Reds & Rams

    As the build up to the Olympics continues, sports bulletins on radio and television locally have focussed on Nottingham Forest and the appointment of a new manager. Meanwhile Derby County have stayed mainly under the radar and gone about their business quietly. With Ilkeston lying midway between Nottingham and Derby and the grounds being only fifteen miles apart, it is only too apparent that the town will have supporters of both teams.

   Since being a young teenager in 1959 when my Uncle took me to several league games during the season when Forest won the FA Cup, I have always followed their fortunes and if I had to nail my colours to the mast then they would be red and white. That is not to say however that I wish any ill on Derby. Nothing could be further from the truth as I want them to be successful as well. In fact I want all the local teams to be successful, as to have them compete against each other only adds to the interest.

   It is right to enjoy the rivalry, partake of the witty banter and brag about your team's achievements but when a player is transferred from one team to another, to be openly hostile to him and his new team is totally wrong. How can someone idolised when playing for one team suddenly do nothing right when playing for another. It's the same person with the same skills which should be admired wherever they ply their trade. I've often seen references in the internet forums where members say they "hate" another team and that is something I cannot subscribe to. Yes I follow Forest but equally want Derby to succeed. I often listen to the radio broadcasts on Forest games but what I cannot abide is when the commentator expresses delight if Derby are on the wrong end of a score line in another match being played at the same time. Wouldn't it be great next season to see them both vying for promotion at the top of the league? I think so.

Not Guilty

So the legal ruling then is that John Terry is not guilty of uttering racist words. It seems the only word in his utterances that gave rise to his appearance in court was the only one that was remotely true and that related to colour. Any other result in his trial would probably mean that the large carving of the Ilson "Giant" in Ilkeston's Stanton Road Cemetery where the Friends on the Cemetery held an event this weekend would in future have to be referred to as the Ilson "Big Man" so as not to cause offence to similarly large human beings.

The John Terry case however does raise another issue. When I was a local football referee directives were often issued by the Derbyshire Football Association urging officials to apply the Laws of the Game and dismiss players from the field of play for using foul and abusive language. Whatever the outcome of the John Terry case, it must be admitted the he and probably many more players on the pitch that day were guilty of using such language. Going back to my refereeing days it was common knowledge back then that the higher up the football ladder you rose as an official, the less likely you were to be promoted even higher if you sent players off for bad language as many games would have to be abandoned due to there being insufficient players left to finish the game.

It seems then that the problem that eventually led to the legal case is of the Football Association's own making by not insisting the Laws were applied at the highest level of the game. They have done a lot of work to remove racism from football so maybe the time is now right for them to turn their attention to the Laws of the Game and remove the bad language too.

Cancelled Again

Ilkeston's Carnival was cancelled a few weeks ago due to the bad weather in what became the wettest June since records began. Early last week news filtered through that the proposed Steam Rally at Elvaston scheduled for this weekend also became a victim of the weather as did Awsworth's "Party on the Rec." On Friday a torrential downpour when it was forecast that a month's rainfall would drop on the East Midlands in one day caused Derbyshire's evening T20 cricket match against local rivals Nottinghamshire to be called off before lunch. Add to that Ilkeston FC's pre-season friendly at home to Skegness together with their Family Fun Day plus the Ashfield Festival in Nottinghamshire.

I'm expecting a government announcement any time now that summer is cancelled for 2012. We can only hope it improves by the start of the Olympics otherwise the only events possible will be water sports - at all the venues!

Choices

As I have written before, some weeks it's a problem finding somewhere different to go for the Latest Images page at Ilkeston Cam and other weeks are just the opposite with a multitude of events from which to choose. This last week fell into the latter category. I could have gone to Nottingham on Thursday for the Olympic Torch Relay or Derby on Friday for the next stage in the relay. Both those events would have meant an early morning or late evening outing so we opted for a daytime trip to see the torch in Matlock instead.

At any other time I would probably have chosen the "Swing Back to the Forties" event at the Erewash Museum again for the latest images which was advertised as part of the ongoing Ilkeston Festival. The Forties event coincided with Armed Forces Day which has also been observed in Wollaton Park over the weekend. At a push I might have featured some scenes from the horrendous weather and storms that swept across the East Midlands during the week. So I really was spoilt for choice - but next week, now that's a different story but I'm sure something will turn up.