The headlines… ODF: Not Dead; Sol Campbell: Hilarious; Steven Ireland: Dead to ODF

Howaya folks,

First off, we’re not dead, which is a bonus to our mind.

I had intended to do a piece on the ‘fackin shit innit’ trend of hooligan movies we have to endure from idiotic English directors who somehow think these stories are important, along with a review of the weekend and indeed a preview of it and in fact about five or six different pieces in the last few weeks… however, I had to edit a decent paying magazine on something so trivial it would make your eyes bleed to read it.

Such is the life of a freelancer. It’ll keep me in pints and all the horrendously over-priced Superquinn vegetables a man could desire for a few weeks though so had to be done. Anyway, seeing as how very few people are employing me this week I’m back in the game baby…

Where better to start than Sol Campbell. A man now called Judas by the fans who knew him for longer than any others, this time he didn’t even give himself time to build a good, bad or indifferent reputation with Notts County supporters. But just what could have driven Campbell out the door so quickly?

I am a man to jump to conclusions so I’ll put it right down to him not fitting in at County to such a miserable degree that he thought about his holiday home in France/Spain/New York and then thought about the team bus on the way to Lincoln come Saturday week. With that, he made the choice that any man in his position would have made. He got the fuck out of dodge.

This morning he apparently chucked his most likely shit training gear back in the locker and got in the only car to compare to Sven’s in the car park. Campbell is at an age, and at a club, where he of course can call the mistake himself. It’s a rare enough situation. Dozens of players (not an exaggeration) who signed for Roy Keane at Sunderland must’ve known within two training sessions and a reserve game that they would either get zero Premier League playing time, or indeed just plain well hated Sunderland.

Yet, most were young blokes still making their cash and going to a club to hand in a resignation would only result in a lawsuit or three, other clubs thinking you’re a trouble maker and, most likely, a straight choice of a loan move to Dundee or Dundee United. Given those options, keeping the head down at training and playing out your contract until a move comes up sounds a decent bet.

Campbell however, having played at the highest level, as well as Spurs, was facing into misery he didn’t need. So, while at times he does strike you as being a little batshit crazy (indeed nearly approaching Tony ‘Quote the Raven’ Adams levels of crazy at some moments), all in all this seems a sane decision. Especially as the move – along with comments such as "I think eventually I'll play in the Premier League again - who knows? By the end of my fifth year, who knows? Player manager, or player coach, who knows?" – sounded so monstrously stupid in the first place.

Campbell has seen sense, now I only hope that ‘Arry Redknapp signs him for one final, hilarious chapter in his playing career.

The playing career of Stephen Ireland though is finished in many Irish eyes though, he’s now just the bald git in the middle of a team of tits at Man City. I meant to get to this before now but his comments over the weekend that Trapattoni’s “arrogance” has driven him away from the national side brings two things to mind.

Firstly, that Ireland retired from international football for the first time at about the age of 15 having been upset by Brian Kerr’s decision not to play him for his country at a tournament in Cork, so looking at bigger picture we shouldn’t be surprised at this stage that the poor little fella’s feelings are so easily hurt.

Secondly, and most importantly, Giovanni Trapattoni has won the Serie A title twice as a player and seven times as a manger; won the European Cup twice as a player and once as a manager; the Uefa Cup three times as a manger along with league titles in Germany and Portugal to boot.

How could he be so arrogant to a man who won Man City’s player of the season award when they finished 10th in the Premier League last year?

There’s only one person getting above their station here and it isn’t the Ireland manager.

Later folks, JJ