Sport: Up the Albion!
Mark Brailsford on the battle at hand
Have you been enjoying the Paolo Di Canio comedy show? Sunderland have scored a massive PR own goal by appointing a man who it is widely known, may have espoused fascist sympathies. The good people of the North East, a lot of whom either fought fascism or had relatives who died doing so, are conspicuous by their dignity. It’s a little surprising that this insult to their memory is being taken so well considering the implications of having a fascist football manager. But herein lies the rub. Aren’t most football managers inherently fascist in one way or another? The modern football manager as dictator is an accepted modus operandi and most supporters of clubs want their managers to rule their players with the iron rod of discipline and drive their team onto glorious conquest.
The language employed by the media is also reminiscent of the lexicon of war. Take for example: some matches are described as a “battle,” often teams are “put to the sword”, when teams are attacking they are often urged to “kill them off” and who can forget the time honoured, “midfield general?” These are terms you often hear in television and radio commentary, so, should we be surprised when an unsophisticated football practitioner exhibits right wing, militaristic tendencies?
The truth is probably more complex than simple left/right, fascist/communist, black/white. In truth, the human race is a mixture of colourful and paradoxically complex personality types, this is what liberal types find enjoyable about the human condition. But when a man who has been photographed doing a salute that would get him imprisoned in Germany becomes a manager of a Premier League club, this sends a terrible signal to the world at large, that football is an inclusive force for good.
“Expect the Sunderland job to be available again anytime soon”
As for Gus, how many Premier League jobs are going to go to inferior managers before his yearning for a top Premier League job takes him away from The Amex? The money alone is worth considering. Assuming (guesswork here) that you could double your salary by moving on, you would, wouldn’t you? Expect the Sunderland job to be available again anytime soon and the summer to be a constant drip, drip of speculation as to which big club will come in for our Gus. We may just have to suck it up and await the next generalissimo to jump into the “firing line” and lead “the blue and white army” “on to victory.” But thankfully in Mr Bloom we have a chairman savvy enough not to appoint any actual fascists at The Amex. Poor Sunderland, poor decision, great copy for media and this is a comedy show that will run and run.
The Albion join London to Amsterdam charity ride
Brighton & Hove Albion are joining the Football League in a 155 mile challenge in aid of Prostate Cancer UK.
All manner of club representatives from players to club officials will be taking to the saddle and riding from London to Amsterdam. The ride begins on June 14 and aims to help the 250,000 men living with prostate cancer in the UK.
The route is planned in such a way to give the participants an excellent view as they pass through the English countryside. They will then cross The Channel at Harwich before setting foot on the flat landscape of Dutch Zeeland. Among the volunteers is former England and AC Milan striker Luther Blissett with other footballing legends expected to follow suit and sign up. Luther acknowledged the fierce rivalry between clubs but said, “We’ll definitely be all on the same team when it comes to raising awareness and funds for prostate cancer.”
The organising of the event comes after the Football League chose Prostate Cancer UK as it’s partner for the 2012/13 season. Owen Sharp, Chief Executive of The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: “This is the biggest cancer in men and football is the biggest sport for reaching and involving men.
So, partnering with The Football League is an incredible opportunity for us to reach and support thousands of football-mad men who will face this cancer.” Albion fans can find more details by visiting www.prostatecanceruk.org/ amsterdam
Words: Henry Smith
Upcoming matches
Middlesbrough Away: The matches are getting tighter and the tension is mounting as the season reaches it’s nail-biting climax. With Albion still in with a shout of the play-off places anything could happen in this game at The Riverside. After their free-fall from the top six earlier in the year, Tony Mowbray’s team will want to grasp the opportunity to dominate an Albion team that look strong in defence and capable of nicking a win at the other end. If the Forrest game was anything to go by, this will be another tough battle that Albion could get a point from if they don’t concede early.
Peterborough: Then comes the usual 3-point banker. In cricketing terms Peterborough are Albion’s equivalent of the fast bowlers’ “bunny’ the one batsman they always get out. Peterborough have a habit of losing to The Albion that they are not proud of. But as we all know, football is a funny old game, it would not be a surprise to see Peterborough stick five goals past the Pole in Goal in the first half and Albion put six past them in the second. Anything can and probably will happen in this game. Great away end for standing though.
Words: Mark Brailsford
