Football is mad, insane, bonkers. Leonardo, Suárez, Family Terry, The Telegraph, Barry, PSG.

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By Tony Attwood (on the fringes of reality)
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Leonardo, Paris St Germain’s Brazilian sporting director has decided to resign from his position at the end of the transfer window.
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On their web site (www.psg.fr) PSG said “We regret his choice but respect his decision.”
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He left AC Milan as manager after one season, left Inter as coach after six months, and played for PSG for one season (1996/7).   During this spell at PSG he spent over 200 million euros on people like  Javier Pastore, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, not to mention David Beckham.
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Unfortunately he is also serving a 13-month suspension for pushing a referee.  He had been suspended for nine months but appealed and as a result the suspension went up.  PSG were considering appealing again but now probably won’t.
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It was not his first suspension either – he was suspended before for criticising the referee in one game – something that doesn’t happen very often in England (if it did no one would be left in the grounds).
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Meanwhile while France have Leonardo, we have  Suárez (suspended) who having said he wants to leave the UK now says he might not.  The story is that Arsenal bid £30m for him, and Liverpool say they want £40m.

Suárez has said that the media is to blame for him wanting to leave, but according to the press he now says it is the lack of Champions League football that makes him want to leave.  Easy to confuse the two.

In an interview on Tuesday on Sport 890, Suárez apparently said (sorry my Spanish is not good enough to verify this), “There have been no offers yet, but Liverpool know exactly what is going on and what I want. My agent is in charge, he knows what I want, I am resting and relaxed. I am due back in about 10 days, on the 21st of July … a phone call could change everything.”

Now several things come to the fore here.  Real Mad say they have had no bid from Arsenal for anyone, and the S-man says no one has bid for him.  So seemingly Arsenal don’t make bids – which won’t surprise the AAA.

Here’s another good one from S-man.  “Friends call me up to ask if I am moving to Chelsea, to which I laugh. Don’t believe everything you read or hear! I am sometimes off the grid. I don’t even know where my phone is sometimes.”

Well yes, fair enough, given that he leaves everything in the hand of his agent.
Meanwhile here is a quote from the Telegraph yesterday.  “Real Madrid is still understood to be Suárez’s preferred destination and there is a very plausible theory that Arsenal’s offer was also motivated by a desire to get the Spanish club moving on a prospective deal for Gonzalo Higuaín.”

Guess what, that “theory” first appeared on Untold.  When I wrote it I went through every on-line paper and could find no one saying it, so I said it.  Nice to see Untold now can drop stories into the media these days, but a shame we don’t get paid for it.

“Suárez to Madrid and Higuaín to Arsenal remains the most likely outcome of all the various negotiations,” says the Telegraph, which would be comforting if I now didn’t realise they were using Untold as a source (especially since readers have now blamed me personally for the Higuaín deal going wrong.  Oh how the power is going to my head).

So what else?  Apparently we are going to buy Gareth Barry, although Untold never predicted that.  (How dare the Telegraph do that.  They toy with my affections and then cast me aside and use another source!)
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Oh for some real news, and just when one despairs the Terry family oblige.  Terry The Elder has been charged with racially aggravated assault following his arrest after an incident on Fenchurch Street.   Quite a family.

John Terry was of course cleared of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand last year.   Prior to that case he was arrested after a fight at a nightclub in 2002, but was later cleared of four charges.   There was an incident also when he was filmed taking money to show people around Chelsea’s training ground.   And his mother and mother-in-law Sue Poole, 59, were cautioned for shoplifting from Tesco and Marks & Spencer in 2009.

And I have a recollection of Mr Terry senior having a previous incident concerning drugs, and admitting an offence of dealing cocaine in June 2010.  Of course none of that is Mr Terry junior’s fault.

Back in Liverpool Luis Alberto, Iago Aspas, Kolo Touré and Simon Mignolet all said how wonderful it was to join Liverpool.  So they were then asked about Luis Suárez, along the lines of “Should he stay or should he go?” (Oh they are so good these journalists).

If you want to know how desperate things are getting in Media World,  there’s your answer.  Guess what, they all said, he is a great player and want him to stay.

The trouble with Suárez is that although he has apologised in the past he has always done it reading someone else’s script.  Maybe he doesn’t want to be in Liverpool any more because he doesn’t like the work of their script writer.

11 July Anniversaries

The books…

The sites from the same team…

24 Replies to “Football is mad, insane, bonkers. Leonardo, Suárez, Family Terry, The Telegraph, Barry, PSG.”

  1. Can’t we all just forget all this rumour nonsense and talk about something else? I know this is a quiet time and people are desperate for their football fix but I suggest we talk about food, that was an interesting subject last month, or our favourite films or books.

    Some of my favourite films are: The Manchurian Candidate (original version starring an extremely cold-blooded Angela Lansbury). The Maltese Falcon. Southern Comfort. Rear Window. The Sweet Smell Of Success (not the story of Wenger’s early years at Arsenal).

    Reading a wonderful book at the moment by Bulgakov, A Country Doctor’s Notebook, about his life as a doctor in
    the back of the beyond in Russia just as the revolution is about to break out. Fascinating and really moving.

    Hope that’s diverted people’s minds from transfer news for a few minutes.

  2. Here’s a different conversation for you Rupert.

    I’m currently holidaying in Poland and this time decided to pop up to the coast. I’m pleasantly surprised by how busy and warm it is (I type this from my deck chair on the beach) as I never expected a beach this far north to be so hot.

    Yesterday I went out on a 900 horse power speed boat which changed the colour of my shorts.

    We are staying at the Olympic preparation centre near Gdynia with Anita Wlodarczyk and her family which is very nice I must add and is all centred around sport. There are other Polish sports celebrities here including weight lifters, and the basketball team but I don’t know who they are.

    Tonight we take the train back to Poznan and then on to Leszno, the journey should take about 6 hours. We then have dentist appointments, nights out with more cousins, aunts and uncles and a hair appointment before driving back to the UK.

  3. Its been great to watch old videos of Luke Kelly and the Dubliners. What a great voice. On Raglan Road……
    I did very well recently in treating a case of shingles with homeopathic Variolinum,…
    Suarez ? who he? Barry ? an island somewhere ? Father Terry, a dodgy priest ?

  4. Is this the Leonardo that does possess a ferocious elbow if I am not mistaken ?

    Do you know anyone who can actually sing “The Rocky Road to Dublin” ??

  5. Ok Rupert I’ ll bite – here goes….
    Godfather 1 & 2 ,

    Joy luck club – I ‘ve always asked mothers and daughters to watch this together but I ‘ve always gotten strange looks !
    A real tear jerker .The full movie here .Enjoy !
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjxDdTHosy4

    Field of dreams – This scene always get me tearing .
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz1TJ4r7bOU

    Big fish – the final dream sequence ( don’t view if you haven’t seen (or want to see )the movie
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAvoR20o9s4

    Its been very long since I’ve read a novel ,but my favourites authors have been ,Robert Ludlum , Wilbur Smith ,James.A.Michner ,Leon Uris ,Ken Follet, Steven King,Sidney Sheldon ,Mario Puzo .

    Non-fiction – Dr.James Herriot , Larry Colins & Domminique Lapier comes to mind .
    And the ‘Usual gang of idiots ‘ at Mad magazine ,especially the late Don Martin .

  6. @Stuart,
    What I would like to know is
    1. How easy was it to pronounce the delectable Anita’s surname.
    2. Did you have to look up the spelling before including it in your comment?

  7. I was wondering if you are going to be watching the refs and manu this season. I have a strange suspicion that we have not seen anything yet. Manu is UK’s poster club and they will not let manu fail, to them it’s like UK failing. So be sharp and keep them monitored please.

  8. Sounds a good read I think Rupert. The only fiction I have read for the last few years are the national newspapers, but I’m willing to give this a try. I am fascinated by Russia, and particularly the Russian revolution.

    What about The Master and Margerita? Apparently it is a fantastic book. Have you read it?

  9. Nicky,
    It took some practicing but I have it now, as for spelling it, that took a while also. TBH, I can read and speak Polish at a very intermediate level, I just have no idea what the words actually mean (except piwo).

  10. @Marcus, I have read it and it is brilliant. For many Muscovites it’s held in as high esteem as say Great Expectations or similar iconic English novels.

    I too have had a fascination with Russia for years which led me to marry a Russian, not my wisest decision.

    If you want to experience the madness and mystery of Russia I insist you read Gogol’s Diary Of A Madman and The Nose, two crazy short stories, the latter in which a nose masquerades as a high ranking official and refuses to return to the face from which it detached itself. Gogol also wrote Dead Souls, an epic novel which he never finished as he went mad and burned his manuscripts.

    @Stuart, I like Poland. I’ve been there about half a dozen times. In west London where I live there’s been a Polish community for years.

    Have you been to Zamosc, it’s built in a Renaissance style and is really spectacular?

  11. @Stuart,
    I see you’ve got your priorities right.
    I’ll have a Piwo with you anytime!

  12. @tony, i honestly dont think you first suggested arsenal bidding for suarez to get the hig deal moving. i remember after reading that piece and commenting that there wasnt anything new said. thats because i had already read such things

  13. The best thing I can say about the Barry transfer, is if you have not read the multi-blogger interview with Jenks last week; have a look.

    Whilst it is worth it in general, the response to a question about that transfer is just perfect.

    @Rupert interesting movies, will have to look for the Sweet Smell of Success (only one I have not seen from the list), but I have an irrational preference for movies that are younger than me.

    So my faves start at around the Good the Bad and the Ugly and move forwards from there — although Some Like it Hot managed to sneak in somehow.

  14. @Rufusstan, well Some Like It Hot is a fine film. You might like Charley Varrick, Walter Matthau in excellent form and a film just younger than yourself. I expect you’ve seen the original Taking Of Pelham 123, if not do so.

    Try a crazy Greek film called Dogtooth. Very interesting.

  15. @Rupert– Not seen Charlie Varrick in 20 years or more, and yes to Pelham. No need to add original by the way, how many remakes are ever better? (Maybe Fincher’s Girl with a Dragon Tattoo?)

    Pelham sits you in early De Nero/Pacino territory, so for me its Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, (and those 2 Gangster films).

    Dogtooth looks interesting, but IMDB’s ‘similar you might like’ splits 50/50 love/hate (Y Tu Mamá También and Dr. Strangelove VS the Wes Anderson stuff), so it could go either way.

    On a similar note, I’m assuming you’ve seen Nolan’s non man in tights stuff. Memento is particularly worth it.

  16. @Rufusstan, Memento is brilliant. You have to be alert to follow it but that mental investment is worth it.

    Seen all those great 70’s films you mentioned. There was a real spate of adult cinema in those days and then along came Star Wars and invented the brash blockbuster and then film seemed to cater for teenagers and less demanding adults.

    Star Wars is a decent film but it’s what it ushered in that makes me despair. Anyway Alien is superior.

    I have a great fondness for offbeat cinema so I love a bit of John Waters. Vulgar and puerile at times but he does have an irreverent sense of humour. The wife isn’t a great lover of film but she loves his crazy vision. Saw him live a few times and a greater raconteur would be hard to find.

    I love a lot of old film noir. Used to watch them with my dad back in the 70’s when they were often on tv. The writing was so sharp in many of them and they didn’t rely on special effects to propel a story along.

    Anyway, a strange thing has happened, the sun is out again and I’m off out to experience this bizarre occurrence. Been fun forgetting football for a while and discovering what other interests posters have.

  17. @Rupert — true about the early 70’s. It had the perfect mix of more freedom in film, plus a spate of great young directors in the US who took advantage: Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola, and the like. Even George Lucas made good stuff before Star wars (love THX 1138).

    I wonder that things went wrong when the artists lost control and the accountants took over — How much doesn’t get made now because they don’t think it will make money.

    Lastly before I also depart — I am a bit of a heretic when it comes to Alien. Its about the only time I go with Cameron over Ridley Scott.

  18. It all does seem a bit mad. As for us, if reports are to be believed, and as many have picked up on, we seem to have out targets, but also options. We may be after an out and out striker, but also seem to be looking at traditional number 10s, and who knows, maybe even a familiar face who can play the false striker role and certainly gets the goals. IF reports are true, I for one take a bit of encouragement from this.
    As for non transfer / football madness stuff, some interesting views on the more artistic side of life. Think one of my highlights of the summer so far was what is left of The Who playing a Quadrophenia set – plus a few others. still quite an incredible act.

  19. Nicky,
    You’ll be happy to know I have just consumed a couple of Źywiec on Władisławowo beach for you and right now I probably couldn’t say that.

  20. I recently saw a brilliant Japanese film called ‘The Grave of the Fireflies’.

    It is about a boy and his little sister caught up in the end of the Second World War.

    It is a cartoon but don’t let that put you off. It is totally real.

    Without banging any drums it is one of the most powerful films about war and militarism I have every seen.

  21. @ Red Rupert
    “I too have had a fascination with Russia for years which led me to marry a Russian, not my wisest decision. ”
    – did you marry Usmanov ?

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