Beckham’s Brain
‘I AM sure some people think I have not got the brains to be that clever, says David Beckham in the Sun, but I do have the brains.
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| ‘Hooray! Another million in my bank account!’ |
Whatever can the England captain be talking about? Hs he solved a really hard sum? Or worked out the meaning of Dannielle Heaths coded text message (see tabs)?
The truth is revealed earlier on in the piece when Becks says that his foul on Wales Ben Thatcher was a deliberate attempt to earn himself a yellow card.
Already on one yellow from an earlier game, Becks knew that another would see him suspended from the next game and, since he knew his injury would prevent his playing in that encounter anyhow, he used his massive intellect to launch himself at his opponent.
While we boggle at the genius of the Beckham thought process – that involved him trying to injure an opponent and, possibly, further injure himself – the Times brings news of the bid for control of Manchester United.
With the gnome-like Malcolm Glazer lining up a possibly £800m takeover bid, the paper says that supporters groups have threatened something called a customer revolt.
One group, Shareholders United, has begun a shares not shirts campaign, inviting all its 15,000 members and other United fans to stop buying the clubs official merchandise until Glazer is seen off.
This is an interesting idea, but will United notice if fewer tops are flogged? Uniteds deal with Nike is fixed for 13 years, regardless of shirt sales.
Better, perhaps, to boycott the games themselves – gate receipts remain the biggest single source of income for the club.
This, of course, is unlikely – indeed, such is the demand for United seats that the spare places would be filled by the next punter in line, someone happy to get the chance to see their heroes in the flesh.
But a bigger issue than Beckhams brain or Uniteds ownership is the Timess story on racism in football.
The Commission for Racial Equality has published a damning report into the state of the national game.
While many black faces grace the leagues, there is not one non-white member on the FA board or the 92-strong FA council.
The are also only three back managers in professional football Keith Curle at Mansfield Town, Leroy Rosenior at Torquay United and Keith Alexander at Lincoln City.
In all, fewer than 1% of professional football positions are held by non-whites.
This encourages the belief that racism exists in the game. An impression not aided by looking at the abilities of some of those white managers and coaches…’
Posted: 12th, October 2004 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
