The Independent Launches Spin-Off Paper

LAST Tuesday saw the launch of the new daily national newspaper for the first time in over 25 years.  Despite the wave of electronic technology, that has restricted the role of a newspaper impact in recent times; the Independent has decided that there is room for more newsprint in this world.

The new paper has simply been called i.  All the articles from this paper will come from its parent source, but they will be shorter and carry a far more populist approach.  With the Independent’s daily circulation dropping well below 200,000 readers, some are saying that this is a desperate last throw of the dice by its under-fire owner.  Unlike the Evening Standard and Metro newspapers, those who want to read i will have to pay 20p.  This could be seen as vital revenue for its Russian owner Alexander Lebedev.

This daily newspaper will be 56 pages in length, and is the first paper to be launched in a generation.  The last were The Independent itself and Eddy Shah’s Today newspaper, both born in 1986.  Despite its early success, Today disappeared in November 1995 and with the Independent having changed its strategy on several different occasions in the last twelve years, it seems to indicate the newer newspapers simply can’t last with the established generation, such as The Sun, Daily Mirror and the Daily Telegraph. 

This gamble could pay off, but if it doesn’t work off, then the Independent doesn’t have a Plan B and could well totally disappear off the market.  Then again, if i becomes very popular and starts taking readers away from the parent version, then it could make things even worse for the Independent.  Whatever way you look at this, it is a brave and bold gamble, one that looks incredibly risky, especially in this economic climate. 

Take That & Florence Dominate the Q Awards

LAST Sunday night saw the annual Q Awards held at London Grosvenor Hotel.  The big news from the ceremony was the first public appearance by Take That since their reunification. 

They kept their appearance as low-key as possible, and even missed the red carpet proceedings, so they didn’t divert all the attention from the other music and celebrity acts that attended.  With Robbie Williams back in the band, they collected the award for the magazine’s Hall of Fame.  With the surge of popularity from yesterday’s technical issues that led to many frustrated fans missing out on tour tickets, Take That’s popularity doesn’t seem to be disappearing.

The other big winner of the night was Florence + the Machine.  She won two awards for ‘Best Female’ and ‘Best Track for ‘You’ve Got the Love.’  Kasabian were named as the best act in the world and there was also wins for Mark Ronson, Madness and The Chemical Brothers.  Paolo Nutini picked up the ‘Best Male’ award, whilst it was a great night too for the promising Plan B, who took the ‘Best Breakthrough’ award.  Plan B also featured in the ‘Best Music Video’ – which was won by Chase & Status for their hit ‘End Credits.’ 

Some of the stars that attended included Ellie Goulding, Radio 1 presenter Fearne Cotton, Charlotte Church, KT Tunstall and Girls Aloud singer Nadine Coyle.

Russell & Katy Get Hitched In India

US POP sensation Katy Perry tied the knot last Saturday with the controversial comedian Russell Brand.  In a private ceremony in India, Perry and Brand exchanged vows infront of a selection of celebrity guests, including Rihanna, David Walliams and Jonathan Ross.

Brand and Perry first met in September 2009 at the MTV Video Music awards and have been almost inseparable ever since.  The popular comedian, who has his own Channel 4 show, ‘Ponderland,’ proposed to Perry outside the Taj Mahal whilst enjoying a romantic holiday last Christmas.  They have desperately tried to keep details of the wedding under wraps, to stop a massive intrusion from the British and American media. 

Consequently, few pictures have appeared of the celebration, with the belief with many is that an exclusive magazine deal may have been put in place at a later date.  Perry also revealed on Twitter that she pleaded for privacy whilst the wedding was happening.

Russell Brand made the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2008, when along with his best pal Jonathan Ross, the pair left obtrusive and insulting messages on the answer phone of former Fawlty Towers actor Andrew Sachs.  The scandal that followed led to Brand having no option, but to resign from his very successful show on BBC Radio 2.  Since then, he seems to have grown up and taken responsibility for his action and Katy Perry has certainly played her part in a change of cultured personality.  Perry has been successful in the charts with hit songs such as ‘California Gurls,’ and ‘I Kissed a Girl,’ in the last two years.

We shall see how long the happy times can go on for, but I wish Katy and Russell the very best of luck with their newly-found happiness.

2010 Korean Grand Prix - The Conclusions

IN THIS piece, I will be assessing ten key features from each Grand Prix weekend from the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.  With three races remaining, it was a new venture for Formula One into Korea, which put on a spectacular show.  The title race took several more twists, but are more going to come in the last three weeks of a gripping season.  Here is a round-up then of the race of the season so far. . .

Fernando Alonso – Champion-Elect

AFTER a dismal day at Silverstone, Fernando Alonso fell nearly fifty points behind the championship leaders and vowed he would win the championship.  At Spa, a costly accident looked to have buried his chances for good, but what a fightback in the last four races.  He now is the red-hot favourite for his third title, after a stunning drive on Sunday afternoon.  Alonso knew Ferrari were going to be strong in Korea, so he did well to contain his frustration at being beaten to the front row by those pesky Red Bulls.  On Sunday, he pressured Mark Webber into a rare mistake, and kept Sebastian Vettel honest all day.  Even though Vettel looked to have the race under control, one mistake and the Ferrari was through.  Like in Bahrain though, a failure with the Red Bull allowed Alonso to cruise through to his fifth win of the season, his fourth in the last seven races.  You would be a brave man not to back Fernando now for title glory in Abu Dhabi in three weeks time. . .

Red Bull Racing – From Saturday Heaven to Sunday Hell

The first sector of the Korea circuit was never going to suit the Red Bull cars, so for them to button up the front row in qualifying spelt ominous signs for the closest opposition.  Twenty-four hours later, they were reflecting on their first double DNF of the season, and it can’t have come at a worse time.  Mark Webber has had a near-perfect season, but he had one of those slow, frustrating spins early in the race under green flag conditions.  The Aussie was powerless to control his spinning missile and Nico Rosberg unluckily collected the remains.  It was only Webber’s second non-score of the season and after his previous retirement, which was THAT scary flip over Heikki Kovalainen in Valencia; he won next time out at Silverstone.  He also won imperiously in Brazil last year, so who’s to say that Webber’s out of the battle yet.  It was a damaging crash, but not a terminal blow.  The same can’t be said for Sebastian Vettel though, who had to endure the cruel misfortune of a spectacular engine failure with just eight laps to go.  Vettel put a very philosophical face on this setback in the pits, but by being a full race win behind Alonso now with two races to go, it looks like he will have to wait until 2011 to get his hands on the cherished prize.

Jenson Button – Time to Back Lewis Hamilton

He has battled on very gamely all season, but Jenson Button even admitted after his horror race on Sunday that his chances of retaining his championship are now all but impossible.  Sunday’s conditions were meant to put Button in the driving seat.  After all, he won his two races this season in similar conditions.  However, he had no grip, no confidence and the aggressive set-up on his car just chewed up its tyres.  By the end of the race, only the Hispania’s were lapping slower than Jenson, which says it all really.  With Lewis Hamilton bringing his A game to Korea and winding up with an excellent second place, Button now must play the team role and help McLaren and Hamilton out in Brazil and Abu Dhabi if they are to walkaway with any of the top prizes this season.

Wet Weather – Lack of Racing Sets a Dangerous Precedent

Safety is absolutely paramount in Formula One, but I shared the frustration of Lewis Hamilton and BBC commentator Martin Brundle at the length of time that the Safety Car stayed out on the track.  The first attempted start had to be suspended and rightfully so, as the Korean track looked like a lake, not a race circuit.  However, on the restart – another thirteen laps were run under yellow flag conditions, when the track looked almost ready for intermediate tyres, which Hamilton confirmed to millions on his team radio.  These drivers are paid millions of pounds to go racing, and without wanting to sound too naïve, they could have gone racing at least four/five laps earlier than they did.  This sets a dangerous precedent for the future; maybe it is time to limit the driver’s voice on these decisions.

Nico Rosberg – An Innocent Victim

Nico Rosberg was the most unluckiest driver on Sunday in Korea, even more so than Sebastian Vettel.  Rosberg has quietly gone about his job all season, in quite frankly, a poor car.  He has trounced Michael Schumacher and starred again on this new track, qualifying an outstanding 5^th on the grid.  On the race start, he ducked underneath Lewis Hamilton and was threatening Alonso, when Mark Webber’s spinning Red Bull came into his path.  Despite Rosberg’s best efforts, including driving on the grass, he couldn’t avoid Webber and the contact ripped his suspension off and sent him off the track, and into a painful retirement.  Schumacher’s strong 4^th place suggested how good the Mercedes was in these mixed conditions.  Had Rosberg managed to avoid the out of control Webber, who knows where he could have finished in the final reckoning.

Adrian Sutil – A Chaotic Afternoon

In 2009, Adrian Sutil should have had a big WARNING sign pointed onto the back of his Force India, as he had a scenic ambition of crashing into other drivers.  He has got rid of that tag this year, with some very solid drives – most notably in Malaysia, Spain, Valencia and Spa.  However, it was a return to the bad old days in Korea, with a series of crazy, chaotic and unnecessary incidents.  Sutil was reckless for the most of the day, but you couldn’t fault his commitment to the cause.  His move on Jenson Button was fair, if brutal, when the Brit was shoved off the track and he had a feisty dice with Jaime Alguesuari too.  His downfall was the Sauber drivers, who he seemed to be passing twenty times in the race.  Eventually, he hit a damp patch, rammed into the side of Kamur Kobayashi and broke his steering column, finishing his race.  At least we found out that Kobayashi’s Sauber can take a strong hit and survive.  Later, it was revealed Sutil knew of a brake problem, yet kept crashing and failed to report his issue to the race stewards.  A $10,000 fine and a five-place grid penalty for Brazil seem like a suitable punishment, but despite the craziness, you can’t fault a guy for trying!

Vitantonio Liuzzi – Career-Saving Drive?

Whereas Sutil had one of those days, when he seemed like he was going to crash into anything, team-mate Vitantonio Liuzzi picked up some massive points that might have saved his Formula 1 career.  For the sixth time this season, Liuzzi was bundled out in Q1, then bitched like a typical, frustrated Italian driver does, blaming everything but himself.  Whether it was the conditions or something in his breakfast porridge, but you couldn’t fault him in the race.  He took advantage of Williams’ late tyre issues and kept Robert Kubica in his sights throughout the race.  Liuzzi’s sixth place result equals his best result ever (set in China 2007).  Will it be enough to keep him at Force India?  It is a tough decision for Vijay Mallya, but this result will have done him the power of good.

Sebastian Buemi – Another Man under Grave Pressure

Another man in the paddock who is under grave pressure is Sebastian Buemi.  After a promising rookie season, the Swiss driver’s momentum has stalled this season and he made another rookie mistake in the race, locking his brakes in a panic and smashing into Timo Glock’s Virgin.  Virgin couldn’t believe it, as they reckoned Glock might have scored a precious championship point and Buemi picked up a similar penalty to Sutil for Brazil.  It has been a tough season for Toro Rosso, but Jaime Alguesuari has done a better job, so Buemi needs to up his game over the winter for next season.

Vitaly Petrov – Has He Just Slammed Into The F1 Exit Door!

If Liuzzi thought he was under pressure and Buemi is struggling, Vitaly Petrov may well have kissed his chances goodbye to racing in F1 next season.  Despite his undoubted pace, he looks set to join Piquet and Grosjean in the Renault reject bin.  After his customary qualifying spin and the grid penalty for his Japanese startline antics, Petrov drove calmly in the early stages, and made a smart move onto intermediates in the early stages.  The move left him up in 7^th, and two places ahead of Robert Kubica, who was having a quiet day.  Then, on Lap 41 came the expected . . . Petrov crashes again!  Another Renault that ends up looking like Bambi after he had been born and a stern face from Eric Bouillier on the pitwall said it all.  Petrov’s inconsistency has cost Renault a shot at fourth place in the constructor’s championship, whereas at Mercedes, Schumacher has at least been consistently scoring minor points to back up Rosberg.  The way the Russian looked after the crash, shaking his head with his helmet firmly on, I think he may have just realised that this was his most expensive mistake of the season.

Korea’s First Taste of F1 – the Final Verdict

Considering we had absolutely no idea of what to expect, Korea certainly didn’t disappoint.  We were told that the circuit looked like a building site, but it is an impressive little venue.  Finally, after years of constant frustration, Hermann Tilke has created another good circuit.  Why can’t he make more decent tracks like this one and Istanbul, yet ruin the old Hockenheim, and produce mediocre attempts at Bahrain and Malaysia remains a mystery!  Changes have to be made to the pitlane entry and exit, as that looked precariously dangerous, but at such short notice, they did a good job.  When it is all complete for next year, Korea should look like a stunning spectacle.  It’s a big thumbs-up from me.

Paul The 'Fautless' Octopus Dies

PAUL the Octopus – the unlikely hero of the 2010 World Cup has died.  He passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday night in his aquarium at his base in Oberhausen, Germany.  Paul put football pundits around the world to shame by correctly predicting a string of key football results at the finals, which turned him into an overnight sensation.  His death won’t come as a great surprise to some, as he was two and a half years old, which is the traditional expectancy for an octopus.  Staff at the Sea Life centre in Oberhausen are said to be “devastated” at his tragic passing away.

In the summer, Paul made his name by successfully choosing a mussel from one of two boxes that were bearing the flag colours of the competing nations in the latter stages of the tournament in South Africa.  In total, he correctly predicted seven games correctly, including Germany’s semi-final defeat to Spain and the Spanish victory over Holland in the final.  Although passionate German football fans called for him to be grossly killed, he was loved across the rest of the world.  In fact, he was so popular in Madrid after the Spanish success; there had been a request for him to end up in a Spanish museum.  Amid all the excitement, Paul replaced the disgraced ex-ITV pundit Robbie Earle as an ambassador for the England 2018 World Cup bid.

After the finals, he was retired from football punditry, quashing the rumours and hope that he might make a shock guest appearance on Match of the Day!  A memorial at the aquarium in Germany is to be erected in his memory.  His life may have been brief, but it was incredible and he will not be forgotten.

R.I.P Paul – You were the star of the World Cup 2010

Honda Recalls Cars Over Brake Faults

JAPANESE car company Honda has continued the worrying trend of worldwide recalls over bugging technical faults.

Their announcement last Friday of a braking fault on some of the models came just 24 hours after bitter rivals Toyota announced a similar problem and had to recall over one million vehicles worldwide.  Luckily, Honda’s issue seems to have only affected cars in the US, so UK owners shouldn’t have to worry too much.

472,000 cars have been recalled, with the inflicted cars being Honda Acura RL saloons and Honda Odyssey minivans that were built and designed between 2005 and 2007.  A Honda spokeswoman confirmed that Honda’s issue is exactly the same as Toyota’s, as the braking parts were built by the same company, an independent make, Advics.

Honda says that no injuries or accidents have been reported over this incident, and they will pray that it will stay that way too.  They have advised all customers with these models to double-check their braking capacity; otherwise it could lead to a far more serious issue.  Although that it is sound advice for the consumer, you can’t help but feel that Honda is already attempting to shift the blame onto the driver, should a terrifying incident occur.  Honda’s advice is that a leak is possible if the system is not checked, and if a spongy feel can be felt by the driver, there could be a dramatic decrease in braking performance.

So, that is Japan’s second highest-selling car manufacturer in trouble then, and the fourth this month who have had to recall models alone, following the trend of Toyota, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.  Lexus and Ferrari have also had to recall motors this year for fears over safety of mechanical parts.  I doubt whether this will be the last incident either this calendar year.

As the leaves get browner and the nights draw in, the short-term future of the car manufacturing industry continues to be called into question, especially if more of this occurs.

The X-Factor 2010 - Three Weeks In And All To Play For

BY JASON WRIGHT

MOST TV contests are very close to call after a few weeks of action and this year’s X-Factor is no exception.  Three weeks in and there are five or six acts that are fully capable of winning.  This blog reports back on the previous fortnight’s action.

Week Two (16-17 October)

AFTER the eliminations of Nicolo and F.Y.D the previous week, 14 acts were left in the running for Week two.  The second week’s theme would be known as “Musical Heroes” in which the judges chose songs from whatever music idol that each act had picked.

First on the bill are the Over 28’s and Storm Lee went first with ‘Born to Run’ by Bruce Springsteen.  It was a solid improvement, losing some of the insanity from the first week but still looking underwhelmed and strange looking.  Next was John Adeleye with Donny Hathaway’s ‘A Song for You.’  This performance also saw John make strong improvements on the first show and with hope of winning over more public support.  Brazilian Wagner followed up with Tom Jones’ ‘Help Yourself’.  Again looking so off-key and mad, Wagner is easily becoming this year’s novelty act, what was Louis Walsh thinking when choosing him as the category’s wildcard?  Finally, Mary Byrne gave another show-stopping performance with ‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me’ by Dusty Springfield.  It’s clear that she has already proven the bookmakers wrong; they said she wouldn’t go far but she’s a contender.

Cheryl Cole’s newly-dyed red hair stole the headlines for the girls’ category, but on the performance side, it was a strong night.  First in the category was Treyc Cohen, singing ‘Purple Rain’ by Prince.  It wasn’t on the levels of the first week, but again very impressive. Cher Lloyd followed with the Jay-Z rap ‘It’s A Hard Life’ again showing off her specialist skills.  Rebecca Ferguson perhaps gave the performance of the night with Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’ and Simon Cowell’s comment suggested her as being labelled the ‘one to beat’.  Lastly, having received a barrage of criticism from both public and press all week, Katie Waissel had to give the performance of her life.  Her take on the Etta James’ ballad ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ proved that, though at times she seemed to try extremely hard.

Next was the Boys and it began with Paije Richardson performing ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ by Alicia Keys.  Solid if unspectacular from the young wildcard act but he may want to pick it up if he wants to stay much longer.  Next up was Aiden Grimshaw, singing one his personal favourites ‘Jealous Guy’ by John Lennon.  It certainly seemed like the pressure got to him, his lyrical voice was so off-key; even he labelled it as “rubbish”.  That left Matt Cardle to close the show with the Bruno Mars song ‘Just the Way You Are’.  Once again, he showed off his brilliant vocal skills and proved he can give it everything at whatever he is given.

Last up was the Groups which kicked off with One Direction performing Kelly Clarkson’s ‘My Life Would Suck without You’.  After playing it safe on week one, they without question raised their game.  Diva Fever’s version of Boney M’s ‘Gotta Go Home’ which involved a canny pun at Louis raised eyebrows.  They may not be the best singers but can certainly entertain.  Finally, up came Belle Amie who made a massive leap forward with ‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks.  However, it will still take loads more to convince the public whether they really are group girl material

The results on Sunday first featured performances by 2008 graduate Diana Vickers.  After achieving a debut number one single earlier in the year, it was no surprise she would return to the show that kick-started her career.  Performing her new single, ‘My Wicked Heart’ proved just how far she has grown up since her time on the show.  The series five semi-finalist may have many critics from the public, mostly from her distinct voice; but she will be around for many years to come.  This was then followed by US pop sensation Katy Perry (who at the time of writing this blog is now newly married to Russell Brand) with her new song ‘Firework’, looking very stylish and on form as always.

For the second consecutive week, a double elimination was the order for this week.  First out was Storm Lee by virtue of receiving the lowest votes from the public.  Storm hadn’t won over many fans so this was perhaps a possible outcome, though one other reason could be that the first 15 minutes of the week’s show clashed with BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing and so many would have missed his full performance.

Worse was to come for Simon though as both Diva Fever and Belle Amie ended up in the bottom three and forced to sing for survival.  Both acts gave it their all to survive and return for the following week.  However, the nightmare scenario for Simon was spared as Louis, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl all voted to send home Diva Fever.  If he had to make the final decision then surely he would have sent it to deadlock.  Though it was disappointing to see Diva Fever go, looking back, Belle Amie do have better vocal talents and so that may have influenced the decision.

Week Three (23-24 October)

12 acts now left in the running and the theme for last Saturday went completely against what has been seen in the past.  Traditionally the third week is reserved for Big Band but instead this year we got a strange theme of ‘Guilty Pleasures’.  This basically saw the acts perform a song that they secretly love.

The boys were the first category to go and it started with Paije.  He had a very tough week with the tragic death of his grandmother, but his performance of ‘Ain’t Nobody’ showed that a devastating event like that didn’t affect his confidence.  Matt was next with a real surprise, an acoustic version of Britney Spears ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ and it certainly won mass praise from the judges.  Finally, after a bad performance last week, Aiden returned to form with ‘Diamonds Are Forever.’  There still seemed to be something missing in his act but otherwise he could still go some distance.

Up next were the over 28’s and John was first with ‘Zoom’.  His performance though was overshadowed by a strange backing dance act that according to Simon and Dannii, seemed to demonstrate, let’s just say “getting it on”.  After struggling with her initial choice of song, Mary performed her audition song ‘I (Who Have Nothing)’.  It sounded very good again but drew criticism that she should try something else to enhance her chances of winning. Wagner then followed with what could only be described as one of the maddest performances in the show’s history.  A mash up of the Spice Girls ‘Spice up Your Life’ and Ricky Martin’s ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’ was so like drunken karaoke.  He shouldn’t be on the show; he is more like a Eurovision entry for Lithuania!

Now onto the girls and the top of the category’s pack, Rebecca started off with ‘Why Don’t You Do Right?’  Preferably, her performance last week was better, but still once again, the Liverpool lass really showed off her talent.  In the week’s build up, Cheryl had promised fans of Cher that she would sing a ballad this week but this proved to be a white fib.  Instead, Cher came out onto stage with another rap-style song, ‘Shout’ by Tears for Fears.  This is now getting ridiculous, if Cheryl intends on making Cher a superstar, she has to give her something different to sing otherwise she’ll be voted out sooner rather than later.  The girl is trying hard but at the moment in the words of Dancing on Ice judge Jason Gardiner, “she is so BORING!”  Next in the category was Treyc with ‘Whole Lotta Love.’  Hardcore music fans would immediately recognise it as the theme to Top of the Pops in the 1990s and Treyc once again owned the stage, she could well and truly be the surprise package.  Katie had the duty of closing the show on Saturday with ‘I Wanna Be like You’ from the classic film The Jungle Book.  After two mediocre performances, she finally arrived in the contest, showing off her full vocal ranges.

Just two groups now remained in the show and the first of them was One Direction with ‘Nobody Knows.’  Following up from last week’s marked improvement, they may well give Take That and JLS a run for their money in terms of the future fan support.  The second act was Belle Amie singing ‘I’ll Stand By You.’  Another good performance from the foursome, but Louis felt that Simon was hindering their chances by giving the girls the wrong material.  Louis’s comments were unnecessary and frustrating to listen to.  Belle Amie chose their own material for this theme and is pleasing to see that Simon is giving them a chance to form a close bond together.

The Sunday night results show first featured a performance from Michael Buble with ‘Hollywood.’  Considering that he admitted afterwards he had been suffering from a sore throat, its effects weren’t being displayed then.  Then came what is becoming a traditional moment in the show, Cheryl Cole swapping the judges desk for the stage to perform her new single ‘Promise This.’  All eyes seemed to be transfixed on her rather raunchy outfit she was wearing but otherwise she once again delivered a brilliant vocal, even if accusations in the media have indicated that Cheryl mimed the song.

After two weeks of double eliminations, just one act left this week and things returned to normal with just the sing-off to decide who went.  John and to the shock of many, Treyc went head to head to survive and once again, a majority decision was reached by the judges’ which saw John get knocked out.  He tried his best, but he just didn’t make the connection between himself and the public and that was his ultimate downfall.

This is perhaps a very close competition to call then again and we are just three shows into the live shows.  Seven weeks of fierce competition remain so the real story that emerges is certainly still yet to be uncovered.  The next blog on this year’s contest will come at the end of week six but in the meantime, in a fortnight’s time, I’ll be looking back at what was no doubt the most shocking and outrageous moment in X-Factor history, when Jedward survived the axe and eliminated an act that had so much potential.  Adios for now!

Outright Winner of The X Factor (as of October 25th)

7-4 favourite Matt Cardle, 3-1 One Direction, 11-2 Rebecca Ferguson, 13-1 Cher Lloyd, 16-1 Aiden Grimshaw and Mary Byrne, 33-1 Katie Waissel, 50-1 Treyc Cohen, 80-1 Paije Richardson, 125-1 Belle Amie, 150-1 outsider Wagner

The X-Factor continues this Saturday at 8pm.

FA Barclays Premiership Report (23rd - 24th October)

ANOTHER weekend with plenty of action, even if that isn’t suggested in the scorelines.  Here is a round-up of this weekend’s action, which saw victories for all of the former ‘big four’ in the Barclays Premiership.

Sunday 24^th October: Stoke City 1-2 Manchester United

WHILST Wayne Rooney was nursing his injured ankle on a £17,000 holiday in Dubai, Manchester United did their talking on the pitch, recording their first away win of the Premiership campaign.  Rooney’s replacement in the team, Javier Hernandez furthered his credentials with two more goals.  The first, on 27 minutes was a brilliant twisting header from a Nemanja Vidic knock-on.  Stoke were poor by their standards, but a glaring error from Paul Scholes allowed Tuncay to equalise with just eight minutes to play.  His wonderful curling effort was cancelled out by Hernandez’s second just four minutes later, poking home from Patrice Evra’s mishit shot.  Although Gary Neville was exceptionally fortunate to stay on the field, after two poor challenges on Matthew Etherington in his 600^th appearance for the club, United were well worthy of their three points. 

Sunday 24^th October: Manchester City 0-3 Arsenal

MANCHESTER City’s unbeaten home record was smashed up by Arsenal at Eastlands.  For the neutral, the game was ruined when youngster Dredrick Boyata was sent off after only five minutes.  The Belgian bought down Marouane Chamakh when the Moroccan was bearing down on goal, and Mark Clattenburg had no option but to dismiss him.  After that, despite City’s brave efforts, Arsenal always looked in the driving seat and took the lead in the 21^st minute, when Samir Nasri opened the scoring.  Cesc Fabregas had a penalty saved in the first half by Joe Hart, but once Alex Song smacked a second past Hart midway through the second half, the result was never in doubt.  Niklas Bendtner returned to action in the dying stages, and completed the scoring, a crisp finish from Nasri’s pass with two minutes remaining.

Saturday 23^rd October: Chelsea 2-0 Wolves

CHELSEA went five points clear again, with a 2-0 win over Wolves, though the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story.  Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou scored the goals, one in each half, but Petr Cech was tested on several occasions by the visitors, which will give Mick McCarthy encouragement. 

Sunday 24^th October: Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn Rovers

THIS was a marked improvement from Liverpool; they remain in the bottom three, but recorded a priceless victory over an off-colour Blackburn.  A splendid goalkeeping display from Paul Robinson kept Rovers in the match, but they fell behind to a Sotiris Krygiakos header two minutes into the second half.  Illness prevented John Henry from attending his first match as new chairman at Anfield, and if he was watching, he would be shocked by awful defending from Liverpool that led to El-Hadji Diouf’s scuffed effort being cleared off the line by Paul Konchesky, rebounded off Jamie Carragher and creeping in.  Two minutes later, Liverpool’s more urgent attacking display got its rewards, when the Rovers defence went AWOL and left Fernando Torres unguarded from Joe Cole’s cross.  Torres couldn’t miss, his goal drought is now over and hopefully, the Reds have now turned the corner.

Saturday 23^rd October: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Everton

EVERTON’s unbeaten run extended to four matches with an excellent point at White Hart Lane.  Left-back Leighton Baines opened the scoring for the visitors, with a cracking free-kick after Yakubu had won the decision, despite no contact from the offender, Younes Kaboul.  Three minutes later, Rafael van der Vaart equalised, after Tim Howard missed a simple punch, allowing the Dutchman a free target.  A share of the spoils was a fair result in this lunchtime duel.

Saturday 23^rd October: West Brom 2-1 Fulham

THE Baggies came out on top against Fulham in a hard-fought encounter which saw them leap into the top four for 24 hours.  Ex-Albion player Zoltan Gera gave the visitors the lead, when his quality strike fortunately went in off Scott Carson.  Diomansy Kamara hit the post shortly afterwards, but the game was turned by an equaliser from Mulumbu for West Brom.  A debatable winner came from Marc-Antoine Fortune, who looked offside before half-time.  It is West Brom’s best start in Premiership history, whilst a second successive defeat for Mark Hughes’s men slips them into the bottom five.

Saturday 23^rd October: Sunderland 1-0 Aston Villa

SUNDERLAND moved into seventh place, but they got a massive slice of fortune off Aston Villa and Richard Dunne.  Dunne’s shocking attempted clearance ended up beating Brad Friedel from Steed Malbranque’s dangerous cross.  It was a daft misjudgement, Dunne’s 8^th own goal in Premiership history – which is the most by any player.  Stewart Downing, Emile Heskey and Marc Albrighton all went close for the visitors, whose poor away form continues, their fourth defeat in five games.

Saturday 23^rd October: West Ham United 1-2 Newcastle United

ON A week when Andy Carroll was bailed after a nightclub assault, he bailed the Magpies out of trouble with victory at Upton Park.  Carlton Cole opened the scoring with his first of the season from Frederic Piquionne’s cross.  Carroll’s new landlord Kevin Nolan equalised, after Joey Barton’s ball was missed by Carroll.  Carroll wrapped the points up in the second half, with a diving header, his first goal in two months.  A miserable David Sullivan could only look on as West Ham remain at the foot of the table.

Saturday 23^rd October: Birmingham City 2-0 Blackpool

BIRMINGHAM recorded only their second win of the Premiership season, but got a big slice of luck against Blackpool.  Ian Holloway, who had a strong viewpoint on the Wayne Rooney situation in midweek, was cursing the fact that Liam Ridgewell handled in his own penalty area.  Before half-time, the guilty party put the Blues infront with a very scrappy opener.  A rare mistake by Blackpool captain allowed Nikola Zigic to finish the match off and move Birmingham away from danger.

Saturday 23^rd October: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Bolton Wanderers

FOUR games unbeaten now for Wigan Athletic, though better defending could have given them a priceless win.  The match was overshadowed by a reckless challenge from Fabrice Muamba on James McCarthy.  It left McCarthy with a broken ankle.  Hugo Rodallega opened the scoring, before Johan Elmander equalised after a Matt Taylor cross wasn’t cleared away by Antolin Alcaraz.  

2010 Korean Grand Prix - Alonso Gifted Sensational Victory

FERNANDO Alonso took a giant leap towards a third world championship, with a priceless win at the Korean Grand Prix.  The Ferrari driver was gifted victory at the Yeongam circuit, when Sebastian Vettel was forced to retire with a blown engine, with just eight laps to go.  In a sensational grand prix, that was heavily delayed and finished in darkness, both Mark Webber and Jenson Button also failed to score, while second place breathes new life into Lewis Hamilton’s faltering championship bid.

After a dry first couple of days at the inaugural event, raceday was dominated by grey clouds and constant rain.  After a ten minute delay to the start, FIA race director Charlie Whiting set the cars off behind the Safety Car.  Three laps later, the standing water was so much on the recent new surface that the race was suspended and held up for 55 minutes.  Another Safety Car restart and 17 frustrating laps later, the proper racing begun and Vettel, who had started on pole position took complete command of the race.

Whilst Vettel was faultless, his team-mate wasn’t.  Webber made a rare error on Lap 19, and ran wide onto some Astroturf, spinning into the concrete wall.  The Australian was powerless to prevent his Red Bull bouncing across the road and collected the innocent Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes.  Mud and debris flew onto the track, as both cars pirouetted into the barriers and out of the event.  A Safety Car came out to clear up this mess, and Button’s race was also to be severely compromised by a poorly timed pitstop, and being unable to keep heat in his intermediate tyres.  He was left floating on the water, and a late race spin consigned the defending world champion to a disappointing 12^th place finish, and being 43 points behind the championship lead, with 50 left to play for, realistically finishes off his championship prospects.

Although Alonso and Hamilton kept Vettel honest, the German always had some extra pace in his back pocket.  Sadly, with just eight laps remaining, his car sounded sick and Alonso zoomed past the ailing Red Bull into turn one.  Moments later, Vettel’s engine blew up in spectacular fashion, which also leaves his chances of winning a maiden championship look very remote.  Alonso reeled off the remaining seven laps to secure his fourth win in seven races, and give him the lead in the world championship for the first time since Australia.  

Like Button, Hamilton struggled with grip from his intermediate tyres all day, but drove round the issues fantastically to finish second and rekindle his championship hopes.  Hamilton did jump Alonso in the pitstops, when the Ferrari was delayed by a loose wheel nut, but ran wide at turn one on a mid-race Safety Car restart and allowed Alonso back through.  That Safety Car came out after Sebastian Buemi sideswiped Timo Glock in the braking zone for turn three.

Felipe Massa scored some priceless points for Ferrari’s constructors’ championship cause, with a podium finish, and Michael Schumacher carried his Suzuka form into Korea to finish an excellent fourth, his best result of the season.  Rubens Barrichello looked set for fifth, but his tyres were worn down so much in the closing stages that he was gobbled up by the quiet Robert Kubica and Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Force India.  Barrichello wound up seventh, with a late pitstop dropping Nico Hulkenberg to 10^th.  Kubica picked up some solid points again and Liuzzi’s drive could be a career-saving one, especially on a day where Adrian Sutil hit almost everything, and eventually made a clumsy lunge on Kamur Kobayashi to break his front suspension and retire with seven laps remaining.  Kobayashi survived this attack to claim eighth, with Nick Heidfeld backing up his team-mate, winding up ninth.

Alonso now has an eleven point lead in the world championship, with Webber and Hamilton all within a race win of the new championship leader.  Two races remain, and another stunning grand prix that left everyone breathless, you wonder what will happen next in Brazil, the scene of Button’s world championship clincher last year.