Smoking Gun

Sir Alex is a powerful man.

But can he really influence the hand of god?

All A Question Of Perception

It's a rare thing to be in the presence of a deity.

Which perhaps makes it all the more surprising that Terry Butcher has refused to shake Maradonna's hand - or indeed touch any other part of his body.

Clearly a man who bears a grudge.

And after all, as the holy one explained, whats a little bending of the rules between friend?

It's all a question of perception.

For example what about poor misunderstood Drogba? Given a 3 match ban for throwing a few coins into the crowd.

And Ramos, a man of few words, whose quiet brooding manner was interpreted as not grasping the English language or forming any sort of relationship with his players.

It's a tough old world when people don't understand you.

Gottcha!

I had planned to write a blog about April Fools day yesterday, but as I explained earlier I had a date with a black Welshman and a hyperactive Ukrainian.

I would have moved on today, until a sneaky peak on the net suggested that it was something worth pursuing.

Did you know, for example, that Accrington Stanley played a trick on fans yesterday? Funny thing is though, it seems to have backfired because people really liked the idea.

Another one that backfired was the 1989 story started by a Naples TV Station that Maradona and Madonna were having a fling and that she was expecting his baby. La Mano de Dios struck again however when he forced them to issue an on-air apology the following day.

My favorite, though, is the story here in my area in 1981 when local papers ran a story that Paul Newman was buying Forest Green Rovers.

I always wondered why he didn't.

Thanks to The Run Of Play for clearing things up for me.

Blessed By La Mano De Dios

Diego Maradona is 47 today.

An interesting footballing character. Some would say the best footballer of all time.

So much so that in 2002 some of his fans created a church in his name. For these 'disciples', whilst Jesus is the "God of Reason" Maradona is the "God of the Heart".

They count time from when he was born - 30th October 1960. Which makes this AD47 (presumably Anno Diego).

To celebrate today's occasion, two couples underwent symbolic marriages in the presence of a football. The "priest" blessed the unions with the words, "Let no man separate what the God of football has united'.

The man, or should one say deity, himself married in 1989 in a flashy affair, which was somewhat blighted by a more earthy response to one photographer in the form of a punch on the nose.

His "god-like" qualities to his fans are in his renowned footballing skills. For others this reputation has more to do with his "hand of god" goal scored in the quarter final of the 1986 World Cup. The "allegation" is that the goal was scored by a "handball" foul. Maradona himself originally denied that his hand touched the ball, explaining that it was the "hand of god" that put the ball in the net. He has since accepted that it was his hand that scored the goal, but justified it as a response to the Falklands conflict. He said "Whoever robs a thief gets a 100-year pardon."

I guess it's all a question of belief.

Left Is Best

I'm left handed. And proud of it.

Unfortunately, being left handed has not always been regarded as a good thing. Indeed, right handers have a history of persecuting us poor lefties.

There have been many famous left handed people through the ages. Leonardo Da Vinci, Ghandi, Aristotle, Beethoven and even, according to this article, Jesus Christ.

We Lefties (who are controlled by the right hemisphere of our brains) are reputedly good at music, art, creativity, perception, spatial awareness and, (not surprisingly if you have met me), genius. We are also supposed to be able to think more quickly, and this is deemed to be particularly valuable in sport, including football.

Predictably, then, there have been a number of famous football players who favour their left side. Diego Maradonna is deemed by some to be the best left sided footballer ever.

This commentator thinks the best footballers are those who can play with both feet and that not enough attention is paid to practising with the weaker limb.

Not sure of the 'handedness' of any of The Foxes players but I would settle for one effective foot on each if it meant they beat Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow. Given their disappointing 0 - 0 draw against Wolves earlier in the week, though, I am not holding my breath. If I did I would probably risk asphyxiation.

PS: I have solved my internet problem. Turned out to be interference from my lover's car alarm! So I've made him park down the road - and told him I will tolerate no more interference.

Tiddy Oggie Señor

Cornish tin miners were responsible to introducing football to Mexico. So I read on a large display board at Paddington Station today.

The display did not mention their other key export to Latin America - the Cornish pastie.

Amazing isn't it. Where there is football there are pies.

Mexico has of course continued its involvement in football since then, qualifying for 13 world cups, including the last four. And if a report earlier this week is to be believed, Argentinian Diego Maradona is set to return to coaching there.

The football tradition in Cornwall, however, seems to have flourished to a slightly lesser degree. In fact if you were to count the number of Cornish clubs in the Premiership, Championship and top two league divisions you would find .... um...... none.

Reassuringly the Cornish FA does have its own website, with articles on important topics such as goal post safety.

Of course the Mexicans do have a distinct advantage, being the speedy types.