THE ‘B’ MAN WITH TRUE CLASS…

Dimitar Berbatov’s reprehensible behavior has been well-documented. This shoddy excuse of a professional has recently admitted he spent the last month of his Tottenham career with his head buried up the M6 (among other places closer to home) and though his talent is absolutely beyond doubt, his level of professional class has surely been compromised to such a degree that only the most die-hard Man Utd supporter could look at him with any degree of respect. Berbatov might well be three times as skillful as Fulham’s Jimmy Bullard, but it doubtful whether he could ever hope to achieve even half the respect of his fellow professionals, and the football-watching public in general, that Bullard regularly receives. 

Mention Jimmy Bullard’s name to anyone who knows anything about British football, and the liklihood is that you will receive a ‘top bloke’, ‘great battler’, ‘brilliant with set-pieces’ ‘a great laugh’ sort of comment. Rare is the moment he doesn’t smile it appears, and even rarer are the moments where he behaves like most others in his profession (spoilt, rude, disrespectful). Because Jimmy Bullard is the classic layman-to-professional success story, a man who worked hard, got his chances and took them. The road has not been easy. Aside from ploughing through the non-leagues and feverishly scrapping to make it as professional in the first place, in Sept 2006 he suffered a dislocated knee as well as cruciate ligament damage. Two years later, and Jimmy Bullard is England boss Fabio Capello’s choice for a new midfield face in the squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

To a person, when news of Bullard’s 06 injury filtered through, everyone said the same thing; great guy, great character, always smiling, always seems so happy, really decent ‘engine room’ midfielder, brilliant free-kick taker, hope he comes back stronger. Because at the time, there was a little doubt as to whether he even COULD come back so bad was the injury. But from the get-go he was determined. And determined to remain upbeat. Witness a quote given to The Independent about his first meeting with renowned US surgeon Dr.Richard Steadman.

“When I first saw Steady, he told me my knee wasn’t in great shape. I asked him if he could get me back playing again he said ‘yes’. As a player that’s great and what you want to hear when your knee is wrapped round your neck!”

And he worked his way through 16 months of drudgery, rehabilitation and (ultimately) successful recovery. For a man who’s sole ambition when he was a painter and decorator was to make a living playing football, his return for Fulham last season would’ve been about the biggest dream achievable. That he should play such an important part in their premiership survival is no surprise. And when everything is considered, that Jimmy Bullard should get an England call-up should be no surprise either. It’s merited. But we all know how many managers tend to ignore the less glamorous (Bolton’s Kevin Nolan should’ve been in the 2006 World Cup squad for example) in favor of the more ‘glamorous’ names, so let’s give some credit to Capello here too. He has allowed himself to judge players on merit and merit only. On what he SEES. And thinking about it, if any of us had been in this country for approximately a year watching Jimmy Bullard, it would be hard work not picking him for England. His qualities are that clear. And his qualities are ones that none of England’s current incumbents can boast.

So good luck Jimmy, or should that say, the Best of British to you son!

 

FERGIE’S FAULT? BLAME SCUDAMORE

Sir Alex Ferguson, and Manchester United’s, behavior in the Dimitar Berbatov transfer has been reprehensible. There’s no doubt that rules were broken in the most egregious of ways, and that if it’s possible to also flagrantly take the mickey whilst breaking a rule, then that has most certainly been done on multiple occasions during this most protracted a dirty of deals. However to BLAME Ferguson for what took place is wrong. 

If there is a manager in football who loves his club more, or who is prepared to do what it takes as much as Ferguson then this writer has yet to see them. And how poor was it that the curmudgeonly Scot seized upon one of the most absurd misunderstanding in football transfer history (namely that Berbatov was given permission to go to Manchester and talk, but with CITY not United, however this was apparently NOT clarified by Spurs) and rushed to personally pick Berbatov up from the airport and give him the tour? Not very when all’s considered. The best analogy would be to ask whether you should blame the 7 year old child who repeatedly steals from the corner-shop whenever the shopkeeper isn’t looking, or the parents who know what’s going on yet refuse to take proper disciplinary action.

No, the real blame here lies with one of football’s most spineless characters ever, Peter Scudamore, the Premier League chief and, in this case, parent of the child involved. If Scudamore had a clue or a  pair, Fergie would’ve been carpeted a long long time ago for his behavior, and Man Utd docked some points and levied with some serious fines. Instead, and despite repeated proof of nefarious ways and methods in player recruitment, Scudamore has basically given them a free pass. In fact, throw this in with his ridiculous ‘39th game’ rubbish, plus the Man City affair (which appears to remain a completely unchecked invitation for criminals and con-merchants to come on in and destroy the balance of football), and it appears increasingly strange to this bystander why he remains in his job. Because if he stays where he is, allowing the likes of Fergie to take advantage of a system that has no intention of punishing them, then Peter Scudamore is surely being allowed to oversee the destruction of football as we know it. And that would be nothing short of a disgrace.