Heart of Darkness
Hey. It's me. Hope you're all well. If you're not, take a page from the book of Danny Rose and talk about it. Openly. Regardless of your opinion on that ill-fated interview he gave and whether you agreed with his sentiment or disapproved of his public airing...there's little to disparage with his latest words. Rose has openly discussed depression and family tragedies along with his injury plight at Spurs. Add to the mix, logical statements about FIFA and their pathetic reluctance to punish racism in football.
Stripping away the football, Rose has always struck me as a private person. Someone that has focused on his own career and personal ambitions. The tabloid interview was hardly on the quiet and contraindicated his personality up to that point, especially considering the relationship he had with Mauricio Pochettino (the gaffer practically reinvented Rose and transformed him into a brilliant swashbuckler of a fullback).
I'm certain Rose has never forgotten or forgiven some of our own fans that belittled him, slagged him off and laughed at the club at the time he signed a five year contract. Social media being what it is, Rose deleted his Twitter account. I don't blame. When you've got thousands of wannabe stand up comedians resorting to bile and abusive comments, why would anyone want to stick around for that? Add to it the present day questioning of loyalty, as though this is a one way relationship where we - the fans - take and all the players must do is give.
We love to self-deprecate. It seems some can never quite find the right level of humility to know when not to unload their distorted variant of banter. Everyone moved on from that episode but they turned on him again after his infamous Google rant and misjudged and mistimed red top exclusive. I won't lie, I've always been conflicted with this. I don't agree with this method as it only served to alienate him with the club and fans (but probably not with his team-mates).
His agent/advisers cocked up massively. But then perhaps that was the point, to force a move, something that didn't quite work to fruition. Was there truth in amongst it? Sure, no doubting that. Our wage structure and transfer policy is often public enemy number one, personified by a bald man with the keys to the kingdom in his back-pocket.
However, there was also a distinct lack of loyalty to the club and more importantly to Poch from Rose because of his call to arms. In this new interview, whilst enjoying his escape with the England squad, he makes it fairly clear that there remains some bitterness towards Spurs and the way his knee injury was treated with injections and painkillers. He even finds time to joke about being fined again if he elaborated on it further. I don't think any of us are in a position to understand what happened but at face value, it seems we played a part in making him feel isolated.
Rose has always appeared to be detached from Tottenham to some degree, a far cry from that debut goal against Arsenal. Some players, you get the sniff that they're not really pushing themselves for true, genuine affiliation with the club. Of course, I could be completely wrong based on the fact I don't work or train at Hotspur Way. Just because someone is perhaps introspective and not outgoing to what we perceive as an acceptable standard doesn't mean we should be questioning their commitment. However, he's doing little to make us believe the relationship between him and club is strong.
Regardless of the politics, I applaud Danny for being so open about his problems. It's quite rare to see this discussed and I'm sure many footballers that have suffered have not spoken about it. Which I understand. Some might be dealing with this privately which I respect. There might also be some that are enduring it without close friends or family being aware. Not talking, keeping it to yourself is what most of us have done because of that internal fear of admittance, that sense it will consume you somehow and that nobody can stop it. That you will burden others whilst you lose an anchor in a sea of self-doubt. The release, the relief of sharing and seeking help is a powerful shift towards working through it.
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As mentioned already, there is still some degree of discomfort between him and the club. Not just over the injury disagreements. His difficulty in watching his team mates play and win speaks volumes for his desire to be involved. Anyone on the sidelines must suffer from the same infliction, unless they have zero ambition and hunger. With the family issues and the reality of just how easy it is to move club to double your wages, I still get the impression his end game is away from N17.
Peak Rose was sensational. Him and Walker on the flanks was us at our very best. Ideally, I'd like him to stay. I won't be surprised if he doesn't. Until that future plays out, I don't care. Good luck to him. As long as he wears our colours, I'll be supporting his efforts.
The interview extracts are here if you've managed to miss them - https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jun/06/danny-rose-tells-family-not-travel-world-cup-player-racism-fears-abuse-england-football-team