The British Amateur Boxing Association's (BABA) first major decision after being set up to improve Britain’s Olympic boxing team was to sack head coach Terry Edwards just months after he trained the most successful Olympic team to date.
In an unbelievable move they have decided to get rid of the experienced coach who has been involved with the British team for the last decade and has been officially at the helm for the last two years which has seen England and Britain win their first World Championship gold medal in 2007, when Frankie Gavin made his name, and their first European gold medal since 1961 when hot prospect Luke Matthews won on home turf in 2008.
Of course their was James DeGale’s gold medal as well as David Price’s and Tony Jeffries’ bronze medal wins in Beijing. It was starting to look like Britain could be overtake Cuba as the world’s best amateur country.
However, BABA chief Derek Mapp decided to axe Edwards as they apparently look to further improve on their success. He said in a statement:
"Terry Edwards has made a huge contribution to British Boxing resulting in a record success of medal haul in Beijing. However we now need to further improve upon that and, as importantly, work to create a legacy of success demonstrated by the development of our boxers, coaches and support team for generations to come."
Have they ever heard of the saying ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’? Did British Cycling axe their head coach? Would Manchester United have sacked Sir Alex Ferguson after they won the treble in 1999 just cause they wanted someone younger? No because even if we ignore the fact of how unfair it would be, it also doesn’t make sense to sack somebody who has just brought such a massive success.
Edwards was even more shocked, having just spoken to the new chief about the future of British boxing a few days before, he would have expected to be preparing for the World Championships this year but now he may move, like his medal winners, to the professional game as Frank Warren seems interested in getting him to coach some fighters.
Something stinks with this issue, whether it be a bitterness from rival trainers or people within this new organisation or his, in my opinion, correct decision to send Frankie Gavin home from Beijing, it’s an absolute disgrace and this upheaval can only upset the mood in the camp.
They probably thought they would be clever and wait until all the talk about Beijing died down but the people that it will affect the most are the young boxers with dreams of stepping into the ring at the London Olympics in 2012 and they will know their chances have been reduced unless BABA have an exceptional replacement. However, the best man for the job will now be either earning big money coaching the pros or enjoying his retirement.
A ridiculous decision that will could set British boxing back a few years, lets just hope it doesn’t effect the many impressive talents that are coming through the ranks and that Britain can emulate the Beijing team in 2012.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 09, 2009
Rafa's Raging Ridiculous
So Rafa Benitez likes to talk about ‘facts’ (yes we heard you the first time mate) and he used his press conference today to launch what was a pathetic attack on Sir Alex Ferguson, well here is my take on this silly move.
Benitez believes that Alex Ferguson is the only manager who is never punished for stepping out of line, right but in November the United boss was reprimanded by the FA, given a two-game touchline ban and fined £10,000. If that is nothing then I would hate to see what is something.
The puzzling point is that Benitez points this out but then contradicts himself by saying Ferguson is the only manager who is never punished. Maybe Rafa was on the San Miguel when he was writing his little ‘fact’ sheet.
Nobody can argue the point that Ferguson does step out of line with his comments from time to time but he is always pulled up on it by the FA when it is thought to bring the game into disrepute, look at the amount of times he has been fined if you don‘t believe it.
However, every manager is entitled to their opinion and many do comment on the referee’s performance after games so I don’t know why Benitez has picked out Ferguson.
The Liverpool manager is complaining that Ferguson does not get punished by the FA for his comments, but surely saying this is questioning the FA himself isn’t he? Maybe they should have a word with the Spaniard for his ‘facts’.
Another ’fact’ is that Benitez says that Manchester United played “42 or 44” hours later than his team when United faced Middlesbrough on December 29 after Liverpool had beaten Newcastle the day before.
So Benitez said he wanted to speak only about ‘facts’ and not get involved in mind-games, but the so-called ‘cool’ Spaniard must not be good at maths or his calculator is faulty because Liverpool kicked off at 12noon and then United played at 8pm the following day, correct me if I am wrong Rafa but that is 32 hours, you wanted to be factual get it right then.
It is rich of Benitez to criticise another manager for complaining about fixtures, he must have a short memory because if we look back to last season and a quote from the Spaniard himself:
“I would like to ask the Premier League why is it that Liverpool always play the most fixtures away from home in an early kick-off, following an international break?" he said. "We had more than the top clubs last season and we have four already to prepare for this season.“ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2319584/Rafael-Benitez-turns-on-the-Premier-League.html
Sorry Rafa, you seemed like you fancied doing the fixtures yourself last year. But I see this season your doing ok and your boss’ are not on your back because your top of the league, so no need to complain then is there. No you will wait until the pressure goes up a notch and you will try and blame something else so you have a back-up if you fail yet again to bring silverware back to Anfield.
Overall I think Benitez’s planned attack, he was asked about the comment from Ferguson about getting nervous with no mention of fixtures or refereeing decisions just in case you haven’t seen it, is a sign that Ferguson has riled him.
Benitez says he doesn’t want to get into mind games so early, well in this press conference he threw himself in the deep end.
He has jumped into dangerous waters and while I don’t think Ferguson’s bite is as bad as a shark anymore, the Scot’s experience of handling mind-games in title run-ins will mean he can smell fear from a long way.
If Benitez wanted to stay out of it and focus on his team’s next game, then don’t say anything about it, simple isn’t it?
Obviously not for the Liverpool boss, who is clearly feeling the pressure early on which isn’t a good sign for his team’s title prospects. Now that is a real fact Rafa.
Benitez believes that Alex Ferguson is the only manager who is never punished for stepping out of line, right but in November the United boss was reprimanded by the FA, given a two-game touchline ban and fined £10,000. If that is nothing then I would hate to see what is something.
The puzzling point is that Benitez points this out but then contradicts himself by saying Ferguson is the only manager who is never punished. Maybe Rafa was on the San Miguel when he was writing his little ‘fact’ sheet.
Nobody can argue the point that Ferguson does step out of line with his comments from time to time but he is always pulled up on it by the FA when it is thought to bring the game into disrepute, look at the amount of times he has been fined if you don‘t believe it.
However, every manager is entitled to their opinion and many do comment on the referee’s performance after games so I don’t know why Benitez has picked out Ferguson.
The Liverpool manager is complaining that Ferguson does not get punished by the FA for his comments, but surely saying this is questioning the FA himself isn’t he? Maybe they should have a word with the Spaniard for his ‘facts’.
Another ’fact’ is that Benitez says that Manchester United played “42 or 44” hours later than his team when United faced Middlesbrough on December 29 after Liverpool had beaten Newcastle the day before.
So Benitez said he wanted to speak only about ‘facts’ and not get involved in mind-games, but the so-called ‘cool’ Spaniard must not be good at maths or his calculator is faulty because Liverpool kicked off at 12noon and then United played at 8pm the following day, correct me if I am wrong Rafa but that is 32 hours, you wanted to be factual get it right then.
It is rich of Benitez to criticise another manager for complaining about fixtures, he must have a short memory because if we look back to last season and a quote from the Spaniard himself:
“I would like to ask the Premier League why is it that Liverpool always play the most fixtures away from home in an early kick-off, following an international break?" he said. "We had more than the top clubs last season and we have four already to prepare for this season.“ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2319584/Rafael-Benitez-turns-on-the-Premier-League.html
Sorry Rafa, you seemed like you fancied doing the fixtures yourself last year. But I see this season your doing ok and your boss’ are not on your back because your top of the league, so no need to complain then is there. No you will wait until the pressure goes up a notch and you will try and blame something else so you have a back-up if you fail yet again to bring silverware back to Anfield.
Overall I think Benitez’s planned attack, he was asked about the comment from Ferguson about getting nervous with no mention of fixtures or refereeing decisions just in case you haven’t seen it, is a sign that Ferguson has riled him.
Benitez says he doesn’t want to get into mind games so early, well in this press conference he threw himself in the deep end.
He has jumped into dangerous waters and while I don’t think Ferguson’s bite is as bad as a shark anymore, the Scot’s experience of handling mind-games in title run-ins will mean he can smell fear from a long way.
If Benitez wanted to stay out of it and focus on his team’s next game, then don’t say anything about it, simple isn’t it?
Obviously not for the Liverpool boss, who is clearly feeling the pressure early on which isn’t a good sign for his team’s title prospects. Now that is a real fact Rafa.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Drogheda United - A real local club
When a football club hits bad times it usually looks to its fans and the local community for help, but not many would have got the unbelievable response that Eircom League of Ireland side Drogheda United received when they went into examinership in October of this year.
For those readers (if anyone actually reads this) who don’t know much about the club, here is a brief history. Drogheda United has a long standing history as a community club but not a very successful one, until recently. With only a couple of cup final appearances and a single runners-up spot in the league before a period of yo-yoing between divisions, support had faded substantially until a massive cash injection in 2003/04.
The money was put towards taking the team back to the Eircom League of Ireland Premier Division and consolidating their position there. However, the club went from strength to strength under manager Paul Doolin and picked up their first major trophy in 2005 when they collected the FAI Cup.
That success was followed up by Setanta Cup victories in 2006 and 2007, the same year the club finally reached a long sought target, the Eircom League of Ireland Premier title.
With everything going smoothly (well from the outside) and with two UEFA Cup Qualifying campaigns behind them, the club set out for their first Champions League Qualifying journey. After a solid win over Estonian outfit FC Levadia, Drogheda United prepared themselves for the biggest game in their history as they drew Ukrainian side and Champions League regulars, Dynamo Kyiv.
A brave performance home and away saw The Drogs lose out 4-3 on aggregate, after being within the width of a post from going through on away goals, but it was after that game the clubs real problems came to a head.
The investors push for success had come at a price when the club’s plans for a new stadium, that included a retail and residential development which would help finance the club’s long term ambitions and clear off a few long standing debts, was refused planning permission after a long battle with the county council involved. The future looked bleak.
With the board being unable to pay its players and creditors the club was put into examinership (administration as it’s known in the UK) in October.
With that huge shadow hanging over them and a points deduction, Drogheda played out the rest of the season - settling for a mid-table position.
Well now I can get onto the main point of the blog (finally I hear you say!), with the club having a massive debt to pay it is staring down the barrel of extinction and the town could soon have no Eircom League of Ireland side.
As I said before, when a club is at its knees it needs support and the response from the people of the town has been nothing short of phenomenal.
There’s a number of heart-warming stories about how people have donated half their weekly pension to the club’s fund, collections by volunteers, auctions, benefit gigs and there’s even people taking out loans and donating it towards the cause.
Another fundraiser was a fans match took place between the supporters of Drogheda United and St Patrick’s Athletic with a good crowd attending to lend their support.
But it was the presence of Roddy Collins, a manager who has received a substantial amount of ‘abuse’ from the fans but he put that behind him to help out, managing the fans team and even offering to have a friendly boxing match (his brother is a former world champion after all!) with a number of willing challengers prepared to make a contribution.
These are just a number of events being staged and all of this is a true testament of how a community backing is so important to a football club.
While this fantastic spirit and goodwill has raised a good amount towards the total needed to satisfy the examiner, a stumbling block has propped itself in the way to safety as the player’s have refused a settlement offer from the board to pay a reduced amount of their outstanding wages. With the board hoping for the squad to accept the offer in a show of goodwill to help the cause, a small minority of the team have turned it down.
While I understand they have mortgages to pay, families etc. the people of the town have donated a lot of money, people that could be struggling themselves with the recession and Christmas bills to worry about, and all they want is to save the club.
Therefore I believe the players who are refusing should show some gratitude, especially in the case of certain players who’s career has been developed by the club.
The committee set up to save the club needs them to settle this disagreement so that they can get on with whatever money is left to try and pick up the pieces.
A final point would be, while some criticism has gone towards the investors for going in ‘over the top’ and ‘too quick’, I believe this is extremely unfair on the people involved. They have not only given the long suffering supporters probably the best 5 years they have ever had supporting the team but they have also helped increase the number of supporters by a significant amount.
It’s this huge supporter backing that is now trying to save the club, without the recent successes their may not be the same help, so while the investors may have taken a big risk on the stadium going ahead, they have still created a great club that the town is proud to call its own and help out in its hour of need.
Drogheda United are facing a definitive week or two but if the club does pull through and continues on next season, both the owners and the supporters will have each other to thank, as they have all built and hopefully will save a great local team.
For those readers (if anyone actually reads this) who don’t know much about the club, here is a brief history. Drogheda United has a long standing history as a community club but not a very successful one, until recently. With only a couple of cup final appearances and a single runners-up spot in the league before a period of yo-yoing between divisions, support had faded substantially until a massive cash injection in 2003/04.
The money was put towards taking the team back to the Eircom League of Ireland Premier Division and consolidating their position there. However, the club went from strength to strength under manager Paul Doolin and picked up their first major trophy in 2005 when they collected the FAI Cup.
That success was followed up by Setanta Cup victories in 2006 and 2007, the same year the club finally reached a long sought target, the Eircom League of Ireland Premier title.
With everything going smoothly (well from the outside) and with two UEFA Cup Qualifying campaigns behind them, the club set out for their first Champions League Qualifying journey. After a solid win over Estonian outfit FC Levadia, Drogheda United prepared themselves for the biggest game in their history as they drew Ukrainian side and Champions League regulars, Dynamo Kyiv.
A brave performance home and away saw The Drogs lose out 4-3 on aggregate, after being within the width of a post from going through on away goals, but it was after that game the clubs real problems came to a head.
The investors push for success had come at a price when the club’s plans for a new stadium, that included a retail and residential development which would help finance the club’s long term ambitions and clear off a few long standing debts, was refused planning permission after a long battle with the county council involved. The future looked bleak.
With the board being unable to pay its players and creditors the club was put into examinership (administration as it’s known in the UK) in October.
With that huge shadow hanging over them and a points deduction, Drogheda played out the rest of the season - settling for a mid-table position.
Well now I can get onto the main point of the blog (finally I hear you say!), with the club having a massive debt to pay it is staring down the barrel of extinction and the town could soon have no Eircom League of Ireland side.
As I said before, when a club is at its knees it needs support and the response from the people of the town has been nothing short of phenomenal.
There’s a number of heart-warming stories about how people have donated half their weekly pension to the club’s fund, collections by volunteers, auctions, benefit gigs and there’s even people taking out loans and donating it towards the cause.
Another fundraiser was a fans match took place between the supporters of Drogheda United and St Patrick’s Athletic with a good crowd attending to lend their support.
But it was the presence of Roddy Collins, a manager who has received a substantial amount of ‘abuse’ from the fans but he put that behind him to help out, managing the fans team and even offering to have a friendly boxing match (his brother is a former world champion after all!) with a number of willing challengers prepared to make a contribution.
These are just a number of events being staged and all of this is a true testament of how a community backing is so important to a football club.
While this fantastic spirit and goodwill has raised a good amount towards the total needed to satisfy the examiner, a stumbling block has propped itself in the way to safety as the player’s have refused a settlement offer from the board to pay a reduced amount of their outstanding wages. With the board hoping for the squad to accept the offer in a show of goodwill to help the cause, a small minority of the team have turned it down.
While I understand they have mortgages to pay, families etc. the people of the town have donated a lot of money, people that could be struggling themselves with the recession and Christmas bills to worry about, and all they want is to save the club.
Therefore I believe the players who are refusing should show some gratitude, especially in the case of certain players who’s career has been developed by the club.
The committee set up to save the club needs them to settle this disagreement so that they can get on with whatever money is left to try and pick up the pieces.
A final point would be, while some criticism has gone towards the investors for going in ‘over the top’ and ‘too quick’, I believe this is extremely unfair on the people involved. They have not only given the long suffering supporters probably the best 5 years they have ever had supporting the team but they have also helped increase the number of supporters by a significant amount.
It’s this huge supporter backing that is now trying to save the club, without the recent successes their may not be the same help, so while the investors may have taken a big risk on the stadium going ahead, they have still created a great club that the town is proud to call its own and help out in its hour of need.
Drogheda United are facing a definitive week or two but if the club does pull through and continues on next season, both the owners and the supporters will have each other to thank, as they have all built and hopefully will save a great local team.
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