Wembley, Relegation…Champions?

Relegation is confirmed and the door to the 2010/2011 season has been shut closed for Swindon Town.

We have debated about the problems all over forums, twitter and even going onto the player’s twitters’ to find answers that no one seems to have. It has been a continuous circle of the sameexcuses and relegation has hopefully put all these discussions to bed.

League Two awaits us in August, hopefully with an away trip to Oxford United. However, the more likely fixture is away to Morecambe, who by the way, have a newish and nice stadium for the trip. So we look ahead to the 2011/2012 season and a very interesting summer with the possibilities of a new manager and new players.

The Kassam Stadium. Old rivalries will reunite.

The main issue that needs resolving is the Paul Hart saga. Hart was given a tough task and has failed to deliver what was needed. He didn’t have the time to turn a team low on confidence into a side that had to win two games in a row that hadn’t been done since September. However, the fans have made it clear that he just isn’t the man we want or need.

Paul Trollope has been spotted at several games which leads to speculation after he was sackedby Bristol Rovers in 2010. Trollope is a young manager with a connection to the club and his name has popped up a lot with fans split on this potential appointment but I’d be happy to get behind Mr Trollope.

We have to first of all realise who we are when we think about potential managers. Gone are the days of Macari, Ardilles and Hoddle. We aren’t the same club now as we were back in the late 80’s, early 90’s. We are fortunate to have a club on a fine financial footing and the future is what we need to be building for now.

Notice the word building. Instant success can be great,but consolidation is much more important. That is the word that has actually avoided Swindon Town for what seems like its entire history. A young manager needs to be appointed to bring a new era to the club and given, mostimportantly, time. If it wasn’t Trollope that wouldn’t bother me, but just a big name won’t do. Big names come and go; we need a time of consolidating at the club and give people time.

Could we see Hart in Swindon colours next season?

We expect a decision very soon about Paul Hart’s future and it seems like Hart has been given a potential role at the County Ground for next season. Surely after Saturday’s scenes, Fitton can’t have him on board as manager and having him even at the club will ruin some of the atmosphereamongst fans as he won’t have any support. It will be the same as when Malpas when appointed, we’ll wait for something to go wrong to get him out as he wasn’t a popular choice.

As I suggested, Champions is a very realistic aim for the club next season already. We will be the team to beat in League Two, without singing our own praises and that is an enormous challenge to whoever takes over and the players on the pitch. Who is though even going to be at Swindon fromthis season’s team? Many of you may sarcastically say ‘not many I hope!’ but actually, imagine Jonathan Douglas, for example, in League Two.

Douglas will be key in our return to League One.

From doing some research, (from http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/swindon-town/startseite/verein_352.html) I believe the usual first teamers who are under contract are David Lucas, Phil Smith, Kevin Amankwaah, Michael Rose, Paul Caddis, Simon Ferry, Matt Ritchie and David Prutton.

However, Alan Sheehan, Scott Cuthbert, Lescinel Jean Francois, Michael Timlin, Jon Paul McGovern, Vincent Pericard and Jonathan Douglas are all obliged to leave the club if they so wish. Douglas did boost every town fan by stating that he would like to stay but a lot can change in the next few weeks. Several League One clubs will be in contact the Irish midfielder, and they would be silly not to.

It’s hard to predict who will stay and who will go as it depends on offers from other clubs and also guarantees on playing next season. The board will be looking to sign Sheehan, Cuthbert, McGovern and Douglas back up but again, it depends on who they can afford to keep. We have a good core of a league two squad, definitely good enough to get us back up to League One but many good and brave decisions have got to be made this summer.

We still need to sort out the issues from this season, even with relegation, which means two strikers to go with Benyon and reinforcements at the back. Frampton on a permanent deal could be possible and Calvin Andrew in League Two could also be a big help as he has shown his presence in games, such as Huddersfield away, can be a big nuisance to the opposition.

The season is obviously not even over but it feels like it and the pre season has to be done right this time to ensure an immediate return to League One. Fitton will be tested but I trust in the board and feel, plus only hope, that this League Two status for our club will only be temporary.

Swindon promotion hope to relegation woe

‘‘Don’t worry’’ I said to my mate after the 1-0 defeat to Millwall at Wembley, ‘‘there is next season, we will come back stronger.’’

There hasn’t been a worst prediction of the future in football and it continues to haunt my mind at the end of every defeat during this miserable run.

We all know how we felt after that defeat in May butyet there was a sense of it being Millwall’s day and next year it should be ours. So, it frustrates us all the more to see where we currently lie.

We have heard all the excuses this season from ‘we haven’t replaced Greer, Paynter and Ward’ too ‘Does Wilson even know his first 11?’ and the classic of ‘we just aren’t as good’ and that’s the simple truth. We aren’t as good as last season and with that achievement it’s making this run look a lot worse than if we had just had a season of mid table obscurity before it.

It now stands at 10 games without a win and so where are the faults, the problems and what’s the way out of this mess?

A first eleven

Last season, I could name you the starting eleven every week. It was so consistent that I’ll name it again: Lucas, Amankwaah (Darby), Cuthbert, Greer, Sheehan,McGovern, Douglas, Ferry, Ward, Paynter, Austin.

You look at that and see partnerships along with a real team. Amankwaah and McGovern’s link up was a joy to watch, Paynter and Austin being one of the most successful partnerships since Parkin and Mooney or Finney and Allison. Douglas and Ferry had the right balance of defence and attack to cover each other and support the play. It was ‘liquid football’ as Alan Partridge would put it.

This season Alan Partridge would have a field day at thinking up expletives to describe our teamand performances. Let’s take the team from this Saturday, which was the first time we have had the same 11 two weeks in a row since our last league win at Charlton back in early January.

(442) Lucas, Caddis, Cuthbert, Frampton, Rose, McGovern, Douglas, Timlin, Ritchie, Obika, Benyon.

Straight away it doesn’t strike you with as much confidence as the playoff season and this is the first downfall. The team is full of individuals rather than team players.

Too many players this season are unsure as to what their squad status is, dropping and changing every week. The odd injury is fine, but changes have been made to formation and teams most weeks so the team hasn’t settled. No players have gelled together as one minute it’s a 3-5-2, then a 4-3-3 (4-5-1?) 4-4-2, some weeks it takes me half the match to figure out what we are playing.

‘We never replaced Greer, Paynter and Ward’

The saying that has come out of every Town fans mouth. The statement to start with is a true one. They have pretty much been replaced by Frampton, Dossevi (Benyon?) and Ritchie. These players aren’t as good so where do you begin with the rant?

Greer shouldn’t have ever been sold. From what we know, Greer wanted a contract and he wasn’t offered one. After a season of helping us to a playoff final you should offer him a new deal after a very solid season. It’s no shock that our defence has crumbled without him. Cuthbert isn’t an experienced centre defender and has struggled without the Scot by his side. Frampton might be experienced, but has struggled with injury, only in on loan and isn’t a replacement for Greer. He is barely someone brought in to patch up the back.

Paynter wasn’t a player we could stop leaving. He had one good season at the Town and left. If we had of got promoted, him staying was probably still unknown. So, we had the entire summer to replace him and it didn’t happen. People may say he got in Pericard and Dossevi to try and replace him but they haven’t been good enough. Pericard was never going to make the step up, and Dossevi scored two good headers v Forest and got a contract. It was a last minute ditch attempt signing when you see it from a fans perspective.

Danny Ward was the energy behind towns attack from the left wing. He could get into areas up front and had formed a good understanding with Sheehan. We have almost certaintly tried to get him back to no avail. These things happen, so we signed Matt Ritchie, the player who when he came on loan couldn’t get a game. He was signed for around 200k and came with much hope. I didn’t rate him before, and in a side not playing well, he stands out still. He is a winger with no pace and no strength.

Transfer Dealings

We went into this season as big favourites for the playoffs, so we should have been an interesting proposition too many league one or out of favour championship players. We didn’t strengthen our squad and it has cost us.

The signings of Rose, Sheehan, Caddis, Ferry and Prutton are all fine and necessary but their performances have been another matter. Sheehan was a good signing following his successful spell on loan from Leeds along with Ferry, one of the players of the season.

Ferry though has come in and been behind Prutton in the pecking order. Prutton was a big name signing for us and has played in some good sides like Southampton but hasn’t lived up to his reputation. Simon Ferry still can’t get a chance to settle again with Jonathan Douglas in centre midfield and changing that from last season has been a decision that still baffles most fans.

The signing of Paul Caddis hasn’t worked out so far and at least Michael Rose has scored from goals from dead ball situations. Rose for me isn’t much better than Sheehan, but neither have set the town defence on fire, they have rather made other team’s strikeforces look on fire.

Thomas Dossevi…well that one just hasn’t worked either. An energetic striker, who along with Pericard just can’t play two games the same (that’s if he actually plays one game well.) He has shown signs of potential at least, but it hasn’t happened and he isn’t a goal scorer. Elliot Benyon has now come in with Jonathan Obika last minute and these two are our only hope for goals.

So, Is Danny Wilson the man?

So, we currently sit in 20th, one point above the drop but have played more games than a majority of the sides around us. This has been overly negative, but with the situation being the complete opposite to last, its expected.

Danny Wilson I feel could get us out of this mess, but it’s not what me or the fans think. It’s the players who have got to have confidence and I struggle to see it from the stands. The players don’t know whether they have a regular place or a regular system along with no confidence.

Wilson came in and kept us up before and so why not again? But at least in that squad we had Simon Cox scoring 31 goals in a season, and our man to keep us up, Charlie Austin has gone.

We move onto Southampton away on Saturday, a team yet to beat us since they came down to League One, but that side they faced in those four defeats is so different to the one they will come up against this weekend. A point would feel like a win, and that’s the situation we are in.

Our destiny is in our hands with games against Walsall, Plymouth and Dagenham to come in March. These are games we can’t afford to lose or who knows, we could go from Wembley to the Kassam Stadium in just over 12 months…

Del Rio on the road to Wrestlemania…

But you already knew that! Well I hope you did and tuned in for the 2011 Royal Rumble to see Alberto Del Rio fulfil his destiny.

This year’s rumble was one of the easier results to predict, as seenon my blog, as Del Rio dropped many hints that he will win the Royal Rumble, as many superstars failed to make such a statement.

The Royal Rumble saw some great surprises with cameo appearances from Booker T and Diesel (Kevin Nash) and overall the rumble impressed after a slow start. The rumble was kicked off with the chaos between The Corre and The New Nexus, which makes a potential match at Wrestlemania. Especially after taking Husky Harris out of action on Raw making each group have three surplus wrestlers after their ‘leader’.

We saw cameos from Booker T and Diesel, which was a brilliant move by WWE. We always see the usual old school wrestlers that are getting to repetitive, so to move forward in time to get Booker and Nash was a great move.

John Cena’s elimination was a good creative move by WWE. It was shocking, different and sets up The Miz v Cena at Wrestlemania. However WWE, as suggested in my last blog, might mix things up at this year’s Elimination Chamber.

The Elimination Chamber has taken a different approach to usual this year as the WWE Title will be defended outside of the steel structure. The chamber on Raw will consist of John Cena, CM Punk, R-Truth, Sheamus, John Morrison and Randy Orton to decide the number one contender at Wrestlemania.

Having no WWE title on the line in the Chamber does take some of the surprise element out of the match. Expect Cena to win, with The New Nexus probably costing Randy Orton the match in some way to further ignite that rivalry with CM Punk before Mania.

So, in the WWE title match we have The Miz v Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler. It may seem weird, boring and pointless but it has a reason behind it. Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler, as stated this week on Raw, has never had a match at Wrestlemania. Classic WWE line to say ‘by the way, I’m going to have a fight at Wrestlemania’ don’t worry though, it won’t be Lawler v Cena for his newly won WWE title. The match will probably (definitely) involve Michael Cole interfering and costing Lawler the match.

On Smackdown, there is the usual concept of the World Heavyweight Title being fought for inside the Chamber. The winner will face Alberto Del Rio at the ‘Grand Daddy of them all’ and Edge will retain to face Del Rio. He does face a challenge from Rey Mysterio, Kane, Wade Barrett, Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger but expect one of these to be a part of and win the Money in the Bank match (which may be scrapped, but hopefully not)

It sounds very obvious, but with Edge being the biggest face on Smackdown at the moment, and Del Rio hoping to be the biggest heel on Smackdown, you expect these two to be put together in the second main event at Wrestlemania.

But where does this all leave The Undertaker’s Streak and Triple H’s soon return?

If you saw Raw, with the promo video that said the date ’21.2.11’ then it would suggest Taker will be back on a Monday Night Raw, not at the Elimination Chamber. It’s an odd one, as it’s assumed he’ll face Barrett, and still will. Why they couldn’t do it one night earlier at the Elimination Chamber to give some added entertainment to the Smackdown title match isn’t known, so we will have to see.

There have been rumours flying around that the date and promo actually relates to Sting joining the WWE. If this happened, it would be good for the one off event. However, everyone on the internet is billing this up to be some amazing match. Surely Taker would win still, Sting probably wouldn't be around long term and so it would be good on the night, but in the long term would it gain anything? putting Barrett against Taker for me would better enhance young talent.

Triple H didn’t return at the Rumble, as said before, to make his impact greater at the Elimination Chamber. When the Raw rumble match was announced, I guessed that Sheamus would face The Miz and HHH would interfere, cost Sheamus the match and we have our Wrestlemania re match. It looks like he may return inside the chamber, (Shawn Michaels style?) and cost Sheamus the

number one spot. Hopefully it will be done with little fuss to add to the drama of it.

The Elimination Chamber last year brought much shock and moved the direction of matches last minute, this year it all seems to be set up at the Rumble, so the Chamber is a mere formality. It’s disappointing that the Chamber may lose some of its shock element but it does make sense for the Rumble to have the major set up of rivalries as it will get many more viewers than the Chamber.

So, through those thoughts you may have noticed where Wrestlemania might be heading, but to make it clear, here are the matches that you might expect to see…

WWE Title

The Miz v John Cena

World Heavyweight Title

Edge v Alberto Del Rio

CM Punk v Randy Orton

Sheamus v Triple H

Undertaker v Wade Barrett

The New Nexus (Otunga, McGillicutty and Mason Ryan) v The Corre (Slater, Gabriel and Jackson)

Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler v Michael Cole

We may also get 2 of the following:

Money in the Bank match

Intercontinental title match

Tag Team title match

Divas Championship match

US Title match

The Awesome and Perfect Royal Rumble

It is now time for the 2011 Royal Rumble!’ It’s the saying at the start of every Rumble that gets the blood pumping and sends shivers down your spine...

This year we will see the biggest rumble in history with 40 superstars rather than 30 along with the WWE Title and World Heavyweight titles on the line but once again the Rumble will command all the attention for your £15 on Sky Box Office.

The decision to increase the number of entrants to 40 is a goodand sensible decision by the writers. The Royal Rumble is the pull of the show, not the matches. The matches are a nice bonus, but the main superstars are usually competing in the rumble match to make it harder to predict who will win. Increasing the rumble to 40 means that we will see men flying over the top rope for at least 1 hour and 18 minutes, with the likelihood of it going on for over an hour and 30 minutes.

It also throws up the question of who will the extra ten be? Will we get more surprises than usual? It does give us that excitement and draw to the match but it will be a chance for more superstars to be involved and have more entertainment with some surprises.

Going back to last year and we saw a shock winner in Edge, a moment that I won’t forget along with those who watched it with me as I got a tad excited. Anyway, this year once again has that potential with the upcoming return of Triple H.

The Game has been ready to wrestle for a while as we saw when he fought Alberto Del Rio at the WWE super show in New York. WWE want to use it at the most beneficial time, but even if he does enter the rumble, I can’t see him winning. It’s too obvious that he will fight Sheamus again and with the Irishmen not in line to win the title before WM 27, you’d have to say Triple H is unlikely to win. I wouldn’t be surprised if WWE held on till the Elimination Chamber to build up the suspense even longer and make you tune in for that PPV.

Other Royal Rumble potential winners are John Cena, CM Punk, Big Show, Wade Barrett, Sheamus, John Morrison, Rey Mysterio (No) Kane (where has he been recently?) and WWE once again showed us on Raw that Mark Henry could win. He won’t though will he WWE? So why bother every year to pretend he has a chance? Rant over.

The obvious pick of the winners is Alberto Del Rio. The slight hint has been the fact that for the last three weeks or so he has been on Raw and Smackdown just to say ‘my destiny is to win the royal rumble.’ It’s nearly as bad as when they showed before the 2008 Royal Rumble the 5 minpromovideo of who Randy Orton was.

WWE know that he wouldn’t be anybodies natural choice as he is still new let alone the fact he is a heel. The last heel to win the rumble was in 2009 with Randy Orton but before that it was in 1999 and Vince McMahon. WWE often give victories to the faces so that they will win the title at Wrestlemania, but will this year be the fulfilment of Del Rio’s destiny? I believe it will and here is why using the two main matches.

First of all, I believe a Smackdown superstar will win, and we need to look at the Raw title match of WWE champion The Miz (Awesome!) v Randy Orton to see where I am going. The Miz for me will

win and go into the Elimination Chamber as WWE Champion. WWE have been very happy with The Miz in recent weeks, he builds a lot of heat and splits crowds.

But why does this matter? The Miz can carry the belt as a heel till Wrestlemania. He will only get bigger in the build up to Mania and improve. Raw has an abundant of talent with Cena, Punk and Orton ready to fight for the main title at Wrestlemania as well.

Raw probably won’t do a one on one match and there will be many twists and turns before Wrestlemania about who will be in the main event. With Cena v Punk looking like it won’t last till Wrestlemania, both of them have the chance to fight for the title at ‘the Grand Daddy of them all’. Raw doesn’t need a rumble winner to decide the next title challenger(s), they can be creative in creating its number one contender(s)

This is why a Smackdown superstar will win as they don’t have the same options as Raw. The World Heavyweight title match is Edge v Dolph ‘Perfection!’ Ziggler and Edge will win this as Dolph is merely what I call a Rumble opponent. This is someone who the WWE see as being able to make the jump up to be a realistic Title winner but someone as well who we know won’t win the Rumble. Dolph Ziggler is a great character and has big potential, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he won Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania, that’s if they keep it, which they should.

Edge wins at the Royal Rumble, and with Alberto Del Rio winning the Rumble, we have our Smackdown main event. This is if no titles change at The Elimination Chamber PPV on February 20th, which is a big assumption with WWE as you wouldn’t be surprised if they did mix it up. However, Edge will be in the main event whatever at Wrestlemania.

I have also realised how little the name John Cena has been mentioned, which has been a nice change. Cena doesn’t need the WWE title in his match to make it a good rivalry, much like The Undertaker. If he is in the title match though, it will still add a lot, and as Jim Ross said about Shawn Michaels, but you could use for John Cena ‘whether you love him or you hate him, it’s really irrelevant.’ He still pulls in crowds and I’m guilty as I watch to boo him.

Even though The Royal Rumble does build up to Wrestlemania, The Elimination Chamber will once again bring us shocks that will ultimately decide Mania. With that type of match, it does give the opportunity to turn things on their head as we saw last year with Batista winning the WWE title after the match from John Cena and Jericho winning because of an interference from Shawn Michaels.

Check back in February for thoughts ahead of Elimination Chamber, including me probably eating my words after Mark Henry wins the Royal Rumble. I don’t even want to imagine what that would look like…

Transfer Window: The Movie

Its January, Beckham’s on the move again and Sky Sports News is on your TV 24/7, it can only be the joys of the transfer window.

Over the years we have seen some great drama that movies are made of, or at least I know a movie based on that would be better than High School Musical.

Ashley Cole going to Chelsea and the saga going on till 3am, now that is good TV. Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United, Carlos Tevez to Man City, Rafael Van Der Vaart to Tottenham Hotspur and for some reason, Eidur Gudjohnsen going to Stoke was given coverage.

You could make a film based on a big transfer move or even a documentary. You have the fundamentals to make an action film like the secret phone calls to find out what the enemy is doing, (a bit of tapping up or enquiry) the initial confrontation (meeting of the two chairman’s) the war negotiations, (the player’s contract) the fight (player or agent demanding more money)the aftermath (the official unveiling press conference)

To be honest it doesn’t sound that exciting. I wouldn’t expect Danny Boyle to ring me and go further in depth but you get my point.

The transfer window brings drama to the football season. For the Premier League it brings a concentrated time in the season when the big clubs can buy players. For us ones who follow the little clubs it brings an excitement where we can see if the board will pull out that 100k for a half decent striker.

Many managers and fans criticise this novel idea as teams lack players due to injuries or need to improve. That’s what is great about this time that you have to prepare your squad and play with it for the next few months.

It makes it harder and makes sure that the clubs with the big money don’t justsign players here and there or knick the football league hotshots when they feel like it. Every signing has to have a purpose.

Also, it brings over the top drama and incredible TV viewing. It turns deals that aren’t that big into massive ones on slow days. Sky Sports reporter Bryan Swanson comes out with his Mr Incredible mask on going from ground to ground chatting about transfers.

It’s so popular, he has even built up a core faithful who go with him to watch his reports. Fans always seem to be hanging outside the stadium with him. Unless they don’t have much to do and actually wait for the signing to turn up, sign a piece of paper, to go home again. Nah, it’s got to be the Swanson factor surely…

Anyway, I have had great fun looking up potential deals as some of you may have seen on my twitter including Kenny Miller going to Fiorentina. That’s why the transfer window is good, silly rumours and ridiculous signings. As long as your own team isn’t the one doing the silly deal it’s fine.

Here are some deals that have caught my eye so far…

Liverpool and Oxlade-Chamberlain

If Liverpool pay £10 million for a young player when they need help now, you would have to say that club is out of control.

Liverpool and Negredo

Liverpool probably won’t have European football at the end of the season so any good signings are out of the window. Maybe just the name is that attractive still.

Everton and Abdullayev

An Azerbaijan defender…The team always gets drawn to play Wales and struggles in the qualifiers for any tournament.

Benzema and Aston Villa

Aston Villa are struggling and Benzema is a top class striker. It would be the coup of the transfer window. However, Real Madrid want Adebayor on loan because Higuain is injured. Madrid need the cover so couldn’t let Benzema go.

If you have enjoyed some of these links, then you must visit the website below which shares people’s own rumours. You know the ones, like ‘my mate is at Heathrow airport and just saw Carlos Tevez, must be going to Arsenal.’ Or the classic ‘my mate is a taxi driver and just drove Wayne Rooney to Liverpool.’

Have a look at the Football Rumours Website to add your own rumour. Who knows, it might turn into a Bryan Swanson story that is then developed into an Oscar nominated movie.

The Ashes can safely stay at home

The Ashes have once again brought us some of the emotions needed to make a successful sporting event. We have experienced joy, laughter, nerves, shock and a lack of sleep.

We had the morning of the 2-3, with Ricky Ponting getting out for a golden duck. A moment I won’t forget as I nearly dropped my pasty and dropping a Cornish pasty would be unforgiveable.

Other great moments include Cooks domination of Australia’s woeful bowling and the sprinkler just caps off the entire series. What sporting team have their own dance except New Zealand and the Haka? Maybe we should do the sprinkler to intimidate opponents too?

Photo: buzzbox.com

So, what have been the deciding factors in helping Andrew Strauss to an England captain’s first tour victory in Australia since 1985? Has it been our players just being better? Have the Aussies withered away? I picked out a few significant points that I believe have brought the Ashes home…

Diverse Bowling Attacks

The big point of Test match cricket is that you must take twenty wickets. Sounds obvious but it’s harder said than done sometimes. England have struggled in the past due to a lack of wickets and therefore putting pressure on the batsmen who haven’t been able to compensate.

You look at the stats and can see our bowlers have caused the Australian batsmen all sorts of problems. Jimmy Anderson has been a handful with his swing and more consistent bowling by claiming 17 wickets only just ahead of the 6’7 Steven Finn who has 14 wickets.

Next in line is Chris Tremlett who incredibly in two matches has 13 wickets in comparison to Australia’s Ben Hilfenhaus who has only taken four wickets in three matches, it shows you how big the difference in quality really is. Tremlett has bowled at an average of 19.00, Hilfenhaus has bowled at an average of 73.50. The stats really say it all.

Photo: The Guardian

Mitchell Johnson had the one inspirational spell in the third test but otherwise, Australia’s main bowling threat going into the series has been pretty wayward and quiet. Ryan Harris has been a threat but has also taken 11 wickets along with Johnson but again has struggled to take key wickets.

Peter Siddle has been the only real ray of light for the Australians in the bowling and could have taken more than the 13 wickets he got but again England’s batting has been able to cope.

Ricky Ponting

The Australian leader, the face we usually despise and the batsmen who has dominated bowling attacks all across the world. Well, he’s done none of that in this series.

He hasn’t led from the front like previous successful Ashes or Australian test series victories and with a career average of 53.51, you would expect him to be able to be a rare shining light in amidst of below par performances.

When Ponting has walked to the crease this series it has been followed by thoughts of ‘we could take another quick wicket here’ usually this phrase would be said as a small joke. He has only scored at an average of 16.14, and with poor form at the top of the order, with Shane Watson being the exception, it gives England a big head start.

Photo: Getty Images

With Ponting struggling, it brings the whole team down and England have benefitted from this. Ponting has got out in some unfortunate ways such as inside edges onto the stumps but, he is an out of form batsmen whose captaincy is under threat.

Did the Aussies know their first eleven?

Another issue for Ponting is the fact of not seeming to know his first eleven. The team that went into the first test got a draw and in hindsight, did well. However Australia rang the changes and that was the beginning of the end.

Australia showed no faith in their bowling attack and brought in Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris. This was a bold move that didn’t pay off. It could have been an inspiring change but they didn’t stop there with Mitchell Johnson coming back into the squad for the third test and it was just disarray in the Australian camp.

Andrew Strauss and the England boys

But let’s not just focus on the Australian faults, we did also play some great cricket. We have spoken of the bowlers winning the battle at that end of the team, but the batsmen set massive scores that just took away lots of enthusiasm from the Aussies.

Alastair Cook came into the series as a man who needed runs and boy, he made some runs. He is so far, with a test match to go, the leading run scorer on 577 and has also made his highest ever score in test match cricket of 235 not out.

Having this at the top of the order provides the crucial backbone to the start of an innings especially when England’s next top scoring batsmen is Jonathan Trott coming in at three. He has made 445 runs so far and having this start in the innings to rely on 9 times out of 10 is going to provide any team with confidence.

There has always, except the defeat in the third test, been batsmen who can produce a score at crucial times. It all seems so simple, but Cricket really is this simple at times when things are going well for your side.

So, England have retained the little urn with ease and the Ashes can now not just stay at Lords like it always does, but we can look at it and truly say it is ours!

In a final message to Australia, you could try and fight for a drawn series but Strauss and Co will hopefully put the rubber stamp on one of England cricket’s biggest tour and Ashes successes.

WWE Year In Review

It's been a year of shockers, some good and some bad. However, did we see one of the greatest matches in wrestling history at Wrestlemania 26?

It’s been an odd year with moves made to bring about the next generation of WWE superstarbut some decisions that haven’t been made leave you wondering what could have been.

The feud that will be remembered is the Nexus v John Cena. This rivalry started on the 7^th of June and ended just over six months later. It was a big risk by the company, putting rookies up against the biggest star in the company. If anyone can carry the storyline obviously it’s Cena but to make it a feud to remember it has to work both ways.

When we first saw the storyline start at the 3 hour special, I was stunned at the graphic nature and the tenseness of the situation. You could tell this was the start of a big rivalry and from the start it had you wondering where it was going.

During the feud there were the ups and the downs. We will start with the ups and the shocks that we didn’t expect. Cena during this feud became a part of the Nexus. John Cena, the ultimate baby face of the WWEbecame a part of the most hated group in the company.

When this match was made for the Hell in a Cell PPV, I thought this was going to be the end of the rivalry with Cena winning but this showed that the WWE creative team do have guts. They put faith in the Nexus and went outside the box for one of the few times in recent times. It had controversy and shocked all fans, something that WWE doesn’t produce enough these days.

Another up was the fact WWE has started to push new talent through the Nexus. WWE needs new talent and can’t just rely on Cena, Orton, Edge, Kane, Mysterio, Undertaker, Big Show etc…to just feud on a loop.

Wade Barrett has shown he has good mic skills and can feud with the best in the company. His wrestling skills need improving but he created a good character that was entertaining to watch every week. Other members like Justin Gabriel and David Otunga have potential that needs to be worked with.

The downs are the fact WWE didn’t fulfil the potential this rivalry had. It was a big opportunity for John Cena to turn heel. It could have created a group and moment that would have lived long in the WWE memory. Cena turning heel would have been a big risk don’t get me wrong but it would have been a real shake up.

Another way they didn’t fulfil potential was that Barrett lost much credibility over the last weeks of thefeud. Ithink he will struggle to hold down a singles career and they also need to follow up from the Nexus burying The Undertaker, which they have to do. Barrett will need the Nexus behind him to make it a convincing rivalry.

In recent months we have seen the best part of the year as The Miz finally fulfilled his potential by cashing in the Money in the Bank and becoming WWE Champion. If I had to pick a superstar of the year, it would have to be The Miz. He has gone from a ‘Todd Grisham’ to WWE champion.

He has been a breath of fresh air with his brilliant mic skills and interesting character. He comes across convincingly and is a character you truly love to hate. He can divide a crowd much like Cena does, but for a different reason.

He now faces the real opportunity of going into Wrestlemania 27 as the WWE Champion. I hope he does and I can see him probably facing John Cena, a rivalry they did around two years ago when The Miz first turned heel. This match, if built up well, can give that real crowd edge that makes Wrestlemania special.

So, we look back at 2010 and actually can see big moments have been created. Shawn Michael’s retirement at Wrestlemania was done brilliantly in probably one of the tensest matches in recent history. The build up wasabout three months long and it all had a purpose. It won Match of the year…I’d put it up there with one of the best of all time.

We saw the return of Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, something we thought we would never see. Sadly the match at Wrestlemania won’t be remembered, but the fact Bret Hart could even attempt to wrestle was a monumental achievement for the Hitman. The build up to the match writes itself, but the boss once again proved just how good he is as Mr McMahon.

We have seen Batista and Chris Jericho leave our TV screens but we have seen the emergence of Dolph Ziggler and ‘Dashing’ Cody Rhodes along with The Miz.

And in 2011, I hope to see more stars going up the ladder as WWE has to one day bring through new talent. We have seen glimpses of potential from many but now it’s time for these guys, for example Drew McIntyre, to make the step up.

We are heading towards the 2011 Royal Rumble, who will win? For my thoughts, check back soon.

united they stand.

Last week saw the start of the 2009/2010 football league season, and my word did it kick off with a bang! plenty of goals which sadly im sure 95% of went past Swindon against Gillingham. It felt like it anyway. And this week sees the start of the new Premier League season, and the opening week will be just as explosive and intriguing.

Even though the Premier League is now more predictable, you still get your entertaining shocks that make it the best league in the world. Think back to last season, the late equaliser by Jenas to complete a Tottenham comeback at Arsenal, Arshavin's 4 goals v Liverpool at Anfield and Rory Delap being the good part of a team, and now you will see that anything can happen in the Premier League!

(don't worry lads, i'll save you!)

The summer has seen lots of money going back and forwards, but not alot within the country. Except Man City who are buying the premier league dream team! Its like fantasy football to them, but there making It realistic. What a cracking idea!

Summer Signings for City include Gareth Barry, Tevez, Adebayor and Toure. Some top name players, who City have paid big money for, espically Tevez who cost 25.5 million. Will Citys spending however bring quick success? not for me It won't. They need to start playing as a team and with big name players It takes a while to gel and play as a team. Anything though outside a european spot would be seen as a failure at Eastlands. Money also brings expectation, and I'm sure Mark Hughes Is aware of that.

Ronaldo has now left our shores for the sun of Spain and finally ended the ongoing, and in my opinion boring, transfer speculation linking him with a move to Real Madrid. United will miss his presence this year, They would be silly not to admit that, anyone worth £80 million is going to be missed.

United though have replaced Ronaldo with Wigan winger Antonio Valencia. Valencia is a good player, but no Ronaldo. If he is the straight replacement then United haven't filled the gap left, but players like Nani can still come through and be crucial players for United this season and in seasons to come. Rooney will now be able to play upfront where he should be, not out wide and hopefully he can have a great saeason before winning England the world cup in 2010....maybe im going off topic! United though still have the power to win the league. There squad is full of quality and still has more depth than any of the title challengers. Players like Anderson can't get in the united first eleven and to me he is defintely going to be a world class midfielder.

The other title challengers though, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea have had quiet summers. Arsenal have sold players like Adebayor and Toure, whilst signing Ajax defender Thomas Vermaalen. He comes with a good reputation and could help improve Arsenals defence. Another crucial thing to remember about Arsenal is that it is Arshavin's first full season. He was a class act towards the end of last season and I'm sure more is on its way. They still need a more quality squad to compete for the title but they will keep up with the others longer than what they did last season when fighting for Villa for 4th place. How embarrasing was that for Arsenal.

Watching Sky Sports News today made me realise why Liverpool won't win the title this season. There fans were saying they would win it because they have the best fans...sadly that won't get you three points! Liverpool have Torres up front, and thats it. Great striker, but he gets injured and they are struggling. David N'Gog and Voronin don't do it for me sadly. Alonso has gone but Liverpools strongest part of the team is the centre of Midfield and have plenty of back up, espically buying Aquiliani for 20 million from Roma. The defence looks an issue for the start with injuries, but that doesn't mean that Liverpool should spend 12 million on Michael Turner from Hull. Im sure someone must be laughing about making that one up and now it is in the press, that can't be true! Liverpool's defence always gets you plenty of fantasy league points so it must be good.

Chelsea may have won the community shield and now feel they have the pschological advantage but Im not sure that matter sone bit when It comes to United. With Sir Alex as manager, they won't be fussed too much by that defeat.

Chelsea have added only two players to there squad in Zhirkov, who is a highly rated Russian left midfielder or defender, and Daniel Sturridge from Man city on a free who is someone who is tipped to be a future star. These could both be great assets to Chelsea for now and future. I still see the problem at Chelsea in there depth upfront. Drogba can be stroppy and Anelka, even though top goalscorer last year can be hot or cold. They needed ito invest in a solid quick goalscorer. The big issue last year was can Chelsea play them both together and will they try it this season under Ancelotti? Thats another issue, will Ancelotti do a Scolari? We will see. Ancelotti will have a season to prove himself and his number one aim will be the Champions League. The Premier League is more realistic but Mr Abramovich craves that Champions League trophy still after numerous semi finals.

So, for me Manchester United are still the team to beat. They have the quality all across the pitch and under Alex Ferguson always have the best man in charge. They always seem to pop up with a goal when its needed, which is the sign of champions.

(John O Shea stood in the right place...out of the way!)

Its always a tough one predicting, thats why i don't bet...but I'll have a go with this predicted top ten.

1. United - Have a good quality squad who can get a goal when its most needed.
2. Chelsea - Great team, lack a depth of quality and might struggle up front.
3. Liverpool - too relient on Torres and Gerrard to mount a challenge yet.
4. Arsenal - some great individulas but as a team struggle to break down teams.
5. Villa - No great players signed but have good players and manager but lack depth.
6. Man City - with that quality bought, they got to make europe. simple.
7. Tottenham - good squad, good manager but again, too many strikers to juggle with.
8. Everton - haven't spend, Lescott might still leave, but a club I hope do well.
9. West Ham - Zola have bought some players, could get them playing well like himself
10. Fulham - Miracle last season with there finish, why not again?

The other teams to me just don't have anything that makes my top ten. Wigan might make it in but It Is the usual culprits for me!

You will be shocked how long that took me to decide, thought i'd just write that out in one go...anyway, heres too a cracking Premier League Season and a successful one for your team...if your a Birmingham, Burnley, Portsmouth or Hull fan...I'm not sure your going to enjoy this season. No particular reason obviously....

Caddy calls it a day.

One of England's greatest bowlers Andy Caddick has decided to retire from first class cricket at the end of the season.

Andy Caddick, Caddy, Big Ears is my cricket idol. Being a Somerset fan myself it is slightly bias but he was a brilliant opening bowler for England, sadly when England weren't at there best.



I started playing cricket when i was 11 and Caddy was my inspiration, so much so my nickname at Calne when I play is Caddy. (I like to think its because im just as good, but i think the big ears have a part to play) His run up is also brilliant and his bowling action is extradionary! if you have never seen it, check it out, and have a go at copying it, its very hard!

I was watching the compliation of tributes put together by Sky and the one that caught my eye was a comment by David Lloyd. He said that on his day, he was unplayable. That is a big statement to make, but many people out there will know what he could do with a ball. His sheer pace and bounce at times did make him look impossible to play.

I remember watching him in his greatest moment for England when taking four wickets in an over against the West Indies in 2000. I was 10/11 years old in my front room watching it and it was incredible to see. West Indies collapsing to 69 all out. Caddy could change a game but was also prone to some wayward bowling but when you knew that magic was there you allowed him to not be perfect all the time!
His last test match was in Australia when taking seven wickets in the final ashes test match in the 2003 Ashes. It was fitting that he started his test career against the Aussies and finished that way.



In 2007, Caddy had a great season taking 72 first class wickets. He helped Somerset get back to where they belong, into division one of the county championship. His performances were that impressive, many spoke about a shock England return, which sadly didn't happen. Caddy though had ended on a high in 2003 and wouldn't have ever been able to reach that standard again at the age of 38. I think he thought the same too and was just glad to help Somerset out.

The numbers of wickets do the explaining for Caddy and clearly show why he is a cricket legend. In his test career he took 234 wickets at an average of just under 30, which for a test career of 10 years, is a good standard to maintain. He has taken over 1,000 first class wickets, and to be precise It's now 1170 first class wickets but with a month of the season still to go, he will be hoping for that 1200 mark. If he can do that, I would love it for his career to end with a county championship. I don't think there are many people that would begrudge him, in the cricket world, that honour. Unless your a Durham player/fan!

All i hope of now, is to make a trip down to Taunton to see the man bowl one more time.

My Grandad use to tell me about the great england fast bowlers he watched like Bob Willis and many others that I have forgotten but I'm pretty sure one day i will have the same conversation with my grandson about Andy Caddick and hopefully, he will care just as much as i do.

You want a football club?

just follow this link: www.ebay.co.uk.

You may think im just having a laugh but yesterday Tranmere Rovers was up for sale on the auction site Ebay. I laughed very hard, espically at the price of $10 million, which is about £6 million. Who is going to buy Tranmere for that, come on, you been to Birkenhead? seen the facilites? the club? if a certain friend is reading this, then, lets be honest, you agree too deep down!

The story behind all this is that Tranmere have told a seperate company in America to try and find new investment. The people trying to sell the club thought putting it on Ebay would be a good idea. Tranmere Rovers weren't as happy with the idea and the club was removed. This made me think about todays ownership in Football..

There are many clubs seeking new investment to try and catch up, keep up, or even stay afloat. Livingston were the most recent club to be faced with liquidation, now they been saved by a last minute finanicial package. Great News!

Clubs have been in a similiar situation in this country, such as good old Swindon Town! we were 20 minutes away from liquidation until a director, Sir Seton Wills saved us! He is a top bloke. Now our chairman a few years later has cleared our £5 million or so debt, so there can be light at the end of the tunnel.

Bill Kenwright has for years been dropping hints that Everton want a investor, and he always suggests that they be a billionaire. Now thats probably unrealistic, but with the people getting involved at Man City and Portsmouth recently, he has a valued reason to say that. There are people in the world who have that amount of money and see the opportunity to cash in on football too, which is getting bigger globally. I have no problem with people doing this in limits but i don't want these people coming in buying all the best clubs and making them stronger, how boring is that...have some fun!

Now Notts County, that interests me. A guy with obviously a bit of cash, getting in Sven Goran Erikson, wants premier league football in ten years. What a challenging, exciting time for the club. Notts County have had it very rough in recent times and its something there fans deserve, so it will be good to follow and see the adventure in Nottingham. Its different to just seeing Man City being taken over or Portsmouth, they already in the Premiership and are solid clubs in it, boring! MK Dons are in a similar situation too with Pete Winkleman but my objection to that is that he bought Wimbledon and moved them to Milton Keynes, changed the clubs name, history and knicked there place in the championship. Thats not on.

So, if you win the lottery i suggest you go down to your local football club and buy them, you could become a global superstar! or just gain some street cred in your town. Im going to buy Calne Town when i have the money, be like playing football manager in real life!