What goes around, comes around

It was a familiar situation for Spurs when Martin Jol exited the club last November. For the past 3 years, they had been steadily on the rise, a 7th and two 5th place finishes, they’d played some smashing football, made some incredibly shrewd signings and looked to be pushing on. But all of a sudden it seemed to go a bit peared shaped as the Spurs of old looked to be returning. A defence lacking leadership without Ledley King, a goalkeeper completely bereft of confidence and Charlton Athletic making off with 17 million in “that” Darren Bent deal. The dressing room was lost, Michael Dawson’s performances dwindling with no experienced head beside him and hopes of a top half finish were pretty much gone.

Kudos to the Spurs board though for wasting no time in rectifying the situation. The signings of Alan Hutton and Jonathan Woodgate were again fantastic pieces of business to shore up that terrible back-line while we all know what Juande Ramos could do. He’s shaping that team using the Sevilla blueprint that worked so well and while we thought Jol’s Spurs were good, Ramos’s could really be the real deal. Add in the signings of the much coveted Luca Modric and Giovani Dos Santos and surely thats a team that could concievably make a run for 4th, even 3rd within a year or two. I mean, those two players aren’t just another “next big thing”, they could easily be playing for the Chelseas and Man Utds of this world

Trouble is, the big guns have come calling and it’s not just Berbatov this time. Robbie Keane’s just made the switch to Liverpool (in what Daniel Levy’s called an “enforced transfer”) and the Bulgarian could well be off to United again despite the wishes of the club. It’s harsh on Spurs who are doing their best to push on, only to have two of their most consistent, talented performers choose to leave, but thats the Premiership and quite frankly, what goes around comes around.

Spurs have spent the last few years snapping up anyone who’s the flavour of the month, and at times, it seems they’ve done it just because they can, rather than fill a need. It’s quite hypocritical of Levy to complain, he is getting 20 million for a striker who isn’t proven at Champions League level (Craig Bellamy anyone?) which is certainly more than Crystal Palace got for John Bostock. Due to some ridiculous outdated law, Spurs were able to take the 5million rated Bostock, a figure they were seemingly willing to pay, for just 700k. Yet Levy has the cheek to lament how he was given no choice but to let Keane go for 20 million. Even worse, he may just have to let Berbatov for something in the region of 30 million. Premiership transfer fees are inflating back to levels not seen since the turn of the century. Yes, it’s tough to lose your best players to bigger clubs, but why not quit your whining and think about how to spend that best part of 50 million you’ve just recieved.

New Balaban?

The new big man at Villa Park?

One name that is never far from the pages and pages of football gossip each summer is the colossal 6-foot-7 Serbian striker Nikola Zigic.

Usually linked to Portsmouth it seems his arrival, which has been pending for three years now, has been blocked by the arrival of fellow giant Peter Crouch.

So where now I hear you ask? Well it’s widely believed he will be joining the legion of strikers at Villa Park linking up with manager Martin O’Neill, after an indifferent stint at Valencia.

After seeing that Villa were the favourites to sign the big Serbian it made me think of the repercussions were he to go there. Both Zigic and current target man John Carew are no stranger to a confrontation. Taking this into consideration it would be no surprise to see the man who’s dropped every week affecting the harmony within a squad who may even push for a Champions League place.

Then will be the obvious comparison that will be drawn with other Yugoslavs/Serbians who have failed in the past. Remember Bosko Balaban?

The £5.8million man, who earned £20,000 a week, took part seven times for the Midlands side never scoring a goal. Unsurprisingly he was released from his contract with the Villains ending up in Belgium with FC Bruges.

Any Villa fan will also find it hard to forget Savo Milosevic. Nicknamed ‘Miss-a-lot-evic’ for his record of 28 goals in 90 games he was shown the door after spitting in the direction of his own fans following a heavy defeat.

As a great admirer of Zigic it would be great to see the big man do well and he may well do playing in a three-pronged attack involving Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Though don’t be surprised to see him go the same way as Messrs Balaban and Milosevic.

Can a European finally win the USPGA?

Harrington celebtrates winning his second consecutive Claret Jug

After Padraig Harrington became the first European to retain the Claret Jug in more than a century it begs the question; Can a European now win a major in North America without the presence of Tiger?

The last man to achieve such a feat was Jose-Maria Olazábal almost 10 years ago when he took home the green jacket in 1999, the second time he became the Master’s champion, going down as one of the great European players in recent history. Now with a number of very successful Europeans playing on the PGA Tour in North America it could be time for someone to follow in Ole’s footsteps.

The final major, the USPGA Championship, is coming up in August and the possible European contenders are as follows.

Padraig Harrington

The obvious choice would be the Irishman who is currently one of the most successful European golfers in major championships. Although he will have to recover from the wrist injury which almost forced him to pull out of the Open at Birkdale if he’s to compete at Oakland Hills.

Current odds: 16/1

Sergio Garcia

The Spainiard was looking to make it a historic sporting treble for the Iberian country after the successes of Euro 2008 in football and Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon at Birkdale, but it wasn’t to be as he slipped to a disappointing 17 over par and tied for 51st place. Despite this he will be optimistic going into the USPGA where in the past he has come second and joint-third.

Current odds: 14/1

Lee Westwood

After adjusting his swing and under-going a strict fitness program the Englishman will hope to have a realistic chance at the course in Michigan. Westwood will take inspiration from his third place at this year’s US Open as he looks to win his first major.

Current odds: 22/1

Ian Poulter

The 32-year-old achieved his best finish in a major, finishing runner-up at Birkdale. He will look to build on this at Oakland Hills and gain a place in Nick Faldo’s Ryder Cup team with another top-ten finish.

Current odds: 33/1

Henrik Stenson

Another impressive performer at Birkdale (tied 3rd), who plays on the PGA Tour. He will look to use this to his advantage going into the last major of the season.

Current odds: 28/1

Justin Rose

Last year’s European Order of Merit winner hasn’t had a good year thus far but will take heart from his performance last year in the upcoming tournament, where he was tied 12th.

Current odds: 30/1

Robert Karlsson

Finishing in the top-ten of each major so far this year is no mean feat putting him in good stead for the tournament at Oakland Hills.

Current odds: 40/1

Paul Casey
Tying seventh at Birkdale was his best finish in the Open Championship which will give him confidence going into USPGA.

Current odds: 40/1

Looking at the contenders Karlsson may be best-placed to make a challenge after being very impressive so far this year. Although it should be remembered that a European has never actually won the tournament but with Tiger out this is the best chance that European players may ever have.

False dawn?

One of the things that makes the NFL great is the parity. Teams can go from 4-12 to the playoff picture in the blink of an eye. With the prospects of turnarounds so high, it’s often so difficult not to get caught up in a wave of optimism as each team enters minicamps. Even those select few who’ve been stuck in a slump for years (the Lions, Cardinals, Raiders), there’s almost always cause for hope, usually when fans know they should know better.

As another Oakland preseason rolls around it’s that same story, and on the surface some of Al Davis’s big name signings perhaps justify Raider’s fans in beginning to believe that that return to greatness is just around the corner. I think back to past false dawns and find reasons why this one is different. the Moss/Porter/Curry combo was never going to work with Collins in the backfield. Daunte Culpepper was never going to be the same player he was in Minnesota, last season was a “transition” season. But this time, we’ve got a top reciever like Javon Walker, the best CB tandem in the game, an impressive young defence, Darren McFadden, JaMarcus, a young hungry coach. Is 8-8 that unrealistic?

Maybe it is, as good as this team looks on paper, I can’t help but get an awful feeling this teams about to implode…again. It’s taken a while, longer than most to try and get this team back to something other than a laughing stock and last season was always going to be a throwaway year. A couple of stop-gap QBs while Russell learned and a young defence that could only get better. But as so often is the case with franchises stuck in slumps, some bad front-office decisions could cost them.

Firstly, the offensive line recieved no upgrades. Now in an era where the QBs and RBs are lauded more than ever, nothing makes or breaks a team like an O-line. A mediocre back could gain 1,500 yards with a top line yet even LDT would struggle to break 1,000 with a bad one. There’s so many questions over Javon Walker too, and not just his physical health. The Vegas incident was mysterious enough, but it appears that he’s still not been able to truly cope with the death of former teammate Darrent Williams. Whether he can really be a big contributor to Oakland is a big question.

What really worries me however is who the money isn’t being given to, rather than who it is. Tommy Kelly was given a large contract, with a lot of that based on potential. Meanwhile Derrick Burgess, who has been one of the best ends in the league went without. DeAngelo Hall is a great addition as well, in terms of talent there’s not too much to choose between him and Asomugha. But character-wise they couldn’t be much more different. Hall is young, brash, outspoken whilst Asomugha a model professional, on and off the field. After the dreaded franchise tag, it’s unlikely he’ll be back next season.

Letting cornerstones like Asomugha and Burgess go could completely destroy what the Raiders are working towards, and that’s why so much hinges on this season. If it goes wrong, and theyre in a tough division, it could be Kiffin out, and back to square one.

Euro 2008 Wrap: It’s the Bryant Awards!

Yes, Euro 2008’s come and gone quicker than a host nation and while “best tournament” ever calls may be a bit premature, it was pretty darn good. Plenty of goals, drama, laughable punditry and a complete lack of Britain conspired to produce an exciting couple of weeks, otherwise usually filled by Sky Sports trying to convince us to watch county cricket.

So as Spain continue to celebrate their first trophy in 44 years, it’s time for the inaugural Bryant Awards ‘08. Without further ado…

The Tottenham Hotspur Award for Most Watchable Team Despite a Woeful Defence

Spain were easily the best team, but you just couldn’t keep your eyes off Turkey. Words can’t describe how they managed to keep coming back, let alone with a more incredulous feat each time. And just as you went to write them off for being “lucky” and not that good technically, they go and play the Germans off the park. I’m hard pressed to find a more remarkable cup run. Apparently they led for 15 minutes in the whole tournament, AND were knocked out by a 90th minute goal. It wasn’t always pretty but they were a hell of an advertisement for football.

The Derby County Award for Just Turning Up.

It should be blasphemy to call the previous winners the worst team but Greece were almost offensive to watch this time around. For all the negativity around Austria’s participation, they were anything but out of place. If they could have just put the ball in the back of the net they could have been the pride of Austria. Nevertheless, Greece were just terrible. With almost every other team determined to push forward and play to win, the Greeks were determined to stick by their 9-1-1 and were justly rewarded with 1 goal, no points and no self-respect.

Best Player

Everyone knows that if Russia had beaten Spain then Arshavin would have this wrapped up, but you can’t give it to someone who played 3 games and was a bit quiet in one of them. It’s hard to judge considering Spain put in such a team performance overall while the rest were so inconsistent. But I’m probably going to have to go with UEFA and pick Xavi. His contribution is so understated. It’s not the same as Senna who it’s very easy to pick as “you don’t see much of him so he must be doing a good job”. He’s a very good player but it’s such a fashionable pick, the defensive midfielder. Xavi really was almost flawless in every game, and his goal against Russia sent them to the final.

The Jon Stead Award for Being Unable to Hit a Cow’s Arse with a Banjo

Mario Gomez scored 28 for Stuttgart last year, and I’d probably let him off if it weren’t for two things. People were tipping him for top goalscorer and he got benched after 3 woeful displays. And he managed to clear the ball from off the Austrian line from a yard. That requires new levels of incompetence.

Best Match

So many to choose, but for me I think I’m going to have to go with Holland v France. Turkey’s games only got going late and I loved the Russia/Holland game but the drama of Holland’s 4-1 was fantastic.

Worst Match

France v Romania, 2 hours of my life I’ll never get back.

Best Goal

Tough to choose as while there were some good goals, there’s not one that really stands out. My favourite probably has to be Bastian Schweinsteiger against Portugal. Great team goal as Podolski plays two 1-2s down the wing before Schweinsteiger times his run to perfection to steer the cross home.

The Guus Hiddink Award for Overachievement with a Relatively Unknown Team

Ironically, it’s not Guus Hiddink. Russia were bloody good, and Russia have never looked like winning an international game in the past 50 years. But you are some manager if you can rouse your team from a 1-0 half time deficit, a 2-0 deficit with 18 minutes to go, and equalise after conceding in the 119th minute. What tops it off was that performance against Germany. Nobody saw that coming.

The Steve McClaren “How did that moronic grinning oaf ever get put in charge of anything?” Award

It wasn’t France’s best ever team, but Raymond Domenech really was the French version of Second choice Steve. He got everything wrong, he left out 20 goal David Trezeguet, Phillippe Mexes, Gael Clichy, Mathieu Flamini and Bakary Sagna. He refused to play one of the biggest talents in the world, Karim Benzema, in his proper position. He kept playing Nicolas Anelka. He picked Lilian Thuram. To top it off, in a totally McClaren-esque move, he proposed to his girlfriend on TV IMMEDIATELY AFTER BEING ELIMINATED AT THE FIRST HURDLE WITH ONE POINT.

It was compelling just to see what he’d get wrong next.

The Lance Armstrong Award for Never Giving Up in the Face of Adversity

Jens Lehmann. No matter how bad, how inept, how incompetent, how completely and utterly rubbish, he kept on going. He kept putting those gloves on and blaming everybody else for his mistakes.

Good for him.

The Mike Riley Award for Most Partizan Decision

Let’s be honest, that was NEVER a penalty when Austria were given a 92nd minute lifeline against Poland. They’d squandered chance after chance but the selfless Howard Webb handed them a point which lifted the spirits of the whole nation, and also earned Ivica Vastic a lifetime’s supply of beer.

The Mark Viduka Award for Most Smug Celebration

Now I love Andrei Arshavin, and I love . Simply brilliant.

The Kevin Keegan “Think before you speak” Award

Like many Polish, Prime Minister Donald Tusk was slightly miffed at Howard Webb ending Poland’s tournament. However, going on record saying “As the prime minister I have to be balanced and collected. But last night I was speaking very differently about the whole thing, I wanted to kill” perhaps wasn’t the best way to go about it.

The David Pleat Award for Most Bumbling, Incoherent Piece of Commentary

Luckily Shimbomba wasn’t at the Euro’s and David Pleat wasn’t that terrible. The award goes to ever increasingly senile John Motson for this nugget during the Italy/Romania game. “And had Christian Panucci scored a day earlier, he’d be the oldest ever goalscorer at a European Championships. Ivica Vastic currently has the record after his penalty for Austria last night”.

Erm, what?

The Jermaine Defoe Award for Bad Timing

I’m not saying that Scolari’s early appointment caused Portugal to exit the competition or anything. But how many games did they win after that?

Yeah, thought so.

Best Punditry

Despite the majority being substandard there were a few brief shining lights. Martin O’Neill’s ability to disagree with himself was always amusing while Gordon Strachan was criminally underused. Danny Baker wasn’t technically a pundit but was brilliant on his return to 606. Mind you, anything would be better than the insufferable Tim Lovejoy and Spoony. Also, it does pain me to say it but I quite enjoyed Marcel Desailly on the sidelines with Ray Stubbs.

Worst Punditry

Where on earth do you start? Steve Ryder was one of the more bizarre acquisitions from ITV while Clive Tyldesley and Peter Drury continued to annoy me. I don’t think anyone enjoys the tiresome, banal witticisms from Motson and Lawrenson but Alan Green has to top them all. His rants are getting increasingly bizarre as he tries to sensationalise anything and everything in an attempt to “stir things up”.

Team of the Tournament

Iker Casillas (Spain)

Sergio Ramos (Spain)

Carlos Marchena (Spain)

Pepe (Portugal)

Yuri Zhrikov (Russia)

Wesley Sneijder (Holland)

Michael Ballack (Germany)

Xavi Hernandez (Spain)

Andrei Arshavin (Russia)

Lukas Podolski (Germany)

David Villa (Spain)

Subs: Buffon (Italy), Marchena (Spain), Senna (Spain), Torres (Spain), Pavlyuchenko (Russia), Fabregas (Spain), Semih (Turkey)