It's been confirmed that Willie "Big Bang" Casey will fight Paul Hyland for the vacant European Super-Bantamweight title in Limerick on November 6th. Casey was supposed to fight Kiko Martinez but the Spaniard was forced to pull out with a rib injury. Hyland was the number one contender so he definitely deserves his title shot and he is the current Irish champion. Casey was catapulted into the spotlight after winning the Prizefighter series on Sky Sports. He has an unblemished record of 10 wins from 10 with 6 KO's. Hyland is far more experienced with 18 wins in 19 fights but has only 5 KO's. His only loss came on points in a four round fight in The U.S.A. two years ago.
Hyland has predicted that he will win by decision and if he can avoid Casey's big punch that seems like the likely outcome. Casey is fighting in front of his home crowd which may be a slight advantage. His other advantage is that he is a southpaw and Hyland had been training for a fight with Russian champion Andrey Bogdanov who is an orthodox fighter. Two weeks is not a lot of time to prepare for an opponent with a different style. However, i still think that the experience of Hyland should see him through this.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Is the Man City train about to derail?
I think most of us have looked at Manchester City's spending with bewilderment. Obviously having a billionaire owner has it's plus points but is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan steering the team into irreperable danger? The pressure on Mancini to keep all of his players content is unmanagable. I don't believe he has very much say in the transfer policy. If he did why would he have 6 strikers (Roque Santa Cruz, Tevez, Jo, Bellamy, Adebayor, Balotelli) at the club and still be linked with Rooney? Competition for places is fine but that's just ridiculous. Also, three of the club's player of the year winners in the last four seasons have been bundled out of the club (Richard Dunne, Stephen Ireland and Craig Bellamy). Robinho has also been shown the door after the club paid a ridiculous price of £32.5 million for a player Madrid wanted to let go.
The huge worry now is that there are so many unsettled players at the club. Shay Given, Santa Cruz, Adebayor all want to leave. Yaya Toure has said he would love to go back to Barcelona despite only signing for City during the Summer for the ridiculous fee of £24 million (considering he was a Barcelona reserve player). There have also been bad signs from Tevez with newspapers today suggesting he also wants to leave. Tevez has said that he may quit football so he can move back to Argentina to be with his family (who have not moved with him to Manchester). It's really only a matter of time before other players follow suit.
9 midfielders who could demand a starting place in most Premiership clubs spells trouble.
If more players vent their frustrations to the press, City could get a terrible name and attract only big name players in the twilight of their career looking for a big payday. City really do need to look at their squad and start spending more wisely. The results have been decent on the pitch, particularly the one nil win over Chelsea. They sit in fourth position in the league but i think they may struggle if Mancini can't appease the dressing room
The huge worry now is that there are so many unsettled players at the club. Shay Given, Santa Cruz, Adebayor all want to leave. Yaya Toure has said he would love to go back to Barcelona despite only signing for City during the Summer for the ridiculous fee of £24 million (considering he was a Barcelona reserve player). There have also been bad signs from Tevez with newspapers today suggesting he also wants to leave. Tevez has said that he may quit football so he can move back to Argentina to be with his family (who have not moved with him to Manchester). It's really only a matter of time before other players follow suit.
9 midfielders who could demand a starting place in most Premiership clubs spells trouble.
If more players vent their frustrations to the press, City could get a terrible name and attract only big name players in the twilight of their career looking for a big payday. City really do need to look at their squad and start spending more wisely. The results have been decent on the pitch, particularly the one nil win over Chelsea. They sit in fourth position in the league but i think they may struggle if Mancini can't appease the dressing room
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
2 Great pieces of football news
I said in a recent blog that Portsmouth were on the verge of going out of business. Well the good news over the weekend is that their future has been secured. They are officially out of administration after Balram Chainrai completed his takeover. Obviously previous owner Alexandre Gaydamak saw the light as he eventually signed a deal which will see him being paid over a longer period of time. Gaydamak had accussed the club of using rumours about the club's imminent demise as a negotiating tactic. If that was a tactic it worked and Portsmouth celebrated with a 2-1 win over Hull.
The second piece of great news is that Milos Krasic of Juventus was suspended for 2 games for diving. The Serb dived to win a penalty against Bologna. Thankfully the penalty was missed. After reviewing video evidence the Italian Football Federation decided that Krasic had not been touched and decided to ban him. I think everyone will agree that this sort of cheating needs to be eradicated from the game and i commend the Italian's for taking a strong stance. Unfortunately, Juventus have decided to appeal the decision which i don't think they should be able to do as the video evidence shows it was clearly a dive. Juventus should have fined the player to show that they don't tolerate cheats but perhaps i'm expecting too much.
The second piece of great news is that Milos Krasic of Juventus was suspended for 2 games for diving. The Serb dived to win a penalty against Bologna. Thankfully the penalty was missed. After reviewing video evidence the Italian Football Federation decided that Krasic had not been touched and decided to ban him. I think everyone will agree that this sort of cheating needs to be eradicated from the game and i commend the Italian's for taking a strong stance. Unfortunately, Juventus have decided to appeal the decision which i don't think they should be able to do as the video evidence shows it was clearly a dive. Juventus should have fined the player to show that they don't tolerate cheats but perhaps i'm expecting too much.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Munroe Completely Outclassed
Rendall Munroe's dreams of a first world title win were dashed this morning in Tokyo when he was absolutely outclassed by Toshiaki Nishioka. Although Munroe dominated the centre of the ring, he was picked off easily by the "Speed King" who's classy combinations left Munroe looking awkward and slow. Munroe walked forward for the entire fight forcing the Japanese man onto the backfoot which many felt was his best chance of winning. However, Munroe didn't throw any were near enough punches and although a lot of the champion's punches were blocked early on, he was catching the eye of the judges and outworking Munroe.
I gave Munroe only one round, number 4, when it really looked like Nishioka had run out of steam. Round 5 saw Munroe in trouble with a big left hand landing to the temple. The champion absolutely dominated the remaining rounds, hammering in body shots which seriously hurt Munroe. The Englishman ended round 8 with a nasty cut under his eye. In rounds 10 and 11 Nishioka, with the fight already won on the cards, went for the knockout leaving Munroe clinging on, deperate to see out the fight. In round 12 Munroe showed real heart as he came out swinging but he ended up being hurt again as the champion landed stylish combinations with ease.
In the end the judges scored the fight 119-109 which was the correct score. Munroe should be commended for his heart and grit but it's hard to see where he can go from here. He really looked out of his depth and it may have have to be admitted that he is European class, not world class. He was horrendously outclassed here.
I gave Munroe only one round, number 4, when it really looked like Nishioka had run out of steam. Round 5 saw Munroe in trouble with a big left hand landing to the temple. The champion absolutely dominated the remaining rounds, hammering in body shots which seriously hurt Munroe. The Englishman ended round 8 with a nasty cut under his eye. In rounds 10 and 11 Nishioka, with the fight already won on the cards, went for the knockout leaving Munroe clinging on, deperate to see out the fight. In round 12 Munroe showed real heart as he came out swinging but he ended up being hurt again as the champion landed stylish combinations with ease.
In the end the judges scored the fight 119-109 which was the correct score. Munroe should be commended for his heart and grit but it's hard to see where he can go from here. He really looked out of his depth and it may have have to be admitted that he is European class, not world class. He was horrendously outclassed here.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Portsmouth F.C. on the verge of closure
Two years ago Portsmouth beat Cardiff to win the FA Cp. Tonight the club have released a statement saying that they are on the brink of going out of business. Former owner Sacha Gaydamak has demanded a large cash payment from the club which is in administration. This, the club say will cripple them financially forcing them to close the club down. Gaydamak initially said that he would do his all to save the club's future but the club have said he has shown "complete disregard for the supporters, the club and the City of Portsmouth, who had granted him freedom of the city in 2008". The administrator, Andrew Andronikou, has suggested all is not lost just yet and is desperately trying to get Gaydamak to agree to a last minute deal.
Portsmouth had just begun to get on a roll in the league with 4 wins and a draw in their last 5 games. I hope for their fan's sake that they can drag themselves out of this mess. Good luck to them. Hopefully Gaydamak sees some sense and signs the deal.
Portsmouth had just begun to get on a roll in the league with 4 wins and a draw in their last 5 games. I hope for their fan's sake that they can drag themselves out of this mess. Good luck to them. Hopefully Gaydamak sees some sense and signs the deal.
Rendall Munroe v Toshiaki Nishioka
The boxing bin man Rendall Munroe finally gets his chance at a world title shot on Sunday morning in Japan. He will fight for the WBO Super-Bantamweight title against the very dangerous Toshiaki Nishioka. Munroe has only one loss in 22 fights and that was when he moved up to featherweight to fight Andy Morris in 2006. At Super-Bantamweight he's unbeaten and has held the European Super-Bantamweight title since 2007 when he beat Kiko Martinez. He faces Nishioka who has won 36 of 43 fights. A man who has beaten current IBO Featherweight champion, Jhonny Gonzalez, in Mexico in 3 rounds.
The big problem for Rendall Munroe is his lack of power. He has only 9 KO's in his 22 fights. Compare that to 23 KO's in 36 wins for Nishioka, including 8 in his last 9 fights. However, Munroe is always in superb shape and has waited so long for this title shot that i'm sure he'll put his heart and soul into this fight. He also has a couple of hundred supporters travelling to Japan with him to cheer him on. Nishioka is a firm favourite but Munroe showed against Martinez that he can outbox big hitters. He has to prove this again. He has a chance but he has to start quicker than he usually does. I will go against the tide here and pick Munroe to win. It's on Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
The big problem for Rendall Munroe is his lack of power. He has only 9 KO's in his 22 fights. Compare that to 23 KO's in 36 wins for Nishioka, including 8 in his last 9 fights. However, Munroe is always in superb shape and has waited so long for this title shot that i'm sure he'll put his heart and soul into this fight. He also has a couple of hundred supporters travelling to Japan with him to cheer him on. Nishioka is a firm favourite but Munroe showed against Martinez that he can outbox big hitters. He has to prove this again. He has a chance but he has to start quicker than he usually does. I will go against the tide here and pick Munroe to win. It's on Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Pressure on Managers-Chris Houghton
It might suprise some, but probably not Newcastle fans, that Chris Houghton is the second favourite manager to be sacked after Roy Hodgson. Now Roy Hodgson i think we can all agree, is out of his depth at Liverpool. The team is second from bottom with one win in eight games. Also, Liverpool is a team expected to challenge for Silverware.
So what of Newcastle? Well, they've just been promoted after winning the Championship comfortably under the guidance of Houghton. They lie 16th in the Premier League with two wins from 8 games. One win could send them as high as 7th in the league. They've been very hit and miss, with a 6-0 win over Aston Villa and 2-0 loss to Blackpool summing that up. Two of their 4 losses have come against Man City and Man United, teams expected to challenge for the title. So are Newcastle fans expecting too much from this team and their manager? I think so. The Newcastle side that was relegated was far better than this one. Players like Shea Given, Michael Owen, Damien Duff, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins have all left since then. Nobody has really come in to replace them. The loss of Hatem Ben Arfa who was on loan is unfortunate but honestly, Premiership survival is all that this squad can hope for.
The off-field problems of star striker Andy Carroll are also doing no favours for the manager.
Unless there is significant investment, and lets face it under current owner Mike Ashley that's not going to happen, this team will struggle. They are essentially a Championship team. The beacon of hope they have is that there are so many poor teams in the Premiership this season, they may just survive. How there is any calls for Houghton's head is beyond me. Who will replace him and what could they achieve with such a limited squad? One win at home is not good enough and that is certainly were they could improve but does this show the pressure on the players from an over-expectant home support? The next two weeks could be vitally important with West Ham away and Sunderland at home. Hopefully Houghton gets the time he deserves for bringing them back up to the Premiership.
So what of Newcastle? Well, they've just been promoted after winning the Championship comfortably under the guidance of Houghton. They lie 16th in the Premier League with two wins from 8 games. One win could send them as high as 7th in the league. They've been very hit and miss, with a 6-0 win over Aston Villa and 2-0 loss to Blackpool summing that up. Two of their 4 losses have come against Man City and Man United, teams expected to challenge for the title. So are Newcastle fans expecting too much from this team and their manager? I think so. The Newcastle side that was relegated was far better than this one. Players like Shea Given, Michael Owen, Damien Duff, Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins have all left since then. Nobody has really come in to replace them. The loss of Hatem Ben Arfa who was on loan is unfortunate but honestly, Premiership survival is all that this squad can hope for.
The off-field problems of star striker Andy Carroll are also doing no favours for the manager.
Unless there is significant investment, and lets face it under current owner Mike Ashley that's not going to happen, this team will struggle. They are essentially a Championship team. The beacon of hope they have is that there are so many poor teams in the Premiership this season, they may just survive. How there is any calls for Houghton's head is beyond me. Who will replace him and what could they achieve with such a limited squad? One win at home is not good enough and that is certainly were they could improve but does this show the pressure on the players from an over-expectant home support? The next two weeks could be vitally important with West Ham away and Sunderland at home. Hopefully Houghton gets the time he deserves for bringing them back up to the Premiership.
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