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gilles_v

Listed below are comments made by gilles_v between Thursday, 9th April 2009 and Friday, 11th December 2009.

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Schumacher return looking increasingly likely 2:22pm on 11 Dec 2009 The plot thickens...

It would be interesting to see him back but I don't see the logic. The last former world champion to make his comeback in his 40s was Nigel Mansell and we all know what happened on that occasion (though I imagine Schumacher will fit in the car!). It makes sense from Mercedes' point of view - you couldn't get much more publicity than this.

Formula 1 has rejuvenated itself since the dark and highly dull period of the beginning of this decade - we don't need a return to that.
Phil McNulty Q&A 4:00pm on 11 Nov 2009 I think we need to readdress the diving issue - what actually constitutes a dive? Public opinion seems to be if a player goes down without contact then that is cheating, if there is a modicum of contact then it is not a dive and a penalty/free kick should rightly be awarded.

But is this entirely fair? Darren Bent last weekend against Spurs was clearly on his way down before contact was made with the keeper. But as he touched him the penalty was deemed acceptable. Likewise certain replays seemed to show Wayne Rooney was already going to ground as Manuel Almunia slid in in the Man Utd-Arsenal game.

David N'Gog and (probably) Eduardo were both going to ground and assuming they were going to be taken down by hard challenges, only for the opposition player to avoid contact at the last second.

Is there really any difference between these four examples?
Capello's World Cup contenders 10:55am on 15 Oct 2009 "Beckham has not, even at his peak, made a hugely significant impact in his last three major tournaments with England."

Hold on, in 2006 didn't he set up 4 and score 1 of England's 6 goals?

I agree as I said before that in a perfect world we'll play fantastic, flowing football and not need the prescence of Beckham to win a game.

But this England team cannot be relied on to do that. If at 80mins in a game it's 0-0 and we need something desperately England always revert to type and play the long-ball 'get it to the strikers' tactic. If that's going to happen, which seems almost inevitable as to win most tournaments you're going need an ugly victory, then I want Beckham there to come on as a substitue and provide someone with a glorious assist.
Capello's World Cup contenders 09:20am on 15 Oct 2009 The point about Beckham is that he offers something that certainly no England player can, and possibly no other player in the world. Perhaps it was a bit over-the-top to name him man of the match yesterday but he undoubtedly had a big impact on the game.

In a perfect world you're probably right, we should have the confidence to say 'you've had your time - this team is good enough' - but in reality let's not forget the woeful performances England are capable of in major tournaments.

The examples that spring to mind are the Trinidad & Tobago & Ecuador games at the last World Cup. If we're struggling you need the creativity of Beckham from a set piece or a sublime cross-field ball (a la Crouch's goal vs T&T) - and no-one else has that ability quite like the former captain.

Elsewhere I'd agree with the squad at present - it virtually picks itself - but there's an awful lot of football to be played between now and June. One thing's for sure though, Mr Capello will not care one iota what the opinion of the public and press is!
Your classic Brazilian Grand Prix 6:01pm on 14 Oct 2009 Thank you for posting both this and all of the Classic F1 highlights packages this season - they really add depth to your exceptional coverage of Formula 1. Regardless of all the complaints the format works brilliantly and sensible compromises have been made to cover the races shown under previous rights. I'm really looking forward to watching these highlights and hoping this feature continues in the same vein for next season.
The ramifications of the Singapore race fixing verdict 4:26pm on 21 Sep 2009 electricsoup:

I didn't mean Max/Bernie benefitted from this - but they certainly came off best from a bad situation. I was referring to the staggering hypocrisy of the hearing, given that the last time a cheating scandal occurred the punishment was a crippling $100m fine. It is no coindence that the pair have always been at odds with McLaren and especially Ron Dennis. This time they've handily relieved themselves of Briatore - who during the FOTA wranglings was the one assigned to 'be the new Bernie'.

I totally agree that I don't want to see manufactureres leave the sport but a precedent was set and then totally ignored in this instance. The rules should be the same for all competitors - not meted out depending on how it suits those that run the sport.
The ramifications of the Singapore race fixing verdict 3:55pm on 21 Sep 2009 And who came off best from all of this? Surprise, surprise Max and Bernie of course. At a time when they need as many established teams as possible to commit to the sport they got off scott free. Oh and happily enough one of the major thorns in their side through all of the FOTA potential breakaway, Briatore, is banned for life. Not that I'm bothered about him going but it all seems a bit convenient.

What this article fails to mention is the frankly astonishing conflict of interests which allows the sports commercial rights holder and FIA president to sit as members of the World Motor Sports Council who make this kind of decision.

It's not just the banks that need proper regulation, the sooner F1's organisers are overhauled the better.
Brave Shearer gives Newcastle hope 08:39am on 12 May 2009 It was a "high-risk strategy"?! Bringing on Newcastle's best striker? Granted he was an injury doubt but this is hyperbole in the extreme. You don't need to be any kind of managerial genius to work that one out I'm sorry. Credit to the players, they got an excellent result when needed - but has Shearer shown any kind of tactical acumen thus far? Yet to be convinced. We'll see in a couple of weeks I suppose.
Classic Spanish Grands Prix 10:07pm on 05 May 2009 1991 - Senna & Mansell in one of the most iconic images in F1 history.
Classic Chinese Grands Prix 10:42am on 09 Apr 2009 Not a bad idea, why not have a "Classic Easter GP" weekends. Imola used to fall around this time, so we could see the 05 Alonso-Schumacher duel again. Or rather, for the first time given we missed it originally...

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