Cheryl and Ashley Split - No Surprises

After weeks of speculation about sordid affairs involving another top-paid Premiership superstar who plays for Chelsea Football Club, the news broke yesterday of Cheryl Cole’s split from her husband, Ashley.

The England left-back, who is currently out injured with a broken ankle and faces a race against time to be fit for the World Cup in South Africa has seen a series of front page headlines for the wrong reasons, with allegation of affairs with up to six different women, whilst with Cheryl.  Eventually, the Girls Aloud singer has decided enough is enough and rightly so.

Following the recent furore surrounding Chelsea skipper John Terry, this is the last thing that both Carlo Ancelotti and Fabio Capello needed.  Capello has come out today with a quote, warning the England team about their future conduct.  It will be very interesting to see what the spirit in the camp will be like, with next week’s friendly against Egypt at Wembley looming large.  Chelsea have taken action and fined Cole for his actions, reports suggesting up to £400,000.  Ashley should be hanging his head in shame, he only has got himself to blame.  Excuses are the saddest and oldest trick in the book when it comes to infidelity. 

For Cheryl, it’s time to move on and she has such incredible support from her fans and close friends.  Girls Aloud will be backing her all the way, as they have done throughout, as will her close associates from The X-Factor.  Her performance at last week’s BRIT awards showed bravery, but in reality, she probably should have pulled out, as it sounded terrible.  A few days away in the United States were the best thing she could have done, and it is clear that she has done a load of thinking.  Ashley had played away before, back in 2007 and it took a lot of courage for him to be forgiven for that.  Stupidity should have been stamped on Cheryl’s head if she took him back again.  I still think she probably still loves him, but if there is no trust in a relationship, then it just isn’t going to work.

The Cole marriage has been under scrutiny for a while now; it has been one of the most talked about celebrity couples, but nowhere near on the strand of ‘Brand Beckham.’  Yesterday’s news was no surprise at all; it had been expected for a long while.  Cheryl has now requested for the media to leave her alone and give time to sort her head out.  I would hope that will be the case, though knowing the British media, that’s probably more of a hopeful rather than expectant plea.  She can do a load better than Ashley Cole and I do hope that everything will end up working for her in the end.

My final point is on relationships involving sportstars.  The Tiger Woods shenanigans before Christmas still burn very bright, especially after his frank press conference last week.  Formula 1 ace Lewis Hamilton went his separate ways with Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger at the start of the year, though there is now talk they are back together and now the latest implications involving Terry and Cole.  This is the case of ‘Men Behaving Badly,’ and big time.  You’d think these highly-paid global stars would be able to keep their trousers on, especially considering the farcical wages they pick up during a horrible economic period.  It would be nice to see these guys began again to dominate the back pages for their actual talents, rather than their clear lack of relationship skills on the front pages.  Lessons need to be learnt from this wave of cheating scandals, but will they….I really find that hard to believe…   

Flavio Briatore - A Finished Article

On Friday, Queens Park Rangers probably got some really good news, as after months of turmoil that have seen the West London club plunge to the lower reaches of the Championship table, their chairman Flavio Briatore stepped aside from his role.  With his Formula One future looking doomed, has sport now lost one of its most colourful figures of recent times?

Briatore took over QPR in 2007, as part of a consortium that also included fellow Formula 1 supremo, Bernie Ecclestone.   Together, they promised Rangers a load of cash and the glory land of Premier League football, something the club hasn’t experienced since relegation from the top-flight way back in 1996.  The heady days of Les Ferdinand banging in the goals on a regular basis and top-half finishes in the Premiership’s inaugural years seem a long time ago.  True, money was given to spend for managers, but stability was something the Loftus Road club has not being able to achieve, with alarming results.  Nowadays, managers aren’t given a load of time to stamp their authority on a club, with Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes and Arsene Wenger the only three managers still at their current clubs at the end of 2002.  However, QPR were sacking managers quicker than glue was sticking to paper.  Briatore has often been known to have a short fuse and a lack of patience with people, but the way he was running the club was ridiculous.  It was seen to him more of a business venture, than a football club.

His dismissal of Jim Magilton before Christmas was an absolutely scandalous decision.  Magilton, who had stabilised Ipswich for several seasons, without taking them to the next level had steered Rangers into the Championship playoffs by late October, playing some very attractive football in the process.  However, it went sour very quickly and a bust-up with playmaker Akos Buzasky after a dismal display in a Sky televised game down at Watford was the final straw.  Briatore got involved, when he didn’t need too and suspended Magilton, sacking him shortly afterwards.  Paul Hart barely lasted five minutes and now, Mick Harford is in temporary charge, QPR’s 10^th manager in less than two years.  No wonder why no-one wants to manage there, it’s a poisoned chalice!  Saturday 2-1 win over Doncaster Rovers should see the club move away from the relegation zone, which could have disastrous consequences for the club, should the unthinkable happen, but they have a long way to go, if they want to achieve Briatore’s initial ambition.  He may remain on the board at QPR, but without a leading role, the club may now have the chance to look forward to a brighter future.

Briatore’s Formula 1 days look numbered too, after one of the most disgraceful cheating episodes in sporting history.  With Renault threatening to pull out of the sport, following a couple of years in the doldrums, Briatore took action that would have severe ramifications for many.  On Lap 14 of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, rookie Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet had an accident that brought out the Safety Car.  This led to the benefit of his team-mate, Fernando Alonso and the double world champion went on from 15^th on the grid to win F1’s first ever night race, in controversial circumstances.  Renault remained in the sport, but Briatore’s actions were soon going to come back and bite him hard.  Last summer, Piquet was axed after a string of poor performances in the Renault and then went public about the events of that weekend in Singapore.  The FIA investigated, Briatore fell on his sword and quit Renault, along with Director of Engineering Pat Symonds.  However, it didn’t stop Flavio getting a lifetime ban from the sport he truly loves.  This has been overturned on appeal, but with the matter still unresolved, Flavio faces some anxious times infront of him.  For somebody who spearheaded Michael Schumacher’s rise to fame, and Alonso’s double championship success in 2005/2006, it seems unthinkable that he won’t be around on the Grand Prix grid anymore. 

To sum up, Flavio Briatore is damaged goods and he faces a long and stressful battle if he is to return to a premier stage in sport.  Sadly, he looks like a very finished article.