After Sebastian Vettel's dominant win in Singapore last time out, there has been little in the way of controversy and talk in Formula 1. The majority of drivers places have been sorted out for next season, there have been no significant bust-ups, and the titles both seem pretty much sewn up. This means that the last few races can be just be enjoyable on the part of both the drivers and those watching. All we can hope for is more in the way of competitive races, as it has become a bit repetitive with the German winning the last 4 races. Certainly the Red Bulls have adjusted better to the mid-season rule change, after the 'Silverstone-gate' tyre problems prompted a swift rule change. Whether the German has lucked into a fortuitous situation is up for debate, but it could certainly be argued that the title race would be considerably closer had the tyres not been forced to changed.
Yesterday saw the beginning of the end of this 2013 Formula 1 season, with the cars making the short trip from Singapore to Yeongam in South Korea. As I stated earlier, we are now hoping for more competitive races from her to the end of the season. And in the practice sessions, we appeared to get our wish, as the Mercedes seemed far closer to the Red Bulls, Hamilton being ahead of Vettel in both. This set qualifying up much more nicely than it has been ordinarily, as we are currently used to seeing the Red Bull and Vettel dominate. This time, whilst the result was the same, the manner was rather different, promising a rather different type of Grand Prix on the Sunday.
The early minutes of qualifying saw the Mercedes drivers setting the pace, with Hamilton leading his teammate. The structure of the qualifying was unusual, with all the drivers fuelled for three to four timed laps. This meant that the session had the appearance of being slow and tedious. The challenge for those in Q1 was seeing who could get through without using a set of the super soft tyres. As the session progressed, it seemed obvious that it would only be the pace-setting Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel that would get this advantage. However, moving onto the super softs, Hulkenberg, Rosberg and then Raikkonen all beat the Hamilton time. Towards the bottom, Paul di Resta, who has been going through a poor patch of form recently, was blocked on his final lap by Jules Bianchi, leaving the Scot perilously close to the cut-off. Fortunately for Force India, the two Williams' drivers struggled in Korea, meaning that di Resta got away with his poor time to qualify for the first time in three races. Q2 had the same structure to it, with Hamilton going quickest early on his new super softs, leaving Vettel to beat that time much later on. This already looked to be far closer than usual, and promised a much more exciting Q3. Further back, the big winners of Q2 were Sauber, with both Hulkenberg and Gutierrez making it into the final session. The Mexican's feat was particularly impressive, having qualified for Q3 on each of the last 2 races. The losers were McLaren, with both cars unable to make it into Q3, despite having started the session well.
Q3 began slowly, with only 5 of the 10 cars choosing to leave the garage immediately. In the race for pole, Red Bull won the first round, with Vettel and Webber edging out Hamilton and Rosberg. Even worse for the German driver, Romain Grosjean managed to get his Lotus between him and his Mercedes teammate. Red Bull were not having things all their own way however, as Mark Webber would have to take a ten place engine penalty after his qualification spot, as punishment for his misdemenour in Singapore. One thing that would have helped Mercedes enormously would have been Vettel to make just a small mistake on his out lap, as he cut it extremely fine with time to get across the line to start a lap. Fortunately for Red Bull, he just about made it. But as it was, he needn't have bothered. Lewis Hamilton was the only car to improve on his previous lap, jumping Webber, but he couldn't beat the world-champion elect. This handed Vettel his 6th pole of the season, and fourth in succession. There remained just a glimmer of hope for his rivals though, as no pole-sitter had ever gone on to win the Grand Prix the following day.
The Yeongam track in South Korea is one I find particularly unusual. Having watched all of the Grand Prix held there, as well as having driven around it (albeit in my bedroom on the Playstation), I find that whilst the short first straight before the first corner avoids the majority of first corner incidents, cars infront are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to the third and fourth corners. As there are two 1km straights for the drivers to negotiate, those behind have the opportunity to get a fantastic tow and fly straight past. It is little wonder, then, why the pole sitters have traditionally not been particularly successful. The middle section I also find bizarre. Whereas in other tracks I feel like the corners fit the circuit, like at Monza, the Yeongam circuit appears to have deliberately overcomplicated the twisty middle section. The pit entrance/exit also looked similarly overcomplicated, though I was glad to see that the pit exit had been altered for this year. Rather than feeding back into the heart of turn 1, which was certainly dangerous, it now feeds out on the exit of the turn, leading down onto the straight. Though it may not be one of my favourite tracks, it always provides us with great entertainment, and yesterday was no different.
As the cars lined up on the grid, Vettel would have known that here, more than anywhere, a good start is essential. Fortunately for the Red Bull driver, he got one, catapulting himself away from the stranded Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes instantly came under pressure from the fast-starting Grosjean, and found himself behind after the third corner. Further back, the two Ferrari's came millimetres from disaster, as Felipe Massa span, causing teammate Fernando Alonso to take avoiding action. This left the Brazilian way down the field, and compromised Ferrari's goal of securing 2nd in the Constructors Championship. This chaos allowed Daniel Ricciardo, who had started the race in 12th place, to jump to 7th. Even more incredibly, Pastor Maldonado, who had started the race a disappointing 18th, managed to jump to 11th by the end of lap 1. There was no such jump from Webber though. The Australian, having started 13th, could only make up a single place on the opening lap, and was struggling to pass those in front. The McLaren's were particularly troublesome, but having cleared the pair of those, he made his way to 8th by lap 8.
Back up at the front, Vettel had managed to break the DRS gap, but he was not scampering away from the rest as we are so accustomed to seeing from the German. Interestingly, it was Hamilton that seemed to be struggling most during this phase, beginning to fall back from Grosjean and forcing him to pit on lap 9. Just a lap later, presumably to cover the Mercedes stop, the Frenchman was in. However, Hamilton's pace on his out lap was such that he and Grosjean came out side by side, with the Lotus clinging onto second place by the skin of its teeth at the end of sector 1. Vettel, having seen the change in pace, pitted the next lap, but he too lost time to the pair of them, rejoining just 1.5 seconds ahead. Just behind this trio, Daniel Ricciardo, who was trying to 1 stop, occupied 4th. However, this was swiftly taken from him as Rosberg quickly reeled in and passed the Aussie, forcing him to abandon his race strategy and pit.
During the middle section of the race, a number of drivers began complaining of their tyres 'graining'. For those unfamiliar with the term, this is when, due to the extreme temperatures and pressure on the tyre, little balls of rubber begin to form on the tyre's surface. This has the effect of dramatically reducing grip, as the friction means that the tyres begin to slide on the track. Normally, graining cleans up eventually, but too long a period can play havoc with a race strategy and potentially cost vital points. Webber and Alonso both complained about it in the mid-20s lap-wise, but it was Lewis Hamilton that suffered the most. The Mercedes performance dropped dramatically as the race ticked towards lap 30, allowing his teammate to take 2-3 seconds per lap out of the Brit. Eventually, the German caught Hamilton coming onto the pair of 1km straights. He got into the slipstream and opened his DRS. However, no sooner had he moved to overtake, he had a front wing failure. The nose had bent down and was now touching the floor, sending sparks flying everywhere. Much to Hamilton's frustration, Rosberg refused to let him past, and to add insult to injury, then stole the pit stop that Lewis was supposed to have, meaning that Hamilton had to do yet another lap on the ruined tyres. He eventually pitted on lap 30, but that stop pushed him back behind the chasing foursome of Hulkenberg, Alonso, Webber and Raikkonen.
Whilst Rosberg's sparking front wing was dramatic, it was nothing compared to the following 10 laps. Just 2 later, on the same straight, Sergio Perez had a front right tyre delamination, caused by a horrendous flat spot on his tyre. Luckily, this does not seem to be a recurrance of the old Pirelli problems, simply overusage by the driver. The carcass of the tyre was left on the road, along with a sizeable amount of debris. This forced the safety car out, enabling Raikkonen and Hamilton to gain back a few of the places that they had lost. On the restart, Raikkonen took full advantage of a poor Grosjean restart to nip infront of his teammate at turn 1 to claim 2nd. Further back, Sutil attempted to pass Webber on the way into turn 3, but only succeeded in colliding with the Red Bull. The collision must have ignited something in the engine, as Webber's car swiftly set on fire, forcing him to pull over and retire, and prompting the safety car out once again. However, confusion reigned as the marshals car was seen on track before the safety car had managed to pick up the leaders. Eventually, the situation was resolved, but it could have ended very badly.
The race restarted (for the second time) on lap 40, and this time Vettel was not allowed to scamper clear quite as easily, as Raikkonen remained right on his tail. Behind them, Hamilton had a very poor restart, being mugged by the fast starting Nico Hulkenberg for 4th. The Sauber driver was having one of the drives of his career, but he would need to defend superbly to keep this 4th place. Fortunately for the Sauber driver, his set-up enabled him to keep Hamilton behind him in the top speed section, and he used all of his skill and car to keep the Brit behind in the twisty section. It meant that even with DRS, Hamilton could do little about the Sauber, and even resorted to an exasperated question of 'has anyone got any ideas' to his team. Up front, Vettel had begun to pull away from Raikkonen, as the Finn's tyres grew older. This allowed Romain Grosjean to close up on his teammate. Being encouraged by the entire Lotus garage, the Frenchman simply could not make the manoeuver stick, and eventually had to settle for 3rd. The fact that the Lotus team were so keen to have Grosjean ahead of Raikkonen implies that the Finn may have to endure a few tough and awkward races at the British-based team before heading back to Ferrari, as there is a clear sense of favouritism.
But the day, as has so often been the case in recent weeks, belonged to Vettel. Another mature drive from the front to become the first man ever to win the Korean Grand Prix from pole. The records keep tumbling for the German, and I am certain that very soon he will be able to lay claim to the first ever quadruple world champion, where all of his titles have come in succession. For me, it will be interesting to see how Vettel reacts when he is given a car that is not constantly leading races. If he were in Alonso or Hamilton's position now, I think that Vettel may struggle, as we are yet to see him pull off many stunning overtaking moves or come from behind victories. Despite Vettel having won the race, my Driver of the Day is certainly Nico Hulkenberg. A phenomenal drive from 7th, and to keep Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, two world champions, at bay for the best part of 20 laps, is quite incredible. I would be extremely surprised if he doesn't recieve a phone call from a larger team in the next couple of years offering him a seat. Korea once again delivered on drama, action and intensity, but failed to deliver us a different result than the one we all now all too familiar with.
Analysis of sporting events, talking points and controversies.
Showing posts with label 2013. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2013. Show all posts
Monday, 7 October 2013
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
Man of Steel 2013: Brough Takes Giant Step To Crown
At a prestigious award ceremony last night, Huddersfield's Danny Brough became the 32nd player to get his hands on British rugby league's biggest prize for individual skill: The Man of Steel. Equivalent to football's PFA Player of the Year Award, it has historically been won by players who have given exceptional performances on a consistent basis. All of the greats of the game have won it, with the Huddersfield man joining the likes of Martin Offiah, Andy Farrell, Paul Sculthorpe and rugby league's most expensive player Sam Tomkins on the honour role. In a three-man shortlist with Wigan's Sean O'Loughlin and Leeds's retiring Jamie Peacock, Brough was amongst good company. In this post, I will be looking at the key moments of Brough's season, and explain why he may have been considered the pick of the three.
Brough began the season in fantastic form, pushing the Giants on a phenomenal run of form. The opening game of the season illustrated the Giants' title ambitions, and even expectations, with a resounding 4-40 victory at Langtree Park. Although St Helens may have declined slightly from their glory days of the 2000's, they are by no means a weak team. Brough and his colleagues made them appear quite ordinary. And the form continued, with another impressive win against a fellow title contender, seeing Wigan Warriors off 22-10. Brough was once again the picture of consistency, converting all three tries, and adding two additional penalties, vital points to carry his side to victory. To begin the season with four straight Super League wins would have been more than the Huddersfield fans would have expected, but the scrum-half's performances helped the Giants to an early lead.
After a thumping defeat at home to Bradford in the following game, Huddersfield needed to regroup. I have always believed that one indicator of a truly great player is the way they bounce back after a poor performance. Everyone has off days, it is how you react to them that matters most. And how Brough bounced back! A try and four conversions helped his side cruise past fellow title rivals Leeds at Headingley. Arguably one of the wins of the season for the Giants, and one that had come after bitter disappointment, illustrating the squad's strength. This is a pattern that we have seen from the Giants all season, coming back stronger after every defeat, and it was that that kept them in the title shake-up from the very start of the season.
I think most key to Brough's season has been his influence in the big games. That is not to say that he is simply a big game player-in every match you can see elements of his brilliance. However, Huddersfield have performed exceptionally well in big games this season (with the exception of a double defeat by Warrington), and this I think is in no small part down to their exceptional scrum half. His skill and creativity is second to none, and he has proven that he has matured and can perform well under the biggest pressure. Doing the double over Leeds, St Helens and Wigan have helped the Giants to their first league leaders' shield, the first time in 81 years.
If that is the description of Brough's season, what is it that has put him above and beyond his fellow professionals? I think there are a few reasons. Firstly, I think the fact that he has taken a side unfamiliar to sustained success, and turned it into a side fighting for the title, is a key reason. Huddersfield, prior to his arrival in 2010, were a mid-table side, regularly involved in the playoffs, but never in any real danger of winning them. Since that point, we have seen a rather steep incline in the club's performances year-on-year. Last season, Huddersfield had their first real push to win the league leaders' shield, but a lack of form towards the back end of the season scuppered their chances. They have clearly learnt from that experience to pull of the historic feat, and much of that credit must go to their influential scrum half. In comparison, whilst Sean O'Loughlin and Jamie Peacock have both had fantastic seasons, they have not quite had the same transformative impact on their respective clubs. Wigan, highly rated and expected to be in the Grand Final come September, and Leeds, the reigning champions, are not surprisingly in the shake-up. They also have other key players that contribute massively to their success. For Wigan, Josh Charnley, Pat Richards and Sam Tomkins are all integral to the side, and Leeds would severely miss Kevin Sinfield and Lee Burrows. Huddersfield, on the other hand, whilst players like Eorl Crabtree are club legends, they are largely reliant on Brough for performances.
Whilst Brough has been exceptional in the big games, he, unlike the others on that list, has never gone missing this season in the small games either. Whilst his compatriots have performed well, there have certainly been games where they have been less effective. In O'Loughlin's case, his season has been blighted by injury, meaning that he was unable to retain the exceptional form we saw glimpses of during this campaign. However, Brough has fortunately been relatively injury free, and his consistency has clearly had an impact on the rest of the squad, as they have each upped their game massively this campaign. His performance in the big games (Leeds, St Helens, Wigan) have been consistently excellent, but as have his games against the likes of Castleford, London and Widnes. It is for this reason that I believe he deserved his award.
There is one final, smaller, reason why Brough may well have been favoured to O'Loughlin and Peacock. Being Huddersfield's goal-kicker, the scrum half has to deal with tremendous additional pressure, something that neither of his compatriots have ever or will ever experience. Often, Brough's goal kicking can be the difference between the Giants winning or losing rugby matches, from either penalties, conversions, or even the occasional drop goal. Much more rests on the shoulders of the diminutive Scot as the game ticks towards its conclusion than either of his fellow nominees. And time and time again he has come up trumps for his side, deciding matches and earning vital points for his team. Whilst my point above contributes the majority of the case for Brough's victory, this will be just another little point that saw his hands move closer and closer to the award.
Based on these arguments, I believe that the right call has been made for this year's Man of Steel Award. Whilst it would have been nice to see Peacock go to his retirement on top, it would have been similar to giving Ryan Giggs the Sports Personality of the Year Award, presuming he would retire soon after... It is also a shame that Sam Tomkins was not included in the list, as I believe his performances would have been enough to challenge Brough again this year. However, this does nothing to detract from a fabulous season and a deserving award-winner. Danny Brough may have to enjoy it though, as only 3 players have ever gone on to claim the trophy again. Though the scrum half will give it his all to become the fourth, I am certain he will enjoy this success massively.
Most consistent of 3-big and small games
Goal kicker-additional pressure
Brough began the season in fantastic form, pushing the Giants on a phenomenal run of form. The opening game of the season illustrated the Giants' title ambitions, and even expectations, with a resounding 4-40 victory at Langtree Park. Although St Helens may have declined slightly from their glory days of the 2000's, they are by no means a weak team. Brough and his colleagues made them appear quite ordinary. And the form continued, with another impressive win against a fellow title contender, seeing Wigan Warriors off 22-10. Brough was once again the picture of consistency, converting all three tries, and adding two additional penalties, vital points to carry his side to victory. To begin the season with four straight Super League wins would have been more than the Huddersfield fans would have expected, but the scrum-half's performances helped the Giants to an early lead.
After a thumping defeat at home to Bradford in the following game, Huddersfield needed to regroup. I have always believed that one indicator of a truly great player is the way they bounce back after a poor performance. Everyone has off days, it is how you react to them that matters most. And how Brough bounced back! A try and four conversions helped his side cruise past fellow title rivals Leeds at Headingley. Arguably one of the wins of the season for the Giants, and one that had come after bitter disappointment, illustrating the squad's strength. This is a pattern that we have seen from the Giants all season, coming back stronger after every defeat, and it was that that kept them in the title shake-up from the very start of the season.
I think most key to Brough's season has been his influence in the big games. That is not to say that he is simply a big game player-in every match you can see elements of his brilliance. However, Huddersfield have performed exceptionally well in big games this season (with the exception of a double defeat by Warrington), and this I think is in no small part down to their exceptional scrum half. His skill and creativity is second to none, and he has proven that he has matured and can perform well under the biggest pressure. Doing the double over Leeds, St Helens and Wigan have helped the Giants to their first league leaders' shield, the first time in 81 years.
If that is the description of Brough's season, what is it that has put him above and beyond his fellow professionals? I think there are a few reasons. Firstly, I think the fact that he has taken a side unfamiliar to sustained success, and turned it into a side fighting for the title, is a key reason. Huddersfield, prior to his arrival in 2010, were a mid-table side, regularly involved in the playoffs, but never in any real danger of winning them. Since that point, we have seen a rather steep incline in the club's performances year-on-year. Last season, Huddersfield had their first real push to win the league leaders' shield, but a lack of form towards the back end of the season scuppered their chances. They have clearly learnt from that experience to pull of the historic feat, and much of that credit must go to their influential scrum half. In comparison, whilst Sean O'Loughlin and Jamie Peacock have both had fantastic seasons, they have not quite had the same transformative impact on their respective clubs. Wigan, highly rated and expected to be in the Grand Final come September, and Leeds, the reigning champions, are not surprisingly in the shake-up. They also have other key players that contribute massively to their success. For Wigan, Josh Charnley, Pat Richards and Sam Tomkins are all integral to the side, and Leeds would severely miss Kevin Sinfield and Lee Burrows. Huddersfield, on the other hand, whilst players like Eorl Crabtree are club legends, they are largely reliant on Brough for performances.
Whilst Brough has been exceptional in the big games, he, unlike the others on that list, has never gone missing this season in the small games either. Whilst his compatriots have performed well, there have certainly been games where they have been less effective. In O'Loughlin's case, his season has been blighted by injury, meaning that he was unable to retain the exceptional form we saw glimpses of during this campaign. However, Brough has fortunately been relatively injury free, and his consistency has clearly had an impact on the rest of the squad, as they have each upped their game massively this campaign. His performance in the big games (Leeds, St Helens, Wigan) have been consistently excellent, but as have his games against the likes of Castleford, London and Widnes. It is for this reason that I believe he deserved his award.
There is one final, smaller, reason why Brough may well have been favoured to O'Loughlin and Peacock. Being Huddersfield's goal-kicker, the scrum half has to deal with tremendous additional pressure, something that neither of his compatriots have ever or will ever experience. Often, Brough's goal kicking can be the difference between the Giants winning or losing rugby matches, from either penalties, conversions, or even the occasional drop goal. Much more rests on the shoulders of the diminutive Scot as the game ticks towards its conclusion than either of his fellow nominees. And time and time again he has come up trumps for his side, deciding matches and earning vital points for his team. Whilst my point above contributes the majority of the case for Brough's victory, this will be just another little point that saw his hands move closer and closer to the award.
Based on these arguments, I believe that the right call has been made for this year's Man of Steel Award. Whilst it would have been nice to see Peacock go to his retirement on top, it would have been similar to giving Ryan Giggs the Sports Personality of the Year Award, presuming he would retire soon after... It is also a shame that Sam Tomkins was not included in the list, as I believe his performances would have been enough to challenge Brough again this year. However, this does nothing to detract from a fabulous season and a deserving award-winner. Danny Brough may have to enjoy it though, as only 3 players have ever gone on to claim the trophy again. Though the scrum half will give it his all to become the fourth, I am certain he will enjoy this success massively.
Most consistent of 3-big and small games
Goal kicker-additional pressure
Saturday, 28 September 2013
2013 Singapore Grand Prix: Has The Night Race Put The Title To Bed?
This weekend's Singapore Grand Prix from Marina Bay has perhaps pull the final nail in the coffin of this season's Driver Championship. With Sebastian Vettel leaving the Asian city-state 60 points ahead with only 150 remaining, it seems now a case of when and not if the German will take his fourth consecutive drivers' title. It is an incredible feat, matched only by fellow German Michael Schumacher, and he will be hoping to surpass his compatriot's record in the coming years. With the amount of years left in the Red Bull driver's career, I would not be at all surprised if Vettel did manage to take all of Schumacher's records away from him one-by-one, just less than a decade after people said they would never be beaten. It is an indication of the incredible domination Vettel has had on the sport, and no race has illustrated this more than the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend.
The big news in the weeks in between the Italian Grand Prix and the trip to Marina Bay is that Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, who had already spurned an approach from Red Bull, decided instead to move to his former employers Ferrari for the start of the 2014 season. My initial reaction to the Finn's decision was that he had decided to return to the team he won his one and only title with, and that the Italian side remained the most likely team to repeat that success with. Therefore, the decision seemed to be odd from the perspective that the Finn turned down Red Bull, but sensible on the basis that he is familiar with many of the Ferrari team, and I feel that he will settle in quicker with. However, reports over the following days suggested that Raikkonen's decision was motivated by both success and finances. The former McLaren man, in interviews with the international media, implied that he had decided to make the move to the Scuderia as Lotus had failed to pay his wages for a month. This simply puts the icing on the cake for the Finn, who has enjoyed a reasonable amount of success with the British team, but he needs to make that step up the grid if he wants to realistically challenge for any titles in the future.
Raikkonen, who was also suffering the effects of an injection he had into his back, was clearly still distracted by his new contract, as his qualifying did not go to plan. On any street circuit it is important to qualify well, as those further down the grid are more succeptible to first lap incidents, and getting stuck behind slower cars in front. In Q1, the Red Bulls, who had also dominated the practice sessions, were the only team able to cruise through into Q2 using only the hard tyres. Even the Mercedes, who have been notoriously good on a single lap, were unable to just stay on the hard tyres. Ferrari had an unwanted scare, as Felipe Massa found himself in the bottom 6 as the flag dropped. Fortunately for the Italians, the Brazilian managed to get himself into the relative safety of mid-table, but he did little to put himself in the shop window. The big casualty from Q1 was Paul di Resta. The Brit has struggled in recent races, and is no longer a stranger to exiting in the first qualifying session, so perhaps it should not be such a shock. Q2 saw Raikkonen depart as the big name dropout, as his back caused him too much pain to get his best lap. The man to take his place was Esteban Gutierrez. The Sauber driver managed to break into the top 10 for the first time, outqualifying his more experienced teammate in the progress. Vettel's dominance in the first two qualifying sessions seemed to be continued in the final shootout, as he blasted into the 1:42's, a full seven tenths faster than his nearest rivals. So convinced was the German that he had done enough, he decided not to return to the track, instead becoming a spectator. However, he would have been a nervous onlooker as Nico Rosberg set the fastest first sector on his final lap. As the Mercedes passed the line, Vettel managed a sigh of relief, as Rosberg could only get within a tenth of his initial time.
That one tenth would prove pivotal in the run to the first corner. Unusually, the Red Bull was beaten off the line by Rosberg, who powered off the line. Having passed Vettel before the first corner, the Mercedes ran wide into turn 2, allowing Vettel to sneak back up the inside to get the lead back. Behind, the big winner was, once again, Fernando Alonso, who went from 7th to 3rd in the space of two corners. Steering clear of any danger, the Spaniard went all the way around the outside of two rows to claim the final podium spot. In fact, the entire field managed to avoid contact on the opening lap, showing incredible driving accuracy. Once he had maintained his lead, Sebastian Vettel quickly made the break, scampering away from Rosberg. By the time the Mercedes made his first pit stop, Vettel was over 7.5 seconds clear. As the race ran on, it became more and more obvious that Vettel was strolling to a comfortable victory, so attention turned to the chasing pack behind. After the first stops, Hamilton and Grosjean began reeling in Mark Webber quite quickly, with the Australian on older tyres. Just as it looked that the result was inevitable, Daniel Ricciardo made an uncharacteristic error, locking up both front tyres and sliding into the barriers. This brought out the safety car, eradicating Vettel's lead and throwing the result back into the air.
This lasted next to no time however, as no sooner had the safety car pitted then Vettel made the break once again. With one Red Bull scampering away, the attention turned to the other. Aussie Mark Webber had been battling with Hamilton and Grosjean since the early laps, and this seemed set to be an ongoing rivalry. However, his cause was aided by the sight of Grosjean's engine giving in on lap 38. When the pair then made their final stops, they fell back behind the majority of the chasing pack, meaning a full-throttle race to the finish. It seemed to be a tactical decision that worked, as the Aussie managed to perform the undercut on Nico Rosberg, to take an effective 3rd place. However, this was swiftly wiped away by Raikkonen's ability to perform the same undercut. With both Alonso, who was trying to one stop, and Vettel way up the road, the final podium spot was the only thing up for grabs at this point. With both McLarens one stopping, there were mobile chicanes that needed passing for those behind. However, this often became easier said than done, as Hamilton and Rosberg almost collected one another on several occasions when trying to pass Perez.
Despite chasing Raikkonen down to try and claim the final podium spot, Webber began to struggle massively into the final couple of laps, losing four seconds a lap to the Mercedeses behind. He was eventually passed by both, before being forced to retire with a lack of fuel, and a sick engine, eventually setting fire to itself on the final lap. It is just the latest in a long list of misfortune for the Aussie, who will be glad to leave the sport at this rate! In contrast, his teammate Vettel came home to win the race with ease, leading by over 30 seconds from Fernando Alonso. However, for both, the day ended badly. For Webber, having accepted a lift from Fernando Alonso, he was penalised with a 10 place penalty at the next race in Korea, for three reprimands in a season. For Vettel, despite his dominant victory, almost guaranteeing the title, he was roundly booed on the podium. Whilst this was not the first time (it happened at Monza), the first time could easily be explained as being deep Ferrari territory. Singapore is not. To boo any racer is unacceptable, especially when they have performed so admirably this season. Whilst it could be argued that F1 is getting boring, as the German is sweeping everything and everyone aside, this is not justification for booing someone. I do not recall Schumacher being booed wherever he went, or Senna. I think that we have to credit Red Bull for making a terrific car, and Vettel for driving it so well.
As for the title: it looks over. 60 points is a lot to recoup out of 150. We would need to see a few Vettel non-finishes for this to be anything other than a Red Bull and Vettel success. I simply hope that we do see a few more interesting and close races over the next few weeks, otherwise F1 will begin to become a touch tedious and repetitive. Since the change to the tyres Red Bull have seemed best prepared to deal with the rule changes and the tyres, giving them an inherent advantage. Next season, hopefully we will see a slightly different story, getting us back to the start of the season, where any one of 6 or 7 cars could win races.
The big news in the weeks in between the Italian Grand Prix and the trip to Marina Bay is that Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, who had already spurned an approach from Red Bull, decided instead to move to his former employers Ferrari for the start of the 2014 season. My initial reaction to the Finn's decision was that he had decided to return to the team he won his one and only title with, and that the Italian side remained the most likely team to repeat that success with. Therefore, the decision seemed to be odd from the perspective that the Finn turned down Red Bull, but sensible on the basis that he is familiar with many of the Ferrari team, and I feel that he will settle in quicker with. However, reports over the following days suggested that Raikkonen's decision was motivated by both success and finances. The former McLaren man, in interviews with the international media, implied that he had decided to make the move to the Scuderia as Lotus had failed to pay his wages for a month. This simply puts the icing on the cake for the Finn, who has enjoyed a reasonable amount of success with the British team, but he needs to make that step up the grid if he wants to realistically challenge for any titles in the future.
Raikkonen, who was also suffering the effects of an injection he had into his back, was clearly still distracted by his new contract, as his qualifying did not go to plan. On any street circuit it is important to qualify well, as those further down the grid are more succeptible to first lap incidents, and getting stuck behind slower cars in front. In Q1, the Red Bulls, who had also dominated the practice sessions, were the only team able to cruise through into Q2 using only the hard tyres. Even the Mercedes, who have been notoriously good on a single lap, were unable to just stay on the hard tyres. Ferrari had an unwanted scare, as Felipe Massa found himself in the bottom 6 as the flag dropped. Fortunately for the Italians, the Brazilian managed to get himself into the relative safety of mid-table, but he did little to put himself in the shop window. The big casualty from Q1 was Paul di Resta. The Brit has struggled in recent races, and is no longer a stranger to exiting in the first qualifying session, so perhaps it should not be such a shock. Q2 saw Raikkonen depart as the big name dropout, as his back caused him too much pain to get his best lap. The man to take his place was Esteban Gutierrez. The Sauber driver managed to break into the top 10 for the first time, outqualifying his more experienced teammate in the progress. Vettel's dominance in the first two qualifying sessions seemed to be continued in the final shootout, as he blasted into the 1:42's, a full seven tenths faster than his nearest rivals. So convinced was the German that he had done enough, he decided not to return to the track, instead becoming a spectator. However, he would have been a nervous onlooker as Nico Rosberg set the fastest first sector on his final lap. As the Mercedes passed the line, Vettel managed a sigh of relief, as Rosberg could only get within a tenth of his initial time.
That one tenth would prove pivotal in the run to the first corner. Unusually, the Red Bull was beaten off the line by Rosberg, who powered off the line. Having passed Vettel before the first corner, the Mercedes ran wide into turn 2, allowing Vettel to sneak back up the inside to get the lead back. Behind, the big winner was, once again, Fernando Alonso, who went from 7th to 3rd in the space of two corners. Steering clear of any danger, the Spaniard went all the way around the outside of two rows to claim the final podium spot. In fact, the entire field managed to avoid contact on the opening lap, showing incredible driving accuracy. Once he had maintained his lead, Sebastian Vettel quickly made the break, scampering away from Rosberg. By the time the Mercedes made his first pit stop, Vettel was over 7.5 seconds clear. As the race ran on, it became more and more obvious that Vettel was strolling to a comfortable victory, so attention turned to the chasing pack behind. After the first stops, Hamilton and Grosjean began reeling in Mark Webber quite quickly, with the Australian on older tyres. Just as it looked that the result was inevitable, Daniel Ricciardo made an uncharacteristic error, locking up both front tyres and sliding into the barriers. This brought out the safety car, eradicating Vettel's lead and throwing the result back into the air.
This lasted next to no time however, as no sooner had the safety car pitted then Vettel made the break once again. With one Red Bull scampering away, the attention turned to the other. Aussie Mark Webber had been battling with Hamilton and Grosjean since the early laps, and this seemed set to be an ongoing rivalry. However, his cause was aided by the sight of Grosjean's engine giving in on lap 38. When the pair then made their final stops, they fell back behind the majority of the chasing pack, meaning a full-throttle race to the finish. It seemed to be a tactical decision that worked, as the Aussie managed to perform the undercut on Nico Rosberg, to take an effective 3rd place. However, this was swiftly wiped away by Raikkonen's ability to perform the same undercut. With both Alonso, who was trying to one stop, and Vettel way up the road, the final podium spot was the only thing up for grabs at this point. With both McLarens one stopping, there were mobile chicanes that needed passing for those behind. However, this often became easier said than done, as Hamilton and Rosberg almost collected one another on several occasions when trying to pass Perez.
Despite chasing Raikkonen down to try and claim the final podium spot, Webber began to struggle massively into the final couple of laps, losing four seconds a lap to the Mercedeses behind. He was eventually passed by both, before being forced to retire with a lack of fuel, and a sick engine, eventually setting fire to itself on the final lap. It is just the latest in a long list of misfortune for the Aussie, who will be glad to leave the sport at this rate! In contrast, his teammate Vettel came home to win the race with ease, leading by over 30 seconds from Fernando Alonso. However, for both, the day ended badly. For Webber, having accepted a lift from Fernando Alonso, he was penalised with a 10 place penalty at the next race in Korea, for three reprimands in a season. For Vettel, despite his dominant victory, almost guaranteeing the title, he was roundly booed on the podium. Whilst this was not the first time (it happened at Monza), the first time could easily be explained as being deep Ferrari territory. Singapore is not. To boo any racer is unacceptable, especially when they have performed so admirably this season. Whilst it could be argued that F1 is getting boring, as the German is sweeping everything and everyone aside, this is not justification for booing someone. I do not recall Schumacher being booed wherever he went, or Senna. I think that we have to credit Red Bull for making a terrific car, and Vettel for driving it so well.
As for the title: it looks over. 60 points is a lot to recoup out of 150. We would need to see a few Vettel non-finishes for this to be anything other than a Red Bull and Vettel success. I simply hope that we do see a few more interesting and close races over the next few weeks, otherwise F1 will begin to become a touch tedious and repetitive. Since the change to the tyres Red Bull have seemed best prepared to deal with the rule changes and the tyres, giving them an inherent advantage. Next season, hopefully we will see a slightly different story, getting us back to the start of the season, where any one of 6 or 7 cars could win races.
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
Italian Grand Prix 2013: The Place Where Ferrari's Dreams Died?
Today's Italian Grand Prix marked the end of the European F1 season. Next, the Formula 1 roadshow rolls into Asia, with races at Singapore, Japan and Abu Dhabi to come. With Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel so far in the lead in both championships, it looks as though the end of the European season has coincided with the end of the F1 season as a competitive entity. Vettel's victory in the heart of Ferrari territory, at a circuit where they were unfavoured, signals a level of dominance that I fear will continue for the rest of the season.
But just how dominant have the Red Bulls been in Europe? It is interesting to look at the statistics of the European season, and the winners of each race. I will do a run down of the races undertaken, the winners, and the points based purely on European races. Spain was the first race of the season, which saw Fernando Alonso take his second victory on home soil. Monaco saw a win for Mercedes and Nico Rosberg, who took their second win in the following European race in Britain. Another home victory saw Vettel take his first European victory of the season at the Nurburgring. He would win another two, in Belgium and today in Italy, after a first Mercedes win for Lewis Hamilton in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Whilst the Red Bull man has won the most European races this year, he only beats Nico Rosberg by one, and the majority have come in the latter part of the season. This implies that his dominance is not as strong as initially suspected.
This is supported by the points accrued. Though Vettel does remain in the lead on European points, he is only 16 clear of Fernando Alonso. If we compare that to the 53 point lead that the German enjoys overall, 37 points of that must have come outside of Europe. Bearing in mind that there have been only 5 races thus far away from the continent, it implies that Vettel's dominance is considerably greater in Asia and America than in Europe. A little further analysis of the points also indicates that Vettel's dominance in Europe has only occurred since his home win in Germany. 75% of his European points have come in the final four races of the European season. If we compare this to Alonso, the last four account for only 55%, meaning that he has remained the more consistent. Whilst Vettel may not have been as dominant in Europe as elsewhere, Red Bull as a team certainly have. Between them, Vettel and Webber have accrued 206 points on European soil, a full 53 points clear of their nearest rivals, which would be Mercedes, with Ferrari a further four points back. Overall, Red Bull's lead currently stands at 102 points, which implies that Red Bull's dominance as a team is almost identical in Europe to away from it. Obviously, these statistics may alter, with a further 7 races to take place away from Europe this season.
In terms of the Italian Grand Prix, the practice sessions were all dominated by the world-champion elect. The qualifying session on the Saturday was expected to have a similar result. After the heroics of the Marussias and Guido van der Garde in Belgium's Q1, they sadly could not replicate the feat, perishing at the first time of asking. Q2 proved far more shocking, as the pole sitter of the four previous races Lewis Hamilton, 'drove like an idiot', in his own words, and could only manage 12th. Both of the Lotuses also had to watch Q3 from the pits, with Nico Hulkenberg and the two Toro Rossos being the shock inclusions to Q3. Having sauntered through to third session, Vettel cruised to pole, with team mate Mark Webber ensuring that Red Bull locked out the front row for the first time since the second race of the season. The big surprise happened immediately behind them, as Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg angered the Italian population, beating the Ferrari pair to 3rd on the grid. In double disappointment, Alonso had to settle for 5th, being beaten by his teammate for the first time in several races. This would do his race victory chances no favours, and would ultimately see his title bid go up in smoke.
The start at Monza is always chaotic, with the opening chicane normally causing several collisions throughout the field. This danger will not have been lessened by the start of Vettel. The German locked both front brakes on the turn into turn 1, sending a considerable amount of smoke up, clouding the vision of those behind. This inevitably had an impact on the consertina effect that occurred behind, with Kimi Raikkonen damaging his front wing in contact with Sergio Perez, sending the McLaren driver onto the escape road. Even more concerning for Vettel, the lock-up left worries of flat-spots on his tyres, with the potential to cause damage to the car, and ruin his one stop race. The Ferraris both had excellent starts, passing both Hulkenberg and Webber by the end of lap 2, with Alonso making an exceptional pass around the Red Bull man at the Curva Grande. Inter-team cooperation then started taking place, with Massa offering no resistance to a move from Alonso a few laps later, meaning that the Spaniard could get after Vettel. The German, though, was showing no signs of a flat spot, edging out a gap of 7 seconds by lap 10.
Further back, after a good start, Lewis Hamilton was still struggling in the midfield. Having made up two places from the start, the Brit had failed to surge through the field, instead being stuck in a battle with Jenson Button for 10th. However, his afternoon was ruined by a couple of early problems. First, the engineers discovered an issue with the radio communications between the driver and the team, meaning that no message could be delivered throughout the race. Even more dramatic was the announcement that the Mercedes had a slow puncture, meaning that the Brit needed to pit, wrecking his plans for a one-stop race. This also explained the slow progress that Hamilton had been making. That message could not be delivered to the driver though, meaning that Hamilton stayed out for a further 2 laps before finally recieving the message and making the stop, but this will have cost him valuable time. He rejoined behind Kimi Raikkonen, who had been fighting back from the first lap incident. The Finn had been setting a succession of fastest laps, and looked like flying through the field. Hamilton, on fresher tyres, got right among the fastest laps, swapping the honour with the Lotus. As a result of this scintillating pace, the pair of them managed to pass those they were fighting before they made their stops (Button, Perez, Grosjean, Ricciardo). But would they have to stop again?
Vettel's suspected problems seemed to be coming back to haunt him, as when he past the 20th lap, he began to lose half to three-quarters of a second a lap. Clearly concerned, the Red Bull mechanics decided to pull him in on lap 23, when the lead was just 5 seconds. After a quick inspection (2.7 seconds), they concluded that all was fine, and sent him back out. Alonso, attempting to press home his advantage, stayed out. Unfortunately for the Ferrari driver, this plan completely backfired. The Red Bull team's decision to keep Vettel out there was vindicated, as the German extended his lead to 10 seconds by the time Alonso made his pit stop. Instead of retaining the lead, the Spaniard nearly fell back behind Webber. Further back, Hamilton and Raikkonen continued their onslaught on the field, passing the other Mercedes in Nico Rosberg. However, this was halted by the unsurprising decision by Lotus to pit Raikkonen a second time, dropping him way down the field. Hamilton pressed on, passing Nico Hulkenberg for 5th, but ultimately his progress came to the same end, requiring another stop. However, just like the stop before, continuing radio problems meant that he stayed out a further two laps than they intended. Despite the best efforts of the Mercedes pit crew, he rejoined behind Raikkonen once again, in 14th, meaning that he would need to pass him on track. But would they be able to trouble the points?
Up front, whilst Vettel scampered away at the front, Alonso was challenged heavily by the other Red Bull of Mark Webber. The Red Bull team would have liked nothing more than a 1-2 on Ferrari territory, further showing their dominance. However, once again misfortune struck the Aussie, who was told that they had a gear issue between the 2nd and 3rd gears. This meant that he couldn't get the necessary acceleration to reel in the Ferrari, meaning that he began to fall back a little. Even worse news was to follow for Christian Horner and the boys on the pit wall at Red Bull. Vettel seemed to be developing the same problems as his team mate. Fortunately, he had built up a healthy lead of over 12 seconds, meaning that he could take it a bit easier without costing himself the race. However, the news that the Red Bulls were having problems had filtered back to the Ferrari pit wall, and the drivers were soon pushing hard to catch the pair in front.
In the battle for the points, Hamilton took the lead in the push for the top 10, passing the Lotus brilliantly round the Curva Grande, before getting past Perez's McLaren to make it into the points. But he wasn't finished there. He quickly managed to catch and dispatch the other McLaren of Button, before chasing down the pair in front of him. This led to a final lap dash for 7th place, with both Grosjean and Ricciardo in the Mercedes's sights. Up front, despite struggling through the final few laps, Vettel managed to nurse his car home for the maximum 25 points, winning by just 5.7 seconds. His 53 point lead seems insumountable, but this race could have been a different story had the problem emerged a few laps sooner. Perhaps he will have a bigger fight from his new Australian team mate, but for now he remains the top dog in Formula 1.
But just how dominant have the Red Bulls been in Europe? It is interesting to look at the statistics of the European season, and the winners of each race. I will do a run down of the races undertaken, the winners, and the points based purely on European races. Spain was the first race of the season, which saw Fernando Alonso take his second victory on home soil. Monaco saw a win for Mercedes and Nico Rosberg, who took their second win in the following European race in Britain. Another home victory saw Vettel take his first European victory of the season at the Nurburgring. He would win another two, in Belgium and today in Italy, after a first Mercedes win for Lewis Hamilton in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Whilst the Red Bull man has won the most European races this year, he only beats Nico Rosberg by one, and the majority have come in the latter part of the season. This implies that his dominance is not as strong as initially suspected.
This is supported by the points accrued. Though Vettel does remain in the lead on European points, he is only 16 clear of Fernando Alonso. If we compare that to the 53 point lead that the German enjoys overall, 37 points of that must have come outside of Europe. Bearing in mind that there have been only 5 races thus far away from the continent, it implies that Vettel's dominance is considerably greater in Asia and America than in Europe. A little further analysis of the points also indicates that Vettel's dominance in Europe has only occurred since his home win in Germany. 75% of his European points have come in the final four races of the European season. If we compare this to Alonso, the last four account for only 55%, meaning that he has remained the more consistent. Whilst Vettel may not have been as dominant in Europe as elsewhere, Red Bull as a team certainly have. Between them, Vettel and Webber have accrued 206 points on European soil, a full 53 points clear of their nearest rivals, which would be Mercedes, with Ferrari a further four points back. Overall, Red Bull's lead currently stands at 102 points, which implies that Red Bull's dominance as a team is almost identical in Europe to away from it. Obviously, these statistics may alter, with a further 7 races to take place away from Europe this season.
In terms of the Italian Grand Prix, the practice sessions were all dominated by the world-champion elect. The qualifying session on the Saturday was expected to have a similar result. After the heroics of the Marussias and Guido van der Garde in Belgium's Q1, they sadly could not replicate the feat, perishing at the first time of asking. Q2 proved far more shocking, as the pole sitter of the four previous races Lewis Hamilton, 'drove like an idiot', in his own words, and could only manage 12th. Both of the Lotuses also had to watch Q3 from the pits, with Nico Hulkenberg and the two Toro Rossos being the shock inclusions to Q3. Having sauntered through to third session, Vettel cruised to pole, with team mate Mark Webber ensuring that Red Bull locked out the front row for the first time since the second race of the season. The big surprise happened immediately behind them, as Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg angered the Italian population, beating the Ferrari pair to 3rd on the grid. In double disappointment, Alonso had to settle for 5th, being beaten by his teammate for the first time in several races. This would do his race victory chances no favours, and would ultimately see his title bid go up in smoke.
The start at Monza is always chaotic, with the opening chicane normally causing several collisions throughout the field. This danger will not have been lessened by the start of Vettel. The German locked both front brakes on the turn into turn 1, sending a considerable amount of smoke up, clouding the vision of those behind. This inevitably had an impact on the consertina effect that occurred behind, with Kimi Raikkonen damaging his front wing in contact with Sergio Perez, sending the McLaren driver onto the escape road. Even more concerning for Vettel, the lock-up left worries of flat-spots on his tyres, with the potential to cause damage to the car, and ruin his one stop race. The Ferraris both had excellent starts, passing both Hulkenberg and Webber by the end of lap 2, with Alonso making an exceptional pass around the Red Bull man at the Curva Grande. Inter-team cooperation then started taking place, with Massa offering no resistance to a move from Alonso a few laps later, meaning that the Spaniard could get after Vettel. The German, though, was showing no signs of a flat spot, edging out a gap of 7 seconds by lap 10.
Further back, after a good start, Lewis Hamilton was still struggling in the midfield. Having made up two places from the start, the Brit had failed to surge through the field, instead being stuck in a battle with Jenson Button for 10th. However, his afternoon was ruined by a couple of early problems. First, the engineers discovered an issue with the radio communications between the driver and the team, meaning that no message could be delivered throughout the race. Even more dramatic was the announcement that the Mercedes had a slow puncture, meaning that the Brit needed to pit, wrecking his plans for a one-stop race. This also explained the slow progress that Hamilton had been making. That message could not be delivered to the driver though, meaning that Hamilton stayed out for a further 2 laps before finally recieving the message and making the stop, but this will have cost him valuable time. He rejoined behind Kimi Raikkonen, who had been fighting back from the first lap incident. The Finn had been setting a succession of fastest laps, and looked like flying through the field. Hamilton, on fresher tyres, got right among the fastest laps, swapping the honour with the Lotus. As a result of this scintillating pace, the pair of them managed to pass those they were fighting before they made their stops (Button, Perez, Grosjean, Ricciardo). But would they have to stop again?
Vettel's suspected problems seemed to be coming back to haunt him, as when he past the 20th lap, he began to lose half to three-quarters of a second a lap. Clearly concerned, the Red Bull mechanics decided to pull him in on lap 23, when the lead was just 5 seconds. After a quick inspection (2.7 seconds), they concluded that all was fine, and sent him back out. Alonso, attempting to press home his advantage, stayed out. Unfortunately for the Ferrari driver, this plan completely backfired. The Red Bull team's decision to keep Vettel out there was vindicated, as the German extended his lead to 10 seconds by the time Alonso made his pit stop. Instead of retaining the lead, the Spaniard nearly fell back behind Webber. Further back, Hamilton and Raikkonen continued their onslaught on the field, passing the other Mercedes in Nico Rosberg. However, this was halted by the unsurprising decision by Lotus to pit Raikkonen a second time, dropping him way down the field. Hamilton pressed on, passing Nico Hulkenberg for 5th, but ultimately his progress came to the same end, requiring another stop. However, just like the stop before, continuing radio problems meant that he stayed out a further two laps than they intended. Despite the best efforts of the Mercedes pit crew, he rejoined behind Raikkonen once again, in 14th, meaning that he would need to pass him on track. But would they be able to trouble the points?
Up front, whilst Vettel scampered away at the front, Alonso was challenged heavily by the other Red Bull of Mark Webber. The Red Bull team would have liked nothing more than a 1-2 on Ferrari territory, further showing their dominance. However, once again misfortune struck the Aussie, who was told that they had a gear issue between the 2nd and 3rd gears. This meant that he couldn't get the necessary acceleration to reel in the Ferrari, meaning that he began to fall back a little. Even worse news was to follow for Christian Horner and the boys on the pit wall at Red Bull. Vettel seemed to be developing the same problems as his team mate. Fortunately, he had built up a healthy lead of over 12 seconds, meaning that he could take it a bit easier without costing himself the race. However, the news that the Red Bulls were having problems had filtered back to the Ferrari pit wall, and the drivers were soon pushing hard to catch the pair in front.
In the battle for the points, Hamilton took the lead in the push for the top 10, passing the Lotus brilliantly round the Curva Grande, before getting past Perez's McLaren to make it into the points. But he wasn't finished there. He quickly managed to catch and dispatch the other McLaren of Button, before chasing down the pair in front of him. This led to a final lap dash for 7th place, with both Grosjean and Ricciardo in the Mercedes's sights. Up front, despite struggling through the final few laps, Vettel managed to nurse his car home for the maximum 25 points, winning by just 5.7 seconds. His 53 point lead seems insumountable, but this race could have been a different story had the problem emerged a few laps sooner. Perhaps he will have a bigger fight from his new Australian team mate, but for now he remains the top dog in Formula 1.
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Transfer Deadline Day: A Summer Of Sagas
This summer has seen the usual hustle and bustle around Europe, from car-window interviews to gossip columns. The main theme of this transfer window has been sagas, with players such as Bale, Suarez, Rooney and Fabregas all involved in drawn-out proceedings. However, the money that has been spent on players this summer is astonishing, and this post will review the biggest and most important signings and sagas from around the major European nations.
England:
Biggest Fee Paid: Mesut Ozil - Real Madrid to Arsenal (£42.4 Million)
Biggest Fee Recieved: Gareth Bale - Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid (£85.3 Million)
Most Active: Crystal Palace (16 new signings)
Most Spent: Tottenham Hotspur (£109 Million)
Review:
As is illustrated by the above and below statistics, it is England where the majority of the big money moves have been. English clubs also account for the vast majority of transfer sagas this summer, with Gareth Bale's seemingly inevitable move to Real Madrid taking forever to complete. Another man that commanded a considerable amount of column inches this summer was Luis Suarez. Having stated his displeasure at percieved 'broken promises' from the Liverpool hierarchy, he made his intention to leave clear. Cue two bids from Arsenal, the second designed to trigger a release clause in his contract. Embarrassingly for the Gunners, they had misinterpreted the clause, meaning that no deal had been struck. As the saga dragged on, it became more apparent that the Uruguayan would not be leaving Liverpool without a fight. This eventually culminated in Suarez accepting that he would have to stay at Anfield.
The big winners from this window are undoubtedly Tottenham Hotspur. Being able to spend £109 Million and have only effectively spent 25 puts them in good stead for the Financial Fair Play regulations, and gives them an enormous amount of talent at the same time. The big losers: Manchester United. A distinct lack of signings will do little to calm the doubters of David Moyes and Ed Woodward, and the fact that they wasted so much time on the sagas of Cesc Fabregas, Thiago Alcantara, Wayne Rooney and the Everton duo of Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines will have further exacerbated matters. To end up with only one major signing this summer is poor, and not what you would expect a championship winning side to manage. Had they decided not to sign anyone, that is a different matter. However, having chased and failed, Moyes's reputation will not have been aided.
England's transfer deadline day saw just two big money moves. Of the top 6, only two had failed to spend any money to this point, and it was today (arguably with an element of panic-buying) that saw them finally open the cheque-book. Firstly, Arsenal managed to capture the mercurial German Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid. Though a good signing for the Gunners, I question firstly the £42.4 Million fee, and the fact that midfield is not an area that I would consider weak in the Arsenal squad. They would have been much better off buying defenders or strikers. The second was expected: Marouane Fellaini's move to Manchester United. Though they cut it fine, after their pursuit of Ander Herrera ended shambolically (with reports of imposters attempting to defraud money from the Spaniards), they did manage to finalise the former Everton man. It seems that they did not manage to finalise a deal for Real Madrid's Fabio Coentrao, with documents handed in late and with multiple spelling mistakes. All in all, an eventful final day, but not one United will look back on with fondness.
Total Paid: £624,560,000
Spain:
Biggest Fee Paid: Gareth Bale - Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid (£85.3 Million)
Biggest Fee Recieved: Radamel Falcao - Atletico Madrid to AS Monaco (£49 Million)
Most Active: Elche and Sevilla (14 new signings)
Most Spent: Real Madrid (£146.1 Million)
Review:
As is the case practically every season, the main Spanish transfer stories revolved around the El Clasico pair, with a case of one-upmanship seemingly prevolent. Real Madrid cast the first stone, signing the hotly rated pairing of Isco and Asier Illaramendi for £20 Million and £34 Million respectively. Barcelona, having not spent at that point, then unleashed what was, at the time, the biggest transfer of the summer, with the capture of Santos wonderkid Neymar. For a fee of £57 Million, he has a lot to live up to at the Catalan club, but what team would not want a strikeforce of Messi and Neymar? Madrid, not to be outdone by their fiercest rivals, had the final say. After a prolonged negotiation, which went on far longer than anyone cared for, they managed to snare their man the day before the deadline. Gareth Bale would join the Galacticos at Madrid for a world record fee of £85.3 Million.
The main winners in this transfer window are probably the pair of them, as they now both have formidable squads that will be envied by most managers around the world, and they are both capable of claiming any title they want this season. It is an extraordinary amount of money to pay for those players, but if they come good, the rewards will be just as substantial. The main loser is probably Atletico Madrid. Although they managed to recoup £50 Million for their talismanic striker Falcao, they failed to adequately replace him. Though David Villa is an excellent signing, his powers are beginning to wane, and I think they will miss the big Columbian's presence up front this season.
Transfer deadline day in Spain consisted mostly of the unveiling of the world's most expensive player, with Gareth Bale paraded around the Santiago Bernabeu in the famous white shirt. The main moves on deadline day were all from Real Madrid, with the need to recoup some of their expenditure. The first move was the Brazilian playmaker Kaka back to AC Milan. After a turbulent few seasons in Spain, which most will consider a failure for the former World's Best Player, he will be glad to have left. Finally, Mesut Ozil's transfer will have helped line the fairly empty Madrid coffers, as £42.4 Million is not to be sniffed at. That made the day a bittersweet one for the Madrid fans, as the German had become a fan favourite, and many were sad to see him leave.
Total Paid: £313,000,000
Italy:
Biggest Fee Paid: Gonzalo Higuain - Real Madrid to Napoli (£31.3 Million)
Biggest Fee Recieved: Edinson Cavani - Napoli to Paris Saint Germain (£55 Million)
Most Active: Parma (29 new signings)
Most Spent: Napoli (£71.7 Million)
Review:
Italian football's summer transfer window was dominated by one club: Napoli. The initial speculation over the future of Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani culminated in his transfer to Paris Saint Germain. Due to the amount of interest in his signature, Napoli were able to hold clubs to ransom, meaning that the £55 Million release clause in his contract needed to be met. Once that departure had happened, a spending spree could begin. Though six or seven top quality players were signed, the marquee signing was undoubtedly that of Gonzalo Higuain from Real Madrid for a fee of £31.3 Million. However, the Naples side was not the only one investing in a top quality striker, after the surprise news that Mario Gomez had left European Champions Bayern Munich in favour of Fiorentina for a reported fee of £15 Million. The champions Juventus, unwilling to be outdone, managed to snare two: firstly Fernando Llorente on a free, and then Carlos Tevez from Manchester City for a fee of £10 Million.
The main winners of this transfer window in Italy have undoubtedly been Napoli, though Juventus's forward line is now impressive. The trio of signings from Madrid, with Jose Callejon and Raul Albiol joining Higuain, along with Liverpool's Pepe Reina and PSV Eindhoven's Dries Mertens. This side is now well capable of, at least, Champions League qualification, and perhaps even the title. The losers in the window are probably the Milan sides, with AC losing Kevin-Prince Boateng, though they did rectify that somewhat with the signing of Madrid's Kaka. Inter, however, have failed to land that marquee signing, electing instead to sign a few players at around £6-8 Million. How successful that will prove is yet to be seen.
Deadline day was relatively quiet in Italy, with the vast majority of deals done early in the summer. Only Milan were particularly busy, with the initial signing of Real Madrid's Kaka, for a reported fee of £8 Million. This is especially impressive when you consider that they managed to get £56 Million for the Brazilian from the Spaniards just 4 years ago. Further signings of Valter Birsa from Genoa and Alessandro Matri from Juventus may prove good signings, but they pretty much constituted the largest signings on the day itself.
Total Paid: £295,300,000
France:
Biggest Fee Paid: Edinson Cavani - Napoli to Paris Saint Germain (£55 Million)
Biggest Fee Recieved: Mahmadou Sakho - Paris Saint Germain (£18 Million)
Most Active: Bastia and AS Monaco (12 new signings)
Most Spent: AS Monaco (£140.7 Million)
Review:
As was to be expected, the two oil rich clubs almost monopolised the spending in France, with Paris Saint Germain and AS Monaco fighting it out between themselves for the biggest Ligue 1 transfer of the summer. AS Monaco began the spending early, with firstly a £50 Million deal for Radamel Falcao, before a £70 Million double swoop for Porto's James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho. Not to be outdone, the Parisians then broke the principality's Falcao record with a £55 Million transfer of Edinson Cavani. They backed this up with a £15 Million of Lille's Lucas Digne and a £31.4 Million transfer of Roma's Marquinhos. Monaco then finished the spending with deals for Toulalan, Romero and finally Sevilla's Geoffrey Kondogbia, taking their total past £140 Million.
If both of these sides constitute the winners in this season's transfer market, then Lille and Montpellier have to be the losers. If those two sides want to be challenging for honours and Champions League places then they need to be continuing to strengthen. Lille, in particular, who have lost some of their star talent in recent years, have failed to adequately replace them.
With the two big spenders getting the majority of their deals done early doors, it was over to the sides like Lyon and Marseille to provide the entertainment on deadline day. The days leading up to September 2nd had been dominated by the behaviour of Lille midfielder and Marseille target Florian Thuavin. After some exceptional performances at the back-end of last season, the 20-year-old was advised to request a new contract, despite only having signed in January. The suspicions were raised that this was Marseille's advice, attempting to drive a wedge between the two parties. If this is the reason, it worked to perfection for OM, who managed, eventually, to grab the youngster for £12 Million. This left a very sour taste in the mouths of Lille, who complained that Marseille had unfairly approached their player. Other than this drama, there was little on deadline day to get unduly excited about.
Total Paid: £311,700,000
Germany:
Biggest Fee Paid: Mario Gotze - Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich (£32.5 Million)
Biggest Fee Recieved: Mario Gotze - Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich (£32.5 Million)
Most Active: Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart (9 new signings)
Most Spent: Bayern Munich (£52.5 Million)
Review:
Germany, similarly to Italy, has had a relatively quiet summer in terms of transfers. After much initial speculation about the futures of Dortmund pair Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski, their fates were sealed very early on, with Gotze joining Bayern Munich for £32.5 Million, and Lewandowski signing a new contract at Signal Iduna Park. Certainly, these two clubs have been the largest spenders in the transfer market, with the highly rated Thiago Alcantara joining Gotze at Bayern Munich, after being wanted by Manchester United, to further strengthen the midfield. For Dortmund, they added to the forward line early by bringing in the pacy Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from St. Etienne for around £11.5 Million, and then replaced Gotze with Shakhtar Donetsk's notoriously unspellable Henrikh Mkhitaryan for around £20 Million. The Ukrainian had been tracked by Liverpool and Tottenham before moving to Germany.
Other big transfers from Germany include Mario Gomez's decision to leave the European champions in favour of Fiorentina, Luiz Gustavo's £17 Million move to Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen's signing of Hamburg's highly rated youngster Son-Ming Heun, in order to replace the departed Andre Schurrle. In the final few days of the transfer window, the major transfer deal was that of AC Milan's Kevin Prince Boateng to Schalke 04. A fantastic signing for the Germans, as they had needed that extra bit of creativity. Other than that, very little activity occurred on the final day.
Unlike in the other countries, there does not appear to be many obvious winners or losers in the Bundesliga. Both Bayern and Dortmund bought well, but they also lost a couple of top quality players. Schalke and Leverkusen both added well to their squads to move them closer to the top two. Arguably the only loser is Hamburg, as they failed to replace the top-scoring Son after his departure to Leverkusen.
Total Paid: £216,500,000
Conclusion:
All of the nations have spent big this season, with every league being involved in a transfer over £30 Million. This has caused records to be shattered in England, and I suspect around many clubs too. How well these players will perform is yet to be seen, but the price tags placed on many will put more pressure on their shoulders. This year's deadline day was not as dramatic as those of previous years, but the amount of money spent more than makes up for this.
England:
Biggest Fee Paid: Mesut Ozil - Real Madrid to Arsenal (£42.4 Million)
Biggest Fee Recieved: Gareth Bale - Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid (£85.3 Million)
Most Active: Crystal Palace (16 new signings)
Most Spent: Tottenham Hotspur (£109 Million)
Review:
As is illustrated by the above and below statistics, it is England where the majority of the big money moves have been. English clubs also account for the vast majority of transfer sagas this summer, with Gareth Bale's seemingly inevitable move to Real Madrid taking forever to complete. Another man that commanded a considerable amount of column inches this summer was Luis Suarez. Having stated his displeasure at percieved 'broken promises' from the Liverpool hierarchy, he made his intention to leave clear. Cue two bids from Arsenal, the second designed to trigger a release clause in his contract. Embarrassingly for the Gunners, they had misinterpreted the clause, meaning that no deal had been struck. As the saga dragged on, it became more apparent that the Uruguayan would not be leaving Liverpool without a fight. This eventually culminated in Suarez accepting that he would have to stay at Anfield.
The big winners from this window are undoubtedly Tottenham Hotspur. Being able to spend £109 Million and have only effectively spent 25 puts them in good stead for the Financial Fair Play regulations, and gives them an enormous amount of talent at the same time. The big losers: Manchester United. A distinct lack of signings will do little to calm the doubters of David Moyes and Ed Woodward, and the fact that they wasted so much time on the sagas of Cesc Fabregas, Thiago Alcantara, Wayne Rooney and the Everton duo of Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines will have further exacerbated matters. To end up with only one major signing this summer is poor, and not what you would expect a championship winning side to manage. Had they decided not to sign anyone, that is a different matter. However, having chased and failed, Moyes's reputation will not have been aided.
England's transfer deadline day saw just two big money moves. Of the top 6, only two had failed to spend any money to this point, and it was today (arguably with an element of panic-buying) that saw them finally open the cheque-book. Firstly, Arsenal managed to capture the mercurial German Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid. Though a good signing for the Gunners, I question firstly the £42.4 Million fee, and the fact that midfield is not an area that I would consider weak in the Arsenal squad. They would have been much better off buying defenders or strikers. The second was expected: Marouane Fellaini's move to Manchester United. Though they cut it fine, after their pursuit of Ander Herrera ended shambolically (with reports of imposters attempting to defraud money from the Spaniards), they did manage to finalise the former Everton man. It seems that they did not manage to finalise a deal for Real Madrid's Fabio Coentrao, with documents handed in late and with multiple spelling mistakes. All in all, an eventful final day, but not one United will look back on with fondness.
Total Paid: £624,560,000
Spain:
Biggest Fee Paid: Gareth Bale - Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid (£85.3 Million)
Biggest Fee Recieved: Radamel Falcao - Atletico Madrid to AS Monaco (£49 Million)
Most Active: Elche and Sevilla (14 new signings)
Most Spent: Real Madrid (£146.1 Million)
Review:
As is the case practically every season, the main Spanish transfer stories revolved around the El Clasico pair, with a case of one-upmanship seemingly prevolent. Real Madrid cast the first stone, signing the hotly rated pairing of Isco and Asier Illaramendi for £20 Million and £34 Million respectively. Barcelona, having not spent at that point, then unleashed what was, at the time, the biggest transfer of the summer, with the capture of Santos wonderkid Neymar. For a fee of £57 Million, he has a lot to live up to at the Catalan club, but what team would not want a strikeforce of Messi and Neymar? Madrid, not to be outdone by their fiercest rivals, had the final say. After a prolonged negotiation, which went on far longer than anyone cared for, they managed to snare their man the day before the deadline. Gareth Bale would join the Galacticos at Madrid for a world record fee of £85.3 Million.
The main winners in this transfer window are probably the pair of them, as they now both have formidable squads that will be envied by most managers around the world, and they are both capable of claiming any title they want this season. It is an extraordinary amount of money to pay for those players, but if they come good, the rewards will be just as substantial. The main loser is probably Atletico Madrid. Although they managed to recoup £50 Million for their talismanic striker Falcao, they failed to adequately replace him. Though David Villa is an excellent signing, his powers are beginning to wane, and I think they will miss the big Columbian's presence up front this season.
Transfer deadline day in Spain consisted mostly of the unveiling of the world's most expensive player, with Gareth Bale paraded around the Santiago Bernabeu in the famous white shirt. The main moves on deadline day were all from Real Madrid, with the need to recoup some of their expenditure. The first move was the Brazilian playmaker Kaka back to AC Milan. After a turbulent few seasons in Spain, which most will consider a failure for the former World's Best Player, he will be glad to have left. Finally, Mesut Ozil's transfer will have helped line the fairly empty Madrid coffers, as £42.4 Million is not to be sniffed at. That made the day a bittersweet one for the Madrid fans, as the German had become a fan favourite, and many were sad to see him leave.
Total Paid: £313,000,000
Italy:
Biggest Fee Paid: Gonzalo Higuain - Real Madrid to Napoli (£31.3 Million)
Biggest Fee Recieved: Edinson Cavani - Napoli to Paris Saint Germain (£55 Million)
Most Active: Parma (29 new signings)
Most Spent: Napoli (£71.7 Million)
Review:
Italian football's summer transfer window was dominated by one club: Napoli. The initial speculation over the future of Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani culminated in his transfer to Paris Saint Germain. Due to the amount of interest in his signature, Napoli were able to hold clubs to ransom, meaning that the £55 Million release clause in his contract needed to be met. Once that departure had happened, a spending spree could begin. Though six or seven top quality players were signed, the marquee signing was undoubtedly that of Gonzalo Higuain from Real Madrid for a fee of £31.3 Million. However, the Naples side was not the only one investing in a top quality striker, after the surprise news that Mario Gomez had left European Champions Bayern Munich in favour of Fiorentina for a reported fee of £15 Million. The champions Juventus, unwilling to be outdone, managed to snare two: firstly Fernando Llorente on a free, and then Carlos Tevez from Manchester City for a fee of £10 Million.
The main winners of this transfer window in Italy have undoubtedly been Napoli, though Juventus's forward line is now impressive. The trio of signings from Madrid, with Jose Callejon and Raul Albiol joining Higuain, along with Liverpool's Pepe Reina and PSV Eindhoven's Dries Mertens. This side is now well capable of, at least, Champions League qualification, and perhaps even the title. The losers in the window are probably the Milan sides, with AC losing Kevin-Prince Boateng, though they did rectify that somewhat with the signing of Madrid's Kaka. Inter, however, have failed to land that marquee signing, electing instead to sign a few players at around £6-8 Million. How successful that will prove is yet to be seen.
Deadline day was relatively quiet in Italy, with the vast majority of deals done early in the summer. Only Milan were particularly busy, with the initial signing of Real Madrid's Kaka, for a reported fee of £8 Million. This is especially impressive when you consider that they managed to get £56 Million for the Brazilian from the Spaniards just 4 years ago. Further signings of Valter Birsa from Genoa and Alessandro Matri from Juventus may prove good signings, but they pretty much constituted the largest signings on the day itself.
Total Paid: £295,300,000
France:
Biggest Fee Paid: Edinson Cavani - Napoli to Paris Saint Germain (£55 Million)
Biggest Fee Recieved: Mahmadou Sakho - Paris Saint Germain (£18 Million)
Most Active: Bastia and AS Monaco (12 new signings)
Most Spent: AS Monaco (£140.7 Million)
Review:
As was to be expected, the two oil rich clubs almost monopolised the spending in France, with Paris Saint Germain and AS Monaco fighting it out between themselves for the biggest Ligue 1 transfer of the summer. AS Monaco began the spending early, with firstly a £50 Million deal for Radamel Falcao, before a £70 Million double swoop for Porto's James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho. Not to be outdone, the Parisians then broke the principality's Falcao record with a £55 Million transfer of Edinson Cavani. They backed this up with a £15 Million of Lille's Lucas Digne and a £31.4 Million transfer of Roma's Marquinhos. Monaco then finished the spending with deals for Toulalan, Romero and finally Sevilla's Geoffrey Kondogbia, taking their total past £140 Million.
If both of these sides constitute the winners in this season's transfer market, then Lille and Montpellier have to be the losers. If those two sides want to be challenging for honours and Champions League places then they need to be continuing to strengthen. Lille, in particular, who have lost some of their star talent in recent years, have failed to adequately replace them.
With the two big spenders getting the majority of their deals done early doors, it was over to the sides like Lyon and Marseille to provide the entertainment on deadline day. The days leading up to September 2nd had been dominated by the behaviour of Lille midfielder and Marseille target Florian Thuavin. After some exceptional performances at the back-end of last season, the 20-year-old was advised to request a new contract, despite only having signed in January. The suspicions were raised that this was Marseille's advice, attempting to drive a wedge between the two parties. If this is the reason, it worked to perfection for OM, who managed, eventually, to grab the youngster for £12 Million. This left a very sour taste in the mouths of Lille, who complained that Marseille had unfairly approached their player. Other than this drama, there was little on deadline day to get unduly excited about.
Total Paid: £311,700,000
Germany:
Biggest Fee Paid: Mario Gotze - Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich (£32.5 Million)
Biggest Fee Recieved: Mario Gotze - Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich (£32.5 Million)
Most Active: Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart (9 new signings)
Most Spent: Bayern Munich (£52.5 Million)
Review:
Germany, similarly to Italy, has had a relatively quiet summer in terms of transfers. After much initial speculation about the futures of Dortmund pair Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski, their fates were sealed very early on, with Gotze joining Bayern Munich for £32.5 Million, and Lewandowski signing a new contract at Signal Iduna Park. Certainly, these two clubs have been the largest spenders in the transfer market, with the highly rated Thiago Alcantara joining Gotze at Bayern Munich, after being wanted by Manchester United, to further strengthen the midfield. For Dortmund, they added to the forward line early by bringing in the pacy Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from St. Etienne for around £11.5 Million, and then replaced Gotze with Shakhtar Donetsk's notoriously unspellable Henrikh Mkhitaryan for around £20 Million. The Ukrainian had been tracked by Liverpool and Tottenham before moving to Germany.
Other big transfers from Germany include Mario Gomez's decision to leave the European champions in favour of Fiorentina, Luiz Gustavo's £17 Million move to Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen's signing of Hamburg's highly rated youngster Son-Ming Heun, in order to replace the departed Andre Schurrle. In the final few days of the transfer window, the major transfer deal was that of AC Milan's Kevin Prince Boateng to Schalke 04. A fantastic signing for the Germans, as they had needed that extra bit of creativity. Other than that, very little activity occurred on the final day.
Unlike in the other countries, there does not appear to be many obvious winners or losers in the Bundesliga. Both Bayern and Dortmund bought well, but they also lost a couple of top quality players. Schalke and Leverkusen both added well to their squads to move them closer to the top two. Arguably the only loser is Hamburg, as they failed to replace the top-scoring Son after his departure to Leverkusen.
Total Paid: £216,500,000
Conclusion:
All of the nations have spent big this season, with every league being involved in a transfer over £30 Million. This has caused records to be shattered in England, and I suspect around many clubs too. How well these players will perform is yet to be seen, but the price tags placed on many will put more pressure on their shoulders. This year's deadline day was not as dramatic as those of previous years, but the amount of money spent more than makes up for this.
Saturday, 31 August 2013
UEFA Super Cup 2013: What A Difference A Year Makes
What a difference a year makes... 8742 little hours... After their complete obliteration at the hands of Atletico Madrid, and in particular Radamel Falcao, in the UEFA Super Cup in 2012, Chelsea this time lined up against Bayern Munich for the same trophy last night. Unlike last year, in which Chelsea had started the night as Champions League champions, and favourites, last night the Londoners began as distinct outsiders, and Europa League holders. With Bayern Munich sweeping all aside on their route to the Champions League title last year, and with the highly sought-after Pep Guardiola now at the helm, there were few that suggested that Chelsea would realistically win. However, with Mourinho back at his spiritual home, Chelsea were quietly confident. And history was on their side...
Last May, Chelsea were in a vastly similar position, in which they lined up against a heavily favoured Bayern Munich side. This was not for the UEFA Super Cup, but for the most impressive European accolade available, the Champions League. Further supporting Munich's tag of favourites was the fact that they were playing on home soil, at the Allianz Arena. The early predictions looked fairly accurate, as the Bavarians set about their English opponents. Chances came and went, with Olic, Gomez and Robben all coming close, with the latter rapping the post with a low drive. Chelsea offered little in the way of forward motion, with Solomon Kalou having their best opportunity. However, as the game moved towards the last ten minutes, Bayern upped the pace, which paid off almost immediately. Toni Kroos placed an excellent cross to the far post, which was met by Muller. His downwards header bounced off the floor and into the roof of the net, handing Bayern a valuable 1-0 lead. With time ticking down, Chelsea won a corner. Another fantastic delivery from Juan Mata found Didier Drogba, who powered the header past Manuel Neuer to send the game into extra time.
In extra time, the pattern of Bayern dominance continued. Just 5 minutes into the extra period, a poor challenge by Drogba on Franck Ribery earned the Bavarians a penalty. However, Robben's spot-kick was poor and easily saved by Cech. The rest of the extra time was tight and uneventful, meaning that the game went to the lottery of a penalty shootout. After Bayern scored their first, Mata could only find Neuer, handing the Germans the advantage. The next four penalties were all scored, including one by Manuel Neuer himself. Ivica Olic was the next man up, but his tame penalty was saved by Cech to his left. After Ashley Cole levelled the match at 3-3, Bastien Schweinsteiger would take the critical penalty. The Bayern captain could only hit the post, meaning that Drogba had the chance to win the Champions League for Chelsea. The Ivorian striker, who had already agreed to move to China with Shanghai Shenhua, knew that this would be his last kick as a Chelsea player. Placing the ball confidently, he sent Neuer the wrong way to win the trophy for the Londoners. Just one year and a few months later, few would see the replay being as similar.
However, it is worth examining the recent history of this Super Cup. Bearing in mind the reputation of the respective competitions from which the two clubs qualify, you would always expect the Champions League winners to be victorious in these games. However, if we look at the last ten matches in the Super Cup, the record is much more even than would be anticipated. Based on the last 10 editions, including last night, the score is Champions League 5 Europa League 5. Even more startling is the fact that the winner has alternated between the Champions League winner and Europa League winner for the last 10 years. Particularly surprising results over the last decade include the 2006 final, in which Sevilla demolished a Ronaldinho inspired Barcelona side 3-0. The 2010 final was also shocking, as the Jose Mourinho managed Inter Milan side was comprehensively beaten by Atletico Madrid, with goals from Forlan and Aguero condemning Mourinho to his second Super Cup defeat. It remains the only trophy that Mourinho has competed for and not won. Last year's final also involved Atletico, as they destroyed the Chelsea side 4-1, with a first half hat-trick from Falcao.
With the evidence of the last decade, it should not have come as too much of a surprise that Chelsea performed admirably during last night's encounter. From the beginning, they made it clear that they would not simply defend, and that they were highly capable on the break. This was proven just 8 minutes in, as a lightning fast counter from Eden Hazard found new-boy Andre Schurrle. The German's cut-back fell neatly into the path of Fernando Torres, who expertly volleyed past the helpless Neuer. Every year there is speculation over whether the Spaniard would reclaim his form, but this finish implies that form is temporary but class in permanent. After the goal, Chelsea had to withstand some heavy pressure from the German champions, but they continued to pose a threat on the break. As the half-time break drew close, Brazilian midfielder Ramires picked up a silly yellow card for a challenge on Ribery, which would come back to haunt him later. Nevertheless, the English side managed to hang onto their lead going into half-time.
Mourinho's team talk would have been very much along the lines of 'keep going, and do not concede early'. But this team talk went out of the window within two minutes of the restart. After a good attacking start, Chelsea lost the ball to Franck Ribery. He jinked inside a couple of defenders before unleashing a powerful shot. Though the shot was close to the goalkeeper, and error by Cech allowed the ball to fly off his hands and into the net to level the scores. Chances then came by for both sides, with Oscar wasting the best one for the Londoners. However, the game turned after 85 minutes. After a poor touch, Bayern substitute Mario Gotze went into a challenge second favourite with Ramires. The Brazilian's challenge was robust, and arguably two footed, leaving the German prostrate on the floor. This prompted a second yellow card for the midfielder, leaving Chelsea in trouble. The remainder of the match took place in Chelsea's half, with long range shots peppering Cech's goal. But the breakthrough did not come, meaning that another 1-1 draw after 90 minutes, and another 30 minutes of extra time.
Extra time started with a bang for the English side, as they reclaimed the lead just three minutes into the extra period. Eden Hazard, who had dominated the Bayern defence all game, managed to skip inside of Phillip Lahm and fire a shot towards goal. Similarly to Bayern's goal, questions must be asked about the goalkeeper, who failed to deal with the shot, allowing it to fly past him. Having claimed the lead, Chelsea then decided to shut up shop, defending deeply and requiring their goalkeeper to redeem himself. And that he did, making stunning saves to deny Mandzukic from point blank range. As time ran out, the shots were coming in from long range, and Bayern had resorted putting crosses into Chelsea's box. It looked impossible to break through the wall of blue defenders, until the very last kick of the game. A hopeful ball was flicked on by Mandzukic to the feet of Javi Martinez, and the Spanish international managed to beat Cech at his near post to ensure that the contest went to penalties.
Remembering the events of May 2012, both sides would have been well aware of each other. This time, the penalties began with 8 consecutive successful penalties, taking the contest effectively into sudden death. After Xherdan Shaqiri found the net (just) for Bayern, the weight fell onto the shoulders of Romelu Lukaku. After a stuttering start, the penalty was weak, and easily saved by Neuer. This ensured that Bayern earned revenge on their English opponents, and claimed the Super Cup, retaining the incredible alternating run between Champions League/Europa League clubs. Chelsea will take solace in the fact that Bayern are currently considered the best team in the world, and Chelsea were within one kick of beating them. This will not prevent the agony for Lukaku and the rest of the squad, but it does show just how far the Londoners have come.
Last May, Chelsea were in a vastly similar position, in which they lined up against a heavily favoured Bayern Munich side. This was not for the UEFA Super Cup, but for the most impressive European accolade available, the Champions League. Further supporting Munich's tag of favourites was the fact that they were playing on home soil, at the Allianz Arena. The early predictions looked fairly accurate, as the Bavarians set about their English opponents. Chances came and went, with Olic, Gomez and Robben all coming close, with the latter rapping the post with a low drive. Chelsea offered little in the way of forward motion, with Solomon Kalou having their best opportunity. However, as the game moved towards the last ten minutes, Bayern upped the pace, which paid off almost immediately. Toni Kroos placed an excellent cross to the far post, which was met by Muller. His downwards header bounced off the floor and into the roof of the net, handing Bayern a valuable 1-0 lead. With time ticking down, Chelsea won a corner. Another fantastic delivery from Juan Mata found Didier Drogba, who powered the header past Manuel Neuer to send the game into extra time.
In extra time, the pattern of Bayern dominance continued. Just 5 minutes into the extra period, a poor challenge by Drogba on Franck Ribery earned the Bavarians a penalty. However, Robben's spot-kick was poor and easily saved by Cech. The rest of the extra time was tight and uneventful, meaning that the game went to the lottery of a penalty shootout. After Bayern scored their first, Mata could only find Neuer, handing the Germans the advantage. The next four penalties were all scored, including one by Manuel Neuer himself. Ivica Olic was the next man up, but his tame penalty was saved by Cech to his left. After Ashley Cole levelled the match at 3-3, Bastien Schweinsteiger would take the critical penalty. The Bayern captain could only hit the post, meaning that Drogba had the chance to win the Champions League for Chelsea. The Ivorian striker, who had already agreed to move to China with Shanghai Shenhua, knew that this would be his last kick as a Chelsea player. Placing the ball confidently, he sent Neuer the wrong way to win the trophy for the Londoners. Just one year and a few months later, few would see the replay being as similar.
However, it is worth examining the recent history of this Super Cup. Bearing in mind the reputation of the respective competitions from which the two clubs qualify, you would always expect the Champions League winners to be victorious in these games. However, if we look at the last ten matches in the Super Cup, the record is much more even than would be anticipated. Based on the last 10 editions, including last night, the score is Champions League 5 Europa League 5. Even more startling is the fact that the winner has alternated between the Champions League winner and Europa League winner for the last 10 years. Particularly surprising results over the last decade include the 2006 final, in which Sevilla demolished a Ronaldinho inspired Barcelona side 3-0. The 2010 final was also shocking, as the Jose Mourinho managed Inter Milan side was comprehensively beaten by Atletico Madrid, with goals from Forlan and Aguero condemning Mourinho to his second Super Cup defeat. It remains the only trophy that Mourinho has competed for and not won. Last year's final also involved Atletico, as they destroyed the Chelsea side 4-1, with a first half hat-trick from Falcao.
With the evidence of the last decade, it should not have come as too much of a surprise that Chelsea performed admirably during last night's encounter. From the beginning, they made it clear that they would not simply defend, and that they were highly capable on the break. This was proven just 8 minutes in, as a lightning fast counter from Eden Hazard found new-boy Andre Schurrle. The German's cut-back fell neatly into the path of Fernando Torres, who expertly volleyed past the helpless Neuer. Every year there is speculation over whether the Spaniard would reclaim his form, but this finish implies that form is temporary but class in permanent. After the goal, Chelsea had to withstand some heavy pressure from the German champions, but they continued to pose a threat on the break. As the half-time break drew close, Brazilian midfielder Ramires picked up a silly yellow card for a challenge on Ribery, which would come back to haunt him later. Nevertheless, the English side managed to hang onto their lead going into half-time.
Mourinho's team talk would have been very much along the lines of 'keep going, and do not concede early'. But this team talk went out of the window within two minutes of the restart. After a good attacking start, Chelsea lost the ball to Franck Ribery. He jinked inside a couple of defenders before unleashing a powerful shot. Though the shot was close to the goalkeeper, and error by Cech allowed the ball to fly off his hands and into the net to level the scores. Chances then came by for both sides, with Oscar wasting the best one for the Londoners. However, the game turned after 85 minutes. After a poor touch, Bayern substitute Mario Gotze went into a challenge second favourite with Ramires. The Brazilian's challenge was robust, and arguably two footed, leaving the German prostrate on the floor. This prompted a second yellow card for the midfielder, leaving Chelsea in trouble. The remainder of the match took place in Chelsea's half, with long range shots peppering Cech's goal. But the breakthrough did not come, meaning that another 1-1 draw after 90 minutes, and another 30 minutes of extra time.
Extra time started with a bang for the English side, as they reclaimed the lead just three minutes into the extra period. Eden Hazard, who had dominated the Bayern defence all game, managed to skip inside of Phillip Lahm and fire a shot towards goal. Similarly to Bayern's goal, questions must be asked about the goalkeeper, who failed to deal with the shot, allowing it to fly past him. Having claimed the lead, Chelsea then decided to shut up shop, defending deeply and requiring their goalkeeper to redeem himself. And that he did, making stunning saves to deny Mandzukic from point blank range. As time ran out, the shots were coming in from long range, and Bayern had resorted putting crosses into Chelsea's box. It looked impossible to break through the wall of blue defenders, until the very last kick of the game. A hopeful ball was flicked on by Mandzukic to the feet of Javi Martinez, and the Spanish international managed to beat Cech at his near post to ensure that the contest went to penalties.
Remembering the events of May 2012, both sides would have been well aware of each other. This time, the penalties began with 8 consecutive successful penalties, taking the contest effectively into sudden death. After Xherdan Shaqiri found the net (just) for Bayern, the weight fell onto the shoulders of Romelu Lukaku. After a stuttering start, the penalty was weak, and easily saved by Neuer. This ensured that Bayern earned revenge on their English opponents, and claimed the Super Cup, retaining the incredible alternating run between Champions League/Europa League clubs. Chelsea will take solace in the fact that Bayern are currently considered the best team in the world, and Chelsea were within one kick of beating them. This will not prevent the agony for Lukaku and the rest of the squad, but it does show just how far the Londoners have come.
Thursday, 29 August 2013
The Ashes 2013 Review: Are We Seeing A Reversal In Fortunes?
This summer's Ashes series has seen the pendulum swing massively. Gone are the days of Australian dominance, aided by the likes of McGrath, Warne and Ponting, and emphatically so. The complexion of the current Ashes landscape sees the English, for arguably the first time in decades, in the drivers seat. There are some that will argue that this was confirmed by the historic English victory in the 2009/2010 Ashes victory down under, but for me, I consider this to be the clincher. An individual series can be a flash in the pan, but to consolidate without losing a Test in the next series is highly impressive, and indicative of a shift in power. Of course, winning a series comfortably is a lot easier on home soil than it is away, and therefore any claims of an English Ashes dynasty will have to wait until after this winter. Should England win the next series in three months' time, I would expect the urn to be residing at Lord's for quite some time. This post will review this summer's Ashes series, giving my personal high points and lows, before asking whether the momentum has swung full circle, and it is England that now have the dominance that the Australians enjoyed throughout the 1990's and early 2000's.
High Points:
1) Ian Bell's Breakthrough Series?
Ian Bell has been a regular in the England side for some time now, so perhaps the sub-heading is a little misleading. I am not suggesting that he really needed to prove himself, being under pressure for his place. Nevertheless, it could certainly be argued that Bell has produced his best cricket, and more importantly, his most consistent performances of his career. The Warwickshire man had never really starred in Ashes series, with 2005 being a particularly poor showing, but he has completely redeemed himself this time around. At times keeping England in the Tests, his 3 centuries had the Australian bowlers quaking when he strode to the crease. Beginning with his vital century at Trent Bridge, which gave England the lead that enabled them to take the opening Test, he continued that form into the Lord's Test. At the home of cricket, a 109 gave Bell his second consecutive ton, helping England to a seemingly unassailable 2-0 lead. Finally, arguably his most pivotal contribution occurred in the 4th Test at Durham. With England in real trouble at 49-3, Bell stepped in to produce a magnificent 113 not out, and once again set England on the path to victory. All of the English victories owe something to the middle-order batsman, and proved why he is one of the best with the willow worldwide.
2) The Nerves and the Drama
The first and final Tests are the ones that I am referring to here. Trent Bridge was reminiscent of that classic Test at Edgebaston in 2005, and ended with the same result: an English win. A quite incredible Test, which had the most enthralling final day. With England looking nailed on for victory, needing just 4 wickets to take the opening Test, Australia fought back, getting to within 15 runs of their 310 target. A controversial decision ended the game, with Australian wicketkeeper Haddin being dismissed after a DRS review indicated a small mark on the bat. The final Test at the Oval was equally as dramatic, but for different reasons. Instead of allowing the game to peter out into a boring draw, Aussie captain Clarke rolled the dice and tried to win it. Instead, they very nearly lost it, with another controversial decision this time costing the English the win.
3) So Near and Yet So Far For Agar
Arguably my favourite moment could also go in one of the worst moments. At the beginning of the Trent Bridge test, the name Ashton Agar meant nothing to the world of cricket, with the 'mystery spinner' being handed his Australian Test debut. By the end of it, he was a household name (for the next week at least!) in cricket homes up and down the country. After Australia followed England's example, collapsing to just 117-9, the 19-year-old stepped onto the park knowing his country needed him. Another 3 hours later, the number 11 was still there, having broken record after record in the meantime. Some of his records now include: highest score by a debutant number 11, first ever half century by a debutant number 11, world record 11th wicket partnership, highest ever score by a number 11. Unfortunately, it could not have a fairy-tale ending, as he fell for 97. Despite being an England fan, I have to admit I was willing the young man on to his century. However, having seen the narrow margin of victory three days later, I am not so certain I would have been as sporting had I known! Nevertheless, his 97 put Australia into the lead after the first innings, and put them back into contention.
4) The Best Batsman In The World?
Challenging the likes of Ian Bell for the title of 'World's Best Batsman' is Michael Clarke. To make a comparison, the Australian captain is arguably the Robin van Persie of cricket, with the middle-order batsman seemingly carrying his side, having scored an alarming percentage of the visitors runs. Most notably was an exceptional century in the 3rd Test at Old Trafford, where the captain scored a classy knock of 187 to put his side in a dominant position. Had it not been for the downpour, the Australians would almost certainly have registered, and that century could have been the moment that swung the momentum to the Aussies. The most consistent performer of the Australians, the captain is exceptional with the bat and in the field. If anything, the only aspect he lacks is the ability to judge the technology, something that frequently haunted the Australians. If he can learn from Cook in that regard, he will be a phenomenal captain for the Aussies down under.
5) The Marmite Man (1): Chester-le-Street
The 'love him or hate him' man of this series has undoubtedly been Stuart Broad. The seamer has been in the news for both positive and negative reasons, but we will start on his high moment. Day 4 of the 4th Test was the hero moment for Broad, who almost single-handedly destroyed the Australian batting, and claimed the Ashes victory for the English. Finishing with bowling figures of 6-50 in the second innings, and 11 wickets in the match, his was the outstanding contribution in Durham, ensuring that the English did not just retain the urn, but actually won the series as well. However, unfortunately for Broad, it was not all light moments...
Low Points:
1) 'Punchgate' and David Warner
Even before the Test series began, controversy surrounded the Ashes. With the news that after a night out, Australian opener David Warner had launched into an 'unprovoked attack' on English opener Joe Root, which was later confirmed as a punch on the English man. This saw Warner dropped for the opening two Tests, returning for the Old Trafford contest. Cue boos from all areas of the ground when the Australian entered the pitch or touched the ball, but what did he expect? In fairness to him, the opener did not allow it to distract him from his job, often bringing a rye smile to his lips. Eventually, the Aussie fought back to record two half centuries in the series, but Joe Root's dismissal of him brought smiles to the faces of all Englishmen concerned.
2) The Marmite Man (2): Trent Bridge
I said Stuart Broad's performance wasn't entirely flawless... In the very first Test, Broad got involved in a moment of controversy that would continue burning until the very end of the season, and I suspect will see the seamer treated like David Warner when England visit Australia for the return series this winter. On the 3rd day at Trent Bridge, and with England on 297-6, Broad clearly edged an Agar delivery. However, having ballooned off the pads of Brad Haddin and into the grateful hands of Michael Clarke, the umpires refused the requests, much to the disbelief of the Australian captain. Given how obvious the edge was, it is amazing that the umpires missed it, but even more amazing and disturbing was Stuart Broad's refusal to walk. This threw questions of gamesmanship, with the phrase 'it's not cricket' being thrown around, which were even more so when Broad admitted he knew he had hit it. Even more so, it escalated into Australian coach Darren Lehmann accusing Broad of cheating, and asking the Australian people to 'make him cry' in the return series. Though the Aussie has apologized for those comments, the issue will remain in the minds of the Australian people, and I expect the Englishman to recieve a particularly hostile reception.
3) I Thought We Got Rid Of Human Error?
Unfortunately, for all the good cricket that has been played this summer, there are countless examples of DRS and umpiring controversies. Beginning with the Broad-walking issue, and finishing with the 'Bad Light' fiasco at Lord's, this series has rarely been without incident and controversy. Though no-one would ever accuse them of corruption or cheating, the vast majority of the controversial decisions have gone in the favour of England. So bad were a couple of the decisions, the Australian Prime Minister got involved on Twitter. After Usman Khawaja was dismissed after a review in the Old Trafford Test, despite the video clearly showing no contact between bat and ball, the Aussie PM took to Twitter to announce his displeasure, with the comment 'one of the worst umpiring decisions I have ever seen'. Technology has been blamed for the inconsistencies and errors, but for me, it is the lump of flesh working the technology that has seemed to have crashed on all too many occasions.
4) Kevin Pietersen and the Silicone Tape of Deceit
Until the events of the final night, I would have said that this was the most ridiculous controversy of the entire series. In the lead up to the 4th Test at Chester-le-Street, reports circulated that an Australian paper had accused English batsman Kevin Pietersen of cheating. Rather than the Broad 'non-walking' element of cheating, which the Aussies had a case for, they chose an altogether more non-sensical tack. They made the assertion that the South African-born batsman had been using silicone tape to prevent the thermal imaging part of the DRS system, Hotspot, to detect nicks through to the wicketkeeper. This would make complete sense as an argument if caught behind was the only way of getting out. The Australians clearly did not think about lbw claims. If, as they suggested, the batsman had been using tape to prevent any evidence of the ball on Hotspot, it would actually work against him on lbw claims. Both sides confirmed this as ridiculous, and nothing came of it since.
5) The Ridiculous Celebrations
The story that broke relatively recently arguably tops the lot in terms of controversy. A story that would be more appropriate in Mario Balotelli's house or among the stories of dwarf throwing in the England Rugby Union World Cup camp, reports emerged that the English players had been seen urinating on the Oval turf after the finish of the final Test. This was practically confirmed when, just this morning, the England players came out and apologized for what they called 'inappropriate behaviour'. Why anyone would consider this to be an ordinary thing to do is beyond me, and it simply put a downer on the end of what had been a tremendous summer for the English boys. They will have to redeem themselves when they travel to Australia, and behave in an impeccable manner. However, as we have seen, that appears to be easier said than done...
Has It Swung All The Way?
Such has been the dominance of the English team at times this series, that the question now has to be raised about whether the balance of power has shifted the full 180 degrees from the 90's. Personally, I think that we saw enough from the Australians in the latter parts of the series to suggest that they will fight back this winter. However, should the English dominate that series down under, we could be on for a good few years of English success, which may see the Aussies put into the wilderness in terms of the Test game, at least for the time being.
High Points:
1) Ian Bell's Breakthrough Series?
Ian Bell has been a regular in the England side for some time now, so perhaps the sub-heading is a little misleading. I am not suggesting that he really needed to prove himself, being under pressure for his place. Nevertheless, it could certainly be argued that Bell has produced his best cricket, and more importantly, his most consistent performances of his career. The Warwickshire man had never really starred in Ashes series, with 2005 being a particularly poor showing, but he has completely redeemed himself this time around. At times keeping England in the Tests, his 3 centuries had the Australian bowlers quaking when he strode to the crease. Beginning with his vital century at Trent Bridge, which gave England the lead that enabled them to take the opening Test, he continued that form into the Lord's Test. At the home of cricket, a 109 gave Bell his second consecutive ton, helping England to a seemingly unassailable 2-0 lead. Finally, arguably his most pivotal contribution occurred in the 4th Test at Durham. With England in real trouble at 49-3, Bell stepped in to produce a magnificent 113 not out, and once again set England on the path to victory. All of the English victories owe something to the middle-order batsman, and proved why he is one of the best with the willow worldwide.
2) The Nerves and the Drama
The first and final Tests are the ones that I am referring to here. Trent Bridge was reminiscent of that classic Test at Edgebaston in 2005, and ended with the same result: an English win. A quite incredible Test, which had the most enthralling final day. With England looking nailed on for victory, needing just 4 wickets to take the opening Test, Australia fought back, getting to within 15 runs of their 310 target. A controversial decision ended the game, with Australian wicketkeeper Haddin being dismissed after a DRS review indicated a small mark on the bat. The final Test at the Oval was equally as dramatic, but for different reasons. Instead of allowing the game to peter out into a boring draw, Aussie captain Clarke rolled the dice and tried to win it. Instead, they very nearly lost it, with another controversial decision this time costing the English the win.
3) So Near and Yet So Far For Agar
Arguably my favourite moment could also go in one of the worst moments. At the beginning of the Trent Bridge test, the name Ashton Agar meant nothing to the world of cricket, with the 'mystery spinner' being handed his Australian Test debut. By the end of it, he was a household name (for the next week at least!) in cricket homes up and down the country. After Australia followed England's example, collapsing to just 117-9, the 19-year-old stepped onto the park knowing his country needed him. Another 3 hours later, the number 11 was still there, having broken record after record in the meantime. Some of his records now include: highest score by a debutant number 11, first ever half century by a debutant number 11, world record 11th wicket partnership, highest ever score by a number 11. Unfortunately, it could not have a fairy-tale ending, as he fell for 97. Despite being an England fan, I have to admit I was willing the young man on to his century. However, having seen the narrow margin of victory three days later, I am not so certain I would have been as sporting had I known! Nevertheless, his 97 put Australia into the lead after the first innings, and put them back into contention.
4) The Best Batsman In The World?
Challenging the likes of Ian Bell for the title of 'World's Best Batsman' is Michael Clarke. To make a comparison, the Australian captain is arguably the Robin van Persie of cricket, with the middle-order batsman seemingly carrying his side, having scored an alarming percentage of the visitors runs. Most notably was an exceptional century in the 3rd Test at Old Trafford, where the captain scored a classy knock of 187 to put his side in a dominant position. Had it not been for the downpour, the Australians would almost certainly have registered, and that century could have been the moment that swung the momentum to the Aussies. The most consistent performer of the Australians, the captain is exceptional with the bat and in the field. If anything, the only aspect he lacks is the ability to judge the technology, something that frequently haunted the Australians. If he can learn from Cook in that regard, he will be a phenomenal captain for the Aussies down under.
5) The Marmite Man (1): Chester-le-Street
The 'love him or hate him' man of this series has undoubtedly been Stuart Broad. The seamer has been in the news for both positive and negative reasons, but we will start on his high moment. Day 4 of the 4th Test was the hero moment for Broad, who almost single-handedly destroyed the Australian batting, and claimed the Ashes victory for the English. Finishing with bowling figures of 6-50 in the second innings, and 11 wickets in the match, his was the outstanding contribution in Durham, ensuring that the English did not just retain the urn, but actually won the series as well. However, unfortunately for Broad, it was not all light moments...
Low Points:
1) 'Punchgate' and David Warner
Even before the Test series began, controversy surrounded the Ashes. With the news that after a night out, Australian opener David Warner had launched into an 'unprovoked attack' on English opener Joe Root, which was later confirmed as a punch on the English man. This saw Warner dropped for the opening two Tests, returning for the Old Trafford contest. Cue boos from all areas of the ground when the Australian entered the pitch or touched the ball, but what did he expect? In fairness to him, the opener did not allow it to distract him from his job, often bringing a rye smile to his lips. Eventually, the Aussie fought back to record two half centuries in the series, but Joe Root's dismissal of him brought smiles to the faces of all Englishmen concerned.
2) The Marmite Man (2): Trent Bridge
I said Stuart Broad's performance wasn't entirely flawless... In the very first Test, Broad got involved in a moment of controversy that would continue burning until the very end of the season, and I suspect will see the seamer treated like David Warner when England visit Australia for the return series this winter. On the 3rd day at Trent Bridge, and with England on 297-6, Broad clearly edged an Agar delivery. However, having ballooned off the pads of Brad Haddin and into the grateful hands of Michael Clarke, the umpires refused the requests, much to the disbelief of the Australian captain. Given how obvious the edge was, it is amazing that the umpires missed it, but even more amazing and disturbing was Stuart Broad's refusal to walk. This threw questions of gamesmanship, with the phrase 'it's not cricket' being thrown around, which were even more so when Broad admitted he knew he had hit it. Even more so, it escalated into Australian coach Darren Lehmann accusing Broad of cheating, and asking the Australian people to 'make him cry' in the return series. Though the Aussie has apologized for those comments, the issue will remain in the minds of the Australian people, and I expect the Englishman to recieve a particularly hostile reception.
3) I Thought We Got Rid Of Human Error?
Unfortunately, for all the good cricket that has been played this summer, there are countless examples of DRS and umpiring controversies. Beginning with the Broad-walking issue, and finishing with the 'Bad Light' fiasco at Lord's, this series has rarely been without incident and controversy. Though no-one would ever accuse them of corruption or cheating, the vast majority of the controversial decisions have gone in the favour of England. So bad were a couple of the decisions, the Australian Prime Minister got involved on Twitter. After Usman Khawaja was dismissed after a review in the Old Trafford Test, despite the video clearly showing no contact between bat and ball, the Aussie PM took to Twitter to announce his displeasure, with the comment 'one of the worst umpiring decisions I have ever seen'. Technology has been blamed for the inconsistencies and errors, but for me, it is the lump of flesh working the technology that has seemed to have crashed on all too many occasions.
4) Kevin Pietersen and the Silicone Tape of Deceit
Until the events of the final night, I would have said that this was the most ridiculous controversy of the entire series. In the lead up to the 4th Test at Chester-le-Street, reports circulated that an Australian paper had accused English batsman Kevin Pietersen of cheating. Rather than the Broad 'non-walking' element of cheating, which the Aussies had a case for, they chose an altogether more non-sensical tack. They made the assertion that the South African-born batsman had been using silicone tape to prevent the thermal imaging part of the DRS system, Hotspot, to detect nicks through to the wicketkeeper. This would make complete sense as an argument if caught behind was the only way of getting out. The Australians clearly did not think about lbw claims. If, as they suggested, the batsman had been using tape to prevent any evidence of the ball on Hotspot, it would actually work against him on lbw claims. Both sides confirmed this as ridiculous, and nothing came of it since.
5) The Ridiculous Celebrations
The story that broke relatively recently arguably tops the lot in terms of controversy. A story that would be more appropriate in Mario Balotelli's house or among the stories of dwarf throwing in the England Rugby Union World Cup camp, reports emerged that the English players had been seen urinating on the Oval turf after the finish of the final Test. This was practically confirmed when, just this morning, the England players came out and apologized for what they called 'inappropriate behaviour'. Why anyone would consider this to be an ordinary thing to do is beyond me, and it simply put a downer on the end of what had been a tremendous summer for the English boys. They will have to redeem themselves when they travel to Australia, and behave in an impeccable manner. However, as we have seen, that appears to be easier said than done...
Has It Swung All The Way?
Such has been the dominance of the English team at times this series, that the question now has to be raised about whether the balance of power has shifted the full 180 degrees from the 90's. Personally, I think that we saw enough from the Australians in the latter parts of the series to suggest that they will fight back this winter. However, should the English dominate that series down under, we could be on for a good few years of English success, which may see the Aussies put into the wilderness in terms of the Test game, at least for the time being.
Monday, 26 August 2013
The Ashes 2013: 5th Test, The Oval: It Ends As It Began
Whilst this 5th Ashes Test had very little meaning in terms of the result of the series, it was at the very least a chance for the Australians to regain some pride after a summer of being dominated. This led to arguably the most interesting of all the Tests this series. It had everything that we had been so accustomed to seeing in an Ashes Test: great batting, fantastic bowling, batting collapses, DRS and umpire controversies and, of course, bad weather. All of this led to the manic finish that we saw yesterday, giving us an indication of what may happen in six months time, where the Australians will hope to reclaim to historic urn.
There were two big controversies that occurred before the test had even begun. The first involved Australia coach Darren Lehmann. In an interview conducted with Australian radio channel Triple M, he made the statement that English seamer Stuart Broad should be considered a 'blatant cheat', and that he hoped the Australian fans 'made him cry' in the return series down under this winter. This sparked a backlash from ex-professionals and commentators alike. Whilst some of Broad's conduct has been questionable during this series (e.g. the admission of guilt over 'Walkgate'), to use this 'eye for an eye' style morality is not in the spirit of the game, and will only be counter-productive. Also, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that the Australian people were going to give him a hard time anyway. If we look at the way that David Warner has been treated since his return in the 4th Test, I would expect to see more of the same down under. At least this will arguably be more appropriate, as the pantomime season will be in full swing, and the viewers will need a villain!
The second controversy involved the vast array of changes made to the England side, opting instead to play quite a few of the stars of the English Lions squad. Players like Simon Kerrigan and Chris Woakes were handed their debut Tests, leaving many English fans disillusioned. Their argument: why should we take our foot off the gas and play a weakened team, even when the series has been sewn up. Personally, I understand the frustration of the fans, especially those that had paid to see the first team perform. However, if England can give inexperienced players a chance to make a name for themselves, it may make all the difference when it comes to the return series. Look at the Root innings in the second Test if you want to see the value of trialling the younger players.
The first day began in beautiful sunshine, and having won the toss, Australia elected to bat, hoping to lead off in the same manner which saw them post a formidable total in the first innings at Durham. After Warner made a good start with the bat, he fell just a few overs in to James Anderson. At 11-1, Shane Watson came to the crease. The usual opener has struggled for consistent runs this series, failing to convert any of his innings into the century Australia have been needing. Today would be a different story. Whilst opener Chris Rogers took a fairly relaxed pace to proceedings, the big number 3 quickly pushed onto his half century before the lunch break. As soon as he managed that, he scored even faster, reaching a strike rate that would be impressive in the one-day forms of the game, never mind in a Test. After reaching his half century at just after 12:30, the big Australian had got to 80 by the time lunch was called half an hour later, with the new bowler Kerrigan taking most of the flack. If this formidable rate continued, England may have found themselves in a hole far deeper than even that in Durham.
After lunch, England desperately searched for that elusive second wicket. Though the bowlers did manage to calm the scoring rate of Watson, the number three remained firm at the crease. Instead, their attentions turned to Rogers, and after probing for an hour, Swann finally got the breakthrough. At 118-2, Clarke came to the crease, and threatened to form another game-changing partnership. After a couple of painful blows from Stuart Broad, Watson was on the verge of his first Test century in this series when his captain went. A stunning delivery from Anderson sent the stumps cartwheeling and sent Clarke back to the pavilion with only 7 to his name. This had the potential to unsettle Watson, especially given the magnitude of the knock. However, he dug deep to grind out that first century, and seemed to kick on once the nerves had settled. With Watson and new man Steve Smith settled at the crease, the Australians reached 181-3 at tea without much fuss. After tea, the assault did not relent, with the impressive Watson still knocking the spinners to all four corners to bring up his 150. By half past 5, Smith too had brought up his fifty, meaning that England were once again caught in the midst of a terrific middle order partnership. As the day drew to a close, it looked as though Australia were going to begin the second day in a tremendous position, suggesting that the squad changes were entirely the wrong decision. Then, a moment of brilliance in the field from Kevin Pietersen changed the complexion of the game. After hooking a Broad delivery, Watson could only watch as Pietersen sprung full length to take a magnificent diving catch, before walking to a standing ovation from all corners of the Oval. The new batsman Siddle barely had time to settle in before the close of play was announced, with Australia sitting pretty on 307-4.
As has so often been the case this series, when England have been struggling, they can count on the rain to bail them out. The 5th Test was no different, with bad weather delaying the start of play until 14:30. Once play did resume, England managed to get rid of Siddle very quickly, before turning their attention to the tail. However, Australia fought back, with Smith and Haddin going strongly. Smith in particular was impressive, moving past his Old Trafford total and into the 90s by 4:00. And just before tea, the all rounder brought up his maiden Test century, to the delight of the Australian balcony. No sooner had he done so as his foil Haddin relinquished his wicket to the bowling of Trott. Often the part-timers get the most difficult wickets, but it is always embarrasing as a batsman to go in that fashion. At 397-6 by tea, Australia knew that another 100 or so before the close would see them into a commanding position for the remaining three days. And once again they set off like a train, with new man Faulkner smashing fours all round the ground. However, his brief cameo came to an end on 19, when he attempted one shot too many, pulling Woakes into the hands of Trott at the boundary. This handed the newbie his first Test wicket, and after all the controversy, I believe he bowled well enough to justify his selection. Further cameos from Starc (11) and most notably Harris (33), meant that Australia were able to declare on 492-9, leaving Steve Smith unbeaten on 135, and still time to set about the English batsmen on day 2. Thankfully for the English, there was to be no late-night batting collapse, with the opening pair of Root and Cook able to see their team through to the close, finishing at 32-0.
Day 3 saw the pendulum swing once again, however. The Australians would have been wanting to take an early wicket, but the English openers foiled them, moving towards the hundred partnership by the drinks break. Immediately after that, the partnersip was broken, with Cook edging a delivery to Haddin for 25. Root and Trott then set about re-anchoring the innings, getting easily to lunch, with Root claiming his half-century. The partnership continued in a similar vein after the break, with both playing shots. Unfortunately for the youngster, he played one shot too many, hooking Nathan Lyon straight to Australian hero Watson for 68. Once again, stability was required, but this time it was Trott and Pietersen who needed to keep the innings going for the home side. That they did, managing to pass 175 before Trott was trapped lbw off the bowling of Starc after a successful review by the Australians. At tea, it was Pietersen and Bell at the crease, with England desperately needing their batsmen to do more than just get in and then out in quick succession. Unfortunately, that pattern continued after tea, with Pietersen, having just brought up his half century, perishing off the bowling of Starc. At 217-4, England were struggling to avoid the follow on, and needed their tail to wag to have any chance of competing in this match. Bell and Woakes managed to keep their wickets to the close, leaving England a full 245 behind, with a first innings total of 247-4.
With the Australians seemingly in complete control of the final Test, fate got in the way once more, again favouring the English. Day 4 was a complete washout, with the rain preventing any play and making a draw seem the most likely outcome. However, the events of Day 5 were arguably some of the most exciting of the series, bringing a remarkable finish. After a brief cameo at the start of day 5, Woakes fell with a whimper, with Bell going soon after. Stuart Broad also didn't last long, having his stumps rearranged by a cracker from Harris. A period of incredible attack from Prior and Swann followed, with a partnership totalling almost 50 runs from very few overs. Eventually, Prior had to go before reaching his personal half century, bringing the tail enders of firstly Anderson, and then Kerrigan to the crease. Neither of these had any real impact on the scoreline, leaving England still 115 runs in arrears by the time all of the wickets had fallen. Clarke, knowing that there were only 60 overs remaining in the Test match, opted to treat the game like a 20/20 one, sending his batsmen out with the motif of slog everything that moves. A high-risk strategy, and not one that paid off for the Aussies. Though Warner and Watson started well, reaching 30-0, Warner went to a brilliant c&b from Anderson. This precipitated the collapse of the Australian second innings. Watson went next, scoring 26, and leaving Australia on 44-2. Haddin, the next man in, was well and truly beaten by Broad, sending him back to the pavilion without scoring. After a good cameo, new boy Faulkner was next to perish, with Broad the tormentor in chief, forcing an edge. With the Australian lead only 183, a few more quick wickets could actually put England back in control of their own destiny this Test, and they could begin to think of winning it! Those two wickets did fall quickly, with firstly Smith, and then Harris both falling before reaching double figures, leaving Australia on 85-6, and leading by 201. By tea that lead had stretched to 226, at which point Clarke decided to have a go at bowling the English out. With only 44 overs in the day, that seemed quite a tall order. Amazingly, come the final session of a Test so affected by rain, all three results were still possible!
Australian hopes of victory were boosted by the quick dismissal of Joe Root. The young batsman, gone for 11, will be disappointed not to have taken advantage of the frantic situation. Unlike the Australian innings, this was not the catalyst for an English batting collapse, with Trott and Cook taking the home side to the drinks break at 85-1. With 27 overs remaining, the English side found themselves needing 142 to win. Anyone who has watched 20/20 cricket will tell you that that total is eminently gettable. However, their push to victory was instantly checked after the break, with the captain going to a fine delivery from Harris. Pietersen was the next batsman in, and he and Trott once again set about reducing the run rate, bringing the score to 139-2 by 18:30. Despite this being the normal close of play time, the rain had meant that another half hour or so would be allowed, giving England the chance to win the game. In that next half-hour, both Pietersen and Trott passed their half-centuries, taking the target down to just 68 from 11 overs. And still the two sides played on, with both Pietersen and then Trott falling in quick succession as England valiantly continued their chase. With just 5 overs left, England had just 33 runs to make, meaning an average of just over a run a ball. This was looking like being another tight finish. After a fantastic first 5 balls from an England point of view, adding 12 runs, Ian Bell was run out in the final ball of the over. However, if we thought that was the end of the drama and controversy, we were wrong. At the end of that over, with just 21 runs required from 24 balls, the umpires decided that the light was not sufficient to continue, meaning that the match was drawn. Cue angry responses from the English players, who believed that a 4-0 series win was within their grasp. Instead they had to settle for 3-0, their largest margin of victory since 1978.
Whilst there are those that complained, at both the ICC, and more bizarrely, Michael Clarke for the players being brought off, I think that they are being ungrateful. The Australians would have been well within their rights to bat through the whole day, boring the crowds and ensuring that the game resulted in a draw. Instead, they rolled the dice and caused the nerve-jangling final moments. The game was extended a full hour and a half over the usual closing time of 18:00 in order to try and find a conclusion. However, at the end of it all, we have no different result than that that was expected. We have only been treated to a far more exciting draw! Nevertheless, the series finished in exactly the same way to which it started: engulfed in controversy.
There were two big controversies that occurred before the test had even begun. The first involved Australia coach Darren Lehmann. In an interview conducted with Australian radio channel Triple M, he made the statement that English seamer Stuart Broad should be considered a 'blatant cheat', and that he hoped the Australian fans 'made him cry' in the return series down under this winter. This sparked a backlash from ex-professionals and commentators alike. Whilst some of Broad's conduct has been questionable during this series (e.g. the admission of guilt over 'Walkgate'), to use this 'eye for an eye' style morality is not in the spirit of the game, and will only be counter-productive. Also, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that the Australian people were going to give him a hard time anyway. If we look at the way that David Warner has been treated since his return in the 4th Test, I would expect to see more of the same down under. At least this will arguably be more appropriate, as the pantomime season will be in full swing, and the viewers will need a villain!
The second controversy involved the vast array of changes made to the England side, opting instead to play quite a few of the stars of the English Lions squad. Players like Simon Kerrigan and Chris Woakes were handed their debut Tests, leaving many English fans disillusioned. Their argument: why should we take our foot off the gas and play a weakened team, even when the series has been sewn up. Personally, I understand the frustration of the fans, especially those that had paid to see the first team perform. However, if England can give inexperienced players a chance to make a name for themselves, it may make all the difference when it comes to the return series. Look at the Root innings in the second Test if you want to see the value of trialling the younger players.
The first day began in beautiful sunshine, and having won the toss, Australia elected to bat, hoping to lead off in the same manner which saw them post a formidable total in the first innings at Durham. After Warner made a good start with the bat, he fell just a few overs in to James Anderson. At 11-1, Shane Watson came to the crease. The usual opener has struggled for consistent runs this series, failing to convert any of his innings into the century Australia have been needing. Today would be a different story. Whilst opener Chris Rogers took a fairly relaxed pace to proceedings, the big number 3 quickly pushed onto his half century before the lunch break. As soon as he managed that, he scored even faster, reaching a strike rate that would be impressive in the one-day forms of the game, never mind in a Test. After reaching his half century at just after 12:30, the big Australian had got to 80 by the time lunch was called half an hour later, with the new bowler Kerrigan taking most of the flack. If this formidable rate continued, England may have found themselves in a hole far deeper than even that in Durham.
After lunch, England desperately searched for that elusive second wicket. Though the bowlers did manage to calm the scoring rate of Watson, the number three remained firm at the crease. Instead, their attentions turned to Rogers, and after probing for an hour, Swann finally got the breakthrough. At 118-2, Clarke came to the crease, and threatened to form another game-changing partnership. After a couple of painful blows from Stuart Broad, Watson was on the verge of his first Test century in this series when his captain went. A stunning delivery from Anderson sent the stumps cartwheeling and sent Clarke back to the pavilion with only 7 to his name. This had the potential to unsettle Watson, especially given the magnitude of the knock. However, he dug deep to grind out that first century, and seemed to kick on once the nerves had settled. With Watson and new man Steve Smith settled at the crease, the Australians reached 181-3 at tea without much fuss. After tea, the assault did not relent, with the impressive Watson still knocking the spinners to all four corners to bring up his 150. By half past 5, Smith too had brought up his fifty, meaning that England were once again caught in the midst of a terrific middle order partnership. As the day drew to a close, it looked as though Australia were going to begin the second day in a tremendous position, suggesting that the squad changes were entirely the wrong decision. Then, a moment of brilliance in the field from Kevin Pietersen changed the complexion of the game. After hooking a Broad delivery, Watson could only watch as Pietersen sprung full length to take a magnificent diving catch, before walking to a standing ovation from all corners of the Oval. The new batsman Siddle barely had time to settle in before the close of play was announced, with Australia sitting pretty on 307-4.
As has so often been the case this series, when England have been struggling, they can count on the rain to bail them out. The 5th Test was no different, with bad weather delaying the start of play until 14:30. Once play did resume, England managed to get rid of Siddle very quickly, before turning their attention to the tail. However, Australia fought back, with Smith and Haddin going strongly. Smith in particular was impressive, moving past his Old Trafford total and into the 90s by 4:00. And just before tea, the all rounder brought up his maiden Test century, to the delight of the Australian balcony. No sooner had he done so as his foil Haddin relinquished his wicket to the bowling of Trott. Often the part-timers get the most difficult wickets, but it is always embarrasing as a batsman to go in that fashion. At 397-6 by tea, Australia knew that another 100 or so before the close would see them into a commanding position for the remaining three days. And once again they set off like a train, with new man Faulkner smashing fours all round the ground. However, his brief cameo came to an end on 19, when he attempted one shot too many, pulling Woakes into the hands of Trott at the boundary. This handed the newbie his first Test wicket, and after all the controversy, I believe he bowled well enough to justify his selection. Further cameos from Starc (11) and most notably Harris (33), meant that Australia were able to declare on 492-9, leaving Steve Smith unbeaten on 135, and still time to set about the English batsmen on day 2. Thankfully for the English, there was to be no late-night batting collapse, with the opening pair of Root and Cook able to see their team through to the close, finishing at 32-0.
Day 3 saw the pendulum swing once again, however. The Australians would have been wanting to take an early wicket, but the English openers foiled them, moving towards the hundred partnership by the drinks break. Immediately after that, the partnersip was broken, with Cook edging a delivery to Haddin for 25. Root and Trott then set about re-anchoring the innings, getting easily to lunch, with Root claiming his half-century. The partnership continued in a similar vein after the break, with both playing shots. Unfortunately for the youngster, he played one shot too many, hooking Nathan Lyon straight to Australian hero Watson for 68. Once again, stability was required, but this time it was Trott and Pietersen who needed to keep the innings going for the home side. That they did, managing to pass 175 before Trott was trapped lbw off the bowling of Starc after a successful review by the Australians. At tea, it was Pietersen and Bell at the crease, with England desperately needing their batsmen to do more than just get in and then out in quick succession. Unfortunately, that pattern continued after tea, with Pietersen, having just brought up his half century, perishing off the bowling of Starc. At 217-4, England were struggling to avoid the follow on, and needed their tail to wag to have any chance of competing in this match. Bell and Woakes managed to keep their wickets to the close, leaving England a full 245 behind, with a first innings total of 247-4.
With the Australians seemingly in complete control of the final Test, fate got in the way once more, again favouring the English. Day 4 was a complete washout, with the rain preventing any play and making a draw seem the most likely outcome. However, the events of Day 5 were arguably some of the most exciting of the series, bringing a remarkable finish. After a brief cameo at the start of day 5, Woakes fell with a whimper, with Bell going soon after. Stuart Broad also didn't last long, having his stumps rearranged by a cracker from Harris. A period of incredible attack from Prior and Swann followed, with a partnership totalling almost 50 runs from very few overs. Eventually, Prior had to go before reaching his personal half century, bringing the tail enders of firstly Anderson, and then Kerrigan to the crease. Neither of these had any real impact on the scoreline, leaving England still 115 runs in arrears by the time all of the wickets had fallen. Clarke, knowing that there were only 60 overs remaining in the Test match, opted to treat the game like a 20/20 one, sending his batsmen out with the motif of slog everything that moves. A high-risk strategy, and not one that paid off for the Aussies. Though Warner and Watson started well, reaching 30-0, Warner went to a brilliant c&b from Anderson. This precipitated the collapse of the Australian second innings. Watson went next, scoring 26, and leaving Australia on 44-2. Haddin, the next man in, was well and truly beaten by Broad, sending him back to the pavilion without scoring. After a good cameo, new boy Faulkner was next to perish, with Broad the tormentor in chief, forcing an edge. With the Australian lead only 183, a few more quick wickets could actually put England back in control of their own destiny this Test, and they could begin to think of winning it! Those two wickets did fall quickly, with firstly Smith, and then Harris both falling before reaching double figures, leaving Australia on 85-6, and leading by 201. By tea that lead had stretched to 226, at which point Clarke decided to have a go at bowling the English out. With only 44 overs in the day, that seemed quite a tall order. Amazingly, come the final session of a Test so affected by rain, all three results were still possible!
Australian hopes of victory were boosted by the quick dismissal of Joe Root. The young batsman, gone for 11, will be disappointed not to have taken advantage of the frantic situation. Unlike the Australian innings, this was not the catalyst for an English batting collapse, with Trott and Cook taking the home side to the drinks break at 85-1. With 27 overs remaining, the English side found themselves needing 142 to win. Anyone who has watched 20/20 cricket will tell you that that total is eminently gettable. However, their push to victory was instantly checked after the break, with the captain going to a fine delivery from Harris. Pietersen was the next batsman in, and he and Trott once again set about reducing the run rate, bringing the score to 139-2 by 18:30. Despite this being the normal close of play time, the rain had meant that another half hour or so would be allowed, giving England the chance to win the game. In that next half-hour, both Pietersen and Trott passed their half-centuries, taking the target down to just 68 from 11 overs. And still the two sides played on, with both Pietersen and then Trott falling in quick succession as England valiantly continued their chase. With just 5 overs left, England had just 33 runs to make, meaning an average of just over a run a ball. This was looking like being another tight finish. After a fantastic first 5 balls from an England point of view, adding 12 runs, Ian Bell was run out in the final ball of the over. However, if we thought that was the end of the drama and controversy, we were wrong. At the end of that over, with just 21 runs required from 24 balls, the umpires decided that the light was not sufficient to continue, meaning that the match was drawn. Cue angry responses from the English players, who believed that a 4-0 series win was within their grasp. Instead they had to settle for 3-0, their largest margin of victory since 1978.
Whilst there are those that complained, at both the ICC, and more bizarrely, Michael Clarke for the players being brought off, I think that they are being ungrateful. The Australians would have been well within their rights to bat through the whole day, boring the crowds and ensuring that the game resulted in a draw. Instead, they rolled the dice and caused the nerve-jangling final moments. The game was extended a full hour and a half over the usual closing time of 18:00 in order to try and find a conclusion. However, at the end of it all, we have no different result than that that was expected. We have only been treated to a far more exciting draw! Nevertheless, the series finished in exactly the same way to which it started: engulfed in controversy.
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