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Issue 2 April 2012
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- Sonar Suggestion: Cave Painting March 10, 2012
- Review: Speech Debelle - 'Freedom of Speech' (Big Dada) March 10, 2012
- Review: The Fray - Scars and Stories (ColumbiaUK) March 3, 2012
- Live Review: Howler, Joiners, Southampton February 20, 2012
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All the latest reviews and interviews from the Sports.
Contributors: James Hughes, Michael Smith
Is this British Boxing’s lowest point?
Written by Contributor
Words: Michael Smith
It was a weekend that seemed to drag British boxing through the dirt. It was supposed to be about the fight for the heavyweight title between Dereck Chisora and Vitali Klitschko but instead it turned into a farce. The build up for the fight started with Dereck slapping Vitali at the weigh in which lead to a bit of pushing and shoving, compared to later on. However despite this the fight was very intriguing with Vitali being made to work for his victory by a very determined Del Boy. After the fight many peoples opinion of Dereck had improved significantly believing that he now belonged at this level. He had shown resilience and a never say die attitude despite never looking like threatening Vitali. However what happened post fight at the press conference completely destroyed what he had fought twelve rounds to achieve.
David Haye had turned up to the fight and attended the post-match conference, so when he was being taunted by Vitali he sought to defend himself. Dereck then decided to challenge David to a fight in London, with David saying he didn’t want to because Dereck was a loser. There was more taunting of each other before the two descended into a brawl with each other. With glass and a tripod being thrown during the brawl there were several injuries sustained. All of this lead Vitali Klitschko to announce that he wouldn’t fight another British boxer because of these incidents and also those that occurred during the build-up to David Haye’s fight with Vitali.
Does this show how far British Boxing has fallen from fighters like Henry Cooper who were well respected and loved in Britain; to the likes of Dereck Chisora who most British fans don’t want to win. We are all used to the fact that boxers will look to over hype fights in order to make more money however this has certainly gone too far and both boxers could now be looking at life time bans from the sport.
However while the British heavyweights let themselves down there are several others Brits who are flying the flag. Such as Carl Froch who, despite losing his WBC super-middleweight title to Andre Ward, is still at the top of his game and could compete for other titles. There is also Amir Khan who will fight Lamont Peterson again after the Americans controversial win on points.
There is Nathan Cleverly, the WBO Light Heavyweight champion, who defended his title back in October against fellow Brit Tony Bellew. Also Ricky Burns, the WBO lightweight champion, who will look to defend his title against Namibian Paulus Moses in March. So although this week ended on a sour note, there are still some bright prospects for British Boxing.
FA LOSE CAPELLO, AS THEY STEP UP CHASE FOR REDKNAPP
Written by Contributor
Words: Michael Smith // Image: Guardian
With just under four months to go until Euro 2012, England felt that too much was going right. So, to liven things up a bit they removed the captaincy from John Terry; according to the FA there’s no such thing as innocent till proven guilty. This then prompted the manager, Fabio Capello, to quit several months ahead of his planned date and honestly who can blame him? Removing the captaincy from John Terry completely undermined Capello and left him with little option. John Terry is awaiting trial for his exchange on the pitch with Anton Ferdinand; and the FA in all their wisdom felt they didn’t want to go into the tournament with this hanging over the captain. So instead there’s an even bigger controversy with little time left until the Euros kick off in Poland and Ukraine.
The FA have already said that Stuart Pearce will take charge of the upcoming friendly against Holland. He also seems to be a good choice to succeed Capello, as he has coached a lot of the current players in the under-21s. Harry Redknapp seems to be the most obvious choice though with fans, current players and ex-players all supporting Harry for England. It’s no wonder why, with his Tottenham team sitting comfortably in third and challenging for the Premier league title he seems to be the most sensible long-term option. A short-term choice would be to make Trevor Brooking the caretaker manager. As Trevor is working for the FA and is a respected figure by the players he could do well given the chance. However having not coached for a long time he might find it hard, in such a short-term role, to get the best out of the players.
It is clear for all to see that the standout candidate is Harry Redknapp. And it seems as though he will be the next England manager. However it just remains to be seen if the FA appoint him before the Euros or after; as Tottenham certainly won’t want to lose him at this crucial point in their season.
Top 10 Worst January Transfers, ever.
Written by Contributor
Words: Michael Smith
With the January transfer window shutting, fans up and down the country will hope their team gets their man. In January there have been some great signings with the likes of Nemanja Vidic, Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra all joining. However there have also been some transfers that still bring shame to fans years after the deals have been done. This is my top ten worst January signings.
Number 10: Fernando Morientes, from Real Madrid, to Liverpool, £6.3million. When Liverpool signed Fernando there was joy that they had got a quality international goal-scorer. However despite his pedigree he failed to live up to the hype and after 41 games with just 8 goals he was sent on a free to Valencia.
Number 9: Malcolm Christie, from Derby County, to Middlesbrough, £3million. A player who made his name in non-league football, Malcolm was able to make the jump to premier league football with success at Derby. However he never made it at Middlesbrough due to poor form and injuries. So after 43 games and 7 goals he was released on a free after his contract expired.
Number 8: Georgios Samaras, from Heereveen, to Man City, £6million. City splashed out on the 21 year-old Greek and after a bright start to his career it looked as though it would be money well spent. However he was never able to adapt to the English style of football and as such was shipped onto Celtic for half the price he was signed for.
Number 7: Jean-Alain Boumsong, from Rangers, to Newcastle, £8million. Despite having been picked up on a free by Rangers a few months ago, Graeme Souness offered £8million for the French centre-back. In his first season he seemed to be settling in well but the following season he just couldn’t repeat his form as he was responsible for many goals Newcastle conceded. He was then sold onto recently relegated Juventus for £3million, nearly a third of the amount they had paid for him.
Number 6: Michael Ricketts, from Bolton Wanderers, to Middlesbrough, £3.5million. When Middlesbrough bought Ricketts they were overjoyed with the signing. He had been capped by England and at 25 seemed to be a star of the future. But he couldn’t repeat his goal scoring from Bolton at Middlesbrough. He was released on a free transfer having scored 3 goals in 32 games.
Number 5: Marlon King, from Watford, to Wigan, £4million. Marlon was a major factor in Watford getting promoted to the premier league in 2005. However he was injured for most of the season as Watford were relegated straight back to the Championship. Wigan made a bid of £4million for the striker and there was a lot of hope surrounding the new signing but with just the 1 goal to show he was soon sent out on loan never to return to Wigan.
Number 4: Benni McCarthy, from Blackburn, to West Ham, £2.5million. At his height he had been a regular scorer for Blackburn and was at one point being linked with Chelsea. However due to lack of first team opportunities he joined West Ham and had even less luck there with injuries and a weight problem limiting his appearances. West Ham parted company with Benni without him scoring a single goal; Karen Brady later remarked signing him had been a ‘big fat mistake.’
Number 3: Scott Parker, from Charlton, to Chelsea, £10million. Wait a minute, I hear you say, isn’t Scott Parker good? Well not during his time at Chelsea. He had impressed them with his performances at Charlton but at £10million he was never given a chance to show he was worth the money. Constantly in and out of the team before eventually being sold to Newcastle where he was instantly made club captain.
Number 2: Afonso Alves, from Heerenveen, to Middlesbrough, £12million. Oh yes it’s another Middlesbrough striker. At the time it seemed like a great signing, his goal scoring record for Heerenveen was better than a goal a game. However for £12million Middlesbrough certainly didn’t get what they paid for. His tally of 10 goals in 42 appearances meant he was soon shipped onto Qatar for £7million, at least regaining some of the money spent.
NUMBER 1: FERNANDO TORRES, from Liverpool, to Chelsea, £50million.With Fernando’s poor form and such a hefty transfer fee it’s no wonder el nino has, so far, failed to deliver at Stamford Bridge. Managing to score more goals for Liverpool than for Chelsea in 2011, despite only playing 3 weeks for Liverpool. Also having scored just 3 goals working out at just over £16million a goal earns Fernando the title of worst January buy ever, well so far.
Solent, rowing to the top!
Written by Contributor
Words: James Hughes
Mens Fresher 1st crew, who came a fantastic 2nd place of 25!
Southampton Solent University enjoyed further success in rowing this month, as the athletes from the University continue to surpass expectations. The triumphs proved to be particularly sweet as they beat their close rivals in several events.
Daniel Dalmau rowed superbly to 2nd place in his Single Scull, and was unfortunate not to finish higher, being beaten by a mere 10 seconds. Dalmau was the first of the Solent boats to get afloat on this successful day for the University. Even more remarkable, was the way he overcame a minor collision early on to finish so impressively. Much of the recent success enjoyed by Solent has been due to the impressiveness of Dalmau’s rowing ability and he will be vital for the progress to continue.
Elsewhere, the senior Men’s 4+ finished third in the Intermediate Men’s 4+, who were stroked by the inspirational Robin Mills.
This success was also matched by the Women’s equivalent as they beat all three local rivals Southampton, Portsmouth and Bournemouth universities, stroked by Erin Whitley. These female rowers representing Solent provided a confident display leaving many onlookers to realise that senior women’s racing is back and that Solent possessed a team to be reckoned with.
It was not only the senior rowers who were revelling in success, as the beginners also proved with commanding races that they had potential as well as talent. The fresher Men’s First 8+ finished second, whilst the Women’s beginner 4+ finished third.
With five top three finishes this could prove to be a successful year for Solent.
The Rowing Team also took place in Movember. Look out for their efforts in this term’s Sonar Magazine.
The Sack Race
Written by Contributor
Words: Michael Smith
We all know about the short amount of time that football managers are given in their jobs but this season has seen two former England managers, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Steve McClaren, given the boot at Championship clubs. This begs the question; are football managers given enough time to influence their team?
Starting with Sven he took over at Leicester City on the 3rd October 2010 when the Foxes were in the relegation zone. However under Sven’s management he took Leicester to within one point of the play-offs before finishing the season in 10th. After spending big in the summer Leicester were expected to be challenging at the top but were sat in mid-table and looking as though the squad was beginning to gel. However after losing 3-0 at home to Millwall Sven was relieved of his duties on the 24th October 2011, just over a year after taking charge.
Meanwhile Steve McClaren took charge at Nottingham Forest on 13th June 2011 having rebuilt his shattered reputation following a successful spell at FC Twente. Nottingham Forest had been punching above their weight under Billy Davies finishing in the playoffs and narrowly missing out on the premiership despite the lack of funds at the club. But Steve wasn’t able to replicate that form and as Forest sat near the relegation zone he left the club on 2nd October 2011, nearly four months after being given the job.
Certainly in Sven’s case you would say that he should have been given more time, he had already shown he could get results at Leicester as the previous season had shown. After a big turnaround in players they needed time to settle and gel together as a team, but it wasn’t given. Also in Steve’s case he should have been given the time to do his job and also the resources. The reason Steve McClaren gave for leaving Forest was not being able to sign two premier league players on loan. However neither of these reigns compare to the holder of shortest reign as manager at a club which stands at 10 minutes. This record belongs to Leroy Rosenior when he went to Torquay, the club was in takeover talks and after he signed the takeover was complete and the new chairman wanted a new manager so he was sacked. There are other examples of managers not being given enough time and the chairman feeling he has to be seen to be doing something. However you hope that chairman will start to keep faith with the appointments they make.
Review – American Football Goes British
Written by Contributor
Words: Michael Smith
The now annual NFL game at Wembley was back this weekend for it’s fifth year running. The game capped off an awful weekend for the Glazer family as their Tampa Bay Buccaneers succumbed to the Chicago Bears 24-18.
For most of the game it appeared that Chicago would run out easy winners as they led 21-5 going into the fourth quarter after touchdowns by Matt Forte, Roy Williams and Marion Barber. However the Bucs weren’t ready to give up yet and scored two touchdowns in the space of five minutes from Kellen Winslow and Dez Briscoe. But ultimately the Bears secured the win with a field goal and an interception to stop the Tampa Bay comeback. This defeat for Tampa now means they have lost both games at Wembley having lost back in 2009 35-7 to the New England Patriots.
The game was won thanks to Chicago’s superior rushing as Matt Forte ran for 145 yards and 1 touchdown and Marion Barber ran for 39 yards and 1 touchdown. Both quarterbacks did well throwing for over 200 yards but Tampa’s Josh Freeman came out on top with 264 yards and 2 touchdowns. This result leaves both teams on 4-3 records with Chicago third in the NFC North behind reigning super bowl champions Green Bay and this year’s surprise package the Detroit Lions. While Tampa sit second in the NFC South behind the New Orleans Saints.
This was the first NFL game to be played at Wembley that was not a sell-out crowd, however this was put down to the NFL lockout which meant that tickets had gone on sale later than expected. The lower attendance hasn’t put off teams from wanting to play at Wembley as the NFL are thinking of playing more games abroad or even creating a British Franchise. It is unclear how they will incorporate a new franchise whether an existing one will move to Britain or another will be created. But it does show that the NFL sees itself as a global league and is trying to move into new markets and draw more fans to it.
