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THE LEGEND AND THE LOSER 22-9-04
There's one name in everybody's thoughts this week and that name belongs to Brian Clough. Fourty eight hours on from his death and everything that can be said about him has been said several times over, and powerful and stirring stuff it is too.
Which is a fitting testament to the great man because legends don't come along very often during the course of a lifetime. Cloughie was a legend not just because of his remarkable achievements in football but because of the person that he was. The man was a hero because he spoke his mind about the establishment and that is something that the majority of people are afraid to do.
It cost him the England job that because of his success at club level, was his by right. But he possessed far greater qualities than those required by the FA top brass. He was above political correctness and transcended diplomacy. He was bigger and better than anyone at the FA and that scared them senseless. They would simply not have been able to cope with the World Cup and European Championship successes that Cloughie would have delivered and preferred to appoint managers who would create the right impression when overseas.
To Cloughie, making the right impression in football meant winning matches and he utilised his huge personality to lead his teams to victory. Making the right impression in life meant being true and standing up for what you believe in. Images of his altercation with pitch invaders late in his career will stay with me forever. He was the greatest manager who ever lived. Cloughie, you will be missed.
Another native of Middlesbrough has been in the news this week. Jonathan Woodgate hasn't yet been able to make his Real Madrid debut, but is already on the verge of being immersed in a scandal of huge proportions which threatens to send him as low as a man can go.
Apparently, the defender is being investigated by Cleveland police for the possession and consumption of 'intolerable quantities' of cocaine. It appears that the police have corroborating evidence on both Woodgate and his current partner, Kate Lawler. Lawler has built herself quite a reputation on the Z-list celebrity circuit as a huge user of cocaine since she shot to 'fame' on the back of her appearance on Big Brother.
It is also reported that one of the Sunday newspapers in England have obtained pictures of both Woodgate & Lawler face down in a pile of cocaine, and are due in court this week to challenge a gagging order preventing them from publishing the pictures this weekend. Who knows where this one will lead for Woodgate? It appears to be career threatening at best and could be the start of a road leading to a long stretch inside.
The story could explain Woodgate's shock unexpected transfer. English football was taken completely by surprise by Newcastle selling a key player so early in the season without having lined up a replacement. The Magpies' must have been aware of the Police investigation and when Real made an enquiry, it solved their upcoming problem. What's the betting that Woodgate will be unavailable for the next few England home games? Staying out of the country may be the only way of staying out of jail, if the supposed allegations turn out to be correct.
Onto Boro and it will soon be time to make up for our poor performance at Goodison on Sunday. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Bolo Zenden will have points to prove against old club Chelsea and several team members will want to make amends for not living up to expectations at the weekend. Chelsea are nowhere near unbeatable but many teams will lose their fixtures against the Blues in the dressing room this season. Jose Mourinho is using psychology to give his side an advantage and by talking up his squad in a massive and intelligent way, he is building an aura of invincibility. That aura will start to fade when they lose a couple of games and lose they will, maybe on Saturday. We have to get amongst Chelsea and boss them.
If we frustrate them and fight hard from the first whistle, they could panic because nobody has done that since Mourinho arrived. They have been shown too much respect so far this season and if Boro go out there with a nothing to fear mentality, then we will beat them. We will need to fight hard on Saturday but that should not be a problem because we can do that and subsequently get the right result. Then we can put Everton right behind us.
Until next week...
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