Holy Writ[s]
Contracts or con-acts? The devil is in the detail.
Whenever someone in authority starts getting all morally righteous on your ass, you can be sure they have something to hide. "Never trust a religous son of a bitch - said William Burroughs - they'll always fuck you over in the end. Why? Because they know they've got God on their side" I don't know whether Rick Parry, or any of the other con artists ...sorry, moral guardians of our national game... at the Premier League go to church or not, but how else to explain why they think have a holy dispensation to piss down the backs of everyone in football, and then tell them that it's raining.
Take the shambles over the West Ham "investigation" last season, and now the Tevez transfer. Why did they investigate West Ham over the Mascerano and Tevez transfers in the first place? It was common knowledge who owned their contracts, long before the move took place. So why allow it in the first place? There was never any need for an investigation... all they needed to do was pick up the papers.
And what a holy mess they made of it when they finally got around to doing something about it. Was it an illegal deal or wasn't it? If it was the sanction was in the rule book already, and the Premier League had sufficient precedent to justify a points deduction. Their excuse at the time appeared to be that they thought it unfair to condemn West Ham to almost certain relegation, but when has that ever stopped them before?
Now they are sticking their oar into the Tevez - Man Utd deal. Why for God's sake? Because they have painted themselves into a corner over their original decision not to dock West Ham points. They KNEW who had the rights to the Tevez contract, regardless of whether the Hammers had torn it up. Can they seriously say they believed that made the slightest bit of difference to who owned the player? NO. No more than I can tell the Halifax that I don't have to pay them any more mortgage payments because I have "torn up" their contract with me.
So now, far too late, and for entirely the wrong reasons, they are our moral guardians again. Pushing West Ham into a legal battle that could end up costing them as much as their original fine. Leaving Man Utd and Tevez in limbo so that the game's "integrity" can be upheld. And how are we to understand this sudden urge to moral action? Are the Premier League trying to make up for past sins - of omission and commision? Or maybe they have been collectively hit by a Damascene conversion? Only they, and their God, can know. But if they are feeling they urge to tackle the sinners in our game, why don't they tackle some of the really dubious issues that are clouding the image of the Premier League? Like allowing [allegedly] corrupt dictators to buy a club with other people's money? Or allowing so called tycoons to buy English clubs with other people's money - landing them with a mountain of debt into the bargain?
I'm sure the premier league could find a way to sanction the Tevez deal if they wanted to. Just as they were happy enough to let Mascherano go to Liverpool, even though all the same issues applied to that player. If they want to do the decent and Christian thing over this sorry mess, why not just forgive everyone involved and let us try to forget that this ridiculous episode ever happened. The Premier League would do well to stop looking for motes in other people's eyes, and give some serious study to the bloody great plank sticking out of their own.
Saturday, 7 July 2007
Friday, 6 July 2007
Roll on August
As a Man United fan of 39 years [and counting] i've seldom enjoyed a pre-season quite as much as this one.
Rarely, if ever, have United moved with such deciseiveness and audacity in the transfer market. United signings have usually been the worst kept secret in the game, and [like the Hargreaves deal this season] when they have come they have often left a sense of anti-climax, as well as nagging anxiety over the amount of money that's been spent on [invariably] one big name player.
This season, Fergie seems to have gone for broke in more ways than one, and I can't help wondering if these signings may be the last significant deals he ever does for the club. Certainly, the "owners" [how can you "own" something that you have bought with other people's money; while seemingly not having a clue what it means or how it works?] seem to have given him the chance to let his imagination run riot this summer.
If it is part of some pr strategy to get suspicious Reds on board with the new dispensation then good luck to them. It hasn't worked on me. On the other hand, not having the likes of Edwards, Kenyon [spit] and the plc board breathing down Fergie's neck, poring over the minutiae of every clause of a deal [whither Ronaldinho, eh Pete???], seems to have given us the edge this season. Well bless his heart, SAF has deserved every second of his own footballing version of Supermarket Sweep, and I hope each and every one of his prizes gives him [and us] enormous pleasure in the few years he will have left to work with them.
Nani and Anderson are for the future no doubt. The real impact at Utd next season will be expected from Hargreaves and Tevez, if he arrives [which barring a massive fit of hubris from the FA and the Premier League - should they try to block the move - looks certain to happen now, court case or no].
Hargreaves is hardly an impact player, and considering the lukewarm reaction to Carrick last season from the press, he might find his first season in England something of a personal test - off the pitch if not on it. However, Tevez showed against United on the last day how well he can stretch opposition defences right accross the park. He has huge cajones, and can score goals from anywhere.
He may look superficially similar to Rooney [he's certainly no oil painting] but he has a very different style of play, more direct, and seemingly able to operate well as a lone striker despite his size. He plays much further up the pitch - often behind defenders on the 18 yd line - and that alone should help him to complement Shrek rather than crowd him out. He looks handy in a scrap too, though he'd be well advised not to get into a tangle with Rooney - anyone who can lay a man out with one punch [while sitting down at a table in a restaurant] is a man to keep on good terms with. So maybe keep your personal thoughts about the Malvinas and Maradonna to yourself for a while Carlito.
United's problem is going to be who to let go, with a first team squad numbering 46 with Tevez on board. Smith and Richardson look certainties, and Heinze seems to know his number's up too, though hell will freeze over before United let him go to Anfield - unless he really is crocked, instead of just lacking fitness and games last season. Beware Govaniites bearing gifts, Anfield fans...
As far as the rest go, only Liverpool have given us a run for our [more pertinently, their] money in the transfer stakes so far, though there are still nearly two months left to surprise us all. Arsenal are flush from the Henry deal, and i'm sure Abramovitch can always find a spare pot of black gold stashed away somewhere [like Cyprus, The Cayman Islands, Switzerland....].
Liverpool's signings look shrewd, although many of them are even more in the way of long term investments than Anderson and Nani. Torres is a conundrum, and a huge gamble at £20+m for a player who has never hit 20 league goals in a season and has no Champions League experience. Benitez's Spanish teams were masters of one touch passing, and played beautiful football at times [I saw them pass us off the park in the second half of a Champions League game once at Old Trafford] although they often lacked deciseiveness up front.
However, Liverpool last season more often played like a bunch of builders who have dug up a hand grenade and don't know what to do with it. Torres isn't renowned in Spain for his technical skill, and the fact Benitez is so keen to retain Crouch says everything about what we can expect tactically from them next season. I hope they threw in a pair of stilts for Torres as part of the move.
Arsenal look like a complete shambles at the moment but another year on the youngsters should have more confidence and Dudu looks every inch a Wenger player. One more signing could do it for Wenger, and they might surprise us all next season.
Chelsea have been quietly collecting a group of extremely competent players for next to nothing, and with maybe one more player on the flanks [Malouda?] - and a good talking to from Mourinho to Ballack and Shev - could be every bit as good as they were in 2006.
As I say, roll on August....
Rarely, if ever, have United moved with such deciseiveness and audacity in the transfer market. United signings have usually been the worst kept secret in the game, and [like the Hargreaves deal this season] when they have come they have often left a sense of anti-climax, as well as nagging anxiety over the amount of money that's been spent on [invariably] one big name player.
This season, Fergie seems to have gone for broke in more ways than one, and I can't help wondering if these signings may be the last significant deals he ever does for the club. Certainly, the "owners" [how can you "own" something that you have bought with other people's money; while seemingly not having a clue what it means or how it works?] seem to have given him the chance to let his imagination run riot this summer.
If it is part of some pr strategy to get suspicious Reds on board with the new dispensation then good luck to them. It hasn't worked on me. On the other hand, not having the likes of Edwards, Kenyon [spit] and the plc board breathing down Fergie's neck, poring over the minutiae of every clause of a deal [whither Ronaldinho, eh Pete???], seems to have given us the edge this season. Well bless his heart, SAF has deserved every second of his own footballing version of Supermarket Sweep, and I hope each and every one of his prizes gives him [and us] enormous pleasure in the few years he will have left to work with them.
Nani and Anderson are for the future no doubt. The real impact at Utd next season will be expected from Hargreaves and Tevez, if he arrives [which barring a massive fit of hubris from the FA and the Premier League - should they try to block the move - looks certain to happen now, court case or no].
Hargreaves is hardly an impact player, and considering the lukewarm reaction to Carrick last season from the press, he might find his first season in England something of a personal test - off the pitch if not on it. However, Tevez showed against United on the last day how well he can stretch opposition defences right accross the park. He has huge cajones, and can score goals from anywhere.
He may look superficially similar to Rooney [he's certainly no oil painting] but he has a very different style of play, more direct, and seemingly able to operate well as a lone striker despite his size. He plays much further up the pitch - often behind defenders on the 18 yd line - and that alone should help him to complement Shrek rather than crowd him out. He looks handy in a scrap too, though he'd be well advised not to get into a tangle with Rooney - anyone who can lay a man out with one punch [while sitting down at a table in a restaurant] is a man to keep on good terms with. So maybe keep your personal thoughts about the Malvinas and Maradonna to yourself for a while Carlito.
United's problem is going to be who to let go, with a first team squad numbering 46 with Tevez on board. Smith and Richardson look certainties, and Heinze seems to know his number's up too, though hell will freeze over before United let him go to Anfield - unless he really is crocked, instead of just lacking fitness and games last season. Beware Govaniites bearing gifts, Anfield fans...
As far as the rest go, only Liverpool have given us a run for our [more pertinently, their] money in the transfer stakes so far, though there are still nearly two months left to surprise us all. Arsenal are flush from the Henry deal, and i'm sure Abramovitch can always find a spare pot of black gold stashed away somewhere [like Cyprus, The Cayman Islands, Switzerland....].
Liverpool's signings look shrewd, although many of them are even more in the way of long term investments than Anderson and Nani. Torres is a conundrum, and a huge gamble at £20+m for a player who has never hit 20 league goals in a season and has no Champions League experience. Benitez's Spanish teams were masters of one touch passing, and played beautiful football at times [I saw them pass us off the park in the second half of a Champions League game once at Old Trafford] although they often lacked deciseiveness up front.
However, Liverpool last season more often played like a bunch of builders who have dug up a hand grenade and don't know what to do with it. Torres isn't renowned in Spain for his technical skill, and the fact Benitez is so keen to retain Crouch says everything about what we can expect tactically from them next season. I hope they threw in a pair of stilts for Torres as part of the move.
Arsenal look like a complete shambles at the moment but another year on the youngsters should have more confidence and Dudu looks every inch a Wenger player. One more signing could do it for Wenger, and they might surprise us all next season.
Chelsea have been quietly collecting a group of extremely competent players for next to nothing, and with maybe one more player on the flanks [Malouda?] - and a good talking to from Mourinho to Ballack and Shev - could be every bit as good as they were in 2006.
As I say, roll on August....
Friday, 29 June 2007
The Strategist
A successful strategist places himself at the centre of life "the game", and has the skill to move people around, as if they were pieces in that game.
To be a success therefore, the Strategist positions himself to best advantage, and from there plots his course towards his goal, which goal being at a specific distance, he moves towards it.
This means that the Strategist's experience of the world is linear, or rather multi-linear - as he must constantly move through life in search of the goal - in opposition to some, [obstacles] and towards others [opportunities].
The Strategist's life is therefore contingent, and his experience of life, and those around him, is contingent, upon his perception of what constitutes threat or danger, goal or opportunity.
To be still, to feel the pulse of all life around, to feel the air, and to hear it's songs, is to "experience" one's correspondence and unity with everything around.
To the Strategist, this is at best, futile - and at worst - truly frightening.
To be a success therefore, the Strategist positions himself to best advantage, and from there plots his course towards his goal, which goal being at a specific distance, he moves towards it.
This means that the Strategist's experience of the world is linear, or rather multi-linear - as he must constantly move through life in search of the goal - in opposition to some, [obstacles] and towards others [opportunities].
The Strategist's life is therefore contingent, and his experience of life, and those around him, is contingent, upon his perception of what constitutes threat or danger, goal or opportunity.
To be still, to feel the pulse of all life around, to feel the air, and to hear it's songs, is to "experience" one's correspondence and unity with everything around.
To the Strategist, this is at best, futile - and at worst - truly frightening.
"The world doesn't owe you a living"
You know that's true, and actually,
i've never thought that the world did owe me a living.
The world neither knows, nor cares.
I hate that phrase.
It pre-supposes that there are some sorts of living
Worthy of reward.
That by their labours create a debt,
that life owes some stipend.
In reality the world - nature - gives us all life
and provides life to all, all around us.
Food, air, water, shelter
is all around us.
But not open to us.
For it has been decided
that the food, land, and what grows on it;
the water, and no doubt soon the air itself
are property.
Which we must purchase from,
naturally, the people who tell us that the world doesn't owe us a living.
i've never thought that the world did owe me a living.
The world neither knows, nor cares.
I hate that phrase.
It pre-supposes that there are some sorts of living
Worthy of reward.
That by their labours create a debt,
that life owes some stipend.
In reality the world - nature - gives us all life
and provides life to all, all around us.
Food, air, water, shelter
is all around us.
But not open to us.
For it has been decided
that the food, land, and what grows on it;
the water, and no doubt soon the air itself
are property.
Which we must purchase from,
naturally, the people who tell us that the world doesn't owe us a living.
Thank you
Thank you for having the patience
To watch me going through these motions
Thank you for being here, still.
Thank you for my beautiful life
Thank you for our beautiful lives
That love and grow around us still.
I hope we'll see them til they're grown
I hope we'll see them til they go
I hope we'll see them still.
I hope they'll still see us
I hope you'll still see me
I hope, thank you, still.
To watch me going through these motions
Thank you for being here, still.
Thank you for my beautiful life
Thank you for our beautiful lives
That love and grow around us still.
I hope we'll see them til they're grown
I hope we'll see them til they go
I hope we'll see them still.
I hope they'll still see us
I hope you'll still see me
I hope, thank you, still.
You are right
And you are right
and I am wrong
And you are wright
and I am rong
And you are white
and I am wrong
And I am black
and you are proud
And I am right
And still i'm wrong
And you are still right.
And I am still wrong
and I am wrong
And you are wright
and I am rong
And you are white
and I am wrong
And I am black
and you are proud
And I am right
And still i'm wrong
And you are still right.
And I am still wrong
Abuse by guitar
I know you
as compassionate and caring
I know you
as sympathetic and sharing.
I know you
as a person, I know...
That is why I become sad
When you're not.
as compassionate and caring
I know you
as sympathetic and sharing.
I know you
as a person, I know...
That is why I become sad
When you're not.
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