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The Voice of Reason

Listed below are comments made by The Voice of Reason between Tuesday, 30th September 2008 and Tuesday, 23rd June 2009.

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Ashes are still the ultimate, says Warne 5:37pm on 23 Jun 2009 "What is undoubtedly true, and quite a turn up for the books, is that one of the greatest spinners in the history of the game now acknowledges that England may have the upper hand in spin during this Ashes series."

What an horrifc case of underestimating Shane Warne. With all the beach bum comparisons and off-field exploits it's easy to forget that Warne has a fantastic cricketing brain.

Rashid is not the first England player Warne has highlighted - Pietersen and Mascarenhas are two who spring immediately to mind - and what he says is self-evident to say the least.

I'm just one of a lot of people who respect Shane Warne not only for his on-field heroics, but also for the fact that he quite clearly is a pretty bloody good bloke.
Bullish Bell starts the long walk back 3:04pm on 09 Apr 2009 Am I the only one who thinks that the amount of pressure Bell seems to be putting on himself could be the reason for his under-performance on the Test scene?

Jeez, Ian - just get back to enjoying the game for the game.
Why now for Shearer and Newcastle? 3:51pm on 01 Apr 2009 The timing really couldn't be better for Shearer: get relegated, and he can blame any number of people other than himself, keep them up and his hero status in Geordie-land is safe for another season.

He must also know that at Dennis Wise, at least, and possibly mike Ashley too, are on their way out of the club as I can't see him taking charge only to be subject to the same restrictions place on Keegan.

I hope he does well because I have respect for the guy, but changing the manager won't solve the problems at Newcastle - the club needs overhauling from top to bottom.
Hugely respected, much admired... but loved? 1:08pm on 13 Jan 2009 Blimey Tom, that's a bit strong.

I for one have always loved watching Hayden bat (apart from against us - apart from in 2005!), because of the no nonsense way he went about his business.

At his peak three or four years ago, you could see a bowling attack sink as soon as he walked to the crease, with his big chest puffed out.

Yes, he's been waning recently, but that shouldn't change the fact that when Australia were credited for changing the Test game from a 2 - 2.5 runs per over bore-a-thon to one where 400 runs in a day became commonplace, Hayden was at the forefront of that.
Pietersen's gamble too far 3:53pm on 07 Jan 2009 DWALDO: "KP is merely a good batsman nowhere near the top of the tree."

Actually DWALDO, he's ranked as the fourth best Test batsman on the planet. Surely that's "near the top of the tree"...?
Pietersen's gamble too far 3:45pm on 07 Jan 2009 GoonerWinTheTreble

Firstly, your name suggests a tendency to show blind loyalty to regardless of what evidence you have in front of you. Kent fan, by any chance?

You as for someone who would be a better captain than Rob Key.

How about any of the 11 players whose place in the side is decided on merit?
Pietersen's gamble too far 3:42pm on 07 Jan 2009 I can't say I'm surprised at the cause - the problems between Moores and Pietersen were well-known when the latter took the reigns last summer.

I can't say I fault Pietersen if he did what he did for the benefit of the team, but obviously this is the aspect that's being called into question.

I very much doubt that the two's differing opinion of Michael Vaughan's benefit to the team was the cause of these problems - more like the straw that broke the camel's back.

Pietersen wanted someone in charge who has greater international experience - either as a player or a coach - than Moores, but the way he has gone about trying to instigate the change has left all concerned with egg on their faces.

This is far from a crisis though. England will field largely the same side who beat South Africa in the last Test of last summer and played well against an India side that dominated Australia. The problem is uniting the squad and focussing them on a single team goal.

Give Strauss the captaincy for the Tests, Freddie for the ODIs and make Graeme Swann Entertainment officer for the duration of the tour.
Could Wenger shape new England? 1:21pm on 12 Nov 2008 It's no coincidence that Arsenal's Carling Cup side has suddenly started to produce not just quality young players, but English ones.

The likes of Simpson, Randall and Lansbury were among the first in-take of Wenger's reign, so I for one am not surprised that many of them have the chance to make the grade.

Most Arsenal fans would admit that they would love to see a team full of English talent, but Wenger has shown patience in bringing hi own through the ranks rather than splashing millions them.

Hopefully the English contingent will put an end to claims that Wenger has some kind of phobia of English talent - he has always said if they're good enough they will play, and that is now being demonstrated.
Beckham gambling in Milan 09:34am on 23 Oct 2008 You're being a bit harsh ion Steve McLaren here, Phil.

You praise Capello for his u-turn to bring Beckham back in to the Real madrid side, but when the former England boss does the same it's because he was "held in such thrall" by him.

You can't have it both ways - praise them both or have a pop at them both.
Reffing hell! 1:06pm on 30 Sep 2008 *STOP PRESS*

Robbo almost makes a valid point. Just a shame he shied away from it at the last minute.

"Seriously though, what Palacios's woeful salmon-leap proved more than anything (and St. Michael of Owen rather bought his spot-kick on Saturday 'n' all) is that the players couldn't be trying harder to make the refs look stupid."

What is often overlooked is that 22 players every match spend the entire 90 minutes trying to con the ref.

Every decision is appealed for nby both sets of players, and as Robbo says te players are quite happy for the ref to look reidiculous (Reading players' response to the goal against Watford, for example).

As soon as the players stop claiming every decision and questioning those that go against them, the easier the refs job is and the better the spectacle becomes.

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