Loony Toon Army
Category: Sports

So Newcastle look set to make it 10 managers in 10 years. Will they never learn?

All fans are fickle but the Toon Army are more fickle than most I think. They not only want the team to play exciting attacking football, but they want to win a major title and they want it right this second - not in 12 months or even 12 games - RIGHT NOW!

Big Sam didn't get off to the best of starts but then neither did Sir Alex when he started at Manchester United. But look what he has built over the last umpteen years.

The problem with the Geordies is that they think they have a divine right to win things because they are passionate (i.e cry at the drop of a hat), can watch a game from the terrace in the snow with no shirt on, and there are lots of them. The sad fact is that they haven't won anything other than promotion to the top flight in over 50 years, so what makes them think that anybody can come in and turn it round in 21 games?

So who is next for the worst job outside of the England managers job?

I would lay good money that it wont be King Harry. He is wedded to the sunny south coast and his beloved mansion in poole - the reason he incurred the wrath of the demented part of Portsmouth by going to Scum for a short time was because he didn't want to move and the choice was Southampton or Bournemouth.

Then there is The Chose One - can't see him going there as its not a big enough club for him and they don't have a billion pounds to throw around. Not only that his wife I think is attached to London - I'm not sure that the Quayside on a Saturday night will have the same appeal as an evening at The Ivy.

Then there is Alan Shearer. A man with no experience of managing or coaching but a local lad and so he fits the bill nicely and is obviously the people's choice. I go back to the "Loony Toon" comment.
I personally would like to see him take it and put his money where his mouth is for once. Sitting next to Lineakar, Hanson and Wright he has all the right answers for both the Newcastle and the England job, but has never had the guts to take on a proper coaching job himself. Come on Alan lets see how long you last and let the pundits rip your decision making to shreds each week with a slightly smug smile. I would like to see him take it but I doubt he has the nerve - its safe in the commentary box where he will always be the peoples choice but never be in the firing line. I mean imagine if he failed and the fans stopped drinking in his bar!

For me the obvious choice for me is Martin Jol. A good coach and a glutton for punishment, who has shown no matter how much you achieve in management you still cant win over some fans. Make no mistake, that if results started to go against Man U or Arsenal then the fans would be saying it was time for a change, quicker than they would change channel during the advert break. That's football for you!

6:16 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Bunch of tools
Category: Sports

You might think from the title of this blog that I might be referring to the England football team.  But no - I have waxed lyrical about them in my other blog on lookupsport.

I wanted to use this space to vent my wrath on the commentary team and pundits on the BBC last night.

First up Lawrenson - totally and absolutely anti Beckham and has been for ages.  Asked my Motson if he would bring on Beckham at half time he said "for me no".  Fortunately McClaren decided differently and Beckham duely provides the cross for Crouch to level the match.  Lawrenson then goes on to say "Only Beckham can cross a ball like that".  Which is it Lawro?  Either he is good enough for the team or not nad if he isn't dont go all doe eyed when he plays against your wishes and delivers (yet again).

Then the pundits of Wright, Hanson, Linekar and Shearer.  All great players in their day but also anti Beckham and pro Shaun Wright-Phillips for obvious reasons.  Wright-Phillips missed a chance which could have levelled the match and changed the game.  If anybody else had missed it - especially Beckham it would have been one of the first things that was mentioned. 

Instead they talked about how well he was playing and how threatening he looked - thats was true for the first  10 minutes or so - right up till he missed the chance after which he failed to get in behind the defence which is what he was in the side for.

Towards the end of the analysis Shearer rather meekly suggests that maybe Wright-Phillips should have stuck the chance away, to which the rest of the team finally agree.  It was also quietly pointed out that he was at fault for the second goal and then quickly forgotten.  The same was true at the last World Cup when despite delivering most of the crosses that resulted in goals, Beckham was  chastised  time and again by the BBC team for not going around players as Wright-Phillips would have (had he not been left at home of course). 

The analysis at half time and post match centred on passion and commitment - for me the passion was there but the quality wasn't.  Calm heads were needed and when it got to 2-3 panic set in and they settled for pumping it into the box "hoping" for something to happen. 

For much of the game they enjoyed good possession and certainly  had territorial advatantage.  The problem was that they were so nervous at the back after Carson's early blunder that they looked like conceding every time Croatia attacked.

All in all the really need to take a look at themselves - Sky not only have them beaten for analysis but also seem to keep personal feelings out of it.  In days gone passed I would have rather watched BBC but the reverse is now true.  To quote an infamous Scottish BBC pundit it is "shockin"

6:19 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Liverpool Bounce Back
Category: Sports

So Liverpool were on the verge of an early Champions League exit and Benitez having received the dreaded "vote of confidence" was on the verge of becoming the fifth managerial casualty of the Premiership before Christmas.

However, they re-wrote the script last night with a record 8-0 win over Besiktas.  The only real surprise in all of this though was that Peter Crouch was allowed to start.

Crouch must be the most underrated forward in the country, and certainly on Merseyside.  At both club and international level he is the first player to be dropped for a new "big name" or when one of the so called "stars" get fit again.  This is despite repeatedly proving he can score goals at any level.

I only saw the first hour last night (Spooks got in the way and they were already 4 up), but Crouch was running the Turkish boys ragged. Its not just the balls he wins in the air but his all round contribution and the way he draws defenders allowing his teammates more space.  No doubt though he and half of last nights team will be on the bench again this weekend, just in case they are a little weary after last nights effort.

Liverpool fans shouldn't get too carried away though.  They still have a ,lot of work to do to qualify, and although they played some good attractive and exciting football last night, Besiktas were truly awful. 

Even the most ardent Liverpool fan will admit that the yardstick to judge any side by is their position in the Premiership, and as the table shows, they have to go some way to challenge the big 4.

1:22 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

The Case for Video Technology Again..
Category: Sports

Another weekend of controversy for the Premiership.  Poor old David Moyes quite rightly is seething after referee Mark Clattenburg had what is called a "shocker" in the Merseyside derby on Saturday.  Even the most ardent Red would admit they got away with it this time.  Moyes will no doubt get called to book after suggesting there is a relationship between Clattenburg and Liverpool, but the evidence does nothing to help out the man in black.  It will be interesting to see what sanctions are invoked on Clattenburg.

I'm not one to pick on the officials normally but this wasn't just one decision and looked so dodgy it could have been Juventus who were playing.

First up Gerrard is fouled by Tony Hibbert and Clattenburg is seen to take out his yellow card.  Then Gerrard walks passed and says something to him and he puts it away and pulls out a red.

Next up Dirk "Hong Kong Fooey" Kuyt, makes the worst and most obvious two footed tackle ever seen on Neville and gets away with a yellow card.

Finally, in the dieing seconds Carragher practically assaults Lescott in the six yard box and no penalty is awarded.

Even the most calm of managers would have reason to raise an eye brow to this - imagine if it had been Ferguson or Martin O'Neill?  There would have been blood spilled without a doubt.

Now if FIFA would just embrace video technology then all the controversy would go away wouldn't it....

6:37 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Keep the negativity coming
Category: Sports

So England made the semi-finals against all the odds having turned over the Ozzies and were expected by most people on the know to get thrashed by the French, who would surely be bouyed by a huge partisan crowd in the Stade de France.  It was not to be. 

If we are to believe the rumours, the England Rugby World Cup team have turned their performances around and motiviated themselves by playing the "The Gambler" a well known Kenny Rodgers song.  (Kenny Rodgers is a country and western singer for those not so well versed as the England Rugby team).

Unlike their predecessors it seems this team thrive on being the underdogs and the doom merchants insisting they have no chance.  Let's hope this continues for the final where South Africa are clear favourites and would have been even if they hadn't thrashed us 36-0 earlier in the tournament.  The good news is that not only has no side ever retained the Web Ellis Trophy but also no team have ever won it having lost a game in the group stages.  So really nothing to lose then!

Overall Saturday's match was not a great spectacle but as I mentioned a long time ago now when talking about the England football team, sometimes its good to win ugly.  I'm sure if England grind out another close win on Saturday having spent 40 minutes kicking the ball about rather than running in 5 tries that there will be few people chastising them for it!

2:47 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Its a funny old game
Category: Sports

Another week passed so quickly, and a reprimand received for not commenting on England's surprising victory last weekend.

What is it about England teams in any sport? The more expectation, praise and hope that is heaped upon them then worse they perform. Write them off and suddenly they become world beaters.  A kind of reverse psychology I guess - perhaps we should try it with the England football squad before the European Championships finals (assuming we make it of course - there you go started doing it already).

The same can almost be said with the England cricket team. Nobody gave them much of a chance in their current ODI series, having not won on the sub-continent for over 20 years they have stormed to a 3-1 lead with only one game remaining.  I say say the same can "almost" be said, because nobody gave them any chance in the Cricket World Cup and they sadly proved everybody right.

Anyway back to the rugby.  I watched the first 20 minutes only as I had to rush off for thrashing on the hockey pitch, but left them losing comfortably 8-3.  When we came off such was my expectation that I didn't even ask how we got on.  It was only when I staggered into the bar to find that we had somehow managed to turn over the crims from down under to set up a semi-final against the All Blacks.

My thoughts turned to the Kiwi's I know and inviting around to watch them grind England into the dust.  Saturday night was a blur of beer and curry so I missed the result and Sunday though saw me dragged back to the hockey club to umpire a ladies match, and not pay too much attention the result of New Zealand France.  Then I saw the post match discussion of Fiji South Africa and it became clear that SA were the only Southern Hemisphere team left.  I thought it was just the hangover kicking in for a while but it became clear that we were in fact playing France in the Semi and not the All Blacks.  I guess the weight of a nations hopes is too much even for them to carry!

I now have only 2 concerns. The first is that England are now fancied to win it and everybody is talking about us being the first nation to retain the Rugby World Cup. The second is that the only French person I know living close by is 9 months pregnant and therefore not the best person to watch the match, with in case a sudden trip to the local maternity unit is called for 10 minutes from time.

1:49 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Thank god the weekend is close
Category: Sports

Another long but enjoyable week which has seen me on the side of a hill in Swaledale and out to the East coast to visit Whitby and Scarborough.  So no time for the important things like blogging.  But the weekend is nearly here and a window of opportnity is upon me.

Firstly I had no time even to gloat over the thrashing that Pompey handed out to Reading last weekend - 7 goals and a hattrick for Benjani.  Mind you with Calamity back to his "best form" we needed to score 7 to have a chance.  At least we are back in the top 6 - long may it last.

Then on Monday was the come back of the season so far with Spurs rescuing a point and I suspect their managers career with 3 late goals to earn a point at home  against the Villa.

Next there was the midweek Champions League - congratulations to all British teams with the exception on Liverpool who managed to lose at home against a French team for the first time in their history. 

But what about the antics at Celtic.  Having received a slight tap from an over excited supporter, Milan's Brazilian keeper Dida decided to give chase.  That is to give chase for a a few yards until he threw himself to the ground.  Either out of breath or possibly cynically thinking that if he went down injured then the referee might abandon the game and get Milan out of jail?  Surely not.  Whatever his reasons, it was embarrassing to watch, expecially as having thrown himself down in such dramatic fashion he then had himself stretchered off. 

The fan has rightly been banned for life - lets hope that Dida receives a similar penalty and an Equity card in time for the Christmas panto season.  A wise man recently said that the Premiership footballers would not last 10 minutes in a  rugby league match.  Dida wouldn't last 10 seconds, although it would be fun to watch!

Finally a word about the boy Hamilton.  In what must be one of the most controversial F1 World Championships on record he has survived another scare and escaped a points deduction after some erratic driving at the weekend.  Surprisingly his team "mate" failed to leap to his defence and is still trying to convince people that the young Brit has been favoured by McCLaren.  It must really suck when you realise that somebody is better than you and you don't have the backbone to fight back.  Let's hope that Lewis wraps it all up this weekend.

Oh and one more thing - England actually won a ODI yesterday apparently by 65 runs.  Wonders will never cease!

7:33 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

A disappointing weekend
Category: Sports

As alluded to in my Lookupsport Blog on Friday and mentioned here, we couldn't really expect the rich vein of English wins to continue. When the wheels come off they really do come off, and so it proved for the English cricket and rugby teams.

First up our grip on the Rugby World Cup was loosened when we failed to score a single point against a strong South African side, going down 36-0.  The first time that we have failed to score in over 100 tests. 

Martin Johnson looked ready to commit murder in the commentary box - maybe they should have let him loose in the changing room at half time.  He summed up his feelings at the end when asked what good points could the England boys take from the match by shrugging his shoulders and saying "none" through clenched teeth and scowling into the camera.

Next up out cricket boy, fresh from the thrashing handed to them by Australia.  I tuned in with South Africa at 94/6 and thought it was pretty much game over.  I hadn't counted on our Twenty20 "specialists" though with Schofield getting thumped for 3 sixes in the last couple of overs and then Luke Wright getting a duck off of the fourth ball of the England innings. 

Not all the blame can be placed at the feet of the new boys though.  The phrase "couldn't catch a cold" would have been apt for us when fielding and South Africa took full advantage with having been dropped going on to hit most of the runs in the final overs. 

When Freddy Flintoff was dropped we thought that he would go on to meat out the same trouble but it wasnt to be with him being bowled shoprtly afterwards.

For once I had to agree with the commentary team that it was nonsense sending out Snape ahead of Mascharenas when it was big sixes that were needed but it was really all over by then anyway.  England going down by 19 runs.  Much improvement needed in all areas if we hope to make the semi-finals me thinks.

One final comment on Pompey.  Another chance to shine on Sky against a top 4 side and they gave the public the least entertaining match so far this season.  But a point is a point I suppose even if a penalty was missed.

9:27 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

When the wheels fall off...
Category: Sports

The England cricket team once again proved that when things go wrong for them they really go wrong.

With the Ozzies rocked by a defeat to lowly Zimbabwe and needing a win to make the second stage, it was a great chance for England to knock them out.  But as we've proved before that when the tough get going, we ...well we just dont.

Winning the toss and electing to bat they posted a very below par score of 135 losing all 10 wickets, and not hitting a boundary in the normally lucrative final 4 overs.  Flintoff top scored with 31.

Then out come Gilchrist and Haydn who knock the lot off virtually on their own winning by 8 wickets with more than 5 overs left.  Good job we took the Twenty20 specialists with us or we could have been thrashed!

The good news is that England have qualified for the next stage, but they have missed a great chance to oust the Australia.  They will probably rue that at some point further down the line - assuming we make the final stages that is!

7:59 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Flintoff and Gerrard both back
Category: Sports

So after the exciting 6th ODI, England have managed to leave it till the 7th match to try and beat India. 

They could/have should have maybe wrapped it up in the last match but would never have even come close had it not been for Mascharenas' 5 sixes in the final over.  At least it was a finale worth watching!

If tomorrow's game is as close than there will be some serious channel hopping going on as our illustrious football team will be striving to overcome the mighty Israel.  No doubt they will contrive to make life difficult for themselves before winning 1-0 in the final minute. 

The good news is that on the injury front Flintoff will be back and Gerrard will make it as well although the injury prone Wilkinson has once again crocked himself.  Yes I know I've combined 3 sports in that last sentence but I know what I'm talking about even if nobody else does.  I wonder if any English National team has ever taken the field with everybody actually being available.  Certainly not in recent years...

8:22 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment