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!

  

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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