Premier League predictions pt 2

Premier League Predictions

At the start of the season I made some predictions regarding the season, as we approach the business time of the season, over a third of the way in, it seems a good time to check in on my predictions

Everton
They have struggled, especially defensively, John Stones has been missed through injury, and Martinez' formation with the full backs pushing on, has been exposed. They have conceded 31 the second highest in the league, showing their defensive frailty.

Ross Barkley also missed the first 7 games of the season and has yet to hit form.

Everton are lower than expected, but they should still finish in the top half.

Hull City
For Hull 2014 has been a juxtaposition. They had the joy of the FA cup final, mixed with a terrible run of form, that has left them in the relegation zone. In fact in 2014, Hull have just 30 points from 38 games.

I think they will still be safe, but there is a lot of pressure now. They have been unfortunate with injuries, depriving them of a settled defence, and midfield.

They should be safe, around 16th/17th.

Leicester City
The Premiership has provided a stern test for Leicester. They had a bright start, beating Manchester United 5-3 after being 3-1 down. 

However since then their form has nose dived. They have conceded 31 the second highest in the league, but don't have the fire power to compensate for it.

Ulloa and Mahrez have provided their attacking threat, but they will need more than that to stay in the Premier League.

Liverpool
I predicted they would struggle, but they have struggled, even more than I thought. They are a long way from challenging for the title and are looking unlikely to challenge for the Champions League as well.

Suarez was a big blow, and he hasn't been adequately replaced, Sturridge has compounded that with his injuries, Lovren has looked lost at the back, and Mignolet has been exposed at the highest level.

I think 7th is more likely for Livepool now.

Manchester City
They managed to navigate a bad run of form in late October and early November, and are now just 3 points behind Chelsea and in the next stage of the Champions League.

They are currently without Aguero, Dzecko and Jovetic, even Jose Pozo has been unfit, so James Milner has been upfront. However they are winning regardless, and once their strike force regains fitness, they will prove a stern test for Chelsea.

I still think they'll be a narrow second.

Premier League Predictions Review pt 1

Premier League Predictions

At the start of the season I made some predictions regarding the season, as we approach the business time of the season, over a third of the way in, it seems a good time to check in on my predictions.

Predicted Premier League Table 

It's still early days yet, but I'm spot on with the top 2 so far, the rest, well we'll have to see.

Southampton and West Ham have been the shining stars, so far, but Southampton are starting to drop away, as their fixture list has delivered some tougher assignments of late.

I'll review each team one by one as before.

Arsenal - Predicted 3rd - Current 6th
Same old Arsenal, I pontificated that Shad Forsythe maybe Arsenal's best signing if he could prevent the injury crises of previous seasons, unfortunately he has not. 

Arsenal are stuck in a rut, they are threatening in attack, with Sanchez proving an almost instant hit, with 9 goals and 5 assists in the league. However, Arsenal's formation, tactics and lack of defensive cover (both in the sense of a holding midfielder and enough defenders) have meant they have struggled to capitalise on the opportunity for 3rd place.

They need defensive cover in January and a re-think of their holding/central midfield tactics.

Aston Villa - Predicted 17th - Current 12th
Paul Lambert must be the ultimate opportunist, Villa took 10 points from their first 4 games, and Lambert was awarded a new contract. 6 straight defeats followed and in total they went 9 games without a win.

I predicted without Benteke they could struggle at the start, and that has been the case. In fact considering they have only scored 11 goals, they are doing very well to have 20 points at this stage.

They need to start scoring goals soon, they'll be hoping Benteke starts to hit form.

Burnley - Predicted 20th - Current 18th
It's been a steep learning curve for Burnley, it took them 10 games to get a win.

But they have adjusted well, and are within touching distance of safety. They are built on a disciplined defence. Scoring goals has been the issue, with only 12 scored at this stage of the season, less than Sergio Aguero.

However, Danny Ings and Ashley Barnes have started to fire, and they have Sam Vokes set to return, however they still seem light weight up front.

Chelsea - Predicted 1st - Current 1st
It's been a near perfect start for Mourinho's men, and I predicted they would be in first place. 

However, I also predicted Diego Costa would struggle, and he has scored 12 goals.

Chelsea look impressively strong, with depth in every position, it is hard to see anyone other than Man City challenging them.

Crystal Palace - Predicted 9th - Current 17th
I made my predictions on Crystal Palace whilst Tony Pulis was still in charge, and understandably Palace have struggled without him. They lie just one place above the drop zone, however I would expect them to stay up, with the creative forces of Bolasie and Zaha out wide, they just need a goal scoring front man, and they should correct that in January.

*Since writing this, Neil Warnock has been sacked and a new manager is yet to be appointed.

Greek tragedy - Faroese delight

The minnows, the also-rans, the whipping boys, just some of the names given to the European micro states, that compete every couple of years for European Championship and World Cup qualification.

Recently, there has been an increasing ground-swell for the smaller nations to have a pre-qualifying tournament, a patronising sentiment from the larger nations.

However, sometimes the minnows catch out a big fish, the whipping boys occasionally dish out a whooping and the also rans, every so often compete with the field.

It is in this context, that I look at the Faroe Islands 1-0 victory over Greece, on Friday 14th November. A new low for Greek football, but a searing high for the Faroe Islands.

It is thought to be the biggest upset of all time when rankings are considered, as Faroe Islands are ranked 187th and Greece 18th.

Background

The Faroe Islands is probably most famous for whaling, but it was the Greeks who were wailing after their 1-0 defeat in the European Championship Qualifier. 

The win was remarkable as most of the Faroe Islands players, play in the Faroe Islands Premier League, a few play in the Danish Premier League, one in Norway and one in the Scottish Premier Division.

Whereas, the Greece starting eleven, featured 6 players from Serie A

Faroe Islands facts - 

The Faroe Islands have a natural beauty and rugged charm

Finding a flat piece of land for a football pitch is tough

Made up of 18 Islands; Population 50,000; Autonomous country of the Kingdom of Denmark.

10% of the population regularly go to home games of Faroese football clubs, this is the most of any country in the world.

Famous for whaling, which has been part of their culture for over 400 years.

The Players

Gunnar Nielsen - The first Faroe Islander to play in the Premiership, when he replaced Shay Given against Arsenal in 2010. He is now playing with Motherwell in the Scottish Premier Division.

Frodi Benjaminsen - Captain of the national team, Benjaminsen is a carpenter and foreman by trade, and plays football part-time.

Christian Holst - Is a teacher and part-time footballer in Denmark,  with Fremad Amager, who are managed by Arsenal legend and (not-so prolific goalscoring midfielder) John Jensen.

John Jensen in front of goal - note there is no ball in the net

Hallur Hansson - According to a Northern Irish blog, Hallur Hansson is a Road Surfacer, he's also a good player, as displayed by this goal below.

Brandur Olsen - The new young hope of Faroe Islands football, playing for FC Copenhagen, but yet to break into the first team, Olsen is a playmaker, and is the future hope of Faroe Islands football.

However, there have been future hopes before. Ingi Hojsted was a youngster on Arsenal's books, and Johan Troest Davidsen was with Everton, neither made a first team appearance and both ended up back in the Faroe Islands leagues.


What is clear though, is that the Faroe Islands future is bright, in the latest FIFA rankings the Faroe Islands leapt 82 places to 105th in the World, only 3 places behind Australia!

F1 Review

The season is finally over! The season that started 9 months ago in Australia, finally came to a climax in Abu Dhabi. 

For Hamilton this season is being called his second coming, for Rosberg it is simply coming second.

The race

Hamilton made an electric start, beating Rosberg into turn 1, and from that point on, the Championship was barely a doubt.

Unfortunately, though we were deprived of a true battle, as reliability issues struck Rosberg's car, with the ERS system failing, causing him to lose power, and drop through the field, although he manfully continued to the finish.

Elsewhere in the race, the Williams confirmed their great season with 2nd and 3rd, Massa pushing Hamilton hard towards the end, and Bottas recovering from a terrible start, where he lost 5 places. Fortunately for Bottas, his competitors were stuck in traffic after the first stop, so he was able to recover.

Ricciardo and Vettel had to start from the pit lane, but came through to finish 4th and 8th, Red Bull utilising the strategy of starting on the harder tyre, enabling them to do a long first stint.

Jenson Button finished 5th in what could be his last race in Formula 1, it would be great shame, were it to be the case, as Button has had a consistent season, especially towards the end, and has ended up outscoring Magnussen by over 70 points, however, whilst there is an undoubted gulf in class between Magnussen and Button, there is also a gap in age and more significantly salary. McLaren are due to release who is driving for them next year on 1st December.

Force India finished with a flourish, Hulkenburg finishing 6th and Perez 7th. Fernando Alonso's final outing at Ferrari, went the way of much of this season, fizzling out to 9th place, with Raikkonen just behind in 10th.

At the back, there were retirements for Kvyat after a great qualifying performance, Maldonado, who's car set on fire and Kobayashi had to retire as the car had strange vibrations.

The Season

A season of twists and turns, with much of the focus on Mercedes, even from the end of last season. 

Bernie Ecclestone will have been pleased his double points, ensured a closer championship, even if the finale was in the end rather routine for Lewis Hamilton, with Rosberg's engine problems.

Review of the Season

Mercedes - 1st (2nd) The dominant car, throughout the season.
1 - Lewis Hamilton - The odd mistake e.g. Brazil, and 3 retirements, meant that this was no easy title for Lewis, despite having the best car. Hamilton was clearly superior to Rosberg, taking 11 wins to Rosberg's 5, and passing Rosberg on several occasions.
2- Nico Rosberg - Solid and consistent but in wheel to wheel racing against Hamilton, certainly came off 2nd best. His qualifying performances were superior to Hamilton, even if you allow for reliability issues. Rosberg fought valiantly, but came off second best.

Red Bull - 2nd (1st) Considering where they were at the start of the year, with barely any testing done, and disqualified from Australia, 2nd place was a thoroughly impressive performance, expect them to be more competitive next year.
5- Sebastian Vettel - A season of frustration and being out performed by his team mate. The technical changes implemented this season, especially around the diffuser had their biggest affect on him, and coupled with a struggling Renault power unit, Vettel lacked confidence in the car, and failed to win a race for the first time since his debut season in F1 in 2007.
3- Daniel Ricciardo - His breakthrough season, a big step up in to the Red Bull, but one he proved adept to handle. He was the only driver outside of Mercedes to win a grand prix, and the fact he ended up winning 3, showed what a great season he had. The amount of overtaking manoeuvres alone, made Ricciardo one of, if not the, drivers of the season. 

Williams - 3rd (9th) A giant leap for Williams powered by Mercedes and a great car design, Williams were able to compete at the front end again.
4 - Valteri Bottas - Showed his speed and consistency, he is still yet to win a race, but if he continues his progress, it shouldn't be too far away.
7 - Felipe Massa - Massa struggled with retirements through bad luck and crashes in the first half of the season, but improved markedly especially towards the end, and looks at home at Williams, aided by the presence of former engineer Rob Smedley.

Ferrari - 4th (3rd) Ferrari never looked like competing for wins, they struggled with the car all season, and their season was more about polemics and politics, than poles and podiums. Stefano Domenicalli and Luca Di Montezemelo both left during the season.
6 - Fernando Alonso - Somehow Alonso manages to squeeze every ounce of performance out of even the most difficult cars. He was as consistent as ever, but with out the car to compete.
12 - Kimi Raikkonen - Raikkonen's move to Ferrari seemed inspired, but it turned out only to be insipid. Raikkonen was thoroughly outperformed by Alonso, and seemed largely disinterested, although that is just Kimi.

McLaren - 5th (5th) A small step forward, but they were unable to utilise the Mercedes power unit.
8 - Jenson Button - Button started on a high with a podium in Australia (although he never tasted the champagne), he overcame a difficult patch in Bahrain, China and Spain, and finished by showing his speed has not diminished by finishing in the top 5 in 4 of the last 5 races.
11 - Kevin Magnussen - The Dane had a fantastic F1 debut in Melbourne, picking up 2nd place, but the rest of the season proved a steep learning curve, with Magnussen forgoing a handful of points due to penalties in and at the end of races.

Force India - 6th (6th) Force India proved a credible challenge to McLaren, but were hurt by a lack of points in the season run-in.
9 - Nico Hulkenburg - Hulkenburg was consistently in the hunt for big points and finished 5th 4 times, but his season fizzled out somewhat towards the end, still his consistency brought in considerable points for the team.
10 - Sergio Perez - As in previous seasons, moments of brilliance, but generally overshadowed by his team mate. His 3rd in Bahrain was a notable highlight, but he was unable to provide the points Force India needed to overhaul McLaren. 

Toro Rosso - 7th (8th) They may have moved up a place this year, but they actually scored less points.
13 - Jean-Eric Vergne - It's hard not to feel sorry for Vergne, especially if he ends up losing his seat. When compared against Danil Kvyat, he has 22 points compared to Kvyat's 8, and yet Kvyat has secured the coveted Red Bull seat. Vergne had 5 retirements in the first 8 races, mostly due to reliability issues. Vergne provided some memorable moments at the end of the season, including holding off Magnussen in Russia, his pass on Grosjean and holding off Ricciardo in Abu Dhabi, he deserves his place in F1.
15 - Danil Kvyat - A good start to the season earned Kvyat points in 3 out of his first 4 races and a drive at Red Bull next season, but since then other than some good qualifying performances, his race pace has declined.

Lotus - 8th (4th) Lotus endured a fall from grace in 2014, not completely unsurprising as financial issues struck last year, compromising the 2014 car development.
14 - Romain Grosjean - He went from challenging for podiums and wins, to struggling in the midfield. He secured key points for the team and has had less crashes this year.
16 - Pastor Maldonado - It seems incredible to think that Maldonado is a race winner, other than a hard fought 9th place in USA, he looked very much like the pay driver, that he is.

Marussia - 9th (10th) It should have been a great year for Marussia, scoring their first ever F1 point, but the season ends, with Bianchi recovering in hospital and the team disbanded, a sad end to a team that fought so hard.
17 - Jules Bianchi - It will be very sad if we never see Bianchi in an F1 car again, but even sadder if he is unable to recover fully. He drove brilliantly this year, especially in Monaco, it is hard to overstate how good a drive that truly was.
21 - Max Chilton - Chilton lost his record of finishing every race he started and was outperformed by Bianchi. It is unlikely he will be seen in F1 again, unless he can find some more money.

Sauber - 10th (7th) A sorry season for Sauber, with a high of 11th, in 2013 they recorded 57 points, in 2014 they rarely got close to 1.
18 - Adrian Sutil - He out drove Esteban Gutierrez, which is worth about as much as beating an old Granny in a mobility scooter away from the lights.
20 - Esteban Gutierrez - He is not completely untalented, but if he didn't pay to drive he almost certainly wouldn't be in F1

Caterham - 11th (11th) Very little to say for Caterham, overshadowed by Marussia, and financial difficulties, remains to be seen if they will compete in 2015.
22 - Kamui Kobayashi - Was once nicknamed Kobaybashi, but couldn't get near enough to anyone to get close to hitting them this season! His highest placing was 13th.
19 - Marcus Ericsson - A season high of 11th in Monaco, but very few other glimpses of pace. He will drive for Sauber next year.

So the F1 season is over, one of the best seasons for many years with some cracking racing, let's hope next year provides more of the same.

The Weekend that was - 8-9th November

Premier League

Although, it is only November the Premiership title seems to have an inevitability about it. Chelsea winning once again and Man City slipping up against QPR. Man City were in fact, fortunate to get a point, and their form is a real concern for Manuel Pellegrini.

Chelsea seem peerless at present, and considering they have played all the top sides (Southampton excluded) they are looking runaway favourites for the title. They don't face a team from last year's top 6 until January, when they play Tottenham at the start of the month and Man City at the end.

Southampton continued their great form, beating Leicester 2-0, thanks to a Shane Long brace, it means they have only dropped 5 points in 10 games, amassing 25 over those 10 games. They have a plethora of attacking options, with Long, Pelle and Mane all able to play up front, as well as the injured Jay Rodriguez to come back.

Arsenal lost to Swansea, which puts Swansea ahead of them, and Newcastle continued their incredible revival in form, moving them into 8th, level on points with Man Utd, showing just how quickly form can turn around.

Burnley recorded their first win against a depleted Hull. It means it is very tight around the relegation zone, with the 3 promoted sides and Crystal Palace all within 2 points of each other.

Autumn Internationals

Wales failed to beat Australia again, the margin in the last 5 games totalling just 14 points

It was a mixed weekend for the Northern Hemisphere teams, Ireland and Scotland securing wins against South Africa and Argentina. England and Wales were narrowly defeated by New Zealand and Australia.

There is no such thing as a friendly game in Rugby, and these are anything but, they are especially important in the context of next years world cup.

England had the perfect start to their game against New Zealand, when Jonny May showed his blistering pace rounding both Conrad Smith and Israel Dagg to score. However, the All-Blacks are masters at turning the smallest possession into the maximum points, and at the first opportunity they hit back, with Aaron Cruden touching the ball against the minutest part of the line and then the All-Blacks accelerated out of sight.

The Autumn internationals are the perfect appetiser to next years World Cup.

Formula 1

Nico Rosberg had an almost faultless weekend and was able to beat Lewis Hamilton

Nico Rosberg beat Hamilton to pole position again, making it 10 to 7 in pole positions to Rosberg, and giving Rosberg the trophy, albeit the pole position trophy.

Rosberg had a very strong weekend, and was able to hold off Hamilton, and it was Hamilton who cracked under pressure, trying to overtake in the pit stops, Hamilton pushed too hard and nearly lost the car. Hamilton is a pure racer and continued to push, and was able to catch Rosberg, but Rosberg had enough to hold him off.

There were strong performances for Massa, Hulkenburg, Button and Raikkonen. Massa incurred a 5 second, but still had the pace to round out the podium. Button showed his race strength, recording a highly credible 4th place, showing how valuable he is to McLaren, although it remains to be seen if he will be there next year.

Button's race pace is noticeably superior to Magnusson's, however so is his wage, and with Alonso likely to join McLaren, Button may be forced out.

In many ways it was the perfect result in Brazil, especially if you are Bernie Ecclestone, as it sets up the Championship perfectly, if Rosberg wins and Hamilton is second, Hamilton wins the championship, but if Rosberg wins and Hamilton finishes lower than second, Rosberg wins,

It's been a long season, but Abu Dhabi should be a thrilling climax.

The race to the O2

ATP Tour Finals

The ATP Tour finals are mens' tennis 5th biggest tournament, after the 4 grand slams (Australian, French, Wimbledon and US).

The tournament has run since 1970, but has changed format in the years since.

The current format, features the top 8 ranked players in the world (in the Race to London rankings), well kind of. There is an exemption for a grand slam winner outside of the top 8, so technically the qualifiers are the Grand slam winners, and then the next top ranked players, until the top 8 spots are filled.

In the current era of dominance, of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, there hasn't been any need for the technicality. However, Marin Cilic's win at the US Open, opened up the possibility that the technicality maybe needed.

As it happens Cilic is currently ranked 6th in the Race to London rankings, so it shouldn't be an issue.

However, Andy Murray's tough year has meant after the US open he faced a tough road to qualify for the season finale in London.

Rankings

The top 4 are the same in both rankings, but Murray's win in Valencia has propelled him into 5th in the Race to London, but he is 8th in the ATP rankings, which are based on more tournaments.

Murray is determined to be present in London, and will be helped by Nadal's absence, as he now only has to make the top 9.

His determination to reach London, can be seen, by adding Vienna to his schedule after his exit in Shanghai to David Ferrer. He avenged that defeat by Ferrer, by beating Ferrer in the Vienna final, securing 250 points.

Valencia Open

Murray hasn't had it easy in his attempts to qualify for the ATP Tour Finals. In Valencia, he had to beat Fabio Fognini (19th), Kevin Anderson (17th), David Ferrer (5th) and finally Tommy Robredo (21st).

The final against Robredo, was especially tough. Murray has had a difficult year, after overcoming his back injury. His schedule has been packed, playing 5 tournaments in as many weeks, in contrast to Federer and Djokovic, who have played only 2.

The Final

The final was a repeat of the Shenzen Open Final, that Murray won 5-7, 7-6, 6-1, after Robredo had held 5 match points.

From the first point of the match, it promised to be a gruelling encounter, a 23 shot rally, ended with Murray netting. Robredo took the first set 6-3, as Murray looked increasingly fatigued.

Murray found some form in the 2nd set breaking Robredo, to take a 4-2 lead, but Robredo fought back, broke back and was 1 game away from winning. However, Murray often plays his best when on the edge of defeat, and he served out to love. A tie-break ensued and Robredo had two match points, the first of which Robredo pushed a forehand long, and the 2nd was saved by a Murray ace.

Murray took his chance and won the second set.

The third set, was like the last round of a heavyweight boxing match, both players almost out on their feet. The 3rd set went to a tie-break, almost inevitably so, as there was little between the two players.

Murray fought off another 3 match points, to finally prevail over Robredo and the partisan crowd.

Watch the highlights below (skip to the end to see Robredo's frustration at losing a 2nd ATP final to Murray, with 5 match points in each final).

Barring unlikely outcomes, Murray is guaranteed to be at the O2 Arena in November, a well deserved reward, for some hard work in the late season. Indeed, if this season was a course Murray would scrape a pass, as a result of some last minute desperate cramming.

For Murray to not make, London, Murray would have to get knocked out early on at the Paris Masters, then Raonic and Dimitrov would both have to make the final, with Dimitrov winning. (note Murray can finish 9th in the race to London rankings and still qualify as Nadal has pulled out of the finals).

Monday news - post weekend blues - 13th October

The weekend that was

F1

Whilst many thoughts in F1 stayed with Jules Bianchi, who remains in critical condition in Japan, the race at Sochi in Russia went ahead.

The axis of evil?

Indeed, the weekend was not just uneasy because of the horrific Bianchi crash in Suzuka, but the sight of Bernie Ecclestone and Vladimir Putin, sends shivers up most people's spines.

However, the race did go ahead, and whilst the first few laps were eventful, the rest of the race was a procession.

The circuit was very unabrasive and meant that there were very few tyre issues, and that only one pit stop was necessary, even if that pit stop was on lap 1 for instance.

The circuit also played into the hands of the speed focused cars, and indeed the results show clearly that it was a performance based race, aside from Alonso and Massa, the cars came in 2 by 2, Noah would have been proud!

The main story of the race, was the very first corner. Although Hamilton had a good start, Rosberg got the run on him and went to pass Hamilton, however Rosberg was carrying too much speed and locked up both the front tyres and passed both Hamilton and the corner.

This ultimately cost Rosberg the race win, although the nature of the surface in Sochi, meant he could pit on lap 1 to ditch the tyres he'd shredded and go all the way on the harder compound tyre.

Massa did the opposite, started on the harder tyre and pitted one lap in for a set of softs, Williams must be ruing that strategy, as Massa ultimately finished outside the points, surely in hindsight, they could have started on the soft and pitted after one lap, and then gone all the way, a la Rosberg.

The other performances of note, were Button once again beating Magnussen, Alonso beating the Red Bulls and the dramatic fall of the Toro Rossos. Kvyat produced a great qualifying performance to start 5th, but by the end of the first lap was 10th. They clearly compromised race performance for qualifying, and paid the price.

Cycling - Paris Tours

Known as the sprinters classic, Paris Tours is the last big one-day race on the calendar, although the UCI may not agree, as it is only on the UCI Europe tour and not the UCI World tour.

Nevertheless, the race provides great intrigue, with a balance between sprinters fighting for one last win and the barondeurs, breakaway riders, taking a chance for a win.

Gurner par extrordinaire - Thomas Voeckler

It was the breakaway riders who prevailed, Voeckler and Jelle Wallays went in the early break, and were the only ones left by the end. A lack of cohesion in the bunch behind, caused by crashes, rain, attacks on short sharp hills and a lack of willingness from any team other than Giant-Shimano, lead to a straight out sprint between Voeckler and Wallays.

Wallays prevailed and Voeckler was left pulling faces. Indeed Voeckler ends the season winless, the first time since 2002. Voeckler also showed a lack of class but failing to turn up for the podium, and lost his prize money as a result.

Football

There was very little football on display on Sunday, I missed the match, although miss is probably the wrong word to use.

Predictably, it was a poor match, which in truth, most qualifiers are, due to the gulf in class between the sides in the competition. It is mainly a training ground exercise where England have to break down the other side.

Eventually Rooney prevailed with a free-kick in the 73rd minute, from the edge of the box.

Job done for England 6 points from 2 games, bring on the Premiership next week.

Rugby League

If the NRL (Australian Rugby League competition) showed the guts of Rugby League, with Sam Burgess playing the whole game with a fractured cheekbone, the Super League Grand final, showed the gutlessness, as Ben Flower of Wigan, retaliating to a forearm from Lance Hohaia of St Helens , knocked down Hohaia and proceeded to add another blow for good measure as his opponent lay stricken.

Flower was sent off for his reckless act,  and Wigan manfully took the lead, but ultimately St Helens won.

Monday news - post weekend blues

Review of the weekend that was

Formula 1 - Japanese Grand Prix

Jules Bianchi - a member of the Ferrari young drivers programme

Unfortunately, the biggest news at the weekend, was the serious crash involving Marussia driver Jules Bianchi.

Bianchi is in intensive care, after having brain surgery, following a horrific crash at the Japanese circuit. Bianchi collided with a recovery vehicle, that was recovering Adrian Sutil's car from a crash on the previous lap. 

The race

The results of the Grand Prix are secondary after such an incident, however they are still significant in the course of the season.

Hamilton won the race with a great pass, around the outside of Nico Rosberg into turn 1, in the small window in the race where DRS was enabled.

Jenson Button confirmed his wet weather prowess, finishing a highly credible 5th, just missing out on the podium to the Red Bulls.

Big Transfer News

Button's performance was commendable, not just for the gamble to move on to intermediates and the difficult conditions, but also because of the intense speculation surrounding his future, as Vettel confirmed he is leaving Red Bull. He is almost certainly heading to Ferrari to replace Fernando Alonso, who is rumoured to be heading to McLaren to replace either Button or Magnussen, but rumours are that Button is the most likely to be replaced, despite consistently outperforming Magnussen.

Button's 5th was also key as it helped McLaren cut the gap in the constructors to Force India, by 5 points, so the gap is now only 1 point.

Rugby Union

Bath continued their great early season form, with a 21-11 win against Saracens, to move into 2nd place in the Aviva Premiership. After beating Leicester 45-0, 2 weeks ago, the win against Saracens highlights Bath's potential.

Bath's centres Eastmond and Joseph both scored tries and outlined their England credentials.

Burgess

The form of Eastmond and Joseph and at international level, Twelvetrees, Tuilagi and Burrell, all adds to the intrigue around the signing of Sam Burgess from Rugby League.

Burgess is joining Bath, after having won the NRL grand final with Sydney Rabbitohs at the weekend, in which he won the Clive Churchill medal (for best player in the final) after playing on despite a fractured cheekbone, in the very first action in the game.

Cycling

One of the final classics of the season, the Tour of Lombardy (also known as the race of the falling leaves) was run at the weekend.

Irishman, Dan Martin own the race for Garmin-Sharp, with a late attack, to collect his second 'monument' after Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2013.

Highlights of the finale at Lombardy are here

I'll hopeful cover a few other sports stories this week as well.

The Ryder Cup retained

Europe glory at Gleneagles

In hindsight now, it all seemed so simple, but even though Europe won with 2 points to spare, the weekend was not without it's turning points.

Part of the Ryder Cup's beauty is that golf is normally an individualistic pursuit, a player and their caddy against the rest of the field. But the Ryder Cup is different for the first 4 rounds over 2 days, it is about teamwork, and even on the 3rd day in the singles matches, it is heavily reliant on the collective spirit of the players.

Friday

The Friday fourballs and foursomes were full of twists and turns.

The fourballs saw Europe start well but fade at the crucial point, to allow the Americans to take a 2 1/2 to 1 1/2 lead. Spieth and Reed looked especially good, feeding off of each other and beating Poulter and Gallacher comprehensively 5&4.

The foursomes, saw Europe fightback, Garcia and McIlroy snatched a half at the last, and Donaldson and Westwood; McDowell and Dubuisson and Rose and Stenson all won outright, to turn the tables in Europe's favour.

Europe take a 5 - 3 lead.

Saturday

The morning fourballs went the USA's way again. Spieth and Reed again looked impressive beating Bjorn and Kaymer 5&3, and Mahan & Furyk beat Donaldson and Westwood. Rose and Stenson scored a key point for Europe, and continued their great start of 3 points from 3 matches.

Europe 6 1/2 USA 5 1/2

The foursomes left it all to play for, and it was a big shock to see Phil Mickleson omitted from the entire day's play on Saturday.

Europe started positively in the foursomes, racing into the lead in 3 of the matches.

In the end only Spieth and Reed, the rookies, could get anything out of the afternoon for the USA, and even then Reed missed a key putt on 16, and although they did go 1 up on 17 they were pegged back to all square on the last.

The morning's momentum that favoured USA, had swung back to Europe.

Going into Sunday's singles, it was advantage Europe.

Europe 10 USA 6

Sunday

The Americans came out of the block quickly on Sunday, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed both racing into leads against McDowell and Stenson respectively.

But McIlroy was in imperious form against Rickie Fowler, and the USA's chances soon waned.

In the end McDowell managed to beat Spieth coming from 3 down to win 2&1, and with points coming from McIlroy, Kaymer (with a lovely chip-in) and Garcia, and halves from Rose and Poulter, it was left to Jamie Donaldson, who won 4&3 against Keegan Bradley, and he produced a lovely iron shot, to leave a short putt, which Bradley conceded.

Europe 16 1/2 USA 11 1/2

Europe retained the Ryder Cup, and made it 3 consecutive wins. Since 1990 of the 12 Ryder Cups played, Europe have now won 8, and USA just 4.

Players of the weekend

Justin Rose - Rose won 4 out of possible 5 points for Europe. He was the first player to fire for Europe and delivered some fantastic match-play golf over the weekend, his fourball with Henrik Stenson against Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar was the round of the weekend, with Rose and Stenson setting a Ryder Cup record of 12 under for their fourball match, whilst collectively the fourball was 21 under. He was unbeaten in the tournament

Jordan Spieth - Spieth partnered well with fellow rookie Patrick Reed and they secured 2 1/2 points from their first 3 games, which left Captain Tom Watson, ruing not playing them on Friday afternoon. Spieth had a great start to his singles, being 3 up on Graeme McDowell, but the Northern Irishman, managed to come back and win the game. 

Patrick Reed - Reed partnered well with Spieth on the first 2 days and revelled in the Ryder Cup atmosphere, silencing the crowd with his putting. He came away with 3 1/2 points from a possible 4, showing maturity beyond his years, and was unbeaten over the weekend.

Players with weekends to forget

Phil Mickleson - His weekend started with a witty jibe about US players not 'litigating one another' but ended with jibes at Tom Watson's captaincy, that endeared himself to few, however true his words were (although Faldo's criticisms, seem hypocritical, given his criticisms of Garcia).

Mickleson actually did well in the matches that he played, securing 2 points out of a possible 3. However, the out of column is where Mickleson would contend with Watson. 'Lefty' was left out on Saturday, despite imploring with Watson to play. 

 

Mickleson has a poor Ryder Cup record (14 points from 37 matches - 38%),but fitness prevailing, he is almost certain to play the next Ryder Cup, where Watson will almost certainly not be the captain.

Stephen Gallacher - It is harsh to pick out Gallacher in his first Ryder Cup, but he picked up 0 points from 2 games, and whilst McGinley's wildcard choice could not be questioned too much, as he was in great form, it is likely Luke Donald would have fared better.

Bubba Watson - Big Phil will be remembered for his comments, but there was nothing memorable about Bubba's display, losing all 3 of the matches he played. Although one of the defeats was the record breaking match against Rose and Stenson, as one of the USA's key players, more was required from Bubba.

Rickie Fowler - Fowler was Watson's go to guy it seemed, alongside Jimmy Walker. (Only Walker, Fowler, McIlroy and Rose, played in all 5 matches). However despite playing all 5 matches and sporting a USA haircut, Fowler scored only 1 1/2 points and failed to win any matches.

The next Ryder Cup is at Hazeltine Golf Club in USA in 2016.

Jens Voigt - The final hour

Jens Voigt

Jens Voigt is the most affable and at times the most aggressive (in a purely racing sense).

A fans favourite for many reasons, his quotes, his personality, his never say die spirit, his longevity and the fact that he is a great bike rider.

There are many great Voigt tales and when Voigt writes his final autobiography, (hopefully a more insightful one than the one he wrote in German in 2008) it will be well worth the read.

But after 17 years in the professional peloton, Voigt is making his last stand, fittingly it is alone and out in front.

Today, Jens takes on the Hour Record, the record has stood for 9 years, since Ondrej Sosenka recorded a distance of 49.7km in 2005.

For the uninitiated, the Hour record is a test of how far a rider can ride in one hour on a track. It is not for the faint of heart, it requires endurance of both the physical and mental variety. The current record was recorded at an average of over 31 mph!

Over the years the rules have changed somewhat, in the mid 90s Chris Boardman and Graeme Obree both broke the record on futuristic bikes. 



If Boardman's was a triumph of engineering, Obree's was a master of ingenuity, using old washing machine parts and changing the style of bike riding to enable faster speeds.

However Jens Voigt's attempt will hopefully mark a watershed moment in the Hour record. Previously, the UCI had said the record must be attempted on a normal road bike, this has now changed, and if Voigt does, as many hope, break the record tonight, it could pave the way for Cancellara, Wiggins and maybe even Tony Martin to try and break it.

It would be unlike Jens to go quietly, and I sincerely hope he breaks the record tonight, and does it screaming his inimitable phrase 'shut up legs' just one last time.

To watch Jen's attempt at the hour live, go to http://www.trekbikes.com/hour_record/.

I hope to be able to add some more Jens stories once the hour is completed, the man is a legend.