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.
Firstly I must apologise in advance, for missing important
events and details from the season that helped make it as epic as it has been
described as, by just about every pundit and commentator in the land.
Everything that I love (and sometimes hate) about football
was encapsulated into the season that has just finished. 2011/2012 was
regularly described as the ‘season of all seasons’, and from a personal point
of view, it really did have everything except success for my beloved Manchester
United. The only way the season that just keeps giving could possibly outdo
itself, is by providing an England win over ‘Ze Germans at Euro 2012, but I think that may e asking a bit too
much.
The only area in which bitterness creeps in, when I think
about the season just gone, is when I consider how Manchester City won the
title. That they were the better, and more consistent, team is hard to disprove
as they scored the most goals and conceded the least. However, they very nearly threw it away, and
that is the killer.
Whoever wrote the script in 1999 for the glorious Sheringham
and Solskjaer inspired comeback that saw United crowned ‘Kings of Europe’
really pulled one out of the bag this year. Everton finished above Liverpool
and ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish has got the boot, all three promoted teams survived
relegation, and Robin Van Persie provided a new meaning to the song “he scores
when he wants”. Both of the Manchester
Clubs threw away solid leads in the title race, before finishing level on
points, with City stealing the crown with two goals in stoppage time to confirm
a goal difference win. There was goal line drama at Wembley with Martin
Atkinson giving Chelsea a game-changing goal in the FA Cup semi-final that
caused Harry Redknapp’s face to fall even further than it already does
naturally. Replays showed that the ball
barely reach the line, let alone crossed it, summing up what the second half of
the season was like for ‘Arry, who will ply his trade in the Europa League
again next year; a far cry from Euro 2012 where we all thought he’d be.
Talking of Euro 2012, ‘Woy’s’ the man for England! Well, to give him his full name, Roy Hodgson,
but frankly if he can’t pronounce his name properly, then I shouldn’t have to
either.
The season eventually finished in a way that only Gary
Neville saw coming. Coining phrases such as “it’s written in the stars”, and
“something’s happening!”, Neville screeched as Chelsea progressed, and
eventually a Champions League final showdown with Bayern Munich, at their own
ground, ensued. For 120 minutes it
resembled a particularly brutal assault as Bayern poured forward in wave after
wave of attack. To borrow a line from
noted wordsmith David Haye, it was “more one-sided than a gang-rape”. (What a way with words that lovely man has). Unfortunately for Bayern, GNev was right,
something was happening.
When Thomas Muller eventually scored with 7 minutes to play,
Didier Drogba equalised, and after Petr Cech had saved Arjen Robben’s poorly
taken penalty (which Drogba had conceded), it became more and more apparent
that fate was intervening. Four years on
from Chelsea’s last visit to the final they were back with a score to settle. In a twist of Shakespearian proportions, the
man who was sent off in Moscow 4 years ago, Drogba, scored the winning penalty
with his last ever touch of the ball for the team, whilst John Terry, the man
who missed a chance to win the trophy in Moscow in 2008, was sat in the stand,
suspended for an act of sheer stupidity.
What a truly apt turn of events.
It’s A Beautiful Game…
Coming Soon... The first annual Richard Awards. A series of the bests and worsts of the season as democratically decided by me.
This will make very little sense unless you were in my group of close friends at school. Needless to say it is all a projection of my insane imagination...
With the season over, it’s been all change in the football
game so far this summer. Former Brentwood King’s manager, Nathan Carrington has
celebrated his knighthood, awarded for services to sport, in style by becoming
the manager at his former club Brentwood Bangers. He replaces Sir Richard Jude,
who has retired to a position as a director after leading the team to his fifth
Champions League success. Another Carrington has left the club this summer
however, with Jesper, Nathan’s son leaving in a £23 million move to Real Madrid
having seen his first team opportunities limited by the partnership between Tom
Connor and Danny Lancaster. Jesper’s twin brother Robbie, and centre back
George Brownn have both been appointed vice-captains. Ross Scott has made a £15
million move to his boyhood club Arsenal, and Peter Smith, son of Ongar Manager
Andrew, has been handed the number 3 shirt. Matt Gillespie has also moved on,
his £5 million move to Warley Park Rangers has been labelled as part of a
signal of intent that includes; the renovation of their stadium, The Dip, and
the double signing of Arnie and Marnie Van Martyn from Ajax, that WPR are ready
to mount a title challenge. Matt’s father Andrew remains a club director at the
Bangers, and has recently announced himself 4 years sober, after a very public
battle with alcoholism marred a significant period in his life. On a sadder
note, the careers of Fabien Barez, the veteran keeper, and Olly Staiano, have
come to an end. Barez leaves to return to his country of birth Brazil, and
Olly, whose career has finally succumbed to the injuries sustained in a car
crash 6 years ago, will become head of the youth development programme at the
club. Young Bangers defender Rob Salmon has finally spoken out about the mental
illness that led to the incarceration of his father Tom. “It was terrible to
see; he kept going on about how killing everyone would end the game, and win
the bet. He was a danger to himself and others, and I’m glad he’s now being
well looked after and nobody was harmed.” Brentwood Bangers have also already
confirmed the first four signings of the Carrington era. Pascal St. Omer has
been brought in from PSG for £7 million, and Greenlandic International Jan
Rasingle defender has signed on a free transfer from Yorkshire Puddings. West
Bacon’s striker Jonny Levins has made the £17 million move from east London,
and the Argentinian playmaker Santiago Barahona-Gomariz has joined from
Atletico Madrid in a £32 million deal. Arthur Abbitt has reason to celebrate
this summer, being made captain at Warley Hill United, and his father George
has signed a new deal to remain as England manager up until the end of the 2018
world cup, which will be hosted here. Warley Hill United’s Childerditch Lane
complex is ahead of schedule as it is revamped to host an international team
for the tournament, as Brentwood King’s home, the Brentwood Centre, and
Brentwood Banger’s complex at Hartswood Road, will also do.
