At Four O’Clock The Dream Is Over

Good morning.

Football can be a cruel mistress. Arry’s in this morning’s Sun sounding as moribund about the England gig as he has been about the Tottenham one. Talk of players caring more about their club than country. Welcome to the 21st century. 

I’m noticing the increasing frequency that Bobby Moore’s name is coming up in Redschnapp’s conversations and can’t help but feel the old goat is feeling rather sorry for himself. The call from the FA never came and instead a Grammar school boy from Walton has stolen his thunder, his legacy. 

He’ll be furious that the compensation to Spurs was such a killer issue. But what he won’t want to contemplate is that the FA for all their faults, would have been earnestly looking for reasons not to employ him. It’s the way creaking, reactionary, organisations like that work. 

Arry emerged from Court a born again citizen.  An exonerated payer of taxes and everyfink. The Newcastle game saw him ecstatic. Every goal that went in was  a smack in the face to the naysayers and mickey takers. ‘Have some of that. I am a fantastic manager!‘

But he lacked all self control. Instead of working hard to try and ensure an fitting finale to a fantastic season; he fell into the classic trap of jumping the gun and saw something that might well happen as something that was definitely going to happen.

The most defiant supporters of Arry cling onto to his achievements prior to this fiasco. They’re drunks clinging on to a lamppost.  It’s all about support, not illumination. 

And Arry fans needs to get a grip. Not as in acknowledge they’re deluded, but in the manner they approach this whole mess. It’s an online debate. It’s discussion on a blog. On the Internet. Not people shouting abuse through player’s letterboxes at four in the morning.

Very fair criticism has been labelled, ‘vile abuse’ by the pompous who want to police people who don’t share their views. These clowns should be sending people like me flowers and fine wines as a thank you for diffusing the rage from spilling out onto the terraces.  And rage is what we’re talking about. 

‘Oh, so called fans like you weren’t about when we had Santini and Francis and gawd knows who else …’ they dredge up. How is the fact it used to be awful in the past remotely relevant to what’s happening in the here and now? Do you, ‘laugh off’ a broken leg because whilst it hurts like hell, it’s not a patch on the heart attack you had a few years ago? I could weep.

Roy’s supposedly been had marathon meetings with the FA yesterday and an announcement is tipped to be made this afternoon. Roy would be potty to take the job. Stark raving mad. His spell at Liverpool saw him flirting with the Mental Health Act and why he now believes he could survive being repeatedly slung down the well of sorrow that is the British press is anyone’s guess. 

Blackburn produced 3 points. Those points are banked and nobody can touch ’em. But Blackburn were gormless. We’ll be lucky indeed if our remaining three opponents are as kind.

What I’d like from Arry now are some statements of intent. Chelsea have just bought Marin who is a decent player. Arsenal are now being mentioned on an almost daily basis in the same breath as Vertonghen Spurs fans are easy to win round.

Stop peddling garbage, ‘I woz gunna sign Tevez, honest guv, we’ve been looking at Hazard.’ …I was going to marry a supermodel and I spent a hour yesterday looking for some keys. You are talking garbage. Stop it.

Ship in someone fresh for the back-line and stop talking to the press. Tell them you’re too busy training to stop. Stop dreaming away our season and maybe, just maybe you can get us out this mess that you got us into.