Ten years ago, towards the end of June, I was writing about a World Cup where France were doing well without having Dimitri Payet to score in every game.
The little man’s artistry is fun to watch, and very productive, and after his fantastic season for West Ham, he’s now turning it on for France.
The Hammers would find it hard to replace Payet, perhaps impossible.
But maybe we hear that kind of thing too often.
The daftest football fans say things like, “We never replaced Liam Brady” or “We never replaced Dennis Bergkamp.”
That’s bonkers! That kind of footballer is irreplaceable.They come along every 30 years… if you’re lucky.
If a Brady or Bergkamp or Dalglish comes along, just be happy that he plays for your team.
Because you won’t live long enough to see anybody else that good again.
This piece was about PV4 winning a game ten years ago.