Mihir Bose's Blog, page 48

How Fergie in writing his autobiography has copied from Winston Churchill

Alex Ferguson for all his achievements could hardly be compared to Winston Churchill. To do so would be absurd as football for all its wonder can hardly be compared to issues such as national survival that Churchill had to deal with.

But there is one Churchillian principle Ferguson has been keen to adopt. This is not only to make history but to write history. The Churchillian trick was to present the part he played in history as the most important part of the story - it helped that both in the first and more so in the second Churchill was often at the heart of the narrative. Even today almost anyone writing about the two wars, but particularly the second, has to take into account how Churchill presented the story of the war. They may disagree and have compelling evidence in their favour to argue their case but they cannot ignore Churchill's massive tomes. In writing history the way he did Churchill knew he was framing the argument for future generations and so it has proved. Ferguson has understood the strategy well and his latest book is one that Churchill would have instantly recognised as an imitation of his classic presentation of personal story in the guise of history.

‘I won’t throw money on the fire’ – Fulham owner Shad Khan on his strategy for growth

Arriving in Chicago from Lahore as a 16-year-old with $50 in his pocket, he cleaned dishes for $1.20 an hour while studying engineering at the University of Illinois. Now 17,000 people work for his car parts company, his fortune is around £2.4billion and the Premier League’s newest club owner has just arrived from Jacksonville in his private jet.

“I had to overcome a lot of barriers. Until 1947, it was illegal for people from the subcontinent to migrate to the US. The subcontinentals were the last ethnic minority to gain citizenship.” The adjustment for the 63-year-old even meant he stopped using his real name, Shahid. “You assimilate,” he says. “My name was too hard. They said Shad is what we are calling you. You go with the flow.”

Fight against racism is too important to be derailed by tabloid sound bites

The problem with race these days is that the whole subject too often gets reduced to a tabloid presentation with the result that Roy Hodgson, a cultivated man of wide culture and sensitivity, ends up by being absurdly labelled as racist. We can all accept that Roy Hodgson made a mistake in repeating an old NASA joke about the monkey in his half time talk as an illustration to remind English players that they should get Andros Townsend involved in the play as often as possible.

Unlike my generation, which is also Hodgson’s generation, most of the English squad are, probably, not all that familiar with NASA and its space activities, let alone know what a big part it played in our lives. For us the first man in space and first man to walk on the moon are events we shall always remember.

Howard Wilkinson: England cannot simply follow the Spain and Germany blueprints

It emerged yesterday that Kick It Out have written to Football Association chairman Greg Dyke to question the lack of diversity on the commission into the state of the game in England.

Why Harry’s lost world will never come back

Harry Redknapp could never be accused of being a toff, let alone an intellectual. Yet his autobiography, Always Managing published by Ebury Press, a book that brings his story up to date following on from an earlier book 15 years ago, has some profound observations on how football has changed in this country. It should spark debate, if not some soul searching, among those who follow the people's game.

What Harry is mourning is how the beautiful game has turned viciously ugly compared to his youth. Growing up in the 50s you could love football, love your team yet honour the achievements of other teams even feel affection for opposition players and certainly never harbour bad feelings let alone direct vile offensive chants at them.

Andrew Strauss: Players are entitled to celebrate but there’s no excuse for what happened after the Ashes at the Oval

Andrew Strauss has had a summer to remember; a widely praised debut as a television commentator and the publication of his ­autobiography. But there was one moment that made him “feel really uncomfortable”.

This was the infamous moment when the England players, celebrating the Ashes series win, urinated on The Kia Oval pitch.

“I was surprised,” he tells me. “Certainly, while I was captain, I wanted to avoid, at all costs, English cricket being in the news for the wrong reasons. Players have an obligation and a duty to be role models so you’ve got to be very careful what you do and don’t do. But also it’s distracting. It takes away from what your focus should be: cricket.”

Playing World Cup politics has left Sepp Blatter with egg on his face

FIFA are between a rock and hard place over the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Not that there should be much sympathy for it is the incompetence and political machinations of FIFA bosses that have landed the governing body in this mess.

The result is a decision which meant to show FIFA could go where no other organisation could — taking the world game to a Muslim, Middle Eastern state for the first time — is now turning into a nightmare where anything they decide will be seen as an own goal.

FIFA U-turn as they establish task force for 2022 World Cup

FIFA will postpone a decision on whether to move the 2022 Qatar World Cup to winter until a task force has reported on whether the controversial switch is possible, it emerged today.

Members of the ‘FIFA family’, broadcasters and representatives of the European leagues will be part of the group and the move is a remarkable U‑turn by the world governing body.

Brussels, not Westminster, may turn the tide for Barry Hearn’s Olympic Stadium bid

Disenchantment with Europe is now so prevalent in Britain that it seems hard to find anyone who looks to Europe to help their cause. Yet Barry Hearn, who has got nowhere in his fight to share the Olympic stadium with West Ham, may find Brussels rather than Westminster is his best bet.

At the moment, having spent three quarters of a million pounds in legal fees over three years and got nowhere - his application for a judicial review having been turned down by the High Court - he is taking a rest from making lawyers rich. Instead he has turned to the House of Lord's. Its report on the Olympic legacy having gathered evidence from far and wide, including Hearn and West Ham, is due in November. For Hearn the report has assumed great importance

Barry Hearn exclusive: Why I believe it’s not game over yet for the Olympic Stadium

Barry Hearn smiles when I suggest his fight to get Leyton Orient to share the Olympic Stadium with West Ham is grandstanding and all that he wants is compensation.
“I can understand the mentality of people who think that,” he says, “because my nature is fairly loud and brash, they think Barry’s after some compensation. Actually, compensation is a waste of time. If you’re going down the slippery slope, all you’re doing is delaying the demise of a League One club. That is inevitable if a Premier League club move in only 750 yards from their doorstep. We understand you’ve got to have a major team in there. But what about us? Are we just to be forgotten?”