The Wanderer - issue 119 - http://www.wwisc.co.uk/
The Wanderer - issue 119 - Online - WYCOMBE WANDERERS INDEPENDENT SUPPORTERS CLUB - http://www.wwisc.co.uk/
The Wanderer - issue 119 - Online - WYCOMBE WANDERERS INDEPENDENT SUPPORTERS CLUB - http://www.wwisc.co.uk/
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
‘Sido-ness’
A Sido Jombati tribute
New words enter the English language all the time, but not many can profess to truly fill
a hole by defining a concept that is not covered by any previously existing word. The
basic test is whether you need more than one existing word to describe the new one.
For example, the word “woke” — all the rage in 2020 — fails this test because it means
the same as “enlightened”, which has been around for centuries. But a new expression
has recently entered the discourse in South Buckinghamshire that definitely passes
muster: The concept of “Sido-ness”.
Sido-ness requires far more than just one word to describe. In fact, rarely has one man
required as many descriptors as Sido Jombati. At times during his Wycombe Wanderers
tenure it was almost as though he was hoarding adjectives, possibly as some sort of
misguided attempt to woo Susie Dent from Countdown. He laid claim to many across
the spectrum, including (but not limited to) skillful, clumsy, calm, panicked, graceful,
calamitous, tough-tackling, marauding, reckless, insouciant, eccentric, inspirational,
genial and cantankerous. Calling him an enigma would be giving Alan Turing and his
team of codebreakers too much credit. When Sido Jombati plays football, none of the
primitive computers in Bletchley Park would have a hope of deciphering what he is going
to do next. We loved him though, because of his... well... Sido-ness.
In many ways, it was a surprise that a walking idiosyncrasy like Sido slipped through the
net and into the Wycombe dressing room. The incredible success of the Gaz and Dobbo
era has been founded upon a workmanlike style of football, with players that know their
place within the team and stifle the opposition by keeping mistakes to a minimum. Sido,
by contrast, very rarely managed 90 consecutive minutes of football without unfurling
some sort of horrific gaffe that presented a gilt-edged chance to an opposition forward.
Thank God that he did slip through the net however, because the 89 minutes that did
not contain a hopeless clanger were almost invariably eventful, entertaining, surprising
and brilliant (another four adjectives for his collection).
The glorious/terrifying sight of the beanpole defender receiving the ball at right back
and flicking it over the head or backheeling it through the legs of an onrushing winger
with his first touch, will be sorely missed. The opponent would realise all too late that
the gangly defender they were about to rob had seen them coming and had in fact
made them the mark in his hidden ball trick. Sido would then gallop on through the
midfield, his afro bouncing in the breeze, often remaining up front for a couple of
minutes after offloading the ball, until the drift of the game caused him to mooch back
into position, like a kid that doesn’t want to go home for his tea. There he would settle
again, ready to stick out another telescopic leg to break up an opposition attack.
48