Sports World SEPTEMBER
So can you believe the football season has begun already? For football fans it’s not a day too soon, having felt lost all summer without the security of the Match of the Day routine on a Saturday night. For their spouses, the football free-summer has been all too short, and now they face another long winter of lonely Saturdays and distant preoccupied partners. But love it or hate it, the football is back, and looks to be an even more entertaining and controversial season than ever before…
The smart money is on Manchester United or Chelsea to win the Premiership Title again and there was very little between the two sides when they met for the FA Community Shield. It was finally decided on penalties, Manchester United taking the honours after heroics from their goalkeeper Edwin van de Sar. Ironic, after all the money United spent in the close season on strikers, that their keeper stole the headlines in that match.
Svengali Blues…
But it has been the blue side of Manchester that has made all the running at the start of the season under the watchful eye of their new manager Sven-Goran Erikkson. Having spent millions over the summer on a foreign legion of players he has successfully knitted them together as a team, which has raced away to three wins out of three and yet to concede a goal. Although Sven’s stock fell in the last days of his reign as England manager his powers as a club manager have never been doubted with 14 major honours to his name in 3 different nations. With Thai money and Swedish “Svengali”, it looks like sky blue bubbles are set to rise.
Wayne’s World is Footloose…
The bad news for England is that Wayne Rooney suffered another injury to his foot on the opening game of the season which will side line him from at least two competitive international matches as England seek qualification for Euro 2008. And apparently it is all because Wayne wears light weight boots that fail to give him adequate protection when he gets a good kicking. But surely playing in steel toe capped boots is a tad impractical!
Cole’s for Concern…
Roy Keane, manager of Sunderland has said this month he wants to sign Andy Cole on a free transfer. Odd that when just last year Cole reportedly said of Keane: “he’s the one footballer on earth who reckons that he never makes a mistake. The rest of us are just mugs, continually messing up the team plan. But not Keano. He’s just perfect - at least he believes he is”.Umm. probably not the best move Andy Cole could make then.
An Indian Summer?....
England lost their first cricket series at home under Michael Vaughan’s leadership in August when they failed to beat India at The Oval. Is the England cricket team on the slide then? Hardly! After all it was only the bad English weather that saved India in the first test match at Lord’s and England played the whole series without their three top strike bowlers. In fact the most encouraging aspect of the tests was the way other English bowlers like Jimmy Anderson rose to the occasion. After all it is bowlers not batsmen that win matches and England now have strength in depth in this department.
Tyson’s Mum Wins him the Title…
The World Athletics Championships kicked off in Japan this month too. Kelly Sotherton lifted the gloom surrounding under-performing British athletes with a bronze medal in the heptathlon. The highlight so far however, has been the men’s 100 meter showdown between Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell. Despite trailing for the first 80 meters it was Gay who finished the stronger of the two, picking up the gold medal with a time of 9.85 seconds, the third fastest winning time in the history of the championships. His secret? To calm his nerves he called his mum before the race.