The Fightback Starts Here
So Roy Keane has gone and now the players of Ipswich Town can get on with what they hopefully want to do; play football to the best of their ability, without being bullied all the time.
It’s probably a good thing that they’re playing Chelski on Sunday in the Cup, as if they go down fighting, it will be character forming at worse and if they win, then it will prove that money isn’t everything.
I should think that the ghosts of Sir Alf and Sir Bobby are laughing their heads off, as they share stories and they will be motivating the players in the ways only they know.
I’m going to Stamford Bridge tomorrow and the match could well be something special, no matter what the result.
But whatever happens, it will be the start of Ipswich Town’s fightback.
The fans seem not to like the idea of Paul Jewell as manager, but there are a few out there without jobs, who manage almost in the mode of Ipswich Town’s great ones of the past. Roy Hodgson and Chris Hughton to name but two!
Street 20 Cricket
They’re just talking about Street-20 cricket on the radio. Basically, it’s a shortened form of the game for kids and the Lords Taverners are taking it all over the country to places like run-down crime-ridden housing estates to give the kids focus. One guy who runs it, has just been named young coach of the year. They aim to find the next generation of England cricketers too.
Australia On the Brink
There are just three overs left and three wickets to fall.
So it looks like Australia will have a few hours of rest before the almost inevitable happens. I bet they wish this Test had been played in Rockhampton.
Even in the unlikely event that this match is drawn, England will still win the series, so well done to the England cricket team.
Beckham Makes It to North Korea
Pehaps the most surprising news over Christmas, was the news that Bend It Like Beckham was shown, albeit heavily edited, on North Korean television.
What odds would you get on David himself going to North Korea this year?
Not very good, I suspect!
England in the Pink
England finished the day on 488 for 7, which is a good score that could get even better with some quick runs and then a couple of quick wickets tomorrow.
The most amazing thing was that yesterday was Jane McGrath Day, in memory of the cricketer, Glenn McGrath’s wife, Jane, who died of breast cancer. Obviously, all the money raised will be wisely used. My late wife, C, had breast cancer a few years before she died and fully recovered, so I’m all for days like this and we should see more of them.
Provided of course, they raise either funds or awareness!
England Need a Touch of the Trevor Bailey’s
One of Essex’s greatest players was Trevor Bailey, who is probably enjoying his county counterpart, Alistair Cook, bat on in Sydney.
Bailey was renowned for his all-round abilities and supreme determination. There can’t be many people, who have played over 60 times for England at cricket and have played in an amateur football team, that drew at Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Bailey was nicknamed Barnacle and this spirit is what England needs to see out the day in Sydney. Even if they score perhaps a little bit faster than Bailey’s reputation, summed up in these words from the great Neville Cardus.
Before he gathered together 20 runs, a newly-married couple could have left Heathrow and arrived in Lisbon, there to enjoy a honeymoon. By the time Bailey had congealed 50, this happily wedded pair could easily have settled down in a semi-detached house in Surbiton; and by the time his innings had gone to its close they conceivably might have been divorced.
But perhaps Bailey is having the greatest last laugh on his detractors in that at 83, he is still watching a lot of cricket and he only needs another 17 for a famous and well-deserved ton.
England Survive Triple Nelson
111, 222 and 333 are dodgy totals as far as England cricketers are concerned.
They’ve just survived the so-called Triple Nelson. Let’s move on now for a bit.
What Are the Odds on England Staging the 2014 World Cup?
According to The Times today, the progress for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil is virtually non-existent, with stadia and transport links, either not planned or years late.
FIFA would never take the World Cup away from Brazil, but where will they stage it in that country? I’m told the beaches are nice, even if the stadia are crap!
There are only a handful of countries that are ready to stage an event like the World Cup tomorrow, of which England and the United States are two. But as they aren’t on Sepp Blatter’s Christmas Card list, it would be unlikely they’d be given the chance.
But then the finals will have to be played somewhere!
Giving Up on Ipswich Against Forest
I was late back from Upper Street after breakfast and shopping at Waitrose and it is now too late to make the last train to Ipswich, as especially with a coach in the middle, there’s a high chance it will all end in tears.
I should have allowed more time, but probably it’s another consequence of the quadruple weekend Bank Holiday.
So they’ll have to do without me!
Could Chelski End Up Fifth in the Premier League?
That’s where they are this morning and they look good to me in that position. Hopefully, the two Manchester clubs, Tottenham and Arsenal will keep them there!
Let’s hope so and perhaps Chelski’s dip in form will give Ipswich a chance in the FA Cup.
The Anonymous Widower 