So as 2012 draws to a close, I am going to reflect one final time on an issue of the year. I felt after the 12 months we have just experienced, it ought to be Olympic or Paralympic based, after all, they have certainly been the talking point and inspiration of this year, so I am going to reflect on the TV broadcast of Superstars that occurred on Saturday evening. The show was a huge hit in the 1970’s and 1980’s, with names such as Kevin Keegan and Brian Jacks being involved in incidents that have forever been etched in sports fans minds. A brief revival occurred between 2002 and 2004 but since then the show has been cast into the archives. This year though, filmed at the University of Bath over a wet weekend at the end of November, 16 British Olympic medallists fought for the female and male titles.
The format of the 2012 competition differed from those in the past. Seven events were on show, the 100m, archery, kayaking, 800m, swimming, javelin and gym tests. Previously the competition would have 8 to 10 events. Each athlete was pulled out from two (normally one of their own choice, and one by producers – an event most similar to their own profession), although they all had to compete in the 100m and gym tests. The competition was divided into the eight men and eight females who then underwent the gruelling demands of an all-round sporting champion.
I was fortunate enough to be in Bath on the Saturday the competition began. Being an alumni of the university, I knew my way around the Sports Training Village where most of the events took place, and my friend and I soon discovered that the organisation, control and security of the audience was not particularly good, and as such we wandered around to many areas that you would have thought to be deemed out of bounds. In such time we managed to meet Nicola Adams and Christine Ohuruogu. Both were extremely pleasant (especially when you consider we had got ourselves into an area they probably did not expect to be disturbed) and gave off a vibe that they were really enjoying participating in the show. Adams, in particular, with her huge smile and humour, was becoming a bit of a favourite with us. We embraced our time back at the university. Later on we were making banterous comments outside towards Denise Lewis and Gabby Logan as well, the latter of whom, gets a lot of attention before every link she was recorded on. Do they not know how attractive she already is?! Particularly when the spectators were looking like drowned rats outside!
The time we were around for coincided with the 800m, although we got a sneaky peek of some of the archery thanks to the crane camera that filmed most of the athlete’s attempts. However, we eventually succumbed ourselves to the rain outside but positioned ourselves right on the start/finish line, a perfect viewing station, and one where we could pick ourselves out from in the televised broadcast. The ladies emerged first, and Adams was certainly not up for it, based on how much she had wrapped herself up. Ohuruogu was removed from this event (as was Mo Farah for the men), but I was backing Jade Jones, simply because, as I told Iwan Thomas later on, she’s beautiful. Jade came second, with Helen Glover, the eventual winner of the women’s title, running a great race to take the win. It’s perhaps no surprise that Glover was champion. A rowing gold medallist and a former member of the military, the woman was clearly going to possess speed, power and endurance.
The men’s event was one to eagerly anticipate as both the Brownlee brothers were competing head-to-head. I think everyone knew already that it would be a two horse race, and my what a show they put on, with Alistair overtaking Jonathan in the final 100m to beat him by inches. It was an incredible speed that the two men put on throughout, and it would have been interesting to see how Farah would have done against the pair. Unsurprisingly, the BBC knew who to interview beforehand and as Iwan spoke to the pair, you hopefully heard a chant of “Brownlee’s, give us a wave!” in the background. I am proud to say I was a major instigator in that, and for it to be picked up by Iwan in the interview was very cool.
The event and having seen the programme back, whole show, was stolen by Peter Wilson. As a shooter, all he does is stand still in his sport and fire a gun, so all of these events were basically beyond his talents. However, he embraced every one, went out and had fun, and made many others laugh along the way. He was our cult hero for the 800m, and despite knowing he’d finish last we cheered him on all the way, again instigating a “Wilson, give us a wave” as he came down the final stretch which was acknowledged. Afterwards, we were praised by a BBC producer, and Wilson himself came over and gave us all a big bear hug, a moment, I’m gutted missed the final edit. One guy amongst us even got to keep Wilson’s woolly ‘Superstars’ branded hat!
Antony Joshua, the super-heavyweight gold medal boxer was the men’s champion. An unsurprising result when you consider the fitness boxers need to possess, whilst Joshua is a tall, powerful specimen, who even in the 800m, managed to carry his hefty frame around comfortably to take third. The competition is all about consistency, and the big man certainly delivered there. I was particularly surprised that the Brownlee brothers did not feature more prominently towards the top, considering their all-round prowess in their own sport.
All in all though, my day watching the broadcast was great. Yes, we got wet, but the crowds certainly turned out on both days. The television audience too also seems to have reacted very positively. The show dominated the ratings at the time, achieving over 6 million viewers, and hopefully, the success of it all, will lead to the BBC commissioning a regular annual series once more. The athletes clearly enjoyed themselves; their twitter feeds afterwards as well as interviews during the show are proof of this. It is a fun, entertaining television and a different perspective for sport enthusiasts to look at their idols from. Superstars 2012, topping off the best sporting year ever...?!
Monday 31 December 2012
Sunday 23 December 2012
A fitting finale to an incredible sporting year
This time last week, I was sat amongst a 16,000 strong audience for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012. What an evening it was. The atmosphere inside the ExCel Arena was fantastic, with many memorable moments. From the opening montage with Emilie Sandé, to the crowning of the charismatic Bradley Wiggins, with the likes of a beautiful Jade Jones and Jessica Ennis along with Bert le Clos’ pride and humour being sandwiched in the middle, the night just served up incredible moment after incredible moment as the unbelievable British sporting year was brought to a close. It is hard to imagine a year like this ever being replicated in our lifetime, and as such, the event was one not to be missed.
The build-up to the event was probably the greatest it has ever been at. The shortlist was expanded from its traditional ten to twelve, with major names from the year, such as Laura Trott still being able to be omitted. Although Wiggins was the favourite early on, the likes of Ennis, Mo Farah, Andy Murray and David Weir were all being touted as winners; such was the level of achievement accomplished in 2012. However, I feel it is always worth noting that the title is named as ‘Sports Personality’, and yes, that normally means the most successful as it is the one that inspires the nation. However, in a year when so many Britain’s managed to achieve such a feat, the actual personality of the shortlist I think was a vital determinant to the vote, and my, does Bradley Wiggins have a personality. During his opening interview with Sue Barker, he referred to her as ‘Susan’, joked about Gary Lineker, and pretended to collect the trophy. The man makes people laugh and is keen to be seen as just an ordinary man privileged enough to lead a successful sporting career. He was an athlete who really deserved to win. On the other hand though, if any able-bodied athlete had achieved the feats of David Weir (gold in the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon) they would have been a shoe-in for the title. It is an incredible physical feat particularly with the restricted recovery time. So although this year has once again made the public become more accepting and interested in the Paralympic movement, I would argue there is still work to be done before the athletes are seen on par with their able-bodied compatriots.
Similarly, the likes of Andy Murray, gold medallist, silver medallist, US Grand Slam winner, Wimbledon runner-up would waltz the award normally, such has been the long wait for British male tennis success. Let us not forget Greg Rusedski won the award in 1997 for being the US Grand Slam runner-up! They normally state that winning the award is much tougher in an ‘even’ year and I think that statistic sums it up perfectly. Murray was also a part of one of the most comical moments of the evening too. Lennox Lewis was brought in to present his award, but clearly did not hear his cue through the satellite link from London, which resulted in Murray just taking the award for himself. Poor Lennox must have been hugely embarrassed, but I think everyone could understand. Again though, I anticipate this will be something the BBC tries to address somehow in future years if they have contenders who cannot make the occasion personally. It also said a lot, in my opinion, that the BBC’s Sport Relief charity evening was given a mere couple of seconds mention, such was the amount of sporting stories that had to be crammed into the two and a half hour show, which eventually ran on to three hours. Similarly, the Ryder Cup team missing out on ‘Team of the Year’ as the selection panel broke their own rules in order to reward Team GB and Paralympic GB for those unforgettable couple of summer months. Complaints have also emerged as people struggled to get through to vote for their favourite. The landslide victory suggests it would have made no difference, but it makes me query whether the BBC should maybe open the lines from the start of the show rather than wait until they have interviewed each member on the shortlist. But these are in essence just minor quibbles that have emerged following the night, where I refuse to believe anybody did not enjoy themselves, whether they were a member of the live audience or watching from the comfort of their homes.
One of my unforgettable moments, will be the story, interview, and speech provided by Martine Wright, the winner of the Helen Rollason award. It touched the heart-strings and was inspirational, demonstrating that whilst your heart beats and your brain operates, you should still be able to achieve your dreams. It was remarkable. In the face of such adversity, having been a part of the most disturbing moment in recent British history, she made something special happen. She was always going to be a part of the London 2012 journey, and in the end, managed to participate and what I hope is a huge inspiration to many others. Despite having lost her legs, she was determined to still walk up on to that stage to accept her award. Amazing. As was the moment with Fabrice Muamba, taking the time to embrace all those on stage with him and then to address them to their faces, rather than the camera. If ever there was a man more grateful for his health this year, and of the luck he had with his tragic incident, it would be Fabrice. A time when your health is more important than sport and the career you could have in it.
I will never forget the evening however, my seat did not provide a fantastic view (I got a regular look at Sue Barker and Gary Lineker’s rear-end!) but everyone was just buzzing off the excitement at reliving the year of sport. I was able to watch all the stars walk into the arena right by me, the likes of the England Woman’s Cricket team, Louis Smith, Bert le Clos and Mick McCarthy just to name a few. I participated in a Poznan and was part of many standing ovations, of which each one I thought was justified. I saw many members of sporting fame and saluted the top three, and in particular, ‘Wiggo’, the deserved winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012.
The build-up to the event was probably the greatest it has ever been at. The shortlist was expanded from its traditional ten to twelve, with major names from the year, such as Laura Trott still being able to be omitted. Although Wiggins was the favourite early on, the likes of Ennis, Mo Farah, Andy Murray and David Weir were all being touted as winners; such was the level of achievement accomplished in 2012. However, I feel it is always worth noting that the title is named as ‘Sports Personality’, and yes, that normally means the most successful as it is the one that inspires the nation. However, in a year when so many Britain’s managed to achieve such a feat, the actual personality of the shortlist I think was a vital determinant to the vote, and my, does Bradley Wiggins have a personality. During his opening interview with Sue Barker, he referred to her as ‘Susan’, joked about Gary Lineker, and pretended to collect the trophy. The man makes people laugh and is keen to be seen as just an ordinary man privileged enough to lead a successful sporting career. He was an athlete who really deserved to win. On the other hand though, if any able-bodied athlete had achieved the feats of David Weir (gold in the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon) they would have been a shoe-in for the title. It is an incredible physical feat particularly with the restricted recovery time. So although this year has once again made the public become more accepting and interested in the Paralympic movement, I would argue there is still work to be done before the athletes are seen on par with their able-bodied compatriots.
Similarly, the likes of Andy Murray, gold medallist, silver medallist, US Grand Slam winner, Wimbledon runner-up would waltz the award normally, such has been the long wait for British male tennis success. Let us not forget Greg Rusedski won the award in 1997 for being the US Grand Slam runner-up! They normally state that winning the award is much tougher in an ‘even’ year and I think that statistic sums it up perfectly. Murray was also a part of one of the most comical moments of the evening too. Lennox Lewis was brought in to present his award, but clearly did not hear his cue through the satellite link from London, which resulted in Murray just taking the award for himself. Poor Lennox must have been hugely embarrassed, but I think everyone could understand. Again though, I anticipate this will be something the BBC tries to address somehow in future years if they have contenders who cannot make the occasion personally. It also said a lot, in my opinion, that the BBC’s Sport Relief charity evening was given a mere couple of seconds mention, such was the amount of sporting stories that had to be crammed into the two and a half hour show, which eventually ran on to three hours. Similarly, the Ryder Cup team missing out on ‘Team of the Year’ as the selection panel broke their own rules in order to reward Team GB and Paralympic GB for those unforgettable couple of summer months. Complaints have also emerged as people struggled to get through to vote for their favourite. The landslide victory suggests it would have made no difference, but it makes me query whether the BBC should maybe open the lines from the start of the show rather than wait until they have interviewed each member on the shortlist. But these are in essence just minor quibbles that have emerged following the night, where I refuse to believe anybody did not enjoy themselves, whether they were a member of the live audience or watching from the comfort of their homes.
One of my unforgettable moments, will be the story, interview, and speech provided by Martine Wright, the winner of the Helen Rollason award. It touched the heart-strings and was inspirational, demonstrating that whilst your heart beats and your brain operates, you should still be able to achieve your dreams. It was remarkable. In the face of such adversity, having been a part of the most disturbing moment in recent British history, she made something special happen. She was always going to be a part of the London 2012 journey, and in the end, managed to participate and what I hope is a huge inspiration to many others. Despite having lost her legs, she was determined to still walk up on to that stage to accept her award. Amazing. As was the moment with Fabrice Muamba, taking the time to embrace all those on stage with him and then to address them to their faces, rather than the camera. If ever there was a man more grateful for his health this year, and of the luck he had with his tragic incident, it would be Fabrice. A time when your health is more important than sport and the career you could have in it.
I will never forget the evening however, my seat did not provide a fantastic view (I got a regular look at Sue Barker and Gary Lineker’s rear-end!) but everyone was just buzzing off the excitement at reliving the year of sport. I was able to watch all the stars walk into the arena right by me, the likes of the England Woman’s Cricket team, Louis Smith, Bert le Clos and Mick McCarthy just to name a few. I participated in a Poznan and was part of many standing ovations, of which each one I thought was justified. I saw many members of sporting fame and saluted the top three, and in particular, ‘Wiggo’, the deserved winner of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2012.
Monday 3 December 2012
A ray of light at the end of Autumn
It is probably fair to say that into the lead up of this weekend’s final Autumn internationals, the Home Nations had not had a particularly good time of it. Yet, after one blistering and incredible England display, the final international games of the 2012 rugby calendar have left everyone in a buoyant and optimistic mood ahead of the Six Nations competition in the New Year. That is not to say that the feeling is universal, with the likes of Wales and Scotland having suffered painfully and now holding grave causes for concern.
But let us revel in the stunning England victory over New Zealand on Saturday. It was unprecedented, unexpected, but truly magnificent. The stats and history regarding the game make it even more astounding. It was the biggest winning margin an England side has ever had over the Kiwi’s, whilst the All Blacks have only lost by a heavier score on one other occasion in their illustrious 498 Test match career. They were unbeaten in 20 matches and had not lost an Autumn international to European opposition in a decade, whilst this was the first time this century they had not managed to make a mark on the scoreboard before half-time. To say that England defeated the hot favourites is an understatement. The best side in the world won the World Cup in their own backyard in fantastic fashion this time last year and their juggernaut had been just as forceful ever since. Yet England demolished them with a performance of style, power and determination. They were like a rash over the Kiwi’s and were strong enough to withstand the mini revival just after half-time that brought the sides within a point of one another. Three quick tries later and it was going to be one of England’s truly greatest hours, so much so that Matt Dawson described it as the greatest England victory at Twickenham ever. That was some statement.
After a positive honeymoon period during this year’s Six Nations, Stuart Lancaster has recently been on the receiving end of less positive comments from supporters. No-one was calling for his head, but question marks were being held about some of his decision-making and inexperience. Interestingly enough, the same concerns were also directed towards his team as defeats to South Africa and Australia demonstrated that the rollercoaster England fans have endured their team on over the past decade was still in full flow. Long gone are the days of the World Cup winning XV in 2003, this side is full of youthful, fresh individuals looking to make their stamp on the international game. Beating New Zealand has shown that they can be up to the task and that Lancaster could actually be moulding together a great side. Like all successful teams he is going to need time, but Saturday’s performance has provided a fantastic indicator as to the pathway they are on. Now they just need to show they can consistently put on such performances. It is all well and good defeating the All Blacks when you have nothing to lose, but it is against the other Six Nations sides that the next step will either be demonstrated or shown to be a flash in the pan. After what we have seen over the past month, you would have to say that Ireland possesses the greatest threat in the New Year, but England must now fancy themselves and be looking to reclaim the title.
At the heart of this England side now is Manu Tuilagi. The powerful centre may not have been awarded the Man of the Match award on Saturday but he played a pivotal role in the victory, scoring one of the tries and assisting two others as he drove through the Kiwi defence. He is, in my opinion, the key and most impressive member of the side nowadays and has the potential to carry this mantle for some time. But like the rest of his team-mates, he needs to demonstrate a high level of performance consistently before he can be touted as a world-class star. Though, as Dan Carter demonstrated on Saturday, even the best in the world can have a shocker every so often. The highest point scorer in international rugby managed to miss two simple kicks in the match, which at the time could have maybe affected the momentum of the game. Owen Farrell on the other hand, was a picture of composure as he kicked seventeen of the 38 points. The country also used to rely on a certain Mr Wilkinson, could Farrell become the man to now be as consistent as the man with the stance?!
So we approach Christmas with England’s rugby hopes far more optimistic than after the South Africa and Australia games which determined that the country would be in the pool of second seeds for the World Cup draw (the fact a draw takes place many years before the event in 2015 is bizarre though I must say). Having said that the Grand Slam winners of Wales are in the third pool after losing to both Samoa and Argentina, opponents they would be hoping to despatch, particularly in the Millennium Stadium. Scotland are in a catastrophic situation though. Now manager-less, the country must be relieved to still be in the third pool after defeat to Tonga, arguably one of the most damaging results they have suffered in their history. For a country with such a rich rugby pedigree, they will hope to not be sat in this slump for too much longer. After acquiring the wooden spoon in the Six Nations this year, I expect they will fulfil the same position again in 2013. England on the other hand will be entering the competition on the back of one of their best ever results. The All Blacks defeated. Not just defeated but thrashed, trounced, humiliated. Let us hope this is the start of something special once more.
But let us revel in the stunning England victory over New Zealand on Saturday. It was unprecedented, unexpected, but truly magnificent. The stats and history regarding the game make it even more astounding. It was the biggest winning margin an England side has ever had over the Kiwi’s, whilst the All Blacks have only lost by a heavier score on one other occasion in their illustrious 498 Test match career. They were unbeaten in 20 matches and had not lost an Autumn international to European opposition in a decade, whilst this was the first time this century they had not managed to make a mark on the scoreboard before half-time. To say that England defeated the hot favourites is an understatement. The best side in the world won the World Cup in their own backyard in fantastic fashion this time last year and their juggernaut had been just as forceful ever since. Yet England demolished them with a performance of style, power and determination. They were like a rash over the Kiwi’s and were strong enough to withstand the mini revival just after half-time that brought the sides within a point of one another. Three quick tries later and it was going to be one of England’s truly greatest hours, so much so that Matt Dawson described it as the greatest England victory at Twickenham ever. That was some statement.
After a positive honeymoon period during this year’s Six Nations, Stuart Lancaster has recently been on the receiving end of less positive comments from supporters. No-one was calling for his head, but question marks were being held about some of his decision-making and inexperience. Interestingly enough, the same concerns were also directed towards his team as defeats to South Africa and Australia demonstrated that the rollercoaster England fans have endured their team on over the past decade was still in full flow. Long gone are the days of the World Cup winning XV in 2003, this side is full of youthful, fresh individuals looking to make their stamp on the international game. Beating New Zealand has shown that they can be up to the task and that Lancaster could actually be moulding together a great side. Like all successful teams he is going to need time, but Saturday’s performance has provided a fantastic indicator as to the pathway they are on. Now they just need to show they can consistently put on such performances. It is all well and good defeating the All Blacks when you have nothing to lose, but it is against the other Six Nations sides that the next step will either be demonstrated or shown to be a flash in the pan. After what we have seen over the past month, you would have to say that Ireland possesses the greatest threat in the New Year, but England must now fancy themselves and be looking to reclaim the title.
At the heart of this England side now is Manu Tuilagi. The powerful centre may not have been awarded the Man of the Match award on Saturday but he played a pivotal role in the victory, scoring one of the tries and assisting two others as he drove through the Kiwi defence. He is, in my opinion, the key and most impressive member of the side nowadays and has the potential to carry this mantle for some time. But like the rest of his team-mates, he needs to demonstrate a high level of performance consistently before he can be touted as a world-class star. Though, as Dan Carter demonstrated on Saturday, even the best in the world can have a shocker every so often. The highest point scorer in international rugby managed to miss two simple kicks in the match, which at the time could have maybe affected the momentum of the game. Owen Farrell on the other hand, was a picture of composure as he kicked seventeen of the 38 points. The country also used to rely on a certain Mr Wilkinson, could Farrell become the man to now be as consistent as the man with the stance?!
So we approach Christmas with England’s rugby hopes far more optimistic than after the South Africa and Australia games which determined that the country would be in the pool of second seeds for the World Cup draw (the fact a draw takes place many years before the event in 2015 is bizarre though I must say). Having said that the Grand Slam winners of Wales are in the third pool after losing to both Samoa and Argentina, opponents they would be hoping to despatch, particularly in the Millennium Stadium. Scotland are in a catastrophic situation though. Now manager-less, the country must be relieved to still be in the third pool after defeat to Tonga, arguably one of the most damaging results they have suffered in their history. For a country with such a rich rugby pedigree, they will hope to not be sat in this slump for too much longer. After acquiring the wooden spoon in the Six Nations this year, I expect they will fulfil the same position again in 2013. England on the other hand will be entering the competition on the back of one of their best ever results. The All Blacks defeated. Not just defeated but thrashed, trounced, humiliated. Let us hope this is the start of something special once more.
Sunday 11 November 2012
“Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing”
Firstly, I should apologise for my lack of blogging over the past few weeks. Life has been rather hectic and finding the time on a Sunday or following days in order to note my thoughts on a certain sporting topic has been more elusive than anticipated. I hope though, that you are keen to read a new post!
It is probably of no surprise that after one of the most exciting races of the Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi, that stories associated with the weekend have continued to unfurl over this week. What made it all the more remarkable was that the race has more or less sewn up the Drivers’ Championship for Sebastian Vettel, despite when the lights went off last Sunday afternoon, it seemed pretty unlikely that he would be in such a position. Like I said, the race was one of the best of the season.
Arguably the biggest story following on from the weekend was the warning issued by the FIA towards drivers needing to conduct themselves better during interviews after both Vettel and Kimi Raikonnen swore during their live interviews on the podium. Naturally, this led to a number of complaints and the FIA are keen to nip it in the bud quickly, rather than send the sport into disrepute once more, thankfully, something that seems to have been avoided in the main during the 2012 season, unlike in more recent years. No punishment has been handed out to either driver, although the warning did state that anyone caught in future is likely to face action against them. This is all fair enough, though the governing body did state in its letter that there are many sport-stars who are interviewed soon after competing whilst still pumped full of adrenaline and the like who avoid such coarse language. With such reasoning applied, you have to feel that both Vettel and Raikonnen have managed to escape any further action with some luck. If, as a governing body, you agree it is possible to avoid, then why excuse individuals straight away? They may have said future misdemeanours will be punished, but the lack of discipline against the two drivers last weekend is a precedent that could hamper them in the future.
At least Vettel apologised. Nothing from Kimi however, yet because of his personality and demeanour, I doubt there are few that are surprised by that. The ice man has never had a particularly warm glow; instead he portrays himself as a man doing his job, and never was that more obvious than during the Abu Dhabi race. Raikonnen at one point stated on the team radio to “Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing”, and later on, came out with the quote, “Yes, yes, yes, yes. I'm doing it all the time. You don't have to remind me every second”. These were met quite comically by the BBC team covering the race, although I am sure his Lotus mechanics may have felt slightly embarrassed and arguably even annoyed that they were spoken down to in such a manner. Thankfully, Raikonnen appears to have shown he does have a humorous side by getting t-shirts with the former quote emblazoned on them for each member of the Lotus team. However, despite his cold, singular stance, you would never have noticed he had been away from F1, after delivering some superb performances in this, his comeback year. He is likely to finish in 3rd place in the Drivers’ Championship, ahead of the likes of Hamilton, Webber, Button and Massa. Yet, after securing his first victory in 2012, the man proclaimed the victory was of more importance to the team, rather than for him. However, the victory has told the rest of us that Kimi Raikonnen is back, and he means business.
But despite all of this, the season is beginning to have a sense and air of inevitably about it, with the likelihood of a triple-world champion about to be crowned. Sebastian Vettel has certainly not had it as easy as in 2010 and 2011, but since about mid-season the Red Bull dominance appears to have come to the fore again and taken him ahead of his nearest challengers. Last Sunday he displayed an excellent driving display, as he started from the back of the grid and returned there after his first pit stop as well. To eventually finish second demonstrates an incredible driving performance, something that some have doubted him over, claiming the car does the work for him. He has quashed that thought now though; he holds a 10-point lead over Fernando Alonso in the Championship, with only the USA and Brazil Grand Prix’s to go, and although that makes it very much possible for Alonso to still steal the trophy, it would take something incredible, or some horrific bad luck to befall the German and let the Spaniard come out on top.
So, as the end of another motorsport season comes to a close, the FIA can look back and probably feel a great deal of satisfaction with all that has happened. Yes there has been the odd issue, with the new USA track failing to be ready for 2013 being one of the most inconvenient stories to unfurl, however, on the track the cars have been competitive and made for an enthralling year. Already the shake-up of drivers for next year has created some interesting choices, with Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes being the major headline, and as such, with lots of new drivers in different cars, next season too could make or break many individuals’ careers in Formula 1. What would be fantastic though is a season full of races like Abu Dhabi, with comical moments from Kimi on the radio, and blistering drives from the likes of Vettel. Yes, the poor language would be best left alone now, but let us see if someone can go out and break the Red Bull and Vettel stranglehold should they once again reign supreme by the end of the month in Brazil.
It is probably of no surprise that after one of the most exciting races of the Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi, that stories associated with the weekend have continued to unfurl over this week. What made it all the more remarkable was that the race has more or less sewn up the Drivers’ Championship for Sebastian Vettel, despite when the lights went off last Sunday afternoon, it seemed pretty unlikely that he would be in such a position. Like I said, the race was one of the best of the season.
Arguably the biggest story following on from the weekend was the warning issued by the FIA towards drivers needing to conduct themselves better during interviews after both Vettel and Kimi Raikonnen swore during their live interviews on the podium. Naturally, this led to a number of complaints and the FIA are keen to nip it in the bud quickly, rather than send the sport into disrepute once more, thankfully, something that seems to have been avoided in the main during the 2012 season, unlike in more recent years. No punishment has been handed out to either driver, although the warning did state that anyone caught in future is likely to face action against them. This is all fair enough, though the governing body did state in its letter that there are many sport-stars who are interviewed soon after competing whilst still pumped full of adrenaline and the like who avoid such coarse language. With such reasoning applied, you have to feel that both Vettel and Raikonnen have managed to escape any further action with some luck. If, as a governing body, you agree it is possible to avoid, then why excuse individuals straight away? They may have said future misdemeanours will be punished, but the lack of discipline against the two drivers last weekend is a precedent that could hamper them in the future.
At least Vettel apologised. Nothing from Kimi however, yet because of his personality and demeanour, I doubt there are few that are surprised by that. The ice man has never had a particularly warm glow; instead he portrays himself as a man doing his job, and never was that more obvious than during the Abu Dhabi race. Raikonnen at one point stated on the team radio to “Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing”, and later on, came out with the quote, “Yes, yes, yes, yes. I'm doing it all the time. You don't have to remind me every second”. These were met quite comically by the BBC team covering the race, although I am sure his Lotus mechanics may have felt slightly embarrassed and arguably even annoyed that they were spoken down to in such a manner. Thankfully, Raikonnen appears to have shown he does have a humorous side by getting t-shirts with the former quote emblazoned on them for each member of the Lotus team. However, despite his cold, singular stance, you would never have noticed he had been away from F1, after delivering some superb performances in this, his comeback year. He is likely to finish in 3rd place in the Drivers’ Championship, ahead of the likes of Hamilton, Webber, Button and Massa. Yet, after securing his first victory in 2012, the man proclaimed the victory was of more importance to the team, rather than for him. However, the victory has told the rest of us that Kimi Raikonnen is back, and he means business.
But despite all of this, the season is beginning to have a sense and air of inevitably about it, with the likelihood of a triple-world champion about to be crowned. Sebastian Vettel has certainly not had it as easy as in 2010 and 2011, but since about mid-season the Red Bull dominance appears to have come to the fore again and taken him ahead of his nearest challengers. Last Sunday he displayed an excellent driving display, as he started from the back of the grid and returned there after his first pit stop as well. To eventually finish second demonstrates an incredible driving performance, something that some have doubted him over, claiming the car does the work for him. He has quashed that thought now though; he holds a 10-point lead over Fernando Alonso in the Championship, with only the USA and Brazil Grand Prix’s to go, and although that makes it very much possible for Alonso to still steal the trophy, it would take something incredible, or some horrific bad luck to befall the German and let the Spaniard come out on top.
So, as the end of another motorsport season comes to a close, the FIA can look back and probably feel a great deal of satisfaction with all that has happened. Yes there has been the odd issue, with the new USA track failing to be ready for 2013 being one of the most inconvenient stories to unfurl, however, on the track the cars have been competitive and made for an enthralling year. Already the shake-up of drivers for next year has created some interesting choices, with Lewis Hamilton’s decision to leave McLaren for Mercedes being the major headline, and as such, with lots of new drivers in different cars, next season too could make or break many individuals’ careers in Formula 1. What would be fantastic though is a season full of races like Abu Dhabi, with comical moments from Kimi on the radio, and blistering drives from the likes of Vettel. Yes, the poor language would be best left alone now, but let us see if someone can go out and break the Red Bull and Vettel stranglehold should they once again reign supreme by the end of the month in Brazil.
Sunday 30 September 2012
Terry a Racist? No. Terry a Racist? Yes.
As a man and a player, John Terry seems unable to keep himself out of the headlines. This week, another damning story fell on the Chelsea defender as he was given a four-match ban and £220,000 fine for allegedly directing racial abuse towards a fellow professional during a match. The hearing that delivered this verdict followed an announcement by Terry that he was retiring from international football amid beliefs there was a vendetta against him from The FA. All in all, the obvious conclusions that can be drawn are that the man has continued to reinforce his despicable nature as a person to the public whilst also ridding the country of arguably the best centre-back it currently possesses. Just another major chapter in his life then...!
So I guess the first issue that has to be addressed is that Terry has been accused and found guilty of being racist. This is by an FA hearing that has been held nearly a year after the incident occurred. Furthermore, it is a hearing that was called after the Chelsea captain was found not guilty in a court of law. This is why the case has developed with interest. How can an authority, which is clearly lower down the pecking order, charge somebody of a crime that they have already been acquitted from? You can therefore understand Terry’s frustration and sense of injustice regarding the situation. The reason why The FA could continue with the proceedings is because the courts had to decide unequivocally that Terry had used racist language in an insulting manner, i.e. there was intent, whereas they just had to conclude whether racial words were aimed at Ferdinand. The need for proof is lower. Whether this is right or wrong is a different point entirely. You may argue that The FA felt that by going ahead with its charges that they would be able to end this saga once and for all, however, in doing so, they have now tainted the man’s reputation further (if that was possible) by terming him a racist, which although may not be entirely true based on the charge and verdict, is the assumption Joe Public will make.
Terry himself admitted on both occasions to using the word “black”, as well as swearing at Anton Ferdinand, the victim in the case, but argued he was only repeating words he thought Ferdinand had accused him of saying. However, with Terry’s previous misdemeanours and controversies in life, you would have to say the hearing’s committee must have instantly held doubt as to the plausibility of this argument. Yet, the Chelsea stalwart has received an interesting punishment. A four match ban is quite small when you consider a straight red for most cases on the pitch leads to a three match suspension; whereas the £220,000 fine, although only a week or two’s wages for Terry, is a huge sum of money. When you contrast it to what Luis Suarez was dealt with last year (an eight match ban and £40,000 fine) it makes no logical sense, and until the written verdict is revealed, I guess not possible to understand. Some may argue that the verdict is actually weak and lenient, maybe with Terry’s stature as one of the key members of both England and the Premier League aiding him. Maybe, the fact he is English, and The FA cannot comprehend that they have racist players amongst their leagues, including one who has been permanent national captain twice in his career, assisted him. Or maybe the court’s decision affected their judgement. Whatever, there is a clear contrast for two guilty verdicts which certainly proves that The FA look at each case on its own merits though, as they have ignored all precedents previously set!
What the situation has led to is Terry’s international retirement. Clearly irked by the behaviour The FA have adopted has made him unable to represent the body on the playing field. Now this has led to delirious cries by some, predominantly the Terry-haters, of which there are many after his controversial past. However, the Chelsea man, despite being a Class A idiot at times has proven time and time again that he is a magnificent defender, who will put everything on the line to help stop his team losing. Yes, he is evidently no longer at his prime, but he is certainly playing at a higher level than Rio Ferdinand nowadays (anyone who saw Manchester United against Tottenham last night should be able to testify to that) and is arguably the best of an English bunch who are relatively inexperienced on the international stage. I personally have always had reservations regarding Lescott (although his past two seasons have been an improvement) and he is already 30. Jagielka had a nightmare performance against Ukraine last month, whilst Cahill seems to be in-out-in-out both for Chelsea and England. The likes of Smalling, Jones and Caulker are either injured or not representing their clubs regularly, which leads us to now be looking at the England centre-back position with some concern in my opinion. Terry was a leader, and obviously rallied the players in the dressing room as well. He was a key figure in the set-up and one that will be tough to replace.
The situation though has always been more than the John Terry show. It is about how the game deals with discrimination and I think there are still many questions to be asked regarding it, particularly with two contrasting punishments in the space of 12 months. Terry played yesterday for Chelsea against Arsenal for the final time before his ban, which suggests the club are backing their club captain all the way, despite the player appearing to be losing sponsorship deals at an incredible rate. The man’s reputation is now in tatters and will never be rectified, although expect to see an appeal emerge. If it does, then the case will be brought up once again and we will be seeing the spotlight back on the game. If the appeal fails, you have to hope that a greater sentence is imposed as the game is being damaged further and further the more this event is analysed. A decision needs to be made; by Terry, by Chelsea, and by The FA. Criteria need to start being laid down and codes of conduct and laws abided by because otherwise the game’s reputation and name will be ruined. If we are going to kick racism out of football, then let us be heavy-handed on those found guilty of such disgusting behaviour.
So I guess the first issue that has to be addressed is that Terry has been accused and found guilty of being racist. This is by an FA hearing that has been held nearly a year after the incident occurred. Furthermore, it is a hearing that was called after the Chelsea captain was found not guilty in a court of law. This is why the case has developed with interest. How can an authority, which is clearly lower down the pecking order, charge somebody of a crime that they have already been acquitted from? You can therefore understand Terry’s frustration and sense of injustice regarding the situation. The reason why The FA could continue with the proceedings is because the courts had to decide unequivocally that Terry had used racist language in an insulting manner, i.e. there was intent, whereas they just had to conclude whether racial words were aimed at Ferdinand. The need for proof is lower. Whether this is right or wrong is a different point entirely. You may argue that The FA felt that by going ahead with its charges that they would be able to end this saga once and for all, however, in doing so, they have now tainted the man’s reputation further (if that was possible) by terming him a racist, which although may not be entirely true based on the charge and verdict, is the assumption Joe Public will make.
Terry himself admitted on both occasions to using the word “black”, as well as swearing at Anton Ferdinand, the victim in the case, but argued he was only repeating words he thought Ferdinand had accused him of saying. However, with Terry’s previous misdemeanours and controversies in life, you would have to say the hearing’s committee must have instantly held doubt as to the plausibility of this argument. Yet, the Chelsea stalwart has received an interesting punishment. A four match ban is quite small when you consider a straight red for most cases on the pitch leads to a three match suspension; whereas the £220,000 fine, although only a week or two’s wages for Terry, is a huge sum of money. When you contrast it to what Luis Suarez was dealt with last year (an eight match ban and £40,000 fine) it makes no logical sense, and until the written verdict is revealed, I guess not possible to understand. Some may argue that the verdict is actually weak and lenient, maybe with Terry’s stature as one of the key members of both England and the Premier League aiding him. Maybe, the fact he is English, and The FA cannot comprehend that they have racist players amongst their leagues, including one who has been permanent national captain twice in his career, assisted him. Or maybe the court’s decision affected their judgement. Whatever, there is a clear contrast for two guilty verdicts which certainly proves that The FA look at each case on its own merits though, as they have ignored all precedents previously set!
What the situation has led to is Terry’s international retirement. Clearly irked by the behaviour The FA have adopted has made him unable to represent the body on the playing field. Now this has led to delirious cries by some, predominantly the Terry-haters, of which there are many after his controversial past. However, the Chelsea man, despite being a Class A idiot at times has proven time and time again that he is a magnificent defender, who will put everything on the line to help stop his team losing. Yes, he is evidently no longer at his prime, but he is certainly playing at a higher level than Rio Ferdinand nowadays (anyone who saw Manchester United against Tottenham last night should be able to testify to that) and is arguably the best of an English bunch who are relatively inexperienced on the international stage. I personally have always had reservations regarding Lescott (although his past two seasons have been an improvement) and he is already 30. Jagielka had a nightmare performance against Ukraine last month, whilst Cahill seems to be in-out-in-out both for Chelsea and England. The likes of Smalling, Jones and Caulker are either injured or not representing their clubs regularly, which leads us to now be looking at the England centre-back position with some concern in my opinion. Terry was a leader, and obviously rallied the players in the dressing room as well. He was a key figure in the set-up and one that will be tough to replace.
The situation though has always been more than the John Terry show. It is about how the game deals with discrimination and I think there are still many questions to be asked regarding it, particularly with two contrasting punishments in the space of 12 months. Terry played yesterday for Chelsea against Arsenal for the final time before his ban, which suggests the club are backing their club captain all the way, despite the player appearing to be losing sponsorship deals at an incredible rate. The man’s reputation is now in tatters and will never be rectified, although expect to see an appeal emerge. If it does, then the case will be brought up once again and we will be seeing the spotlight back on the game. If the appeal fails, you have to hope that a greater sentence is imposed as the game is being damaged further and further the more this event is analysed. A decision needs to be made; by Terry, by Chelsea, and by The FA. Criteria need to start being laid down and codes of conduct and laws abided by because otherwise the game’s reputation and name will be ruined. If we are going to kick racism out of football, then let us be heavy-handed on those found guilty of such disgusting behaviour.
Sunday 16 September 2012
The truth of Hillsborough. 23 years on...
The harrowing events that unfolded at Hillsborough, 23 years ago, will remain etched in the memories of football fans for life. The actions that unfolded on that fateful day will forever remain as a significant reminder to all those of a dark day within the sport. However, instead of the correct information being provided and published at the time, this week it was finally uncovered that many of the stories surrounding the tragedy were false and that the blame-game had been inexplicably shifted off those who were to culpable the most, to the victims of the tragedy, who have had to live with false accusations thrown at them ever since. Finally, the truth for the 96 has been revealed.
The independent report discovered that the police had falsified or amended many statements in order to protect their reputation and make the Liverpool fans responsible for the death of their compatriots. That is the story that had been sold to many. But yet, there had always been those doubts, particularly those family members who suffered the most that something else had occurred, but until the documents were allowed to be studied, those beliefs could never be vindicated. Instead West Yorkshire police have come out of the situation looking horribly exposed and fake. How they could happily pass the buck on to innocent individuals, when they were responsible in numerous ways as to the reason why the incident occurred is flabbergasting. In life, everyone needs to be responsible for the actions they take and stand up to them when problems occur. The last thing you do is shirk away or pass the buck. That is shameful, a disgrace, particularly when others have been affected so traumatically.
164 police reports were amended regarding the tragedy, with 116, yes 116, being changed to remover or alter “unfavourable” comments regarding the policing of the match. That means there were a significant number of officers on duty that day who chose not to speak out loudly enough as one group to say the policing was to blame in some capacity in the subsequent time-frame after the story was initially reported. It is all well and good making a statement, but once the news was issued, there must have been wonder by those who criticised the policing in some way, that it was not mentioned and that the blame had been wholly attached to the supporters. The comments should not have been altered that is for certain, and it is by far the more severe act. But this is another aspect I have thought of regarding the altered reports. All it amounted to was a slandering of football supporters in general, considering them all to be hooligans, who were more concerned with causing trouble than anything else. An opinion that stuck for a long while, and in essence, was ultimately incorrect, particularly on the day in question.
What was also devastating to hear about within the report, was that 41 of the 96 who perished because of the crush, could have potentially been saved, had emergency services been swifter or organised more suitably. That is an incredible number. The emergency services are in place to help protect us and save us in times of need. They failed in their act of duty at Hillsborough back in 1989. Those in control points should have been getting them onto the pitch once the match was abandoned. The services themselves should have just reacted when the blind panic that unravelled became apparent. They cannot have failed to see it. They must have known there was a problem. To blame it on a pitch invasion seems bizarre. People are not screaming for their lives or collapsed on a pitch during a pitch invasion. It was as clear a life and death situation as you will see.
Then to top it all, so many people had been sold by the lie that had been constructed; apologies seem to have been constantly said ever since the report was unveiled. The FA, Sheffield Wednesday FC (owners of Hillsborough), West Yorkshire Police Force, MP’s (including the Prime Minister and the opposition), and the media all offered their sincerest apologies to those affected. The Sun who’s damning headline and article full of lies resulted in the paper not being circulated in Merseyside ever since, was obviously expected, but I do not expect that to repair relations with Liverpudlians. Kelvin Mackenzie, the paper’s editor at the time, has only just apologised for the piece. Despite the disgusting claims he made, he stood by the article for years upon years, refusing to believe he had to apologise. Now, with his tail between his legs, he did. It is too late, and due to the role of the media and its affect on the public, he should be held accountable for distributing and spreading lies. No media outlet should publish news unless they are certain of the facts behind it all. The Sun did not publish ‘The Truth’, they published ‘The Lies’.
I am wholly behind the claims to scrap the previous inquest into the Hillsborough events and launch new ones into the actions that occurred. Meanwhile, those that are at the heart of the problem as to why the tragedy unfolded, those that were in the know, those that knew this was a disaster waiting to happen, and certainly those who purposefully hid the truth all need to face criminal charges and face up to the actions and consequences that they caused. The Hillsborough disaster was a tragedy that should never have happened, and even after it did, a whole club, its supporters, the city they are from, should not have been vilified as inexcusably as they have been. Thankfully, there were many there who knew the real truth and fought to uncover it to the general public. It may be 23 years late, but it has arrived. The 96 who lost their lives have the truth, now they deserve justice.
The independent report discovered that the police had falsified or amended many statements in order to protect their reputation and make the Liverpool fans responsible for the death of their compatriots. That is the story that had been sold to many. But yet, there had always been those doubts, particularly those family members who suffered the most that something else had occurred, but until the documents were allowed to be studied, those beliefs could never be vindicated. Instead West Yorkshire police have come out of the situation looking horribly exposed and fake. How they could happily pass the buck on to innocent individuals, when they were responsible in numerous ways as to the reason why the incident occurred is flabbergasting. In life, everyone needs to be responsible for the actions they take and stand up to them when problems occur. The last thing you do is shirk away or pass the buck. That is shameful, a disgrace, particularly when others have been affected so traumatically.
164 police reports were amended regarding the tragedy, with 116, yes 116, being changed to remover or alter “unfavourable” comments regarding the policing of the match. That means there were a significant number of officers on duty that day who chose not to speak out loudly enough as one group to say the policing was to blame in some capacity in the subsequent time-frame after the story was initially reported. It is all well and good making a statement, but once the news was issued, there must have been wonder by those who criticised the policing in some way, that it was not mentioned and that the blame had been wholly attached to the supporters. The comments should not have been altered that is for certain, and it is by far the more severe act. But this is another aspect I have thought of regarding the altered reports. All it amounted to was a slandering of football supporters in general, considering them all to be hooligans, who were more concerned with causing trouble than anything else. An opinion that stuck for a long while, and in essence, was ultimately incorrect, particularly on the day in question.
What was also devastating to hear about within the report, was that 41 of the 96 who perished because of the crush, could have potentially been saved, had emergency services been swifter or organised more suitably. That is an incredible number. The emergency services are in place to help protect us and save us in times of need. They failed in their act of duty at Hillsborough back in 1989. Those in control points should have been getting them onto the pitch once the match was abandoned. The services themselves should have just reacted when the blind panic that unravelled became apparent. They cannot have failed to see it. They must have known there was a problem. To blame it on a pitch invasion seems bizarre. People are not screaming for their lives or collapsed on a pitch during a pitch invasion. It was as clear a life and death situation as you will see.
Then to top it all, so many people had been sold by the lie that had been constructed; apologies seem to have been constantly said ever since the report was unveiled. The FA, Sheffield Wednesday FC (owners of Hillsborough), West Yorkshire Police Force, MP’s (including the Prime Minister and the opposition), and the media all offered their sincerest apologies to those affected. The Sun who’s damning headline and article full of lies resulted in the paper not being circulated in Merseyside ever since, was obviously expected, but I do not expect that to repair relations with Liverpudlians. Kelvin Mackenzie, the paper’s editor at the time, has only just apologised for the piece. Despite the disgusting claims he made, he stood by the article for years upon years, refusing to believe he had to apologise. Now, with his tail between his legs, he did. It is too late, and due to the role of the media and its affect on the public, he should be held accountable for distributing and spreading lies. No media outlet should publish news unless they are certain of the facts behind it all. The Sun did not publish ‘The Truth’, they published ‘The Lies’.
I am wholly behind the claims to scrap the previous inquest into the Hillsborough events and launch new ones into the actions that occurred. Meanwhile, those that are at the heart of the problem as to why the tragedy unfolded, those that were in the know, those that knew this was a disaster waiting to happen, and certainly those who purposefully hid the truth all need to face criminal charges and face up to the actions and consequences that they caused. The Hillsborough disaster was a tragedy that should never have happened, and even after it did, a whole club, its supporters, the city they are from, should not have been vilified as inexcusably as they have been. Thankfully, there were many there who knew the real truth and fought to uncover it to the general public. It may be 23 years late, but it has arrived. The 96 who lost their lives have the truth, now they deserve justice.
Tuesday 11 September 2012
Para-, Para-, Paralympics
As Coldplay brought the climax to the Paralympic Games to the world, the British public exhaled a mighty sigh of sadness that the end was now here. The 12 days that filled the competition were record-breaking as well as extraordinary. Public perceptions were changed, awe-inspiring stories told, stadiums filled to the rafters, all in the name of a mega-event that had for so long lived in the mighty shadow of its brother. Not anymore. Britain showed the world that we were just as interested and supportive of the Paralympic Games as we were of the Olympics. It did not matter that these athletes suffered impairments (although at times it made things even more incredible), because they were the elite. They were the best, and they were determined to achieve the best their body’s capabilities allowed them to do so.
Once again, the British team eclipsed themselves in a magnificent manner. Collecting 120 medals, 13 more than their target set, somehow still only positioned themselves third in the medal table (due to a slight drop in gold medals compared to Beijing), but my, how that cared little, when some of the achievements were brought into question. Sarah Storey and David Weir both captured four gold medals each. Storey’s quadruple taking her overall Paralympic haul to eleven, tied at the top in the modern era with Tanni Grey-Thompson and Dave Roberts. This has come after changing sports as well. Initially a swimmer, she has since discovered her greater talents are on the bike and she absolutely killed her opponents. Each time she beat the same female to gold but she beat her by crushing margins – lapping her or by time gaps that were unfound anywhere else within the field. You can certainly see why she nearly made the Olympic cycling team, and it would surprise nobody I think if she was with them in Rio as well as defending her Paralympic crowns.
Weir was another man on wheels, but this time it was a wheelchair as he competed in athletics. Now the distance and physical requirements for the 800m compared to the marathon vary considerably. However, Weir proved that in the space of the Games he could qualify through heats and win the finals of the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon. That is masses of wheel turning, huge endurance and incredible strength, both physically and mentally. The man was a machine, spurred on by the British public as he was involved in some of the tensest and exciting races of the Games. Every time he headed into the home straight, you felt it was his to lose, but there was still that opportunity it could happen, particularly in the latter races when, understandably, the fatigue must have been setting in. But in the end, the Weirwolf of London was certainly howling with delight!
As spoken about last week, Ellie Simmonds once again became an inspiration for women, whilst track and field found a new star and potentially the start of the end for the man that has until now been the flag-bearer for Paralympic sport. Firstly, Johnny Peacock, destroyed the field in the T44 100m, the top-billing of the Paralympic Games. He got close to his own world record but in the end settled for a record in the Games as he swept the field aside. The man had complete control of everything, as even when the crowd got excited at the start, he managed to quiet them all down to silence. 80,000 people falling silent at your actions, wow. Coming in fourth in that race was a certain, Oscar Pistorius. The South African has been an incredible Paralympic champion and even managed to achieve a dream by competing in the Olympics as well this summer. Maybe that hampered his performance later on as he only took his imperious 400m title once again as well as the 4x100m relay. His 200m defeat was the shock of the Games and was followed by a slightly aggrieved outburst against the champion, Oliveira from Brazil, whom he claimed had a significant advantage with his blades. Now for somebody, like Pistorius, who has gone through an awful lot of interrogation regarding the technology in his blades when he first burst onto the scene, to now be talking about the technology in use does seem rather ironic, but also displays how much the world of Paralympic sport has developed in such a short space of time.
Pistorius’ little outburst may have been the most talked about of the Games but it certainly wasn’t the most aggressive. Step forward Jody Cundy, Britain’s cyclist, who after being controversially disqualified from a race he was expected to win gold in, went on a loud outburst towards the officials, which was audible throughout the stadium and on TV. It wasn’t particularly pre-watershed friendly either! He later apologised for how he acted, but the manner he adopted really underlined how important these Games were for individuals and how they had dedicated just as much hard-work and graft to the cause for the past four years just as the Olympic athletes had. Even now, some of the images I saw make me go “wow” – seeing a one legged high jumper clear huge heights, watching a blind long jumper hit the board perfectly, witnessing the carnage and desire to win by those involved in ‘murderball’. All of these individuals had worked incredibly hard to be there, to be the best they possibly could, to be elite athletes and respected as being that. These Games accomplished that, these Games showed that no matter what card you are dealt with in life, if you want to go out and try and be an elite athlete, then the opportunities are there if you apply yourself the correct way.
The Olympics and Paralympics have never been more parallel in my eyes. Kirani James kicked it off by swapping race numbers with Oscar Pistorius in their Olympic 400m heat. But then the British public filled the stands wanting to see elite sporting prowess displayed their love for the Paralympics – 2.7million tickets were sold, far exceeding expectations and culling concerns of empty stadia. The volunteers once more were superb, receiving all he plaudits that they deserved, and ensuring everyone’s day out was good, if not excellent. Many of them only signed up to the Paralympics after they had done the Olympics. As I have put to you all in this blog before, how people can now turn around and say that hosting these Games the past month or so has been a bad decision truly astounds me. Lord Coe and his team at LOCOG, deserve tremendous credit, as everything has gone as well as it could have done I would say. The come down now is going to be one hefty bump, but I do hope that the positive vibe that is currently being emitted lasts for a good while to come. Thank you Britain.
Once again, the British team eclipsed themselves in a magnificent manner. Collecting 120 medals, 13 more than their target set, somehow still only positioned themselves third in the medal table (due to a slight drop in gold medals compared to Beijing), but my, how that cared little, when some of the achievements were brought into question. Sarah Storey and David Weir both captured four gold medals each. Storey’s quadruple taking her overall Paralympic haul to eleven, tied at the top in the modern era with Tanni Grey-Thompson and Dave Roberts. This has come after changing sports as well. Initially a swimmer, she has since discovered her greater talents are on the bike and she absolutely killed her opponents. Each time she beat the same female to gold but she beat her by crushing margins – lapping her or by time gaps that were unfound anywhere else within the field. You can certainly see why she nearly made the Olympic cycling team, and it would surprise nobody I think if she was with them in Rio as well as defending her Paralympic crowns.
Weir was another man on wheels, but this time it was a wheelchair as he competed in athletics. Now the distance and physical requirements for the 800m compared to the marathon vary considerably. However, Weir proved that in the space of the Games he could qualify through heats and win the finals of the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon. That is masses of wheel turning, huge endurance and incredible strength, both physically and mentally. The man was a machine, spurred on by the British public as he was involved in some of the tensest and exciting races of the Games. Every time he headed into the home straight, you felt it was his to lose, but there was still that opportunity it could happen, particularly in the latter races when, understandably, the fatigue must have been setting in. But in the end, the Weirwolf of London was certainly howling with delight!
As spoken about last week, Ellie Simmonds once again became an inspiration for women, whilst track and field found a new star and potentially the start of the end for the man that has until now been the flag-bearer for Paralympic sport. Firstly, Johnny Peacock, destroyed the field in the T44 100m, the top-billing of the Paralympic Games. He got close to his own world record but in the end settled for a record in the Games as he swept the field aside. The man had complete control of everything, as even when the crowd got excited at the start, he managed to quiet them all down to silence. 80,000 people falling silent at your actions, wow. Coming in fourth in that race was a certain, Oscar Pistorius. The South African has been an incredible Paralympic champion and even managed to achieve a dream by competing in the Olympics as well this summer. Maybe that hampered his performance later on as he only took his imperious 400m title once again as well as the 4x100m relay. His 200m defeat was the shock of the Games and was followed by a slightly aggrieved outburst against the champion, Oliveira from Brazil, whom he claimed had a significant advantage with his blades. Now for somebody, like Pistorius, who has gone through an awful lot of interrogation regarding the technology in his blades when he first burst onto the scene, to now be talking about the technology in use does seem rather ironic, but also displays how much the world of Paralympic sport has developed in such a short space of time.
Pistorius’ little outburst may have been the most talked about of the Games but it certainly wasn’t the most aggressive. Step forward Jody Cundy, Britain’s cyclist, who after being controversially disqualified from a race he was expected to win gold in, went on a loud outburst towards the officials, which was audible throughout the stadium and on TV. It wasn’t particularly pre-watershed friendly either! He later apologised for how he acted, but the manner he adopted really underlined how important these Games were for individuals and how they had dedicated just as much hard-work and graft to the cause for the past four years just as the Olympic athletes had. Even now, some of the images I saw make me go “wow” – seeing a one legged high jumper clear huge heights, watching a blind long jumper hit the board perfectly, witnessing the carnage and desire to win by those involved in ‘murderball’. All of these individuals had worked incredibly hard to be there, to be the best they possibly could, to be elite athletes and respected as being that. These Games accomplished that, these Games showed that no matter what card you are dealt with in life, if you want to go out and try and be an elite athlete, then the opportunities are there if you apply yourself the correct way.
The Olympics and Paralympics have never been more parallel in my eyes. Kirani James kicked it off by swapping race numbers with Oscar Pistorius in their Olympic 400m heat. But then the British public filled the stands wanting to see elite sporting prowess displayed their love for the Paralympics – 2.7million tickets were sold, far exceeding expectations and culling concerns of empty stadia. The volunteers once more were superb, receiving all he plaudits that they deserved, and ensuring everyone’s day out was good, if not excellent. Many of them only signed up to the Paralympics after they had done the Olympics. As I have put to you all in this blog before, how people can now turn around and say that hosting these Games the past month or so has been a bad decision truly astounds me. Lord Coe and his team at LOCOG, deserve tremendous credit, as everything has gone as well as it could have done I would say. The come down now is going to be one hefty bump, but I do hope that the positive vibe that is currently being emitted lasts for a good while to come. Thank you Britain.
Tuesday 4 September 2012
The Girls Are Doing Alright
My current job is working with children and coaching them different sports. Whilst doing this, I hope to inspire them to see the benefits and wonder of participating in the activities that they do. To do this though, I think that role models need to be in the public eye, so these youngsters can aspire to be like them and see what is possible and achievable in life. This is particular true for females, who for some reason seem less infatuated with the world of sport. Thankfully, this past week has produced two young female role models, Ellie Simmonds and Laura Robson. Both come from different backgrounds, from different sports, but their achievements in the past week have certainly made people sit up and take note of what they are doing.
Simmonds achievements are clearly the greater. As a Paralympic athlete, she won the S6 400m freestyle swim in a magnificent manner, smashing the world record by 5 seconds as she retained her title at the age of 17. Yes 17! That means the girl achieved her initial Paralympic medal at the age of 13. A tremendous achievement and one that is a clear demonstration of what you can do with your life, particularly if you have been arguably disadvantaged by the situation you find yourself to be in. Don’t be surprised at seeing her back in the pool later in the week though. Just like her able-bodied compatriots, the Paralympic swimmers compete in multi-disciplined events, and as such, Smmonds is now competing in the 200m individual medley, whilst she is the current 100m freestyle champion as well. The weight of expectation on her will not rescind, but she is proving that she can cope with the pressure and arguably deliver exceptional performance after performance.
Furthermore, Simmonds reaction after winning was heartfelt, touching, and demonstrated what the victory meant to her. She tried valiantly to hold back the tears in the pool after seeing her world record time but in the end, the emotions won over. Then, as a 17 year-old child she belted out the national anthem on the podium. Proud to British, proud to be a champion, proud to be an inspiration. The Paralympic athletes are certainly pulling in the crowds with their work and success and inspirational stories. 17,000 people packed into the Aquatic Centre to see Simmonds take her gold medal. Even runner-up, American Victoria Arlen made people sit up and be amazed by her achievements. As an athlete who was also would have broken the world record, she was once in a vegetative state for two years and had to learn to swim from scratch once again. To push Simmonds as much as she did then should be applauded hugely.
Laura Robson is an able-bodied tennis player but after winning the Junior Singles title at Wimbledon back in 2008 at the age of 14, has just been in and around the circuit without ever displaying anything that suggested a star was there. Now though, she has burst onto the scene! After partnering Andy Murray to silver in the Mixed Doubles at the Olympics, Robson has now achieved one of the best British female performances in a Grand Slam in many years by reaching the last-16 of the US Open. Her run has even put Murray’s tournament into the shadows. Her run included high-profile defeats of Kim Clijsters and Li Na, two highly established members of the women’s game; in fact, for Clijsters, this was her farewell tournament before retirement, and with a good track record at Flushing Meadows, was expected to go far. Robson never looked particularly troubled by either of these opponents though, cleaning hitting the ball and dominating proceedings. The victories were justifiably deserved and brought about through her excellence rather than her opponent’s failings.
To bow out to Sam Stosur, the current US Champion is nothing to be ashamed of, whilst the experience and confidence Robson will have gained from this run should only inspire to continue to push on and hopefully raise her world ranking and go deeper into all of the Grand Slams on a more regular basis now. She is still only 18 and is now sat comfortably amongst the world’s top 100. Meanwhile, it goes to show the continued prominence and rise of female tennis players on the world stage. In the men’s game, the only British representative regularly appearing in all the Grand Slams is Andy Murray. The women now have Robson, Heather Watson, Anne Keothavong, etc. For youngsters out there, they can see that there is a pathway to success in sport at a young age with these role models in place.
Simmonds achievements are clearly the greater. As a Paralympic athlete, she won the S6 400m freestyle swim in a magnificent manner, smashing the world record by 5 seconds as she retained her title at the age of 17. Yes 17! That means the girl achieved her initial Paralympic medal at the age of 13. A tremendous achievement and one that is a clear demonstration of what you can do with your life, particularly if you have been arguably disadvantaged by the situation you find yourself to be in. Don’t be surprised at seeing her back in the pool later in the week though. Just like her able-bodied compatriots, the Paralympic swimmers compete in multi-disciplined events, and as such, Smmonds is now competing in the 200m individual medley, whilst she is the current 100m freestyle champion as well. The weight of expectation on her will not rescind, but she is proving that she can cope with the pressure and arguably deliver exceptional performance after performance.
Furthermore, Simmonds reaction after winning was heartfelt, touching, and demonstrated what the victory meant to her. She tried valiantly to hold back the tears in the pool after seeing her world record time but in the end, the emotions won over. Then, as a 17 year-old child she belted out the national anthem on the podium. Proud to British, proud to be a champion, proud to be an inspiration. The Paralympic athletes are certainly pulling in the crowds with their work and success and inspirational stories. 17,000 people packed into the Aquatic Centre to see Simmonds take her gold medal. Even runner-up, American Victoria Arlen made people sit up and be amazed by her achievements. As an athlete who was also would have broken the world record, she was once in a vegetative state for two years and had to learn to swim from scratch once again. To push Simmonds as much as she did then should be applauded hugely.
Laura Robson is an able-bodied tennis player but after winning the Junior Singles title at Wimbledon back in 2008 at the age of 14, has just been in and around the circuit without ever displaying anything that suggested a star was there. Now though, she has burst onto the scene! After partnering Andy Murray to silver in the Mixed Doubles at the Olympics, Robson has now achieved one of the best British female performances in a Grand Slam in many years by reaching the last-16 of the US Open. Her run has even put Murray’s tournament into the shadows. Her run included high-profile defeats of Kim Clijsters and Li Na, two highly established members of the women’s game; in fact, for Clijsters, this was her farewell tournament before retirement, and with a good track record at Flushing Meadows, was expected to go far. Robson never looked particularly troubled by either of these opponents though, cleaning hitting the ball and dominating proceedings. The victories were justifiably deserved and brought about through her excellence rather than her opponent’s failings.
To bow out to Sam Stosur, the current US Champion is nothing to be ashamed of, whilst the experience and confidence Robson will have gained from this run should only inspire to continue to push on and hopefully raise her world ranking and go deeper into all of the Grand Slams on a more regular basis now. She is still only 18 and is now sat comfortably amongst the world’s top 100. Meanwhile, it goes to show the continued prominence and rise of female tennis players on the world stage. In the men’s game, the only British representative regularly appearing in all the Grand Slams is Andy Murray. The women now have Robson, Heather Watson, Anne Keothavong, etc. For youngsters out there, they can see that there is a pathway to success in sport at a young age with these role models in place.
With this influx of young British sporting starlets, hopefully the future is one full of promise. LOCOG have been pushing the word legacy down our throats ever since they were awarded London 2012, and the impact these young girls are making in their sport at the current time, is surely only going to inspire more young girls to take up sport and potentially discover an untapped talent. I believe that youngsters are more likely to draw upon the success of those they can relate to most, and that will predominantly be via age, so the likes of Simmonds and Robson currently have a huge part to play in raising the profile of female sport. Too many girls turn their nose up at sport, or would rather be involved in something that keeps them fit and active but without the competitive, intense element sport brings. Hopefully, the inspiration these current stars are producing for the next generation will ensure that the conveyor belt of talent never diminishes.
Sunday 26 August 2012
Cycling rears it's dirty head once again
Despite the fantastic work of Britain’s cyclists at the Olympics merely a couple of weeks ago, the sport of cycling has once again come under the microscope this week with its dealings and continual tarnishing of its reputation through the drug usage by major names of the sport. This time however, it is arguably the sport’s biggest name, Lance Armstrong. Accused by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) of taking performance-enhancing steroids at the time when Armstrong was dominating the cycling world, with seven consecutive Tour de France victories, the accusations arose as a major surprise. This is because Armstrong has never failed a drugs test (although critics have argued there was no test for EPO when he was competing) and reached his sporting prowess after an incredible life story where he overcame cancer to get back on the bike and achieve his global supremacy. It is a major tarnishing of the man’s reputation, and yet, many are refusing to jump on the bandwagon of another huge cycling star being tainted with the same brush as the likes of Contador, Schleck, and the rest.
This is predominantly due to there being no hard evidence, as of yet, being unveiled by USADA, that shows Armstrong to be guilty. Despite this, there has to be genuine concerns as to what the anti-doping agency have acquired for Armstrong to give up on any legal battle to clear his name, claiming he was too tired to fight the charges. Most would consider this an admission of guilt. For someone so successful and inspirational to so many, to end up giving up so weakly, in a manner that goes completely against the character people have of Armstrong strikes significantly of somebody who knows they are guilty but would rather the damning information be never unveiled publicly. He has lost the seven major titles that defined his career. He is banned from the sport for life. It is as if he is happy washing his hands of the sport, and has no desire to be associated with it. Although he still refuses to admit guilt, his manner and stance suggests otherwise. He claims to have grown tired of the accusations and battle, but why throw so much money into a legal case and put in all that effort to save your name if you are only going to back out later on?
On the other hand, many accusations have been thrown at Armstrong in the past, all of which were batted away without much of a second thought. Although, his achievements did seem super-human, you would also have to argue, that to go through his whole career without a drugs test not once indicating that he may have had even the slightest use of drugs is also pretty miraculous. The tests might not be like they are now, but they still uncovered drug cheats. Plus, if there wasn’t a fair test for a drug at the time, then it is harsh to claim to claim it is illegal. What also seems bizarre is that it has taken this long for the revelations to be made. Armstrong won his first title back in 1999, approaching fifteen years ago now, and it is only now that he is being stripped of his titles. In essence, the claims are that he was using performance-enhancing drugs fifteen years ago. That is some claim and thus, the necessity for proof I think is massive as you would have thought something already would have been unveiled beforehand if Armstrong was guilty all those years back.
It should be noted that the UCI (International Cycling Union) very much abide by the innocent until proven guilty rule, and so they themselves, have yet to take Armstrong’s Tour de France titles off him. They also appear to be quite disgruntled about USADA’s dealings and large involvement in competitions that the UCI to be considered over and clean. Subsequently, if they feel the evidence that they hold is insignificant or not strong enough, then it would be no surprise to see them take the matter to the Court of Arbitration. If this occurs though, then expect everything to come out in the public domain, which is arguably what Armstrong doesn’t want to happen. Having said that, it would once and for all, end any accusations towards Lance Armstrong and his reputation for life would ultimately be decided. Also, if the Court decides to side with USADA, then the credibility of UCI is also going to be greatly damaged. There is a very fine line between everything currently, with the reputation of the sport certainly at risk once more.
I feel it is important for the sport now that USADA actually reveal the alleged evidence they have. Otherwise, the accusations will forever look like ones that were politically motivated and driven by bitterness of those who were less talented than Armstrong. Particularly as the only evidence that they appear to have is the testimonies of ten former team-mates of Armstrong. What is for certain is that the situation is one that, if it isn’t already, is becoming a very messy one, and as Chris Froome described it, one that is only bringing a negative image to the sport. Despite the success British individuals seem to be attaining from the sport currently, it is still one of the highest drug abused activities out there in the professional sphere. However, maybe we’re at a time where concentration needs to be focussed more on catching those who compete currently rather than those who potentially were cheats many years ago. There has to be a time where records are put to bed and left alone. But there also needs to be a message that performance enhancing drugs are not welcome in sport. Not now, not ever.
This is predominantly due to there being no hard evidence, as of yet, being unveiled by USADA, that shows Armstrong to be guilty. Despite this, there has to be genuine concerns as to what the anti-doping agency have acquired for Armstrong to give up on any legal battle to clear his name, claiming he was too tired to fight the charges. Most would consider this an admission of guilt. For someone so successful and inspirational to so many, to end up giving up so weakly, in a manner that goes completely against the character people have of Armstrong strikes significantly of somebody who knows they are guilty but would rather the damning information be never unveiled publicly. He has lost the seven major titles that defined his career. He is banned from the sport for life. It is as if he is happy washing his hands of the sport, and has no desire to be associated with it. Although he still refuses to admit guilt, his manner and stance suggests otherwise. He claims to have grown tired of the accusations and battle, but why throw so much money into a legal case and put in all that effort to save your name if you are only going to back out later on?
On the other hand, many accusations have been thrown at Armstrong in the past, all of which were batted away without much of a second thought. Although, his achievements did seem super-human, you would also have to argue, that to go through his whole career without a drugs test not once indicating that he may have had even the slightest use of drugs is also pretty miraculous. The tests might not be like they are now, but they still uncovered drug cheats. Plus, if there wasn’t a fair test for a drug at the time, then it is harsh to claim to claim it is illegal. What also seems bizarre is that it has taken this long for the revelations to be made. Armstrong won his first title back in 1999, approaching fifteen years ago now, and it is only now that he is being stripped of his titles. In essence, the claims are that he was using performance-enhancing drugs fifteen years ago. That is some claim and thus, the necessity for proof I think is massive as you would have thought something already would have been unveiled beforehand if Armstrong was guilty all those years back.
It should be noted that the UCI (International Cycling Union) very much abide by the innocent until proven guilty rule, and so they themselves, have yet to take Armstrong’s Tour de France titles off him. They also appear to be quite disgruntled about USADA’s dealings and large involvement in competitions that the UCI to be considered over and clean. Subsequently, if they feel the evidence that they hold is insignificant or not strong enough, then it would be no surprise to see them take the matter to the Court of Arbitration. If this occurs though, then expect everything to come out in the public domain, which is arguably what Armstrong doesn’t want to happen. Having said that, it would once and for all, end any accusations towards Lance Armstrong and his reputation for life would ultimately be decided. Also, if the Court decides to side with USADA, then the credibility of UCI is also going to be greatly damaged. There is a very fine line between everything currently, with the reputation of the sport certainly at risk once more.
I feel it is important for the sport now that USADA actually reveal the alleged evidence they have. Otherwise, the accusations will forever look like ones that were politically motivated and driven by bitterness of those who were less talented than Armstrong. Particularly as the only evidence that they appear to have is the testimonies of ten former team-mates of Armstrong. What is for certain is that the situation is one that, if it isn’t already, is becoming a very messy one, and as Chris Froome described it, one that is only bringing a negative image to the sport. Despite the success British individuals seem to be attaining from the sport currently, it is still one of the highest drug abused activities out there in the professional sphere. However, maybe we’re at a time where concentration needs to be focussed more on catching those who compete currently rather than those who potentially were cheats many years ago. There has to be a time where records are put to bed and left alone. But there also needs to be a message that performance enhancing drugs are not welcome in sport. Not now, not ever.
Monday 20 August 2012
KP KO'd?
The English Cricket team are staring a series defeat to South Africa in the face after Sunday, and with it, relinquishing their number one status as the best Test cricket side in the world. Although there is the chance of a turn around, the South Africans are certainly favourites heading into the final day, and subsequently, expect the media to use the omission of Kevin Pietersen as a reason for the defeat. Having said this, Pietersen’s replacement, Jonny Bairstow, contributed a fantastic debut innings and cannot be faulted for the predicament the team currently find themselves in.
The debate as to whether Pietersen was right or wrong to be included after the alleged discovery of some slanderous text messages towards Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower to South African players, Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers, is a different matter entirely. Continuously, whether a player should be dropped over something that has only been alleged (albeit KP has since admitted the messages were sent) is also a different matter in entirely. Pietersen is certainly a controversial character, and has been in the headlines regularly in recent months with his too-ing and fro-ing and disputes with the English Cricket Board, announcing, and subsequently removing, his retirement from the one day game and Twenty20 competitions for his adopted country. For a man so talented and certainly an important figurehead for the English team since his debut, it is a shame that he always appears to be finding himself in the front of regular controversy.
Pietersen’s playing approach, particularly with the bat, also normally goes one of two ways; either a flourishing, spectacular, quick-fire top figure, or a pathetic, insipid, mistake strewn lowly score. The manner in which his mindset must have been approaching this game, I would back that it would have been the latter that appeared in England’s first innings in this Test, and based on the situation they found themselves at the time when he would have walked to the crease, well, the match would already be over. Bairstow came out instead and was calm, cool and collected and helped manoeuvre the side back into a fighting chance, and eventually, on par at the end of the first innings. His score of 95 was created supremely and he is certainly looking like a long-term England international if he maintains such composure in the face of adversity.
What I am therefore struggling to comprehend then, is how people can scream for the return of Pietersen when his replacement has, so far, done a more than admirable job. The second argument would be to have them both, in which case you need to remove one of the other batsmen who are more consistent, if maybe not always hitting tons as frequently as KP does. Pietersen is also getting on now; he is reaching the end of his career, although I admit there is still a couple of good years and an Ashes series in him. But does he really want it? Does he want to be there? Or is he now happy with all that he has accomplished? If he is, then he needs to be letting the selectors know, so hungry, passionate individuals can enter the side, like Bairstow and begin to establish themselves into internationals who can be called upon when the big Test series arrive, rather than just experiencing matches against Bangladesh and the like!
So whilst Bairstow establishes himself and earns the respect of his peers, Pietersen is at the other end of the scale, with his text messages potentially damaging not only his reputation but his continued career in the game. Not only has he been critical of the captain, a man whom the majority, if not all, of the squad, are behind; he has potentially delivered damaging information regarding how to dismiss Strauss to the South African bowlers. If this revelation is true, I struggle to comprehend how KP can ever believe he has an international future again. He would be entering a dressing room that is sceptical to the approach they can adopt with him, and whether he is a trustworthy individual. For example, there will be doubts amongst many of the established players as to whether they have also faced criticism from Pietersen in some manner, or if their weaknesses have been divulged to opponents. Pietersen’s acts are just crazy, and how he thought they would ever remain underwraps when we are in the world we are today, is just ludicrous.
As you may have gathered, the media storm that Kevin Pietersen has created and which subsequently follows him around is one I am not an advocate of. Having said that, there are very few sport stars out there who I am willing to be gracious towards in that respect. I wouldn’t mind if his talents were winning England matches every time, but they do not. Yes, every so often he is the saviour once again. But Bell and Cook also do that with the bat; Swann and Anderson with the ball. He is not a stand-out player in that respect, as demonstrated by his golden duck that he accrued for Surrey this weekend. Instead he just craves to be the centre of attention and because of his expansive batting attack, the media salivate over him. Do not get me wrong, I think KP is a talented cricketer, I just believe he is easily influenced and affected by other things around him, which then causes his detrimental performances. What is for certain is that whatever pathway the man decides to take in the next few months will certainly be one to watch, if only to see its impact on the national team’s performances...
The debate as to whether Pietersen was right or wrong to be included after the alleged discovery of some slanderous text messages towards Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower to South African players, Dale Steyn and AB de Villiers, is a different matter entirely. Continuously, whether a player should be dropped over something that has only been alleged (albeit KP has since admitted the messages were sent) is also a different matter in entirely. Pietersen is certainly a controversial character, and has been in the headlines regularly in recent months with his too-ing and fro-ing and disputes with the English Cricket Board, announcing, and subsequently removing, his retirement from the one day game and Twenty20 competitions for his adopted country. For a man so talented and certainly an important figurehead for the English team since his debut, it is a shame that he always appears to be finding himself in the front of regular controversy.
Pietersen’s playing approach, particularly with the bat, also normally goes one of two ways; either a flourishing, spectacular, quick-fire top figure, or a pathetic, insipid, mistake strewn lowly score. The manner in which his mindset must have been approaching this game, I would back that it would have been the latter that appeared in England’s first innings in this Test, and based on the situation they found themselves at the time when he would have walked to the crease, well, the match would already be over. Bairstow came out instead and was calm, cool and collected and helped manoeuvre the side back into a fighting chance, and eventually, on par at the end of the first innings. His score of 95 was created supremely and he is certainly looking like a long-term England international if he maintains such composure in the face of adversity.
What I am therefore struggling to comprehend then, is how people can scream for the return of Pietersen when his replacement has, so far, done a more than admirable job. The second argument would be to have them both, in which case you need to remove one of the other batsmen who are more consistent, if maybe not always hitting tons as frequently as KP does. Pietersen is also getting on now; he is reaching the end of his career, although I admit there is still a couple of good years and an Ashes series in him. But does he really want it? Does he want to be there? Or is he now happy with all that he has accomplished? If he is, then he needs to be letting the selectors know, so hungry, passionate individuals can enter the side, like Bairstow and begin to establish themselves into internationals who can be called upon when the big Test series arrive, rather than just experiencing matches against Bangladesh and the like!
So whilst Bairstow establishes himself and earns the respect of his peers, Pietersen is at the other end of the scale, with his text messages potentially damaging not only his reputation but his continued career in the game. Not only has he been critical of the captain, a man whom the majority, if not all, of the squad, are behind; he has potentially delivered damaging information regarding how to dismiss Strauss to the South African bowlers. If this revelation is true, I struggle to comprehend how KP can ever believe he has an international future again. He would be entering a dressing room that is sceptical to the approach they can adopt with him, and whether he is a trustworthy individual. For example, there will be doubts amongst many of the established players as to whether they have also faced criticism from Pietersen in some manner, or if their weaknesses have been divulged to opponents. Pietersen’s acts are just crazy, and how he thought they would ever remain underwraps when we are in the world we are today, is just ludicrous.
As you may have gathered, the media storm that Kevin Pietersen has created and which subsequently follows him around is one I am not an advocate of. Having said that, there are very few sport stars out there who I am willing to be gracious towards in that respect. I wouldn’t mind if his talents were winning England matches every time, but they do not. Yes, every so often he is the saviour once again. But Bell and Cook also do that with the bat; Swann and Anderson with the ball. He is not a stand-out player in that respect, as demonstrated by his golden duck that he accrued for Surrey this weekend. Instead he just craves to be the centre of attention and because of his expansive batting attack, the media salivate over him. Do not get me wrong, I think KP is a talented cricketer, I just believe he is easily influenced and affected by other things around him, which then causes his detrimental performances. What is for certain is that whatever pathway the man decides to take in the next few months will certainly be one to watch, if only to see its impact on the national team’s performances...
Monday 13 August 2012
London 2012: The World's Greatest Ever Show
I write this week’s post with a mixture of the emotions. I am disappointed, deflated and despondent but also filled with a huge sense of joy and pride. The London 2012 Olympics are over, but the performance delivered by our host nation can only be described as spectacular and inspirational. The Games were not just about the athletes, although they will provide the majority of the headlines and fascinating stories demonstrating the hard-craft and will to succeed that are required to be an Olympian. However, the work of the volunteers, otherwise known as Game Makers, has been a perfect example of how the Brits pull together and want others to feel welcome and enjoy their experience. Then there has been the BBC’s coverage, the reactions of athlete’s families and of course, the atmosphere from the crowds, both in the venues and also at the major sites broadcasting as the events unfolded. It was all just incredible, and two weeks which I personally, would happily relive.
Let us not forget there were some serious condemnations of the Games before they kicked off, whilst we had some embarrassing moments even before the Opening Ceremony. The mix up of the Korean flags, and printing a Welshman as an Englishman – both football-based, a sport still subject to uncertainty as to its use in the mega-event, particularly for the men. However, the Opening Ceremony was so quintessentially British that even if the rest of the world did not understand it, the public here went crazy for it! Beckham on a speedboat, Bean playing ‘Chariots of Fire’ (which turned out to be an iconic tune of the Games), and of course, Bond with the Queen. That clip will be seen in decades to come I am sure, it was so unexpected, surreal, yet pure television gold. It was a turning point, and now the public seem to be encapsulated into the unfolding events. If Mark Cavendish had secured a medal the following morning in the road race, then imagine how things would have been even sooner than what they were! The man was so gutted; he had such huge pressure on to deliver, yet to then later show the bravery and class to provide his insight as a pundit once the track cycling began. Can you all recall the panic that was beginning to settle in when it took time before the first gold medal was won? The minor medals were there but not that elusive spot at the top of the podium. Thankfully, the rowers retained their superiority, yet this time, the females got involved too, and the duo of Heather Stanning and Helen Glover, in the end got the ball rolling to a huge total of 29 prestigious British Olympic champions.
Some of those will be memories that stay with people for ever – Andy Murray destroying Roger Federer, Katherine Grainger finally achieving her dream after 12 years of heartbreak, little Jade Jones kicking her way to taekwondo victory, Ben Ainslie securing a fourth gold on the water when at one point it was looking unlikely. There is more too, the team dressage and jumpers in Greenwich Park, Nicola Adams winning the first ever female Olympic boxing medal, Laura Trott, Victoria Pendleton, Jason Kenny in the velodrome. Yet there are three memories which will probably be the abiding ones of the London Games. Last week I spoke about Super Saturday – Rutherford, Ennis and Farah in the Stadium was so mesmerising and astounding with the trio achieving their success in under 45 minutes. Farah then took it to another level this weekend. A double Olympic champion in two of the most demanding events imaginable, he ran 50 laps of the track in just over a week, and ensured that no-one was going to stop him being championing in front of an ecstatic home crowd. Then there was Bradley Wiggins, Olympic champion just days after being crowned the Tour de France winner. In between he also tried to help Cavendish achieve his London 2012 dream. He is hugely expected to be named Sports Personality of the Year for his sumptuous performances. Finally, there is the one and only Sir Chris Hoy who became Britain’s most decorated Olympian ever with two gold medals this time around, after being denied the chance by the international cycling federation to continue his dominance which he provided in Beijing. I was fortunate enough to be in the Olympic Park when he won his final medal, watching on my brother’s phone. Our cries at his success led to others around asking what had happened and it was fabulous sharing the news. The tears on the podium were touching, and then to see him being interviewed on the BBC gantry and cheering his name, which he seemed taken aback by, was a special moment. He videoed us! Someone who has mesmerised us and inspired everyone whilst acting so humble, it just seemed surreal. Is he our greatest Olympian ever? He is certainly a contender.
I could really talk and talk about these past two weeks for ever. Britain did itself proud. And like I said, that is not just regarding the athletes. The great Michael Phelps ended his career with 22 Olympic medals, 18 of them gold, Usain Bolt smashed the doubters into the bin by achieving the double treble. By then there was Bert Le Clos, an unexpected cult hero, who very much like Yohan Blake, you couldn’t understand a word of, but still managed to put a smile on your face. The story of the games to me was Manteo Mitchell, breaking his leg halfway around his 400m relay leg but continuing and still running a 46 second split. The sound of the crowd as a British athlete was announced was deafening. When I was in the stadium, I loved it, we were so passionate and driven to help our men and women on to success. We were proud of their achievements, and yes not everyone fulfilled their expectations, but so many used it to their advantage, and how, 65 medals! Surpassing everyone’s predictions and expectations! We closed it all with a ceremony that seems to have achieved a mixed reaction but it still showcased British talent, just like the previous 16 days. Yet when the time came for the cauldron to be extinguished, the groans from the crowd were clearly audible. Nobody wanted it to end, it has been like a fairytale, a dream that no-one wanted to ever end. Let us now hope, although I have no doubt, the Paralympics also fill us with pride. Britain, we really are great.
Let us not forget there were some serious condemnations of the Games before they kicked off, whilst we had some embarrassing moments even before the Opening Ceremony. The mix up of the Korean flags, and printing a Welshman as an Englishman – both football-based, a sport still subject to uncertainty as to its use in the mega-event, particularly for the men. However, the Opening Ceremony was so quintessentially British that even if the rest of the world did not understand it, the public here went crazy for it! Beckham on a speedboat, Bean playing ‘Chariots of Fire’ (which turned out to be an iconic tune of the Games), and of course, Bond with the Queen. That clip will be seen in decades to come I am sure, it was so unexpected, surreal, yet pure television gold. It was a turning point, and now the public seem to be encapsulated into the unfolding events. If Mark Cavendish had secured a medal the following morning in the road race, then imagine how things would have been even sooner than what they were! The man was so gutted; he had such huge pressure on to deliver, yet to then later show the bravery and class to provide his insight as a pundit once the track cycling began. Can you all recall the panic that was beginning to settle in when it took time before the first gold medal was won? The minor medals were there but not that elusive spot at the top of the podium. Thankfully, the rowers retained their superiority, yet this time, the females got involved too, and the duo of Heather Stanning and Helen Glover, in the end got the ball rolling to a huge total of 29 prestigious British Olympic champions.
Some of those will be memories that stay with people for ever – Andy Murray destroying Roger Federer, Katherine Grainger finally achieving her dream after 12 years of heartbreak, little Jade Jones kicking her way to taekwondo victory, Ben Ainslie securing a fourth gold on the water when at one point it was looking unlikely. There is more too, the team dressage and jumpers in Greenwich Park, Nicola Adams winning the first ever female Olympic boxing medal, Laura Trott, Victoria Pendleton, Jason Kenny in the velodrome. Yet there are three memories which will probably be the abiding ones of the London Games. Last week I spoke about Super Saturday – Rutherford, Ennis and Farah in the Stadium was so mesmerising and astounding with the trio achieving their success in under 45 minutes. Farah then took it to another level this weekend. A double Olympic champion in two of the most demanding events imaginable, he ran 50 laps of the track in just over a week, and ensured that no-one was going to stop him being championing in front of an ecstatic home crowd. Then there was Bradley Wiggins, Olympic champion just days after being crowned the Tour de France winner. In between he also tried to help Cavendish achieve his London 2012 dream. He is hugely expected to be named Sports Personality of the Year for his sumptuous performances. Finally, there is the one and only Sir Chris Hoy who became Britain’s most decorated Olympian ever with two gold medals this time around, after being denied the chance by the international cycling federation to continue his dominance which he provided in Beijing. I was fortunate enough to be in the Olympic Park when he won his final medal, watching on my brother’s phone. Our cries at his success led to others around asking what had happened and it was fabulous sharing the news. The tears on the podium were touching, and then to see him being interviewed on the BBC gantry and cheering his name, which he seemed taken aback by, was a special moment. He videoed us! Someone who has mesmerised us and inspired everyone whilst acting so humble, it just seemed surreal. Is he our greatest Olympian ever? He is certainly a contender.
I could really talk and talk about these past two weeks for ever. Britain did itself proud. And like I said, that is not just regarding the athletes. The great Michael Phelps ended his career with 22 Olympic medals, 18 of them gold, Usain Bolt smashed the doubters into the bin by achieving the double treble. By then there was Bert Le Clos, an unexpected cult hero, who very much like Yohan Blake, you couldn’t understand a word of, but still managed to put a smile on your face. The story of the games to me was Manteo Mitchell, breaking his leg halfway around his 400m relay leg but continuing and still running a 46 second split. The sound of the crowd as a British athlete was announced was deafening. When I was in the stadium, I loved it, we were so passionate and driven to help our men and women on to success. We were proud of their achievements, and yes not everyone fulfilled their expectations, but so many used it to their advantage, and how, 65 medals! Surpassing everyone’s predictions and expectations! We closed it all with a ceremony that seems to have achieved a mixed reaction but it still showcased British talent, just like the previous 16 days. Yet when the time came for the cauldron to be extinguished, the groans from the crowd were clearly audible. Nobody wanted it to end, it has been like a fairytale, a dream that no-one wanted to ever end. Let us now hope, although I have no doubt, the Paralympics also fill us with pride. Britain, we really are great.
Sunday 5 August 2012
Sensational 'Super Saturday'
After a month's absence, I return with a million and one topics that I could talk about. The intense but subsequently triumphant victory of Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France; the quintessentially British opening ceremony to the Olympics; the dramatic slump the English cricketers suffered in the first Test to South Africa; Andy Murray's tears at Wimbledon; even the cheek of QPR and Joey Barton trying to speed up his 12 match ban. Naturally though, this week can only be a discussion on one topic - the Olympics. However, once again, there are choices galore - the cyclists, Michael Phelps, the rowers, including our first gold-medal oarswomen, unexpected bronze's in the judo, Chinese dominance in the diving, American dominance in the pool; London 2012 has produced hundreds of stories already and we are only half-way through the Olympiad.
Last night though was special. 'Super Saturday' is the middle day, where 25 gold medals are up for grabs. I think you would have got great odds if you said Great Britain would win 6 of those, yes 24% of the gold medals were eventually put around British necks. The gold-rush began down at Eton Dorney, where although we always expect to do well in the rowing, for all of our 13 boats to make the final, and for nine to eventually medal, goes above and beyond the expectations set of the team. We had never had a gold-medal oarswomen, this year we have produced six in three different boats. Yesterday's was a shock, as Sophie Hosking and Katherine Copeland had only teamed up this year but destroyed the field. Their reaction suggesting they had come no better than second before true realisation began to dawn on them. Their success followed our flagship boat, the men's four, winning gold for the fourth successive Olympiad. Team GB rowers have once again underlined ourselves as the number one rowing nation.
After a brief interlude when Andy Murray and Laura Robson took themselves to a mixed doubles final to guarantee Britain two tennis medals this year, eyes then focussed on the velodrome and the women's team pursuit, the only medal up for grabs there on the big day. Facing a USA team who had made the final by shocking Australia, the British girls were not going to take them lightly. In the end they destroyed them. The margin of victory being over 5 seconds, as the trio of Dani King, Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsell, smashed their own world record for the sixth successive time in consecutive races. They sped around the track so quickly that they could see their opponents in front of them on the final couple of laps. Another fantastic feat achieved, and with four of the five velodrome medals going to Team GB so far, it is looking like another fantastic Olympics for them.
Then in the evening, the stage was set. The Olympic Stadium was a cacophony of noise as the atmosphere built. This was based predominantly on the work of Jess Ennis over the previous two days in the heptathlon. She had built a practically unassailable lead in the heptathlon. A world best in the 100m hurdles, a personal best in the 200m and javelin, she stood nearly 200 points clear of her nearest competitor. In the end she went out in the 800m determined to take in the adulation of the crowd as she led the majority of the race, eventually kicking down the home straight and winning in style. She was the poster girl of this Olympics and the gorgeous golden girl delivered. As somebody who had tickets to see the women's 100m hurdles on Tuesday, I am disappointed she isn't going to compete then, but why should she? A deserved Olympic champion, and one whom is truly adored by the British public.
Next thing we knew, another gold was in the bag. The men's long jump has been open all year, no-one has taken a decisive grip on the event, which led to murmurs that Greg Rutherford may potentially medal, but nothing more than that. Instead, a jump of 8.31m turned him into the Olympic champion. His interview afterwards with the BBC was fantastic, full of happiness and joy. He has had a tough career, but spurred on by compatriot Chris Tomlinson, who also nearly medalled, he pulled out a majestic leap, that none of his competitors ever looked like matching. A surprising gold in some respects, but once more it caused a huge roar in the stadium, the atmosphere was electric by this point. It was a night to savour, and dreams were unravelling that nobody had contemplated.
The night was technically concluding with the women's 100m final, but to Brits the night would be concluding with the men's 10,000m and whether Mo Farah could upsurge the great Kenenisa Bekele from earning a third consecutive title. The race was a strange one. The noise remained for all 25 laps of the track but the pace fluctuated and nobody seemed to want to take a grip on the race. Those that did ended up doing so by jostling and pushing which only infuriated their fellow runners rather than doing any good, a move very much not in keeping with the Olympic spirit. But Farah just held his nerve and ran his own race, he was always sat in contention, just waiting, knowing he had to time it well. And time it he did, the slower pace of the race was always going to favour his great finish and so it proved. Working with his American training partner they pushed the race up with two laps to go and really opened their legs on the bell. When they came around the final bend, the gap widened and despite the American being in touching distance, nobody was going to stop Mo Farah achieving his dream and completing a wonderful evening and an incredible day for Great Britain in the Olympics.
Super Saturday turned out to be sensational, and easily the best athletics session a British team has ever had at the Olympics. The morale inside Team GB now must be ridiculously high and it looks a certainty that we will beat at least our gold medal total from Beijing, and potentially our medal haul overall. I have seen some football and volleyball this week and the atmosphere was fantastic, even when Britain were not participating. How anyone has ever doubted why this country is hosting the Games, hopefully now, is having their questions being answered. It truly is inspiring stuff so far, and generations should be inspired, just as Lord Coe promised they would be. We will never know the legacy of this Games until five to ten years on, but so far, Britain is certainly feeling Great, and long may it continue!
Last night though was special. 'Super Saturday' is the middle day, where 25 gold medals are up for grabs. I think you would have got great odds if you said Great Britain would win 6 of those, yes 24% of the gold medals were eventually put around British necks. The gold-rush began down at Eton Dorney, where although we always expect to do well in the rowing, for all of our 13 boats to make the final, and for nine to eventually medal, goes above and beyond the expectations set of the team. We had never had a gold-medal oarswomen, this year we have produced six in three different boats. Yesterday's was a shock, as Sophie Hosking and Katherine Copeland had only teamed up this year but destroyed the field. Their reaction suggesting they had come no better than second before true realisation began to dawn on them. Their success followed our flagship boat, the men's four, winning gold for the fourth successive Olympiad. Team GB rowers have once again underlined ourselves as the number one rowing nation.
After a brief interlude when Andy Murray and Laura Robson took themselves to a mixed doubles final to guarantee Britain two tennis medals this year, eyes then focussed on the velodrome and the women's team pursuit, the only medal up for grabs there on the big day. Facing a USA team who had made the final by shocking Australia, the British girls were not going to take them lightly. In the end they destroyed them. The margin of victory being over 5 seconds, as the trio of Dani King, Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsell, smashed their own world record for the sixth successive time in consecutive races. They sped around the track so quickly that they could see their opponents in front of them on the final couple of laps. Another fantastic feat achieved, and with four of the five velodrome medals going to Team GB so far, it is looking like another fantastic Olympics for them.
Then in the evening, the stage was set. The Olympic Stadium was a cacophony of noise as the atmosphere built. This was based predominantly on the work of Jess Ennis over the previous two days in the heptathlon. She had built a practically unassailable lead in the heptathlon. A world best in the 100m hurdles, a personal best in the 200m and javelin, she stood nearly 200 points clear of her nearest competitor. In the end she went out in the 800m determined to take in the adulation of the crowd as she led the majority of the race, eventually kicking down the home straight and winning in style. She was the poster girl of this Olympics and the gorgeous golden girl delivered. As somebody who had tickets to see the women's 100m hurdles on Tuesday, I am disappointed she isn't going to compete then, but why should she? A deserved Olympic champion, and one whom is truly adored by the British public.
Next thing we knew, another gold was in the bag. The men's long jump has been open all year, no-one has taken a decisive grip on the event, which led to murmurs that Greg Rutherford may potentially medal, but nothing more than that. Instead, a jump of 8.31m turned him into the Olympic champion. His interview afterwards with the BBC was fantastic, full of happiness and joy. He has had a tough career, but spurred on by compatriot Chris Tomlinson, who also nearly medalled, he pulled out a majestic leap, that none of his competitors ever looked like matching. A surprising gold in some respects, but once more it caused a huge roar in the stadium, the atmosphere was electric by this point. It was a night to savour, and dreams were unravelling that nobody had contemplated.
The night was technically concluding with the women's 100m final, but to Brits the night would be concluding with the men's 10,000m and whether Mo Farah could upsurge the great Kenenisa Bekele from earning a third consecutive title. The race was a strange one. The noise remained for all 25 laps of the track but the pace fluctuated and nobody seemed to want to take a grip on the race. Those that did ended up doing so by jostling and pushing which only infuriated their fellow runners rather than doing any good, a move very much not in keeping with the Olympic spirit. But Farah just held his nerve and ran his own race, he was always sat in contention, just waiting, knowing he had to time it well. And time it he did, the slower pace of the race was always going to favour his great finish and so it proved. Working with his American training partner they pushed the race up with two laps to go and really opened their legs on the bell. When they came around the final bend, the gap widened and despite the American being in touching distance, nobody was going to stop Mo Farah achieving his dream and completing a wonderful evening and an incredible day for Great Britain in the Olympics.
Super Saturday turned out to be sensational, and easily the best athletics session a British team has ever had at the Olympics. The morale inside Team GB now must be ridiculously high and it looks a certainty that we will beat at least our gold medal total from Beijing, and potentially our medal haul overall. I have seen some football and volleyball this week and the atmosphere was fantastic, even when Britain were not participating. How anyone has ever doubted why this country is hosting the Games, hopefully now, is having their questions being answered. It truly is inspiring stuff so far, and generations should be inspired, just as Lord Coe promised they would be. We will never know the legacy of this Games until five to ten years on, but so far, Britain is certainly feeling Great, and long may it continue!
Monday 25 June 2012
England fans face agony once again
Italy’s dominating and ultimately successful defeat of England on penalties last night finalised the semi-finalists for Euro 2012. Joining Portugal, Germany and Spain means the last four in the competition are major European footballing nations for the first time since the Championships in 2000. As many are keen to bang on about, it was the right result as England ultimately fell short but in essence this team had already surprised many, myself included, by not just getting out the group but doing so by winning it. Yes, luck fell on their side, but every side needs some luck, and Roy Hodgson set up the side in a manner that was best for the players he had at his disposal and the time he had to shape them into a side. Let us not forget that he has only been in charge for around five weeks still. His transformation is one that should be lauded, no matter how ‘negative’ you perceived us to be.
If we had gone and won the tournament, or even made the semi-finals, Hodgson would have been praised like no tomorrow; yet one result shifts everything and demonstrates the fickleness of football fans. Similarly, it was proven with the rise in expectation level. Few expected us to do so well in the tournament and even fewer expected us to top the group, yet once that happened, despite not playing magnificent football, the public then expected us to beat the Italians comfortably. One issue that appears to be at the forefront of the critics is Hodgson’s perseverance with the 4-4-2 formation. Now I agree we need to have alternatives, however, I am sceptical whether our current ‘elite’ players can easily transfer and adjust to different systems. We have been so engrossed by the 4-4-2 system, that it is all our players have been brought up with. Now when you repeatedly practice and play the same style time over time, it ends up being what your body automatically plays to, because that has been built up into the muscle memory. Now you may argue, some of the top Premier League teams play different styles (I would suggest it is fewer than you think), but how many of those differing systems are filled with English players, or at least English players in the new role that the formation creates? Is it any wonder then that we are still persisting with the same formation, which eventually will be our downfall when we play the superior international sides?
Furthermore to this, the age old argument of our inability to maintain possession has come to the fore once again. Now I am sorry, but it was only after South Africa that people started noting the class of the Germans and Spaniards in the way they approached games. That was two years ago, and in that time progression has been made because The National Football Centre at Burton is complete. But the change in mindset is not going to happen with this current crop of players we have. They are in essence, the same as whom we have had before. If we are still struggling to maintain possession in the 2028 European Championships then yes, there needs to be serious questions asked, because reality dictates that this change in nature is going to take 15 years to come to the fore. If the work happens now, hopefully in a decade’s time will we begin to see the results and hopefully rewards that they bring.
Let us not detract anything away from the Italians. After the surprisingly open game for the first 30 minutes, the men in blue realised we were both had the same game-plan in soaking up pressure and then counter-attacking. They then began stopping us breaking quickly and with that came the match that unfolded with persistent Italian pressure and opportunities. However, after 120 minutes of football and two days less rest than their semi-final opponents, Germany, you would expect them to not go any further in the Finals. The Germans have looked imperious so far in the tournament, and the strength they have in depth, particularly going forward is a signal of intent from them. Portugal have grown into the tournament, thanks to the majestic rise of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is currently carrying his nation with his past two world-class performances. Another one of those, plus more is going to be needed to beat the Spanish, who I think have faced unfair criticism. I must say I am wary of their decision to play without a recognised striker, however, the famous tika-taka approach has hardly found them wanting so far and I would not be surprised if they have not got out of second gear in some of their games, the quarter-final against France being an obvious example. Why bother, exerting so much energy, when you are more than comfortable with the approach you are adopting? I think if Portugal gets Ronaldo on the ball, then the Spanish defence could face its first stern test of these games, but I still anticipate their attacking prowess to overhaul the distinctly average Portuguese defence and midfield. I still anticipate it will be a Germany-Spain final once again in six days time.
How long will it be until England makes a final? As I have suggested, some time still I imagine, but the wheels are in motion, people just need to accept that changes do not happen overnight. We are for now, a quarter-final team destined to lose on penalties – from our last ten major championships now, we have departed from the spot on six occasions. However, there appears to now be a togetherness that has formed amongst this squad (which may surprise many with controversial figures, such as John Terry involved) and long may that continue. Unless there is a team spirit in the camp, then the results are certainly not going to come – the French are a perfect example of this. More players have left the competition with credit than the group who were in South Africa, and that too can only be a positive. There now appears to be a mix of youth and experience formulating in the squad, and there are still those who were missing because of injury – Walker, Bent and Wilshere. We are still some of the best fans in the world and we know the ups and downs, the rollercoaster ride we will always encounter. But we must keep our realism in-check and ultimately accept that improvement takes time. For the five weeks that Hodgson has been in the job though, hopefully there is now a platform to build upon. Roll on Brazil 2014!
If we had gone and won the tournament, or even made the semi-finals, Hodgson would have been praised like no tomorrow; yet one result shifts everything and demonstrates the fickleness of football fans. Similarly, it was proven with the rise in expectation level. Few expected us to do so well in the tournament and even fewer expected us to top the group, yet once that happened, despite not playing magnificent football, the public then expected us to beat the Italians comfortably. One issue that appears to be at the forefront of the critics is Hodgson’s perseverance with the 4-4-2 formation. Now I agree we need to have alternatives, however, I am sceptical whether our current ‘elite’ players can easily transfer and adjust to different systems. We have been so engrossed by the 4-4-2 system, that it is all our players have been brought up with. Now when you repeatedly practice and play the same style time over time, it ends up being what your body automatically plays to, because that has been built up into the muscle memory. Now you may argue, some of the top Premier League teams play different styles (I would suggest it is fewer than you think), but how many of those differing systems are filled with English players, or at least English players in the new role that the formation creates? Is it any wonder then that we are still persisting with the same formation, which eventually will be our downfall when we play the superior international sides?
Furthermore to this, the age old argument of our inability to maintain possession has come to the fore once again. Now I am sorry, but it was only after South Africa that people started noting the class of the Germans and Spaniards in the way they approached games. That was two years ago, and in that time progression has been made because The National Football Centre at Burton is complete. But the change in mindset is not going to happen with this current crop of players we have. They are in essence, the same as whom we have had before. If we are still struggling to maintain possession in the 2028 European Championships then yes, there needs to be serious questions asked, because reality dictates that this change in nature is going to take 15 years to come to the fore. If the work happens now, hopefully in a decade’s time will we begin to see the results and hopefully rewards that they bring.
Let us not detract anything away from the Italians. After the surprisingly open game for the first 30 minutes, the men in blue realised we were both had the same game-plan in soaking up pressure and then counter-attacking. They then began stopping us breaking quickly and with that came the match that unfolded with persistent Italian pressure and opportunities. However, after 120 minutes of football and two days less rest than their semi-final opponents, Germany, you would expect them to not go any further in the Finals. The Germans have looked imperious so far in the tournament, and the strength they have in depth, particularly going forward is a signal of intent from them. Portugal have grown into the tournament, thanks to the majestic rise of Cristiano Ronaldo, who is currently carrying his nation with his past two world-class performances. Another one of those, plus more is going to be needed to beat the Spanish, who I think have faced unfair criticism. I must say I am wary of their decision to play without a recognised striker, however, the famous tika-taka approach has hardly found them wanting so far and I would not be surprised if they have not got out of second gear in some of their games, the quarter-final against France being an obvious example. Why bother, exerting so much energy, when you are more than comfortable with the approach you are adopting? I think if Portugal gets Ronaldo on the ball, then the Spanish defence could face its first stern test of these games, but I still anticipate their attacking prowess to overhaul the distinctly average Portuguese defence and midfield. I still anticipate it will be a Germany-Spain final once again in six days time.
How long will it be until England makes a final? As I have suggested, some time still I imagine, but the wheels are in motion, people just need to accept that changes do not happen overnight. We are for now, a quarter-final team destined to lose on penalties – from our last ten major championships now, we have departed from the spot on six occasions. However, there appears to now be a togetherness that has formed amongst this squad (which may surprise many with controversial figures, such as John Terry involved) and long may that continue. Unless there is a team spirit in the camp, then the results are certainly not going to come – the French are a perfect example of this. More players have left the competition with credit than the group who were in South Africa, and that too can only be a positive. There now appears to be a mix of youth and experience formulating in the squad, and there are still those who were missing because of injury – Walker, Bent and Wilshere. We are still some of the best fans in the world and we know the ups and downs, the rollercoaster ride we will always encounter. But we must keep our realism in-check and ultimately accept that improvement takes time. For the five weeks that Hodgson has been in the job though, hopefully there is now a platform to build upon. Roll on Brazil 2014!
Monday 18 June 2012
Un-royal type behaviour at Queens
The scenes at the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club yesterday ended a week full of shocks, thrills and spills. However, the manner in which the tournament climaxed was both disappointing and a demonstration of pure idiocy by David Nalbandian. By awarding the match to Marin Cilic by default also removed the opportunity for the champion to really experience and take in the accolade of being the winner on the grass court. The display of anger and petulance by Nalbandian though, gave the authorities no choice but to take the action that they did.
For those who are unaware of what occurred, and with the excitement of Euro 2012 and Murray’s early exit from the competition, the coverage of the tournament was certainly less this year, Nalbandian basically kicked an advertising hoarding which was right in front of a line judge, causing him to cut his shin and bleed quite significantly. This morning it has emerged that police have received a complaint of alleged assault regarding the incident which just goes to show the maliciousness of the act. Nalbandian is a notoriously fiery character, but his actions were inexcusable. He could see where the line judge was sat and so common sense should have surely told him that kicking the hoarding like he did was only going to end disastrously. Common sense did not prevail, and disaster did. It was some gash as well that cut the shin and I think the official is probably grateful he has required no more attention than the first aid he was provided with instantly on site. Tennis players are usually warned for loud verbal outbursts or launching their rackets into the ground, so when an individual has performed an action that has led to an injury being sustained to one of the officials, then of course a ‘red card’ or match forfeit is going to be issued. Football players for example have been given lengthy suspensions when they have had an altercation with a referee in the past, the famous example being Paolo Di Canio, so you can certainly understand why the tennis rulebook is written how it is.
Nalbandian further soured events when instead of just apologising to everybody and accepting his mistake, he instead tried to turn the tables on the ATP and the officials by saying that there are too many rules to abide by and that sometimes individuals who break them are not punished accordingly. It seemed like an awful case of bitterness and acting like a sore loser. Nobody told Nalbandian to start aiming kicks at advertising hoardings. In fact, last time I checked, it was a movement that is not required in tennis, so there is no reason for doing it. Yes, he may have been angry and frustrated about how the match was going for him at that particular time but there are appropriate ways to deal with such a situation and ideally they should be channelled back into your game in a way that you can use to your advantage. The fact of the matter is that he appears to have shown little remorse for his actions, and I got a feeling that he only apologised when he did because he knew he had to do so. That is disgraceful behaviour. He seems more concerned with shifting the blame on to others and bringing up other issues that are irrelevant to the case in order to gain sympathy and deflect the news away from him. The fact that an investigation is now going to be opened up against him shows how this approach has failed as well as showing you how vicious the kick was interpreted by many; although it throws up the debate of how footballers like Joey Barton can get away with some of their actions on the field without police involvement...
As mentioned, Andy Murray’s shock early exit from the tournament probably acted as a catalyst for the less coverage the championship subsequently received. The winner of Queens in 2011 was dumped out in 3 sets by Nicholas Mahut in the second round, which having been given a bye in round 1, was Murray’s opening grass court match of the year. It is fair to say then, that preparation ahead of Wimbledon in a week’s time is probably not going ideally then for the British number one. The Scot never really looked like overcoming the Frenchman and I must say I wonder whether his exploits in the French Open are going to curtail his duration on the courts of SW19. He was suffering from a back problem early on at Roland Garros but managed to overcome it on his way to the quarter-finals. However, he clearly has not had a significant amount of rest for the injury to fully heel and I think it may come to haunt him when he faces the burden of the British public to gain his home Grand Slam. In that respect, you could argue that an early exit from Queens was beneficial to Murray as it gave him more time to give his back a break rather than put it under the strain day-after-day in an attempt to retain his Queens title (although I am sure that was his intention at the start of the tournament).
The build-up to Wimbledon is suddenly underway though and you would say more people have come out of Queens with setbacks rather than positive steps forward. Murray exited early; Tsonga and Del Potro were injury affected; whilst Nalbandian caused controversy by managing to get the final concluded earlier than anyone anticipated. For a man of his experience, leading in a final, on one of his favoured surfaces, you can only put down his moment of madness down to a psychological issue that now appears to have even more severe consequences. Going into Wimbledon, it makes you think that the big three of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal will be extremely happy as those competitors who may offer them some discomfort are clearly struggling, making their route to another momentous title much more likely.
For those who are unaware of what occurred, and with the excitement of Euro 2012 and Murray’s early exit from the competition, the coverage of the tournament was certainly less this year, Nalbandian basically kicked an advertising hoarding which was right in front of a line judge, causing him to cut his shin and bleed quite significantly. This morning it has emerged that police have received a complaint of alleged assault regarding the incident which just goes to show the maliciousness of the act. Nalbandian is a notoriously fiery character, but his actions were inexcusable. He could see where the line judge was sat and so common sense should have surely told him that kicking the hoarding like he did was only going to end disastrously. Common sense did not prevail, and disaster did. It was some gash as well that cut the shin and I think the official is probably grateful he has required no more attention than the first aid he was provided with instantly on site. Tennis players are usually warned for loud verbal outbursts or launching their rackets into the ground, so when an individual has performed an action that has led to an injury being sustained to one of the officials, then of course a ‘red card’ or match forfeit is going to be issued. Football players for example have been given lengthy suspensions when they have had an altercation with a referee in the past, the famous example being Paolo Di Canio, so you can certainly understand why the tennis rulebook is written how it is.
Nalbandian further soured events when instead of just apologising to everybody and accepting his mistake, he instead tried to turn the tables on the ATP and the officials by saying that there are too many rules to abide by and that sometimes individuals who break them are not punished accordingly. It seemed like an awful case of bitterness and acting like a sore loser. Nobody told Nalbandian to start aiming kicks at advertising hoardings. In fact, last time I checked, it was a movement that is not required in tennis, so there is no reason for doing it. Yes, he may have been angry and frustrated about how the match was going for him at that particular time but there are appropriate ways to deal with such a situation and ideally they should be channelled back into your game in a way that you can use to your advantage. The fact of the matter is that he appears to have shown little remorse for his actions, and I got a feeling that he only apologised when he did because he knew he had to do so. That is disgraceful behaviour. He seems more concerned with shifting the blame on to others and bringing up other issues that are irrelevant to the case in order to gain sympathy and deflect the news away from him. The fact that an investigation is now going to be opened up against him shows how this approach has failed as well as showing you how vicious the kick was interpreted by many; although it throws up the debate of how footballers like Joey Barton can get away with some of their actions on the field without police involvement...
As mentioned, Andy Murray’s shock early exit from the tournament probably acted as a catalyst for the less coverage the championship subsequently received. The winner of Queens in 2011 was dumped out in 3 sets by Nicholas Mahut in the second round, which having been given a bye in round 1, was Murray’s opening grass court match of the year. It is fair to say then, that preparation ahead of Wimbledon in a week’s time is probably not going ideally then for the British number one. The Scot never really looked like overcoming the Frenchman and I must say I wonder whether his exploits in the French Open are going to curtail his duration on the courts of SW19. He was suffering from a back problem early on at Roland Garros but managed to overcome it on his way to the quarter-finals. However, he clearly has not had a significant amount of rest for the injury to fully heel and I think it may come to haunt him when he faces the burden of the British public to gain his home Grand Slam. In that respect, you could argue that an early exit from Queens was beneficial to Murray as it gave him more time to give his back a break rather than put it under the strain day-after-day in an attempt to retain his Queens title (although I am sure that was his intention at the start of the tournament).
The build-up to Wimbledon is suddenly underway though and you would say more people have come out of Queens with setbacks rather than positive steps forward. Murray exited early; Tsonga and Del Potro were injury affected; whilst Nalbandian caused controversy by managing to get the final concluded earlier than anyone anticipated. For a man of his experience, leading in a final, on one of his favoured surfaces, you can only put down his moment of madness down to a psychological issue that now appears to have even more severe consequences. Going into Wimbledon, it makes you think that the big three of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal will be extremely happy as those competitors who may offer them some discomfort are clearly struggling, making their route to another momentous title much more likely.
Sunday 10 June 2012
GB Taekwondo Cooking Up A Storm
Apologies for the extended break once again readers, but there was a bit of Jubilee partying to be taken care of last week. This week further furore has appeared regarding a British athlete who was expecting to be a big part of London 2012. Taekwondo star, Aaron Cook is the world number one in his division but over the past seven days has been subject to continued rejection from GB Taekwondo, the national governing body who determine the selection criteria and athletes who will participate for the nation this summer. That is right; the world number one is British and not competing in his home Olympics. A genuine medal prospect instead has to watch the event unfold from his living room on television. An astounding decision you probably are all thinking.
So what misdemeanours have led to his omission? Previous drug abuse? A violent past? Constantly bringing the sport into disrepute? No, none of the above. What appears to have got GB Taekwondo’s noses up is that Cook went and searched for his own training platform rather than sticking to the pathway that the NGB had funded and created. So because he believed he could find a better programme that would allow him to reach his potential sooner and to its highest ability, he has been subsequently punished. It seems incredibly petty by GB Taekwondo and you can understand the anger and resentment Cook and his team have regarding the decision. Now other British taekwondo players who have stayed with the GB set-up have also been successful this season, so it proves the system does work. However, one programme is not going to suit every individual perfectly, and thus, if they wish to try and fund their own means of development whilst still representing their country and not quitting the sport; surely this should be applauded rather than castigated?
The decision clearly does not sit too well with the British Olympic Association as well. They have to verify and agree with every athlete selection for an Olympic Games but can only reject a proposal if it has been made without following the governing body’s selection process. So although they kept going back to GB Taekwondo to reconsider their decision, they never had the power to reject the decision made, and they were certainly not in any position to be able to decide the selection of Cook. Having said this, having never rejected a selection before in history this would have set a precedent that in the future could have potentially been abused by disgruntled athletes who were omitted from the Games. Yet with the World Taekwondo Federation having also got involved, concerned that GB Taekwondo have broken their code of ethics and brought the sport into disrepute, then you can see how unravelling and embarrassing the situation has become.
What must be remembered is that another individual has benefitted from GB Taekwondo’s bizarre decision. Now it is not the fault of Lutalo Muhammad that he has been selected by the NGB, and he should feel incredibly proud of being given the opportunity to represent the country in London. However, he has not decided to omit Cook and so the slagging off and hate mail he has received since the story was exposed is completely unjustified and totally out of order. Let’s be honest, he is probably as shocked as we are, but now he needs to prepare himself ready to compete with the world’s best and show that he was the right man to be selected. He is certainly going to have to raise his game to be a medal contender though, as he is currently ranked 59th in the world. Remember Cook is number one...
To sour the story even further, although perhaps understandably, Cook is now seeking legal advice as a means to try and force his way into selection for the Games. If such action did end up occurring it is only going to ruin relations between the athlete and governing body even more than it already is. There is clearly bad blood between the two parties and it will be interesting if the legal action fails how Cook decides to act and perform for the rest of his career. Having already squabbled about whether talks and offers had been made by GB Taekwondo to fund Cook’s new programme, which were denied by the athlete’s camp, there is clearly hostility which cannot be beneficial to the governing body nor to Aaron Cook himself. The verbal slagging has continued ever since the decision was ratified this week and it just looks awful from an outside view looking into the story. There is too much petulance and unprofessionalism from all parties.
So once again, Team GB is dealing with a difficult and tumultuous scenario ahead of the Games, rather than being able to build the positive vibe that is going to be needed. Without that the crowd are going to find it hard to motivate and support our home athletes because of the back-step we feel we are already under in the lead-up to the Olympics. However, I cannot comprehend why the British number one, a man who has defeated 10 of the top 15 athletes in the sport in his most recent fights has been overlooked, without other political connotations being involved. For that reason, GB Taekwondo should be ashamed of themselves as they are not only hampering the development of Cook, the medal prospects of Team GB, but also their own ability to showcase their sport and gain media recognition and exposure which is guaranteed when a British athlete is successful. The fact other leading organisations have expressed their concerns and many other athletes have demonstrated their support towards Cook makes you think the selection is one huge mistake.
So what misdemeanours have led to his omission? Previous drug abuse? A violent past? Constantly bringing the sport into disrepute? No, none of the above. What appears to have got GB Taekwondo’s noses up is that Cook went and searched for his own training platform rather than sticking to the pathway that the NGB had funded and created. So because he believed he could find a better programme that would allow him to reach his potential sooner and to its highest ability, he has been subsequently punished. It seems incredibly petty by GB Taekwondo and you can understand the anger and resentment Cook and his team have regarding the decision. Now other British taekwondo players who have stayed with the GB set-up have also been successful this season, so it proves the system does work. However, one programme is not going to suit every individual perfectly, and thus, if they wish to try and fund their own means of development whilst still representing their country and not quitting the sport; surely this should be applauded rather than castigated?
The decision clearly does not sit too well with the British Olympic Association as well. They have to verify and agree with every athlete selection for an Olympic Games but can only reject a proposal if it has been made without following the governing body’s selection process. So although they kept going back to GB Taekwondo to reconsider their decision, they never had the power to reject the decision made, and they were certainly not in any position to be able to decide the selection of Cook. Having said this, having never rejected a selection before in history this would have set a precedent that in the future could have potentially been abused by disgruntled athletes who were omitted from the Games. Yet with the World Taekwondo Federation having also got involved, concerned that GB Taekwondo have broken their code of ethics and brought the sport into disrepute, then you can see how unravelling and embarrassing the situation has become.
What must be remembered is that another individual has benefitted from GB Taekwondo’s bizarre decision. Now it is not the fault of Lutalo Muhammad that he has been selected by the NGB, and he should feel incredibly proud of being given the opportunity to represent the country in London. However, he has not decided to omit Cook and so the slagging off and hate mail he has received since the story was exposed is completely unjustified and totally out of order. Let’s be honest, he is probably as shocked as we are, but now he needs to prepare himself ready to compete with the world’s best and show that he was the right man to be selected. He is certainly going to have to raise his game to be a medal contender though, as he is currently ranked 59th in the world. Remember Cook is number one...
To sour the story even further, although perhaps understandably, Cook is now seeking legal advice as a means to try and force his way into selection for the Games. If such action did end up occurring it is only going to ruin relations between the athlete and governing body even more than it already is. There is clearly bad blood between the two parties and it will be interesting if the legal action fails how Cook decides to act and perform for the rest of his career. Having already squabbled about whether talks and offers had been made by GB Taekwondo to fund Cook’s new programme, which were denied by the athlete’s camp, there is clearly hostility which cannot be beneficial to the governing body nor to Aaron Cook himself. The verbal slagging has continued ever since the decision was ratified this week and it just looks awful from an outside view looking into the story. There is too much petulance and unprofessionalism from all parties.
So once again, Team GB is dealing with a difficult and tumultuous scenario ahead of the Games, rather than being able to build the positive vibe that is going to be needed. Without that the crowd are going to find it hard to motivate and support our home athletes because of the back-step we feel we are already under in the lead-up to the Olympics. However, I cannot comprehend why the British number one, a man who has defeated 10 of the top 15 athletes in the sport in his most recent fights has been overlooked, without other political connotations being involved. For that reason, GB Taekwondo should be ashamed of themselves as they are not only hampering the development of Cook, the medal prospects of Team GB, but also their own ability to showcase their sport and gain media recognition and exposure which is guaranteed when a British athlete is successful. The fact other leading organisations have expressed their concerns and many other athletes have demonstrated their support towards Cook makes you think the selection is one huge mistake.
Sunday 27 May 2012
Spot The Fat!
My topic of discussion is quite a bizarre one this week. It was revealed this week, that a senior member of UK Athletics told Jessica Ennis she was too fat to compete successfully. Now, I am sure you are all aware of what Miss Ennis looks like, because she is the poster-girl for the athletics this summer. But here is a little reminder:
Now I struggle severely to note any fat on this athlete, let alone be able to consider her excessively overweight. She currently weighs 8st 13b. It is a ridiculous statement for this official to come out with, and one that not only ridicules his association but could also act as a demotivater for a genuine medal prospect. Ennis clearly wants to win and is undertaking a thorough training regime to ensure this is the case, yet her hard-work is clearly not being appreciated as those who you would be expectant of providing their full-support are failing to do so.
Ennis has laughed off the claims publicly, providing a very professional approach to it all, and hopefully, some common sense! However, you do wonder whether she does hold the same views as her team-mate, Louise Hazel, who has revealed that she too experienced such comments first-hand, and felt an air of despondency because of them. She also raised the key issue of how discussions of weight are extremely serious amongst young girls, whether they are athletes or not. I think this is a particularly valid point. We live in a world nowadays where the media have an extremely strong influence on our perceptions of what is considered ‘normal’. Through citing multiple stories of an ‘obesity crisis’, people now see the slim, slender physique as the ideal one to possess. However, this news article proves that even those who illustrate this idealistic look already are subject to criticism. What is the pathway for them? Most likely an eating disorder as the move to anorexia becomes more serious and likely. We already know the shocking stories and health detriments of being anorexic, so why are there people out there who appear to be pushing individuals towards it? British triathlete, Hollie Avil, recently retired from the sport because she was suffering such a problem following comments made by a coach.
Further to this, I reckon I could put strong money on the individual at UK Athletics who has opened this can of words being considered fat based on his definition, in other words, bigger than Jessica Ennis. Now in my opinion, you should always concern yourself with your own problems and issues before you start criticising others. So maybe the individual in question should participate alongside Ennis at one of her training sessions. I think it would result in a very amusing conclusion and further embarrassment for the high-ranking official. Additionally, surely if there were concerns over Ennis’ weight they should have been cited a year or so ago, not just a couple of months before the Games commence. It is too late now to do anything significant, so all words offered to the athletes need to be positive, support messages, so that they feel confident and at ease when they step out to perform. Let us toughen our athletes up psychologically, with the determination that they are able to compete with the rest of the world’s best and make their country, as well as themselves, proud.
Thankfully, the “distraction”, as her coach put it, appears to have bypassed Ennis. This weekend she managed to achieve a new British record for the heptathlon in her final major competition before London 2012. She finished 132 points ahead of her nearest competitor, which was a field full of participants she will be up against this summer. Psychologically on two fronts then, this week has been huge for the Sheffield athlete. She has demonstrated she is confident within herself, even if external members have less confidence in her; whilst her talents are continually improving as she has held onto the lead in this competition, setting two new personal best’s and equalling another. As part of the opening weekend of the athletics, Ennis is the prime contender to boost British hopes and spirits to aspire above and beyond what is expected of them within the stadium and bring home many glorious medals.
To summarise, I think this news story is pretty shocking and disgraceful and certainly one that wasn’t necessary to aid British preparations in the lead-up to the Olympics. If ever there was a case of needing to think before you speak, this is a pretty good example! I think that the lack of comments to emerge from UK Athletics since the story broke as well, is also pretty damning and confirming that firstly the comments were made, and secondly, they have embarrassed themselves and lost a lot of credibility amongst many other stakeholders associated to the sport. Athletics supporters, and even general sporting fans, are clearly going to side with Ennis, when they are all very much aware of the look she possesses. She is a poster-girl for a reason and a popular member of the team for her talents. I think 99.9% of the population would not have any issue with her look and body physique! There have been some positives from the emergence of this story though. The first of course, is the performance Ennis put on this weekend, which is surely going to prepare her suitably for London. The second is the media’s portrayal of it all, who have appeared to have sided with the consensus and consider the news to be ridiculous. This is a positive sign, and one that may not necessarily have been utilised, because of the media’s perception that the ideal look needs to be slim, slim, slim. Common sense has prevailed by looking at Ennis and understanding she is at the peak of her physical appearance. Fat, overweight and heavy are certainly not adjectives that fit her look...
Sunday 20 May 2012
Cometh the night, cometh Lady Luck!
I apologise in advance for the third football-based post in four weeks, but I think it just goes to show how dramatic the end of the season can be. Chelsea’s victory in Munich last night demonstrated once more how crazy the game can be. Without a shadow of a doubt, lady luck has been on their side, and they have every right to argue that their triumph was fate and destiny. On numerous occasions in this run, they were complete outsiders, whilst their domestic form suggested that the team was on the wane, lacking cohesion, confidence and fight. However, since the appointment of Roberto Di Matteo as an interim coach, those three qualities have been on display in abundance, especially in Europe. Without them, they certainly would not be celebrating as wildly as they are now.
I think few would have begrudged Bayern Munich the trophy after 90 minutes. They were dominant, both in possession, chances and control of the game. However, it once more demonstrated the necessity to take your chances. The Germans had 35 efforts on goal during the game, with only 8 forcing Petr Cech into action. That is wastefulness of the highest order. Throw in the additional fact that Chelsea made more defensive blocks than in any other game during their Champions League journey (some feat when you consider the display they put on against Barcelona) and it hammers home the performance they put on. Both Gary Cahill and David Luiz, who it must be noted, had susceptible hamstrings, put in heroic shows, whilst Ashley Cole was incredible. Those people who doubted his defensive qualities must surely reconsider their opinions now. He was man of the match in my opinion. Yet, once Bayern broke the deadlock, especially with only 8 minutes left, I anticipate the vast majority considered it to be game over. It was a soft goal to concede. One I thought Cech should have stopped, and was certainly a cruel manner to lose after the display that had been produced over the previous 80+ minutes.
But if you ever wanted the man for the big occasion, then that man must surely be Didier Drogba. Wow, oh wow. Now yes, I am not a 100% Drogba fan as I believe his theatrics are shameful. A man of his size and stature would not crumple to the ground as frequently as he does. Some might argue, it’s to break down the opponents momentum and is gamesmanship, but when you do it so pathetically with all the cameras on you, it is embarrassing. He also has had previous misdemeanours in his Chelsea career; remember the tirade at the referee post-Barca in 2009 or the dismissal in Moscow in 2008? But when the big games arrive, the big man delivers. Nine major finals he has played in for Chelsea, and nine times he has found the back of the net (the one time he didn’t was that Champions League Final in Moscow). The goal last night was stupendous, a bullet of a header. Nobody was getting close to it. Credit must also be paid to Juan Mata for the quality of the corner he delivered. It threw the momentum the other way, and further underlined the belief that it was Chelsea’s night. It would be a disastrous decision by the board if they are to let Drogba leave now. Yes, he is unlikely to be able to play week in, week out. But if you want somebody to win you the big games on the big stages, then you need Drogba in your squad. He will be wanted by many others if he is released by Chelsea.
Also, if Chelsea do not offer Roberto Di Matteo the managerial role on a full-time basis now, they will lose a lot of credibility. This has been Abramovich‘s dream ever since he bought the club and surely he must reward the man who made it possible accordingly. Whether Di Matteo takes up the offer is another matter. After achieving a Cup double in his two months in charge, he will be under huge pressure to retain success. The job is probably the biggest poisoned chalice in the game, and Di Matteo has achieved the greatest achievement in club management. He could get any domestic job now probably, and potentially at a location where the pressure is less and the axe wielding less frequent. The achievement does not hide the fact, that Chelsea’s side is predominantly an experienced one, and these players cannot go on forever, a new influx needs to emerge. Ryan Bertrand has been a successful addition in 2012, whilst young Courtois has been fantastic in goal at Athletico Madrid this season on-loan from The Blues and is definitely the long-term successor to Cech. But more purchases need to be made. Does Di Matteo think he can do this, whilst still keeping the old guard happy as they are slowly given fewer opportunities?
Understandable joyous scenes followed the decisive spot kick. Although I think it said a lot when the bit-part, average players were desperate to be seen in shot and holding the trophy at its presentation (yes, I mean you Kalou, Meireles, Bosingwa and co). I also disagree that Terry should have been allowed to lift the trophy – collect a medal for sure, but raise a cup he had no say in because of his stupid, thuggish nature I think detracted from the work of Lampard, Drogba, Cole and Cech, etc. However, whatever else that could be said, I must conclude that the most remarkable of trophies has been won. Without doubt, Liverpool in Istanbul remains as THE final, but the whole journey of Chelsea’s achievement is remarkable. To be repeatedly the underdog and yet somehow, every time, come out on top, deserves superb credit. Let us not forget they were 3-1 down after the first leg of their last-16 clash with Napoli; they were 2-1 down to Barcelona with 10 men; and finally 1-0 down against Bayern in the Allianz Arena with just 8 minutes remaining. Yes, luck has been on their side, but the team rallied together in a time of adversity, why it took a managerial dismissal to do so is another matter, but they made sure they were always in with a shout. They dared to believe, and those who dare, win.
I think few would have begrudged Bayern Munich the trophy after 90 minutes. They were dominant, both in possession, chances and control of the game. However, it once more demonstrated the necessity to take your chances. The Germans had 35 efforts on goal during the game, with only 8 forcing Petr Cech into action. That is wastefulness of the highest order. Throw in the additional fact that Chelsea made more defensive blocks than in any other game during their Champions League journey (some feat when you consider the display they put on against Barcelona) and it hammers home the performance they put on. Both Gary Cahill and David Luiz, who it must be noted, had susceptible hamstrings, put in heroic shows, whilst Ashley Cole was incredible. Those people who doubted his defensive qualities must surely reconsider their opinions now. He was man of the match in my opinion. Yet, once Bayern broke the deadlock, especially with only 8 minutes left, I anticipate the vast majority considered it to be game over. It was a soft goal to concede. One I thought Cech should have stopped, and was certainly a cruel manner to lose after the display that had been produced over the previous 80+ minutes.
But if you ever wanted the man for the big occasion, then that man must surely be Didier Drogba. Wow, oh wow. Now yes, I am not a 100% Drogba fan as I believe his theatrics are shameful. A man of his size and stature would not crumple to the ground as frequently as he does. Some might argue, it’s to break down the opponents momentum and is gamesmanship, but when you do it so pathetically with all the cameras on you, it is embarrassing. He also has had previous misdemeanours in his Chelsea career; remember the tirade at the referee post-Barca in 2009 or the dismissal in Moscow in 2008? But when the big games arrive, the big man delivers. Nine major finals he has played in for Chelsea, and nine times he has found the back of the net (the one time he didn’t was that Champions League Final in Moscow). The goal last night was stupendous, a bullet of a header. Nobody was getting close to it. Credit must also be paid to Juan Mata for the quality of the corner he delivered. It threw the momentum the other way, and further underlined the belief that it was Chelsea’s night. It would be a disastrous decision by the board if they are to let Drogba leave now. Yes, he is unlikely to be able to play week in, week out. But if you want somebody to win you the big games on the big stages, then you need Drogba in your squad. He will be wanted by many others if he is released by Chelsea.
Also, if Chelsea do not offer Roberto Di Matteo the managerial role on a full-time basis now, they will lose a lot of credibility. This has been Abramovich‘s dream ever since he bought the club and surely he must reward the man who made it possible accordingly. Whether Di Matteo takes up the offer is another matter. After achieving a Cup double in his two months in charge, he will be under huge pressure to retain success. The job is probably the biggest poisoned chalice in the game, and Di Matteo has achieved the greatest achievement in club management. He could get any domestic job now probably, and potentially at a location where the pressure is less and the axe wielding less frequent. The achievement does not hide the fact, that Chelsea’s side is predominantly an experienced one, and these players cannot go on forever, a new influx needs to emerge. Ryan Bertrand has been a successful addition in 2012, whilst young Courtois has been fantastic in goal at Athletico Madrid this season on-loan from The Blues and is definitely the long-term successor to Cech. But more purchases need to be made. Does Di Matteo think he can do this, whilst still keeping the old guard happy as they are slowly given fewer opportunities?
Understandable joyous scenes followed the decisive spot kick. Although I think it said a lot when the bit-part, average players were desperate to be seen in shot and holding the trophy at its presentation (yes, I mean you Kalou, Meireles, Bosingwa and co). I also disagree that Terry should have been allowed to lift the trophy – collect a medal for sure, but raise a cup he had no say in because of his stupid, thuggish nature I think detracted from the work of Lampard, Drogba, Cole and Cech, etc. However, whatever else that could be said, I must conclude that the most remarkable of trophies has been won. Without doubt, Liverpool in Istanbul remains as THE final, but the whole journey of Chelsea’s achievement is remarkable. To be repeatedly the underdog and yet somehow, every time, come out on top, deserves superb credit. Let us not forget they were 3-1 down after the first leg of their last-16 clash with Napoli; they were 2-1 down to Barcelona with 10 men; and finally 1-0 down against Bayern in the Allianz Arena with just 8 minutes remaining. Yes, luck has been on their side, but the team rallied together in a time of adversity, why it took a managerial dismissal to do so is another matter, but they made sure they were always in with a shout. They dared to believe, and those who dare, win.
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