Look what you have done David
Ah David. My dear, dear David. Look what you have done! It has always been pretty clear that you were the wrong man for the job, but you have been in a hurry to prove everyone right. Those shoes were pretty big to fill all along, but no one thought you would be walking barefooted in Old Trafford.
Granted you have been pretty poor all season, but that Greek expedition was a glimmer of hope. A conquest or two in Europe and one might have seen an inkling of buoyancy. You however, managed to outdo the Greek tragedy – and managed to pull it off in Athens of all places.
David, your Greek tragedy encompasses everything that defines the quintessence of most tragedies – fear, pain, pessimism – and multiplied it by a million. For you see, when the final roll of the dice, becomes the final nail in the coffin, all without an iota of a struggle, tragedy becomes too small a word.
So what exactly is your secret? How do you make a group of champions seem like a bunch of clueless circus clowns who just aren’t very funny? The same people who this time last year were storming towards glory, are looking disinterested in even bothering to show up.
A conquest or two in Europe and one might have seen an inkling of buoyancy. You however, managed to outdo the Greek tragedy – and managed to pull it off in Athens of all places
It is almost as if they’d rather be anywhere but there. It’s almost as if they’d rather do anything but that. And more crucially, it’s almost as if they’d rather you be anywhere but there. They’d rather you do anything but that.
So what next David? There was always the “it cannot get any worse” argument. But you prove every one wrong every time. What are you planning on serving up when the Greeks come to Eng-er-land? What is on the menu? Humdrum sticks, sizzling surrender or death by choke-a-late?
Once dinner is cooked, served and eaten according to the script you will have to do what you have not been able to do for eight months: conjure inspiration out of somewhere. You will nevertheless end up doing what you have been doing repeatedly throughout the season: outdo self-created mediocrity.
David, my dear David, your Greek tragedy was comical for everyone not directly involved. Those moments in Athens would always be remembered as the ones that sanctioned the fall of the red empire. A fall, most did predict in June. A suicidal nosedive they did not.
The worrying thing however is that there is a mere £200 million worth treasure chest up for grabs in exactly three months time, and there is more than a fair chance that it would be you who would be managing its weight. It is just that no amount of money can buy inspiration or determination. Leadership does not have a price tag.
One fears the reverberations of your Greek tragedy might leave a lasting hole – a hole that cannot be plugged by £200 million.
David you have not only tarnished the legacy of your predecessor, you are actually the biggest blemish on his resume. For, he plucked you out of your forest of mediocrities. He trusted a Lilliput with a Herculean task. He earmarked the man who would eradicate his empire. He sowed the seeds of this Greek tragedy.
Look what you’ve done David. Look what you’ve done Fergie.
