London riots escalate

ONLOOK: Riot police watch a fancy dress shop on fire in Clapham

FEAR, astonishment and disgust are amongst the emotions for many British citizens after the dramatic pictures and videos last night.  For the third successive night, the police were fighting a losing battle against hundreds of violent gangs, simply intent on causing as much destruction and damage as possible.  Hundreds of arrests have been made as London begins to count the cost of the damage.  Homes and businesses have been looted and set ablaze as British society faces upto its biggest problem for many decades.  Prime Minister David Cameron has had no choice but to cut short his summer holiday in Italy and make pleas for calm.  Tonight, 15,000 policemen will be out on the streets of London, but the trouble has now also descended outside the capital.  There were major disturbances in Birmingham last night, along with minor skirmishes in Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol.

     The trouble began at the weekend in Tottenham, after the shooting of Mark Duggan by police last Thursday.  It spread to Ealing and Brixton on Sunday, with cars being smashed up, shops looted and set on fire, with police seemingly standing back and allowing the mob to take whatever possessions they felt like.  Yesterday, the initial trouble began in Hackney, as hundreds of youths attacked riot police and looted stores in broad daylight.  As the Hackney situation was brought under control, fires began in Peckham, with a Greggs store and a local electrical shop set ablaze; the gangs having no regard for the safety of innocent bystanders.  As YouTube footage came in of a man having his bag pack ransacked, dripping blood on the pavement floor, more London boroughs were targeted.  Gangs flooded the high street at Lewisham, once again, torching cars and looting stores at almost freewill. 

     At Clapham Junction, remarkable footage came in from a Sky News reporter close to the scene of a Ladbrokes store being robbed, with windows smashed, cash points targeted and a plasma TV being hauled off the wall.  Amazingly, it seemed like these idiots were being cheered on by people who found it funny!  The spread of violence has come through organised rumours on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, as well as the BlackBerry private messenger service.  Research in Motion, the Canadian company that owns BlackBerry has promised it will help police to catch those responsible.  In Croydon, a large local furniture store was set on fire and destroyed in one of the most dramatic images of the evening.  The owner is devastated, as it was a business that had gone through four generations of his family.  168 years of graft all burnt out in less than half an hour.

     Prime Minister Cameron has faced a barrage of criticism for his lack of response to the dire situation.  CNN figurehead Piers Morgan wasn’t impressed on Twitter; “Now Cameron’s finally woken up, he should recall Parliament NOW.  This is a national emergency and the British public need protecting.”  This morning, the PM held a meeting with the police and under-fire Home Secretary Theresa May, before revealing in a statement that parliament will be recalled on Thursday for one day.  London Mayor Boris Johnson and Labour leader Ed Miliband are also returning home early from their summer breaks. 

     May went on BBC breakfast this morning to refute claims that heavy-hitting police tactics should be the order of the day, rejecting calls for the army and water cannons to be used, which would be a first in this country.  Yesterday, she pledged that those responsible will face strict action;

“I want to be clear – those responsible for the violence and looting will be made to face the consequences of their actions.”

     The outrage on social networking sites was clear from many shocked onlookers watching on their television screens.  Journalism student at the University of Northampton Chris Ola told me via Twitter the implications will be felt for many; “I can understand the outrage over the police killing the man…but this is ridiculous…it’s going to hurt the taxpayer.”  Another student at the University of Northampton, Stef Ventura fears the worst; “I fear for our country, we might be rewinding to the 1980s.”

     The blame game has already started, with some of the blame being laid at the Metropolitan police, who were over-stretched massively last night.  They made pleas for parents to know where their children were and get them inside as the mayhem continued.  From the skyline, London looked more like a disaster movie, not a bustling capital city that should be looking forward to host next year’s Olympic Games.  Former Labour mayor Ken Livingstone blamed the coalition’s dramatic spending cuts, telling the Daily Mirror; “The economic stagnation and cuts have inevitably created social division.”  Ex-deputy Prime Minister John Prescott expressed his viewpoint by setting-up a Twitter hash tag #where’sthegovernment.

BURNING: The Sony warehouse in Enfield burns to the ground

     However, it isn’t now London where this is happening now.  Birmingham saw trouble too.  Over 50 businesses were targeted by yobs in the Bullring shopping centre.  Melissa Hicks gave me a quick update of the situation on Facebook; “Birmingham City Centre is being smashed up and the big Primark shop has been burnt down.”  In Liverpool and Bristol, it was a similar, if quieter story.  This morning, the large Sony CD warehouse store on the corner of the M25 in Enfield was still burning to the ground, after it was set on fire in the early hours.  The FA have cancelled tomorrow’s night international friendly at Wembley between England and Holland and Carling Cup matches at Crystal Palace, Charlton, West Ham and Bristol City have been postponed on police advice.  The Premier League is also in contact with the police on a regular basis, with significant doubts over the fixtures taking place on the opening weekend involving Tottenham, QPR and Liverpool.  However, despite the Birmingham trouble, the third Cricket test at Edgbaston between England and India is set to go ahead on time tomorrow morning.

     As the cleanup began this morning, the whole country has to reflect on the trouble and the damage it has done to our society, with fingers crossed that tonight doesn’t bring the same amount of carnage and chaos in the country that last night did.

2011 Carling Cup final - Magnificent Martins ends Blues silverware drought

DROUGHT: Birmingham City celebrate their Carling Cup triumph

BIRMINGHAM CITY beat Arsenal fair and square last Sunday 2-1 to win the Carling Cup, and end a 48-year drought without silverware.  Substitute Obafemi Martins, on loan to the Blues from Russian side Rubin Kazan scored the winner in the 88^th minute, after a calamitous mix-up between Laurent Koscieny and Wojciech Szczesny in the Arsenal defence. 

     Traditionally, the Carling Cup final, the first major piece of silverware to be settled, has been a drab affair with both teams nervous to concede and too cautious to attack.  This wasn’t the case on a immaculate Wembley pitch surface, which make the pitch troubles during last year’s FA Cup semi-finals look like a storm in a teacup.  Most experts predicted a comfortable Arsenal win, but a bright start by Birmingham soon had many eating their words.  In fact, they should have had a penalty inside of four minutes.  Lee Bowyer was wrongly flagged offside, and was tripped in the penalty area by the nervous Szczesny.  Television replays soon confirmed that Bowyer was at least two yards onside and justice hadn’t been done.  Arsenal got a free-kick, when they should have been facing a penalty and Szczesny should have seen red.  Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott could only look on after their midweek injuries as the Gunners looked more like they were being gunned down rather than shooting their way passed the opposition.  However, Arsenal did create the first serious chance when Andrei Arshavin, preferred to Niklas Bendtner brokethrough, but his shot was blocked by Ben Foster’s legs.  

LANKY: Tall Zigic headed Birmingham into an unlikely lead

     Birmingham kept the pressure on though and the underdogs took the lead on the half hour.  Roger Johnson won the first header from Craig Gardner’s corner and lanky Serbian Nikola Zigic helped the ball on past the hapless Szczesny, whose positioning must be questioned.  So must Arsenal’s marking, as Zigic was left completely free in the six-yard box and despite Samir Nasri’s best efforts on the line, Alex McLeish’s side had a deserved lead.  It should have been 2-0, had Zigic converted a one-on-one against Szczesny and he was made to pay for missing such a glaring chance.

     Arsenal fought back and equalised seven minutes before half-time.  Jack Wiltshire’s smashing shot rattled the crossbar and as Birmingham failed to deal with the rebound, Arshavin found in-form Robin Van Persie.  The Dutchman produced a cracking shot on the volley with his back to goal.  Foster had no chance as the ball landed perfectly in the corner of the net to level the score.

     The second half wasn’t quite as action-packed but had its moments.  Jean Beausejour, a star of Chile’s World Cup heroics last summer, added some energy to Birmingham’s frontline and he pressured Johan Djourou into a rushed clearance.  Keith Fahey hit a shot that struck the post with the goalkeeper completely stranded.  Birmingham kept battling on, but it was Arsenal that looked the stronger side in the last 20 minutes.  Foster had to make smart saves to dent Nasri and Tomas Rosicky.  As the game entered its climax, extra-time beckoned, but there was going to be a sting in the tale.

     With two minutes left, Foster’s long kick was flicked on by the dangerous Zigic and led to a horrible mix-up between Koscieny and Szcenzy.  Whether it was a language barrier issue or a miscommunication, the result was the same.  Koscieny mis-kicked the ball bounced off the Pole and fell straight to substitute Martins.  The Nigerian had been presented with a gift and simply couldn’t miss.  As the Birmingham celebrations went into overdrive, Arsenal fans broke down in tears, realising that their long six-year wait for a trophy must go on a little further.

     So, Birmingham won against all the odds and it was left to Stephen Carr, who came out of retirement to skipper Birmingham in February 2009 to lift the trophy.  Their last trophy was the League Cup in 1963 against city rivals Aston Villa.  Alex McLeish hailed the success as his best triumph in management afterwards.  Talking to the BBC, he said; “This is the best ever in the world.  For a small club like Birmingham to put one over Arsenal is a titanic effort.”  Arsene Wenger was full of symphony for his players; “It’s a big disappointment.  The team had a great performance and gave everything.  In the end, a little misunderstanding has cost us.”

     Foster earnt the man of the match award; this is his third successive Carling Cup triumph, after being part of the Manchester United side that won in 2009 and 2010.  Birmingham owner Carson Yeung was 51 on the day of the final, so this is the perfect birthday present.  A place in the UEFA Europa League next season is Birmingham’s ultimate prize and for Martins, he has a £5million clause in his loan if Birmingham wants to use the option.  Surely, they’ll be fools not to exercise this option. 

    Birmingham may be the lowest goalscorers in the Premiership, but their attacking instincts at Wembley well and truly paid off.  This was the day when David beat Goliath, and it is always nice to see the underdog triumph, especially in a major final.  

Headers, Handshakes & Horrors - What A Top-Flight Weekend!!

Wow! What a Premiership and Carling Cup weekend that was.  Full of intrigue, controversy, shock results and a horrific blow that reminds all of us fans that football is more than just a game.

Let’s start off with the man of the moment that is Wayne Rooney, undoubtedly the best player in the world at the moment.  Rooney defied injury which might mean he misses England’s friendly in midweek with a top-class header to win the Carling Cup final for Manchester United.  Their 2-1 win at Wembley over a resilient Aston Villa meant Sir Alex Ferguson’s side became the first side to retain the League Cup since Nottingham Forest two decades ago.  However, it might have been a different game had Nemanja Vidic seen red.  

The Serb blatantly brought down Gabby Agbonlahor inside of five minutes while the pacy Villa forward was bearing down on goal.  Though the penalty was given, referee Phil Dowd opted to not even book Vidic, a crazy decision that changed the course of the game.  James Milner tucked away the penalty coolly, but the Villains were soon pegged back by Michael Owen, who reminded Fabio Capello of what he can do, with a well-taken finish in the 12^th minute.  Unfortunately for Owen, he limped off injured before half-time with a pulled hamstring and Rooney was sent on, who changed the course of the final.  His impact was clear and as Martin O’Neill’s outfit tired, United got stronger and dominated the second half.  Rooney header was class, converting an excellent cross from man-of-the-match Antonio Valencia, with a looping header that Brad Friedel had no chance in saving.  As long as Rooney stays fit and on-form, England head to South Africa with the best player in the world.  His form might see United overhaul Chelsea at the top of the Barclays Premiership, especially after Chelsea’s display on Saturday lunchtime.

The build-up to Chelsea v Manchester City was all about John Terry v Wayne Bridge, following the recent newspaper revelations about the Chelsea skipper’s private life.  The question was would they shake hands or not before the start of the game?  In the end, Terry put his hand out; Bridge blanked and ignored him, going on to shake hands with the rest of his former team members.  It was brilliant to watch and what else was John Terry expecting?  He is lucky that Bridge didn’t head butt him to be honest.  In the match, Terry produced a limp display, as did the rest of the Blues defence as Roberto Mancini’s superstars ran riot at a supposed fortress Stamford Bridge.  For 43 minutes, Chelsea were well on top, 1-0 infront and City looked lacklustre, until a comedy of errors from Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and Hilario allowed Carlos Tevez to poke home an equaliser.  Hilario’s goalkeeping performance was shocking; Chelsea will really end up missing Petr Cech for the next month, whilst he recovers from his calf injury.  After the break, Chelsea were suicidal, with more shambolic defending, poor passing allowing the Eastlands side to run riot.  Tevez scored again, Craig Bellamy bagged another two goals, and despite a late Frank Lampard penalty, this was a day to forget for Carlo Ancelotti.  Add to that, Juliano Belletti’s clumsy dismissal and Michael Ballack’s daft challenge on Tevez which led to the experienced German heading for an early shower, it was a horror show to watch for the home supporters.

Arsenal keep onto the tails of the leading two, with a gritty 3-1 success at bogey ground, Stoke.  However, the result will be overshadowed by a sickening injury to 19-year old Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsay.  Midway through the second half, Ramsay was on the wrong end of a poor, but not malicious challenge from Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross.  Immediately, the youngster was writhing in agony and with Sky cameras opting not to show the incident again, you could tell it was bad.  Shawcross was sent off and went down the tunnel in tears, he looked devastated on the day he received his first England call-up.   You had to feel for the Gunners players, who had to experience this again, almost exactly two years after Eduardo’s horrifying injury at Birmingham City.  Then, Arsenal lost the plot in the title run-in, but in a game they might have lost even last season, they battled away and scored twice in stoppage time, through the inspirational Cesc Fabregas and Thomas Vermaelen.  Full credit to Arsene Wenger for keeping his chargers going and with an easier run-in than the top two, Arsenal are firmly back in the title race.  My thoughts are with Ramsay though, and I wish him a speedy and successful recovery.

Elsewhere, wins for Tottenham and Liverpool keep the pressure on Manchester City in the battle for 4^th, Steve Bruce faces the possible sack after Sunderland’s dire 0-0 draw with Fulham, 14 games without a win is relegation form in the making and Burnley captain Clarke Carlisle, having starred on Channel 4’s Countdown in midweek, must have had his head still full of conundrums, giving away two penalties in Burnley’s costly 2-1 home defeat to administration bound Portsmouth.  The result gives Pompey’s fans something to cheer, after one of the most traumatic fortnights in the clubs established history.

Two months left and anything is still possible in the closest Premiership season for years.  The title race, Champions League qualification and the fight to stay in the top flight could run all the way to the final day of the season in May.  What happens next in this season of twists and turns is anyone’s guess….?