18 June 2003
Amazon.co.uk have emailed me to say that yes, the book was right (hence the ISBN), they just hadn’t made it clear that this copy was, for no reason that springs to mind, in French. And they apologise for it, and I can return it for free, which I’d be able to do anyway.
The reason I chose it in the first place was that when I ordered it, it said ‘usually dispatched within 24 hours.’ It was the third item in a search for ‘solaris lem’ — otherwise you get loads of books about the Solaris operating system — and the other two, despite looking more recent, were listed as taking a few weeks to arrive.
I’m leery by instinct of getting one with images from the film on the cover, worried it might have been edited to fit the film. This tendency has only been increased by getting one with those images and in the wrong language for me.
Thankfully of the two versions left, the non-film-tie-in one is not only cheaper, but it’s dispatched a week earlier on average. So being the eternal optimist that I am, I’ll return the one I have and order Solaris (Faber Classics) today. I think I’ll also grab The Shipping News (again, not with the film cover).
Beckham’s Real role (groan) by Soccernet’s James Davis. I probably wouldn’t like this article anyway, because it talks about real fans and day-trippers. That it doesn’t mention prawn sandwiches is surely a fluke. He says that ‘Beckham is far from irreplaceable.’
Fair enough. But, um, wouldn’t it be a good idea to mention a replacement in the column? I didn’t see a single one named. Ronaldinho, even if he doesn’t take to English football like Verón (some stunning performances early on, then fade into obscurity to ‘prove the doubters wrong’ ), probably won’t play on the right. Solskjær put in some fine performances there, but is not a right-midfielder. In Championship Manager Luke Chadwick always plays there, but this is deeply flawed for two reasons. First, the lady fans who go to watch Beckham on the right could well die of shock. Second, in Championship Manager my Atalanta side are champions of Europe, with Zambrotta, Terry, Aimar, and Mido in the side. Championship Manager proves nothing.
Thinking about it, there are precious few right-sided midfielders of the required quality and experience who aren’t taken. Nedved’s one, but even if Verón goes to Juventus there’s no way he’ll be coming in the other direction. Figo is another, and already I’m running out of ideas. Gaizka Mendieta is (I think) available for sale, and Ferguson is an admirer, but he’s a bit old although he has played in two Champions League finals.
OK, scratch experience. If the replacement hasn’t played in the Champions League before they’ll need to be young but good. Bernard Mendy? Andy van der Meyde? Ah…Ricardo Quaresma. The Portuguese wonder-kid. At 19 an obvious replacement for Beckham, who’s just the eight and a half years older. The talk of buying him just seems to have disappeared.
I do think that this was good business, financially, for United, although they still need to find someone to take Verón. They can now but a forward and a midfielder, and good ones, at that. The only problem is getting the right kind of midfielder, which is a right midfielder.