Benjamin White's bold stand against football expectation

He is a player at the peak of his form, helping Arsenal to the top of the league and to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. But it might surprise you to know that he actually doesn’t enjoy watching football. Yes, he’s passionate and very good at what he does, but he sees it as a job and nothing else. He is, by his teammates’ admission, a complex character, and he doesn’t enjoy being away from his family. He always wants to be first choice, which is a good trait, but with England he obviously has greater competition. Added to that is an alleged row with England assistant coach Steve Holland over his attitude. All of that combined led to his decision. Now, he is not alone in being a player that doesn’t actually like watching football. Liverpool player Konstantinos Tsimikas is another example, and looking back in history there are more. Gareth Bale, Carlos Tevez, Gabriel Batistuta and Marc-Andre der Stegen to name just a few who saw football as a job and nothing else.

Harry Redknapp was scathing in his reaction this week on Talksport. “I think Gareth Southgate said the door’s still open, didn’t he? The door should be slammed right in his mush,” Redknapp told talkSPORT.(charming!) “He doesn’t want to play for his country, he goes to the World Cup then comes home because he’s not getting in the team. I’m sorry, you’ve had your opportunity. You don’t want to play for England? You tell the Bobby Moores of this world who’s got 100-odd caps. The Shiltons, the Beckhams, the Rooneys those people, go and tell the Billy Bonds of this world who didn’t get a cap and should have done, and all those great players that you don’t want to play for your country. I think it’s disgusting, I can’t have it.”

This is not military service, Harry, you have a choice. Maybe it’s the Spurs, Arsenal rivalry that wound Harry up, as he forgot to mention that he played with the great Jimmy Greaves at West Ham. He said, “He was a genius. He was on another level. His best days were behind him when he joined us at West Ham, but he was still a great player, and we couldn’t wait to be with him on his first day.” The part he failed to mention about Jimmy was that he retired from international football early after telling Sir Alf Ramsey that he had no intention of becoming a bit-part player in the England squad.

So, in the world of football, White is not on his own. In the World of sport, he is not on his own either. Former world tennis number one Andre Agassi once said I play tennis for a living even though I hate tennis, hate it with a dark and secret passion and always have.

Ronnie O’Sullivan, probably the greatest snooker player ever to grace the green baize, has had his demons on and off of the table. He once famously refused to play in the World Championships.
Even in the world of Showbiz, he is not on his own. The actor Johnny Depp from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies said “ I don’t have much further need for Hollywood, myself,” It’s a strange, funny time when everybody would love to be able to be themselves, but they can’t. They must fall in line with the person in front of them. If you want to live that life, I wish you the best.”

We live in a different world now and with the advent of social media, we can all voice our own opinions. We all have choices that some will agree with and others won’t, but it is up to us to make our own decisions and if that makes you happy, then in my opinion, that’s fine.