Irishman Peter Lennox tells of his frustration of the Republic of Ireland missing out on the chance of playing in the World Cup 2010 after a blatant display of cheating from the French.
Theirry Henry deliberately handled the ball to keep it in play before crossing to William Gallas who headed France to South Africa next year, winning the game 2-1 on aggregate.
There have been calls for the game to be replayed -including by Henry himself, but FIFA are reportedly unlikely to set such a precedent.
Wednesday 25 November 2009
Tuesday 24 November 2009
Deepdale Stadium - The Sir Tom Finney Stand
Named after Preston North End's most legendary player, the Sir Tom Finney Stand is the most prominant stand at Deepdale. Costing £4.4 million in 1995, the Sir Tom Finney Stand has a capacity of 8,000 and is home to press areas, restaurants and the National History Museum, which occupies the corner of this stand and the Bill Shankly Kop.
Monday 23 November 2009
A Mixed Week for Lancashire Football
View LEP Map in a larger map
This weekend saw a good weekend of action for some of Lancashire's smaller clubs. League Two side Morecambe won their third successive league game against Cheltenham Town, while Bamber Bridge hit four past Harrogate RA in the Unibond Division One North.
Preston North End face recently relegated Newcastle United this evening at Deepdale, with a win taking the Magpies to the top of the Championship.
Off the pitch, Preston's battle to stop the National Football Museum moving to Manchester seems to be struggling, with the public now calling for the Musuem boards' heads.
The map shows where the three games were played, and the location of the National Football Museum - but for how long remains uncertain.
Sunday 22 November 2009
Last Orders for Britain's pubs?
Britain's pub industry is suffering, with around 52 closing down each week. The credit crunch, along with increases in alcohol taxes and cheap alcohol sold supermarkets are said to be key contributors towards the market's downfall, with a loss of around 24,000 jobs in the past year.
The chart shows the extent to which Britain's pubs are disappearing, with around 15,000 closing down since 1980 Although things are slightly improving with the decline in sales slowing slightly compared to the beginning of the year.
But with the Government losing £174 million in the first three quarters of 2009 compared to 2008, will the Government step in to help the falling industry? Or will the doors of some of Britain's favorite boozers continue to shut for the last time?
Useful Links:
"Where have all the pubs gone?" Guardian Datablog
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/jul/22/alcohol-fooddrinks
"Pub closures rise to record 52 a week"
http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=290892
"Pubs are closing, but who cares?"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8162943.stm
"Beer sales continue to slow"
http://www.beerandpub.com/newsList_detail.aspx?newsId=307
"Fears for pub closures"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCOXgLCwqVw&feature=related
Saturday 26 September 2009
Finally! A contestable season!!
The blog has been revived!! I'm sure my reader(s??) are delighted.
Rather than moaning about the smorgasbord of things I hate: Andy (Mr. Personality) Murray, Emmanuel Adebayor's pitch-long sprint to piss off the club who made him the player he is, or F1 once again being brought into controversy - this time by someone smacking into a wall rather than Max Moseley's arse.
No, I share with you my delight that the Premiership title is looking like it could be the most competitive in many many years!
Teams from everwhere in the table are turning up to face the "big four" with the belief that they can actually get something from the game, due in no small part to the heroics of underdogs Burnley, Wigan and Sunderland so far this season. This has never happened before!!
So what's the reason for this I hear you all shout. Well many will be blaming the fact that the "big four" just aren't as good as they once were. Fair point; Manchester United have lost two excellent players in Tevez and Ronaldo and not replaced them. Chelsea didn't spend big in the summer and now aren't allowed to tap up any more players and throw money at chairmen for a couple of years, and Liverpool lost their lynchpin in Xabi Alonso and rely far too heavily of Torres and Gerrard to bring home the points. Arsenal have lost Toure and Adebayor to Man City but Wenger's inspired purchases of Vermaelen and Arshavin, along with their maturing youngsters, have kept the Gunners afloat thus far.
No. Rather than the "big four" getting worse, the positive reality is that the clubs around them are getting better. Manchester City are the obvious example, using a large Arabic piggy-bank to transform a mediocre mid-table side into serious title contenders sporting half a dozen world class strikers. City have Arsenal's scalp so far and are likely to cause another few more upsets before the season finishes.
Aston Villa were another team eyeing up a Champion's League spot last year, and although Martin O'Neill has not signed any extra attacking prowess, he has invested heavily in bostering a defence which looked shaky at times last season. This has worked wonders, as wins against Liverpool and Chelsea, and a draw against Man City has shown.
Sunderland have also undergone a massive overhaul under Steve Bruce which looks likely to steal even more points off the big boys, Darren Bent and a red beach ball in particular looking like inspired purchases.
So is this good for the Premier League? Categorically yes!! The prospect of everyone having a chance of beating everyone will make Soccer Saturday compulsive viewing for every fan, and the table looking very different at the end of the season. Although if Wolves grab a Champions League spot I will jump off something very high.
Rather than moaning about the smorgasbord of things I hate: Andy (Mr. Personality) Murray, Emmanuel Adebayor's pitch-long sprint to piss off the club who made him the player he is, or F1 once again being brought into controversy - this time by someone smacking into a wall rather than Max Moseley's arse.
No, I share with you my delight that the Premiership title is looking like it could be the most competitive in many many years!
Teams from everwhere in the table are turning up to face the "big four" with the belief that they can actually get something from the game, due in no small part to the heroics of underdogs Burnley, Wigan and Sunderland so far this season. This has never happened before!!
So what's the reason for this I hear you all shout. Well many will be blaming the fact that the "big four" just aren't as good as they once were. Fair point; Manchester United have lost two excellent players in Tevez and Ronaldo and not replaced them. Chelsea didn't spend big in the summer and now aren't allowed to tap up any more players and throw money at chairmen for a couple of years, and Liverpool lost their lynchpin in Xabi Alonso and rely far too heavily of Torres and Gerrard to bring home the points. Arsenal have lost Toure and Adebayor to Man City but Wenger's inspired purchases of Vermaelen and Arshavin, along with their maturing youngsters, have kept the Gunners afloat thus far.
No. Rather than the "big four" getting worse, the positive reality is that the clubs around them are getting better. Manchester City are the obvious example, using a large Arabic piggy-bank to transform a mediocre mid-table side into serious title contenders sporting half a dozen world class strikers. City have Arsenal's scalp so far and are likely to cause another few more upsets before the season finishes.
Aston Villa were another team eyeing up a Champion's League spot last year, and although Martin O'Neill has not signed any extra attacking prowess, he has invested heavily in bostering a defence which looked shaky at times last season. This has worked wonders, as wins against Liverpool and Chelsea, and a draw against Man City has shown.
Sunderland have also undergone a massive overhaul under Steve Bruce which looks likely to steal even more points off the big boys, Darren Bent and a red beach ball in particular looking like inspired purchases.
So is this good for the Premier League? Categorically yes!! The prospect of everyone having a chance of beating everyone will make Soccer Saturday compulsive viewing for every fan, and the table looking very different at the end of the season. Although if Wolves grab a Champions League spot I will jump off something very high.
Sunday 3 May 2009
Where Next for the Hitman?
After crawling to the bar last night to watch what was billed to be one of the fights of the century like many other hardcore madmen out there, I now wonder whether missing a sunny Sunday was worth it.
Everything looked set for a memorable showdown - Hatton looked in incredible shape, probably due to cutting the fry-ups down to just three a day and, although not the favorite, looked as though he was ready to give Manny a bit of a bruising. But no.
It took just two rounds for Pacquiao to take down one of the best boxers of my lifetime without hardly taking a blow, indeed the only thing the Hitman hit last night was the canvas. This was something I never expected to see and something that left me rather upset. Credit to Pacquiao must be given; the man was brutally clinical and blitzed through Hatton's defences like a hot knife through butter with some punishing blows to the noggin. He looked as surprised as me that he won so easily and was a very gracious fellow in his victory, fair play to him.
But what's next for the Hitman? After being on the end of two consecutive thrashings many are urging him to retire, and in all honesty I think he probably will. The fact of the matter is where can he go from here if he does continue? Hatton is just past his peak now and is extremely unlikely to improve, so getting pounded by Manny and Mayweather at this stage in his career bodes pretty badly for his future unfortunately.
On a brighter note, every cloud has a silver lining. Last night's came in the shape a boxer on the undercard, Joe Murray, who unanimously beat Missael Nunez earlier in the night. The featherweight showed fantastic potential, being tipped by Hatton himself to be the next big thing, and after having the pleasure of interviewing him recently I think he deserves every ounce of success he gets.
So was dragging myself out in the early hours of this morning a waste? Not for me. The opportunity to belt out renditions of "there's only one Ricky Hatton" with a 100 strong drunken rabble before and after the fight has restored my faith in the often fickle fans of sport - even more shocking to see Mancs not jumping on the Pacquiao bandwagon as soon as Hatton went down.
Everything looked set for a memorable showdown - Hatton looked in incredible shape, probably due to cutting the fry-ups down to just three a day and, although not the favorite, looked as though he was ready to give Manny a bit of a bruising. But no.
It took just two rounds for Pacquiao to take down one of the best boxers of my lifetime without hardly taking a blow, indeed the only thing the Hitman hit last night was the canvas. This was something I never expected to see and something that left me rather upset. Credit to Pacquiao must be given; the man was brutally clinical and blitzed through Hatton's defences like a hot knife through butter with some punishing blows to the noggin. He looked as surprised as me that he won so easily and was a very gracious fellow in his victory, fair play to him.
But what's next for the Hitman? After being on the end of two consecutive thrashings many are urging him to retire, and in all honesty I think he probably will. The fact of the matter is where can he go from here if he does continue? Hatton is just past his peak now and is extremely unlikely to improve, so getting pounded by Manny and Mayweather at this stage in his career bodes pretty badly for his future unfortunately.
On a brighter note, every cloud has a silver lining. Last night's came in the shape a boxer on the undercard, Joe Murray, who unanimously beat Missael Nunez earlier in the night. The featherweight showed fantastic potential, being tipped by Hatton himself to be the next big thing, and after having the pleasure of interviewing him recently I think he deserves every ounce of success he gets.
So was dragging myself out in the early hours of this morning a waste? Not for me. The opportunity to belt out renditions of "there's only one Ricky Hatton" with a 100 strong drunken rabble before and after the fight has restored my faith in the often fickle fans of sport - even more shocking to see Mancs not jumping on the Pacquiao bandwagon as soon as Hatton went down.
Monday 6 April 2009
Club No Longer a Match for Country
As a youngster I had many dreams: pilot, chef, rock star, dinosaur, but most importantly scoring a spectacular injury-time winner in a World Cup final for England. This dream was shared by everyone - young and old - who would happily give two very important body parts to be given even the chance at a friendly against the Papua New Guinea's finest.
Let's fast-forward a decade or so: "Who do you dream about playing football for son?" Nine out of ten times England shall be pushed well back into the queue led by the Manchester Uniteds, Liverpools and LA Galaxies of this world. Yes, it seems like club football has well overtaken its international counterpart in this great nation.
Reasons? Well England has failed to win anything shiny in 43 years, whereas Man U rarely fail to bring home a piece of silverware home each season. Fair enough I suppose, everybody wants to be on the winning team don't they? But it has now came to the situation where club success is at the expense of international glory.
Let's look at last week's games: a friendly against Slovakia and a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine. I very much doubt any of England's stars graced the hallowed ground of Wembley without their club game next Saturday in the forefront of their minds, thus staying firmly in fourth gear to ensure they would not be pooped for their "crucial" league encounter.
David Beckham is the only man who defies this. Say whatever you wish about his desires for publicity and an extra few dollars into a gastronomical bank account, England is his priority. He continues to give 100%, regardless of his role, at the age of 33 when many players hang up their England boots to prolong their club career as soon as they blow out 30 candles.
So what are England's reasons for such a baron patch of glory? Too many foreigners in the Premier League? Lack of opportunities for English youth? Maybe. But I believe that if this current crop want the World Cup or Euro as much as they crave the Champions League or Johnston's Paint Trophy then we have an absolutely fabulous chance bringing something home from South Africa. And releasing another horrible new shirt to celebrate.
Let's fast-forward a decade or so: "Who do you dream about playing football for son?" Nine out of ten times England shall be pushed well back into the queue led by the Manchester Uniteds, Liverpools and LA Galaxies of this world. Yes, it seems like club football has well overtaken its international counterpart in this great nation.
Reasons? Well England has failed to win anything shiny in 43 years, whereas Man U rarely fail to bring home a piece of silverware home each season. Fair enough I suppose, everybody wants to be on the winning team don't they? But it has now came to the situation where club success is at the expense of international glory.
Let's look at last week's games: a friendly against Slovakia and a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine. I very much doubt any of England's stars graced the hallowed ground of Wembley without their club game next Saturday in the forefront of their minds, thus staying firmly in fourth gear to ensure they would not be pooped for their "crucial" league encounter.
David Beckham is the only man who defies this. Say whatever you wish about his desires for publicity and an extra few dollars into a gastronomical bank account, England is his priority. He continues to give 100%, regardless of his role, at the age of 33 when many players hang up their England boots to prolong their club career as soon as they blow out 30 candles.
So what are England's reasons for such a baron patch of glory? Too many foreigners in the Premier League? Lack of opportunities for English youth? Maybe. But I believe that if this current crop want the World Cup or Euro as much as they crave the Champions League or Johnston's Paint Trophy then we have an absolutely fabulous chance bringing something home from South Africa. And releasing another horrible new shirt to celebrate.
Tuesday 24 March 2009
Trump or Slump Time for Villa?
So what are Aston Villa this season? The team to demolish the "top-four" oligopoly? The team to bring through England's next generation? The team with a manager who should have taken the England job? Maybe all of these depending on the newspaper you invest in.
That was before the latest slump brought my heavily cautious optimism back down to earth. Others' once welcome conversation starter of: "How about Villa eh? Top four finish, I promise you" has been replaced with the less flattering: "What's happened at the weekend?" Bad times.
One point out of five games is admittedly awful, especially for the highfliers who went 13 games unbeaten earlier in the season, but this is a club which is still expanding, and the talent is yet to be fully nurtured.
Two years ago, when the messiah by the name of Martin O'Neill took up his post at Villa Park, Villa finished the season 11th. Compare this with the present day where pundits are claiming Villa are underachieving for not sitting in fourth and consider that point proven.
Things can only get better for Villa. They are probably the strongest squad since that of the early 1980's who brought the European Cup to the Midlands, and the majority of this young squad are yet to hit their peak. Furthermore, their ability to boast a fully British first-team is almost unrivalled in the Premier League. The current squad is teeming with talent such as Gabby Agbonlahor, Ashley Young, Curtis Davies and Nathan Delfouneso who have the potential to be world-beaters in a few seasons, and in Martin O'Neill and John Robertson they have excellent guidance to ensure this happens. Sorry if you feel the "mighty" Marlon Harewood has been unfairly excluded from that list, but I'm of the growing opinion Prof. Stephen Hawking would make a more effective striker and would like to wholeheartedly thank Wolves for taking him off Villa's hands - if only temporarily.
Behind the scenes things are also looking very bright. The notoriously penny-pinching chairman Doug Ellis, whose minimal investment attitude kept the club afloat but stifled almost any growth, has been replaced by American tycoon Randy Lerner who has taken a totally different approach. Lerner has been different to almost all of the foreign chairmen in the Premier League, leaving the management staff to get on with their jobs uninterrupted and investing significant funds if the right player becomes available. He has also been seen making the tea in his box on matchday which tells you a bit about his character.
Conclusively, through all this talk of a Villa slump there shall be light at the end of the tunnel, a tunnel which may last a season or so. By the end of this one I shall have a nice big smile on my face with anything above sixth and a place in the UEFA Cup. Villa is a club where things can only go better as long as key players and Martin O'Neill are kept on the payroll, and also that the great man realises Nigel Reo-Coker is a worse right-back than I am.
Ta much for reading
x
That was before the latest slump brought my heavily cautious optimism back down to earth. Others' once welcome conversation starter of: "How about Villa eh? Top four finish, I promise you" has been replaced with the less flattering: "What's happened at the weekend?" Bad times.
One point out of five games is admittedly awful, especially for the highfliers who went 13 games unbeaten earlier in the season, but this is a club which is still expanding, and the talent is yet to be fully nurtured.
Two years ago, when the messiah by the name of Martin O'Neill took up his post at Villa Park, Villa finished the season 11th. Compare this with the present day where pundits are claiming Villa are underachieving for not sitting in fourth and consider that point proven.
Things can only get better for Villa. They are probably the strongest squad since that of the early 1980's who brought the European Cup to the Midlands, and the majority of this young squad are yet to hit their peak. Furthermore, their ability to boast a fully British first-team is almost unrivalled in the Premier League. The current squad is teeming with talent such as Gabby Agbonlahor, Ashley Young, Curtis Davies and Nathan Delfouneso who have the potential to be world-beaters in a few seasons, and in Martin O'Neill and John Robertson they have excellent guidance to ensure this happens. Sorry if you feel the "mighty" Marlon Harewood has been unfairly excluded from that list, but I'm of the growing opinion Prof. Stephen Hawking would make a more effective striker and would like to wholeheartedly thank Wolves for taking him off Villa's hands - if only temporarily.
Behind the scenes things are also looking very bright. The notoriously penny-pinching chairman Doug Ellis, whose minimal investment attitude kept the club afloat but stifled almost any growth, has been replaced by American tycoon Randy Lerner who has taken a totally different approach. Lerner has been different to almost all of the foreign chairmen in the Premier League, leaving the management staff to get on with their jobs uninterrupted and investing significant funds if the right player becomes available. He has also been seen making the tea in his box on matchday which tells you a bit about his character.
Conclusively, through all this talk of a Villa slump there shall be light at the end of the tunnel, a tunnel which may last a season or so. By the end of this one I shall have a nice big smile on my face with anything above sixth and a place in the UEFA Cup. Villa is a club where things can only go better as long as key players and Martin O'Neill are kept on the payroll, and also that the great man realises Nigel Reo-Coker is a worse right-back than I am.
Ta much for reading
x
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