Portsmouth Saved From Liquidation

PORTSMOUTH FC has been saved from almost certain liquidation, following a takeover by Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai.  The administrators of the South Coast club announced the change in ownership this morning, after former chairman Sacha Gaydamak agreed to sign a deal with the club over cash owned to him.

On Friday, the administrators had released a statement that the club was close to liquidation, after Gaydamak has changed some terms at the last moment and wanted cash in hand.  Yesterday, the cash-strapped side beat Hull City 2-1 in the Championship to go six games unbeaten, but there had been talk that the game at the KC was the last in Portsmouth’s history.  Fortunately, that isn’t the case and the club’s short-term future is at least secure.

The club were relegated last season from the Premiership, after becoming the first club in Premier League history to go into administration and got a nine point deduction.  Had the club folded, they would have been the first to go completely out of business since Maidstone United back in 1992.  Let’s hope that the future is brighter now at Fratton Park.

UEFA Champions League Matchday 3 - Bale & Rooney Dominate The Headlines

MATCHDAY three and it is the halfway point of this season’s group stages in the UEFA Champions League.  This week saw fond returns, possible goodbyes and the valuation of a Welshman that has gone up massively after a stunning individual performance at the San Siro.

However, we start off with the chaotic week at Old Trafford, and it was off-the-field decisions that were dominating the headlines.  Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Turkish champions Buraspor will never be remembered as a classic, as Wayne Rooney took up the headlines, both on the front and the back pages.  Rooney’s decision to leave Manchester United, confirmed by Sir Alex Ferguson at Tuesday’s media conference had dumbfounded and stunned fans across the world.  On Wednesday night, banners at Old Trafford, such as ‘Colleen forgave you, we won’t’ summed up the fans attitude to Rooney’s immature behaviour.  Although Rooney has now signed a new five-year deal, putting an end to the saga for now – it has been a very bleak week in Manchester.  The match itself, which Rooney didn’t participate in, due to an ankle injury sustained in training, was settled by Nani’s stunning goal in the sixth minute.  The young Portuguese winner has really grown into a talented player and has probably benefited the most from Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure eighteen months ago.  The Group C encounter was not a stunner, with Buraspor coming looking for the draw, and only having one attempt at goal.  It may be a slow start, but seven points from nine mean United should progress comfortably as group winners.

In the other Group C match, Rangers drew 1-1 with Spanish pacesetters Valencia at Ibrox.  It was a mixed night for Maurice Edu, with the American scoring at both ends.  His own goal was a horrendous misjudgement and it might cost Rangers in the final picture.  Despite a very solid campaign so far, Walter Smith’s side will probably need at least a point in the intimidating Mestalla atmosphere in two weeks time, if they want to progress further in the competition.

Tottenham’s breathless maiden Champions League campaign continued, with a stunning individual performance from Gareth Bale, nearly rescuing an unlikely point in the San Siro against Inter.  Spurs players looked totally lost by the occasion in the first half and Harry Redknapp could only look on with rage and fury, as his side was ripped apart by the European champions in the first half.  Javier Zanetti scored his first goal since February 2008 after just 66 seconds, and from then on, the opening 45 minutes was a disaster for Tottenham.  Seven minutes later, Hereulho Gomes was sent off, after bringing down Jonathan Biabiany.  Samuel Eto’o coolly dispatched the penalty past Carlo Cudicini, and added a fourth goal ten minutes before half-time.  In between that, Dejan Stankovic finished off a thirty-five pass move, stroking a beautiful shot past the despairing Cudicini from the edge of the penalty area.  Tottenham looked dead and buried and for a while, Liverpool’s Champions League biggest win record (8-0 against Besiktas in November 2007) looked under severe threat.  Cue Bale, who sparked a dramatic fightback, with a stunning solo effort in the 56^th minute, then a similar effort in the 89^th minute.  Moments later, fine work from Aaron Lennon set the Welshman up for his first ever hat-trick, once again from a similar angle to his first two strikes.  Luckily for Inter, time ran out on Spurs, but Rafa Benitez and his assistant Mauricio Pellegrino will be worried by the defensive frailties that Bale exposed on them in the second half.

On Tuesday night, Arsenal took a giant leap towards qualification, with a crushing 5-1 demolition of their Group H rivals Shakhtar Donetsk.  Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas from the penalty spot and Marouane Chamakh were among those on target, and there was also a goal and another stunning performance from the wonder kid of the Emirates, Jack Wiltshire.  Brazilian Eduardo made a substitute cameo in the last twenty minutes, and scored a consolation for the Ukrainian champions.  It was brilliant to see the Arsenal fans all applaud Eduardo’s strike, still having a soft spot for their Brazilian striker who departed the Gunners in the summer, for a new life in the Ukraine.

It was plastic fantastic for Chelsea, as they all but wrapped up qualification from Group B, with a 2-0 win over Spartak Moscow in freezing Russia.  Yury Zhirkov scored his first Chelsea goal, and it was a memorable strike too.  Having spent four years at Spartak’s bitter rivals, CSKA Moscow, this was a moment that Zhirkov won’t forget.  Nicholas Anelka added a second as it turned out to be a comfortable night for the Blues on the artificial pitch surface, scene of their heartbreaking 2008 final defeat to Manchester United on penalties.  Also, without Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba through injury, Chelsea are only going to get stronger, and are now favourites with many football experts, to lift the trophy in Wembley in May.

Elsewhere in Europe, it may be odd to see Raul not playing anymore for Real Madrid, but he keeps scoring goals for his new club, Schalke 04.  Two strikes from the veteran helped the Germans to a 3-1 win over Hapoel-Tel Aviv in Group B.  It was his first two goals for Schalke in European competition, extending his Champions League scoring record to 68.  Also in Group B, Lyon kept their perfect record up, with a 2-0 win over 10-man Benfica in France, courtesy of goals from Jeremy Briand and Lisandro Lopez.  Raul’s former club Real Madrid won the showdown match against AC Milan in Group G, with something to spare in the Bernabeau.  Cristiano Ronaldo and Meszut Ozil scored the two goals in the first fifteen minutes, as Jose Mourinho slowly starts to make his impression in Spain.  Ajax beat Auxerre 2-1 in the other Group G game, with the French side being reduced to nine men, including a red card for one of their substitutes.  Finally, well down to FC Basle, who recorded a surprising 3-1 win in Italy against AS Roma in Group E.  Roma may now face a hard task to escape the group stages.  The contenders have now been separated from the stragglers…and Matchday four can see the first ultimate knockout blows being made.

Wayne Rooney's Greedy Attitude Gets Great Results

THIS week, Wayne Rooney hasn’t been out of the headlines, and this time it has regarded his next football career move.  Rooney’s greedy demand of wanting to earn £200,000 a week came to fruition yesterday, when he signed a new five-year contract to stay at Manchester United against all the odds.  Sadly, this can only been seen as a victory by blackmail over pure commonsense.

The trouble started back in August, when Rooney and his agent met chief executive David Gill to discuss terms over a new contract.  Rooney’s previous deal expired in 2012 and he wanted guarantees over United’s strength in the transfer market, especially when you consider the wealth that their neighbours Manchester City have at their disposal.  Gill couldn’t guarantee these promises, and he had every right to do so, as the club is over £700million in debt.  Consequently, Rooney decided to play hardball and it is sad to have seen United give in to his over-the-top demands. 

The feverish newspaper speculation about his future began last weekend, when Rooney was left on the bench for last Saturday’s disappointing 2-2 draw with West Brom at Old Trafford.  Reports of conflict over an ankle injury were alleged by the papers, between Rooney and Sir Alex Ferguson.  On Tuesday, at the standard UEFA Champions League press conference, Ferguson looked like a broken man, when he told the media of Rooney’s decision to leave the club.  Rooney later stated that it was because ‘Manchester United couldn’t meet his ambitions!’  For someone who may have won three Premiership trophies and the Champions League during his six-year tenure at the Theatre of Dreams, this was a staggering remark.  Even for people who don’t know football, Manchester United is the biggest brand in football.  There was no doubt that this was all about money, rather than ambition to play in another country.

Despite interest from Manchester City and Real Madrid, showdown talks were held yesterday and Rooney put pen to paper on a new deal.  With lucrative sponsorship deals from EA Sports and Nike, he could be earning upto £250,000 a week!  That is more money than I will probably see in a lifetime and on a week, when millions have been affected by the spending cuts and when clubs like Portsmouth face going out of business, you can’t help but feel that this he has been no more than a selfish monster.

Ferguson has stood up to many players before and the likes of Jaap Stam, Ruud van Nistlerooy, Paul Ince, Roy Keane and David Beckham have all lost in battles against the governor of football.  So how Rooney won in this game is staggering.  Maybe Sir Alex’s age is starting to affect his wisdom and decision making, though who I am to question someone who has won everything in the game during his twenty-five years at Manchester United.

Does Rooney deserve the money?  The answer is a simple no.  Granted, he is a world-class player and class is permanent, but his form at the moment is diabolical.  His performance at the World Cup for England was dismal, and his form for United this season has made him look like an ageing figure.  Fortunately, with Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez, Michael Owen and Federico Macheda on their books, the Red Devils have plenty of striking options to step up to the plate when Rooney falters.  Let’s not forget his private life has been intruded into, which is bound to affect anyone.  However, that is his own fault, and he should have thought about it when he starting sleeping with Spanish girls.

I hope that Manchester United fans will take their time to forgive their No.9.  Rooney’s actions this week have made him out to be a spoilt, childish brat.  He has let down his army of supporters, his team-mates and the manager big time.  When people like Wayne Rooney become all arrogant that £100,000 a week is not enough, then you realise how much of a financial mess the game of football is. . .

Now, can we please return to more serious issues in the news next week?  Thank you very much!  

More Woe For Toyota

TOYOTA’S worldwide reputation, already having been completely battered in 2010, took another significant smashing on Wednesday.  The company announced the recall of over 1.5million cars worldwide to fix a brake fluid leak which was seriously harming the braking capabilities of some of its models.

Most of the cars affected are believed to have been in Japan and the US and the move is also said to be a precautionary one.  The Japanese company has confirmed that GS300 models built between September 2004 and February 2006 were the affected models.  It is thought that around 2,000 Lexus models, built underneath the Toyota name have also been recalled from the UK.  IS and RX models built between February 2003 and November 2005 could also have a smaller braking issue, caused by the brake master cylinder. 

Like BMW at the start of the month, Toyota has said that it is working closely with the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency to contact owners to tell them how to get their cars repaired.  No accidents have been reported by the glitches so far.  It is positive news that action is being taken instantly, but for how long Toyota can continue with these problems is another matter.

The Spending Cuts - A Hard, But Not Disastrous Outcome

IN LITTLE over an hour yesterday, Chancellor George Osbourne has made the deepest cuts in decades.  However, is it a wise move, or George’s great gamble?

Labour have slammed the cuts, with Shadow Chancellor Allan Johnson saying that these ‘aggressive methods could lead to a double-dip recession.’  They think it is a wreckless gamble, but Osbourne claims that it is a ‘tough, but fair’ cut.  I would have to agree with Osbourne’s viewpoint, rather than Johnson’s opinion and we have to stick together through this.

As it was leaked in the papers yesterday morning, 490,000 jobs have been axed in the public sector, as the harsh economic realities have set in.  One of the surprises was the decision to raise the state pension age upto 66 by 2020.  Within four years, 27% will be cut in council budgets, and there is a 7% cut in welfare.  The most controversial area was the expected demise of child benefits.  As previously announced at the Tory press conference, 2.5billion will be saved in this area, meaning that other affected areas didn’t take as hard a hit as some departments were expecting. 

Despite a 3.4% spending cut in education over four years, meaning there will no new schools for a while, the schools budget will go up overall by four billion.  For the elderly, it was a positive outlook, as the coalition government announced that all elderly budgets will remain untouched.  This means that free eye tests, free bus passes and free TV licenses for the over 75’s will remain untouched, as previously promised by David Cameron during the TV leadership debates.  NHS health spending will rise by 1.5% and there will be good news for current university students too.  With no announcement on an increase in tuition fees and UCAS applications starting within the next month, the current payment of £3,290 will remain in place for the next academic year.

Other areas that were significantly hit were foreign office spending (cut by 24%), police spending (cut by 14%) and the Home Office (cut by 23%).  Rail fares are set to increase by 30%, but Foreign Aid will go up massively, following the staggering donations that the UK gave to the appeals in Haiti and Pakistan earlier this year.  The Treasury believe that the private sector will improve, so unemployment won’t be an issue, despite the significant public sector cuts. 

The theory behind these cuts is short-term pain, long-term gain.  George Osbourne still maintains that there will be a 1.3% economic growth for the remainder of 2010, 2.5% in 2011 and 3% in 2012.  The City in London say that is hugely optimistic and Dragons Den entrepreneur Deborah Meaden isn’t convinced by these figures either.  However, you must praise the current Chancellor for his ambition.  By also confirming that the Tories have come to a final overall cut of 19%, a 1% decrease on what Labour had planned back in March, it was clever politics from Osbourne and it has consequently put the newly reformed opposition in a very tricky position. 

Painful measures had to be taken and some groups in our society will claim that it wasn’t fair, but it was a fairly reasonable spending review.  It is best to take one big hit, rather than smaller dozes over the course of a year.  If the figures are current, 80billion pounds of saving is expected over the next four years.  Millions of people in the UK have been affected by the spending cuts, but fundamentally, there was no choice and it wasn’t as bad as several forecasters had earlier predicted.

FA Barclays Premiership Report (16th - 18th October)

AFTER another international breather, the Premiership returned to action.  This weekend’s highlights included another painful defeat for Liverpool, another lead thrown away by Manchester United and more controversy about the very unclear offside ruling.  Basically, a typical weekend then. . .

Sunday 17^th October: Everton 2-0 Liverpool

AFTER a week that seemed more fitting for a storyline in Brookside, Liverpool’s on-field issues continued with another limp display that saw Roy Hodgson’s men crash to a sorry 2-0 defeat in the Merseyside derby.  With new owner John W. Henry in attendance, he saw first-hand of the issues currently in the Anfield changing room.  Forget restraining orders and injunctions, Liverpool need orders from their defensive line, for two more sloppy goals that they conceded on Sunday.  Ten minutes before the interval, youngster Seamus Coleman ran past a static Paul Konchesky, before crossing for Merseyside derby specialist Tim Cahill to smash an unstoppable shot past Pepe Reina.  Five minutes into the restart, Raul Meireles gave Mikel Arteta too much room to aim a shot from the edge of the penalty area and the result was inevitable.  Everton’s second win in a row lifts them into mid-table, whilst sorry Liverpool slip to second from bottom, their lowest ever position in Premiership history.

Saturday 16^th October: Manchester United 2-2 West Brom

MANCHESTER UNITED continued their recent trend of opening up an early Christmas gift shop, as West Brom stole another result off one of the big teams.  After a pathetic performance for his country in midweek, Wayne Rooney was restricted to a sideline role from the start and United didn’t need him in the first half, as his replacement in the starting eleven, Javier Hernandez and Nani fired the home side into a quick fire 2-0 lead.  However, it all went pear-shaped in the early moments of the second half, when Chris Brunt’s free-kick from a narrow angle took several deflections and came off the unlucky Patrice Evra.  Moments later, Edwin van der Sar made the biggest mistake of his United’s career so far, by allowing a Brunt cross to slip through his hands, despite getting both hands onto the ball.  The unknown Somen Tchoyi couldn’t miss from seven yards out.  Afterwards, the visitors looked more likely to get the winner, on another damaging afternoon for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.

Saturday 16^th October: Fulham 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

FULHAM’S unbeaten start to the Premiership season ended in controversial fashion at home to Tottenham.  In a London derby that was always going to throw up thrills and spills, the two teams exchanged goals within 60 seconds of one another, midway through the first half, courtesy of Diomansy Kamara and Roman Pavyluchenko.  The winner on 63 minutes came from Tom Huddlestone, with a long-range drive.  Initially, the linesman disallowed the goal for offside, but referee Martin Atkinson decided that William Gallas wasn’t interfering with play, and allowed the goal to stand.  Television replays suggest an inconclusive call, but Spurs will be pleased with this result, before their testing trip to the San Siro to play Inter Milan tomorrow.

Sunday 17^th October: Blackpool 2-3 Manchester City

MANCHESTER CITY closed the gap to two points on leaders Chelsea, with a lucky victory at Blackpool, who definitely were robbed by a series of decisions by referee Phil Dowd that left Tangerines boss Ian Holloway very perplexed.  A quiet first half gave way to a crazy second forty-five minutes, which began when Carlos Tevez put City infront, with a goal that looked marginally offside.  Super sub Marlon Harewood equalised for the home side, a deserved leveller, as they had the better of the first half play.  Less than two minutes later, Tevez scored his second, again controversial, as it looked like he had fouled Ian Evatt on the edge of the penalty area in the build-up.  Spanish winger David Silva put the game beyond doubt, with a brilliant individual third goal and although Gary Taylor-Fletcher scored a consolation in stoppage time, it didn’t change the final outcome. 

Saturday 16^th October: Arsenal 2-1 Birmingham City

ARSENAL edged past Birmingham City in Arsene Wenger’s 800^th game in charge of the club.  The visitors, who have only won one game all season, took a shock lead when Nikola Zigic headed home a Keith Fahey cross.  Arsenal levelled the match before half-time, when Scott Dann made minor contact with Marouane Chamakh in the penalty area.  Samir Nasri levelled from the spot and Chamakh scored a magnificent solo effort shortly after the second half had begun.  The only black cloud on a good afternoon for the Gunners was the red card of Jack Wiltshire, dismissed for a crazy tackle on Zigic in the closing stages.

Saturday 16^th October: Aston Villa 0-0 Chelsea

CHELSEA will be pleased to leave Villa Park with a point, on a ground in which they only won once in 12 Premiership attempts.  Nicholas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic both hit the crossbar for the Blues, whilst Nigel Reo-Coker went closest for Villa, missing a great chance when one-on-one with Petr Cech in stoppage time.

Saturday 16^th October: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Stoke City

IN A hard-fought encounter, Bolton’s impressive start to the season continued with victory over Stoke.  Wanderers were infront through Lee Chung-Yong’s brilliant curling effort in the first half.  Stoke pegged the home side back in the second half, when Rory Delap scored his first goal in two years, nodding in Robert Huth’s flick-on from Jermaine Pennant’s corner.  Stoke were also denied a stone-wall penalty, when Zat Knight handled, before substitute Ivan Klasnic scored a magnificent injury time winner, then got sent off for two yellow cards with seconds to go.

Saturday 16^th October: Wolves 1-1 West Ham United

MARK Noble scored from the penalty spot to rescue a draw for West Ham United against fellow strugglers Wolves.  Wolves dominated the first half; infront inside of ten minutes through Ryan Jarvis, but Noble levelled the match when Kevin Foley fouled Victor Obinha.

Saturday 16^th October: Newcastle United 2-2 Wigan Athletic

CHARLES N’Zogbia returned to St. James Park and scored twice in quick succession to put Wigan in command at Newcastle.  Newcastle produced a gallant fightback with goals from Shola Ameobi and a 94^th minute equaliser from Fabricio Coloccini which rescued a point for the home side.

Monday 18^th October: Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Sunderland

ON A soggy night at Ewood Park, Blackburn and Sunderland played out a very tame goalless draw.   The only flashpoint of a tedious match was a red card before half-time for Christopher Samba.  The Rovers defender saw red for bringing down Danny Wellbeck when the striker was in on goal.

Woman Found Guilty of Cat Cruelty

A WOMAN who was caught on camera, dumping a cat into a wheelie bin has been fined for his cruel actions.

Mary Bale, 45, admitted to a cruelty charge offence this morning at Coventry Magistrates Court.  She has been fined £250 and has also been forced to pay £1,171 in costs.  To compound her misery, she has been banned from keeping or owning animals for the next five years.  However, a second charge of not providing the cat with a suitable environment under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act was dropped.  Consequently, a six-month prison sentence was avoided.

The incident occurred in the early evening of Saturday August 21.  Footage on Brays Lane showed Bale stroking the cat, before picking the four-year old tabby called Lola up by the scruff of the neck.  She then dropped Lola into the bin without any regard for her safety.  Although Lola suffered no physical injury, she was left in the bin for 15 hours.  The cat was discovered by its owner, Darryl Mann the next morning.

Mr Mann, 26, checked the security camera footage, and posted the shocking video onto the Internet.  Within days, the RSPCA were investigating the incident and Bale has become a hated figure globally, with the social networking site Facebook having to remove groups from animal rights lovers calling for her death.  She resigned from her job as a bank worker because of the scandal.

Bale, who was said to be in tears throughout the hearing left court on Tuesday without comment.  She is grieving over the death of her father last Thursday at Coventry’s Walsgrave Hospital.  During an interview in the investigation process, Mary Bale admitted that she had been struggling with depression and coping with her father’s sudden decline in health.  The district judge in this case, Caroline Goulborn told Bale on the sentence: “The media interest in this case has resulted in you being vilified in some quarters, and I have taken that into account.”

To some, it might sound a lenient penalty for such a cruel mistreatment of a pet, but hopefully, this message has been hammered down for all people to look after pets in a responsible manner.

Miracle of the Miners

SOMETIMES in the world, we remember moments and never forget them.  Wednesday’s dramatic rescue of the 33 men who have been trapped for 69 days in a collapsed Chilean mineshaft will go down as one of those moments, where joy, relief and celebration dominated the headlines, rather than the traditional political conflict, wars and deaths that fill up our newspapers and TV news stations.

Mario Gomez, one of the 33 to have been trapped, said on his return to earth: “I have come back to life.”  To survive such extreme conditions underground goes down to a lot of teamwork, bravery, skill and courageous ability.  None of the men gave up on the pure delight of being able to see their beloved families again.  Together with the fantastic rescue teams, who produced a yellow capsule which with every hour, went down the 620ft hole that had been drilled to return another man to human earth.  This is a result that no-one could have predicted nearly three months ago.

The disaster began on August 5^th, when the 33 miners became trapped underground when part of the San Jose mine they were working on collapsed.  Two days later, a second collapse prevents early rescue attempts to free the trapped miners and it seemed like they were doomed.  However, failure was simply not an option to all of those involved and immediately, rescuers recovered from this potentially devastating setback and began drilling in a desperate attempt to find the men.  From this early stage, authorities were warning everyone that the chances of finding anyone alive were very slim.  Hope grew on August 22^nd, when a rescue probe returned with a message, shown by president Pinera to Chilean television, which proved that all 33 miners are remarkably still alive.  Suddenly, the rescue team involved manage to make voice contact with the men and begin sending down the vital supplies they need to keep them alive.  Initial reports suggested it might not be until Christmas when they might end up being rescued, so this result is even better than what first could have been predicted.

With support from millions across the world, the miners have been seen in good spirits from video footage, even managing to see an international friendly in September of their beloved country losing in Kiev to the Ukraine.  Once the first miner, Florencio Gonzalez was winched to the surface amid jubilant scenes, this was going to be a day full of emotion and elation. 

Chile has been in the headlines a lot in 2010, for a varying degree of fortunes.  The devastating earthquake that hit the country in March was followed by the national football team’s charismatic flair and attacking prowess that won over many fans in the World Cup finals in South Africa.  For a country that has suffered its fair bit down the years, and not had the best of international relations, the response to the plight of the miners has redeemed the country in the eyes of everyone across the globe.  It is so nice to see something so heart-warming dominate the headlines.

Some of the miners are receiving treatment in hospital, though it is thought to be mainly precautionary measures.  It is staggering to think that all 33 miners escaped any serious injury, or as a matter of fact, death.  This is a miracle of all proportions.

THE 33 CHILEAN MIRACLE MINERS OF 2010: Florencio Avalos (31), Jorge Galleguillos (55), Dario Segovia (48), Carlos Bugueno (28), Victor Segovia (48), Franklin Lobos (53), Esteban Rojas (44), Renan Avalos (29), Osman Araya (30), Pablo Rojas (45), Claudio Yanez (34), Richard Villarroel (23), Ariel Ticona (29), Carlos Mameni (24), Juan Illanes (52), Juan Aguilar (49), Edison Pena (34), Mario Sepulveda (40), Daniel Herrera (27), Alex Vega (31), Carlos Barrios (27), Jose Henriquez (54), Claudio Acuna (35), Jimmy Sanchez (19), Omar Reygadas (56), Raul Bustos (40), Jose Ojeda (47), Samuel Avalos (43), Pedro Cortez (26), Victor Zamora (34), Luis Urzua (54), Mario Gomez (63), Manuel Gonzalez Pavez (UNKNOWN)

Browne's Report Shakes-Up University Fees

TUESDAY morning saw the highly-anticipated news of Lord Browne’s report into higher education fees.  With it, there is very grim news for all students, both current and prospective who are thinking of university in their future careers.

If the coalition government goes ahead with Browne’s recommendation, students will be paying upto £6,000 a year to study at university.  Currently, the fee is capped at £3,290 a year.  Browne, a former chief executive of BP wants the current system to be replaced with a much easier format.  However, it now means that students could be finishing their degree in debt of more than £30,000.  The interest rates on student loans are also set to rise, from 1.5% to 2.2%.  To compensate these changes, Browne also wants to increase the salary threshold, so students begin paying back their loans, when they start earning £21,000 a year, rather than the current £15,000 scheme which is in place now.  It is by far the biggest shake-up in education policies for over two decades.

His report could cause a major rift in the current coalition partnership.  The Conservative party are certainly for the idea, but David Cameron will be desperate for the Liberal Democrats to back the proposal through parliament.  In the lead-up to the General Election, both Nick Clegg and Vince Cable were totally against a rise in tuition fees, making it one of their key pledges in their election manifesto.  The news has angered the president of the NUS (National Union of Students), Aaron Porter; "Lord Browne is clearly dangerously out of touch with the pressures faced by students and their families.  "The Government must reject proposals that would recklessly undermine our future by ending the notion of public higher education."

Compromises need to be made by all parties; even David Cameron said that in his first Downing Street media conference on Monday.  However, students are bound to rally around the expected rises, and many will question the point of university, especially if they become saddled in thousands of pounds of debt and with no guarantee of a decent job after graduation, especially in the tighter economic climate we live in today.  Plus, universities may struggle to get the intake required, especially if students start becoming scared to pay such ridiculous amounts of money.  Standards will need to rise in all universities; otherwise these changes simply can’t go through. 

This isn’t the last we’ve heard of tuition fees.  It is bound to be a major topic point throughout the autumn.

2010 Japanese 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.  The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka provided the fans with a Super Sunday event, and it certainly was for Red Bull Racing, as they cemented their place at the top of both championship standings.  So, this is the round-up of race sixteen out of nineteen in 2010, as five drivers still remain in the fight, with three races to go.

Sebastian Vettel – The Suzuka Maestro

In 2009, his Suzuka victory kept his limping championship aspirations open and this year, Sebastian Vettel managed to repeat the trend.  He was utterly dominant in Japan, although Mark Webber kept him well and truly honest all weekend.  An eighth pole position of the season was converted into his third win of the season, his first since June’s European Grand Prix at Valencia.  In the last two races, Vettel has knuckled down and got the job done, and now can win the final three races and guarantee himself a fortunate championship.  The momentum in the Red Bull camp has swayed back and forth all season, and it is now in the German’s court.  After Belgium, anyone who put a bet on Sebastian winning the title would have looked like a complete fool.  Now, he might well be the narrow favourite into the final three events.

Red Bull Racing – Both Drivers in the Title Fight, A Difficult Situation

With the constructor’s championship looking more and more likely that it will be won by Red Bull Racing, attention will slowly drift to the driver’s battle.  With both drivers in the title fight, Christian Horner finds himself in a very difficult situation.  Plus, with the events of Silverstone bound to still be floating about in Mark Webber’s mind, no favouritism must be allowed.  I’ll give them that, they have given their drivers every chance to fight for the championship, but so did Williams in 1986 (Mansell & Piquet) and McLaren in 2007 (Hamilton & Alonso).  On both occasions, the outsider, Alain Prost and Kimi Raikkonen stole through to claim the glory.  Can Fernando Alonso provide a sting in the tail, and upset the Red Bull applecart.  Don’t count the Spaniard out just yet, especially as Vettel and Webber have already proven this season, to have a chequered history.

Lewis Hamilton – Another Weekend of Woe

It was another dark weekend in Lewis Hamilton’s fading world championship challenge.  A crash into the barriers at the formidable Degner curves left him with next to no track time in Friday practice.  Hamilton went into qualifying further on the backfoot, thanks to Saturday’s washout and a five-place grid penalty for changing a gearbox.  McLaren failed to spot that Hamilton’s box had collected terminal damage in his collision with Mark Webber in Singapore.  Had they spotted the problem straightaway, Hamilton would have been a serious threat from third on the grid.  Instead, their costly lack of judgement left Lewis languishing in eighth and needing a miracle in the race.  That never looked like happening, and in the race, he lost third gear with his new gearbox, meaning he could only use fourth to seventh gear for the last 15 laps.  Hamilton limped home in fifth, and put a brave face on the latest disappointment.  Don’t write McLaren off just yet, but Korea next weekend is a win or bust situation for both Hamilton and Jenson Button if they want to stay in the title battle.

Robert Kubica – High Expectations Gone in Minutes

After his heroics at Spa, Robert Kubica would have been confident of his chances at Suzuka, a circuit where he could make the most of Renault’s excellent f-duct device.  The Pole was stunning all weekend, qualifying an excellent third, following Hamilton’s demotion, over a second faster than team-mate Vitaly Petrov on Sunday morning.  At the green, Kubica jumped a slow-starting Webber and was harrying Vettel, when a wheel fell off his car behind the Safety Car.  Three laps in, and those high expectations of his had gone in minutes.  Kubica probably didn’t have the race distance pace to beat the Red Bull’s, but the final podium spot was up for grabs, so this was a missed opportunity for Renault.  With no score, the team can now forget catching Mercedes now for fourth in the constructor’s championship. 

Japanese Chaos – Amateur Acrobatics from Petrov, Massa & Alguesuari

Five seconds into the Japanese Grand Prix and Vitaly Petrov’s race is already over, after one of the most amateurish pieces of driving I’ve seen in recent years.  Starting 13^th, Petrov made a great start, but failed to check his mirrors and cut across an innocent Nico Hulkenberg, when he was nowhere near clear of the Williams.  Petrov then had the decency to blame Nick Heidfeld for the incident, but the television replays confirmed his fate.  A five-place grid penalty in Korea beckons and the Russian can surely now kiss goodbye to hanging onto that Renault seat for 2011.  If Petrov’s moment was crazy, Felipe Massa’s attempt to pass two cars on the grass was kamikaze!  Massa screwed up qualifying on Sunday morning and started a dismal 12^th.  Into turn one; he attempted to pass Nico Rosberg and Adrian Sutil on wet grass, a move which you might expect from a debutant, but not a seasoned pro like Massa.  His Ferrari slewed across the track and took out the luckless Vitantonio Liuzzi, destroying the Force India in the process.  How Massa didn’t earn a grid penalty boggles the mind, considering his manoeuvre was just as bad as Petrov’s!  To top off an amateurish day, Jaime Alguesuari takes the award for the daftest attempt at driving a rival off the road.  Angered by a clumsy move that Kamur Kobayashi pulled on him earlier in the race, the Spaniard was passed again in the closing stages, around the outside of the hairpin by the feisty Japanese driver.  Rather than accept defeat, he turned his Toro Rosso into a ramming rod!  Despite three bashes at the Sauber’s sidepod, Alguesuari got what he deserved, which was a damaged front wing, and consequently lost the final point to team-mate Sebastian Buemi.  It was a stupid moment of madness from a young driver who has shown flashes of talent this season, and rounded off a day of amateurish driving that would make Jedward look like music world beaters!

Forget Formula 1 at Suzuka – It’s more Like the Boat Race!

Saturday’s washout in Japan meant it was a repeat of the 2004 event, when a threatened typhoon in the region moved qualifying to a Sunday morning.  The fans on Saturday that came got a soaking, and Kamur Kobayashi criticised the FIA for taking a full 90 minutes to cancel qualifying, when in reality, it never was going to happen.  The conditions were more appropriate for the boat race, rather than an F1 qualifying session.  The two-day event worked well here again in Japan, and although it shouldn’t be a permanent switch to this format, maybe we need to look into this area for races that could be affected more by the weather, like Malaysia and China for instance.

Kamur Kobayashi – Showing His True Potential on Home Soil

As the season has developed, Kamur Kobayashi has turned into an excellent race driver.  Earlier in the campaign, Kobayashi looked like a nervous wreck, but as the Sauber has gradually improved over the season, so has the Japanese racecraft.  Although he was sixth at Silverstone, Suzuka was undoubtedly his best performance of the campaign.  He should have made Q3, but messed up the final chicane on his best lap and started back in 14^th.  Despite a poor start, and the wrong strategy, Kobayashi was the man of the race, pulling over brilliant passes into the hairpin on Adrian Sutil, Rubens Barrichello and team-mate Nick Heidfeld, as well as surviving an assault from Jaime Alguesuari.  Seventh place was a fitting result; he looks set to only improve on his massive potential.

130R Shows It Bites Again – Lucas di Grassi’s Warm-Up Smash

Lucas di Grassi had impressed in outqualifying Timo Glock in Japan, but he didn’t make the start, after making a mess off his Virgin Racing car on the way to the grid!  Di Grassi was warming up his tyres and brakes, when it appears he went offline in the daunting 130R corner, which despite recent modifications, still doesn’t take any prisoners.  The result was one very battered Virgin and one rather sheepish Brazilian driver.  Although it looked more like a car failure than driver error, this has done di Grassi no favours in his battle to hold onto his Virgin drive for next season. 

Mercedes GP – Another Mixed Weekend

It was another mixed weekend for Mercedes GP, though they showed more competitive pace, which means that they are now almost uncatchable in their fight with Renault for fourth in the constructors championship.  Michael Schumacher, having had one of the worst weekends of his career in Singapore, had one of his best weekends of his poor comeback season in Japan.  Istanbul aside, Schumacher showed a consistent pace all weekend, and had the measure of Nico Rosberg throughout.  However, Rosberg still outqualified the seven-time world champion, with a brilliant sixth on the grid, compared to tenth for Schumacher, although Michael had an f-duct issue in Q3.  At the start, Rosberg botched his getaway, and was lucky not to be taken out by the out of control Massa at Turn One.  He smartly pitted under the Safety Car, which allowed him to jump a faster Schumacher, despite Schumacher looking the faster, especially after he pulled off a great pass on Rubens Barrichello into the final chicane, shortly after the restart.  A fantastic team result went sour with six laps to go, when a wheel flew off Rosberg’s car, pitching the hapless Nico into the barriers at the Dunlop Curve.  Schumacher survived to finish a solid sixth, so despite the late DNF for Rosberg, slight progress was made.

 

BBC Gambles on Lee McKenzie Presenting – Did It Pay Off?

With Jake Humphrey away to cover the Commonwealth Games in Delhi for the BBC, Lee McKenzie moved up from pitlane duty to host the BBC’s coverage of the Japanese Grand Prix.  Lee’s performance was never going to be upto the typical high standard of Jake, but it was a decent effort at short notice, although Jake’s presence was missed throughout the weekend.  McKenzie did well to keep Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard on a tight leech, though her mathematical skills and calling Martin Whitmarsh, Martin Whittaker after the race left a lot to be desired!  However, Jonathan Legard’s boring commentary in Suzuka could have spelt the death knell in his F1 commentating career, especially when BBC TV lost sound in the closing stages and we heard David Croft going bananas at Rosberg’s crash, when Legard’s version (heard on the highlights programme) had as much excitement as a wet sponge!  Surely the BBC has got to consider promoting Crofty to its TV coverage.  As for Lee McKenzie, it was an okay performance, but we will be glad that Jake is back to resume duty in Korea next weekend.