2015 Cricket World Cup

So, well done to India on regaining the Cricket World Cup! Deserving winners, they played very well, and delivered the top prize to their completely Cricket-nutty citizens! And well done to the fans for delivering a splash of colour. 

I know the tournament was not without controversy, but overall, it has proven to be quite a success! Though, didnt it drag! I suppose this is the problem with Cricket. This is a world cup played with games lasting a whole day. Therefore, the players need a decent amount of time to rest in between. Also, with there only being 14 teams, there is not that much going on at any one time, unlike the Football World Cup, which has 2 or 3 games every day.

And now, the ICC Board opted to streamline the next world cup by basically limiting it to the top 10 test-playing nations (those that play the full 5 day version of the game. England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe). The 10 test nations where already in the 2011 tournament by right, and then a qualification tournament was set up for the ICC associate members for the last 4 slots. At the 2011 tournament, these where Ireland, Canada, Kenya, and the Netherlands.

The ICC argued that the World Cup was just too long, and the next one needed to be cut. Not surprisingly, the associate members have been kicking up a stink, and I understand why.

It is a remarkable decision, and to me, smacks of a stitch-up. After all, in the one-day rankings, Zimbabwe are ranked BELOW Ireland, and lets not forget that the Irish did for England, and the Dutch also ran england close. In fact, all of the associate members, they where not total walkovers for all their games in the 2011 world Cup. There was the occasional blowout, but it was not the norm.

I understand the associate members ire, because a lot of them have secure funding to help grow their sports, on the strength of getting into the world cup this time, and next. Of course, all this is now in jeopardy. The associate members are now have problems because the next possible World Cup will be 2019 in England. This means that for the next world tournament organised for associate members, there is no ultimate prize. Therefore, why should they take part?

Also, for the likes of Ireland, after doing for England, and doing really well, to be excluded from the next tournament is particularly galling, given how they are ranked above Zimbabwe, a full test nation.

One argument levelled as a way of excusing this limitation is that the associate nations "are not good enough." Well, neither where Sri Lanka. However, after a couple of successful World Cups, Sri Lanka where promoted to full test status. Ireland feel that they are getting close. This last World Cup really was their breakout year. A successful 2015 would show that Ireland has really made the steps they needed to, or if 2011 was a flash in the pan. If Ireland then went on to do something big in 2019, then the call for Ireland to be a full test nation would be very, very hard to resist.

The World Cup should not be limited. OK, it takes a long time, but Cricket is the longest game on earth! All the other World Cups involve games that can be done in a couple of hours. Even the Baseball Classic involves Baseball, a relatively slow game that is done in an evening. 

Also, the Cricket World Cup is for nations that can qualify for it. If the ICC insists it is for the best 10 (the test nations) then that argument is already moot, since in the one day game, Ireland as an associate member, are ranked higher than Zimbabwe! If it is just for the 10 test nations, it is not a real World Cup, but just an invitational tournament. 

A World Cup is for the world. OK, if they feel the need to guarantee the top teams a spot, fine. But it cant be for the test nations seeing as how this is the one day game, not the five day game. Most of the top test nations take the top slots in the ranking anyway. You could have a cutoff point and anyone below that point then has to go through a qualification tournament. With regards timing, well, unless we cut the 1 day game down, there is no real way of shortening the World Cup. Well, they did that, but the shortened version already has its own World Cup, in the Twenty 20 format!

I feel this is a retrograde step for Cricket. The associate nations are trying their hardest to grow the sport, and to take away the World Cup will set back their efforts by decades on the back of this!

Though the good news is that on the back of the strength of feeling from associate nations such as Canada, the Netherlands, Kenya the Italians, and of course, Ireland, the chief of the ICC has instructed the board to revisit this decision. Probably because this will drive a huge split in the game which will take forever to heal, but also because the associate nations have a better than evens chance of winning any litigation!

The British League Cup

So, the Scottish Premier League is looking at moving forward with plans to revamp the league structure. Such as moving from a 12 team league, to 10. Purpose being to improve competitiveness, as well as allowing the league to bring back a winters break. Other goals of their plan is to boost the Scottish leagues co-efficient, and to raise Scotland's FIFA ranking from its current 66, to 15 within 5 years.

However, there is one thing that came through that was something of a surprise. The resurrection of an idea to unify the various League Cup's to form a "British League Cup."

However, the Scots are going to have to go some to convince England it is in England's best interests to do so. Whilst in principle, it sounds good, there are many, many hurdles to overcome.

At what level will this competition be unified? for it to be a true British Cup, then the trophies need to be unified from the ground up. Problem is, this then leaves us with a certain degree of inequity. The English League Cup is designated for the Football League, in other words, covering the English  league structure, from Division 2, to the Championship, into the Premier League. This covers all 92 pro clubs. The Scottish league has 42 pro clubs in its league structure. 

This is where we hit a snag. How do you marry up the clubs? If you start from the bottom, then you run the risk of having the vast majority of the Scottish clubs eliminated before you get anywhere near the final. Also, if you allow the Scottish clubs to join in later, then you get the problem of lower standard clubs going up against stronger English clubs.

This is not only to mention the fact that a lot of these games are played mid-week. and in the early stages of the competition, you will end up with a potential tie with Plymouth Argyle having to travel all the way from the south west of England to Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Which is one of the furthest north Scottish league clubs! Such a journey will be enormously expensive, and one the fans wont want to make!

Then of course, there is the finances involved. The English cup draws a lot in sponsorship, whilst  its Scottish cousin is something of the poor relation. Whilst the addition of the English clubs would see a large boost in terms of finance to Scottish clubs due to increased value, for the English clubs, the increase will probably be tiny in comparison.

Then, of course, where is the final played? I suppose one idea would be to alternate between Hampden Park, and Wembley. Problem here is that the FA needs Wembley to be kept busy to pay for its massive bill! So they may not want to lose one of their Cup competitions!

Yet another issue to be worked out, is access to European competition. As it stands, the League Cup in England also comes with a space in the Europa Cup, whilst its Scottish cousin does not offer a slot in Europe. Will the English leagues be expected to give up their slot for a British trophy? And run the risk of not qualifying for Europe? Scotland will not be guaranteed a space, but the fact is that they have ACCESS to more slots than they should, whilst the English potentially lose one.

So, what to do? Well, another option would be to leave the competitions alone, but place a British trophy on top. Only problem is, whilst this would allow someone to be crowned as the British champions, it is another game in an already congested fixture list. And with the English league being that much stronger than the Scottish, will the English feel the need to agree?

For me, it would be great to see. 

However, the Scots are going to have to go some to convince their English counterparts that England will see big benefits from this!

Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney. Something of a talismanic player. Very much a polarizer. Many love him. Many dont. Both in the United fanbase, and out. A player of no small talent, and a prodigious work rate when he is on his game, he has quite often cut a forlorn figure for United this year.

After a stunning season last year, despite not winning the league, he still bagged a large hat-full of goals. His career has ranged from many highs, including many trophy wins, and many lows, from injuries and suspensions.

This year has seen Rooney struggle with form. Recently, there has been some flickers of the Rooney of old, including against City, with the wonderful overhead goal he scored, but it was finally in the away game against West Ham that saw him begin to break out.

He bagged a wonderful hattrick, with a free kick, one from open play, then to wrap it up, stuffed home a penalty. Problem was, in the process of celebrating with his team mates, a camera was in his face, and he decided to launch into a foul-mouthed tirade. This is not the first time, after he launched into a rant against England fans after getting booed off after the Algeria game.

Now, I am not going to excuse the guy. He should be punished. I know, heat of the moment and all that, tempers are high, blah, blah, blah... But as someone in the public eye, he KNOWS people are watching him. You just have to see how players in the Premier League argue and harass the ref, and then see reports of an increase in the same activities in Sunday League football to realise that there is something of a trickle-down effect.

Rooney is watched. His actions are seen. His position makes him influential. One other thing I have here is that many people say this was deliberate. He ran to a camera and launched his tirade down it. Now, take a look at this picture...

Does that look like a guy has has run TO a camera? No. The camera went to him. It was when he realised the camera was on him that he then launched into his rant. So, not quite as premeditated as some people want to make it out...

But, a 2 game ban? Thats silly. It is all wrong.

Through Rooney's actions, did he actually physically hurt anyone? No. Did his actions influence the progression of the game? No. He did not foul anyone, no-one was carted off injured. Indeed, Rooney's actions directly led to United winning the game! So, a 2 game ban does not really hurt Rooney, but does punish United.

Rooney will come back from this suspension rested and ready to go for the final few games of the season. In the meantime, United will have to go into the FA Cup Semi-final game without access to one of their top goal scorers. United have been punished. Rooney? Not really. He has not lost out. He will still get his weekly paypacket. Still go to the training ground. Still his usual routine. Nothing will change. A couple of games off for a rest, then back to work properly.

Many will say making him miss games will punish him. Nah. Not really. He has a long term deal at United. He will be in many more to come. United beat Fulham to keep the pressure on Arsenal, so when he comes back, he could help United to the Premier League title. Also, United have the players to do the business against City in the FA Cup semi, so when he returns, it could very well be for an FA Cup final as well! 

Off the field, he has lost out, with Coca Cola announcing they are cancelling their contract with him. However, given that he is still claiming £250,000 a week from United, and his other sponsors such as Nike, Harper Collins, and others are still standing beside him, I dont think the loss of Coca Cola will make him weep in financial strife...

Also, the ban is domestic, so he is still available for United's second leg against Chelsea in the Champions League quarter final back at Old Trafford. 

to me, a ban is pretty pointless. He will sit on the bench, fume, then just come back angry. If the FA wanted to punish him then fine him. That way, HE is hurt, for his actions which where off the field of play and did not impact anyone else directly. A fine also means United are NOT punished, since this was Rooney's outburst, and nothing from the club itself. Or, the FA could get imaginative, and forced him into anger management, or some kind of etiquette programme. There are many innovative ways to deal with this, unfortunately, the media being the media got what they wanted Rooney's head (albeit temporarily). Problem for the FA now, is that as soon as someone else is seen on camera swearing, the media will be calling for its next head. And after what they did to Rooney, they have set themselves a dangerous precedent.

The Champions League

So, the race for the Champions League final at Wembley is heating up now we are at the pointy end of the competition with the first leg of the quarter final rounds just finishing.

So, as it stands, the semi finals will be:

Inter Milan or Schalke 04  v Chelsea or Manchester United

Real Madrid or Tottenham Hotspurs v Barcelona or Shakhtar Donetsk

So, where do things stand now. In reverse order...

Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspurs

Real Madrid take a 4 - 0 lead into the second leg in London, after a comprehensive victory in Spain. Made worse for the London side having to play with 10 men for the majority of the game after Peter Crouch got a second yellow and was sent off after just 14 minutes!

Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk

Shakhtar did leave Barcelona with an away goal. Only problem is, Barcelona won the game 5-1! Shakhtar are a dangerous side, and Barcelona still have to navigate their away leg in the Ukraine. However, only a fool would lay lots of money on anything other than a Barca progression!

So, it is nicely poised to have the top two teams of Spanish football meeting in the semi finals stage! Tasty!

Inter Milan v Schalke 04

Well, Inter Milan are the reigning Champions League title holders, and Club World Champions. Inter got off to a flying start, bagging the first goal very swiftly, only to get pegged back. Schalke pegged Inter back one more time in the first half after Inter got their second. Schalke then put the tie firmly under their control with 3 unanswered goals, making themselves the favourites with 5 away goals.

Chelsea v Manchester United

This is the tie that I am most interested in. 

So, a clash between the top 2 English teams left in the competition. Between 2 of the top teams in England, and 2 of the teams currently duking it out to win the Premier League! This had promise of being a very close affair, with commentators split fairly evenly. Basically it boiled down to how the game goes at Stamford Bridge. If Chelsea lead leaving the Bridge, they would be odds-on. Should United snag an away goal, then things get interesting, should United leave with the victory, well, it would look good for the northerners.

As it stands, United walked out of Stamford Bridge 1-0 to the good, after Rooney slotted home from a centring pass after Carrick took the ball after a wonderful long pass from Giggs, and ran to the goal line. Rooney then stole into the box, and side-footed it home. 

We then where witnesses to a very strange flop/roll goal celebration from Rooney...

The game, however, was not without controversy, or was it all one-sided. Chelsea had their own chances, only for Uniteds back line, bolstered by the returning Ferdinand stood firm. also, Van Der Sar belied his years, and looked at his best. 

Chelsea where also the victim of some reffing decisions, too. Towards the end of the game, within the last few minutes, Ramirez was tumbled to the floor by Evra inside the penalty area. It really did look like a penalty. Only for the ref to wave it away. Rightly, Chelsea where up in arms, with their coach, Ancelotti, seeming to question the braveness of the referee.

All I can say is "Kharma is a bitch!" We all remember how United where leading in the league game in Stamford Bridge, only for Chelsea to steal it with a dubious penalty, and with David Luiz staying on the field after clobbering Hernandez, and flooring Rooney. Both should have seen him pick up a second yellow. Also, last season, Chelsea enjoyed favourable reffing decisions against United. In a season which saw them clinch the league by 1 point from United. So, turnabout is fair play.

The second penalty call was when Valencia floored Torres in the area. Thing with this is that the ref immediately booked Torres for diving, and the more I see it on YouTube, the more my mind stays the same. He flops to the floor in a most theatrical manner!

So, United walk out and head back to Old Trafford with a 1-0 win. The job is far from done, and this is still THE tie of the round as it is still capable of shocking people and Chelsea is a squad capable of doing something.

We shall see! But at the moment, United have the cards!

But can they play them right?