For a while now I’ve been trying to think of something as pointless as the closing line on the iPhone advert “…and if you haven’t got an iPhone, well, you haven’t got an IPhone”. A three-word phrase involving a swear word and someone called Sherlock always springs to mind when that advert rears its head, but I digress. The most pointless thing since that advert is the Nations Cup, being shown live on Sky Sports this week. Consisting of Wales, Scotland, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, it really is a bit of a bad joke. What’s wrong with it? Allow me to explain.
Firstly, what is a Nations Cup without the footballing powerhouse of the home nations, England? It’s like a pork butchers that doesn’t sell sausages, Gavin and Stacey without Gavin or Stacey, and Neighbours without Dr Karl. England are not the be-all and end-all of football, granted, and judging by performances in international competitions they might not have even won it anyway. However, by not being included, the competition loses any sort of excitement it could have had. Countries tend to raise their games against England. There is a certain cockyness that is associated with the England football set-up, a cockyness that makes teams want to beat the country that calls itself the home of football. The last time England played Scotland was in a play-off qualifier to determine who went to the Netherlands and Belgium for Euro 2000. England, as expected, prevailed, but even I who was 10 at the time remember what an occasion those matches against Scotland were. None of that though in this Nations Cup.
The shy and retiring (literally) Robbie Savage, who wouldn’t say boo to a goose, was quick to use his Twitter account to lambaste this competition. Partly for the point highlighted above, and also for the fact that countries are giving free caps away. As Robbie said, players who have played half a match at League 2 are now being capped for their country, just so that the teams can fulfil their fixtures in the tournament. Savage is the first one to tell you that he wasn’t the most talented at football, but he is also quick to tell you he was capped 39 times for his country. He comes across as very insecure at times, and for him to think that relative unknowns are catching up on his international appearance total may be a reason behind his little outburst. However, Robbie Savage is totally right, whatever the motives behind it. Players should be made to work for their debuts and international appearances. Turning out in a third rate tournament makes a mockery of what should be a really proud moment. If I had a Welsh great great grandparent I’d like to think I’d stand a chance of donning the boots and gloves in this tournament.
On Sunday we saw a dramatic Survival Sunday pan out. The playoffs are still ongoing. Many teams in the football league endured long and hard seasons. Surely the last thing players want to do is then play in what is effectively a friendly tournament. Judging by the attendances it seems like the fans would rather do more worthwhile things also. The tournament kicked off during the season before taking on a break. It is now finishing, with all the matches being played in the highly impressive 51,700 capacity Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The Wales v Scotland match last night could have been played on my local park however, such was the dismal attendance. With only 6,036 people and over 45,000 empty green seats, it had the feel of a reserve match. You can’t fault the fans either for not turning up due to travel expenses. However, the Republic of Ireland v Northern Ireland match the night before only had 12,083 in attendance, making the travel expenses argument invalid, at least for the Republic’s fans.
To add to the stupidity of the tournament, Wales played in white shirts and Scotland played in yellow shirts, instead of their distinctive home colours. Against my better advice, my dad had a bet on there to be more than 5 corners in the first half. This was down more to the fact he is missing football than him genuinely believing there would be corners. There were only 5 corners, so he lost, and was dismayed at the negative tactics being employed. “That’s it, get into a scoring position, now pass it back, keep going, get it back to your keeper, that’s it, now start again, surprise surprise”. I’ve left the language out for your viewing pleasure. It just backs up what everyone knows though; there is nothing at stake in this tournament - the winners will be more happy with the fact they can now go somewhere sunny for a few weeks. It’s been a hindrance to most of them, even though they will never come out and say that.
Just before I leave you I’ll finish with a positive. There’s been a minimum of 3 goals in each match. That’s it; positives over. So, be sure to watch the Republic of Ireland v Scotland on Sunday to determine the winners of the Nations Cup. That is, of course, if you have nothing better to do, such as the hovering, or in my case watering the millions of plants in our garden
I had no idea this was even taking place until Robbie Savage had his rant about it on twitter. Good craic by him retweeting the abuse he gets.
ReplyDeleteWhen that iPhone advert comes on I half expect it to say "If you haven't got an iPhone, well, then sort your life out ya gret knobhead!"
Neck
x