And now the end is here…

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Confucius once wrote (and then David Brent made it more famous for my generation) our greatest achievement is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall. Swindon Town have fallen further than most clubs and bounced back higher than many others. The national media will flick through their cliché thesaurus this week until they reach the page entitled “managerial departures” – cue headlines lavished with “CRISIS” and “TURMOIL” and “DISARRAY”. Welcome to SN1, the land of Swindon Town – if the Olympics live off a motto of Citius, Altius, Fortius then Swindon live off a motto of Crisis, Turmoil, Disarray. This is nothing new; this is expected.

That being said, it doesn’t make the shock of a manager walking out on the club any easier to comprehend or accept at first glance. Swindon have had managers far bigger than Paolo Di Canio before – this wasn’t a show pony that brought with him a history and media circus this humble Wiltshire club had never experienced. Glenn Hoddle, Lou Macari, Ossie Ardiles – all have called the Robins their managerial home and all had a greater playing career than Paolo Di Canio ever had.

It could be argued that players of the standard of Matt Ritchie have been rarer than the standard of big-name managers since Swindon’s Premier League debut, and only, season of 1993/94. When he departed to Bournemouth for a fee which was just a proportion of an offer for the same player from the same club in a previous transfer window, the offending straw had been slapped on to the camel’s back to break it into several places. Paolo’s letter of resignation was already in the post. The club’s exposure due to a live Sky Sports game against Crawley Town brought the issue to a somewhat unexpected public and was exaggerated for the purposes of selling a third-tier football game to a watching public unaware of ESPN’s Premier League offering. For the previous twenty months, the rest of the Football League had seen Paolo just as many saw him as a player – a mercurial talent as well as playing the pantomime villain simultaneously. Many didn’t take him seriously, some were angered by his touchline antics and post-match comments, and those in the Town End saw him at his passionate best – cheering on a club he may not have known even existed a few years ago with such passion it was as if he was John Trollope re-incarnated. (granted, Mr Trollope Snr is still alive and well!)

Sky Sports talked of a Di Canio bidding farewell to a travelling band of faithful Town fans. But no departure came. No commitment from the Italian arrived either. The minutes became hours and the hours became days. Suddenly Swindon were back on the field of play and Di Canio was still in charge. What happened? Were the differences between him and the board settled? Evidently not.

Despite having been at the club for less than two years, Paolo’s history at the Robins could fill a biography far more significant and entertaining than that of any reality TV contestant who has released their memoirs as a last sign of desperation two years after finding temporary fame. In May 2012 he signed a new contract at the club after guiding them to the League Two title; an indication that he was still committed to a project that the then chairman Jeremy Wray admitted wouldn’t happened overnight. But then in November, Wray was replaced by Sir William Patey – a man more akin to the struggling democracies of Afghanistan and Iraq than the football pitch. Things then started to become clear that all was not well off the field – the new year brought with it the announcement that the club needed to find new investors with immediate effect or face administration – a state of disarray not unfamiliar with Swindon Town.

Thankfully owners were found, but what gives with one hand often takes with the other – Matt Ritchie was sold immediately. Di Canio released a statement saying he was considering his position as manager after suffering broken promises. Things had just got real. Di Canio had threatened making a bolt for the exit before, most noticeably when he said he felt the board had changed their ambitions for promotion. But the language Di Canio had used was never as forthright as this.

After valiant efforts during the Hartlepool United game on the 9th February from fans consistently chanting Paolo Di Canio’s name, he still wouldn’t commit his future. The history books will tell us he technically resigned on the 12th February 2013, but agreed to stay as long as the takeover of the club was fully approved by the Football League by 5 o’clock on the 18th February. The 5pm deadline passed and approval hadn’t arrived. Di Canio was gone. Approval was scheduled to be given on the 19th February. Di Canio was reportedly seen leaving the County Ground with “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes” by Dinah Washington blaring out of his car speakers. That last sentence may be fabricated.

He leaves behind not a club in turmoil however. New ownership approval is just hours away as I type this – leaving more questions over the timing of Di Canio’s departure – the Italian will have known full well the date of approval was the 19th, not the 18th when his deadline was. The team he leaves behind may have lost their talent catalyst Matt Ritchie but oozes talent elsewhere on the pitch in the form of Wes Foderingham, Alan McCormack, Aden Flint, Simon Ferry and James Collins – all individuals who any club in League One, and many in the Championship, would snap your hand off to take on board.

And what of Paolo? Ask Leon Clarke, Mehdi Kerrouche and Paul Caddis for a job reference and he’ll be lucky to find employment again. Look at the list of failed signings who he predominantly plucked from across Europe as if he’d used a map of the continent as a dartboard. Alberto Comazzi, Lukas Magera and Lander Gabilondo are just three examples of so-called “footballers” from three different countries who Paolo thought would cut it in the fourth tier of English football. How wrong he was. To say he can cut it at a higher level than League One is a massive risk. Perhaps he’ll return to Italy or take up a coaching role – his enthusiastic yet strict coaching regime will unsettle some players but will ensure naive youngsters and those who want to achieve rather than just earn an affluent pay cheque will take on board what he was to say. Despite his penchant for the extravagant whilst a player, Swindon’s incredible defensive record will be arguably Di Canio’s longest lasting memory for a club who hold the unwanted record of conceeding 100 goals in a single Premier League season (42 games).

Paolo Di Canio’s tenure in charge of Swindon Town is now consigned to the past tense. Swindon Town and Paolo Di Canio as individual entities aren’t. Fans will have to get used to living life a little further out of the spotlight now he’s gone, like most other League One clubs do. The media circus will pack away and only return should Swindon maintain a play-off push or resume their fight next season. Whoever his replacement is they will seem like caffeine-free Diet Coke to Paolo Di Canio’s Coca Cola-style leadership and personality. It may be the unnerving sense of not being noticed for the first time in nearly two years that will stand Swindon in good stead for the rest of their league campaign…

We hope.

PAOLO DI CANIOOOOO!

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On May 23^rd 2011, the new Swindon Town manager Paolo Di Canio said he “was close to signed Lionel Messi”. In hindsight, he’s had the kind of season you can’t help but be impressed by – lighting up every game he’s been part of, appearing to be several steps ahead of the opposition and gained even more admirers than he already had.

And Lionel Messi has had quite a good season too.

Paolo Di Canio’s first season, not only as Swindon manager, but also as a manager full stop, has been little short of perfect. Many ‘experts’ wrote him off instantly and declared he would be out of the door at the first sign of trouble. Understandable, yet humorous with hindsight. What has transpired is a title-winning season, FA Cup giant-killings, a trip to Wembley and the bottom line of Di Canio still in charge of the club he joined a year ago.

The stats are the simplest way of describing the Robins’ path to glory – the best home record in the league, the most victories in the league, the best defensive record in the league. Cogito ergo sum; they’ve ended up as the best placed team. Curiously, they’ve lost ten away games, whereas a team like Crawley have lost just four. Yet, amazingly, in twenty-three home league games they’ve conceded just eight goals – seven of which came in three matches. Yes, that’s nineteen clean sheets at home, let alone including away games, all season.

Yet, when they lost at home to bitter rivals Oxford United on the 21^st August, and then lost away at Shrewsbury Town, Swindon sat 21^st in the league having lost four of their first five games. Doubt poured through the minds of Robins fans like cheap Italian wine at high-streets restaurants across Wiltshire. Had we paid untold fortunes to this man to see him leave before the first leaf fall of Autumn?

Arguably, the turning point came with Swindon’s televised victory over the team then top of the table, Rotherham United, but defeats still found themselves sown into the team’s form. The fact the team found themselves either winning or losing, and not dropping points in the form of draws proved vital as the season progressed (a stat they’ve maintained all season, drawing only one game throughout 2012). Yet as Paolo finally settled and players began to warm to his style of management, things back to bloom at the County Ground. But that’s not to say he’s always known who his best players are…

Before the season started, I wrote of the early flames of what would be Di Canio’s roaring season. Yet, the list of players he collected, and latterly disposed of is quite staggering for a level of football where money is tight. Alberto Comazzi and Ibrahim Atiku left the club after cancelling their contracts, Mehdi Kerrouche fell out with Di Canio and was shipped out on loan to of all clubs, Oxford United, and Mattia Lanzano’s contract was cancelled by the club, but curiously he later changed his mind and made his way back to the County Ground. These are just players who he had already bought in by mid-July, let alone other car-crash signings such as Leon Clarke and Lukas Magera. While he has freely acquired players left, right and centre, at a higher level where wages increase and the financial risks of failure are greater, this is something which cannot be risked from now onwards. His mistakes must be learnt with immediate effect.

That’s not to say there aren’t methods to his madness. Take Wes Foderingham in goal – pinched on loan from Crystal Palace and latterly signed permanently, he has been an incredible find and proved a constant rock, albeit a very agile one, in between the posts and surely not coincidental that Swindon have not only broken their club record for clean sheets during this season, but the fourth tier record has been rewritten.

Of course, far be it from me to reminisce just of the good times – thirty thousand Swindon fans rocked up at the Venue of Legends in March and were odds on favourites against Chesterfield in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final. They promptly walked away empty handed with a performance devoid of anything which had been witnessed by fans in the recent months before the day at Wembley. At least the heavens didn’t open, which had magnified most supporters irritation when the club last appeared in HA9 back in May 2010 against Millwall in the League One play-off final. Big days out appear to be Di Canio’s Achilles heel, if indeed he does possess such a mythological weakness – Oxford fans will continue to remind Robins fans of both derby victories this season. However, I’m sure collecting the league trophy will numb the pain over knowing their rivals up the A420 will be spending another year behind Swindon in the standings.

The past twelve months have actually been the most tumultuous and upsetting of Di Canio’s life with his father, Ignazio, and his mother, Pierina, passing away within months of one another during his time at the club. His father’s illness was actually something that stopped Di Canio becoming Newport County manager in March 2011, yet when the Swindon job arose, his father insisted on him pursuing his dream of becoming a football manager. Somewhere they’ve looked down on him and guided him through a period of his life when lesser men would have understandably walked away. The ability to separate such personal hardship and continue your fledging professional career can only stand him in good stead wherever the next few years take him.

Chairman Jeremy Wray has justifiably said that Di Canio was a “risk” – the biggest risk now however is keeping hold of the man. Di Canio has provided a catalyst of hope for Swindon Town the whole way through the club – from the Chairman to the fans – which many worried may not arrive with immediate effect after Paul Hart’s atrocious spell at the club which saw them consigned to relegation last season. Yes, they were early season favourites to bounce straight back, but so were Bristol Rovers, who have ended in mid-table, and Cheltenham Town were favourites for relegation yet ended up in the play-offs – nothing is certain in football, regardless of what level its played at.

The close season will now, inevitably, link Di Canio with various managerial positions as they become untenable and available. The enormous elephant in the room still remains West Ham United, although with Sam Allardyce on the verge of guiding them back to the Premier League via the play-offs, it could mean he receives a deserved stay of execution. Would Di Canio really want to go elsewhere other than West Ham? Although managers will come and go over the next three months, no job will arise that will honestly have Paolo bolting for the County Ground door – no Premier League team will risk going for him, and why would he leave for a Championship or League One club when his intention all along with Swindon was to get them back to the second tier of English football?

His commitment and professional to the Wiltshire club has surprised many at times, myself included. Although money inevitably talks louder than most things in these situations, he doesn’t appear swayed by moving on after one season at Swindon. He appears to have committed himself to launching Swindon onwards and upwards – not something that is a god-given right as Chesterfield have proven this season after walking away with League Two last season, but something that isn’t beyond the realms of possibility either if Di Canio stays at the club.

Players will come and go between now and the middle of August – players such as Matt Ritchie, Paul Caddis & Wes Foderingham must remain, and a proven striker must arrive. Season tickets will be sold, new fans will be found, and hype will be built. But as long as Jeremy Wray keeps hold of his Italian gaffer, Swindon Town have every hope of being the latest team to become part of the “double-bounce” phenomenon which the likes of Southampton, Norwich, Stevenage and Crawley have all enjoyed in recent years.

All together now – Paolo Di Caniooooo! Paolo Di Caniooooo!

The Roy for England Appreciation Post

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Carl McQueen explains that despite some reservations he is supporting Roy Hodgson for England Manager.

In February, just 48 hours before Fabio Capello resigned, I wrote how you must be careful what you wish for; the Italian was the only man equipped and legitimately able to call the England job his profession and the ludicrous calls for Harry Redknapp to be the man everyone should call King were short-sighted and unfounded. How right I was.

Now, we sit in a last-chance saloon with Euro 2012 just days away rather than weeks. England’s stock has already been labelled as “laughing” and the air of Mike Bassett comedic value around the team is as real as its ever been. Enter stage right, Roy Hodgson.

In the body of my article back in February, I wrote of Hodgson “experience he may have in abundance but will have bigger doubters than Steve McClaren thanks to his maligned Liverpool tenure.” Nothing negative about his tactical incompetence which Harry Redknapp has provided in great quantities in recent weeks, but just about a short spell at a club in which the fans hunted as a pack of famine-hungry wolves until he was finally pushed out so their “King” could returned…and supply no more inspiration than Roy Hodgson was already providing. But that story is for another day.

The media are already circling on Hodgson. Archive footage on channels such as Sky Sports News are not of a dignified man, applauding the Fulham faithful when their team incredibly beat Juventus in the Europa League. Not of him standing on the touchline for Switzerland at USA ’94, a World Cup which England failed to qualify for. Not of him giving orders in the San Siro to modern greats such as Javier Zanetti and Youri Djourkaeff as Inter Milan boss. Instead, merely of one of his recent comedic turns with him rubbing his face or slamming his head against the dugout. What do they show of Harry Redknapp? A calm, press-release-learnt response in a conference. It’s clear who the majority, granted not one-hundred-percent, of Fleet Street still want, and that’s why we, the great English public, will never be happy with the man in charge.

Perhaps one name to rise above the parapet which was spotted during my constant changing of channels, as for a time news programming led bulletins not with human rights disasters in Sudan and Syria, but with what in essence is just a private-company job interview which will affect no-one else other than the man selected, was Mick Dennis from the Daily Express, who spoke on Monday morning on one particular rolling news channel that the West Bromwich Albion boss has various elements which suit him for this job, most notably his international record and how he has learnt from failures. Yet, the Monday morning papers and on several occasions even the supposedly unbiased news anchor on Sky News, told us the fans’ favourite is still Harry Redknapp. Really? REALLY? Give me a reason, any reason whatsoever, why Harry Redknapp deserves and rightfully should inherit the England managerial position and I shall come back with just as strong a reason as to why Roy Hodgson should be the next incumbent of the “impossible job”.

Never has Roy Hodgson said anything untoward to lose his job like Glenn Hoddle. Never has Roy Hodgson walked out on a job unexpectedly like Kevin Keegan. Never has Roy Hodgson been in a job just for the money like Sven Goran Eriksson. On those three elements alone, Roy appears over-qualified.

He will become the first manager to manage England having managed an international side already. His experience exudes from every orifice. I admit, had the Olympics not taken place this summer, the laws of probability say the Football Association would have hankered after Stuart Pearce after grooming him as Fabio Capello’s sidekick for years. Depending on his success or failure at London 2012, his time will come or his managerial career will finally grind to a resounding halt.

We the public have dropped our expectation levels to unheard of depths. England curiously still sit as fourth favourites to win Euro 2012, ahead of fellow group members France, ahead of 2006 World Cup winners Italy and ahead of the Cristiano Ronaldo-reliant Portugal. Yet a quarter-final place is all the majority expect. The European Championships’ current format ensures the group stages are far tougher than those in the World Cup (something which will be diluted come 2016 when the number of participants increases) so there is still no guarantee of reaching the last eight. Just look at Euro ’92 or Euro 2000 for proof that England’s god-given right of surpassing the group stage is a fallacy.

Many say Harry Redknapp would give the players the short-term “boost” in morale and enthusiasm that many thought was lacking ever since the 2010 World Cup. Well answer me this; surely any player who needs an additional “boost” and more enthusiasm to play for his country, to do something that every child who has ever entertained the idea that they like football has thought of, shouldn’t be there in the first place? These pampered, overpaid stars often need a hard dose of reality.

As the Daily Telegraph’s Henry Winter penned for the Monday paper, Roy Hodgson is a “broadsheet man in a tabloid world” – the conservative choice. The thinking-man’s Roy Greenwood over the dare-to-dream public’s Brian Clough. And thinking is what he will need to do in abundance over the immediate days and week. Who does he pick as captain? Does he pick players who no one has considered for international tournament selection? Does he leave out players who previously assumed their position in the team was as obvious as night follows day? All those questions can consume an entire almanac in itself. For now, I look ahead to Roy Hodgson’s tenure with slight anticipation but assurance that there was no one better suited on the proviso that the next incumbent must be English. Many of us have already mentally pictured the back page of the tabloid papers evolving his head into some kind of vegetable if he fails in the group stage at Euro 2012 in a Graham Taylor mark II jibe. He deserves better than that. The nation’s footballing expectations have reached a generational low – never before has club level football been more important to the majority than international level. Only success in a major tournament may ever restore parity.

The life of a football manager is a strange one. The pinnacle job for some may arrive mid-way through a career and then everything goes downhill from then one. For some, the summit may even be achieved in your first job. But for Roy Hodgson, his career has been built to this moment. Slogging his guts out in Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Finland and the United Arab Emirates. But for an eighteen-month spell in charge of Blackburn Rovers in the late 90s, it’s only been in the past four years that he has entered the conscience of the general public. During his time in charge of various international sides and Inter Milan, many of us merely looked on and guessed at his ability. Now, he sits under a spotlight so intense that he may even decide to leave after Euro 2012. However long his journey lasts, we must get behind him. If we don’t, we may as well never back the England team again.

He may not have the largest lionheart roar or the bulging trophy cabinet that other international managers possess (although, one which contains far more medals than most realise if you take the time to look it up). But considering an English manager hasn’t won his own top-flight league for twenty years now, experience and international respect are the next best elements. Roy Hodgson can rightfully place those two attributes on the résumé handed over to the Football Association.

Roy for England. All those in favour, please sign up here.

Weekend Sports Diary: A Tribute to Ceefax

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Carl McQueen on life after Ceefax and the Paraguayan footballer who has come back to the sport after being shot in the head.

– It’s taken the Paraguayan footballer Salvador Cabanas two years, two months and twenty days to return to playing football after picking up a serious injury. This was no multiple leg fracture or cruciate ligament damage however. Instead, Cabanas has returned after being shot…in the head. He turned out for his local club, 12 de Octubre from Itagua, who compete in the third-tier of Paraguayan football last weekend after spending two years of fighting all medical sensibilities in order to play again. After being shot in a bar in Mexico in January 2010, doctors could not even remove the bullet lodged in Cabanas’ brain for fear it may cause more harm than good. Incredibly, Cabanas has not ruled out adding to his 44 international caps for Paraguay – the fact he’s still alive, let alone physically active, is enough of a miracle for most.

– Naturally, I ought to pay my respects to Ceefax, which has nearly all but passed away this week once and for all after years of being killed off by the great digital switchover. Created in 1974, millions of sports fans spent many an hour in front of the pixelated graphics to follow the cricket County Championship, or kept an eye on the 3pm Saturday kick-offs long before Sky’s Soccer Saturday arrived, or woke up and before doing anything else, checked to see anything big and newsworthy had happened over night. Arguably it was ahead of it’s time with it’s real-time feed of information way before the Internet and social media sites which now saturate our daily lives. We would sit there for several minutes, quite contently, before our team’s results and table would appear after all the scores came in after 5pm on a Saturday afternoon. Hours could be spent flicking up and down the sports pages (300 to 399 for those too young to remember, but seeing as I vividly do, there can’t be many of you who can’t!). Ironically, it’s service appeared to run quicker than the digital alternative which has been left in it’s wake. It will fully cease to be in October when the whole of the country is solely digital, but for the majority, the great analogue information service that allowed us to “see-facts” is now in TV heaven. RIP.

– Blink and you’ll miss this. Although thankfully the gratuitous uploader of this video has included the slow-mo replay. Say hello to drag-racer Matt Hagan who this week went up in flames, literally, when his drag-car exploded during a race in North Carolina. It’s not until you see the incredible replay just how lucky he was to walk away unscathed. Debris of the car flew for miles, but Hagan just walked away in anger, seemingly completely unaware just how close he was to serious injury.

– Hey, fear not, we’re going to win 56 medals at the 2012 Olympics! That’s according to the Sports Industry Research Centre this week who have conducted, unsurprisingly, some research and decided that’s the amount Team GB will receive when the Games finally role around in less than 100 days. This total will include an impressive 27 golds, which is 8 more than in Beijing four years ago, and we’ll collect 9 more medals in total overall. The BOA chief executive has naturally played this down and also distanced himself from the idea of it being a failure if Britain finishes outside of the top four countries, but so-called research like this will only hype the British public’s already inflated sense of expectance and their “right” to win medals just for turning up…in just over 100 days time, at least we’ll know if we should insist on the Sports Industry Research Centre next discovering a cure for cancer if their miraculously correct.

– After the shock death of the Italian footballer Piermario Morosini last weekend, a heart-warming tale to finish with this week – the midfielder was on loan at Livorno from his parent club Udinese – and the club captain of Udinese, Antonio di Natale, has this week vowed the club will take up the guardianship of Morosini’s severely disabled sister who he supported before his death. Both his parents had passed away, so he was solely responsible for her well-being. Di Natale went on record to say: “”As a team, the club, and Udinese for Life have decided to help her because she is in real need. It is essential to stay by the side of Piermario’s sister for her entire life. She needs us and we want to help, both for her and for Mario.” What a moving sentiment.

Weekend Sports Diary: Tevez, Messi, Sir Viv and Sky’s F1 coverage

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Weekend Sports Diary

Carl McQueen on Tevez, Messi, Sir Viv and Sky’s F1 coverage.

– It’s good to see the British Olympic Association are getting their excuses in early. Still well over 100 days to go until the Olympics finally start after the best part of a decade of hype, and now athletes have been advised not to shake anyone’s hand for fear of contracting an illness! The BOA’s chief medical officer has handed down this piece of ingenious advice this week, so if anyone fails to reach the medal places in August, they can say it was because they shook the hand of that suspicious looking eastern-European in the semi-finals. The Aussies responded, naturally, by saying such an idea would be an ’embarrassment’. A quick Google search of “handshake quotes” tells me “Experience teaches you that the man who looks you straight in the eye, particularly if he adds a firm handshake, is hiding something” – reading between the lines, anyone who attempts to shake a British competitors hand must be immediately given a drugs test…

– This week, one of the greatest cricketers to ever grace the crease turned 60. Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, or just Viv to those lucky enough to watch him play, was without doubt one of the greatest batsmen to play the game. Those who saw him in the flesh would probably argue he was the greatest due to his explosive style that he mastered with such ease, compared to the dwindling number of people still alive who saw Don Bradman or the lack of nostalgia attached to the still-playing Sachin Tendulkar. Modern day players of the past decade such as Kevin Pietersen and Australia’s Matthew Hayden shadow a lot of what made Richards so brilliant by taking the game to the bowler and refusing to show any fear when a rock-hard ball is hurtling towards your head at 90 miles per hour – his style has progressed the game like no one else has ever been able to do. All you need to do is look at the accolades he has collected since retiring – being voted one of the five “Cricketers of the Century” in 2000. In 2002, Wisden – the ultimate cricketing almanac – voted him the greatest one-day international player ever, and the third greatest test batsmen ever. In 2004, ESPN voted him the third greatest player ever etc. etc. And, he is one of only four people still alive today to be knighted solely on the basis of their services to cricket (for pub quiz fanatics, the others are Garfield Sobers, Everton Weekes and Richard Hadlee – Ian Botham was officially knighted for his charity work). Well batted, Sir Viv.

– Carlos Tevez, remember him? Well after months of being left in the wilderness, and then finally being offered an olive branch by Man City boss Roberto Mancini, this week he scored his first goal for the club since May – in the semi-final of the Manchester Senior Cup in front of just over 1,000 people. The cup is more of an attempt to give development squads more of a competitive nature, but his goal in a 3-1 win signals the possibility of him playing for the first-team squad within a matter of weeks. As Mario Balotelli continues to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons – he was fined two weeks wages this week for going to a night club the day before a match, and then kicked out of the Trafford Centre…for wearing a hoodie – Carlos Tevez will seem positively sedate in comparison.

– Is Lionel Messi really the best footballer ever? This week he became the first person to ever score five goals in a game in the Champions League, in a 7-1 Barcelona win over Bayer Leverkusen. If you were lucky enough to watch that game, granted Leverkusen had given up after 55 minutes, but secondly, he oozed the class that merely just one player a generation is able to do. As the game gets faster, as players become fitter, as tactics become more complex, Messi’s ability to outshine everyone with incredible ease is simply staggering. He now sits just seven goals behind the all-time goalscoring record for Barcelona…and he’s not even 25 years old. It may be a spurious argument, but it’s one that will fill hours upon hours of discussions in pubs, living rooms and offices up and down the land for years to come – is he the greatest footballer ever? Many of my generation will say Lionel Messi and highlight performances the like the one on Wednesday night. Now try and prove me wrong…

– Breaking a national athletics record doesn’t happen every day of the week, but when it happens if your country is the Seychelles, you don’t expect much coverage in the international press….unless your name is Gaylord Silly. (Please note, I am not making this up!) He broke his country’s 800metre record this week at the World Athletic Indoor Championships in Istanbul, with a time of 1 minute and 54 seconds…unfortunately he still came last, but for a few hours at least, trended worldwide on Twitter and made the news in briefs of all major sporting outlets…but I’ll be damned if I’m going to Google his name!

– Just a week to go until the start of the new Formula 1 season, and the biggest focus during the close season has not been on drivers moving to rival manufacturers, but on the viewing rights. Sky Sports will take up the chance to broadcast a sport which they have refused to acknowledge exists until now…or have they? Well, let me take you back to 2002, when Sky DID have the rights to Formula 1 coverage, but it was so unsuccessful hardly any of you would have noticed. “F1 Digital+” was a pay-per-view channel available on Sky in 2002, but was so catastrophically unsuccessful, the best figures it reached for a race were around a mere 25,000. Instead, most of the time it struggled to peak over the 10,000 mark. Sure, Sky will give us new fangled gadgets and graphics for us to go “oooooooooo” over, but will you honestly choose to watch the British Grand Prix on Sky or the BBC? It’s the same answer when it comes to the FA Cup Final – yes, we know Sky may do it bigger and better, but home comforts in the form of terrestrial TV still win us over.

Is all that glitters really silver?

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Premier League and Championship supporters, look away now. For the next few paragraphs this article shall describe a competition so alien to you it may as well be written in French. C’est la Ligue de Football Trophée. And Swindon Town have reached the final of it, so allow me to milk it for all it’s worth…

Shrouded in satire and ridicule, the competition that pits the wits of the 48 clubs in the third and fourth tiers of English football, ultimately provides two teams with a day at Wembley Stadium. Two sets of fans with the chance to cheer on their team at the ‘home’ of English football. Not the England team, not a Premier League team, but THEIR team. How many of you reading this who support a Football League team can actually say that?

You can take your mid-table mediocrity, your run of the mill ‘I’d rather stay up than win the cup’ excuses. But you’re wrong. You’re so wrong that you’re insulting the very essence and purpose of the beautiful game – to enjoy it. In ten years, five years, even seven months on, how many more people will remember the team who won the League Cup in 2011 compared to the team who finished 17^th in the Premier League last season? I can tell you without thinking who won the League Cup. I had to Google the Premier League table of 2010/11 to discover Wolverhampton Wanderers were the team I shouldn’t care about.

Crystal Palace, Fulham, Hull City, Oldham Athletic, Reading, Swansea City, Watford and Wigan Athletic have all played in the Premier League but never won a major trophy. Would fans swap, what for some of those teams, was just a fleeting moment in the big time for a moment of immortality when their club’s name is etched into the history books for lifting major silverware over saying they’ve dined with kings for just a year or two? Many would say no, they would take a Premier League appearance of just a season over winning a cup competition. But if that’s the case, what exactly do football fans really want? And why on earth do we not just scrap all cup tournaments?

The media has fed us the belief that the FA Cup has lost it’s “magic” and the League Cup is just a competition for clubs to play their reserves. Yet millions still watch it. The sheer joy on the faces on the fans, players and management who win it is not faked for the cameras. It’s the unbridled delight that football can bring you if you’re lucky enough to experience it. The same can be said of play-off finals. One game which will tear the hearts out of half the stadium and give the other half the hope, optimistic dreams, and monetary support for the next twelve months.

Perhaps that’s the simple answer? Money? Teams want to be the 17^th placed team in the Premier League because the enormous gulf in financial reward through sponsorship and televisions rights will destroy a club should they lose their footing as much as it will secure them for the next decade if they stay afloat in the top flight. The growing list of teams to crash and burn their way through the Football League system in the past decade is a worrying observation. Granted, it is not a new phenomenon, but thanks to rolling news coverage and the Internet, the death of a football club becomes a slow, voyeuristic past time for the general public to feast on, voice their opinion, and then becoming generically upset when that club finally calls it a day.

But all that’s for another discussion altogether on the wider problem of money in football. This is to do with the ambitions of supporters and clubs. As much as it’s ridiculed, the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy will give either Swindon Town or Chesterfield fans the hope and optimistic dreams I’ve already spoken of. Whereas one side, the Robins, fights for promotion into League One, the other side, the Spireites, are fighting to stay in it – at exact role reversal of twelve months ago. Both will want to win their battles in their respective leagues, but the opportunity for glory at Wembley must be taken with both hands.

Whereas it may not give the exposure an FA Cup run will achieve – even Swindon fans can vouch that one win against Wigan Athletic this season has produced more media coverage than even winning this entire competition will ever do – it will still produce silverware to add to the cabinet. Something that can never be taken away from the club should Swindon be successful. Unless of course it’s the Second Division play-off trophy of 1990…

Swindon fans have already been lucky enough to experience the new Wembley – many Football League teams have not even come close – in the form of the League One play-off final of 2010. A shambolic appearance on the pitch was marred even further by ‘loyal’ fans being angered at the ‘plastic’ fans that made up the numbers. This works both ways; either you take along, say, 12,000 supporters and make your half of the stadium look pitiful yet an echo of Town End season ticket holders can still be heard from the other end of the stadium, or you allow 30,000 fans to come along and make your team look like a well-followed and supported club in an appearance at the biggest stadium in the country which may not happen again for a generation. Having read the fan forums the day afternoon the play-off defeat to Millwall, the irritation of some die-hard fans was so clear it made you wonder if their judgement had been clouded by ignominious defeat, and had Swindon won then the exact opposite would have been documented about the turnout. I know for a fact this paragraph alone will fuel discussion with most Robins’ fans, and the rest of what I write and have written will be mere filler to the debate of that fateful day in May 2010.

But it does leave a worthy question – should this game even be played at Wembley? Swindon have been handed just over 30,000 tickets, and Chesterfield nearly 10,000 fewer than that on the basis of each club estimating their allocation. Should they both sell out, you still leave yourself with over 30,000 empty seats for a game that many are still unsure of it’s significance – do we want to win this game, or gain promotion/stave off relegation? Would games like this, and others such as the FA Trophy, not be better off at stadiums such as Old Trafford where the ratio of empty seats to filled ones looks more respectable? Or would that destroy another element of the magic of football – regardless of the English cup competition, you earn yourself a day at Wembley, in spite of the ‘experience’ during your few hours in HA9?

Perhaps then all that glitters really isn’t a silver trophy collected by the winning captain. Perhaps it’s mid-table mediocrity and the confusing belief that you’ll push on next season. Perhaps it’s gaining promotion by coming second or third, not actually winning the league, and then hoping you’ll avoid relegation on the last day of the following season. Or perhaps it is the chance to win a competition, which your team is invited to compete in, regardless of financial reward and newspaper column inches it receives.

League One and League Two fans should take the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy as a genuine opportunity to succeed, and not as a cannon fodder to the rest of your season. It may not be the Champions League, but should my team lift the trophy at Wembley on March 25th, for just a few days at least, I’ll feel a bigger man than any team that finishes 17^th in the Premier League this season.

Who’s The Man To Lead England? Fabio Capello, Of Course…

***THIS BLOG WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ME ON THE DALE & CO WEBSITE***

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Carl McQueen makes the case for the continued reign of Fabio Capello.

Wednesday 21st November 2007 – England have just embarrassed and frustrated a generation by losing 3-2 at home to Croatia to ensure they miss out on a major tournament for the first time since the 1994 World Cup. For the hours following the aftermath, thousands up and down the land discuss who should now replace the hapless Steve McClaren; the man responsible for England’s departure during qualification yet by definition still manager of the national team. In a bustling bar in Nottingham city centre, a group of university students debate the drinking man’s candidates for the next leader, and as generic names get thrown around over their fifth pint of snakebite and black, suddenly the name Fabio Capello is sprung into consideration. A man who in July that year was sacked during his second spell as manager of Real Madrid despite having just won the La Liga title but currently found himself out of work.

His pragmatic, tactically precise style of management had created one of the greatest club sides of all time in the form of the AC Milan team of the early 1990’s. Likewise, he had won league title with Roma and Juventus and twice worked in the Spanish capital to guide the Galacticos to league glory. This was agreed by all, despite some being more drunk than others, as the perfect man to replace McClaren.

The press begged for his arrival – something many will find ironic now with the queue to drive him to the airport growing daily – and in mid-December 2007, he was formally appointed as the 12^th man, excluding three former caretaker managers, to hold the role euphemistically labelled the ‘impossible job’. Those students in Nottingham felt Nostradamus-like in their prediction. I should know; I was one of them.

His opening game was an uninspiring friendly victory over Switzerland. Naïve fans had expected a Rinus Michels inspired replication of Total Football upon the green minefield of Wembley’s once treacherous surface. Instead, pub quiz addicts across the land will know Jermaine Jenas scored the opening goal under the Capello-era in a 2-1 win.

The captain’s armband began it’s ownership under Steven Gerrard on that night against the Swiss, but Capello made it clear that he was to rotate it’s possession while he sought it’s rightful owner. Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and David Beckham all adorned it in following matches until Terry was named the country’s leader in August 2009.

And in those 4 games it highlighted the problem which has been England’s downfall ever since. There is no leader. There is no Braveheart character to lead his men into battle. Previous England generations have had Billy Wright, Bobby Moore and Bryan Robson to lead their country for over a decade with only disruptions due to injuries. This cannot be said for messrs Terry and Ferdinand – for reasons of which will perhaps be discussed at a later date for legal reasons that will also cloud Capello’s stance as manager until the day he does leave. While David Beckham led his country for six years at the start of the Millennium, many will attribute it to him being the best-known footballer in the world and not necessarily because he could walk over hot coals and spill blood to display an example that his colleagues should replicate (although Beckham’s commitment to the national side should obviously never be questioned despite countless knock-backs from the media at the beginning of his career and managerial snubs towards the end).

England has qualified with ease for the major tournaments under Capello compared to the harum-scarum approach predecessors ended up unintentionally taking like Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan. He still has the capabilities despite now being 65 years old. Many have criticised, and perhaps rightly so, his inability to fluently learn the English language, comparing him often to the example of the Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni, who at the age of 72 is just as clear as Fabio as ever been with the English tongue.

Stop for a second and think. Were Capello to walk away tomorrow, who would you really want in charge? At the time of writing, Harry Redknapp’s future hangs on a court case but despite all his back-slapping from tabloid journalists and Sky Sports reporters who say this Tottenham team really is the greatest in the country, and saying what a great manager he would be for England, his tactical susceptibility is clear for all to see and has been documented by experts of the game for years – something which the likes of Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Argentina and other top ten sides would pounce upon with guilt-free ease. Unless he gives England a gung-ho mentality which his Spurs side possess then all we’ll have is Steve McClaren mark II. And I defy anyone to tell me otherwise. You may give me the example of England 1 – 4 Germany at the 2010 World Cup, but I still believe had Frank Lampard’s “goal” been given in that game things would have been so much different for Capello’s men – the Germans last two goals were both classic counter-attack goals as we piled on copious mounds of pressure. Had it been 2-2 at half-time we would not have been chasing the game. I guess we’ll just never know.

Name me another genuine candidate who will lead the majority of the country into thinking yes, that person will be the man to continue where Fabio Capello left off in qualifying to successive major tournaments, lifting the country to 4^th in the world rankings and playing a style of football that IS bringing results.

Capello’s record as England manager reads played 42, won 28, drawn 8 and lost 6. It’s a spurious argument, but for just a moment compare that record to when the Premier League was a 42-game season for 3 years between 1992/93 and 1994/95 – had a team replicated that form they would have won the league each time. Quite simply, he has the greatest win percentage of any England manager, ever – better than Ramsey, better than Greenwood, better than Robson.

So who will continue that form? Roy Hodgson? No; experience he may have in abundance but will have bigger doubters than Steve McClaren thanks to his maligned Liverpool tenure. Sam Allardyce? No; passion he may have but he isn’t even managing in the top tier of English football – world football will slap this away with fits of laughter which will take years for our national game to recover. Stuart Pearce? Possibly; this relies on the success of “Team GB” at London 2012 – yes, it will be a completely different group of players, but Pearce has been under the tutelage of Capello for a few years now, if he hasn’t learnt any tactical knowledge of international football by now then he never will and will be assigned to the managerial scrap heap.

Other names are hindered by the fact they’re Scottish, still playing the game and will be coerced into management for a large sum of money to replicate what the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann and Marco van Basten tried in recent years with Germany and the Netherlands, or have never managed to a high enough standard in the English game.

For all the Football Association’s insistence that the next manager of the English football team must be from these shores, they could take a minute to think long and hard about who will fulfil that role and the repercussions should it backfire in a mould akin to Steve McClaren’s time in charge. We DO have players who can be fighting toe-to-toe with the best in the world, we DO have the facilities to continue young players progression and producing a conveyor belt of quality which we still currently do all too rarely, but what weDON’T have is the collection of managers and coaches to teach and guide them. If the man at the top, Capello, can show tactical guidance then the rest will follow.

So for all his doubters, of which as I’ve already stated, are growing day-by-day due to his supporter for John Terry, don’t jump into the discussion of all the “bad things” Capello has done to this England side without thinking not only of the positives, but what would the team really be like without him. Sometimes you don’t appreciate what you’ve got until its gone. If Fabio leaves tomorrow under a haze of mystery because of his current feud with the FA rather than applauded out of the building following at impressive, if not ultimately trophy-winning Euro 2012 campaign, at least I’ll have already warned you of what it will lead to.

Just be careful what you wish for, as it’s worryingly close to coming true.

10 Sporting Predictions for 2012

***THIS BLOG WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ME ON THE DALE & CO WEBSITE***

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Carl McQueen puts his money where his mouth his and takes a gamble on what he thinks will happen in the sporting world over the next 12 months.

 

1) Manchester City will win the Premier League (and for an added punt, on the last day of the season)

Odds of 4/1 third favourites behind Manchester United and Chelsea at the start of season enticed me to place £10 on them to win the Premier League. Naturally, United will run them close, but the incredible 6-1 win by City at Old Trafford in October this year will mean City win the league, but by less than 3 points, emphasising that unforgettable result furthermore.

2) England to lose to Spain in the quarterfinals of Euro 2012

What can I say? I’m a footballing pessimist. I may only be in my twenties, but I’ve seen enough misery to know England will inevitably fail. Their group is easier than normal for these Championships, but the inevitable slip-up against either France or Sweden will mean England finish second and play the winners of Group C…Spain. Or, sods law, we waltz through our group but Spain fail to beat Italy in their opening game meaning they end up second and result in meeting England. Penalties are optional.

3) All English teams will crash out of Europe immediately when competitions resume in early 2012

Following on from Man United and City’s demotion from the Champions League to the Europa League, and Arsenal and Chelsea’s incredibly difficult ties in the last 16 of the premier European club competition, it’s seriously possible all four of these teams will crash out when the competitions return in February if United and City don’t field full strength teams. The one remaining side in Europe is Stoke City, who have the unenviable task of taking on Valencia. Not even Rory Delap’s long throws can save them.

4) David Beckham to captain Team GB’s football team at London 2012…but not win gold

William Shakespeare himself could have written David Beckham’s career it’s been that well scripted…apart from his international one. Part of the generation of golden footballers who have ultimately failed to live up to expectations, Beckham will be given his swansong by Team GB manager Stuart Pearce at London 2012, along with the captain’s armband. However, expect the collaboration of English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish men (if the the FA’s agree to provide players) to fall short of collecting gold – don’t rule out a silver or bronze, but due to the confirmation of players playing at Euro 2012 not being allowed to appear at the Games, the best possible players on offer will not be at our disposal.

5) Andy Murray’s search for a Grand Slam will go on

Alas poor Andy, your time may have passed. 2012 will finally see the very gradual decline of Roger Federer with him retiring by the end of 2013, however still expect to see him reach semi-finals (at least) of all the Grand Slams, but Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will continue to reign supreme. Even the appointment of former world number one Ivan Lendl will guarantee elusive silverware. Had Andy Murray been around ten years earlier when Pete Sampras was fading, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt were the men to beat at the top of the tree and Federer had only just arrived, he would have achieved his dream, but if he doesn’t this year he’ll soon be the wrong side of 25 to consider it a genuine possibility, I’m afraid…

6) Usain Bolt will break the 100-metre (and 200-metre) world record at the 2012 Olympics…if it doesn’t rain in London.

Not even I can predict all of this one. Usain Bolt is more than capable of surpassing his own 100-metre world record of 9.58 seconds, but to do it he’ll require a mild, windless evening in East London on the 5th August. If the Gods give us the weather conditions, and Bolt reaches the end without tearing a muscle, he will break the record – I guarantee it. I would also say he’ll do the same in the 200 metres, but we surely can’t expect two dry, calm nights in England can we?!

7) Wales to win the Six Nations

Following their excellent performance at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2011, Wales will continue their great form while England look to pick up the pieces after their dismal performance Down Under, and Ireland and France will fight it out for second place – despite making the final in New Zealand, France were arguably the worse side to ever reach the showpiece game. Wales may not have the luck of the draw by having to travel to Dublin and Twickenham during the tournament this year, but a confident, settled, talented side is more than the other teams in the competition this time around.

8) Kauto Star to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup

Now I’m not one to confess he has a plethora of horse-racing knowledge, but what I do know is the Paul Nicholls-trained horse Kauto Star is one of the greatest National Hunt racehorses to ever live. His disadvantage is he’s not getting any younger and this year will again be up against Long Run – the winner of the 2011 Cup – but the romantic nature of sport means Kauto Star will edge the victory, just, and then swan off into retirement. Just as a safety net, have Long Run at an either-way price to ensure you get your money back!

9) Tiger Woods will win a golfing Major for the first time since 2008

This one could genuinely go one of two ways – I’m right, or unbelievably incorrect with Tiger Woods not only failing to win anything, but retiring from the game he has owned for years. Following a couple of years of trauma off the golf course, plus several injuries on it which have continually flagged up rumours he could retire any day now, he finally achieved something of note by winning the Chevron World Challenge in late 2011. Despite not finishing in the top 3 of any Major since his last success, the 2008 US Open, he is favourite to win all 4 Majors at present with all bookmakers; something he will achieve in at least one of them if he stays injury free.

10) A female will win BBC Sports Personality of the Year

Following the uproar and unnecessary anger at the lack of any female representatives in the top 10 sports stars in the Beeb’s annual backslapping ceremony in 2011, things will change rapidly twelve months later. The winner? Jessica Ennis if she collects gold in London…failing that, Rebecca Adlington – who, if she picks up two or more golds again, will become ‘Dame’ during the New Year Honours List.

The 11 That 2011 Forgot

***THIS BLOG WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ME ON THE DALE & CO WEBSITE***

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Carl McQueen gives credit to individuals whose name you may not remember, or have even heard of, but the story behind them led to some of the biggest, best and most controversial sporting headlines of 2011.

Alain Rolland – First up, the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and the semi-final between Wales and France. After Wales defeated Ireland and France dumped England out in the quarterfinals, this wasn’t the last-four match most people expected, but with that brought excitement and a genuine confusion over who was the favourite for this game. Arguably it was Wales with their young team pouncing on other squads unexpectedly during the competition – they’d lost out to the current holders South Africa by just one point in their opening group game in one of the best matches of the tournament. The dream of a place in the final was torn apart however after 18 minutes against France once captain Sam Warburton was sent off by Irish referee Alain Rolland. Warburton was dismissed for ‘dangerous play’ after a tackle on Vincent Clerc was deemed a spear tackle – Wales’ Number 8 executed the first part of the spear tackle by lifting and turning Clerc, but released him long before hitting the ground. The spear tackle is an area of the game that causes great controversy, and perhaps Warburton was in the wrong but many feel a sin-bin would have sufficed from Roland so early into such a monumental game. Wales dominated proceedings after the dismissal however, and deserved their place in the final, but with 14 men rather than the regulation 15, and with that man missing being their leader, they could not break down the French resistance enough, and agonisingly missed out by just a point…Warburton’s dismissal led the back pages the following day, but Welsh fans will always say the villain of the piece was Alain Rolland.

Anton Sealey – It’s been a strange year for FIFA. Many would argue corruption occurs on an annual basis, but what was different this year was the corruption was seemingly made public. After a Caribbean football official by the name of Fred Lunn was given a brown envelope containing $40,000 by then FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam in May this year, he contacted his national FA’s association president – that man was the Bahama’s Anton Sealey. Sealey told the man he must not accept the money under any circumstances, and promptly informed the USA’s FIFA member and confederation general secretary Chuck Blazer. Blazer initiated an official investigation, and contacted FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner directly to question the payments, and according to an affidavit written by Blazer, ‘he [Warner] had advised Mr Bin Hammam to bring the “gifts” in cash’. Warner has since stood down from FIFA completely, and Bin Hammam has been banned for life. Although Blazer was theoretically the main whistleblower in amongst all this in ensuring justice arrived once it became apparently things weren’t right, had Anton Sealey and the Bahamas Football Association just accepted the cold hard cash, the world may have never known about this clear proof of corruption.

Ashley Kerekes – also known on Twitter as “@theashes” – she found internet fame at the end of 2010 when the Ashes began and copious numbers of people tweeted her asking for score updates for example (mostly in jest once in became clear to many that she had unknowingly inherited such a username) – the likes of Test Match Special noticed this humorous situation developing rapidly, and come the fifth Test in Sydney in January this year, Ashley was invited to come and watch the match…which England won emphatically I’d like to add and win the series. Ashley still tweets from the address and by all accounts has a new found sporting love.

Miodrag Dzudovic – He’s a 32-year-old defender who plays for Spartak Nalchik in Russia, but you’ll know Miodrag Dzudovic better for being kicked by Wayne Rooney during the Euro 2012 qualifier between Montenegro and England in October. Rooney was sent off after lashing out at the centre back while England led 2-1 – the game finished 2-2 and England still qualified for the Championships in Poland and Ukraine, but not before Rooney had earned all the back page headlines. It resulted in a three match ban, which was peculiarly reduced to two matches on appeal a couple of months later, controversially enabling Rooney to be free to play in England’s final group game at Euro 2012. The odd thing is there was nothing to contest or appeal against here – he had clearly kicked an opponent on purpose and should receive the expected punishment of a three-match ban. This was not a 50/50 tackle that he fell on the wrong side of according to the referee. Anyway, sods law says he’ll get injured a few weeks before the finals and this whole saga becomes irrelevant.

Ornais and Dooneys Gate – Two names being used for one position in the 11 here. For the first time in the previous 164 runnings of the Grand National, two fences were missed during the 2011 race due to the death of horses – although fatalities do, unfortunately, happen seemingly on an annual basis at the world’s most famous National Hunt race, never have two fences been bypassed due to horses falling on the first lap of the course. It received notable outcries from the animal safety world saying it should finally be banned, understandably so, particularly when combining the unseasonably warm weather England was enjoying in April that would have placed the animals under greater stress. Although those in the racing world will remember the race vividly, the names of the two dead horses were almost instantly forgotten – Ornais and Dooneys Gate.

Pat Sullivan – Irish football has never had it so good. This season saw an Irish side qualify for the first round of a European competition (obviously excluding preliminary rounds) for the first time. Shamrock Rovers pulled off a shock victory away at Partizan Belgrade to secure their route into the Europa League where they would then be drawn in the same group as Tottenham Hotspur. But one moment in their 2-1 win over Belgrade truly stands out – Here’s a video of the match highlights – pay particular attention to Shamrock’s equaliser from Pat Sullivan at around the 1 minute 30 seconds mark. He will never score a greater goal – his incredible volley levelled the scores and propelled Shamrock into the promise land of European football…they promptly lost all their games in their Europa League group!

Richard Walker – 2011 may be considered by many as the year of the Arab Spring, the year of phone hacking, the year of the Eurozone crisis, and to many others, the year of the super-injunction. On the 22nd May this year, things began to escalate rapidly when the Sunday Herald newspaper in Scotland had claimed to identify the footballer who had an affair with model Imogen Thomas by putting this picture on their front page and just covering his eyes with a black bar – perfectly within their rights to do so as the injunction did not apply in Scotland. The editor of the paper, Richard Walker, agreed to run the image after taking legal advice and in turn, the rumour mill on Twitter resulted in becoming widespread knowledge. Even David Cameron had said on Daybreak he knew who the footballer was, just “like everybody else”. Despite several Twitter accounts attempting to unveil various other injunctions and Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming saying the footballer’s name in the House of Commons, eventually the storm had died down to more of a light shower, thanks in part to the rumbling firebomb that was about to explode in the form of phone hacking.

Scott Elstone – This summer, England’s Test cricket team became the best in the world – destroying India 4-0 in a series that was more of a procession than the gargantuan battle many had hoped. Whereas names such as Alastair Cook, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ian Bell may roll off the tongue for cricket fans, and even people who don’t follow the game religiously, spare a thought for one man who played a part in the series but was instantly forgotten. Scott Elstone was the 12th man in the second Test at Lord’s and took two key catches in India’s second innings, as England went on to win the match by 319 runs. Elstone skipped the post-Test celebrations to prepare for a second XI match…cricket’s not always this glamorous.

Sian Massey – stretching all the way back to January now, and when Sian Massey took to the pitch for her second Premier League game as an assistant referee for the match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool, she could not have expected the sort of headlines she would create. Not for a costly mistake, but for the half-time comments from Sky Sports’ Richard Keys and Andy Gray. Keys and Gray were caught mocking Massey off air, but an insider leaked the audio to the media. Keys resigned and Gray was sacked and Sky Sports’ football coverage was never to be the same again. Although Keys and Gray have since managed to start reviving their tarnished careers at TalkSPORT, their image will forever be remembered for their comments about Sian Massey.

Toyko Sexwale – According to his Wikipedia page, Mr Sexwale is the current Minister of Human Settlements of South Africa. So what on earth has that got to do with the sporting world? Well, he was the gentlemanpictured alongside Sepp Blatter in an image used by FIFA in November to try and emphasise Blatter was committed to the sport’s fight against racism. It came after Blatter said he felt there wasn’t a problem with racism in the game, despite several high-profiled incidents sweeping through the sport in the weeks prior to his comments. Naturally, the English media jumped onto this in an instance, demanding Blatter’s resignation and an immediate apology for his seemingly ignorant comments. His image with Mr Sexwale only heightened tensions with the apparent idea that by simply uploading a photo of Blatter with a black man on the FIFA website, the problem would merely disappear. Obviously, FIFA don’t know the English media very well then…

Yohan Blake – this man won the men’s 100metre final at the World Athletic Championships in Daegu, South Korea back in August – the second biggest sprint prize out there behind the Olympics Gold, but you’d be excused for not knowing that thanks to the disqualification of Usain Bolt. All the talk immediately after the race, and during the days afterwards, was of Bolt’s failure rather than Blake’s notable success. Blake has since gone on to record the second fastest 200metre time ever, behind Bolt’s world record, suggesting that if the two stay fit then the Olympics in London next summer could see a truly great battle of sprinting brilliance.

Weekend Sports Diary: No Women in the Shortlist? So What?

***THIS BLOG WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED BY ME ON THE DALE & CO WEBSITE***

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Carl McQueen says there are no female sports personalities who deserve to be in the BBC shortlist. Controversial.

* Sports Personalities everywhere, and not a single female in site. But so what? That’s the uproar that has befallen the BBC this week, for reasons that I cannot fathom. Firstly, the BBC do not compile this list. Secondly, can you honestly name a sportswoman who has a rightful place on that list, and whom should they correctly replace without actually causing more controversy? Rebecca Adlington – a sure-fire bet to be in the final three, let alone final ten if she wins Olympic gold next summer – has said all ten men deserve their place and she would be the only name in my view that should be there this year after adding another gold to her ever growing collection at the World Championships. Coincidently, Adlington missed out on a place in the top ten by just one vote. Fellow swimmer Keri-Anne Payne arguably has a right to join these blokes, having also won gold in Shanghai, but which everyday man (or woman) on the street can recognise her from a Usual Suspects-style line-up? Not as many as Rebecca Adlington I can assure you. Sure, there are names in amongst the final ten blokes who are questionable selections; although Andy Murray reached the semi-finals of all four Grand Slams, one of those trophies is still out of his grasp despite a few years of genuine expectation now. Amir Khan is still a couple of years off the potential he could achieve and has not headlined the kind of fight cards that Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton managed just a few years ago. Luke Donald may be the world’s number one golfer, but hasn’t actually won a Major yet despite this ranking honour, as opposed to fellow golfers in the list Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke who have lifted immortal silverware. All in all, it’s been a weak year for British sport, at best. The bookies’ favourite is Mark Cavendish at present for his Tour de France performance, but personally I’d love to see either Alastair Cook or Andrew Strauss win for destroying Australia in their own back yard to reclaim the Ashes Down Under for the first time in over 20 years, and lifting England to number one in the world for the first time ever this summer, but alas that’s an incredibly long, long shot. However, let me just say this, I’ll have a fiver bet with you now that a woman will win it next year. My tip? Whoever wins gold at London 2012 out of Rebecca Adlington or Jessica Ennis.

* Ah, the good old Sports Direct Arena. A stadium now ripe for parody after Mike Ashley insisted on changing the name of Newcastle United’s traditional St James’ Park. The likes of Jackie Milburn turned in his grave at the news, but a saviour to Newcastle fans has come in the unlikely form of Lord Sebastian Coe. Yes, the chief of London 2012 has demanded the stadium reverts to its former name during the Olympics when hosting football matches next summer. Coe also poignantly said, “it is St James’ Park for the Olympics and, if I am being honest, as a football fan, it will always be St James’ Park for as long as I am watching football.” Amen to that.

* You may have played sport as a child and had that embarrassing moment when a parent shouted at the referee or opposition players in your honour to say they were being unfair or downright mean. Well, imagine if that happens to you and you’re one of the greatest rugby union forwards of the past decade. Well, say hello to Lucien Harinordoquy – the father of French number 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, who this week took to the field of play to step in whilst his son was involved in a fight during a match between club sides Bayonne and Biarritz. Although Imanol was in no immediate danger – just a regular scrap you find on the rugby pitch amongst forwards – Lucien burst onto the pitch and tried to punch one of the Bayonne players. Curious? Well thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

* Times are hard in the Flintoff household, supposedly. The former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff (or ‘Freddie’ if you have to call him that) was attending a school production by his seven-year-old daughter in Surrey this week, and was asked to pay £4 for the privilege. Four Pounds?! Oh, the humanity! He tweeted his anger, and received a number of quick ripostes, including ‘you can take the Flintoff out of Lancashire but you can’t take Lancashire out of Flintoff.’ Once he saw the article online, he followed it up with several other tweets, partly tongue-in-cheek and partly asking why on earth is this a news story. Being half-Scottish, I understand his pain.

* Allow me to finish the Sports Diary this week with my two pence on the death of Gary Speed. One of a few players who will have the chance and ability to make over 500 appearances in the Premier League, it was clear he had the intentions and ability to help the Welsh national team progress to a standard not seen since the late 1950s. But within an instance on a Sunday morning in November, he was gone. In a 5Live interview on Tuesday evening, Chief Executive of the Sporting Chance Clinic, Peter Kay, said several professional footballers had been in touch with him since Speed’s death to confess their battles with depression, and although no light rarely intentionally emerges from such heartbreak, if it may have saved another life, perhaps a family can be forever grateful. But please remember, at present there is absolutely no evidence that Speed suffered from a mental illness, and tragically, we may never find out. I have read plenty of articles in the past week about mental health, and his death has highlighted, thankfully, its growing need to be portrayed with more respect and dignity than it currently is. But, as the Daily Mail’s Martin Samuel wrote this week, let us not be led into presumptions around his death; we must tread carefully around the ideas being banded around by the general masses and not, as Samuel writes, “jostle to be the most emotionally concerned.” We do not know he was depressed beyond return and therefore we must not unfairly assume before we rightly know. Until the dust settles, assuming it eventually will and an inquest finds the answers the understandably shocked public are curious to know, allow him to rest in peace, his family to mourn without sweeping assumptions being place upon his good name, and remember him for the universally respected footballer that he was.