US on verge of Ryder Cup victory

After a strong finish to day two the US took a further step towards winning the Ryder Cup back after taking a 10-6 lead into today’s singles.

Picking up where they left off on Friday the US team, led by a rejuvenated Phil Mickelson and an inspired Keegan Bradley, continued to hole virtually everything and comfortably won the morning session 3-1, before the faintest, and I mean faintest, glimmer of hope for Europe broke through right at the very end of Saturday’s fourballs.

The US had already stretched their lead to 10-4, before Donald and Garcia just held on against Woods and Stricker, then by far and away Europe’s star performer Ian Poulter birdied the last five holes to secure another point and give Europe some hope on Sunday.

But as the US need only 4.5 of the 12 points available, it’s hard to make a case for them not winning the Ryder Cup back, particularly if they maintain the high standard of play most of them have shown over the first two days.

Given the situation his team find themselves in Olazabal had no choice but to load the first half of the singles with his best players, and while I think they can make inroads I don’t think it’s going to be enough, there’s too much talent and too many good putters throughout the US team to throw this away now.

While I think Olazabal made a few mistakes with mixing up his pairings and not adopting the US strategy of a big hitter with a good putter, most of the problems have been brought about by the poor performances of a lot of Europe’s players.

Aside from a few players playing well for nine holes here and there the only European player to stand up and take the fight to the US team has been Poulter, he’s won all his matches and has never dropped his head once.

Whereas the American team can point to seven or eight players who’ve excelled themselves on Friday and Saturday, in fact if it wasn’t for Poulter it would’ve been all over by now.

The one chance that Europe can cling to is that without their partners the Americans struggle and that might allow us a way back into the contest, and as that’s what Europe are pretty much pinning their hopes on then it doesn’t look good.

As much as I want Europe to turn it around and emulate the American comeback of Brookline 13 years ago, I think the US will win the cup back with plenty of time to spare.  

Inspired US take Ryder Cup initiative

After a nervy start by both sides an inspired US team destroyed the course, and Europe, in the afternoon fourballs to take a much deserved 5-3 lead into day two of the Ryder Cup.

While the US team undoubtedly played the best golf they were helped by some surprising selections from Olazabal, pairing Westwood and Molinari together was a mistake, and in the afternoon picking Westwood again, dropping Poulter, Donald and Garcia, picking Kaymer, and the desperate pairing of Lawrie and Hanson were serious errors that greatly backfired.

In contrast US captain Love seems to have a strategy of pairing a big hitter with a great putter and he’s sticking with it and he’s not mixing up his pairings and that coupled with the great play and home support for his side, can leave him rightly feeling aggrieved at only having a two point advantage at this stage.

In fact if it wasn’t for Woods and Stricker effectively gifting Europe two points then things could be a whole lot worse, and Love has realised his error by dropping Woods for the first time in his Ryder Cup career.

Bizarrely Olazabal has stuck with Westwood when he too should really be benched he was a passenger yesterday and simply can’t hole a putt to save his life under any circumstances let alone under Ryder Cup pressure.

I’m glad Olazabal is sticking with Poulter/Rose and McIlroy/McDowell in today’s foursomes but on the other hand concerned that he’s split Donald/Garcia and has stuck with Westwood.

The European pairings for the morning sessions are:

Rose/Poulter

Westwood/Donald

Colsaerts/Garcia

McIlroy McDowell

When for me it should look more like this:  

Rose/Poulter

Colsaerts/Lawrie

Donald/Garcia

McIlroy/McDowell

A few other things worth mentioning are that I think Kaymer shouldn’t play again until Sunday, and if you’re going to play Hanson in the afternoon then he needs to be paired with a big hitter, and if you’re going to use Molinari he needs to be sent out with a good putter.

As the US have showed pairing a big hitter with a good putter, especially in the fourballs, is the way to go around this course and Olazabal has made a two mistakes by firstly not realising this and secondly mixing up his parings, I think he should have, like Love, picked six parings on Monday and allowed them to play together in all the practice rounds and keep them together at all times during the competition whatever happens.

We may have only had one days play but Europe need to end today 8-8 or 9-7 down at the very least otherwise this could all be over before Sunday, where traditionally the Americans are stronger.

I’m still rooting for Europe but if it goes anything like yesterday then the prospect of Europe keeping hold of the trophy look bleak at best.

Mac and Mac to launch Europe’s Ryder Cup defence

Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell will begin Europe’s defence of the Ryder Cup in a matter of hours when they tee-off in the foursomes against the experienced and ever reliable Jim Furyk and in-form and now very very rich rookie Brandt Snedeker.

The other pairings kicking-off the biennial event will see the unbeaten pairing of Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia take on Phil Mickelson and another US rookie Keegan Bradley, the surprise pairing of Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari square up against another rookie Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson and the final match of the morning will see Ian and Poulter and Justin Rose facing perhaps the most potent partnership the US can field in Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods.

The biggest talking point around this Ryder Cup seems to be who starts as the favourites and for me I just, and I mean just, give the edge to the US, the set-up of the course with every fairway made as wide as possible and the rough virtually non-existent means the likes of Watson, Johnson and Woods can really unleash it off the tee without the fear of much reprisal.   

But the all important factor in golf regardless of the format is putting and while Europe can boast pressure putters like Donald, Poulter and McDowell the US can counter that with Stricker, Mickelson, Snedeker and Bradley.

The crowd will also play a huge role in the outcome at times during this event the crowd whether it be European or American, seem to be able to give players that extra 5-10% needed to hold on for a win or comeback for a half, and the crowd in Chicago will be no different.

Chicago has been desperate to host a worldwide sporting event, they haven’t secured a Super Bowl or an Olympics, but now they have three days to live up to their reputation as a sports mad town.

Even though Europe have frankly dominated this event in recent times winning six of the last eight, I still think the US will wrestle the cup back, and as all the 24 players involved are ranked in the top 35 fans have the right to expect perhaps the best contest ever.

It should be close but as the US team have more players in better form, I think they could reverse the score from Celtic Manor two years ago and win 14.5-13.5, and it’s not like I’m biased or anything but

Go Europe !!!  

Lewis Hamilton leaves McLaren and joins Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton has signed to race for Mercedes from the start of the 2013 season, ending a 14 year association with McLaren after joining them when he was 13. 

Sources close to Hamilton insist that his decision to join Mercedes isn’t financial, instead based on the fact that Mercedes are making a huge push in 2014 when new chassis and engine rules are introduced, despite his Mercedes contract is being bigger than his current deal with McLaren.

If Hamilton has really has left based on Mercedes hoping that rule changes will benefit them in 2014 then that is a huge gamble, as since Mercedes returned to the sport in 2010 their record has been less than stellar, particularly compared to McLaren.

Hamilton’s move means Michael Schumacher will probably retire, again, and it means that Sergio Perez will get the chance to prove himself amongst the big boys when he takes Hamilton’s seat next season.

Whatever Hamilton’s reason(s) for leaving McLaren, to me he looks like someone who has left for the money and to be unequivocally viewed as the teams no.1 who everybody works for, because why would you leave a team fighting for the title now to go and join a team that might be able to in two years time, it just doesn’t make any sense.  

Abu Hamza extradition finally approved

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has finally given its approval for the extradition of hate preacher Abu Hamza, meaning he and four others will be flown to the US within weeks to face criminal charges.

This ruling comes after a lengthy legal battle that has dragged on, in Hamza’s case, since 2004 and was such a farce that even the Queen, who never intervenes in political matters, asked a home secretary about why he was still in the UK.

I still can’t fathom why this took eight years and cost millions to extradite five people to the US, I understand that the ECHR is there as the most powerful court in Europe that is designed to give the absolute final rulings on cases that can’t be settled within EU nations.

But when cases arrive that involve people like Abu Hamza, a man suspected of setting up a terrorist training camp and soliciting to murder, shouldn’t his case be given greater priority as he’s a clear threat to peace and democracy.

I’m glad that he is finally on his way out of the UK so he now no longer has a platform to preach his radical opinions and that he is no longer costing us another penny, and I hope this ruling sends a clear message to similar individuals with the same ideology as him.  

Focus should be on business bank

In the last few days the media has been obsessing over what chief whip Andrew Mitchell did or didn’t say to a police officer at the Downing Street gates, and have seemingly ignored Vince Cable’s plan to set up a £1bn business bank.

While details of the business bank won’t be known until December, when Chancellor George Osborne gives his autumn statement, it is understood that the bank will lend to small and medium sized companies struggling to secure funding from the banks.

Under Cable’s proposals the business bank will be set up within 18 months and it’s also hoped that private sector investors will match the initial £1bn pledged by the government.

Not only is this an excellent idea to try and kick-start the economy by lending to struggling smaller firms, it’s also a clear attempt to provide a long term solution and not look for a quick-fix.

I think we should be giving more attention to this as it’s a serious attempt at structural financial reform, and not spend days on end continually focusing on whether Andrew Mitchell should or shouldn't resign.  

John Terry retires from England duty

Former England captain John Terry has announced his retirement from international football ending his three lions career with 78 caps and six goals.

Terry said he made his decision to retire based on charges brought against him by the FA relating to an incident with Anton Ferdinand in a QPR-Chelsea game last October.

Terry said the FA’s decision to pursue charges against, despite the fact that he was cleared of racially abusing Ferdinand in court, made his position with the England team untenable.

This is a strange and confusing statement from Terry because, the FA announced way back in July that they would pursue their own separate charges against Terry so why has he waited so long before he decided to retire, why did he continue to play and make himself available for England games, why has it taken until the eve of the FA hearing against him for him to decide enough is enough.

Could it be that he’s been made aware of the outcome and he’s jumping before he’s pushed?

Judging by his comments Terry feels the FA have a vendetta against him, but to me they don’t have a choice he deserves to be charged, not only for his abusive language but for bringing the game into disrepute, I mean it's not like it's his first offence.

This FA charge could well be the result of his previous digressions finally catching up with him, it’s got to the stage where after he was found not guilty in court he was branded Teflon Terry.

Whatever the outcome of his FA hearing nobody can deny that Terry, on the pitch, gave his all for the national team and has been one of the most consistent performers for England over the last ten years and our defence will certainly be weakened by his absence, and he would almost certainly have been an automatic pick for the England squad for the 2014 World Cup, should we qualify.

Nick Clegg wants wealth tax

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has ruled out approving further government spending cuts unless the Conservatives agree to some form of wealth tax.

While in principle this measure is hard to disagree with, I struggle to see just how Clegg plans to convince the Conservatives to introduce a wealth tax.

If the coalition was made up of Lib Dem and Labour then it would most probably have been introduced by now, but convincing the Tories is a whole different ball-game.

Earlier in the week Clegg made a full public apology for breaking his pledge to raise tuition fees and with that still so fresh in people’s minds is making another categorical promise the smartest thing to do.

Is this a serious workable policy that he thinks has a real chance of success, or is it just rhetoric that is designed to, temporarily, silence critics within his own party ahead of the Lib Dem annual conference?

Hopefully in two years time we won’t be faced with a situation where another auto-tuned YouTube single of Clegg apologising is released because he failed to curb spending cuts or introduce a wealth tax.

Andrew Mitchell shouldn’t resign

Coalition Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell is facing mounting pressure to resign after a verbal outburst at a police officer at the gates of Downing Street.

During the rant Mitchell was said to have sworn multiple times and called a policeman a pleb, although Mitchell has apologised he still denies use of the word pleb.

Since the story broke everyone has been quick to make sure their opinion has been heard with most calling for Mitchell to either resign or be sacked, but I think a little perspective is needed here.

First off I think we should wait until the full version of events is available for all to see before we start filling out Mr Mitchell’s P45 for him, and secondly if the language he used was that bad then why didn’t the officer involved arrest him or caution him?

To me it just seems like the guy lost his temper and when you lose your temper you do say things that on reflection make you look like a berk.

If we are going to start sacking people or forcing them to resign for losing their temper or using foul language then nobody would have a job.

G4S should wave £57m fee

A committee of MPs have urged security firm G4S to wave a £57m management fee for their failure to deliver on Olympic security.

Committee chairman Keith Vaz said the firm had delivered an “11^th hour fiasco” and recklessly boasted that it could meet the terms of its contract.

In response G4S said the £57m was for costs and not profit, but that’s not really the point, it’s not about what the money is for or what it will go towards, it’s about whether they should be paid it and the answer is no.

They messed up the most important contract they’re ever likely to be given, they totally compromised the delivery of the games and worst of all compromised the safety and well being of the millions who attended, and had to be bailed out last minute by our armed forces, who as usual did a sterling job.

What’s far worse than this is the flippant attitude of Nick Buckles the chief exec of G4S who, at a select committee hearing, told a group of MPs that he expected games organisers to pay his company the full £237m as stated in their contract.

Currently G4S have been paid £90m for their services with the other £147m said to be up for negotiation, I think G4S should consider themselves lucky they’ve been paid at all and not have the audacity to ask for full payment despite failing so badly.

G4S can end the negativity and criticism levelled at them by doing three simple things,

1.      Wave the £57m management fee

2.      Don’t ask for another penny of the £147m that’s up for negotiation

3.      Sack Nick Buckles

British Police should be armed

Yesterday Greater Manchester Police Constables Nicola Hughes, 23, and Fiona Bone ,32, were killed in a gun and grenade attack after being called out to a bogus burglary.

Their deaths have re-opened the debate as to why British police don’t have guns as standard procedure, which make us one of a handful of nations including, Norway, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and a few others whose officers aren’t armed.

For me this has to change, arming the police would make their lives safer, and in the case of PC’s Hughes and Bone given them a fighting chance after being lured into an ambush by an armed nutcase.

Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police would rather keep the status quo saying:

“Sadly we know from the experience in America and other countries that having armed officers certainly does not mean, sadly, that police officers do not end up getting shot.”

Which to me is a totally redundant statement, as I doubt there are many out there dim-witted enough to believe that arming our police forces would result in no officers being shot or killed in a gun related incident whatsoever, but it would give them a chance and not have to face a situation where they are confronted with armed personnel and find themselves totally defenceless, with their only option to call for a specialised armed unit, and hope they arrive in time to back them up.

Some say that being confronted by the site of armed police patrolling the streets would be intimidating, I’d like to know exactly how, as they would be well trained and qualified public servants there for our protection, what is intimidating about that, if anything it would be comforting.

While the current economic climate makes it unlikely that police forces in Britain will be armed anytime soon, due to budget cuts and the cost of the training programmes that would be needed, hopefully this debate won’t fade back into the background until another shooting incident occurs, and that the police and government become more pro-active in at least entertaining the idea and weighing up the pros and cons of arming the police force in Britain.

GSCE’s to be Replaced

Yesterday education secretary Michael Gove announced his plan to shake-up the education system by replacing GSCE’s with a new qualification called an English Baccalaureate Certificate.

However Gove then went onto say that students wouldn’t actually sit the first of the new exams until 2017, which is a clear indicator that there’s a lot more work to be done in finalising and implementing these changes, surely if he and the government were truly committed to these reforms why push back the date of introduction so far.

What happens if Labour, who at the moment are greatly opposed to these changes, win the next general election in 2015, what then the whole thing will be up in the air and it will be the students who suffer as a result.

While there is a lot more work to be done by the government to make these changes, there are some aspects of the reforms that are difficult argue with, starting with the fact that exams will be more rigorous which are designed to stop students coasting through subjects.

Under the changes there will be a single exam board for core subjects, which will not only end competition between exam boards, which many believe leads to a ‘race to the bottom’, with an incentive for exam boards to attract more business by making it easier to pass, it should also bring a greater clarity to what is being taught and to what kind of standard.

Another shift is that under the new system standards will be measured against international standards to ascertain how good, or bad, the levels of teaching and learning are compared with other nations.

However there are areas where the new system doesn’t sound as appealing, for instance what about the students who sit the GSCE’s in 2016 the final year before these new Baccalaureate Certificate’s are brought in, aren’t they effectively going to leave school with a redundant or inferior qualification.

But perhaps the most contentious issue will be the abolition of coursework in favour of a one-off end of course exam, which I think unfairly punishes students, of which there are plenty, who simply aren’t very good at coping with the pressures of exams, and it will also affect students who are more creative and make up for their lack of exam skills by excelling on the coursework side.  

As these proposals have yet to be put through the consultation stage and with the date for the changes so far away, at the moment things still seem a little hazy.

X-Factor ending would solve its many many problems

Those behind the scenes of the X-Factor are currently running around like headless chickens trying to work out what to do to halt its ratings slide, and solve several other problems the show has thrown up during its latest series.

I’ve got a suggestion, do everyone a favour and cancel it, it’s ridiculously hyped commercial drivel which places absolutely no emphasis on the contestant’s talent whatsoever, where the winner is seemingly selected because their photoshopped image would look best on an album cover.  

Let’s look at those who have been successful after the show finished, Leona Lewis, had that one song about a bleeding something or other, which I admit was incredibly successful, at giving me a splitting headache every time it got an airing on the radio.

Then after that she resorted to singing covers of Oasis and Snow Patrol (which were both dire) and JLS . . . . . nope me neither, the most notable thing I’ve seen them do is release their own brand of condoms.

Hopefully it will all be over soon and we can proudly say that TV and music survived this chunk of monotonous artificial hatred, and it along with Simon Cowell can be well and truly consigned to the history books.

For over 50 years The British have given the world many of the finest musical talents ever seen from the Beatles right through to Coldplay, unfortunately all the X-factor has succeeded in doing is greatly tarnishing our great reputation.

What gets me most is that I live in a world where Simon Cowell the ‘genius’ behind acts such as Westlife and Robson and Jeorme, is seemingly viewed (mostly by himself) as a Brian Epstein, or Col. Tom Parker figure who we should be grateful for, and worst of all he’s made hundreds of millions of pounds in the process.  

For me the X-Factor should never have been commissioned in the first place and probably should have ended a few years ago, when that Facebook campaign enabled the brilliant Rage Against the Machine song Killing in the Name to become Christmas no.1 ahead of that single by that kid who won the X-Factor, who’s name I don’t know.

Part of me wants to see the X-Factor suffer even more, but it pales in comparison to the part of me that wants it to end right now, hopefully that day will come sooner rather than later.  

Four NATO soldiers killed as questions remain over hand-over dates

Four soldiers with the NATO led force in Afghanistan have been killed in an attack suspected to be by members of the Afghan police, senior Afghan officials say.

This latest incident brings the number of NATO troops killed by “insider attacks” to 51 for the year.

With the news of this attack and the deaths of two UK servicemen killed at a check-point by a man in a police uniform yesterday, questions about the handover of control to the Afghan police force continue to fester.

The NATO led ISAF forces are due to hand over command of all combat missions to Afghan forces by the middle of 2013, and all troops are expected to have left Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

But these recent attacks show that target is fragile and seems increasingly optimistic, I can’t begin to imagine the embarrassment that would be caused if command was handed to Afghan forces and six months down the line NATO forces had to return, because the Afghan police force had buckled and the Taliban were running riot.

I also can’t begin to imagine what it must be like for the NATO forces tasked with training recruits to be Afghan police, training someone who has been sent there to kill you the moment a gun is put in their hands, or the moment your back is turned, their bravery and dedication to the task is immeasurable.

However if attacks like this persist in the coming weeks and months, the deadlines for withdrawal look more and more brittle, and as unpopular as it is, the option of extending those deadlines should at least be given a fair consideration.

Because if the deadlines are set in stone and all forces are withdrawn by the end of 2014 and the Afghan forces can’t cope, then it will all have been a complete waste of lives and time.

I want the hand-overs to go ahead as planned without any problems, I want the Afghan forces to be able to do the job, and I also want all the NATO troops in Afghanistan to return home safely, in the same way that I want to score a last minute winner for England in the World Cup final, but in reality the prospects look very different.

Ricky Hatton returning to the ring

They say never go back, but that way of thinking clearly doesn’t resonate with Ricky Hatton, who has announced that he will be returning to the ring on November 24^th.

While the name of his opponent is yet to be confirmed, it will be his first bout since his infamous humbling at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in Vegas nearly 3½ years ago.

There’s no doubt that when Hatton was at his best he was easily one of the finest boxers in the world, but having not had a competitive fight for so long, I’m not so sure that this is such a good idea.

Hatton said that his comeback is fuelled by the desire to prove to himself and his family that he hasn’t become a bitter has-been, and to redeem his past misdemeanours.

However there are other ways to do that and if the worst comes to the worst and Hatton is knocked out or losses his comeback fight, where does he go from there.

Towards the end of his original career Hatton was noted for his weight ballooning between fights and the struggles he faced to not only make the weight for his fights, but also to try and maintain his form for the full 12 rounds,  and problems like these are only going to be intensified by his time on the sidelines.

I hope the comeback goes well for him, as clearly his reasons for returning to the ring run much deeper than picking up a pay-cheque, but I can’t see him winning a world title, because to get to that level he will have to beat guys who have been fighting competitively for three years, so Hatton will be starting off at a major, and to me, insurmountable disadvantage.

Added to this previous examples have shown just how tough it is for professional sportsmen to return after a lengthy absence.

I re-iterate I hope it goes well for him, despite thinking it’s a bad idea, but whatever happens it should be an interesting watch.

Stop handshakes at Premier League matches

With the international break over the Premier League resumes this weekend and there’s already a problem without a ball being kicked, because tomorrow QPR host Chelsea, I’m sure you all remember the eventful nature of last year’s encounter.

Which is the cause of the problem, because the players have to line-up and shake hands at the start of each match in a very orderly fashion, the QPR players have decided that they don’t fancy shaking hands with John Terry or Ashley Cole for that matter, in light of Terry and Ferdinand’s recent court case.

There is one simple and easy way to put an end to this, stop forcing the players to shake hands at the start of a game, it’s a stupid idea and while some have said it’s designed to highlight and demonstrate respect in the game, from my point of view all it seems to have done is give the players another opportunity to fall-out.

Take the Suarez, Evra incident as exhibit A, is that the kind of example the FA were hoping for, and what’s the point of players shaking hands if 30 seconds into the game they’ve already resorted to swearing and squaring up to one another.

Just make the simple easy decision to scrap this stupid idea, it isn’t working and all its doing is straining already fractured relations between certain players, just go back to the old method where players came out took their positions started the game and shook hands at the end if they wanted to, forcing them to shake hands clearly isn’t helping anyone or anything.  

US Ambassador to Libya killed

The American ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other diplomats were killed yesterday in the Libyan city of Benghazi after unidentified armed men stormed the US consulate, shooting at buildings and throwing handmade bombs into the compound.

Stevens is reported to have died sometime after the initial attack from asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation.

Their actions were a reaction to a US made anti-Muslim film called the Innocence of Muslims, which negatively portrays the prophet Muhammad.

While I think it was stupid and unnecessary to make an anti-Muslim film that insults Muhammad, I also fail to see what killing a US ambassador who had no involvement in the making of the movie, or who probably hadn’t even heard of it until the consulate was stormed, really achieves.

How does killing representatives from the world’s great superpower accomplish anything other than to provoke it and force it to do something in retaliation?

Those responsible for this sadistic and senseless attack are reported to be a militia group, who operate with complete separation from the new Libyan government, but it still happened and it raises serious security concerns about stability in Libya and the ability of the new Libyan government to maintain security.

While they maybe in a minority these militants have shown that despite the attempts by several nations across the Arab world to end violent dictatorships and bring democracy, law and order to their societies (which America have supported), there are still those that are clearly living in the past and are using archaic ways of dealing with things, the sooner their ways are devolved the better.     

England unlucky to draw against Ukraine

Having read some of the comments from fans and so-called pundits who watched England’s draw with Ukraine in last night’s World Cup Qualifier, I’m almost certain that the 90 minutes beamed through my TV screen must have been different to what everyone else saw, because I thought England played much better than a lot of people are implying.

When you look at the clear goal scoring opportunities created by both sides England should really have come away from Wembley with all three points, the only thing they were guilty off was wastefulness, I mean we had a goal ruled out and hit the post twice, not to mention Cleverley missing from six yards.

I was pleased to see that Hodgson has implemented a new style of play, which consists of keeping the ball and being patient, rather than just lumping the ball into an area where an England player has a 50/50 chance of getting to it at every given opportunity.

I certainly agree with a few of the points being made, starting with the fact that Lampard and Gerrard were paired in midfield again, it has been proven many times that this pairing can’t work and while I thought it was ok last night compared to previous matches, one of them needs to go and for me it has to be Lampard.

For starters Gerrard is captain, and last night was the only one who ever looked like getting an England attack going, plus he is the only England player in the squad who can pass a ball more than 30 yards without it going to an opponent or out of play.

He’s also the best crosser of a ball in the squad, and isn’t afraid to get stuck in and never shirks his defensive responsibilities. (I know he was sent off last night but he only misses next month’s game against San Marino so I’m sure we’ll cope)

I’ll start by admitting that I’ve never really rated Lampard, for me he has never done it against the very best for Chelsea or England, I’ve never watched a game he’s been in against real top-class opposition and said he won that game on his own, or he was the difference between the two sides, he only seems to be able to do it against lesser opponents when the pressure’s off.

In addition I think he’s too slow and that really showed last night, he can’t defend, his passing is sloppy and now he’s 34 I think it’s time he was let go, I admit he’s a brilliant penalty taker but you need to contribute much more to a team than that.

I also agree with the point that James Milner’s England career needs to be re-assessed, he’s doesn’t have the pace or trickery needed to be a real threat down the wing, and unlike David Beckham he doesn’t have the crossing ability or dead-ball prowess to make up for it, and I’m sick of hearing people say, oh he works hard, so what, so do the rest of the team, what’s the point of working hard to win the ball back if you can’t do anything with it.

Another point worth making is that it a lot of people seem to have forgotten that we were playing Ukraine, who are a good team, with some talented players, and lets also remember that their goal was a wonder strike that nobody could have done anything about, and things like that aren’t going to happen every game.

Yes dropping two points at home will make it harder to qualify but if we get all our injured players back, and continue to play like we did last night, I see no reason why we can’t make it to Rio as group winners.

Remember all those who have criticised England’s performance, a 1-1 draw shouldn’t be the catalyst for you to say were s**t and we have no hope, let’s just calm down and realise that we’ve got eight more games to play, and there’s also a chance that the likes of Ukraine and Poland could slip up to.

One final point if England were to have a fully fit squad to choose from this is the starting XI and subs I would pick:

Hart

Richards           Cahill           Terry           Cole

Gerrard (c)          Carrick

Johnson          Rooney           Young

Defoe

Subs

Green

Jones

Jagielka

Parker

Oxlade-Chamberlin

Walcott

Welbeck

NBC don’t broadcast 9/11 Tribute

Yesterday marked the 11^th anniversary of September 11^th with memorial events and minutes silences being screened and observed across the US, however NBC decided that nobody wanted to see that and instead aired an interview Kris Jenner. (Kim Kardashians mum)

What were they thinking how could they have messed up so obviously and so stupidly, how hard would it have been for NBC to alter their programming or even delay the airing of the interview for five minutes to allow viewers to remember, to pay their respects and to honour those who tragically lost their lives.

Reality TV has already infected far too much of our lives, but this is beyond the pale, if anything positive is to come out of this, hopefully it will be the signal for the beginning of the end of reality TV, hopefully the world will say enough is enough and these z-list, brain-dead, pointless individuals will be out of our lives forever.

Andy Murray wins US Open

After 4 hours and 54 minutes of a windy war of attrition with Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray finally held his nerve to win the US Open and collect a much deserved first grand slam title, making him the first British man to win a grand slam since Fred Perry way back in 1936.

It took five sets, it took nearly five hours but unlike previous encounters between him and the other top guys, this time it was Murray who was the last man standing prevailing 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2.

At the beginning of the match the swirling winds in and around the Arthur Ashe Stadium favoured Murray as Djokovic struggled to settle and find his rhythm, but being the champion that he is, he still managed to force a tie-break and boy was it tense, with Murray just edging it 12-10 after 87 minutes.

One of the perceived weaknesses in Murray’s game is his inability to maintain the initiative and make the most of his opportunities, when out in front he has often allowed his opponents a way back into the match, and in the second set this rang true.

Djokovic was 4-0 and 5-2 down, and had many already looking ahead to the third, but he loosened up and went for the lines and found himself back on level terms at 5-5, only for Murray to hold serve and break in the next to take it 7-5.

Two sets to love up Djokovic seemingly having problems tailoring his game to the conditions, surely this would be over in three, or four, but Djokovic refused to give in, I mean he’s not world no.1 and a five time grand slam winner for nothing.

He took the third 6-2 aided by a dip in Murray’s consistency, and he quickly took charge in the fourth, Murray made it interesting but Djokovic powered his way through taking it 6-3, as they walked out to start the fifth and final set, things didn’t look good.

Djokovic has shown, particularly since the start of last year, that he’s become quite adept at winning the long and tight matches, but Murray found a second wind and found himself 3-0 up, only for Djokovic to pull it back to 3-2.

I’m sure like me your nerves must have been spent watching the match draw to its conclusion, in fact I’m finding it very difficult to type this now having chewed off most of my fingers, even though the match finished well after 2am I didn’t actually sleep, I merely passed out from the blood I lost gnawing at my hands.   

Back to the match and despite the best efforts of Djokovic his body gave up on him and Murray with the winning line in sight went for it and found himself 5-2 in front serving for the match, he brought up championship point only to relinquish it, but it was really only delaying the inevitable as on the next point a spent Djokovic blazed a return of serve long and Murray was the champion.

Before the match aside from who was going to win, the majority of the discussion centred around the wind and the impact that could have on the outcome.

Many thought it would affect the quality of the rallies and the strategies of both players, but for me it only enhanced the experience, watching the two best returners in the game continually having to re-assess the flight of the ball and improvise strokes from all over the court, led to several of the best points you’re ever likely to see.

While Murray had showed us all before last night that he had the talent and shots to win a major, the big question was his mentality and thanks in no small part to the work he’s being doing with Ivan Lendl, he has shown he can stay focused and mentally outlast guys like Djokovic.

Much like Murray kicked on from his Olympic singles gold to win in New York, becoming the first player to do so, hopefully the boost from breaking his major duck will enable him to go on and win many, many more.

Murray’s US Open win last night really was the jewel in the crown of an unforgettable and historic summer of British sporting success, which I’m sure most of us will never tire of regaling to our children and grand-children in the years to come, oh wait a minute the Ryder Cup starts in a few weeks . . . . .

Olympians and Paralympians should have their own honours list

As the Paralympics officially ended last night and brought to an end a highly successful London 2012, the government have thankfully announced that there will be a separate honours list for Olympians and Paralympians meaning more of our top sports stars can be recognised for their achievements.

This decision was a no-brainer, and the government have no doubt made this choice as a tribute to the herculean efforts of Team GB athletes, although I bet the fact that they also took the attention off the shoddy job the government have been doing (for a few weeks at least) didn’t hurt.

There were a few foolish individuals who have questioned the fact that success at the Olympics or Paralympics leads to an automatic trip to one of the Queen’s residences, but I think they are rather missing the point.

Everybody I’m sure will admit to being a little nervy before the start of the Olympics as to what to expect and mulling over how Team GB would perform, but all those reservations were quickly blown away, as the whole country united and the medals began to flow.

London 2012 has been staged in pretty taxing economic circumstances, yet despite this the Olympics and Paralympics have re-energised the country, brought it together and given it the feel good factor it desperately needed, if Team GB Olympians and Paralympians don’t deserve to be recognised and honoured for that, then what’s the point of having an honours list.

Murray winning US Open would = cherry on top of very big British sporting cake

Today there was a parade in London to celebrate and congratulate the heroic exploits of our Olympians and Paralympians with everybody (including me) cheering their performances throughout the summer but as the Paralympic flame was handed over to the representatives of Rio, it seemed many took it as a sign that this golden summer of British sport was over.

I think a certain Scotsman in New York would have a few things to say about that, as tonight Andy Murray looks to make that elusive breakthrough and win his first grand slam at the US Open.

While Murray may well be facing defending champ, world no.1 and favourite Novak Djokovic, since his Olympic success there has been a noticeable lift in Murray’s game, temperament and confidence, hopefully the culmination of all those things tonight will see him win a grand slam at the fifth attempt.

While Murray has had great seasons before winning several tournaments and reaching the semi-finals/finals of majors etc, 2012 is the first time he’s reached two in a year and this is no doubt due to the work of his new coach Ivan Lendl who joined the Murray camp at the start of the year.

He has urged Murray to be more aggressive, and while it’s only a relatively small change, it has made a huge difference as his results since the French Open indicate.

This coupled with the fact that Djokovic isn’t in the invincible form of last year, for me makes this Murray’s best chance yet to join the list of grand slam winners, and if we are treated to a match like the one we saw at the Australian Open, then we’ll be in for a classic, and a very late night.

If (and it’s a big if) he does prevail tonight the boost he’ll get from it could see him kick on, win many more and join his contemporaries as one of the games all-time greats.

McIlroy and Woods in FedEx Cup clash

In 2007 when the FedEx Cup play-offs were first introduced on the PGA Tour, it took a while for everyone (including me) to, firstly understand the format and secondly to really warm to them as a way of wrapping up the season.

But since then the format has been refined, the scoring system, although still incredibly complicated, has been altered to more fairly reflect the players performances and it has now evolved into a situation where we have all the top ranked players battling it out for four tournaments in a row.

This year’s edition looks set to be the best yet as a resurgent Tiger Woods and an ever maturing Rory McIlroy are scrapping to be ranked no.1 in the point’s standings heading into the final event, the Tour Championship.

They go into the third round of the BMW Championship later today tied on 12 under and a shot behind leader Vijay Singh, and while they won’t be playing together this could be the first instalment in an eagerly anticipated rivalry between the two.

Since Woods return to form everyone (including me) has been excited by the prospect of both him and McIlroy challenging at the top of the leader board, and although so far this year it has failed to materialise, tonight could be the night when it all starts.     

As I said previously they won’t be playing together, but I think its better that way because, they can’t know exactly what the other is doing and hopefully that will encourage them to go for their shots more and take that extra risk.

Whatever happens tonight at the BMW or at the Tour Championship in a fortnight, it’s safe to say the FedEx Cup play-offs just keep getting better and better.  

Right-to-die shift urged by new Health Minister

Newly appointed Health Minister Anna Soubry has urged a shift in attitude when it comes to the rules and regulations surrounding a person’s right-to-die.

She said it was ridiculous and appalling that Britons wanting to end their life were forced overseas, but more importantly she has become the first senior politician to openly admit “you have a right to kill yourself.”

Although she did go on to rule out euthanasia, at least she has been brave enough to come out and state her position on this issue.

The only way any progress on this subject is going to be made is by discussing it and being more open and honest, even if that means conflicting views and different opinions on the way to proceed, it’s better that way than not saying anything or ignoring the situation altogether.

Hopefully Ms Soubry’s comments will encourage other ministers to reveal their position and with a bit of luck get a serious debate about changing the rules around someone’s right-to-die underway.    

England begin road to Rio

With England’s Euro 2012 campaign consigned to the history books, we can all know look ahead to the road to Rio.

The first obstacle comes tonight in the shape of Moldova and England manager Roy Hodgson has been quick to roll out the, in my opinion redundant, cliché of, we need to show them respect it will be a difficult test, and so on.

Well it shouldn’t be if we want to get to the World Cup, and considering that all the players in the Moldovan squad available for selection to face England have a total of 11 goals between them, and don’t play for any clubs in Europe’s top divisions, I think we can be a little less apprehensive about the propostion of taking three points.

Why can’t Hodgson just be honest and say we expect to win, because that’s what everybody else expects, if you think Moldova will be tough I’m dreading when we have to travel to Kiev and Warsaw, later on in the group stages.

One other important thing to remember going into tonight’s game, is that now Hodgson’s head is firmly on the chopping block should this qualifying campaign go pear-shaped.

After Capello departed everyone held back because they knew that Hodgson had a very limited time and despite being a little too negative he did about as well as could be expected.

But now he can’t go around like David Cameron blaming the guy in charge before him, from tonight onwards it’s all on him and no-one else, hopefully he’ll start by playing a better, more attacking style of football and more importantly have a bit more confidence in the group of players he has at his disposal.

Honours for Cabinet rejects

When any Prime Minister shuffles their cabinet they will inevitably be faced with a backlash from those who have been demoted or removed altogether, and while Cameron and co haven’t yet solved the economic crisis in Britain, they have come up with a novel way of pleasing removed cabinet members.

They have decided to give most of them honours, with four receiving knighthoods, it’s rather ironic that Cameron deemed they needed to be moved on and yet is recommending some receive knighthoods for services to the country.

Whether this is a measure aimed at keeping them quiet or he feels they are worthy we will never truly know (despite what we might suspect).

Andy Roddick Retires

At the US Open last night it was a very different tale for a very different set of Andy’s.

On the Louis Armstrong court Andy Murray came back from the brink to beat Marin Cilic and reach the semis, while over on the Arthur Ashe stadium Andy Roddick (A-Rod) graced a tennis court for the last time.

His fourth round defeat by Juan Martin del Potro brought to an end a glittering career that has seen Roddick win 32 singles titles, including the 2003 US Open, be ranked world no.1 and earn a tidy $20.8m in the process, not bad eh.

While Roddick may not have had the variety of shot or elegance on the court of some of his rivals, in particular Federer, he more than made up for it with his tenacity and leaving absolutely everything out on court.

Also there was that killer serve which at times made him almost unplayable, and had he had a bit more luck would have definitely took the Wimbledon crown.

Unlike many other sports stars who are cagey and unwilling to engage and show their personalities, Roddick would often involve the crowd in his matches through humour and also give funny and honest assessments in interviews.

While his recent form hasn’t been that great his retirement in certainly a big loss to the game, whatever he decides to do next I’m pretty sure this isn’t the last we’ll hear from A-Rod.

As for the remainder of the tournament Murray’s chances have improved after Federer was knocked out, many say this is his best surface and with his form and confidence surely this is his best chance to win a slam yet.

Particularly, as due to the rain delays, guys like Djokovic from the other half of the draw will have to play three times in four days to make the final.