Saturday Six-Pointer: 29/09/2012

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Chelsea have well and truly established their title winning credentials. Undefeated, with five wins from six games, has shown this on paper. But it’s wins against rivals that really count at the end of the season. Arsenal had impressed so far, none more so than in a comfortable 2-0 win at Anfield earlier in the season. I was beginning to consider them title contenders. But where the Gunners often fall short is against the other teams likely to challenge at the top. So, for every hard-earned draw like that against Manchester City last week, there is an underwhelming defeat like the 2-1 reverse against Chelsea. For the Blues, the season is looking bright. Both Manchester clubs have looked short of their best so far. And while Fernando Torres remains a shadow of his former sense, he is certainly an improvement on the player who was more likely to get a yellow card than score a goal for Chelsea. If he can continue to contribute to the goal-scoring, that could be the difference between Chelsea fighting for a Champions’ League spot, or challenging for league title glory.

My Three Teams: York City FC and Sunderland AFC

In my latest contribution to Natter Football, I have taken a look at the fortunes of York City FC and Sunderland AFC. This is a follow-up to my season preview, found here  and comes after the first part, covering Darlington FC, to be found here.

Here's the link to my new article. Enjoy!
http://natterfootball.co.uk/2012/09/my-three-teams-part-two-york-city-fc-and-sunderland-afc/#comment-6635

Ryder Cup 2012: The Greatest Event in Golf

The Ryder Cup is the greatest event in golf. Sport is at its best when it is partisan; one team against another. In individual sports, spectators can support their favourite but rarely do so with the fervour with which they would support a team in a head-to-head battle. For this reason, the Ryder Cup is hotly anticipated.

The Europe-USA battle is always an intriguing one. Golf is a sport invented by the Scots and made popular by Europeans, but it was traditionally perfected by the Americans. The USA has won the fêted trophy on 25 occasions, and lost only 11 times. But in recent times, Europe has become the dominant competitor having won four of the last five events. It is ironic that the beginning of Europe’s domination of the Ryder Cup coincided with the continent’s struggles in major championships. From Paul Lawrie’s victory at the Open in 1999, no European won a major until Padraig Harrington in the Open in 2007. In that time, Europe won the Ryder Cup three times in succession, each time convincingly. Since then Europe’s fortunes in the majors as improved, but Ryder Cups performances have waned. Europe won the last event in 2010 which went down to the wire on a dramatic extra day forced by rain, after a comfortable US victory in 2008.

My Three Teams: Darlington FC

Before the start of the football season, I wrote a preview for the three teams I follow: Darlington FC, York City FC and Sunderland AFC. That blog post can be found here:
Football Season Preview: My Three Teams

Now, a month into the season, I have revisited this post and written a brand new pair of articles for Natter Football looking at how the teams have fared so far. The first article traces the fortunes of Darlington FC in their inaugural season in the Northern League Division One. It was written earlier this week, before the loss in the Durham Challenge Cup to Hebburn Town. It can be found here:
My Three Teams: Part One, Darlington FC

The second part will look at York City and Sunderland, and will be posted at the start of next week.

Champions League Game-Week 1 Round-Up

I've done a round up of the games from the first week of UEFA Champions' League fixtures for The Student Journals. Follow the link to find it!

http://www.studentjournals.co.uk/comment/sport/1867-champions-league-round-up-city-hart-break-as-real-snatch-late-winner

The Fastest Man on Three Wheels: Why David Weir should be BBC Sports Personality of the Year

I've written an article for The Student Journals about why David Weir, who won four gold medals at the London Paralympics, should be recognised as BBC Sports Personality of the Year. In what has been a vintage year of British sport, Weir's acheivements stand out. Add to that the public response to the Paralympics, which fulfilled the 'Inspire a Generation' slogan even more so than the Olympics, and it becomes apparent that our Paralympians deserve more recognition at the Sports Personality of the Year ceremony.

Click here to read The Fastest Man on Three Wheels: Why David Weir should be BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Saturday Six-Pointer: 15/09/2012

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Some might see it as a bit cliché to say that the Premier League is unpredictable. Inexplicably, many people insist on debating whether the Premier League is better or worse than La Liga. Of course, this is ultimately irrelevant. And the answer would depend on what exactly you are looking for. At the end of the day they are the best two leagues in the world, and that is what matters. One thing in common so far is unpredictability. Because, while Real Madrid have lost two of their first four games, the Premier League this weekend saw another array of startling results. Out-of-sorts Aston Villa comfortably beat in-form Swansea City, while undefeated West Brom were thrashed by Fulham. Meanwhile both Chelsea and Manchester City were unable to win away games against opponents who have not yet won a game between them. The Premier League is starting to become a graveyard for the accumulator. Predicting more than one or two correct results in any given week seems to be getting harder and harder. Yesterday, out of eight fixtures, I predicted only two correct results (and those were the more obvious home bankers of Manchester United and Arsenal).

Thrifty on TV: New Den, Old Dragons and same old format

Dragons’ Den returned for a tenth series on BBC2 last night, with the tried and tested formula of the show given no major changes. That said, I was worried as the opening titles came on. It seemed for a moment that the recession had finally hit for the Dragons, as their despair led them to be perched on the edge of tall buildings. But alas it was merely the introduction. I was immediately struck by the sheer height of Peter Jones. It has never been a secret on the show that he was tall, but when lined up next to the other Dragons (and not sat back comfortably in his chair) he towered above them.

The intro proceeded to give clips of the Dragons attacking faceless “budding entrepreneurs” with their characteristic relentlessness, plus the odd bit of discord within the group. Clearly the producers of the show know their audience. I would suspect that very few tune in to Dragon’s Den for the business ideas. It’s the Dragons’ entertaining ferocity, aimed at those pitching and at each other, which gives the show its unique angle. Next, after an exasperated cry from Duncan Bannatyne (we couldn’t see what was going on beneath the camera), we see Deborah Meaden (of all people) making an offer. Dragons’ Den in a nutshell, and we’re only one minute in. Need not bother watching any more then?

Walker’s crisp finish salvages point for York

Jason Walker scored a goal in the last minute of injury time as York’s unbeaten run continued with a 2-2 draw against Chesterfield at Bootham Crescent. Walker was in the right place at the right time as he placed his shot into the top corner from eight yards after four minutes had been added. City had been trailing by a goal when Ashley Chambers sent in a cross to the back post, which captain Chris Smith knocked down into the path of frontman Walker, who made no mistake. The full-time whistle came just seconds after the restart. It was no less than City deserved, in a game which was fairly even but in which York had the lion’s share of the play and the chances.

The first half was a very even affair, though York looked very composed, both in possession and when Chesterfield had the ball. There weren’t any clear-cut chances in the first half-hour, but when the first one came Chesterfield (eventually) converted it. A brilliant double save from City keeper Michael Ingham wasn’t enough as the Spireites converted at the third attempt from close range, Sam Hird the man on hand. City hit back straight away, Ashley Chambers' free kick forcing a diving save from Richard O’Donnell. But soon after Michael Coulson levelled the scores, finding himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper and chipping the ball past the on-rushing O’Donnell.

Premier League 2012/3: Predictions 2.0

You could argue that making a new set of predictions after the first three games of the season is a bit of a cop-out. But I disagree. The first three games are far from indicative of how the season will go. Last year, Wolves took seven points from their first three games. They won only three more matches all season. Importantly, the transfer window has now closed. Although there is always the chance players will be added in January, the current squads will have to last for the first half of the season at least. So, I’ve decided that at this point in the season we know enough to make some more educated predictions, without knowing so much that it’s a cop-out.

The positions in brackets indicate the positions I predicted before the start of the season in “Premier League 2012/3: Predicitions”.

1st               Manchester City (2nd)

First time out, I genuinely agonised over whether to go for United or City to win the title. In their first three games, City have convinced me they should have been top. They haven’t actually played very well, but they have found a way to win games, or draw in the case of Liverpool. They maybe didn’t strengthen as much as hoped on deadline day, but the squad is still strong and deep and you would back them to add in January.

New system creates new problems for Liverpool

This is my latest contribution to the website Natter Football. In it, I take a look at Liverpool's start to the season. I question whether Brendan Rodgers may be taking a too radical approach, and whether he will be given the time to achieve his goals at Anfield.

It would be interesting to see what others think of Liverpool's start and prospects. So head over to Natter Football and join the debate.

Click here to read "New system creates new problems for Liverpool."

NFL Predictions: Texans to go all the way?

Right, so here is my division-by-division predictions for the 2012 NFL Season, including wild-card picks, followed by a mock post-season. Feel free to comment if you agree or disagree!

AFC East: New England Patriots

It’s difficult to bet against the Patriots wit Bill Belichick at the helm and Tom Brady under centre. Put them amongst a rebuilding but yet not competitive Buffalo Bills side, a declining New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins, who start with a rookie at QB, and the Patriots should stroll the regular season.

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens-Steelers rivalries is one of the best in the NFL. Their matches usually throe back to the good old days of the NFL, with defense and running games dominating. Expect the Bengals also to be in the mix, but they might struggle due to the tough division. Cleveland Browns, as is too often the case, only making up the numbers

NFL Preview: Open season in store for ‘Year of the rookie quarterback’

The National Football League season gets underway in the USA tomorrow night, as the defending champion New York Giants host their great rival Dallas Cowboys at the New Meadowlands. On Sunday, 26 of the 32 teams get their campaigns underway before the final four teams get underway on Monday night. The NFL is one of the best sports to watch as a neutral. Every year, the competition is wide open. True, there are a few teams like the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, who are competitive every year. But they are not dominant. Meanwhile, there are always a few dark horses, coming from nowhere to challenge for honours. This season will be no different.

Saturday Six-Pointer: 01/09/2012

This week's Saturday Six-Pointer, looking at Spurs' crazy transfer window, hope for West Brom and West Ham, and what QPR could learn from Manchester City.

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Tottenham Hotspur had one of the more interesting transfer windows. Andre Villas-Boas was sacked by Chelsea last season for trying to change too much too quickly, dropping established figures like Frank Lampard. Presumably, his new bosses at Spurs have given him the free reign to overhaul the squad which he did not have at Chelsea. Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart have left the North London club, with a host of players including Moussa Dembele and Clint Dempsey coming in. This year is likely to take on a transitional feel for Spurs, as the new players bed in. It might well have long term benefits. It was the drop-off in form that did for Harry Redknapp last year, rather than the final league placing. With the changes made in the squad this year, Spurs will surely be satisfied with any European qualification this season. To achieve that, they have to learn how to hold on to a lead. An underwhelming start against Newcastle United has been followed with back to back 1-1 draws in which Spurs relinquished the lead. Both were against opposition you would have expected them to beat. They languish on two points from three games. Looks like AVB’s job is far from simple, and far from over.