Win2Win Racing
14th January 2009, 16:52
Shrewsbury's right-back on postponed matches, the Kevin Pietersen debacle, the Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo debate and goalscoring strikers getting away with murder.
The arctic conditions ensured that our derby game with Chester at the weekend was called off. To be fair, the club did all they could to make sure the game went ahead, by deploying anti-frost sheets. As you can imagine, in League Two there's not a club which has under-soil heating. This isn't surprising considering clubs like Fulham and Portsmouth don't even have it - or, if they do, they don't use it effectively!
One game that wasn't affected by the freezing conditions was the United-Chelsea game at Old Trafford on Sunday. I suppose the big talking point in this game was the 'goal before the goal'. I'm sure by now that everyone's aware of the gamesmanship, I suppose you can call it, of Wayne Rooney. This bought back memories of me playing for my junior school team at Under-10 level. I can't remember how it came about, but me and my mate at the time devised a plan where we would perform the same trick. Fortunately enough for us, we didn't have such a busy-body linesman and we scored as a result.
Here at Shrewsbury, I suppose we don't come up with such genius ideas as that, but this probably has something to do with last year when our assistant manager was devising set-piece routines. When it came to matchday, the three players involved in taking the set-piece managed to look like they were in a circus; it was a case of "After you Claude".
Something that warmed up the conditions last week was the ill-fated clash between KP (Kevin Pietersen) and the England head coach Peter Moores. Cricket has a more formal hierarchy, but the principles are still the same. I find it unimaginable how a captain could strive to get the manager the sack.
As I've mentioned in previous columns, the manager places complete trust in the captain. It's not just on the field where the captain's responsibilities end, they follow through off the field as well. Surely the captain and the manager want to share the same success and share the same goal, as should all the other squad members.
Take for example our captain and manager; there's no doubting that everyone wants the same thing at our club, which is promotion. It benefits everyone, whatever your motivation may be - notoriety, fame or financial gain. If success is achieved, then all three things and a whole lot more will follow. The timing of this episode isn't exactly ideal, as the Ashes are to be contested this summer.
One player that seems to defy us mere mortals is Cristiano Ronaldo. Once again he was decisive in a big game against Chelsea. His fantastic year has culminated in him being crowned FIFA World Player of the Year. Is he really the world's best footballer? For me yes - and my missus said he's got a good body, the little "winker".
Seriously, as I said before, he really does have it all, and for someone to score 42 goals in a season is incredible. United swept the board in terms of trophies and this also pays tribute to another great Old Trafford number 7.
However, I can see next year's winner being the runner-up of this year's - Lionel Messi. He seems to have added a maturity to his game and has chipped in his fair share of goals this season as well. And when Maradona declares Messi as his successor, you know the boy has got undoubted talent.
As the January transfer window is in full swing, one player that seems to be linked continually with a number of clubs is Craig Bellamy. Could he be joining his eighth club in the next couple of weeks? Wherever Bellamy has laid his hat, it would seem controversy has followed him like a bad smell. Many so-called experts have questioned his talent, and more precisely, if it outweighs the baggage that comes with it.
My response to that would be managers are more willing to have a punt on a goalscorer than they would probably on any other position. I can't see a manager giving a right-back the same chance. The simple hard truth of the matter is managers can conveniently put aside a player's problems if he can score goals on a regular basis.
I remember a story I was told earlier on in my career by a seasoned goalscorer - his prophesy was to have a good season in terms of goals, then the following season rock the boat a little bit, then cash in on a move. The player is currently retired but played at a high level.
Bellamy's West Ham take on Fulham at Upton Park this week. Draw specialists Fulham seem to be struggling for firepower of late, but seem to be as tight as some of our players at the back! Therefore, my suggestion for this week's bet would be the Under 1.5 goals market, around [3.15] for this game.
More... (http://betting.betfair.com/football/ben-herd/craig-bellamy-is-an-example-of-strikers-getting-preferenti-140109.html)
The arctic conditions ensured that our derby game with Chester at the weekend was called off. To be fair, the club did all they could to make sure the game went ahead, by deploying anti-frost sheets. As you can imagine, in League Two there's not a club which has under-soil heating. This isn't surprising considering clubs like Fulham and Portsmouth don't even have it - or, if they do, they don't use it effectively!
One game that wasn't affected by the freezing conditions was the United-Chelsea game at Old Trafford on Sunday. I suppose the big talking point in this game was the 'goal before the goal'. I'm sure by now that everyone's aware of the gamesmanship, I suppose you can call it, of Wayne Rooney. This bought back memories of me playing for my junior school team at Under-10 level. I can't remember how it came about, but me and my mate at the time devised a plan where we would perform the same trick. Fortunately enough for us, we didn't have such a busy-body linesman and we scored as a result.
Here at Shrewsbury, I suppose we don't come up with such genius ideas as that, but this probably has something to do with last year when our assistant manager was devising set-piece routines. When it came to matchday, the three players involved in taking the set-piece managed to look like they were in a circus; it was a case of "After you Claude".
Something that warmed up the conditions last week was the ill-fated clash between KP (Kevin Pietersen) and the England head coach Peter Moores. Cricket has a more formal hierarchy, but the principles are still the same. I find it unimaginable how a captain could strive to get the manager the sack.
As I've mentioned in previous columns, the manager places complete trust in the captain. It's not just on the field where the captain's responsibilities end, they follow through off the field as well. Surely the captain and the manager want to share the same success and share the same goal, as should all the other squad members.
Take for example our captain and manager; there's no doubting that everyone wants the same thing at our club, which is promotion. It benefits everyone, whatever your motivation may be - notoriety, fame or financial gain. If success is achieved, then all three things and a whole lot more will follow. The timing of this episode isn't exactly ideal, as the Ashes are to be contested this summer.
One player that seems to defy us mere mortals is Cristiano Ronaldo. Once again he was decisive in a big game against Chelsea. His fantastic year has culminated in him being crowned FIFA World Player of the Year. Is he really the world's best footballer? For me yes - and my missus said he's got a good body, the little "winker".
Seriously, as I said before, he really does have it all, and for someone to score 42 goals in a season is incredible. United swept the board in terms of trophies and this also pays tribute to another great Old Trafford number 7.
However, I can see next year's winner being the runner-up of this year's - Lionel Messi. He seems to have added a maturity to his game and has chipped in his fair share of goals this season as well. And when Maradona declares Messi as his successor, you know the boy has got undoubted talent.
As the January transfer window is in full swing, one player that seems to be linked continually with a number of clubs is Craig Bellamy. Could he be joining his eighth club in the next couple of weeks? Wherever Bellamy has laid his hat, it would seem controversy has followed him like a bad smell. Many so-called experts have questioned his talent, and more precisely, if it outweighs the baggage that comes with it.
My response to that would be managers are more willing to have a punt on a goalscorer than they would probably on any other position. I can't see a manager giving a right-back the same chance. The simple hard truth of the matter is managers can conveniently put aside a player's problems if he can score goals on a regular basis.
I remember a story I was told earlier on in my career by a seasoned goalscorer - his prophesy was to have a good season in terms of goals, then the following season rock the boat a little bit, then cash in on a move. The player is currently retired but played at a high level.
Bellamy's West Ham take on Fulham at Upton Park this week. Draw specialists Fulham seem to be struggling for firepower of late, but seem to be as tight as some of our players at the back! Therefore, my suggestion for this week's bet would be the Under 1.5 goals market, around [3.15] for this game.
More... (http://betting.betfair.com/football/ben-herd/craig-bellamy-is-an-example-of-strikers-getting-preferenti-140109.html)