The cost of relegation

On Sunday West Ham United confirmed their exit from the top flight of English football. Defeat at the hands of Wigan, who they were promoted with 6 seasons before, ended what has to be considered one of the worst seasons in the clubs history. And questions are now being asked about what the future holds for the London club.

Relegation is always difficult to swallow, but the knock on effects can be catastrophic. I think Chris Hughton summarised it best following Newcastle’s relegation when he said the club need to bounce back into the Premier League straight away or they will get stuck in quagmire that can be the Championship. Take the example of Bradford City and Leeds United. It’s hard to believe that just 10 years ago The Bantams were relegated from the top flight, and now at the end of the 2010/11 season they sit 18th in League Two. Leeds have taken years to recover from relegation and the financial hardships which ensued. Dropping down to the 3rd tier of English football, only to really show signs of a potential return to the Premier League this season.

The final day of the season promises to be one of the most entertaining for several years, with 5 different teams in danger of facing the drop. Everyone has been shocked at the level of performance which Blackpool have put in this season, and despite the drop in form in the second half of the season no one can deny that Ian Holloway’s side have confounded many of the pre-season predictions. And the other contenders….

Birmingham have faded fast since the jubilation of winning the League Cup a few months ago, Wigan and Wolves have found themselves in a dogfight for much of the season and Blackburn have been sucked back into the basement battle after a positive start under Steve Kean.

This weekend will be anything but predictable, with Manchester United set to put out a reserve side against Blackpool ahead of their Champions League final, and with Blackpool, Blackburn, Wolves and Wigan all unbeaten in their last 3 games they will all be confident they can pull another performance out of the bag. Personally I would like to see Wolves and Blackpool stay up, as I feel they have played the more attractive football and taken more chances, but with the other 3 teams involved having more Premiership pedigree I’m sure they won’t go down without a fight.

But the team I worry for most next season is already the Hammers. Owners Gold and Sullivan have already said big names will be sold. And while I’m sure West Ham fans will not be sad to see the back of overpaid bench warmers such as Boa Morte and Dyer, the potential loss of the likes of Parker, Green, Upson, Cole and Noble along with impressive youngsters such as Jack Collison will be a concern. The cost of not bouncing back at the first attempt will also hit West Ham harder than the other relegation candidates as they are scheduled to move to the Olympic Stadium at the end of 2012. Realistically will they be able to fill out a stadium of that size playing in the Championship? The decisions by the West Ham board this summer may prove to be some of the biggest in the clubs history……

Money, madness and record breaking – A week in English football

A week which football fans will never forget. One of the most entertaining and unbelievable deadline day of transfers ever followed by a weekend of football which illustrates why so many fans are still willing to pay inflated prices to support their team.

41 goals in 8 top flight matches on Saturday is a new record and proof that the Premier League is the most entertaining league in European football. Arsenal held to a draw after leading 4 – 0 by a team with no apparent scoring power? Everton 5 Blackpool 3? Bottom of the table Wolves beating the league leaders and champions elect Manchester United 2 – 1? What League can rival this?  

Whilst La Liga boasts the best team in modern football in Barcelona, it is still almost always a two-horse race with few shocks. Serie A is a brilliant example of tactical and defensive minded football, but it is not everyone’s cup of tea, and with attendance figures lower than the Championship it would seem a lot of Italians feel that way at the moment as well. For fans and passion the Bundesliga has over the last 10 years become a fantastic prospect. Cheap tickets, packed out stadiums, young homegrown talent and entertaining football – it’s the only league which comes close to the Premier League at this current time. With the main difference being English clubs dwarf others with what they are willing to spend in the transfer market…

Onto Sunday and the hugely built up match between Chelsea and Liverpool. The record-breaking £50 million transfer of Torres to Chelsea which has been viewed by many – including the man who brought him to English Football Rafa Benitez – to be a fantastic bargain. Whilst this may prove to be true in the future it will – and already has – damaged Chelsea’s title ambitions this season. The defeat to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge came as a result of Torres inclusion in a Chelsea team which had just started to settle again in recent weeks. With El Nino’s inclusion in the team Ancelloti saw his side lose their shape and rhythm. Whilst I’m in no doubt they will get it back, and the Blues will find a way to work with Torres, you get the feeling the back-end of this season may seem more like a series of games for the manager to figure out what his best 11 is, rather than a title push. Next season though with Torres leading the attack, and new defensive signing David Luiz, Chelsea will be a tough act to follow.

Liverpool on the other hand look rejuvenated under Daglish. Although still shaky at times, with Carragher back in the side the team played with real passion and determination. They were more than deserving of their 1 – 0 win. In transfer terms – Suarez is a fantastic footballer with a terrific record in Dutch football, and for just over £20 million Liverpool fans will hope they have found a natural goalscorer to replace Torres. Carroll on the other hand could go either way.

He is no doubt talented, and getting an England call up after just a handful of Premier League matches proves that. However, as Newcastle fans know, he is hot-headed and prone to making extremely rash decisions. £35 million is a lot for a player who has only played half a season of Premier League football and has to be viewed as somewhat of a panic buy from a club which is looking for inspiration to pull itself out of a two-year slump. However if Kenny Daglish remains at the helm from the end of the season he could prove to be the decisive factor in the future of the young jordie. Daglish has the experience and man management skills to pull Carroll in, hopefully developing him in a player the Kop will grow to love in the coming years.

Not just at the bigger clubs, but for other teams a winter signing can make all the difference. Over the last few days and weeks we have seen the impact of Darren Bent at Villa, John Carew at Stoke, Bentley at Birmingham and Jamie O’Hara at Wolves who will all no doubt influence their respective clubs massively this season. The January transfer window has been criticised by a lot of Premier League managers and may not be around for many more years but it seems to have lit a spark under the English football – which for this weekend alone has created some incredibly entertaining football.

A Nation Held Its Breath

In the second of my sporting moments of the naughties we take a look at a moment of individual brilliance.

On October 6th 2001 England’s chance’s of playing in the 2002 World Cup Finals hung in the balance.  Facing Greece at Old Trafford, England needed a point to secure qualification and finish above Germany in the group stages. After ninety minutes the unfancied Greek’s were leading 2-1.

There are defining moments in sporting careers, for me David Beckham’s free-kick in the 93rd minute of this game is his finest moment. He effectively carried a lacklustre England side for the whole game and was rightly rewarded with the opportunity to level the scores and take credit for the result with only seconds remaining.

The nation literally held its breath as with the last kick of the game a man who had moved from a figure of hatred in 1998 following his sending off against Argentina, became a national hero. As his 30-yard free-kick hit the back of the net the nation was united in admiration and respect for one of the best English players and professionals to grace the game in the last decade.

Although this sporting moment did not occur on such grand a stage as the World Cup Finals it is still mesmerising to watch and looking back at it now you start to remember not only the euphoria but also the relief. This one spectacular moment deserves its place in sporting history.

Sporting moments of the noughties

Looking back over the last ten years there have been some unbelievable sporting moments. Records have been smashed, under dogs have triumphed and we have witnessed some of the greatest sporting spectacles of all time. These next few blogs take a look back at some of the most memorable moments of the noughties.

In 2008 the Centre Court at Wimbledon witnessed an epic contest between two of the best sportsmen of the last decade. Roger Federer, reigning Wimbledon champion and possibly the greatest tennis player of all time, took on Rafael Nadal in the final of the mens singles championship.

The match was an enthralling encounter. Few sporting events which last for a solid and gruelling five hours have the capability to hold the viewer’s attention but this was no ordinary match-up. Nadal stormed ahead taking the first two sets with the speed and ruthlessness that had seen many of the Wimbledon crowd adhere to him. However, writing off Roger Federer is never a good idea.

In two extremely closely fought sets, the reigning champion showed his class, closing out two tie breaks to take the match into its fifth set. As the night closed in on Centre Court the crowd continued to be enthralled by the third and final tie break between the two best players on the planet.

Finally, at 9:15 in almost unplayable light, Rafael Nadal fell to his knees in celebration as he claimed his first Wimbledon title. It will forever be remembered as one of the most entertaining and tense tennis matches of all time, let alone in the past decade. Nadal and Federer set a new standard in what a final should be. The greatest players, on the grandest stage, playing out what could only be described as a perfectly sculptured sporting masterpiece.

The 2010 Course – Celtic Manor

Entrance to the Celtic Manor Golf Resort

 

On October 1st 2010 Wales will play host to one of the greatest sporting spectacles on the planet. The Ryder Cup is coming to Newport with Celtic Manor’s new 2010 course the destination. For those of you not familiar with the Ryder Cup here’s a quick introduction to the competition. 

The Ryder Cup pits a team of European golfers against their American compatriots. It’s been running since 1927 and is third in global viewing figures, behind only the FIFA World Cup and Olympics. During the three day event over 50,000 people will be travelling to the course each day. This gives you a brief idea of just how huge the event is. 

With the Americans winning the last Ryder Cup in 2008, Colin Montgomerie’s men will be looking to bring the trophy back to European soil. The American captain, Corey Pavin, has a tremendous playing record in the competition, having never lost during 13 matches, and will be looking to take that form into his captaincy. So with such a massive event coming to South Wales, Sport Cymru decided to head to Newport to see what Celtic Manor was doing to prepare for the event. 

The brand new 2010 Club House

 

The site has undergone serious renovations since Celtic Manor successfully won the bid to host the event. The course has been heavily altered, with nine new holes, and there is also a brand new clubhouse. Head of PR for Celtic Manor Resort, Paul Williams, gave us an overview of just how drastic and expensive the changes to the course have been in the last few years. 

The players changing rooms

 The new clubhouse is hugely different to the other two clubhouses at the resort. Going round the 2010 Clubhouse the amount of time and effort put into creating a world-class atmosphere becomes clear. As the players enter the changing rooms they will be greeted with state of the art facilities, including their own personalised showers and electronic lockers. They can then relax in their teams own private suites which overlook the 18^th green, a view that will be sure to witness a lot of drama over the three days. 

Huw teeing off

So now its time for Sport Cymru, represented by Huw and Jack, to take on the course which Corey Pavin described as fairly straightforward. The driving range and tee for the first hole is a short buggy ride away from the club house. It’s a wet and windy day on what has been voted the 7^th best course in the world, so myself and Huw’s round is about to be made a lot more difficult. 

View to green to 5th Hole

Looking over the course as you travel round it, the layout is incredible. Lakes and bunkers seem to surround every hole. Taking the example of the 5^th hole, which at a glance, seems like a simple par 4. According to the stroke index, which indicates how hard a hole is, it’s the most difficult on the course. The green is surrounded by hazards, with a lake on one side and a bunker on the other, and the green itself runs like you’re putting on glass, not a fun hole to play if you’re not hitting straight! 

Redeveloping the course cost Celtic Manor around £17 million, a figure which was widely criticised at the time for being too costly. But looking at the course, club house and facilities which they have built, they seemed to have put every penny to good use. As well as this Newport and the surrounding areas, including Cardiff, is set to make over £70 million from hosting the event. This is due to the fact that nearly a quarter of a million people making their way to the area over the three day period when the Ryder Cup will be staged. 

View of 18th from Club House

One of the most interesting holes on the course though and the one which will attract the most amount of drama and action when the tournament kicks off is the 18^th. It’s a par 5, playing downhill towards a heightened green with a lake in front of it. A picturesque finish to a golfing round as you head back up to the foot of the club house. 

The 2010 Course will host the Wales Open next year as the final piece of preparation for the Ryder Cup. After playing the course and traveling round the facilities its clear that the Celtic Manor Resort has poured a lot of time and energy into this project, and I’m sure they will benefit from this effort. South Wales now has arguably one of the greatest courses in the world and next year will no doubt be a superb host to some of the greatest sportsmen on the planet.

Paid Content

This week we had a lecture from Rob Andrews on the prospect getting charged to read online journalism. There has been a lot of  media attention surrounding this idea and whether it will work. 

Rupert Murdoch

In Rupert Murdoch’s latest idea he condemns the idea of free news and has begun to push for the larger members of his media empire to begin charging people to look at their online content. So will cutting off google and charging people to read online take off? Arguably his three largest assets, the Wall Street Journal, The Times and The Sun started looking into the idea months ago the in the last week new information has arisen which puts a whole different spin on the situation. 

The new theory is that Murdoch is not starting the idea of pay walls in order to drain the cash out of his readers (although thats obviously an incentive), but to move away from google and towards a new search engine. Microsoft’s newest toy, Bing, is a new search engine designed to rival google. 

Microsoft has been discussing the idea of a deal with News Corp which would see the media company remove all their content from google and place it onto bing.com. Of course this story could be another method of pressuring google into starting to pay for content. 

Whether or not the idea of paid content will take off and regardless of your opinion of Rupert Murdoch, this idea could prove to be the savior of the newspaper industry. With less people buying printed press the prospect of paying for online content is a real possibility. The Johnston Press has already started to charge, asking for £5.oo for three months worth of viewing on their sites.

Sporting Idol

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I was recently asked to pick my favourite sporting icon of the last ten years…

A lot of names come into your mind when you think of the great sporting events which have occurred since the turn of the century. The most obvious name is David Beckham, who aside from being a global style and sporting icon, has carried a level of professionalism with him which has seen a lot of football fans alter their views about him. 

In rugby you have a man like Johnny Wilkinson, who at the pinnacle of his career at the World Cup in 2003 looked unstoppable. Since then a mass of various injuries have hampered his career, but not halted it. It’s an incredible achievement that he is now playing for Toulon and breaking back into the England squad when until recently he was contemplating retirement. A true testament to what perseverance and belief can achieve and a good reason why he should be considered an icon.

But my choice of sporting icon is not an obvious one, especially considering the fact that I am a Spurs fan. No it’s not Henry! My choice is the true gentlemen of football, Gianfranco Zola.

Theres no doubting the fact that Zola was a popular figure in English football whilst playing for Chelsea. He had an incredible amount of style and skill but unlike a lot of his teammates, remained low-key and publicity shy, an element of his personality which a lot of pundits and fans appreciated and made him endearing.

Zola joined Chelsea in 1996 but as we are only covering the post-2000 years I will not go into detail about those early years, which incidentally included the Football Writers Player of the Year award in his first season.

In 2000 Zola was one of the main architects as Chelsea won the FA Cup, setting up Di Matteo for the winning goal against Aston Villa. In his final season at Chelsea 2002-03 he scored 16 goals and was a massive contributor to Chelsea qualifying for the Champions League. Since then Zola has been voted as Chelsea’s greatest ever player and his goal against Norwich in the FA Cup in 2002 is now seen as one of the best ever goals in the competition.

My main reason behind naming Zola as a sporting idol though, came towards the end of his career. He was born in Sardinia and had always said he would finish his career there. In 2003 he made a verbal agreement with Cagliari, the biggest club in the region, that he would play for them the following season. Abramovich, the new Chelsea owner offered Zola wage increases and extended contracts to break his agreement with Cagliari and stay at Chelsea, but Zola stayed true to his word. Its rumoured that Abramovich even tried to buy Cagliari when Zola turned him down!

He stayed with the club for two years, helping them win promotion to Serie A and then playing a major role in keeping the club in the top division, scoring two goals against Juventus in his final game as a professional footballer.

Since then Zola has been assistant Manager for the Italian under-21’s and is now the manager of West Ham United. Even now, as a Premiership manager, undoubtably one of the most stressful jobs in sport, he stills carries himself with great dignity, a trait I hope he will filter into many of his players mentalities.

Zola after signing as West Ham United manager

There are so few players like Zola in football now. Players who are still infatuated by the beauty of the game rather than how much money they can make. I would struggle now to name more than a handful of players who would return home to play for a second division side, rather than get paid bucket loads to play in the Premiership for one its top sides. I realise that I have not chosen a sportsperson who was in his prime during the last ten years, but I have chosen someone who is undoubtably an icon and a player who should be looked up to. He should be admired for not only his skill and creativity, but also the way in which he conducted himself both on and off the pitch.

Joanna Geary

Last Thursday our class was taken by the Web Development Director for The Times, Joanna Geary. It was a completely different lecture to any of the ones we have had previously and was a very useful insight into the world of modern journalism.

It was interesting to hear her take on journalism and the fact that she was continually going back and forth over the idea of going into journalism as a career. This is something I have done previously so it was nice to hear I’m not the only one!

I feel that this lecture was more relevant for the newspaper journalists as she had spent the majority of her career working on newspapers and is now at The Times. However it did highlight that there is a real demand and interest for good online journalism. The fact that she was able to set up a major group of successful bloggers in Birmingham and then get snapped up by a national paper illustrates the point that online journalism has now become integrated into the majority of major media and journalism outfits. She even came to the conclusion that her interest in blogging was responsible for her income doubling and more journalists becoming interested in her work.

After a few months on the course the importance of the online world in journalism is now very clear to me. Blogging, tweeting and social networking can act as a journalists best friend. Joanna’s creation of a blogging network created a mass of useful links with not only other journalists but also interesting members of the public. These networks in conjunction with social media sites like Twitter will further a journalists ability to dig deeper into a story and inevitably change the face of journalism. 
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I’d never blogged before I came to Cardiff, and am still not used to it now. But one of the main points I will take from Joanna’s lecture is that employers do look at your online work and take an interest in what you do. So I hope that over the coming months I will persevere with my blog posts and look to make them as interesting as possible with a view to getting signed to the big leagues of journalism!

Digital Storytelling with Daniel Meadows

Last week we had a guest lecture from Daniel Meadows. I’d never heard of him or his work before then but have to say that it really impressed me.

His earlier work Photobus was very interesting. It gives a different interpretation of British culture from people in very different scenarios. But then again you would expect to get something completely new and different from travelling around the country in a bus taking pictures of random people!

He also covered the subject of Digital Storytelling: the idea of people telling their stories outside of what is recognised as the established media. It is a very different type of journalism to anything we are taught on the course and I do like it. BBC Wales actually did a feature on Digital Storytelling recently which shows that mainstream news networks are interested in looking at them for stories.

However although it is interesting and different I dont think it can be described as journalism. I only say this as with a lot of stories, it is hard to make them mainstream and relevant to the public and newsworthy. I realise that it has been covered in the past but I can’t see the masses taking an interest in it. In this case it could work very well if it’s used for documentary purposes as it is very attractive and indulging.

Has cheating in sport become commonplace?

Whatever sport you follow there will and always has been controversial moments, although until recently most of them involved instances such as dubious goal line decisions rather than endangering an athletes life. So why has cheating become less of an anomaly and more norm? Is it simply a question of profits or does pride and a true underlying belief in winning at all costs still play an underlying factor?

When Flavio Briatori and Pat Symonds instructed Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash his F1 car at Singapore in 2008 they further damaged what was already a tarnished FIA and F1 reputation. Recent events such as the Max Mosley scandal have damaged the credibility of the sporting body, but Briatori and Symonds actions have damaged th the sport itself. Their lifetime bans are a reflection of the seriousness of the decision to send Piquet into the wall in order to further fellow Renault driver Alonso’s chances of winning. Not only endangering Piquet and his fellow drivers, but essentially smashing every single FIA rule in the process, a hugely conflict-ridden decision to make from men who have been involved in the sport for over two decades.

Piquet's car crashes into the wall at Singapore Gran Prix

In the last few weeks Felipe Massa has been the latest to add his name to the list of disgruntled racers and officials in relation to the Singapore incident. As a result of Piquet’s crash the safety car was deployed, destroying Ferrari and Massa’s race plan and enhancing Alonso and Renault’s chances of a podium. Massa ended up dropping crucial points as Alonso won the race. A result which leaves him aggrieved as he only lost the championship to Lewis Hamilton by a single point. Despite Ecclestone’s defence of Briatori, claiming a lifetime ban was harsh, Briatori and Symonds actions have damaged the reputation of F1 and the FIA. A new and deeper wound to add to a sport which is in no doubt going to be facing major difficulties and changes over the coming months.

Over the past two years Bath have stolen the controversy headlines in Rugby Union due to the drug scandal surrounding the club. First Matt Stevens receiving a two-year ban, followed by 3 of his teammates receiving inquiries and ultimately bans as a result of their somewhat troublesome social life. However that controversy has been overshadowed now as a result of the Bloodgate scandal. Harlequins reputation has been destroyed as a result of a blood capsule, a substitution and a penalty kick, which incidentally they missed anyway. The aftermath of the incident has seen the ex-Harlequins Director of Rugby banned from coaching in the sport for three years and Tom Williams (the player who swallowed the capsule) banned for four months. On top of this the club was fined over £100,000 and nearly banned from participating in the Heineken Cup.

Williams leaving the pitch after chewing on the blood capsule

Another example of disrupting a sport illegally in order to gain. The penalty would have seen Quins win, and as a result progress in the Heineken cup, thus gaining funds and enhancing their reputation across Europe. So is that why they did it?  It is now often the case that teams will look to gain an advantage whatever way they can in any sport.

Lastly diving in football is now almost built into the game. It used to be the case that the English looked down at the foreign leagues for their over zealous theatricals on the pitch but it has now wormed its way into British football, both professionally and at grassroots. The most recent major incident of diving involved Arsenal and their striker Eduardo. He was given a two match ban for diving against Celtic in the Champions League. A ban which was rescinded a few weeks later.

The moment of Eduardo's alledged dive against Celtic in the Champions League

If the FA and UEFA are looking to stamp diving out of the game then surely they should stand by their actions? Whether or not you felt the ban against Eduardo was harsh or not, if footballing bodies want to be taken seriously and demand more authority then they should stand behind their actions. If that becomes commonplace then the chances of cutting the most prominent form of cheating in football from the game altogether will become more of a reality.

So is the phrase cheaters never prosper really true any more? In these cases the culprits were caught out but look at the punishments they received. Piquet Jnr. received no punishment for crashing his car, he had already been axed from the Renault team. Quins are playing European rugby again this year and will only miss Williams for the start of the season. Football fans up and down the country are still bemoaning players in the Premier League for diving on a weekly basis. Will there ever be change? It surely now rests on the shoulders of the various sporting governing bodies to become harsher and start to crack the whip on those who still decide to blatantly cheat and bend the rules in their favour.