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Alan Swann: on Jensen Button, Kevin Pietersen and Brian Clough
JENSON Button won three Drivers Championship points last year and six the year before. He hadn't secured a pole position for three years before the weekend.
JENSON Button won three Drivers Championship points last year and six the year before. He hadn't secured a pole position for three years before the weekend.Now he's top dog and favourite to win the title. Why on earth do these tax-dodging playboys receive so much acclaim when it's blatantly obvious that the real 'stars' are the car designers?
The crash test dummy could win the Drivers Championship given the best car.
KEVIN Pietersen is tired and can't wait to get home from the West Indies.
If he wants a rest to secure his freshness for this summer's Ashes, he can always miss the Indian Premier League season, especially as it's now being held in South Africa, where he's hated.
Pietersen is also unpopular in the Caribbean right now for suggesting that Windies star Shivnarine Chanderpaul is a selfish cricketer.
Not so selfish that he's ever looked to change nationalities to boost his profile and bank balance, unlike the England team's biggest egotist.
IT would help referees enormously if journalists, pundits, managers and players learnt the laws of football.
Apparently ignorance is no barrier to becoming chief sports writer at The Sun. He decided that the Football Association's bizarre decision to overturn Brad Friedel's red card in Aston Villa's recent mauling at Liverpool was the right one because 'it was abundantly clear the American did all he could to get out of the way' when bringing down Fernando Torres.
Unfortunately for this chief sports writer, the laws of the game don't make provision for accidental fouls as a quick scan of the internet would have confirmed.
Part of law 12 states: 'a player shall be sent off for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards goal by an offence punishable by a free-kick or penalty.'
The law may be an ass in this case, but it's a law nonetheless as Gaby Zakuani discovered recently.
Unfortunately there are still people outside of Liverpool who take Sun writers seriously.
BRIAN Clough worked miracles in winning top flight titles and European Cups with modest clubs. He also delivered a style of football punditry far superior than the nodding dogs who do that 'work' today.
His condemnation of on-field dissent by his own players was also to be applauded as was the clip round the head he once administered to a pitch-invading fan.
Clough's attempt to destroy nasty Leeds United in just 44 days was also worthy of praise. It spawned a great book and a not so great film.
But his popularity always amazes me because he was clearly a pretty sleazy character.
The fact that he drank himself into ill health stopped him being prosecuted for taking bungs – the Football Association may have made a rare wise decision in not appointing him as England manager.
And his teams were usually dull to watch. Methodical and organised, but totally devoid of flair.
Continued on next pageIT'S great that we have two outstanding professional sports teams in Peterborough.
Watching Posh is an incredibly positive experience at the moment, while the Phantoms ice hockey team have worked wonders to secure a league and cup double on a budget that doesn't even include a shoestring.
Let's hope Peterborough Town Cricket Club can carry on the good work in the city's main summer sport.
SWANNY'S FANMAIL
I HAVE been to Tate Modern with a friend this week. We stood in front of a particularly bewildering abstract painting.
My friend said it reminded him of Swanny's sports column. When I asked him why he replied that his five year-old daughter could produce work like that.
John Shearman
Alma Road
OKAY I agree with you about Wayne Rooney, but how come you didn't extend the criticism to Cristiano Ronaldo in the same match at Fulham?
He should have gone for his tantrums and the abuse he hurled at referee Phil Dowd. Or was Dowd afraid that Ronaldo would cry if he was sent off?
Sonny Jim
HOW can you suggest that any Liverpool match will be boring?
Did you not see the 4-0 win over Real Madrid and 4-1 thrashing of Manchester United?
Chelsea will try and make the European Champions League quarter-final as dull as ditchwater, but Rafa's rampant red army will destroy all opposition on the road to Rome.
Tom Jones
MANCHESTER United are imploding and Swanny doesn't like it.
He's a Scouse-hating, Chelsea-hating, Arsenal-hating, life-hating loser. His precious Posh will cock it up as well and then he'll be crying on Fergie's shoulder, who in turn will be crying on Fergie senior's shoulder.
Steve Sims
Walton
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