Post by Bernard's briefs on Oct 17, 2003 12:49:03 GMT
I began this lengthy preamble on Tuesday on the pretext that I couldn¹t send
a piece out to all my Gooner pals which was largely devoted to the Irish
debacle in Switzerland and somewhat devoid in Arsenal content. But by the
following day, it occurred to me that I¹d traversed on another tangent and
few might be interested in my rambling thoughts on the sordid events which
have sullied the sport in recent weeks. I wasn¹t going to bother sending it
but in the end I decided that having spent so long in the writing of it, I
would at least finish it this morning and leave it to your discretion
whether to delete it, or not (on the off chance you might have nothing
better to do?). Meanwhile normal service will be resumed on Monday
________________________________
Hi All
You'll have to forgive me but for once I am glad to report the lack of
Arsenal content in this week's piece, because apart from Sol Campbell's
sortie to Soho Square last week for a £20,000 slap on the wrist, it is a
relief that for once the Arsenal haven't been associated with any of the
shameful shenanigans, the details of which have been all too gleefully
splashed across the tabloids these past couple of weeks (although I have
seen the rumours that Jermaine Pennant was in the car with Leeds player
who's supposedly accused of some more depraved behaviour).
Again my apologies of I am at all inaccurate but I am happy to admit that I
rarely get past the back pages of the tabloids and the little I have gleaned
to date from either of these incidents comes from the brief text messages
I've received from those whose pleasure it is to pander such gossip (you
know who you are :-) !!)
Then again I've just seen pictures on the news of the fracas at half-time in
Turkey, where (in case you haven't seen them) apparently Ashley Cole is the
target of some abuse (no doubt racial) and it is Emil Heskey directly behind
Ash who reacts and attempts to lean over the Arsenal player to land one on
the person responsible for the insult. Thankfully it doesn't look like
either of the Arsenal players are culpable of any indiscretion, as Sol looks
like he's attempting to get his bulky frame in between the hotheads to calm
them down.
However it would appear from the recent spate of disgraceful incidents that
some young footballers have got everything they have ever dreamed of so
young, that they can no longer get their kicks from normal everyday
activities, like buying a £100 grand Ferrari, or going out on the town with
a bevy of star shagging beauties!
Nevertheless I refuse to pass judgement on specific incidents. We don¹t know
if those involved are guilty as hell and should therefore be kicked out of
the game for good, or to what extent the victims were Oagent provocateurs¹
looking to make a killing with such an easy mark as many of our footballers
are, motivated principally by the thought of flogging such a scandal to the
red-tops. While I would be full of remorse if I should cause offense to some
innocent victims, my cynicism is a sad reflection on our society today.
And if some football players are indeed guilty of dreadful criminal acts, I
honestly hope they feel the full force of the law. Yet to my mind the media
also has some guilt to bear because while they might be duty bound to report
the news I find it absolutely despicable the way they seem to revel in such
a gloating fashion over a young stars fall from grace. It is a sad
reflection on our society because their ability to delight in such drivel is
a direct result of our insatiable greed for such salacious gossip
Perhaps the FA have got it ass about tit and their random drug testing
policy should be used to ensure that drug taking is mandatory! Just think,
if all the Premiership managers could rely on their youngsters to be smoking
the odd spliff on a Saturday night, they could count on the fact that they
wouldn't be galavanting around town, getting pissed out of their heads and
into deep doo-doo but would be vegetating in front of the TV and crashing
out for a nice early night?
On the subject of which, I find the whole Ferdinand furore somewhat
farcical. Considering the amount of recreational drug use in society these
days, who are we kidding to think that all these young wealthy professionals
in the prime of their lives are actually living like monks, with none of the
nefarious habits of the vast majority of their peers.
Obviously if they want to perform at the peak of their capabilities, they
can't afford to abuse their bodies. Yet from the way the system was
portrayed in a recent TV programme, the visits by the drug testers are
anything but random and the scenario that has been reported with Rio (where
his mobile phone was switched off once he left the club) was referred to as
though it was a common occurrence. It was said that it is not unusual for
clubs to get notice of a visit and where they are aware that certain players
might have indulged in recreational drug use, they simply suggest that it
would be best that they don't appear at the training ground on the day.
There might be some who will be shocked if the system is being abused in
this way. However according to my warped principles there is a fundamental
difference between a system set in place to maintain a level playing field
by preventing drug cheats and one which might ruin the careers of
recreational drug miscreants because they are unable to live their lives
according to laws which millions of others aren't prepared to abide by, or
even agree with.
Unlike athletics and other sports where young athletes are liable to fall
prey to corrupt coaches who might encourage them to take all sorts of
strange steroids and untested concoctions which might result in their balls
shriveling up before they've had a chance to use them, or worse still, send
them to an early grave, as far as I am aware, their isn't a culture of
chemically improved performances in football (in this country at least)
I don't know this for a fact and I could be way off the mark. For we did
hear quite a lot about Wenger dosing his players on large quantities of
Creatine when they won the double in 98 and like any big business, football
is now so success oriented that there must be plenty of temptation for
managers to resort to absolutely any means to gain a slight edge over the
competition.
Perhaps players increased longevity in the modern era is a result of
specialized dietary and fitness techniques but I can't help wonder
occasionally, as the pace of the game gets ever faster and the likes of
Sherringham, Shearer continue to compete at the highest level for the entire
ninety minutes. In the knowledge that all most players want to do is to
continue playing for as long as humanely possible, it would be easy to
understand what might motivate them to resort to 'mothers' little helper' in
order to maintain their levels of performance.
It might be somewhat naive of me to believe that football, with it's
multimillion pound stakes, hasn't been permeated by the all pervasive
influence of the drug cheats. Nevertheless, even if it has, the
dissemination of information via the internet has ensured that the
technological advances are so readily available that as in most other
sports, it would be easy for the cheats to always remain one step ahead of
the testers, with masking agents and the like.
Consequently although I remain convinced otherwise, whether performance
enhancing drugs are, or are not prevalent in British football is not the
question because the only players I am aware of who have been caught out in
recent times, are those who've been guilty of using recreational drugs.
Our modern young stars are such massive role models these days that they do
indeed have a major responsibility to set an example to all those kids who
worship the very ground they walk on and who are only too keen to imitate
their heroes. However considering the sort of larrikins the likes of Rio
Ferdinand likes to 'large it up' with, I for one am not so naive to believe
that if he decries the use of drugs in public, it doesn't mean he hasn't
been known to indulge in private.
a piece out to all my Gooner pals which was largely devoted to the Irish
debacle in Switzerland and somewhat devoid in Arsenal content. But by the
following day, it occurred to me that I¹d traversed on another tangent and
few might be interested in my rambling thoughts on the sordid events which
have sullied the sport in recent weeks. I wasn¹t going to bother sending it
but in the end I decided that having spent so long in the writing of it, I
would at least finish it this morning and leave it to your discretion
whether to delete it, or not (on the off chance you might have nothing
better to do?). Meanwhile normal service will be resumed on Monday
________________________________
Hi All
You'll have to forgive me but for once I am glad to report the lack of
Arsenal content in this week's piece, because apart from Sol Campbell's
sortie to Soho Square last week for a £20,000 slap on the wrist, it is a
relief that for once the Arsenal haven't been associated with any of the
shameful shenanigans, the details of which have been all too gleefully
splashed across the tabloids these past couple of weeks (although I have
seen the rumours that Jermaine Pennant was in the car with Leeds player
who's supposedly accused of some more depraved behaviour).
Again my apologies of I am at all inaccurate but I am happy to admit that I
rarely get past the back pages of the tabloids and the little I have gleaned
to date from either of these incidents comes from the brief text messages
I've received from those whose pleasure it is to pander such gossip (you
know who you are :-) !!)
Then again I've just seen pictures on the news of the fracas at half-time in
Turkey, where (in case you haven't seen them) apparently Ashley Cole is the
target of some abuse (no doubt racial) and it is Emil Heskey directly behind
Ash who reacts and attempts to lean over the Arsenal player to land one on
the person responsible for the insult. Thankfully it doesn't look like
either of the Arsenal players are culpable of any indiscretion, as Sol looks
like he's attempting to get his bulky frame in between the hotheads to calm
them down.
However it would appear from the recent spate of disgraceful incidents that
some young footballers have got everything they have ever dreamed of so
young, that they can no longer get their kicks from normal everyday
activities, like buying a £100 grand Ferrari, or going out on the town with
a bevy of star shagging beauties!
Nevertheless I refuse to pass judgement on specific incidents. We don¹t know
if those involved are guilty as hell and should therefore be kicked out of
the game for good, or to what extent the victims were Oagent provocateurs¹
looking to make a killing with such an easy mark as many of our footballers
are, motivated principally by the thought of flogging such a scandal to the
red-tops. While I would be full of remorse if I should cause offense to some
innocent victims, my cynicism is a sad reflection on our society today.
And if some football players are indeed guilty of dreadful criminal acts, I
honestly hope they feel the full force of the law. Yet to my mind the media
also has some guilt to bear because while they might be duty bound to report
the news I find it absolutely despicable the way they seem to revel in such
a gloating fashion over a young stars fall from grace. It is a sad
reflection on our society because their ability to delight in such drivel is
a direct result of our insatiable greed for such salacious gossip
Perhaps the FA have got it ass about tit and their random drug testing
policy should be used to ensure that drug taking is mandatory! Just think,
if all the Premiership managers could rely on their youngsters to be smoking
the odd spliff on a Saturday night, they could count on the fact that they
wouldn't be galavanting around town, getting pissed out of their heads and
into deep doo-doo but would be vegetating in front of the TV and crashing
out for a nice early night?
On the subject of which, I find the whole Ferdinand furore somewhat
farcical. Considering the amount of recreational drug use in society these
days, who are we kidding to think that all these young wealthy professionals
in the prime of their lives are actually living like monks, with none of the
nefarious habits of the vast majority of their peers.
Obviously if they want to perform at the peak of their capabilities, they
can't afford to abuse their bodies. Yet from the way the system was
portrayed in a recent TV programme, the visits by the drug testers are
anything but random and the scenario that has been reported with Rio (where
his mobile phone was switched off once he left the club) was referred to as
though it was a common occurrence. It was said that it is not unusual for
clubs to get notice of a visit and where they are aware that certain players
might have indulged in recreational drug use, they simply suggest that it
would be best that they don't appear at the training ground on the day.
There might be some who will be shocked if the system is being abused in
this way. However according to my warped principles there is a fundamental
difference between a system set in place to maintain a level playing field
by preventing drug cheats and one which might ruin the careers of
recreational drug miscreants because they are unable to live their lives
according to laws which millions of others aren't prepared to abide by, or
even agree with.
Unlike athletics and other sports where young athletes are liable to fall
prey to corrupt coaches who might encourage them to take all sorts of
strange steroids and untested concoctions which might result in their balls
shriveling up before they've had a chance to use them, or worse still, send
them to an early grave, as far as I am aware, their isn't a culture of
chemically improved performances in football (in this country at least)
I don't know this for a fact and I could be way off the mark. For we did
hear quite a lot about Wenger dosing his players on large quantities of
Creatine when they won the double in 98 and like any big business, football
is now so success oriented that there must be plenty of temptation for
managers to resort to absolutely any means to gain a slight edge over the
competition.
Perhaps players increased longevity in the modern era is a result of
specialized dietary and fitness techniques but I can't help wonder
occasionally, as the pace of the game gets ever faster and the likes of
Sherringham, Shearer continue to compete at the highest level for the entire
ninety minutes. In the knowledge that all most players want to do is to
continue playing for as long as humanely possible, it would be easy to
understand what might motivate them to resort to 'mothers' little helper' in
order to maintain their levels of performance.
It might be somewhat naive of me to believe that football, with it's
multimillion pound stakes, hasn't been permeated by the all pervasive
influence of the drug cheats. Nevertheless, even if it has, the
dissemination of information via the internet has ensured that the
technological advances are so readily available that as in most other
sports, it would be easy for the cheats to always remain one step ahead of
the testers, with masking agents and the like.
Consequently although I remain convinced otherwise, whether performance
enhancing drugs are, or are not prevalent in British football is not the
question because the only players I am aware of who have been caught out in
recent times, are those who've been guilty of using recreational drugs.
Our modern young stars are such massive role models these days that they do
indeed have a major responsibility to set an example to all those kids who
worship the very ground they walk on and who are only too keen to imitate
their heroes. However considering the sort of larrikins the likes of Rio
Ferdinand likes to 'large it up' with, I for one am not so naive to believe
that if he decries the use of drugs in public, it doesn't mean he hasn't
been known to indulge in private.