Phelps Greatest Olympian Ever

He’s broken just about every record going, but with a gold medal in the 4x200m relay Michael Phelps has cemented his reputation as the greatest Olympian and most probably the greatest athlete ever.

He has now won a record 19 Olympic medals (15 gold) one more than Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina, and he’s still got the chance of another.

He has the chance to take gold in the 100m butterfly or the 200m medley, which would make him the first swimmer to win an individual event three times in a row at the Olympics, what more can you say, wow.

So What if a Bronze Medal is Worth £3!

I’ve been slightly alarmed by a few stories currently in circulation that have taken a rather derogatory tone towards the value of an Olympic medal.

Instead of focusing on the sense of pride and achievement that winning a medal at an Olympics can bring, the articles I’ve read are instead focusing on the net worth of a medal, which as it turns out is £3 for Bronze, £210 for Silver and wait for it, £400 for Gold.

Who cares, do you really think that someone who wins three gold medals in London will be thinking hmmm, if I sell these I can get over a grand for them.

The most satisfying thing about most athletes competing at the Olympics is that they aren’t like other sports people driven by money and fame, all they care about is coming away with a medal and circulating articles about how much medals are worth if you were to sell them is a real cheap shot.

Whatever level these stories are meant to be working on whether their meant to be tongue-in-cheek or serious, I’m afraid they fail and we could do without them.      

Schumacher Should Retire (Again)

After his Mr Bean like race at the Hungarian Grand Prix where he switched off his engine on the grid, sped in the pit lane, and eventually retired from the race, the question has to be asked should Michael Schumacher retire for the second time.

They always say never go back, but in 2010 after four years away from Formula One Schumacher joined Mercedes and has had a miserable time of it ever since, with just one podium in 49 races, a humbling experience for the man who is the most successful driver in the history of the sport.

As Formula One takes its annual summer break and won’t grace our screens again until September, I think the time is right for Schumacher to come to the realisation that he should bow out (again), and give a young driver the chance to finish off the season.

Surely the only reason he came back is to be competitive and win races and maybe even sneak another World Championship, so with that about as likely as hell freezing over, I think a second retirement is best not only for Schumacher, but for Formula One in general.

That way we can enjoy one of the best, most competitive seasons of racing ever with seven different winners and a four way scrap for the title, can’t believe I have to wait five weeks for another race.   

UK Needs a New National Anthem

There has been a bit of a fuss over the decision by the Welsh players in the Team GB football squad, to not sing the national anthem at the beginning of games.

Captain Ryan Giggs has said he doesn’t sing it for personal reasons, I can only imagine this is because like me he thinks the anthem is bloody awful.

A national anthem is something to fill you with pride, which is what most anthems do, sadly our choice doesn’t have that effect.

Every time I see any of our sports stars singing it they seem to be cringing and gritting their teeth praying for it to end, or they like Giggs simply refuse to sing it.

A recent example of just how awful it is came at the Tour de France, Bradley Wiggins had just won the yellow jersey and the crowd on the Champs-Elysees were ecstatic, then God Save the Queen was played and when it ended there was silence, flags had stopped waving, people had stopped cheering, Wiggins had stopped smiling and  I’m convinced I saw some small children vomiting profusely onto Paris’s famous cobbled streets in the background.

What makes it worse is that there are two much better much more uplifting and rousing songs that could replace God Save the Queen in a heartbeat, Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory.

I don’t care which one (I prefer Hope and Glory), but can we just get rid God Save the Queen now.  

Empty Seat Embarrassment

It’s been hard to miss while watching coverage of the Olympics and I hope it doesn’t carry on for much longer, I am of course referring to the empty seats seen at several venues and events so far.

While this has been brushed off as a minor problem that will rectify itself in the coming days, I think it shouldn’t have happened in the first place, if you’re lucky enough to have a pair of tickets to any event at the Olympics surely you go.

There could be (and probably are) millions of people watching across the world thinking if I had a ticket for that event I would have definitely been there, hopefully for tonight’s swimming and the rest of the games all the seats will be filled.   

Shevchenko Officially Retires

We probably thought he would do after Euro 2012 and yesterday he made it official, Andriy Shevchenko has retired from football to pursue a career in politics.

One of the stars of his generation Shevchenko was part of the great Dynamo Kiev side of the late 90s, who came close to becoming the first Ukrainian winners of the Champions League.

He then moved to A.C. Milan where he won the Champions League and established himself as one of the games greats, scoring 175 goals for the Rosseneri and winning the prestigious Ballon D'or in 2004.

Unfortunately his success at club level would never be matched on the international stage, however he did manage to guide his country to the quarter finals of the World Cup in their first appearance in 2006, and earlier in the summer he was easily his countries best player as Ukraine hosted Euro 2012.

He finished his career with 321 club goals and 48 for Ukraine easily making him their top scorer some 33 ahead of Serhiy Rebrov.

If his success in the political arena even comes close to his success in football, we could see him walking into no.10 as a visiting premier.

If his success in the political arena even comes close to his success in football, we could see him walking into no.10 as a visiting premier.

Radcliffe out of Olympics

Distance runner Paula Radcliffe has had to pull out of London 2012 with a foot injury, many are saying this is a devastating blow, but judging by her career this just seems par for the course.

Every time she competes at any major competition she seems to have a new thing wrong with her and to be frank I’m fed up with hearing about it, and given that she finished 23^rd in the marathon in Beijing and has hardly competed since I doubt a medal was a possibility.

A talented athlete no doubt and if she were to retire after this latest setback, she would be remembered as one of the best for her exploits mainly in the marathon, she still holds the world record set in 2003 and won gold at the 2005 world championships.

But mine and most people’s enduring memory of her career will be her pulling of the Olympic marathon race in 2004, under rather unsanitary circumstances. (even now that still makes me recoil)

Armitstead Wins Team GB’s First Medal

It took a day and a half but cyclist Lizzie Armitstead finally put Britain on the medal table by taking silver in the women’s road race behind Marianne Vos of the Netherlands.

Interestingly it was in the same event in Beijing when Britain registered it's first medal, with Nicole Cooke taking Gold.

Hopefully this first medal will act as a springboard for other Team GB members to push on and try to break our record performance of four years ago.

An Enjoyable Opening Day

After the excitement of the opening ceremony yesterday, the first official day of London 2012 competition was an enjoyable one.

For me the highlights of the day were the men’s road race and the duel (or not) between Lochte and Phelps.

Sadly there were no team GB medals to cheer, with the day being dominated by China who won four gold medals, but there is still plenty of time ring on tomorrow.

Lochte Beats Phelps

It was the first real heavyweight clash of the games and boy was it a humdinger, American Ryan Lochte beat his fellow countryman Michael Phelps to win gold in the men’s 400m individual medley.

Phelps who is rightly regarded as the greatest swimmer ever with his record 14 gold medals, was lacklustre by his standards and finished 4^th, the favourite and legend beaten by his understudy were you watching Usain Bolt.   

Cavendish’s Wait for Gold goes on as Vinokourov Wins Road Race

After an incredibly exciting men’s cycling road race, Alexander Vinokourov of Kazakhstan has won the gold medal to make up for finishing second in Sydney 12 years ago, his win is all the more remarkable when you consider he has contemplated retirement in recent years. (that was because of a doping ban but he still won) 

Sadly the Brits master plan to deliver Mark Cavendish to the line didn’t come to fruition and he had to settle for 29^th.

The Manx missile had the unenviable honour of being the only one of the 13 track cyclists to leave Beijing without a medal, and hopefully this latest Olympic setback will fill him with a trace of humility.

Cavendish is the best sprinter of his era no question his record speaks for itself, but having watched several of his interviews he comes across as very arrogant, and maybe this humbling is the impetus he needs to break his Olympic hoodoo when it’s his turn to take to the track.  

Also I hope Bradley Wiggins didn’t lose too much energy trying to set the race up for a Cavendish win as he has the time trial on Wednesday, can’t wait for that one.

UK to Keep AAA Credit Rating, For Now

I’m not quite sure how but ratings agency Standard and Poor’s are allowing the UK to keep our AAA top credit rating.

It decided not to lower the rating on the grounds that it expected the British economy to pick up in the second half of the year, despite the slide back into recession and a contraction of more than 1%.

Chancellor George Osborne said it was a reminder that the world had confidence that Britain was dealing with its debt, given Osborne’s record as chancellor so far I really think he’s pushing his luck with this statement, and would urge him to keep quiet and get on with his job.

Many have called him a work experience chancellor because he had very little business experience when he was put in charge of the treasury, added to this is the fact that he is also the chief strategist for the Tory party, in effect he’s working two jobs.

If he really wants to prove he knows what he’s doing he should quit his role as chief strategist and follow his own statements and concentrate all his efforts on the economy, and not come out with declarations about how the world has confidence in Britain days after the economy shrank by 0.7%.    

Olympic Opening Ceremony a Success

When Danny Boyle first announced his vision for the opening ceremony, I was sceptical to say the least.

But I’m happy to admit that my concerns were misplaced as the ceremony was flawless and celebrated all that was great about Britain, from the industrial revolution right through to our contributions to the music and film industries.

Although I am split as to which bit I liked best, I’m torn between James Bond and the Queen (not the actual one) parachuting out of a helicopter, and the London Symphony Orchestra’s rendition of Chariots of Fire aided by Mr Bean (Rowan Atkinson) on the piano. (I’m calling it a tie)

The evening was capped off by an ingenious torch lighting and a quite remarkable firework display, a worldwide audience of a billion people were expected to tune in and despite any apprehensions you may have had I hope you all enjoyed it. (I certainly did)

It’s Showtime: Olympics Opening Ceremony Hours Away

In 2005 a man opened an envelope and said the winner is London, seven years later and the wait is finally over, because at 9pm tonight the opening ceremony will commence the cauldron will be lit, and the games can officially begin.

I for one am particularly keen for it all to start I’ve grown somewhat jaded with the hype and build up, the torch relay has seemed to go on forever, I’ve grown fed up with being told everyday by everyone 50 days to go, 49 days to go, thanks for reminding me because otherwise I would have completely forgotten.

I’m looking forward to watching most of the events, but I am still a little unsure about what to expect from tonight’s opening ceremony, I still don’t see how filling the stadium with farm yard animals represents what’s best about Britain, let’s just hope they don’t all decide to defecate on mass.

There have been a few logistical problems so far but all will be forgiven if the opening ceremony and remainder of the games pass off without any major problems, and when it all ends I beg those in the media not to produce a plethora of stories about how physically fit all the athletes are, I already know.

We get it Sports People are in Good Shape

This is a personal pet hate of mine, I agree it’s not that important but it still pisses me off.

I am referring to the fact that every time a British sports person achieves something, within days there is always an article that appears somewhere saying how fit they are and how superior their fitness is to the average person.

I was watching excitedly as Bradley Wiggins crossed the line to become the first Brit to win the Tour de France on Sunday, and surprise surprise today an article surfaced about how fit he is and how his resting heart rate is only 35 around half the usual average of 70.

Maybe I’m missing something here but isn’t it obvious, why are we always so shocked, of course sportsman like Wiggins are going to produce more impressive stats in fitness tests than the average man.

Guys like him have spent 10 years plus training day in day out honing their physique, yes it is impressive and I applaud those who can dedicate themselves like that, but can everyone stop acting like it’s such a big surprise.

Is Korean Flag Mistake a Sign of Things to Come

Yesterday the Olympic events got underway with the women’s football, and there was quite an embarrassing faux pas made as the North Korean side took to the field for their game against Colombia, they were shocked to realise they were being introduced with the South Korean flag.

The team stormed off and delayed the game by over an hour before returning to win 2-0, while this is clearly a genuine mistake it is slightly worrying that a cock up like this has been made so early.

The political situation between North and South Korea is sensitive to say least, and of all the flags to mix up these two have to be the worst, what next if an athlete from the Republic of Ireland wins gold are they going to show the union jack on a giant screen.

Of course the media are only going to be, as usual, interested in the negative stories that come out of the games, but they haven’t been short of column inches so far.

We’ve had the security mess up with G4S, buses with athletes on them getting lost, baggage handlers losing athletes equipment, trains and trams breaking down, traffic queues etc.

While all will probably be forgotten if the opening ceremony is a success, let’s hope all the mistakes and errors this week are just one-offs and that over the next two weeks the only thing we will be talking about are the sports on show, and not a series of bad mistakes.

Lord Coe Should Light Olympic Cauldron

The British Olympic Association (BOA) has today announced they have chosen who will light the Olympic cauldron, but the identity of the person won’t be revealed until minutes before they actually do it.

Speculation as to who will be given the honour has rumbled on and on, many have suggested Sir Steve Redgrave for the role as he won gold at five consecutive Olympics, others Daley Thompson for winning consecutive decathlon gold medals.

David Beckham, Bradley Wiggins, Dame Kelly Holmes and Sir Roger Bannister are some of the other names that have been banded about, but for me it’s a no brainer the only person who should light the Olympic cauldron tomorrow evening is Lord Coe.

Not because of his exploits as an athlete, but for the simple reason that he convinced the world that the Olympics should be held in the east end of London, if that doesn’t make him worthy I don’t know what will.

Olympic Strike Called off

A public sector strike involving immigration and passport workers that was to be held on the eve of the games, has thankfully been called off.

Union leader Mark Serwotka said that real progress had been made with the Home Office, and as a result hundreds of new jobs will be created.

But as the strike was planned for tomorrow is this announcement as Mr Serwotka put it real progress, or just false promises from the Home Office desperate not to be embarrassed and face chaos at our airports the day before the world tunes in to see what we’ve done with the place.

Whether the Home Office has put out a pan fire for now knowing full well they’ll be dealing with a towering inferno later remains to be seen, but for now the strike is off and the games can go ahead without a major disruption which can only be a good thing.  

UK Economy Shrinks Again

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the UK economy shrank by 0.7% between April and June, meaning a third successive quarter of no growth.

When the current coalition government came to power they promised to make the economy their focus and they were determined to get it growing again, and to be fair they have, albeit in the completely wrong direction.

In the eight full economic quarters this government has been in power, the economy has shrunk in five and grown in only three at a net loss of 0.3%.

The announcement of the 0.7% contraction is the biggest dip reported since the global financial crisis in the first quarter of 2009, and the question has to be asked, when David Cameron and George Osborne keep stressing their needs to be a relentless focus on the economy what exactly are they focusing on.

Looking at the numbers you’d have to say all the wrong things, only last week George Osborne announced £50bn worth of investment, was this a chancellor trying to paper over some worryingly large cracks?

David Cameron has said this government will ultimately be judged on the economy, well I’m afraid for the third month in a row it’s a big fat failure.

Olympics Start Today

I know what you’re thinking the opening ceremony isn’t until Friday how can the games start today, well for some reason they do, and at 4pm the women’s football kicks off with team GB versus New Zealand.

With the greatest of respect interest in women’s football is close to squat, so surely if you want to attract interest and raise the profile of the sport, you’d think the best thing to do would be to start the competition after the opening ceremony.

For most people watching around the world the games won’t start for them until Saturday, so starting the women’s football competition today, to me signals everybody organising and involved in the running of the games saying as one, women’s football we don’t give a s**t. (to be fair neither do I)

Opening Ceremony Preview is Complete Hypocrisy

Danny Boyle who as we should all know by now is the artistic director for the opening ceremony, has contradicted himself once again, last month he unveiled his plans for the opening ceremony which turned out to be turning the Olympic stadium into the countryside.

Then he came out and apologised to all those involved in the opening ceremony for revealing his plans and urged them to remain focused on the job, but last night he contradicted himself by inviting over 60,000 spectators for a dress rehearsal and robbed the ceremony of any spontaneity.

Before hand he pleaded with the audience not to spoil the surprise, but in this modern world asking 60,000 people, not to tweet, text, e-mail, blog or update their Facebook status about witnessing the ceremony early was doomed to fail from the start.

So it has proved as several newspapers have already printed quite a few of the details, and while it does sound rather good and has been praised by those who did attend, why didn’t Danny Boyle stick to his word and keep the opening ceremony a surprise.

That’s what made Beijing’s opening ceremony so amazing, nobody knew what was coming and we were treated to an absolute bonanza, why couldn’t we have done the same.  

Stop Fretting About Olympic Security

Ever since the announcement by the incompetent G4S that they couldn’t provide the necessary security personnel for the Olympics, everybody has been panicking that those lucky enough to attend won’t be properly protected.

I would urge those with these concerns to take a moment and realise that these concerns are unsubstantiated, yes G4S fu**ed up and they have left big gaps, but those gaps aren’t being filled by people dragged from the street and wrapped in luminous vests with no experience, they are being filled by troops.

Most of whom will have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, so filling in for G4S and providing the Olympic security should be a cake walk for them.

Ministers have said on the issue of games security ‘we should leave nothing to chance’ and for once they are staying true to their word.

No. 10 Change the Tax Avoidance Law

The Government are pledging to crack down on rich tax dodgers, which I think we can all agree is good news.

However the way they are planning to do it makes it sound like they have rushed the idea and not thought it through, because they are cracking down by allowing the taxman to demand details of people using tax avoidance schemes, it is then hoped that those involved in tax schemes can be ‘named and shamed’ into paying more tax.

Which is a stupid idea because if a millionaire is part of a tax avoidance scheme, which currently isn’t illegal, naming and shaming them won’t do anything because after a few days everybody will forget who they are and they’ll carry on as normal, or worse they’ll sue for defamation of character and probably receive a large compensation cheque.

How about changing the law so tax avoidance joins tax evasion as being illegal, that way the rich can pay what they’re supposed to and not re-route their money here, there and everywhere.

Considering we’re in a recession and every penny counts, you’d think the government would want the extra revenue a law change would bring, although that might mean some of them would have to pay more tax.

History Awaits for Wiggins

British success in the Tour de France has been sparse to say the least, we have had no winner of the world’s toughest bike race in its 98 previous editions, but today Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky can make it 99^th time lucky.

To put into perspective what winning the yellow jersey would mean, Wiggins said it would be his greatest sporting achievement, which considering he’s a six time World and three time Olympic Champion is saying something.

Wiggins success is due to his superman like performances in the individual time trials, he’s won both with ease and opened up huge gaps on his rivals, however he would be first to admit that he has the best possible team around him and some of them, Chris Froome and Mark Cavendish in particular, have sacrificed their own chances of success to put him in a position to win.

All he has to do is cruise into Paris and victory will be his, and with the Olympics on the horizon it could be the start of a whole host of British success stories this summer, and who knows maybe Froome could make it two in a row next year.

US Should Introduce Stricter Gun Controls

In the wake of another mass shooting in the US, this time at a screening of the new Batman movie, the debate over gun control has been re-ignited all over again.

Both presidential candidates were naturally magnanimous in offering their condolences and support to those affected, but both have been very careful to avoid being drawn into a gun control debate.

While there are strong opinions on both sides, surely the clinching argument is that with tighter regulations, the tragic sequence of events that occurred in Aurora could have been avoided.

The US government need to realise that guns are too widely available, and at present anyone can buy multiple guns and nobody bats an eyelid, which is how maniacs like James Holmes stock arsenals of weapons before going on to carry out their abhorrent acts.

Americans continually refer back to their constitutional right to bear arms, but surely a regulation written in 1789 can’t be considered relevant in 2012, the whole point of having laws is that they are updated to reflect the times.

Maybe now is the chance for the US government to make a much needed change so mass shootings by deranged individuals become a thing of the past.

Injury Ravaged King Retires

After struggling with a debilitating knee injury for most of his career, Tottenham’s Ledley King has called time on his playing days, and hung up his boots at just 31.

Known for his reading of the game, aerial ability and coolness under the utmost pressure, King was a model professional and showed a steely determination to soldier on and keep playing, when many others would have thrown in the towel much earlier.

But for his injuries King could easily have been one of the best defenders to play the game, he would have almost certainly tripled the 21 England caps he won.  

He also bucked the modern trend and remained loyal to Tottenham, when if he had really wanted to, he could have walked into the starting 11 for any of Europe’s marquee clubs.   

Like many other top-class players King kept himself to himself and let his football do the talking, an alien concept to many of his Premier League and England colleagues.

Union to Strike on the Eve of Games

Just a day before we officially kick off our hosting of the Olympics with the opening ceremony, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, who represent home office and border agency workers, have decided that they will strike in a row over jobs, pay and other issues.

This announcement has been called shameful and unjustified, and I think there’s room for a few more like greedy and selfish, hosting the Olympics is a once in a lifetime opportunity, hence we last did so in 1948.

So it should be a time when everybody sidelines their concerns and personal gripes and pulls together for two weeks to showcase all that’s great about Britain, not deliberately kick up a stink because you know everyone’s on tenterhooks to try and get everything ready in time.

In 1948 we hosted the games just three years after the end of the Second World War, and I bet none of the workers involved then went on strike, they got on with their job and delivered the Olympic Games, I would urge those involved now to stop complaining and do the same.           

£50bn Government Investment Long Overdue

After an unprecedented period of cuts the government has today announced it will invest £50bn to help kick start the UK economy.

The injection will be split in two with £40bn reserved for investment projects in infrastructure, with the remaining £10bn allocated to support struggling UK exporters.

When making the announcement chancellor George Osborne said that he was using the coalitions ‘hard won fiscal credibility’ to release the funds.

While that maybe a bit of an exaggeration, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut its growth forecast for the UK economy this year from 0.8% to just 0.2%, it is at least a sign that the government have finally realised that if they keep cutting and cutting without spending the UK economy will sink into oblivion.

Of course this is just the start, but if those that receive the funds use them wisely and give the government a return on their investments then, they can have the confidence to invest more and the cycle will continue until we may at last begin to drag ourselves out of a recession and back to growth and prosperity.

 

Allen’s TV Drug Stunt Provocative and Unnecessary

A forthcoming Channel 4 documentary about drugs and their effects on the body will feature Keith Allen taking MDMA (pure ecstasy).

Defending the documentary Allen said it was designed to be a “forensic analysis” into the physical and psychological effects of drugs.

Couple of points, firstly illegal drugs like ecstasy have been around for a reasonable amount of time now, so I hardly think by being filmed taking ecstasy for a TV programme will be of any benefit to science or further enhance sciences understanding of drugs and the affects they can have.

Also if you’re making a programme like this why not involve people who were former addicts, or are still fighting an addiction and not feature a minor celebrity trying to get a bit of exposure, because all that does is instantly remove any shred of credibility the programme may have had.

This programme, like a lot of modern programming is going for pure shock factor, it’s just a desperate attempt to try and fool the public into thinking our programme is on the cutting edge when in reality it’s shallow and pathetic, and it also sends out a terrible message to any children watching.

I certainly wouldn’t like to be working in the complaints department at Ofcom when this show has finished broadcasting.

They receive thousands of complaints about really silly small little infractions committed by people on TV, so god only knows what they are going to receive in relation to this.       

How Long can this new Wave of Coalition Unity Last

Earlier today David Cameron and Nick Clegg appeared together to announce a £9.4bn investment in the railways of England and Wales.

Both are hoping this will help to provide some stability to a government rocking from a tumultuous last seven days, with Cameron forced to admit that there are ‘profound areas of disagreement’ in the coalition.

While that’s stating the obvious, it will be interesting to see how long this new wave of unity will last, as this is not the first time both leaders have been forced to put on a united front.

In the most recent local elections after both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives lost control of several councils across the country, both Cameron and Clegg had no choice but to appear and say we are united and need to re-focus our attentions on the economy.

The question is how many more times can the coalition take a hit and have to reinforce this idea of a united front before we don’t believe them anymore.

Where’s Wiggins Coverage

Despite leading the Tour de France and being favourite to win the yellow jersey, Bradley Wiggins is finding coverage hard to come by.

Instead of focusing on his exploits on the roads of France, the majority of newspaper inches are still being dedicated to the likes of John Terry and David Haye, two men who have brought their sports into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

I think the papers and people in general should pay more attention to someone like Wiggins, who is excelling in his sporting arena and nothing more.

He is on course to become the first British winner of the tour since its inception, and if he were to do so, would complete an unprecedented period of success for British cycling post Beijing 2008.

It would be refreshing for those in the media to focus on someone like Wiggins who is a credit to his sport and aim less focus at people who are dragging theirs through the mud.

Are all Company Executives Clueless

Private security firm G4S who were awarded the contract to provide security guards for the Olympics were last week forced to admit that they couldn’t provide the necessary numbers.

Now to well and truly ice the cake, senior managers within the firm have said they only realised eight or nine days ago that they wouldn’t be able to meet their quota.

Considering they were chosen to provide their services over two years ago, you’d think they would have recognised a little quicker there was a problem.

This brings me to my question are senior executives of big companies fully in control, last week Bob Diamond resigned from Barclays over the rate rigging scandal saying he had no idea what was going on, now this week the world’s largest private security firm realises it can’t supply enough personnel two weeks before the Olympics despite having two years to do so.

Maybe these high ranking executives at the largest firms don’t fully know what they’re in charge of and peddle just enough bulls**t to the public and shareholders to scrape by.

It’s either that or they know exactly what’s going on and just decide not to bother and just do enough so they can secure their multi-million pound bonus for another year.

Haye vs. Chisora: Real Boxing Fans Don’t Care

Tonight at Upton Park David Haye and Derek Chisora will meet in the ring for the benefit of nobody but themselves, like two unruly schoolchildren fighting in the playground, only instead of being surrounded by kids who don’t know any better they will be surrounded by tens of thousands of yobs who should see this fight for what it is, a total farce.

The way this fight has been thrown together and had to be sanctioned by the boxing board of Luxembourg tells you it isn’t worth wasting you‘re time over, it is being fought by two chauvinistic idiots who are damaging the reputation the sport. (I would say they are also damaging their own reputations but I think they’ve both already hit rock bottom)

However all is not lost as there is another fight taking place tonight that is worth tuning in for, in Vegas Amir Khan will take on Danny Garcia with the WBA and WBC light welterweight titles on the line, this promises to be a real fight and should excite boxing fans who appreciate and respect the sport a lot more than the charade that will be taking place in east London.

If it’s too late and you’ve already bought a ticket for the Haye-Chisora fight then take a deep breath come to your senses and throw your ticket in the bin, because it's where that fight and those fighters belong.

John Terry Cleared of Racism Charge

Another trial involving someone in the public eye, another not guilty verdict, after a week at Westminster magistrates court John Terry was cleared of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

Terry has dodged a huge bullet, a guilty verdict would have surely left his career in turmoil, he also took a huge risk by having that saint of saints A. Cole testify on his behalf.

Despite this not guilty verdict Terry’s list of misdemeanours still stretches longer than most, but what will inevitably happen (as it always does) is he’ll put in one or two good performances for Chelsea next season and The Sun will no doubt have a headline saying he’s a legend give him the England armband back.   

Rangers will be in Division Three

After being unanimously rejected entry into the SPL, Rangers newco will begin next season at the bottom of the Scottish football league pyramid in division three.

Having already lost nine of their first 11 team from last year how many more will be clearing out their locker at Ibrox before the new season kicks off.

Another question that has to be asked is can Scottish football survive with Rangers being out of the top tier for at least three years, now there will be no Rangers-Celtic games for a while, will the SFA have to deliberately fix the cup ties so they play each other just to keep interest and revenue coming in.

Until the debacle at Rangers this year the SPL was a two team championship, the last team to win the title outside of Rangers and Celtic was the Alex Ferguson led Aberdeen in 1985.

So with no Rangers next season, Celtic are guaranteed another three titles, the only problem is can Scottish football survive that long.   

What has happened to British Comedy?

It’s been on life support for a while now, but with the news that Stacey Solomon (that isn’t a typo) is to get her own curb your enthusiasm style show (I wish this were a joke), British comedy has surely had its plug well and truly pulled.

It’s a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare, but it could well be hitting our screens in the near future.

As I’ve previously mentioned the quality of comedy in Britain has been on a rather frightening decline for a while now, with a whole wave of new shows departing just as quickly as they arrived and all making no impression whatsoever.

If you were to have the misfortune of watching a show like The Cafe or Trollied (and many others) you wouldn’t believe me if I told you the same nation produced comedy masterpieces like Only Fools and Horses, Fawlty Towers, Porridge, The Office or Blackadder.

All the new comedies of today are too soft and unfunny, there’s no edge and when you watch them you grin at best you’re never in any danger of actually laughing.

If anything you’re more likely to become irritated that you’ve wasted half an hour of your life watching something that was designed to make you laugh but instead bored you to death.

There some exceptions but they are so rare an argument could be made for them to be put on the endangered species list, after The Office when in my opinion this sparse period began, I can think of only two comedies that I would consider genuinely funny and worthy of being mentioned alongside other classics.

Those are the Inbetweeners and the Thick of it, while they both may go overboard on the profanity front you forgive them because they actually make you laugh and they leave a lasting impression like all great comedies should.

Hopefully this story about Stacey Solomon getting her own curb style show is just a red-herring, but if it is true then may god have mercy on us all.

Lib Dems Threaten Tories with ‘Consequences’ (wonder what they are?)

Nick Cleggs bid to reform the House of Lords, making it a mostly elected chamber has sailed into choppy waters.

Yesterday MPs in the commons were due to vote on Lords reform, but fearing defeat and an unprecedented backbench rebellion the government were forced into ditching the vote to limit the time for debating the bill.

Despite 91 Tory MPs rebelling, the government still won the vote on the principle of reform with a majority of 338 votes, but the path to law for Lords reform stretched even further into the distance, with many backbenchers saying they have killed the bill off.

However Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg viewed the events of yesterday from a very different perspective, saying it was a “huge triumph” (interesting), he then went a step further adding that if the Tories failed to back the bill there would be “consequences”.

After saying that he could have at least elaborated a bit more, consequences, I mean he sounds like a kid in the playground who’s said let’s play football and all the other kids have gone no we don’t really want to and then he’s ran off crying.

This is front line politics grow up, you had an idea lots of people didn’t like it, I’m surprised he’s not used to it by now.

After the 2010 election the country was in a political stand-still as Clegg and the Lib Dems held the Tories to ransom in exchange for their support despite the fact they only got about 50 seats, and ever since have seen their ideas rejected and their ratings tumble, now they’re just clutching at straws and to top it all off threatening their coalition partners.

I think they need to realise that they are only a very small percentage of the coalition (less than 20) and that by all means propose ideas and debate the ideas of others but don’t act like a child with a tantrum because you didn’t get your way, I expect that from a 5-year-old child not a 45-year-old man who is deputy Prime Minister.

House of Lords Needs Reforming

Later MPs will vote on whether to totally restructure the House of Lords making 80% of the upper chamber elected, however the proposal championed by Nick Clegg faces considerable opposition from Labour as well as up to 100 of his Tory counterparts.  

Despite the criticism Clegg and his proposal has received, I think it’s a good idea, the House of Lords plays a crucial role in the democratic process in Britain, any new piece of government legislation is sent to the Lords for analysis and their advice is often taken on board.

They are also the highest court in the land, anyone who appeals against a decision taken in the high court will be referred to the Lords, bearing this in mind the idea that most of them should be elected does make sense.

Labour reformed the Lords in 1999 by greatly cutting the numbers, now the government want to take the obvious next step by making the Lords a mostly elected chamber.

Currently all Lords are either appointed or assume the title as a result of their family name, if today’s vote were to prove successful it would mean people other than wealthy families and former MPs would stand (no matter how small) a chance to sit in the Lords and carry out its duties.

Sadly it looks like the government may well be defeated in the vote, but while many may say this is a tough test for the coalition, I say it’s a tough test for Nick Clegg.

Ever since this coalition was formed he has seen his reputation plummet and if the vote goes against him today it would render him pointless, because what’s the point of having these good ideas if you have no support and never get the chance to put your ideas in place.

Missed Chances Cost Murray

He fought hard, he played his best match in a grand slam final to date, but sadly it was not meant to be as after three and half hours and four gruelling sets, Andy Murray finally succumbed to the genius that is Roger Federer.

Murray was looking to become the first Brit to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry did it in 1936, but as a result of his defeat in the final the only Brit walking away from Wimbledon this year with a trophy is mens doubles champion Jonny Marray.

Before Wimbledon started I did say (in my defence I wasn’t the only one) that Federer wouldn’t win another grand slam, as it turned I was wrong and had to eat a huge lump of humble pie, as Federer showed us all why he is the greatest of all time, however what I found most interesting was that while Murray is undoubtedly getting closer to that elusive grand slam win he’s still way off.

During the trophy presentations Federer was as ever magnanimous in victory and said that Murray would win a grand slam for sure, but given the way the match went he might have won this one, he won the first set and surprisingly it was Federer who looked nervous and edgy.

This continued into the second set, Federer carried on making uncharacteristic errors and presenting Murray with good chances to take the initiative, but he inexplicably wasted them and as you’d expect it proved costly as Federer took his chance at the first time of asking.

Admittedly the rain break and the roof closing did benefit Federer as it became an indoor match, and as his record in those conditions is unparalleled he did what champions do raise their game and make it theirs.

Murray can take solace in the fact that he has in his corner a man who understands what it’s like to lose his first four grand slam finals, I am of course talking about Ivan Lendl, who went on to reach another 15 winning eight.

I’ve no doubt Murray will get to another final but each loss makes the task of winning harder and harder, and maybe that’s what was Murray’s downfall against Federer, he saw his chance but just didn’t know how to take it.

A Murray Win Would Continue British Sports Renaissance

British sport has undergone a renaissance in recent years (post 2007), after what seemed like an eternity in the doldrums we now finally have some pride in the fact that many of our sports stars are top of their respective fields.

We have the top 3 golfers in the world, our cricket team are no.1 in the test rankings, we have had multiple boxing world champions, two of our football teams have won the Champions League, we’ve had two F1 World Champions, the success of our cyclists, I could go on.

However all those achievements would be put into perspective should Andy Murray win Wimbledon today, if he were to it would be the first time a Brit was the last man standing at SW19 since Fred Perry in 1936.

Jonny Marray yesterday showed that the hoodoo can be overcome as he lifted the doubles title, but Murray’s path to glory if far more treacherous.

That’s because the man standing the other side of the net is one of (if not the) greatest tennis player ever to pick up a racquet, I am of course talking about Roger Federer, who is not only trying to add to his record haul of grand slams, but is also trying to tie Pete Sampras by winning 7 Wimbledon’s and return to world no.1.

Not easy, but Murray can do it he does after all have a winning record against Federer, if he can look to take the initiative and his serve holds up the 76 year drought could be ended.

I hope he does win, firstly because we invented tennis so to not have a winner of your home grand slam for over 70 years is a little embarrassing, and because I may have said at the start of the tournament that I thought Federer wouldn’t win another grand slam, only time will tell.

When is the Economy Going to Turn the Corner

When the current government came to power in May 2010, the overriding message was we have to clean up the mess the economy was left in, and that they planned to do this by making stringent cuts across the board.

They said that it will get tough but in their opinion it was the only way forward, now over two years later things aren’t looking any better, we are officially back in a recession, interest rates are stuck at 0.5%, and the Bank of England has announced another round of quantitive easing taking the total to £375 billion.

Estimates for the economy growing are continually being revised down and there seems to be no indications that things are going to get better anytime soon.

This government repeatedly stressed that the best way out of the difficulties was to cut, cut and cut some more, but there is an alternative way to drag the economy from the depths of despair and its effectiveness has proved much greater than the tactic we’re currently employing.

It’s called investment and spending, this is what America decided was the best way out of economic uncertainty, they did this despite the fact that their debts much dwarfed those of any other nation and  instead of cutting they invested and spent.

I thought this was that model couldn’t work, but when you look at the numbers they speak for themselves, America’s economy is expected to grow more than 5% over the next two years, compare that to ours which isn’t expected to grow close to half that rate.

While the Americans are largely responsible for causing the economic mess the world finds itself in, they have at least shown there is a way out.

Maybe our government should take a leaf out of their book and consider investing more, because if you continuously cut something it’s only going to get smaller.

Can Scottish Football Survive

With Rangers being refused entry to this seasons SPL, have the other SPL member clubs signed their own and Scottish footballs death warrant.

Rangers bid to re-join the SPL was rejected by 10 other clubs, one abstained and the only vote Rangers received was the one they gave themselves.

This means that next week Rangers will have another round of voting to try and enter into either the Scottish 1^st or 3^rd divisions.

Which begs the question can Scottish football survive, interest in Scottish football revolves around Celtic vs. Rangers they play four times a year in the league and usually meet in the cup finals, without this fixture frankly very few people outside of Scotland care, and without interest and television revenue the SPL surely can’t continue for much longer.

How Rangers ended up in the financial situation they have is baffling in itself, why those in charge at the time let the debts spiral to uncontrollable levels and leave the club with no option but to call in the administrators is crazy, it’s comparable to driving straight into oncoming traffic it’s only going to end in a giant mess.

Rangers deserve to be punished no question but by rejecting their application to the SPL have the other SPL clubs been short sighted and unwittingly created a situation where Scottish football is doomed, only time will tell.

Banking Inquiry Needs a Judge

MPs are voting later on whether to hold a judge led, or parliamentary inquiry into the rate rigging scandal at Barclays.

The opposition favour an inquiry led by a judge, similar to the Leveson inquiry, where as the government want parliamentary inquiry, which they believe will bring swift and decisive action.

I think if you really want results and tighter regulation on bankers a parliamentary inquiry isn’t the answer, it may well be swift and be over very quickly but it won’t go into the necessary detail needed to bring about the real changes that are desperately needed.

It would only scratch the surface and wouldn’t put any real pressure on the top executives.

However a judge led inquiry independent of the government would be able to go into much greater detail, be able to really get to the root of the problems, and make the necessary recommendations for change to keep bankers in check and remove those breaching the rules.

Yes it may take a little longer but it would be worth it and would produce more significant results than a parliamentary inquiry, maybe we could even use some of the money Barclays were fined to pay for it all.

Vote Yes on Goal-line Technology

Tomorrow could mark a potentially groundbreaking moment in football as the powers that be will vote on whether to introduce goal-line technology into the game.

Many (including me) have been calling for technology to be introduced for quite a while now and have been left frustrated at having to sit back and watch other sports, not only embrace the technology but incorporate it in such a way that it has now become an asset to the sport.

Which makes it harder for me to comprehend that as football is the world’s most popular sport, it has yet to buy into technology that is not that expensive and can only benefit the game.

Those who are against technology argue that human error is part of the game and that if goal-line technology is introduced that will mean that technology will be introduced for everything.

Both of these arguments are wrong and those that hold them are in my opinion mistaken, firstly lets assess the notion that human error is part of the game.

It is, but now the technology is available that can help eradicate these errors, then surely we evolve the game and accept that part of the evolution is technology, if you applied this thinking to other aspects of life then we humans would still be living in caves.

We are living in a technological age, all the top footballers are reliant on the latest technological and medical advancements to get the best out of their ability, so bringing that onto the pitch surely makes sense.

The second argument of where do you draw the line on the surface makes more sense but is equally as wrong, there is a thinking that if you have technology that tells you whether the ball has crossed the line why not whether someone was offside etc.

You can easily eradicate this problem by agreeing to introduce only goal-line technology and nothing else, the whole point of technology is that it deals in definitives in tennis the ball is either on the line or out, in cricket the batsman is either safe or out, in Rugby its either a try or not, if you kept this principle for football then there won’t be a problem, it’s either a goal or not end of.

Please vote yes introduce the technology and ensure football is brought into the modern technological age.