With next summer’s Ashes series on the horizon it would be easy to react to Australia’s series deciding defeat to South Africa by going on about the terminal decline of the Aussie team.
As ever though, there are two sides to the story and before we get too cock-a-hoop (to use an Aussie term) about the woes of Ponting’s side, it would be worth taking a moment to consider the strength of their opposition.
South Africa came into the present series having won of nine out of 13 tests this year and lost just two (one was against England in a dead rubber and the other was in India in a drawn series – better than England or Australia managed).
They are a formidable unit led by one of the most forceful characters in world cricket in Graeme Smith, who just happens to be about the finest opening batsman as well.
Jacques Kallis has long ranked amongst the finest run-makers in test cricket, while the likes of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers have also developed into world class batsmen.
Add to that an inspired effort by JP Duminy in only his second test at the MCG and you can see why the Aussies had problems bowling the Proteas out.
But it was with the ball where the South Africans really outclassed Australia, with Dale Steyn – arguably the best pace bowler in the world this year – ably supported by Makhaya Ntini, Morne Morkel and the swing of Kallis.
Paul Harris has also proved an uncomplicated and underrated bowler, almost in the Ashley Giles mould, and has chipped in with wickets at vital moments.
It is not just this array of individual talent but also a collective strength engendered by Smith that has created a potent unit that operates with a kind of ruthless efficiency normally associated with their current opponents.
If South Africa win the final test at the SCG they will overhaul the Aussies at the top of the test rankings and they do look like a team worthy of inheriting that mantle.
The Australians might be showing signs of fallibility but it has taken two great sides at the peak of their powers to expose their weaknesses.
Their other defeat lately of course coming from an Indian side who have just proved to England how strong they are, particularly on their own pitches.
Yes, the current Australian side is as weak as it has been for the past 15 years but they have set some pretty high standards and are by no means a ramshackle outfit.
You just need to look at the way they could have one both of the past two tests against this top South African side were it not for a brief dip in standards during a couple of key sessions.
So before we get too confident about the summer of 2009, let’s make sure our own house is in order first.
Tuesday 30 December 2008
Thursday 18 December 2008
Big Sam gets to play it again
It was a case of once bitten, twice shy as the Blackburn Rovers board appointed a managerial successor to Paul Ince.
They had gambled and lost on a bright young manager so they were always going to look for a safe pair of hands.
And they don’t come much safer than Sam Allardyce, an experienced campaigner at Premiership level whose Bolton side was once the model for every club that strove for mid-table consistency.
While I am sure ‘Big Sam’ has every chance of halting Blackburn’s woeful run of form and steering the team away from the relegation precipice, I can’t help but feel a sense of sadness over Ince’s brutal deposition.
It is not so much Ince himself who I am concerned for, more the type of manager he represents.
Sure, there are accusations he has been fast-tracked from the lower leagues on the basis of his reputation as a player and his managerial CV, however impressive, was short.
But he had, albeit briefly, had success at a less glamorous level and, in my book, earned a shot at the big time.
He was an up and coming man who may take time to get to grip with management at the elite level but had fresh ideas and wanted to take the club forward.
The fact is Blackburn took him on knowing there was a risk of failure, but instead of backing their judgement in Ince’s long term vision they took an easy get out clause and opted for someone to offer stability as soon as things got tough.
There were several factors that also didn’t help Ince, the team he was managing was still very much Mark Hughes’ team with most of the players either signed by or building their reputations under the current Manchester City boss.
How much the decline in performance of a number of those Hughes players – Morten Gamst Pedersen, Ryan Nelson and Chris Samba to name a few – is down to natural career cycles or form and how much is down to Hughes’ superior motivation only the players themselves will know.
One man who is unlikely to be on Ince’s Christmas card list though – and the lists of other under pressure managers such as Tony Mowbray – is Harry Redknapp.
‘Arry’s success at Spurs is in danger of being held up as a vindication by other boards of the method of sacking the current campaigner and hiring a wily old campaigner.
While I know the financial stakes are so big now boards will always err on the side of caution, I feel we will never produce another generation of really top managers unless the younger ones are given full backing and time to build their own teams and do things their own way.
They had gambled and lost on a bright young manager so they were always going to look for a safe pair of hands.
And they don’t come much safer than Sam Allardyce, an experienced campaigner at Premiership level whose Bolton side was once the model for every club that strove for mid-table consistency.
While I am sure ‘Big Sam’ has every chance of halting Blackburn’s woeful run of form and steering the team away from the relegation precipice, I can’t help but feel a sense of sadness over Ince’s brutal deposition.
It is not so much Ince himself who I am concerned for, more the type of manager he represents.
Sure, there are accusations he has been fast-tracked from the lower leagues on the basis of his reputation as a player and his managerial CV, however impressive, was short.
But he had, albeit briefly, had success at a less glamorous level and, in my book, earned a shot at the big time.
He was an up and coming man who may take time to get to grip with management at the elite level but had fresh ideas and wanted to take the club forward.
The fact is Blackburn took him on knowing there was a risk of failure, but instead of backing their judgement in Ince’s long term vision they took an easy get out clause and opted for someone to offer stability as soon as things got tough.
There were several factors that also didn’t help Ince, the team he was managing was still very much Mark Hughes’ team with most of the players either signed by or building their reputations under the current Manchester City boss.
How much the decline in performance of a number of those Hughes players – Morten Gamst Pedersen, Ryan Nelson and Chris Samba to name a few – is down to natural career cycles or form and how much is down to Hughes’ superior motivation only the players themselves will know.
One man who is unlikely to be on Ince’s Christmas card list though – and the lists of other under pressure managers such as Tony Mowbray – is Harry Redknapp.
‘Arry’s success at Spurs is in danger of being held up as a vindication by other boards of the method of sacking the current campaigner and hiring a wily old campaigner.
While I know the financial stakes are so big now boards will always err on the side of caution, I feel we will never produce another generation of really top managers unless the younger ones are given full backing and time to build their own teams and do things their own way.
City circling as Diarra gets shot at the big time
Unless a lot of people have got the wrong end of a very convincing stick, Lassana Diarra will be on the way to Real Madrid when the transfer window opens in January.
It will be the fourth move of the 23-year-old’s brief career but more significantly, if the kind of transfer fees being suggested are accurate, it could be the first of several moves in the coming months to be influenced by what I am calling the ‘Manchester City effect’.
Now I must preface this by saying I think Diarra is a fine young player with bags of ability who may well prove to be a success at the Bernabeu.
But talk of £20 million plus for a young holding midfield player who only signed for his current club for a reported £5.5 million less than 12 months ago sounds to me like a very good piece of business for Tony Adams’ club.
With rumours of tight financial at Portsmouth, surely they would normally have settled for a fee of around £15 million or even a little less.
But things have changed since the Saudis arrived in the blue half of Manchester and their immense wealth is already having a bearing on transfer dealings, even ones they are not directly involved in.
Portsmouth knew that City were also sniffing around Diarra, or, at least, media reports meant they were as far as Real Madrid were concerned, and with the daunting prospect of entering into a bidding war with the oil-rich Arabs, the Spanish side would have to bid big to secure the player’s services.
Otherwise the South coast club could just bat the offer back and wait for City to come in with a more lucrative offer.
Things took a similar turn when Roman Abramovich rolled into Chelsea, with other clubs priced out of deals for the likes of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Michael Essien, while rivals such as Manchester United and Liverpool were forced to spend big to keep up.
Nobody knows exactly how rich Manchester City now are, possibly not even Sheikh Mansour himself, but it is generally accepted that they have the resources to take finances into another stratosphere.
It will be interesting to see who, if anyone, tries to keep up.
It will be the fourth move of the 23-year-old’s brief career but more significantly, if the kind of transfer fees being suggested are accurate, it could be the first of several moves in the coming months to be influenced by what I am calling the ‘Manchester City effect’.
Now I must preface this by saying I think Diarra is a fine young player with bags of ability who may well prove to be a success at the Bernabeu.
But talk of £20 million plus for a young holding midfield player who only signed for his current club for a reported £5.5 million less than 12 months ago sounds to me like a very good piece of business for Tony Adams’ club.
With rumours of tight financial at Portsmouth, surely they would normally have settled for a fee of around £15 million or even a little less.
But things have changed since the Saudis arrived in the blue half of Manchester and their immense wealth is already having a bearing on transfer dealings, even ones they are not directly involved in.
Portsmouth knew that City were also sniffing around Diarra, or, at least, media reports meant they were as far as Real Madrid were concerned, and with the daunting prospect of entering into a bidding war with the oil-rich Arabs, the Spanish side would have to bid big to secure the player’s services.
Otherwise the South coast club could just bat the offer back and wait for City to come in with a more lucrative offer.
Things took a similar turn when Roman Abramovich rolled into Chelsea, with other clubs priced out of deals for the likes of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Michael Essien, while rivals such as Manchester United and Liverpool were forced to spend big to keep up.
Nobody knows exactly how rich Manchester City now are, possibly not even Sheikh Mansour himself, but it is generally accepted that they have the resources to take finances into another stratosphere.
It will be interesting to see who, if anyone, tries to keep up.
Monday 15 December 2008
England succumb in face of Indian belief
There can’t be many sports where you can dominate you opponent for three whole days and still end up losing a match.
Kevin Pietersen’s England side found out just how cruel test cricket can be as they wilted in the face of a magnificent Indian run chase in Chennai.
The Indians did not just reach the fourth highest fourth inning victory total in test match history, they eased there with time and wickets to spare.
For three days and a session England were on top and it seemed only one team had a chance of winning this intriguing test match, played against the backdrop of all the security concerns following the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
But on the evening on the fourth day Virender Sehwag played an absolutely devastating innings that turned the game on its head.
Having set a target of 387, some in the Sky Sports studio were even suggesting the Indians may bat out the remaining four sessions of the game to try and salvage a draw.
Opener Sehwag had other ideas though and his 68-ball 83 was such a destructive and out-of-place knock that it reminded me of Pietersen’s own match winning effort at the Oval against Australia in 2005 that clinched the Ashes.
England were in charge of the game one moment and suddenly with a few swipes of his blade Sehwag had them looking like a rabble on its knees.
Of course, there was still a long way to go once Sehwag was out but he had played with the kind of self-belief that infects the rest of a team and knocked the stuffing out of England.
Tendulkar came in early on the fifth day and reminded everyone just what a class act he still is with an unbeaten century to see his side home with six wickets to spare.
The manner in which the Indians chased down there target suggested a new-found confidence and deep-seated belief that must largely have come from beating Australia in their last series.
For England defeat of this manner is always cruel to take and there are some positives to take onto Mohali, like the performance over the first three days particularly Andrew Strauss.
But one of the hardest accusations to face in team sports is that of a side incapable of closing out a game from winning positions.
As an England supporter the game has raised concerns over our bowling options but at the moment I prefer to take on the role of a neutral and revel in the sheer brilliance of the Indian batting display.
Kevin Pietersen’s England side found out just how cruel test cricket can be as they wilted in the face of a magnificent Indian run chase in Chennai.
The Indians did not just reach the fourth highest fourth inning victory total in test match history, they eased there with time and wickets to spare.
For three days and a session England were on top and it seemed only one team had a chance of winning this intriguing test match, played against the backdrop of all the security concerns following the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
But on the evening on the fourth day Virender Sehwag played an absolutely devastating innings that turned the game on its head.
Having set a target of 387, some in the Sky Sports studio were even suggesting the Indians may bat out the remaining four sessions of the game to try and salvage a draw.
Opener Sehwag had other ideas though and his 68-ball 83 was such a destructive and out-of-place knock that it reminded me of Pietersen’s own match winning effort at the Oval against Australia in 2005 that clinched the Ashes.
England were in charge of the game one moment and suddenly with a few swipes of his blade Sehwag had them looking like a rabble on its knees.
Of course, there was still a long way to go once Sehwag was out but he had played with the kind of self-belief that infects the rest of a team and knocked the stuffing out of England.
Tendulkar came in early on the fifth day and reminded everyone just what a class act he still is with an unbeaten century to see his side home with six wickets to spare.
The manner in which the Indians chased down there target suggested a new-found confidence and deep-seated belief that must largely have come from beating Australia in their last series.
For England defeat of this manner is always cruel to take and there are some positives to take onto Mohali, like the performance over the first three days particularly Andrew Strauss.
But one of the hardest accusations to face in team sports is that of a side incapable of closing out a game from winning positions.
As an England supporter the game has raised concerns over our bowling options but at the moment I prefer to take on the role of a neutral and revel in the sheer brilliance of the Indian batting display.
A-Hoy there!
Chris Hoy was crowned the BBC Sports Personality of the Year last night and is a thoroughly deserved winner.
He would not have been my personal choice for the award, I would have plumped for Lewis Hamilton, but – like many of the shortlisted candidates – he has done more than enough to win the prize and would have blown the competition away if his achievements were in many previous years.
As the magnanimous Hoy himself alluded to, the last year has produced several really top performances with a number of sportsmen and women reaching the very top of their field.
It is a refreshing change to see the contenders made up of world champions and gold medalists rather than valiant losers.
So well done to all of the nominees and if I were to pick my favourite for the 2009 award 12 months in advance I would opt for another Scotsman who was on the shortlist but never really in the running last night.
I have not always been full of praise for Andy Murray, but in recent months he has shown that he has developed the maturity and mentality to add to his undoubted talent and has every chance of becoming a grand slam champion next year.
Surely becoming the first British male grand slam winner since Fred Perry in 1936 would be enough to secure the coveted trophy.
He would not have been my personal choice for the award, I would have plumped for Lewis Hamilton, but – like many of the shortlisted candidates – he has done more than enough to win the prize and would have blown the competition away if his achievements were in many previous years.
As the magnanimous Hoy himself alluded to, the last year has produced several really top performances with a number of sportsmen and women reaching the very top of their field.
It is a refreshing change to see the contenders made up of world champions and gold medalists rather than valiant losers.
So well done to all of the nominees and if I were to pick my favourite for the 2009 award 12 months in advance I would opt for another Scotsman who was on the shortlist but never really in the running last night.
I have not always been full of praise for Andy Murray, but in recent months he has shown that he has developed the maturity and mentality to add to his undoubted talent and has every chance of becoming a grand slam champion next year.
Surely becoming the first British male grand slam winner since Fred Perry in 1936 would be enough to secure the coveted trophy.
Tuesday 9 December 2008
Dazza's fairytale finish
Football sometimes produces moments that feel almost too good to be true.
On Saturday Darren Anderton enjoyed one of those ‘Roy of the Rovers’ moments that left him a final reminder of just how dramatic the game can be.
The former England international smashed home a last-gasp winner for Bournemouth in his last professional game before hanging up his boots.
It was the kind of fairytale finish that if suggested for a film would be dismissed as too unrealistic.
The final act of heroism served as a fitting reward for a thoroughly professional player who has given great service to the game throughout his career and, mercifully, to Bournemouth over the last couple of years.
It was Anderton’s moment and he was rightly the focus of attention on Saturday.
But Bournemouth as a team must move on without him now and it must be acknowledged that, Anderton’s rescue act withstanding, it was another very ordinary home performance from the South coast outfit.
We seem to have trouble breaking sides down when they obviously travel to Dean Court with the obvious intention of being solid and playing for a point.
We seem to have no problems scoring goals away from home (indeed, two 3-3 draws in our last two away games suggest conceding goals is our main problem on our travels) as teams come out and attack us and leave space in behind, but we seem unable to prise open organised defences who sit deep when we play on our own turf.
There is simply not enough invention and Anderton’s arrival from the bench only really served to highlight the lack of quality, especially in the final third, from the rest of the squad.
Dazza was a true gent and will be sorely missed by the wider footballing community and I fear the Cherries will feel his absence more than they would like to make out.
On Saturday Darren Anderton enjoyed one of those ‘Roy of the Rovers’ moments that left him a final reminder of just how dramatic the game can be.
The former England international smashed home a last-gasp winner for Bournemouth in his last professional game before hanging up his boots.
It was the kind of fairytale finish that if suggested for a film would be dismissed as too unrealistic.
The final act of heroism served as a fitting reward for a thoroughly professional player who has given great service to the game throughout his career and, mercifully, to Bournemouth over the last couple of years.
It was Anderton’s moment and he was rightly the focus of attention on Saturday.
But Bournemouth as a team must move on without him now and it must be acknowledged that, Anderton’s rescue act withstanding, it was another very ordinary home performance from the South coast outfit.
We seem to have trouble breaking sides down when they obviously travel to Dean Court with the obvious intention of being solid and playing for a point.
We seem to have no problems scoring goals away from home (indeed, two 3-3 draws in our last two away games suggest conceding goals is our main problem on our travels) as teams come out and attack us and leave space in behind, but we seem unable to prise open organised defences who sit deep when we play on our own turf.
There is simply not enough invention and Anderton’s arrival from the bench only really served to highlight the lack of quality, especially in the final third, from the rest of the squad.
Dazza was a true gent and will be sorely missed by the wider footballing community and I fear the Cherries will feel his absence more than they would like to make out.
Friday 5 December 2008
Sicknote signs off
I didn't know quite what to make of Darren Anderton's arrival at Bournemouth when he signed for the Dorset club a little over two years ago.
At the time I was still reeling from the news of manager Sean O'Driscoll's defection to Doncaster and it was hard to tell exactly what the former England international's motivation was.
It couldn't have been for the money, noone signs for us for a pay day, but we all knew Dazza lived in the area and there were fears that he might just come down and cruise through a final year of football while enjoying the short commute.
The response was emphatic, from his first start at Dean Court when he smashed in a long-range free kick against Scunthorpe, Anderton was a consummate professional who was totally committed to the Cherries' cause.
The former Portsmouth, Spurs, Birmingham and Wolves man even reached new heights in his first season with Bournemouth, claiming his career first hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Leyton Orient, and was instrumental in our survival.
His vision and the quality of his passing were simply at a different level as the former winger revelled in his reincarnation as a ball-playing holding midfielder.
He underlined his commitment to the club by extending his stay for another year but, as was so often the case during his peak years with Spurs and England, injuries began to take their toll again.
He played a limited role as the Cherries struggled early on and, although he played his part in their brave survival bid following a ten-point deduction for going into administration, could not prevent them sliding into the bottom tier of the football league.
Faced with the prospect of a season in League Two with a club starting the campaign on minus 17 points, few would have blamed Anderton for walking away in the off season.
But Anderton again took the professional approach and faced the challenge head on and at the start of the campaign he seemed to be playing with a commitment to match that of his international days.
However, as the team struggled with the rough and tumble nature of the basement division, Dazza cut an increasingly frustrated figure.
He seemed to let his head drop whenever we went a goal down, an away game against Shrewsbury a couple of months ago was a prime example, and his rants over misplaced passes from teammates became more and more demonstrative.
He still showed moments of pure class that you knew noone else on the pitch was capable of but, at this level and in our situation, the stomach for the fight is just as important as quality.
Anderton, completely understandably, had lost his fight and - rather than go through the motions for the rest of the season - he has opted to do the decent thing and call time on a great career, freeing up his wages for our cash-strapped club.
As a Bournemouth fan of over 10 years I rarely witness players of his quality and the fact he showed total commitment just about until the end spoke volumes for his professionalism.
Anderton was a genuine star name and perhaps the width of a post away from a true national hero (had his shot gone in in the Euro '96 semi-final v Germany).
I will always be grateful that he shunned a lucrative contract in the States or somewhere and chose to end his playing days in the unforgiving atmosphere of lower league football.
I can't wait to give him his send off tomorrow and I am delighted that, for someone with a reputation as perhaps the definitive injury prone player, he is able to leave on his own terms.
At the time I was still reeling from the news of manager Sean O'Driscoll's defection to Doncaster and it was hard to tell exactly what the former England international's motivation was.
It couldn't have been for the money, noone signs for us for a pay day, but we all knew Dazza lived in the area and there were fears that he might just come down and cruise through a final year of football while enjoying the short commute.
The response was emphatic, from his first start at Dean Court when he smashed in a long-range free kick against Scunthorpe, Anderton was a consummate professional who was totally committed to the Cherries' cause.
The former Portsmouth, Spurs, Birmingham and Wolves man even reached new heights in his first season with Bournemouth, claiming his career first hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Leyton Orient, and was instrumental in our survival.
His vision and the quality of his passing were simply at a different level as the former winger revelled in his reincarnation as a ball-playing holding midfielder.
He underlined his commitment to the club by extending his stay for another year but, as was so often the case during his peak years with Spurs and England, injuries began to take their toll again.
He played a limited role as the Cherries struggled early on and, although he played his part in their brave survival bid following a ten-point deduction for going into administration, could not prevent them sliding into the bottom tier of the football league.
Faced with the prospect of a season in League Two with a club starting the campaign on minus 17 points, few would have blamed Anderton for walking away in the off season.
But Anderton again took the professional approach and faced the challenge head on and at the start of the campaign he seemed to be playing with a commitment to match that of his international days.
However, as the team struggled with the rough and tumble nature of the basement division, Dazza cut an increasingly frustrated figure.
He seemed to let his head drop whenever we went a goal down, an away game against Shrewsbury a couple of months ago was a prime example, and his rants over misplaced passes from teammates became more and more demonstrative.
He still showed moments of pure class that you knew noone else on the pitch was capable of but, at this level and in our situation, the stomach for the fight is just as important as quality.
Anderton, completely understandably, had lost his fight and - rather than go through the motions for the rest of the season - he has opted to do the decent thing and call time on a great career, freeing up his wages for our cash-strapped club.
As a Bournemouth fan of over 10 years I rarely witness players of his quality and the fact he showed total commitment just about until the end spoke volumes for his professionalism.
Anderton was a genuine star name and perhaps the width of a post away from a true national hero (had his shot gone in in the Euro '96 semi-final v Germany).
I will always be grateful that he shunned a lucrative contract in the States or somewhere and chose to end his playing days in the unforgiving atmosphere of lower league football.
I can't wait to give him his send off tomorrow and I am delighted that, for someone with a reputation as perhaps the definitive injury prone player, he is able to leave on his own terms.
Wednesday 3 December 2008
Enfant terrible Cassano accepts his failings
Antonio Cassano has always had a special talent.
That much was obvious from the moment he announced himself on the Serie A scene as a fresh-faced teenager in Wayne Rooney-esque fashion with a wonderful solo goal for Bari against Inter Milan, leaving Laurent Blanc and Christian Panucci for dead to secure a 2-1 win for his home town side.
A €28-million move to Roma followed before his 19th birthday and it seemed a matter of when, rather than if, he would be mentioned alongside the greatest names in European football.
But things have not quite worked out that way for the Italian as it soon became apparent that his singular talent was matched by a unique habit for self-destruction and an uncanny knack for falling out with managers.
Seven years on from his mega-money time Cassano has felt the urge shared with so many sportsmen nowadays to make some sense of his controversial career in print.
In a recent interview with The Times columnist Gabriele Marcotti, Cassano shared some candid insights that give a flavour of what to expect from his autobiography, the title of which translates as ‘I’ll tell you everything (and if it’s hot I’ll play in the shade)’.
The book will offer his take on his bust-ups with the likes of Fabio Capello and his love of binge eating, as well as his playboy nature and how he claims to have bedded over 600 women (not bad for someone who hardly shares the model looks of his former Real Madrid colleague David Beckham).
Perhaps the most controversial comments, though, are his claims that he knows he could have made it at Real Madrid if he had knuckled down and shown total commitment, but he is happy with his decision to move to Sampadoria, a mid-table Serie A team, where he plays at around 50 per cent.
He says: "The problem is that we live in a culture obsessed with success. We fool ourselves into thinking we have to do our best and make sacrifices to succeed. But why? Trophies come and go. Once you’ve retired, it will all be gone, they’ll just be numbers in an almanac.
"What is truly important is being happy now. I know I haven’t given 100 per cent physically or mentally to this game. At best, I gave 50 per cent. Maybe a tiny bit more in the good years. But so what? Thanks to my talent, I live like a king, I play football and I have a great time."
It has simply become accepted that footballers all want to get to the top of the game and win trophies with a big club, there is even a sense that they owe it to all of us less-talented individuals to push themselves as far as they can go because we would give anything to swap places with them.
But Cassano turns all this on his head. He claims he is a human with a right to be happy in himself.
He didn’t ask to be endowed with this talent and, having thought his way out of Bari’s tough back streets as a youngster, he deserves to be able to cruise along earning a living most of would only dream of.
It is a refreshing contrast to the normal drivel we are served up with from players who kiss the badge and pledge to give ‘110 per cent’.
There are many things to despise about Cassano and his attitude but you can’t fault him for honesty and if an English translation to the book is available I cannot wait to read it as I have no doubt it will prove a lot more entertaining than the usual drivel served up by modern stars and their ghost writers.
It seems we always get frustrated with players who fail to live up to their potential and imagine how disappointed they must be with themselves.
But in Cassano’s case it seems the person least concerned with his career trajectory is the former prodigy himself.
That much was obvious from the moment he announced himself on the Serie A scene as a fresh-faced teenager in Wayne Rooney-esque fashion with a wonderful solo goal for Bari against Inter Milan, leaving Laurent Blanc and Christian Panucci for dead to secure a 2-1 win for his home town side.
A €28-million move to Roma followed before his 19th birthday and it seemed a matter of when, rather than if, he would be mentioned alongside the greatest names in European football.
But things have not quite worked out that way for the Italian as it soon became apparent that his singular talent was matched by a unique habit for self-destruction and an uncanny knack for falling out with managers.
Seven years on from his mega-money time Cassano has felt the urge shared with so many sportsmen nowadays to make some sense of his controversial career in print.
In a recent interview with The Times columnist Gabriele Marcotti, Cassano shared some candid insights that give a flavour of what to expect from his autobiography, the title of which translates as ‘I’ll tell you everything (and if it’s hot I’ll play in the shade)’.
The book will offer his take on his bust-ups with the likes of Fabio Capello and his love of binge eating, as well as his playboy nature and how he claims to have bedded over 600 women (not bad for someone who hardly shares the model looks of his former Real Madrid colleague David Beckham).
Perhaps the most controversial comments, though, are his claims that he knows he could have made it at Real Madrid if he had knuckled down and shown total commitment, but he is happy with his decision to move to Sampadoria, a mid-table Serie A team, where he plays at around 50 per cent.
He says: "The problem is that we live in a culture obsessed with success. We fool ourselves into thinking we have to do our best and make sacrifices to succeed. But why? Trophies come and go. Once you’ve retired, it will all be gone, they’ll just be numbers in an almanac.
"What is truly important is being happy now. I know I haven’t given 100 per cent physically or mentally to this game. At best, I gave 50 per cent. Maybe a tiny bit more in the good years. But so what? Thanks to my talent, I live like a king, I play football and I have a great time."
It has simply become accepted that footballers all want to get to the top of the game and win trophies with a big club, there is even a sense that they owe it to all of us less-talented individuals to push themselves as far as they can go because we would give anything to swap places with them.
But Cassano turns all this on his head. He claims he is a human with a right to be happy in himself.
He didn’t ask to be endowed with this talent and, having thought his way out of Bari’s tough back streets as a youngster, he deserves to be able to cruise along earning a living most of would only dream of.
It is a refreshing contrast to the normal drivel we are served up with from players who kiss the badge and pledge to give ‘110 per cent’.
There are many things to despise about Cassano and his attitude but you can’t fault him for honesty and if an English translation to the book is available I cannot wait to read it as I have no doubt it will prove a lot more entertaining than the usual drivel served up by modern stars and their ghost writers.
It seems we always get frustrated with players who fail to live up to their potential and imagine how disappointed they must be with themselves.
But in Cassano’s case it seems the person least concerned with his career trajectory is the former prodigy himself.
Freddie and co put in a spin
You don’t often believe pop stars or sportsmen who have performed in front of thousands of people when they claim doing a foxtrot on Strictly Come Dancing is ‘the scariest thing I’ve ever done’.
We get it all the time and we are in the living room going: come on Matt Dawson, surely you don’t expect us to believe that you were more nervous than when you walked out ahead of the Rugby World Cup Final?
We may sit in disbelief but there may well be a large degree of honesty in the mega-stars whimpering to Tess and Brucie.
The fact is they are outside of their comfort zone and they know they have far less control over events, leading to an increased sense of helplessness and, hence, fear.
When Mark Ramprakash walked out to bat he knew he had faced millions of deliveries in the nets and had the ability to deal with almost anything that was thrown at him, this knowledge was a kind of protective armour against nerves.
When he hit the dance floor to jive or salsa or what-have-you in front of the judges all he had was a week’s training on the routine.
This week England’s cricketers are being put under the microscope as they face the decision whether to return to India in light of the Mumbai terror attacks.
The decision is made all the tougher because it is such a public one and the kind they so rarely have to make.
Andrew Flintoff is one of those rumoured to be wavering and he is a man who has shown his courage a hundred times over with bat or ball in hand, yet he faces the prospect of being labelled a coward if he decides against going back to the sub-continent and may even have his commitment to the England cause brought into question.
Flintoff is not a politician or a diplomat and he should not be put in a position where he has to choose between his commitment to English cricket and his commitment to his young family.
If it comes to it that he is left to weigh up the pros and cons himself and make a personal decision then there should be no judgements made about his valour or his devotion to the England cause.
I have no doubt he will prove many times over in the future just what it means to him to wear the Three Lions but the fact is the, even for the most committed sportsman in the world, sport has its place and - just as I will think no less of Austin Healey as a rugby player if he messes up his pasa doble - I will think nothing less of the England players who choose to stay at home.
We get it all the time and we are in the living room going: come on Matt Dawson, surely you don’t expect us to believe that you were more nervous than when you walked out ahead of the Rugby World Cup Final?
We may sit in disbelief but there may well be a large degree of honesty in the mega-stars whimpering to Tess and Brucie.
The fact is they are outside of their comfort zone and they know they have far less control over events, leading to an increased sense of helplessness and, hence, fear.
When Mark Ramprakash walked out to bat he knew he had faced millions of deliveries in the nets and had the ability to deal with almost anything that was thrown at him, this knowledge was a kind of protective armour against nerves.
When he hit the dance floor to jive or salsa or what-have-you in front of the judges all he had was a week’s training on the routine.
This week England’s cricketers are being put under the microscope as they face the decision whether to return to India in light of the Mumbai terror attacks.
The decision is made all the tougher because it is such a public one and the kind they so rarely have to make.
Andrew Flintoff is one of those rumoured to be wavering and he is a man who has shown his courage a hundred times over with bat or ball in hand, yet he faces the prospect of being labelled a coward if he decides against going back to the sub-continent and may even have his commitment to the England cause brought into question.
Flintoff is not a politician or a diplomat and he should not be put in a position where he has to choose between his commitment to English cricket and his commitment to his young family.
If it comes to it that he is left to weigh up the pros and cons himself and make a personal decision then there should be no judgements made about his valour or his devotion to the England cause.
I have no doubt he will prove many times over in the future just what it means to him to wear the Three Lions but the fact is the, even for the most committed sportsman in the world, sport has its place and - just as I will think no less of Austin Healey as a rugby player if he messes up his pasa doble - I will think nothing less of the England players who choose to stay at home.
Friday 28 November 2008
Under-performing England lacking in pride of Lions
A lot can happen over the course of six months in rugby and many a reputation has been forged or ruined over the course of a Six Nations campaign.
But as England go into their final Autumn international against New Zealand tomorrow some players thoughts might just be looking ahead to this summer’s Lions tour to South Africa.
Judging by the side’s performances so far during this international series, most of those players will know they have a long way to go if they are going to be in the touring party.
Andrew Sheridan is perhaps the only shoe-in, fitness permitting, among Martin Johnson’s men and even his stock has taken a bit of a battering after he suffered at the hands of an Australian front row bent on revenge for their World Cup embarrassment.
Sheridan’s bulk and power will be essential against the South Africans though, and a steady Six Nations should see him handed a red jersey.
Danny Cipriani would easily make the trip if selection was based on talent and confidence alone but he is facing a crucial period in his young career after struggling to adapt to the pace and pressures of playing against the top Southern Hemisphere sides.
There are also plenty of other options at fly-half, with the ever-consistent Stephen Jones and Ronan O’Gara as well as the dashing James Hook all presenting strong cases for selection.
You would also be a fool if you expected a man as determined as Jonny Wilkinson to give up on the race for selection and the chance to absolve his 2005 nightmare without a fight.
In the back three Paul Sackey had seemingly established him as a top-class test winger but he has looked short on confidence recently and while, Delon Armitage has looked as comfortable as possible amid the chaos, Ireland have several promising young outside backs coming through and Wales’ Lee Byrne and Shane Williams are likely Lions starters.
Danny Care has showed potential at scrum-half but it is another highly competitive position and he is far from the finished article.
Matt Stevens may make the squad due to his ability to prop up both sides of the scrum but he is becoming in danger of being pigeonholed as an ‘impact sub’.
Against South Africa last Saturday James Haskell showed appetite and aggression to match the Springboks but is a case of ‘curb your enthusiasm’ for the Wasps flanker as he must work on his discipline to make sure he keeps his place in the England side, let alone earn a Lions call-up.
In other positions the side appears full of players who currently look distinctly average (I hate to single anyone out but Lee Mears at hooker is an obvious example) and are hardly putting forward a convincing case to be selected for the heightened test arena of a Lions series.
Wales and Ireland seem to have plenty of players putting their names forward and I haven’t seen enough of Frank Hadden’s improving Scotland to asses which players have Lions potential but Mike Blair’s selection in the short list for the IRB’s World Player of the Year suggests they can at least match England’s claim of one as-good-as-automatic selection.
Things look pretty bleak for England’s players if the squad was to be picked tomorrow but they have six months to prove themselves and what better way to start than with a strong showing against the world’s best side at Twickenham tomorrow.
But as England go into their final Autumn international against New Zealand tomorrow some players thoughts might just be looking ahead to this summer’s Lions tour to South Africa.
Judging by the side’s performances so far during this international series, most of those players will know they have a long way to go if they are going to be in the touring party.
Andrew Sheridan is perhaps the only shoe-in, fitness permitting, among Martin Johnson’s men and even his stock has taken a bit of a battering after he suffered at the hands of an Australian front row bent on revenge for their World Cup embarrassment.
Sheridan’s bulk and power will be essential against the South Africans though, and a steady Six Nations should see him handed a red jersey.
Danny Cipriani would easily make the trip if selection was based on talent and confidence alone but he is facing a crucial period in his young career after struggling to adapt to the pace and pressures of playing against the top Southern Hemisphere sides.
There are also plenty of other options at fly-half, with the ever-consistent Stephen Jones and Ronan O’Gara as well as the dashing James Hook all presenting strong cases for selection.
You would also be a fool if you expected a man as determined as Jonny Wilkinson to give up on the race for selection and the chance to absolve his 2005 nightmare without a fight.
In the back three Paul Sackey had seemingly established him as a top-class test winger but he has looked short on confidence recently and while, Delon Armitage has looked as comfortable as possible amid the chaos, Ireland have several promising young outside backs coming through and Wales’ Lee Byrne and Shane Williams are likely Lions starters.
Danny Care has showed potential at scrum-half but it is another highly competitive position and he is far from the finished article.
Matt Stevens may make the squad due to his ability to prop up both sides of the scrum but he is becoming in danger of being pigeonholed as an ‘impact sub’.
Against South Africa last Saturday James Haskell showed appetite and aggression to match the Springboks but is a case of ‘curb your enthusiasm’ for the Wasps flanker as he must work on his discipline to make sure he keeps his place in the England side, let alone earn a Lions call-up.
In other positions the side appears full of players who currently look distinctly average (I hate to single anyone out but Lee Mears at hooker is an obvious example) and are hardly putting forward a convincing case to be selected for the heightened test arena of a Lions series.
Wales and Ireland seem to have plenty of players putting their names forward and I haven’t seen enough of Frank Hadden’s improving Scotland to asses which players have Lions potential but Mike Blair’s selection in the short list for the IRB’s World Player of the Year suggests they can at least match England’s claim of one as-good-as-automatic selection.
Things look pretty bleak for England’s players if the squad was to be picked tomorrow but they have six months to prove themselves and what better way to start than with a strong showing against the world’s best side at Twickenham tomorrow.
Wednesday 26 November 2008
Sanchez misses the point
I'm not sure what Lawrie Sanchez has been doing since he was sacked as manager of Fulham last December but it would not surprise me to learn he has been spending time in the company of Sepp Blatter.
My first sighting in months of the former Northern Ireland boss and Wimbledon cup star was on Sky Sports news at the weekend putting forward a hair-brained scheme worthy of the blundering FIFA President himself.
Sanchez's bold new vision is to revolutionise the way points are awarded in the Premiership to give greater reward for teams picking up results away from home.
His view was that awarding four points for an away win and two points for an away draw, with still three points and one point on offer at home for wins and draws respectively, would encourage teams to play more attacking football on their travels.
First things first, like most Blatter proposals, it is a complete non-starter that is far too radical possibly to the extent that debating could be seen as a pointless exercise.
Allowing ourselves to entertain the thought of this actually becoming a reality, how many teams would look at the two points on offer when they travel to the likes of Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge and simply, to use a Jose Mourinho-ism, park the coach in front of the goal?
Such is the lack of ambition that has developed amongst clubs outside the top that four that few sides would ever look at the added bounty of points on offer for a win as enough incentive to try and attack the big boys.
I always thought that, despite his modest managerial record, Sanchez was quite a sensible and grounded bloke with a good grasp of the game – I wonder if that was how Mr Blatter started out?
My first sighting in months of the former Northern Ireland boss and Wimbledon cup star was on Sky Sports news at the weekend putting forward a hair-brained scheme worthy of the blundering FIFA President himself.
Sanchez's bold new vision is to revolutionise the way points are awarded in the Premiership to give greater reward for teams picking up results away from home.
His view was that awarding four points for an away win and two points for an away draw, with still three points and one point on offer at home for wins and draws respectively, would encourage teams to play more attacking football on their travels.
First things first, like most Blatter proposals, it is a complete non-starter that is far too radical possibly to the extent that debating could be seen as a pointless exercise.
Allowing ourselves to entertain the thought of this actually becoming a reality, how many teams would look at the two points on offer when they travel to the likes of Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge and simply, to use a Jose Mourinho-ism, park the coach in front of the goal?
Such is the lack of ambition that has developed amongst clubs outside the top that four that few sides would ever look at the added bounty of points on offer for a win as enough incentive to try and attack the big boys.
I always thought that, despite his modest managerial record, Sanchez was quite a sensible and grounded bloke with a good grasp of the game – I wonder if that was how Mr Blatter started out?
Thursday 20 November 2008
Understudies play leading role in Walcott's absence
England’s back-up players took the opportunity to shine last night against Germany but I can’t help think that, long term, the most significant action to take place on the pitch at the Olympic Stadium actually occurred 24 hours earlier.
Theo Walcott’s slip on the turf in training on Tuesday evening resulted in a dislocated shoulder and, while he may well be fit for England’s next competitive game against Ukraine in April, it must raise serious concerns over the durability of joint that has constantly troubled the young winger in his short career.
He has a history of operations to his shoulder and played through the pain it cause him during a disappointing first season at Arsenal.
Let’s hope when Walcott returns the injury is completely recovered, as a player of his breed being held back by the slightest niggle results in a completely different footballer.
We have all seen how cumulative injuries caused Michael Owen, another player to star on the international stage at a young age, to lose his sharpness and it would be a great shame if Walcott suffered the same fate.
The timing of the injury blow could not be worse as the former Southampton man had just established himself as a key component of both the Arsenal and England first teams and was fulfilling his long recognised potential.
In Walcott’s absence though, it was a chance for others to shine and an experimental England team produced plenty of positives for Fabio Capello.
The likes of Michael Carrick, Stewart Downing, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Matthew Upson all seized the chance created by the withdrawal of more established names.
During his last two title winning seasons with Manchester United, particularly during the 2006-7 campaign, Sir Alex Ferguson was always quick to stress that his squad players were just as crucial to his side’s success as the big stars.
In their own way, he said, the likes of John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung were just as vital to the United cause as the Wayne Rooneys, Cristiano Ronaldos and Rio Ferdinands.
What Ferguson was saying was that over the season you will have injuries and it is important that the players who come in are committed and adaptable so the team functions just as well in the absence of first choice players.
All Ferguson’s favourite squad players are also noticeably genuine team players whose work ethic rubs off on others when they play and keeps them looking over their shoulders for fear of losing their place.
This is now Capello’s chance to create a back up team of talented committed players are capable of slotting in the side in big games to cover for injuries or even - sending a warning to Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney et al – if a first team player suffers a loss of form.
The fact is England will have injuries and suspensions in big games and you simply cannot predict what positions will be effected, the safe answer is to make sure you have a reliable back up to cover for every position.
The performances of the understudies last night would have taught Capello a lot about his options and, while the cupboard may seem relatively well stocked, there may still be one or two positions - such as goalkeeper – that he will want to look at again in future friendlies.
Theo Walcott’s slip on the turf in training on Tuesday evening resulted in a dislocated shoulder and, while he may well be fit for England’s next competitive game against Ukraine in April, it must raise serious concerns over the durability of joint that has constantly troubled the young winger in his short career.
He has a history of operations to his shoulder and played through the pain it cause him during a disappointing first season at Arsenal.
Let’s hope when Walcott returns the injury is completely recovered, as a player of his breed being held back by the slightest niggle results in a completely different footballer.
We have all seen how cumulative injuries caused Michael Owen, another player to star on the international stage at a young age, to lose his sharpness and it would be a great shame if Walcott suffered the same fate.
The timing of the injury blow could not be worse as the former Southampton man had just established himself as a key component of both the Arsenal and England first teams and was fulfilling his long recognised potential.
In Walcott’s absence though, it was a chance for others to shine and an experimental England team produced plenty of positives for Fabio Capello.
The likes of Michael Carrick, Stewart Downing, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Matthew Upson all seized the chance created by the withdrawal of more established names.
During his last two title winning seasons with Manchester United, particularly during the 2006-7 campaign, Sir Alex Ferguson was always quick to stress that his squad players were just as crucial to his side’s success as the big stars.
In their own way, he said, the likes of John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung were just as vital to the United cause as the Wayne Rooneys, Cristiano Ronaldos and Rio Ferdinands.
What Ferguson was saying was that over the season you will have injuries and it is important that the players who come in are committed and adaptable so the team functions just as well in the absence of first choice players.
All Ferguson’s favourite squad players are also noticeably genuine team players whose work ethic rubs off on others when they play and keeps them looking over their shoulders for fear of losing their place.
This is now Capello’s chance to create a back up team of talented committed players are capable of slotting in the side in big games to cover for injuries or even - sending a warning to Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney et al – if a first team player suffers a loss of form.
The fact is England will have injuries and suspensions in big games and you simply cannot predict what positions will be effected, the safe answer is to make sure you have a reliable back up to cover for every position.
The performances of the understudies last night would have taught Capello a lot about his options and, while the cupboard may seem relatively well stocked, there may still be one or two positions - such as goalkeeper – that he will want to look at again in future friendlies.
What is he Pleating on about?
For years I have cringed at the painstaking commentary contributions from David Pleat as he has inexplicably retained his place as first choice co-commentator for ITV.
His inability to pronounce a single foreign name correctly is bad enough but often his rambling analysis also produces drivel that I simply cannot believe came from a man who has held coaching positions at the top of the game.
Pleat’s foot-in-mouth exploits reached new heights last night when Clive Tydlesley was trying to explain a borderline offside decision against Gabriel Agbonlahor.
To paraphrase Tydlesley he said that if any part of your anatomy that can be used to play the ball is behind the last defender you are offside, such as your thigh, your head, your foot….
Then Pleat chips in with the classic comment, wait for it… ‘or your finger’.
Always struggled with that old hand ball rule at Spurs didn’t you David?
His inability to pronounce a single foreign name correctly is bad enough but often his rambling analysis also produces drivel that I simply cannot believe came from a man who has held coaching positions at the top of the game.
Pleat’s foot-in-mouth exploits reached new heights last night when Clive Tydlesley was trying to explain a borderline offside decision against Gabriel Agbonlahor.
To paraphrase Tydlesley he said that if any part of your anatomy that can be used to play the ball is behind the last defender you are offside, such as your thigh, your head, your foot….
Then Pleat chips in with the classic comment, wait for it… ‘or your finger’.
Always struggled with that old hand ball rule at Spurs didn’t you David?
Tuesday 18 November 2008
England sicknotes may live to regret midweek pull-outs
Fabio Capello has surprised many by with his placid response to England’s raft of pull-outs ahead of tomorrow’s friendly against Germany.
Perhaps he simply knew it was coming, you can dress up all you like the fact this game is against the ‘Old Enemy’ and there are ‘no friendlies between England and Germany’ (how long before ITV’s match coverage team pull that old cliché out?), this is still a non-competitive game coming at a hectic time in the season when clubs are already suffering from lengthy injury lists.
Martin O’Neill’s description of the game as ‘meaningless’ may have been going a bit far, but even before the sudden glut of mysterious niggles amongst leading players, the result was never going to be do-or-die for Capello and his men.
The one thing that rankles me and perhaps, under the surface Capello, is the suggestion that some of the top clubs may not be entirely honest when they claim players are unfit to even attend training with the national side.
That would explain why he wanted to see Steven Gerrard himself and have him assessed by England’s doctors before ruling the Liverpool midfielder out.
How many of the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard will suddenly be fit again for their clubs next weekend? How many would have played a crucial Champions League fixture tomorrow night? Or even, how many would have played in a key competitive qualifier?
I understand the clubs pay the players wages and now and again they do need a break from the weekend-midweek-weekend fixture cycle, but I wonder if choice is made by the players themselves or their club bosses.
I just get the feeling with Capello that, while he appears calm and accepting on the surface, he is making a mental note of all the players who have suddenly developed various strains or muscle tears and will not forget easily.
I know most of the players who have withdrawn are relatively sure of their places in the side at the moment and I’m not expecting Capello to jeopardise his team’s chances, but months down the line if the Italian has a borderline selection decision to make he might just take into account which player has regularly been available for selection when called upon.
I have a suspicion that John Terry, who seems to have developed a habit of missing England games with injury before making a miraculous recovery for Chelsea’s next fixture, may have lost out to Rio Ferdinand in the captaincy stakes if he had taken up the habit earlier.
At least for Capello the Germany game now offers a chance to test out some new faces and safely bracket the fixture in the ‘experimental’ category, meaning the result – baring total humiliation - will have little bearing on the feel-good factor created through recent victories in qualifying.
Following the game though, I think Capello will be looking out for those absentees who make a speedy comeback in next week’s Premier League fixtures and a small black mental mark may be going against their names.
Perhaps he simply knew it was coming, you can dress up all you like the fact this game is against the ‘Old Enemy’ and there are ‘no friendlies between England and Germany’ (how long before ITV’s match coverage team pull that old cliché out?), this is still a non-competitive game coming at a hectic time in the season when clubs are already suffering from lengthy injury lists.
Martin O’Neill’s description of the game as ‘meaningless’ may have been going a bit far, but even before the sudden glut of mysterious niggles amongst leading players, the result was never going to be do-or-die for Capello and his men.
The one thing that rankles me and perhaps, under the surface Capello, is the suggestion that some of the top clubs may not be entirely honest when they claim players are unfit to even attend training with the national side.
That would explain why he wanted to see Steven Gerrard himself and have him assessed by England’s doctors before ruling the Liverpool midfielder out.
How many of the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard will suddenly be fit again for their clubs next weekend? How many would have played a crucial Champions League fixture tomorrow night? Or even, how many would have played in a key competitive qualifier?
I understand the clubs pay the players wages and now and again they do need a break from the weekend-midweek-weekend fixture cycle, but I wonder if choice is made by the players themselves or their club bosses.
I just get the feeling with Capello that, while he appears calm and accepting on the surface, he is making a mental note of all the players who have suddenly developed various strains or muscle tears and will not forget easily.
I know most of the players who have withdrawn are relatively sure of their places in the side at the moment and I’m not expecting Capello to jeopardise his team’s chances, but months down the line if the Italian has a borderline selection decision to make he might just take into account which player has regularly been available for selection when called upon.
I have a suspicion that John Terry, who seems to have developed a habit of missing England games with injury before making a miraculous recovery for Chelsea’s next fixture, may have lost out to Rio Ferdinand in the captaincy stakes if he had taken up the habit earlier.
At least for Capello the Germany game now offers a chance to test out some new faces and safely bracket the fixture in the ‘experimental’ category, meaning the result – baring total humiliation - will have little bearing on the feel-good factor created through recent victories in qualifying.
Following the game though, I think Capello will be looking out for those absentees who make a speedy comeback in next week’s Premier League fixtures and a small black mental mark may be going against their names.
Cherries Chat: Quinn needs more than forward thinking
Midway through November Bournemouth’s points tally still resembles an Alan Davies score from an episode of QI and last weekend our miserable season plunged new depths.
With the team still on minus three points, they travelled up to Accrington Stanley and suffered a demoralising three-nil defeat, leaving us still 12 points from safety.
Fortunately I was not one of those Cherries fans who made the 550-mile round trip only to find the side three-nil down after less than half an hour.
After the game a few fans understandably vented their frustration at the players as they left the pitch and our midfielder Danny Hollands had to be restrained as he took exception to the abuse they were subjected to.
It was uncharacteristic of Hollands, who is a model professional who has captained the side in the past, and he has since apologised.
He recognised the huge commitment the supporters had made to follow the team and that they had every right to be angry when the players produce a performance that is not up to standard.
As the crisis spirals at Dean Court and relegation begins to look more of a certainty than a possibility, boss Jimmy Quinn seems to be obsessed with his search for a new striker to turn the club’s season around.
He has just brought in Michael Symes, a former Everton trainee who played alongside Wayne Rooney at youth team level, on loan from Shrewsbury and says he is still hoping to bring in another front man.
By my reckoning Symes was the eighth forward to play up front for Bournemouth this season, not counting Sammy Igoe who has played as a withdrawn striker and new signing Alan Connell who has only made the bench to date due to injury.
None of these strikers has exactly impressed but surely Quinn has to start questioning whether it is the forwards themselves who are the problem or simply that we are not a side that creates many chances.
Brett Pitman is our top scorer so far this season with just four goals and, while his inconsistency and apparent lethargy may draw abuse from a number of Cherries fans, I still maintain if he plays the whole campaign, Quinn manages to keep him motivated and he is given decent service, he will score 15 to 20 goals at this level.
I think the greatest area of concern is the wing-backs in Quinn’s 3-5-2 system, with ageing Lee Bradbury and a low-on-confidence Warren Cummings starting the majority of games.
The pair simply don’t provide the energy up and down the flanks that the system badly needs and the majority of crosses come from so deep they are bread and butter for the big lumps of defenders that are commonplace in League Two.
I know goals make all the difference in football, but I think it’s time Quinn stopped focusing on new forwards to bring into the club and starting working out ways to create chances that our current crop of strikers can feed off.
With the team still on minus three points, they travelled up to Accrington Stanley and suffered a demoralising three-nil defeat, leaving us still 12 points from safety.
Fortunately I was not one of those Cherries fans who made the 550-mile round trip only to find the side three-nil down after less than half an hour.
After the game a few fans understandably vented their frustration at the players as they left the pitch and our midfielder Danny Hollands had to be restrained as he took exception to the abuse they were subjected to.
It was uncharacteristic of Hollands, who is a model professional who has captained the side in the past, and he has since apologised.
He recognised the huge commitment the supporters had made to follow the team and that they had every right to be angry when the players produce a performance that is not up to standard.
As the crisis spirals at Dean Court and relegation begins to look more of a certainty than a possibility, boss Jimmy Quinn seems to be obsessed with his search for a new striker to turn the club’s season around.
He has just brought in Michael Symes, a former Everton trainee who played alongside Wayne Rooney at youth team level, on loan from Shrewsbury and says he is still hoping to bring in another front man.
By my reckoning Symes was the eighth forward to play up front for Bournemouth this season, not counting Sammy Igoe who has played as a withdrawn striker and new signing Alan Connell who has only made the bench to date due to injury.
None of these strikers has exactly impressed but surely Quinn has to start questioning whether it is the forwards themselves who are the problem or simply that we are not a side that creates many chances.
Brett Pitman is our top scorer so far this season with just four goals and, while his inconsistency and apparent lethargy may draw abuse from a number of Cherries fans, I still maintain if he plays the whole campaign, Quinn manages to keep him motivated and he is given decent service, he will score 15 to 20 goals at this level.
I think the greatest area of concern is the wing-backs in Quinn’s 3-5-2 system, with ageing Lee Bradbury and a low-on-confidence Warren Cummings starting the majority of games.
The pair simply don’t provide the energy up and down the flanks that the system badly needs and the majority of crosses come from so deep they are bread and butter for the big lumps of defenders that are commonplace in League Two.
I know goals make all the difference in football, but I think it’s time Quinn stopped focusing on new forwards to bring into the club and starting working out ways to create chances that our current crop of strikers can feed off.
Sunday 16 November 2008
Johnson needs to bring back the T-Cup
The most depressing thing about England’s performance at Twickenham yesterday was just how familiar it seemed. I just felt we’d been there before.
Once again the team had hung in there with a top tier side, momentarily matched them and even suggested they could take the game by the scruff of the neck, only to then run out of steam and let the opposition ease to victory.
For the past five years this has been an all-too-typical experience for the England team and its followers.
I’m not sure exactly what I expected under Martin Johnson and his new regime.
I was aware that, great player and captain though he was, he wouldn’t automatically be able to revolutionise the England 15 overnight and, although there were a couple of exciting youngsters coming through, he hadn’t suddenly been blessed with a higher calibre of player.
I guess it was the mentality where I expected Johnson’s influence to come to the fore, and I don’t mean the all-out attacking flair exhibited against the Pacific Islands, which was never going to be replicated against the top sides.
What I was looking was for players to be something that Stuart Barnes referred to in his match commentary as ‘match smart’.
The way I read this was the simple decision making that can win or lose, or - at least - certainly turn, test matches.
Many of the top test sides line-up with a similar standard of players in terms of athleticism and basic rugby ability.
But what separates the very best from the rest is that in the furious atmosphere of a rugby international, where you have only split seconds to make a choice, they regularly make the same decision they would have made if they were given minutes to weigh up the situation.
Yesterday England made a host of stupid decisions, rashly diving into a ruck or playing the ball on the floor, and were made to pay by the number of kickable penalties they conceded.
At times in attack too, the break was made or the off-load successful only for the move to break down, not so much because the next move was the wrong move, but because the decision took too long.
Since the 2003 World Cup England seem to have lost that impeccable habit for making the right decision that marked them out as true champions.
It could purely be put down to experience but I feel it is a more innate decision-making ability.
How else do you explain players such as the Aussie scrum half Luke Burgess (or, if you remember his French counterpart Morgan Parra who shone against England in the Six Nations) who seem born to test rugby and seem immediately comfortable making decisions at that level?
For me, two players of the World Cup generation summed up what England referred to as ‘T-Cup’, short for total control under pressure, as their razor-sharp thinking games were never put off stride even in the most intense situations.
The first - it pains me a little to admit as I’m not a fan of his post-career quiz-panellist/ballroom dancer/chef/anything-to-get-on-TV reincarnation - was Matt Dawson, who was not the most physically or technically gifted scrum-half but played the game a phase or two ahead of everyone else and was rarely ruffled in any circumstances.
The other was Will Greenwood, who just seemed to get better as the stakes increased and was a hugely underrated midfield creator.
Of course these guys were playing behind a dominant pack, Johnson desperately needs to work out how to get the England eight’s bite back, but even when they were on the back foot their thought process remained clear and calculated.
Against Australia England’s young side was shown up simply for its inability to make decisions and lack of direction when they were up against it, particularly with ball in hand.
Danny Cipriani showed in brief flashes what a brilliant creative force he can be and two searing breaks demonstrated it is worth enduring his slightly wayward goalkicking.
But he plays more off instinct than intelligence and I really feel this England side will struggle to move forward until at least two leader figures who keep their heads at all times emerge and act as rallying posts for others in hours of need.
Johnson was one of those figures as a player but the question is, can he transmit this mentality to his players, or is it something they are just born with?
Once again the team had hung in there with a top tier side, momentarily matched them and even suggested they could take the game by the scruff of the neck, only to then run out of steam and let the opposition ease to victory.
For the past five years this has been an all-too-typical experience for the England team and its followers.
I’m not sure exactly what I expected under Martin Johnson and his new regime.
I was aware that, great player and captain though he was, he wouldn’t automatically be able to revolutionise the England 15 overnight and, although there were a couple of exciting youngsters coming through, he hadn’t suddenly been blessed with a higher calibre of player.
I guess it was the mentality where I expected Johnson’s influence to come to the fore, and I don’t mean the all-out attacking flair exhibited against the Pacific Islands, which was never going to be replicated against the top sides.
What I was looking was for players to be something that Stuart Barnes referred to in his match commentary as ‘match smart’.
The way I read this was the simple decision making that can win or lose, or - at least - certainly turn, test matches.
Many of the top test sides line-up with a similar standard of players in terms of athleticism and basic rugby ability.
But what separates the very best from the rest is that in the furious atmosphere of a rugby international, where you have only split seconds to make a choice, they regularly make the same decision they would have made if they were given minutes to weigh up the situation.
Yesterday England made a host of stupid decisions, rashly diving into a ruck or playing the ball on the floor, and were made to pay by the number of kickable penalties they conceded.
At times in attack too, the break was made or the off-load successful only for the move to break down, not so much because the next move was the wrong move, but because the decision took too long.
Since the 2003 World Cup England seem to have lost that impeccable habit for making the right decision that marked them out as true champions.
It could purely be put down to experience but I feel it is a more innate decision-making ability.
How else do you explain players such as the Aussie scrum half Luke Burgess (or, if you remember his French counterpart Morgan Parra who shone against England in the Six Nations) who seem born to test rugby and seem immediately comfortable making decisions at that level?
For me, two players of the World Cup generation summed up what England referred to as ‘T-Cup’, short for total control under pressure, as their razor-sharp thinking games were never put off stride even in the most intense situations.
The first - it pains me a little to admit as I’m not a fan of his post-career quiz-panellist/ballroom dancer/chef/anything-to-get-on-TV reincarnation - was Matt Dawson, who was not the most physically or technically gifted scrum-half but played the game a phase or two ahead of everyone else and was rarely ruffled in any circumstances.
The other was Will Greenwood, who just seemed to get better as the stakes increased and was a hugely underrated midfield creator.
Of course these guys were playing behind a dominant pack, Johnson desperately needs to work out how to get the England eight’s bite back, but even when they were on the back foot their thought process remained clear and calculated.
Against Australia England’s young side was shown up simply for its inability to make decisions and lack of direction when they were up against it, particularly with ball in hand.
Danny Cipriani showed in brief flashes what a brilliant creative force he can be and two searing breaks demonstrated it is worth enduring his slightly wayward goalkicking.
But he plays more off instinct than intelligence and I really feel this England side will struggle to move forward until at least two leader figures who keep their heads at all times emerge and act as rallying posts for others in hours of need.
Johnson was one of those figures as a player but the question is, can he transmit this mentality to his players, or is it something they are just born with?
Wednesday 12 November 2008
Aussies point finger at Punter
It can take years to build up a reputation as a great sporting captain, but it doesn't take long for that reputation to be trampled on.
In the space of around an hour on the penultimate day of the final test between India and Australia Ricky Ponting found out just how quick the tables can turn.
Ponting called on the wiles of part-time bowlers to speed up the overate in a crucial stage of the match, with India teetering at 166 for six in the second innings, in a bid to speed up a slow overate that could potentially lead the skipper to be banned for the next test match.
The result was almost inevitable, India's Mahendra Singh Donhi and Harbhajan Singh piled on the runs and the hosts gained the upper hand in Nagpur before skittling the Aussies to claim the game and a 2-0 series win.
Suddenly Ponting was vilified as the clueless instigator of his team's demise, a man who cracks when put under pressure and his very future as the captain of the world's number one ranked team was called into question.
The blood-thirsty post mortems went straight for the Aussie skipper, pinning the blame well and truly on a Ponting-shaped pinata and completely glossing over the fact that India had been by far the better bowling and batting side over 20 days of engrossing test cricket.
Ignored also was the track record of the man who had taken on the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of Steve Waugh, been faced with retirements of the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer yet still coming into this series he had lost four of 44 tests – and, of course, there is the small matter of two world cup wins.
Now I'm not saying Ponting didn't make mistakes, or that his past success makes him immune from criticism, but surely to call for his head is beyond the ridiculous.
Australians simply have to take a very un-Australian dose of realism and accept the fact that their team is just not as good as it used to be.
More importantly they should realise Ponting is still the man to lead this transitional side and has not become a cricketing dunderhead overnight.
Just look at the way the side bounced back under his leadership after the 2005 Ashes defeat.
One man who should take careful note of Ponting's treatment is new England skipper Kevin Pietersen.
A couple of months ago KP was the flavour of the moment as he lead England to a 4-0 win over South Africa in his first one day series.
But after the debacle of the Stanford Series and England's humiliation against a Mumbai in a tour match, he seems to have lost his midas touch somewhat.
There is a lot of cricket to be played between now and next summer's Ashes series and while Pietersen must be delighted with the way Ponting and his men struggled in India, the experience should serve as a warning as to how quickly things can change.
In the space of around an hour on the penultimate day of the final test between India and Australia Ricky Ponting found out just how quick the tables can turn.
Ponting called on the wiles of part-time bowlers to speed up the overate in a crucial stage of the match, with India teetering at 166 for six in the second innings, in a bid to speed up a slow overate that could potentially lead the skipper to be banned for the next test match.
The result was almost inevitable, India's Mahendra Singh Donhi and Harbhajan Singh piled on the runs and the hosts gained the upper hand in Nagpur before skittling the Aussies to claim the game and a 2-0 series win.
Suddenly Ponting was vilified as the clueless instigator of his team's demise, a man who cracks when put under pressure and his very future as the captain of the world's number one ranked team was called into question.
The blood-thirsty post mortems went straight for the Aussie skipper, pinning the blame well and truly on a Ponting-shaped pinata and completely glossing over the fact that India had been by far the better bowling and batting side over 20 days of engrossing test cricket.
Ignored also was the track record of the man who had taken on the unenviable task of following in the footsteps of Steve Waugh, been faced with retirements of the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer yet still coming into this series he had lost four of 44 tests – and, of course, there is the small matter of two world cup wins.
Now I'm not saying Ponting didn't make mistakes, or that his past success makes him immune from criticism, but surely to call for his head is beyond the ridiculous.
Australians simply have to take a very un-Australian dose of realism and accept the fact that their team is just not as good as it used to be.
More importantly they should realise Ponting is still the man to lead this transitional side and has not become a cricketing dunderhead overnight.
Just look at the way the side bounced back under his leadership after the 2005 Ashes defeat.
One man who should take careful note of Ponting's treatment is new England skipper Kevin Pietersen.
A couple of months ago KP was the flavour of the moment as he lead England to a 4-0 win over South Africa in his first one day series.
But after the debacle of the Stanford Series and England's humiliation against a Mumbai in a tour match, he seems to have lost his midas touch somewhat.
There is a lot of cricket to be played between now and next summer's Ashes series and while Pietersen must be delighted with the way Ponting and his men struggled in India, the experience should serve as a warning as to how quickly things can change.
Monday 10 November 2008
Top flight rising above discontent of winter
We are at that stage of the season where normally people start complaining about the state of football's top tier in this country.
Perhaps its a general misery brought on by the dark evenings and foul weather, but I seem to recall a general sense of disillusionment at about this point during the past couple of seasons.
I tend to start echoing the same old radio phone-in complaints about the dominance of the 'big four' and the predictability of the Premier League.
This season though, I get this general feeling of malaise has still to hit, or at least personally I am full of positive thoughts about what the Premiership has to offer.
I know the elite clubs have once again risen inevitably to occupy the top four places in the table but both between the quartet and down the rest of the league there is a competitive unpredictability that has been so painstakingly absent in previous campaigns.
Almost all the teams outside the top six or seven are a matter of a couple of bad results away from relegation and a run of good results can propel a side up the table faster than Timo Glock on dry tyres.
It seems anyone outside Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool can beat each other as even the new boys are giving it a real go.
And who cares about the fact that four clubs are head and shoulders above the rest when they produce matches of the intensity and quality of the Arsenal-Man United game on Saturday.
Arsenal's against-the-odds win arguably deseves them to regain the moniker of 'title contenders' that was stripped from them when the lost to Stoke.
Once again all four look like having a genuine tilt at the top prize and few could confidently predict exactly which of the big four will be at the summit come May.
Even more encouragingly, none of the elite clubs are playing with a mundane or functional style that is purely results-driven - with Chelsea in particular revolutionised into an entertaining attacking force.
I don’t know if this strange sense of optimism will last, or the disillusionment will simply kick in at a later stage, but at the moment I am enjoying every minute of the current campaign.
Perhaps its a general misery brought on by the dark evenings and foul weather, but I seem to recall a general sense of disillusionment at about this point during the past couple of seasons.
I tend to start echoing the same old radio phone-in complaints about the dominance of the 'big four' and the predictability of the Premier League.
This season though, I get this general feeling of malaise has still to hit, or at least personally I am full of positive thoughts about what the Premiership has to offer.
I know the elite clubs have once again risen inevitably to occupy the top four places in the table but both between the quartet and down the rest of the league there is a competitive unpredictability that has been so painstakingly absent in previous campaigns.
Almost all the teams outside the top six or seven are a matter of a couple of bad results away from relegation and a run of good results can propel a side up the table faster than Timo Glock on dry tyres.
It seems anyone outside Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool can beat each other as even the new boys are giving it a real go.
And who cares about the fact that four clubs are head and shoulders above the rest when they produce matches of the intensity and quality of the Arsenal-Man United game on Saturday.
Arsenal's against-the-odds win arguably deseves them to regain the moniker of 'title contenders' that was stripped from them when the lost to Stoke.
Once again all four look like having a genuine tilt at the top prize and few could confidently predict exactly which of the big four will be at the summit come May.
Even more encouragingly, none of the elite clubs are playing with a mundane or functional style that is purely results-driven - with Chelsea in particular revolutionised into an entertaining attacking force.
I don’t know if this strange sense of optimism will last, or the disillusionment will simply kick in at a later stage, but at the moment I am enjoying every minute of the current campaign.
Monday 3 November 2008
Last-gasp Lewis shows drive of a true champion
As two fathers simultaneously celebrated their son’s coronation as Formula One world champion, for a brief moment it seemed we had the result perhaps both men deserved.
When Luiz Antonio Massa and Anthony Hamilton saw their boys take the checked flag at Interlagos yesterday, each man thought he was witnessing his son claim the most prestigious prize in motor sport.
Of course, it soon emerged that Massa sr and the Ferrari team had jumped the gun as Hamilton stole back the title on the final bend of a quite thrilling race.
This last gasp drama was the climax to a race that ebbed and flowed as in a reflection of the season itself and it is moments like that which remind us just how enthralling sport can be.
While Hamilton walked away as deserved world champion, it was hard not to feel sorry for Felipe Massa.
The likeable Brazilian had driven an almost perfect race at his home circuit and had done everything in his power to claim the overall championship when under the most intense pressure.
But somehow Hamilton did just enough as Timo Glock's Toyota crawled round the last lap and the 23-year-old from Stevenage chased him down in the nick of time.
Hamilton's race was far from a flawless display but, in the mark of a true champion, his will forced him home as he was faced with the unthinkable prospect of losing the championship in the final race for the second year in succession.
In an ideal, school playground-style, world both men would have emerged victorious and both fathers would have had genuine cause for celebration but the cut-throat world of top level modern sport has no room for these sentimental notions.
Over the course of this year, neither of the championship contenders has reached the flawless standards set by Michael Schumacher in his prime but we cannot measure all champions by the greatest of them all and the lack of dominance has meant a season that was never lacking in drama.
But it was Hamilton who came through, the mental damage may well have been long-lasting if he had failed at the last again, and his success was largely down to a very un-British attitude of a champion.
Sometimes it seems British sports stars seem to worry too much about their own image, preferring to play the role of gallant hero rather than ruthless winner.
But Hamilton, and to an extent Andy Murray who too has developed a the demeanour of a champion of late, has adopted an almost blinkered tunnel vision purely focused on winning that has lead to accusations of being aloof and a reputation for pushing the competitive boundaries on the track to the bounds of the dangerous.
It means he may not be popular with other drivers and even the world audience (not just the narrow-minded racist Spanish fans but the wider fanbase of Formula One), even though that may be hard to gage in face of the fervour of the partisan support in this country.
But something tells me that won’t bother Hamilton in the slightest as he basks in the glory that comes with the title of world champion, besides, when did Schumacher ever seem bothered about his reputation with fans and other drivers?
When Luiz Antonio Massa and Anthony Hamilton saw their boys take the checked flag at Interlagos yesterday, each man thought he was witnessing his son claim the most prestigious prize in motor sport.
Of course, it soon emerged that Massa sr and the Ferrari team had jumped the gun as Hamilton stole back the title on the final bend of a quite thrilling race.
This last gasp drama was the climax to a race that ebbed and flowed as in a reflection of the season itself and it is moments like that which remind us just how enthralling sport can be.
While Hamilton walked away as deserved world champion, it was hard not to feel sorry for Felipe Massa.
The likeable Brazilian had driven an almost perfect race at his home circuit and had done everything in his power to claim the overall championship when under the most intense pressure.
But somehow Hamilton did just enough as Timo Glock's Toyota crawled round the last lap and the 23-year-old from Stevenage chased him down in the nick of time.
Hamilton's race was far from a flawless display but, in the mark of a true champion, his will forced him home as he was faced with the unthinkable prospect of losing the championship in the final race for the second year in succession.
In an ideal, school playground-style, world both men would have emerged victorious and both fathers would have had genuine cause for celebration but the cut-throat world of top level modern sport has no room for these sentimental notions.
Over the course of this year, neither of the championship contenders has reached the flawless standards set by Michael Schumacher in his prime but we cannot measure all champions by the greatest of them all and the lack of dominance has meant a season that was never lacking in drama.
But it was Hamilton who came through, the mental damage may well have been long-lasting if he had failed at the last again, and his success was largely down to a very un-British attitude of a champion.
Sometimes it seems British sports stars seem to worry too much about their own image, preferring to play the role of gallant hero rather than ruthless winner.
But Hamilton, and to an extent Andy Murray who too has developed a the demeanour of a champion of late, has adopted an almost blinkered tunnel vision purely focused on winning that has lead to accusations of being aloof and a reputation for pushing the competitive boundaries on the track to the bounds of the dangerous.
It means he may not be popular with other drivers and even the world audience (not just the narrow-minded racist Spanish fans but the wider fanbase of Formula One), even though that may be hard to gage in face of the fervour of the partisan support in this country.
But something tells me that won’t bother Hamilton in the slightest as he basks in the glory that comes with the title of world champion, besides, when did Schumacher ever seem bothered about his reputation with fans and other drivers?
Monday 27 October 2008
'Arry gets shot at the big time
Harry Redknapp has always struck me as football’s answer to Derek Trotter.
It’s not just the Cockney accent, and the cheeky-chappy, wheeler-dealer attitude.
He is very much football’s version of the self-made man, he worked his way up from the lower leagues with Bournemouth, made an unfashionable West Ham fashionable again and then did the same with Portsmouth (if ever Pompey were fashionable before).
‘Arry has always been very much his own man, wanting things his way – he made no secret of the fact that the reason he left Portsmouth the first time was the power-sharing relationship with Director of Football Velimir Zajec and shocked everyone by joining South Coast rivals Southampton (before, of course, heading back along the M27 some 12 months later to perform a Messianic survival act at Fratton Park).
Now the East End boy made good has been given the chance he always wanted, a ‘big club’ opportunity with Tottenham Hotspur.
Exactly what defines a big club, the difference between a Portsmouth and a Spurs, is hard to define these days (indeed, if you looked at the Premier League table the difference between the two was exactly 11 points – in Pompey’s favour!).
But Redknapp has talked of the ‘history’ and the status of Spurs.
It is an undeniable fact that certain clubs will always be ‘bigger’ than others, regardless of league position or even, to a degree, financial muscle.
Indeed there are some who still claim League Two side Leeds United are a ‘big club’.
Quite why ‘Arry decided to jump ship to Tottenham when he was so adverse to moving to
Newcastle, the last big club to come knocking back in January, isn’t totally clear.
It is likely to have something to do with the fact he has been promised total control at Spurs, something Magpies owner Michael Ashley was unable to offer.
It must also something to do with the fact he has taken Pompey as far as they can go, having led them to an FA Cup win at Wembley, and is walking into a win-win situation at Spurs with a squad far better than the club’s league position suggests.
There may also have been an economic incentives for the notoriously shrewd Redknapp to move back to the club where he trained as an 11 and 12-year-old, but I feel the main reason is that he finally has been offered the chance of a job normally reserved for renowned, ‘fashionable’ managers.
After years of making his name as a kind of bargain basement operator, capable of getting the best out of threadbare resources, he has finally been accepted to the managerial top table, where he will get the resources to match.
It is like Del Boy finally making his millions and being accepted at the local country club.
Of course in Only Fools and Horses Del Boy and Rodney do actually make their fortune but the dream soon turns sour.
Even before they lose all their money through dodgy investments, there is a sense that Del Boy was actually happier when chasing his dream than after he finally realised it.
Let’s hope for ‘Arry’s sake life at a big club lives up to his expectations and he doesn’t regret his move to the big time.
It’s not just the Cockney accent, and the cheeky-chappy, wheeler-dealer attitude.
He is very much football’s version of the self-made man, he worked his way up from the lower leagues with Bournemouth, made an unfashionable West Ham fashionable again and then did the same with Portsmouth (if ever Pompey were fashionable before).
‘Arry has always been very much his own man, wanting things his way – he made no secret of the fact that the reason he left Portsmouth the first time was the power-sharing relationship with Director of Football Velimir Zajec and shocked everyone by joining South Coast rivals Southampton (before, of course, heading back along the M27 some 12 months later to perform a Messianic survival act at Fratton Park).
Now the East End boy made good has been given the chance he always wanted, a ‘big club’ opportunity with Tottenham Hotspur.
Exactly what defines a big club, the difference between a Portsmouth and a Spurs, is hard to define these days (indeed, if you looked at the Premier League table the difference between the two was exactly 11 points – in Pompey’s favour!).
But Redknapp has talked of the ‘history’ and the status of Spurs.
It is an undeniable fact that certain clubs will always be ‘bigger’ than others, regardless of league position or even, to a degree, financial muscle.
Indeed there are some who still claim League Two side Leeds United are a ‘big club’.
Quite why ‘Arry decided to jump ship to Tottenham when he was so adverse to moving to
Newcastle, the last big club to come knocking back in January, isn’t totally clear.
It is likely to have something to do with the fact he has been promised total control at Spurs, something Magpies owner Michael Ashley was unable to offer.
It must also something to do with the fact he has taken Pompey as far as they can go, having led them to an FA Cup win at Wembley, and is walking into a win-win situation at Spurs with a squad far better than the club’s league position suggests.
There may also have been an economic incentives for the notoriously shrewd Redknapp to move back to the club where he trained as an 11 and 12-year-old, but I feel the main reason is that he finally has been offered the chance of a job normally reserved for renowned, ‘fashionable’ managers.
After years of making his name as a kind of bargain basement operator, capable of getting the best out of threadbare resources, he has finally been accepted to the managerial top table, where he will get the resources to match.
It is like Del Boy finally making his millions and being accepted at the local country club.
Of course in Only Fools and Horses Del Boy and Rodney do actually make their fortune but the dream soon turns sour.
Even before they lose all their money through dodgy investments, there is a sense that Del Boy was actually happier when chasing his dream than after he finally realised it.
Let’s hope for ‘Arry’s sake life at a big club lives up to his expectations and he doesn’t regret his move to the big time.
Wednesday 22 October 2008
Fabio benefits as Rooney and Walcott blossom
There is nothing quite so valuable in football as the gift of timing.
Fabio Capello is being hailed as the saviour of English football, the man who has turned round our ailing team, but how much of that is down to sheer bloody luck?
Steve McClaren may have had has failings but it can also be said, while he was blessed with talented players during his time at the England helm, certain factors went against him.
When you look at the England team's attacking thrust in the past few games, much of it has come from the rejuvenated Wayne Rooney and the maturing Theo Walcott.
As the two continued their fine form in Europe last night, it made me think back a couple of years to McClaren's tenure when Rooney was struggling for goals in the national side and Walcott was hardly getting any playing time at Arsenal.
Emile Heskey, too, has undergone a renaissance to coincide with the Capello era and Frank Lampard - England fans player of the year in 2004 and 2005 before becoming the target of the boo boys in the late Eriksson years and under McClaren - also appears to be enjoying international football again.
Of course the other argument is that Capello is the reason behind these dramatic turnarounds and maybe in Lampard's case - when you look at the way he played at club level during McClaren's tenure - the argument that the Italian is finally getting the best out of him at international level is persuasive.
But it is club football where the other upward spirals of the other three have stemmed from.
When McClaren was in charge Rooney was a more of a team player who went through a succession of goal droughts for club and country and was as likely to track back and concede a penalty for England as score in a competitive game.
Walcott was experiencing the kind of growing pains that many teenagers experience as he showed only fleeting signs of his talent in his few first team opportunities.
This season is a different story. Sir Alex Ferguson has castigated Rooney for being too selfless and has worked hard to focus his huge energy into the role of attacking playmaker and goal threat – cue a Ronaldo-esque run of scoring from the former Everton man.
Walcott is no longer a bit part player at Arsenal and is having an impact on big games from the start not just from the bench.
And Heskey finally seems happy in his role as foil, particularly with the all-action Amr Zaki's arrival at Wigan, and team player that is so respected by boss Steve Bruce.
Yes Capello has had to fit these players together and you can't argue with his results, but spare a thought for our dear old wally with a brolly who must be looking on Rooney and Walcott's form with green-eyed envy.
Fabio Capello is being hailed as the saviour of English football, the man who has turned round our ailing team, but how much of that is down to sheer bloody luck?
Steve McClaren may have had has failings but it can also be said, while he was blessed with talented players during his time at the England helm, certain factors went against him.
When you look at the England team's attacking thrust in the past few games, much of it has come from the rejuvenated Wayne Rooney and the maturing Theo Walcott.
As the two continued their fine form in Europe last night, it made me think back a couple of years to McClaren's tenure when Rooney was struggling for goals in the national side and Walcott was hardly getting any playing time at Arsenal.
Emile Heskey, too, has undergone a renaissance to coincide with the Capello era and Frank Lampard - England fans player of the year in 2004 and 2005 before becoming the target of the boo boys in the late Eriksson years and under McClaren - also appears to be enjoying international football again.
Of course the other argument is that Capello is the reason behind these dramatic turnarounds and maybe in Lampard's case - when you look at the way he played at club level during McClaren's tenure - the argument that the Italian is finally getting the best out of him at international level is persuasive.
But it is club football where the other upward spirals of the other three have stemmed from.
When McClaren was in charge Rooney was a more of a team player who went through a succession of goal droughts for club and country and was as likely to track back and concede a penalty for England as score in a competitive game.
Walcott was experiencing the kind of growing pains that many teenagers experience as he showed only fleeting signs of his talent in his few first team opportunities.
This season is a different story. Sir Alex Ferguson has castigated Rooney for being too selfless and has worked hard to focus his huge energy into the role of attacking playmaker and goal threat – cue a Ronaldo-esque run of scoring from the former Everton man.
Walcott is no longer a bit part player at Arsenal and is having an impact on big games from the start not just from the bench.
And Heskey finally seems happy in his role as foil, particularly with the all-action Amr Zaki's arrival at Wigan, and team player that is so respected by boss Steve Bruce.
Yes Capello has had to fit these players together and you can't argue with his results, but spare a thought for our dear old wally with a brolly who must be looking on Rooney and Walcott's form with green-eyed envy.
Monday 20 October 2008
Little Master shows his class
Whatever the final outcome of the current test between India and Australia in Mohali, it will be one that lives long in the memory of Indian cricket fans.
India are well placed to win, with Australia five wickets down in the final innings and still requiring 375 for victory going into the final day, but don't expect the Aussies to simply accept defeat.
Even if Sachin Tendulkar would want to focus on the victory of his team, this match will inevitably be remembered for the moment the ‘Little Master’ passed Brian Lara’s record to become the most prolific test batsman in test cricket of all time.
With Ricky Ponting among the first to congratulate Tendulkar as he reached the landmark, you sensed it was one of those rare moments when the whole of cricket unites to celebrate a singular talent.
Tendulkar’s genius and talent was glaringly obvious from a ridiculously young age – at the age of just 14 he and another future India test batsmen Vinod Kambli reduced a young bowler to tears as they put on a then world record 664 partnership in a school game and he also made his first test hundred at the age of just 17.
But having a gift is one thing, it is the ability to deliver quality performances over a sustained period of time at the highest level that marks out the greatest sportsmen and women.
Being a child prodigy did not make it easy for Tendulkar, trying to and gage the scale of his popularity and the pressure on his shoulders is almost impossible but it is fair to say he has repeatedly gone out to bat with a greater weight of expectation than any other cricketer of any generation.
Yet time and time again he has produced the goods - 152 tests and 417 one-day internationals have yielded more than 28,000 runs at international level and an astonishing 81 centuries.
This level of proficiency may suggest a careful accumulator of runs with a single-minded approach but anyone who has watched the Little Master over the years would accept that he is a delight to watch, a batsman who plays his shots and executes them with a rare panache.
Tendulkar’s longevity and insatiable appetite for runs has made me think about the true meaning of sporting greatness.
In sport we get those with unrivalled genius who touch the highest peaks but only for a brief time.
This is most obvious in football, where likes of Diego Maradona, George Best and Paul Gascoigne provided some of the finest moments ever seen on a football field but their careers are almost as much tales of unfulfilled promise as they are of success.
Perhaps even more rare are those such as Pele, Bobby Moore, or – bringing us back to cricket – Tendulkar himself.
They too are capable of moments of rare brilliance but between these flashes of talent their level of performance is relentless to the point when it almost becomes boring.
Yes, maybe the Maradonas of this world are more exciting because we never know what we are going to get but surely if we are to consider the true sense of sporting ‘greatness’, it should be those who deliver brilliance on the most prolific basis.
Whatever you’re view on this few can argue that the Little Master will go down as one of the game’s all time greats.
India are well placed to win, with Australia five wickets down in the final innings and still requiring 375 for victory going into the final day, but don't expect the Aussies to simply accept defeat.
Even if Sachin Tendulkar would want to focus on the victory of his team, this match will inevitably be remembered for the moment the ‘Little Master’ passed Brian Lara’s record to become the most prolific test batsman in test cricket of all time.
With Ricky Ponting among the first to congratulate Tendulkar as he reached the landmark, you sensed it was one of those rare moments when the whole of cricket unites to celebrate a singular talent.
Tendulkar’s genius and talent was glaringly obvious from a ridiculously young age – at the age of just 14 he and another future India test batsmen Vinod Kambli reduced a young bowler to tears as they put on a then world record 664 partnership in a school game and he also made his first test hundred at the age of just 17.
But having a gift is one thing, it is the ability to deliver quality performances over a sustained period of time at the highest level that marks out the greatest sportsmen and women.
Being a child prodigy did not make it easy for Tendulkar, trying to and gage the scale of his popularity and the pressure on his shoulders is almost impossible but it is fair to say he has repeatedly gone out to bat with a greater weight of expectation than any other cricketer of any generation.
Yet time and time again he has produced the goods - 152 tests and 417 one-day internationals have yielded more than 28,000 runs at international level and an astonishing 81 centuries.
This level of proficiency may suggest a careful accumulator of runs with a single-minded approach but anyone who has watched the Little Master over the years would accept that he is a delight to watch, a batsman who plays his shots and executes them with a rare panache.
Tendulkar’s longevity and insatiable appetite for runs has made me think about the true meaning of sporting greatness.
In sport we get those with unrivalled genius who touch the highest peaks but only for a brief time.
This is most obvious in football, where likes of Diego Maradona, George Best and Paul Gascoigne provided some of the finest moments ever seen on a football field but their careers are almost as much tales of unfulfilled promise as they are of success.
Perhaps even more rare are those such as Pele, Bobby Moore, or – bringing us back to cricket – Tendulkar himself.
They too are capable of moments of rare brilliance but between these flashes of talent their level of performance is relentless to the point when it almost becomes boring.
Yes, maybe the Maradonas of this world are more exciting because we never know what we are going to get but surely if we are to consider the true sense of sporting ‘greatness’, it should be those who deliver brilliance on the most prolific basis.
Whatever you’re view on this few can argue that the Little Master will go down as one of the game’s all time greats.
Monday 13 October 2008
Boo boys give supporters a bad name
England fans did not exactly cover themselves in glory at Wembley on Saturday.
Whether they were visibly absent from the corporate seats when the second half kicked off, childishly booing Ashley Cole after a moment of human error or embarrassingly fawning over David Beckham’s every touch, the home crowd were doing their best to suggest the ‘home of football’ is not all its cracked up to be.
For a number of countries and many clubs around the world the home stadium is a fortress, where the supporters create a bear-pit atmosphere designed to intimidate visiting sides and act as a ‘twelfth man’ for their team.
Unfortunately since England returned to Wembley the players have grown so concerned about facing the wrath of their own fans that it is our own team that is intimidated and inhibited by the crowd.
We constantly hear England players denying the ‘fear factor’ that comes with donning the Three Lions but it is hard to find a more compelling reason to explain why so many of our current crop of players perform so much better at club level, when they have their fans’ unconditional support.
Another telling sign is the way several of the England side have moved so quickly condemn the boo boys who taunted Cole at the weekend – they are clearly worried it could be them next time round.
For some reason we treat our club players as heroes, win or lose, but when players play at international level as soon as things start going wrong they are overpaid prima donnas who don’t give one hundred per cent.
It would be interesting to see how the players would react if they were given the kind of support they receive at club level.
Many might say an experienced international such as Cole should be able to cope with the booing and the importance of ‘confidence’ is often overplayed in football.
But we must consider the impact of the negative chants not just on the Chelsea left-back but also on his teammates, who included the inexperienced Matthew Upson and the 19-year-old Theo Walcott, and the fact that it would make them scared to make a serious error.
It is an almost ironic aspect of football, and most sports for that matter, that at any level if you are thinking too hard about not making a mistake you tense up, don’t play as well and mistakes inevitably creep in.
If you are confident and relaxed you think less and play your natural game.
I know fans are entitled to their opinion and those who went to Wembley parted with their hard earned cash, but it’s time our ‘supporters’ started supporting the team and helping rather than hindering our national team.
I haven’t even mentioned the fact that England actually won the game 5-1 and, even if the performance wasn’t outstanding, that sort of result against any international side should be a cause for celebration.
I would rather fans stayed in the executive bars for the whole of the second half than watch the game and boo their own side.
Whether they were visibly absent from the corporate seats when the second half kicked off, childishly booing Ashley Cole after a moment of human error or embarrassingly fawning over David Beckham’s every touch, the home crowd were doing their best to suggest the ‘home of football’ is not all its cracked up to be.
For a number of countries and many clubs around the world the home stadium is a fortress, where the supporters create a bear-pit atmosphere designed to intimidate visiting sides and act as a ‘twelfth man’ for their team.
Unfortunately since England returned to Wembley the players have grown so concerned about facing the wrath of their own fans that it is our own team that is intimidated and inhibited by the crowd.
We constantly hear England players denying the ‘fear factor’ that comes with donning the Three Lions but it is hard to find a more compelling reason to explain why so many of our current crop of players perform so much better at club level, when they have their fans’ unconditional support.
Another telling sign is the way several of the England side have moved so quickly condemn the boo boys who taunted Cole at the weekend – they are clearly worried it could be them next time round.
For some reason we treat our club players as heroes, win or lose, but when players play at international level as soon as things start going wrong they are overpaid prima donnas who don’t give one hundred per cent.
It would be interesting to see how the players would react if they were given the kind of support they receive at club level.
Many might say an experienced international such as Cole should be able to cope with the booing and the importance of ‘confidence’ is often overplayed in football.
But we must consider the impact of the negative chants not just on the Chelsea left-back but also on his teammates, who included the inexperienced Matthew Upson and the 19-year-old Theo Walcott, and the fact that it would make them scared to make a serious error.
It is an almost ironic aspect of football, and most sports for that matter, that at any level if you are thinking too hard about not making a mistake you tense up, don’t play as well and mistakes inevitably creep in.
If you are confident and relaxed you think less and play your natural game.
I know fans are entitled to their opinion and those who went to Wembley parted with their hard earned cash, but it’s time our ‘supporters’ started supporting the team and helping rather than hindering our national team.
I haven’t even mentioned the fact that England actually won the game 5-1 and, even if the performance wasn’t outstanding, that sort of result against any international side should be a cause for celebration.
I would rather fans stayed in the executive bars for the whole of the second half than watch the game and boo their own side.
Quinn's Cherries lack finishing touch
Bournemouth put on the best display I have seen from them this season at the weekend but we still came away with a 0-0 draw in a game we really needed to win.
We absolutely dominated a Rotherham side that, if like they hadn’t been deducted 17 points like Bournemouth, would have been fourth in the table ahead of Saturday’s fixture.
It was dubbed the ‘deduction derby’ or the ‘minus six pointer’ but in truth there was only one team in it and, despite my pessimistic comments every time the visitors had a set piece in our half, the Millers never looked like scoring.
It was simply a matter of Bournemouth making the breakthrough but, despite repeatedly knocking at the door, the Cherries could find no way through.
Former England international Darren Anderton was central to everything but he will be extremely disappointed by one close range miss and was desperately unlucky when another effort crashed against the inside of the post.
Rather than force players into unfamiliar positions, Jimmy Quinn has adapted a 3-5-1-1 formation to get the best out of the players at his disposal.
It means we can easily dominate teams in the middle of the park but we continue to lack a cutting edge up front.
On loan Rushden and Diamonds forward Michael Rankine was the latest to get a run out up front at the weekend and, while he looked strong and tidy enough, there was nothing to suggest he could become the prolific hitman we so desperately need.
In Brett Pitman, Rankine, Blair Sturrock, Jeff Goulding and Craig Linfield we have five strikers vying for the lone front man role and if you add long-term injury victim Alan Connell, as well as Lee Bradbury – a striker converted into a wing back - and youngster Steve Hutchings, that makes eight centre forwards at Dean Court.
For a club with a limited budget for playing staff that’s an awful lot of options but the problem is none of them look like scoring over 15 goals in a season.
There was so much encouragement to take from Saturday’s display and plenty to suggest our midfielders will chip in with goals – on another day they could have had four.
But I can’t help feeling it’s going to be a very long season unless we find a prolific goalscorer but I’m beginning to feel Quinn has pretty much tried everything he can.
It’s all very well playing decent football but we are in a position where we must convert dominance into points.
We absolutely dominated a Rotherham side that, if like they hadn’t been deducted 17 points like Bournemouth, would have been fourth in the table ahead of Saturday’s fixture.
It was dubbed the ‘deduction derby’ or the ‘minus six pointer’ but in truth there was only one team in it and, despite my pessimistic comments every time the visitors had a set piece in our half, the Millers never looked like scoring.
It was simply a matter of Bournemouth making the breakthrough but, despite repeatedly knocking at the door, the Cherries could find no way through.
Former England international Darren Anderton was central to everything but he will be extremely disappointed by one close range miss and was desperately unlucky when another effort crashed against the inside of the post.
Rather than force players into unfamiliar positions, Jimmy Quinn has adapted a 3-5-1-1 formation to get the best out of the players at his disposal.
It means we can easily dominate teams in the middle of the park but we continue to lack a cutting edge up front.
On loan Rushden and Diamonds forward Michael Rankine was the latest to get a run out up front at the weekend and, while he looked strong and tidy enough, there was nothing to suggest he could become the prolific hitman we so desperately need.
In Brett Pitman, Rankine, Blair Sturrock, Jeff Goulding and Craig Linfield we have five strikers vying for the lone front man role and if you add long-term injury victim Alan Connell, as well as Lee Bradbury – a striker converted into a wing back - and youngster Steve Hutchings, that makes eight centre forwards at Dean Court.
For a club with a limited budget for playing staff that’s an awful lot of options but the problem is none of them look like scoring over 15 goals in a season.
There was so much encouragement to take from Saturday’s display and plenty to suggest our midfielders will chip in with goals – on another day they could have had four.
But I can’t help feeling it’s going to be a very long season unless we find a prolific goalscorer but I’m beginning to feel Quinn has pretty much tried everything he can.
It’s all very well playing decent football but we are in a position where we must convert dominance into points.
Thursday 9 October 2008
British clubs prepare to get their continental heads on
The current advertising campaign for Heineken lager involves a typical stuffy British man embracing idiosyncrasies of the European way of life by getting his ‘continental head’ on.
As rugby’s Heineken Cup kicks off this weekend the weight of expectation suggests we are envisaging a similar full-blooded embrace of the European way of things by our British clubs.
The tournament has seemingly been growing in popularity year on year and this season’s edition - which will feature the likes of Dan Carter, Doug Howlett, Rocky Elsom, Vincent Clerc and Shane Williams - promises to be a very special event.
It is the competition that keeps club rugby commercially viable in days of TV coverage dominated by football and for two-timing fans of both the oval and round ball game like myself, bears comparison with the Champions League.
When I suggest that British clubs put on their ‘continental head’ in this tournament I am not implying English clubs suddenly ditch their defensive tendencies hewn out of fear of relegation or that Irish forward-based teams suddenly start hurling long passes across the pitch.
It is more the intensity and competitiveness that seems to creep up a notch and creates a fascinating spectacle for neutrals.
Without wishing to devalue the Guiness Premiership too much, the league season has been diluted by the play-off system.
With sides hampered by international call ups and ever-increasing injuries in the intense modern game, some teams almost seem to adopt the attitude that they can just need to hang in there for most of the year, make a late play-off surge and then prove their mettle in the knock-out matches when they can field all their big guns.
In the Heineken Cup international fixtures are not an issue and the clubs tend to put their strongest teams out every time, removing any doubt that these are big games.
The likes of Wasps and Leicester, whose league form has been patchy in recent seasons, shine in this tournament, as do Munster, they have entrenched winning mentalities that respond to the big match atmosphere.
This year’s competition has also thrown up some delicious fixtures, this weekend the Tigers take on the Ospreys, Sale visit Clermont Auvergne and England’s form team Bath travel to Toulouse –and that’s just for starters.
The Heineken is a tournament that is very much in vogue and I can’t remember experiencing a greater sense of anticipation before a club rugby tournament.
I hope it lives up to all the hype, remember – get the head right, and the rest will follow!
As rugby’s Heineken Cup kicks off this weekend the weight of expectation suggests we are envisaging a similar full-blooded embrace of the European way of things by our British clubs.
The tournament has seemingly been growing in popularity year on year and this season’s edition - which will feature the likes of Dan Carter, Doug Howlett, Rocky Elsom, Vincent Clerc and Shane Williams - promises to be a very special event.
It is the competition that keeps club rugby commercially viable in days of TV coverage dominated by football and for two-timing fans of both the oval and round ball game like myself, bears comparison with the Champions League.
When I suggest that British clubs put on their ‘continental head’ in this tournament I am not implying English clubs suddenly ditch their defensive tendencies hewn out of fear of relegation or that Irish forward-based teams suddenly start hurling long passes across the pitch.
It is more the intensity and competitiveness that seems to creep up a notch and creates a fascinating spectacle for neutrals.
Without wishing to devalue the Guiness Premiership too much, the league season has been diluted by the play-off system.
With sides hampered by international call ups and ever-increasing injuries in the intense modern game, some teams almost seem to adopt the attitude that they can just need to hang in there for most of the year, make a late play-off surge and then prove their mettle in the knock-out matches when they can field all their big guns.
In the Heineken Cup international fixtures are not an issue and the clubs tend to put their strongest teams out every time, removing any doubt that these are big games.
The likes of Wasps and Leicester, whose league form has been patchy in recent seasons, shine in this tournament, as do Munster, they have entrenched winning mentalities that respond to the big match atmosphere.
This year’s competition has also thrown up some delicious fixtures, this weekend the Tigers take on the Ospreys, Sale visit Clermont Auvergne and England’s form team Bath travel to Toulouse –and that’s just for starters.
The Heineken is a tournament that is very much in vogue and I can’t remember experiencing a greater sense of anticipation before a club rugby tournament.
I hope it lives up to all the hype, remember – get the head right, and the rest will follow!
Sunday 5 October 2008
Young Gunners provide easy target
While Arsenal fans may be enjoying the misery endured by their north London neighbours Tottenham at the moment, the elation is probably not enough to mask concerns about their own team’s performances this term.
The Gunners were given an almost dream start in terms of the fixture list and if they had any realistic ambitions of challenging for the league title this season they needed to be right up among the pace setters early on.
But Arsene Wenger’s side have been pegged back in recent weeks after dropping three points against Hull at home and then this weekend another two – depending on how you look at it, of course – against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
This current Arsenal side is of course packed with youngsters and they are not all going to perform week in, week out but this are the sort of games they simply must be picking up maximum points in if they wish to be in the title reckoning come May.
Arsenal play fantastic football on their day but they can find it difficult when sides defend deep with men behind the ball as it becomes difficult for the Gunners to penetrate with their passing game.
Wenger complained about Sunderland’s negative tactics yesterday but he has to accept that this is a reality of modern football where the stakes are so high and teams playing the likes of Arsenal cannot risk playing open expansive football.
The French manager may have his footballing ideals but he has rich resources and he should not simply demand that coaches with more mediocre players at their disposal adopt his philosophy.
They too are simply trying to get the best out of what they have.
The fact is Arsenal’s youngsters of a couple of seasons ago are now growing up – Cesc Fabregas, for example, now has over 140 league appearances under his belt - and they should have got over the tendency to become an easy target for a Premiership upset if they are to realise ambitions of challenging Manchester United and Chelsea.
The last time Arsenal won the league, the famous ‘Invincibles’ season of 2003-4, they played the same brand of altruistic football but they had a hardened core of winners with the likes of Patrick Vieira, Sol Campbell and Dennis Bergkamp as well as the irresistible Thierry Henry in his prime.
Henry’s departure may not have been felt too harshly as other attacking options have flourished in his absence, but it seems Arsenal have never totally recovered from losing the steel provided by Vieira.
We all know Arsenal are capable of matching the best of them but lesser teams will often try and bring the Gunners down to their level and what Arsenal really need is the type of player who can scrap with the best of them.
Wenger is obsess with beautiful football but he has admitted he has resources available and, if he does not want his side to be left behind by their rivals, January may be time to invest in someone to carry out the ugly side of the game.
The Gunners were given an almost dream start in terms of the fixture list and if they had any realistic ambitions of challenging for the league title this season they needed to be right up among the pace setters early on.
But Arsene Wenger’s side have been pegged back in recent weeks after dropping three points against Hull at home and then this weekend another two – depending on how you look at it, of course – against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
This current Arsenal side is of course packed with youngsters and they are not all going to perform week in, week out but this are the sort of games they simply must be picking up maximum points in if they wish to be in the title reckoning come May.
Arsenal play fantastic football on their day but they can find it difficult when sides defend deep with men behind the ball as it becomes difficult for the Gunners to penetrate with their passing game.
Wenger complained about Sunderland’s negative tactics yesterday but he has to accept that this is a reality of modern football where the stakes are so high and teams playing the likes of Arsenal cannot risk playing open expansive football.
The French manager may have his footballing ideals but he has rich resources and he should not simply demand that coaches with more mediocre players at their disposal adopt his philosophy.
They too are simply trying to get the best out of what they have.
The fact is Arsenal’s youngsters of a couple of seasons ago are now growing up – Cesc Fabregas, for example, now has over 140 league appearances under his belt - and they should have got over the tendency to become an easy target for a Premiership upset if they are to realise ambitions of challenging Manchester United and Chelsea.
The last time Arsenal won the league, the famous ‘Invincibles’ season of 2003-4, they played the same brand of altruistic football but they had a hardened core of winners with the likes of Patrick Vieira, Sol Campbell and Dennis Bergkamp as well as the irresistible Thierry Henry in his prime.
Henry’s departure may not have been felt too harshly as other attacking options have flourished in his absence, but it seems Arsenal have never totally recovered from losing the steel provided by Vieira.
We all know Arsenal are capable of matching the best of them but lesser teams will often try and bring the Gunners down to their level and what Arsenal really need is the type of player who can scrap with the best of them.
Wenger is obsess with beautiful football but he has admitted he has resources available and, if he does not want his side to be left behind by their rivals, January may be time to invest in someone to carry out the ugly side of the game.
Thursday 2 October 2008
Owen keeps his head while all about him are losing theirs
It seems every time the words ‘Newcastle United’ are mentioned nowadays, a term along the lines of ‘crisis club’ follows not long after.
Other phrases such as ‘soap opera’ and ‘turmoil’ are also common parlance when talking about the Geordie outfit.
But amid all the tumult – the managerial coming and goings, the fans protests, the takeover speculation – one thing has been remarkably consistent.
Their striker and now captain Michael Owen has continued to score goals.
When caretaker boss Chris Hughton said the off-field antics at the club were inevitably going to effect on the pitch performances, he obviously meant all aspects on the field of play apart from the England striker’s obsession for sticking the ball in the back of the net.
Owen has grabbed five goals in seven appearances this term and he would be the first to admit he is only just getting back to full fitness.
But fitness – or lack of – has never been the problem for Owen, he is a born goalscorer who knows where to be and finishes when the ball comes his way.
The number of headers he scores for a man of his diminutive stature beggars belief – he literally hangs on the last shoulder at set pieces and reads the flight of the ball brilliantly.
When Fabio Capello picks his England squad this weekend for the next two World Cup qualifiers he surely cannot overlook Owen again – particularly if Wayne Rooney is an injury doubt.
Owen has a proven record alongside Emile Heskey and his record of 40 goals in 89 internationals tells its own story.
It’s funny how some footballers don’t always turn out the way they sometimes suggest they might.
Some people suggest Owen is a failure because he hasn’t lived up to the potential he promised with ‘that goal’ against Argentina as a raw teenager in World Cup 1998 (was that really ten years ago?).
He promised to become a devastating forward who picked up the ball from deep and terrorised defences with his pace, much in the way Thierry Henry did in his prime.
But injuries soon took their toll and Owen simply didn’t have the pace to be that type of player, instead he worked hard at his game to become the ultimate goal poacher in the Gary Linekar mould.
Just because he is a different player than we thought he might become, that doesn’t mean he is not a truly international class player.
It’s similar to the way Ryan Giggs has turned away from his reputation as a flying winger as he has matured and instead become a workaholic midfield schemer.
Both these players may not be as exciting to watch as they were when they are younger but they have increased their longevity no end and are both still invaluable to their respective clubs.
If there are still people who doubt Owen I think they may think again if he fails to agree a new contract with the Magpies before January 1.
Owen will then be a free agent and a host of sides will be knocking down his door because, as any coach will tell you, international class goalscorers don’t grow on trees.
Other phrases such as ‘soap opera’ and ‘turmoil’ are also common parlance when talking about the Geordie outfit.
But amid all the tumult – the managerial coming and goings, the fans protests, the takeover speculation – one thing has been remarkably consistent.
Their striker and now captain Michael Owen has continued to score goals.
When caretaker boss Chris Hughton said the off-field antics at the club were inevitably going to effect on the pitch performances, he obviously meant all aspects on the field of play apart from the England striker’s obsession for sticking the ball in the back of the net.
Owen has grabbed five goals in seven appearances this term and he would be the first to admit he is only just getting back to full fitness.
But fitness – or lack of – has never been the problem for Owen, he is a born goalscorer who knows where to be and finishes when the ball comes his way.
The number of headers he scores for a man of his diminutive stature beggars belief – he literally hangs on the last shoulder at set pieces and reads the flight of the ball brilliantly.
When Fabio Capello picks his England squad this weekend for the next two World Cup qualifiers he surely cannot overlook Owen again – particularly if Wayne Rooney is an injury doubt.
Owen has a proven record alongside Emile Heskey and his record of 40 goals in 89 internationals tells its own story.
It’s funny how some footballers don’t always turn out the way they sometimes suggest they might.
Some people suggest Owen is a failure because he hasn’t lived up to the potential he promised with ‘that goal’ against Argentina as a raw teenager in World Cup 1998 (was that really ten years ago?).
He promised to become a devastating forward who picked up the ball from deep and terrorised defences with his pace, much in the way Thierry Henry did in his prime.
But injuries soon took their toll and Owen simply didn’t have the pace to be that type of player, instead he worked hard at his game to become the ultimate goal poacher in the Gary Linekar mould.
Just because he is a different player than we thought he might become, that doesn’t mean he is not a truly international class player.
It’s similar to the way Ryan Giggs has turned away from his reputation as a flying winger as he has matured and instead become a workaholic midfield schemer.
Both these players may not be as exciting to watch as they were when they are younger but they have increased their longevity no end and are both still invaluable to their respective clubs.
If there are still people who doubt Owen I think they may think again if he fails to agree a new contract with the Magpies before January 1.
Owen will then be a free agent and a host of sides will be knocking down his door because, as any coach will tell you, international class goalscorers don’t grow on trees.
Tuesday 30 September 2008
England awaits as Cipriani returns to action
One of English rugby’s most eagerly awaited comebacks in recent years is expected tomorrow after Wasps named Danny Cipriani in their starting line-up against Bath for their Guiness Premiership clash.
Exactly how Wasps and England rugby fans have come to invest so much hope in the 20-year-old - who was last seen being stretchered off with a fractured and dislocated right ankle only four-and-a-half months ago – is hard to explain.
Anyone who saw Cipriani’s first start for England against Ireland in the Six Nations will have a fair idea as to why there is so much hype surrounding the boy but it still seems harsh to put so much pressure on one so young.
The fact is Cipriani is a shining light of creativity during a period where England sides have repeatedly lacked spark and invention in the back division and this boy wonder is the best hope we have of turning around our fortunes in the international game.
It may sound harsh on one Jonny Wilkinson, who is after all Enlgland’s all time leading points scorer and - lest we forget - our World Cup hero, but if the side is to move forward it must be with Cipriani in the number 10 jersey.
I have the utmost respect for Wilkinson and I believe there have been few better of his type of fly half to have played the game.
He will kick his goals and tackle his heart out for the side all day long but the plain truth is he does not have the creative ability or vision of Cipriani.
In his unrivalled self-deprecating manner, Wilkinson has often hinted and occasionally admitted openly that he knows his game at times lacks that extra dimension.
It was fine when we had a dominant rumbling pack and the under-estimated creativity of Will Greenwood in midfield, but this England team is calling for a spark from number 10 and there is only one man to provide that.
It is a cruel fact that in rugby - as with many aspects of life – it is not always just about how hard you work, some people are just born with an uncoachable ability.
Some people (like myself) have to work their rear ends off for exams just to ensure a passing grade, while others do no revision, waltz into the exam hall on the day and get a top mark.
I am not suggesting Cipriani doesn’t work and it is essential he does not let his game stand still, but he has a quality that few English three-quarters – barring maybe Jason Robinson – have had in recent years.
I remember the moment when I first really thought Cipriani was the real deal and had to be in the England starting team sooner rather than later.
It was in a match against Bath a week after Cipriani had come on for his international debut and given away a try with a charged down chip kick.
As if to prove that the previous week’s effort was worth the risk, Cipriani picked the ball up in midfield, dinked it over the Bath line, then burst through a challenge before racing away to score – it was pure genius and the definition of a try out of nothing.
Before we (or I) get too excited though, for a cautionary tale we should look no further than the last naturally talented fly half to pose a realistic challenge to a fit Wilkinson.
Charlie Hodgson may not have Cipriani’s pace and ability to run with the ball but his vision and flair are comparable.
Hodgson, though still imperious on a regular basis for Sale, was soon discovered to be mentally fragile on the international scene and his defence woefully exposed.
He has now been virtually discarded in terms of international selection with the likes of Toby Flood and Olly Barkley – who spend as much time in the number 12 jersey as at fly half – ahead of the Sale man in the pecking order.
Cipriani still has the confidence of youth and his defence hasn’t been seriously tested the way it would on a summer hemisphere tour, let’s just hope he measures up to those tests because he could prove to be the saviour of English back play.
Exactly how Wasps and England rugby fans have come to invest so much hope in the 20-year-old - who was last seen being stretchered off with a fractured and dislocated right ankle only four-and-a-half months ago – is hard to explain.
Anyone who saw Cipriani’s first start for England against Ireland in the Six Nations will have a fair idea as to why there is so much hype surrounding the boy but it still seems harsh to put so much pressure on one so young.
The fact is Cipriani is a shining light of creativity during a period where England sides have repeatedly lacked spark and invention in the back division and this boy wonder is the best hope we have of turning around our fortunes in the international game.
It may sound harsh on one Jonny Wilkinson, who is after all Enlgland’s all time leading points scorer and - lest we forget - our World Cup hero, but if the side is to move forward it must be with Cipriani in the number 10 jersey.
I have the utmost respect for Wilkinson and I believe there have been few better of his type of fly half to have played the game.
He will kick his goals and tackle his heart out for the side all day long but the plain truth is he does not have the creative ability or vision of Cipriani.
In his unrivalled self-deprecating manner, Wilkinson has often hinted and occasionally admitted openly that he knows his game at times lacks that extra dimension.
It was fine when we had a dominant rumbling pack and the under-estimated creativity of Will Greenwood in midfield, but this England team is calling for a spark from number 10 and there is only one man to provide that.
It is a cruel fact that in rugby - as with many aspects of life – it is not always just about how hard you work, some people are just born with an uncoachable ability.
Some people (like myself) have to work their rear ends off for exams just to ensure a passing grade, while others do no revision, waltz into the exam hall on the day and get a top mark.
I am not suggesting Cipriani doesn’t work and it is essential he does not let his game stand still, but he has a quality that few English three-quarters – barring maybe Jason Robinson – have had in recent years.
I remember the moment when I first really thought Cipriani was the real deal and had to be in the England starting team sooner rather than later.
It was in a match against Bath a week after Cipriani had come on for his international debut and given away a try with a charged down chip kick.
As if to prove that the previous week’s effort was worth the risk, Cipriani picked the ball up in midfield, dinked it over the Bath line, then burst through a challenge before racing away to score – it was pure genius and the definition of a try out of nothing.
Before we (or I) get too excited though, for a cautionary tale we should look no further than the last naturally talented fly half to pose a realistic challenge to a fit Wilkinson.
Charlie Hodgson may not have Cipriani’s pace and ability to run with the ball but his vision and flair are comparable.
Hodgson, though still imperious on a regular basis for Sale, was soon discovered to be mentally fragile on the international scene and his defence woefully exposed.
He has now been virtually discarded in terms of international selection with the likes of Toby Flood and Olly Barkley – who spend as much time in the number 12 jersey as at fly half – ahead of the Sale man in the pecking order.
Cipriani still has the confidence of youth and his defence hasn’t been seriously tested the way it would on a summer hemisphere tour, let’s just hope he measures up to those tests because he could prove to be the saviour of English back play.
Friday 26 September 2008
FIFA misses opportunity over Heskey taunts
Emile Heskey has kopped a lot of abuse during his career.
He has spent much of his footballing life being castigated for, among others, his lack of touch, his poor goal scoring record, his erratic finishing and his tendency – despite being a man mountain – to go to ground far too easily.
Heskey has never seemed too bothered by theses tirades of vitriol thrown in his direction, shrugging it off in his diffident manner, but the kind of abuse he received when he turned out for England against Croatia in Zagreb earlier this month was of a totally different nature.
The racial abuse directed against Heskey, unfortunately not the first time our player have been subjected to such abuse when on national service in recent years, was about the only low point of a great night for England in the Maksimir Stadium.
It was a sickening display that has no place in the game whatsoever, and how did FIFA’s bigwigs respond when the Croatian Football Federation was summoned before them for punishment this week? A measly £15,000 fine.
It makes a total farce of the situation when, for all the rhetoric dolled out by the bodies that govern football over ‘kicking racism out of football’ and such like, when a real case does present itself they deal out little more than a slap on the wrist.
Now I know the Croatian Football Federation weren’t directly responsible – it’s not as if general secretary Zorislav Srebric was one of those making monkey chants when Heskey got booked - but what sort of message does it send out to the Balkan nation’s governing body who is responsible for punishing the actual perpetrators.
If the Croatian Football Federation was hit with a truly massive fan or banned from playing games in their home stadium, surely that would encourage them to get their act together and make sure they rid their national game of this – to borrow Heskey’s diplomatic term for describing the mindsets of his abusers - ‘ignorance’.
The problem is not just with the mindless minority who chant the abuse but also the greater majority of football fans in these countries (who, by the way, I’m not accusing of being racist whatsoever).
Let me expand, earlier this season when Exeter travelled to Bournemouth for a League Two match one idiotic away ‘fan’ took it upon himself to doll out racial abuse to two of Bournemouth’s black players.
When complaints were made about this Exeter accepted the abuse had taken place and that it came from a fan using a ticket allotted to their supporters.
Yes, they said, they would accept any punishment that came their way but the fact was several of their fans, their real supporters, had identified this man and they would be prosecuting him accordingly.
Now I’m not a social expert who can say whether there are more or less racist people in England or Croatia but what I can say is English football rarely has problems with racial discrimination.
That is because non-racist fans, the vast majority, will not tolerate those that are racist and will take action against them to make sure they are prosecuted.
I know the majority of Croatian fans are not racist but what I’m saying is their levels of tolerance appear to be significantly higher – at least on the evidence of that night at the Maksimir.
Now maybe if FIFA dropped the talking shop attitude that continues to define its rule and actually took some action by banning fans or moving home ties, maybe that would soon change the average Croatian fan’s attitude towards the abusive minority who were responsible for those sanctions.
He has spent much of his footballing life being castigated for, among others, his lack of touch, his poor goal scoring record, his erratic finishing and his tendency – despite being a man mountain – to go to ground far too easily.
Heskey has never seemed too bothered by theses tirades of vitriol thrown in his direction, shrugging it off in his diffident manner, but the kind of abuse he received when he turned out for England against Croatia in Zagreb earlier this month was of a totally different nature.
The racial abuse directed against Heskey, unfortunately not the first time our player have been subjected to such abuse when on national service in recent years, was about the only low point of a great night for England in the Maksimir Stadium.
It was a sickening display that has no place in the game whatsoever, and how did FIFA’s bigwigs respond when the Croatian Football Federation was summoned before them for punishment this week? A measly £15,000 fine.
It makes a total farce of the situation when, for all the rhetoric dolled out by the bodies that govern football over ‘kicking racism out of football’ and such like, when a real case does present itself they deal out little more than a slap on the wrist.
Now I know the Croatian Football Federation weren’t directly responsible – it’s not as if general secretary Zorislav Srebric was one of those making monkey chants when Heskey got booked - but what sort of message does it send out to the Balkan nation’s governing body who is responsible for punishing the actual perpetrators.
If the Croatian Football Federation was hit with a truly massive fan or banned from playing games in their home stadium, surely that would encourage them to get their act together and make sure they rid their national game of this – to borrow Heskey’s diplomatic term for describing the mindsets of his abusers - ‘ignorance’.
The problem is not just with the mindless minority who chant the abuse but also the greater majority of football fans in these countries (who, by the way, I’m not accusing of being racist whatsoever).
Let me expand, earlier this season when Exeter travelled to Bournemouth for a League Two match one idiotic away ‘fan’ took it upon himself to doll out racial abuse to two of Bournemouth’s black players.
When complaints were made about this Exeter accepted the abuse had taken place and that it came from a fan using a ticket allotted to their supporters.
Yes, they said, they would accept any punishment that came their way but the fact was several of their fans, their real supporters, had identified this man and they would be prosecuting him accordingly.
Now I’m not a social expert who can say whether there are more or less racist people in England or Croatia but what I can say is English football rarely has problems with racial discrimination.
That is because non-racist fans, the vast majority, will not tolerate those that are racist and will take action against them to make sure they are prosecuted.
I know the majority of Croatian fans are not racist but what I’m saying is their levels of tolerance appear to be significantly higher – at least on the evidence of that night at the Maksimir.
Now maybe if FIFA dropped the talking shop attitude that continues to define its rule and actually took some action by banning fans or moving home ties, maybe that would soon change the average Croatian fan’s attitude towards the abusive minority who were responsible for those sanctions.
Wednesday 24 September 2008
Magic of the Carling Cup?
With a lot of things in life we’re told you get out what you put in and I couldn’t help thinking of that maxim when looking at some of this week’s Carling Cup clashes.
While Arsenal’s hungry youngsters and Rotherham’s brave underdogs grabbed the opportunity others shrank back and balked at the experience.
It seems the Carling Cup has become a chameleon of a competition that almost every club looks at differently.
The top tier teams (I get bored of the phrase 'Big Four') treat it as a sideshow, a chance to boast about the depth of their squads.
Only at the latter stages of the competition do the big guns get wheeled out, particularly if the team realises it might be their only shot at a trophy.
Midtable Premiership sides tend to see it as one of the few opportunities for silverware not sewn up by their richer counterparts (although Portsmouth's triumph in last season's FA Cup somewhat muddied the waters) and is also another route into Europe.
Just look at Spurs who managed to turn a below par season in to a memorable one by claiming the trophy last term.
For the sides battling against relegation to the Championship it is simply an unwanted distraction that can only serve to deplete the resources of their threadbare squads.
Then for those lower down the league stratum, even though it lacks the (apologies in advance for the most overused cliché in football) 'magic of the FA Cup', it is still a competition that offers a money-spinning tie and a chance to prove that every dog has his day.
With all these varied permutations and attitudes it always seems to serve up excitement and drama, even if there is a kind of underlying sense of 'it doesn't really matter at the end of the day'.
It is certainly the least predictable of all the major competitions top flight teams take part in these days.
It seems some teams relish in the lack of pressure and relaxed attitude towards the Carling Cup, such as Arsenal's youngsters, while others see it purely as another opportunity for embarrassment and damage to moral between two league fixtures.
In a cup competition there is a sense almost that none of it matters except who walks away with the trophy - you might as well lose in the third round as much as the semi-final.
But try telling that to fans of Rotherham, who beat Southampton, and Watford, who pipped Premiership West Ham, after last night - even if they don't stand a hope in hell of winning the
cup.
Do we have to put so much emphasis on the final destination? In the Carling Cup at least why
shouldn't we just try and enjoy the journey?
While Arsenal’s hungry youngsters and Rotherham’s brave underdogs grabbed the opportunity others shrank back and balked at the experience.
It seems the Carling Cup has become a chameleon of a competition that almost every club looks at differently.
The top tier teams (I get bored of the phrase 'Big Four') treat it as a sideshow, a chance to boast about the depth of their squads.
Only at the latter stages of the competition do the big guns get wheeled out, particularly if the team realises it might be their only shot at a trophy.
Midtable Premiership sides tend to see it as one of the few opportunities for silverware not sewn up by their richer counterparts (although Portsmouth's triumph in last season's FA Cup somewhat muddied the waters) and is also another route into Europe.
Just look at Spurs who managed to turn a below par season in to a memorable one by claiming the trophy last term.
For the sides battling against relegation to the Championship it is simply an unwanted distraction that can only serve to deplete the resources of their threadbare squads.
Then for those lower down the league stratum, even though it lacks the (apologies in advance for the most overused cliché in football) 'magic of the FA Cup', it is still a competition that offers a money-spinning tie and a chance to prove that every dog has his day.
With all these varied permutations and attitudes it always seems to serve up excitement and drama, even if there is a kind of underlying sense of 'it doesn't really matter at the end of the day'.
It is certainly the least predictable of all the major competitions top flight teams take part in these days.
It seems some teams relish in the lack of pressure and relaxed attitude towards the Carling Cup, such as Arsenal's youngsters, while others see it purely as another opportunity for embarrassment and damage to moral between two league fixtures.
In a cup competition there is a sense almost that none of it matters except who walks away with the trophy - you might as well lose in the third round as much as the semi-final.
But try telling that to fans of Rotherham, who beat Southampton, and Watford, who pipped Premiership West Ham, after last night - even if they don't stand a hope in hell of winning the
cup.
Do we have to put so much emphasis on the final destination? In the Carling Cup at least why
shouldn't we just try and enjoy the journey?
Thursday 11 September 2008
Capello converts nation of doubters
It's amazing what can be done in ninety minutes.
In just an hour and a half the English football team managed to convert a nation of football fans from cynics to ardent followers.
In the same period a 19-year-old prodigy was elevated to the status of national hero and a moody Italian became the next messiah.
The national side was at a low ebb before last night's tie in Zagreb and the impact of the result cannot be underestimated.
The scoreline will reverberate around the country so too will a few of the individual performances.
Of course it was - first and foremost - all about Theo, it was a seminal moment in the young man's career but the context in which it will be remembered will be determined over the next couple of years.
Will we look back a few years down the line and recall how this was the night the boy became a man, the prospect became a star?
Or will we be looking at a still unfulfilled talent and wondering what could have been?
There is no doubt Walcott has the ability to go to the highest level, it is a simple fact that even the best defender in the world is troubled by pace and that is something the Arsenal youngster has in spades.
I remember when he first came onto the scene at Southampton, Walcott's boss at the time Harry Redknapp said he looks like if he ran over water wouldn't make a splash.
He simply glides effortlessly at a deceptively searing pace in a manner that reminds me of (apologies to the non-egg chasers) Jeremy Guscott in his prime for England.
Walcott has skill to but his all round game is a work in progress.
His touch is erratic to say the least and his finishing, although deadly last night, still needs work.
Walcott is also a forward by inclination and tracking back will never come naturally if he stays on the wing.
The two buzz words that Capello and others have come to associate with Theo's performances in the last two internationals are freedom and fearlessness.
The youngster has played with his intuition rather than be trapped by the enormity and pressure of the situation much like a young Wayne Rooney.
Could it be that Sven was onto something when he picked Walcott as a 17-year-old for the World Cup in Germany?
It's a shame the Swede never saw fit to trust his own instinct and allow him onto the pitch.
But it wasn't just Walcott who shone in the Maksimir Stadium, Rooney was imperious in the second half and Emile Heskey was a brute up front.
Heskey has always been a footballer with an astounding capability for polarising opinion.
But there is nothing debatable about what he does - he works tirelessly, wins balls and provides a target for teammates.
What people are endlessly debating is not Heskey himself but his type striker he represents - the non-goalscoring forward who plays for the team.
There was of course luck involved in last night’s triumph, not least the debatable decision to send off Robert Kovac with the score at 1-0.
The starting line up was also picked for Capello during a ten minute period against Andorra and ended up being just about the most balanced side England have ever put out.
But it is one thing having all the luck and quite another making the most of it.
England did so in the most emphatic fashion and it will now be interesting to see how Capello copes with the return to fitness of the likes of Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen for next month’s ties against Kazakhstan and Belarus.
In just an hour and a half the English football team managed to convert a nation of football fans from cynics to ardent followers.
In the same period a 19-year-old prodigy was elevated to the status of national hero and a moody Italian became the next messiah.
The national side was at a low ebb before last night's tie in Zagreb and the impact of the result cannot be underestimated.
The scoreline will reverberate around the country so too will a few of the individual performances.
Of course it was - first and foremost - all about Theo, it was a seminal moment in the young man's career but the context in which it will be remembered will be determined over the next couple of years.
Will we look back a few years down the line and recall how this was the night the boy became a man, the prospect became a star?
Or will we be looking at a still unfulfilled talent and wondering what could have been?
There is no doubt Walcott has the ability to go to the highest level, it is a simple fact that even the best defender in the world is troubled by pace and that is something the Arsenal youngster has in spades.
I remember when he first came onto the scene at Southampton, Walcott's boss at the time Harry Redknapp said he looks like if he ran over water wouldn't make a splash.
He simply glides effortlessly at a deceptively searing pace in a manner that reminds me of (apologies to the non-egg chasers) Jeremy Guscott in his prime for England.
Walcott has skill to but his all round game is a work in progress.
His touch is erratic to say the least and his finishing, although deadly last night, still needs work.
Walcott is also a forward by inclination and tracking back will never come naturally if he stays on the wing.
The two buzz words that Capello and others have come to associate with Theo's performances in the last two internationals are freedom and fearlessness.
The youngster has played with his intuition rather than be trapped by the enormity and pressure of the situation much like a young Wayne Rooney.
Could it be that Sven was onto something when he picked Walcott as a 17-year-old for the World Cup in Germany?
It's a shame the Swede never saw fit to trust his own instinct and allow him onto the pitch.
But it wasn't just Walcott who shone in the Maksimir Stadium, Rooney was imperious in the second half and Emile Heskey was a brute up front.
Heskey has always been a footballer with an astounding capability for polarising opinion.
But there is nothing debatable about what he does - he works tirelessly, wins balls and provides a target for teammates.
What people are endlessly debating is not Heskey himself but his type striker he represents - the non-goalscoring forward who plays for the team.
There was of course luck involved in last night’s triumph, not least the debatable decision to send off Robert Kovac with the score at 1-0.
The starting line up was also picked for Capello during a ten minute period against Andorra and ended up being just about the most balanced side England have ever put out.
But it is one thing having all the luck and quite another making the most of it.
England did so in the most emphatic fashion and it will now be interesting to see how Capello copes with the return to fitness of the likes of Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen for next month’s ties against Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Wednesday 10 September 2008
Rawalpindi Express pulls into London
As cricket’s County Championship tries to build to a climax in the brief passages of play between rain delays there was no doubt a special buzz of excitement at the Oval yesterday as a newcomer made a belated entry to the competition.
The cricketer in question was fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who has agreed to join strugglers Surrey for their remaining handful of games.
The Rawalpindi Express has had a remarkable career, with no shortage of ups and downs.
The latest high profile incident saw Shoaib banned for five years by the Pakistan Cricket Board for publicly criticising the body after he was axed from its list of centrally contracted players.
The ban was reduced to 18-months by an appeal committee, but Shoaib is due to challenge that as well as the seven million rupee fine imposed.
He is a man who has never shirked controversy, with a history involving drug scandals and walk-outs, but he will always pull in the crowds.
At 33, injuries have taken their toll and there is little doubt that greater focus on his game may have seen him perform to an even higher level, but he has one massive draw that thrills spectators and coaches alike – raw speed.
Cricket is, like most sports, essentially a very simple game and the greatest pleasures from the watching it is derived from seeing the ball move as fast as it can – whether out of the hand of the bowler or flying off the blade of a big hitting batsman.
Devotees of crafty spinners like Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne may disagree with this view but rarely has the imagination of cricket followers around the world been captured in the way the Rawalpindi Express burst onto the stage, announcing his ambition to bowl a 100mph ball.
He first caught my imagination at the 1999 World Cup.
I remember him charging in to bowl his first ball from that ridiculously long run up and hurling the ball at West Indian opener Sherwin Campbell.
The left-hander barely saw the ball as it pitched short then flicked off his bat and flew over the boundary rope at third man for six.
Yes it may have been a six but this was what Shoaib was all about – entertainment and showmanship.
Shoaib knocked out Campbell’s stumps in his next over and went on to become a star of the tournament.
A couple of years later he achieved his aim of breaking the 100mph barrier and was even feared by the Australians in his pomp.
But for all his talent, his career has always been one of fits and starts, it seems the pace at which he operated simply could not be sustained either by his body or his mind.
He has given us though, in those short bursts, some of the most spectacular cricket of the modern era and up there with the most memorable.
Averages of 25 with the ball in test cricket and 23 at One Day are impressive but nowadays a cricketer of his ability should play more than 48 tests.
But not all players should be judged by their statistics and should be remembered in a different way, as the entertainers they are.
The cricketer in question was fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who has agreed to join strugglers Surrey for their remaining handful of games.
The Rawalpindi Express has had a remarkable career, with no shortage of ups and downs.
The latest high profile incident saw Shoaib banned for five years by the Pakistan Cricket Board for publicly criticising the body after he was axed from its list of centrally contracted players.
The ban was reduced to 18-months by an appeal committee, but Shoaib is due to challenge that as well as the seven million rupee fine imposed.
He is a man who has never shirked controversy, with a history involving drug scandals and walk-outs, but he will always pull in the crowds.
At 33, injuries have taken their toll and there is little doubt that greater focus on his game may have seen him perform to an even higher level, but he has one massive draw that thrills spectators and coaches alike – raw speed.
Cricket is, like most sports, essentially a very simple game and the greatest pleasures from the watching it is derived from seeing the ball move as fast as it can – whether out of the hand of the bowler or flying off the blade of a big hitting batsman.
Devotees of crafty spinners like Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne may disagree with this view but rarely has the imagination of cricket followers around the world been captured in the way the Rawalpindi Express burst onto the stage, announcing his ambition to bowl a 100mph ball.
He first caught my imagination at the 1999 World Cup.
I remember him charging in to bowl his first ball from that ridiculously long run up and hurling the ball at West Indian opener Sherwin Campbell.
The left-hander barely saw the ball as it pitched short then flicked off his bat and flew over the boundary rope at third man for six.
Yes it may have been a six but this was what Shoaib was all about – entertainment and showmanship.
Shoaib knocked out Campbell’s stumps in his next over and went on to become a star of the tournament.
A couple of years later he achieved his aim of breaking the 100mph barrier and was even feared by the Australians in his pomp.
But for all his talent, his career has always been one of fits and starts, it seems the pace at which he operated simply could not be sustained either by his body or his mind.
He has given us though, in those short bursts, some of the most spectacular cricket of the modern era and up there with the most memorable.
Averages of 25 with the ball in test cricket and 23 at One Day are impressive but nowadays a cricketer of his ability should play more than 48 tests.
But not all players should be judged by their statistics and should be remembered in a different way, as the entertainers they are.
Monday 8 September 2008
When does a manager become a coach?
We Brits are always somewhat resistant to change and new ideas, particularly when those ideas come in from the continent.
In football there is a general feeling that, just like our breakfasts, British is best.
The latest bastion of Britishness being forthrightly defended on terraces up and down the land is the old school British manager.
Already this season the Premier League has seen two managerial departures and in both Alan Curbishley and Kevin Keegan’s cases the general consensus among football fans is that the two men were put in impossible positions.
The West Ham and Newcastle bosses are experienced top flight managers, used to the traditional role of a manager which includes picking the team, training the players and, crucially player recruitment.
Both men left under a cloud as it emerged they had become disillusioned with the way in which their control over the players who came in and out of their clubs had been taken out of their hands.
This may seem to many a completely unworkable situation, the thought of a manager being given a squad and then simply being told to get the best out of it, but this has been the system adopted by European clubs for decades.
In Gianluca Vialli’s book ‘The Italian Job’ he muses on the differing roles of Italian and English managers.
The Italian boss is simply there to coach the team, a sporting director or director of football liases with the owner over which players to bring into the club and the manager simply works with it.
He compares this system to the example given by David Platt, who claimed he was so busy during his brief spell as manager of Nottingham Forest with contract talks and trying to sign players that on some days he was unable to make it onto the training pitch to work with his team.
The anecdote is endorsed by no less a manager than Arsene Wenger, who says he is perfectly happy to leave an assistant to take care of training and sees his role principally as building a squad.
Perhaps this is why there is such an emphasis on the tactical approach in the Italian game, managers simply have more time to work on this side of the game.
This approach may be different but it can work, the key is the fans understanding the respective roles.
We are used to blaming managers for everything, they are easy targets as they stand there on the touch line and face the media (usually) after every game.
But in Italy when something goes wrong it isn’t always a case of blame the manager, if a loss or bad run is due to tactical decisions maybe, but fans also question the club hierarchy if they feel poor decisions have been made regarding the club’s resources.
In some cases this would be an ideal route for English managers, they are normally ex-players and football is all they know so to leave them to that side of the game makes sense, just as long as they are only accountable for these areas in the eyes of the press and supporters.
If an owner has invested buckets of cash into a club, why shouldn’t he also then have an influence on where the cash is spent.
In some cases, such as with the likes of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger who are so used to having complete control and have completely built their squads themselves, this continental model is a non starter but I believe it can work in the English game.
I think the big problem in Keegan and Curbishley’s cases were they were simply not used to this approach and it led them to feel that there had been a breach of trust when matters they assumed they would control were taken out of their hands.
In football there is a general feeling that, just like our breakfasts, British is best.
The latest bastion of Britishness being forthrightly defended on terraces up and down the land is the old school British manager.
Already this season the Premier League has seen two managerial departures and in both Alan Curbishley and Kevin Keegan’s cases the general consensus among football fans is that the two men were put in impossible positions.
The West Ham and Newcastle bosses are experienced top flight managers, used to the traditional role of a manager which includes picking the team, training the players and, crucially player recruitment.
Both men left under a cloud as it emerged they had become disillusioned with the way in which their control over the players who came in and out of their clubs had been taken out of their hands.
This may seem to many a completely unworkable situation, the thought of a manager being given a squad and then simply being told to get the best out of it, but this has been the system adopted by European clubs for decades.
In Gianluca Vialli’s book ‘The Italian Job’ he muses on the differing roles of Italian and English managers.
The Italian boss is simply there to coach the team, a sporting director or director of football liases with the owner over which players to bring into the club and the manager simply works with it.
He compares this system to the example given by David Platt, who claimed he was so busy during his brief spell as manager of Nottingham Forest with contract talks and trying to sign players that on some days he was unable to make it onto the training pitch to work with his team.
The anecdote is endorsed by no less a manager than Arsene Wenger, who says he is perfectly happy to leave an assistant to take care of training and sees his role principally as building a squad.
Perhaps this is why there is such an emphasis on the tactical approach in the Italian game, managers simply have more time to work on this side of the game.
This approach may be different but it can work, the key is the fans understanding the respective roles.
We are used to blaming managers for everything, they are easy targets as they stand there on the touch line and face the media (usually) after every game.
But in Italy when something goes wrong it isn’t always a case of blame the manager, if a loss or bad run is due to tactical decisions maybe, but fans also question the club hierarchy if they feel poor decisions have been made regarding the club’s resources.
In some cases this would be an ideal route for English managers, they are normally ex-players and football is all they know so to leave them to that side of the game makes sense, just as long as they are only accountable for these areas in the eyes of the press and supporters.
If an owner has invested buckets of cash into a club, why shouldn’t he also then have an influence on where the cash is spent.
In some cases, such as with the likes of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger who are so used to having complete control and have completely built their squads themselves, this continental model is a non starter but I believe it can work in the English game.
I think the big problem in Keegan and Curbishley’s cases were they were simply not used to this approach and it led them to feel that there had been a breach of trust when matters they assumed they would control were taken out of their hands.
Friday 5 September 2008
Carra admits putting club before country
When a serialisation of Jamie Carragher’s autobiography revealed that playing for his club meant more to the Liverpool defender than turning out for England it caused relatively little fuss.
A few years ago fans would have been up in arms at the idea that an English footballer doesn’t put representing his country at the top of his footballing ambitions.
But none of us were really surprised by Carragher’s revelation.
He never looked as comfortable in an England shirt and certainly was not treated by England fans with the same adulation he receives from the Kopites at Anfield.
He also seemed resentful at the fact he was rarely played in his favoured position of centre half and it was no great shock when the Liverpudlian announced his retirement from the international game last year at the age of 29.
It also follows the modern trend of players increasingly prioritising the club who pay their wages over pride at turning out in the national jersey.
A clear indication of this is seen by the number of players who pull out of international fixtures through injury, only to then appear for their clubs just days later.
Carragher, who made 34 appearances for England, is not the first to turn his back on his national side to extend his club career.
Paul Scholes and Alan Shearer took the same decision and, while Carragher was always a somewhat peripheral figure in the national set up, the pair both could surely have had at least one more major tournament in the starting line up.
All players would have to agree that there is nothing quite like taking part in a major international tournament, it is the ultimate in terms of playing ambition.
But footballers it seems are becoming increasingly apathetic towards the effort it takes to get there, with a two-year qualification process and trips to the likes of Kazakhstan and Belarus.
The annual riches of the Champions League offer a much more accessible reward for the modern player.
While the status of the international game is losing significance in English football in the face of increasing power of club sides, the country’s cricket and rugby teams are seemingly moving in the opposite direction.
In both cricket and rugby England players are on central contracts with the clubs paid compensation for losing players serving their country.
Imagine a situation if England football tried something similar to the England cricket set up, which has recently ordered a number of players to sit out the climax of the county season to rest up for the forthcoming winter tours.
The difference is in other sports the domestic game is set up to serve the national team, in football it appears the clubs view internationals purely as an inconvenient distraction.
A few years ago fans would have been up in arms at the idea that an English footballer doesn’t put representing his country at the top of his footballing ambitions.
But none of us were really surprised by Carragher’s revelation.
He never looked as comfortable in an England shirt and certainly was not treated by England fans with the same adulation he receives from the Kopites at Anfield.
He also seemed resentful at the fact he was rarely played in his favoured position of centre half and it was no great shock when the Liverpudlian announced his retirement from the international game last year at the age of 29.
It also follows the modern trend of players increasingly prioritising the club who pay their wages over pride at turning out in the national jersey.
A clear indication of this is seen by the number of players who pull out of international fixtures through injury, only to then appear for their clubs just days later.
Carragher, who made 34 appearances for England, is not the first to turn his back on his national side to extend his club career.
Paul Scholes and Alan Shearer took the same decision and, while Carragher was always a somewhat peripheral figure in the national set up, the pair both could surely have had at least one more major tournament in the starting line up.
All players would have to agree that there is nothing quite like taking part in a major international tournament, it is the ultimate in terms of playing ambition.
But footballers it seems are becoming increasingly apathetic towards the effort it takes to get there, with a two-year qualification process and trips to the likes of Kazakhstan and Belarus.
The annual riches of the Champions League offer a much more accessible reward for the modern player.
While the status of the international game is losing significance in English football in the face of increasing power of club sides, the country’s cricket and rugby teams are seemingly moving in the opposite direction.
In both cricket and rugby England players are on central contracts with the clubs paid compensation for losing players serving their country.
Imagine a situation if England football tried something similar to the England cricket set up, which has recently ordered a number of players to sit out the climax of the county season to rest up for the forthcoming winter tours.
The difference is in other sports the domestic game is set up to serve the national team, in football it appears the clubs view internationals purely as an inconvenient distraction.
Tuesday 2 September 2008
City flash the cash as new billionaire comes to the party
Manchester City fans woke up this morning to find they were suddenly a force to be reckoned with in the Premiership.
One swallow doesn’t make a summer but, as statement signings go, the capture of Brazil forward Robinho – who was courted by Chelsea all summer – for a record British transfer fee certainly sends out a pretty clear message.
It seems there are two categories of foreign owners in the Premier League: The mega rich, such as Randy Lerner or Malcolm Glazier who can get their cheque books out whenever there is a pretty convincing case; and the super-mega-stupidly rich, of whom there are just two - Roman Abramovich and (you’ll soon be familiar with the name) Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim.
These men take ‘investment’ (can it be called investment - they’re not getting a return are they?) to a whole new level by simply throwing a blank cheque book at the manager and saying ‘help yourself’.
In fact, Al Fahim seems determined to out-Abramovich Abramovich with his threats to spend whatever it takes to ‘bulldoze’ his way into the top four.
Now if I was a Man City fan part of me would be jumping with joy as I envisage the prospect of enjoying a level of football unprecedented in the Blue half of Manchester and seeing the types of players fans could previously only dream of donning the sky blue shirt.
But in all the excitement part of me would be slightly concerned.
As the most honest Chelsea fans will admit, this billionaire backing is not always all it’s cracked up to be.
I know they can put up with the accusations that they ‘bought silverware’ and the fact that they now rival Manchester United for unpopularity among neutrals.
The real downside can be summed up in two words… Andriy Shevchenko.
Jose Mourinho’s departure was the first sign that the dream could turn sour as he could not abide by letting Abramovich make decisions – Shevchenko was an Abramovich acquisition not a
Mourinho one.
One has to wonder how much input Mark Hughes has had, or will have, into the transfer policy at City and whether, as a more demure character than Mourinho, he will stand up to boardroom interference in on the field issues.
But at the end of the day, why shouldn’t these investors ‘interfere’ with playing matters?
They bought the club, bankrolled it and made this dream possible, how can the manager (who is no doubt paid a ridiculous salary by the billionaire) then be in a position to say ‘butt out, I’m the boss’?
Whether the Arab consortium will seek to influence the playing side is yet to be seen, what is a concern is that Hughes – although a top young manager - is not ‘their man’ and it is only natural for someone making such a massive investment to appoint someone they trust to oversee the most important area of the business.
I hope Man City fans enjoy the ride – they deserve it after the ups and downs over the last couple of decades – but I just hope they head into the future with their eyes open.
One swallow doesn’t make a summer but, as statement signings go, the capture of Brazil forward Robinho – who was courted by Chelsea all summer – for a record British transfer fee certainly sends out a pretty clear message.
It seems there are two categories of foreign owners in the Premier League: The mega rich, such as Randy Lerner or Malcolm Glazier who can get their cheque books out whenever there is a pretty convincing case; and the super-mega-stupidly rich, of whom there are just two - Roman Abramovich and (you’ll soon be familiar with the name) Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim.
These men take ‘investment’ (can it be called investment - they’re not getting a return are they?) to a whole new level by simply throwing a blank cheque book at the manager and saying ‘help yourself’.
In fact, Al Fahim seems determined to out-Abramovich Abramovich with his threats to spend whatever it takes to ‘bulldoze’ his way into the top four.
Now if I was a Man City fan part of me would be jumping with joy as I envisage the prospect of enjoying a level of football unprecedented in the Blue half of Manchester and seeing the types of players fans could previously only dream of donning the sky blue shirt.
But in all the excitement part of me would be slightly concerned.
As the most honest Chelsea fans will admit, this billionaire backing is not always all it’s cracked up to be.
I know they can put up with the accusations that they ‘bought silverware’ and the fact that they now rival Manchester United for unpopularity among neutrals.
The real downside can be summed up in two words… Andriy Shevchenko.
Jose Mourinho’s departure was the first sign that the dream could turn sour as he could not abide by letting Abramovich make decisions – Shevchenko was an Abramovich acquisition not a
Mourinho one.
One has to wonder how much input Mark Hughes has had, or will have, into the transfer policy at City and whether, as a more demure character than Mourinho, he will stand up to boardroom interference in on the field issues.
But at the end of the day, why shouldn’t these investors ‘interfere’ with playing matters?
They bought the club, bankrolled it and made this dream possible, how can the manager (who is no doubt paid a ridiculous salary by the billionaire) then be in a position to say ‘butt out, I’m the boss’?
Whether the Arab consortium will seek to influence the playing side is yet to be seen, what is a concern is that Hughes – although a top young manager - is not ‘their man’ and it is only natural for someone making such a massive investment to appoint someone they trust to oversee the most important area of the business.
I hope Man City fans enjoy the ride – they deserve it after the ups and downs over the last couple of decades – but I just hope they head into the future with their eyes open.
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