Issue 19, 3rd May 1996: SPORTING ROUNDUP
By Charles Hirst.
[Computing, Law, Music, Science and Technology, SciFi, Sport, The Unexplained, UP, icons]
Newcastle Held up in Title Chase(03/05/96)
Notts Forest 1 Newcastle 1
The old lore of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor held no truth in Nottingham last night. Ian Woan's stunning 25 yard goal for Forest effectively handed the championship to the countries richest club Manchester United.
All Newcastle can do now is beat Spurs at home on Sunday (5/5/96), and hope that their neighbours Middlesbrough can inflict an unlikely defeat on Man Utd. Newcastle had their chance to secure victory last night, but squandered their lead given to them by a typically inspired Beardsley strike. Right at the death Philippe Albert burst through with just Crossley to beat. The Forest 'keeper was not in a mood for charity though as he made a magnificent save to deny the Belgian and then beat the ball clear with an outstretched arm.
Forest looked the brighter from the start, passing well and quick to close down Newcastle. The lead should have been Forest's in the 12th minute as Shaka Hislop fumbled the ball, dropping it at Roy's feat, who may have been impeeded while trying to poke it into the empty net.
Newcastle gradually began to make more of an impact, with Beardsley, Lee and Batty all looking sharpe in midfield. An inch perfect pass threaded through to Ferdinand by Lee, looked to have put the striker clear, but his first touch let him down and Alf Inge Haarland cleared.
In the 33rd minute Beardsley collected the ball ten yards outside the Forest area and was immediately swarmed upon by red shirts. Beardsley retained possesion and with a jink and sudden burst of speed he evaded three defenders, circumnavigated the rest and let fly a ripping shot into the roof of the net.
Newcastle should have gone into the break two up, but Ferdinand blasted his volley over the bar after Beardsley had set him up. Ferdinand again went close in the 68th minute, when he crashed a header from Robbie Elliot's cross against the bar. the bar. Fortunately for Forest, the rebound fell harmlessly away and they cleared with ease.
The missed chances were payed for in the 76th minute. Batty failed to collect a routine pass, possibly his first mistake in ten matches for Newcastle. The ball broke to Woan who drove forward at speed towards the Newcastle goal. With the defence backing off, not having done their homework on Woan's devastating ability from long range, Woan punished them with one of his best strikes of the season.
Once more the Newcastle fans and players were head in hands, as yet another twist took them on a downward turn in what has been their rollercoaster ride of a season. But who can right off that final twist this Sunday, when all will be at stake, even though it is now out of their hands.
FA Carling Premiership
Sunday 5th May
Arsenal v Bolton
Wednesday 1 May
Arsenal 0 Liverpool 0
Monday 29th
Leeds Utd 0 Newcastle 1
Sunday 28th April
Man Utd 5 Notts Forest 0
Saturday 27th May
Aston Villa 0 Man City 1
Chelsea v Blackburn
Everton v Aston Villa
Man City v Liverpool
Middlesbrough v Man Utd
Newcastle v Tottenham
Notts Forest v QPR
Southampton v Wimbledon
West Ham v Sheff Wed
Results
i
Blackburn 1 Arsenal 1
Bolton 0 Southampton 1
Liverpool 1 Middlesbrough 0
QPR 3 West Ham 0
Sheff Weds 2 Everton 5
Tottenham 1 Chelsea 1
Wimbledon 0 Coventry 2
FA Carling Premiership League Table
P W D L F A W D L F A Pts
Man Utd 37 15 4 0 36 9 9 3 6 34 26 79
Newcastle 36 17 0 1 37 8 7 4 7 27 27 76
Liverpool 37 14 4 1 46 13 6 6 6 22 19 70
Aston Villa 37 11 5 3 32 15 7 4 7 20 19 63
Arsenal 37 9 7 2 28 15 7 5 7 19 16 60
Everton 37 9 5 4 34 19 7 5 7 29 25 58
Blackburn 37 14 2 3 44 19 3 5 10 14 26 58
Tottenham 36 9 5 5 26 19 6 7 4 20 17 57
Nottm Forest 36 10 5 2 25 16 4 7 8 21 37 54
Chelsea 37 7 7 4 28 19 5 7 7 16 22 50
West Ham 37 9 4 5 24 20 5 4 10 18 31 50
Middlesbrough 37 8 3 7 27 24 3 7 9 8 23 43
Leeds 36 8 3 7 20 18 4 3 11 19 36 42
Wimbledon 37 5 6 8 27 33 5 4 9 28 37 40
Sheff Wed 37 7 5 7 30 31 3 4 11 17 29 39
Coventry 37 6 6 6 21 23 2 7 10 21 37 37
Southampton 37 7 6 5 21 18 2 4 13 13 34 37
Man City 37 7 6 5 19 17 2 4 13 12 39 37
QPR 37 6 5 8 25 26 3 1 14 13 28 33
Bolton 37 5 4 10 16 31 3 1 14 22 38 29
Return to contents
FA Carling Premiership Leading Goalscorers
L F C E O T
Shearer (Blackburn) 31 0 5 1 0 37
Fowler (Liverpool) 28 6 2 0 0 36
Ferdinand (Newcastle) 24 1 3 0 0 28
Yorke (Aston Villa) 17 2 6 0 0 25
Sheringham (Tottenham) 16 5 3 0 0 24
Wright (Arsenal) 15 1 7 0 0 23
Armstrong (Tottenham) 14 4 3 0 0 21
Collymore (Liverpool) 14 5 0 0 0 19
Yeboah (Leeds) 12 1 3 3 0 19
Cantona (Man Utd) 14 4 0 0 0 18
Kanchelskis (Everton) 16 0 0 0 0 16
Dublin (Coventry) 14 2 0 0 0 16
Holdsworth (Wimbledon) 10 2 4 0 0 16
Bergkamp (Arsenal) 10 0 5 0 0 15
Milosovic (Aston Villa) 12 1 1 0 0 14
Stuart (Everton) 9 3 1 1 0 14
L=League, F=FA Cup, C=Coca Cola Cup,
E=European, O=Other, T=Total.
Hoddle Takes on England Job(2/5/96)
Glen Hoddle has been successfuly been appointed as the next England coach by the FA. Hoddle will take over the reigns of the England team after this summer's Euro'96 competition and will continue as coach for four years. This will take him through the World Cup qualifiers and finals and the next Euro qualifiers and finals.
Unlike his predecesor, Hoddle will go straight into competitive football with the England team, facing Moldavia in the first World Cup qualifier in September. Terry Venables is yet to take charge of a competitive fixture, having had the luxury of hosting Euro '96. However, with the appointment of Hoddle, the FA have also recruited the services of God. Hoddle bing of good christian srock will hopefully establish the holy trinity at the heart of the English midfield!
The appointment of Hoddle should secure a smooth tactical transition for England, as it is well known that Hoddle admires the European style of play, rather than the traditional 4-4-2 that England have languished in during the past. He is likely to be a popular choice to both players and fans alike, but places himself at the mercy of the press in taking on the role.
Keegan Feels the Pressure in Passionate Outburst
Kevin Keegan made a passionate reposte against suggestions made that Leeds United and Forest might be tempted to throw their games in Newcastle's favour. The remarks were alledgedly made by Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, who managed in the process to wind up Keegan to boiling point.
The title run in has seen the most enormous swings at the top of the table, with Newcastle throwing away a 12 point lead and succumbing to Manchester United's pressure. Remarks made in the heat of battle tend expose the pressures at the top, and Keegan laid himself bear to his counterpart, showing that the strain is indeed getting to him.
Ferguson must have been particularly pleased that any comments that he made produced such a reaction on Keegan, who must now steady himself before entering the final two games. Tonight's match against Forest must be won to give the Magpies any realistic challenge. Keegan faces a selection headache over playing either Asprilla or Gillespie, who scored the winner against Leeds.
Clarke in Murky Water Over Move From Bath
Ben Clarke who has been offered a lucrative deal to join Richmond next season, has been warned off the move by teammate Phil de Glanville. A simular message was sent out to Mike Catt the England full-back, who is also concidering the move to Richmond. Phil de Glanville argues against the lure of money to move to a team who will play in the second division next season.
Clarke has reportedly been offered a GBP1 million contract to make the move to Richmond which would tie him with the club for five years. De Glanville highlighted the gap between the two divisions and queried where the challenge would come from. He also referred to the difference between division two and international level, stating that it was hard enough stepping up to international games from division one.
De Glanville is widely tippped as the next England captain after Will Carling stepped down at the end of the Five Nations. His words will not have gone unconsidered, as players jeapordise their international careers playing in the second division.
Indian's Arrive for Summer Tour(2/5/96)
The Indian tour party arrived yesterday, looking forward to the summer tour and mini Test series ahead. The group included eight new faces from the touring party of 1990 and will start their programme tomorrow against Indian Gymkhana at Osterly, London.
Sachin Tendulkar will be particularly welcomed back to the English frame, having served a successful year with Yorkshire 4 years ago. Tendulkar can be regarded as one of the finest batsmen in the international arena, ranking with Lara as top in the world. His current test average is 51.73 and at only 23 years, with 38 Tests already played, he is an enormous prospect.
Tendulkar said yesterday, that he would welcome a return to the English season, but admitted that he has yet to receive an invite since leaving Yorkshire. This has more to do with his international commitments however, than any problem with his plaqying ability or commitment, as both are exemplorary.
The unseemly exit of India from the World Cup is all but forgotten, as they made a low profile entry to their summer programme. They should prove an ample test to the depleted England set up, who must look to this summer to rebuild after a demorilizing winter.
Villeneuve Secures First Victory in Formula 1
The Canadian Jaques Villeneuve improved on his already impressive start to his
debut season in Formula 1 by taking his first win in only his fourth race. The
scene was the European Grand Prix, the loccation Germany. The race proved to be
a classic, with scraps right to the finishing line for all places in the
points.
Hill started from pole, but got a terrible start, slipping back to 5th at the first bend. Meanwhile David Coulthard had made a storming start and had charged into second spot, having started from seventh on the grid.
It was Villeneuve though who beat the rest to the first corner and began to carve out a lead ahead of the chasing pack. Hill looked as though he might make an early impression by overtaking Schumacher in a classic movement. He was soon up behind Barrichello, but the Jordan driver was not about to yeald his position easily.
By the tenth lap Villeneuve had put an 8.6 second advantage over second placed Coulthard, behind who there was a raging battle going on between Barichello and Hill, with Schumacher ducking around the sides trying to find a way through himself.
The pitstops proved decisive. Hill pitted , with a suspected puncture, which proved not to be the case, and as the team checked his car 20 seconds passed while he sat impatiently in the pits. He was to emerge well down the field. Shumacher took just 7.7 seconds, Coulthard took 9.8, and could not hold his place against the charging German.
Schumacher then set about closing the gap between himself and Villeneuve, which he did by carving huge chunks of the Canadian's lap times. Meanwhile Hill was stuck behind traffic back in 11th position. He dived past Brundle to take tenth, and his superior speed looked set to take him past Pedro Diniz, but the Ligier driver shut the door on him causing the two to collide. Neither was forced to retire from the collision, but both lost places, Hill dropping to 13th.
Hakkinen was given a ten second penalty for speeding in the pits, and then did it again when pitting for thre second time, it was not his day. Hill made further progress, slipping past Verstappen and began to close in on Frentzen who was running in eigth. Diniz meanwhile had a turn at holding up the other Williams car, allowing Schumacher to make yet more ground up on the leader.
The second pitting session was again crucial with the front two so close together. Shcumacher went in first, taking 8.5 seconds, but came out behind Coulthard who was yet to pit. The Scotsman did enough in holding up the World Champion, to allow Villeneuve to pit and return to the track ahead of the German.
By lap 61 the battles were between Villeneuve and Schumacher for first spot and Coulthard and Hill for third, closely followed by Barrichello and Brundle. This was how it remained until the finishing line, with Villeneuve picking up his first victory of his career as a Formula 1 driver. Hill grabbed a precious 4 points and maintains his lead in the Championship.
Ebdon Takes Overnight Lead Against O'Sullivan(03/05/96)
Peter Ebdon who qualified for the World Championship semi-finals by bating Steve Davis 13-10 in the quarters, leads Ronnie O'Sulivan 4-3 after the first session of play.
Ebdon put together a superb break of 109 to lead by one frame at the close of play over the contraversial O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan had taken the first frame and looked set to take the second having opened a 49 point advantage up over Ebdon. But Ebdon took to the table withserene concentration to dispatch the remaining balls for a break of 76.
Ebdon then took the lead clinching the third frame by sinking a long blue and followed up with the pink. O'Sullivan hit straight back however with a clearance of 46 to the pink to level it at 2-2. Ebdon went on to lead 3-2, getting the better of O'Sullivan in saety play, but was lucky when he flucked the black during his break of 64.
O'Sullivan again came straight back, leading 54-19. Ebdon managed to clear the last two reds up to the blue to get within 12 of O'Sullivan, but left the pink over the top right hand pocket to hand O'Sullivan the frame. Ebdon's century break followed in the final frame, to edge him ahead before today's sessions start. This one looks like it will go right to the wire.
In the other semi-final, World Number 1 Stephen Hendry leads England's Nigel Bond 4-3.
CarlingNet- the official FA Carling
Premiership site.
Soccer Virtual Library: has links to every football page on the web.
Coopers & Lybrand Ratings of Test Cricketers
Formula One Grand Prix Page
1996 Olympics Home Page
WWW Rugby Server
The Electronic Telegraph
1995
November:
1, 2, 3, 4.
December:
5, 6, 7.
1996
January:
8,9,10,11,
Febuary
12,
March
13
14
April
15