Mum’s the word, if you feel cheated

This week I want to concentrate off the pitch, not too far, just the touchline area. I watched last week's matches between Al Nasr and Al Ain followed by Al Ahli v Ajman. A few of the normal things happened just off the pitch and a few a bit different.

We had one substituted player not happy as he stormed off to the dressing room to throw teacups and call his mum to say it wasn't fair. That is not unusual and no doubt happens around the world in the same way. If Wedgwood had been used in all the world's changing rooms for the cups of tea then maybe they wouldn't have gone bankrupt.

The same game, though, witnessed a player refusing to come on as sub. Reza Enayati refused point blank to enter the field of play when asked to by new Al Nasr coach Frank Pagelsdorf. The Iranian striker had recovered from an ankle injury and it was his first chance to impress his Al Nasr's German coach. He failed miserably and Pagelsdorf has asked the management to terminate his contract.

The contrast between that and the man they call Bare is very interesting. The Al Ahli striker is a man who has the touch both on and off the pitch. In the Etisalat Cup match against Ajman he cracked in two goals before being substituted. Job done on the field the man donned a tracksuit top and went into the stand to socialise in the directors box, chat to some fans and then finished by charming a couple of ladies at the back of the stand. I like that man's style both on and off the pitch.

The other thing that strikes me is the attire of the coaches on the touchline. A good number go for the standard club tracksuit and trainers but increasingly there is a case for the TV show What Not To Wear to relocate to the touchlines of the Gulf.

Braga of Al Jazeera goes for the jeans shirt and blazer look that should only be seen on country and western singers. Fans of '70s TV show Happy Days should check out Milan Macala in the Gulf Cup if you were wondering what happened to Fonz's leather jacket. My personal favourite is Wilfred Schaeffer's tracksuit top over a formal trousers, shirt and tie. It reminds me of being back at school and having the maths teacher substitute for the PE teacher when he was off sick.

Rarified atmosphere

My column this week doesn't mention much about football due to the lack of interest in the Etisalat Cup. There were only 250 people at the Ajman v Al Ahli game and more atmosphere on the moon.

The games have been either very dull or we have seen some real mismatches as foreign stars ran amok against some of the weaker teams' second strings. Al Ahli and Al Jazeera in particular scored a hatful in the last week of games. We still have to wait till next month for a meaningful return to league action. And I think the less we mention about the UAE exit from the Gulf Cup at the hands of Bruno Metsu the better.