FA Barclays Premiership Report (5th - 6th February)

THIS weekend’s Premiership action was quite possibly the best in its 19-year era.  A staggering 43 goals hit the back of the net, with some all-time classic matches amongst them.  Records were smashed, unbeaten runs ended and cracking comebacks all over the place, this was the perfect weekend.  With Match of the Day pulling in 5million viewers on Saturday night, you can see the appeal it would have had, even to the casual football acquaintance.

BLOCKED: Jamie Carragher frustrated Torres all day on his debut

The big build-up was for the match at Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea locked horns with Liverpool, only days after Fernando Torres had completed a £50million move from Anfield to West London.  For Torres, the day was a dud, as was the match in truth, failing to live up to its great billing.  El Nino looked out of sorts all afternoon and was replaced by Salomon Kalou on 66 minutes.  Three minutes later, Chelsea’s title dreams were smashed into pieces by Raul Meireles.  Frank Lampard failed to close down Steven Gerrard and once the Englishman crossed and Dirk Kuyt caused more miscommunication between Petr Cech and Branislav Ivanovic (they clashed heads in the first half), Meireles arrived at the back post and smashed the ball into the corner of the net.  It was the Portuguese’s midfielder’s fourth goal in five matches and earnt a deserved 1-0 victory for the visitors.  Kenny Dalglish has now steered Liverpool into the top six, after their fourth win in a row.  For Chelsea, this was a massive opportunity spurned and Torres was probably wondering; why did I move?

The game of the weekend, decade and possibly of all time came at St. James Park.  Arsenal threw away a 4-0 lead at half-time, to end up drawing 4-4 with Newcastle United.  Still reeling from Andy Carroll’s defection to Liverpool, Newcastle looked like a team of hedgehogs in the first half, conceding four goals in the first 23 minutes.  Theo Walcott ghosted past Fabricio Coloccini to have Arsenal infront after 40 seconds.  Less than three minutes later, Johan Djourou headed in from a free-kick for his first ever Gunners goal.  Robin Van Persie completed Newcastle’s catastrophic first half, with two goals which were so easy, Bart Simpson could have scored them.  The game changed when Abou Diaby lost the plot completely four minutes into the second half.  The Frenchman was incensed by a fair challenge from Joey Barton and went onto push both Kevin Nolan and Barton.  He was rightfully dismissed and with it, Arsenal’s composure went.  Barton began the fightback on 68 minutes, with a penalty and Leon Best pulled the scoreline back to 4-2, after he had a goal wrongly chalked off for offside.  With seven minutes to go, Newcastle got a second penalty, which looked very harsh as Mike Williamson went down softly under pressure from Tomas Rosicky.  Barton converted his second penalty, then Chiok Tiote produced a stunning volley with two minutes to play to make it 4-4.  It was the greatest comeback in Premiership history in a quite extraordinary match.

HEADER: George Elokobi powered Wolves on their way to a famous win

The drama continued on Saturday evening, as Manchester United’s unbeaten run, lasting 30 games and stretching back to April last year, was ended at Molineux by Wolves.  The league’s bottom side won 2-1 to add United to a list of scalps that includes Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea already this season.  Nani had the leaders infront on three minutes, finding the tightest of gaps at Wayne Hennessey’s near post but it was a frustrating night for Man United, struggling badly with set-pieces and missing Rio Ferdinand, due to a late injury in the warm-up.  George Elokobi, found wanting by Nani for the goal, produced a lovely header on ten minutes, when Nemanja Vidic failed to pick him up from a corner.  Five minutes before half-time, Kevin Doyle flicked in Jamie O’Hara’s free-kick to win it for the sensational Wolves.  Doyle was magnificent and with this, Arsenal 2003/04 unbeaten season remains intact as the only one in Premiership history.

While Wolves were claiming another big boy, Black Country rivals West Brom hit the panic button.  13 defeats in 18 games have cost Roberto di Matteo his job.  Despite the poor run of form, it is another example of chairman simply taking desperate measures at a time of crisis.  Di Matteo’s final game in charge came at Manchester City, as West Brom folded to a 3-0 loss on Saturday.  Birthday boy Carlos Tevez scored a first half hat-trick, including two penalties, as the Albion defence was left exposed by Tevez’s creative movements.  The Argentine has now scored 49 goals in 71 games for Manchester City.  It was an emotional day at Eastlands, as the club paid tribute to Neil Young.  Young scored the winner for the club in the 1969 FA Cup final.  He passed away last Thursday, following a long battle with cancer.

MOBBED: Nikola Zigic is congratulated after his winner

After the fillip of a massive win in midweek at Bloomfield Road, West Ham returned to their traditional best.  Another flat performance infront of their home supporters saw the Hammers lose 1-0 at home to relegation rivals Birmingham City and leave them in their customary position of bottom in the table.  The much criticised Nikola Zigic headed the only goal of the game midway through the second half to lift Birmingham out of the bottom three, their first win at Upton Park since October 2002.  Having just been dumped out of the Carling Cup at the semi-final stage by Birmingham, Avram Grant must be sick of the sight of the Midlands team.

There was another classic encounter between two North-West sides desperate for points.  Everton and Blackpool went goals galore at Goodison Park, sharing eight goals in a 5-3 win for the home side.  Louis Saha scored four goals, his first came on 20 minutes, lashing home a cutback from Diniyar Bilyadetinov.  Alex-John Baptiste claimed the equaliser eight minutes before half-time, but the Toffees were back infront within 100 seconds of the restart.  Leighton Baines crossed and Saha finished from close range.  In this remarkable match, Blackpool recovered to hit the front.  Deadline day signing Jason Puncheon levelled, finishing off a wonderful pullback from fellow new signing James Beattie.  Just two minutes later, Ian Holloway’s men completed their fabulous response when DJ Campbell rattled the crossbar on the counter-attack, only for Charlie Adam to head the rebound in.  Saha got his hat-trick, heading in from close range as Blackpool failed to deal with a routine corner and Everton grabbed the lead back as Jermaine Beckford made a great run and converted Baines’s majestic ball over the top of Blackpool’s square defence.  As the Tangerines pushed forward for another equaliser, Saha settled the match on a great Toffees counter-attack, coaxing in his fourth of the afternoon.  This is Blackpool’s fifth successive Premiership defeat, and they are plummeting down the table as quick as a shattered fruit machine.

STAR: Ben Watson celebrates with James McCarthy after he scores his second

Wigan are still in the bottom three, but they recorded their first home win since mid-November in another entertaining game, beating Blackburn Rovers 4-3 at the DW Stadium.  Ex-Wigan striker Jason Roberts had the visitors infront, tucking in Brett Emerton’s ball, but James McCarthy equalised, reacting quickest to Paul Robinson’s spill from a Charles N’Zogbia drive.  Hugo Rodallega made it 2-1, getting in behind Christopher Samba and beat the stranded Robinson to guide the ball into the empty Blackburn net.  An outstanding individual goal from McCarthy increased Wigan’s lead, needing one touch to control and another to finish.  On a pitch more accustomed to the Six Nations, Blackburn responded well when the powerful Samba beat Ali Al-Habsi to a cross.  Ben Watson scored a penalty to restore Wigan’s two goal advantage, before David Dunn tumbled under Emerson Boyce’s challenge and converted his own spot kick.  Wigan’s first win in eight games was well deserved.

In the other matches, Stoke City beat Sunderland 3-2 at the Britannia Stadium.  In another frantic game, Kieran Richardson and Asamoah Gyan had Sunderland in the lead twice.  John Carew scored a scruffy goal and Robert Huth scored twice for the home side, his second in the third minute of injury time.  Craig Gordon made a meal of the match, as the Scot failed to deal with Stoke’s physical prowess.  Niko Kranjcar made a point to Harry Redknapp, as he hit a rasping left foot drive in stoppage time to see off Bolton Wanderers.  Tottenham won 2-1, to keep pace with the top four.  Aston Villa and Fulham drew 2-2 at Villa Park, with Clint Dempsey earning the away side a valuable point.  Kyle Walker scored the goal of the match, on the night he was called into the England squad for the first time by Fabio Capello.

It was an amazing weekend of gripping Premiership action; totally breathless and captivating.  After a pointless international set of friendlies in midweek, bring on next weekend!  We only have a Manchester derby to look forward to.  

Kubica fights for his F1 career after horror rally shunt

JEOPARDY: Robert Kubica is facing the biggest fight of his career so far

THE Polish racing driver Robert Kubica is fighting for his F1 career tonight, after suffering multiple fractures in a horror rally crash.  Kubica, 26, crashed into a church wall on the final day of a rally in Italy.  BBC Radio 5 Live’s David Croft reports that Kubica was trapped in his wrecked Skoda Fabia for upto an hour.  He was airlifted to hospital in Genoa, where he is undergoing surgery for multiple fractures.

REMAINS: The wreckage of Kubica's Skoda Fabia rally car

His condition is not life threatening, but his manager Daniele Morelli confirmed his injuries, which are a broken right leg, broken right arm and more worryingly, broken right hand.  Surgeons are attempting to resurrect Kubica’s feeling in his right hand.  If unable to do so, his Formula One career looks to be over.  Morelli told reporters at the hospital; “Surgeons are trying to re-establish the functionality of his right hand.  Robert is very strong and he will pull through.”

Kubica made his Grand Prix debut for BMW Sauber in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix and is one of the leading stars in the rising talent of Formula One field.  The Krakow born driver has only won one race; the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal, but has put in a string of impressive performances in recent years, most particularly at Renault last season.  He finished eighth in the drivers’ championship last season, finishing second in Australia and third in Belgium and Monaco.  He is no stranger to massive crashes.  Robert had titanium bolts in his right arm inserted when he was seriously injured in a road accident in 2003.  Four years later, he walked away unscathed for a potentially fatal shunt at the Canadian Grand Prix, when he clipped Jarno Trulli’s Toyota and was launched into an aeroplane wreck.  A sprained ankle was the only injury here.

It was just over 4km into the first stage of the rally that Kubica was taking part in; a hobby he likes to do away from the F1 paddock.  Croft reported more on how the crash happened; “It is understood that when Kubica hit the wall, a barrier penetrated the footwell of his car, causing the injuries.”  “The main concern is with Kubica’s right hand, which has lost a load of blood.  However, reports of amputation are wide of the mark.”

FORM: Robert was fastest in testing last week, but his form has been halted

Even if he makes a full recovery, Kubica is all but certain to miss the F1 season opener in Bahrain, which is just 35 days away.  With the injuries looking so sustained, I’d expect him to be on the sidelines for the best part of three months.  The Renault team are devastated; especially after Kubica set the fastest time of the first F1 test of 2011 in Valencia last Thursday.  Reserve drivers, Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean are both expected to feature in this week’s testing programme alongside regular Russian Vitaly Petrov.  Both Senna and Grosjean have raced in F1 before, and would be seen as an excellent one-off choice.  However, if Kubica is going to be missing a large proportion of the campaign, then a more suitable replacement such as Force India test driver Nico Hulkenberg or his former team-mate at BMW Sauber, Nick Heidfeld must be considered.  

Support for Kubica has flooded through on Twitter from his fellow racing colleagues.  Jenson Button wrote on his page; “Shocking news about Robert Kubica, I wish him a speedy recovery.”  Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Buemi’s thoughts are also with his pal; “All my support to Robert Kubica.  I am with you man.”

The current surgery is thought to be going okay, but it is too early to say the implications.  However, Kubica’s presence in the F1 paddock will be missed come the season opener in Bahrain.  I wish him all the best for a speedy and safe recovery, and hope to see him back in a racing car real soon. 

FA Barclays Premiership Round-up (1st - 2nd February)

MORE engrossing action took place in midweek from the Barclays Premiership, as the competition settled back into some form of continuity, following the craziness of deadline day on Monday.  Here is a quick round-up;

POWER: Wayne Rooney looked back to his best in midweek

Manchester United maintained their unbeaten record, as they recorded a 3-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.  It took the pacesetters just 49 seconds to score the opener, as Wayne Rooney smashed home his first home goal since August.  United doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time when Rooney tucked in his second goal; his first brace since March 2010.  A typical Darren Bent goal bought Gerard Houiller’s side briefly bought Villa back into it, but their hope only lasted five minutes, as Nemanja Vidic killed the game off with a finish that Rooney would have been proud of.  Had it not been for Brad Friedel, the scorelines could have been even more emphatic.

Arsenal came from behind against Everton to win 2-1 at the Emirates and keep their title hopes alive.  On a controversial night, which ended with David Moyes accusing Cesc Fabregas of meeting the referee in the half-time interval, the Gunners showed real character to overcome a gritty Everton unit.  Louis Saha’s recent revival continued as he fortuitously put the Toffees infront midway through the first half.  He was in an offside position, when he latched onto Seamus Coleman’s pass.  Arsenal got on terms with twenty minutes to spare.  Fabregas’s clipped ball flicked off Jack Rodwell and was vaulted in by the woefully out-of-form Andrei Arshavin.  Four minutes later, an unmarked Laurent Koscieny met Robin Van Persie’s corner to head home his first Premiership goal and consign Everton to another defeat.  They now haven’t won at Arsenal since January 1996.

Chelsea are beginning to return to their best after their winter wobble, highlighted by an excellent 4-2 win at Sunderland.  The Black Cats were ahead inside of four minutes, as Phil Bardsley ghosted past an invincible John Obi Mikel and left Petr Cech with no chance.  The left-back second goal in a month was cancelled out by a Frank Lampard penalty and Salomon Kalou’s first goal in the league since November.  A third goal in two games for Kieran Richardson has the game tied at 2-2 with just 25 minutes gone.  It was all Chelsea though after the interval and they gradually pulled away from their opponents.  Craig Gordon produced a brilliant save to deny Lampard, but the Scottish international could do nothing about the follow-up from John Terry on the hour mark.  In time added on, the impressive Nicolas Anelka put the seal on a fantastic away performance, to move Chelsea to within two points of third placed Manchester City.

City dropped more points, this time away to Carling Cup finalists Birmingham City.  The home side were behind early on, when top scorer Carlos Tevez scrambled home an opener, which Ben Foster probably could have done better dealing with.  Nikola Zigic turned home from close range for Birmingham midway through the first half, only for a beautifully flighted free-kick from Aleksandar Kolarov to restore the visitors lead.  Birmingham have only won one of their last eight Premiership matches, but showed great character and deserved their point.  Kevin Phillips was pushed over in the penalty area by Patrick Vieira, allowing Craig Gardner to smash home the penalty and earn a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

DREAM: Luis Suarez is off and running at Anfield

Liverpool began life after Fernando Torres with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Stoke City at Anfield, their third successive league win.  After a frustrating first half, it took Liverpool less than two minutes into the restart to grab the lead.  Steven Gerrard’s free-kick was deflected into the path of Raul Meireles, who scored his third goal in four matches, finally starting to justify his massive price tag.  The moment Liverpool fans wanted came with 11 minutes to go, as Luis Suarez scored his first goal for the club, having come off the bench.  He rounded Asmir Begovic and after scuffing his shot horribly, it needed help from Andy Wilkinson to cross the line.  He will score prettier goals, but at least the Uruguayan is off and running as the Reds new No.7.

DEBUT: It was a dream start to Robbie Keane's new life at West Ham

At the bottom of the table, West Ham United moved off the foot of the table, courtesy of a 3-1 win at Bloomfield Road over Blackpool.  Robbie Keane scored on his debut for the Hammers and could turn out to be a very valuable signing for Avram Grant.  Wolves replace West Ham at the bottom, after suffering another morale-crushing loss, this time 1-0 at Bolton.  The winner came in the 90^th minute, from another deadline day signing, Daniel Sturridge; acquired from Chelsea on loan until the end of the campaign.  An entertaining 2-2 draw on Tuesday night did little to help West Brom or Wigan Athletic in their quest to move out of the danger zone, but one club going in the right direction is Fulham.  Damien Duff scored the solitary goal of a tight and dire match at Craven Cottage on Wednesday evening to beat his former employers, Newcastle United.  To round-off the midweek action, Tottenham earnt their first win since New Year’s Day.  Peter Crouch’s fine first half header was good enough to beat Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. 

More weekend matches on the way, including Chelsea v Liverpool, West Ham v Birmingham and Newcastle United v Arsenal.  However, can anyone stop Manchester United?  On current form, it’s a tough ask.

January transfer round-up - Crazy money, crazy clubs

THE English and worldwide transfer window slammed shut on Monday, with several clubs involved in some very high sales.  Last year, less than £50million was spent in the January transfer window.  This year, Fernando Torres cost more than anyone did in the window put together.

SMASH: Torres trains for Chelsea, can he smash the goals in?

The Spanish World Cup winner moved from Liverpool to Chelsea for £50million.  The West London side smashing the British transfer record in the process.  Torres spent three and a half years on Merseyside, scoring 81 goals in 142 matches, one every two games.  He is eligible to play in the UEFA Champions League, having only figured in the Europa League for Liverpool and will make his Stamford Bridge bow on Sunday afternoon, ironically against his former side.  The 26-year old explained the move today when asked by the media; “I think Liverpool has great ambition and they are doing the right things to get back, but it will take time.  I didn’t have that time.  To prove that Roman Abramovich still has wealth to spend, Carlo Ancelotti was also allowed to bring in the Benfica central defender David Luiz, for an estimated £18million, which could rise to £25million depending on sell-on clauses.

Liverpool didn’t sit on their laurels once Torres wanted to leave and have bought in a new dynamic duo.  Luis Suarez, the Uruguayan who is most infamous with many for ‘that’ handball on the line in the dying stages of the World Cup quarter-final win over Ghana has made the switch to the Premiership for £22.7million.  Suarez, who played previously for Eredevisie side Ajax has already settled into English lifestyle, and managed to come off the bench and score on his debut in Liverpool’s midweek 2-0 success over Stoke City.  

WELCOMED: Boss Dalglish is pleased to have Carroll around

Joining Suarez at Anfield is Andy Carroll.  Carroll, who only made his England debut in November moved from Newcastle United in a £35million deal, smashing Liverpool’s transfer record and the English transfer record.  There had been talk that the young striker had wanted to leave Newcastle and at a press conference yesterday in Melwood, Carroll responded to a question about this situation from one of the journalists; “I have massive respect for Newcastle, it’s my team and my home club.  I’m not going to talk about what happened at Newcastle, except I still have friends and family there and still love the place.  However, I’m a Liverpool player now, and that’s all I want to concentrate on.”  This suggests that Carroll, who has a dodgy off-the-field reputation, was sold to raise funds at St. James Park, or had a disagreement on the club’s direction with Alan Pardew.

By their high standards, Manchester City were fairly quiet this month, although they did fork out £27million to bring in the highly-rated Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko to Eastlands, from VFL Wolfsburg.  As a result, Emmanuel Adebayor has joined Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid on loan until the end of the season.  Roque Santa Cruz and Wayne Bridge have also made loan switches on a short-term basis to Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United respectively.  The other shock move in a busy window was the departure from Sunderland by Darren Bent.  Nobody saw Bent’s move coming, or Aston Villa forking out £18million for his services.  He insists it is to improve his England prospects, but that doesn’t mean to say that Fabio Capello will still pay attention to this goal machine.

Elsewhere, Villa also bought in Cameroon defensive midfielder Jean Makoun from Lyon, West Ham signed Robbie Keane on loan from Tottenham and furthered their striking options, with the acquisition of Demba Ba from 1899 Hoffenheim.  Hoffenheim bought in Ryan Babel as a replacement and temperamental Turk Tuncay said goodbye to the Premiership and Stoke City, signing on with Steve McClaren at VFL Wolfsburg.

So, it was a crazy transfer window, with crazy money being spent.  However, everyone seems to have won from these outcomes.  With big money being splashed on, there will be intense pressure on the likes of Torres, Carroll and Suarez to perform for their new club.

Vision Products TV report

Recently, I went to the headquarters of Precision Manufacturing, home to Vision Products.  Vision Products in one of the leading UK manufacturers for aerial and satellite equipment, as well as installation.

As a whole, Precision Manufacturing sends out equipment to many different areas, such as automotive, aerospace and defense.

They held a press launch at its industrial estate in Brickmills and this TV report comes from me and fellow Journalism student at the University of Northampton, Tamika Short.

Enjoy!

Narrated and filmed by: Simon Wright
Edited by: Tamika Short and Simon Wright

Sky revamps its entertainment offering

By Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

TUESDAY saw BSkyB perhaps undertake its biggest overhaul in television viewing since it launched the digital satellite era back in 1998.  It reshuffled its general entertainment division, following the takeover of the Virgin Media Television Group last summer.  It saw the launch of a new channel and new beginnings for old favourites but will viewers notice many changes.  The answer is not a simple one but the offerings from these channels should help make their minds up.

The centrepiece of these changes is a brand new channel, Sky Atlantic.  Sky has since the beginning of their life in 1989, been the leader in specialising in US shows, so the launch of a channel based on this gender was a certain no-brainer, it had to happen someday.  It will focus mainly on US dramas, mostly from the HBO library and repeats of classic ones.  The channel’s big hits are expected to come from the smash-hit new shows Boardwalk Empire and Blue Bloods.  The classics are expected to feature the likes of 24, Battlestar Galatica and the entire Star Trek collection, acquired from Virgin.  Another big-hitter to be on Atlantic is Mad Men, poached from BBC4.  Sky Atlantic will only be available on the Sky Digital platform.

A classic television channel meanwhile has been given a rebrand; Living officially joins the Sky family and becomes Sky Living.  Having in recent years moved away from lifestyle programmes in its original origins and become more of a hard-hitting female channel, there is expected to be not much chance at the station with shows like Next Top Model, both UK and US versions, Bedlam and Criminal Minds expected to remain.  Shows from Sky’s archive that fit the channel’s target audience will also be moved here whilst the channel’s big coup is expected to come later on in the year with the arrival of well-known, and nowadays controversial, figure.  Katie Price (a.k.a. Jordan) is moving over from ITV to continue her recent foray into making television programmes.

On the old favourites, there will also be a few tweaks but nothing major.  Sky1 will continue its showings of The Simpsons, House, Got To Dance, A League Of Their Own and much more whilst continuing to develop new original content and will also introduce a selection of shows from the former Bravo channel, which closed at the start of the year.  Sky2 will have no changes at all, remaining as a catch-up service to Sky1 whilst Sky3 continues to offer programmes targeted for Freeview viewers.  However, they will change its name to PickTV next month, which many will say is extremely stupid.

Finally Challenge also becomes part of Sky now and joins the Freeview platform, replacing the now defunct Channel One (formerly Virgin1).  It means for the first time, viewers will be able to watch classic episodes of their favourite gameshows like Gladiators, Catchphrase, The Crystal Maze and Takeshi’s Castle without having to pay a subscription.  Sky have yet to confirm if any changes will be ahead for the station like the possibility of adding the Sky prefix to the channel’s name or introducing any of Sky’s former and current gameshows to the channel.

Perhaps though the most intriguing move in this overhaul is the heavily marketed, ‘HD Swap’.  Viewers who have a Sky+ HD box will see their HD channels swap places in the EPG with their SD counterparts (e.g. Sky 1 HD will be on Channel 106 now on Sky+ HD, compared to remaining at 170 on SD boxes).  It is designed by Sky to get its customers to use more of their HD services.

There is no doubt that these changes will enhance the viewer’s choice and quite possibly change the way they perceive about Sky’s programme offering.  Tuesday’s events at Sky will perhaps rank as one of its biggest days in the corporation’s 22 year history.

Dancing on Ice 2011 - The ice pick

BY Jason Wright (Entertainment Expert)

This week, Dancing on Ice was turned onto its head yet again as the bombshell dropped by Robin Cousins would see the celebrities vote to save.  Would they save a friend or eliminated a rival?

First though was the all-important matter of impressing the public with their routines.

Chloe Madeley & Michael Zenzini

Performed to: I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll

On the up from last week, Chloe continued her good run of form.  A change of character this week with a rock song and yet another risky move, in the form of the ‘Human Necklace’, were made effortless.  As the competition moves forward, everyone now certainly expects her to get even better.

Scores: Jason 6.5, Robin 6.5, Emma 6.5                                   TOTAL: 19.5 (3rd)

Johnson Beharry & Jodeyne Higgins

Performed to: One Love

An unusual occurrence this week as one of the stars actually took advice from Jason Gardiner.  Johnson put in extra training into his routine and it paid off with dividends.  The only criticism is that he needs to start picking up the pace in his performance but otherwise he is actually not proving as bad as first thought.

Scores: Jason 4.0, Robin 4.5, Emma 4.5                                   TOTAL: 13.0 (6th)

Jeff Brazier & Isabelle Gauthier

Performed to: Getting Together

This was without question the week from hell for Jeff.  Finding the competition harder than what he first thought, he also put in extra hours to prove he can go a distance in the show.  For a while it looked like it was working, until he mistimed a move, lost balance and both he and Isabelle crashed down to the ice.

Scores: Jason 4.0, Robin 4.0, Emma 4.5                                   TOTAL: 12.5 (7th)

Kerry Katona & Dan Whiston

UNSPECTACULAR: Kerry needs to improve

Performed to: Disturbia

Kerry had made a solid if unspectacular start but now she had to face her biggest fear, having to start not relying on Dan all the time.  The scores seemed a tad unfair but Kerry must try harder next time otherwise she could soon slide into the danger zone.

Scores: Jason 3.0, Robin 3.5, Emma 3.5                                   TOTAL: 10.0 (Joint 10th)

Vanilla Ice & Katie Stainsby

Performed to: Always

It was a challenging week for Vanilla Ice in more ways than one.  First, he had to skate to a slower song and then when in training, he suffered a nasty fall, leaving him with a stitched-up eyebrow.  It obviously affected his confidence but still he made no silly errors on the night and that’s what counts in the end.

Scores: Jason 5.5, Robin 5.0, Emma 5.5                                   TOTAL: 16.0 (5th)

Dominic Cork & Alexandra Schumann

Performed to: I Can See For Miles

After the skate-off scare, Dominic obviously worked harder to ensure he would stay out of it this time.  He did the best he could again but perhaps could have done a lot better, considering the environment of his competition and that many of them made silly errors.

Scores: Jason 3.0, Robin 4.5, Emma 3.5                                   TOTAL: 11.0 (Joint 8th)

Laura Hamilton & Colin Ratushniak

Performed to: Whenever, Wherever

TOUGH: Laura is made of stern stuff

Laura was yet another celebrity that seemed to be buckling under the pressure.  Although most of her performance came together when it mattered most, she had an uneasy stumble into her daring ‘Wrist Ripper’ move but somehow managed to stay upright.  A tough week without doubt but she will be pleased to have got over it in one peace.

Scores: Jason 7.5, Robin 6.0, Emma 6.5                                   TOTAL: 20.0 (2nd)

Jennifer Metcalfe & Sylvain Longchambon

Performed to: Anyone Who Had a Heart

This was Jennifer’s chance to prove she can really give true passion into a routine.  Stressful week in training didn’t help and although it was good on the night, it didn’t live up to the standard of last week.

Scores: Jason 5.5, Robin 7.0, Emma 6.0                                   TOTAL: 18.5 (4th)

Denise Welch & Matt Evers

Performed to: Slow

Denise didn’t really cope with last week’s routine but Sunday was meant to be better, with a slower routine.  Sadly, it didn’t work out that way and is beginning to be left behind by the rest in skating quality.

Scores: Jason 3.5, Robin 3.0, Emma 3.5                                   TOTAL: 10.0 (Joint 10th)

Sam Attwater & Brianne Delcourt

TOP: Sam was head and shoulders ahead again

Performed to: Crazy Little Thing Called Love

If anyone can cope with the pressure well at the moment, it certainly has to be Sam.  His already-known skills and growth in new moves once again played a huge part that left him head and shoulders above anyone else.  It is his competition to lose; surely he’ll strike 30.0 within the next few weeks.

Scores: Jason 8.5, Robin 8.5, Emma 8.0                                   TOTAL: 25.0 (1st)

Comedy Dave & Frankie Poultney

Performed to: Achy Breaky Heart

Dave can’t skate, fact!  Dave can’t dance well, fact!  But he is entertaining, fact!  And that’s why he is well respected on this show.  His country-themed performance was unique for the value of the few good abilities on display.  He seems to be a big hit with everyone, even Jason Gardiner at the moment!

Scores: Jason 3.0, Robin 4.0, Emma 4.0                                   TOTAL: 11.0 (Joint 8th)

The Ice Pick

In Dancing on Ice’s brand new twist, for one week only, the stars had to decide which act would have to hang up their skates for good.  They had to choose between Jeff and Dominic, perhaps the most likely to end up in this position considering the leaderboard.

FAREWELL: It was the end of the road for Dominic & Alexandra

The celebrities voted 6-3 in favour of keeping Jeff.  Chloe, Kerry, Vanilla Ice (who decided through the art of a coin toss), Laura, Jennifer and Sam backed him whereas Dominic only won the support of Johnson, Denise and Dave.  A disappointment for Dominic but perhaps Jeff had more room for improvement and in this current phase of the competition, he badly needs it.

Next week sees the show hold its first theme night of the series as the remaining ten couples perform Vegas-style routines.  When Vegas last took place on Dancing on Ice, Stefan Booth sent favourite John Barrowman crashing out of the show in 2006, following the best ever skate-off in the competition’s history.  How will this year’s crop cope with the added ability of a theme in their performance?

FA Cup 4th round review - Crawley continue their stunning run

Non-league Crawley Town took the main plaudits after another pulsating weekend of FA Cup action and now, have a dream tie at Old Trafford as a major reward.

HISTORY: Crawley are the first since 1994 to reach the last 16

The Blue Square Premier side, conquerors of Swindon Town and Derby County in earlier rounds, took their third league scalp of the competition in the form of Torquay United.  The League Two side were beaten 1-0 at Plainmoor, with the only goal coming from Matt Tubbs, his 25^th goal of a prolific season.  Some of Crawley’s playacting wasn’t welcomed by the opposition, with two red cards and the non-league side also seeing two penalties being saved by the experienced Scott Bevan.  Nevertheless, they deserve their day out at Manchester United in round five, becoming the first non-league side since Kidderminster Harriers in 1994 to reach the last 16.

Manchester United got to round five after another efficient if unconvincing performance, this time at Southampton.  Sir Alex Ferguson had to bring Nani and Ryan Giggs on to turnaround a match that they looked destined to lose, once Richard Chaplow had fired the Saints into a lead on the stroke of half-time.  Once they had width available, the Premiership leaders were on top for large parts of the second half, with Michael Owen equalising and poacher Javier Hernandez snatching another goal from Giggs cute pass, sealing a 2-1 victory.  If the Mexican continues his rich vein of form, Wayne Rooney will be getting concerned about his place as a permanent fixture in the Manchester United starting 11. 

Crawley weren’t the only side to do some giantklling at the weekend, as both Leyton Orient and Brighton dumped out Championship opposition away from home.  Orient put in an incredible performance at Championship promotion contenders Swansea City, and ended up on the right side of a 2-1 scoreline.  They needed some luck, courtesy of an 88^th minute own goal from the Swans skipper Alan Tate.  You had to feel for Tate; it was the perfect own goal, which he probably couldn’t execute any better if he had done it another 90 times!  Brighton, League One leaders went to high-flying Watford and won 1-0.  Like Orient, they needed some fortune.  Ashley Barnes’s 14^th minute winner was a tame effort, which Watford goalkeeper Rene Gilmartin let through his fingers like a bar of soap!  Even Peter Enckleman could have saved Barnes’s shot, it was that bad!

Leyton Orient will now encounter a London derby against Arsenal in the next round.  Once again, the Gunners needed a late Cesc Fabregas penalty to keep them alive.  This time, it was enough to see off a brave Huddersfield Town challenge, 2-1 at the Emirates.  Nicolas Bendtner broke the deadlock, but once Sebastian Squillaci was sent off, Arsenal looked on the backfoot throughout.  Alan Lee equalised for Huddersfield, but Fabregas broke their hearts and keeps Arsene Wenger’s side fighting in all four competitions.  

THRASHING: Fulham crushed Spurs, with Danny Murphy on target twice

At least they didn’t crumble like North London rivals Tottenham.  Spurs put in a defensive display of such inepitutde, it will put smiles on the faces of their next Champions League opponents, AC Milan in a fortnight’s time.  Tottenham lost 4-0 at Fulham; Danny Murphy scoring two penalties against his former side.  Michael Dawson made two rare errors and got sent off for the second mistake, whilst Sebastian Bassong and William Gallas looked disorganised and disjointed throughout; terrorised by the power of Moussa Dembele.  Dembele completed the rout before half-time and the dejection could be written all over Harry Redknapp’s face.

RESCUE: Edin Dzeko's first goal saved Man City at Notts County

Another high-profile side that struggled was Manchester City.  Roberto Mancini’s millionaires struggled to a 1-1 draw at the oldest club in the Football League, Notts County.  For the likes of David Silva, it must be seen as a nightmare to play at Meadow Lane, when it was Soccer City in Johannesburg last summer.  Neil Bishop headed County infront with an hour gone, and Paul Ince’s side got within ten minutes of an upset, before £27million January signing Edin Dzeko spared City’s blushes, with a priceless equaliser.  Notts County showed great commitment throughout and deserve their second bite at the cherry.  Cup holders Chelsea also have to play again, scrapping to a 1-1 draw in Merseyside against Everton.  Louis Saha took advantage of some slack marking by John Terry to head the Toffees infront, just as he did in the 2009 final between these two sides.  Carlo Ancelotti turned to Salomon Kalou to rescue a replay.  The Ivorian scoring just three minutes after coming off the substitute’s bench.  Ramires hit the post in the dying stages, but a draw was the fair result.

Coventry City may not have won in eight Championship matches, but they came mighty close to upsetting Carling Cup finalists Birmingham City.  Having been 2-0 up in 25 minutes, through Marlon King and Richard Wood, Aidy Boothroyd will be disappointed to have not forced the Premiership side at least back to the Ricoh Arena.  David Bentley scored a stunner before half-time, and in the second half, Birmingham had recovered from their hangover, with the pesky Kevin Phillips scoring the winner in a 3-2 victory.  Nottingham Forest also came close, but not quite good enough.  They were defeated 3-2 at West Ham; Nigerian Victor Obinha scoring a hat-trick.  Elsewhere, Reading won a bruising match at Stevenage Borough, coming through 2-1; Shane Long scoring an 87^th minute winner and Stoke City won 1-0 at Wolves, through the head of lanky German defender Robert Huth.  The Potters can have Thomas Sorensen to thank though, for saving a stoppage time penalty from Nenad Mijias. 

Nineteen teams remain, with three replays required.  Wembley is getting ever closer in the 2010/11 FA Cup sponsored by Eon, and Crawley Town can see it as; ‘We’re only 2 games away!’  Well done to them, they deserve all the plaudits as the romance of the cup continues to inspire us all.

Murray's Grand Slam dream shattered in Oz

ANDY Murray has to play the patient game, after being beaten in another Grand Slam final.  He was outplayed and outclassed on Sunday in Melbourne, losing the men’s singles final at the Australian Open to the Serbian Novak Djokovic.

CELEBRATION: The Djokovic winning team pose for the cameras

It took Djokovic, the world no.3 just over two and a half hours to wrap a comfortable 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 success, the scoreline sadly backing up the fact that Murray didn’t bring his A-game to the court on Sunday.  For Djokovic, it’s his second Grand Slam title, his first since winning the Australian Open himself back in 2008.  Then, it failed to kick-start his career – but following recent Davis Cup success with Serbia, he may now have the confidence and conviction to threaten Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on a regular basis.

Djokovic has largely cantered his way to the final.  His performances against Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych and Federer in the quarter-finals and semi-finals were simply majestic.  Novak is currently playing the best tennis of his life, looking almost a completely different figure to the one that kept choking on the big stage in 2009 and 2010.  Finally, that shock 2008 second round loss at SW19 to retired Russian Marat Safin seems to be out of his system.  This was the Djokovic we knew from when he burst onto the scene as a promising teenager.  Thanks to an injury for world No.1 Nadal, which denied him the chance at the ‘Super Slam’ and the early exit of Robin Soderling, world No.5 Murray had also been largely untroubled on his way to Sunday’s showdown.  However, the Scot’s marathon semi-final with Spaniard David Ferrer on Friday looked to have caught up with him 48 hours later.  His returns were weak, the lob shot he liked to play simply wasn’t coming off and his service game, almost unbreakable throughout the tournament was effortlessly exposed by the determined Djokovic.  Once the Serb broke Murray’s serve to clinch the first set, the game looked up as a contest.

AGONY: It was third time unlucky on Sunday for Andy Murray

He stormed into a 5-0 advantage in the second set, and fair play to Murray, he never gave in and stirred a couple of brief rallies.  However, he simply couldn’t keep the momentum up throughout against an in-form and frankly, better player.  The Scot couldn’t hide his disappointment at the end, but he seemed very phlegmatic in defeat afterwards, admitting the better player had won.  This was his third appearance in a Grand Slam final and once again, he fell at the final hurdle; yet to win a set in a major final.  Fingers crossed that Murray can continue his form for the rest of the year though; 2010 went downhill once he made his final appearance in Melbourne.

Once again, Serena Williams was missing a major tournament through injury and when Venus had to pull out of a third round match, the opportunity to win a Grand Slam in the women’s game was wide open.  Justine Henin couldn’t take her chance, and after a nagging elbow injury affected her in a third round loss to Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Belgian announced her retirement from tennis again; this time for good.  She follows Amelie Mauresmo and Elena Dementieva to have given up the game in the past eighteen months.  Jelena Jankovic will surely head the same way very soon, after another pitiful display Down Under.  Even Maria Sharapova looked back to her best, until a fourth round exit.  In the end, it was Kim Clistjers who marched through to take her maiden Australian Open final, winning a hard-fought final against China’s Na Li in three sets.  Li was playing in her first major final and showed no nerves, by winning a closely matched first set.  As the match wore on however, Clistjers settled into her stride and stay more composed on the decisive points to wrap up back-to-back Grand Slam titles.  Once again, the world no.1 failed to win, with Caroline Wozinacki losing in the semi-finals to the impressive Li.

Congratulations to Novak Djokovic and Kim Clistjers on the triumphs in the first Grand Slam of the year, after an absorbing fortnight of tennis.  For Andy Murray and Britain, the long wait for a Grand Slam winner goes on a little longer.  Ah well, there’s always Wimbledon in the summer!