wrote that “Srinath’s vocabulary didn’t include the Fs and Bs when he beat the batsmen or was struck for a boundary. That is the copyright of the modern day fast bowler … yes, he didn’t have the guile of a Richard Hadlee, the persistence of a Glenn McGrath or the incisiveness of an Allan Donald. But underneath the India crest on his shirt, Babu’s [Srinath’s nickname] heart often helped him achieve performances that scripted famous Indian wins. Can a cricket-mad nation ask for more?”Srinath’s former bowling partner and good friend, Venkatesh Prasad, wrote in The Indian Express that “Srinath took his big leap, making the Indian team in 1991, but he would always come back to Bangalore and talk to me and the other youngsters about his experiences. The most painful period was the time when he had to return from the West Indies in 1997 with a shoulder injury. He left such a huge void. I felt I’d lost my left arm. More than just a fellow bowler, he was like an elder brother who repeatedly fought with the team management and argued for my inclusion. Off the field he’s got a great sense of humour. Very dry, so you won’t understand it at first.”The Asian Age carried the views of Rajan Bala, the veteran journalist, who wrote, “It is with deep regret, as a lover of the game and an admirer of the man and the bowler, that one has to accept the retirement of Javagal Srinath. As one who has been privileged to watch and comment upon his best bowling displays at home, in England in 1996 and in South Africa in 1996-97, I can say that he made me feel proud to be an Indian.”The Hindu called Srinath “one of those few pacemen who relished bowling at southpaws, seaming the ball across the blade.” The newspaper also carried the reactions of Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Ponting. Ganguly said that Srinath had been a wonderful team-man and bowler while Ponting called him one of India’s finest pacemen.Rediff.com carried the reactions of the members of the Indian team. Sachin Tendulkar said, “he always gave his best for India, no matter what the match situation. He was a great man in the dressing room. His humour was great and he always made his team-mates feel alive, even after a tough day.” Anil Kumble said, “I will always remember the sight of Javagal Srinath running up fast from his bowling mark and scaring batsmen. He changed Indian cricket in his own way.”
On a day which defied the weather pundits, spectators at Molyneux Park in Alexandra were lucky to be uninterrupted and see the Northern Districts deservedly beat Otago by 74 runs.Winning the toss and putting ND into bat seemed to be quite a valuable first achievement for the Volts as they managed to restrict them to 229/8.No Northern batsman dominated or even reached 50 although the Marshall twins, James and Hamish, played valuable hands to score 49 and 46 respectively. Jaden Hatwell (25), Robbie Hart (24) and Grant Bradburn (22), together with an appalling 26 wides from the Otago attack, took the score to a competitive mark.James McMillan took two for 35, Kerry Walmsley one for 47, Craig Pryor one for 46 and Nathan McCullum one for 37. They all never stopped trying but probably, with the exception of McMillan and McCullum, would have been disappointed that they could not have been slightly cheaper.Setting out to chase the target of 229, Otago seemed to have a good chance despite being without two batsmen who were capable of pushing the ball around and creating a substantial score.Craig Cumming did well to top score with 43. The next highest total belonged to Lee Germon with 34, but at the stage of his innings the game had slipped somewhat. Robbie Lawson, 23, could well have been a saviour if he had stayed in but it was not to be and only Pryor with 21 offered any other resistance.The ND bowling was superior as the figures suggest (they only bowled five wides as opposed to the Volts’ 26) and looked much more menacing.Graeme Aldridge with three for 25, Joseph Yovich two for 34, Grant Bradburn two for 28 and Simon Doull two for 32 all bowled well and were never really mastered.All in all ND were too good for Otago on a day when the weather gods smiled on Alexandra and most of the rest of the country sheltered under umbrellas.
Cumberland, last season’s ECB 38-County Cup losing finalists, opened theirGroup Eight programme with a comfortable eight-wicket eclipse of theLancashire Cricket Board at Keswick.Lancashire Cricket Board were bowled out for 151 in 48.1 overs – David Pennett claiming three for 44 – and Cumberland then knocked off the runs in just 33, opener Steve Knox finishing on 75 not out. He faced 100 balls, hitting three sixes and eight fours.Keswick: Lancs 151 Cumberland 157-2 (ST Knox 75 not) Cumberland won by 8wickets
Liverpool attacker Takumi Minamino could join up with his former Salzburg manager Jesse Marsch at Leeds United this summer, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.
The Lowdown: Handy squad player
The 27-year-old hasn’t managed to establish himself as a core player at Anfield since joining the Reds from RB Salzburg two years ago, but that’s not to say he hasn’t had an impact for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Minamino has been an influential performer in the domestic cup competitions this season, scoring four times in as many starts in the Carabao Cup.
It could be that the Japan international looks for a fresh challenge at the end of the season, though, should his first-team chances continue to be limited on Merseyside.
The Latest: Leeds move mooted for Minamino
Having been linked with a move to Leeds in January, O’Rourke has told GiveMeSport that a reunion with Marsch could come to fruition for Minamino this summer.
The journalist claimed: “Yeah, I still think it’s a position that Leeds need to strengthen. They’ve been so badly hit by Patrick Bamford’s absences this season through injury; they haven’t got much up there. Jesse Marsch knows all about him from his time at RB Salzburg.”
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The Verdict: Keep hold of him
While Minamino is unlikely to ever be one of the first attacking names on the team sheet at Liverpool, he is showing this season why he deserves to stay put.
He has brought end product from the substitutes’ bench and been crucial in the Reds already winning one trophy, scoring four times in the triumphant Carabao Cup journey, not to mention being called an ‘outstanding talent’ by Jurgen Klopp.
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Minamino combines hard work, technical ability and an apparent satisfaction to play a squad role – something he might not find elsewhere if he is sold – so retaining his services makes complete sense for Liverpool.
That being said, should a reunion with Marsch at Leeds appeal to the 27-year-old, it would be hard to begrudge him more regular playing time, with the Japanese forward yet to start a Premier League match this season.
In other news, Fabrizio Romano has dropped a key Liverpool transfer update. Read more here.
While Arsenal have had some wonderful players that have donned the Red and White of shirt over the years, there have equally been just as many who were anything but fit to wear it. For every Thierry Henry there is a Francis Jeffers; for every Tony Adams there was a Gus Caesar and for every Patrick Viera there was a Junichi Inamoto.
This article is a tribute to the worst Arsenal XI of all time and while I am sure there are many players that we all agree on, I am certain there are other players that many of you will believe should have been included on the list. Scan the gallery and my reasons for each player’s inclusion in the team; however please feel free to add any glaring omissions that I may have made in the comments below….
Click on the Famous Marble Halls to see Arsenal’s Worst XI of all time
PSG’s Ligue 1 title hopes took a hit after being forced to come from behind to secure a 2-2 draw against Brest on Sunday.Antoine Kombouare’s PSG outfit had to wait until the 86th minute to steal a point at Brest, thanks to a goal from striker Guillaume Hoarau.
The visitors had gone ahead through a 21st-minute strike from midfielder Mathieu Bodmer, but they headed into the interval a goal down.
Brest pair Larsen Toure and Bruno Grougi found the net, the latter in first half stoppage time, to give their side the lead.
But Hoarau’s goal put PSG within six points of Lille, while Brest move to 11th on the back of their three-game unbeaten run.
A goal from substitute George Welcome helped Monaco out of the relegation zone with a shock 1-0 win over fifth-placed Stade Rennes.
The on-loan Honduran attacker scored the 73rd-minute winner as Stade Rennes slumped to a third-straight loss.
Bordeaux shot into sixth spot on the back of a 2-0 win over Saint-Etienne.
Goals from Czech midfielder Jaroslav Plasil and substitute Cheick Diabate helped them above their defeated opponents.
Nancy missed a great chance to gain some breathing space in their relegation battle after only managing a 0-0 draw against a 10-man Arles.
Competing against the relegation-bound side, Nancy failed to beat Arles goalkeeper Cyrille Merville, even after defender Dianbobo Balde was sent off in the 10th minute.
Nancy are two points clear of the relegation zone, while Arles will be playing Ligue 2 football next season.
In other games, Valenciennes and Sochaux played out a 1-1 draw in their mid-table clash.
Auxerre and Lens also finished 1-1 in a result that does neither side any favours in their relegation battles.
Toulouse are winless in four outings after their 1-1 draw with Caen, which keeps them both locked in trying to avoid the drop.
Sir Alex Ferguson refused to discuss Wayne Rooney’s personal problems ahead of Manchester United’s trip to Everton on Saturday lunchtime.
Rooney has found himself on both the front and back pages of the newspapers in recent days after allegations surrounding his private life emerged during the international break.
The striker shrugged off the media attention to play a key role in England’s Euro 2012 victories over Bulgaria and Switzerland before returning to Manchester.
Friday morning’s newspapers suggested that Ferguson could take Rooney out of the firing line when United visit former club Everton on Saturday.
However, the veteran Scot refused to discuss the situation during his weekly press briefing.
“Let’s put it to bed straightaway,” he replied when asked about Rooney’s participation at Goodison Park.
“I am not discussing any of my players’ personal lives.”
Meanwhile, Ferguson did confirm that Rio Ferdinand is back in contention after completing his recovery from the knee ligament injury which forced the England captain to miss the World Cup finals.
“Rio could have played in the reserves last night,” he said.
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“He wanted to play but his training performances have been so good, he’s in the squad now.
“We’ve got three games in eight days – Everton, Rangers on Tuesday and Liverpool next Sunday – and he’s back in the fold.”
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Liverpool striker Luis Suarez is set to get a judgement from the FA this week in regards to the allegations of racism levelled at him by Patrice Evra.
The Uruguay international was sighted having heated words with the Manchester United defender in the 1-1 draw between the sides back in October, in which the French full back accused Suarez of insulting him due to his ethnicity.
The FA have confirmed that the disciplinary hearing in relation to the claims has started, and will most likely be concluded by the end of the week.
Both Suarez and Evra will be summoned to give evidence in the hearing, as the sport’s governing body looks to assess all possible information before making a decision.
The South American categorically denies making racist remarks, and has been defended by his club over the incident.
Kenny Dalglish has criticised the FA for their handling of the allegations, especially given the amount of time that has elapsed since the game actually happened.
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Suarez is also set to be investigated over claims that he made a derogatory gesture to Fulham fans after The Reds’ 1-0 defeat at Craven Cottage earlier in the month.
Arsenal become the latest side to fall under foreign ownership as Stan Kroenke increased his stake holding at the football club. Whether it proves a good thing remains to be seen, but Arsenal fans will be hoping the American makes a better fist than his fellow countryman have in their ownership of Premier League clubs.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Dalglish defending the signings of Carroll and Suarez; Hart defends Manchester City’s spirit, while Spurs set to make an audacious bid for Cavani.
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Kroenke expected to assume
full control of Arsenal – Guardian
Berbatov on bench due to unreliability – Daily Telegraph
Sparky: They’re coming to get ya – Sun
Critics only ‘jealous’ of City’s money, says Dalglish – Mirror
Benayoun: We’re playing to save season – Guardian
Albion revival restores pride for Hodgson – Daily Telegraph
I don’t care if I never play again – Sun
Judge them next season! Dalglish shrugs off Carroll and Suarez concerns – Daily Mail
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Hart defends City’s spirit and Balotelli – Guardian
Spurs set to launch audacious £30m bid for Napoli strike sensation Cavani – Daily Mail
As football fans, we see what we want to see. We defend our own, and attack others. Our club is the best, and that’s that. We can attack our own of course, that’s our prerogative, but outside criticism is seen as bias and prejudice.
Ben Goldacre, a well-known campaigner against lies told about science in the media, once commented in a column on the following experiment:
“What do people do when confronted with scientific evidence that challenges their pre-existing view? Often they will try to ignore it, intimidate it, buy it off, sue it for libel or reason it away.
The classic paper on the last of those strategies is from Lord, Ross and Lepper in 1979: they took two groups of people, one in favour of the death penalty, the other against it, and then presented each with a piece of scientific evidence that supported their pre-existing view, and a piece that challenged it; murder rates went up or down, for example, after the abolition of capital punishment in a state.
The results were as you might imagine. Each group found extensive methodological holes in the evidence they disagreed with, but ignored the very same holes in the evidence that reinforced their views.”
I mention the above as a somewhat clumsy analogy about football fans. As you’re probably aware, we’re blinkered hypocrites, the lot of us. Or maybe you weren’t.
But you probably were.
And so this is how it works. Craig Bellamy plays for your team and thus he is brilliant, such dedication, passionate, all that charity work in Sierra Leone (amazing work, for sure), puts 110% in, sued so many papers for lies told against him (14 actions in one year in fact), says it as it is and so on. Then he leaves, signs for Spurs, and slags off City, and he’s a prize a***hole, falls out with every club he goes to, gobs**te, always knew he was trouble, his knee’s gone, horrible tattoos.
I’m just about to enter the second camp.
Robinho? All these stories about him wanting to leave are rubbish, of course he’s not lazy, he scored 15 goals, a good return, took time for him to settle, niggling injuries, flying round world with Brazil took it out of him etc. Why do the media have to stir up trouble all the time? On news that he refuses to return to Manchester? What a ****. Lazy, pompous, arrogant, piece of ****. £200,000 a week and he couldn’t be arsed training most days, he’s treated us all like fools, good riddance, falls out with every club he goes to, only puts in effort for Brazil, etc etc. £300,000 a week and it’s too cold for him, boo hoo, get the violins out, my heart bleeds.
And so the re-writing of history continued when Milner looked poised to sign for City. Suddenly on website letter pages, Villa fans comment on how he was average, a one-season wonder, overrated etc. Young is the real talent at Villa Park. Last season he was the messiah, now he’s just a very naughty boy. And as for O’ Neill? Rubbish. Long ball merchant, boring to watch, terrible in the transfer market, wouldn’t make changes, set in his ways.
(Of course City have paid too much for Milner, but leaving that aside, he’s a very good player, with commitment, dedication, and a desire to succeed. Villa will miss him, whatever their fans say, but the money provides an opportunity to replace him and perhaps acquire another couple of bargains as well. Everyone wins, I guess.)
As I write, City are linked with Balotelli (in fact, he’s just signed!), but United were rumoured to be after him too. So what do I think of him? Well, put it like this. If he had signed for United, he’s a young hothead with an attitude problem, an immature child who is seriously overpriced. Now he has signed for us, he is misunderstood, had to put up with racial abuse, got huge potential and Mancini will get the best out of him.
I hope that makes my feelings clear.
And then there are the contentious match issues. Battle lines are drawn up, and the same event, viewable form multiple camera angles and at 4 different speeds, brings out totally different opinions on who was to blame and what should be done. Would we have it any other way?
Take Ben Thatcher’s elbow on Mendes a good few years ago. If Mendes had got up, I argued to anyone who would listen (and a few who wouldn’t), there would have been no media furore. I studied the replays trying to find some evidence, any evidence that maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked. It was. I saw De Jong’s karate kick on Alonso in the World Cup final and argued, “well surely he would not deliberately try and maim someone?! Nah, it was just clumsy and mistimed…”
I still think this, even though I imagine it makes me look like a fool. Now if a United player had made that tackle…..
But for me, the best example of the blinker-wearing approach of football fans is a contentious penalty decision. Here we have the perfect example of a football fan seeing what they want to see. I once saw Sun Jihai win a penalty against Everton with an appalling dive that took in a triple salko, pirouette, a wave to the crowd, a pretend knee injury and he still had time to look appealingly at the referee. We could all see it was a dive. But in my mind, I tried to reason he was expecting a bad tackle so was merely jumping out the way and besides, thirteen years previously Everton had got a really dodgy decision against us, so it all evened up really.
Did Stephen Hunt mean to hurt Cech? Did Taylor mean to cripple Eduardo? Was that elbow deliberate, or just used for leverage? Did he go down easily there, or was he clipped? All the answers depend on which team you support. You scour the replays, and you home in on the clip that best fits the opinion you want to have.
So according to your particular allegiance, two possible interpretations emerge from a crunching, injury-causing tackle/foul:
Continued on Page TWO
Scenario a: defend tackle, slam the outrage being shown over incident, use other examples to show how similar incidents didn’t get such coverage. Write angry letter to football365.com. Sulk for 2 days.
Scenario b: slam tackle, perhaps suggest the player has got form for this, slam the lack of outrage in the media over this horrendous foul, use examples of your team getting slated for much lesser incidents. Write angry letter to football365.com. Sulk for 2 days.
Of course, this hypocrisy is essentially pointless – the need to defend our corner comes from the tribal nature of football, but why would I need to defend Ben Thatcher? I am not responsible for anything players do – it is out of my hands, as, like 99% of football fans, I am powerless to change their behaviour, or more importantly, my club’s fortunes. A passionate crowd can help a home team, a dedicated supporters group can change the course of a club, but on the whole we make no difference. We follow blindly through whatever crops up.
And so I shouldn’t really feel the need to defend City’s spending policy, but in the last blog I did just that. At the end of the day, I didn’t have any say in the takeover, and I don’t have any say in how they act. And let’s face it, there’s not a group of supporters in the world who would start protesting because their owners were spending TOO MUCH money. Maybe an Amish club, but I imagine their Fit & Proper Persons Test is pretty damn strict.
You will often hear people say things like “club X have always played attractive football” or “their supporters demand attacking football” and the like, but I have my doubts at how many managers have changed their own tactics because of some supposed historical demand from the fans. Maybe it has influenced the odd managerial appointment though. So as a mass, supporters can influence, but individually few do, and thus few are accountable for what their clubs do.
This leads me onto another point. We all have at least a hint of bias as fans, but that raises the question of whether journalists are too. Presumably all football journalists support a particular team. I’ve rarely met a fan of football who had no club allegiance, and those few I have met I have subconsciously treated with suspicion (like people who don’t own a television). What is football without glory, without rivalry, without defending your corner and attacking someone else’s, the highs and the oh-so-many lows?
Personally if I was a journalist writing about the Premier League, I would find it difficult to write impartially on City, and by association, United also. So I did a little experiment, using webchats, twitter, emails and the like. I asked every football journalist I could find the following question:
“Do you think it is possible for sports journalists to write fairly and impartially on football when they support a particular (high profile) team? My experiences suggest not…..”
These were the replies, in full. I won’t name names, but they all write for national papers, with one exception.
Continued on Page THREE
“Good question Howard. As football fans we all have certain teams in our heart. I don’t think my lifelong allegiance affects my objectivity when reporting on that team or any rival teams. You may beg to differ….
“I’m not sure whether Crystal Palace counts as a high-profile team, but one of the most important tools for a modern newspaper reporter is the ability to write with conviction.
“I don’t expect anyone to agree with my opinions, but my aim is to write with integrity, as well as providing a well-reasoned and balanced argument based on my knowledge of a subject.
“When I have covered Palace in the past, a number of managers criticised me for being too critical of the club and I wouldn’t disagree.
Being professional is one thing, trying to disassociate myself from the team I have followed throughout my life is entirely different. I’m professional in the day job.”
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“Quite why so many fans are obsessed with what teams journos support is beyond me!”
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“It does not matter which team individual writers support. This is like saying you must be pro-police to cover crime. What matters is content and getting the balance right between city and united coverage.”
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“Depends Howard. If I’m writing a news piece or a match report, then it has to be objective. If it’s a piece that clearly marks me as a Liverpool fan, then it does what it says on the tin. Some hide their allegiance, I don’t. Anyway, I’ve been accused of all kinds – being an Everton fan or Man United. Most of my reporters are passionate fans of clubs. Hang on, all of them. We argue and abuse each other but are professional enough that you’d never know from their writing.
“I support Cambridge United so impartiality has never been a problem. Sometimes supporters can be the harshest judges so I don’t think that’s a specific problem. A bigger issue is probably trying to think and write independently when you are dealing with contacts, individuals you like.
“Although every football reporter goes into journalism with some kind of allegiance, very few stick with it as they progress. From my point of view, the old rivalries disappear when you get to know people and players from other clubs. Similarly, you can find people who work for the club you ‘supported’ difficult to deal with, so that also helps get rid of loyalties.
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“A few guys certainly get too wrapped up in England team results, but the vast majority of reporters I know do not allow any allegiances to colour their judgement. At the top end of the profession, you can’t get away with club bias. I know many fans think we are all Utd / City / Arsenal / Chelsea fans. I’ve been accused of being all four, so that sums it up!”
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“I am a journalist who happens to cover football. So the ethics of informing people of the truth, being accurate, objective, fair, impartial and proving debate, must hold true. Supporting a team doesn’t give a journalist a right to express opinions, unsupported by facts or a sound basis. It therefore helps if a sports reporter has been first trained as a news reporter. There is no need for a journalist to make their allegiance to a team known to the public. It serves no benefit to them, the reader or the club. It can only invite criticism from fans. The loss of impartiality affects the credibility of the journalist and that of the media outlet.”
“It is an interesting question, and I am not sure that it is possible for any journalist to write completely impartially about a match in a division in which their team competes. Obviously you try to comment as fairly as possible, but journalists, much like every other football fan, will have their prejudices and they will inevitably colour their writing. It just depends on the writer as to how much they can mask the level of their impartiality. Some clearly find it tougher than others!”
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“Yes of course it’s possible. It’s part of the journalistic DNA. But not a problem I face because I support Dundee!”
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So there you have it. Most journalists asked think that professionalism in their job overrides any personal allegiances they may have. I can’t say I am convinced. The journalists that replied have pretty good reputations in my opinion, and I believe them. I’m not convinced by journalists as a whole though because, like you all I would wager, I think a particular newspaper has it in for my team (it’s the Mirror by the way), and even more so, I think individual journalists do too. Above all, I have seen certain journalists, usually from the redtops, spend the last few weeks intent on carrying out a hatchet job on our national football manager with reporting that bore no resemblance to the standards of objectivity and impartiality mentioned in the email replies above. Much of the coverage has been nothing short of a disgrace, and an abomination. And the one journalist that replied saying bias does come into it works for a redtop. Make of that what you will.
As I have mentioned, for years now I have seen some of them repeatedly pen articles slagging off my club at every opportunity possible, which if we had been on a blazing trail of tyranny would be fair enough – but let’s face it, we haven’t done enough to be considered the spawn of Satan just yet.