Category: Sport
Sunday Morning Football Trivia
In yesterday's F.A. Premier League football games, something rather unusual happened. none of the top four teams - Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal - all failed to win. Not only that, but they also all failed to score a goal. You could, in fact, include Aston Villa, who started the day in fifth place and finished the day in fourth place, in that statistic, since they drew 0-0 with Manchester United.
So, the highest-placed team in the Premier League to score a goal yesterday was Hull - in 6th place. Even they didn't win, drawing 2-2 with Portsmouth. The highest-placed team to win yesterday was Manchester City, who now sit in 11th place in the Premier League table - the bottom half. So, here are some trivia questions, which I don't know the answer to, but would love to know:
- When was the last time that none of the "big four" - Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea - won their games in a round of games where all four were playing?
- When was the last time none of them scored a goal in a round of games where all four were playing?
- When was the last time that no team in the top half of the table won a game in a round of games? (I realise that, at the time of writing, Everton have yet to play and could well win, thus meaning this may not happen this week...)
I expect these statistics will take some digging, but any pointers would be welcome.
Update: Wigan beat Everton 1-0 in the Monday match, and so no team in the top half of the Premier League table has won over the weekend! Has it ever happened before in the history of the Premier League? I shall do my best to find out...
Congratulations To Robert Kubica
Yesterday was an interesting and great day for Formula 1. Sadly, I missed the race, but it is worthy of writing about here anyway.
Yesterday was the Canadian Grand Prix. The Canadian Grand Prix is well known for being unpredictable and full of incident, and this year was no different. Last year, the race was won by Lewis Hamilton, with his first Grand Prix victory. This year would feature another first-time winner, but with a little more drama along the way. Usually, the drama is to be found in the picture above - the exit to the main straight, known as "Champions' Wall", because it is famous for taking out so many previous champions who have brushed the wall in the past. Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve have all crashed there, and Fernando Alonso has crashed at another corner before now, so it is a track that has pedigree.
However, yesterday was not a day for incident at Champions' Wall. Yesterday, all the main action was in the pit lane. The safety car was called out following an incident on the track - not unusual in Canada - and so most of the leaders came into the pits for a fresh set of rubber and for tyres. Lewis Hamilton did have a sizeable lead before the safety car came out, but it was wiped out as they pitted. Hamilton pitted from first, Kubica from second and Raikkonen from third. Kubica exited his pit box marginally ahead of Raikkonen, but the red light was on in the pit lane, so he had to stop and wait. So did Raikkonen. The two sat at the end of the pit lane, waiting. Hamilton, meanwhile, took on enough fuel to finish the race, and so exited his pit box last. He didn't see the red light. He didn't stop. As he approached the end of the pit lane, he suddenly faced two stationary cars. He darted left, trying to avoid them, but couldn't, and ploughed straight into the back of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari. He looked like a bit of a prat, and he probably felt it too, since he'd just taken himself and Kimi Raikkonen out of the race. Crashing out on track is one thing, crashing in the pit lane - that's another.
So, with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen both out of the race, the Grand Prix was now wide open, and potentially, the championship too. Felipe Massa in the sister Ferrari and Heikki Kovalainen in the sister McLaren were both down the field, so the BMW-Sauber of Nivk Heidfeld led the race, having not come into the pits for fuel. Once the safety car came in, however, Kubica set a searing pace, was allowed to pass Heidfeld and then made the gap he needed in order to make the extra pit stop he needed to make in order to beat his team mate, meaning the BMW-Sauber team came home with their first, Kubica's first win, and the first win for a Polish driver in Formula 1.
With that win, Robert Kubica also became the leader of the Formula 1 world championship. This is quite a feat. There is no doubt that the BMW-Sauber car is not quite as fast as the Ferrari or the McLaren. It isn't far behind, but it is just that little bit slower. However, at the hands of Robert Kubica this year, the BMW-Sauber car has been scintillating to watch. He has consistently been at the front and was close to winning in Monaco. His pace has been absolutely stunning this year, but more than that, he has been consistent and error-free. I'm sure the errors will come, and there is very little pressure on him, but his form has been great to see nevertheless. Massa made mistakes in Australia, Malaysia and Monaco; Raikkonen made a serious error in Monaco; Hamilton in Canada; Kovalainen has just plain had wretched luck, and been slightly off-pace at a couple of tracks. Kubica, however, has been superb. He is a future champion in the making. I just hope he stays with BMW-Sauber and provides them with their first world champion - that is, if his consistency doosn't bring it to him this year. I don't believe it will, as I think the Ferrari will prove too strong over the course of the season, but if he does win it, it will be thoroughly deserved and hard-earned.
Euro 2008: Discord In The Austrian Ranks
I saw this morning that there is discord in the Austrian ranks in the run-up to Euro 2008, with a new petition started by an Austrian man calling for Austria to pull out of playing in Euro 2008.
Austria get automatic entry into Euro 2008 as one of the hosts, but are only ranked 102nd in the world, makin some people worried that they will end up humiliated by the experience. Still, it can't be any more humiliating than for the England team, who didn't even qualify. What a shame.
Rangers vs. Motherwell
Today was the most relaxing day I've had in months. I had only one thing to get up for - the football at Ibrox. I went to see Rangers beat Motherwell 3-1 at home. It wasn't a fantastic game and Rangers didn't play particularly well, but a win is good enough. Anyhow, it beats last year's Boxing Day match quite easily: watching Manchester City beat Sheffield United 1-0 at Bramall Lane wasn't exactly exhilarating - and far more expensive.
I should point out that this post is given to you courtesy of Windows Vista. Hopefully it will be the only one for quite some time! I have also been working on a broken wireless Internet network today, with a strange result: everything can now connect to the Internet, but some of the appliances are adamant they can't connect. Is that Google I see? No, it must be an illusion! So long as it's the illusion everyone else sees, I care not, for I am going to my bed...
Congratulations Kimi!
Today's Brazilian Grand Prix was billed up to be a cracker, and a cracker it was. Lewis Hamilton went into the final race of the Formula 1 season four points ahead of Fernando Alonso and seven ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Superficial logic said that Kimi stood no chance, and that Hamilton, given the likelihood of a Ferrari victory, would wrap up the title.
It wasn't to be. But then, when you think about it, it wasn't really much of a surprise, even discounting the awful track record championship leaders have in three-way fights in the final race. Fernando Alonso had the smallest chance of everyone of coming away with the title. Let me explain.
Ferrari looked like dominating. It was quite clear that, reliability problems and mistakes aside, they were likely to record a 1-2 win. Assuming team orders, if Fernando Alonso were to finish third, then Kimi would take the win, taking four points off Alonso, putting him 1 point clear of Alonso. Thus, given Ferrari's dominance, Fernando Alonso stood little chance of winning the championship. Therefore, Lewis Hamilton "only" needed to finish fifth to win the title. It sounds easy, but the law of averages says that he was overdue a mechanical problem...
The law of averages won. Ferrari got their expected 1-2 finish. Kimi wins the title. A victory for rational science, though slightly unconventional. Of course, that fails to take into account the historical record of pernickety scrutineers. However, I am confident no action will be taken on this occasion to disqualify the BMW Sauber and Williams teams from the Grand Prix!
Bye Bye Blades
This afternoon, Sheffield United lost their last home game of the season to Wigan Athletic which, put together with West Ham's win at Old Trafford, means the Blades are relegated to the Championship.
Sheffield United were, at one point, ten points clear of the relegation zone, but bad form at the tail-end of the season has confined them to second-teir football. To be honest, given their last four home games - Newcastle, Watford, West Ham and Wigan Athletic - they cannot blame anyone but themselves for their downfall. On the last day, they only needed to avoid defeat to stay up, but couldn't do it.
Still, the fans should look on the bright side of relegation: cheaper ticket prices next year, and two losses to Watford in the Championship!
Sheffield United 1 Watford 0
Today, I took an afternoon off from my relentless University work to go and watch my favourite football team, Watford, play Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, just 5 minutes' walk down the road from my house. Having been relegated last weekend, there was nothing for Watford to gain or lose from this match, but Sheffield United, though in all likelihood safe from the drop, started today only one place above the relegation zone and so did need to win this game, as they were expected to do so.
It should be said: this wasn't the most exciting game I've ever seen. In fact, the first half was positively a midfield slog, with very little in the way of chances at either end. Unfortunately for Watford, defender Chris Powell put the ball past Ben Foster at the end of the first half, gifting Sheffield Untied a 1-0 half-time lead. That is how it stayed until the end of the game, although Watford's Marlon King struck the bar at the Bramall Lane end midway through the second half. Watford should have had a penalty in stoppage time at the end of the game after a Blades player dived blatantly to palm the ball away from the Watford attack. In defence of the referee, there were players in the way, but the Assistant Referee should have seen.
Still, I care not - although Watford did deserve a point from the game, I'm not particularly bothered about the penalty. I quite like Sheffield United, especially living 5 minutes from the ground, and I'd quite like them to stay up. The result matters little to Watford and a penalty could have cost the Blades 2 points. I'd rather they have the points as it eases the pressure from them going into the last 2 games of the season. If it had happened in another game, I might have complained, but quite frankly, I know I'd have done the same if I were that defender...
Stop The World Cup
As many of you will know, I am a huge cricket fan. If I had more time on my hands, I would gladly play the sport all day every day, with only small breaks to watch it instead. The world cup is meant to be a great, six week showcase of some of the world's best cricketers and a rare opportunity for up-and-coming nations to experience the formidable drubbings from the likes of Australia and South Africa. It provides some great moments, with surprise wins, such as Ireland against Pakistan and Bangladesh against India. It provides rivetting finishes to games, as was seen between Zimbabwe and Ireland. We see great personal feats, such as Brendon McCullum's half-century off of just twenty balls - a world cup record. We've also seen Herschelle Gibbs score six sixes in one over, for the first time in a one day international. Finally, we've also seen India score a record 413-5 against Bermuda, the only score over 400 in any world cup match, but they, like Pakistan, face a long trip home, having lost to embarrassingly to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. By this quick look, it's a world cup to remember.
However, everything that has been great about the world cup so far has been completely overshadowed this week with the death and assumed murder of the British coach of Pakistan, Bob Woolmer. This week, there has been virtually no talk of the games of cricket that have been played. Sri Lanka and India played today, but you wouldn't know it. It was a very important game, but it's faded into the background. Suddenly, the suspicious death of Bob Woolmer has deflected all attention away from cricket - and quite rightly so.
The trouble is, no-one is ever going to remember the cricket from this world cup, which, given some of the great cricket, is a crying shame. This world cup will be synonymous with Bob Woolmer's death. The eventual winners will take their trophy, speak sombrely about how insignificant it is in the context of this week and remain stuck in a limbo, not knowing whether to celebrate winning or to just escape as soon as they possibly can. The cricket has become virtually irrelevant.
It's true - Bob Woolmer may have wished for the world cup to have continued, but is it really worth it? I don't think so. The sooner it has gone and the investigations are complete, the better. It's bad enough just thinking about it.
England's Torture Is Finally Over
After a couple of months down under, England's abysmal Ashes tour in Australia is over, having been whitewashed in a series that never looked close. If it were Zimbabwe or Bangladesh playing against Australia, you'd expect that scoreline, but given that England are ranked second in the world Test rankings, this is an awful result. In the Test series, Australia overall beat England by one innings, 16 wickets and 582 runs - an awful result by any team's standards. However, whilst it is true to say that England were not at full strength - missing Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan and Simon Jones, it is equally true that the Australian team was the only team that ever looked like winning. The Australians were the only team that looked like they had the desire firing them on. They learned the lessons of losing in the 2005 Ashes series. Now England need to do the same.
It is also sad to now realise that we have now lost 4 great Australian players - Damien Martyn, Justin Langer, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. They will all be missed. All could have carried on had the wished and the game will not be the same without them. However, as Warne will still be playing for Lancashire, I will make sure I try my hardest to go to a Hampshire game this year, though probably not at the Rose Bowl. He is an exceptional talent with the ball - and he can knock it around the park fairly well too!
For England, the inquest must start. The best place to start is with Australia themselves - how did Australia respond to their own Ashes loss? Their response had paid huge dividends even before the Ashes began in November, so perhaps there is something to learn in their response to losing.
Ban The Sweep!
I am utterly disgusted this morning. England should not have lost the second Test in Adelaide - but they did! How? Well, I really struggle to work it out. Having scored so freely on the first couple of days, they declare on 551/6, a score which I didn't think was enough at the time (though having said this, I always maintain that you should bat until you're bowled out on first innings). Given the flat nature of the pitch, Australia find the score fairly easy to match, albeit with a little help from Ashley Giles dropping Ricky Ponting on 35, but England can't lose the match. No, it's a dead cert to be a draw.
WRONG! Why? Because England come out in the second innings and display the ability only they have to throw away a game that is impossible to lose. They decide not to play shots, but to just defend instead - not a good policy. I always find scoring runs is a better form of defence - it's called "attack" - and Collingwood scores only 1 run in his first hour at the crease.
That wasn't the worst of it, however. The worst of it was Kevin Pieterson's inability to turn his brain on and play a sensible innings. In his 158 in the first innings, he did not sweep the ball once. The first time he does in the second innings, he is clean bowled. You idiot. The sweep shot should be banned for all England players. They have a complete inability to play the shot well - and I'll admit, I'm a poor player of the sweep too - and it gets them out more times than they ever hit the ball cleanly. So, Duncan Fletcher, please duly fine your players every time they try and play the sweep shot. Leave it to players who can play it well. We sure can't.
While I'm handing out advice, however, I would like to reiterate this over team selection: Ashley Giles is not as good as Monty Panesar. I don't care about his batting - after all, he is a bowler. Do we pick James Anderson on his batting ability? No! So why should we pick any other of our bowlers on that basis? We shouldn't. He got a duck in the second innings, oh, the usefulness!
Secondly, the wicketkeeping position: Geriant Jones should not be picked, especially on his batting, and I've never rated his wicketkeeping either. He scored 11 with the bat in the match - giving him an average a number 11 could not be proud of, on a good batting pitch too. His wicketkeeping is not a good as Chris Read's, and Read's batting is much better than it used to be. Pick him instead, and listen to Shane Warne.
The first 6 players picked should be batters, though it's great if the number 6 can bowl too. Number 7 should be a wicketkeeper, and if he can bat, congratulations, give him a medal. Numbers 8 to 11 should be picked on their bowling ability, nothing else. If you have a problem with the strength of any of those departments on the basis of that selection procedure, maybe you need to invest more time and money into developing better players in the future.
So, there you have it: Noelinho's simple fix for the England cricket team. And yes, I know, it's meant to be Wales too, but face it, Geriant Jones is useless, I'd rather he was on the other team.