Sport magazine 281

Issue 281 | November 9 2012

the winter SportS iSSue 2012-13

Your guide to the new season: where to go and the gear to take with you

“A SHARP, BRUTAL AND COMPELLING EXPERIENCE” THE GUARDIAN

“THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE AND THRILLING CALL OF DUTY YET” THE SUN

“THE BEST CALL OF DUTY MULTIPLAYER TO DATE” VG247

“A CULT SMASH” NUTS

05

issuE 281, novEmbER 9 2012 Radar 05 Dirty washing in public See the pictures that have cleaned up at the World Press Photo 2012 exhibition

07 Ski like Bond

With Oakley’s high-tech Airwave Goggles. But without the Union Jack parachute

08 Save Real Oviedo...

54

... from liquidation. More Juan Matas depend on it, probably

oFeatures this coming week

17 Winter wonderland

Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool

We bring you the perfect pistes on which to ski and snowboard till spring, with help from MadDogSki

17

76

38 Pam Thorburn

The British ski-cross champion talks exclusively about her Olympic medal hopes for 2014

54 Chris Robshaw We speak to England’s leading man ahead of his side’s run of autumn internationals

57 Steven Finn

The England fast bowler has Tendulkar, Kohli and the rest of India’s batsmen in his sights

Extra Time 70 Grooming

We tell you where to go for a stylish Movember: Gillette’s The Best a Mo Can Get barbers

72 Heather Weir

It only took a move from Glasgow to Staffordshire for this model WAG to show up on our radar

74 Gadgets

Achieve Quagmire-style lighting with the Philips Hue. Giggity

76 Entertainment We pick up Call of Duty Black Ops II – and an arsenal of futuristic weaponry, to boot | November 9 2012 | 03

p08 – Virat Kohli : the numbers that have England worried p10 – Olympian autobiographies: it must be nearly Christmas

Ray McManus, Ireland, Sportsfile, Adam Pretty, Australia, Getty Images

Radar

p07 – Power up to the Truckasaurus in F1 Race Stars

Laundry night H

ow’s this for a Daz Doorstep Challenge? Mrs Crowley cannot have been a happy woman when her son Conor (pictured, with the ball) came home caked head to toe in cloying Irish mud.

Still, this soaked scene from an All-Ireland League rugby union game makes for a cracking photo – so good, in fact, that it was one of the winners in the sports category at the 2012 World Press Photo awards.

Taken by photographer Ray McManus, it’s one of more than 100,000 entries for the prestigious contest across a number of categories. This shot picked up second prize in the singles category, which must have made standing by the side of the pitch in the driving February rain almost worth it for McManus.

A selection of snaps, both sporting and otherwise, is on display this week at Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank. It’s totally free, so you have nothing to lose – certainly, it’s a very cheap date.

World Press Photo 2012, Royal Festival Hall, November 9-27.

Visit southbankcentre.co.uk for more information

Shadows run amok at the World Aquatics Championships in China, in another prize-winning shot from the awards.

Think Peter Pan, but with more Speedos

| November 9 2012 | 05

official midnight launch at

Oxford Street

Monday 12 November*

£42.99 or

pay nothing when you trade in any two of our most wanted titles** for details see in-store or at available on XBOX 360, PS3

+ get a free exclusive mini Zombies Strategy Guide†

*Call Of Duty: Black Ops II available from participating hmv stores, including Oxford Circus (150 Oxford Street) from 00.01am on Tuesday 13 November.

Title, price and offer subject to availability, while stocks last.**‘Pay nothing’ offer refers to zero payment when the trade in value of the two selected hmv most wanted titles is deducted from the retail price of the game Call Of Duty: Black Ops II on XBOX 360 or PS3. Offer ends 22 November.

See in-store or at hmv.com for full terms and conditions of our trade-in games offers. †Zombie Strategy guide subject to availability while stocks last. © 2012 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION and CALL OF DUTY are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

doors open at 10pm • goody bags & give-aways • live demos & gameplay previews • signing by Treyarch developers • game available from midnight # BlackOps2

Radar

The 21st track W

e can’t tell you how many times we’ve yawned our way through F1 snoozefests just longing for a banana skin, sinkhole or tactical missile strike to liven up the action a bit. Fortunately, Codemasters have delivered exactly that in F1 Race Stars, a Mario Kart-inspired cartoon racer that will have Bernie Ecclestone reaching for his notebook. The game owes a lot to the moustachioed Italian polymath, as we all do, in terms of visual style and the power-up system – which includes things such as calling in the Safety Car to hold up other drivers, or calling rain to hover over the leader.

Eleven tracks have been lovingly recreated, with the addition of loop-the-loops, jumps and giant robotic dinosaurs – as you can see in the exclusive screen shot below (middle), based on next weekend’s race in Austin, Texas.

So, a friendly warning to Vettel and co – best keep the racing lively, or next year you might have Truckasaurus to contend with.

F1 Race Stars, out Friday November 16 on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U, £30

Sci-fi skiing

Taking acid on race day proved to be a bad idea

GPS, Bluetooth, laser guided missiles

I

f you’re one of those ludicrous people who exists only in action films and energy drink adverts, you can now check your messages on the slopes with Oakley’s high-tech Airwave Goggles.

A clever heads-up display built into the lenses means that information floats in front of your eyes – and, thanks to Bluetooth and GPS, there’s a wealth of it at your disposal.

The goggles tell you your speed and jump statistics; and, if you pair them with the official iPhone app, you can control your music and read text messages. It’s a spy-worthy bit of kit, although we worry it might be quite distracting. We don’t mean to go all Q on you, 007, but keep an eye out for trees, won’t you?

Oakley Airwave Goggles, £500, store.apple.com/uk

| November 9 2012 | 07

Radar

62.6

Virat Kohli by numbers

Kohli’s Test batting average so far in 2012 (501 runs in five Tests)

H

e turned 24 this week, but what do the numbers tell us about India’s most dangerous young batsman before he faces England next week?

557

Kohli was the second highest run-scorer in the 2011 IPL, behind only his Bangalore teammate Chris Gayle

19 36.78

3,000 Became fastest Indian batsman to 3,000 ODI runs in February 2012, taking 75 innings.

Graeme Gooch is England’s quickest, in 76

Captained India as they won the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia 2008, beating South Africa in the final Test batting average against pace bowlers (as opposed to 57.50 against spin) in his 10 Test matches so far

$15M Estimated net worth of Kohli, who has deals with Fastrack, PepsiCo, TVS and ‘Flying Machines’ (search us)

112

Highest score against England, in an ODI in Delhi in October 2011.

Next week will be his first Test against them

Par for the Court

Rescue mission S

panish striker Michu has scored six goals already for Swansea this season, and cost canny Michael Laudrup just £2m. And it’ll take only slightly more than that to save the club that spawned him, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla from liquidation.

Yes, it’s all gone a bit tits up at Real Oviedo. Languishing in the third tier of Spanish football, the club – formed in 1926 – have another eight days to raise the €2.5m they need to stave off the liquidator. One hashtag later

08 | November 9 2012 |

(#SOSRealOviedo) and a campaign to save the much-loved club (which still has 15,000 season-ticket holders) is well under way. Fans and well-wishers can buy shares in the team from just €10.75 until November 17, and foreign fans who get involved get free entry to games if they’re ever in Oviedo. So if you’re a Swansea, Chelsea or Arsenal fan enthralled by the performances of your Spanish star, then get your wallet out. It’s the least you could do.

More information – in English – at bit.ly/U3rHr6

Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images, Flickr/lvaro Campo Garcia

W

e dread to think of the amount of brainpower that talented engineers and scientists expend on the task of propelling a tiny ball accurately towards a hole. On the plus side, it means there’s always new gear for golfers to goggle at, and the best of it is showcased at the London Golf Show 2012.

And if that’s not enough, the first 500 people to turn up with a copy of Sport get in for free! What are you waiting for? Run! London Golf Show 2012, November 9-11, Earls Court. Visit londongolfshow.com

Edge-to-edge blockbusters.

Edge-to-edge speed.

Edge-to-edge performance.

Say hello to the full-screen phone.

Introducing the powerful Motorola RAZR i with Intel Inside .

TM

ÂŽ

Games and applications are downloadable in Google Play for an additional cost. MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC. Intel Inside and the Intel Inside logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Š2012 Motorola Mobility LLC. All rights reserved.

Radar

High rollers C

an you turn £100,000 into a cool £1m in just 10 days? Almost certainly not.

Because if you could, you definitely wouldn’t be sitting here reading this. If you’d like to have a bash, though, check out BetDash.com, a new site from bookmakers Paddy Power that gives you a virtual £100k and 10 days of sports betting to turn it into £1m.

You can play for free, or stick some money in the pot and win five times your stake if you manage to make it to £1m. There are innovations borrowed from the world of gaming, too, with leaderboards and groups so you can challenge your mates and unlock bonuses. It’s a refreshing take on sports betting, and definitely worth checking out.

Medal memoirs 10 | November 9 2012 |

I

t’s stocking-filler season, so the Olympic cash-ins are hitting the shelves with roughly the same frequency as medals hit British necks during the actual Games. This week, in particular, seems to be the Super Saturday of Olympic autobiographies, with the inspirational stories of Bradley Wiggins, Jessica Ennis and Sebastian Coe adding to Chris Hoy’s ode to Bran Flakes, an updated version of which came out last month.

These books offer a fascinating insight into the lives of the people whose successes shaped our sporting summer, and a chance to look back fondly. Just one question remains: where did they all find the time to sit down and write these weighty tomes themselves? It’s taken us 45 minutes just to write this. All out now

BetDash.com gives you a virtual £100k and 10 days to try and gamble it into a million. To our readers in the City - be a bit more careful this time, alright?

Radar Editor’s letter A rich man’s world: for McIlroy and Woods, it’s practically a family motto 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

Show me the money It’s sometimes a dirty word, but sport needs sponsors and their filthy lucre olfers have a responsibility to their sponsors,” said HSBC’s Giles Morgan last week.

“Without the sponsors there isn’t professional golf. I speak on behalf of the industry.”

Morgan, global head of sponsorship at the bank, may need Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods more than they need him. They didn’t play in last week’s WGC-HSBC Champions event in China – and Morgan, while speaking in conciliatory tones, was clearly furious.

“We are delighted to have 13 of the world’s top 20 here, but of course we’re disappointed not to have the two top players in the world,” he added. “Both have sent me apologies, but this is an event which should be regarded by all players, as it is by the tours and the media, as one of the top events in the world.”

Now, McIlroy and Woods are perfectly at liberty to decide when and where they

G Editor-in-chief Simon Caney @simoncaney

want to play. But, almost rubbing salt in the wound, they had been in China only the previous week for a pointless two-man exhibition match before then flying off.

And those two don’t exactly need the money: Woods is on his way to becoming a billionaire, while McIlroy, if reports are to be believed, has this week signed a £160m sponsorship deal himself. So perhaps they don’t care whether the likes of HSBC fund tournaments or not. They should, because Morgan makes a valid point. The whole sport would disappear into the ether were it not for the sponsors – who, when they invest a sum such as HSBC did last week, can reasonably expect the best players to at least turn up.

At least Ian Poulter’s great victory meant they weren’t missed. But McIlroy and Woods might want to rethink their schedules next year.

Can’t help but feel sorry for Craig Levein, fired as boss of Scotland this week.While a manager has to take responsibility for results, he can work only with the players at his disposal – and Levein didn’t have rich pickings.

It’s depressing to see what has happened to Scottish football. They firmly believed they were going to win the World Cup in 1978, but now the country that gave us Denis Law and Kenny Dalglish can’t win a raffle. Shame.

A big 18 months or so for English cricket starts on Thursday, when the Test series against India gets under way. It is going to be unbelievably tough. Who will establish themselves as Alastair Cook’s opening partner? Will Kevin Pietersen be fully reintegrated into the side? Will Jonny Bairstow or Samit Patel cement the number six spot? Lots of questions, in a very tough environment, and all with two Ashes series on the horizon...

Editorial Editor-in-chief: Simon Caney (7951) Deputy editor: Tony Hodson (7954) Associate editor: Nick Harper (7897) Art editor: John Mahood (7860) Deputy art editor: William Jack (7861) Digital designer: Chris Firth (7624) Subeditor: Graham Willgoss (7431) Senior writers: Sarah Shephard (7958), Alex Reid (7915) Staff writers: Mark Coughlan (7901), Amit Katwala (7914) Picture editor: Julian Wait (7961) Production manager: Tara Dixon (7963) Contributors: David Lawrenson, Hannah Engelkamp, Mark Richardson, Stevie Lewis, Doug Rankine Commercial Agency Sales Director: Iain Duffy (7991) Business Director: Kevin O’Byrne (7832) Advertising Manager: Steve Hare (7930) New Business Sales Executive: Hayley Robertson (7904) Distribution Manager: Sian George (7852) Distribution Assistant: Makrum Dudgeon Head of Online: Matt Davis (7825) Head of Communications: Laura Wootton (7913) Managing Director: Adam Bullock PA to Managing Director: Sophia Koulle (7826) Colour reproduction: Rival Colour Ltd Printed by: Wyndeham Group Ltd © UTV Media plc 2012 UTV Media plc takes no responsibility for the content of advertisements placed in Sport magazine £1 where sold Hearty thanks this week to: Alasdair Wallace, Jack Daniels, Michelle Blair

Cover of the Year

Reader comments of the week @simoncaney put rugby referees into football and see what happens when a player swears. Yellow card, no nonsense.

Introduce the sin bin?

@simoncaney good work defending the number of women in the power list.

Reality is reality. No point pretending.

@vexedcyclist Twitter

@CharlieRiggall Twitter

@Manda_SW Twitter

12 | November 9 2012 |

Good article in @sportmaguk today about how twitter & sport have become inextricably linked & what this means for fans.Good work

A cracking @Sportmaguk today! Not only a wonderful piece with @HitmanHatton, but also a quality @dembabafoot feature. I doff my hat, guys.

@robindthomas Twitter

@NickHartwell1 Twitter

LAUNCH OF THE YEAR

2008

Total Average Distribution: 305,676 Jan-Jun 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

Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images

@simoncaney just read your comment in Sport about refs. Damn right.

Tired of seeing refs tolerate dissent. Send em off then they’ll learn.

Frozen in time

14 | November 9 2012 |

After being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned from ever cycling on solid ground again by the UCI, here we see Lance Armstrong reduced still further to the status of a clown. He knows full well you can’t cycle on shifting sand. But what choice does he have? Because not even he would believe he can cycle on water. In reality, because we know you’re wondering, this is actually Belgium’s Tom Meeusen making a dog’s dick of it in the Superprestige in Zonhoven duri... no, you’re right. Let’s just turn the page.

| 15

David Stockman/AFP/Getty Images

Enter sandman

Winter Sports 2012

SlopeS and glory

Danny Zapalac/Red Bull Content Pool

November is here again, and that can mean only one thing – it’s time for our annual winter sports special. Just the 18 pages for you in 2012, as we pick out the British athletes to keep an eye on ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, speak to national ski-cross champion Pam Thorburn, feature all the latest winter sports gear and identify some of the bestvalue ski gadgets out there.

First up, though, is our round-up of ski and snowsport destinations – and this year we’re concentrating on the big ones: the giant areas and favourite resorts that have long had a place in the hearts of the British skier. Every summer, these big old dogs get busy innovating and renovating in time to bark all about their new tricks from the mountaintops by the time winter rolls around. So read on as Hannah Engelkamp of MadDogSki.com runs through the best of the new innovations from all the old favourites, from cow fighting to cowboy racing, ski lift wifi to international exchanges, and raging apres to silent discos... >

| November 9 2012 | 17

Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations

SteambOat, USa

Wild West meets Northern Lights Old favourite Seven thousand feet up in the Colorado Rocky Mountains is Steamboat, a resort beloved of Brits and turning 50 this season. On January 12 1963, the resort officially opened, boasting a double chairlift and a single warming house.

They made $13.75 that day.

These days, particularly after the $30m investment in recent years, the resort is somewhat more established – and in the interim it has trademarked its notably fluffy snow, calling it Champagne Powder.

Steamboat is an old cowboy town, and many of their tourist-tempting ideas stem from this heritage. This year marks a century of their

18 | November 9 2012 |

winter carnival, which was started to convince the locals that skiing – initially used to get about for work – could be fun too. Expect ski-joring (being towed down the street on your skis by a cowboy on a horse), the high school marching band on skis (America’s only example), and more than 100 professional rodeo riders charging down the mountain in the Cowboy Downhill. Most of them don’t ski and haven’t yet learned to stop...

New trick Steamboat also does pretty well for Winter Olympians – it produces more than any other town in the United States (79 so far, since you ask). One of these is Billy Kidd, a slalom

silver-medallist from the 1964 Innsbruck Games and 70 years old in April. He skis in his stetson and gives free ski lessons to visitors.

If skiing cowboys isn’t enough, and you want a double culture shock, here’s a new idea: go on a 10-day holiday with Ski Safari, who give you three days as a stopover in Reykjavik, Iceland.

NASA predicts that 2012 has the brightest Northern Lights in 50 years, and Iceland in winter is a particularly likely place to spot them. Fly from London, Manchester or Glasgow to Denver, via Reykjavik, for less than flying direct, with a soak in the geothermal spas and a Northern Lights tour included. Prices start at £1,345 per person.

Need to know Size 2,965 acres* of piste Altitude 2,103m-3,224m Good for...

Friendly American hospitality Website steamboat.com *American resorts measure their piste in square rather than linear area – so acres rather than kilometres, as with European destinations

Paradiski, FraNce New and renewable

La Plagne and Les Arcs are neighbouring resorts that have long enjoyed a steady stream of British guests. Both are a mixture of old farming hamlets and 1960s purpose-built ski villages, providing a choice of charm or convenience depending on your priorities.

In 2003 the two resorts were joined by the huge, double-decker Vanoise Express lift, which takes just four minutes to span the 2km gap.

The new 400km linked area was branded as Paradiski. Ten years old this year, it is the world’s newest massive ski area.

Both resorts had a lot to offer on their own.

Les Arcs is great for snowboarding, embracing

the nascent sport early on in the 1980s, while more recently it has become the home of speed-riding: skiing and flying downhill with a fabric parachute-like wing. La Plagne is good for intermediates and has a great snowpark – but, if you like covering a lot of distance, Paradiski is a must.

New trick This year, Paradiski has made the decisive and impressive step of powering its entire lift system, the ski area and hotels, plus a large percentage of the villages, with renewable energy. They are also reminding UK skiers that there are two train stations – Aime la Plagne

(for La Plagne) and Bourg St Maurice (for Les Arcs) – each a mere eight hours from London (though depending on services, Aime la Plagne may be nearer 10). Doing that journey by train rather than flying reduces your carbon emissions from 98kg to 11kg, and will provide you with some luxurious picnic-eating, Scrabble-playing and view-gazing time too.

Paradiski is also making changes to the local environment, reducing the visual effects of a mega resort. They have removed 124 lift towers since the year 2000, are burying power lines, reforesting, and using wood and stone for new buildings, ensuring they blend into the landscape. >

Need to know Size 425km of piste Altitude 1,200m-3,250m Good for...

Skiing somewhere different every day Website en.paradiski.com

Marc Muench/Alamy, Blickwinkel/Alamy

Old favourite

| 19

Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations

WIN!

A week’s trip fo r Thorens with M two to Val adDogSki.com Stay on the top of th in a ski-in, ski-ou e world t studio for two, with free lif tpas hire, flights and tra s and ski ns and MadDogSki go fers od ie bag.

For more info an d to maddogski.com enter, just head to /win-a-ski-holid ay Thanks to valthor ens.com and skisolutions.com

Val ThOreNs, FraNce Old favourite The highest resort in the great big Three Valleys area, and with 99 per cent of the ski area sited at over 2,000m, Val Thorens is an experience every skier should have at least once in their lives.

Way above the treeline, it’s an alpine outpost that really feels like it’s at the top of the continent. You notice the altitude: toiletries burst, pens leak, it takes ages to boil eggs and it’s a huge effort to simply walk up a few stairs.

But it’s all worth it – the snow stays good up here for weeks after everywhere else, and it takes no time to ski over to the Meribel Valley next door, or the Courchevel Valley beyond that.

20 | November 9 2012 |

And on the other side is the inaccurately named Three Valleys’ fourth valley, which is generally quieter than the rest.

As you’d expect from an area of this size, there is a bit of everything. You can cruise the whole Three Valleys on gentle blue runs, seek out some heart-stopping black runs, find power, moguls, couloirs, parks, whatever floats your fatties. And peppered all over are rustic mountain restaurants with fine food and vin chaud.

We recommend you take a steer from maddogski.com, though: there are also a fair number of rip-off joints charging €15 for a cup-a-soup, especially towards Courchevel.

New tricks Ever decided against updating your status from the chairlift, Instagramming that breathtaking view, or Googling to check if that’s a chamois or a mouflon you can see on the ridge? Well now you can do it all – this year Val Thorens has free wifi on another three lifts, to add to the 15 ski lift stations already hooked up.

And the place has a lot for visitors to tweet about, too. There’s the Ski Cross World Cup (which it will host for the first time from December 17), ski and snowboard test weekends that are open to all, a snowsports festival and a huge blow-out for New Year.

And that’s just month one. >

Need to know Size 600km of piste Altitude 1,300m-3,230m Good for...

Good cheesy dinner, good cheesy après, world-class mountains Websites les3vallees.com, valthorens.com

Hemis.fr/SuperStock

On top of the world

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Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations

AvOriAz, FrANce Old favourite Avoriaz is one of the 12 resorts that make up the huge Portes du Soleil area – a high-up, purpose-built village on the French side of the Alps. Perched above the clouds on dramatic cliffs, the architecture is entirely wood-shingled, the village is car-free (pretty much road-free, in fact), and horse-drawn sleighs carry your luggage to your hotel. Pistes run through the village with bars and hotels dotted about. Imagine a village of Tolkien-esque, cliff-dwelling, party-going demi-gods with skis for feet, and this is where they would live.

The surrounding terrain includes plenty of great beginner pistes, as well as a patrolled

22 | November 9 2012 |

off-piste valley, a world-class snowpark and long pistes that drop you down to Morzine, the old farming town at the foot of those dramatic cliffs.

The Portes du Soleil is on a mission to get everyone on snow. The encouraging ‘You can ski’ package for adult beginners offers half-day ski lessons, lift pass and ski hire for €269 for six days or €169 for three (www.esf-morzine.com), and chalet company Rudechalets are offering a free snowboard instructor and snowboard hire for select weeks. Most entertainingly, the Portes du Soleil has developed a sort of baby scooter with a handle – so any child of standing-up age can get a taste for the pistes.

New trick Avoriaz is about to open the doors of Aquariaz, a brand new indoor jungle world. They have shipped in 1,500 tropical trees and plants from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia, through which a ‘fun river’ winds, and landscaped pools contain all sorts of day-off fun. There’s a pool with a climbing wall above it, a water playhouse, an outdoor hot pool with views of the valley, and a 10m halfpipe you can take at speed in a dinghy.

The water is heated by an eco-friendly biomass boiler, and entry is just €8 for adults, less for kids. And, unlike in most French pools, swimmers are allowed to wear shorts – great for Brits wanting to avoid Speedos. >

Need to know Size 650km of piste Altitude 1,000m-2,400m Good for...

Ski-in, ski-out immersion in ski-world, mixed groups Websites avoriaz.com, en.portesdusoleil.com

Hemis.fr/SuperStock

Tolkien to the tropics

F12 ©2012 LEVI STRAUSS & CO.

DOCKERS® ALPHA KHAKI AVAILABLE AT ALL GOOD STORES NATIONWIDE. MORE INFO AT GB.DOCKERS.COM

Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations

Megève, FraNce Old favourite

The resort of Megève was developed in the 1920s by the Baroness Noémie de Rothschild, who had fallen out of love with St Moritz in Switzerland. Considering its genesis, it’s hardly surprising that it has always been a regular haunt for the rich and famous – it has even had a starring role itself as the resort in the beginning of Charade, where Audrey Hepburn’s Regina Lampert meets Cary Grant’s Peter Joshua. As well as the film stars, Michelin stars have been liberally sprinkled around town – there’s some mighty fine eating to be done here, in the 80-plus restaurants that pack the picturesque medieval streets.

24 | November 9 2012 |

If you’ve not heard of Megève, however, it may be because they like it that way. There are no giant hotels, and the clientele have been largely French – and, more specifically, Parisian.

But don’t let this put you off – the people of Megève are friendly, and skiers who find this opulent mountain town more often than not become fans for life.

The terrain is in the big-league, too. Megève’s own four areas join up with five other resorts, making a vast 445km area known as the Espace Evasion Mont Blanc. If that’s not enough for you, the many resorts of the Chamonix Valley are close at hand – and this whole Alpine feast is a mere hour’s drive from Geneva.

New tricks By now you’ve probably got the picture – Megève doesn’t bother doing battle with the other resorts. There are no annual barrages of deals, world firsts, pop concerts or gimmicks, and this new-season news just underlines the sort of place it is: this year, the ski areas that lie on either side of town are going to be joined up... by horse. New caleches (as they call sleighs in these parts) carrying 12 skiers and included in the lift pass, will be filling in the 10-minute gap between lift stations in style. See Megève specialists Stanford Skiing (stanfordskiing. co.uk) for family-owned, reasonably priced catered chalet holidays. >

Need to know Size 445km of piste Altitude 1,113m-2,350m Good for...

Groups with non-skiers, gourmands Website megeve.com

Jean-Pierre Lescourret/SuperStock

The grand dame of skiing, now with horses

ÂŁ15 INCLUDES

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Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations

Verbier, SwitzerlaNd A load of posh and a ticket to Vail

Before 1925, Verbier was a Swiss mountain village of farmers and blessed cheese-makers, until a group of keen mountaineers hiked up 15km from Sembrancher for the sole purpose of skiing back down again. Twenty years passed, in which the locals messed about on skis (when the farming and cheese-making allowed), and then in 1946 the first lift system was installed. Ski tourism boomed in the 1960s, as it did all over the Alps – and in the mid-1970s the Savoleyres gondola was introduced and the Four Valleys area created, linking Verbier with five other resorts and making a respectable 410km of varied piste.

26 | November 9 2012 |

The skiing is renowned for being challenging, with numerous itinerary runs (unpisted slopes within the ski area), and some famous off-piste – the Rock Garden, Col des Mines, Mont Gele and the back of Mont Fort.

‘Verbs’ has a reputation for being frequented by toffs – a lot of the bars and restaurants are seriously swanky, and the nickname ‘St Tropez on snow’ has stuck. But there are cosy corners and down-to-earth bars, and the nightlife is legendary. You might find yourself bumping and grinding alongside Verbs fans Sarah Ferguson, Sir Richard Branson, James Blunt or even Prince Harry.

What a line-up.

New trick What’s better than one posh resort? Two posh resorts, naturally. Buy a Four Valleys seasonpass, and get three days free in Vail resorts – that’s Vail itself and seven other resorts, including Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Heavenly. If you happen to be saving up for a Vail Epic Pass, the deal is reciprocated – you get three free days in Verbs. It’s the first time a transatlantic deal like this has been struck – and once the Yanks arrive there will be a striking new eco igloo awaiting them in Col des Gentianes. It’s taken the whole summer to build, and is a stunning dome of exposed alderwood beams, warmed by eco-friendly pellet heating. >

Need to know Size 410km of piste Altitude 1,080m-3,330m Good for...

Hard skiing, hard partying, what-what Websites 4vallees.ch, verbier.ch Jack Affleck

Old favourite

Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations

TigNes, FraNce Old favourite

Sitting high in a hanging valley right by the Italian border, Tignes shares space with smart, chocolate-box Val d’Isère – but it has long been the poor relation of the pair, with eyesore 1960s tower blocks and a party-all-night atmosphere.

Tignes is no spring chicken, though. Over half a century it has built up a loyal fanbase, establishing itself as a forward-thinking resort – not to mention snowsure thanks to its high altitude. It has also embraced freestyle snowboarding and skiing, hosting the European X Games in winter and running training sessions on the Grande Motte glacier in summer.

28 | November 9 2012 |

In the meantime, Tignes has put a great deal of effort into beautifying its five villages, and plenty of visitors don’t care anyway.

The ski-in, ski-out accommodation, superb snow record, long season, fun nightlife and relative affordability make up for it – as do the fantastic views in all other directions.

New trick Tignes has been laying on great parties for a long time, and this New Year’s Eve will be the 15th year of their open-air, 2,100m nightclubon-snow, the Fire Mix Party. The mountains will ring to Parisian DJ Martin Solveig, as he works the 20,000-strong audience into a frenzy on the

highest dance floor in Europe. It is, however, also a year of firsts for Tignes – not least of which is European Snow Pride: a week-long gay festival in March, featuring clubbing, cabaret, a giant pool party and a wilderness camp in a Mongolian yurt with barbecue and toboggan ride back to the resort.

Organisers amusingly refer to their hosts as “the audacity-driven resort of Tignes”.

There’s also a 3D cinema screen in the Tignes cinema this year, and the Silence on Danse winter tour is bringing its silent headphones disco and DJs to town – which might be a welcome relief to the poor old neighbourhood ibex. >

Need to know Size 300km of piste Altitude 1,550m-3,450m Good for...

Variety of slopes and energy in resort Websites espacekilly.com, tignes.net

Rapsodia/SuperStock

High altitude, audacious partying

Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations

Laax, SwitzerLaNd

Sun, freestyle and a Porsche ski lift

Graubünden, the number-one holiday canton in Switzerland, is home to big-name resorts such as Davos, Klosters, Engadin, Arosa, St Moritz and Laax. It all began, so they say, in 1864, when St Moritz hotelier Johannes Badrutt laid down a challenge to four British summertime guests.

Come back in winter, he said, and if you don’t like it I’ll pay for your return journeys. If they did like it, they were welcome to stay as long as they wanted. They stayed until Easter, and the British love of the Swiss winter mountains was born.

The sunny resort of Laax hasn’t rested on its laurels, though. It lacks a cosy village centre and is mostly made up of apartment blocks, but that

30 | November 9 2012 |

doesn’t matter – Laax draws snow-lovers who are happy to let the mountain do the talking.

And it’s a real crowd-pleaser. Laax has long been a supporter of freestyle skiing and snowboarding, with a great mountaintop park with features for all abilities, and the chilled-out Café NoName keeping everyone fed and entertained in the meantime. It’s no mistake that the Brits – the British Ski and Snowboard Championships – were held here annually for as long as anyone can remember, although they are moving to Tignes for 2013.

The resort is so good for freestyle that it’s often overlooked for its other strengths – a wide hillside of broad pistes perfect for the

beginner moving up a level, or intermediates who want to push their speed. And if the nothing-special village does bother you, nearby Flims has a much more traditional feel.

New tricks How about a first ski lift designed by Porsche?

After 80 years of making cars, something has inspired Porsche to turn their hands to ski lifts.

Unsurprisingly, the new six-seater lift looks comfortable, has nice lines and goes faster.

It also has solar-powered heated seats, which is pretty neat. MadDogSki tried out a Porsche sledge a few years ago, which was all form and no function. This is a significant step forward. >

Need to know Size 220km of piste Altitude 1,100m-3,020m Good for...

Mixed groups and freestylers Website laax.com SuperStock/Alamy

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Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations

The KiTzbühel Alps, AusTriA Kitzbühel kicked off proceedings in 1893, when local hero Franz Reisch brought a pair of skis back from Norway to see how they’d fare at home. They took off, and skiing became a staple of the brightly-painted medieval town. Vibrant après-ski rubs up against glamorous boutiques, while gourmet restaurants sit alongside the butcher’s shop – which has tables in the corner for a meaty snack. All bases covered, then – but did you know that Kitzbühel is just one part of the terrain on offer if you buy yourself an AllStarCard?

The AllStarCard brings together 1,081km of piste over countless resorts we don’t have room to list. It has been pointed out that 1,081km is about the distance from the Kitz Alps back to

32 | November 9 2012 |

London (as the crow flies), which rather puts it in perspective. The area is lower than anything else in our list, but there’s a magic microclimate going on thanks, they say, to high precipitation in the northwest orographic barrier. More than 4,000 snow cannons fill in the gaps.

The resorts aren’t all linked by lift, but for the keen explorer this unique association of a whole range should appeal. Try the TransKITZalp Tour, a ski route that runs from one edge of the area to the other, taking in 50km of pistes and 10 resorts. It can be done in a day if you take the bus back; but for a really memorable trip, take your toothbrush and stay the night at the Thurn Pass, before skiing back the following day.

New trick The SkiWelt, at 279km the largest joined-up area in the Kitz Alps, have set up a challenge this season. Using the code on your lift pass, the Skiline system can count how many kilometres you have skied, how many lifts you have used and how many vertical metres you’ve ticked off.

In Scheffau, meanwhile, there’s a Ski Movie route on which a camera pans alongside you, filming your graceful descent down the piste and over the finish line, to the slightly embarrassing sound of pre-recorded applause.

There’s also a timed speed run that flashes your time up on a screen, and on-piste wifi hotspots so you can monitor your Skiline stats. >

Need to know Size 1,081km of piste Altitude 620m-1,902m Good for...

Exploring a whole mountain range Websites kitzalps.com, allstarcard.at

Westend61/SuperStock

Massive on the piste

Winter Sports 2012 The Destinations

For more information on these resorts and many others, check out maddogski.com, an independent and opinionated website full of useful tips and tools to help you track down and then make the most of your ski holiday

SaaS-Fee, SwitzerlaNd Old favourite Saas-Fee, across the peaks to the east of Zermatt, will steal your heart. It’s as Swiss as they come, but without the fur-lined attitude of its neighbour. Wide-open pistes at a snowsure altitude and a fast and efficient lift system make skiing superb for all abilities: beginners will enjoy learning in a spectacular setting rather than in boring valley floors; intermediates can charge around the 140km of piste, and wide steeps off the top of Allalin; and experts can find great black runs, piste-side powder and ski touring routes.

The resort likes superlatives – take the highest mountain underground railway to the highest rotating restaurant, or check

34 | November 9 2012 |

out the world’s biggest ice grotto carved into the glacier. It’s just as lively in summer, too; the extensive glacier opens in July after a few weeks off after the winter season.

Go on a ski trip in summer or autumn for added Saas-Fee benefits, like the ballsy marmots that whistle like an old shepherd to scare you off – or bonkers village events such as mass yodelling, or cow fighting followed by a ceremony in which the winning cow is crowned Queen of Cows. Obviously.

New tricks Get the train to Switzerland – the holiday starts in St Pancras and feels luxuriously fitting of the

resort’s 19th-century tourist heritage. And this season the journey is made even easier as a new train route cuts out the nuisance transfer in Paris. From December, you can get a Saturday Eurostar to Lille instead, where a platform change is followed by a train that runs through all the valley stations. Leave London at 7am and you’ll be in resort in time for a pre-dinner kir royale. You can book now at raileurope.co.uk.

One more trick – with a bit of one-upmanship, Saas-Fee are offering wifi hotspots of your very own. You can rent a Swisscom Pocket Connect hotspot and connect to it with up to five devices. Then, when your holiday is done, just stick it back in its pack and into a postbox.

Need to know Size 140km of piste Altitude 1,800m-3,500m Good for...

Practical Swiss charm mixed with off-the-wall fun Website saas-fee.ch

age fotostock/Robert Harding

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Winter Sports 2012 The Brits

Winter babies With less than 18 months to go before the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics in sochi, we pick out five british athletes to keep an eye on as they bid to book their tickets to the russian coast

32, snowboard slopestyle “People in snowboarding enjoy watching the X Games as much as they would the Olympics, although if slopestyle came into the Olympics then great,” Jenny Jones told this very magazine two years ago.

“But if not then I’m not going to cry my eyes out or anything.”

Nine months later, Jones may well have been weeping tears of joy at the news that her beloved slopestyle had been confirmed as an Olympic sport for 2014. The two-time Winter X Games gold-medallist will be 33 by the time Sochi rolls around, and has a history of knee trouble, but she has openly talked of her desire to compete for Team GB on an Olympic stage. A new World Cup season begins in the States in January – assuming she has returned from her latest injury in time to make it, expect Jones to mean some serious business.

lizzy yarnold

24, skeleton With 2010 Olympic champion Amy Williams now retired, the 24-year-old Yarnold is the British skeleton racer most likely to step on to her shiny tray and keep the gold here in Blighty in 2014.

That may sound harsh on two-time European champion and former Olympic silver-medallist Shelley Rudman, who also happens to be the reigning World Cup holder. But Yarnold outperformed her more renowned teammate to win a bronze medal at this year’s World Championships at Lake Placid – and, perhaps more ominously, ran (or slid) away with the national trials in Germany only last week.

“I am on top form going into the World Cup,” said the former heptathlete after her routing of Rudman and the rest on the Winterberg track. “It will be extremely tough, but I can’t wait to test myself.”

James woods

20, ski slopestyle If Jones is the grand old lady carrying Team GB’s freestyle hopes to Sochi on a snowboard, then Woods – or ‘Woodsy’, as he likes to be known – is the cheeky little chappy doing exactly the same on skis.

The 20-year-old from Sheffield announced his arrival on the international freestyle scene with a bronze medal at the 2011 Winter X Games Europe in Tignes, but went way better when destroying the opposition to win a World Cup event in Ushuaia, Argentina in September.

“I went to Argentina with a goal,” he told the BBC in the wake of his victory, which helped secure him a whole bunch of points in his bid to qualify for Sochi. “I really wanted to prove to myself and the country that I’m here, and that I mean business.” The only male athlete on our list is definitely one to follow.

zoe GillinGs

27, snowboard-cross The only athlete on this page with Olympic experience, Gillings finished 15th in the first ever women’s snowboard-cross event in Turin six years ago. She rose seven places into eighth in Vancouver, and would happily take a similar improvement in Sochi in 2014 – when she will still only be 28.

The Isle of Man boarder begins the new year in fine form, too. After missing much of 2010 with injury, Gillings returned to her best in 2011-12, contesting no fewer than five of the eight finals at which she took aim across seven World Cup competitions and the Winter X Games in Alpen.

She ended her campaign ranked sixth in the world, and in March was named as one of a select group of elite athletes set to receive podium funding in the build-up to Sochi. With that support, a medal is by no means out of the question.

pam thorburn

26, ski-cross Began skiing in Schladming, Austria, at the age of three, and was good enough to win the Scottish Championships aged nine – it seemed nothing could stop Thorburn’s prodigious rise. But then, having failed to make selection for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver as an alpine skier, she made the big decision to switch codes and try her hand at the arguably more exciting discipline of ski-cross.

It has seemingly paid off, with her becoming the British ski-cross champion in only her third race; there is still a long way to go before the Scot achieves her dream of competing at the Olympics, but she is up for the fight.

“I love the whole head-tohead competition,” she told Sport in an interview you can read in full over the page. “That really spurs me on.” >

| November 9 2012 | 37

Julian Finney/Getty Images, AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Jeff McIntosh, Richard Bord/Getty Images, Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Jenny Jones

Winter Sports 2012 Pam Thorburn

New beginnings Trying something new can be daunting, particularly when it involves chucking yourself down a mountain. Just ask fledgling ski-crosser (and new British champion) Pam Thorburn...

M

ost people would take setting off the metal detectors at the airport because of the extent of the injuries they’d suffered as a sign that it’s time for a change of career.

But instead of swapping snow for safety, 26-year-old alpine skier Pam Thorburn decided to venture into an even more bone-threatening world: ski-cross.

The wintry cousin of BMX racing, ski-cross sees competitors launch themselves from a start gate and tear side by side down a course featuring jumps, rollers and other obstacles.

Thorburn, Britain’s number two alpine skier before she made the switch, is now British ski-cross champion. And, she tells Sport, she

38 | November 9 2012 |

has her eyes set on success in the Russian city of Sochi and the 2014 Winter Olympics.

So why did you decide to make the switch to ski-cross?

“I had a bit of a heartbreak after the last Olympics, with not being selected [for the alpine skiing team], so that was quite a big disappointment. After that, I did another season on the World Cup tour and got a real injury to my knee, so I decided I really wanted a change. I saw ski-cross and I wasn’t really sure if I was going to be any good at it or not, but I tried it and I loved it. I love the whole head-to-head competition – that really spurs me on.”

It’s fair to say you’ve adapted pretty well...

“I’m British champion this year – I can’t say British number one, because I haven’t done enough races. When I started in March, there were not very many races left in the season.

I became national champion in my third ever race – so that was quite good for me!”

How much has your previous experience helped you?

“There’s a lot of things that are very similar, and the alpine skiing background really helps in the turns. The biggest surprise I’ve found is the features – all the jumps and rollers.

They’re very new to me, and they make such a difference for the actual race. There’s a lot

“I became national champion in my third ever race, so that was quite good“

of time to be lost and gained with those, so that’s probably the biggest thing I’m working on learning.”

– I only did my first training on an actual course last week, and that was like the first time we had it [outside of competition].”

Do you get much chance to train? Ski-cross tracks must be quite hard to come by...

“The thing is, it’s tough for a ski resort to build a ski-cross track because the public can’t really use one that we can train on – the jumps are so big and it’s really like a full-on hardcore track. All the teams will go to the same three or four resorts that have a track.

Other than that, when you can’t train on an actual track you just have to train on the features like the rollers, and I do a lot of skiing in the parks on the big jumps. It’s tough

Presumably it’s the same for everyone?

“Yeah, but the big teams can kind of manage that better than I can – it’s very expensive to train on a track, but they can be based on one all year round. So, for that side of things, it’s a little different. I’m on a team of one right now – it’s me travelling with my coach, and ski-cross is obviously a sport where you’re racing against other people, so having training partners to push you and ski beside you is a big difference. It’s hard to simulate that race effect when you’re by yourself.”

The Olympics is the target – have you got a plan in place for qualification?

“That’s the goal this season. We have quite a lot of World Cup races, which are all for qualification this year. I have a plan. I’m not going to go in all guns blazing right at the very start of the season, because I think that would be stupid when I’m still kind of learning.

Everything seems to be going the right way now, and it’s amazing each time I get on snow how much better things get and how much more my confidence rises.”

Amit Katwala @amitkatwala For sponsorship opportunities with Pamela, contact sport@materialmc.co.uk or visit pamelathorburn.com

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand | 39

Winter Sports 2012 The Gear

Dakine’s first clothing collection is exclusive to Snow+Rock in the UK. Dakine Clutch Jacket £400 and Pant £340

Winter wonderland

A glorious season of snow awaits all ski and snowboard fans, but there’s no point in hitting this year’s slopes in last year’s gear. So we’ve partnered with Snow+Rock, the UK’s leading snowsports retailer, to bring you a round-up of all this season’s newest and coolest winter sports kit. And we’re out of the gates with the very best in skiwear...

40 | November 9 2012 |

Eider Tamos Jacket £400 Fernuy Pant £200 Smith I/O Goggle £159.99 Salomon BBR 10 Skis £575

Kjus Women’s Helium Jacket £940 and Revolution Pant £470

Kjus Men’s Formula Jacket £750 and Formula Pant £370

Hot products Recon Mod Live £320 A futuristic ‘James Bond’ type system that displays stats on a screen inside your goggle lens. View text messages, speed and altitude. Launched in Snow+Rock last season, this season it’s now compatible with iPhones and available in more goggles – including the exclusive Oakley Airwave (£500).

Salomon X Max Ski Boots, from £330 The next step in custom boot- fitting.

Their custom mouldable shell is now 360 degrees, and the boots incorporate Twin Frame and Max pivot technologies that work in harmony to offer an amazing on-snow experience. Salomon have just opened their first UK Brand Stores in Snow+Rock Croydon and Snow+Rock Chill Factore, where you can now find the largest range in the country.

To celebrate the launch, they’re offering a pair of their Max boots to one lucky reader. So, for your chance to win, head to sport-magazine.co.uk/ competitions, answer the simple question and let us know your boot size. Happy skiing!

WIN

| 41

Winter Sports 2012 The Gear

Backcountry skiing Salomon Guardian Binding £319.99 A new innovation that combines the brand’s renowned downhill performance with hike & ride technology. The Guardian has a hike/ ride switch to easily convert to climbing mode even with standard Alpine boots, but the main difference is the lower-profile chassis and wide footprint, making it ideal for wider skis on which power transfers and control are important.

Arc’teryx Women’s Sentinel Jacket £440 and Pant £350 Atomic Millennium Skis £525

Norrona Lofoten Gore-Tex Pro Shell Jacket £460 Norrona Lofoten Gore-Tex Pro Shell Pant £400

Hot products Ortovox Zoom £199.99 A new avalanche transceiver with digital 3 Smart Antenna.

K2 Pilchuck Kit £159.99 Complete with shovel and probe.

Black Diamond Compactor Poles £99.99 Every snowboarder’s friend! Folding poles for backcountry hiking.

42 | November 9 2012 |

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Winter Sports 2012 The Gear

Snowboarding

Thirty Two Shakedown Jacket £160 Thirty Two Blahzay Pant £170 Anon Helix Goggles £54.99 RIDE Buckwild Snowboard £400

Burton Women’s Delirium Jacket £170 Burton Women’s Fly Pant £160 Burton Lipstick Snowboard £395 Anon Haven Goggle £99.99 K2 Emphasis Helmet £84.99

Contact Snow+Rock: www.snowandrock.com 0845 100 1000 London and Southeast stores include: Covent Garden, Harrods, Kensington High Street, Kings Road, Monument, Victoria (The North Face)/Brighton, Chertsey, Croydon, Hemel Hempstead, Port Solent, Romford

Hot products Volcom CrossStone Jacket £170

GNU Impossible £750

Core snowboard clothing brand incorporating a distinctive mix of fashion and function.

Online only.

Uses magnesium strands in construction and has an asymmetric edge for easier carving and balance.

44 | November 9 2012 |

Anon M1 Goggles £179.99 This exciting goggle innovation uses magnets to make interchanging lenses a breeze.

hi-Fun Bluetooth Gloves Talk to the hand. Quite literally – these gloves connect to your phone via Bluetooth and have a microphone and speaker built into the thumb and little finger so you can answer calls without taking your phone out. Looking totally insane is a small price to pay for such convenience. £50 | firebox.com

Winter wizardry Brave the elements with our pick of the best ski gadgets under £100 to take with you to the slopes this season

Talus ColdAvenger Darth Vader probably doesn’t ski much, given that he destroyed most of the resorts on Hoth, but if he did he’d keep his face warm with the ColdAvenger range.

It mixes cold air coming in with the warm air you’ve breathed out, to keep things comfortable.

Range from £60 | langtoninfo.co.uk

Oregon Scientific ATC3K Action Cam Clip it to your helmet, tape your skiing prowess and bore family members. This shockproof cam can tape up to two hours of action – although if it takes you that long to get down, it’s probably not something you want to share... £50 | oregon scientific.com

Heated Gloves These could prove pretty handy if you find yourself with frozen fingers on the slopes. Thanks to an inbuilt heating element, they’ll heat up your extremities to a toasty 33 degrees. Your move, frostbite. £30 | firebox.com

46 | November 9 2012 |

Skullcandy Cassette If you’re desperate for some musical accompaniment while you tear up the piste and don’t want to risk your safety by carrying a boombox on one shoulder, these are perfect. The earpieces are detachable, so you can slip them into your ski helmet or beanie. £50 | skullcandy.com

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Chilling out

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Men’s AtlAs triCliMAte JACket £199.99 The Atlas Triclimate is fully featured for comfort and performance on wintry walks across the fells of upland Britain. HyVent™ fabric is waterproof, breathable and seamsealed. Removable fleece inner jacket delivers warmth and versatility.

Colour TNF Red/Black Sizes S–XXL

Men’s el norte JACket £279.99 The El Norte is a heavy-duty weather fortress with a waterproof HyVent™ outer and bolstered down fill that will protect you from the elements when the north wind blows.

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| 49

Starter for 10

With the first 10 rounds of Premier League games gone, we reveal 10 crucial things we’ve learned from the 2012-13 season so far

1

Claude Makelele iS no More Not in the physical sense – the former Chelsea midfielder is fit and well, as far as we know – but the ’Makelele role’ he made famous continues to wane.

Having a minimum of one midfield spoiler who sits in front of the defence and wins back possession was de rigueur for the Premier League’s top teams for a time. But Manchester United have shown no desire to replace Owen Hargreaves or the long-absent Darren Fletcher, continuing to play cultured, deep-lying playmakers such as Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley or a withdrawn Paul Scholes in front of the back four.

Manchester City, regularly accused of being conservative last season, have offloaded destroyer-inchief Nigel De Jong, while Chelsea’s supposed enforcer John Obi Mikel seems to have licence to get forward this season. Tottenham have also, in the absence of Scott Parker, regularly played the skilful Moussa Dembélé as their deepest-lying midfielder. This shift in midfield balance may offer less protection for defences – but it’s making for some goal-filled clashes between the Prem’s big guns.

2

fergie’S fantaSy payS off With Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck and a plethora of attacking midfielders on Manchester United’s books, some were surprised that Sir Alex Ferguson chose to invest the biggest chunk of his summer transfer budget in another striker (and an injury-prone, 29-year-old one at that). But Fergie has shown what all good Football Manager competitors have long known: when a ‘worldy’ (one of the world’s best players) becomes available, you sign him up without hesitation.

Robin van Persie has thrived with eight crucial goals in 10 Premier League games for his new club, already looking £24m very well spent. Arsenal, who took a two-for-one approach of signing two inferior, if younger, players in Olivier Giroud and Lucas Podolski, have inevitably missed the focal point that the Dutchman gave their attack.

4

CHelSea’S tHree aMigoS leave HoleS Adding the talents of Eden Hazard and Oscar to a squad already containing Juan Mata seemed like a surplus of attacking flair. However thanks to Roberto di Matteo’s big, brass cojones, the trio have regularly started matches together – and each has shone.

It’s the reason why Chelsea have been so thrilling to watch – but behind them, problems are emerging.

Fitting all three into the same team means Chelsea can be vulnerable – especially on the flanks, where cover in front of Branislav Ivanovic and Ashley Cole has been lacking. In learning how to attack in a new way, it seems Chelsea have forgotten how to defend. The balance may have to shift as their push for the title goes on. >

| November 9 2012 | 51

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

3

Mark HugHeS’ pantS are on fire “This club will never be in this situation again while I’m with the club,” said Mark Hughes in the aftermath of QPR’s relegation scrap last season.

Unfortunately, Rangers’ performances so far this season – which have garnered the team just four points from 10 games – have made Hughes’ promise thus far fraudulent. He has a world-class goalkeeper in Julio Cesar (right), but the Brazil international appears unnerved by the level of defending – and we use the term loosely – in front of him. Disorganisation in attack and defence, plus too many players on champagne money giving lemonade performances, are QPR’s problems. And those are faults for which the gaffer often takes the rap. Hughes is in serious trouble.

Premier League

“keeP your WidoW tWanky or your christoPher biggins. the Premier League has a great Panto viLLain”

5

Luis suarez is irresistibLe He’s not clinical enough. He scores special goals. He moans at the ref. He’s denied legitimate penalties. He runs past defenders. He dives over their challenges. He chucks himself around in celebration. Last season’s ban for racial abuse disgraced Luis Suarez and overshadowed everything he did on the pitch, but this year we’ve just been able to concentrate on watching him play – and he’s been pure box office. Keep your Widow Twanky or your Christopher Biggins, the Premier League has a great panto villain.

Good or bad, we can’t take our eyes off Suarez.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images, Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images

6

sunderLand need a PLan b Martin O’Neill’s strategy in signing Steven Fletcher made sense: keep the powerful Scotland striker busy via a steady supply of crosses from the flanks. However, while Fletcher scored five early goals, his supply lines have dried up due to James McClean’s and Adam Johnson’s unimpressive form on the wings. Neither has been able to regularly get into crossing positions. With a meagre six league goals this season, the Black Cats need an alternative attacking plan – fast. A return to form for the mercurial Stephane Sessegnon, at times so brilliant last season but so far disappointing this time, cannot come quickly enough.

7

saints on course for 104 A quarter of the way through their Premier League games and Southampton had conceded a whopping 26 goals in nine games. Keep up this rate and they’ll have let in 104 goals by the end of the season – easily breaking the 38-game Premier League record held by hapless Derby, a team who finished bottom with 11 points in 2007-08. Even they conceded only 89.

52 | November 9 2012 |

8

big sam is Premier cLass West Ham were the third best team in the Championship last season. They also lost three matches and drew one against the other promoted sides, Reading and Southampton. Yet now the trio are in the Premier League, the boot is on the other foot – and it’s Big Sam who’s doing the kicking (probably up to a big man in what he likely calls ‘the mixer’).

Allardyce is easy to pigeonhole as a caricature; a burly, route-one gaffer who stays up late pleasuring himself over ProZone stats and occasionally prankcalling Arsene Wenger. All of that may be true, but he’s an extremely adept Premier League manager.

He performed wonders at Bolton, did a decent job at Blackburn and now that he’s hauled West Ham up, they look the most organised and capable of the promoted teams. The Hammers have shown enough to suggest they’ll finish this season safely clear of the relegation struggle – and they have their manager to thank.

9

La Liga saLe is on We all know that British players are overpriced, but what this season has further illustrated is the comparative bargains that are to be had from La Liga. Santi Cazorla looks Arsenal’s best player and, at £16.5m, the Spanish international cost less than Liverpool paid for Stewart Downing or Jordan Henderson in 2011. Meanwhile, midfielder Michu has netted six goals in 10 games and cost Swansea just £2m – less than a fifth of the price that West Ham paid for Matt Jarvis this summer. With his Swansea teammate Chico Flores and Wigan’s Ivan Ramis also settling in well, it’s likely that Radamel Falcao won’t be the only La Liga star Premier League clubs will be eyeing up in the January sales.

10

footbaLL takes the faLL for racism So it turns out that everyone in football is (allegedly) a whopping racist: players, fans, officials, T-shirts (we should probably throw a couple more ‘allegedlys’ in there to cover ourselves, because clearly that isn’t quite true). Of course, it’s actually a serious – and seriously depressing – matter that accusations of racism have reared their head with startling regularity in 2012. However, piously blaming the amorphous concept of ‘football’ doesn’t entirely make sense.

Obviously the Premier League, FA, fans and clubs need to examine what’s happened and do much more to fight discrimination in all forms. However, kicking a ball around a pitch – or going to watch people do this – doesn’t make you a racist.

Football is the country’s national game. As such, it’s a mirror that reflects undercurrents of feeling that are already present in society.

Football doesn’t create them, it’s just a high-pressure channel through which ignorant or ugly feelings that are already present reveal themselves.

And, frankly, that’s a far more horrific thought than the game itself somehow being entirely at fault.

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Chris Robshaw

“we’re facing some of the best teams in the world in the coming weeks – what better way to prove how far we’ve come?”

54 | November 9 2012 |

Forward thinking england kick off their autumn series of fixtures against a physical fiji side tomorrow. for captain chris robshaw, the next four weeks look set to represent his toughest test to date in international rugby

t

it probably blew us away a bit in the first 15-20 minutes, when we gave South Africa a lead. Once they led, they closed it out well, and that intensity and professionalism is something we can learn from. It was something we hadn’t experienced before, and it’s about taking all these little things and hopefully bringing them into our own game. We know we’re going to have to learn quickly, because we’ll need four different gameplans in the next four weekends – all these sides bring different threats.“

separate challenge, because the four sides we’re facing are so different. It’s about breaking the opposition down and being a bit more scientific to find their weaknesses, learn how to defend, and work out a gameplan to defeat some of the best sides in the world.

You want to win every game as a player, of course you do, but it’s all about an end goal – and we’re building to the World Cup.“

happy with the outcome of the tour?

uu “Yeah, it’s massive being involved in rugby right now. Just look at the lift the Olympics and the Paralympics gave everyone recently – and the next major sporting event in England is the Rugby World Cup, so to be able to be part of something like that is huge.

We want to get youngsters playing more as well, and make it something big for the next generation.“

uu “It was good to finish with a draw, but we obviously went there to win a tour and we didn’t manage that. There are a huge amount of positives to take from it, which we can. Hopefully we can get a bit of revenge with our home crowd behind us.“

o clumsily paraphrase Harold Wilson, a year is a long time in international rugby.

Just ask Chris Robshaw. This time a mere 12 months ago, the Harlequins man watched from afar as English rugby stumbled through a post-World Cup crisis, with players falling over themselves to announce their retirement and a coach whose grip on the job seemed to have slipped.

Fast-forward 12 months, however, and the shiny new shirt England will sport when they take to the field against Fiji tomorrow is not the only difference down Twickenham way.

Head coach Stuart Lancaster has rebuilt the national team, reinjecting a sense of pride and passion along the way – and Chris Robshaw is the man at the centre of his plans.

Having been picked by Lancaster to front his revolution, Robshaw led England to within a blade of grass of Six Nations glory before returning to his club side Harlequins to inspire them to their first ever Premiership title.

He then travelled to South Africa to captain England against the two-time world champions. Not a bad year, then – but Robshaw has never been one to rest on his laurels. With World Cup pools to be drawn in December, victories are the priority over the next four weeks – and the inspirational flanker is ready to lead from the front once more.

in the second test in south africa, the backs seemed to start being a bit more creative. is that something we can look forward to from this side?

how has your year with england been?

and the world cup is on english soil, of course. how important does that make home games between now and 2015?

uu “Busy! It’s been a great experience, and there are obviously a lot of highs and a lot we need to learn from. The good thing is we’re a young team, and we can look back and say we’ve all played a season of international rugby. We can take that experience forward to face the big four southern-hemisphere sides now – that’s exciting in its own right.“

how do you think the team handled playing in south africa?

uu “I think a lot of us hadn’t played in that kind of atmosphere before – in particular at Ellis Park. The atmosphere was incredible and

uu “We probably played it a bit safe at times in the Six Nations, because we were such a new team and it takes a bit of time for combinations to work. We’ve been together longer now, and we know each other’s games, so hopefully we can be more creative. It takes time to learn whether certain players step before contact, look to offload or run hard. It’s these little things that we were slowly starting to learn come the end of the summer – so hopefully we will take it on another step in the next few weeks.“

how big are these four games?

uu “Massive. I’m sure everyone knows that these games count towards the rankings for the World Cup – and the pools are drawn in December, so these aren’t just meaningless games. Victory or defeat will mean a harder or an easier pool come 2015, so it’s a huge challenge. Besides all that, we want to be perceived as a good national side, and we’re facing some of the best teams in the world in the next few weeks. What better way to prove how far we’ve come?“

obviously the world cup is still three years away, but how exciting is it to be part of this young squad right now?

and, of course, it’s the lions tour next year. is that something on your mind?

uu “Every player wants to play for the Lions, so of course it’s at the back of our minds that it’s a Lions year. But that’s still over half a season away, and there’s a lot of rugby yet to play. There’s so much going on at the moment that you can’t think about that. We just all have to focus on our game and keep playing well.“ Mark Coughlan @coffers83 The new England Rugby Kit from Canterbury is out now. Visit canterbury.com/england

“we probably played it a bit safe at times in the six nations – hopefully we can now be a bit more creative”

uu “Yeah, of course it’s important. But we want to win our home games anyway. We’ve made no secret about where we want to be by the World Cup and what we want to achieve, and the honeymoon period is over.

It’s just about results now – we need to go out there and start achieving them.“

have you set a target for the autumn internationals, then?

uu “I know it sounds like a cliché, but it literally is about taking each game as a

| 55

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Steven Finn Middlesex man of a likely starting place alongside Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad in the England pace attack – but the fact is that, since that Sri Lanka game in early June 2011, Finn has featured in only four of 16 Test matches for his country.

“I made my international debut in Test cricket and was almost pigeonholed as a Test cricketer for the first 12 months of my career,“ reflects Finn in an interview with Sport. “Now I’ve developed my limited-overs skills and variations, and become a better bowler in one-day and Twenty20 cricket without nailing down that Test spot. Obviously that’s something that is high on my agenda of things to do, because Test cricket is what you want to be playing.

I mean, I love playing Twenty20 and one-day cricket, but playing Test cricket for your country is on a whole different level.“

Waiting S game Injury looks set to rule Steven Finn out of next week’s first Test against India, but England’s giant paceman is still looking to make his mark – both on this tour and in a big year of cricket to come

eventeen months ago, against Sri Lanka at Lord’s, the then 22-year-old Steven Finn became the youngest English cricketer in history to take 50 Test wickets. It was a record he inherited from the greatest of all his predecessors, Sir Ian Botham, and rounded off a perfect six-month period in which he had contributed in no small measure to England’s historic Ashes win in Australia. This, it seemed, was a young cricketer going places – and fast.

Yet, with England set to begin one of the toughest series in Test cricket – away in India – next Thursday, Finn’s involvement looks set to be restricted to an all-too familiar role of recent times: watching from the sidelines.

A thigh strain picked up in the first warm-up game of the current tour has robbed the

Standing 6ft 7ins, Finn offers a brand of pace and bounce no one else in the current England squad can match, and would seem to be ideally set up for Test cricket.

His recently developed habit of flicking the stumps on his way through his bowling action infuriates some, but it is his economy rate that many identify as the reason he is yet to become an England Test regular.

“I suppose when I started, I was a little bit expensive,“ he admits. “But I still managed to take wickets, which is probably what kept me in the team. I mean, my economy rate in Tests [3.66] isn’t terrible – but it’s not great either. I set myself very high standards, and it’s probably not up to scratch by those standards. But I’ve proved in the past 18 months, when I’ve played limited-overs cricket for England, that my economy rate has been as good as anyone’s. I think I go at 4.67 runs an over in one-day internationals, and my T20 rate is okay as well [he’s right – it’s 6.70] – and there’s no reason why I can’t transfer that into Test cricket.

“The criticism of my knack of leaking runs hasn’t been unfair, but I was young at the time and I’d back myself now to be able to hold an end up and not give away as many runs. I feel like I’ve learned and developed a lot over the last 18 months – hopefully, if I get a chance in the Test team in India, I can show people and prove them wrong.“ Finn is an affable character whose laid-back demeanour and penchant for drifting into chats about his beloved Football Manager make it easy to miss the ambition that burns within. Ask him whether he would like to take the new ball for England, however, and it soon becomes clear.

“The guys who have opened the bowling for the past two or three years have been exceptional,“ he says. “Broady and Jimmy have both been brilliant, so I think it would be hard for me to knock either of them off their perch. I’m not saying it’s not something I’m aspiring to, though, because I’ve enjoyed taking the new ball in one-day and T20 cricket – and it’s something I’ve done for Middlesex since I was 18 or 19 years old. >

| November 9 2012 | 57

Stu Forster/Getty Images

False economy

Steven Finn

“It would be nice to say I was the last person to take Tendulkar’s wicket in Tests – definitely something to tell the grandkids, but that’s a long way off yet” It’s something I’m accustomed to and really enjoy, but I just have to make sure I’m fit and ready for whatever the team needs me to do.“

ConTrollEd AggrEssIon

A nEw brEEd If Finn is the coming man in England’s bowling attack, then the 24-year-old Virat Kohli is his equivalent in the Indian batting line-up. It’s no surprise to discover that the two are already well acquainted. “Kohli is an exceptional player and he always has been,“ smiles Finn. “We’ve been playing against each other since we were 17, and even then it was obvious that he was an excellent batsman. He already has a very good record in Test cricket, and an even better one in one-dayers – but he’s not

Steven Finn is an ambassador for Graham watches – see graham-london.com. Turn to page 62 for our match preview of England’s first Test against India

09

In 68 innings as an international bowler (31 Test, 24 ODI, 13 T20), Finn has ended wicketless in only nine

Gareth Copley/Getty Images, Andrew Yates/AFP/GettyImages

The mighty Finn: dismissing Jacques Kallis in the third Test against South Africa at Lord’s in August, and (right) taking on the West Indies at Edgbaston in June

Recovering from the aforementioned thigh strain is number one on that particular list, because a fit and firing Finn could prove quite the handful for a transitional Indian batting line-up.

“I’ve always enjoyed bowling on subcontinent pitches because you need a different set of skills – and I think that suits me,“ he says.

“You need to be able to reverse-swing the ball, your changes of angles on the crease are important, and having that bit of pace also helps on those sorts of wickets.

“There’s definitely room for aggression, too. We saw that India struggled with the short ball when they came over to England last summer, and just because the wickets are slower there’s no reason why you can’t still use it. Aggression is a very big part of how we bowl as a unit – not words or sledging, but in the way you bowl the ball and your body language. That’s why I used to love watching Glenn McGrath so much.“

Finn is not the first England bowler to call out the Australian great as his hero – Stuart Broad did so in an interview ahead of the recent World Twenty20 – but he also reserves special mention for a current teammate.

“I’ve been lucky enough to share a lot of time with Jimmy [Anderson] in the dressing room, and he’s a great person to speak to,“ he reveals. “I think he sees a bit of me in him when he was younger, but he’s been there, done it and experienced exactly what I have in the early part of my career. I’m lucky to have people like him around me to help me through tougher times.“

invincible, and we have a very good track record when it comes to getting the big men out.“ On which note, how does Finn feel about the prospect of bowling at the great Sachin Tendulkar in what many are suggesting could be the little master’s final Test series?

“There’s been talk of that, but we’ll see how it goes,“ he says. “The bloke averages 55 in Test cricket and obviously still loves the game; it’d be a shame to see him on the downward slope, but you can’t play the man – you have to play only the batsman in front of you, no matter what his name is. It would be nice to say I was the last person to take Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket in Tests – definitely something to tell the grandkids, but that’s a long way off yet.“ In the more immediate future, Finn admits more than a passing interest in playing in the IPL – but only if his schedule allows. “Playing for England is something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid, and that’s my number-one priority,“ he affirms. “The IPL is exciting and would be a great tournament to play in, but only when the time is right. I’d never do anything to compromise my chances when it comes to playing for England – especially in the next 12 months, when he have a tour to New Zealand, a Champions Trophy and huge back-to-back Ashes series.

“I feel as though I’ve had a good year and made strides from where I was last year, but I’m still a long way from where I want to be.

I want to be a regular in the Test side for all those big games – hopefully I can sit here this time next year having achieved that.“ Tony Hodson @tonyhodson1

58 | November 9 2012 |

Advertising Feature

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John Willcox provided the most compelling evidence that the greens were on the quick side: when two putts would have qualified him for the last six, he was still wielding the flat stick five blows later... needless to say, the putter was given the ‘treatment’.

The 24 players making the final were quickly whittled down to firstly 12, then six and finally the three who played out a six-hole final for all the glory and bragging rights that accompany the title of London’s Best Golfer.

The first to secure his place in the final was Tony Moss, who is widely recognised as one of the finest players in the indoor game.

Silky-swinging scratch handicapper Sam Maloney came into the final with serene progress followed by Liam Gallagher, who until now had a round of 70 in a club medal at Royal North Devon in 2004 as his finest achievement to date.

The third hole of the final (the 9th at Pebble Beach) proved to be decisive as all three players missed the green, leaving the opportunity for any one of them to get up and down and take advantage. It was a clumsy chip by Maloney, which caught a slope and sped across the green and down a cliff, that

T

proved to be the big moment – and resulted in a triple-bogey seven as Gallagher moved into a two-stroke lead.

On the final tee, Gallagher enjoyed a huge slice of luck. His drive went left and perilously close to the ocean, somehow ricocheting off the rocks and back into play! As all three players negotiated the final hole in steady fashion, the stage was set for Liam to two-putt for glory. As he did so, he held back the tears and punched the air in delight, in the process securing his place in the history books as London’s Best Golfer 2012.

Liam managed to gather himself and silence the galleries who had enjoyed more than their share of Asahi Beer on offer in the evening, to deliver words of praise to his fellow competitors and the sponsors, stopping short at thanking the greenkeeper.

Thankfully, for many of those who didn’t make the grade with their playing ability, we also had a draw to reveal London’s Luckiest Golfer. This turned out to be a near hysterical Matt Penn, who may also win the title of London’s Least Trusting Golfer as he took much convincing that it wasn’t a prank call!

Congratulations to both Liam and Matt, who will each be taking a friend on the dream trip provided by Pebble Beach Resorts (return flights, accommodation at the Lodge at Spanish Bay, rounds of golf at Pebble Beach, Spanish Bay and Spyglass). Like us, you will be very jealous indeed and making a concerted effort to either play better or be luckier next year.... we’ve cornered the horseshoe market, so you’ll have to try something else!

Swing when you’re winning: victor Liam Gallagher

www.urbangolf.co.uk | 59

7 Days

NOVHIGHLIGHTS 9-NOV 15 » Cricket: India v England – 1st Test » p62 » Boxing: Klitschko v Wach » p62 » Football: Premier League Preview» p64 » Rugby Union: England v Fiji » p66 » Football: Lazio v Roma » p67

OUR PICK OF THE ACTION FROM THE SPORTING WEEK AHEAD

The Power remains on

584,100 Pounds won by Phil Taylor this year. Some may say he’s not the player he was, but nobody has won more in 2012

60 | November 9 2012 |

Like most tournaments on the PDC schedule, the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts has become an annual benefit for Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor. Five times it has been contested, and four times Taylor has walked away with the crown. The shock came in 2010, when he was defeated by moustachioed maestro Steve ‘The Bronzed Adonis’ Beaton in the last eight.

The Grand Slam is one of the rare events on the PDC calendar when players from its rival, the British Darts Organisation, are invited. Taylor has shown, though, that he is happy to annihilate anyone who comes up against him, wherever they’re from.

And as ever, he will start this tournament as a warm favourite. He has four wins to his

name this year, although for what feels like the first time since darts was invented, he has contested just as many tournaments where he has not emerged as champion. That might give a sliver of hope to his opponents – but, in truth, the averages don’t lie: now 52, Taylor has still played some of the best darts of his life in 2012 and remains the man to beat.

Four men have emerged as the chasing pack. Reigning world champion Adrian ‘Jackpot’ Lewis, brilliant Dutch youngster Michael van Gerwen, James Wade and the Australian Simon Whitlock, who won this year’s European Championship.

Of those, van Gerwen is perhaps the man most likely, having scooped the PDC World Grand Prix last month and followed that with victory at the Players Championship last weekend. He’s in form, then. Whether that’s enough to see off the perennial Power remains quite another thing altogether.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

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7 Days ThURSDAY > CRICKET | INDIA v ENGLAND: 1ST TEST | SARDAR PATEL STADIUM, AHMEDABAD | SKy SPORTS 1 4AM

Cook leads KP reintegration Alastair Cook does not seem the type to be fazed by a challenge. That’s good, because he has one on his non-sweaty hands next week: his first series as full-time Test captain begins and it’s away from home, on the subcontinent pitches where England struggle.

On top of that, England have had a poor 2012 (three Test wins in 11 matches), plus he also has a new opening partner – in all likelihood Nick Compton – to help bed in.

The more headline-grabbing story of Kevin Pietersen’s ‘reintegration’ is less of a concern. KP has a good record against India and, keen to impress his his IPL paymasters – sorry, we mean keen to impress the ECB – he’s a good bet to be England’s

top run-scorer. The man most likely to do the same for India is the sensational Virat Kohli, who looks every inch the emerging superstar.

At the top of the order, however, India are creaking. It’s been more than two years since either opener, Virender Sehwag or Gautam Gambhir, scored a Test century, and they could be vulnerable to England’s pace attack.

Spin, however, is often key on slow Indian pitches. How England’s batsmen handle the turn duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha could decide the series.

Previous experience suggests lots of attempted sweep shots, a mournful glance at the umpire, then the trudge back to the pavilion. We shall see.

62.15

Kevin Pietersen’s Test average against India – his highest against any nation apart from Bangladesh

SATURDAY BOXING | WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO v MARIUSZ WACH | O2 WORLD ARENA, HAMBURG | ESPN 10PM

Klitschko fighting on

Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images, Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images

Just weeks after his trainer of almost a decade, the legendary Emanuel Steward, passed away, Wladimir Klitschko (58-3, 50 KOs) is putting his world heavyweight titles on the line against Polish-born giant Mariusz Wach (27-0, 15 KOs).

After 16 fights unbeaten with Steward in his corner, Klitschko was understandably rocked by the sad news. “I will miss our time together,” he said. “The long talks about boxing, the world and life itself. Most of all, I will miss our friendship.”

Fulfilling Steward’s role at ringside on Saturday will be 30-year-old American heavyweight Johnathon Banks, who’s more used to trading blows with the world champ than directing them. One of Klitschko’s sparring partners, Banks is preparing for his own fight on November 17 against Seth Mitchell in Atlantic City. He is, however, well versed in Steward’s ways, having

62 | November 9 2012 |

come up through the ranks at the trainer’s own Kronk Gym in Detroit.

It’s Klitschko’s first return to Hamburg since he dethroned David Haye there in 2011, but in Wach he faces an entirely different physical prospect. “He is extremely dangerous because his size and his range is greater than mine,” said Klitschko of his 6ft 7½ins challenger.

Of Wach’s 15 knockouts, seven have come in his past seven fights, backing up the view that the big man has finally learned how to make his size count. One of those was against Ireland’s Kevin McBride last summer, in what was arguably Wach’s first real test – and one he passed with flying colours. He knocked McBride out cold in the fourth round with a straight right.

If Klitschko is mentally right, his experience should be enough to see him through. If he’s not, Wach might just be big enough to take advantage.

7 Days

Premier League

Sunday chelseA v liverpool stAMford bridge | sky sports 1 4pM

There were goals galore when Man City met Tottenham last season, but just the one would please either team this time Sunday MAN city v totteNhAM | etihAd stAdiuM sky sports 1 1.30pM

Out of four meetings between these sides last season, it was Liverpool who fared better, winning three - a tally including both Premier League fixtures. But that was when the likes of Maxi Rodriguez and Andy Carroll were helping out with the goals. Now, manager Brendan Rodgers is counting down the days to the opening of the January transfer window, when he can bring in another pair of goalscoring feet to add to those of Luis Suarez – which secured a 1-1 draw against Newcastle last weekend. Goals have also been a concern for Chelsea, who have failed to keep a clean sheet in their past six games. But with John Terry available again after his four-match ban, Roberto di Matteo will hope to draw a line under that statistic on Sunday.

Feeling blue

Saturday ArseNAl v fulhAM | eMirAtes stAdiuM | 3pM

A few days after putting their Champions League hopes on the line, Manchester City will look to prove they’re still title contenders at domestic level. Sunday’s visit of Tottenham comes on the back of disappointing results for both teams last weekend, with City dropping two points at West Ham and Spurs suffering a shock defeat at home to Wigan.

Neither side managed to score a single goal, either, with two disgruntled strikers being pulled off far too early for their liking.

Jermain Defoe stormed down the tunnel at White Hart Lane after being swapped for Emmanuel Adebayor with the game 57 minutes old, while Roberto Mancini was on the receiving end of a Mario Balotelli death stare after he hooked the fiery Italian with 20 minutes left at Upton Park.

Of the two decisions, it was that of Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas which was most baffling – the home crowd greeting Defoe’s exit with jeers of frustration. Having blasted City’s best chance to get on the scoresheet over the bar from all of six yards out,

64 | November 9 2012 |

however, Balotelli’s early exit was perhaps more easily explained.

City’s goal tally of 18 is some way short of the 36 they’d notched after the first 10 games of last season. In a move to remedy that, Mancini boldly opted for an unfamiliar front three of Balotelli, Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez at the Boleyn Ground. Considering the result, it would be no surprise to see him revert to type on Sunday.

Villas-Boas, on the other hand, is unlikely to change his tactics and field former City man Adebayor alongside Defoe. However they line up, both managers will demand more from their forwards. A five-goal thriller – like last year’s 3-2 here – would remedy the drought.

7

Their goalless draw with West Ham last weekend was the first time in almost seven months the champions failed to score in a game

Thomas Vermaelen scored at both ends in this fixture last season, but the way this term is going for the Arsenal captain, he’s likely to repeat only half of that on Saturday. The Belgian is not enjoying his best form of late, with his slip at Old Trafford last weekend clinically punished by Robin van Persie three minutes into the Gunners’ 2-1 defeat. In Fulham, they face a side unbeaten in four games and on a high after stealing a point from Everton last time out, despite having been on the back foot for much of the game. With Arsenal suffering their worst start to a season under Arsene Wenger, and seemingly with one of their worst ever players involved (yes Andre Santos, we’re looking at you), a bad result on Saturday could leave Arsenal drifting dangerously far from the top four.

David Moyes was furious with his side for dropping two points at Fulham last weekend, which doesn’t bode well for Sunderland’s chances on Saturday. The Mackems were beaten at home by Aston Villa last time out, leaving them with just one win in their past 17 matches.

They’ve also registered an average of one shot on target per game in their past three – suggesting things aren’t about to get much better, either.

saturday WIGAN v West brom dW stAdIum | 3pm

After a run of three defeats in September, Wigan are now looking at a potential hat- trick of wins, having beaten West Ham and Spurs on the bounce in the league. Roberto Martinez will have to get his tactics right again against West Brom – fifth in the league and back to winning ways after two defeats to late goals with Monday’s win against Southampton. The Baggies are, thus far, the surprise package of the season.

saturday reAdING v NorWIch mAdejsKI stAdIum | 3pm

Having picked up seven points from their past three league games, Norwich are piling the pressure on the likes of Reading, who are still without a league win this season. Brian McDermott’s side won a hard-earned point at QPR last weekend, but are desperately in need of the boost a first win would give them. Last time they met at the Madejski, this game ended 3-3, with a penalty and sending off; so don’t dismiss this as dull just yet.

saturday AstoN vIllA v mAN utd | vIllA pArK espN 5.30pm

What better way to follow the high of your first away win in 14 league games since January than with a visit from Manchester United? We can think of plenty actually, but at least United are struggling in front of goal at the moment – according to their manager, that is. Sir Alex Ferguson bemoaned his side’s wastefulness after they scored just twice against Arsenal to go top of the table last weekend. Rubbish, eh?

saturday southAmptoN v sWANseA | st mAry’s | 3pm

The continuing positivity from Saints boss Nigel Adkins is admirable, but also a bit sad. You wonder what he can do to arrest a run of eight defeats in 10, in which his side has conceded 28 goals – equalling the worst ever at this stage in the Premier League. Still, history is on their side this weekend: Swansea haven’t won at Southampton since 1953.

They’ve only played each other eight times in that period, but still – it all helps.

sunday NeWcAstle v West hAm st jAmes’ pArK | 3pm

Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll will look to get one over on their old team on Sunday, when the Hammers go to St James’ Park.

Nolan was on the scoresheet for Newcastle in their past two meetings with West Ham – most recently scoring the third in the Magpies’ 5-0 thrashing of the London club in January 2011.

But that was pre-Big Sam – they’re a tougher team to beat these days, as last Saturday’s draw with Man City proved.

saturday stoKe v qpr brItANNIA stAdIum | 3pm

There’s not a whole lot of positivity around this one. A combined record of only one league win, and with both sides having hit the back of the net just eight times each so far this season, reflects the fact the Potters have drawn the majority of their games, and QPR are clearly struggling. Tony Pulis’ side is yet to lose at home, though, so he will be confident of at least a point. QPR’s wait for a first victory is surely set to go on.

Premier League table 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

P Man Utd 10 Chelsea 10 Man City 10 Everton 10 West Brom 10 Tottenham 10 Arsenal 10 Fulham 10 West Ham 10 Newcastle 10 Swansea 10 Liverpool 10 Wigan 10 Norwich 10 Stoke 10 Sunderland 9 Aston Villa 10 Reading 9 QPR 10 Southampton10

W 8 7 6 4 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 2 3 2 1 1 2 0 0 1

88

D 0 2 4 5 2 2 3 3 3 5 3 5 2 4 6 6 3 5 4 1

L 2 1 0 1 3 3 3 3 3 2 4 3 5 4 3 2 5 4 6 8

F 26 22 18 19 15 17 15 21 13 12 15 13 11 8 8 6 8 12 8 14

A 14 10 9 13 11 14 8 16 11 14 14 15 16 18 10 9 14 18 19 28

Pts 24 23 22 17 17 17 15 15 15 14 12 11 11 10 9 9 9 5 4 4

Liverpool have fired in more shots off target than any other team in the Premier League

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All pictures Getty Images

saturday evertoN v suNderlANd GoodIsoN pArK | 3pm

7 Days SUNDAY RUGBY LEAGUE | AUTUMN INTERNATIONAL: ENGLAND v FRANCE | CITY OF SALFORD STADIUM | BBC TwO 5PM

WEDNESDAY FOOTBALL | SwEDEN v ENGLAND | FRIENDS ARENA | ITV1 7.30PM

No sweat for England If last week’s clash between these two is anything to go by, this should be a walk in the park for England. France proved stiffer opposition than the Welsh a week earlier, but the 44-6 scoreline suggests they will have to improve massively if they are to trouble an impressive England side.

Three tries from centre Kallum Watkins (left) suggest he will be a starter when the World Cup kicks off in 12 months, and young props Lee Mossop and Chris Hill announced their arrivals on the international stage with performances strong enough to challenge the old guard.

France were disrupted early on in the game when full-back Cyril Stacul ended up in hospital after a high tackle from Gareth Ellis. They also lost back-row forward Gregory Mounis to injury in the second half – leaving both players as serious doubts for this Sunday’s meeting.

Skipper Olivier Elima was magnificent in fronting a losing cause at Hull, putting in some huge hits and carrying the ball with real purpose.

If France are to have any chance at all, he will need his teammates to follow his example in Salford.

Old friends Christmas may still be 46 days away, but on Wednesday Sweden will be pulling the gift-wrap off their brand new national stadium, the nauseatingly named Friends Arena, to welcome England in the inaugural game, an international friendly.

Appropriately, given the name of the venue, the two countries have been well acquainted in the past few years – most recently at Euro 2012, when a 3-2 England victory was secured by Danny Welbeck’s

SAtUrDAY RUGBY UNION | qBE AUTUMN INTERNATIONALS: ENGLAND v FIjI | TwICkENhAM | SkY SPORTS 1 2.30PM

David Rogers/Getty Images, Martin Rose/Getty Images, Chris Brunskill/Getty Images

Every point counts International rugby is back, and with the southern hemisphere’s finest in action across the home nations over the next four weeks, attention turns to the IRB rankings. That’s because the world Cup pools for 2015 are being drawn on December 3, just two days after the final international of 2012, and everyone will of course be desperate to be seeded as high as possible to avoid potential pitfalls – otherwise known as the All Blacks.

First up at Twickenham are the hard-hitting Fijians. Captain Chris Robshaw has indicated (in our interview on pages 54-55) that the honeymoon period is over for Stuart Lancaster, and England’s record of two wins and a draw from the past 15 against their upcoming quartet of opponents speaks for itself.

66 | November 9 2012 |

The test for Lancaster, then, is to coax his side to the next level. Danny Care and Toby Flood (pictured) find themselves leading from pivotal positions – they will be key to England discovering a balanced gameplan between expansive bums-out-ofseats rugby and the pragmatism that brings results. Injuries mean it will be fascinating to see whether Lancaster gives the likes of Tom Youngs, joe Launchbury and Freddie Burns a chance. Two wins from four would be nice; three would be great.

Elsewhere tomorrow, an injury-ravaged Ireland need a big performance against South Africa (BBC Two 5.30pm) – particularly because they play only one more Test this month and sit seventh in the IRB rankings – while wales start their autumn at home to Argentina (BBC One 2.30pm). Then, on Sunday, the Scots welcome the All Blacks to Murrayfield (BBC One 2.30pm).

Scotland actually have the best record against the Tri Nations sides since the 2007 world Cup, having won three and lost three. On the flip side, they’ve lost by an average of 32 points in their previous five games against the All Blacks. It could be a long afternoon north of the border.

sensational backheel pirouette (above). With England’s next competitive fixture not until March (against San Marino, so we use the word ‘competitive’ loosely), it gives Roy Hodgson an opportunity to experiment. Welbeck is prime among the candidates for inclusion; and if Jack Wilshere continues to settle back into the Arsenal side without any setbacks, we could see him in an England shirt for the first time since June 2011.

SUNDAY FOOTBALL | Serie A: LAziO v rOmA | STAdiO OLimpicO | eSpN 2pm

Roman candle

The italian capital has been home to intense rivalries and cross-city fireworks ever since romulus killed his brother remus and named the city after himself. The Stadio Olimpico is no exception, and this year’s derby della capitale is given extra spark by Lazio and roma’s proximity in the Serie A table.

For the past few years they’ve been separated – roma have largely occupied the

european places, while the Biancazzurro have languished in mid-table. But 11 games in to the current season and Lazio are fifth, two points ahead of their rivals, thanks in no small part to six goals in 10 games from miroslav Klose.

However, their confidence will have been shaken by a shock 4-0 defeat to catania last weekend – for which Klose was suspended – and roma manager zdenek zeman will

SHOW US YOUR relish the chance to leapfrog his former team, having managed Lazio from 1994 to 1997. His own mr dependable, Francesco Totti, is still pulling the strings at the age of 36: he’s scored four and set up three in 10 games this season.

Juventus’ first league defeat for 50 games last week may have opened the door at the top a crack. if either roman club is going to prise it open further, a derby-day win is required.

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DRY EQUALS WARMER.

BEST OF THE REST

FRIDAY

GOLF Singapore Open: day 2, Serapong course, Singapore, Sky Sports 2 5am TeNNiS ATp World Tour Finals: day 5, O2 Arena, London, Sky Sports 1 1.45pm FOOTBALL championship: middlesbrough v Sheffield Wednesday, riverside Stadium, Sky Sports 1 7.45pm

Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images

cricKeT Australia v South Africa: First Test day 2, Brisbane cricket Ground, Sky Sports 1 12pm

SATURDAY FOOTBALL SpL: inverness caledonian Thistle v Hearts, caledonian Stadium, eSpN 12pm FOOTBALL championship: Leicester v Nottingham Forest, King power Stadium, Sky Sports 2 12.45pm

SUNDAY GOLF Singapore Open: day 4, Serapong course, Singapore, Sky Sports 3 3am mOTOGp Generali Grand prix of Valencia, circuit of Valencia, British eurosport 2 2pm FOOTBALL La Liga: mallorca v Barcelona, iberostar Stadium, Sky Sports 4, 4.50pm NFL New Orleans Saints v Atlanta Falcons, mercedes-Benz Superdome, Sky Sports 3 5.30pm FOOTBALL La Liga: Levante v real madrid, city of Valencia Stadium, Sky Sports 4 8.30pm

cricKeT Australia v South Africa: First Test day 5, Brisbane cricket Ground, Sky Sports 1 11.30pm

TUESDAY FOOTBALL international Friendly: england U21 v Northern ireland U21, Bloomfield road, eSpN 7pm NFL Kansas city chiefs v pittsburgh Steelers, Arrowhead Stadium, BBc red Button 1.30am

WEDNESDAY FOOTBALL World cup Qualifier: Northern ireland v Azerbaijan, Windsor park, Belfast, Sky Sports 2 7.45pm

NFL philadelphia eagles v dallas cowboys, Lincoln Financial Field, Sky Sports 3 9.15pm

FOOTBALL international Friendly: republic of ireland v Greece, Aviva Stadium, dublin, Sky Sports 3 7.45pm

MONDAY

THURSDAY

TeNNiS ATp World Tour Finals: Final, O2 Arena, London, Sky Sports 1 5.30pm

GOLF Hong Kong Open: day 1, Hong Kong Golf club, Sky Sports 2 5am

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| 67

Back to the Future dored and famed for its gritty realism, Call of Duty has captured the imaginations of gamers worldwide, with each hotly anticipated release selling millions of copies to eager fans. Next week, for the first time, the series will move beyond the present, giving players the chance to harness the power of near-future technology and, excitingly, advanced robotics as they try to complete their mission.

A

Campaign chaos The campaign features two interconnected storylines separated by time. Alex Mason, returning from the first Black Ops, is fighting battles across the globe in the Cold War era, in pursuit of an insidious villain named Raul Menendez. Fast-forward to 2025, Menendez is still wreaking havoc – havoc that Mason’s son has to try and prevent. In the future, war means robots, cyber warfare and unmanned drones built by global superpowers to defend their citizens. But they don’t count on the enemy stealing the keys and turning the

68 | November 9 2012 |

futuristic super-weapons on their makers.

That’s where you come in. So, in an actionpacked campaign mode, can you harness that power to pull the world back from the brink of annihilation? Find out in Call of Duty Black Ops II, out November 13 on Xbox 360.

Multiplayer madness Of course, that cutting-edge weaponry transfers across to multiplayer as well – so although Menendez might have his wily hands on it in campaign mode, you’ll be the one who gets to wield the full power of the future when playing against your friends online. So, in addition to shotguns, knives and hatchets, there is a whole host of futuristic weapons and tools – including shock grenades to stun enemies, shields to protect you and a device that lets you see through walls. Hey, it’s the future – anything is possible.

To help you make the most of all this variety, Call of Duty Black Ops II introduces a re-imagined Create-a-Class system for choosing weapons and add-ons. The ‘pick-10’ allocation system lets players pick any

That’s right, the blockbuster franchise is taking its first steps beyond the present in Call of Duty Black Ops II, out November 13 on Xbox 360. That means awesome guns, crazy storylines and multiplayer mayhem combination of 10 items. Fairly selfexplanatory, we know, but in terms of Call of Duty games, it’s truly revolutionary.

You’ll even be able to check out what selections other players have opted for and copy them to your console if you like what you see. There are more ways than ever to enjoy multiplayer – Combat Training, Party Games and League Play.

Zombie nation For some reason, a game mode pitting the player against hordes of the massed undead proved really quite popular in Call of Duty Black Ops II’s ancestors. That mode is back for the latest version of the game, too, with more improvements than you can shake a dismembered limb at.

For the first time, Zombie mode gets its own campaign story, and the multiplayer aspect has been

Advertising Feature

© 2012 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS and stylized roman numeral II are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Call of Duty Black Ops II takes place partially in 2025, and lets you take your pick of the best weapons and vehicles the future has to offer: tanks, guns, big helicopter things. Not a DeLorean in sight...

improved as well, with an eight-player online co-op. There are several new modes to add to Survival mode, in which you have to stay alive as long as possible. The pick of these is Grief mode, new to Black Ops, in which two human teams of four compete to see who will be last man standing when faced with massed hordes of the undead.

Early bird bonus Pre-order now and get the Nuketown 2025 bonus map, plus access to the Call of Duty Black Ops II Double XP Launch Weekend. Relive the close-quarters chaos of this classic map, reimagined in a depiction of the ‘Model Home of the Future’.

It all adds up to a cracking improvement to the world biggest shooter – futuristic weapons, improved multiplayer and fleshhungry zombies. What more could you want?

OUT NOVEMBER 13 ON XBOX 360 www.callOfdUTy.cOM/BlackOps2 | 69

P76 Call of Duty Black Ops II: beef up on your Cold War history or gun down zombies. The choice is yours

Extra time Making the most of your time and money

Touch up your ’tache Gillette has opened a 1940s-style barbers for Movember, so you can do just that

70 | Movember 9 2012 |

E

mbracing the gentlemanly spirit of the mo this November? You are not alone.

Gillette has taken celebrating the timeless qualities of the gent a step further, old chap, and opened its The Best a Mo Can Get Barbers at 10 Newburgh Street, off London’s Carnaby Street. Open seven days a week for one month only, it offers free ‘tache touch-ups for Mo Bros’ from the chairs of a traditional barbers, where you can enjoy a complementary drink followed by a luxury shave with a qualified Sweeney Todder wielding a Gillette Fusion ProGlide Styler and a hot towel. Downstairs is a bar and games room (left), where Gillette will host intimate gigs, DJ sets, whisky tastings and cocktail nights throughout November.

And all, splendidly, in the name of your magnificent mo and cancer research. facebook.com/gilletteuk

T

en games into the Premier League season we might be, but we’ve actually learned 11 things since 3pm on August 18. The 11th – and incontestably most important – is that model Heather Weir is no longer an Old Firm WAG, for she has followed her boyfriend Jamie Ness as part of the mass exodus over the border from Rangers.

That said, 21-year-old midfielder Ness is yet to take his league bow for Stoke, his new team, having appeared competitively for the Potters only as a substitute in their Capital One Cup ding-dong 4-3 defeat to Swindon Town.

Almost as entertaining as that game (or indeed practically any League Cup match this season) is Weir’s Just Heather blog, which has charted among other things Rangers’ financial crisis, her dog’s every move and how she launched her own clothing line.

It is also peppered with life-affirming quotations.

Our favourite so far is one of Weir’s own, after a recent return home. “Went back to Scotland to get ‘oot mah tits’ with the fellow kilt-wearers,” she wrote under an image of the aforementioned kilt-wearers.

Well, you can take the girl oot of Scotland...

Due south

Extra time Heather Weir

72 | November 9 2012 | Brian Hayes/Lipstick Syndication

| 73

Bright ideas Colour-changing, smartphone-controlled lightbulbs are all well and good, but where’s our damn time machine?

Philips Hue The biggest thing to happen to interior lighting since Thomas Edison, the Philips Hue connects to your home wifi network, so you can control it with an iPhone app. You can literally pick any colour you want, and set timers. Use it to trick would-be burglars into thinking you’re home, or for Quagmire-esque mood lighting in your front room... whatever turns you on. Next week in gadgets: a bed that springs out of the wall. £180 starter pack | apple.com/uk

Google Nexus 10 While Apple tries to muscle in on Google’s seven-inch tablet territory, the search engine firm has responded by expanding its offering, in every sense of the word.

The new 10-inch Nexus has the highest-resolution screen ever seen on a tablet, and is slightly lighter than the newest iPad – despite being slightly larger. Multiple user accounts make it a great choice for families.

From £319 | google.com/nexus/10

Beats Pill A hard pill to swallow, mainly because it’s 20cm long and is actually a speaker. In fact, it’s the first speaker ever to use NFC technology, so you can pair similarly equipped devices just by touching them with it.

The battery lasts for seven hours – so even if you did swallow it, it would keep you entertained right through your wait at A&E. £170 | store.universal-music.co.uk | Released December 3

Denon AH-W150 Sports Headphones The only bad thing about Team GB’s roaring success is that hearing Chariots of Fire every 15 minutes kind of lessened its impact. Fortunately, these wireless headphones redeem any soundtrack, thanks to their super sound quality. £150 | denon-headphones.eu

74 | November 9 2012 |

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Extra time Entertainment

Duty bound

GaME

Guns, gangs and Hitch are all given a fresh new twist as we examine the week’s devilishly good new releases FIlM

My Brother the Devil

Call of Duty Black Ops II (PC/PS3/Xbox)

If this urban gang drama was created by one of the many Guy Ritchie clones churning out such films, it’d be titled My Bruv the Wrong ‘Un – and we’d give it the serious swerve, innit. Sally El Hosaini has, however, directed a powerful study of two Anglo-Egyptian siblings – one being drawn into the East End crime scene just as his older brother wants to exit it.

A shock twist halfway through deftly helps this avoid the usual cliches.

Set partly in the year 2025, developers Treyarch have picked a smart era for the new Black Ops game. It’s far enough in the future that they can introduce enticing new weaponry (Iron Man-style wrist-launchers: yes please), but near enough to the present day that the game appears grittily realistic.

A terror attack on Los Angeles is a key storyline, but the game also

BOOK

Blu-ray

Standing in Another Man’s Grave Ian Rankin

Trilogy The Weeknd Whether he’s borrowing lyrics from The Smiths or sampling the score to A Clockwork Orange, singer Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd – and we have no idea where the missing ‘e’ is) takes his shoe-gazing R&B into surreal directions. This album – a combination of three mixtapes – showcases his plaintive falsetto vocals and woozy beats. Hit and miss – but when he gets it right it sounds originally, unsettlingly brilliant.

76 | November 9 2012 |

The interconnected disappearance of five women hauls Inspector Rebus out of retirement for his 18th tale. The case takes him out of his native Edinburgh and into the Highlands – but early, glowing reviews suggest the author’s old magic is still present.

DVD Craic Dealer Dara O Briain Panel show constant and Tony Soprano henchman lookalike (his description) showcases his sharp stand-up patter in this live show. Topics such as TV psychics and gender differences are hardly groundbreaking, but the easygoing O Briain puts a cerebral spin on them.

Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection Hour after hour of icy blondes, brutal murders and twist endings in this new boxset of 14 films from the suspense maestro. Iconic flicks Psycho, Vertigo and Rear Window are present, but it’s also a chance to see lesser-known efforts such as thriller Frenzy, the taut tale of the hunt for a serial killer in 1970s London. Loaded with screen tests, alternate endings and other extras, this Monday release delivers you heaps of early winter chills.

STF/AFP/Getty Images

MuSIC

features a connected story set in the 1970s and ‘80s, branch-off ‘Strike Force missions’ and the most extensive Zombie Mode yet.

Add in a tweaked multiplayer that’s designed to make it easier for newcomers – so you don’t spend your whole time being snipered by elite schoolkids in Japan – and this really does seem like the most ambitious CoD yet. Roll on Tuesday.

TM

“THE MOST AMBITIOUS CALL OF DUTY YET” SHORTLIST

L L AALC W .A W WWW.CALLOFDUTY.COM C LC L W .CA W YC T .CU AD LFLOFD Š 2012 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION and CALL OF DUTY are registered trademarks of Activision Publishing, 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. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.