Steve Gerrard played like he couldn’t wait to get back on the football pitch as he turned out against Preston yesterday less than a week after spending the night in a police spell following his arrest on suspicion of assault.
Just when everything in Liverpool’s season seemed to be going swimmingly and as the 5-1 win over Newcastle last weekend was still sinking in, Gerrard’s shock arrest after an incident at a Southport bar threatened to detabilise their most competitive title challenge in years.
But Gerrard looked at his rampaging best last night and seemed to suggest he is able to escape his off-field problems when he walks out onto the pitch, almost to the point where he probably didn’t want the game at Deepdale to end.
It is interesting how some players seem to relish the prospect of going back to the day job while their personal lives are ensconced in scandal while others wilt under the pressure and abuse from opposing fans.
When Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate were accused of attacking Sarfaz Najeib in 2000, Woodgate’s performances suffered badly during the ensuing legal process while Bowyer seemed a man galvanised and played possibly the best football of his career.
The early signs suggest Gerrard’s vital contributions to Liverpool will not be affected as he faces negative front page publicity for the first time in his career.
As I have experienced covering cases as a news reporter, the legal process can be a lengthy one and cases can drag on.
Whatever the outcome, it is likely Gerrard will be available for Liverpool for a substantial period of time while proceedings are still ongoing and Rafael Benitez must be extremely grateful that he seems to be viewing the football pitch as a place of sanctuary rather than scrutiny during these testing times.
Sunday, 4 January 2009
Steady Eddie gets his chance
CARETAKER boss Eddie Howe found just how cruel managerial life can be in his first game in charge.
The 31-year-old, who was handed the reins at Bournemouth for a tough trip to Darlington yesterday after Jimmy Quinn’s New Year’s Eve sacking, saw the Quakers bag two late goals to nick the game 2-1.
By all accounts Howe’s men had put in a brave performance and, having gone 1-0 up, deserved to come back with at least a point to show from the 630-mile round trip.
Howe has been told he will get the chance to prove himself in the hotseat and if he was any illusions as to just how difficult the task was, yesterday’s tough blow will have shattered them.
This week Quinn’s successor Kevin Bon claimed that - with the points deductions, financial restrictions and boardroom instability – even the self-styled ‘Special One’ Jose Mourinho would struggle at the Dean Court helm.
Howe would be the first to admit he is no Jose and his management experience – in short, spells as reserve team coach and head of the Centre of Excellence at Bournemouth – is limited to say the least.
The fact that the former Cherries defender was a popular player will also not make him immune from criticism from the fans – as he would have seen with Quinn in recent months.
But this is a chance doesn’t come around very often as lack of finance may have forced the club to consider a rookie who would otherwise not have got a look in.
If Howe shows anything like the commitment and determination he showed as a player then he will throw his heart and soul into the club and should command the respect of the players.
The task is huge, daunting and demanding – but not impossible.
Howe needs to help the team rediscover their belief, get individuals playing in positions they are all comfortable in and aware of their roles and somehow unearth a cutting edge in attack that has been sadly lacking all season.
Having done all of that he will also need – as he discovered to his misfortune yesterday – that element of luck you sometimes need to win tight football matches.
Good luck Eddie, let’s hope you can become Bournemouth’s very own ‘Special One’.
The 31-year-old, who was handed the reins at Bournemouth for a tough trip to Darlington yesterday after Jimmy Quinn’s New Year’s Eve sacking, saw the Quakers bag two late goals to nick the game 2-1.
By all accounts Howe’s men had put in a brave performance and, having gone 1-0 up, deserved to come back with at least a point to show from the 630-mile round trip.
Howe has been told he will get the chance to prove himself in the hotseat and if he was any illusions as to just how difficult the task was, yesterday’s tough blow will have shattered them.
This week Quinn’s successor Kevin Bon claimed that - with the points deductions, financial restrictions and boardroom instability – even the self-styled ‘Special One’ Jose Mourinho would struggle at the Dean Court helm.
Howe would be the first to admit he is no Jose and his management experience – in short, spells as reserve team coach and head of the Centre of Excellence at Bournemouth – is limited to say the least.
The fact that the former Cherries defender was a popular player will also not make him immune from criticism from the fans – as he would have seen with Quinn in recent months.
But this is a chance doesn’t come around very often as lack of finance may have forced the club to consider a rookie who would otherwise not have got a look in.
If Howe shows anything like the commitment and determination he showed as a player then he will throw his heart and soul into the club and should command the respect of the players.
The task is huge, daunting and demanding – but not impossible.
Howe needs to help the team rediscover their belief, get individuals playing in positions they are all comfortable in and aware of their roles and somehow unearth a cutting edge in attack that has been sadly lacking all season.
Having done all of that he will also need – as he discovered to his misfortune yesterday – that element of luck you sometimes need to win tight football matches.
Good luck Eddie, let’s hope you can become Bournemouth’s very own ‘Special One’.
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Slick South Africa set the standard
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.
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.
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.
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