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To all intents and purposes the England cricket team suffered an innings defeat at Headingly in the second Test at Headingly yesterday.  This off the back of drawing a game, which they should have won at Lords.

Many have said that the pitch at Lords was flat and there was nothing in it for the bowlers.  Question though.  If the positions have been reversed, do you think England would have been able to bat for 2 days solid and lose just 4 wickets?  I certainly don’t.

For years, pundits complained about the lack of depth to England’s batting, saying we need bowlers that can bat and wicket keepers that can bat. Enter Broad, Sidebottom, Anderson to some degree, any one of Reid, Jones and Ambrose, and we now bat down to  8 or 9.  In fact there is a case to be argued that Broad will develop into a fine all rounder after recent performances.

However, whatever the quality (or supposed quaility) of our batting line up, and whatever order you put them in, they will never be a top side until and unless they get their heads right.

In the first innings at Headingly almost to a man they threw away their wickets, slashing at balls that were moving around all over the place.  I think 9 were caught in the slips or by Boucher.  There is a time and a place for that sort of cricket, and its One Day Internationals and Twenty20.  Interestingly when it gets to these games, we seem content to nudge it around and score at less that 4 an over.  Go figure???  For example, Bell scored at nearly a run a ball at the beginning of innings at Lords, yet put him in a ODI and he takes 10 overs to score 25, then gets out.

Ok.  Back to Headingly.  Top class batsmen are able to concentrate for inordinate amounts of time, and in particular in the critical moments just before the end of a session.

The first two sessions of our second innings ended with wickets falling in the last couple of overs.  This took it from a solid start to a shambles, giving South Africa the momentum and putting pressure on the middle order, and we all know that the middle order cannot handle pressure in that way.  And so it proved.  It comes to something when the “tail” of Anderson, Broad and Ambrose all out score Vaughan, Bell, Pietersen and Strauss.  What’s missing is a combination of concentration and application and that will to win, or as the South Africans showed at Lords, a will not to lose.  I get the distinct impression that the English team were more looking forward to a day off.

Padraig Harrington joined an elite group becoming one of only a handful of golfers to win The Open twice in successive years.  Only 4 days earlier he was an injury doubt and the speculation was high that he wouldn’t even compete.  However, compete he did and eventually ran out a winner by 4 strokes on a day when the other big names other than Ian Poulter failed to make any impression.

For a high handicap golfer like myself it was good to see the professionals suffer in the teeth of 40-50mph gusts and struggle to hit fairway after fairway.  Add to that, the pressure of the final day of a major tournament and it became a fight not only of the conditions but also a mental struggle.

I fear for the likes of Sergio Garcia, who looked frail.  Going into the final day, any player 8 shots and under off the lead was in contention, and as David Howell proved posting 3 under par was possible with a little application and resolve.  However, Garcia for one looked mentally beaten after he missed a putt on the first hole.  His shoulders sagged and he shook his head, and then predictably went on to post 7 over par.  After last years close encounter he was a hot favourite this year, but on yesterdays performance I have doubts that he will ever get that close again.

Other performances worth a mention for different reasons were Ian Poulter, Greg Norman and Amateur Chris Wood.  Poulter put on a spurt in the back nine and but for a couple of missed putts and an inspired couple of holes from Harrington could have forced a play off at least.

Norman at 53 (as the commentators couldn’t mention enough) was leading going into the last day, but his decision making let him down on the final day and he dropped away.  However, he will have had every reason to be pleased with his performance, where he made a lot of younger players look poor.

And then Wood - winner of the Silver Medal as top amateur, pushed all the way and only fell at the last couple of holes when he missed a couple of crucial fairways and found a bad lie in a bunker.  However, no doubt he will turn pro soon and hopefully move from strength to strength.

Most interesting was the interview with Jack Nicklaus, who talked at length about the modern game and the financial rewards that players receive these days.  He said it wasn’t a case of “too much too soon” but maybe a case of “too much”.  A lot of players these days can make a good living and never win a tournament and “fly under the radar”.  His belief is that they lack the drive to win, being happy to take the cash.  Therefore when the going gets tough they simply withdraw - apparently there are 15-20 withdrawals from tournaments these days, which is an unheard of figure.

Compare this to Tiger Woods playing and winning the US Open with a bad knee and Harrington, who fought to recover from injury this week to go on and win.  Perhaps that’s the difference between the average pros and the Champions that really want to win - not for financial reasons, but because they just want and “need” to win.

Harry Kewell has signed for Turkish signed for Galatasary and sent hard core Leeds fans into a fury of indignation.  The reason is that 2 Leeds fans were killed by Galatasary fans back in 2000 prior to a UEFA Cup match.  They therefore see Kewell’s move as a slight on their club.

OK time for a few hard facts.

First of all the supporters that were killed were reportedly in the wrong part of town, drunk and apparently abusing a local girl.  Now this in no way condones what happened to them, but they have to accept a certain amount of responsibility. No doubt had the shoe been on the other foot and it been Turkish fans in Leeds city centre behaving in a similar fashion, then local justice would have been meted out.

Secondly Kewell owes Leeds United nothing.  Yes he came to prominence while playing for them and subsequently moved to Liverpool where he cashed in on his reputation.  However, the argument that Leeds made him the player he is, is rubbish.  If he had crashed and burned at Leeds, then these same die hard fans would have been calling for him to be sold on and giving him a hard time every time he set foot on the pitch.  They can’t have it both ways.  There is no loyalty from fans to managers or players, you only have to see the way ex-players and managers are treated if they ever return to a former club to understand that.  Therefore players owe nothing to the clubs that pay their wages.  They are paid to do a job and they do that job - and that’s what it is a job, albeit very well paid.

Thirdly, Leeds fans are not whiter than white. Over the years they have had more than there fair share of trouble.  One incident in particular saw them ripping up seats and throwing them, actually hitting their own disabled fans sitting at the front.  Hardly the behaviour of rational level headed human beings.
Fourthly Kewell is in the twilight of his career, and footballers only have a finite time to cash in on their ability.  No club in the UK will pay him anywhere near the £40-50000 per week that Galatasary are reported to be paying him.  He needs to earn as much as possible in the last few years as he can and nobody should blame him for that.

Finally, Leeds fans should concentrate on getting behind their team and hoping they get back to top flight football, where they can enjoy more European nights.  From what I’ve seen they are fickle beyond belief  - I will never forget the year they played Pompey at Elland Road.  They were outsung by 2000 travelling fans and many were jeering the players and leaving 10 minutes before the end, even though they were only trailing 2-1, in a game they needed to win to try and avoid relegation.  That’s not the behaviour of loyal fans who want to see their team do  well.  It’s easy to support a side that’s winning - the sign of a true fan is one who will try and lift the players when things are not going so well.
So let the past go and concentrate on the future, and getting into the Championship next season.

Euro 2008 drew to a close last night with for once the right result.  All too often the team which plays the most attractive football, is the one that ends up conceding late on and ultimately losing.  Last night though, Spain ran the Germans ragged from beginning to end and could easily have won by 3 or 4.  In fact, if on reflection they have any concerns over their performance, then it might be just that.  Despite their domination they only hit the net once and that could prove costly against better sides.  For now though they can bask in the glory and deservedly so.

I half expected the match to be a fairly dour affair, but to give the Spanish team credit, they played the same way they have all tournament, and in a way we can only wish England could mirror one day.  It’s fair to say I’ve enjoyed watching the last few games much more than I thought I would, given the lack of Home Nations competing.

Germany, who really didn’t deserve to be there anyway, having under performed against Turkey, were no better against Spain, and the pace of Torres scared them to death.  According to the pundits and people in the “know” they are the worst German team for years.  However, lets not forget that they still managed to make the Championships and even the final - so what does that say about England I wonder?

I don’t expect to see England play the kind of free flowing football that Spain played - if you look at Arsenal, who are the only side to play with the same fluidity in the Premiership, they only have English player in the team and he barely gets any pitch time.

As Capello has already said, its not the English way of playing and you are really trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear by trying to get them to play that way.  However, I do see us being able to play our own variation of that game.  Let’s not kid ourselves we will have a squad of players who are all so comfortable on the ball, but we do have a core of players that can play that game.

I see us with a side built on a strong defence, and a midfield that can match teams like the Spanish.  The best side in the Premiership and European Champions is Manchester United and they have a  core of English/British players.  Combined with the top English players from Chelsea and Liverpool, with a few others thrown in from the smaller clubs for good measure, we should being able to field a side capable of beating any international side on their day - and by playing attractive attacking football.  All that’s required is the right combination and system, which is easier said then done.  But that’s why Mr Capello is paid so much - lets hope he can do it, and we don’t have to sit through another major Championship without England competing.

With England not playing in the football and getting thrashed in the rugby it has been good to see us putting the Kiwi cricket team to the sword, even if at times its been weather assisted.  And so nursing a slight hang over on Saturday I took the opportunity to lay in front of the TV to watch them give out yet another beating.

So it seemed it would be when they were on the rack at 49 for 5 and then 101 for 7.  But England proved once again that they lack that ruthless streak, when instead of pressing home the advantage they looked to simply contain New Zealand with a defensive field for the last couple of wickets.

What would the Australians have done?  No doubt pushed on and skittled them out for no more than 120.

Coupled with the defensive field came 3 or 4 fumbles in the field and suddenly England were facing 183 to win.  On a pitch where the average score is 250 this should still have been a walk in the park - but this is England don’t forget.

When Luke Wright went third ball the writing was on the wall, and then when Pietersen followed it was always going to be close.  With Bell scoring like a man with no arms (8 off of 39 balls), I drifted off to sleep before being woken by a flurry of wickets, with Bell, Bopara, Collingwood and Swann all falling in the space of 4 runs.  The net result was a defeat from what could and should have been a comfortable victory.

Sad to say that until England develop the same ruthless streak and mentality of the very best sides, then they will always be plagued with this inconsistency. They have shown time and again that they have the ability, but the mental approach to the game continues to let them down.

Just time for a quick note on the antics of Kevin Pieterson over the weekend.  I was down in the big city watching Joseph so missed last weekends ODI, with the big man switching to a lefty and clubbing Scott Styris for six a couple of times.  I enjoyed watching it in the replays though.

A fairly predictable outcry emerged from certain quarters (mainly ex-bowlers of course) that it just wasn’t cricket.  However, in the main supporters and commentators alike are united in the view that it is a skill which should be rewarded and its up to the bowler to adapt accordingly.  One view from Nassar Hussain is that the bowler could either bounce or bowl body line as the batsman has to move early to get into position.

The good news from a supporters point of view is that the MCC have for once moved quickly and ruled it legal so we can look forward to some more fun and games over the next few matches.

The next thing to discuss is the debacle at Edgbaston yesterday, where 16000 fans and the New Zealand cricket team were denied a result by a combination of weather and rules.

There needs to be some flexibility with the rules and umpires should be allowed to apply commonsense where necessary.  As the rules stipulate that there is a 30 minute break between innings for one day matches they had a 30 minute break yesterday. This despite the game being reduced to 23 overs and the players being prepared to turn round in 10 minutes.

That meant that the only 19 overs were bowled as the rain came again and as 20 are required for a result to be valid the game was deemed a draw.  A disappointment for the Kiwis of course but also for the fans who had paid good money and then sat down in the rain for half the day to see a drawn match.

Sir Ian Botham as always spoke sense the other day during the last Test match.  It should not be down to the players to decide if they want to come off for bad light or rain.  We all know that  a team in a winning position will always come off given the choice, and a team chasing a victory will be prepared to bat in semi-darkness if they think  they might snatch the game.  All very well but hardly fair on the paying public.  Botham’s solution was to give the umpires control - they don’t “offer” the light - they make the decision based on light metres and conditions and its then the same for both teams.

Last night’s Twenty20 at Headingly was a classic example.  Yorkshire were chasing a rain stopped game but behind on Duckworth Lewis.  Therefore despite the fact that is was raining hard they continued to bat without complaint and managed to win with a couple of balls left.  Had they been winning then they would no doubt have walked at the first opportunity and the crowd, (which included my girlfriend) would have been deprived an exciting climax. (Make up your own jokes there…).

If the ICC want to build on the popularity that Twenty20 and limited over cricket has brought to the game, then they have to keep moving with the times to keep the momentum and the crowds interested.

So Chelsea have finally made a decision on their new manager and it will be Big Phil Scolari as predicted in this blog a few weeks ago.  It looks like it was agreed some weeks ago with Scolari insisting the announcement was held back until Portugal had reached the quarter final of Euro 2008.  Good management I think, and a chance to go out with bang.

Reaction has been mixed from Chelsea fans and predictably derisory from most other fans.  I think its a good appointment.  I should point out that I was dead against him being the England manager but that’s simply because I think that job should always be an Englishman’s job, and I’ll think that even if we go and win the World Cup under Capello.

There is a lot of misinformation about Scolari, probably the biggest error with people believing he speaks no English.  This is not true and although he might struggle initially with Press Conferences I’ve just listened to an interview with him speaking English, where he said that  he has no problem commiunicating with players and getting his message across.  With a couple of months living and breathing English I suspect he will be up to speed by the start of the season.

What we are guaranteed is some exciting football and some volatile behaviour on and off the field.  I’ve also just watched a clip of him throwing a punch at a player from an opposing team during a match.  Now I don’t condone that sort of behaviour at all, but it will give us plenty to talk and write about.  Remember the Wenger/Pardew dust up a couple of seasons ago?  If it had been Scolari/Wendger then it would have been very interesting by the looks of things.

There is also talk of him having no club/European experience.  He has won the South American version of the Champions League twice with “lesser” teams, and has experience of European football with Portugal of course.

He also has plenty of experience managing big egos and will not let them dictate to him - remember him taking off Luis Figo against England at a time when Figo was held up as some sort of demi God?  If a player is not performing he can expect to sitting on the bench.  Exactly what a team with the players Chelsea has needs.  I just wonder how well he will handle the ego of Abramovich!

The only concern I have is that he floods the team with more foreign players and the English players in the squad get sidelined or sold.  Although, both Chelsea and Manchester United have a strong contingent of foreign players, they are complimented by a spine of English or British players, something which the likes of Arsenal for example can’t claim.  Long may that continue.

Now other stuff.

Shearer has officially announced that he is not interested in the Blackburn job because he has other commitments e.g working with the BBC.  I’m sure that if he were interested then he would be able to negotiate a way out of those commitments, but as I have said before he lacks the bottle for management.  Being a pundit is much safer.  In fact he admitted that he never even put his hat in the ring - he was appraoched by Blackburn, who asked if he wanted to be considered.

And one more thing.  God Euro 2008 is dull! I tried to make it worth watching by betting on Holland to win it outright.  However, due to the way Bluesq works when you get a new debit card, I wasn’t able to place my bet before their first game when they were 12/1.  As they won that by beating Italy 2-0 the odds are now 5/1 and I have even less interest.  I will be gutted of course if they do win now.

So Sven has finally officially left Manchester City.  No real surprise there - in fact it would have been a massive surprise if he hadn’t gone after all that has been said.  But who will replace him?

Thaksin has proved that no matter what the plan is in place, even if you deliver to it, there is no guarantee you won’t be sacked.  So what coach would be prepared to take on the position, knowing there is every possibility he will be without a job after 12 months.  Well I guess there are some out there who would be overly optimisitic and tempted by a big transfer budget, and there may be one or two who are just mercenary enough not to care.  After all, Sven has walked away with £5M I suspect.

The big surprise name among the likely candidates though is Mark Hughes.  Blackburn fans must be dreading him leaving, but if he were to go, my guess would have been to Chelsea, who are also rumoured to be interested.

Much of the talk has been about him taking over from Sir Alex at some point and that a few seasons at Chelsea would give him the experience needed.  I would tend to agree with that.  It would also be good to see 2 out of the top 4 clubs managed by British managers - even better if they were English but we’ll have to wait for Pompey to break into the top 4 for that to happen I guess…

Personally, I think if Hughes is serious about the Manchester United role, then the City job could ruin that - especially if he does a good job and by some miracle they were to break the Top 4 monopoly.  The die hard Red supporters would not sanction a Blue taking over I’m sure - having said that, Harry proved that fans can be fickle and if you produce results, they will forgive pretty much anything.

I think Scolari might be the successful candidate.  He is also interested and should be vacating his role of Portugal manager after Euro 2008. He also has a big enough reputation for Thaksin and a decent track record. Hughes, for all his potential really only has that - potential.  He has done well at Blackburn on a limited budget - there is no doubt about that, but has not managed a top club and a big budget.  So for a man keen on making  a major impact quickly as Thaksin seems to be, then he represents a huge risk. However, Thaksin has proved himself to be nothing if not unpredictable so it will be interesting to watch for the neutral at least!

I going to go on a bit of a rant about the BBC Pundits in a minute but first a few lines about last nights game.

Yes its a friendly at the end of a long season, which has little meaning but gives Capello the chance to get to know his players better.  It was never going to be a classic, so let’s park that to one side for the time being.

A few other points to make though.

Firstly, Capello has only a couple more games to get to know his team before we hit the first World Cup qualifying match.  He has had the benefit of watching them in any number of Premier League matches over the last few months, and has had them in training for a week or so now as well.  He will also, no doubt have watched them play a few times at least before taking the job and will have access to as many tapes of old matches as he could wish for.  Therefore why did he (and have previous coaches), used these friendlies to “try” certain players.

In my opinion he should have a pretty good idea who his best 11 (or lets say 13 players) are, and what system he wants them to play.  These matches should therefore be used to let these players get used to playing together in a system that the coach wants.  That is how they will improve.  He started off with arguably his best team available last night but at half time the usual mess of substitutes were made.  You cannot possibly tell me that he can judge or test a player by giving him 10 minutes at the end of a match, when half the team has already been changed and is not representative of the players he might play with if he makes the “first team”.  If he really is unsure of his best team or system, then he is the wrong man for the job.

Lampard v Gerrard - he really has to make a decision here and for me its simple.  Gerrard always out performs Lampard in and England shirt.  Lampard should without a doubt be in the England squad but should be used a back-up for Gerrard.  The way Gerrard linked up with Rooney last night was brilliant.  Gerrard has shown he can play consistently well in any position in midfield where as Lampard tends to be more one dimensional.

Defoe - I’m a Pompey fan of course, but for Defoe needs at least 6 good chances in order to convert one.  Against good sides he will be lucky to get one or two.  I thought that with regular first team football he would get sharper.  It didn’t look that way last night.  Owen will prbably get the nod every time if he can stay fit with Defoe and Crouch as back up.

Now a few words about Lineker, Hanson Shearer and Dixon (could easily read Ian Wright).  It started in the last World Cup when they clearly didn’t think Sven was the man for the job, and went on to malign every single decision he made and performance of the team, especially if it meant that Shaun Wright-Phillips was omitted.  It continued with the Mclaren era, and last night was no exception.

As mentioned above the game was never going to be a classic, and they have all played in Internationals themselves, which were by far and away worse than last nights, but they have conveniently forgotten that.   The constant barrage of sarcastic and “humorous” comments really start to annoy after a while (add to this list Mark “Interesting” Lawrenson by the way).

The funny yet interesting thing is that all have chosen to stay clear of coaching and management and chosen the safety of the commentary box.  As predicted in this blog in the past, Shearer is constantly linked with the Newcastle job but will never take it as he would need to put his money where his mouth is.  The whole team bring to mind the old adage “those that can do and those that can’t teach”.  Now while that may not be completely true within teaching circles, it could be adapted to “those that can and have the bottle coach, and those that can’t and don’t justsit back and make sarcastic comments”.  Ok it doesn’t roll off the tongue but you get the drift.

In the past I have always chosen the BBC if a game was ever shown on more than one channel.  Not any more - give me the Sky team anyday.

What a fantastics weekend of sport, especially for British sports fans.
3 play off finals, with Hull gaining Premiership status for the first time with a superb goal from the oldest guy on the pitch, Doncaster turning over Yorkshire rivals Leeds and Stockport beating Rochdale in a thriller yesterday.  All in all great for us northern chaps!

I didn’t get to see the second two matches as I was on a stag night in the Yorkshire Dales where they have just got running water and the occasional inside toilet, so no mobile phone reception and definitely no satellite TV or internet cafe.

This meant that having watched Hull win and then the England cricket team bat at 2.4 an over for a few hours of tedium I received a nice surprise when I got back to civilisation.  Predictably the England middle order had collapsed but then unpredictably Panesar bowled career best figures of 6/37 and in reply Strauss made a century, with England running out winners by six wickets. I thought the game had draw all over it but it just proves it can change so quickly.

Then the Monaco Grand Prix and Lewis Hamilton claiming first spot despite crashing on lap six.   The win puts him 3 points clear but the Championship looks like it could be a close run thing with Ferrari hot on the heels of McLaren. Is it me or has the coverage of this year’s F1 been slightly muted?  I’ve hardly heard any mention of it in the press and we have the prospect of the first British Champion for years.  Last year there seemed to be loads of coverage about Hamilton winning in his rookie season.  It’s almost as if winning it in his second year is either expected or not exciting enough.  Then again maybe its just me.

Anyway, all in all a great weekend for sport, even if I didn’t get to see a lot of it.  It’s still good to see the Brits doing well for once - let’s just hope that England can go on to win the Test series and you never know maybe even Andy Murray might have a good run at Wimbledon.  That might just take our minds off of the European Championships, although we do have a friendly tomorrow with England facing USA - joy!