Pete Barrow: Are the old boys up to the new game?

Jan 15 2010 by Peter Barrow, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Any nation who have to play a rubbish version of rugby with crash helmets and half a mattress up their shirt is off to a bad start.

But then compound it by making such a fuss over rounders and claiming that the showpiece is the World Series when only they take part is obviously deluded.

Okay, before all you American apologists out there start pointing out that the World in series has to do with the competition’s original backers, save your breath.

But what is happening at Manchester United and Liverpool does tend to suggest that the men from over the pond still don’t get ‘sawker’, or however they pronounce it.

As Tom Hicks Jnr, right, quits the Anfield board after plainly misjudging the way to approach involving fans in the club, it has also been revealed that the Glazer family have been paying themselves handsomely while the Red Devils’ bank account heads for meltdown with some observes suggesting that the Old Trafford club are set for a Leeds United-style fall from grace.

With the exception of Aston Villa, where Randy Lerner clearly ‘gets’ how you play the English game, the American input into English football would appear to be little short of nightmarish.

But the simple fact is that to Uncle Sam’s sports backers, they are talking franchises and cash, not club loyalty and understanding the passion of the fans.

For the sake of the reds of Anfield and Old Trafford, it is to be hoped that the transatlantic ties don’t prove ultimately to be terminal.

I  HAVE never quite understood boxers.

You know when you play contact sports that there is a risk of injury, but I never felt that taking part in a sport where the physical contact is the overriding factor has seemed sensible.

While I can appreciate and enjoy the skills of the greats like Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, I still have the strong feeling that even for them, it must have been nice when it stopped.

So why is Ricky Hatton going back in the ring?

Maybe he needs one last pay day, but you get the feeling he almost can’t help himself and like any form of addiction he just needs another fix.

The suggested showdown with Amir Khan is certainly bound to be big box office and I will definitely want to see that bout, but it is to be hoped that Ricky makes this the last one before the sport takes too big a toll on him.