More nonsense from Rowley Birkin QC

 
Jeff Powell at his best.

Hands up all those who have heard of Razvan Rat, Ricky van Wolfswinkel, Jesus Navas, Modibo Diakite, Guillermo Varela, Aleksandar Tonev, Jose Canas and Fernandinho.

Without any research I can tell you the following

Razvan Rat: Romanian full back, played a lot of Champions League games

van Wolfswinkel: Dutch wunderkid, tall, strong striker Norwich have wanted him all season

Navas: Sevilla RW. Quick as fuck. Played in and won the WORLD CUP FINAL for Spain
Diakite: French CB, tall, strong, played for Lazio

Varela: fair enough

Tonev: fair enough

Canas: fair enough

Fernandinho: been outstanding for Shaktah Donetsk for quite some time, including lots of Champions Leage games. Explosive CM

For example, I won’t even bother to identify the handful of Mr Whos? bought by Fulham.

Like Martin Stekenleberg, with over 50 caps for Holland who also played in the last WORLD CUP FINAL?

Then, onto Cricket:

Now, in this age of political correctness when to call someone a plonker is a crime against his human rights, we have Warner being banned by Australia until next month’s first Test and fined £7,000 for what sounds like a bit of a lark.

Unprovoked assault in a bar? Bit of a lark really!

Jeff Powell, you are a nonsense.

Poor persecuted Fergie

Rowley Birkin rides again



Jeff Powell has had his cage rattled once again, this time it seems by his own colleagues (although it is always difficult to tell with him).

Sir Alex Ferguson lost top spot at Liverpool and is now public enemy No 1 with referees, but let's remember that he is ... STILL THE GREATEST

Snappy title eh?

This 2009-2010 campaign has turned into open season on the laird of Old Trafford. The rest of our national game is waiting for the mightiest of them all to fall.

God I hate Fergie. Let's make it clear from the outset my opinion on him. A truly great football manager who has consistently shown himself to be a tremendous judge of talent and a great man manager. The man who signed Roy Keane, Dennis Irwin, Patrice Evra, Ronaldo etc because he knew what they would bring to his team. I hold him up as an example of how to manage footballers: from old school players like Mark Hughes and Bryan Robson, through to modern day multi-millionaires like Ronaldo and Rooney.

Such a man would normally have my complete respect. Instead I have nothing but contempt for the man. As a man he fails to earn my respect on every level. Bad losers are good winners of course but Fergie takes it to another level.

The ruffling of authority's feathers and the intimidating of opponents are part and parcel of what it takes to be The Greatest. Ask Muhammed Ali.

Comparing him to Ali is interesting. Does Fergie even have any morals? Going to jail for committing no crime, only for an idea? I suppose Powell could be comparing the two as both are huge figures, dominating their sports with force of personality.
I think however, there is a slight difference between making a rude comment about a referee and refusing to go to war as a matter of principle when you know that you will lose your liberty as a result. Fergie's worst punishment is probably a week's wages rather than a loss of his livelihood at the peak of his career.
Ali was a horrible person a well I guess but I'm sure that's not what Powell means.

Whatever happened, gentlemen, to the freedom of speech which we profess to defend? Where would the stories come from if the leading players in the game of life were silenced? Yet football, in all its many constituents, is ganging up on the manager who keeps heaping more glory on our national game than most of his peers can begin to imagine.

I find this appalling journalism. Football is not ganging up on Fergie. Powell speaks as if Fergie has done nothing wrong, as if he is being persecuted. There is no glory in the way Sir Alex Ferguson treats people. Physically and verbally abusing his players; not allowing them the freedom which Powell so vociferously defends for Fergie himself; constantly belittling, condescending and undermining officials and opponents.

Ask this man which quality he looks for above all others when he recruits a new batch of kids or signs a £50million superstar and he will give you the answer himself. 'Character,' he will tell you. 'Aye, then it helps if they can play a bit. But first attitude, desire, pride, appetite.'

Berbatov? Nani? Owen? Kleberson?

Yet football, in all its many constituents, is ganging up on the manager who keeps heaping more glory on our national game than most of his peers can begin to imagine.

Just because your paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you? Criticising Fergie for talking absolute bollocks about referees, bringing the game into disrepute in the process, is not ganging up at all.

"The pace of the game demanded a referee who was fit. It is an indictment of our game. You see referees abroad who are as fit as butcher's dogs. He was taking 30 seconds to book a player. It was ridiculous."

"I think Howard Webb has a great chance to be the top referee but today was a big game for him and, at times, he favoured Arsenal. Their second goal came from him not giving a free-kick for a foul on Louis Saha on the far side. It should have been a foul for us."

"Everton knew it was a weak referee and they exploited that to the full. I don’t blame them. Right from the first whistle, there was no protection."

Just a few of Fergie's rants for which he never seems to get more than a slap on the wrist. What a way to 'heap glory' on the game this is.

On Wednesday, we came to the laughable point where one Roberto Martinez complained Ferguson wields too much power. Roberto who? For the benefit of the uninitiated, young Mr Martinez used to be the boss at Swansea and is now in charge at Wigan Athletic

I believe Jeff Powell is now moaning about Martinez expressing his freedom of speech. He's probably forgotten that bit already.

Having reacted with dignity in Rome by acknowledging Barcelona's superiority on the night, just as he did at Liverpool on Sunday, he is using the wisdom of his ages in the game to plot life after Ronaldo.

Cherry picking much? I think we have established that Fergie is bereft of both dignity and wisdom by the bucketful.

Anyway this is followed by lots of fawning over the great Fergie. Typical Powell BS.

Jeff Powell vs the greedy Premier League

This guy has so much anger inside him he makes me look still and steady.

Even as Ronaldo lurches between disgrace and glory in the space of 24 hours, a small army of lawyers abroad are working ever closer to the reform which will give back our national game to the humbler home-grown English player.

Humbler like Jermaine Pennant? Joey Barton?

The only thing disgraceful about Ronaldo's sending off against City was the refereeing. One yellow for a fair tackle and another for a harmless (although admittedly bizarre) handball.

News of this development, even though it should regenerate the England team as a future World Cup power, will throw the Premier League into frenzied protest.

1. I don't buy all this less foreign players will make us into a World Cup power bullshit. The last World Cup winners were Italy, where a massive number of foreigners play. In terms of talent coming through they are no better than England but they had a winning mentality and great coaching.

2. Journalists everywhere seem to be picking up on this and saying that the Premier League clubs will protest. I am seeing no evidence for this, only presumption. In this article alone we get:

frenzied protest
cause chaos
Furious
panic-stricken defence
consternation
blinkered insularity
indenial (sic)

I give you Jeff Powell: master of subtlety.
Jeff here is a Brazil nut if you fancy... wait a minute Jeff put down the hammer, put it down. OK now step back and use this nutcra... SMASH.
Oh man now I'm going to have to vacuum the living room again. And stop slavering all over my new sofa for God's sake man.

It will also cause chaos among the major clubs, challenging managers such as Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez to wean themselves off their dependence on French, Spanish or other foreign imports and start developing young English footballers.
Put a limit on Johnny Foreigner and even Arsene will have to bring on the English.

Burnley v Arsenal Carling Cup:
number of French players in Arsenal staring line-up = 1
number of British players = 6

Arsene knows you know.

I also must point out that 90% of Wenger's 'foreign' players will be eligible for a British passport by the time they get into the first XI anyway.

A decline in Premier League attendances this season - down by an average of almost 1,000 per game - comes as a reminder of the importance of England success to football’s popularity in this country.

WTF? Linking foreigners to lack of success by England team is tenuous at best, then we take another gigantic leap in logic and uncover the dastardly secret that foreigners are responsible for a lack of attendances by proxy? Anyone would think this was an article from the Daily Mail. Rivers of blood, send them back etc.

Fabio Capello’s team are still a work in progress which could use more skilled labour. Not that we want Ronaldo to go home, or even to Madrid, unless he keeps insisting until Sir Alex Ferguson gives in.

Yeah our recent results have been awful haven't they Jeff? Anyway keep Ronaldo cos he's really good but fuck the rest of those spic bastards.

If Enid Blyton were still writing her children’s books, be sure young Cristiano would be one of her Five Go To Old Trafford.

Awful writing there Rowley. Perhaps Blyton is his race relations mentor?