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Showing posts with label Peter Anderson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peter Anderson. Show all posts
Peter Anderson ⚽ Oh the agony. 

Sport can be so cruel, yet we can't take our eyes off it. This weekend was the annual debacle when Rory McIlroy wilts under the pressure of not winning a U.S. Masters. I have followed him faithfully since his breakthrough and watched him win 4 Majors, the Race to Dubai several times, the Fed-X cup twice, Ryder Cups home and away and be the world number one golfer for more weeks than I can count. He has won everything, except the Masters. He is richer than most Northern Irish people and leads a wonderful life, yet I still desperately want him to win the Masters. Why do I even care? That is the power and draw of sport.

Every April I sit down to watch the competition knowing that the pressure will get to him and he will wilt. And so it was this year too. Inevitably. I think now that his only chance is to win it when he is over the hill and is no longer facing the yearly questions about completing the Majors slam.

I followed Darren Clarke through his career too and was heartbroken that he never won a Major. Until, that is, he was no longer considered a contender. And at the grand old age of 42, he wins the British Open, by putting together 4 solid rounds the very year that none of the big hitters could. For me, that is Rory's only hope now. It is 10 years since his last Major and his star seems very much on the wane. I feel every bogey like a kick in the stones.

Also feeling like they have been kicked in the stones are the followers of Liverpool and Arsenal. It is pure agony to watch your team labour to a defeat, especially at home, and especially when you are creating chances not taken. There is a long way to go in this season's run in. City have to go to Spurs where they have never won on the Pep era, and City are nowhere near last season's level, with only a handful of clean sheets all season. Yet amazingly we are in mid-April and the Treble is still on. I am not saying for one second that I believe we will win another Treble but we are still in all 3 comps, which is a testament to the genius that is Pep Guardiola. Part of me can't believe that both Liverpool and Arsenal will let us win another EPL.

Rory McIlroy once said that he likes to win competitions by getting a lead and then going into cruise control. If he isn't playing well then plan B is to grind it out, stay on the leaderboard and hope that the opposition fall away. That is what seems to be happening to City right about now. I had years of agony watching City disappear into League One obscurity so I'll take the highs while they last. But why do we endure years of agony for fleeting bouts of ecstasy? Well if it was easy it wouldn't mean so much.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Agony And Ecstasy

Peter Anderson ⚽ Watching Arsenal against Porto in the Champions League a few weeks ago brought up a few bad memories. 

There in the Porto defence at the age of 41 was a certain Pepe. Probably the most despicable player to have played the game in the modern era. Gawd, even the look of him makes my skin crawl. For me, he epitomises everything that is wrong with the modern play acting of so called professionals.

I first came across him while living in Madrid. He was playing for Real (not a good start) and he was a dirty player. In the big pressure games he would lose control and fly into potentially career ending tackles. When the ref wasn't looking he would stamp on a prone player's hand or ankle. And he was constantly over reacting to any touch from an opponent to try to get them sent off. They were usually comic dives. Once a player flicked his wrist and he dramatically fell to the ground, rolling around clutching his wrist. It was utterly pathetic.

But he finally made it into the big league in 2009 with his outrageous assault on Getafe player, Javier Casquero. Getafe were winning 1-2 at the Bernabeú with minutes remaining. Guti equalised for Real. Then Casquero got free and ran into the Real box where Pepe pushed him over. The ref blew for a pen and Pepe completely lost it and ran over and kicked a prone Casquero two times with extreme violence and then stamped on him. It was shocking. The guy was completely unhinged. He had to be dragged off the pitch and was banned for 10 games, if memory serves.

Fast forward to Saturday's visit by Arsenal to Brighton. During the game Estupiñian and Ben White had words in passing. The Brighton player then tried to push White and lightly touched his throat. To my surprise and disgust, White went over like he had been hit by a sniper, clutching his throat. Really? Is this behaviour still acceptable in the Premier League? For me it is unbecoming of the professional game, never mind from title contenders. White is English so we can't blame Johnny Foreigner.

This behaviour needs stamped out. It is infuriating. And don't get me started on players going down holding their heads knowing that the ref must stop the game. This law was brought in to the game to protect players from concussion events, given the prevalence of dementia among ex-pros. Now the pros are using it to game the system. For me the clubs need to stamp this out. We need the managers and chairmen to tell the players that enough is enough. We can't rely on the authorities to end this nonsense, it must come from within.

Unfortunately, the sort of pathetic behaviour, perfected by Pepe during his long career, is still prevalent in today's game.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Pepe Pig

Peter Anderson ⚽ Sunday was a day of nerves. 

I felt like praying for Liverpool to drop points. It is the sort of frivolous ballix that god might grant.

Ending child hunger in Africa, not so much. Dropped points would have reduced the jeopardy for City and Arsenal, but it was not to be. In the end the Scousers got the job done. 30 shots, just 2 goals, as is the new normal for Liverpool, was enough to take all 3 points.

So, a defeat for City against Arsenal would put City 4 points behind Liverpool with 9 to play. I wasn't confident. City are on the wane; Arsenal on the rise. I should have been more confident because Arsenal came and parked the bus. I guess Arteta wanted to avoid defeat more than make a statement of intent. I was surprised. I thought now was the time for the pupil to come to the Etihad and take the old master's crown. Instead a double decker was well and truly parked. City couldn't get through. Indeed, couldn't even get into the box such was the tightness of the Gunner's defence. Gabriel and Saliba were imperious. Job done.

Arsenal threatened a few times, but the intent was just not there. I always feared a sucker punch after City had dominated possession, but the game felt very comfortable. I was expecting Arsenal to go on the rampage. They have won every game since their winter break in the Emirates. And they have won most of those games by scoring a lot of goals. But Arteta, probably with good reason, feared being picked off.

A defeat may have derailed their bid, so a cautious approach was what he chose. It was a disappointing game for the neutral, but it keeps the distance between the top 3 to 3 points.

April sees the top 3 play 2 games per week. Liverpool have 4 tough away games against Man U, Everton, Fulham and the Hammers. City face Villa on Wednesday then have an easier run, on paper. Arsenal end the month against Villa, Wolves, Chelsea and Spurs. The Sky pundits think it could go any way. I tend to agree.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Day Of Nerves

Peter Anderson ⚽ With an international break in this week's diary, all eyes turned to England manager Gareth Southgate. 

As he is expected to stand down from the England job after the Euros this summer, the word on the street is that Sir Jim Radcliffe is interested in taking him to Manchester United for the start of next season. If I was a Man U fan, I'd be hoping he gets nowhere near the club.

His record for England is second only to Sir Alf Ramsey. In his three tournaments in charge of the first team he has a 4th at the World Cup 2018, a 2nd at Euro 2020 and a last 16 at World Cup 2022. The players seem to love him and he has created a bond between the players that was sadly lacking with the Golden Generation of the noughties. But his tactical faults are obvious and he has made no ground in trying to negate them. A strong argument could be made that his team are even better than that famous Gerrard, Scholes, Beckham, Owen team that won diddly squat, all those years ago. The pundits all agree that the starting team at this summer's Euros will include Bellingham, Foden, Kane, Saka and Rice, with Rashford, Bowen, Maddison, Toney, Watkins, Grealish, Gordon and Cole Palmer all fighting for a place, with Sterling not even in the reckoning. At full back he has Walker, Trent A-A, Trippier, Reece James, Luke Shaw and Chilwell to choose from.

What depth in talent England possesses! Maybe that is part of the problem.

On Saturday night England faced a poor Brazil team at Wembley. Brazil have lost their last 3 games and have gone through 2 managers in that time. With a new manager at the helm, this was England's chance to put down a marker with the Euros on a few months away. They lost. I noticed from the start that when England had possesion high up the pitch there was a distinct lack of passing options available. When you watch a Klopp/ Arteta/ Pep team playing there are always men available, forwards, sideways or back. Not England. I noticed that at the last tournament. I was so used to watching Sterling for City, that it was weird to see him getting caught on the ball because there was no-one near him in the same coloured shirt. 2 years on and the same problem exists.

There is also the problem with subs. He just doesn't know how to change a game. In the last world cup England were being held to a goalless draw by the USA. England looked devoid of ideas. The USA had the bus well and truly parked and there was FA the English could do get around it. Southgate had Trent A-A and Foden on the bench but didn't use either. Result 0-0. There are multiple examples of Southgate not making the right subs or not making them at the right time.

On Saturday night, with the score at 0-0 and in need of some oomph to break down the Brazilians, he brought on Gomez, Dunk and Bowen.

Maddison, Toney, Rashford and Mainoo, who were warming up, had to return to their seats. Brazil then scored and the necessary changes took place too late. Southgate famously brought on Grealish in the World Cup quarter-final when England were losing 2-1 in the 97th minute, as if that was enough time for him to turn a game around!

But arguably his worst fault is sticking with rubbish centre-backs. He was a CB himself so you would imagine he would know what he is doing here. Yet he stuck with Tyrone Mings and is now sticking with Harry Maguire, despite successive Man U managers deeming him surplus to requirements. Against Brazil, he was rubbish, unsurprisingly. Dunk, no better. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod against Belgium. If England are to win the Euros, Southgate will need to plug this hole.

Personally, I think England have been relatively successful despite Southgate not because of him. When England have won difficult matches, it's because the players have worked it out not the gaffer. I can't see how they can win a tournament with him in the job. As for Man U, are they about to make another catastrophic appointment?

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Close Gate To Southgate

Peter Anderson ⚽ Well what a weekend of sport that was.

It all kicked off on Saturday morning with the first FA Cup quarter-final between Coventry and Wolves. With the score at 2-1 to Wolves, and into injury time, Coventry surprised the big boys and scored 2. It was a classic cup game and a great start to the proceedings.

Next up was the first cycling monument of the season and the one that always provides the best finish, Milano-Sanremo. It can be won by sprinters, climbers or classics specialists as it depends on who still has the legs to get over the final little hill after 300 kms. This year it was a sprinter who reached the line first. Needless to say that it isn't necessary to watch the first 280 kms as it all kicks off on the run in to Sanremo.

Third on Saturday's list was the rugby. And on Paddy's weekend the men in green won their second championship in two years by beating a stubborn Scotland in Dublin. It is a crying shame that they could make it a grand slam, having lost to England last week. But it is always great to see Ireland play so well after many years of mediocrity.

And finally, Man City became the first ever team to get to 6 FA Cup semi-finals in a row by dispatching Newcastle at the Etihad. It was a pretty routine game from City's point of view. The most surprising thing was they managed to keep a clean sheet.

On to Sunday and I watched Chelsea struggle past Leicester. Despite being 2-0 up, on top for long periods and having a load of chances, they failed to close the game out and nearly paid the price as Leicester leveled the score. Then Leicester had a man sent off and Chelsea manged to stumble over the line with 2 late goals.

But in a classic weekend of top notch sport the best was reserved for last. England's two biggest clubs went head to head to see who was going to reach the FA Cup semis. It was a modern classic. Man U came flying out of the traps and put Liverpool under huge pressure. They got their just rewards and went 1-nil up. Then Liverpool steadied the ship and my immediate thought was that Man U needed to score again, preferably 2 and soon. One thing that we see repeated throughout history is clubs failing to make hay while the sun shines. Man City have been particularly guilty of it this season. The standard is so high these days at the top of the English game that you need a 3 goal lead to feel anywhere near safe. Man U didn't score a second and paid the price. Liverpool worked out that if they could get beyond the press there were acres of free space behind the midfield. Time and again, the Reds were running unopposed at United's back line. It was all a matter of time and the half ended with Liverpool 1-2 up. The second half was the reverse of the first half with Liverpool failing to capitalise on their chances against a now rapidly weakening United.

Despite bossing the second period it was 2-2 at full time.

And so to extra time. Liverpool regained the lead, 2-3. Then on a quick counter-attack Liverpool faced a 5 on 3 situation. A goal here would seal it. Elliot was on the right side and called for the ball.

Nuñez, instead of slipping him the ball tried to tee up a shot for himself, and a United player nipped in and took the ball. A massive match winning chance was missed. Klopp was furious. Just one minte later and Nuñez found himself with the ball in a defensive situation and tried a difficult pass forward, got it all wrong, gave the ball away and United were in. 3-3. With penalties looming, it was Man U that held their nerve and in one final counter-attck snatched the winner in a raucous Old Trafford.

Liverpool fans and pro-scouse pundits are quick to sing the priases of Nuñez. I just don't rate him. He is Liverpool's Raheem Sterling.

Sterling has a wonderful record at City, scoring over 130 goals and nearly 50 assists. But considering how many wonderful situations he found hiself in that produced nothing, he quickly became City's most frustrating player. If he was just 5% better he would have been a wonder player. Unfortunately for him, his final pass or finish was woeful so many times, or he was caught offside when he could see across the back line. And I see Nuñez in a similar light. Like Sterling, I think he will make a great substitute, but if he wants to be the main man he will need to go to an inferior club. Just like Sterling.

And now an international break. God, I hate international breaks, though I may actually have time to talk to my wife!

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Top Notch Sporting Weekend

Peter Anderson ⚽ It is that time of the year again.

The time when I pay more attention to the Championship to see what players are coming up to the prem.

This is essential to a fantasy league devotee like myself. It is useful to know next season's potential goalscorers. And if you think the Premier League is close, the Championship is offering up another three horse race of equal excitement. Leicester for many months were streets ahead, but the wheels have come off somewhat in recent games and their lead is cut to three points. Ipswich were in control of second spot for many weeks but a wee wobble at the start of February has let Leeds take second. Ipswich are a further one point behind Leeds. Four separating the top three and if Southampton win their game in hand they will only be two behind Ipswich. So, potentially a four horse race.

I watched Leeds away to Sheff Wed on Friday night and they seem to have the momentum. After duffing Leicester at the end of February, they ran Chelsea close in the cup. On Friday night they won 0-2 at Hillsborough. Their young talent, Gnonto, scored the second goal with the ever reliable Paddy Bamford getting the first. Gnonto is one of those players with bags of energy and talent, but with huge question marks regarding focus. Summerville is their current top scorer and I had him in my fantasy team last season and he was somewhat of a disappointment. One year on and a drop to the Championship seems to have helped him find some form. I think most neutrals want Leeds to get straight back to the EPL. With Radrizzani gone and new owners in place, they may stand a better chance of staying up and establishing themselves in the top flight where they belong.

It would also be great to see Leicester get straight back. With Pep's old number 2 at the helm they may do alright. The biggest nightmare for any team in the Championship is to finish third as the third place team almost never win the play-offs. Though I would love to see an East Anglian derby between Ipswich and their eternal enemy, Norwich.

Norwich currently sit in 6th.

Of the current top 3, Leeds have the easiest run-in, but we all know that with 9 games remaining it is still all to play for in this notoriously difficult league. At the start of April, Ipswich face Southampton and Norwich in back-to-back games as they desperately try to take back second place. Leeds and Leicester, with easier fixtures, will be hoping they drop points. The rewards for promotion are immense and at this stage it is just too close to call.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Promotion Race

Peter Anderson ⚽ scolds the current Manchester United side.

Oh, we City men have had some right laughs at our hapless city neighbours in the last lot of years. 

It has been great fun to watch the once mighty Red Devils flail around in the mire. I suspect that those days are drawing to a close. With Ineos involved, things are going to change at Man U and, although it may take a few years to turn the supertanker around, I cannot see that, from next season onwards, Man U will be anything like the current iteration. Football is cyclical, and Man U are the 2nd biggest club on the planet. Klopp is leaving Anfield, Pep cannot stay at City forever, and Man U cannot be as shite as they have been this last decade for much longer. I have no doubt that in 5 or 10 years from now Man U will be at the top again and City, who knows where. For many years I was the butt of the jokes.

When I told people I supported City, inevitably they would laugh or ask why. I hope things won't get as bad as they once were. A spell in the 3rd tier, for example, but you just never know. FFP could put us in the 2nd.

So, while the laughing at Man U is coming to a close, it hasn't finished just yet. This week they have had us rolling in the aisles again. After getting spanked at home to Fulham, for their 10th defeat of the season, Fulham released a video mocking Man U captain, Bruno Fernandes. He was tackled and then went down like he'd been shot. The ref gave nothing, so he rolled about a bit more. But his team mates were in a threatening situation, so after seeing that the ref was disinterested, Bruno leapt up imploring his team mates to pass him the ball. At the end of the video Fulham wrote on the screen, "Glad you're okay Bruno", or something similar. At his presser, Man U manager, Erik ten Bob, was livid, calling out Fulham for disrespect. Is he the only person in the country that sees Bruno's behaviour as that which is unbecoming a Man U captain? When you think of the captains that have graced that club, from Bryan Robson and Steve Bruce to Roy Keane and Nemanya Vidic, Wayne Rooney et al, then you must realise that Bruno a disgrace. And the manager backs him! I doubt ten Bob will be there much longer.

Then we had another pronouncement from Marcus Rashford, mucho pissed aff that he was taking flak for his shite performances. Man U are in his veins don't you know! But every pundit in UK TV has shown multiple occasions when St Marcus has failed to run back and help his team in defence. That is just not acceptable anymore in modern footy. If you walk or jog back after losing the ball, you do not deserve a place on the team. Fortunately for Rashford, Man U need him, and despite being dropped on occasion, he keeps getting more chances to redeem himself.

Chances that he wouldn't get at any other top half team. You can blame your loss of form on your personal life, mental health or any other excuse but you cannot excuse a dessertion of duty on the same grounds.

If Salah and KdB can sprint back to help so can St Marcus.

And to top off an awful week, they got well and truly spanked by the noisy neighbours, putting Champions league qualification in serious doubt. It will be interesting to see how the team from Ineos go about rectifying things. I expect a big clearout, staring with the manager and including a load of players with a patient rebuild. They have to get this right which won't be easy if they can't offer UCL football.

Next up will have to be a stadium rebuild and new training facilities.

This is a massive undertaking given the low point at which they start.

When the Glazers bought Man U I don't think any fan would have guessed the mess they would create. They haven't won the Prem since 2013. How many years until the next one?

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Scold Trafford

Peter Anderson ⚽ I think this is going to be Liverpool's season. 

Klopp leaving and City playing sub-standard football have coalesced to me being firmly convinced that the Mighty Reds will take the league. I wouldn't be surprised if they blagged the FA cup or Europa Cup too. Sunday's stunning victory with a much depleted squad showed the desire and the unity behind Klopp's leadership. Many of their injured players will start coming back in the coming weeks making selection a bit easier, while they have growing well of young talent pushing for minutes.

City are in a bit of a trough this season and just can't get going.

Clean sheets are hard to come by and they seem inable to put teams to the sword like they did last season. The victory at Bournemouth being a case in point. City scored first for a change, and kept a clean sheet for a change, but couldn't get the second to make things more comfortable. In the end they held on for a hard fought victory, but this is not sustainable in a title race. A seemingly disinterested Haaland got subbed off after 75 mins, while KdB was only capable of 10 minutes due to hamstring niggles. Next month City face Man U, Liverpool, Arsenal and Brighton. I just can't see 12 points from that run, 6 or 7 at best. March is a mouthwatering prospect for the viewer.

Will all three teams still be in the running come April?

Arsenal would appear to be the biggest fly in the red ointment for Klopp. They have got some momentum and are blowing teams away, but it is hard to forget that they have blew up in the last 2 seasons chasing the final UCL spot and then the league title. They have Jesus, Tomiyasu, Partey and Timbre set to return soon. Is that enough to maintain their run of form? Big doubts remain.

I just can't shake the feeling that it is une fin d'cycle at Liverpool with Klopp leaving, a new stadium refurb and probably the sale of Salah while they can still command a decent payday. It seems that they are in a determined push for silverware before the German bids farewell. And they got their hands on the first silverware of the season last Sunday. I can imagine how jubilant the dressing room was after that game finished and how that will drive the desire for Premiership glory. At this moment they sit top of the table, it is theirs to lose.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Liverpool's To Lose

Peter Anderson ⚽ As a lover of sport, it is unbelievably galling to watch the debate around trans people participating in sport degenerate into the realm of the culture war. 

Previously, I had to watch the debate over Catalan and Castellano descend into farce. And then it came to my own shore as "curry my yogurt" and "every word a bullet" reduced the noble cause of language learning into a bigoted battle between "Us'uns and them'uns".

The voice of tolerance and reason drowned out by the perpetually angry. Sport too, alas, has become a vacuum for honest, reasonable debate.

The latest "victim" is Park Run. I don't run because my knees and back no longer permit me, but I used to and I loved it. My brother is an avid Park Runner and it is hard to think of a better example of community activism in recent years.

Anyone can do a Park Run. It is open to all and it is totally free.

You don't even have to run it. If you can only walk it, that is fine.

The volunteers will wait while you finish the 5km course. It has been the catalyst for many people returning to exercise, mostly through the "couch to 5k" route. Thousands of people across the UK have started exercising regularly due to Park Run and thus thousands of citizens have improved their health.

Your time is logged by a transponder, so that you can track your fitness over time. Some people walk the course every week, some jog/run, many take babies in prams, while others are more competitive and run it as fast as they can. That said, it is not a race, but many amateur athletes like to push themselves to be the best version of themselves possible. Each Park Run course is different, obviously, and so times vary between locations. Many people, my bro included, visit different Park Runs to see if they can improve their times or to get the fastest time in their catagory. Times are catagorised by gender and age. And therein lies the problem.

Many men have changed their gender on the Park Run website and "stolen" best times from women athletes. Many of the women complained, so Park Run decided to stop showing the times rather than allocating the athletes' times to their gender at birth. It is beyond debate that if you have experienced puberty as a boy you will have an enormous advantage over women in terms of muscle density, mass and VO2 Max i.e. you can run/cycle/row/ski faster.

Many notable women, including JK Rowling and Martina Navratilova, took to Twitter to defend women's sport yet again from male prejudice. It is women's records that are being taken, women's medals being taken, women's places on teams being taken by mediocre men. Men who did poorly in men's sport, all of a sudden can "change" their gender and take what is not theirs to take. Yet, anyone who tries to defend women's sport are deemed "right wing". There is nothing right wing about it.

In a diabolical piece in The Guardian, sports writer Jonathan Liew accused women's rights defenders as trying to "erase trans women from physical sport". And this is where it gets so, so frustrating. No-one is trying to stop trans people from participating. I want sport for all, as does JK Rowling, Martina Navratilova et al. We are the classic liberals who have supported LGBT rights for decades, now we are branded right wing. WTF? Surely Park Run can rule that, due to male born advantage, all times will be categorised by "gender at birth" or even create a trans category. No-one wants to see trans people barred from Park Run or from participating in any sport. How anyone identifies and dresses is nobody's business but their own, but all sporting bodies must recognise those born male have a significant physical advantage that lowering testosterone will not negate, and that women should not have their rights and safe spaces reduced to accommodate male born individuals. At the end of the day, any male born athlete competing in a woman's event is cheating. Pure and simple.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Men Cheating Women

Peter Anderson ⚽ Whatever next? 

Not content with imposing VAR on elite football, the International Football Association Board (Ifab) has decided to roll out sin-bins for cynical fouls and serious dissent. Despite having multiple seasons to perfect the use of VAR, the powers that be have failed miserably. Now, we face the prospect of another minefield of reffing ballix to deal with.

On the face of it it seems like a reasonable proposition. Refs in the amateur game are worried that dissent is getting worse and believe that dissent in the elite game is trickling down. And cycnical fouls, most frequently the stopping of counter-attacks by tripping or pulling back the attacker are highly frustrating. Man City's Fernandinho was a prolific offender in "taking one for the team", but it is now an accepted part of the game, yet the maximum sentence available to refs is a yellow card. Now refs may have the possibility of a blue card.

So, I do see why refs are eager to cut out serious dissent and the cynical fouls that spoil the game, however I have zero confidence in the success of sin-bins given the track record of elite football's referees.

The most frequent criticism of referees that I have heard in my 50 years watching footy is inconsistency. Time after time they are guilty. The latest one is the yellow card for kicking the ball away.

At the start of the season, to much fanfare, refs told us that there would be an automatic yellow for time wasting. On the first few weeks there were numerous examples of cards being wielded for players kicking the ball a few yards after conceding a free-kick in order to give themselves a few seconds to get back to defend. That all seems to have gone out the window. We also see handballs given in games, but an exact copy not given in a different game. All par for the course.

What will certainly happen if sin-bins are introduced is that the team temporarily down to 10 men will waste time and "park the bus" until their man has returned. Footballers will always abuse the rules to win at all costs. Look how they abuse the head injury law to stop games, usually during a counter-attack. The are abusing a law that was introduced for their well-being. They don't care. So, we can expect all sorts of shananigans to hold up play until their sin-binned colleague returns.

Also, what happens when a genuine attempt to tackle an attacker during a counter-attack is a fraction of a second late resulting in a foul?

My guess is that will depend on where the game is being played. Old Trafford won't see many given against Man U.

Another thing to consider is that often these fouls are context dependent. On Sunday, West Ham broke up two Arsenal counter-attacks with fouls, but received no yellow cards as they were 0-6 down at the time. If it had been 0-0 it would have been very different. So in future do all these fouls automatically get yellows? The only thing certain to come from blue cards is more inconsistency.

Ange Postecoglou had it right when he said that other sports were trying to speed up and simplify their games when football seems to be headed in the opposite direction, “Just bin the whole idea, forget about it. I don’t know why they keep interjecting themselves into the game”. And ain't that the truth! Refs seem to be making the game more and more about them.

Apparently, the English F.A. are for the idea and want to trial it in the F.A. Cup, while UEFA are dead against it and have said it will not be trialed in elite football in Europe. I'm with Ange on this one.

Fingers crossed that this one never sees the light of day.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Blue Card

Peter Anderson ⚽ Gary Neville called Sunday's big match "the start of the title race."

And it certainly felt like it. Liverpool travelled to Arsenal knowing that a win would see them 8 points clear of the Gunners. This would effectively reduce the title race to a two-horsed variety, as only City could challenge Liverpool.

It was a must-win for Arsenal and they got the three points reasonably comfortably following a shit show from Liverpool's captain. Last season, Virgil Van Dijk had a poor campaign by his standards, but so far this one he has been back to his outstanding best. But that all changed on Sunday as he was at fault for all three of Arsenal's goals.

He was caught out of position for the first, failed to deal with a long ball for the second and, most bizarrely, he failed to close down and block the shot for the third. With Salah and Szoboszlai injured, a poor match from their iconic captain was not what the doctor ordered.

It was always going to be a battle for midfield domination and Arsenal won that one easily. Jones, MacAllister and Gravenberch were no match for Odegaard, Big Deccy and the excellent Jorginho.

While Arsenal were the better team and deserved the three points, Klopp will not panic. He has been here before with Dortmund and Liverpool. This was only their second league defeat of the campaign.

They are still top of the league and their next three league games are against Burnley, Brentford and Forest. An ideal run to get the juggernaut back on the road. The crucial period could be the middle of March. City travel to Liverpool and then host Arsenal 2 weeks later.

After the City game, Liverpool go to Goodison. Twists and turns await.

As for Arsenal, the doubts still remain. They aren't playing as well as last season and the lack of a 20 goal striker is a major cause for concern. The way they bottled last season's title charge is fresh in the memory and I think they are the least likely of the three to take the title.

Arguably, the biggest winners on Sunday were City. If City win their two games in hand, they will be top of the league. The big question is whether or not they can go on yet another end-of-season winning streak like they have done on so many previous seasons. With Klopp leaving at the end of the season and City facing possible relegation next season for "crimes" against the footballing establishment, both sets of players are facing an "end of an era" scenario. 

So, which set of players possess the most motivation? Will Liverpool falter, or will City suffer from "win fatigue" given last season's heroics? It is going to be fascinating, no doubt. And I am glad that, for now, Arsenal are still in the reckoning.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Virgil Van Dick

Peter Anderson ⚽ It looks like there is going to be a changing of the guard in elite management circles come the summer.

Last week saw Liverpool's Klopp and Barça's Xavi announced their intention to leave their respective clubs at the end of the season. Tis true that Klopp will be missed by his fans more than Xavi's, but what is really important is that it will potentially start a musical chairs situation at the elite clubs.

Klopp's decision came as a complete shock. He said he is tired and he does look it, but the fact that he changed his midfield last summer gave me the impression he was going to stick around and build another team. But on reflection now is the time to go. I would imagine Salah will leave sometime during the next two windows, so that will mark the end of an era for Liverpool. Also, by announcing it now, he will give his players extra impetus to go for the league title. 

I know from my red supporting buddies that it grinds on them that they have only won one EPL title under Klopp and that was won in empty stadia due to Covid. In two separate EPL seasons they chalked up 97 and 92 points but still finished second to City. This season Liverpool are performing so well they are starting to smell another title. City are just not at the races this season. In so many games they are dominating but not getting enough goals to put the game to bed. It is a similar story at the Emirates. There is nothing certain in football, but all Liverpool fans will be dreaming of a proper title winning send off for one of the best managers they have ever had. And it certainly is on the cards, given current form.

So, who will take the hot seat next? Xabi Alonso is the current front runner after performing miracles at Leverkusen. An ex-fan favourite at Anfield, he defo fits the bill. Brighton's De Zerbi is also in the mix. One pundit on Sky said that if Gerrard had stayed at Rangers and won another SPL he would have been a shoo-in. Apparently Klopp favours giving his assistant, Pep Lijnders a shot. Whoever it is will have extremely big boots to fill.

Meanwhile over in Catalunya, rumour has it that Arteta is the number one favourite to take the Barça job. I don't know what to think of that one. Would he leave a stable, viable club competing at the top of the world's best league for a skint has-been? I can't see it happening unless Arsenal want rid. If they don't win the EPL this season will they consider a change? That would leave another of the top positions in England vacant.

We also have Ineos taking partial control at Man U. Will they also want change? You have to admit that Erik ten Bob is looking increasingly out of his depth. If they sack him will they be able to attract a new manager with sufficient stature in the game given that they will have no Champions League footy to offer? And given what has happened to the last 5 or 6 managers, can they afford to gamble on an up-and-coming manager like De Zerbi? The sporting direction of several of the biggest clubs in world footy have big, big decisions to make.

Finally, I have to say a word about Klopp. He really has been a breath of fresh air for English football. He has great character and charisma, which is much needed in today's game. His brand of Heavy Metal Football will be remembered for many years. There was a time when Liverpool had the best front 3 in the history of English football and were a joy to watch. Pep has given the best speech on Klopp's departure so far, saying that he cannot define his time at City without mentioning Klopp's Liverpool. They have been City's biggest rival and driven City to reach new heights in the English game. Pep also said that going away to Klopp's Dortmund with Bayern, and Klopp's Liverpool with City gave him sleepless nights. 

I think in the future we will look back on the Pep-Klopp rivalry like we look back on the Fergie-Wenger rivalry, that is as a rivalry that pushed teams to new levels of performance and ultimately entertainment for the footy fanatic. What Klopp has done for Liverpool and English football cannot be under estimated. He is up there with Shankly and Paisley as the greatest in Liverpool's history and he ain't done yet. I expect a slew of trophies before he's done. Unfortunately.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Changing Of The Guard

Peter Anderson 🏸 The biggest take away from Rory McIlroy's appearance on Sky Sport's The Overlap was that he has thrown in the towel on his opposition to LIV golf. 

It was, unfortunately, inevitable. Rory had been leading the defence of the U.S. PGA tour. He was the most vocal in his attacks on the Saudis and those pros that had joined the LIV tour. But recent developments, like hearing the PGA were in secret discussions with LIV and the defection of world number one, Jon Rahm, has led the Holywood man to admit defeat. Money talks. And the Saudis have plenty of it.

Rahm's betrayal really sticks in the craw given that he made a speech last year attacking the Saudi regime's record and defending the traditional American tour series, but in the end the multi-millionaire decided that he needed more money. In Rory's interview on The Overlap he explained how the media battle with his LIV colleagues was making his golf suffer and that there was just too much money involved. C'est la vie.

Now we hear that snooker is next. After China's attempt to dominate the sport failed with several leading pros getting done for fixing matches, we now see the Arabs having a go. They are proposing jazzing the game up with a new "golden ball" worth 25 points. As I said in my blog post about darts, I love what the darts authorities have done with darts but with snooker I am definitely more of a conservative. I really hope the Saudis fail, but throw enough money and . . . 

It comes at an important time for the Saudis and their sportswashing agenda. Apparently many of the European players are unhappy with life in the strictly Islamic kingdom. Who'd a guessed? Ex-City centre half Aymeric Laporte spilled the beans last week only to be slapped down by the Saudis, leading to Laporte claiming his revelation was "mistranslated". Certainly Jordan Henderson was unhappy enough to take a huge wage decrease to join Ajax. Playing in constant heat in front of sparse crowds must be bad enough, never mind the culture shock of living in such a state as Saudi Arabia. According to The Guardian, Henderson's team played a game last autumn in front of 600 supporters.

There are widespread reports of mostly empty stadiums, proving that you just can't buy tradition. Derby and Bolton Wanderers, in the English 3rd tier, have a higher average attendance than almost all of the Saudi Pro League's teams. I sincerely hope it withers on the vine, like the U.S. and Chinese varieties that went before.

I understand that the Saudis claim they are simply trying to change the culture in their nation, modernise, provide entertainment and increase sporting participation, and I understand the minefield of moral relativism as I sit in my safe European home, but I just can't accept Saudi Arabia's interference in sport. If the Saudis approached me, offering great riches to write in support of them, would I be able to say no? Maybe we all have a price and I shouldn't get so wound up.

Rory has thrown in the towel, should the rest of us follow suit?

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Money Talks

Peter Anderson ⚽ I finally got around to watching the Beckham docu on Netflix over the Xmas period, and well worth a watch it is. 

There is a lot more sport than expected. I thought they would've focussed more on the celebrity thing, but most of the focus was on David's footy career. And what a career it was. The stand out point from the early years was the push he received from his dad. I don't have kids but my mates that do tell me that it is difficult to know how much to push. Most young'uns are too quick to give something up, so need a push, but push too much and it can totally backfire. Beck's dad by all accounts drove the young lad a bit too much. However, it all worked out in the end, even if David was left with a bit of OCD.

Another surprise was just how much Sir Alex favoured Becks. I was under the impression that all the Golden Generation were special to him in equal measure, but no, Becks was the star pupil. The relationship was more father-son than manager-footballer. That was the reason that Sir Alex took Beck's celebrity lifestyle so personally. He felt offended that Becks listened to Posh more than him. This all came to a head when Becks found out on the media that he was being sold to Barça. He was gobsmacked. He had no idea that was coming. In the end Real Madrid came in for him and within 24 hours he was gone. It took me aback at how quick it all was. I can't imagine how he felt. Posh was livid. She had her own career and now she was blindsided and told she had to move to Madrid. She didn't want to go, but felt obliged to support her husband.

She hated Madrid and Madrid hated her. I was living in the city at the time and remember people telling me how much they despised her.

Apparently she had said that Madrileños stank of garlic. She denys saying it. The whole city was collectively offended. It meant that she stayed there less and less as the months went by, leading Becks to have the affair with his translator Rebecca Loos. It was interesting to see how they managed this story on the docu. Loos was never mentioned neither was the word "affair". It became obvious from the narrative of the program that Becks needs his wife to be with him at all times. In his early days he would drive from Manchester to London after training and return the next morning before the next day's training. An 8 hour round trip, against Man U rules, with no sleep, just to spend a few precious hours with his GF. After the infamous World Cup red card for tripping Simeone, when the whole of England hated him, he was desperate to see Posh and flew to NYC where the Spice Girls were on tour.

Talking about the World Cup incident was the most shocking moment of the 4 documentary episodes. I had forgotten the level of hatred aimed at him. It overwhelmed him. Posh said that he was "clinically depressed". Special criticism was reserved for Glenn Hoddle who was roundly condemned by Posh and Beck's mum for hanging him out to dry.

It is hard to imagine such behaviour against Becks for such a nothing of a foul. But then again, England fans are the worst on the planet so . . . par for the course really.

Throughout the 4 episodes we are constantly reminded of his great sporting achievements. From his Man U goal from the half way line, through his free kick prowess, his obsessive crossing drills to the realisation that his legs had gone and it was time to hang up the boots. He was a great player, but his celebrity undermines his ability, in my opinion. Rooney was a better player, yet he wasn't as pretty as Becks nor married a superstar like Victoria, so in the eyes of Joe Public Becks was the better player, certainly the more famous.

Of the 3 "Galacticos" signed by Madrid at that time, Figo, Zizou and Becks, for me Becks was the inferior: that said, he played his best football in that midfield alongside those 2. The arrival of Capello spelt the end of his Spanish dream and Victoria's Spanish nightmare.

She got what she wanted and a move to LA, where she could speak English, raise her kids how she wanted and mix with her A-lister friends. Though Beck grew bored and longed for a return to Europe. He got his way and off to AC Milan he went on 2 extended loans. It just goes to show you the life of a football spouse. You can be happy and settled then, all of a sudden, you are off to another country you know nothing about. His Galaxy teammates and fans were not happy! Generally though, all his teammates at Man U and Real loved him. He was a great professional and delivered regularly in the big games.

So, all in all a great documentary and a trip down memory lane. We got to relive the Spice Girls glory years and Sir Alex's domination of English football, Brit-Pop and the Galacticos. We also got a glimpse of the real Becks, at home with his family and his OCD. He showed his humorous side and his deep love for his family and he also revealed some traumatic experiences that he still struggles with. He seems like a decent spud, in his middle age, as does Victoria, quite surprisingly. So, if you haven't got around to watching it, give it a go. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Beckham

Peter Anderson🏸 Over the last week or two it has been interesting to watch the opposing fortunes of two of the sports of my youth, darts and snooker.

Like many Irish youths of the 80s/90s and beyond I spent a fair chunk of my time playing both games. As an apprentice in the shipyard I started playing darts every lunch time. My fellow apprentices in the training centre introduced me to games of Round the Clock, which was ideal for a bigger group and only one board. We played it with a forfeit and the last to complete the board had to chew a cigarette butt or a paracetemol for 30 seconds. Evil! Those Belfast boys were a different breed from this North Down grammar boy. If we had no work while on the night shift, sometimes we would play for 4 hours every night and I got quite good, though never played for a pub team.

As for snooker, I played every Sunday and Wednesday night for 2 hours at the local club in my teens and twenties. Some of the games were real needle matches and I loved to hang out there with my buddies. The club would allow a couple of cans to be drank (discreetly) and of course we could smoke our brains out. Again I got reasonably good though never good enough to play for a team. We also played a lot of pool. Thursday nights at the Windsor Bar were a regular too. The rule was "winner stays on" and sometimes I could get a run of four or five games before getting dislodged. Shit were the nights you got hammered on your first game and had to wait an hour to get another shot.

In those days there was a lot less choice on TV and a lot less sport, so I always watched the darts and snooker when they were on. Usually the only darts was the world championship with Wee Jocky Wilson and the Crafty Cockney. There was more snooker on the box and it had a much bigger following, especially locally as we had Higgins and Taylor at the top of the rankings. Much has changed in the past 30 years and now darts is enjoying much more popularity than the snooker. I have started watching more snooker of late and the standard compared to the old days is much, much better, yet it is struggling in the ratings war. O'Sullivan and Trump have much more talent and fortitude than Davies or Thorburn, but the public has lost its interest and they don't know how to get it back. They can't do what darts did and get hordes of drunken lads chanting to techno music and creating a "footy like" atmosphere, so I don't know what the answer is. Like snooker the standard has risen dramatically since the 80s. Back then 180s were quite rare and 9-darters were almost unheard of. Not any more.

The last few world finals have been absolutely outstanding. Van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and Gary Anderson have played some sublime darts over the past 5 or 6 years and now we have Michael Smith, Luke Humphries and (the alegedly) 16 year old Luke Littler joining the party. The depth of talent is growing just like the sport's appeal across the globe. The fascinating thing to watch is the shifting momentum especially in the longer games at the latter end of the championship. One player can be hitting the trebles and doubles at will, while his opponent flounders, all for the momentum to shift in the course of just one set. It is a great watch, all set to the backdrop of cheering, pissed up fans creating a wonderful atmosphere.

I have to contrast that with the snooker. Last night I watched Shaun Murphy beat China's Zhang 6-2 in the first round of the Masters.

Murphy was on fire, yet the quiet, staid atmosphere is just not sexy at all, despite the wonderful sport on offer.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Darts & Snooker

Peter Anderson ⚽ There's no doubt about the team of the year in 2023. 

City beating Fluminense in the final of the Club World Cup sealed an extraordinary year for my team. That's 5 trophies this year, FA Cup, EPL, UCL, Super Cup and Club Worlds. The UCL being the highlight, the must win, the cherry on top, the "Pep's a shit manager if he doesn't win it" cup.

The interesting thing about Fluminense was that they played out from the back with incredible balls and skill. All the top sides are at it now and this may be Pep's lasting legacy to world football. I remember when he took over at Barça and made his team play out from the back at all times. They were playing in Pep's first El Clásico at the Bernabéu and Victor Valdes was having a 'mare. After several mistakes and near misses his nerves were shot and the crowd were raucous, but still Pep insisted they play out from the back. The Spanish "pro-madridista" commentators were having a field day slagging Pep off. In his post match interview he was unrepentant, insisting his side will always play like that and so will just have to get better at it. He has since relented a tad, and if the team is under immense pressure they can give the ball the laces up the pitch, but this insistence and his dedication to possession football has been a game changer in the world game.

As is his high press. Teams have pressed high long before Pep arrived, but with his sides they have 6 seconds after losing the ball to regain it, and they must all contribute to the winning back of that precious ball. After winning it back they will pass it around while everyone calms their heart rate. This makes his sides so difficult to beat.

What he has achieved is just incredible and it is now looking ominous for the other sides in the EPL.

Before going to the Club World Cup he was asked in an interview if he feared being 12 points behind Liverpool and Arsenal when he returned.

Two games after the return and City are 2 points behind Liverpool and Arsenal (before the LFC v NCFC game). Arsenal's wheels have well and truly came off taking just 4 points from the last 15. While Liverpool face a nightmare January, playing Arsenal away in the FA Cup and league, Chelsea, Newcastle and Bournemouth in the league and 2 League cup semi-final games against Fulham. In the same period City have just 3 games, one of those is Huddersfield in the cup, and they plan a winter training camp in Dubai. Add to this the news that KdB, Haaland and Doku are ready to return and you would have to bet that City will take their 4th EPL in a row.

I still have my doubts. I think there will be many twists and turns still to come. City have looked very flat in numerous games this season, so nothing is written in stone just yet. Gundo has been a huge loss, and we don't know how KdB will have been affected by the injury and how his form and fitness will be in the run in. That being said, who would bet against City now?

A Happy New Year to all you Quillers, and a big thanks to all who read and comment on the weekly blogs.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Team Of The Year

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