancy the Ivory Coast to win by two goals.
Big sol Bamba, remember him?
Sick and tired of apologists for ‘over-paid’ footballers and Suarez in particular.
Too often we hear the cry; poor upbringing, getting out the gutter, culture etc – p#sh!
No matter anyone’s background as they grow up they are taught; put your hand in a fire and you get burnt, walk in front of a car and you get knocked down, steal and most likely you will get punished.
Suarez finds it difficult to grasp ‘normal’ culture and choose between right and wrong? Heck he has no problem when it comes to making a choice about; wages, the Aston Martin or the Ferrari, the Omega or the Rolex, the semi or the detached house.
If FIFA have any balls they should ban him from International Football – sine die!
If Suarez ever bites a Chile player, let’s hope he picks on one of thae really red hot wans.
Gordybhoy
Also Chelsea will be better as will Man U
Man City will continue to improve and maybe Arsenal too
Liverpool had five players in the England team …see how that went
Nice all green kit for the Ivoire Coasters.
HH!!
‘Samaras hasn’t scored regularly for Greece. His last was in the quarter final of Euro 2012’
‘Of course, he’s scored massive goals for Celtic both in Europe and the powder-keg Glasgow derby, so he’s obviously more than capable of scoring tonight’ *
*said no one ever in English commentary
‘mon Sammy….
Leave wee Luis alone
The wee guys teeth are that big they collide with other players
Tallybhoy
Careful … You can’t make coasters out of ivory these days ;)