Source: Daily_Mail
DES KELLY: The latest Fathers 4 Justice hero, is a real comic character
Everyone has an embarrassing Dad story. Usually it's no more humiliating than drunken dancing at a wedding reception or a soppy nickname blurted out in front of teenage friends.[LNB]So spare a little pity for that poor kid Shaun Wright-Phillips today, who must be burning in shame after his father made a fool of himself in front of all the other parents.[LNB] Caped Crusader: How Ian Wright may look as a Fathers 4 Justice campaigner[LNB]I say 'kid', even though Wright-Phillips is 28, because if you listened to his Daddy you'd beforgiven for thinking he was an 11-year-old left crying in the playground after bigger boys took his lunch money.[LNB]Wright-Phillips's father is, of course, Ian Wright, the ex-footballer who somehow earns a living in broadcasting these days. This development means his embarrassing Dad moments are not confined to home videos, but shared with the world.[LNB]So when Wright took exception to the fact that his son had yet to be offered a pay rise and an extension to his current £80,000-a-week contract at Manchester City, he decided to go public. Fathers 4 Justice had found a new hero.[LNB]'They are mugging him off and treating him like a youth team player!' protested Wright, possibly while wearing a Batman costume and chaining himself to talkSPORT's toilet door.[LNB]And what a noble cause he had chosen: Justice for the Wright-Phillips Half.[LNB]Cruelly, the diminutive winger has been left to struggle on a salary of just under £4.2million a year and, with two years of his present deal still to run, faces being locked in this penury for some time.[LNB]But Shaun's unhappiness is compounded by the fact that City team-mates Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tevez are on better wages. And so Wright did what any father would do. If he had no brain cells and was allowed to advertise that deficiency with the aid of a microphone.[LNB] More from Des Kelly... DES KELLY: Now will England fans turn on Terry after Bridge withdrawal?26/02/10 DES KELLY: It's Jose vs the world! Italians are fed up with the Inter boss22/02/10 DES KELLY: Inter boss Mourinho is happiest in the role of panto villain...21/02/10 DES KELLY: Premier League? It's more like Last Of The Summer Wine19/02/10 DES KELLY: Portsmouth are cheats, so let them go to the wall12/02/10 DES KELLY: Captain Chav John Terry is now England's Daddy Fool05/02/10 DES KELLY: Manchester United fans win with flying colours29/01/10 DES KELLY: Cool it, Tev and Nev - and that can't get lost in translation22/01/10 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE He demanded more money for his lad, so that he could 'be settled and ready for the World Cup', since cash worries must be costing him many a sleepless night.[LNB]As his Daddy pointed out: 'He signed for City before all the money came.'[LNB]But call this a mugging? If so, Wright-Phillips must be the first mugging victim to have £80,000 a week stuffed into his pocket.[LNB]It doesn't sound like the kind of treatment dished out to a youth team player either, not unless the under 16s are able to buy themselves a new Bentley every fortnight (although, to be fair, we are probably fast approaching that point).[LNB]This paper reported yesterday that 'sources close to Wright-Phillips claim he does not feelappreciated'. Just how much love does this man need? If someone was slapping £80,000 a week into my hand I'd be quite happy to feel under-appreciated.[LNB]It's another Ashley Cole moment. With one dim diatribe Wright has managed to re-enact the most notorious example of misplaced, spoilt rage by a greedy footballer in modern times.[LNB]Cole, you might recall, revealed in his flop autobiography how his agent called him to say Arsenal would not pay the wages demanded.[LNB]'When Jonathan repeated the figure of £55,000, I nearly swerved off the road.' He then accused Arsenal of 'taking the p**s!' adding, 'I was so incensed. I was trembling with anger. I couldn't believe what I'd heard.'[LNB]Nor could anyone else. We had been granted an insight into a mind completely out of touch with the real world and utterly oblivious to the fact.[LNB]It's the same with Wright. He went on air to gripe about his son's contract presumably in the belief that it is not only reasonable to seek £100,000 or more per week, but that the listeners would endorse his mini campaign.[LNB]I can just hear it now.[LNB]'Let's take our next caller. It's Clive from Penge, again'.[LNB]REDS TAKING A RISK? The proposal to introduce Premier League play-offs for the fourth Champions League spot has been rejected, with Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool among those blocking the move. But are Liverpool wise to do this? Can they afford to turn their noses up at the idea these days? Rafa Benitez's 'guarantee' to finish in the top four had better hold true from here on in. But just in case, does anyone have a receipt? [LNB]'Hello Wrighty. I'm unemployed, which is why I've got time to call, but can I just say I don't think you're being fair to your son. He doesn't deserve £100,000-a-week - he deserves £200,000!'[LNB]Wright-Phillps can't be blamed for his Dad, but he might have had a word since I seem to recall the angry parent making similar embarrassing gripes when his son was playing at Chelsea.[LNB]But like a father hoping to earn his son better grades by punching the headmaster in the face, Wright went on to attack City chief executive Garry Cook and his runaround Brian Marwood.[LNB]'They are a bit full of themselves,' he said, as a pot and a kettle began trading racist insults in the background.[LNB]'I'm not sure they know exactly what they are doing deep down,' Wright added, 'so I'm just a bit worried about that'[LNB]Worry no more, Ian. They are tearing up your son's contract extension.[LNB] A reminder of how lucky Terry and Co are...After weeks of sleaze and scandal I thought you might like to hear a heart-warming story about England footballers for a change?[LNB]The day before the match against Egypt, I travelled down to England's training camp along with the lads from the Blind Football team, a visit designed to give the players a bit of encouragement before their own World Cup this summer.[LNB]Boost: John Terry with a Blind England player[LNB]And so they were presented to Fabio Capello at Arsenal's London Colney training complex. Ramrod straight, he went along the line, chatting with coaches Tony Larkin, Jon Pugh and John Ball. He then introduced himself to the squad, treating them with the same courtesy and respect as his first team.[LNB]Later, the England Blind team were joined in simple training drills by Steven Gerrard, Jermain Defoe, Matthew Upson and some chap called John Terry, who stepped forward without hesitation.[LNB]A journalist colleague asked if it was a stunt by the FA to polish up his image after a distinctly grubby few weeks.[LNB]It wasn't. As a patron for the Blind team, I'd been trying to nail the visit down for about a year and, although swamped with requests, the FA's head of communications Adrian Bevington made it happen long before any of the recent fuss.[LNB]The verdict of the team? Steven Gerrard 'was class' and one of the blind squad nearly jumped out of his skin with delight when Gerrard announced he was kicking the ball to him.[LNB]David James gave out tips and gifted his gloves to the blind squad's goalkeepers (they are sighted). Nearby Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham signed shirts, posed for photos and just stopped for a word or two, which is all it takes sometimes.[LNB]Ex-soldier Craig Lundberg, an inspirational former Lance Corporal who lost his sight during a rocket attack in Iraq, slapped pictures taken of him him chatting with Gerrard on Facebook as soon as he got home. He wanted everyone to see them, even if the hand fate had dealt him meant he could not.[LNB]But they all had the recognition of the nation's best players ringing in their ears. Hopefully Capello's players were in turn reminded what an honour it is to be an England player. And of how lucky they really are.[LNB]England's Blind Team face Germany at the 'thePoint4' centre at the Royal National College For The Blind in Hereford on April 17, kick off at 2pm.[LNB] Trott a lot of imports we've gotMichael Vaughan is right. Continue on their current path and cricket's governing body are going to have to change their name to the England, Wales and South Africa Cricket Board and base themselves at Newlands in Cape Town.[LNB]We're nearly there already. When Craig Kieswetter, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen all line up, it looks more like an invitation side than a true England team.[LNB]'Someone like Pietersen made the early decision to go for England, he learnt a lot of his cricket here and I don't have a problem with that,' said Vaughan.[LNB]'I have a problem when the likes of Trott and Kieswetter are selected when they have both played for the South African Under-19s. But we have almost got a 'ship-in' system of looking at talent, and a lot of them come over for the money,' Vaughan added. Pointedly he was speaking the launch of the Jaguar Academy of Sport, which will fund the best young British athletes.[LNB]Vaughan also remembers how on his last day of Test cricket, he saw Trott slapping South African players on the back and celebrating their victory.[LNB]It begs the question. Do we want to win that much we will abandon any pretence of national identity? Rugby and cricket seem to find endless loopholes and exemption clauses to import players.[LNB]Are people supporting England, or an England representative XI?[LNB] Beefy's first class stompSir Ian Botham looked fit as a fiddle in London this week and he is about to head off on one of his walks again. Sir Beefy has been at it for 25 years now, raising more than £10million for children's leukaemia charities. [LNB]When he set out only a quarter of children survived the disease. Now, thanks in no small part to his incredible fundraising efforts, that survival rate is around the 90 per cent mark.[LNB]Next month he's taking on 10 towns in 10 days and covering over 100 miles. I've joined him in the past as he stomps across the country. You'll have to be quick to keep up! [LNB]All the details can be found at: www.beefy25.com[LNB][LNB][LNB][LNB][LNB][LNB][LNB] [LNB]
