Big Wednesday

So the Phoenix are in the middle of a five match-in-three week spell, which won't make their season, but if things go wrong, then it could certainly go a long way towards breaking it. The games, starting nine days ago in Newcastle, are:

• at Newcastle (1-0 loss)
• vs Melbourne H (2-0 win)
• vs Melbourne V (2-2 draw)
• at Sydney (Wednesday night)
• vs Adelaide (Sunday afternoon, at 'home' in Christchurch)

So far, they've done ok. That win against the Heart seems to have galvanised the team and they fought back well to get a draw against the Victory on Saturday. However, I'm sure Ricki would have targeted 9 or 10 points from this stretch - three home games especially would've been targeted.

The problem is, Adelaide are looking the goods - not Brisbane goods - but the goods. They have a very industrious midfield (Hughes, Reid etc.) topped off with the brilliance of Flores. In Van Dijk they have a true goalscorer. Their defence is solid, and Eugene Galekovic is a top class keeper. A win in Christchurch is in no means guaranteed. In fact, the Phoenix would be lucky to start as favourites.

That means that for me, Wednesday night's game in Sydney takes on added importance. Personally, I see this as a massive match for the Phoenix, if they are to give the playoffs a real shake this season. Three points and we are well in the reckoning, and can bounce into Christchurch with confidence to take on Adelaide. A draw, and not much will have changed, and a loss could really see us struggle to make an impact for the rest of the season.

So, come on Phoenix. Pull a performance out on Wednesday night, and bring home those three points!

The Nix and the Dom - a pretty one sided game of chicken?

Jonathan Millmow has written an opinion piece in the Dominion Post this morning about the developing standoff between the players at the Phoenix and the papers football writer. For those that haven't seen it, here is the link.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/opinion/4396696/Time-for-Wellington-Phoenix-to-look-in-mirror

For what it's worth here is my take on this situation. When talking to someone earlier in the week about this developing situation, who knows much more about these things than I do, he said this was player driven rather than club driven. That is an important point to make I think. If it was the club I think the perception that creates of Terry throwing his toys (whether justified or not) would rightly lead to questions being asked by the Dom. But this has been driven by the players, and presumably the senior players as Millmow points out.

Apparently it is down to the way the paper handled requests for comment on the Serepisos situation and how it directly related to the players. The way I see it is that it is legitimate for the paper to want comment from the players on this situation as the inference at the time was that it was hindering their ability to get paid. The Dom Post should have known however that these requests were slightly different to ones about smashing cars (Millmows example of ignoring protocol) or about comment on an upcoming opponent. This went directly to the future and credibility of the club. For that reason they should have gone through the appropriate media channels. Would their request for comment have been denied? Probably, but the paper has made its own bed and now needs to lie in it.

These kind of battles are always won by the public perception the issue creates. If this kind of thing had happened when the Phoenix were winning then I think people brush it off and move on. But unfortunately they aren't, they're playing like rubbish and as Millmow points out crowds are down. The players have a responsibility to the club and to its fans to front up to Wellingtons only newspaper. Should they refuse to comment after requests come through inappropriate channels? Absolutely, but they should behave like professionals if the Dom behaves in the same way.

My take on it as implied by the title of this piece was that the Phoenix were trying to get the Dom to back down, apologise or resolve the matter quietly. Whoever thought that was going to happen clearly doesn't get it. The Dom have at their disposal the newspaper to sell their side of the story and sell it they have. To your casual sports fan that piece does not reflect well on the Phoenix and unfortunately the Nix rely on the casual sports fan deciding on a beautiful Wellington Saturday night that rather than having a Barby they will come down to the stadium.

Oh well, the day-time TV soap that is the Phoenix, Terry and the Dom continues. How can the club stop it? Winning. Winning will do it. Lets hope tonight a W in the column has the Dom writing good news stories on Monday.

Premiership Preview

A look at the big games for the upcoming weekend in the Premiership


Aston Villa vs Arsenal: Under Martin O'Neill, I would've picked a Villa win, or at least a draw. Under Houlier, they are a slightly different proposition. He has given youth a real chance and some of those young midfielders are very talented. While they gave United a great match two weeks ago, I think Arsenal will more than match them - it will be difficult to play that well against a top side again. Prediction: Arsenal 1-2.

Manchester United vs Blackburn: He's back. After scoring that penalty in Glasgow mid-week, Wayne Rooney was back playing and scoring goals. While he got a mixed reception on his return off the bench last weekend at Old Trafford, the fans will forgive and forget once he starts scoring goals again. Blackburn, with Ryan Nelsen among them, will prove stiff opposition to United, however United can go three points clear at the top of the table if they win, due to Chelsea playing a day later. Prediction: United by at least two, Rooney to get one.

Newcastle vs Chelsea: Boy, this could be a tough for Chelsea. Two losses on the trot, and a tough trip to St James' Park. Newcastle got smashed by Bolton last week, so they will be hurting. Like last week, when I suggested to Tobz that a Birmingham +1 goal start might be a useful bet, I think it could be the same this week.

Tottenham vs Liverpool: This is probably the game of the round. Honestly, I don't think Tottenham will finish in the top four this season. They've been brilliant, those win against Inter and Arsenal have shown they do have the goods. But, I'm yet to be convinced. They will be playing more European football next year, and a decent FA Cup run will see more fixtures than their squad can handle. However, this weekend they will be too good for Liverpool, or are dire on the road (not that I'm complaining!). Prediction: Tottenham by 2-3.

Other predictions: Bolton vs Blackpool (Bolton by 2), Everton vs West Brom (Everton by 1), Fulham vs Birmingham (draw), Stoke vs Manchester City (Stoke by 1), West Ham vs Wigan (who knows - West Ham are dreadful but Wigan are hardly wonderful), Wolves vs Sunderland (Sunderland by 2).

Enjoy the Round!

Shiny happy people laughing

Shiny happy people holding hands...

OK- maybe not the holding hands part, but definitely the laughing part. And almost definitely a bit of hugging and a few high-fives. I don't think that I have celebrated a Phoenix goal that hard for a long long time. When that first goal went in I pretty much screamed myself hoarse, and it was that way all around in the Fever Zone. It meant that much to the fans, and for once this season, you could see how important it was for the players.

It got me thinking back to something that we'd talked about in the flat a couple of months ago. The Nix' start to this season wasn't too bad. They had scored something like 14 goals in the first 10 games, so not too bad. What we noticed was the real lack of celebration after a goal was scored. If I'm remembering correctly, when a goal was scored in past seasons, the whole team went mental, with everyone bar calm Pasty generally joining in on a good old football orgy.

It was almost as if the players thought that we should be scoring goals- or that possibly it was our 'rite' to score goals. Possibly a sign of arrogance- or it's also conceivable that there wasn't the same pride or passion in the team that there had been in previous years.

Last night however, there was one hell of a celebration when the goal was scored- fans and players alike. The image of Iffy below is priceless, you can just see the relief and ecstasy on his face, showing a real passion for the game.


I believe that body language and the actions of the players around the game give away so much of how the game is going to play out. Last night the Nix were absolutely killing it in the warm-up, while the Heart were messing around with pot-shots at goal. The haka is another prime example of this- an impassioned haka often resulting in a victory, and a bollocks haka- well, ending in a loss to the Wallabies in Hong Kong. Alas, this is a topic for another blog.

Should this focus and passion continue, I'm willing to bet that this really will be a turning point for the Phoenix season.

What's that gurgling sound....?

Yup, the English cricket team are in Australia!

As I said in my preview I think the Poms are a better man for man team than this Australian side but today was as much about them proving to themselves that they deserved the 'favouritism' that has been bestowed upon them.

Unfortunately, they didn't. They proved the mental frailty that Australians suspected of them.

They could come back into it tomorrow, absolutely. But even if they do the seeds have been sewn now.

Because I am an eternal optimist, the only thing that would suggest to me that this wont do irreparable mental harm is that four of the batsman did score some runs. They looked like they had big scores in them. Cook,  Trott, Pietersen and Bell all played reasonable knocks, the only problem is that none of them kicked on.

The Poms aren't out of this test just yet, but if they don't put up one hell of a fight tomorrow it will be a long road back not only in this test, but because of the mental scarring it will cause, the rest of the series.

Please cricketing gods let me be wrong!

A reason to believe!

I said pre-match that the Phoenix have reached desperation point. I said we needed three points and I said we needed a performance to give the fans hope.

Three points - check.
Fans given hope - check.

We could have won last night, snuck a 1-0 win with a penalty or a wonderstrike and we would have walked away happy yet still concerned. It was the nature of last nights victory that has given this fan a reason to believe.

Key reason for that has to be Paul Ifill. For me, the biggest concern going into this season was regarding any second season syndrome for the big man. After goals early in the season and continued tormenting of defenders I thought we were going to be alright. Unfortunately, as went the fortunes of the team so went the form of Paul Ifill.

Last night he was back at his best. Beating players, harassing defenders and scoring goals. Attacking players need goals and he got four early in the season but has played something like 600 minutes since without scoring. Two goals last night hopefully has broken the drought and the fact he looked like he could have got a couple more is a very positive sign. The change in position also helped, as he got in the game consistently. Often when he plays out wide he drifts in and out of games but when he plays at the point of attack he has no choice but to be in the game.

The other positive elements for me last night were the fluidity through midfield and the execution of the some of the things that have been lacking in the last month or two. Vince Lia being able to spray the ball about as he did last season, Tim Brown getting involved up front and getting in goal scoring positions, Manny Muscat snapped around in midfield and carried the ball which was, again, such a big part of our play last season but perhaps most importantly the solidity at the back. Troy Hearfield has been criticised by most this season but he showed some good form with some excellent challenges at left back last night. Jade North was solid on the right and showed some good signs attacking down the right. Siggy is second only to Iffy on the Yellow Fever man of the match vote today and that is well deserved. Not only was he his normal self in defence a couple of times he made runs forward which caused trouble for the Heart defence. His partner at the back Andrew Durante was, as usual, a rock. They were split open a couple of times by some precision passing the pace of Alex Terra but these things will happen sometimes.

All in all, a reason to believe. A reason to be positive. A reason to go back on Saturday.

As Yellow Fever sung last night, "it's good to be back"

Phoenix - desperation point?

Phoenix need six points from this double header at home, end of.

They probably also need to show a reason to give their fans hope. If we won both games 1-0 with wonder strikes from outside the box I would take it but still be very very concerned about what we have to offer this season.

We need to show some attacking intent, we need to see some kind of fluidity in the midfield but most of all we need this team to show its fans that there is something to hold on to. Give us some hope....

Please Ricki, give us some hope!

Team - check. Preparation - check. Heads - ??????

If I was to compare my love for Test Cricket to the process of courting a woman the first 19 years of my life was the first couple of dates. Getting to know the girl, realising that shes a good chuckle and knowing that you quite fancy her. The 2005 Ashes series was that moment when you get her back to your place and she takes her clothes off in your room to reveal the most drop dead gorgeous body. The jaw drops and you realise this could turn into something special.

Since then the relationship has only gone from strength strength. Successive summers of India and South Africa touring Australia, the 2009 Ashes, England in New Zealand in 07/08 plus endless summer days on the Basin Reserve where despite New Zealands constant and obvious failings the relationship can only grow stronger. Sure the relationship has had its tough moments aswell, the 06/07 Ashes series immediately springs to mind plus a few dark days in New Zealand Cricket where even the glory of a Basin Reserve afternoon can't mask the pain.

The 2010/11 Ashes summer has the potential to be the trip back to meet the family. It could be clinched and the relationship will only grow stronger and more beautiful or it could do damage that only creates uncertainty and doubts for the years to come.

I think that's enough of that really poor metaphor and onto some actual cricket discussion, but you get my point right? This is a big series, and one that I am very excited about. Luckily enough I will be at the last three tests, fulfilling a dream of being at The MCG on Boxing Day for an Ashes test with my Dad (Mum, I'm glad you are going to be there aswell!)

So its the Cricket which clinches the deal. Test Cricket doesn't come any bigger than the Ashes. Its fair to say that the domination of the Australians through the 90's and the first half of the 00s is over. England win in 05, Australia grab them back 18 months later only for England to somehow win them back in the winter of 09. The series in front of us in intriguing for so many reasons but perhaps none more than the fact that England probably go in as favourites.

For my mind England have the better team. I read a Sydney Morning Herald piece the other day which compared the various units of the teams. So I thought I might do that aswell with an added element that I will make the assumption based on the game being played on a neutral venue as I think the analysis of venue and what comes with it is a seperate question all together.

Openers - Strauss and Cook v Watson and Katich
This is a pretty even battle. Both combinations are strong. Andrew Strauss was the major reason England won back the Ashes last year. Cook has been in sketchy form but he is a class player and will go into the series confident off the back of a good warm up.
Watson and Katich are a good pair, they have scored a truckload of runs since coming together as a combination. Watsons flaw (apart from being the worlds biggest wanker) is that he doesn't convert starts, eleven 50s and only 2 centuries isn't the kind of return Australia wants from its openers. Combine this with the fragility of the middle order of late and it can be help explain a lot of Australias troubles.
Verdict: Even

Middle Order - Trott, Pietersen, Collingwood and Bell v Ponting, Clarke, Hussey and North
Reputation has this being a comfortable Australian victory. The picture in front of us 3-days out from the beginning of the series however tells a markedly different story. Ponting can't play the short ball and Clarke, Hussey and North can't play full stop at the moment. Australias troubles against India, v Pakistan in England, v England in England last winter and even recent home summers against South Africa and India have exposed a frailty that simply didn't exist two or three years ago. The pressure is on Michael Hussey and Marcus North in particular to score runs. How they cope with that pressure is one of the big questions of particularly the first test. The pressure on Ponting can't be underestimated either; he knows that no matter how many runs he scores in his career people will remember him for losing three Ashes series if he loses this series.
Verdict: England (just)

Keepers
I don't know to much about Matt Prior. I know that he is latest in a long list of keepers that England have tried but a quick look at his record suggests he is compiling good number. 18 times past 50 in 55 innings are good stats for a keeper, an average of 42 is nothing to sneeze at. As a keeper I know even less but I was always under the impression that with a good spinner must come a good keeper so the rise and rise of Graham Swann would suggest Prior must be doing something right. Brad Haddin is a cheat. That much I know about him. But unfortunately he is a semi-decent cricketer and if the Aussie middle order struggles as I think they will then Haddin will need to have a big series. In fact both keepers could be in for big series should their respective middle orders struggle.
Verdict: Undecided

Spinners
Graham Swann, easy. Second best bowler in the world at the moment and has fashioned an outstanding record in the past 12 months. Compare that to Xavier Doherty or Stephen Smith and you have absolutely no contest. A lot of Englands hopes in this series rest heavily on Swanns shoulders
Veridct: England

Quicks
This is another really good battle. England have picked a bowling unit that has delivered for it in recent years. Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson and world-class fast bowlers now and Steve Finn looks to be a really good prospect. It could be in this area however that the home advantage comes into play. Can Anderson get the Kookaburra to swing? Will Finn and Broad be able to get the ball to bounce? Australias attack is a good one. Not a great one by Australian standards but still an attack better than most around the world. People tend to talk about Johnson a lot and yes he can be woeful or wonderful but between Siddle, Hilfenhaus and Bollinger the Australians have enough quality to compensate for their complete lack of a spinner.
England.
Verdict: Australia (just)

The Mental Side and Home advantage
In the end of it all I think these two teams are so evenly matched that it is going to be who wins the mental battle. So much of that mental battle is around England thinking they can win in Australia. Their fans believe but do the players? This is the crux of it for me.

So much of the mental side comes down to what happens in Brisbane. Normally a test series in Australia runs a predictable path. Teams show up in Brisbane a week before the first test, practise for a while and then get blown away in Brisbane meaning they have to fight from behind for the whole series. Its what happened in 06/07 and what the Poms have tried to avoid with their warm up here! Their warm up form will have given them serious confidence but how much you can take away from them will really only be known after all 5 tests.

Playing in Australia is the other key mental thing. If James Anderson can swing the ball in Australian conditions then I think England win and pretty comfortably, if he doesn't and the quicks battle in Australian conditions then so much pressure is going to be put on Strauss and Peitersen to score a million runs and Graham Swann to take 6+ wickets in every test match.

I wish I could be bothered writing so much more. The key battles are intriguing, Swann v Ponting. Anderson v the Aussie openers. Pietersen v his ego.

It is such an enticing series and one that I am unbelievably excited about. I will probably provide pretty constant updates through the series so tune in for me waffling. But my prediction....

Tobz TAB Tips...

Howdy, Bigtobz here.


So I figure that I'm going to do something a little different. I'll leave a lot of the sports-previews to Chief and Bop. While I will undoubtedly be watching the same sports as these two over the space of a weekend, I figure that they'll probably cover much of what I'm going to say and in greater depth. Having lived with them for the last few years, I'll leave the deeper analysis to them, and look more in depth at a bit of tipping, and at times the business side to sport.

So for a start, I'll try and lose you all some money. We'll certainly start out small, but I reckon a tenner a week is a good place to start.

I'll look at chucking down a fiver on an outsider, and a fiver on a multi- and explain my reasons for both. There'll probably be a penchant for betting on the football, but I'll certainly throw the odd bet out on cricket, ruggers, league, really any sport. This obviously excludes motor****t as the categorisation of this as a sport is a debate for another time.

So, The Long Shot this week...

Arsenal vs Spurs @ $5.75 = $28.70

One reason. One man. One Dreamboat. Gareth Bale. This man has been immense in the big matches (mainly European) this year, and Walcott recently described him as the most entertaining player in the EPL. While Spurs have had average form over the past month or so, it's a derby game- and this man's quality could be the difference in this crunch game.

I'm not suggesting Spurs will necessarily win this weekend, but at $5.75 they're bloody good value. Extra satisfaction comes from the fact that it'll also infuriate Bopman, and infuriating him is one of my favourite pastimes.

And this week's Multi...

Heart vs Adelaide Draw @ $3.20

Picking a near certain draw here- 1 all (but I'm not that ballsy). Adelaide are on the downward slide, they're missing Leckie and he proved to be a heck of a match-winner in the first half of the HAL, but missing him, and with Flores not pulling the strings that he was, I don't see an Adelaide domination. On the other hand, Heart are on the up and up, but don't have enough up front to bully the strong Red's defence.

Birmingham vs Chelsea +1 goals start @ $2.20

This is a suggestion by Chief, which I actually think is a top idea. They were absolutely dominated by Wellbeck and co. last week, and missing both Terry and Alex showed their defence to be a shambles. With this in mind, Chelsea won't be pushing as far forward this week away from home, and I think a draw isn't out of the equation.

Brisbane Roar vs NQF @ $1.45

Probably as much of a sure thing as you should ever see in the A-League. Fury are pants, Roar are playing some quite incredible football at the moment. It'll also help my Roar-stacked Fantasy team as well...

Melbourne Tigers vs Perth Wildcats @ $1.42

Melbourne 0 and 5, Perth, well, they've got a positive record and that's good enough for me and my rather limited basketball knowledge...

Auckland City vs Otago @ $1.37

This one's from the local ASB Premiership. Otago have typically been awful in the top league, and there is no reason why this season should be any different. It's a sizeable trip for them up to Aux, so this one is a given for bumping up your bets.

Coming to a total of $99.30

Note: I take no responsibility for losing you your money. My betting history has been largely awful, concentrating on a losing Phoenix team, and a B-Mac top score- which finally paid off last weekend...

Happy betting

Where was I when they were sh*t?

Hello world!

As bopman mentioned, he's gone off on holiday for the weekend, leaving Tobz and I in charge of the blog. This is the first thing he's ever trusted us with, so we are going to try our best not to break it.

I thought I would make my first ever blog regarding the upcoming weekend and all the good stuff bopman is missing while on holiday. On Saturday I might do a wee Premiership preview, if I have time.

Now, I'm the kind of guy who despises the sporting phenomenon that is the 'bandwagon jumper'. As a massive supporter of teams like the Phoenix and Warriors, people that jump on board when things are good, and when they're rubbish don't want to know, irritate me. I realise they are good for a team because when things are good they buy tickets, merchandise etc, but it still grinds me. However. There is one sport that I am guilty of being a bandwagoner myself (and I've done it more than once!).

That sport is basketball. I can't help it. I actually really like basketball, but if the Tall Blacks or Breakers are going rubbish, I really can't be bothered. Right now though, I am well and truly on the Breakers bandwagon. They are going great guns. They lost their first game in Perth last weekend, but are still on top of the standings with a 5 -1 record. They kick off the weekend's sport with a match Friday night against Wollongong Hawks, at the NSEC. The Hawks are also 5-1, so this should be a ripper - and the Breakers have their best player (and the best player in the league) Kirk Penney back in the fold tomorrow. For that reason, I am picking the Breakers to continue their high tempo game with pressure defence, while incorporating Penney back into the fold seamlessly. And if they lose? Well, maybe I won't worry about watching them next week.

The Phoenix play on Saturday night, in Newcastle. After the week off the field they've had, with all this drama about Terry and his financial issues, it will be good for the boys to get on the field and actually play some football. And this will be a tough test. We were rubbish against the Central Coast on Saturday, and Newcastle are experiencing a renaissance. New owner, a game against Beckham in a couple of weeks, and some new signings have meant they have lifted themselves off the foot of the table. I watched them last night against Brisbane, and they bossed the game for large parts. We will be well and truly tested. I would like to see all five guys that signed new Phoenix contracts today start (apart from Brown who's suspended - there's something about proving your worth the money). So that means Pavlovic starts up front with Greenacre, leaving Lia in the middle with Elliot. Milicevic is suspended for Newcastle, so hopefully we can be physical and get at least a point, if not steal all three.

Finally, the third test starts in Nagpur on Saturday night. I'm not sure how the pitch generally plays there, but something that tests the batsmen a bit more might force a result in this one. I have been so impressed with the boys application so far, but it only takes one poor batting performance and the series is gone. I'm hoping they can dig in once more, and really take it to the Indians. Oh, and we actually manage to get Harbajan Singh out for once.

Have a great night, and enjoy the weekend. Will post again soon.

Chief

New posters

Im off away for the weekend, hopefully to catch some fish in the Coromandel. So there will be no blogging for me and a lot of my-sky watching to do on Sunday and Monday nights.

However my two trusted flatmates will be beginning their regular contributions. Tobz tells me he is going to do a TAB post every weekend. He think he knows how to gamble, personally im not to sure but after him possibly being right about McCullum all along ill let him go for a while. Chief will be posting a regular Premier League wrap, be warned he is a United tragic with an odd and heated hatred for Liverpool and City. I mean its not odd that he hates those two teams but the level of hatred is astounding. Ive said to them they can have carte blanche so who knows what I might come back to.

So you will hear from them a bit over the next four days.

Have a great weekend!

15 years of the Warriors and the Kiwis - an unfinished thought

This isn't something I can really put into words.

But essentially the thought is this...

The Warriors have been around for 15 years now, kids who are 20 now probably don't remember a time where we didn't have the Warriors. Im 24 and slightly remember pre-Warriors days but im a bit of a sporting barry and was a massive Penrith fan in the early 90s.

So most players in the Kiwis, most kiwis in the NRL and all of them in the Under 20s probably don't remember a Rugby League environment without the Warriors.

So can we put down the Kiwis success on the international stage to the benefits that the Warriors have bought to the game? Not all of it, certainly. But it has to be there, floating about in the background thats for sure.

An unfinished and underdeveloped thought but maybe something that sporting barrys like myself should think more about.

Hyderabad - Napier in disguise...?

Well another test in India, another draw, another credible performance.

We were in this test the whole way through it, thats the fact. We can speculate though, that if we hadn't let Harby get away from us at the end of the third day and the fourth morning we may have been able to push for a victory. Yes, we probably could have set India a total but unlikely we could have taken those ten wickets needed to get the victory. That of course and we would have opened ourselves upto Viru carting us all over the show.

Looking at the key performances, the big one is obviously B-Mac. Ill be the frist to admit, I was a doubter. I didn't think he had that kind of innings in him, I thought if he was going to score runs he would get quick 30s or 40s and if he really came off might get the odd 100 in 120 balls. However what we saw was an outstanding test match innings. Brian Waddle in his column on the Radio Sport website put it well when he said that McCullums innings had a nod to all corners. Yes there was the attack that we all know he had in the kit bag but also was the defence and the composure that a lot of people (including myself) didn't think he had.

Tim McIntosh was superb in both innings. His hundred in the first innings was what everyone knew he could offer, obviously the downside was that his team mates didn't convert the start he had given the team. His contribution in the second innings was great to as it gave an indication of the real potential in this opening partnership.

Kane Williamson was the other one I just wanted to give a mention to, thought his innings on the 5th morning was just outstanding. He came out and showed real intent and took the game to India. To often in the past a New Zealander would have come out in that situation and defended and looked to see off the new-ball. Kane knew that wasn't going to do much for us so he came out and attacked. This essentially took the game away from India in that first hour.

Our fielding and bowling performance in the second innings was outstanding until Harby and Sreesanth got away from us. We bowled good lines and backed it up with great fielding. That was the only way we were going to take 10-wickets and apart from the obvious we did it really well.

So all in all it was a great performance from us but the great thing is we still have plenty to improve on. Ross Taylor, who is basically our best batsman is yet to produce on tour as has Daniel Vettori. If we continue to get contributions from all the batsman and the bowlers get a pitch that actually does something then I can see no reason why we can't win the third test and win the series.

Who would have thought we would be saying that before the 1st test.....

Why the All Blacks shouldn't play in the Tri Nations in 2011.

The All Blacks should not play in the Tri Nations next year.

Why?

Because who cares what South African and Australia are doing. This All Black team are better than both of them and unless something miraculous happens between now and next year we are quite a lot better than them. So lets simply concentrate what we are going to be doing without worrying about the Jaapies and the Wallabies. Also lets shield our boys from anyone being able to sew any seeds of doubt.

So what to do instead? Well simple, we play All Black trials. Three or four of them. Now when I have explained this theory to people today and you say 'play 3 AB trials' I drew some blank faces.

However imagine these two teams going at each other next season, across three weeks to decide who is going to make up the World Cup squad.

Probables - O Franks, Mealamu, Woodcock, Thorn, Donelly, McCaw, Read, Kaino, Cowan, Carter, Nonu, Smith, Jane, Sivivatu, Muliaina

Possibles - B Franks, Hore, Afoa/Tialata. Whitelock, Williams, Braid, Messam, Vito, Weepu, Slade, SBW, Fruean, Gear, Toeava, Dagg.

Missing from those two teams and spread across the bench would be Rene Ranger, Joe Roks, Benson Stanley, Andy Ellis, Alby Mathewson, Stephen Donald, Hika Elliot. Those are all current All Blacks. Add to that guys who have been floating around the squad for a couple of years like Latimer, Leonard, Kahui, Guilford plus any one else who comes onto the scene next year and those would be two outstanding squads that could play some really great football if people were sufficiently desperate for that World Cup spot.

The second element to my theory is that you take these games to the provinces. The NZRU have wanked on a for a season or two now about taking the All Blacks back to the people, 87 players still talk about when BJ Lochore had them at homestays in the Wairarapa. Take these games to Gisborne, Napier, Whangarei, Timaru, Oamaru, Invercagill, Nelson. Imagine it! People would be hanging from the rafters to watch Nonu and Smith take on SBW and Fruean.

Let the players take there families with them around the country, they will quickly realise how much Rugby and the jersey means to the people of New Zealand. Sure it may make them feel the pressure of expectation more but im sure they would rather get out and about than be cocooned away in their own country for the second half of next year.

And also it used to be the highligh of my year when TV1 started playing "Should I stay or should I go now" before the All Black trials when I was a kid. Bring that back!

The Saturday Review: The Good, The Great and The Phoenix

Well what a Saturday night!

Lets start with the good. The All Blacks hammering of Scotland was perhaps their best performance since those victories over South Africa at home in July. It was 60 minutes of Rugby that we haven't been able to put together since then. The naysayers will say it was just Scotland but you still have to be able to put the performance on the field. This All Black team has no peer, they should not have to worry about what other teams do because if they play as they can then no body will get close.

The big talking point will obviously be Sonny Bill, the potential this guy has is absolutely mindblowing. Whether it was the move to 2nd 5 or more confidence he got himself in the game this week much more than last. From memory he threw three passes that led directly to tries and was involved earlier on in the chain for others. Its a bit scary how good he could be in honesty. In the past I was never a Nonu fan but have changed my mind on him in the last 36 months, he is world class and in the Tri-Nations was the best 2nd 5 on show anywhere in the world. But he should be looking over his shoulder.

The other two guys I was looking for big performances from also stood up. Hosea again showed how damaging he can be, he has a combination of speed, strength and deception that we haven't seen in a while and used it to great effect. Liam Messam was great also, he showed that he could mix it up physically but showed at a couple of points the completely unique skill set that he has.

All in all a great performance, even Beaver looked alright when he came on late!

There are few better sights for a Kiwi than watching an Australian team lose, especially when losing in the big games is becoming  bit of a habit for the Kangaroos at the moment. The Kiwis last night were special, they showed the kind of spirit and character that only the Kiwis can show and played as a 'brotherhood'. They were poor at Eden Park the week before and they knew it but to bounce back the way they did was outstanding.

Benji Marshall is a freak, people have known that for some time but outside the 05 Grand Final you could almost argue he has never massively stood up in a big game. He did last night. That kick for Nightingale was perfection, the fact that is exactly what he was trying to do might be lost on some people but the ability to do that comes from years of messing around in a backyard or at training trying to figure out what you can make an oval ball do.

Smarter scribes than I will provide better analysis but the Kiwis in victory are  joy. Without wanting to sound racist there is something so primal about the way they win and celebrate it. If Richie is lifting a gold trophy at Eden Park next year can you imagine him asking his team to channel an American Reality TV show character in celebration (I am reliably informed the fist pump thing is a reference to the Jersey Shore) or can you imagine Ryan Nelsen punctuating a post match interviews with a big yuss and saying youze. Just great stuff.

Now to the Phoenix. Ive been supporting the Phoenix since day 1 and can categorically state I have never been as frustrated as I am right now. Sure in Season 1 and 2 we had some dark days but back then we probably didn't have the squad that should be challenging round the top of the table like this one should.

On defence god only knows what is going on. Jade North slipped over last night to give Rose time for his first, somehow Pasty tripped over himself to let the second go in and I had switched off mentally to know what was going on for the third.

Perhaps more worryingly though is the attack. We have scored two goals in our past 3 games, both of them being wonder strikes from outside the box. We have plain not looked like creating anything. We'e never had a creative midfielder, we buy people to fill the slot and they turn out to be garbage. Last season we got away with it because nobody could stop Paul Iffil. This year they can, where last year he would beat 3 men then shoot this year he crosses first time to a non-existent target man. Leo Bertos is playing quite well and Chris Greenacre continues to try but the goals aren't coming and its just painful.

I guess the only thing keeping us diehards going and giving us hope (perhaps false hope) is that we could quite comfortably do what we did last year and go on a run. But at the moment you just can't see where the spark is going to come from.



And last but not least a big thanks to Rich, Fletch, Rach and Jose for plying me with cocktails after the Phoenix game which eased my pain!

The Saturday Preview

Right, this is going to become a feature of the blog I am thinking. Every Saturday morning I will write a preview or offer some predictions on the chances of my teams this coming weekend.

A bit of background first, as I like to spread the love I support a lot of teams. Here is a pretty comprehensive list; The Chiefs, The Canes, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Wellington Phoenix, The Warriors, Arsenal and Oldham Athletic. At some stages during the year I can have something like seven of my teams playing on any given weekend, when they all lose (which regularly happens) shit gets depressing. Add to that list NZ teams and my weekends can be overtaken by sport, however I am yet to have anyone convince me that that is not what weekends were invented for.

So this weekend we have the Nix taking on CCM at home tonight. The Kiwis v The Roos at Brisbane, The ABs v Scotland and Arsenal and Oldham carrying on their seasons.

First of all then the Nix. In terms of home performances it can't get much worse than the capitulation v Brisbane 10 days ago. We were woeful but up against a team who is playing the kind of football the A-League just doesn't see. A gutsy win v Perth hopefully got things back on track and we need to continue tonight. Mariners games are never particularly exciting so hopefully our boys can do something tonight, would be great to see Iffy continue his gradual return to form. I still get the feeling he is trying to do to much and perhaps he just needs to pull the trigger a little earlier before the two defenders that inevitably end up on him have time to settle. Would love to see another big performance from Jade North tonight, im yet to see how he is the Socceroos starting CB at the moment. Maybe that just goes to prove the Socceroos aren't as good as they think they are.
In the end my prediction is for a 2-1 win to the Nix with Iffy and Boom Boom getting 1 each.

The Kiwis were woeful last week, just really bad. It was disappointing as I had gone up to Auckland for the game and loved the new Eden Park. We were just never in it and Australia did what you expect of them, they were clinical and took opportunities that we were only to happy to keep throwing at them. The bottles that the crowd threw at them they weren't so happy to receive. (Complete media beat up this week on the bottle thing by the way. Ive been involved in way better bottle throws at Eden Park than that) Kiwis need to be enthusiastic and tough, belt the Aussies around a bit and get the momentum. League is all about momentum and we have the kind of team to take advantage of it if we can get it.
I think the Kangaroos will probably be to strong, and they wont want to lose at Suncorp again (on that note, why whenever we play Australia do we not just have the world cup trophy sitting on the bench?) so I think the Roos by 6.

The ABs should be to strong for Scotland. The major interest in this game for me lies in a couple of players; Liam Messam, SBW (as part of a combination with Conrad) and Hosea Gear. Mess is a talent, there is absolutely no doubting that but I am not sure his style suits this All Black pattern. Kaino is a success at 6 because he is physical and muscles up, that isn't Liams game. SBW was good I thought last week, him not doing enough was preferable to what I was expecting where he was going to try to much. I dont think he is a centre, certainly not outside Ma'a anyway and 2nd 5 inside Conrad is where he can be at his best. Hosea was outstanding for me last weekend, showed the kind of game he has been showing domestically for a while. Unfortunately the play didn't go his way enough after the first 20 as the game lost its shape. In saying that he should have gone looking for more work.
ABs by 15 I think. But its the performance that matters, the pattern we play when we are at our best is nigh on unstoppable but unfortunately we haven't put that on the field for more than 30-50 minutes since we put the Jaapies away at the start of the tri-nations. If we do it tomorrow it could be an aboslute bath.

Arsenal just need to win, end of. They can't keep dropping points and expecting to stay in the race. Last season we were still in it towards the business end because we got lucky and United and Chelsea kept dropping points. We need to put together performances that win football games. End of story.

Re the Black Caps tonight, yesterday was good but another 50 or 60 runs would have been preferable. We need another 200 at least today and a lot of that will come down to Jesse Ryder I think. If we got through the first session this morning and scored 60 or 70 for the loss of only one more wicket I would love to see Jesse come out after lunch and attack. Its great to wear a team down as Timmy did so successfully yesterday but to win test matches you have to land punches. A good session from Jesse and Dan could be that punch to get us to 450-500 and put us in a position to really attack.

Thats about all for now, im trying to think of ways to be funnier and/or more concise but at the moment I start typing and I just keep going.

Lata!

Hyderabad - Day 1. Thoughts as it happens

As this is likely to be the only day of the test match that I can watch in full from wo to go I thought I would offer some reflections as the day progresses.

- B-Mac got a peach, thats gonna happen when you open. I dont think we should be to hard on him for it. He was very promising in the first test.

- Sreesanth is bolwing one hell of a spell. Hopefully the kind of swing and seam bowling we can see from Tim Southee when we get to bowl.

- Gupps looks solid 90% of the time but every now and then just hangs his bat out at one he simply doesn't need to.

- Danny Morrison is a truly horrific commentator.

- Weather doesn't look promising, bit of a shame to win the toss in great batting conditions and then the cloud rolls in to make bowling look very very appealing.

- Harby getting plenty of turn early, goes to show how much the speed of the turn matters as already he looks more dangerous here than with the slow turn he was getting in Ahmedabad

- LUNCH

- Solid session, at 74/1 you would have to give it to us but without scoring at a quick clip all the good work can be quickly undone if these two don't convert good starts.

- Dhoni has a great record as a captain but he seems very defensive. I thought he was slow in declaring in the first test and has been very quick to put the field back here. Doesn't have much saving the single, has close in fielders for the spinners and then guys back on the boundaries. Its an interesting mindset, in the end though he is the guy that has finally taken this Indian team to #1 in the world so you can't take to much away from him.

- That cover drive that Guptill just played off Sreesanth reminded me a lot of Stephen Fleming. Obviously a right-handed version but the way he just lent into it and powered it through. Guptill really is a talent but so many of our batsmen are. Its just about turning talent into acheivement on the international stage.

- Guppys LBW felt out the first time I saw it. Good innings from him though would have been great if he had kicked on. Timmy needs to step up now and score the big hundred. While he is doing that the strokemakers can bat around him.

- Does look to be plenty of turn in the pitch.

TEA

- Simlar really to the first session, solid for us without ever getting away from the Indians. Guppy was threatening but I think Harby and Ohja bowled really really well in the last half an hour. We need to kick on after tea otherwise we waste the hard work done in the first two sessions.

- Going well here, had to make sure that Taylor and Timmy built a partnership which it looks like we are doing. Even seems like Timmy is looking to up the tempo which is great to see. I remember the Pakistan test at Napier when Dan and Brendon cashed in late in the day they said much of it was down to the work Tim had done earlier in the day blunting the bowlers. Hopefully he has done the same here and him and Rosco can cash in late today.

- Well that was woeful, credit to Zaheer but really what was Ross doing. Just hung the bat out.

Poor grammar and spelling

Your average sports fan just doesn't care about exact spelling, punctuation, grammar and all that other malarkey. Unfortunately one of my very good friends, who is a  sports fan like myself is very very anal about that kind of stuff. Chappers, you know I am talking to you.

So to Chappers, I apologise.

Football in NZ - Its rise, from a Rugbyheads perspective. Part 1 - The Catalysts

The rise of Football in New Zealand cannot be denied, where for years it was the giant that slumbered in the corner the giant now is warming up its club and has taken a couple of early swings at the existing heirachy.

I thought I could offer an interesting perspective on this rise from someone who grew up as a Rugbyhead to someone who is now a Phoenix member, has been since day one, and spends more time watching EPL and A-League than I do Rugby. Also today, while cleaning my room I have found that I own just as much football merchandise as I do Rugby. I mainly blame that on the commercial machine that is Yellow Fever however.

But back to my main point. Football, its rise. What do I think have been the catalysts? Is it sustainable? Is it a threat to Rugby? Can the two sports co-exist? Part 1 will cover the catalysts, and when I have more time I will write the rest of the thesis on its sustainability and its threat to Rugby.

1) The Catalysts?
The interesting this is that the potential has always been there, massive participation rates at the Junior level have dwarfed Rugbys numbers for year but that potential has never translated into interest/viability at the senior level. What has changed? If anything?

Well obviously number 1 is the Phoenix.

The story of the failures of the Knightz and the problems with the Kingz (to many people label the Kingz as failures, truth is from a football perspective they weren't as bad as the Knightz but just had as bigger muppets behind the scenes) are well documented and for more knowledgable people than I to discuss but the Nix have been different. From the first game in the Pre-Season cup in Wellington on July 22nd 2007 there was something a bit different and a bit special. Firstly, Ricki had put together a competitive squad that had players in it that the public in Wellington could identify with. He had picked Kiwis and current All Whites which was an obvious failure of the Knightz. But most importantly from my perspective the football culture that existed in the city was able to be harnessed into something positive, namely the Yellow Fever.

From very humble beginnings, I seem to remember maybe 200 or so of us at the Sydney game, the group quickly grew and by the end of Season 1 had established itself as a key part of Wellingtons sporting identity. My Dad, who grew up in Oldham and followed the local team Oldham Athletic all his life, came to the first game of Season 1 and marvelled at what had been created in such a short time in terms of a culture. Now whenever he comes down, which he does regularly for Nix games, he says the best thing about it all is the look on the kids faces as they watch the Fever do what we do. Sing, dance, abuse.. all of it! They lap it up with looks of amazement on their faces. Why? Because it is completely uniquie in New Zealand sporting culture, we are not good at supporting our teams vocally. The Fever has continued to grow and flourishes, perhaps our finest moment coming not at a Phoenix game but when we were able to harness the football populations of the country and sing the All Whites to victory on November 14. Never in my lifetime of attending sporting events have I seen or heard anything come close and I very much doubt we will see it again.

You can argue though that the reason the Yellow Fever has continued to grow and be successful is the success the Phoenix have had. Sure we finished last in Season 1 but everybody loved us and we had some great moments along the way. Season 2 started dismally but we were able to climb back into it and by the end of the season we were knocking of the doors of the playoffs. Through these two seasons genuine footballing heroes were emerging. Shane Smeltz, a convuluted Kiwi, if ever there was one was banging in goals for fun. Glen Moss was the best shot stopper in the League. Daniel, the Brazillian, ebraced Kiwi culture and declared he wanted to be an All White. Tim Brown and Leo Bertos, genuine Wellingtonians who wanted to give back to their city. Football fans in New Zealand had people to watch on TV every week who they could relate to, no longer was it just Ryan Nelsen at Blackburn flying the flag. We had standard bearers in New Zealand.

Season 3 and the footballing season of 2009/2010 will live long in all our memories. The frustrating run of draws followed by the 6-0 shellacking of Gold Coast (the new home of Judas - Shane Smeltz) which turned into an unbeated home run and a trip to the playoffs with two home games capturing the imagination of the New Zealand public like nothing else. This all after being widely tipped as wooden-spooners at the start of the season. Football had a new hero too, in Paul Ifill we had replaced Shane Smeltz and we went to places that football fans in New Zealand had never dreamed of. Obviously amongst all this was the All Whites but them as a subject I shall get to shortly.

The other factor in the Phoenix rise and what has made it so special is Ricki Herbert. A hero of the 82 squad Herbert did, what many thought impossible, and was successful with both the All Whites and the Phoenix. He was a genuine Kiwi bloke who was passionate about the game and was someone we could all relate to. Also, very importantly from my perspective, it was Kiwi accent behind the man. Adshead and Fallon are legends of the game, but they both still talk like Poms. An easy target for the naysayers who say that the game in New Zealand is strictly the domain of ex-pats and their mates. Its not, Herbert is straight out of Onehunga.

2) The All Whites and other national teams

When Australia qualified for the World Cup in 2005 I jumped off the couch and danced around the room, I got up to watch everyone of their games in Germany and even sat watching the Croatia game (their last pool match) with an Australian flag because I so desperately wanted them to succeed. I remember thinking at the time it was an odd feeling because if their is anyone who sums up the old catchphrase "I support two teams, New Zealand and anyone playing Australia" its me. But not the Socceroos. I was genuinely pleased for them, at the time I decided it was probably because we just weren't competitive. It was not like we were even in the same dimension as them when it came to international football. 18 months before we had lost to Vanuatu to get us kicked out of qualifying. Sometime after Germany Australian football announced they were shifting confederations. This didn't make the earth move at the time but looking back it was a major turning point for us.

Suddenly New Zealand teams were very likely (provided they got past the Island nations, which we only haven't once) to go to all the Age-Grade world cups plus the Olympics in the mens game and all the world cups in the Womens game. Also it meant that for all intensive purposes we were a home and away tie away from the big boys show. The Mens FIFA World Cup.

The All Whites went about business quietly, notching noteworth results against Wales (S Smeltz emergence onto the scene), Estonia, Georgia and not so noteworthy results in other areas. We got through the Oceania group predictably without any trouble and suddenly we were 180 minutes away from returning to sports biggest stage. New Zealanders often struggle to put football into perspective, but this was something they could understand. Being at the World Cup was massive and we were nearly their.

A FIFA rule change giving us access to a wider group of players helped plug some gaps but this was a decent squad with a core of guys who were playing together regularly with New Zealands most successful current sportsman (thats perhaps a debate for another post) leading the way in Ryan Nelsen.

If you are reading a sports blog you dont need reminding of what happened next, we held on in Bahrain (god only knows how) and then courtesy of Rory Fallon, Mark Paston and 35,000 Kiwis dressed in White we won in Wellington to confirm our spot.

Suddenly Footballers in New Zealand had people they could legitemately be proud of, when kids in the playground went and kicked a ball around it wasn't Rooney trying to get on the end of crosses from Ronaldo it was Fallon or Smeltz on the end of a ball from Bertos. When kids threw themselves around to save Penalties they were Mark Paston as opossed to Van Der Sar and Cech. Having heroes they could see most weeks at the Caketin was, is and will be invaluable for the game.

I also think the value of the performances of other national teams in the last four years is a undervalued piece of the jigsaw puzzle. Our Under 20s last year became the first national team to get to the second round of a World tournament. We performed admirably at the Olympics and our Womens teams have put together very credible performances across all age groups. Add to this the incredibly successful Womens Under 17 tournament held in NZ in 2008 and the pathways for real success became obvious to kids all over the country.

Chris Woods, Winston Reid, Tommy Smith have gone the traditional path. But one need only look at the Overseas Player thread on the Yellow Fever website to see that there are Kiwi kids plying their trade, not unsuccessfully, in may cases all across the globe. Add to that the success of the Kiwi players in the Phoenix and across the A-League and the point about heroes becomes an even stronger one.

...... Wow, when I started writing that I didn't intend it to be that long. But I guess the point I was trying to make basically boils down to this.

- Football always had the potential to become something much more.
- It needed kids to see their heroes and know that pathways existed
- Through the success of the Phoenix, The All Whites and other national teams New Zealand kids have had   footballers they can relate to.

- Giving them Kiwi heores is priceless in NZFs ongoing battle to keep them in the game and keep them striving for the higher level because suddenly they seem acheivable.

Musings of all kinds

Afternoon Non-Existent blog readers!

I have decided after years of musing poorly in boring monologues to friends who couldn't care less I would start putting my thoughts into some kind of electronic form.

So basically on the blog you will read the thoughts of an average Kiwi sports fan.

There aren't to many topics I wont cover as I am a bit of a sports barry.

So if you are daft enough to read I hope you enjoy it and feel free to indulge in a bit of light-hearted banter!

Have a great afternoon.

Benj