The World Cup has made the sports pages for many reasons over the past few weeks, one of those being that there is actually nothing else of note going on right now. However, goalline technology, the fitness of Fernando Torres and the ball (is it lighter? does it move in the air? is it actually a ball and not a sphere from space?) have been among the footballing reasons for the world being gripped by Football Fever. The following headlines aren't strictly true. At all. But life would be so much more fun if they were. Beware - this article contains lazy racial stereotyping and a refusal to move on from a nation or an individual's past.
Maradona the Motivator - some said he would never be able to handle a star-studded international football team in the same way that he handled footballs circa 1986. But, actually, the strategies that Diego Maradona has employed for his exciting Argentina side have been surprisingly effective. Well, surprising no more. In an exclusive interview with star player Jonas Guttierez, we can reveal what has got this team clicking and showing such passion. A World Cup win gets them an invite to Maradona's next Cheese, Wine and Crack Cocaine Sampling Night. Apparently cheese is hard to come by in Buenos Aires. He has also been slipping magic mushrooms into the pasta of those who perform well. Why do you think they all kiss him when substituted?
French Revolution Uncovered - where did it all go wrong for the French? Beyond the Cliche has the answer. It was not the case that the players disliked lunatic Raymond Domenech or that they were showing support to Nicolas Anelka by playing shit. No. They protested at their lunch break between training sessions being reduced from three hours to two. Quelle horreur. The FFF also told them to curb their rampant lovemaking while in South Africa. Anelka left of his own volition when realising he would be unable to see Claude for the duration of the tournament. The brothers shared a loving embrace on his return to Charles de Gaulle.
CAF sign new sponsorship deal - in order to further boost funding for grassroots level football in Africa, the federation have signed a lucrative deal with Teflon, following on from the flaky performances from several of their goalkeepers. The campaign is to be fronted by Vincent Enyeama, after CAF's preferred choice Robert Green was made unavailable by his employers. The FA regarded this as an insult but couldn't be sure whether it had crossed the line.
Vuvuzela legacy asssured - with several of the stadiums likely to be severely underused after the tournament, you can forgive the South African authorities for thinking that the World Cup will leave one giant white elephant in the country. Not so in the case of the millions of vuvuzelas sold, thanks to an innovation by Dr Hans Bekker. The collapsible vuvuzela is designed to fit into a lady's handbag, so that she can quickly alert the police if she is a victim of a crime, such as a mugging or a rape (not useful if the handbag containing the collapsible vuvuzela is taken, but the idea is very much still a prototype). It is estimated that the average Friday night in certain areas of Johannesburg will produce a noise twice as loud as that in Soccer City for the opening game.
Meanwhile at Wimbledon...
Federer unveils new image - Roger Federer stepped out onto Centre Court today to face Tomas Berdych in his new attire after a hard-fought battle with the LTA over his new jacket made specially during the World Cup. Federer said he "didn't want to wear the white anymore because it reminds me of the England football team and therefore defeat". The new bright yellow and blue jacket inscenced the authorities but they relented, conceding that Federer "had a point". The argument was clearly on his mind as Berdych promptly beat him.
Now a really funny story that is unlikely but true...
Nigeria withdrawn from international competition - the Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan (which has to be THE greatest name in the world) has said that his nation's team will not play again until 2012 because their system needs restructuring after a poor World Cup. He makes Kim-Jong Il look like Moses.
Get involved, any ideas welcome. Please, we're desperate now.
RM
Wednesday 30 June 2010
Tuesday 29 June 2010
World Cup Musings: I get Knocked Out...
Out in the Round of 16 and Going Home Economy, But At Least Get Dinner On The Flight
South Korea:
They proved that 2002 was not merely a fluke and went some way to erasing the memory of their 2006 debacle. Never really talented enough to threaten the big boys, they used their high tempo game to good effect, but will look back at the Uruguay game and wonder if they could have held on for more.
Best Performers: Park Ji Sung lived up to his billing, and Lee Chung Yong was decent.
World Cup in Five Words: Excitingly industrious but quality inconsistent
United States:
Luck goes both ways, and the good luck that got the US points against England and Slovenia was balanced out by their inability to find the goal with any consistency against Ghana. Billed as favourites, this tag may have had an effect on the players, but more likely they were simply not good enough to proceed any further. Actually quite a disappointing World Cup all in all.
Best Performers: Up until the Ghana match, Tim Howard. Michael Bradley and, in spells, Landon Donovan.
World Cup in Five Words: Never performed for 90 minutes
Slovakia:
A decent European outfit who benefitted from Italy's woeful showing. Solid enough to not seem out of their depth against Holland, they nonetheless succumbed to their obviously superior opponents, causing little fuss in the process. For another small Euro nation, they did pretty well.
Best Perfomers: Vittek will be remembered as an unlikely source of goals, and Wladimir Weiss did well to step up and compensate for Hamsik's failings.
World Cup in Five Words: Italy match never forgotten. Surprising
Chile:
A rarity. A side whose personnel were obviously lacking in quality, but whose tactical organisation and overall play were of the highest order. They were simply unlucky to face Brazil so soon, but would have struggled to get the necessary goals regardless of opponent. Must curb their over-aggressive side; they kicked Spain to the moon and back.
Best Performers: Beausejour was a standout, as was Alexis Sanchez. Waldo Ponce and Gary Medel played well in defence.
World Cup in Five Words: Began attacking. Needed sharper Suazo.
Mexico:
Same old Mexico. Playing the same brand of good looking football but losing out to the same opponent as last time. Mexico have good players, but they are just not good enough to progress beyond this stage of the tournament. A simple case of a team finding its ceiling.
Best Performers: Carlos Salcido was superb throughout, and Geovani dos Santos played at least as well as the more hyped Andres Guardado, which takes nothing away from him either.
World Cup in Five Words: Talented but Argentina too strong
England:
A genuinely pitiful campaign, and the players will be glad to distance themselves from it as far as possible. Germany were so superior they were practically being insulted by the English performance. In the group stages, it was similar to watching the Italian Golden Generation stutter and fail in Group F, but the Italians are in all their mid 30's and have won a World Cup. The English are younger and have accomplished absolutely nothing. This was the current crop's last chance to shine; instead, they tarnished their reputations beyond repair.
Best Performers: David James did well when called upon, and Ashley Cole was near top form. In my opinion, Emile Heskey was good in his one start against the US.
Worst Performers (because it's a Home Nation after all): Rooney was abominably bad; just say you were injured Wayne, it's the only way you can save face. Gerrard deteriorated horribly, Johnson, Carragher and Upson were all awful, and Gareth Barry proved tactically clueless on his return. Oh, and almost forgot the pathetic Aaron Lennon. An actual 5 year old would have been as much use.
World Cup in Five Words: Disparate stars fail. No surprises.
Japan:
Joined with South Korea to prove that perhaps there was something more to the hosts of the 2002 tournament than home advantage. For a team in near disarray prior to kickoff they performed brilliantly. They were organised, they knew what they wanted to do and they used the skill players they had to good effect. In other words, they were the anti-Cameroon. They had a 50-50 shot at going through to the quarterfinals, and did nothing but raise their stock.
Best Performes: Keisuke Honda provided the basis for many a bad car joke, and the pundits relished his appearences. Tulio Tanaka was dominant, and Matsui was good and simply superb in the first half of the Denmark game.
World Cup in Five Words: Great dead balls. Until penalties
Portugal:
Portugal performed well considering their near-failure to qualify. The defence continued its fantastic form and the midfield did reasonably well. Even when they met Spain, this good showing continued and at half time they were a decent shout to win. I believe that if Quieroz had not substituted Huga Almeida Portugal would have gotten back into the match. Once he made that change, the front men had no idea what to do, which was a consistent theme of their other matches as Quieroz completely changed his attack in each game.
Best Performers: Eduardo in goals was genuinely world class at times. One of the best at the tournament. Raul Meireles did well but faded at crunch time against Spain. Bruno Alves was good, and Contraeo at left back was excellent.
World Cup in Five Words: One rout insufficient. Quieroz = assistant
GM and RM
World Cup Musings: Remembering those who fell...
Before we start, I'm going to highlight another of Ryan's brilliant lookalikes, the USA's favourite ref Maman Coulibaly and the bloke off of Faithless. That boy needs a girlfriend (like I can talk).
Anyway, with the group stages now over and the quarterfinals in sight we can now reflect on those teams whose only moments of glory came in the three group matches. Oh, and the teams who celebrated reaching the knockout stages before promptly being beaten in the round of 16. Wonder who's in that group?
Out in the Group Stages and Going Home Economy Class with Raymond
South Africa :
Did what a host should and got the nation behind them. We all knew they weren't really that good, at least they played like they cared. And at least they took the chance France gave them by being so awful and deservedly beat them.
Best performers: Khune the keeper. Gaxa at right back and Dikgacoi in midfield.
World Cup in Five Words: Spirited hosts fight - nation satisfied
France :
Abject and utter failure. A disgraceful World Cup that will go down as the worst in France's history. No cohesion or team spirit, and virtually no actual quality. They were simply horrendous, and did not deserve even the goal they scored.
Best performers: Abou Diaby. No-one else. Jesus Christ.
World Cup in Five Words: Must start all over again
Greece :
Did pretty much what everyone expected and defended most of the time. Did quite well against Argentina, and did nab a few goals, but just lacked any real attacking talent or intent. An old team with a manager living in the past.
Best performers: Vangelis Moras, or Spiropoulos for his job on Messi.
World Cup in Five Words: Defence flawed - no Plan B
Nigeria :
Committed too many errors to progress, but really should have. Kaita's red card and Yakubu's skitemare of a miss were ultimately fatal. Looked decent for the most part, and blew it all on a few moments of madness. They must be gutted.
Best performers: Kalu Uche. Shout out to Kanu and Odemwingie.
World Cup in Five Words: Indiscipline and profligacy costly - disappointing.
Slovenia :
Really aren't that good a team, but did display some good attacking verve. They can't really be that surprised that they went out, but it could have gone better for them luck-wise with regards the USA's late goal against Algeria.
Best performers: Samir Handanovic and Walter Birsa
World Cup in Five Words: Wonder goal memorable. Nothing else
Algeria :
As weak a team as any in this World Cup. They lived up exactly to their billing pre-tournament, and offered precious little. An unathletic and talent-starved side. On reflection, Egypt would have been more interesting.
Best performers: Karim Matmour. Definately not the keeper Gaouaoui.
World Cup in Five Words: Embarrassed England. More than enough.
Australia :
Old, slow and not up to the task of scoring goals, they were awful at first but showed commendable resolve to come back and be competitive. The win over Serbia was probably sufficient consolation for a team obviously at the end of the road.
Best performers: Brett Holman and, I can't believe I'm typing this, Craig Moore.
World Cup in Five Words: Bounced back. Pensions being drawn.
Serbia :
Deserved to beat Ghana, got a man sent off and lost. Deserved to beat Australia, who got a man sent off, but still lost. If you can't take your opportunities when you're in the ascendancy you will never progress. No goal threat.
Best performances: Branoslav Ivanovic, and Lazovic off the bench.
World Cup in Five Words: Stop handling ball in box!
Denmark :
Tactically fine, but just not talented enough. Not good enough to go toe to toe with Holland, which we knew, but also not nearly good enough to beat Japan. Just incapable of scoring against a decent defence.
Best performers: The Simon's Kjaer and Poulsen in defence.
World Cup in Five Words: Jon Dahl Tomasson? Really? Still?
Cameroon : Displayed the ineptitude, disorganisation and naivety that still stereotypes African football. A simply atrocious botched job in the opener against Japan led to what little confidence they may have had going down the drain.
Best performers: Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Joel Matip and Achille Emana.
World Cup in Five Words: Needed to utilise Eto'o properly
New Zealand :
What were the odds of the Kiwis finishing above Italy? A great performance by the worst team at the World Cup talent-wise. Their organised defending and committment proved too difficult to break down for their limited group opponents.
Best performers: The whole squad to be honest. But particularly Winston Reid and Simon Elliot.
World Cup in Five Words: Undefeated but out. Scotland 1974?
Italy :
And what were the odds that both finalists from 2006 would exit at the group stages. A woeful tournament, probably worse than woeful actually. A token attempt to blood younger players proved completely useless at staving off this complete failure.
Best performers: Genuinely, none.
World Cup in Five Words: Disaster. Lippi tarnishes golden reputation
Ivory Coast :
Another Group of Death, another Ivory Coast side not quite up to the task. While able to slug it out with Brazil and Portugal for most of the time, they were just not as talented in attack or defence. Weren't helped by 7 goal Portugal.
Best performers: Yaya Toure and Gervinho
World Cup in Five Words: Couldn't score enough versus PRK
North Korea :
Their verdict; a triumphant display by our boys, easily matching the might of Brazil before succumbing to a European and African conspiracy. My verdict; the team knew that their first game was their best chance as no-one would want to underestimate an unknown entity. When their group rivals got a look at them, they realised they were a bit rubbish.
Best performers: Jong Tae-Se and Cha Jong-Hyok. And Dear Leader for his 5003 goals.
World Cup in Five Words: Last two games not broadcastable.
Switzerland :
A World Cup campaign that started so well with the victory over Spain ended up failing miserably. You just cannot fail to beat the bottom team when you need to beat them to progress. With Hizsfeld in charge, I was genuinely shocked that they allowed Honduras to get a draw.
Best performers: Derdiyok was troubling, and Gelson Fernandes did well.
World Cup in Five Words: Delight then disarray. Offensively impotent.
Honduras :
They are a crap team that played like one for the most part, before they manned up and regained some pride against the Swiss. Overall though, they are comfortably down amongst the worst teams at the Finals.
Best performers: They had none.
World Cup in Five Words: How did these boys qualify?
GM and RM
Monday 28 June 2010
The County Scene - Week 14: I'd rather have a cider than a beer
It's been a contrasting week for English sport. Whilst the football team was hilariously dumped out of the World Cup, the cricketers actually managed to get the better of a bitter old rival to reflect the progress made in limited overs cricket in the last 12 months. 3 wins out of 3 over the Aussies sealed the series with two games to play. Here are the scores and my opinions on the performances as I saw them (thus there may be a bit of inconsistency in my views as individual form ebbed and flowed):
1st ODI (Rose Bowl) - England 268-6 (46 overs) (Morgan 103* off 85) beat Australia 267-7 (50 overs) (Clarke 87* off 97) by 4 wickets with 24 balls remaining - the 3000th ODI of all time featured one of the finest knocks you are likely to see. Eoin Morgan's 3rd hundred was his first against serious opposition and featured shots in every area of the ground, which incidentally looks ready for its first taste of Test cricket next year after re-development. It was a pretty stiff run chase on a slightly slow track which offered a bit of varied bounce for the seam bowlers, but Morgan made it look easy, well supported by cameos from Kieswetter (38), Luke Wright (34) and Tim Bresnan (27). The difference between Morgan's innings and that of Michael Clarke for the Aussies was the ability to effortlessly accelerate when needed. Clarke has been struggling for form and it showed but this innings was much needed both for the individual and the team. England's bowling was OK, but both Bresnan and Stuart Broad became a bit predictable with the shorter delivery and were quite expensive. Michael Yardy impressed with his economy in the middle overs. Australia were carried by Ryan Harris and never seriously threatened to restrict the run chase. Skipper Ricky Ponting will want to stop getting out to the pull/hook shot.
2nd ODI (Cardiff) - England 243-6 (45.2 overs) (Morgan 52 off 64, Strauss 51 off 56) beat Australia 239-7 (50 overs) (White 86* off 98, Watson 57 off 59, Broad 10-0-44-4) by 4 wickets with 28 balls remaining. This was a much more collective effort from England, spearheaded by birthday boy Stuart Broad. The 24-year old had his 100th ODI wicket gift-wrapped as Tim Paine strangled one down the leg side but he really earned his 3 other wickets with some intelligent use of variations, in contrast to the 1st match. The extra lift to remove Ponting and the excellent bouncer to short leg to remove Clarke showed both a bowler who knows his game inside out and also a captain who had done his homework on the opposition. Strauss really proved that he is still the man for 50-over cricket. He'll be pleased that he got his runs at a fast rate but annoyed he didn't see the game through to its conclusion, as will Morgan and Paul Collingwood (48). Cameron White's innings was so mature and showed how far he has come in the last 18 months or so - to start off by rescuing the innings from 94-4 and seeing off the spinners to end up whacking the ball to all parts to post a competitive score was outstanding and he did not deserve to end up on the losing side. More than can be said for the bowlers, who really missed the injured Harris and conceded far too many extras - Clint McKay the worst culprit. Is James Hopes a quality international cricketer or a man to make up the numbers with bat and ball? They need a bit of X-Factor...
Which arrived in the...
3rd ODI (Old Trafford) - England 214-9 (49.1 overs) (Strauss 87 off 121) beat Australia 212 (46 overs) (Watson 61 off 76, Swann 10-1-37-4) by 1 wicket with 5 balls remaining. It should never have been this close. The way that Dougie Bollinger and Shaun Tait (the 95mph Wild Thing who provided said X-Factor) rallied late on to cause England to slip from 185-3 to 203-9 was impressive and gives the Aussies hope for the future. So where was Tait before this match? Had Nathan Hauritz not got injured, how badly would the Aussies been thrashed here. The yorker that cleaned up Craig Kieswetter first ball underlined the damage he can do. He finished with 10-1-28-3. Bollinger (10-3-20-3) was equally impressive, coming into form after a slow start to the series with his tight lines and late movement in the air and off the pitch. But England didn't half throw their wickets away, Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright in particular. Credit to Tim Bresnan (14*) for finishing off, his first major contribution to this England side. England's spin attack looks really good now. Swann bowls the attacking line outside off, tempting the batsman down the pitch. This strategy did for Ponting, who really needs a score now, as he was well stumped by Kieswetter, who looks more impressive with gloves than bat, contrary to reputation. Yardy continues to provide economy as well as the odd wicket, critically removing Tim Paine here, who was starting to look dangerous for the first time here (44). The Aussie batsman look collectively low on confidence - Watson needs to convert his scores to hundreds and the others need consistency!
By the way, for that knock in the first match, Eoin Morgan is a Victoria Sponge LAD.
So now to the quieter realms of the counties, where I got a taste of live action at sunny Taunton for the first time this year in the T20 Cup. We (Somerset) were playing reigning champions Sussex Sharks, in a replay of last year's final. It looked pretty ominous when Matt Prior (referred to as "England's No.2" throughout by the many Kieswetter fans in the ground) followed up his 117 earlier in the week with 36 off 13, including a huge six that sailed straight over my head at deep square leg, nearly hitting an expensive Audi and the beer tent! But when he fell, the bowling tightened, with Alfie Thomas and Kieron Pollard tightening the screw to bowl them out for 159, never enough on a flat, sunbaked Taunton wicket. We cruised home really, led by Marcus Trescothick's 50 off 33, the first time I've seen him get a big score live. All the other batsmen chipped in. The banter got really good as the cider was consumed, with the chant at the top of this article being cleverly directed at Sharks' leg-spinner Will Beer. He then got clobbered out of the attack. Fair play to Prior who constantly signed autographs in the field while we barracked him. A misfield off a James Hildreth reverse sweep being a highlight. A fun evening and an easy 7 wicket win.
One final point - Pakistan are now in town for series against Australia and England. They started off at Lord's with a T20 against the MCC, featuring many former greats, such as Brian Lara, Sourav Ganguly and Chris Harris. By all accounts, it was quite a good game:
Pakistan 165-5 (20 0vers) (Umar Akmal 51* off 30 3 x 4s 3 x 6s, Shahzaib Hasan 34 off 19 6 x 4s 1 x 6s, Harris 4-0-26-3, Nabi 4-0-18-1) beat MCC 159-5 (20 0vers) (Blizzard 73 off 59 6 x 4s 3 x 6s, Shoaib Akhtar 4-0-19-2) by 6 runs.
They are currently playing Kent in a 3 day game. News to follow next week
RM
1st ODI (Rose Bowl) - England 268-6 (46 overs) (Morgan 103* off 85) beat Australia 267-7 (50 overs) (Clarke 87* off 97) by 4 wickets with 24 balls remaining - the 3000th ODI of all time featured one of the finest knocks you are likely to see. Eoin Morgan's 3rd hundred was his first against serious opposition and featured shots in every area of the ground, which incidentally looks ready for its first taste of Test cricket next year after re-development. It was a pretty stiff run chase on a slightly slow track which offered a bit of varied bounce for the seam bowlers, but Morgan made it look easy, well supported by cameos from Kieswetter (38), Luke Wright (34) and Tim Bresnan (27). The difference between Morgan's innings and that of Michael Clarke for the Aussies was the ability to effortlessly accelerate when needed. Clarke has been struggling for form and it showed but this innings was much needed both for the individual and the team. England's bowling was OK, but both Bresnan and Stuart Broad became a bit predictable with the shorter delivery and were quite expensive. Michael Yardy impressed with his economy in the middle overs. Australia were carried by Ryan Harris and never seriously threatened to restrict the run chase. Skipper Ricky Ponting will want to stop getting out to the pull/hook shot.
2nd ODI (Cardiff) - England 243-6 (45.2 overs) (Morgan 52 off 64, Strauss 51 off 56) beat Australia 239-7 (50 overs) (White 86* off 98, Watson 57 off 59, Broad 10-0-44-4) by 4 wickets with 28 balls remaining. This was a much more collective effort from England, spearheaded by birthday boy Stuart Broad. The 24-year old had his 100th ODI wicket gift-wrapped as Tim Paine strangled one down the leg side but he really earned his 3 other wickets with some intelligent use of variations, in contrast to the 1st match. The extra lift to remove Ponting and the excellent bouncer to short leg to remove Clarke showed both a bowler who knows his game inside out and also a captain who had done his homework on the opposition. Strauss really proved that he is still the man for 50-over cricket. He'll be pleased that he got his runs at a fast rate but annoyed he didn't see the game through to its conclusion, as will Morgan and Paul Collingwood (48). Cameron White's innings was so mature and showed how far he has come in the last 18 months or so - to start off by rescuing the innings from 94-4 and seeing off the spinners to end up whacking the ball to all parts to post a competitive score was outstanding and he did not deserve to end up on the losing side. More than can be said for the bowlers, who really missed the injured Harris and conceded far too many extras - Clint McKay the worst culprit. Is James Hopes a quality international cricketer or a man to make up the numbers with bat and ball? They need a bit of X-Factor...
Which arrived in the...
3rd ODI (Old Trafford) - England 214-9 (49.1 overs) (Strauss 87 off 121) beat Australia 212 (46 overs) (Watson 61 off 76, Swann 10-1-37-4) by 1 wicket with 5 balls remaining. It should never have been this close. The way that Dougie Bollinger and Shaun Tait (the 95mph Wild Thing who provided said X-Factor) rallied late on to cause England to slip from 185-3 to 203-9 was impressive and gives the Aussies hope for the future. So where was Tait before this match? Had Nathan Hauritz not got injured, how badly would the Aussies been thrashed here. The yorker that cleaned up Craig Kieswetter first ball underlined the damage he can do. He finished with 10-1-28-3. Bollinger (10-3-20-3) was equally impressive, coming into form after a slow start to the series with his tight lines and late movement in the air and off the pitch. But England didn't half throw their wickets away, Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright in particular. Credit to Tim Bresnan (14*) for finishing off, his first major contribution to this England side. England's spin attack looks really good now. Swann bowls the attacking line outside off, tempting the batsman down the pitch. This strategy did for Ponting, who really needs a score now, as he was well stumped by Kieswetter, who looks more impressive with gloves than bat, contrary to reputation. Yardy continues to provide economy as well as the odd wicket, critically removing Tim Paine here, who was starting to look dangerous for the first time here (44). The Aussie batsman look collectively low on confidence - Watson needs to convert his scores to hundreds and the others need consistency!
By the way, for that knock in the first match, Eoin Morgan is a Victoria Sponge LAD.
So now to the quieter realms of the counties, where I got a taste of live action at sunny Taunton for the first time this year in the T20 Cup. We (Somerset) were playing reigning champions Sussex Sharks, in a replay of last year's final. It looked pretty ominous when Matt Prior (referred to as "England's No.2" throughout by the many Kieswetter fans in the ground) followed up his 117 earlier in the week with 36 off 13, including a huge six that sailed straight over my head at deep square leg, nearly hitting an expensive Audi and the beer tent! But when he fell, the bowling tightened, with Alfie Thomas and Kieron Pollard tightening the screw to bowl them out for 159, never enough on a flat, sunbaked Taunton wicket. We cruised home really, led by Marcus Trescothick's 50 off 33, the first time I've seen him get a big score live. All the other batsmen chipped in. The banter got really good as the cider was consumed, with the chant at the top of this article being cleverly directed at Sharks' leg-spinner Will Beer. He then got clobbered out of the attack. Fair play to Prior who constantly signed autographs in the field while we barracked him. A misfield off a James Hildreth reverse sweep being a highlight. A fun evening and an easy 7 wicket win.
One final point - Pakistan are now in town for series against Australia and England. They started off at Lord's with a T20 against the MCC, featuring many former greats, such as Brian Lara, Sourav Ganguly and Chris Harris. By all accounts, it was quite a good game:
Pakistan 165-5 (20 0vers) (Umar Akmal 51* off 30 3 x 4s 3 x 6s, Shahzaib Hasan 34 off 19 6 x 4s 1 x 6s, Harris 4-0-26-3, Nabi 4-0-18-1) beat MCC 159-5 (20 0vers) (Blizzard 73 off 59 6 x 4s 3 x 6s, Shoaib Akhtar 4-0-19-2) by 6 runs.
They are currently playing Kent in a 3 day game. News to follow next week
RM
Thursday 24 June 2010
In Praise of Andy Robinson
There is only so much football you can watch. Much as I have enjoyed most of the matches in the ongoing World Cup, I felt it would be narrow-minded to ignore the other sporting offerings over the past few days. Whilst it's been nice to watch England beat the Aussies at cricket and a never-ending tennis match at Wimbledon, my personal highlight came on Saturday night, where Denmark vs Cameroon was forsaken to make way for the second test between Argentina and Scotland in Mar del Plata in the pouring rain. This is rugby union by the way, for those who aren't following me!Having watched the last 20 minutes and subsequent highlights of the first test in Tucaman, there was much reason for optimism. The pack had solidified and Dan Parks had continued his wonderful resurgence into international rugby. The way that he controlled the play and marshalled the line was outstanding, as was the way he was seemingly always able to find the most precise of touches. Oh, and he scored all our points with the boot, after Argentina had gone into an early lead. The way that they were forced into indiscipline by a rampaging front row meant that we were able to chip away through Parks' penalties to win deservedly.
And so to Saturday night. To say conditions were tricky would be a massive understatement. The rain was incessant and yet 16000 fans still came out to cheer the Pumas on. They were silenced after two minutes when Big Jim Hamilton rumbled over the line for an early try, a word not used enough in the lexicon of a Scottish rugby fan. Scotland never surrendered this lead, despite heavy Argentinian pressure and territory in the second half, something you couldn't envisage twelve months ago. Generally, when a game got tight, Scotland would be put under overwhelming pressure and crumble, defensively not good enough. Now, we have seen two outstanding defensive performance to win games we had no right to, the 13-9 victory here to go with the amazing night and Murrayfield in November, where Matt Giteau's misfiring boot handed us a 9-8 victory. In both games there is a constant - togetherness in the forward line. We'll never be a major attacking threat, our backs aren't quick and/or big enough, but we seem to have identified our strengths and played to them.
For this, we must be thankful to coach Andy Robinson and his staff. When you consider the limited resources at grassroots level (Borders aside, but they're all a bit strange) in Scotland, you have to commend a record of 6-4-1. We could and perhaps should have won in 3 of those 4 defeats (Argentina in the Autumn Tests, Wales and Italy in the Six Nations). 9-1-1 would have been unprecedented success but this is Scotland after all, so let's be happy with what we've got. Bar the Japan friendly last month, all of the victories came against teams ranked higher than us in the world (although we have since leapfrogged Fiji). But numbers really tell less than half the story. It is the improvement in performance since the dark final days of Frank Hadden and Matt Williams that has been particularly heartening, especially in the forwards as I've already mentioned. Under Hadden, we simply could not cope without Euan Murray in the side at tighthead, because of his abilities in the scrum. So we panicked when he got constantly injured or unavailable for religious reasons (Thou shalt go to hell if thou dares play rugby on the Sabbath you heathen). His replacement, Moray Low, only makes pilgrimages to Burger King, which is my kind of religion. He has proven himself to be Murray's equal and the rise in form of Alan Jacobsen and Ross Ford has led to a front row which has dominated any pack it's come up against. Except the French one. There is also strength in depth here, with Al Dickinson, a conscious Geoff Cross and Scott Lawson, who bounced back well from his errors in the Six Nations to make an impact as a sub against the Pumas, finding lovely little lines to run late on.
The Killer Bs of Glasgow have been a revelation, both as ball carriers (Beattie in particular) and as defense. John Barclay is the real star of this trio, the man who put his body on the line on both occasions mentioned where Scotland's defense won them the match. And Al Kellock is the man every Scotsman wants to be - big, dominating, brave and committed to his country. Such a lad. Let's not forget the backs either. As we have already discussed, Parks has been the catalyst for our transformation with his confident control and has been supported by Chris Cusiter and Rory Lawson at 9. The latter really has looked the part since his sub role against the Aussies and Cus is just a hero, purely for banging Ruaridh Jackson's sister. The Lamonts, Max Evans and Graeme Morrison are all solid, unspectacular backs who can do a job, which is all we really need for now, given our strengths.
The difference?
The personnel has not changed much under Robinson, but he has instilled a new belief and passion into the side, typified by his outrage at a dodgy decision against his former employers in the Calcutta Cup draw. Gregor Townsend is a similar character, so the two bounce off each other well. Obviously having an in-form 10 has helped shape the side and go in the direction that suits Parks i.e. an aerial style built on tight defence and scrummaging. Quite simply, the players want to play for Robinson and want to play in this current system, a respect Robinson failed to achieve in his two-year stint at Twickenham. It is becoming increasingly clear that this was little fault on Robbo's part and simply was the case of an ageing World Cup-winning side believing they knew better. They didn't.
Let's not get carried away. Had we not crashed the party at Croke Park, we would have had the wooden spoon in the Six Nations. We are not consistently good enough to mount a serious challenge in next year's World Cup. We need to close out games we should win more regularly and need to find a way to score more tries. But, thanks to the belief instilled by Robinson et al, we are finally capable of being a match for most teams in the world on our day.
For Scotland, that'll be good enough for now
RM
Wednesday 23 June 2010
Like For Like? Number 1: Chris Johnson Versus Adrian Peterson
This is the first of a new series that compares two players, teams or any other pairing I care to think of: Federer or Nadal, Brazil or Spain, Godman or Parks (!). It'll provide a brief case for and against each party, and will hopefully allow you to decide whether they truly are "Like for Like"!
This week we delve into the world of the NFL and ask; If you were starting a team right now, who would you pick at Running Back, Johnson or Peterson?
First things first. Statistics:
There aren't many around who would argue that Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson are not the best two running backs currently in the NFL. The statistics make it hard to oppose that view, and we all know how much Americans love statistics.
While we have to be careful when interpreting stats about running backs, due to factors I will talk about later like the quality of the offensive line they run behind and the nature of the offense in which they play, they are nonetheless a quick and easy way to compare players. So here goes.
Adrian Peterson has been in the league for three seasons. His current yardage total over those three years is 4484 yards on 915 attempts. He has not rushed for less than 1300 yards in any of his three seasons, and his highest rushing total is 1760 yards in 2008. His yards per carry average is 4.9 over three years. In Petersons first 30 games he had 3101 yards rushing , the 3rd best start to a career of all time. He has scored 10+ touchdowns each year, for a total of 40, and has contributed 1 further TD and 83 receptions in the passing game. He has, however, fumbled 9 times in his past two seasons.
So, to sumarise, yardage is excellent, touchdown numbers are very good but not great (as in, "great" great), his fumbling is a concern.
Johnson has only had 2 years in the NFL but has used them well. His total yardage over those two years is 3234 yards. 2006 of those yards came last season. He has had 605 rushing attempts, and averages 5.3 yards a carry. His 93 receptions and 4 receiving TD's add to his 23 TD's rushing. He has fumbled 4 times over two years.
In summary then, CJ's total yardage is more impressive when compared to his number of rushing attempts, but we must take into account the fact that 2006 yards came in a single season. How will next year turn out? He does, though, contribute more in the receiving game, and has no fumble issues.
Advantage: Johnson. His stats show that he combines explosiveness with reliability.
Moving on to Team Situation
Peterson has always played for strong teams. His high school team was dominant, thanks to his efforts. He played college ball at Oklahoma, where he broke most of the university's rushing records, and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.
So he has always played behind a strong offensive line. He has also always been the centrepiece of his teams offense, particularly when the bumbling Tarvaris Jackson was under centre and even now with Brett Favre still probably, quite likely, hopefully the starting QB in Minnesota. Credit to Peterson, he has always produced the goods when the expectation is on him. His teams have been generally run first offenses to accomodate him, but the current Vikings have a good passing game and the Oklahoma Sooners also had a strong passing option offense.
Johnson played college ball at East Carolina and, like Peterson, holds most of that university's records for rushing. Obviously, the standard of competition he faced was lower than that Peterson played against, but his teammates were also significantly inferior (he did have current NFLer Audrae Allison at wideout. He currently plays for..the Vikings. A coincidence I feel is worth mentioning!).
Johnson's NFL team, the Tennessee Titans are a well coached and decent team but they struggled badly last year, going 2-6 to start the season, before they took most of their offense away from the erratic Vince Young' hands and into Johnson's, at which point they promptly started winning. Tennessee were a playoff team in 2008, but on the whole are certainly weaker than the Vikings.
Advantage: Johnson. A close one, because obviously the team Peterson plays for will gear themselves up to be a running team to maximise his talent. But on the whole, the teams he has played for have been able to do so because they are already good teams. Make Peterson and Johnson swap teams and who does better or worse? I say that Johnson does a whole lot better for certain.
Finally, other factors (what Americans would call Intangibles)
Peterson came to the NFL with the millstone of being injury prone hanging around his fragile collarbone. So far, the worst case scenario of broken arms and legs has failed to manifest, but he has suffered from a torn LCL in his right knee as well as hamstring issues.
Johnson has suffered no significant injuries over his career. It is worth noting, though, that Johnson remains primarily a openfield threat and does not run the ball into traffic between the tackle as much as Peterson, generally because he has had some other bigger back on his team to do that so he doesn't have to (Lendale White was certainly big...). Peterson is the prototypical 'every down back', pardon the use of the cliche. He is built like an outside toilet on steroids and can run over defenders as well as run away from them.
Peterson runs 'only' a 4.4 forty, compared to Johnson's greyhound-esque 4.24, but he has far greater ability at shoving defenders away and turning what would only have been perhaps 15 yards in 50. Of course, he is less likely to gain 70 yards just by running away from everyone; few can truly do that, even in the NFL, and Johnson is one of them.
Advantage: Got to go with Peterson. He is everything you would want a top running back to be.
Which brings us to: Who is Better?
A very tough choice here. Whoever picks after me in the hypothetical pick whatever NFL back you want draft is going to get a brilliant player also. Peterson is a true NFL feature back in the same like as Ladainian Tomlinson, Emmit Smith and Eric Dickerson. Johnson is quite simply an athletic marvel, a man born to skin defences much like Marshall Faulk, Barry Sanders and the late Walter Payton before him.
When push comes to shove, I'm going to use the Buffalo Bills plan. They took C.J. Spiller using the logic that, no matter how bad things get, there will always be the chance of a touchdown out of the blue. With that thought in mind, I'm going to say Chris Johnson is the winner.
GM
Monday 21 June 2010
The County Scene - Week 13: Early Ashes bragging rights available
As I mentioned last week, there were a few warm-up matches taking place last week, before tomorrow's ODI opener at the Rose Bowl between England and Australia - here's how they went:
Australia 231-9 (50 overs) (Paine 83 off 122) beat Ireland 192 (42 overs) (Hopes 9-1-14-5) by 39 runs
England 213-3 (33.4 overs) (Kieswetter 69 off 65, Strauss 61 off 43) beat Scotland 211 (49.5 overs) (Coetzer 51 off 63) by 7 wickets with 98 balls remaining
Australia 277-5 (47.5 overs) (White 106 off 120, M Hussey 72* off 99) beat Middlesex 275-5 (50 overs) (Shah 92 off 123, Newman 55 off 40) by 5 wickets with 13 balls remaining
Whilst England's win was every bit as convincing as it looks, the same cannot be said of the Australians. They were made to sweat in both games before an individual performance turned the game in their favour - despite all the regular faces being in the squad, they have yet to fire as a team. 231 was probably below par on a sticky Dublin wicket, especially when Will Porterfield and Paul Stirling helped Ireland reach 80-0 in the 11th over. A couple of quick Ryan Harris strikes followed by outstanding nagging medium pace from James Hopes folded the innings. Hopes is not really a strike bowler but used the conditions well in this instance - I still don't think he'll play a massive part on English pitches. Again, they struggled against Middlesex, first with the ball, where only Doug Bollinger came out with respectable figures (8-1-24-3). They then collapsed to 64-4 with the bat, before Cameron White, getting his priorities wrong playing for his country rather than Somerset, rode to the rescue. Interestingly, Middlesex fielded both overseas players, T20 star David Warner and legend Adam Gilchrist against their own country!
So what will England offer, now they seem to finally grasp the limited overs game? It will be interesting to see how Craig Kieswetter, a man I would turn for, gets on. He has yet to be tested at this level, relying on sheer hitting ability in the shorter form. He again reverted to this natural game in his 3rd ODI against Bangladesh, having looked susceptible to spin in the earlier games. Nathan Hauritz is not of that calibre but the overall attack is much more potent and so will test him. Strauss looked aggressive in Edinburgh and will want to prove his worth as a batsman, not just a captain (something I could do with learning!). What will Broad and Anderson offer? Broad was rested during the Bangladesh tests to undergo a strengthening programme (we know he can bowl in Test matches and he's quick enough so why bother?) and looked rubbish against Scotland (8-0-49-0), so needs to bounce back quickly. Anderson looked rusty in the tests after missing out on the latter half of the winter but will probably cause more problems than any other seamer in the squad. Spinners Michael Yardy and Graeme Swann should prosper. 3-2 England.
Finally, a very brief Victoria Sponge Lad of the Week - celebrating fine British performance this week:
Anthony McGrath (Yorkshire) - 73* off 50 balls (5 x 4s, 4 x 6s) in a 17 run win over local rivals Lancashire - a man for the big occasion as ever.
Gareth Batty (Surrey) - 4-0-23-4 to restrict Middlesex in another local derby to 128-9. The side got home with ease by 9 wickets
Ravi Bopara (Essex) - 4-0-13-3 followed up by 42 off 32 (5 x 4s) to seal a very comfortable win for his in-form side against Glamorgan.
Ali Brown (Notts) - 73 off 52 (6 x 4s, 3 x 6s) in an 11 run win over Durham
Tom Smith (Lancashire) - 2-0-10-0 and 51 off 55 (3 x 4s) against Warwickshire. The numbers don't look that impressive, but when your side squeezes home by 5 wickets with one ball left, runs and economiacal overs count!
I went for five nominations purely because there were so many matches this week. As for the winner... Ravi Bopara, all-round LAD
RM
Australia 231-9 (50 overs) (Paine 83 off 122) beat Ireland 192 (42 overs) (Hopes 9-1-14-5) by 39 runs
England 213-3 (33.4 overs) (Kieswetter 69 off 65, Strauss 61 off 43) beat Scotland 211 (49.5 overs) (Coetzer 51 off 63) by 7 wickets with 98 balls remaining
Australia 277-5 (47.5 overs) (White 106 off 120, M Hussey 72* off 99) beat Middlesex 275-5 (50 overs) (Shah 92 off 123, Newman 55 off 40) by 5 wickets with 13 balls remaining
Whilst England's win was every bit as convincing as it looks, the same cannot be said of the Australians. They were made to sweat in both games before an individual performance turned the game in their favour - despite all the regular faces being in the squad, they have yet to fire as a team. 231 was probably below par on a sticky Dublin wicket, especially when Will Porterfield and Paul Stirling helped Ireland reach 80-0 in the 11th over. A couple of quick Ryan Harris strikes followed by outstanding nagging medium pace from James Hopes folded the innings. Hopes is not really a strike bowler but used the conditions well in this instance - I still don't think he'll play a massive part on English pitches. Again, they struggled against Middlesex, first with the ball, where only Doug Bollinger came out with respectable figures (8-1-24-3). They then collapsed to 64-4 with the bat, before Cameron White, getting his priorities wrong playing for his country rather than Somerset, rode to the rescue. Interestingly, Middlesex fielded both overseas players, T20 star David Warner and legend Adam Gilchrist against their own country!
So what will England offer, now they seem to finally grasp the limited overs game? It will be interesting to see how Craig Kieswetter, a man I would turn for, gets on. He has yet to be tested at this level, relying on sheer hitting ability in the shorter form. He again reverted to this natural game in his 3rd ODI against Bangladesh, having looked susceptible to spin in the earlier games. Nathan Hauritz is not of that calibre but the overall attack is much more potent and so will test him. Strauss looked aggressive in Edinburgh and will want to prove his worth as a batsman, not just a captain (something I could do with learning!). What will Broad and Anderson offer? Broad was rested during the Bangladesh tests to undergo a strengthening programme (we know he can bowl in Test matches and he's quick enough so why bother?) and looked rubbish against Scotland (8-0-49-0), so needs to bounce back quickly. Anderson looked rusty in the tests after missing out on the latter half of the winter but will probably cause more problems than any other seamer in the squad. Spinners Michael Yardy and Graeme Swann should prosper. 3-2 England.
Finally, a very brief Victoria Sponge Lad of the Week - celebrating fine British performance this week:
Anthony McGrath (Yorkshire) - 73* off 50 balls (5 x 4s, 4 x 6s) in a 17 run win over local rivals Lancashire - a man for the big occasion as ever.
Gareth Batty (Surrey) - 4-0-23-4 to restrict Middlesex in another local derby to 128-9. The side got home with ease by 9 wickets
Ravi Bopara (Essex) - 4-0-13-3 followed up by 42 off 32 (5 x 4s) to seal a very comfortable win for his in-form side against Glamorgan.
Ali Brown (Notts) - 73 off 52 (6 x 4s, 3 x 6s) in an 11 run win over Durham
Tom Smith (Lancashire) - 2-0-10-0 and 51 off 55 (3 x 4s) against Warwickshire. The numbers don't look that impressive, but when your side squeezes home by 5 wickets with one ball left, runs and economiacal overs count!
I went for five nominations purely because there were so many matches this week. As for the winner... Ravi Bopara, all-round LAD
RM
Sunday 20 June 2010
Dial D for Dodgy Decisions and Dire Defending
When Charlize Theron and associated others made the draw for the World Cup back in December, everybody wondered which would be the much-fabled "Group of Death". Sadly, there was nothing on the scale of the France/Italy/Holland group of Euro 2008, or the England/Argentina/Nigeria/Sweden-when-they-were-younger group from 2002. But, along with Group G (Brazil, Portugal, Cote d'Ivoire... North Korea), many pundits had a suspicion that Group D may have been tricky and so far we've seen some of the most intriguing incidents and matches coming out of that group, consisting of Germany, Ghana, Serbia and Australia, for those of you currently living in the wilderness (such as the forests of Maine) and unable to follow the tournament sufficiently.
We started off with Ghana vs Serbia. Not the most exciting of matches, but one which was closely fought and hinged on two major turning points. With Ghana dominating possession, Aleksander Lukovic's sending off made things that bit more difficult for the Serbs - two deserved bookings it has to be said. But his madness was nothing compared to that of Zdravko Kuzmanovic, who deliberately handled a cross and conceded an 85th minute penalty, which the impressively mobile Asamoah Gyan slotted home for the win. To prove that they hadn't learned their lesson, Nemanja Vidic did exactly the same thing against Germany. However, Lukas Podolski betrayed his non-German roots and fluffed the spot kick. More on the idiot referee in that game later.
Then there came the Germany vs Australia game. Vibrant young German attacking talent vs Craig Moore and Lucas Neill at centre-back spelt mismatch from the word go. When you add in the bizarre dismissal of Tim Cahill on 55 minutes for a mistimed but pretty innocuous challenge on Bastian Schweinsteiger and it turned into a rout. The German movement both on and off the ball was outstanding, as was the pinpoint accuracy of their passing. I lost count of the number of times they got in behind the Aussie defence, such was their lack of pace. Mark Schwarzer was particularly disappointing, given his pedigree, for he totally failed to dominate his area and command his troops in front of him. Their first goal remains my second favourite of the tournament (my favourite being the USA vs England one but for totally different reasons). Here is how that goal was created:
Black arrows show ball movement, blue shows Germans off the ball, red sho
ws Aussies off the ball. Schweinsteiger, sitting deep as he does in the twilight of his career, pings out an accurate pass out right towards playmaker Mesut Ozil, who shows instant control. He then shows defender Jason Culina the inside before cutting back out past him. In the meantime young Thomas Mueller has made a run out wide, but has kept it diagonal so as to beat the offside trap, something the Germans managed many times during the match. Chipperfield wide on the right plays him on as Ozil slots a pass straight to his feet. At this point, Wilkshire, who should have been covering Mueller, moves into the box, anticipating a ball to the feet of goalpoacher extraordinaire Miroslav Klose. None of the Australians have picked up the deep run of Podolski. Mueller spots him and pulls in back instead of across, leaving the striker to lash the ball home past Schwarzer. The diagram shows the move in sketchy detail (we need to invest in chalkboard technology), with the main protagonists labelled. You should get the idea anyway - the movement off the ball was not picked up by the clunky Aussie defenders and they paid the price dearly.
To be fair to the Aussies, they came back well in their next game against Ghana, particularly as they lost Harry Kewell in the 24th minute to yet another contraversial red card. This time, the referee got it spot on. I'm pretty sure the handball on the line was not deliberate from Kewell, but it prevented a clear scoring opportunity, so it had to be red and a penalty, which Gyan again scored. And celebrated with another dance, which I'm getting rather sick of truth be told. Yes, it was funny when pensioner Roger Milla did it, and indeed when the hosts opened their account against Mexico but does everyone have to do it? Fair enough if it's African culture like the vuvuzela but why do Slovenia do it? Anyway, this penalty levelled the game after Brett Holman gave the Socceroos the lead after yet another African goalkeeping howler from Richard Kingson (only the Cote d'Ivoire keeper remians unblemished - Brazil to come tonight!), who spilt a comfortable free kick right into Holman's path. It took a lot of spirit from a group of players lacking real quality to hold on for 3/4 of the match with 10 men, but they did and still created chances. There is still hope against Serbia... but not a lot.
OK, so Germany vs Serbia. You'd be forgiven for thinking the Aussie game was a flash in the pan for team Joachim Low after this. But the match was ruined by a fussy Spanish referee, who showed two yellow cards to Klose which certainly wouldn't be given by many others. Klose was simply doing a good job tracking back and, sure, tripped a couple of players, but that is no reason to be sent for an early bath. Serbia scored soon after through Anfield-bound Milan Jovanovic and after Podolski's scuffed penalty, there was no way back for the Germans. All of which means it's more likely we'll have an England vs Germany second round match, which I'm sure we'll all enjoy in the office!
The final group games are on Wednesday. Literally anything can still happen in the Group of Death
RM
We started off with Ghana vs Serbia. Not the most exciting of matches, but one which was closely fought and hinged on two major turning points. With Ghana dominating possession, Aleksander Lukovic's sending off made things that bit more difficult for the Serbs - two deserved bookings it has to be said. But his madness was nothing compared to that of Zdravko Kuzmanovic, who deliberately handled a cross and conceded an 85th minute penalty, which the impressively mobile Asamoah Gyan slotted home for the win. To prove that they hadn't learned their lesson, Nemanja Vidic did exactly the same thing against Germany. However, Lukas Podolski betrayed his non-German roots and fluffed the spot kick. More on the idiot referee in that game later.
Then there came the Germany vs Australia game. Vibrant young German attacking talent vs Craig Moore and Lucas Neill at centre-back spelt mismatch from the word go. When you add in the bizarre dismissal of Tim Cahill on 55 minutes for a mistimed but pretty innocuous challenge on Bastian Schweinsteiger and it turned into a rout. The German movement both on and off the ball was outstanding, as was the pinpoint accuracy of their passing. I lost count of the number of times they got in behind the Aussie defence, such was their lack of pace. Mark Schwarzer was particularly disappointing, given his pedigree, for he totally failed to dominate his area and command his troops in front of him. Their first goal remains my second favourite of the tournament (my favourite being the USA vs England one but for totally different reasons). Here is how that goal was created:
Black arrows show ball movement, blue shows Germans off the ball, red sho
ws Aussies off the ball. Schweinsteiger, sitting deep as he does in the twilight of his career, pings out an accurate pass out right towards playmaker Mesut Ozil, who shows instant control. He then shows defender Jason Culina the inside before cutting back out past him. In the meantime young Thomas Mueller has made a run out wide, but has kept it diagonal so as to beat the offside trap, something the Germans managed many times during the match. Chipperfield wide on the right plays him on as Ozil slots a pass straight to his feet. At this point, Wilkshire, who should have been covering Mueller, moves into the box, anticipating a ball to the feet of goalpoacher extraordinaire Miroslav Klose. None of the Australians have picked up the deep run of Podolski. Mueller spots him and pulls in back instead of across, leaving the striker to lash the ball home past Schwarzer. The diagram shows the move in sketchy detail (we need to invest in chalkboard technology), with the main protagonists labelled. You should get the idea anyway - the movement off the ball was not picked up by the clunky Aussie defenders and they paid the price dearly.To be fair to the Aussies, they came back well in their next game against Ghana, particularly as they lost Harry Kewell in the 24th minute to yet another contraversial red card. This time, the referee got it spot on. I'm pretty sure the handball on the line was not deliberate from Kewell, but it prevented a clear scoring opportunity, so it had to be red and a penalty, which Gyan again scored. And celebrated with another dance, which I'm getting rather sick of truth be told. Yes, it was funny when pensioner Roger Milla did it, and indeed when the hosts opened their account against Mexico but does everyone have to do it? Fair enough if it's African culture like the vuvuzela but why do Slovenia do it? Anyway, this penalty levelled the game after Brett Holman gave the Socceroos the lead after yet another African goalkeeping howler from Richard Kingson (only the Cote d'Ivoire keeper remians unblemished - Brazil to come tonight!), who spilt a comfortable free kick right into Holman's path. It took a lot of spirit from a group of players lacking real quality to hold on for 3/4 of the match with 10 men, but they did and still created chances. There is still hope against Serbia... but not a lot.
OK, so Germany vs Serbia. You'd be forgiven for thinking the Aussie game was a flash in the pan for team Joachim Low after this. But the match was ruined by a fussy Spanish referee, who showed two yellow cards to Klose which certainly wouldn't be given by many others. Klose was simply doing a good job tracking back and, sure, tripped a couple of players, but that is no reason to be sent for an early bath. Serbia scored soon after through Anfield-bound Milan Jovanovic and after Podolski's scuffed penalty, there was no way back for the Germans. All of which means it's more likely we'll have an England vs Germany second round match, which I'm sure we'll all enjoy in the office!
The final group games are on Wednesday. Literally anything can still happen in the Group of Death
RM
Saturday 19 June 2010
Balanced Baltimore to dominate in AFC North
I'd like to say that the NFL season is fast approaching, but it isn't. There are still a few months to go before we get back underway with the regular season, but there is still plenty of interest around the league, particularly with star players such as Albert Haynesworth and Darelle Revis holding out for new contracts. One of the stronger divisions in 2010 will be the AFC North, with three teams with legitimate claims to the title. And the Cleveland Browns. Various legal circumstances may have damaged the chances of one of these teams, but that will not prevent some serious competition in the big match-ups. Something for us all to look forward to. Here are my thoughts on these teams:
Cincinnati Bengals - A team with a ProBowl QB who didn't even fire last year, the Bengals bounced
back from tragedy to seal an unlikely divisional title in 2009. Then were one and done in the playoffs. Particularly impressive on defense, despite the bereavement of coordinator Mike Zimmer, who lost his wife early in the season, the Bengals will need to keep it tight again, particularly with the improving offenses around them in the division. Any team with a man called Tank Johnson in their line generally means business. Rey Maualuga had an impressive rookie year at OLB and will need to push on if the team are to move forwards. There are no real outstanding individuals in this defense, they are simply organised to be greater than the sum of their parts. The key factor in the Bengals' success last year was retaining the services of free agent RB Cedric Benson, who finally showed his first-round draft capabilities with his first year over 1000 yards. The shift to the running game was necessitated by Carson Palmer's dip in form, where he couldn't seem to find his receivers on several occasions. Of course this was not helped by Chris Henry dying after coming off the back of a truck (did he fall or was he pushed?). Rookie TE Jermaine Gresham will add protection and a viable passing option, but I feel the only way is down for Palmer. New WR from Tampa Antonio Bryant must complement No.85 if they are to win the division again. Which they won't. 10-6 (same as last year but others have improved)
Baltimore Ravens - much as I hate to say this, my brother being a Ravens fan and everyt
hing, but they do look good. It is how they've added to the team that impresses me, rather than the strength of what they already had. However, all this talk of a Superbowl is a) premature, seeing as we haven't even had training camp yet and b) unrealistic, given the limitations of their QB. Joe Flacco is a good kid, don't get me wrong, but he is not truly capable of providing his receiving corps with the big plays that they need on a consistent basis. When you have targets like Anquon Boldin, Derrick Mason and Todd Heap, you always have chances but Flacco often prefers to keep it simple. In the defense, the production of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed will not stay so high forever and so cannot be relied upon so heavily to make plays season after season. To that end, the line has been strengthened with Sergio Kindle (also a LB) and the simply massive Terrence Cody drafted. Caution must be given at this stage, don't expect great numbers out of rookie D-Linemen. Give it a little while to settle while they adjust to the brutality of pro O-Lines. All this said, they should comfortably win the division and I reckon defeat in the Championship match is where they'll end up. 12-4.
Pittsburgh Steelers - how we all laughed when Ben Roethlisberger allegedly assaulted a woma
n in a nightclub. Unless you were that woman, any of her friends or family, Roethlisberger's lawyer (not again Ben!) and anybody associated with the franchise that is the most successful in NFL history. Not to condone assault in toilets, far from it, but the Steelers are the team most people love to hate, so to see their greatest weapon suspended for the first six games of the season amused many! Replacing him with a man who got pushed out by a rookie at Tampa Bay last year is a risk, but that is what Mike Tomlin appears to be leaning towards with Byron Leftwich, purely because of his experience. He will not post the numbers of Big Ben, not even close. However, they could still find success, both in stopping the run and from their own rushing game, if Rashard Mendenhall continues to flourish. With the WRs output reduced by having Leftwich aiming for them early on, the defense looks the better half of the team, with genuine stars such as LaMarr Woodley and Troy Polamalu (much depends on his fitness this year). When Roethlisberger returns, it will take time for him to re-find his feet so he'd better hope the O-Line protects him a bit better, as he took a lot of unnecessary hits last year, although mobility has never really been his thing. Will Heinz Ward continue to put up the big numbers? Hard to say. It could be an unpredictable year of change in Pittsburgh. 7-9
Cleveland Browns - aka team Josh Cribbs if the interview with NFL.com is anything to go by. The ma
n claims to be a WR but is in reality a special teams specialist, with numerous kick-off returns for TDs throughout his 6 year pro career. Best thing to do is just boot the ball out for a touchback! He also claims he'd play defense if asked. Arrogant cock. Incidentally, the Browns' defense looks much improved, particularly at CB with Joe Haden drafted and Sheldon Brown picked up in a trade from the Eagles, much to my irritation as we are struggling for a secondary right now! Jake Delhomme is the new starting QB, so expect a lot of red zone interceptions and near misses. Will Colt McCoy have to step into the breach? No, not in the short-term anyway. Benjamin Watson at TE looks a good acquisition from the Patriots, as does the re-signing on a one-year deal of RB Jerome Harrison, who can do a job in a committee backfield. All this said, aside from CB the overall depth looks too thin on the ground for much progress to be made. They can reasonably expect to go 0-6 in divisional matchups and 3-13 overall.
Cincinnati Bengals - A team with a ProBowl QB who didn't even fire last year, the Bengals bounced
back from tragedy to seal an unlikely divisional title in 2009. Then were one and done in the playoffs. Particularly impressive on defense, despite the bereavement of coordinator Mike Zimmer, who lost his wife early in the season, the Bengals will need to keep it tight again, particularly with the improving offenses around them in the division. Any team with a man called Tank Johnson in their line generally means business. Rey Maualuga had an impressive rookie year at OLB and will need to push on if the team are to move forwards. There are no real outstanding individuals in this defense, they are simply organised to be greater than the sum of their parts. The key factor in the Bengals' success last year was retaining the services of free agent RB Cedric Benson, who finally showed his first-round draft capabilities with his first year over 1000 yards. The shift to the running game was necessitated by Carson Palmer's dip in form, where he couldn't seem to find his receivers on several occasions. Of course this was not helped by Chris Henry dying after coming off the back of a truck (did he fall or was he pushed?). Rookie TE Jermaine Gresham will add protection and a viable passing option, but I feel the only way is down for Palmer. New WR from Tampa Antonio Bryant must complement No.85 if they are to win the division again. Which they won't. 10-6 (same as last year but others have improved)Baltimore Ravens - much as I hate to say this, my brother being a Ravens fan and everyt
hing, but they do look good. It is how they've added to the team that impresses me, rather than the strength of what they already had. However, all this talk of a Superbowl is a) premature, seeing as we haven't even had training camp yet and b) unrealistic, given the limitations of their QB. Joe Flacco is a good kid, don't get me wrong, but he is not truly capable of providing his receiving corps with the big plays that they need on a consistent basis. When you have targets like Anquon Boldin, Derrick Mason and Todd Heap, you always have chances but Flacco often prefers to keep it simple. In the defense, the production of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed will not stay so high forever and so cannot be relied upon so heavily to make plays season after season. To that end, the line has been strengthened with Sergio Kindle (also a LB) and the simply massive Terrence Cody drafted. Caution must be given at this stage, don't expect great numbers out of rookie D-Linemen. Give it a little while to settle while they adjust to the brutality of pro O-Lines. All this said, they should comfortably win the division and I reckon defeat in the Championship match is where they'll end up. 12-4.Pittsburgh Steelers - how we all laughed when Ben Roethlisberger allegedly assaulted a woma
n in a nightclub. Unless you were that woman, any of her friends or family, Roethlisberger's lawyer (not again Ben!) and anybody associated with the franchise that is the most successful in NFL history. Not to condone assault in toilets, far from it, but the Steelers are the team most people love to hate, so to see their greatest weapon suspended for the first six games of the season amused many! Replacing him with a man who got pushed out by a rookie at Tampa Bay last year is a risk, but that is what Mike Tomlin appears to be leaning towards with Byron Leftwich, purely because of his experience. He will not post the numbers of Big Ben, not even close. However, they could still find success, both in stopping the run and from their own rushing game, if Rashard Mendenhall continues to flourish. With the WRs output reduced by having Leftwich aiming for them early on, the defense looks the better half of the team, with genuine stars such as LaMarr Woodley and Troy Polamalu (much depends on his fitness this year). When Roethlisberger returns, it will take time for him to re-find his feet so he'd better hope the O-Line protects him a bit better, as he took a lot of unnecessary hits last year, although mobility has never really been his thing. Will Heinz Ward continue to put up the big numbers? Hard to say. It could be an unpredictable year of change in Pittsburgh. 7-9Cleveland Browns - aka team Josh Cribbs if the interview with NFL.com is anything to go by. The ma
n claims to be a WR but is in reality a special teams specialist, with numerous kick-off returns for TDs throughout his 6 year pro career. Best thing to do is just boot the ball out for a touchback! He also claims he'd play defense if asked. Arrogant cock. Incidentally, the Browns' defense looks much improved, particularly at CB with Joe Haden drafted and Sheldon Brown picked up in a trade from the Eagles, much to my irritation as we are struggling for a secondary right now! Jake Delhomme is the new starting QB, so expect a lot of red zone interceptions and near misses. Will Colt McCoy have to step into the breach? No, not in the short-term anyway. Benjamin Watson at TE looks a good acquisition from the Patriots, as does the re-signing on a one-year deal of RB Jerome Harrison, who can do a job in a committee backfield. All this said, aside from CB the overall depth looks too thin on the ground for much progress to be made. They can reasonably expect to go 0-6 in divisional matchups and 3-13 overall.RM
Thursday 17 June 2010
World Cup Musings: The First Group Games
It occured to me during the first round of group games how little you can actually tell about the outcome of the tournament. So Brazil scraped past North Korea - it doesn't give a true indication of their squad strength and form. Spain got beat but that doesn't mean that Honduras and Chile will also roll them over. Germany may actually play attractive football throughout for a change, or they may have simply flourished against an abysmal Australia. All we can offer is conjecture for now - the second round of games currently in progression will give a much stronger indication of the favourites.
As for my own unique highlights, it had to be the moment when Mikkel Beckmann came on for Denmark against Holland. Tenuous links in my mind drew me to a former Middlesbrough and Derby striker and a random sporting lookalike. What do you think?
As for my own unique highlights, it had to be the moment when Mikkel Beckmann came on for Denmark against Holland. Tenuous links in my mind drew me to a former Middlesbrough and Derby striker and a random sporting lookalike. What do you think?
My mind works in mysterious ways. Here are the conversations the BtC team have been having over the past few days. RM
GM: There has basically been a premium on attacking talent at the same time that a swathe of defensive-minded teams have emerged. Some, like Japan and Switzerland have gotten the wins, but in both cases it was down to the opponents ineptitude than their own good work. The Swiss were good, to be fair. Solidly organised, but they would have not got any more than a 0-0 if it wasn't for the spanish defence failing miserably to do their job. The defensive frailties that were papered over at Euro 2008 I think will come back to haunt them eventually; as I have already predicted against Germany in the semis. Japan benefited from playing an inept and incompetent Cameroon who, lack of form or not, delivered a performance that disgraced Africa. Naivety and laziness on show in abundance as they failed completely to up the tempo when 1-0 down, and to involve Eto'o in the game. No-one on the Japan team stood out except perhaps Tulio Tanaka at CB.
RM: I don't necessarily believe that this World Cup will be defined by defensive solidity. Both Switzerland and North Korea were really well organised but this was essentially their World Cup Final against the two favourites feeling their way into the competition. With varying results of course! Brazil looked strong from 1-11, with Robinho finally showing what he's capable of to the people of Manchester. Maicon looked like Cafu and Michel Bastos also impressed with his bombing runs forward. In fact, I've never seen a more solid Brazilian back 5. There is more to come there. But Spain have always been a confidence team and with a guaranteed tough second round match coming, it's difficult to see if they pick themselves up. Villa and Torres both lacked sharpness and Iniesta looked impotent. Jesus Navas was the only threat when he came on and must start next time. They ran out of heart, something the Swiss were never short of. They'll still go nowhere in the tournament!
GM: The north Koreans, should be lauded for their combative display against Brazil. Well done to the korean number 9 for his passion (see crying at the anthem). And he's not even from north korea!
RM: His family had been seized by the Dear Leader, he needed to perfom if he wanted to see them again.
GM: Well done also to New Zealand for their deserved result. Slovakia actually looked decent in attack apart from the fact that they have the scoring potential of a burns victim with no penis.
RM: Something they have in common with Italy - I know I said Cameroon would beat them in the second round (you're right they were truly awful against an average Japan side), and their performance gave me evidence to back it up - you'll never see the holders look so shaky in their defence. Sorry, see France 2002. Cannavaro looked past it and horribly out of position for the goal. With Buffon out, their is no player in the vital Italian defence to inspire confidence. An early crash out is still on the cards, but they and maybe Spain will be the only big guns to fall early (Spain only because of the draw really)
GM: Italy were simply abject in front of goal; Gilardino is woeful. Cassano and Pazzini should be their front two -neither are in the squad. Lippi relying on the past? Chile looked decent, and struck me as a good attacking outfit. But they're pretty much on their own in that regard. Overall, it has been too easy for teams to play solid defensive football, basically just packing the park and denying space. Too many teams just end up slowing the ball down in the final third and ending up trying to play through about 9 bodies. Maybe the pitches are narrow (they seem like they are), but there just seems to be a chronic lack of pace.Also, the attackers haven't been performing and the world class shots (Ronaldo, Alonso) have been hitting the woodwork. Hopefully, these things are just down to luck and we can still see some more goals in the upcoming matches!
RM: Hope comes from the Germans, who looked so fluid in their movement against the Aussies, although it remains to be seen if they can repeat that against stronger opposition and indeed a team with 11 men. The horse had bolted when Cahill walked but it was still an awful refereeing decision. Tactical analysis on that game to come
Monday 14 June 2010
The County Scene - Week 12: England vs Australia. Really? Again?
I thought that nobody would care about cricket during the World Cup, there are far more important things going on! Then I realise that host nation South Africa have sent their team to the Carribbean for a test series with the West Indies. And, even more surprisingly, I returned from work on the opening day of the tournament (I tried to swap, I really did!) to find my brother watching Somerset's remarkable death bowling against Hampshire. I realised why when I saw the highlights of France vs Uruguay, with which this game clashed! To celebrate the World Cup, I'm giving this week's Lad of the Week an international spin. So here are the nominations for the Jamaican Ginger Cake Lad of the Week:
Kieron Pollard (Somerset) - in the three games that West Indian all-rounder Pollard has played for the Sabres, he has recorded career best bowling and batting figures. We first saw him at Lord's, as Middlesex struggled to hit away his medium pacers. 3-26 off 4 overs was the result, including the key wickets of Owais Shah and Dawid Malan. What followed bordered on sheer brutality. Chasing 156, Somerset slipped to 31-4 off 6 overs. With support from Peter Trego and Zander de Bruyn, Pollard smashed the bowlers to all parts with 7 4s and 7 6s in 89* off 45 balls. There was more to come at the Rose Bowl against Hampshire. Having failed with the bat (only 2 before getting run out), Somerset were left defending 105. Hampshire were 93-4 in the 17th over, before Pollard and Alfonso Thomas (4-2-5-2, the most economical spell of all time) bowled the spells of their lives to fold the Hawks' innings for 97. Pollard wound up with 3.2-0-15-3, including the wicket that shifted the balance, that of the in-form Jimmy Adams (61 off 47, outstanding in the circumstances). Sadly, his lusty hitting was not enough to get the Sabres over the line against Surrey on Saturday, but he's still had an outstanding week!
Adam Gilchrist (Middlesex) - having scored two runs in his first two games for the Crusaders, the knives were beginning to sharpen for the former test star, with whispers that the eyes had gone, something that should really have been raised when you saw some of his keeping in the latter stages of his international career! But you never that natural ability to hit the ball a mile, as well as the nous gathered from years at the very top. Shaun Udal resigned the captaincy midweek, and was replaced by Gilchrist in the short term, after his successes with the Deccan Chargers in the IPL. Neil Dexter will take on the job in the long run. In his first game of skipper, Middlesex's bowling was wayward, conceding 183-6 against an in-form Kent batting lineup. Even Joe Denly got some runs for a change, although Gilly did eventually have him well stumped. But it was with the bat that he led by example, with 106 off 52 (10 4s 7 6s) as the team got home with an over to spare. Now with countryman David Warner in tow, opposition bowlers should watch out!
Dirk Nannes (Nottinghamshire) - another Australian, a left-arm bowler with a knack of picking up wickets at very little cost. Nannes lived up to this billing with three terrific spells this week to propel the Outlaws to the top of the North Division. First up were Worcestershire, restricted to 113-9, with all the bowlers, particularly Steven Mullaney, keeping it tight. Nannes finished with 4-0-20-2. The batsman led by Alex Hales got home in 14 overs, an easy victory by 6 wickets. They had considerably more to chase as Wes Durston of Derbyshire smashed 111 off 59 balls to take his new team to 192-6. All the bowlers took a pasting on this occasion. Except Nannes, 4-0-19-1. In hindsight, this spell probably won Notts the game, although Hales and Samit Patel produced brutal 60s to win the game in 17 overs. Patel starred in another run chase against Worcestershire, but again Nannes made it possible with 4-0-24-2. Which leaves him with 12-0-63-5.
The winner - any T20 hundred is special, but an Adam Gilchrist one is very special... LAD
You have to give credit to the ECB for their scheduling. During the World Cup, they have left a gap between the Bangladesh Tests and ODIs, so that the fans don't miss out on either. Sadly, they have filled this gap with a(nother) series against the Aussies - 5 ODIs to be precise. This after the 5 Test matches, 7 ODIs, 2 T20s, Champions Trophy match and World T20 final in the last year, not to mention the small matter of the winter tour Down Under to come (incidentally, I will be bringing you video analysis of every test match on that tour, with a little written piece day by day). It's just excessive - padding out an already overcrowded schedule. Although I'm sure some of the games may be quite good.
There are a few warm-up games this week - the series starts next Tuesday, minus several thousand vuvuzelas. Tune in if you need a break from the beehive!
RM
Kieron Pollard (Somerset) - in the three games that West Indian all-rounder Pollard has played for the Sabres, he has recorded career best bowling and batting figures. We first saw him at Lord's, as Middlesex struggled to hit away his medium pacers. 3-26 off 4 overs was the result, including the key wickets of Owais Shah and Dawid Malan. What followed bordered on sheer brutality. Chasing 156, Somerset slipped to 31-4 off 6 overs. With support from Peter Trego and Zander de Bruyn, Pollard smashed the bowlers to all parts with 7 4s and 7 6s in 89* off 45 balls. There was more to come at the Rose Bowl against Hampshire. Having failed with the bat (only 2 before getting run out), Somerset were left defending 105. Hampshire were 93-4 in the 17th over, before Pollard and Alfonso Thomas (4-2-5-2, the most economical spell of all time) bowled the spells of their lives to fold the Hawks' innings for 97. Pollard wound up with 3.2-0-15-3, including the wicket that shifted the balance, that of the in-form Jimmy Adams (61 off 47, outstanding in the circumstances). Sadly, his lusty hitting was not enough to get the Sabres over the line against Surrey on Saturday, but he's still had an outstanding week!
Adam Gilchrist (Middlesex) - having scored two runs in his first two games for the Crusaders, the knives were beginning to sharpen for the former test star, with whispers that the eyes had gone, something that should really have been raised when you saw some of his keeping in the latter stages of his international career! But you never that natural ability to hit the ball a mile, as well as the nous gathered from years at the very top. Shaun Udal resigned the captaincy midweek, and was replaced by Gilchrist in the short term, after his successes with the Deccan Chargers in the IPL. Neil Dexter will take on the job in the long run. In his first game of skipper, Middlesex's bowling was wayward, conceding 183-6 against an in-form Kent batting lineup. Even Joe Denly got some runs for a change, although Gilly did eventually have him well stumped. But it was with the bat that he led by example, with 106 off 52 (10 4s 7 6s) as the team got home with an over to spare. Now with countryman David Warner in tow, opposition bowlers should watch out!
Dirk Nannes (Nottinghamshire) - another Australian, a left-arm bowler with a knack of picking up wickets at very little cost. Nannes lived up to this billing with three terrific spells this week to propel the Outlaws to the top of the North Division. First up were Worcestershire, restricted to 113-9, with all the bowlers, particularly Steven Mullaney, keeping it tight. Nannes finished with 4-0-20-2. The batsman led by Alex Hales got home in 14 overs, an easy victory by 6 wickets. They had considerably more to chase as Wes Durston of Derbyshire smashed 111 off 59 balls to take his new team to 192-6. All the bowlers took a pasting on this occasion. Except Nannes, 4-0-19-1. In hindsight, this spell probably won Notts the game, although Hales and Samit Patel produced brutal 60s to win the game in 17 overs. Patel starred in another run chase against Worcestershire, but again Nannes made it possible with 4-0-24-2. Which leaves him with 12-0-63-5.
The winner - any T20 hundred is special, but an Adam Gilchrist one is very special... LAD
You have to give credit to the ECB for their scheduling. During the World Cup, they have left a gap between the Bangladesh Tests and ODIs, so that the fans don't miss out on either. Sadly, they have filled this gap with a(nother) series against the Aussies - 5 ODIs to be precise. This after the 5 Test matches, 7 ODIs, 2 T20s, Champions Trophy match and World T20 final in the last year, not to mention the small matter of the winter tour Down Under to come (incidentally, I will be bringing you video analysis of every test match on that tour, with a little written piece day by day). It's just excessive - padding out an already overcrowded schedule. Although I'm sure some of the games may be quite good.
There are a few warm-up games this week - the series starts next Tuesday, minus several thousand vuvuzelas. Tune in if you need a break from the beehive!
RM
Sunday 13 June 2010
World Cup Musings: Days 1 and 2
This will be a regular series. It's going to be a blend of some lighthearted views on the goings on in South Africa coupled with some tactical analysis, which will come in the form of condensed conversations between myself and Mr. Miller, and all new chalkboards and other flashy graphics! Enjoy.
GM
GM: The opening ceremony was actually bearable for once. Not too cheesy, not too lengthy. Perhaps the Saffers felt that, as long as they didn't push their luck, they could get away without criticism due to the whole "it's Africa's first World Cup, let's just let them do what they do. Let's not seem racist..." attitude. The opener itself was reasonable. Mexico looked talented but lacking in stamina and discipline; South Africa were the opposite. A deserved result for both in the end I feel.
RM: France vs Uruguay was the pig of a game we all knew it would be. France were bereft of ideas and Uruguay played like the axe wielding maniacs they are. But they still looked the more creative - France will still get out the group but will be horribly exposed, probably by Argentina in the second round, a much more organised unit.
GM: France aren't as bad as they seemed. They really aren't. Their problem was the fact that their new formation and tactics hadn't been practised much in advance. They did a reasonable job of attacking the Uruguayan wing-backs and trying to neutralise the midfield clogging that Uruguay wanted to create. The French attackers just had a stinker, particularly Gourcuff. I think they'll do better next game.
RM: I want Greece banned from all future international tournaments, because they're just fucking awful. They lose an early goal and have no response because King Otto knows only one way - soak up the pressure. They were so slow and static when moving the ball, in stark contrast to an industrious South Korea, following the model of their captain! They'll get through to the knockouts, where Mexico will give them a tough game - genuinely could go either way.
GM: The game wasn't that good really. South Korea were artificially boosted by a woeful Greek team. Like you said, they have only one idea. You just can't go into a World Cup with only one idea. Now, as for the other game, I know we both disagree on how impressive Argentina actually were?
RM: Messi was impressive, but the star was Veron. He ran the show for Argentina and sprayed passes all over the park. They didn't have any real problem creating chances, and if Milito was playing from the start over Higuain they would have scored a few more. They have the squad depth and skill in possession to go far.
GM: I just felt that there were a few issues with that win. For one, the Nigerians didn't exactly make things that difficult for them. They looked uncomfortable with their 4-4-2 formation and were too willing to sit back and let Argentina keep the ball. I think Maradona has taken the Argentineans too far along the path of caution. It's all well and good being defensively solid, but not at the expense of the attacking game that won them matches previously. If Cambiasso and Zanetti were in that midfield there would be no need for the others to track back, and they could be more effective in the final third.
RM: And now England. Well as Heskey played tonight (bar the 50 offsides) he cannot start vs Algeria because he took Rooney out the game. His lack of mobility meant Rooney had to drop back and play the anchor role, not where you want your main goal threat. Bring in Barry and push Gerrard up. It really looks as though a Scholes would be good in this team to play a Veron role, pinging passes from a stationary position, calling the shots from midfield. It's clear now that Veron was always a class player, just not with a style suited to the Premier League.
GM: I agree that Heskey had a good game. But the idea that he should now be dropped is frankly a bit ridiculous. It wasn't Heskey's fault that Rooney was ineffective; Rooney was completely out of that game from start to finish, even when the tactics changed and Crouch replaced Big Emile. Heskey caused the US lots of problems, particularly in the air, and actually displayed some good vision. Rooney needed to:
A: get given better service. Within 5 minutes of kickoff the ball started to be hoofed long. Just because Heskey was winning them, doesn't mean his teammates should have kept playing them.
B: ACTUALLY PLAY UP FRONT! There was no need for him to drop so deep. He just got frustrated and wanted the ball more often. And the further back he went, the slower the England attacks became due to his poncing around on the ball.
In my opinion, even taking into account the lack of support he got, Rooney's performance was woeful. There were some positives for England though. The wide game was decent.
RM: Johnson and Lennon linked well down the right, but USA were simply given too much of the ball - better teams will make better use of it. The Yanks just lacked a little finesse in their passing, something England's final ball could also have done with. We'll forget about Rob Green.
And now for some tactical analysis. Today we look at the goal 55 million Englishmen and women thought was going to be the start of England's undefeated World Cup win. 86 minutes later and, well, they are still undefeated...
Black arrows represent the movement of the ball, coloured arrows are the movements of the players on each team.
In blue, USA (4-4-2, really 4-2-2-2)
GM
GM: The opening ceremony was actually bearable for once. Not too cheesy, not too lengthy. Perhaps the Saffers felt that, as long as they didn't push their luck, they could get away without criticism due to the whole "it's Africa's first World Cup, let's just let them do what they do. Let's not seem racist..." attitude. The opener itself was reasonable. Mexico looked talented but lacking in stamina and discipline; South Africa were the opposite. A deserved result for both in the end I feel.
RM: France vs Uruguay was the pig of a game we all knew it would be. France were bereft of ideas and Uruguay played like the axe wielding maniacs they are. But they still looked the more creative - France will still get out the group but will be horribly exposed, probably by Argentina in the second round, a much more organised unit.
GM: France aren't as bad as they seemed. They really aren't. Their problem was the fact that their new formation and tactics hadn't been practised much in advance. They did a reasonable job of attacking the Uruguayan wing-backs and trying to neutralise the midfield clogging that Uruguay wanted to create. The French attackers just had a stinker, particularly Gourcuff. I think they'll do better next game.
RM: I want Greece banned from all future international tournaments, because they're just fucking awful. They lose an early goal and have no response because King Otto knows only one way - soak up the pressure. They were so slow and static when moving the ball, in stark contrast to an industrious South Korea, following the model of their captain! They'll get through to the knockouts, where Mexico will give them a tough game - genuinely could go either way.
GM: The game wasn't that good really. South Korea were artificially boosted by a woeful Greek team. Like you said, they have only one idea. You just can't go into a World Cup with only one idea. Now, as for the other game, I know we both disagree on how impressive Argentina actually were?
RM: Messi was impressive, but the star was Veron. He ran the show for Argentina and sprayed passes all over the park. They didn't have any real problem creating chances, and if Milito was playing from the start over Higuain they would have scored a few more. They have the squad depth and skill in possession to go far.
GM: I just felt that there were a few issues with that win. For one, the Nigerians didn't exactly make things that difficult for them. They looked uncomfortable with their 4-4-2 formation and were too willing to sit back and let Argentina keep the ball. I think Maradona has taken the Argentineans too far along the path of caution. It's all well and good being defensively solid, but not at the expense of the attacking game that won them matches previously. If Cambiasso and Zanetti were in that midfield there would be no need for the others to track back, and they could be more effective in the final third.
RM: And now England. Well as Heskey played tonight (bar the 50 offsides) he cannot start vs Algeria because he took Rooney out the game. His lack of mobility meant Rooney had to drop back and play the anchor role, not where you want your main goal threat. Bring in Barry and push Gerrard up. It really looks as though a Scholes would be good in this team to play a Veron role, pinging passes from a stationary position, calling the shots from midfield. It's clear now that Veron was always a class player, just not with a style suited to the Premier League.
GM: I agree that Heskey had a good game. But the idea that he should now be dropped is frankly a bit ridiculous. It wasn't Heskey's fault that Rooney was ineffective; Rooney was completely out of that game from start to finish, even when the tactics changed and Crouch replaced Big Emile. Heskey caused the US lots of problems, particularly in the air, and actually displayed some good vision. Rooney needed to:
A: get given better service. Within 5 minutes of kickoff the ball started to be hoofed long. Just because Heskey was winning them, doesn't mean his teammates should have kept playing them.
B: ACTUALLY PLAY UP FRONT! There was no need for him to drop so deep. He just got frustrated and wanted the ball more often. And the further back he went, the slower the England attacks became due to his poncing around on the ball.
In my opinion, even taking into account the lack of support he got, Rooney's performance was woeful. There were some positives for England though. The wide game was decent.
RM: Johnson and Lennon linked well down the right, but USA were simply given too much of the ball - better teams will make better use of it. The Yanks just lacked a little finesse in their passing, something England's final ball could also have done with. We'll forget about Rob Green.
And now for some tactical analysis. Today we look at the goal 55 million Englishmen and women thought was going to be the start of England's undefeated World Cup win. 86 minutes later and, well, they are still undefeated...
Black arrows represent the movement of the ball, coloured arrows are the movements of the players on each team.
The teams were:
In white, England (4-4-2) 
12 Green
2 Johnson
2 Johnson
20 King
6 Terry
7 Lennon
8 Lampard
4 Gerrard (c)
16 Milner
9 Rooney
21 Heskey
21 Heskey
In blue, USA (4-4-2, really 4-2-2-2)
1 Howard
6 Cherundolo
5 Onyweu
15 Demerit
3 Bocanegra
10 Donovan
13 Clark
4 Bradley
8 Dempsey
17 Altidore
20 Findley
The opening goal comes from Steven Gerrard in the fourth minute. CB King's (20) high through ball down the right flank is headed away for an England throw. Johnson (2) takes the throw, finds Lampard (8) and comes infield. Onweyu for the US (5) bites on Johnson and winger Lennon's (7) movement and steps up out of his centreback spot. Lampard plays the ball to Rooney (9), who comes across the field parallel to the byline.
The US defence focuses on covering Rooney and realigns, with Demerit (15) coming far to the right of the US defence. Bocanegra (3) is forced into covering for Onyewu at CB, but overcompensates in an attempt to help cover Rooney. Rooney moves the ball on to Heskey (21) with his back to goal, who spots the gap in the US defence and plays a flicked pass to his left. Gerrard too has noticed the gap and charges on to Heskey's pass, leaving Michael Bradley (4) of the US for dead; he is too busy denying Lampard any space to shoot.
Both Onweyu and Demerit realise their blunder, but are not fast enough to get back into position, and Gerrard takes the ball into the box and strokes it under a helpless Tim Howard.
This goal demonstrates an impressive bit of quick thinking by England. They are aware that defenders will focus on Wayne Rooney, and thus send him running accross the edge of the box to draw the defence. From there, this goal is created by Gerrard's vision and attacking intent, and Heskey's uncharacteristic quick reading of the situation and perfectly weighted flick on.
The opening goal comes from Steven Gerrard in the fourth minute. CB King's (20) high through ball down the right flank is headed away for an England throw. Johnson (2) takes the throw, finds Lampard (8) and comes infield. Onweyu for the US (5) bites on Johnson and winger Lennon's (7) movement and steps up out of his centreback spot. Lampard plays the ball to Rooney (9), who comes across the field parallel to the byline.
The US defence focuses on covering Rooney and realigns, with Demerit (15) coming far to the right of the US defence. Bocanegra (3) is forced into covering for Onyewu at CB, but overcompensates in an attempt to help cover Rooney. Rooney moves the ball on to Heskey (21) with his back to goal, who spots the gap in the US defence and plays a flicked pass to his left. Gerrard too has noticed the gap and charges on to Heskey's pass, leaving Michael Bradley (4) of the US for dead; he is too busy denying Lampard any space to shoot.
Both Onweyu and Demerit realise their blunder, but are not fast enough to get back into position, and Gerrard takes the ball into the box and strokes it under a helpless Tim Howard.
This goal demonstrates an impressive bit of quick thinking by England. They are aware that defenders will focus on Wayne Rooney, and thus send him running accross the edge of the box to draw the defence. From there, this goal is created by Gerrard's vision and attacking intent, and Heskey's uncharacteristic quick reading of the situation and perfectly weighted flick on.
Thursday 10 June 2010
World Cup Predictions/ The Death of the World Cup Previews
Firstly, I must apologise for the lack of previews for groups F-H. It does take a fair bit of time to write these predictions, and to be honest it's summer and the sun is out; I figured I would rather go outside and actually play some football rather than sitting in the dark thinking of funny medical conditions that epitomise Cote D'Ivoire.
So below are my predictions for this World Cup. I'm going to be perfectly honest, I am more sceptical about them than I have ever been about any other predictions I have made. I do not see this ending well for me.
Thanks to some thieving off of Wikipedia, the predictions come in a nice flow chart style diagram. Unfortunately, it did not translate well on this post, so if you would just like to click on the image below, it'll be enlarged for your viewing delight.
GM
Further to this, I propose to make things interesting between myself and Graeme. Here is a summary of Graeme's predictions:
Out in the groups: Uruguay, South Africa, Greece, South Korea, Algeria, Slovenia, Ghana, Australia, Denmark, Japan, Paraguay, New Zealand, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Chile, Honduras
Out in 2nd round: Nigeria, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Mexico, USA, Cameroon, Portugal
Out in 1/4 final: England, Holland, Argentina, Italy
Out in semis: France, Spain
Runner up: Germany
Winner: Brazil
My own predictions are slightly different. I have Paraguay swapped with Slovakia, Italy swapped with Cameroon and England swapped with France. England and Germany will go out in the semis, with Spain beating Brazil in the final.
For every correct team out in the groups we will receive one point. For every team out in the round of 16 we get two. For every correct beaten 1/4 finalist, we get 4 points. 8 for the semi-finalists (4 point bonus if you get 3rd place right - I have England, Graeme Spain) and 16 each for the correct finalist or runner-up. Play along at home!
RM
So below are my predictions for this World Cup. I'm going to be perfectly honest, I am more sceptical about them than I have ever been about any other predictions I have made. I do not see this ending well for me.
Thanks to some thieving off of Wikipedia, the predictions come in a nice flow chart style diagram. Unfortunately, it did not translate well on this post, so if you would just like to click on the image below, it'll be enlarged for your viewing delight.
GM
Further to this, I propose to make things interesting between myself and Graeme. Here is a summary of Graeme's predictions:
Out in the groups: Uruguay, South Africa, Greece, South Korea, Algeria, Slovenia, Ghana, Australia, Denmark, Japan, Paraguay, New Zealand, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Chile, Honduras
Out in 2nd round: Nigeria, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Mexico, USA, Cameroon, Portugal
Out in 1/4 final: England, Holland, Argentina, Italy
Out in semis: France, Spain
Runner up: Germany
Winner: Brazil
My own predictions are slightly different. I have Paraguay swapped with Slovakia, Italy swapped with Cameroon and England swapped with France. England and Germany will go out in the semis, with Spain beating Brazil in the final.
For every correct team out in the groups we will receive one point. For every team out in the round of 16 we get two. For every correct beaten 1/4 finalist, we get 4 points. 8 for the semi-finalists (4 point bonus if you get 3rd place right - I have England, Graeme Spain) and 16 each for the correct finalist or runner-up. Play along at home!
RM
Wednesday 9 June 2010
A Tour Man's Excuse: Part Two (Part One is buried earlier in the archives)
This is the second part of what has now turned into an piece looking at the upcoming rugby tours. Part one, which is published somewhere back at the end of May, dealt with the Northern Hemisphere visiting teams. This article will have a look at their Southern Hemisphere hosts.
First up, it's South Africa.
South Africa: While their win in Cardiff was impressive due to the way they came back into the game in spite of their unfamiliarity with each other, in the grand scheme of things it isn't very important. The Welsh threw the game away, and the South African's ability to quickly mesh a team of random individuals together probably won't ever be needed again because their first XV is well established and has a big, rich seam of up and coming South African talent to mine.
Kirchner, Aplon and Wynand Olivier in the backs, and Francois Louw and Guthro Steenkamp up front will be given a runout against France that they thoroughly deserve following their standout Super 14 seasons. The Saffers will be interested to see if John Smit's abberation of form and expansion of waist continues, as a tricky decision may then need to be made before the Tri Nations starts.
Pierre Spies must be better incorporated into attacking moves, particularly from set pieces. This can be practised in the second test against Italy. The France encounter will allow his open field game to be expanded.
Pierre Spies is quite good
Rickie Januarie (below) will have to keep up his form, and the back line could do with some more game time to work on quick ball movement.
Australia: The Aussies face England twice, three times if you include the Australian Barbarians, before finishing off against Ireland. If Robbie Deans wants his side to genuinely compete for the 2011 World Cup trophy, then he must win all of these matches. Consistency must be established at this stage, both in mentality and in personnel.
The back division has some challenges ahead. Can Quade Cooper bring his Super 14 form to the table, and will it link with Matt Giteau? The England blitz defence should test this new 10-12 relationship. I would like to see Kurtley Beale (below) on the wing with O'Connor getting all the gametime at fullback. He can be outstanding if he plays enough tests to continue his improvement.
Will Genia will be impressive again, but can his backs capitalise on his fast breaks?
The back row of Elsom, Pocock and Brown should click well. Pocock will be a wall in front of England's midfield, and will prove a pain for the tall English backrowers to remove from the breakdown. He will also cause the Irish as many problems as he did last November.
Pocock
If the pack remains healthy, they will build a stronger link with the backs, somethings lacking for too long. In any case, I think the Aussie backs will end up looking very good this summer.
New Zealand: New Zealand need these tests more than any other nation. Their geographical isolation does provide a tough environment that breeds rugby players like rabbits, but it does mean that the All Blacks are not exposed as much to the differing styles of the Northern Hemisphere teams, and their players cannot move there and gain experience or they will not be selected.
The Welsh and Irish await, and both will provide a reasonable challenge for what is a revamped, but not especially vintage team. The New Zealanders will be looking to test their squad and see if their percieved strengths truly stand up to the test. I think it's almost certain that they will, and I don't predict any of the touring teams getting a win, or coming that close for that matter. The All Blacks must have learned the lessons of France in Wellington last year.
They may wish to start one or both or the Franks brothers in the front row as opposed to Woodcock and Tialata, but considering their strong showings for the Crusaders New Zealand will still be pretty formidable come scrum time. The pack in general will be as bruising and abrasive as usual, but I will be interested to see if Tom Donnelly, Sam Whitelock and Adam Thompson will be as mobile in support as Isaac Ross and Jerome Kaino.
Aaron Cruden
Cowen and Carter should excell together, and Aaron Cruden will probably start for the Maori (1/66,000 Maori I understand) and come off the bench in other tests. Benson Stanley should link well with Conrad Smith in the threequarterline, and Israel Dagg will be dangerous. Fast and agile, with a counterattacking mentality.
Argentina: The Argies will be looking to beat up the Scots and French and affirm that their newfound SANZAR and Tri Nations status is well recieved. While I think they will win one of the two Scotland tests my genuine, non-biased opinion is that Andy Robinson's men will win one of the tests.
The Argentineans need to play test matches even more than the New Zealanders do. This summer, their priority is to establish continuity and cohesion in their back line. The forwards should handle themselves as well as they always do. It will be interesting to see if they can actually go out and properly beat the Scots and French up. Perhaps they will show signs of decline?
Borges and Amorosino on the wings need to see the ball in space, which hasn't happened for quite some time. Contepomi is back at 10 to offset the continuing abscence of Juan Martin Hernandez. If he does not return to the fold soon, the Argentineans are in a fix. As for these tests, Dr. Contepomi below will suffice.
So there we go. My predictions are:
South Africa beat France and Italy. Both are comfortable wins
Australia beat England twice and Ireland. They are relatively close wins
New Zealand beat Wales twice and Ireland. They win big
Argentina beat Scotland once and lose once, and beat a second XV France side. Low scoring?
The South is going to be happy with that!
GM
Remembering Rafa
It all started to go wrong for Rafael Benitez when he decided to grow that goatee beard. In doing so, he had begun to show his age and with it fallibility. Much in the same way that Tom Jones did with his goatee beard - in an attempt to recapture his youth his standards slid (deeper than before unless you like your music straight up the middle of the road) and the underwear of adoring fans was no longer lobbed in his direction. By analogy, the same could be said of Benitez, who became increasingly eccentric towards the end of his six-year tenure at Liverpool. Although the only thing thrown anywhere near him was a suspicious looking beachball in the goalmouth...
Benitez arrived at Anfield with a reputation well earned at Valencia, where he guided a talented but reasonably limited Valencia side to two La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup in his time there. A fresh-faced Benitez was supposed to give Liverpool a fresh start, after the love affair with Gerard Houllier became stale (much like Benitez's own reign ended). It would be hugely unfair to say that he failed to do so in the early days. Although their Premier League form was poor in 2004-05, who can ever forget that night in Istanbul when his side fought so bravely to come from three down to Milan to win on penalties. And don't forget that he got the best out of players previously regarded as average on the Kop - Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann and Jerzy Dudek were all heroic that night. This performance is the one which will always define Benitez and this generation of Liverpool players and can never be taken away from them.
But what is frustrating is how Benitez and his team never managed to kick on from this. The squad was never refreshed in such a way as to meaningfully challenge for serious silverware again. Sure, they got to another Champions League Final in 2007, where Carlo Ancelotti's side exacted their revenge so convincingly, but there is nothing in the proceeding five years which truly justifies Rafa's very recent appointment at Inter, the current UCL holders. First there is his transfer policy, which, as far as I can surmise, is as follows: spend loads of money on loads of equally crap players in the same position. That position being out wide, either in midfield or defence. Here comes another one of my crushing lists. Look away now if you're a Liverpool fan: Jan Kromkamp, Emiliano Insua, Andrea Dossena, Fabio Aurelio, Mark Gonzalez, Albert Riera, Ryan Babel, Jermaine Pennant, a washed up Bolo Zenden, Josemi, Antonio Nunez. When you add in Dirk Kuyt, who is a "grafter" not a genuinely gifted footballer, Andrey Voronin and Lucas Leiva, I think I've made my point. Only to add that one of his two genuinely successful signings, Xabi Alonso, was sold, to be replaced by £20 million crock Alberto Aquilani. And can anyone call proven quality like Fernando Torres a masterstroke of a signing? I know money has been tight at Anfield but Benitez's irresponsibility has bordered on immoral in the current climate.
Then there is the rotation policy. When you have little strength in depth due to financial constraints and you're riding high in the league, as in 08-09, STICK WITH A WINNING TEAM. Can you imagine Benitez at Inter saying "Sorry Wesley, I know your form is excellent and you've single-handedly won matches in the past, but you need a rest - McDonald Mariga will be playing instead." Just no. Another thing that scuppers your chances in a title race is taking your eye off the ball. Engaging in a fight with Sir Alex Ferguson, who is a master craftsman in mind games, is simply unwise. Benitez appeared paranoid and overawed by the elder statesman. Who do you think won the league?
It all went wrong this year and both Benitez and Liverpool need another new leaf turned over. The desperation in fielding a half-fit Torres in an attempt to salvage fourth place was reflective of a man with nothing left to give. And no money to re-arm. Without Torres and with Gerrard horrifically out of form, there was no attacking threat, save for David N'Gog. Only keeper Pepe Reina can hold his head high. But, Benitez has come away with a dream job and several of his ex-charges may follow. Javier Mascherano would be a good fit in the organised Inter system, a superior Thiago Motta. Kuyt, Gerrard and Torres may also be on the move. Liverpool will need a new manager, capable of dealing with egos simply and effectively - getting the focus back onto the pitch for fans and players alike. Roy Hodgson may be that man, rather than England's man.
Benitez accomplished much in six years at Liverpool and is obviously a top class manager. But he outstayed his welcome and this exposed his weaknesses and undesirable character traits to the world. These must be ironed out if he is to succeed at Inter.
US fail to take in surroundings
The USA received a motivational speech from a helicopter pilot today, as encouragement before their World Cup opener against England on Saturday. This pilot inspired the film Black Hawk Down, set in Somalia. I'm not really sure whether the message was "You, like me, can triumph over adversity" or "Welcome to Africa - the genocide here is a bitch. Watch your backs!" Either way, it's a slightly insensitive move towards the host continent (for that is what this tournament has become - Africa's World Cup).
Should have got the guy who splashed down into the Hudson to save confusion.
RM
Benitez arrived at Anfield with a reputation well earned at Valencia, where he guided a talented but reasonably limited Valencia side to two La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup in his time there. A fresh-faced Benitez was supposed to give Liverpool a fresh start, after the love affair with Gerard Houllier became stale (much like Benitez's own reign ended). It would be hugely unfair to say that he failed to do so in the early days. Although their Premier League form was poor in 2004-05, who can ever forget that night in Istanbul when his side fought so bravely to come from three down to Milan to win on penalties. And don't forget that he got the best out of players previously regarded as average on the Kop - Jamie Carragher, Dietmar Hamann and Jerzy Dudek were all heroic that night. This performance is the one which will always define Benitez and this generation of Liverpool players and can never be taken away from them.
But what is frustrating is how Benitez and his team never managed to kick on from this. The squad was never refreshed in such a way as to meaningfully challenge for serious silverware again. Sure, they got to another Champions League Final in 2007, where Carlo Ancelotti's side exacted their revenge so convincingly, but there is nothing in the proceeding five years which truly justifies Rafa's very recent appointment at Inter, the current UCL holders. First there is his transfer policy, which, as far as I can surmise, is as follows: spend loads of money on loads of equally crap players in the same position. That position being out wide, either in midfield or defence. Here comes another one of my crushing lists. Look away now if you're a Liverpool fan: Jan Kromkamp, Emiliano Insua, Andrea Dossena, Fabio Aurelio, Mark Gonzalez, Albert Riera, Ryan Babel, Jermaine Pennant, a washed up Bolo Zenden, Josemi, Antonio Nunez. When you add in Dirk Kuyt, who is a "grafter" not a genuinely gifted footballer, Andrey Voronin and Lucas Leiva, I think I've made my point. Only to add that one of his two genuinely successful signings, Xabi Alonso, was sold, to be replaced by £20 million crock Alberto Aquilani. And can anyone call proven quality like Fernando Torres a masterstroke of a signing? I know money has been tight at Anfield but Benitez's irresponsibility has bordered on immoral in the current climate.
Then there is the rotation policy. When you have little strength in depth due to financial constraints and you're riding high in the league, as in 08-09, STICK WITH A WINNING TEAM. Can you imagine Benitez at Inter saying "Sorry Wesley, I know your form is excellent and you've single-handedly won matches in the past, but you need a rest - McDonald Mariga will be playing instead." Just no. Another thing that scuppers your chances in a title race is taking your eye off the ball. Engaging in a fight with Sir Alex Ferguson, who is a master craftsman in mind games, is simply unwise. Benitez appeared paranoid and overawed by the elder statesman. Who do you think won the league?
It all went wrong this year and both Benitez and Liverpool need another new leaf turned over. The desperation in fielding a half-fit Torres in an attempt to salvage fourth place was reflective of a man with nothing left to give. And no money to re-arm. Without Torres and with Gerrard horrifically out of form, there was no attacking threat, save for David N'Gog. Only keeper Pepe Reina can hold his head high. But, Benitez has come away with a dream job and several of his ex-charges may follow. Javier Mascherano would be a good fit in the organised Inter system, a superior Thiago Motta. Kuyt, Gerrard and Torres may also be on the move. Liverpool will need a new manager, capable of dealing with egos simply and effectively - getting the focus back onto the pitch for fans and players alike. Roy Hodgson may be that man, rather than England's man.
Benitez accomplished much in six years at Liverpool and is obviously a top class manager. But he outstayed his welcome and this exposed his weaknesses and undesirable character traits to the world. These must be ironed out if he is to succeed at Inter.
US fail to take in surroundings
The USA received a motivational speech from a helicopter pilot today, as encouragement before their World Cup opener against England on Saturday. This pilot inspired the film Black Hawk Down, set in Somalia. I'm not really sure whether the message was "You, like me, can triumph over adversity" or "Welcome to Africa - the genocide here is a bitch. Watch your backs!" Either way, it's a slightly insensitive move towards the host continent (for that is what this tournament has become - Africa's World Cup).
Should have got the guy who splashed down into the Hudson to save confusion.
RM
Monday 7 June 2010
The County Scene: Week 11 - Tigers crumble in three as Saffers star in shorter form
Before we hit the main issues in English cricket this week, I would first like to share a nice little moment I experienced earlier this week. I was watching highlights of Zimbabwe vs India from Harare (as you do) and Ravindra Jadeja had just spanked another six over long-off. As is the annoying trend these days, music blared out of the tannoy in response to this blow. What did they play? Jedward. Simple pleasures and all that...
Anyway, in all the excitement caused by the meaningless tri-series in Africa, I almost forgot there was a test match on at Old Trafford. The result was as I predicted:
England 419 (Bell 128, Prior 93, Pietersen 64, Shakib 5-121) beat Bangladesh 216 (Tamim 108, Swann 5-76) and 123 (f/o) (Finn 5-42) by an innings and 80 runs.
It was a pretty spectacular/pathetic collapse by Bangladesh's batsman in the face of some tricky conditions and very capable bowling from England. Finn's figures flattered him slightly, as it was Jimmy Anderson and debutant Ajmal Shahzad who particularly impressed, making use of conventional and reverse swing respectively to totally outclass all bar Tamim, who again played without restraint in another exuberant knock. It took two beauties from Anderson to remove him. And only Abdur Razzak in the lower order was able to play Graeme Swann on a track which has been a haven for many an England spinner over the years (witness Ashley Giles to Damien Martyn in 2005 and Monty Panesar to 11 Pakistanis in 2006). However, the ball of the match goes to Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who removed the untroubled Ian Bell with a ripper that pitched on leg and spat back to hit off. The slow left armers union rejoiced. Well I did anyway. It was a timely innings for both Bell and Prior, who effortlessly made scores after being put under some scrutiny recently. Prior only really got out trying to improvise with the tail-end, but looked much more mature with bat and gloves in this match. This was a positive response to pressure, notably from Steven Davies and Craig Kieswetter. Other than that, not much can be learned from this performance, such was the comprehensive nature of it and the feeble capitualtion of the opposition.
So on now to the Victoria Sponge Lad of the Week Award. Nominations are taken from week 1 of the FP t20 tournament:
Loots Bosman (Derbyshire) - The Falcons got off to a flyer, with two comfortable victories out of two. They managed to beat Leicestershire by 11 runs in their opener, with Bosman top scoring with 39 out of 165-5. The real star was Steffan Jones, who picked up 3-20 off his overs, in the face of an Andrew McDonald onslaught (67 off 50) but the Foxes never quite looked like making it. However, the South African opener, who failed in the World T20 last month but has been brutal in the past up top with Graeme Smith, came to the party big time against Yorkshire. He made 94 off 50 in a partnership of 141 with young West Indian Chesney Hughes (who looks a bit of a find by the way). Despite Aussie Clint McKay picking up 4-33, Bosman lifted his new side to 222-5. Which is massive. Yorkshire never even got close, losing by 65 runs.
Imran Tahir (Warwickshire) - It could be argued that I've plumped for another South African here. Tahir was called up for the 3rd Test against England in the winter as competition for Paul Harris, the left-arm piechucker. However, Tahir is from Pakistan and hadn't got the relevant paperwork to make him eligible to play for the Proteas. Much embarrassment for the selectors as Harris was rapidly re-instated. The fact remains though that Tahir is a man that they will need in the future. Warwickshire have been crap in the Championship this year, a fact I have relished as Somerset have pumped them home and away. However, they are a threat in limited overs cricket. When a bowler bowls 4-0-14-3 in T20, it's been a good day for him. When you add the fact that it was three of Northants' most dangerous international batsmen (Mal Loye, Niall O'Brien, Nicky Boje) that he got out and you realise how big Tahir's contribution was. BUT HE DIDN'T GET MAN OF THE MATCH. Having restricted the opposition to 147-5, way below par, Darren Maddy, a previous winner with Leicestershire, smashed 88 of 42 to lead the side home by 8 wickets. He would not have been able to do this so freely if Tahir hadn't set the game up for him. It's a batsman game...
Michael Yardy (Sussex) - another left-arm spinner and member of the victorious England side, Sussex skipper Yardy's little innocuous darts have proved so hard to get away as the champions got off to a 100% start. Somerset were crushed by 53 runs at Hove, Yardy with 4-0-17-2 (I maintain that James Hildreth's lbw decision was a shocker and a turning point in the match but hey ho). He then went even better with 4-0-14-2 against Middlesex in a 28 run victory. In a low scoring game, it was even more crucial that he contributed with the bat, something he doesn't do as regularly in this form as in county, given his reputation as a nudger and nurdler. Yet a crucial 37* off 28 in a stand with overseas man Dwayne Smith lifted his side to a winning total.
The winner... just because he doesn't get enough recognition. Imran Tahir. LAD.
RM
Anyway, in all the excitement caused by the meaningless tri-series in Africa, I almost forgot there was a test match on at Old Trafford. The result was as I predicted:
England 419 (Bell 128, Prior 93, Pietersen 64, Shakib 5-121) beat Bangladesh 216 (Tamim 108, Swann 5-76) and 123 (f/o) (Finn 5-42) by an innings and 80 runs.
It was a pretty spectacular/pathetic collapse by Bangladesh's batsman in the face of some tricky conditions and very capable bowling from England. Finn's figures flattered him slightly, as it was Jimmy Anderson and debutant Ajmal Shahzad who particularly impressed, making use of conventional and reverse swing respectively to totally outclass all bar Tamim, who again played without restraint in another exuberant knock. It took two beauties from Anderson to remove him. And only Abdur Razzak in the lower order was able to play Graeme Swann on a track which has been a haven for many an England spinner over the years (witness Ashley Giles to Damien Martyn in 2005 and Monty Panesar to 11 Pakistanis in 2006). However, the ball of the match goes to Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan, who removed the untroubled Ian Bell with a ripper that pitched on leg and spat back to hit off. The slow left armers union rejoiced. Well I did anyway. It was a timely innings for both Bell and Prior, who effortlessly made scores after being put under some scrutiny recently. Prior only really got out trying to improvise with the tail-end, but looked much more mature with bat and gloves in this match. This was a positive response to pressure, notably from Steven Davies and Craig Kieswetter. Other than that, not much can be learned from this performance, such was the comprehensive nature of it and the feeble capitualtion of the opposition.
So on now to the Victoria Sponge Lad of the Week Award. Nominations are taken from week 1 of the FP t20 tournament:
Loots Bosman (Derbyshire) - The Falcons got off to a flyer, with two comfortable victories out of two. They managed to beat Leicestershire by 11 runs in their opener, with Bosman top scoring with 39 out of 165-5. The real star was Steffan Jones, who picked up 3-20 off his overs, in the face of an Andrew McDonald onslaught (67 off 50) but the Foxes never quite looked like making it. However, the South African opener, who failed in the World T20 last month but has been brutal in the past up top with Graeme Smith, came to the party big time against Yorkshire. He made 94 off 50 in a partnership of 141 with young West Indian Chesney Hughes (who looks a bit of a find by the way). Despite Aussie Clint McKay picking up 4-33, Bosman lifted his new side to 222-5. Which is massive. Yorkshire never even got close, losing by 65 runs.
Imran Tahir (Warwickshire) - It could be argued that I've plumped for another South African here. Tahir was called up for the 3rd Test against England in the winter as competition for Paul Harris, the left-arm piechucker. However, Tahir is from Pakistan and hadn't got the relevant paperwork to make him eligible to play for the Proteas. Much embarrassment for the selectors as Harris was rapidly re-instated. The fact remains though that Tahir is a man that they will need in the future. Warwickshire have been crap in the Championship this year, a fact I have relished as Somerset have pumped them home and away. However, they are a threat in limited overs cricket. When a bowler bowls 4-0-14-3 in T20, it's been a good day for him. When you add the fact that it was three of Northants' most dangerous international batsmen (Mal Loye, Niall O'Brien, Nicky Boje) that he got out and you realise how big Tahir's contribution was. BUT HE DIDN'T GET MAN OF THE MATCH. Having restricted the opposition to 147-5, way below par, Darren Maddy, a previous winner with Leicestershire, smashed 88 of 42 to lead the side home by 8 wickets. He would not have been able to do this so freely if Tahir hadn't set the game up for him. It's a batsman game...
Michael Yardy (Sussex) - another left-arm spinner and member of the victorious England side, Sussex skipper Yardy's little innocuous darts have proved so hard to get away as the champions got off to a 100% start. Somerset were crushed by 53 runs at Hove, Yardy with 4-0-17-2 (I maintain that James Hildreth's lbw decision was a shocker and a turning point in the match but hey ho). He then went even better with 4-0-14-2 against Middlesex in a 28 run victory. In a low scoring game, it was even more crucial that he contributed with the bat, something he doesn't do as regularly in this form as in county, given his reputation as a nudger and nurdler. Yet a crucial 37* off 28 in a stand with overseas man Dwayne Smith lifted his side to a winning total.
The winner... just because he doesn't get enough recognition. Imran Tahir. LAD.
RM
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