lookupsport

The “powers that be” running hockey in the UK, appear to have lost the plot.  The EHA having asked clubs in England if they think games should be moved from a Sunday (when a majority are played) to a Saturday when the other club games are played, and received a resounding NO, appear to be going ahead with the plan anyway.  Their arguement appears to be that the elite need to be ready for 2012, and Sunday should be reserved for the National teams to train.  Great idea in theory but miles away from reality.

Most clubs not only rely on the revenue from Sunday National League games, which is needed to support the teams at the highest level, but also struggle to find enough pitch time to play their other club games.  Most crowds are predominantly made up of fellow club players, who not only want to come and watch the top teams play but are happy to pay for the privilidge. 

As all other league games are played on a Saturday this means the majority of spectators will be playing and therefore unable to watch.  In addition, National League teams need longer pitch time for warming up, which means clubs such as mine will have to pay to hire another pitch to play games that would otherwise have been played at home and not cost us.  And all this so that 20-30 people can get together for training on a Sunday in the hope that we will win a medal in 2012.  Already I can see other potential problems arising.  What happens if a player is playing at the wrong end of the country the day before training - he/she will then either need to spend the extra time travelling, which won’t be good preparation, or the more likely result is that they will opt not to play for their clubs, meaning the clubs will suffer. 

The other problem is that a lot of clubs use the Saturday games to bring on fringe squad players.  This means they may play on a Saturday in order to keep match fitness, but bench on a Sunday learning from the more senior players.  That option will obviously be lost, meaning that the players who in 6 years time will be reaching their peak may have their development impeded.

The bottom line is, it’s a bad idea all round not only for the clubs but also for the players.  You have to ask what’s the point of canvassing opinion and then ignoring it? 

Fraser

I don’t often sit down and watch darts, but last night I did and have to say that it was one of the best night’s sport I’ve seen for ages. 

The two most gripping games were good for completely different reasons.  Firstly, the local qualifier Anto McCracken took on and beat the 14th Seed Mark Walsh.  Not a game of high quality, with Walsh sadly out of sorts, and McCracken erratic, but what an atmosphere generated by the local partisan crowd!  Edge of the seat stuff right down to the end, because both were missing doubles and it was never over till it was over. 

Then a match of the highest quality when World No 1 Colin Llyod played veteran Bob Anderson.  Lloyd started like and express train and looked odds on to win, but Anderson came back hard and fast - either player would have won any other match that night easily with Anderson averaging 103 (with a double required to start).  The fact that he would have beaten anybody else last night will be small consolation for Lloyd having now lost on 3 televised tournaments in the first round.  But well played Bob and roll on Wednesday night when he plays McCracken, although Anto will have to play a lot better if he doesn’t want the dream to end!

Hats off to Sky for their coverage and no wonder the Premier League Darts league nights are sold out within hours with the atmosphere and excitement the events generate these days.

England once again failed to compete in the ICC trophy, this time against Australia, slumping to a 6 wicket defeat after failing to post a score again.  More worrying then the result is the form of Harmison who again went for 20 form his first over and bowled 29 extras. which went for 45 runs - when defending a small target (in fact when defending any target), that is simply not good enough.  Let’s hope he re-gains some form before the ashes start. He surely going to be targetted by the Ozzies now, which if he does find his old form could work in our favour.

What on earth is Geoff Boycott going on about though?  His call for Fletcher to resign is nothing short of ridiculous.  His arguement seems to be that he has never been successful at the one day game and that he has reached the end of his “shelf life”.  Talk about a knee jerk reaction to some poor results, which let us not forget are off the back of a number of injuries to key players.  Changing Fletcher so close to the ashes would be a disaster and send out totally the wrong message, giving the Ozzies the pyschological edge before a ball is bowled. 

I’ve always felt that Boycott almost revels in poor England results, and seems to look for the first chance he can to snipe at the top players and management team.  I seriously believe he would have been gutted at Englands win last year - his own game, which would have been totally unsuited to today’s style of play, was boring to watch and completely self centered, and his commentary more often than not seems to be racked with jealousy.  Now is a time for country to get behind the team and not try and undermine their confidence.

Fraser

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for Pakistani cricket, then they get embroiled in a drugs scandal, as Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif test positive for nandrolone.  This hot on the heels of a ball tampering allegations, Younis Khan turning down the captaincy and Shaharyar Khan resigning.  For a nation that loves cricket as much as the Pakistanis, it must feel like another massive kick in the teeth. 

While on the subject of cricket, I feel the need to vent my anguish at another dismal display by the England one day side against India.  What was that first over from Harmison all about? - defending 125, he managed to serve more wides with his first ball then the Indian team did in their entire innings (which to be fair was only 37 overs long thanks to the collapse of the England top order).

Let’s hope they can pick themselves up from this otherwise they face total humiliation and a knock in confidence prior to the Ashes, when they play Australia on Saturday.  I have to say I fear the worst looking at recent results… 

 Fraser

Well, it was not meant to be….

Despite the loss on Saturday, I enjoyed every minute at Old Trafford. The stadium was unbelievable, the noise was deafening (and I had an infuriating individual behind me with one of those damn air horns - love the noise when you hear it across the stands but not in my ear please!!) and even the game were tremendous. I have to admire St Helens - they are so big and strong and after that try just before half time, they did not look back. I am a very proud Hull FC fan but will admit Saints deserved the victory and all the titles they have won this year. Both Peter Sharpe (Hull Coach) and Richard Swain (Hull Captain) have said the same and I don’t think anyone begrudges them their trophies. Now if it had been Leeds who won…………. I would not be a happy bunny and much of my comments would have been far too rude for a lady!!

We now wait with anticipation for Sunday and the final GP in Brazil - bring it on!!!!

Anna xx

Well that didn’t take long did it.  A couple of bad results and suddenly the FA have got it all wrong and Mclaren should be sacked and Phil Scalari and Martin O’Neill are the best thing since sliced bread.  No doubt if either of them had been appointed and the results had been the same then the media and fans would have been saying we should have an English manager and wondering why Mclaren hadn’t been chosen.

Agreed the performance lacked energy and the formation didn’t work, but at some point our supposedly world class players have to stand up and prove how good they are.  Surely top class players can adapt to any system, and surely professionals should be able to lift themselves and be able to play with conviction and pride whoever is picking the team. 

It always amazes me how a squad of players, who play in the fastest league in the world always get to internationals and play at a pedestrian pace.  You only have to look at the way most foreign players take so long to adapt  to the Premiership to work out that if we take that attitude and pace to internationals we would have most games won by half time.

So why why why do we (whoever the manager is) try and be clever and adapt our game at international level.  Surely we should just stick to what we know best!

On a slightly more upbeat note, well done to Northern Ireland for a solid performance against the Czech Republic, and to Wales for picking themselves up after Saturday to bounce back with a win.  Unfortunately for Scotland, Lawrenson actually got that prediction right although not the score…

Fraser

Lets hope the home nations can perform well tonight in the European Qualifiers.  Scotland will be bouyant after their stunning victory over France, and can hopefully keep it going for what will be a tricky away trip to the Ukraine.  The good news for Scotland is that Mark Lawrenson has predicted they will lose, and as every one of his predictions for the weekend were wrong they should be in with a shout. 

The Welsh will be looking to restore some pride after their thrashing at the weekend, and a home tie against Cyprus will hopefully be just the tonic. 

Northern Ireland have been impressive so far and have almost snuck up on the outside, thanks to some low key press coverage.  That may help as it will keep the pressure off them, but it will be another tough game tonight against Latvia. 

And what of England?  Having been slated in the press for a mediocre performance, I am slightly happy to have missed the match myself (although unlike Anna it wasn’t to watch “Friends” - see “Come on u Ull” below), but have to believe, with the optimism that only a football supporter can have, that tonight will not only be a thouroughly entertaining spectacle, but will also result in a 2-0 victory for England.

Fraser

I was shocked and surprised to hear about the death of Paul Hunter.  I realised that he had cancer but beieved it to be in remission, having seen him play a few months back in the BBC’s Pot Black competition.  It’s always sad to see somebody so young lose their life but it seems to strike home more when they are in the public eye.  Our thoughts and condolences go his wife Lindsey and daughter Evie Rose, as well as to anybody else going through a similar trauma.

Fraser

Wow!  What a weekend for sport and for Hull! Not only did the fantastic Hull FC knock out Bradford Bulls in the Final Eliminator for a place in the Rugby League Grand Final but Hull KR (and I hate to admit this) played extremely well to land a place in the Super League next year. I think you will have to agree that Hull was placed well and truly on the map this weekend and roll on next season at those derby games!

I was at the KC on Friday night to see Hull beat Bradford. I admit I have not been to every game this season but I cannot remember a time when the crowd were so loud and supportive. Even Stevo (Sky Sports Rugby League pundit) had to admit that Hull deserved the victory and it took til the final 10 minutes before he admitted that! There were a few close shaves (Bradford had two tries disallowed) but I’m sure Bradford fans will agree that they were correctly called by the video ref (challenge me on that if you wish/dare!).

 Am now all excited about Saturday’s Grand Final against St Helen’s. I have my ticket!!! I agree with the pundits that Hull will be the underdogs for the match. St Helen’s deserve the League title (I saw them play us at the KC and they were very good) but I have a feeling we could be tough opponent for them. Hit them early on and we stand a very good chance!

 Moving away from Rugby (heaven forbid you are bored by that), I saw a bit of the England game on Saturday night - rubbish! Confess I switched right over to E4 for Friends (even though I have seen every episode)! Even Gerrard had a poor game which is rare. Obviously can’t wait for Wednesday’s match……..(yawn)

My weekend of sport did not end there - just the small matter of the penultimate GP of the season. Contemplated getting up early to see the race live but failed. Had to wait till mid afternoon to see poor Mr Schumacher fail to finish! Not had engine failure since 2001 and could not have come at a better time:) Don’t like the guy but think he would have won the race and the championship if that had not happened. Alonso was in the right place at the right time and cruised to victory. Now only needs one point to secure the  back-to-back championship. Whether he deserves it, is another matter…..

P.S just a question - if Mr Schumacher does win the title (is possible if Alonso fails to finish, Schumi wins and tops the leaderboard on number of GP’s won this season), what would happen to the Number 1 which goes on the car of the championship winner for next season? He is retiring, so would it stay with Ferrari or just disappear?- answers on a postcard please.

I will leave those talking points with you!

Will report back after my trip to Old Trafford - COME ON U ‘ULL!!!!  Annaxxx

Following another major mistake influencing the result of a premiership game there have been more calls for television technology to be introduced.  Didier Zokora’s blatant dive was rewarded with a penalty despite replays showing he was a couple of yards away from Pedro Mendes. With Redknapp and the 4th official able to watch a replay within seconds in the dugout, it is incredible that the 4th official cannot interfere.  Although I hate to see managers or players remonstrate with officials, I do have some sympathy with the ridiculousness of the situation which FIFA/FA seem reluctant to resolve.  There is far too much money involved in the game these days for it not to be introduced and rather than slow the game down, it actually adds to the excitement as has been shown by Rugby League and Cricket with the spectators avidly watching the big screens for a decision.

Whilst on the subject of the dive, I would like to think that Zakora’s action would result in retrospective action and a charge of bringing the game into disrepute.  However, I don’t think the rules allow for this?

This probably sounds a bit like sour grapes from a Pompey fan, but I’m sure that at some point this season it will work in our favour - that doesn’t make it right or acceptable though. 

With regards to Pompey’s performance, they have to be worried that they have now dominated 2 games possession wise, but have failed to create more than a small handful of chances.  They seem to run out of ideas in the last third or over hit crosses/corners too many times, which will cost them if not resolved quickly.