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joeperriman

Listed below are comments made by joeperriman between Monday, 2nd February 2009 and Sunday, 23rd August 2009.

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Flintoff a very English hero 10:08pm on 23 Aug 2009 Freddie was and is a legend in his own lifetime. How many people are known and recognised by just the one name?

It would have been nice to have better statistics but would it have made any difference to his reputation and the admiration of the public?

Character, spirit and guts will always count for more than just numbers. I only hope he decides to retire before his body really does give up.

Thanks for all the memories Freddie.
Strauss's England worthy winners 9:02pm on 23 Aug 2009 Amazing series. Yes, topomalvado is correct that it could not possibly match 2005 because it was not on a terrestial channel but whose fault is that? I do not subscribe to SKY and probably never will. The highlights on Channel 5 were excellent as was the TMS commentary but it was not the same as watching it ball by ball as was always the case in the past.

Both the teams in 2005 played a better standard of cricket and were more evenly matched in statistics but the truth is that this series had more ups and downs than than a rollercoaster on cocaine.

I have an impossible task explaining to many people why cricket is so exciting but series like this make it easier to do so. I cannot honestly say that I believe England deserved to win the series but I can also honestly say that perhaps this added to the enjoyment of doing so.

2005 cost me a year of my life but 2009 only cost me 6 months because I really did not expect England to win it. Well done boys and good luck for the winter tour.

Cheers, Joe.
Review of the week 7:02pm on 08 May 2009 Chris - excellent blog. Just as funny as Robbo is but without the accent. Are you from 'darn saaf'? A few points:

- Seeing as we are being anal about spelling there are only 2 'e's in meeting. Also, I believe it is 'drawers' and not 'draws'. Sorry to be pedantic about this but I notice these things for some strange reason.

- It is still amazing to me to that in the 21st century the most popular sport in the world cannot manage to sort out officiating problems. EVERY other major sport has made so much progress using modern technology and anything else to improve decision making but soccer seems to be going backwards. The referee was not bias - just totally incompetent. No mention of the sending off that was not a sending off from anyone!

- Also, what is the point of having highly paid people in charge of European football if they cannot find a better referee for such an important game like this? Oh, sorry, I suppose they are just the same as our own beloved FA when it comes to making important appointments like this one was supposed to be.

- I cannot find it in my heart to criticise Drogba or any other Chelsea player for their post-match actions. Top soccer players are the most competitive and single-minded of sportsmen and if anyone felt as strongly as they do about winning they would have reacted just as badly. I am glad they did in a way - someone needs to highlight the poor refereeing performance at such an important match or there will never be any improvement. Frankly, I am very impressed none of them actually physically attacked him as they would have done so in some other parts of the world. I do not condone violence of any sort but I can understand why it happens under such circumstances as it is not just a burst tyre or a spilt pint we are talking about here!

It would have been nice to see Chelsea getting another chance against Man. U. and I also wanted the English club to win but what the heck - it was a good game and it should be a good final plus it is what most of the punters wanted. I doubt there was any conspiracy involved - just the usual mix of human incompetence, arrogance and stupidity. After the recent banking crisis, credit crunch and Labour Government Budget we should be used to it by now.

Cheers, Joe.
Hillsborough - a personal memory 8:36pm on 10 Apr 2009 I would like to consider myself an Owls supporter but as I have not been to Hillborough to see a match there for decades I suppose I am more technically a follower of the team. I used to go regularly as a teenager and well into my 20s and my favourite spot was in the upper level in the corner between Leppings Lane and the North Stand as seems to be the case with other posters. The view was good (As long as you were not too close to the dividing wall) and it was not as crowded as the rest of the stand. Yes, those were the days when Hillsborough was a popular place to be. I always stood and still do when watching the Owls or England on TV.

I watched the Heysel disaster live in 1985 with an ex-girlfriend who supported Liverpool (She probably still does but I would not know) and I could not believe the authorities let the match continue. We watched the game in a hotel room near Heathrow and I felt so badly after the match I could not get to sleep. I can still feel the pounding headache as if it was yesterday. Something died in me that day and I have never felt the same about football and I never will. I am interested to note the effect our disaster has had on other Wednesday supporters because I thought I was being irrational. We do not feel responsible for what happened as we were not even there but we do feel the shame and the images of the tragedy will never be erased. I clearly recall the high, white, thick-wire fences surrounding the pitch but the only reason I did not watch a match from behind them had nothing to do with safety - I just felt as if I was viewing a match from the inside of a prison cell. They may have been necessary to stop pitch invasions but they were never the correct long term solution and they should have been abolished years before.

I realise that many people have had their lives changed in a way I cannot currently imagine and hope I never have to but as an Owls fan I have to admit to wishing that if such an event ever had to happen I would have preferred it not to have happened at Hillsborough. As a regular attendee I do not have to read any report to know why or how it happened as the outdated design, poor access, human error (Always involved!) and unfortunate timing were always going to be a recipe for disaster. It usually takes a combination of factors like these and not just one but the fact is that hundreds of thousands of people watched matches at 'old' Hillsborough for decades without coming close to losing anything more than a match and a few quid let alone their lives. How could anyone have predicted this would ever happen and what is the point of blaming anyone for conditions that prevailed at most other grounds?

I have been to Hillsborough since and I have sat in the away end near the spot where others must have watched in horror as family, friends and fellow supporters died and it does put our priorities into perspective. I can only say that as I get older the more I am affected by what happened and the less I am bothered about who wins and who loses any longer. As far as I am concerned we ALL lost something very precious that day and I never expect to regain my sense and aura of innocence.

It is only correct that we should be honouring the memory of the 96 people who died that day as it is clear that their loss has affected more than just their families, friends, Liverpool FC and Liverpool. We are thinking of you and we do share some of the pain we cannot imagine.
The Gospel According To St James Park (Pt III) 9:33pm on 04 Apr 2009 I doubt anyone will be reading this any more but it is midnight here in Istanbul and I have nothing better to do. So:

#104 - I hope Another_JC does not stand for Another Jesus Christ. I haven't attended a church sermon ever since the day (decades ago) I realised there was not much point. Being an atheist makes life a lot easier in so much that you do not worry about wasting time, money and effort on ANY belief system no-one has proved, can prove or will ever prove. I just wanted to make the point that Robbo's amusing blog was more in touch with reality than the source material it was based on.

#79 - Not sure Robert E. Howard is a relevant author to quote here. What has Conan and all the other bucaneering characters he wrote about got to do with a blog about Newcastle Utd. and Shearer? Hope Robbo does not go and blow his brains out either after the death of his mother.

#111 The poor teacher was kicked out of the haven of democracy - Sudan - and not the UAE which is much more liberal as the pair having sex on the beach will testify to as they were treated with more compassion than Gillan Gibbons. The UAE has certainly not committed genocide either.

#78 - Tarquin, thank you for your support. I was born and brought up in the Middle East which is why I do not get involved in either religion or politics but still have to understand and appreciate the dire effects they both have on people. I did understand the point ZeusFC (The man and not the dog or god) was getting at but thought it totally irrelevent.

There is an excellent book out called 'Faulty Logic' which a lot of people should read. I also recommend anything by A.C. Grayling - genius.

Cheers, Joe.
The Gospel According To St James Park (Pt III) 10:09pm on 02 Apr 2009 Absolutely amazing! Not the blog - even more brilliant than usual as most others have already said - but the fact that some (A few thank God!) people out there have actually managed to come up with such stupid comments. I would like to be kind and use the words 'barmy', 'daft' or 'ill informed' but stupid just about sums them up best.

Too long? Yeah, so is the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel.

Anti-Christian? Attendences would be up in the churches if the sermons in there were one-tenth as amusing, as contemporary and as well crafted.

Why not have a go at Islam instead someone asked? Well, assuming Robbo was brought up in the UK and has been influenced by the prevalent religion in this part of the world (As most of the readers have as well) then it makes sense that he would use local references. Is anyone seriously suggesting that a blog done this way based on the Koran, the Hadith and maybe even Sharia Law would be either (a) amusing or (b) even vaguely understandable? I am surprised there was no criticism that it was not written in Arabic to boot. Honestly - get a life and grow up!

Robbo, do not worry about the lightning bolts - they are the domain of Zeus (The mythical God and not the blogger above) and not the Christian God or religion you never offended. I do not know how long it took you to write this blog but it was worth every tax-payer's penny.

You are not going to be able to keep up this standard though! A bit like Boro? Sorry, but it is looking bad for you. Hope you stay up just to annoy all of those negative people who accuse you of bias every week.

Cheers, Joe.
England still need Owen 9:48pm on 30 Mar 2009 I saw Owen's knee give out against Sweden in 2006 and I can remember thinking then that he would never be the same player again. He has been very unlucky in the last 3 years with injuries but that is life.

The only reason this blog has generated so much interest is because of the dirth of striking options available to Capello at present. If the 3 injuries last Saturday had been to other players who were not front men there would be no need to discuss this issue.

Owen will never be the same player he was in his pomp and he is not yet ready to start playing again at the highest level. Capello has not said he will never play him again and I would rather have a manager who makes his own mind up rather than let the fans and media do it for him.

To quote someone else 'if my aunt was a man (s)he'd be my uncle'. This is a bit of a non-story as one man does not and never will make a team and if we do not have sufficient strength in depth then we need to accept we are never going to win anything. Having Owen in the locker so to speak is not going to change matters that much.

All this panic for nothing - at least we do not have a manager who makes some of the barmy decisions the previous two did.

Regards, Joe.
Damned United review 11:16am on 28 Mar 2009 Posts #5 and #15 - you are right. The book by David Peace is excellent. I also read it in less than a day as I could not put it down. Regardless of all the proven inaccuracies and unprovable 'scenes' it is a haunting snapshot of the blown-up egos that dominated and still dominate football.

My Mother was the one who told me to read the book as she wanted to know if 'succesful' men really were that subservient to their hormones and their conflicting, insatiable wills to be (a) right ALL the time and (b) win ALL the time. I had to tell her that unfortunately that was, and still is, the case. Directors, Owners and the Senior Management of clubs would rather be 'right' and not win anything than 'wrong' and win because of someone else's efforts. The people in charge of the England FA never appointed Clough as Manager for the simple reason they would rather NEVER win anything than win something with Clough in charge as they would look foolish. The same applies to the appointment of Steve McClaren. Anyone wishing to sue me for libel please contact me.

Post #6 - by your definitions and standards it would not be possible to write or say anything about anyone in case it offended them. Cloughie stuck his head above the parapet and took criticism on the chin like the real northern man he was. I am hardly surprised his family are not impressed by the book as it shows a darker side of Clough that only they and close friends would know about but to quote Cromwell at least he was showm 'warts and all' and came across as a human being and not a titan.

Post #13 - My compliments on your moniker. I wish I had thought of 'Voice of Joe' even thought it sounds a tad pretentious but your down to earth and accurate comments would indicate you are not.

I cannot wait to see the film when I come back to the UK next month.

Regards, Joe.
Multi-skilling's the name of the game 10:15am on 28 Mar 2009 Robbo, thanks again for a most entertaining read. I always look forward to them and this one was worth waiting for. As a Englishman abroad the thing I miss the most is the dry wit and humour you still get ooop north.

The one thing I do not miss is listening to all the griping, moaning and 'I pay your fees' from misinformed members of the general public. I did not realise just how many wierdos there are out there until I started using the internet regularly. I do believe in democracy and freedom of speech but the downside is that most of the comments posted are just dross. The internet is a great invention (British to boot!) but the fact it now seems to cater mostly for porn addicts and the morbidly disenfranchised does not bode well for the future of the human race.

I have a sneaking suspicion that many of the 'negative' comments are posted by Robbo himself so that he can read the ensuing torrent of supportive responses from the rest of us that just enjoy a laugh. Must be great to have so many 'fans' who write in to say 'I always read your blog just to slag you off afterwards' - as they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity. The only downside is that the rest of the posts just seem to become slagging matches between the opposing factions.

For the record, we are now speaking (Or supposed to be speaking) the Queen's English and not the King's English as the last one died in 1952 or so. Sorry to be a pedant #47 but this is the site for pedantry!

I will only start writing to the BBC to complain IF they stop Robbo posting his blogs. By the way, I had a ticket to see Blondie perform at Sheffield University (90 pence only!) but passed up on the chance to see them because I couldn't get 2 more tickets for my friends. This was in 1978 or 1979 and I still have nightmares about it. Thanks for the memory!

Cheers, Joe.
Alternative transfer deadline day 10:07pm on 02 Feb 2009 Robbo, what the heck is a 'parmos'? I've seen this referred to many times now and am clueless. Also, I know cider is not ale but it is still sort of in the same area of draught alcoholic beverages sold in pubs. I thought you meant you'd given up on the booze!

Tried some roast chicken on Emirates Airlines coming back from Dubai last week that had a hint of the taste of parsnips in the sauce. Disgusting - couldn't finish it. Sorry, won't try it again with or without honey and roasted as you suggested. Frankly, anytime I see the word 'roasted' or 'roasting' in an article to do with football I lose my appetite immediately.

Has there ever been a season like this one with one team buying back so many players over the course of a few months? What Spurs lost on Defoe they gained on Keane. Not sure about all the other numbers at this stage but I cannot ever remember anything like it in the past. Did Keane even get to buy a house (Sorry, mansion) in Cheshire and if so was it a good investment?

Funny blog as usual. Keep up the good work.

Cheers, Joe.

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