England tie game with India in World Cup, Birmingham beat Arsenal League Cup and other sport last weekend February 2011

There was some excellent sport on television this weekend and for the first time since the commencement of Winter I hankered to attend something live.

I have already mentioned that on Friday evening I enjoyed Warrington‘s win at St Helens, where I was appointed its first Cheshire County Council Area Director of Social Services, but never commenced the appointment having taken the opportunity of a Director’s position at South Tyneside. Warrington won 25 to 18 4 tries to 3 after leading 18.0 after 20 minutes. Warrington had won only 2 of the previous 41 minutes the occasion in 1944. The crowd was 10000. Warrington are now 4th and St Helens 6th.

On Sunday evening Newcastle minus its former stars and Premiership winning management was able to have a convincing win against Leeds Carnegie in the Aviva Rugby Union Championship. The win keeps Newcastle second from bottom with 16 points from games played 229 to 345 points overall and widens the gap with Leeds who only have 9 points and 161 to 345. This was Newcastle’s third only win but with a game in hand on Sale above them with 21 points and 270-357 there is the prospect of overtaking them before the end of the season. Newcastle scored four tries in this match against one late effort from Leeds who looked doomed. The crowd was 5000.

Sandwiched in between these two games was England’s Rugby Union game against France at Twickenham, England had a penalty at 3 mins which they scored. France then achieved a give away penalty by England 3-3. England then appeared to take command with two further penalties at 12 and 17 but sloppy play enabled France to take the initiative themselves with penalties at 19 and 21 minutes so the score became 9-9. French voices quietened the large English crowd as England were guilty of unforced errors and mistakes which could not be explained away by the greasy ball conditions.

Shortly after the half time kick off and a close call on a forward pass provides the opportunity for Foden to achieve the first try of the game to England which Flood did not convert. Within moments another English try looked on but a pass was called forward and with Flood limping it was Johnny Wilkinson hero of that final second world test final drop goal and former Newcastle man who comes on from the bench and makes a 50m spot kick to take the score to 17-9, so that France needs to score twice with 20 minutes to go. The rest was a struggle but the score remained until the final whistle with the consequence that England now has 6 points from three games and the opportunity for the grand slam but with Wales France and Ireland all only 2 points, and one win behind, it is early doors leaving Scotland and Italy with the zeros.

Newcastle United could only manage a draw at Home on Saturday against much improved Everton but this was sufficient for them to come within a point of Sunderland now in 8th while remaining 3 points clear of three clubs and four points clear of three others. Their battle and that of Sunderland who were poor against Bolton who overtook both clubs to reach 7th but also on 37, keeps them clear of immediate relegation worries. Fortunately Liverpool lost badly at West Ham to stay 6th on 39 points, with a gap of six points between them and the Euro spot Chelsea in 5th. It is all getting very tight in the middle of table. Man United and Arsenal now look as the only clubs contesting the Premiership Title and Arsenal had their first opportunity for silverware in six years when they played 16th placed Birmingham City on Sunday at Wembley.

I only watched part of the final as my attention was focussed on an epic contest between England and India in the cricket World Cup. By all accounts Birmingham started the game with tremendous resolve while Arsenal looking at the class difference on paper between the two sides and with the bookmakers odds confirming their anticipated dominance. Arsenal took to the field apparently assuming that all they had to do was turn up and they would win. Birmingham then shocked the red scarf waving supporters by taking the lead through Zigic and could and should have increased the margin before a well worked move enabled Van Persie to strike a spectacular volley into the net just before half time.

This as expected resulted in Arsenal starting the second half determined to demonstrate their on paper superiority but Birmingham had some experienced hands facing their last and in some instances only likely opportunity of a winner’s medal. The team includes three former Newcastle players with full back and captain Stephen Carr, the temperamental and controversial Lee Bowyer and the recently acquired in January centre forward Obafemi Martins whose double back flip when scoring remains amazing if somewhat fool hardy. Fearing England were about to lose the cricket I had switched over for the final 15 minutes of the football and was rewarded.

Martens could not just believed his luck when just before the end of the full time and with only four minutes of extra time to go, the young goal keeper and a full back collided as they went for the ball and Obafemi found the ball at his feet and open goal where he had just to tap the ball in which he did. Birmingham withstood the final onslaught and Obafemi had another opportunity this time created by his skill before the final whistle brought Birmingham to fevered ecstasy and a distraught and stunned Arsenal following. David had slain Goliath yet again. For relatively newly appointed Manager Alex McLeash at Birmingham this might be considered just another notch on his long list of winners medals first as a player and then as manager of both Celtic and Rangers. However he argued that taking one of the great sides in the world was the best of all feelings. The celebrations are going on and on and now Birmingham can concentrate on Premiership survival with confidence while the new Asian owners could be prepared to dig into their pockets for players in the summer to cope with their team playing in Europe. Wow.

In Bangalore in a stadium packed to the rafters with loud excited home supporters England faced India in what was the first truly competitive game of the World Cup 2011. When India won the toss and elected to bat on a friendly wicket and commenced to score freely it looked as if the die had been cast with the flip of a coin. Although India lost a wicket at 46 the great Tendulkar scored yet another one day century and with Singh and Dhoni also getting half centuries the total of 338 in the final over of their innings looked a daunting task for to win England would have to achieve the fourth highest number of runs in the second innings of this 50 over competition.

Although Kevin Petersen was out scoring well for 31 when the total was 68 and Trott for only 16 at 111, captain Straus was in brilliantly form silencing his critics that he is not a one day man and was finally out for 165 with the score at 281. Until that moment, or in farness the moment before England were winning at a cantor as Bell who had survived a review where he should have been given out according to the England experts in the TV studio was on 69 and looked as if he would also get a century as there were 8 wickets left to get the required 59 runs. But with Bell and Strauss out in successive balls and out of form Collingwood and so Prior at the crease Botham and co tried to put on a brave face. When these two were also out at 285 and 289 and all four going to the curse of Batting power play all the Indian supporters who had left early will have been stunned. Their team look favourites to win. However this was not to be as Yardy, Bresnan and Swann began to do what seemed impossible and score at the required rate of 15 runs(29) an over for the last two overs and 14 from the last with only 2 wickets in hand. England needed just 2 from the final ball and scored only 1 thus the match was tied as the less number of wickets did not apply. The crowd had one of the most exciting days of their life with over 650 runs scored in the day. Alas I missed the excitement as well have switched over to the football and then missed the replay in the evening and again this morning. However it will be on the Sky Player later in the week.

Arsenal beat Barcelona 2.1 at the Emerites in last 16 of 2011 European Cup

There was an excellent football match between Arsenal and the best football playing team in the world at the present time :- Barcelona. They beat Arsenal last year at the quarter final round 6 3 on aggregate with a four goal haul their centre forward Lionel Messi. They now have acquired Villa who like the rest of the team has great skill making perfectly weighted passes which cut through the best of defences. The thing about Barcelona is that they do not spend their time looking for defensive holes but enjoy having defences closely marking so that they can exhibit their skill and outplay. Their other outstanding ability demonstrated time after time on this night was to place themselves just on the line between being in play and offside and then because of the accuracy and timing of passes and their natural seed they are able to break forward to score.

Arsenal opened well on the night taking the game to their visitors but this time it was Messi whose pass put Villa through on his own with the flag rightly held down for him to score. At that point Barcelona moved up a gear and had several opportunities the best of all falling to Messi who again put through and with only the goal keeper to beat was marginal inaccurate so the ball crept past the far goal post and the stadium let out a collective sigh of relief. Had they scored at that point one feared that worse was to follow. However Arsenal held out and had chances themselves but always under pressure none came close. Twelve minutes from time Van Persie who had failed a couple of times before struck one of those amazingly angled shots and it was all suddenly Arsenal and with time running out Ashavin who had come on as substitute struck the ball with force into the opposite corner from where the goal keeper was positioned to take the score to 2.1. The match is still in favour of the Nou Camp home side who have only to score once to take the tie on the away goal advantage. However this is the first time Arsenal have beaten the team they try to emulate and the opportunity is there to write the history book. The previous night Tottenham had scored a vital away goal to win 1.0 against a very noisy Greek home crowd.

13 02.2011 Premier League, Superbowl, Rugby Union and League, Horse Racing trajedy

After all the emotion of the past two weeks as the drama of Egypt unfolds it is time to concentrate for a short while on sport over the past two weeks,

Football British and American style takes pride of place and Newcastle United and their midfield player Cheik Tioti who scored a technically brilliant scorcher at a distance on the volley to level the game against Arsenal 4.4. As to day Saturday 12th 2011 I was spoilt for choice with wall to wall sporting options to watch on TV or listen on the radio. Newcastle were playing at hone and the attention was on how they would cope following the most expensive transfer of British born player, some £35 million to Liverpool as the last day of the January Transfer period.

I had my suspicions that Newcastle born Carroll would be sold following his rapid rise to attention, not just because of his goal tally but his all round team supporting play and given the paucity of England forwards his call up to the international squad was deserved but created greater interest. I suspect that had Liverpool not made their interest clear other clubs, notably Spurs or Sunderland might have shown public if not private interest. The young man has been injured and his off pitch activities which led him into being a defendant in the magistrates court, not once but twice also suggested that a move out of the area might be in his best interests, although not for Newcastle who were also suffering because of injury to also Newcastle born Shoala Ambiobi.

Before moving back to the game, the transfer madness was headed by the transfer of Torres from Liverpool to Chelsea for the amazing fortune of £50 million the highest transfer fee paid in the UK and the third highest in world football. Newcastle were said to have refused the first and second bids from Liverpool and claimed that the transfer took place only after the player put in the request to move. He alleged that he was told to go but on examination the story appears to be that in order to stay he wanted to negotiate contract from his £30000 a week that is £1.5 million a year to the £90000 £4.5 million being offered by Liverpool.

Back to the game Theo Walcott scored for Arsenal after 44 seconds. Disappointing but not a disaster. However when Arsenal scored not one but two more within the first ten minutes it was game over, and definitely over when a fourth was scored before half time. There was a trickle of fans who had enough and made their way to the bar or home. Oh yes of little faith, although I admit I turned the radio off at this point. I did not turn it on until towards thee end of the game with the score 4.3. I watched the Match of the Day highlights and what happened is that an Arsenal lost his temper following a Joey Barton tackle which although forceful won the ball. The arsenal player reacted and struck out at Barton and then a Newcastle player who tried to calm the situation. The player was sent off with two yellow cards. Afterwards the Arsenal Manager argued that Barton should have been sent off for the tackle, accepting that his player should not have reacted as he had.

Of the three goals before I switch one two were penalties and of these one was a good and clear cut decision and the other was questionable. Before the third goal Newcastle had one disallowed which upon analysis should have been credited. By this time the atmosphere at St James Park had become electric. Then there was a free kick about thirty yards out which was headed back out and Tiote caught the ball on the volleyed and successfully aimed into the left corner of the goal into the net. No team in the history of the Premier League has come back from being 4.0 behind to draw.. Arsenal did managed to get the ball into the net in the time added because of previous delays but it was a good offside decision. There was a great party on the street and in the bards and clubs in the city as if the game had been one. All fear of a quick slide into the relegation zone banished.

This week Newcastle are away at Blackburn, a club which I have visited more than once, certainly supporting Newcastle, and possibly Sunderland as it is possible to get there and back in a day about three hours using A1M and then the M62. Some 4500 Newcastle fans made the trip making great noise and in the first half their team had the best of the play with at least two good chances to score, one hitting the bar. For the rest of the game for long stretches Newcastle did everything but score. The goalkeeper Paul Robinson was buy throughout and in the first half made saves from Leon Best and Fabricio Coloccini. In the second half Newcastle controlled the play but somehow managed to not connect or shoot accurately to the numerous opportunity which came their way. At one level the 0.0 draw is acceptable but this keeps them anchored in the midcult of table, a point closer safety but still 5 points behind Sunderland who are yet to play this day.

Sunderland went to visit their second team Stoke, second team because six former Sunderland players are in the Stoke squad, and three were on the field of play. It was a good game but disappointing because Stole scored the winning goal 3.2 after Sunderland had scored through Phil Bardsley within the two minutes only for Stoke to equalise although the goal was offside but very difficult for the match officials to see. Sunderland went ahead and the Stoke scored with yet another controversial goalmouth scramble. The winner was the only goal that should have been valid so in the vernacular we was robbed. Their match against Spurs was also on the TV but ESPN which I listened to on the radio in early evening

Sunderland had a great start with the opening goal from Gyan, now leading the line in the absence of Bent, the club as did Newcastle fail to find an adequate replacement to fill the number shirt. And for the next ten to fifteen minutes it looked as if this start would result in at least one more goal for the home side. However Spurs with their on ambitions of playing in Europe once more remain a good side and commenced to match the effort and the skill and just before the end of the second half they equalised. They went ahead in the second and although Sunderland tried hard to at least gain a point, they failed

Another aspect of the last weekend of Premiership was the number of goals scored some forty on the Saturday with a couple more on the Sunday with Chelsea at home to Liverpool and losing to the away side 1.0, a game which I part watched on Sunday late afternoon. As a consequence fo the result last weekend Man United reinforced their position at the top of the table with realistically only Arsenal and Man City with the prospect of catching them up. Their win at lunchtime in the Derby with Man City brought them seven points clear until the afternoon kick offs. Although Man City like Chelsea are now more concerned about keeping their European League position than realistic challenge for the title. The Liverpool win meant that they pushed Sunderland into seventh spot one point ahead with the same games played. The appointment of Kenny Dalglish has prompted a return to the Liverpool organisation and spirit of former times and they have rapidly moved from the lower reaches of the division. Newcastle are now 10th with a batch of teams so that a couple of wins or losses could see them in touch with a European place or falling into the relegation misery. Sunderland, despite their loss remained 7th but above them Spurs replaced Chelsea in the top four a situation unlikely to remain.

England were away to Demark in a friendly on Wednesday. Friendly’s are like practice matches and it amazes me that so many people pay to watch. England did win 2.1 but so what.. The football event of this week was Wayne Ronney’s overhead scissor kick which went like a rocket into one corner of the net.

It was in the early 1980’s that I discovered American Football and became a supporter of the Chicago Bears. For Christmas someone gave me the shirt of the San Francisco 49ers so I also supported them. Watching meant staying up late although twice I went to Wembley to see pre seasons games and when a British league was established with a team at the Gateshead stadium I went to some home games. I also acquired a primitive computer game play, Over recent years I had tended to watch only a live game here and there although SKY TV now covers the regular season and what is now the ESPN sport channel, College Football. The reasons for reduced interests is the combination fo taking a more general interest in Football and my other interests and activities.

I have watched the Superbowl most years, previously live, but over recent years video tape recordings and this year he Sky box provided an HD recording. I chose the BBC version because they do not impose their own advertisements on the USA ones although this did not eliminate all advertising because the game commentators include product placement. And the cost of an advertising slow of 30 seconds, $3 million. So given the length of the game, the build up and the long half time, and the end of game razzmatazz, as well as the stop start nature of the game play I would be surprised if the total advertising revenue was not between $200 and £250 million dollars.

It was also an excellent game given that both teams who had not great seasons or ended as divisional champions, were known for their rock defences. The Game was between the Green Bay Packers who had won back to back and one triple Superbowl in the past but not for sometime and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Green Bay is also the smallest city among the two divisional teams. Both are used to cold and snow but not North Texas but there were piles of snow outside and artificial surface ice cold. This $1.3 billion stadium built two years ago has it critics although for this game the roof was close creating a warmer indoor atmosphere for which ticket holders gad paid upwards of £1000 and a hardy few also paid $200 dollars to stand in the cold outside the stadium to watch on large screens. The matched build up is along one with the teams introduced and then an award made by the children of legendary Walter Peyton for the player who had made the greatest contribution off the filed, this to charitable work within and outside the USA. Lee Michele who I knew not of sang America the Beautiful, the equivalent of our Greensleeves and the Christine Aquilera sang the Stars and Stripes unaccompanied with perhaps the longest held note climatic ending of all time. There was not one but interruptions of universal applause, not for her singing but shots on screen of serving members of the USA army in Afghanistan as they waited to view the match from heir fields of blood.

It was after 23.30 British time and 90 minutes since the programme commenced that a ball was kicked in he official play. It was midnight and the first quarter was drawing to a close when Green Bay took a gamble on the third and quarterback Rogers managed to throw the ball 29 yards to Jordy Nelson for touchdown goal with conversation and 7.0. Then a few minutes later Green Bay’s and Nick Collins manages to evade the bemused defenders to go from the 37th all way and suddenly from appearing to be a low score defensive bore, the Packers end the quarter 14.0. Someone comments that no one gets back more than 10 points at half time or was it first quarter! This was not in the script.

Second quarter Sean Suisham has a successful 33 yard field goal at an angle for the Steelers. Just before 00.45 am Green Bay Intercepts and Greg Jennings makes the subsequent 21 yard catch to take score 21.3 and we ask is this going to be a rout? No , as the Steelers being their come back when veteran Hones Ward goes over with conversion 21.10 and this brings the half time with losts of talk here to cover for the prolonged adverts before the Black Eyed Peas did OK but no more than OK given some fo the recent great acts.

1.42 and the gap closes another 7 points with the second Pittsburg touchdown and conversion. Suisham then gets the chance of a field goal from 52 yards and is not close. Is this the turning point in the game? The pressure begins to tell with Sacks and a Fumble. After the latest Sack and loss of yardage Green Bay score their fourth Touchdown as Pittsburg open up. The number of turnovers against the Steelers has its impact. Steelers fight back and their third touchdown they go for 2 points rather than kick conversion and make it taking the score to 28-23 and within one more strike( I know that’s baseball jargon) to take the lead for the first time in the game. This is not to be as Green Bay get a field goal from 23 yards out after Ziggy Hood has taken down the quarter back. And that is that and despite all the effort 31-23 is the final score and Green Bay get their hands on the Vince Lombardi trophy. It was 3.30 when stay up watchers could go to bed. Me? I watched the game over lunch.


I have been to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff twice to watch Newcastle United in FA Cup semi finals. They lost both. England played Wales this year with the stadium roof closed on Friday evening 4th February and the memory that it eight years since a win on Welsh soil. However the Welsh side as the English have had their problems and a close game was expected. The outcome was a 26 to 19 win for England with Chris Ashton scoring two tries. Which Toby Flood converted as well as kicking three penalties. Johnny Wilkinson, the hero of the last minute drop kick which won the World Championship but who now plays his Rugby in France also scored the other Penalty kick, Morgan Stoddert scored the try for Wales which was converted with four penalty kicks.

There was talk of Italy being no push over as they have been in the past for England’s game at Twickenham this Saturday. Twickenham is a very different ground today from that which I would pass on the way to Richmond when I lived at Teddington in the late 1960’s. I always had in mind to watch an International but was then too occupied with commitments and other interests. Well what does the scoreline of 59 to 13 suggest? England scored 8 tries with Ashton 4 and the others by Cueto, Tindell, Care and Haskell Flood converted 5 with a penalty and Wilkinson converted the other 3. Wales beat Scotland at Murrayfield 24-6. France. France had beaten Scotland 34- 21 and Ireland in Italy 13-11. This left France to travel to the new Aviva stadium which has replaced that at Landsdown Road where the home side have only been successful twice in twenty years. As I type away the match is being closely fought with France just ahead by 25 points to 22 and with less than 9 minutes to play. Ireland had the opportunity win the game in the closing two minutes but just short of the line a player dropped the ball and France regained possession to close out their victory. They are now second to England because of the superior number of points amassed

There has also been an extraordinary opening day of the Rugby League first division with all the teams playing their games over two days at the Millennium stadium. The opening game saw Warrington defeated 28-18. I was appointed the first District Social Services Director for Warrington after the local government reorganisation in 1974 when Warrington lost its Lancashire County Borough status and was transferred to the New Cheshire County Council. This was the largest District in Cheshire which led to a substantial increase in income, however the opportunity came to become the chief for more than double my previous earnings and the rest they say is history, but having held meetings with all the voluntary bodies and prospective staff and toured the district I have retained interest in the town’s sporting achievements as with Wakefield where I lived for a year when working for the Yorkshire West Riding and whose Rugby League team has had mixed fortunes over recent decades. Wakefield also lost to Castleford. The European Super League includes the French team from Perpignan, the Catalan Dragons and the Harlequins not to be confused with the Rugby Union side who confusingly play at the same ground, the Stoop Twickenham. The Celtic Crusaders are a Welsh Team playing at Wrexham, a friendly town which I used to visited went living at Cheshire and Bromborough and when supporting Sunderland Football club.

I have never been a Horse Racing fan although took an interest in the Derby which is held on partially open common land at Epsom and which I once attended travelling there on my cerise bicycle when I was still at school. I would also watch the Grand National on TV and still do along the Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge. I did take an interest a couple of time in trying to forecast winners but only for fun and which proved that betting on horses is a mugs games unless you have inside information. I mention horse racing because of a tragic accident on Saturday when two horse were electrocuted to death in the pre race mounting enclosure. It appears that as a consequence of recent maintenance work and underground cable was brought sufficiently close to the surface so that a charge was transmitted via the metal shoes. A third horse was affected but survived. Although the first race before continued, the rest of the meeting was postponed as an inquiry commenced no doubt with one eye on liability and compensation.