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Showing posts with label sport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sport. 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 ⚽ 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

Caoimhin O’Muraile ☭ Not so many years ago racism in sport, particularly football and, to a lesser extent cricket, was rampant. 

Gangs of racist thugs inhabited the terraces of football grounds like Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, Elland Road, Leeds United’s home ground, and the Bolyn Ground (Upton Park), home of West Ham United. When the English cricket team were playing some of these morons began attending their matches. It must be stressed that none of the football clubs or the England cricket team condoned in any way these people’s actions and chants. Chelsea fans, or an element of them, had and to my knowledge still have connections with the Nazi group Combat 18 (C18) with links to six county loyalists. 

During the late seventies and eighties, the National Front (NF) and later the British National Party (BNP) gained support at Leeds and West Ham. There was a point at Elland Road when if a young black player, Terry Connor, scored a goal giving Leeds United a 1-0 win a tiny element of their fans would claim the game was 0-0 rather than give a black player any credit! 

In recent years and due to Chelsea's success, much of it attributed to black players the racist element in their fan base has been quiet. Some West Ham supporters changed the tune to their anthem; ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ to the air of the German national anthem while, at the same time sporting a Nazi salute. All this was open racism and support for fascism on the terraces and the three clubs mentioned were by no means the only ones affected by this cancer. 

At Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, elements of racists began chanting. I remember it well, especially when we were playing West Bromwich Albion who had a few black players and they were brilliant players, I have to admit, even though they played for the opposition. Fortunately, there was also a strong Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) presence at the ground which combatted these extreme right-wing activists, most of whom did not have a clue as to what ‘right-wing’ in its political sense meant. There was a world of difference between attacking a player because he was a wanker, as all opposition players were in our eyes at that time, and attacking a player on the grounds of skin colour. Those days have to a large extent gone and as much as I look back through rose tinted glasses to the glorious days of the seventies and eighties there was also an ugly side.

Today, in what passes for the modern game at top flight level (something I question as to whether it is actually football or not) racism comes not so much from the seats, which replaced terracing, but from another quarter and is quite cleverly masked. Recently at Manchester United a gifted young player, potential great, Mason Greenwood had allegations of ‘assault, attempted rape and coercive control’ made against him. One of the alleged incidents took place at a party he and his partner, Harriet Robson, were attending. Footage was taken of Mason physically assaulting Harriet who then, supported by ‘friends’ made the allegations. It must have been one of these ‘friends’ who took the footage. Harriet, and her ‘friends’, immediately dropped the allegations against Mason and refused any further cooperation with the police inquiry which was subsequently dropped. Mason Greenwood was never charged with any offence and pleaded his innocence all the way, yet his employer, Manchester United, chose to terminate his services at the club. This amounted essentially to sacking him for something which occurred at a party involving himself and his partner which came to nothing outside the narrow mentality of a few. The couple are now back together happily bringing up their newly born baby in Spain. 

The verbal attacks on Greenwood outside the club were spearheaded by groups and individuals holding ‘radical feminist’ views. This strand of ‘feminism’ should not be confused with the other major variants which are ‘orthodox or liberal feminism’ and ‘Marxist feminism’. Radical feminism has little to do with women’s equality, something every socialist, male and female, should consider themselves a supporter of, but it is more about female domination. Radical feminism in all its degrees is primarily anti-male. In the case of Mason Greenwood, it could also be considered ‘racist’. Manchester United unfortunately, but not surprisingly, bowed to these female Hitlers and their servile male supporters. Some men consider it a badge of honour to be dominated by their female partners, and the club essentially sacked Mason Greenwood. They then went out and spent a fortune on a forward, Rasmus Hojlund who, I believe, will be a very good asset to the team but that is not the point. The point is the club, if that is what it still is, bowed to the pressure spearheaded by these radicals like celebrity Rachel Riley. She said’ “if Mason Greenwood played again for United” she would stop supporting them. Well, as far as I’m concerned you and your middle-class radicals can fuck off and don’t’ come back - oh and take your servile male fans with you. 

I notice these ‘radical feminists’ are deafening by their silence when it comes to real exploitation of women working in sweatshops for a pittance of a wage. No publicity in such campaigns perhaps! Feminism is about women’s equality, equality at work, equal pay for equal work with males and equality in the home and equal political representation along with equality of opportunities generally and an end to violence against women. These demands should be supported by every socialist and trade unionist in fact all decent people. The campaign launched against Mason Greenwood was disgusting and racist in my view. Mason is now playing his football in Spain for Getafe, a Madrid based club, where he is making an early impact. I for one wish him and Harriet with their new baby all the best and every success.

Why were the attacks on Mason Greenwood racist or could be construed as racist? Well, let’s come forward a few weeks to the case of another Man United player, the Brazilian international winger Antony. He had allegations made against him by his former partner, Gabriela Cavallin, and two other women. These allegations of abuse and violence by the women have not been withdrawn, unlike those against Mason Greenwood which were withdrawn almost immediately! Despite investigations against the player by police in Greater Manchester and Brazilian police being ongoing Antony is back training with his teammates. Despite his former partner urging the club to suspend him he has been afforded favourable treatment, unlike Mason Greenwood. In a statement Manchester United said:

As Antony's employer, Manchester United has decided that he will resume training at Carrington, and be available for selection, while police inquiries proceed. This will be kept under review pending further developments in the case. As a club, we condemn acts of violence and abuse. We recognise the importance of safeguarding all those involved in this situation and acknowledge the impact these allegations have on survivors of abuse.

Antony, a winger, cost £82 million to buy from Ajax and he is a prized asset. He is considered white,  certainly not black, and is headline material at superstar level with 16 caps for Brazil. Mason Greenwood did not cost such a colossal fee and has been with the club since he was seven years of age, a credit, along with Marcus Rashford to United’s academy. For me, Mason Greenwood is worth ten Antonys but that is not the point. The fact that this superstar has been given beneficial treatment by his employer than was Mason Greenwood is concerning to say the least and it does have more than an air of racism about it in my view. Given the fact ‘radical feminists’ tend to come from middle-class backgrounds, though not exclusively, the masked racist content from them comes as no great surprise.

The statement on Antony was in sharp contrast with the club statement about Mason Greenwood, which said after a six-month long process investigating the player: 

The club mutually agreed with Greenwood that it would be most appropriate for him to recommence his carrier away from Old Trafford.

I seriously question how much mutuality there was in this decision? The treatment of the two players is in sharp contrast. It has also been noticeable how, once again deafening by their silence these ‘radical feminist’ groups and individuals have been during the Antony affair. For me, there is much more evidence to suggest guilt on the part of Antony than there ever was against Greenwood. Mason Greenwood was hung out to dry by a bunch of ‘femi-fascists’ as some, not inaccurately, call them who were supported in this crime by Manchester United, the club a young seven- year-old kid gave his childhood for in the hope of making it big one day. That day was not, and hopefully will not be far away Mason.

Where have the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) been during the Greenwood affair? In sharp contrast to that of Antony they were nowhere to be seen or heard during the six traumatic months the club privately investigated Mason Greenwood. They were, however, at Old Trafford the following day in the case of Antony! Could this be because Antony cost £82 million and is considered a white Brazilian of Portuguese extraction superstar international? An expensive asset to both his club and country! Mason Greenwood, a black working-class youngster needed protection, he was only 19, and representation from his union was essential, where were they?

Now to another case of silence by the ‘radical feminists’, that of three Irish International Rugby Union players, Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding. These two - in the dock with another rugby player, Blane McIlroy who was found not guilty of exposure - were charged with assault and rape. These three international rugby players were found not guilty of rape, assault and exposure despite much evidence to suggest the opposite. The victim herself gave a tearful account of events which occurred, again at a party, describing how she was brutally raped by the two rugby stars. They were found not guilty by a court of law but was that the correct verdict? Or was it a miscarriage of justice? Such verdicts, despite overwhelming evidence are not unusual when it comes to defendants coming from the bourgeois strata of society, the middle-classes. A case of the rich looking after their own perhaps? The question here must again be asked; where have the voices of women’s defence been? Where have the middle-class led ‘radical feminist’ groups and individuals been, where were they during the Jackson, McIlroy and Olding case? They had plenty to say about Mason Greenwood!

Manchester United have been at very best guilty of double standards in the cases of Mason Greenwood and Antony. Preferential treatment has been given to the £82 million pound player compared to that meted out to one of their graduate players, one potentially far better than the one footed Antony. There is more than an air of racism involved in these cases and the class question enters the fold when we broaden the situation out to include players from other sports like Rugby Union. ‘Radical feminism’ spearheaded the assault, racist assault in my view, by a bunch of middle-class man hating women, against Mason Greenwood while the same gobshites, male and female alike, have been conspicuously silent over Antony and the two rugby internationals. Another sickening example of class and racial hypocritical, double standards, in sport at the highest level. Fucking sickening to say the least.

The case of Mason Greenwood can only be construed as racist given the double standards of the club and character assassination of the player by ‘radical feminists.’ A question could be asked, how many other clubs practice such discrimination? Let us take a hypothetical situation; let’s say a man and a woman had allegations made against them and the man was virtually let off while the woman was sentenced. The ‘radical feminists’ for once would have an argument over discrimination against the woman, if they could be found. That would depend very much on where abouts on the so-called social ladder the hypothetical allegations took place. The radicals are seldom seen at the cutting edge of women’s abuse, in the sweatshops, at the ports where migrant women are abused, on the council estates where violence against women is not uncommon. No publicity for these self-publicists in such situations and venues no doubt!! Of course, if these arguments were to be pointed out to either Manchester United or the trail blazers of the ‘radical feminists’ they would try and rubbish them, that is for sure!!

Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist.

Clandestine Racism in Sport and Radical Feminism!

Peter Anderson ⚽ This week's subject is only loosely sports related but it is something I am passionate about so here goes.

A few years ago I broke my elbow. My arm was completely immobilised for 3 months and when the support finally came off, I was horrified to see that I had lost almost all the muscle on my left arm. I mentioned this to the physio and she told me it was due to sarcopenia, and that as we get past 50, our ability to grow and even maintain muscle mass is greatly decreased. 

I googled it. It turns out that sarcopenia is also called the "triple whammy": as we age, we eat less protein, as we have less appetite and develop dental problems to chew. We also absorb less of the protein that we do eat, due to our bodies becoming less efficient. And finally, we exercise less. All three lead to rapid muscle loss. 

The more I read about it, the more I learned that that is exactly what my 81-year-old mother is suffering from. Recently she fell down the stairs. Luckily, she had only a few scrapes. Most old ladies who fall break their hips or femurs. 67% of women over 70 who have a catastrophic break after a fall are dead within a year. Sarcopenia affects women more, but men are not immune. Not only is muscle lost from the legs but also from the feet. This leads to balance problems and then falls. My previously strong mum is now tottery on her feet. 

Another downside of having less muscle and exercising less is that we become more insulin resistant as our muscles use up sugar when we exercise. The onset of sarcopenia usually brings diabetes with it. The experts agree that as we age, we should always seek to boost our protein intake and step up our exercise routine. They say that gyms are full of young people when they should be full of the old. They recommend walking or cycling, doing squats and dead lifts, and standing on one foot for several minutes every day or at least 5 times per week. Also, we should try to lift weights. Whether that is at a gym or at home doesn't matter. Youtube is full of video tutorials with great exercises to do with simple dumbbells at home. I've begged my mum to eat more protein yogurts and use her exercise bike but there is just no talking to her. She is getting so unsteady and yet refuses to use a stick or a zimmer. I have the dread that the next fall is only a matter of time. 

So Quillers, I guess the takeaway is that if you don't play a sport or exercise regularly, maybe now is the time to think about starting. Getting old is no joke! To think that years ago the old were given "bed rest" and became bedridden. Years and years spent in bed with rapidly decreasing health and bed sores. Thankfully those days are gone but it is up to us to look after our muscles if we want any quality of life in our final years.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Triple Whammy

Peter Anderson ⚽ Back in 2008, I was living in Madrid and teaching Business English as a foreign language. 

I was doing very well at it and my company promoted me to the "Executive Team". This meant going to the private offices of top business people and giving one-to-one classes. 

One of my jobs was at the Madrid banking giant, Caja Madrid. There I had to teach their Chief Political Analyst. It was the best possible gig to get. The man was a living legend in Spain. During the Franco years he was a top communist activist and lived on the run from the security forces. Following several arrests and beatings from the Guardia Civil, the Partido Comunista de España (PCE) managed to get him out and into Poland, where the local communist party got him a prestigious job in academia. He married a local girl and settled down until the Solidarity union started and he became a leading activist for them. After several arrests by local and Russian security forces for subversion, he was deported to Spain, as by then Franco was tatty bread and democracy was in action there. He was also a personal friend of Communist legend La Pasionaria, Dolores "No Pasarán" Ibárruri before her death. The one-hour classes spent with him every week were fantastic, as I am sure you can imagine. What made them even better was that, like me, he was an Atlético de Madrid season ticket holder. We had so much to talk about! I really put that guy on a pedestal. One which he very quickly fell off.

At that time Atletico's front two, Agüero and Forlán, were ripping teams apart in La Liga, however the bench was decidedly light in the forward department. A back-up was required, so in the Spring of 2008 it was widely reported in the Madrid sports newspaper AS that a verbal agreement had been reached with ex-Liverpool striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle. After leaving Merseyside he ended up in Huelva playing for local side Recreativo and was attracting attention due to his goals and performances. He was due to join the squad in the summer for the 2008/9 season. 

As chance would have it, Recre were due to play Atleti in Madrid that week. The mate I went to the games with and myself were super interested to see how he would do against us, and how the fans would react to him. He had a quiet first half, but in the second he came alive. In one play, he got put clean through, but skyed the shot into row Z. Frente Atleti, Atletico's Ultras who were in the paddock behind that goal, then started to monkey chant. These chants persisted for the rest of the game at every touch. We were appalled, obviously. 

Later in the week, I went to Caja Madrid for my class determined to talk it out with my student, expecting him to agree with me. I was wrong. He laughed and said that we British are too politically correct. That they were only winding him up. That if he was gay they would mock him for that, or ginger haired they would mock him for that. I was appalled with him and let him know. How exactly did Atleti's black players feel watching their own supporters racially abuse a black man? He didn't care. That's life, don't take it so seriously. That pretty much sums up the attitude of the average Spanish fan to racist abuse. I wasn't invited back to Caja Madrid!

At that time Samuel Eto'o was getting slaughtered at every ground he played in. His club, Barça, were trying to get the authorities to take action. There was none. Against Real Zaragoza, the monkey chanting was so bad he threatened to leave the pitch. The game was stopped, but he was told by his playing staff to ignore it and get on with it. After this he refused to bring his family to the games. The latest Spanish player to get the monkey treatment is Real star Vinicius Junior, and like Eto'o before him the Spanish FA are doing FA. Any penalty is worthless. The UK and Ireland have a problem with racism, but nothing compared with Spain. It is an utter disgrace to see the inactivity of the Spanish authorities.

I'm sure Vinicius Jr enjoyed his trip to Anfield last week. He would have got zero racial abuse there.
 
Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports

Real Racism In Madrid

Lynx By Ten To The Power Of Three Hundred And Sixteen

Lynx By Ten To The Power Of Three Hundred And Seven

Lynx By Ten To The Power Of Two Hundred And Ninety Seven

Peter Anderson 🏌 What a weekend of sport. 

I just love weekends like those. Ireland rugby beat the All Blacks for the first time in a test series. Ireland were sensational, winning 1-2, and this augers well for next year's World Cup. I also watched the two stages of the Tour de France, especially Saturday's stage when Michael Mathews won on the brutally steep final climb. But top billing went to the 150th British Open golf championship at St Andrews where Rory McIlroy was pipped on the final back nine by the young Aussie Cameron Smith.

I've been watching the majors since Darren Clarke hit the heights in the 90s, although he didn't win one until 2011. Then young Rory hit the scene and quickly stacked up 4 majors in as many years in a great period for Northern Ireland golf. Between 2010 and 2014 six majors were won by three Northern Irish golfers. Since then, it has all gone quiet. Darren has progressed to the senior tour and Graeme McDowell has slipped down the rankings. Rory's form has ebbed and flowed. He has won some big championships on the U.S. tour including 2 FedEx Cups and the "fifth major" the Players Championship, but he hasn't added to his tally of majors and every time he plays one, he has to field questions from the press doubting if he will ever win another one.

On Thursday, he posted an excellent low score to put him close to the top of the leader board. He followed this up with another great round on Friday. On Saturday he was imperious and put himself into the lead with a red-hot putter. It was clear who was the favourite among the St Andrews hordes. 

I watched with trepidation on Sunday as he started the final round. His course management was first class, but his putter had gone cold. Not to worry, that should come good and the chasing pack weren't making up any ground. In fact, his closest challenger, Victor Hovland, was going backwards. That all changed at the turn, as Cameron Smith went on a birdie streak while Rory's putter continued to misfire. Eventually the young Aussie, with the mullet and moustache, got his nose in front, and with the holes running out, Rory failed to make any birdies to catch up.

You've got to feel for the man from Holywood. He was a true gent in the post-match interview saying that he had been beaten by the better player, but his dream of lifting the 150th Open at St Andrews, the home of golf, was not to be and his wait for another major goes on. Surely, it won't be long.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

Fore

Peter Anderson ⚽ The best thing about a freezing, blustery, rainy weekend in winter is that I don't go out, and stay by the fire watching sport all weekend. 

And what a weekend of sport it was! Ulster thumped Connaught on Friday night and our sensational young full back Michael Lowry was, well, sensational. On Saturday Ireland thumped Wales in one of the best rugby performances I've seen from Ireland in many a long year, then Scotland beat the Auld Enemy to lift the Calcutta Cup.

And then there was the FA Cup. On Friday night Middlesboro dumped Man U out in the 4th round on penalties to add to the Old Trafford woes, in a shocking week for the club following Greenwood's arrest for sexual assault. Then on Saturday I watched a superb game as Kidderminster came within a whisker of knocking out West Ham. The Hammers were shit the whole game until Deccy Rice came on, turned the game around and scored the equaliser in the final minute. Bowen got the winner in the last minute of extra time to break the hearts of the 6th tier team in the cruellest of ways. Young Rice is going to be talked about the way we talk about Roy Keane and Pat Viera. What a player!

But the game I was most looking forward to was Sunday's Liverpool v Cardiff game for several reasons. As I have said several times on this blog, the problem Liverpool face historically is a weak bench. That Klopp has got close to 100 points on 2 occasions and won one EPL title is no small feat. This season they have fallen away, so as a City man and with an eye to next season, I was interested to see how they would do without Salah and Mané against a determined opposition in the FA cup. And more particularly, how Dias and Elliot would play.

Several squad players started the game. Kelleher looks like a safe pair of hands and an ideal deputy to the great Alisson Becker. Tsimikas, too, played a solid game deputising for the 'assist machine' that is Robertson. Keita started beside Curtis Jones in midfield and, as per usual, didn't rip up any trees. I would expect to see him being offloaded in the summer if they can find someone to take him. Curtis Jones seems to be struggling of late and maybe needs a spell on the bench. Minamino, whilst getting on the score sheet, doesn't look up to the required standard for Liverpool, but he may get more time.

The second half saw the introduction of Dias and Elliot. Luis Dias is the South American wonderkid that Liverpool have been tailing for some time now. He impressed during the recent UCL games against Porto and a deal was done in January to bring him to Merseyside. He looks like the real deal and Klopp will be hoping that he will provide competition for Mané, who seems to be dropping his level of late. Elliot came on for his first game since he wrecked his ankle at the start of the season against Leeds.

It is said that Liverpool made no offensive signings last summer because the staff had such faith in Elliot. His injury last September was horrific and I didn't expect to see him back until next season, but his recovery was very fast and successful. He looked great when he came on and indeed scored an excellent goal to put the game beyond Cardiff. It is fantastic to see these young stars getting playing time under Klopp and this bodes well for next season. Mané and Salah will be back from Afcon this week. Senegal beat Egypt in a final that I did not watch. Klopp will be glad to get them back as he hopes to get some momentum for the end of the season, to push City all the way and progress in the UCL and FA cup.

So, I learned that in attack and defence Liverpool are strong but midfield remains a problem. Milner is too old, Henderson will be 32 next season as well, Tiago is too injury prone, Keita is not at the required level and the jury is still out on Jones. Wijnaldum was not replaced and it shows, so I would expect that will be the focus for Liverpool this summer. The perfect man would be Declan Rice. They should break the bank to get him!


Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

What A Weekend Of Sport It Was

Peter Anderson 🏅 raises questions about the quality of sports punditry.

So, Saturday evening, with din-dins on a tray, I sat down to watch the second test in the Lions v Springboks series (the Boks won for those that don't know). During the build-up I noticed that one of the in-studio pundits was a woman called Maggie Alphonsi. When she spoke, the caption said she was a winner of the women's rugby world cup in 2014. I googled her and found out that she is a highly respected ex-player in women's rugby. The question, for me, is whether she is qualified to be a pundit on a Lions match?

Right off the bat, I have to say that I have no problem with women being pundits or commentators. None of the women in my life, mother, wife, sister, nieces etc have any interest in sport and have never played sport even semi-seriously and I regret that. Anything that the media and elite sport can do to bring women into sport is welcome. Similarly, that goes for ethnic minorities too, so including more minorities on TV sport is to be applauded and defended. I just don't think that that goal should be attained at the cost of good punditry. 

For any rugby player from these islands, getting selected for the Lions is the pinnacle of an elite career. Playing three tests under immense pressure, away from home in packed, hostile stadiums against the best rugby players on the planet is, according to ex-Lions, the hardest and most rewarding experience of their careers. Shouldn't the pundits come from the ranks of ex-Lions or their opponents who have actually experienced such pressure? Alphonsi is qualified enough to speak about rugby tactics but is she qualified to speak about the Lions? I'm not so sure.

In the past Sky TV, when they had the European Champions League games, always rolled out the heavy weights as pundits for the big ECL games. Guillet, Vialli, Souness etc would be used to provide input for those high intensity games and it was great to get their insight into how they coped and triumphed under such pressure. Pundits who had never played in the final stages of the ECL were not used.

Similarly, pundits who had no or little experience of the English Premier League did not get a gig on an EPL game. The excellent Don Goodman, for example, only worked on Championship or League one games. This policy seems to have been abandoned of late and I'm not sure that is a good thing. Sky were eager to break up their Gillette Soccer Saturday "dream team" because it was too old, male and white. Nothing wrong with that except they got rid of the excellent, and popular Matt Le Tissier and replaced him with the rubbish and seemingly unpopular, Clinton Morrison. This did not go down well with Sky Sports fans. I am quite happy to watch pundits regardless of the colour of their skin, but give me good pundits, give me Dion Dublin, give me Thierry Henri, give me Ian Wright, not Clinton Morrison or Garth Crooks just to tick an ethnicity box.

I understand what the BBC and Sky are trying to do and I support and applaud that, but I wish they would think more carefully about the quality of their coverage of elite sport. Does playing in the women's ECL give you a deep enough insight into the men's ECL? Was sacking LeTiss and bringing in Morrison really a box worth ticking? Or maybe it's just that I am too old, white and male to really understand?

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

Ticking The Wrong Boxes

Gavin Casey ✒ I used to drive the Battleford Road out of Armagh regularly on a Sunday morning but today was the first time in years. 

I was unsurprised to encounter a group of road bowling enthusiasts where you would normally find them. There was a car in front of me so I took advantage of the space cleared for it and could pass through without much loss of momentum. I’d have been doing about 40 where you’d normally be doing 60. From the driver’s side of the road came slow down gestures and comments. 

This type of thing tends to have a triggering effect, almost as bad as the auld boys and young goddermen strolling down the middle of the road, backs to oncoming traffic, engrossed in conversation. They put up wee signs for drivers, ‘Caution Road Bowling’ and many appear to believe this absolves them from any caution regards moving vehicles. 

“It’s a traditional pastime done here for generations” the enthusiasts might say. So was triumphalist Orange marching through Nationalist areas but that irresponsible and dangerous activity has largely been curtailed despite the enthusiasts’ sense of entitlement. 

I personally believe road bowling on busy major roads is an irresponsible activity which endangers the lives of enthusiasts and road users alike. I don’t understand why it’s tolerated without any type of reasonable health and safety measures. There was road bowling in Boston among Armagh and Cork people; but it was done safely, in controlled environments, off the public roads. I think that should be the way here too. Busy roads are not the place for groups of pedestrians milling about with little concern for road safety and expecting others, operating machinery, to assume the responsibility on their behalf.

⏩ Gavin Casey is a scundered motorist from Tyrone.

Road Bowling ➖ Sporting Heritage Or Dangerous Jaywalking?

Peter Anderson 🏅 With the Euros finished I spent a quiet weekend on the sporting front. 

After spending the morning out in the sun, I retired indoors to catch up on some Olympics. I had recorded the cycling road race which was won by Richard Carapaz, following on from his third place at the Tour de France. I then watched some archery. The excellent South Koreans took gold in the mixed team event, dispatching the Dutch in the thrilling final. 

This is one of the joys of watching the Olympics, watching sports that you normally don't watch.

Following the archery, I watched the highlights of the hockey as the Irish women beat South Africa in their first group game, and Team GB men beat the same country in theirs. Just like the archery, the only time I watch hockey is at the Olympics. Unfortunately, with the time zone difference this Olympics will mostly be watched via the highlights. For me the best of the Olympics is always the athletics, and with no Usain Bolt this time I will be following the exploits of up-and-coming superstar Sydney McLaughlin in the women's 400m hurdles. At the tender age of twenty-one she is already the world record holder and the only woman in history to run the distance in under 52 seconds. The athletics kicks off on Friday, look out for young Sydney.

Following on from my afternoon of Olympics came the rugby and the first test between South Africa and the British and Irish Lions on Saturday evening. Unlike in recent tours there aren't many Irishmen to cheer on this time. Given the lack of Irishmen and the complete lack of spectators in the stadium due to covid restrictions, it was hard to get excited about this Lion's tour. The last tour in 2017 to New Zealand was a classic and the "Neil Jenkins" tour in South Africa in 1997 was one of the greatest ever, yet somehow this one, in the middle of a pandemic, seems a bit of an anti-climax. 

Nonetheless, I watched the game and was not disappointed. After a typically bruising first 15 mins the hosts settled better and dominated the first period, but the Lions came out pumped for the second half and forced multiple penalties from the South Africans. Both sides also scored a try each but the Lions came out on top, winning the game 17-22. Two South African tries were controversially chalked off on VAR review to the disgust of the home side, which sets up the next test nicely this Saturday. The Springboks will be desperate to win the test and avoid losing the series in the second match and the dreaded "dead" last game. 

So, plenty of sport to keep us going until the new footy season kicks off in a couple of weeks' time.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.


Olympics & Rugby

Peter Anderson 🏅 What a weekend of sport!

Starting on Saturday morning with my own - cycling. After a year in bed with an illness I climbed back on the bike in November and the long quest to regain my fitness began in earnest. So after literally thousands of kilometres ridden on my own over the winter months, I was finally fit enough to re-join the club groups. 

On Saturday morning I joined the "slow" group to do the usual 90 km spin around the Ards peninsula. I didn't have to do any work on the front and had a sweet northerly tailwind on my back all the way to Portaferry, making the 35 kph almost pedestrian. But once we turned for the north the Kms and the headwind meant that I barely made it with the group to the coffee stop in Greyabbey. After refueling on buns and coffee I managed to get home with the group. 

I had a huge lunch, then a shower and climbed into bed to watch the real hardmen of the peleton battle it out on the first stage of the Tour de France. Two brutal high-speed crashes brought down 60-70 riders each time, but the main contenders made it to the final climb where Julian Alaphilipe attacked on the brutal 10% gradient and no-one could follow his wheel. The darling of French cycling claimed the first yellow jersey of the race to the delight of his countrymen. 

After dinner on a tray, I settled in to watch Wales v Denmark. What a disappointment! Wales started well but after Denmark controlled the game Wales just faded to a 4-0 defeat. Bale and Ramsey where nowhere to be found and Wales were out with barely a whimper. Next up was on-form Italy. While Austria gave them a good game and a few scares the class of Italy prevailed and they booked a spot in the quarter finals. After all that sport I rounded of the night with a few episodes of those other classy Italians in Walter presents The Hunter.

Sunday saw another stage of the TdF completed with young Dutch sensation Van der Poel putting on the yellow jersey after winning in some style on the double ascent of the energy sapping Mur De Bretagne. Then the plucky Czechs dumped the Netherlands out of the Euros with an excellent performance giving them a relatively easy 2-0 win. 

Next up was Belgium against Portugal and the game did not disappoint. Belgium took victory with a superb drive from Eden Hazard's wee bro and he booked his side a mouth-watering clash with Italy in the quarters. Both Belgium and Italy are cruising along nicely, neither spectacular but both gaining confidence. It is a pity that only one of them will reach the semis and at the moment I can't call which country will make it, though De Bruyne's fitness may play a part after hobbling off in the second half.

After an excellent weekend of sport, I have got into a pretty nice routine of the TdF and the Euros which will continue for a few weeks more. It's lucky I have such a wonderfully tolerant wife!

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

Tour De Force

Peter Anderson ⚽ It was a great weekend of sport with the Euros continuing and Rory McIlroy looking to get back on the major winners' podium after a 7 year absence. 

First up was Friday night's Scotland v England game and after much hype it turned out to be a damp squib. With 82 mins on the clock the ITV commentator said ,"this is edge of the seat stuff". What fucking game was he watching? England were awful, devoid of ideas and the inevitable 0-0 ensued.

When England's forwards and midfielders play for their clubs, they play much better. To see them with fewer passing options available to them, leads you with the conclusion that they either lack motivation or that the manager is crap. I tend to lean towards the latter. If Klopp, Pep or Tuchel were in charge of this England team they would be a top team. They have the players.

Saturday threw up some minor shocks. Spain drew with Poland, a game they were expected to win, leaving qualification resting on them beating Slovakia. France drew with Hungary, with Griezmann's late equaliser sparing blushes and Germany hammered Portugal 4-2 in the championship's most entertaining game. I don't think the French have as much to worry about as the English. Hungary were at home with a raucous support and, while only drawing the game, Les Blues played very well. Germany seem to have thrown their hat into the ring after being comprehensively outplayed by France. After Ronaldo's opener for the Portuguese, it was all Germany. My German mate pointed out that they usually get stronger as the tournament progresses.

Sunday provided more thrills as the plucky Welsh lost to a highly impressive Italian side. The Italians are the new dark horses of this competition, it will be interesting to see how they do against stronger opposition. The Welsh qualified from the group in second place and will provide a potential banana skin in the knock outs. The Netherlands also qualified as group winners in a game I didn't see and I expect their neighbours, Belgium, to join them from Group B.

And so to wee Rory. I'm not a big fan of the golf, but I started watching the majors years ago when Darren Clark was in his prime and have continued with Rory. He is desperate to get back to winning majors. It seemed so easy when he was young, not anymore. Despite starting the final round of the U.S. Open just 2 shots off the lead, a bogey and double bogey at 11 and 12 ended his charge. At least he was in with a shout after so many years of finishing way down the pack or missing cuts. What a good weekend of sport. Now I'm looking forward to the next one, the Euro's Round of 16 starts on Saturday alongside the Tour de France. Bring it on.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

Balls & Bikes

Matt Treacy ➤ For some strange reason the League of Ireland Professional Players Association has decided that all players will “take a knee,” before all games until the end of September. 

 
I will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they don’t do this during Amhrán na bhFiann.

 
The PFA’s statement said that this is to “mark the untimely death of George Floyd and stand in strong solidarity with fellow professionals, civil society and the world wide campaign for equality and fair treatment in life and sport.” Perhaps they should agree to have all games end in a draw so?

Apart from the “Look at us, we’re so cool” aspect of all of this, it does beg the question as to what is the relevance of such mimicry to this country. The Gardaí haven’t killed any black people in custody of late, nor black soccer supporters or players, unless I missed it?

Indeed far from having to expunge some awful history of racism, the League of Ireland has been totally woke on all of this. To the point where former FAI international team manager Brian Kerr was complaining about Ireland being “too white.” Imagine if you will the Cameroon manager complaining about his country being “too black.” Especially given that the current one is a whiteish looking chap from Portugal.

The Bohs are full on with all of this at the moment. In June they donated all the proceeds of their away jersey sales for one week to the Movement of Asylum Seekers Ireland to oppose Direct Provision. Granted, the revenue from the top bearing the slogan “Refugees Welcome” would hardly be enough to buy a take away for the hunger strikers in Cahirciveen, but it is the virtue that counts.

Perhaps those League of Ireland clubs, which employed a person after he was convicted for involvement in the gang rape of a 14 year old girl, might have made some redress for that rather than this infantile stuff. Perhaps a donation to assist the victims of sexual violence? Instead, the player Ismaheel Akinade was signed by Bohemians and then Waterford after he was found guilty but given a suspended sentence.

Not only that but people associated with both clubs claimed that those who raised the question as to whether such a person ought to be playing for them were lying and making up the whole thing. And that even if it was true, it was racist to bring the unsavoury fact to notice, That was assisted by Akinade successfully muzzling newspapers from reporting on the case in 2015.

When Akinade was eventually deported in 2019 at the end of his “sentence” and having failed to turn up at previous hearings while playing with Waterford, the club issued a statement which said that Akinade and Waterford FC had parted ways by “mutual agreement..” Not quite what actually happened given that Akinade was put on a plane and now plays soccer in Vietnam.

In fairness, some Bohs and Waterford supporters did make their views known but they were ignored. In any event, influential figures in the “collective” that runs Bohemians far prefer to use the club for political reasons. One local left wing councillor who is a member has been associated with Anti Fascist Action here for decades.

The kneeling business then is clearly part of the effort to enlist sport into the service of politics. No doubt attempts are being made to persuade other organisations to follow suit. Let us trust that they will display a bit more backbone than the FAI.



Matt Treacy has published a number of books including histories of the Republican Movement and of the Communist Party of Ireland.
He is currently working on a number of other books; His latest one is a novel entitled Houses of Pain. It is based on real events in the Dublin underworld. Houses of Pain is published by MTP and is currently available online as paperback and kindle while book shops remain closed.

“Take A Knee” ➤ The New Wokeness In Irish Sport

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