Celtic Win SPL Title

by Dugald Skene

Celtic clinched the SPL title, their first 2008, with an emphatic 6-0 victory over a lacklustre Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

Braces for the outstanding Charlie Mulgrew and league top scorer Gary Hooper were added to goals from Glen Loovens and crowd favourite Joe Ledley in a a game that resembled little with the intense contest that saw Killie come out on top in the League Cup final.

There was no chance of Celtic making their fans sweat as Mulgrew's first and Loovens added a second before 20 minutes were up. Mulgrew's second and a lovely volleyed finish from Hooper from Mulgrew's cross made it 4-0 at half time. The party was well and truly underway by now as the Celtic faithful ran through the full repertoire of songs in the East Ayrshire sunshine.

Kilmarnock provided a little more opposition in the second half but Celtic only had to contain the game as they enjoyed the vast majority of possession. Two late goals from Ledley and Hooper either side of the 90 minute mark put a gloss on a game where the score mattered little.

Celtic can now celebrate before the league splits. They have been by far the most consistent team through the course of the season and after a sluggish start, have lost only 1 league game in 6 months.

Manager Neil Lennon has hailed today as the 'best day' of his career, and one that sees him propelled from legendary status at the club to nigh God like status having led the club to league titles as player, captain and now manager.

An emotional Neil Lennon after the final whistle

After the match, captain Scott Brown said 'the team owed Neil Lennon the title' having come so close the previous campaign only to lose out by a single point.

After the disappointment of the League Cup final defeat, Celtic can now look forward to their Scottish Cup semi-final next week against Hearts at Hampden and hopefully the final beyond that to secure a domestic double.

Nike Bring NFL Right Up To Date

by Dugald Skene

Nike unveiled it's new 'Elite 51' uniforms for the 32 NFL teams for the upcoming 2012 season yesterday in New York.  It signals the single biggest change to the style and technology of the strips as Nike begin their 5 year licensing deal with the league following the conclusion of Reebok's 10 year contract.

Nike have updated the designs for all 32 NFL teams

The single biggest change has been to the technology, particularly the material.  Nike claim the jersey's are 20%-30% lighter and have a special '4-way' stretch technology that sees the jersey's become a lot tighter and more contoured to the players.  Combined with new collar designs and mesh panels, this extra tightness contributes to an overall dramatic change in appearance and fit that I think sees the uniforms look a lot more up to date.

Victor Cruz, Super Bowl winner with the Giants earlier this year, was on hand in New York to model the Giants new look.  He said "the [uniforms] conform to your body. They're tight. You can't get pulled or snagged on. That's the biggest thing for me: making sure that I'm sleek and I'm fast and I can't be grabbed or held."

Nike have gone into a lot of detail, not just producing jerseys, pants and helmet designs, but also shoes and gloves.  Here's a selection of some of the various details and designs:

Oakland Raiders have a particularly menacing outfit

Cincinnati Bengals pants detail

New Orleans Saints gloves

Carolina Panthers shoes

As well as the design, Nike have also worked hard on the integration of technologies into the fabric, most notably the integral padding in the baselayers around all of the "hit zones".  As well as the '4-way' fabric, integrated Flywire technology has been installed into the neckline to reduce weight and provide lock down fit over pads, increasing sleeve articulation for better range of motion.

Todd Van Horne, Nike’s Design Director for Football, said "Our brief was to provide players with everything they need and nothing more. We blended cutting edge technology and fabrications with more than 40 years of knowledge, craft and insight into the game. We worked closely with the teams, listening to their needs and delivering the best options to serve those athletes".

Of all the teams, it's the Seattle Seahawks who have had their appearance most radically updated, with a darker blue jersey and an updated, more aggressive looking graphic on the helmet.  Mark Parker, CEO of Nike, said the Seahawks were "very open and actually eager" to push a head-to-toe uniform redesign. "We worked with the players, coach and trainers. Really the whole Seattle organisation."

The new Seahawks uniform

It's good news for fans too as Nike have said that they will be producing a lot more training apparel and making more fan based memorabilia available.  Unfortunately though, it looks like the replica jerseys will cost a little more.  The old Reebok replicas came in at around $85 and the new Nike tops will be closer to $100.

What do you think of the new uniforms and the revised Seahawks design?

Can City Now Catch United?

by Dugald Skene

Manchester United last night showed the sort of resolve that has seen them secure 12 league titles so far under Sir Alex Ferguson. 80^th and 85^th minute goals from the excellent Antonio Valencia and substitute Ashley Young against Blackburn Rovers meant the Reds now have a 5 point cushion over their nearest and fiercest rivals Manchester City.

It’s that resolve, and dare I say ‘unitedness’ that sets them apart from the young pretenders across the city.  Many of the United players have been here before, both Scholes and Giggs started last night and between them have seen it all.  Even Wayne Rooney can be considered a relative veteran in the push for titles.  But it was the composure of the younger and newer players to the Man Utd ethos that have impressed so much, the likes of Young, Jones and Smalling who have all had their injury problems but who have all been consistent and stand out performers when they have played.

United celebrate Valencia's opener against Rovers

With the ridiculous display of in-fighting by some Man City players against Sunderland on Saturday when they were 3-1 down, it was all too clear that the pressure of the title chase is affecting them.  Manager Roberto Mancini seemed resigned at times during the game, almost unwilling to support his players until they had pulled back the deficit to 3-3.

So is it purely down to experience?  Partly, I reckon.  Mancini is an experienced, Serie A winning coach and has managed a team of superstars in the past.  He is now in his 4^th season at City having joined in December 2009 and should be more than aware of the rigours and requirements to compete in English football.  It just seems to me that he hasn’t quite got a grip of his team for whatever reason, and looks at times on the touchline like a spectator rather than the man with the power to make changes.

There’s no chance of that happening at United, where Alex Ferguson has an almost unique ability to rule with an iron fist while having the skill to nurture young talent and let them prosper.  He commands the respect of the team and they give him that respect, knowing that there are consequences if they don’t respect at least the team, if not him.  He is clearly not afraid to play his young players, a trait he has had all of his managerial career, but makes sure he knows exactly when they step out of line.  A great example of that came last night, when only 1-0 up and with 10 minutes to play, Danny Welbeck showboated with a back-heeled lay off intended for Rooney but didn’t come off, handing possession back to Rovers.  Ferguson was immediately all over him (as was Rooney, showing how far his maturity has come along over the years under Ferguson) and Welbeck, fresh from the rollicking, cantered off with his tail firmly between his legs.

So can City catch United?  They can, sure, but I don’t think they will.  United are traditionally so strong at this time of year and as has happened so often over the years, when they get their noses in front in April, they rarely lose to the line.  To succeed, Mancini needs David Silva back in form.  The little Spaniard has been somewhat off it of late and is way too important to how City play to afford being out of form for much longer.  Sergio Aguero’s odd injury may keep him out of touch for a few weeks and in his place, Dzeko hasn’t scored in 8 games and Tevez doesn’t yet look anything like the player he was.

United, on the other hand, have got just about everybody back in time for the last few weeks of the season.  Goalkeeper David de Gea seems far more settled in his new role and has been consistent since Christmas, Ferdinand and Evans have firmed up their partnership in the absence of Nemanja Vidic and the midfield is ticking over nicely.  With Valencia, Young, Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck all contributing to the goal scoring, United have grabbed 31 points from an available 33 since losing to Newcastle in January. I can’t see United giving it up now with 7 games to go.

Don't forget though, one of those 7 games is the Manchester derby at the Etihad.  If City win that with two games to go, anything could happen.

Celtic Looking To Secure Title On Saturday

by Dugald Skene

After a cup final loss and their first league loss since early October in their last two matches, Celtic returned home to play St Johnstone at Celtic Park to get their inevitable title bid back on track.

In their first home game since 25^th February, the best home record in the league went up against the best away record and it was Celtic who came out on top after a fairly stuffy affair with goals from Georgios Samaras and an own goal from Chris Millar in the 66^th and 70^th minutes respectively.

The game itself wasn’t much to write home about, although Celtic will come away more relieved they got the win than anything else.  It steadies the ship and sets up a chance next week to clinch the title against the Kilmarnock (who beat Celtic in the League Cup final) at Rugby Park, the same place that saw Celtic turn around their season on October 15^th 2011.

3-0 down at half time that day, Celtic pulled it back to draw the game 3-3, providing the impetus to go on a 20 game domestic winning streak over the Christmas period and into the New Year, overhauling a one-time 15 point deficit to then league leaders Rangers.

Charlie Mulgrew's 80th minute equaliser turned

Celtic's season around

Celtic won’t want this weekend’s game to be that tense, but a draw would see them clinch the title before the league splits for the run in.  It would be Celtic’s first championship since 2008.

Celtic have come into criticism from some quarters over their ability to execute when they need to following the league cup final defeat to Kilmarnock and missing the chance to clinch the title at Ibrox just over a week ago.  In the lead up to the game against St Johnstone, much improved defender Thomas Rogne was defiant about his team’s mentality, stating “We played big games before, we won them, so I don’t think it’s a mental thing.  Going into big games is not a problem for us.  It is something we look forward to”.

St Johnstone was a big game, and Celtic came through it without sparkling, but as various commentators said at the time, that’s the sign of champions.  The clash with Kilmarnock this weekend is no different and Celtic will look to clinch the league title.  Asked if there were any thoughts of revenge following the cup final defeat, striker Georgios Samaras was quick to emphasise the that all attention was on winning the game and the title.  “We are not looking at the past, we are looking at the future”, he said.  “It was a final, they won it, it’s finished.  We don’t go there with our minds on revenge”.

Manager Neil Lennon may well use the cup final result as a source of motivation rather than revenge, but he will no doubt make it clear to his players that the most important thing is to get the result on Saturday.  It would be a climax to a very good league season for Celtic having run their city rivals so close last season after a dreadful spell under Tony Mowbray.  Lennon has turned the team around and he and his team thoroughly deserve their title when it comes.  Celtic will be looking to make sure of it on Saturday.

Rugby Dogged By Disciplinary Issues

by Dugald Skene

It's March, and so attention in UK rugby has turned from the 6 Nations to the run-in with the Aviva Premiership, RaboDirect PRO12 league and all other national leagues reaching their climax.  Or at least, it should be.

The last few weeks have seen a spate of on and off field incidents that have brought the game into disrepute and kept the clubs involved and the disciplinary committees extremely busy.

Firstly, the off-field incidents.  The news from this weekend that Gavin Henson had been suspended and subsequently sacked by the Cardiff Blues for an incident that happened on a flight from Glasgow (following the Blues defeat on Friday night) is just the latest addition to a growing list of rugby players getting themselves into trouble.  Admittedly, that list is well populated by one man, Danny Care, but it does seem that there are an increased number of these things happening.

We all know that Henson is a somewhat mysterious figure with the ability to be fantastic on the pitch, but susceptible to injury and very reactive to public criticism.  Can these incidents be put down to a character trait? Maybe. Thinking of the likes of Care, Delon Armitage, Danny Cipriani and Henson, they all have this mercurial quality and an ability to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

All of these (mostly drink fuelled) off-the-field incidents are one thing and as regretful as I'm sure the players are, they should be an are being dealt with by their clubs.  The really important and damning incidents of late are the ones that have taken place on the pitch. 

In the last week, Northampton Saints players Dylan Hartley and Calum Clark have both been cited and suspended for separate incidents for club and country.  Hartley has been banned until May 14 for biting the hand of Stephen Ferris in the final game of the 6 Nations at Twickenham.  With a history of violent conduct on the field (when he was suspended for 6 months for eye gouging two players in 2007) which was apparently ignored by the disciplinary committee in the assessment of this latest case, Hartley can count himself lucky for a relatively short ban.

Calum Clark's 32 week ban comes after he was found guilty (he also pleaded guilty) for hyper-extending Leicester prop Rob Hawkins' arm, breaking his elbow.  A nasty injury, sure, but the circumstances make it all the more galling.  Clear from the video replays of the incident, Clark clearly and in my opinion intentionally grabbed Hawkins' arm, levered it in such a way that it could only have been to inflict injury, all after the whistle had gone.  The calculated nature of the incident is the most upsetting thing about it, and to me, it's premeditated way it was done that makes 32 weeks just not long enough.

Calum Clark has received a 32 week ban

Following the verdict, it was revealed that the starting point for the disciplinary committee was 64 weeks, but this was halved following a very apologetic testimony from Clark himself, where he claimed there was no intent to harm Hawkins.  Somehow, "unintentional" was the verdict and the ban became 32 weeks.

An "I'm sorry, sir" just isn't good enough.  This is professional sport where players are accountable for their actions and in a game as physical as rugby, should be the ones first and foremost ensuring safety on the pitch.  32 weeks is a joke, particularly when you consider at the very least 13 weeks of that is in the off-season when no rugby is being played.

There has been a lot of reaction on Twitter as well as other sites and blogs about the incident and the resultant ban, with a general consensus that the punishment is way too light.  When you consider a 3 year ban for recreational drug taking (Matt Stevens), it seems completely disproportionate.  Why is inflicting injury not taken as seriously as drugs in the sport?

At the very least, and this is a personal opinion of course, Clark should have been given the full 64 week ban, regardless of his remorse during the testimony.  Rarely will a case be so blatant and an opportunity to make an example be so available.

With the hearings over and the bans dished out, we can hopefully now concentrate on the next few weeks of rugby with the Heineken Cup quarter-finals this weekend and league action reaching boiling point.  Rugby needs it.