WITH the Scotland national rugby team succumbing to a 16-12 defeat to the Auld Enemy on Saturday, one wonders whether losing has become an innate characteristic of Scottish identity.
It seems apparent that no matter what sport we partake in the outcome is normally one of frustration and 'glorious failure'.
That tiresome phrase has been banded about for years perhaps in direct proportion to our lengthy wait for some sort of momentous victory.
Yet is it a self fulfilling prophecy?
It is almost as if we were born brilliant losers. The nation has their expectations significantly raised before any big match – perhaps the media are to blame – and then in the aftermath whether it be in football, rugby, tennis or any other sport we are filled with the same juxtaposed feeling of despair and pride that watching Scotland and our sports men and women competing usually brings.
Referee's are vehemently sworn at for 'that' decision which cost us, the pitch just didn't suit us, the weather affected our play are the usual excuses which are made to soften the blow.
Pints are launched across the room, TV's thrown out of flat windows but once normality is restored and we accept that we were inches away from a famous win we take solace from the fact that we tried our best.
We can be proud of what 'our wee nation' has achieved – but the harsh reality is in the end it just isn't enough when it comes to competing in elite level sport.
Scotland were 12-3 up against England with half-an-hour to play why couldn't we have maintained that lead or at least held on?
Who pressed that notorious self destruct button which ultimately ended the dreams of a nation – again.
Or am I being to harsh? Do we just accept that the better team won – their play merited the victory and they deserve the plaudits coming their way?
From the evidence of Saturday's game this could not be further from the truth, England did just enough and no more and now progress to the quarter finals.
In football, the last time Scotland reached a major competition was when I had hopes and ambitions of playing for the country myself - suffice to say it was not yesterday.
The year 1998 seems a long time ago over 13 years, one wonders whether it will be another 13 years before we reach another World Cup – I certainly hope not.
It seems every qualifying competition, whether it be in the Euro's or the World Cup there was always that one result which if it had gone the way of us, we would have ended the barren spell.
Will we look back at the disastrous 4-6-0 formation in Prague and rue that decision – hindseight is a wonderful thing.
But maybe multiple World Champion cyclist and Olympic gold medalist Sir Chris Hoy would have something to say about this blog perhaps he is the exception to the unwritten rule – that Scots are born losers.
He is the most successful in his sport of all time, he has proven that it is possible for Scots to reach the peak in their elected sport – what makes him different?
And with tennis star Andy Murray, the question seems to be not if he will win a major but when.
Having already reached three finals – the 2008 US Open, 2010 and 2011 Austrialian Open the Scot has illustrated the potential he has to win a grand slam.
But is this itself 'glorious failure' he has always been there or thereabouts but the real prize has eluded him so far in his career.
Perhaps it is ingrained in our culture – even the national anthem suggests glorious defeat in the face of adversity: “And we can still rise now and be the nation again” reads the line.
It is all about bouncing back from loss and being determined to right the wrongs that have pervaded our history and perhaps that is reflected in our sport today.
Saturday 1 October 2011
Friday 23 September 2011
Just who is Falkirk star striker Farid El Allagui?
Not many people in Scottish football would have heard about Falkirk striker Farid El Allagui before Wednesday night’s Scottish League Cup third round match against Rangers. But after the French-Moroccan helped himself to a brace to shock Ally McCoist’s men in a 3-2 victory for the Bairns they will know about him now.
Signed from SO Romorantin – a club plying their trade in the murky depths of fourth tier French Football- the 26-year-old has made an instant impact since his move in the summer to the Falkirk Stadium.
Pressley brought El Allagui in on trial after he was recommended by his former team mate at Hearts, Stefano Salvatore. The striker produced a series of fine displays whilst there to prompt the Bairns boss to snap him up on a permanent basis and the target man has repaid his manager’s faith.
With nine goals in nine appearances the forward has fired his side into third place in the league and secured a passage into the later rounds of both domestic cups.
His double against Rangers on Wednesday night highlighted his explosive jump and his very good positional sense , some call it instinctive but as Kieran Duffie whipped in a cross, the 26 year-old knew where to be, to rise above the visitors defence and bullet a header past Neil Alexander in goal.
His second bared a similar resemblance with 16-year- old Craig Sibbald starting the move by launching a counter-attack and then producing a splendid cross for El Allagui to power another header past Alexander.
But there is more than just finishing to his game. At 5ft 11, he may not be the tallest centre forward but his powerful leap gives him the ability to out jump most players at his level which has built the foundation for Falkirk’s attacks this season.
The Bairns under former managers John Hughes and Eddie May played with a slow tempo where keeping the ball was the main focus but while it proved successful for a spell and it is questionable at all under Eddie May, teams learned to thwart this type of strategy, and a fresh approach was needed.
El Allagui has enabled Pressley to bring in this new refreshing style to the side by offering an outlet up front. Falkirk now opt to play with a direct and quick tempo with goalkeeper Michael McGovern starting an attack by launching a long ball to the French Moroccan where he has a tendency to win most headers even despite the height advantage defenders have on him.
This alleviates the pressure from the young Falkirk side – they have at least six academy graduates starting most games – because they are further up the park and are playing in the oppositions half rather than their own which has happened under previous regimes.
The 26-year-old is also unselfish, his ability to hold up the ball bringing others around him into play such as Sibbald on the left, David Weatherston on the right and Kallum Higginbotham through the middle combine a potent three-pronged attack behind him which has been the focal point for Falkirk’s goals this season.
But after his impressive displays so far it remains to be seen whether Falkirk can hold onto their star striker before bigger clubs start sniffing around this talented prospect.
Signed from SO Romorantin – a club plying their trade in the murky depths of fourth tier French Football- the 26-year-old has made an instant impact since his move in the summer to the Falkirk Stadium.
Pressley brought El Allagui in on trial after he was recommended by his former team mate at Hearts, Stefano Salvatore. The striker produced a series of fine displays whilst there to prompt the Bairns boss to snap him up on a permanent basis and the target man has repaid his manager’s faith.
With nine goals in nine appearances the forward has fired his side into third place in the league and secured a passage into the later rounds of both domestic cups.
His double against Rangers on Wednesday night highlighted his explosive jump and his very good positional sense , some call it instinctive but as Kieran Duffie whipped in a cross, the 26 year-old knew where to be, to rise above the visitors defence and bullet a header past Neil Alexander in goal.
His second bared a similar resemblance with 16-year- old Craig Sibbald starting the move by launching a counter-attack and then producing a splendid cross for El Allagui to power another header past Alexander.
But there is more than just finishing to his game. At 5ft 11, he may not be the tallest centre forward but his powerful leap gives him the ability to out jump most players at his level which has built the foundation for Falkirk’s attacks this season.
The Bairns under former managers John Hughes and Eddie May played with a slow tempo where keeping the ball was the main focus but while it proved successful for a spell and it is questionable at all under Eddie May, teams learned to thwart this type of strategy, and a fresh approach was needed.
El Allagui has enabled Pressley to bring in this new refreshing style to the side by offering an outlet up front. Falkirk now opt to play with a direct and quick tempo with goalkeeper Michael McGovern starting an attack by launching a long ball to the French Moroccan where he has a tendency to win most headers even despite the height advantage defenders have on him.
This alleviates the pressure from the young Falkirk side – they have at least six academy graduates starting most games – because they are further up the park and are playing in the oppositions half rather than their own which has happened under previous regimes.
The 26-year-old is also unselfish, his ability to hold up the ball bringing others around him into play such as Sibbald on the left, David Weatherston on the right and Kallum Higginbotham through the middle combine a potent three-pronged attack behind him which has been the focal point for Falkirk’s goals this season.
But after his impressive displays so far it remains to be seen whether Falkirk can hold onto their star striker before bigger clubs start sniffing around this talented prospect.
Sunday 4 September 2011
Scotland 2-2 Czech Republic: Czech mate late Michal Kadlec penalty all but ends Scotland’s chances of making the European Championships 2012 in Poland and Ukraine
As we traipsed onto the bus heading towards Hampden on Saturday we were greeted with spew bags on our seat, little did I realise it was to be an omen for the day as a late Michal kadlec penalty to make it 2-2 was a real sickener, and left a horrible taste in the mouths of Scottish fans up and down the country.
It was a tale of two penalties; one given and one not. Dutch referee Kevin Blom left the hosts seething as substitute Jan Rezek – who was still lucky to be on the pitch after lunging in recklessly not once but twice within seconds of each other midway during the second half – made the most of a Danny Wilson stuck out leg and fell to the ground – his dying swan act enough to convince Blom that it merited a penalty.
Kadlec converted the spot-kick sending it high into the roof of the net giving Allan McGregor no chance and all but ending Scottish hopes of reaching the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine in 2012 barring a minor miracle.
But in the dying seconds the hosts could and perhaps should have had a penalty of their own – given the softness of spot-kick awarded moments before. Defender Christophe Berra managed to wriggle free of the visitors defence before Roman Hubnik unwisely stuck out a leg - a move that had been ruthlessly penalised in the opposite box previously. But to the bewilderment of at least 50,000 fans and millions more watching at home, the whistler from Holland accused the Wolves defender of diving.
It is sort of the decision that leaves fans, players and managers incensed because of the inconsistency of the awards given. And once again calls for some sort of technology to be introduced into the game.
But no qualms about the result on reflection a point was fair as the Czechs controlled large periods of the match. The two goals that Scotland did score were defensive errors and should have been dealt with but it would have mattered very little had Milan Baros taken his early opportunity and Charlie Adam had not escaped punishment for a rash challenge in the box on the aforementioned striker, indeed they could have been out of sight with only 15 minutes played.
However, the Scots grew in confidence after their initial early scare but as has been the case with most games this European Qualification campaign rarely ever troubled the opposition goalkeeper. Looking at shots on target to goals ratio this tournament Scotland have converted 40% of their chances an incredibly high rate compared to the opposition yesterday who have a 22% success rate.
The stat suggests that Scotland do not create that many chances but when they do they usually take them. That certainly was the case yesterday as against the run of play the Scots went up 1-0 through Kenny Miller just before half-time. Darren Fletcher played an incisive pass through to the Cardiff City striker and his effort was poorly dealt with by stand in keeper Jan Lastuvka who let the ball squirm under his foot before nestling in the back of the net.
It was a lead the hosts barely deserved and the Czechs look confused as to how they were behind. The pattern of play in the second half widely reflected what had happened in the first, the visitors were in control and should have equalised when Tomas Rosicky threaded a ball through to Baros but he put his effort wide.
Miller could have extended the Scots lead when James Morrison put in a wicked delivery but he couldn’t convert the chance.
Then on 55 minutes, Rezek was introduced to play and would have a big impact on the match. His fired cross aided Jaroslav Plasil to bundle the ball home from a few yards out to give the Czechs the equaliser on 78 minutes.
But it was the partnership of Miller and Fletcher again that would lift the hopes of Scotland as the striker pounced on an error by Jan Rajnoch before driving towards goal and playing a perfect weighted pass to the Manchester United midfielder who tucked the ball away with aplomb.
The gamble had looked to have paid off. Fletcher had been sidelined for five months with an unknown virus but manager Craig Levein had no issues about putting him in the starting line-up. However, it was to be the midfielder who was caught spending too much time on the ball which led to the visitor’s equaliser. The 27-year-old was deep in his own half and should have just cleared the ball away to safety but perhaps his match sharpness so late in the game was questionable having being out for so long.
The result all but ends Scotland’s chances – they need to win their last three games including an away tie against the World Champions Spain – a challenge that can’t be overestimated.
It was a tale of two penalties; one given and one not. Dutch referee Kevin Blom left the hosts seething as substitute Jan Rezek – who was still lucky to be on the pitch after lunging in recklessly not once but twice within seconds of each other midway during the second half – made the most of a Danny Wilson stuck out leg and fell to the ground – his dying swan act enough to convince Blom that it merited a penalty.
Kadlec converted the spot-kick sending it high into the roof of the net giving Allan McGregor no chance and all but ending Scottish hopes of reaching the European Championship in Poland and Ukraine in 2012 barring a minor miracle.
But in the dying seconds the hosts could and perhaps should have had a penalty of their own – given the softness of spot-kick awarded moments before. Defender Christophe Berra managed to wriggle free of the visitors defence before Roman Hubnik unwisely stuck out a leg - a move that had been ruthlessly penalised in the opposite box previously. But to the bewilderment of at least 50,000 fans and millions more watching at home, the whistler from Holland accused the Wolves defender of diving.
It is sort of the decision that leaves fans, players and managers incensed because of the inconsistency of the awards given. And once again calls for some sort of technology to be introduced into the game.
But no qualms about the result on reflection a point was fair as the Czechs controlled large periods of the match. The two goals that Scotland did score were defensive errors and should have been dealt with but it would have mattered very little had Milan Baros taken his early opportunity and Charlie Adam had not escaped punishment for a rash challenge in the box on the aforementioned striker, indeed they could have been out of sight with only 15 minutes played.
However, the Scots grew in confidence after their initial early scare but as has been the case with most games this European Qualification campaign rarely ever troubled the opposition goalkeeper. Looking at shots on target to goals ratio this tournament Scotland have converted 40% of their chances an incredibly high rate compared to the opposition yesterday who have a 22% success rate.
The stat suggests that Scotland do not create that many chances but when they do they usually take them. That certainly was the case yesterday as against the run of play the Scots went up 1-0 through Kenny Miller just before half-time. Darren Fletcher played an incisive pass through to the Cardiff City striker and his effort was poorly dealt with by stand in keeper Jan Lastuvka who let the ball squirm under his foot before nestling in the back of the net.
It was a lead the hosts barely deserved and the Czechs look confused as to how they were behind. The pattern of play in the second half widely reflected what had happened in the first, the visitors were in control and should have equalised when Tomas Rosicky threaded a ball through to Baros but he put his effort wide.
Miller could have extended the Scots lead when James Morrison put in a wicked delivery but he couldn’t convert the chance.
Then on 55 minutes, Rezek was introduced to play and would have a big impact on the match. His fired cross aided Jaroslav Plasil to bundle the ball home from a few yards out to give the Czechs the equaliser on 78 minutes.
But it was the partnership of Miller and Fletcher again that would lift the hopes of Scotland as the striker pounced on an error by Jan Rajnoch before driving towards goal and playing a perfect weighted pass to the Manchester United midfielder who tucked the ball away with aplomb.
The gamble had looked to have paid off. Fletcher had been sidelined for five months with an unknown virus but manager Craig Levein had no issues about putting him in the starting line-up. However, it was to be the midfielder who was caught spending too much time on the ball which led to the visitor’s equaliser. The 27-year-old was deep in his own half and should have just cleared the ball away to safety but perhaps his match sharpness so late in the game was questionable having being out for so long.
The result all but ends Scotland’s chances – they need to win their last three games including an away tie against the World Champions Spain – a challenge that can’t be overestimated.
Sunday 10 July 2011
The Jekyll and Hyde nature of Falkirk midfielder Jack Compton
Jack Compton is something of a footballing enigma. There are times when he is capable of tearing defences apart with his blistering pace and scoring wonder goals like he did against Raith Rovers last season – resulting in the Bairns coming from behind to record an important 2-1 victory.
But there are times when the player just seems disinterested with what is going on around him, his effort and determination is at times questionable leading to him being unable to produce performances expected from this calibre of player.
It is frustrating to witness especially since he has so much more to offer and after the team’s 2-0 defeat to Peterhead, there were clear signs that the manager Steven Pressley was also becoming annoyed with this Jekyll and Hyde footballing personality.
“Bar one player Jack Compton, the players gave me their lot,”Pressley told reporters.
“There are demands I put on the players and that one player continually fails to meet those standards.”
Compton signed for the Bairns in January 2009 under the management of Eddie May - a massive coup for the then SPL side who beat off competition from Newcastle United to land the 22-year-old’s signature.
The former Weston-Super-Mare player’s arrival to the club came with a wave of expectancy but injury and a lack of first team football restricted Compton to just a handful appearances for the side.
It was not until the Bairns were relegated to the First Division did the fans get to witness glimpses of what this talent is capable of. His marauding runs down the channel terrorised the opposition defence and his goal against Cowdenbeath had tinges of Arjen Robben about it having drove down the right wing, he cut inside on his left foot and lashed an unstoppable low drive past the goalkeeper.
His goal against Raith Rovers was nothing short of sensational, he ran fully forty yards with the ball as the Bairns countered, with support left and right of him the pass seemed the better option but Compton continued to surge forward as the Raith defence backed off and then from thirty yards, he cut inside again on his left foot and unleashed a ferocious shot which clipped the underside off the bar before hitting the back of the net.
But these 2 goals and a further goal he added against Stirling Albion is all he has scored. He made 24 appearances last season – 15 of these he started.
On his day Compton could play at a much higher level, he has illustrated what he can do but the problem remains that he fails to regularly produce this high standard. To his credit, he has came back from a recurring knee injury which he picked up when he was a teenager and this has no doubt held him back from going on to bigger and better things.
This season he has the chance to finally step-up and give consistently high performances as he – even at the age of 22 – seems a veteran in a very inexperienced Falkirk side. The onus is on him and other first team players' to drive the team on but only time will tell if he can deliver the goods which too often has not been the case.
But there are times when the player just seems disinterested with what is going on around him, his effort and determination is at times questionable leading to him being unable to produce performances expected from this calibre of player.
It is frustrating to witness especially since he has so much more to offer and after the team’s 2-0 defeat to Peterhead, there were clear signs that the manager Steven Pressley was also becoming annoyed with this Jekyll and Hyde footballing personality.
“Bar one player Jack Compton, the players gave me their lot,”Pressley told reporters.
“There are demands I put on the players and that one player continually fails to meet those standards.”
Compton signed for the Bairns in January 2009 under the management of Eddie May - a massive coup for the then SPL side who beat off competition from Newcastle United to land the 22-year-old’s signature.
The former Weston-Super-Mare player’s arrival to the club came with a wave of expectancy but injury and a lack of first team football restricted Compton to just a handful appearances for the side.
It was not until the Bairns were relegated to the First Division did the fans get to witness glimpses of what this talent is capable of. His marauding runs down the channel terrorised the opposition defence and his goal against Cowdenbeath had tinges of Arjen Robben about it having drove down the right wing, he cut inside on his left foot and lashed an unstoppable low drive past the goalkeeper.
His goal against Raith Rovers was nothing short of sensational, he ran fully forty yards with the ball as the Bairns countered, with support left and right of him the pass seemed the better option but Compton continued to surge forward as the Raith defence backed off and then from thirty yards, he cut inside again on his left foot and unleashed a ferocious shot which clipped the underside off the bar before hitting the back of the net.
But these 2 goals and a further goal he added against Stirling Albion is all he has scored. He made 24 appearances last season – 15 of these he started.
On his day Compton could play at a much higher level, he has illustrated what he can do but the problem remains that he fails to regularly produce this high standard. To his credit, he has came back from a recurring knee injury which he picked up when he was a teenager and this has no doubt held him back from going on to bigger and better things.
This season he has the chance to finally step-up and give consistently high performances as he – even at the age of 22 – seems a veteran in a very inexperienced Falkirk side. The onus is on him and other first team players' to drive the team on but only time will tell if he can deliver the goods which too often has not been the case.
Sunday 29 May 2011
Champions League Final: Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United
It had been built as the greatest final in 10 years, with Manchester United and Barcelona -two of the world’s best going toe-to-toe in the Wembley arena- and it did not disappoint. Many articles and reports will have been written on the best spectacle in the world - evening eclipsing the Superbowl - but none could do it justice.
It was a pulsating match from start to finish as the world’s superstars displayed the sort of entertainment that had you on the edge of your seat and as if the script had been already written it ended fittingly with Frenchman Eric Abidal- who 72 days ago was having a tumour removed- lifting the Champions League for the Catalan giants after their fantastic 3-1 victory. It was Barcelona’s fourth time and twice in quick succession over Sir Alex Ferguson’s side- beating them 2-0 in Rome in 2009.
And perhaps the most pleasing aspect from a neutral point of view was that there was little if any controversy which mired the La Liga Champions semi-final against Real Madrid. The game was played the way it was supposed to be, with the exception of Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets- who would win an Oscar for best actor as each challenge he received saw him roll about the floor as if he had been taken out by a sniper in one of the stands.
That aside however, this match was exceptional and it was United who took the game to their Spanish opponents in the early stages as their defence looked lost without their leader Carles Puyol. Ji- Sung Park has been a revelation for the Red Devils this season and put in three decisive challenges – including one on Leo Messi – which demonstrated the kind of character and determination exuberating around the whole team in the opening 10 minutes. United could have even went ahead as Wayne Rooney almost latched onto a through ball but goalkeeper Victor Valdes – who many still question his ability- came rushing out to deny the Englishman. But where that was good anticipation, it was perhaps fortuitous that Gerard Pique’s back pass under pressure from United’s Javier Hernandez did not go past him moments later.
Although after this initial early pressure from United, Barcelona started to stamp their authority on the match and created chance after chance. But they were thwarted by the excellent defending of Nemanja Vidic – who was unfortunate to be on the losing side- however Barca’s pressure soon proved too much as they opened the scoring through Pedro Rodriguez on 27 minutes. It was a lovely goal and epitomised the Spanish’s style of play as Busquets and Andres Iniesta played a one-two, fed the ball into orchestrator Xavi- he darted unopposed towards the United defence before playing an exquisite pass- with the outside of the foot- to Pedro who evaded Vidic’s challenge slotting the ball past Edwin Van der Sar at his near post.
It was the type of goal we had come to expect of Pep Guardiola’s men, a style which has manifested itself in the Catalans – and bares the hallmark of the Dutch total football from the 1980’s. It is no coincidence that Barca have picked up this attractive play. Former Barcelona manager Frank Rikjaard was a Dutch superstar thirty years ago. Guardiola has only smoothed off the rough edges of the style shaping his team into one of the best the world has ever seen.
But if Barca expected the Red Devils to roll over and appease them they were sorely mistaken. Ryan Giggs who perhaps might have taken out a super-injunction for this match as he was fairly anonymous throughout- even the linesman failed to spot that he had strayed into an offside position for Alex Ferguson’s side equaliser on 34 minutes. Despite that the goal was as good as any made in Catalonia. Rooney played a one-two with Michael Carrick before -baring a similar resemblance to Xavi's pass previously -dinking the ball with the outside of his foot into the path of the Welshman who set up Rooney to curl the ball past the despairing dive of Valdes in goal.
The animation witnessed on Ferguson’s face only moments before had lifted and been replaced by joy. But Barca came roaring back and almost took the lead twice before the first half ended. A free kick worked off the training ground as Xavi rolled the ball into Busquets before threading a pass through to Pedro almost made it 2-1. Then Messi went on one of his trademark runs before finding David Villa, the Spaniard then laid the ball into the Argentine’s path but the last ditch challenge by Vidic did enough to put the striker off and the sides went in level at half-time.
Nevertheless United’s defence would be breached again as Xavi and Iniesta orchestrated the play in the final third – a wave of unrelenting Barca attack eventually took its toll and it was Messi who delivered a severe blow to the Red Devils cup aspirations by surging forward and hitting a curling shot beyond the clutches of Van der Sar- who perhaps might have felt he should have done better as the ball was fairly centre of the goal.
The Dutchman soon made up for his unusually poor goalkeeping by producing a string of stunning saves to deny Xavi and co. But he could do absolutely nothing about Barca’s third. Ferguson would have been raging with the sloppy defending in the lead up to the goal. Substitute Nani – who’d only recently came on- surrendered possession in United’s box, the Spaniards' took full advantage as the ball was laid back to Villa at the edge of the D, and he took a touch for control before producing a dipping curling shot beyond the 40-year-old. It was a fantastic piece of skill and thoroughly merited.
United had a couple of chances towards the end – Rooney tried to find the top corner with a curling effort but it only found the roof of the net, and Giggs felt that United should have had a penalty late on but the referee waved play on. Ultimately, it would be the Spaniards' that would go on to lift the coveted trophy.
It was a pulsating match from start to finish as the world’s superstars displayed the sort of entertainment that had you on the edge of your seat and as if the script had been already written it ended fittingly with Frenchman Eric Abidal- who 72 days ago was having a tumour removed- lifting the Champions League for the Catalan giants after their fantastic 3-1 victory. It was Barcelona’s fourth time and twice in quick succession over Sir Alex Ferguson’s side- beating them 2-0 in Rome in 2009.
And perhaps the most pleasing aspect from a neutral point of view was that there was little if any controversy which mired the La Liga Champions semi-final against Real Madrid. The game was played the way it was supposed to be, with the exception of Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets- who would win an Oscar for best actor as each challenge he received saw him roll about the floor as if he had been taken out by a sniper in one of the stands.
That aside however, this match was exceptional and it was United who took the game to their Spanish opponents in the early stages as their defence looked lost without their leader Carles Puyol. Ji- Sung Park has been a revelation for the Red Devils this season and put in three decisive challenges – including one on Leo Messi – which demonstrated the kind of character and determination exuberating around the whole team in the opening 10 minutes. United could have even went ahead as Wayne Rooney almost latched onto a through ball but goalkeeper Victor Valdes – who many still question his ability- came rushing out to deny the Englishman. But where that was good anticipation, it was perhaps fortuitous that Gerard Pique’s back pass under pressure from United’s Javier Hernandez did not go past him moments later.
Although after this initial early pressure from United, Barcelona started to stamp their authority on the match and created chance after chance. But they were thwarted by the excellent defending of Nemanja Vidic – who was unfortunate to be on the losing side- however Barca’s pressure soon proved too much as they opened the scoring through Pedro Rodriguez on 27 minutes. It was a lovely goal and epitomised the Spanish’s style of play as Busquets and Andres Iniesta played a one-two, fed the ball into orchestrator Xavi- he darted unopposed towards the United defence before playing an exquisite pass- with the outside of the foot- to Pedro who evaded Vidic’s challenge slotting the ball past Edwin Van der Sar at his near post.
It was the type of goal we had come to expect of Pep Guardiola’s men, a style which has manifested itself in the Catalans – and bares the hallmark of the Dutch total football from the 1980’s. It is no coincidence that Barca have picked up this attractive play. Former Barcelona manager Frank Rikjaard was a Dutch superstar thirty years ago. Guardiola has only smoothed off the rough edges of the style shaping his team into one of the best the world has ever seen.
But if Barca expected the Red Devils to roll over and appease them they were sorely mistaken. Ryan Giggs who perhaps might have taken out a super-injunction for this match as he was fairly anonymous throughout- even the linesman failed to spot that he had strayed into an offside position for Alex Ferguson’s side equaliser on 34 minutes. Despite that the goal was as good as any made in Catalonia. Rooney played a one-two with Michael Carrick before -baring a similar resemblance to Xavi's pass previously -dinking the ball with the outside of his foot into the path of the Welshman who set up Rooney to curl the ball past the despairing dive of Valdes in goal.
The animation witnessed on Ferguson’s face only moments before had lifted and been replaced by joy. But Barca came roaring back and almost took the lead twice before the first half ended. A free kick worked off the training ground as Xavi rolled the ball into Busquets before threading a pass through to Pedro almost made it 2-1. Then Messi went on one of his trademark runs before finding David Villa, the Spaniard then laid the ball into the Argentine’s path but the last ditch challenge by Vidic did enough to put the striker off and the sides went in level at half-time.
Nevertheless United’s defence would be breached again as Xavi and Iniesta orchestrated the play in the final third – a wave of unrelenting Barca attack eventually took its toll and it was Messi who delivered a severe blow to the Red Devils cup aspirations by surging forward and hitting a curling shot beyond the clutches of Van der Sar- who perhaps might have felt he should have done better as the ball was fairly centre of the goal.
The Dutchman soon made up for his unusually poor goalkeeping by producing a string of stunning saves to deny Xavi and co. But he could do absolutely nothing about Barca’s third. Ferguson would have been raging with the sloppy defending in the lead up to the goal. Substitute Nani – who’d only recently came on- surrendered possession in United’s box, the Spaniards' took full advantage as the ball was laid back to Villa at the edge of the D, and he took a touch for control before producing a dipping curling shot beyond the 40-year-old. It was a fantastic piece of skill and thoroughly merited.
United had a couple of chances towards the end – Rooney tried to find the top corner with a curling effort but it only found the roof of the net, and Giggs felt that United should have had a penalty late on but the referee waved play on. Ultimately, it would be the Spaniards' that would go on to lift the coveted trophy.
Monday 23 May 2011
Is Lord Voldemort playing Premier League football? He-who-should-not-be-named plans to sue The Sunday Herald
With the news that The Sunday Herald could face legal action by the footballer-who-should-not-be-named over their publishing of an article about his alleged affair with celebrity Imogen Thomas the debate between the freedom of the press and privacy of the famous rumbles on.
This has since sparked debate over whether celebrities can impose such gagging orders on the media when at the click of the button on Twitter all can be revealed. Many argue that the orders should be disposed of because it is a law that is designed purely to protect the rich as only they can afford to impose privacy injunctions or super-injunctions. Others believe that even the rich and famous are entitled to a private life and it is not in the public interest to know who’s sleeping with whom.
In the Press Complaints Commission ethics code (1992:11) it states that “the public interest is not whatever happens to interest the public.” It must be something of paramount importance to the public – can it be argued that this is imperative to the public’s needs? Celebrity magazines such as Hello! and Heat would certainly have you think so.
And onto the issue that has got The Sunday Herald into hot water. On May 22 it printed a photograph on the front page of the footballer, with his eyes blackened out and the word ‘censored’ over the top – immediately obvious to anyone who picked up the paper and read it as to who the Premiership star was. Underneath the caption: "Everyone knows this is the footballer accused of using the courts to keep allegations of a sexual affair secret. But we weren't supposed to tell you that.”
The paper goes on to name the footballer in the newspaper and this has made the representatives of the player to consider what legal action to take. However, there is a legal loophole and this has created a divide in media law opinion as to whether The Sunday Herald has a right to publish such stories.
Many argue including criminal law expert QC Paul McBride that the super injunction only applies to English media law and not the whole of the UK so it is perfectly legit for the Scottish paper to publish the story.
“They forget that Scotland has an entirely separate legal system which makes its own judgments. They think that their rulings affect the world when in reality it is just England and related jurisdictions,” McBride told The Scotsman.
"Basically the footballer's lawyers forgot that they should take out an interdict in Scotland, and that allowed the Sunday Herald to publish.
"They can call it a super-duper-injunction. If they don't have an interdict in Scotland it is worthless."
Although top media lawyer Brian Deane has a different view he believes the paper’s editors, journalists and directors could be prosecuted for contempt of court.
“If the paper was absolutely sure of its position, why didn't it publish the names of all the other super-injunctions, none of which have been served in Scotland?” Deane told The Scotsman.
"I suspect that if the roles were reversed and a Scottish judge's ruling was ignored this way in England the Scottish judge would be seething."
So it seems that according to Deane being aware of the injunction being in place is the crux of the matter rather than whether or not the injunction was directly imposed on the newspaper itself.
However Mr. Deane has raised an important issue when he asks why they have they not named all the other super- injunctions. If The Sunday Herald was to win the case then this could potentially start a wave of Scottish newspapers naming and shaming celebs that have imposed gagging orders across the border.
But The Sunday Herald is not the first paper to reveal the player’s name as the Spanish print media have also published who the player is which poses the question everyone knows who it Is, so why does he not just come out and admit it?
In 2011 there have been 18 privacy junctions granted with a further 12 super-injunctions being put in place which ban the media from even mentioning their existence. A recent report by the Telegraph revealed that nine footballers, nine actors, four pop stars, six wealthy businessmen and women, a senior civil servant and an MP have obtained injunctions. Schillings, the media law firm, has obtained more than 20 of the orders and been paid an estimated £2 million.
But what is your view on the matter should celebs be granted such orders to avoid their dirty linen being washed out in public, do newspapers and magazines print these stories because they know it will sell papers and therefore is it in the public interest? Or does becoming the status of a celeb mean that the public have a right to know every single detail of the person’s life?
For those of you who are unaware of the debacle a Premier League footballer took out a super-injunction to prevent the media from publishing the story about his six month sexual affair with the former Big Brother contestant. However Social networking site Twitter has been used as a vehicle recently by some users to name and shame celebrities over their scandalous stories and he was one of them – he is also looking into legal action against the Californian company.
This has since sparked debate over whether celebrities can impose such gagging orders on the media when at the click of the button on Twitter all can be revealed. Many argue that the orders should be disposed of because it is a law that is designed purely to protect the rich as only they can afford to impose privacy injunctions or super-injunctions. Others believe that even the rich and famous are entitled to a private life and it is not in the public interest to know who’s sleeping with whom.
In the Press Complaints Commission ethics code (1992:11) it states that “the public interest is not whatever happens to interest the public.” It must be something of paramount importance to the public – can it be argued that this is imperative to the public’s needs? Celebrity magazines such as Hello! and Heat would certainly have you think so.
And onto the issue that has got The Sunday Herald into hot water. On May 22 it printed a photograph on the front page of the footballer, with his eyes blackened out and the word ‘censored’ over the top – immediately obvious to anyone who picked up the paper and read it as to who the Premiership star was. Underneath the caption: "Everyone knows this is the footballer accused of using the courts to keep allegations of a sexual affair secret. But we weren't supposed to tell you that.”
The paper goes on to name the footballer in the newspaper and this has made the representatives of the player to consider what legal action to take. However, there is a legal loophole and this has created a divide in media law opinion as to whether The Sunday Herald has a right to publish such stories.
Many argue including criminal law expert QC Paul McBride that the super injunction only applies to English media law and not the whole of the UK so it is perfectly legit for the Scottish paper to publish the story.
“They forget that Scotland has an entirely separate legal system which makes its own judgments. They think that their rulings affect the world when in reality it is just England and related jurisdictions,” McBride told The Scotsman.
"Basically the footballer's lawyers forgot that they should take out an interdict in Scotland, and that allowed the Sunday Herald to publish.
"They can call it a super-duper-injunction. If they don't have an interdict in Scotland it is worthless."
Although top media lawyer Brian Deane has a different view he believes the paper’s editors, journalists and directors could be prosecuted for contempt of court.
“If the paper was absolutely sure of its position, why didn't it publish the names of all the other super-injunctions, none of which have been served in Scotland?” Deane told The Scotsman.
"I suspect that if the roles were reversed and a Scottish judge's ruling was ignored this way in England the Scottish judge would be seething."
So it seems that according to Deane being aware of the injunction being in place is the crux of the matter rather than whether or not the injunction was directly imposed on the newspaper itself.
However Mr. Deane has raised an important issue when he asks why they have they not named all the other super- injunctions. If The Sunday Herald was to win the case then this could potentially start a wave of Scottish newspapers naming and shaming celebs that have imposed gagging orders across the border.
But The Sunday Herald is not the first paper to reveal the player’s name as the Spanish print media have also published who the player is which poses the question everyone knows who it Is, so why does he not just come out and admit it?
In 2011 there have been 18 privacy junctions granted with a further 12 super-injunctions being put in place which ban the media from even mentioning their existence. A recent report by the Telegraph revealed that nine footballers, nine actors, four pop stars, six wealthy businessmen and women, a senior civil servant and an MP have obtained injunctions. Schillings, the media law firm, has obtained more than 20 of the orders and been paid an estimated £2 million.
But what is your view on the matter should celebs be granted such orders to avoid their dirty linen being washed out in public, do newspapers and magazines print these stories because they know it will sell papers and therefore is it in the public interest? Or does becoming the status of a celeb mean that the public have a right to know every single detail of the person’s life?
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