Issue 3, 20th November 1995: SPORTING ROUNDUP
By Charles Hirst.
England Rediscover Goal Scring Touch(16/11/95)
Bolton deny Arsenal(31/10/95)
England Rediscover Goalscoring Touch
England 3 Switzerland 1
Wembley was shown a highly entertaining display by England's young crusaders against a disapointing Switzerland. Their goal touch was refound as Pearce, Stone and Sheringham all netted for England. Significantly though, Shearer again failed to hit the target.
Switzerland were outclassed by this English outfit, who had Pual Gascoigne pulling all the strings in midfield. Jamie Redknapp was replaced early in the game because of injury, but Stone, his replacement, showed sparkling form, to win man of the match.
Teddy Sheringham denied his discreditors any ammunition, by playing a very tidy role up front. He combined the midfield with Shearer well, allowing a free moving distribution between the likes of Stone and Macmannaman with Shearer. Sheringham also proved his goalscoring abilities, heading home powerfully from an excellent Steve Stone cross, to give England the lead at 2-1.
Switzerland scored first from a counter attack, after a cross-shot was claimed by Knupp. Whether he got a touch on the ball, could not be decided from the instant replay. England rallied and scored through a Stuart Pearce drive shortly before half time. Shearer did well to create the opening for Stone's first goal for England in the 80th minute to make it 3-1.
Plucky Bolton deny Arsenal(31/10/95)
Bolton 1 Arsenal 0
Bruce Rioch was given a warm welcome back to Burnden Park last night, but his classy Arsenal outfit could not take the heat out of a passionate Bolton display.
Arsenal failed to make the most out of their many scoring opportunities, wasting good positions with poor finishing. Ian Wright might have opened the scoring in the first minute but dragged his shot wide.
The reds poured forward and looked certain to score before long, but it was not to be. It was Bolton who made the first breakthrough and it proved enough to win them the match. McGinlay found space between Bould and Keown and received Thompson's pass well, enabling him to fire home to silence Arsenal's guns. It was the first goal conceded by Arsenal in five games.
Arsenal began the second half in much the same way as they had the first. Glenn Helder particularly catching the eye as they ran at the Bolton defence. Bolton held firm against the onslaught scrambling the ball away as Arsenals chances came and went.
The introduction of David Platt, the England captain, with 12 minutes remaining, could not bring Arsenal the luck that they deserved. Bolton bravely locked out the advancing red shirts and held on for their second win of the season. The result raises them above Coventry, to third from bottom in the table.
FA Carling Premiership Results
Sunday 19th November
QPR 1 Coventry 1
Saturday 18th November
Aston Villa 1 Newcastle 1
Blackburn 7 Notts Forest 0
Bolton 0 West Ham 3
Leeds 1 Chelsea 0
Liverpool 1 Everton 2
Man Utd 4 Southampton 1
Sheff Wed 1 Man City 1
Tottenham 2 Arsenal 1
Wimbledon 0 Middlesbrough 0
UEFA Cup Results
Tuesday 31st October
PSV Eindenhoven 3 Leeds 0
Monday 6th November
Notts Forest 4 Wimbledon 1
Everton 1 Blackburn 0
Saturday 4th November
Arsenal 1 Man Utd 0
Bolton 1 Arsenal 0
(PSV win 8-3 on aggregate)
Liverpool 0 Brondby 1
(Bronby win 1-0 on aggregate)
Notts Forest 0 Auxerre 0
(Forest win 1-0 on aggregate)
FA Carling Premiership Results
Sunday 5th November
Chelsea 0 Sheff Wed 0
Coventry 2 Tottenham 3
Man City 1 Bolton 0
Middlesbrough 1 Leeds 1
Newcastle 2 Liverpool 0
Southampton 2 QPR 0
Weast Ham 1 Aston Villa 4
Monday 30th October
FA Carling Premiership League Table
P W D L F A W D L F A Pts
Newcastle 14 7 0 0 18 3 4 2 1 13 7 35
Man Utd 13 6 1 0 17 5 3 1 2 10 8 29
Arsenal 13 4 2 0 10 4 3 1 2 7 4 24
Aston Villa 13 4 2 1 9 4 3 1 2 9 6 24
Leeds 13 5 0 2 10 7 2 3 1 9 7 24
Nottm Forest 13 4 2 0 14 6 2 4 1 9 14 24
Liverpool 13 5 1 1 17 4 2 1 3 9 8 23
Middlesbrough 13 4 3 0 8 2 2 2 2 4 5 23
Tottenham 13 3 1 3 9 9 3 3 0 12 8 22
Blackburn 14 5 1 1 20 5 0 1 6 3 12 17
West Ham 13 1 2 3 7 12 3 2 2 7 4 16
Chelsea 13 2 3 1 7 6 2 1 4 4 9 16
Everton 13 2 1 3 7 9 2 2 3 8 8 15
Sheff Wed 13 1 2 4 4 9 2 2 2 6 5 13
Southamton 13 2 2 2 8 8 1 1 5 6 16 12
QPR 13 1 2 4 7 14 2 0 4 4 6 11
Wimbledon 13 2 2 3 9 11 1 0 5 7 16 11
Bolton 13 2 2 3 6 10 0 0 6 6 16 8
Coventry 13 1 2 3 5 9 0 3 4 6 16 8
Man City 13 1 2 3 2 5 0 1 6 3 17 6
Return to contents
FA Carling Premiership Leading Goalscorers
L F C E O T
Ferdinand (Newcastle) 15 0 3 0 0 18
Shearer (Blackburn) 13 0 5 0 0 18
Fowler (Liverpool) 11 0 2 0 0 13
Sheringham (Tottenham) 10 0 3 0 0 13
Yeboah (Leeds) 9 0 0 3 0 12
Wright (Arsenal) 7 0 4 0 0 11
Scholes (Man Utd) 7 0 2 1 0 10
Bergkamp (Arsenal) 5 0 3 0 0 8
Holdsworth (Wimbledon) 4 0 4 0 0 8
Dichio (QPR) 6 0 1 0 0 7
L=League, F=FA Cup, C=Coca Cola Cup,
E=European, O=Other, T=Total.
Latest News
Clough wants Wolves Job(15/11/95)
In a surprise announcement, Brian Clough the former Notts Forest manager, has stated his interest in the vacant Wolves position.
Clough left Forest in 1993 after a glorious career, which saw him capture the European Cup. However, he left Forest a broken man, accused of being an alcoholic and under scrutiny for irregular financial dealings. At 60 it is unlikely that Clough will be offered the post, but we may not have seen the last of him yet.
Taylor Hounded Out of Hot Seat(14/11/95)
Graeme Taylor was bayed out of his managerial position with Wolverhampton Wanderers yesterday, after an unsuccessful start to the season. The wolves had long been gathering at his door, due to his teams poor performances.
Taylor was unable to hold off the marauding pack for any longer, with Wolves lying 7th off the bottom of Division One. The season began with hopes of promotion, but frustration has ensued and Taylor has of late been a hounded man by press and fans alike.
Taylor's raport with the press has been an infamous one. His inability to deal with media attention came into stark reality during his managerial role with England. He was dogged by the tabloid papers, who branded him a "Turnip"and his poor performances infront of the cameras were confirmed in a TV documentary, following his ailing career.
Taylor's early career saw success with Watford and Aston Villa, leading both into the top flight. Sadly though, he will probably be remembered more for his more recent disastrous outings into football. His break from Wolves however, sees him leave the allotment and cruelties of football, perhaps for a more fertile allotment - where turnips can grow undisturbed.
Arsenal Call Off Ince Move(10/11/95)
Arsenal have shut the door on a Paul Ince move following lengthly discussions with Inter Milan representatives.
It is thought that Ince was demanding too high a salary(25k/week!). Recent pay structures at the club had to be renewed after the arival of Dutch international Denis Bergkamp. However Arsenal were not interested in extending their pay structure any further in order to accommodate "The Guvnor", Ince. Chelsea and Newcastle are amongst the clubs keeping an eye on him.
Ince's Future to be Decided(8/11/95)
Pual Ince, the Inter Milan midfielder will know today whether he is to stay with the Italian giants or return home after just four months with the club. Arsenal are reputed to have lodged a bid of 6.5 million pounds in an effort to repatriate the England international.
Ince has struggled to impress in Italy where his physical style has not gone down well with the local pundits. . The deadline for Italian transfers expires today, hence the urgency of the Arsenal bid. The Inter Chairman has admitted that he may have to let Ince go in order to fund his search for a striker.
Arsenal are also purported to be interested in signing Roberto Mancini of Sampdoria. The deal may be finalised when Sampdoria play Arsenal on Thursday night (9/11/95), in a testimonial match for Alan Smith.
Shearer For Newcastle(6/11/95)
Newcastle are said to be in the hunt for England's number one striker Alan Shearer. A 10 million pound price tag has not scared off the Magpies boss Kevin Keegan, who has plenty off cash to spare after record marketing proffits for the club and also the recent sell of Ruel Fox to Spurs for 4.3 million.
Shearer has a spoken agreement that he can leave Blackburn if he feels unhappy with the team setup. Certainly he has not been enjoying Blackburn's recent slump in form. Even though he is still regularly slotting home the goals, the general team performance is not showing the sort of ambition that would keep him at the club.
Liverpool draw Newcastle in 4th Round Coca-Cola cup.
Liverpool have drawn Newcastle at home for a giant clash in the fourth round of the Coca-Cola cup. Arguably the two best teams in the country will meet at Anfield for what will be billed as the biggest domestic game of the season so far.
Other fascinating ties for the next round of the Coca-Cola cup include a showdown between Aston Villa and QPR, and a repeat of the 1993 final as Arsenal take on Sheff Wednesday. All eyes will be on the contest between top strikers Yeboah and Shearer when Blackburn travel to Leeds, in what will be another tough clash.
Coca-Cola Cup 4th round draw: Aston Villa v QPR, Arsenal v Sheff Wednesday, Wolves or Charlton v Coventry, Reading or Bury v Southampton, Norwich or Bradford v Bolton or Leicester, Leeds v Blackburn, Liverpool v Newcastle, Crystal Palace or Middlesbrough v Birmingham or Tranmere.
South Africa too Strong for England(20/11/95)
England 14 South Africa 24
The World Champions out classed England on their home turf, giving a lesson in the running game. England had promised much, but delivered little, as they were unable to cause any great threat to the strong South African defence.
Francois Piennaar put to rest any theories that he, or any of his team were only "avarage" players (as insinuated by Mike Catt), by playing a tight controlled game, not allowing England control of the ball for any significant duration. A controlled game is normally England's trade mark, but when confronted with any serious opposition, tried and trusted methods seem to evaporate in favour of reckless tactics.
The England managemaent had expressed their desire and anticipation of a new dawn to English rugby. It would involve a running game, that would be both breathtaking, and capable of dismantling the sternest opposition. This performance acheived neither.
England's tackling failed them to let in a Chester Williams try and also one from Joost van der Westhuizen. Chester Williams first try came from a defnsive mix up between Rory Underwood and Will Carling, who both hesitated, not wanting to take responcibility for what should have been a routine clearance. Whether attributing the South African scores to English mistakes makes the pain of defeat any more bearable is questionable. But at the end of the day South Africa had capitalised on some soft defensive mistakes by England.
100 million to be spent on Rugby Union Upheavals(13/11/95)
New proposals were announced yesterday, unveiling the future outlook of the new proffesional setup of Rugby Union. The report presented by Tony Hallet, the Chairman of the RFU Commission, expressed the need for major upheavals in the running of the game, especially in the top end of the structure.
Commercial enterprise and sponsorship through television rights and the media were expressed to be paramount to the future of the game. Hence the short term changes must shape the RFU to be as attractive as possible to these possibilities. One of the major changes to be instigated is shifting the Five Nations Championship to May. It is admitted that this could not be applied before 1997, when the current Five Nations TV contracts expire.
The ruling for players to be layed off for 130 days between transfers, will be replaced with a 7 day lay off for national league players form the end of the 1996-7 season.
Latest scores from Englands tour of South Africa
England Lose Test Warm Up
Malcolm's Action Gets Disapproval
Ramprakash Stakes Early Claim for England Place
Scoreboard
England vs South Africa A
South Africa A - 1st Innings Total : 490-9 dec Second Innings Total : 148-4 England 1st Innings Total : 308 Second Innings Total : 309 Reult : South Africa A won by 6 wktsEngland vs Oppenheimers XI
ENGLAND M Atherton b Page 34 A Stewart retd out 74 M Ramprakash lbw b Williams 48 J Crawley c Oppenheimer b Benkenstein 14 R Smith c Teeger b Williams 12 M Watkinson not out 15 Extras 10 Total 242OPPENHEIMERS XI M Yachad b Malcom 2 R pienaar lbw b Illingworth 25 G Toyana c Watkinson b Illingworth 28 D Benkenstein b Gough 1 H Gibbs c Stewart b Illingworth 0 H Page c Russell b Illingworth 22 S Elworthy run out 6 J Teeger c&b Watkinson 8 J Oppenheimer not out 21 H Williams b Watkinson 13 A Kourie c Gough b Illingworth 1 Extras 3 Total 130
Result: England bt Oppenheimers XI by 112 runs. England v Invitation XI match drawn.
The future does not bode well for the English test team, after suffering an humiliating defeat at the hands of South Africa A. England's last game before the test series begins, brought a result that will inflict phsycological damage to the hopes of the team.
A collapse in the batting order, that was held up only by Jack Russell's 93 and 40, will have installed little faith in the England management. The South African test team will provide superior opposition than the A team, which England succumbed to so readily.
The bowling also left little to admire, as Fraser remained the only effective option, and even he lacked any serious penetration.Malcolm and Gough, the other strike bowlers were erratic, causing little concern to the opposition.Perhaps the result will work as a short, sharp shock, which England will respond to...perhaps pigs will fly.
Malcolm's Action Brings Disapproval
England ace Devon Malcolm has been given his last chance to adjust his bowling action by the England management. Ray Illingworth has become increasingly disenchanted with the strike bowler for failing to heed the instructions of the coaching staff.
Peter Lever, England's guru bowling coach, has been working hard with Malcolm to develop his action. Lever believes the adjustments would force the batsmen to play the ball more often. But Malcolm has given no signs of responding to managements wishes, preferring to revert to his old style action.
The split of opinion virtually rules Malcolm out of any chances of claiming a Test place for Pretoria. Malcolm has called for more support from the management, but they don't look likely to give way.
Ramprakash Stakes Claim For England Place
Mark Ramprakash made an early claim for the England number 3 spot, lashing a silky 48 against the diamond billionaire, Oppenheimer's XI. John Crawley, the other main contender for the spot, could only manage 14 in this friendly encounter.
Ramprakash has struggled in recent seasons to make the step up from county level to International consistency. His most recent involvement in the England set up was last summer against the West Indies, where he failed to score in either innings of the fourth test.
Ramprakash must prove to the selectors that he can perform at the highest level, he must show that he has the ability to put together a big innings, rather than falling short in the 20's and 30's, which is too often the case.
Richard Illingworth also had a fine start to his tour, with bowling figures of 5 for 48, Watkinson took 2 for 24. Sterner tests are to come.
Hill Ends on a High(14/11/95)
The last race of the season ended in a noble victory for Damon Hill. Having suffered serious media critisism and scrutiny of late, Hill preferred not to counter attack the press, after his victory in Adellade.
"It's too easy mate" he said in an aussie twang, after seeing all his main rivals drop away from contention in a race packed with incident. Hill started from pole, but was beaten to the first corner by Coulthard, his team mate. Both the Ferraris squeezed past Schumacher from the start, but they could not hold him up for long, as he battled back to retake third spot.
The race seemed to be be running along innocuously enough, with little incident, until Coulthard dramatically hit the pit wall. This set a precedence for all but eight of the cars to drop out. Significantly, Alesi hit Schummacher to end both their races and Berger's engine blew. This left Hill to race away, pulling two laps ahead of the rest of the field. Irvine, Herbert, Frentzen and Barrichello all failed to finish, having moved into second, leaving Olivier Panis to pick up his equal best finish in his carreer.
Mikka Hakkinen who was involved in a serious accident, during qualifying, was said to be recovering in hospital from major concusion.
Hakkinen in Horror Crash(10/11/95)
Mika Hakkinen, the popular Finnish Formula One racing driver, has been involved in an horrific crash during race practice on the Adellade circuit. Hakkinen has suffered serios head injuries and is reported to be in a critical condition.
Hakkinen's Maclaren left the ground after being catipulted from the track when a rear tyre blew. Debris on the track is thought to have caused the tyre to have exploded. Critisism has been thrown at the race officials for the state of the track.
Hill under Pressure
Damon Hill has put in a series of poor performances, culminating in his crash in the recent Japanese Grand Prix. To add to Hill's misery he has seen arch rival, Michael Schumacher clinch his second Championship title and equal Nigel Mansell's record of nine victories in a season, with the Australian GP still to come. Also he has been consistently out performed lately by his number two driver, David Coulthard.
Hill appears to be losing support from within his own camp as Patrick Head refused to confirm that he would have the number one seat next season. Rumours are abound that Williams have been in negotiation with the Benneton team, to swap Hill for Gerhard Berger, who will race for them next season. Heinz-Harold Frentzen has also been linked with the Williams seat.
There is a revolution brewing in the world of windsurfing. The most gruelling of all races has been planned to reshape the image of what was once the fastest growing sport in the UK. An International TransAtlantic competition is set to place the flagging sport back in the forefront of the world stage.
The event, which has interested major television rites, has been set for July 1997 and is expected to attract the worlds leading competitors. The race will be staged over a series of legs, using a tagging system between team mates. Each team will consist of two competitors, representing their country. The partnerships are likely to be formed between a high wind specialist and an endurance, light wind expert.
In an exclusive interview with race organiser, Miles Sutherland Pilch, he
expressed his anticipation of the big event.
"I'm very excited. It should produce the greateast endurance test possible for
those who enter."
Pilch is well qualified to know about endurance, having been missing in the
Atlantic for three days, during high seas. He was presumed dead, but incredibly
survived adrift in his dingy. He refused to be drawn into the subject however,
preffering to talk about the safety measures for the race.
"We're negotiating a high speed 160ft US Naval vessel providing the backbone of the
coordination. A large ice breaker will be at hand, as the mothership, with full
accomodation for the competitors. There is a helicopter also covering the event
with a fully trained rescue team."
The event is certain to raise the profile of windsurfing, both nationally and world wide. If you think it's hard work surfing the net, imagine 17 days endurance on the Atlantic!
For further information on the event, the race organisers can be reached at tel: 0171 924 7748, fax: 0171 924 6617
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