Hey Sports Fans!
Just a quick round-up cos I go into fits of apoplexy if I don't talk about sport at least once every 12 hours! So this is more of a medical emergency than a sports report....and perhaps you should read it as such!
So here we go! Firstly, the Bosses team, ManU, who despite a 3-1 win at home over lowly Leicester, they just didn't look convincing to me. Over 70% possession and it should have been converted to a lot more than 3 goals. In the second half they were just going through the motions and in the end they almost let Leicester back into the game. Under Fergie the peddle would have been firmly to the metal for the whole 90 minutes and at NN we are beginning to question whether LVG is the man to take the team back to the top. But, time is of the essence and he needs that time to ensure that he can be judged fairly. We shall see and reserve ours till the end of the season.
Down the road at Stamford Bridge Chelsea and ManCity drew 1 a-piece, though Mourinho's Chelsea would have been more happy with that result than ManCity who dominated the play with David Silva again pulling the strings in the absence of Yaya Toure. Thus far this season, these two sides have been head and shoulders above everyone else in the PL and the title should be between them, though Arsene Wenger's Arsenal are now starting to come on strong (they kicked Villa's butt 5-0 this afternoon) and may yet have a say.
The 4th and final Champions League spot should be between ManU, Southampton, Spurs and possibly Liverpool, with ManU perhaps being the slight favourites to grab the place because, despite their relatively under par performances, they do seem to have the knack of not losing matches unlike the others.
In Spain La Liga progresses as it does every year with a dogfight between the big three, Barca, Real and Athletico. Real hold the edge at the moment and remain 4 points clear, though since winning the World Champs just after Christmas they have gone off the boil. However, the real news here is the possible rift between Messi and Luis Enrique, the Barca manager, and where Messi will be playing next year. Of course, the Boss would love him to come to United but realistically if he becomes available his most likely destination may well be Madrid. Watch this space.
Valencia, our local side here at NN, are going well this year for the first time in a few years, perhaps due to the investment of Chinese businessman, Peter Lim, who has given the club liquidity once more, and now they look to be a reasonable bet for the 4th spot in La Liga and the final Spanish Champions League place next season.
Moving onto Formula 1, this weekend has just seen the first practise session of the year in Jerez, Andalucia, with ex-Champion Sebastian Vettel posting the quickest time of the day, but it was Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, last years runner's up to Lewis Hamilton, who claimed most of the plaudits by completing a phenomenal 157 laps (opposed to just 60 by Vettel) to underline their massive reliability, such a key factor in their success last season. Hamilton takes over the car on Monday to see what he can manage.
And finally, to Melbourne and an incredible fight for the Men's title between Andy Murray and the unstoppable Novak Djokovic, who ran out the winner in 4 uncompromising sets. The first 2 sets both went to tie-breaks, Novak taking the opener and Andy the second set, with both players hitting the ball with an intensity and vigour I've rarely seen. But such was the pace of the match it was inevitable that the standard would drop and sadly it was Murray who faltered first and longest, despite some early physical scares from Djokovic who appeared to injure the thumb on his racket hand, then his ankle and had entered the match (possibly) suffering from the effects of a virus. But in the end he proved to be the tougher player mentally and eventually steamrollered Murray 6-0 in the 4th, a sad way for Murray to end what had a fantastic match. Huge congratulations to Novak, now an 8 time Grand Slam winner, and commiserations to Murray. His time in Melbourne will surely come.
And that's me for today! Phew!
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