31st December 2010 Mark Stewart Wood  Cambridge News

‘tis the season to be jolly? From a footballing perspective the coming festivities will bring a welcome respite to the clouds of doom on the horizons of many struggling clubs. The recent spate of bad weather has meant a dearth of fixture fulfilment by the U’s with only welcome progress in the FA Trophy to break the monotony and give the Club some much needed income. 

Merry Christmas then to Sam Allardyce, sacked for only getting Blackburn to thirteenth in the Premier League. Same dues to Chris Hughton, one of big Sam’s predecessors at perennial nearly men Newcastle. Removed from position with his team in the top half of the league and after taking the Mags back into the promised land. This after a brief spell in the Championship caused in part by the actions of an egotistic owner anxious to throw his considerable weight about with little concern for the ordinary fan.   Hughton was never really welcome in Newcastle but it says a lot for the mind set at that club that his dismissal followed a restoration to the top flight. This coming after Alan Shearers convincing display that to talk about the game on Match of the Day doesn’t mean that one can begin to attempt to manage a professional football club.

Merry Christmas also to Carlos Tevez, his goal scoring record second to none and oh what a lucky man able to turn down a purported £250,000 a week at Manchester City over those ubiquitous ‘personnel issues’.  

Finally Merry Christmas indeed to Sepp Blatter and his fellows at FIFA. A former boss of mine gave me some sage advice after a business deal went a little astray. His exact words were not designed for consumption in a family newspaper but went along the lines of ‘don’t trust ANYbody’. As the person in question later retired as a billionaire he was probably quite sound in his opinion. Pity that the FA, the future monarch, and the current head of government in this country did not learn this salutary lesson before abasing themselves at the feet of this Swiss cheese.

Let’s finish this column with two quotes from Mr Blatter and let him hang himself on his own words.

On women footballers, they should "wear tighter shorts and low cut shirts... to create a more female aesthetic", no sign of sexism there, then Sepp?

On homosexual footballers and the problems associated with giving the 2022 World Cup to Qatar where such liberal freedoms are illegal he said ‘"I would say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities’.  

Sepp Blatter's views on racism are unpublished.

Back To All The OLD CFU NEWS