I found the clamour to annhilate Joe Hart this week quite astonishing. What on earth is wrong with us?
Joe is a young, learning goalkeeper with great talent. He is already a Premier League winner and I am sure that he will be a Champions League winner before too long. So he made a mistake.
Do the journalists that hammer him never write bad articles? Of course they do. They are at the top of their profession but they make errors.
We have a dreadful tendency to drag our heroes down in England. Let's cut the bloke some slack. Build his confidence and help him to World Cup clean sheets.
I don't doubt him for one minute. Bob Wilson was talking about all top keepers making a number of mistakes in a season.
They all do. The best ones make the fewest. Well Joe's history as a Premier League champion suggests he doesn't make too many. Get off his case!
YOFFE DESERVES HIS RIGHT TO PLAY
Joe Yoffe is a 26-year-old Manchester-born footballer who is set to become as famous as Jean Marc Bosman.He plies his trade in the Icelandic second division and runs out of contract this month at the end of his season.
Because of the international transfer window regulations, he will then be forced to sit out of football until January.
And he rightly regards that as a restraint of his trade.
He points out that top players at leading clubs may well be able to cope with that, but players down the ladder simply cannot give way to such restrictions. They need the money. They cannot wait in these situations.
You cannot fail to sympathise with Yoffe's plight and you cannot fail to believe that different rules are needed to govern players at the top clubs who compete internationally and those of us further down the food chain.
It is dreadfully hard for honest, hard-working pros who need the money and who love the game to be forced to sit on the sidelines because of these window restrictions.The authorities really ought to have a re-think, save Yoffe the bother and simply set out more flexible rules.
If they don't, I feel sure that we will be signing players on a ‘Yoffe' before too long, because it is madness not to change the system.
STUB IT OUT NOW JACK FOR OUR SAKE!
I believe that players are role models and leaders. The top players have a massive influence on youngsters and I also believe that top-paid players should be doing all they can to look after their bodies.
So when Jack Wilshere is pictured with a cigarette it is relevant. And, if I was his manager, I am sure I would have an opinion.
But there is another side to it.
Wilshere is free to smoke. It is legal. And he is of age. In the end, the argument goes, the most important thing of all is that he can do his job very well. If he spends the next ten years plus dominating midfields there is an argument that nothing else matters.
Except that there is no doubt that it does matter. Our very best talent simply must be encouraged to do all it can to add value to that talent. The extra one per cent might be the difference between winning and losing a World Cup.
If one lung busting run could help England let's do all we can to encourage excellence in our top lads. Yes they are human. But we need them to be superhuman.
WENGER STRIKES IT RICH
“We're top of two leagues” sang the Arsenal fans earlier this week after their tremendous win over Napoli. And they sure were.
Arsene Wenger has taken an incredible amount of stick for his prudent management of Arsenal. But he seems to have really struck gold with Ozil and his old boy Flamini, while Steve Bould seems to be implementing some excellent training ground work to tighten up the notoriously leaky defence.
Wenger has stood fast in the face of immense pressure, backed his beliefs and come up smelling of roses.
QATAR ROW COULD HIT THE CLUBS
This Qatar situation rumbles on and more worrying developments emerged this week. I read with nervous apprehension the thoughts that the League Cup and FA Cup may be altered because of the potential for a winter competition.
I hope that the powers-that-be do not under- estimate the effect on clubs lower down the ladder of weakened cup competitions. It could be devastating.
We, at Stevenage, did not enjoy losing in extra time at Everton, but we sure needed the revenue share from a 20,000+ gate.
If those kind of financial bonus opportunities are affected in any way by the World Cup then it is diminishing world football. The competition at the top of the pyramid should not place small clubs in any sort of jeopardy.
Things are increasingly tough lower down and FIFA needs to make sure that it recognises that.
KIDS LOSE THE KILLER TOUCH
I am watching many under 21 games right now because of our budgetary constraints at Stevenage.
The opportunities for low/nil cost loans are our current lifeblood. But that isn't my point. My point is that I am seeing a lot of nice football played from the back through the thirds of the pitch.
But I am also seeing few shots at goal and a lot of poor defending. I sincerely hope that this new emphasis on technical ability and ball retention isn't leading our Academies to ignore the fact that you have to score goals and keep clean sheets to win.
I don't mean to sound negative. I love the positive side of the football I am watching. I just wish I was seeing more tackles, blocks and dominance at one end and more individuality, personality and purpose at the other end. Perhaps I have just been at the wrong games. But I am sensing a trend.
