The C.D That Nearly Won The Cup

An old school friend of mine frustrated he could not find a job in the world of Football . Decided to look across the the pond for suitable qualifications to clime the football ladder . He opted for a Sports Physiology / Physio diploma in the States . He was well up on the physical aspects of the game but this diploma had a motivational twist on it .

He got the diploma and headed home. His actions looked like it had paid off as he landed a job in the physio team with Dave Jones at Cardiff . The year was 2008 and Cardiff where on an amazing cup run. They where preparing for a tricky away quarter final game at Middlesbrough .

He had brought back from the States a motivational C.D . That summed the motivational side of the diploma . On the team coach 30 minuets away from the Riverside he asked if it was ok to put the C.D ,he got the ok . The players were quite deep in their own thoughts on the game as he put the C.D in the machine . One by one it got the attention of the players as they watched in silence . The coach arrived at the Riverside . Cardiff played out of their skin, winning the game nil 2 . Booking themselves a semi final place at Wembley against Barnsley.

Fast forward to the 2008 04 08 again 30 minutes away from the ground this time Wembley . My mate was given the nod to put the C.D in the machine . Again the players in reflection watched the C.D in silence . They arrived put in a professional performance winning the game 0.1 . Booking a winnable game against Portsmouth in the F.A cup final .

So all the pre match hype began surrounding an F.A cup final . A lot of the hype was round whether Dave Jones was going to use Robbie Fowler in the super sub role. Win the cup for Cardiff in the twilight of his career . But Robbie was carrying a niggling injury . It was touch and go whether he would make the bench . Robbie was receiving treatment right up to the game he never travelled with the team in fact he caught the train to London with my mate . So you guessed it my mate never had the opportunity to play the magic C. D . The result was a 1.0 defeat . With Cardiff giving Portsmouth some early worry s but Portsmouth soon took control ending deserved winners . So my mates C. D never had a chance of effecting the game . But to my knowledge its one of the only a few state side pluses that maybe might   have effected are game . With exception of maybe Clint Dempsey and a few others . American owners of are Clubs, the jury’s is still out on that one . YNWA 

Football Supporters! What Sports Come Next ?

Its 6 weeks to the start of the season . If you don’t take the the Olympics in to consideration . But I will personally take them into consideration . Football is football is football , I am looking forward to them . But with a capital B if Team G.B were not involved and the Olympics were not in the U.K , The football would obviously not get the coverage that it is going to , So the die hard football supporters would have to turn their attentions to other sports . Do football supporters tend to lean to other sports in particular ?.

Well I can only speak for myself , family and close mates . As far as the summer Olympics are concerned the sports that create the most interest are .

Joe Calzaghe

(BOXING).......Football and boxing go hand in hand . When ever a Boxer wins a major title, he always ends up on the pitch at half time with his belt at his local Football club .

(HOCKEY).......The pitch is similar to football there are corners. It has the same sort of flow its physical . But the big plus with Hockey is that there are GOALS!! . I wonder were the governing body of Hockey stand on goal line technology ?. Also the women’s hockey is pleasing on the eye.

Click link for hockey rules
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/hockey/4188684.stm

From then on it gets difficult Beach Volleyball for more ways than one . Bit of Archery , weight -lifting may be . I don’t get the swimming athletics cycling thing, Gymnastics, boat racing, rowing. all a bit strange for me . I reckon it is what catches your eye as your waiting to go out .

But as I said earlier not a problem at this Olympics . There could be another 31 live football matches on the way . With a bit of boxing and hockey on the side . A couple of weeks of transfer specs and the whistle blows NEW SEASON . Next year will be hard work unless the winter Olympics is in the Southern Hemisphere . Then a bit of Ice Hockey goes down well .  Followed by a world cup year !HAPPY DAYS!  YNWA..... 

Euro 2012 week 6 review (FINAL)

RIGHTFULLY SO 

SPAIN 4 ITALY O

Spain European Champions

Golden Boot Winner Torres 3 goals 1 assist won it over Gomez on minutes played

Spain proved to be very adaptable and saved their best performance until the final . Along the way to the final they played without strikers . Getting a label from some as boring very unjustified . In fact it was the perfect tournament strategy, with every one around them guessing which way they would play . But strikers or not they simply passed teams to death . Bit by bit grinding teams down showing no complacency in becoming back to back winners of the tournament . To jump into the history books as the only team to win 3 major trophy’s in succession .

Italy just could not cope with Spain’s passing game . After early in tournament getting a credible draw against Spain . The brilliant Pirlo was passed out of the game . As for Balotelli would it be Super Mario, or Stupid Mario . It turned out to be invisible Mario he never got a sniff . Italy 2 nil down at half time quickly used all their subs to try and claw it back . Then went to ten men due to injury . 


It was a stroll for Spain at this point . So on came the Striker in the form of Torres . He quickly netted followed by an assist to hand him the golden boot . The final whistle could not come quick enough for Italy . Spain celebrated by bringing their kids on the pitch (nice touch) . Balotelli stormed off only to come back for his losers medal he will learn (maybe)

FINAL GOLDEN BOOT TABLE 

• Fernando Torres (Spain) - Three goals, one assist in 189 minutes
• Mario Gomez (Germany) - Three goals, one assist in 281 minutes
• Alan Dzagoev (Russia) - Three goals in 254 minutes
• Mario Mandzukic (Croatia) - Three goals in 269 minutes
• Mario Balotelli (Italy) - Three goals in 422 minutes
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - Three goals in 480 minutes

After all the warnings of having a Eastern European Tournament it did not come to pass it was a very enjoyable event with by far the best team winning . Spain have defiantly set a very high bench mark to the rest of the football world . Setting it up very nicely for Brazil 2014 the count down has started I can not wait .

Overall tournament entertainment value 9/10 YNWA 

EURO 2012 WEEK 5 REVIEW

SUPER MARIO

The two finalist are set in stone with Spain going for a history making 3 majors in a row . The semis, one went the full distance with a penalty shoot out to decide it in Spain’s favour . Are Spain boring or are they just very adaptable , I tend to think the latter . Playing on a defence midfield basis . Only a team like Spain could get away that . It is a ploy England could only dream about . Just when you think Spain are getting predictable . They switch tactics, sign of a great team that deserves to make football history . Portugal put to much effaces on Ronaldo his chance came and he missed it . After what looked like he was planning the penalty shoot out , to suit his own ego. He was not needed so he bowed out not in the lime light. Something the likes of Ronaldo must have nightmares about . Brazil 2014 will be his last chance to really shine at international level .

The Germans came up against the Italians . Who won the game in first half with a bullet header and a thunder strike from good Mario . 1.nil at half time would have been enough for previous Italian sides . But 2.nil was by far to much for a what looked like a German that was going places . So as from the beginning Pirlo is still running the show . As I wrote in week 4 review, the only person who has come close to putting pressure on Pirlo . Was Carroll for a 10 minute period after he came on. He is such a intelligent player who play to his own strength and age . Will the Spanish stop them ? . Will you see good Mario? . Or bad Mario? . Will the Spanish play with a striker ? Its 50 50 its that close GREAT..........

Spain? OR Italy ?

Entertainment value match week 5   8/10 

EURO 2012 WEEK 4 REVIEW

cool as you like Pirlo 

Well we have had loads of penalty's now and also the first nil nil draw. As expected England were involved . But watching the game last night I could not help thinking . Am I watching Channel 4 on Sunday afternoon back in the day . Is this a Top of v Serie A v mid table match . Lets say Juventus v Udinese . England being Udinese of course . So 28 million people watched a Serie A game . England played for pens the same as Udinese would play for the one point . The only time Pirlo was put under pressure was from Carroll when he came on . Pirlo was playing with his brain to great effect . A great inspiration to players slightly younger in the same role .

Pirlos amazing penalty kick http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROWlsw_om1E

Spain Cruised through with no attackers . How do you play against that? do you stick? or twist? . The team that gets that right will win the Cup . If no team do that then it will be Spain for a record breaking 3 majors in a row .

Entertainment value more tactical now I like that 9/10

Spring /Autumn Watch live from the site ?

Festival ?

No Festival ?

Working at Glastonbury over the years I have always noticed how big and healthy the wild life looks . Your average Bullfinch on the festival site looks more like a small Parrot than a wild British bird . Blackbirds and Thrushes the size of crows Is this because of the extra food at festival time of is it something in the water . I have seen foxes who look the big and healthy, have they learned to live off the festival . 

At the beginning of the festival a flock of 500, I think they are Herring Gulls arrive at the site to suss it out . Not the city scavengers you see but proper sea birds . They are always the first back after the festival . They work in a team and are brilliant to watch they always get the better of the scrounging gulls who by now have now arrived in thousands . 

Michaela Strachan

Chris Packham 

With the Festival having a Fallow year . It would have been great to see the BBC investigate this . Spring Watch live from the site in the year off . All the infrastructure for live broadcast would been there . Also a chance to see how beautiful the site is with out anyone there . The viewing figures will go through the roof . Loads of little anecdotes from Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan . But it would be a very interesting wild life experiment . If the BBC get there act together it could be on for Autumn Watch . Then the following Autumn after the festival to see what the effect on the wild life has been . I am sure the BBC has thought of this with their wild life department just 30 miles up the road in Bristol . But if not there you go get on with it . After all the site is surrounded by stunning county side ie Mendip s Quantocks Somerset Levels and Exmoor not far . So what are you waiting for ? . A job on the series is all I ask 

EURO 2012 WEEK 3 REVIEW

THE MAIN MAN

Well week 3 has now gone still no nil nil draw ,still only 1 penalty not converted , still not many penalty shouts .

Who would have thought it England are in the quarters . So Roy Hodgson before the tournament made reference to Denmark and Greece . The Danish having no preparation (called from the beaches) in line with him only being in the job a matter of weeks . But he should of said as far as the Greeks were concerned . “That who would of thought the Greeks of all people would win the tournament” . “So in words of Alan Sugar” . “For that reason we are going to play like Greece”

Why not Roy we have borrowed them enough money that we will never get back. So mirroring their on field tactics from 2004 is grabbing something back from them . After all your average Tournament footie fan knows fuck all about tactics . They are talking holidays hair, girls, lads, etc. thou out the match . Only to break for that 30 seconds of euphoria of gloom when the ball hits the net . They are like Christmas drinkers . Now with England progressing further in the tournament more will come out of the woodwork (Hideous)

One last thing on the England front . It takes a on the line incident in England’s favour for the King of the World (Sepp Blatter). To announce “goal line technology is no longer a alternative it is a necessity” So what happened in South Africa then Sepp ? He hates England.

NOT A PATCH ON LAMPARDS

HERE IS THE LAMPARD INCIDENT CLICK TO WATCH Frank Lampard's Disallowed Goal v Germany 2010

So away from England the Dutch were so shit . An Ireland v Holland game would have most defiantly the first nil nil draw. Spain look beatable Portugal look like a one man team . Italy come in fits and starts with Ballotelli their biggest weapon or biggest down fall . France have started to look like French their own worst enemy . So there is the Germans who play the Greeks . If the Germans despatch the Greeks . England will have to change the tactics if they over come the Italians . The Czech's are the dark horses.  

So plenty of twist and turns to come no doubt .

With a Entertainment value again 8/10