Are We There Yet?

As a father of two young children, I've been through many road-trips plagued by one question repeated over and over again 'are we there yet?'. It is one of the most irritating experiences in life; one that will drive you to think evil thoughts about your prescious offspring.

This summer, however, I have to say that I've come to appreciate their position a bit better. Think about it: for a kid of three without any desire to stay in one position for more than 30 seconds being asked to stay confined in a car for thirty minutes is the pits of boredom. Or, to put in a football context, the equivalent of waiting for Xabi Alonso's future to be resolved.

Every day for the past couple of months we've been bombarded with stories claiming to know what's going to happen but in reality simply trying to figure out what's going to happen. Which is another way of saying inventing stuff.

Every comment involving Alonso is analysed in minute detail, his every action examined to discern whether he's going to stay or not. One day he's close to staying whilst the next he's ready to leave. With the truth being that no one really knows what's going to happen. His handing in a transfer request should have cleared up matters but, to keep up with the way that the story has developed, his agents then denied him doing so and further muddied up the situation.

In truth, there's only one certainty: that this has dragged on for far too long. I started the summer hoping that Alonso would stay; now I'm praying that the whole matter is resolved no matter the outcome. If he stays then brilliant, if not then at least we'll be able to move on and buy the players needed to replace him.

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