Sport 2010
Apparently there was a World Cup this year. I know, me neither. They kept that one quiet didn’t they?
Meanwhile, domestic football has reached the point where success or failure is dictated more by the global economy than anything else. The recession was blamed for the English clubs’ lack of success in last season’s Champions League, Man Utd and Chelsea’s owners now unwilling or unable to spunk huge sums on the new players needed to keep them dominant. This season’s bonkers Premier League is further proof of this, although you’d have thought Chelsea already had it sewn up by October judging from the media’s over-reacting to their successful negotiation of what was a pitifully easy opening schedule.
Finance dictates everything – the most dramatic events of this season so far have been Liverpool’s tortuous courtroom ownership battle, the ridiculous sackings of two perfectly good managers because of the unrealistic expectations of their chairmen, and the shock exit of another just before the start of the season because of his chairman’s fiscal caution.
The day will surely come when the collective TV rights agreement collapses and the big clubs are allowed to gobble up much larger slices of the financial pie. La Liga has already turned into the SPL, the Premier League probably won’t be far behind. Of course, none of the above applies to Arsenal. Arsene Wenger would probably refuse to take more TV money on principle, insisting once again that his kids are “nearly ready” to win the title. The longer he goes on, the more stubborn he gets – and I love him all the more for it, the daft old sod. Mind you, if I were an Arsenal fan, I might be wanting to kill him by now.
The best sporting encounter this year was of course the epic Isner-Mahut five-setter at Wimbledon. I remember watching a World Cup match in a hostel that evening and someone receiving a text saying that a match had got to 40 games all. We changed channels, confident that we could refute this ridiculous statement. We couldn’t – and it wasn’t even close to being over! 70–68 in the end! How on earth are they still alive?
Meanwhile, Mr Nadal imperiously won three more Grand Slams and Mr Federer collected another, whilst Andy Murray once again didn’t. Murray, who regularly hoovers up trophies around the world in all the other big tournaments, is in danger of ending up in that frustrating position of being the best player never to win a major - tennis’s equivalent of Colin Montgomerie, if you will.
At least Monty will always have the Ryder Cup. As a player his record there was second to none, and it seemed inevitable that he would preside over another European victory as captain. But he certainly didn’t do it the easy way, the high standard of play on both sides coupling with some “challenging” weather to provide a thrilling few days.
The vagaries of the Ryder Cup competition are such that the responsibility of “bringing the trophy home” can fall on any player on the last day. Fate placed Graeme McDowell in the hero role as he holed the winning put, ensuring a starring role in clips to be played for years to come. He’s also the first European in decades to win the US Open - not a bad year, all things considered.
He didn’t quite do enough to snaffle the Sports Personality of the Year Crown, however. I have no great interest in horse racing but a cursory glance at AP McCoy’s achievements suggests he was a worthy winner. Phil Taylor’s second place was equally deserved, and as a darts fan I can say beyond doubt that his dedication and sheer will to win are second to none in any sport. You could see how much the recognition meant to him on the night, and it was nice to see The Power and his unique fashion sense back on the Beeb.
Jessica Ennis and Amy Williams flew the girl power flag on the night. Williams is basically the only thing we Brits remember about the Winter Olympics, an event to which the BBC give blanket coverage even though the vast majority of us won’t give a flying toss for any of these sports for the next four years. Such is the power of great sporting events, and rightly so. You haven't lived until you've spent a night listening to Steve Cram commentating on the curling.
Ennis meanwhile seems to have the full package – a fierce competitor and fantastic athlete with youth and marketability to boot. Lord knows we need some better athletes coming through – when I was a kid athletics was always on TV and we had top competitors in most of the events. Coincidence? Of course, the sport has clearly suffered from drug scandals and it’s hard to blame people for turning off when nobody knows which athletes are clean. If Usain Bolt turns out to be dirty then the whole sport might as well pack up and go home.
No sport has taken more hits than cycling though, and even now there is a dark cloud in the form of a disputed failed test hanging over current top dog and Tour de France champion Alberto Contador. The sport is trying to clean itself up, but the problem is that any great performance now looks too good to be true. I wish all clean cyclists the best of luck, and the dopers long prison sentences.
Merry Christmas.
Meanwhile, domestic football has reached the point where success or failure is dictated more by the global economy than anything else. The recession was blamed for the English clubs’ lack of success in last season’s Champions League, Man Utd and Chelsea’s owners now unwilling or unable to spunk huge sums on the new players needed to keep them dominant. This season’s bonkers Premier League is further proof of this, although you’d have thought Chelsea already had it sewn up by October judging from the media’s over-reacting to their successful negotiation of what was a pitifully easy opening schedule.
The day will surely come when the collective TV rights agreement collapses and the big clubs are allowed to gobble up much larger slices of the financial pie. La Liga has already turned into the SPL, the Premier League probably won’t be far behind. Of course, none of the above applies to Arsenal. Arsene Wenger would probably refuse to take more TV money on principle, insisting once again that his kids are “nearly ready” to win the title. The longer he goes on, the more stubborn he gets – and I love him all the more for it, the daft old sod. Mind you, if I were an Arsenal fan, I might be wanting to kill him by now.
Meanwhile, Mr Nadal imperiously won three more Grand Slams and Mr Federer collected another, whilst Andy Murray once again didn’t. Murray, who regularly hoovers up trophies around the world in all the other big tournaments, is in danger of ending up in that frustrating position of being the best player never to win a major - tennis’s equivalent of Colin Montgomerie, if you will.
At least Monty will always have the Ryder Cup. As a player his record there was second to none, and it seemed inevitable that he would preside over another European victory as captain. But he certainly didn’t do it the easy way, the high standard of play on both sides coupling with some “challenging” weather to provide a thrilling few days.
He didn’t quite do enough to snaffle the Sports Personality of the Year Crown, however. I have no great interest in horse racing but a cursory glance at AP McCoy’s achievements suggests he was a worthy winner. Phil Taylor’s second place was equally deserved, and as a darts fan I can say beyond doubt that his dedication and sheer will to win are second to none in any sport. You could see how much the recognition meant to him on the night, and it was nice to see The Power and his unique fashion sense back on the Beeb.
Ennis meanwhile seems to have the full package – a fierce competitor and fantastic athlete with youth and marketability to boot. Lord knows we need some better athletes coming through – when I was a kid athletics was always on TV and we had top competitors in most of the events. Coincidence? Of course, the sport has clearly suffered from drug scandals and it’s hard to blame people for turning off when nobody knows which athletes are clean. If Usain Bolt turns out to be dirty then the whole sport might as well pack up and go home.
No sport has taken more hits than cycling though, and even now there is a dark cloud in the form of a disputed failed test hanging over current top dog and Tour de France champion Alberto Contador. The sport is trying to clean itself up, but the problem is that any great performance now looks too good to be true. I wish all clean cyclists the best of luck, and the dopers long prison sentences.
Merry Christmas.
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