Scholes
Paul Scholes announced his retirement today. A great player and admirable person. When Zidane pronounces someone as the most complete midfielder (as he did in regard to Scholes) there's not a lot more to be said. The great puzzle about Scholes was his reckless tackling. I have a theory. I've read or heard many times "surely Sralex could have taught him to tackle better". Exactly. Ferguson chose not to interfere. I think that there are two interrelated reasons. First, Ferguson, like Busby, while devoted to playing real football knows that you can only do that if you also take care of business and that involves a certain amount of intimidation. It may seem strange to speak of a pint-sized and wondrously skilled player as intimidating but size in football counts for little. Scholes went in low and hard. The edge of wildness undoubtedly caused the more fainthearted to bail out of challenges. The related reason is that Scholes' tackling was a reflection of his football personality: he played full out. Never leave anything on the pitch was my Dad's motto and it was Scholes' credo. I think Ferguson, master psychologist that he is, knew that to interfere with Scholes' occasionally wild tackling would have diminished the core of what made him great. And if it scared a few opponents, wha' the hey.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 02, 2011
Fred Titmus RIP
A few weeks ago one of boyhood heroes passed away, the English offspinner Fred Titmus. Fred wasn't a great player but he played with a great spirit. (He was a good player, though.) He always seemed to be having fun. Although picked for his bowling he was a useful bat and one of my enduring memories was seeing Fred come to the crease when England were in trouble. His jaunty air transmitted reassurance and, invariably, he would hold up his end while a recovery was built. He was great example of what can be achieved by knowledge of limitations, concentration and confidence. His technique wasn't so good but he got behind the line and was a gritty defender. He only had one real offensive stroke, a slash off the back foot that he would hit between cover and third man. But did he use it well!
As a bowler he didn't get a lot of turn but he had great flight and, of course, accuracy. His "arm ball" - the ball that drifts away to the off and keeps straight - was excellent and got many a wicket caught behind or at slip.
He was an olde stereotype - the Cockney "cheery chappie" - but he wore it well and endeared him to many fans of cricket, including those of the opposition.
In a very different way he was like Conrad Hunte, another of my favourites. Hunte was the antithesis of the received image of a West Indian batsman but that made him a very good opener. Like Fred, he seemed to love playing. He had this huge smile which he shared all the time when not concentrating ferociously. He was a brilliant fielder, right up there with the best, save the incomparable Lloyd and Bland. My favourite memory of him was when he caught a towering hit by Dexter a few yards in front of me on the boundary at Old Trafford. He looked down and checked what he must have felt - that his foot was on the rope. Without hesitating he signalled "six". Someone said something an he turned to look at the crowd. He had the biggest smile that you ever saw.
A few weeks ago one of boyhood heroes passed away, the English offspinner Fred Titmus. Fred wasn't a great player but he played with a great spirit. (He was a good player, though.) He always seemed to be having fun. Although picked for his bowling he was a useful bat and one of my enduring memories was seeing Fred come to the crease when England were in trouble. His jaunty air transmitted reassurance and, invariably, he would hold up his end while a recovery was built. He was great example of what can be achieved by knowledge of limitations, concentration and confidence. His technique wasn't so good but he got behind the line and was a gritty defender. He only had one real offensive stroke, a slash off the back foot that he would hit between cover and third man. But did he use it well!
As a bowler he didn't get a lot of turn but he had great flight and, of course, accuracy. His "arm ball" - the ball that drifts away to the off and keeps straight - was excellent and got many a wicket caught behind or at slip.
He was an olde stereotype - the Cockney "cheery chappie" - but he wore it well and endeared him to many fans of cricket, including those of the opposition.
In a very different way he was like Conrad Hunte, another of my favourites. Hunte was the antithesis of the received image of a West Indian batsman but that made him a very good opener. Like Fred, he seemed to love playing. He had this huge smile which he shared all the time when not concentrating ferociously. He was a brilliant fielder, right up there with the best, save the incomparable Lloyd and Bland. My favourite memory of him was when he caught a towering hit by Dexter a few yards in front of me on the boundary at Old Trafford. He looked down and checked what he must have felt - that his foot was on the rope. Without hesitating he signalled "six". Someone said something an he turned to look at the crowd. He had the biggest smile that you ever saw.
Playing the Officials
I was astonished when I got to see the sending off of Pepe in the Barca-Real match. If that was a foul then footballers won't be going in for 50-50 balls any more for fear of getting a red card. An incredibly bad decision. They both wnet for the ball, Pepe got it an some of the Barca player's foot who went down like he'd been shot. Not even a foul. Too bad to be legit, in fact. Even at an amateur level regular refs know what's going on. There's no way the ref didn't give the red to tilt to Barca.
Fearing this sort of shenanigans must of been why the Special One made such a deal of the choice of match official.
However, it's not over yet. EUFA is now on notice via Mourinho's considerable media machinery that it's credibility is on the line. Prediction: M will tell his guys to get into the box early and they'll get a penalty. Even stephen, kind of. How it goes from there I don't know but you heard it here first.
I was astonished when I got to see the sending off of Pepe in the Barca-Real match. If that was a foul then footballers won't be going in for 50-50 balls any more for fear of getting a red card. An incredibly bad decision. They both wnet for the ball, Pepe got it an some of the Barca player's foot who went down like he'd been shot. Not even a foul. Too bad to be legit, in fact. Even at an amateur level regular refs know what's going on. There's no way the ref didn't give the red to tilt to Barca.
Fearing this sort of shenanigans must of been why the Special One made such a deal of the choice of match official.
However, it's not over yet. EUFA is now on notice via Mourinho's considerable media machinery that it's credibility is on the line. Prediction: M will tell his guys to get into the box early and they'll get a penalty. Even stephen, kind of. How it goes from there I don't know but you heard it here first.
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