Author: Christopher William Kinsey

Dr Strangelove

Dr Strangelove

For some time now José Mourinho has been making statements akin to the village idiot. So his latest course of action, demoting club doctor Eva Carneiro, could be seen as a further example of his diminishing IQ. However, it’d be foolish to think behind seemingly acts of madness there isn’t a greater plan at work.

First off, he probably was genuinely enraged that his team were down to nine men because Eva Carneiro opted to take to the field and treat Eden Hazard. This period of anger may have only lasted minutes. Maybe an hour at most, taking into account he’s a bit mardy at times. After this period he’d have seen sense (one would hope).

The facts all stack up in the doctor’s favour. She was called onto the pitch by the referee. Now I’m not saying a physio has to respond to this call, after all the player himself can wave off the help, but without such a response from the presumed injured party she was left with little choice.

Also – and most importantly now – a doctor has a duty of care that to the patient that exceeds all other issues. Whether it’s the height of competition or a traffic accident, a doctor has to put the person first. Chelsea FC as employers have to abide by this. They too can be held accountable for inaction or poor treatment. Eva Carneiro has an ethical duty to fulfil.

Moaninho (see what I did there) knows this as well as you or I. Misreading the game or not seeing the big picture is one thing, and he’s right to suggest all staff should understand every aspect of the game and how decisions impact it, but he also knows ethical responsibilities can never be overlooked.

Why has he taken such drastic action then? You may ask that whilst concluding he certainly is mad, come on, what boss would forgo his duty of care to players and what man would choose to not sit near Ms Carneiro every week. A crazy one, seems a fair answer. Or one that is using the furore to mask his team’s less than impressive start to the season.

The press love going wax lyrical for José’s Chelsea. They won the league last year in November and this season was gifted it, via their column inches, before a pre-season ball had been kicked. Not taking anything away from the achievement, after thirty-eight games the league never lies, they were the best the Premier League had to offer last season, but to make them appear invincible is pushing it a little.

Last season there were vulnerabilities there, it just so happened they were spared a decent sparring partner. This season they have started cold. Attempting to retain the title always brings extra pressures and perhaps it is this that can used to explain the Community Shield match and the performance against Swansea. That’s not taking anything away from the Welsh side, they more than deserved a point, but the Press’ Super Team shouldn’t be looking so inferior when playing at home to such opposition.

José’s obvious port of call was to dispute the red card. Only the bias Sky Sports team could even suggest there might be a case for a yellow. It was a red. Clear and simple. The Chelsea boss also knows this. The Eva Carneiro case has just padded out a week where he’d need to use a red card debate as deflection for the team’s performance.

There’s no doubt Chelsea will bounce back, they are a good side. But there’s also no doubt Mourinho is just using his favoured old tactic. The more the press and the clickbait sheep talk about him, the less they think about how his team are playing. Hopefully this time ethics, and the reputation of a well-respected doctor, will put the Portuguese manager to shame.

We all want to win, but decent people don’t want to do it regardless of the cost.

Buzzing

Buzzing
Laline Paull’s debut novel is set inside a hive of bees. The protagonist, and heroine of the tale, is lowly sanitation worker Flora 717. Straight from the start it’s obvious Flora is a special case. Bright, sharp, inquisitive and strong. The backdrop of the hive is seen from her perspective, as she evolves from naïve outsider to determined veteran.

In relative terms her switch is rather fast. Such is the life of an insect. However, in the early chapters there is a slight lag. It isn’t immediately dealt with in a smooth fashion. Paull has to present certain cases and events to build up Flora’s – and the reader’s – understanding of hive life. Information that serves 717 later on in the tale.

As Flora absorbs this we take in the world that Paull creates. From cold insect perspectives (they have no qualms about acts of genocide for the greater good of the Queen) to the rigid structure of the society they occupy. All done for “devotion,” an addictive chemical release from the Queen that brings about glee. Always with the mantra: “Accept, obey, serve.”

Throughout the tale Paull interchanges bee physiology with anthropomorphism. This serves to keep Flora’s tale flowing, and after the first third it never lets up. The author also leaves much of the metaphors that apply to human society to the reader’s interpretation. How we perceive their individual messages will say much about our own personal views.

At the heart it is a tale of supressed love, the control of many by the elite few, how faith can be controlled by those that are faithless. It isn’t the political allegory Animal Farm was for its generation but it doesn’t attempt to simplify an ever increasingly complex world.

In the end The Bees is a sweet tale with a sting in its tale.

Pound Sterling

Pound Sterling

So after much mudslinging, with press speculation on the reasons why and possible motives, Raheem Sterling has joined Manchester City for a fee that could rise to £49M. Liverpool fans are soothing themselves with the loss of a prized asset by revelling in the amount received. Openly taunting at taking the coffers to the cleaners. To put it another way: Scousers are laughing at committing robbery. But as high as the fee sounds – and it does sound a lot – it’s the same fans that tried to convince the world £35M for Andy Carroll made sense. It wasn’t, whereas the Sterling figure won’t seem so stupid if he reaches his potential.

Therein lies the first problem. Is Sterling going to reach that “potential”? City fans have heard this term banded about a lot in recent years. Mario Balotelli was given all the chances in the world because he had lots of it. Rodwell and Sinclair were brought in as it was assumed City could fill them out into the players we all hoped they could be. Buying potential is a trip to the casino.

Sheikh Mansour is justified – on this occasion, especially – to feel he can bet on red or black a few times. In reality the chances are stacked higher in his favour than the slightly less than half a roulette spin offers. If Raheem becomes the next big young talent his value will quickly eclipse the £49M shelled out. Take Paul Pogba, another City target, the fee floating around for him currently stands at £71M. This is with the proviso he still hasn’t reached his full potential.

Transfer fees will always be a bone of contention. They continue to rise in a time when the world is facing tough austerity measures and countries like Greece face economic collapse. To make matters worse, they continue to rise from an already over-inflated base line. Yes, £49M is a lot. But it also happens to be the market value for a young promising, home-grown talent.

What I find more disturbing than the price is the treatment of a young twenty year old by members of the press, former teammates and “fans.” Stevie G, the Liverpool legend that never won a league title, not so subtlety sounded Sterling out as unprofessional and possessing a bad attitude when comparing him to the new Liverpool captain Jordan Horrenduson. Nice to know Steven helped nurture that talent under his watch.

Gerrard is obviously offended that a player would choose to leave his club for a rival. It makes the statement that the modern day professional sees Liverpool as a place less likely to collect titles. He should remind himself he once thought the same and agreed to join Chelsea, only changing his mind when the threats from fans came in.

Raheem has also faced disgusting abuse and threats to his wellbeing along with his daughter’s. He has stood tall and will see out the storm. Hopefully there’ll be an added element of protection surrounding him during this time. And perhaps a little TLC will work wonders too. I can’t begin to imagine how he feels reading such threats when his own father was murdered back when Raheem was only nine years of age.

Jamie Carragher has also been outspoken and condemned Sterling. It doesn’t come from the mouth of a neutral Sky Sports presenter. He lacks the ability of Gary Neville, who can be a Manchester United man at heart but still speak sense, of reporting the news rather than opinion as fact. He clearly wanted Sterling to stay and arrogantly assumes it will be better for Raheem if he did. Apart from the argument he would get more game time at Liverpool, it is founded on nothing more than blinkered hearsay.

It’s typical of the anti-City media to turn the transfers of the Citizens into a carnival while applauding preferred click-bait teams for their market endeavours. Memphis Depay, not exactly a snip at £25M, has been packaged as future world-beater. I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t say either way. It seems only bitter former pros and bad journalists can see future events with any clarity. To top off this sentiment, SportYapper notified users today Sterling had asked for a nap during his Man City medical.

Back to the price, it also needs to be noted QPR receive a slice as part of their sell-on clause. This will have ramped it up. Add this to the home grown quota he fills, along Liverpool’s reluctance to sell, and it’s less grotesque. The price tag will hang heavy for a while. Di Maria still carries his around in a wheelbarrow. All Raheem Sterling can do is produce form on the field. With every successful game the pounds will drop away. With success he can prove this was never about cash but about football.

About winning.