I DON’T know if too many of you have taken the trek to Morecambe’s Christie Park, but I always thought it was quite a homely little ground.
So it may only hold 6,400 when full, but with three covered sides and nicely compact, it has always struck me as a ground that has a good atmosphere.
The fans of the Shrimps understandably are proud of their home, and when you go to a game there you can always take time out before the match to have a wander down to the seafront and have your picture taken with the statue of comedy legend Eric Morecambe.
So why has Sol Campbell taken against the place with such a passion?
Campbell’s future as a Notts County player is over after only one game.
The 34-year-old agreed a five-year deal at Meadow Lane at the start of this month for a reported £40,000 a week after leaving Portsmouth at the end of last season, with the former England defender being the most high-profile recruit to the Magpies playing staff following County’s takeover by Munto Finance and Sven-Goran Eriksson’s arrival as director of football.
But after just one outing at League II level the former Arsenal and Tottenham defender was saying his goodbyes to teammates after asking to leave the club.
Suggestions are that Campbell had a change of heart as the Football League moved in to investigate the takeover of the club.
But maybe his debut in last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Morecambe might just have proved as big a shock to Campbell as the result probably was to the Christie Park faithful.
Chances are he was not overly impressed by the pie and Bovril provided at half-time!
THE passion of the Welsh for rugby is totally understandable.
The fact that a nation so small has ruled the world in the 15-a-side code more than once is amazing – but why is there so much angst over the possible retirement of Gavin Henson?
Henson may be a bit of an icon, but to me he comes into the category marked ‘enigma’.
That is an enigma in the manner in the way that former Celtic star Paul McStay gained the same tag North of the border with the definition being ‘Paul McStay is an enigma ... he has played one good game for Scotland and we have waited ages for another one’.
Possibly that is a little bit hard on Henson, as he has had more than a couple of good games for the red-shirted ones, but all the same, he is hardly of the same calibre as JPR Williams, Phil Bennett, Gareth Edwards – and probably most apposite – Barry John.
Should Henson call time on his career at 27, he will be echoing the departure of John, who bowed out at the same age.
But in 1972, and playing as an amateur, John found the demands of international rugby were taking their toll.
If Henson walks away it will not be because he is having to count the pennies.
Given his professional playing career, the endorsements that came with that and some judicious courting, pennies are not really a problem.
In fact if he does retire he could fill in the time by counting out what he has in the bank in pennies – it may take some time.
People of Wales take heart – I think Gavin will be doing fine whatever he decides!
A MUCH overhyped Manchester derby served up plenty of controversy.
Craig Bellamy’s reaction to a pitch invasion, Gary Neville’s celebrations and the amount of injury time played have all earned themselves a ludicrous level of attention when the real controversy was Sir Alex Ferguson’s remark that this was “probably the best-ever Manchester derby”.
Not enough attention has been paid to this complete aberration on the part of the knighted one and I will throw up a few examples of more classic clashes between Manchester City and that lot from Salford.
For a start in the old First Division in September of 1989 came probably the most memorable meeting at Maine Road, when the team in blue scored five and the other lot got one.
And if you want to concentrate on games at Old Trafford, then how about the 1974-75 season, when one Denis Law back-heeled the ball into the net to give City victory and help send United down.
You might be getting the idea that any kind of impartiality has gone out of the window here – and you would be right.
But all the same I do think the current obsession with making big games even bigger is not helping the game.
Bellamy and Neville simply should know better. Neither of them are kids and both have the kind of track records to know the implications of their actions – in fact when Bellamy looks back on his career he will be totting up the far too many suspensions he has served.
And fans getting over-wrought when we are in September is plain daft – the title will not be decided right now!
This season will take its course and United will continue to plot their route to another title with the efficiency that years of experience has bestowed upon them, while City – along with Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and possibly Spurs – will plot to try and dethrone them should they show any sign of weakness.
