9:50am Friday 18th December 2009
By Will Gore
It is supposed to be the season of goodwill to all men and all that nonsense but, for some reason, football managers always seem eager to play Scrooge at this time of year.
Take our very own Andy Scott, for example.
He was unhappy with his Leeds United counterpart, Simon Grayson, for suggesting the Griffin Park pitch was one of the deciding factors in Saturday’s 0-0 draw.
“Bah! Humbug!” said Scotty (Are you sure? Ed), who insisted his charges deserved credit for a terrific defensive display.
A big fuss over nothing, really, but perhaps Scott is warming himself up for our Boxing Day trip to Gillingham, where he will again meet his nemesis, Nosferatu (or plain old Mark Stimson to his mother).
Nosferatu, you’ll remember, got in a right huff last season after Brentford reported one of his clod-hopping players for landing a head butt on Nathan Elder and, then, like any self-respecting vampire, he struck fear into Scotty’s heart by refusing to shake his hand later in the season.
Maybe the pair will finally make up over a turkey sandwich and a glass of mulled wine after the game at Priestfield but I wouldn’t count on it.
Before then, we have got the small matter of a trip up the motorway to see the Bees take on the McDons.
Like any sensible person, I’ll always despise the MK Dons, a ‘club’ that is nothing more than a blight on Britain’s footballing landscape.
This week, it has been revealed that their stadiummk (even the name of their ground is enough to reduce you to tears) has been selected on the provisional list of stadia for England’s 2018 World Cup bid.
The FA, who should have stopped Wimbledon FC being destroyed in the first place, must now hang their heads even lower in shame, particularly as their decision has meant that the hideous McDons chief, Peter Winkelman, has been all over TV and radio blathering, in his best New Labour spin-machine style, about “agendas for growth” and “deliverability”, and how “Milton Keynes is a ‘can do’ place”, whatever the hell that is supposed to mean.
Brentford has also been named as a training venue for 2018, with the FA pinning its hopes on the Lionel Road stadium being ready in time (stop laughing at the back!).
Griffin Park is the contingency plan, in case – or when – the stadium fails to materialise.
Surely it would be more fun to leave a bewildered Argentina team – Messi et al – to train amid the Lionel Road warehouses?
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/trade_directory/