"Now, lots of drivers do that - join a small team, disappear without trace - they perform to the level of the team. But there are a sort of rare breed of drivers, of whom Senna was absolutely one, who can go into a small team and perform so far above the perceived level of the car that everybody turns round and thinks, 'How did he do that?'. What he had done was make everybody, everybody, in the paddock aware of what he could do, who he was and what his potential was. That he could take this (Toleman) car, which had nothing, and deliver a result like that, in the worst possible conditions." - Richard Williams [on the 1984 Monaco GP], Senna: Beyond The Speed Of Sound (extended edition), 2010.
First things first - congratulations to Sebastian Vettel on his consecutive F1 World Championship title - placing him in the club alongside greats like Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Mika Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher and the indomitable Senna.
Cast your mind back or if you're too young like me, imagine. It's 1986. Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet are racing for Williams. Alain Prost is driving for McLaren and is aiming to be only the fourth driver ever to win back to back championships after Ascari, Fangio and Brabham, all of which had been won at least 25 years ago. You'd be forgiven then for thinking that the record for most pole positions that season went to one of those three legendary drivers.
In fact, that honour went to possibly the most legendary driver of the modern era - Ayrton Senna - claiming a remarkable eight pole positions for a Lotus team that was just starting to slide into its decline.
Throughout his career, one of the hallmarks was the ability to be the fastest driver over not only just a race, but one lap. At the time of his death, his record of 65 pole positions was a F1 record and has only been surpassed by the enigmatic Michael Schumacher with 68 pole positions.
Solely in terms of numbers though, his record of 65 poles from 162 races gives a result that 40% of races Ayrton was involved in, he was the fastest driver there, often despite his car not always being the fastest, most nimble or most powerful on the grid. This percentage has only been bettered by three drivers, by the early legends Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio and Jim Clark. Senna's record of eight consecutive pole positions has stood since 1989 and may not be beaten for some time, however current double World Champion Sebastian Vettel is currently on a run of five consecutive poles.
Senna's early career with Toleman and then Lotus was testament to his true talent and what he could deliver even with cars that were not in the top echelon of competitiveness that the top teams of the time were in - Williams, McLaren and Ferrari. What was evident from the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix in Senna's debut season was that his talent would, or could, overcome a lot of the deficiencies of the car he was in.
The Toleman car he was driving that year was nowhere near a race-winning car, even in the best of conditions. Senna's race in 1984 in monsoon conditions was nothing short of jaw-dropping. Starting the race from 13th position, Ayrton swept aside the rest of the field and passed triple-World Champion Niki Lauda on lap 19 to get into second place and start to catch then-Champion Alain Prost.
Senna was catching Prost at around four seconds a lap and finally managed to pass him on lap 32, at which point red flags were shown, indicating that the race had been stopped due to the deteriorating weather. Fortunately for Prost or unluckily for Senna, the rules stipulated that the race would be decided by the order of the cars as they last passed the start line at the end of the last lap - lap 31- which would make Prost the winner and Senna second.
Perhaps typically for Senna, instead of being delighted at getting an incredible 2nd place finish in his Toleman, he was angry that the race had been stopped then, allowing Prost to win. What Senna also felt aggrieved at was the fact that the decision was taken and would benefit a French racing driver at a very French (if not technically so) racing circuit and handed down indirectly from the controversial French FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre.
Just for the record, in my opinion the race should have been stopped and nowadays, would have been stopped long before it was then.
This was just the first instance of his pseudo-psychic ability to know just how hard to push a car, how far it would go in the corners despite the setup or performance of a car and what he could get out of it on the track. This ability to drag a car to the very edge of its limits and still have it hang on round corners and opponents on the track was another hallmark of his indomitable genius behind a wheel. It has been said that a lot of the best and most successful modern F1 drivers are the ones that have a natural ability for overtaking drivers on the circuit (see Button, Hamilton, Schumacher, Hakkinen and Alonso) and in this niche, Senna was unparalleled.
His talent for not only overtaking but also driving in wet conditions further marked him as a future champion during his time with Lotus. During his second season in F1 and his first with Lotus, he qualified on pole for the second race of the season in Portugal and again in wet conditions, put in a monumental performance and drove home to win his first ever F1 race in emphatic style. His closest competitor, Ferrari's Michele Alboreto was over a minute behind him on the track.
Although not a wholly successful season, Senna managed to finish fourth in the Driver's Championship, a remarkable achievement considering his inexperience and the fact that Lotus were on the slide as a power in the sport. Over the next two years, Senna's dominance over his car and his apparent talent showing that Lotus were not big enough or competitive enough for him and at the end of the 1987 season, Senna announced that he would be joining double champion Alain Prost at McLaren, headed by Ron Dennis.
Next up - Senna's move to McLaren, World Championship wins and his epic battle with Prost.
Monday, 10 October 2011
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Lennon attacker cleared of 'sectarian assault' - and rightly so.
I stand by that headline, controversial as it may be.
The reason I believe the Not Proven verdict to be correct is the 'sectarian' part of the charge. There is absolutely no doubt that the attacker, Hearts fan John Wilson, 26, assaulted the Celtic manager and should have been convicted of assault.
Had the decision been taken to simply charge Mr Wilson with assault, breach of the peace and possibly inciting a riot, the prosecution would have had more or less and open-and-shut case. The problem that lay ahead for the prosecution and the jurors was the issue of a 'sectarian assault'.
What this charge means, to my knowledge, is that Mr Wilson assaulted the Celtic manager in a sectarian manner, or his motive for attacking Neil Lennon was a sectarian one. I'm not entirely sure how you assault someone in a sectarian manner unless you malky them with a big crucifix or attempt to strangle them with an orange sash, so let's assume it's the latter.
As far as the newspapers have been reporting, the Sun stated that Mr Wilson's defence claimed he'd called Neil Lennon a 'fucking wanker'. That, I'm sure we all know, isn't sectarian. It's nasty and horrible to be called, but it's not sectarian. The prosecution claimed that a steward had heard Mr Wilson call Neil Lennon a 'fenian bastard'. In calling him that, assuming Mr Wilson is meaning 'fenian' as Roman Catholic, is absolutely, 100% definitely sectarian abuse and despicable in every sense of the word.
The problem, in a strictly legal and judicial sense is that this was now a case of one man's word against another. Without further supporting evidence, however, that does not constitute evidence in a court of law and therefore the Not Proven verdict or an outright acquittal were the two options for the jury.
Given that Mr Wilson admitted assaulting the Celtic boss, that everyone on the jury and the judge will have seen the incident and that was indisputable, the verdict of Not Proven is all that really could have been reached by a sensible jury.
Celtic and their fans are, perhaps understandably, aggrieved at the verdict, however their anger should be directed at either the police or the prosecution - whoever decided the charge should be that of 'sectarian assault'. As laid out above, that was always going to be a real tough call to prove in a court of law, even with a whole bagful of circumstantial evidence.
Parkhead supremo Peter Lawwell said in a press conference today that, '(Neil) Lennon has been left baffled and confused by the verdict.' He also described the verdict as a 'body blow' and that they 'need to rebuild him (Lennon)'.
We can all understand how people might be baffled and confused by the verdict, but one look at the charge sheet should have left a lot more people baffled and confused than the verdict. Whether they 'need to rebuild him' or not remains to be seen, however I don't think the Six Million Dollar Man need be unduly worried just yet.
Whoever made that decision should be given a severe reprimand in their job, because it's ultimately let a criminal off the hook for assaulting the Celtic manager.
The reason I believe the Not Proven verdict to be correct is the 'sectarian' part of the charge. There is absolutely no doubt that the attacker, Hearts fan John Wilson, 26, assaulted the Celtic manager and should have been convicted of assault.
Had the decision been taken to simply charge Mr Wilson with assault, breach of the peace and possibly inciting a riot, the prosecution would have had more or less and open-and-shut case. The problem that lay ahead for the prosecution and the jurors was the issue of a 'sectarian assault'.
What this charge means, to my knowledge, is that Mr Wilson assaulted the Celtic manager in a sectarian manner, or his motive for attacking Neil Lennon was a sectarian one. I'm not entirely sure how you assault someone in a sectarian manner unless you malky them with a big crucifix or attempt to strangle them with an orange sash, so let's assume it's the latter.
As far as the newspapers have been reporting, the Sun stated that Mr Wilson's defence claimed he'd called Neil Lennon a 'fucking wanker'. That, I'm sure we all know, isn't sectarian. It's nasty and horrible to be called, but it's not sectarian. The prosecution claimed that a steward had heard Mr Wilson call Neil Lennon a 'fenian bastard'. In calling him that, assuming Mr Wilson is meaning 'fenian' as Roman Catholic, is absolutely, 100% definitely sectarian abuse and despicable in every sense of the word.
The problem, in a strictly legal and judicial sense is that this was now a case of one man's word against another. Without further supporting evidence, however, that does not constitute evidence in a court of law and therefore the Not Proven verdict or an outright acquittal were the two options for the jury.
Given that Mr Wilson admitted assaulting the Celtic boss, that everyone on the jury and the judge will have seen the incident and that was indisputable, the verdict of Not Proven is all that really could have been reached by a sensible jury.
Celtic and their fans are, perhaps understandably, aggrieved at the verdict, however their anger should be directed at either the police or the prosecution - whoever decided the charge should be that of 'sectarian assault'. As laid out above, that was always going to be a real tough call to prove in a court of law, even with a whole bagful of circumstantial evidence.
Parkhead supremo Peter Lawwell said in a press conference today that, '(Neil) Lennon has been left baffled and confused by the verdict.' He also described the verdict as a 'body blow' and that they 'need to rebuild him (Lennon)'.
We can all understand how people might be baffled and confused by the verdict, but one look at the charge sheet should have left a lot more people baffled and confused than the verdict. Whether they 'need to rebuild him' or not remains to be seen, however I don't think the Six Million Dollar Man need be unduly worried just yet.
Whoever made that decision should be given a severe reprimand in their job, because it's ultimately let a criminal off the hook for assaulting the Celtic manager.
Friday, 26 August 2011
Is the Europa League worth the hassle to the Old Firm?
Seriously, who really needs it?
In the days of Rangers battling with Lloyds, getting the club out of the grubby hands of David Murray and winning three in a row being a minor miracle in its' own right, Rangers need to take a step back and a breather.
Let's be honest with ourselves - the only thing worth losing in Europe, Rangers lost against Malmo over a week ago. We've all heard the money made in the CL and what that's worth to teams in a footballing backwater like Scotland, is worth. (if you disagree, look at the results tonight)
The big catastrophe was not qualifying for the group stages of the CL and, in all honesty, missing the Europa League group stages isn't worth a damn to Rangers or Celtic in comparison to missing on the cash geyser that is the CL.
For making around £2m in supposed ticket sales, tv money and pies, would that really be worth the paying of appearance fees, hotel bookings, flights and bonus money for a competition the Old Firm have as much chance of winning as they have the CL? Really?
The worst we've come out of tonight, and I'm being pragmatic and just thinking of Rangers here, to hell with the co-efficient, is that we're now in a straight dogfight for the SPL with an inexperienced manager.
The only thing Rangers lost tonight were their excuses should they fail to win the SPL this season.
It's another Kaunas, Ally - SPL or bust. Over to you - you know what needs done. Get it sorted.
In terms of Celtic's elimination, there remains a spark of light at the end of a dark Swiss tunnel. UEFA head honcho Michel Platini says that Sion were, 'in clear violation' of the transfer embargo placed upon them by UEFA.
He went on, saying, "What is happening there is the rules have not been respected. FC Sion has not respected the rules of the transfer ban ," Platini said. "They signed players and then played those players."
Celtic fans may need the Europa League as this would now be two years on the trot without European football but I suspect that Celtic FC are not so bothered as you'd think about the Europa League - purely for financial reasons - it's almost not worth competing in.
I've only seen the red card for Majstorovic from the Celtic game, so I can't comment on their referee but the referees foisted on Rangers in the away leg against Malmo and both legs against Maribor were sub-standard. This is coming from someone who's learned just to accept Craig Thomson's performances in refereeing Old Firm games and the like.
The co-efficient is nothing but a justifiable reason for keeping teams and nations in the big tournaments that have a huge television audience.
I'll end by putting it this way - if it was solely about the football and entertainment served up, why don't UEFA get the 32 teams in the Champions League and put them all in one bowl and the first for out are Group A, 2nd 4 Group B, 3rd 4 drawn are Group C and so on. We might have Barcelona, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich in the one group - which all of Europe would still tune in to see.
I know I would.
In the days of Rangers battling with Lloyds, getting the club out of the grubby hands of David Murray and winning three in a row being a minor miracle in its' own right, Rangers need to take a step back and a breather.
Let's be honest with ourselves - the only thing worth losing in Europe, Rangers lost against Malmo over a week ago. We've all heard the money made in the CL and what that's worth to teams in a footballing backwater like Scotland, is worth. (if you disagree, look at the results tonight)
The big catastrophe was not qualifying for the group stages of the CL and, in all honesty, missing the Europa League group stages isn't worth a damn to Rangers or Celtic in comparison to missing on the cash geyser that is the CL.
For making around £2m in supposed ticket sales, tv money and pies, would that really be worth the paying of appearance fees, hotel bookings, flights and bonus money for a competition the Old Firm have as much chance of winning as they have the CL? Really?
The worst we've come out of tonight, and I'm being pragmatic and just thinking of Rangers here, to hell with the co-efficient, is that we're now in a straight dogfight for the SPL with an inexperienced manager.
The only thing Rangers lost tonight were their excuses should they fail to win the SPL this season.
It's another Kaunas, Ally - SPL or bust. Over to you - you know what needs done. Get it sorted.
In terms of Celtic's elimination, there remains a spark of light at the end of a dark Swiss tunnel. UEFA head honcho Michel Platini says that Sion were, 'in clear violation' of the transfer embargo placed upon them by UEFA.
He went on, saying, "What is happening there is the rules have not been respected. FC Sion has not respected the rules of the transfer ban ," Platini said. "They signed players and then played those players."
Celtic fans may need the Europa League as this would now be two years on the trot without European football but I suspect that Celtic FC are not so bothered as you'd think about the Europa League - purely for financial reasons - it's almost not worth competing in.
I've only seen the red card for Majstorovic from the Celtic game, so I can't comment on their referee but the referees foisted on Rangers in the away leg against Malmo and both legs against Maribor were sub-standard. This is coming from someone who's learned just to accept Craig Thomson's performances in refereeing Old Firm games and the like.
The co-efficient is nothing but a justifiable reason for keeping teams and nations in the big tournaments that have a huge television audience.
I'll end by putting it this way - if it was solely about the football and entertainment served up, why don't UEFA get the 32 teams in the Champions League and put them all in one bowl and the first for out are Group A, 2nd 4 Group B, 3rd 4 drawn are Group C and so on. We might have Barcelona, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich in the one group - which all of Europe would still tune in to see.
I know I would.
Monday, 22 August 2011
Fantasy F1 - Course creation and a return for refuelling?
I know this blog is appearing a day later than promised, so apologies.
A chance conversation with a friend last week had me sinking into fond memories of an old PlayStation One game called V-Rally 2, which was a decent enough little rally racer with a hidden nugget of pure gold on the disc - it let you design your own circuit. Corners, incline, terrain, everything that was essential for a rally game.
I first played this at a friends' house and immediately went out and bought it afterwards, such was the impact of this feature. I'm not talking the type of corner design you get in Gran Turismo 5, where you pick the severity and frequency of corners in a sector, this let you bend, shape and mould each individual corner and slope. I don't ever remember making a course that didn't have at least a jump with a 70-degree rise.
The graphics of the course suffered as a result a tad with such customisation, but that was to be expected. Especially so when you remember that the PS1 really wasn't as sharp graphically as the PS3 is nowadays. Anyway, this gave me the idea of making my own Formula One course with a twist - I could only include corners that actually exist(ed) on F1 courses.
With this in mind, my creation ended up looking like this.
There's a decent mix of fast straights, tight corners and even a couple of fast, sweeping corners to allow as much overtaking as possible.
1 - La Source - Spa. This is the first corner on the Belgian circuit and always has plenty of action on it. A large run-off area is also there to be used or taken advantage of by the sneakier or more daring drivers.
2 - Senna Corner - Gilles Villeneuve. The Canadian GP is similar to the Belgian in terms of a tight start in the corners. This for me is the best tight second corner to a course in the world just now.
3 - Tamburello - Imola. This one needs no explanation. The man himself would have held no grudges against the corner and it's as fitting a tribute as I can think of to include it here.
4 - Grand Hotel Hairpin - Monaco. Inkeeping with the tight, twisty start, one of the most glamourous corners from the most glamourous track at THE most glamourous sporting event in the world.
5 - Bridge Corner - Silverstone. The first of a sequence of wide, high-speed corners. If Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May can take this full-throttle in a BMW 3 Series diesel, then our drivers can floor it.
6 - Hill Corner - Melbourne. The perfect corner to follow behind Hill - another pacy, long, sweeping corner to test the mettle of the overtakers among the drivers.
7 - Becketts Complex - Silverstone. A quick complex that will weed out the brave drivers prepared to take on the dusty outside of the tracks for the chance of an overtake at speed.
Straight - This is the area for both the speedtrap and the DRS activation zone. Also, I'd imagine this is where most teams and drivers would save their Kers system for.
8 - Dunlop - Suzuka. The only Asian corner in our course but a great way to wind up the long sweeping corners and get down to business in the last sector.
9 - Lycee - Magny-Cours. Tight, tricky and terrible to get wrong, many a driver has met his downfall by misjudging this corner.
10/11- Rascasse and Sainte Devote - Monaco. I've joined these two corners together to end the circuit with a fearsome tight double hairpin to round off the lap - fittingly, completing the inclusion of the three most memorable corners of Monaco.
This is more of a question for you to ponder, but has banning refuelling really done anything to improve the races? I'd argue not.
First and foremost, I think the idea to ban it was a ludicrous one and a preventative step that really shouldn't need to have been taken. It was such an overreaction to two incidents in the 2009 season - Massa pulling away from the Singapore pits with the hose still attached and a fire breaking out at one of the garages and a pit mechanic catching fire.
Don't get me wrong, the incidents weren't great, especially the latter, but the reason for fireproof suits and helmets being worn was kind of apparent after that, given that the suit stopped the mechanic being seriously hurt.
I think that the heavier loads and the lack of need to refuel has made the sport more boring, which is never a good thing. This is due to the decreasing of strategies now needed by teams - tyre strategies, deployment of Kers and DRS activation are really the only issues that the teams have to deal with come race day.
The weather can throw a spanner right into the works, just look at this year's Montreal GP, but even that's an issue the teams would rather do without and just run every race on a bright, sunny day with no crosswind or excess humidity.
What's more is that we're unlikely ever to see a proper pit-lane battle now that the refuelling has gone. In the past, it was down to the men on the tyres, the lifters and the refuellers to get things right. It's not had a massive effect, but I do feel that a part of the drama has gone from the pit lane at times.
Who knows if we'll ever see a return for the pumps in the pits, but in the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
A chance conversation with a friend last week had me sinking into fond memories of an old PlayStation One game called V-Rally 2, which was a decent enough little rally racer with a hidden nugget of pure gold on the disc - it let you design your own circuit. Corners, incline, terrain, everything that was essential for a rally game.
I first played this at a friends' house and immediately went out and bought it afterwards, such was the impact of this feature. I'm not talking the type of corner design you get in Gran Turismo 5, where you pick the severity and frequency of corners in a sector, this let you bend, shape and mould each individual corner and slope. I don't ever remember making a course that didn't have at least a jump with a 70-degree rise.
The graphics of the course suffered as a result a tad with such customisation, but that was to be expected. Especially so when you remember that the PS1 really wasn't as sharp graphically as the PS3 is nowadays. Anyway, this gave me the idea of making my own Formula One course with a twist - I could only include corners that actually exist(ed) on F1 courses.
With this in mind, my creation ended up looking like this.
There's a decent mix of fast straights, tight corners and even a couple of fast, sweeping corners to allow as much overtaking as possible.
1 - La Source - Spa. This is the first corner on the Belgian circuit and always has plenty of action on it. A large run-off area is also there to be used or taken advantage of by the sneakier or more daring drivers.
2 - Senna Corner - Gilles Villeneuve. The Canadian GP is similar to the Belgian in terms of a tight start in the corners. This for me is the best tight second corner to a course in the world just now.
3 - Tamburello - Imola. This one needs no explanation. The man himself would have held no grudges against the corner and it's as fitting a tribute as I can think of to include it here.
4 - Grand Hotel Hairpin - Monaco. Inkeeping with the tight, twisty start, one of the most glamourous corners from the most glamourous track at THE most glamourous sporting event in the world.
5 - Bridge Corner - Silverstone. The first of a sequence of wide, high-speed corners. If Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May can take this full-throttle in a BMW 3 Series diesel, then our drivers can floor it.
6 - Hill Corner - Melbourne. The perfect corner to follow behind Hill - another pacy, long, sweeping corner to test the mettle of the overtakers among the drivers.
7 - Becketts Complex - Silverstone. A quick complex that will weed out the brave drivers prepared to take on the dusty outside of the tracks for the chance of an overtake at speed.
Straight - This is the area for both the speedtrap and the DRS activation zone. Also, I'd imagine this is where most teams and drivers would save their Kers system for.
8 - Dunlop - Suzuka. The only Asian corner in our course but a great way to wind up the long sweeping corners and get down to business in the last sector.
9 - Lycee - Magny-Cours. Tight, tricky and terrible to get wrong, many a driver has met his downfall by misjudging this corner.
10/11- Rascasse and Sainte Devote - Monaco. I've joined these two corners together to end the circuit with a fearsome tight double hairpin to round off the lap - fittingly, completing the inclusion of the three most memorable corners of Monaco.
This is more of a question for you to ponder, but has banning refuelling really done anything to improve the races? I'd argue not.
First and foremost, I think the idea to ban it was a ludicrous one and a preventative step that really shouldn't need to have been taken. It was such an overreaction to two incidents in the 2009 season - Massa pulling away from the Singapore pits with the hose still attached and a fire breaking out at one of the garages and a pit mechanic catching fire.
Don't get me wrong, the incidents weren't great, especially the latter, but the reason for fireproof suits and helmets being worn was kind of apparent after that, given that the suit stopped the mechanic being seriously hurt.
I think that the heavier loads and the lack of need to refuel has made the sport more boring, which is never a good thing. This is due to the decreasing of strategies now needed by teams - tyre strategies, deployment of Kers and DRS activation are really the only issues that the teams have to deal with come race day.
The weather can throw a spanner right into the works, just look at this year's Montreal GP, but even that's an issue the teams would rather do without and just run every race on a bright, sunny day with no crosswind or excess humidity.
What's more is that we're unlikely ever to see a proper pit-lane battle now that the refuelling has gone. In the past, it was down to the men on the tyres, the lifters and the refuellers to get things right. It's not had a massive effect, but I do feel that a part of the drama has gone from the pit lane at times.
Who knows if we'll ever see a return for the pumps in the pits, but in the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Saturday, 20 August 2011
The SPL - Dire Straits and Money For Nothing
The season is a month old and yet Scottish football is facing the hideous problem of having no teams competing on the continent before September.
That, for a nation that provided two of the last decade's UEFA cup finalists, is not good enough. Add in the history of producing players like Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law, Jim Baxter, Jimmy Johnstone, Davie Cooper, Graeme Souness, Billy Bremner and Joe Jordan and things looke even more grim by comparison.
Yes, for every Dalglish or Law produced, there have been three or four Scott Dobies, Dougie Freedmans and Robbie Winters.
Specifically, the real problem seems to be the gulf opening up between us and supposed big brothers England in terms of the competitiveness of the top flights. Discard the Tottenham - Hearts result, Spurs are a top-four team and had hundreds of millions of pounds of talent on display compared to millions of pounds of debt at Tynecastle.
The SPL can't compete financially, in terms of fanbase, marketing or audience to the Enlgish Premiership - it just can't.
With that positivity in mind, here's fellow writer, Dougie Wright, author of the cracking Puyol's Pinky blog, found here and his picks for the season ahead.
Champions: Rangers
The incumbent champions have strengthened well over the summer, with any notable departures (Bougherra, Foster, Diouf and Weiss) being directly replaced with other quality players (Goian, Wallace, Ortiz and Bedoya, to name a few). As well as this, crucial players such as Allan McGregor and Steven Davis have agreed new bumper deals at the club, bringing an element of stability within the Ibrox corridors. Despite a somewhat ropey start, the team have been getting more fluent with every passing match, and alongside the championship mentality knitted throughout the squad, I think this will see McCoist win his first title as manager come May.
Runners up: Celtic
In just a few months last summer, Neil Lennon transformed Celtic from a bunch of also rans into a young, talented, hungry group, who looked like they would bring the title back to the East End last season. However, a collapse in the Highlands towards the tail end of the championship handed the initiative back to their city rivals, Rangers, who went on to win the league without breaking stride. Celtic have made a couple of decent additions to a very strong first team squad, and will be desperate to make up for last year, but Lennon is yet to show that he can win the matches which really matter. If he can change that, then it could be a different story, but for now it seems that the title will most probably remain in Govan.
Relegation dogfight: Inverness CT and Dunfermline
The Highlanders may well struggle this year. Having lost most of their veteran players in the summer, alongside star striker Adam Rooney, they have so far only managed to replace them with unproven youngsters. As has been shown time and time again, you need old heads to win a relegation dogfight, and Butcher may well come to regret this transfer policy.
Newly promoted Dunfermline look the league’s weakest, in my book. A manager with no SPL experience and key players leaving without being replaced definitely counts against them, but the team spirit that Jim McIntyre has fostered at East End Park may well see them stay up.
Players to watch:
Johnny Russell- After the departure of Goodwillie, Russell will be expected to take on the goalscoring burden for the Taysiders. The Scotland under-21 internationalist had a decent year last season, and will surely want to build on that as the limelight shifts his way.
Danny Buijs- With over 200 appearances in the Eredivisie, and coming into the prime of his career, the Dutchman’s signing was a real coup for Killie. He’ll bring steel and quality to the midfield, and should he impress, may well win a move to one of the bigger teams in the league before too long.
Garry O’Connor- The one time Scotland internationalist is now back in Leith, at the same club where he made his name in the early noughties as one of the crown jewels in a youthful Hibs team. A move to Russia didn’t work out, and neither did an EPL experience with Birmingham, but in his first matches back in the SPL have given an indication that he may be able to recapture his form from earlier days.
That, for a nation that provided two of the last decade's UEFA cup finalists, is not good enough. Add in the history of producing players like Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law, Jim Baxter, Jimmy Johnstone, Davie Cooper, Graeme Souness, Billy Bremner and Joe Jordan and things looke even more grim by comparison.
Yes, for every Dalglish or Law produced, there have been three or four Scott Dobies, Dougie Freedmans and Robbie Winters.
Specifically, the real problem seems to be the gulf opening up between us and supposed big brothers England in terms of the competitiveness of the top flights. Discard the Tottenham - Hearts result, Spurs are a top-four team and had hundreds of millions of pounds of talent on display compared to millions of pounds of debt at Tynecastle.
The SPL can't compete financially, in terms of fanbase, marketing or audience to the Enlgish Premiership - it just can't.
With that positivity in mind, here's fellow writer, Dougie Wright, author of the cracking Puyol's Pinky blog, found here and his picks for the season ahead.
Champions: Rangers
The incumbent champions have strengthened well over the summer, with any notable departures (Bougherra, Foster, Diouf and Weiss) being directly replaced with other quality players (Goian, Wallace, Ortiz and Bedoya, to name a few). As well as this, crucial players such as Allan McGregor and Steven Davis have agreed new bumper deals at the club, bringing an element of stability within the Ibrox corridors. Despite a somewhat ropey start, the team have been getting more fluent with every passing match, and alongside the championship mentality knitted throughout the squad, I think this will see McCoist win his first title as manager come May.
Runners up: Celtic
In just a few months last summer, Neil Lennon transformed Celtic from a bunch of also rans into a young, talented, hungry group, who looked like they would bring the title back to the East End last season. However, a collapse in the Highlands towards the tail end of the championship handed the initiative back to their city rivals, Rangers, who went on to win the league without breaking stride. Celtic have made a couple of decent additions to a very strong first team squad, and will be desperate to make up for last year, but Lennon is yet to show that he can win the matches which really matter. If he can change that, then it could be a different story, but for now it seems that the title will most probably remain in Govan.
Relegation dogfight: Inverness CT and Dunfermline
The Highlanders may well struggle this year. Having lost most of their veteran players in the summer, alongside star striker Adam Rooney, they have so far only managed to replace them with unproven youngsters. As has been shown time and time again, you need old heads to win a relegation dogfight, and Butcher may well come to regret this transfer policy.
Newly promoted Dunfermline look the league’s weakest, in my book. A manager with no SPL experience and key players leaving without being replaced definitely counts against them, but the team spirit that Jim McIntyre has fostered at East End Park may well see them stay up.
Players to watch:
Johnny Russell- After the departure of Goodwillie, Russell will be expected to take on the goalscoring burden for the Taysiders. The Scotland under-21 internationalist had a decent year last season, and will surely want to build on that as the limelight shifts his way.
Danny Buijs- With over 200 appearances in the Eredivisie, and coming into the prime of his career, the Dutchman’s signing was a real coup for Killie. He’ll bring steel and quality to the midfield, and should he impress, may well win a move to one of the bigger teams in the league before too long.
Garry O’Connor- The one time Scotland internationalist is now back in Leith, at the same club where he made his name in the early noughties as one of the crown jewels in a youthful Hibs team. A move to Russia didn’t work out, and neither did an EPL experience with Birmingham, but in his first matches back in the SPL have given an indication that he may be able to recapture his form from earlier days.
Tomorrow - What makes a great F1 course and should refueling be brought back into the sport?
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Pride (In The Name Of Scottish Football) - is the Europa League really worth it?
Arguably, the three biggest teams in Scotland right now - Rangers, Celtic and Hearts - are all in action tomorrow night in the Europa League, fighting to qualify for the slightly lucrative group stages.
Should any or all qualify, they will then play another six games, three home and three away, against teams from all over the continent including some big names like Juventus.
On paper, then, this should be a mouthwatering prospect. Sadly, for both Rangers and Celtic, I don't think it is. As for Hearts, we'll get to them in a moment.
Both Rangers and Celtic feel that their natural continental home should be the Champions League, and given the size and status of both clubs, it's hard to disagree, especially given that the CL is not limited to just champions of Europe's domestic top flights.
However, thanks to failings to beat Malmo on Rangers' part and Celtic's inability to topple Rangers' domestic dominance in the SPL, the Europa League is where both are headed. The most important thing for both clubs, let's be honest, is the cash.
The money received from competing in the Europa League isn't bad, with clubs receiving approx. £70,000/£35,000 for a win/draw respectively, with cash on top simply for competing in the tournament. Add in ticket sales, extra TV rights and bric a brac like programme sales, pies and what have you and the EL looks a tasty prospect.
Not so, for the pure and simple reason of money. The income received from EL participation is roughly 1/10th of that which you'd receive from competing in the CL. Figures released this week show that Rangers made £16.8 million from competing in the CL last season. A tenth of that would be just under £2 million. That's a hell of a drop and missing out on it hurts teams - look at the fallout from the Kaunas debacle for Rangers or Celtic's overall accounts later this month to see how much missing out on the CL hurts.
Rangers' Slovenian opponents NK Maribor should not, on paper at least, pose any immediate threat towards the Scottish champions, but people said that about Malmo as well. Should be a tough away tie for Rangers, but most are these days in Europe. Probable starting XI - McGregor, Edu, Broadfoot, Goian, Wallace, Davis, Ness, McCulloch, Ortiz, Naismith, Jelavic in a 4-5-1/4-4-1-1 lineup.
Celtic have less to fear with Swiss opposition FC Sion, who are currently battling with UEFA over the eligibility of several of their big players involving a transfer embargo. Decision yet to be handed down, but you'd have to assume a home win for Celtic would be on the cards. Probable starting XI - Zaluska, M. Wilson, K. Wilson, Majstorovic, Mulgrew, Brown,, Ledley, Commons, Ki, Maloney, Stokes in a 4-4-2 or possibly even a 4-3-3.
Hearts. Ah, the Jam Tarts. They have undoubtedly been dealt a winner with this draw - Tottenham Hotspur, At least, what's left of Tottenham after the riots. Not to disrespect Hearts, but the Europa League is about their level and you would have fancied them against most other teams in the pot apart from Spurs. As it is, they've got the glamour tie and will get a nice fat cheque from whichever broadcaster is showing the tie, since we know Rangers lucked out with Setanta Ireland (Premier Sports to you and me) and the Celtic home game may only be on Channel67.
You have to fear for Hearts, as Spurs have already come out and said that they won't be fielding a weakened side, so Spurs are the unquestionable favourites. Probable Hearts XI - Kello, Jonsson, Zaliukas, Grainger, Hamill, Novikovas, Templeton, Mrowiec, Robinson, Stevenson, Sutton in a 4-4-2. That is, if Jonsson and Novikovas pass late fitness tests, if not, Skacel and McGowan may make the starting side.
Predictions - Maribor 1-2 Rangers, Celtic 3-0 Sion, Hearts 1-2 Spurs.
Good luck Rangers and Hearts.
Spa-Francochamps - all eyes on a rattled Red Bull, Vettel and McLaren.
Last year's Belgian Grand Prix at the famous Spa circuit was nothing if not filled with collisions. Saying 'crashes' sounds too ominous and conjures up images of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger on that infamous day in 1994.
The long and short of the race was that Lewis Hamilton drove wonderfully to win the race, leading from the first corner, Sebastian Vettel ploughing into Jenson Button to end the Englishman's race, veteran Rubens Barrichello smashing into the back of Fernando Alonso at the Bus Stop chicane and Lewis re-taking the lead in the World Championship.
That's without mentioning the weather, either. As is so often the case, fickleness in the atmosphere provided more drama on the track, as if it were needed. On-off rain throughout the start and climax of the race allowed the race itself to remain competitive and interesting right up to the chequered flag.
This year, things are slightly different.
The start to the season made by Sebastian Vettel has been nothing short of remarkable, dominating the championship in a way not seen since the days of Herr Schumacher or even the indomitable Juan Fangio. The Drivers' Championship is all but over, though you certainly won't get Sebastian saying so until it's mathematically over. McLaren, Hamilton and Button won't say they still have a chance until they're within 25 points of Vettel, but the table doesn't lie - this is Seb's to throw away.
What makes the upcoming Grand Prix so interesting is the sudden poor performances being turned in by Red Bull and their drivers - Vettel and Mark Webber. Some are suggesting that this dip in competitiveness and results over the last three or four races could yet blow the Championship wide open. I don't know about that necessarily, but something has certainly got the Red Bull team rattled.
Speaking to the BBC, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said, "Operationally we've been very, very sharp and we've extracted the best from the car on a Grand Prix weekend and that's where the team has been very strong this year.
"These tyres are very complicated but the one thing that has been consistent is Red Bull running at the front.
"Nothing changes in our philosophy," said Horner. "We'll keep pushing, keep attacking every single grand prix because you cannot back off.
"As soon as you start looking to consolidate that is when you make mistakes.
"Our target is to win every single grand prix between now and the end of the year. In reality that's going to be impossible but in the races that we can't win then we want to be second, and if we can't be second then we want to be on the podium."
If they want to win every race left, they need to improve - simply because McLaren and Ferrari have and it's worked over the last three races. If Red Bull continue this slump, the Championship may well be a contest again.
Not that you'll get McLaren or Ferrari to say that though.
The long and short of the race was that Lewis Hamilton drove wonderfully to win the race, leading from the first corner, Sebastian Vettel ploughing into Jenson Button to end the Englishman's race, veteran Rubens Barrichello smashing into the back of Fernando Alonso at the Bus Stop chicane and Lewis re-taking the lead in the World Championship.
That's without mentioning the weather, either. As is so often the case, fickleness in the atmosphere provided more drama on the track, as if it were needed. On-off rain throughout the start and climax of the race allowed the race itself to remain competitive and interesting right up to the chequered flag.
This year, things are slightly different.
The start to the season made by Sebastian Vettel has been nothing short of remarkable, dominating the championship in a way not seen since the days of Herr Schumacher or even the indomitable Juan Fangio. The Drivers' Championship is all but over, though you certainly won't get Sebastian saying so until it's mathematically over. McLaren, Hamilton and Button won't say they still have a chance until they're within 25 points of Vettel, but the table doesn't lie - this is Seb's to throw away.
What makes the upcoming Grand Prix so interesting is the sudden poor performances being turned in by Red Bull and their drivers - Vettel and Mark Webber. Some are suggesting that this dip in competitiveness and results over the last three or four races could yet blow the Championship wide open. I don't know about that necessarily, but something has certainly got the Red Bull team rattled.
Speaking to the BBC, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said, "Operationally we've been very, very sharp and we've extracted the best from the car on a Grand Prix weekend and that's where the team has been very strong this year.
"These tyres are very complicated but the one thing that has been consistent is Red Bull running at the front.
"Nothing changes in our philosophy," said Horner. "We'll keep pushing, keep attacking every single grand prix because you cannot back off.
"As soon as you start looking to consolidate that is when you make mistakes.
"Our target is to win every single grand prix between now and the end of the year. In reality that's going to be impossible but in the races that we can't win then we want to be second, and if we can't be second then we want to be on the podium."
If they want to win every race left, they need to improve - simply because McLaren and Ferrari have and it's worked over the last three races. If Red Bull continue this slump, the Championship may well be a contest again.
Not that you'll get McLaren or Ferrari to say that though.
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