BLOG POSTS
Posted Mar 1st 2007, 8:35pm
Pakistan pacemen miss out
Pakistan pace bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have been ruled out of the World Cup due to injury. The pair who have had recent doping related troubles have been forced to step down because of knee and elbow problems respectively. Akhtar is one of few 100 mph+ bowlers in world cricket and his absence will help a few international batsmen sleep easier in their beds. Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami are the replacements for the injured bowlers in the tournament that gets underway in just 12 days time.
Posted Feb 22nd 2007, 11:41am
Magical mystery tour
The latest leg of my FA Cup mystery tour with Talksport and E.ON took us to Watford last weekend. Watford looked a very poor outfit and route one was their only hope. Ipswich on the other hand got the ball down and played it well. Watford could have done with an old head like Legwinski who ran the midfield in the first half for the Tractor Boys. Steve Bennett made many a Suffolk enemy (if he hasn't already got enough!) when he reduced the visitors to ten men. WQatford scrambled a late goal to proceed to a repeat of their 1984 semi with Plymouth. The BBC have given their fans the unenviable task of getting back from the West Country after a Sunday night 6pm kick off. I suspect that I may be landed with atrip to Middlesborough or WBA in the quarters but I will not find out until Friday 9th March on Talksport. All the wranglings over Wembley just add to the drama of my 'season of a lifetime'. Check out my latest blog online at http://www1.talksport.net/inside/inside_detail.asp?tipsid=99830
Posted Feb 17th 2007, 7:58am
Hornets here I come!
As part of my FA Cup magical mystery tour I'm off to Watford v Ipswich at Vicarage Road this afternoon. Will be interesting to see how the teams compare with Watford trying to hang on to Prem status and Ipswich trying to get back to former glories. Both these teams were prominent when I was growing up in the early 80's with players such as Barnes and Blissett, Brazil and Wark on the scene. looking forward to a great cup tie as the arch of Wembley starts to come into view for the 16 teams left in the competition. No chance of weakened sides for these two, they've got a lot to play for. Catch up with my latest FA Cup blog on Talksport's features page early next week when I report back on the weekend in Hertfordshire.
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Posted Feb 14th 2007, 9:28pm
England World Cup hopes!
It's interesting again to see England banking on half fit players for the forthcoming World Cup. Pietersen is a key to any chance of (dare I say it!) winning but how many times in football and cricket have we seen England bank on players who are clinging onto their fitness. Flintoff, Beckham, Owen and Rooney spring to mind. Also, how did the best young one day bowler from last summer, Stuart Broad, miss out again. If they are good enough, they are old enough. That's the saying, let's swallow our pride, ditch the mediocrity and throw in the flair players and bright youngsters.
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Posted Feb 13th 2007, 8:57pm
Sea of change at Boro'
Having watched the first half of tonight's FA Cup replay at Middlesborough my opinion of the club is shifting. During the McClaren era I found myself deliberately missing their games if they were live on TV. They seemed a one dimension club in a half full jelly mould stadium just clogging up the Prem. My mood is changing! Gareth Southgate has always struck me as a genuine guy who is both passionate and knowledgeable about the game. To me he has breathed new life into the club that Steve Mac left for England. They have some very exciting young English players such as the combative Cattermole and the lively Downing. Add to this the natural scoring touch of Yakubu and the highly underated Viduka up front and I think this team under Southgate could go far. They've had their ups and downs since the crazy days of Ravanelli and co but I've started to watch them and enjoy what Mr Southgate is building. With their young ambitious chairman and manager in place I think they could be a team to watch over the next 3-4 years if they buy the right players to fit around their youngsters.
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Posted Feb 12th 2007, 7:42pm
England on the up??
I'm still getting my head round the England cricket team's win in the one day series. But wait....don't get carried away cricket fans! Remember those monumental yet slightly over the top scenes from Ashes '05? This does not mean we are going to wipe the floor in the forthcoming World Cup. Just remember that when you knock those Aussies down they come back twice as determined to take you apart. We have an okay record over the years having reached three World Cup Finals in 79, 87 and 92 but we have mountains to climb. As I write this I am willing the team to lift the trophy for the first time buit I can't see far past those gritty Aussies to take the silverware back down under.
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Posted Feb 5th 2007, 10:46pm
The Strangest Transfers
I've just got round to reading a fine book of weird football facts that my wife got me for Christmas. It's fascinating as the transfer window has recently slammed shut to hear of some of the more unusual deals of yesteryear. The former Anglo-Irish forward Tony Cascarino joined Gillingham in 1981 in exchange for a set of tracksuits. In 1949 a Hungarian player moved to Italy with a doughnut making machine going in the other direction!!
Has anyone got any other gems from pro football or the amateur ranks to match these??
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