Rog T's Cancer Blog -- Three years ago today, I had my prostate removed

 Three years ago today, at about this time (11am - when I write this), I was being prepared in the operating theatre to have my prostate removed. What has happened since? Well at this point I am cancer free, according to my last PSA test. I suppose that is the most important thing, but what else? We'll I've done 45 gigs with The False Dots, I've released two albums  - Don't be afraid of a finger in the sun and We don't live in America. I've written 700 blogs. I've seen my team win the FIFA Club world Cup, The Premiership,  the FA Cup and The League Cup. I saw my other team Hadley FC with the Herts Charity cup and also beat Dogana Juveneze FC in San Marino. My eldest daughter has got engaged. My nephew and Godson has had two lovely daughters. My neice and Goddaughter got married. We've had amazing holidays in Valencia, Donegal, Nice, Lourdes, Cesenatico and Dublin. I have no idea how many brilliant gigs I've been to, how many great curries I've had or how many times I've had great nights out with friends. You may think to yourself "what's he on about?". Well the point is that life goes on and I have enjoyed life. 

So you wanna know the gory details. I am mostly fully continent. I don't pee my pants as a rule. There are caveats. If I drink too much, generally it is wise to have a loo nearby. Also when I pee I have to remember the ten second rule. What is that you may ask? Well what it means is that when I pee, I count to ten and try and pee again. That empties my bladder and then there is no leakage. I can get an erection, although generally to get a strong one I need a tablet. I can reach an orgasm. It is dry (nothing is ejected, although the sensation is the same). Generally if I drink this becomes more difficult. I am sharing this because this was my biggest fear. This was the reason I nearly didn't have surgery. Is this aspect of my life great or as good as it was before. I'd be lying if I said it was and I do get frustrated with myself at times. There are times when things start and then they stop dead. Generally this is linked to alcohol and tiredness. There is less spontinaity. My surgeon informs me that for many men my age, who have not had a prostatectomy this is the case, but that is not really much solace when things don't work. From talking to other people who've had the op, I have concluded that I made the right decision engaging Professor Christopher Eden and would recommend him. 

The one question that has always interested me is what would have happened had I just left it. My cancer was localised but becoming aggressive and was on the move. Professor Eden suggested that in a time period of 2-5 years, the cancer would have broken out. It would have spread to my bones etc and I would have started to see my bones detriorate and had severe pain. I would have had options to manage it, but this would be a lifelong issue. Depending on when and if I chose to do anything, my options would have been far more limited. If a bus had run me over last week and I was dead, I think the operation would definitely been the wrong option, but that hasn't happened. I had a look at the list of well known people who are listed as having/had prostate cancer on wikipedia. There are two people on the list, who were born in 1962. Both did not benefit from the early diagnosis I had in 2011. Both are dead. I had HIFU treatment in 2016 and a radical prostatectomy in 2023. Last month, TV present Dermot Murnaghan died at age 68 of aggressive prostate cancer last month. Every time I hear such news, I say a prayer of thanks that I went to see Dr Cuttell at Mllway Medical Practice in 2011 about my knee. He suggested "an MOT" as I was nearly 50. I had no symptoms. That was when this journey started. Given my extreme good fortune in having it picked up early, I would be extremely stupid to not do everything I could to avoid seeing it spread.

I am a member of several prostate support groups. Sadly most of the stories on them are far more negative than mine. I urge anyone who might be reading this and is around my age to get a PSA test. I feel it is vital to be honest and share my fears and doubts, because anyone who says they haven't had doubts and worries is probably lying. It isn't perfect. I wish I'd never had the horrible disease, but if you have to have it, the earlier you catch it the better your outcomes. 

On our 2024 album, we recorded a song called "Don't be scared of a finger up the bum" to encourage men to get a PSA test. I filmed the footage on the way to the surgery and in the aftermath. It is a really important message. Much to my annoyance UK radio stations refuse to play it because they think it is rude. Please spread the word. To sum up. Life is good, I am hoping my surgeon will discharge me in September. Given everything, things are good. 

The Saturday List #505 - My top ten songs that should have been hits but never bothered the charts!

If like me, you love music and are tribally loyal to the artists you love, then I am sure you'll have a few tunes that they recorded that you'll never understand why they didn't become huge smash hits and propel the artists to megastardom. I do not mean tunes like Nasty Nasty by 999, which are brilliant songs, but are not really commercial. I mean nailed on bangers that are just too good to ignore. 

So here is my list. I'd be intrigued to know what you'd add to it

1. The Ramones - Blitzgrieg Bop. If the Ramones sold as many copies of this as they've sold T-Shirts since they died, they'd have been the richest band on the planet. Their signature tune, released in 1976 and never bothering the charts. The Ramones are a perfect example of a band that are so good that the music industry doesn't know how to to deal with them. 

2. Wire - Map Ref. 41˚N 93˚W. Of all the punk bands that didn't bother the charts, I am most puzzled by why Wire didn't, apart from the fact they wouldn't play the game. They write brilliant pop songs and just about every Indie band quotes them as a massive influence. This is perhaps their finest moment. I can only guess that the title of the track confused dim radio programmers.

3.  The Velvet Underground. Sunday Morning. Released in 1966, a luscious track. Although most people associate the band with songs about drug usage and alternative lifestyles, but Lou Reed could write a banging pop tune. This is perhaps the finest example. The band sold almost no records at the time, but again, they influenced all of the punk/indie bands that followed.

4. Carroll Thompson.  Hopelessly in love. According to Wikipedia, this wasn't even released as a single. What sort of a dolt runs a label and cannot see this is a banger. I've seen Carroll dozens of times and this is always the song that steals the show. 

5. Janet Kaye. Eternally Grateful. This got to 86. Given that Janet had a monster hit a couple of years before with Silly Games, and it is a monster of a song, you'd think it would be a shoe in. Baffling in the extreme.

6. Country Joe and The Fish. Janis. A love song from Joe to his former girlfriend, Janis Joplin, who had passed away. A beautiful song.  The band are one of many that never really reached their full potential, which I think this song demostrates. 

7. Moby Grape. It's a beautiful day today. Another band that should have been massive and for whatever reason weren't. To me this is a georgeous track. The band had five musical genius members. Sadly the band was ridden with strife, mostly around drug abuse. But this shows what they can do.

8. The Saints. I'm Stranded. Aussie band, The Saints were the first punk band I saw, supporting The Ramones and Talking Heads at the Roundhouse. This was their first single, released in 1977. The band had a minor hit a couple of years later with This Perfect Day. I'm Stranded is a brilliant track, but when it was released, mainstream radio was avoiding punk. 

9.  David Bowie. Changes. Released in 1972, it was the last of a run of unsuccessful singles, before Bowie released Starman. IMHO it is a better song. Discuss? I doubt Bowie passed away being to be upset that one of his singles in 1972 was not a hit, but it just shows how badly the music press and the radio producers got it wrong. 

10. The Sway. Going Blind. Ok, I'm biased here. I was managing the band. The song features the amazing backing vocals of Helen Terry and was produced by D.D. Dwyer. The song got plenty of regional radio play on the BBC, being BBC West Midlands single of the week, and being played by Gary Crowley on GLR, but the powers that be missed the charm of it. 

There are plenty of other tracks that should be added. Any suggestions. I took the liberty of adding The False Dots 2024 single "We all love a party". It got a fair bit of radio play on online stations, is a firm favourite at gigs and people often come up to me and say "That should've been a hit". The sad truth is that the gatekeepers no longer like people who sing songs in a non put on accent. You may think that it disheartens me. Not a bit of it. The fact that people are still listening to the songs and appreciate them shows that it was all worth it! 

Here is the playlist. Enjoy and have a great weekend

The difference between your local council and a private business

 I was sort of amused (and sort of saddened) today, when I was looking at the blog stats. The most read blog this week has been one contrasting the running of Barnet Council and the restaurant chain Chez Gerard. I wrote the blog in February 2011. I congratulated Chez Gerard for their excellent food and good customer service. They had asked us to take part in a survey about why we used the restaurant and what we liked and didn't like. The restaurant was full, the food was excellent and the only real complaint was the chairs could be more comfy. They were looking at a rebrand. Our advice, keep things as they are. I noted that Barnet Council doesn't engage with customers and is not interested in hearing their views. TBH I'd forgotten writing the blog, I've written about 10,000 blogs in the eighteen years this has been running, so not surprising. But re-reading the blog, I was saddened as I had liked Chez Gerard and the chain went bust in 2011. Whilst I thought they were getting it right and noted the restaurant was full, clearly they weren't. As I noted in my blog, if a private company gets it wrong, they go bust. That is what happened. 

If a council gets it wrong, they just up your taxes and there is nothing you can do. As I noted in the blog, the Tories had made a big deal of cutting council tax, but had actually hiked it massively. Fifteen years on, tax has reached levels even I hadn't expected in my worst nightmare. The Tories were replaced by Labour in 2022 and have shown that anything the Tories can do, they can do worse. If you look at local government in Barnet since 2002, it is clear that democracy doesn't work in local government. Running a council is a massively complex task. What happens is you have a bunch of elected councillors, most of whom couldn't run a whelk stall running the show. They have a bunch of highly paid profession councillor directors who actually do all of the work. There is no scrutiny of these officials. They can do what they like and know that taxpayers have no choice but to pay. They can't get the sack.

The Barnet Tories came up with the idea of outsourcing everything. The idea was that they could control costs by sacking bad contractors and getting people who could do it cheaper and better. There was one big flaw. The whole thing was administered by the executives who were unaccountable. The council employed far less people, but ended up employing a whole bunch of handsomely renumerated senior staff to manage the whole fiasco. They managed to get rid of all sorts of functions that weren't broken, but kept the one part of the council that is hugely wasteful and inefficient in place. 

Before the Tories One Barnet outsourcing I had a clear idea of how Barnet Council could save money, improve services and keep taxes reasonably low. Now, it is so broken, that I cannot see any way to sort the whole mess out, without scrapping the whole thing.  And in that I think is the answer. Barnet council is too big to be in touch with its residents and too small to get any real economies of scale. Many of the services it provides are used by residents of other boroughs. Local residents have no say in anything. Schools in Barnet are used by residents of other Boroughs. Similarly roads are. Adult social care uses all manner of other services. London needs a joined up approach.

So here is what I'd do.  I'd break up all of our local councils. Put things like education under a London wide authority. I'd put all roads under TFL I'd have a London wide Adult Social care authority. If youid did this, administration costs would be slashed. Where there were 33 council departmenst, there would be one for these. I would break Barnet Council up into three smaller councils, Hendon, Barnet and Finchley. They would deal with local issues and nominate members to sit on the boards of the London wide authorities. I would have ten-fifteen person boards drawn from the councils, reflecting the political make up of London and ensure that budgets were spent in proportion to the number of residents in each area, or in the case of schools, the number of pupils served. 

I also believe that the London Mayoralty has failed. Whilst Andy Burnham seems to have done a good job in Manchester, in London it is too politicised. Personally I'd prefer to see an non politically affiliated Mayor appointed by the Boroughs, according to strict guidelines.

Would all this work? I genuinely don't think it would be worse and may be a lot better and save a lot of money. 

The England Riots - 15 years on

 Fifteen years ago today, a man called Mark Duggan died after being shot by police. What originally started as a peaceful protest outside the Tottenham Police station soon escalated into riots that spread across London and then the whole of England. For about a week, the news was dominated by tales of shops ablaze, High streets being looted, political malaise and a feeling that the whole UK was unravelling. There were many factors that fed into the riots. For me though, the most interesting thing was why it all stopped. The reasons were very English and there were two. The first was that it started raining and the Brits don't like rioting when its raining. The second thing was that the football season started and all of the hooligans, who had no outlet, could go back to watching football. That is a very glib comment about a very serious issue, an issue that paralysed the country with fear.

What is less discussed is the fact that riots are a regular part of English culture. I have mates who used to always participate in riots, whenever they occurred. Not because they were enraged with social injustice. They would see it as a chance to get a new radio or a telly. They also enjoyed taking part in mayhem. Generally, the people who are present at the spark that starts the riots get fed up when things they get out of hand. It means that the injustice that started the trouble gets overlooked and the media narrative becomes about the damage and the looting.

One of the interesting aspects of the 2011 riots was the Police response. The then Tory government had been putting pressure on Police budgets and resources. I know Police officers who were happy to see the riots taking place as they knew it would put any budget cuts on the back burner. I don't believe that the Police deliberately let it escalate to the extent it did, but they were certainly not upset. It also meant plenty of overtime.

It was the first major public order challenge for the then coalition government. They made a complete pigs ear of it in truth. David Cameron was on holiday when the riots hit. He got a lot of flack for this, but even Prime Ministers are allowed to go on holiday. It is reading the room and coming home when the country is burning that was the problem. In some ways, it demonstrated David Camerons biggest problem as PM. He really had no clue what ordinary people were thinking. I suspect that this is why he made his biggest mistake, calling the Brexit referendum and getting all of his posh, out of touch mates to front the campaign.

To mark the event, today I re-read some of the blogs I wrote at the time. This passage from a blog on 12th August absolutely sums up my feelings. 

What is abundently clear to me is that in 30 years, nothing much has changed for those at the bottom of the ladder. Bankers vandalised the economy a couple of years ago. They are doing OK now. Last year politicans were exposed as greedy self serving money grabbing creeps, trousering everything they possibly could at our expense. I've no time whatsoever for anyone who robs, loots or steals. I just think that David Cameron should look at some of the people sitting behind him in the chamber, before he starts getting too self righteous.

How many of them should have been locked up by now? The trouble with having double standards is that the average person in the street is not fooled. We have to start building a fair society. That means that the people at the top have to be held to account, just as the people at the bottom should be.

Of course the rich and powerful always think different rules apply to them

I look at the UK now We had thirteen more years of the same. Then we had Sir Keir Starmer, another posh bloke, who couldn't read the room and who didn't understand ordinary British voters. Now we have Andy Burnham. All politicians have failings and weaknesses. We don't know what his are yet, but he is not out of touch. I hope we have a period of calm stable, sensible government. At some point,just as Cameron was fifteen years ago, Andy Burnham will have a real test of leadership. I hope, for all our sakes he passes it.

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And finally, I must mention Mr Eddie Nestor, presenter at BBC Radio London. He's been off work receiving chemotherapy, but came in to present his show today for the first time in eight weeks. I really like Eddie (don't tell him) and it was great to hear him. He did a great show. I am sure that he will go home tonight and crash and burn with exhaustion. He said he wanted to present the show today on the anniversary of the riots. That inspired me to write todays blog.  I recall when I had treatment for prostate cancer three years ago on Sunday, I asked my surgeon before whether he thought it would be wise to perform with The False Dots a month later on the 15th Spetember. His response "Yes, if you are mad". I don't think he realised that I took this as an emphatic YES! I suspect that Eddies family and medical team probably feel the same about him going to work today. Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do and I salute him, even if it is bonkers. None of us know how long weve got and the wick burns faster than we realise. Live for today whilst you can!

We're delighted to welcome our friend and colleague @EddieNestorMBE back to the studio for his first show on BBC Radio London since he announced he's undergoing treatment for cancer.

Listen live: https://t.co/08ieOuDt9b pic.twitter.com/7U7O2pDAED

— BBC London (@BBCLondonNews) August 6, 2026

Death Sound Blues #1.... People in glass houses shouldn't throw Gallstones!

Today I start a brand new series on the blog. I've named it the Death Sound Blue blog, in honour of Country Joe McDonald. The topic will sort of be based on things that make me feel like death and how I am managing them out of my life! I'm not a trained medical professional so if this sparks any concerns, don't follow my advice, just go and see someone who knows what they are talking about!

I feel rough today. There is no particular reason. Well actually there are many. My knees hurt, my ankle hurts. Both my wrists hurt. I feel nauseous. I woke up and decided to stay in bed, as I am not working. My wife was irritated, believing I should get up at 7am every morning and run around like a blue arsed fly for no good reason. After 40 years together, I admire her optimism. I do everything I can to try and be healthy. I joined a gym and I go most days. That is why my knees and wrists are hurting. I irritated my wrists rowing and my knees on the cycle machine. But in truth I feel like this most mornings. I usually feel nauseous until I eat. Of course there are days when I drink too much, but TBH I feel the same most mornings until I eat.

Last year I had an MRI scan. It was primarily a follow up to my cancer surgery in 2023. The good news was that there was no evidence of cancer returning. The bad news? Well they told me I had gallstones. The Doctor asked me if I'd had any symptoms of Gallstones. As I didn't know what the symptoms were, I said no. I was an idiot, I should have asked. Apparently early morning nausea is a common symptom of gall stones. You may ask why I suddenly have taken an interest in this condition, given that I found out last year? Well I did do a quick google of symptoms of gallstones, it said this was the major symptom of gallstones.

Upper Right Pain: Sharp or cramping pain just under your right ribs or center abdomen.

Radiating Discomfort: Pain that spreads to your right shoulder or between your shoulder blades.

Meal Triggers: Discomfort often starts 30 to 60 minutes after eating fatty or greasy foods.

I didn't recognise these symptoms, but I clocked them. On Sunday, I went to the Ealing Blues Festival. I was really looking forward to it. I had  nice burger and chips, from a van. The only problem was that it was really greasy and wasn't very nice. After about 30 minutes  I started feeling as sick as a dog and got a massive pain under my right ribs. I felt really ill. I left before Misty in Roots played, which was why I went. As I made my way home, I started reading up on Gallstones. I realised that I regularly get most of the symptoms, when I eat greasy food. I'd just never really put two and two together.

What really shocked me, is that I've actually been admitted to A&E twice with acute symptoms, but mistakenly thought it was food poisoning on both occasions. The first time was over 30 years ago. I always eat healthy at home. I have kept a food log and eradicated all of the bad foods out. I became especially zealous after I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. However, when I go out, I get the symptoms. I have usually put it down to too much boozing. However, it is now clear to me that the stark truth has been staring me in the face all this time. 

When I go out, there are many things I love that we don't eat at home. Pork Belly, a decent burger and chips, a cheeseplate, the list goes on. The way gallstones work, the more grease you throw at it, the worse you feel. I did notice that if I eat a Penne Arrabiata when we go out, I don't suffer from what I thought was a hangover. Having read up, the reasons are far clearer now. 

Since Sunday, I've not eaten anything that should trigger a problem and I've felt fine. I had two cans of beer at our rehearsal last night, but that is about it for the naughtiness. I've avoided cheese and fatty meats completely. I have a dilemma. I am going out with friends to Barcelona Tapas bar later. 

I've been checking out the menu, trying to work out what I can have that isn't deep fried. I reckon it will be these

BROCHETA DE POLLO Marinated Chicken Mini Skewers 

GAMBAS AL AJILLO Peeled tiger prawns cooked with garlic, chili & wine.

PIMIENTOS DEL PIQUILLO ASADOS Wood flamed red peppers cooked with garlic & AOVE 

SAMFIANA Tomatoes, aubergines, peppers, courgettes & onions. 

I think this should do me. I think I'll give the fried stuff that I love a miss. 

If I am completely honest, I've always thought that the 'night sickness' and 'morning after' feeling was down to booze and not food. I've known for a long time that if I eat things like the Penne Arabbiata, I don't really get hangovers, even when I drink quite a lot. However before Sunday, I never really joined up the dots up on this.

One of the more interesting things is that I've spent a fortune over the years on massages, etc for a bad back. Now I find that fatty food and gallstones may be the cause. There are two questions I need to resolve. Should I avoid the fatty stuff completely or if I just have say one meal a week that is overly greasy but is something I enjoy, will it be tolerated. I will address that question with a food diary. The second question is a more difficult one to address. I am 64 this month. Over the last few years, one by one, all of the things I enjoy have started to slip away. I can no longer play football. My radical prostatectomy has not exactly done me any favours when it comes to the bedroom department, unless I take tablets. Now I find that most of my favourite foods make me feel really ill. Time is catching up with me and I am not ready for the consequences. It makes me feel rather down. I still have a band and I am enjoying it more than ever, it has filled some of the gap, but not all of it. The question is "at what point do you get so sick of it all that you just give up". I am nowhere near that point, quite the opposite but the question does bother me. 

And finally, a little note to all of you. When a partner, friend, colleague is sick and you ascribe it to overdoing the booze, before you berate them, step back and consider that it may be something else. Maybe, like me, they have gallstones. I'd suggest that people in glass houses shouldn't throw Gallstones!

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As you may have noticed, I said that my Band, The False Dots are one of the things that make life worth living. We are celebrating my 64th Birthday at the Dublin Castle on Sunday 23rd August from 2pm, why not come along. Click the image for ticket details

 

Time to democratise the running of football

I awoke this morning to the welcome news that the Welsh FA had 'withdrawn support' from FIFA President Gianni Infantino. My first thoughts were "I hope this starts the ball rolling across Europe and the rest of the World to get rid of him". Then I thought a bit more about it. Who exactly are the Welsh FA, for that matter, who is the English FA and how did they get the gig? So I did what I always do in such scenarios and googled "Who runs the FA?". The query took me to a page on the FA website - entitled "The FA Management".

I won't go through all of them, but CEO Mark Bullingham's blurb was pretty typical

Mark Bullingham
Chief Executive Officer

Mark was named as The FA’s Chief Executive Officer on 1 August 2019.

He initially joined the organisation as Commercial Director in August 2016, when he led the commercial, marketing, digital and participation functions at the organisation and under his tenure, annual revenue at the FA rose by over £100m.

Before his move to Wembley, Mark held the position of CEO EMEA for Fuse Sports & Entertainment, responsible for running one of the fastest growing businesses in the sector.  The team had grown quickly over five years to 245 across 17 offices with an annual fee income of over €28m.  The client portfolio included ten of the top 30 global brands.

Mark joined Fuse in 2011 from his position as director of marketing for the America’s Cup Event Authority in San Francisco, where he helped transform the global event.

Mark has negotiated over $2bn of partnerships across a variety of platforms in sports, arts and music and is a qualified Level One coach involved in grassroots football.

Two things struck me. The first is that Mark, like the rest of the board, is very well qualified as a businessman. The second was that I'd never heard of him. In fact, there is no one on the board that I'd heard of from the world of football struck me as rather strange. I then did a search on the page for the word "fan". Only Sue Day, who is director of Womens football lists the fact she is a passionate football fan as part of her blurb. 

The more I read what the 'mini CV's' of the board said, the more I started to realise that football is structurally out of touch. Perhaps the most interesting thing to note is the one area of the game that has grown fastest over the last 20 years, in terms of participation and fanbase is womans football. Is it a coincidence that only Sue Day, the director, felt it worth mentioning she is a fan?

Like Sue, I am a passionate football fan. I support two teams, Manchester City and Local Step 4 Non League team Hadley FC. I am a shareholder in Hadley and supporting them is one of the best decisions I've made. At the weekend, about 100 people turned up to watch them play a pre-season friendly against Grays FC, from Essex. The game exemplified everything I love about non league. Banter with the officials (the Linesman was a great character), a full blooded game without VAR and the ability to have a beer whilst watching the game. The standard is decent. 

At Hadley, fans who want to get involved with helping out the club are welcome. Many do tasks such as car park duties and fetching the ball when it goes over the fence. The faces are familiar and we all have a beer at the end of the game often chatting to opposition fans, players and the officials. Since I've been watching Hadley, they've gone up two divisions and won a cup! The club has come a long way and the manager often comes for a chat with fans after the game. In my opinion, he's the best in the league, but then again I am biased. Often, I chat with fans about their other team, usually given the geography, Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham, Fulham, etc. At this time of the season, the talk is of new players.

What interests me is how many Hadley fans used to go to see the big clubs, but now come to non league games. If you ask anyone why, the answer is always "the cost and the experience". In terms of a spectacle, when I visit the Etihad, it is incomparable, but you can't take a beer out on the terraces, A beer is around twice the price and it is hard to even get tickets for most Saturday games as a non season ticket holder. It also costs about as much for one ticket, as a Season ticket for Hadley. Now I've had the pleasure of seeing such footballing icons as Haaland, De Bruyne, David Silva, Yaya Toure, so I think it has been worth it. City, unlike some clubs do try and make the fan experience good. I went with a friend to Old Trafford and sat in the Utd end and was appalled at the way the club neglects the fans and the total dilapidation of the stadium. 

The first question that went through my mind is that when the Glazers have made so much money from the club, how can they get away with it? I can't help but think that when you read the blurb on the FA website about Mark Ruddingham and ask yourself the question "Who would he feel more comfortable with, the Glazers or the fans sitting under the leaky roof in the Stretford End come rain or shine", the answer would be the Glazers. He is a money man, who understands that big time football is about money. Now I don't know him, so this may be unfair, but for the CEO of the FA to have an entry that doesn't even mention his love of the game, not only speaks volumes about his priorities, but also those of the FA.

There are six major stakeholders in football. To me, the most important is the fans. They pay the money that keeps the whole ball rolling. The second is the players, without them, there is no game, the third are the match officials. You need good officiating at all levels. The fourth are the managers/coaches & their staff. They determine the success or not of the team. The fifth are the club owners. Occasionally you get an owner who is loved, such as Elton John at Watford, but generally they are viewed with deep suspicion by the previous four groups. Fans often feel they are being fleeced, players know that owners see them as a commodity, officials are wary of shenanigans and managers know they are snake like in their loyalty. And last of all, there is the FA. The FA makes it all work. Much of what they do is extremely boring, but absolutely necessary. Organising fixtures and tournaments, organising referee rotas, administrating in disciplinary hearings, certifying coaches, making sure that finances are managed, setting ground standards, inspecting grounds, etc. All of this has to be done at every level. It happens week in, week out, so on that level the FA clearly does a great job. 

However, there is a huge amount of money sloshing around in football. That is why you have a businessman of Mark Ruddingham's calibre as CEO. That is why you have such a well qualified board, from a financial perspective. But what you don't have is representation on the board from all of the stakeholders. I believe that this is a massive oversight. If all five other stakeholders elected a representative to the FA board, I believe it would be far stronger and do its job better. I was discussing this with a mate who is a Man Utd fan and he said "If a Man Utd fan was the best person for the job, you'd never vote for them, if you could". I disagree, I think football fans are mature enough to put their allegiances aside and pick the best person. I suspect a Man Utd fan would do a far better job than a City fan when it comes to legislating against people like the Glazers. He said "Wouldn't you be worried that a Utd, Arsenal or Liverpool fans rep would push for City to be booted out over the 115 charges". Possibly they would, but a seat at the table is very different from being in charge and maybe their concerns should be aired. It's not a job I'd want but if I did it, I'd make sure I spoke to as many supporters groups as I could and when doing my job, put my tribal loyalty to one side. I am sure that fans are wise enough to choose the right representative. My view would be that a ballot of the supporters associations of the 92 league clubs would be a good way to go, to get the ball rolling. 

The bottom line for me is that the way the FA and its board are run and selected is archaic, undemocratic and not fit for purpose. Having people who know all aspects of the game at the board table can only make for better decisions. My suggestions are not perfect, but we have to start somewhere. 

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The False Dots wrote a song back in the last decade about the experience of being a football fan. Poet Allen Ashley sings and Lee Thompson of Madness plays sax!

The Sunday Reflection #94 - Being happy isn't easy!

 A rather strange thought occurred to me this morning, and I thought I'd explore it further. The thought "Being happy isn't easy". You may think that is a strange thing to say, but I was contemplating the times in my life when I've been truly happy. If we remove romantic dalliances from the equation (which ultimately require a lot of hard work), I was musing on the recent rehearsal I had with The False Dots. It was exteremely productive and I went home buzzing. We completed a new song, which I absolutely love. At the end of the rehearsal, our trumpet player Tom commented as I drove him to the pub "that was hard on my voice". Tom was singing the new song. I apologised. I tend to be a bit of a slave driver when working on arrangements. Tom said "Oh no, it's great to get things together". Some of my happiest moments have come as a result of being in a band and I really don't think people appreciate how much work goes into making music.

Similarly, in my former working career, I used to work in IT support on real time payments systems. Often I ended up with the difficult jobs and fixes, the ones other people had struggled with. I used to see it as a challenge. One particular problem, I actually had a dream about the fix, woke up, checked things and realised I'd dreamed the solution. It had seemed almost impossible to fix. Sadly my boss turned down the overtime request for my time a'kip. But I used to get a real buzz and feel happy when I completed a hard job.

With our studio business, it has been a massive achievement keeping it running for  47 years. There have been times when it seemed that all was lost, especially when lockdown hit. I've learned to keep calm and work twice as hard. There is a myth that the route to happiness is to have no responsibilities and nothing to do. It would kill me. I thrive on pressure and putting myself to the test and I feel happiest when I come through. And when I fail? I try and learn and get it right. When I used to play football, I'd always play in defence. I used to love playing against skillful forwards and working out their tricks and stopping them. When I got to 33, I played against a young whippersnapper, who was incredibly quick and had great feet. Nothing I could do would stop him. I was dejected. Six months later, we played the same team and it turned out he was now a professional playing for Charlton. I felt a bit better. But it also taught me that you have to accept your limits! Knowing yourself and doing your best, is in my opinion the key to success. But for me a big part is having someone who supports me as my partner is the magic ingredient. Neither of us is perfect, but we work well as a team. I'd recommend that

The Saturday list #504 - The worlds top ten genuine mysteries

 Forget Aliens, Atlantis, The Marie Celeste, The Bermuda Triangles. Whilst many consider these to be the big mysteries of our time, there are far greater conundrums. As we don't do politics in this slot, I won't discuss how anyone can take people like Nigel Farage seriously. No,these are things that matter and affect us in a massive way.

1. Why are Scotland always so rubbish at World Cups. Now you may say that is easy, because their players and managers are rubbish and at the moment it may be true, but in the 1960's and 1970's all of the top teams in the top division were stuffed full of brilliant Scots. Celtic were the first British team to win the European cup in 1967, with a team of lads raised locally. Some of the greatest managers of all time were Jocks. Stein, Ferguson and Shankly are absolute Icons. It makes no sense to me.

2. Why do the British invent so many things, only for everyone else to end up doing it better? Football, Cricket, the World Wide Web, The steam engine, programmable computers, to name a few. 

3. Why have we elected people who let point 2 happen for the last couple of hundred years? It is beyond my comprehension.

4. Why do posh restaurants that serve food with chips never seem to have proper malt vinegar? Forgive me if I've missed something, but it is a very cheap substance. Anyone with half a brains knows that vinegar is the best condiment for chips. Chips taste just as much like chips in posh venues as they do in cheap ones. I am more than happy for people who don't like vinegar to not use it, but is it really beyond the wit of people who sometimes charge a tenner for chips to give you the right condiment? If any such chef is out there, I don't go back if this happens.

5. Why did the BBC stop making Top of The Pops? It was a brilliant showcase for British music, helped many artists break through, was incredibly cheap to produce and they show repeats of it all the time so they must realise it was an excellent product. Sure, it was going through a lull when it was canned, but this happened many times. SInce it disappeared it has become incredibly hard for new artists to properly get established.

6. Why does BBC Radio London music schedulers never support local artists. They seem obsessed playing Americans with whiny accents, whilst London's musicians don't get a look in. They also totally neglect genres. For instance, I am not a lover of metal music, but it never gets played, despite a whole scene existing. I am sure a metal show at 10pm on a Monday would get an amaing following. There are plenty of other genres equally overlooked. I picked one I don't like and don't listen to because that way no one can say "He's only whinging because they don't play his awful band".

7. Why do good looking women choose to disfigure themselves with plastic surgery? Every time I've mentioned this on the blog, people have got up in arms, but it is true. I understand people who have a disfigurement etc or who have had an accident and want to not have to be stared at. I am not talking about that. I am talking about people who look absolutely fine. The worst example was when Lesley Ash had her trout pout surgery. It's a free country and if it makes people happy, that is there business, but I simply cannot understand it. 

8. Why are airlines allowed to say a flight takes 45 minutes, when they require you to get there two hours before? I believe that security check in times etc should all be included in the time. They should quote the time it takes from the moment you walk in the airport, to the moment you walk out of the other airport as the flight time. That way, there would be an inentive for airports to be more efficienct. Consumers are being cheated. Of course airports love it as we have to sit around cramped airports, drinking coffee etc that is twice as expensive as normal. A bottle of water at Heathrow is over £3. 

9. Why is the blatent corruption in the organisation of major sports never investigated by the police?

10.Why is it that when I look in the mirror and see myself, I often think "what a handsome soul" but when I see a photograph of myself I useually look like Albert Steptoe's ugly brother (a kick in the nuts for anyone who proposed plastic surgery).

Why Infantino's plan to monetise football must fail for the good of everyone

 This week, the head of FIFA announced plans to invite private investors to take a stake in FIFA. The continental football federations were promised huge cash bungs if they fell into line. I've not read the details of the proposal, but to be quite honest, I don't need to. The only reason that private investors ever invest in anything is to make a tidy profit, usually in the shortest time possible.

Football has always been a very two edged sword. On the one hand, there are the fans. If you love football and support a team, it is a stronger bond than most marriages. I am always vaguely suspicious of anyone who changes their allegiance after the age of 8. We pick our team and we stick with them. We spend a small fortune on a Sky subscription, and another small fortune on season tickets, if we support a Premiership team and go to games. We pay about ten times the price for replica tops, of  a similar unbranded garment. If we have kids who love football, it is prohibitively expensive for families on low incomes. The clubs have three kits, which change every year, to feed the profits in. If you kid is a Man Utd fan, you'll be paying £60 for a home team top.  It's the same for a City top. I suppose that at least City fans know that the cash is going into the team and not the pocket of the Glazers, but the products are priced to be as expensive as possible without being unaffordable to the main fan base. On the other side were the business interests around the clubs and the game. The only consideration they have for the fans, is to ensure they keep spending money. 

Now when Infantino talks about bringing investment into the game, he is talking about bringing in people who want to squeeze every last penny out of the image rights of teams and the branding of the game. The game is global, so there is huge reach. I am sure that when he talks about 'cash for the development of the game', he's not talking about a magic pill that gives us all the ball skills of Messi. He is talking about finding new ways to squeeze more money out of the fans. 

Infantino claims he has just organised the 'most successful World Cup ever'. In terms of pure cash, he is probably on the button. However it was not the best in terms of football on the pitch. It was not the best in terms of sportsmanship. It was not the best in terms of accessibility for fans. He clearly wanted an Argentinian victory, with Messi scoring the winner. During the knockout stages, Argentina seemingly had a free pass to kick the other team off the pitch. I believe this actually scuppered Argentina. Every time they had to chase the game and stop kicking the opposition, they were brilliant. They had arguably the greatest footballer of the modern era making his swansong, and somehow managed to alienate the whole planet. I am 100% sure that Infantino was dreaming of the commercial rights to the TV footage of Messi scoring a wonder goal to win the final. 

As it was, it was Spain, a team without superstars who won. It was Rodri, a defensive midfielder who goes about his business in an unfussy way who was the player of the tournament. But Infantino used the time in the US well, to make the contacts in their sports world to sow the seeds for his scheme.  The US sporting industry are the masters at squeezing value out of sport. The Man Utd model is perhaps the best example. Borrow the money to buy the worlds most glamorous club team. Squeeze the fans for every last sheckle, to pay the interest off and make sure there is a big dollop of cash on top to ensure your wallet is fat enough. In the Glazer model, success on the field only matters in terms of ensuring the cash keeps rolling in. You don't need the best players and managers, who may win things, just do enough to keep the fans believing and having hope. 

A privatisation of FIFA will be different though. It is not the team or their fans that are being fleeced, it is the whole game. Tournaments will go to the highest bidder. 'Innovations' like hydration breaks and half time shows, which generate hard cash from TV advertising will become the norm. Game times will change for TV schedules. I expect all manner of commercial deals, so if you want a ticket for the final, you fly first class with the 'partner airline' to get points to get a ticket. I am not saying that getting tickets for World Cup finals has ever been easy or cheap, but it will become impossible for fans who are not minted. 

I believe that hydration breaks are just the thin end of the wedge. It will not have escaped the attention of the money men that the final was largely a rather dull, turgid affair, with a lot of fouls. Argentina had zero shots on target. The difficult truth for the likes of Infantino is that this is not the sort of game that lucrative US audiences are interested in. They prefer games like Englands 6-4 defeat of France. They like the images at the end, where English and French players pray together and laugh and smile. The scuffles at the end of the final, are not what parents want their kids to see and for many it was a terrible end. 

For a football fan like me, I do not want to see my players hugging opposition players at the final whistle. I want to see that they care. Of course Argentina went way over the top and entered the realm of bad losers, but I never want football to be a pantomime where no one cares. However when things get commercialised, they get sanitised. I suspect that for the likes of Infantino, the perfect game would be where Argentina had won 7-3, Messi had scored a hattrick and both teams had hugged and smiled at each other during the hydration breaks and at the end. All of the fans would have flown from around the world, first class, at a premium on FIFA packages, all would have bought the official "I was at the FIFA world cup final merch", all would have drunk the beer of the official FIFA world cup partner, everyone who posted clips on Twitter, of match incidents would pay FIFA for a license and at the end The King would give the FIFA board peerages and Donald Trump would give them all a pardon for any naughtiness that may have ensued and the Pope would make them all Saints.

I believe all of this undermines the game at grassroots. When I was a kid, in the summer, a gang of kids would go to the park, put down jumpers and play for the love of it. I don't see that anymore. Now kids log onto their mobile phones and watch memes of Ronaldo and Messi doing tricks ( and someone, somewhere makes a bob or two). We never had to worry about who's side the fat kid was on, because there weren't any. When a sport, which is supposed to promote health, has sponsors that sell sugar filled drinks, is it any surprise, it has lost its soul. 

It will surprise no regular readers to learn all of this has inspired me to put pen to paper and write a song. 

Fake Insidious Fraudulent Amoral

Nordic Row Chant – “No” x 4

Is anyone feeling thirsty, is anyone getting hot (x 4)

F is for Fraudulent

I is Insidious

F is for Fake

A is Amoral

Oh Oh Oh Oh No

Verse 1

We used to have such a beautiful game, played by Brazil, The Netherlands and Spain

Corinthian Spirit and Players with art

Bobby Moore and Pele they’d steal your heart

But the money men came with brown envelopes

Put out game on a slippery slope

Half time shows and commercial slop

It breaks my heart it has to stop

STOP - STOP – STOP – STOP --------------- STOP (whistle to stop)

Hydration Break, Hydration Break

Whistle to Restart

F is for Fraudulent

I is Insidious

F is for Fake

A is Amoral

Oh Oh Oh Oh No

Repeat Verse 1 

STOP - STOP – STOP – STOP --------------- STOP (whistle to stop)

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I'll be at Hadley FC tonight, watching a pre season friendly. It is a world away from the shenanigans at the top

When will the Tories realised Kemi Badenoch is not a serious politician?

 One of the things that annoys me most about the press in the UK (and probably everywhere) is the way they portray every action and statement of those they support as the work of a genius and evey action of their opponents as the work of an idiot. Following the last election and the selection of Kemi Badenoch as leader of the opposition, we had the strange spectacle of two completely useless leaders going about their business in a very useless manner. Papers like The Express, The Sun and The Mail were keen to big up Badenoch, despite the fact that it was clear she is useless. Likewise, the Guardian and the Mail pretended that Starmer was brilliant, despite the fact that it was patently obvious that he was useless.

The public are not stupid. How did they react? They couldb't hve been clearer in their actions. Reform and Nigel Farage zoomed up the polls, as did Zack Polanski. I genuinely believe tahat this had little to do with people actually wanting either as PM and more to do with a general mid term message to Labour and the Tories to sort themselves out. Labour have. I know Burnham is in a honeymoon period, but it is 100% clear that he is a far better person to run the country than Starmer was. He believes in something and is prepared to work across party lines for the good of the UK. I am listening to him speak on the radio as I write this. Unlike Starmer, I have no wish to turn off the radio at the mere sound of his voice. 

A recent Poll put Labour above Reform for the first time in over a year

Westminster Voting Intention:

LAB: 26% (+1)
RFM: 24% (-2)
CON: 21% (+2)
GRN: 10% (+2)
LDM: 10% (=)
SNP: 3% (=)
RES: 2% (+1)

Via @Survation, 25-27 Jul.
Changes w/ 22-24 Jul.

— electionmapsuk (@electionmapsuk) July 28, 2026

I doubt anyone who watches politics keenly is too surprised. But for the Tories, mid term after two years of a rubbish leader, they are languishing in third place. Nigel Farage has managed to shoot himself in both feet with his election stunt. He has got himself into a battle with Count Binface in a completely unneccesary by election, which he can only lose. Binface has been able to turn the spotlight on him and ridicule him in a way no ordinary politician ever could. Farage has been totally blindsided. Whatever happens, he has been made to look ridiculous and his party has taken a  massive hit. Binface has run a briliant social media campaign, that has gone viral, making sure everyone knows of his dodgy dealings. But under Badenoch, the Tories have got almost no benefit in the polls. 

One of Burnhams first initiatives has been to reach out to her on reform of social care. She had an amazing opportunity to look like a sensible, grown up politician. Her response? We will only get involve if there is a guarantee of no tax rises. The public know that social care is in a mess and people are not stupid, there will be a cost. By trying to dictate from a position of weakness, she has undermined her credibility. If she had said "We have to do this and we will make sure that the government reforms deliver value for money for taxpayers" she would have looked serious and statesmanlike. By all means walk away of the conversation is going nowhere, but a leader of the opposition should not put conditions on such talks, until they hear what has to be said. 

I wonder what Badenoch would say if we need to put taxes and borrowing up urgently for the defence of the realm? As far as I am concerned, defending vulnerable adults is as important. We should never fund things like social care by borrowing. I am all for efficiency in government and money being spent wisely. I run a business and every time I visit an A&E department or an NHS hospital, I see inefficiency everywhere. There is huge scope for bette rmanagement and money saving, but this has to come from better management. Those who knock the NHS forget that we get our health care cheaper than countries that have private systems. No one is bankrupted. But it isn't perfect. If I was Badenoch, I'd be looking at identifying waste for savings. It seems that every time I go to any hospital department, I have to hang around, sometimes be checked in at three departments and there are bundles of paper everywhere. All of this could be automated. When we get trains, we buy tickets online and tap in. The technology is there. But the Tories have an analogue leader, who doesnt grasp the fact that the world is changing. AI offers savings in all manner of areas of government, but she has nothing to say about it. In fact, she has nothing to say of interest about anything. 

In short, she is useless and if the Tories want their own Burnham bounce, they need someone who gets it.