Jessica Ennis goodnight
issue 269, August 17 2012 Radar 09 Aston Martin car parts In a lifesize Airfix-style kit. We don’t recommend you put it together yourself
10 Vuelta a Espana Some of the toughest – and prettiest – climbs in road bike racing begin this week
12 Olympic legacies The stadiums from Games of old that could do with a little more love and attention. We all could oFeatures this coming week
18 The London Games All the glory, all the golds, all the highs – and one or two lows – from a soaraway summer
18
30 The Premier League: it’s back We say with absolute certainty what will happen this season. What could possibly go wrong?
44 Designed to Win Behind the scenes at Oakley’s 2012 athlete ‘safe house’
09
extra time 54 Grooming Our razor-sharp collection of rather nice electric stylers
12
56 Mieke Dockley Spurs defender’s girl who stripped off in Camelot. We want a shrubbery!
58 Kit The Prem kicks off tomorrow – we’d put their shirts on it
Cover images: Getty Images
60 Gadgets
30
All the gear to create a disco in your bedroom – apart from an aggressive bouncer on the door
62
62 Entertainment Arnie and Sly are back with more action cliches than you can wave a gun at in The Expendables 2 | August 17 2012 | 05
Radar
p10 – Climbing the Vuelta a Espana p10 – Saddle up with the Racing Post’s new iPad app p12 – Olympic stadia: a rotting legacy?
T
hankfully, the Evanta Motor Company hasn’t adopted the IKEA business model of self-assembly for a real car, because if our childhood Airfix exploits are anything to go by most people would end up sticking the parts to their own hands before sinking into a glue-induced hallucination. It wouldn’t pass an MOT, is all we’re saying.
This is, in fact, a 1:1 scale model of the Aston Martin DBR1/2 driven to Le Mans victory in 1959 by Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori, two men who definitely weren’t high on solvents. So clear out some garage space – the 21ft x 11ft artwork will be auctioned at Goodwood Revival next month, with a guide price of £20,000-£30,000. evanta.co.uk
| August 17 2012 | 09
richardpardon.co.uk
Some assembly required
Radar
Pain in Spain ith Bradley Wiggins sleeping off the hangover of his life, Chris Froome leads Team Sky in the year’s final Grand Tour. Cycling writer Daniel Friebe picks out the toughest climbs facing Froome in the Vuelta a Espana.
W
Puerto de Ancaras – Stage 14, 1,470m “It’s often described as the most beautiful
Bet your life ere at Sport, we probably don’t need to find more ways to gamble our hard-earned (really) cash – but then along came the Racing Post iPad app. It’s just like the newspaper, but better. And it’s available from 8pm the day before the paper is published. Top features include a breaking news service, with betting moves direct from the racecourse, an incredibly detailed database, customisable racecards and updated results as they happen through the day. Our favourite bit, though, is the oak-panelled library backdrop for the database. Very classy, very us. You can download the Racing Post app in the App Store. It’s free for the first 30 days, then £1.99 per day after that
Pete Goding
H
10 | August 17 2012 |
climb in Spain – it’s very green, very sparsely populated. It’s also very steep towards the end. Most climbs are steep at the start, but this is 9km long and the really hard part is after 7km, when it goes to a 12-13 per cent gradient. That’s where a lot of damage will be done.” Lagos de Covadonga (pictured) – Stage 15, 1,120m “This is the most iconic climb of the Vuelta. It’s a really incredible natural amphitheatre.
It’s difficult in the second half – the last kilometre goes down and then up again, and that’s where some key time gaps will be made.” Bola del Mundo – Stage 20, 2,247m “It’s high for the Vuelta – at that height, lack of oxygen is a factor. The general classification will probably be decided by then, so it won’t be pivotal. But it is brutal. It never goes below 10 per cent, and with 1km to go it’s 23 per cent – which means you’re almost toppling over backwards.”
Mountain High: Europe’s Greatest Cycle Climbs – Saddlebag Edition by Daniel Friebe and Pete Goding, (Quercus), out now, £9.99
For our preview of the Vuelta a Espana, turn to page 50
Radar
A lasting Olympic legacy W
hat happens to Olympic venues after the big event has ended? It’s a timely question and one that’s been superbly explored in The Olympic City project. From LA to Mexico City, the two photographers behind the venture have visited former host cities to record their post-Games state. Some facilities – such as Barcelona’s diving platforms – are still in some use and retain an eerie beauty. Others, such as many of the Athens 2004 arenas, haven’t been so lucky (see right). Still a better fate than hosting West Ham games. Find out more at olympiccityproject.com. A book is available to pre-order now
Athens’ Olympic beach volleyball stadium as it looks today. Renovation is probably not top of Greece’s to-do list
From sinking Fox to soaring Eagles
Jon Pack, Mike Hewitt/Allsport
A
head of next weekend’s Challenge Cup final between Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium, we pick our three most memorable moments from one of rugby league’s showpiece events. Starting with one for our older readers... Get your tickets for next week’s final from therfl.co.uk
12 | August 17 2012 |
Not really, David (1968) This Leeds and Wakefield Trinity match became known as ’The Watersplash Final’ as rain, lightning and hailstones threatened to turn it into a farce. With seconds left, a Bev Risman penalty seemed to have won the game for Leeds 11-7. However, Wakefield still had time to restart. Don Fox opted for a grubber kick, Trinity winger Ken Hirst hacked the ball towards the posts twice and, with defenders slipping and sliding, touched down. Many Leeds players couldn’t bear to look as Fox stepped up to convert. However, his standing foot slipped and he sent the ball wide. Minutes later, David Coleman told the distraught Fox that he’d been voted man of the match. “Is it any consolation to you?“ he asked. Fox replied: “Not really, David.“
Offiah’s wonder try (1994) Wigan were in their seventh consecutive final against a Leeds side coached by Doug Laughton – the man who had discovered Martin Offiah. Offiah was on the wing for Wigan and just 13 minutes into the game he opened the scoring with one of the greatest tries ever seen at Wembley Stadium. Receiving the ball just 10 metres from his own posts, he broke through two tacklers and found himself in open space. Once into the Leeds half, Offiah only had Alan Tait to beat. They had been teammates at Widnes, but Tait couldn’t lay a finger on Offiah who swerved inside to check the full-back, then accelerated outside to the line. After touching down, he sank to his knees, stunned at what he’d done on rugby league’s greatest stage.
The Eagles soar (1998) The greatest upset in Challenge Cup final history involved one of the sport’s oldest clubs, Wigan Warriors, and Sheffield Eagles – who had only existed for 14 seasons. Wigan had won a record 16 finals and were odds-on to land another, but Sheffield coach John Kear had a reputation for galvanising underdogs, and this was his finest moment. The Eagles took the game to Wigan, with skipper Paul Broadbent leading by example. Alongside fellow prop Dale Laughton (pictured), he drove the ball hard down the middle to lay a platform for victory. After the game, Broadbent walked into the post-match press conference still in his kit, with two hands firmly on the trophy. When asked about his efforts on the field, he said memorably: “I ran me blood to water.”
cool, confident
Tom Daley making our Nation Proud Supported by adidas Ice Dive
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Radar Editor’s letter
www.sport-magazine.co.uk @sportmaguk facebook.com/sportmagazine Free iPad app available on Newsstand
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Watch this space: the Games have finished. Now Britain’s Olympic legacy must begin
No more empty words Now we have to make the phrase ‘Olympic legacy’ actually mean something
T Editor-in-chief Simon Caney @simoncaney
oday, my little boy is two years old. I mention it not just out of paternal pride, but because this column is about him. The Olympics have largely passed him by, in all honesty. His sister was quite taken by the gymnastics. But overall, as ever, both preferred to switch over and watch Peppa Pig. But it is they who should benefit most from the wonderful Olympics that we have just witnessed. We have heard the word ‘legacy’ thrown around for seven years now, without any real substance. Now is the time to see what it really means. Well, if there is to be a lasting effect from these Games, how about this for a start? More sport in schools. More sporting facilities. Better equipment. Better coaching. No more playing fields being sold off. No more signs in parks that say ‘No Ball Games’.
Yes, it will cost money, and yes, I’m well aware we are in an age of austerity. But the long-term benefits for our society far outweigh the short-term cost. And I know there are those who claim there is no proof that sport can do good, but that’s because no government has ever had the balls to set in motion a long-term plan to get the country active. But it’s obvious. Sport reduces crime, reduces obesity, unites communities. On a micro-level, there are great examples. Look at the brilliant work of the Beyond Sport movement, where there is startling evidence of the good that sport can do. And when we enjoy success at the highest level, as we have seen these past few weeks, it makes us enormously proud. There will probably be some statistic that says output has doubled/halved/done nothing at all during the Games, but that does not tell the real story.
Instead, the very fact that people have been smiling, and chatting, and engaging with each other is a huge positive. A happy country is a more productive country. Yes, I’m preaching to the converted here. If you’ve picked up a magazine called Sport, then chances are you’re going to enjoy sport. But spread the word, get talking and make this a debate that is heard the length and breadth of the country. The current government’s record on this front is not good, although they now talk a good game. If they do not act, however, then vote with your feet at the next election. This is an issue that may not seem as important as NHS reform or cuts in education, but it is intrinsically linked to them nonetheless. So happy birthday, Felix Caney. You don’t know it yet, but these Olympics could have an enormous impact on the rest of your life.
Editorial Editor-in-chief: Simon Caney (7951) Deputy editor: Tony Hodson (7954) Associate editor: Nick Harper (7897) Art editor: John Mahood (7860) Deputy art editor: William Jack (7861) Digital designer: Chris Firth (7624) Subeditor: Graham Willgoss (7431) Senior writers: Sarah Shephard (7958), Alex Reid (7915) Staff writers: Mark Coughlan (7901), Amit Katwala (7914) Picture editor: Julian Wait (7961) Production manager: Tara Dixon (7963) Contributors: David Lawrenson, David Conn, Jonathan Wilson Commercial Agency Sales Director: Iain Duffy (7991) Business Director (Magazine and iPad): Paul Brett (7918) Business Director: Kevin O’Byrne (7832) Advertising Manager: Steve Hare (7930) New Business Sales Executive: Hayley Robertson (7904) Brand Creative Director: Adam Harris (7426) Distribution Manager: Sian George (7852) Distribution Assistant: Makrum Dudgeon Head of Online: Matt Davis (7825) Head of Communications: Laura Wootton (7913) Managing Director: Adam Bullock PA to Managing Director: Sophia Koulle (7826) Colour reproduction: Rival Colour Ltd Printed by: Wyndeham Group Ltd © UTV Media plc 2012 UTV Media plc takes no responsibility for the content of advertisements placed in Sport magazine £1 where sold Hearty thanks this week to: Craig Burley, Sainsbury’s for the patriotic hamper
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Reader comments of the week
Steve, via email
14 | August 17 2012 |
Great article by @simoncaney. I live in Stratford & will miss all the ppl, the buzz. @London2012 have done awesome job
@_ashpatel Twitter
A superb #olympic games complimented throughout by a superb @sportmaguk. Good job @simoncaney et al
@fypcoaching Twitter
@simoncaney epic last section of your ‘Silence of the cynics’ article in today’s Sport... #TeamGB #wehaveshowntheworld
@sibucknall10 Twitter
If you get copy of @ Sportmaguk today - read the top 20 premier league moments. VERY funny. Laughing all the way through my commute!
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Rule Britann
18 | August 17 2012 |
nia!
London 2012
For 17 days across July and August, Britannia ruled the waves, the Velodrome, the Olympic Stadium (for 45 surreal minutes) and in the very specialised discipline of Putting On An Inspirational And Awe-Inspiring Olympic Games. Team GB may not have ultimately reigned supreme at the top of the medal table, but they were never likely to. What they did was bring home more gold and greater glory than we ever dared imagine. If it all feels a bit of a blur now, let us recap the most glorious Games in British history... | 19
London 2012
Day 1. Let the Games truly begin Saturday July 28 The morning after the opening ceremony before, and when the firework fug finally lifted over London on the first day proper, gold was supposed to quickly follow, via the thunderous thighs of Mark Cavendish in the men’s road race. Alas, it seemed those dastardly foreign types had other ideas and Cavendish was left complaining that no other teams had helped him win his gold as he huffed home in 29th. In the women’s 400m medley, Hannah Miley also came up short, finishing fifth and out of the medals. This was not the start we’d been promised, and we went to bed in a funk. Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Day 2. Misery of the Mansfield Mermaid Sunday July 29 A new day brought new optimism, what with Rebecca Adlington swimming for gold and a new pair of Choos in the 400m freestyle. The hot tip for everyone who knows next to nothing about swimming, Adlington swam like a woman with a stitch, trailing home in third behind two women who clearly weren't British. This was, in no uncertain terms, a bloody outrage. But at least Team GB was off the mark with Lizzie ArmiTstead taking a brave silver in the women's road race – 'brave' because she wasn't expected to win. It wasn't the medal we craved as a nation, but silver can sometimes looks a bit like gold if you stare at it for long enough. And we were on our way. Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze 1
Day 3. Most unappealing Monday July 30 Another day of disappointment arrived to start the week, with Team GB awarded just one bronze medal for four years' hard work. It was all starting to feel like hosting a birthday party but not being allowed any cake. Tom Daley and the other less celebrated bloke were in the running for a medal of some kind in the 10m synchronised platform diving, until they chose the arse-first bomb for their fourth dive and had to settle for fourth place. For a short time it seemed we’d be celebrating another silver in the men’s team artistic gymnastics, until Japan argued long enough that they should have it instead and Team GB were relegated to bronze. The nation still celebrated like it was gold, because by now we were desperate – and because the bookies were offering odds on us not winning a single gold medal all Games long. > Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 1
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Highs and lows High A skydiving Queen Liz, an ode to the NHS and the birth of the Industrial Revolution. Then came Mr Bean, the pogo-ing punks and David Beckham in his speedboat. We still don’t really know what was going on, but Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony was a triumph of weird and wonderful.
20 | August 17 2012 |
Low When South Korea’s flag was used beside a shot of a North Korean footballer on the Hampden Park scoreboard before they faced Colombia, the crackpot state pulled their players off in disgust. But it was just a clerical error, we assured them, and they came back out laughing.
High Proving the athletes are not all that different to you and I, Germany’s Stephan Feck produced the ‘dive’ of the Games in the 3m springboard preliminaries. Up, down, twist, tuck and splash into the pool on the flat of his back. Textbook stuff. He didn’t progress any further, amazingly.
Low When matchfixing in badminton, it’s usually advisable not to arouse suspicion by repeatedly serving into the net in front of a global audience of millions. No one mentioned this to the eight shady ladies from China, South Korea and Indonesia, who were duly disqualified.
High As part of the Olympic celebrations, flag-waving mayor Boris Johnson went on a zip-wire above Hackney - which got stuck half way and left him dangling on high for five sorry minutes. “The judges will mark him down for artistic impression,” said a spokesman.
Low Hoy, Pendleton, Purchase and Hunter - these were the Crying Games alright, and no one cried longer or louder than South Korean fencer Shin Lam, whose tears formed part of an impressive but ultimately futile hour-long sit-down protest. She may still be weeping now.
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London 2012
Day 4. A silver lining Tuesday July 31 With just a single, solitary silver added, in equestrian team eventing, Team GB found itself sitting beneath the superpowers of Lithuania and Kazakhstan. Stop the Games, Lord Coe, we want to get off. Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze 0 Day 5. The gold rush begins Wednesday August 1 Finally, on the Fifth Day, the Gods finally dropped a gold Team GB's way. Down on the water, Heather Stanning and Helen Glover took gold in the rowing, but missed out on the full 15 minutes of fame due to Bradley Wiggins tearing through Surrey like a man on heat, obliterating the field in the 44km time trial. Taking his own medal tally to seven, this elevated Wiggins to the status of Britain's most prolific Olympian, one ahead of Sir Steve Redgrave, who could be seen weeping gently in the bushes at Eton Dorney. Wiggins then announced that only Olympic gold counts (possibly just to annoy Chris Froome's girlfriend, as the Tour de France winner's personal man-servant had lagged home with the bronze), then pedalled off to get pie-eyed on gin. Finally, at long last, Team GB was rising. Gold 2 Silver 1 Bronze 2
Day 7. God save the Queen Friday August 3 In her last Olympics before she goes off to agonise over something else completely, Queen Victoria Pendleton took gold in the women’s keirin, finishing a country mile ahead of her nemesis Anna Meares. The men’s team pursuit took another gold, and the French cycling suits started sniffing round and wondering if there was more to it than met the eye. Throw in a third gold in the women’s double sculls, Katherine Grainger finally getting her hands on gold after three previous silvers, plus four other bronze, and Team GB was bedding in nicely behind China and the USA on the trophy table. The biggest disappointment of the day came in the Aquatics Centre, where national treasure Rebecca Adlington was beaten in the 800m freestyle by a seven-year-old American girl wearing water wings. Adlington complained of feeling old and was last seen heading Up West on a mobility scooter. > Gold 3 Silver 0 Bronze 4
Day 6. Welcome to the Velodrome Thursday August 2 With the Velodrome finally open for business, Team GB added gold in the men’s team sprint, despite a scare when Philip Hindes fell off his bike in what was either an accident or a calculated ploy. “I did it on purpose to get a restart,” said Hindes, kindly clearing things up. But because he’s a bit German, he claimed he’d misunderstood ze question and it was all just a terrible accident. The only bummer in the Velodrome came in the women’s team sprint, when Victoria Pendleton was relegated for being too lovely, or some flimsy technicality, taking Jess Varnish with her. But by now the golds were rolling in, with two more in the men’s canoe slalom double and the shooting men’s double tRap. And by this point, according to photos posted on a popular social network, Bradley Wiggins was still at the booze. Gold 3 Silver 3 Bronze 0
Highs and lows
All pictures Getty Images
High Within 15 seconds of walking into Horse Guards Parade for the beach volleyball, the Benny Hill music had kicked in and the MC was imploring the crowd to “make some noise, it's party time!” It was 9.15am on a Tuesday. And one day, all sport will be like this.
22 | August 17 2012 |
High Michael Phelps took just the six medals in London - four gold and two silver - which took his tally to a ridiculous 22 in all and made him the most decorated Olympian of all time. And yet what we recall most fondly was his admission that he pissed in our pool.
High More memorable even than Chad le Clos’ fingernail victory over Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly final: his dad Bert going into mad parental meltdown in the BBC studio. “Unbelievable. Un-believable, un-believable, un-believable.”
Low All those empty seats? Now if the seats left scandalously empty had featured the logo of the company whose suit hadn’t bothered to show up, we’d be able to identify them with ease from afar and then act. Boycott their business and send them dog dirt through the post.
High North Korea’s tiny Om Yun Chol lifted three times his own bodyweight in the clean and jerk to take a shock gold, the exertion seeming to make him go a bit mad. “I believe the great Kim Jong Il looked over me,” he claimed, clearly delirious or reading from a card.
London 2012
Day 10. J’accuse, monsieur Monday August 6 Another day, another week and another brace of golds. This time they came in the equestrian team jumping (for the first gold in that event since 1952) and from Jason Kenny in the men’s sprint. The sight of the slight Lancastrian being chased around the Velodrome by the seething French mass of Grégory Baugé in the final may well be the abiding memory of London 2012. Afterwards, the French finally snapped. “How have they gained so many tenths of seconds,” demanded team director Isabelle Gautheron, who’d suspected something was amiss when British cycle supremo Dave Brailsford mentioned they had “specially round wheels”. “They hide their wheels a lot,” she harrumphed. “The ones for the bikes they race on are put in wheel covers at the finish.” What she failed to mention was that the wheels are not only round, but also manufactured in France. But, as Sir Chris Hoy’s dad put it: “You’ve got to upset someone. It might as well be the French.” > Gold 2 Silver 0 Bronze 1
Highs and lows Low The most painful interview of the Games: 15-year-old Lithuanian Ruta Meilutyte took shock gold in the women’s 100m breaststroke and then froze before the BBC camera. “I can’t believe it,” she said, repeatedly, for five awkward minutes. Leave her alone, Davies, you brute.
Low Will we ever see the best of Chinese superstar Liu Xiang again? Gold in Athens, injured in Beijing, and out of London after crashing in the 110m at the very first hurdle. Last seen heading for the exit in a wheelchair.
High Usain Bolt retained his 100m, 200m and 4x100m titles with awe-inspiring ease, then invited the Swedish women’s handball team back to his room and declared: “I am a living legend.” Which is undeniably true. But stop right now, big man, for your work here is done.
Low If you were a drunken cretin who’d just lobbed a bottle at Bolt and Blake on the starting line of the men’s 100m final, the last person you’d want to find standing next to you is Dutch judo champion Edith Bosch. She gleefully beat the moron up until security arrived.
Low During the hysteria of Super Saturday, when nothing could prick the nation’s pride, the male footballers had a good go by exiting lamely on penalties to South Korea. Luckily, it didn’t really matter because it’s not an Olympic sport. But even so – the hopeless frauds.
High The world witnessed a dish served cold in the Aquatics Centre when France came from behind to snatch a glorious gold from the USA in the 4x100m freestyle. Four years previously, the Americans had pulled the same trick on the French.
| August 17 2012 | 25
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Day 8. Golds galore Saturday August 4 Saturday. Super Saturday. Super Soaraway Saturday. Super Soaraway SoddingSensational Saturday, the day when golds rained down on a disbelieving nation. Further golds had already been added in the women’s team pursuit cycling, the men’s four rowing and the women’s lightweight sculls doubles, but nothing had prepared Blighty for what was about to unfold in the Olympics Stadium. First, the little-known heptathlete Jessica Ennis took gold in style, dominating from start to finish and racing home to clinch victory in the 800m. Jessica Ennis, goodnight indeed. Minutes later, Greg Rutherford flung himself into the nation’s living rooms with a jump (8.31m) that no one could better, before Mo Farah did the seemingly impossible, beating the unbeatable Africans in the 10,000m – and then celebrated by rolling perilously close to a large puddle of pure white phlegm coughed up by silvermedallist Galen Rupp. With all three medals coming within 45 extraordinary minutes of each other, the nation retired to its bed blind drunk on glory – though the strong continental lager may have also helped. Gold 6 Silver 1 Bronze 0
Day 9. The morning after the night before Sunday August 5 After the deluge, a depression, of sorts: Team GB won only two golds today. They came from the ever imperious Ben Ainslie in the men’s Finn and the tennis men’s singles, where Andy Murray very almost cracked a smile after obliterating an imitation of Roger Federer in the final. Murray also took a silver in the mixed doubles with Laura Robson, but the challenge of having to play his singles final and mixed doubles final simultaneously on different courts proved too demanding. Elsewhere, Christina Ohuruogu took silver in the women’s 400m, likewise Louis Smith on the pommel horse, who missed out on gold thanks to some obscure ruling about execution of something or other. Elsewhere, Bolt beat Blake in the men’s 100m final – but because it didn’t add to Team GB’s tally, we shan’t dwell. Gold 2 Silver 4 Bronze 2
London 2012
Day 11. The Queen is dead... Tuesday August 7 Perhaps we were getting greedy by now, and adding another four golds to surpass the Beijing gold tally was not to be sniffed at, but it’s the one that got away that sticks in the craw. In her final ride, reluctant national treasure Queen Victoria Pendleton was supposed to race to a crowning victory in the women’s sprint, while wearing a crown, before racing off into the future crying tears of unbridled joy. Instead, thunder-thighed Aussie villain Anna Meares elbowed our hero aside and raced off with her glory and her gold. Still, Sir Chris Hoy’s gold in the keirin raised spirits and was as impressively muscular as it was inevitable, to all but his mother at least. It bagged Hoy his sixth Olympic gold, one more than the previous record holder Sir Steve ’Huggy Bear’ Redgrave. But perhaps the most significant gold of the day came courtesy of Laura Trott, taking gold in the final race of the women’s omnium and offering hope and expectation for the future. The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen. Gold 4 Silver 2 Bronze 2 Day 12. And breathe Wednesday August 8 A day of rest. Not officially, just in terms of Team GB medals – Tim Brabants being the main medal hope that didn’t materialise. But at this stage, third place was as good as in the bag. Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Day 13. Dance and destruction Thursday August 9 As a nation of keen pugilists, Team GB taking gold today in flyweight boxing and taekwondo should have come as no real surprise – even if neither Nicola Adams nor Jade Jones was quite expected to take the big medal. But who knew Britain bred such magical dancing nags? Charlotte Dujardin and the prancing Valegro hot-stepped their way to gold in equestrian’s individual dressage – horse dancing to you and I. And in other business, the world stopped once more this evening as Bolt beat Blake again, this time in the 200m. He celebrated by doing some press-ups. > Gold 3 Silver 0 Bronze 1
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Highs and lows High Highly impressive to see the Royal three-piece of William, Kate and Harry present at every single game on the Olympic calendar, sometimes being at several events concurrently. Quite how they got so much time off work or were so lucky in the ticket ballot... well, who knows?
26 | August 17 2012 |
High The true star of the Velodrome was not Hoy, Pendleton, Kenny or Trott, but the man dressed like a member of the Gestapo doing laps on a 1930s motorcycle. Sadly, he never quite managed to hang on for gold.
Low Of the big Brit disappointments, medal hope Dai Greene was never at the races, staggering into the 400m hurdles final and crawling over the line. Worse, though: Phillips Idowu. A genuine medal hope, only he will ever know what went on in that head of his.
High In his debut Olympic final, the 800m, Kenyan David Rushida formulated a simple but effective plan: “I just decided to go for it.” He did just that, setting a seemingly effortless world record in one of the moments of the Games. Lord Coe passed out in a puddle of awe.
High Britannia’s first Olympic medal-winning brothers in the same individual sport in 112 years, the Brownlee brothers took gold (Alistair) and bronze (Jonny) in the men’s triathlon. But for Jonny’s 15-second time penalty, we might well have had a frisky one-two.
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London 2012
Day 14. Jolly hockey sticks Friday August 10 Four years after crashing out in Beijing, Shanaze Reade came up short of the medals in the BMX, a frustrating sport in which whoever got to the front first always seemed to win. In the men’s taekwondo, controversial British pick Lutalo Muhammad looked embarrassed to be in the last 16, where he went out tamely but fought back to take bronze. As did the women’s hockey team, beating Holland in the third-place playoff and securing GB’s first medal in that sport for 20 years. On a day of no golds, a brace of sailing silvers were as glorious as it got. Suddenly, a few nerves had begun to creep in – Old Mother Russia had begun to rouse herself and was slowly reeling Team GB in on the medal count. Gold 0 Silver 2 Bronze 3
Number of Golds at the Atlanta Games, 1996
Day 15. Rise of the Mobot Saturday August 11 Though not quite as Super, Soaraway or Spectacular as the previous Saturday, the sight of new national hero Mobot Farah taking gold in a pulsating and punishing 5,000m won’t ever be erased – a day early, this was the only closing ceremony London 2012 needed. Luke Campbell in the bantamweight boxing and Ed McKeever in the canoe sprint added two more golds to keep the Russians at bay, while Tom Daley took a bronze as good as gold in the men’s 10m platform. Gold 3 Silver 0 Bronze 2 Day 16. 29+17+19=65 Sunday August 12 With two golds in the funny Fast Walking, Russia crept ever closer to Team GB in third place, but ran out of time and medals. By the time Anthony Joshua was adding one last gold in the men’s super-heavyweight division, Bradley Wiggins was just about sobering up and Team GB were securing third in the table with 29 golds (just 22 more than the sorry Aussies). Only the superpowers of USA and China sat above them, and Team GB had as good as won the whole Olympics. From here, the only way may be down – but let’s enjoy the view from on high for a while. Gold 1 Silver 2 Bronze 0 Nick Harper
Final medal count Gold 29 Silver 17 Bronze 19 Predicted* final medal count Gold 19 Silver 24 Bronze 21 *according to The Times/Infostrada predictions
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Highs and lows Low In the 4x100m relay semi, Team GB raced home behind the untouchable Jamaicans to book their place in the final. Sadly, they were disqualified for having truly buggered up the baton change. It would have been comical had it not all been so sadly predictable.
28 | August 17 2012 |
Low Kicked out of the Games for not trying properly in the 800m, Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi was reinstated when he turned up with a doctor’s note claiming he’d been injured – then romped to gold in the 1,500m final, laughing all the way to the line and his tainted medal.
Low Azerbaijan bantamweight Magomed Abdulhamidov was knocked down five times in the final round against Japan’s Satoshi Shimizu, yet still somehow won. On appeal, the referee was found to be partially sighted and entirely incompetent, and the decision overturned.
High It’s easy to forget now that, prior to the Games starting on July 27, it had rained constantly for the previous 365 days and nights. London 2012 would not have been quite so joyous in the rotten, hosing rain, but clearly Lord Coe has a hotline to the gods.
High The closing ceremony was a shambling, rambling, shouty mess, with the suspicion that they were simply making it up as it went along. And yet in all those things, it reflected Blighty nicely. Not a patch on the opening ceremony, but a fitting finale nonetheless.
25 Ninety-seven days on from the most dramatic denouement in its 20-year history, the greatest league in the worldTM is back - and bigger and better than ever. This alone is a good thing. Factor in the Championship, Leagues One and Two, the Champions League, a new World Cup qualifying campaign on the horizon and the return of La Liga (the other greatest league in the world) and we may well explode with excitement... So, to whet your appetite, we've stuck our necks out to tell you how it will all go down *Possibly not guarantee. But mostly – with one or two could-dos and the odd question 30 | August 17 2012 |
No. 1
Manchester city will prevail again the premier league champions have all the pieces in place to retain their title, and this time with more than 10 seconds to spare. Here, the club’s powerhouse midfielder, Yaya Toure, explains why they’ll get better with age and experience: “With a big club you expect them to sign big players, but we already have a fantastic squad. It’s very young too. I think the average age is 24 or 25, which is great for the long term. The boss has signed his new contract and some of the players have or will renew their contracts. That stability is important, because we have played together for one or two years now – and when you work together all the time, you play better as a unit. “What’s also good is that the club has so many natural leaders. Vinnie [Vincent Kompany, above] is one of them: he’s a great player, he’s young, he’s focused and his commitment to this club is unbelievable. Then you have Joe Hart, who is quite young, but is a leader. We have [Nigel] De Jong, we have [Gareth] Barry, who don’t talk a lot but set an example. That’s important in games, because in certain situations you need characters like the ones we have. “Even more than last year, I know teams will be focused on us; on trying to beat the champions. But we will be ready for that and it will make us raise our level. We would love to take this trophy again – and we will fight very, very hard to do that.” Why Manchester City can dominate the decade, by David Conn, page 36
The Premier League Returns
No. 2
No. 3
1. Manchester City (C) 2. Manchester United (CL) 3. Arsenal (CL) 4. Chelsea (CL) 5. Everton 6. Liverpool 7. Tottenham 8. Newcastle United 9. Sunderland 10. Stoke City 11. Queens Park Rangers 12. Aston Villa 13. Wigan Athletic 14. Fulham 15. Norwich City 16. Southampton 17. West Ham United 18. West Bromwich Albion (R) 19. Reading (R) 20. Swansea City (R)
football writer Jonathan wilson tells us why, despite Spain eschewing the striker entirely in Euro 2012 and the majority of sides opting for two holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1, the trusty 4-4-2 will remain the norm in the Premier League. “The way Cesc Fabregas played in the Euros was very unusual and different to what we’ve seen. It’s almost a target man – not in the aerial sense we’re used to, but as a board at the front of the midfield they can bounce passes off. He retains possession, which creates a new angle for the midfield. “Now, I don’t think anybody in the Premier League will do that. But Chelsea, who have loaded their squad with really good creative technical midfielders – Marko Marin, Eden Hazard, Oscar – don’t really have a centre forward if Fernando Torres doesn’t fire. Imagine a situation in which Torres doesn’t play well and Daniel Sturridge is injured – what do they do? Maybe stick a midfielder up there and, through circumstance, are forced to play like Spain. “There is a very slow evolution towards a 4-2-3-1 in England. It wouldn’t surprise me if Swansea move to one under Michael Laudrup, but there are a whole bundle of midand lower-ranking teams who default to 4-4-2. The reason for that? It is what most British coaches and players grew up with, and it means there’s no danger of overcomplicating. “That logic takes over when coaches are terrified of being relegated, or on a run of five or six bad results. Look at what happened to Roberto di Matteo with West Brom – he got them promoted and playing really good football, and then they got one point from nine games and he gets sacked. He won the Champions League, so he’s not a bad manager. But there’s that fear – that short-termism – that clubs can’t allow bad runs to set in. They panic, and so stick with what they know. You don’t experiment because it might end up with you being sacked.” Jonathan Wilson writes on tactics for The Guardian and is the editor of football quarterly theblizzard.co.uk
the striker isn’t deAd
After 380 gAmes, they will finish up like this...
No. 4
if the premier league’s three newcomers are to survive – or better – this season, they will need to learn some lessons from Messrs Lambert and Rodgers. They will also rely on the performances of either the men who did so much to get them up last year, or the ones they have signed to keep them there...
SouthamptoN AdAm LALLAnA & Rickie LAmbeRt
ReadiNg AdAm FedeRici & PAveL PogRebnyAk
WeSt ham Jussi JAAskeLAinen & JAmes tomkins
The other recently promoted Lambert was top scorer in the Championship with 27 last season. Unlike Norwich, the Saints have held on to their man who, at 30, is making a late entrance on to the biggest stage in much the same way Grant Holt did last season. Expect him to have a similiar effect. Lallana made 10 and scored 11 from his attacking midfield role last year. Can he do the same this season? Yes he can.
The Royals kept more clean sheets than anyone last season, shutting the opposition out 20 times – 18 of which ended in a win. Federici can – and will – replicate that form. At the other end, Pogrebnyak’s six goals in 12 games for Fulham proves he can be prolific for a side of comparitively limited means. Five in his first three made the Russian the quickest player to reach five goals in Premier League history. Expect more of the same.
In Kevin Nolan, Carlton Cole, Ricardo Vaz Te and Nicky Maynard, the Irons have four 12-goals-a-season men. But will they all fire in the top flight? If not, it’s at the back where points will be won. Rob Green’s move to QPR is a blow. But, at 37, Jaaskelainen can continue the Brad Friedel trend of reliable keepers nearing (or over) 40 finding a new lease of life at a new club. In defence, it’s time for James Tomkins – at 23 – to fulfill his promise. >
Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 31
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promoted plAyers who will perform
The Premier League Returns
No. 5
No. 6 No. 8
There will be blood
This man will never be sacked
The bookmakers are rarely far out on the sack race predictions for the new season. If making money off another man’s misery is your game, consider the following... sam allardyce West Ham
6/1
steve clarke West Brom
6/1
nigel adkins Southampton
6/1
mark hughes QPR
10/1
roberto di matteo Chelsea
10/1
brendan rodgers Liverpool
20/1
andre villas-boas Tottenham
25/1
arsene wenger Arsenal
33/1
roberto mancini Man City
50/1
sir alex Ferguson Man Utd 50/1 *All odds courtesy of Ladbrokes
roberto martinez might finally move on to bigger and better things this season, but he won’t be sacked – not even if Wigan repeat the form they opened with last season: 10 defeats, six draws and three wins by the turn of the year. Dave Whelan understands that few men could do a better job on the budget Martinez has had, or do it half as stylishly.
27%
No. 7
avb could be riP FoRMeR PReMieR LeAgUe STAR CRAig BURLey TAkeS
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A CLoSeR Look AT THe LAne’S neW HeAd HonCHo “Make no mistake, hiring Villas-Boas is a massive gamble. What did David Levy see in the period that AVB was at Chelsea that said ’here’s a guy who can manage in the Premier League?’ I don’t see it. “The worry for Tottenham fans is that AVB seemed incapable of controlling problematic players at Chelsea, and he’s going to have the same scenario at Spurs – Luka Modric wants to leave, Gareth Bale can see bigger and better things, and they can’t afford Emmanuel Adebayor. Senior players suss out a bullshitter pretty quickly, and he goes to Tottenham with a poor reputation – his Porto record long forgotten. “On top of that, AVB liked to play in a rigid structure at Chelsea, and this is a Tottenham side that likes to play in a free-flowing, expressive way, with Bale floating around and the full-backs attacking. Is he going to try to change that, or just let them play? “He’s coming into the same situation as he did at Chelsea, with problems from day one. It’s sink or swim. If it goes the same way it did at Stamford Bridge, he’s toast in this country. I hope I’m wrong, because a lot of good work has gone on at the club and they put themselves in a great position last season. They fell just short, but I can see them going backwards this season because I think they will lose some of their top players. It will be more of a struggle – just fighting for the top six could be their aim this year.” ESPN will broadcast Newcastle v Tottenham live and exclusive tomorrow at 5.30pm. ESPN.co.uk/tv
32 | August 17 2012 |
Roberto Martinez’s win rate at Wigan
roberTo di maTTeo is on borrowed Time not a ball yet kicked in earnest and we’re wondering how long the coach of last season’s Champions League winners has left in the job. It’s a nonsense, of course, but that’s football, particularly when the man you call The Boss is Roman Abramovich. He never wanted Di Matteo to have the big job – he wanted a prestige name making astronomical salary demands. But the Miracle of Munich forced his hand. So he gave the Italian a slap in the face with a two-year contract, all the while fluttering his eyelashes at Pep Guardiola. There remains the suspicion that many of Chelsea’s key, inspirational players were playing on a combination of pride and spite last season. Di Matteo hadn’t somehow inspired and re-energised them – they were just playing to prove Andre Villas-Boas wrong and make him look stupid. If the Chelsea coach doesn’t hit the ground running this time round and look to have built a team capable of mounting a title charge and a Champions League challenge, the club will be looking for their sixth
No. 9
Guardiola would say ‘si’ To chelsea “Pep is currently recharging his batteries playing golf with Johan Cruyff, travelling [New York] and seeing his family,“ says Barcelonabased football journalist Andy Mitten. “His agent has been speaking to other clubs with a view to him coaching again next season, but an offer may present itself before then. Would he take the Chelsea job given the constant meddling of Roman Abramovich? Yes, I think he probably would.“ >
manager in four years. The Russian despot sacked Carlo Ancelotti for returning empty-handed in 2011, a season after winning the Premier League (and FA Cup), but one in which they could only finish second. Even though di Matteo delivered the one trophy Abramovich truly craved – the one that gives him credibility and kudos – unless he shows signs of being able to repeat the trick this season, his end will be swift and merciless.
The Premier League Returns
No. 10
Financial Fair Play rules won’t mean Playing Fair this season is the second of three that count towards the first financial fair play assessment in 2013-14 – clubs that want to compete in Europe aren’t allowed to lose more than €45m (£35.4m) over the three years. So clubs such as Manchester City, who made losses of £197m in 2010-11 (the biggest in football history, the year before the regulations kicked in), will have to rein in their spending if they don’t want to fall foul of UEFA’s sanctions, right? Well, not quite. Although City’s balance sheet probably looks a little healthier for 2011-12 thanks to the money from their Champions League debut, their costs are still astronomical – their wage bill exceeded revenue in 2010-11, and that’s unlikely to have changed with the acquisitions of Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri last summer. Luckily for City, loopholes abound that will let the club keep spending, should they want to. They can increase the amount of cash coming in legitimately through sponsorship deals, which sounds fair until you realise that City’s major sponsors are all owned by the UAE government – of which club owner and benefactor Sheikh Mansour is a key component. There are plenty of ways to reduce outgoings without actually reducing spending, too. It’s already
34 | August 17 2012 |
common practice for transfer fees to be amortised over the length of a player’s contract. So, for example, Sergio Aguero’s £38m transfer fee would appear on the books as six lots of £6.3m, one for each year of the player’s contract. Another possibility is cutting the wage bill through related third-party deals. So, if Carlos Tevez wants £500,000 a week, you can pay him half that, and sort him out with a deal with one of your sponsors to make up the difference – by making him the face of ’Fly Emirates to Argentina (and don’t come back for six months)’, for example. It becomes very difficult for UEFA to track and apply sanctions when money is coming in freely from different sponsor companies. The sanctions themselves are yet to be challenged in the legal arena, and UEFA have already had to can a planned ban on transfers for clubs that do transgress the rules because of potential legal issues. This is the greyest of grey areas already. Mancini has already signed Jack Rodwell this summer – and will no doubt add to that acquisition. When he does, City will be able to pick and choose which loophole they want to employ in order to get around – perfectly legally – the Financial Fair Play regulations.
No. 11 Shinji Kagawa anSwerS United’S prayerS
No. 12
reaL Madrid retain La Liga as Barcelona-based football journalist andy Mitten explains, post-Pep Barça could struggle to hit their previous heights: “Barcelona’s new coach Tito Vilanova is following Barça’s greatest ever in Pep Guardiola – and the demands are almost impossibly high. If he’s unable to regain the title from Madrid or win the Champions League, it will be considered a failure. Vilanova is well liked and popular with the players, but the mood will turn quickly if his Barça side are not as impressive as Guardiola’s. Vilanova doesn’t have Guardiola’s force of personality, nor his status as a club legend on the pitch. “Some players idolised Guardiola the player before he became Guardiola the coach. Vilanova will have to convince the players he’s the right man and shift from being a pally assistant coach to someone who lays down the rules in a dressing room full of egos. And all the while, Jose Mourinho will be trying to trip him up in the media. It’s a tough one to call for the title, but I’d go Madrid.“ >
Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 35
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wesley Sneijder and Luka Modric proved out of reach, but in Shinji Kagawa, Manchester United might have found – for £17m – the playmaker they badly require. “Kagawa has exceptional technique, amazing vision and that knack of operating in the tightest of spaces and yet always finding the right solution,“ says German football writer Uli Hesse. “He’ll run until the sun goes down – he’s learned that in Dortmund, because Borussia’s game was based on constant movement – and he can score as well as create. Think the new Paul Scholes rather than the new Roy Keane.“
The Premier League Returns
No. 13
ManchesTer ciTy can doMinaTe This decade by david conn
36 | August 17 2012 |
The football nation watched it happen – last season’s Premier League title euphorically grabbed in the 94th minute of a crazy final match – and yet it still feels faintly surreal to dutifully describe Manchester City as this season’s formidable favourites to dominate. The recent rise of City, the club that in the 1980s and ’90s won only “cups for cock-ups”, as lamented by former player and then chairman Francis Lee, remains difficult to comprehend. Just four years ago, City finished ninth in the Premier League, having for three decades never worried the top places. They were written up as the ’real’ Manchester club, in contrast to United’s triumphs and corporate money-making. The Sky Blues had an owner – former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, on the run from corruption charges in his home country – who was trying to offload the football club he had landed with a wage bill he could no longer afford to service. Now Sir Alex Ferguson persistently complains the transfer market is overpriced for United, whose owners, the Glazers, have drained more than £550m from the club since 2005 to service the debts of their own takeover. City, by glittering contrast, field Yaya Toure (one of the world’s greatest midfield players in his prime), Spain’s sparkling David Silva, and the power of Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero, who scored that injury-time title-winner against Queens Park Rangers. Mario Balotelli’s fiery performances for Italy at Euro 2012 finally explained why City’s manager, Roberto Mancini, retains faith in a player with so combustible a temperament. City have arguably the league’s strongest central defence in captain Vincent Kompany, signed for only £6m from Hamburg during Shinawatra’s ownership, partnering England’s Joleon Lescott. And Joe Hart, the only City player featuring regularly in last season’s title run-in who had been at the club since his youth (Micah Richards was on the bench for the crucial final matches), is England’s goalkeeper. So, City are truly the team to beat. The only complication in what should be a tale of sporting romance is that the ’real’ Manchester club’s revival is down to the arrival of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi – their outlandishly rich owner. Since he bought the club from Shinawatra in 2008, Sheikh Mansour, a member of the oil-rich emirate’s ruling family, has spent around £1bn, principally on buying players and paying wages large enough to attract them. Toure came in for £24m from Barcelona in 2010, the summer of most lavish expenditure, on a wage that touches that of Carlos Tevez. The Argentine is contractually guaranteed to be City’s highest paid player, on a basic £198,000 a week. In the title-defining derby against United, three matches from the end
David Conn is a football writer for The Guardian. His book Richer Than God: Manchester City, Modern Football and Growing Up is published by Quercus and out now
No. 14
Sky Blue IS The Colour
+48%
Increase in Manchester City fans since January – according to their Facebook page, anyway
+62%
Increase in Man City shirt sales at prodirectsoccer.com, between 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons >
Michael Regan/Getty Images, Umbro
of last season, it was Toure’s overwhelming of Paul Scholes, the 37-year-old hauled out of retirement to anchor United’s midfield, which encapsulated the divergent fates of the Manchester clubs. Silva cost £26m from Valencia; Balotelli £24m from Internazionale, where Mancini previously did his best to manage him. In 2011, Mansour’s City bought Aguero for a mountainous £38m, and two Arsenal Frenchmen whose departures shocked an ashen Arsene Wenger: Samir Nasri for £24m, and Gael Clichy for £7m. This muscular and powerful squad faces this season with the confidence of winners, having vanquished in that final match not just QPR, but the ghosts of City’s past – the failures under pressure, the cock-ups of modern times. Wenger has repeatedly attacked the scale of City’s spending, although sympathy for Arsenal, whose former English shareholders made £300m for themselves after selling their stakes to the American Stan Kroenke, is running lower than it previously did. Around Europe, many are aghast at the English game allowing clubs bearing the names of towns and cities to be sold in the global marketplace. UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules, operational from 2014, are aimed at dampening down players’ wage inflation by preventing clubs running up losses (City’s deficit was £197m last year) even if bankrolled by an owner. It remains to be seen how firmly UEFA are prepared to enforce these rules, although City are trying to bring costs down. Their income, though, is escalating with success. When Shinawatra, his assets frozen in Thailand, was hawking the Manchester club in the Gulf four years ago, City were in genuine danger of falling insolvent. Mansour, a son of Sheikh Zayed, the visionary leader who steered Abu Dhabi’s composed investment of its oil bonanza that began in the 1960s, was at the time looking for a club to buy. The Premier League has, since its own pay-TV windfalls began in 1992, gradually overtaken Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A to become the most watched domestic competition on televisions around the world – including in Abu Dhabi, according to City’s appointed chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak. Mansour considered buying Everton before City piqued his interest, but the Manchester club had the attributes he wanted. It was a major Premier League club; its supporters had proved their bloody-minded loyalty during the long years of decline – including a season in the third tier of English football (now League One) just 10 years earlier. Unlike Everton, struggling at beloved, outdated Goodison Park, City also had a new stadium, built with £127m lottery and local council taxpayers’ money for the 2002 Commonwealth Games – and converted for the club thereafter. Mansour did not want to spend the first few years of his Premier League football club ownership adventure with planners, architects and builders poring over a new stadium project. He wanted to buy players and appoint a coach to launch his chosen club rapidly towards winning trophies. Marshalled by Al Mubarak, a new team of executives has rebuilt Manchester City expertly to do that, win in four years the league the club had not won for 40 before Mansour. And then win many more. Unlikely as the story is – repellent to some, a delight to most of the club’s supporters – Manchester City are the overwhelming 2012-13 Premier League favourites because of the inherited fortune of a sheikh in the ruling family of an oil-rich emirate some 3,500 miles away.
| 37
The Premier League Returns
The so-called experTs will conTinue To insulT your inTelligence in this hi-tech era, most of us have learned to watch Match of the Day on Sky+ so we can just fast-forward through the seemingly endless banality. But, if you find yourself trapped in front of live TV for some reason, here's a little game to get you through. If you're the first person to be subjected to all of these occurrences, you win. Sort of.
1. Gary Neville can’t get the ‘Sky pad’ to work 2. Alan Shearer sports a double-collared shirt 3. Alan Shearer simply describes what’s happening in a clip, as it happens 4. Jamie Redknapp uses the word literally incorrectly or references his dad’s time at Spurs 5. Gary Lineker makes a knowing reference to “You can’t win anything with kids” 6. Sky commentator shouts “And it’s live” going into a break, as if that’s never happened before 7. Alan Hansen describes something as a ‘disgrace’ or says ‘shocking defending’ 8. Mark Lawrenson makes an awful pun instead of providing any kind of insight 9. Lee Dixon says ‘at the end of the day’ or refers to Arsenal’s famous offside trap 10. Ray Wilkins says “my word” at least five times Date completed:
No. 17
expecT fireworks on sepTember 15 The day Queens park rangers entertain chelsea in a derby given added spice by the Anton Ferdinand-John Terry episode from last season and this summer. But that's old news, right?
Stand well back! nine other friSky looking fixtureS for the new SeaSon November 17: arsenal v Tottenham October 7: barcelona v real madrid October 7: ac milan v internazionale December 8: manchester city v manchester united February 24: internazionale v ac milan March 2: Tottenham v arsenal March 3: real madrid v barcelona April 6: manchester united v manchester city May 4: manchester united v chelsea
38 | August 17 2012 |
No. 16
There will be no honeymoon for brendan rodgers... goodwill ambassador luis suarez has signed a new contract, ageing talisman Steven Gerrard looks like starting the season somewhere approaching fitness and, wait for it, tricky youngster Joe Cole is back from his year abroad. But not everything in the Anfield garden is rosy for new man Brendan Rodgers, who might find life a little tougher than when cutting his Premier League teeth in an impressive first season with Swansea last term. Manchester City are sniffing around stylish defender Dan Agger, deceptively soft hardman Martin Skrtel has been linked with AC Milan, and the Kenny Dalglish comedy collective of Downing, Henderson and Carroll remain. Rodgers has stated a desire to play the game the ’Liverpool way’, but universal approval has not been forthcoming from a Kop unconvinced by the former Chelsea employee’s appointment – and there must be a question mark over how much cash John W Henry is willing to spend beyond the £25m used to bring in Fabio Borini and Joe Allen. Rodgers is a an effective operator, but he’ll need to be much more than that if he’s to drag Liverpool from the Europa League mediocrity bequeathed him by King Kenny.
... or paul lamberT The other new boy to impress with a promoted side last season has also moved on, with Aston Villa his slightly less intimidating destination. The improvement required from owner Randy Lerner and a generally downbeat Villa Park faithful should be within Paul Lambert’s reach, so dismal was life for pretty much everyone under Alex McLeish. But the Scot will have his work cut out rebuilding a squad that is short on strength in depth and that age, injury and illness threaten to deprive of a spine that, in Messrs Given, Dunne, Petrov and Bent, is actually still pretty handy on paper. >
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No. 15
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The Premier League Returns
No. 18
No. 19
1. PaPiss Demba Cisse newcasTle Thirteen goals in 14 Premier League appearances after joining Newcastle in January, including one run of nine in six games and the most ridiculous strike of the season in a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge. No goal in his last two, mind, so his bubble has clearly burst.
2. NikiCa JelaviC everTon The former Rangers hitman scored 11 in 16 in all competitions after arriving from the former Rangers last season. He looks proper handy, but by now will have read the memo that says any Everton player must be useless until at least February.
3. CliNt DemPsey Fulham Twenty-three goals in one season? From a Yank? Who isn’t even a striker? And plays for Fulham?
No. 20 Torres is back! 40 | August 17 2012 |
while This loT simply can’T be any worse
How can this man be stopped? Oh, Liverpool have been on the sniff? That should do it.
4. RobiN vaN PeRsie arsenal/manchesTer uniTed/ wherever Thirty goals in one Premier League season was ridiculous enough from the Emirates one-man show, but that he managed a full 38 appearances in the process is a feat the Dutchman ain’t going to be repeating any time soon. Had a crap Euro 2012 too, so he must be finished.
5. stePhaNe sessegNoN sunderland Nine assists and seven goals in the Premier League last season – and when the Benin international scores, the Black Cats don’t lose. Can’t be long before his pace and trickery are nullified by Martin O’Neill’s increasingly joyless approach to the game, however.
1. PatRiCe evRa manchesTer uniTed
3. lee CatteRmole sunderland
A folk hero beginning his seventh season at Old Trafford, but Patrice Evra’s budding romance with Luis Suarez last season helped mask the fact that he is a growing liability as a defender. Laurent Blanc noticed as much during Euro 2012, replacing him with Gael Clichy at left-back in the France team – how long is it before Fergie realises the same? Not long, we’d wager.
Combative. Dogged. Tenacious. Cattermole was none of those things last season, as 10 Premier League bookings and one red card left him with a disciplinary record cleaner only than that of one Joseph Barton. The adjective you are actually looking for, we believe, is cretinous.
2. JoRDaN heNDeRsoN liverpool Inexplicably found himself on the plane (after Michael Carrick's stubborn refusal to be considered even as a substitute) to Euro 2012 after a season in which 37 league appearances yielded two goals and almost no quality. There is still hope that he can prove himself to be worth even a fraction of the £20m Liverpool paid for him, but not much.
The problem in predicting Fernando Torres will be back to his former self and finally justifying his £50m price tage is that we’ve been here before. Several times. Last season he waited six games to open his account, but then scored four in five – and we wondered: Is He Back? But then he went 25 games without scoring and played like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and his boots on the wrong feet.
4. ChaRles N’Zogbia asTon villa From Wigan saviour to Villa flop in the matter of months, his pace, flair and eye for a goal negated by Alex McLeish’s reign of doom. A steadying of the ship by Paul Lambert must surely stop the Frenchman floundering.
5. stewaRt DowNiNg liverpool He can, though. And he almost certainly will.
In April, he killed off Barcelona and scored a hat-trick against QPR – and again we wondered: Is He Back? But he didn’t score again that season and was left seething on the bench for Chelsea’s Champions League final. But, with Didier Drogba gone and Torres now the big dog, and with him summering so well with Spain and winning the Golden Boot, albeit on a technicality, let’s try again. Torres is back! For now. >
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This loT can’T be as good again, can They?
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The Premier League Returns
No. 21
It’s Real MadRId’s ChaMpIons league – alMost by default It’s still too early for Manchester City to mount a serious charge, though they should at least reach the knockout stages this time. Manchester United, Arsenal and even holders Chelsea lack the quality, and Barcelona without Pep Guardiola have suddenly become an unknown quantity. Bayern Munich may yet prove us wrong, but it’s hard to imagine anyone other than Jose Mourinho walking away from Wembley with old jug ears next May.
No. 22
Roy hodgson’s honeyMoon Is oveR
thrown to the lions with so little time to prepare, a ceasefire was declared at the European Championship – and Roy Hodgson couldn’t lose, even when England lost. It wasn’t his team, it wasn’t his fault. Now it begins, though. And Hodgson will discover that being an amiable fellow counts for nothing if England aren’t winning and winning, and winning well. The World Cup qualifying campaign opens away in Moldova on September 7, with the relative big guns of Ukraine and Poland following in September and October. By then, we should have found out if keeping all 11 men behind the ball was part of Hodgson’s longer-term plan. And if by then the knives are out, he’ll have discovered if he made a terrible error in ever saying yes.
WoRld Cup QualIfyIng fIXtuRes Moldova v england, friday september 7 2012 england v ukraine, tuesday september 11 2012 england v san Marino, friday october 12 2012 poland v england, tuesday october 16 2012 san Marino v england, friday 22 March 2013
42 | August 17 2012 |
Montenegro v england, tuesday March 26 2013 england v Moldova, friday september 6 2013 ukraine v england, tuesday september 10 2013 england v Montenegro, friday october 11 2013 england v poland, tuesday october 15 2013
No. 23
This is how The ResT will Finish FooTball league expeRT MaRk CleMMiT Talks us ThRough The Rise and Fall oF The season ahead promotion Bolton really haven’t lost too many of their players, and Owen Coyle has been here before when he took Burnley up in 2008, so the Trotters will be looking to make an immediate return. The other automatic spot should go to Leicester. Sven-Göran Eriksson accumulated many good quality Championship players – Neil Danns, David Nugent, Kasper Schmeichel – and they’re all still there. Sven also brought too high a profile, but Nigel Pearson now has the player quality to get them up. playoffs There’s a change with the arrival of Stale Solbakken at Wolves, who must be a bit demoralised after last season’s relegation, but I think they’ll be in the playoff mix because they have too much quality, even if Steven Fletcher goes. Despite the Bahrani takeover failing, I think you’d have to say Leeds will be there on Neil Warnock’s reputation alone. He’s done promotion seven times, so they’ll be in with a good shout. I’ve got a feeling Nottingham Forest will be the surprise factor with the money behind the new takeover and and with Sean O’Driscoll at the helm. He was undermined at Doncaster, but his teams play lovely football, so he has a point to prove and he’s brought in some good names. Blackpool could be in the mix, too, simply because of Ian Holloway's influence. Outside those four, Charlton, Middlesbrough, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich are probably the main challengers – but they’ll need a good start. Relegation You’d have to say, in terms of resources, Barnsley and Peterborough are likely to struggle. With the greatest of respect to their managers, I do wonder sometimes whether, pound for pound, they can keep up and keep the players believing they can topple bigger clubs. The other one I’d be worried about would be Millwall. They had a bad second half of last season, so they need to start well again. I also think Huddersfield are going to find it harder than they are expecting.
League one
promotion Obviously the whole Ched Evans thing derailed Sheffield United last season, but I was there at that playoff final defeat and the pain and devastation on the players’ faces means they’ll be very keen to lead the charge once more. Elsewhere, I’d back Swindon to go up again. Paolo Di Canio has just confounded everyone, and now he’s had a bit of a clearout and brought in some players better suited to this league, I think they might go straight through. Hanging on to Paolo is the big challenge for them. playoffs Notts County are a very ambitious outfit and I expect them to be up there again, along with MK Dons. I thought Coventry finished quite well in the Championship, and went down because of their early season performances – so they can be up near the top. My surprise package is going to be Preston. There’s been a hell of a lot of disruption there, and Graham Westley has cleared out just about every player there, but I’ve just got a feeling he can do what he did with Stevenage and get Preston up. Relegation Bury are going to struggle, having lost their manager 10 days before the start of the season. Walsall have been down there too often, so their luck might run out. I worry how much there is left in the Yeovil tank after two promotions in recent seasons, while Leyton Orient didn’t have a brilliant season last time round, and Oldham struggled as well. The unpredictable team is Portsmouth, because of their 10-point deduction and the fact their squad is currently made up of youth players and trialists. Michael Appleton has a brilliant reputation, but they’re probably going to struggle.
League Two
promotion Fleetwood Town will be up there, having invested hugely since they came up. They’ve lost one of their star forwards to Leicester in Jamie Vardy, but they’ve brought in quite an array of players to get them goals. Below them, Steve Evans knows how to manage at this level, so I expect Rotherham to go well in their new stadium. The third for me could easily be Cheltenham – if they can start like they did last season. playoffs My surprise package in here would be Oxford United, and I think they could go up. They’ve seen steady increments of progress under Chris Wilder. Other than that, expect Southend and Torquay to be there or there abouts again this season, and I think Bristol Rovers have brought in a few decent names and could cause a bit of an upset to make up the quartet. Relegation At the bottom of the Football League, it’s the lack of resources that cost teams. It will be an interesting season for Accrington Stanley, who will have to get used to life after manager John Coleman, who moved to Rochdale. He’s been responsible for so much of their growth, so they could be in trouble. The overwhelming favourites for the drop, though, have to be Barnet. After surviving on the last day three years on the trot, I would not like to be a Barnet supporter this year. Other than that, I guess the likes of Burton, Morecambe and Dagenham & Redbridge could well get dragged in because they just don’t have the resources. There’s only so many times you can tell a set of players that they’re better than the opposition and hope that will carry them through.
No. 24
ThRee good Reasons blaCkbuRn RoveRs won'T bounCe sTRaighT baCk 1. Venky's. 2. Steve Kean. 3. Nuno Gomes, 43.
No. 25
CelTiC should win The spl probably, we reckon. But as ever, any one of those 12 teams could sneak it. That's what makes the SPL so unmissable.
Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 43
All pictures Getty Images
Championship
A WORK, REST
AND PLAY An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the place where hundreds of athletes retreated to avoid the worldwide glare of the Olympic athletes’ village... 44 | August 17 2012 |
way from the hustle and bustle of the Olympic village, hundreds of athletes have spent the past few weeks relaxing at the state of the art Oakley ‘safe house’, situated above the Design Museum next to the Thames. It’s been a home from home for them, offering all manner of comforts. Technology on tap (many of the Oakley athletes have been Skype-ing family at home), top-notch food and drink, and of course plenty of big screens on which to watch the Olympic action. Not only that, but many athletes have also visited after their events had finished, so were able to make full use of the bar. They’ve also been able to customise their own sunglasses, with all manner of weird and wonderful designs. Oakley and Sport are partners of the latest Design Museum exhibition, Designed To Win, and Oakley wasted no time in snapping up the space above the museum. “It’s been an amazing few weeks,” said Cuan Petersen, performance sports director at Oakley.
Sport promotion
The setting of Oakley’s ‘safe house’ for athletes – next to Tower Bridge – proved a huge draw. Inside, visitors were able to meet up, relax or simply watch the big screens. Beneath the safe house, the Design Museum is currently hosting a sporting exhibition, called Designed To Win.
“The athletes have been able to come here and relax, away from the village. They’ve been able to sit out on the balcony, with a great view of London – Tower Bridge is next door and the city skyline is a stone’s throw away. Many of our athletes haven’t been to London before, so they have really enjoyed it. Our barbecue evenings have been very busy, and the place was packed with athletes wanting to watch the 100m final on the screens. “We’ve provided custom-made product to more than 700 Oakley athletes from 203 countries, covering 19 sports – all competing over the past three weeks. The safe house has also been open to our other ambassadors – for example, Kevin Pietersen and Shaun Pollock have spent time with us.” The exhibition at the Design Museum below the Oakley safe house has also been a hit. It showcases design in sport over the past 50 years, and is a great insight into the advances of technology in everything from football boots to bobsleds. The exhibition runs until November.
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7 Days OUR PICK OF THE ACTION FROM THE SPORTING WEEK AHEAD
AUG HIGHLIGHTS 17-AUG 23 » Athletics: Diamond League, Lausanne » p48 » Golf: The Barclays » p50 » Cycling: Vuelta a España » p50 » Football: The Championship » p52 » MotoGP: Round 11 » p53
WEDNESDAY HORSE RACING | JUDDMONTE INTERNATIONAL | YORK RACECOURSE | CHANNEL 4 3.40PM
Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images
Catch him while you can Chances to see Frankel, the finest horse of a generation, are running out. Tomorrow he contests the Juddmonte International at York and, after that, he will race just one more time – in the Qipco Champions Stakes at Ascot in October. It has been a privilege to watch him, and the fact that he was kept in training as a four-year-old, when most horses of his stature are retired, was a great sporting gesture by his owner, Prince Khalid Abdullah. Tomorrow’s race could even be seen as something of a risk: it is over a mile and a quarter, and Frankel has never raced beyond a mile before. But, as his last race demonstrated, he is now so much better
46 | August 17 2012 |
than every other miler that there are no horses left for him to race at that distance. And his breeding suggests that stepping up in distance will be no problem – his dad, Galileo, won the Derby over a mile and a half. Going up against specialist 10-furlong horses will give him something to think about, however. More importantly, it will give his jockey Tom Queally pause for thought too. Queally has his critics – and on occasion has not ridden Frankel as well as he might have done, often charging unnecessarily from the front. Over a mile, Frankel has the insane pace that doesn’t let his rivals get close, but over a longer distance, Queally needs to exercise a little more caution. He can switch
on the afterburners whenever he likes but, while Frankel dismissed Frankie Dettori’s mount Farhh with contempt over a mile at Goodwood, that horse is proven at 10 furlongs. There is no cannier jockey than Dettori, too, and if anyone is going to pounce on a Queally mistake, it will be him. Other rivals are falling away, however. Nathaniel and Cirrus Des Aigles might both have given Frankel a race, but have opted to swerve him, and that leaves the mighty beast officially rated almost a stone better than anything else in the field. So, on all known form, there is no reason why the great horse will be beaten. We may never see his like again.
49
Amount, in pence, you would have won with a £1 accumulator on Frankel’s three runs this year
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7 Days THURSDAY ATHLETICS | SAmSung DIAmOnD LEAguE: LAuSAnnE | STADE OLympIquE DE LA pOnTAISE | BBC THREE 7pm
SATURDAY RugBy unIOn | RugBy CHAmpIOnSHIp: AuSTRALIA v nEw ZEALAnD | AnZ STADIum, SyDnEy | Sky SpORTS 3 10.30Am
old straight of the 100m. His closest rival and compatriot, Yohan ’The Beast’ Blake, is also set to compete in Lausanne, although at time of writing has not yet laid his marker down on either sprint distance. With Bolt likely to have spent much of the past week DJing and searching for the future Mrs Bolt, Blake might fancy his chances against his golden nemesis. Or he might take the easy option and run the 100m. With American duo Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin also confirmed for Lausanne, however, it’s unlikely to be a summer stroll for Blake. Elsewhere, Olympic champs Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (100m), Sally Pearson (100m hurdles), Kirani James (400m) and the mostly drunk Russian Ivan Ukhov (high jump) are also competing. It’s like the Olympics all over again. We wish.
I am legend Being a legend doesn’t mean you can just sit on your legendary backside, as Usain Bolt (pictured) is about to find out. The Jamaican 100m and 200m Olympic champ is set to run in the Lausanne Diamond League event next Thursday, proclaiming a special affection for the Stade de la Pontaise and “one of the best curves I have ever seen”. Sadly for the three Swedish handball ladies with whom he was recently pictured in particular, Bolt is talking about the splendid bends of the track rather than anything he laid his eyes on in Stratford. So it’s no surprise that he’s since decided upon the 200m for his debut outing as a double, tripleOlympic champion – or, in short, as a legend. He has, however, eschewed the opportunity to compete on the boring
Power of four Cameron Spencer/Getty Images, Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images
Sevens might be making its Olympic bow in Rio in four years (token Olympic mention out of the way), but it’s the 15-a-side form of the game that’s set to take the stage when the newly formed Rugby Championship gets under way tomorrow morning, with world champions New Zealand taking on Australia. The All Blacks are generally the team to beat, and this year is no different, having added a Super XV title (courtesy of the Highlanders) to last autumn’s World Cup win. Conrad Smith’s injury is a blow to Steve Hansen’s men, but the availability of Sonny Bill Williams should soften that blow, while Dan Carter and Aaron Cruden are both on fine form and look set to battle it out for the fly half slot. The Aussies, meanwhile, will have to do without James O’Connor and captain James Horwill. But they will be looking to target the All Blacks’ breakdown through the power of new skipper David Pocock and Scott
48 | August 17 2012 |
Higginbotham, as well as the creativity of their little genius Will Genia (pictured) behind the pack. Stop him and keep Pocock quiet, and New Zealand will be well on their way to victory. Later in the day, history will be made when Argentina head to South Africa to take their place at the southern hemisphere’s top table. The Springboks have been hit by injuries to JP Pietersen and Schalk Burger, while their dearth of second-row options is embarrassing for a side known for their forward power. The Pumas couldn’t have hand-picked a better opening game (away from home, at least), but they’ll need a huge performance from their front three and their big-name stars – Juan Martin Hernandez finding his form would go a long way to helping, too. Whatever happens, it’s good to see the Pumas finally given a crack at the big stage. Oh, and rugby – it’s good to have you back, dear friend.
Someone’S got to keep you out of trouble
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7 Days THURSDAY > GOLF | THE BARCLAYS | BETHPAGE BLACK, NEW YORK | SKY SPORTS 3 8PM
Paying the Bills Four majors down? Check. WGCs all contested? Check. Good, it’s time for the PGA Tour to start playing for some real money. Depending on who you ask, this is either the most exciting bit of the season or quite the silliest. But the next four weeks – which the PGA Tour likes to dub ‘The Playoffs’ – will see someone crowned FedEx Cup champion. And with that title comes a prize fund of a mind-boggling $10m. That’s Ten. Millon. Dollars. It all begins this week at The Barclays, contested at the legendary Bethpage Black. There will be 125 golfers in the field, who will be whittled down to 100 for the next event, the Deutsche Bank Championship, then 70 for the BMW Championship, before a final 30 tee it up for the Tour Championship. In short, this is a four-event shootout for untold riches – won last year by journeyman Bill Haas (pictured), who collected the $10m thanks to victory in the Tour Championship.
The 2011 Barclays had to be cut to three rounds because of poor weather, and it was Dustin Johnson who came out on top, two clear of Matt Kuchar. This year, all eyes will be on the pairing of new US PGA champion Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods over the first two rounds. Should be some battle – but our money’s on the wee fella from Holywood.
261
The four-round tournament record at Bethpage State Park, set by Bob Gilder back in 1982
SATURDAY > CYCLING | VUELTA A ESPANA | PAMPLONA | BRITISH EUROSPORT 5.45PM
Stepping up Sam Greenwood/Getty Images, Bryn Lennon/Getty Images
He had to take second billing behind Bradley Wiggins in the Tour de France, but at the Tour of Spain Team Sky’s Chris Froome will get to play the lead role he’s shown he’s more than capable of fulfilling. The Kenyan-born rider won bronze in the Olympic time trial – once again behind Wiggins – and has excellent form in the Vuelta, having finished second in last year’s race, just 13 seconds behind winner Juan Jose Cobo. That podium place saw Froome relegate teammate Wiggins into third, despite having started the race on the assumption he’d be riding as support for Team Sky’s main man. At the time, it was the highest finish achieved by a Brit in a Grand Tour for some 24 years. Wiggins’ feats in France this year have now topped that, of course, but with the Tour de France 50 | August 17 2012 |
winner giving the Vuelta a miss this year, Froome has a chance to grab some glory of his own. He’ll be up against the home favourite, Alberto Contador, who’s on the comeback trail after his return from a two-year doping ban. After finishing eighth in his first race back – the Eneco Tour, which took place at the beginning of August – the Spaniard said: “I’m in good shape. I’ve felt better and better every day and I believe there’s still room for improvement in the coming week.” Froome says Contador will go into the race with plenty to prove after his time away, but the same could be said of the Team Sky man himself, who will want to show team principal Dave Brailsford and company that he’s more than capable of filling Wiggins’ skinny trousers.
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7 Days
Chasing status
FRIDAY Cardiff v Huddersfield | Cardiff City stadium | sky sports 1 7.45pm
Defeated playoff semi-finalists Cardiff have had a bit of a makeover over the summer – they’ll line up in red home shirts as part of a Malaysian investment that will see them pushing for automatic promotion. They’re up against Huddersfield, who did rather better in their own playoff campaign, winning promotion from League One with a penalty shootout victory over Sheffield United. Keep an eye on Terrier Jordan Rhodes (left), who scored 36 goals in 40 league appearances last season – it’ll be fascinating to see if he can carry that form into a higher division.
The Championship is littered with fallen giants – some, such as Newcastle or West Ham, bounce back at the first time of asking, while others find themselves sliding even lower down the football pyramid. Fans will get a chance to see what’s in store for their teams this weekend, as the first round of games kick off, with another lot on Tuesday night. Here’s a few to keep an eye on this weekend.
SATURDAY leeds united v Wolves | elland road | sky sports 2 12.45pm
Wolves will want to bounce back at the first time of asking under new manager Stale Solbakken, but their first assignment will be a reminder of just how difficult that can be. Leeds fell through the trap door eight years ago and are still trying to find their own way back, finishing 14th in the Championship last season. Wolves’ Norwegian manager has, so far, managed to hang on to their top talent – rejecting hefty bids for the likes of Matt Jarvis (left) and Stephen Fletcher – while Leeds have lost talented winger Robert Snodgrass to Norwich.
Other games
Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images, Ian Walton/Getty Images, Chris Brunskill/Getty Images
satUrDaY 3Pm Barnsley v middlesborough, oakwell Birmingham v Charlton, st andrew’s Crystal palace v Watford, selhurst park derby County v sheffield Wednesday, pride park Hull v Brighton, kC stadium ipswich v Blackburn, portman road leicester v peterborough, Walkers stadium millwall v Blackpool, the den nottingham forest v Bristol City, City Ground
tUesDaY 7.45Pm Brighton v Cardiff, ameX stadium Bristol City v Crystal palace, ashton Gate Charlton v leicester, the valley Huddersfield v nottingham forest, Galpharm stadium middlesborough v Burnley, riverside stadium peterborough v millwall, london road sheffield Wednesday v Birmingham, Hillsborough Watford v ipswich, vicarage road Wolves v Barnsley, molineux
tUesDaY 8Pm Blackpool v leeds united, Bloomfield road Bolton v derby, reebok stadium
52 | August 17 2012 |
SATURDAY Burnley v Bolton | turf moor | 3pm Owen Coyle abandoned Burnley to the Championship when he left them during their sole season in the Premier League to manage Bolton. Two years on, he’s back at Turf Moor to face a Burnley side who finished 13th under Eddie Howe last season. Trotters chairman Phil Gartside has vowed to halve the club’s wage bill, but Ivan Klasnic is the only significant departure thus far. On-loan Arsenal striker Benik Afobe is ready to step in – he hit a hat-trick in the club’s penultimate pre-season friendly – and the return of Chung-Yong Lee (left) from long-term injury is like a new signing. With Stuart Holden due back in October, Trotters fans are confident of a return to the Premier League at the first attempt. This tricky away tie, however, might temper expectations.
SUNDAY MOTOGP | ROund 11: IndIanaPOlIs | IndIana, usa | BBC TwO 6.30PM
Motor city
Helly Hansen catwalk
The big news in MotoGP at the moment – after a three-week gap in the schedule – is that, from next season, seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi will be returning to the Yamaha team with which he had so much success. The Italian has struggled with his Ducati for the past season and a half, but has still managed to score points in all but one race so far this time round. His forthcoming return to a team that suits him is a clear wake-up call to the other riders – if you want to win the world title do it now, because next year it could be a lot harder. Rossi’s future teammate Jorge Lorenzo is still best placed to do just that, despite being beaten by Casey Stoner in the last round at Laguna Seca.
BEST OF THE REST
FRIDAY
CRICKET England v south africa: Third Test day 2, lord’s, sky sports 1 10.30am GOlF wyndham Championship day 2, sedgefield Country Club, north Carolina, sky sports 3 8pm
Mirco Lazzari GP/Getty Images
RuGBY lEaGuE super league: london Broncos v warrington wolves, Twickenham stoop, sky sports 2 8pm FOOTBall Mls: nY Red Bulls v Houston dynamo, Red Bull arena, new Jersey, EsPn 1am
SATURDAY FOOTBall sPl: Ross County v Celtic, Victoria Park, dingwall, EsPn 11.30am
He still has a 23-point lead over second-placed Dani Pedrosa in the championship as it heads across the US to Indianapolis. The MotoGP track, which hosted its first race in 2008, incorporates some of the famous oval circuit, with the remainder of the lap winding through the infield. Defending champion Stoner won here last year on his way to the title, but his overall record at Indianapolis is not good – that was his first podium finish in three attempts. It’s that kind of inconsistency, so rare in his championship years, that has plagued the Australian of late – can he use his Laguna Seca win to launch a run of race victories and end his career on a high?
TEnnIs Cincinnati Masters 1000: semi Finals, lindner Family Tennis Center, Ohio, sky sports 4 6pm RuGBY lEaGuE super league: widnes Vikings v Hull FC, Halton stadium, sky sports 2 6.15pm FOOTBall la liga: sevilla v Getafe, Estadio Ramón sánchez Pizjuán, seville, sky sports1 7.30pm
SUNDAY FOOTBall FIFa u20 women’s world Cup: Brazil v Italy, urawa Komaba stadium, saitama, Japan , British Eurosport 7am FOOTBall sPl: dundee utd v dundee, Tannadice Park, sky sports 4 12.45pm TEnnIs Cincinnati Masters 1000: Final, lindner Family Tennis Center, Ohio, sky sports 4 5.30pm
MONDAY CRICKET England v south africa: Third Test day 5, lord’s, sky sports 1 10.30am BasEBall MlB: la dodgers v san Francisco Giants, dodger stadium, downtown los angeles, EsPn 3am
TUESDAY CRICKET ICC u19 world Cup: semi Final 1, Tony Ireland stadium, Townsville, sky sports 2 12.30pm
WEDNESDAY CRICKET CB40: Kent v Yorkshire, st lawrence Ground, Canterbury, sky sports 1 4.30pm
THURSDAY FOOTBall supercopa: Barcelona v Real Madrid, Camp nou, sky sports 1 8.55pm
Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 53
Helly Hansen beauty and tHe beast a 26.2 mulit-lap trail maratHon cHallenge for induviduals and teams 22nd september 2012, stonor park, Henley-on-tHames. sign up and join us on tHe Helly Hansen catwalk at www. HellyHansenbeautyandtHebeast.co.uk
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54 | August 17 2012 |
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Rugby League’s lighting up Wembley
2012 CARNEGIE CHALLENGE CUP FINAL Saturday 25th August, Wembley Stadium. Tickets start at £21
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Extra time Mieke Dockley
56 | August 17 2012 |
| 57
Celebrity Pictures
M
eet Mieke Dockley, the model and actress who recently played the role of Anna, King Arthur’s girlfriend, in Channel 4’s Camelot – a series that set out to ‘redefine the classic medieval tale of King Arthur’ with sex, sword-fighting, magic and comedy. And, including as it did Dockley’s first nude scene, it’s arguably done exactly that. Those of you who haven’t turned directly to YouTube’s search function will be less pleased to know she is also in a British gangster flick entitled Turnout – in which, the 21-year-old was at pains to inform Sport, she keeps her clothes on. Still, that’s good news, at least, for her boyfriend – Tottenham defender and England U21 international Adam Smith. Having had loan spells with Bournemouth, MK Dons and Leeds, Smith must feel like he’s been around the country searching for his own Holy Grail at times. Though we’d argue that, in Miss Dockley, he’s probably found it.
Magic Mieke
Extra time Kit
Your favourite shirt Fans united behind Team GB are now divided – here’s how you tell
58 | August 17 2012 |
Top row: Arsenal | £45, Aston Villa | £45, Chelsea | £50, Everton | £50, Fulham | £45 Second row: Liverpool | £45, Manchester City | £45, Manchester United | £50, Newcastle | £50, Norwich | £45 Third row: QPR | £43, Reading | £40, Southampton | £42, Stoke | £45, Sunderland | £50 Bottom row: Swansea | £45, Tottenham | £45, WBA | £45, West Ham | £45, Wigan | £40
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Extra time Gadgets 1
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Disco inferno Recreate a night out from the comfort of your own bedroom – well, everything except the ill-advised kebab shop visit 3
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60 | August 17 2012 |
2. Skullcandy Mix Master DJ Headphones These nauseatingly dubbed ‘celebriphones’ were designed in an 18-month (!) collaboration with DJ Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys and include DJ-ready features including dual-channel cue control and one-touch mute, so you can check the crowd’s reaction to the sick beats you’ve dropped. £250 | skullcandy.co.uk
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For a more refined listening experience, look no further than Denon’s new flagship headphones. With ear cups crafted from mahogany, they provide reference-quality audio thanks to their Free Edge Nano Fibre drivers. We’re not sure what any of that means, but at a grand a pair we’re willing to bet it’s something good. £1,000 | denon.co.uk
If you love Soviet-era nostalgia, or just want to fill your living room with kitschy tat, then this game-inspired lamp is perfect. You can rearrange the blocks to any configuration you want and the light will keep shining, though beware – if you happen to accidentally make an uninterrupted row, it could disappear. No refunds. £30 | firebox.com
Any idiot with a laptop and a collection of 1990s song samples to rip off can make a hit record these days. Join their ranks with this DJ controller, which plugs into your laptop and, in conjunction with the included software, will let you mix and scratch to your heart’s content. You’ll be DJing eighth birthday parties in no time. £429 | pioneer.co.uk
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Extra time Entertainment
Power of the dark side
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The Expendables 2
BLu-ray
Darksiders II Video game heroes used to be simple folk, such as Pac-Man or Mario. Darksiders II’s protagonist, Death, looks like Skeletor on steroids and probably chews Italian plumbers for breakfast. He’s also one of the reasons this new action-RPG is immense fun. Controlling this agile hulk and his
Game
twin scythes – battling demons, dragons and giants – looks an epic experience. The surrounding realms are also far more expansive than the original, and you even get your own pony, Despair, to explore this imposing backdrop. Just don’t ask this nag to do dressage – we get the feeling it’s not for him.
BOOK
Sleeping Dogs (PC/PS3 Xbox 360)
Marley Perfectly timed on the month Jamaica celebrates 50 years of independence is the Monday release of this definitive Bob Marley documentary. Interviews with family, pals and ex-Wailers is mixed in with live footage, such as the free concert Marley gave in Kingston days after a bullet injured him in an attempt on his life. A compelling portrait of a man even Usain Bolt is awed by.
62 | August 17 2012 |
Ever wanted to smash up Hong Kong like you’re Bruce Lee taking down Triads? Sleeping Dogs gives you this chance and – despite a troubled development – the game has arrived to surprise critical acclaim, winning praise for its fast, fluid martial arts combat and a bustling open-world city. Enter it from today.
DVD Wilfred Season 1 This darkly amusing US sitcom starts with Elijah Wood mixing an overdose milkshake, before a new buddy pulls him from his despair. That’s Wilfred, his neighbour’s dog – who looks normal to others but is a crass, funny, advice-giving Australian to our hero. Hmm. We’d still prefer the milkshake.
Umbrella Will Self He’s a fan of abstruse language, so reading Will Self usually involves having a dictionary open – but he’s often worth it. There are Booker Prize whispers for his latest novel, an ambitious effort encompassing a maverick psychiatrist, a Victorian mental asylum and a patient he brings out of a 53-year-long coma. Expect rave reviews and a Danny Dyer film adapatation (okay, not the latter).
Tony Kyriacou/Rex Features
The first was a box office hit, so Sly Stallone has rounded up his (literally) old pals for a return. Arnie, Bruce and Jet Li are back, joined by Jean-Claude Van Damme playing a villain called – wait for it – Jean Vilain. As for the plot? Well, that’s thinner than Bruce Willis’ hairline, but you can expect explosions, creaky violence and some cheesy one-liners (Jason Statham’s “I now pronounce you man and knife” is just a starter). Oh Sly, you have been good to us! Out from today.
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