Barry Hearn’s error, The art of being a Man Utd fan and The Solskjaer effect

The supersub's, supersubs get him off to a super start - © Tor Atle Kleven

Following Michael Van Gerwen’s World championship victory, the line-up for the second most prestigious PDC event was announced. The Premier League features the best of the best on Thursday nights from February to May, and as a spectacle hits the spot for all of the sport’s fans.

Four of the ten places are given to the highest ranked players, but the other six are handed out by the PDC as wild cards. PDC Chairman Barry Hearn announced the six players selected, and other than one notable omission, the decisions were reasonable and understandable.

Van Gerwen, Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Simon Whitlock qualified by right, and Raymond Van Barneveld, Gary Anderson, Robert Thornton, Wes Newton and debutants Peter Wright and Dave Chisnall will join them.

The surprising omission was James Wade. A frustrating player for his fans, and possibly one of the less spectacular of the stars of the game, but he’s a winner.

With 7-major ranking titles, Wade is arguably the second most successful player of his generation, behind only the timeless Taylor, he’s won the Premier League, and his current sixth place world ranking alone could have been enough t guarantee him his place.

Hearn’s justification of the omission of Wade was on the grounds of health, and Wade suffers from Bipolar disorder, so on the face of it this appeared to be a decision taken with care and consideration. However, within days of the announcement, Wade aired his displeasure at the decision.

His illness has been diagnosed, and he has been managing the condition for a number of years, so the question is what is new that might mean the left-hander “…would benefit from a break from the pressures and travel of competing in the tournament to continue his treatment for his well-documented health issues,” as Hearn has suggested.

My initial judgement was based on the belief that Wade had been consulted in the decision, but this was not the case. He was neither offered a place in this year’s tournament, nor was a medical professional consulted.

Exactly whether the decision by Hearn and his panel of selectors can be described as discrimination is hard to say, but when the individual concerned believes himself to be up to participating, mental illness should not be used as an excuse for their omission, without a very good reason.

Switching topics swiftly and seamlessly, being a Manchester United fan is a thankless task. Unlike, for example, a West Ham fan, expectations remain at fever pitch and every set of dropped points becomes a stain on my weekend.

Success for a football team, and therefore their fans, is relative. My attempts to even explain this continued search for excellence and progress to a West Ham fan fell on deaf ears (The Olympic Stadium move is WRONG) as such things might damage or change the atmosphere of the club.

However, as a United fan, everything is about the club winning and continuing to win, and as a fan this generally means celebrations are muted.

I have spent the last decade being called a glory hunter, whilst Chelsea and Arsenal fans that I know enjoyed poor results or trophy-less seasons vocally. When another trophy entered the trophy cabinet, if I got too excited the response would be something along the lines of, ‘so what’.

Now Man Utd are struggling in a period of transition, once again people are audibly enjoying the struggles of a team that has dominated the game for so long, and here I am, sat watching a team that is supposed to win consistently, wishing I was a bit more used to dealing with the disappointment.

Right in the middle of Sir Alex Ferguson’s glory days, a Norwegian man poked out his right-foot and won the European Cup in the 93^rd minute. A hero to all United fans, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is back in English football, and he’s arrived in typical style.

He must write his own scripts, because despite taking a job working for a man who would appear to know nothing about football, Solskjaer, known as the super-sub in his playing days, has arrived and won his first game with both scorers sent on in the second half.

It wasn’t exactly Barcelona 1999 all over again, but this 2-1 win will have felt every bit as good for Cardiff’s new Manager at 5 o’clock this afternoon.