Football

My training schedule has taken a recent turn and things have been gruelling and stressful for the last week or so, which means I haven't been able to post as much as I'd like to. A few things, however, have been pressing, such as the fall of my gaming hero, Ronnie O'Sullivan, and the demise of the best football team in the world, Southampton. Long live the Saints. It was nice to see the sporting mentalist and classic British eccentric, Gazza on Match of the Day 2 last week. He put together a pretty coherent mix of criticism for the day's matches and became the voice of the people when bemoaning the lack of flare in today's game. He also said he was getting himself back in shape with a personal trainer, so I tell you what, mate, if you get anywhere close to 200lbs, get yourself down to Southampton. Who wouldn't pick Gazza in their team, even in the state he's in now, ahead of other English strikers like Michael Owen and Darren Bent. If your name is Sheikh and you, therefore, support Manchester United, you're probably sitting fairly contented and comfortable at the moment, even though you continue to bemoan your greatest asset, Dimitar Berbatov, just because he flunked a penalty in this exchange. Come on - if that had gone in - what a hero. The arrogance and sheer complacency of the man is devastatingly attractive. I readily admit to a slight man-crush. He also looks like a cross between Andy Garcia and Christopher Hitchens. We should love that sort of arrogance in football: a man who would rather stand back and admire his own mastery as he floats a ball into the penalty area rather than run onto the rebound. We all appreciated Eric Cantona, regardless of how much we hate Manchester United. Christiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, portrays an arrogance that even the hardiest Reds fan could not warm to.