Messi reclaims the beautiful game
by Steve
It would be incredibly easy to feel disillusioned about football right now. We’re seen the moral bankruptcy of players and the actual bankruptcy of teams. Money is king, yet nobody seems to have a clue about managing it properly.
It may be a gross simplification, but it appears in many ways that the sport is mirroring the arrogance and lack of foresight we’ve seen in the financial markets, and is building its very own house of cards, really to fall at any moment.
Yet still, there are moments when football redeems itself, and rises above the quagmire of the modern game. Take St Mirren’s trouncing of the mighty Celtic last night. That 4-0 result will be etched in the memories of both sets of fans for some time, albeit for very different reasons. Shock events like that help keep the sport, for want of a better word, magical. No matter how poor your side is, you keep supporting and hoping, as just once you might get a night like the one St Mirren supporters experienced last night. Improbable, fantastical and utterly brilliant.
And on a more aesthetic level, how about that Lionel Messi? Sunday night he scored his second successive hat-trick and his performance was truly breathtaking. Here is the best player in the world right now, a genuine joy to watch as he mesmerises opponents and observers alike. If you haven’t seen the video yet, you really must. I won’t spoil the goals for you, but just look at the grace and intelligence and fun on show. Enjoy, and remember how fantastic football can be.
Wait until next year 
A genius, reminiscent of Maradonna at his best. And sure a better role model than the arrogant and slef-important Ronaldo?
Not sure Tony Mowbray is going to remember that 4-0 thrashing with much joy, especially as it has now cost him his job.
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I think us Brits can be pretty Premier League-centric and so concentrate on players who play (or have played) in that league too much. Rooney has had a great season, don’t get me wrong, but too many people seem to be hailing him as the most in-form player in the world, ahead of Messi. Which really doesn’t ring true to me.
It’s great that Messi does not present himself as brash, or ill-disciplined or hard to like. Right now he’s just a joy to watch.
As for Mowbray, I think he was on a hiding to nothing with that job, and I guess its no surprise he was removed so quickly. Promoting good football just isn’t enough with that kind of job. Particularly when you then lose 4-0 to St Mirren.
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Too true about Mowbray#s style of football. Surely Celtic were aware that whiole attacking football served well when getting West Brom out of the Championship, it just led to trouble and relegation from the Premier League. Much as Burnley have been finding out – interstingly, Owen Coyle has maintained the steel and pressing tactics of Allerdyce-era Bolton now that he’s returned there.
Messi is clearly the best player in the world right now. Rooney is on fire but, like most English talents, has probably been told not to take ridiculous risks during his career. This gradually erodes a players confidence in their own trickery. Gascoigne, Hoddle, Waddle, Barnes – the list of those who have slowly but surely been worn down by managerial fear of their skills is quite a long one. It used to just be England manager who wanted to make cart horses out of thoroughbreds. Now it seems to be club managers too, even Ferguson at times.
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