The hype surrounding their unveiling was extravagant. Their
arrival has been hailed – nervously one suspects – as heralding “a new dawn”. True,
they carry the hopes of an expectant nation. But nobody in their wildest dreams
imagined that this particular combination of ‘talents’ – of men who played
under rival flags – could foretell a period of success. As Jimmy Greaves
frequently said, though: “Football is a funny old game.”
One is an introspective, cerebral man, a thinker who learned at
the knee of one of the giants of the game. His mentor was unconventional and
outrageous, but undeniably successful, taking a provincial, backward outfit, and
fashioning them into a slick, all-conquering powerhouse. The pupil learned
well, graduating as a sophisticated, cultured proponent of the finer arts, an
astute reader of games, alert to opportunities, always ready with the killer
pass that would undo the opposition and put rivals to the sword.
The other is a more private individual, celebrated more perhaps for
brute force and iron will than for skill or technique. Throughout his career, though,
he could be relied upon to get stuck in where and when it hurt, and he’d never
ask a colleague to do something he wouldn’t do himself. Many a time – in white
hot cauldrons of battle – we saw him with our own eyes stiffening the resolve
of those who stood behind him.
Both men carry the scars of battle and the medals of achievement, but
as a management pairing, is their alliance the stuff of dreams or does it have the
makings of a nightmare? The game is wholly different depending on where you
view it from – the pitch or the dug-out.
For the moment, the pair will get away with posturing for the
cameras and swatting away journalists’ questions, but long-term – if their
partnership is to work – the two will have to trust one another, lean on one
another, modify their behaviour and learn a new skill – the art of compromise.
Whether two such dogmatic people as Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness are
capable of accommodation remains to be seen. When they played, it wasn’t the
taking part which mattered but winning: victory was everything. The sport has moved
on though. Can fans on the terraces – who regard trade-offs as sell-outs – be
taught to appreciate the modern game, in which the objective is not a win but a
‘win-win’?
One thing’s for sure: it’s going to be a roller-coaster of a ride.
Dream or nightmare? Time will tell. It’s a funny old game.
