A Deep Depression - The Storm Before The Calm!!Posted on Wednesday Feb 11 15:00:00 GMT 2009 So, the winter nets are up and running, (and by all accounts they are pretty good), the new covers have arrived and the digital scorebox has been ordered. The grounds however are waterlogged following the worst spell of weather I can remember in 20 years or so. Yet, all is calm at Blighty, even though we are just over eight weeks away from playing cricket in 2009!
February is a miserable month at the best of times with the only redeeming feature being that it only lasts twenty eight days this year. Once March arrives, the grounds begin to take some shape and an extra one or two members can be seen in the bar occasionally, usually huddled around the heaters which have not been switched on, (funny how they are always on in the height of summer)!
Most of the TV football (and dare I say rugby?) is pretty turgid stuff but at least we have the Windies cricket tour to cheer us up! Er, well no!!
The media continue to give us the blah blah about our national football team and their world cup expectations in 2010 when in truth, both our national games (and teams) are in turmoil. And there is little sign of improvement.
Quite frankly, I give up with international sport. I really can't wait to see some honest club cricket being played because I feel that money has, finally, killed sport, or at least what it should stand for, worldwide. The safety net of a central England contract means little opportunity for most cricketers that could do as good a job as many of our embarrasing current mob. The tone of this spout may change come Friday in Antigua but I am not holding my breath. Likewise, I am not expecting too much from our footballers this evening in Seville; quite what we will learn from seeing Beckham jog to a record equalling 108th cap (and further insult to Sir Bobby Moore and others for good measure) I do not know! If Owen and James are the basis of our 2010 challenge then stop the world I want to get off.....NOW!
Overseas players (many of them are average at best) continue to deny our young up and coming stars places in top league football and county cricket whilst the spineless FA and the ECB continue to kowtow to the media (Sky and Setanta mostly) as money and image continues to alienate most of the true fans.
UK jobs for UK people? Yeah right!
Maybe it's just the weather getting me down so I'm off to watch some horse racing in the West Country on 16th March (Taunton, Exeter and Chepstow).
I promise I will return in a better frame of mind OK.
Right, I'm off to the club for a beer to cheer myself up........yeah, that'll do the trick :( |
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