focus and perspective

There are many explanations for the crisis at White Hart Lane at the moment. There's no questioning the quality of individual players but they:
'lack grit'
'think they're better than they are'
'fancy themselves'
'can't focus'
'lose concentration'
'lack the will to play for the shirt'

...and so on. I was pleased when we signed Palacios from Wigan. He was strong in midfield and really up for the game. 'That's the sort of player we need!' I said. Then I read stuff like this article below. It's an awful situation and I wouldn't want to belittle it but surely with this simmering in the background we could lose the player or at least his focus at any time.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The mother of Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios has pleaded with kidnappers to free her younger son more than a year after he was abducted.
Orfilia Suazo sobbed during an interview with local Channel 5 television as she implored the kidnappers to "release my little Edwin Rene." There has been no trace of Edwin Rene Palacios since armed assailants abducted him from his home in October 2007. He was 16 at the time.
Police say the family paid a ransom of US$500,000, but he was not released. In Thursday's interview, Suazo implored anyone who knew of her son's fate to come forward.
Tottenham reached a deal with English Premier League rival Wigan on Wednesday to sign 24-year-old Wilson Palacios.

One thing it does do is put the whole thing into perspective. We get to Wembley on Wednesday but in a manner so unflattering you'd think the Earth was about to implode. Never before has success been so limply embraced. We go to Old Trafford today and face an absolute thumping. The thing is though, when there's no match on, when I'm not in the stands and when I'm not repelling the odious sneer of an armchair Woolwich Wanderer I can see how it really makes no difference whatsoever. Rationally, there's no reason why I should care. Things like the fate of Palacios' brother and the dreadful situations in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe should keep a logical person's brain in perspective. But it doesn't. I've been saying all week that I agree with Harry. If we get stuffed today it's for the best. But when that happens I am going to be pissed off. I will probably shout at someone who doesn't deserve it. I will go all tribal and starey eyed. You can take man from his cave but you can't take the troglodyte out of the man.