Month: March 2012

Manchester produced some scintillating football at the Armitage to condemn Northumbria to a 5-1 defeat. Braces from Amar Dhesi and Calum ‘Tubes’ Botham as well as a goal for captain Keir Cox gave the home side their biggest victory of the season.
In typical blustery conditions at the Armitage site, the match was a scrappy affair to start with, with the hosts struggling to get out of their own half as Northumbria made the most of the wind at their backs.
However, with Manchester keeping the ball on the floor, they were soon able to attack the Northumbria goal especially down the right flank where Amar Dhesi got behind the visitors time and time again who were unable to cope with his blistering pace.
The home side pressed as the half went on and Paris Kolonas shot inches wide with the first effort of the game. It wasn’t long, however, until the home side got their first goal. Calum Botham ran strongly at the Northumbria defence and slotted the ball through to Dhesi who calming passed the ball round the oncoming keeper which gave the hosts a deserved lead.
Spurred on by the opening goal, Manchester continued to pile on the pressure and were rewarded with the second goal just moments later. A sublime one-two between Josh Rodgers and Kolonas freed Botham who made no mistakes with a neat finish to double the lead on the half hour mark.
Manchester were running riot and the away side really had no response, with the opposing players getting increasingly frustrated over how wasteful their team were being. A rare foray into the Manchester half saw the visitors earn their first corner of them game. With the Manchester defence switching off, the towering Northumbria striker got his head away but it was brilliantly cleared off the line, in what was the away side’s only chance of the first half.
The third came just before half time, and was a goal that highlighted the quality that this Manchester team has. Botham ran powerfully down the left flank, beating his man and delivering a pin-point cross that evaded all the defenders and was met by captain Cox who found the top left hand corner with a incredible header on the run. Stuart Leicester, the delighted coach of the Manchester team was quoted as saying that was ‘the goal of the season’.
The hosts went into the half time interval with a three goal advantage and Leicester stressed that the players should push on and and boost their goal difference further, so important in a league where the two teams below Manchester are separated by a solitary point.
Whilst Northumbria certainly didn’t make use of the wind in the first half, Manchester exploited it perfectly for goal number four just a couple of minutes after half time. An enormous goal kick from goalkeeper Will Jones, which travelled all of 80 yards, bounced over the Northumbria defenders and found Botham who calmly headed the ball into the back of the net for his second of the day.
Botham, more commonly known as Tubes, due to his resemblance to the Soccer AM Star, almost had his hat-trick about twenty minutes into the second half when a poor goal kick found the striker but his audacious chip went inches wide of the left-hand post.
Manchester scored their fifth goal with ten minutes to go with a sublime piece of skill from Dhesi, who was a strong contender for man of the match. The winger picked up the ball midway in the opposition half and went on one of his typical mazy runs down the wing before lobbing the keeper from 20 yards out with a delightful chip, to the applause of all the spectators.
The Northumbria heads had dropped a long time before the fifth goal went in but they kept pressing despite the score line, desperate to take something away from the game. They found that with five minutes to go, as the away side got their consolation goal, and what a goal it was.
The visitors’ striker, who was their only player who looked like creating something, found himself with the ball twenty yards out and rifled it into the top right hand corner, giving Will Jones in the Manchester goal no chance of saving it and adding some respectability to the score line.
Manchester continued creating chances, and a number of substitutes were brought on to try and add their name to the score sheet. Sam Tipper should have done better when he was played in by Botham but he squandered a good opportunity.
With the game put to bed a long time ago, the away side resorted to trying to take chunks out of the Manchester players, with a number of rash challenges flying in, which were lucky not to see cards being given.
Botham so nearly had a deserved hat-trick near the final whistle when he lined up a free kick on the edge of the area but his curling effort was well saved by the Northumbria keeper.
This was a performance of real quality and showed why Manchester are one of the best University football sides in the country. With only two games to go, Manchester can’t catch runaway leaders Loughborough but the team should be heartened by their sublime performance and look set to finish the season very strongly.

As perhaps the most prodigious English spinning talent of his generation, it seems curious that Alex Loudon should have chosen to turn his back on a cricketing career at the tender age of 27. Reputedly a quiet and endearingly earnest professional, his decision may have owed as much to his desire to avoid the limelight as to his ambition to pursue a career in the city.
During his promising developmental years, the Old Etonian was widely touted as a future England captain. He led England U-19’s to moderate success at the 2000 World Cup, and in 2002 was rewarded for his imperious batting performances for Durham UCCE with a full-time contract with Kent. Initially recognised for his prowess as a top order batsman, Loudon soon began to realise his potential for bowling off spin, in particular the much-feared doosra, a skill which he learnt from an Indian friend while studying at Durham.
After leaving Kent for Warwickshire in 2004, Loudon began to make an impression with the England selectors, and he was supposedly awarded his place on the 2005 Autumn/Winter tour of Pakistan after dumbfounding Marcus Trescothick with his notorious change-up delivery during a net session. Loudon’s call-up was something of a surprise at the time, particularly as he featured ahead of the likes of Gareth Batty and Richard Dawson, but his unconventional talent and unerring work ethic greatly impressed coach Duncan Fletcher, who apparently recognised his potential as a world-class spin bowler.
Unfortunately for Loudon, his England career was to be confined to just one unremarkable ODI appearance against Sri Lanka in 2006, as he was run out without scoring before conceding 36 runs off just six overs. For the remainder of the summer, he struggled to dislodge the in-form Jamie Dalrymple from the one-day side, and after a disappointing 2007, he announced his retirement from all cricket, stating his desire to pursue a career in business.
Since then, Loudon has re-emerged as a B-list celebrity after dating (and then dumping) royal in-law and Daily Mail favourite Pippa Middleton; the relationship apparently became too high-profile for Loudon and his family, who were uncomfortable with being subject to such trivial media attention. England’s search for a world-class spin bowler finally ended, of course, with the discovery of Graeme Swann, whose success (as an orthodox finger spinner) has proved pivotal in England becoming the world’s number one test match side.

The University of Manchester secured a hard-fought victory against Newcastle to finish the season on a positive note. It was a blustery day at the Armitage centre with Manchester competing against a team who had already beaten them twice this season. It leaves them either second or third based on results elsewhere, and with a slight chance for promotion depending on the potential restructuring of the league.
In the opening five minutes Newcastle had the better of proceedings as they pressured the Manchester defenders high up the pitch. The pressure resulted in Manchester errors as they conceded a short corner after 5 minutes. The resulting effort was well saved by Manchester keeper Peter Sidwell and this signalled a change in the momentum of the game. Manchester started to look more confident and nearly carved out their first clear chance as Oliver Clement attempted to feed the ball to Kavaldeep Jabbal, The ball just running out of touch.
However, Manchester did not have to wait long until they did find the net. Their goal came from Clement’s short corner in the eighth minute and was neatly finished by Jacob Plummer. Newcastle had a brief period of pressure following the goal until Manchester again began to assert their authority over the game. With increasingly blustery conditions, captain Kieran Mulholland began to make an impact with his runs proving difficult for Newcastle to contain.
Manchester were growing in stature as Newcastle started to look increasingly frustrated. This manifested itself in ill discipline but Manchester failed to capitalise on multiple set-pieces. The home side were however playing some flowing hockey and were unfortunate not to score in the 31st minute as Mulholland shot narrowly wide following good link-up play with Phil Dutoy and Andy Rusbridge. Manchester would have been satisfied with a 1-goal advantage at half time even if their play perhaps warranted a greater lead.
Following the half time break Newcastle came out the stronger side and put pressure on Manchester with only a last ditch tackle from defender Nick Clegg preventing them from drawing level. Nevertheless, it only delayed the visitors opening goal by a further 3 minutes as they converted from a short corner
This parity did not last long as Manchester responded in the best possible way. They quickly forced Newcastle into conceding a short corner following a goalmouth scramble. Clement again found Plummer whose shot to the bottom left hand corner proved unstoppable. The goal gave Manchester confidence as they began to look increasingly dangerous and looked the much more likely to extend their lead. Clement was influential in this period and was at the heart of much of Manchester’s increasingly attractive hockey, However, despite Manchester’s pressure it still required a fine save from Sidwell on 58 minutes to keep Manchester ahead.
This proved crucial to the game as a long run from Clement followed by some neat passing in the D resulted in another short corner. Newcastle were unable to deal with Plummer’s shooting as he powered the ball into the top right hand corner past a flailing keeper to complete an emphatic hat-trick. At 3-1 the game looked to be over with only 9 minutes remaining and Manchester in complete control.
Indeed, Newcastle were lucky to as Dutoy shot narrowly wide, but they remained determined and managed to fashion a goal against the run of play from a short corner in the 66th minute. Tensions were rising on and off the pitch with the referee warning Manchester’s coach about his behaviour. The players however remained focussed and as previously, responded brilliantly to the latest setback. Within two minutes of conceding Manchester restored their two-goal advantage as Dutoy finished from close range following a Mulholland shot.
The goal deflated Newcastle and Manchester were able to comfortably see out the rest of the game to secure a well-deserved victory. After the game, captain Mulholland had mixed feelings. Despite being happy with the result and performance, he had hoped for a higher league position at the start of the season. However, in an extremely competitive year Manchester can be satisfied with a top-half finish and look to build on this for next season.

In 120 minutes of the 2010 World Cup Final, Arjen Robben did not complete a single pass to Robin Van Persie. Robben’s passing wasn’t much better in last week’s international between England and the Netherlands. The Bayern Munich winger scored two brilliant goals but he failed to supply Van Persie, the Arsenal forward who as of Saturday has scored 31 goals this season in all competitions. Surely this is absolute lunacy? How could you be so arrogant, so selfish, that you don’t adequately feed a team mate who is on such “insane” form as Van Persie himself calls it?
Jupp Heynckes, Bayern’s manager, has seemingly reacted to this selfish streak by dropping Robben to the bench. Robben missed Bayern’s clash with Schalke, which they won. The Dutchman came under fire from former Bayern great Franz Beckenbauer, who described Robben as “selfish like so many others. He has to think more of being useful to the team.” Beckenbauer also criticised the winger’s habit of running to salute his family in the stands, rather than running to his teammates after scoring a goal. So why doesn’t Robben simply pass more? Surely this would make him into an even better player.
The modern games biggest and most celebrated stars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, are extremely selfish and shoot with startling regularity. Messi has shot 123 times in 24 games this season in La Liga, scoring 28 goals. That is an average of just over five shots per game. Much is said about the Argentinean’s willingness to work for the team, but the stats speak for themselves. Ronaldo, meanwhile, has shot 157 times in 24 games this season in La Liga, scoring 29 goals. That is an average of over six shots per game. Robben on the other hand has shot 38 times in 15 games this season, scoring five goals in the German Bundesliga. He shoots on average just over twice per game.
Critics often talk about the selfish nature of Robben’s play, but he shoots half as frequently as Ronaldo. Robben is simply not quite as good. He scores one goal per seven shots whereas Ronaldo scores one goal per five and Messi one per four. Even Ronaldo has come under criticism from Real Madrid fans who think that he needs to pass more, especially in El Classicos. He pleaded for more affection from the Ultras Sur, the hard core of the Real Madrid supporters, in January and recently thanked them for being more affectionate in recent games. Ronaldo is good enough to plea with the fans and take a stand. He refused to celebrate his goal against Granada in a 5-1 win. Critics only call players selfish when they are missing and Robben misses regularly.
So what criticism or even advice can we give to Robben. Simply get better? Pass more; you are simply not good enough to do the things that you see on the La Liga highlights? I would say the latter, although probably in a slightly more polite way. Robben is undoubtedly a winger of rare quality, but much like his Bayern team-mate, Franck Ribery, he is not consistent enough to try and pull the spectacular off every time.

The increase in temperature, the proximity of Easter and the sudden appearance of that strange, bright ball we may have once called the Sun can only mean two things: spring is coming to Manchester and, more importantly, the grand circus that is Formula One is about to begin again. So what awaits us in the 2012 season?

Well, the most expensive sport in the world seems set for a vintage season. The first big pull is an extended calendar, featuring the return of the Bahrain Grand Prix and an entirely new race at the Circuit of the Americas, the first purpose-built Formula One track in the USA. The long straights and occasional tight turns and chicanes hint at a high speed circuit, similar to Monza or Silverstone. Full of places to overtake and run off, the Texas venue could be the place where Americans finally embrace the sport.

However, it doesn’t matter how glamorous Abu Dhabi, Monaco or any of the tracks are. The only things that are going attract F1’s millions of fans are the cars and the drivers. The ever loyal F1 audience look to be in for a treat, with the preseason tests hinting that 2012 is going to be a deal more competitive than its predecessor. Woking-based McLaren seem to have finally given up with all the theatrics and designed a good car from the ground up. The MP4-25 lacks the dramatic looks of last year’s model after engineers discarded the pronounced side pods and tightened the rear end. However, Adrian Newey’s pedigree as a designer has been proven at Red Bull, and test pace has been impressive.

Scuderia Ferrari, meanwhile, remains a contender to Red Bull Racing’s Constructors Championship crown. The F2012’s ungainly “platypus” nose, adopted by a number of teams in the wake of new regulations, seems to have helped them to their fast lap times. There are also a number of teams at the back of last year’s pack who could challenge for podiums. Lotus have managed some quick test times, with Roman Grosjean beating Jenson Button on the first day of the final test and Kimi “Iceman” Raikkonen’s return seeing him near the top of the final few charts. Force India, meanwhile, also impressed as Nico Hulkenberg and Paul Di Resta recorded podium spots on test days.

Preseason test data is notoriously unreliable, as the times set are dependent on fuel load, tyres and the various research and development aims of each team’s session. However, if there is anything to garner at all, it is that the Red Bull will be a frontrunner yet again. On the Wednesday of the second test, Sebastian Vettel’s fastest run was one second quicker than Lewis Hamilton’s and, after they had both completed a sixty six lap run, Vettel was more than two minutes quicker over a race distance.

With six world champions on the grid, many more teams in contention for wins and a calendar packed with glamorous races, the 2012 Formula One season looks to be one to watch if you’re a fan. Moreover, such a competitive season could see a raft of new fans tuning in for Melbourne’s March 18th curtain-raiser.

Across England, as winter draws to a close, the first glimpse of an early spring sun is met with delirium. For some it’s the signal to descend upon the nearest beer garden and start longing for boozy summer trips to Magaluf. For others, it marks the perfect time to drag a dusty cricket bag down from the loft and crack open the linseed oil as the countdown to the season begins.
On the other side of the world, however, it’s nearly time to retire the bat and gloves and lace up the rugby boots.
The Mancunion was present in Sydney, Australia, to witness an almost ceremonial changing of the guard, as the Tri-nations one day series drew to a close and the Super 15 and National Rugby League seasons began.
The Super 15 season kicked off on 24thFebruary with the New South Wales Waratahs at home to the Queensland Reds – a fixture touted as Australia’s fiercest Union rivalry. The game was played at the hugely impressive ANZ stadium, a legacy of the 2000 Olympics. A thrilling, open game showcased the stark contrast between Northern and Southern hemisphere rugby – and both sides inability to retain possession was perversely enjoyable.
The Waratahs, spearheaded by Wallaby Adam Ashley-Cooper – but without Berrick Barnes, Drew Mitchell and Rocky Elsom – dominated for most of the game, but a last minute error allowed Reds’ Dom Shipperley to ghost over for the match-winning try. The match was an absorbing encounter, and with a crowd close to 35,000 it felt a world away from the more familiar surroundings of Edgeley Park on a Friday evening.
The following Sunday, The Mancunion headed to the SCG to see the penultimate Tri-Nations group game, as Australia eased to an 87-run victory over India, ensuring their progression into the series finals.
Whilst significantly smaller than the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the SCG is a stunning venue. The stands which can house over 45,000 spectators are as impressive as the old pavilion is quaint: a perfect blend of the old and new.
The 35,000 crowd was a boisterous mix of the ‘Swami Army’, India’s supporters group, and the Australian ‘Fanatics’. On a lager-soaked afternoon it was clear that going to watch the cricket is a different culture over here, with cucumber sandwiches replaced by ‘schooners’ of Toohey’s and XXXX. Indeed, the Australian support delighting in informing Virat Kohli that he’s a “massive wanker” only served to remind visitors that this wasn’t the members’ stand at Lords.
After Australia crept past the 250-run mark in the opening innings, India’s chase never really gathered momentum. Sachin Tendulkar once again failed in his bid to reach his hundredth century, and his haphazard run-out thanks to Gautam Gambhir’s incompetence marked the day’s only real disappointment.
So with the Australian cricket team leaving Sydney for the last time this winter, local attention turned to rugby league.
Akin to football in England, the NRL seems to completely dominate the national psyche – nowhere more so than in New South Wales, which boasts 10 of the league’s 16 sides. Throughout Sydney the opening NRL fixtures were the talk of the city – especially the weekend’s closing game between South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters. Like the Waratahs, the Rabbitohs conceded in the final minute, losing 24-20 to their fierce rivals.
Back in Blighty, it isn’t long before the first sounds and sights of leather on willow appear. As summertime approaches down under, however, Australia is rugby mad.