I like football.\u00a0 I like football very much, and have been watching the World Cup with enthusiam.\u00a0\u00a0I don’t have it at home, as the\u00a0monopoly service provider in\u00a0the UAE have slapped on an \u00a380 surcharge for anyone wanting a world cup package.\u00a0\u00a0Given that I am only here for the first two weeks of the competition, I would rather\u00a0hand\u00a0money\u00a0to the\u00a0Georgians\u00a0who staff my local bar in\u00a0exchange for their excellent service, a table in front of the giant screen, and large quantities of\u00a0Stolichnaya vodka which they have on promotion.\u00a0 Thus far, it is looking like a wise decision.<\/p>\n
I have been entertained greatly by the football, but then football never fails to entertain me.\u00a0 The way the entire industry works is a hoot.<\/p>\n
Take Steven Gerrard’s<\/a> recent comments concerning England’s shaky start\u00a0and their forthcoming game against\u00a0Sweden, who they have not beaten since 1968:<\/p>\n “We have got to show them a lot of respect, but the boys were saying today we need to get a win against them pretty soon,” the Liverpool midfielder said.<\/p>\n “We are confident we can progress in this tournament. The bigger the game the more you are up for it and the better you play.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Good job young Gerrard doesn’t run offshore construction projects:<\/p>\n “We know that the\u00a0job is going to be damned difficult, but my colleagues were saying today we need to do one right pretty soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n We are confident we can do it.\u00a0 The bigger and more difficult the project, the more we show interest and the better we\u00a0deliver it.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I’m sure his clients would be impressed.\u00a0 Still, international football isn’t quite as ludicrous as the domestic game.\u00a0 Here’s Gareth Southgate<\/a> back in February, when Middlesbrough were facing relegation:<\/p>\n “We are showing character. We still think there’s a lot more to come and we must keep ploughing on.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I must remember that line next time a client asks to see my recovery plan for a project that’s gone belly-up.<\/p>\n I’m sure my clients would have nothing much to say if we appointed as project manager somebody with\u00a0no experience whatsoever<\/a>\u00a0on the basis that he had once been a superb instrumentation engineer.\u00a0 They’d approve his CV in a flash.\u00a0\u00a0And of course, were we to spend \u00a3100m<\/a> staffing a project with a budget of \u00a320m, our head office would not bat an eyelid.\u00a0 Should\u00a0a process engineer mistakenly<\/a>\u00a0route fuel gas through the fire water system, we’ll simply allay the client’s fears by telling them that he’s the best process engineer<\/a> in the world.<\/p>\n Yup, I love football.\u00a0 Top class entertainment all round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I like football.\u00a0 I like football very much, and have been watching the World Cup with enthusiam.\u00a0\u00a0I don’t have it at home, as the\u00a0monopoly service provider in\u00a0the UAE have slapped on an \u00a380 surcharge for anyone wanting a world cup … Continue reading