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Sodom All

by | 27th, July 2004

‘IF you ever needed confirmation that newspapers have no idea what they’re talking about 90% of the time, then this morning provides it in spades.

‘She can talk dirty at 40 words per minute and Mark says her shorthand is first class’

The Mail claims that, under his new deal, Sven Goran Eriksson will get a massive £14m pay-off if the Football Association decides to sack him as England coach.

But the Star has the Swede as “a £7m loser”, claiming that the FA could avoid a costly pay-off by dismissing Eriksson for “gross misconduct”.

What the papers do seem to agree about is that the England boss’s future is in jeopardy – the Sun and Mirror both have exclusives suggesting that there may be an emergency meeting of the 12-man FA Board to discuss the crisis.

The Mirror says the whole affair has driven a wedge between Eriksson and the FA.

The former is “furious” that the FA put out a statement confirming his affair with Faria Alam; the latter are seething that they were misled over their initial denial.

But at moments like this it is to the Mail’s Jeff Powell that we turn for a sober analysis of the situation.

And, like Sodom and Gomorrah, Powell would like to see Soho Square razed to the ground.

“All that is missing from the shiny glass frontage of English football’s new headquarters is the red light over the door as the fat cats slobber over their secretaries,” says this latter-day missionary.

It is, he continues, “a moral void” – home (for the time being, at least) to “a serial womaniser of the most sordid order” and a man who “put his sexual gratification above his ethical responsibilities as a principal company director”.

Powell could probably see all manner of vice at a meeting of the Temperance Society, but even he would struggle to find fault with the performance of England’s cricketers.

Yesterday, they completed their seventh victory in eight Tests as they bowled out West Indies for 267.

And hero of the hour was Ashley Giles, the much ridiculed England spinner who took nine wickets in the match – the best by an England spinner at Lord’s for 30 years.

In the process, the Sun says, he claimed his 100th Test victim when he bowled Brian Lara with a perfect off-spinner through the gate.

Captain Michael Vaughan said afterwards: “I’m delighted for him, not because he’s my mate but because he’s probably our most professional cricketer.

“It’s pleasing to see him have a smile on his face.”

Which is more than can be said for Sven.’



Posted: 27th, July 2004 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink