Picture the scene. A big sporting event, held in a venue that cost hundreds of millions of pounds, and it is raining. It is raining hard. It looks like God has turned on a shower over the stadium. The fans are dry - well, most of them are - but the players are getting absolutely soaked. There is a roof on the stadium but that is not stopping the rain on the pitch.
This is not the farce in Poland on Tuesday. This is not the Poland National Stadium. This is August 25th, the Carnegie Challenge Cup final between Warrington Wolves and Leeds Rhino. This is Wembley, and although the roof is closed, thanks to some genius the roof does not cover the pitch, and never will.
While Adrian Chiles and his three stooges, along with the fourth estate, ridiculed Poles, Poland, and the Poland FA (as well as FIFA, UEFA, the referee, British Rail and the boogeyman), the England FA must be filling its pants while it waits to be put out to dry whenever the clouds gather over Wembley.
Poland's National Stadium cost £400million. Wembley cost double. Like it's counterpart, the roof cannot be closed if spectators are inside due to health and safety, but unlike it's continental cousin if there was a torrential downpour closing the roof would do nothing to help. The ground in North West London does at least have a proper drainage system, and if the surface water overwhelmed the draining one would hope we would reach a quicker decision to abandon the match than we did in Poland.
The point remains, however, that the Poland debacle was not a problem consigned to corner cutting Eastern Europeans and idiotic FA's. The FA at home are just as culpable for ill-thought out decisions and the home of football is one freak weather event away from disaster. One would hope the FA have taken the chance to plan for a downpour to avoid the embarrassment of a cancelled or delayed match, but I would not bet on it.
Showing posts with label Wembley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wembley. Show all posts
Friday, 19 October 2012
Thursday, 9 February 2012
All respect lost for Capello the man
His English was better than the media made out. His results were certainly better. The performances....well, they weren't that good, in fact at times I wondered why I bothered to make the awkward and crowded journey to the anus of London that is Wembley. But at least I had respect for Fabio Capello.
From the days of Football Italia on Channel 4, with his great Milan team getting one-nil up and then playing for the clean sheet, to his titles at real despite all the hysteria around him and then an England debut that saw a 4-3-2-1 formation and a Jermaine Jenas goal. The fall outs with Paolo Di Canio, the van Basten-Gullit-Rijkaard trio, Baresi, Hierro, Rob Green, the names go on.
Fabio had a plan. He was in charge, it was his way or the highway. He had the trophies, the reputation, the personality to get a dysfunctional and under-achieving England team to a semi final or better, and it started so well.
England wanted to control possession. They weren't looking to be Barcelona or Spain incarnate, they still retained their innate Englishness - power, physicality, team work and organisation - but they would actually keep the ball on the floor for more than three seconds. They attempted to play out the back, to show some movement in midfield. Rooney and Gerrard swapped positions, Walcott attacked down the right (sometimes), England were starting to look good.
And then the distractions/excuses. The captain issue. The Wembley fear factor. John Terry/Wayne Bridge. The captain issue. The ball at the World Cup. Wayne Rooney's ankle. The remote training camp. Rob Green's error. Wayne Rooney's post match outburst. Lampard's 'goal' against Germany. Wayne Rooney's red card. John Terry's alleged racist outburst. The captain issue.
Capello had battled through them all, with varying degrees of success, but when the FA stripped John Terry of the captain's armband Capello decided to become a quitter. We can argue whether the FA did the right thing, and Capello will no doubt feel aggrieved he was not consulted, but similarly it can be argued that he had no need to get involved. The FA made a decision, they are responsible for the fall out. Capello just had to select the best team he could and see how well he could do.
If he succeeded against all odds then he could take the plaudits and shove all the foreigner bashing down the media's throats. If he lost he could blame the FA (on top of the balls, the weather, the Premier League season etc etc). But instead he has taken the coward's way out and left England in the lurch.
We will not know the full facts for months no doubt, but the FA's decision was hardly a torpedo in the side of Team England. Capello could have carried on easily - one game against Holland, then the training camp for Euro 2012. It would all soon be over. If the FA had banned Terry from contention would Capello have stayed?
His managerial ability is in no doubt but if I met Capello in the street I would not want to sit down and talk to the man. Perhaps the FA affronted his principles, but for me what could turn out to be Capello's last decision in football was the choice of a coward, and for that I lose all respect for him.
From the days of Football Italia on Channel 4, with his great Milan team getting one-nil up and then playing for the clean sheet, to his titles at real despite all the hysteria around him and then an England debut that saw a 4-3-2-1 formation and a Jermaine Jenas goal. The fall outs with Paolo Di Canio, the van Basten-Gullit-Rijkaard trio, Baresi, Hierro, Rob Green, the names go on.
Fabio had a plan. He was in charge, it was his way or the highway. He had the trophies, the reputation, the personality to get a dysfunctional and under-achieving England team to a semi final or better, and it started so well.
England wanted to control possession. They weren't looking to be Barcelona or Spain incarnate, they still retained their innate Englishness - power, physicality, team work and organisation - but they would actually keep the ball on the floor for more than three seconds. They attempted to play out the back, to show some movement in midfield. Rooney and Gerrard swapped positions, Walcott attacked down the right (sometimes), England were starting to look good.
And then the distractions/excuses. The captain issue. The Wembley fear factor. John Terry/Wayne Bridge. The captain issue. The ball at the World Cup. Wayne Rooney's ankle. The remote training camp. Rob Green's error. Wayne Rooney's post match outburst. Lampard's 'goal' against Germany. Wayne Rooney's red card. John Terry's alleged racist outburst. The captain issue.
Capello had battled through them all, with varying degrees of success, but when the FA stripped John Terry of the captain's armband Capello decided to become a quitter. We can argue whether the FA did the right thing, and Capello will no doubt feel aggrieved he was not consulted, but similarly it can be argued that he had no need to get involved. The FA made a decision, they are responsible for the fall out. Capello just had to select the best team he could and see how well he could do.
If he succeeded against all odds then he could take the plaudits and shove all the foreigner bashing down the media's throats. If he lost he could blame the FA (on top of the balls, the weather, the Premier League season etc etc). But instead he has taken the coward's way out and left England in the lurch.
We will not know the full facts for months no doubt, but the FA's decision was hardly a torpedo in the side of Team England. Capello could have carried on easily - one game against Holland, then the training camp for Euro 2012. It would all soon be over. If the FA had banned Terry from contention would Capello have stayed?
His managerial ability is in no doubt but if I met Capello in the street I would not want to sit down and talk to the man. Perhaps the FA affronted his principles, but for me what could turn out to be Capello's last decision in football was the choice of a coward, and for that I lose all respect for him.
Friday, 18 February 2011
What The Hell Is A Booking Fee???
Time to grind some gears....with the latest price details for the Champions League at Wembley released, starting at £176, it got me wondering: what the hell is a booking fee??
I buy a ticket. It costs £150 - an insane and inflated price designed to get as much money as possible - and then they whack on a £26 (£36 if you are abroad) booking fee. Why not include the fee in the cost? Do they think we will see 150 quid and say 'that seems quite reasonable actually' but £176 would be a bridge too far??
It is not just Uefa of course, they are just the latest example. Tottenham (and everyone else) do it. The best is when they charge a booking fee even though you are picking up the tickets. Why not include the sodding thing in the price? Are they saying 'We are ripping you off, but only by this much! The extra cost isn't to do with us....'
It doesn't matter to us! We still have to pay it!!
Football is not alone, of course it isn't. Not just sport, but anywhere, there are always hidden costs that make a bargain actually more expensive than the other options. I'm getting sick and tired of it - I want the fee to be all inclusive. I want the bottom line. i do not want to know who gets what, or why I'm charged this bit or that, just tell me how much it costs me in total. How much I have to pay.
And at £176, Uefa can stick their ticket up their ass! If I got one (and Spurs were not in a final) I'd sell it to a tout and make some money. In fact, why don't Uefa do just that?? They would make a fortune.
I buy a ticket. It costs £150 - an insane and inflated price designed to get as much money as possible - and then they whack on a £26 (£36 if you are abroad) booking fee. Why not include the fee in the cost? Do they think we will see 150 quid and say 'that seems quite reasonable actually' but £176 would be a bridge too far??
It is not just Uefa of course, they are just the latest example. Tottenham (and everyone else) do it. The best is when they charge a booking fee even though you are picking up the tickets. Why not include the sodding thing in the price? Are they saying 'We are ripping you off, but only by this much! The extra cost isn't to do with us....'
It doesn't matter to us! We still have to pay it!!
Football is not alone, of course it isn't. Not just sport, but anywhere, there are always hidden costs that make a bargain actually more expensive than the other options. I'm getting sick and tired of it - I want the fee to be all inclusive. I want the bottom line. i do not want to know who gets what, or why I'm charged this bit or that, just tell me how much it costs me in total. How much I have to pay.
And at £176, Uefa can stick their ticket up their ass! If I got one (and Spurs were not in a final) I'd sell it to a tout and make some money. In fact, why don't Uefa do just that?? They would make a fortune.
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