Summertime - A season to relax or a time to panic

SUMMERTIME and the living is easy. At least that is how the song goes. For a football manager, however, summertime is far from easy.

 

Take Arsene Wenger for example. The club announce that they have trillions to spend in the transfer market and can now compete with all the big hitters around Europe so the media go into meltdown linking the club with everyone from Higuain to Rooney and even Suarez.

 

The fans, paying some of the highest ticket prices in Europe, are quickly on the bandwagon and suddenly it's late July with only French youngster Yaya Sanogo added the squad, so it is time to panic.

 

Manchester City have strengthened, Chelsea have strengthened, United are chasing Fabregas, while Arsenal have gone backwards. Not only has Wenger failed to spend but he also had a major clear out this summer, getting rid of squad players such as Djourou, Arshavin and Santos. On the surface at least, the squad appears weaker.

 

But maybe we all need to live a bit easier. Chill out. Enjoy the sunshine. Are things really that bad? The one thing money cannot buy is stability and that is the one thing Arsenal have in abundance.

 

While the other top clubs have all changed managers and brought in several new players, all of which takes time to settle, Wenger could start the season with the same group that lost only one of their last 16 Premier League games.

 

After a slow start to the last campaign as the new-look team took time to gel, Arsenal slowly began to look like potential title winners so why would you want to disrupt that?

 

Spending millions does not guarantee success anyway. Yes, City will be strong, no question about it. Chelsea too. But Wenger has a very good squad who will continue to improve.

 

Some say a signing like Suarez would send out a message of intent and that he would be the final piece of the jigsaw. But I disagree. If Wenger is going to spend upwards of £40m, it would be far better spent on a defensive midfielder - someone like Fellaini - and a centre back - say Williams.

 

I just have a sneaky feeling that Giroud will be THE man. For a first season in English football he did well, scoring 17 times, and his best is clearly yet to come. Walcott will score goals, Podolski has 15 in him and Cazorla proved last season he can hit double figures. Between them last season those four scored over 60 times.

 

So rather than splash out £40m on one man who may or may not get the goals the club needs, and would probably spend half the season suspended anyway, it would make much more sense to use that money elsewhere in the squad.

 

My hunch is that Wenger has made a cull to clear the decks for several new arrivals. One or two defensive players who can go straight into the first team squad and others with an eye to the future. It may not be what the fans are crying out for but that does not make it wrong.

 

So while City and Chelsea waste more billions chasing the dream, Wenger can pull up his deckchair safe in the knowledge that he already has a title winning team at his disposal.

 

It may not be fashionable but maybe spending the summertime living the easy life while all around are panicking is the way forward. I guess the next ten months or so will tell.

The drugs don't work, they just make you worse. How to really fix your broken mind

DID you watch that programme on BBC 3 the other night entitled 'Diary of a Broken Mind'? It was the story of 25 young people with mental health problems - anything from Bipolar to Agoraphobia - recorded as a video diary.

The one thing that really stood out for me was the over-reliance these people have on medication. It appeared that was the only treatment they were receiving. It had got so bad for most of them that they were unable to come off the medication as they felt they could not cope without it. A vicious circle.

Speaking from personal experience of mental health issues, I know this is common practise. My first day in treatment was spent filling out forms to access my mental state before the medication process could begin.

That day I encountered many young people who were so drugged up they could not even tell me what they were in for. Some did not even know their own name. There was one woman of Afro-Caribbean descent, probably no more than 22, who spent most of the day walking around in circles with a tea towel on her head shouting random things to herself, completely oblivious to anything else around her.

'Don't mind her,' they told me, 'She'll be okay once she has had her medication.'

That evening as they were settling me into my room they came round with the pills.

'Take two of these tonight and we'll give you another two in the morning,' I was told.

I asked what they were but all I was told was that 'they will make you feel better.' I told them I was not depressed (I wasn't) and that pills would be of no use to me but they said it was essential before I could start my therapy programme.

After what I had witnessed that day, I decided I did not want to take the pills but I was told that the only other option was for me to discharge myself. And I could not do that quickly enough. Looking back, it was the best decision I ever made. That was in 1986.

After watching BBC 3 the other night, it appears that very little has changed in the treatment of mental health issues over the subsequent 27 years. The only difference now is that young people feel able to talk about their problems.

When I was their age the last thing I would have wanted to do was go on national television telling millions of people about my mental health issues. In fact you may have noticed that I have not mentioned what those mental issues are even now.

But I do not believe this openness has helped them. Quite the opposite in fact. I was so worried about anyone finding out about my problems that I did all I could to hide them. On the outside I appeared normal. Well when I say normal...

Anyway, I would have been mortified if anyone had found out. Not even my parents knew. But this actually proved to be a great help to me. The more I had to disguise my behaviour, the easier it was to cope with my problems when I was alone. If I could go about my normal everyday tasks without anyone knowing then surely nothing could stop me leading a relatively normal life?

I have no doubt that my friends thought I was a little strange at times (only at times you say!!). As much as I tried to disguise it, there must have been times when it came to the surface. But if ever anyone looked at me as though I was mad and asked if I was okay, I just adopted the default response. 'Yeah, I'm fine.'

But all this new-found openness has given the sufferers some kind of acceptance. They do not need to change as everyone knows what is wrong them and make allowances for their odd behaviour. One of the biggest motivations I had to try and tackle my demons was the fear that someone would find out. Take away that motivation and I know I would have had much more difficulty dealing with my problems.

Not that I am cured. Far from it. I do not believe you are ever really cured of mental health problems, you just learn to cope with them. And despite never taking any medication, and only having 2 sessions of therapy in my life, I believe I have coped pretty well. I have led a reasonably 'normal' life (whatever that actually means) and although I have dark days, I know how to deal with them. I know the restrictions it has had on my life and I make the necessary adjustments. I have to, otherwise people will find out.

There was a time when it would stop me doing the things I enjoyed. I stopped playing football, I stopped going to watch my beloved Arsenal. For a while I became a virtual hermit. But you cannot live like that forever, not unless you want people to know you have a problem anyway.

I started to miss the things I enjoyed and decided enough was enough. Sometimes it is hard but I know what I need to do and I do it. I have refused to let it beat me.

But the young people on that programme have all but given up. They have accepted their fete. So much so that when asked if they could make their problems disappear would they, most said no. They are happy to stick with it as has given them an excuse not to get on with their life. I would get rid of mine at a heartbeat.

One guy, a former model, had turned to drink as his way of coping. Cooped up in his flat with a few cans of lager. Not tackling his issues, just accepting them. And he was not alone. As soon as your friends and family know, you have less reason to change. You can justify it.

In many aspects of our life openness is great. But when it comes to mental health issues it is not. The only people who should know about your problems are your therapist (if you have one) and the guys in group therapy sessions. The more time you spend pretending you don't have a problem the less serious the problem becomes.

Trust me, I know.

Lycra, the real menace on our roads

AS YOU ARE out and about today minding your own business there is a good chance you will encounter two of the most annoying types who are a blight on our roads and pavements.

Firstly, cyclists. Not your casual cyclist who rides to work on a sunny morning. No. I mean the Lycra-clad menaces who fill our streets, often 2-3 abreast, who assume the rules of the road do not apply to them.

Red lights? Pedestrian crossings? No, they don't have to stop at them. In fact these morons-on-two-wheels do not want to stop for anything. Too much traffic for them to squeeze past? Not a problem, they will just go on up the pavement, knocking pedestrians out of the way if they have to. One way street? That's okay, they are only going one way. The wrong way.

Yet you so much as overtake them slightly too close, which as far as they are concerned is within 25 feet of them, they will scream and shout and make hand gestures. And it is you in your car who has to take action to avoid them when they suddenly swerve to avoid a pot-hole in the road, but it is still your fault!

Then they seem to think it is okay to ride 2-3 abreast, filling half the road. Well guess what; IT IS NOT. Why should we have to squeeze past you, or worse still go over the other side of the road, to overtake you which is putting us and other road user at risk? And just so you can have a chat. If you have to ride your bike at all, do it in a nice neat line just far enough away from the kerb to avoid the drains, just like it says in the Highway Code.

They will preach to you of course, that are 'doing their bit for the environment.' But guess what; the environment does not need saving. Since we have gone all green, the climate has gone to pot. We now get a winter which lasts 6 months with only 2 weeks of summer in compensation if we are lucky, and the extreme weather conditions which kill thousands, that used to be very rare, are now commonplace.

Yet they are actually doing far more damage to their precious environment anyway. Us normal folk, you know the ones in cars and vans, constantly have to slow down to get past them thus piling more noxious fumes into the environment they claim to care so much about. The only good thing about this of course, is that they are the ones breathing it in.

Then for reasons unbeknown to anyone, they shut entire roads at weekends for what is called a 'cycle event'. This basically means hundreds of these Lycra-clad motorcycle-wannabes flying around racing each other. We do that in our cars and we get fined, yet they are actually allowed to get away with it and we are made to stop and wait for them to go by. Unbelievable. I blame Sir Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins.

But cycling is not cool, not for anyone over the age 12 anyway. Let's face it, you only cycle as you cannot afford to run a car, and there is nothing cool about that.

If you are lucky enough to avoid the cyclists however, then odds are you will run into the other blight on our roads and pavements. Joggers. For some unknown reason this pastime has become a more and more popular in recent years. You cannot go anywhere without bumping them. Literally.

Heaven forbid you are actually minding your own business as a pedestrian as you will have to take evasive action to avoid being sent flying by one.

Of course it is better for them to be out running than sitting indoors watching TV, but the vast majority are not really doing very much at all. Not exactly running, just walking. Quickly. They are probably doing far more damage to their joints than anything else anyway. In fact I do not know a regular jogger who does not have problems with their knees or ankles. They will all be in wheelchairs before they are 50.

They think they are the bees-knees though. Oh yes. So much so that they can't wait to tell you all about it. Social media is now full of people 'tracking their runs'. But guess what. We don't care. You ran 3 miles in 25 minutes?? Nothing to boast about if you ask me. I can drive that far in 5 minutes, less if there are no cyclists on the road.

But it gets worse. Charity. The word that turns your blood cold. So not only do they want to get in your way as you walk down the street, flabby bits wobbly about all over the place, but they want you to sponsor them to do it.

It is for a good cause, they say. Yes a good cause that they don't really care about but are forced to support just so they can enter the stupid race in the first place. And if, God forbid, you don't sponsor them, oh they will make you feel guilty alright. But Erectile Dysfunction will survive without your 10p.

And it is not even as if they race anyway. They finish somewhere like 475th. Hang on a minute, I paid for this, the least you can do is finish in the top 10. No, for my £2.50 you should win the bloody thing!

There is a common theme here of course; Lycra. This must be the least flattering item of clothing ever invented. But it is far worse than that. It seems to have some sort of built-in personality changer. Whenever someone squeezes into these outfits, be it to jog or to cycle, they turn into a complete moron. All good manners, sense of logic and reason, go out the window.

Then, at the end of the day, they pop out of it and magically return to being human again. It is uncanny.

Yes we live in a dangerous world alright, but none so dangerous as those in Lycra.

Is it time for a summer Christmas?

IN LIGHT OF the current Co-Op advertising campaign in which they play the Andy Williams Christmas song 'The Most Wonderful Time of the Year' to promote their summer products, I started thinking; wouldn't it b great if we moved Christmas to the summer.

Don't laugh. Think about it. I have never quite understood the sense of having it in the middle of winter. The weather is dreadful, it gets dark at half-past three in the afternoon and most people are suffering from one nasty bug or another.

On top of that, winter is a depressing time of the year for many people. Plus it is also the most expensive with extra gas and electricity bills. Add Christmas into the mix, and all the extra stress that brings with it, and it is a recipe for disaster. It is no wonder that the suicide rate goes through the roof at this time of the year.

No. Surely it would make much more sense to move Christmas to a time of the year when most people are feeling happier and more at peace. Like August for example.

Lets look at the pluses. Firstly it would help to break up the 6 weeks summer holiday. Secondly the weather is likely to be good which would make travel plans to visit relatives that much easier. No road chaos due to ice and snow, less train and flight delays or cancellations. It would also lead to a far more pleasant Christmas Day experience.

Presents could be opened on the patio and Christmas dinner could be a bar-be-cue. The kids would be able to play in the garden, maybe get the paddling pool out, while the parents could be sipping Pimms and relaxing in the sun. Sounds good eh?

The only arguments I have heard in favour of leaving things as they are is all the clap-trap about Jesus' birthday and it being the only thing that currently makes winter bearable. Well lets look at that shall we.

Jesus was actually born in September, the seventh month of the old Jewish calendar. The Christmas celebration we know today was originally a pagan winter festival introduced to give the peasants something to look forward to in the bleak mid-winter. Quite how it became linked in to Jesus is unclear, although I suspect the Christians simply hijacked it.

I can certainly see the sense in having some sort of winter celebration. But with more and more people working right up until Christmas now, it's not like most of us get much of a break anyway. So leave the two Bank Holidays as they are and we could even have turkey for dinner if we felt so inclined. Plus of course, we would still have New Year's Day. That would break up winter nicely.

On the plus side it may even make January more bearable. There is always a post-Christmas hangover and that month seems to drag on forever. And to make matters worse you never have any money due to over-spending at Christmas. So the more you think about it, the more appealing it sounds to move Christmas to August, right.

I would actually move it to the time we currently have the late-summer Bank Holiday. The kids are off school, the weather is usually nice and it is closer to the actual birth of Jesus, if he did indeed really exist.

So there you have it. My case for having a summer Christmas. So are you with me?