Haven’t watched Jimmy Hill for months but I carried on watching TV when Andrew Marr had finished with baby-faced old Etonian David Cameron, who had slagged off Gordon Brown, of course, and, surprisingly, told us a few of his policies.
As that BBC1 programme finished, Polly Toynbee, Guardian journalist, told Cameron, “I don’t believe anything you’ve just said.”
Tory spin-doctors must have been homicidal.
If you are reading this in Cape Town, California, Texas, Vancouver, or the Middle East, I should explain that Jimmy Hill’s Sunday Supplement is hosted on Sky Sports 1 by the telegenic Brian Woolnough, who makes the elderly Jim redundant on his own show.
Jimmy and Brian sit round a table in a studio set which purports to be Jimmy’s kitchen, and they are joined each Sunday morning by two reporters to discuss the football topics of the moment.
ROB BEASLEY, a diehard Chelsea fan who writes for the The News of the World, told Jimmy, Brian and The Sun’s Ian McGarry the latest from the Stamford Bridge soap opera, where the Russian owner had bought a Ukrainian striker who made 18 starts but scored only three goals. Then Shevchenko was dropped and Jose Mourinho wanted a another striker in the January window and Abramovich refused.
He described a club with too many chiefs and too many agendas.
Then Beasley said something truly astonishing : that Abramovich has his own personal football scout, who uses his helicopter, and can jet to South America to watch players any time. He reports to Abramovich, not to Kenyon, Arnesen or Mourinho.
YES ! ABRAMOVICH HAS HIS OWN SCOUT !
How ridiculous is that ? Who would have thought of that ? A billionaire creates a dysfunctional club and then finds a way to make it even more dysfunctional.
Beasley said that two years ago he went with David Beckham to Carson City, home of the LA Galaxy, and it was like QPR, a small ground holding 20,000. And when the goalkeeper kicks the ball a long way the fans get really excited.
“It’s soccer suicide. He’ll never play a meaningful game again.”
He said that AC Milan made a huge offer to Beckham, but he turned it down because he preferred “the offer of lifelong celebrity in the land of the dollar.”
The others said : Becks doesn’t need the money, he’s worth £70 million already !
Beasley described how he had doorstepped Jose Mourinho last season, and again last week.
He had driven to Mourinho’s house and parked outside and waited till the Special One came home.
“Is it the end?” asked Beasley.
“It’s the end of this conversation,” said Jose, opening his front door.
“Come on Jose, you can tell me the truth, like you did last year.”
“Can I ask you something?” said Jose.
“What?”
“Can I close this door?”
And Mourinho shut the door in his face. Quite rightly.
Silly, knockabout stuff but Sunday reporters have time for such silly stuff. Daily reporters don’t.
Beasley said that Chelsea had lost Cech, lost Terry, lost Joe Cole for the season, and even Man United could not survive the loss Van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand and Ronaldo.
“We’ll overhaul Manchester United and win,” said Beasley, laughing. “It’ll be our greatest triumph.”
They poo-poohed the suggestion that Lippi might replace Mourinho. Too old. Abramovich apparently found Ranieri too old.
A comment by Gary Neville was noted. Neville had said, “It’s not a race yet, we’re just jockeying for position. The race starts when we’re neck and neck.”
LATER I was wondering whether Steve Coppell’s promotion heroes could beat Colonel Moyes’s commandos at Goodison and just as that was about to kick off we went for a walk round the Welsh Harp, a large park/reservoir, and when we came home it was 78 minutes and Reading were leading 1-0 and I sat down and saw Andy Johnson head the equaliser and it finished 1-1.
Then Michael and I watched Spurs-Newcastle and Spurs started slickly at 100 mph and I was wondering whether to have a bet in play on Spurs to score first when Defoe made it 1-0. But Newcastle equalised immediately.
Michael’s mate Big Dave came round to watch the second half with us and Berbatov made it 2-1 and I was sitting on the sofa with Dave and I said, “2-1 is never enough, they need another goal” and as I said “another goal” Obafemi Martins hit an amazing shot at 84 mph with no backlift and the ball flew high and true inside the near post and I said, “That’s a Maradona goal!” and we were still talking about it 90 seconds later when Nicky Butt raced onto a very cute Martins pass and slotted and Spurs lost 3-2.
Spurs need full backs and their best player, Ledley King, has an injury that may be career-threatening.
Dyer looks like a team player at last, Sibierski was OK, and Newcastle did incredibly well considering their vast injury list. Good luck to them
LATER ON I half-watched Fabio Capello’s young, pragmatic Real Madrid.They are no fun right now but they beat Zaragoza 1-0.
Barcelona had lost 3-1 to Espanyol in the local derby on Saturday night and when Rufete scored the third goal Frank Rijkaard punched out a plexiglass panel in the dug-out. Maybe Espanyol should flog that panel on eBay.
It’s true that Barca miss Eto’o and Messi but the man they miss most is Deco. It’s Deco who holds that team together, not Puyol or Xavi.
League leaders Seville suffered a shock 3-1 home defeat by Mallorca.