Mark King

Journalist turned asset mngt content specialist. Studying for an MA in Creative Writing. Runner, CPFC fan, dad.

[Mark King @markking1974]

Got this folded paper gift from my 8-yr-old before school recently..

[Labour Press @labourpress]

Reports of hostile state activity are incredibly serious.

Nigel Farage and Reform have failed to confirm whether they've reported the suspicions they raised that Farage's phone was hacked by Russia to either the @NCSC or @metpoliceuk.

National security must always come first - today @annaturley has reported this for thorough independent investigation by the proper authorities.

[Mark King @markking1974]

@SwgJck 🤡

[Prostate Cancer UK @ProstateUK]

A keen runner, Des was diagnosed with early-stage #ProstateCancer in 2022.

Because it was caught early, he had options. Just one month after treatment, he was back out running.

This weekend, he’s taking on the @LondonMarathon.

👊 Good luck, Des. We’re all behind you!

[Mark King @markking1974]

@BBCMOTD Kudos to the photographer. Great photo!

[Mark King @markking1974]

@CPFC Think you should hire a graphic designer to create imagery, not use AI.

[Mark King @markking1974]

Novel finished. 💥

[Mark King @markking1974]

@CPFCHQ @ThePalaceWay Poor from this account, when I'm trying to cheer my son up after a defeat like this. Toxic, defeatist attitudes do nothing to help.

[Mark King @markking1974]

Help - screen glitch! This is a 2022 Surface with Windows 11. I've deleted all 3rd party software & deleted any weird drivers. If I uninstall Intel Iris XE & go to a basic Microsoft driver, it stops glitching. But I can't stop the PC from re-installing Iris. Help! #techhelp

[Mark King @markking1974]

Beautifully written summary of yesterday's FIFA shambles...

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

The Adoration of the Maga. A few thoughts. It all felt a step too far by Gianni Infantino. The award of the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize felt more to do with its president’s desire to please powerful politicians as much as Donald Trump’s love of such glitzy, expensive offerings of loyalty last seen in medieval courts.

It felt more about politics than sport, a risky game for Fifa to play whenever it wants to bring a national association into line for perceived interference by government in the future. The Trump trophy weakens Fifa statutes. It also distracted from the real trophy, the World Cup, and the group-stage draw, traditionally a celebration about bringing countries together. Infantino took his eye off the balls.

A football draw designed to work out who plays who and (eventually) where and when is not the time or place for such politics. Infantino wasn’t speaking for the world in bestowing the Peace Prize, as he claimed. So presumptuous. So out of touch. Many probably agree that Trump has been a force for good in geopolitics, some might disagree. Most would probably feel such decisions should be left to experienced experts like the Nobel Committee and, please, can we get on with a football draw.

It’s spectacularly naïve or simply arrogant for Fifa to enter such non-football areas. It feels more and more that this was as much an Infantino initiative as Fifa’s. Infantino was supposed to drain the swamp when he arrived at Fifa in 2016 in the wake of assorted corruption scandals bedevilling the governing body of world football. How fitting that the nadir of Infantino’s propensity for self-aggrandisement as leader of what’s supposed to be a team game came in Washington. It was there that Trump promised to transform politics with his “drain the swamp” rhetoric, also in 2016.

The selfie moment was particularly cringe-worthy. Infantino forgets that football is the star of the show, not a 55-year lawyer. A senior football executive, who’s been at the heart of the English and European game for more than 20 years, messaged me during the drawn-out draw with his verdict on Infantino. “I feel revulsion, anger, shame, disgust – how has our sport been taken over by a Swiss ***** and turned into a total travesty???” He also pointed out that ensuring the leaders of USA, Mexico and Canada each somehow pulled out their own country’s name was not a good look for a draw based on chance.

Great for the cameras, though. Flash, bang, wallop, what a picture of Infantino's priorities. And who gets the next FIFA Peace Prize? And wouldn't Infantino have gained more respect had he used the money for the Trump trophy to subsidise excessive ticket costs? He's lost sight of what should be the real priorities for the leader of football. The game.

It's sad, really. Many sensible people work at Fifa, passionate about the game not their own ego, but it's alarming what happens to the leadership when they take power there. Even the great football manager Arsene Wenger has changed since becoming Chief of Global Football Development at Fifa. He now campaigns for more games, backing the expanded World Cup, which he would have railed against as a widely-admired, free-thinking club manager, fiercely protective of his players' well-being. "I believe that 48 teams is the right number." Arsene, just listen to yourself.

Many fans probably won’t lose much sleep that Wenger dances to Fifa's tune or that Infantino cosies up to Trump, Aramco and co. Some probably think Fifa’s a video game. Most just can’t wait for the football. The game’s about Mbappe and Messi, Haaland and Salah, Kane and Dembele, not Infantino and Trump.

The game’s about the Tartan Army, the brilliant Mexican following, the ever-hopeful English, the mobile carnival of Brazilians and the millions of other fans flocking to venue cities next summer, only a third with tickets. The USA is prepared for the party. I covered USA 94 and you couldn’t really tell there was a tournament on, certainly where I was in Detroit, Chicago and DC. You will this time, also in Canada. Mexico's total immersion was never in doubt given their passion for the game.

Infantino should remember this. He runs a great football organisation, not a political organisation. He needs to re-focus. Fifa is undeniably a force for good in many countries. The Fifa Foundation runs a new community programme that supports 154,924 people in 54 nations. Its new Digital Education Programme works on computer literacy amongst disadvantaged groups, helping them into the workplace. It’s easy to say it’s all about Infantino (Foundation board president), soft power and ensuring he keeps countries onside, voting for him, but the Foundation undeniably changes lives.

Infantino needs to look at his Adoration of the Maga and remember what he should be doing for football: serving it, not himself. #FIFAWorldCup.

[Mark King @markking1974]

Can anyone tell me what might be eating my avocado plant leaves? The only thing I've seen are fruit flies, but would they do this?
#plants #botany

[Mark King @markking1974]

@SouthernRailUK FYI, it has been announced that it IS stopping at Selhurst. Panic over! 🤣

[Mark King @markking1974]

@SouthernRailUK Hi. The Trainline has this train I'm on listed as stopping at Selhurst, but the platform at Hassocks indicated it goes straight from East Croydon to Clapham Junction. Is it stopping at Selhurst?

[Mark King @markking1974]

@SouthernRailUK No worries, thanks Van. Will listen out!

[Mark King @markking1974]

The piano, then the strings. Sheesh. ♥️

https://t.co/TGJCGcCXb6

[Mark King @markking1974]

@Stephen2901584 @Mikey_CPFC Seriously? It's the first few games of the season. They've just had a long summer break. No-one is being asked to play more than one position at once. How knackered can they be?

[Mark King @markking1974]

@BobbyManzi Writing it on a Friday night, too. Good luck!

[Mark King @markking1974]

@KieranMaguire @MWBP7 @talkSPORT Thank you. An intelligent voice of reason would be most welcome!

[Mark King @markking1974]

@MWBP7 @KieranMaguire @talkSPORT Agree with this. It's the most pertinent topic at the time you appeared so why wouldn't you deflect an irrelevant question and talk about it. Very disappointing, having trailed it in this way. Try harder.

[Mark King @markking1974]

@TLRailUK Can we use Gatwick Express to avic with a Thameslink ticket? Their trains are running while yours aren't...