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Alan Swann’s World of Sport: on Kenny Dalglish, Spanish football fans, and Arsene Wenger’s time is up
World of Sport with Alan Swann.
I LOVE a good ‘told you so’ moment so let me remind you what I wrote when Kenny Dalglish was appointed Liverpool boss.
“Trust me, in a few weeks Liverpool fans will be wondering whether or not they can turn on Kenny Dalglish, probably the worst managerial appointment since the West Ham board took leave of their senses and gave Avram Grant the chance to prove that he’s utterly useless.”
Or what I wrote at the end of last season.
“Liverpool fans will spend all summer predicting great things before the inevitable disappointment sets in.
“For a start Andy Carroll will be fit enough to disrupt a flowing passing game.”
Right on all counts I would say. Dalglish is tactically inept, guilty of serious misjudgements like signing Carroll, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson for vastly inflated fees and of becoming the last man standing in support of Luis Suarez.
Dalglish completed his self-destruction by hammering his players after their capitulation at Bolton on Saturday without pausing to think who actually signed the majority of the bad ones.
IT’S time for Spanish football fans to stop preaching to the rest of us. That ‘El Classico’ match last week was one of the most disgusting spectacles I’ve seen on a football field in years.
There was more cheating than football on view. It was a diving contest involving some of the biggest talents on the planet.
When they weren’t diving they were stamping on each other and kicking each other, usually in sly and cowardly ways.
Any sports-lover tuning into football for the first time to watch the two best teams in Europe would not switch on again.
SURELY Arsene Wenger realises his time is now up. The fans are booing his bizarre substitutions and his captain also appeared to be aghast at the arrival of the completely useless Andrey Arshavin.
Even Sir Alex Ferguson patronised Wenger after Sunday’s match - probably because he no longer sees Arsenal as a genuine rival, or even the best team in North London.
HIGHLIGHT of Super Sunday for me was the brilliant analysis of Graeme Souness and Gary Neville.
Souness is the best pundit on TV by a country mile. He tells it as it is with no thought for the brittle egos that dominate football at the highest level and he seemed to inspire Neville to new heights.
Their demolition of the vastly over-rated Howard Webb, the aforementioned completely inept Arshavin, Wenger’s descent into managerial madness and the dirty stain on our football that is Mario Balotelli was brilliant TV.
And all the better for not having Richard Keys continually interrupting the conversation. Well done Sky, dump Wilkins, Martin Tyler, Alan Smith, Jamie Redknapp and all the other fence-sitting bores and employ Souness every weekend.
WORLD Cup flop Chris Ashton has apparently secured a £250,000 salary to move rugby union clubs next season.
What an astonishing figure for someone who plays in a position, on the wing, that can mean he doesn’t touch the ball more than a handful of times in a game.
I’M not at all bothered by England’s first Test defeat by Pakistan in Dubai.
I have it on good authority that there are a couple of promising players coming through the South African Academy, including a mystery spinner.
Hopefully the other one will be a batting replacement for Kevin Pietersen who appears to be treating Test matches as an audition for the Indiam Premier League Twenty/20 competition.
I’M on Neil Warnock’s side (and that’s right up there with ‘Lee Tomlin delivered a mature display’ in the list of phrases I thought I’d never write) in his war of words with Joey Barton.
There’s a reason why Barton is at QPR and not a club more appropriate to his ego. He’s not actually that good a player.
Warnock worked a minor miracle to get a team with Shaun Derry at its heart into the Premier League. I wonder if he now regrets saving Barton’s career?
Swanny’s fanmail: write to Alan at alan.swann@peterboroughtoday.co.uk or through Twitter @swannyposh
My, how you tiny Totts get cocky after half a good season.
It’s a good job us Gooners weren’t so arrogant for the last 20 years, when never mind a telescope, Spuds would have needed time travel to keep up with us.
Even Jimmy Greaves wrote recently that whilst Spurs may have finished above Arsenal once in a blue moon, it was clear Arsenal were the bigger club.
You must be proud that Sheik Mansour’s money is funding Spurs’ efforts. I wonder how that fits in with Platini’s financial fair play rules?
As for Thierry Henry – whatever happens he is a legend. Who would Spurs bring back? Paul Stewart? More like a leg end than a legend.
Spuds and Chelski 2003 FC would both swap with Arsenal for what we have won, how the club is run and our history.
Mark Baker
You’re a no-mark local hack whose life must be so miserable, all you can do is criticise those more talented and more famous.
Your hero is Gaby Zakuani, a plodder Arsenal fans won’t even have heard of. He’s not fit to lace Thierry Henry’s boots.
And the darts players at the BDO show loyalty. That’s why they don’t up sticks and go and play in the over-hyped PDC World Championships.
The fact they play for smaller prize money out of loyalty is something to be applauded not sneered at.
Anonymous texter
The BDO darts is rubbish! I am thinking of entering next year as I could do with a hundred grand!
@Wackerlegend
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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Comments
There are 5 comments to this article
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Impartial Observer
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 10:57 AMNo doubt Souness is an excellent pundit for the European games, but he's too dour and doesn't toe the Sky party line enough for him to be considered for Premier League punditry, sad to say. Neville and Souness are the best at the moment though. Dixon is good for the Beeb too. It matters not that Dalglish signed the players he berated - they performed poorly; why would it matter that he signed them?! The 'fans' that predicted great things are the same that think Kenny should step aside. They are akin to Piers Morgan in their footballing nouse. That Carroll is still not fully fit is primarily down to Newcastle allowing him to eat and drink whatever he wanted.
Loey
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 08:52 PMWhat rubbish ! Dalglish has given LFC their chance of a first trophy in 6 years, have a realistic chance of European football next year and has the players and supporters on his side - something the previous manager never achieved. Sure some of his signings are yet to come good, but remember we did pocket £50m (somehow) in off-loading Torres. Any more doubts over his signings ? 3 words - Craig. Bellamy. Free
brightstone
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 12:09 AMI LOVE a good ‘told you so’ moment Liverpool v Cardiff Carling Cup Final February 26th 2012 Tasty
Mr Stilton
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 06:43 PMHow Ironic, here we had Mr Souness condemn Mario Balotelli for his thuggish behaviour on the football pitch. Pot kettle and am l allowed to say Black spring to mind.
Bamboozler
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 05:06 PMI bet it took Souness and Neville a replay, or maybe two to decide they would to send off Barotelli!. How many replays does the ref see?, oh yes: None!!. TV should stop all replays,except to show goals. This way they would not be preaching to us, what we should be seeing.
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