I Intend To Escape ......................And Come Back

How Puny The Olympic 2012 'Legacy' Looks

Going on the basis that politicians usually exaggerate, and that the reality is eventually somewhat different from rosy predictions, take a look at the text of the leaflet the London Mayor has delivered to homes in Hackney this week.

Point 7 of Boris Johnson's leaflet is headed "Ensuring a true Olympic legacy - 11,000 new homes and 10,000 new jobs". That is underwhelming - Hackney has 27,000 households on its council waiting list alone - 11,000 new homes, across 32 London boroughs with similar housing pressures? That is barely a drop in the ocean.
No further details are given on the 10,ooo new jobs - are they full-time, part-time, fixed term for the duration of the games itself, or for the wider period of the Olympic building project? How many have gone to local residents in east London, or to Londoners more generally?

I reproduce the rest of Boris' text in full:

"Boris johnson is ensuring we all benefit from the Olympic Games.

Boris has delivered the Games infrastructure on time and budget. A saving of £10 million was made on the building of the Olympic Stadium and he has ensured that existing facilities are upgraded and used wherever possible. Hackney will benefit from the lasting legacy of the Games as 12 organisations have received funding to offer free coaching and Boris has funded seven sports participation programmes".

So far, so modest. That really is it. Perhaps to make sure we do actually think there is some benefit to the whole 2012 shebang the leaflet then adds:

"Thanks to Boris, Londoners will benefit from the jobs created by a £5.2 billion economic boost from the Games."

A few points arise:

1. Boris seems to take all the credit for 'delivering' the Games. Clearly the hatred between the British Olympic Association and London Organising Commitee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has created a gap for one man to heroically organise the entire event.

2. If £10 million has been saved on building the stadium, what has that money been spent on? Where has it gone?

3. Which existing facilities have been upgraded? As a Hackney resident I should presumeably be able to name several - none spring to mind.

4. 12 organisations are getting free coaching out of this. Not much of a return from the biggest sporting event in the world coming here is it?

5. Boris has funded seven sports participation programmes. Again no details, but isn't that the sort of thing Mayor's are supposed to do anyway?

6. What and where is the £5.2 billion economic boost from the Games?All the economic news I seem to hear concerns a double dip recession.

All this is not to single out Boris Johnson as any worse than Ken Livingstone would have been (he isn't it) but to raise the single question:

If the projected gains from the Olympics are so modest now, how modest are the actual gains likely to be after the event?

 

The Olympics Then And Now

From the interview in today's Sunday Times with Jimmy McColl, who played for the Great Britain football team at the 1948 London Olympics:

"For the 3rd/4th placed playoff with Denmark, the manager, Sir Matt Busby, asked the entire squad if those players who hadn't yet been picked could be in the starting XI, even if it was to the detriment of the result. Everybody, respectful of Busby's intentions, agreed with this, meaning we all had the chance to play at the Games".

For the record, Denmark won 5-3 at Wembley, to take the Bronze medal.

Everyone Was Kung Fu Fighting

I was too young for the Kung Fu craze which swept the UK following the release of Bruce Lee's Enter The Dragon in 1973. 

I was probably 30 when I first saw the film, and was amazed how good it actually was - there is a plot, there is politics, and there is action. On Radio 4 at 1100 on Weds 22 February Jolyon Jenkins looks at how popular Kung Fu briefly became in Britain, although it seems in most cases this was not neccesarily a search for enlightenment............

Fighting Back: Race and British Boxing

Clare Balding is on Radio 4 at 1345 on Wednesday 15 February presenting Fighting Back - an examination of the relationship between race and boxing in the UK.

There is much to discuss - how many people know that as late as the 1930s the British Boxing Board of Control sometimes operated a colour bar?

Go Go Fabio

If Fabio Capello feels so strongly about the Football Association stripping John Terry of the England captaincy, there is always one particular option open to him.

He can resign.

A Tribute to Socrates

The first World Cup I can really remember, and certainly the first World Cup where I watched the majority of the games, was Spain in 1982.

The highlight of that tournament was Italy's fabled 3-2 victory over Brazil, and the highlight of that match, to my twelve year old's football brain, was the Brazilian goal where Socrates beat Dino Zoff at his near post. Socrates seemed incredibly exotic. This was an era where English footballers were 'over the Brian' in interviews, our World Cup mascot was a bulldog that would not have looked out of place as an illustration in National Front News, and our two best players, Trevor Brooking and Kevin Keegan, injured more than they were fit.

Socrates seemed improbably, impossibly exotic. The idea of a footballer who was also a Doctor was in the English context, unthinkable. But a footballer named after a Greek philospher, and who chain smoked when not on the football pitch? This interview, with Mancunian journalist Andy Mitten, not only gives us the mark of the man, but the following examination  of Brazil's defeat to Italy:

"Our loss to Italy was not simple," Socrates says. "It was like achieving the conquest of the most beautiful woman in the world, but then being unable to do what matters with her. But it can happen, in life and in sport. "Some say that we were the greatest side never to win the World Cup. They tell us that to this day ... People remember our team because we lost, not won. But nobody tried to copy Italy, the pragmatic team which lifted the World Cup. The beautiful team, with the art and creativity, lost."

 

England on Tour

I've never been much of a rugger bugger, but you have to hand it to Martin Johnson and the boys.

In their month in New Zealand they have packed in white water rafting, bungee jumping, dwarf throwing, several nights on the piss, a bit of rugby with a 'you win some you lose some ethos' and then rounded it all off by daring the daftest member of the tour party to jump in the harbour.

Just like any other rugby club tour!

More Olympic Pork Pies

A regular column in which this blog exposes half-truths, exaggerations and downright lies from those involved in London 2012.

Yesterday's 'Front Row - London 2012 Ticketing Update' email was largely devoted to the Paralympics, for which ticket applications open on 9th September. The Paralympics is given publicity out of all proportion to its importance, and publicity that is so far out of proportion to the public interest in it, that is almost amusing (there, I've said it)

Whilst some of this is down to political correctness, I can't help seeing the bulk of it as old fashioned distrator flares - look at how inclusive our games are (when they are not) and look at how positively we treat disabled people in this country (we don't). Having spent a fair amount of time yesterday carrying a double pram up and down stairs at London tube stations, realisng a person in a wheelchair would simply have to go elsewhere or not travel, I have seen with my own eyes hype is very different to reality.

Anyway, onto today's corporate lie. From Visa's little section of the 2012 Ticketing Update:

Visa has been a proud sponsor of the Paralympic Games since 2002.

In recognition of Visa’s longstanding support of the Paralympic Games, only Visa (debit, credit and prepaid) can be used to purchase tickets online.

So - nothing to do with a desire to obtain a monopoly position, having paid a large sum of money to do so, and having purchased the same monopoly position for the rest of the Olympics?

Olympic Pork Pies

The first in what promises to be a lengthy series exposing lies, disinformation and spin from the organisers of London 2012.

From a direct mail sent to ticket holders today:

"Please do not drive to the Games as there will be no spectator parking at or near venues."

Except of course for those who are allowed to park at Olympic venues - corporate big-wigs, celebrities, the police, everyone allowed to drive in special lanes for the duration of the Games etc etc In fact if there is no spectator parking at or near venues - why do we need certain lanes restricted to Olympic use only?

Medieval Fightbook - 8pm This Evening

Watching police formations during the London riots, it is easy to look back centuries.

The use of shields, the desire to attack whilst defending, to break up and put opponents to flight, are all familiar images from centuries past. It is perhaps timely then that this evening National Geographic has a one hour documentary devoted to Talhoffer's Medieval Fightbook.

European martial arts are much neglected, but Talhoffer's fifteenth century book, shows the depth and range of these forgotten practices. Replace the swords with a baton and a scaffolding pole, and you could almost be in contemporary Hackney.

The Tour De France

I have lost count of the number of different versions Kraftwerk have made of 'Tour De France'.

This is as good as any, and comes complete with a marvellous video of historical race footage.

 

A Corporate Pravda

If Stalinism has survived anywhere, it is in football.

I have always believed Sir Alex Ferguson is the greatest ever British Stalinist (his association with new Labour and personal friendship with Alastair Campbell being merely a modern variant of Popular Frontism) The way in which he publicly humilated Wayne Rooney, before bringing him, supine, back into the team last season, was masterful. When he recently asked for the exclusion of a journalist posing tricky questions about Ryan Giggs, you knew the individual concerned would soon be travelling on the media equivalent of a slow train to Novosirbisk. And all this relayed accidentally, because a microphone was left on? Do me a favour - that was about as accidental as the assassination of Kirov!

My theory reappeared watching coverage of the recent FIFA Congress. Lots of elderly men in suits, completely impervious to events around them, happily holding an election with only one candidate. I was recently given a copy of UEFA's corporate magazine, UEFA direct, and it is a publication any Stalinist would be proud to be associated with. It has literally nothing to say or report, but trundles through 24 pages of conference reports, news of national federations and half-hearted attempts to promote a diversity you know they do not believe in. You will only want to read it once, but I do recommend you do so.

MMA Versus K1

I spent yesterday evening at the Kudzu Mixed Martial Arts and K1 Cage Fighting show in Epsom, Surrey.

It was a really well organised night, but reminded once again that MMA as a spectacle does not really do it for me. 11 fights were UFC style mixed martial arts contests, one a K1 rules kickboxing match, held in the cage. This was the best fight of the night.

Why? Because fights that go to the ground, and stay there, are simply not a great spectacle for the viewing spectator. The technique and fitness on display may be of a very high standard - but for me it does not work as much as stand up action.

John McDermott v Larry Olubamiwo

The UK heavyweight boxing scene is looking stronger than it has for years.

Below David Haye and Derek Chisora, we have Tyson Fury, Sam Sexton, David Price and Tom Dallas. Plus there is Reading's Michael Sprott, who seems to have been around for ever. This evening at York Hall John McDermott fights Hackney's Larry Olubamiwo for the Southern Area Heavyweight title.

Olubamiwo is a knockout merchant, with Popeye arms and appears to be in a rush to get wherever it is he is going. McDermott has fought the better oppponents in his careeer, has had dogs luck (being robbed of decisions against Danny Williams and Tyson Fury) and is more than due a win. His upper cut may be the ideal punch against a bigger, slugging man. I can't decide whether Olubamiwo takes McDermott in the first two rounds, or the fight goes on for longer, in which case you have to favour McDermott by points or even a stoppage.

I might have to toss a coin on this one.

Besouro

I have probably placed details of this film on-line far to late for anyone to battle through the snow to the Southbank to see it, but today at 2pm the National Film Theatre is showing Besouro. 

Brazilian martial arts movies are pretty rare, especially one's set in the 1920's combining anti-racism with magic and myth. More details here - hopefully the film will be shown again shortly! 

Never Send A Boy To Do A Man's Job

Football's certainly not coming home with Wills and Dave in charge!

 

On Meeting Audley Harrison.....

I had been saving this story up for Audley Harrison becoming World Heavyweight Boxing Champion. Having sat on it for over a decade, and given his weedy performance against David Haye last night, there seems no need to delay it any longer. 

Back in the late 1990s, one of the lads in London Class War was going out with Tuppy Owens, who headed the Sexual Freedom Coalition. This brought the opportunity of occasional stewarding work at the SFC's parties, which were rather lavish fund raising events for groups like Outsiders, and brought together as diverse a group of people under one roof as it was possible to imagine. 

At some stage I found myself given the all important job of guarding a fire door at the appropriately named Pleasure Rooms in Tottenham, listening to a guy in a toga, carrying a cane, waxing lyrical to two young women about how his mate was going to be world champion, how nobody could beat him, he was the next big thing etc etc. A couple of minutes later one of the biggest guys I had ever seen in my life appeared - this was clearly the future heavyweight champion of the world, although it has to be said his air of menace was slightly reduced by also wearing a light brown toga. 

Fast forward to 2000, and I realised just who I had been rubbing shoulders with - the Tottenham toga wearer was transformed in Sydney into the 2000 Olympic Super Heavyweight Champion - one Audley Harrison.
Sadly that was as good as it seemed to get for Audley - although he took the BBC for a lot of money, his professional career never really got going. Domestic fights that he could have won - for example Herbie Hide, (who was once bundled through the fire doors at York Hall for calling out Harrison) never happened, whilst those that did either produced mixed results (Danny Williams) or embarrassment (Martin Rogan). Harrison skillfully avoided a succession of hungry Eastern bloc fighters - in his career he has never fought a man from the former Soviet Union, a telling statistic. 

Without wishing to get all homo-erotic, I am not sure I have ever seen a sportsman as physically impressive as Audley Harrison. He was just huge.  Last Friday Harrison weighed in a full three stones heavier than David Haye, and he was chiseled rather than flabby - yet in the Manchester Arena he failed to connect with a significant punch. He now leaves boxing a wealthy man, but has left us with little in the way of positive memories. If the motivation for professional boxers is glory, David Haye continues to seek it, whilst Audley never even found it. 

After Audley was dumped from his BBC contract, I asked a former Muay Thai world champion why Harrison had failed to translate his obvious gifts into professional success. His answer? "You can't give people heart". Perhaps it remains the case that it is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog? 

Afghanistan: Out of the Ashes

Not many good news stories come out of Afghanistan, but here is one.

The Afghan cricket team has gone from being ranked 81st in the world to 13th, and now regularly competes against what might be called the 'division two' sides in world cricket - the United States, Canada and the Netherlands. Out of the Ashes is a 90 minute film telling their story, which you can see this evening at the ICA in London, and across the country in November.

Details of where and when are here.

Captions Please

As Wayne Rooney signs a five year contract to stay at Manchester United, captions please for this rather Stalinist photograph:

 

The Olympic Borough With No Sport

It has taken five years, but the reality of London 2012 for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets is crystal clear. 

London's 2012 bid relied in part on London's reputation as a multi-cultural city, and the need to regenerate some of our poorest areas. And London's poorest borough is Tower Hamlets, a mere javelin throw from the Olympic Village in Stratford. As the East London Advertiser states in its current issue:

"The decision to reroute the marathon out of east London means Tower Hamlets is now ironically an 'Olympic host borough' without a single event to host. Back in 2005 when Britain jumped for joy after beating Paris to host the 2012 Olympics, Tower Hamlets was set to hold three major events - the basketball, the walking race and the marathon. 
But over the last five years the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has slowly chipped away the borough's involvement"

Until it is zero. Zilch. A big fat nothing. 

If Tower Hamlets is no longer good enough to host any Olympic event, can we assume that Tower Hamlets council tax payers will not be required to fund any part of the Olympics?  And that any money that has already gone towards the Olympics will be returned? 

The board of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games can be seen here. It is the usual mixture of the 'great and the good' - former athletes, an under employed royal, businessmen, council leaders and even the chairman of the board of trustees of Tower Hamlets famous East London Mosque, Dr Muhammad Bari. If he is not able to bat for the East End on this Committee, what is he doing there? 

Such individuals probably do not visit Tower Hamlets very often. When and if they do, lets hope people tell them loudly, and very clearly, what they think of them. 

A Depressing Drift?

"It's sad when I see what has happened to Oldham over the last few years. It has always been an area with a lot of different nationalities and that has never been an issue for me. I am upset about the way the kids are going now and what motivation they have got. No one seems to want to tolerate the other races any more, which is a real shame. We just got on with our own thing and race was never really a problem." 

Former Rugby League star Barrie McDermott, on his home town of Oldham, in his autobiography Made For Rugby (p.18) 

City Are A Massive Club?

Those of us signed to Lancashire County Cricket Club's email service have this morning received some unwelcome junk mail.

It seems our friends at Manchester City cannot sell their tickets for tonights Europa League match against Juventus, and City have taken to buying up access to other organisations email lists to try and stimulate interest. For a 'big' club, City seem to do a lot of small things...........

The Queen Is Dead?

Impossible as it may seem, some good news ahead of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. 

No longer will English medalists have to sit through dirgeful tributes to an elderly German on the winners podium. For the first time English athletes will have Jerusalem played at the medals ceremony, rather than God Save The Queen.  

Lets hope it does not bring the house down.............

Celtic Fans: Ditch Your Political Sympathies

The Pope's visit seems to be encouraging political reactionaries in Scotland. 

Emboldened by Ratzinger's impending tour is the Scottish composer James Macmillan, who is appalled at the political stances he sees on the terraces at Celtic Park. He wants to sweep out what he sees as leftist and terrorist sympathisers, and see the club return to its Catholic roots. 

You Cannot Separate Sport and Society

It is not very often this blog has praised the Morning Star, but todays issue manages to include not just one but two sporting articles of interest. 

John Wight uses the recent appearance of  former World Middleweight champion James Toney in a mixed martial arts fight against Randy Couture, to argue that boxing needs an age cap to keep washed out, flabby fighters such as Toney from reappearing in the sport. I actually think he is wrong about this - fighters such as Bernard Hopkins and Evander Holyfield are plainly still fit enough to box professionally, despite being well into their 40s - but Wight does write with knowledge and precision. 

Secondly Jon Gemmell considers the apparent corruption of Pakistani cricket, as a mere extension of the broader corruption in Pakistani society. When you have a President who is known as 'Mister Ten Percent' and a country where tax collection has proved an impossibility, sport cannot be unaffected. Again there is more that could be said here. The UK media lapped up the pose of Benazir Bhutto as a fighter for democracy, ignoring both her previous record in office, and her own private zoo admidst one of the poorest countries on earth. Why then should her widower raise standards in office?
Gemmell fails to consider the Islamification of Pakistani cricket, and the destabilising influence religion has at times had in the Pakistan dressing room. This has even extended to the Pakistan Cricket Board, who at one point, according to Imran Khan's memoirs, was headed by a man who did not actually like cricket, on the basis that it distracted people from study of the Qu'ran!

Gemmell's closing words however, deserve careful consideration:

"Corruption has to be erased, but as cricket is generally reflective of the society in which it is played, it will take more than a few lectures from well-paid commentators and finger-wagging from the ICC."

The Definition Of Optimism?

This evenings European Championship qualifiers will see a new look France take on Belarus in Group D. 

Spare a thought though for those still trying to shift French World Cup merchandise after the only campaign that was actually worse than England's! I spotted these France South Africa 2010 baseball caps in Blackpool on Tuesday, a bargain apparently at £4.50.

I suspect they may well remain unsold for some time.......

Cricket In The Heartlands

Sunday was spent watching Lancashire defeat Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay in a 40 over match. 

Colwyn Bay Cricket Club is a great example of cricket at grassroots level. Spectators could sit close to the boundary rope, there were rows of garden chairs rather than a fancy stand, and the club runs on the efforts of its supporters as much as any giant business plan. In what other sport can spectators still come onto the pitch during a break in play and actually have a go themselves? 

Lancashire players are put through their paces by Peter Moores (bat in hand)

Amateur cricketers take to the pitch

The main stand

Arriving early we were able to watch Lancashire's players enjoying a game of touch rugby (purists will be delighted to know it seemed to be a rugby league version) before Peter Moores put some through fielding practice. Moores is yet to take Lancashire to the heights he took Sussex, and had an indifferent time with England, yet his attention to deal and commitment clearly remain. In time, Lancashire will make real progress. 

On the day, Glamorgan were poor, falling to 29-5 at one point. Lancashire's Saj Mahmood appears to be stuck in the rather uncomfortable position of being a notch above many of the players at this level, yet being left out of an England side that is sitting comfortably without him. As Lancashire costed to an eight wicket victory, the sun continued to shine.   A perfect day - which cost me just £5. I almost feel guilty. 

A Fit and Proper Government?

If you hear a roar anywhere this morning, it will be the noise of people laughing at the Premier League. 

Having recently amended  their 'fit and proper person' rules for owning a Premier League club, it now appears the consortium looking to buy Liverpool FC, is actually run by the government with the worst human rights record in the entire world. 

That's progress for you! 

Next week: The Taliban ask the Premier League for clarification that Tottenham's Yid Army is nothing to do with Mossad, before buying White Hart Lane lock stock and barrel. 

Half A Story In The Evening Standard!

The eagle eyed amongst you may have spotted my letter in yesterday's Evening Standard, although given its brevity it would have been easy to miss.

Here's what the Standard published:

Third behind Russia and France in the European Athletics Championships: what hope have we of reaching fourth in the world at the Olympics?

Here's the rather longer original:

As things stand, London 2012 could be a towering success, or it could be a titanic, Fabio Capello style flop. And that applies equally to performance on the track - and off it.

 

The target for Team GB is to come fourth in the medals table. Taking into account performances of other nations, that means we would finish behind only the Olympic giants of USA, Russia and China. Yet at the European Athletics Championships, the UK finished behind both Russia and France, and failed to register in the throwing events. Indeed the general air of goodwill surrounding UK athletics has ensured that little or no media focus has been placed on both our weakness in this field, and several drugs cases that indicate a wider malaise.

 

Away from the track, the buzzword for 2012 is legacy. For those of us living in Hackney, there is an excitement at the prospect of world class sport being held on our doorstep, but a suspicion that we will be left behind, or left out, as parts of the borough are developed. Take a walk down Eastway, E9, just a few yards from the Olympic site, and derelict properties provide a strange contrast to the expensive redevelopments occurring elsewhere.

 

London 2012 could yet be great, both at the stadiums and for the host boroughs. But it could just as easily be a flop.

 

Paul Stott, Hackney.

Derelict Hackney

The pictures below are of 77 Eastway, Hackney E9. If you were to stand on the western edge of the multi-storey car park that is currently being constructed at the Olympic site, you would just about be able to see this:

You can even peek into what was once the living room and see this:

For those driving into Hackney from the A12, Eastway is one of the first streets you see, having viewed the emerging Olympic stadium site only moments earlier. 

77 Eastway has been derelict for as long as I can remember. It could of course be someone's home - perhaps for one of the many local families who wait to be housed in the area, and cannot afford the exorbitant mortgages the private sector inflicts. As Hackney changes by the day in the run to the 2012 Olympics, 77 Eastway serves as a reminder that some things don't change - at all.    

The European Athletics Championships: Lets Not Get Giddy

Flicking through the weekend papers and the current spate of articles concerning the London Olympics, there seems to be an air of both expectation and success.

Talk of record medal hauls and golds galore indicate that few if any lessons have been learned from England's World Cup flop, and the failure of the 'golden generation'. Perhaps a more realistic assessment may emerge from the European Athletics Championships, which not only features most of the 'proper' Olympic sports (I struggle to count sailing and Taekwondo as genuine Olympic disciplines, to name just two) but starts two years to the day that the Olympics will begin.

I have a liking for the throwing events (discus, javelin and shot put) where it has to be said Great Britain is now rather weak. Indeed our best known coach, Geoff Capes, has faced a series of drugs accusations regarding his athletes. For the record, the women's shot put final is this evening at 6.35pm, and the men's on Saturday at 5.30pm. BBC2 has the most live coverage.

Workforce Fails To Deliver

Proletarian fans of horse racing were left disappointed yesterday at the performance of Workforce in the King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. 

The derby winner, heavily backed and tipped by Freedom Press in the current Anarchist fortnightly, finished a woeful sixth from seven runners. I am reliably informed that a somewhat sheepish editor of Freedom was spotted on the eastbound platform at Ascot station yesterday evening. Hopefully the book shop profits were still in his possession.........

Even Brownsville Has Been Gentrified

From a fascinating piece on Mike Tyson's visit to Peterborough(!) in Saturday's Telegraph:

"It was a crime street when I grew up there but when I went back, there were white folks living there. It was smart. It was like my whole life there was a lie". 

Pub Quiz Revision

This question is likely to be a recurring one, so get the answer lodged in your brain sooner rather than later.

Who was the only unbeaten team at the 2010 World Cup?

Step forward the all whites - New Zealand. Congratulations to the Kiwis for showing just how far effort, organisation and commitment can take you. 

Where Did It All Go Wrong?

With England's World Cup campaign a receding nightmare, attention switches to the quarter-finals. Comparing Diego Maradona's Argentina to England, one thing struck me. The English players looked so bloody miserable. 

Whatever Maradona's faults as a manager, it is clear that the Argentinian players want to play for him, and are having the time of their lives in South Africa. They look happy. Compare that to the England squad, who for most of their time at the tournament looked as if the cat had just died. 

Perhaps Fabio Capello, a man who has had one or two tax problems over the years, should have consulted with that ever cheerful Englishman Ken Dodd?

No Sport Please, We're Marxists?

Today sees the start of the Socialist Workers Party's annual jamboree - Marxism 2010, at the University of London Union at Malet Street. 

As happens every four years or so, this clashes with a much more entertaining contest - the World Cup. Veterans of Marxism, and indeed veterans of the SWP, will be aware of the organisations traditionally po-faced attitude towards sport, and football in particular. Slipping into the ULU bar one day during the 1994 World Cup, I hoped to see the scheduled match between Brazil and Holland. Instead, I and many others were met by TV screens with the following message:

"The organisers of Marxism 94 have requested we do not show World Cup coverage"

As I wrote in issue 64 of Class War, in September that year: 

"The arrogance of a supposed 'revolutionary' party telling its members what they can and cannot watch in their own spare time tells us much about how any future society governed by these gangsters would look".

So, sixteen years on, will anything have changed? Certainly the University of London Union is suggesting so, with this poster promising full World Cup coverage in the bars during the tournament. Has the SWP finally grown up, on this issue at least?

 

Time To Go, Fabio

When you earn £6 million pounds a year, you are expected to deliver.

Fabio Capello led a shambolic England World Cup campaign. Weak in all departments, England's players looked as miserable as their performances. Capello's Sergeant Major act appeared to fool us all into the mistaken viewpoint that he was some form of strategic genius. The scales fell from our eyes when England failed to beat the United States and Algeria, and were thrashed by Germany. Our only victory was against the smallest nation in the tournament - Slovenia. Some return for £6 million a year in Capello's wages.

There are real questions to be asked at the Football Association. We perhaps know too little about Capello's Italian backroom staff. Why Stuart Pearce, a failure at Manchester City and a very far from successful England under 21 manager is on the coaching staff is unclear, save for the need for the FA to have an Englishman about the place. Quite what David Beckham was doing on the England bench during the World Cup is a mystery.
Finally there is the question of Capello's communciation skills. I thought he aged visibly during the tournament, but the BBC interview he gave Gabby Yorath after the German match was at best surreal, at worst indecipherable. There was a time we had no such concerns (does anyone remember Croatia away?) but if he comes across to the players the way he spoke in that interview, it is difficult to see how he could hold the dressing room.

On balance, it is time to go, Fabio.

Love Football, Love England, Get Into Debt!

This is the second in the series of worst World Cup cash-ins. 

Brighthouse are a high street chain offering a range of goods on credit - at what appears to be a minimum 29.9%APR. In other words get something from them worth £100, and you pay £129.99. Such 'deals' offer working class people the opportunity to purchase often essential goods such as cookers and washing machines, but with the long term outcome of greater debt and poverty. 

Still, who cares as long as Brighthouse are waving a flag of St George whilst ripping us off? 

The good news is plenty of people do care. Debt on Our Doorstep are just one example, whilst Brighthouse has attracted the focus of the consumer protection industry, as this expose reveals. Whilst taking the above picture at a local Brighthouse store, I attracted the attention of a particularly aggressive security guard, who clearly saw my actions as potential trouble. Such sensitivities speak volumes.

As the recession bites, the favourite message of David Cameron and Nick Clegg is 'we are all in this together'. That is nonsense. We are on one side, and the likes of Brighthouse are on the other. We should not forget it, even if they do support the same football team as us.........

Chris Sievey Rest In Peace

Anyone who grew up in the North West in the 1980s will be saddened to hear of the death, at just 54, of Chris Sievey, who was the man under the paper mache head of Frank Sidebottom. Indeed I am not sure a finer man has ever put on a paper mache head in the whole of England. 

I have in front of me my 1988 copy of "Frank Sidebottom Salutes The Magic Of Freddie Mercury and Queen, and also Kylie Minogue (you know, ...her off 'Neighbours')" and it is evidence that well before Kylie became a gay icon, and many years before the pertness of her bum became a matter of such concern, her talent had been recognised in Timperley.  Frank Sidebottom was a man years ahead of his time. That the EP was made at all, despite the frequent interruptions from Frank's mum, who kept entering his shed even though "I am doing show business in here mum" is tantamount to the commitment Chris Sievey showed to his art. 

Altrincham FC rightly paid tribute to Frank in a small piece in their website - it is to be hoped a more permanent tribute will follow. As Frank so often reminded us "The Robins Aren't Bobbins".......... 
Frank Sidebottom 

Spotted At The World Cup........

People drinking beer in the stands during games. And very happy they seem too, even if it appears to be Budweiser.

Such boozing was a common sight in England until the anti-hooligan legislation of the Thatcher years. At Old Trafford they used to sell four pints of beer in little cardboard carrying trays, and fans would be absolutely blotto by the time the second half began (which was a good thing in the Dave Sexton years)

Legal changes forced the drinking into areas from which the pitch could not be seen, and United have stopped selling beer entirely in the stands at Champions League games, citing UEFA legislation. I only realised this is a lie when I travelled to Prague and saw Sparta Prague play a Champions League match. Not only did it cost under a tenner to enjoy a view that included the backdrop of Prague Castle, but a good Czech lager could be drunk, facing the pitch, for 35 pence a pint.

If FIFA think its OK to drink at the World Cup during matches, perhaps we should be campaigning for its re-introduction in England?

"....And Yamaha Smiles"

There are no positives to take from England's match with Algeria yesterday. 

The only thing I can say is that is it made me think of one Algerian supporter who sadly did not live to see his country take a point from England. In last week's Sunday Times Ian Hawkey produced one of the best pieces of sports writing I have ever read, telling the story of Hocine Dihimi, known as Yamaha, and secondly that of the 1958 Algerian players, due to play for France in the World Cup, who vanished then reappeared in a rebel Algerian team. 

Yamaha appears to have been one of those terrace celebrities that emerge at certain football grounds (Pete Boyle at Manchester  United and John Westwood at Portsmouth are British examples) He specialised in running on the touchline at Algeria matches, escaping the pursuing police, and mocking those in the VIP seats. Like so many in Algeria, he was to be murdered in 1995 by religious fanatics, for what Hawkey describes as "irreligious frivolity". He quotes one obituary:

"a national figure, for the joy he mobilised, a symbol of a youth that wants to enjoy life, a vivaciousness that has grown thanks to football". 

At Yamaha's funeral thousands chanted "Algiers is not Kabul". Last night Algerians across the world will have chanted again, in pleasure rather than anger. I hope somewhere, Yamaha was looking down upon them, smiling with joy. 

Roll Up Your Sleeves For Arm Wrestling

In my attempts to interest viewers to this blog in as many sports as possible........

I draw your attention to Eurosport's coverage of Arm Wrestling, which is on British Eurosport 2 at 1230pm today.  

This Is It!

At last, the World Cup begins.

The first World Cup I remember is 1978. Indeed I am not likely to forget it. As England failed to qualify for Argentina, my mum bought me a Scotland shirt, and I am ashamed to say somewhere an incriminating photograph exists of an 8 year old with blonde curly locks and a Scotland shirt who looks suspiciously like a very young version of me.

Things improved by the time of the 1982 World Cup. Although there is no image of me wearing a Bulldog Bobby shirt (imagine the fuss if that mascot made a comeback, there must be more chance of World Cup Willy reappearing!) I can remember experiencing that usual mixture of English optimism and crushing failure as we waited for Brooking and Keegan to get fit, and were then promptly knocked out as soon as they were. But what a tournament! The classic Italy v Brazil match of that year provides memories that can never fade - the beauty of Socrates beating Dino Zoff at his near post will never leave me.

Although the best England have played at a World Cup in my lifetime was 1990, the best World Cup I have seen must be either 1982 or 2006. Italy's extra time performance in the semi-final against Germany in 2006 was total football - they had presumeably been told under no circumstances to allow the game to go to penalties - and attacked like men possessed. If only England under Sven Goran Erikson, in 2002 or 2006, had been capable of such a mindset as games approached penalty shoot outs. Let us hope that this time round, Fabio Capello has learned from the mistakes of his predecessor.

Hopes for this tournament? Firstly that South Africa can demonstrate FIFA was correct to give it the tournament. When it comes to Africa, our expectations are (probably rightly) low. The 2010 version of the ANC appears to have all the makings of a kleptocracy in place - perhaps the focus and involvement of the World Cup will shine a light into South African society at all levels. However, four weeks where a people leave the townships and enter the world stage will not mean much if after the football is finished they go back there, and the ANC, and its partners in the corporations, carry on as before.

Secondly that it is one of open play, rather than defensive mindsets and refereeing mistakes. How disreputable was South Korea's progress in 2002? Thirdly that there are some surprises. Of the smaller nations competing it is unlikely that many will be as popular as North Korea were in England in 1966, where, in less politically correct times, they were known as the Diddymen. That year the Diddymen beat Italy, and led 3-0 aggainst Portugal before losing 5-3. If North Korea could beat Portugal 5-3 this time, the World Cup would be perfect.

Worst World Cup Cash-Ins...........

I suspect this could be a lengthy series. 

Lets start with two. First up the truly awful reprise of New Order's World In Motion single from 1990. This features a distinctly rotund John Barnes, who judging from his spells as manager at Celtic and Tranmere has probably found his natural level in advertising. Perhaps the worst bit is that one person in the video appears to be trying to impersonate Keith Allen. Imagine having that on your CV! 

For those of you with strong stomachs, if you have not seen this advert, go here. Finally a memo to Mars - if you are advertising chocolate bars, picking someone who was once fit and who is now fat may not be the best approach. Here's how John Barnes looked before a mars or three a day. 

My second entry comes via Cheshire estate agents Bridgfords. You can just imagine the meeting at their HQ. 

"The whole country hates us. What are we going to do to make ourselves popular?"

"I know, lets have a flag of St George based advertising campaign during the World Cup'

Well, I don't see it working. But here's a couple of examples of their campaign: 

  

World Cup Betting

Seeing as I'm missing the Derby today, I have taken solace in some World Cup betting.

I have gone for old foes Argentina to win the tournament at 7-1. Certainly better prices were available on Maradona's men several months ago, but they are still good odds, and wiser than a bet on England. My other punt was going to be on Ivory Coast to beat Portugal in the group match on 15 June. Sven Goran Erikson is a master of preparation, whose teams usually start well (as we saw so often with England it was only when games wore on and events intervened that he struggled tactically) whilst Portugal have been in mixed form for some time.

The difficulty is with the adult baby Didier Drogba now injured, the Ivorians have lost their best player. I'll see how the betting takes shape nearer the match, but an Ivory Coast win now looks a lot this likely.

Rafa Must Stay - And That's A Fact!

As it is unlikely any Liverpool supporters will be launching a campaign to keep Rafa Bentitez in his post, I guess it falls on us Manchester United supporters to do so.

One of football's great nearly men, Benitez has only had six years to find he comes a poor second best to Sir Alex Ferguson. Surely another couple of seasons and he would be there? Should his departure be confirmed this week, United fans travelling to the Costa Brava this summer are urged to enquire at tavernas and bars if any waiter vacancies are available - in this role at least, Rafa looks the part.

But who will replace the great man? With Mourinho having taken a bigger and better job, Avram Grant likely to head to West Ham, attention will surely fall on Roy Hodgson of Fulham. I don't think Hodgson is that daft - why take the risk of grappling with Liverpool's debt when he is on a nice little number where he is? Hilariously Sky Sports News this morning is talking of a possible return - albeit in the short term - for Kenny Dalglish. His morose countenance has been greatly missed by United fans, ever since Alex Ferguson 'knocked him off his fucking perch'. In the years since his very early retirement Dalglish has spent most of his time on the golf course, or hanging around with gangsters. (If you don't believe me google Dalglish and the Adams family, or look at the case of the explosive device that was discovered near his house)

With little or no up to date knowledge of the game, Dalglish seems ideally suited to a further spell at Anfield. The fans are stupid enough to welcome him back and if he were to take Phil Thompson with him as assistant, we would be spared his scouse loving anecdotes on Sky each Saturday during the season. rafa must stay. But if not, this is the dream ticket - over to you Gillette and Hicks!

Martial Arts on Sky Sports

There is not enough martial arts on televison.

All the better then that Sky are showing some judo this week, on Wednesday at 1800, repeated later and on Thursday, from the Tunisia Grand Prix.

West Indian Cricket: A New Imperialism

Today sees the start of the 20/20 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. 

Few will be aware of the political and diplomatic factors that lie behind the venues matches will be played on over the next month. Indeed I would remain ignorant myself, but for a superb article by Jon Hotten "Why China Spent $100m on Cricket" in the April/May issue of Sky Sports magazine.   

Whilst the West Indies is considered a country in cricketing terms, in political and geographic terms this is a bit of a nonsense. The 'West Indies' comprises 10 sovereign states - each with their own vote at the United Nations. In the scramble for political influence, China, Taiwan and even India have all spent significant sums of money assisting the redevelopment of island cricket grounds. 

The roll call goes something like this:

• Antigua - The Stanford stadium, developed by Sir Allan Stanford, currently in prison in the United States. Least said about this venue the better! 
• Antigua - The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Built by the Chinese. After the shame of the abandoned test against England in 2009, least said about this venue the better!
• Barbados - Hosts the 20/20 final on 16 May. Ground redeveloped by the Bajan government. 
• Dominca - Windsor Park - developed with China. 
• Grenada - National cricket stadium built with China. 
• Guyana - The ground at Providence was built with Indian assistance. 
• Jamaica - Sabina Park has been redeveloped by the Jamaican government, but the island will not host matches in the World Cup. The Greenfields stadium was built with China. 
• St Kitts - Football and cricket stadiums partly developed with Taiwan.
• St Lucia - Beausejour Stadium built in 2002 with cash from the islands lottery.  
• St Vincent - One for Taiwan here. 

In 2007 it even became clear that China and Taiwan were outbidding one another in the drive to get Caribbean support. Where this leaves the 'independence' of these former British colonies, especially when it comes to matters concerning China's human rights record, its foreign policy or the future of Taiwan (or Chinese Taipei as we had to call it during the Bejing Olympics) is open to conjecture. I think we can assume that when the Chinese buy influence, they expect people to stay bought? 

Goalkeeping Crisis: Rules Bent For Manchester City

The wealthier you are, the less it seems rules apply to you. 

Following the injury to Shay Given, the Premier League is apparently set to allow Manchester City to sign a goalkeeper on loan for the remainder of the season, even though the transfer deadline closed on 1 February. It seems City have no confidence in their reserve, Faroe Islands goalie Gunnar Nielsen. As every football fan knows the Faroes have a great goalkeeping tradition - indeed the oddest thing about Nielsen's 17 minutes cameo at the Emirates on Saturday was that he did not take the field wearing a bobble hat. 

 Former Faroes keeper Jens Knudsen. 

Given the amount of oil wealth sloshing around at Manchester City, surely they could have afforded to have more than two goalkeepers on their books? If not, they should be required to bring Joe Hart back from his loan spell, or to play the youth team keeper. In the past events like this were seen as opportunities to blood youngsters, not as excuses to rewrite the rules by which all the other teams in the league are bound. 

Nor is this the first time the transfer deadline rules have been bent for the blue half of Manchester. In 2008 striker Benjani fell asleep at Southampton airport, missed his flight to Manchester, and so only signed for City from Portsmouth after the deadline had passed. The Premier League put the paper work through anyway. 

When is a deadline not a deadline? When Manchester City are involved. 

Boxing: Sons of Cuba

For boxing fans all roads surely lead to the Southbank today.

Andrew Lang's new film, Sons of Cuba, focuses on three boys from the Havana Boxing Academy. Cuba has dominated amateur boxing for more than a generation, and Lang's 90 minute documentary at the British Film Institute is followed by a Q & A session with the film maker.

More details and booking here.