January review
Novak Djokovic, after a semi v Murray lasting nearly five hours , had the iron will to overcome fatigue and take the Australian Open title in the longest Slam final in history (5 hr 53 min). That it was against Nadal, by common consent the fittest player on the Tour, made it even more of a feat . Rafa had also had the luxury of an extra day's rest & a shorter four set semi v Federer.
Djokovic's mental strength was typified for me by the ninth game of the final set. He lost an exhausting 31-shot rally, but went on to win the game.
Some experts have been quick to put the match up there with the all-time great finals, like Wimbledon 2008 (Federer-Nadal) & 1980 (Borg-McEnroe). it was definitely a great match, but the lack of net play is a slight negative. Time will tell whether it deserves to be ranked that highly.
Murray can take heart from coming back from 2-5 down in the fifth set of the semi before eventually succumbing to defeat (7-5). He pushed Djokovic much closer than the straight sets reverse of last year's final.
The womens final was a let down by comparison, turning out to be disappointingly one-sided, as Sharapova won only three games. Azarenka won her first major, & in stark contrast to the men, where the top three players have monopolised the Slams, the last four majors have had first time winners (Stosur, Li Na, Kvitova, Azarenka). I think the latter two will vie for the no.1 ranking over the next few years.
Performance of the Month
There can only be one-Djokovic.
Six Nations Rugby
Before an oval ball was kicked I tipped Wales. They have pace, power & youth in the backs. The Welsh can win the key fixture, home to France, & do the Grand Slam.
Saturday, 11 February 2012
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Manchester Ambitions Reined In
December review
Champions League
The group stage has seen shock exits for Man U & Man City. When United were at their peak, teams from the smaller European leagues like Benfica & Basle would have been swept aside by a comfortable margin at Old Trafford. This season, two home draws against those teams cost them. Man City had a much tougher group, & couldn’t get the better of Bayern & Napoli.
Pundits like Keane & Southgate, in a snap reaction after Man U’s exit, talked of a team in transition. I thought it was premature at the time, & so it’s proved, with them now level on points with City at the top of the Prem. It looks like the title race will go all the way, so far United are coping with the injuries to the likes of Vidic & Jones. However, to go from UCL runners-up to a group stage exit in a year, is still a disaster for them.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have underlined their status as favourites again, with a crushing 4-0 win over Santos in the World Club Cup as well as beating Real 3-1 at the Bernabeu in La Liga.
The draw for the Europa League will have given further ammunition to the conspiracy theorists who believe Platini has an anti-English basis. The draws for Man U & City of Ajax & Porto respectively, are the toughest possible ties.
One of the greats of Braziilan football died last month. Socrates played in two world cups; & the 1982 side of Zico, Falcao, Junior, Eder, is widely thought of as one of the best teams not to have the won the World Cup.
Perfomance of the Year
Novak Djokovic. He went on a 41 match win streak this year, & won three of the four Slams, as well as a setting a new record of five Masters titles in a season. Although his season tailed off slightly with a back injury taking its toll (two retirements) & he finished with a 70-6 win loss record, it was still a standout performance.
Honourable mentions for Cadel Evans, Mark Cavendish, the All Blacks & the England cricket team.
Champions League
The group stage has seen shock exits for Man U & Man City. When United were at their peak, teams from the smaller European leagues like Benfica & Basle would have been swept aside by a comfortable margin at Old Trafford. This season, two home draws against those teams cost them. Man City had a much tougher group, & couldn’t get the better of Bayern & Napoli.
Pundits like Keane & Southgate, in a snap reaction after Man U’s exit, talked of a team in transition. I thought it was premature at the time, & so it’s proved, with them now level on points with City at the top of the Prem. It looks like the title race will go all the way, so far United are coping with the injuries to the likes of Vidic & Jones. However, to go from UCL runners-up to a group stage exit in a year, is still a disaster for them.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have underlined their status as favourites again, with a crushing 4-0 win over Santos in the World Club Cup as well as beating Real 3-1 at the Bernabeu in La Liga.
The draw for the Europa League will have given further ammunition to the conspiracy theorists who believe Platini has an anti-English basis. The draws for Man U & City of Ajax & Porto respectively, are the toughest possible ties.
One of the greats of Braziilan football died last month. Socrates played in two world cups; & the 1982 side of Zico, Falcao, Junior, Eder, is widely thought of as one of the best teams not to have the won the World Cup.
Perfomance of the Year
Novak Djokovic. He went on a 41 match win streak this year, & won three of the four Slams, as well as a setting a new record of five Masters titles in a season. Although his season tailed off slightly with a back injury taking its toll (two retirements) & he finished with a 70-6 win loss record, it was still a standout performance.
Honourable mentions for Cadel Evans, Mark Cavendish, the All Blacks & the England cricket team.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Youth vs Experience
November review
UEFA Euro 2012
Talk about the commentators' curse. In my October blog I'd been praising Spain to the rafters, but an experimental England XI beat them 1-0. In this & the Sweden game we saw the promise of youngsters like Rodwell & Jones. We've been here before of course, it's one thing having good results in friendlies & qualifying, but can they deliver at the business end of a major tournament ? The first game against France will be crucial. If England win the group they would avoid Spain (assuming the Spaniards win their group) in the quarters. I think the semis is the best England can hope for.
ATP World Tour Finals
Roger Federer won the ATP Masters for a record sixth time. I think the shorter format (best of 3 sets) suited him. At the Slams, with the best of 5 set matches, I think fatigue can be a issue and the younger guys will still prevent him from winning a 17th major. Both Tsonga & Djokovic beat him this year from 2 sets down, something that Roger had suffered only once before, in Davis Cup (2003) to Hewitt.
Frazier & Lyle
Last month saw the passing of two great heavies, Joe Frazier & Ron Lyle. They fought in the golden age of the heavyweight division, the 1970's, an era packed with quality: Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Larry Holmes, Earnie Shavers, Jerry Quarry, Lyle. This is in stark contrast to the current situation where Eastern European fighters dominate. Sadly there is no statue of Frazier in his native city of Philadelphia despite his achievements-only one of Rocky Balboa.
Performance of the Month
Federer for winning at the O2, his 70th career tournament title.
UEFA Euro 2012
Talk about the commentators' curse. In my October blog I'd been praising Spain to the rafters, but an experimental England XI beat them 1-0. In this & the Sweden game we saw the promise of youngsters like Rodwell & Jones. We've been here before of course, it's one thing having good results in friendlies & qualifying, but can they deliver at the business end of a major tournament ? The first game against France will be crucial. If England win the group they would avoid Spain (assuming the Spaniards win their group) in the quarters. I think the semis is the best England can hope for.
ATP World Tour Finals
Roger Federer won the ATP Masters for a record sixth time. I think the shorter format (best of 3 sets) suited him. At the Slams, with the best of 5 set matches, I think fatigue can be a issue and the younger guys will still prevent him from winning a 17th major. Both Tsonga & Djokovic beat him this year from 2 sets down, something that Roger had suffered only once before, in Davis Cup (2003) to Hewitt.
Frazier & Lyle
Last month saw the passing of two great heavies, Joe Frazier & Ron Lyle. They fought in the golden age of the heavyweight division, the 1970's, an era packed with quality: Ali, Foreman, Frazier, Larry Holmes, Earnie Shavers, Jerry Quarry, Lyle. This is in stark contrast to the current situation where Eastern European fighters dominate. Sadly there is no statue of Frazier in his native city of Philadelphia despite his achievements-only one of Rocky Balboa.
Performance of the Month
Federer for winning at the O2, his 70th career tournament title.
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Long White Cloud Lifted
Rugby Word Cup
The RWC semis were compelling viewing, especially the first. Wales, despite playing a man down for 60 minutes, scored the only try and were inches away from beating France (Halfpenny's penalty attempt crept agonisingly under the bar).
The emotion of the haka seemed even stronger in this tournament than normal. The electrifying new version featured the players dropping to one knee at dramatic intervals, and a final gesture of hanging the opponent. It was great theatre. The stadium would fall silent for the performance, only punctuating the gaps in the chanting with cheers.
The NZ win the final put an end to 24 years of hurt. The losses of past tournaments were sometimes due to choking under the pressure of expectation as the favourites, on one occasion(1995) an infamous case of alleged food poisoning was blamed.
The All Blacks winning feels like the natural order of things has been restored, like Brazil winning the (football) world cup. In both countries it is a viewed as a total disaster if they don't win the respective quadrennial competition. They don’t get any plaudits back home for a gallant loss in the semis.
Perfomance of the Month-October
It has to be NZ, for getting the monkey off their back after 24 years.
Honourable mention: Andy Murray who won in Shanghai, his 3rd title in a row (including Tokyo where he beat Nadal), to overtake Federer as world no. 3.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Homage To Espana
The famous Bobby Jones quote about Jack Nicklaus 'he plays a game with which I am not familiar' -meaning he had taken the sport to another level-comes to mind after seeing Spain outclass Scotland with a 3-1 win on Tuesday. Scotland needed a win to qualify for Euro 2012, but Spain made it look like an exhibition. Like Barcelona, the Spanish team have great skill combined with superb fitness. They monopolise possession with their passing game & when they do lose it, can often quickly win the ball back with their pressing. Spain finished with a 100 % record-the only other nation to match that is our old chums Germany. Holland lost their perfect streak in a 3-2 loss to Sweden. Spain are in a class of their own at the moment, & can be the the first nation to retain the Euro title. The Germans & the Dutch will be the main challengers, with England another notch below.
US Open Tennis
Djokovic's win at the US Open means he joins a select list of men in the Open era to have won three slams in a calendar year (Federer, Nadal, Laver, Connors, Wilander are the others). He is nailed-on for me as the sportsperson of the year. Currently out with a back injury, his win-loss record for the year is a staggering 64-3.
Andy Murray's run was ended in the semis by Nadal, but it meant he became only the 7th man in the Open era to reach the semis or better of all four Slams in a calendar year.
Oliver Golding is the 1st Brit since Murray to win the boys title-in fact GB provided 3 of the 4 semi-finalists (Kyle Edmund & George Morgan the others). Add in that Liam Broady was the RU in the boys at Wimbledon & the future for the GB men is very bright; not forgetting the promise of Robson & Watson on the womens side.
Performance of the month-September
When originally drafting this, I was going to give it to Ireland for their first ever RWC victory over Australia, but they were knocked out by Wales in the quarters last Saturday.
The honours go instead to Mark Cavendish. Cav topped an incredible year by becoming the world road race champion, his honours list already boasting the Tour de France green jersey, 5 Tour stage wins & 2 Giro stages.
US Open Tennis
Djokovic's win at the US Open means he joins a select list of men in the Open era to have won three slams in a calendar year (Federer, Nadal, Laver, Connors, Wilander are the others). He is nailed-on for me as the sportsperson of the year. Currently out with a back injury, his win-loss record for the year is a staggering 64-3.
Andy Murray's run was ended in the semis by Nadal, but it meant he became only the 7th man in the Open era to reach the semis or better of all four Slams in a calendar year.
Oliver Golding is the 1st Brit since Murray to win the boys title-in fact GB provided 3 of the 4 semi-finalists (Kyle Edmund & George Morgan the others). Add in that Liam Broady was the RU in the boys at Wimbledon & the future for the GB men is very bright; not forgetting the promise of Robson & Watson on the womens side.
Performance of the month-September
When originally drafting this, I was going to give it to Ireland for their first ever RWC victory over Australia, but they were knocked out by Wales in the quarters last Saturday.
The honours go instead to Mark Cavendish. Cav topped an incredible year by becoming the world road race champion, his honours list already boasting the Tour de France green jersey, 5 Tour stage wins & 2 Giro stages.
Saturday, 24 September 2011
August Review
Some standout performances from the World Athletics Champs I particularly enjoyed:
Kirani James & David Rudisha in the 400 & 800 m respectively. James ran down the more fancied American Merritt in the final straight, Rudisha led from gun to tape.The Brits: Mo Farah’s gold & silver in the 5 & 10k, Dai Greene (G in 400 m H ). Hannah England’s unexpected silver in the 1500 m marks her out as a great prospect for 2012. Both Ennis & Idowu expressed their disappointment with silver medals, but will be spurred on to go one better at London 2012.
Bolt’s DQ from the 100 m is a strong argument for the current one false start DQ rule, brought in to suit TV scheduling, to be changed. As the rule stands you can be eliminated for only twitching in the blocks. The idea that the Olympic final could be run potentially without the sport's biggest star on the start line is madness to me. The IAAF need a re-think.
Performance of the month: the England test cricket team reaching the no.1 spot in the world rankings with a 4-0 series sweep of (previous no.1 team) India.
Kirani James & David Rudisha in the 400 & 800 m respectively. James ran down the more fancied American Merritt in the final straight, Rudisha led from gun to tape.The Brits: Mo Farah’s gold & silver in the 5 & 10k, Dai Greene (G in 400 m H ). Hannah England’s unexpected silver in the 1500 m marks her out as a great prospect for 2012. Both Ennis & Idowu expressed their disappointment with silver medals, but will be spurred on to go one better at London 2012.
Bolt’s DQ from the 100 m is a strong argument for the current one false start DQ rule, brought in to suit TV scheduling, to be changed. As the rule stands you can be eliminated for only twitching in the blocks. The idea that the Olympic final could be run potentially without the sport's biggest star on the start line is madness to me. The IAAF need a re-think.
Performance of the month: the England test cricket team reaching the no.1 spot in the world rankings with a 4-0 series sweep of (previous no.1 team) India.
Friday, 12 August 2011
Premiership Predictions
Predictions for the top five:
Arsenal haven't made any signings to solve their problems in central defence or in goal, & the two best creative midfielders leaving is too not too promising either. No doubt they will flatter to deceive again this season & Gervinho may be able to score the goals when Van Persie is injured.
Liverpool can be contenders if they continue the form they showed last season when King Kenny took over. With players like Adam, Suarez, Carroll, (& Gerrard if fit) they look strong in attack but how strong is their defence ?
Man City might be the closest challengers to Man U, but I think even with their squad & the addition of Aguero, they will struggle to cope with balancing their their first season in the Champions League with a title run.
Chelsea have yet to make any big new signings but new coach Villas-Boas had a fantastic season with Porto, & if he can inspire Torres back to form they can push United.
I can't see anyone stopping Man U though. Rooney, Nani, Hernadez/Berbatov in attack & now Ashley Young has been added to the list of top class wingers at Man U. The defence with Vidic & Ferdinand/Smalling should be as tight as last year. the Community Shield win over Man City showed once more that they are the comeback kings, as they did v Blackpool & West Ham in the league last season, they overcame a two-goal defecit to win.
So my top 5 is
1. Man U
2. Chelsea
3. Man City
4. Liverpool
5. Arsenal
Arsenal haven't made any signings to solve their problems in central defence or in goal, & the two best creative midfielders leaving is too not too promising either. No doubt they will flatter to deceive again this season & Gervinho may be able to score the goals when Van Persie is injured.
Liverpool can be contenders if they continue the form they showed last season when King Kenny took over. With players like Adam, Suarez, Carroll, (& Gerrard if fit) they look strong in attack but how strong is their defence ?
Man City might be the closest challengers to Man U, but I think even with their squad & the addition of Aguero, they will struggle to cope with balancing their their first season in the Champions League with a title run.
Chelsea have yet to make any big new signings but new coach Villas-Boas had a fantastic season with Porto, & if he can inspire Torres back to form they can push United.
I can't see anyone stopping Man U though. Rooney, Nani, Hernadez/Berbatov in attack & now Ashley Young has been added to the list of top class wingers at Man U. The defence with Vidic & Ferdinand/Smalling should be as tight as last year. the Community Shield win over Man City showed once more that they are the comeback kings, as they did v Blackpool & West Ham in the league last season, they overcame a two-goal defecit to win.
So my top 5 is
1. Man U
2. Chelsea
3. Man City
4. Liverpool
5. Arsenal
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