Soccerphile Editorial - September 2009

Adebayor treatment highlights English football's hidden agenda

Soccer Editorial.

One of the major plus points of staying out of the UK for the best part of a year is missing the dross that doubles as the television schedule in the homeland.

It's two of the main culprits however that I would like to use to draw comparisons in highlighting the poor treatment Emmanuel Adebayor has received in the wake of the game against his former employers at Eastlands.

Jade Goody became the focus of national ridicule after she revealed to her fellow contestants in the Big Brother house that she thought Cambridge was a part of London.

To her credit the Bermondsey girl used what gifts God had bestowed on her to carve out a niche for herself and, after being much maligned, a place in the nation's heart.

Substantially less column inches were written about a comment on Trinny and Susannah's television show What Not To Wear. One or the other of the 'style gurus' revealed that they thought Dublin was the best dressed city in Britain.

This geographical slip was let go by the media at large but is surely the same as Jade's gaff. Jade was also berated for exposing herself on national television but the fashion tipping duo have done exactly the same.

The point of dredging up these banal television moments is to show how being of good class will let you get away with a lot more than your lower class counterparts. Also if you are liked by and large by those who write about you guess what? You can expect the column inches to be a lot more favourable.

Last weekend, not for the first time, Paul Scholes was dismissed after a number of reckless challenges which could have left opponents with a serious injury.

Scholes dismissal was barely touched on in Monday's press and

The weekend phone-ins and post match press were instead full of people crying on about Emmanuel Adebayor's conduct in Manchester City's 4-2 win over Arsenal.

Now he may not have acted like an angel during the game but one thing he did do was play his heart out for the team which now pays his wages.

From listening to the radio it sounded like after he scored he had jumped in with the Arsenal fans and engaged in a punch up. In reality he ended up on his knees a good twenty yards away from the fans who had not only been abusing him the whole game but for the best part of the previous season when he was on their books.

Now any Arsenal fan making the trip to Manchester to watch the game is probably not one the majority of regulars at The Emirates who watch their team passively whatever the occasion.

But venting their anger on their former player is just another device to shield themselves from the fact that they are set for yet another season of underachievement.

A fifth potless season looks a real possibility as Arsene Wenger chooses to sit on the £25 million pounds raised from the sale of Adebayor.

Arsenal fans who booed not only Adebayor last season but also his teammate Eboue make you think that these fans who feel so wronged are not right all the time.

The ban Eduardo received for diving against Celtic has now been rescinded but it seems that Adebayor will feel the full punishment that the authorities can hand out.

At the heart of the matter is the fact that Paul Scholes is a one club man who has given good service to his club and country

Emmaunel Adebayor on the other hand is looked upon as the kind of player who sums up the score of greedy mercenaries which has invaded the English game. Therefore any excuse to kick him when he is riding high with his richly assembled team of upstarts will be pounced upon by the authorities.

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