The John Carew Situation And ‘Injury’?

Ok, the John Carew situation.

He was on the team sheet before the game today to be a sub.

That is a sub behind Emile ‘I don’t shoot let alone score’ Heskey and the newly chunky (looked so unfit) Gabby Agbonlahor who also if memory serves me right, didn’t shoot… if he did, I must have blinked.

Now when JC – the only player for the last part of last season who looked likely to shoot and who went on a run of goals, the same player that MON keeps talking about in glowing terms – came out to warm up, he didn’t look a happy man, in fact, he looked quite the opposite.

When he went off, he didn’t hobble, there was no sign of pain or injury. THAT IS NOT TO SAY that he wasn’t injured but…..?

OK, so he was injured in warm up? He didn’t look like he had a care in the world for Norway v Scotland the other day. If he picked up an injury there… then he wouldn’t have been on the team sheet today would he?

An injury for a player who was going to be on the bench, picked up in the warm up? Or an ‘injury’.

Conspiracy theories are all well and good and although the rumour very quickly did the rounds that he had in fact got … how can I put this without the threat of legal action!? Ok, he can’t have been happy being on the bench behind two strikers who don’t actually score. He can’t have been carrying an injury before the game or if he was what the hell was he even put on the bench for? He must have been wondering what the heck was going on and he has been …. no, can’t say that either.

The rumour is he was upset not injured, certainly seemed to be what callers to the phone ins on the way home were also saying. If I was him, I’d have been upset as well. Rumours are all well and good, but if he had picked up an injury, why did it take so long for us to be told, why was the change on the team sheet made so late and why wasn’t the change announced.

No doubt he was injured, no doubt at all? I tell you one thing though, it wasn’t just me sitting around by the bench who read the body language of those there and the glum faces, not that of a happy bench and staff all up for the first game of the season.

The performance was reminiscent of the David O’Dearme days when he had lost the dressing room…. Makes you wonder.