Sunday, February 22, 2009

Looking Back in Anger

Paul Hayward in the Observer

"Discredited at last, is the notion that sport exists solely to make those who play it richer ad infinitum. Maybe now the governing bodies will stop regarding businessmen as Gods. The soul of the game is not theirs to sell."
Mike Atherton in the Times.

"Money often brings out the worst in people. It has certainly brought out the worst in English cricket and the men who run it. They have got exactly what they deserved."
Athers again -

"What should not be forgotten quickly or easily is the embarrassment suffered by those who run English cricket and, by extension, the embarrassment for the English game. It is not good enough to say in defence of these decisions, as Giles Clarke, the chairman of the ECB, has done, that the contract was signed with “the best of intentions”. At some stage a judgment must be made on the consequences of actions, not just the rationale behind them. Andrew Strauss has not enforced the follow-on in the third Test for the best of reasons, but he will be judged by whether or not England win."
...and again

"It ain't Sad'day night no mo' for the ECB officials who fawned over Stanford when he descended the steps of his helicopter at Lords. Nor too the former greats who knelt down, licked and polished his boots at every opportunity"

'Former great' Ian Botham in the Daily Mirror

“The sorry debacle leaves English cricket with nothing but egg on its face,” “It has been a disaster ... and you cannot just let something as massive as this be swept under the carpet. Someone has to be accountable.”
And, finally, 'Former great' Ian Botham pictured at Lords on 22nd June 2008.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The other thing about Beefy that annoys me is how he starts each session behind the mike with a statement like 'the bowlers are pitching it too short' and then whines on for the whole 30 minutes about it. Whatever happened to commentators actually commentating on the game.

And he's a bully and a hypocrite.

Anonymous said...

Andy, and then when one of the bowlers gets a wicket with a short ball, Botham will claim that he was advocating that all along.

Twat.

Anonymous said...

All the pictures you see of Stanford, he's got exactly the same look on his face like he's had plastic surgery and the grin has been fixed in place.

Wonder if his police mug shot looks like that too!