Grumpy Old Man

"For me personally, it is a tragedy, particularly since I did not have a chance to prevent it."

- Jens Lehmann, Arsenal reserve goalkeeper.

You wouldn't think it, but it IS a fucking tragedy. Lehmann's character - his ego, drive, eccentricities and fucking inability to handle failure with grace and humour - is both the reason he became one of the best 'keepers in the world, and the reason he was relegated to the bench.

For instance, it takes a special talent to be German No.2 for eight fucking years behind Oliver Kahn and still genuinely believe you're the legitimate German 'keeper. It takes a strong mind, enormous amounts of self-belief and a great deal of delusion. Those are admirable qualities in an up-and-coming 'keeper, because it helps sustain you during those lean periods when you're doing well in training but the incumbent is still being picked. It's less attractive when you're 38, on the bench, have had a full and entertaining career and still throw hissy-fits over whether you're picked or not.

Most people mature over time. A typical young man is the definition of selfish ambition. It's understandable. Life is just beginning to open, and you want to do everything you can as soon as you can. There's no time to wait. You develop tunnel vision, and the things that aren't in your immediate field of vision fades away. It happens. Time moves very fast when you're young.

However, as you begin to age, you start to look around and realise that achievement is pretty fucking useless without other people. You discover that achievement is an empty, resounding gong unless it's meaningful. You start to invest in people with the same determination that you once invested in things. That's natural.

That's not to say you've got to give up once you're past it. A naturally competitive person will strive to achieve until their dying day. It's their nature. I don't expect Lehmann to give up hope of regaining his place, and just pocket his pay. But there's the right way of doing things, and the wrong way. If you had the choice between two pathways, with both leading to the same destination, would you chose the high road or the low? Lehman has unambiguously chosen the low road.

There's a brilliant example of the high road the Arsenal squad - Gilberto Silva. A very good defensive midfielder, and a fucking brilliant person. Like Lehmann, he's been snubbed by Wenger. Like Lehmann, he's lost his place to a journeyman player who I suspect doesn't have the quality needed to play for the Arsenal. But unlike Lehmann, Gilberto has taken it with good grace. He hasn't erupted every other fucking week. He's bided his time and contributed to the club. He's accepted that the torch has been passed, that his light has been dimmed, that this is the inevitable consequence of the passing of time. And, I suppose, he's taken stock of all his accomplishments and found some measure of solace knowing that he's given his best and played football at the highest level. He's mellowed.

Lehmann never learnt to mellow. He's still being driven by the same elemental forces that drove him as a kid. And that's the real tragedy.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

- Dylan Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night"