Archive for November, 2009

Sticking my neck out

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

Talking to my mate Bob recently got me thinking about the World Cup in South Africa next summer (Bob is football mad despite supporting Reading!!).  We reckoned that the majority of the England team picked itself and that if we could choose our XI for the opening match right now, most of the football-supporting public would settle on the same 8 names and only disagree over 3.

So here is me sticking my neck out and making some predictions for next summer’s footie frenzy.  I do this without fear of ridicule because (a) it is only November (b) Cappello is paid a squillion quid a year to do this and (c) opinions* are the lifeblood of conversation.

So I reckon Terry, Ferdinand, A Cole, Johnson, Barry, Lampard, Gerrard and Rooney are nailed on for a place in the most popular choice for England starting XI next summer.  Of these, only Glen Johnson would bring much debate but he gets in because of the lack of options in that position.  The other 3 positions, however, will occupy thousands of hours of pub chat.

Goalkeeper - We don’t have a stand-out candidate from James, Green, Carson, Foster, Hart, Kirkland, Robinson.  David James will be 56 next summer but still looks the best of a mediocre bunch.  I predict that if Ben Foster can get enough first team football between now and the summer he would emerge from the pack.  If not it is David James’ shirt.  If he is injured - how about Paul Robinson for a come-back?

4th Midfielder.  There are enough candidates to fill a pub.  Take your pick from J Cole, Young, Milner, Downing, Lennon, Wright-Phillips, Walcott, Beckham, Hargreaves, Carrick, etc.  I reckon Walcott will be the choice if he is fit but Joe Cole’s comeback complicates matters.

Target-man.  Cappello has finally realised that Rooney plays best with a striker alongside him to act as primary target.  Step forward Heskey, Crouch, Defoe (5 goals yesterday!!), Owen, Agbonlahor, C Cole.  Heskey seems to be Cappello’s first choice and for those of you who doubt the wisdom of picking a striker who can’t score I have two words to say to you…Stephane Guivarc’h (look it up). 

Last two predictions.  One of our certainties will miss out with some bizarre injury  - I reluctantly predict Steven Gerrard.  Finally someone unexpected will come through to have an exceptional tournament (remember Trevor Sinclair).  I predict James Milner.

If you disagree with any of my predicitions or opinions then I would love to hear from you.

* Oscar Wilde once said “in all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane”

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

There’s gratitude for you

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

As someone who was not around at the time, I have often wondered how my country could show their gratitude to Winston Churchill for leading us to victory in WWII by voting him out of office only 2 months after VE Day.  On the face of it, and with only the Falklands and Gulf Wars to use as in comparison, it has always seemed to me bizarre that Clement Attlee should be elected in such circumstances, particularly in a landslide victory.

I watched Into the Storm on TV last night and what an excellent BBC/HBO drama it was.  The 90 minute film managed to chart the key moments of the war, from a UK perspective, without seeming rushed and the acting was first class.  Brendan Gleeson’s portrayal of Churchill was mesmerising, confirming what an amazing actor he is. 

The one weakness of the drama was it seemed to suggest that Churchill lost the 1945 election for the simple reason that he used the word “Gestapo” when describing a potential Labour Party victory.    If the drama’s thesis is to be believed then the UK voting public must have been the most fickle bunch ever.

As a Conservative, Churchill opposed the creation of the welfare state but this was not explored.  Clement Attlee was only given a peripheral role in the drama and yet history suggests he was a much more central figure in the hearts and minds of the people.

I guess the point I am making is that the 1945 election is probably the ultimate example of a concept much used in management theory; Situational Leadership. Churchill was the right man to lead Britatin during the war and exactly the wrong man to lead the re-building of peacetime society.  Attlee successfully lead Britain through massive changes, arguably equivalent in impact to the War, including a nationalisation programme, expended social services and, of course, the creation of the National Health Service. 

Situational leadership theory suggests Attlee may well have lost us the war whilst Churchill would probably not have been able to put in place the building bolcks on which many of are lives today are based.    I still don’t fully understand how the voting public worked this out, but I guess I am happy that they did.

Posted in life | 1 Comment »