Category: Sport

Homosexuality, Bisexuality and Sport

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It just seemed like a normal Monday morning. I was sat in the living room, scrolling through Twitter on my IPod whilst Sky Sport News echoed in the background. Suddenly, I noticed from the corner of my eye the name ‘Tom Daley’ appear on the TV, and then again almost simultaneously on my Twitter feed, with a link. The caption with the link said “This is one of the most challenging things I have had to do…” Instantly the Sky Sports presenter introduces Tom Daley has come out via YouTube that he is seeing another guy.The video got millions of views, and the bronze medallist at London 2012 received support from many Twitter followers.

It takes courage to come out generally, but for a sports athlete, it seems to be ten times harder. Why? Are sportsman not allowed to be a homosexual or bisexual? Why are sportsman fearful about coming out? Will it affect their careers? Will they lose fans? How will the media respond? For me, it shows that we are a society that still judgmental about homosexuality.

For some fans, their perception of Tom Daley hasn’t changed, they still find him the same person. Attractive, talented and overall a good man with a good heart. And this has been reflected by the support for other sportsmen and women. Robbie Rodgers came out as a gay footballer after a spell with Stevenage, and many have respected and embraced him. He is currently playing for LA Galaxy and is cheered by the crowd whenever he takes to the pitch. Another gay sporting superstar to come out is tennis starlet Martina Navratilova, who won the singles woman’s Wimbledon title 9 times, but she has too been recieving high praise for her bravery to come out and is currently living life as a retired hero for young female tennis players.

However, some people have been abused since coming out. Justin Fashanu, who again was a footballer, tragically killed himself after years of abuse as he came out as the first gay footballer. Gavin Thomas, Welsh rugby union flanker has also suffered abuse after coming out. He was forced to retire after a serious injury suffered against England in 2011. This is what upsets me about our society. Over time it has progressively got better but only by a small fraction, and to be honest, there shouldn’t be a fear or even any discrimination against gays and bisexuals.

In other ways of life such as acting and music, being homosexual or bisexual isn’t as big a deal. Why? How can different professions affect how the public react? It’s a joke. I guess the only atmosphere close to sport and its difficulties to accept sexuality is school. It’s just as tough perhaps tougher to come out as a teenage boy nearing the end of secondary education or sixth form then a sportsman.

Many believe that they think sports athletes find it tough to come out due to the fact stereotypical sportsmen/women are strong and straight. Some think it’s that if they come out, it will affect how they are treated at a club or in a team. This is the wrong way to go. Tom Daley has shown how it should be done. He has done it in his own comfort, without sadness or pressure. He also thanked the support he received, which shows how he and his fans connect and interact positively.

No one should ever feel like they have to hide their sexuality, whether they are from sport or any other industry. We are all equal.

Jack 2-0 Marseille; Arsenal Take Pole Position In Group F

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Two Jack Wilshere goals gave Arsenal control of Group F in the Champions League as they played out a comfortable 2-0 victory against a very average Marseille side.

Arsenal knew a win should be enough to cement their place in the last sixteen. They would also qualify if Napoli beat Dortmund tonight. A draw in that game would see Arsenal win the group.  

Within 32 seconds Arsenal were ahead. Jack Wilshere’s individual effort found the top corner of the net in Arsenal’s first attack on the Marseille goal and many surely thought that the game would now be an easy, controlling exhibition for the Gunners just because of how quick the goal came.

It was nearly two for Arsenal in the sixth minute as they once again cut the visitors defence apart. Jack Wilshere was involved again and his square ball should have been tucked into the net by starlet Aaron Ramsey, who is having the season of his career, but his shot was saved by French goalkeeper Steve Mandanda.

Wojciech Szczesny was as much a spectator for much of the first half as us watching the game on the television or the fans in the stadium, and it wasn’t until the twentieth minute that he was called upon to come and gather the ball from Marseille forward Gignac’s feet.

Arsenal were in complete control throughout the first half and ten minutes before half time they received a penalty after Aaron Ramsey was tripped but Mesut Ozil  saw his penalty saved by Mandanda, a penalty which to be honest was awful. And with that Arsenal held a 1-0 lead at Half Time.

The second half started like the first ended- with Arsenal dominating the ball and comfortably playing it around a sluggish Marseille. The closest Arsenal got to a second early on was Olivier Giroud’s deflected shot which spun just wide. A couple of minutes later Mesut Ozil had his poked effort saved by Marseille captain Mandanda who was having a very busy night.

Arsenal finally made it 2-0, and again it was Jack Wilshere who put the ball past a helpless Mandanda after clever play by Ozil.

Marseille finally tested Szczcsny after 70 minutes when substitute Thurian had two shots saved by the polish international in just a couple of minutes.

Arsenal could have buried the game and nailed Marseille’s coffin shut but Santi Cazola and Theo Walcott missed their chances and the game ended 2-0; A comfortable victory for the Gunners. Another Champions League knockout stage beckons…

Australia Humiliate England to go 1-0 Up in Ashes Series

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“It had started so well.”

The Ashes series has started humiliatingly for England. They werent only just defeated but crushed by the Australians, who won their first test match in nine. A massive 381 run winning margin shows that England must perform better (mostly the bat) before the second test.

Day one was a decent day for England, Australia were on 279-8 at Stumps, with Stuart Broad responding to the criticism and abuse he had to endure leading up to the test match with six wickets.  The only Australian partnership which seemed tricky to stop was Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson.  However this was as good as it got from England.

The Australians controlled the rest of the test after their first innings was over.  Firstly they ripped through the England batting line up with England only scoring a measly 130. Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson took most of the wickets with his troublesome bouncing deliveries which caught almost all the England batsman by surprise. This was just after two days!  Only rain seemed to be the only element which could condemn the test to a draw.

Day three; and Australia knew they were in a commanding position. They had a lead of nearly 150 before their second innings. They used the wicket to full effect and for England- a tough exhausting day laid ahead. Centuries from David Warner and Captain Michael Clarke helped toddle Australia to 407-4 when they declared, England needed 541 to win.

The second England innings was very reminiscent of the first. Only Alistair Cook seemed to be resilient to the pressure put on the England team by the Australian players and public. He made a respectful half century before being caught out by the spin of Nathan Lyon. England were hanging on by a tightrope and finally James Anderson was caught and the game was over.

Australia will now for the first time, feel confident they can regain the Ashes. It has been a period of dominance by England, but now we are perhaps the underdogs. I originally predicted a 1-2 or 2-2 in the series with England winning the ashes yet again. If that is to be the way this Ashes plays out- we need to be better in the next four tests.

After Another Defeat to Germany, Can We Truly Say England Are World Class?

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We may be good; but we are not world class. The performances that saw us beat Montenegro and Poland last month are just forgotten memories as England were shown to be an average side against both Chile and Germany in the past week. Following the 2-0 defeat to the South Americans last Friday, England was put to the sword by an arguably German “B” Team yesterday evening, 1-0, at Wembley.

How can a nation go from feeling confident of making the semi-finals at least a month ago to feeling England may struggle to get through to the quarters today? Well we got our answer to that question yesterday. We simply haven’t got a world class team like Germany, Spain and Brazil who have depth of talent, enough to make three different teams. England have an ageing Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. That’s it for now.

Chile were a clever team that were just too good for our back line. Germany on the other hand were well… boring. They drove to score and then were more disciplined in defence to deny England a chance of equalising. The thing that was disappointing about the result was not just the goal, but the fact Germany were without Neuer, Schweinsteiger, Gomez, Lahm and others. They were a younger much braver side. It showed us just how good German football is progressing.

This again links back to the question to whether England and the Premier League should bring in a maximum amount of foreign players in a squad so more English and British players can develop. Only 26% of players in the Premier League are English. That’s outrageous. We need to take a step towards the future like Spain and Germany have done and they now have the world’s best two young player development in World Football.

If I had to place England in a tier of world football we would be tier 3 or just peak into 2. We are nowhere near the likes of Spain, Germany, Brazil and Argentina. France, Holland, Russia, Chile and Uruguay make up some of the band two teams who would give us a scare. For me, we are similar to teams like Sweden, Greece and Portugal, average at best. We have enough to qualify to major tournaments but not enough to progress in them.

That could all change in the next few years though if we work on developing the younger players. Russia may seem a bit too close but definitely Euro 2020 should be a tournament we are looking towards to mount a serious challenge on. Players like Ross Barkley and Andros Townsend need to progress and be steadied into the side regularly over the next couple of years so that they hit their prime along with players with similar ages and a little order to create that winning balance of players.

So until then England fans… don’t get disappointed on another quarter final defeat in Brazil if that happens, for us that will be a achievement. No more pressure, we aren’t the team we used to be. But we can be again in the next few years…

Impressive Autumn Internationals; England Can Push For 2015 Now…

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“Good…but could be better”. These were the words used by England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster to describe England’s performances over the autumn season.  England had started the series impressively with a solid performance against Australia in a rematch of the 2003 world cup final. A good win against Argentina followed a week later before the All Blacks came to town last Saturday. England put in a respectable effort against without question the best national rugby union side in the world, but lost 30-22.

Performances that particularly impressed me were that of Full back Brown and centre Wood. The relationship between Wood and Robshaw worked well in all three games and the combination is sure to come about again when the Six Nations return at the start of the New Year.

From the three performances I gained both excitement and more charisma that we can mount a good challenge for the World Cup on our own shores in 2015. The All Blacks didn’t dominate like they have in previous years and with the team bonding and working well as a unit I believe we can be dark horses in the tournament in two years’ time.

A tough pool awaits the Red Roses, with Australia and Wales to play just to get into the quarter Finals- we are certainly in the group of death. The confidence level to progress must surely have risen after the autumn internationals though in many fans hearts.

It is still a long wait until we get to 2015 and it won’t be too long until the Six Nations return, and England must be confident to end the mini dominance Wales have had in the tournament over the past couple of years. I am sure we will win the Six Nations and be a force to reckon with over the next two or more years.

Is 2003 repeating itself- will we have a team of world champions come 2015? Well the way we are going I’m sure that will be answered with a confident YES.

So going back to Lancaster’s point of improvement- its a little harsh… but every team can improve (even NZ) and our improvement will be that we will keep the World Cup trophy home in 2015…

Chile Too Hot for England- Match Review

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Experimenting is a frustrating part of the game. England gave debuts to Southampton duo Adam Lallana and Jay Rodriguez and Celtic ‘keeper Fraser Forster in a bid to allow new players to try and impress as Brazil looms ever closer. Unfortunately, the trio failed to light up England’s performance as the visitors from South America Chile won 2-0 at Wembley in the first of two friendly’s in North London.

It only took the away side seven minutes to score the opening goal as Alexis Sanchez got ahead of Leighton Baines and headed the ball into the far corner, leaving Forster with the job of picking the ball out of the back of the England net at the first Chilean attempt on goal.

The Barcelona forward then scored his and Chile’s second of the match in injury time at the end of the second half with a delicate chip over Forster to wrap up the win for the South Americans.

Forster himself didn’t do too badly; he made a decent save against Wigan winger Bousenjour in the first half and cleaned up nicely at the back when required. However the other debutants, Lallana and Rodriguez, didn’t seem to get into the game and they disappointed in their first appearances for the Three Lions.

England did have some decent chances, especially in the first half but both Lallana and Wilshere’s shots were straight at Chilean goalkeeper Bravo.  The closest England came to a goal was from a deflected 30 yard free kick from Captain Frank Lampard which Bravo tipped over the bar brilliantly.

Chile thoroughly deserved their win; England were disjointed and didn’t seem to play together as a team. The English defence was shaky from the start and it was highlighted in the opening goal. Leighton Baines allowed Alexis Sanchez half a yard which was enough for the in-form forward to pounce and capture his 21st goal for his country.

The Chileans also outclassed us when it came to keeping possession of the ball. The team were confident to pass the ball around (Barca esc) and for the opening three minutes of the game England failed to touch the ball. England’s passing however, seemed average and sometimes the players gave possession away cheaply with passes either too short or inaccurate.

Overall this was a learning curve for England. Chile were very good opponents for the youngsters to come up against. We have to be realistic. We aren’t going to win the World Cup next summer, we need to try and encourage our younger players to implement their position in the team and prepare for competitive cameos in Euro 2016 and the World cup 2018 in Russia.

Tuesday once again will prove a tough test for England as we welcome Germany to North London. Play like we did tonight and we may come away stuffed by the Germans, we can only improve after tonight and a fierce competitive friendly is sure to thrill us in 4 days time.

Ashes are coming: What we can Expect…

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Since 2009, England have dominated the Ashes. As some of the most successful Australian cricketers retired (Warne, McGrath and Ponting to name just a few), England have gained superstars of their own. The England team is now full of quality in every position. With Captain Alistair Cook and Joe Root scoring freely (Carbury is also scoring many runs in the warm ups), Pieterson and Prior steading the ship with the middle order batting and for the latter wicket-keeping at the highest level. Swann and Broad keep the batting going with their improving skills with the bat and also with the ball. And then we have James Anderson, the King of Swing, leading the bowling attack.

Australia hasn’t got the same team they had before. Clarke has struggled to captain a world class cricket side. Their batting isn’t as strong- only Shane Watson the only recognisable danger batsman for the Aussies. This problem is similar in their Bowling line-up. Ryan Harris is their go to man for wickets but with injury problems, he isn’t deemed fit enough to complete what is a tough and challenging Ashes series.

England in the summer produced World Class cricket, destroying the Australians at Lords the most enjoyable memory for an England fan. Australia had some players who put in a good performance in certain games. Who can forget Agar’s debut century in the first test?

This winter though is going to be different for a number of reasons. The Australian coach Lehmann has already tried to get the Australians to get tough and make the tests a tough venue for the England side and especially Stuart Broad, who Australia deemed to cheat when he wouldn’t walk after being given out.  The team obviously also want revenge on England, after the embarrassment of the 2010/11 series which England dominated- and the fact England were comfortable for the majority of the summer series.

Ian Botham believes England will win the series 5-0. I can’t agree with that. Although I am predicting another England triumph come the final test in Sydney. Our squad will be stronger and we have got the better cricketers.  What we need to get to grips with are the pitches and the atmosphere. The pitches will be better suited to fast bowlers with not as much spin as there is in England. The Australian crowd will also be less supportive of the England team.

I predict a 2-1 win for England possibly 2-2. The tests will be closely fought and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a rejuvenated Australia. I can’t see the Aussies winning more tests then England so don’t  panic, the ashes will be coming home in the new year.

Wigan Athletic: Season of Dreams

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It might not seem like it on Paper, but I believe that Wigan Athletic are having a very good season. They currently sit tenth in the Sky Bet Championship and second in Group D in the Europa League. Wigan, the only second tier side in the continental competition, have impressed against the likes of Maribor and Rubin Kazan and look comfortable to progress to the knockout stages, a huge achievement for such a small side.

They haven’t been too bad in the league either, an unbeaten home record with a tight defence, it seems well worth making the trip to the bookies to bet that the Latics will be promoted either automatically or by the Play-offs.  You have to credit the team, who have arguably the busiest fixture list in the country. It was only last weekend they had to travel to Russia to play Kazan, where they were narrowly beaten, before flying back to take on Yeovil in the Championship, a game they won 1-0.

All the plaudits must go to the manager. Owen Coyle has done an outstanding job so far to keep both the League and Europa League in contention for the side, we’ve seen teams like Birmingham who, a few seasons ago struggled to balance the two competitions when they were in a similar situation. The team have also remained grounded and they have been putting in really good performances. The club are benefiting from an excellent summer transfer market, one which saw the likes of James McClean and Marc-Antoine Fortune arrive at the DW Stadium.

The DW is a feared place to go to, with Brighton and Hove Albion the next team to make the daunting trip north. If Wigan keep the home form going, they will easily end in the Play-Offs, which will make the season overall one of their best. It would be the icing on top of the cake if they were to make it into the last 32 or even 16 of the Europa League, the prospect of bigger and more established European clubs coming to Wigan will be a crowd pleaser and bring the fans to the games, increasing their fan base and income. Wigan will also be feared by clubs after their performances so far.

So come May next year, we could be talking about Wigan Athletic and the season they had. Keep it up boys….

Nadal Returns To Tennis Throne

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Wimbledon 2012 provided one of the shocks of the tournaments history as Lukas Rosol; seeded 100 in the world at the time, defeated two times Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the second round.  The defeat marred the Spaniard’s career as he began a long spell on the side lines. The King of Clay spent most of the rest of 2012 rehabilitating for his comeback in 2013 and many doubted we would see him at his best ever again due to reoccurring Knee injuries.

But after victory over Stanislas Wawrinka in straight sets in the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 in London, Nadal is guaranteed to end an astonishing year as number one in the world, a position he deserves after his heroics on the courts this year. Nadal has won 73 matches out of 79, a win percentage of 92.4%. He won both the French and US Open this term although he did lose in the opening round of Wimbledon this term to Belgian Steve Darcis.

Nadal is physically the strongest of the top players in the world of Tennis. He has an out of this world forehand shot which is both full of pace and precision, with many opponents struggling to cope with his physical dominance.

Nadal looks on course to win at the season ending tournament in London this week to cap of a remarkable year for the player who even I believed was going to full short of the greatness he has shown in previous years. It’s guaranteed Nadal will have to endure a shortened career because one day his fragile knees won’t be able to withstand much more, but I think we will still see the best of Rafa Nadal for a few more years to come…

Wenger’s Welsh Wizard: Aaron Ramsey

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Sergio Agüero, Eden Hazard, Yaya Toure and Luis Suarez.  These are just a few of the players who have started this season in blistering form. But no one could have expected a young Welshman to become the hottest footballer in the Premier League right now. Aaron Ramsey is in the form of his life, and because of this Arsenal are sitting comfortably at the top of the Premier League and top of their Champions’ League group.

Aaron had always shown glimpses throughout his early career that he would become what he is today, even back when he was just 18 years of age playing for Cardiff City. He introduced himself to the footballing stage when he scored his first professional goal against Chase town in an impressive performance in the FA cup tie back in 2008. The following summer saw him move to current club Arsenal for £4.8 million after impressing scouts. He made his first Premier league appearance for the Gunners against Blackburn Rovers in September 2008, assisting Emmanuel Adebayor for Arsenal’s third goal in the game.

Everything was looking on the up for a young upcoming wonder kid. But then Aaron suffered a major setback. On February 27th 2010, Arsenal travelled to Stoke City in a premier league contest.  Ramsey was included in the starting line-up.  Aaron was tackled by Ryan Shawcross, and what resulted from the challenge was a broken leg for Ramsey.  He had snapped both his tibula and fibula. No return date was initially in place and Aaron was rushed to the hospital. It would be 8 long months before he returned to training and a further month before making his first competitive appearance since the injury on loan at  Nottingham Forest. Some feared he wouldnt come back the same player as he had been before the horror injury inflicted upon him.

However, since that injury he has been showing more and more that raw talent he possesses. We began to see it on the international stage as well as domestically.  Aaron had been impressing in performances for Wales in 2010 and the late Gary Speed appointed him Wales Captain in 2011, aged just 21. He dazzled opponents with his quick feet and he provided more and more impressive cameos for Arsenal last season.

But this year he seems to be a completely new player. Wales’ new prodigy after Gareth Bale some would say. He has banged in 11 goals already this campaign, netting in the recent wins against Liverpool in the Premier League and Bourssia Dortmund last night, making Arsenal the first team to beat last season’s beaten finalists on their own patch since United back in 1953.

I don’t whether its’ that he is much more fitter, training harder, eating a better diet or just Arsene Wenger  putting something into his lunchtime meals, but Ramsey so far has been the player of the season without a shadow of a doubt. If he carries on like this, we may see yet another multi-million bid coming in for his services either on these shores or abroad. Watch out Gareth, there’s a new welch wonder about….