Bleacher Report - Articles by Chris Siddell

Button Proves The Points System Still Works

Chris Siddell — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:30:37 -0400

Throughout the 2009 season there have been so many talking points and controversial moments in F1, most of which occurred away from the racetrack, that it is all to easy to forget that Bernie Ecclestone almost ruined the season before it started.

His desire to introduce a new scoring system of ‘medals’ rather than points was supposedly in place at the start of the season, and caused some confusion before the Australian Grand Prix way back in March.

The idea was to award drivers with a Gold, Silver or Bronze medal for finishing on the podium (instead of points), and then the driver who held the most Gold Medals at the end of the season would be the winner of the Championship.

Luckily FOTA stood up to Ecclestone and the decision to implement this new scoring system was shelved and the traditional points system was reinstated.

Even Mr Ecclestone must be looking back now thankful that has happened, even though Jenson Button has sealed the title with a race to spare, and did so without winning the race at Interlagos, indeed without winning since Turkey back in June.

The Brit had the most spectacular start to the season, winning six of the first seven races, leaving his competition behind, and although teams have improved their cars and matched or improved upon the Brawn Car, Button has kept his head and finished the season with a consistent and steady hand.

Finishing in all but one of the races (when second time driver Romain Grosjean crashed into him on the opening lap in Belgium), is an achievement in itself, not only for Button, but for the Brawn team, who can boast only one retirement from either driver over the season, but Button has also managed to finish in the points in all of those races as well.

And his drive at Brazil was a spectacular way to answer his critics Championship which has seen many question Button’s ability to see out the Championship.

They will be left looking back on the facts which all point towards Button being the worthy and deserving Champion if the whole season is considered.

Where the new Medal system would have failed is obvious…after winning so many early races, the title would have been as good as over by June. Under Ecclestone’s proposed system, even if Button had failed to register another point after his victory in Turkey, he still would have been crowned Champion in Singapore, a month earlier.

Surely he must now recognise that the points system is the only way forward, and although it can lead to a scenario where a driver aims to finish a race in fifth place at the end of the season to win a Championship, it is the only way to ensure the most consistent driver over the course of a season will win.

Jenson Button is a deserving Champion in a finishing table that reflects the best drivers over the whole season, with team-mate Ruebens Barrichello following in second with Red Bull drivers Vettel and Webber behind him.

Nobody can argue with the points system after this season, which was no doubt being scrutinised to the maximum with regards to points and the ‘fairness’ of the system.

Well done Jenson Button

Irish Luck Running Out As Play Offs Get Close

Chris Siddell — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:12:10 -0400

Everyone has heard of the Luck of the Irish, but as the last chance of World Cup Qualification draws near, maybe their luck is running out.

Ireland, led by former Italy manager Giovanni Trapattoni, were confident of qualification just over a month ago, until FIFA moved the goalposts.

It's all gone downhill from there.

The FIFA change was of course the decision to make the draw for the UEFA Group play-offs a seeded draw, preventing the big guns of Europe from meeting and knocking each other out of the World Cup before it begins in June.

Ireland, who finished their campaign unbeaten, were bitterly disappointed not to hang onto a lead they took against Italy with only five minutes remaining at an almost full and raucous Croke Park in their penultimate game.

That draw secured their playoff spot and left them with one game remaining against Montenegro, again at Croke Park to try and carry momentum into the playoffs. However, since that last minute equaliser, it has been a steep downhill slope for the Irish.

From Sean St. Ledger’s goal providing one of the most memorable moments in Irish football for a long time, the Italian equaliser moments later was just the first dent in what has become a disastrous week for Irish hopes of being in South Africa.

The seeded draw was already certain to see Ireland in the unseeded pot, and their final group match against Montenegro in Dublin was an opportunity to show the rest of Europe that they meant business, to give the big guns something to think about.

It was not to be though, as Trapattoni persisted with his ultra defensive-minded play, waiting for set pieces to provide opportunity, rather than playing with a creative and attack minded midfield.

A dull and uninterested crowd saw Ireland struggle badly against a weakened Montenegro team, in a game they should really be winning. Instead they were left scrambling for a draw and left the field with the faint echo of boos coming from sections of the sparse crowd.

Hope once again came from the luck of the draw. With Greece in as a seeded team, the whole country seemed to be certain they would receive a second leg at home against a Greecian team deemed to be the weakest seeded team in the draw.

Once again Irish hopes were dashed when in Zurich they not only received a home first leg, they were drawn up against former World Champions France. The task before the squad now seems improbable, if not impossible, as Trapattoni’s men must beat an attacking French side over two legs.

With the likes of Henry, Benzema and Ribery, it seems implausible that France, the 2006 finalists, will not score, leaving most Irish soccer fans re-booking their summer holidays and heading to the beaches of Spain rather than Soccer City in South Africa.

Trapattoni, who famously earns a huge amount of money for his role as Ireland manager, does have this one chance to prove his worth and take Ireland to the Finals. However, with his defensive mentality and lack of trust in his team’s attacking ability it seems almost certain France will be playing in South Africa this summer.

World Cup Qualifiers: Who Will Go Through

Chris Siddell — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:32:54 -0400

With England already qualified for the World Cup in South Africa next summer (for a change), attention is now turning to which other European teams will be joining Capello's men in South Africa, as the closing stages of qualifying approaches quickly.

From Europe only Holland and Spain have joined England so far, but six more will join them in the next week. And with FIFA's announcement that the play-offs will be a seeded draw, the remaining four qualifiers will, barring a shock result, be all but known.

Firstly lets deal with England’s Group Six, and which team will make the play offs. Despite already qualifying England still play a very important role in the final standings, with a win or draw for Capello’s men in the Ukraine on Saturday likely to give Croatia second place.

But if the Ukraine manage to win, they will almost certainly make the play offs, unless, that is, they lose their final game to Andorra.

Perhaps the most high profile Group involves Germany and Russia, who, with only one point separating them, will face off in Moscow on Saturday. A win for Germany will see them qualify and leave Russia in the play offs.

A draw would leave Germany needing to beat Finland four days later to secure a place, but a win for Russia, followed by victory at Azerbaijan would see them qualify ahead of the Germans.

Serbia seem likely to prevent France from qualifying outright, needing to take three points from either Lithuania or a poor Romania side to secure a place in the Finals, leaving 1998 Champions France in the play offs.

Another high profile team struggling to make it through automatically, and indeed even into the play offs are Portugal. The one saving grace for Portugal is that Sweden and Denmark face each other this weekend, and although Portugal should win their final two games that could still leave them in third place.

A win this weekend for Denmark would see them qualify outright and if Portugal win, leave them as favourites to take second place, but if Sweden win Portugal would need one of the Scandinavian sides to slip up. A draw for Sweden and Denmark this Saturday would mean second place will probably be decided on goal difference.

It only gets simpler from here.

In Group Two, Switzerland will take the top spot if they take four or more points from Luxembourg and Israel in their final two games, less if Greece and Latvia draw on Saturday.

Greece are probably favourites to make the play offs, but in theory the winner of their tie with Latvia should claim second place a draw leaving it down to goal difference.

The confusing Group Three will likely see Slovakia and Slovenia in the top two spots, with Slovakia likely to take the top spot.

Group Five is equally as simple, with Spain heading the group and already qualified, leaving Bosnia- Herzegovina likely to take the second place, although Turkey still have an outside chance of stealing the play off spot from them.

The final uncertainty involves the current Champions Italy and Ireland, who are looking to qualify for the fourth time in their history. Italy will almost certainly go through automatically, needing to beat either Ireland or Cyprus to go through.

Ireland are favourites to take second place, but must beat either Italy or Montenegro at home to secure second place.

As always with football, anything can happen, and I’m sure there will be a few surprises this week, with some tricky games and interesting scenarios coming up, even with England already qualified, the nation will still be looking forward to a great week of football.

F1 Unable To Get Rid of Michael Schumacher despite Best Efforts

Chris Siddell — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:41:14 -0400

Michael Schumacher will make a shocking return to Formula One this month despite his advancing years and lack of experience in the new Formula One cars.

His return is not a surprise to many who are involved with the sport, as the German even admits, he's just been waiting for someone to ask him to drive.

"I've been hanging around dropping hints to all the bosses, but no one would get it," exclaimed the 40-year-old German. "I've been bored out of my mind. I tried to convince people I was the Stig, and then they saw I couldn't drive a normal car. I even tried motorcycles, but I kept falling off".

Despite his desperation to get back into a Formula One car, others were not so keen to see him around.

FOTA seemed certain they would never have him race again. After crisis meetings earlier this season, all the teams agreed to ignore Schumacher in the paddock, hoping he would just go away.

"We all liked his brother, but Michael just won't let it go," explained an unnamed team owner. "He's like that kid who's too big to join in but still tries; none of us have spoken to him in two months, but still he's here".

The crisis talks were well-documented in the press, but FOTA and the FIA managed to keep the topic secret by making phoney press statements about less important issues.

Unfortunately, Felipe Massa's accident could not have come at a worse time for those involved in Formula One.

Formula One tried promoting the test drivers and teenagers in its circuit, but in a disastrous turn of events, it appears many of those drivers have yet to pass a basic road safety test and are unable to drive.

This oversight has left Ferrari with little choice but to return the calls of the former world champion and allow him to drive. But even now, Williams, Red Bull, and Toro Rosso are openly plotting against the man who made the sport so boring by winning everything. And it's not just them.

It has been overheard at several dinner tables that the Drivers' Association are teaming up with FOTA and the FIA to make things as difficult as possible for Schumacher in the hope his failure will discourage him from being around.

Sebastian Vettel was overheard this week claiming, "We're all going to block his moves and make sure he finishes in the bottom four or five; that will teach him".

This coming from a young German who no doubt saw the man as an idol a few short years ago.

Apparently, the self-proclaimed "King of Racing" has outstayed his welcome in the paddock, and everyone involved in the sport will be doing all they can to stop him in Valencia, hoping the humiliation will force him away for good.

The question is: Can they stop this once-great racing driver?

2009 Turkish Grand Prix: Button Extends Lead With Simple Victory

Chris Siddell — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 09:41:16 -0400

Championship leader Jensen Button extended his lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship as an uneventful and text book drive saw the British driver take his sixth win from seven races this season.

Starting from second on the grid, Button took full advantage of a Sebastian Vettel mistake in the first lap, and never looked back, leading for the rest of the race.

Qualifying had brought few surprises, with the top four spots occupied by Brawn and Red Bull, with the improved Ferrari behind them in sixth and seventh respectively. Defending World Champion Lewis Hamilton had a disaster in Q1 and for the second time in two races he failed to make Q2 and started way back on the grid.

As the race started Vettel managed to hold on to his pole position, closely followed by Jensen Button, but Ruebens Barrichello was the biggest mover, as a mistake looked to activate his anti-stall system and he lost around ten grid places.

With the pole driver winning every single Turkish race in the past, Vettel must have been very pleased to hold onto his lead from the grid, but a mistake in turn nine of the first lap, where he went wide and off the track, allowed Button to pass and take the lead.

The Championship leader took full advantage and sped away from Vettel at over half a second per lap, but while everyone was watching a Brawn car, it was that of Ruebens Barrichello, who was battling with Hiekki Kovaleinnen for 11th place.

In a battle that reminded everyone why they love Formula 1, Barrichello used his faster car to pass the Fin’s McLaren, who was using his skill and KERS system to regain position. The battle continued until Barrichello spun and lost several places.

The Brazilian, who is second in the Championship, started making up the places immediately, easing his was past Lewis Hamilton, who, unlike his McLaren team mate was unable to show any resistance, which perhaps sums up his season. Barrichello’s quest to get into the points was all but ended however, and he clashed with Adrian Sutil and was forced into the pits to replace his front wing.

The Brazilian later became the first Brawn retiree of the season.

As the first round of pit stops came, all eyes were back on the leaders, and despite a slight mistake from fourth place Jarno Trulli the pit stops were uneventful, but the laps that followed were crucial.

Sebastian Vettel, on a three stop strategy came out a lot lighter than leader Jensen Button and caught up with the Englishman very fast, but crucially he was unable to make the most of his advantage and pass the leader, effectively rendering the strategy useless.

This left the door open for his team mate, Mark Webber, who was using a two stop strategy, to move up from third into second as Vettel made an extra pit stop.

With Button now holding a twenty second lead over the two Red Bull cars, attention turned to the race for second place, as the young German Vettel gained on team mate Webber in the closing stages, only for the battle to be called off by the Red Bull team as the last few laps of the race turned into more of a parade for the leaders, with all three drivers trying to save their engines to maximise their life.

Red Bull, and especially Sebestian Vettel will be bitterly disappointed with the result that saw Button extend his Championship lead to twenty six points, although both Red Bull drivers made up valuable ground on second place Ruebens Barrichello.

BMW Driver Robert Kubica picked up his first points of the season, finishing in seventh, behind Trulli, Rosberg and Massa in P4, P5, and P6 respectively. Timo Glock completed the points positions.

Chris Gayle Destroys Australia in Twenty20 Opener

Chris Siddell — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:44:38 -0400

Chris Gayle’s fantastic innings of 88 led the West Indies to a convincing victory over a strong Australia team.

Despite two wickets falling the first over of the game, a desperate fielding performance from the West Indies allowed Australia to make 169-7, but with Chris Gayle and Andre Fletcher both passing 50, that score proved to be well short, as the game was won with more than twenty deliveries remaining.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, English, and indeed all cricket fans were looking forward to getting a first look at big hitting sensation David Warner as he opened the innings at an overcast Oval.

Warner however, was merely a spectator as Jerome Taylor struck twice in his first over, removing both Shane Watson (caught) and Ricky Ponting (lbw) before either could score a run. Indeed it wasn’t until the fall of Michael Clarke (2) to Fidel Edwards, which brought wicket-keeper Brad Haddin to the crease, that the Aussies, and Warner, got going.

Helped by some poor West Indian ground fielding the pair brought up their 50 partnership in the 11th over, but shortly afterwards the partnership was broken as Brad Haddin looped a catch to Suilamen Benn from the bowling of Leon Pollard after an impressive 24.

But it was Warner who impressed most, showing he is not just a big hitter, but that he is also capable of anchoring an innings, using a combination of big hitting and sensible strokes to bring up his own half century in just 42 deliveries.

The Australian 100 was brought up with a huge six from David Hussey in the fourteenth over as he and opener Warner accelerated towards the end of the innings.

Warner eventually fell for 63 as Benn held on to a good catch after the opener connected with a Dwayne Bravo full toss. But that did not slow the Aussies down as David (27) and Mike Hussey continued to score freely, again aided by some terrible fielding, before David was eventually caught.

Brother Mike remained unbeaten at the end to post a valuable 28 from just 15 balls with the help of cameo appearances from Mitchell Johnson (9) and Bret Lee (1*).

The West Indies will be bitterly disappointed they were unable to capitalise on a fantastic start, but they only have themselves to blame, with an atrocious fielding performance letting the Australians off the hook, and putting more pressure on the top order batsmen to perform.

The opening pair did not let the team down, getting off to an aggressive start both batters found the boundary very early, including a huge six from Andre Fletcher, which made the Aussie bowlers, Lee and Johnson look decidedly average.

With Fletcher speeding away, the score reached forty from just 20 deliveries and the pressure was suddenly on Australia, and it showed as Mike Hussey failed to even get a hand onto an easy catch as Fletcher mis-timed a wild slog.

Not wanting to be out done by his opening partner, Gayle proceeded to demolish Brett Lee, who was bowling at over 90 mph, smashing three sixes and a four in an over that went for 27 leaving the West Indies on 83 at the end of the sixth over.

Chris Gayle passed 50 in the fastest time ever for a West Indian, just 23 deliveries, and his pace didn’t slow with the bowling, as he smashed two sixes from spinner David Hussey’s first over.

Fletcher (53), forced into a supporting role by Gayle’s amazing stroke play, was eventually caught out by a quick short ball from Johnson, just one delivery after reaching his 50, and, unlike his brother Mike, David Hussey held on to the catch and sent the entertaining batsmen back to the pavilion.

The game was already far beyond Australia’s reach when they eventually got the wicket of Gayle, who was caught in the deep from Brett Lee’s bowling, after making an unbelievable 88 from just 50 deliveries.

Gayle’s dismissal left the team needing just 13 to win from five overs, and despite Hopes holding onto a catch from Xavier Marshal (8), Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan saw the West Indies home to a convincing victory with more than four overs to spare.

England’s batters could learn a lot from Gayle, and Australian David Warner, who both played fast paced innings’ consisting of many boundaries and a lot of runs, but most importantly, no improvised shots or outrageous wild swings, just great timing, good placement and aggressive cricket shots.

Australia, like England, now need to win their tough second group game to stand a chance of qualifying for the super eights phase of the tournament.

Dutchmen Flying High As England Shocked

Chris Siddell — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 20:36:20 -0400

England Cricket reached a new low at Lords in the opening match of the ICC World Twenty20 as they were beaten by a Netherlands side made up almost entirely of amateurs.

Stuart Broad made a complete mess of two run out chances, and missed a chance for a caught and bowled in his final over, before missing the stumps yet again in the final ball to allow Dutch batsmen Ryan ten Doeschate and Edgar Schiferli to run an overthrow and win the game.

The disastrous ending to the day for England came as a huge shock to the the team, who started without Kevin Pietersen and Graeme Swann, and fans alike, who strolled away from a rain soaked Lords as the Dutch players and fans celebrated the biggest achievement in their cricketing history.

After the cancellation of the opening ceremony and a twenty minute delay to the start of the game due to the weather, Dutch captain Jeroen Smits may have been regretting putting England in to bat as openers Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright reached the first ever 100 partnership in Twenty20 Internationals for England in just 11 overs.

Bopara (46) looked the more fluent of the two before he skied a delivery from Essex team mate Ryan ten Doeschate, and was caught at Long On. The less fluent Wright, who seemed to struggle with his timing, made 71 before he too fell to ten Doeschate.

That was not before Owais Shah (5) and Eoin Morgan (6) both left the field after disappointing shows in the middle, both giving simple catches to deep square leg and backward point respectively.

Captain Paul Collingwood (11) was next fall, again giving a simple catch to the Dutch, as England failed to capitalise on a fantastic start, adding only 60 runs in the last nine overs, and only 13 in the last two, a desperate showing from a team that missed Kevin Pietersen in their batting line up.

The Dutch side were no doubt bouyed by a target of only 163, when at times it looked like being more like two hundred, but their innings couldn't have started worse, with James Anderson picking up the wicket of Alexei Kervezee in an opening over that cost just two runs.

Darron Reekers (20) was not going to fall as easily, and his big hitting set the tone for the rest of the innings as the Netherlands effortlessly kept up with the required run rate with some quickfire runs from Tom de Grooth (49) and Peter Borren (30) putting the Dutchmen in a position to grab an unlikely win.

Despite the late wickets of Borren and Daan Van Bunge (8) the Netherlands were left needing 16 from 10 balls with the Essex all rounder ten Doeschate at the crease with bowler strike bowler Schiferli.

Eoin Morgan summed up the day for many of the England players when he had the chance to all but win the game for England as ten Doeschate launched a Sidebottom delivery his way, only to parry his attempted catch over the boundary for four.

The men in Orange were left needing seven from the final over, but with Stuart Broad as the bowler there was still work to be done. Bowling around the wicket, Broad fielded from his own bowling first ball, only to miss his underarm attempt to run out the frantic batsmen.

Worse was to come for Broad as he collected the second delivery, opting this time to dive for the stumps ball in hand, removing the bails in time, only for replays to show Broad dropped the ball before breaking the stumps, leaving the Dutch four balls to score five runs.

ten Doeschate then blasted a ball back at Broad, who took the sting out of it, but couldn't stop the single, before the Dutch pair scampered through for a single to the wicket keeper, a single from the fifth ball of the over set up a grandstand finish, with the Dutch needing two from the final delivery.

Broad once again collected the ball from his own bowling, and instead of holding the ball and settling for a tie and a 'super-over', he took a shy at the stumps, missing again and allowing the jubilant batsmen to take a second run on the overthrow.

The second run sparked huge celebration among the Dutch contingent in the crowd as the players and staff from the team sprinted onto the field to celebrate, completing a lap of honour as the England professionals slowly left the field looking as if they wanted a hole to open up and swallow them.

England now need to beat Pakistan on Sunday to stand any chance of reaching the Super Eight stage of the tournament they were talking about winning hours before the Netherlands game. Paul Collingwood claimed he was 'shocked' by the result, and he won't be the only one in World Cricket who will find it hard to take in this fairytale win for the Dutch amateurs.

Newcastle United: In Deeper Trouble Than First Thought

Chris Siddell — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:35:52 -0400

After the dust has settled and it has sunk in for most Geordies that they have been relegated, the astounding financial trouble the club face is starting to come to light.

Football finance is a very complex market, with transfer fees and contracts not always as black and white as they seem (no Newcastle pun intended).

The first problem Newcastle face is their huge wage bill, something made worse by the clubs famous position of arrogance claiming in would not use relegation clauses in contracts. Something the club must now be regretting.

Some positive news is that a few of the top earning players are coming to the end of their contracts. Owen, Viduka, Lovenkrands and Cacapa, as well as the lower paid Edgar all look set to leave the club on 30th June at the end of their contracts.

What this does mean is since relegation at Aston Villa, the Magpies will have paid around £1.5 million to these few, who will never play again, and that is just their wages.

A couple of things many Newcastle (and football) fans will not realise is a common part of a contract is a ‘loyalty bonus’, a fee paid to a player who sees out his contract at a club, or is sold by the club without him requesting a transfer.

The second is the outstanding transfer fee’s from purchases. Usually when a club buys a player they pay the fee in instalments, one sum of at least 25 percent when the player is bought, and one at the end of each year, which in football terms is June 30th.

With players bought from abroad, this must be done over three years, but with domestic transfers, it is usually completed over the length of the contract.

This is where Newcastle’s problems are starting to emerge. Luckily Owen’s transfer fee is paid in full, and it was reported the £4million fee for Kevin Nolan was also paid in one sum, which eases the burden, but still, this leaves Newcastle, assuming they have not already paid their fees in full (not likely because of the debt at the club) the club could be looking at around £29 million in unpaid transfer fees.

The loyalty payments for players usually equates to a years salary, which for players like David Edgar will not be a major issue, but with Owen and Viduka on combined wages close to £200,000 a week, their payment will be a lot bigger issue.

The loyalty fee (often referred to as a signing bonus) is likely to be paid across the contract length in yearly instalments, but still, Newcastle could be liable to pay anything up to £5 million to their out of contract players, in addition to their £1.5 million wages since the end of the season, that’s getting close to half of their parachute payment just for players who are leaving anyway.

After these out of contract players have left, and the club’s worries have ‘eased’, figures suggest their wage bill is still somewhere between £800 and £860 thousand per week, which is still way too high, at close to £45 million a year, for a Championship club.

This means there is still more to be done, and if BBC reports are to believed, there were 15 players this season earning over £50,000 a week, three of whom are out of contract, leaving 12, and with Steven Taylor, Nicky Butt and Kevin Nolan signing new deals in January, it has to be assumed they have a relegation clause built into their contract (although even that isn’t certain).

That leaves nine players earning far to much money at Newcastle, and it would appear that they and probably some of those earning close to 50,000, simply have to go if Newcastle want to survive as a football club.

But is that the best thing Newcastle can do? Of course some of the players many fans will want out, more because of their performances than their wages, but keeping these players could aid their return to the top flight.

Take Fabricio Coloccini for example, the ten million pound signing might be top of a list of ‘replaceable’ players for many Newcastle fans, but with only two payments made on his transfer fee by the summer, his sale would mean Newcastle will be required to pay the remainder, a hefty £5 million, to Deportivo if they sell him on.

This will be on top of his remaining loyalty payments (assuming he doesn’t request a transfer), likely to be in the region of £2.7 million.

Now you see the problem, Newcastle will need to sell the Argentine for around £8 million to just break even, and not be spending more money on getting rid of him. A fee like this is highly unlikely, with any transfer likely to bring in around £3 million due to the clubs desperate position.

The same goes for others, Barton, Enrique, Beye, Ameobi, Smith and Geremi are big earners, but with Newcastle’s position, and apparent ‘need’ to sell the players they are unlikely to receive much more than £8 or £9 million for the six players (also stated in the Telegraph), while the fees and bonus’ that will be due if these players leave could be as high as £20 million.

With a parachute payment of around £15 million replacing the £40 Premier League broadcasting money, just how many players can Newcastle afford to sell?

After the release of those players out of contract, and the seven mentioned above, the Geordies could have spent all of their parachute payment in fees and bonuses, even taking into account the transfer fee’s they recoup.

This leaves the management of the club with an extremely difficult decision. They could sell off their major earners and take the financial hit this season and build a new squad from the remaining players, but be in a far more stable financial situation come the start of the 2010/11 season.

The second option is to keep the majority of their big earners and bank on an immediate return to the Premiership.

The first option makes the most business sense, cutting their losses and taking a hit this year to provide long term stability, starting again with wage structures and contracts, but is likely to mean more than one season in the Championship.

The second is a big risk, the club can no doubt afford to continue with a large wage bill for one season in the Championship, absorbing the cost on the premise they will receive a big payday upon their return to the Premier League.

Where the risk lies is if they fail to gain promotion after one year, and they face a second season of huge wage bills then the club will almost certainly face financial ruin and administration.

With Oba Martins the only player likely to provide a welcome financial relief for the club, and that is if Newcastle get a fair bid for the player (as oppose to a very low bid due to relegation) the club from the North East face a very difficult summer of decisions and financial planning, especially with the potential sale of the club.

Perhaps Newcastle’s only hope is to bring in a super rich Russian or Arab as owner, but as time goes by, this seems more and more unlikely.

England Beat Scotland in T20 Warm Up

Chris Siddell — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:07:04 -0400

After winning the toss and electing to Bat, Scotland got off to a steady start in today’s Twenty20 warm up match at Trent Bridge.

Opener Fraser Watts was bowled by England seamer Dimitri Mascarenhas in the third over, bringing Durhamyoungster Kyle Coetzer to the middle to partner Captain Gavin Hamilton. The pair moved on steadily at four an over, taking few risks as Mascarenhas, Broad, and Sidebottom spearheaded an England attack with no James Anderson.

England opted to rest Anderson and Graeme Swann, which allowed Adil Rashid to come in for a first Twenty20 International.

It was the leg spinner Rashid who made an impact, collecting the wicket of Gavin Hamilton in his first over, as the Scot lofted a slog high and into the hands of Luke Wright.

But is was Scotland who pushed on from there, with Coetzer and Smith at the crease, they took advantage of the slow bowling of Kevin Peiterson and Rashid, smashing both of the spinners for more than ten an over, bringing the run rate up to just a little more than seven an over as England brought pace-man Stuart Broad back into the attack.

The introduction of Broad didn’t slow the rate at all, but the varied medium pace of Paul Collingwood was more successful as Coetzer lofted his Durham teammate to Long On, where Pietersen held on to send the number three back to the pavilion for an impressive 34 from 35 balls.

Collingwood went on to claim the wicket of Colin Smith, who had blasted his way to 45 from just 32 balls as Scotland struggled to keep up the scoring rate, finishing on 136-5 and leaving England with a relatively small target to aim for.

Ravi Bopara and Luke Wright were charged with the task of opening the innings, and they got off to a steady but unexplosive start working the ball around to keep the score ticking over in the first few overs.

But England lost their first wicket in the seventh over as Luke Wright started to push on striking a couple of boundaries before being caught at mid-off from the bowling of Jan Stander.

Bopara was not far behind Wright in heading back to the football style dug-outs, after being caught out on the boundary, although he looked more impressive reaching 32 from 28 deliveries, with four fours and a six to his name.

Owais Shah and Paul Collingwood didn’t last long either, with Shah being caught on his first ball, and Collingwood only making 9, although this allowed Eoin Morgan some time at the crease, and along with Pietersen, who had a shaky start, they same England home for a pretty unconvincing win over a team with far less quality.

Morgan finished on 23 from just 17 balls, while Pietersen completed a half century to end the game unbeaten on 53. Both batters impressed, and showed a hint of the form that will be needed if England are to compete in the Tournament proper, but they are going to need the rest of the team to step up and perform a lot better with the bat if they are to compete with the likes of Australia, South Africa, and India.

Twenty20: Is This The End?

Chris Siddell — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:47:09 -0400

This week sees the start of the ICC World Twenty20 in England, as cricket fans from around the world focus on the shortest form of the game, yet again, looking for excitement and action.

The popularity of the twenty over form of the game is something that is imperative to its success, and, so far, it is that popularity that has allowed the form of cricket to expand so much in just six years.

But is this expansion in the best interests of Twenty20?

When the Twenty20 Cup was first introduced into English Cricket back in 2003, there was a real air of excitement and a big fuss from all parties involved—broadcasters, fans, players, clubs and the ECB.

The tournament was set to make a ‘significant impact on our domestic cricket’ according to the ECB and was one of the ‘most revolutionary and exciting initiatives’ they had ever taken.

They were right. It has made a huge impact on domestic cricket, and even International Cricket, with big financial gains and a large increase in audiences around the country. The competition has even led to a new International World Cup Competition, set for its second outing this week.

The impact of the short format has been far greater than most expected, but is also attracting a lot of negative attention from cricket purists both in the press and around County Grounds.

What the ECB, ICC, and even the BCCI need to be weary of is over-exposing the game, and devaluing it. On both a domestic and international level, this is a real possibility. While it may seem the fans can’t get enough of T20 at the minute, they have a limit, and it seems it is going to be tested very soon.

When the Twenty20 Cup started in 2003, it involved 48 games—three games on Finals Day and 45 group games over 12 midsummer days in June. This season's competition sees a total of 97 games over a longer period of time.

But the worst is yet to come in 2010.

After a few years of attendances dropping and interest fading, the Pro40 League is being disbanded, giving those ‘over worked’ English cricketers some space to breath during the summer. Yet it is being replaced by a new P20 League. Yes, more Twenty20.

But this is not at the expense of the Cup Competition, which will still run with a similar format, but in addition to it.

The league will run similar to the Pro40 League, with two divisions and three teams promoted or relegated each season, meaning each team could play 16 matches in addition to 10 more in the Cup.

All this means is that in seven years, Twenty20 has gone from three games at each ground to thirteen. Is Twenty20 really that popular?

With a lot of empty seats at grounds this season already, many counties are going to face an uphill struggle to fill their grounds next year. The whole concept has been so successful in terms of attendance because it was a special event, it was something that happened four or five times a season, so peopled flocked to see it.

Now, it doesn’t have that appeal and clubs are having to increase spending on promoting and marketing the games. The atmosphere that was created by the full grounds is now fading as more and more empty seats appear and fans pick and choose the games that suit them.

The addition of the new P20 League is leading to another potential grey area for counties, The longer form of the game and club memberships at many counties will need to change drastically.

Many Counties do not include Twenty20 matches as part of their membership packages, which has increased the match-day revenue for the T20 games. But from this winter, that may have to change.

With the loss of the Pro40, the number of games available to members will be greatly reduced. So either membership prices will need to fall or Twenty20 will need to be included.

The options available for this are obviously plentiful and could be a whole new article. But what is certain is it will have a big effect on attendances at domestic cricket in 2010.

Test Cricket is still regarded as the pinnacle of the game, but weather it can hold on to that throne could be determined in the next two years, as cricket fans are bombarded with more and more Twenty20 both domestically and Internationally.

How they respond could revive or further alienate test cricket.

What Now For Newcastle?

Chris Siddell — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:03:00 -0400

Relegation is devastating for any club but with Newcastle United crashing into the Championship this weekend after 16 years in the top flight, all eyes will be watching to see just how catastrophic the drop can be.

Leeds and Blackburn are two teams who have been in a similar position to Newcastle, spending big and trying to break into the top four or five spots consistently. The Toon Army have attempted this in recent years, throwing money at players wages in particular.

But the question on everyone’s lips is which path will Newcastle follow? Will they return to the Premier League briskly like Blackburn, or will they continue to fall like Leeds did.

One thing on everybody’s mind is the money. Newcastle have a huge wage bill, one that former manager Kevin Keegan was asked to cut by £10 million at the start of the season.

The Magpies did lighten their load a little with the departures of James Milner and Shay Given this season, and were no doubt helped by the fees they received from said transfers. But the arrival of new players like Xisco, Coloccini, Guthrie, Bassong, and Gutierrez surely didn’t help in the effort to reduce the bill.

Figures released at the end of the 07-08 season revealed the wage and salary bill was a staggering £62.3 million, a huge increase of £10 million from the previous year. This year's figures will not be known until the accounts are released in another month or so, but the figure is said to have risen to around £70 million.

Owner Mike Ashley will be extremely worried. With a number of managerial casualties this year no doubt adding to the bill (with compensation etc.), and the appointment of Alan Shearer for a figure some say to be as high as £1 million a game (although £4 million seems more realistic) the cost of this season could be well over the £70 million mark.

Any club facing relegation will need to cut costs, but with the wage bills at West Brom and Middlesbrough said to be around half of Newcastle’s, they already have a head start on the Geordies in the Championship and should be able to keep most of their players.

Of course, Newcastle could keep their players, but they won’t want to. The loss of Premier League TV money is said to equate to around £30 million a year and, with a likely downturn in matchday revenues and commercial sales, the club, who made a loss of £20 million last season, have a lot of work to do if they are to break even.

Cutting their wage bill in half, by around £35 million, would be a huge boost for Newcastle and would cover the loss of earnings from the Premier League.

This is where Newcastle are going to struggle, and they will need a lot of luck and some help from other clubs to make up the money. Two or three transfers could potentially raise the money needed without a huge amount of cuts, but this is only an option if they make promotion in their first season. If they don’t, they will be in even deeper trouble.

The plus side for Newcastle is the almost certain departure of striker Michael Owen, and the fact that a few players such as Cacapa, Lovenkrands, and Mark Viduka are coming to the end of their contracts. The club can look to save up to £250,000 per week, even if they keep Viduka on a reduced wage. Despite his age, Viduka will no doubt be a prize asset in the Championship, and his apparent willingness to stay will be a huge boost.

The bad news comes with players like Duff, Smith, Coloccini, Geremi, and Barton amongst a few others. It’s these players, who have inflated wages, especially considering their performances this season, that are going to cause a big problem for the Magpies.

Damien Duff, said to be earning around £60,000 a week, has pledged to stay in the North East and play in the Championship, which seems very admirable, but he is unlikely to earn that money anywhere else, even in the Premier League.

Age, discipline problems, and bad performances this season will have put a lot of potential buyers off, and the result is United could be stuck with four or five players in the squad earning over £50,000.

This could be disastrous from a business point of view, especially with the club looking to cut around £700,000 per week from the wage bill.

The club does have another couple of lifelines on the money front, with the well paid and highly thought of Obafemi Martins and defender Steven Taylor potentially bringing in some much needed transfer money, while cutting something like £125,000 from the wage bill.

Taylor, a Geordie lad, will face a difficult decision, especially if he performs well with England in the Under 21 Championships this summer and some good offers come in for him.

It would seem Newcastle desperately need to sell a couple of players for big money, and even then, depending on how many players they can get rid of, they are still not out of trouble.

Newcastle have a dilemma. Get rid of too many players and they won’t be able to compete in the Championship, languishing in mid-table, or even worse falling further down the football league. But if they don’t get rid of enough, they will need to make an immediate return to the Premier League or face some serious financial trouble.

I for one will be looking forward to see how Newcastle cope with the times ahead, and hope for the sake of English football they go the way of Blackburn rather than Leeds.

Jenson Button On Pole Again as Lewis Hamilton Crashes Out of 2009 Monaco GP

Chris Siddell — Sat, 23 May 2009 12:12:17 -0400

Jenson Button once again grabbed pole position after a fantastic drive in Qualifying on the streets of Monaco. But fellow British driver and defending world champion Lewis Hamilton had a day to forget.

The McLaren driver seemed to be going fine before locking his brakes and smashing the back end of his car into one of the tight barriers, bringing out the red flags during Q1.

He wasn’t the only surprise of the first session, with both Toyoto cars continued their poor weekend finishing in the bottom two places, highlighting the Toyota’s frailties on the slower circuit.

While the BMW team suffered another blow, with both drivers also out in the first session, joining Hamilton and the Toyota’s in the last five spots on the grid, Force India will be celebrating their best ever qualifying performance in Qualifying as both drivers made it into Q2, finishing 13th and 15th respectively.

Button had a bit of a wobble during the second session, but made it safely through to the top ten shootout at the expense of Toro Rosso pair Buemi and Bourdais.

Fernando Alonso will perhaps be the most disappointed with his finish down in ninth, especially after his performance in third practice, where he finished top of the pile, and will face a nervous wait for the outcome of an appeal from Jarno Trulli, who accused the Spaniard of blocking him on a fast lap, meaning the former World Champion could be penalised some further places on the grid.

Williams and Ferrari will have plenty to smile about with both teams having both of their cars in the top ten, with Kimi Riakkonen set to start the race in second place.

But it is Brawn GP who will once again be celebrating after Ruebens Barrichello came in on the second row in third, ahead of Felipe Massa and both Red Bull cars, and team mate Jensen Button took a dramatic pole from Kimi as the seconds ticked out in the final qualifying.

Ferrari will be looking to take their first podium of the season and get some real points on the constructors board, while Button and Brawn will be looking to further extend their lead in the Drivers and Constructors titles respectively, as Button pushes for a fifth win of the season, and Brawn look for a third 1-2 finish of the season.

Whatever happens, we have one hell of a race in store for us on Sunday.

1. Jenson Button

2. Kimi Riakkonen

3. Ruebens Barrichello

4. Sebastian Vettel

5. Felipe Massa

6. Nico Rosberg

7. Heikki Kovalainen

8. Mark Webber

9. Fernando Alonso

10. Kazuki Nakajima

Why Rafa Benitez Can't Buy the Title

Chris Siddell — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:43:12 -0400

This season has not only seen Liverpool mount their most credible challenge for the Premiership yet, but has highlighted the frailties of Rafa Benitez as a top class manager.

Benitez has lashed out in recent weeks at fellow manager Sir Alex Ferguson and made several comments that have made him look rather foolish in the English press.

The fact he refused to acknowledge that Manchester United were the best team in the country, despite them winning the League, World Club Cup and being in the Champions League Final, and that he congratulated the team, but made a point of not doing the same for Ferguson shows he has not taken defeat well this year.

Ferguson, who, on the few occasions he has not won the Premier League has made a point of writing a personal letter of congratulation to the winning manager, must be extremely pleased with the way his team have performed this year, but also with how Benitez has crumbled under the pressure in the same way Kevin Keegan did all those years ago as Newcastle manager.

Where Benitez has made the biggest fool of himself comes with his comments about why Liverpool have not one the league.

He has been quoted as saying Liverpool fans will have to wait for a new stadium before they can compete with Manchester and Arsenal in their huge stadiums, but what he has clearly failed to remember that Arsenal won the Premier League three times whilst at Highbury, a stadium smaller than Anfield, what was Benitez thinking…who knows.

His next moment of glory came when he claimed the main difference between his trophy-less Liverpool and the glory of Manchester United was the money United have to spend. Maybe he should have checked some statistics before blurting out such an audacious statement.

Taking a look back over the past few years since Rafa took over at Liverpool, despite some differences in the final figures (due to Undisclosed fee’s being estimated), the Spaniard has spend somewhere between 50 and 70 million pounds more than his counterpart at Manchester.

To make the figures seem a little more daunting for Liverpool fans, the club was bought for £170 million by American pair George Gillet and Tom Hicks, while the Spanish manager has spent more like £190 million on around 50 players, that’s more money than the club is worth.

In the same period, Manchester United have only spent around £135 million, and yet Benitez still claims Sir Alex has ‘bought’ the league with his big spending. What the Spaniard has failed to notice is that in every season since his first in charge at Liverpool he has spent more money than Ferguson, and has very little to show for it.

In fact the only season he didn’t spend more was his first season in charge, when he actually won the Champions League.

Maybe Benitez should stop trying to buy his way to success and learn from Arsene Wenger, who has spent little over half of Benitez’s total, and has a lot more to show for it. If the early summer transfer rumours are anything to go by, then nothing is going to change on Merseyside, Benitez will spend big again, and Liverpool will win nothing.

Monaco Grand Prix Practice

Chris Siddell — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:30:04 -0400

This week's Grand Prix in Monaco has come at a great time, giving everyone a short weekend break from the politics and in-fighting that has marred the sport so far this season.

With practice sessions on a Thursday as always in Monaco, the teams have an extra day to prepare for the race and make adjustments to their cars after practice. This could prove extremely important with the continued improvements on many of the cars.

First practice was largely uneventful, with the drivers cruising around the narrow streets of Monaco making the adjustment from the wide-open circuits from the last few weeks.

The big news in the first session was from the Red Bull camp, with a blown engine for Sebastian Vettel and engine trouble for team-mate Mark Webber.

The Red Bull cars are running their version of the double-decker diffuser for the first time in today's sessions, but the team were quick to dampen any hopes of a much-improved car, saying they won’t see the full benefit on the twisting track at Monaco, but in the coming weeks in Turkey and Silverstone.

Topped by Rubens Barrichello of Brawn, the relatively slow times in the first session saw a big positive step forward for McLaren and Ferrari, whose drivers filled the remaining spots in the top five.

The Williams cars continued to make a good showing of themselves during P1, but the Toyota cars, who have been doing so well this season, finished bottom of the pile.

Second practice saw times improve by just over two seconds, and once again, King of Practice Nico Rosberg finished top of the pile.

Lewis Hamilton will be extremely pleased with his two runs today, finishing inside the top three in both sessions, and for the first time this season both Ferrari’s and both McLaren cars were inside the top ten for both of the practice sessions.

The main piece of news to note was from the BMW camp, who had a disastrous start to their weekend. They were already off the pace before some engine trouble for Robert Kubica completely ruined the day for the German team.

Whatever fighting has been going on between the FIA and Formula 1 teams, it will still be the talk of the press come next week, but lets all enjoy a few days of exciting racing on the streets of Monaco.

Premier League Relegation Battle…What happens if…

Chris Siddell — Wed, 20 May 2009 21:00:47 -0400

West Brom have already been relegated, but which two clubs will join them in the Championship next season. Here we take a simple look at the four teams who are in ‘contention’ for the drop and what their results mean. Going into the last day it could be any two from four teams, Sunderland, Hull City, Newcastle and Middlesbrough that join the Baggies in the Championship next season. Lets take a look at each of the four teams involved and what could happen on the last day of the season.

Begin Slideshow

Are Ferrari Right to Challenge the FIA?

Chris Siddell — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:57:44 -0400

Formula One fans, drivers, and teams face some of the most uncertain weeks the sport has ever seen, and it’s not a tense battle for the Championship as in previous years.

Instead, it is yet another political stand off as the FIA and FOTA come to loggerheads of the controversial budget cap.

Much has been made of the proposed budget cap of £40 million, which is due to start next season, but where does the new proposal leave the sport? Hanging by a thread, some would have you think, and ready to prosper in the eyes of others.

The budget cap is not as small as it seems, with Driver’s wages, engines, marketing expenses, and any expenditure which is deemed to have no effect on racing performance, £40 million suddenly seems a lot more reasonable, but as Ferrari are quick to point out, they have over 700 staff working towards their cars and performance.

Say the average wage of one of these employees is £25,000; that would be £17.5 million alone, almost half of the budget. All of a sudden you see the problems starting.

Many people believe Ferrari and the other big teams threatening to quit the sport are being petty and spoilt, but who can expect them to suddenly cut their costs so drastically in the space of one off-season?

The smaller teams already in the paddock, and the potential new teams, such as Lola, USF1, iSport and Campos; among others would have no problem working within the budget, and as a result can have far more technical freedom.

Great news, but then you have Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Red Bull, Toyota and BMW, who are going to seriously struggle to fit into the budget, and as a result may as well not enter the championship.

I think Ferrari are petty at times, but they might just be right this time.

Who wants to see an F1 Championship without them, or any of the other big teams. They made the sport what it is today, the sport we all love, taking them away would ruin the sport, and we would have to start again.

Newcastle-Middlesbrough: Martins Pulls Newcastle Out of Bottom Three

Chris Siddell — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:18:27 -0400

Newcastle and Middlesbrough players lined up at St. James Park knowing the victors would leave with a far increased chance of survival in the Premier League, and the losing side would face almost certain relegation into the Championship.

Newcastle started the brightest with two chances inside the first minute as Michael Owen failed to get on the end of a promising through ball from Gutierrez, before he lined up Danny Guthrie, who sliced his shot well wide.

But it was Middlesbrough who stunned the home crowd by going ahead in the third minute with a goal that sums up the season for both teams.

A great turn from Tuncay saw him pass Habib Beye, but he was unable to steer his shop past goalkeeper Harper, who to blocked the ball, which then bounced onto the leg of a stumbling Beye and into the net. Middlesbrough’s first away goal of 2009, an own goal.

Newcastle could have responded almost immediately when a Mark Viduka volley struck the woodwork and Steven Taylor blasted the follow up over the bar from close range. But the Geordie faithful didn’t have to wait long until Taylor redeemed himself later as Newcastle drew level in the ninth minute.

Taylor broke free from his marker, with the help of an outstretched Kevin Nolan leg, to power home a fantastic header from Danny Guthrie’s well-placed corner.

After the chaos of the opening 10 minutes, Newcastle looked the better side for much of the first half, keeping possession of the ball well and pressuring Middlesbrough, but as in previous weeks, they failed to produce much that would test Boro’s Australian goalkeeper from open play, looking most dangerous from set pieces.

Their best chance came after 26 minutes when Mark Viduka broke free from Hoyte and Emnes on the left to put in a dangerous curling ball, which was met by Michael Owen, whose header was matched by Boro keeper Brad Jones, who tipped the fierce header over the bar.

Not wanting to be outdone, Middlesbrough called Steven Harper into action seconds later when the ball broke free to Marvin Emnes whose low, curling shot was well-saved by Harper’s legs and the Dutch striker really should have done better when he collected the follow up, but he pushed his shot wide.

The half time whistle brought an end to a flowing and exciting first half during which both teams showed why they are in such desperate positions with a series of missed chances and a lack of killer instinct in the final third.

The second half started in much the same vein with a stray pass from Marlon King, who had replaced the injured Alves, leading to a dangerous Newcastle free kick that was deflected wide by the wall.

Newcastle continued to control the game in terms of possession but failed to break down the Middlesbrough defence any more than in the first half, with Boro continuing to look somewhat dangerous on the counter attack.

It was from one of these counter attacks that Boro brought out the first save of the second half as Gary O’Neil blasted a shot goalwards when the ball eventually fell to him after a number of Boro players had tried to find an opening before him.

The chance marked the beginning of a dominant spell for Middlesbrough who, like Newcastle, failed to turn the spell into a clear opportunity, never mind a goal.

With time running out, and a draw not helpful to either team, both managers brought on new attacking players, but it was Shearer’s change that had the immediate affect.

Obafemi Martins found himself with a shooting opportunity from a Mark Viduka flick on, and despite losing his footing managed to steer the ball past goalkeeper Brad Jones to put Newcastle ahead.

Although, replays showed Kevin Nolan, who made a clear effort to get the ball before Martins, was in an offside position.

Newcastle could have made it three from a Nicky Butt free kick that sailed wide of the post, but as Southgate made his final change in an effort to claim an equaliser, Newcastle looked far from comfortable defensively, but still managed to push forward and counter attack, again looking most dangerous from set pieces.

Newcastle eventually did make it three with five minutes remaining when another substitute, Peter Lovenkrands, took full advantage of a bang on the head to defender Bates to break free and smash home a Kevin Nolan cross from close range.

Boro piled forward in the closing minutes, leaving big gaps at the back, and substitute Andy Carrol almost took advantage of this, only to see two shots well stopped by Brad Jones as the magpies held on comfortably to a two-goal lead that saw the Magpies fans celebrating and chanting the name of Alan Shearer, whose substitution has given them renewed hope of survival.

The result lifts Newcastle outside of the relegation zone on goal difference, and leaves Middlesbrough three points adrift.

Another victory next week for the Magpies, coupled with a defeat for Hull will all but guarantee the North East clubs safety thanks to their superior goal difference.

2009 Spanish Grand Prix: Jenson Button Wins Amid More Troubles for Ferrari

Chris Siddell — Sun, 10 May 2009 10:32:50 -0400

The Spanish Grand Prix got off to an explosive start, almost literally for a few of the drivers.

After fantastic starts from Ruebens Barrichello and Felipe Massa who both jumped places to first and third respectively there was chaos a little further down the field in the second corner.

Jarno Trulli’s Toyota slid from the track into the gravel but made its way back onto the track where it was met, with some force by Adrian Sutil of Force Inidia, sending both cars from the track and race, but in the mayhem both Torro Rosso cars smashed into each other meaning four drivers were heading back to the pits after just a few seconds of the race.

That pile up brought out the safety car as the track was cleared, with the two Brawn cars assuming the first two places as the safety car returned to the pits. The green flags brought out the first big manoeuvre of the day as Fernando Alonso used his KERS system to overtake Mark Webber on the straight, only for the Australian to highlight the strength of the Red Bull car as he eased passed Alonso in the corner.

Any hopes of an improved showing from McLaren took a dent with a poor start from Hamilton leaving him in 12th position when team-mate Hieki Kovalainen retired with a similar gearbox problem to the one that troubled him in Friday practice.

Pit lane strategy was always going to be important on a track that has seen many processional races in the past, and it was a change in strategy after the safety car that allowed Button to reclaim P1 from Barrichello and it was there he stayed.

Kimmi Raikonnen’s weekend went from bad to worse when he was forced to retire with gearbox problems after his disastrous qualifying strategy. The team could have taken some consolation with Massa’s position behind the Brawn cars in third, but it was clear he could not keep up and challenge the British team and spent most of The race fighting off Sebastian Vettel in his Red Bull. The best chance for Vettel to pass Massa came in the firs round of pit stops when the two pitted together, but it was not to be for the young German.

After the second round of pit stops however it was team mate Mark Webber who came out in front of both Massaand Vettell to claim third position in the latter stages of the race. But as the race was drawing to a close with Button, Barrichello and Webber holding the podium positions, there was yet more heartbreak for Ferrari.

Felipe Massa who looked set to hold onto fourth place was forced to let Vettel and Alonso pass unchallenged as he ran extremely low on fuel, leaving Massa to finish a disappointing sixth considering the race he had.

Jensen Button held on to the lead right to the chequered flag, followed by team mate Barrichello and the two Red Bull drivers. Button, who secured his fourth win of the season stretched his lead in the Drivers’ Championship as the team moved even further ahead of Red Bull in the Constructors Table.

Is Too Much Money Ruining the Premier League?

Chris Siddell — Sun, 10 May 2009 09:29:56 -0400

The Premier League is dubbed the Best League in the World, and the big four have been showing the rest of Europe in the Champions League, with English Clubs dominating in recent years. But just how great is the league outside the top four?

The Premier League is becoming more and more a three tiered affair, with money creating big gaps in the standards of English football. It's clear that the big four are in a class of their own, and they provide the league with some of the best football in the world, but their Champions League money, the same money that funds their fantastic squads, is leaving an ever increasing gap between the top four and the next best.

Outside the top four, a group of around six teams will battle out their own little Championship race to qualify for European football. This year, Villa, Everton, Fulham, Spurs, West Ham, and Man City are pushing for the places, with the successful teams receiving a cash boost from UEFA.

Away from this we have the gritty part of the league the ten teams who just want to survive. Teams who play defensive and scrappy football just to retain the Premiership status.

Steve Bruce found himself frustrated this week, as he struggles to get rid of the clubs attitude that once they are safe, the season is over, something he claims to have experienced at other clubs.

It is this kind of attitude and football that is ruining the Premier League for supporters, with teams like Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton, Middlesbrough happy with just finishing in the middle of the table safe from relegation.

The reason, money, the same thing that has made the league so great, is threatening to ruin it. With television money meaning even the three relegated teams will receive around 30 times more money than their Championship counterparts.

It is this huge gap in funding that prevents teams from spending big money and trying to improve, even though it may appear strange.

Teams can afford to spend big money to push into the Champions League, into the Europa League, or to ensure safety, but they can only afford it if they succeed, Leeds Utd being a reminder or what can happen to a club financially if they put up the money and don't succeed.

In the top half of the league the issue is not as big, but for a team to make the jump from the bottom half of the league into challenging for a place in Europe will cost money, and it doesn't always work, as Sunderland are proving this season, after spending around £80 million in a push to move up the league, they find themselves battling relegation in May.

This won't be that big of an issue if Sunderland survive, when they receive a new batch of television money from the Premier League, and they can start again next season.

If they do get relegated, then the story is different, and the same goes for Newcastle, who also have spent (and spend on wages) a lot of money, cannot afford to go down and not get the TV money after such spending.

It is this risk of failure, and it can be a catastrophic failure, that prevents teams in the lower half of the league from big net spending and continued improvements in the lower realms of the league.

Chairmen and Owners are happy to spend as little as possible to improve an existing squad, do just enough to stay up, just in-case the worst happens and they are one of the three to drop.

There is no doubt that the Premier League has many of the best players, and some of the best teams in the world, and of course money is huge factor in this, but supporters need to ask themselves: Do they want the league to go on with a few rich teams at the top and plenty of mediocre teams defending and scrapping their way to another pay day?

Or do they want to see the money reduced and the playing field somewhat levelled?

Sunderland Edge Closer to Safety with Valuable Point

Chris Siddell — Sat, 09 May 2009 18:40:54 -0400

Both sets of supporters left the Reebok Stadium frustrated not to have gained three points, but neither team will be overly disappointed with a point which eases Sunderland’s relegation fears for the time being and all but secures Bolton’s Premiership status for another season.

Kieran Richardson missed three good chances to put Sunderland ahead, while Grant Leadbitter hit the side netting before Sunderland’s rearguard cleared from Kevin Davis and Martin Fulop produced a fantastic injury time save from Gary Cahill.

Sunderlandstarted the game well after manager Ricky Sbrigia left out Djibril Cisse in favour of an extra midfielder. The unusual 4-3-2-1 formation left Sunderland lacking wide men at times, but that didn’t stop them from dominating for almost all of the first half.

Kenwyne Jones provided long range chances for both Richardson and Leadbitter, but both failed to test Bolton keeper Jaaskelainen.

Leadbitter found himself in a scoring position once again as he cut in from the left but again he missed the target, drilling his shot into the side netting.

This just before Richardson missed another good chance to put the Black Cats ahead as Jones once again provided the midfielder with an clear opportunity to score, but as before Jaaskelainen was not called into action.

Jones, who must have been frustrated to hear sections of the 5,000 strong travelling supporters grumbling at his performance, provided Richardson with yet another chance to shoot at goal, only to see another ball fly into the crowd.

At this point Bolton fans were thankful to still be level, while the noisy Sunderland support frustrated to not see their team ahead, and they could well have been had it not been for a last gasp tackle from former Sunderland player Gavin McCann, who robbed Richardson of a chance to shoot just in time.

The second half saw Bolton come back into the game, with the addition of Mark Davies, who has been missing for two months, proving to be the catalyst that allowed Bolton to create some chances and trouble Sunderland.

Rio Ferdinand managed to head clear after a bit of a goal-mouth scramble just after the hour mark and Sunderland were suddenly starting to look nervous and seemed to lose the calmness in their play and struggled to keep the ball for any period.

Their cause was not helped when striker Kenwyne Jones picked up and injury and was replaced by Djibril Cisse.

The game gradually started to come to a close without either goalkeeper being tested, but there was more to come.

Sunderland could easily have found themselves in front after Cisse sent a ball flying across the goal line with Jaaskelainen just getting a touch, and should have had a dangerous free kick when Andy Reid had the ball taken from him by what seemed a blatant handball, but the with the referee’s view impaired the linesman failed to spot the indiscretion.

During injury time Bolton almost snatched all three points only to be denied by Martin Fulop when the Hungarian keeper tipped the ball away at full stretch from a Gary Cahill header, perhaps a save that will keep Sunderland in the Premiership.

Sunderland now sit five points clear of relegation, but Newcastle and Middlesbrough, who meet on Monday night, have the chance to close that gap.

Bolton V Sunderland: Crunch Time For Black Cats

Chris Siddell — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:32:10 -0400

At the start of the season Sunderland fans were realistically hoping to be in a position similar to Wigan, mid-table and safe from any relegation talk, plodding along building on the previous year, what they didn’t want was an away fixture at Bolton in May to become the most important game of the season for them.

Well, every game in the past few weeks has been super important, but with a Monday night trip to Portsmouth, and a home tie against Chelsea, many Sunderland fans are looking at this game as the teams last chance to pull themselves out of the relegation battle, a fact made all the more imposing as two of the teams below, Newcastle and Middlesbrough, meet each other on Monday night.

A win wouldn’t make Sunderland safe, but would let them breath a sigh of relief, knowing that the task ahead of any team wanting to catch them would be that much harder, but on recent performances a win seems a long way off.

Bolton’s form has not been fantastic and although not mathematically so, they are as good as safe, but they want to make sure of it and they too will be searching for a win, with Middlesbrough being their only victory in the last eight outings. Their team could be boosted by the return of Ricardo Gardiner, but they look to still be without Vaz Te, Davies and O’Brien (all knee) for the meting at the Reebok.

Ricky Sbragia takes his Sunderland team back to his former club without £9 million goalkeeper Graig Gordon (knee), and left back George McCartney (calf) but boosted by the return of Teemu Tainio in midfield, and a very large contingent of travelling fans. Sunderland, who were visited by Champion Boxer (and supporter) Tony Jeffries during the week, look set to start up with only one forward in an effort to strengthen the midfield, especially from a defensive standpoint, which may be viewed as a negative step, but with desperate defeats at West Brom and at home to Everton the Black Cats are in need of a change and this could well be the catalyst that pushes them towards safety.

Spanish Grand Prix: New Cars, New Challengers?

Chris Siddell — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:42:42 -0400

The Formula One circus arrives in Europe this week with the Spanish Grand Prix, with the sport looking extremely different to previous years. New teams are at the top of the pile, with the usual leaders falling well behind. One thing is for certain, the new rules and regulations governing Formula One have shaken up the sport and brought in a new era.

Once qualifying in Melbourne was finished and the Brawn GP cars sat on the front row, there was an air of excitement around Albert Park and the whole F1 world, the tide was turning, teams that had previously only dreamt of competing were now not only competing, but leading.

Since then the sport has been through a lot, with court cases and teams frantically trying to make changes to their cars between the spring fly away races. Now that the teams are back in Europe, and with a two week break since Bahrain, the teams have had time to make some drastic changes to their cars, with new aero-packages and modifications. Will this weekend see a turn around in fortunes for the big guns of F1, or have the tables really turned.

The main thing to remember is not that Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, BMW have altered their struggling cars, but that Red Bull, Brawn and Toyota have altered their already high performing cars, with Red Bull still only running an interim package to be further improved before Monaco in another two weeks.

Friday’s practice sessions shouldn’t be taken as gospel, we all know how much things can change between practice and the race, but it would seem from the times that have been posted that not an awful lot has changed. Piquet Jr has improved his times slightly, but has been openly running on very light fuel, as with the BMW cars, who posted some great times in the first session with light loads, but again struggled in the second session, but all in all nothing has changed.

Williams are proving they are the very good in practice, as with every other race so far, with Brawn and Red Bull (despite some problems), showing their cars are still among the, if not are, still the leaders pace wise. We will just have to wait and see what qualifying and the race brings, but I can’t imagine photographs from this weekend’s podium not having a Red Bull or Brawn driver taking centerstage.

Are Drugs an Issue? Exploring Drug Testing in Baseball

Chris Siddell — Thu, 07 May 2009 21:15:36 -0400

This week has seen Manny Ramirez, a modern day icon Baseball banned for 50 matches after testing positive for a banned substance. He's the third player this season to be caught using a banned substance after Romero and Mitre earlier this season.

The important issue in all of this is not if Manny really is knowingly taking drugs, as ESPN sources would have us believe.

But is the Major League starting to crack down on drug use, or is Ramirez being used as a high profile example to prove the doping agencies are still looking for cheats?

Baseball has been bombarded in recent years with drug scandals, which has led to a much tighter drug policies. They first appeared in 2002, and were revised for the second time before the 2006 season.

Under this new policy, any player testing positive receives an automatic 50 game ban, followed by 100 games with a second infraction, and then a lifetime ban for further offences.

On the surface, this policy shows baseball to be intolerant of cheaters and determined to squeeze them out.

But there are (and should be) many who doubt both baseball’s credentials as a clean sport and the desire of Major League Baseball to catch those using Performance Enhancing Drugs (PED’s).

For Baseball, this new policy is a huge step forward from a programme that, before 2006, did not name or take any action against a player caught taking PED’s for the first time. Under that system, a player would need to test positive three times in order to receive a ban like Ramirez’s.

The first major drawback to the testing system is the lack of offseason testing, which, in effect, means any player could use PED’s in the winter without any fear of being caught.

That is a far cry from cycling, wherein athletes can be tested at any time on any day—competition or not. Cyclists need to provide their location at all times to doping agencies. Get even this wrong, and the athlete could face a ban of 12 months, without even being tested.

If that isn’t enough, let’s look at the frequency of testing.

Under the new strict MLB policy, each player will be tested at least once per year, with the chance that several players could be tested on more than one occasion.

That's great news. With every player being tested, there is no way one of them can be taking drugs and not get caught. And, surely, the top performing players will be tested more frequently

But Ramirez stated in his defence that he has underwent about fifteen drug tests in the last five years.

In a recent interview with the BBC sprint cyclist and Tour de France Stage Winner, Mark Cavendish stated that he was tested 64 times during 2008. So, in three months, a road cyclist is likely to be tested for drugs more than one of Baseball’s top stars does in five years.

Baseball could head in one of two directions. It could spend millions of dollars to clean up the sport and create a level playing field. There is nothing to stop them from doing that.

Cycling has spent over 5 million Euro on a new Athlete Passport, which will cost around 3 million Euro more a year to maintain and test athletes. This new system will place cycling at the forefront of science and technology, making it almost impossible for an athlete to take drugs without detection.

Meanwhile, Baseball still sits back and leisurely tests its players, saving millions of dollars, but it still looks like it's cracking down by creating tough sanctions on those unlucky (or stupid) enough to get caught.

Baseball is a rich sport, a sport that pays players like Ramirez $25 million a year; the $7 million or so he will lose in earnings from his ban alone would pay for an overhaul in the system

But the truth is Major League Baseball doesn’t want players to be caught. As soon as Rodriguez, Ramirez, Bonds, or McGwire are caught, the game takes a dent—a huge dent. The game stops being America’s favourite pastime, and becomes a sport riddled with drug use and cheats.

You need to ask yourself: is Baseball really a level playing field, or are those using drugs just not chased down?