English World Cup Success And Welsh Football Fans

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Until the arrival of Kuwaiti money the best title for a football book ever was Colin Shindler's autobiography Manchester United Ruined My Life. That title alone explained what it was like to be a Manchester City fan when Manchester United were seemingly winning everything and their local rivals were forever struggling.

Crucially even in the rare occasions Manchester City did well. United seemed to find a way to top it by doing something just that little bit better.

Analogies can be taken so far. But I suspect that's the position Welsh football fans feel like at the moment.

Outside of Wales the ABE (Anyone But England) reaction to England's World cup success is taken as jealously. Taken as a whole I'd argue this isn't the case. For most Welsh football fans England is the team you love to hate in the same way Manchester City fans love to beat United. Having a main "bad guy" is part of being a sports fan. If you are not in a tournament then you support the team your biggest rival is facing. Simple as. As an Englishman I get this and have no problem with it.

There is though an anger (as I've explained before) at the expectation Welsh football fans should support England. The example of the BBC Radio Wales phone-in asking "Are We All English Now". Or the Principality stadium speculating on the English team for a game (note the Principality stadium) or as I've seen this morning a Twitter ad from Budweiser offering a free drink to celebrate England's success …..in England and Wales only. This sublimation of Wales' own aspirations is something happily foisted upon this nation unlike Scotland.

And of course let's not forget Secretary State for Wales and walking doormat Alun Chucky Cairns happily letting the cross of Saint George fly over the Welsh office in London. Though let's face it who was surprised Chucky didn't argue about that?

What we have also seen is a preview of attitudes by some English people post Brexit. I've written before how Welsh people should prepare to be treated by some English Brexiteers in a condescending master serf like manner that they would not try on anyone else. This has also raised anger here.

Most of all though there is a certain sense of wistfulness that the magnificent achievement that Wales, smaller in the pool of player resources it could count upon than it's larger neighbour, was able to reach the semi finals of Euro 2016 seems now to have been a long time ago. During that time when companies tried to do England team promotions in Wales, were called out and shamefacedly withdrew them.  When Wales became Wales far more than any six nations would allow. When it acted independently from anyone else. When for a short time. It seemed free.

Now that England have reached the semi finals of the World Cup Euro 2016 seems an irrelevance to English fans now. As it should be.

So what can Wales do to return to those heady 2016 moments? Well more knowledgeable football minds than me could do a better job on that issue. Starting with my wife who says the Welsh women could start the upturn qualifying for their World Cup by beating their opponents in the last qualifying match next month.

Their opponents are England.

Better keep my mouth shut on that.

Until the next time.

Do Tablets Have Feelings? Did Porthcawl Library Miss Me? Can You Be Hammered Twice In A Month? And Other Deep Thoughts

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Firstly it appears that the situation in Bridgend Indoor Market has become even worse than when I spoke about it in October (http://sopralalunawithpenguinsintherain.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/perhaps-maesteg-is-not-only-indoor.html). Even more stalls are closing and today the situation even made the front page of the local newspaper. Next time I'm in the town I'll have another look.

I have to report a death, well I think it's a death anyway of my Samsung tablet. Tried to switch it on this morning, nothing. Not a Kindle of the Fire of life. Speaking of which good thing I'd recently bought the Amazon Fire. Probably the most foresightedness thing I've done in a decade.

Of course the question I need to ask is whether the Samsung felt somehow offended by the arrival of the new younger, quicker, faster pretender and was just so upset it committed tabloid suicide? The timing seems to suggest that it couldn't bare a rival and just gave up.

Must admit that apart from trying to see whether it can be resuscitated to get out a couple of photos I'm not particularly bothered by the situation. Though that's due to luck than judgement.

In an action which again may seem premature (there's a viewing on the house tomorrow) returned to Porthcawl library. It has been a week since I'd put books on the counter and quietly walked out. Assuming that I'd be leaving the borough shortly thereafter. Well that fell through so wanting to avoid the celebrations and parades of the prodigal book borrower arrived there early.

My intention had been to reborrow the two books I'd returned last week. But while Marian Keyes collection of articles Under The Duvet was an easy find it appeared that someone else was interested in Mark Chapman's recollections of trying to instill sport to his children so it was not there. A need arose then to get a football book and the one I eventually decided was.....

Sven Goran Eriksson - Sven My Story

Leaving aside his private life (to be honest I'm not bothered with what consenting adults do in private as long as there are no issues of hypocrisy) the thing which both Eriksson and England's other foreign manager Capello had was that early promise led to extreme disappointment. It should be an interesting read.

It is according to the front cover blurb quoting The Mail On Sunday it is the book "Everyone's Talking About". Don't remember my mother mentioning it to me .

After that memorable return to the book borrowing fold I went to the PAWS charity bookshop and bought four Penguin paperbacks for a pound (Penguin book budget now £2.07).

These books were:

R K Narayan - Tales From Malguidi

This came from the Penguin 60s of pocket books produced to celebrate their sixtieth anniversary.

Nadine Gordimer - July's People

I've read a couple of novels by this writer and she didn't disappoint so this will be interesting.

Ernest Hemingway - Green Hills Of Africa

This is an account of a "big game safari" in East Africa in the nineteen thirties. I ummed and arred about buying this book because I'm assuming he's hunting these animals. Ultimately though I felt it was important to read something from the man who tried to put a sort of romantic tinge in hunting and well aim to shoot it down. That's right I'm going to do a hatchet job.

Finally it's that man again:

The Rainbow - D H Lawrence

Well we'll see what I think of this when it comes amongst the great unread.

Twenty six days ago on a Friday night I watched West Ham lose five nil to Manchester City in the third round of the F A cup. It's happened before. About four years ago they lost to the same score in the cup to Nottingham Forest. The TV cameras cut to a small boy crying his eyes out. Remember thinking that I'd just turned fifty and I felt like crying too.

Well this evening there was a league match between these teams and in view of West Ham's good performance since that match there was a good chance the result wasn't going to be the same this time around.

Well it wasn't . It was four nil.As I sat down with my coffee in front of the TV I watched open mouthed as the team I followed capitulated as they did earlier this year.

I've had better evenings.

Until the next time.

On West Ham From A Distance And England Football Team Stuff Still Flogged In Wales By Tesco

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Well I must admit from far,far away I'm getting nervous and depressed about West Ham at the moment. From a position last season of sixth and into European competition we now lose in the second pre-qualifying round of the Europa League to a team where Google Maps needed to be consulted.

But what's worse is the performance in the Premier League so far. In the first game of the season they lost to Chelsea. You shrug your shoulders and think "well OK Chelsea could not have as worse a season as the last one". So you live with that.

They beat Bournemouth, great. But then they lose 3-1 to Manchester City. And again the ten year old boy in me makes excuses. "They're managed by Pep Guardiola....they're playing great football  against other teams...West Ham have enough injuries to fill any medical TV drama episode...".

However.

In the last three games they have lost to Watford,West Bromwich Albion and Southampton. The fact that they lost is not the issue. If they had lost by a goal you would have grudgingly accepted it. They in fact let in four,four and three goals respectively. Consolation goals do not help. Of course rubbing salt into the wound is the fact that the teams I dislike the most Tottenham and of course the Arsenal are second and third in the league at the moment.

And what I don't understand,from far far away is not the decline but it's speed from where we were at the end of last season. Let me stress I will always support West Ham and will always try to get to as many games as possible. But it doesn't mean that I'm not worried.

Mind you, if there is one place you can hide from a lot of flak if you're a Hammer supporter is South Wales at the moment. West Ham are in the relegation zone at 18th but Swansea City are (at time of writing) just two positions and one point above them. Consequently any conversations with a Jack fan is just mutual moaning at our respective teams at the moment. As for Cardiff City they won on Saturday but still are just outside the relegation zone in The Championship. Their manager's name is Trollope, you would hope that their performance will start becoming more novel.

West Ham then. In Europe and now out of it. Unless things improve (fingers and everything else crossed) they are fast becoming a metaphor for Brexit. And one final thing on this, there is nothing more worse footballing wise than a smug Arsenal fan. If you trust me on anything trust me on that.

You might remember during Euro 2016 I remarked that Official England football figures were being sold in the local Bridgend Tesco. Well in this washout of a day and so many months later I was back in this Tesco branch and......

it's still there

I have mentioned before that Wales must be the only country this happens to. I think that I've mentioned before that you cannot imagine this happening in Scotland and yet the Welsh are supposed to bare this.Also that this was not the only example of this happening through the years and not just around Euro 2016.

Well of course this is much worse now than it was even then given of course that Wales came third in the competition and England embarrassingly crashed out to Iceland. So why are Tesco flogging official merchandise from another country? With behaviour like this do you wonder why people rather go to Aldi/Lidl (and for the record I went to Tesco for a few items I couldn't get at LIDL)?

Perhaps these companies should note that Wales exists and is not a region of England.

Until the next time.

The Serie A Couch-Potato-A-Thon

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

In the laws of marriage the one, indeed the only moral excuse to spend a lot of the day where your backside is securely placed on a couch is if you've been busy for the other part.

On Sunday I had spent three and a half hours driving my daughter back from Epping to Bridgend. She had enjoyed her break with my mother wandering through London tourist spots but it was time to go home. The journey itself was thankfully dull apart that is from the three times where we were driving through torrential rain that was so bad I had the headlights on even though it was before midday and it was difficult working out where the lanes precisely were.

Still eventually we reached home. I had finished my main task du jour. After lunch I could relax without remarks. Time to watch football.

There were, as it happens a number of Serie A matches to watch. Two from last week two from this one, The first was A C Milan vs Torino. Though my Serie A team is Fiorentina I must admit to a sneaking sympathy with Torino. If only because they have to live with the success of the local rival Juventus, who seems to treat them with the disdain of an older brother.

As for A C Milan, well what's not to like about  a club once owned by shrinking soccer fan violet Silvio Berlusconi? Now taken over/or about to be by a "Chinese Consortium" including it appears state backed enterprises. The sort I would suspect that cost many European jobs through subsidies such as steel and/or low pay and/or poor working conditions all under a undemorcratic regime. Again what's not to like about a club bankrolled by that?

But to be fair it was the Milanese side that put on the style in the first half. Scoring two goals that were basically crosses that were put away in fiery style by the Columbian striker Bacca. Come the second half he scored a third through a penalty.

Bacca was, by any measure,smokin.

He was substituted, clearly to his disapproval, towards the end of the match. He received a well deserved applause upon leaving. Presumably this also enclosed the Torino players given that during the remaining few minutes of the second half they scored twice.

But then, at the last minute of extra time Torino was awarded a dubouis penalty. Sort of six of one and half a dozen of the other if you ask me. Anyway it was saved by the A C Milan goalkeeper Donnarumma. A seventeen year old yet so tall he could easily walk into a store and illegaly buy alcohol .

3-2 then to the Milanese and to be fair they deserved it. Just like the afternoon nap I took afterwards. Upon awakening I remembered. West Ham were playing Manchester City. Checked on the score. Hammers down 2-0. Not being a masochist I went onto the next game. Pescara - Napoli.

Pescara newly promoted. Napoli almost champions. On paper this should have been obvious. However when I write on paper things get inevitably crossed off. The football version of that was when Pescara scored two goals in the first half. First match I know but those goals were such free flowing team quality that I'm not sure I'll see similar this season.

Unfortunately for us underdog romantics Napoli made it level in the second half. Still if I was a Pescarian I would first not eat meat but continue to munch at fish and then would feel happy at what the season would hold given that performance.

Next up was Lazio - Juventus which was on paper the most exciting of the four but (you catch the drift now) turned out to be the most dull. Juventus won by a goal. The only thing that sent me to a state of frenzied apathy.

Then a break, as wife/daughter wanted to watch the new drama series on Queen Victoria. Not my cup of tea but it'll be a success judging how much the females in the house liked it.

I noticed Rufus Sewell was in the cast. That reminded me that he starred in the shortlived BBC TV series Zen based on the Michael Dibdin novels. Though set in Italy the British actors spoke in a British accent rather than talka likea this which was fair enough. Only to have the love interest played by an Italian actress with a genuine accent which rather spoilt the effect.

Anyway, that finished and to the final game. Inter Milan - Palermo.Inter another Milanese club owned by the Chinese and Palermo which is for sale. I'm assuming the Sicilian team will be sold to whoever makes the current owners an offer they couldn't refuse.

Inter dominated. They had chance after chance after chance in the first half yet they could not score. I can only recall one Palermo opportunity in this period. But, as football is always more capable of than any other sport I can think of, early in the second half Palermo scored.

It was a lucky goal. A shot that hit the heel of an Inter player and deflected to the net. Still a goal's a goal.

Inter eventually equalised and the score finished 1-1. But they are not a team at ease with itself. If Inter was a person I'd have arranged counselling long ago.

And so the Serie A Couch Potato-A-Thon was finished for day. Monday Ligue 1...in between cutting grass weather permitting.

Until the next time.