Mr Bodell is back, and riled!
With things piling up at the moment, it`s been a few weeks since I last penned my mid-weekly column, so I`ve decided to retire?
…not really, but higher paid people than me are packing it in at the moment!
Yes, I`m talking international football retirements, it`s a disgrace, and you shouldn`t be allowed to retire in my opinion, whatever your situations. Kris Boyd became the latest to give up this week. He`s played 28 minutes in six games under George Burley.
First of all I think Mr Burley is an idiot, Boyd should be playing for Scotland irrespective of whether he features regularly for Rangers or not, and secondly Mr Boyd is an idiot. Plenty of Scots would give their right arm to play 2.8 minutes for their country.
The other thing is the pettiness with which it`s been done, he`s declared he won`t play for Burley again, which to be honest, is cutting his nose off despite his face. Am I alone in realising therefore that there is something deeper than his lack of playing time affecting this decision?! There is obviously a personality clash, and this needs to be sorted for the sake of Scotland – as much as I dislike them!
By the time George Burley does leave the Scotland post, Boyd`s best years could`ve come and gone – is he really going to let personal relationships get in the way of him bettering himself, or is he gonna get back in the Rangers team, and the Scotland team and prove Walter Smith and George Burley right?
It`s almost the same with Jamie Carragher, who didn`t quit over a personality clash, just because he wasn`t getting picked. Well sorry, but Gavin Mahon is scarcely picked for England, he doesn`t earn xty grand a week, but he hasn`t retired. Look at it at the moment, Gary Neville and Cashley Cole are injured, both full back positions available, John Terry, injured also. Are you trying to say that Matty Upson, good a player as he is, would be picked ahead of Carragher? No chance. Carragher is a class act, perhaps a bit slow, but an excellent defender, one poor game in a hundred and regularly sorts out the worlds best centre halves.
To concur with talkSPORT presenter Adrian Durham, Carragher is a bottler, he bottled his chance to play for England, because he wasn`t getting played. Well, I got news for you Mr Carragher, ‘not getting played` isn`t going to change in international retirement.
Is this some sort of lesson for any past and present England managers? ‘Oh no, look at England crumble without me?`. I`d hope not, ‘cos I wouldn`t want him representing my nation if that was the case.
Finally, there`s the Paul Parry case. A young striker, playing well for his club, amongst a group who are hardly inundated with quality forwards, Bellamy aside, and he goes and retires. HAVING BEEN TOLD HE WOULD BE STARTING THE NEXT GAME?good one boyo. Footballers do lack intellectual quotation, but that is another one which I cannot work out.
England and Scotland weren`t doing great when Carragher and Boyd retired but Paul Parry`s Wales are having their best spell in ages, ridiculous.
And now of course, we see Almunia, Clichy and Arteta being linked with England spots. NOT because we lack talent, simply because we lack players with the balls to slog their guts out and work hard for their national place.
Finally, on a much more serious ball matter, good luck to Geoff Horsfield in his battle against testicular cancer. If he fights as hard as he did with centre backs, he`ll be fine again sooner rather than later.
Keep the faith,
Tom Bodell
