2011 has been the year of scandals throughout football, especially in England, that has changed the meaning of "The Beautiful Game". Football now seems to get more publicity off the field than it does on it, but is that because the football has got worse in England? Far from it.
This past year footballers have done all their talking on the field. Footballers that have come under tremendous criticism, managers as well, have all tried to concentrate on the positives of football. In England the press seem very eager to portray a negative view on the footballer of today, and some stories that do come out are very controversial, but are they really stories FOOTBALL FANS want to hear? Not a chance in hell. Football fans are only interested in whatever happens on Saturday at 3 o'clock, or whenever else football is on. The news they are only interested in is if their team won, drew or lost, or if there were any upsets throughout the leagues. And this year has seen plenty of them
The big results that shocked the country this year get their time in the papers, but if you asked a person on the street what do you remember hearing about more: The Ryan Giggs super-injunction or the 6-1 thrashing Manchester City gave their Manchester counter-parts? Nine out of ten people would say the super-injunction. This year, including the 6-1 Manchester derby, has seen some amazing football results and moments up and down the country that has shocked the nations fans. Arsenal 4-0 up against Newcastle and then a miraculous come-back saw it end 4-4; THAT over-head kick by Rooney; Huddersfield's record breaking 43 match unbeaten run... and many many more that I'm sure will be saved at the back of your memories for years to come.
Another big part of the Premier League this past year has been the sheer skill of some of the players up and down the league. Manchester City are now a team you just love to watch, the intricate footwork of magic man David Silva, the strikers instinct of Sergio Aguero and last but not least the man that keeps on giving, literally, Mario Balotelli. A man that can produce a piece of brilliance one minute, and not put on a bib the next has put a smile on every football fans face this year and we look forward to many more of it.
So the press can publish their stories of scandals about footballers off the field, football fans are not interested in them. They know what they want, and the footballers know exactly how to give the fans what they want and this year they have surpassed all expectations. We have one more week left of this year that could add to what has actually been a great year in English football, despite European disappointments. But with the attention off of European football in 2011 has made the Premier League a joy to watch with all teams putting on a spectacular for their fans every time they turn up.
Football is never played on a white sheet of paper, it is played on lush green fields and this year footballers have ripped up the turf and provided football fans with a fantastic and memorable year. Bring on the next one
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Football is JUST a game...
To fan's football is much more important than a game, to which I agree. But it seems a football club's hierarchy have taken that view in a different light and ruined football for good, and it is something I think should have been addressed along long time ago.
This week we heard the news about Mike Ashley changing one of football's most historic ground names, St James' Park, to the much more fierce and threatening feel: Sports Direct Arena. Football in the 21st century seems to be embraced by money. It's not new news, it has been here for a while now, but that is the reason I want to address. Why has it become so important in football, and why has it been so important for so long?
"Football back in my day..." is a quote we always hear from people that witnessed football before the invention of the Premier League. What will we be saying 50/60 years down the line? "Back in my day £30 million wasn't a lot of money"? It's just getting ridiculous with the latest development of Mike Ashley tarnishing the history of St James' Park with in what seems such a simple step to the 'Sports Direct Arena'. This need and apparent desire for owners to do this to our national stadiums is absurd and I for one want to make a stand.
I'm not saying that it is easy for vasts amount of money to stop being pumped into football, but there has to be a fine line to where it ends, doesn't it? Simple things like cutting down football players ego's now by cutting wage bills to reasonable wage packets is a massive must! Football players have too much of an ego nowadays that it's not the club that matters that they move to, it's all about the wage bill on offer? Samuel Eto'o I am talking about you. Transfers: surely there can be a cut on price of players, players haven't got extremely better in under 40 years that a young Kenny Dalglish was bought for £440,00 and nowadays clubs can buy players over 100 times that amount! Simple things like that will not only cut the owners debt in clubs but also make teams equal and not about individuals.
I'm a Liverpool fan, i don't really hide that well, so obviously I'm renowned to talk about the history of Anfield and my view on moving stadiums, but it's not just these stories. We've seen stadiums like Wigan's change from JJB stadium to the DW stadium, why, because Dave Whelan matters more than Wigan Athletic apparently. Stadiums like the KC stadium for Hull and the Reebok Stadium for Bolton may have a bit of history with that name but fans before these 'major' sponsorship deals must have thought why?
There is absolutely NO need for stadiums names being tarnished because owners think they can make extra cash from sponsorship deals. Fans are the biggest investment football teams have and they are only pushing them away with these type of shenanigans. Mike Ashley has to be the biggest culprit here. His club are on the best run for over 50 years, fans are finally enjoying football at this historical club, everything seems rosy for him as the owner once again and then in true Mike Ashley fashion he manages to face a huge backlash from fans that could ultimately end in fans to busy chanting about the stadium name to actually concentrate on what matters. Football.
Because that is what football is at the end of the day. Just Football.
This week we heard the news about Mike Ashley changing one of football's most historic ground names, St James' Park, to the much more fierce and threatening feel: Sports Direct Arena. Football in the 21st century seems to be embraced by money. It's not new news, it has been here for a while now, but that is the reason I want to address. Why has it become so important in football, and why has it been so important for so long?
"Football back in my day..." is a quote we always hear from people that witnessed football before the invention of the Premier League. What will we be saying 50/60 years down the line? "Back in my day £30 million wasn't a lot of money"? It's just getting ridiculous with the latest development of Mike Ashley tarnishing the history of St James' Park with in what seems such a simple step to the 'Sports Direct Arena'. This need and apparent desire for owners to do this to our national stadiums is absurd and I for one want to make a stand.
I'm not saying that it is easy for vasts amount of money to stop being pumped into football, but there has to be a fine line to where it ends, doesn't it? Simple things like cutting down football players ego's now by cutting wage bills to reasonable wage packets is a massive must! Football players have too much of an ego nowadays that it's not the club that matters that they move to, it's all about the wage bill on offer? Samuel Eto'o I am talking about you. Transfers: surely there can be a cut on price of players, players haven't got extremely better in under 40 years that a young Kenny Dalglish was bought for £440,00 and nowadays clubs can buy players over 100 times that amount! Simple things like that will not only cut the owners debt in clubs but also make teams equal and not about individuals.
I'm a Liverpool fan, i don't really hide that well, so obviously I'm renowned to talk about the history of Anfield and my view on moving stadiums, but it's not just these stories. We've seen stadiums like Wigan's change from JJB stadium to the DW stadium, why, because Dave Whelan matters more than Wigan Athletic apparently. Stadiums like the KC stadium for Hull and the Reebok Stadium for Bolton may have a bit of history with that name but fans before these 'major' sponsorship deals must have thought why?
There is absolutely NO need for stadiums names being tarnished because owners think they can make extra cash from sponsorship deals. Fans are the biggest investment football teams have and they are only pushing them away with these type of shenanigans. Mike Ashley has to be the biggest culprit here. His club are on the best run for over 50 years, fans are finally enjoying football at this historical club, everything seems rosy for him as the owner once again and then in true Mike Ashley fashion he manages to face a huge backlash from fans that could ultimately end in fans to busy chanting about the stadium name to actually concentrate on what matters. Football.
Because that is what football is at the end of the day. Just Football.
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Put your handbags away ladies, these women know how to play ball
World champions Russia were not going to be an easy test for the Great Britain team who are still building a team for the Olympics. This match however seemed out of their reach and Russia came out on top 24-16, but that isn’t to say Great Britain were a push over.
Great Britain started the scoring off after Sarah Hargreaves had made two magnificent saves, something that was repeated throughout the whole game. Kathryn Fudge was able to squeeze through a tight gap to get the game up and running around 3 minutes in. After this though Great Britain were struggling to cope with Russia’s quick counter attacks where they would catch the GB defence off guard and eventually took a 4-1 lead. Then Lyn Byl came into play and was able to launch herself into the box to throw a devastating double either side of another Russia goal making it 3-5.
Great Britain were still struggling to get any pace to their attack with a repetitive sequence of passes going from left wing to centre to right wing and back and forth without any penetration, but when the big Russian, Anna Sen, was sent to the bench for 2 minutes for a foul on Byl, Great Britain were able to unleash a flow of attacks where they were able to battle it back to 5-6. When Anna Sen came back into play Russia looked a constant threat again eventually taking a lead of 8-5, but it could have been a lot worse if it weren’t for that woman between the sticks, Sarah Hargreaves. Countless saves including a remarkable reflex save that denied Russia. Sarah Hargeaves was stopping Russia run away with the game and her saves managed to install some belief into the players and they were battling back to make it 7-8, somehow still holding onto the World champions after a third of the game.
The last 10 minutes of the first half however proved to be too much for the hosts and by the interval were pegged back 10-14. The first half showed promising signs though with Kathryn Fudge, Lyn Byl, the captain Lynn McCafferty and of course Sarah Hargreaves all impressing for the home side. But it was Russia’s devastating speed in which they would break, as soon as Great Britain would score they would be back on them straight away not letting them ease up and by the end of the half you could see it was tiring the GB girls out and let their good first 20 minute form slip, but a quick-fire double from Holly Lam-Moores just before the break proved promising signs for the second half.
Unfortunately the promising signs were a distant memory 7 minutes in as Russia had built a 7 point lead making it 17-10. Kathryn Fudge was having a frustrating spell where the Russian between the sticks equalled Sarah’s heroics in goal saving 3 shots from Kathryn Fudge inside 10 minutes. But back to her heroics, Sarah was brave in taking a hard whack in the face after a hard shot, but showing her grit and determination to continue her fine form she got up and just second’s later Russia were awarded a penalty and she saved it sending the fans into raptures. The trio of Emiliia Turei, Anna Sen and Liudmila Bodnieva were a constant threat throughout with the latter two players towering over all the Great Britain players at 180-185cm and Emiliia Turei a tricky customer to handle.
After 50 minutes had gone Russia were in full control taking full advantage of a tiring Great Britain side that had put up a great fight, but they were playing the World champions. And they were proving their credentials when they increased their lead to 22-13 and without the master class in goal by Sarah Hargreaves it could have easily turned into an embarrassing afternoon. The strength in the Russian side was finally showing when Captain Lynn McCafferty was bundled over by Anna Sen and despite getting back up she had to go off and that was her game finished and with that injury almost ended Great Britain’s chances when the score was 24-15 to Russia with 5 minutes to go. Just like the first half Great Britain were able to snatch a late goal with a sweet move but the game finished 16-24 to the reigning World Champions, but for a team that has only been formed for 5 years it was not bad going at all.
I hadn’t known much about Handball as a sport as it is not a relatively big sport in England like it is in Germany, Denmark and Russia respectively but after watching the fast-paced action today and determination shown by the Great Britain side, the ever-growing fan base of the sport in the UK gained one extra fan. What I liked most about the after-match was the fact you could see the girls were pleased with the performance, and so they should be. The London 2012 Olympics is just what Great British Handball needs to launch the sport to new heights of popularity and for people who may be thinking they lost out getting handball tickets at the Olympics, I for one am jealous.
Great Britain started the scoring off after Sarah Hargreaves had made two magnificent saves, something that was repeated throughout the whole game. Kathryn Fudge was able to squeeze through a tight gap to get the game up and running around 3 minutes in. After this though Great Britain were struggling to cope with Russia’s quick counter attacks where they would catch the GB defence off guard and eventually took a 4-1 lead. Then Lyn Byl came into play and was able to launch herself into the box to throw a devastating double either side of another Russia goal making it 3-5.
Great Britain were still struggling to get any pace to their attack with a repetitive sequence of passes going from left wing to centre to right wing and back and forth without any penetration, but when the big Russian, Anna Sen, was sent to the bench for 2 minutes for a foul on Byl, Great Britain were able to unleash a flow of attacks where they were able to battle it back to 5-6. When Anna Sen came back into play Russia looked a constant threat again eventually taking a lead of 8-5, but it could have been a lot worse if it weren’t for that woman between the sticks, Sarah Hargreaves. Countless saves including a remarkable reflex save that denied Russia. Sarah Hargeaves was stopping Russia run away with the game and her saves managed to install some belief into the players and they were battling back to make it 7-8, somehow still holding onto the World champions after a third of the game.
The last 10 minutes of the first half however proved to be too much for the hosts and by the interval were pegged back 10-14. The first half showed promising signs though with Kathryn Fudge, Lyn Byl, the captain Lynn McCafferty and of course Sarah Hargreaves all impressing for the home side. But it was Russia’s devastating speed in which they would break, as soon as Great Britain would score they would be back on them straight away not letting them ease up and by the end of the half you could see it was tiring the GB girls out and let their good first 20 minute form slip, but a quick-fire double from Holly Lam-Moores just before the break proved promising signs for the second half.
Unfortunately the promising signs were a distant memory 7 minutes in as Russia had built a 7 point lead making it 17-10. Kathryn Fudge was having a frustrating spell where the Russian between the sticks equalled Sarah’s heroics in goal saving 3 shots from Kathryn Fudge inside 10 minutes. But back to her heroics, Sarah was brave in taking a hard whack in the face after a hard shot, but showing her grit and determination to continue her fine form she got up and just second’s later Russia were awarded a penalty and she saved it sending the fans into raptures. The trio of Emiliia Turei, Anna Sen and Liudmila Bodnieva were a constant threat throughout with the latter two players towering over all the Great Britain players at 180-185cm and Emiliia Turei a tricky customer to handle.
After 50 minutes had gone Russia were in full control taking full advantage of a tiring Great Britain side that had put up a great fight, but they were playing the World champions. And they were proving their credentials when they increased their lead to 22-13 and without the master class in goal by Sarah Hargreaves it could have easily turned into an embarrassing afternoon. The strength in the Russian side was finally showing when Captain Lynn McCafferty was bundled over by Anna Sen and despite getting back up she had to go off and that was her game finished and with that injury almost ended Great Britain’s chances when the score was 24-15 to Russia with 5 minutes to go. Just like the first half Great Britain were able to snatch a late goal with a sweet move but the game finished 16-24 to the reigning World Champions, but for a team that has only been formed for 5 years it was not bad going at all.
I hadn’t known much about Handball as a sport as it is not a relatively big sport in England like it is in Germany, Denmark and Russia respectively but after watching the fast-paced action today and determination shown by the Great Britain side, the ever-growing fan base of the sport in the UK gained one extra fan. What I liked most about the after-match was the fact you could see the girls were pleased with the performance, and so they should be. The London 2012 Olympics is just what Great British Handball needs to launch the sport to new heights of popularity and for people who may be thinking they lost out getting handball tickets at the Olympics, I for one am jealous.
Thursday, 20 October 2011
North London has seen a change in the top side... will Manchester soon follow suit?
The North London derby two weeks ago was the first time Tottenham were the real favourites to win the derby, and they did not disappoint winning 2-1. But is this Sunday the first time Manchester City really look like being favourites to beat the countries top side?
Manchester United and Manchester City have ruled the first few months of the season, with City just edging it and being top of the pile... for now. But Manchester United have played Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool and have only dropped two points recently against Liverpool whereas Manchester City have only played Tottenham out of the top sides so far, where they did win 5-1.
So this Sunday is City's first real test of title credentials for this year, although it comes pretty early in the season you could claim it as a title decider in the mindset of each Manchester club. Neither has taken Europe by storm this year with City only gaining their first win out of three thanks to a stoppage time winner against Villareal this week, and Manchester United also gaining their first win this week against Galati with Rooney scoring two penalties to decide it. So Europe hasn't seen the threat of Manchester yet, but the Premier League definitely has.
Manchester City have managed 27 league goals this year so far in just 8 games and not to far behind them United have scored 25, 14 more than Newcastle and Liverpool who sit 4th and 5th respectively. Its not just the forwards in both sides that have impressed, the back line of each team have only conceded six goals each this term so far, matched only by Newcastle.
There have been massive improvements in the Manchester City camp, despite the Tevez saga. Sergio Aguero has been a breathe of fresh air not just to Manchester City, but to the Premier League, and we also starting to see a much happier and much more passionate Roberto Mancini, something fans all over the country are liking... despite Manchester United of course. Most will say they don't like it because they will say 'United are the better side...' but City fans will argue United don't like it because they are getting scared of their noisy neighbours.
We will have to wait until Sunday to see whether Manchester City will be able to silence the 'noisy neighbours' tag or Manchester United will be showing they are a hard horse to topple, all we know is this derby is getting more and more exciting each year and this weekend will be the next big one.
Manchester United and Manchester City have ruled the first few months of the season, with City just edging it and being top of the pile... for now. But Manchester United have played Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool and have only dropped two points recently against Liverpool whereas Manchester City have only played Tottenham out of the top sides so far, where they did win 5-1.
So this Sunday is City's first real test of title credentials for this year, although it comes pretty early in the season you could claim it as a title decider in the mindset of each Manchester club. Neither has taken Europe by storm this year with City only gaining their first win out of three thanks to a stoppage time winner against Villareal this week, and Manchester United also gaining their first win this week against Galati with Rooney scoring two penalties to decide it. So Europe hasn't seen the threat of Manchester yet, but the Premier League definitely has.
Manchester City have managed 27 league goals this year so far in just 8 games and not to far behind them United have scored 25, 14 more than Newcastle and Liverpool who sit 4th and 5th respectively. Its not just the forwards in both sides that have impressed, the back line of each team have only conceded six goals each this term so far, matched only by Newcastle.
There have been massive improvements in the Manchester City camp, despite the Tevez saga. Sergio Aguero has been a breathe of fresh air not just to Manchester City, but to the Premier League, and we also starting to see a much happier and much more passionate Roberto Mancini, something fans all over the country are liking... despite Manchester United of course. Most will say they don't like it because they will say 'United are the better side...' but City fans will argue United don't like it because they are getting scared of their noisy neighbours.
We will have to wait until Sunday to see whether Manchester City will be able to silence the 'noisy neighbours' tag or Manchester United will be showing they are a hard horse to topple, all we know is this derby is getting more and more exciting each year and this weekend will be the next big one.
Saturday, 25 June 2011
The English Spirit
A standing ovation after a loss at Wimbledon for one of Britain's most talented female tennis players and that is seen as wrong by some people. Why? Simply because they don't embrace the British spirit that British fans possess.
Laura Robson lost yesterday to one of the most talented players in ladies tennis, Maria Sharapova, 7-6 6-3, straight sets. But being world no 254 who gave her a chance at all? So when she went 4-1 up in the first set fans were going wild around Wimbledon in the belief they may witness one of the biggest shocks in the history of Wimbledon. However she wasn't able to hold on and the experience of Maria Sharapova shone through and battled back to win a tie-break in the first set and then win the second set to progress.
So why after her loss have some pundits started questioning Laura Robson's ability and potential in the future? Comparisons were easily made with Maria Sharapova as she was 17 when she won Wimbledon but as you see with other great players in tennis, some people come into the sport amazing and take the tour by storm, and some progress year by year - namely the best player in tennis history, Roger Federer. Some may say being 22 winning your first grand slam is considered quite young, but if you look at him now you would have thought he would have always been that good, but he worked hard over the years to get to where he is now.
So the fact some critics have criticised the reaction of fans when Laura Robson lost to Maria Sharapova was somewhat shocking almost. Britain doesn't have a lot of high quality players in tennis so when Laura Robson won the junior championships at 14 a lot of weight was put on her shoulders, but a main reason why she won that junior championship was because of her strength that other juniors couldn't cope with. In 3 years she has definitely improved as you would expect, but clearly not the player YET to be challenging with the top 10, but as with Andy Murray she could become a late bloomer. Andy Murray suffered from fitness problems and lasting the full 5 sets, but he went away and worked on it and came back stronger to become a force to be reckoned with, Laura Robson will just need to show that same commitment, but as everyone can keep pointing out she is only 17. The Williams sisters are near on 30 and are on the top of the women's game still so one will look and say she has 13 years ahead of her to be making a name for herself in the game.
But as for the British fans, we are more than happy to see a talent that we believe in do well and cheer her on than down-hearten her spirits at such a young age by saying negative things about her game. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" may be something Laura Robson will or even has come to terms with and critics are part and parcel of any ones game but in Britain it seems more likely. The English football team, Andy Murray, English golfers, the English cricket team... the list is endless of teams/players in England that get slated after just one or two losses and not being world-beaters. Boos and bad press are never going to inspire a player/team to succeed in the sport because in theory they are entertainers for their fans and if they see people not enjoying them then why would they want to try and reverse that? They're all still human and are all extremely talented at their respective sport and all deserve to be where they are.
So that's why i chose to write this blog, to applaud the fans who gave Laura Robson a standing ovation, to be able to pick up their countryman after a hard-hitting loss and saluting her efforts. It was that gesture that typifies the British spirit and I for one am proud that I live in a country where we can be well-pleased with a British athletes efforts and look forward to cheering on much more losses in the future.
Laura Robson lost yesterday to one of the most talented players in ladies tennis, Maria Sharapova, 7-6 6-3, straight sets. But being world no 254 who gave her a chance at all? So when she went 4-1 up in the first set fans were going wild around Wimbledon in the belief they may witness one of the biggest shocks in the history of Wimbledon. However she wasn't able to hold on and the experience of Maria Sharapova shone through and battled back to win a tie-break in the first set and then win the second set to progress.
So why after her loss have some pundits started questioning Laura Robson's ability and potential in the future? Comparisons were easily made with Maria Sharapova as she was 17 when she won Wimbledon but as you see with other great players in tennis, some people come into the sport amazing and take the tour by storm, and some progress year by year - namely the best player in tennis history, Roger Federer. Some may say being 22 winning your first grand slam is considered quite young, but if you look at him now you would have thought he would have always been that good, but he worked hard over the years to get to where he is now.
So the fact some critics have criticised the reaction of fans when Laura Robson lost to Maria Sharapova was somewhat shocking almost. Britain doesn't have a lot of high quality players in tennis so when Laura Robson won the junior championships at 14 a lot of weight was put on her shoulders, but a main reason why she won that junior championship was because of her strength that other juniors couldn't cope with. In 3 years she has definitely improved as you would expect, but clearly not the player YET to be challenging with the top 10, but as with Andy Murray she could become a late bloomer. Andy Murray suffered from fitness problems and lasting the full 5 sets, but he went away and worked on it and came back stronger to become a force to be reckoned with, Laura Robson will just need to show that same commitment, but as everyone can keep pointing out she is only 17. The Williams sisters are near on 30 and are on the top of the women's game still so one will look and say she has 13 years ahead of her to be making a name for herself in the game.
But as for the British fans, we are more than happy to see a talent that we believe in do well and cheer her on than down-hearten her spirits at such a young age by saying negative things about her game. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" may be something Laura Robson will or even has come to terms with and critics are part and parcel of any ones game but in Britain it seems more likely. The English football team, Andy Murray, English golfers, the English cricket team... the list is endless of teams/players in England that get slated after just one or two losses and not being world-beaters. Boos and bad press are never going to inspire a player/team to succeed in the sport because in theory they are entertainers for their fans and if they see people not enjoying them then why would they want to try and reverse that? They're all still human and are all extremely talented at their respective sport and all deserve to be where they are.
So that's why i chose to write this blog, to applaud the fans who gave Laura Robson a standing ovation, to be able to pick up their countryman after a hard-hitting loss and saluting her efforts. It was that gesture that typifies the British spirit and I for one am proud that I live in a country where we can be well-pleased with a British athletes efforts and look forward to cheering on much more losses in the future.
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Game, Set and Match Miss Laura Robson
Born in our sporting rival country Australia. But nurtured into a tennis talent in Great Britain.
Laura Robson shot to fame with her Junior Championships title at the tender age of just 14. Three years on since her triumph at Wimbledon she is back and on the professional tour and her first round match was against a former top 100 in Angelique Kerber on which she showed great determination and skill to come up trumps 4-6 7-6 6-3 and now looks forward to a mouth-watering round two match against Maria Sharapova, anyone else backing the Brit for an upset?
Her poise and power shown in the first round match was astonishing in which she was able to conjure up numerous baseline winners against her opponent leaving her defenceless at times. A part of her game however that seemed to be exploited her opponent was simply her lack of experience in some loss in concentration but with time on her side that will no doubt come along nicely into her game.
In the three years since her triumph at Wimbledon she has climbed an astonishing 305 places to 254th in the world and will clearly be following this climb down the rankings with time on her side. A first massive test for Laura Robson comes in the shape of Maria Sharapova, a former world number 1, and although she may be feeling slight nerves about that prospect she is surely looking forward to the feeling if she is able to cause a huge upset.
Laura Robson is flying the Great British flag for the women that aspire to make it as a tennis professional and at the age of just 17 she is setting a fine example to any young girl, or boy even, to make the progress she has shown in her short career so far. What's next to come for the young Briton? A long and illustrious career I am sure.
Laura Robson shot to fame with her Junior Championships title at the tender age of just 14. Three years on since her triumph at Wimbledon she is back and on the professional tour and her first round match was against a former top 100 in Angelique Kerber on which she showed great determination and skill to come up trumps 4-6 7-6 6-3 and now looks forward to a mouth-watering round two match against Maria Sharapova, anyone else backing the Brit for an upset?
Her poise and power shown in the first round match was astonishing in which she was able to conjure up numerous baseline winners against her opponent leaving her defenceless at times. A part of her game however that seemed to be exploited her opponent was simply her lack of experience in some loss in concentration but with time on her side that will no doubt come along nicely into her game.
In the three years since her triumph at Wimbledon she has climbed an astonishing 305 places to 254th in the world and will clearly be following this climb down the rankings with time on her side. A first massive test for Laura Robson comes in the shape of Maria Sharapova, a former world number 1, and although she may be feeling slight nerves about that prospect she is surely looking forward to the feeling if she is able to cause a huge upset.
Laura Robson is flying the Great British flag for the women that aspire to make it as a tennis professional and at the age of just 17 she is setting a fine example to any young girl, or boy even, to make the progress she has shown in her short career so far. What's next to come for the young Briton? A long and illustrious career I am sure.
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Mcilroys Masterclass
We feel like we have been here before this year. Mcilroy taking a golf major by storm and taking a great lead into the final round, but what we hope won't continue the similar trend is the final round performance of Rory Mcilroy.
One can't help but worry and compare to his heartbreaking last round 80 at the masters earlier on in the year, but that fall at the final hurdle has seemed to spur him on even more to concur the US Open with him breaking numerous records on his demolition of the Congressional course.
In the masters there was always this nerve about Mcilroy, never feeling confident at the top of the leader board even with a convincing four shot lead going into the final round, but this time round his game has looked flawless with only a few off-key shots proving that he is still human. But at the tender age of 22 and being the first person ever to reach 14 under par at the Congressional he has definitely learnt from every mistake he made at The Masters and looks set to claim his first major.
Since the return and demise of Tiger Woods there has not been one player to take the tour by storm with new players claiming the number 1 spot every other month, but with Rory Mcilroy young, hungry and showing great maturity we are starting to see the growth of maybe another great for golf in the making.
His ability to come back from such a soul-destroying last round flop at The Masters is something that not even the sturdiest broad shoulders could carry into the US Open, but he has managed to do it, and in some style taking an astonishing 8 shot lead into the final round. Everyone, especially the American fans are cheering him on and giving him the backing in not just the hope that he can win his first major, but hope that he can go on to win much more in what is sure to be an illustrious golfing career
One can't help but worry and compare to his heartbreaking last round 80 at the masters earlier on in the year, but that fall at the final hurdle has seemed to spur him on even more to concur the US Open with him breaking numerous records on his demolition of the Congressional course.
In the masters there was always this nerve about Mcilroy, never feeling confident at the top of the leader board even with a convincing four shot lead going into the final round, but this time round his game has looked flawless with only a few off-key shots proving that he is still human. But at the tender age of 22 and being the first person ever to reach 14 under par at the Congressional he has definitely learnt from every mistake he made at The Masters and looks set to claim his first major.
Since the return and demise of Tiger Woods there has not been one player to take the tour by storm with new players claiming the number 1 spot every other month, but with Rory Mcilroy young, hungry and showing great maturity we are starting to see the growth of maybe another great for golf in the making.
His ability to come back from such a soul-destroying last round flop at The Masters is something that not even the sturdiest broad shoulders could carry into the US Open, but he has managed to do it, and in some style taking an astonishing 8 shot lead into the final round. Everyone, especially the American fans are cheering him on and giving him the backing in not just the hope that he can win his first major, but hope that he can go on to win much more in what is sure to be an illustrious golfing career
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
The final ball has been kicked but the transfer mill keeps football going all year round
The football season ended in dramatic fashion with the play-offs and champions league final. We saw the worlds best team in Barcelona out-play Manchester United like a training match with Messi and co pulling the strings in the middle. And to top it off the Premier League is welcoming its first Welsh side into the top flight. A glorious end to a truly magnificent season of football across the globe.
But us football fans know that isn't the end of football for the season as because of the mass media football now gets its almost a yearly round thing on the back page of newspapers even in the off-season because of the countless transfer rumours. Players' agents are called in left, right and centre for statements on their players future giving away small hints. Papers somehow make up farce accusations such as Ronaldinho being linked with a move to... Blackburn Rovers? Bizarre is not the word. But it is these rumours that keeps football alive all year round and its what football fans love.
Whether your teams manager is going to pull a bunny out of the hat like Fergie did with Hernandez for a cut-price £6 million or your team is going to flop on players like Chelsea did with Andriy Shevchenko for £30 million. It gets the fans pumping and if the January transfer window is anything to go by, August 31st is going to be a stonker of a deadline day too.
But to sum-up the season of football with a football team as an example would have to be Blackpool. Not Barcelona. Not Manchester United. Not even Spain's dominance in international football. Blackpool because of the sheer passion and pride they brought back into just playing in the Premier League. Barcelona we know are the best team in the world that have probably graced a football field, and Blackpool would hardly stand a chance against them. But the tangerines stood out this season not only with their fluorescent orange kit, but with their tenacity and pride of being in English Footballs top tier, and led by one of footballs most fun-loving sons Ian Holloway. The misfortune of being relegated on the last day of the season can not take away the enjoyment they brought back to the Premier League and no doubt will follow into the Championship under Ian Holloway's guidance.
Lets just hope Premier League new-boys QPR and Swansea City can off that same exuberance that is still beaming over football fans' faces after a terrific season of football.
But us football fans know that isn't the end of football for the season as because of the mass media football now gets its almost a yearly round thing on the back page of newspapers even in the off-season because of the countless transfer rumours. Players' agents are called in left, right and centre for statements on their players future giving away small hints. Papers somehow make up farce accusations such as Ronaldinho being linked with a move to... Blackburn Rovers? Bizarre is not the word. But it is these rumours that keeps football alive all year round and its what football fans love.
Whether your teams manager is going to pull a bunny out of the hat like Fergie did with Hernandez for a cut-price £6 million or your team is going to flop on players like Chelsea did with Andriy Shevchenko for £30 million. It gets the fans pumping and if the January transfer window is anything to go by, August 31st is going to be a stonker of a deadline day too.
But to sum-up the season of football with a football team as an example would have to be Blackpool. Not Barcelona. Not Manchester United. Not even Spain's dominance in international football. Blackpool because of the sheer passion and pride they brought back into just playing in the Premier League. Barcelona we know are the best team in the world that have probably graced a football field, and Blackpool would hardly stand a chance against them. But the tangerines stood out this season not only with their fluorescent orange kit, but with their tenacity and pride of being in English Footballs top tier, and led by one of footballs most fun-loving sons Ian Holloway. The misfortune of being relegated on the last day of the season can not take away the enjoyment they brought back to the Premier League and no doubt will follow into the Championship under Ian Holloway's guidance.
Lets just hope Premier League new-boys QPR and Swansea City can off that same exuberance that is still beaming over football fans' faces after a terrific season of football.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Hindsights a wonderful thing when lady luck isn't on your side
The glitz and glam off the track at Monte Carlo had definitely shined a bit of life into the Formula 1 drivers this weekend at the grand prix. Fans were treated to a real spectacle albeit for some unfortunate accidents that resulted in two drivers being hospitalised.
Formula 1 this year has been dominated by Sebastian Vettel's unbelievable ability to drive behind the wheel of that red bull car that everyone wants to try and take a look at to see what it is that makes the German so fast. But the truth of the matter is that we just have another great F1 driver in the making and he did his reputation no harm in winning a crazy and manic formula 1 race that nobody seemed to be fully in control of.
Lewis Hamilton was quickest in qualifying 1 and 2 on Saturday's session, but a risky move by the Mclaren team to send him out with 4 minutes to go to set a lap time backfired in the most unfortunate of cases: on his first flying lap Massa would not get out of his way causing him to give up on that lap and his second lap was halted by an almighty 100mph crash into the barriers for Sergio Perez resulting in Hamilton qualifying in 7th. To add further insult to injury the stewards deemed he ran over the chicane at turn 15/16 and got dropped to 9th. His race didn't prove much luck either with Hamilton on a mission he was pushing his car to the limit and was held up pretty much throughout the whole race by someone and on a circuit deemed Nye on impossible to pass he was never able to really overtake and storm through the pack. A drive through penalty was the kick in the teeth for Hamilton however as he was held back by Massa early on in the race he tried a sneaky move up the inside of Massanet and got cut off when Massa cut across him resulting in them touching and Hamilton getting the penalty. A race in which he was unlucky to finish 6th was mirrored by his team-mate who no doubt went home thinking if lady luck was on his side he would have gone home with the trophy.
Jenson Button had split the red bulls at the start of the grid and after pitting for his first stop he flew out the traps and took full advantage of a mix-up in the red bull garage which saw Button fly in the middle stint of the race into a commanding lead, but for some unknown reason Mclaren saw the need to pit him for a second time which in hindsight ruined his race as soon after he pitted the safety car was deployed and Button found himself 3rd. To his knowledge though he thought Vettel, who pitted only on the 16th lap, and Alonso who had his second stop on lap 34 would need to stop again because of the wear on the tyres. He was proved wrong, Vettel had somehow managed to preserve his tyres up until the 72nd lap where a big pile up where Alguersari and Petrov crashed out, Petrov ending up being hospitalised, and the race was stopped under a red flag but the race was to restart and Vettel and Alonso were both able to change tyres and then finish the race 1st and 2nd.
But a day which saw strategies the key to finding track positions saw sides like Sauber with Kobayashi, Adrian Sutil in the Force India and Pastor Maldonado in the Williams all used the safety cars to their full advantage and even though at the very end Maldonado collided with Hamilton and span into the barriers and Sutil was at the front of the pile up which caused the red flag Kobayashi was able to hold his nerve and finish a well deserved 5th place, no doubt in tribute to his team-mate Sergio Perez who was unable to make the grid due to his concussion.
The race was a real tribute to Formula 1 racing and even though there was some casualties, we saw some of the best contest across the field: the tightest finish for the top three, Hamilton's desire to get through the pack, the smaller sides jumping up the field to show they are here to challenge in Formula 1.
Monte Carlo has produced some amazing memories for every Formula 1 fan and for me this is going to be my amazing memory of Formula 1.
Formula 1 this year has been dominated by Sebastian Vettel's unbelievable ability to drive behind the wheel of that red bull car that everyone wants to try and take a look at to see what it is that makes the German so fast. But the truth of the matter is that we just have another great F1 driver in the making and he did his reputation no harm in winning a crazy and manic formula 1 race that nobody seemed to be fully in control of.
Lewis Hamilton was quickest in qualifying 1 and 2 on Saturday's session, but a risky move by the Mclaren team to send him out with 4 minutes to go to set a lap time backfired in the most unfortunate of cases: on his first flying lap Massa would not get out of his way causing him to give up on that lap and his second lap was halted by an almighty 100mph crash into the barriers for Sergio Perez resulting in Hamilton qualifying in 7th. To add further insult to injury the stewards deemed he ran over the chicane at turn 15/16 and got dropped to 9th. His race didn't prove much luck either with Hamilton on a mission he was pushing his car to the limit and was held up pretty much throughout the whole race by someone and on a circuit deemed Nye on impossible to pass he was never able to really overtake and storm through the pack. A drive through penalty was the kick in the teeth for Hamilton however as he was held back by Massa early on in the race he tried a sneaky move up the inside of Massanet and got cut off when Massa cut across him resulting in them touching and Hamilton getting the penalty. A race in which he was unlucky to finish 6th was mirrored by his team-mate who no doubt went home thinking if lady luck was on his side he would have gone home with the trophy.
Jenson Button had split the red bulls at the start of the grid and after pitting for his first stop he flew out the traps and took full advantage of a mix-up in the red bull garage which saw Button fly in the middle stint of the race into a commanding lead, but for some unknown reason Mclaren saw the need to pit him for a second time which in hindsight ruined his race as soon after he pitted the safety car was deployed and Button found himself 3rd. To his knowledge though he thought Vettel, who pitted only on the 16th lap, and Alonso who had his second stop on lap 34 would need to stop again because of the wear on the tyres. He was proved wrong, Vettel had somehow managed to preserve his tyres up until the 72nd lap where a big pile up where Alguersari and Petrov crashed out, Petrov ending up being hospitalised, and the race was stopped under a red flag but the race was to restart and Vettel and Alonso were both able to change tyres and then finish the race 1st and 2nd.
But a day which saw strategies the key to finding track positions saw sides like Sauber with Kobayashi, Adrian Sutil in the Force India and Pastor Maldonado in the Williams all used the safety cars to their full advantage and even though at the very end Maldonado collided with Hamilton and span into the barriers and Sutil was at the front of the pile up which caused the red flag Kobayashi was able to hold his nerve and finish a well deserved 5th place, no doubt in tribute to his team-mate Sergio Perez who was unable to make the grid due to his concussion.
The race was a real tribute to Formula 1 racing and even though there was some casualties, we saw some of the best contest across the field: the tightest finish for the top three, Hamilton's desire to get through the pack, the smaller sides jumping up the field to show they are here to challenge in Formula 1.
Monte Carlo has produced some amazing memories for every Formula 1 fan and for me this is going to be my amazing memory of Formula 1.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
The Quintessential Englishness...
End of the football league season and we are now treated to what is one of the most anticipated part of the season. The Play-offs.
The cheesy chants. The cheesy intro music to start the programme. But instead of it making the play-offs a tad trashy, it all adds to the nostalgia a football fan gets watching the play-offs and last nights championship semi-final play-off between Swansea and Nottingham Forest was a fine example of British football. It had the heart from the fans, the quality from the players and the emotion from the managers. You could tell how badly each manager wanted it by every camera shot that cut to them jumping out their seats willing their players on almost like they were the puppeteers to their players.
Another event in the past week that arguably has reminded English football fans of their history in the game was the FA cup final between Stoke and Manchester City. Everybody thought that Manchester United winning the title at Blackburn would over-shadow the FA Cup final. Not a chance did it. Manchester United fans will argue obviously but if you saw how each game ended, the last 8 mins of the Man U V Blackburn game spent with the ball at Ferdinand's and Vidic's feet even though for Blackburn the draw wasn't really enough and Man U hadn't played like champions at all in that game going 1-0 down. But in the FA Cup final game we saw both teams chasing down to the final whistle, players pulling up because of the hard-work put in and the celebrations by the City fans when the final whistle went was deafening. The nostalgia you get from the FA Cup is unbeatable by any trophy in the world.
Back to the play-offs however is where you get the real gritty lower-league English style football, not much flash or diving, but the odd piece of genius like young Britton last night for Swansea curving the ball sweetly into the far corner from just outside the box leaving Camp helpless in goal. It's games like these that you get the unlikely hero perk up to the occasion and really take stand, the teams know how bigger reward it is to win in the play-offs. For the Championship sides its that extra-time in the season to show they are good enough to get into the promise land of the Premier League.
Last years play-offs definitely provided the pick of the bunch with Blackpool being promoted to the Premier League after Ian Holloway worked his magic at the club and his speech after his side won the game was inspiring to any football fan of any age, the passion he showed for his club that he had only been at for a season was something every man and women involved in football should learn from, someone that appreciates the game for what it is and revels in the small awards of pleasing his fans.
The question this year is who can be the Blackpool of these play-offs? Nottingham Forest are the first team to be knocked out of the play-offs this year. The play-offs are one of English footballs oldest traditions and definitely one of its finest too, fans get the quintessential Englishness feel about it because no other country can compete. This year certainly looks to be keeping up this fine tradition in the game.
The cheesy chants. The cheesy intro music to start the programme. But instead of it making the play-offs a tad trashy, it all adds to the nostalgia a football fan gets watching the play-offs and last nights championship semi-final play-off between Swansea and Nottingham Forest was a fine example of British football. It had the heart from the fans, the quality from the players and the emotion from the managers. You could tell how badly each manager wanted it by every camera shot that cut to them jumping out their seats willing their players on almost like they were the puppeteers to their players.
Another event in the past week that arguably has reminded English football fans of their history in the game was the FA cup final between Stoke and Manchester City. Everybody thought that Manchester United winning the title at Blackburn would over-shadow the FA Cup final. Not a chance did it. Manchester United fans will argue obviously but if you saw how each game ended, the last 8 mins of the Man U V Blackburn game spent with the ball at Ferdinand's and Vidic's feet even though for Blackburn the draw wasn't really enough and Man U hadn't played like champions at all in that game going 1-0 down. But in the FA Cup final game we saw both teams chasing down to the final whistle, players pulling up because of the hard-work put in and the celebrations by the City fans when the final whistle went was deafening. The nostalgia you get from the FA Cup is unbeatable by any trophy in the world.
Back to the play-offs however is where you get the real gritty lower-league English style football, not much flash or diving, but the odd piece of genius like young Britton last night for Swansea curving the ball sweetly into the far corner from just outside the box leaving Camp helpless in goal. It's games like these that you get the unlikely hero perk up to the occasion and really take stand, the teams know how bigger reward it is to win in the play-offs. For the Championship sides its that extra-time in the season to show they are good enough to get into the promise land of the Premier League.
Last years play-offs definitely provided the pick of the bunch with Blackpool being promoted to the Premier League after Ian Holloway worked his magic at the club and his speech after his side won the game was inspiring to any football fan of any age, the passion he showed for his club that he had only been at for a season was something every man and women involved in football should learn from, someone that appreciates the game for what it is and revels in the small awards of pleasing his fans.
The question this year is who can be the Blackpool of these play-offs? Nottingham Forest are the first team to be knocked out of the play-offs this year. The play-offs are one of English footballs oldest traditions and definitely one of its finest too, fans get the quintessential Englishness feel about it because no other country can compete. This year certainly looks to be keeping up this fine tradition in the game.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
...But that's Football
At the start of the season i think its safe to say that no fan would look at the league table now and think that it was going to be so tight all over the league. With just 3 league games each to play we still don't have one team that looks to be definitely relegated, the race for the last European spot is still heating up and the title race seems to change forces each week. It's proven to be one of the most fascinating league seasons to date and we just don't want it to end, unfortunately this year will most likely see the best team to have been relegated and probably the worst team to have won the league for a while as well.
The top and bottom half of the league table used to have such a massive gap between them that anyone that would usually finish in the bottom half were just described as a bottom half side and the same goes for the top half sides, and then the top four. But this year however the see-saw has seemed to level off so dramatically that a few wins for relegation bound West Brom has seen them spring up to 11th in the league and safe on 43 points. It has seen Sunderland, who were 8th and thinking of challenging for Europe at one stage plummet down the table into the craziness of the relegation fight. Madness
The only sides that haven't really enjoyed this season as much as has to be the top 4 or so sides. Liverpool had an horrific start to the season being down in the relegation places at one point resulting in Roy Hodgson's inevitable departure and King Kenny to pick up the remains where he could only seem to improve the squad. Manchester City and Tottenham haven't quite lived up to their start of season expectations but will be far more pleased than Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea. Neither have any silverware to their name this season and they don't seem to deserve to win the Premier League this year either, with countless chances for each team to just storm away with the league just thrown away. The relegation battle going on so late on into the season hasn't helped their fixture list in maybe trying to get that 'easy' game but in the Premier League you don't expect that 'easy' game and the standard that has been set in the past has been scrutinised by not one of the top 3 putting a stamp on the Premier League as yet.
The relegation battle immediately relates back to the 2005 relegation battle where it wasn't until the last day with who was definitely going down and the same heroics are going to have to be displayed this time round on the last weekend. With anyone of 6 teams still down there unfortunately the heroics shown early on in the season by Blackpool seem to have dwindled off into what now seems a distant fairytale, can Ian Holloway prove himself as a Premier League manager and rally his troops? Can Avram Grant muster up a team-talk like Scott Parker did at half-time against West Brom to spring a great recovery? So many questions will be asked of these relegation-threatened managers and with those who succeed will come those who don't and have to face the pain of leaving the Premier League.
But for whoever does go down this year they can definitely take away that on any other season they most likely would have stayed up.
But that's Football.
The top and bottom half of the league table used to have such a massive gap between them that anyone that would usually finish in the bottom half were just described as a bottom half side and the same goes for the top half sides, and then the top four. But this year however the see-saw has seemed to level off so dramatically that a few wins for relegation bound West Brom has seen them spring up to 11th in the league and safe on 43 points. It has seen Sunderland, who were 8th and thinking of challenging for Europe at one stage plummet down the table into the craziness of the relegation fight. Madness
The only sides that haven't really enjoyed this season as much as has to be the top 4 or so sides. Liverpool had an horrific start to the season being down in the relegation places at one point resulting in Roy Hodgson's inevitable departure and King Kenny to pick up the remains where he could only seem to improve the squad. Manchester City and Tottenham haven't quite lived up to their start of season expectations but will be far more pleased than Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea. Neither have any silverware to their name this season and they don't seem to deserve to win the Premier League this year either, with countless chances for each team to just storm away with the league just thrown away. The relegation battle going on so late on into the season hasn't helped their fixture list in maybe trying to get that 'easy' game but in the Premier League you don't expect that 'easy' game and the standard that has been set in the past has been scrutinised by not one of the top 3 putting a stamp on the Premier League as yet.
The relegation battle immediately relates back to the 2005 relegation battle where it wasn't until the last day with who was definitely going down and the same heroics are going to have to be displayed this time round on the last weekend. With anyone of 6 teams still down there unfortunately the heroics shown early on in the season by Blackpool seem to have dwindled off into what now seems a distant fairytale, can Ian Holloway prove himself as a Premier League manager and rally his troops? Can Avram Grant muster up a team-talk like Scott Parker did at half-time against West Brom to spring a great recovery? So many questions will be asked of these relegation-threatened managers and with those who succeed will come those who don't and have to face the pain of leaving the Premier League.
But for whoever does go down this year they can definitely take away that on any other season they most likely would have stayed up.
But that's Football.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
The Future is Al-White
The 2010 World cup was the last chance saloon for the 'Golden Generation' of English players to prove their worth, but as we all know they proved to be fake gold, aging and rusting with no proof of worth at international level. The questions has to be asked. Why were they ever dubbed the golden generation in the first place? and Will the next generation of players have such a hefty reputation to live up to?
Former FA chief Adam Crozier was the architect that labeled this generation back in 2001. And who could blame him? A Young Michael Owen bursting onto the scene of world football, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand both formidable Central defenders that know striker already didn't like facing and a central midfield of a young Steven Gerrard that broke through the Liverpool academy just like Michael Owen and Frank Lampard just one of many English talents coming through the impressive West Ham Academy.
But it was this tag that put this massive pressure on these professionals that have led us to be even more disappointed every World Cup. The 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cup were all World Cups that English fans felt apprehensive about with the team growing more and more in experience together and becoming the world class players and club legends they are today. There is no excuse for the players as they have had the quality, there's no denying that but the 2010 world cup was the final curtain for these boys when they were outclassed by a young German side led by Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller, albeit for an obviously massive decision that could have changed the game dramatically where Frank Lampards 'goal' was disallowed... But maybe that just sums up the 'Golden generation'.
It is very upsetting to know that is very unlikely to see legends like John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard etc to lift the World Cup trophy as it is highly unlikely that they will be involved in the next one at the age of roughly 35 an average. So do we look optimistic into the future of English football. Well in the same time as the World Cup was going the English U19s were enjoying a good run in the European U19 Championship were they were knocked out to an impressive Spain side in the semi-finals, who were unlucky to lose to France in the final.
Also this season has seen a mass break-through of young British talent in the premier league. The top sides has taken full advantage of the new rule in the league to blood homegrown talent into their squad with Manchester United and Liverpool doing just that with Chris Smalling a remarkable story, and Martin Kelly proving the Liverpool academy isn't dead at all coming out with performances knocking current England Right-Back to play Left-Back. A position that will be toughly competed in the future England team is the centre of midfield and wings.
Jack Wilshere has proved to be a dynamic midfielder at the tender age of 19, but the lion heart that English fans just love to see, much like a Paul Gascoigne figure, he stands out in his Arsenal surroundings as a bullish terrier that can run a park just to make a tackle. Jordan Henderson is another young English midfielder who has shone under a manager who has strong belief in his ability. Many other young British Centre midfielders have broke through into the Premier League first elevens that can only mean a lot of promise for the future. Strikers and wingers are always promising for England with every generation providing World Class strikers and with Wayne Rooney a rather young 25 and Andy Carroll seeming to be worth £35 million can't be a bad partnership for the next World Cup.
One thing we as fans have to learn from the last generation is the high expectations we CANNOT heap onto these youngsters. We are currently revelling in the prospects of a new start for England just like we did in 2001 and then beating an old Germany side 5-1 only enhanced our expectations and it was somewhat ironic that the opposite happened in 2010 to end the generation. One thing is for certain, the future of England is definitely all white.
Former FA chief Adam Crozier was the architect that labeled this generation back in 2001. And who could blame him? A Young Michael Owen bursting onto the scene of world football, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand both formidable Central defenders that know striker already didn't like facing and a central midfield of a young Steven Gerrard that broke through the Liverpool academy just like Michael Owen and Frank Lampard just one of many English talents coming through the impressive West Ham Academy.
But it was this tag that put this massive pressure on these professionals that have led us to be even more disappointed every World Cup. The 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cup were all World Cups that English fans felt apprehensive about with the team growing more and more in experience together and becoming the world class players and club legends they are today. There is no excuse for the players as they have had the quality, there's no denying that but the 2010 world cup was the final curtain for these boys when they were outclassed by a young German side led by Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller, albeit for an obviously massive decision that could have changed the game dramatically where Frank Lampards 'goal' was disallowed... But maybe that just sums up the 'Golden generation'.
It is very upsetting to know that is very unlikely to see legends like John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard etc to lift the World Cup trophy as it is highly unlikely that they will be involved in the next one at the age of roughly 35 an average. So do we look optimistic into the future of English football. Well in the same time as the World Cup was going the English U19s were enjoying a good run in the European U19 Championship were they were knocked out to an impressive Spain side in the semi-finals, who were unlucky to lose to France in the final.
Also this season has seen a mass break-through of young British talent in the premier league. The top sides has taken full advantage of the new rule in the league to blood homegrown talent into their squad with Manchester United and Liverpool doing just that with Chris Smalling a remarkable story, and Martin Kelly proving the Liverpool academy isn't dead at all coming out with performances knocking current England Right-Back to play Left-Back. A position that will be toughly competed in the future England team is the centre of midfield and wings.
Jack Wilshere has proved to be a dynamic midfielder at the tender age of 19, but the lion heart that English fans just love to see, much like a Paul Gascoigne figure, he stands out in his Arsenal surroundings as a bullish terrier that can run a park just to make a tackle. Jordan Henderson is another young English midfielder who has shone under a manager who has strong belief in his ability. Many other young British Centre midfielders have broke through into the Premier League first elevens that can only mean a lot of promise for the future. Strikers and wingers are always promising for England with every generation providing World Class strikers and with Wayne Rooney a rather young 25 and Andy Carroll seeming to be worth £35 million can't be a bad partnership for the next World Cup.
One thing we as fans have to learn from the last generation is the high expectations we CANNOT heap onto these youngsters. We are currently revelling in the prospects of a new start for England just like we did in 2001 and then beating an old Germany side 5-1 only enhanced our expectations and it was somewhat ironic that the opposite happened in 2010 to end the generation. One thing is for certain, the future of England is definitely all white.
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Will King Kennys return be the final stepping block Liverpool need to show they are back?
King Kenny received a resounding ovation from the public when they heard he will be taking over as care-taker manager of his beloved Liverpool until the remainder of the season. His short stint back in charge has seen pundits and fans of football notice the quick effect he has had on the teams performances with wins against Chelsea and Manchester United. But with his short stint looking to be extended in the summer, will Liverpool fans sing their usual start of the season song 'This will be our year!'
Kenny Dalglish was the last manager for Liverpool to win the title all the way back in 1990, and since his departure there has been something missing that has halted Liverpool's long title haul and seem stuck on 18. His shock resignation in 1991 was said to be of health reasons but returned to management 8 months later with Blackburn where he led them to a remarkable league title. Surely Kenny hadn't fallen out of love with his beloved Liverpool?
During his stint as Liverpool manager he enjoyed massive success winning the league 3 times, the FA Cup twice and the League cup. But he also experienced some of the most emotional times as a Liverpool fan. He was appointed Liverpool manager after Joe Fagan's resignation after the tragic Heysel disaster. But the disaster that most affected him and Liverpool supporters was the Hillsborough disaster, claiming 96 lives. Kenny was known to be seriously affected by this emotionally but built even more respect by attending most funerals. So maybe these tragedies had taken toll on him and couldn't do any more for the club than he has done. But 20 years on after his resignation he is appointed Liverpool manager and the side immediately show an exuberance in their attitude and with the Kop singing Dalglish all throughout the games.
His return to the hot seat as Liverpool manager has been a party for Liverpool players and supporters, but looking at the bigger picture managers only stay in a job, especially a job at Liverpool, for winning trophies and with only a few months under his belt in the Premier League, it is hard to look at the big picture and ask if Liverpool can really win the league under Dalglish. Can one man really change a club that much by beaming his smile across Liverpool? No. But what his reputation does for the players playing for him is give them a sign of respect to their manager, something Roy Hodgson or even Rafael Benitez was able to get fully. Being a club legend at Liverpool that's done and won it all for the club makes it easy for the players to look up to him and play for him the way he wants them to play - the old Liverpool 'pass and move' way.
What fans have to be careful of is that every manager in the Premier League comes under pressure from the media for maybe a bad run. If Liverpool go for a bad run under Dalglish the media will say 'He can't cope with managing nowadays' or 'He's been out of the game too long' But it's how they deal with it that makes them great managers. Ian Holloway is a fine example of dealing with media, he manages a side that is never expected to win anything but his attitude with his players and press make him a respected figure. That's exactly what Kenny has shown in his few months back in charge of Liverpool.
Maybe it's time for Liverpool to show they are back in business. New owners willing to back King Kenny with whatever he seems to want. And a new vibrant attitude around Anfield that can only be compared to the last stint Kenny had in charge of Liverpool. Liverpool fans state 'This year will be ours' every summer. But this summer them words may become a bit more believable with what seems a whole new Liverpool.
But for now Kenny will keep on smiling and enjoy his time as Liverpool boss as much as fans love seeing him there. His biggest test is yet to come.
Kenny Dalglish was the last manager for Liverpool to win the title all the way back in 1990, and since his departure there has been something missing that has halted Liverpool's long title haul and seem stuck on 18. His shock resignation in 1991 was said to be of health reasons but returned to management 8 months later with Blackburn where he led them to a remarkable league title. Surely Kenny hadn't fallen out of love with his beloved Liverpool?
During his stint as Liverpool manager he enjoyed massive success winning the league 3 times, the FA Cup twice and the League cup. But he also experienced some of the most emotional times as a Liverpool fan. He was appointed Liverpool manager after Joe Fagan's resignation after the tragic Heysel disaster. But the disaster that most affected him and Liverpool supporters was the Hillsborough disaster, claiming 96 lives. Kenny was known to be seriously affected by this emotionally but built even more respect by attending most funerals. So maybe these tragedies had taken toll on him and couldn't do any more for the club than he has done. But 20 years on after his resignation he is appointed Liverpool manager and the side immediately show an exuberance in their attitude and with the Kop singing Dalglish all throughout the games.
His return to the hot seat as Liverpool manager has been a party for Liverpool players and supporters, but looking at the bigger picture managers only stay in a job, especially a job at Liverpool, for winning trophies and with only a few months under his belt in the Premier League, it is hard to look at the big picture and ask if Liverpool can really win the league under Dalglish. Can one man really change a club that much by beaming his smile across Liverpool? No. But what his reputation does for the players playing for him is give them a sign of respect to their manager, something Roy Hodgson or even Rafael Benitez was able to get fully. Being a club legend at Liverpool that's done and won it all for the club makes it easy for the players to look up to him and play for him the way he wants them to play - the old Liverpool 'pass and move' way.
What fans have to be careful of is that every manager in the Premier League comes under pressure from the media for maybe a bad run. If Liverpool go for a bad run under Dalglish the media will say 'He can't cope with managing nowadays' or 'He's been out of the game too long' But it's how they deal with it that makes them great managers. Ian Holloway is a fine example of dealing with media, he manages a side that is never expected to win anything but his attitude with his players and press make him a respected figure. That's exactly what Kenny has shown in his few months back in charge of Liverpool.
Maybe it's time for Liverpool to show they are back in business. New owners willing to back King Kenny with whatever he seems to want. And a new vibrant attitude around Anfield that can only be compared to the last stint Kenny had in charge of Liverpool. Liverpool fans state 'This year will be ours' every summer. But this summer them words may become a bit more believable with what seems a whole new Liverpool.
But for now Kenny will keep on smiling and enjoy his time as Liverpool boss as much as fans love seeing him there. His biggest test is yet to come.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
An Unpredictable Premier League Season
This Premier League season we haven't seen one team really come out and take charge, Manchester United seem to have always been there but they're like Ferrari in Formula 1, they always seem to get a result even if they haven't performed that well on the day. But with nobody taking charge of the title race with under 10 league games left who is going to win the league?
You always hear it for a Manchester United game or a Chelsea or Arsenal game: "This is a must win game for them if they are looking to win the title." But this year more than ever the teams all over the Premier League are upsetting this cliche for them teams to win and throwing the title race wide open to where nobody can 100% put their money on who will win the title.
At some points you see Manchester United play with such elegance and freedom that you can't help but think the title is theirs, then they lose their first league game against Wolves and seem to crumble after that with back-to-back defeats from Chelsea and then Liverpool. You see Chelsea play with the class that they expressed last season by achieving the double where they can open up defences with the slightest of ease and then you see them not even turn up against Liverpool back in November losing 2-0 and then after that only registering 3 league wins out of 11. Arsenal's season has been so turbulent that you wouldn't be able to point out a low and then a high, they seem to always hold that 'potential' and Arsene Wengers arrogance that he sticks with his young guns seems to work wonders sometimes, and then spitting their dummies out the next.
The introduction of Tottenham and Manchester City into the competition for the top four has only added to this dilemma of who wants to win the title. Manchester City's investments finally seem to be coming of age as they spending seems to take a halt while Mancini can finally work with a squad that won't be changing every season. Tottenham have been led majestically by Harry Redknapp orchestrating what seemed to be a team that was always destined not to fulfil their potential into an attacking force now feared in Europe.
For many years pundits and fans across the UK and World had always been waiting for that breakthrough into the top four but they never seemed to get it. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all seemed reluctant to let that happen, but with last year Tottenham finally breaking in that seems to have unsettled the 'top four' and they don't seem to know how to cope with it. This year has seen the neutral fan enjoy the Premier League better than ever with countless upsets and nothing being settled up until now in the race for the title/ the battle for fourth place and even the relegation places haven't been settled yet.
All these battles up and down the table are making this the most exciting Premier League season to date with anyone of four or even five teams in with a chance of the title because no team seems sure of winning their next game, whoever the opponent. In past seasons around now teams would have a good idea of where they are going to finish and not really have anything to lose, but with relegation undecided, the European places changing every match day and the title race unpredictable everything is to play for still.
All one of the top sides needs is a run of 3 or 4 games to be staking their claim for the title but nobody seems capable of that form. Frustrating for the fans of the sides battling for the title but for the side that comes out on top it will be that even more satisfying that they won and broke free of a very tight top four.
You always hear it for a Manchester United game or a Chelsea or Arsenal game: "This is a must win game for them if they are looking to win the title." But this year more than ever the teams all over the Premier League are upsetting this cliche for them teams to win and throwing the title race wide open to where nobody can 100% put their money on who will win the title.
At some points you see Manchester United play with such elegance and freedom that you can't help but think the title is theirs, then they lose their first league game against Wolves and seem to crumble after that with back-to-back defeats from Chelsea and then Liverpool. You see Chelsea play with the class that they expressed last season by achieving the double where they can open up defences with the slightest of ease and then you see them not even turn up against Liverpool back in November losing 2-0 and then after that only registering 3 league wins out of 11. Arsenal's season has been so turbulent that you wouldn't be able to point out a low and then a high, they seem to always hold that 'potential' and Arsene Wengers arrogance that he sticks with his young guns seems to work wonders sometimes, and then spitting their dummies out the next.
The introduction of Tottenham and Manchester City into the competition for the top four has only added to this dilemma of who wants to win the title. Manchester City's investments finally seem to be coming of age as they spending seems to take a halt while Mancini can finally work with a squad that won't be changing every season. Tottenham have been led majestically by Harry Redknapp orchestrating what seemed to be a team that was always destined not to fulfil their potential into an attacking force now feared in Europe.
For many years pundits and fans across the UK and World had always been waiting for that breakthrough into the top four but they never seemed to get it. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all seemed reluctant to let that happen, but with last year Tottenham finally breaking in that seems to have unsettled the 'top four' and they don't seem to know how to cope with it. This year has seen the neutral fan enjoy the Premier League better than ever with countless upsets and nothing being settled up until now in the race for the title/ the battle for fourth place and even the relegation places haven't been settled yet.
All these battles up and down the table are making this the most exciting Premier League season to date with anyone of four or even five teams in with a chance of the title because no team seems sure of winning their next game, whoever the opponent. In past seasons around now teams would have a good idea of where they are going to finish and not really have anything to lose, but with relegation undecided, the European places changing every match day and the title race unpredictable everything is to play for still.
All one of the top sides needs is a run of 3 or 4 games to be staking their claim for the title but nobody seems capable of that form. Frustrating for the fans of the sides battling for the title but for the side that comes out on top it will be that even more satisfying that they won and broke free of a very tight top four.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
The FA Cup seems to have rebuffed some shine back into the cup this year.
The FA Cup in recent years has seemed to have dwindled in excitement with the top sides doing so well in Europe they have treated the FA Cup much like its shadow, and less decorated cup, the Football League Cup. But with this Premier League campaign being the most unpredictable to date for a long time it seems to have rubbed off some magic back into the FA Cup, and for a neutrals point of view that is as exciting as it gets.
With English sides dominating Europe over the past 6 or so years they have been mistreating the domestic cups with hardly any respect. The Football League Cup hadn't had a good reputation before but now teams like Liverpool especially were fielding a fully different side to the ones fans were familiar with. The FA Cup, the most decorated trophy IN THE WORLD has been replaced by the money available by just qualifying for Europe. Before the turn of the millennium English sides weren't too favourable in Europe after the Heysel tragedy banning them from the competition from 1985-91 so during that time the top sides in England saw the FA Cup as obviously the next best thing to the league title, but with money piling into football quicker than Roman Abramovich can write a cheque the rewards of European football are just to hard a choice to turn down for any team.
Yes European nights are great, Istanbul is probably one of the best finals ever to be played, not only just in Europe, and yes you see the worlds best players in the competition, but that is what makes the FA Cup so magical, literally anyone from the off can win it, from the Ryman divisions all the way to the Premier League, roughly 800 teams take part in it each year, and for those non-league sides that battle through the qualifying stages even though they are battling up the leagues to get into the Football League they know making a name for themselves in the FA Cup is something special and something that can't be copied in the European competitions.
This years FA Cup is the 130th birthday of the worlds oldest association cup, and the English teams have been partying all year round with giant-killings and very near ones too. It is only at the 5th round stage but already we had a mouth-watering 3rd round clash with Liverpool and Manchester United on which Man U came out on top 1-0 winners; the reigning champions Chelsea knocked out by Championship side Reading; a miraculous run by Crawley Town halted at the 5th round by giants Manchester United but only by the 1 goal; Leeds forcing a replay against Arsenal in the 3rd round and then Leyton Orient repeating that same feat with the replay being played tonight; Leicester City did the exact same to Manchester City and again copied by Notts County; Stevenage overcoming Newcastle 3-1 in the 3rd round; Burton Albion overcoming former Premiership side Middlesborough 2-1... That's just the upsets.
We have seen some great quality games that have included goal galore: Lower league sides Hereford and Lincoln playing an enthralling 2-2 draw to set up a replay that resulted in Hereford triumphing 4-3 in the 2nd round; Wolves finding some form in the FA Cup by thumping 5 past League 1 high-flyers Peterborough; Chelsea turning on the style that saw them win it last year easing past Ipswich 7-0; Birmingham City and Coventry playing out a 5 goal thriller of which Birmingham came out on top 3-2; the same being repeated by West Ham and Nottingham Forest with West Ham continuing their rich run of form in the domestic cups by triumphing 3-2 also.
Every sense of the FA Cup seems to have changed for the better this year with lower league sides ever more determined to make a big name for themselves in the cup and show their credentials, and the top sides equally determined to not let that happen is exactly what makes the FA Cup something magical, that feel of rivalry between top sides and lower league sides where they lesser sides have nothing to lose and the top sides have everything to lose in their pride.
It's really refreshing to see top sides pay respect to the cup once again by fielding their first eleven against lesser opposition to make sure they get the result they are expected to get, and for the top sides that aren't quite showing that same respect, they have been shown the ultimate punishment of being knocked out of this cup.
This year still has Birmingham, Bolton, stoke, west ham, reading, Arsenal/Leyton Orient, Manchester City/Aston Villa and of course Manchester United in it and with what has unfolded in the earlier rounds, expect to see a few more upsets until the final at Wembley.
With English sides dominating Europe over the past 6 or so years they have been mistreating the domestic cups with hardly any respect. The Football League Cup hadn't had a good reputation before but now teams like Liverpool especially were fielding a fully different side to the ones fans were familiar with. The FA Cup, the most decorated trophy IN THE WORLD has been replaced by the money available by just qualifying for Europe. Before the turn of the millennium English sides weren't too favourable in Europe after the Heysel tragedy banning them from the competition from 1985-91 so during that time the top sides in England saw the FA Cup as obviously the next best thing to the league title, but with money piling into football quicker than Roman Abramovich can write a cheque the rewards of European football are just to hard a choice to turn down for any team.
Yes European nights are great, Istanbul is probably one of the best finals ever to be played, not only just in Europe, and yes you see the worlds best players in the competition, but that is what makes the FA Cup so magical, literally anyone from the off can win it, from the Ryman divisions all the way to the Premier League, roughly 800 teams take part in it each year, and for those non-league sides that battle through the qualifying stages even though they are battling up the leagues to get into the Football League they know making a name for themselves in the FA Cup is something special and something that can't be copied in the European competitions.
This years FA Cup is the 130th birthday of the worlds oldest association cup, and the English teams have been partying all year round with giant-killings and very near ones too. It is only at the 5th round stage but already we had a mouth-watering 3rd round clash with Liverpool and Manchester United on which Man U came out on top 1-0 winners; the reigning champions Chelsea knocked out by Championship side Reading; a miraculous run by Crawley Town halted at the 5th round by giants Manchester United but only by the 1 goal; Leeds forcing a replay against Arsenal in the 3rd round and then Leyton Orient repeating that same feat with the replay being played tonight; Leicester City did the exact same to Manchester City and again copied by Notts County; Stevenage overcoming Newcastle 3-1 in the 3rd round; Burton Albion overcoming former Premiership side Middlesborough 2-1... That's just the upsets.
We have seen some great quality games that have included goal galore: Lower league sides Hereford and Lincoln playing an enthralling 2-2 draw to set up a replay that resulted in Hereford triumphing 4-3 in the 2nd round; Wolves finding some form in the FA Cup by thumping 5 past League 1 high-flyers Peterborough; Chelsea turning on the style that saw them win it last year easing past Ipswich 7-0; Birmingham City and Coventry playing out a 5 goal thriller of which Birmingham came out on top 3-2; the same being repeated by West Ham and Nottingham Forest with West Ham continuing their rich run of form in the domestic cups by triumphing 3-2 also.
Every sense of the FA Cup seems to have changed for the better this year with lower league sides ever more determined to make a big name for themselves in the cup and show their credentials, and the top sides equally determined to not let that happen is exactly what makes the FA Cup something magical, that feel of rivalry between top sides and lower league sides where they lesser sides have nothing to lose and the top sides have everything to lose in their pride.
It's really refreshing to see top sides pay respect to the cup once again by fielding their first eleven against lesser opposition to make sure they get the result they are expected to get, and for the top sides that aren't quite showing that same respect, they have been shown the ultimate punishment of being knocked out of this cup.
This year still has Birmingham, Bolton, stoke, west ham, reading, Arsenal/Leyton Orient, Manchester City/Aston Villa and of course Manchester United in it and with what has unfolded in the earlier rounds, expect to see a few more upsets until the final at Wembley.
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