There’s no question that Bale’s second was an impressive strike but, the point has to be made that Lennon being allowed to carry the ball unchecked was shoddy on our behalf. And for the first Collins was caught square and ballwatching as Bale ghosted in past him. Its going to be tough if we give sides that kind of help. Especially sides with the quality of Spurs. The second half we played well. Tuncay’s introduction added some much needed skill and our forward play got a new dimension but that header was a bad miss. When Jonesy returns and is fully fit hopefully he’ll put chances like that away with the minimum of fuss. After half time we took the game to Spurs and we were worth a point. The point we’d have got if the ref had given the goal we scored. It’s depressingly similar to Shawcross’ disallowed goal at home to Manchester Citeh last season. The ref was right next to the incident yet got it horribly wrong. That Huth fouled the keeper is irrelevant. If the ref had thought it was a foul he’d have immediately blown for a free kick. Chelsea next week. One good thing about going to Stamford Bridge in August is that we’ll get it over with. it’ll be an exercise in damage limitation so we have to hope we limitate it better than we did last time there! Barring a miracle next week it seems we’ll head into the international break with zero points. Obviously there’s a long long way to go and no need to panic. If Jonesy returns fit and we can show the same appetite we did in the second half against Spurs we should be OK. But we mustn’t forget to win games of football.
One of the fascinations of this season is to see how Jose Mourinho fares at Real Madrid. The club who regard style and panache as important to the culture of their club as their illustrious historical trophy haul. In choosing Mourinho they have effectively chosen a U turn. Mourinho’s brilliance is as a motivator and his tactical manoeuvring. His teams, as successful as they are, haven’t always played exhilarating thrilling football. The pragmatism and attention to detail being the cornerstones of his glittering career. Moving to Madrid is actually a masterstroke. His previous connections with Barcelona are now forgotten and there is animosoty between the self proclaimed special one and the club that was his football classroom. This will only help to endear him to the Bernebau. It’s known Real Madrid is a notorious managerial graveyard. If the internal politics are too much and he walks away he’ll probably be able to do so with reputation intact and will still be able to pick up a job at a European powerhouse. That Jose isn’t stupid!
**The debate about goal line technology rumbles on. Surely if it’s available it’s foolish not to use it. It’s unlike many topics of debate that arise that surround refereeing decisions in a game of football. For example, last week Joe Cole was sent off for Liverpool. It was my opinion that the red card was harsh and a yellow would suffice. However, mates I spoke with and looking at assorted internet message boards many felt it was a good decision by the ref and the sending off was fully justified. There are varying opinions and that is part of the soul of football. The difference between a situation like that and whether a ball crosses the line or not is that whether the ball crosses the line isn’t a subject of debate, it’s a matter of fact, and also the key factor in a match…. scoring a goal, or not as the case may be. In these days where lost points can lose a club millions, and to implement the change would be relatively straight forward, isn’t it prehistoric to refuse to accept it? Mr Blatter would be OK, he should think of the favours it could generate from the companies who want to get the contracts to put the equipment in place!
Talking of Blatter, how kind of him to visit England! We can hope he enjoyed beer and crisps at Downing Street. And Nick Clegg was appropriately ambassadorial is meeting him and his delegates. This visit is an important part of the bid, especially at this late stage. But where was the Prime Minister? It’s understandable that he wants time with his family but Prime Ministers don’t have holidays. Hosting the 2018 World Cup could be one of the biggest things in the history of England. It reaches parts of the nation the Olympics can’t. The big cheeses of FIFA have egos the size of Heathrow airport. Hopefully the decisive factor won’t be that Vladimir Putin went to meet them last week.
It’s pleasing that Brisbane Roar have made a healthy start to the A league season. A win and a draw is a vast improvement on last seasons lame capitulation. Some stylish football has been played too which is an important factor in Australia. The league here is a huge marketing exercise to generate interest in the game of football. It’ll be more pleasing if Brisbane’s enterprising start can be maintained. The politics of football here can be overwhelming. Hopefully we, the people of Brisbane, can focus on the pitch instead of the meeting rooms. Home to Wellington Friday night!
** The bit about goal line technology was written before our incident against Spurs on Saturday. Honestly.