As we enter into August I find myself even more anxious than ever for the football season to begin.
This summer seems to have been ‘the summer of the drawn out transfer’ and I can’t wait for clubs to actually have some matches to focus on.
Only in the last few days have any ‘big’ transfer deals been done, with Robbie Keane moving from Spurs to Liverpool for around £20 million and Blackburn’s David Bentley arriving at White Hart Lane for a reported £18 million.
But how many transfer sagas seem to have been going on for weeks with no end in sight?
Gareth Barry to Liverpool, Cristiano Ronaldo to Chelsea, Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United, Robinho to Chelsea… need I go on?
I have no doubt agents have their parts to play in drawing out these stories and increasing speculation and, of course, sports writers need to fill their back pages with something during the off-season.
But all of these will he/won’t he situations could be easily nipped in the bud by the players themselves.
All it takes is a public statement from the player to quash any gossip or admit he is looking for an exit strategy.
To be fair to Barry, he has been honest in his desire to leave Villa and the protracted nature of the (non)transfer is more due to different valuations between his current and prospective employers.
But it seems there has hardly been a day since the Champions League final on May 21 that there hasn’t been a story regarding Ronaldo and Real Madrid.
Surely he would have come out and committed himself to United if he wanted to stay at Old Trafford.
But he has not even gone public with his desire to leave – the Portuguese star is trying to give Real every encouragement on one hand by not denying the speculation, while at the same time he does not want to alienate the United support in case a deal falls through.
Say what you like about Thierry Henry (my turn first: he’s a moody Frenchman), but whenever there were rumours linking him with a move away from Arsenal he would immediately come out in public and commit himself to the club.
As soon as he decided he wanted to jump ship to Barcelona he admitted he wanted out and the deal was done.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, has been slyly flirting with Real as he tops up his tan in Los Angeles while at the same time trying to keep up a façade of fidelity to United.
And this seems to be the pattern of the summer with several players on the brink of a transfer, in limbo, but few big money transfers actually taking place.
I’m know the managers have another month to sign players and many deals are hinged on funding from other sales, but I would have thought most bosses would want any major new signings to have a decent amount of pre-season to settle in with their new teammates.
I think the Keane move to Liverpool is an interesting one.
The Irishman is a highly intelligent player who has been the modicum of consistency at Premiership level, but his success depends very much on Benitez’s treatment of him.
On signing Keane, Benitez almost immediately highlighted his versatility and ability to play on the right as well as up front.
But there is no doubt Keane is not a winger and it would be a pity if Benitez consigns him to a grafting role out on the right in the mould of Dirk Kuyt.
Keane’s best position would undoubtedly be playing just behind Fernando Torres, linking up as he did so effectively with Berbatov at Spurs, but the problem is that just happens to be one Steven Gerard’s preferred role as well.
Whether Benitez can find a formation to get the best out of Gerard and Keane could be the key to the Reds’ success but I also feel that, whether or not they sign Barry as well, the Merseysiders are still at least one quality wide player short of a title challenge.
At least Keane, a boyhood Liverpool fan, has got his dream move, now what about Barry, Ronaldo and the rest?
Thursday 31 July 2008
Monday 28 July 2008
Football forgets the Olmpic dream
”The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”
“Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of a good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”
(Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games)
The best thing about the Olympics is the timeless ideals it has held across centuries that focus purely on the joy of sport and the quest for victory.
Exactly when modern football turned its back on these ideals is difficult to say, but there has been a clear indication this summer that they are clearly defunct principles in the game’s corridors of power.
The big clubs blatant reluctance to release players and lack of respect for the competition is apparent for all to see.
Teams from across the globe will be battling it out for an Olympic gold medal but European supremos simply can’t get their heads around the value of a competition that isn’t measured in TV revenue or prize money.
Werder Bremen are taking legal action in a bid to stop Brazilian playmaker Diego making the trip to Beijing, Ronaldhino is going but AC Milan have made it clear he would not have been if they had signed him before the decision was made and Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez has openly called into question the inclusion of winger Ryan Babel in the Dutch squad.
It has been interesting to see the way the European sides have gone about objecting to Olympic call ups.
There has been no blanket condemnation of the tournament itself, no ‘Benitez slams Olympics’, just a self-interested challenge to the selection of individual players, ‘Benitez questions Babel call up’.
Of course, to attack the Olympic ideal would be bad PR for the club.
The Olympics still hold a mythical appeal based the quest for Olympic glory is a common bond across sports.
But football is in danger of breaking this bond as commercial interests become the foundations on which the game is built.
I do understand that the clubs are the players’ pay masters and they will be missing for crucial games such as Champions League qualifiers, but surely there is room for the Olympics in modern football.
The top clubs have such large squads these days and no single club has exactly lost loads of first team players to the competition because of the Under 23 rule.
But even other international tournaments such as the African Nations cause riots among club chairman and managers because the international footballers they sign have the cheek to want to represent their country.
More and more players are retiring early as they seek to extend or enhance their club careers, no doubt with financial considerations in mind.
It is clear the Olympics no longer matter, how much longer before international football itself is opposed by the big clubs because it relies not on cash but on national pride?
There is talk of a British team turning out for the 2012 games in this country, but if all the home nation’s FAs do ever come to an agreement, they will then have one hell of a job persuading managers to make a squad available if the current attitudes do not change.
“Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of a good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”
(Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games)
The best thing about the Olympics is the timeless ideals it has held across centuries that focus purely on the joy of sport and the quest for victory.
Exactly when modern football turned its back on these ideals is difficult to say, but there has been a clear indication this summer that they are clearly defunct principles in the game’s corridors of power.
The big clubs blatant reluctance to release players and lack of respect for the competition is apparent for all to see.
Teams from across the globe will be battling it out for an Olympic gold medal but European supremos simply can’t get their heads around the value of a competition that isn’t measured in TV revenue or prize money.
Werder Bremen are taking legal action in a bid to stop Brazilian playmaker Diego making the trip to Beijing, Ronaldhino is going but AC Milan have made it clear he would not have been if they had signed him before the decision was made and Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez has openly called into question the inclusion of winger Ryan Babel in the Dutch squad.
It has been interesting to see the way the European sides have gone about objecting to Olympic call ups.
There has been no blanket condemnation of the tournament itself, no ‘Benitez slams Olympics’, just a self-interested challenge to the selection of individual players, ‘Benitez questions Babel call up’.
Of course, to attack the Olympic ideal would be bad PR for the club.
The Olympics still hold a mythical appeal based the quest for Olympic glory is a common bond across sports.
But football is in danger of breaking this bond as commercial interests become the foundations on which the game is built.
I do understand that the clubs are the players’ pay masters and they will be missing for crucial games such as Champions League qualifiers, but surely there is room for the Olympics in modern football.
The top clubs have such large squads these days and no single club has exactly lost loads of first team players to the competition because of the Under 23 rule.
But even other international tournaments such as the African Nations cause riots among club chairman and managers because the international footballers they sign have the cheek to want to represent their country.
More and more players are retiring early as they seek to extend or enhance their club careers, no doubt with financial considerations in mind.
It is clear the Olympics no longer matter, how much longer before international football itself is opposed by the big clubs because it relies not on cash but on national pride?
There is talk of a British team turning out for the 2012 games in this country, but if all the home nation’s FAs do ever come to an agreement, they will then have one hell of a job persuading managers to make a squad available if the current attitudes do not change.
Friday 25 July 2008
England bowled over by Pattinson call up
A WEEK ago a guy with an Aussie accent who nobody recognised was named in the England test side at Headingly in one of the most controversial selections of recent years.
The debate is still raging on over the move to call up Darren Pattinson and it has been cited as one of the main reasons England lost the game.
Many people seem to have completely lost sight of the fact that England were completely outplayed and the Grimsby-born former roof tiler was actually one of their better performers.
He may not have looked spectacular as he took two wickets for 95 runs while the South Africans piled on a mammoth score, but he was certainly not out of his depth.
Pattinson was picked as a swing bowler in a game where none of the bowlers found any significant movement and he toiled away as the Proteas’ batsmen played excellently.
The man with only 11 first class games behind him was certainly more effective than Stuart Broad, whose batting is improving far quicker than his bowling.
The main question is whether Pattinson deserved to be there in the first place, with Ashes heroes Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison as well as perennial twelfth man Chris Tremlett all overlooked in his favour.
Hoggard would have been the obvious selection, at his home ground and as a like-for-like swing bowling replacement for Ryan Sidebottom.
However, it would now seem his international days are over, as Mike Atherton pointed out - if he wasn’t going to get picked in those circumstances, when will he get back in the team?
Harmison is still seen as too much of a risk, despite his impressive showings for Durham this season.
The enigmatic front bowler will never be totally discarded because when he is on song he has a rare ability to send down deliveries of steepling bounce that trouble even the world’s top batsmen.
But he has let England down on too many occasions in the past and still needs to do more to regain the trust.
While Tremlett may be deemed unlucky, he doesn’t tend to swing the ball and was deemed an unsuitable replacement for Sidebottom.
Which leaves Jones, who has made a welcome return to form this season aided by the remarkably generous treatment of his new county Worcestershire - who have regularly rested the Welshman, sacrificing their short term needs for Jones’ long term well being.
For me he is up there with Pietersen and Flintoff as the key men for next summer’s Ashes series.
The key is his reverse swing which troubled the Aussies so much in 2005 and offers a way of taking wickets with and old ball – something that England have struggled to do in Jones’ absence.
But fitness is the only thing standing in Jones’ way and for the time being I am happy to see him easing himself back in at county level – even if he has himself claimed to be ready for a test return.
One baffling decision that largely went unnoticed was Jones’ call up to the provisional 30-man squad for the ICC Trophy.
Jones is a test specialist if ever there was one – at the age of 29 he has only played 34 List A one-day games and averages close to 40.
The only reason I can think of to include him was a simple gesture from the selectors to tell him that he is back in their plans.
There will be a lot of attention focused on England’s selection panel when they announce the team for the third test tomorrow.
Another area that Geoff Miller and his sidekicks Ashley Giles and James Whittaker must be considering carefully is the wicketkeeper.
England are still struggling to replace the void left by Alec Stewart since he retired five years ago.
‘The Gaffer’ was a fantastic asset to the team as he was more than capable of holding a place in the side for his batting alone – he averaged a shade under 40 in 133 tests – and was also an extremely reliable gloveman.
Among those who have tried to take up the mantle were Chris Read, who averaged 18.94 in 18 tests, James Foster, who averaged 25.11 in seven, and Geraint Jones, 23.91 in 34.
They failed to match anything like the amount of runs that Stewart offered and Matt Prior, who showed the potential to do that with an average of 40.14 in ten matches, was discarded as he keeping was not up to the job.
Tim Ambrose, the present incumbent, is both short on runs and showing a worrying inconsistency behind the stumps.
The obvious decision would be to cast him out as yet another failure but the problem facing England is who do they turn to next?
The debate is still raging on over the move to call up Darren Pattinson and it has been cited as one of the main reasons England lost the game.
Many people seem to have completely lost sight of the fact that England were completely outplayed and the Grimsby-born former roof tiler was actually one of their better performers.
He may not have looked spectacular as he took two wickets for 95 runs while the South Africans piled on a mammoth score, but he was certainly not out of his depth.
Pattinson was picked as a swing bowler in a game where none of the bowlers found any significant movement and he toiled away as the Proteas’ batsmen played excellently.
The man with only 11 first class games behind him was certainly more effective than Stuart Broad, whose batting is improving far quicker than his bowling.
The main question is whether Pattinson deserved to be there in the first place, with Ashes heroes Simon Jones, Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison as well as perennial twelfth man Chris Tremlett all overlooked in his favour.
Hoggard would have been the obvious selection, at his home ground and as a like-for-like swing bowling replacement for Ryan Sidebottom.
However, it would now seem his international days are over, as Mike Atherton pointed out - if he wasn’t going to get picked in those circumstances, when will he get back in the team?
Harmison is still seen as too much of a risk, despite his impressive showings for Durham this season.
The enigmatic front bowler will never be totally discarded because when he is on song he has a rare ability to send down deliveries of steepling bounce that trouble even the world’s top batsmen.
But he has let England down on too many occasions in the past and still needs to do more to regain the trust.
While Tremlett may be deemed unlucky, he doesn’t tend to swing the ball and was deemed an unsuitable replacement for Sidebottom.
Which leaves Jones, who has made a welcome return to form this season aided by the remarkably generous treatment of his new county Worcestershire - who have regularly rested the Welshman, sacrificing their short term needs for Jones’ long term well being.
For me he is up there with Pietersen and Flintoff as the key men for next summer’s Ashes series.
The key is his reverse swing which troubled the Aussies so much in 2005 and offers a way of taking wickets with and old ball – something that England have struggled to do in Jones’ absence.
But fitness is the only thing standing in Jones’ way and for the time being I am happy to see him easing himself back in at county level – even if he has himself claimed to be ready for a test return.
One baffling decision that largely went unnoticed was Jones’ call up to the provisional 30-man squad for the ICC Trophy.
Jones is a test specialist if ever there was one – at the age of 29 he has only played 34 List A one-day games and averages close to 40.
The only reason I can think of to include him was a simple gesture from the selectors to tell him that he is back in their plans.
There will be a lot of attention focused on England’s selection panel when they announce the team for the third test tomorrow.
Another area that Geoff Miller and his sidekicks Ashley Giles and James Whittaker must be considering carefully is the wicketkeeper.
England are still struggling to replace the void left by Alec Stewart since he retired five years ago.
‘The Gaffer’ was a fantastic asset to the team as he was more than capable of holding a place in the side for his batting alone – he averaged a shade under 40 in 133 tests – and was also an extremely reliable gloveman.
Among those who have tried to take up the mantle were Chris Read, who averaged 18.94 in 18 tests, James Foster, who averaged 25.11 in seven, and Geraint Jones, 23.91 in 34.
They failed to match anything like the amount of runs that Stewart offered and Matt Prior, who showed the potential to do that with an average of 40.14 in ten matches, was discarded as he keeping was not up to the job.
Tim Ambrose, the present incumbent, is both short on runs and showing a worrying inconsistency behind the stumps.
The obvious decision would be to cast him out as yet another failure but the problem facing England is who do they turn to next?
Tuesday 22 July 2008
Cherries Chat: Crouch proves tall order for Bournemouth
Bournemouth’s pre-season programme began in earnest last night.
After what can only be described as ‘run-outs’ against the mighty Hamworthy Recreational and Poole Town, the Cherries entertained Premiership side Portsmouth and it was a pair of England forwards that stole the show.
Harry Redknapp’s men ran out 4-1 winners at the Fitness First Stadium with signs of an extremely promising strike partnership between Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch clear for all to see in their first full game together.
Old ‘Arry has always been good to us, the former Cherries boss is always willing to send us players on loan and makes no attempt to hide a soft spot for his former charges – he even hinted he would step in if the club was ever faced with closure.
Last night he did us another favour as he fielded essentially a first choice team for the fans to enjoy (David James was the only real first teamer sent down the road with another Pompey XI to take on Dorchester at the Jewson Stadium).
While Kevin Bond’s side battled bravely in the middle of the park, they had little answer to Crouch’s height and touch and the two team’s respective play in the final third was not leagues but planets apart.
John Portsmouth FC Westwood and the rest of the Pompey faithful would have been purring at the early signs of the Crouch/Defoe combination.
Like dusting off an old 60s LP and sticking it on in a modern club, Redknapp is set to wheel out a classic all-English ‘big man, little man’ strike force amongst the 4-3-3s and 4-5-1s in the cosmopolitan Premiership next season.
But it is not just their builds that compliment each other, the pair seem to have developed an almost instant understanding with each other and appreciation of where their partner wants the ball.
Crouch’s two goals may have both come from corners as he towered over the whole back line, but he set up one for Defoe after a burst of lighting quick interpassing between the two and his neat header was flicked on by Defoe into Sulley Ali Muntari’s path for Portsmouth’s first goal.
Throughout the match Crouch showed not just excellent touch and hold up play, but a great awareness of his teammates and ability to pick them out.
It seems harsh that he often polarises opinion and people seem to label the England international as a one trick pony because of his immense height.
Yes he is tall, but it is simply one of the attributes of a very talented player – he is a good footballer who happens to be 6ft 7in rather than a good footballer because he is 6ft 7in.
There are plenty of 6ft 7in plus blokes who haven’t made it as Premiership footballers because they don’t have Crouch’s ability.
Michael Essien is a good player who happens to be as strong as an Olympic wrestler but Premiership sides don’t flood their midfields with wrestlers.
I respected the way Portsmouth didn’t fall into the trap England sometimes do and simply start pumping the ball long to Crouch.
His two towering headers from set-pieces showed he had no trouble winning the aerial ball but Redknapp made sure his side kept the ball on the floor as much as possible and Crouch was equally comfortable with this.
For Bournemouth, as I have suggested, the midfield was their strongest area with Darren Anderton rolling back the years against his old club thanks also to able support Shaun Cooper and Marvin Bartley.
Young forward Brett Pitman struggled bravely in almost a lone battle and eventually got his reward as he scored a consolation goal in a performance that impressed Redknapp.
Pitman was a scoring sensation at youth and reserve team level but he has struggled to make a massive impact in almost a hundred appearances for the first team.
Often he has impressed coming off the bench but when he is given the chance to start the 20-year-old tends to go missing.
He seems to fluctuate between suggesting he might live up to his tremendous potential and leading us fans to ask why we ever thought he had potential in the first place.
Next season will be a massive one for Brett, with Jo Kuffour currently the only other out and out striker at the club this is destined to be the season he either proves himself as a regular starter or gives himself a tag of bit-part player that could stay with him for the rest of his career.
After what can only be described as ‘run-outs’ against the mighty Hamworthy Recreational and Poole Town, the Cherries entertained Premiership side Portsmouth and it was a pair of England forwards that stole the show.
Harry Redknapp’s men ran out 4-1 winners at the Fitness First Stadium with signs of an extremely promising strike partnership between Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch clear for all to see in their first full game together.
Old ‘Arry has always been good to us, the former Cherries boss is always willing to send us players on loan and makes no attempt to hide a soft spot for his former charges – he even hinted he would step in if the club was ever faced with closure.
Last night he did us another favour as he fielded essentially a first choice team for the fans to enjoy (David James was the only real first teamer sent down the road with another Pompey XI to take on Dorchester at the Jewson Stadium).
While Kevin Bond’s side battled bravely in the middle of the park, they had little answer to Crouch’s height and touch and the two team’s respective play in the final third was not leagues but planets apart.
John Portsmouth FC Westwood and the rest of the Pompey faithful would have been purring at the early signs of the Crouch/Defoe combination.
Like dusting off an old 60s LP and sticking it on in a modern club, Redknapp is set to wheel out a classic all-English ‘big man, little man’ strike force amongst the 4-3-3s and 4-5-1s in the cosmopolitan Premiership next season.
But it is not just their builds that compliment each other, the pair seem to have developed an almost instant understanding with each other and appreciation of where their partner wants the ball.
Crouch’s two goals may have both come from corners as he towered over the whole back line, but he set up one for Defoe after a burst of lighting quick interpassing between the two and his neat header was flicked on by Defoe into Sulley Ali Muntari’s path for Portsmouth’s first goal.
Throughout the match Crouch showed not just excellent touch and hold up play, but a great awareness of his teammates and ability to pick them out.
It seems harsh that he often polarises opinion and people seem to label the England international as a one trick pony because of his immense height.
Yes he is tall, but it is simply one of the attributes of a very talented player – he is a good footballer who happens to be 6ft 7in rather than a good footballer because he is 6ft 7in.
There are plenty of 6ft 7in plus blokes who haven’t made it as Premiership footballers because they don’t have Crouch’s ability.
Michael Essien is a good player who happens to be as strong as an Olympic wrestler but Premiership sides don’t flood their midfields with wrestlers.
I respected the way Portsmouth didn’t fall into the trap England sometimes do and simply start pumping the ball long to Crouch.
His two towering headers from set-pieces showed he had no trouble winning the aerial ball but Redknapp made sure his side kept the ball on the floor as much as possible and Crouch was equally comfortable with this.
For Bournemouth, as I have suggested, the midfield was their strongest area with Darren Anderton rolling back the years against his old club thanks also to able support Shaun Cooper and Marvin Bartley.
Young forward Brett Pitman struggled bravely in almost a lone battle and eventually got his reward as he scored a consolation goal in a performance that impressed Redknapp.
Pitman was a scoring sensation at youth and reserve team level but he has struggled to make a massive impact in almost a hundred appearances for the first team.
Often he has impressed coming off the bench but when he is given the chance to start the 20-year-old tends to go missing.
He seems to fluctuate between suggesting he might live up to his tremendous potential and leading us fans to ask why we ever thought he had potential in the first place.
Next season will be a massive one for Brett, with Jo Kuffour currently the only other out and out striker at the club this is destined to be the season he either proves himself as a regular starter or gives himself a tag of bit-part player that could stay with him for the rest of his career.
Sunday 20 July 2008
Olympic dream over for the blade runner
With all the furore raised over Dwain Chambers’ failure to turn over his Olympic ban, the disintegration of another man’s Beijing dream went largely unnoticed.
When South Africa announced its Olympic team this week there was no place for Oscar Pistorius.
The disabled 400m runner, dubbed ‘the blade runner’ due to his prosthetic legs, missed out on selection after losing his battle not in the courts but out on the track.
Like Chambers the South African had been involved in a lengthy legal fight for the right to run at Beijing but Pistorius was actually successful in that respect when the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in May that his prosthetics did not give him an unfair advantage over other runners.
However, rather than take the Chambers approach of qualifying for the games before leaving the final decision to a judge, the blade runner won the right to compete first and then had to qualify on merit.
Despite the 21-year-old’s reputation as ‘the fastest man on no legs’, Pistorius knew this battle was going to be equally difficult and in the end he came up short.
In his last chance to qualify in Lucerne Pistorius ran a personal best of 46.25s but that was still outside the Olympic qualifying standard of 45.55s and he wasn’t selected for the relay because four other South African’s have run quicker times this year.
There can be no argument and Pistorius would be the last person to expect special preference because
of his disability.
His whole campaign was about being able to compete with able-bodied athletes and to be treated the same as them.
Pistorius has won a host of bravery awards and special merit awards for the way he has struggled against the odds but there is no doubt that what he really wants is to compete and win medals against able-bodied runners.
Pistorius is now expected to compete – and dominate – in the Paralympics in September, and while his ultimate dream may not be realised this summer in Beijing, he is still young and it may not be too long before he is able to compete in major competitions.
Meanwhile next month he can cheer on his compatriot Natalie Du Toit, the 10km open water swimmer who will be the first amputee to compete against able-bodied swimmers at the Olympics.
Chambers and Pistorius may both be missing out on Beijing and the pair are already talking about turning their attentions to 2012, with Chambers still hopeful of having his Olympic ban overturned in the future.
It may not be very patriotic but I will only be cheering one of them on if they make it to the start line in London – come on the blade runner!
When South Africa announced its Olympic team this week there was no place for Oscar Pistorius.
The disabled 400m runner, dubbed ‘the blade runner’ due to his prosthetic legs, missed out on selection after losing his battle not in the courts but out on the track.
Like Chambers the South African had been involved in a lengthy legal fight for the right to run at Beijing but Pistorius was actually successful in that respect when the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in May that his prosthetics did not give him an unfair advantage over other runners.
However, rather than take the Chambers approach of qualifying for the games before leaving the final decision to a judge, the blade runner won the right to compete first and then had to qualify on merit.
Despite the 21-year-old’s reputation as ‘the fastest man on no legs’, Pistorius knew this battle was going to be equally difficult and in the end he came up short.
In his last chance to qualify in Lucerne Pistorius ran a personal best of 46.25s but that was still outside the Olympic qualifying standard of 45.55s and he wasn’t selected for the relay because four other South African’s have run quicker times this year.
There can be no argument and Pistorius would be the last person to expect special preference because
of his disability.
His whole campaign was about being able to compete with able-bodied athletes and to be treated the same as them.
Pistorius has won a host of bravery awards and special merit awards for the way he has struggled against the odds but there is no doubt that what he really wants is to compete and win medals against able-bodied runners.
Pistorius is now expected to compete – and dominate – in the Paralympics in September, and while his ultimate dream may not be realised this summer in Beijing, he is still young and it may not be too long before he is able to compete in major competitions.
Meanwhile next month he can cheer on his compatriot Natalie Du Toit, the 10km open water swimmer who will be the first amputee to compete against able-bodied swimmers at the Olympics.
Chambers and Pistorius may both be missing out on Beijing and the pair are already talking about turning their attentions to 2012, with Chambers still hopeful of having his Olympic ban overturned in the future.
It may not be very patriotic but I will only be cheering one of them on if they make it to the start line in London – come on the blade runner!
Wednesday 16 July 2008
England expects with return of Freddie the star
Andrew Flintoff will almost certainly make his return to test cricket this week in one of the most eagerly awaited comebacks in years.
The burly Lancastrian has been missing from the test side for 18 months but has still managed to dominate headlines with his absence.
The return of ‘Freddie’ is being hailed as a new dawn for English cricket, as they look to put aside years of inconsistency and built towards next summer’s Ashes.
Flintoff will be tasked with instilling the spirit of 2005 back into the side as they seek to repeat the heroics performed when the Aussies last visited our shores.
No pressure then, Fred.
Freddie’s injury plagued years evoke memories of Jonny Wilkinson’s cursed spell during England rugby’s post World Cup 2003 decline.
There was a tendency to think ‘everything will be all right when Jonny’s back’ but this was exposed as a smokescreen when their talisman did finally return.
Wilkinson’s character may have been key to England’s unlikely run to the final in the last World Cup, but he has hardly turned the tide and English rugby is still way short of those heady heights of 2003.
If Danny Cipriani regains form and fitness there is also a general consensus that Wilkinson’s days in the team could be numbered.
So are we guilty of the same false hope with Flintoff? Are we wrong to put all our eggs in one Freddie-sized basket?
Only time will tell but all the talk of Flintoff over recent years seems to have drawn attention away from the fact we already have one of the world’s leading players in Kevin Pietersen.
KP displayed his rare talent again at Lord’s but, rather than reflect on this, the tedious ending to the game meant the focus had already switched to Freddie’s return by lunch on the final day.
There is no doubt Flintoff is a truly exceptional player, a potential matchwinniner with both bat and ball.
He is also a very special character – his heartfelt consolation of Brett Lee while his teammates crowed in celebration as England claimed the Edgbaston test in 2005 will always be one of my most enduring sporting memories.
Freddie is a go-to guy, time and time again that summer Vaughan turned to him and Flintoff almost always delivered.
But we must remember Flintoff is also human, before we get too excited it is worth taking a second to recollect the Freddie who skippered England Down
Under in 2006/7 and looked clueless and powerless as his team were whitewashed.
He has also struggled for runs since his return at county level and, while his bowling has by all accounts been fast and fiery, he isn’t exactly tearing through batting line-ups.
Just as important as Flintoff’s individual contributions at Headingly will be how much the ‘Freddie factor’ actually rubs off on his colleagues.
Will the rest of his teammates be inspired by his return to find an extra level?
They need to because one man alone cannot win a test series and England are a long way short of the standard they had reached a year before the 2005 confrontation.
Flintoff himself will also be the first to admit the success of 2005 was not about ‘Freddie the star’, rather it was the ultimate team effort.
The burly Lancastrian has been missing from the test side for 18 months but has still managed to dominate headlines with his absence.
The return of ‘Freddie’ is being hailed as a new dawn for English cricket, as they look to put aside years of inconsistency and built towards next summer’s Ashes.
Flintoff will be tasked with instilling the spirit of 2005 back into the side as they seek to repeat the heroics performed when the Aussies last visited our shores.
No pressure then, Fred.
Freddie’s injury plagued years evoke memories of Jonny Wilkinson’s cursed spell during England rugby’s post World Cup 2003 decline.
There was a tendency to think ‘everything will be all right when Jonny’s back’ but this was exposed as a smokescreen when their talisman did finally return.
Wilkinson’s character may have been key to England’s unlikely run to the final in the last World Cup, but he has hardly turned the tide and English rugby is still way short of those heady heights of 2003.
If Danny Cipriani regains form and fitness there is also a general consensus that Wilkinson’s days in the team could be numbered.
So are we guilty of the same false hope with Flintoff? Are we wrong to put all our eggs in one Freddie-sized basket?
Only time will tell but all the talk of Flintoff over recent years seems to have drawn attention away from the fact we already have one of the world’s leading players in Kevin Pietersen.
KP displayed his rare talent again at Lord’s but, rather than reflect on this, the tedious ending to the game meant the focus had already switched to Freddie’s return by lunch on the final day.
There is no doubt Flintoff is a truly exceptional player, a potential matchwinniner with both bat and ball.
He is also a very special character – his heartfelt consolation of Brett Lee while his teammates crowed in celebration as England claimed the Edgbaston test in 2005 will always be one of my most enduring sporting memories.
Freddie is a go-to guy, time and time again that summer Vaughan turned to him and Flintoff almost always delivered.
But we must remember Flintoff is also human, before we get too excited it is worth taking a second to recollect the Freddie who skippered England Down
Under in 2006/7 and looked clueless and powerless as his team were whitewashed.
He has also struggled for runs since his return at county level and, while his bowling has by all accounts been fast and fiery, he isn’t exactly tearing through batting line-ups.
Just as important as Flintoff’s individual contributions at Headingly will be how much the ‘Freddie factor’ actually rubs off on his colleagues.
Will the rest of his teammates be inspired by his return to find an extra level?
They need to because one man alone cannot win a test series and England are a long way short of the standard they had reached a year before the 2005 confrontation.
Flintoff himself will also be the first to admit the success of 2005 was not about ‘Freddie the star’, rather it was the ultimate team effort.
Tuesday 15 July 2008
Premiership new boys go bargain hunting
With the new season just weeks away a genuine sense of panic must overwhelm the managers of newly promoted clubs.
Tony Pulis, Phil Brown and Tony Mowbray must look on with green-eyed envy as bosses like Sir Alex Ferguson talk of one or two ‘tweaks’ to their squad as the new boys seek a radical overhaul of their playing staff.
The sad reality of football remains that if you perform well as part of a successful second tier side that wins promotion your place in the team will automatically come under threat the next season.
The gap between England’s lower leagues and the top division is so great that the majority of those who earn the club a place among the elite aren’t actually tasked with the challenge of playing at a higher level.
Reading are on of the few sides in recent years to have a successful season with largely the same squad that won promotion with a mid-table finish in 2006/7.
Steve Coppell’s charges came unstuck last year though as they failed to replace their best footballer, Steve Sidwell, and a number of players – particularly forwards Kevin Doyle and Leroy Lita – suffered from a bout of ‘second season syndrome’.
And the Royals were very much the exception rather than the rule as clubs generally acknowledge that cash needs to be splashed to convert a Championship dominating side into Premier League survivors.
Roy Keane spent over £40 million last summer to create a squad capable of steering the Black Cats and this season’s newcomers will be further spurred on to fork out as they are driven by the fear of ‘doing a Derby’.
It is generally accepted that West Brom have the best chance of survival of the three promoted sides, not only did they top the Championship last year but under Mowbray they have earned a reputation for playing attractive, attacking football.
Recently though Mowbray has been focusing on his defence by recruiting young Dutch defender Gianni Zuiverloon and left back Marek Cech from Porto for a combined fee of just under £5 million.
Despite the Baggies’ free-scoring exploits of last season and the permanent captures of last season’s loan players Roman Bednar and Luke Moore, Kevin Philips’ imminent departure will be a blow and his experience up top may be missed.
Mowbray may also find his players who were dubbed ‘skilful’ in the Championship last year will find a whole new meaning to technical ability in the top flight.
Stoke and Hull fans may have been concerned by a lack of activity in the early months of the summer but there can be little doubt that Pulis and Brown were working harder than any other manager behind the scenes to line up new recruits.
The problem facing these clubs is getting big name players to sign for a club that is doomed to struggle for nine months unless it attracts these top quality top quality players.
Stoke are apparently vying with West Brom to sign Scott Carson for £4 million and, while I’m not sure the Potters have the kind of resources to be able to spend that amount of money on a keeper, it would make a great statement signing – a truly Premisership class player with international ambitions.
Pulis is very much an ‘old school’ type of manager with vast experience in the lower leagues and I’m sure he would love nothing more to prove that there is enough talent outside the Premiership to produce a side capable of staying up.
But he is also a realist and knows that clubs who defy the odds to survive have often been heavily reliant on snapping up undiscovered gems from foreign shores.
Brown has the advantage of having coached at the top level and it was his experience at Bolton under Sam Allardyce that led to the capture of French international Bernard Mendy.
The acquisition of the experienced George Boateng also looks like an astute signing but it remains to be seen whether former Barcelona star Geovanni, signed on a free from Manchester City, will prove to be a talisman or a luxury player the Tigers can ill afford.
Where Hull need new additions is up front, unless Brown is going to rely solely on 39-year-old Dean Windass for goals.
He would dearly love to resign Manchester United starlet Frazier Campbell for a year and it may prove a shrewd move for both parties.
As the opening day of August 16 approaches fans of these clubs must be getting excited about the prospect of Premier League football, but even the most confident must be feeling a little bit of fear that promotion might not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Tony Pulis, Phil Brown and Tony Mowbray must look on with green-eyed envy as bosses like Sir Alex Ferguson talk of one or two ‘tweaks’ to their squad as the new boys seek a radical overhaul of their playing staff.
The sad reality of football remains that if you perform well as part of a successful second tier side that wins promotion your place in the team will automatically come under threat the next season.
The gap between England’s lower leagues and the top division is so great that the majority of those who earn the club a place among the elite aren’t actually tasked with the challenge of playing at a higher level.
Reading are on of the few sides in recent years to have a successful season with largely the same squad that won promotion with a mid-table finish in 2006/7.
Steve Coppell’s charges came unstuck last year though as they failed to replace their best footballer, Steve Sidwell, and a number of players – particularly forwards Kevin Doyle and Leroy Lita – suffered from a bout of ‘second season syndrome’.
And the Royals were very much the exception rather than the rule as clubs generally acknowledge that cash needs to be splashed to convert a Championship dominating side into Premier League survivors.
Roy Keane spent over £40 million last summer to create a squad capable of steering the Black Cats and this season’s newcomers will be further spurred on to fork out as they are driven by the fear of ‘doing a Derby’.
It is generally accepted that West Brom have the best chance of survival of the three promoted sides, not only did they top the Championship last year but under Mowbray they have earned a reputation for playing attractive, attacking football.
Recently though Mowbray has been focusing on his defence by recruiting young Dutch defender Gianni Zuiverloon and left back Marek Cech from Porto for a combined fee of just under £5 million.
Despite the Baggies’ free-scoring exploits of last season and the permanent captures of last season’s loan players Roman Bednar and Luke Moore, Kevin Philips’ imminent departure will be a blow and his experience up top may be missed.
Mowbray may also find his players who were dubbed ‘skilful’ in the Championship last year will find a whole new meaning to technical ability in the top flight.
Stoke and Hull fans may have been concerned by a lack of activity in the early months of the summer but there can be little doubt that Pulis and Brown were working harder than any other manager behind the scenes to line up new recruits.
The problem facing these clubs is getting big name players to sign for a club that is doomed to struggle for nine months unless it attracts these top quality top quality players.
Stoke are apparently vying with West Brom to sign Scott Carson for £4 million and, while I’m not sure the Potters have the kind of resources to be able to spend that amount of money on a keeper, it would make a great statement signing – a truly Premisership class player with international ambitions.
Pulis is very much an ‘old school’ type of manager with vast experience in the lower leagues and I’m sure he would love nothing more to prove that there is enough talent outside the Premiership to produce a side capable of staying up.
But he is also a realist and knows that clubs who defy the odds to survive have often been heavily reliant on snapping up undiscovered gems from foreign shores.
Brown has the advantage of having coached at the top level and it was his experience at Bolton under Sam Allardyce that led to the capture of French international Bernard Mendy.
The acquisition of the experienced George Boateng also looks like an astute signing but it remains to be seen whether former Barcelona star Geovanni, signed on a free from Manchester City, will prove to be a talisman or a luxury player the Tigers can ill afford.
Where Hull need new additions is up front, unless Brown is going to rely solely on 39-year-old Dean Windass for goals.
He would dearly love to resign Manchester United starlet Frazier Campbell for a year and it may prove a shrewd move for both parties.
As the opening day of August 16 approaches fans of these clubs must be getting excited about the prospect of Premier League football, but even the most confident must be feeling a little bit of fear that promotion might not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Friday 11 July 2008
Are youngsters chasing glory or riches?
I’m sure we all had an argument with our parents as teenagers that ended something along the lines of ‘I’m 16, not a kid anymore’.
Well one 16-year-old has been ruffling a few feathers in the world of football this week after a move that could set a dangerous precedent for other young players.
Crystal Palace’s highly coveted midfielder John Bostock completed his controversial move to Tottenham Hotspur after a compensation fee was decided by tribunal.
I’m sure those around Bostock played a major part in the move, but he would have had the final say and let’s hope he has made the right decision.
The Selhurst Park were awarded a fee of £700,000, rising to £1.25 million depending on appearances, in a decision that left Palace chairman Simon Jordan outraged.
Jordan isn’t the sort of man to go quietly and he has labelled the decision as ‘scandalous’, accusing the tribunal of being a ‘panel of half wits’.
Jordan compared the sum to the £5 million Arsenal paid to Cardiff for Aaron Ramsey this summer of the Theo Walcott deal in January 2006 that saw the player move from Southampton to Arsenal for £5 million plus substantial add-ons.
He also claimed he received an offer of £900,000 from Chelsea for Bostock when the England Under 17 skipper was just 14.
The danger is the Bostock deal may become a way of the future, Spurs and Palace were unable to agree a fee for the player and – because he is only contracted on scholarship terms until he is 17 – Bostock was free to leave the club with a tribunal then set to decide the compensation fee.
The idea is that young players are free to move between clubs while the club that trains them receives some sort of compensation for their work.
For example, when Jermaine Defoe signed professional terms with West Ham after a traineeship with Charlton, the Addicks were eventually awarded £1.4 million compensation.
The problem comes when the remuneration the smaller club receives far outweighs the true market value a player would attract were he tied to them in a long term contract.
With no protection of this sort young players across the country will be picked off by the big clubs, who will pay a fraction of what they are actually worth – they already do it to European clubs.
As Jordan suggested, smaller clubs will question whether it is worth trying to develop young talent if they are simply going to be picked off by the vultures of the Premier League.
Why not just let them pay for the football education of all youngsters and pick up the ones who fail to make the senior level?
This would be a disaster because as the big clubs continue to stockpile dozens of young players they are all missing out on the most extremely valuable part of their footballing education – playing week in week out in front of a crowd.
There may be a decent standard in reserve team football but there is not the same commitment and certainly not the same atmosphere.
Youngsters are also more and more frequently loaned out to smaller clubs but this is just a temporary solution and, judging by some of the loan players I have seen down at Bournemouth, there is not always the same desire as if they were playing for their own club.
First team football is something Bostock appears to have left behind for a couple of seasons as, with the greatest of respect to him, I cannot see even an exceptionally talented 16-year-old forcing his way into a central midfield berth ahead of Luka Modric, Jermaine Jenas, Tom Huddlestone and Didier Zokora.
He cannot say he hasn’t been warned as he only has to look at the likes of Theo Walcott and another former Palace player Wayne Routledge to see the pitfalls of moving to a big club at such a young age.
Sure he will benefit from training under Juande Ramos with the likes of Modric, Dimitar Berbatov and Ledley King, but I strongly believe the best thing for a young player at his stage in his career is to play week in week out and develop his game.
Maybe one solution would be to return to Palace on loan for a year but then I can’t really see Jordan welcoming him back with open arms.
I just hope youngsters who make these moves are doing it in the genuine belief it will further their footballing careers and not just on the advice of agents because they are keen to make a quick buck.
Well one 16-year-old has been ruffling a few feathers in the world of football this week after a move that could set a dangerous precedent for other young players.
Crystal Palace’s highly coveted midfielder John Bostock completed his controversial move to Tottenham Hotspur after a compensation fee was decided by tribunal.
I’m sure those around Bostock played a major part in the move, but he would have had the final say and let’s hope he has made the right decision.
The Selhurst Park were awarded a fee of £700,000, rising to £1.25 million depending on appearances, in a decision that left Palace chairman Simon Jordan outraged.
Jordan isn’t the sort of man to go quietly and he has labelled the decision as ‘scandalous’, accusing the tribunal of being a ‘panel of half wits’.
Jordan compared the sum to the £5 million Arsenal paid to Cardiff for Aaron Ramsey this summer of the Theo Walcott deal in January 2006 that saw the player move from Southampton to Arsenal for £5 million plus substantial add-ons.
He also claimed he received an offer of £900,000 from Chelsea for Bostock when the England Under 17 skipper was just 14.
The danger is the Bostock deal may become a way of the future, Spurs and Palace were unable to agree a fee for the player and – because he is only contracted on scholarship terms until he is 17 – Bostock was free to leave the club with a tribunal then set to decide the compensation fee.
The idea is that young players are free to move between clubs while the club that trains them receives some sort of compensation for their work.
For example, when Jermaine Defoe signed professional terms with West Ham after a traineeship with Charlton, the Addicks were eventually awarded £1.4 million compensation.
The problem comes when the remuneration the smaller club receives far outweighs the true market value a player would attract were he tied to them in a long term contract.
With no protection of this sort young players across the country will be picked off by the big clubs, who will pay a fraction of what they are actually worth – they already do it to European clubs.
As Jordan suggested, smaller clubs will question whether it is worth trying to develop young talent if they are simply going to be picked off by the vultures of the Premier League.
Why not just let them pay for the football education of all youngsters and pick up the ones who fail to make the senior level?
This would be a disaster because as the big clubs continue to stockpile dozens of young players they are all missing out on the most extremely valuable part of their footballing education – playing week in week out in front of a crowd.
There may be a decent standard in reserve team football but there is not the same commitment and certainly not the same atmosphere.
Youngsters are also more and more frequently loaned out to smaller clubs but this is just a temporary solution and, judging by some of the loan players I have seen down at Bournemouth, there is not always the same desire as if they were playing for their own club.
First team football is something Bostock appears to have left behind for a couple of seasons as, with the greatest of respect to him, I cannot see even an exceptionally talented 16-year-old forcing his way into a central midfield berth ahead of Luka Modric, Jermaine Jenas, Tom Huddlestone and Didier Zokora.
He cannot say he hasn’t been warned as he only has to look at the likes of Theo Walcott and another former Palace player Wayne Routledge to see the pitfalls of moving to a big club at such a young age.
Sure he will benefit from training under Juande Ramos with the likes of Modric, Dimitar Berbatov and Ledley King, but I strongly believe the best thing for a young player at his stage in his career is to play week in week out and develop his game.
Maybe one solution would be to return to Palace on loan for a year but then I can’t really see Jordan welcoming him back with open arms.
I just hope youngsters who make these moves are doing it in the genuine belief it will further their footballing careers and not just on the advice of agents because they are keen to make a quick buck.
Wednesday 9 July 2008
Cherries Chat: Still playing the waiting game
Another week goes by and still the AFC Bournemouth administration circus rumbles on.
It seems an awful long time ago since the club went into receivership in February and there is still no sign of a concrete rescue plan for the club.
Chairman Jeff Mostyn has occupied the position of preferred bidder to take the club forward almost since day one but, despite numerous claims that he had the financial backing to salvage the club, the Dean Court outfit appears to be stuck in the mire.
The start of the new season is getting perilously close and many fans are starting to lose patience.
There is even talk on some fans forums of a breakaway club, a la FC United or AFC Wimbledon, but I cannot see it happening.
The majority of our supporters have invested too much time and emotion in the club to simply walk away and start watching Wessex Premier League football on a Saturday afternoon.
We are constantly reminding the club bosses how much they need us, the fans, how we are the lifeblood of the club.
That is absolutely true but one thing that often goes unmentioned is the fact that we need them just as much as they need us.
Bournemouth is a massive part of our lives and we just cannot let it go, so the attention turns to next season.
We currently have four players on trial but we are unable to sign any of them because of the financial restrictions imposed on the club.
One of those players is former Bristol Rovers and Swindon midfielder Sammy Igoe who, judging from what I saw when he turned out against the Cherries in the past, certainly has enough quality to make an impact in League Two, even if his best days are behind him.
But, even if we were allowed to sign these players, why would they want to join us in our current uncertain financial state?
More importantly, what would it say about their ambition if they did want to sign for us?
It’s time to get things sorted off the pitch so manager Kevin Bond can start making plans for the imminent campaign.
Bond is probably one of the few people at the club to come out of this sorry saga with his reputation enhanced.
At the start of the campaign, as the side struggled for form, he was considered the devil incarnate amongst certain elements of the Cherries faithful and chants of ‘We want Bondy out’ were commonplace at home games.
Now, following a great end to season culminating in a run of six wins and a draw in our last seven which left us narrowly short of survival despite a ten point deduction, his star is on the rise and he was even linked with the vacant managerial post at Leicester City before Nigel Pearson got the nod.
Perhaps compared to the world of administration, compulsory voluntary agreements, due diligence, consortiums, preferred bidders and creditors, the day job of preparing a football team capable of winning matches must seem relatively simple – it does to me, anyway!
For me an even greater achievement than the heroic run at the back end of last season was Bond’s ability to persuade the majority of the players who contributed to stay on despite the boardroom antics and the prospect of starting life in League Two next season with a further fifteen point penalty.
But we are desperately short of squad cover and Bond needs to be able to bring players in.
Last season’s run was based on having a small, tight-knit group of players and that is fine over a period of seven games, but over a season injuries and suspensions will pile up and we are desperately short of back up.
We also have a number of young players for whom this will be their first full season and, realistically, one or two may simply not be up to the pace, or at the very least will need some time away from the front line.
I have always said that this was going to be a long summer but, as the startling lack of progress continues, I am beginning to worry it may not be long enough.
It seems an awful long time ago since the club went into receivership in February and there is still no sign of a concrete rescue plan for the club.
Chairman Jeff Mostyn has occupied the position of preferred bidder to take the club forward almost since day one but, despite numerous claims that he had the financial backing to salvage the club, the Dean Court outfit appears to be stuck in the mire.
The start of the new season is getting perilously close and many fans are starting to lose patience.
There is even talk on some fans forums of a breakaway club, a la FC United or AFC Wimbledon, but I cannot see it happening.
The majority of our supporters have invested too much time and emotion in the club to simply walk away and start watching Wessex Premier League football on a Saturday afternoon.
We are constantly reminding the club bosses how much they need us, the fans, how we are the lifeblood of the club.
That is absolutely true but one thing that often goes unmentioned is the fact that we need them just as much as they need us.
Bournemouth is a massive part of our lives and we just cannot let it go, so the attention turns to next season.
We currently have four players on trial but we are unable to sign any of them because of the financial restrictions imposed on the club.
One of those players is former Bristol Rovers and Swindon midfielder Sammy Igoe who, judging from what I saw when he turned out against the Cherries in the past, certainly has enough quality to make an impact in League Two, even if his best days are behind him.
But, even if we were allowed to sign these players, why would they want to join us in our current uncertain financial state?
More importantly, what would it say about their ambition if they did want to sign for us?
It’s time to get things sorted off the pitch so manager Kevin Bond can start making plans for the imminent campaign.
Bond is probably one of the few people at the club to come out of this sorry saga with his reputation enhanced.
At the start of the campaign, as the side struggled for form, he was considered the devil incarnate amongst certain elements of the Cherries faithful and chants of ‘We want Bondy out’ were commonplace at home games.
Now, following a great end to season culminating in a run of six wins and a draw in our last seven which left us narrowly short of survival despite a ten point deduction, his star is on the rise and he was even linked with the vacant managerial post at Leicester City before Nigel Pearson got the nod.
Perhaps compared to the world of administration, compulsory voluntary agreements, due diligence, consortiums, preferred bidders and creditors, the day job of preparing a football team capable of winning matches must seem relatively simple – it does to me, anyway!
For me an even greater achievement than the heroic run at the back end of last season was Bond’s ability to persuade the majority of the players who contributed to stay on despite the boardroom antics and the prospect of starting life in League Two next season with a further fifteen point penalty.
But we are desperately short of squad cover and Bond needs to be able to bring players in.
Last season’s run was based on having a small, tight-knit group of players and that is fine over a period of seven games, but over a season injuries and suspensions will pile up and we are desperately short of back up.
We also have a number of young players for whom this will be their first full season and, realistically, one or two may simply not be up to the pace, or at the very least will need some time away from the front line.
I have always said that this was going to be a long summer but, as the startling lack of progress continues, I am beginning to worry it may not be long enough.
Monday 7 July 2008
Battle for supremacy brings out best in champions
It has already been billed as the greatest game of all time and yesterday’s Wimbledon men’s final is destined to be mentioned in the same breath as Borg v McEnroe in 1980.
It had everything, talent, drama, emotion and, above all, heart.
But one man who may not have enjoyed the epic four-hour battle was Andy Murray.
For all his rhetoric about his belief in his own ability and confidence that he could actually go all the way, this match was a reminder of just how far away Murray is from challenging the game’s top two.
The Scot was humbled by Nadal but against Federer the bar was raised even higher as the Spaniard showed just how hard you have to push him to even come close to victory.
The two men were simply playing in a league of their own, far beyond anything any other mere mortal could cope with as two true champions with iron will clashed head on.
For all the doubts going into the tournament, Federer reached his own supreme best in this tournament and, after struggling early on against Nadal, he recovered and brought his ‘A game’ out in the final as well.
But Nadal is a different man from the one Federer defeated in another showpiece final 12 months ago.
He has adapted his game for the grass surface and, to add to his relentless power, fitness and energy, he has added a desperate addiction to winning to match that which runs through Federer.
These both men are both so possessed with victory that they find an extra level time and time again when threatened with the unthinkable possibility of defeat, that is the true nature of a sporting champion.
This was mentality was shown in spades by Federer, like when he was 5-2 down in the fourth set tie break or his outrageous passing shot when match point down.
It was of course ultimately futile and such is Federer’s mentality that the fact he battled so hard and came so close will not prove any consolation, nor will the knowledge that he participated in one of the great sporting contests of recent years.
Never has a man proved himself a champion so many times in one day and still came out a loser.
But this is what we are blessed with, every so often in individual sports we get two ‘once in a generation’ players who push each other to ridiculous heights.
It is one thing to watch one player dominate his sport, Sampras-style, for years and leave all opponents trailing in his wake.
But even better is to see two greats constantly meeting in gladiatorial combat and forcing each other to move their game forward to keep ahead of their rival.
I hope the ‘Rafa’ and ‘Rog’ story continues for years to come, Novak Djokovic has made a game effort of leading the chasing pack but these two are on a different plane to the other pretenders and are taking tennis to scary new heights.
This is the difference between having two greats as opposed to one, the game is constantly moving forward, as the protagonists constantly pose questions of each other.
Rog was the undisputed number one, then Rafa raised the bar with his destruction of his rival in the French Open, Rog responded by looking every inch the five-time champion on his way to the final, only for Rafa to clinch the showdown.
Now the ball is back in Rog’s court and he has to try and add something extra to his already immaculate game to hit back at Rafa.
The perfect riposte would be to do what the Spaniard did to him at SW19 and beat Nadal at his own adopted home of Roland Garros next year before claiming back his Wimbledon title.
This idea of great champions pushing each other to new heights is why the best sportsmen are measured not just by how many titles they win but by who they beat and how they react to defeat.
Mohammed Ali is widely accepted as ‘the greatest’ heavyweight boxer of all time, but he was defeated five times in 61 professional fights and lost his heavyweight crown in the ‘fight of the century’ in Maddison Square Gardens against Joe Frazier in 1971.
His raw statistics compare poorly to Rocky Marciano, who had a perfect record in his 49 bouts and retired as an undefeated champion.
But Ali is regarded to have fought in the golden age of heavyweight boxing and it is the character he showed in fights such as the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’, when he regained his title in 1974 against George Foreman, that make him stand out.
We marvel at the exploits of Sampras, Tiger Woods and Michael Schumacher, but sadly we are forced to compare them to heroes of the past in a hypothetical contest to judge how good they are because noone in their eras comes close to challenging their supremacy.
They may have won less titles, but it would be interesting to see just how much better these champions could have been if they had someone of a similar ability to challenge their dominance.
There was talk of a ‘changing of the guard’ at the Centre Court on Sunday, with Nadal now set to embark on a Federer like reign over the coming years.
I am not so sure as I have no doubt that Federer will not let Nadal retain his crown without putting up an almighty fight.
It had everything, talent, drama, emotion and, above all, heart.
But one man who may not have enjoyed the epic four-hour battle was Andy Murray.
For all his rhetoric about his belief in his own ability and confidence that he could actually go all the way, this match was a reminder of just how far away Murray is from challenging the game’s top two.
The Scot was humbled by Nadal but against Federer the bar was raised even higher as the Spaniard showed just how hard you have to push him to even come close to victory.
The two men were simply playing in a league of their own, far beyond anything any other mere mortal could cope with as two true champions with iron will clashed head on.
For all the doubts going into the tournament, Federer reached his own supreme best in this tournament and, after struggling early on against Nadal, he recovered and brought his ‘A game’ out in the final as well.
But Nadal is a different man from the one Federer defeated in another showpiece final 12 months ago.
He has adapted his game for the grass surface and, to add to his relentless power, fitness and energy, he has added a desperate addiction to winning to match that which runs through Federer.
These both men are both so possessed with victory that they find an extra level time and time again when threatened with the unthinkable possibility of defeat, that is the true nature of a sporting champion.
This was mentality was shown in spades by Federer, like when he was 5-2 down in the fourth set tie break or his outrageous passing shot when match point down.
It was of course ultimately futile and such is Federer’s mentality that the fact he battled so hard and came so close will not prove any consolation, nor will the knowledge that he participated in one of the great sporting contests of recent years.
Never has a man proved himself a champion so many times in one day and still came out a loser.
But this is what we are blessed with, every so often in individual sports we get two ‘once in a generation’ players who push each other to ridiculous heights.
It is one thing to watch one player dominate his sport, Sampras-style, for years and leave all opponents trailing in his wake.
But even better is to see two greats constantly meeting in gladiatorial combat and forcing each other to move their game forward to keep ahead of their rival.
I hope the ‘Rafa’ and ‘Rog’ story continues for years to come, Novak Djokovic has made a game effort of leading the chasing pack but these two are on a different plane to the other pretenders and are taking tennis to scary new heights.
This is the difference between having two greats as opposed to one, the game is constantly moving forward, as the protagonists constantly pose questions of each other.
Rog was the undisputed number one, then Rafa raised the bar with his destruction of his rival in the French Open, Rog responded by looking every inch the five-time champion on his way to the final, only for Rafa to clinch the showdown.
Now the ball is back in Rog’s court and he has to try and add something extra to his already immaculate game to hit back at Rafa.
The perfect riposte would be to do what the Spaniard did to him at SW19 and beat Nadal at his own adopted home of Roland Garros next year before claiming back his Wimbledon title.
This idea of great champions pushing each other to new heights is why the best sportsmen are measured not just by how many titles they win but by who they beat and how they react to defeat.
Mohammed Ali is widely accepted as ‘the greatest’ heavyweight boxer of all time, but he was defeated five times in 61 professional fights and lost his heavyweight crown in the ‘fight of the century’ in Maddison Square Gardens against Joe Frazier in 1971.
His raw statistics compare poorly to Rocky Marciano, who had a perfect record in his 49 bouts and retired as an undefeated champion.
But Ali is regarded to have fought in the golden age of heavyweight boxing and it is the character he showed in fights such as the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’, when he regained his title in 1974 against George Foreman, that make him stand out.
We marvel at the exploits of Sampras, Tiger Woods and Michael Schumacher, but sadly we are forced to compare them to heroes of the past in a hypothetical contest to judge how good they are because noone in their eras comes close to challenging their supremacy.
They may have won less titles, but it would be interesting to see just how much better these champions could have been if they had someone of a similar ability to challenge their dominance.
There was talk of a ‘changing of the guard’ at the Centre Court on Sunday, with Nadal now set to embark on a Federer like reign over the coming years.
I am not so sure as I have no doubt that Federer will not let Nadal retain his crown without putting up an almighty fight.
Wednesday 2 July 2008
Just how does one become an Englishman?
Yesterday signalled the official start of Martin Johnson’s hands on involvement in England rugby as he named his first senior squad.
Johnson’s first international is not until November 8 and he will be given more ‘contact time’ with the players than ever before thanks to the new elite squad system that compensates clubs for the time players spend training with the national set up.
But even for a man with Johnson’s fearlessness and leadership skills, he faces a daunting challenge to turn a squad of players that was, frankly, second rate on their recent summer tour to New Zealand into a team of world beaters capable of challenging the giants of the Southern Hemisphere.
Johnson has made a few changes in personnel but the players, certainly in terms of the talent at his disposal, are a similar group to the one that fared so dismally in Auckland and Christchurch.
Yes we may, in a few months, see the return of the precociously talented Wasps fly half Danny Cipriani, but the youngster is a) currently injured and b) human.
What if he doesn’t become the next Dan Carter or he is hit by a Jonny Wilkinson style run of injuries?
One of the new faces selected by Johnson is Cipriani’s Wasps teammate Riki Flutey who has been superb at club level at taking the pressure of the 20-year-old and will no doubt be asked to fill a similar role for his adopted country.
I say ‘adopted country’ but it was more a case of England adopting Flutey than the other way round.
The New Zealander spent several years with Wellington and played for the All Blacks’ Under 19 and Maori sides before moving to these shores at the age of 24.
Now 28, he has shone at London Irish and Wasps in recent seasons, principally as an inside centre with his sharp attacking brain and solid offence.
The Guinness Premiership players’ player of the year last season doesn’t actually qualify for England on residency grounds until September but already he finds himself answering Johnson’s SOS.
There is no doubt Flutey deserves his place in the squad in terms of his performance but the lack of the debate we usually hear whenever a player of dubious patriotic credentials is asked to don our national jersey reflected a team in crisis.
Lesley ‘the volcano’ Vainikolo may have been a spectacular failure with his dormant performances on the wing during this year’s Six Nations, but any issued over his qualifications before the tournament were swept under the carpet by his phenomenal try scoring record in Rugby League and the prospect of him repeating it in a different code.
Now Vainikolo has been discarded and is seen an example of why we shouldn’t let players from other countries represent the national side.
It seems if you’re good enough, you’re British enough and not just in rugby too.
For many Kevin Pietersen was only truly accepted as an Englishman after his breathtaking 158 at the Oval in 2005 which secured the Ashes urn and sparked national celebration.
But Pietersen was, in a way, different, he rejected South Africa as a young cricketer on moral grounds over racial quotas and set up home in England.
A man of Pietersen’s self-belief must surely have known, even before he proved it to us, that he was good enough to play for South Africa if he wanted to. The fact is England became his first choice.
The same can be said of Basil D’Oliveira, a coloured player who fled South African apartheid in the 1960s to star as an all-rounder for England.
The difference with Flutey is New Zealand rejected him, he felt he wasn’t good enough to make the grade and traded in his international ambitions for a life on foreign shores.
If a young English inside centre, like Olly Barkley for example, had stood up and proved themselves a fantastic talent on the New Zealand tour would we be so willing to accept Flutey in his place?
What sort of message are we sending to our younger players when we pick players who are only trying their hand with England because they weren’t good enough to represent the country of their birth?
Johnson’s first international is not until November 8 and he will be given more ‘contact time’ with the players than ever before thanks to the new elite squad system that compensates clubs for the time players spend training with the national set up.
But even for a man with Johnson’s fearlessness and leadership skills, he faces a daunting challenge to turn a squad of players that was, frankly, second rate on their recent summer tour to New Zealand into a team of world beaters capable of challenging the giants of the Southern Hemisphere.
Johnson has made a few changes in personnel but the players, certainly in terms of the talent at his disposal, are a similar group to the one that fared so dismally in Auckland and Christchurch.
Yes we may, in a few months, see the return of the precociously talented Wasps fly half Danny Cipriani, but the youngster is a) currently injured and b) human.
What if he doesn’t become the next Dan Carter or he is hit by a Jonny Wilkinson style run of injuries?
One of the new faces selected by Johnson is Cipriani’s Wasps teammate Riki Flutey who has been superb at club level at taking the pressure of the 20-year-old and will no doubt be asked to fill a similar role for his adopted country.
I say ‘adopted country’ but it was more a case of England adopting Flutey than the other way round.
The New Zealander spent several years with Wellington and played for the All Blacks’ Under 19 and Maori sides before moving to these shores at the age of 24.
Now 28, he has shone at London Irish and Wasps in recent seasons, principally as an inside centre with his sharp attacking brain and solid offence.
The Guinness Premiership players’ player of the year last season doesn’t actually qualify for England on residency grounds until September but already he finds himself answering Johnson’s SOS.
There is no doubt Flutey deserves his place in the squad in terms of his performance but the lack of the debate we usually hear whenever a player of dubious patriotic credentials is asked to don our national jersey reflected a team in crisis.
Lesley ‘the volcano’ Vainikolo may have been a spectacular failure with his dormant performances on the wing during this year’s Six Nations, but any issued over his qualifications before the tournament were swept under the carpet by his phenomenal try scoring record in Rugby League and the prospect of him repeating it in a different code.
Now Vainikolo has been discarded and is seen an example of why we shouldn’t let players from other countries represent the national side.
It seems if you’re good enough, you’re British enough and not just in rugby too.
For many Kevin Pietersen was only truly accepted as an Englishman after his breathtaking 158 at the Oval in 2005 which secured the Ashes urn and sparked national celebration.
But Pietersen was, in a way, different, he rejected South Africa as a young cricketer on moral grounds over racial quotas and set up home in England.
A man of Pietersen’s self-belief must surely have known, even before he proved it to us, that he was good enough to play for South Africa if he wanted to. The fact is England became his first choice.
The same can be said of Basil D’Oliveira, a coloured player who fled South African apartheid in the 1960s to star as an all-rounder for England.
The difference with Flutey is New Zealand rejected him, he felt he wasn’t good enough to make the grade and traded in his international ambitions for a life on foreign shores.
If a young English inside centre, like Olly Barkley for example, had stood up and proved themselves a fantastic talent on the New Zealand tour would we be so willing to accept Flutey in his place?
What sort of message are we sending to our younger players when we pick players who are only trying their hand with England because they weren’t good enough to represent the country of their birth?
Tuesday 1 July 2008
Comeback king Andy shows added edge
Sport has a funny way of producing the greatest dramas when we least expect it.
Andy Murray was down and out against Richard Gasquet last night as the Frenchman assumed a two set lead and was left simply needing to hold his serve to seal the match.
But the young Scotsman has obviously been watching Turkey in the European Championships and the way they waiting till the final nail was all but hammered into the coffin before finding something extra within themselves to force their way back into the game.
I will freely I admit to being one of the Murray doubters, I questioned whether he had the mental desire to push himself to the very top, but in one titanic performance packed with Henman-esque drama, Murray went a long way to answering a number of the questions posed.
There have never been questions over Murray’s ability, just his capability to realise his potential.
The Frenchman, it has to be said, was complicit in the great Murray comeback, Gasquet simply fell apart in and shrugged his shoulders in true Gallic fashion as the crowd roared on their new hero.
However, Murray’s defiance and belief in his own raw talent never faltered and he fed of the energy of the ecstatic Centre Court audience.
Murray faces a much stiffer test in the quarter final when he takes on the awesome Rafael Nadal, but he has nothing to lose.
He will be in an almost unique situation of a home player at Wimbledon playing in the last eight with almost no pressure on his shoulders, simply because noone expects him to win.
I backed Nadal to win the tournament at the outset and I still expect him to prove too much for Murray, but then – like most of us – I expected Gasquet to complete the formality of a straight sets win early yesterday evening before he threw away the advantage.
With Andymonium spreading it underlines why we are so desperate to see a new wave of talent coming through, we simply cannot imagine Wimbledon without the dramas thrown up by the British interest.
Following the Henman years and the exploits of Murray, we have had our feast and let’s hope it’s not followed by a famine.
Andy Murray was down and out against Richard Gasquet last night as the Frenchman assumed a two set lead and was left simply needing to hold his serve to seal the match.
But the young Scotsman has obviously been watching Turkey in the European Championships and the way they waiting till the final nail was all but hammered into the coffin before finding something extra within themselves to force their way back into the game.
I will freely I admit to being one of the Murray doubters, I questioned whether he had the mental desire to push himself to the very top, but in one titanic performance packed with Henman-esque drama, Murray went a long way to answering a number of the questions posed.
There have never been questions over Murray’s ability, just his capability to realise his potential.
The Frenchman, it has to be said, was complicit in the great Murray comeback, Gasquet simply fell apart in and shrugged his shoulders in true Gallic fashion as the crowd roared on their new hero.
However, Murray’s defiance and belief in his own raw talent never faltered and he fed of the energy of the ecstatic Centre Court audience.
Murray faces a much stiffer test in the quarter final when he takes on the awesome Rafael Nadal, but he has nothing to lose.
He will be in an almost unique situation of a home player at Wimbledon playing in the last eight with almost no pressure on his shoulders, simply because noone expects him to win.
I backed Nadal to win the tournament at the outset and I still expect him to prove too much for Murray, but then – like most of us – I expected Gasquet to complete the formality of a straight sets win early yesterday evening before he threw away the advantage.
With Andymonium spreading it underlines why we are so desperate to see a new wave of talent coming through, we simply cannot imagine Wimbledon without the dramas thrown up by the British interest.
Following the Henman years and the exploits of Murray, we have had our feast and let’s hope it’s not followed by a famine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
