A beginner’s guide to FOOTIE (part 1)
Eboué, Touré, Senderos,Flamini,Hleb,Silva, Fabregas, Pires, Ljungberg, LehmannNo this isn’t your new vocabulary list. If I added Henry (shouldn’t that be Henri?) you’d realise it was the Arsenal team that beat Argentina/Villareal last week. With the help of Sol Campbell, they managed to survive the second leg as well. I watched this match in a bar in Barcelona.
I’m home now and hear that Barcelona will also go to Paris for the Champions League Final.
So why no British names on the list? Lots of reasons…but does it matter?
‘Wayne Rooney’ is a good honest (?) British name. Homegrown talent - nurtured, trained and hero-worshipped by Everton. He defected to Man U for an obscene amount of money. Still, he had to keep Colleen in frocks somehow. For what other reason would she choose to wake up next to him each morning?
In the early sixties I supported Blackburn Rovers. I went to every home match. My pic was on the front page of the Bolton Evening News when my mates and I went there for the FA cup semi final in 1960. Yes ,1960, and I still have all my own teeth.
The Rovers were all white and all British. One of them was even called ‘England’ (Mike). There was Dave Whelan (JJB), Derek Dougan (new boy), Bryan Douglas, Peter Dobing, Matt Woods, Harry Leyland in goal, Ronnie Clayton (capt) … yes I know that’s Steve Mc Donald’s woman. Ally McLeod played on the wing (!) before becoming the Scotland Manager.
We girls would have loved a Thierry Henry. But -THE POINT IS - the team never seemed to change all that often. I knew those players like members of my family. We were loyal to the team and they were loyal to us. They usually left Rovers because they couldn’t run fast enough, not for pots of money. Over recent seasons, most Liverpool fans would have been hard pressed to identify most of their team.
So, YES, we want Thierry and Eric Cantona and Mikel Arteta (my Basque). But we also want the time to get to know and love our team and for our team to get to know each other.
Leon Osman doesn’t sound quite as English as Wayne Rooney, but he was also trained by Everton. He cost nothing in 2003 and is now making a real name for himself in top class football.
KAZ
posted by KAZ at 6:51 pm
9 Comments:
Everton fan, Kaz? How the hell does that happen to a person?
sl
YES - it means a sad life with compulsory mood swings. But it's a political decision to get through a weekend without tears. In my heart it's still Blackburn Rovers and Ronnie Clayton.
Was it you who wrote Ally's Army?
I can't imagine The Doog ever being a new boy.
I have had to say I've been an Aston Villa fan for the past 30 odd years, which hasn't been very exciting.
However, for domestic reasons (see the comment from the decrepit looking individual who asks the question about Ally's Army) I now follow the ups and downs of another claret and blue clad team, West Ham. I expect the F A Cup Final to be very nerve racking.
Geoff
No, but for totally incomprehensible reasons my mates and I were in love with him. To us he was a sex God???
Betty
I think you are describing the same reason I follow Everton i.e. political. Again - same blue and white as Rovers. I'll be shouting for West Ham.
So will I. As a Manchester United supporter, I cannot want Liverpool to ever win anything. Ever. Really, ever.
So come on you, 'Ammers!
sl
As an Everton fan I totally agree with every word.
What's football please? ;)
BW: Its something Wayne Rooney used to do. I feel so guilty for saying those bad things about him now.
Ignorance is bliss!
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