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http://livingwithgranny.wordpress.c...arroll-join-the-ranks-of-englands-chav-stars/
"Ride me! Ride me!" Should Carroll join the ranks of England's chav stars?
The furore over whether Andy Carroll should be picked for England has reignited the debate on whether the private life of footballers should have a bearing on their prospects for the national team. Does it matter that Carroll, allegedly, went on a freshers-esq binge, picked up two Geordie slags, went back to Kevin Nolan’s house and shouted, “Ride me! Ride me!”, if he is scoring goals on the pitch?
On the one hand, if Carroll is doing his job and scoring goals, who cares if he is letting off steam in his free time? On the other, he is a role model to youngsters and paid large amounts to be a professional sportsman – his behaviour should reflect this.
Personally, I am torn. I’d like to see Carroll in an England shirt because he is a quality prospect. He puts me mind of Emile Heskey in the early days, before forgot how to score. Fabio Capello clearly favours employing a battering ram to clear some room for Wayne Rooney, and Carroll fits the bill perfectly. However, there is already a nasty culture of thuggish, chav arrogance in the England squad. The last thing it needs is more.
It is the drinking that bothers me most and I fully subscribe to Harry Redknapp’s opinion that Premiership footballers shouldn’t get battered at all during the season. When you’re paid so much money for such an enviable profession, you must be prepared to make sacrifices, particularly when it is your job to remain in peak physical condition. Getting wrecked at weekends is a luxury that the rest of us, slaving 9-5 seven days a week, should enjoy. I wouldn’t begrudge footballers a few pints or glasses or wine after a match, but no more.
Shagging slags
I’ve slightly less of a problem with them shagging slags/cheating on their girlfriends. I hate hearing the opinion – it surfaced a lot during the Rooney saga – that footballers are only caught because they are stupid or that, “Rooney knows no better because he was brought up in a working-class area and not taught morals”. Rooney, along with just about everyone else in our society, knows that if you have a wife, it is frowned upon to shag sluts. He knows this as well as he knows that scoring is good and conceding is bad.
Getting caught cheating has nothing to do with intelligence. Two US Presidents have been caught doing the dirty as well as countless British politicians. No one would accuse them of being unintelligent. Equally, cheating has nothing to do with a lack of morality during upbringing. I know people who went to public school and had the most middle-class upbringing possible who wouldn’t think twice about cheating on their girlfriend or shagging a hooker. A more relevant comparison with Rooney is Peter Crouch. He’s from a middle-class family – his father was a teacher – but was caught cheating on his fit wife.
I’m not condoning the practice. It’s abhorrent. But footballers are only human. The England team are guilty of a disproportionately large amount of misdemeanours because they are the most famous and therefore under the most media scrutiny. And it is a vicious circle – the more media scrutiny you’re under, the more famous you get. Horrible sluts throw themselves at England players, invariably hoping to make money by selling their story, and once in a while they cave.
By doing so, Rooney, Crouch, Ashley Cole, John Terry et al certainly set a poor example to young fans. But they’re not acting in a way that is unique to England footballers. Those who accuse them of arrogance in thinking they can get away with infidelity should point the same finger at every love-rat in the country. And I suspect most of them are eventually rumbled, even without the media’s help.
When it comes to drinking and cheating, the two are invariably linked. Again, I would argue that Premiership and particularly England footballers should be making sacrifices and not putting themselves in positions where they’re tempted to do the dirty. But while I can understand cheating and am inclined to defend footballers against sweeping generalisations about stupidity and morals, it still needs to be cut out.
Club over Country
Carroll deserves a second chance and I’d like to see him in the England squad for the France friendly. After all, if Capello refused to pick players on the basis of their off the field behaviour, he would be left without the majority of his stars.
That said, I think there is a nasty culture in the England squad that needs to be stamped out.
I am undoubtedly club over country. If Spurs were to play England in some odd Pro-Evo style exhibition match, I would support Spurs. When they failed to qualify for the Champions League in 2007, I sulked for two weeks. When England didn’t make Euro 2008, I was disappointed for about a day. This doesn’t stem from a lack of patriotism. It stems from the lack of likeable players in the England team.
It is very easy to hate Terry and Cole when they line-up for Chelsea. I am not fickle enough to love them the week after when they pull on the three lions. Don’t get me wrong, I will always support England and hope they win. But if England played Croatia, I’m not ashamed to say I’d love to see Niko Kranjcar terrorise Cole and Luka Modric make a fool of Terry. Regardless of nationality, I like them so much more as players and people.
The best way for this apathy to change is if England start performing in major tournaments. If Terry wins us Euro 2012, I probably am fickle enough to love him. But that is a different debate. In the meantime, they should be attempting to earn the respect of the public with their actions on and off the field.
It would be worrying to add Carroll to a group that already boats such an unenviable record when it comes to off-field antics. But he shouldn’t be punished for what others have done in the past. But he needs to learn from his mistakes fast. Otherwise England will end up with another generation of horrible, sleazy, chavs and that’s the last thing anyone wants.
http://livingwithgranny.wordpress.c...arroll-join-the-ranks-of-englands-chav-stars/
"Ride me! Ride me!" Should Carroll join the ranks of England's chav stars?
The furore over whether Andy Carroll should be picked for England has reignited the debate on whether the private life of footballers should have a bearing on their prospects for the national team. Does it matter that Carroll, allegedly, went on a freshers-esq binge, picked up two Geordie slags, went back to Kevin Nolan’s house and shouted, “Ride me! Ride me!”, if he is scoring goals on the pitch?
On the one hand, if Carroll is doing his job and scoring goals, who cares if he is letting off steam in his free time? On the other, he is a role model to youngsters and paid large amounts to be a professional sportsman – his behaviour should reflect this.
Personally, I am torn. I’d like to see Carroll in an England shirt because he is a quality prospect. He puts me mind of Emile Heskey in the early days, before forgot how to score. Fabio Capello clearly favours employing a battering ram to clear some room for Wayne Rooney, and Carroll fits the bill perfectly. However, there is already a nasty culture of thuggish, chav arrogance in the England squad. The last thing it needs is more.
It is the drinking that bothers me most and I fully subscribe to Harry Redknapp’s opinion that Premiership footballers shouldn’t get battered at all during the season. When you’re paid so much money for such an enviable profession, you must be prepared to make sacrifices, particularly when it is your job to remain in peak physical condition. Getting wrecked at weekends is a luxury that the rest of us, slaving 9-5 seven days a week, should enjoy. I wouldn’t begrudge footballers a few pints or glasses or wine after a match, but no more.
Shagging slags
I’ve slightly less of a problem with them shagging slags/cheating on their girlfriends. I hate hearing the opinion – it surfaced a lot during the Rooney saga – that footballers are only caught because they are stupid or that, “Rooney knows no better because he was brought up in a working-class area and not taught morals”. Rooney, along with just about everyone else in our society, knows that if you have a wife, it is frowned upon to shag sluts. He knows this as well as he knows that scoring is good and conceding is bad.
Getting caught cheating has nothing to do with intelligence. Two US Presidents have been caught doing the dirty as well as countless British politicians. No one would accuse them of being unintelligent. Equally, cheating has nothing to do with a lack of morality during upbringing. I know people who went to public school and had the most middle-class upbringing possible who wouldn’t think twice about cheating on their girlfriend or shagging a hooker. A more relevant comparison with Rooney is Peter Crouch. He’s from a middle-class family – his father was a teacher – but was caught cheating on his fit wife.
I’m not condoning the practice. It’s abhorrent. But footballers are only human. The England team are guilty of a disproportionately large amount of misdemeanours because they are the most famous and therefore under the most media scrutiny. And it is a vicious circle – the more media scrutiny you’re under, the more famous you get. Horrible sluts throw themselves at England players, invariably hoping to make money by selling their story, and once in a while they cave.
By doing so, Rooney, Crouch, Ashley Cole, John Terry et al certainly set a poor example to young fans. But they’re not acting in a way that is unique to England footballers. Those who accuse them of arrogance in thinking they can get away with infidelity should point the same finger at every love-rat in the country. And I suspect most of them are eventually rumbled, even without the media’s help.
When it comes to drinking and cheating, the two are invariably linked. Again, I would argue that Premiership and particularly England footballers should be making sacrifices and not putting themselves in positions where they’re tempted to do the dirty. But while I can understand cheating and am inclined to defend footballers against sweeping generalisations about stupidity and morals, it still needs to be cut out.
Club over Country
Carroll deserves a second chance and I’d like to see him in the England squad for the France friendly. After all, if Capello refused to pick players on the basis of their off the field behaviour, he would be left without the majority of his stars.
That said, I think there is a nasty culture in the England squad that needs to be stamped out.
I am undoubtedly club over country. If Spurs were to play England in some odd Pro-Evo style exhibition match, I would support Spurs. When they failed to qualify for the Champions League in 2007, I sulked for two weeks. When England didn’t make Euro 2008, I was disappointed for about a day. This doesn’t stem from a lack of patriotism. It stems from the lack of likeable players in the England team.
It is very easy to hate Terry and Cole when they line-up for Chelsea. I am not fickle enough to love them the week after when they pull on the three lions. Don’t get me wrong, I will always support England and hope they win. But if England played Croatia, I’m not ashamed to say I’d love to see Niko Kranjcar terrorise Cole and Luka Modric make a fool of Terry. Regardless of nationality, I like them so much more as players and people.
The best way for this apathy to change is if England start performing in major tournaments. If Terry wins us Euro 2012, I probably am fickle enough to love him. But that is a different debate. In the meantime, they should be attempting to earn the respect of the public with their actions on and off the field.
It would be worrying to add Carroll to a group that already boats such an unenviable record when it comes to off-field antics. But he shouldn’t be punished for what others have done in the past. But he needs to learn from his mistakes fast. Otherwise England will end up with another generation of horrible, sleazy, chavs and that’s the last thing anyone wants.
