One year on, and I'm still blogging! After my review of last year's controversial Bahrain Grand Prix kicked off my blogging bug, I have covered the majority of the major sporting events in the last 12 months, and I am massively looking forward to more posts in the future: the Premier League race and the World Cup to name just a couple. This F1 season has begun ominously for the rest of the pack, with Mercedes dominating the open races of the season. Major changes to the regulations have beset the majority of teams with considerable issues, putting world champion Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull on the back foot.
The decision was made at the beginning of the season to make Bahrain another dusk race, to follow the successes of the Abu Dhabi and the Singapore Grand Prix. Whilst I am not necessarily a fan of the night races, as I do not believe that we need to challenge the drivers with unnecessary weather conditions and add danger (though they do make it easier at times for European audiences), it does add another intrigue for Bernie Ecclestone and perhaps levels the playing field a touch. I would be wary of adding new 'unpredictable' weather conditions (such as the frankly ridiculous idea to create fake rain) to any more races, as I am a fan of seeing what the weather throws at you and how you adapt, and that means starting races in the day.
However, news this week overshadowed the importance of the race. With seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher still in his medically-induced coma in Switzerland after his tragic accident on the ski slopes, the news that he is having moments of consciousness comes as a massive relief to Formula 1 fans worldwide. We can only hope that the German continues to see recovery, and we get to see the great man on the track very soon. A controversial but brilliant driver, competitive to the last, we all know Schumacher is a fighter, and it great news that he is showing signs of recovery.
With every car having the #keepfightingMichael emblazoned across it, qualifying began with Mercedes once again the dominant force. With the German manufacturer and the Red Bulls seemingly happy to get through Q1 on the harder tyre, it offered an unusual name the chance to top the initial leaderboard. The honour fell to Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg, who had been unfortunate not to receive a move to a bigger team in the winter break. With the Indian team seeing positive steps, it was almost the opposite for Lotus. The team that won two of the Grand Prix last season has been struggling with the rule change, and have failed to get out of Q1 in each of the two previous races. In Bahrain, their two drivers, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, found themselves fighting between them for a place in Q2. This time it was Grosjean who came out on top, beating Maldonado's time by 0.009 of a second. This was despite the interference of Sauber's Adrian Sutil, who clearly blocked the Frenchman off during a lap. This costed the Sauber driver 2 penalty points on his license, with the Sauber man warned about his future conduct.
Q2 saw a complete turnaround of fortunes. Sadly, whilst Mercedes continued their dominance, finishing a second ahead of the pack, Hulkenberg's Force India, who had topped the board in Q1, could not manage to get himself into the final session. Even more shockingly, neither did Sebastian Vettel. The world champion, having not missed out since Spa in 2011 before this season, has now failed to qualify in two of the three races this year, demonstrating the enormous swing away from Red Bull.
The final session of qualifying saw a frenetic opening period, as the battle for pole once again surrounded the two Mercedes teammates. Despite Lewis Hamilton being the one that was largely considered to be the faster of the pair throughout the weekend, it was Nico Rosberg that managed to get himself in front of the Briton in the first run, bettering his team mate's trial by 0.3 seconds. The second runs for both were considerably slower, with Lewis making a huge error at turn one, ruining his chance of pole. However, with the rest of the pack so far behind, no-one could take advantage of this slip. The only surprise of the session was the brilliant effort of Daniel Ricciardo to get himself into third. Though the Aussie would suffer a 10 place grid penalty for a misdemenour in the previous race, it was nevertheless a statement of intent to his more illustrious team mate.
With the race all about the two Mercedes, it came as little surprise to see the pair turning their cars towards one another off the line, indicating that the pair would ready for the fight, and that Mercedes were more than willing to let their drivers race. Off the line, there seemed no difference between the pair, but it was Hamilton that had the better second phase of the start, getting down the inside of Rosberg at turn 1. However, the German did not give up, fighting Lewis all the way up to turns 3 and 4, but just could not make it past. Further back, contact between Raikkonen and Magnusson for the second race running left the Ferrari driver fuming, and his mood would not have been helped by the fact that his car had no performance. Neither Ferrari could live with the pace of the Force India or Williams cars, with Fernando Alonso being passed by Perez on lap 6.
As the pair of Mercedes flew away from the pack, it was not the same story as Malaysia. Hamilton could not break the attentions of Rosberg, though he had managed to escape the DRS zone. This would continue to play a key theme throughout. After his horrendous qualifying session, Sebastian Vettel had not made up the places that many would have expected, though it is important to note that he, unlike the rest of the field, started on the harder tyre. As a result, Vettel was actually doing well to stay on the back of the group in front. The race for third was quickly becoming the most interesting, with the Force Indias and the Williams both seemingly having the opportunity to grab it. Ferrari and McLaren could also harbour outside aspirations of the podium, but they would need to perform better. In that race, it was Force India who grabbed the initiative, with Sergio Perez overtaking Felipe Massa for 3rd on lap 12.
Ferrari's struggles were demonstrated just one lap later, when Alonso became the first of the front runners to pit. However, this strangely aided the Spaniard, giving them the undercut that we have already seen be effective in the last two races. Kimi Raikkonen, after his first stop, began setting fastest laps, however, that new found speed was short lived. Once all of the first stops had been completed, the Ferraris found themselves on older and slower tyres than the rest of the pack. They quickly became mobile chicanes for the other top teams, with the Williams and the Force Indias passing them.
However, this was not the only battle, as the race for the lead began to hot up once more. With the stops coming up, Rosberg managed to close the gap to his team mate to just a few tenths. Another wheel to wheel battle insued, with the German managing to get past Hamilton. The Brit, knowing that he needed to be in the lead to get the first choice on stops, and he nipped back in front at turn 4, before grabbing the initiative and diving into the pit lane. Interestingly, the pair opted for different tyres, with Hamilton choosing to continue on the option tyre whilst Rosberg went for the harder prime. As we had seen throughout, Hamilton, due to the fact that he pitted earlier, managed to stretch his advantage to 3 seconds by the time Rosberg emerged two laps later. By this point, the race saw 2 Mercedes followed by 2 Force Indias and 2 Williams, all 6 cars powered by Mercedes power systems.
The battle for third continued to hot up, as the Williams chose to use a different strategy to their rivals. Unlike those around them, Bottas and Massa used a three stop strategy, seemingly putting them out of the race for 3rd, and favouring the resurgent Force Indias. Daniel Ricciardo, who had been toiling in anonymity for the majority of the race, beginning in 13th, had found some pace, managing to get his way into the lower end of the points by passing Kimi Raikkonen. With Hamilton pulling away from Nico Rosberg on his quicker tyres (though not as quickly as initially expected), his chances of winning were dealt a hammer blow. Pastor Maldonado, having emerged from the pit lane, seemingly failed to judge the speed difference between himself and Esteban Gutierrez. As a result, the collision ended up flipping the Sauber, leaving debris littering the track and bringing out the safety car.
With both Hamilton and Rosberg pitting, the Briton's 9.5 second lead had been eradicated, and he had to survive the remainder of the race on the slower tyres. A mean feat even if facing a slower car, but against the Mercedes seemed impossible. The crash had benefitted the Red Bulls and Jenson Button's McLaren, who had managed to jump the three stopping Williams drivers. However, Sebastian Vettel was instructed by his engineer that the Williams' newer and quicker tyres meant that they would come under threat later in the race. The final few laps of the race saw two enormous battles, with the lead taking the majority of air time, whilst the battle between the Force India driver and Daniel Ricciardo for the final podium was equally as interesting.
From the restart, the Mercedes flew away from the rest, opening up a 10 second gap within just a few laps, demonstrating their dominance over the rest. However, a furious battle continued to rage between the pair, with Rosberg making a number of lunges down the inside into turn 1. However, no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not keep his nose in front of his team mate. On several occasions, the Briton had to get aggressive in his defence, forcing his team mate off the circuit in an attempt to keep his place. And keep it he did, beginning to slowly but surely ease away from Rosberg as his tyres began to lose their edge. This led the cameras to switch their attention to battle for 3rd, as Hamilton seemed to have the race under control going into the final few laps.
As Jenson Button's McLaren fell off completely, dropping behind both Willams, Red Bulls and Ferraris, the battle continued between the two Force Indias for the final podium, with Daniel Ricciardo reeling the pair in quickly. Sergio Perez, who has had to play second fiddle to Hulkenberg for the majority of the first few races, finally got his chance to shine, holding on to his first podium for the team ahead of his team mate, and slowly edged his way away. This meant that Hulkenberg fell back into the clutches of Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian managing to get himself into a remarkable fourth. But there were not enough laps left to pull off a podium. Another nice moment for the Aussie will have been the overtake he pulled on Vettel (not the one that was due to team orders) as he showed the world champion that he is not there simply to make up the numbers.
But the day, as has been the case at every race so far, belonged to Mercedes. As the cars get more reliable, we will see this kind of thing continue to happen, with the Silver Arrows seemingly having by far the superior package. Unless we see a huge swing in fortune, I fear more races where the battle for third is the most interesting spectacle. However, at least the racing between the pair, and the fact that Mercedes have said they will not stop this with team orders, means that we may have something interesting to watch up front.
Not as controversial as a year ago, nor (arguably) as interesting a race, but we are ushering a new era of Formula 1. Love it or loathe it, it seems as though it is here to stay, so we had all better get used to it, and hope that another team can develop their car throughout the season!
Analysis of sporting events, talking points and controversies.
Showing posts with label Rules. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rules. Show all posts
Sunday, 13 April 2014
Wednesday, 2 April 2014
Malaysia Grand Prix: Different Team, Same Result?
New house, new start. My move has freed me up to go back to what I've missed: writing. And what better way to restart than with the revamped F1 season? After a season dominated by one car and one man, a monumental rule change, one that has been described as the 'largest for a generation', has levelled the playing field this year. Gone are the enormous shouting V8's, in favour of the energy saving hybrid V6s (despite the noise issue that still rankles with Bernie Ecclestone). Along comes a bizarre new chassis, which sees the nose dip in places I never thought possible. New moves, fresh faces. And yet the spirit and prize is the same.
These changes and the new equaliser took effect in the opening race in Australia. After a miserable winter testing session, Red Bull and world champion Sebastien Vettel came to Melbourne on the back foot. The winner of 13 grand prix last term, and the previous nine on the bounce will have left Albert Park in similar mood, after a mechanical problem forced the German out on just the seventh lap. This will be a common theme for this season, with the most reliable car being most likely to be the most successful. The pole sitter on the day, Lewis Hamilton, was also victim to the mechanical curse, falling the lap before Vettel. That left the win to his teammate Nico Rosberg, and a space on the podium for hometown hero Daniel Ricciardo - the first Australian to take to the rostrum at their home event. Given the success of his predecessor Mark Webber, that is quite an incredible statistic! We saw the return to form of Williams and especially McLaren, with new rookie Kevin Magnusson matching the feat of Lewis Hamilton in 2008 by getting himself into 3rd. With Jenson Button following in close behind, McLaren left Australia leading the Constructors Championship. Who would have guessed that at the end of last year?
If the teams thought Australia was bad, they would have been dreading Malaysia. Traditionally one of the most testing circuits on reliability, with temperatures pushing 50 degrees on track, it is a car killer. However, after Mercedes dominance in Melbourne, the rest of the field were granted the ultimate leveller in qualifying: a monsoon. Delaying the beginning of Q1 by fully 45 minutes, the rain just carried on. When the session eventually started, the cars were more concerned with tip-toeing around the circuit to keep it out of the gravel than taking it to the limit. As a result, Q1 began by maintaining the status quo, with a comfortable Mercedes 1-2. However, this safety was obliterated for Vettel with the news that he had a problem with the car and needed to pit for a reboot. Though this seemed to leave his place in qualifying in the balance, Red Bull managed to turn him round quickly and get him safely into Q2.
The next part saw an even more incredible turnaround as Q2 began in a blaze of drama. Toro Rosso's impressive youngster Daniil Kyvat had a nightmare, locking up and careering into the slow moving Fernando Alonso. The Ferrari driver, who had quite wrongly elected to run with the intermediate tyres, saw his front left suspension and wishbone broken, leaving him to limp back to the pits with his qualifying campaign seemingly in tatters and bringing out a red flag. Impressive work from the Ferrari mechanics meant that not only did the Spaniard get back out, but he qualified for Q3 ahead of his illustrious new teammate Kimi Raikkonen. The only real surprise to come out of Q2 was the failure of the high-flying Williams pair to reach the top ten shootout, with both Massa and Bottas unable to make the cut. However, up front Vettel managed to split the two Mercedes to give fans an indication of a competitive final part of qualifying.
Q3, like the two parts before it, began rather anti-climactically, with cars looking to set a banker lap. With the initial fears that Mercedes would run away with the pole, the initial 1-2 seemed set to stay. However, both Red Bull and Ferrari had other ideas. Fernando Alonso, who seemed to have completely recovered from the crash in Q2, got himself between the two German cars, before Sebastien Vettel came within a whisker of grabbing pole. As the chequered flag loomed large, the fight was on between the German and Hamilton for the top spot - or so it seemed. Whilst squabbling with Nico Rosberg to be the last one across the line to start their flying lap, Vettel inexplicably failed to make it before the flag fell, losing his final lap, handing Hamilton the pole on a silver platter. The only other change was Rosberg managing to drag himself into third and within striking distance of the lead. After a qualifying session that began slowly, with everyone assuming a Mercedes coronation, this handed fans some hope of a competitive season. For Hamilton, a personal milestone: he equalled the British record for pole positions that has stood since 1964 and Jim Clark.
In typical Sepang fashion, Sunday saw the return of baking conditions, with the teams preparing for the most challenging weather of the year. As the lights went out, pole-sitter Hamilton got away well, leaving team-mate Rosberg to jump the slow-starting Vettel into 2nd. The big winner was Daniel Ricciardo, who managed to sneak his way around the outside of the two Ferraris before hanging his teammate out to dry on the outside of turn two. With the Mercedes in clean air, Hamilton clearly relished the chance, repeatedly setting fastest lap after fastest lap to ease the gap out to five seconds after just 8 laps. Further back, Ferrari continued to struggle, although not entirely of their own doing. Kimi Raikkonen, embroiled in a close battle with the rookie McLaren of Daniel Magnusson, found himself carrying a right rear puncture after a tussle got too close. This left the Finn limping back to the pits and ending any realistic chance of a large points haul.
The collision hardly did Magnusson any favours either, breaking his front wing and causing him to hold up a gaggle (I believe that is the correct term!) of cars. In a frenetic start up front, Sebastien Vettel began homing in on his teammate before cruising past under DRS. It was the first time that the two had been wheel to wheel since becoming teammates, and the world champion seemed intent on sending a message to his less illustrious companion. As the cars began to look at pit stops, it became clear that the undercut would play a significant part in the race. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, having made his first stop, began lapping at over two seconds a lap faster than the cars ahead. Although the Red Bulls acted quickly enough to keep Vettel in front of the Spaniard, Daniel Ricciardo eventually fell foul of this. However, by this point, the Mercedes drivers were out of sight of the chasing pack, bringing F1 fans a reminder of the dominant scenes seen so frequently last year.
However, all is not lost. With Rosberg struggling with the balance of his rear tyres, the Red Bull began reeling the German in at almost a second a lap, giving F1 fans an indication that perhaps Mercedes would not run away with races. However, it is worth remembering that Rosberg's was a wounded car, with his teammate continuing to scamper away up front. By the time Hamilton pitted for his second stop, the gap was up to over 10 seconds, at it was looking simply a battle for second.
With this, and the battle for the minor places the only close track action, attention turned towards the skies. Radio transmissions between Raikkonen and the Ferrari team intimated a spattering of rain around turn 14, threatening to spice up a rapidly predictable race. As it happened, it wasn't to be. Between the revelation and the chequered flag dropping, there was only one more piece of action worth commenting on. Daniel Ricciardo, after the misfortune of being disqualified in Australia (his fuel level gauge stopped working - something that strangely happened again here, but not on Vettel's car-coincidence?) found himself battling with Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg for 4th place as he arrived at his pit box for his final stop. However, a wheel failure, followed by a front wing failure a few laps later (both completely unrelated - coincidence?) seemed another example of the German world champion's teammate having the most outrageous bad luck. Where have we seen an Aussie get a raw deal at Red Bull before?
Nevertheless, hats off to Lewis Hamilton, who led home a Mercedes one-two for his first win in Malaysia by fully 15 seconds. Vettel's return to the podium was a welcome one for a man who has been too accustomed to the rostrum in recent years, but I get the feeling we will be seeing silver on that podium a huge amount of times this season. With the mind-numbing repetitiveness of last season, Formula 1 can ill-afford another season as one sided. Unfortunately, this rule change seems to have favoured one car, and until the rest can catch up, there seems little sign of changing.
These changes and the new equaliser took effect in the opening race in Australia. After a miserable winter testing session, Red Bull and world champion Sebastien Vettel came to Melbourne on the back foot. The winner of 13 grand prix last term, and the previous nine on the bounce will have left Albert Park in similar mood, after a mechanical problem forced the German out on just the seventh lap. This will be a common theme for this season, with the most reliable car being most likely to be the most successful. The pole sitter on the day, Lewis Hamilton, was also victim to the mechanical curse, falling the lap before Vettel. That left the win to his teammate Nico Rosberg, and a space on the podium for hometown hero Daniel Ricciardo - the first Australian to take to the rostrum at their home event. Given the success of his predecessor Mark Webber, that is quite an incredible statistic! We saw the return to form of Williams and especially McLaren, with new rookie Kevin Magnusson matching the feat of Lewis Hamilton in 2008 by getting himself into 3rd. With Jenson Button following in close behind, McLaren left Australia leading the Constructors Championship. Who would have guessed that at the end of last year?
If the teams thought Australia was bad, they would have been dreading Malaysia. Traditionally one of the most testing circuits on reliability, with temperatures pushing 50 degrees on track, it is a car killer. However, after Mercedes dominance in Melbourne, the rest of the field were granted the ultimate leveller in qualifying: a monsoon. Delaying the beginning of Q1 by fully 45 minutes, the rain just carried on. When the session eventually started, the cars were more concerned with tip-toeing around the circuit to keep it out of the gravel than taking it to the limit. As a result, Q1 began by maintaining the status quo, with a comfortable Mercedes 1-2. However, this safety was obliterated for Vettel with the news that he had a problem with the car and needed to pit for a reboot. Though this seemed to leave his place in qualifying in the balance, Red Bull managed to turn him round quickly and get him safely into Q2.
The next part saw an even more incredible turnaround as Q2 began in a blaze of drama. Toro Rosso's impressive youngster Daniil Kyvat had a nightmare, locking up and careering into the slow moving Fernando Alonso. The Ferrari driver, who had quite wrongly elected to run with the intermediate tyres, saw his front left suspension and wishbone broken, leaving him to limp back to the pits with his qualifying campaign seemingly in tatters and bringing out a red flag. Impressive work from the Ferrari mechanics meant that not only did the Spaniard get back out, but he qualified for Q3 ahead of his illustrious new teammate Kimi Raikkonen. The only real surprise to come out of Q2 was the failure of the high-flying Williams pair to reach the top ten shootout, with both Massa and Bottas unable to make the cut. However, up front Vettel managed to split the two Mercedes to give fans an indication of a competitive final part of qualifying.
Q3, like the two parts before it, began rather anti-climactically, with cars looking to set a banker lap. With the initial fears that Mercedes would run away with the pole, the initial 1-2 seemed set to stay. However, both Red Bull and Ferrari had other ideas. Fernando Alonso, who seemed to have completely recovered from the crash in Q2, got himself between the two German cars, before Sebastien Vettel came within a whisker of grabbing pole. As the chequered flag loomed large, the fight was on between the German and Hamilton for the top spot - or so it seemed. Whilst squabbling with Nico Rosberg to be the last one across the line to start their flying lap, Vettel inexplicably failed to make it before the flag fell, losing his final lap, handing Hamilton the pole on a silver platter. The only other change was Rosberg managing to drag himself into third and within striking distance of the lead. After a qualifying session that began slowly, with everyone assuming a Mercedes coronation, this handed fans some hope of a competitive season. For Hamilton, a personal milestone: he equalled the British record for pole positions that has stood since 1964 and Jim Clark.
In typical Sepang fashion, Sunday saw the return of baking conditions, with the teams preparing for the most challenging weather of the year. As the lights went out, pole-sitter Hamilton got away well, leaving team-mate Rosberg to jump the slow-starting Vettel into 2nd. The big winner was Daniel Ricciardo, who managed to sneak his way around the outside of the two Ferraris before hanging his teammate out to dry on the outside of turn two. With the Mercedes in clean air, Hamilton clearly relished the chance, repeatedly setting fastest lap after fastest lap to ease the gap out to five seconds after just 8 laps. Further back, Ferrari continued to struggle, although not entirely of their own doing. Kimi Raikkonen, embroiled in a close battle with the rookie McLaren of Daniel Magnusson, found himself carrying a right rear puncture after a tussle got too close. This left the Finn limping back to the pits and ending any realistic chance of a large points haul.
The collision hardly did Magnusson any favours either, breaking his front wing and causing him to hold up a gaggle (I believe that is the correct term!) of cars. In a frenetic start up front, Sebastien Vettel began homing in on his teammate before cruising past under DRS. It was the first time that the two had been wheel to wheel since becoming teammates, and the world champion seemed intent on sending a message to his less illustrious companion. As the cars began to look at pit stops, it became clear that the undercut would play a significant part in the race. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, having made his first stop, began lapping at over two seconds a lap faster than the cars ahead. Although the Red Bulls acted quickly enough to keep Vettel in front of the Spaniard, Daniel Ricciardo eventually fell foul of this. However, by this point, the Mercedes drivers were out of sight of the chasing pack, bringing F1 fans a reminder of the dominant scenes seen so frequently last year.
However, all is not lost. With Rosberg struggling with the balance of his rear tyres, the Red Bull began reeling the German in at almost a second a lap, giving F1 fans an indication that perhaps Mercedes would not run away with races. However, it is worth remembering that Rosberg's was a wounded car, with his teammate continuing to scamper away up front. By the time Hamilton pitted for his second stop, the gap was up to over 10 seconds, at it was looking simply a battle for second.
With this, and the battle for the minor places the only close track action, attention turned towards the skies. Radio transmissions between Raikkonen and the Ferrari team intimated a spattering of rain around turn 14, threatening to spice up a rapidly predictable race. As it happened, it wasn't to be. Between the revelation and the chequered flag dropping, there was only one more piece of action worth commenting on. Daniel Ricciardo, after the misfortune of being disqualified in Australia (his fuel level gauge stopped working - something that strangely happened again here, but not on Vettel's car-coincidence?) found himself battling with Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg for 4th place as he arrived at his pit box for his final stop. However, a wheel failure, followed by a front wing failure a few laps later (both completely unrelated - coincidence?) seemed another example of the German world champion's teammate having the most outrageous bad luck. Where have we seen an Aussie get a raw deal at Red Bull before?
Nevertheless, hats off to Lewis Hamilton, who led home a Mercedes one-two for his first win in Malaysia by fully 15 seconds. Vettel's return to the podium was a welcome one for a man who has been too accustomed to the rostrum in recent years, but I get the feeling we will be seeing silver on that podium a huge amount of times this season. With the mind-numbing repetitiveness of last season, Formula 1 can ill-afford another season as one sided. Unfortunately, this rule change seems to have favoured one car, and until the rest can catch up, there seems little sign of changing.
Saturday, 12 October 2013
England Series: Jack Wilshere's 'English'
In the build-up to Tuesday's do-or-die fixture at home to Poland, I will be running an England mini-series, looking at the talking points that have haunted the England side's preparations, and looking at their chances going forward. A few weeks ago, I gave my opinion on Greg Dyke's comments that England should be looking to reach the semi-finals of the Euro 2020 competition, and win the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar. This assumes that the groundwork is already in place for England to become a viable winner of trophies, as Spain's 'Golden Age' really began a decade or so previously, with the change of several rules regarding training of youngsters. Using the State of the Game report, as well as evidence from the current England squad and the lower leagues, I will examine just how much creedence can be given to Dyke's claims. I dismissed them a few weeks ago-was I wrong to?
However, I will begin with the stories that have hit the headlines over the last few days, perhaps affecting the run-up to what Hodgson himself has called his most important week in management. Earlier today I wrote about the plight of Joe Hart, one not entirely of his own doing. The reasons that Jack Wilshere has been in the headlines, however, is wholly the Arsenal man's fault. He hasn't had the best of fortnights, with allegations of smoking following a photo of him caught outside a nightclub with a cigarette, prompting widespread criticism, including from his manager. Then this. On Wednesday, Wilshere, in an interview, made his views on England (sort of) clear. He stated that only English people should play for England, making an implicit argument that FIFA's residency rules are wrong. This has led to widespread criticism of his remarks in the footballing world, and many comments (made both seriously and in jest) likening his comments to the racist rhetoric of the English Defence League and the British National Party.
Before we completely condemn Wilshere's comments, we really need to take a more detailed look at exactly what was said and what we can imagine was intended to have been said. Despite the complaints of many, labelling the Englishman a racist, I refuse to believe that was the intended message of his statement. Wilshere's statement of 'just because you've lived in England for 5 years, it doesn't make you English' doesn't help his cause much, as it certainly sounds off, but I think most reasonable people understand the intent behind his words. The idea that the finer points of a nation (being the cultural influences and lifestyle) can be picked up and internalised within 5 years is unlikely, and this is what I think Wilshere is referring to. He himself said that this was not a dig at any individual player (meaning the recent comments over Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj), nor was he saying that those born outside of the country should be instantly considered ineligable. The midfielder explained that the target of his comments were adults that arrived in this country, having been brought up and spent their formative years elsewhere, and therefore have an attachment to another county.
Being a Politics graduate, I hate it when sportsmen dip their toes into political waters, using terms and concepts that they don't wholly understand. The idea of nationality and nation is something far deeper than something you have on your passport, and, in this respect, I understand exactly what Jack Wilshere has said (albeit disastrously from a PR standpoint). Being from a specific country means more than just the specific rules and regulations. It is getting in touch with the nation, rather than the state. This means getting a real feel of English life (queuing, tea, complaining etc.), and really attaching themselves to the culture and heritage of England. In footballing terms, it is like making a transfer and then learning about the past legends and overall history of the club you have joined. However, unlike another club, whose history can generally be learnt in a couple of days, the history and culture of a state and nation is extremely difficult to learn, even more so to take on as your own. However, it could certainly be argued that a significant portion of the English culture is tolerance, with cultures from far and wide encouraged to add to the 'melting pot' style feel of British life. To that extent, I think that Jack Wilshire is wrong with his comments about Britishness, however I do understand the frustration that he feels over adults coming over and claiming to feel the same attachment to a country in five years that Wilshere has had to cultivate over 20. As a child, your formative years are generally when you form your strongest attachments, and begin to get a sense of who you really are. That is why Wilshere later made it clear that he had nothing against those who moved here from an early age, as they have had the experience of growing up in the country and gathering all the necessary national characteristics and feel an attachment to them. Perhaps the Arsenal player was simply attempting to question the FIFA eligibility rules. Nevertheless, a footballer getting involved in immigration policy, philosophy (yes, I do mean you Joey Barton) and politics in general is not advisable.
So does Wilshere have a point? By looking at FIFA's rules regarding eligibility, we can see there there are certainly areas that need tightening up. Whilst there is a rule that states that to play for any country, you must hold a passport from the state that you wish to represent. In order to gain a new nationality, you must either: be born in the country, have a biological mother, father or grandparent born in that country, or have resided in the country since the age of 18 for 5 years continuously. It is the latter that the midfielder was complaining about. I think he has a point. No-one can garner sufficient information of a nation's history and culture in 5 years to be able to strongly identify with it. I think that the rule would be far more accurate and appropriate if we said that anyone wanting to claim a new nationality must have lived in the country for 5 years before the age of 18, or 15 years over the age of 18. That should enable those that truly identify with the country, i.e. those that go through their formative years there, to represent the nation they want, whilst preventing those who simply want to represent a competitive team or, in the case of athletics, get better funding, with no concept of what it is to be 'British'. Wilshere should perhaps have said that the rules need changing-not by seeming to claim that only those that were born here are eligible. 'England for the English' is a headline often seen on BNP propaganda, and not an organisation that Wilshere will want to be associated with, especially if he is genuinely attempting to present a reasoned argument to change FIFA's rules.
However, if he is looking to change the rules, there will be many in this country wanting to oppose him. Now, I am by no means saying that any of the people mentioned do not feel a strong sense of attachment with England, merely that they were born in another country, and have now gone on to become highly successful at their sport. In many sports, England are heavily reliant on individuals that were not born in this country, and perhaps would not even fit the rules as I have suggested them to be. In cricket, both Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott were born in South Africa. Both are now considered critical to the success of the batting lineup, and both were integral parts of the successful Ashes winning team this summer. In athletics, poster boy Mo Farah was born in Somalia, and he was one of the British faces of the 2012 Olympic Games last year. In golf, Justin Rose, like cricketers Pietersen and Trott, was born in South Africa. In both rugby forms, there are a multitude of names that are from Australasia and South Africa, with rugby union's Manu Tuilagi arguably the most high profile. Even in football, future talents like Saido Berahino (born in Burundi) and Wilfried Zaha (born in Ivory Coast), who are both widely considered English, were in fact born elsewhere. I dislike the idea that goes around, somewhat cynically, that 'if they are good, they can be English'. It seems too much like glory supporting. Personally, as long as those individuals truly feel like they identify with England, I am happy to have them representing us, however, this identification may be difficult to prove when determining whether someone should receive a passport.
Jack Wilshere's comments were ill-concieved and poorly delivered. He did not say exactly what he intended, and as a result left himself open to wild accusations of racism from the PC brigade and sections of the media, and more reasonable criticism from the majority of the footballing world. That being said, I do understand where he was coming from, as there do appear to be faults with the current residency part of the FIFA rules of eligibility. I have set out what I believe to be better to satisfy both criteria, to allow those that genuinely have a connection with a country from a young age to play for the country to which they have become attached, whilst denying those adults that have no concept of being part of the nation that they compete for. However, when applying any rules over nationality, we run the risk of alienating people who genuinely feel a strong connection to a nation. Therefore, perhaps it is best to have rather broad rules, as I would rather let 10 people who don't care about England represent us than deny a single person who really does identify. On a very basic level, people who value and identify with the shirt that they are playing for will perform to their potential. This will eventually show who cares and who doesn't, and bring the best performers to the top. I think that is how Wilshere should have prefaced his statements.
However, I will begin with the stories that have hit the headlines over the last few days, perhaps affecting the run-up to what Hodgson himself has called his most important week in management. Earlier today I wrote about the plight of Joe Hart, one not entirely of his own doing. The reasons that Jack Wilshere has been in the headlines, however, is wholly the Arsenal man's fault. He hasn't had the best of fortnights, with allegations of smoking following a photo of him caught outside a nightclub with a cigarette, prompting widespread criticism, including from his manager. Then this. On Wednesday, Wilshere, in an interview, made his views on England (sort of) clear. He stated that only English people should play for England, making an implicit argument that FIFA's residency rules are wrong. This has led to widespread criticism of his remarks in the footballing world, and many comments (made both seriously and in jest) likening his comments to the racist rhetoric of the English Defence League and the British National Party.
Before we completely condemn Wilshere's comments, we really need to take a more detailed look at exactly what was said and what we can imagine was intended to have been said. Despite the complaints of many, labelling the Englishman a racist, I refuse to believe that was the intended message of his statement. Wilshere's statement of 'just because you've lived in England for 5 years, it doesn't make you English' doesn't help his cause much, as it certainly sounds off, but I think most reasonable people understand the intent behind his words. The idea that the finer points of a nation (being the cultural influences and lifestyle) can be picked up and internalised within 5 years is unlikely, and this is what I think Wilshere is referring to. He himself said that this was not a dig at any individual player (meaning the recent comments over Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj), nor was he saying that those born outside of the country should be instantly considered ineligable. The midfielder explained that the target of his comments were adults that arrived in this country, having been brought up and spent their formative years elsewhere, and therefore have an attachment to another county.
Being a Politics graduate, I hate it when sportsmen dip their toes into political waters, using terms and concepts that they don't wholly understand. The idea of nationality and nation is something far deeper than something you have on your passport, and, in this respect, I understand exactly what Jack Wilshere has said (albeit disastrously from a PR standpoint). Being from a specific country means more than just the specific rules and regulations. It is getting in touch with the nation, rather than the state. This means getting a real feel of English life (queuing, tea, complaining etc.), and really attaching themselves to the culture and heritage of England. In footballing terms, it is like making a transfer and then learning about the past legends and overall history of the club you have joined. However, unlike another club, whose history can generally be learnt in a couple of days, the history and culture of a state and nation is extremely difficult to learn, even more so to take on as your own. However, it could certainly be argued that a significant portion of the English culture is tolerance, with cultures from far and wide encouraged to add to the 'melting pot' style feel of British life. To that extent, I think that Jack Wilshire is wrong with his comments about Britishness, however I do understand the frustration that he feels over adults coming over and claiming to feel the same attachment to a country in five years that Wilshere has had to cultivate over 20. As a child, your formative years are generally when you form your strongest attachments, and begin to get a sense of who you really are. That is why Wilshere later made it clear that he had nothing against those who moved here from an early age, as they have had the experience of growing up in the country and gathering all the necessary national characteristics and feel an attachment to them. Perhaps the Arsenal player was simply attempting to question the FIFA eligibility rules. Nevertheless, a footballer getting involved in immigration policy, philosophy (yes, I do mean you Joey Barton) and politics in general is not advisable.
So does Wilshere have a point? By looking at FIFA's rules regarding eligibility, we can see there there are certainly areas that need tightening up. Whilst there is a rule that states that to play for any country, you must hold a passport from the state that you wish to represent. In order to gain a new nationality, you must either: be born in the country, have a biological mother, father or grandparent born in that country, or have resided in the country since the age of 18 for 5 years continuously. It is the latter that the midfielder was complaining about. I think he has a point. No-one can garner sufficient information of a nation's history and culture in 5 years to be able to strongly identify with it. I think that the rule would be far more accurate and appropriate if we said that anyone wanting to claim a new nationality must have lived in the country for 5 years before the age of 18, or 15 years over the age of 18. That should enable those that truly identify with the country, i.e. those that go through their formative years there, to represent the nation they want, whilst preventing those who simply want to represent a competitive team or, in the case of athletics, get better funding, with no concept of what it is to be 'British'. Wilshere should perhaps have said that the rules need changing-not by seeming to claim that only those that were born here are eligible. 'England for the English' is a headline often seen on BNP propaganda, and not an organisation that Wilshere will want to be associated with, especially if he is genuinely attempting to present a reasoned argument to change FIFA's rules.
However, if he is looking to change the rules, there will be many in this country wanting to oppose him. Now, I am by no means saying that any of the people mentioned do not feel a strong sense of attachment with England, merely that they were born in another country, and have now gone on to become highly successful at their sport. In many sports, England are heavily reliant on individuals that were not born in this country, and perhaps would not even fit the rules as I have suggested them to be. In cricket, both Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott were born in South Africa. Both are now considered critical to the success of the batting lineup, and both were integral parts of the successful Ashes winning team this summer. In athletics, poster boy Mo Farah was born in Somalia, and he was one of the British faces of the 2012 Olympic Games last year. In golf, Justin Rose, like cricketers Pietersen and Trott, was born in South Africa. In both rugby forms, there are a multitude of names that are from Australasia and South Africa, with rugby union's Manu Tuilagi arguably the most high profile. Even in football, future talents like Saido Berahino (born in Burundi) and Wilfried Zaha (born in Ivory Coast), who are both widely considered English, were in fact born elsewhere. I dislike the idea that goes around, somewhat cynically, that 'if they are good, they can be English'. It seems too much like glory supporting. Personally, as long as those individuals truly feel like they identify with England, I am happy to have them representing us, however, this identification may be difficult to prove when determining whether someone should receive a passport.
Jack Wilshere's comments were ill-concieved and poorly delivered. He did not say exactly what he intended, and as a result left himself open to wild accusations of racism from the PC brigade and sections of the media, and more reasonable criticism from the majority of the footballing world. That being said, I do understand where he was coming from, as there do appear to be faults with the current residency part of the FIFA rules of eligibility. I have set out what I believe to be better to satisfy both criteria, to allow those that genuinely have a connection with a country from a young age to play for the country to which they have become attached, whilst denying those adults that have no concept of being part of the nation that they compete for. However, when applying any rules over nationality, we run the risk of alienating people who genuinely feel a strong connection to a nation. Therefore, perhaps it is best to have rather broad rules, as I would rather let 10 people who don't care about England represent us than deny a single person who really does identify. On a very basic level, people who value and identify with the shirt that they are playing for will perform to their potential. This will eventually show who cares and who doesn't, and bring the best performers to the top. I think that is how Wilshere should have prefaced his statements.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)