CosmicHotspur
Better a wag than a WAG
- Aug 14, 2006
- 51,069
- 22,383
Great article by the former film critic, who openly declares his loyalty to Tottenham. He stated that he will be cheering Barca on this evening, not Man U (as, indeed, I will). He points out that Man U are, like so many other of our Premiership sides, not English or even British-owned, Spurs being the only side among them with an English manager and British ownership. Man U are American-owned of course.
Barca are Spanish in the real sense, with the exception of a few players, Messi among them and they are all Spanish-speaking. They are essentially a Spanish club, whereas English clubs generally have a high percentage of foreign players and managers. He is not objecting to foreign players, but only to the huge number of them so that English, or British, football is no longer the same game that it used to be. We have always had high calibre, talented home-grown footballers playing in England - in fact let's not forget that we taught the rest of the world to play football.
Some would say that's an outdated opinion because football has moved on and techniques from elsewhere now rule the game and Norman does admit that nowadays it is a much faster game.
The cheating, including diving, etc. that has entered the game from abroad, however, hasn't enhanced or improved football IMO.
The icing on the cake was a picture of our 1961 Double victory, Danny Blanchflower held aloft holding the FA Cup. That was a team made up all British players. Those were the days... but if you weren't around to witness them, as Barry Norman and I both were, you might not realise the difference.
Thoughtful article fellow Yiddo.
Barca are Spanish in the real sense, with the exception of a few players, Messi among them and they are all Spanish-speaking. They are essentially a Spanish club, whereas English clubs generally have a high percentage of foreign players and managers. He is not objecting to foreign players, but only to the huge number of them so that English, or British, football is no longer the same game that it used to be. We have always had high calibre, talented home-grown footballers playing in England - in fact let's not forget that we taught the rest of the world to play football.
Some would say that's an outdated opinion because football has moved on and techniques from elsewhere now rule the game and Norman does admit that nowadays it is a much faster game.
The cheating, including diving, etc. that has entered the game from abroad, however, hasn't enhanced or improved football IMO.
The icing on the cake was a picture of our 1961 Double victory, Danny Blanchflower held aloft holding the FA Cup. That was a team made up all British players. Those were the days... but if you weren't around to witness them, as Barry Norman and I both were, you might not realise the difference.
Thoughtful article fellow Yiddo.
