Art for art's sake
"People form opinions, it's like art: one person likes a piece, another doesn't."
So says Daniel de Ridder.
Commenting on being out in the cold at St Andrew's, the winger has been fairly philosophical.
And there's something about Dutch players, isn't there? They are always very articulate and won't shy away from airing an opinion.
Yet there have been a few misconceptions about the interview de Ridder gave to the Birmingham Mail.
It wasn't an 'outburst', or a hatchet job on Alex McLeish. Neither was he trying to rock the boat at such a crucial stage of the season.
Primarily it was in response to what he feels is a misconception among some fans: that he is idling his time away on the treatment table.
He's fit, available, reckons he can contribute, but he's simply not to the manager's liking.
McLeish today outlined his reasons for choosing others ahead of him, and de Ridder is sure to be seen elsewhere next season.
McLeish has handled the situation sensibly and calmly.
Whether you think he's right or wrong, that de Ridder's ball-playing ability should, and can be utilised, McLeish has not exacerbated the situation by letting it escalate into a full-blown row.
Not that it is anyway. De Ridder is an intelligent, likeable guy who feels within his rights to explain hisstandpoint. That Dutch thing again, maybe.
McLeish understands that he wants to play and he is frustrated. And he has no gripe with de Ridder about his professionalism and attitude in training and the reserves.
They're both adults, they agree to disagree, and there you have it. Move on, to a not so small matter of the next two games.
Ultimately, McLeish is the boss, he calls the shots and he's comfortable with the decision he has made.
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Colin Tattum
Mail man Colin Tattum’s view of what’s going on at Birmingham City FC.
I feel that De Ridder has come across very amicably. It's a great shame that we never got to see more of him in action. Personally I think on the right flank instead of Jerome against Villa would have been on possibility.
the article is perfect and seem to describe the situation in a balanced way.however,Mcleish is trying to make a point.but in my opinion he fails to convince anybody.De Ridder is an exciting player and can play with Forsell,Larson McFadden and even O'connor better than anybody else in this team.look around the other teams of the EPL:not always the same players play against all the other teams.in the modern football there is" matchings"unfortunately,Mcleish is not educated enough, to say the least,to understand it,but prefers the old schoolyard philosophy;same clique to play all the time regardless.I do not see much hope with him.
I think the issue over De Ridder is sidetracking the other problems we have.His skill levels should not be questioned.However,here we are at the end of another season scraping around in the nether regions of the premiership.The club hasn't learnt from their previous excursions into the premiership and it is obvious that a substantial investment needs to be put in place for us to win promotion next season back into the premiership.The problems with Cheung haven't helped so clearly only people with serious intentions should apply.The way we are in the premiership is almost like matching a Ferrari against a bicycle in a race--no prizes for guessing who the bicycle is.
The board over the years have done us proud and while a number of fans will raise an eyebrow at that comment,I still haven't forgotten the predicament we were in before they arrived.So,in summing up I would like to see the current board still at the helm but with big investment coming from elsewhere.Otherwise it will be a case of deja vu again.