Javid promotion welcome but weakens PM

SO Sajid Javid is the new Culture, Media and Sport Secretary replacing Maria Miller.

On the surface it's a great move from the Prime Minister, David Cameron. A working class British Asian in a very high profile role.

Additionally Sajid is a great communicator, I should know as I spent two years covering his election and early days as Bromsgrove's MP.

It's at this point I will brag just a little, so impressed with his passion I predicted he would increase an already large majority...he did!

I have no doubt either that should the Conservatives lose the General Election next year, Sajid is an excellent 'outside bet' to become leader...

Whatever job he does he does well, a hard work ethic was driven into him by his father. I'm sure the same will apply to his culture brief .

However, I can't help but wonder if the PM has rather weakened his hand somewhat. 

The theme of next year's election will be the economy.

Given the Chancellor doesn't really devote that much time to the media, economic issues have often been left to Sajid to defend and defend well.

In a campaign where George Osborne will be managing election campaign as well as the economy, Sajid's absence could let Labour back on to the battlefield.

That remains to be seen though, congratulations to Sajid, good luck in your new role!

Do or die time

YES it's got that bad that a perfectly winnable FA Cup semi final against Wigan has got us Gooners nervous

Partly because of Wigan's rather good win over Man City but mostly because it's all gone rather wrong for the Arsenal.

Two months ago we were top of the league, motoring in the FA Cup and doing alright in the Champions League.

Then Arsenal went to Anfield and were demolished by a raging Red tidal wave...though let's not dwell on that hey?

Put simply Arsenal have to win tomorrow and probably the final to save this season. Failure and being beaten to fourth is too much to contemplate!

The record away against the top five this season is simply horrific and what's even more worrying is teams seem to know how to set up against Arsenal now.

Do you think Uwe Rosler's side will just 'have a go' or be set up to blunt Arsenal and then hurt them? (It's the second one...)

Wigan have nothing to lose and that makes them dangerous, remember Birmingham City???

Of course I think we will win, however should there be one more catastrophe round the corner then tomorrow could see the end of an era.

I have no doubt Arsene Wenger is stalling on the contract to see how the rest of the season goes.

Defeat tomorrow may just make his mind up for him....

The countdown to Wrestlemania 30 is on

I THOUGHT I would blog about the WWE, stop reading now if you are going to say it's fake etc I know! It's a guilty pleasure of mine.

I haven't been a fan for a few months believing the WWE was losing focus and direction but my word are they bringing together the threads well.

Cena v Bray Wyatt is going to be my unexpected must see bout at Wrestlemania 30, I feared it would be dull, Cena gets beaten down and then comes back to win...

But the last few weeks has shown Cena is fantastic at bringing out the main event potential in Wyatt and really putting over the relatively young heel. Monday night on Raw was one of those iconic Raw moments we'll look back on for years.

Wyatt is a sensational heel, a hugely talented wrestler and with a huge push he could be a star for years to come.

Triple H v Daniel Bryan will be amazing, huge heel against massive good guy, will Bryan get his Wrestlemania moment? I would not be surprised if this becomes a brawl, Triple H will use all of his talent to make the crowd love Bryan more and more as the minutes go by. I wonder whether this would end up as a controversial finish and both will go forward to a four way match for the WWE title.

Those two against Randy Orton and Batista will be amazing, a huge brawl between he four best technical wrestlers in the company at this time. Who will win? I suspect it will be Bryan, the WWE have been ramping it up for months, like a bottle of fizzy pop you can only shake it for so long...

The Shield v Kane and the New Age Outlaws is going to be another epic, the technical brutality of the Shield is awesome, will Wrestlemania see the end of the Hounds of Justice though and a singles run for Roman Reigns?

Finally, Brock Lesnar v Undertaker, the Beast vs the Streak. This one has been a slow burner with many thinking it might be the turkey on the card. For me I think the build up is just right, WWE bookers have to take into account Undertaker's age and fitness so it's far better to under deliver in the build up and then over perform at Wrestlemania

Will the Beast claim the streak? Nope, expect some real hardcore wrestling but Taker to make it 22-0.

I'm paying for it again this year, a few weeks ago I wasn't going to! Let's see what happens

A mauling at the Bridge

A CATASTOPHE occurred at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, don't worry Mr Marriner I won't bring up your mistake!

No, what I mean is Arsenal got battered at the bridge, stamped on at Stamford Bridge, crushed 6-0 by Chelsea.

And Arsene didn't go and talk to the journalists afterwards! So the usual flurry of crisis columns were written and Twitter even went into meltdown over a baseless rumour which came out of Wenger cancelling his Monday press conference.

Certain Sun journalists went for the jugular over this, ignoring the fact the most-lauded manager in Premier League history, Sir Alex Ferguson, simply did not turn up for post match newspaper press conferences unless forced to.

Other 'experts' hailed it as the end of Arsenal's title hopes, the very same 'experts' who said they could not win it anyway!

Let's not beat around the bush, it was a rubbish result, a rubbish performance and a horrific scoreline. When you consider Arsenal have let in 34 goals this season, it's hugely worrying to know 17 of those have come in just THREE games.

Arsene and the squad need to reflect as they are all at fault, too many times this season they have failed to turn up on the big occasion, it's not solely down to the manager.

Many in the squad are not being pushed hard enough and are not pushing themselves hard enough, why for example is Vermaelen still captain when he has struggled to make the first XI this season?

The two things that do frighten me as a die-hard Gooner though is once Arsenal ship two in a big game they seem to be unable to stem the bleeding.

Secondly, for the first time in 17 years, Arsene looked out of ideas, frustrated again on the highest stage. How can a team that started so well against Bayern and drew in Munich fold so hopelessly?

The FA Cup now is pivotal to Arsenal's season, fail to win it this season might not only mean they will never win a trophy again but could see Arsene Wenger call it a day.

The man has never and will never break a contract but the fact his new deal remains unsigned suggests the Frenchman is considering whether to bring the curtain down on his reign.

A two-year-deal is reportedly being offered and I expect that to be Arsene's last contract as manager of Arsenal Football Club.

He clearly wants to leave his successor some transfer cash, talented players and success on the pitch.

Catastrophes like Saturday might end up pushing him towards the departure lounge sooner than he would like.

United’s time at the top is over…for now

Oh look everyone, another ‘crisis’ at Old Trafford, the end of an era, etc,etc,etc

United’s 3-0 defeat to Liverpool provoked the same sensational headlines we have been seeing for a few weeks now, ignoring the baton passing which took place.

Liverpool turned up at Old Trafford and fancied giving United a good kicking, which they swiftly did right where it hurt.

They are the ones heading for the top four while United will be reduced to pressing their noses against the Champions League window next season.

And yes, it is the end of an era, but that actually took place in May when Sir Alex Ferguson took his leave.

Now United players play without fear of Fergie and many have relaxed, comfortable with the titles they have collected.

The result? David Moyes has been left confused how a bunch of title winners now look, at times, like they couldn’t beat an egg.

Moyes needs to stamp his impression on the team but when so many are relaxed and with a defence which creaks more than the wobbliest of floorboards, it’s an impossible task.

That is not to say Moyes hasn’t made mistakes, buying Fellani to act as the ‘Here’s how we did it at Goodison’ guy doesn’t work in a dressing room full of Premier League champions.

And his sour disposition in recent weeks will help no-one, Fergie could battle the media because he had the comfort of many bits of silverware. Moyes has no such luxury.

But the time to judge Moyes is 12 months from now, after a whole summer with the chequebook, then and only then will it be his team.

Pick up any paper and they link United with Star A, B and C. Truth be told United need two full backs, two commanding centre backs and a ball winner for the midfield.

Do that and United’s spell out of the limelight might be as short as their odds of finishing out of the top four.

The biggest lesson from Sunday’s mauling surely came from the men from Anfield, ironically.

Liverpool are now on a charge under the stewardship of Brendan Rodgers, the sixth different manager to attempt to win a league title since the glory days of Dalglish….

KP KO is nuts!

The decision to effectively end Kevin Pietersen’s international career by the ECB is shambolic, pathetic, demeaning and embarrassing.

The actions of members of the ECB board and Paul Downton, a man in the job for THREE DAYS, ridicule the whole nature of sport.

Unless convicted of a heinous sporting or non sporting crime or banned for legitimate reasons, coaches should have the right to pick whoever they want for a team.

England’s new team director, whoever it may be, won’t get that luxury. It’s like Manchester United sacking Wayne Rooney a few weeks before David Moyes took over.

The Ashes was a shambles yes, but was the fact KP had an opinion on matters the sole reason we lost 5-0? Of course not!

Cricket seems to breed ‘difficult to manage’ icons like Boycott, Gower, Botham, Flintoff and now KP but all of whom delivered time and time again for their country.

But no sporting team gets on 100 per cent of the time, there will be rows and there will be people who don’t get on with each other. When they cross the white line though they ought to be united and on the whole you have to say England have been.

I have not been KP’s biggest fan for a while now because I didn’t think he was applying his
considerable talents well enough for his country.

But I do believe in fair play, you are dropped from a team by the coach, not by the suits who talk cricket one minute and sponsorship deals the next.

The ECB need to remember that often towards the end of the car crash we called England’s batting innings, it was Pietersen left stranded and having to hit out.

They also need to look at the comments of Graeme Swann on Radio 5 Live, re Pietersen’s absence from England’s Christmas Day lunch.

Swann and Pietersen were never bosom buddies but Swann launched into staggering defence of KP and pointed out yes KP was at dinner, in fact he was at the next table!

Not the actions of someone who wants to see KP booted out the back door in the dead of night???

What this bland, monotonous statement from the ECB does is insult the fans yes but also creates multiple timebombs for the England cricket team going forward.

For example, England’s batting woes continue, meanwhile Kevin Pietersen fires off hundred after hundred in Division Two of the County Championship.......

Alastair Cook continues to struggle as captain and opening the batting, questions will surely be asked as to why he has been spared?

Incredibly the ECB have managed to extend England’s Ashes debacle into the post-mortem.

It is now something which must claim Cook’s scalp otherwise KP’s KO has been nothing more than a witchhunt.

Flower should not be the only fall guy

SO England have said goodbye to team director Andy Flower following the Ashes catastrophe.

And to read some of the comments online and in the press today you'd think he'd presided over six years of struggle.

Three Ashes wins, a first series win in India for 27 years and a spell as the number one cricket team in the world are just some of the landmarks reached under Flower's tenure.

Oh and they also won the ICC World T20 in the West Indies during that spell as well.

Truth be told Flower has given English cricket some of it's best days, maybe he went on for one series too many.

But I sincerely hope the entire blame for this winter's debacle isn't laid at his door alone. After all,
Flower didn't bowl a ball, take guard or field in the hot Australian sun.

Did Flower hook a ball down fine leg's throat nine balls into a two day effort to save the Adelaide test?

Did Flower flick the ball in the air to one of two mid wickets in Adelaide?

Did Flower retire halfway through a test series?

Did Flower lose form badly behind the stumps as well as with the bat?

No, Cook, Pietersen, Swann and Prior are guilty of those crimes.

Cook has been out captained, no leadership on the field nor with the bat.

Nine balls into a two day effort to save Adelaide he hooked down fine leg's throat. Not a shot of a captain?

England had a problem with the short ball from Johnson, but instead of putting it away and deny Johnson an easy wicket option they kept feeding it.

Pietersen yes was often left high and dry and had to hit out or get out but his judgement in some
situations such as Adelaide left a lot to be desired.

Prior hasn't been right for a while, yet England seemed to leave him be. One place you don't travel to get back into form is Australia...

Swann retiring is fine, admitted he wasn't good enough and walked so the rebuilding could begin immediately.

However, he had thoughts of doing the same at the end of the home series, did Flower know this?

I grudgingly accept Flower should go but for me Cook should also step down as captain and Gooch also must be axed as batting coach.

Only then will a new era truly begin