3-5-2?

30th July, 2015

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Well, we drew 1 – 1 with Aston Villa in a friendly at Bescot, following this up with a 2 – 0 loss against Tony Pulis’ Baggies (apparently trying out a 3 – 5 – 2 formation). Dean Smith has gone on record as saying he is pleased with the way the team performed in this latter game. It is, of course what I’d expect a manager to be saying in public at this stage where everything is, once again to win– and, not being at the game I’m properly willing to give the necessary credit. WBA being Premiership opposition – in addition to being a Tony Pulis team – always meant they would be hard to match.

This early Thursday afternoon as I type this I discover our “young saddlers” respectably beat (very local) Chasetown F.C. Now with the greatest of respect to the Scholars, we should be starting to win some of these games now, friendless or not, but again games have to be won – so take my hat off to the team.

Our final pre-season game is at Luton Town on Saturday … then the rough stuff begins. The reality, so I hope the feel-good, enthusiastic just-what-fans-need-to-hear stories of high levels of fitness, camaraderie and confidence get borne out once the proper whistles start to blow. Self-praise is no flattery after all.

Channel 4 deserve credit for the superb way they have shown the Tour de France, not only highlights but the whole live stages in gruelling glory. Team Sky take the plaudits for stage wins, team performance and the ultimate yellow jersey winner Chris Froome. Unfortunately Froome in particular has been dogged by very public media harpoons about drug taking and spectator fury. God knows the watchers come awfully – intimidatingly – close to the riders throughout the race, but Froome has been spit upon and had urine thrown over him. Personally I realise that it will take some time for the stigma and harm done to the sport by the once-mighty Lance Armstrong – and his lack of realisation, despite an apology – that he was doing serious wrong to the sport and everyone involved. The first ever Tour de France was ridden in 1903; this year there were one hundred and sixty starters – some of them specialist sprinters or mountain climbers, but the overall win goes to the one with the lowest overall time across rigorous conditions, hairpin, climbing corners, cobbled roads and a final day that laps the roads of Paris.

Originally dominated by French ,then European riders this year has many more decent and outstanding riders form Peru, Australia – and gold old Britain (not forgetting Mark Cavendish from the Isle of Man!).

Down in the one-time Olympic stadium the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games have been going on: Great come-back from having a child from Jessica Ennis-Hill and unexpectedly brilliant performance from Usain Bolt in – inevitably perhaps – wet conditions. Athletics looks very good on TV at the moment.

After some serious legal and somewhat political wrangling West Ham will be moving from Their current Boleyn Ground (a.k.a. Upton park) to this enormous venue. Definitely sad for the actual local teams (Leyton Orient I think) who will be overshadowed by at least the physical presence of the ground. But I have to think that the tax payers money is going to a good cause, on one hand; while also wondering if we will get any rebates. Hmm, give me a few moments on that to chexk if those were pigs flying past the upstairs window.

Totally Unexpected … Brazil v Germany, World Cup Semi-Final.

So I finish this day in Tamworth a little later than expected; but doesn’t worry me too much. I am still confident I will be at home in front of the TV in time for the Brazil v. Germany World Cup semi-final game. At this point, not being addicted to the World Cup matches I freely confess I thought it started at 5 p.m. English time. But the road was busier than I had expected. Sod’s law. The traffic lights all against me. The queues always in my lane.

Still, I told myself, no need to panic. Imagined that, without Neymar (broken vertebrae in the last game in one of the last rough-house challenges in a whole series of lunges, assaults, dives and pantomime injuries) and Tiago Silva (suspended after second yellow card) the game would be well in progress. In my fantasy Germany would score first, then be inexorably reeled in and Brazil to score the much-deserved winner somewhere around eighty minutes.

Got back at 5.15. No football on TV. Checked the TV schedules: ahem… …  nine o’clock start.

Time to watch highlights of the Tour de France, take a ‘phone call from my mother, talk about the impending holiday in Cornwall, discover that Walsall have signed up Jordan Cook (said to be a striker) and have a couple of Spanish players on trial and get a beer, incidentally and very neatly avoiding having to listen to the whole overblown chitter-chatter of the pundits before the actual kick off.

Then it all started to happen!

Brazil, frankly, despite massive support from the crowd, unbelievably totally blew it.

Wrong tactics, wrong personnel, overly emotional, overly hyped …

Or simple facing a superior team that played with efficiency, style and real purpose. Making holes in the Brazilian defence and whatever they tried to pass off as a midfield German players also showed silky skills and deft touches.

Some bluster and attempts to intimidate from a lacklustre David Luis – skipper for the night – and a ridiculous dive by Marcelo seeking a penalty were sad glimpses in the early moments.

As eleven minutes clicked up, super approach play and Miroslav Klose stuck Germany in the lead. Then a German avalanche engulfed the Brazilians who looked punch-drunk and vulnerable.

 

More goals, inevitably followed in what was described accurately at one point by commentator Martin Keown as a “testimonial game”.

By half time the Brazilians were out of it completely. Five nil down. The crowd quietened and broken spirited. Pictures of fans openly weeping filled the TV screen.

Eventual result: Seven one; the Brazilian fans reduced to booing on-the-giant-screen pictures of the players substituted. Didn’t like that: poor attitude. Remind me of that comment if I ever, publicly veer away from proper support of my own team and act so disrespectfully. Maybe “everybody has a bad day at the office” doesn’t begin to cover the vast abyss between teams out there, the often gross ineptitude of usually world-class players but I find that unacceptable. Cheering the opposition? Nothing wrong there. Criticism of your own team? Fine in private or when constructive. but Boo-ing yer own?

 

(There was a time, back in the day, when I became disenchanted with what I was seeing at Walsall. Tommy Coakley was manager at the time: a little more than out of his depth I guess looking back), but I simply stopped going. Bought a mountain bike and stayed away.)

Happily things have moved on at the Saddlers –as they always will. Brazil will now have a time of introspection – as a team and as a country. Doubtless we will now hear more of the protestors who criticised their government for staging the finals (feeling there were more urgent priorities, like health, poverty and education). But the players and manager will have to “cowboy up” to participate in the third/fourth place play-off game and this may be a time to salvage some pride.

So, all of my “tips” (“England,” said my heart;  “Italy,”  suggested the library sweepstake and “Brazil!” calculated my logical (?) brain) are out of contention. But the football has been compelling in these knock-out stages.

Ee Bah Gum, Lad: Tour’s On.

Sitting here, watching the gruelling hill-climb stages of the Tour de France (second day, Harrogate to Sheffield stage) I am trying to take the beans out of two recycled buckets full of broad beans. Outside the sun is still shining as it is on the massive crowds lining the route of the race. Yorkshire, indeed England, has taken this opportunity to heart. There are French flags, Slovakian supporters (of Peter Sagan), Cornish flags, the Union flag, writing on the roads (“Eat Yorkshire Pudding!”) in traditional Tour de France style; even a Black Country flag. It is marvellous to see such an enthusiastic response – and the camera work is excellent too. I love the way the landmarks and features are in French and the distances in kilometres and that the commentary includes good background historical, geographical and cultural references.

      

 

Our daughter featured in some “Tour de Facts” videos about the English stages and general rules of the Tour de France for English cycle sales, parts and repair stores, Halfords. I am, of course indubitably proud of her … but they are also quite informative and well made: I managed to learn things I was previously unaware of, and watching them has improved my enjoyment of the race I am now watching as broad beans bounce off the footstool around my ankles. (The “yellow jersey” is yellow because this was the colour of the pages of the newspaper that introduced it – before that the race leader wore a green armband only).

These videos are available on YouTube: if you are interested take a look at this first in the series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTDV2iirnk

I would have been quite happy  to have watched the Grand Depart (from Leeds, yesterday) but in the cyclical way of things in my life the very daughter that rode in and presented the Tour de Facts videos was moving house, so … a busy day not watching TV. However I am happy to report that the move, nicely timed to include a switch over overlap between rented accommodation and completion date, sees the new house well decorated and new carpets installed.

After the Grand Depart the race proceeded in blazing hot sunshine (nothing at all like the wet weather forecast!) and within sight of the finish line Mark Cavendish and another rider both came off their bikes. “Cav” most recently bandied about as an Isle of Man native is suddenly lauded as a native of Yorkshire – but, is now out of the whole Tour, having broken a collar bone – and done the decent thing by admitting the coming together was all his fault. Such sportsmanship.

In a TV interview with Ian Brailsford (manager of the ultra-successful Sky team) talked about his decision to leave out Sir Bradley Wiggins, saying that, in recent years the Sky team had been turned from “plucky losers to two-times winners” and that part of that turn around in mind-set was due to someone somewhere along the line making such calls.

In another strand of my life I have been excited by news that Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are together for another Who tour – and that I have managed to get tickets for the show in Birmingham. December. Something else to look forward to.

 

Summer Solstice Been and Gone.

Phew!

We’ve had a couple of days of scorching weather either side of the summer solstice (by scorching I mean, for England, of course – that’ll be twenty plus Celsius)

And I am typing this during the half time break of ITV televised live game between Cameroon and Brazil. The atmosphere is crackling in the stadium: yellow shirted Brazilians swamping the seats and whooping it up in stunning fervour.

The score is 2 – 1. Two great gaols from Neymar – but Cameroon are full of spirit. It’s a proper game!

       

And England are out. Losing 2 -1 to a dogged Luis Suarez inspired Uruguay. Out-played and out- fought. Just not good enough. I am well past the recriminations stage: they are not realistic the ranting fools that call for his head, or changes to rules.We lacked skill and we didn’t have the determination to give that little bit more that overpowers, intimidates, shocks and confounds those against whom we played. There are questions to be answered, but not those posed by the fickle media. There are points to be made about the European – particularly English Premier league – way of treating football as business, not football as sport. Rumours doing the early rounds that the F.I.F.A. World Cup may not continue as a competition; that U.E.F.A. will set up an opposite/different competition.

We have one game left: tomorrow night against a Costa Rica team that have surprised and impressed their opponents so far.

But, at the moment I am truly caught up in a game! Football as I like it. The match is about skill, expectation, underdogs, hope and luck. It feels like a game. Unlike the two that England turned up to earlier. Honestly, I have few expectations of the type of player that pull on the national shirts for my country these days. I see them as – no fault of their own, perhaps – being far removed from the fans. It’s about the wages, but about far, far more. Pride, for example. Passion. Never-say-die; that Alf-Tupper willingness to go on and on and on that Uruguay’s Suarez demonstrated so perfectly in coming back from a serious injury and walloping two goals past Joe Hart – even after he should have been exhausted. I am sure such bulldog spirit used to be an English trade mark.

The game is played on the pitch and the likes of Rooney (particularly) seem content to believe the drivel pulped out by the press. Ego, not effort.

Ah well …

Wimbledon tennis championship started this week. How will Andy Murray cope this year?

 

 

The Tour de France begins in eleven days. Begins in – of all places –  Yorkshire. The first stages being as follows:

Saturday 5th July: first stage, Leeds Harrogate, 190 km Sunday 6th July: second stage, York Sheffield, 200 km Monday 7th July: third stage, Cambridge London, 170 km

Back to my own football club: lowly Saddlers with big dreams. A whole host of pre-season friendlies coming up, some activity in signing up players: Joe O’Connor as replacement (though of course we do not “replace” people as simply as that) for Andy Butler who couldn’t agree on a deal and has joined Sheffield Utd. Wales under-19 and under 21 forward Tom Bradshaw, from Shrewsbury Town and a  non-League goalkeeper, Craig MacGillivray (from Harrogate).

I am looking forward to more of the Brazil game (have to go in a moment) but also to the start of the season. Fixtures are out now and we get one of my least favourite places out of the way on day one: Port Vale away.

… and, who knows maybe some fire from the England team in their last game in Brazil?

 

images: Neymar in the net: mirror.co.uk

Cameroon lion: metro.co.uk

Andy Murray (last year): telegraph.co.uk