Saw this video on the BBC's website and really liked it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14240765.stm
Wednesday 3 August 2011
The New Season
It's among us again. The football season is just days away from starting up again. You and I know that the next 9 months will be a mixture of joy, despair, disbelief and pies. Forking over your hard-earned cash to see you team trounced 4-0 on a bitterly cold January day makes you think "Why are we doing this again?" But all becomes clear when the week after when your team's deflected free-kick finds it's way into the corner of the opposition goal to score you a dodgy 3 points against a team with 6 players injured and defender with one leg. The joy of winning is why we watch.
The new season may be a great one for your team. You could find the play-offs. Maybe even promotion. Or you could have an average season. Sat around mid-table glaring bemused at your manager who's never heard of a 'striker' or 'counter-attack'. Or even worse could be become of your team, as you could be handed the pain of watching them slip down a division.
Forget all that European nonsense for now though. Lets get back into the spirit of rainy afternoons with Bovrils and our pointless superstitions. We'll go through that same Saturday morning routine. Whatever it may be, reading the lucky newspaper, eating a lucky burger, buying a programme from the lucky programme seller you know your team is still going to end up losing 3-0. But after the initial depression and sadness, you'll laugh it off and say, "We'll do it next week!"
Here we go then. 9 months before we talk to fans of other clubs as equals again. Best of luck to your team for the 2011-12 season.
Oh yeah finally I know I'll regret it but I thought I'd stick a few predictions in before the start of the season.
Premiership: Manchester United
Championship: Birmingham City
League 1: Sheffield United
League 2: Rotherham
League Cup: Chelsea
FA Cup: Liverpool
The new season may be a great one for your team. You could find the play-offs. Maybe even promotion. Or you could have an average season. Sat around mid-table glaring bemused at your manager who's never heard of a 'striker' or 'counter-attack'. Or even worse could be become of your team, as you could be handed the pain of watching them slip down a division.
Forget all that European nonsense for now though. Lets get back into the spirit of rainy afternoons with Bovrils and our pointless superstitions. We'll go through that same Saturday morning routine. Whatever it may be, reading the lucky newspaper, eating a lucky burger, buying a programme from the lucky programme seller you know your team is still going to end up losing 3-0. But after the initial depression and sadness, you'll laugh it off and say, "We'll do it next week!"
Here we go then. 9 months before we talk to fans of other clubs as equals again. Best of luck to your team for the 2011-12 season.
Oh yeah finally I know I'll regret it but I thought I'd stick a few predictions in before the start of the season.
Premiership: Manchester United
Championship: Birmingham City
League 1: Sheffield United
League 2: Rotherham
League Cup: Chelsea
FA Cup: Liverpool
Monday 27 June 2011
European Grand Prix- Race Review
A safe and sure race from all 24 drivers as they all finished the eighth race of the season in Valencia whose street circuit hosted the European Grand Prix. The headlines though belonged to the Red-Bulls as they secured another 1-2 plus a 6th win of the season for Sebastian Vettel as he finished a comfortable 10 seconds ahead of team-mate Mark Webber. This extinguished any criticisms of the last race where Vettel ran out of stamina and concentration as he had his lead stripped off him on the final lap of the 4 hour race following a 2 hour rain interval. Sebastian raced through however and never looked in danger of losing the lead yesterday.
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| Superb race from Vettel |
Straight from the start it wasn’t to be McLaren’s day as both the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso found their way past Lewis Hamilton on the first lap. It was to be a frustrating day for Lewis as he crossed the line in 4th place. Jenson Button despite losing position at the start of the race which he won back with a magnificent overtake on Nico Rosberg, could only manage 6th place where he qualified.
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| Hamilton loses out on lap 1 |
As for the Ferraris they will have been delighted with their finishes of 3rd from Fernando Alonso and 5th from Felipe Massa. A podium finish for Ferrari will have angered the McLarens and after such a positive weekend for McLaren (asides Hamilton) in Canada to be so far off the pace in Valencia will have worried McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh. The only consolation for McLaren is that Hamilton dug deep to beat Massa. Even-Stevens then between the 2 nearest Red-Bull challengers but in my opinion Ferrari have had the better weekend.
Other commendations go to Jaime Alguersuari of Toro-Rosso for putting in a superb drive to finish 8th and pick up 4 points. Adrian Sutil also did well for Force-India Mercedes as he finished 9th for 2 points.
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| A good weekend for Ferrari |
As a Formula 1 fans we all love to see wheel-to-wheel action and the occasional big smash but this race lacked either of these things. I agree with the FIA that tracks should be sprinkled with water before a race to liven things up. After all we all tune in for entertainment don’t we? I hope the next race will be much more exciting. I also expect the Red-Bulls to be similarly dominant next time out at Silverstone due to the number of high speed corners. The Red-Bulls have a lot of downforce, thus being able to keep their power down in the corners better. And that next race at Silverstone on the 10th July. Until then goodbye racing fans!
Sunday 26 June 2011
Sport Today On 26/06/2011
There is much to look forward to today in the world of sport. As Wimbledon takes a break we can bask in the razzmatazz of T20 cricket as 7 games take place today. Gunning for victory will be Derbyshire player Martin Guptill as his side play at the out ground Leek today, against Warwickshire.
Also today you might want to take a peek at the BMW International Open in Munich. England's Mark Foster currently leads by 2 shots going into the final round. Sergio Garcia is tied for 2nd place and is attempting to keep his hopes alive of claiming a spot in the Open in Sandwich in July.
Today's big event though is the European Grand Prix in Valencia. Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton make up the top three grid spots as Vettel will be hunting for victory after disappointment in the last race n Canada, spinning out on the final lap to allow Jenson Button through into 1st place. Expect the McLarens to be their usual personalities out on track. Button safe and sure, Hamilton aggressive and skilled. Hamilton however needs to tone down a bit and make sure he actually collects points today rather than crashing out again. My race prediction Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso.
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| Leek Cricket Club in glorious sunshine |
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| Sergio Garcia will hope for a good round today |
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| Vettel going for victory from pole |
Saturday 25 June 2011
How has football changed?
How has Football Changed? 2011 FC Barcelona Vs. 1956 Real Madrid
In this article I'm going to be taking a look into how the game has evolved into what it is today. I shall be comparing two of the greatest sides ever to grace the turfs. First of all I’ll be comparing the players.
When Real Madrid won the first ever European Cup in 1956 against Stade de Reims their entire team was either Spanish or half Spanish. When Barcelona lifted their 4th European Cup in 2011 against Manchester United only 7 of their starting 11 were Spanish. This is still a high figure today for players playing in a team in their home nation. The fact of the matter is that today teams will hunt far and wide to collect the most skilled and talented individuals and then pay a gargantuan sum of money for them. In 1956 the only real hope you had of signing was if you lived very close to the club. Then a small sum of money would be paid for a player back then. Nowadays though clubs will quite literally go to the ends of the earth to find a stupendous player.
When Real Madrid won the first ever European Cup in 1956 against Stade de Reims their entire team was either Spanish or half Spanish. When Barcelona lifted their 4th European Cup in 2011 against Manchester United only 7 of their starting 11 were Spanish. This is still a high figure today for players playing in a team in their home nation. The fact of the matter is that today teams will hunt far and wide to collect the most skilled and talented individuals and then pay a gargantuan sum of money for them. In 1956 the only real hope you had of signing was if you lived very close to the club. Then a small sum of money would be paid for a player back then. Nowadays though clubs will quite literally go to the ends of the earth to find a stupendous player.
My next point is player development. My example for Barcelona is Lionel Messi. At just 24 years of age he is widely considered and feared as the best player in the world. Messi was enrolled at the Barcelona academy at the age of 14 when he and his father moved to Barcelona just for that. Since then he has made 177 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 119 goals at the same time. He is now rumoured to be wearing an over £100 million price tag. My example for Real Madrid is Francisco Gento. When Gento arrived at Madrid he had only played 10 games for his previous club Racing Santander. Again the player development worked out. 428 games for Real Madrid and 126 goals spelled complete success for the development. Again though, Gento was Spanish, which made him easy to find. More money is now invested into development, so teams can have better players cheaper.
For me really football has changed due to one thing. Money. The investment in teams, players and development means teams can do so much more in order to find that winning combination. Today that 1956 team would likely be thrashed due to lack of investment. That’s how football’s changed. Money.
Nadal or Federer?
In this the 125th Wimbledon Championship, there is no doubt that the winner of the tournament will come from the top 4 seeds. Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Murray. The big question mark though hangs over which one of those immensely talented 4 shall emerge as champion.
For me I can't see anybody else winning it but Nadal and Federer. The later the most decorated individual in tennis, and the first the most talented player out there at the moment. The power Nadal has with his gargantuan forehands, and Federers's unstoppable serve they are almost inseparable. 25 times the pair have met and rather surprisingly Nadal has won 17, opposed to just 8 for Federer. However I still wouldn't put my money on Nadal. He's too injury prone. Tries too hard if he's losing. Let's remember though that he rarely does lose. Every day you'll hear a pundit root for Nadal or Federer, but I don't see the point. It's like choosing between shirt and trousers. Either way you'll end up looking stupid. As far as I see it, just sit back and watch the greatest sporting rivalry to date.
For me I can't see anybody else winning it but Nadal and Federer. The later the most decorated individual in tennis, and the first the most talented player out there at the moment. The power Nadal has with his gargantuan forehands, and Federers's unstoppable serve they are almost inseparable. 25 times the pair have met and rather surprisingly Nadal has won 17, opposed to just 8 for Federer. However I still wouldn't put my money on Nadal. He's too injury prone. Tries too hard if he's losing. Let's remember though that he rarely does lose. Every day you'll hear a pundit root for Nadal or Federer, but I don't see the point. It's like choosing between shirt and trousers. Either way you'll end up looking stupid. As far as I see it, just sit back and watch the greatest sporting rivalry to date.
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| My advice: Don't choose. |
Formula 1 - Valencia Grand Prix - Qualifying
It was par for the course in Valencia as the Red-Bulls stormed to yet another front row, and another pole position for Sebastian Vettel. The rest of the top 10 on the grid was made up as follows: Hamilton, Alonso, Massa, Button, Rosberg, Schumacher, Heidfeld and Sutil. An incredible 50% of the top 10 are German, including Vettel, Rosberg, Schumacher, Heidfeld and Sutil. This is one of the main points I picked up on however during qualifying. The fact that the McLaren's have been split by the Ferraris. Lewis Hamilton is able to post much quicker qualifying times than Button, which is ruining Button's race in a way as he proved in Montreal he is one of the best racers out there as he overtook Vettel on an intense climax on the final lap of the race. If he can't out-qualify the Ferraris he won't be able to use his smooth racing technique to catch the notorious Red-Bulls. In my opinion if Button is to have any hope of being in with a shout of claiming his second World Championship, he will have to tidy up his qualifying!
The race is tomorrow on BBC 1 starting at 13:00 for all you racing fans.
The race is tomorrow on BBC 1 starting at 13:00 for all you racing fans.
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| Button, just after winning in Montreal |
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