09/04/2010
Bayern fend-off Man United
Who would have thought it would come to this. With Manchester United exiting the Champions League on Wednesday night, there are no English clubs in the semi finals if the competition. For the first time since 2003.
Ferguson had gambled on Rooney´s return, showing more than anything how much he respected the German side after the first leg. However, for a long time, it appeared that ManU would stun Bayern into defeat in the second leg. While the United players were quick and secure in their high velocity combinations, the Germans started off in very poor form. Intimidated by the crowd and conditions on United´s home turf in Old Trafford, they were error-prone and did not mark their opponents closely enough, leaving ManU space to develop their fast and deadly game.
Bayern keeper Butt was insecure both defending his goal and distributing the ball, Badstuber was dazzled by Valencia and left his left flank open more often than not, and the mid field players were put off by United´s early pressing.
The result was another quick goal, this time in the 3rd minute, by Gibson, following a pass from Rooney, both players confirming Ferguson´s high risk strategy to be right. Four minutes later, Valencia stormed past Badstuber, yet again, setting up Nani who converted brilliantly with his left heel.
While Bayern was left reeling, ManU was happy to sit back and keep an easier pace. Still, the German side was still unable to produce any real threat to van der Sar´s box. As a result, it was United who scored next, again through Nani in the 41st minute, leaving Bayern trailing seemingly hopelessly.
However, only two minutes later, Bayern managed to come back and start the chase, with Olic scoring the 3:1. It was telling that it was the result of an individual effort, rather than a coordinated team attack. Nonetheless, it was an important goal, giving Bayern some much-needed confidence and the magic realisation that only one more goal was needed to progress to the semis. It was still an unlikely turn of events, but it provided some valuable positive energy just before the break.
When both teams returned, Bayern played with more self-belief, marking their opponents much more closely, and interrupting the ManU game much earlier.
United was still the better team and would surely have won not only the game, but the tie, if the young Rafael, who had won Ferguson´s confidence over Gary Neville, had not gambled on a tussle with Ribery and was sent off with his second yellow card.
With one man short, ManU played it safe, planning on defending the result without a real striker when Rooney left the field. However, the tactics did not pay off. Bayern was too professional, cool and experienced a team not to take advantage of the situation. From then on, they dominated the game, kept possession and were able to fend off the few counter attacks that were mounted by ManU. It was just a matter of time until Bayern scored its second goal, through Arjen Robben, the ex-Chelsea player.
In the end, either team would have deserved to progress. But when the final whistle was blown, it was Bayern´s persistence and determination not to be shaken by its disastrous first 40 minutes and its experience and ability to make the most of the one moment when Rafael´s inexperience showed that won though not the day, but the tie.
The result is a marked change in German and English football. Bayern progresses for the first time in nine years into the semi finals of the Champions League. At the same time, with Arsenal falling to Barcelona the previous night, the Premier League has to watch, rather than conted in, the final stages of the most important competition in European club football. After they hey-days of English club football in the 2000s, is this a sign of things to come? Who knows…
01/04/2010
F1 2010 can be exciting after all
Everyone was complaining after the start in Bahrain, including myself. The new rules were making Formula One processional, lacking exciting overtaking, boring. Even Button and Hamilton were raising their voices. Only Michael Schumacher was offended by the complaints, suggesting that compared to motorcycling, of course there would be less overtaking, but in his mind F1 still was very exciting. But the he had just returned from retirement and would have found the whole thing exciting even if the final result had been the same as the qualifying order…
But then, we were all proved wrong and Schumacher, by extension, right (are we supposed to be surprised?!). Last weekend’s race in Melbourne was brilliant, featuring lots of overtaking and fighting over position between the big and small names on the circuit. It was exciting! But then, Melbourne always is exciting. It’s a completely different course. While Bahrain is a race course only built to be a race course, out in the desert in perfectly stable road and weather conditions, in Melbourne, F1 races in the city, in Albert Park, on what are otherwise normal roads. And in Melbourne there is always the weather to contend with.
On so it was this year. When the drivers lined up behind the start line, the sky was grey, the course was wet, and the raindrops had just stopped falling onto tarmac and TV cameras. And rain does not only change the driving conditions, it also changes the rules. If the race is started on intermediate tires, like it was the case last weekend, the obligation to race both dry compound tires falls away. Automatically, the teams have more freedom to develop, and change, their race strategy. The race becomes less predictable.
And unpredictable it was in Melbourne. Vettel had snatched pole position from his team mate Webber, with the two RedBulls taking up the first row on the starting line. Alonso, the winner in Bahrain was third, in front of Jenson Button, who seemed much more comfortable in his new McLaren. Massa in the second Ferrari was fifth, while Hamilton had been experiencing difficulties on, and off, the track, was out after Q2 and had to settle for 11th.
But it all changed after the red lights went off: Vettel steered clear and remained in first, but behind him all hell broke loose. With cars leaving the race track and, on re-entering, colliding with competitors, Webber lost his second position to Massa, Alonso ended up stationary, mid-track, and facing the wrong direction, and Schumacher had to pit with a damaged front wing.
But after the safety car had left the track, the racing truly began. Hamilton battled with Button and Alonso, Massa had to fend off Webber, and, at the back, Schumacher had to fight his way back through the traffic.
And then the rain returned. Button made the decision to pit and change from intermediate to slicks very early – several laps before everyone else. It was a big gamble, probably brought about by a loss in pressure in his intermediates as much as by the prediction of rain in the next ten minutes. It did not seem to pay off, at first. He lost the stability of his car and several positions after re-entering the race. However, with the rain coming down several laps later and cars losing time in the overcrowded pit lane, Button moved through the ranks and into second place.
Vettel, still the leader, timed his change of tires even better, resuming his position at the head of the race comfortably. Webber, however, pitted late and got stuck in the pit lane where his lollypop man had to keep in his position to allow other cars to pass. Once everyone was on slicks, Vettel led ahead of Button, Kubica and a slow Massa who was quickly overtaken by Hamilton and Webber. The fight for position between these drivers offered some more exciting manoeuvres to delight the Aussies who had come to Albert Park in their thousands.
Vettel ruled supremely, again, until his car broke down, again. This time it was the breaks. He had to park it in lap 26, leaving the field to defending champion Button who brought it home easily with his slicks holding up well. Behind him, a surprising Kubica defended second place in his Renault against Hamilton. However, the Brit had to pit again in lap 34 and could not regain his position. In the end, Massa became third, ahead of colleague Alonso. Rosberg was fifth, again better than team mate Schumacher, who gained a point as 10th.
Melbourne brought all the excitement that Formula One racing can, and should, bring. Let’s hope Malaysia can do the same.
17/03/2010
Do we have the right to know?
Jon Venables’ return to custody raises a series of questions we need to contemplate and the way in which they are handled says a lot about us as a society.
The first question is about what kind of society we live in. A society that creates an environment that leads some children to behave so violently. The more recent case of two brothers torturing two boys in Edlington and leaving them for dead shows that this is still a very topical question.
The second issue is concerned with how child offenders are treated, how they are tried, sentenced and rehabilitated in this country. A debate that was opened up again in connection with the Venables’ recall to custody by the Children’s Commissioner.
A third question deals with the kind of rights people have in this society. This is the issue I want to discuss here.
The mother of James Bulger was very quick, prominent and tenacious in expressing her right to know what Venables had done to be recalled and to know his new identity. At first sight, it seems a fair enough claim and it is certainly understandable. What happened to her and her family was atrocious and I have to be honest, I don’t think I can even begin to imagine what it is like for her to go through all this again. Still, I have to question Denise Fergus’ right to know about current developments. Why should she have the right to know about the nature of Venables’ new offence? And would it change her position? Would her understandable fear for her family and herself be diminished?
If we question the victims’ right to know, we definitely have to wonder about wider society’s right to know. A right, which the people on the streets, especially on Merseyside, have been claiming in the past few weeks. Of course, I didn’t live in Liverpool in 1993 and didn’t go through the trauma the case caused here. But why should we, as ordinary citizens, have the right to know why Venables was recalled and what his new identity is?
Certainly, in the age of the Freedom of Information Act, we have the rights to know quite a lot. But these rights have to be balanced against other rights. They have to be balanced against Venables’ rights. I agree, this is an odd, and maybe even outrageous, thing to say, especially if the offender has committed a crime of this scale. But Jon Venables’ rights are, ultimately, the rights of wider society, our rights.
This country is proud of its adherence to human rights and is quick to judge countries that do not seem to do so. But these human rights are also valid for criminals, such as Venables. Being convicted of a crime means that a person has forfeited his / her civic rights, but not his / her human rights. That includes the right to a fair trial as well as the assumption of innocence until proven guilty (for we don’t even know, yet, whether the accusations made towards Venables will be held up). But a fair trial can only be guaranteed without a media frenzy, when jurors are unbiased by the knowledge that the man on trial is Jon Venables.
Importantly, the right to a fair trial does not only hold for the accused, but also for the prosecution, and thus is in the interest of the wider public. If Venables is guilty, a conviction should not be prevented by the fact that a fair trail was impossible to hold.
Upholding Venables’ rights is also important in a wider sense. It relates back to the question of what kind of society we live in, or want to live in.
The fact that everyone is granted human rights is something to be proud of, especially, when they are extended to those who have committed a horrible crime. If we start curbing the human rights of some people, especially without a trial, where does that leave our society? In a place where the media can judge who has the right to a fair trial, and who doesn’t?
If we give up our right to know, where does it leave us? In a situation where we have to trust our societal institutions to do what is right, to make the rigt judgements, and do the right things. I know, trust in the institutions is not something that comes easily these days with stories of unprevented cases of child abuse and convicted sex offenders being able to murder more victims. But with all these (true) horror stories we do not see the many cases, in which the judicial, political, social, and societal institutions do work. And is Venables’ recall to custody not a prime example that the system worked this time?
More importantly, we have to return to the previous question: Where does it leave us if we give up trusting in our institutions? Would a society where everyone fends for himself / herself be worth living in? In principle, it is the same scenario as the question of how to protect ourselves against terror. The terror is not only the violent event itself, but also what it does to us as a society. How it forces us to change our lifestyles and tempts us to change our values.
I know all of this is probably impossible for victims to acknowledge. They don’t have the luxury to contemplate the rights of those who have violated their lives. How could they?! But that is why we do not have a system of victims’ justice, but an institution of impartial justice. And we should allow it to do its work.
So Jon Venables’ rights are our rights and I have to agree with Jack Straw that, in this case, our right to know has to give way to our right to a fair trial. It has to give way to our all human rights. And we should be proud of it.
And here’s to… the beginning of spring in Liverpool
Can you smell it when you open the window or step outside your door? The fresh, slightly moist and salty smell? Take a sniff now if you can! It’s the smell of spring in Liverpool! I LOVE it! Spring, along with autumn, is the best season in Liverpool.
The rain eases and the sun comes out. Suddenly, the grey of winter is swept away and colours spring up everywhere in town. The flower beds come to life in Abercromby Square, the trees in St. John’s Gardens start their green shoots, and the Mersey is back to reflecting the blue and white colours of the sky. The sun shines onto the house across the bedroom window when you open the curtains in the morning and it is still light when you leave the office and make your way home.
The temperatures are up, too! Don’t get me wrong, you still have to wrap up warm in the strong, fresh wind that comes across from the Irish Sea. But the sun makes it feel just that tiny bit warmer. You can ditch the winter coat for another year and get the lighter jacket out of the wardrobe.
You can take a walk outside in the sun in Sefton Park, where the green lawns will soon be covered by a sea of yellow daffodils. Birds are sitting in the trees, kids are back on the playing fields playing footy with friends or dads, and people are walking their dogs, taking up the warm rays of the sun.
Or you can sit in a cosy café in the city centre, sipping a hot cuppa (or indeed slurping a pint in one of the pubs) and watching the world go by. Shoppers planning where to go next in Liverpool One, with street artists on Church Street trying to catch their attention.
Or you can leave the city on the weekend for a day trip to the coast, to New Brighton, Crosby, or Southport. My personal favourite is catching the Wirral Line to West Kirby. If you are lucky, the tide is out and you can walk across to Hilbre Island, which is just a gem, sitting pretty in the Dee estuary. From there you have the best views back to the Wirral. You can actually watch the tide come in (at least for some time, before you have to leave so you don’t get caught out by the object of your attention) and see the odd seal bobbing in the waves along the Hilbre rocks. If your footwear is not up to the trek through the muddy sand you can take a more leisurely walk along the Marine Lake in West Kirby, or along the beach and sand dunes towards the lighthouse on the corner towards Hoylake. On your way back you can buy an ice cream, sit down and just enjoy the views across the river and the rolling hills of the North Wales coastline across.
I LOVE it! It’s brilliant! So, here’s to the beginning of spring in Liverpool!
16/03/2010
Bahrain race dominated by new rules
Well, the first race of the 2010 Formula One season is over. Sebastian Vettel reigned supremely from pole position before his RedBull developed an exhaust problem in the 34th lap and had to be nursed towards the chequered flag. The man benefiting from this was Fernando Alonso, who won on his debut for Ferrari ahead of his team mate Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton in McLaren. Vettel managed to hold onto 4th, ahead of Nico Rosberg, who beat his new team mate, the great Michael Schumacher, in his Mercedes into 6th place. Reigning world champion Jenson Button was clearly not as familiar with his new car as colleague Hamilton and had to rest for 7th.
Of the rookie drivers, Nico Hulkenberg, the sixth German on the circuit, ended up a respectable 14th in his Williams. Of the new teams, Lotus managed admirably well, with Heikki Kovalainen as 15th, and was unlucky for its second driver, Jarno Trulli, to have to park his car with half a lap to go. In contrast, fellow rookie teams Virgin and Hispana Racing had to bow out at varying stages of the race.
The cars looked slightly different to last year, longer and less agile early on, due to their massive fuel tanks. McLaren had developed a front funnel, which channels the air from the front top part of the car through the car to the rear. It is meant to give the cars more top speed on straights, while compromising in down force in relation to its direct competitors Ferrari and RedBull. RedBull, on the other hand, had designed a new exhaust system, which vents outside the gear box, rather than on top of the body. Given this new element it was interesting to see that it was thought to be a mechanical failure in the exhaust area, which prevented Vettel from winning the first Grand Prix of the year. RedBull will be hoping that such reliability issues will not affect their season in the same way as it did last year.
But with all the talk about the drivers and cars, what shaped the race in Bahrain (and is likely to shape the whole of the season), were the changes in the rules and the effect they had on the race: the ban on refuelling during the race and the limitations on the number of engines used by teams over the season.
The ban on refuelling was previously expected to favour ‘clever’ drivers and trigger reactive strategies, as it makes it impossible to predict when different teams are planning to pit. We might see such effects in the rain or on different circuits, but in the heat of Bahrain it just led to processional racing with a distinct lack of overtaking and, thus, exciting racing:
As competitors drive up to the car in front of them, they enter the turbulent area directly behind a race car. While it was previously used as a slip stream to try and overtake, the emphasis has now changed to the degradation of the car in this area. In the turbulence cars lose down force, which is harder on tires. The closeness to the next car up also causes the engine to heat up and degrade as it lacks the clear and cooling flow of air for which it is originally designed. Under conditions where there is a limited number of engines that can be used over the season and where pit stops can only be used to change tires and, hence, represent an even bigger disadvantage, drivers have to handle their cars with care and avoid early degradation of material. They will avoid entering the slip stream for any prolonged periods of time and, thus, will be unable to overtake their front man.
As a consequence, on Sunday, positions changed only at the start, due to equipment problems or failures, or due to the new 55 meter safety distance for the release of cars in the pit lane. Vettel’s exhaust problem and the question of how many places he would lose (or manage to save) was about the most interesting thing on Sunday.
The new conditions also had an impact on the outcome of the race. Button arguably could have overtaken Schumacher and potentially other drivers in front of him, but was stuck in 7th position with a mind to conserve his car. Massa was explicitly told to back off Alonso because his engine was overheating in a situation where Ferrari had already used two engines for the first weekend. Other examples could be added.
The idea of limiting the number of engines that can be used was introduced as an acknowledgement of the increasing limitations on resources, both financial and material, which have even entered the F1 horizon in recent years. That is, in principle, a good idea. However, combined with the ban on refuelling, it has a detrimental effect of the thrill factor of the racing. The thinking will have to go on. As it is, the importance of the qualifying is heightened and we have to hope that varying weather conditions, circuit outlines, and unforeseeable circumstances will bring some more excitement. After all, the season has just started.
12/03/2010
Before the start of the season – the Formula One countdown to Bahrain
Right, here we go. The start of the new Formula One season is upon us. The engines are starting to rev up again, and the excitement grows. Last season saw the rise of a new star, Sebastian Vettel, the success of a brand-new team, Brawn, the settling in of the old new star, Lewis Hamilton, and the pull-through of an old old star, Jenson Button. Never mind Massa’s horror accident and the controversies surrounding Flavio Briatore and the Renault team. What will the new season bring? Which teams will have the best cars? Who has got the latest technology? And who will be the new world champion in 2011?
Before the first race starts on Sunday, the F1 fan has to keep up with the many changes this new season brings. Of course, there are the technical changes, with a ban on refuelling that brings about much larger fuel tanks, the new points system that rewards winning races even more, and the introduction of new teams as among the more substantial changes.
Apart from that, the drivers carousel has worked overtime over the winter. Fernando Alonso has joined Felipe Massa at Ferrari and world champion Jenson Button has teamed up with Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. Now, those are two interesting, and potentially volatile, pairings to watch as the competition inside each team is at least as big as their competition with other teams and a clear order between drivers is not to be expected anytime soon.
Then there is the new Mercedes team, which used to be the new Brawn team, which used to be the old Honda team. And with it, of course, the re-entering of the legend that is Michael Schumacher onto the race circuit. Wow, what a decision to make! To come back after nearly three-and-a-half years out of F1 racing and a serious motor biking accident. How bored must he have been away from F1 to take the risks of a come back! And I am not only talking about the physical risks to his health, but the risks to his reputation as possibly the best Formula One driver in history.
Was it the right decision? I have my doubts. Of course, he is a genius, who is, crucially, united with the other genius of the successful Ferrari days, Ross Brawn. Together, they breathe racing and racing technology and represent two of the most knowledgeable people on the F1 circuit. But Formula One and technology have moved on, his reflexes will not have become better, and he enters into a new team, rather than being the leading man on a Ferrari team that he was able to shape for years. Don’t get me wrong, I would like him to be able to compete at the top. But I don’t think he will be the next world champion.
For that, there is too much competition, on a F1 circuit that features four world champions and a few more very-nearly-world champions. If Alonso/Massa and Button/Hamilton can keep the in-house fighting to a minimum and feed off their internal competition, rather than let it destruct their raceform, they will all be strong contenders. And, of course, there are Vettel and Webber in Red Bull who should not be discounted. And maybe Nico Rosberg in the second Mercedes.
What last season showed more than anything, however, is that a lot depends on the cars. With Brawn shaping, rather than following, F1 technology, the team was way ahead after the first few races, with the big teams of Ferrari and McLaren playing catch-up. Who will have the best cars this time? Nico Rosberg clocked the best time in the first training, followed by Hamilton, Schumacher, and Button. Interesting.
But who is the best driver in the best car when it really counts? We will see. On Sunday. In Bahrain.
Welcome to SoPoSpo
Hey everyone,
Welcome to my blog! Here I comment on societal, political and sports-related issues that have come up, funny events, serious issues, important occasions, or just hilarious coincidences. What ever comes to mind.
Feel free to comment on any of my posts, as that is what this blog is supposed to be about.
Enjoy the reading,
sopospo.
sopospo
