I've been musing this week about why it is that there has been so little sympathy shown towards the Hearts players who haven't been getting paid.
I think it's because, to the average fan, footballers appear to be such an aloof bunch, detached from the real world. Some of that is down to the fact that the greatest, most famous players are seen only on a television screen by the majority, making their drama no more real than Eastenders - of course, it could be argued that most soap opera characters seem far less fictional than Mario Balotelli.
Some of that aloofness, however, also comes from the fact that some footballers earn vast wealth which allows them to live a lifestyle which is far beyond what you and me will ever experience. The fact that, even when earning in a week what many people make in a decade is not enough to make some of those prima donnas happy (I'm looking at you, Carlos Tevez) means there is not a lot of sympathy to be had for those players who are going through difficult times. This may be why there has been a lack of obvious public support for the Hearts players squad. Several of these guys will have weekly paycheques that reach four figures, but the story in The Sun that midfielder Ian Black is working part-time as a painter-decorator to pay the bills certainly raised my eyebrows.
So whilst we lose no sleep at all over the plights of the Tevez's of this world (although, bearing in mind the recent passing of Gary Speed, we should perhaps be more mindful of the rumours that Tevez is suffering from depression), those further down football's food chain are, in reality, not a huge amount different from you and I.
A recent and startling example of this is Caley Thistle defender Chris Hogg.
Englishman Hogg is a solid enough centre-back; he was good enough to be captain of Hibernian for a few years, but I would assume his move to Inverness last January, after he fell out of favour at Easter Road, saw a drop in income; certainly it would be fair to argue he was moving to a smaller club. After his initial six month deal expired, he went on trial with Middlesbrough and Crewe initially rather than sign a new deal in the Highlands; some fans took offence to that but you can hardly blame a player for being ambitious. Anyway, no other offer was forthcoming and he re-signed for us in August. This season he has been, by a distance, our best defender...though frankly I would look good in a back line tht included the accident-prone likes of David Proctor and Roman Golobart. At the age of 26, a good campaign would put him in decent stead to start moving back up in the world again.
Then, on Saturday, his teammate David Davis tripped a Dundee United player, who promptly collided with Hogg. When the physio calls for a stretcher before he's even tried to move the player, you know it's a bad injury.
Hogg's anterior cruciate ligament, plus both medial and collateral ligaments, are wrecked. Terry Butcher called it "one of the worst knee injuries we've seen". The inference is clear; Hogg is certainly out for the season, perhaps longer, perhaps forever. His knee joint is a wreck.
The player's response is quite remarkable; this week Hogg has started his own blog, named 'The Fightback'. He is quick to admit that he sees it as self-therapy, but already he has documented meticulously the events following his injury. As a medical professional who has worked at the hospital at Inverness (and who knows some of the people involved in his treatment and rehab), I can easily relate to his experiences there; what is more startling is his willingness to reveal his own emotions and fears, his concerns for his family and his future.
It might not read like Dickens, but it's a damn sight more interesting than most of the stuff I write on my blog. At the moment, Chris Hogg is opening his life up for the rest of the world to take a peek. And it is a good reminder that, even if the Rooneys, Balotellis and Tevez's of this world are very different people from you and me, most footballers are just like us, with the same stresses and supports that we have. So, if you've got a moment, have a look at http://chrishoggthefightback.blogspot.com/ and check out his story.
Get well soon, Hoggy.
L.
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