By Myles Palmer
JIMMY HILL got out of bed on the wrong side last Sunday morning.
I should have known then it was going to be a patchy week.
Each Sunday morning on Sky, Jimmy Hill discusses football news with Brian Woolnough and two hacks.
It’s part of Sky’s effort to bring the pub to you.
The papers had MICHAEL OWEN SEX SCANDAL on one front page and RIO FERDINAND’S CAREER COULD BE OVER on one back page-and Jimmy Hill went ballistic.
In Part 1 of the show Jimmy virtually said : You hacks give us sleaze and trivia and garbage and if this is the 21st century media, I don’t wanna be part of it.It’s disgusting, you are all scum, why can’t you report our great game in a civilised manner?
Shaun Custis and Paul McCarthy defended the press. Wooly, for once, was speechless.
Part 2 of the show was the usual jolly topical chatter, with all four pundits on roughly the same wavelength.
Part 3, ditto.
Part 4, everybody was happy and almost singing from the same hymn-sheet.
So the producer must have spoken to Hill during the first commercial break.
He must have said, “Jimmy, for Christ’s sake, I know the clocks went back an hour last night, but we have to talk about the real world. The world as it is now, not the world as you would like it to be. You can’t slaughter the sensationalised, dumbed-down tabloid media of Rupert Murdoch on this show because MURDOCH PAYS YOUR WAGES!”
ARSENAL got two 1-1 draws and now have their suspensions sorted out.
A point at Charlton kept them on top of the table and the kids were absolutely magnificent in the Carling Cup game against Rotherham,leading until the 90th minute and winning a penalty shoot-out.
Aliadiere scored the goal. No surprise there.The kid is a natural poacher who can knock those chances in all day long.
WILTORD smashed home the winning penalty and was assaulted by a huge man with rubber gloves.
The Frenchman looked scared by the fierce embrace of keeper Graham Stack.
Was it an emotional moment? Just a little bit.
LET’S FACE IT, the life of a young footballer involves a lot of waiting.
And the life of a young Arsenal goalkeeper involves a helluva lot of waiting, so it was an exciting night for Stack, and all of them.
If they won, they would get another game.Which will be Wolves at Highbury on December 2 or 3.
And the kids are not stupid.They know that Wolves are better than Rotherham.
Wolves can’t come quick enough for blond half-striker David Bentley.
Arsene had said Bentley would play.But he got injured in training the day before the game.
RIOGATE is Chinese water torture, dripping, dripping, dripping.
Rio missed his drug test on September 23.
That was 38 days ago.
Personally, I can’t take football or politics seriously.
I like them and talk about them, but I don’t take them seriously because there are so few people with integrity.
Why did Rio miss his drug test?
Why did Man United officials allow him to leave Carrington?
How much credibility does club doctor Mike Stone have after this fiasco?
Why did Mark Palios not make this public immediately?
Are Man United the biggest bullies in the whole history of football?
Do Man United issue more writs and more solicitor’s letters than any other football club?
Are they super-rich bullies who are terrorising Soho Square, knowing that the FA lack the financial resources to fight United in court?
I CAN’T CALL RIOGATE A FARCE.
A farce is quick, funny, full of surprises.
Rio’s drug test saga is a small soap opera within a big soap opera.
It has only shown us what we already knew: that 90% of the people who run English football are incompetent and utterly lacking in brains, balls and morals.
Also, you can’t compare Rio to the Man City player who was fined £2,000 for missing his test.
French midfielder Christian Negouai does not speak English. He did not understand what they were saying to him.
31st October 2003.