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hermannredux

Listed below are comments made by hermannredux between Tuesday, 30th June 2009 and Friday, 30th October 2009.

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The man behind the medals 2:30pm on 30 Oct 2009 Probably too late now, but in athletics he could have worked wonders on someone like Mark Lewis-Francis, all raw talent but no focus.

He could probably do a job on the England rugby team too
Andrew's autumn test 1:44pm on 29 Oct 2009 #23 captainlazytim

I fully agree with you, that is his "job", or what it's supposed to be.

Unfortunately though, as with any job, you are judged in the long run by results. So while his job doesn't include involvement in the England team, the bottom line will always be how the team fares.

Fair enough really - he has to be accountable somehow, it would be too easy otherwise: he could just carry on sacking coach after coach until he retires.
Andrew's autumn test 1:10pm on 29 Oct 2009 The trouble with Andrew's position is that in the view of the public and, ultimately, in that of his employers, he will be judged by the very thing he cannot control: England's results.

It's all very well laying the foundations - and credit to Andrew for doing that - but foundations in rugby are like the foundations of a house: you can't see them. What people see is the England team.

It is therefore Martin Johnson's role to make Andrew's position teneable by producing results. We will see what happens over the coming year but the last 6 nations were at least encouraging - England lost two games that could have gone either way, in stark contrast to the previous couple of seasons.

When Johnson manages to convert these tight games into wins rather than losses, he will validate Andrew's position. So as i say, the one factor on which his career hinges is the one thing he cannot control.
Boxing needs a Bolt 08:56am on 16 Sep 2009 I must confess I've been wooed by Isinbayeva for some time and not just her vaulting prowess.

All sports need superstars with charisma, but the sports without any "immediate" mass appeal need them more. While football, tennis and athletics for example are easy to understand and fairly universal (anyone can try their hand), other sports like rugby, cricket or baseball have sometimes incomprehensible rules and little in the way of immediate appeal to the non-initiated audience, and so really need their stars - Lomu put rugby on the world radar at a time when it was sink or swim for the sport, for example.

Boxing is the odd man out here: it's really the most basic of all sports, the easiest to understand (surely only a pie-eating contest would be more genetically ingrained into humans), yet it's also the one most people would be least willing to attempt. But at the same time we do have a fascination for it, watching two guys beating each other up.

You say that America's the place for heavyweights and you're right. But wouldn't its mass appeal be enhanced by greater competition? I mean someone like Lewis, only facing tougher competition. That's what heavyweight boxing really needs: a full stable of very competitive Americans, and a handful of great heavyweights from the rest of the world, as in golf. You only need to look at the lower divisions to see it works.
Relaxed Murray targets Federer re-match 09:55am on 31 Aug 2009 Murray's game is fairly widely disliked - but mainly by his opponents, notably Roger Federer who cannot work out how to play him and always has to hope he (Roger) is having an on-day while Andy is having an off-day.

I've seen many Murray games and for the spectator at least, boring they most certainly are not.

As for "enormity", there is an easy rule of thumb: if the word is (mis)used by the majority of people and for a reasonable period of time, then it becomes right. Any other attitude is both elitist and naive.
Flintoff a very English hero 11:27am on 24 Aug 2009 #46

Here's a few for you Ben: Colin Jackson, Jonathan Edwards, Jackie Stewart, Stephen Hendry, Daley Thompson.

I think in what you say the operative word is "arguably" - always a good one when you want to say what you think but also want a get-out clause.

Of my list it would be between Daley Thompson and Jonathan Edwards, the former because he regularly conquered the world in no fewer than 10 disciplines, the latter because he set a mark that is unlikely to be beaten for a generation.
Flintoff a very English hero 07:44am on 24 Aug 2009 Kind of agree with #12 about Mansell and Hunt - Mansell was far from monochrome and actually provided the public with a good ol' fashioned boy racer as a nice contrast to Professor Prost - monochrome if ever there was one.

I've always enjoyed watching Freddie at his best - even when the wickets didn't come - but like others I feel he too often played when he shouldn't have done, not his fault at all but rather the fault of public (and selectors') ludricrous expectations.
A new day, a new wonder 1:19pm on 21 Aug 2009 Robsandy (post 52), your assumption is correct and is perfectly normal.

All sprinters who double up 100-200 do what you have described: a portion of the 200, usually the 70m to 170m section, is run faster than they would run the 100m. It isn't surprising really: in the 100m the first 15 metres are just to get into your stride, so a fair bit of time is lost. The momentum of the 200 means you hit your top speed for a longer distance.

This also explains why the 4 x 100 relay record is considerably faster than the 100 m record multiplied by four.
How will the Premier League unfold? 10:43am on 11 Aug 2009 My prediction:

1. Chelsea
2. Man Utd
3. Liverpool
4. Tottenham
5. Everton
6. Arsenal

I'll be back in about 9 months to claim my fiver
Have officials turned a blind eye to Burger? 08:05am on 30 Jun 2009 In one respect I'm happy that Burger was only given a yellow.

If the card had been a straight red, there is not the slightest doubt that the Lions would have won, and won well - maybe even to the extent of holding a significant psychological advantage for the decider.

In which case we whinging Brits would have had to endure months - no years - of bitter comments from SA fans about how the Lions only won the tour because of a debatable sending-off. Because while no-one seems to doubt the red was deserved, had it actually been given the torrent of abuse against the ref would be far worse than it is now...

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