Please get well Mr & Mrs Vinnie Jones

I was going to talk of other matters regarding football but I’m very sad to hear that both Vinnie Jones and his wife Tanya have cancer.

I wasn’t a fan of Mr Jones as during his time as a professional footballer, as he appeared in a DVD titled Hard Men of Soccer. In this, I felt he was glorifying violence in and outside the football pitch.

But I was saddened when I heard this, as I remember Mr Jones as being part of the ‘crazy gang’ that made Wimbledon FC of the 1990s exciting – a team of men from various working-class backgrounds who wouldn’t have been in top flight football if it wasn’t for this club.

I still remember the picture of Mr Jones squeezing the male private parts of a then Newcastle FC player, called Paul Gascoigne.

To know he is fighting skin cancer makes me say to all footballers, whether you’re having a kick about in your local park, or playing against Manchester United – PLEASE WEAR A SUN BLOCK LOTION!

It must be a double blow to find out that his beautiful wife has also got the dreaded C.

In the case of Mrs Jones, it’s thought that her condition could be a side effect of the drugs she has been taking following a heart transplant 26 years ago.

My heart-felt wishes go to both of them in wishing them both a speedy recovery.

I can honestly say, from my own experience of having Multiple Sclerosis (MS) that it’s hard to find a reason why you have been affected.

Thanks to MS, I’ve lost my home, car and savings.

But as a guy at the Belfast benefit centre said to me: “you’ve just got to deal with the cards life has sent you.”

I genuinely relay those words of wisdom to both Vinnie and Tanya Jones and I truly hope that all goes well for them, their children and families.

Light and Peace

Andria

PS, don’t forget to look at my other site by clicking here.

WE NEED NEW TACTICS!

That was the overwhelming view I had when I saw England FC beaten by the Chile national team last week.

I do truly rate the present England manager as he has previously made the England team a strong force but Roy Hodgson must accept we were only beaten because of one reason: the manager and players of Chile had watched previous matches of England under Roy, knew how our national team played and worked out ways to beat us.

Credit where it’s due as Chile did deserve to win.

But it doesn’t change the fact that, if we have lost to Chile then I don’t rate our chances against the mighty Germany- I’ve lost count as to the many times they have held the UEFA World Cup!

Attitudes are changing in the UK – gone are the days when footballers, especially Liverpool FC, as was the case in the early and mid 1990s, will be mocked for their lifestyle outside of football.

I remember the days when members of that team were called spice boys – I think that remark, even then, was unfair.

That team had a lot of talent – and dare I say, men who have Barbadian ancestry - such as Stan Collymore, Paul Ince and Phil Babb, who although were also blessed with good looks, simply didn’t win trophies for this prestigious football club.

I remember the FA Cup final of 1996, when the members of Liverpool FC paraded the old Wembley Stadium football pitch, as if they owned the place, wearing beautiful Emporio Armani cream suits, before the kick-off – only to lose one-nil to the opposing team, Manchester United.

The suits they wore - black with white shirts, looked as if they were straight out of Primark and before anybody gets shirty with me, I'm happy to say I do buy my clothes from this company.

I was personally glad that Eric Cantona, who had made his own stand against racism in the game against a so-called Crystal Palace fan, had scored that goal, as he too was suffering from the consequences of his previous actions – but that’s another story.

Sticking with the present situation, I can only say that if we stick to the same tactics as last week, then we are done for on Tuesday 19th November, so please Mr Hodgson, let there be a new strategy for our lads.

Come on England!

PS, to see other copies of my work, click here.