Dying in the Wool

You are sat at the blackjack table and you have 13 in your hand. The dealer has 5. The correct thing to do is to stick with what you have, but sticking with 13 feels filthy. It is the sensible thing to do however, and that is what the book tells you to do. Assuming nobody is fiddling the cards, that’s another blog for another day, you are playing percentages and there is nothing you can do that will affect the outcome of which cards will be turned over. The only decision is whether you take the next card, or you leave it to the dealer. It is one of those situations where you will likely be left kicking your heels if you hand the dealer the six, but when the two Queens come, you sit there smugly knowing you made the right call. Losing and still knowing you made the right call is a small consolation, but you know it is the line you should continue to follow.

I have had a lot of random thoughts and discussions recently about a variety of things which have had me thinking about how I approach certain things and even as I write, I know what the right things to do are, but I don’t always do them.

My beloved Everton are going through something of a crisis right now. Average results to start the season and selling some key players in the squad and not replacing them, have led to ever growing dissatisfaction amongst the natives. To say they are restless is an understatement and the anger towards the chairman and board is reaching a head. If we win games and beat Liverpool tomorrow, everybody will forget the problems and rejoice. That is unlikely to happen, and so the deafening minority will continue to hammer Bill Kenwright and company.

I have always sympathised with Kenwright and I like him as a person. I have had a couple of conversations with him and always found him to be genuine and a good guy. Sadly, the time has come for him to make way – if and when somebody else comes in with the money. I am left in a situation where I like the guy and what he has done for the club, but I know that my team are slowly dying a death until there is significant investment in the club. I read the message boards and I hear the abuse in the stadium, and it will be these people who ultimately force the change at the club. It is sad, and I cannot bring myself to participate or speak up, but I have a feeling deep down that it is needed.

I have had similar discussions with my family about England recently. I admit that I am not particularly patriotic – that may be due to a confused heritage of English, Spanish and Brazilian. Anybody would be. When I see the rioting on television, it embarrasses me. When I watch Leeds Utd v Man Utd and all I hear is Leeds fans singing songs about the Munich air disaster and Man Utd fans celebrating the death of a couple of Leeds fan in Istanbul by wearing Turkish shirts and unfurling huge banners, I cringe. The first thing I will say is that stuff like this happens in many other countries – this is far from an England beatdown. But it is where I am from, and it is not something I am proud about.

HJ and I had a small wedding celebration for all of our family who did not attend our wedding in Canada a couple of weeks ago. The chap in the flower shop was talking about litter and how it is a real issue for him when he sees people blatantly throw litter on the floor. Don’t ask me how we got on to the conversation. He said that any time he sees somebody doing it, he taps them on the shoulder and says ‘Excuse me mate, I think you have dropped something!’

It got me thinking about the role I play when I see and hear things like this happening. In general, if it directly impacts me, I would do something about it. If it is something that I witness passively, while I may not be happy about it, I turn a blind eye and avoid potential confrontation. It is not the right card to play, but in this day and age, it can often be the safest one. I know that one person is not going to change the way a significant group of people chant at a football match. But I do know that until people, myself included, do confront such situations, nothing is going to change.

I feel like that is the general situation in England right now regarding a whole range of issues. We are incredibly lucky to live in Switzerland. There are plenty of problems in Switzerland also – who ever thought an impenetrable Swiss bank could be hit by a rogue trader? It is not pleasant waking up to see your own bank hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons. That said, there are a lot of things they get right and it is a decent place to live. There are quite a few family members who would have moved to another country if the circumstances were right. I am the only one that has. I wonder how many of my old schoolmates, colleagues, friends have moved away or think of moving abroad. How many of us strive to find something better or do we just put up with what we have through a fear of changing or because we simply just do not know that there is something better out there?

I fear for what the UK will look like in 20 years time. Are the economic problems, the social problems, the education problems so deeply ingrained now that it will take 20-30 years to change them? I don’t know, but I am not hopeful. Protesting and rebelling may be the best way forward as long as it is done in the correct manner. I do not have a great deal of confidence in Politicians – but again that is for another blog and another day. The same situation at Everton – I don’t like what so many are doing but similarly, change will be forced for good or for bad. If not, the situation remains the same and a slow painful death is inevitable. I just hope it is done in the right way. If I had been at that Leeds/Man Utd game, I would likely have kept quiet despite vehemently being opposed to such comments.

Unfortunately, I am no protester, even if I know I should do more and I guess I take the easy way out. I pick my right fights, and I avoid getting into losing battles. I guess not all situations in life have a guide book telling you how you should play your cards, but I’ll be the first to buy it if it does come out.

Short Sharp Jabs

It’s been a while since I have scribbled a few random sporting thoughts, so here goes.

Did anybody see the Floyd Mayweather fight? Youtube it if you didn’t - a truly amazing end to a fight. My take on it is this – the referee is 100% the one to blame for not having control over the situation and it is time for Cortes to be struck from the list. I love plenty of old people, but refereeing two world class fighters is not for them. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if it was Floyd that had gotten knocked out – I suspect many boxing fans would have not been so critical then.

Great news that Sid Crosby is back skating at 100% again. Hopefully he will be cleared for full contact soon and he can get back to his best. Concussions are scary. Looking forward to seeing him play again this season – can you tell I am excited for the NHL season to start? Funny to see how even when they are both injured, Crosby steals the limelight over Malkin, just like when they are playing.

I have often written about my sympathy for coaches and the expectancy and demand for instant success. Kansas City Chief have lost arguably their three best players for the whole season – Moeaki, Berry and Charles – and after losing their first two games heavily, their coach is under pressure. Unfortunately, it is going to be a long hard season for them now, but changing the coach will not help.

Basel aside, this is as ruthless a Man Utd team as I have seen in a number of seasons and they are getting that degree of invincibility back. Last season, I didn’t rate them at all, but they are looking strong and sharp this season. It will be necessary as City will push them all the way in the league season, though it is still hard to see them getting past Barca again in the Champions League. They may not have started the season particularly well, but the connection between Messi and Fabregas is already looking immense.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Ireland v Australia match in the Rugby World Cup group stage – absolute cracker of a game. There have been a couple of decent matches but I am looking forward to the quarter-finals onwards. Rugby has a similar problem to Cricket in that they do not have enough top class teams to make a great competition throughout such a long period of time. This is hugely elitist but seeing South Africa beat Namibia 80-something to nil is not fun.

On the rugby lines, I have to say that the press about the England team having a few beers and bungee jumping was wildly exaggerated and unnecessary. I do not and will not understand while a guy like Mike Tindall would play away from home – did he honestly think he would get away with it? Muppet.

It is flying under the radar to a degree in European football but the Man City style has rubbed off in Malaga where they too have received a load of cash and a load of decent players. Aside from Valencia, Barca and Real, there is no reason why they cannot push for fourth place. It may be Europa League at best, but if they keep up this strong start to the season, and sign a few more players in January, then they really could fight Atletico for fourth.

November 12th promises to be a sensational day of fights if you like MMA and Boxing. Cain Velasquez v Junior dos Santos and Manny Pacquiao v Juan Manuel Marquez are gonna be two quality fights, and I am truly excited for both of them.

Carlos Tevez? I have to admit to finding the situation at Man City quite humorous. I felt a touch sorry for him in the summer….suffering from homesickness and wanting to return to Argentina….it felt like Man City held all the cards….with no club in Argentina or Brazil being able to afford him. Now, it seems like the situation is reversed….he can cause them all kinds of problems until they agree to release him for an affordable price while he can sit back and pick up his ridiculous salary. City have nobody but themselves to blame for A. paying stupid salaries and B. signing incredibly temperamental strikers…..Tevez, Adebayor, Balotelli etc.