Sport Magazine Issue 298

Issue 298 | March 22 2013

All gunned out?

Arsenal: in terminal decline or the Premier League’s best-run club?

WingS FOr All TASTES.

THE TASTE OF crAnbErry, limE Or bluEbErry.

THE EFFEcT OF rEd bull.

ISSUE 298, MARCH 22 2013 Radar 05 Club 1930 Compete in tournaments from yesteryear to the present day in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14

08 Striking T-shirts And jackets, for that matter.

The finest of threads for the new baseball season oFeatures this coming week

16 The Arsenal question On a perpetual downward spiral or the best-run club in the UK? Former players, managers and Gooning experts have their say Cover: Noma Bar. This page: Oli Scarff/Getty Images, Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images, Ronny Kiaulehn/Cube

27 World Cup qualifiers Our preview of England’s Group H crunch match in Montenegro, plus a round-up of the other home nations’ ties

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31 Root for England Joe Root, England’s bright young thing with the bat, tells us about his England debut, the series in New Zealand and the Ashes

35 Stepping up to the plate

27

60

All the hitters, hopers and vital statistics ahead of Major League Baseball’s opener next Sunday

Extra Time 50 Grooming

05

If we’ve learned anything from Joe Hart, it’s that choosing the right shampoo is important

54 Gadgets Wireless speakers: stream your Taylor Swift album anywhere.

We knew they’d be trouble...

56 Games Gun down the Gorn as Captain Kirk and wipe out zombies in The Walking Dead

60 Kit The best bikes to give you leg muscles like Popeye and tan lines tattooed to your skin | March 22 2013 | 03

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Radar

p07 – Sporting trophies: we weigh up a page full of silverware

p08 – The Major League Baseball season begins next week: adorn yourself accordingly

Hot club time machine olf has a rich heritage, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 lets you explore it by travelling back to a time when the likes of you wouldn’t have been allowed anywhere near the clubhouse.

The brand new Legends of the Majors mode sees you compete in notable tournaments from the 1930s to the present day, with equipment and outfits accurately adjusted for the times. It’s all well and good making the green with a precision-engineered

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titanium driver, but this option gives you the chance to try it with a lump of wood hewn from a period dining table, or whatever they used for clubs back then.

If you want to add to the challenge, a new difficulty mode makes keeping your swing precise and accurate much harder than in previous years for more believable scores. Lots more shanking it into the trees, too – we call it ‘Rory McIlroy mode’.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14, out March 28 on Xbox 360 and PS3

| March 22 2013 | 05

Radar

Don’t drop it! ilverware is a slippery thing – it can escape your grasp figuratively, as Arsenal have found out repeatedly for much of the last decade, or literally, as Spanish defender Sergio Ramos discovered when he dropped the Copa Del Rey off the top of a bus during Real Madrid’s victory parade two years ago (a YouTube must if you haven’t seen it, purely for Ramos’ face when he realises what he’s done).

The cup was fine, after it had been retrieved from under the wheels of the double decker, but we were reminded of the incident while reading new book Sportonomics,

S

AMERICA’S CUP

15KG H: 125CM

which is packed full of charts and figures. As well as interesting tidbits on a whole range of sports, the book includes an infographic detailing the vital figures of some of sport’s most famous trophies – including their height, weight and how much they’d be worth if you melted them down and sold them for scrap.

Here we’ve scaled them up or down, depending on how much they weigh – a handy guide if you find yourself holding one aloft on the top of a double decker bus...

Sportonomics: The Statistical Truths Behind World Sport (Carlton Books), out now

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

FIFA WORLD CUP

8.5KG

6.175KG

H: 74CM

H: 36CM

VINCE LOMBARDI TROPHY

3.2KG H: 56CM

RYDER CUP

1.8KG H: 43.2CM

OLYMPIC MEDAL

0.4KG H: 8.5CM

| March 22 2013 | 07

Radar

Oakland Athletics

Pittsburgh Pirates

Oakland Athletics

47brand.co.uk

47brand.co.uk

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LA Dodgers

San Francisco Giants

New York Yankees

majesticathletic.com

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Diamond threads aseball might be utterly incomprehensible to most of us, but there’s no doubting the sport has thrown up some pretty iconic attire over the years. With the new MLB season starting at the end of the month, we’ve picked out some of the best baseball-inspired clothing – so you can look the part, even if you have no idea what a ‘bunt’ is. The items featured here are from 47 Brand, whose UK online store is launching soon, and from Majestic Athletic. The latter makes the official kits for MLB teams and, as you can see above, a killer range of track jackets – available from Harrods.

B

New York Yankees

St Louis Cardinals

47brand.co.uk

47brand.co.uk

08 | March 22 2013 |

Life Outdoors

Visit Blacks stores at St Pauls, Holborn, Regent Street, Kingston and Clapham.

Find your local store at Blacks.co.uk

Radar Editor’s letter Called out: but Rio’s ‘intricate pre-planned programme’ has prevented him joining up www.sport-magazine.co.uk @sportmaguk facebook.com/sportmagazine Free iPad app available on Newsstand

Sport magazine Part of UTV Media plc 18 Hatfields, London SE1 8DJ Telephone: 020 7959 7800 Fax: 020 7959 7942 Email: firstname.lastname@ sport-magazine.co.uk Editorial Editor-in-chief: Simon Caney (7951) Deputy editor: Tony Hodson (7954) Art editor: John Mahood (7860) 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) Designer: Matthew Samson (7861) Digital designer: Chris Firth (7952) Production manager: Tara Dixon (7963) Contributors: David Lawrenson

His name is Rio...

And he has a detailed medical programme. What fun it must be to be the England manager

R

io Ferdinand’s withdrawal from the England squad this week caused uproar. He was blamed, Alex Ferguson was blamed, and Roy Hodgson was blamed. Nobody got away scot-free.

It wasn’t the biggest surprise Editor-in-chief though, surely. ’Ageing centre back is Simon Caney not 100 per cent fit’ is not a story. Not @simoncaney even if aforementioned ageing centre back’s fitness, or lack of it, has to be ’micro-managed’. Blimey.

But it does appear there’s been a trick missed here. Ferdinand was not treated especially well by England (more of that shortly) but, having insisted he would ’pack his own bags’ if recalled by his country, it turns out he’s not fit enough to do even that.

Who else, by the way, might pack Ferguson’s bags? Not Sir Alex, that’s for sure. I wonder whether youth teamers these days don’t polish boots, but pack bags.

Either way, this is an England team that needs all the help it can get. Ferdinand would have added to it, and been a welcome addition in Rio next year. But the chances of that happening now are zero, it would appear – though let’s not all leap to blame Hodgson over his handling of the affair.

He was quite within his rights to not select Ferdinand for Euro 2012. He may have been disingenuous in stating it was for football reasons, when we all knew the John Terry-related truth, but the fact was he could pick only one of them. And, based on Terry’s performances in the tournament, he chose well. Telling someone on the Tube of his decision was clumsy. But hey, Ferdinand is a grown-up. It’s not the end of the world.

Being England manager is a tough gig, and becomes ever more difficult as players’ egos, and club demands, continue to grow.

Quite how Hodgson might have handled this differently, I’m not really sure.

Least surprising result of the last weekend’s sporting action: Wales beating England with something riding on the result. If there’s one thing the Welsh love, it’s beating England – especially in Cardiff, and especially when it really matters.

Anyway, the roof was closed, which to my mind renders the match null and void.

Rugby (both league and union) should not be played indoors. Of that I’m certain.

Farewell, then, to Michael Owen, as he gets ready to bring the curtain down on a terrific career. Plenty of people have lined up to take a cheap shot at him – but I can only assume they have never watched a game of football in their lives, let alone Germany 1 England 5.

Listen up. No issue of Sport on the streets next week (Good Friday). But if you own an iPad, you can still download it in the Apple News Stand as usual. Bosh.

Commercial Agency Sales Director: Iain Duffy (7991) Advertising Managers: Steve Hare (7930), Kevin O’Byrne (7832), Aaron Pinto del Rio (7918) Sales Executive: Joe Grant (7904) Distribution Manager: Sian George (7852) Distribution Assistant: Makrum Dudgeon Head of Online: Matt Davis (7825) Head of Communications: Laura Wootton (7913) Managing Director: Calum Macaulay 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 to: Stefania Shaw, Joseph Clarke, Brett Barnard, Rachel Nicholson

Cover of the Year

Reader comments of the week @simoncaney interesting article. I think Rooney is doing a backwardsSamson; as his hair grows back he loses his powers.

@musicaljack Twitter

@davebibby Twitter

10 | March 22 2013 |

great to see squash/ willstrop article in @Sportmaguk this morning. Keep it up @sarahsportmag. @ljmassaro next week?

Not only is @Sportmaguk a great read, with well written original content; their dynamic iPad version embraces all that it should. Terrific

1st Ive taken train 2wrk in ages & been handed this Freebie @sportmaguk What is this fab take on Sport! Love the banter&wit! @simoncaney

@kvlmason Twitter

@ianramsdale Twitter

@JessieAru Twitter

LAUNCH OF THE YEAR

2008

Total Average Distribution: 302,466 Jul-Dec 2012 Don’t forget: Help keep public transport clean and tidy for everyone by taking your copy of Sport away with you when you leave the bus or train.

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

@simoncaney usually enjoy your column in Sport magazine, but what a load of old dross today about Rooney, a story of no quality or substance

Radar Opinion

Flats on Friday

It’s like this…

Bill Borrows

David Lyttleton

I

Battered England must get back on the horse

A

sk any sportsman how he feels after a big loss, and he will likely tell you that he just wants to get back out there and play again straight away. Get it out of the system and all that. As a player, I never knew what they were on about. The morning after a game – certainly towards the end of my career – I woke up feeling as though a gang of disaffected youths had played piñata with my ribcage and shoulders. Get back out there straight away?

No chance.

What lingers longer than residual muscle and joint soreness, though, is the psychological torture – the hazy mist of negativity and regret that clouds your vision. A Sunday lunch with friends, arranged with smiles during the week, becomes a loathsome task. That night out that had seemed so exciting becomes impossible to enjoy. The faithful dog, shivering with excitement at your return, receives only the briefest pat as a greeting.

It affects everything, and there is no avoiding it.

The England players who were so adeptly overcome by Wales last Saturday will this weekend get themselves back on the horse and into Aviva Premiership action. Rather than a comedown, I expect they will be glad of the shift in focus.

They will, I imagine, all be desperate to create some good news.

A wise old man once told me that, when your career is over, the only games that stick in the memory are the biggest losses. Having at the time 12 | March 22 2013 |

declared him a misery, I now know absolutely that he is right. I don’t look back with regret or sadness – I had a great craic – but my clearest memories are horrid losses, both personally and as a team.

Did I scrummage well over the years? I expect so, or I wouldn’t have remained in employment.

But can I remember that? Barely. I do, however, remember the handful of occasions when I had my backside handed to me. I remember those in acute detail. That probably happened five or six times over a career spanning roughly 300 games.

Odd, then, that I recall them with such clarity.

I can look back and laugh at those times now – often with the blokes who inflicted the damage.

Most favours were eventually returned, so these things even themselves out. But while our Welsh friends bask in hard-earned glory, the English players are at the start of the journey towards emotional wellbeing. It’s a long road. Actually, it’s endless. But all is not lost. All teams lose big games; it’s only the ones that learn from it that have a shot at becoming great. Analysis must be brutal, communication must be direct and selection must be bold.

This weekend we will see how these young men react to such massive deflation. I don’t think there will be a sulker in sight – there’s no time for that.

There will be time later down the line, though, so they’d better start planning how these favours are to be returned. That’s some challenge. @davidflatman

t’s all about referees again. There was the ‘McManaman horror tackle’ (the first time those three words have ever been used in the same sentence), the red card for Norwich goalkeeper Mark Bunn and a dubious penalty for Sunderland, while Sir Alex had nothing to say about the referee at Old Trafford – so we can assume he must have had a shocker.

At Goodison Park, in the most personally vexing incident of last weekend, Lee Probert failed to give a penalty (and dismiss Marouane Fellaini) for handball in the box – a decision that leaves Manchester City needing points from Chris Huhne to retain their title. So, just what is to be done about the appalling state of match officialdom in the Premier League?

Absolutely nothing.

After every disputed “After every decision, the aggrieved disputed decision, managers appear the aggrieved post-match (or, in the case of Ferguson and managers appear Roberto Mancini, fail to post-match to appear post-match) to shake their heads shake their heads as they explain how the as they explain referee is to blame for how the referee is the latest unsatisfactory to blame for the result, in what amounts to a televised apology latest unsatisfactory for the benefit of those result, in a televised who pay their wages. In apology to those other words, to beg for their jobs. who pay their Next to face the wages.” cameras are the managers who have benefited from the decision – and they have to say, by law, that they have not seen a replay but, after an entire catalogue of injustices earlier in the season, they were due a decision anyway. Both managers have to do this while conforming to the FA directives concerning the criticism of match officials. Great television.

Earnest and outraged broadsheet football writers are then forced to cut and paste the usual old guff about the need for replays, goalline technology and (probably) biometric evaluation of assistant referees, and make it read as though they have just had this brilliant cuttingedge idea when in fact they’ve been banging on about it since Elton Welsby was last on television.

Now, do we really want to get rid of all this? No, of course we don’t. We’d be lost without it. @BorrowsSPORT

Plank of the Week Helen Flanagan, not earth School shooting in America, anorexia, child abuse allegations – nothing is too serious to stop this WAG promoting her ‘career’. Put them away love, and shut up.

Frozen in time

14 | March 22 2013 |

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Grand Sam

Every picture tells a story – that’s kind of the point of this page – and this is one Wales flanker Sam Warburton could be telling for years to come. With England chasing a Grand Slam, the former skipper is seen soaring to new heights during the 30-3 win that secured his side the Six Nations championship – while Lions captaincy rival Chris Robshaw (bottom right) looks on. As endings go, Roald Dahl (he was born in Wales, see?) couldn’t have written happier.

| 15

Arsenal

Your Arsenal

The players. The manager. The owners. Sport examines whether Arsenal are in decline, or a football club one step ahead of the rest Illustration by Noma Bar

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his summer, a statue of Dennis Bergkamp is set to join those of Herbert Chapman, Tony Adams and Thierry Henry outside the Emirates.

A worthy tribute, but Arsenal are in danger of building a collection of monuments of increasing superiority to the players currently taking to the pitch. Those who regularly watch Per Mertesacker might tell you that the bronze castings are more mobile than some of them, as well.

London’s most successful football club has received gradually increasing criticism at all levels in recent years: for the playing staff, the owners and, most contentiously of all, for a highly regarded manager. For former player and manager George Graham, the key problem at Arsenal is clear.

“It’s down to one, basic thing,” he explains.

“The players over the past few seasons coming into the club are not of the same quality as the players that have left.

“Look at the famous team of a few years ago, Arsène’s team that won three league championships, four FA Cups and played the kind of phenomenal

attacking football the likes of which we’d never seen in Britain before. You had Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit in midfield, an outstanding defence, plus wonderful forwards in Bergkamp, Henry, [Marc] Overmars and [Robert] Pires. Many of those bought at bargain prices, by the way, and Arsène developed them into world-class players. That’s not happening now.”

Arsène’s monster Graham’s verdict strikes a chord. While Arsenal in previous seasons could claim to be building with youth, to have the nucleus of a team that in a few years might be title-winners, they now look short of quality.

“The squad looks like a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster,” says Jim Campbell, an Arsenal fan and co-presenter of the popular Football Ramble podcast.

“It’s the idea of lots of different squads that Wenger’s been trying to build plastered together, because he’s had players like Cesc Fàbregas, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie plucked away. k | March 22 2013 | 17

“One of the problems at the moment with Arsenal is that I don’t know what their goal is.

What are they aiming for? They can’t realistically claim to be looking to win the title. They’re so far off the pace, and have been for such a long time.

The problems are obvious. All fans can see that they need a more consistent, solid, commanding centre back. They need a tough, resilient player in midfield. Also, Olivier Giroud is the only real striker at the club – unless you count Lukas Podolski, who’s not being deployed in that position. The squad needs serious rebuilding.”

Ray Parlour, an Arsenal cult hero who spent the majority of his playing career with Wenger as his manager, is more optimistic.

“I don’t think they’re that far from being a good side,” he says. “I just think defensively, they’ve got to be more of a unit. At times, you’re under the cosh in a game; every team goes through that period in a match, but when Arsenal are in that situation they concede too easily. In the past, we defended really well as a team. We had a lot of leaders in the squad. This season, a lot of the goals they’ve conceded are down to mistakes or a lack of concentration. The players just switch off.”

Parlour, however, doesn’t put the blame entirely at Wenger’s door: “Training-wise, he was fantastic.

We all became much better players under him.

It’s just probably that the players now have not improved quite as much as he’d like them to. But I still think that he’s got good players. With Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta, the midfield is strong. He’s got lots of competition there. I just think that, defensively, they need to be harder to beat.”

Squad squandered The degree is arguable, but the fact that Arsenal have an inferior squad to a decade ago is clear.

What’s trickier is why that should be so.

“It’s difficult to know who’s responsible, because Arsenal keep everything so close to their chest,” says Jim Campbell. “Is Wenger getting the financial support we’re constantly being told is there? If you look at Bayern Munich, they’re in a strong position now – but it actually took them a while to get going again after they moved to their new stadium.

It’s difficult to take on that sort of financial burden.

Wenger’s done really well to keep us in the Champions League up to this point.”

“With Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta, the midfield is strong. He’s got lots of competition there. I just think that, defensively, they need to be harder to beat” Ray Parlour 18 | March 22 2013 |

Not that Wenger is fully exonerated. “What’s undoubted is that the signings he’s made haven’t been as astute as ones he’s made in the past,” he adds. “When he first came to the club, he made Arsenal unique in terms of how they scouted players. I remember reading reports about Real Madrid scouts whose job it was to basically stalk Arsenal scouts and follow them where they went.

Though that did result in Real signing Júlio Baptista [a reputed Arsenal target], which I think was a practical joke on our part. But Wenger said fairly recently that Arsenal do not have the same penetration in the scouting market now because other clubs have caught up with them. The hidden gems aren’t so hidden any more.”

One head-scratcher is that Arsenal’s reported wage bill of £143m is the fourth highest in the Premier League. It’s just £17m less than the estimated outlay of the team in third on that list, Manchester United. The gap in quality of the two clubs’ playing staff looks wider than that. According to George Graham: “There’s people at Arsenal who’ve got to look at themselves and ask if the wage structure is right. They don’t seem to be getting rid of what I call squad players, because they’re on fantastic salaries.”

Graham echoes a widely held belief that Arsenal don’t pay the biggest salaries for the best players, but pay a hearty wage to all. The gap between the best players’ salaries and the rest simply isn’t as wide as with other teams. That may make for a harmonious dressing room, but it doesn’t help Arsenal sign – or hold on to – top players. It also makes unwanted players more difficult to discard. Graham’s coy use of the term “people at the club” is apt. k Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Oli Scarff/Getty Images, Shaun Botterill/Getty Images, J ulian Finney/Getty Images

Arsenal

IN CINEMAS EVERYWHERE

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The fact is that, to many, the behind-the-scenes structure looks opaque, with no clear idea of who is responsible for arranging transfers or the club’s wage structure. One man is widely believed to be greatly missed however – and he isn’t a player, a manager or a coach.

An isolated figure “Arsène Wenger cuts a very isolated figure without David Dein,” says Alex Fynn, Premier League business and politics expert, and co-author of the highly revealing Arsènal: The Making of a Modern Superclub. “What Wenger himself says – to quote – ‘David did my dirty work for me.’ He liked the idea that here was a man who enjoyed doing what he didn’t like to do – which was to sit down with agents, beat the table and actually make sure that Arsenal could negotiate with the mega-agents. Dein would enjoy the cut and thrust of acquiring players. I am not sure there’s someone at the club who does now.”

Fynn is forthright in his defence of Wenger as a coach of players: “He’s still a terrific manager.

He can still turn good players into very good players and very good players into brilliant players – but his transfer strategy needs to change, and there’s really no one at the club to tell him that.

He has become an increasingly isolated figure, and the board have allowed that to happen.”

The takeovers of Chelsea by Roman Abramovich in 2003 and of Manchester City by Sheikh Mansour in 2009, and the increase in spending those changes triggered, are crucial turning points, says Fynn.

“When Arsenal first moved to the new stadium, Wenger told the board not to worry, because he could make do and mend with the young players he had and they would be contenders, which was indeed the case,” he explains. “He did well. But in the past couple of years, the bar has been raised.

Manchester City have come on the scene and that has forced a reaction from the other major clubs, but not from Arsenal.

“It’s an analytical fact that the clubs who make the biggest financial outlay are the most successful in the Premier League. Other clubs have been willing to speculate to accumulate, so you’ve had Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool all spending more than £30m on a single player. Arsenal have spent maybe half that on a single player [Andrei Arshavin is their record buy, for an estimated £15m]. Why haven’t they adapted to the changing circumstances?”

“Arsène Wenger cuts a very isolated figure” Alex Fynn

20 | March 22 2013 |

“David did my dirty work for me” Arsène Wenger For a brief period, this could be put down to the financial burden following the stadium move, but that’s not the case any more. Fynn makes a compelling case for the strength of Arsenal’s current financial situation. “People make the mistake of ignoring income from property,” he observes. “Did you know that, in 2010, Arsenal vied with Real Madrid for being the biggest club in the world? Their turnover [from football and property] was in excess of £380m. People have chosen to exclude property, for some reason, so Arsenal are now listed as the fifth or sixth biggest football club in terms of turnover. Even as that, though, they are not pulling their weight.”

One area in which Arsenal lag behind is commercial revenue, where Fynn points out they bring in just a third of the income of Bayern Munich, for example. However, chief executive Ivan Gazidis is aware of this and, with many of Arsenal’s contracts – including the lucrative kit manufacturers deal, currently with Nike – due for renewal in 2014, the club should soon see an improvement in this area.

Position of power In this respect, Arsenal are in a strong position.

Rivals Manchester United have to contend, albeit very successfully so far, with an eye-watering debt foisted upon the club by the Glazer family. Chelsea and Manchester City are both highly dependent on sugar daddy owners, the impact of which UEFA’s Financial Fair Play initiative should reduce (tying clubs more closely to spending what they earn).

How influential this initiative will be is yet to be seen, but Manchester City’s curbed spending last summer is at least partly a direct response. Other clubs traditionally contending for the Champions

League places – Liverpool and Tottenham – are financially held back by the limited capacities of ageing stadiums.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have a new 60,000-seater stadium, strong financial returns and a manager with a record of improving young footballers.

“If they do miss out on qualifying for the Champions League next season, they can afford it,” confirms Fynn. However, it is not quite that simple.

“Arsenal believe in a self-sufficiency policy, which is ‘we will only spend what we earn’,” he adds. “But they’re not even spending that. Because of their success as a football club and their success as a property business, they have large cash reserves that are not being utilised. Simply, you don’t win games by having a healthy balance sheet. In order to have a successful business, you have to have a successful team and, in recent seasons, Arsenal have failed on that criterion.”

While Arsène Wenger’s level of responsibility for his club’s relative lack of success in recent seasons is debated by fans, most supporters seem united in their discontent with Stan Kroenke – the American shareholder who bought a controlling interest in the club in 2011.

“It feels as if Arsenal are being used as an investment vehicle,” says Jim Campbell. “Stan Kroenke just does the minimum he can to quell the displeasure that erupts among fans. Of course, [major shareholder] Alisher Usmanov tries to make it look like he’s the voice of the fans by saying things like Thierry Henry wants him to properly buy the club. That’s such a transparent attempt to win over the fans. The bickering between the two of them is really undignified, and it’s difficult to know where it will go. Is Kroenke happy to let Arsenal generate a lot of money, which obviously they do – especially if it’s not being reinvested back into the team – or is he actually serious about making us competitive?”

Both Kroenke and Usmanov, the oligarch estimated by Forbes magazine to be Russia’s richest man, may be billionaires – but it seems precious little of their money is invested into Arsenal.

Dan Baldwin, an Arsenal season ticket holder, co-presenter of the Footballistically Arsenal podcast and a successful TV producer, looks at it this way: “Arsenal have the highest ticket prices in the country, but you cannot ask people to pay the most for something and then deliver an inferior product.

In any business, this model does not work – and people are not going to take it. What happens k

Jamie McDonald/Getty Images, Shaun Botterill/Allsport

Arsenal

Arsenal

“For the first time in a long, long time, I see spare seats at Arsenal.

Every week. Patches of red where people aren’t turning up”

when that 60,000-seater stadium is holding only 40,000? And that is going to happen. For the first time in a long, long time, I see spare seats at Arsenal. Every week. Patches of red where people aren’t turning up – for big games as well.”

Baldwin echoes Fynn’s claims that Wenger cuts a lonely figure at Arsenal: “The problem with Silent Stan, Gazidis and everyone around Wenger is they are all yes men. Even Steve Bould is apparently not allowed to talk. He can put out cones and bibs, but he’s not allowed to do much else. But the hierarchy remain happy with the money Wenger has been bringing in and the way he runs the club like a bank – and he does run the club, make no mistake. Wenger interviewed Gazidis; he runs that club. Nobody stands up to him. It’s just a rocky time.”

All roads lead to Arsène

“Stan Kroenke just does the minimum he can to quell the displeasure that erupts among fans” Jim Campbell 22 | March 22 2013 |

George Graham is such a strong admirer of the current Arsenal manager that it clearly costs him something to criticise him, but the former boss admits that he also sees Wenger as a solitary figure – both behind closed doors and on the touchline.

“If you look at Sir Alex Ferguson, he sits on the bench and has a team about him,” he says.

“And believe me, they’re all valuable to him. They all have an input and Alex uses them, otherwise they wouldn’t be there. Sometimes I just feel Arsène could get a little team around him, so he could pick their brains. Also, with the owner sitting there in Colorado [Kroenke owns four Coloradobased US sports franchises], it doesn’t seem ideal.

“If they don’t finish in the top four this season, which I think they still could well do – actually, that wouldn’t surprise me... but if they don’t, they have big decisions to make. Sometimes, when you’re trying to get to a target and you fall short of that, it’s not too bad. If you’re trying to win the Premier League and you finish second or third, you’ll still

qualify for Europe. But if your aim is just to get into the top four, and you don’t do that, you’re going to be fifth or sixth. That’s not good enough for a club like Arsenal. There’s a lot of people who’ve got to take a look at themselves this summer.”

The ownership situation looks unlikely to change any time soon, but the management situation could do. There is a split among fans as to whether Wenger deserves more time. “There’s no other manager who would have this long, eight years, at a club of this level without having won something,” says Jim Campbell. “But it’s a unique situation, because he’s built them into the club they are.

Personally, I think getting rid of him now would be a mistake; there’s going to be a lot more money available next season, the rules are slightly different [with Financial Fair Play] and the playing field might be a little more level. I still have faith that he can get Arsenal back on track.”

He does add a word of caution: “Arsenal are in a brilliant position compared with the vast majority of clubs in the world in terms of their set-up, but it is very dangerous slipping out of the Champions League now. It’s a slippery slope, as we’ve all seen with Liverpool. It can be very, very difficult to get back in there.”

Baldwin, however, admits his frustration has got to the point that he’s considering giving up his season ticket next year.

“My biggest gripe is with Wenger,” he explains.

“The trouble is that he looks at the billionaires coming in and running football clubs and thinks we can’t compete with that – but you don’t give up!

They’re not going to go away. So what do you do?

There’s a real misconception that what fans like me want is Arsenal to spend £40m on one player, £40m on another, and so on. I’m not saying that. But we need to spend £20m on a player here or there.

We can’t just pick up Giroud for £10m or wait k Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Michael Regan/Getty Images, Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

Dan Baldwin

Arsenal

£427m £233m £124m £92m £88m

“Wenger’s had his project – and that project has failed.

Now he’s constantly eyeing fourth place, using the stadium as an excuse” Dan Baldwin

£88m £80m £72m £65m £56m £26m £14m £12m £10m £4m 2m -£5m -£8m -£8m -£40m

24 | March 22 2013 |

for Marouane Chamakh to become available on a free. It’s not working. Wenger has become so stubborn that he won’t change his ways. He’s had his project – and that project has failed. Now he’s constantly eyeing fourth place, using the stadium as an excuse not to go out and spend money.

“It’s easy to bandy the word ‘crisis’ about, but if you look at the club as whole, we have the worst squad we’ve had for ages, we’ve arguably got the worst hierarchy we’ve ever had, and we’ve got a manager who’s performing as badly as he’s ever performed. I hate it when people compare us to Spurs. I compare us to Manchester United, because that’s the level we should be aiming for. I looked at the league table a couple of weeks ago and Manchester United were 24 points ahead of us.

And if I took 24 points off our total, we were second from bottom. That’s the gap between us, and that’s not good enough. No way.”

Of course, Wenger is the recognisable, public face of Arsenal. This makes him an obvious target for anger, but also one for great affection. Arsenal have had a decade of transition. Standard-bearers on the pitch, such as Adams, Henry and Bergkamp,

have moved on. Great changes have taken place behind the scenes at a club where, once, the most dramatic backstage happening was probably the annual polishing of the marble in the hallway.

And, of course, the club has left its Highbury home, relocating to a new stadium, the old North Bank crowd scattered around a plush new pad.

If Arsenal is a club struggling to maintain its identity, is it any wonder the fans are still loyal to the one, longstanding person at the club who represents so much of what’s good about their past?

“That’s the problem: everyone loves the man,” admits Baldwin. “We all do. I hate it when people boo him. I hate it when people have a go at Wenger on phone-ins. I don’t want that; it’s like watching someone have a go at your dad. It’s horrible. I don’t want it to get to the point where Arsène is on the touchline getting booed every week. We don’t want a horrible, messy, public hanging of Wenger.”

Whether an ignominious exit awaits Wenger is yet to be seen. Irrespective of whether Arsenal finish in the Champions League places this year, everyone Sport spoke to agreed he would likely still be the club’s manager at the start of next season.

That could be a decision based on a belief he can recapture former glories, or a reward for his prudent financial management. What is clear is that Arsenal will end this season with full coffers and a manager who is as passionate and devoted to his club as the most ardent fan in the stadium.

And, for all Arsenal’s current strife, it’s worth asking how many Premier League clubs are fortunate enough to have that.

Alex Reid @otheralexreid Arsènal: The Making of a Modern Superclub by Alex Fynn and Kevin Whitcher (Vision Sports Publishing) is out now, £8.99. Listen to Jim Campbell at the Football Ramble and Dan Baldwin via the Footballistically Arsenal podcast Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Net transfer spend since Arsenal moved to the Emirates (2006-07)

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World Cup Qualifiers

BRAZIL BECKONS All four home nations are in World Cup qualifying action this week, with England looking to go top of their group and the other three scrapping to keep their dreams alive

26 | March 22 2013 |

A mountain to climb A much tougher test awaits Roy Hodgson’s team on Tuesday night, as they travel further east for their second qualifier of the international week against Montenegro (Tuesday 8pm, ITV). This is only the third time the newly created Balkan nation has attempted to qualify for an international tournament, and they’re currently two points ahead of England at the top of Group D, so a win is key for the automatic place (although the Montenegrins’ position is slightly inflated by them having thrashed San Marino twice).

If this all seems very familiar, it’s because England played Montenegro just over 18 months ago in qualifying for Euro 2012.

Both fixtures ended in draws, with the 2-2 away in Podgorica most notable for Wayne Rooney’s kick at Miodrag Džudović, which saw him ruled out of the opening two games of Euro 2012.

Although they failed to qualify for the European Championships, Montenegro are a formidable side at home – and with Stevan Jovetić of Fiorentina and Mirko Vučinić (over there, in his pants) of Juventus, they have real star quality in the attacking department.

The squad is undoubtedly lacking in depth, however – but then, the same could be said of England, who have some selection issues of their own to contend with.

165 Touches by Tom Cleverley in England’s 5-0 win over San Marino in October according to Opta – the most of any England player in a match, ever

New and old Withdrawals have given England’s defence an unfamiliar look - Steven Caulker, Joleon Lescott and Steven Taylor are in for Rio Ferdinand, Michael Dawson and Gary Cahill.

Elsewhere, Ben Foster has been persuaded to un-retire from international duty to keep Joe Hart on his toes, and Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe and Daniel Sturridge return after pulling out of the last squad through injury. Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley should feature after playing well for Manchester United in recent weeks, although Jack Wilshere is a notable absentee – his bruised foot has (rather conveniently, for Arsenal) ruled him out. We are thus faced with the rather horrifying prospect of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard still anchoring the England midfield in 2013. >

All pictures Getty Images

T

wenty years ago, in an almost empty stadium in Bologna, Stuart Pearce had one of the most embarrassing moments of his international career. His underhit backpass was seized upon by Sammarinese computer salesman Davide Gualtieri after just eight seconds, and a nation watched in horror as the forward poked home. Although England went on to win 7-1, the goal stands out as the defining moment of the Graham Taylor era of underachievement.

Pearce is now under-21 coach for the national side, and some of his former charges could get starting berths as England once again play San Marino (Friday 8pm, ITV) with a place in the 2014 World Cup the target.

The minnows should (in theory) provide little resistance – they’re the lowest ranked of all 207 FIFA nations, and their squad consists mostly of part-timers, no doubt with a variety of zany professions about which ITV will delight in telling you during the pre-match build-up.

England’s 5-0 win in the reverse fixture at Wembley back in October should be seen as the blueprint, and you can expect the Three Lions to draw the ire of their fans if they don’t put in a similarly dominant performance at the minnows’ optimistically named Stadio Olimpico in the castello of Serravalle.

World Cup Qualifiers Wales

As home nations showdowns go, Scotland against Wales (Friday 8pm, Sky Sports 2) has all the makings of a full-blooded classic. It’s just a shame the duo currently sit bottom and second bottom of Group A. Their October defeat of the Scots aside, Wales’ campaign has been riddled with poor performances that have seen them score just once in three outings against Belgium, Serbia and Croatia.

Defensively, Chris Coleman’s side are a more solid unit than the one that lost 6-1 to the Serbs in September, while Joe Ledley and Aaron Ramsey provide quality to the midfield, making up for the loss of Joe Allen to injury.

As their goal tally would suggest, it’s up front where the Welsh have struggled, with Sam Vokes, Simon Church and Steve Morison among the men who have failed to fire. Morison’s injury means Millwall’s Jermaine Easter makes the squad, but with Gareth Bale fit and flying, the temptation will be for Coleman to give his star man the free role that has seen him thrive at Spurs – especially after his late winning brace in the reverse fixture.

Croatia (Tuesday 7.45pm, Sky Sports 1) will offer a far sterner test. The Croats have picked up 10 points from four games to date – but they have looked vulnerable, winning largely by the odd goal.

OH, AND KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR...

Scotland

28 | March 22 2013 |

TUESDAY | FRANCE v SPAIN | STADE DE FRANCE | 8PM

Northern Ireland

The men from Windsor Park might have pulled off a brave draw in Portugal back in October, but having also drawn at home to both Azerbaijan (two points from four games) and Luxembourg (one point from four games) in their four games to date, it’s safe to say Michael O’Neill’s team face an uphill task to qualify from Group F. We’re talking scaling the Gladiators travelator with rollerskates on.

Still, two home games lie in wait over the next five days, with Fabio Capello’s Russia in town tonight and Israel arriving on Tuesday (both 7.45pm, Sky Sports 3). Win both (stop sniggering), and Northern Ireland should find themselves back in the mix.

Anything less, and the dream is over. Roy Carroll (above) and the quartet ahead of him are sure to be in for a busy week, then, but it’s the quality of Niall McGinn that will be needed to unlock the Russians, who have won four out of four without conceding a goal.

And, if all else fails, get David Healy on.

If watching the home nations struggle to qualify, win or even just score isn’t really your thing, Tuesday night sees Group I’s footballing giants go head to head. Tied on seven points after their 1-1 draw back in October, both sides should waltz through their home matches tonight (Spain play Finland, while France host Georgia) and set up a clash in Paris four days later, where the winner all but guarantees themselves qualification. The playoff route to Brazil, meanwhile, is the best the loser can hope for.

All pictures Getty Images

With the excitable Gordon Strachan (above) set to take charge of his first competitive match after seeing off the mighty Estonia 1-0 last month, Scotland’s new-look side certainly won’t struggle for enthusiasm – it’s the quality we worry about when they host Wales and travel to Serbia (Tuesday 7.30pm, ESPN).

Strachan’s side sit bottom of the group on just two points, and have to win both ties to even stay in the blurriest outer reaches of the picture in Group A. The new boss is, however, playing things his way. New faces include Brighton’s Liam Bridcutt, Hull’s George Boyd and Dundee United’s Gary Mackay-Steven, but it’s the absence of Leigh Griffiths that has people scratching their heads – in a side short of goals, a man who has 22 in all competitions for Hibernian seemed a shoo-in.

Win against Wales, and Scotland will be confident of getting something from an inconsistent Serbia, who have lost their last two games. Lose, and the campaign is over. That James McFadden goal in Paris seems a long time ago now.

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Joe Root

“IT’S SLIGHTLY WEIRD, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU...”

England’s young batting sensation Joe Root talks to Sport about his rapid ascension Root faced were the most by an Englishman on debut since 1977.

“If you accepted that you weren’t going to score freely, then it wasn’t so bad,” says Root, recalling his first England knock at full international level. “You just had to be really patient, graft and work hard for your runs.

If you’re prepared to do that, then it felt like the bowlers weren’t going to get you out – you were only going to get yourself out.

It was more a challenge against yourself than anything else.”

ICE MAN The innings showcased the quality Root is most consistently complimented on: an icy temperament that belies his schoolboy phizog. While batting away the abundant praise he’s received with a classic forward defensive – “It’s nice when past players say good things about you, but I try not to get sucked into it” – Root admits that his short career has actually helped him when it comes to keeping cool.

“I’ve only been playing first-class cricket for two years,” he says. “When I came into the side at Yorkshire, I was playing for my spot, so I had that pressure throughout the season to keep my place in the team. > | March 22 2013 | 31

Gareth Copley/Getty Images

I

f Joe Root’s selection for the crucial final Test on England’s tour of India this winter was a minor shock to many cricket observers, it was equally unexpected by the then 21-year-old himself.

“It was quite surprising to be perfectly honest, I really didn’t expect it,” Root told us from New Zealand, where he continues on tour with the England squad. “I found out the day before the game. Cooky [Alastair Cook] came to my room and said: ‘I think we’re going to go with you instead of Samit [Patel], so make sure you’re ready to go if that is the case.’ I was over the moon, but I was told to try and keep it quiet, so told only my immediate family. I was just so excited that I found it hard to come down off that buzz for a few hours.”

If Root was overpowered with joy, he didn’t show it in his first innings. Playing on a surface so turgid that several England batsmen seemed to chuck their wickets away purely so their will to play cricket wasn’t sucked out of the soles of their feet by the yawning tedium beneath, Root set about compiling an innings-saving 73.

As well as posting the highest score on the England card (alongside Kevin Pietersen, who reached the same total), the 229 balls

Joe Root

NO ORDINARY JOE What the cricket establishment have said of Root “Joe Root, in his first season, lived up to the general belief that in technique and run-scoring, he could be the next [Geoffrey] Boycott.”

Wisden’s review of Yorkshire in 2011 is full of early praise (we think)

“I’VE WORKED SO HARD TO GET WHERE I AM THAT I DON’T WANT TO SPOIL IT BY BEING NERVOUS AND RUINING IT THAT WAY” It was quite beneficial, looking back. I’ve kept on playing under pressure since, so it feels quite normal. It’s helped me in that respect. It would be wrong to say that I don’t feel nerves at all, but I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am now that I don’t want to spoil it by being nervous and ruining it that way.”

One arena where Root is grabbing his opportunities is in limited-overs cricket. While his style always appeared suited to the Test game, his instant impact in the one-day format has raised eyebrows. He currently averages 81.5 after eight England ODIs, with a strike rate well above 80.

So much for the comparisons to his fellow Yorkshireman Geoffrey Boycott, who we’re fairly sure wasn’t pulling out slog-sweeps and adapted Dilscoops in international cricket just after his 22nd birthday.

This is partly because Root is of a new generation of players who have grown up with three formats of cricket that have been pretty much ever-present.

“On the county circuit, you go from Pro40 [one-day cricket] to a four-day game, then straight into a Twenty20 sometimes,” Root explains. “You don’t always have two or three days to prepare for each, so you have to be quite switched-on in your thinking. Your mindset has to be that you’re ready to go in whichever format, so it’s about getting yourself in the right frame of mind mentally more than anything else.”

ENGLAND’S BIG BOYS He might be mentally strong, but Root admits getting used to sharing a dressing room with longstanding England players such as Kevin Pietersen, James Anderson and Ian Bell has taken some getting used to.

“These are the players I’ve grown up modelling myself on, idolising and supporting, so to be in the same dressing room as them is surreal,” he says. “It’s slightly weird, to be honest with you – going from watching them on TV every week to being in the same team as them. It’s unbelievable.”

The integration process was helped by what Root says is a “very relaxed England dressing room, with great senior players who make it easy to fit in”. However, he also arrived with a reputation as something of a practical joker (see right). Has he shown that side of himself yet?

“Erm... a few subtle ones in there now and again,” he says with a laugh. “But being the youngster and a newbie in the team, I’ve got to be on my best behaviour. Hopefully the more and more I play, the more cheeky I can be. I think that side of me can help in terms of fitting in.”

After the highs of his India debut and limited-overs success in New Zealand, runs haven’t come quite as easy for Root in the Test series. He’s scored just 14 runs in the first two Tests, but his steady focus and equanimity mean his mindset shouldn’t be too altered before the final Test (which started on Thursday night).

Attempting to bamboozle the self-effacing youngster like a gnarled pro, Sport puts it to him that – accepting that, like all pro sportsmen, he’s just concentrating on the next game – it must have crossed his mind that there’s an ICC Champions Trophy and an Investec Ashes taking place this summer in England.

“As you say, I’m just working really hard for the next game,” says Root. “But I’ve grown up watching those competitions. The Champions Trophy and the Ashes – they’re what you dream about playing in as a kid. It’d be wrong to say I haven’t thought about them at all, but the international matches we have before then are equally important. More than anything, I want to establish myself in all formats. I know that’s not going to be easy, but I just want to improve and keep on representing England.”

To do that, Root has targeted his off-spin as an area for progress. “I’ve not been bowling for a huge amount of time, not as long as I’ve been batting,” he admits. “It’s definitely something I’m really working hard to develop, so as to give Cooky or whoever’s in charge of the team I’m playing in that option. I’m just really looking forward to – eventually, I hope – being a genuine all-rounder.”

You can’t fault this modest young cricketer’s ambition.

Joe’s feet may be rooted firmly to the ground, but he has the determination to maximise his vast potential.

Alex Reid @otheralexreid Investec, the specialist bank and asset manager, is the title sponsor of Test Match cricket in England. Visit the Investec Cricket Zone at investec.co.uk/cricket or follow on Twitter @InvestecCricket

“I’ve been hearing good things about Joe Root, apparently he’s a funny lad and a bit of a prankster. He looks quite innocent from what I’ve seen, but it’s exciting if you do have a prankster on tour. He’s a great player, he has a lot of talent and can bowl of bit of spin as well.

I’m sure he can give Swanny a few tips on seam position and stuff. ” Jimmy Anderson told All Out Cricket that he was looking forward to touring with Root “Root’s only Test was characterised by maturity beyond his years in scoring 73 in almost five hours – a debut innings that arguably clinched the series in India.

His performances in the short forms of the game have proved contrastingly inventive, impish and well-judged. Clearly he is an exceptional young player, one earmarked for a long international career perhaps, in fact probably, as captain.”

Guardian writer and former England player Mike Selvey tips Root for the very top “A lot of international cricket is about temperament and how you react, and he’s certainly shown the right attitude and ability to handle pressure. He’s really surprised me. He’s played shots I didn’t know he could play.”

Alastair Cook admits Root has surpassed his expectations “If Joe Root doesn’t get Andrew Strauss’ job as England opener after the 2013 Ashes, I’ll eat my hat. With salt and pepper.”

Geoffrey Boycott says his fellow Yorkshireman will open the batting soon (or has a very tasty hat)

| March 22 2013 | 33

Gareth Copley/Getty Images

FRIDAY NEW ZEALAND v ENGLAND: THIRD TEST, DAY 2 | EDEN PARK | SKY SPORTS 1 9PM

“Now I have conversations on the phone with him and he talks with the wisdom of someone older than 22. I have spoken to him about scenarios and techniques against certain bowlers. I have been a soundboard but, to be honest, I have never had to give him very much advice.

He has worked it out for himself.”

Michael Vaughan last year in The Telegraph on how he passed on advice, plus a manky chest pad, to Root

Baseball

MAJOR ATTRACTION INSOMNIACS REJOICE – BASEBALL IS BACK. ON MARCH 31, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL RETURNS FOR SEVEN MONTHS OF SWINGING, HACKING AND WHIFFING. WE TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE NUMBERS SET TO DEFINE THE NEW SEASON

$213M...

DODGERS PASS YANKEES IN PAYROLL For the first time in 15 years, the Yankees don’t top the payroll chart.

The new Dodgers owners have pumped a fortune into the team, increasing their wage bill by 124 per cent. But which other teams could be challenging come September?

TORONTO BLUE JAYS The Blue Jays made big trades in the off-season, looking to take advantage of a weaker New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox – who were bottom of the AL East last year.

LA ANGELS A line-up that boasts the great Albert Pujols and AL Rookie of the Year Mike Trout has been given another dimension with the acquisition of former Texas Rangers outfielder and free agent Josh Hamilton. Surely they can’t fail.

Michael Chang/Getty Images, Christian Petersen/Getty Images

CINCINNATI REDS The Reds go about their business without huge fanfare – they easily won the NL Central in 2012 before choking in the playoffs. A now healthy Joey Votto – back from knee surgery – will be a big boon, and their solid pitching should see them dominate the NL Central again.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS The Nationals came of age last year.

The successful return of pitcher Stephen Strasburg from Tommy John surgery and the emergence of Bryce Harper, along with a terrific season from Gio Gonzalez, saw them see off the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. The battle will continue in 2013.

TOP MLB PAYROLL SPENDERS FOR 2013

155 $147M...

$213M $210M $158M $152M $150M $150M

MINOR LEAGUE STOLEN BASES BY BILLY HAMILTON

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

NEW YORK YANKEES

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

LOS ANGELES ANGELS

BOSTON RED SOX

Keep an eye out for the Cincinnati Reds’ rookie speedster Billy Hamilton, who is likely to make it to the Majors this year. Hamilton, touted by the media as “the fastest man in baseball”, broke the record in the minors for stolen bases, swiping 155 of them – something the man himself put down to cans of Mountain Dew, which he says get him “amped up”.

Baseball America still lists Hamilton as only the 20th best prospect for 2013, however. Their top three should all hit the majors this year:

JURICKSON PROFAR TEXAS RANGERS A potential five-tool switch-hitting short stop who is still only 20 years old, Profar (above) arrives in the Major League with accomplished glove skills.

DYLAN BUNDY BALTIMORE ORIOLES Bundy made it to the Majors in his first year with the Orioles. He has a fastball that has clocked 100mph and a curveball rated as the best in the organisation. Like Profar, he is also still only 20.

OSCAR TAVERAS ST LOUIS CARDINALS A power-hitting center fielder who may well begin to fill the middle-order gap left by Albert Pujols. Taveras is patient at the plate – he rarely strikes out and hit .321 in Double A last year.

THE FREE AGENTS

One of the factors behind the Dodgers eclipsing the Yankees in the payroll league is the signature of Zack Greinke, whose six-year deal is worth a paltry $147m – the biggest of this year’s off-season deals.

ZACK GREINKE $147M, SIX YEARS LOS ANGELES DODGERS The Dodgers signed the former Cy Young Award (for best pitcher) winner in the biggest off-season deal. With that in mind, Greinke’s new team will be hoping that recent elbow soreness in Spring Training isn’t the sign of a more serious injury.

JOSH HAMILTON $133M, FIVE YEARS LOS ANGLES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM Hamilton has had a colourful career: a former number-one draft pick who was out of the game for nearly three years while battling drug and alcohol problems, he eventually found his way to the Texas Rangers and in 2010 was the American League MVP. He finished last season with 43 home runs.

KEVIN YOUKILIS $12M, ONE YEAR NEW YORK YANKEES Not the biggest free agent signing, but it sends former Boston Red Sox hero Youkilis to their most hated rivals, the Yankees. He is nicknamed in the book Moneyball as ‘Euclis: The Greek God of Walks’. k

DETROIT TIGERS | March 22 2013 | 35

Baseball

WAR: WHAT IS

IT GOOD FOR? The stat of the moment on everyone’s lips, and the cover of ESPN The Magazine, is WAR – or wins above replacement, which calculates a player’s total value (both offensively and defensively) in one figure. In a complex mathematical equation, it adds together other stats such as wRAA, UZR, UBR (look them up).

Adjustments are made because different ballparks and positions skew the figures, leaving a final number that reflects the total number of wins a player is worth to his team above an average minor league/ bench player replacement. Leading the way in 2012, for the hitters, was the LA Angels’ Mike Trout (below).

WAR LEADERS 2012: HITTERS

10.7 8.2 7.2 7.0 6.9

MIKE TROUT LOS ANGELES ANGELS ROBINSON CANÓ NEW YORK YANKEES BUSTER POSEY SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS ANDREW MCCUTCHEN PITTSBURGH PIRATES MIGUEL CABRERA DETROIT TIGERS

105.1

MPH

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE LONG BALL

AROLDIS CHAPMAN, FLAMETHROWER

The longest home run hit during the 2012 MLB season measured a staggering 494 feet and was struck by the Miami Marlins power-hitter Giancarlo Stanton in the light air of Coors Field, Denver. Stanton led the National League with 11 ‘No Doubters’ – a home run that clears the outfield fence by at least 20 vertical feet and lands more than 50 feet past the fence. In quantity terms, however, who will be the biggest hitters in 2013?

The fastest recorded pitch thrown in Major League Baseball, as delivered

by Aroldis Chapman for the Cincinnati Reds to the San Diego Padres’ Tony Gwynn Jr in September 2010.

“I didn’t see it until the ball was behind me,” said Gwynn at the time.

We might see more of Chapman in 2013. He is being considered as a potential starting pitcher for the Reds, but he will have to add another pitch to his repertoire – currently, he throws only a fastball and slider. As a closer last season, he had an earned run average of 1.51, striking out 122 of 276 batters faced. Other pitchers to take note of will be:

MIGUEL CABRERA DETROIT TIGERS Triple Crown winner Cabrera had a monstrous year all round, belting 44 home runs to lead all of baseball while also winning the American League MVP, Silver Slugger and the AL Hank Aaron Award.

JOSÉ BAUTISTA TORONTO BLUE JAYS Joey Bats returns to the Blue Jays after spending half a season on the Disabled List. From 2010 to 2012, when he hit the DL, no one had more round trippers, hammering 124 home runs. Bautista had been an average Major League ball player, hitting 61 home runs in his first four years; but he made alterations to his batting stance and swing in 2008, and hasn’t looked back since.

RYAN BRAUN MILWAUKEE BREWERS The Hebrew Hammer is the model of consistency, but last season saw him hit more home runs than any previous season in his career, including his MVP year in 2011. His quick, compact swing generates tremendous bat speed, and he has been in the 30-30 club (at least 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases for the season) the past two years.

RA DICKEY TORONTO BLUE JAYS The Major League’s only current knuckleballer, Dickey was signed by the Blue Jays as a free agent in the off-season. In his last year for the New York Mets, Dickey confused and baffled with his quicker-than-usual knuckleball, winning 20 games and the National League Cy Young Award.

Will he adapt to the American League and Rogers Center?

JUSTIN VERLANDER DETROIT TIGERS Verlander has won 17 games or more in his past four seasons, leading the league in strikeouts last season. He has great control over the speed of his fastball, often starting games slowly, throwing fastballs around the 90mph mark, only to throw faster later in the game, hitting between 98 and 100mph.

CLAYTON KERSHAW LOS ANGELES DODGERS Kershaw won 21 games in 2011, leading the NL in wins, ERA and strikeouts. He also finished last season with an ERA of 2.53, leading the Major Leagues for the second year running – but he won only 14 games, perhaps due to slightly less run support from his team.

Julian Wait

36 | March 22 2013 |

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Fara Williams 2002 and 2012] left, it opened the door for me to go. Liverpool showed ambition. They also have a forward-thinking manager.”

Getting to know you

With the new FA WSL season starting this weekend, Fara Williams tells Sport why she’s joined a losing team

U

nder the guidance of their previous manager Robbie Johnson, Liverpool Ladies were awful. They won only two

games in the first two seasons of the FA Women’s Super League, and finished bottom of the eight-team table in consecutive years.

It came as no surprise, then, when Johnson left the club ‘by mutual consent’ last summer.

In his place, Liverpool brought in new boss Matt Beard, who led Chelsea to the 2012 FA Women’s Cup final. As soon as last season ended (with a defeat, obviously), Beard set about rebuilding the team, bringing in talent from Germany, Iceland and the USA... not to mention four players from somewhere closer to home: Everton.

That included former Everton captain Fara Williams, who ended an eight-year run with the Toffees by moving to their local rivals.

“I’d been thinking of moving for a few years,” the midfielder told Sport. “When Mo [Marley, Everton Ladies manager between 38 | March 22 2013 |

“It’s already been weird putting a red shirt on after wearing a blue one for so long. But I have to just take it as another game”

Time for trophies Away from domestic business, Williams has not long returned from England’s successful campaign at the Cyprus Cup, a friendly tournament comprising 12 nations, where Hope Powell’s side lifted a trophy they last won in 2009. “It was important for us to win it this year, with the Euros coming up in the summer,” she says. “Last time we won the Cyprus Cup we got to the final of the Euros, so we’re looking to do the same thing again.

“It’s a massive year for us, with more TV coverage and hopefully more interest in the women’s game off the back of the Olympics.

After the Games there was more support at club games – only a few hundred more, but that’s all we were getting anyway, so to get a few hundred on top of that is promising.

“If England can win something, it will open people’s eyes up to women’s football. So far, we’ve had publicity during tournaments, but come away from it to little publicity. If we were to win a major trophy, the focus would stay with us and we could build from there.”

Williams knows the value of success, then, and a win for Liverpool against Everton this weekend could bring more than just bragging rights – it’s also a chance for Liverpool Ladies to get into the winning habit that has, so far, been beyond their reach.

Sarah Shephard @sarahsportmag

Fara Williams wears the Puma evoSpeed boot, available from Pro Direct Soccer. Find out which Puma boot matches your game at facebook.com/pumafootball

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images, Mark Robinson/MDR Photography

A new start

Beard must talk a good game to have persuaded Williams and three of her former teammates to swap a club that finished third in the league two seasons running for the WSL’s least successful side. “It will take time for things to gel on the pitch, with foreign players coming in and the squad being a new one,” she admits. “But off the pitch and in training we’re showing good signs. And we have a chance in every cup competition we go into, because you can take that game by game. The league is more about consistency.”

Williams won’t have to wait long before finding out how her new team measures up to the one she left behind. On the opening weekend of the 2013 WSL season, Liverpool face Everton in the WSL Continental Cup. “It will be strange,” she admits. “It’s already been weird putting a red shirt on after wearing a blue one for so long. But I have to just take it as another game – and I’m sure the Everton players will be thinking the same thing. A couple of girls have moved the other way – the twins Kelly and Vicky Jones were released by Liverpool and signed for Everton – so there’s been a lot of changes. It’s good for the league, and hopefully Saturday’s game will be a good advert for women’s football.”

S R E E R A C E G N A H C S PODIUM

the big h spor t, por t is it r B f d BT S istor y o in the h he star-studde me when r a e y t s t at e ga eate r the gr ind the scenes o is on top of th ustr y.biz e t f A . s e d h d out wh po r tin e athlet ople be st for th you to the pe ve spor t – so fin ht at w w w.s ju t o n And thank ble nig You lo will say on 2nd May. ok an unmissa s names o d r B app en . r y Awa Indust o making it h t s it come

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MAR 22-APR 4 HIGHLIGHTS » Football: Champions League Quarter Finals » p42 » Formula 1: Malaysian Grand Prix » p44 » Rugby Union: Saracens v Harlequins » p46 » Tennis: Sony Open, Miami » p48 » Boxing: World Series Quarter Finals » p48

OUR PICK OF THE ACTION FROM THE SPORTING WEEK AHEAD

THURSDAY APRIL 4 FOOTBALL | EUROPA LEAGUE QUARTER FINALS | ITV/ESPN

England's last hopes We don't buy talk of Tottenham being a

visit of Rubin Kazan (ESPN, 8.05pm). The

one-man team. After all, they managed to

Russians topped their group ahead of Inter

get through to the last eight of the Europa

before knocking out Spanish sides Atlético

League without supposed main man Gareth

Madrid, who lie third in La Liga, and Levante

Bale, losing only 4-1 to Inter in the second leg

(not quite so good, in 11th) to reach the last

of their last-16 tie. No dramas at all.

eight. Venezuelan striker José Rondón is the

Michael Regan/Getty Images, Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images, Graham Stuart/AFP/Getty Images, Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Still, they will welcome the return of the

danger man; the aim for the first leg will be

Welshman for their quarter final first leg at

to gain enough of an advantage to mitigate

home to Basel the Thursday after next (ITV,

the difficulties of playing away in Russia.

8.05pm). It should be a straightforward win

Papiss Cissé's late header saw Newcastle

over two legs for the side that won the UEFA

scrape past big-spending Anzhi and land a

Cup in 1972 and 1984 – the Swiss champions

tie with Portuguese champs Benfica (ITV 4,

sacked manager Heiko Vogel in October,

8.05pm), the highest-ranked club left apart

replacing him with former player Murat Yakin.

from Chelsea. Like Newcastle, Benfica

Basel came second in their group behind

subscribe to a 'buy loads of players from the

Genk, and have the (still prolific) 33-year-old

same place' policy. Their South American

Alexander Frei up front. The last time they

front five will cause problems.

made the quarters, in 2006, they were

In each of the past two seasons, the nation

eliminated by Middlesbrough, with Steve

with three teams left at this stage ended up

McClaren playing Championship Manager-

having both the winners and the runners-up.

inspired tactics and fielding four strikers.

Seeing three English sides in the last four

Chelsea, meanwhile, welcome another side from the east of the continent with the 40 | March 22 2013 |

would be a welcome salve for the Premier League's wounded pride.

46%

Percentage of Tottenham goals scored by Gareth Bale in 2013

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7 Days TUESDAY APRIL 2 FOOTBALL | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL, FIRST LEG: BAYERN MUNICH v JUVENTUS | ALLIANZ ARENA | SKY SPORTS 7.45PM

Smart soccer

Ignore all the noise about David Beckham’s

pinned back by the forward thrusts of Ribery

big-spending Paris Saint-Germain taking on the

and Müller. Munich’s own full backs, including

him, too. As Michael Cox of Zonal Marking points out,

might of Barcelona. First, Becks isn’t going to get

the irrepressible Philip Lahm, will also look to get

it’s a job that Kroos was asked to do when Germany

near the pitch, barring a pre-match fashion show in

forward in support – so the Italian wing backs

and Italy met at Euro 2012, where Pirlo prospered as

the centre circle. Second, Bayern Munich against

could well find themselves outnumbered.

the Azzurri won 2-0. “Kroos didn’t do a particularly

Juventus is the undoubted tie of the round.

The Germans were curiously flat as they lost their

Munich’s midfielders will need to stick close to

good job on Pirlo,” says Cox. “He constantly didn’t Pressing Pirlo

put enough pressure on and dropped too deep.”

last-16 second leg to Arsenal, but despite that

The tastiest match-up on the night will be between

seemingly innate self-sabotaging streak, they’re

two of Europe’s outstanding midfielders – Juventus’

could have a key role to play if he drops deeper than

correctly positioned as one of the competition

bearded conductor Andrea Pirlo (pictured), and

his partner. If Vucinic tries to play between the lines,

favourites and have been dominant in the

Munich’s attacking midfielder Kroos. However, both

one of Bayern’s holding midfielders will have to drop

Bundesliga this season. Juventus haven’t managed

could be asked to perform unfamiliar defensive

in to pick him up – leaving, in theory, Claudio

to navigate Serie A undefeated again this season,

duties in an attempt to stifle each other’s games.

Marchisio or Arturo Vidal in space. Unless one of

but barring a late Napoli surge of Maradona-esque

While Juventus appear to have a numerical

proportions, they will win it. And they’ve been

advantage on paper in the defensive area – with

ruthlessly efficient in the Champions League.

three centre backs to take care of Bayern’s sole

Juventus still play two up front, and Mirko Vucinic

the centre backs steps out into unfamiliar territory, that is.

Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero left for

striker – they’re outnumbered on the wings, so

Australia in the summer, and the club have opted not

Out of shape

Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli might have to

to allocate his number 10 shirt to a new face. A player

It will be an interesting tactical battle all over the

move across to help out. It’s vital, therefore, that

in that mould could do the damage in this match,

pitch, as Juventus’ preferred 3-5-2 formation goes

Pirlo keeps a close eye on Kroos, who will look to

though: for Bayern, if Kroos can do a defensive job

up against Munich’s attacking midfield trio of Franck

wander into space in support of Mario Mandžukic.

on Pirlo while still contributing to the attack; or for

Ribery, Thomas Müller and Toni Kroos. Juventus

Similarly, Pirlo will look to play diagonal through

Juventus, if they can find space between the lines

employ attacking wing backs, but they could be

balls to his wing backs and start attacks, so one of

to hurt Munich’s formidable defence.

42 | March 22 2013 |

Zlatan’s revenge

WEDNESDAY APRIL 3 FOOTBALL | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL, FIRST LEG: REAL MADRID v GALATASARAY | BERNABEU | SKY SPORTS 7.45PM

New Galacticos

WEDNESDAY APRIL 3 FOOTBALL | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL, FIRST LEG: MALAGA v DORTMUND | LA ROSALEDA STADIUM | SKY SPORTS 7.45PM

Hipster’s paradise

Reports of Barcelona’s demise have been greatly

Turkish champions Galatasaray have been

Malaga and Borussia Dortmund are definitely

exaggerated. We should have known, really, that

emulating Real Madrid with their recent signings,

two teams it’s cool to like. It’s easy to see why –

Leo Messi, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta would not have

creating an ageing, not-quite-as-good version of

under Jurgen Klopp, Dortmund have built one of

been so easily cowed by a mere 2-0 deficit.

their fabled Galacticos. Although the additions of

the best young attacking sides in Europe, with the

Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba have caught

likes of Mario Götze and Jakub Błaszczykowski

over Milan in the last 16, it was clear that this

the attention of the newspapers, it’s the club’s

proving a challenge for both opposition defences

competition is still well within their grasp. Paris

homegrown talent who have fired them to the last

and our spelling.

Saint-Germain took some time off from being

eight, and this tie with José Mourinho’s side.

Malaga, the third Spanish side left in the

The Spanish side are in high spirits after

competition, have a more basic appeal as the

And, by the end of their 4-0 second-leg victory

linked to every player in Manchester to scrape past Valencia and reach the last eight for the first time

back-to-back Clasico wins and, of course, that

classic story of a club punching above its weight.

in 18 years. You have to feel their journey will end

referee-assisted victory over Manchester United,

They’ve found a worthy replacement for Santi

here, although one of their number in particular

who showed Galatasaray a possible route to

Cazorla in the 20-year-old Isco, and with a ban on

will be very keen to prove himself against a club

victory until they went down to 10 men.

European competitions (thanks to some unpaid

where he never really felt at home.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic spent an unhappy year in

It’s doubtful, though, whether the Turks will be

bills) starting next season, they’re simply going to

able to replicate that performance – their team is

try and ride this wave of momentum for as long

Catalunya, leaving after just one season. He fought

more artistic than mechanical these days, and a

as they can. It’s the German side who have the

with Pep Guardiola, and has since told of how he

player like Sneijder lacks both the will and the

advantage on paper; they were ruthlessly efficient

once shouted across the training pitch at him:

ability to track back. Hamit Altintop, who usually

in their 3-0 second-leg dismantling of Shakhtar

“You have no balls!” Ibra also explained how they

operates on the right of Galatasaray’s midfield,

Donetsk in the previous round, while Malaga built

disagreed over moving Leo Messi into a central

is one of their principle threats and likes to tuck

on a fine defensive performance against Porto in

position, which he thinks denied him the space to

inside, so Cristiano Ronaldo could be left pretty

the away leg with a more expansive game at home.

play to his best. He certainly has that freedom in

much unhindered against Emmanuel Eboué.

Dortmund have the edge, though, and we’re going

Paris, but little Leo will likely have the last laugh.

That does not bode particularly well.

for a German victory.

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 43

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TUESDAY APRIL 2 FOOTBALL | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL, FIRST LEG: PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN v BARCELONA | PARC DES PRINCES | ITV 7.45PM

7 Days SUNDAY FORMULA 1 | ROUND 2: MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX | SEPANG INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT, MALAYSIA | SKY SPORTS F1 8AM, BBC HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2PM

The Ice Man cometh

It took Kimi Räikkönen 18 races into his return

the sport – and a reinvigorated Felipe Massa have

tear his attention away from his his bulldog Roscoe

season to secure his 19th Formula 1 victory –

the tools, they are both title contenders as they

and bizarre evolution into Michael Jackson for long

his 20th was much more forthcoming, as Lotus

return to Kuala Lumpur.

enough to guide his Silver Arrow to fifth. It could have

McLaren, meanwhile, have fallen into the position

been even better, had the team not failed to make

championship contention in 2012, despite finishing

that Ferrari found themselves in last season. Their

third overall, but looked up for the fight in what he

car is, as an exasperated Jenson Button said after

Tyre wear was key in Oz, and it’ll be the same if

called an “easy victory” in Australia.

the Australia race, “not quick enough”, and they’re

not worse in the heat of Malaysia. Red Bull have the

Ferrari have improved immeasurably from this

the tyres last in their optimistic two-stop strategy.

rumoured to be considering bringing the 2012 car

quickest car again, as evidenced by their front-row

time last season – there was incredulity when

back. It’s going to be a tough season for Button,

lockout – but, like others, they struggled with the

Fernando Alonso won in Malaysia in 2012 after his

while his former teammate Lewis Hamilton will be

degradation of the Pirelli tyre. It will take teams a few

team’s terrible pre-season performance. Now that

pleasantly surprised by the performance of his

races to work out the optimal strategy for these new

Alonso – considered by many to be the best driver in

Mercedes. The 2008 world champion managed to

compounds, so expect the unexpected in Sepang.

SUNDAY BRITISH EUROSPORT 2 2PM

SUNDAY ESPN 4.15PM

SATURDAY MOTORS TV 9.50AM

My other car is a...

If you’re not enthralled by the fancy thoroughbreds of Formula 1, and pine for something a bit more down-to-earth, there are a number of alternative racing series starting their seasons this weekend. And they’re all worth checking out.

44 | March 22 2013 |

World Touring Car Championship

IndyCar Series The Indy 500 is the centrepiece of

European Formula Three Championship

The RML Chevrolet team, who had

the season, but it’s not all oval

Bizarrely, with Formula 2 now

won the title for the past three years,

tracks. The season opener in

defunct, F3 is the final step on the

withdrew their funding for this year,

St Petersburg (Florida) this weekend

journey to F1 for young drivers – 19

so it’s all change as the World

is a 14-turn circuit that incorporates

of the 22 currently on the grid spent

Touring Car Championship begins

the streets of downtown St Petersburg

at least one season there. It starts

in Italy this weekend. Last year’s

and a section of runway of Albert

in Monza this weekend, and features

champion Rob Huff, now in a Seat

Whitted Airport. Dario Franchitti,

several promising youngsters –

Leon, will hope to have the tools to

the 2012 winner (pictured), will be

including Damon Hill’s son Josh

defend his title.

near the front.

in action for Fortec Motorsport.

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Mark Thompson/Getty Images, FIAWTCC, Robert Laberge/Getty Images, Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool

impressed in Melbourne. The Finn was never really in

7 Days SUNDAY RUGBY UNION | AVIVA PREMIERSHIP: SARACENS v HARLEQUINS | ALLIANZ PARK | ESPN 2PM

Top boys With all matters international done and

few quiet run-outs last month. James

dusted until a certain trip down under

Johnston reuniting with Marler in the front

this summer, our attention swings back

row will be essential on Sarries’ plastic

to the Premiership this weekend – and in

pitch, while Robshaw’s industrious style

particular to our new favourite stadium

and calm head has been missed.

on the circuit (mainly because Domino’s

For the home side, meanwhile, there has

Pizza delivers to your seat), where the

been a return to business as usual since

league’s top two go head to head.

slipping up to Premiership strugglers

After slipping up 16-27 at home to

London Irish in February. They have

Exeter three weeks ago, Harlequins find

followed that 29-16 defeat with three

themselves in the unfamiliar position of

straight league wins, and this weekend

second going into Sunday’s clash – and

Alex Goode, Owen Farrell, Brad Barritt,

Saracens will be in no mood to let them

Kelly Brown, Chris Ashton and Mako

retake their summit.

Vunipola all return from international

The good news for the west Londoners

duty. Some of those may face a fight to get

is the return of their England boys, with

back into a side hitting its stride at the

Chris Robshaw, Mike Brown, Joe Marler

perfect time, although Sarries did make

and Danny Care all back after their Six

hard work of London Welsh in their

Nations campaign. Having struggled to

previous home game. A stronger platform

hit their usual heights recently, Quins

up front is a necessity on Sunday.

will welcome them with open arms – and

With running rugby a cert, spectators

you get the impression that Nick Evans

could have a treat in store. Not to mention

(pictured) has a big game in him after a

a pizza – without leaving their seat.

THURSDAY RUGBY LEAGUE | SUPER LEAGUE: LEEDS RHINOS V BRADFORD BULLS | SKY SPORTS 1 8PM

Derby day

Bradford, who looked like they were going under last year, have started 2013 in positive fashion, which augurs well for next Thursday’s big Yorkshire derby.

The Rhinos have been hit-and-miss so far this season, but have a tendency to get themselves up for the big games.

Kallum Watkins continues to impress filling in at full back, while the finishing of England wing Ryan Hall has been exemplary all season. Brett Delaney (left), the Australian centre-turned-second row, is another unsung hero in the pack.

Bradford recently welcomed rising star John Bateman back from an absence of seven months after having had his shoulder reconstructed. Full back Brett Kearney is rattling up the tries this season, while the mercurial half back Jarrod Sammut poses a threat to

Paul Gilham/Getty Images, Chris Brunskill/Getty Images

any defence. Expect fireworks.

46 | March 22 2013 |

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7 Days SATURDAY > TENNIS | SONY OPEN | CRANDON TENNIS CENTER, MIAMI | SKY SPORTS 2 7AM (MEN’S), BRITISH EUROSPORT 2 3PM (WOMEN’S)

Miami thrice?

World number one Novak Djokovic goes looking for his third Sony Open title in a row in Miami next week. There will be no Roger Federer in Miami this year, as the old master takes a break before the clay-court season begins. Rafael Nadal, too, has decided to skip the event to let his knees recover from the pounding they took en route to last weekend’s win at Indian Wells.

A beaten finalist last year in the city he calls his second home, Andy Murray will aim to repeat his 2009 victory here.

Another straight-sets win in the final – as it was then – over Djokovic will do.

In the women’s event, Polish world number four Agnieszka Radwanska tries to find the same form that saw her beat Maria Sharapova in last year’s final.

Hear them roar

SUNDAY ATHLETICS | WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS | BYDGOSZCZ, POLAND | BBC TWO 12PM

Gorecka’s teenage dream

The international competition for

Selby (pictured, right) might not have

amateur boxers reaches the knockout

won a medal at London 2012, but he’s

stages this week, with the British

undefeated in this competition so far and

Lionhearts – a new team to the

leads a team of five also including Aston

Britain’s best hopes of a

tournament this year – drawn against

Brown (middleweight), Joseph Joyce

medal at this weekend’s

the experienced Mexico Guerreros.

(heavyweight), Olympic silver-medallist

World Cross Country

John Joe Nevin (lightweight) and

Championships lie with

season a place above the Brits, they get

European champ Joe Ward (light-

19-year-old Emelia Gorecka

the advantage of boxing on home turf for

heavyweight). Having won four of their

in the junior women’s

the second leg on March 29, with Friday’s

five home matches during the season, the

race. The 2012 European

opener taking place at London’s York

British Lionhearts will be confident of

individual silver-medallist

Hall. Top-ranked bantamweight Andrew

getting this tie off to a winning start.

finished 15th at the worlds

With the Mexicans finishing the regular

in 2011, and is determined to prove she can compete with the best in the world.

“I’m not setting myself any limits,” said Gorecka, whose motto on Twitter is ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’. “I want to challenge the Africans and whoever is up there.”

48 | March 22 2013 |

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Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images, Scott Heavey/Getty Images, Steve Bardens/Getty Images

FRIDAY > BOXING | QUARTER FINAL FIRST LEG: BRITISH LIONHEARTS v MEXICO GUERREROS | YORK HALL | ESPN 9.45PM

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P60 It is about the bike. Anyone who says otherwise is a twit

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50 | March 22 2013 |

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2g “Just as we train our muscles and energy systems ahead of a marathon, we should also be training our gut,” says McManus, a sport scientist with Lucozade Sport.

“The aim is to get your body used to consuming the relevant nutrients both before and during your exercise. So, when eating before your weekly long run, aim to take on board 2g of carbohydrate for every kilogram of your body weight. For someone weighing 80kg, that means 160g of carbs – which could be four Weetabix, two slices of toast, a glass of orange juice and a banana.

You should be eating this mini-feast three to four hours before heading out, although you don’t need to have it all in one sitting.”

52 | March 22 2013 |

NUMBERS GAME With only 30 days to go until the London Marathon, sport scientist Chris McManus is on hand with the key numbers to help you with all your nutritional preparation

Your pre-run nutrition sorted, how should you approach the long run itself? “Start taking on carbohydrates about 45 minutes into your long run,” says McManus.

“By that point, you will have started to deplete the stores within your muscles, but not totally exhausted them. What’s important is that you don’t wait until you hit the wall, and then try and take on energy. That’s too late; if you feed your body carbohydrates throughout, that will contribute to a better performance and help you enjoy it more. That is why your long runs are a good time to start practising taking on board your carb sources.”

45

mins

60g

What about those carb sources – in particular the gels so many runners seem to use these days. “If you’ve never tried one, don’t just turn up on raceday and try to wolf them down,” says McManus. “In a Lucozade gel, for example, you have the same amount of sugar as you would find in a 500ml sports drink. That’s a lot of sugar; if you’re not taking fluids on at the same time, it could cause you gastrointestinal discomfort.”

Which doesn’t sound good... but adapting to these gels during training can make a huge difference on the big day. “We should be taking on between 30-60g of carbs per hour of exercise, so a simple strategy would be to consume one gel and one 500ml sports drink for every hour you’re running, although not at the same time. That would provide you the upper limit of 60g.”

The recently launched Lucozade Sport Elite Dual Fuel System Carb Gel is a good option here. More viscous than previous gels, runners can take them without the need for water – and they contain 30g of carbohydrate in an easyto-take orange flavour. Good news for London Marathon runners, too – gels will available at miles 14 and 21.

For more info on Lucozade carb gels, go to lucozadesport.com

Post-run recovery is just as crucial as your pre-run nutrition, as your body looks to rest and repair ahead of the next session. McManus advises consuming 10 to 20g of protein within one or two hours of exercise.

Try grilled salmon with broccoli or, for meat lovers, a 3oz T-bone steak. “Replacing the fluid you’ve lost during a run is important too,” he adds. “Weigh yourself before you go and as soon as you get back in. For every kilo you’ve lost, drink a litre of fluid, also taking into account how much you’ve drunk during the run. But make that lost fluid up over the course of the day – if you drink a couple of litres in half an hour, your body will get rid of it straight away.”

20g

Jupiterimages/Getty Images

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Fitness

James, 28 Banker Oli, 26 Engineer If you think protein is just for professionals, think again.

Right now our three average guys David, Oli and James are using a variety of Maximuscle products to help them achieve their own individual goals in just 12 weeks.

Watch all their progress live online as they undertake The Protein Project.

To pick up your own 12 week challenge and see how Maximuscle and exercise can help you achieve your body and sporting goals simply visit: maximuscle.com/proteinproject

David, 30 Electrician

See how Maximuscle can also help you get fitter, leaner and stronger.

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Gadgets

MOVE YOUR MUSIC We’ve picked out the best Bluetooth speakers for streaming music.

Great, if you’re the clumsy type who’s always tripping over wires

Ruark Audio MR1 Finely crafted, with a rich walnut finish, this sound system boasts a traditional look that belies a very modern flexibility. They can connect to your television, computer or smartphone with either traditional inputs or Bluetooth wireless streaming.

And they can even outshine Leo Messi. £300 | ruarkaudio.com

JBL Charge

Orbitsound M9

SuperTooth Disco 2

The fun, outgoing, sporty counterpart to the more staid offerings elsewhere on the page.

The durable and rugged Charge has up to 12 hours of battery life, so it’s great for picnics, parks or any other public spaces in which you want to annoy people this summer. £120 | amazon.co.uk

A good option if you want big sound but are pressed for space. At slightly more than a foot long, the M9 sound bar incorporates ‘spatial sound’ technology, so you get a surroundsound effect anywhere in the room. You’re covered, then, if someone steals ‘your’ seat. £300 | johnlewis.co.uk

Portable and pleasant to use, the Disco 2 takes just two hours to charge and can blast out three to four hours of music at top volume. It is, however, loud enough that your neighbours will have come round long before that to complain (or join the party). £71 | play.com

54 | March 22 2013 |

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Games In association with

FIVE-STAR SHOOTERS Blast your way past the Gorn in the new Star Trek offering, while future beasts, a Mexican drug cartel and the walking dead are all in for some gunishment, too

PS3, Xbox, PC

PS3, Xbox, Wii U

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Star Trek Poised for release in conjunction with the new Into Darkness movie, Star Trek places you in control of Kirk and Spock in an epic action adventure with an original story that bridges the gap between the first and second (recent) films. The crew of the Enterprise have sent out an SOS, only to be ambushed by classic Star Trek humanoid-reptile foes the Gorn. What follows is a mix of action and puzzles, with Kirk’s sections playing out like a high-octane shooter.

PS3, Xbox, PC

Your time as Spock is more stealthfocused, offering players a chance to make use of classic Vulcan abilities such as the mind meld. There are huge space battles too, as you are dropped into the captain’s chair of the Enterprise.

The game won’t revolutionise the shooter genre, but then when has a videogame/movie tie-in ever done so?

It does, however, have all the hallmarks of JJ Abrams’ vision of Star Trek, including a lot of lens flare. Beam us up.

Released April 26

PS3, Xbox,

Defiance

Army of Two: Devil’s Cartel

This sprawling shooter set on a terraformed future earth pits you against hundreds of other people at the same time, but – more importantly – it has another trick up its sleeve: it’s tied into a Syfy TV show of the same name. The stories cross over, so if you see an enemy raid in the show, you can get involved in the same event in the game.

Released April 2

The third game in the series shakes things up a bit. Set in Mexico, Devil’s Cartel pits T.W.O. against the ruthless La Guadaña drug cartel. It’s still a third-person shooter, but the pacing is faster – and the Overkill system makes a welcome return, rewarding you with temporary invincibility.

It also features a mask creator, so you can customise your face.

Released March 29

56 | March 22 2013 |

While the influx of caped crusaders has almost reached saturation point, Injustice: Gods Among Us promises something new. It’s a superhero scrapper with a difference from the team that created Mortal Kombat, and they’ve pulled together the best of DC Comics – Batman, Bane, Joker, Superman, Lex Luthor and more – for a blockbuster battle royale. Following the destruction of Metropolis at the hands of the Joker, Superman establishes a new world order, causing heroes to stand in opposition to each other. Throw in interactive arenas and eye-popping special moves, and the result is a wonderfully over-the-top fighter.

Released April 19

PS3

PS3, Xbox, Wii U

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct

Deadly Premonition: The Director’s Cut

While the other game inspired

by The Walking Dead focuses on the comic books, this firstperson shooter serves as a prequel to the TV series. Assume the role of crossbow-wielding Daryl and his overbearing brother Merle as they make their way to Atlanta during the early days of the Zombie apocalypse.

Released March 22

Most people missed this cult survival horror game the first time, so why should you care now? Well, this definitive version incorporates updated controls, scenarios and a hi-def lick of paint. It’s worth trying for the experience alone, assuming you can tolerate the crazy storyline and comically dreadful shooting.

Released April 26

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‘AN ABSOLUTELY MIND-BLOWING EXPERIENCE’

‘ASTONISHING, AUDACIOUS, UNMISSABLE’

THE GUARDIAN

OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE

FROM THE MAKERS OF

THE HIGHEST RATED FIRST PERSON SHOOTER OF ALL TIME* MARCH 26TH BIOSHOCKINFINITE.COM

*Based on metacritic average rankings across available platforms. © 2002-2013, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Developed by Irrational Games. BioShock, BioShock Infinite, BioShock Infinite: Industrial Revolution, Irrational Games, 2K Games and their respective logos are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. KINECT, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies and are used under license from Microsoft. “2”, “PlayStation”, “PS3” , “Ô and “À” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other marks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

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Kit

SADDLE UP We asked CycleSurgery’s Jonathan Sharpe to spin through the best steeds on two wheels – all available at cyclesurgery.com

Cube Bikes Peloton Pro Compact 2013 Using cutting-edge aluminium technology and frame design, the Cube Peloton Pro places the rider in a balanced and relaxed riding position. This will appeal to those looking for a performance bike without having to sacrifice comfort, while the tapered headtube delivers precise steering.

The Peloton Pro comes equipped with compact gearing for easier climbing and offers a good spread of gears to get you up even the steepest of hills. £929

Specialized Allez 2013

Orbea Orca B105 2013

Wilier Izoard XP Ultegra 2013

The Allez is a race-inspired road bike that offers great acceleration thanks to its stiff, lightweight and responsive frame – perfect for aspiring racers. It comes equipped with 18-speed Shimano gearing to help improve efficiency over any terrain, and combines pro-level looks with high-end performance that will serve you well on weekend rides or when commuting. £550

The Orca B delivers stable and responsive road manners that make it a pleasure to ride, no matter what the road throws in your way. The carbon frame uses a blend of intermediate modulus fibres that provide greater elasticity than the materials in other frames. The result is a silky smooth ride that’s hard to beat; with greater comfort, you’ll be able to ride further and finish faster. £1,499

The Wilier Izoard is a performance machine that will give any rider more confidence in corners and on descents. It combines speed, acceleration and comfort with a stylish Italian design that will make you want to ride it every day. The carbon monocoque frame and Shimano Ultegra gearing delivers class-leading performance, all of which adds to the Izoard’s quality feel. £1,999

60 | March 22 2013 |

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