Birmingham, 18 October 2008

Off, then, to Villa Park, to see somebody throw a coin. Actually, I didn't see it. I don't think anybody in the press box did, but the facts are fairly unarguable. Moments before Aston Villa's dire draw against Portsmouth dwindled to its scoreless close, an Villa fan aimed a 50 pence piece at Harry Redknapp. It missed Redknapp and hit assistant referee Phil Sharp, causing a cut on his forehead. It's hardly World War III, but a few inches lower and it could have taken the guy's eye out.
Afterwards, there was nothing else to write about. Redknapp has history with the Villa fans. Last season, they had the temerity to mention his arrest and he ranted at some length post-match, referring to them as "filth". Sometimes a bt of banter works wonders, but he just gets redder and redder. This time around, a Villa spokesman, a distinctly cagey Martin O'Neill and Redknapp himself used that easy-way-out phrase "no place in the game" (clearly it has a place and that place is Villa Park), but I'm more interested in Redknapp.
He's seemingly incandescent and not entirely without reason of course, but I'm really uncomfortable being around him and not merely because he seems to think it's acceptable to chide Sharp for going down. Moreover, ignoring this poor man's distress by saying "it was a good job I didn't get hit" smacks of grossly insensitive self-indulgence. He repeats that ridiculous line (used at Villa last time and after Spurs fans had a few words with Sol Campbell the other week) about grandparents swearing in front of children and how it equates with the end of civilisation. "Filth," apparently. He had a new line too, about punters making rude gestures to the team coach as it passes by being beyond what must be a tiny pale.
This sensitive flower stuff really galls me. Has nobody remotely interested in football not made a cheery wanker gesture at the opposing team coach as it passes them by? And if not, why not? Was the West Ham team coach of the '70s which carried Redknapp to Chelsea or anywhere in the north really greeted with nothing but a firm handshake? Hardly. These days, tinted windows mean you can't see how the players respond (not that I do it now, not being a chippy teenager). Back then you could and if I didn't get a wanker gesture back, I was heartbroken. It's a glorious tradition.
At the very end, Redknapp reveals his true colours with an almost sotto voce "good job it was a fucking shit shot". Now, I'm no swearing moralist, but isn't that filth? Just a thought...