Stan Collymore...a disgrace to journalism.

It has taken nearly three full days to gain a measure of clarity and a sense of perspective following the events which unfolded at Stoke on Saturday evening.

Having digested, analysed and reviewed all of the available footage and media reaction I can now state that Stanley Victor Collymore, as well as being a ballbag of the highest order, is to journalism what John Terry is monogamy.

At approximately 6.45pm on February 27, arguably the most promising British player of his generation was maimed by an act of recklessness on the part of Ryan Shawcross.

Having seen, for the third time in four years, one of his charges suffer a potentially career-ending injury, Arsene Wenger was understandably unwilling to second the shining post match character reference Shawcross received from his boss, Tony ‘Total Football’ Pulis.

Wenger stopped some way short of demanding a life-ban for Shawcross, as he had when Martin Taylor all but chopped Eduardo in half at St Andrews almost exactly two years ago, labelling Shawcross’s challenge, rather conservatively as “unacceptable” before stating it wasn’t his place to “play the judge.”

Though his refusal to condemn William Gallas for the tackle which ended Mark Davies’ involvement in Bolton’s 4-2 defeat at Emirates Stadium in January leaves Wenger open to obvious accusations of hypocrisy, is he deserving of the poisonous agenda-ridden nonsense Collymore has pedalled in the wake of this unsavoury incident?

Unfortunately, with his TalkSport radio show boasting an audience of over a million people, Britain’s most famous dogger holds, in journalistic terms, a position of considerable power – which is why I was deeply shocked by the following exchange which took place last night. (I forget the name of the caller, so for arguments sake we’ll call him P. Enis.)

P. Enis: “If Arsene Wenger and Arsenal don’t like it, then he can clear off back to France.”

S. Collymore: “There we go then. P. Enis from the Midlands with his views on Arsene Wenger. Nothing wrong with a bit of xenophobia now and again, as they say.”

Excuse me Stanley. Who exactly are they and when do they say it? Adolf Hitler in 1930s Germany? Nick Griffin on Question Time? Robert Mugabe any time in the past 25 years per chance?

As if that shite, perhaps the most unprofessional and ill advised comment to have been broadcast over our national airwaves since Ron Atkinson questioned Marcel Desailly’s application and work rate, wasn’t enough, this morning we were treated to an article in the Daily Mirror which went someway to explaining why that rag is dieing a slow death.

Rather than questioning a disciplinary system so deeply flawed that Emmanuel Adebayor will be out for virtually the whole of March for sweet fa, while the soon to be England international will miss one less game than the Togolese having snapped Ramsey’s leg like a stick of rhubarb, Collymore opted to launch into an unfounded tirade against Wenger.

His arguments are so poorly constructed and without substance, I feel it necessary, almost as an act of self therapy, to rip them apart piece by piece.

Here we go.

“It is blatantly obvious the Frenchman wants to buck the trend and traditions of English football.”

Would this be the tradition that has seen, until Wenger’s arrival on these shores, English football based on the famous bulldog spirit which has yielded precisely zero international honours since colour TV was introduced? Attempting to put technique and skill ahead of stamina and aggression hardly seems like crime of the century. It seems to work quite well for Spain and Brazil.

“But if he doesn’t like English working conditions, whereby players are physical and try to win the ball, then maybe he should disappear to La Liga or Serie A.”

First up, in case you hadn’t noticed Stan, Aaron Ramsey won the ball with a strong, physical tackle. His reward – an oxygen mask and a hospital bed. Secondly, I would suggest that having spent over 13 years of his working life at Arsenal, Wenger is relatively familiar with English working conditions. Moreover, having won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups, he is acutely aware of what is required to succeed in the ultra competitive world of English football. Stan Collymore, with a grand total of zero Premier League titles and zero FA Cups, perhaps isn’t.

“Shawcross was distraught after injuring Ramsey.”

So fucking what? By showing some semblance of human emotion does that somehow excuse Shawcross for jeopardising a fellow professional’s career? Of course not.

“But if Wenger, or any Arsenal fans, think there is a connection between Abou Diaby, Eduardo and now Ramsey all getting seriously injured, they are deluded.”

The connection, dear Stanley, is that two Arsenal players have missed, and in Ramsey’s case will miss, a significant chunk of their careers as a result of brainless and unnecessary tackles. Until there is a serious deterrent in the form lengthy bans via retrospective punishment, Ramsey won’t be the last player to leave an English football ground in an ambulance.

“And I think Wenger was completely out of order with his post-match comments about Shawcross.”

Excuse me, am I missing something? Did Wenger brand Shawcross a rapist? An axe murderer? A dog botherer? A deranged psychopath in football boots? I don’t think so. In fact, mentions of the surname Shawcross in Wenger’s post-match press conference: zero. For the record, he actually said: "A three-match ban is just ridiculous. But I would prefer to give my support to Ramsey rather than to play the judge.” Scathing, I don’t think.

“Ramsey, 19, will be a big loss to Arsene Wenger’s side but they still recorded an admirable 3-1 win at Stoke to remain in the title race. It just shows how Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool have gone backwards since last season.”

I have to say I am not entirely sure what Stanley is getting at here. It’s probably fair to assume, however, that he is already laying the groundwork for a future written masterpiece entitled: Arsenal 2009/10 - the worst side ever to lift the Premier League trophy.

I pray he gets the chance to pen it.