There has, it can now be revealed, a shadow hanging over these pages for the last few weeks. That shadow has caused nightmares, ruinous ruminations and palpatations but today the sky has cleared, the sun is shining and happiness reigns. The reason can be found here:
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_5390867,00.html
For those unfortunates unaware of his beauty, Xabi Alonso is a footballing poet. He sprays passes the length of the field, distributing the ball with the vision of a philosopher, the precision of a neuroscientist and the artistry of a leading scenic carpenter or fanatical glassblower. His thinking is on a par with most computer boffins (especially those involved in AI), and the incision with which he directs the midfield echoes the incision of a keenly minded legal eagle. Further more his care and consideration keenly matches former Scottish dwelling single parents and his grace is catlike. He is a teacher par excellence and probably a good cook as well.
Having now described this footballing great in terms that most, if not all, readers of this blog can idntify with, you will be minded as to why I am very happy it appears he will not leave English Football's most successful club.
And in keeping with the underlying ethos of these occasional submissions, I promise to mention football no more until the posting "A Faint Whiff of Optimism" makes it's regular appearance in August, (just before the start of the season) and the consequent annual withdrawal of that posting four months later.
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2 comments:
In a very related story, Gillete who co-owned both Liverpool and the Montreal Canadians has just sold the later to focus on the former. perhaps Xabi sensed a new focus without distraction from that other beautiful (yet much colder) game.
Gillete and Hicks are nt popular here. Although football is a global industry, it has nt transformed neatly from a local working class sport to a populist brand-led mass marketing - too many of us retain romantic delusions that Liverpool is "our" team, something that "we" can be proud of. The adventures of these American owners, treating LFC like a "brand" is hugely unpopular in Liverpool. Other American owners have also tried - man U is owned by the Glazers, who also treat the club they own as a franchise. Personally I hope that the fans movement I belong to succeeeds - namely to buy the club (we have all committed to contribute a certain amount of money but need more people in order to reach our target) and turn it into a true people's club, like Barcelona, which is owned by the fans. Interestingly, Barcelona, unique among European clubs do not have sponsors, instead they wear the logo "UNICEF" on their shirts. This additional politics made the recent EUFA cup final between Man U and Barca more interesting, and satisfying - Barca trounced MAn U.
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