On the 30th September 2012, Michael McIntyre
performed for the 5th time in as many nights at London’s O2 Arena,
and the biggest compliment I can pay him is that the audience was made to feel
as special, as if this had been the only date on the tour. He was energetic,
warm and showed all of the qualities that have seen him sell millions of DVDs
over the last 5 years, and earn his own BBC series, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Road Show.
McIntyre is a comedian that seems to split opinion more than
most, receiving criticism from his peers and the public for his style of
humour, but the fact remains that he sells out arenas and there are a lot of
people who find him hilarious. Separated by an interval, the 90 minute show
kept the diverse audience entertained throughout, as he backed up his previous
tour, Hello Wembley, with another
dose of his observational wit. More than any other comedian, he is capable of
making people of all ages and backgrounds believe he is describing an instance
from their lives, and this show was no exception. He focussed on topical events
such as The Olympic Games, as well as classic subjects like health care.
Unlike comedians such as Jimmy Carr, McIntyre does not focus
on audience participation, but this did not detract from the performance as he
delivered a range of new material, most of which he has been tweaking over the
summer during a series of preparation shows in smaller venues. On this occasion
his show culminated in a big finish which focussed upon a joke that may have
annoyed his critics, as for much of it he was making noises rather than
speaking, but if you have enjoyed his work previously, this show certainly will
not leave you feeling let down.
Throughout the evening, images appeared on the
big screen advertising the DVD of the tour, and I would unquestionably
recommend buying it when released nearer to Christmas, whether you are able to
see him live this year or not.
As Lord Sebastian Coe spoke at the Closing Ceremony of
the Olympic Games, reflections of London 2012 were already beginning. Charged
with providing a ‘Games for everyone’, Coe believes London 2012 was in fact A Games
BY everyone. The Paralympics that followed, and the unprecedented crowd support
for the brave and miraculous athletes, only served to enforce this belief.
Throughout the Olympics, the BBC broadcast countless athletes, coaches and
foreign visitors praising everything about the Games. Realistically there will
have been complaints and issues too, most notably the ticketing row and the
inability shown early on to pick apart the flags of North and South Korea, but
the reaction was positive for a reason. Venues were as full as the public could
possibly make them, and accredited seating aside; all sports were supported by
enthusiastic, full houses. The volunteer army that greeted the guests were
polite, cheerful and informative, and made the predicted chaos of security
checks, a serene passage from the outside world into zones of unbridled joy.
Back in 2005 when London was announced as the 2012
Olympic hosts, it was hard to understand the enormity of what would follow, but
even then, as a 13 year old, I knew this could only mean good things. When my
dad phoned me during my lunch break at school to break the good news I punched
the air in celebration, and 7 years later I can confirm that reaction was
absolutely justified.
Looking solely at the sporting action, both the Olympic
and Paralympic Games included enough standout moments to have them remembered as
one of the greatest Games of the modern era. Records tumbled, and rivalries
were renewed as stars like David Rudisha pushed the boundaries of their sports.
Rudisha ran the 800 metres in 1:40:91, and it is very hard to explain how
astonishing that achievement is without simply trying to run that distance
yourself and then measuring the difference. So great was the speed endurance of
Rudisha, and the effect this had in pushing all of the runners in the final,
that all of them were quicker than the time posted by the winner of the event
in Beijing four years earlier. Sticking with Athletics, the story heading into
London 2012 was the rivalry of defending 100, 200 and 4x100 relay champion
Usain Bolt, and his fellow countryman, and training partner, Yohan Blake. Blake
had beaten Bolt in the Jamaican trials over 100 and 200 metres, but come Olympic
competition time, it was all about Bolt. This can be summed up simply by the
delight on Blake’s face as he celebrated his two silver medals; he knew he was
racing for second place, even if the public didn’t. Once again Bolt was the
face of the Olympic Games, because as an athlete he is astonishing, but he is
also a real character, and nothing is more important in creating sporting
drama, than the personality of those involved.
There are many other examples of individual triumph
across every sport at both Games, to list and describe them all would be
impossible, but to mention a few is important. The British teams in particular
captured the nation’s imagination, and really worked alongside the process of
hosting to create a pride in being from this small island of great achievement.
New names were cast into the spotlight, and in the same action, they cast their
sport into it too. Peter Wilson took on men old enough to be his father in the
double-trap shooting and claimed a Gold that has just seen BBC Sport produce a
feature on his post-Olympic experience. Jonnie Peacock was Britain’s Paralympic
Athletics sensation. In the T44 100 metre final, he destroyed a field that
included the most famous Paralympian in the world, Oscar Pistorious. Without
going into detail I’d also like to mention the medals won by Mo Farah, Laura
Trott, Sir Chris Hoy, The team show jumpers, Gemma Gibbons, Andy Murray and
Laura Robson as personal highlights. For anybody who didn’t see these moments,
or wishes to relive them, all of the footage is still available on the BBC
website and is worth a watch.
The venues for London 2012 were exceptional. Both those
created for the event, and those adapted, were beautifully turned out and
expertly manned. My one reservation regarding stadia lies with the position of
the Olympic stadium on a plateau separated from the rest of the Olympic Park.
This created problems with overcrowding as LOCOG explicitly maintained that
spectators could not exit this plateau and then re-enter it during a session.
When a lull in play signalled a good time to get lunch this led to huge queues
and thousands of people moving in every direction around the outside of the
stadium. Large crowds are of course no surprise in an event of this magnitude,
and this was the only venue I personally experienced any that were particularly
uncomfortable.
As a cricket fan I was excited by the chance to go to
Lords and see an Olympic event. Almost unrecognisable from its existence as the
Home of Cricket, the Ground was well turned out and served as a spectacular
scene for Archery, a sport that until I saw it, was hard to picture as a
spectator friendly sport. My favourite venue however, was Horse Guards Parade.
Sandwiched between Downing Street, the Thames and The Mall, the Beach
Volleyball was the unexpected star of the Olympic Games. A picturesque backdrop
mixed with the samba-style party atmosphere led to a strange scenario in which
the beach was placed in the centre of London. My day at Horse Guards was capped
off nicely with the news of Bradley Wiggins’ Gold medal ringing around the
stadium, but having watched plenty of the Beach Volleyball on television too, I
can safely say any visit there would have been well worth it.
Both the BBC and Channel 4 did themselves proud in
covering London 2012. Channel 4 was never going to be able to match up to the
comprehensive coverage of the Olympics by the BBC, but what must be considered
is what they did do, not what they did not. The Channel 4 bid was as extensive
as a privately funded television channel could possibly be, and although the
adverts were a constant frustration, they aired much more of the 2012
Paralympics than has ever been done before, and this is a step in the right
direction.
Credit where credit is due though, the BBC coverage was
brilliant. The only complaints I heard about their coverage were focussed on
the limited ‘Red Button’ action for Freeview customers compared to those on Sky
and online, and the inclusion of Colin Jackson as part of the commentary team
for the 3D coverage of the Opening Ceremony. Claire Balding and Gabby Logan
stood out as the best informed and most likeable presenters, and the analysis
of Ian Thorpe from the Aquatics Centre, Sir Steve Redgrave at Eton Dorney and
Mark Cavendish from the Velodrome were equally brilliant.
Finally I will address the statement by Lord Coe. The
venues were magnificent, it was planned superbly, it was staffed by friendly
and knowledgeable volunteers and reassuring military personnel and it was
supported by crowds of people who felt a part of every minute. Due to the
coverage of the BBC and Channel 4 spanning the entire day, even those at home
were able to feel involved. This simply says to me that he was absolutely spot
on, London 2012: A Games by Everyone.
I loved the Olympic Games. I loved watching it, I loved
going to see it for myself (at five different venues), and I loved the
atmosphere of hosting it and enjoying the success of Team GB. However, I have
missed football, and the idiosyncrasies of it. So may I whole heartedly welcome
back the game that intrigues like no other, causes controversy like no other,
and of course is lambasted by every corner of the population like no other.
Lambast it we might, but we cannot help but fall in love with it again every
year, not least because it gives people like me something to write about.
Subject 1 – Arsenal Fans.
I can understand them being upset about the loss of key
players, year in, year out, but putting this aside, they provide hilarity and despair
in equal measure. When a side drops points at home to a club perceived as being
weaker, whispers often come of ‘parking the bus’. This is only natural, because
everybody looks for an excuse for their team failing to beat one that they were
expected to. Arsenal fans manage to take this to whole new levels though. All
sorts of phrases regarding ‘anti-football’ and ‘negativity’ are thrown around
as they desperately search for a reason to blame the opposition.
My question is a simple one. Why should a visiting team, in
this case Sunderland, go and play an attacking game at the Emirates if they
know this will benefit Arsenal. Sunderland do not need to win every game they
play, but a point could prove very useful in May. Logically speaking then, they
should play for this point in the way they feel they are most likely to get it,
and Arsenal fans only begin to moan about this style of football as a 0-0 draw
approaches, and Arsenal’s frailties are highlighted. When a team like Sunderland
go to Old Trafford and play like that, if anything, I’m quite pleased. It means
Man United are able to focus entirely on attacking, without having to worry
about the threat of conceding on the break. Then, if the game finishes 0-0 it
is simply a case of this… The supposedly better team, were not good enough on
the day. When this as accepted, both by the fans of the club, and in Arsenal’s
case, by Mr Wenger, everybody can move on, and Arsenal can focus on scoring
some goals, rather than telling Sunderland they should gift them some.
In Preparation for the beginning of the new Premier League season, (that starts tomorrow!?!!), I have prepared my review of last season. Below are a series of 'alternative' awards, for key contributions to the Premier League season. Some of these categories are uncharacteristically sensible, and others are suitably obscure.
The
Richard awards are my take on an end of season ‘Player of The Year’ awards
ceremony. Rather than organising a huge dinner and inviting the ‘Who’s Who’ of
English football, I thought I’d keep things small and upload the awards to my
blog.
As
well as traditional awards like ‘Player of the Year’ and ‘Goal of the Season’,
I’ve also awarded some titles for less appreciated fields.
However,
it’s probably a good idea to start traditional and then get a bit more
unconventional later on.
Player
of The Year: Robin Van Persie
Even before it became apparent that he would be joining my team, Manchester United, I should come as no surprise that I have chosen this man as the best of the bunch
for the 2011/2012 season. Scoring 30 league goals and dragging an inconsistent
Arsenal team into next season’s Champion’s League, Van Persie stayed fit and
stood out as a world class player. Thriving as a captain, and as the main
striker, Van Persie wasn’t in anybody’s shadow this year, and won Arsenal games
with individual brilliance on more than one occasion. I’m yet to be 100%
convinced he actually does “score when he wants”, but it’s pretty close.
Honourable
mentions for Aguero, Silva, Kompany, and Toure at city, Rooney at United and
Demba Ba for his performance up until the Africa Cup of Nations, but for me it
was all about Robin, and this season he proved he’s not just a side-kick.
If I was to then try and put some of the key performers last season into a Team of The Year, it would probably look a lot like this:
Hart
Walker
Kompany
Coloccini
Assou-Ekotto
Valencia
Tiote
Yaya Toure
David Silva
Van Persie
Aguero
Each of these players shone above their rivals for one of/ or both of the following reasons; they were the best at what they did, or that they played a vital role in their teams success across the season, and without them in the team, their results were likely to have suffered.
Transfers of The Year: Best - Papiss Cisse
Worst - Stewart Downing
The business achieved by clubs during the transfer windows often work as a guide to whether the club will progress or regress over the course of the season. Some transfers are exciting straight away, and others require a year or two to determine whether they have been a success or not. Papiss Cisse's move to Newcastle was an instant success. His arrival, and subsequent goalscoring exploits, made sure Newcastle's surprise start to the season turned into a long term push for Europe, and ultimately secured them a place in the Europa League for this term. Not only did he score regularly, he scored spectacularly, showing prowess with both feat and his head, as well as an eye for the spectacular.
I have highlighted Stewart Downing as the worst piece of transfer business for a number of reasons. During his spell at Aston Villa, I came to respect Downing as a player, and during his second season he managed to add an end product to his promising build up play, scoring 7 league goals and assisting more as he played all 38 games. Having moved to Liverpool though, the previous worries about his inability to pick the right pass, or finish himself resurfaced. Numerous jokes have surfaced regarding Downing's first season at Anfield, and whilst Henderson's first season there didn't set the world on fire, and Charlie Adam struggled badly too, it is Downing who has been picked out by the kindly folk of Twitter. Another thing to consider is the fee paid for Downing's Services. Whilst transfer fees are rarely fully disclosed these days, it would appear Downing's move to Liverpool cost more than his Villa team mate, Ashley Young. Young was more highly rated at Villa, and subsequently settled better at his new club too, making the Downing deal look even worse.
Commentary of The Year: Martin Tyler - Ji Dong Won v Man City
Commentary can either make or break a football match. For example, upon hearing Niall Quinn, I suddenly no longer want to watch the game and tend to busy myself with something else. However, when Andy Gray was in the hot seat, if a great goal flew in from range, or an important late strike had major repercussions for a title race, it was time to turn the set up and enjoy an outpouring of the highest standard. This year some of the best/ most humorous commentary came from those who have in part replaced Gray at the heart of Sky's coverage of live football. Ray Wilkins always draws a response from Twitter through his continuous use of the phrases; 'My Word!', 'Nice Young Man' and 'Get On With The Game', and Gary Neville split opinion with his loud moaning reaction to Chelsea's dramatic Champions League campaign. Without a doubt though, my favourite commentary extract was from Martin Tyler, and his vocal gymnastics.
Comedy Moment of The Year: Charlie Adam v Cardiff
Having watched the first two penalties of the shoot-out fail to find the net, it was up to Charlie Adam to set the tone. Instead of calmly stroking the ball into the corner, showing the technical ability for which Liverpool paid more than £10 million for, Mr Adam opted for power. What followed was a truly hilarious metaphor for his season at Anfield.
There were other challenges to Charlie's crown, including the invasion of Anfield by a cat, and the protest of the Blackburn fans at the running of the club, that included the release of a chicken onto the field of play, but animal antics can't compete with footballers being rubbish. Talking of rubbish, there was also Martin Atkinson's bemusing decision to give a goal in the FA Cup semi-final, because the ball went NEAR the line, and I should probably also mention Joey Barton's one-man assault on Manchester City on the last day of the season. In terms of footballing hilarity however, Charlie Adam leads the way for me.
Worst Hair of The Year: Emmanuel Adebayor
Finally, a less serious, but equally merited award. Over the course of the season, several Premier League stars appeared sporting weird and wonderful hairstyles. Both Benoit Assou-Ekotto and David Luiz attempted to rock the Sideshow Bob look, and Wayne Rooney even posted a picture of himself on Twitter of the results of a hair transplant. Nani decided to have an N shaved into the side of his head, presumably as a reminder of his name in he forgot, and Salomon Kalou had a spider shaved into the back of his head for reasons known only to him. The clear winner for me though was Adebayor. On the last day of the season he decided that he would celebrate the end of the year by turning ginger. Take a look at it, and then attempt to describe it, because words failed me, and frankly, they still do.
Some of the best things about the Olympic Games are less
obvious than Usain Bolt’s record breaking and the enormity of having the world’s
greatest sporting event take place 25 minutes up the road. One of these things
became obvious as I sat watching the Beach Volleyball at Horse Guards Parade on
Wednesday.
The atmosphere in the stadium was already very good with the
weather playing nicely and a day of sport being enjoyed by all. Suddenly though
there came a strange chant from the far side of the ground, that sounded
remarkably like “Wiggo, Wiggo, Wiggo”. I immediately reacted by getting my
phone out and checking Twitter, (how clichéd of me), and found to my delight
that Bradley Wiggins had added a Time-Trial Gold Medal to his Tour de France
exploits. Without hesitation I loudly announced this, breaching all unsaid laws
of British-ness, and to the general pleasure of those around me. As I was
excitedly informing a man in the row in front that Chris Froome had also taken the
Bronze, the result was announced over the PA system to a cacophony of cheers.
The exploits of Wiggins and Co. have united a normally reserved nation in a way
that only sport, and tournaments of this nature do, and everybody there at HGP
felt a part of it, even though we were at an entirely different venue, in a different
part of the city.
Secondly, I was struck by the way the Olympics seem to
result in loads of things happening at once. Social networking, and the BBC
coverage of the Games, allows this experience to be even better than normal.
Even when I found myself enthralled by the Double-Trap shooting, and the chance
of a British Gold Medal there, news filtered through that there was something
happening in the Canoe – Slalom Doubles too. With three Medals, (2 Golds and a
Silver), confirmed within a couple of minutes, it really did feel like anything
could happen next, and if possible my attention increased.
The reality of hosting an Olympic Games can only be as good
as you let it. But if you’re willing to put aside scepticism and accept the
rough with the smooth, there is the opportunity to really enjoy these two weeks
in which the world watches and we experience the best sportsmen and women in
the world.
The experience of watching an English team play football is usually a traumatic one, and this was no exception. On this occasion though, it reminded me of another experience. England's Yes-No-Maybe-Yes win against Sweden had all of the qualities of a Tim Henman match at Wimbledon. Like Tim so often did, England today took the first set, through a flying Andy Carroll header, but after a 15 minute rain delay, or half time, they side came out all dazed and confused to quickly drop sets 2 and 3. Staring down the barrel of defeat, a scrappy fourth set saw England draw level, before a serve-and volley master-class from Danny Welbeck saw them home 3-2. Throw in the actual weather delay during the France / Ukraine game and all this evening was missing was strawberries and cream and some overpriced Pimms!
On a
cold, but thankfully dry, Jubilee Day at Chelmsford, Essex attempted to
kick-start their season with an 8-wicket win over a Gloucestershire side, who
were distinctly second best on the day.
The
day began well for the Eagles with Graham Napier twice beating Will Gidman’s
bat before bowling him out for a duck. Gidman’s opening partner, Hamish
Marshall, who may well have inspired David Luiz’s haircut, made it to 24, but
through a series of unconvincing shots, including more than one boundary that
he inside-edged past Essex keeper Foster, and he never threatened to build a
substantial innings. He was eventually bowled by Tymal Mills, backing away,
trying to slash through the offside.
The
Essex bowling remained tight for the majority of the innings, forcing Gloucestershire
to consolidate after the loss of early wickets, scoring at less than 4 an over
for more than 30 overs. The mainstay of the innings, and the driving force
behind their competitive total, was Kane Williamson. A New Zealand
international, Williamson showed glimpses of his class, and much of his
patience. Starting conservatively, before launching an assault at the tail end
of the innings, Williamson struck seven 4’s and a 6 in his 73 ball 77?
The
respectability was brought to the score line by a dramatic increase in the
death overs. Essex had no answer to the
combination of the Powerplay and short boundaries, Mills, Napier and David
Masters all saw their figures take a hammering as Ian Cockbain brought up his
half century in 44 balls. Young Jack
Taylor chipped in with a career best 22 not out and Gloucestershire posted 224
– 5 from their 40 overs.
Essex’s
response started badly, but predictably. I asserted with confidence that former
captain Mark Pettini would score nought, and he duly delivered the expected
duck. After this early stutter though, the game was a one-way procession. On a
pitch that Gloucester had managed to look trialling, Pettini’s opening partner
Ravi Bopara and Tom Westley put on a partnership of 185 at a good pace to set
up victory for the Eagles.
Wesstley’s
innings came to an end at 85, but this was more to do with the pressure to
score quickly if he was to reach a hundred due to Bopara’s strike rate, than
any pressure from the West-Country side’s bowling prowess. Westley’s departure
only delayed the inevitable though, and Bopara, returning from injury,
completed his hundred as he guided Essex home. He was ably assisted by Owais
Shah, fresh from a successful time at the IPL, but this was Bopara’s day.
Finishing on 120 not out, Bopara had once again caught the eye of international
selectors striking the ball cleanly, scoring all around the ground and
displaying the class that cricket fans nationwide are all well aware of.
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