Poland Vs Greece Preview

Euro 2012 gets under way in Warsaw with co-hosts Poland taking on 2004 winners Greece.


Poland are the lowest ranked side in the competition but having been drawn into a seemingly weak group, they will fancy their chances against a Greece side who scored the joint fewest amount of goals in qualifying. This will encourage the Polish to take the game to the Greeks, in front of a bumper home crowd. Greece will take some confidence from the fact that the last time they played the host nation in the opening tournament game, they went on to win the competition (Portugal 2004).


This game may come down to a mistake or a moment of individual brilliance and will go a long way to deciding if either makes it through the group stage. Despite the ranking of each side you would have to fancy Poland to nick it in a closely fought game, I struggle to see where the goals are going to come from for Greece and I feel adrenalin alone may get the hosts over the line.

Euro 2012 Preview

Next Friday, European Championship number 14 will get underway.


The tournament will be hosted in Poland and Ukraine with the likes of champions Spain, Germany and the Netherlands among the favorites for the trophy. There are sixteen teams split into four groups as 14 sides qualified for the competition along with the two host nations.


We start with Group A which contains co-host Poland along with the Czech Republic, Greece and Russia. The Polish will be feeling confident as they are in by far the easiest group and although they are not a team full of stars, they will feel that home advantage will see them through. The Czech Republic are not the same team as they once were, however they are a solid side and may not concede many with the likes of Petr Cech in their team, their problem is that they struggle to score goals so may miss the cut. Greece of course won the tournament eight years ago, surely though lightning cannot strike twice can it?. Like the Czechs they struggle for goals but seem to be less stable at the back than they once were, like four years ago, they may struggle to get out of their group. Finally there is group favorites Russia, unlike the other teams in the group they have a decent attacking threat with the likes of Andrei Arshavin and Roman Pavluchenko in their ranks, you'd be brave to back against the Russians qualifying from the group. I feel that Russia will top the group and I am backing Poland to pip the Czech Republic to the second spot, I can't see the Greeks winning a game to be honest.


By contrast Group B seems to be the hardest group of the four, with Germany, Portugal, Netherlands and Denmark in there, it sets up some mouth watering contests. Lets start with the losing finalists from four years ago Germany, the Germans are always there or thereabouts in every tournament and have class all over the park with the likes of Neuer, Lahm, Schwinsteiger, Ozil and Arsenal bound Lukas Podolski. Germany are tournament players and by or hook or by crook, should go through. We then have Portugal who will cursing their luck after getting a tough group at the last World Cup as well,  one man of course that stands out is the name of Cristiano Ronaldo. They are not as strong as they have been over the last few years and although they have other decent players, I can't see them beating the Germans or the Dutch. Now onto the Dutch themselves and I feel that the World Cup runners up will again be a force in the Euros, they have pure attacking class with the likes of Sneijder, Robben and of course Robin Van Persie. The Netherlands will be there or thereabouts in the latter stages of the competition. Finally you have the Danish who are a solid side however you feel that they lack the quality and attacking prowess to beat the other sides in the group. I predict that Germany and the Netherlands will qualify leaving the Portuguese and Danish trailing.


You then have Group C containing reigning champions Spain with Italy, Croatia and the Republic of Ireland. You'd be brave to bet against World champions Spain who have class throughout their squad, the couple of issues they do have though is the absence of Carlos Puyol and hitman David Villa who may be big misses for them. We then have 1968 winners Italy who will have a point to prove after a terrible 2010 World Cup, the Italians have a lot experience with the likes of Pirlo, Buffon and Di Natale. Also there will be the Man City maverick Mario Ballotelli, he may be the wildcard for them as he could either cost them or lead them to success. Next there's Croatia who are always a tricky side to play, although their squad may not look great, they have a few gems in there with the likes of Luka Modric and the extremely impressive Everton striker Nikica Jelavic. They will fancy upsetting the odds and by nicking the second qualifying place. Making up the group will be the Republic of Ireland who are playing in their first tournament in ten years. The Irish may not be a team of star players but what they do have is a great work ethic and fantastic tactical organisation under experienced manager Giovanni Trapattoni. Each player knows their role and this helps them play as a team, I fancy the Irish to cause a few upsets as they did back in the 2002 World Cup. I can't see past Spain topping this group, however I am backing the Irish to pip Italy and Croatia to the second qualifying spot, I feel that they are more organised defensively than the other two and that will decide it.


Finally we have Group D with the other co-host Ukraine in with France, Sweden and of course England. Ukraine seem to look a bit of a one man team with the great Andriy Shevchenko leading his country, home advantage will make games against them intimidating however I feel the home crowd may be disappointed at the end of the group stages. We then have group favourites France who have really picked themselves up after a dreadful World Cup in South Africa, Laurent Blanc has united the team as they made it through the qualifying stages. They have good attacking options with the likes of Nasri, Ribery and Benzema, who should see them qualify top. You then have Sweden who are not the force they once were, like Ukraine they have one player who really stands out and that is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. A lot depends on his form and temperament, if he is in the mood they could cause problems, if not they could easily exit the competition with a whimper. Last of all you have Roy Hodgson's England who again, haven't had the easiest of build ups with the Terry allegations leading to Fabio Capello's resignation. No really knows what to expect from England who for once have low expectations going into a tournament, Wayne Rooney missing the first two games is a huge blow as they now seem toothless up front. Their qualification may depend on the final game. I feel that France will top the group with England scraping second by pipping Ukraine. I can't see Sweden doing much in the group (famous last words).


Once the groups stage is over with it's anyone's game, Spain will be the favourites but no team has ever retained the title. If I had to back any team to go out and win it, I would have to back the Germans however it may be too close to call.

Brendan Rodgers Set For Liverpool Job

In January 2011, I wrote a blog about the appointment of Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool manager on a caretaker basis. I wrote about the possibility of Dalglish as well as the new owners, bringing back the glory days at Anfield.


On the May 14th 2012, the man dubbed by the supporters as 'King Kenny', was relived of his duties only one year into his three year contract, this was despite winning the League cup and getting to the final of the FA cup. The club's cup runs however, was in stark contrast to their League form where they finished in eighth place and below local rivals Everton. What didn't help of course was that many of Liverpool's big money signings (Carroll, Downing, Henderson), did not perform to the standard that their price tag's suggested.


Once Dalglish had been dismissed, many manager's names were banded about to replace the Scot with Wigan manager Roberto Martinez and former Chelsea boss Andre Villas Boas appearing to be the front runners for the post. Martinez was given permission by Wigan chairman Dave Whelan, to speak to Liverpool and did so on at least two occasions, in the end though the reds decide to raid Martinez's former club Swansea, for their manager Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers who initially turned down the Anfield club's approach, changed his mind once he discovered that their interest was genuine and is set to sign a three year contract after a rumoured four or five million pound compensation package is agreed.  


It has been an extraordinary couple of years for the Ulsterman. He joined the Swans in the summer of 2010 after a very unsuccessful few months at old club Reading the season before. In first full season at the Liberty stadium he guided the club to promotion via the playoffs, ironically beating his former side Reading in the final. This was some achievement as Swansea had become the first Welsh club to compete in the Premier League, beating much fancied rivals Cardiff to the accolade. Before this past season had even started, the Welsh outfit were heavy favorites for relegation with some bookmakers even suggesting that there was more chance of Elvis Presley returning from the dead than the Swans staying up. How wrong they were!, Swansea not only stayed up, but did it in such a style that they were dubbed the 'Barcelona of England,' winning plaudits up and down the country.


It seems however that Rodgers will have a new challenge on his hands, to wake the sleeping giant that is Liverpool Football Club. He will have a lot of pressure on him from both owners and fans, if he has a poor start he may be feeling the heat, just ask Roy Hodgson. Rogers will have to try and rebuild the club after some of the poor signings made over the last few years and to do this he needs to be given time, if the owners rate him as much as they seem to, then they have to back their man. This is a massive gamble for the new owners and for their sake's it had better pay off.


In my personal opinion I believe Rodgers is overrated and unproven as a manager after inheriting a good squad at Swansea following the work of Roberto Martinez and Paulo Sousa. Despite this I believe he deserves to be given a chance and who knows, maybe the answer to a problem isn't always staring you in the face.

Aviva Premiership Final Preview

Tomorrow will be the day of the Aviva Premiership final between table topping Harlequins and nine times
winners Leicester Tigers.


The final also marks the eighth consecutive Premiership final in which the Tigers have appeared in, however out of the seven already played, they have won just three of them. Harlequins will also be the Tiger's fifth different opponent in these finals which really shows their accomplishment.


Lets not forget though that Quins are not just here to make up the numbers, this is the team that finished top of the table in the regular season and have been there since pretty much the start of the season. They have quality players all around the park, with the pack containing one time England skipper Nick Easter, along with current captain Chris Robshaw who will bring both power and leadership to the side. Behind the scrum there will be no shortage of pace with back in form scrum half Danny Care as well centre Jordan Turner-Hall and the dangerous Ugo Monye. You of course have the vocal point of the team who is the sensational New Zealand fly half Nick Evans, how this man has only 16 caps for the All Blacks i'll never know as he is without doubt one of the most talent players the Premiership has ever seen.


Unlike Quins, Leicester didn't start the season nearly as well. The Tigers got off to a disastrous start as they lost five of their opening six games, this of course was not helped by the players on World Cup duty as well as a number of injuries. This was still not good enough from a team such as Leicester and once the missing players had returned, the pressure was on to salvage their season. They did just that as they went on to lose just the one game in the calender year of 2012, this included winning the LV cup by beating local rivals Northampton Saints in the final. Along with already known stars of Tigers (Flood, the Tuilagi's, Murphy ect), new talent emerged including one of the players of the season Steve Mafi and 19 year old George Ford who will start this years final.


The result of the match hangs in the balance, the final may be decide by one player's brilliance on the day as the two teams seem evenly matched. A lot will also rest on the shoulders of George Ford and his temperament on the big occasion, also getting the ball to Manu Tuilagi will key in order to get some forward momentum. The last time the two met was at the Stoop, the Tigers came out on top that day by winning a thriller of game which ended 33-43. If the final is as half as entertaining as that game, we are in for a treat.


This game seems too close to call, hopefully it will be another cracking game and sorry to use a cliche but at the end of the day, may the best team win.   

TEAMS

Harlequins: Brown; Williams, Lowe, Turner-Hall, Monye; Evans, Care; Marler, Gray, Johnston, Kohn, Robson; Fa'asavalu, Robshaw (capt), Easter.

Replacements: Buchanan, Lambert, Collier, Vallejos, Guest, Dickson, Clegg, Hopper.

Leicester: Murphy; Agulla, M Tuilagi, Allen, A Tuilagi; Ford, Youngs; Ayerza, Chuter, Cole; Skivington, Parling; Mafi, Salvi, Waldrom.

Replacements: T Youngs, Mulipola, Castrogiovanni, Kitchener, Newby, Harrison, Flood, Hamilton.

Yorkshire Carnegie vs Derbyshire Falcons Report

Yorkshire secured a 7 wicket victory over Derbyshire after an impressive 77 not out from former Falcon's man Gary Ballance.


Derbyshire were put in to bat after Yorkshire won the toss and started off brightly with a 135 run partnership between openers Martin Guptill (89) and Cheney Hughes (50). New Zealand international Guptill, scored four 4's and five 6's in his 83 ball 89 and looked in great touch. The problems began for Derbyshire once they lost Hughes just after he gained his half century, the batsmen that followed struggled to play themselves in with no other batsman reaching 20. One of the main reasons for this was the bowling of 22 year old Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who was making his debut for the county. Starc took 3 wickets from 8 overs whilst conceding a steady 28 runs, the Aussie seamer
caused problems most of the Falcon's line up and got his reward with the wickets of Redfern, Whiteley and Poynton. This caused Derbyshire to stutter in the last ten overs ultimately finishing the innings on 219 for 8.


Like the Falcon's, Yorkshire's openers got off to a solid start with skipper Andrew Gale (33) and Adam Lyth (31) putting on a 50 run partnership. However both players couldn't cash in on their good starts and got out without getting the big scores they wanted. This brought experienced Aussie Phil Jaques to the crease who hit a steady 47 from 54 ball, this freed up Zimbabwean Ballance to smash a 60 ball 77 and comeback to haunt the county he left back in 2007. Once Jaques went, Ballance was supported well by exciting youngster Joe Root. The 21 year old hit an unbeaten 28 from 24 balls with some nice scoop shots which resulted in a couple of boundaries, he also bowled a couple of overs in the Derbyshire innings and looks a very good prospect for the next few years. Despite two wickets from all-rounder Wes Durston, Yorkshire secured the winning runs with 3 overs to spare as they accelerated their run rate during the last ten overs or so.   


Derbyshire will be disappointed with the result after being in such a strong position early on, Yorkshire however will be glad to get their first Pro 40 win of the season.

American Pie Reunion Review

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Drugs Cheats Allowed To Compete In Olympics

Sport drug cheats such as Dwain Chambers and David Millar, will be able to compete in this summer's Olympics.


The BOA (British Olympic Association) have lost their battle with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) at the Court of Arbitration for Sport which means British athletes who have previously been found guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs, can now compete this summer.


Other countries athlete's such as the USA, were allowed to compete in the 'greatest show on earth' despite being caught taking performance enhancing drugs. Now British athletes such as Chambers (who was found guilty in 2003), can showcase their talents. Past and present sports stars have been split on the debate with some saying that drug cheats should be given a second chance, with others saying that once a cheat, always a cheat.


Now the decision has been made, it will be interesting to see the reaction of the sporting world, whether they get behind the athletes or not. Does it send out the right message to young athletes tempted by performance enhancing drugs?, a lifetime ban from the Olympics was a good deterrent to disencourage sportsmen and women from the temptation. Now with the lifetime ban being non-existent, will more athletes' feel that the risk will be worth it. Most importantly, will the spectators believe that this summer's Olympics, will be a fair and just one?.