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Captain's Blog - 8th December 2010

My last two each way selections here on the blog have both finished second beaten just half a length which is a tad frustrating, but it could have been worse I guess. Yesterday Tevez finished strongly at Lingfield and would have won in another one hundred yards. He is definitely a horse to keep an eye on when running over a mile at Lingfield, a track that suits his fast finishing style. Horses with a decent finishing kick have always been a potent force at this track where winning from the front or when down on the inside is a rarity. Lets hope for a little more luck today.

I am on the warpath today as the council have not emptied our bin for twelve days now. Apparently the poor weather has prevented the bin men from getting their lorries on the road. There has been no sign of them doing an extra run though to make up for failing to complete their duties last week. Bins up and down my street are overflowing and there are stray black bags everywhere that have been savaged by the urban foxes that exist around here. In short the place is a mess and the council tax at £145 a month seems to count for very ittle when it starts to snow. I am going to ring them up today and have a moan which will no doubt make no difference whatsoever, but it will make me feel a bit better. I will be as polite as I possibly can be but I am not sure that they will take kindly to me suggesting that most of our council tax has gone to fund plush new council offices, that will no doubt get their hackles up, unfortunately it will probably not get the bins emptied, but they deserve a slice of reality now and then. Muppets!

There is a trend in football today to always blame the Manager or the owner or the board for poor performances. Whilst one or all of them may have something to do with a run of poor results surely the written and broadcast media are missing the point, the real focus should be on the players. They seem to always emerge totally blame free when it comes to defeats and lacklustre displays. For example I am fed up with former players blaming Capello for everything that goes wrong with the England team, according to many our World Cup failure was down to the Manager and not the lack of ability in the squad. That is palpable nonsense and so is the current reporting of the situation at Newcastle. Their Manager Chris Houghton was sacked yesterday and there has been an outcry in the Press by and large blaming the owner Mike Ashley for the decision. Yes he made the decision, but having watched the players lose in disgraceful fashion at West Brom on Sunday one cannot help but think the players had a big part to play in the whole thing. I have rarely seen such an inept and disinterested display from a bunch of professional sportsmen, it was as if they were playing with an agenda, that agenda may have involved forcing a change of manager. Even if they had no reason for making little effort in the game on Sunday, losing so ineptly helped force the owners hand. Player power is at an all time high and what has happened at Newcastle has served to increase my contempt for them, Owners and Managers may well make mistakes, we all do, but it would be wrong to underestimate the power that players wield.

Sorry for the rather combative style of today’s blog, but I am in the mood!

Have a good day.

Today's Selection

2:20 Kempton – Even Bolder (each way 6/1 Betfred)