And the winner is...

With the NBA regular season coming to a close the matches for the first round of the play-offs are set. But before the remaining teams battle it out for the championship, it's time to dish out some awards. So who are this years front-runners?

MVP: Lebron James

I’m sure it will come as no surprise that I (or anybody else for that matter) can see past King James retaining his most valuable player crown. Fresh off the back of winning his first ring last season he has just completed one of the best regular seasons ever seen in the league. 

The Heat power-house averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.9 blocks a game - as well rounded a line as you will ever see. Simply put, whatever his team needs he provides it. 

What makes it more ridiculous is the efficiency he posts these numbers with. Lebron shot 56.5 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from beyond the arc and a career-consistent 75.3 percent from the foul line.

To cap off his historic season James led the Heat in a thrilling 27 game winning streak on their way to securing the best record in the NBA. 

Factor in that he is also a contender for defensive player of the year in the eyes of many and there is simply isn’t a better basketball player in the world right now.

Rookie of the year: Damian Lillard

Sixth man of the year: J.R Smith

Most improved player: Paul George

Odom the Key for Lakers Success

A seven game series in the NBA is all about match ups. 

Every team in the league is capable of beating any one on their day but to progress to the next round you have to beat a team 4 times. This means having a person or people you can consistently rely on to get the better of their matchup. 

Going into the Play-off semi-finals I fancied the Mavericks to cause the Lakers some problems due to the experience in their roster and the influence of one man, Dirk Nowitzki.

Nowitzki is a match up nightmare, there has never been a player like him in the NBA. Playing as a power-forward he’s the size of a centre, Shoots like a two-guard and dribbles like a point guard, making him near impossible to guard.

It’s uncomfortable for Pau Gasol to have to chase Dirk around the floor and they won’t even consider putting Andrew Bynum on him. Nowitzki is capable of taking his game to the 3-point line where the Lakers’ starting big men will struggle, compromising their whole defence. 

For this reason the Lakers can not continue to play Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum at the same time in this series. If they do there is no doubt Nowitzki will kill them in transition.

In my opinion the answer for the Lakers lies in Lamar Odom. Their talented sixth man who blends size and speed with the ability to put the ball on the floor, making him an unusual match up himself. Not only will he find it easier to guard the Dallas foward it will also cause Nowitzki to use some of his energy guarding Odom. Is Dirk comfortable guarding a 6’ 10” forward who can put the ball on the floor? 

A bigger role for Odom will also ease another issue for the Lakers in this series, the depth of the Maverick's bench. 

As it stands Odom’s great numbers can be negated in this series by the production of the Mav's second string. In game 1 Stojokovic and Terry scored 10 and 15 respectively which takes away the Lakers advantage having a guy like Odom coming off the bench. They are used to having the best player coming off the bench in games, but they don’t have that this series and so Odom needs to play starters minutes to up his production and give the Lakers a boost.

Nowitzki is capable of giving the Lakers major problems in this series and at the moment his numbers are overshadowing Odom’s. If the Lakers are to be successful then Odom needs to see enough minutes to cause the Mavericks some problems of their own and give Kobe some space to go to work.

Liverpool Ladies V Doncaster Belles

It's been way too long since I last posted, but i've been really busy. Here's an example of the kind of thing i've been working on, a match report from Liverpool Ladies FA Cup quarter final win over the Doncaster Belles.

Balotelli V the bib...

Regular readers of my blog will know i'm less than fond of Man City's Mario Balotelli. Looking at some of his dodgy outfits since his move to England (remember the 'glove' hat from Manchester market?) I always thought he didn't know how to dress himself, but this video from before Thursday's defeat to Dynamo Kiev takes the biscuit. Not content with being beaten by the bib he then went on to get sent off, costing his team dearly as they crashed out of the Europa League, a competition I know the club were keen to win and must have been one of the favourites to do so. The early bath was obviously the final straw for Roberto Mancini who must have also been perturbed  by the strikers phantom grass allergy that caused him to be substituted in the first leg, and Balotelli has subsequently been dropped from the City squad for this weekends game. He isn't doing much to change my opinion that his stay at Eastlands will be a short one.

Enjoy...

Is football for the fans anymore?

Chelsea play at Bloomfield Road tonight in yet another game moved from it’s traditional weekend slot for Sky’s Monday Night Football coverage. Now, I am one of the fortunate ones who due to my choice of university live a mere 30 minutes away from Blackpool via train, but what about everyone else? 

Being a fan in modern day football definitely has it’s draw backs. Add Blackpool to games with Wolves, Bolton, Sunderland, and to a lesser extent Fulham and Arsenal and you get an extraordinary run of six away league games in a row played midweek due to television. This weekend for example, would it have done Sky any harm to  stop and think “hang on, United only have to travel up the road to Liverpool. Maybe they should be on Monday night” thus making it easier on those who spend their time and money supporting their team and giving them a nice weekend in the supposed entertainment capital of the country. Instead Rupert Murdoch’s cronies sit in their ivory tower dreaming up ways to make more money and take a little bit more of the soul out of football. Factor in Champions League away games with Spartak Moscow and Copenhagen and I would love to know how exactly Sky and the clubs expect fans to make enough money to pay for their tickets and take time off to travel up north in the middle of every other week. 

It’s not only midweek kick offs that are detrimental to people being able to follow their club, I know as a Chelsea fan that kicking off at 3:00 on a Saturday in the Premier League is a increasingly rare occurrence. Getting to games that are early kick offs in a far flung town doesn’t make things any easier and playing on Sunday means no drinking and an early night due to work and education commitments the next day, taking a lot of the fun out of being a football supporter. Football to me is about days out with mates and following your team, it’s not just about the result. It’s about the banter and adventures in places you wouldn’t go to, with people you wouldn’t know without that one thing that unites you. 

However, it’s obvious the powers that be don’t care and complaints like this will continue to fall on deaf ears. It becomes clearer with each passing season that Sky couldn’t care less about football and the real fans who make it what it is, infact it probably suits them that people aren’t at the games and are on the sofa watching their channel instead. What makes it worse is that clubs are powerless to resist the wads of money Sky are able to provide, and the only people who benefit are the people sat in their arm-chairs, infront of the TV, wearing their replica shirt.

Fernando Torres Chelsea's number 9...

Well, what a week it has been to be a blue! The arrivals of Torres and David Luiz on transfer deadline day is more than even the most imaginative Chelsea fan would have hoped for and seems to have given the club a real lift. This was swiftly followed by us inflicting only Sunderland’s second loss of the season at the Stadium of Light this season. It’s an easy to overlook result but a massive win and it’s great to see us rediscovering our goal scoring touch.  

On the flip side, it’s unsurprising to see that all it takes is for Roman to get his cheque book out and we become Britain’s most hated again (not that we were popular before). Of course i’m used to this by now and it’s not something that worries me, infact I thinks it’s a sign we’re doing something right. However, what I can’t understand is the bile directed at Fernando Torres this week.

Numerous people have questioned his reasons for leaving Liverpool, with many claiming money was the motivation and even that he embodies everything that is wrong with modern footballers. Anyone with sense can see for once this is not the case. Fernando Torres wants to win things and what was the likely hood of that happening at Liverpool this season or even next? He turns 27 later this month and Liverpool need rebuilding. Time is starting to run down on his career and he could be in his thirties before Liverpool even look like challenging for the top honours again. This morning Phil Thompson explained in his usual moronic way why he couldn’t understand why Torres would want to leave Anfield. He then went on to say: “Fernando Torres has played professional football for 10 years and won nothing”... don’t worry i’m sure he’ll get there in the end. Those Liverpool schools, hey!

A lot of people have argued that Torres made the wrong decision because Liverpool are a much bigger club than Chelsea. Well I guess that depends on your definition of a big club. Yes, Liverpool are a massive club but at the moment they are a big club in a similar way that Nottingham Forest are a big club, based on historic achievements rather than their standing in the game now. People can talk about fans and history until they are blue in the face but when it comes down to it sport is about winning things and being the best you can. What Torres has just done is in essence no different to what Valencia did when he joined Man United, moving to play with better players and challenge for silverware.  I have no doubts Liverpool will rise again but they have to face facts that this is the situation at the moment. If reports are to be believed then not only have they lost their star striker but the man set to replace him didn't even want to join, not the mark of a "big" club. 

Whilst on the subject of Andy Carrol, I can't help but feel there is a lot hypocrisy around surrounding his move. There is no difference between what Torres has done in comparison to Carroll, except for the fact that he genuinely left his supposedly beloved Newcastle without time to find a replacement. I am a (or was) a big fan of Carroll but £35m is a gamble and the club should be wary, if asked in the summer many Liverpool fans would have old you new signing Joe Cole was a world beater.


Liverpool fans can say what they like about the man they called El Nino, but the fact that not only themselves but also club legends have gone out their way to talk about him so much this week shows how they really feel about him despite what they may say. No one is that angry to see a bad player leave their club. 

As one fan said: “We hate him so much because we loved him so much”

Talked the talk but when will he walk the walk?

The subject of todays post could easily become some what of a theme on this blog. I didn’t particularly like Mario Balotelli before he came to the Premier League and since his move to Man City he has far from endeared himself to me. 

My new arch enemy has been at it again this week stating: “Mourinho is the best coach in the world but as a man he has a lot to learn about politeness and respect." Funny that a man that stated he would shove his award for being the best young player in Europe (which he probably didn’t deserve) in Jack Wilshere’s face can talk about politeness and respect. People that live in glass houses Mario...

Since arriving in England Balotelli has talked on numerous occasions about how he is going to return to Milan, showing disrespect to Man City. Today he has generously pledged to stay 18 months before departing for Italy. He clearly thinks the club is beneath him and I can’t understand why the fans are so quick to stick up for him.

Balotelli’s time at Man City has so far been a constant stream of disrespectful comments on other players. As I have said before there is no doubt that the Italian has potential but to realise that potential he will have to stop talking and actually play some football, unlikely.

Great players do their talking on the pitch.

Too quick to pull the trigger?

Well it seems that January is the footballing equivalent of a full moon. The new year is here and apparently clubs are trying to see how many managers it is possible to sack in a month. With Liverpool announcing Roy Hodgson’s dismissal at Liverpool today that takes the number of recent high profile casualties to 5 and with the likes of Houllier and Ancelotti among others apparently hanging by a thread, the situation could yet get worse. It’s an increasingly common sight in football and a worrying precedent in my eyes.

Take the case of Roy Keane receiving his marching orders earlier this week. Yes results were poor but to what extent is it the managers fault? Keane expressed the difficulty he had in enticing big players to rural Suffolk (and he’s not the first Ipswich manager to face this hurdle), yet he still managed to sign some solid Championship players. The fact of the matter is that when they took to the pitch they didn’t perform. Sometimes if a manager puts his best eleven on the pitch and they don’t play to the best of their capabilities, what more can he do?

It is rumoured that the sacking of Keane could cost Ipswich upwards of £2 million. Rather than spending this money getting rid of the manager, surely giving him the money to spend on the squad would have a more positive impact on the squad. Keane’s contract ended in the summer and if the board still felt a change was needed then they could do it for free.

At least there is some solace for Ipswich fans in the fact at Carrow Road the shoe appears to be on the other foot. With Norwich City running smoothly and mounting an assault on the top of the Championship table Paul Lambert is rumoured to have taken the strange decision to walk out. If his decision is in connection with Burnley’s rejected approach to talk to the Norwich manager then it’s a decision I don’t understand. It will be interesting to see how the situation unravels.

Ipswich appear to be ready to appoint Paul Jewell as manager before their next league game and looking at his previous record it’s a decision that could go either way. I really like Jewell and he did a great job in getting Wigan promoted however, he was less than convincing at Derby and Bradford. I for one would like to see Ipswich show a bit of ambition and go after someone else’s manager. For sheer comedy value i'd love it to be Paul Lambert. But for me, someone like Lee Clarke at Huddersfiled would be the perfect choice, a young manager who is doing a great job and the club could build something around.... unfortunately i'm a blogger and not the owner.

Fortune always hiding? or is there more to it...

I am going to use todays blog entry to dispell what the pundits will have you believe is football's biggest mystery. What is going wrong at West Ham? I hope you are sitting down because this is shocking... they just aren’t that good.

The cliche’ for the past couple of seasons has been that West Ham have got a quality spine to their team with Green, Upson, Parker and Cole. I disagree. 

I have never been a fan of Upson and find the fact he has 21 England caps pretty embarrassing. Carlton Cole has got the physical tools to score goals in the Premier League but he is the kind of striker that will take 3 or 4 chances to score a goal and is largely inconsistent. He needs a quality strike partner because he won't score enough goals to keep a team up on his own.

As for Parker, I can't help but think there has been a lot of undue hype in recent weeks. Parker is good by association with the mediocre players he has to play with every week but not much more. He does produce moments of quality (his volleyed lob over Petr Cech earlier this season is surely a candidate for goal of the season) and I can see why West Ham look to him for leadership however, in the grand scheme of things he is just a run of the mill combative Premier League midfielder who runs about a lot and puts in tackles.

Be that as it may, the bigger issue is the mediocre players they are surrounded with and this needs to be addressed in the transfer window if West Ham are to stay up.

Einstein once said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, by that definition West Ham must be certifiable. West Ham narrowly avoided relegation last year and nothing has changed but the manager. The situation the Hammers find themselves in has been coming for a while now. The signings of Piquionne and Ben Haim aren't not enough to stop the rot in anyones wildest dreams. Don't be fooled by their win against a toothless Fulham today. Only one side in Premiership history has avoided relegation after being bottom at christmas and without major investment in January I don’t see how West Ham can buck that trend.

Merry Christmas and hopefully my next entry will be a more positive one.

Man City miss out on christmas number one...

As Man City squandered their chance last night to top the table at christmas for the first time since 1929 I began to ponder what went wrong for City. When Mark Hughes was in charge he said he wanted to build a team with an English spine and established premier league players who would battle their way to the title on a cold night. His audacious bid to sign then England captain John Terry embodied this. Unfortunately for City fans it was a quality severely lacking at the City of Manchester Stadium last night.

As a manager with limited experience in English football Roberto Mancini seems to have largely taken the opposite approach when putting his mark on the side over the summer which could cost them a run at the title.  

Whilst Nigel De Jong’s suspension undoubtedly took some much needed steel out of the City midfield, over priced foreign imports such as Kolarov, Silva and Balotelli don’t appear to have the stomach for the physical style of the English game. Whilst I don’t question Balotelli’s potential he is yet to show the temperament to deal with the treatment he will undoubtedly receive in the premier league. 

However, for a great example the City side need look no further than the architect of their downfall last night, Tim Cahill. The Australian was head and shoulders above anything on the pitch at COMS (apart from the equally impressive Tim Howard) and his willingness to work for the team was only outshone by his goal and assist on the night.

City are far from out of the race for the title. The Blues are in a great position and  have countless options in their squad to change things around.  Nonetheless, the foreign imports will need to start producing when it really matters and Carlos Tevez will have to put this weeks transfer saga behind him. The Argentinian, who is usually full of running, looked far from his usual self against Everton. 

Sir Bobby Loses Cancer Battle

The football world is mourning the loss of a true legend today after Sir Bobby Robson lost his long battle with cancer. The former Ipswich manager won trophies with teams across four different countries, earning himself numerous awards for his contribution to the game in the process. However, Robson’s reign as Ipswich manager was amongst his greatest achievements. On and off the pitch, Bobby Robson left his mark in Ipswich and will be remembered fondly by all.

Legendary former Ipswich Town and England manager Sir Bobby Robson has died today, aged 76.

He passed away peacefully at around 6:30am this morning at his home in County Durham after a long battle with cancer. He had fought the disease five times since 1991.

Robson will best remembered in Suffolk for his reign as Town Boss which saw him win the FA cup and UEFA cup.

Roger Osborne, who played under Robson said: "Everybody in the area would have known Bobby Robson simply because he put Ipswich on the map. I've travelled all over the country with work and when I ask people where Ipswich is they don;t know. When we were playing in Europe and we were in the top four of the first division all through the seventies, everybody knew where Ipswich was."

"Bobby was a workaholic and absolutely football mad, he would turn up at the club at  9 o'clock in the morning and still b there at 21 o'clock at night if we'd had a youth or reserve game in the evening. He seemed to want to run the club, right through the club, so he was always on very good terms with everybody at the club from the chairman, to the tea lady and the grounds man. In as much as he always had time for people and I suppose that is the one thing I remember about him more than ever."

After 13 years at the club, Robson left Ipswich in 1982 to become England manager. He was to become England's second most successful manager ever, guiding the Three Lions to the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup.

He later went on to win league championships in both the Netherlands and Portugal as well as winning trophies in Spain.

Sir Bobby’s death comes just five days after his last public appearance at St. James’ Park, where a charity match was being played to raise funds for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. On the day, Sir Bobby was also presented the Emerald UEFA Order of Merit award for his contribution to the game.

Early this morning crowds began to gather at Portman Road to pay their respects to the Ipswich Legend. Flowers, scarves, caps and football shirts were laid at the feet of his statue, which was also adorned along with the barriers surrounding it. 

There was also a minutes silence before Ipswich’s pre-season friendly with Spanish side Valladolid, which was followed by spontaneous applause from the thousands of fans. The club has announced that all proceeds from tonights game will be donated to the Bobby Robson Foundation.

A book of condolences has been opened at Portman Road and will be available for fans to sign over next 3 days. 

Spotlight on: Adam Le Fondre

After a consistent season Rochdale F.C. are in a good position to qualify for the League 2 Play-offs, and Adam Lefondre is the man whose goals have powered the push for promotion.

Lefondre joined Rochdale on loan in the 07/08 season during the January transfer window from Stockport County. He impressed manager Keith Hill and made the move permanent in the summer for a fee of £40,000. Lefondre settled well at Rochdale and his impressive form has made him a firm favourite with the fans. His impressive form has put him at the top of the scoring charts with 16 goals so far this season.

I visited Spotland to meet the League Two scoring sensation which coincided with their home game against Darlington, a meeting that would be crucial in deciding their league finishing position. 

The game ended with Rochdale losing 2-0, which was a hammer-blow to their chances of automatic promotion. However, Lefondre remained positive about the upcoming fixtures and the prospect of the play-offs, he said: “we needed to win to give ourselves a psychological edge over the other teams because we played early, but we haven’t won so I think we’re pretty much nailed on the play-offs. We’ve just got to try and win the last two games and see where it takes us.”

The play-offs hold bad memories for Rochdale after they narrowly missed out on promotion last year. The side made it to the final last year only to lose at Wembley to local rivals Stockport County, an experience that Lefondre believes will stand them in good stead this year: “I think we’d be better for it but its a horrible experience to lose at Wembley and I don’t want to go through that again. I want to win at Wembley as everyone does but, it’s all about getting promotion now and striving for that.”

The play-offs are an immediate route for Lefondre to play at a higher level, something the striker has always dreamed about. Lefondre has always seemed destined to do great things, growing up his raw talent was plain for even the biggest clubs to see: “I was about six or seven and I was playing for my local team. I scored something like five goals in a game when a United scout was there watching and he took me down to United. I went to Stockport from United and just went from there really, and came through Stockport’s’ ranks.”

Lefondre worked hard to progress through Stockport’s youth teams but is quick to acknowledge the work his dad put in to support his career: “my dad drove me everywhere, took me everywhere, whatever i’ve needed he’s given me and a lot of credit goes to my dad for where I am today.”

If rumours are to be believed the ‘Dale hitman could get his wish of playing at a higher level regardless of how Rochdale’s season ends. Lefondre has many admirers and established Premier League clubs Manchester City and Everton are said to be tracking his progress, something Lefondre is playing down at the moment: “Everybody wants to play at the highest level they can, but i’m just concentrating on playing for Rochdale at the minute and being as successful as possible with them.” 

However, the striker believes he has has the ability to score goals in any league: “You’ve got to have your own opinion of yourself and I honestly think I can play at a higher level but I just want to see this season out with the team and be more successful than last season.”

Rochdale paid an estimated £40,000 for Lefondre, which is a significant amount for a club of their stature. Despite this, Lefondre says he felt no added pressure due to the price-tag: “no not at all I think they got me on the cheap really (laughs). No, I didn’t feel any added pressure. I think they’ve more than got their moneys worth out of me, i’ve scored near enough 40 goals for Rochdale now and hopefully long may that continue.”

Lefondre is already thinking to the future and his long term goals in the game. At 21 the striker is ambitious but understands there is a long way to go to establish himself in the game saying: “I Hope to play in the Championship, but you never know football is a funny game. It’s how lucky you are really and being in the right place at the right time but hopefully I can be playing in the higher reaches of the divisions.”