A Tangled Web

Donkeys Led by Lions



Gary Mann, a 46 year old fireman from Faversham, Kent has been jailed for hooliganism during the Euro 2004 tournament. His sentence is likely to last two years, after which he will have to account for his disgraceful actions to his family.



Why so many England fans are wholly incapable of behaving themselves on foreign soil is a source of mystery to me. I cannot recall any stories about comparable behaviour from any other national contingent. Yes, we hear the pathetic excuses about English fans being targeted for no apparent reason (usually from the fans themselves), but it cannot be denied England fans have a virtual monopoly on thuggish demeanour and the ability to shame their nation across the Continent.



I have said before that we live in a country where football, amassing sexual conquests, football, drinking to extremes, football, violent behaviour and, yes, football are the only issues of relevance to a growing population completely devoid of sophisticated culture. When one contextualises the fact that the fans' veneration is directed towards, at best, a mediocre team captained by a hugely overpaid, overindulged, publicity-seeking egotist with the intellect of a sponge (whose only saving grace is his marriage to a woman with even less talent than himself) then it really does have the capacity to trigger hysterical laughter.