Battleship Ahoy!

Well there are a few football boats rocking out there at the moment.

There's the Good Ship Liverpool, where the 3 men in a boat seem to be upsetting the balance one way or another, with even more waves around them today as the rumours of a possible sell out get louder.

On HMS Chelsea, the skipper is shouting for the seas to calm, furious about the storm that has brewed since their defeat by Tottenham in the League Cup at the weekend.

Aboard the Pirate Ship Newcastle, the crew are starting to worry that they might sink.

Meantime, I'm hoping the Foxes have prepared their battleship properly for tomorrow's encounter with Cardiff.

We need to blow them right out of the water!!!

Cruel To Be Kind?

I have been pondering on one of the comments made in response to one of my recent posts that football is like a soap opera (thanks paul coombes!)

If I'm honest, true to my girlie nature, it was probably those soap opera qualities that drew me into football. It was my entry point really.

But there have been a number of events recently that have made me think beyond that. One was actually another comment on this blog by Mrs Dowie ,when I had been unkind about Iain Dowie, in which he talked about a kind act by the former Coventry manager. Another was the Eduardo/Taylor incident and all the aftermath.

Football is a soap opera. There is no doubt about it. Larger than life stories that take you to the fringes of belief. The madness of life in the fast lane. The bizarre coincidences that could never happen in real life.

These events, though, have reminded me of the difference between the two. Because although there is an element of the characters 'acting', in that they project a public persona (David Beckham can't possibly look that gorgeous all the time can he?), behind the soap opera are real people with real lives. And feelings.

And the whole world is their judge and jury as they live life in the spotlight.

So my feeling when I read tonight of the generosity of spirit of Eduardo and how it is bringing comfort to Taylor, was one of warmth towards two other human beings, touched by tragedy and digging deep to recover from the wounds it has left - physical and psychological.

I have resolved to try to always bear in mind that when I am considering delivering biting satire at the expense of some hapless victim, that what I say could be hurtful.

Except, of course, in the case of Leeds United, when cruelty is entirely justified.

One Thing Leads To Another

I'm absolutely shattered today. Emotionally and physically. It's been a long one.

I can barely put one foot in front of the other. The same could be said too of Eduardo today as he left hospital. We would both do well to remember that tomorrow is another day and nothing ever stays the same.

And talking of putting one foot in front of the other, I understand that is what David Beckham is saying he is going to focus on over the coming weeks as he battles to reach peak fitness.

And talking of battles, those naughty boys have been fighting again.

Which is what Richard Hope, Captain of Wrexam, is vowing to do to ensure they do not get relegated at the end of the season.

Unlike Liverpool, who in some quarters are saying that they should be challenging for the Premiership title.

Another challenge in the news, of course, is Middlesbrough's criticism of the FA's decision to not only reject their appeal against Aliadiere's ban but to extend it by a futher match.

And on the subject of matches, what about this proposal to have the vote for man of the match on line?

Did I say on-line? Good grief look at the time. I have been on line for over an hour. Time to stop I think and rest my weary head.

Goodnight girls - and boys too if there are any out there xx

Are You A Fox Or A Hedgehog?

If Football was a work of literature, what genre do you think it would be?

Perhaps horror. After all that is the label that has been attached to the Taylor tackle on Da Silva. And it is by no means the first.

Comedy maybe? Or a tragedy.

Something to touch the heart? Or a little bit sexy?

I think, though, it is probably a fable. Which means you need to decide whether you are a fox or a hedgehog.

What am I? Well girls, there are no spikes on me. I'm as foxy as they come.

Sometimes Things Just Happen

I have to say my heart goes out to both Eduardo da Silva and Martin Taylor today.

Da Silva is facing a nine month gradual return to fitness in the aftermath of his injury. He will miss this summer's European Cup, where he was due to play for Croatia and will have months of rehabilitation ahead of him.

Equally, from what I can gather, Taylor is distraut about what happened on Saturday. Voices speaking up on behalf of him are adamant that he is a gentle giant who would never execute a malicious tackle, let alone deliberately break someone's leg.

To be fair, his statistics support that. No yellow cards and only one red in his career. And Eduardo is not blaming him either.

Awful to think, then, that he is receiving death threats.

Sometimes these things just happen.

Maybe both of them can take some comfort that there is always someone worse off - leastways if this is to be believed.

The Football Curriculum

I've had an interesting day today.

My lover and I went down to Brighton. He went to see his daughter and I indulged in some retail therapy.

I won't bore you with all the details except to say that hanging monkeys and banana hair slides featured.

Of course I did not abandon my commitment and responsibilities to football, whatever the distractions. I mean how could I on League Cup day for goodness sake?

There I was wandering the streets with my little radio in my ears keeping me updated. At the mercy of the radio commentators.

Oh dear! What a lot they are. I mean talk about arm chair managers. And they are so inconsistent. One minute they are slagging off Ramos for his decision to deepen his defences once Spurs had scored their second goal, the next (once Spurs had won of course), hailing him as a god.

And Avram Grant who until today seemed to be defying the critics and winning praise from various quarters, including the media, has suddenly become incompetent.

I appreciate it is a quick fire activity. I respect that they have to keep talking about something, even when nothing is happening. And I admire the way they are able to offer up-to-the-second commentary on fast moving action. I sometimes find I learn a lot from their explanations.

At other times, though, they do seem to struggle with various aspects of the football curriculum;

Maths for example;

'Peru score their third, and it's 3-1 to Scotland.' - DAVID COLEMAN
'Arsenal are quick to credit Bergkamp with laying on 75% of their nine goals.' - TONY GUBBA
'Ian Rush is deadly ten times out of ten, but that wasn't one of them.' - PETER JONES

History;

'Tottenham are trying tonight to become the first London team to win this cup. The last team to do so was the 1973 Spurs team.' - MIKE INGHAM

Biology;

'Celtic manager Davie Hay still has a fresh pair of legs up his sleeve.' - JOHN GREIG
'...he's using his favourite left foot..' - ITV commentator
'Dumbarton player Steve McCahill has limped off with a badly cut forehead.' - TOM PERRIE

Domestic Science;

'The Uruguayans are losing no time in making a meal around the referee.' - MIKE INGHAM
'And Rush, quick as a needle...' - RON JONES
'...a tale of too many cooks in the defence.' - IAN BROWN
'A smoked salmon sandwich of a football match if ever there has been one.' - PETER DRURY
'He runs a very tightly knit ship' - ROB HAWTHORNE

Literature;

'Emile Zola has scored again for Chelsea' - Radio 5 Live
'They say football is unscripted drama and this match certainly hasn't followed the script tonight.' - CONOR MCNAMARA

Languages;

'It's deja vu all over again.' - GARY BLOOM
'Cantona's expression speaking the whole French dictionary without saying a word.' - BARRY DAVIES

Geography;

'Stockport usually play at Edgeley Park, but this time they've come to Maine Road, because, um, this is an away game' - OSKU LAUKKANEN

They do, however, appear to excel at stating the bleeding obvious;

'If that had gone in, it would have been a goal' - DAVID COLEMAN
'Leeds are enjoying more possession now that they have the ball.' - SIMON BROTHERTON
'In this sort of match, whoever scores the most goals wins' - PORTUGUESE COMMENTATOR
'At the beginning it was a 90 minute game, at halftime it was a 45 minute game and now it's even shorter.' - ABC COMMENTATOR

Being a girl just learning about football, it's no wonder I get confused.

Don't It Make Your Green Eyes Blue

Why did Kevin Keegan go back to Newcastle? I remember him saying something about unfinished business. I didn't see any 'job done' look in his eyes today I have to say.

I'm sure he has made a mistake. Remember never go back?

And Wenger, the man who never sees anything (leastways not when his players are misbehaving). His eyes were certainly working today. He saw the pain in Eduardo's eyes. Poor man.

We shouldn't let the events of today distract us from the Liverpool situation either. A good win in the end but a shaky start within a shakier context. One to still keep an eye on I would say.

As for the Foxes. Another 2 nil defeat. Enough to make my green eyes turn blue.

Leicester To My Roots

I can't get to the match today unfortunately as I am having my roots done.

That's where I am off to now. Complete with my tiny radio to listen to Talk Sport and Ian Holloway autobiography. I'm not wearing my Leicester City shirt though because it'll get all itchy when I have my ends trimmed.

I'll be back later to report on events at the M69 Derby and other footballing stories of the day.

And of course I will be 'rooting' for those Foxes.

Do You Feel Lucky Punk?

Apparently we Foxes have a lucky charm. A lucky potato to be exact.

I've talked before about luck, but what about the lengths people go to to create it?

• Lucky pants
• Following certain principles
• Charms and talismans
• Crossing fingers
  

and somewhat surprisingly this.

According to this, my lucky charm is a dragon.

A little bit of luck makes the world go around. And the ball go in the back of the net.

Hopefully we will get our share tomorrow as we face Coventry.

There But For The Grace Of God ....

I was really sad to learn of Paul Gascoigne's troubles.

Mental health problems can affect any of us. Did you know for example;

• According to the Office for National Statistics, 1 in 4 British adults experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any one year, and one in six experiences this at any given time.
• Between 8 and 10% of the population experience depression in any one year
• Suicide is the most common form of death in men under 35

The most common forms of mental health problems are;

• Alcohol and drug problems
• Anorexia and Bulimia
• Anxiety and Phobias
• Bereavement
• Depression
• Memory problems/dementia
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Personality disorder
• Sleep problems
• Stress
• Schizophrenia
• Post Traumatic Stress
• Post Natal Depression

Awful enough to be coping with such difficulties but to have to do it in the public spotlight makes it so much worse. Just ask this woman.

Wherever you are tonight Gazza we are thinking of you. Thanks for the magic.