BBC Blog Network

User Profile

hendero

Listed below are comments made by hendero between Thursday, 11th June 2009 and Wednesday, 28th October 2009.

«Newer
Older»

Agassi confession lengthens shadow of doubt 6:27pm on 28 Oct 2009 I don't agree that the sport has been "deeply hurt", it just makes Agassi seem more human. As most people have posted above, taking a recreational drug is completely different than using steroids to improve one's on court performance. Agassi's denial (and the ATP's willingness to accept his story) seem not unreasonable in the face of what the consequences for the player and sport would have been had the real story come out at the time. Look at Martina Hingis - her at times promising comeback ended in an instance when she was accused of using a recreational drug a few years back. Agassi and co aren't employees of the ATP or WTA, and the tournaments absolutely depend on the presence of name stars to be commercially viable.
Benitez faces biggest test 10:29am on 21 Oct 2009 Since he arrived at Anfield I've had very mixed feelings about Rafa. One can never take away the achievement of managing the side to a European Cup, especially with one of the least talented squads ever to do so. But so many of his decisions make no sense - both at the time he makes them, and in hindsight.

Examples:

1. Alienating Alonso - why on earth would Benitez publically court Gareth Barry, a good enough player but never a winner of a Champions League or European Championship medal, and who is almost a year older, when he already has Xabi Alonso on the squad? As a result he made Alonso feel insecure about his place at Anfield, and quite reasonably took the money to return to Spain with Real Madrid. Benitez had built the Reds most successful system around Alonso, giving Gerrard the freedom to go wherever he wanted. Then Rafa, through crummy man-management, loses the player his system depends upon. Genius.

2. Injured Aquilani - Benitez knew he needed to replace Alonso, had £20 million to spend, then blows it all on the injured Alberto Aquilani, who even when fit doesn't replace the combination of holding and passing that Alonso provided. Everyone on the planet was aware Aquilani would miss the first 2-3 months of the season, so even when he does start playing he'll still be trying to find match fitness, when the season will be 1/3 over, and the Reds' CL and league ambitions could well be gone. Looking at Aquilani's wiki page he sounds like he's been dogged by injuries his whole career. At least he'll fit in nicely with Gerrard and Torres in that respect.

3. Glen Johnson - A good enough player, but did the Reds have a need at right back? As far as I can recall Arbeloa was perfectly fine there last season, Liverpool didn't fail to win the title because of any shortcomings at right back. Then, it turns out they have had a very promising right back in Martin Kelly all along. Why not bring him on over the course of this season as the successor to Arbeloa, instead of blowing £17 million on Johnson?

4. N'gog, Lucas, Bobble - clearly Benitez lacks much of an eye for young talent, because those three are collectively hopeless.

I could go on.
Briatore bows out in unsavoury style 4:37pm on 16 Sep 2009 The average episode of Wacky Races is more plausible than F1 at the moment.
Capello can plot World Cup glory 12:14pm on 10 Sep 2009 I don't see any reason why England can't win the World Cup. They're not as good as Spain or Brazil, but if they get a break or two on the day they can beat anyone. They need the following to happen:

1. No major injuries. They lost to Croatia at Wembley two years ago in part because half their first team was missing. And the manager was rubbish. And Croatia outplayed them. They missed Owen and a fully-fit Beckham in 2006, Rooney (and Rio, albeit not injured) in 2004.

2. No stupid red cards - see 1998 and 2006

3. No defensive/goalkeeping howlers - it's ok to concede the odd goal, but giving away really silly ones is an absolute killer. I'm not sure I can think of a single instance of a team conceding a dumb goal along the way but still winning a major tournament. I can think of plenty of instances of a silly goal knocking a team out.

4. Play swashbuckling football - England aren't going to win a tournament on the back of a bunch of 1-0 wins. They need to play like they did last night - press the other team all over the pitch, starting deep in the opposition's half. Play quickly. Knock balls into the penalty area from out wide. Get the full backs to push on. Have Lennon (or Wright-Phillips or Walcott) run at people. Get Gerrard and Lampard onto the end of crosses. Create as much mayhem as possible. If they concede goals along the way, that's ok. Unless they're completely outclassed, England have almost always shown an ability to fight their way back into games.

5. Know who their five penalty takers are going to be. At the moment that would seem to be Lampard, Rooney, Gerrard, Barry and one more. Maybe Beckham if he's on the pitch at the time. England will probably need to win a penalty shoot-out along the way.

6. Get the squad right, don't waste any spots a la Sven taking but never playing Walcott in 2006. Is there a role for Beckham (yes, in my opinion, even if it's just to knock in some menacing dead balls in the last 20 mins when they need a goal)?

7. Instill the fear of God (aka Capello) into David James that this is his last chance to win anything in his career, that he needs to concentrate for 630 straight minutes, no going walkabout, no flapping at crosses. He's a supremely talented shot-stopper, a big guy who should be able to claim or at least punch every cross that comes his way, he can save the odd penalty, and England aren't going to win the WC unless a) their keeper avoids any disasters and b) their keeper bails them out with a huge save or two along the way. I have confidence James can deliver b), not so sure about a).

8. Keep the WAGs back in Blighty, or at least away from the team hotel. It's one month, the team needs to focus on one thing - football.
Mixed emotions for Capello 3:23pm on 13 Aug 2009 Why all the hatred for Frank Lampard? In the vast mjority of England matches in recent years he has got either a goal or an assist (or both), has been massive for his club the past five seasons, he rarely gives the ball away, his fitness is generally excellent, he doesn't get injured much, and gives his all for his country. And I'm decidely not a Chelsea supporter.
Mixed emotions for Capello 12:07pm on 13 Aug 2009 Yes, goalkeeping is a major worry. Three years ago we all thought David James had played his last game for England, now he's their best hope, by a long way. Green looked uncertain on a few occasions last night, although that is probably largely due to not having played many times with the back four in front of him. England need to know their back four and keeper now, and spend the next 10 months making sure they collectively know what each other is doing, and getting rid of the stupid errors which have led to some laughable goals, starting with the Neville bobblig back pass against Croatia three years ago.

And I'm not sure dismissing Almunia out of hand was Capello's wisest move. "Almunia is for me, Spanish" ....and therefore can't play for us, according to England's Italian head coach.
Mixed emotions for Capello 11:18am on 13 Aug 2009 Two stupidly conceded goals gifted by players who should know better, and I wonder if Barry may have harmed his chances of starting next summer. I don't quite get the point of Gareth Barry for England. They need a left sided midfielder, so if they stuck him wide that would make sense. He's not really much of a tackler, doesn't score very often, isn't a particularly brilliant passer, so what exactly is he supposed to be doing out there. One thing he absolutely cannot do is pass the ball straight to an opposing forward 25 yards from goal.

As for Rio, when he's on he's one of the best in the world, but isn't he supposed to be five years past stupid mental errors like that? Good to see Becks haing a go at him after the goal.

Other than that, on balance I thought England were the better side, which would be quite an accomplishment away from home at the third team in FIFA's rankings. Cole was a revelation, showing all of Heskey's ability to hold the ball up, but with more speed and skill. Let's hope he gets as much experience as summer between now and the World Cup. Defoe has always had the talent, it's a matter of being able to do it consistently. Lots of very encouraging options, and let's not forget Walcott and Gerrard were missing last night. Glenn Johnson - £17 million? Rafa, what were you thinking?
How England can win the Ashes 2:16pm on 10 Aug 2009 England should at least give Bopara a chance and have hit bat at 4. I suppose that would mean bringing in Rob Key, but he has played Test cricket. Not the lithest in the field, but that's ok. No more Harmison, he's had his chances. Ramprakash? Please, just imagine the digs the Aussie fielders will get in about him being on a dancing show. Piling up runs against div 2 county cricket trundlers is hardly proper preparation for facing a Test attack. And why the calls to drop Broad after he just took six wickets and scored a fifty? If anything, he should come in at number 3.

England have to pick a team to win. Might as well go with Siders for Harmison - what do they have to lose?

Strauss, Cook, Key, Bopara, Colly, Flints (if he's unfit then they've lost anyway), Prior, Malfoy, Swann, Anderson, Sidebottom.
Weighing up the rivals in F1 row 4:57pm on 19 Jun 2009 So according to the FIA, setting up a rival to the current F1 would be a "grave violation of competition law"? Sounds to me like the complete opposite, and that to deny the teams the right to set up their own contest would be anti-competitive. Sounds like for once the golden rule - those who have the gold make the rules - is about to be broken. Cheer up Max and Bernie, it was a good run while it lasted, you'll have made your millions. Maybe the days of prepostorous proposed rule changes (if Ecclestone's new scoring system had been in effect the season would practically be over by now), and much of the other nonsense (like changing the schedule and which countries/courses get races every five minutes) will be consigned to the ashcan of history.
Man Utd right to sell Ronaldo 12:29pm on 11 Jun 2009 £80 million for one player. What if he gets a career-ending injury?

Ridiculous, no one's worth anything close to that type of money. And who knows if Ronaldo will be any good for Madrid, very few players who've gone from England to Spain have been, most have been a disappointment - Owen, Van Nistelrooy, Petit, Overmars, etc.

«Newer
Older»

^ Back to top

BBC MMVI

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

BBC.co.uk

BBC Blog Network

Find and talk to the BBC's bloggers.

User Profile

hendero