Hello again all. I never did get round to writing a review of the Carling Cup Final like I promised in my last post. It's a good thing I didn't because it has all gone downhill for Liverpool since then!
Anyway back to business and it is now less than a week until the start of the new Formula One season. This season just seems to have a real air of anticipation, with all the teams not knowing where they stand in terms of raw pace after pre-season testing, so there is the potential for this to be the best season yet this century.
Of course, the favourite for the Drivers title going into this season is of course Sebastian Vettel. The man has been supreme over his past two championship winning seasons, getting the absolute maximum out of his Red Bull on all but a mere few occasions. The fact that he is just a genuine nice bloke makes his dominance bearable, but it has been said that behind closed doors he has that element of Schumacher in him, striving for perfection at all times. Put all this together and you wouldn't dare bet against him joining a select group (of two actually, Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio) who have won three world titles in a row.
However, I believe that this year won't be as easy for him. The main challenge is I believe (and quietly hoping) is going to come from Lewis Hamilton. He's coming off a horrendous 2011 on and off the track, but even with everything seemingly going wrong, he was still able to show that he still has it. Just look at his pass on Button and Vettel in China and you'll see what I mean. If the 2008 World Champion has got a quick Mclaren to at least match the Red Bulls, is on top form and most importanly, mentally prepared, then Lewis can beat Vettel. I would even stretch out to saying when everything comes together, Hamilton is a better driver than Vettel but consistently must show this if he wants to add a second world championship to his collection.
Of course, we can not forget Mclaren's other driver a certain Jenson Button. He was best of the rest last year, puting in some superb performances, with the best being his win in Canada in the greatest F1 race in my lifetime. From interviews, he seems calm, focused and ready to do battle. He is a dark horse for sure, you can never count him out. If you do he always comes back to prove you wrong, and there is no reason at why Jenson can't go and win his second drivers championship.
Then there's the matter of Ferrari. They have not had the best time of it in pre-season testing, with the cars balance and therfore performance being incredibly erratic. For Fernando Alonso the pressure is huge. This is his third season with Ferrari and the demand for a championship is growing. News about the Scuderia is always in the Italian papers positive and negative, so if success doesn't come soon, the tifosi might just turn its back on the current management setup and Alonso himself. Still, could be worse. Could be Felipe Massa who unless a miracle happens will be out of a drive by the end of the season.
Both Lotus and Mercedes have looked impressive and there are serious murmurs in the paddock that they both could spring a suprise at the first race and beyond. This is desperately needed for Michael Schumacher if he wants to achieve his goal of winning again, the same for Nico Rosberg only that he's still looking for his first trip to the top step of the podium. For Lotus, Kimi Raikonenn is back after two years rallying and looks raring to go, with a young team mate beside in Roman Grosjean, making it perhaps the perfect driver lineup for the team. Whether they can trouble the top teams remains to be seen but the initial signs are good.
The midfield looks like it will be extremely competitive. Paul Di Resta has said that he is really pleased with the new Force India so expect them to be strong. Torro Rosso have a completely new driver lineup which shall be determined to pick up points early, in what potentially be a race between Daniel Riccardo and Jean-Eric Vergne as to who replaces Mark Webber in the Red Bull seat for 2013. Of course the plucky Australian, will not give up without a fight and don't be suprised to see him foghting for more wins this season. The championship unfortunately, I'm afraid is now beyond him. Williams has a Senna back in their car since that fateful day at Imola in 1994 and it shall surely be an emotional moment when we see Ayrtons nephew Bruno roll out of the pits in Melbourne. There are encouraging signs for the team though with profits being made and with a clean slate after last seasons nightmare.
Just a quick side note, it's a pity that Rubens Barichello, one of the true gentlemen of F1 hasn't got a drive for this year. Fingers crossed he might be able to force his way back him in 2013, just like Pedro De La Rosa has this year with HRT, but I fear that this is the end of the road in F1 at least for the man they call Rubinho. I don't think I'd be too far off in saying that apart from Sir Stirling Moss, the greatest driver never to win a world championship.
Finally, there's going to be an intense battle off the track and that's in the world of television. Here in the UK, for the first time ever not all the F1 races will be free to air, as the BBC sacrificed half of the 20 race season in part of wide cost cutting across the coporation. The other half they shall have extensive highlights so it should still be good coverage.
So Sky Sports now have all the races live and there own channel to boot. This is a first for Formula One and it will be fascinating to see how this project plays out. Fortunately for me I get the Sky Sports F1 channel free as my family are on sky and have already the HD package and Sky Sports 1 & 2. You only need one of these two if your provider is sky to get the channel free. Virgin Media, I'm not so sure, I shall go and try find out for all you out there! I watched the channels launch program and I was immediatly impressed. It was slick focused and detailed, with the technology they have at their disposal being the key asset which in turn should get them better access to the teams which will get fans closer to the sport than ever before. Theyare also playing off the nostalgia of the sport, when racing was in a golden age. I can't wait to look back on some of F1s hisotry and Steve Riders' interviews with the legends of the sport Also I cannot imagine watching F1 on TV these days without having Martin Brundle in there. He has replaced Murray Walker as the voice of F1 and thankfully he shall be returning to his preferred role of co-commentator this year alongside David Croft. Not to mention his gridwalks will be entertaining as ever. Personally, although it is sad that another sport has fallen under the grip of the Murdoch empire, it will be fantastic to year of F1 that is Eddie Jordan free!
So sit back and fasten your seatbelts everyone. It should be an incredible season. I shall leave you with my predictions for this season and the link for the video for the opening titles of Skys coverage this season. It is epic, I'm sure you'll love it.
Drivers Championship
1st: Lewis Hamilton
2nd: Sebastian Vettel
3rd: Jenson Button
Constructors Championship
1st: Red Bull
2nd: Mclaren
3rd: Ferrari
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw-hqrZLG84
Sunday, 11 March 2012
Saturday, 25 February 2012
Cometh the Hour. Cometh the Deadman!
Hello all once again. Just to let you know I shall be writing a review of the Carling Cup Final between Cardiff and Liverpool tomorrow. For me at least heres hoping ;)
Anyway, to the main subject of this post, which is more aimed at any Americans out there, but then again wrestling has a fan base across the world so keep reading whatever country you're in. Now if you're a fan/watch WWE you'll know by now who I was talking about in the title is the Undertaker.
Let me make it perfectly clear now so I don't have to explain later. I am a huge Undertaker fan. He has been my favourite wrestler since I starting watching wrestling when I was about five. Even in the early 21st century where I didn't watch WWE I would always check the results now and again to see how the Deadman was getting on. He is in my opinion the greatest of all time, not just because of his in ring ability but because of the respect he has garnered over his almost 30 year career. I know that wrestling is scripted (not fake, there's a difference) so the fact that he's been doing stuff that would seriously injure and/or kill any ordinary man into his late 40s is highly commendable. One of the most special things about him is his entrance. The music and the pyro is enough to send chills down anybodies spine, which is truly impressive when his gimmick is one which is the furthest away from reality of all wrestlers today.
But of course there is one thing that puts him above all the rest. The Streak. The Undefeated Wrestlemania Streak of 19-0. Again I know that this is all scripted but the fact that he has been able to stay in a good enough physical and mental condition to keep the streak going is unbelievable. It will never be duplicated by anybody. Unfortunately though the last time anyone got to see him wrestle was last years Wrestlemania where he defeated Triple H in a No Holds Barred Match, but couldn't leave the ring on his own feet affterwards, having to be carted away. He was legitimately in a lot of pain backstage after the match.
So inevitably, after almost one year away, it was fantastic to see the Phenom return to Monday Night Raw to confront and challenge HHH to one more match at Wrestlemania 28 at the end of last month. If anyone missed it, or simply want to see it again the link is below. It is epic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6yd1yClW0I
All this has led to series of event, where after at first Triple H refused to face the Deadman, finally agreed on the condition that it would be a Hell In A Cell Match. Man that is going to be brutal. It's being built as an end to an era which it probably is. They both are the only ones left pre Stone Cold and The Rock in the WWE so if they both go on April 1st then it shall be the end. I should be an outstanding match and with Shawn Michaels, the victim of the Deadman twice at Wrestlemania rumoured to be the special guest referee, then everything shall come to a head at Wrestlemania.
And what a way to go out to, if Undertaker can increase his streak to the magical 20-0 to ride off into the sunset with. Personally I hope he continues and instead has his retirement match at Wrestlemania 29/30 against John Cena. There has always been backstage talk that Undertaker would like the streak to end at some point, so how about having both scenarios of being able to celebrate the grandeur of 20-0 then having it finally come to an end against the face of the Company. Think of the money WWE could make from that!
So sit back and enjoy the ride WWE fans. Because the next 35 days of so could be the last time we see both those 2 legends do their buisiness before they finally end their illustrious careers without barely a blot on the copybook. As for their match at Wrestlemania, there can be only one outcome.
Anyway, to the main subject of this post, which is more aimed at any Americans out there, but then again wrestling has a fan base across the world so keep reading whatever country you're in. Now if you're a fan/watch WWE you'll know by now who I was talking about in the title is the Undertaker.
Let me make it perfectly clear now so I don't have to explain later. I am a huge Undertaker fan. He has been my favourite wrestler since I starting watching wrestling when I was about five. Even in the early 21st century where I didn't watch WWE I would always check the results now and again to see how the Deadman was getting on. He is in my opinion the greatest of all time, not just because of his in ring ability but because of the respect he has garnered over his almost 30 year career. I know that wrestling is scripted (not fake, there's a difference) so the fact that he's been doing stuff that would seriously injure and/or kill any ordinary man into his late 40s is highly commendable. One of the most special things about him is his entrance. The music and the pyro is enough to send chills down anybodies spine, which is truly impressive when his gimmick is one which is the furthest away from reality of all wrestlers today.
But of course there is one thing that puts him above all the rest. The Streak. The Undefeated Wrestlemania Streak of 19-0. Again I know that this is all scripted but the fact that he has been able to stay in a good enough physical and mental condition to keep the streak going is unbelievable. It will never be duplicated by anybody. Unfortunately though the last time anyone got to see him wrestle was last years Wrestlemania where he defeated Triple H in a No Holds Barred Match, but couldn't leave the ring on his own feet affterwards, having to be carted away. He was legitimately in a lot of pain backstage after the match.
So inevitably, after almost one year away, it was fantastic to see the Phenom return to Monday Night Raw to confront and challenge HHH to one more match at Wrestlemania 28 at the end of last month. If anyone missed it, or simply want to see it again the link is below. It is epic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6yd1yClW0I
All this has led to series of event, where after at first Triple H refused to face the Deadman, finally agreed on the condition that it would be a Hell In A Cell Match. Man that is going to be brutal. It's being built as an end to an era which it probably is. They both are the only ones left pre Stone Cold and The Rock in the WWE so if they both go on April 1st then it shall be the end. I should be an outstanding match and with Shawn Michaels, the victim of the Deadman twice at Wrestlemania rumoured to be the special guest referee, then everything shall come to a head at Wrestlemania.
And what a way to go out to, if Undertaker can increase his streak to the magical 20-0 to ride off into the sunset with. Personally I hope he continues and instead has his retirement match at Wrestlemania 29/30 against John Cena. There has always been backstage talk that Undertaker would like the streak to end at some point, so how about having both scenarios of being able to celebrate the grandeur of 20-0 then having it finally come to an end against the face of the Company. Think of the money WWE could make from that!
So sit back and enjoy the ride WWE fans. Because the next 35 days of so could be the last time we see both those 2 legends do their buisiness before they finally end their illustrious careers without barely a blot on the copybook. As for their match at Wrestlemania, there can be only one outcome.
20-0
Thanks for reading and until next time, The Outsider is out!
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Top 10 Sporting Moments 2011
Hello all and welcome to my final post of 2011 (Or first of 2012 if you're in Australia or somewhere). The title says it all really. What are my top 10 sporting moments of 2011? First of all I shall list some honourable mentions who just missed the cut;
Spurs 4-0 Liverpool: The game that started Spurs amazing run of form, but we shall have to wait and see until May 2012 to analyse its true significance.
Darren Clarke and Rory Mcilroy: Both winning a golf major each this year is impressive but not enough to make the top 10
New Zealand Wins Rugby World Cup: The All Blacks ended a 24 year drought by winning the tournament but that was overshadowed over here in England as we were too busy ripping apart our shambles of a team and coaching set up!
Steven Gerrard's Return: Now I know he only returned last night but in the half hour he was on the pitch he showed he is still one of the best players in the Premier League if not the world. This could prove to be extremely significant for Liverpool if he can stay fit and help them reach the top 4.
And now for the Main List. I would ask for a drum roll but since I haven't got any drums I'll just crack on!
10: Christian Wins World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules: Now I don't care whether you're in the WWE or any other sport, to work for 17 years to reach your ultimate goal is something that is worth celebrating. And that's what Christian did at Extreme Rules by beating Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match. All of the crowd in attendence went nuts and celebrated what was a worthy win and the crowning moment in a fine career which shall continue for a few more years for sure.
9: The Summer of Punk: What a year Phil Brooks (aka CM Punk) has had. At the beginning of the year he was in a company dominated by John Cena who was becoming the Hulk Hogan of his generation. Single-handedly Punk changed all this and after his now infamous shoot promo he beat Cena in the match of the year at Money in the Bank to win the WWE Championship and then won the title again at Survivor Series. Long live the reign of CM Punk!
8: Liverpool 3-1 Man Utd, March 2011: Hey I had to get my team in somewhere! In all seriousness though this game reminded everyone how dangerous Liverpool can be. It was a brilliant performance which blew United away. With more performances like this and with a bit of luck (Like not hitting the woodwork 18 more times this season!) Liverpool can make top 4 and get back into the Champions League.
7: Novak Djokovic wins Wimbledon: This was the match that finally ended the reign of Federer and Nadal and the age of Djokovic began. He blitzed Nadal in the Wimbledon final becoming the World Number One in the process. In terms of the rest of the year he won the other Grand Slams apart from the French Open and his total losses for the 12 months were in single figures. Incredible!
6: Mark Cavendish win Tour de France Green Jersey: The recently crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year became the first Brit to win the Green Jersey in the Tour de France and moved into fourth in the all time list of Stage wins. In addition, he won the Road Race World Championships Gold Medal in Copenhagen, which has raised expectations immensely that he can grab gold at London 2012. All I can say is good luck, although being the fastest man in the world on two wheels he probably won't need it!
5: Sebastian Vettel becoming Double F1 Champion: Well he might be extremely annoying by being so bloody quick and winning all the time giving none of the others a chance, but there is no denying how good a driver Vettel is. The greatest thing about it though is that he is a throughly nice bloke. He seems the sort of guy you would love to go to the pub and have pint with. You can also tell he is humbled and honoured to be amongst the names of the greats of the sport like Senna, Prost, Schumacher and others. Whether he can be the greatest remains to be seen, but he has time on his side.
4: Manchester United's 19th League Title: Typical United. Can't celebrate quietly ;) You have to admit though that they are now the undisputed football kings of England. The work Sir Ferguson has done in his 25 years at Old Trafford is nothing short of extraordinory. And with a new breed of young players coming through their domination may continue for years to come. There is another team wishing to stop them though.
3: Man Utd 1-6 Man City: The 'Other' team in Manchester fancy a few Premier League titles of their own and who can blame them. The quality of their squad is brilliant and the strength in depth is something to behold. Of course the sceptics shall say it's all down to the money and partly it is. But money does not win you games and does not create the atmosphere within a squad to challenge for trophies. This day at Old Trafford proved City are a force to be reckoned with and that they can easily take the bragging rights to the blue side of the City.
2: Barcelona win the Champions League: What happened at Wembley back in May was sheer footballing perfection. It was just incredible to see Barcelona pick apart Manchester United to show that Barca are in a league by themselves. Of course Lionel Messi was star man with a beautiful curling finish, but everybody contributed and the passing was just a pure joy to behold. Best Team ever? Maybe. Just Maybe!
1: Jenson Button wins Canadian GP: This was without doubt, the best Formula 1 race in over a decade perhaps more. It had everything. Heavy rain, delays, crashes magnificent overtaking and overall pure motor racing. When the Safety Car came in at the end of lap 40 of 70 Sebastian Vettel was comfortably leading and Jenson was last after colliding with his team mate Lewis Hamilton which forced him out of the race, struggled on his tyres, had to cope with the almost 2 hour rain delay, and then collided with Fernado Alonso which got himself a puncture thus dropping down to last. What happened next was the best driving I have ever seen in my lifetime. He showed bravery and huge amounts of race craft by passing all of the pack including Michael Schumacher who was having his best race since his comeback and then hunting down Vettel. The most incredible thing was that on the last lap he basically crushed Vettel mentally and he made an rare unforced error which gifted Button the win. An incredible race, an incredible win and no doubt my top sporting moment of 2011.
Thanks alot for reading and I hope that you have a very happy New Year. 2011 has been a great year for me and I hope it has been for you too, whilst I'm sure you'll join me in saying: Bring on 2012!
So until next time, The Outsider is Out! :)
Spurs 4-0 Liverpool: The game that started Spurs amazing run of form, but we shall have to wait and see until May 2012 to analyse its true significance.
Darren Clarke and Rory Mcilroy: Both winning a golf major each this year is impressive but not enough to make the top 10
New Zealand Wins Rugby World Cup: The All Blacks ended a 24 year drought by winning the tournament but that was overshadowed over here in England as we were too busy ripping apart our shambles of a team and coaching set up!
Steven Gerrard's Return: Now I know he only returned last night but in the half hour he was on the pitch he showed he is still one of the best players in the Premier League if not the world. This could prove to be extremely significant for Liverpool if he can stay fit and help them reach the top 4.
And now for the Main List. I would ask for a drum roll but since I haven't got any drums I'll just crack on!
10: Christian Wins World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules: Now I don't care whether you're in the WWE or any other sport, to work for 17 years to reach your ultimate goal is something that is worth celebrating. And that's what Christian did at Extreme Rules by beating Alberto Del Rio in a ladder match. All of the crowd in attendence went nuts and celebrated what was a worthy win and the crowning moment in a fine career which shall continue for a few more years for sure.
7: Novak Djokovic wins Wimbledon: This was the match that finally ended the reign of Federer and Nadal and the age of Djokovic began. He blitzed Nadal in the Wimbledon final becoming the World Number One in the process. In terms of the rest of the year he won the other Grand Slams apart from the French Open and his total losses for the 12 months were in single figures. Incredible!
6: Mark Cavendish win Tour de France Green Jersey: The recently crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year became the first Brit to win the Green Jersey in the Tour de France and moved into fourth in the all time list of Stage wins. In addition, he won the Road Race World Championships Gold Medal in Copenhagen, which has raised expectations immensely that he can grab gold at London 2012. All I can say is good luck, although being the fastest man in the world on two wheels he probably won't need it!
5: Sebastian Vettel becoming Double F1 Champion: Well he might be extremely annoying by being so bloody quick and winning all the time giving none of the others a chance, but there is no denying how good a driver Vettel is. The greatest thing about it though is that he is a throughly nice bloke. He seems the sort of guy you would love to go to the pub and have pint with. You can also tell he is humbled and honoured to be amongst the names of the greats of the sport like Senna, Prost, Schumacher and others. Whether he can be the greatest remains to be seen, but he has time on his side.
4: Manchester United's 19th League Title: Typical United. Can't celebrate quietly ;) You have to admit though that they are now the undisputed football kings of England. The work Sir Ferguson has done in his 25 years at Old Trafford is nothing short of extraordinory. And with a new breed of young players coming through their domination may continue for years to come. There is another team wishing to stop them though.
3: Man Utd 1-6 Man City: The 'Other' team in Manchester fancy a few Premier League titles of their own and who can blame them. The quality of their squad is brilliant and the strength in depth is something to behold. Of course the sceptics shall say it's all down to the money and partly it is. But money does not win you games and does not create the atmosphere within a squad to challenge for trophies. This day at Old Trafford proved City are a force to be reckoned with and that they can easily take the bragging rights to the blue side of the City. 
2: Barcelona win the Champions League: What happened at Wembley back in May was sheer footballing perfection. It was just incredible to see Barcelona pick apart Manchester United to show that Barca are in a league by themselves. Of course Lionel Messi was star man with a beautiful curling finish, but everybody contributed and the passing was just a pure joy to behold. Best Team ever? Maybe. Just Maybe!
Thanks alot for reading and I hope that you have a very happy New Year. 2011 has been a great year for me and I hope it has been for you too, whilst I'm sure you'll join me in saying: Bring on 2012!
So until next time, The Outsider is Out! :)
Sunday, 18 December 2011
The Curious Case of Chelsea FC
Welcome all to my first blog post in almost a month. The last time I posted Chelsea was in the midst of a mini-crisis. Now, even with that out of the way doubts still remain.
As I speak, they are six points behind Man City who have a game in hand. Yet all respectable pundits seem to be writing them off for the title. At first you might think this is truly ridiculous, but if you further you can see why.
One of the main reasons is that their squad overall is too old. I know people bang on about this but it's true. Their average age is roughly 28 and that includes players like Terry, Drogba and Ivanovic all not known for their blistering pace. This in turn limits there tactical options. They can't play the high line that Andre Villas Boas would prefer to play, because they're picked off almost every single time. Now they have reverted back to the old ways things have got better but problems still remain.
When you think about it, who really so far has had a good season for Chelsea? Apart from Daniel Sturridge, who has been outstanding, everyone else has been extremely average, if not worse. Chelsea fans are probably screaming Juan Mata right now, but what has he really done? We have seen glimpses of brilliance but nothing in the really big games. And please don't anybody mention the Man City game. Granted Chelsea played much better, but got lucky in the process. There was no way Chelsea or Mata was breaking down that City defence for the second time that night, even when they were down to ten men. Chelsea couldn't find the answer until they were gifted a penalty, which was a bit harsh in my opinion. But I suppose you make your own luck sometimes right? Drogba is coming slowing back to form, but in the game against Wigan last night; he seemed thoroughly disinterested and extremely ineffective. Heck, Fernando Torres could've done better (Actually forget I just said that)!
Don't forget it's the African Cup of Nations next month, so Drogba and Kalou will be away for a few weeks, which will leave the manager with a huge decision to make. Does he give Sturridge a go as the main centre forward, without really knowing if he's more effective there than his current wide position in the 4-3-3 formation, or does he go back to Torres and we all know the problems he has got at the moment! Mainly not being able to kick a ball properly, let alone score!
On a quick side note, an interesting fact for you. Currently, Fernando Torres has scored more league goals for Liverpool (four) this calendar year than for Chelsea (three). Torres was at Liverpool for a month and has been at Chelsea for 11 months. Oh how the mighty have fallen!
Back to business and the final problem with Chelsea is that notion that all the purists of the game shiver at the prospect: Player Power. It's well known that Jose Mourinho had his favourites during his time at Chelsea mainly being Terry, Lampard, Drogba, Cech etc. Ever since he left, ever single managerial reign since bar Carlo Ancellotti has been dubbed with infighting and battle for control of the club. Leaks from many sources have been frequent recently which has led to the banning of Academy players from the main training. I wouldn't be too disheartened by this as an academy player. It means there's no chance of Ashley Cole "accidently" shooting you with a rifle. Unfortunately the bigger and more influential players can't seem to take no for an answer and they will have their way and play their way even if it can be completely ineffective. It has to be the mangers fault in some of the player’s eyes, although to be fair that's probably the same at any football club these days if things are going badly.
None of the younger players have the guts to stand up to them especially John Terry. I'm sorry but Terry should've been replaced ages ago. He's got no pace, less and less movement every game and looks like he's going to f**k up every tackle he goes into. The England game against Spain in which he didn't play in showed that he's no longer needed either as 1st choice defender for his country or for his leadership either. There are new young leaders coming through like Phil Jones Jack Rodwell and others, which is what we will need at the Euros. Also soon enough, Terry might be a convicted racist but that remains to be seen. One we do know is, although the fans have that banner: JT, Captain Leader Legend, I think everyone outside Chelsea can see that he is nasty piece of work, thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread and certainly not a legend.
And no those huddles he seems to conduct at the end of every game Chelsea scrape through to win is not leading. That's acting to try and show a united club. The fact is that Chelsea has been a divided club for a long time and it might finally be starting to cost them.
Thanks for reading. If I don't post again before, I hope you all have a very merry christmas and that it is prosperous and happy for all (I hope especially you get all the presents you want and that your favourite team gets three points!) Stay tuned because before the end of the year I shall be compiling my list of the Top Ten Sporting Moments of the Year
So until next time, The Outsider is Out!
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Goodbye, Farewell and Amen
Well today has been a truly sad day in not just the world of football, but for I suspect quite a lot of people across Britain as well. The news that Gary Speed was found dead this morning after apparently committing suicide. What I shall do now before getting into more details about today is look back best I can on the career of what was probably the first footballer I ever knew by name.
To say that he had an excellent playing career would be a massive understatement. He played 840 career games, scoring a total of 134 goals. He also is the second highest appearance maker in the Premier League with 535, only beaten by David James. Before Sheffield United were relegated back to the Championship he shared with Ryan Giggs the distinction of scoring at least one goal in every season since the Premier Leagues inauguration. He played in two League Cup finals once with Leeds and once with Bolton, losing both times. His crowning moment however was when he won the First Divison Championship with Leeds, in the final season before the Premier League replaced Division One as the top league in English football. Along with this he secured 85 caps for his country Wales, the second highest amount behind only Neville Southall.
He was one of those players who was able to adapt to any situation, as I seem to remember him being in a more defensive role for both Bolton and Sheffield United but was still able to get amongst the goals. I wouldn't say he was the complete midfielder but he wasn't far off it. Every time I have watched him play, you could see the passion, the drive to try and get everything that was possible out of the game. Always one of the first names on any teamsheet, he rarely failed in giving it his all. So as a player, he was never the greatest, but nearly always the most important for any team he played for. The Model Professional.
By last year he had made the transition into management and got the Wales job last December. He was doing quite a brilliant job with the only defeat Wales having recently was against England and that was a game they should've easily drawn. Their World Cup qualifying group looked promising as well.
As a man he seemed like a very nice person who gave advice to many young players going through the system at many different clubs and player like Robbie Savage and Craig Bellamy have previously praised him for his kindness at the beggining of their international careers. He was one of those people was in the spotlight, but wasn't if you see what I mean. He wouldn't be the first person you would think of first thing in the morning or when discussing football matters but if you saw him on TV, you'd know what his name was. Or if he came up in a random conversation, you would know who he was.
To say that his death is tragic is again a masssive piece of understatement. My shock at this news was probably confounded by the fact that just yesterday, I was watching Football Focus and he was on the show. He seemed happy all show, was having a laugh about the old days with his former Leeds teammate Gary Mcallister, expressing his pleasure at how well his national side was doing and how confident he was about World Cup qualification. Dan Walker, the presenter said on his twitter page today how he recorded the focus forum afterwards with Speed and said how he was talking about his family, golf and football with no sign at all of what was going to happen. Emotion has been shown by all comers, with many of my freinds and followers on twitter expressing their sadness at his passing. Shay Given was in tears before the Swansea vs Aston Villa match began and Craig Bellamy withdrew from the Liverpool squad to face Manchester City.
On a quick side note, it's quite sad in a way that it takes an event like this to realise that football doesn't matter. Not really.
I suppose the question over the coming days, will be as Robbie Savage, one of Gary's closest freinds said on twitter: Why? From the outside Gary Speed seemed to have it all. A close family with a wife and two sons. A clean bill of health, a healthy managerial career and respect from many quarters in football.
Those answers will probably start to unravel over the next few days. But for now lets remember Gary Speed as the great footballer and great man. I just hope after todays outpouring of sympathy and tribute, that he knew how much people liked and respected him.
To say that he had an excellent playing career would be a massive understatement. He played 840 career games, scoring a total of 134 goals. He also is the second highest appearance maker in the Premier League with 535, only beaten by David James. Before Sheffield United were relegated back to the Championship he shared with Ryan Giggs the distinction of scoring at least one goal in every season since the Premier Leagues inauguration. He played in two League Cup finals once with Leeds and once with Bolton, losing both times. His crowning moment however was when he won the First Divison Championship with Leeds, in the final season before the Premier League replaced Division One as the top league in English football. Along with this he secured 85 caps for his country Wales, the second highest amount behind only Neville Southall.
He was one of those players who was able to adapt to any situation, as I seem to remember him being in a more defensive role for both Bolton and Sheffield United but was still able to get amongst the goals. I wouldn't say he was the complete midfielder but he wasn't far off it. Every time I have watched him play, you could see the passion, the drive to try and get everything that was possible out of the game. Always one of the first names on any teamsheet, he rarely failed in giving it his all. So as a player, he was never the greatest, but nearly always the most important for any team he played for. The Model Professional.
By last year he had made the transition into management and got the Wales job last December. He was doing quite a brilliant job with the only defeat Wales having recently was against England and that was a game they should've easily drawn. Their World Cup qualifying group looked promising as well.
As a man he seemed like a very nice person who gave advice to many young players going through the system at many different clubs and player like Robbie Savage and Craig Bellamy have previously praised him for his kindness at the beggining of their international careers. He was one of those people was in the spotlight, but wasn't if you see what I mean. He wouldn't be the first person you would think of first thing in the morning or when discussing football matters but if you saw him on TV, you'd know what his name was. Or if he came up in a random conversation, you would know who he was.
To say that his death is tragic is again a masssive piece of understatement. My shock at this news was probably confounded by the fact that just yesterday, I was watching Football Focus and he was on the show. He seemed happy all show, was having a laugh about the old days with his former Leeds teammate Gary Mcallister, expressing his pleasure at how well his national side was doing and how confident he was about World Cup qualification. Dan Walker, the presenter said on his twitter page today how he recorded the focus forum afterwards with Speed and said how he was talking about his family, golf and football with no sign at all of what was going to happen. Emotion has been shown by all comers, with many of my freinds and followers on twitter expressing their sadness at his passing. Shay Given was in tears before the Swansea vs Aston Villa match began and Craig Bellamy withdrew from the Liverpool squad to face Manchester City.
On a quick side note, it's quite sad in a way that it takes an event like this to realise that football doesn't matter. Not really.
I suppose the question over the coming days, will be as Robbie Savage, one of Gary's closest freinds said on twitter: Why? From the outside Gary Speed seemed to have it all. A close family with a wife and two sons. A clean bill of health, a healthy managerial career and respect from many quarters in football.
Those answers will probably start to unravel over the next few days. But for now lets remember Gary Speed as the great footballer and great man. I just hope after todays outpouring of sympathy and tribute, that he knew how much people liked and respected him.
RIP
1969-2011
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Super Sunday (More than just Football)
Hello all again. This blog is now being read in Russia! Perhaps my hope that this will be read by millions will come true! Anyway down to business.
There's only one game in the Premier League today and that's Chelsea vs. Liverpool. Always a huge game in each teams seasons, this is undoubtly too close to call. Chelsea play too much of a high line in defence and that suits the game of Suarez and Bellamy who must surely start up front together. However there is the threat of the Chelsea attack which could consist of Drogba, Malouda, Sturridge Lampard and many others that can break a defence down any day of the week. Both midfield are pretty even too with pace, creativity and power in both.
You'll have noticed that I didn't mention Fernando Torres. Now of course as a Liverpool fan myself, I hope he has a nightmare today. I've been saying to my freinds all week if Torres plays Liverpool are perfectly safe as long as the ball is right in front of the target! However with my unbias head on, you can't help but feeling that if he has a great game today it might finally be the spark he needs to get into a run of consistent form (which is not absoloutly rubbish). Of course also it'll be sods law if Torres scores a hat-trick against Liverpool today!
However, for Chelsea they will have to be wary of Luis Suarez. If he turns up there will be problems in the Chelsea defence adding to the fact that Andre Villas Boas still isn't 100% sure on the make up of his back four. I was surprised to see that Suarez has only scored four goals this season, because it feels like he's done so much more. Nobody can deny, despite the recent racism allegations, that as a footballer he is a class act and on form he can beat a team on his own.
So I shall say a 1-0 win for Liverpool and I'm comforted by the fact that Kenny Dalglish has never lost a game as Liverpool manager against Chelsea (8 wins and 3 draws to be precise).
Also happening on this Super Sunday is the start of the World Tour Tennis Finals at the O2 Arena in London, with Roger Federer playing as I type. He, as always is ones of the favourites, along with Murray and Nadal, but it's difficult to look beyond Novak Djokovic, with his amount of losses in 2011 in singles is quite staggering and I predict he shall beat Nadal in the final next Sunday.
The final part of Super Sunday (Well early Monday morning in the UK) is WWE Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden in New York, where Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson returns to team with his Wrestlemania 28 opponent John Cena against the Miz and R-Truth. The Cena-Rock match at 'Mania is being promoted hugely in the US and this match shall have many eyes glued to their screen to see if they both can co-exist. We must not forget that there is real-life animosity between these two and you must wonder whether this will play a factor in the success or not of this match. Furthermore CM Punk goes in to the garden to attempt to win the WWE title from Alberto Del Rio. Lets just say that nearly everybody who is anybody wants him to win this match and have his chance at the top of the company.
So sit back relax and enjoy Super Sunday. The results shall be fascinating and may be talked about for a very long time.
So until next time the Outsider is out!
There's only one game in the Premier League today and that's Chelsea vs. Liverpool. Always a huge game in each teams seasons, this is undoubtly too close to call. Chelsea play too much of a high line in defence and that suits the game of Suarez and Bellamy who must surely start up front together. However there is the threat of the Chelsea attack which could consist of Drogba, Malouda, Sturridge Lampard and many others that can break a defence down any day of the week. Both midfield are pretty even too with pace, creativity and power in both.
You'll have noticed that I didn't mention Fernando Torres. Now of course as a Liverpool fan myself, I hope he has a nightmare today. I've been saying to my freinds all week if Torres plays Liverpool are perfectly safe as long as the ball is right in front of the target! However with my unbias head on, you can't help but feeling that if he has a great game today it might finally be the spark he needs to get into a run of consistent form (which is not absoloutly rubbish). Of course also it'll be sods law if Torres scores a hat-trick against Liverpool today!
However, for Chelsea they will have to be wary of Luis Suarez. If he turns up there will be problems in the Chelsea defence adding to the fact that Andre Villas Boas still isn't 100% sure on the make up of his back four. I was surprised to see that Suarez has only scored four goals this season, because it feels like he's done so much more. Nobody can deny, despite the recent racism allegations, that as a footballer he is a class act and on form he can beat a team on his own.
So I shall say a 1-0 win for Liverpool and I'm comforted by the fact that Kenny Dalglish has never lost a game as Liverpool manager against Chelsea (8 wins and 3 draws to be precise).
Also happening on this Super Sunday is the start of the World Tour Tennis Finals at the O2 Arena in London, with Roger Federer playing as I type. He, as always is ones of the favourites, along with Murray and Nadal, but it's difficult to look beyond Novak Djokovic, with his amount of losses in 2011 in singles is quite staggering and I predict he shall beat Nadal in the final next Sunday.
The final part of Super Sunday (Well early Monday morning in the UK) is WWE Survivor Series in Madison Square Garden in New York, where Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson returns to team with his Wrestlemania 28 opponent John Cena against the Miz and R-Truth. The Cena-Rock match at 'Mania is being promoted hugely in the US and this match shall have many eyes glued to their screen to see if they both can co-exist. We must not forget that there is real-life animosity between these two and you must wonder whether this will play a factor in the success or not of this match. Furthermore CM Punk goes in to the garden to attempt to win the WWE title from Alberto Del Rio. Lets just say that nearly everybody who is anybody wants him to win this match and have his chance at the top of the company.
So sit back relax and enjoy Super Sunday. The results shall be fascinating and may be talked about for a very long time.
So until next time the Outsider is out!
Friday, 11 November 2011
Time for the Lions to Roar
Hello and welcome to my first blog post it what seems like an age!
Preparations for England's game against Spain have been overshadowed by the John Terry racism row and the row over whether they could wear poppies (shame on you FIFA!) This is the only time I shall mention these incidents in this post as I shall now be focusing on the game itself.
Now many newspapers reports I have seen this week are panicking at the fact that Fabio Capello is going to use more of his youthful and inexperienced squad members against the best international team in the world, European and World Champions Spain.
Now while at first this sounds like a horrifying prospect I have to disagree with the papers negativity. This is indeed the perfect opportunity to see if the youngsters are up to the challenge.
Now let's us face reality. If all goes with the script tomorrow Spain will comfortably beat England. There squad is clearly superior (You can tell that from the fact that they can leave players like Fabregas on the bench and not have any problems) and form wise there are on an incredible roll. This means that England have nothing to lose and all to gain.
This refers to the youngsters who would get the confidence boosts of their careers if they could upset the odds and beat Spain. The seniors of the side like Terry Lampard Barry and others are known to have choked in international tournaments and really cannot be relied on for England to have a successful Euro 2012.
The youngsters like Phil Jones and Chris Smalling need the experience from somewhere not just for next summer but the upcoming World Cup in 2014 in Brazil. By then the likes of Gerrard Ferdinand Lampard and co will have gone and it'll be up to a new era to steer England to success. Now is the time for Capello to see who is and who is not up to the task.
It shall give England a small chance of winning Euro 2012 because now still 7 months away from the tournament Capello shall probably know what the majority of his squad will be barring injuries.
So hopefully tomorrow will go well. I shall predict a 3-1 victory for Spain but all I really want to see is a good quality performance by England. If they can do that with a young team then maybe some belief shall be installed back into us all again.
Thanks for reading and until next time The Outsider is out!
Preparations for England's game against Spain have been overshadowed by the John Terry racism row and the row over whether they could wear poppies (shame on you FIFA!) This is the only time I shall mention these incidents in this post as I shall now be focusing on the game itself.
Now many newspapers reports I have seen this week are panicking at the fact that Fabio Capello is going to use more of his youthful and inexperienced squad members against the best international team in the world, European and World Champions Spain.
Now while at first this sounds like a horrifying prospect I have to disagree with the papers negativity. This is indeed the perfect opportunity to see if the youngsters are up to the challenge.
Now let's us face reality. If all goes with the script tomorrow Spain will comfortably beat England. There squad is clearly superior (You can tell that from the fact that they can leave players like Fabregas on the bench and not have any problems) and form wise there are on an incredible roll. This means that England have nothing to lose and all to gain.
This refers to the youngsters who would get the confidence boosts of their careers if they could upset the odds and beat Spain. The seniors of the side like Terry Lampard Barry and others are known to have choked in international tournaments and really cannot be relied on for England to have a successful Euro 2012.
The youngsters like Phil Jones and Chris Smalling need the experience from somewhere not just for next summer but the upcoming World Cup in 2014 in Brazil. By then the likes of Gerrard Ferdinand Lampard and co will have gone and it'll be up to a new era to steer England to success. Now is the time for Capello to see who is and who is not up to the task.
It shall give England a small chance of winning Euro 2012 because now still 7 months away from the tournament Capello shall probably know what the majority of his squad will be barring injuries.
So hopefully tomorrow will go well. I shall predict a 3-1 victory for Spain but all I really want to see is a good quality performance by England. If they can do that with a young team then maybe some belief shall be installed back into us all again.
Thanks for reading and until next time The Outsider is out!
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