Australia are demoralised - Botham

Posted by Ben Blackmore on 30/11/2010

Sir Ian Botham has upset his fair share of England cricketers over the years. The former allrounder’s willingness to call events as he sees them has often seen his compatriots at the end of a verbal bashing, but even “Beefy” was stunned by England’s performance in the first Ashes Test against Australia – as he writes in the Daily Mirror...

That was a Test match to savour if you're an England fan. Keep saying it to yourself - 517 for 1. Not for two or three but for one and that means something very special indeed. It doesn't matter where you are or who you're playing - to do something like that is remarkable. But to do it in an opening Ashes Test in Australia when you're 221 runs behind is mind-boggling.

I'm delighted for the boys who have come away from Brisbane not only with their heads held high but having landed one on the Australians' nose. Of course England would have wanted to win this game, but when Peter Siddle has the sort of day he did on Thursday there is not a lot you can do about it. Hat-tricks are incredibly rare so don't worry about him doing it again in a hurry.

But once we've said well done to Siddle, and to Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin for their partnership, the one thing to take away from the game is how much better England will feel than Australia. Andrew Strauss's job now is to channel his players' confidence in the right way and not let them get ahead of themselves.

That was Alastair Cook's best performance in an England shirt bar none and it came about because he has gone back to what works best for him. He now looks more like the run-scoring machine that came into the side as a kid than he did scratching around at the start of last summer.

And for Jonathan Trott to hit another Ashes ton in only his second game you just wonder what's in store in Adelaide and beyond for him. He is becoming so reliable for England at No.3 that it is a surprise when he doesn't get the side a score.

England are in rude health and if they get the chance to bat first in Adelaide, this Australian side might just break. I can't remember seeing a more demoralised Australian team in the middle of a match for a long time. Midway through the England innings they looked so bereft of ideas and enthusiasm I had to check that I was still watching the same team. It goes to show that no one likes fetching leather for 10 hours without any joy to sustain it.

The Australians are now the ones who have to do something to shake things up and I wouldn't be surprised to see a change in their team by Friday. They won't want to change their side because it is a sign of weakness, but when your bowlers are made to look so average in front of the watching world, it takes a brave group to carry on as if nothing is wrong. The players know it and that is the psychological blow that England have landed. It is now a matter of building on it.

I have no doubt that they will. One special England performance followed by another will do nicely.

Ali vs Frazier, with rackets for gloves

Posted by Ben Blackmore on 29/11/2010

For the first time since that near-on five-hour Wimbledon classic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal waged war upon one another in London once again on Sunday, and for Daily Telegraph writer Ian Chadband, it’s just about as good as sport gets...

The greatest rivalries in sporting history have thrived on the highs and lows, the to’s and the fro’s, but they fade away when inevitability strikes.

So there were moments after the second set of yet another fabulous chapter of the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal saga here at the O2 Arena that it just felt that we might be witnessing the end of a thrilling duopoly and the advent of a Spanish monopoly.

We had been here before; Federer, the prince, forging ahead, offering shotmaking from the Gods, looking untouchable – “unplayable,” Nadal called his opening barrage – like the best there has ever been.

Then finding himself being pegged back inexorably by tennis’s relentless dementor, the most astonishing athlete his sport has witnessed, sucking away his confidence and belief.

When the Swiss tumbled during the second set, trying desperately to retrieve a net cord and rose groggily, it felt as if it could be the same old, same old. A seventh defeat in their last eight encounters seemed to be gnawing at Federer. Good grief, he was even sweating under the lights.

Then, magically, Federer awoke, inspired and driven by the champion’s heart we so often take for granted because he can make the game look so absurdly easy, while the dementor perceptibly began to be drained of the energy that propels his malevolent intent. Yes, Nadal was weary after his Saturday best. Yes, Nadal was human. Hold the back page!

When it dawned on Federer that his final looping forehand had actually dipped on to the line, he screamed to the Dome top. It was not a slam but it may have meant as much. It was the match he had to win. For his ego, his belief, perhaps even for his grand slam future.

He sounded re-energised. “I hope I can play for many more years to come,” he said. “I think it’s possible.”

Fantastic if it means countless new sequels in a duel which surely belongs up there alongside the likes of Coe-Ovett, Borg-McEnroe, Prost-Senna and Ali-Frazier. With one great difference, of course. There is not the same personal edge, from distaste to plain hostility, which characterised the others.

The theory is that if ‘hate sells’, Rafa v Roger just does not possess the ingredients of the tastiest sporting feuds. They’re just too damn nice, killing each other with politeness. So Rafa would never dream of making an excuse. “I don’t say I lost because I was tired,” he insisted. And as for rivalry, there was none, he shrugged. “We have a great relationship all the time, no?”

But isn’t that matiness actually what helps make it a completely refreshing rivalry for the ages? Cut out all of the hype and unnecessary posturing and manufactured animosity and just savour only the absolute competitive brilliance of two masters near the peak of their powers.
“We’re playing not only for ourselves but for history,” as Federer put it. “There will always be a lot at stake in all of our future matches, and I think it’s wonderful.”

The glitterati evidently thought so too, all wanting an ‘I was there’ moment, from royalty (Princess Beatrice) to Hollywood (Kevin Spacey) to rock ’n roll (Ronnie Wood) to politics (Boris Johnson) and, naturally, sport.

All just to witness just a few snapshots of the dazzling fare we saw in the match on a lawn across town two years ago. Two consecutive points in the sixth game of the opening set summed up the magnificence; two long rallies of high speed chess, fantastic retrieving, virtuoso shotmaking and amazing all-court athleticism.

Federer ended the first with a sublime, silky backhand winner and Nadal the next with a murderous forehand crusher. Ali versus Frazier, with rackets for gloves. Sport does not get much better.

Fearless Strauss and Cook get England back on track

Posted by Jo Carter on 28/11/2010

Geoffrey Boycott is no stranger to the Ashes, having scored seven career centuries against Australia. And in his Telegraph column, he was full of praise for England openers Andrews Strauss and Alastair Cook after they rescued England's cause in Brisbane.

What a wonderfully uplifting day for England. Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook batted splendidly and showed there is nothing to fear from this Australian attack.

Strauss’s footwork and driving were terrific. During this innings Strauss cut the ball over gully, not at it, and the only time he looked like getting out was when he tried to hit the spinners over the top, which he shouldn’t have been doing in the first place.

Cook played a controlled innings which may have been steadier than his first innings but was much more valuable to England.

Yesterday all the good fortune went with Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin. Today it was England’s turn. When they played and missed an odd ball or a slightly false shot, Australia could not hang on to the catches. Even when Australia used the review system they got it wrong.

Mitchell Johnson was a shadow of the bowler he is has been in the past. He dropped a catch, he got nought when he batted and has taken no wickets for more than 100 in the match. His place is in jeopardy. Ricky Ponting’s field placings were also far too defensive for a team trying to win the match.

The pitch is still very good for batting and there is no reason why England should not save the game, which considering how many times we have lost at Brisbane in the past, is a good start to the series for England.

Australia murdered us

Posted by Ben Blackmore on 27/11/2010

England are staring down the barrel of defeat in the first Ashes Test against Australia, and former batsman Geoff Boycott has been quick to put the boot in. Writing for the Telegraph, he blames a less-than-ordinary batting performance for the visitors’ woes at the Gabba...

This was always going to be the decisive day of this Test and Australia murdered us.

James Anderson bowled really well without any good fortune. Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad were ordinary. Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin just systematically took us apart. They showed our batsmen that pretty little 30s, 40s and 50s don’t win Test matches. Those two Aussie batsmen put their team in a position to win the game.

Do you think England’s batsmen can bat six sessions? It is possible but highly improbable because so many of them want to play shots all the time. They are going to have to make 400-450 to give themselves any chance of bowling Australia out for 180-200.

Don’t compare this to us saving the match in Cardiff last year. We only had three-and-a-half sessions to bat and rain took away a number of the overs.

When you do not bat well enough in the first innings and only score 260, then the little things like umpiring decisions and half-chances tend to go against you.

The resolve Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook have shown the whole team will have to show for the next two days because even if we can’t save the match we have to salvage some pride and earn some respect for a gutsy performance.

Time has come for Wenger to realise he has to go

Posted by Alex Livie on 26/11/2010

Arsenal missed the chance to go top of the Premier League when surrendering a 2-0 lead to fall 3-2 at home to bitter rivals Tottenham. The mood at the Emirates was a sombre one, with a sense of what might have been, and the Daily Telegraph’s Matthew Norman has put his head above the parapet by claiming the time has come for Arsene Wenger to go.

"Nowadays no one - not our Queen, her ministers, the Archbishop of Canterbury, not even Cheryl Cole - lies beyond attack from the vicious iconoclasts of both public and media.

No one, that is, except Arsène Wenger. Miraculously, the Alsatian alone continues to inspire a degree of deference unknown in Her Majesty’s realm since a peer was ostracised from society in the late 1950s for mocking her accent.

To those of us who have come to regard Wenger as a shot fighter, this is the leading mystery of an endlessly perplexing age.

Nowadays no one — not our Queen, her ministers, the Archbishop of Canterbury, not even Cheryl Cole — lies beyond attack from the vicious iconoclasts of both public and media.

No one, that is, except Arsène Wenger. Miraculously, the Alsatian alone continues to inspire a degree of deference unknown in Her Majesty’s realm since a peer was ostracised from society in the late 1950s for mocking her accent.

To those of us who have come to regard Wenger as a shot fighter, this is the leading mystery of an endlessly perplexing age.

Certainly he won a bundle of trophies, and in glorious style, but that was then. Even Churchill finally accepted that no one can “keep buggering on” forever. Will Arsène Wenger ever do the same?"

Tottenham at home in Europe

Posted by Josh Williams on 25/11/2010

After Tottenham sealed their place in the first knockout round of the Champions League with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Werder Bremen, the tributes have been flooding in. Paul Hayward, writing in the Guardian, praises Spurs' scintillating attacking football.

A splash of glamour and some extra cash were meant to be the brief rewards for Spurs in Europe. Then Christmas would come and the real business of winning the league title for the first time since 1961 would reclaim its hold on White Hart Lane.

This was the old-fashioned way: win your domestic championship then come over all cosmopolitan and head for the continent. But little about today's Tottenham Hotspur could be called linear, except Peter Crouch. In Harry Redknapp's universe Spurs are 4-0 down at Internazionale and lose 4-3; they trail by two at Arsenal and go home 3-2 winners; they squash Inter at home but lose on their own grass to Wigan – and away at West Ham and Bolton. A season ticket here brings the chance to observe at least two Tottenham personalities.

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The gloves are off

Posted by Alex Livie on 24/11/2010

Australia have not lost at the Gabba in 22 year, but England arrive in Brisbane with a spring in their step while for the first time in decades there is a fear among Australian supporters that the tourists will get the job done. The series gets underway with England in with a genuine chance of defending the urn, but the Guardian’s Mike Selvey feels it would be folly to underestimate Ricky Ponting’s men on a ground they know so well.

"This Ashes tour has been like no other in living memory. While England have gone on their serene way in Test match preparation, with scarcely a hiccup to upset the progress, the Australians have been floundering with issues of form, fitness, and confidence, each as yet not fully resolved.

Cricket Australia, the governing body, seems to be in turmoil, with a marketing department that appears to be ruling the roost. The chairman of selectors made his initial squad announcement from beneath the railway arches by Circular Quay in Sydney, and latterly, when the squad was reduced, could be interviewed by the luggage carousel at Adelaide airport. Few players have managed any performances of substance in the state cricket they have played, and two days ago their reserve wicketkeeper Tim Paine, himself pushing strongly for a Test spot, broke a finger playing in a hit-and-giggle promotional Twenty20 match at The Gabba, and is out for the duration of the series. It has been calamitous.

Even the phoney war, that period when local comment bounces between the barbed and the patronising, has been powder-puff stuff, done for the sake of it rather than with any real malice. So Mitchell Johnson is going to "target" Andrew Strauss (he is an opening bowler: who else is he going to target? Kylie Minogue?), Matthew Hayden says that England have been "hiding" and have had "a sleepy start so far", which shows what can happen if you club yourself over the head with your own Mongoose, while one newspaper's risible go at baiting England – headlined "10 reasons why the Poms are duds" – would have been fine if you could not have substituted Australia for each and every one. It just hasn't been the same. If not actually an air of resignation, there is apprehension in the wind. Even the majority of local pundits appear to be tipping England to win the series.

But everyone knows that when the teams arrive at The Gabba tomorrow, none of this, not England's controlled build-up or Australia's flapping, will count for a hill of beans. In Australia, there is no such thing as an uncompetitive Australian cricket team. At The Gabba, that charmless, characterless concrete bowl, with its dressing‑room bunkers, they have been nigh on invincible. And they know that since Len Hutton's 1954-55 England side lost by an innings but won three Tests thereafter, no visiting side has come unstuck at The Gabba and recovered to win the series. They play here at this time of year for climatic reasons rather than to exert early authority, but the fact remains that this is their fortress.

In order then to win the series, or even draw it, England need to overturn history for unless the weather interferes in its tropical intensity, The Gabba does not do draws. Andy Flower is a keen student of statistical analysis so will be aware of the most fundamental of these: that Australia have lost only three of the past 26 matches played between the sides in Australia since Mike Gatting's 1986-87 triumph and each of those after the destiny of the Ashes had been decided; that indeed Australia have won 10 of the past 11 Ashes matches in this country; and that no visiting team has won a Test match in Brisbane since Viv Richards's great West Indians 22 years ago."

Boycott's Ashes XI

Posted by Ben Blackmore on 23/11/2010

Paul Collingwood believes the current England side is the best he has played in, but how would it compare to its predecessors? Writing for the Telegraph, Geoff Boycott, king of the measured innings, selects his Ashes XI from a specific group of players picked only from the Ashes series in which he played...

Ray Illingworth went in with three openers to blunt the Australian new-ball attack, plus a posse of quick bowlers led by John Snow. So when Telegraph Sport asked me to pick my best English XI – composed only of team-mates from my eight Ashes series – I opted for the spine of that 1970-71 team: myself and John Edrich at the top, Alan Knott behind the stumps, and Snow spearheading the attack.

Openers

Some of you might ask why I haven’t opened with Graham Gooch. Now I’m a big fan of Graham’s, he was a fantastic player, but if you look at his record against Australia, it’s not that special. He had a horrible time in 1989, when Terry Alderman kept turning him round and smacking him on the pad. And Australia have got Alderman in their best XI. I’m going for Edrich instead, and myself of course. Between us, we have 14 hundreds against the Aussies — and that’s a decent record by any standard. John had one of the greatest temperaments I have ever seen: he could play and miss and it wouldn’t bother him one jot. As with Herbert Sutcliffe, it was impossible to fluster him.

Middle order

At No 3, you’ve got to have Ted Dexter. He was a fantastic player who stood up well to the quicks. Ted could easily get bored against medium-pace trundlers but he was stimulated by a real challenge — and Lillee and Thomson were always that.
Colin Cowdrey couldn’t help being a hail-fellow-well-met sort of person, chatting away to everybody and doing his bit for the entente cordiale.
But when he switched on he was a classy technician who had an answer for everything. I’ve also picked Ken Barrington, of whom Wally Grout famously said: “Whenever I saw Ken coming to the wicket, I thought the Union Jack was trailing behind him.”
To complete the middle order, I’ve gone for David Gower. We all know that David was capable of doing something daft at any time, but he was also a flair player with extraordinary timing: he could lean on the ball and it would disappear. A top six needs different elements, and as we’ve got dependable people like Barrington and Boycott, it’s worth having a couple of instinctive, intuitive players.

Wicketkeeper

This is the easiest selection of the lot. Alan Knott was a genius - ask Ian Chappell, who always rated him very highly. He hardly ever missed anything, and he made runs at the times when they were most needed. It gave our bowlers confidence to know they had such a magician behind the stumps.

Bowlers

Ian Botham was a great cricketer in anyone’s language. He had a big backside, big shoulders, and a narrow waist, and before his back injury he had this fantastic turn in his action which gave him real pace and swing.
Botham’s achievements tended to overshadow those of Bob Willis, but people forget what a good foil Willis was for him. You don’t take 325 wickets without a bit of talent. By the end of his career, the old boy’s joints were creaking, and he probably played on for a couple of years when he wasn’t at his best. But as a young fast bowler, he was sharp and he had bounce.
Snow at times was a great fast bowler. You needed to know how to handle him, because sometimes he needed a kick up the backside, and sometimes he needed to be left alone. But he had a knack for getting the ball up from just short of a length into the batsman’s ribs. In 1970-71, it was his bowling that did more than anything to win the series for England.
Derek Underwood was a lovely man but a mean bowler, who hated giving away every single run. When conditions were against him, he would just keep things quiet, but if he came across a spinning pitch, look out, because he would win the game for you.
You might have spotted that I haven’t picked Fred Trueman. I love Fred, but by the time I came into the England side in 1964, he was past his peak, so regrettably I’ve had to leave him out.
Captain
On pure batting and bowling talent, I’m not sure whether Illy himself would make my best XI. But without him, I can’t see a convincing captain in this team. So I’m picking Raymond to lead the side, and I’m going to let him make the decision of which batsman he’s going to drop to make room for himself!
Illy can bat at No 7, one place below Botham, with Knott at No 8, and Snow - who had a brief spell as an opening batsman at Sussex - at No 9.
That also gets around the fact that none of England’s specialist batsmen can contribute much with the ball, except perhaps Dexter with his occasional seamers. A five-man attack gives you the best opportunity to take control of a game, because it means you don’t have those awkward periods when all your bowlers are tired. And Illy, with his miserly off-spin, his canny batting and his catching at gully, will make a contribution in every part of the game.

England XII (from)

Geoff Boycott, John Edrich, Ted Dexter, Colin Cowdrey, David Gower, Ken Barrington, Ian Botham, Ray Illingworth (c) Alan Knott (wk), John Snow, Bob Willis, Derek Underwood.

Johnson's rocky road to acceptance

Posted by Josh Williams on 22/11/2010

Martin Johnson has had to travel a long, rocky road to acceptance - but the England team director now appears to have finally won round his doubters. Richard Williams, writing in the Guardian, pays tribute to the rugby legend:

A year ago a cynic would have made a pointed comparison between Martin Johnson's faltering tenure as manager of the England rugby team and Fabio Capello's confident qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup. How fast things can change.

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City can't afford to lose Mancini

Posted by Josh Williams on 21/11/2010

Manchester City bosses old and new meet today at Craven Cottage, with Roberto Mancini aiming to outwit Mark Hughes. The Italian finds himself under severe pressure - something Hughes knows all about - but Paul Wilson, writing in the Observer, believes he should hold onto his job no matter what the result against Fulham.

To give Roberto Mancini his due, he retains a sense of humour, something he may need if Manchester City's reunion with Mark Hughes goes badly this afternoon. City do not seem to be able to buy the affection of players for any amount of money, and when the newly arrived and little seen Mario Balotelli picked up the Carlos Tevez habit of pining aloud for his homeland on international duty last week, the man who offered him a five-year contract smiled enigmatically. "Before Mario can leave he must start to play," Mancini joked.

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England can win the World Cup

Posted by Alex Livie on 20/11/2010

Will Greenwood waxed lyrical about England following their stunning win over Australia last week and his impression of the team was only increased by the more amber nectar he consumed. But even in the cold light of day, the Daily Telegraph writer is convinced his first impression was correct.

"Some things in life just do not mix. City and United, socks and sandals, Wayne Rooney and sun tans; all of them are combustible combinations. I have found out to my cost that one of the trickiest partnerships to manage is beer and Twitter. England pulled off one of the great Twickenham victories last Saturday.

It was as good as anything any they had done in the past 10 years. It was the sort of win that gets rivals sitting up and taking notice. I was excited. Add a couple of pints to the mix, and I was thinking about global domination. I tweeted as much, saying that England could now make the World Cup final in 12 months' time.

Wow, the variety of response from English, Celtic, southern hemisphere supporters was extreme to say the least. Here is a quick summary: arrogant English; one swallow doesn't make a summer; overhyped English media. There was the odd one that said "Auckland here we come", but the insults won by a country mile.

The thing is, though, the more I sit back and reflect on it, the more I am happy to stand by what I said. The win has put England fourth in the world standings.

They have Argentina and Scotland as the two main threats in their World Cup group. As things stand, they have to be confident of winning that and going up against the runners-up of New Zealand's group, probably France, in the quarter-finals.

Tough game, but very doable as we all know what happens to the French at World Cups if they see Jonny Wilkinson in the stadium. Win that, and they probably get Australia in the semis, and we all know what they just did to the Wallabies."

WACA looking dangerous ahead of the Ashes

Posted by Ben Blackmore on 19/11/2010

Usually it would be England looking for excuses ahead of an Ashes series, but it is Australia who might want to rehearse their lines as the Guardian’s David Hopps reveals a badly deteriorating pitch at the WACA...

Cracks have been appearing in the Australian batting line-up of late, and now they are turning up in their pitches. There are signs that the WACA may be on the verge of regaining the pace that made it the most ferocious Test surface in the world after an earthquake-like crack running down the length of the pitch almost caused the abandonment of a second XI match between Western Australia and New South Wales.

The fault line, three to four centimetres at its widest, might not have been quite as vast as some of the cracks that unnerved batsmen a generation ago – the former England captain, David Gower, famously was once photographed with his bat wedged so deep into a crack in a Test pitch that it stood up on its own – but it caused New South Wales to press for the match to be abandoned.

Their pleas went unheard with the umpire Nathan Johnston ruling that the final day would go ahead as long as there were "no silly buggers" from the pitch. New South Wales, six wickets down overnight and facing a heavy defeat, made 244 and lost by 234 runs.

The third Ashes Test, scheduled from 16 to 20 December, is due to take place two strips along from this surface, but Western Australia's chief executive, Graeme Wood, a former Australia Test opener, dismissed any suggestions that the match might be in jeopardy. Instead, he brazenly praised signs that the WACA, dormant for too long, could be about to explode again – perhaps even when Australia and England meet again in less than a month's time.

"There are pretty good signs there," Wood said. "There was no danger for the batsmen and if there are cracks in the pitch, that confirms that the block is starting to get harder. We've been seeking greater pace and bounce for some years now."

No immediate comment was available from either side at how a super-fast Perth surface might influence the result of the Ashes. In Western Australia, it will renew hope that the local boy Mitchell Johnson might rediscover his threat, although recently he has not been able to hit the cut bit, never mind the cracks.

England will point to the presence in their ranks of the three tallest fast bowlers – Stuart Broad, Steve Finn and Chris Tremlett – and believe that they can take full advantage.

The WACA's groundsman, Cam Sutherland, has sourced clay from the banks of the Harvey River in the last few years in a deliberate attempt to revive the Waca's fearsome reputation and bring a more gladiatorial air to Perth cricket to remove its reputation as the least cricket-orientated of Australia's Test venues.

It was here that the West Indies fast bowler Curtly Ambrose took seven wickets for one run against Australia in 1992-93 in less than an hour of lightning pace and trampoline bounce. Eight years earlier, on Armistice Day, another West Indies quick, Michael Holding, took six wickets to bowl out Australia for 76, their lowest Test score for more than 40 years.

England were also on the receiving end of some frightening fast bowling from Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson in the mid-70s as they were unable to cope with the WACA's slick, concrete-like strip. England's opener, David Lloyd, who doubled up after being struck in the box, later turned it into a substantial slice of an after-dinner speech.

Sutherland insisted that a rapid doubling in temperatures to 37C after last week's wet weather had influenced the cracking of the surface, which has dried out too quickly. He also insisted that cracks in the WACA pitches of old were significantly wider. Only one game has ever been abandoned at the WACA because it was deemed too dangerous – a one-day match in 2000 between WA and Queensland, and even that was played on a used surface.

Capello's Carroll quandary

Posted by Alex Livie on 18/11/2010

Although Andy Carroll impressed for England on his debut – a 2-1 friendly loss to France – Richard Williams, writing in the Guardian, believes that the Newcastle striker could prove a hindrance in the long run due to his preference for an aerial ball.

"The problem is that when you have a player like Carroll in the side, there will always be the temptation to lump the ball in his direction at every opportunity, either to relieve pressure or because, you never know, something might come of it. And in terms of cerebral effort, it is certainly more economical than the task of building moves with the sort of patient deftness that gave France their victory.

The first thing to note was that Andy ¬Carroll would be unlikely to find a place in the France line-up. During the national anthem, he remains silent. Rather more significantly, he represents a style of football that would be anathema to last night's visitors to Wembley.

Six foot three and 21 years old, full of combative physicality, Carroll is the answer to the question: where are the English centre-forwards of yesteryear? The trouble is that when you find one, he is likely to inspire the football of yesteryear, too.

That was certainly how it seemed in last night's first half, as Laurent Blanc's team, orchestrated by the superb Samir Nasri and seemingly at the start of what might become a full-scale renaissance, gave Fabio Capello's men a lesson in the game's arts. As France passed their way around the fringes of the England area and scored a peach of an opening goal, the home side looked what they were: an outfit deprived of at least seven starting players.

Carroll, one of Capello's debutants, could hardly be blamed. He did everything he was expected and required to do. After 40 seconds he drew a foul from Philippe Mexès, giving Steven Gerrard an early opportunity to test Hugo Lloris with a 30-yard free-kick. Five minutes later Adil Rami, Mexès's centre-back partner, was bouncing off the Newcastle United man as the ball was neatly laid off.

Good things kept happening for Carroll, or nearly happening. After eight minutes he made a strong run from his own half, exchanged passes with Theo Walcott on the right flank and looped a clever cross on to the head of Gerrard, who glanced it on for James Milner. Five minutes later Milner was again the recipient, this time as Carroll himself rose to redirect Ben Foster's clearance.

There were two more towering headed flicks from the centre-forward before half-time, one of them provoking a wild half-volleyed shot from the hugely disappointing Gerrard. Most of the time, however, Carroll seemed to be devoid of support, operating in acres of space otherwise occupied only by his markers.

Ten minutes before the interval he was reduced to heading the ball down to himself before shooting at Lloris from outside the area. Soon afterwards he seized his only chance to turn with the ball and attack a defender, leaving Mexès floundering.

The Italians often like to incorporate a tall, powerful, awkward striker into an otherwise suavely skilful side. Is Carroll a constant danger like Alessandro Altobelli or a black hole like Andrea Silenzi, from which nothing of substance emerges? The English striker he most closely resembles is Mark Hateley, who also plied his trade for a while in Italy, where he was known to Milan's fans as Attila. The morning after a majestic headed goal provided the winner in his first San Siro derby, the Gazzetta dello Sport published a statistical comparison purporting to prove that he was a better all-round player than John Charles. Early impressions can sometimes be misleading.

The problem is that when you have a player like Carroll in the side, there will always be the temptation to lump the ball in his direction at every opportunity, either to relieve pressure or because, you never know, something might come of it. And in terms of cerebral effort, it is certainly more economical than the task of building moves with the sort of patient deftness that gave France their victory.

Capello made changes at half-time and there was the promise of a more dynamic right-wing partnership between Micah Richards and Adam Johnson but Mathieu Valbuena was able to double France's lead with humiliating ease.

Looking at the way Carroll was deployed, and the gormlessness of the football going on around him, it was impossible to escape the conclusion that only England could make 4-2-3-1, the favoured formation in recent seasons of sophisticated sides such as Spain, Barcelona and José Mourinho's Internazionale, look like a relic of the past. Finally persuaded to abandon his lifelong loyalty to 4-4-2, Capello has given no indication of a feeling for the nuances of the alternative.
It would be wrong to expect the manager to hurl young players into the fray with indiscriminate abandon. By this time, however, the Italian really ought to have imposed some sort of reliable pattern into which new faces could be fitted with minimal disruption.

Players making their first senior international appearances should be able to look after themselves, but it was asking too much of Carroll and Jordan Henderson to give full expression to their gifts in such an undisciplined and uninspiring environment.

Both deserve another chance, but it will take a much more inventive approach from the manager if England are to devise a way of integrating Carroll's valuable but rough-hewn qualities into a style of play that would allow them to match their own expectations by competing with the world's best. For all their frenzied late revival, last night they showed once again how far there is to travel before that level is approached."

KP the key to Ashes glory

Posted by Jo Carter on 17/11/2010

Kevin Pietersen may not be enjoying the greatest spell of his career, but as the saying goes, form is temporary; class permatnent. He may not have done enough to go down as one of England's true greats, but Derek Pringle in the Daily Telegraph knows only too well that Pietersen's form could well affect the destination of the Ashes urn.

Only the truly great cricketers never lose their aura, which is why Kevin Pietersen may have to settle for something less when his epilogue is written, for he has lost his, at least for the moment.

Whenever Viv Richards came in to bat, or even now when he saunters into a bar, the energy fizzes and crackles around him. Bowlers knew, as they watched him take guard in that very regal and deliberate way of his, that an assault was about to start, and that even their very best efforts were likely to result in humiliation as the ball was carted over square leg.

Comfort zones simply evaporated when bowling to Richards and until recently Pietersen carried a similar menace when he arrived at the crease – but not any more. Every batsman experiences a wobble or two during their career but Pietersen’s quivering uncertainty when faced by left-arm spinners has been a real David and Goliath leveller for England’s most talented batsman.

Whether the underlying doubts came before or after the lefties exposed him is the chicken-and-egg question Pietersen and England need to crack if he is to become a match-changer again. But just in case he needed reminding of those frailties, Australia have included one left-arm spinner, Tasmania’s Xavier Doherty, in their 17-man squad.

Pietersen’s efforts to rediscover his majesty have taken him back to Graham Ford, his schoolboy coach in South Africa, and a brief spell with the team he forsook for an international career. Like all top sportsmen, Pietersen works hard at looking unconcerned but for him to return to Durban, cap in hand, shows how much his slump — and having not scored a Test century for 18 months it has gone long enough to be called that – is worrying him.

Here in Australia, attempts to re-establish his hegemony in the batting order have resulted in two frenetic innings in Perth and a slightly more controlled one in Adelaide, at least until a loose hook brought his downfall there. Like one of those illusions you get in a hall of mirrors, the more like his old self he tries to be the further away he seems.

Continue reading "KP the key to Ashes glory"

Shedloads of cash... no class

Posted by Alex Livie on 16/11/2010

Chelsea are facing up to the prospect of losing their captain John Terry for a month, were thumped by Sunderland at the weekend and sacked Ray Wilkins last week. The champions would appear to be a club in turmoil and Ian Wright, in his column in the Sun, has taken a swipe at the club for their handling of Wilkins’ departure.

"Chelsea have once again proved they have loads of money but a shortage of class.

I did not like the way they tapped-up both Ashley Cole and Sven Goran Eriksson or how Claudio Ranieri was treated when he was shoved out the door.

Their latest example of behaving shabbily was the sacking of No 2 Ray Wilkins

Equally, Roman Abramovich has proved he has little respect for Carlo Ancelotti by removing Ray seemingly without the manager's approval.

There is no way you could ever imagine the Glazers dismissing Mike Phelan without the knowledge of Alex Ferguson or Arsenal ignoring Arsene Wenger and kicking out Pat Rice.

It just wouldn't happen. But it appears Ancelotti is only charged with team matters and these events over the last few days have merely weakened his position.

This treatment of Ray is also another example of why Jose Mourinho was right to walk away following his power struggle with Abramovich."

This farce damaged boxing

Posted by Alex Livie on 15/11/2010

David Haye did what was expected and demolished Audley Harrison to defend his heavyweight belt in Manchester on Saturday. But it was made easy for him by an opponent who failed to throw a punch in anger before being flattened in the third round. The conclusion of the first two rounds were greeted with boos as the two fighters looked at each other without any sign of attack. Haye finally attacked in the third and it led to a swift end. The fight confirmed Haye’s position as a genuine world-class fighter, but the manner of the victory had The Sun’s Pat Sheehan suggesting the fight did more damage than good for the sport.

"Just how Audley Harrison managed to manoeuvre himself into the position of getting a world-title shot is beyond any joke.

They say in boxing you can only beat what is put in front of you and David Haye had no trouble in doing just that in front of fans who rightly expected a lot more from Harrison.

It is not an overstatement to say fight fans were conned by Harrison who talked big but produced little.

Harrison treated the bout like a non-contact sport that would have warmed the cockles of the anti-fight brigade's hearts instead of what boxing is supposed to be - the ultimate one-to-one combat.

General sport fans would have bought into the hype but they won't like the idea of feeling they've been conned and will back off when it comes to dipping into their pockets again.

Youngsters being taught boxing, which is making a welcome return to some schools, are told the fight game isn't only about your skill with fists but about heart, will and desire.

They will have found it was in short supply in Manchester as Harrison stepped between the ropes.

The MEN Arena was packed to the rafters but if Harrison ever returns to fight again here, who would bet against a phone box not being full?"

Memories of 2003

Posted by Jo Carter on 14/11/2010

After an honourable defeat to the All Blacks last weekend, Martin Johnson inspired England to one of the best England performances in recent memory, and Paul Hayward in the Observer believes England are on the road to becoming a world-beating force once again.

Just after 3.30pm on a thrilling afternoon, England faced their most important 40 minutes since the 2007 World Cup final, or even the great triumph of four years earlier in Sydney. They had led 16-6 at the break and this was their moment to cease being a dull work in progress and assume a fresh identity as a team capable of electrifying Twickenham.

Rare indeed it is for a side to reach such an easily identifiable crossroads. A collapse against these Wallabies would have sent English rugby back under the duvet for a generation. But a continuation of the spirit and audacity of their first-half performance would re-establish Martin Johnson's perkily rebuilt side as a global force again.

The answer was profound and exhilarating. Six minutes into the half they forced a turnover near their own goalline. Ben Youngs, a real star in the making at scrum-half, side-stepped his way out of defence and flicked it to Courtney Lawes, who then off-loaded it to Chris Ashton, who had 90 metres of turf ahead of him.

Off he set, pumping and snorting along Australia's left before swerving inside and ignoring the support outside to touch down under the posts. With Toby Flood's conversion, England led 26-6 and mediocrity's stone had lifted. Back came the songs; in from the wilderness came England's 2011 World Cup prospects. Most of all, coming to HQ had ceased to feel like an expensive duty, an eternal waiting game, and started to seem like fun again.

From his Sky commentary box, Stuart Barnes called it English rugby's finest result since the 2003 final in Australia. That win, magnificent in all respects, will be remembered as the last flourish of a side that took four years to mature. This 35-18 victory should be the first day of a new age. England obliterated an Australia side that had beaten the All Blacks 14 days ago, not with a desperate swing of Jonny Wilkinson's boot but a sparkling array of attacking talent, who galloped, dodged, passed and surged their way to a win that might have caused them to be mistaken for a Tri-Nations side.

There had been flashes of promise, glimpses of intent, in the previous week's 26-16 defeat to New Zealand, but this was a gift and revelation to the Twickenham supporters, who had wondered whether England's ship would ever come in. On packed trains and crammed roads, the hardcore have struggled their way to the annual autumn vigil. Those who stayed away from the second of these autumn internationals through ennui missed a rebirth.

England presented their weary followers with a long list of things they will have to stop saying in the bar and clubhouse. If he repeats this rampant display, Mike Tindall can no longer be dismissed as a midfield banger devoid of creativity; Johnson can no longer be caricatured as a refugee from a dead age of forward power; and their southern hemisphere critics have been stripped of the right to point out that ball skills are alien to the English tradition.

All this in one game? Not entirely, because the first glimmer of transformation had been seen in Sydney in June, when England won by a single point, and another here last week against New Zealand. Like a grumpy grandad forced to accept the internet, England have shifted from attrition to artistry. The game has changed and they were obliged to change with it or perish on the margins. But nobody could have expected the new faces to drive the reforms so fast.

Youngs, 21, was resplendent in the No9 shirt before limping off to be replaced by Danny Care. A sharp, incisive passer, Care was also lethal in his downfield thrusts. Lawes, also 21, came through his rumble against the All Blacks with confidence and authority. So often the recruit looks just to hang on in his first few outings. Youngs, Lawes, Shontayne Hape, Dan Cole, Ben Foden and Ashton all imposed their characters on this Test. All the talk of Australia's brilliant baby-faced assassins was muffled by the exploits of young Englishmen who are responding to Johnson's insistence that they "think like Test players every day" and not just 15 times a year.

With a core of elders – Lewis Moody, Tindall, Mark Cueto, Nick Easter, Tom Palmer – and a wedge of mid-twentysomethings – Tom Croft, Toby Flood – Johnson has found the right mix of ages to facilitate the shift to a more expansive style. The old conservative arm lock has been broken. Johnson makes an unlikely liberator, but earns high praise for recognising that England needed to evolve beyond caveman power.

"If we played them again tomorrow, would the same thing happen? Who knows," Johnson said, applying caution. "You have to be ready to play like that at 2.30 every week."

After Samoa next week comes a chance to extend the exultation, against South Africa. We are not yet in the realm of England's 22 consecutive home victories between 1999 and March 2004 but for 80 minutes Twickenham was unrecognisable from the great slump of the past few years. This team had energy, purpose and conviction.

Continue reading "Memories of 2003"

Outsider Harrison looking a tempting bet

Posted by Jo Carter on 13/11/2010

David haye prepares to put his WBA title on the line this evening, with the bookmakers backing the Hayemaker to retain his heavyweight crown. But Des Lynam in the Daily Telegraph believes Audley Harrison is capable of an upset.

Two of my fellow members of the Boxing Writers’ Club have even suggested that I may at last have lost my marbles, a swift decline from astute to gullible.

But I really think that Harrison, whom you could reliably bet on letting you down in the past, will at least give of his very best now that his big chance has unexpectedly come and that may well be good enough.

It is not as though he is about to face one of the great names of heavyweight boxing. Haye, whose publicity has outweighed his talent in my opinion, is more from the Henry Akinwande or Herbie Hide class of British world heavyweight champions than the Lennox Lewis school.

Harrison is not getting in the ring with the kind of opponent that some of our former British heavyweight world title challengers had to face in their careers.

The often criticised Joe Bugner, most recently seen in the ITV jungle, twice fought Muhammad Ali in his prime, losing only on points both times.

Bugner also faced the great Joe Frazier and wobbled him before losing their fight in London on points and he shared the ring with the likes of Ron Lyle and Ernie Shavers, two of the hardest-hitting heavyweights in the history of the sport. He did not disgrace himself in either fight.

Then of course there was Frank Bruno.

I still feel slightly concussed just thinking of the punishment Frank had to take in some of his fights. He had been on a streak of twenty-one consecutive knockout wins before coming up against the American James

‘Bonecrusher’ Smith at Wembley in 1984. Bruno was winning the fight comfortably until the tenth and final round when Smith landed some fearsome blows and Bruno was knocked out still leaning on the ropes.

After that setback he went on a winning run again before challenging another American, Tim Witherspoon, for the WBA championship, the title that is being contested tonight.

I can recall comparing the wonderfully conditioned Bruno with the slightly blubbery Witherspoon before the fight but, once again after leading on all three ringside judges’ cards, Bruno was beaten to a pulp in the eleventh round.

After some thoughts of retirement, he recovered and by 1989 was ready to face the then fearsome Mike Tyson for the unified world title in Las Vegas.

I was ringside with the late Harry Carpenter and we were both shocked as Tyson threw off his spartan towelling robe on the way to the ring. If this aggressive gesture didn’t unnerve Frank, it certainly did us.

In the first round Bruno was shaken but recovered to rock the champion with a huge left hook, you might recall Harry’s words of commentary: “Get in there, Frank”. The fight was stopped in favour of Tyson with Bruno once again helpless on the ropes.

By 1993 Bruno had negotiated his third world title challenge, this time against the recently crowned Lennox Lewis who turned out to be one of the ‘greats’. It was the last all-British heavyweight world championship fight before tonight.

Once again Bruno did well until being stopped in the seventh round. Of course Bruno finally won the WBC version of the title when he outpointed Oliver McCall who had beaten Lewis in a big upset. He was obliged to face Tyson again in his first defence and was this time despatched in the third round, his world title gone.

So tonight Harrison is not facing Ali or Frazier, Tyson or Lewis or even Bruno, none of whom in their prime would be likely to have lost to him. He is facing David Haye, good boxer but not in their class.

As they say, fortune favours the brave and that is what he will have to be tonight. Heaven knows I have had to be, forecasting the outcome in his favour. Of course if he does win, the ludicrously self-regarding Harrison will become insufferable.

Mind you if he wins, so indeed might I.

Continue reading "Outsider Harrison looking a tempting bet"

Johnno has got England back on track

Posted by Jo Carter on 12/11/2010

After an honourable defeat to the Alll Blacks last weekend, England now face the no less daunting task of Australia. However, ESPN's very own Austin Healey is backing Martin Johnson's side for victory in The Daily Mirror.

There used to be this guy at Leicester who put himself about and got himself into scrapes. A big lad who knew how to make his presence felt, in a physical sort of way. He served bans for use of the knee, the boot and the fist.

Look how Martin Johnson turned out. Eighty-four England caps, a two-tour Lions captain, a World Cup-winning skipper and now England manager. I thought of the young Johnno this week when I sat down to chat with Dylan Hartley, the hooker he has selected to start in tomorrow's match against Australia.

Hartley is fortunate to be available, having got away with dropping his forearm in the face of All Blacks captain Richie McCaw. I told him so, saying that while it's great he wears his heart on his sleeve and plays with passion, he must learn from his boss.

England are suddenly getting an awful lot right. After years fumbling in the dark they have seen the light. They genuinely feel they've made a breakthrough with the squad, and not just because of Sydney, where they beat the Wallabies in June.

You get a real sense of direction when you're with them now. Where they used to dodge questions, they are quite happy to answer them because they are confident in what they're doing. The players are taking chances and backing themselves and for the first time in quite a while the public are happy to pay to watch them.

But - and, yes, there has to be a but when you've only won once in six games - they have got to start executing properly. Rugby is a game of control. And before you can control a game you have to have control of yourself.

Continue reading "Johnno has got England back on track"

November 11, 2010

Greed killed the Haye-Klitschko dream

Posted by Josh Williams on 11/11/2010

Kevin Mitchell, writing in the Guardian, has bemoaned the lack of a David Haye v Wladimir Klitschko fight on the immediate horizon. Instead, Haye defends his WBA heavyweight strap against Audley Harrison in Manchester on November 13 - a clash that would have been laughed at 12 months ago.

If logic mattered in professional boxing, David Haye would be fighting Wladimir Klitschko this Saturday night, probably in front of 50,000 people in the SAP Arena in Mannheim, and the sporting world would be transfixed for an hour or so.

Continue reading "Greed killed the Haye-Klitschko dream"

November 10, 2010

Let's not get carried away by Carroll

Posted by Alex Livie on 10/11/2010

Andy Carroll is the talk of football at the moment, both on and off the field, and he raised his stock with Newcastle’s winning goal against Arsenal. The header is expected to seal his place in Fabio Capello’s squad, but Daily Mail columnist Martin Samuel feels a note of caution should be issued.

"There is a reason Joey Barton made just one appearance for England. He wasn't worth the trouble. It is the point he misses in the argument about good boys and bad boys in the England team. If a bad boy is equally as good as the good boy, you pick the good boy because he is less aggravation.

Even if the bad boy is slightly better, you still pick the good boy, because the bad boy has time-consuming baggage which outweighs his marginally superior talent. The bad boy has to be so much better to be worth it. He has to be, say, Mario Balotelli, in the eyes of Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager.

Balotelli's performance against West Bromwich on Sunday rebooted City's season after it had unexpectedly gone into hibernation; then he got sent off for an act of utter stupidity. This is why Inter Milan sold him. They thought, as reigning European champions - a campaign in which he played little part - he wasn't worth the trouble. Mancini disagreed.

It is a subjective argument either way. Mancini felt differently about Craig Bellamy, but for Cardiff City he was worth the gamble. A bad boy's value is always related to the needs of the team. It took a lot for John Terry to lose the England captaincy; a fringe player would have been more casually discarded.

Barton's sole cap for England came as a 78th-minute substitute for Frank Lampard in a 1-0 defeat by Spain on February 7, 2007. Is he as good as Lampard? No. And he is certainly no match for Steven Gerrard, either.

Yet also starting for England that day was Michael Carrick, and Gareth Barry was a 46th-minute substitute. Indeed, he let Andres Iniesta run for Spain's winning goal.

Now Barton may not have Barry's understanding of Gerrard, but given 12 minutes of international football - without Gerrard on the field - that is hardly going to develop. He may not have Carrick's passing range, either, but looking at his performances for Newcastle recently, did he have the potential to play some role for the team? Quite possibly, yes.

So considering some of the options taken in the last four years, Barton was worth more than a 12-minute cameo. Yet while Barry has gone on to play 43 times for England, and Carrick has won 22 caps, Barton has never started a game. Why? Because, in the end, he was not so superior that an England manager could ignore the disorder around him.

This brings us to Andy Carroll, who will be called up by England for the match against France next week and whose cause was championed by team-mate Barton after his winning goal against Arsenal on Sunday.

If Fabio Capello is given to making lists of positives and negatives, Carroll is doing his utmost to ensure both sides of the page are well stocked with information. He has scored six league goals in 11 games this season and his recent form has drawn comparisons with Duncan Ferguson and, more fancifully, Alan Shearer.

Capello needs to give Carroll a taste, and then show him what he will be missing unless he knuckles down.

Is there a risk of putting Carroll under too much pressure at 21? There is no evidence he feels it, so far. Inauspiciously, in his first game this season at Manchester United, he missed a sitter after 10 minutes and Newcastle lost 3-0. The next game he scored a hat-trick.

He woke up on Sunday to another round of negative front page headlines but by early afternoon had scored the winner and played outstandingly well against Arsenal.

He does not seem to be thinking about his career hard enough to be worried by its haphazard progress right now. Mentally, this may be Carroll's ace in the hole, but it is also his potential undoing."

November 9, 2010

Carroll can ruffle French feathers

Posted by Jo Carter on 09/11/2010

Andy Carroll's winning goal at Arsenal on Sunday reignited calls for the striker to be handed a place in the England team, despite his off-pitch antics. While he may not be the ideal role model, Henry Winter admits in the Daily Telegraph that Fabio Capello would be hard pressed to find a squad without skeletons in their closet.

If the Fit and Proper Person’s test were ever applied to England players, Fabio Capello might struggle to rustle up a five-a-side team.

Capello’s captain for next week’s friendly with France once missed a drugs test, his vice-captain was charged (and cleared) of affray, three others of a light blue persuasion recently enjoyed some refreshment with Scottish freshers while two others of a royal blue hue have endured particularly foul headlines. The Temperance Society All-Stars it is not.

Into this moral maze of a Wembley dressing room steps Andy Carroll, clutching loads of baggage with the cynics trumpeting that he should be right at home. Put politely, the Newcastle United No 9 likes a night out.

Carroll’s mooted call-up incites two debates, the first a long-running one about parents’ hopes for those who wear the England shirt to behave with at least a modicum of decorum. England do offer good role models in James Milner, Theo Walcott and others but some of their colleagues would require extra time at confessional.

A newer debate arises with Carroll’s arrival. An individual apparently not close to the front of the queue when the quality of self-scrutiny was handed out, Carroll could be tempted to believe that a questionable lifestyle off the field is no barrier to the ultimate honour, an England cap.

Any of Carroll’s alleged nocturnal activities, which his manager Chris Hughton addressed in Monday’s welcome homily about “mistakes” and “pitfalls”, have clearly not affected the striker’s game, even the claim about having a 5.30am meal at a certain fast-food outlet (who also happen to be FA benefactors so Carroll can argue he has started his appearances for England sponsors early).

Despite refuelling habits not recommended by sporting nutritionists, Carroll’s stamina and speed are undoubtedly impressive. But such a debatable diet could catch up with him eventually – like centre-halves will.

A bitter irony would cloud England week if Carroll replaced Kevin Davies in the squad. Whatever the question marks about Davies’s physicality on the pitch, the Bolton Wanderers captain has been a model professional off it. Davies responded to his England call by pouring more time and energy into his personal charity helping out kids in Bolton. Davies uses his profile for the community’s benefit. Carroll should beware using his profile just for his own benefit.

What stirs particular mirth in all the musings about Carroll for England is the idea that Capello must wait for some FA Morals Committee to convene, passing judgment on whether he is a fit and proper person for national service. The FA gave up assessing decency levels some time back.

The gist of current FA policy is that a player is available for England as long as he’s not doing porridge.

The spotlight on Carroll has cast a harsh light on the FA. Where’s the organisation’s leader prepared to address such issues? Blessed with many hard-working employees, who love their jobs and their sport, the FA suffers from a chronic vacuum of power at boardroom level.

The new chairman is being head-hunted from what appears a shortlist of one, namely Roger Burden, and he is not from the Churchill school of natural authority figures. The chief executive’s job, once a respected role, has effectively gone. The FA needs a strong front man.

Capello could well have found one of his own in Carroll, who will doubtless ruffle up the feathers of the French peacocks visiting Wembley.

Clearly promising, Carroll will still need time and further chances to prove himself a long-term option.

No less an expert on Newcastle and England No 9s than Alan Shearer has urged caution over Carroll’s elevation, arguing that “he’s not ready yet, in a year or two he might be ready”.

Shearer was still quick to laud Carroll’s qualities. “He’d be horrible to play against, which is a good thing. He’s lying second in the goalscoring charts [on six] and made a bit of a name for himself. The hard part is carrying that on. He’s in a similar vein to Big Dunc [Ferguson]: hard, unplayable on his day, very good in the air and a rocket of a left foot. Defenders will know they have been in a game.” So will the moral majority.

Continue reading "Carroll can ruffle French feathers"

November 8, 2010

Liverpool have found new formation

Posted by Ben Blackmore on 08/11/2010

Liverpool fans will wake up on Monday sensing light at the end of a particularly dark tunnel, thanks to Fernando Torres’ brace against Chelsea. However, for Guardian columnist David Pleat, the pivotal moment in Liverpool’s victory came when Roy Hodgson named his starting XI...

Roy Hodgson got his formation right for Liverpool against Chelsea, enabling Dirk Kuyt to be their most effective performer

It is only in retrospect that a possible defining moment emerges. But the changes that Roy Hodgson made, whether by accident or design due to injury (Glen Johnson) and availability (Dirk Kuyt), gave Liverpool the opportunity to play with a system that showed Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva in the best light. Fernando Torres, too, enjoyed the day.
I recall a situation in 1986-87 when at Tottenham Hotspur. Because of the transfer of Graham Roberts to Rangers, an injury to Tony Galvin and the need to negate Glenn Hoddle's down side, a 4-5-1 system was born that glowed for the whole season. Liverpool, I feel, may have done similarly at Anfield yesterday.

Kuyt lacks guile but his work-rate is often wasted, in my view, parading the touchline on the right side. Lucas has struggled to win admirers when trying to contain midfield runners and Gerrard, certainly the dynamo, needs to be both central and deeper so he can defend and attack when the opportunity arises.

Raul Meireles and Maxi Rodríguez, who have acclimatised slowly to Premier League football, were put to better use on the outside of the five-man midfield rather than further infield.

Kuyt was the most important figure in this hardworking display, particularly in the second half when they had to quell the tide of sharp passing attacks from Chelsea. When possession changed hands the Dutchman quickly moved into a position where he could help to stifle the influence of Mikel John Obi in the centre of Chelsea's midfield. He appeared to have three lungs as he worked and challenged, always putting team before self.

Although Chelsea had plenty of possession, Liverpool were strong and solid and must have given Hodgson great heart. At Fulham he had a system that replicated the way Liverpool played yesterday. In this rearrangement Jamie Carragher went from right-back to centre-back where he is far more comfortable because he does not have to face too many passing options from the advanced positions he is forced to take up when playing at full-back.

When the ball was wide Carragher and Martin Skrtel made sure they stayed firm on the edge of the area and were always in good positions to intercept typical Chelsea-style low crosses
Hodgson may have been quietly bewildered this week at the US owners' judgment in their choice for their director of football but he will have made several important points with this vibrant display.

Meireles and Rodríguez are yet to shine, but they still did an important job denying Branislav Ivanovic and Ashley Cole advanced attacking positions. This was important, too. Crucially, it was the industry of Kuyt when Liverpool lost possession that helped Lucas and Gerrard do their work with such efficiency.

November 7, 2010

A huge step in the right direction

Posted by Jo Carter on 07/11/2010

England's seven-year losing streak against the All Blacks continued on Saturday as New Zealand enjoyed a 26-16 win at Twickenham, but former England centre Mike Catt praised England's fighting spirit in the Sunday Telegraph.

The thing that impressed me most was England’s attitude in the second half. At 17-3 down at half-time, I expected New Zealand to pull away, given the number of tackles England had to make in the first period and the sheer intensity of the All Blacks’ play.

Instead we were treated to a thrilling finish as England pushed the All Blacks right to the last minute. That fighting spirit would have been exactly what Johnno wanted and what good England sides should always deliver.

The context of the game is key, too. This was the first game England had played together for five months while the All Blacks not only had a game last week, but have played the whole summer together. It is little wonder that England started the game looking a little rusty, but they looked a different side after the break.

The whole mentality of the game was much, much better from England’s point of view. They stuck to the way they wanted to play in spite of the early concession of the tries by Hosea Gear and Kieran Read and with a bit more composure and discipline could have caused New Zealand serious problems in the final quarter.

Ultimately, New Zealand were able to close out the win largely because every time England scored, they were able to respond with points from the next play. That was one of the most disappointing aspects for me and one that England must improve before they face the Wallabies.

Delon Armitage will have been disappointed with his high tackle on Isaia Toeava, which gifted Dan Carter three points at a time when England were really building momentum. But that was just one of a number of incidents when the players lost their composure at a key moment.

England’s scrum was strong again, but the line-out was a problem. Against a side like New Zealand you have to keep hold of the ball and it is vital that you have phases one to three spot-on. England did show that when they went through the phases, particularly when they got to phases five, six and seven, that holes were beginning to appear in the All Blacks’ defence.

England had a couple of good opportunities to score in the first half to bring themselves back into the contest but didn’t take them and they were undone by their inability to win first-phase possession when they had field position. That simply put the pressure back on Johnson’s side at a time when they should have been asking more questions.

England’s defence also concerned me. Their defensive line at times was too tight as they over-committed to the breakdown and New Zealand had only to throw a couple of wide passes to find a hole for Sonny Bill Williams and Ma’a Nonu to exploit the spaces, with the likes of Jerome Kaino and Gear running lines off them.

Carter was also able to break too easily on Mike Tindall’s outside for the move that forced Chris Ashton to concede the five-metre scrum from which Read was able to power over.

The midfield battle was billed as one of the heaviest in the history of international rugby, but crucially, it was the deft skills and ability to offload that made the difference. Shontayne Hape and Tindall impressed in that they ran hard and ran in between tackles. In the second half their work rate was phenomenal.

But by then the damage had already been done. Williams showed just what a dangerous player he is by using his 6ft 4ins, 17st frame to offload in the tackle that put Kaino through and led to Gear’s try.

I know the England players will be very disappointed that they didn’t win the game but at least they gave themselves the chance to win it, if little decisions had gone their way and they had been a little more streetwise. If England can minimise their mistakes that allowed New Zealand to build a lead too easily, then this performance should give Johnson’s side a platform for a successful autumn.

Continue reading "A huge step in the right direction"

November 6, 2010

Engine problems may cost Alonso dear

Posted by Tom Walker on 06/11/2010

As the Formula One season reaches its climax, all eyes on the drivers to see who stands up to the pressure. But, with two races to go, the cars come under the microscope just as much as the drivers do and Richard Williams from the The Guardian fears one driver in particular - Fernando Alonso - may be left to rue engine problems.

A shared Latin culture is what makes Fernando Alonso feel at home in the Ferrari team but, as he attempts to secure his third world championship in Brazil this weekend, the Spaniard has been assiduously maintaining the outward serenity with which he has risen from virtually nowhere in mid-season to an 11-point lead over his nearest challenger, Mark Webber, with two rounds of the title race to go.

While a tense Webber was revealing the internal divisions that have hampered the Red Bull team's ability to capitalise on their performance advantage, Alonso was telling a journalist that his only recent outburst of high emotion came on Wednesday night, when he watched the referee at San Siro failing to notice that Milan's Filippo Inzaghi had scored against the Spaniard's beloved Real Madrid from an offside position. Beneath Alonso's display of equanimity, however, lies a nagging anxiety.

For more than six decades the heart of every Ferrari has been its engine – the only bit of the car that the company's founder, old Enzo Ferrari, really cared about. And Alonso's fate this weekend may be decided by the success of a critical transplant operation.

Alonso will recapture the title on Sunday if he finishes the Brazilian grand prix having extended the gap to 25 points or more over his nearest pursuer, enabling him to go to the final race of the season, in Abu Dhabi tomorrow week, already assured of the championship. But he has already made use of every one of the eight engines permitted to each competitor during the course of a year.

In the last minute of the first practice session today Alonso coasted to a silent halt on a grass verge around the back of the circuit when his engine died. Ferrari had already announced that a change of power plant would be made between the morning and afternoon sessions but the failure did nothing to silence speculation that the limited number of effective engines available to Alonso may form the most serious threat to his late run for the championship, in which he has won three of the last four grands prix.

The maximum useful life of a Formula One engine is about 2,000km but power losses start to occur after the distance of a single race – just over 300km. In the old free-spending days Ferrari's mechanics would have fitted a brand-new unit for every race and every qualifying session but now the engineers are having to shuffle through their restricted stock of power plants in order to find those that suffered the least amount of wear earlier in the season.

"Engines are OK for us so far," Alonso said after arriving here this week. But it was as early as the fourth race of the season, in Shanghai, that Ferrari adopted a new strategy after he suffered a failure for the second meeting in a row.

"We had some difficulties early in the year," Chris Dyer, the team's Australian chief track engineer, said today, "and after China we sat down and made a plan for how we would manage the rest of the year. Since then things have gone absolutely to that plan." To run out of effective engines altogether would mean bringing in a ninth engine and incurring a 10-place grid penalty.

"Everybody plays the game of juggling the eight engines," Dyer said, "making decisions about where it's sensible to use the fresh engines, based on the circuit characteristics." Luckily for Alonso, Interlagos and Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina are not circuits that make ultimate demands on sheer horsepower. "They're not the easiest on the engines," Dyer said, "but they're not the hardest either."

In eight appearances at this demanding circuit in a suburb of São Paulo Alonso has compiled two second places and three thirds but no wins. Yesterday he partially deflected suggestions that a third championship would be sullied by the extra seven points gained when Felipe Massa was ordered to hand him a controversial victory at Hockenheim in July by expressing the hope that his Brazilian team-mate – victorious at his home circuit in 2006 and 2008 – would win both this season's remaining races.

"Felipe is normally very strong here," he said. "And the best thing for us, and even for me in championship numbers, would be to have him winning the race." A win for Massa would deprive Alonso's rivals of the chance to score a maximum 25 points, significantly reducing their chances of closing the gap to the Ferrari leader.

After various kinds of failure – including his own errors – blighted the promise of an opening win in Bahrain Alonso has watched the team pull themselves together for the second half of the season.

"The last four or five races were very important for us," he said. "One retirement could have been our bye-bye to the championship. But everything went well because we kept our concentration, with no mistakes, and that's the way we've got to continue."

Two factors, he said, prompted the uplift in his fortunes. "First, the performance of the car improved a lot. In the last two or three months we brought some updates to the car that really worked. Second there was luck, which maybe was not on our side in the middle part of the championship. Remember Monaco, where I crashed on Saturday morning at 60kph? If I crashed like that 100 times, 99 times I'd go through to qualifying with no problems. It's not normal to break the chassis at that speed. But now the consistency is good, the car's performance is good and we've been lucky – like in South Korea, where Webber retired and Sebastian [Vettel] as well.

"Now it's very exciting. It's like starting from zero. Whichever of the three or four contenders does the best job in the last two races will win the championship."

For Dyer, who is in his 10th season with Ferrari, the battle is reminiscent of 2007, when he was Kimi Raikkonen's race engineer as the Finn made a late run to snatch the title from Lewis Hamilton. "If anything this year is a little more difficult because in 2007 our car was as fast as anything out there," he said. "This year we've had to work a little bit harder. We're still not in a position where we have the fastest car but we've closed the gap to the point where we've put a lot of pressure on the other people."

Alonso, who finished third in today's second session, behind the two Red Bulls, calmly acknowledges that Webber and Vettel have the benefit of faster machinery. "We know they are the favourite on any circuit," he said. "They've been very dominant and we expect very strong competition with them – and with McLaren as well. On a bad weekend you can find yourself fifth or sixth very easily. But our approach will not change. Consistency will be the priority and getting on the podium will be our goal. Whether it's good enough to win the championship, we'll see in Abu Dhabi."

Or perhaps, if Ferrari can squeeze the last ounce of speed and reliability out of one of those remaining engines, and Alonso's luck holds, even on Sunday

.

November 5, 2010

The World Cup starts this weekend

Posted by Ben Blackmore on 05/11/2010

General consensus in England seems to be that the nation’s rugby stars have about as much chance of beating New Zealand as Roberto Mancini does of keeping the Manchester City job this season. However, Austin Healey writes in the Daily Mirror about the day his England colleagues changed a similar perception...

So there we were, lined up on halfway at Twickenham, staring down the All Blacks haka. Minutes earlier a pumped-up Lawrence Dallaglio had called us together and bawled something about this being our time.

Lol was England captain and, like the rest of us, desperate to stick it to New Zealand and the rest of southern hemisphere rugby after too long living under their rule.

It is 13 years ago now but I will never forget how we tore into them, scored three tries in the first half, and opened up a 23-9 lead. When the half-time whistle went we didn't want to come off the pitch. We actually had to be pulled into the dressing room. I'd never seen so much emotion from a group of players.

It kicked off in the tunnel on the way in with the All Blacks goading us and Garath Archer having to be prevented from getting into their changing room. The match ended in a 26-26 draw. We denied odds-on favourites New Zealand a perfect tour and, in so doing, careers and reputations were made.

Why do I mention all of this? Because tomorrow at Twickenham we need a repeat performance. England need to explode into the game and properly shock the All Blacks. For 40 minutes, perhaps an hour, keep coming at them in wave after England wave. Chris Ashton and Ben Foden attacking them out wide, Toby Flood taking the ball flat and breaking the line, Mike Tindall and Courtney Lawes knocking them backwards.

At the end of a week in which Martin Johnson admitted England no longer have a talisman, they need to find one, possibly more. If that game in 1997 defined the coming years, with 10 of that squad going on to become World Cup winners, so this one can set England up for next year's tournament.

But it requires the players to step up. There's a point when you play for England when you've got a few caps and you listen to the more experienced guys and think, 'do you know what, I can add more to this than they are'. You sense it's your time to lead and set the example. England have all these exciting young players and they need them to stand up and take the thing forward. It could be Foden, it could be Lawes, Tom Croft or Ben Youngs. Preferably all of them.

I genuinely think England can win this game. Mike Tindall tells me he has a real good feeling about it. He says he's really up for it. The All Blacks are at the end of a long season, they have just lost their chance of a world record-winning streak and they are up against a side which beat Australia, their conquerors, in its last outing.

But they remain the best, so don't expect them to roll over. Each and every England player will need to find 20 per cent extra. But you can do it when you're playing the All Blacks in front of a full house at Twickenham. I know because we did that day in 1997.

November 4, 2010

Benitez lacks grace to admit wonder of Bale

Posted by Alex Livie on 04/11/2010

Gareth Bale’s stock is shooting through the roof and his dazzling display in the Champions League for the second time in a fortnight had the world and his wife waxing lyrical about the Welshman. But James Lawton, writing in the Independent, feels Inter Milan boss Rafael Benitez is lacking in class for not giving enough praise to the Tottenham man.

"The coach's reaction to Bale's rampage was instructive. While one of the greatest of modern players, Luis Figo, shook his head in wonderment at such a dominant but also controlled performance, and one leading Italian newspaper declared, "Frightening Bale sweeps away Inter", Benitez bemoaned a too generous allocation of space. "We knew it would be difficult to stop him if he had space. He was running but he had the space and that was the difference."

But it was the difference from what? Presumably it was the possibility that an individual player might be so strong, might be so aware of all around him, and made so confident in his own ability, that he could make the defensive calculation of even a Mourinho, or his legendary Inter predecessor Helenio Herrera, seem nothing more than good intentions.

Benitez's intentions towards Bale, despite the young Welshman's astonishing impact in San Siro so recently, were not easy to identify. Maicon, voted the Champions League's best full-back after last year's campaign, found himself repeatedly alone and contemplating old age far earlier than he can ever have anticipated.

What Benitez might have had the grace to say was that there are some nights when the coach is obliged to throw away his notes and acknowledge that there was never a set of tactics equipped to prevail over the force of great performance. Maradona reminded the Germans of this in the 1986 World Cup, when the Argentine came into the game carrying menace some way beyond even that generated so remarkably by Bale in recent weeks. The Germans put their most able player, Lothär Matthaus, on Maradona and he did a brilliant job – except for the moment of blinding instinct which saw space and opportunity for a pass of disembowelling penetration.

Bale had more than a few such moments against Benitez's team and they were filled with so much force and vision that to suggest they were merely the result of negligence, of too much space too easily yielded, was ungenerous to the point of perverse.

No one is saying that Benitez is failing, at least not just yet, in the most hazardous footsteps of Mourinho.

He has players of outstanding competitive character, which is his greatest resource as his Italian honeymoon draws to a close. But it is also already clear enough he has to forget about Liverpool, edit out the strange riddles, and remember to get close to those players who have already proved they can win at the highest level – a lot closer, certainly, than he did to the problem of Gareth Bale."

November 3, 2010

Bale orders taxi for Maicon

Posted by Jo Carter on 03/11/2010

Gareth Bale is the Premier League's hottest property at the moment, with a hat-trick at the San Siro a fortnight ago, and he was at it again at White Hart Lane as Harry Redknapp's men outplayed holders Inter Milan. While Redknapp's tactics were spot-on, Paul Hayward in The Guardian claims that Bale's performance eclipsed all else.

Redknapp's tactical answer to the challenge of Internazionale was to throw all his finest assets at them.

To shred the defence of Europe's No. 1 team once, on their own ground, in Milan, would be enough for most people's scrapbooks but Gareth Bale did it again in the grandest victory of Harry Redknapp's colourful managerial career.

The runaway train of Bale's talent is being hailed all over Europe, with Internazionale's Luis Figo, no fool along the flanks, telling Redknapp as the two left the field together: "He's just amazing, amazing. He killed us twice."

What is it with Wales and wingers? Ryan Giggs, who has taunted England with his Welshness for almost 20 years, was not the first fire-breather to earn worldwide recognition. Cliff Jones, the house flier in Tottenham's 1961 Double-winning side, sped along the turf Bale graced in this thrilling Champions League encounter and was widely recognised as the sport's best wide man.

"What confidence you must have to come and do that to people who are so highly rated," Redknapp said. Incredulity strikes rarely for these old football men. They remember an age when a sense of adventure was inked into the contract. But Tottenham's manager was awed as the crowd chanted "taxi for Maicon" after the world's top-rated right-back was blown away again.

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Forget the hype, Australia just aren't any good anymore

Posted by Ben Blackmore on 02/11/2010

When one thinks of Australian cricket, you instantly summon images of Glenn McGrath, Steve Waugh, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist... to name a few. These players have inflicted a battering on England on many occasions. However, these players no longer play for Australia, and the Telegraph’s Steve James insists England need to remember that...

A confession to start with: I’ve never been to Australia. Yes, that’s right. Never been to Australia, as player or journalist. I wasn’t brave enough to spend my off seasons playing grade cricket. Or I wasn’t asked. I can’t remember which.

So instead I sought winter sun in Zimbabwe, idling time drinking soapies (a wonderfully deceptive mixture of cane, lemon barley and soda water) and training with Grant Flower. Both left me feeling sick. But at least I got to meet his brother Andrew. They tell me he has gone on to do rather well for himself.

And there was also one winter period spent in Cape Town, playing for a club side called Primrose. Our experienced all-rounder was a delightful chap called Haroon Lorgat. I believe he is still involved in cricket: being chief executive of the International Cricket Council can just about be regarded as such.

So I will travel to Australia very soon in a rare state of excitement. But I will also travel in a state of some bewilderment. I’ll admit it: I just don’t get all the fuss. Hype and history are producing a cocktail that I’m not willing to stomach.

I’m led to believe that I’m travelling to another planet where visiting bowlers regularly disappear, sucked into some Kookaburra vortex, where batsmen become quivering wrecks on pitches simply too fast and bouncy for them, surrounded by fielders with PhDs in sledging and crowds so frightening that they all had parts in the film Psycho. Pah. I’m with Flower (A) on this: “I don’t think there’s anything to be afraid of in Australia,” he said before departure.

Of course, there used to be. Not so long ago Australia possessed a great team. And that is not to use that adjective blithely. They were great, mainly because in Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath they had two of the greatest bowlers ever to draw breath. Two in the same side! That makes some difference, even to the noise levels. Matthew Hayden never said a word until established in that team. Even I – shy, retiring me – used to chirp a bit when Waqar Younis was steaming in for Glamorgan.

Last week I asked Alastair Cook what the Australians had said to him when he was a young pup making a double hundred against them for Essex back in 2005. “There wasn’t much they could say,’’ he said, “We [Will Jefferson was his opening partner before Ravi Bopara joined him in a partnership of 270] had about 60 off the first 10 overs.” Exactly. Struggling teams go quiet. Chirping for England used to be a futile business.

And most of the sledging stories are apocryphal. I played against Warne and McGrath. Mostly they just swore and abused. “You could not call it sledging because it was so foul-mouthed as to be a disgrace to the game,” wrote Duncan Fletcher of them in the 2006/07 Ashes whitewash in his autobiography Behind the Shades.

The truth is that somebody needs to say it: Australia are simply not very good anymore. They are losing for fun at the moment. They are the new England. Even grade cricket is said to be going soft. Just like we used to in the Eighties and Nineties, they now seem to pick players out of a hat. Last Sunday they played a T20 international with players from only two states. They lost. In the past two years 45 players have represented Australia in Tests, one-day internationals and T20s. And they’ve only got six domestic teams! No wonder they’ve just sacked Merv Hughes as a selector.

Call it heresy, but the Ashes just weren’t the biggest thing in this cricket-mad youngster’s life. There was a reason: Australia were simply not very good then either. Neither were England, but that’s changed. Instead I grew up in awe of the West Indies. They were the team. Going to the Caribbean to face four snarling quicks was the ultimate examination.

But will this be England’s toughest tour? No chance. It will, though, be good preparation. India, the world’s No. 1 team, are coming next summer.

Blame Gomes, not Clattenburg

Posted by Jo Carter on 01/11/2010

Nani's bizarre goal that sealed Manchester United's win against Tottenham has sparked outrage over referee Mark Clattenburg's dealing of the situation, but Graham Poll in The Daily Mail says the referee was right, but admits he was not credible as he gives his analysis of the turn of events at Old Trafford.

Like everyone else I couldn't believe my eyes as events unfolded at Old Trafford. It was one of the most bizarre and divisive goals in Premier League history.

My analysis is that Mark Clattenburg was right by the letter of the law, but his decision lacked credibility - and left a scar on this match.

1. The penalty appeal

Due to the bizarre run of events that followed, Nani's legitimate penalty claim was overlooked by many, including Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp.

Nani appeared to be pushed from behind as he raced past Younes Kaboul. He went to ground very easily as most players do, but if an attacker does not go down then he will never get the decision.

Clattenburg saw this incident clearly and instantly gave a 'negative' signal, placing his arms behind his back - he saw it but didn't think it was an offence.

His decision was a good one as there was so little contact. It would have been a soft penalty but technically it wouldn't have been wrong.

2. The handball

Next came the moment that Spurs claim should have resulted in a free-kick. Players who feel they have been fouled often grab the ball to force the referee to make a decision.

Clattenburg could not see Nani deliberately handle the ball from his position. Anyway, it became irrelevant when Heurelho Gomes picked up the ball.

The referee would want the game to flow and playing on was the best decision having not given the penalty. For the record, handball is not a mandatory caution, whatever Alan Hansen says.

3. The 'free-kick'

If Gomes felt he had a free-kick why walk 10 yards up the pitch to take it? Why not play to the whistle? His actions were bizarre and caused all of the problems.

At no point did Clattenburg blow the whistle or make any move to do so, nor did he signal 'advantage'. He shouted 'Play on', but you do that when there is no offence.

If Gomes had put the ball down at the point where Nani had handled it and Nani had kicked it in from there then I am sure that Clattenburg would not have allowed the goal.
Mark Clattenburg

4. The confusion

Even if Clattenburg was playing advantage, it would have been over as soon as Gomes had the ball in his hands. Advantage is accrued once the player has control of the ball and can play on unaffected.

Despite Nani's handball, a free-kick could not have been awarded once Gomes picked up the ball.

5. Naughty Nani

As a top-flight referee, you have to contend with the 'win at all costs' mentality which over-rides all else.

With players prepared to dive and feign injury, it is perhaps too much to ask for sportsmanlike conduct. Nani knew that Gomes had put the ball down for a free-kick which is why he hesitated. He did nothing wrong in law.

6. The consultation

This is the point at which the whole incident could have been cleared up. Assistant referee Simon Beck knew there was an unsatisfactory and unnatural feel to the goal. He had seen the handball and so gave Clattenburg an opportunity by calling him over.

Clattenburg did well to keep the Tottenham players away but mysteriously allowed Rio Ferdinand to approach. He might be England captain but he is not the United captain and had no right to approach - let alone stay at - the consultation.

The law allows a referee to change a decision providing he has not restarted play. Clattenburg decided not to.

7. The protests

I fully understood the Spurs protests. Clattenburg did nothing wrong in law but there was a lack of credibility in his decision. I always tried to ensure that things felt right while trying to apply the law correctly.

Unusually this situation had two alternative endings, both right in law - let the goal stand or give a free-kick for the missed handball after consultation with Beck. Personally I would have done the latter. Of course that would have saved Gomes the embarrassment that his stupidity perhaps deserved.

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