Fabio Capello Has Turned Our Wags to Witches’ Observer Opinion Piece

‘Fabio Capello has turned our Wags to witches’ Observer opinion piece To Get you thinking Look closely at the headline for this article. Fabio Capello has turned our Wags into Witches. •Which famous phrase has been altered to create the pun in the headline? •What does the word ‘Wag’ stand for, in footballer terms? •Can you name some of the more famous ‘Wags’? •What does the pun in the headline imply about Fabio Capello and his actions? Build your skills STUDY THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS Read the first four paragraphs carefully PEN / HIGHLIGHTER AT THE READY As you read the first four paragraphs, be ready to ANNOTATE Build your skills • What is the main point of the writer’s argument?: read each of the first four paragraphs and against each one write just a short phrase which sums up the main points the writer is making. (1) How bizarre, not to mention chauvinist, of England manager Fabio Capello to ban Wags from Seeing much of their spouses during the Forthcoming World Cup. Capello, whose default Facial expression seems to say ‘I am sitting on a Large rusty nail’ has curtailed the Wags’ visiting rights to one day after matches, announcing: ‘We are in South Africa to play. It is not a holiday.’ (2) Fair enough, Fabio, but perhaps more Appropriate to tell the players. Indeed, isn’t Capello’s ban just a bizarre way for the team, even the country, to slyly blame a bunch of women for England’s 2006 World Cup defeat? As in, last time, our players were so distracted by the ladies’ champagne swilling and hair straightening that they could not play to the best of their ability? Even squad prankster, king of the whoopee cushion, Rio Ferdinand chimed in, saying the Wags had turned the tournament into a ‘circus’. (3) Which is strange. Some of us remember England getting knocked out of the 2006 quarter-finals after a series of pathetic, lumbering performances that would have made a seaside donkey blush. There was also the little matter of Wayne Rooney tap-dancing on a Portuguese player’s groin, reducing England to 10 men. (4) Moreover, while one recalls the Wags spending in the boutiques of Baden-Baden, and drinking in bars, one doesn’t remember them actually playing on the pitch, letting in any goals or missing any penalties. Odd then, how an all-male sporting defeat should now be recalled in terms of all female blame. Then again, maybe not so odd. Build your skills What sentence type does the writer use to make a firm start? • Scan and underline each opening sentence • Is there a pattern? • What is the type of sentence used? • Why – what is the impact on the reader? Build your skills By using the phrase, ‘Fair enough, Fabio’ in paragraph 2, what tone does the writer seem to adopt? Build your skills What is the effect of the adverb ‘slyly’ in paragraph 2? Build your skills • By describing the Wags as ‘champagne swilling’ and ‘hair straightening’, what does the writer imply about them? • When she describes Rio Ferdinand as ‘king of the whoopee cushion’, what does it tell you about her attitude towards him? Build your skills • How does the sentence ‘Which is strange.’ (paragraph 3) suggest a change of tone. • Does it imply that the writer is going to agree with Capello’s decision or not? Now look closely at the techniques the writer uses to argue her point of view, and complete this table. TECHNIQUE EXAMPLE FROM TEXT How is it used to add weight to the argument? Comparison Rhetorical Question Humour Colloquialism Build your skills As the writer draws her argument to a close she states a fact: ‘The last time England won the World Cup was famously 1966.’ • Why do you think the writer chooses to use this fact? • How does it add weight to the argument? Applying and consolidating your learning ‘The last time we looked, the England players were supposed to be professionals, the best we have. Therefore, presumably what occurs during professional sporting tournaments is down to them and them alone.’ With what suggestion is the writer concluding her article? Applying and consolidating your learning • Make a list of ALL the writing techniques the writer has used in her progress towards this concluding suggestion..

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