Large in charge, Wide of mark

  

Being a huge sports fan has been a difficult hobby in the last week of so.  I live on the outskirts of London, I am a Tottenham Hotspur fan first, but a football fan in general. I adore the New England Patriots, but I love the NFL mostly.  This does not make me ignore other sports either, I am passionate about English rugby, praise Andy Murray and Mo Farah to the hilt; cannot wait for the Ryder Cup next weekend. And yet on numerous occasions of late, the people in charge of these sports are letting me and other sports fans down.

Starting with the NFL which has had two high profile suspensions of talented individuals due to off the field incidents. Firstly, last Wednesday, TMZ released the footage of Ray Rice punching his then fiancee (now wife) Janay Palmer in the elevator of an Atlantic City hotel in February.  In response, Rice's team the Baltimore Ravens suspended him and the NFL suspended him indefinitely subject to an appeal. 

The NFL let itself down in this because allegations came to light that the NFL head office, led by Roger Goodell, knew of the footage back in April and did not act upon it; hoping that the video would never surface. In my eyes, this would make Goodell's tenure as questionable at best or at least make him answerable to questions of integrity.

On Friday, another incident hit the NFL fan, when Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indicted by a court in Texas for child abuse on his own son, where his form of discipline - hitting him with a wooden stick - was apparently so brutal, ESPN has chosen not to air the pictures of the child due to the graphic nature of the imagery.

Whispers were that after Peterson gave himself out and was released on bail, that he would play for the Vikings on Sunday at home to the Patriots (a game they lost 31-7); and yet the Vikings took the correct decision to not play him.  He was then reinstated to team practices on Monday, but then the team late on Tuesday evening/early Wednesday morning chose to put Peterson on the exempt list meaning he cannot be involved in any team activity until the 'due process' has been resolved.

Nevermind due process, Peterson's actions warranted a termination of his contract and an indefinite suspension from the sport. In many ways, Peterson's actions are worse because it was against a defenceless individual in this case a minor; whereas Ms. Palmer is an adult who is capable of defending herself, although Rice did not give her the chance with his surprise attack.


This makes Goodell's position as NFL Commissioner untenable, he is not doing a good job if his players are being arrested for domestic violence, child abuse, drunk driving; and these are not big defensive linemen or special team operators, Rice and Peterson are franchise players in high profile positions with huge contracts of guaranteed money.  Peterson is assured of his income by being put on the exempt list, despite being indicted for child abuse, so he can put his feet up and still be paid; another bizarre twist in the story.

The unsavoury incidents leave a bad taste in the mouth, and the NFL needs to shake it up before they lose the trust of those who matter, the fans whose ticket prices and merchandise sales allow these players to have huge contracts and the belief they are above the law.

On this side of the Atlantice, the Rugby Football Union have made an almighty faux pas by inserting on the new England rugby shirt imagery or design of the Victoria Cross into the jersey worn by hookers.  Now, rugby more than any other sport has done the most for such charities as Help for Heroes; yet this misguided attempt at a tribute to our armed forces is wrong, because it sees the RFU profiting from those who have fallen, and it is worn in a competitive respect by those who may never get close to a battlefield.  Make tributes, praise the dead just do not profit from it.

And finally in cricket, you had the incident last week of Yorkshire Cricket captain Andrew Gale being told he could not celebrate with his team-mates as they celebrated clinching the County Championship last Thursday at Trent Bridge as he is serving a two-match suspension.  This narrow sighted edict marks the English Cricket Board (ECB) as stuffy and out of touch; Gale played in a majority of the games and made telling contributions, he is entitled to celebrate with his team.  If that was the case, why was John Terry allowed to celebrate with his Chelsea team in Munich 2012 even when he did not play; UEFA in that instance did the right thing.  And people think cricket is behind the times. 

All in all as a sports fan it has been a hard week, one of reflection and introspection about where does my loyalties lie.  I love the NFL and like most fans it will only diminish once Tom Brady retires and my Patriots are tanking for the No 1 pick in five years time; as a Tottenham fan I hope to visit the new stadium once it ever gets built and I hope to go to our temporary home be it Milton Keynes or Wembley. 

However, too often the men at the top of the tree are too often out of touch with the general consensus and wide of the mark with their attempts at contrition.  They hope to appeal to the everyman when not every man is going to be happy.

Follow me on twitter @JamieGarwood

In praise of...Bill Foulkes

It is always sad when a true footballing legend passes away. Some leave too soon, some live a full and happy life grateful that they have fulfilled their career to the best of their ability in spite of certain obstacles put in front of them and in the process become iconic for that club and can be called a club great by their retirement and in their passing become legend.

William Anthony Foulkes was born on 5th January 1932 and sadly passed away this morning 25th November at the age of 81.  Foulkes was a one club man for the 17 years at Old Trafford and played 688 matches for the Red Devils, the fourth most for the club - behind Bobby Charlton, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

Foulkes won four league titles (1956, 1957, 1965 and 1967), one FA Cup in 1963 and the European Cup in 1968, ten years after perhaps the biggest obstacle of his career was overcome.

In February 1958 on the way back from a European Cup tie in Belgrade, Manchester United were waylaid in Munich and despite the unsavoury conditions the plane attempted a take off. The plane crashed yet Foulkes survived, whilst several team-mates of the Busby Babes died.

Oddly Foulkes benefited from the death of Mark Jones and the forced retirement of Jackie Blanchflower due to sustained injuries in the crash. They were first choice centre-halves so Foulkes had to step into the fold and be a leader for the newly formed team.  He was in the words of Bobby Charlton "as hard as nails, as tough as teak – I was always glad I didn't have to play against him."

Yet listening to Foulkes' contemporary Jimmy Armfield on BBC 5 Live this evening, Armfield mentioned how following the Munich Air Disaster Foulkes had to be an example to the team and two weeks following the crash Foulkes was playing again in an FA Cup tie at home to Sheffield Wednesday.  United won the match 3-0 and got to the final at Wembley, which they lost.  Armfield also mentioned how Foulkes would say how he had to mask some of the difficulties of dealing with the disaster and how his grit and toughness embedded in him by his work in the mines and his National Service in 1955.

It is telling that Armfield chose to mention this story on the same day that English cricketer Jonathon Trott decided to leave the Ashes tour of Australia due to stress-related issues with immediate effect.  Trott's issues will not be disclosed and he is allowed his privacy. 

My praise for Foulkes is that following the death of team-mates and the fact he faced death down, Foulkes easily could have taken as much time of as he wanted.  Instead Foulkes manned up and decided to be an example to those around him, and hence enhance his reputation not only as a professional but as a human being meaning his legend grew.

Sometimes when you hear of individuals such as Trott or Marcus Trescothick talk of the stress related issues such as depression in a sporting context - where you travel the world and are paid handsomely for being quite good at a sport - in contrast to the careers of Foulkes and Charlton and what they had to overcome, a turn of phrase from another bygone era, 'You never had it so good'.

In Praise of...Ledley King

So it is July 19th 2012 which is the day Ledley King finally gave in to the constant injuries that befell his 14 year career.  It could have been July 19th last year, or the same day next year.  But all in all it must be believed that Ledley has finally done the right thing.  For Ledley, his career will be more a case of what might have been, rather than what it was.

In his 14 year career he accumulated only 260 league appearances, 313 in all competititons.  That is an average of 18.5 games per season.  Where most professionals are expected to play 45-50 games a season, so really he should be quitting after having played 630 games.  He only played about 40% of the games he should have throughout his career.

However, sometimes it is what you do when you are around that makes people remember you with such fondness.  King came through the ranks of the Spurs Academy and was granted a debut in an end of season clash against Liverpool at Anfield in May 1999; however it was a performance against the same opposition at White Hart Lane over a year later in November 2000 that set him apart from the crowd.  King played in central midfield, a position out of his comfort zone yet he did a job for a team that resulted in a home win for Tottenham.  His maturity and control of his play made him look to be something special.

Soon he got to play at his preferred central defence and again he grew into the role as model professional and expert player.  After Sol Campbell left Tottenham for the hated North London rivals, Arsenal in July 2001 it was time to turn to Ledley as the beacon of hope and leader of the team, soon he was made team captain.

During that spell of transition he scored a rare goal away at Bradford, rare yes but it remains the fastest goal ever to be scored in the Premier League, King found the back of the net after 9.7seconds.

From 2006 though, King's career became one of stop start as the knee injury sustained in pre-season training of that year would define his legacy.  King's injury was not like normal knee injuries where cartilage and ligaments could be repaired; in King's case it was no cartilage at all. It meant his bones were touching each other and so the injury had to be managed with care meaning no training and not playing every game of the season, for instance if he played Saturday he could not play until the following weekend.

Whilst King did manage to find some great performances and a huge level of consistency in his play, especially during Spurs' charge for the Champions League in 2009/10 culminating in the victory at Manchester City.  That run of form allowed him to be selected for England's disastrous World Cup campaign in South Africa that summer, although a groin injury sustained in the first half of the first game versus America meant his tournament was over.

Another sad indictment is that during a 14 year career where he was heralded as one of the finest English defenders of his era, he only garnered 21 full caps and two goals.  In contrast to his Senrab clubmate from his youth, John Terry, who is closer to 100 hundred than 50 and has captained his country.

The argument can continue that King was and is a better defender than Terry; as a chorus of a White Hart Lane song can attest to.  King even had a last laugh in 2008 when he beat Terry's all conquering Chelsea in the Carling Cup final at Wembley, and was able to lift the trophy (and then proceed to attempt to drink Faces nightclub in Ilford dry that same evening)

Personally, I was at that game and was amazed at how two eternally crocked players like King and Jonathan Woodgate totally outplayed the dominant Chelsea attack of Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda et al.  They did not so much keep them at bay, as not give them a sniff.  For me it remains the most dominant defensive display I have had the privilege to see.

Alas, in what was now his last season, 2011/12 King was becoming more prone to mistakes letting attackers muscle him off the ball (Grant Holt of Norwich for one) and being clearly outpaced by younger legs; at least Younes Kaboul and Brad Friedel were able to account for any errors in a season that saw Tottenham finish 4th in the Premier League.

However, for all the way his season finished and for what his injury history will overshadow part of his career, for a man who it seemed was around forever, to retire at the young age of 31 is still sad news.  It should not be discounted that he is a rare breed - a one club man of distinction and class which in this day and age of mercenaries should be applauded.

Serena's Mission

Serena Williams beat defending Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova in straight sets on Centre Court today under the closed roof as persistent showers threatened to derail the schedule of the Ladies Quarter-final day.  That coupled with the requirement of Mens's 4th Round matches needed to be completed, meant that the LTA were right to build a roof for days like this and seasons of weather like we have been experiencing in England this year.

For Williams it was a leap back from the unknown.  Still smarting from her defeat to Virginia Razzano in the first round of the French Open a month ago; Serena needed this sort of match and this sort of victory.

Kvitova has had a torrid year, her first at the head table of the women's game.  She has admitted struggles with expectations, and her first round match her was a self-expressed disaster.  Yet she seemed to have turned the corner, as she came from a set down against the feisty Francesca Schivaone yesterday to meet the sixth seed, Serena.

Yet today, the more graceful Kvitova had no answer for the sheer brute force of Williams who won 6-3, 7-5; breaking Kvitova when serving at 5-5 in the 2nd set.  Serena rounded off a fine display by dispatching her trusted weapon of her first serve to easily serve out for the match.

Yet there has to be a case that if Williams was to win her 5th Wimbledon title this year it could be considered a formidable comeback and feel good story.

Williams has always had confidence, inbred in her by her father/coach Richard from an early age; hence her indominatable spirit and tenacity to always succeed and to rarely give up without a fight.  Yet the cut she sustained on her foot in Munich last year, also led to a blood clot on her lung being found and led to her almost giving up on the game that she has given so much to and given so much to her.

Add that to the Razzano defeat, she has not won a major since her last Wimbledon title of 2010, and with the resurrection of Maria Sharapova, and continued growing of Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska; there were murmurs if the Williams' still had a presence in the game.

Because of Venus' debilitating auto-immune disorder which renders her unable to compete at the highest level anymore; would it be inconceivable for us to consider that Serena wants to win Wimbledon this year as a mark of respect and honour to her sister.  They still are both in the doubles and will aim to compete in that together.

Yet for two women who changed the game so much, making it both enticing and athletic it would be a shame if Venus was lost to a muscle disorder and a shame if Serena could not finish off the job this week.  She has two more matches left, two more matches to Number 14.  A legend just adding to the fact.

Arsene's Questions

Arsenal lost to Swansea. 3-2. In Swansea. So why is it that much of a surprise or treated as the equivalent of when Arsenal last visited Wales for a competitive fixture against a side from the principality, as when they lost 2-1 at Wrexham back in 1992.

Swansea have only lost once at home in the league all season (to Man United, 1-0), they are a well drilled unit governed by the magisterial eye of Brendan Rodgers who gets them to play as well with the ball as when they are without it.

The key to Swansea's football (some call it the Barcelona way) is to get the ball back as quickly as possible once they lose it giving the players Joe Allen and Leon Britton the chance to shine both with and without the ball.  They have pace down the wings in Scott Sinclair (who converted the penalty to equalise for the Swans), Nathan Dyer (who scored the second in a man of the match performance) and up front they have a hard working centre-forward who never gives up a lost cause and scores the odd goal, in this case the winner, in Danny Graham.  The scorers may well get the credit, but the solid defence and impressive Michel Vorm provides solidity at the back, they are difficult to score against - although both Arsenal goals came from through ball played into space behind full backs.

As for Arsenal, this is just another sorry episode in a season that may well go down in history as the worst of Arsene Wenger's tenureship.

Having navigated the quagmire of uncertainty following the 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford, Wenger seemed to have steadied the ship thanks in part to the irresistible form of Robin Van Persie who was winning games single-handedly.  He even got Thierry Henry back on loan for two months to fool people into thinking there were no real problems at the Emirates.

Yet the problems remain, an inconsistent goalkeeper who was at fault for the winner at Swansea as he did not lessen the angle for Graham to shoot at, his back peddling and dithering made Graham's decision to shoot across goal a lot easier.

The defence still is leaky, it did not help that he had four centre backs playing in defence owing to injuries sustained to Kieran Gibbs, Bacary Sagna and Santos during the season.  Laurent Koscielny and Ignasi Miquel looked lost as they combated the pace of Sinclair and Dyer, whilst Per Mertesacker was given the run around by Graham all afternoon, and it was no surprise that he was sacrificied near the end for Oxlade-Chamberlain as Arsenal, chased an equaliser, on 77 minutes.

Yet the midfield trio of Aaron Ramsey (whose lazy pass led to Swansea taking a 2-1 lead), Alexandre Song and Yossi Benayoun could not compete with Swansea's tenacity and resilience.  There is a real sense of belief ringing around the Liberty Stadium at the moment - a team that plays attractive football, and keeps to that ethos even when they concede like they did yesterday.

The worry for Arsene Wenger was the near invisibility of certain players - Arshavin was non-existent and a non-factor until he had to come off for Henry midway through the second half, apart from his well taken goal Theo Walcott could not match Dyer for potency and end product but most worryingly, Robin Van Persie apart from the goal looked flat at times, even when they are chasing a goal at the end where was Arsenal's player of the season to stand up and be counted and carry the team to a point and salvation.

Instead, Arsenal must now re-assess hope some players return from injury as this is not Wenger's best starting XI and this season should be written off as one to be forgotten.  Again after a costly defeat, he looked to deflect blame from his team that were simply not good enough, and instead blame Michael Oliver for awarding a penalty to Swansea.

Frankly the team is not good enough to compete in this league at the moment, be it Man City's superstar line-up, Man United's experience of the big stage, Tottenham's similar Barca-style football, Arsenal have lost to all three of these teams as well as Blackburn, Fulham and now Swansea away from home.  The part-time signing of Henry is an attempt to paper over the cracks of his feeble transfer policy and failure to bring through any quality youth players - how he must regret not signing Tim Krul, nor Gary Cahill in the summer.  Cahill has now gone to Chelsea, Krul's value has shot up now.

Arsenal need to save the season, oddly enough their best performanes have been saved for the Champions League and maybe some glory in that remains, but the League has gone. They need to get back on track, yet they are at home to Man United this Sunday, whilst it should not be a 10 goal thriller again, do not bank on a goalless draw.

Fergie's Cock-up

Sir Alex Ferguson was celebrating his 70th birthday in the New Year, another milestone to go along with his 25th year in charge at Old Trafford.  Yet as with 20 years ago, when one Dennis Bailey scored a hat-trick for QPR in a famous 4-1 victory on Fergie's 50th birthday, away teams do not seem to read the script. 

The stage was set.  Manchester United joint top on points with their city rivals, City who played the day after at Sunderland, so the opportunity was there to get a lead over them.  And the fixture machine gave them bottom of the table Blackburn Rovers at home, although heartened by a gritty point away at Anfield, this is still a team without an away win all season.  The chance was there for the taking, yet the underdog had bite.

Blackburn Rovers were led impressively by their lead man Yakubu who ended up scoring twice, and the eventual winner came from the unheralded Grant Henley with 10 minutes remaining for a famous victory and extend the stay of execution for Steve Kean, who was supported in the build up to the game by SAF saying he should be given a chance to save Blackburn.

Kean and his spirited side were helped by an odd team selection by the elder statesman.  A squad that has been ravaged by injuries in defence and midfield led to a centre back pairing of Phil Jones and Michael Carrick; a central midfield duo of Antonio Valencia and Ji-Sun Park, with Danny Welbeck marooned on the left wing with Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov up front with Wayne Rooney omitted from the squad altogether. 

(It transpired that SAF disciplined Rooney, Darron Gibson and Jonny Evans for an ill-advised piss up on Boxing Day night which led to them being physically unable to train on Dec 27th.  Rooney admits he was fine to train, yet the punishment was handed out).

This was a bizarre thing for Ferguson to do; something as trivial as footballers drinking should be dealt in-house.  Ferguson must have thought that dropping Rooney would not warrant a mention, nor turn a head; all the more the media would be on his side.

Yet I feel he was very arrogant in choosing the Blackburn game to drop three players from - three players who would have all started more than likely - as he felt the strength of his squad would see them past the bottom side in the League quite easily.  The sheer arrogance came back to bite him on the behind.

A penalty against Berbatov for a clear shirt pull led to Blackburn's opener coolly converted by Yakubu, then Yakubu's sheer physical presence led to the 2-0 advantage as he powered past an out of sorts Carrick and a fortuitous ricochet to fire past David de Gea who was recalled over Anders Lindegaard.

Yet count Man.United out at your peril as Berbatov quickly replied a minute after the second goal, and then got his second ten minutes later.  You would have expected United to convert their momentum to a victory, yet it was Blackburn who got their third goal first and eventual winner; a goal which showed the falliability of the makeshift United defence as Henley cleanly outjumped a flapping de Gea and then easily headed in the dropping ball at the second opportunity against a lead footed Rafael on the line.

Luckily for United and Ferguson, there was a silver lining as City suffered their second defeat of the season at resurgent Sunderland as a last minute winner by Ji gave Martin O'Neill's side the spoils.

Both Manchester sides were guilty of not converting chances and heaps of possession; yet for Ferguson the chance to leapfrog their rivals has gone.  He may rely again on Liverpool defeating a mentally flustered City side working on one day's rest, whilst United travel to Newcastle.

The title race may well go to the wire, and longer than you think if managers intend to dismiss lesser teams in this division with this awful team selection.

Green Bay v Tebow: When the Story Isn't the Story

This year in the NFL there have been an amazing set of storylines - the coming out party of rookie QBs (Newton, Dalton, Yates); the continued indiscipline of James Harrison; the implosion at Detroit after a great start (more down to the lose of Jahvid Best than their own indiscipline); the reinvention of the 49ers under the stewardship of Jon Harbaugh.

Yet there appears to be two stories that far outweigh all of these storylines; one involves a team heading for glory and the other is a man who is playing with glory in his heart.  The Green Bay Packers v Tim Tebow. One is playing for immortality, the other plays for an immortal.

The current Super Bowl champions from Wisconsin, who had a 7 game unbeaten run to win in Dallas this February over the favoured Pittsburgh Steelers, have continued currently 13-0. One more win this week at Kansas City will guarantee home field advantage throughout the playoffs at the formidabel Lambeau Field - a place that is so cold and hostile, it gives the Packers an added advantage as if they need one.

They do not need any extra help, as right now Aaron Rodgers is playing the QB position better than anyone else right now, in spite of it being a good year for his peers Drew Brees and Tom Brady.  All three are on pace to break Dan Marino's single-season passing record; as was Matt Schaub before his season-ending shoulder injury.

Rodgers is a beast - he throws it so accurately, so precisely with such poise and confidence he has made it look very easy.  He shakes off pressure that breaks the pocket due to his ability to run outside of it, he takes hit when necessary which is seldom, so maybe credit should go to his O-line for giving him time but he has an abundance of weapons downfield in Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson and Greg Jennings; coupled with the useful return of Ryan Grant who missed last year due to injury.

These Packers score for fun, when in a shootout they outscore the Chargers easily because the other QB will no doubt make a mistake either incompleting or being intercepted, and only once have they been run close which was at the Giants two weeks ago when with the game tied at 34; Rodgers with less than a minute marched down the field again with relevant ease to create a game winning field goal from reliable Mason Crosby.  The Giants were favoured to give the Pack a tough time, they did but in the end the result was never in doubt.

After the Chiefs (who fired Todd Haley this week, Romeo Crenel is interim) they have two divisional games remaining against the Bears (who are nothing without Cutler) and the Lions who may well need to win to sneak into the playoffs.  A lot of talk is being spoken about whether the Packers should aim for a 16-0 record to finish the season with or if they should rest key players (incl. Rodgers) once home field is secured. 

Now arguments may be made that the last team who went 16-0, the Patriots in 2007 did not win the Super Bowl as they lost to the Giants in Arizona - so maybe the search for perfection comes at a price and the need to have rest is paramount, although they would argue that the Packers will get two weeks to rest once the regular season concludes.  The Packers give the impression of not being overawed by the persuasive powers of history, of taking it one game at a time and they know that this is the only chance they get at perfection for this group of players.

And yet this search for perfection is being overshadowed by the performances of one man.  Tim Tebow.  Tebow the second string QB of the Denver Broncos who is metaphorically become their saviour of sorts as he has taken them from 1-4 to a 8-5 record atop the AFC West ahead of the Oakland Raiders and with a chance of making the playoffs and a home game at that,as they will be ranked fourth as a division winner.

Tebow-mania started in Miami, the same weekend as the NFL game at Wembley between Tampa and Chicago.  15-0 down with three minutes on the clock, somehow they managed to recover an onside kick and lead a charge to tie to force OT where Matt Prater converted the game winning, defying field goal.

The next week they were hammered at home by a rampant Detroit, but since then they have won 6 on the bounce each win more amazing than the last.  From Tebow's 20 yard rushing TD in the last two minutes against the Jets, to last week's 10 point comeback against the Bears with Prater again nailing an OT winning field goal.

Tebow is a conflicting figure in sports and culture at the moment, Tebow is a practising Christian with strong beliefs and values.  The use of faith in the workplace is always a strong point of conflict in a mutli-faith nation like America - some people do not like religion thrust in their face, yet Tebow is only the extreme version of every athlete who thanks God for every victory.  Tebow does not hide behind his fatih and instead embraces it.  What I think really upsets people about Tebow - is that he is a limited player in terms of technique and skill level, in comparison to Rodgers there is no comparison.  Tebow is proving to be a better running back, a young man of 260lbs who cannot be knocked out of his steps by 270lbs linebackers. 

And yet despite his mechanical defaults he is winning games, surely teams would rather win ugly than lose beautifully,  he is a phenonmenon granted and yet in the same season that a team is winning beautifully and playing football from a different planet they are not being exalted or praised, and overlooked by a savage media who always look for a hero amongst the muck - it has happened in America for decades (Iwo Jima, Miracle on Ice, Hoosiers) - the Packers are led by the MVP in Aaron Rodgers yet their accomplishments are being overshadowed by one young man.

Tebow is a game changer, a clutch player, a man who can inspire in ranks that were down and out; Tebow changed college football and his position, when colleges looked for his duplicate, hence why Cam Newton (13 TD's each thrown and run) was the No.1 pick and why Robert Griffin III won the Heisman this year and will be a top 5 pick in the draft in April.  There is still a place for in the pocket passers like Andy Dalton and Andrew Luck, but Tebow's influence is having a trickling effect from the professional to the college to the high school games thanks in part to the (over)exposure of his performances this season.

It is yet to be determined if Tebow will be a part of Canton's Hall of Fame, he still has 10-12 seasons at the top table and his sheer will and determination coupled with a fine work ethic will insure of employment; yet Green Bay are in the midst of a historical run it is rare thay you get the opportunity to witness history taking place at the moment it happens.  And if I had a choice between a team and one man; I will take the 53 man roster.

Mark Allen v Barry Hearn

Snooker is back in the back pages this week due to the staging of the second most prestigious tournament on the circuit - the UK Championship returned to York but with some changes.  Instead of the established 17 frame rounds, the WPBSA announced that the event will instead have best of 11 rounds before the best of 19 final.

Some players have taken issue with this, before the event John Higgins said it was scandalous to change the format of a long established event.

Mark Allen, from Northern Ireland, the World 12 and who won his first round match 6-4 spoke of his displeasure at the changes, "When Barry came in, one of the first things he said was that the World Championship, UK and Masters wouldn't be touched. Only 18 months later, the UK format has changed," Allen said.

Allen continued, "I don't think he's pleasing too many players, but anyone who voted for him has only got themselves to blame. I wasn't one of them.  I've got no doubt he'll tweak the World Championship. The whole tradition of the game is going to pot."

Hearn (head of the Darts governing body Professional Darts Organization and Chairman of Leyton Orient FC) has had a long association with snooker back to his days as agent to the likes of Steve Davis and Jimmy White under the umbrella of Matchroom back in the halycon days of snooker in the mid to late 1980s.  Hearn was sworn in as the new Chairman those 18 months ago and he has tried to bring new initiatives such as Power Snooker to the masses and bring bums on seats back to the events.

World Snooker says they are experiencing record box-office for this week, helped in no small part to a match up between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump (Trump won 6-5), but the need to have shorter matches will be of benefit to someone as enigmatic as O'Sullivan who admits he finds it hard to maintain concentration and apply himself to longer formats. 

Allen's argument has credence to his style of play, a nugget of a player who is better the longer the game goes on.  Yet it seems the more flamboyant and stylish players like Trump are the future of the game, which Allen also alluded to , "In the long run, he'll probably do good for snooker, but not for my generation."  Yet a generation that still has Steve Davis playing in the televised stages of a major tournament.

Snooker is one of those sports whose fanbase is fanatical and extremely supportive, yet at times Hearn has come to the fore and tried to change it too quickly.  He has expanded the global view of the game staging events in Australia and Shanghai, where the growth of the game is considerable.  The changes though to the UK Championship is a shame as it appears that the established names were not notified until before the event, hence the frustration of some players.

As for changes to happen to the Masters at Wembley and Worlds in Sheffield - that may be a case of too much too soon - now Barry Hearn is threatening legal action over Allen's comments.

After having quelled the threat of betting in the game and match fixing, now we have the new Chairman threatening legal action over any player who does not like what he is doing.  Snooker players are not the superstars in terms of financial clout and the best players do have sustained careers for some 10 years, Allen has worked hard to stay in the illustrious top 16 and be a factor come World Championships, so does snooker really need a playground argument to be ended in a courtroom.

Hearn is the boss (a boss with too many fingers in too many pies it seems) yet Allen - whose exterior resembles that of a quiet choir boy - should not be reprimanded for once speaking his mind with such passion and belief.  A lot of what he says has a lot of basis in fact, it shouldn't lead to a disciplinary but rather a thorough discussion and explanation from said chairman.

The floor is yours Mr. Hearn, and you've never been shy to talk before.

Conflict of Interest

The Carling Cup or League Cup to give it its more traditional title has suffered in the last 20 years more than any other competition due to the growth of football in England and the growing wealth of money available to successful teams in the Champions League.

As teams strive for success and glory in Europe - certain teams attempt to win four seperate titles - alas one competition has to take a backseat in terms of affection.  After the League, European and the tradition of the FA cup - something has to be given short shift.

Reserve sides, youth players, second XIs have all been picked by major sides most famously Manchester United and Arsenal - who use early round games as a chance to breed fringe players and give second choice goalkeepers a full game in case injury thwarts the first choice.  While these two sides have been criticised, they have nevertheless still reached major finals and even won on occasion; while for other teams it is seen as an opportunity to win a major piece of silverware in an otherwise disastrous season - Birmingham City, last year who surprised Arsenal.

Yet this week the Carling Cup is back in the spotlight owing not to negative team selection but poor scheduling by the governing bodies.  We have reached the quarter final stage and there remain 5 of the top 7 sides in the Premier League (Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea) and Cariff v Blackburn along with Crystal Palace.

Oddly, Blackburn who are suffering under the stewardship of Steve Kean are one game away from a cup semi-final;are they like Birmingham did last year going to have a day out at Wembley.  You expect Man Utd for all their poor finishing of late to still see off the challenge of Championship Palace.

However, the intrigue lies in the other two matches: Chelsea v Liverpool and Arsenal v Man City, less than 48 hours ago Liverpool played Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at Anfield on Sky Sports.  Both teams have had to travel to London for their respective quarter finals, both managers Kenny Dalglish and Roberto Mancini have bemoaned the fact that they have been subjected to poor scheduling whereas Man United who played Saturday afternoon have an extra day of rest and preparation.

Mancini has more reason to moan as this would be his team's third match in a tricky week which started with a defeat in Naples which jeopardised progress to the Champions League knockout phase - and due to suspension he is without Gareth Barry and Mario Balotelli.  Back ups and reserve players will get a runout amongst them - Costel Pantilimon, Owen Hargreaves, Denis Suarez, Karim Rekik and Stefan Savic.

Liverpool however are not playing European competition so the Carling Cup should be seen as a real incentive for a team and club in need of some glory.  To ask his squad to play another game is not so much a big ask - the problem has been the travelling south to London which would have occured on Monday morning, they may well have stretched and run out late afternoon and rest until late morning today to wipe cobwebs.  Liverpool are capable of fielding a competitive side with Jamie Carragher expected to get a first start in a month; Dalglish is pretty miffed by the whole thing.

What must be remembered is that the League cup is not the property of the Premier League it is run by the Football League the governing body of the Championship and its two lower tiers and the 72 clubs that play in those divisions.  Yet they invite the Premier League clubs to play as they need the exposure and allure of these clubs to take it seriously, otherwise the competition would become a bigger version of the Johnstone Paints Trophy.

Solutions would be to distinguish set dates for the competition, luckily none of the Europa League teams (Spurs, Fulham, Stoke, Birmingham) made it to this stage as they would have had to have their games rearranged to next week, which would have made further headaches.  Another would be to reduce the teams in the Premier League to 18 and therefore less games in total per club, this would mean more money from television deals yet the Football League would not like more teams to drop down to the lower divisions.

The solution must be sought by better dialogue between the Premier League clubs and the Football League body otherwise this will not be sorted and will just happen again; as for Dalglish's threat of playing youth players, someone should tell him that never hurt the progress of Arsenal or United players in gaining experience.

A Model of Consistency

Tottenham Hotspur, following their dominant 2-0 win over Aston Villa on Monday evening, sit in 3rd place in the Premier League.

A position that after the first two league games against both Manchester clubs would have been unimaginable - two games, two defeats, one goal scored, eight conceded. Tottenham looked brittle next to the two juggernauts of the North West.

Yet, slowly but surely Tottenham have turned the corner and navigated the fixture list with assurance. Admittedly during those two August fixtures there were still some unanswered questions concerning player personnel - the future of Luka Modric was uncertain due to the interest of Chelsea; Scott Parker was not signed until the penultimate day of the transfer window and there was a spate of injuries in defence meaning combinations like Bassong and Corluka were having to fend off the might of Manchester City - Nasri, Dzeko, Aguero and Silva ran riot at White Hart Lane.

The change seemed to come following the signing of Parker and the first game at Wolves - the sort of fixture last season Spurs would lose, this time they left with a 2-1 victory and then followed it up the next weekend with a resounding 4-0 home win over Liverpool (who admittedly ended with 9 men).
Then came the crunch game against Arsenal, who although had their chances it was their own defensive and goalkeeping frailties that led to Kyle Walker scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory.

Spurs have only drawn one game out of 9 games, a 2-2 draw away to Newcastle where they conceded only in the last five minutes to drop two points otherwise it would have been 27 points out of 27 and Tottenham would be only two points behind Man United in second place. Spurs still have a game in hand (home to Everton) which was unfortunately cancelled following the civil unrest in mid August.

A reason I feel that Spurs are doing so well is down to a consistency of selection and also not having the headache of serious European competition to worry about. Tottenham are in the Europa League but Harry Redknapp and his staff are using those games against Rubin Kazan, PAOK Salonika and Shamrock Rovers as breeding ground for his reserve team players - Jake Livermore has especially shone on these occasions. The same would have been said of the Carling Cup but they lost in a lottery of a penalty shoot-out away to Stoke.

However, the lack of fixture congestion and use of squad depth is helping one Ledley King especially. Ledley plays one game and he knows he has a week to sustain and regain his fitness before the next encounter. King's presence at the bag and coupled with the signing of veteran Brad Friedel in goal has led to youngsters like Younes Kaboul and Kyle Walker allowed to express themselves. King did the same trick with Michael Dawson, he has this unbelievable ability of making the man next to him look like he is having a blinder.

Spurs are benefiting from a fixed and settled starting XI - it has been the same men starting the last three and four games. The American in goal; Walker, Kaboul, King, Assou-Ekotto; Bale, Modric, Parker, Lennon; Van der Vaart and Adebayor.

This settled selection means the team knows they must perform to keep their places and their are players who can and will come in to do a job if necessary - Corluka, Sandro, Defoe and Bassong. Tom Huddlestone and Michael Dawson remain on the injury sidelines but will be welcome upon their return.

In contrast, Manchester City with all their highly publicised signings have made a rod for their own back. The constant requirement to keep everyone happy and the forging forward on four trophy hunts means that their is no fluidity in selection. Case in point, at the weekend Micah Richards and Gael Clichy had blinding games going forward in the 3-1 win over Newcastle from their respective full back positions. Yet in Napoli they were dropped for Kolarov and Zabaleta. This more defensive line-up belittled their attacking instincts and negated a negative performance away from home, where they went to not lose the game they did. Now City and their millions must fear the prospect of having to play Thursday night football like they did last year. It will be a big kick in the teeth to fail at the first attempt in the Champions League.

Arsenal after an early season collapse at Old Trafford are profiting from a steady line-up and a full season from Robin Van Persie, who is scoring for fun. The return of Tomas Vermaelen has helped.

Manchester United due to injuries to both central defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have also suffered from a lack of continuity, and the nervousness surrounding David de Gea's debut season means those in front of him might not fully trust him.

Chelsea are really suffering - a new young manager is struggling to impose his ideas on an old guard of senior professionals - they have lost four out of seven and themselves are struggling to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League, having to defeat Valencia at home in their final game to avoid the Europa League.

In contrast, Tottenham in their first foray into Europe did not change their tactics and kept on attacking even when 4-0 down away in the San Siro - a 4-3 loss that galvanised that campaign and led to Gareth Bale being christened the best left back in the world. Whereas many people adored Tottenham's ability to adapt to the scheduling and challenges - there appears to be a certain type of pleasure in seeing City struggle as they attempt to keep as many plates spinning at once. They will be the most dominant side in English football perhaps for the next five years - but they need to get a more consistent system in place and like they have done with Tevez, if people do not want to fit the bill or play their necessary role, show them the door. As there will certainly be people willing to replace them.

NFL - Week 11 roundup

Whenever you survey the NFL landscape you are sure of one thing - you can never be sure of anything in the NFL.  Teams win convincingly on the road, yet lose humbly at home the next.  Injuries burden teams with insurmountable odds, heroes turn into villains from one week to the next.  Myself and other bloggers like picking the game results, no-one can ever be perfect as more than likely you will cock up somewhere, I myself went close to perfect but for two games. 

I picked the Jags to win in Cleveland, alas Blaine Gabbert could not convert four opportunities from within the five yard line to get the go-ahead touchdown; and the Vikings could not make up the half-time deficit though their future looks good as they played incredibly well -making that comeback without the influential Adrian Petersen.

Elsewhere, teams roll on though nothing is certain.  The Packers had their closest game of the season since playing the Saints in week 1 with the Bucs young team coming close to the upset, always staying tight and even intercepting Aaron Rodgers, though 35-26 was probably a fair result.

The Giants lost their second straight game this time in a divisonal match-up versus the Eagles who oddly won without Michael Vick under centre, this time Vince Young putting together a winning drive that gave the 17-10 victory in the MetLife stadium.  This was an ugly game, and could be a costly defeat for the Giants who now look like not being a 2 seed cos of the consistent Packers and 49ers, if they win the NFC East they will be a 4 seed cos the Saints will probably be ahead of them.

The most action packed game was Detroit v Carolina which ended 49-35 to the Lions though they were way behind at the half, yet the Lions who are slow starters in every game came alive behind Matthew Stafford's 5 TDs and they were helped by Cam Newton's 4 picks. The Lions play the Packers this Thursday on Thanksgiving, the Lions have a chance but they need to start early otherwise they will find it harder to overcome such a deficit against the Superbowl Champions.

The Cowboys are building momentum and it continued as they overcame a resilient Redskins 27-24 in Overtime in Washington, Romo connected well with Jason Witten for a huge TD and thanks to the Giants loss they are tied atop the division.

The Bengals suffered another defeat to a division rival as they went down to Baltimore 31-24 on the road, although they have winnable games remaining on the schedule (Redskins, Rams, Browns) so they can still grab a wildcard spot and with Andy Dalton playing some good football (24-45, 373), one pass to Andre Caldwell (49yds) was inch perfect as the receiver caught it in stride and sauntered into the endzoen.  The Ravens remain unbeaten at home, yet they need to sort out their road form as there three costly defeats (Jags, Seahawks, Tennessee) have all been on the road.

Chicago stayed in the hunt for a wildcard spot by defeating the Chargers 31-20 at home, yet it came at a price as Jay Cutler has reportedly suffered a fractured right thumb (his throwing hand) which rules him out for the remainder of the regular season.  Whilst Matt Forte has been getting the numbers and spotlight in a contract year, lately Cutler's impressive leadership and being able to stay upright has dictated the outcome of the games like the dominant win over Detroit last week.  Yet without him, the Bears will struggle down the stretch although four winnable games against west opponents (@ Raiders, Chiefs, @ Broncos, Seattle ) are not now and they finish with a brutal road double at Green Bay and Minnesota - from 7-3 to 10-6 might be good enough but if the Lions keep winning it might not be, depending on the Falcons, Giants, Cowboys.

Kudos to the Dolphins in my pick of the weekend as they destroyed the sinking Bills 35-8 at a near empty home stadium.  Miami became the first team in NFL history to start 0-7 and then win their next three games, standing at 3-7 they are now a team full of confidence, Matt Moore not making mistakes and they are getting results off of turnovers.  And to think Tony Sparano (head coach) would not have made the bye week after a 0-4 start to comeback and get this sort of result.  There last six games are at Dallas, Oakland, Eagles, @ Buffalo, @New England, ending with Jets at home, the playoffs may be out of reach but each team they play has those postseason ambitions so they can certainly influence the playoff standings and seedings.

I am liking the 49ers but they were lucky they were only playing the Arizona Cardinals who completely stunk after winning in Philadelphia last week.  In the first half, Alex Smith marched his offense down the field yet they only held a 9-0 lead at the half as they could not convert redzone possession, David Akers could even afford to miss two attempts.  Better teams would not give you so many chances, so something to keep in mind.  San Fran have a short week travelling to Baltimore as brothers go head-to-head but I feel the 49ers may come up short here.

Tonight the Patriots are at home to the Chiefs who have lost Matt Cassel for the season, expect a big win for the Patriots and a great opportunity for a young defence to get some consistency and force some turnovers.

I hope for a big win, but as week 11 like every other week shows Bo Diddley was right,'you never can tell'

In Praise of ...West Indies cricket

It has been a forlorn time of late for the West Indies Cricket Board.  How far the mighty can fall?  For so long the team were the most dominant teams in there and any sport, the envy the world over for the way they played and how they played it - always with a smile on their face.

Now when you think of the WICB you think of an organisation who struggle to pay their players, who cannot manage to come sort of arrangement with their most prolific player so he can play at the highest level and elevate a struggling team.

And yet it seems, very slowly and very surely, The West Indies cricket team are turning the corner. They are currently in Mohali playing the first of three tests against a formidable Indian batting line-up, newly bouyed by their demolition of England in a recent one-day series.

Tellingly, the West Indies for all their talent remain a team that have forgotten how to win.  Since the legends Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose retired they have won just one test match away from home (nevermind a series) when they surprised South Africa in 2007.  Now lets not get ahead of ourselves, the West Indies do not look like winning this test match or series of India with a fresh Sehwag, Tendulkar and Dravid returning to the line-up.

And yet for the first six sessions of this match, the West Indies were leading this test convincingly helped by another Shivnarine Chanderpaul century which allowed them to post a first innings 304, although they were 269-6 the adding of only 35 more runs would have been a disappointment considering Shiv was set.

Yet in the Indian's first response is when West Indies deciding to wake up dismissing India at that prolific line up for 209.  Fears in the Indian camp would have returned to the same worries when in England this summer, unable to match first innings and giving in to scoreboard pressure, although 304 is not usually a fright. 

The congratulations should be extended because India had put on 89 for the first wicket before the fortuitous run-out of Gambhir when Darren Sammy deflected a straight drive from Sehwag onto the non-striker's stumps, leaving Gambhir stranded and out on 41.  Sehwag would go onto score 55, and Dravid also scored a half century of 54 yet only two other batsmen (Yuvraj 23, Sharma 17) reached double figures owing to some disciplined bowling by Devandra Bishoo (2-55), Ravi Rampaul (2-44) and Darren Sammy (3-35). All bowlers took at least one wicket to give the Windies a 95 run lead.

Yet the West Indies are like that average NFL side who cannot seemingly play a full four quarters of the game.  Entering the third quarter of the game, the Windies had the opportunity to cement a dominance of Indisa and score a 300 plus lead, alas they ended up being bowled out for 180 with only Shiv 47 and Sammy 42 contributing to the scorecard, with Ashwin on debut gaining 6-47.

India require 275 and ended Day 3 on 152-2 with both Dravid and Tendulkar set with 148 more required, the pitch is not getting worse in fact these two mammoths of batting are going to pick off the runs easily, unless a miracle arises and a spinner can make magic happen.  Unfortunately, you feel the Indian batsmen have the discipline to see out these difficult conditions.

The second innings dismissals were more about their inability to play spin rather than a pitch gettting worse on the third day, also nobody was willing to play the anchored innings, even Shiv's 47 came off a brisk 58 balls.  This could be an indictment of the influence of Twenty20 forcing players to play more shots, even when the situation does not demand the expansiveness of shots.  The Twenty20 has been played a lot in the Caribbean, and the West Indies gained a morale boosting victory over England at the Oval when fielding a second string XI, but at least it showed youngsters coming to the fore and stepping up.

Too often in the past the integrity of the West Indies has rested on senior professionals like Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo - now you have youngsters like Adrian Barath, Kraigg Braithwaite, Kirk Edwards and Kemar Roach; and when combined with the experienced yet mercurial captain Darren Sammy (at times inspirational, at times infuriating - why is he coming in at 9?) along with the x-factor Chris Gayle when he does finally resolve his issues with the WICB.

The West Indies will never reach the heights of the late 1970s and mid 1980s but Test cricket and cricket in general needs a solid West Indies team that competes and ultimately entertains, lets hope that half the work they did in Mohali does not go to waste in the remainder of the tour.

NFL -Week 9 review

Week 9 was a thrilling one for the NFL, lots of high scoring, some great divisional storylines and some great road wins for a few teams who were not fancied by many pundits.

Lets start off with the Monday night match up, where Chicago rode into Philadelphia and in a stellar fourth quarter comeback, behind the gun arm of Jay Cutler the Eagles had their wings clipped again.  The Bears scored 10 unanswered points in the final quarter, as the Bears defence matched up against the running part of Michael Vick's game, Vick was unable to extend plays and when he had to hurry and chase the game after the Bears took the lead, the Eagles could not make a hit.  The Bears won 30-24, going to 5-3 still in the hunt behind the perfect Packers (8-0) and the Lions (6-2), in the NFC North. It sets up a tantalising week 10 matchup as the Lions visit the Bears in a match full of wildcard ramifications.  As for the Eagles they are 3-5, and behind the better Giants - still they have a chance of getting the wildcard but they cannot afford another loss this week or for the next three games I would suggest.  The hype team has met the hyperbole, and the Bears supplied the pin to pop the hot air balloon of hype.

The Sunday night matchup was the week 1 rematch between AFC North rivals Steelers and Ravens.  In Week 1, Baltimore convincingly beat up Pittsburgh.  Since then, the Ravens have stumbled and stuttered, whilst the Steelers have returned to form culminating with the impressive defeat of the Patriots last week.  Many predicted that the Steelers would do much of the same, keep Flacco off the field and keep Rice quiet on the run; get a lead and make Flacco make mistakes.
     The Ravens though came up big as Flacco led a 92 yard drive in the closing minutes connecting with Tommie Smith in the endzone for the go-ahead lead as the Ravens became triumphant 23-20 owning a season sweep over their rivals and becoming 6-2 ahead of the Steelers 6-3 and sharing a tie with the Bengals(6-2)

Those Bengals again won, although this time it was Andy Dalton and not the vaunted D as the rookie threw for 3TDs this weeks as they beat the Titans (4-4) 24-17.

The Giants rode into Foxboro and upset the Patriots 24-20, in a mad last quarter were 31 points were scored, Eli Manning led a final second TD drive for his 5th final quarter comeback win of the season.  Four turnovers by the Patriots did not help matters, nor the still struggling defence that could not get a stop on Manning's vital drive also the lack of a down the field receiving target (like Moss) means defences know Brady will look for Welker or Branch underneath.  Brady still threw for 342 yards (3TD) which means you will always be in the game, but the over-reliance on him is coming back to haunt the Patriots.  The Patriots are suddenly sliding and have lost two games back-to-back for the first time in five years, and first loss at home for 20 regular season games.  They need to run the ball more and not rely so much on a Brady that will soon have another bad day like he did at Buffalo.
      Kudos though for the Giants who are quitely going about their business and now 6-2 leading the NFC East and coupled with the Eagles loss they now have a two game lead over the Cowboys (4-4) who the Giants will not fear.  The Giants are legit and will want to be avoided in the NFC playoffs.
      And next for the Patriots is away at the Jets (5-3), who were victorious at Buffalo (5-3) as the Jets defence forced 3 turnovers for a 27-11 win which included near 38mins of ball possession for Sanchez who was 20-28 and 230 yards.  The Bills needed to win to be considered legit, but unfortunately the Jets are just turning the corner.

Other notes:
Tim Tebow led the Broncos to their 2nd win out of 3 beating the Raiders on the road 38-24, a mixture of playcalling and solid showing by a returning Willis McGahee (20 carries, 163yds, 2TDs) and the inspiration of Tebow who threw better and ran well, whilst the Raiders look lost all of a sudden.

The Packers march on continuing their undefeated season thus far, beating the Chargers 45-38 in a shootout between Aaron Rodgers (247yds, 4TDs) and Philip Rivers (385yds, 4TDs); but slowly there are questions arising with the Packers pass defense but for two more interceptions by Rivers the sorry Chargers might have won this game.  Instead the Packers are perfect whilst SD are 4-4 in a division they should be walking.

The Suck for Luck sweepstakes are over, the Dolphins won their first game of the season 31-3 over the Chiefs on the road aswell.  The Colts remain winless losing to a professional Falcons unit 31-7, they have winnable games remaining on the schedule but the Dolphins have also, yet the question about Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck on the same roster can be asked.

The Saints got revenge for their loss to Tampa by defeating them 27-16 in the Superdome, Josh Freeman outthrew Drew Brees but the utilisation of the rush attack and his arm led to a vital victory, the Saints are 6-3, the Bucs 4-4 and falling out of the NFC wildcard picture.

The 49ers rise to 7-1 and their schedule looks handsome now.  They did the job against the tough Redskins (3-5), with defence coming to the fore.  Alex Smith is managing the offence making few mistakes (17-24, 200yds, 1TD) and is helped by another 100+ rushing display from Frank Gore in a 17-11 win.

More storylines to come and we still have 8 weeks left of the season. Here are my playoff picks at the moment in seeding order:
AFC -Ravens, Texans, Jets, Chargers; Patriots, Steelers
NFC - Packers, 49ers, Giants, Saints; Falcons, Lions

Big picks I know as teams like Bills, Bengals, Eagles and Cowboys may miss out. But the season is still only halfway done, and I am never fully right.

The Taarabt Problem

Queens Park Rangers are back in the Premier League and have adapted to life pretty reasonably sitting on 12 points which after 10 games in a competitive division is not bad and considering they have lost 4-0 (on the opening day to Bolton - who are now below them) and 6-0 away to Fulham (again who are below them), it should be considered a marginal success.  They sit mid-table and right now there are three teams worse than them - Wigan, Bolton and Blackburn.

However, there remain two problems.  Their lack of firepower up front will come back to haunt them - I saw them dominant a Newcastle team at home but failed to find the net resulting in a goalless draw.  They drew 1-1 at home to Aston Villa, again they dominated but required an own goal from the doyen Richard Dunne for that point.  And in the result of their season when they beat Chelsea 1-0 they needed a penalty (that was nearly saved) to win, and even after two Chelsea players were sent off, they were lucky to walk away with three points; as the nine men of Chelsea played much better.

Interestingly, Neil Warnock did a brave step.  During the second half knowing that Chelsea with two less men were winning the midfield battle - Lampard, Mikel, Miereles remained - he dragged off Adel Taarabt and put on Tommie Smith to stretch the field and hope Smith and Helguson could keep the ball for a long time.

Unfortunately, Taarabt's reaction to his substiution was followed by a typical hissy fit as he stomped down the tunnel to the changing room and did not sit and watch his teammates famous victory. 

At White Hart Lane, following a dominant first half display by the hosts that resulted in a 2-0 deficit Warnock again withdrew the Moroccan for Jay Bothroyd who did score the consolation.  Warnock must have done the change in the changing room to avoid another embarassing display of respect from his gifted midfielder.

Taarabt is finding how difficult it is to step up to the Premier League from the Championship is significant.  Much has been made of the glut of goals being scored in the EPL this season so far, but the defending is so much better at this pinnacle of our domestic game.  Taarabt has harder midfielders to push off, most are international players who watch the ball not the man and whilst Taarabt has the skill and audacity to attempt anything, he nevertheless remains a slight figure not strong enough to push off opposing players like a Paul Gascoigne and apart from the odd bit of inspiration he does not offer anything in terms of tracking back and defending to the team effort which asks a lot of Shaun Derry and Antoine Faurlin.

Yet I got to thinking of what would be the best formation for Warnock to adopt to allow the best of Taarabt, last season as they ran away with the Championship QPR for the most part played two strikers with Taarabt playing off of or behind them allowing him to pull strings and influence play.  This season, in an attempt to shut up shop and consolidate in an attempt to be a team difficult to break down and score against.

Currently the formation reads 4-2-1-2-1: with Taarabt the first individual in front of Derry and Faurlin and behind Joey Barton and Shaun Wright-Phillips with one of Helguson, Smith and Bothroyd the lone striker.

Taarabt has not been given the opportunity to play behind a two prong attack, perhaps the formation should be closer to the 3-5-2 which took off in the Balkans and Central Europe during the 1980s because it allows a central midfielder to play allowing the use of a playmaker or most talented player, giving him leash to play knowing that there are two players behind to fulfil defensive duties (Wilson 2010: 282-285).  This has not worked yet becasue Warnock has not tried it.

I would suggest a formation of 3-5-2: Young, Hall, Ferdinand; Derry, Faurlin, Barton, Wright-Phillips, Taarabt; Helguson, Bothroyd.  This would allow allow Taarabt to put some influence on the goal-scoring opportunites, he is not even providing assists to the front line.  By moving Taarabt to the left wing and coming in like say Thierry Henry, would allow him to be explosive and move Barton into the middle of the park where he would be intimidating to the opposition.  By having Taarabt be in the centre is inviting more physical midfielders to tackle him and frustrate him.

Obviously though, the players are getting certain results and once Taarabt departed Rangers did play better and scored the goal to make it 2-1 with a chance to equalise before Gareth Bale's sublime second goal to seal the 3-1 victory.

This is not the end of Taarabt, even though he restated his wish to leave in the January transfer window.  Yet unlike other mercurial wonders like Gascoigne and Matt Le Tissier who even on off days would provide something to the team morale, Taarabt is a confidence player and maybe one goal will change the tide and resurrect his season.