Cold in Carlisle and why John Barnes is wrong

Alex, me and Wolves (and England) hero Steve Bull.

So this blog entry has an overtly footballing theme. For those who don't wish to read on any further then please feel free to return at a later date.

Yesterday I underwent what I would consider my rite of passage. It's generally seen as a ceremony which marks the transition from one phase of life to another. In Jewish culture for example it's a Bar Mitzvah - in the life of a Wolverhampton Wanderers fan, it's a League One, Tuesday-night trip to Carlisle in November.
Brunton Park was the setting and in some ways the fact we didn't lose disappoints me slightly. For the next thirty years I can say 'I was there on a Tuesday night in Carlisle when we were in the third tier of English football'. 

The only thing which would make that statement sound more painful and therefore demonstrate my commitment and love for the club more, would be to say 'I was there on a Tuesday night in Carlisle when we were in the third tier of English football - and we lost".

That's three down - seven to go

Nonetheless, I can lord it over future generations of Wolves fans until I die. In fact, I expect my obituary to say 'He loved his hometown team so much, he even went to Carlisle on a Tuesday night in November' and so on.

The football was forgettable, the ground was old school and getting my photo taken with my boyhood idol, Steve Bull, made the biting Cumbrian wind worthwhile.

#28 on my list is to visit 10 new football grounds. Alongside Brighton and Stafford Rangers that's three down, seven to go.

John Barnes

To some he was a wing wizard, a pioneering black footballer who set the game alight at Vicarage Road, Anfield and the Maracana; scoring arguably England's greatest goal against Brazil in the year I was born.

Barnes in his Liverpool heyday

For me - he was the slightly overweight, coming-to-the-end-of-his-career journeyman who I remembered most for his contribution to England's 1990 World Cup song; New Order's 'World In Motion'.

He was also the man responsible for one of the finest newspaper headlines of all time: “Super Caley go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious.” His ill-fated managerial tenure at one the biggest clubs in Europe, and his later failure at Tranmere Rovers has arguably tarnished what was an outstanding career. 

Barnes was an unmitigated failure at Celtic then later Tranmere

To some, his failure to get other managerial posts has been linked to the fact he's black and an endemic racist culture which exists in English football. Or perhaps it's simply that Barnes now joins a long and illustrious list of former great players who simply weren't cut out for management; and I include the likes of Billy Wright and Bobby Moore on that list.

Yesterday Barnes published a lengthy piece in the Guardian about racism - albeit "unconscious racism" in the English game.

It's a serious issue - one which needs to be dealt with and one which, in my opinion, has come on in leaps and bounds over the past twenty years. But it's an emotive issue - which I often feel is hampered by articles like the one Barnes has penned - and like the self-anointed spokespeople on race issues in football - 'The Society of Black Lawyers' who castigated England manager Roy Hodgson recently for a NASA-based team talk which quite clearly wasn't racist. It's instances like this which derail the legitimate cause of eliminating racism from our national game.

Barnes starts his article by saying "I'm not interested in what happened to Yaya Touré at CSKA Moscow". Well I am John. Russia has been selected to host the World Cup in 2018 - and with the prominent international coverage of homophobia and hate crimes in that country ahead of next year's Winter Olympics, I think we have a duty to expose the intolerant underbelly of nations like this and use international public opinion to try and instigate societal change.

I'm no fan of Peter Odemwingie -
but his treatment from fans in Moscow was appalling. 

That said, I understand what Barnes is trying to say - let's get our own house in order first. I agree - but he fails to recognise the strides made to eliminate racism in grounds across the country which was so prevalent in years gone by. Black players in the 1980s were victims of horrific racist abuse - abuse which is fortunately seldom heard nowadays. It's no longer deemed the norm by society. Yes, some fans will harbour those unsavoury and bilious opinions, of course they will, but they won't air them so freely as popular opinion has marginalised them.

Barnes then goes on to say that "any black person who has been successful, particularly Obama, has been lifted out of blackness and stands as the exception." To undermine, and in one sentence dismiss, one of the greatest and most progressive steps forward for black rights across the globe seems to me to be both foolish and ill-advised. When it comes to role models for young members of the black community surely Obama, leader of the free-world, should be heralded as a hero and someone to which all black youngsters should aspire to emulate?

Barnes then goes on to say that "there is nothing racist about an open, honest dialogue" - couldn't agree more John. But what he then went on to say astounds me: "it is certainly more productive then pointing the finger at the CSKA Moscow fans, or at Luis Suárez or John Terry, and demanding they are punished." Wrong John, just plain wrong.

Could you imagine the outcry (and rightly so) had the FA come out and chosen not to ban Terry and Suarez but instead send them on a cultural diversity awareness course."It would be far better if instead of banning them and demonising them, the Football Association aimed to educate them...". In this ill-thought out statement, Barnes appears to have absolved Terry and Suarez from any personal responsibility. Blaming society for their abhorrent ignorance is a cop-out John - and I hope our judiciary don't take a similar line the next time an EDL activist or an Islamic extremist is up in the dock for inciting racial hatred and intolerance.

The press were rightly outraged at Toure's treatment in Russia

Barnes is spot-on when he says "tackling racism is a long and complicated process" but he dismisses Toure's abuse in Moscow as "one-off incidents". But they're not John. Black players have been racially abused in Eastern Europe for years and UEFA and FIFA have failed to exert enough pressure on these countries, by either sufficiently fining them or throwing them out of competitions. If I remember, expelling English teams from European competitions in the 1980s had the desired effect of drastically reducing hooliganism abroad. 

Yes perceptions need to change - yes more needs to be done. Yes, education from a young age is key. We haven't eradicated racism from our society and from the response of clubs like Liverpool and Chelsea in the wake of the Terry and Suarez sagas, we haven't fully eradicated it from our national game. But maintaining a balanced, mainstream dialogue is just as important. If former players like Barnes want to really make a difference then condemn those who jump on the bandwagon and who undermine the legitimate cause to grab a few sound bites and few sensationalist headlines. They are doing more harm than good.
In my next blog I put forward my plan for world peace and give my insight to the whereabouts of Lord Lucan.

A light-hearted return next time I promise.

Here's a great song by a great Wulfrunian and former Highfields student...

Que Sera, Sera - Whatever Will Be, Will Be - I've just completed number 11

I did it. Number 11 - done.

"Que Sera, Sera - Whatever Will Be, Will Be, I really wish I'd put this at number 23"

Instead - at number 11 on my '30 things to do before I'm 30 list' is watch a football match at Wembley. And last night, I did just that.

Wednesday 29th May 2013 will stay with me for a long time. England vs the Republic of Ireland - and I was there. Ok, the match had all the flair, excitement and atmosphere of a wake - but that aside, I managed to go to the world's most famous football stadium; something I've wanted to do since I was about 5.

As a footy-mad child, Wembley was the pinnacle. Games were rarely played there - it was something mystical. The FA Cup Final (which was played after the season finished and kicked-off at 3pm on a Saturday!), the (insert sponsor name depending on your age) League Cup and the odd England game were played there - and that was it. Now they seem to play every month and it seems to have lost its mystique.

My first Wembley memory is vivid. It was watching a VHS (that's the thing before DVDs for you younger readers) of England beating Czechoslovakia 4-2 - and two goals were scored by my hero: Wolves' Number 9, Steve Bull.

It was from 1990 - just before the Italia '90 World Cup. Gazza got all the plaudits for his pass (which was exquisite) but Bully's finish was pretty damn good too.

The old Wembley was of course iconic. It was where Sir Bobby Moore lifted the Jules Rimet trophy in '66. It's where we saw Rene Higuita's scorpion kick, Stuart Pearce's fist thumping penalty in Euro '96 and where the whole country cried as the Germans robbed us of what we all thought was our destiny in the Euro '96 semi-finals. It saw Wimbledon lift the FA Cup, Gazza's free-kick for Spurs in '91 - then his career defining injury in the final of that year against Notts Forest.

There's something about the new Wembley which feels like it will never recapture that glory - that passion. The iconic twin towers are gone - even the goalposts, which were themselves distinctive and unique, have been replaced by the usual standard variety. Where Bobby Robson and Sir Alf Ramsey once stood - we've had a wally with a brolly and a grumpy Italian. 

Was it how I'd always imagined it would be? No, not really. The new Wembley is a bit of an odd place. I wouldn't say it was soul-less, that would be unfair. But from the outside I really didn't get the wow factor I thought I'd feel. It's quite drab actually - too much concrete and despite only having opened in 2007, parts of it are looking pretty weathered already. But inside, when you climb the steps an enter the arena itself  - that's the wow factor. It's a splendid sight. I simply could never imagine what it must be like to step out on to that pitch in front of 85,000 fans.

But there's something about the new Wembley that symbolises what's wrong with the modern game. There's a feeling of everything being a bit too corporate. It's almost too nice. Bordy and I ordered a pint of lager and a pie. Aside from that fact it cost almost £10 each, we were then accosted by a lady collecting customer feedback about the service we'd received that day. 'Did they say welcome to Wembley?', 'Did they have sufficient knowledge of the product?' Sufficient knowledge of the product!! It took all my willpower not to reply - 'it's a pint of lager and a balti pie - what knowledge does she need?!' Perhaps a GCSE in pasties is called for? I'm normally one for good customer service - but quite frankly I'd rather pay £3 less and have some grumpy, spotty teen serve me a lukewarm, soggy-bottomed pie which has been kept warm for a fortnight...that's proper football.


Still, it was great to simply be there - at the home of the beautiful game. I had a great day out with my mate and it threw up a few pertinent questions in my mind:
 

1. Whatever happened to Des Lynam?
2. Has there ever been a footballer so universally disliked as Ashley Cole?
3. Can you ever buy a Cadbury's Boost without the caramel having already leaked and being welded to the wrapper?
4. Why don't they do FA Cup final songs anymore?

There were a few contenders for this outro - 'Ossie's Dream' from Tottenham Hotspur came a close second but this, for me, is bloody brilliant. Still not quite sure how they managed to get Barnes to rhyme with bananas though...