I can’t be alone in relishing watching this none-more-combative striker.
Yes, he’s a boo-hiss pantomime villain, but by god wouldn’t most want him in their team? Least of all Arsenal, who could do with a bit more of the Bergkamp about them – outrageously skilled yes, but also adept at the darker arts.
I also tend to agree with the view that Mourinho took a large step towards winning yesterday’s battle when he waited for Wenger, who appeared from the tunnel some time after everyone else, and offered his hand.
Then when Wenger waited for the ref, in vain, at half-time, you also felt that Arsenal were not in control of things as they may have been in other eras.
I hold my hand up and freely admit to being a huge fan of Mourinho, and, to a lesser extent, Costa (the Roy Keane to his Alex Ferguson).
I predict it’s going to be a hell of a season (in a good way ;-))
Bingo Little says
THIS is why we need down arrows.
Jim Cain says
I think he’s the nastiest player I’ve ever seen, in a good way. He makes Suarez look like Gary Mabbutt.
bang em in bingham says
He’s an arsehole and if he were to move to my team (Stockport County !) i would not watch…Also shame on Mike Dean yesterday for another dire performance.
IanP says
Agreed, a nasty and unpleasant little man who adds nothing to the gaity of the nation – much like his manager.
aging hippy says
I’m beginning to think Costa has diplomatic immunity. How he wasn’t sent off yesterday or why the FA hasn’t already announced they’ll be taking action after seeing the tv evidence is baffling. Hopefully tomorrow…
madfox says
Arsehole is the word that comes tp my mind too, Bargem. I am finding it increasingly difficult to watch a match with him in it, he winds me up so much. The annoying thing is, he has the talent, he doesn’t need to do this. Which I guess means he enjoys it. Which just makes him more of an arsehole.
Bamber says
Ignoring events at the lower end of the table, it has already been quite a season for those of a West Ham persuasion…winning at Anfield for the first time since 1963 as I was celebrating my 50th with my family (€5 at 9-1), beating the apparently invincible Man City yesterday (€10 at 9-1) and beating Arsenal at the Emirates (€5 e/w at 66-1 on Kouyate to score the first goal (that’s €422.50)). In between we lost to Bournemouth and Leicester at home (€5 on Mark Noble to score anytime at 8-1) but all memories of the dullness of the Allardyce era are banished. We have a team full of exciting talents, cover in every position, Reid, Noble and Tomkins rejuvenated, and we’re going out to actually try to win games. Of course it won’t last but this is what we support West Ham for – not so much the winning bit or the great returns on my tenner-a-week betting allowance, more the joy of football played in the right spirit which brings us to Costa. He’s a disgrace of course but as I regard much of the enjoyment of football as akin to soap opera, with the wonderful difference that you won’t read leaks of next months plotlines in the papers, you have to have pantomime villain types. We don’t have to like them but they liven things up.
Campo says
I liked this about Costa:
‘I ain’t gonna lie…I enjoyed that…Good ‘ol fashioned bruiser…’ was the Instagram message from Crystal Palace defender Damien Delaney after he went into battle with Diego Costa three weeks ago. Years of wrestling with nasty strikers in the Championship and below prepared the 34-year-old Delaney to deal with the nastiest of nasty b**tards. What did he do? Ignored the sneaky, wind-up tactics and simply nailed both him and the ball in every 50-50 challenge. Perhaps if Gabriel had spent a spell at Mansfield Town on loan, he would have known to simply laugh at Costa’s pure kn*bbery. Costa set a very obvious trap and Gabriel walked straight into it like a mouse on his very first day of being a mouse.
http://www.football365.com/news/16-conclusions-chelsea-2-arsenal-0
MC Escher says
That’s how I would play someone like that (lowering our sights about 10 divisions on a good day of course). It’s the only language players like Costa understand, I’ve found. As a neutral I prefer watching Arsenal over the other Big Clubs because there’s jut less to hate about them, but they do need to stop looking for the P.E. teacher to come and give detentions. These things start at the top and if Wenger had been more of a George Graham type then they’d have a bit more steel. They would of course play more like the George Graham Arsenal so you can’t have it both ways.
Bingo Little says
In Wenger’s early years, we collected more red and yellow cards than any other team in the league, and were roundly condemned by the press for doing so.
You can’t have it both ways.
Our “enforcer” these days is Francis Coquelin, and he does the job very well. It’s gone largely unnoticed amidst the Costa furore, but the knock he took about half an hour in, and his subsequent withdrawal, were the turning points in the game, even before the red cards began flying.
Gabriel himself is also not short of steel. Last weekend he elbowed Stoke’s Arnautovic in the head off the ball, and was extremely lucky to escape censure. If he’d been wearing a blue shirt, I presume this would have made him a “genius” too.
MC Escher says
Touchy this morning 🙂
From viewing the brief highlights of the match on MOTD, Costa seems to be aware of where the ref is looking, and he times his infractions to suit. That is a certain kind of genius, one which also no doubt a technique honed with help from instructions from above.
Bingo Little says
Aha – MOTD. No wonder you’re misinformed ; )
MC Escher says
I’m fully aware of the futility of discussing a football match unless you were actually at the game. I’m trying to help here!
Bingo Little says
I was just teasing you, although sustained exposure to MOTD punditry can rot your brains.
Sitheref2409 says
He’s a scumbag, pure and simple.
Keane and Souness were to a greater extent, in your face nasty – you’d at least see it coming. Same with most of the ‘nasty’ rugby players. Costa’s what a lot of people I know call ‘a snidey wee fuck’. I just think he’s a scumbag
Dodger Lane says
Costa is a wind-up merchant, perfect Mourinho material, but honestly what the hell does Wenger tell his players prior to the game. Does he brief them at all ? I know it’s easy for me to say, but don’t react, laugh in his face by all means but don’t fall for it. Ignore the bugger for long enough and eventually he’ll get himself sent off.
Bingo Little says
He won’t though, will he?
He’s not been sent off in 5 years and it was quite clear Mike Dean wasn’t going to send him off on Saturday, despite ample opportunity to do so.
Dodger Lane says
Mike Dean is a bit of a bête noire for Arsenal fans, isn’t he ? Not the first time he’s upset Wenger and fans, or am I getting him mixed up with someone else ?
Bingo Little says
We have a 27% win rate under Mike Dean, 54% under all refs (Chelsea’s, by way of comparison, is 55% under Dean).
There’s also this footage of him appearing to celebrate when Spurs scored against us a few seasons back:
He’s not a popular man amongst Arsenal fans, by any means, and there’s a lot of groaning when he’s announced for one of our matches, which makes a performance like Saturday’s all the more aggravating.
I don’t, personally, think he’s bent – though many do. I just think he’s a peacock who likes to be the centre of attention and isn’t always that good at his job.
There’s not much point getting wound up at Costa – he did what he does – but Dean’s performance was utterly woeful, and almost certainly decided the match. It’s quite right to say players shouldn’t react to provocation, but it’s also the job of refs to ensure that the provocation isn’t constant. If I get a chance when I get to work I will post images from Saturday of the scratch marks across Gabriel’s neck from his encounter with Costa, and a charming snap of Kurt Zouma with his hand round Gabriel’s throat.
Anyway, it’s gone now. We remain three points ahead of Chelsea and we didn’t lose any ground on the leaders. The main thing from our perspective is whether Coquelin’s knock was bad, because he’s absolutely vital to us. It would also be nice if a few refs might have the sense to mark Costa’s card after watching this game.
Regarding Costa, all I will say is that if your idea of entertainment is watching a player of relatively limited ability (he’s hardly troubled the net since the end of Jan and didn’t score a single Champs League goal last season) slap, scratch and shove opponents, and wipe his spit on their faces then that’s all good, but it’s not what I go to the footie for, and I know a few Chelsea fans who are of the same mind. The Bergkamp comparison in the OP is farcical on every level.
MC Escher says
I could be mis-remembering, but didn’t Dean say that he was actually celebrating his decision to play an advantage which led to the goal?
Anyway, we should treat some refs like serial killers, and not give them the attention they clearly crave.
Dodger Lane says
I’m a Leeds United fan Bingo, I’m used to watching players of very limited abilities these days.
MC Escher says
C**k and B***m (in case any scouts are watching 🙂 ) could play in the Prem easily. What we really need is a chairman who isn’t a criminal or a narcissist nose hoovering attention seeker.
Neither of which describes our current or previous chairman, of course.
Jim Cain says
“…slap, scratch and shove opponents, and wipe his spit on their faces”
I love how you say this like it isn’t incredibly entertaining.
Bingo Little says
Each to their own, Jim. Some people like a little football with their panto.
Jim Cain says
The ‘panto’ has always been part of the game. The tactical analysts, the stats freaks and the euro football experts are the Johnny-come-latelys.
Bingo Little says
Players scratching each other, or wiping spit on each other, has not always been part of the game. You certainly didn’t see behaviour like this 30 years ago (the aggrieved look to the ref, rather than the headbutt):
You seem to acknowledge this above when you say that Costa is the nastiest player you’ve ever seen.
Football doesn’t exist in a vacuum of aesthetic perfection, and I’m happy to acknowledge that the rag-tag aspect of the game has always existed and been celebrated.
I just don’t see much to celebrate in a player whose main preoccupation is attempting to incite childish squabbling. If you do, then that’s fair enough, we all take our thrills where we can get them.
Jim Cain says
Well that clip is completely unacceptable obviously, involving as it does the wonderful Momo Sissoko, formerly of Liverpool.
Bingo Little says
I thought you might like that!
Jim Cain says
I wish I could find the clip of Suarez going down in agony against Norwich, only to leap up again when he realised the attack was still on.
Sitheref2409 says
What year was the perfectly timed Rudi Voller /Frank Rijkaard gobbing incident? 1990? That’s almost 30 years ago.
Bingo Little says
That’s a fair shout.
DougieJ says
Last time I checked, this thread had about 6 replies, so forgive me for the late response, but my Bergkamp comparison is hardly ‘farcical on every level’ is it? DB was undoubtedly the greater talent but he could be a nasty piece of work as well.
And it’s not as if Costa is Joe Journeyman from St. Jobsworth’s FC is it? A Spain international who it was widely agreed was perhaps Mourinho’s key signing in Chelsea winning the league last year (and playing some thrilling football along the way, despite much revisionism since the season ended).
Please don’t take this as a wind-up, but there is some truth in Mourinho’s shtick. He is a winner. Wenger is many things to be admired but winner? Not so much.
Very few great teams have not had a nasty bastard in them. Part of me likes the fact that creative, forward players can’t be kicked out of the game as they often were in the 70s and 80s.
ianess says
Your comparison of Bergkamp with Costa is cobblers. Dennis was probably the most outstanding foreign talent I’ve ever seen play in the Premiership. He had sumptuous ability, was a master of space and time and graced the field of play.
Costa is a niggling, fouling, irritating, scratching, card-waving, ref-hailing, coward.
Dennis put it about a bit for the very same reason the player he was named after did. He and Law , in particular, were kicked from pillar to post. They weren’t going to be bullied into submission. Law was fearless and combative, as well as being possibly the greatest Scottish footballer ever.
DougieJ says
well I beg to differ Ian. I’ve already stated that Bergkamp wins any contest on ability with Costa. Where I differ with Bingo is in the degree of that difference – after all, it’s not as if the current Spain squad is short of options.
But let’s cut to the chase:
The great Liverpool teams had a Souness
The great Arsenal teams had a Keown
The great Man U teams had a Keane
It’s my opinion, and that of many others, that Arsenal could do with a touch of the darker arts to complement their aesthetic qualities.
Bingo Little says
You seem to have confused Diego Costa with a classic, old school hard man. Which he plainly is not.
The objection to him isn’t that he puts himself about. It’s that he looks to provoke and then falls to the floor crying at the first opportunity. He’d have been laughed out of the sport in Souness day.
You also appear to have a strange view of “winners”. Wenger has won as many trophies as Mourinho since the latter returned to English football. He just doesn’t shout about them quite so loudly.
Finally, you’ve confused Chelsea with a team who played “thrilling” football last season. Effective, yes. Thrilling – please. No volume of delusional Martin Samuel columns can make it so.
Diego Costa has scored one (one!) goal for Spain in nine appearances. He was outscored in the champions league last season by Yaya “the Postman” Sanogo.
The comparison to Bergkamp is farcical, because he hasn’t a fraction of Dennis’ ability, he has achieved farless in the game and, while Bergkamp had a mean streak and could handle himself, he didn’t spend entire games deliberately attempting to cheat. And when I say “cheat” I’m merely quoting one of Costa’s own Chelsea team mates.
For what it’s worth, the comparisons to Keane and Souness are also farcical.
OOAA
ianess says
There’s a strong argument to be made that playing Costa is heavily reducing Spain’s effectiveness.
DougieJ says
Re: comparison to Keane and Souness – most can remember both aggression and finesse with Souness. With Keane – maybe not so much…
MC Escher says
Slight amendment Dougie: I think most of their fans would say that the key to the Arse’s recent golden spell was Vieira. Everything went through him and he seemed to be everywhere.
Bingo Little says
Thierry Henry didn’t hurt either. Glory days.
Bingo Little says
My favourite example of refereeing vanity is this, from Jeff Winter’s autobiography, about a game at Anfield near the end of his career. Winter decides to treat himself by letting the game run a little long so he can drink in the atmosphere. At the final whistle, he notices that the Kop’s cheers seem unusually fervent….
“It was longer and louder than normal, even for a big home win. Did they know it was my final visit? Was the applause for me? They are such knowledgeable football people, that it would not surprise me.”
MC Escher says
Love it. That Chelsea fan from way back, Tim Lovejoy, had something similar in his book. Along the lines of “my biggest regret at leaving Sky Sports was that I would no longer be in a position to influence the game.”
Sitheref2409 says
This great review of his autobiography in the peerless WSC:
http://www.wsc.co.uk/the-archive/42-Media/145-no-love-no-joy
Deviant808 says
That is such a brilliant skewering that it’s always worth re-posting.
As is this
Ali says
Thankfully, were we now to pick a Premier League XI, our no9 can be Anthony Martial.
Jim Cain says
Amazing first couple of games from him. There was loads of talk about him being raw and a gamble, but he’s as composed in the box as anyone I’ve seen.
Bingo Little says
He’s looking very promising so far.
ianess says
It’s a shame Costa wasn’t around in the Souness era. One can only dream.
Hawkfall says
Ian Rush told a story of how, in one of his first games for Liverpool, an opposing defender targeted him and floored with a crude tackle. Souness went to over to Rush and told him to get up and stop complaining. Rush got up and for the rest of the game watched Souness kicking the living **** out of the opposing player. You’d want him on your team.
Neilo says
As an occasionally suffering Gooner, pals often ask me which player – time/space rules aside – I would sign were I manager. Answer is always the same: Souness. One part ASBO, one part aesthete. Perfection.
Bingo Little says
Does he have to become our manager once he retires though?
Neilo says
I told you, man, your time/space rules hangups don’t, like, apply here. I remain manager across the multiverse *pauses to lick toad – thinks about Saturday’s result and cries a little*
ianess says
Hugh MacIlvanney told the story of Souness coming up against one of the notorious hard men of Italian football (can’t remember if it was Baresi or Gentile). As the player advanced toward him, Souness put his foot on the ball, growled and beckoned the player toward him. The Italian decided that retreat was the better option.
Jim Cain says
Another great Souness story is when he broke the jaw of the Dinamo Bucharest captain when the ref wasn’t looking. Great days. Characters. Isn’t it?
ianess says
I preferred the game when it was hard-tackling men playing it.
duco01 says
And then of course there was Souness’s charming ‘ tackle’ on Gheorghe Rotariu of Steaua Bucharest in a European Cup tie in 1988, where GS just basically plants his boot in the other guy’s swingers and then claims innocence. I could post the YouTube video, but I’m sorry, it’s just too terrifying.
count jim moriarty says
When he was at Boro, Souness spent most of his time as minder for Bobby Murdoch (free transfer from Celtic, old, fat, couldn’t run, but the best passer of a ball I’ve ever seen in a Boro shirt). I particularly remember one game against Dirty Leeds at Ayresome, when Souness and Terry Yorath spent 90 minutes kicking seven bells out of each other. Don’t recall either of them seeing the ball too much!
ianess says
Murdoch was a prince of a midfielder. Outstanding passer, as you say, with a marvellous eye for the killer pass and also possessed a fantastically powerful shot. Key member of the Lisbon Lions.
I was at a dinner a few years ago to raise funds for Tommy Burns. Tommy had skin cancer and no-one knew how much longer he had. Tommy gave a long speech which was one of the most inspiring and moving talks I’ve ever heard. He was truly a wonderful man. One small incident that I recall was Tommy reminiscing about driving to Celtic Park one morning and seeing Bobby Murdoch waiting for a bus in the pouring rain. ‘The great Bobby Murdoch. Waiting for a bus!’ Celtic were notorious for running the club from a biscuit tin.
Hawkfall says
Which they kept up for ages. It saddens me as a fan to think of how much money the club has made from Lisbon Lions merchandise over the years and how little of that has (presumably) made its way to the players.
ianess says
It’s truly disgraceful how little they paid their stars. Inter Milan were after Jimmy Johnstone and Stein never even made him aware of their interest. Also, Busby wanted him, but was warned off. Can you imagine that attacking foursome – Best, Law, Charlton and Johnstone.
I’ve been to several fundraisers at Parkhead and there’s something special about the club and its players. Some great people have played for them over the decades. Danny McGrain is one of the nicest, humblest people one could ever have the pleasure of meeting and Tommy Burns is one of the greatest people I’ve met in my life.
ianess says
Diego now charged with ‘violent conduct’. Should help stoke Mourinho’s paranoia further.
Bingo Little says
Gabriel also charged with “improper conduct”. Both clubs charged with failing to control their players. Santi Cazorla “warned” – god knows what about.
Interesting to see how this plays out.
DougieJ says
Sooooooooounnnnessssssss! As you’d expect, a massive hero of mine.
Some extracts from this recent (paywalled) Herald article on the playwright Alan Bissett writing a play about the great man:
DougieJ says
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/13582862.Hugh_MacDonald_meets_Alan_Bissett__Playwright_places_boyhood_hero_Graeme_Souness_onto_a_completely_different_stage______/?ref=mr&lp=10
Hawkfall says
He was a great player, as has been described above. He also deserves a lot more credit than he gets for tackling the sectarian problem.
But he wasn’t a great manager. His Rangers teams relied a bit too much on folk like Roberts and Hurlock, and I think Walter Smith did a much better job in creating teams that could play a bit after he had gone. As for Liverpool, well Jim and other Liverpool fans will know more about it than me, but I think he was a disaster, the wrong choice at exactly the wrong time (just as the PL and CL money was about to start flowing). They were overtaken by Ferguson’s Utd and they’ve been paying ever since.
Jim Cain says
At Liverpool he made too many changes too quickly. He took on an ageing side, but it was still a very good side, and evolution – not revolution – was what was needed.
Bingo Little says
The FA have overturned Gabriel’s red card and he won’t serve a ban. Costa punishment not yet announced.
Jim Cain says
Just been announced. 3 match ban.
The campaign against Chelsea rolls on.
Bingo Little says
Maybe not the smartest move for Mouringo to have praised his behaviour and called him man of the match. It gave the press their cue, but it probably didn’t help the mood at the FA.
Bingo Little says
Whoops.
Mouringo isn’t even the most special drummer in the Beatles.
Bingo Little says
Costa gets an immediate three match ban.
deramdaze says
Good news, although apparently Chelsea do better without him anyway.
Always difficult to know where to begin when addressing the sheer odious-ness of CFC (a football club, NOT a money laundering operation, how dare you!), but the treatment of their lady doctor is, even with their back catalogue, truly staggering.
At the level of sport I go to (ESL, Ryman’s, Conference South, local rugby), female involvement is two-a-penny, but not at Premier League level.
And check out how many females there are in the crowd!
I really hope Wenger gives her a call, she was the only classy individual at Stamford Bridge……sorry…..’The Bridge’ (c).
Jim Cain says
Carneiro wasn’t their lady doctor, she was just their doctor.
deramdaze says
Erm…..I said lady doctor because I couldn’t remember her name (and 99.9 per cent of people in authority at Chelsea are men) but, and I never thought I’d ever say this, ‘whatever’.
You don’t agree with the rest?
Jim Cain says
Not really. I have no idea whether Eva Carneiro is particularly good at her job or not, or whether she is ‘classy’. And neither have you to be quite frank.
deramdaze says
F— me sideways, I’ve just read the other contributions and you’re a Chelsea fan!!!!!!
What first attracted you?
Was it the throwing of bananas at your own players or the opposition’s?
Was it the hooliganism that drove crowds down to 6,000 c. 1975.
Was it the selling of fascist literature on the terraces?
Or IS IT a Russian billionaire laundering money with the tacit approval of consecutive UK governments?
We need to know!
Jim Cain says
I’m not a Chelsea fan, so none of it applies. Sorry you’ve wasted your time there.
Bingo Little says
Be honest, Jim. We’ve all seen your Kerry Dixon tattoos.
Jim Cain says
I don’t even follow the men’s team, let alone the women’s!
deramdaze says
It’s not personal, so any comments about their odious-ness will hold plenty of sway with those who are, so ‘wasted time’, nah.
MC Escher says
The histories of many/most football clubs contain unsavoury aspects. As our Lord nearly said, “let he whose club is without sin throw the first banana.”
ianess says
I’m not certain how great a part her gender played in her appointment, nor how great a part it played in her dismissal. The man who accompanied her on the pitch has also found his role downgraded. He, however, has not gone on social media to thank supporters.
The more important issue is the medical duty of care to the injured player which should not be left to the manager to decide when it should be exercised.
Bingo Little says
There is a slight distinction between the two doctors, in that Mourinho appeared to engage in a more personal confrontation with Carneiro as she left the pitch. This included shouting at her in Portuguese and calling her a daughter of a whore. I suspect this will be raised in any legal proceedings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1NlKMozQIk
I don’t see this as primarily a gender issue though. Both officials seem to have been treated poorly.
I have to admit, chauvinist that I am, I’ve never been a fan of men shouting at women in a work environment.
ianess says
I think he used the Portuguese expression which, if directed at a man, would translate as ‘son of a bitch’. ‘Prostituta’ is the word for ‘whore’; ‘puta’ for ‘bitch’. I have worked in many industries, not all male-dominated, where the language commonly used was extremely salty and disagreements were not uncommon.
Shouting at an employee by a person in a position of power is wrong, though, sometimes, understandable. How do the gender politics play out if it is a woman shouting at a man; a man shouting at a man; a woman shouting at a woman?
Is your point of view not rather sexist in implying that women can not handle the occasional blow-ups which can occur in a high-pressure work environment or that they should never be subject to these?
Bingo Little says
Yeah, you could call it sexist. I’m just being honest. I’ve been in work situations where men have shouted at women junior to them and I have always found it grates on me worse than any of the other scenarios you mention. I’m not trying to rationalise it, or say it has any bearing on Carneiro’s claim or the law, I’m just making a personal observation.
Obviously, women should be treated the same as men, and they (broadly) are.
I raised the insult because he used the feminine form, which reportedly means “daughter of a whore” (my Portuguese isn’t good enough to verify). The detail of the insult isn’t the issue, I’m simply pointing out a distinction between Carneiro and her male peer: the insult was aimed at her (feminine tense and in Portuguese). This might explain why she felt the need to offer thanks for the support – she was the one who was insulted and yelled at in public. Just a thought.
ianess says
I speak Portuguese (learned it while working in Mozambique). She’s pushing it, despite what’s being claimed as to its meaning.
I can understand you find it uncomfortable if a man shouts at a woman. That’s a normal reaction. However, if the work circumstances would, indeed, warrant an extreme bollocking, should it be toned down because a woman is involved? In real life, probably. Is that sexist?
Sitheref2409 says
Except, as I understand it, she had been summoned by the referee.
There’s also the argument that she’s damned either way:
Either the player REALLY is badly injured in which case straight on, OR he’s faking convincingly in which case she got sold a dummy.
Bingo Little says
I should have known you’d speak Portuguese, Ian!
In fairness, I don’t think Carneiro has made any claim regarding the translation, or issued any sort of statement on the whole affair, beyond that short, ill-advised sentence on Facebook. On the available facts so far, she does have my sympathy, because this looks like a slam dunk constructive dismissal claim, and also because – as a consequence of all this – she’s had the paps all over her for weeks and her private life has been dragged through the tabs (apparently she “likes sex” – scandal). There could be far more to the whole incident than meets the eye, but on what we’ve seen so far she’s more sinned against than sinning, in my view, irrespective of gender. Fearns has my sympathy as well, but he’s not the centre of the media scrum or the immediate subject of the conversation.
I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of shouting and effing and blinding as a management technique, although I appreciate that top level football is very different from my field. I think you can give someone a total bollocking with your voice lowered and language in check, and that goes double if there’s an audience. Shouting and swearing generally just smacks of lost control.
I’ve seen very few people respond well to being screamed at (and I’ve seen a lot of people get screamed at). Not everyone is a “pressure makes diamonds” type, and most people tend to linger on the bollocking, rather than moving on and performing. Purely anecdotally, and (of course) generalising wildly, women don’t seem to respond all that well to being shouted at and verbally abused by men. That might be a sexist observation, but it’s an entirely accurate one from my own personal experience.
I’m not saying everyone needs a pat on the head, by any means. I’ve witnessed, and indeed participated in, some horrendous managerial shellackings that were delivered totally cold and without emotion.
What’s funny about the Carneiro debacle is that it stems from the ability of Eden Hazard to convince both the ref and his own medical staff that he was injured when he, in fact, was not. Hazard is a very good footballer, but he’s also world class at buying free kicks and cards, and Mourinho had spent much of the summer imploring refs to protect him from rough treatment – one suspects in order to further enhance his ability to be overwhelmed by gravity. To watch that strategy blow up so spectacularly on the opening day of the season was fairly amusing.
ianess says
The doctor was called on to the pitch by the ref and, clearly, had to enter the field of play. It shouldn’t be up to the manager in any case to override the duty of care the medical staff owe to the player.
I agree with all you say, bingo and I also think she has an excellent case.
Mourinho completely lost it, as is obvious even from his extraordinary physical reaction at the time.
Finally, I agree that any bollocking is best delivered in a cold, unemotional manner. That way is much the most effective.
Tiggerlion says
Jon Fearn is a physio. He’s back working with the team.
The medics have a duty to attend to a player when asked to do so by the referee. The ref beckoned them on twice after Hazard went to ground.
Mourinho seemed to expect them to ignore the rules of the game, make a judgement on the severity of an injury from 30 yards and sit on their hands, whilst he yells at Hazard to get on with it.
Her Facebook message in full:
“I would like to thank the general public for their overwhelming support. Really very much appreciated.”
Clearly, a sackable offence in the world of football.
ianess says
It was a provocative act to post her winsome tribute to her public supporters which was absolutely guaranteed to further incense Mourinho. You do not cross these guys – it’s their way or the highway. Look at how Ferguson dealt with Stam’ Becham, Van Nistelrooy etc
I’m not entirely sure she’s doing her gender a favour when it comes to working in the world of football.
Junglejim says
My commiserations on being * wrongly* identified as a Blue, Jim – I had to supress a smirk knowing your real affiliation.
As a lifelong supporter ( first home game 1968 as if it matters) I really ‘don’t give 2 fucks’ ( to quote P. Weller Esq ) when the tired old crap about being the vilest club in the world etc. is trotted out – no history, awful football now & in the past, and a 100 % racist catchment as it is utter bollocks.
Any of the negatives of the past can be levelled at any number of clubs, large & small & as for the modern Premier League era, it’s a ruthless often shitty, money making business with almost none of the true romance of yesteryear.
So, is one expected to start watching rugby or change clubs if one doesn’t like some aspect of how one’s club is run? As if.
It’s showbiz essentially, with Panto elements & occasional sublime moments.
No more, no less.
Bingo Little says
Fair points, well made, Jim. As ever.
ianess says
The Chelsea team of the mid-60s to mid-70s were a tremendous team to watch – Cooke, Hudson, Osgood etc
deramdaze says
I thought Chelsea beat Arsenal last week but, following the latest outburst from ‘The Bridge (c)’, it would appear that Wenger has once again done the Portugese 8 year old up like a kipper!
I don’t know how you did it, Arsene, but major respect to you, Sir.
As for the one with the special record collection (Bryan Adams and Phil Collins…..I kid you not!), I doubt he’ll make it to Christmas.
Bingo Little says
Wenger appears to have finally clocked this season that it’s best not to talk directly about Mourinho at all. He simply feeds off the attention.
There was a telling moment at a press conference earlier in the Summer where the hacks, as they always do, badgered Arsene for comment on Mourinho’s latest round of bile, and he replied “I’ll leave you to continue your love affair with him without interference”. He’s obviously realised that you will never beat Mourinho in the media – it’s his domain, the area where Guardiola memorably proclaimed him to be “el puto jefe” (“the fucking boss”).
He’s also probably spotted that Mourinho desperately needs someone to fight against, and that if you deprive him of a direct opponent he will turn that aggression elsewhere, and quite possibly inward, on those around him. I think Pellegrini has largely reached the same conclusion.
Meanwhile, for anyone who is heartily sick of the Mourinho/Wenger “beef”, and who likes their homo-eroticism a little more overt, there’s this….
RubyBlue says
‘Black and Decker’. Hah! Thanks, very good.
DougieJ says
That is stupendously good.
deramdaze says
It would seem that the ‘2 fucks’ quote by that master of the Queen’s English, Weller apparently, does not extend to Chelsea’s current manager because he REALLY does give two fucks.
I think he’s close to a breakdown.
paulwright says
Jose’s outburst achieved what he wanted it to do. We are still talking about that, and not the poor form of his team. Now we are talking about Costa, and not the continued dodgy form of his team. He is very good at distracting from the big issue to side issues.
Meanwhile over at my lot apparently there are 10 days for Brendan to save his job. People HAVE noticed how poorly we are playing
Bingo Little says
That’s definitely his M.O, but Chelsea have won their last three games. I don’t think anyone would be discussing their form today if he’d kept his head down.
Bingo Little says
While we’re here: do you reckon Rodgers will turn it round?