3-1, who would have predicted that before the tour…. Well me actually but as I’m not a betting man there’s no point going into that! Australia were thoroughly out played throughout the series, how England manged to lose the one test is beyond me as they were so much better than the Australians. Well done England!
So I suppose a few questions need to be asked. How did England win? Were Australian that bad? remember they lost the three matches by over an innings, that’s a huge margin! When looking for inspiration on how to write this post I was direct to this article, written before the Ashes started, it’s comedy genius now we know what we know but it is kind of the exact opposite to the article which is why England won! So I’m going to use the authors titles but change the content to what he should have actually said.
1. Overrated: The author claimed that England thought they were better than they were. I think England, under Flower and Strauss’ leadership have always kept their feet firmly planted on the ground, they have worked hard in all areas of the game and never said ‘we
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It’s the world cup soon, just in case you didn’t know, the one time I wish I didn’t work with a whole load of women, none of which are football fans and aren’t really excited about the World cup at all. All I get is a ‘typical bloke obsessed by football’ comment. I never moan when other things are discussed that don’t interest me! Anyway, that off my chest I thought I would discuss my views with you, yes you, whoever you are. I’m not saying my opinions are right they are just opinions but I’d love to hear your views!
Friendly performances
So first the recently friendly performances. Yes, they weren’t great but lets not slate them, if it was Spain or Brazil or whoever we’d be saying ‘it’s a sign of a good team not playing well and still winning’ if England play the next 8 games that badly and win I don’t think anyone we’ll remember how bad the performances were. Winning is the most important thing, end of!
The only quibble I have with the friendlies is I just feel we need to be better at defending set pieces, I am sure, however, Mr Capello will
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About a year ago I wrote a post about Derby County losing another manager, one who’d had success at other clubs (Paul Jewell) and failed massively at Derby. We had an awful season in 2008-2009 and it was Nigel Clough who came in and saved us from getting relegated, he seemed to get more out of the players than Jewell had managed and we played football. I also wrote about how many managers Derby have had over the last few years and if we are to survive and have a long term future we need to take our time and build a squad and this may involve a little bit of hurt and patience. I also remember at the time I wrote that post and Nigel Clough joined us, Derby fans had finished complaining about the old board and were also asking for stability, complaining about the number of managers we have had.
Now here are the fact about this season so far:
1. Derby are not playing great football at the moment
2. The results aren’t great at the moment
3. The club doesn’t have a lot of money
4. We have very loyal fans
5. Clough has never
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I’ve been back playing badminton for must be about 6 months and I’m really enjoying playing again, so I thought I would give a quick progress check of how I was getting on and why I play. Over the years I’ve played at and still play various different sports – too many to list. Most I’ve never had any formal training in I just pick up and play however Badminton was a sport I was lucky enough to get some training in and what great training it was. I was lucky enough to go to a club (in the school holidays) for a few years run by Andy Wood, that name may mean nothing to you but he is now part of the coaching team for Badminton England and looked after Nathan Robertson & Gail Emms (probably the best mixed double pair England has produced in recent times, getting to Number 1 in the World rankings). I used to love these courses and they gave me a great basis for my shot production, tactics and court movement. I continued playing as I went through school and a little at University but I stopped playing when I left Uni, now it’s
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So as the second Ashes test starts on Thursday, I thought I would reflect on both the first test performance and the news that Flintoff is to retire from test cricket after the Ashes.
Firstly that news about Flintoff, not really a surprise I suppose, he’s had so many injuries that have just affected his ability to get back on the pitch and even when he has they have affected his performances. There is no doubt that Flintoff is a very talent cricket player, however I do feel that we expect more than he gives us and our constant pushing to put him in the team on reputation rather than current performances is slightly frustrating. I would have preferred him to get himself properly fit and get some match practice on several occasions before jumping straight back in to the England set up, I believe England may have got more out of Flintoff if they had used him properly rather than constantly pushing him. If we look over his test career I believe in time we will see he was never the player he could have been if only we’d been a little more patient and put less pressure on
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So currently the World twenty20 is on, as of writing they’ve just about got to the semi finals stage. England have been knocked out and I have to admit my interest has some what wavered. There is no doubt that twenty20 is an exciting form of cricket, however I have some reservations about it as a form of cricket and I still prefer the 1-day form of cricket as the short version of the game.
I feel that twenty20 is too favoured towards the batsman, the bowlers have it fairly hard. They aren’t allowed any degree of error, everything except those that are bowled dead straight seemed to be called a wide. I have no problem with some restrictions otherwise people would bowl unhitable balls all the time I just feel the current rules of what is being called a wide by some umpires is just a little unfair on the bowlers. My second concern is because the innings length I just feel it is so short it sometimes can be a little bit of a lottery as to whether you win or lose. One rubbish over by either batsman or bowler and it just affects the game too much,
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Just a very quick post this. Every year on this day people come up with their idea of an ‘April fool’, however, some people seem to believe that just telling lies is an ‘April fool’, it’s not. If you say something that could be true then I don’t think that’s really what the day is about, it should be something stupid that is done in a believable way. The best one this year has to be on the BBC website titled ‘Shearer to become Newcastle boss’…………
…………..WHAT IT’S TRUE!! Surely not!
Who’s the fool now? Well good luck Shearer, I suppose you’ve got nothing to lose really?!
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So after much deliberation I bought a new bike at Christmas, any one who has done this recently may have noticed that the 2009 models are a lot more expensive than the equivalent 2008, so I searched high and low for a 2008 model to get more bike for my money. I decided on a GT Avalanche 2.0, although I had initial concerns of it’s white colour, it actually looks really good and it’s pretty easy to wipe clean after a ride. I’m really happy with it as it rides really well, the hydraulic brakes are a massive improvement on my old cantilevers (no surprise there) and it’s also nice to have front suspension, though I will look to upgrade this at some point as the forks are a little ‘bouncy’ even with my little weight.
The biggest change with my new bike has been going to clipless pedals. I have always ridden with toe clips but after reading lots of websites and seeing a really good deal on some shoes and pedals at a local shop I decided to take the plunge and go clipless.
If you don’t know what clipless pedals are (also known as SPDs), they require
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I turned on the radio yesterday to hear the presenter having a bit of a rant about the new referral system in Cricket. The new system allows each team two chances to have an on-field decision referred to a TV umpire. The presenter was complaining that it takes the fun out of sport. This got me to thinking, not just about technology in Cricket but the age old discussion about technology in all sports. Is it a good or bad move to allow the referees access to technology?
There are two schools of thought really, the first is as this presenter thought. By allowing the decisions to be referred it can spoil the flow of the game but more importantly you take away the power of the ref and also he argued that unpredictably is what makes sport so watchable and exciting. He argued that this unpredictably included the mistakes that referees makes. The decision the presenter was complaining about had been referred to the video ref and the on field decision was reversed. Even though the correct decision was made he argued this was a bad move because the on field umpire then loses control of the game. I
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So today was another cracking win for Derby County, even sweeter as it was over our local rivals Nottingham Forest, managed by our old manager (who left in a bit of a huff) Billy Davies – you couldn’t write this stuff!
I just thought I’d write a little about how the ‘Nigel Clough reign’ is going. Firstly I must say there has definitely been a change in Derby since Nigel Clough took charge just 10 games ago. The attitude of the players is completely different, they seem more motivated, they are working for and with each other. Players such as Savage and Teale (to name just 2) look completely rejuvenated. I’m not saying everything is perfect yet but there are some major steps in the right direction. The biggest difference is the confidence the players now seem to have and simply, on the pitch this translates to goals, wins and points.
I decided to take a quick look at some numbers to see how Derby are actually performing under Nigel compared to Paul Jewell’s reign. I know it’s early days but it just gives us an idea.
I’m going to just look at this season and forget about the disaster
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Due to me working on getting the site looking a bit better (I hope) I haven’t had the chance to comment on the arrival of Nigel Clough at Pride Park. So what do I think?
Derby have been getting through managers quickly over the last few years and I really feel we need someone to stabilize the squad for now and the future. Is Nigel Clough the right man? Did he get the job just because of his second name? I don’t care I think it’s a great appointment for the club, the positives far out way the negatives! (see below)
Positives
1. He has done wonders at Burton
2. He will get respect from both players and fans
3. I think he’s in it for the long run, he won’t just leave straight away (he’s a family man and his family are from Derby)
4. I think Derby is important to him, it’s not just a job
Negatives
1. The only negative is he hasn’t had any experience at Championship level – I have to say I don’t think this is an issue, if you can manage players, you can manage players, full stop.
I just wish Nigel Clough
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Last season as a Derby County fan it was pretty hard, however, I thought one major plus was we had a manager in charge who would stabilize the club and give us more organization both on and off the pitch, that man was Paul Jewell, I thought he was a great appointment, he seemed to what to build a future with Derby. This season has not shaped up the way I’d hoped and I have been disappointed with some of the purchases he has made and some of the performances. I still rate him as a manager and feel he could be the right man for the job given more time, people seem to want instant fixes.
Unfortunately, Mr Jewell announced his resignation on Sunday and that has left Derby manager less again. This raises the major problem at Derby, a stable manager (or lack of it). Just to emphasis how big a problem this is, Derby have had 8 managers since 1995, of those 8 managers one was Jim Smith who lasted 6 years, this was the last time there was any stability at the Club (also the last time we had some consistency – coincidence? I think not!).
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As you may of guessed by previous posts I’ve made I’m a Lewis Hamilton fan! What a race it was to end an action packed year in formula one, it was a race that showed what formula one has to offer, away from the politics. It had everything, the drama, the excitement and emotions, better than any episode of Corrie or Eastenders.
My feelings on the result and the following fallout (message board opinions, etc)
Positives:
1. Massa drove incredibly well and was a proper sportsman in the way he took the result.
2. I was also please that there was little controversy.
3. I’m pleased for Lewis, he’s been under loads of pressure and he’s proved his critics wrong
Negatives:
1. People who keep saying Hamilton isn’t the best driver, the same people who said last season when he didn’t win, he wasn’t the best driver because the final points table didn’t lie. Does he make mistakes – yes, are there other good drivers in the championship – yes, has he been lucky in the drive he’s got – yes, but is he an exciting, young talent who has taken all the pressure and taken his chance, most definetly!
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There has been a new update in the Formula 1 rule book, the new rule states that no silver car (as pictured above) is allowed to overtake any red car, especially if it contains a man with a yellow helmet!
I am of course referring to the appalling decision today to give Lewis Hamilton a 25 second penalty for overtaking Kimi Raikkonen. This has implications not just for the race but this years Championship, which of course being a Brit and Hamilton fan I’m gutted about.
What I’m more concerned about is what this will do to the sport. This is not an isolated incidence of what seems as biased FIA decision making which benefits Ferrari. One or two you can let go by (especially as I might be a bit biased the other way – though I don’t think I am) but there have been numerous occasions where Ferrari have got the benefit of the doubt, where as other teams have been punished. The other problem is the decision basically says don’t overtake, you may get a penalty, there is little enough of that now!
McLaren should appeal and I believe they would get the support of 90% of
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So after a dreadful season last year in the premiership Derby County find ourselves back in the Championship. I wasn’t surprised we came straight back down, we got promoted too early and spent nothing, so we just didn’t have the players. The only thing that disappointed me was the lack of effort that was put by 90% of the players. Enough of last year, that’s over, we spent the summer signing a lot of new players and with Paul Jewell we have a quality manager.
Well that’s what I was hoping……
Unfortunately due to my job (I have to work Saturdays) I can never go to a match, but from what I’ve heard this season has started where we finished last year, there has been a familiar lack of effort and unconvincing performances, this is a worry! After 3 matches Derby are in 20th place, 2 places above the drop zone and only 1 point from the 9 available. Ok so we aren’t thinking about drop zones yet but there has been a lot of talk off the field over the summer about how we are going to bounce back, but we need to stop just talking about what we
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So for ages I’ve been talking about wanting to learn how to play golf, not as a regular game, but when people ask, “fancy coming for a round of golf” I’d love to be able to say yes and not embarrass myself. I recently found a local golf course with a driving range and booked myself a lesson. I thought I would document my progress.
Today was that first lesson. As a complete beginner (apart from the odd very dodgy performance on a pitch and putt) I’m starting from scratch. Basically today we covered setting yourself ready to hit the ball, including grip, posture and the basics of a swing. I was well chuffed by the end of my first 30min lesson I was hitting a 7-iron 120 yards with hardly any effort and it was pretty accurate as well. It feels really good when you get it right, you know instantly without even looking.
Roll on next lesson.
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