http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/mar/18/watching-olympic-games-equestrianism

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/mar/17/tim-stockdale-olympics-2012

In a time when the headlines surrounding footballers are becoming increasingly negative, fans need reminding of the players who make the sport great, the kind of players who can create moments of magic and divine inspiration out of nothing to turn a game on it head. Even as he reaches the twilight of his career, Del Piero continues to exemplify everything that is good about the sport both on and off the field.

The record-breaking goal aptly came against AC Milan and although in terms of quality it was not one of his best, the importance of the goal on a symbolic level should not be underestimated as Juventus continue to look to re-establish themselves to the level of their past echelons in the wake of the Calcipoli scandal.

Following the club’s enforced demotion, Del Piero as captain has guided Juventus through the toughest time in their history. While managers have come and gone, the evergreen striker has been a constant figurehead for the club, guiding the The Old Lady through a transitional period and back to the top of the Italian game. During the time, he has shown many valiant characteristics that are absent in most other contemporary footballers such as loyalty, modesty and a willingness to sacrifice himself for the good of the team.

Before Saturday night, Juventus had not won against Milan at the San Siro since the club’s demotion to Serie B. The result against AC Milan, many people’s title favourites at the beginning of the season, proved their readiness too finally re-emerge at the pinnacle of Italian football. Fittingly Del Piero was at the forefront of the Bianconeri’s victory, scoring the winning goal.

Another poetic mini-narrative was also weaved into the game, as at the other end Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of the payers to jump off the Juventus ship in 2006, scored for Milan. If Del Piero personifies everything that is good about the modern footballer then Ibrahimovic, who has already played for six different clubs, represents his nemesis.

While Del Piero showed his loyalty by choosing to stay with Juventus in order help re-establish the club, Ibrahimovic behaved like a mercenary and chose to leave and joined arch-rivals Inter Milan to better his own career. With Saturday’s result it is nice to see Del Piero’s loyalty pay off and when reflecting on his decision to stay with Juventus he admitted, “I have experienced some difficult times here, but I have always been happy and proud of the path I have taken.”

Indeed so he should be, having been brought to the club for 5000 lire by Boniperti, ironically the man whose record Del Piero broke at the weekend, the Italian legend has gone on to perform for Juventus in over 17 seasons, breaking numerous records. He has played 647 games and score 278 goals for Juventus in all competitions, both statistics also sit on top of the club’s leaderboard.

Named ‘Il-Pinturicchio’ by Juventus President, Andre Agnelli, because he could create similar artistry on the pitch to Renaissance painter Pinturicchio, Del Piero is part of an elite group of players who have had a certain type of shot named after them – the “Alla Del Piero” is the looping, curling shot after cutting in from the left wing that has become his trademark and the title to some of his greatest goals throughout his career.

Del Piero, who turns 36 next week, is also regarded as one of the greatest dead-ball specialists of all time, but it is one stunning free-kick that he scored in the Champions League against Real Madrid in 2008 that he usually remembers with great fondness as he recently refered to it as “that great night at Bernabeu, when I scored two goals against Real Madrid”. Not many players, let alone opposition players, have been afforded the luxury of praise from the whole of the Bernabéu, a theatre to the greatest club in the world, but following a match-clinching brace against Los Merengues, the whole stadium rose to their feet and applauded in honour of one the greatest players the sport has ever produced.

Although his past is firmly written into the history books his future remains uncertain, he has yet to be offered a new contract at Juventus. Like all great champions though he has set his next target, “Now my aim is to arrive at 200 goals. Of course, I dream of scoring in the new Juventus stadium a year from now. There is one certainty though, and that is I want to carry on playing — with Juventus or abroad. I cannot see myself wearing another shirt in Italy.”

Roy Hodgson’s arrival at Anfield has coincided with the club’s worst start to a league season for 57 years. The club embarrassingly languish in the relegation zone after only winning one out of their first seven games, a record that simply is not good enough for a ‘top four’ team. However a glimmer of hope has shone on Anfield with the news that Red Sox owner John Henry made a successful offer to buy the club before Asian millionaire, Peter Lim, made an even bigger offer.

News that Liverpool’s ownerships saga is reaching its final hurdles will have relieved Hodgson more than anyone. On the surface, not only has it given him the potential to reinforce his squad in January but it has also managed to take the spotlight off the club’s dismal on-field performances.

However he should be under no illusions, once the new owners- whoever they may be – take control of the club; the spotlight will be put back on him with ten times the glare. No longer will the club be able to hide behind the excuse of boardroom issues affecting the players’ performances.

After announcing the successful bid of the Red Socks group NESV, Martin Broughton revealed that Roy Hodgson’s contract contains a dismissal-clause. It was scrawled into the manger’s agreement under the requirement of Broughton to provide a back-up plan should new owners come in and want a change of management.

The clause comes as no surprise; even in July when Hodgson signed he was billed as the ‘safe’ choice. He was the manager who could provide the safe pair of hands to steer Liverpool through choppy seas. After recent poor form, he himself even pledged to ride the club out of the storm, and there is no doubt that he will. But when safer financial waters return to Liverpool it seems inevitable that Liverpool’s new owners will want a world-class manager to match the world-class players they are supposedly going to invest in. Hodgson can be described in many flattering terms – but ‘world-class’ is not one of them.

After 34 years in management he has failed to win any major honours in any major countries. Granted, he overachieved with Fulham for two seasons, but when overachieving with Fulham is the highlight of three and a half decades in management then there is a strong argument to suggest that he does not have the talent to take Liverpool back to its past echelons. His record at other ‘big’ clubs is not very flattering either - at Inter Milan, where he won no trophies, his record was mediocre at best. His time at Blackburn Rovers, Premier League champions two years previously can be seen as a resounding failure. He was sacked after a series of expensive player purchases flopped – a fact that could worry any new owners who want to invest in the squad in January.

The former Inter manager is now in a very difficult position; he arrived at the club to find an over-sized and under-strength squad. If he were to be shown the door now, he would not have even been given the chance to put his own stamp on the club.

His only option seems to be to succeed with a weak squad until January. But by then the new owners will reach their next conundrum. Will they want Hodgson spending money when the possibility of new boss looms? A different manager will have different ideas and want different players to Hodgson, while the owners will not want to invest in new players twice.

Liverpool fans could be instrumental on Hodgson’s future. They want a manager who can create a bond between the crowd and manager as Bill Shankly did in the 60’s. However, so far Hodgson has failed to endear himself to the Liverpool faithful with some strange movements in the transfer market and a string of baffling tactical decisions that do not differ hugely from his much derived predecessor, Rafael Benitez. The British manager has adopted the same 4-5-1 formation as the Spaniard when most fans would prefer to see a move towards a more offensive formation. While the signings of Christian Poulsen, Paul Koncesky and Brad Jones have filled an already bloated squad with yet more average players.

Although talk of sacking Hodgson after only five months in charge is unfair, after all only five points separating fourth place from the relegation zone. It is too early to judge. In the current market there are not many better alternatives. If Hodgson’s job is in the question, then Kenny Dalglish’s name should not be in the answer. The Scot is the fans’ choice but he has not managed for almost a decade now and the Premier League has changed beyond recognition since the days he last won the title with Blackburn 15 years ago. Hodgson now has the perfect chance to banish talk of Dalglish and create a rapport with the fans in the Merseyside derby this weekend; if Liverpool can beat their rivals then Hodgson will at least defer pressure for the immediate future.

But whatever the result against Everton, there is certainly a ticker on Roy Hodgson. The harsh reality is that since he took over, with a squad of international players, Liverpool have won only one in seven league games and in that time they have suffered humiliating home defeats to Northampton and Blackpool. If Liverpool are to compete in next year’s Champions League then Roy Hodgson will have to prove to the new owners that he is not just a safe mid-table manager who can guide the club through times of transition, but a man who can take the club back to the to the glory days of Shankly and Paisley; time ticks against him…

It was announced late last night that Liverpool had agreed in principle to the sale of the club, having accepted two “excellent financial offers”. Sadly, as so often been the case with Liverpool in recent times, board-room divisions have dominated the headlines. A statement released on the club’s official website declared a public war on American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillet.

It transpired that before board members Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre had accepted the sale of the club to Boston Red Socks’ owner, John Henry, the current American owners had attempted to replace them with son, Mack Hicks and close ally, Lori Kay McCutcheon. Even at this late stage Gillet and Hicks look deperate to squeeze every last ounce of profit out the club and show contempt for the ‘Liverpool Way’ of keeping news within the corridors of Anfield.

However, the Americans are struggling to re-finance their debts before the 14 October  deadline and the sale of the of the club looks iminent. Having previously viewed the acquisition of Liverpool with caution, RBS will be much more willing to take control of the club with the knowledge a potential buyer is waiting in the wings. A thought that would have been in the board’s minds when they attempted to overthrow the Americans. They believe that by 14 October the Gillet and Hicks will be forced to sell the club to their American counterpart, John Henry.

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s season on the pitch seems to be in just as much turmoil. The club reached embarrassing lows on Sunday when they lost to newly–promoted Blackpool and slipped into the relegation zone for the first time in 57 years. The dismal performance was greeted with boos around the ground before fans began to show their displeasure at their American owners.

News of a new owner waiting to take over will be music to the ears of most Liverpool fans. On the surface the Red Socks owner looks to be legitimate. He has achieved his success while staying true to the rich traditions of the Red Sox. He has resisted calls to move out the baseball club’s historic but restrictive Fenway Park – instead focussing on inventing new ways to maximise revenue. All the while maintining a winning mentality within the club,  certainly a sentiment that Liverpool fans will want to see brought to Anfield.

However, after Liverpool’s latest trans-American union, one cannot help but look towards this new Boston American owner with huge amounts of scepticism. There should be no naivety in accessing the new owner’s motives. He is not there because he looks upon Liverpool’s tragic circumstances with great sympathy and wants to help the club re-build to its past greatness. He wants to invest in Liverpool for the same reason as Gillet and Hicks, because he sees a chance to make a big profit. 

All talk of the new owners recognising the values of the club will seem harrowingly familiar to fans of Liverpool. Upon the arrival of Hicks and Gillet in 2007, the pair promised not to do a ‘Glazer’ – referring to the debt-ridden club, Manchester United, before loading the Liverpool debts.

Despite being happy to see the back of the current owners, Liverpool fans will have to hope that the devil they do not know proves to be a lot better than the devil they do. With the current state of affairs, accepting the bid appears to be a gamble worth taking.

Not since 1981 has the title been so closely contested by so many. On that occassion Nelson Piquet came out on top in a five-way fight ahead of Carlos Reutemann, Alan Jones, Jacques Laffite and Alain Prost. The quintet were seperated by a mere seven points.

This time around Mark Webber leads the pack with 187 points as the compass bears east from Europe. British driver Lewis Hamilton trails by just five points while Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, and Sebastian Vettel, who are sixteen points behind, are separated by just 3 points.

The mouthwatering end to this season is certainly exiting to current world champion Jenson Button as he looks ahead to this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, “You can’t help but look at the drivers’ championship table and just think ‘Wow, how can it be so close? I can easily see this championship going right down to the last race.”

Button believes that for the remainder of the season none of the drivers are going to want to give an inch. They know any one error can have huge ramifications on the final driver standings, “The pressure’s now on all of us. None of us can afford another non-finish or a mistake, and the guy who cracks least will be world champion.”

Indeed, concentration on the part of the drivers will play a huge part in this season’s final standings. But as the championship reaches its finishing straight, one key issue emerges. What makes this championship so interesting is that, each contender appears to represent each of the necersary components required to take the title.

It can be said that the Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber enjoy the speed, while Button and Hamilton’s McLaren possess the reliability. Alonso’s Ferrari holds a bit of both, but his early season was blighted by lapses in concentration. So much so, that before his last outing in Italy, many ‘experts’ were starting to write Fernando Alonso’s chances of a third world championship off, in his maiden season with Ferrari.

Amidst talk of a points docking for using team-orders in Germany, it was said that if Alonso did not get a result at Monza, he would have little hope of claiming the title. However, like all great championship battles it was turned on its head in one race. His biggest rivals failed to score as many points as him and the deduction never materialised.

Although, history does not favour the Spaniard, despite his excellent drive in Italy. The fact is, only two drives in the last two decades have won at Monza and then gone on to win the world championship: Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna. When Alonso arrived on the scene with Renault in 2006, just as Schumacher was to Senna in 2002, he was regarded as the Germans’ natural heir. Alonso was destined for greatness. But if he wants to reach his predecessors’ dizzy heights and win three or more world championships, he will have to improve on his patchy record at the beginning of the season.

After a first lap crash in Monza, Hamilton also recognised the need to avoid driver error “I’ve had two non-finishes and one win in the last three races – while that’s not bad, it does mean that I lost points to some of the other drivers in the hunt for the title. Those results aren’t enough to get me the title.” Adding that he intends to keep up the battle, “I’ll keep pushing. I’ll take each race as it comes, but I’ll also be making sure I get to the finish of the next five races – that’s more important than anything. “

Although getting the points in Singapore may be hard for the McLaren driver. The street circuit will favour the Red Bulls. It is similar to the Hungaroring, a low-speed track requiring high-downforce. The McLarens struggled in Hungary earlier in the season. They were nearly two seconds off the pace set by Red Bull and half a second slower than Ferrari.

Mark Webber, winner of the most races this season, was certainly keen to talk up the chances of the Red Bulls, “Singapore is a race we expect to win,” before also stating that “the next few circuits look like they should be good for us.” But as we know, speed alone will not win titles. The pace needs to be taken all the way through the 61 laps of Singapore to the finish line.

Hamilton, last year’s winner in Singapore, is bullish on his chances of repeating the feat and improving on the poor showing in July’s Hungarian race, “We head into the weekend with renewed confidence following some positive tests and some developments in the wind tunnel.”

McLaren team mate, Button also waided into the talk of sluggishness on tracks such as Singapore, playing down concerns, “Singapore will be a very interesting weekend because I think it’ll give us a clearer idea of the destiny of the world championship,” he said “A lot has changed since that race in Budapest – not least some quite hefty revisions to the rulebook regarding bodywork flexibility and, additionally, a lot of work by the engineers at the McLaren Technology Centre to ensure our car is now better suited to slower circuits.”

Whether there will be an improvement in performance from the McLarens remains to be seen. One thing is for sure though. There will be drama. In the Grand Prix’s short two year existance, there has always been exitement. Under the downtown lights of Singapore, the final standings of the drivers’ championship will begin to to take shape. Titles are decided in races such as these.

Alex Gillison recording his new album 'Paradise Lost'

The motivations, dreams, sacrifices and challenges new bands face

Looking at three varying bands in the Brighton area; Bird Eats Baby, Flies Are Spies from Hell and singer/songwriter Alex Gillison, this article asks, what are the difficulties unsigned bands face? What are their motivations, dreams, sacrifices and challenges?

All aspiring professionals have to climb the rungs of promotion. The world of popular music is no different, except in the music industry, there’s a much longer step up from the ground to the first rung. Stuck at the bottom, many new bands often struggle for survival in a shallow and cruel snake pit; they wait for that elusive contract with a record label to pull them out and to save them from a life of anonymity and poverty.

The harsh reality is that unsigned bands face a vicious cycle and are often forced to operate at a loss. To build up a fan base and in order to get people to buy their music, a band needs to play gigs that can pay little or nothing. But live gigs can require funding. Transport or the hire of equipment costs usually need to be met. No money can mean bands cannot afford to record the demos that need to be sent to the promoters who book the vital gigs. Few gigs being booked means there will be a smaller fan base and less revenue. Such an equation means that many unsigned bands are forced to run at a loss most of the time.

On the long road to success, making a recording is vital. Many unknown bands often choose to release their CD under their own label, Chris Chapman, the flamboyant front man to Flies Are Spies from Hell reflected on why they chose to do this, “With the kind of music we play it is difficult to get recognition from ‘big’ labels so, to get our music heard, we didn’t really have a choice.”

Even though just hearing the finished product of their first album is a rewarding experience in itself for an unsigned band. Once the recording is done, the process of designing CD sleeves and covers, as well as posters and flyers to promote gigs can be an expensive and time consuming project, Chris admitted that his band did have to pay a lot of money but added, “I see it as more of an investment.”

Unsigned bands face yet another hard task once their CD has been put together in making it possible for listeners to actually hear their music. Just how does an unsigned band get their music out there?

Chris Chapman explained that ‘The Flies’ promoted their self–titled debut album by using the internet and joining as many different free music promotional sites as possible. The band toured the whole of the UK “relentlessly gigging” to create a following. Chris remembered that in the early days the band “gigged wherever and whenever” they could.

In order to stay in the music business and to follow the dream, an aspiring musician from an unsigned band is usually forced to take a day job and combine it with night work as a musician. Highly rated Brighton University singer/songwriter, Alex Gillison, complained that he is forced to juggle a forty hour working week at a bar, while still finding the time to practice, perform and record his new album, “I don’t have a choice, I need to work to fund my gigs, but that in turn means I have less time to perfect my performances at gigs, let alone find the time to write new material!”

But help is out there. Some organizations actively seek to help unsigned bands. The BBC does its best to promote unsigned bands. The growth of the internet has certainly made things easier. Millions download music to their mobile phones and through iTunes. Musicians no longer have too rely on being signed to big labels to become successful, websites such as MySpace have also allowed for free promotion, both Lilly Allen and Arctic Monkeys credit the site for their rise to fame. The charismatic lead singer to Brighton’s Bird Eats Baby, Mishkin, agreed “Myspace has definitely made it easier, musicians can promote their music and easily contact other bands and promoters; ten years ago bands had to be signed to do that.”

Changes to the chart laws in 2007 meant that, for the first time, musicians no longer had to rely on actual CD sales. Music sold digitally could now be included in sales figures analysis and now counts towards those all-important positions in the charts. Bands do not need to rely on big record deals like in the old days. Mishkin taking timeout from recording the new Birds Eats Baby album, released in October this year, praised technological advances in the music industry, “With the internet now, we have found that you don’t really need CDs, you only need people to like your music.”

Nevertheless in a recession, with so many aspiring musicians on the Brighton scene, wannabee musicians have to face the possibility of making sacrifices on their road to success. As they face huge challenges in the competitive world of show business, one cannot help wondering, what drives an unsigned band? And also wonder at what point should an artist give up following the dream?

Alex Gillison gives some thought to this question and explains that the main incentive is not the fame and wealth, “For me, and I imagine most other artists, the wish is to express my personal viewpoint on the world through my lyrics.” Indeed that sentiment is echoed by all the other bands and they are unanimous in saying they would never give up playing in a band. All musicians really want is for people to hear and enjoy their music.

Bird Eats Baby playing at last year’s ‘I Am Joy’ Festival

Unsigned Facts

Free websites such as Myspace, Reverbnation, BBC unsigned and Sentric music have all been made to help promote new bands

All three bands are playing at the I Am Joy Festival from 18^th-22^nd August in Chichester – More Details and ticket information are available at http://iamjoy.co.uk/

Downloads are available at their websites:-

Alex Gillison – http://www.myspace.com/alexgillison

Birdeatsbaby – http://www.myspace.com/birdeatsbaby

Flies Are Spies from Hell – http://www.myspace.com/fliesarespiesfromhell

From the moment the Bafana players danced and sung their way onto the pitch to the moment Casillas lifted the famous trophy, the tournament has been filled moments that will live long in the memory. The competition served us great goals, heroic defensive displays, sickening controversy, a wonderfully friendly African atmosphere despite concerns to the contrary. While new stars were born some old champions began to wilt and there was even a psychic octopus!

There were certainly some great goals throughout the competition. Two thunderous strikes from Giovanni van Bronckhorst against Uruguay and Carlos Tevez against Mexico provided the spectacular. South Africa’s Siphiwe Tshabalala’s brilliant pile-driver against Mexico lifted the continent by getting the hosts off the mark. There was Fabio Quagliarella sumptuous chip for Italy against Slovakia. Or who could forget Maicon’s cross/shot for Brazil against North Korea?

A number of players had excellent tournaments, some expected, some not so; Alexis Sanchez shone for the unfancied Chile. Diego Forlan was a lethal marksman and the vanguard for Uruguay as they made it all the way to the Semi-Finals. Xavi and Andres Iniesta controlled the Spanish midfield while David Villa provided the goals. Wesley Sneider excelled for the Dutch. Mezut Ozil and Bastian Sweinsteiger added the flair to a German team that proved to be a greater sum than all of its parts. Finally,  Asamoah Gyan gave Africa a beacon of hope.

While on the other hand many of the great players expected to light up the tournament flattered to decieve; Rooney was terrible and seemed as though he was struggling to handle the pressure. Ronado could not re-create his club form. Torres never found his rhythm after injury. Messi never scored, while Ribéry was the victim of a French mutiny.

Perhaps the failure of the top attacking players was partly responsibe for the lack of footballing quality. An average of just 2.24 goals per game almost trumps the record low of 2.21 goals per game set twenty years ago. Even Spain, the deserved champions scored only eight goals on the way to winning the competition.

Although, was it possibly the new Jabilani ball that caused the lack of goals? The ball that Adidas argued was ‘rounder and lighter than any round ball before’ caused a lot of contraversy throughout the tournament. Players struggled to get to grips with it, we saw free-kicks blazed into row-z and passes missed by a good twenty yards. Some of the more cynical believe the Germans form throughout the World Cup was the result of playing with the Jabilani in the Bundersliga since January.

One generally accepted theory for the goal famine was that it was the tournament of the ‘team’ rather than the ‘individual’. Teams like South Korea, Japan, New Zealand (who surprisingly were the only unbeaten team) and even Holland realized that they could be succesful by just keeping organised. If they could stop their opponent scoring they had the chance of stealing something on the break. So the lack of goals can be seen to be a product of the mentality of stifling the opposition rather than creating a goal themselves. 

Although if one was disappointed with the quality of the football on display or even just at a loose end, entertainment could always be found at one of Diego Maradonna’s press conferences. From his outlandish facial expressions to his bizarre replies to simple questions, Maradonna never failed to entertain his audience. Even on the sidleline, in the manager’s dug-out, he was often more exiting to watch than the football on display.

If one positive can be taken out of England’s terrible performace throughout the World Cup it is that they have amplified the calls for goal line technology. Frank Lampard strike against the Germans clearly crossed the line by about a foot but was not allowed. That moment gave Sepp Blatter some kind of an epiphany, having recently rejected calls for new tachnology or the use of more officials, he has agreed that the whole matter of goal-line technology should be revisited as early as this month.

Most importantly, what remains to be seen is whether the 2010 World Cup in South Africa can benefit the country in the long term. As crime rates fell during the tournament, it can be seen  that just as the rugby world cup did in 1995, the famously divided country was unified by sport. Sepp Blatter spoke of the 2010 World Cup’s legacy benefits, arguing the tournament has helped improve the South African economy and its transport infrastructure.

There are question marks over the future of some of the 10 stadiums, which cost over £1bn to develop, particularly the venues in Nelspruit and Polokwane. Although there is already talk of the South Africans bidding to hold the Olympics in the future. Also, The Golden Lions rugby team have been named as potential tenants to Soccer City.

Hopefully South Africans can keep riding this golden wave and keep the international image they have boosted as a result of this World Cup.