For sometime at the opening of the summer transfer window, Manchester United flirted with the idea of acquiring the services of Thiago Alcantara- the highly rated Spanish U21 International Captain and then Barcelona FC midfielder. The desire to sign the midfielder grow from a state of flirtation to one of earnest intent after his impressive showing at the 2013 edition of the UEFA U21 Championship, where his performances earned him the award for being player of the tournament. Thiago was destined to be a Manchester United player, or, at least so I thought. Up stepped newly crowned Champions League winners Bayern Munich at the speed of a Moscow Locomotive, to usurped Man Utd's overtures for the player, eventually completing a move worth £22million.
At face value, it might seem that Thiago gravitated towards the Bavarian club based on the mutual affinity shared between himself and their newly appointted manager Josep 'Pep' Guardiola who had given him his first team debut at Barca. But, what does this signify forn Man Utd?
Is the sale of Thiago to Bayern from under the nose of Manchester United setting the precedent for transfer dealings at the Manchester Club under new manager David Moyes? In my estimation if Sir Alex Ferguson (SAF) had still been the manager there was no way he would have allowed him to move to another club if he wanted he as badly as the reports suggested. Man Utd under SAF were notorious for getting the players they wanted.
David Moyes, until now, had not had a job at the pinnacle of football -thus, the aura of respect which surrounds him is lackluster in comparison to SAF. This does not in anyway mean that Moyes is not a good manager, for in my opinion he is very good ( to SAF too) but at the summit of global football management being a winner with a proven track record is what counts. Though Manchester United in and of themselves are perennial contenders for all trophies for which they compete, players look at the pedigree of the coach and not always that of the club. Granted some might do the converse.
Only time will tell if this is a tell tale sign of things to come, but ,one thing is for certain if I was a Manchester United fan, i'd be worried. Maybe I'm over analyzing the situation but perhaps not.
Can Moyes command the same level of respect as SAF did? Yes he can, but not immediately, it will take time for him to build is own aura like Fergie did himself but will it be to the detriment of the Manchester United's dealings in the transfer market during the interim?
Sunday, 28 July 2013
Sunday, 17 February 2013
Faith vs Work in Jamaica
Somewhere in the The Holy Bible in The Book of St. James, there is a sentiment which relates faith and work. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet perceived with the senses while Work is the application of physical effort to a purpose.
Jamaica, is a highly religious (highly segregated denomination) Christian country: or so most of us would like to think. The country is noted for its many churches and has been ranked as the country with the most churches per square mile.
This strong christian belief and faith transcend all levels within the social fabric of the country and is even nationalized by the country's government with an annual prayer breakfast in January of each year. This "prayer breakfast" was started in 1980 and has been going for the past 33 years. As the name suggests, it is where our leaders petition the help of the Almighty in the guidance and governance of the country. At least that's what I thought, until I read an article posted on the Jamaica Information Service Website titled... Prayer Breakfast Remains Relevant. (Which in itself is a different matter)
During this time (33years) the country has spiraled and pivoted to new lows in the occurrences of violent crime and other abominable activities such as and due to pervasive corruption. This begs me to ask the questions;
1. How big is our faith?
2. Does prayer really work?
3. Should we really look for help from "above"?
Let me unambiguously state, this is in no way, shape or form a tirade at any deity, religious group or belief system. I am simply questioning the evidence lucidly. You can never argue over belief as one will believe what they want to, hey, who am I to argue with one who says the reflection of the sea makes the sky blue: even though it is wrong.
I will not give my answers to the questions I have posed, however, I will say;
Abrasively, I think the prayer breakfast should be cancelled, (that's just me), if it's a fundraising and or social event, regard it as such and refrain from deluding the people of otherwise. It should also be cancelled because let's face it, from time immemorial we as a nation have been praying and it's just not working for crime (it seem fi work fi hurricane though). Some will say that those who have been praying have little faith and that is the reason for the in-effective of the prayers. In my opinion it is a whimsical farce, we should instead start to do the work required and stop deluding ourselves.
To me faith is fanciful belief which makes a virtue of illogical thinking and also keeps us in a fantasy. Instead of wearing its faith as an emblem, I propose to the government to start doing the work it takes to combat crime. When we come to the understanding and appreciation that praying alone will not stop the spiral and start putting in the work we might see better results. But all the same "wah gone bad a mawnin' caan come good a evenin'". As with many other things surrounding human life, I guess we will never know.
Jamaica, is a highly religious (highly segregated denomination) Christian country: or so most of us would like to think. The country is noted for its many churches and has been ranked as the country with the most churches per square mile.
This strong christian belief and faith transcend all levels within the social fabric of the country and is even nationalized by the country's government with an annual prayer breakfast in January of each year. This "prayer breakfast" was started in 1980 and has been going for the past 33 years. As the name suggests, it is where our leaders petition the help of the Almighty in the guidance and governance of the country. At least that's what I thought, until I read an article posted on the Jamaica Information Service Website titled... Prayer Breakfast Remains Relevant. (Which in itself is a different matter)
During this time (33years) the country has spiraled and pivoted to new lows in the occurrences of violent crime and other abominable activities such as and due to pervasive corruption. This begs me to ask the questions;
1. How big is our faith?
2. Does prayer really work?
3. Should we really look for help from "above"?
Let me unambiguously state, this is in no way, shape or form a tirade at any deity, religious group or belief system. I am simply questioning the evidence lucidly. You can never argue over belief as one will believe what they want to, hey, who am I to argue with one who says the reflection of the sea makes the sky blue: even though it is wrong.
I will not give my answers to the questions I have posed, however, I will say;
Abrasively, I think the prayer breakfast should be cancelled, (that's just me), if it's a fundraising and or social event, regard it as such and refrain from deluding the people of otherwise. It should also be cancelled because let's face it, from time immemorial we as a nation have been praying and it's just not working for crime (it seem fi work fi hurricane though). Some will say that those who have been praying have little faith and that is the reason for the in-effective of the prayers. In my opinion it is a whimsical farce, we should instead start to do the work required and stop deluding ourselves.
To me faith is fanciful belief which makes a virtue of illogical thinking and also keeps us in a fantasy. Instead of wearing its faith as an emblem, I propose to the government to start doing the work it takes to combat crime. When we come to the understanding and appreciation that praying alone will not stop the spiral and start putting in the work we might see better results. But all the same "wah gone bad a mawnin' caan come good a evenin'". As with many other things surrounding human life, I guess we will never know.
.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)