gambitch - now available in blue

Friday, January 28, 2005

Amateurish, but this is one of those nights, so if you'll excuse the lack of polish...

The stage is set
Where heroes rise and fall
The time has come
Will you answer the call
For those who do
We stand up and walk tall
And march in step
With faith to conquer all

From time to time, we will experience moments where not everything goes perfectly according to plan. There is nothing abnormal about this, for the world works like that. We cannot expect to master everything and have everything go our way. Once in a while, something has to move in a slightly different direction, to let us appreciate that we are not the omnipotent beings we sometimes think we are.

The real measure of a winner, and a true competitor with heart, is the way he responds when the chips are down. This is when we most need to pick our tails up, dust ourselves down, and look within us. Learning exactly what it was that we didn't do properly, how it didn't work out. And then, fix it, and go out there and try again. Keano got this right - most of us are too cowardly to think that the fault could lie with us. Things don't happen for arbitrary reasons; look hard enough and there will be an explanation somewhere that we can look at. Sometimes - no, always, that explanation lies within us. That's where it gets uncomfortable, for some more than others.

It's not the big things that get people down. Most of the time it's the little things. It's more than a little stupid, of course, going into the big one and bottling it against top-class opposition, but people can often look at tight big matches and see something emerge for both sides. Think Manchester United vs Real Madrid, the year Becks almost made us believe when United valiantly fought to win the game 4-3 at Old Trafford. A game like that is a classic for both sets of fans to savour, because even though the plain result was that Real Madrid won the tie overall, it was one bloody bash to savour when both teams went all out and performed to the high standards expected of them.

But no, it's usually not the big matches that get us down. To win a league, you've got to win the little matches too. Take that horrendous blip against Southampton - in Keano's words, "six f****** three". The big ones get everyone keyed up and on high alert, and raises everyone's game. It's usually the small ones, the things we thought would be a cakewalk, that usually throw up a nice little banana skin that, should we accidentally step on it and slip, can hurt us real bad. That's why people are only good enough to win the league, but it's never a certainty until the games are played. It's about playing the game, and turning what we believe into reality. If you think you're bloody good enough, that's not enough. You're actually going to have to go out and prove it. That is called the will to win. Strutting in thinking you're good enough and then not pushing past second gear is called complacency, and every now and then this bites you in the posterior.

Fortunately, things are not such that there is zero tolerance for complacency all the time. The zero tolerance thing demands too much perfection, and we just can't be that perfect - not even computers, since every now and then some bug will kick in. There is a small amount of tolerance for error, and if ever we slip in there, it's all about getting out of jail on the back of stronger performances. If that means facing the likes of AC Milan or Juventus, then so be it! In fact, I'd rather draw an AC Milan or a Juventus than a soft team like FC Porto (Porto are much softer in the post-Mourinho era, unfortunately - this is too hard to deny). Nothing like having a tough challenge to bring out the best in us, because this is where we really test our mental strength and nerve.

Can we hold our nerve? Are we strong enough to do what is required of us? Or will we just be lily-livered cowards who wilt when the going gets tough? Bayern Munich shrank and wilted at 1-0 up back in the Nou Camp in 1999, and paid the price. United did not, and came back to taste the glory. Of course, the even more instructive reference would be that second leg against Juventus in Turin. 2-0 down after 10 minutes, with the first leg at 1-1, would always be a challenge. There was a plus side to it, though - we had 80 minutes to turn things around, which is always better than having only 10. Keano held his nerve. Butty held his. Scholesy too. And Becks. And Coley and Yorkie. And everyone else wearing red that night. We came back 3-2. We came back because we had the ability, and because we believed. No panic, only patience and a plan.

And so the situation is the same now. We've some months to go before the season wraps up. We have to hold our nerve. We must, because to break down now and lose any belief is the surest way to surrender the game when there's still so much to play for. Winning the trophies is difficult; but losing them is bloody easy. All it takes is to decide to raise the white flag, to doubt yourself, to give yourself no chance because you don't think you're good enough. Respect the enemy, but do not fear them. For fear leads to doubt, and doubt makes us waver. In our wavering we will fail to focus on the task at hand, and that is when we start conceding ground.

The task comes first. The enemy comes second.

Now everybody, repeat this after me...

gambitch [ 11:26 PM]

Monday, January 24, 2005

Once more, this time with more emotion...

"At my signal, unleash hell..."

These days I wonder what hellish flames feel like. I suppose it's not that odd, really, when recent weeks have very much been about looking back at the past and wondering what the future holds. The New Year is fresh upon us, yet for some the New Year doesn't start for another couple of weeks. I am part of that group, so I, too, wonder sometimes.

On occasion I'll run into a friend whose name I can't remember, or I'll hear from someone else who I could have sworn has forgotten about my existence. I'm sorry if I greet you with a half-blank stare, but in this world where we don't always meet our friends with great frequency, and when other thoughts occupy my mind, it is understandable to suffer from moments of forgetting names. I hope you have been well since we last parted; certainly you're likely to fare better than I do.

Men of the Black Glove, Unite! (Damn, where'd I place my gloves?)

gambitch [ 12:24 AM]

Sunday, January 23, 2005

I don't get it, I really don't. I'm watching this TV commercial pitching Sanyo rechargeable batteries, dubbed in English, and then they tell us that this product is only available to the Japanese market rather than out here where I am. I can't help wondering why they haven't imported this very excellent and environmentally-friendly product over to these shores.

Don't get me wrong, I acknowledge it's rather silly to put up commercials for products that aren't being sold here. But I don't begrudge them if this is part of programme sponsorship, especially when the product is actually a good, useful one. Really, they should just import these rechargeable batteries and give the existing market some good competition. All for the good cause of saving the planet!

In other news, I miss good, delicious Japanese dons!

gambitch [ 8:22 PM]