With this new job of mine I rarely get the time to write anything up here, and its quite unfortunate cause I was really starting to enjoy spouting my opinions on things while I sat on the underrated dole queue. I’d actually love to do this kind of stuff for a living (fantasy land….) so I’m going to make time somehow. For example, I exchanged a morning possibly lying in a bed of my own vomit, a la tequila shots to do the sensible thing and take it easy for the night and get some well earned rest. After all, there’ll be plenty of vomit filled nights to look forward to.
Anyway, I was going to go on a massive rant about Tony Mowbray’s ill-fated Celtic tenure, but I left things late once again and everything that could be said has already been said. But nobody’s really (in the past few days at least) brought up something I was going to talk extensively about. Is Premier League notoriety just a tad little over-the-top? I think so and hopefully people see my points.
THE BEST RELEGATED MANAGER… IN THE WORLD
Mr Mowby had spent one, short season amongst the big boys in the best league in the world. In this time, he presided over a team who were rock bottom the majority of the season and really had no chance of staying up, even though most neutrals admired their team spirit and their “play the game the right way” mentality.
Surely 10 years ago, a manager who failed so miserably might not have been seen on that golden island for some years, if at all, but this lucky sod somehow got the Celtic job. CELTIC!!!!! No offence to West Brom but they piss on that club from a great height, even if they are in the SPL. At the possibility of going on too much about Tony’s qualities as a manager, I will say he will possibly be a decent mid table manager in several years, but that’s it. The hype machine even gets relegated bosses top European jobs.
SCHLICK SCHTEVIE McSCHTEVE
None more so than Schteve McLaren back in the day. I seem to remember watching the footy, wondering, whats the fuss about. I was quite impressed one season where he led Boro to 8th/9th in the table once, but I seem to remember the rest of the league campaigns were dull and rather pointless. When they had the excuse of winning Carling Cups and getting to Uefa cup finals you could say he was doing a good job but not a messiah like job as his reputation suggested.
Mr Eriksson had something to do with this particular publicity though. His piss-taking ways truly had the English public yearning for a home grown manager, someone they could relate to and didn’t have underwear models on his agenda instead of preparing for major tournaments. Besides, Schteve was his number two and had an opportunity to bend the FA’s ear for a few years before his appointment. I think everybody knows how his England reign went, he accommodated stars that he referred to as JT, Stevie G and Big Daddy Cool Heskey, switched goalkeepers around with alarming frequency, left out Beckham, brought him back, and became overnight the “wally in the brolly”, in the process making Slaven Bilic look a world class manager and giving senor Capello a new career as headmaster.
The Wally can now be seen in the Eredivisie perfecting his dutch accent and actually doing rather well with unfashionable FC Twente, it has to be said.
MODERN DAY MERCENARIES
McLaren also sent the Joleon Lescott hype into overdrive mode. I must admit, at Everton I thought he was the real deal, a solid centre back/full back who had a knack for scoring too many goals for any defender.
But throw a few England caps here and there, and you can create a monster of a PR machine. In a short matter of time, a “source from the club” will tell the Daily Mirror that Manchester City, with their new endless pot of cash, are willing to invest.
Eventually, City start believing “Lescott!!??! Why not, lets buy his soul, you can never have enough minions!”. Some super agent then manages to slip into Joleon’s bed and tell him “Do you know who you are. You’re Joleon Lescott, THE Joleon Lescott, City want you and I want to make you a star”… Joleon Lescott starts thinking “I’m Joleon Lescott” and overall smugness ensues.
The player thinks he’s too good for little Everton who plucked him from obscurity and forces a long drawn out transfer (as is now the norm) to the future of the premier league, the new Chelsea in many ways. And then what happens…..
BLAME WAYNE
25 MILLION!!!! WHA!!! Somehow this whole thing spirals out of control and Joleon is now worth as much as Wayne Rooney. Funny that. Currently Lescott can be see seen warming the City bench, looking every inch the embodiment of money value while Wazza is doing phenomenal things.
With English players though, at least, it is probably Wayne Rooneys fault that they have an over inflated sense of their abilities. That and agents. Rooney was the last of the great generation of English players to come out. The first of this generation. And definitely the best to transpire both. Its not his fault to be so blessed, but after years of Beckham-mania (which never really ended till Galaxy days), Owen-Mania, Gerrard-mania, Francis Jeffers-mania (yes really!) and too much mania for me to remember, Wayne appeared. The last great player of the lot.
But suddenly every “prospect” is now worth 15 million minimum. Its like that with most young players around the world now, but I’d take a Gonzalo Higuain over a Theo Walcott any day. Prove me wrong Theo. Well, I think I’ve made my point. I could keep going on but I’m in danger of boring myself and potentially anybody who might read this. Apart from Wayne everyone here I have mentioned (apart from the underrated Gonzalo Higuain) has gotten some over the top reward for their, at best, mediocre efforts in the game. Mowbray may have been third choice but he never should have been near the club at all. Maybe his reign will make clubs cop on to these PR teams behind these people, but I frankly doubt it.
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