IPL: English Premier League Planned?

Cricket has always been a more reserved sport, played by gentlemen. The sound of bat on ball and hopeful cheers of ‘Howzat’ is a sound many relate to a typical English Summer - that along with rain! Cricket was a game to enjoy while sipping on a cold beer over a chat in the sun.

Along came Twenty20 cricket. A format played Read more

Liverpool v Chelsea: Riise Heads Own Goal in Injury Time

The fixture of the night has ended as a 1-1 draw (as predicted by CLDsport earlier!). But, it was very close to being a Liverpool win.

Almost as expected, the opening 15 minutes were a little scrappy with neither side grabbing the initiative. Chelsea looked to be a bit more organised, but were certainly not playing awe inspiring football.

The best chance was presented to Fernando Torres in the 20th minute, Read more

Lewis Hamilton: The Best is Yet to Come

Enjoying a championship contending first season in F1 can have it’s negatives. In only his second season, Lewis Hamilton is under constant pressure and high expectations. The worlds media now scrutinizes his every move - and anything below a podium finish is classed as ‘not good enough’.

But, Lewis is still a young man, with little experience. He has an amazing talent, and a cool head - but is this constant pressure affecting his performance? Read more

Champions League Preview: Semi-Finals

What a week this is set up to be. On Saturday we have Chelsea v Man Utd (AKA The Premiership Title Decider) to look forward to. But first………..

It’s the UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals - and what a line-up we have. With 3 of the 4 teams remaining in the competition playing their football in the English Premier League we are expecting a passionate, and hugely competitive spectacle. Let’s hope we are not disappointed. Read more

We Are Upgrading…..

Hello readers!

Just a quick note to let you all know that we are upgrading to a new, glossy (and some might say sexy!) look.

While we are doing this you may find the site a little difficult to use. However, all our articles are still on the site and readable. It’s just our homepage that may lead you to think we have nothing on the site!

Thank you for your patience - we hope to have the site up and running as normal by the end of the day. I think you will agree that it’s worth it.

Kevin
CLDsport.co.uk

Beckham, Donavan save Galaxy

David Beckham and Landon Donavan have started to click for LA Galaxy.

Beckham set up Donavan for two goals as the Galaxy twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 tie against the two time defending champions Houston Dynamo.

The game moved back and forth as both teams dominated parts of the game. Los Angeles started the game strong and nearly scored in the opening moments. Beckham started an attack that saw Donavan strike just wide from right of the penalty spot after a nicely placed pass from Edson Buddle. Read more

Avram Grant- Yes. No. Maybe.

Imagine you are an up and coming stand up comic. You’re approaching a gig in front of a sell out audience, and you are second on the bill. The 1st comic hasn’t shown up yet, his identity shrouded in mystery. Then Peter Kay steps out of the dressing room, bounds on stage and performs a rip-roaring 30 minute set that leaves the audience rolling in the aisles, unable to control their delight. Even the press and the critics are giggling uncontrollably and the minute Kay leaves, they miss him. So it’s your turn, and the usual nerves have just been kidnapped by a deep sense of dejection and bitterness. It’s hard to imagine you’re slightly dour, deadpan delivery will go down a storm after what has gone before you. There’s a faint smell of metal emanating from the corner- the critics are sharpening their knives.

An elaborate tale, I’ll admit, but I bet this is how Avram Grant must feel after following Jose Mourinho as Chelsea manager. His latest press conference after the 1-0 win over Everton on Thursday night seemed to suggest the bitterness and frustration he may harbour, has surfaced. At the bottom of this article is the link to the transcript of Mr Grant’s 5 minutes of awkwardness with the written press. As someone who has interviewed football managers for radio, all I can is I am glad it wasn’t me in the pressroom at Goodison!

It must be hard to follow Jose Mourinho. The Chelsea fans adored him, neutral fans couldn’t help but be tickled by him, and even the press waxed lyrical over their ‘special one’. When it was muted that Mourinho was in the running for the England job, everyone was salivating. He filled column inches with quotes worth their weight in gold, and clearly commanded the respect of the Chelsea squad- almost to an hypnotic extent. So when it was reported that Roman Abramovich had hired a relatively unknown man, but a close personal friend to the helm of Stamford Bridge, the cynics were given all the ammunition they needed- and it hasn’t stopped.

A good record, one to match Mourinho’s at times, hasn’t abated the criticism. A semi final appearance in the Champions League? Not enough. 2nd in the league? You should be top. Out of the cup to Barnsley? I think we need a chat…

A champions league win, and a (albeit unlikely) Premiership title, will surely end most of the flack hurled at the Israeli. But the main criticism seems to be aimed at his personality. He is perceived as a dour, grey character, who doesn’t have the same sex appeal as his predecessor. Mourinho had lucrative endorsements with numerous companies, including an expensive range of watches. Grant is unlikely to appear in a brooding, arty advert anytime soon.

So what can he do? Well in my opinion, he can do more interviews like the one transcribed below. Be a bit unpredictable. Be sarcastic at times. Be almost brutally blunt. Mourinho certainly was on occasions, and it helped add to his notoriety. There is already lots of reaction to his interview (including this article) so it seems to have worked. People are discussing Grant now, with polarised opinions. He might even go into his next interview and exclaim- Garlic Bread?! Maybe not…

http://msn.football365.com/story/0,17033,13852_3439220,00.html

Premier League: Everton v Chelsea - Chelsea Must Win

The rearranged match between Everton and Chelsea tonight has already caused a stir. Chelsea are extremely unhappy that the match has been bought forward to tonight - especially as they had to play Wigan on Monday evening.

Why has the match been rearranged? Not due to fixture congestion, but TV rights. Sky wanted to show the match live and have forced the match to be moved forward.

Is TV ruining the game? We already have 12.15 and 5.15pm kick offs on a Saturday, along with games on Sunday and Monday. But, this week it seems we have sunk to a new low with a Thursday night game.

Chelsea make a good point when they accuse Sky and the Premier League of making a move that ‘undermines the sporting integrity of the competition’. Forcing Chelsea to play 2 games in 72 hours at such a crucial stage surely is undermining the integrity. Surely this move could change the final league positions?

Undoubtedly Chelsea do have a large squad. But, with such an important final few fixtures Avram Grant will surely want to use his strongest 11 in each of them.

As a result of their unhappiness, Chelsea are offering free tickets to their fans for tonight’s match. They state that ‘under these circumstances Chelsea believes it would be inappropriate to profit from the television fee for this match as per normal.’ Chelsea are also offering to pay for the fans travel to Goodison Park.

With all that said, tonight’s match is a MUST WIN fixture for Chelsea. As things stand they are 5 points behind Man Utd with 4 games remaining following Monday’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Wigan. As previously mentioned here at CLDsport, Man U have a far superior goal difference. So, if Chelsea are going to win the Premiership they are going to have to do it on points. To do this they are going to have to beat Manchester United on the 26th April AND hope that Man U slip up in one of their remaining fixtures (Blackburn and Wigan away, and West Ham at home).

Man Utd have one hand on the Premiership title, and it’s theirs to throw away. But, Chelsea are still in it. There is a lot riding on the final few fixtures - especially Chelsea v Man Utd on the 26th.

Latest team news suggests that Chelsea will be travelling to Goodison without Frank Lamaprd or Didier Drogba.

Any thoughts on tonight’s match? Or the controversial fixture change?

Masters 2008: Immelman holds off Tiger to win green jacket

Trever Immelman completed a journey that won’t soon be forgotten. Four months ago he was in a South African hospital recovering from a benign tumor that doctors removed from his diaphragm, today he is the 2008 Masters champion.

It wasn’t an easy road as Sunday’s final round was met with difficult weather conditions. The strong wind added to the pressure and made every shot that much more difficult. Of the 45 players competing in the final round only four were able to finish under par. Immelman finished the final round at three over 75. Read more

Masters 2008: Immelman leads heading into final round

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Sometimes things just go your way. After losing the lead early in the third round, Trevor Immelman regained the lead and finished moving day 2 shots ahead of the rest of the field.

Immelman might not have been in the lead if it wasn’t for a fortunate break on the 15th hole. After hitting what looked to be a great approach to the green, his ball kept rolling and was seemingly headed for the water. Somehow the ball came to a stop on a steep slope in a scene that seemed to defy gravity.

Instead of the ball entering the water hazard and likely resulting in a double bogey or perhaps worse, Immelman saved par and finished the round at 3-under.

After making par on the first three holes, Immelman bogied the fourth, dropping him to 7-under and off the top of the leaderboard. Immelman then showed his grit by recording birdies on eight, thirteen, fourteen and eighteen to regain the lead.

Immelman now sits at 11-under par. He has a two stroke lead over Brandt Snedeker who finished day three at 2-under. Steve Flesch and Paul Casey both shot a 69 on Saturday and are 8-under par and 7-under par respectively.

Tiger Woods rounds out the top five after finishing the day at 4-under and is at 5-under par overall. Thanks to Immelman’s solid round, Woods was only able to gain one stroke on the leader and will start the final day six shots back.

If the South African can handle the pressure of playing in the last group on the final day of the Masters, Immelman will add to the list of unlikely Masters winners.

« Previous Page — Next Page »