The Case of Comrade Ferguson

I was momentarily taken with the idea of Fergie's alleged Trotskyist-Anarchism but, all in all, Louise Taylor's article in yesterday's Guardian - where she attempts to draw parallels between Alex Ferguson's ever changing line up and tactical formations at Man Utd these past nine years (since they last won the European Cup) and Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution - is a bit of a stretch.

*Man Utd, through to the Champions League final, will be playing Chelski in Moscow. Geddit? Not really. I always associated Trotsky more with St Petersburg/Petrograd.*

The article does however beg one question: which Trot group was Louise once a member of? (Who else would reach into their bag of journalistic tricks and comes up clutching Lev Bronstein and his Perm Rev?)

The conspiracy theorists over at the comments section of the Guardian footie blogs maintain that Louise is a partisan Sunderland fan. That doesn't help me when trying to second guess her former political affiliations. Sunderland has never fertile soil for the generals without armies down the years.

I'll hazard a guess that Louise is ex-SWP, but only if she is graduate of Durham University.

Hat tip to Normblog.

Football and the Ultra-Left (1904)

Mártires de Chicago

Football and the Far Left - Constructing a False Trail

British Pabloite Tendency -> Seventies Vintage -> Tractor Boys Country -> Ipswich Town -> Bobby Robson era -> Soccer Coach -> NASL -> Seattle -> Soccer in Seattle? -> Seattle Sounders -> Check Wiki -> Nope -> Other micky mouse sporting franchises in Seattle? -> Seattle Mariners? -> That a heavy hint? -> Christ, surely not?

Nah, according to his wiki page, PM is still living stateside.

Start again.

British Pabloite Tendency -> Seventies Vintage -> Student radical at Warwick -> Lady Godiva Land -> Coventry City -> Chocolate brown away kit era -> Seattle -> Soccer in Seattle? -> Seattle Sounders -> Check wiki -> Mmm, looks promising -> Stalwart for the Sky Blues in the seventies -> Played for the Sounders -> Scottish -> Really promising -> Can Cardenden be considered part of Red Clydeside? -> Worth a punt -> Could it be this bloke?

Damn, according to wiki TH has been living in South Wales for the last couple of few years. He can't be both a mate of the British Pabloite Tendency and and be an acquaintance of the last living member of the Muggletonian International Socialist tradition.

Last effort. Come on . . . try and think more laterally this time.

British Pabloite Tendency -> Seventies Vintage -> International Marxist Group -> Warwick University -> West Midlands -> Aston Villa -> American Soccer -> Seattle Sounders -> Politically unsound -> Pabloism -> Fourth International -> Football International -> What, this bloke?

It can't be JPA. Wrong decade . . . wrong coast of America . . . too good looking to be selling vanguardist newspapers outside Tesco's on a Saturday morning . . . no Colombian section currently in the IST.

As long as I don't find out it was Alan Brazil.