Random Round-Up

Random Round Up

AC Milan’s Brazilian goalkeeper Dida has been banned for two matches following the incident in which he was attacked by a Celtic fan during last week’s Champions League fixture in Glasgow. While Celtic have acknowledged their £25,000 fine and have stated that they will take appropriate action against the fan involved, electric chair maybe? This was clearly an appaling and shocking incident. Of course it is easy to focus on Dida’s reaction which was excessive and melodramatic. More pressing is the matter of unruly fans being able to get onto the pitch. This man could easily have been carrying a blade or any other appliance which could have seriously injured Dida. If a player is adjudged to have dived, he gets a yellow card, Dida has been banned for two games for reacting theatrically when confronted with a rogue fan. Something does not add up. I am not for a moment condoning the Brazilian’s behaviour, but it does seem bizarre that Dida’s punishment exceeds Celtic’s.
Frank Lampard was booed by some sections of the England crowd when he came on for Michael Owen during Saturday’s leisurely victory over Estonia. Various explanations have been offered for this reaction, the most convincing being that England fans carry their club allegiances to International fixtures, and hold a deep resentment towards Chelsea players, in particular Lampard. The crowd is fickle though, perhaps even ignorant. Wayne Rooney had not scored a competitive goal for England in nearly three years before he found the back of the net on Saturday, yet he still remains a firm fans favourite. Lamprard must be watching Gareth Barry’s increasingly assured performances in midfield with some envy and frustration, although it seems that he will get his chance in a three man midfield against Russia on Wednesday. It remains to be seen if he will be booed if he finds the back of the net in this vital fixture, somehow, I doubt it.
In a fixture that taught us very little about Steve McClaren’s England side, one point of note was the rather farcical BBC coverage of the game. Ian Wright remains an unbelievably one dimensional pundit and if anyone on the planet did not realise that he has an axe to grind, they do know after his constant clamours of ‘well done Shauny Wright’. Alan Shearer, normally so shrewd and understated on Match of the Day, also let himself slip into the comfort zone, at one stage saying ‘bless ‘em, these Estonians haven’t got much going for them’. In all the coverage very much reflected the fact that England were playing inferior opposition, an easy afternoon for England meant an easy afternoon for the pundits; crucially the performance was more professional on the pitch than in the studio.