That **** Pietersen

tim_wand

I listen to talk sport in the van at work.

Now admittedly it does what it says on the tin "Talk Sport" so no surprise there. Usually I love it!
This Thursday they ve got Kevin Pietersen on to publicise his new book. Where he claims that the Public school boys of the England cricket team used to bend him over and use his bottom as a tea cake rack; or something like that!

As a sportsman/ batsman I admire Pietersen, but what a self promoting egotistic tw*t he is as a human being.

As an ex squaddie, I know what bullying is! There were guys who in barracks I would have not urinated on if they combusted. But once we were out their actually doing the job, we would eat concrete and brass for one another without a second thought.

Why cant these " Men" once they put the cap on just go out and play as a team for their country?

Once again its all about self interest and personal glory, why the hell cant they just go out and do a job for England.

nathancom

Hero or Villain?

I am glad he has gone, he comes across as a complete narcissistic egomaniac who only cares about money and being the centre of attention. Even though he played several important innings for the team, I think England are on the up now he has gone.

ballysmate

Could be a brilliant batsman to watch. A complete doos as a bloke though.

joelsim

He's got a book to promote, rather like Roy Keane's revelations about him being an angry man.

pblakeney

Did anyone ever buy a book about Steve "Interesting" Davis?

slowmart

tim wand wrote:

Why cant these " Men" once they put the cap on just go out and play as a team for their country?

Once again its all about self interest and personal glory, why the hell can't they just go out and do a job for England.

Self sacrifice and loyalty don't seem to be in this persons make up and now he's gone its best not to water the weeds.

I think the phrase "thank you for going" will be used an awful lot.

verylonglegs

You'd have thought given the number of coaches and players he's fallen out with it might provide a clue to him as to who the one with the issues actually is. Remember even the usually very mild-mannered Strauss felt the need to describe him by using a certain c-word when he was caught discussing him off-camera to Nick Knight a while back. Plus Pietersen is very good friends with Piers Morgan. Enough said.

arran77

Joelsim wrote:

He's got a book to promote, rather like Roy Keane's revelations about him being an angry man.

This.

bianchimoon

seems were all in agreement about ****Pietersen

pblakeney

bianchimoon wrote:

seems were all in agreement about ****Pietersen

It might have been trickier had he actually been English.

Coach H

I have to say, I think there may be quite a lot of truth in what Pietersen is saying.

Prior heard ranting at players on numerous occasions on the stump microphone.
Whilst Greame Swann was generally hilarious and a welcome addition to TMS this summer, quite a lot of his funny bits were "banter" that was on the ragged edge of being generally acceptable.

Whether they should have all had thicker skin, then I would say yes, but it does not make for a welcoming and inclusive team dynamic for a high pressure environment

secretsam

Coach H wrote:

I have to say, I think there may be quite a lot of truth in what Pietersen is saying.

Prior heard ranting at players on numerous occasions on the stump microphone.
Whilst Greame Swann was generally hilarious and a welcome addition to TMS this summer, quite a lot of his funny bits were "banter" that was on the ragged edge of being generally acceptable.

Whether they should have all had thicker skin, then I would say yes, but it does not make for a welcoming and inclusive team dynamic for a high pressure environment

I think there's some truth in this, and although Pietersen may not be everyone's cup of Roiboos, if it's true that England players were - for example - contributing to that fake p155-take Twitter account, well that's pretty poor.

Mind you, he did have rather a high opinion of himself, and could give it out - and if you play the game, you've got to take the knocks.

Frankly, meh.

Harrogate Velo50

Pietersen is great batsmen, great to watch, and let's be fair love him or hate him he is entertaining.

There is SOME truth in what he says in the book and that is fact. Bullying? No I don't think you can call it that, but in this day and age maybe it was. A few years ago you and I would laugh at something like that if you called it bullying. Part and parcel of sporting dressing rooms.

The ECB wanted him out. Simple as that, he didn't get on with Moore's and Flower. He isn't the only one. Manager's are paid to manage. They didn't.

Pietersen is South African. Not English. But that's another discussion.

Makes me laugh when people say he plays for him self and have a go when he says "that's the way I play"
I give you Geoff Boycott.......

t4tomo

He's never been a team man.

Witness a long time back when he was a Notts, Jasn Gallian , the then Notts captain, threw his kit bag off the dressing room balcony, as KP had expresssed his thoughts that Notts werent worthy of his talents.

But he cries of buulying realy annoy me - he dished it out but cries to teacher when he has to take a bit back??

ballysmate

I fully accept that the local accent sounds appalling but it takes the pi55 for a Saffer to come over and criticise it.

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2006 ... -club-row/

Harrogate Velo50

Not a team man? I can see why people say that.

But I remember David Gower getting out time and time again wafting away at shots he shouldn't be playing.

Don't remember people saying he wasn't a team man. At the end if the day I am just a fan, and he made you watch cricket. And as a fan I don't have to like the guy. I want to be entertained and he did that.

Bust ups like this happen all the time and always have done, but in the past you wouldn't always hear about them.

For me Graham Swann is the worst culprit. He walked out on England at 3-0 down. And he's English!
And when Swann first came into the England team Swann was the worst disruptive people in the squad, so it's not exactly unique

fat_cat

Give it 4 or 5 years, and once a few more of the current players have retired and published their take on things, and we'll have a clearer view on whether KP has a point.

My guess is that no- one will back him up as I get the impression he wasn't very popular with his team mates.

Always thought he was an incredibly gifted batsman but a complete tool as a bloke.

plowmar

Gifted or not he still has to produce and hasn't done so since before he was ditched by England.

Perhaps someone will put me right on that.

tim_wand

Heard the interview today on Talk Sport.

I hope to Christ he just goes back to playing 4 day county cricket for Surrey and scores a bag full of runs every innings.

For the good of the English Game especially ODI's we need him batting for us. Its a joke that Cook gets a look in let alone captaincy at ODI with his strike rate, and Bell is just as bad.

I know it will be impossible with Flowers and Moore in the England set up, but the guy seems genuinely to regret things and want to play for England again. He should at least be given a chance in One Dayers. Or we might as well not bother showing up for the World Cup.

Harrogate Velo50

He hasn't been at his best recently.

Still our leading run scorer I the last Ashes series. Carberry was our 2nd highest I think. Neither play for England now. I think it's fair to say Carbs had a few erm, discussions with people in his time. Man management. Or lack of it.

Not a cat in hell chance of him coming back with Peter Moore's in charge

qube

His form in this seasons IPL was shocking.

Almost as poor as his Captaincy of the DD.

tim_wand

Just watched KP on Graham Norton. For christ's sake he made Norton look Straight by comparison.

ddraver

tim wand wrote:

Just watched KP on Graham Norton. For christ's sake he made Norton look Straight by comparison.

I'm not sure why that's got much to do with anything...

I think it comes down to how true or not his accusations are (which we ll probably find out either way eventually). If some of the things like bowlers making people apologise for misfields etc are true then clearly the team and the management had become dysfunctional (and I'm not sure what else you'd call it other than bullying but meh).

Thus far the ECB's attempt to discredit him be leaking a dodgy dossier suggests that they really are that that dysfunctional.

KP might be a d1ckh3ad every now and again, but (if what he says is true) it sounds like he was a small one in a of a team of them

seanoconn

ddraver wrote:

tim wand wrote:

Just watched KP on Graham Norton. For christ's sake he made Norton look Straight by comparison.

I'm not sure why that's got much to do with anything...

I think it comes down to how true or not his accusations are (which we ll probably find out either way eventually). If some of the things like bowlers making people apologise for misfields etc are true then clearly the team and the management had become dysfunctional (and I'm not sure what else you'd call it other than bullying but meh).

Thus far the ECB's attempt to discredit him be leaking a dodgy dossier suggests that they really are that that dysfunctional.

KP might be a d1ckh3ad every now and again, but (if what he says is true) it sounds like he was a small one in a of a team of them

Pietersen would always be one in a team of them, in any team.

crescent

PBlakeney wrote:

Did anyone ever buy a book about Steve "Interesting" Davis?

I reckon his book would be quite good actually. As a snooker player he was as exciting as watching wood warp but he always seemed a good bloke away from the snooker table. In his current role as a BBC pundit he comes across as quite a funny guy who's not afraid to poke fun at his own reputation.

And I had one of his endorsed snooker tables as a kid.

ddraver

seanoconn wrote:

ddraver wrote:

tim wand wrote:

Just watched KP on Graham Norton. For christ's sake he made Norton look Straight by comparison.

I'm not sure why that's got much to do with anything...

I think it comes down to how true or not his accusations are (which we ll probably find out either way eventually). If some of the things like bowlers making people apologise for misfields etc are true then clearly the team and the management had become dysfunctional (and I'm not sure what else you'd call it other than bullying but meh).

Thus far the ECB's attempt to discredit him be leaking a dodgy dossier suggests that they really are that that dysfunctional.

KP might be a d1ckh3ad every now and again, but (if what he says is true) it sounds like he was a small one in a of a team of them

Pietersen would always be one in a team of them, in any team.

So?

tim_wand

KP Knows he's not going to play for England again ( which in my opinion is a bloody travesty) Sport needs entertainers , and I d rather watch KP smash a quick 1/2 century and then loose his wicket going for a six on 94 runs than watch Cook grind out a Century.

KP definitely see himself as a mega star ala Beckham and Co, but I don't think Cricket has got that kind of Kudos.
You could just see Taylor Swift sat there last night, Thinking who the hell is this guy and what the hell is he talking about.

For KP , Drinking Krystal in the V.I.P area of a night club was always too appealing.

I can Imagine Flinthoff was just a big a pain in the arse to manage, But because he's a big bloke from Lancashire who likes a pint and a pedalo, we all love him, Where as Kevin is a bit harder to stomach.

verylonglegs

I more concerned with the team winning. KP has a place in the one day and Twenty20 outfits but test cricket is meant to be attritional, a craft where mental strength is up there with the ability to hit shots. Is not meant to be easy entertainment.

One thing I'll say about Swann is whilst he's known for his great humour I remember reading a quote a while back from an ex-Notts team mate who said 'he is the funniest man in the dressing room....for the first ten minutes.' Which having heard him on TMS I can understand, he can make you laugh, but I suspect on a long tour or if you just aren't in the mood for it he could easily cross that line to being an irritating moron with his relentless jokes.

pblakeney

Crescent wrote:

PBlakeney wrote:

Did anyone ever buy a book about Steve "Interesting" Davis?

I reckon his book would be quite good actually. As a snooker player he was as exciting as watching wood warp but he always seemed a good bloke away from the snooker table. In his current role as a BBC pundit he comes across as quite a funny guy who's not afraid to poke fun at his own reputation.

And I had one of his endorsed snooker tables as a kid.

He comes across rather well now but at the time his attempts at irony didn't really work.
My point was that Pietersen will be getting more publicity to sell his book than Davis ever would.