FOOTBALL: From such promising heady heights to such lows. Arsenal have gone from competing for four trophies to just one in two short (but endlessly long) weeks: lost in the Carling Cup final to Blackburn thanks to a ridiculous mix up between goalkeeper and defender; dumped out of the Champions League by a rampant Barcelona; unceremoniously ousted from the FA Cup last night by Man United 2-0. So many hopes and dreams once again dashed by a side who just cannot hold on when it really matters. Could Arsene Wenger's tunnel vision obsession with the quality of his team's play ultimately be damaging their chances of trophies and glory and realising their potential? A lot of people seem to think so.
CRICKET: England lost to Bangladesh by two wickets. This is no good. For those of you who don't know, losing to Ireland and Bangladesh in one competition (in one year!) is not okay. It was a poor batting and bowling display by England and they paid for it. Beating Bangladesh would have all but confirmed a place in the quarter-finals, as it stands now they have to beat the Windies - on paper much much harder than Bangladesh - and even then it's not certain they'll go through. They have made things very difficult for themselves but have been beset with injuries to countless key players due to a very heavy winter schedule. News in today is that England an Australia have agreed to play fewer ODIs - from 7 to 5 - and that the World Cup and the Ashes won't be played in the same year in order to free up the season a little and try and prevent these injuries and player's fatiguing.
TENNIS: Ray-ray lost to American qualifier and world number 143 Donald Young in the second round of the Masters 1000 Indian Wells event in California, 6-7 (4-7) 3-6. Not good. He didn't play well at all and Young took all the chances Ray-ray gave him to complete the biggest win of his career. This defeat means Ray-ray hasn't won a singles match since his semi-final four setter over David Ferrer in the Australian Open. This is frighteningly similar to what happened last year after Murray's final loss to Federer in the Aussie Open, where he suffered a dramatic slump in form and didn't pick it up again until after the slams and into the final competitions of the season, ending in that fantastic semi final against GoNads at the World Tour Finals. Lets hope it doesn't happen again. Ray-ray has done well in Indian Wells previously, reaching finals, semis and quarters.
I'll keep you blogged...
No comments:
Post a Comment