Drogba Past His Best

Chelsea have had a good week or two leading up to this weekends clash with Wigan where their recent momentum up the Premier League table took a hit with a late Wigan equaliser.  There has been one common denominator for these recent Chelsea performances, and that has been veteran striker Didier Drogba.

Outstanding against Valencia in the 3-0 Champions League clash and again in the Monday night battle with Manchester City, it looked like Drogba has finally found his form again.  But there were signs of his poor early season form again at the DW Stadium today.

Didier Drogba - Just like a tube of toothpaste

I have used a few metaphors to describe Drogba over the last week, and my favourite has bene to compare the striker with a tube of toothpaste.  Just when you think there isn't much left, you can always squeeze a little bit more out at the end.  But only a little bit.

With Anelka gone, Torres wildly inconsistent (see 'Chelsea Set To Give Up On Torres') and Daniel Sturridge the only front man showing any signs of consistency in front of goal, is it time for Chelsea to cash in on Drogba while they can?

Front Rows Being Failed

This weekends Heineken Cup action so far has brought into focus once again the ongoing problems with the scrummage, and specifically the inconsistancies with the refereeing.  Scrum time is taking up increasingly more time of the total playing time, and dragging many games down for the spectator.  Friday evening's game between the Ospreys and Saracens didn't see one scrum go unpenalised in the first half.  Glasgow's game with Montpellier in France saw 7 scrums penalised for various offences, often not down to the players but the playing surface.

There is no doubt that the inner workings of the front row is a tough thing to monitor and understand, but one of the more obvious offences is the clear lack of binding between the props.  On more than 2 occasions in Montpellier, there were instances where there were no attempts to bind by the props on the opposite side to the referee, despite it being clear to the touch judges only a few yards away.

Scrum time - Something has to be done

The IRB need to go back to the drawing board on the legislation.  The crouch-touch-pause-engage (CTPE) system is wildly inconsistent, varying between around 2 and 5 seconds, and that is sometimes within the same game.  How are the front rows supposed to get into any pattern with these variations?  Clarity on the timings and the rules need to be made to reduce the number of penalties given for not taking the hit, or for collapsing scrums for by front rows who are sometimes caught out by the hit.

The CTPE system takes too long, and needs to be shortened.  Safety is a priority for the players, there is no doubt, but the inconsistencies in the refereeing have to be revised to reduce the penalty counts.

SPOTY 2011: Who Will Win It?

This years shortlist of nominations for BBC's Sport Personality of the Year award has been criticised, rightly in my opinion, for the lack of any female athletes. Both Keri-Anne Payne and Rebecca Adlington both became swimming world champions, Payne retaining her 10km open water title from 2009 and Chrissie Wellington won her fourth Ironman world title in 5 years in 2011, all outstanding achievements that haven't been rewarded by the voters. But as the dust has settled, attention has now turned to those that have made the list, namely: 

Mark Cavendish, Darren Clarke, Alastair Cook, Luke Donald, Mo Farah, Dai Greene, Amir Khan, Rory McIlroy, Andy Murray and Andrew Strauss. 

All worthy contenders, I'm sure it would be agreed. So, who's going to win? 

The favourite here at The Skene Skrum is the first in that list, Mark Cavendish. The Manxman has had a phenomenal year, building on previous successes at the Tour de France by adding to his stage win total, taking him to 20 and 6th in the all time list. The difference this year is that he got the revered Green point jersey as well.  

Cavendish also claimed the World Champion title in Denmark, capping off a fine overall performance by the British team. At 26, Cavendish looks to have the best of his career still ahead of him, but this has certainly been a flawless year for him.

Mark Cavendish - SPOTY 2011?

I think that Cavendish's closest rivals for the SPOTY prize will be golfers Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy. The successes of the last week for Donald will still be fresh in the memory as the event comes around, and McIlroy has a universal appeal that will win him a lot of votes on top of those gained for his success in claiming his first major title at the US Open at the Congressional earlier this year.

Mo Farah also has a strong claim for a top 3 position as he has grown and grown in stature in international long distance running, culminating in a 10000m silver and 5000m gold at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. 

In a strong field consisting 3 golfers and 2 cricketers, I think this will be the year of the cyclist.

Tebow-time Grips the NFL

As mentioned in this weeks Winners & Losers blog, Tim Tebow, the Denver Broncos Quarterback, has become the story of an intriguing NFL season so far.

As the Green Bay Packers continue their march towards the perfect season, already qualifying for the playoffs with a bye in the first round, Tebow has turned around the fortunes of the Broncos to make them genuine contenders for the playoffs themselves.

Let's not forget, Tebow was not the first choice game runner for Denver.  In fact he was fourth choice pre-season.  Some even called him the worst starting quarterback in NFL history, but since he replaced the injured Kyle Orton he has started 8 games, with a record of 7-1 including 6 wins in a row to week 14.  Considering the Broncos had a record prior to this of 1-4, it now seems more than just luck that they are in playoff contention as they top the AFC West 8-5.

Tim Tebow - Exceeding all expectations

Tebow's qualities seem to come to the fore in the 4th quarter of games.  Take their most recent Week 14 game against the Chicago Bears.  Denver hadn't scored a single point for 57 minutes and 52 seconds, trailing 10-0 until Tebow orchestrated a touchdown and two drives at the end of the 4th and in overtime, setting up two monster field goals of 59 and 51 yards converted by Matt Prater.  Broncos win 13-10.

His uncanny ability to instill a sense of calm over his teammates when his team are down in the final minutes of games shows a maturity beyond his experience.  A well-known religious man, maybe he has greater forces on his side.  Or maybe he just works hard and has that priceless quality of being able to get the most out of not just himself but those around him.

Tebow's Broncos next take on Tom Brady and his 10-3 New England Patriots - a tough test for any team, but all the harder as the Patriots are starting to really warm up heading towards the post-season.

Can Tim Tebow keep the momentum going for the Broncos?  Week 15 will provide a stern test, but for the sake of the NFL, I sincerely hope he can.

Chelsea Set To Give Up On Torres

In a time when it seems that the value of everything is rising exponentially, it appears that one man is bucking the trend.  Yes, it's underachieving Chelsea front man Fernando Torres.

It was reported by the Daily Mail today that Chelsea would be prepared to offload the 27 year old Spanish striker for £20 million.  £20 million!?!?  That would mean that Torres' perceived market value has dropped by a whopping £30 million in the space of a year.

For all of the bitterness at the time of his sale from Liverpool fans back in January 2011, the club did a great piece of business, capitalising on Abramovich's obsession to bag Torres for Chelsea and prepared to pay anything for him.

How it has backfired for the Russian.  Torres' record for Chelsea has nowhere near reflected his purchase price and it seems now with Andre Villas-Boas at the managerial helm, there are fewer opportunities for him to at least try and regain some form.

Torres - Chelsea's time to cut their losses

There is no doubting his talent, and I hope he does get the chance to move on to a team where he will be valued and has the chance to play at an age when he should be at his physical prime.

Abramovich, on the other hand, has to bite the bullet and let his pride come second to common sense and let him go.

Is Summer Rugby a Viable Option?

The issue of summer rugby was raised again last week as the bigwigs from French Top 14 and English Aviva Premiership clubs knocked around some ideas about the future of rugby.  The conversation came about as clubs are becoming increasingly worried about their top players leaving domestic duties to fulfil their international obligations.

This issue is certainly a point of contention for rugby fans of the two professional outfits north of the border, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby.  As mentioned previously in this blog ('Winning Warriors', 9th December), the reliance of the Scottish national team on the two clubs to provide the majority of it's players during the Autumn Internationals/RWC and the 6 Nations is often extremely detrimental to their league progress.

Should the 6 Nations be moved?

So is summer rugby viable?

There are certianly positive arguements in favour, not least the potential for increased crowd attendances whilst most other sports, particularly football, are enjoying a break. Bigger crowds means increased revenue, and certainly in Scotland, that is a big factor.

However, despite my concerns for the clubs during international tournaments, rugby has always been, and should always be a winter sport.  Having played schoolboy rugby and gone to many a match over the years since, there is a certain romance and tradition about getting ready for games on cold crisp mornings, wrapping up for a day at the rugby.

The Christmas period is being used by the RaboDirect Pro12 for the local rivalries to play out double headers.  The 1872 Cup contested between Scotlands two biggest clubs at Christmas and New Year is now an established highlight of the Scottish sporting calendar.

As a Glasgow fan, I am increasingly encouraged by the way the squad has strengthened over the years, softening the impact of the absence of the international players for weeks at a time.  Glasgow's play-off finish in 2009/10 is testament to the strength of Lineen's team to maintain quality rugby and winning results through these periods.

Club rugby is the bread and butter of the sport.  Surely the first thing to look at would be moving the international tournaments before the domestic leagues?

I may be a traditionalist, but things should stay the way they are.

The End of an Era

It seeemd to come out of nowhere, but the announcement from Jonny Wilkinson that he has called time on his international rugby career appears to be as considered as the man himself.

I won't lie, I've never been a massive Wilkinson fan, quite the opposite on occasion.  For me he typified the style of rugby that England have always played since I started paying attention to rugby as a kid in the early 1990's.  In that time, England's style has always overrelied on a kicker, whether it be a Callard, a Grayson or an Andrew.  But it can't be denied that if that is the way you choose to play the game, he was the perfect fly-half for the system.  There's no doubt that Wilkinson has been the most consistent, efficient and successful of all in that period.

With a massive gap in his international career as a result of numerous injuries after the succesful 2003 World Cup campaign, there's no denying the enormous achievement to reach 91 England caps scoring 1179 points, with 6 Lion's caps and an additional 67 points.  His resolve and determination to constantly rebound from multiple injury disappointments is a true sign of his mental strength and passion for the game.

Clive Woodward built his team around Wilkinson and subsequent coaches have done similar. Is it any coincidence that Andy Robinson's relatively unsuccessful reign of England happened while Wilkinson was out of the international scene? I think not. For any player to have that kind of influence over the way a whole team is structured and plays for that length of time, no matter what you think of that approach to the game, is quite astonishing.

I'm not sure that Wilkinson would have scored as many points as he did if he played for a southern hemisphere side (compare his 7 international tries with the 29 Dan Carter has scored for the All Blacks before RWC 2011).  In a way, I think this is testament to a player who's ruthless efficiency in front of the posts has informed the way England have played over the last 13 years. 

A fine career for a fine player and by all accounts, a fine man.

Wilkinson - That career defining drop goal

Wilkinson's announcement is the latest of a series of events in English internaional rugby that seem to spell a change in direction in the way the English national team will play their rugby.

For all of their failings on and off the field at the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, there were signs of the next generation of exciting players coming through such as Manu Tuilagi and Tom Wood with the slightly more established Foden, Lawes, Youngs and Ashton.  It's unfortunate that they played under Martin Johnson who's coaching mentality was understandably similar to his playing ethos - restrictive, direct and non-expansive.

Following the World Cup, many of those players who played alongside Johnson and most embodied his often bloodyminded and stubborn style of rugby while he was coach have retired - players like Lewis Moody and Simon Shaw have both called time on their England careers.

With these departures, a new coaching set up announced last week (headed by Stuart Lancaster who has overseen the progress of new young England prospects with the Saxons) and teams like Harlequins setting the pace in the Premiership with an exciting brand of rugby, will we start to see a more expansive England rugby team playing in the 6 Nations?

I hope so.

Packers Still Pushing for Perfection

For anyone who had any doubts as to the ability of the Green Bay Packers to go for the perfect 16-0 regular season, then their suspicions were surely dismissed in the final 58 seconds of last weeks encounter with the New York Giants.

In what was probably the best encounter of the NFL season so far, and with the score tied at 35-35, Aaron Rodgers led a drive from near his own TD zone to the 31 yard line in three ruthlessly efficient plays, setting up the winning field goal which was duly converted by Mason Crosby.  Packers win 38-35.

Mike McCarthy’s team has rarely been challenged that close this season, and the Giants will consider themselves a little unlucky as the game extended their losing streak to 4 games.

But a tight contest is just what the Packers needed at this stage of the season.  Without playing brilliant football, they have gone undefeated and remain the only team in the NFL with a perfect record in the regular season.  The narrow win will have been used by McCarthy to strengthen the focus of the Packers team as they look to go forward and defend their Superbowl crown.

So it’s little wonder that the Packers came flying out of the blocks at Lambeau Field last night against the Oakland Raiders.  The game was won halfway through the second quarter as Aaron Rodgers led his team to a 31-0 first half lead.

Aaron Rodgers - Is he and the Packers unstoppable?

By the time he was rested late in the third for back up QB Matt Flynn, Rodgers had gone for 281 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 interception – a solid if unspectacular night’s work by his very high standards.  It’s not as if the Raiders played particularly badly.  Rodgers was harassed on a number of occasions as the Raiders defence made holes in the Packers offensive line.

Packers ended up winning out 16-46 in a convincing display, taking their season to 13-0 and a total winning streak of 19-0 going back to last season.

One major concern for the Packers on an otherwise satisfying night’s work was the injury to Greg Jennings, who suffered a blow to his left knee.  It’s hard to really say who Rodgers' number one receiver is; he has rich pickings with Jordy Nelson, Jermichael Findlay and Donald Driver amongst others to aim for, but Jennings is a major part of the Packers offence and could be a big miss at this stage of the season.

With 3 games left of the regular season, I have to ask whether the Packers are keen on getting that perfect 16-0 season?  I have no doubt that if you offered Mike McCarthy the Superbowl now at the expense of a 15-1 or 14-2 regular season, he would take it.  But I would suggest that the Packers would ask if it's not too much to ask for both.

Winners & Losers - 12/12/2011

Welcome to what will hopefully be the first weekly(ish) rundown of all the winners and losers in the world of sport over the past week.
So without further ado, let's start with this week's winners.

Winners

Martin O'Neill - It's been a great week for Sunderland and their newly installed manager O'Neill, who came from behind to beat Blackburn at the Stadium of Light to give Sunderland only their third win of the season.  Can O'Neill take this on and lead Sunderland up the Premiership table?

Martin O'Neill - 59 years young

The RFU - Much to my dismay, it's been a good week at English Rugby HQ.  After a torrid few weeks following the World Cup, some positive news came with the announcement of the interim coaching team of Stuart Lancaster, Graham Rowntree and Saracens first-team coach Andy Farrell for the 6 Nations.  On the face of it, it appears to be a savvy appointment from the RFU and one that is a win-win for Lancaster.  Let's just hope the Scots knock them off their perch come the 4th February!

Tim Tebow - 'The Big Tebowski' did it again, leading the Denver Broncos to an overtime victory over the resilient Chicago Bears, giving replacement QB Tebow a 7-1 record as a starter this season, and giving Denver an 8-5 record and a chance of getting to the playoffs with 3 games to go of the regular season.


Losers

Manchester Utd and Manchester City - Both clubs failed to make it out of the Champions League group stages - a first for City in their first appearance in the competition and the first time for United since 2005.  Going into this week's games, Man City had to rely on Napoli's result at the pointless Villareal, hoping the Italians would draw or lose but the odds were always stacked against them.  United, on the other hand, needed to avoid defeat at Basel, only becasue their own home form had meant that they had to rely on securing away points to progress.  Both teams must be looked at as firm favourites for the Europa League now.

Nemanja Vidic - To rub salt into the very raw European wound for Man Utd, it was confirmed that Nemanja Vidic will be out for the remainder of the season after suffering knee ligiament damage against FC Basel.

Jim Mallinder - The Northampton rugby boss saw his showboating winger Chris Ashton handed a 4 match ban for dragging Leicester man Alesana Tuilagi off the pitch by his hair, or in the words of the disciplinary committee "an act contrary to good sportsmanship".  Compounded with European Cup knockout misery and talk of Ashton's departure at the end of the season, maybe Mallinder is seeing the full time English coach role a bit more appealing?


Mark Allen - it could have so easily been an excellent week for the Northern Irishman as he reached his first ranking final at the UK Snooker Championships in York.  Instead, not only did he lose the final to the fantastically named Judd Trump (despite a fine 141 break in the 3rd frame), but he has been called in by the snooker authorities for his use of some select language when criticising the head of snooker Barry Hearn.

Heineken Cup Round Up

Having completed the third weekend of Heineken Cup action, there are teams who have performed as expected and those who have underachieved.  Take last years finalists.  Leinster secured their third victory in the group with a 5 point victory over Bath at the Rec (13-18) while Northampton did their best to replicate Manchester United's achievements by crashing out of the competition at the group stage having lost the final the previous season.  Their third loss in the group at Castres means that even with 3 more games to play, they cannot progress to the quarter finals.

Elsewhere, there have been some very close games, several being decided by a single score.  Perhaps the biggest upset was Treviso's win over the often unpredictable Biarritz with a 30-26 scoreline.  In fact, it's been a mixed weekend for the French teams, with Racing Metro continuing their poor form by losing at home to London Irish (14-34) and Montpellier losing to a spirited Glasgow Warriors performance at Firhill in a 20-15 score.  On the flipside, 4 time winners Toulouse won at Harelquins (10-21) and the aforementioned Castres beat the poor Northampton (41-22).

Mixed fortunes for the English clubs as well.  As well as those mentioned, Saracens won a tight game against the Ospreys at Wembley (31-26) leaving Pool 5 very open between all 4 clubs, and Gloucester won at Connacht (10-14) to stay within touching distance of Quins in Pool 6.

Dan Parks - Settling in nicely at the Blues

Edinburgh had the chance to stake a solid claim for the quarter finals by winning at Cardiff Blues, but their poor record against the Welshmen continued as they fell to a 25-8 loss.  Meanwhile, Munster won a tight contest against Rhys Priestland and the Scarlets (13-18), Ulster got a valuable bonus point victory at Ravenhill to Italian outfit Aironi (31-10) and the ill-disciplined Leicester lost at Clermont Auvergne (30-12) with Morgan Parra teaching Ben Youngs a few lessons in how to play rugby.

All-in-all, lots yet to play for at this halfway point of the group stage.

A Three Trick Pony

It was announced last week that Sonny Bill Williams, current All Black and one of the Waikato Chiefs latest signings for the new Super 15 season, announced that he will compete for the New Zealand national heavyweight boxing title in 2012. Having already represented his country in both rugby codes, SBW is now adding a third string to his multi-talented sporting bow.

Looking at the picture below, I suspect he'll succeed.

SBW - Beating the guy from the Tango adverts