Sports Personality of the Year n' all that jazz!

Hiya!
As usual for us UK sports fans the end of the year highlight is always the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year awards.  A slightly different format from Auntie this year saw Geraint Thomas win the major award ahead of his rivals on the night, Lewis Hamilton, Harry Kane, Dina Asher-Smith, Jimmy Anderson and Lizzie Yarnold!  For me there were several highlights during the programme including Geraint's faltering but charming speech that saw him tell how 'he'd worked under Dave B (Brailsford) for many years' before immediately saying, 'oh, that sounds a bit dodgy, dun'it?' and the Helen Rollason award winner Billy Monger whose courage, determination and positivity in the face of extreme adversity is nothing less than mind blowing!

All in all I thought it was a lovely evening and it's inspired me to rattle off my own (slightly more limited) sporting highlights of 2018.

So, here we go......first up Cycling

British tour cycling had literally the perfect year!  Three Grand Tours saw three British winners!  It doesn't get any better than that, and as a mega cycling fan and horribly wobbly cyclist myself I truly appreciate the dedication, bravery, stamina and sheer bloody mindedness it must take to win any grand tour!  My best bits begin at the Giro, perhaps in British eyes the lesser of the three tours simply by virtue of a distinct lack of TV coverage on mainstream channels (Hint!  Hint!  Wake up ITV!), but the reality is surely very different!  I think the Giro is always the least predictable of the tours so perhaps it was inevitable that it would throw up its usual glut of surprises.  Simon Yates stormed into the lead and until the final few days looked every inch the runaway winner with the big pre-race favourite, Chris Froome, seeming to struggle in his wake.  That was until stage 19 which saw Froomey turn the race completely on its head with (I think) the single best sporting performance of the year, bar none, when he went balls deep with a solo breakaway some 70kms and 3 mountain climbs from the finish that saw him break the entire field, Simon Yates included, to go from 5th to 1st in a monumental day that I will never, ever forget!  Chapeau Froomey!  More of the same next year please!

At the Tour, as we know, Cardiff boy Geraint took the honours winning several stages along the way including the monster - 'Whoa!  Alpe D'Huez, man' - with an overall performance of supreme consistency that saw him crowned Tour Champion for the first time!  Fantastic performance boyo!

And finally at the Vuelta a Espagna Simon Yates, well rested and wiser by a country mile after his efforts at the Giro, came out on top and was, for my money, head and shoulders above than all his rivals and never looked seriously troubled at any point!

And all this British success has left me salivating at the prospects for next years tours where surely more British champs beckon.  But who?  And where will they clash?  Throwing Tom Dumoulin, a hopefully fully fit Thibaut Pineau and Primoz Roglic into the mix, along with the explosive talents of Julian Alaphilippe and Peter Sagan, I think 2019 could well be a year to savour!

At the World Champs success eluded the Brits with the road race going to 38 year old Alejandro Valverde - maybe its just me, but I've never warmed to the guy despite many bravura performances over the years largely because (and alright yes, I know cycling has had its fair share of problems on the drugs front, including some Brits!) he has never really shown any remorse for being caught out!  That said at 38 to win the Worlds is something else!

The TT saw Aussie Rohan Denis take the rainbow jersey and well deserved too!

On the track there were too many highlights too mention but for me the return of Laura Kenny and husband Jason after having their first child was right up there!

The saddest note of the year was the horrific injury suffered by German sprinter extraordinaire Kristina Vogel when she was left paralysed following a collision with a car whilst out training.  Once again the courage and fortitude she demonstrated in interviews afterwards was astounding and I wish her all the very best as she continues to recover.

In Formula One the plaudits go to Lewis Hamilton after yet another stand out year.  He was the best of the top drivers once again despite being in what was not the best car!  Five World Championships and his desire and competitive edge seem as sharp and as honed now as it was when he won his first title in 2008!  Here's to number 6 Lewis!

My enjoyment of the tennis year was blunted slightly by Andy Murray's hip injury which I hope is a thing of the past now as we look forward to seeing him back in action in January down under!  As a little aside I had a dream the other night where I was walking into the stadium in Melbourne with Andy - we were best buds or something! - for the final of the Aussie Open!!  Do I have prescient tendencies?  We shall see soon enough!  But I like to think so!

However, it was an absolute joy to the oldies swinging back into action again as Rog, Rafa and Novak once again dominated!  But the next generation are arriving like a high speed train so I think they'll all need to be looking over their shoulders in 2019!

In the womens game it was another unpredictable, topsy turvy year that saw no one woman (in Serena's absence) dominating which made it for me one of the most exciting in a long time!  To top that next year I would just love to see our Jo Konta stepping up again and playing with much more consistency and confidence to get herself back in the top 10 again! The key to Jo's success is her wicked serve which, when it's operating well, is a fearsome weapon.  This year it has been largely unused and as her serve stuttered to threaten the rest of her game dropped in its intensity and her ranking plumetted as a result!  We need you back at your awesome best Jo!  You can do it!  We believe in you!

As a Man United fan the football year has had its highs and its lows!  The highest being without doubt England's wonderful World Cup journey which reunited the fans with the national team in a way that (as a very old man) I can never recall!  It was momentous, staggering, stupendous.....and I want more!!!  Gareth Southgate is a magician!  I am just too young to remember 1966 (I was only 5) and so for me this is the first time I have seen an England team playing to the best of their ability and not wilting beneath the weight of pulling on an England shirt!!  And that I believe is a wholly a consequence of Southgate's positivity and meticulous planning!  Judging by results since the World Cup things are only going to get better as well!  I just hope and pray that one day soon (and before I hear the final whistle!) that I witness an England team winning a tournament!  That's not too much to ask, is it?

But at United things go from average to below average and then down once again!  Sorry guys, but Jose was never the right man for the job and he must go before United join the realms of the also rans and see their great heritage disappear off down the street never to be seen again!  The board need to be more adventurous in their choice of manager - my choice was Unai Emery but that was before Jose and before Arsenal - and really push the boat out to bring the good times back!  It's dismal to see Alex Ferguson's thrilling legacy being squandered by Mourinho who has clearly past his sell by date and by players who seem happy to take the money without fully committing to the shirt!  Come on United!  Sort it out!

The swimming year was a relatively quiet one and more a stepping stone on the road to Tokyo!  That said, there were still many amazing performances at the Euros with, as always, the stand out being a world record by a (below par??) Adam Peaty!  My word, that guy is a world beater and no mistake!  Looking forward to the next corner stone in their Olympic preparations being cemented into place at next years Worlds!  Come on team GB!!!

And finally in athletics it was also a quiet-ish year as well.  The highlights being Mo Farah's debut marathon win at Boston in a UK record and lovely Dina's wins at the Euros!  She is infectious in her enthusiasm for her running and, after some bad injury problems, its wonderful to see her develop into the world class sprinter we've always known she could be!

Again there were many outstanding performances at the Euros, such as Laura Muir, but the real test for Dina and the rest will come at next years Worlds and I can't wait!

So, there you have it!  In brief, a little run through of my sporting highlights!  Bring on 2019 because I've got a feeling.........!

Is Andy Murray the Greatest British Sports Star Ever?

On the face of it, deciding if Andy Murray is the greatest British Sports Star ever was a relatively easy question to answer.  For me the answer is a resounding 'yes'!

No doubt there would be many out there who would disagree.  There are of course many outstanding candidates.  The two biggest hurdles though in examining a question such as this is how do you possibly compare individuals (even if they competed in the same sporting arena) across generations and secondly, across sporting fields?  And in truth, there is no viable comparative method that enables one to do so with any sort of validity; it really is a matter of one's own perception of a particular sport as well as cross-generational, sporting prowess, and my perception may be vastly different to the next guy's, and one can really only have an opinion if one has been around long enough to witness sporting achievement across generations and across various sporting arenas.  For example, I can't reasonably compare Andy Murray to Fred Perry, except on paper, simply because I didn't see Fred Perry play.  But what I can say for sure is that the game Perry played might be, in theory the same game that Murray now plays, but in practice they are vastly different.

Andy Murray winning this years Wimbledon Men's Singles

To be blunt, if not controversial for a second, when Perry played tennis was a game that was played by an elite minority.  It certainly wasn't a game that Andy Murray, had he been around in the 1930's, would probably have had a chance to play, let alone play often enough to be able to gain any sort of prowess.  He just wouldn't have had access to the courts, the money or the opportunities.  So tennis back then was a competition between (for want of a better word) gentlemen and so the level of competition, though undoubtedly high for the time, was limited by comparison.  That said, a player in any generation can only beat those against whom he competes and Fred Perry was thus, a great Champion, but that was then and he remains a Champion of the times and his talent, no matter how great, cannot be compared to that of Murray who competes in a world very different from that inhabited by Perry.  The levels of competition and professionalism that the best tennis players in the world have to achieve now is immense and literally bears no comparison to generations past, thus for me at least, Murray's achievement's in winning 3 Grand Slams (2 of course at Wimbledon now) in the modern game is a simply mind boggling feat and far superior to that of (with all due respect) Perry, especially given that Murray has been I would suggest, up against (arguably) the greatest players in the world of this or any other generation, namely Roger Federer, Raphael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

It is hard to imagine there will ever be such a generation of greats in tennis or for that matter, any other sport, who will all be around at the same time with such rampant success.  At any other time time Murray would surely have won more than 3 Slams had he not had the misfortune (?) to be at the top his game at the same time as perhaps the three greatest players of all time.  This as much as anything leads me to say Murray is the greatest British star of all time.

But what of other modern British sports stars, and there are many to choose from across a wide range of sports, all of whom rightly deserve similar accolades for their sporting achievements.  Stars such as Steve Redgrave (rowing), Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Vicky Pendleton (cycling), Lester Piggott, Tony McCoy (horse racing), Joe Calzaghe (boxing), Mo Farah, Seb Coe, Paula Radcliffe (athletics), Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton (football), Adam Peaty (swimming), Jackie Stewart, Lewis Hamilton, Barry Sheene (motor sport), Ben Ainslie (sailing) are just some of whom one might consider in competition with Murray and all of whom, for one reason or another, I discounted.   Here's why....

Mo Farah

When considering this question I considered various criteria and within those various interim factors:

• longevity (level of achievement over time, consistency, competition over time)
• sporting arena (team sport or individual; injury risk)
• place in the British sports fans psyche (i.e. level of attachment or emotion) 

In considering sporting longevity (or success over time) one has to adjust ones expectations for particular sports; for example, in swimming for example, competitors usually come to the fore at a relatively young age (i.e. late teens, early 20's) and may have a career that lasts 10 years if they are truly lucky, whereas a jockey may begin at a similar age but can reasonably be expected to continue for double that time, sometimes longer, therefore in terms of sporting longevity expectations needs to be adjusted accordingly.

Ben Ainslie

In examining various sporting arenas and the success of competitors within that sphere one needs to look at different aspects of each sport and thus, each sporting star.  For example, in football it is relatively easy to determine who a great player is (and who is not) and to determine their level of success, but since it is a team game can one reasonably say that a great player would have been rated so if the team about him was not also a large part of the equation?  By that I mean, Leo Messi is arguably the greatest of all time, but would he have achieved the same levels of recognition and success had he not had an Iniesta, a Javi, a Puyol, etc playing alongside him?  So success in a team game is to a (larger) extent dependent upon the other members of the team than in say boxing, or tennis, where performance is purely down to the individual.  That is not to say that boxers and tennis players don't have teams because they do, but in the end the performance is down to the individual.

In some sports as well the chances of sustaining an injury (serious, career-ending or otherwise) are (arguably) more likely than in others; a boxer for example, is far more likely to sustain injuries than say an oarsman/woman during competition, and in motor sports those injuries may not just threaten a career but also the competitors life.  Would Ayrton Senna have gone on to become the greatest driver of all time had he not lost his life so tragically and so young?  But then a racing driver is far less likely to sustain a torn hamstring during training than say an athlete, so risk assessments across sports are very difficult to make and, I would argue, highly subjective.  

 

The final part of my analysis concerns a sports stars place in the British sports fans hearts, or how attached the public becomes to an individual.  For example, David Beckham is perhaps one of the most popular and loved British sports stars of all time, in spite of, relatively speaking, only limited success on the pitch. Whereas Chris Froome, a naturalised Brit born in Kenya, will have to work much harder to gain a foothold in the public's hearts, despite having won the Tour de France twice and may yet go on to become one of the greatest grand tour riders of all time.

Bradley Wiggins in Tour winners yellow jersey.

And so I come down to my selection process.  Despite all the wonderful names above only a few leapt out at me as possible contenders for the title of Britain's greatest sports star.  They were Steve Redgrave, Ben Ainslie, Bradley Wiggins, Mo Farah and of course, Andy Murray.

Taking each in turn I shall give the reason why they didn't make my final cut.  Steve Redgrave I discounted because his success was to a lesser or greater extent dependent upon his team members without whom he may not have achieved such recognition.  Mo Farah, who according to Brendan Foster is the greatest, I discounted because despite all of his success I believe greatness in athletics is largely measured by the number of records he breaks, and rightly or wrongly, Mo has always been a pure racer motivated by medals and not times, and so in my mind has never scaled the heights that he perhaps might have.  Ben Ainslie has never gained the place in British hearts that other sports stars may have simply because sailing is not perhaps an ideal spectator sport and so public recognition has passed him by somewhat.  And to a lesser extent the same may be true of Bradley Wiggins who (in my reckoning came a very close second to Andy and) has never gained the public recognition I believe he deserves because cycling, as a TV sport is not as viewer friendly as say tennis.

Wiggins is, however, in my opinion the greatest cyclist Britain has produced.  The range of his successes is truly staggering reaching across a multitude of track events at both Worlds and Olympics, as well as untold success on the roads culminating in his 2011 success in becoming the first British winner of the Tour de France and all this stretching over an international career that has lasted almost 20 years and is still ongoing.

But in the end he will never gain the same place in British hearts as Andy Murray simply because tennis is a much more approachable and armchair friendly sport than say an individual time trial event!

So by process of elimination I come to the inevitable conclusion that Andy Murray is the greatest sports star that Britain has ever produced.

What do you think?  Am I right or wrong?

Weekend Sports Snippets with Negrito

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!

  

Tweet to @nn11pwb

Syriza in Greece, Podemos in Spain. Is this where we are headed? All this & mid week Sports as well...

Negrito here with a mid-week Sports Special from Melbourne.  I flew in last night after more than 24 hours in the air and boy! my arms are aching (boom boom!) but it was all worth it!  Whilst Andy Murray's semi-final at the Aussie Open wasn't the best contest I've ever seen just being here in the sunshine puts some extra sheen on his victory for me.  Tomas Berdych began strongly, looking imperious in his first 3 service games, not dropping a point and it seemed the odds against a Murray victory were widening.  At the same time Murray was struggling to retain serve with each of his service game going to at least one deuce.  To be fair I'm not overly familiar with Berdych other than being aware that he was perhaps a bit of bogey player for Murray on the circuit, and there was a bit of extra edge with Murray's school friend and ex-assistant coach, Daniel Vallevrdu, now being retained on team Berdych.  However, even as he fired himself into a first set lead it was Berdych for me, who looked the more precarious of the two players.  In the second set it was Murray who finally found his feet as he stormed through the est 6-0 to even the match up.  

As the match continued neither player seemed able to maintain any sort of consistency with unforced errors peppering the play of both Berdych and Murray.  But it was Murray who gradually applied the pressure as Berdych appeared to falter psychologically, his play and his demeanour seeming ever more fragile to me.  In the end Murray triumphed to put himself into a 4th Aussie Open Final.  As yet his opponent is unknown, the second semi taking place tomorrow morning between Stan Warwrinka, last years winner, and World No.1 Novak Djokovic.  Murray must be hoping for a repeat of their last two meeting here which both ended being marathon contests.  With an extra day's recovery Murray must be feeling pretty good about the final whoever he plays, but he will need to be much more consistent than he was today if he wants to come out on top on Sunday.

Make sure you don't miss it on BBC1 08.15am.  Be there or be ....absent.

Now over to my sissy, Lola, for something completely different!

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Here in Spain we are heading towrads elections this year in May, the same month as they happen in the UK, though in neither country have manimals achieved suffrage, something I would certainly put right if I gained power!!  In the meantime we shall express our opinions publicly and hope that in time things change for the better!

Our in depth knowledge of Spanish politics is, in truth, not in depth (not least because of the Boss's imperfect Spanish) but that doesn't stop us having an opinion and getting involved.  Since Franco died in 1975 Spanish party politics has been largely dominated by either the Popular Party (PP) or the Socialists (PSOE) with the PP currently in power with Mariano Rajoy (commonly known as 'the Tramp' in this household) as their party leader and Head of State.

When the PP swept to power almost 5 years ago Spain was in a horrible mess; high and rapidly rising unemployment, a massive budget deficit and an economy in deep depression.  Now, as the next elections draw close things are marginally better.  Last months unemployment figures showed the biggest drop since the current financial crisis began but remains high at just under 24%, whilst the World Bank have set a revised growth forecast for the Spanish economy next year at 2%, interestingly a fraction higher than that forecast for the UK.

However, from where we sit in the 'campo' (or countryside) things still look pretty glum.  In the UK profitability, jobs and prosperity return to London first after crises and from there filter down to the rest of the country. Eventually!  In Spain it seems things run a similar course.  Speaking last year with some monied Londoners over on holiday they were only too happy to tell us how their daughter and friends were 'doing so well' working in Madrid for a Spanish TV company and they seemed to be under the wholly mistaken misapprehension that Spain was booming!  I was laughing (ironically) because it amazes me sometimes how well money insulates those who have it from those who don't, but even so these were not what I would have said were stupid or unusually naive people.  They merely pull the blinds down, as they most likely do at home in London, to the suffering and poverty around them.  "Oh I say, but my daughter says everyone in Spain is doing terribly well!"  Yes, maybe, but your daughter goes to expensive bars and restaurants where the vast majority of us wouldn't even get over the threshold let alone be able to pay for a starter!  As hu-mans you mate and socialise assortatively (i.e. we marry and socialise within our own social and economic register) so your daughters chances of meeting an unemployed tractor driver in some fancy bistro in Madrid are practically zero.  So, if you have a job, you tend to mix with others who are similarly employed.  In the same way if you're unfortunate enough to be out of work, you tend to hang around with others in a similar predicament.

Here in the hinterlands of Valenciana I know only a hand full of people who actually have jobs.  Everyone else loiters around the village bars (God alone only knows how they can afford it, but they do!  But, in truth I can't ask God, cos I don't really think he exists, but if anyone knows then he would know....if he was real), drinking the occasional terceo (bottle of beer), carajillo (brandy & coffee) or just plain old coffee if funds don't run to the brandy!  And they are all hopelessly pessimistic about ever working again.  Something I touched on last week (see blog entry 18/1/15 'Children are our future, so blah blah blah') was high youth unemployment all over Europe and here in Spain the problem is no different.  The Spanish nuclear family, traditionally so strong, is collapsing because for the first time the U25's are leaving home, leaving their families to go abroad and find work.  And what's more, they won't come back, or if they do, they won't come back the same.  Discontent is rife and widespread, and to be honest, it's a shame!  Hopelessness is the new by-word for what the future holds.  But it's not just Spain.

In Greece they now have the newly elected Syriza, a coalition of ultra left-wing parties that have swung to power on the back of promises to end the severe austerity imposed by the country's huge to debt to the EEC and the IMF.  Now for me, as a political initiate and relative non-entity, it beggars belief that a nation can so publicly announce their intention to snub what they owe.  The Greeks wish a return to the good times.  They are not alone.  But when push comes shove someone's gotta pay, and it seems that Greece and Syriza are looking to all of you non-Greek hu-mans to pay for their excesses.  And it seems, not just for their excesses yesterday, but for todays, and for the future as well.  I just cannot understand how such things can even be contemplated let alone be enough to get Alexis Tsipras's feet into the slippers of power in Athens!

In the run up to Syriza's victory we saw Pablo Iglesias, leader of Podemos in Spain, drumming up support (in Greek, which I must say, impressed me no end) for Tsipras.  Two years ago Podemos didn't exist. Iglesias is no doubt a visionary and a very capable, if not unusual politician (his ponytailed look is a bit of a departure I feel from the norm) and he is mobilising massive support from a disillusioned and lost populous. Podemos is the sister party of Syriza, an anti-austerity party winning much acclaim with the latest polls putting him 3rd behind the PP & PSOE, but only just.  And whilst I understand the appeal, especially from the disillusioned young and unemployed, I find it difficult to fall in line and swallow the message because I just cannot see how it can work.

Come the election in May we may well find Podemos winning out.  I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised. But why is it that Iglesias and his supporters, like those of Tsipras in Greece, feel that they, above everyone else, deserves to live the high-life, earn the money, avoid the taxes (because that's largely how the Greek and Spanish economies have got into this mess) and get everyone else to pay for their health care, pension funds and infrastructure?  Instead maybe they should be concentrating their energies on putting a stop to the Black economy and the innate corruption found in Mediterranean politics, because making a nation pay their own way, as they do everywhere else, is surely a much more profitable exercise than reneging on what you owe and giving those who have supported you the finger!

Lola Lush
Political Correspondent NN

Belated Weekend Sports Report with Negrito

Hi Folks!
Negrito here with all your Sports News.  And what a weekend it was!  Full of footy shocks, tennis tales and cycling woes, we've got a story for everyone!

We'll begin with Friday nights woeful performance by Manchester United in their 4th round FA Cup tie at Cambridge United's Abbey Road stadium.  The Boss, as you may know, is an MU fan and he was not a happy bunny, I can tell thee! United set their stall out from the first minute and a sparsely furnished affair it was, the ball being pushed impassionately along the midfield line, before it patiently came back the same way again a few minutes later, no forward ground having been made.  And so it continued, LVG going for the Squarest team award which he should win hands down with what seemed to be no more than handful of forward passes during the whole 90 minutes.  Appreciating that the big teams don't want to be embarrassed by getting their bums kicked by lower division sides, but United just looked paralysed with fear, giving Cambridge the impetus, much as West Ham did against Bristol City on Sunday afternoon.  The United players were static throughout, expecting maybe to pass their way through a well organised Cambridge side who pressed the big names hard from the outset.  Only late in the game when Ander Herrera replaced Fellaini was their any attempt at link-up play between the far-from united factions of defence, midfield and attack.  But even then, when Herrera made a run, either the player on the ball ignored the run, or, if the ball did come then it was invariably too late and too slow.  And who was running into space created by Herrera's run?  Nobody, that's who!  The whole team seemed to be wearing leaden boots.  No-one was prepared to make a run or bust-a-gut to win a 50/50 ball or to latch onto a quickly slipped through pass.  The movement from United was non-existent, their play too laboured, too slow and too predictable. Without wishing to take anything away from Cambridge, the MU players are plainly of better quality, but in terms of wanting the win the boot was firmly on the other foot!

And on to Saturday when the fairies obviously sprinkled some magic dust on the ties and we saw PL teams eating humble pie on numerous occasions.  It really was a whacky weekend when form counted for nothing and league positions were forgotten, then turned on their heads.  MOTD highlights don't really show enough of the match to be able make any in depth analysis, but even so I loved seeing Jose Mourinho's Chelsea get their gold-plated arses badly tarnished by League 1 Bradford City.  What a treat!  Bradford took their goals superbly and by all accounts took the game to Chelsea, in the end fully deserving their amazing win. Big congrats to them and Saturday's other giant killers Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers who all disposed of PL opposition.  Fantastic!

  

The weekends second live game on the BBC was the West Ham vs Bristol affair mentioned above, but it was once again the team from the lower division that took the game by the scruff of the neck.  The spell cast over the big names of Premier League football this weekend was finally broken when Sakho came off the bench to knock in yet another header this season to end brave Bristol City's cup run.  But the first half had hinted at yet another upset as once again the big names showed nothing and Steve Cotterill's bright looking Bristol set the early pace.  For us watching at home it seemed as if yet another PL side started the game with fear of losing at the forefront of their minds, rather than believing in themselves and playing their normal game. Luckily for Big Sam (Allerdyce) West Ham finally got their foots on the ball and managed to scrape past Bristol, much to their relief.

Weekends like this past one are what footy is all about for me.  The PL big names shot through with self-doubt as the underdogs came on, baring their fangs, drawing blood from their blue-blooded opponents as they subsequently staggered, stumbled and finally lost their footing completely.  I have no doubt that if MU or West Ham had been up against other PL opposition that they would have performed to their usual high standards, which inevitably leads to the question 'why do the big names struggle (year after year) to put the minnows to bed?'  And I can only think it is fear.  Fear of losing, but not just losing, it's losing to opposition so far beneath them that even the very thought of losing beforehand is just not an option, and yet year after year we see the tables turned.  You've gotta love it, but in truth it shouldn't happen....ever!

Watching the expensively assembled MU team hesitate, fumble and finally fail against a Cambridge side put together for less money than Wayne Rooney tips the waiters at The Ivy, I couldn't help thinking that they were so scared of humiliation and defeat that they became physically paralysed, unable to make even the shortest of passes effectively.  That fear seeped into their everyday play rendering each and every one of them impotent whenever they had the ball.  The lack of imagination and creative play was quite shocking.  This wasn't just a bad performance; it was truly horrible!  But it would be unfair to say that United, Chelsea, Man City and the PL's other FA Cup strugglers were poor solely because they were scared; I have no wish to take credit away from the so-called underdogs by undermining their achievements with excuses for the big knobs.  Without exception the lower division sides came out to play football and to try and win.  They were under no illusions but came out attacking nevertheless, hoping to win the game, and if not to win, then to put on a good show for their fans and followers.  It's just such a shame that the cream didn't float to the surface, preferring instead to languish and curdle the mix, leaving many fans wondering what happened.  I can tell them.......it was the 4th round of the best Cup competition there is!  Bring it on!

Moving onto tennis, Andy Murray and his aerodynamic Adam's apple (see blog entry 20 Jan 2015) have moved smoothly though all challengers to the Australian Open semis with the loss of just a single set.  With Federer (knocked out early on by Murray's defeated quarter final opponent, Nick Kyrgios) and Nadal out of the way (beaten by Murray's next opponent Tomas Berdych), and Djokovic and last years winner, Stan Warwrinka, in the top half of the draw, Murray must thinking he's in for a really good chance of taking this title.  At the end of 2014 Djokovic was peerless, but he hasn't started 2015 in anything like the same manner.  With both Stan's and Djokovic's quarters yet to begin, Murray must try to concentrate on his own game, but with yet more big names set to tumble out (Nishikori and Raonic are up against Warwrinka and Djokovic respectively) the urge to get carried away must be immense.  Murray is, however, an avid footy fan and he would no doubt be aware of the FA Cup giant killings this weekend and must be hoping that a similar fate doesn't await him.

And finally, Team Sky's Richie Porte secured 2nd place just 2 seconds behind BMC Racing's Rohan Dennis in the Tour Down Under, the UCI's first world tour event of the 2015 season.  In Argentina Cav also took his first win of the year in the Tour de San Luis, but for me at NN perhaps the biggest cycling news of the past few days is that Lance 'Lack of Charmstrong' reckons he's served his time and should be allowed to compete once again.  Mind you, he must be about 64 years old by now ("Hey, no problem man!  I got a drug for that!"), so I don't think Chris Froome will be losing any sleep at the possibility of Lack of Charmstrong's return.  Apparently Lack of Charmstrong trains on his own now!  Quelle surprise!  Wonder if he's figured out why that is.......we digress!

See you soon Sports Fans

Weeknd Sports Report with Negrito

Howdy Folks.
Time for a sports round-up; our first of the year and we're going straight for the jugular with questions such as, 'Is Jose Mourinho the worst tempered manager of all time?' and 'Is LVG the man to save United?' And finally, 'does Andy Murray's massive Adam's apple inhibit his serve?'

All this and much more with Negrito at NN....read on for all the facts and goss.

Football : Here at NN we like to cover the stories that others miss and in light of Chelsea's arse-kicking of Swansea 0-5 we are asking why is Mourinho such a grumpy old bugger?  In the post-match press interviews you'd think they'd lost 5-0 instead of having put in what was perhaps the best (first) 45 minutes of football we've seen so far in the PL this season.  He was as glum as a dog without a bone and I couldn't help wondering if he'd got a parking ticket just before the kick-off because I've seen happier looking Pugs than him!  C'mon Jose, what's the problem?  Didn't Roman give you a big enough January transfer budget this year?  Or did one of the police dogs use your leg as a watering post?  We know all about the theory behind the hang-dog face.....court the controversy and keep the pressure off the players!  But really!  Would a smile hurt that much?  We asked 100 people that question and we're now looking for the Pointless answer!  Can you guess what it is to win the coveted Pointless trophy?

Following Louis van Gaal's successes at the World Cup with his Dutch team, we ask do his favoured tactics work in the PL?  The Boss at NN is a die-hard MU fan (poor bar-steward!) and so, on his behalf, I must question whether the 3-5-2 tactics that worked so well in Brazil for LVG, actually work with MU? Acknowledging that he has had notoriously bad luck with injuries thus far, especially at the back, so that for the odd match things may well have been forced onto him, I still question whether a 5-man midfield is working given that the 3 at the back seem completely at odds with each other and what is being asked of them.  Marcus Rojo has yet to convince this canine that he was worth the millions paid for him.  He seems unable to function with any of his compatriots at the back.  This may be down to the fact that Jones, Evans and Smalling are being asked to defend in a way that appears to be as alien to them as E.T. is to the rest of us!  And what's more, they don't seem to be getting more accustomed to the system as the season wears on.  In fact at the back United look as inept now as they did on the first day of the season.  The fact that they are in 4th place is more down to the competitiveness in the PL than their own good, consistent play.  Going forward there is no doubt that they are fearsome, if not yet awesome, but the frailties at the back seem to be rubbing off on Rooney et al  because with RVP, di Maria, Rooney and Falcao you must say they should be scoring a lot more than they are.  So, is LVG the man to put United back on their pedestal?

At NN the jury is still out.  Last season we were never convinced that David Moyes was the right choice. He just wasn't big enough for the job.  There is no doubting LVG's pedigree; he is a proven manager with a successful track record, so like Fergie before him, I hope the board give him time and money enough to complete the job and hope against hope (cos we're fed up with the Boss's tears!) that he invests well.  We're not convinced letting de Gea go would be the right decision.  Without him United may well be in a relegation battle this year instead of fighting for a place in Europe next season.  Investing in Bale, which appears to be the direction LVG is heading, at the expense of de Gea would be bad business, as good a player as Bale is. Rather than spending £100m on another front man, they'd do better to get hold of 2 top class centre backs to reinforce the line in front of de Gea.

Tennis: After Andy Murray's first round success over qualifier Yuki Bhambri we ask the question that no-one else in tennis has the 'balls' to ask.  Does Andy Murray's massive Adam's apple inhibit his serve and his all round game?

We have conducted independent wind tunnel tests with this question in the forefront of our minds and can confirm right now that wind tunnels are indeed extremely windy places, and that once in profile position Murray's obstruction, that has been likened to El Capitan, the cliff face scaled so famously last week by Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, can block out the sun and indeed affect the weather, thus bringing us to the inevitable conclusion that Andy's apple is a hurdle to his further success and advancement in the game.  

However, the fact remains that in spite of this enormous handicap Murray does still seem to be inordinately successful for a Brit tennis player which leaves us wondering if he was whacking the ball back on a level playing field (l.e. he was born anywhere else than Britain, AND had a less than monumental Adam's apple) would he win the lot and go on to be the greatest player in history?

Sorry Andy, but the truth hurts!  Only one question left to ask, does the Adam's apple hurt too?

Cycling:  With the Tour Down Under kicking off the UCI's pro cycling 2015 calender, we're looking at Team Sky's Richie Porte and asking has he got what it takes to triumph in his backyard tour.  We asked our old mate Crocodile Rundown (a distant rellie of Crocodile Dundee but with much more cycling know-how and knowledge) what he thought of Porte's chances.  Here's what he had to say!

"Aw, Porte's a boy alright!  He's got two legs and can defo ride a bike so I reckon that puts him in with a shout provided he can stay off the XXXX thereby allowing the team mechanics to dispense with the stabilisers!  Nothing worse than a pissed team leader.  You end up riding twice as far as the rest!"

So there you have it, straight from the Horse's Mouth (that's a bar on the beachfront) where we found old CR 7 parts to the wind.  Who's wind it was he didn't say and all we could say for sure was that it stunk like an outback dunny!  

And that's all the Sports News for now.  I'm off to peer in the magic mirror and ask some relevant questions of myself, like 'who is the fairest sports reporter of all?'

BFN

Negrito