Kiss and Tell?

Footballers and tell-'em-all biographies don't really belong together. I mean imagine an honest scribe putting together a week in the life of a pro soccer player.

Monday morning 6am - wake up aching from Sunday night's gyrations on the dance floor - swears! Really ought to quit drinking quite so much... (healthy) breakfast of muffins and marmalade - ok, why not throw in a couple of Vienna Sausages and bacon, and maybe just a small beer...

8.13am - damn! The gaffer's standing by the doorway looking at his wriswatch - hope it's one of those cheap Taiwanese made ones - damn! One weeks wages fine for being late....

I think the point is evident to see. In order to sell copies, it's all about SENSATIONALIZATION! And that is an ugly word that means reality doesn't matter.

But the truth is, reality does matter. And despite the "honest" protestations of soccer agents worldwide, the damage can be widespread.

Enter Sir Alex's poorly timed book. In it, the old manager questions the intentions of supporters and the role they play. Ill-advised it may be, but I suspect that the gaffer knew little about it in the first place. If indeed those were his words, it would be less colorful and we all know that he is not one to mince his words when it comes to criticism. Trouble is, the damage has already been done. And for all he has done for the club, I wonder whether this is the beginning of the end for Sir Alex.

Security Flaw in RFID? Or just Plain Foolish?

This was posted in some papers about the vulnerability of German passports using RFID. It surprises me to think that such experts allow themselves to be quoted so ridiculously. Either they are not the expert they claim to be, or the opportunity to be featured on papers proved too much for their professional decencies.

Why shouldn't the passport be easily readable. For it to eventually work worldwide and end the constant wait at immigration lines at the airports, access to "read" needs to be universal. What the article also pointed out was that no information was actually tampered with and that the so-called expert made it a point to ensure that his passport was wrapped in an aluminum foil...

It is such alarmist attitudes that make news I suppose.

Time to Think Ronaldo, Rooney

A lot has been said, written and drawn about Christiano Ronaldo, culminating today with Manchester United's official statement that the player in not for sale. Reading the British press' self-fulfilling prophecy, it is no wonder that this boy wonder is wondering if there is no place for him in next season's United first team.

Make no mistake. The boy is no angel. But in an age where seasoned professionals, and even FIFA president Sepp Blatter, freely admit that too much is at stake not to do so, should the blame be on his shoulders? For general consumption, let it be known that he was wearing the colours of Portugal and not England nor Manchester United during that fateful encounter. If indeed Ronaldo were decked in Her Majesty's colours, and Portugal were at the wrong end of a result, I wonder if the uproar (especially that of the British press) would be quite as loud.

Both Ronaldo and Rooney are young, undoubtedly talented and not in the least perfect. Both have been selected to carry the burden of United's future. It is therefore time, I think, for these two talents to sit in a room, devoid of agents and collumnists, and think about the future ahead of them. Football is a sport for eleven, not one. And when they are on the pitch, they are the only ones doing the talking. Not the pundits and certainly not the Sun...